for that love right until the hours before the winds began howling. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i am andrea canning. thank you for watching. you for watching hello, i'm andrea canning and this is dateline. >> i called my mom immediately and i just cried. i cried. i couldn't feel, my body went numb. i told her that karlyn is gone, she is gone. >> she was a beautiful young mom doing important work. >> she was an intelligence specialist. >> some of our work was very sensitive, top secret. >> i believe she had top secret clearance. >> when she was found dead everyone wondered, did her work cost her her life?

>> i remember them telling me, did she come into a lot of money that she couldn't explain? >> maybe she was selling secrets? >> maybe. >> that's like out of a spy novel. what about other secrets? the personal kind? >> we knew they were having issues, right before they got married she found out that he was cheating. >> but somewhere out there was a stranger keeping secrets, to. >> my data guy starts going through her facebook. >> she made reference to fire arms in her social media. >> we saw that they were communicating her gas mileage. what a weird thing to do. >> a mystery that would drag on for months and then -- [sound of gunfire] one final secret uncovered by science. >> you start feeling layers back until the number is visible. >> hello and welcome to dateline. texas native carlos ramiro's

grew up surrounded by friends and family the move east after joining the army. she had a job she loved, a baby daughter she adored, and her whole life ahead of her. that, and she was shot dead in her home. her killer thought he had covered his trucks, but investigators were determined to follow the clues exposing a plot so devious it to fight imagination. here is the alibi. >> across the spectrum of love, is there any more precious of that for a mother than her daughter? >> you are my sunshine, my only sunshine. >> our story is about that maternal time that endures from generation to generation. it begins in a military town near the mexican border, dubbed rio texas. a small city anchored by the loughlin air force base.

karlyn or mares grew up there. she wasn't easy going child, says their mom susan garcia romero. >> when she was young she was real calm. she loved to saying, she would sing all the time. whenever she was out with her friends she would sing for them. >> reporter: rosanna flores was one of those friends. what was it about karlyn you that wanted to be her friend? >> her smile. her voice. her big heart. i can honestly say she never saw any bad in anyone. >> her friends, anais avara and valerie mckechny, say it wasn't all about singing. scl we'd go to the local bar here and we'd dance.?? they say the dancing could literally happen anywhere. that is caroline in block. >> fun times at the walmart parking lot. >> only a small city, right? >> she went to college in del

rio, started to nursing, and then transferred to criminal justice. nothing that prepared her mom for what she did at 22, enlist in the army. >> she didn't ask me, she didn't get my opinion, she told me after she had done it. >> your family is a military family? >> we are. my dad was air force. my sister is retired air force. and then i was in the army reserves. >> after a specialty training in information technology, the army sent karlyn to south korea. off-duty she found time to give back. >> she found herself volunteering at an orphanage. she started sending me pictures of a little boy that she is in love with and she says i want to adopt him. i said no. >> in korea, karlyn found another kind of love. she began dating a handsome sergeant named malik kearney. >> she was attracted to his confidence, the way he carried himself. >> he was a decorated soldier? >> yes. >> did she like that about him?

>> yes, they worked out together, they ran, they were very competitive. >> karlyn gushed about maliek kearney to her friends. >> she said that he was a great man, she treated him right, and then told me that they were engaged. >> engaged and expecting. pregnant, the army transferred her to fort mead maryland, home of the national security agency and home of one of the nation's most secret and secure facilities. was she happy, was she excited? >> she was excited and started working, she absolutely loved it. >> top secret, some of? it >> she would say mom, i can't share anything about what i do. >> meantime, the army moved maliek kearney to fort jackson carolina where he trained recruits in chemical warfare. there are 500 miles apart. while living in maryland, karlyn became friends with another soldier. melissa. she loved working with karlyn. >> she is the light of the office, she was loving,

everyone loved. her >> morris was a single mom with a young daughter and so when karlyn was nearing the end of her pregnancy they decide to share a house together. >> it had a back yard. it out a decent sized kitchen. it was right by base. >> did you have have security concerns about the town house or the area? >> karlyn had mentioned that she came home one day and salt lake stuff was moved around in the house. >> really? if somebody says that to me i am getting worried. the two women kept the doors and windows walked and worked together to make their town house a home. marissa helped karlyn set up a nursery and then, on april 23rd, 2015, kyla ramirez was born. grandma susan was on the first flight from texas. >> what was it like for you seeing karlyn and her new daughter together? your baby has now had a baby. >> it was amazing. i got her and i wouldn't share her with anybody. >> the baby was healthy and

