instantly, relief that we got him. >> and, beverly's family is working to make sure this doesn't happen to someone else's family. they started the beverly carter foundation. her son travels the country training real estate agents about safety. >> it's a blessing for me because i get to not only raise awareness, talk about safety, best practices, but then i also use that as an opportunity for me to kind of slide in some great stories about my mom, and so kind of keep her alive. >> is off for this edition of dateline. i am craig melvin. thank you for watching. hello. i am andrea canning, and this is dateline.

>> i stood there in that hallway for that pool of blood was, where her office was. whoever did this new this facility, and knew it well. >> ahead turning the twist in the crime that stunned everyone from the start. >> seven years, we are seeking justice for michelle for almost seven years. >> a mom of two murdered at work. >> a lot of blood, a lot of trauma. there were pry marks on her office door. >> what was in that office than anybody would want? >> a case bonaparte when a secret relationship was revealed, exposing hidden bombshell evidence. >> he is on the property where a woman is murdered and we don't know who he is. >> you never know how something's going to go.

>> hello, and welcome to dateline. michelle mockbee met the love of her life, dan mockbee at the warehouse where they both worked. they married, had two daughters, and were busy juggling jobs and family. then, a day that began like any other suddenly turned deadly. security camera quickly led police to a suspect, but just when michelle's loved ones but justice had been served, a scandal turned the story on its head. here is josh mankiewicz with "the early shift." >> they call it the early shift for a reason. it was still an hour before dawn in this small town in northern kentucky, and in a few hours, a local warehouse would become an anthill of activity as the first employees of the morning arrived. but, who among them could

predict that before the first coffee break that day, one of their workers would be dead. >> i just walked in her office, and i think somebody is killed somebody upstairs in her office. she is laying there on the ground, and there is blood all over. >> impossible to believe in this tightknit workplace where everyone knows everyone, but there was michelle mockbee, 42, wife and mother , face down in a pool of blood. the investigation that followed would peel the lid off an entire company and take a hard look at every employee who was there that morning. you know that your suspect is one of those people in the building. >> that's right. >> probing for clues in the victim's private life. >> the detective asked me if there was any trouble in the marriage.

>> eliminating suspect after suspect until there was one. and, just when it seemed to be over, it wasn't. >> did you have a sexual relationship with her? are you two lying -- denying that? >> i don't think it's any of your business. >> you are not controlling this anymore. you are not the commonwealth attorney right here. >> they say the wheels of justice turn slowly. in this case, the wheels came completely off, leaving a family wondering, who would do the right thing for a kind and loving woman who went to work one morning and never came home. if you give michelle mockbee's siblings a chance to tell you about their sister, they can't say enough good things about her. >> she was our big sister, our role model. >> michelle was just the most amazing sister that you could ever ask for, very loving, caring, giving person. she would do anything for

anyone. >> she always had a big smile and her laughter was contagious. >> michelle carried her positive spirit into the workplace. she was head of payroll at the warehouse owned by thermofisher scientific, a worldwide supplier of laboratory equipment . it was also where she met her husband, dan mockbee. what was she like? what drew you to her? >> michelle was funny, attractive, intelligent, there was a vibrant this to her. i mean, she was beautiful. >> it was at a thermofisher scientific christmas party back in 1999 that dan first summoned the courage to share his feelings with her. he asked michelle to stick with him that night, and she did, and then everything went sideways. >> it was the worst state in the world. >> what went wrong? >> i don't know.