beautiful. karlyn radiant. their town house was filled with the joyful sound of karlyn singing. she particularly loved you are my sunshine. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> she was happy. it looked like she found her purpose in life. >> three months after she was born, karlyn and maliek kearney married in a small ceremony in south carolina. after the party, karlyn went back home to fort mead in maryland with the baby. >> she said it was hard, the distance, and not seeing him all the time. >> susan stayed in touch with her daughter. >> i spoke with karlyn sometimes twice a day. >> but tuesday, august 25th would be different. susan called karlyn that morning. >> she doesn't answer. >> is that -- >> it is unusual. >> such a close relationship. >> so i waited and called her again. >> and she didn't answer? >> i sent an email to her work and never got a response to that. called her all my lunch break, and she didn't answer.

i said if you do not call me back or message me, i'm going to call the police. >> and now frantic susan reached karlyn commanding officer at his home and promised to have someone on the base finder. >> i hang up with him and i put the phone down and i hear ruffle in our front yard. we have river rock. i looked down and i saw three uniformed soldiers. >> oh gosh. that made me -- >> sick. me too. >> it is what any relative of somebody in the military dreads. i am a marine corps wife myself. >> it is the last thing -- you don't ever want to have to see them. i yelled my husband's name and i just dropped to my knees and i started to cry. and then they knocked. >> she was right. something had happened karlyn. and now this mother was about to hear the words that every

military family dreads. coming up -- >> what data? >> we regret to inform you, what they always say. >> what the soldiers said next would leave this mom horrified and confused. >> what scenarios are running through your mind? >> i couldn't even imagine what could have possibly happened. >> when dateline continues. when dateline continues nooo... quick, the quicker picker upper! bounty absorbs spills like a sponge. and is 2x more absorbent so you can use less. bounty, the quicker picker upper. (michael) copd is harder on the folks around you, i think. my wife smoked, and she quit. because she needs to be here for to take care of me. (announcer) the people you love are worth quitting for. you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit-now. honey... honey... nyquil severe honey. powerful cold and flu relief with a dreamy honey taste. nyquil honey,

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- they slept on me for 15 years. the things i saw, the things i collected. i gained 30 pounds in dust, pollen, dander. they had two kids, two cats, and a ferret. all that time, they could have protected me,

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ramirez husband opened their door to an army casualty notification team. and the worst news imaginable. there karlyn was dead. >> what did they say? >> we regret to inform you, just like they always say, the same words. they couldn't give me any specifics, i asked for the baby, they said that she was in the hospital. >> so what scenarios are running through your mind? >> i couldn't even imagine what could have possibly happened. >> the answers would come 1700 miles away at karlyn town house in maryland. homicide detectives kelly hardening and dan myers of the county sheriff's office were on the case. >> a maintenance person saw a dog walking around into an open back door of the town homes and he called 9-1-1. the officers got there and karlyn ramirez had been murdered. >> patrol officers allowed the

detectives to second floor bedroom and an appalling scene. it was karlyn and her four-month-old daughter together. >> she was laying in the master bedroom and a little girl was, they thought, initially had been murdered but it turns out she was just sleeping alongside her mother. the baby was unharmed. >> the investigators began their search for clues, with karlyn body. >> she was laying on the floor, near the crib. her pants and underwear had been removed. >> did that suggest to you that there may have been a sexual assault? >> it is something that you have to consider. >> the crime scene investigation ramped up. cs eyes dusted for fingerprints and collective care and dna samples. karlyn had been shot three times. of those tech experts traced the bullets trajectory and recovered the bullet from the floor. they were able to narrow down the weapon to a few different models. >> the caliber of the

projectile was 3:57, 38 special. >> of course, a hard look at the spouses homicide investigation one-on-one. so the day after they found karlyn body, detectives flew to south carolina to talk with maliek. >> he had been placed in an interview room and had been waiting for. us >> they started by asking about karlyn. >> what can you tell us about her? >> she -- she was the love of my life. >> maliek superior officer had giving him holds the vagus of details about what happened to karlyn. >> they said you guys would come and answer all our questions. i don't know what happened. [crying] >> maliek, she was murdered. >> why? >> that's what we're hoping you can help us with. >> i don't know.

i didn't know that anybody didn't like her, or had anything against her. oh god. >> they want to know maliek where about the day of the murder. he told them that he worked his usual shift, monday, leaving around two pm. he said that he stayed in his apartment until he reported four do stay morning. >> no, i mean, all stay at home, text on my phone, stuff like that. >> the questions got personal. detectives had been told that karlyn was planning to divorce maliek. >> i'm telling you as an outsider, it looks like you all or done. she was done with you. right? >> she'd moved on. >> i didn't know. >> they learned about a brief relationship that karlyn had was another soldier at fort mead, shortly before she married maliek and asked him how he felt about that. >> it was before we were married, and i forgive her. >> did you ever cheat on her

when you are in an exclusive relationship with her? >> she? no. >> the detectives cut to the chase. >> you didn't kill her? >> no. >> was he being really cooperative with you? >> he appeared to have nothing to hide. >> maliek let him download his phone. that wasn't, all he volunteered his bank records, give his fingerprints, and provided a dna sample. he gave police permission to search his apartment and car. the detectives got to work. >> right away we talked to neighbors in his apartment building, they said that his car never left. >> maliek kearney apartment and car, a distinctive jaguar x klm came up clean and all his electronics, his cell phone and netflix account to put him at home that night, 500 miles from the climb seem. please checked toll booths and license plate readers between

-- there were no sign of maliek jaguar anywhere i've would've been a 15-hour trip. would you say he had a good alibi? >> yes. >> maliek kearney was free to go. the maryland detectives or back to square one, at the beginning of what would become an incredibly complex homicide case. an investigation that would span a half dozen states, involve hundreds of witnesses, multiple government agencies, and a mountain of forensic evidence. coming up, could karlyn top secret work have cost her her life? >> i wonder if she was targeted, or knew something she wasn't supposed to know. >> i remember them specifically telling me, did she come into a lot of money that she couldn't explain? >> when dateline continues. ontinues my tip is, if you're having people over for thanksgiving, start cooking in october. (announcer) you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit now. you can't leave without cuddles.

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she was killed, private first class karlyn ramirez was buried with full military honors. flags were presented to her parents, husband, and daughter. susan out little time to mourn. she was busy caring for karlyn's daughter in texas, while her father maliek was an active duty in south carolina. susan was also doing everything she could to help solve the case. investigators asked again and again who would want karlyn dead?

>> i would say that i am racking my brain and i wish i could tell you, but i just cannot think of anyone. >> detectives cast a wide net. they spoke with karlyn's roommate marisa multiple times. they were curious about the soldier karlyn had the brief relationship with before she married maliek. qatar death have been the result of a love triangle gone bad? >> >> their line of questioning it made me think they were looking at the soldier that she was involved with. >> the guy she was having the fling with at work? >> what kind of questions did they ask about him? >> what the relationship was like. did he love her, did she love him, did maliek you know? >> did you have to check into the soldier that she had the little side thing? with >> certainly and he was devastated that this happened. he provided his phone, his whereabouts, we concluded that he was telling the truth where he was during the time. >> with the boyfriend cleared,

some of karlyn's friends and family thought the murder might be connected to her top secret work at fort mead. >> i wonder if she was targeted or knew something she wasn't supposed to know because of her job. >> the detectives were looking for any sign that karlyn might have been recruited as a spy by foreign agents. >> i remember specifically them telling me, did she come into a lot of money that she couldn't explain? no, she didn't. >> maybe she was selling secrets? that is like out of his by novel. what did you learn about karlyn's role in the military? >> she was an intelligence specialist. >> did you have to explore the fact that this maybe had something to do with her job? >> there is no evidence of a handler or any sort of this behaving with her information. >> espionage was ruled out. weeks went by without a break in the case. >> homicide detectives are still conducting several interviews, still processing evidence from the scene. >> the crime scene investigation intensified.