i was totally off my game. i couldn't speak but then i asked her out again and she said yes. >> you must've done something right. i don't know. were she felt some -- sorry for me and gave me another chance. >> next thing you know, there seeing each other and getting pretty serious. >> the world just totally changed. the sun got brighter. it was just a totally different world. >> michelle and dan married in 2001 and continued to work together a thermofisher. not long after came two daughters, madelyn and carli. >> i remember she pretty much just said be nice to people so i'm going to be nice to people. >> because she was nice to everybody. >> she was. she would play games with us in our backyard and like, take us to all these fun places. she was just a fun person to be

around. >> but, even as busy parents, dan and michelle always planned a date night every other monday. memorial day 2012 was no exception. how was she that night? happy? normal? >> absolutely. normal. >> the next morning, michelle got up to go to thermofisher for the morning shift. dan had the day off and stayed home. >> she wakes me up, kisses me goodbye, says i love you and went to work. >> that was the last you saw of her. >> that was the last i saw of her. >> at 5:53 a.m., a security camera captured michelle's car as she arrived at the parking lot. she stopped by the warehouse is timeclock and headed upstairs to her office. about an hour later, a supervisor named ed noticed a big stained on the upstairs hallway carpet. he started looking around the area.

>> ed was out on the mezzanine just part ways and i was holding the door and he said there's a dead body laying there. i just off from the knees down. i did not see the whole thing but honestly, i'm glad i didn't look because i've never been around anything like that. it was frightening for me. >> someone inside thermofisher had killed michelle mockbee, but who ? and, just as puzzling, why? what was in that office that anybody would want? >> that is the mystery. >> the hunt for a killer begins. >> with each person i talked to, there was no evidence they had been involved in anything. >> when dateline continues. nyt. >> when dateline continues. t. they are not part of the official uniform. no tunes today? no. my apartment was robbed last night. took my cable ready tv, vcr, portable cassette player. yup. all the latest tech. if only progressive had renter's insurance

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josh mankiewicz (voiceover): it was a horrible, bloody scene. michelle mockbee's battered body was on the floor of the mezzanine at the thermo fisher warehouse, >> it was ead.a horrible, blood seen. michelle mockbee's battered body was on the floor of the mezzanine at the thermofisher warehouse, plastic bag over her head. bruce mcvay and everett stahl were the county sheriff detectives called to investigate. they saw the bloodstains in the hallway carpet, and concluded michelle had been dragged around the corner from her office. the office itself was locked,

there were fresh pry marks on the door. it looked like an attempted break-in. what was in that office than anybody would want? >> that is the mystery. >> while the detectives were trying to make sense of the crime scene, michelle's husband, dan, was still at home. coworkers had started reaching out to him but all they told him was that there had been some kind of incident at the warehouse. >> that is when i started getting nervous. >> rushed to the warehouse. to detectives, he might've been the victims loving husband, or the perpetrator of an incredibly violent crime. right now, they did not know much. after he was escorted inside, dan took the initiative with detective stahl. >> i looked at him i said excuse me, officer. my wife works here. i really need to know that she's all right and that is when he told me that she was deceased. >>'s reaction was pretty excruciating to watch. i still had to press on and i still had to move forward with

looking at him as a possible suspect. >> when police asked you where you were at the time your wife was killed -- >> i was doing what most sensible people are doing at 6:00 in the morning if they don't have to get up and go to work. i was sleeping. it's not a very good alibi, but it is the only one i had. >> detectives asked them to go to the sheriff station to take a lie detector test. you agreed to take the polygraph. >> yes, sir. that was a scary thing. >> because of it goes wrong, all of a sudden there is a case against you. >> right. it was nerve-racking. >> but, down past the polygraph, and for detectives, that was enough. apparently this time, the husband didn't do it. with dan cleared, detectives decided to focus on everyone who was at the warehouse that morning. it turned out 13 employees were working the regular shifts when michelle was killed. detectives interviewed all 13.

>> with each person i talked to, there is no blood, there is no evidence they've been involved in anything. >> so, if it is one of these people you are interviewing, they have disguised it well. there was nothing suspicious about any of the 13 interviews so detectives started methodically digging through other evidence, starting with thermofisher 's security camera footage and right away, they spotted something unusual that happened the morning of the murder. a vehicle in the parking lot not entering, but leaving around the back of the building. detectives matched to the truck to its owner, david dooley, the janitor, and one of the workers who found michelle's body. >> david dooley truck is seen leaving the parking lot at 6:31 that morning. >> right after the murder. >> that's right. >> the security tape showed dooley returning to the warehouse around 7:30 a.m. detective mcvay thought it was