>> they had my house taped off for almost a month going through evidence, going through the house, trying to find things, trying to find leads. >> and marissa lived in fear. remembering karlyn's concerns about someone creeping around their town house. >> karlyn had said that she thought maybe somebody had moved things around. did you mind go at all to the possibility that it could have been someone random? >> it almost seemed like a hitmen had did it because it was so meticulous, like planned out. >> karlyn's roommate told us that they had security concerns. that somebody had maybe been in the town house at some point. >> it was always something that we kept in the back of our minds. >> did you have to consider the possibility that maybe karlyn had a stop, or somebody who is watching them? watching her? >> it looked extensively into her background and into her communication. >> investigators pursued the few needs that they had, all the while susan was pushing them for answers. >> two or three times a week,

you know, they would hear from me. >> they must have been getting frustrating that she was murdered, her killer is out there, and her daughter is with you. you must have just felt that fear. >> constant fear. she was not out of her sight. >> but she heard nothing. in april, on what would have been karlyn's 25th birthday, the family took veiled visitor grave. by that time, maliek was living nearby. the army had allowed him to transfer from south carolina to fort sam houston. >> he had gotten orders to getting closer to the baby and the closest he could get was san antonio, so he could spend time with the baby on the weekends. >> the ramirez family struggled to find normalcy. back in maryland, the investigation seemed to have a stalled. the county offered a 20,000 dollar reward for information about the case. the reward degenerated no promising leads and homicide

detectives wonder if karlyn's death could have been part of a larger, more sinister crime? detectives determined to the fbi as a stunning new theory takes center stage. >> the first thought is a serial killer or some unknown individual. >> and then an eyebrow raising revelation about karlyn's estranged husband. >> they said that they had been intimate for several years. >> when dateline continues. hen dateline continues meet arexvy. ( ♪♪ ) the first fda-approved rsv vaccine. arexvy is used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. rsv can severely affect the lungs and lower airways. arexvy is proven to be over 82% effective in preventing lower respiratory disease from rsv and over 94% effective in those with these health conditions.

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top stories. president biden is wrapping up his international trip with a visit to vietnam. he will spend the day meeting with the leaders of the indo-pacific country were much of the focus will be on the influence of china in that region. after that, the president will commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with service members in alaska. meanwhile, vice president harris will attend a memorial ceremony at ground zero. i'm jessica layton in new york,

now back to dateline. back to dateline welcome back to dateline, i'm i'm andrea canning. andrea canning. who killed karlyn ramirez? police had cleared karlyn's ex-boyfriend and records show that her ex husband maliek kearney was hundreds of miles away when she was shot. it was time to broaden the search for answers. soon, investigators would make a remarkable discovery varied in a trail of electronic clues. once again, here is the alibi. it had been months since karlyn ramirez had been found murdered at home with her infant daughter in her arms. with all of the league's exhausted, homicide detectives wonder if karlyn's death might be part of a pattern. they reached out to profilers with the fbi's behavior analysis unit. fbi special agent jonathan schaffer would join the team.

>> the stories that the husband is in south carolina, there is no apparent, likely suspect. the first thought is a serial killer or an unknown individual, -- >> had there been any serial killers in the area that could possibly tie does? >> no, there wasn't at that time. it was a long shot. >> did this lead anywhere? contacting the b a u? >> their opinion was that probably somebody close to her did this. >> with no obvious progress in karlyn's case, friends began to despair. >> it scared me that karlyn was never going to get her justice. >> but what they didn't know was that maryland checked of had the armies criminal investigation division had been quietly collecting a massive amount of electronic information. of course, police had initially talked to karlyn's estranged husband maliek, but his phone records indicated that he was at home, 500 miles away when karlyn was murdered. but, months after they asked

for, please finally had not only maliek data, but the data of everyone who had been contacted from his phone. >> we then requested and received information from the people that maliek was communicating with. >> all of their tedious digital searching paid off. it was a development that took them in a whole new direction, varied in maliek phone records were numerous calls and texts with a woman named delores delgado, a former soldier living in florida. when investigators report over her phone records, a dramatic discovery. >> we had learned that dolores was actually in south carolina during the time of the murder. >> that phone data not only had dolores in south carolina, it placed her in maliek apartment complex. >> this must have been a big break? >> it was a huge break. >> on a wednesday afternoon, in march 2016, detective harding turned up unannounced on

dolores's doorstep in cocoa beach florida? >> i knock on the door and i say, i, i am detective harding. i'm from maryland, i would like to talk to you. >> that is a shock. >> she was very shocked. she said, about what? maliek? >> i said yes, actually. >> in an interview room at the sheriff's office she the detective asked dolores about the night of the murder. if she was in maliek apartment and if he was with her. >> she admits that she was there that night. >> what happened at maliek kearney house? >> she was in the living room and he went to bed. as far as she knew she he was there the whole time. >> was a sexual relationship? >> they said that -- >> they definitely had a long relationship. >> the detectives now knew one thing for sure after talking to delores delgado. maliek kearney had lied to them

about being faithful to karlyn for starters. but, most critically, about what happened the night of karlyn murder. >> no, i mean, i'll stay home, text on my phone. >> if you have somebody that can account for your whereabouts during the time of the murder, why wouldn't you offer that to us? why would you keep that secret? >> the detectives had to consider that may be maliek just didn't want to admit that he was cheating on his wife with dolores. they took a closer look at the girlfriend who told them that she and maliek hooked up when they were serving in kuwait years earlier. then, when harding and meyers examined her phone data they learned that she also lied about owning a gun. >> she told me that she was almost ignorant about firearms, but when i looked at her home i could see that she was looking for a particular fire arm. >> on her phone there was a

text that read my last 3:57 i paid 400, so i want to stay in that range. detectives myers dove deeper into the lorises life. >> my day guy here starts going through her facebook. >> there are things going on with firearms, where she purchased fire arms previously. >> this was the woman who had no knowledge of fire arms? >> right. >> the post's lead myers here, to a gun shop near dolores's home. the shop had a sales receipt and a federal firearms transaction record for a tourist 3:57 revolver. both forms were made out to delores delgado. the revolver dolores bought matched the caliber of gun that had killed caroline. >> we saw that this guns was one of the ones on the list. >> of itself, this purchase of a gun was not a smoking gun. but, the detectives had to wonder why dolores would lie to them about owning a weapon. there was something else.

meyers soon learned that dolores had put a box of 38 caliber ammunition up for sale on facebook. >> you can't say it's the same bullets, but it matched all the characteristics. >> >> all of this sleuthing took months and, while the detectives were working, dolores moved to san antonio, texas, into an apartment not far from maliek kearney. 150 miles west on their farm in del rio, karlyn's mom knew nothing about this new person of interest, despite staying on the detectives. >> it is me again, i just don't want you to forget my daughter because she was very much loved. >> the investigation now encompassed a half dozen states, but maryland tech divide and its p.i. agents were owning in on delores delgado. what were you learning about the relationship between maliek kearney and delores delgado? >> just how, lack of a better term, we are to it was. they were friends, friends with benefits, lovers, but not really romantically involved. they were just sort of best

friends with a romantic bent. >> there was another weird thing. phone delores delgado was full of texts between her and maliek kearney that worked on his phone. and what a twisted story those texts would tell. coming up, a tip from a complete stranger could blow the case open. >> he said one night we got rid of a gun. i think that was your murder weapon. >> i mean, do you get calls like this every day? this is pretty remarkable. >> i wish. but we don't. >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues with bounce pet, you can cuddle and brush that hair off. bounce. it's the sheet.

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ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy... it was a bittersweet day in august 2016, august, 2016 when karlyn ramirez loved ones celebrated her. live on the first anniversary of her murder. back east, lead detective kelly harding and dan myers had developed two prime suspects. karlyn's husband maliek kearney and his longtime mistress delores delgado. as they studied the couples in text messages, the detectives found something curious. maliek had wiped a lot of texts of his phone that still existed on dolores's phone. her texts made them look at the

night of karlyn's death in a whole new light. >> we saw that they were communicating her gas mileage. what a weird thing to do. >> not only that, they were talking gaskins as well. the detectives had dolores's bank records, which showed a purchase of this florida home depot. >> we were able to get a copy of the receipt of purchase which included two gas cans. >> finally, they saw the pieces of their puzzle coming together. at the start of the case, harding and meyers thought it was unlikely that maliek would have been able to travel all the way to maryland, kill karlyn, and return undetected. but this new evidence changed everything. >> take us through what you believed happened that night. >> dolores is providing all the tools, the fire arms, ammunition of the vehicle, and really the important alibi for staying and using his phone. >> the detectives saw it as an elaborate plot. dolores was in maliek apartment

pretending to be him, texting on his phone and streaming his netflix account, creating an electronic alibi, while he killed karlyn. this scenario explained why they didn't find maliek jaguar on any license plate readers. if he did that long drive in dolores as a car and carried extra fuel to avoid gas station security cameras, there wouldn't be any trace of him. >> so he drives straight there and he believes he kills karlyn ramirez relatively quickly? >> at the most he would have been there for ten minutes. >> and then turns around and -- >> and goes back, only stopping the one time. it's just on the road site in a dark area to fill up the car, and then immediately gets back in the car and continues to. drive >> to plan this out so meticulously, did you think about that? how cold blooded this? was >> he had a lot of time along the way to say never mind, you know, what am i doing, this