odd dooley had not mentioned that when they first spoke. they needed to speak with dooley again, so he went to the apartment he shared with his wife, janet, and dooley was not surprised to see them. before detective mcvay even brought it up, dooley told him he had gone home the morning of the murder. mcvay recorded the conversation. >> i came back here. i get a hold of my wife and what came home to make sure she was okay. >> yesterday you didn't tell me you left. >> i didn't think about that. >> detective stahl also questioned david's wife, janet, separately to see if she would tell the same story. this conversation would prove critical to the entire case. what she said is in dispute because a part of the recording is hard to hear. >> was the first time you saw dave after he left? >> he came home.

>> yeah. >> asked her specifically if dave ever came home that morning , and she says no. >> to detective stahl and detective mcvay, janet dooley had just contradicted her husband story, so please questioned her again about that trent -- apparent discrepancy. >> you told the other detective that he didn't come home that day. >> i did? >> janet seemed surprised. she told police that david did in fact come home, and the reason she offered raised more questions for investigators. >> he said he ripped another pair of pants so he had to come home and just you know, grab a pair of pants. >> janet's statements were not helping her husband's cause. david dooley never said anything about ripped pants to police. adding to the confusion, detectives spoke with

thermofisher employee joe seger who said he talked with dooley that's morning. >> according to joe, he made a point of coming over to say he had to go home because he ripped his pants. >> dooley was adamant he never said that to figure and did not rip his pants that day, but the differing stories about why he came home placed a bull's-eyes warily and david dooley's back. >> we started working on a search warrant for the residence and for the truck. >> you actually execute those search warrants and find no buddy clothing, nothing taken from the crime scene, some kind of murder weapon? >> no. >> no buddy close, no weapon, but david dooley was the only employee who left the warehouse on the morning michelle mockbee was killed, and there were witnesses contradicting dooley's account of why he left that morning. on september 27, 2012, the

boone county sheriff's department made its move. david dooley was arrested and charged with the murder of his coworker, michelle mockbee. case closed? not by a long shot. the david dooley trial would expose secrets, tarnish the reputation of law enforcement, and have michelle's family question if justice would ever be served. >> david dooley was in the middle of breaking into her office when she came up the steps and surprised him. >> a break-in? what was he after? >> that feels like a thin motive. >> when dateline continues. wh

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): michelle mockbee's favorite color had always been red. since her death, her family has worn red in her honor, and that's what they did in october 2014 when they flowed into this kentucky courthouse >> from one's favorite color had always been read. since her death, her family has worn redrial in her honor, and is what they did in october 2014 when they flowed into this kentucky courthouse for david dooley's trial. >> on may the 29th, 2012, dan lost the love of his life and two little girls lost her mother. at the hands of a man who could not even keep his story straight from one day to the

next. >> prosecutor linda tally smith knew she did not have a perfect case. there were no fingerprints, no dna, so she told jurors they would not hear about any smoking guns, but they would hear david dooley's own words, which made him the last man standing in the detectives' process of elimination. >> it was through this process they kept turning back to one person, the defendant, david dooley. >> jurors heard that almost all employees working on the morning of the murder were on the warehouse floor, far from the upstart office area for michelle was killed. they were eliminated as suspects. >> we were able to create a time record of where everybody was, and what they were doing at different points during the morning. >> and, where was david dooley ? the jury got to see dooley on security video from that morning. >> the defendant actually left that building that day at 6:31 a.m., which was about a half an hour after michelle walked into the building. >> the prosecutor showed the

jury a photo of fresh pry marks on michelle's office door and said they were a crucial clue that helped explain the murder. >> our belief has always been that david dooley was in the middle of breaking into her office when she came up the steps and surprised him and ultimately, she was assaulted and restrained. >> because she was witness to a crime in process? >> the medical examiner said something was -- michelle was bludgeoned with something similar to an industrial packing tape gun so after such a violent attack, why was no blood evidence ever found on david dooley and i wasn't any of the dna found at the scene a match to his? the prosecutor argued the janitor worked everyday with cleaning supplies and plastic bags. together, perfect for removing evidence of a crime. >> at the time david dooley attacked michelle in the hallway, what did he have with him? a rolling crime scene cleanup cart with a trash bag in the

middle of it. it is my personal belief that when he left that building, he took with him a bag containing all of the evidence that was missing from the scene. >> a cover-up so spotless only a janitor could manage it, so the prosecutor. it was only his story, she said, that was a mess. >> it's very hard for a person to explain how they can tell the same story twice, and in these circumstances, we have four separate statements from him. >> detective mcvay testified it was only in dooley's second interview at his apartment that he mentioned leaving work and going home. >> what time did you come back here? >> 6:30. i couldn't get a hold of my wife. >> his wife, janet, said david did come home to change a pair of ripped pants. >> he had to come home and just get a pair of pants. >> it sounds like an all by, except david dooley adamantly denied doing that.

>> you didn't rip your pants? >> no. >> okay. >> when defense attorneys got their turn, they talked about all the hard evidence the state did not have. >> dna evidence, murder weapon, blood evidence, marks on david dooley. >> dooley never testified in front of the jury but he did talk to dateline about the case against him and his story that different from his wife's. >> you say you went home to check on your wife. they talk to your wife and she says she came home because he tore his pants and he came home to change his pants, so what is the truth and why can't you and your wife agree on the same story? >> we do agree that i came home. >> did you go home to change your pants? >> no, i did not. >> why would your wife say you did? >> we've talked about that a couple of times and the only thing we can come up with is

she didn't hear me properly. >> janet dooley has serious hearing problems, and on the day of the murder, she says she only saw a pair of ripped pants in the house, and thought that is why david said he came home. >> so, a person that cannot hear, they put things together themselves through their eyes, and i did. >> dave did not change his clothes and dave did not change his story. >> the feds also stress that dna was found on michelle's body and belongings in at least five different places, and none of that was a conclusive match to david dooley or anyone else. >> we heard testimony there were many unknown dna profiles. one of these profiles might've been the killer. >> the defense noted that something had set off the warehouse alarm system just three days before the murder. >> and you think that significant? >> yes. it is significant. that means someone could've gained access to thermofisher. >> after both sides presented

their cases, it was time for closing arguments. >> no one could think of any reason to kill michelle mockbee, so what reason would david dooley have to kill michelle mockbee? >> but, it was only after the defense had wrapped up its closing that the prosecutor gave her answer to that question, laying out her theory of motive for the first time. >> i would suggest to you that the evidence is right in that stack of stuff. you have invoices. >> you think the motive was the timecards? >> yes. i believe michelle had discovered the fact that he had actually been triple dipping by clucking himself in, clocking his wife in, and getting paid hourly to get a job that they were already been paid monthly to do. sometimes desperate people do desperate things. >> was david dooley desperate enough to commit murder over falsified timecards? they would be up to the jury to decide.

>> coming up, a verdict from the jury, but the real stunner was what came after. >> you are not controlling this anymore. >> the prosecutor turned witness and the case turned upside down. >> they lie, they cheat. that is what they do. >> after everything that has come out, you think they got the right guy? >> when dateline continues. >> when dateline continues. but this is a not flash. for moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms due to menopause... ...veozah is the first and only prescription treatment that directly blocks a source of hot flashes and night sweats. with 100% hormone-free veozah... ...you can have fewer hot flashes... ...and more not flashes. veozah reduces the number and severity of hot flashes day and night. don't use veozah if you have cirrhosis, severe kidney problems, kidney failure, or take cyp1a2 inhibitors. increased liver blood test values may occur.

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welcome back to dateline. i am andrea canning. david dooley was on trial for the murder of his coworker, michelle mockbee. there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime but in her closing argument, the prosecutor laid out a provocative theory suggesting david killed michelle because she thought he was falsifying his timecards. the jury was about to render its verdict, but the twists in this case were just getting started. here again is josh mankiewicz with the early shift. >> after waiting a full day without hearing a verdict, michelle mockbee's siblings were on pins and needles. >> the first day comes and goes and there's no verdict. were you guys worried at all? >> yes, it was pretty agonizing waiting. >> then, after delivering for some 16 hours over two days, word came from the jury. >> we the jury find the defendant guilty.