is crazy. driving eight hours by yourself with your own thoughts in a car, you have a lot of time to change your mind. he was determined. >> 13 months after karlyn's death, maliek kearney and delores delgado or arrested in san antonio. >> out of the blue i get a phone call at work and they ask me if i can come to san antonio that evening and i say for what? they say there has been interest in your daughters case but he didn't tell me who. >> susan and her husband made the long drive across west texas. >> that is when i first met the prosecutor. they are the ones that told me that maliek had been arrested and his girlfriend. >> what were you learning about dolores? >> i didn't know anything about her. she was no one. she was no one to. me >> assistant u.s. attorneys jim warwick and ken clark met with dolores and maliek. >> i introduced myself to mr.

kearney. >> you also got a chance to speak with miss delgado? >> we present it to her the facts that we had, and the evidence that we had compiled against her at that point in time. >> after the arrest, came and new lead. a tip to detective harding from an ex-boyfriend of dolores is in florida. >> he called me and said a, one night i was hanging out with dolores and we got rid of a gun. and he said that i think that was your murder weapon. >> i mean, do you get calls like this every day? this is pretty remarkable? >> i wish, but we don't. >> investigators met the tipster in florida. he said that not long after karlyn's murder he and delores delgado had burned some clothing and sneakers here, and that wasn't all. he told them that he destroyed a revolver for her, dismantled it and that the two of them through the pieces of the gun

of this pier. and fbi dive team from miami was soon on the scene. the water was clear that day and drivers found forensic sunken treasure. there, on the bottom, rusted, covered in seaweed and encrusted with barnacles where the pieces of a handgun. the parts were rushed to the fbi crime land in virginia. dateline was given rare access to the fbi's world renowned crime lab. in his first ever interview, firearms experts brett mills told us how he examined and reconstruct the weapon. first, he carefully cleaned the frame of the gun. >> when i finished cleaning it there was no serial number there. from our reference collection i know where the serial number should be. >> it was gone, because delgado ex-boyfriend had ground it way, totally obliterated it, or so he thought. they had a plan. >> they call it serial number restoration. there was a still compressed

layers underneath, it still has that impression of the serial number. using acid we can restore that number. >> he demonstrated the process on a gun from the fbi collection. >> once you polished it you go in and you literally start peeling layers back with the acid until the number actually is visible. >> it's amazing how it just reappears, the serial number. >> sometimes it does, other times you might not be able to restore any type of number at all. >> there was a number way to determine if they had found the murder weapon. they would also try to match the telltale marking on the bullets that -- to the gun on the river. >> these striatal that you see are the equivalent of a human fingerprint. >> but there was no way that the recovered weapon whatever fire again. so, mills removed its barrel, gently cleaned it, and attached it to a working revolver for a test fire. he demonstrated that process

with a similar revolver. [sound of gunfire] mills was able to do six test firings with recovered gun. everything he found was added to the evidence. now, prosecutors would have to see if it would hold up when the defense pointed the finger at someone else in baltimore federal court. coming up, the trial begins. could a major twist tip the case? >> it was right before christmas. >> so it was like an early christmas present? >> yes. >> and then the verdict and the emotional fallout. when dateline continues. when dateline continues. d. i can't sleep either. it only gets tougher with age. mom, what? well, knowing progressive can protect your home, auto, and business should help you relax. good, because i could use a good night's sleep! me too. d'yknow how early the chimney sweep gets up every day? wait, is this all a dream? why would jamie be in my dream?