>> guilty for the murder of michelle mark b. -- michelle mockbee. >> i did not. i did not kill her. >> david dooley was sentenced to life in prison. he filed an appeal. >> you know getting convictions reversed on appeal is a longshot. >> but, when you're innocent, it does happen and it will happen. >> dooley was right, it was not over. two years after his conviction, a whistleblower came forward to reveal a secret romance between detective bruce mcvay and prosecutor linda tally smith. the scandal rocked the prosecutor's office and would lead to serious questions about david dooley's conviction. brian hamrick covered the scandal. >> all of the information about

the personal conversations between the prosecutor, linda tally smith and billy detective, bruce mcvay, all of their correspondence, all of that comes out. >> the jaw-dropping headlines said the affair between the prosecutor and the lead detective began weeks after the trial. at a hearing in march of 2017, the prosecutor and the detective, both instrumental in putting dooley behind bars, found themselves on the hot seat being grilled by dooley's new attorney, deanna dennison. >> are you telling me you did not have a sexual relationship with her? >> we were friends. >> you are under oath. >> we were friends. >> did you have a sexual relationship with her? are you denying that? >> i don't think it's any of your business.

>> i'm asking you when you're under oath. she will testify. tell me what it is your answer is. >> i just said yes. >> okay. thanks, simple. >> it was a sensational courtroom drama, but the issue for the dooley trial was not the affair. it was an 18 page letter in which the prosecutor blasted the detective, who was by then her former lover, as an outright liar both personally and professionally. she ended up reading her own scathing words into the court record. >> now that i know what a complete liar you are, i'm going to grapple with ethical issues with every case in which you were involved. >> she said she was upset because mcveigh did not tell her what was on a thermofisher security video he had come across. dooley's attorney continued reading from that letter. >> not to mention the fact that you allowed me to go through a complete murder trial without telling me the truth about the video and now that i know it , what am i going to do now?

>> that one message from linda tally smith to bruce mcvay really tells a story, doesn't it? >> yes, and that may be the most damning paragraph of the entire trove of information. >> the video in question shows a man outside the thermofisher building. police call him the random dude. >> it's a little hard to tell exactly what he is doing, but he is on the property where a warm and -- woman is murdered brutally and 10 hours later we don't know who he is. >> the prosecutor says the defense was given this video but defense attorneys say they never saw it and were never told about the random dude. >> that would've been in our closing. our whole defense was he didn't do it, so if we can point to unknown individuals that were trying to gain access to the building, that would definitely have been used. >> remember, linda tally smith

said she did not know about the man on the video during the trial but finally learned about him from detective mcvay afterwards but then she did nothing. >> she didn't go to the judge, she didn't go to the attorney general. she wrote a letter to bruce mcvay saying how could you do this to me? >> i get to live with the worry that someone on the defense side will find it at some point we will all lined up in trouble over it and the entire case will be tainted because of it. he wrote that. >> i did write that. >> in defense of her actions, smith testified she subsequently calmed down and never sent that letter and besides, she said, the video of the random dude was much ado about nothing. >> it doesn't constitute any evidence that someone got in that building. >> wouldn't have changed anything about the case? >> no, absolutely not. >> for his part, mcveigh said he didn't tell the prosecutor about the video because he was probably confident that was not the killer but after hearing

the testimony, the judge throughout david dooley's conviction. it was a stunning development, setting the stage for a new trial. david dooley would remain behind bars in the interim. >> they found out and he called me and he was relieved he was going to get another chance to prove his innocence. we still have a murderer out there and i'm not going to shop until he comes home. >> janet dooley was confident her husband would be found not guilty in a new trial because detective mcvay's viability was compromised after being branded a liar. michelle's sister said they were frustrated by the judge's