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maliek kearney was charged in the shooting death of his wife, karlyn. authorities were convinced that he and his girlfriend, delores delgado, devised an elaborate cover-up a scheme. investigators were comfort a trove of incriminating phone records and what they suspected was of the murder weapon. now, the case was headed to the court where a surprise witness was about to take the stand. here is the conclusion of, the alibi. in august of 2018, maliek kearney trial began in federal court in baltimore. he was charged with interstate travel for the purpose of domestic violence resulting in death. the trial would be the

culmination of a three-year investigation that gathered thousands of pieces of electronic and physical evidence in an extraordinary forensic effort. prosecutors jim warwick and ken clark wanted jurors to see maliek kearney, not as a superstar army sergeant, but as a killer. a solace executioner who took karlyn's life because she wanted to divorce him and in her baby daughters and leaving her in is dead mother's arms. >> he was used to get in what he wanted. relations could and, but they had and on his terms. >> there is a tremendous amount of electronic data including text messages and photo messages that she shared by mr. kearny. >> including photos that dolores had sent two maliek of her odometer, and critical correspondence about what this

was a murder weapon. >> one particular text message was very important. he is test firing the gun and he texts her saying, this gun is so darn loud. >> this was part of the prosecutors a plan to put dolores's gun in maliek hands. fbi firearms expert brett mills told jurors about the results of that serial number restoration test that he did on the gun recovered from the river. >> i wound up pulling up all but one of the digits. it wound up matching the bill of sale for miss delgado's purchase of the revolver. >> is that like a bingo moment for you, when you put this stuff to the test and it works? >> finding out that the number that are restored was basically the exact same one that was on her, that was awesome. >> and mills had something else to tell the jury. remember, he had done a test firing like this one through the barrel of the recovered gun. >> what happened when you test fired those bullets and

compared them to the bullets from the crime scene? >> we did a comparison from the victim and we identified those three bullets as having been fired from that revolver that was covered from the creek. >> the prosecutors introduced that interrogation video of maliek kearney. >> i loved this woman. i loved her. i loved her to death. >> we did that so that the jury could realize that he was being untruthful. >> and there was something on the tape that prosecutors wanted to be sure that jurors noticed. >> incredibly, stupidly, he never actually asked how did my wife die? >> they told me that you guys were gonna tell me how it happened. >> but, the u.s. attorneys knew that their case would hinge on whether jurors believed their star witness, delores delgado. dolores had agreed to cooperate three months after her arrest. >> it was right before christmas, to. >> so it was like an early christmas present? >> an early christmas present

for's 2016, yes. >> prosecutors argued that maliek longtime mistress would do anything for him. on the stand, she backed that up. dolores testified about how she gave maliek her gun, her car, those gas cans, and even packed him a sandwich for the drive. and provided him with that crucial electronic alibi. >> in your directive, delores delgado, he said that malik wasn't home that night and she answered no. was that the beginning of the end for his alibi? >> it is, placing him at a location other than where his phone was, was critical for this case. >> the prosecution rested. the defense argued that the government had proven nothing. they argued someone else did it, but maybe jurors should take a closer look at the government's star witness, delores delgado. after all, it was her gun

disposed of by her ex boyfriend that killed karlyn and, with karlyn out of the way, she would have maliek all to herself. maliek lawyers showed the jury's a text from dolores to a friend sent before karlyn's murder. crazy -- it's going to be put out. but the jurors didn't buy it. they quickly found maliek kearney guilty. the karlyn's mother had been in court every day. >> how did that feel hearing -- >> i was so glad because, with the guilty verdict, i don't have to worry that i'm going to have any dealings with him. >> at his sentencing, the judge called maliek kearney a predator and sentenced him to life, plus another ten years on top of that. delores delgado was sentenced to 17 years for her part in the crime. >> why do you think maliek

kearney and delores delgado did this? >> i think maliek kearney killed karlyn because she was the first woman in his life that was willing and able to stand up to him and he couldn't handle that. as far as dolores, she was a pond to kearney, that he would just kind of do whatever he said. >> it was important to karlyn ramirez, important of the baby, and importance to the ramirez family to bring them justice. >> with the trial behind them, the ramirez and karlyn's friends focused on raising her child and teaching her about her mother. >> she sang to her, foot -- >> they'll could still hear that loving voice. karlyn's sister put a recording of her singing inside a teddy bear. ♪ ♪ ♪

>> we are at this point the constant in her life. we want her to feel protected, loved, everything that i know her mom would have given her. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i am andrea canning. thank you for watching. thank you for watching ♪♪ this sunday, future of the party. >> if i win and somebody wants to run against me i call my attorney general. i say, listen, indict him! >> the republican party is at a crossroads. will we be the party of conservatism or will we follow the siren song of populism unmourned to conservative principles. siren song of the donald trump return to power or find a new path forward. i'll talk to bill cassidy from louisiana one of the seven republicans who voted to convict donald trump.