decision but it did not change their minds about david dooley skill. >> after everything that's come out, you think they got the right guy? >> we absolutely think they have the right guy. we have no doubt about that at all. >> nothing that has happened since the trial made you think maybe the jury was wrong? >> no. michelle deserves justice. we all deserve all this to be over with. >> seven long years after michelle mockbee was killed, both sides had to brace themselves for a new trial. >> this time, there would be a new prosecutor with a powerful new case. coming up, >> were his boots? we searched his house, his garage, his feet. >> missing boots, a suspicious screwdriver and those timecards. >> there are missing timecards. exactly 2. >> when dateline continues. th . and some lost over 46 pounds. ♪ ♪ and i'm keeping the weight off. wegovy® helps you lose weight and keep it off.

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choose acid prevention. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): as the second trial approached, michelle mockbee's daughter madelyn could see it weighing on her father. he had a little bit of closure, and then the second trial comes >> as the second trial approached, michelle mockbee's daughter, madeline, could see it waiting on her father. >> he had a little bit of closure and then the second trial comes and everything is wiped back out. >> while michelle's family was bracing for another trial, a lot had changed. prosecutor linda tally smith had lost her re-election bid and was now a potential witness, so the kentucky attorney general's office, and then attend the -- assistant ag jon heck took over the case. >> with every case i take i

review it and ask myself is this person guilty beyond doubt. whoever was there left. >> as for the video of the unidentified man, heck offered an explanation for why the so- called random dude didn't matter. >> knowing that this is what got the new trial granted, we wanted to hit that head-on. what that man did was actually throw something in the garbage can right beside the door. he was never identified. >> for heck, the heart of the cases that david dooley was the only one to leave the warehouse that morning. >> this was a bloody, violent murder. they would be covered in blood. there were no bloody clothes found on the scene. whoever did it left and we looked at the video camera. he's the only one who left. >> one of the things that could be covered in blood, do please steel toed work boots, required footwear at the warehouse.

detectives told heck dooley might well of got rid of its boots to cover up the crime. >> where are his boots? they searched the house, the garage, his feet, his truck and these were never found. >> so, did dooley leave work to check on his wife, or to get rid of bloody evidence. >> david dooley's statement is that he went home to check on his wife. you don't believe that? >> no. he was not texting her saying how are you doing and she was not texting back saying i feel bad. that communication never happened. >> david dooley did place one unanswered phone call to his wife that morning before going home. to heck, if dooley was concerned about his wife, he would've called more than once. heck also found the conflicting stories suspicious. it is her version of the story that you find more interesting? >> yes, because she is essentially covering up for a criminal. >> remember the disputed audio

of janet dooley talking to investigators the day after the murder? janet dooley denies ever saying her husband did not come home that morning, and she accuses detectives of manipulating her words and ignoring her hearing problems. but, heck points to another interview with everett stahl several weeks later in which janet seems to admit saying her husband never came home. >> i've been spending the last few days reviewing all of the interviews we have done with you. and i said, when dave left for work that morning, what is the very first time that you saw him, after he left for work? and you said, when you guys let him go that afternoon.

>> that is how i remembered it. >> so, the second time they went over her first statement with her and said you told is this, this, and this and she said that's how i remembered it. she said the exact same thing, and that is that david dooley did not come home. >> prosecutor heck acknowledges not knowing why david dooley would've wanted to break into michelle's office and why he would've killed her, but to heck, the fact that david dooley was double dipping on timecards and that michelle handled payroll and that the dooley's timecards from that week were never found were together just all too suspicious to ignore. >> as we sit here today, we have never found david and janet dooley's timecards from that week. so, there are missing timecards. exactly 2. >> would michelle have had those with her that morning? >> she may have gathered them up. she may have. >> heck emphasized the screwdriver was found in david

dooley's locked janitors closet, a screwdriver the same size and with similar markings as the prime marks on michelle mockbee's office. >> what are the odds that in this situation, the screwdriver is a different screwdriver? >> the screwdriver, like much of the case, was circumstantial. hex response, there was simply too much circumstantial evidence to ignore. >> at some point, a coincidence is not a coincidence. at some point, it is just overwhelming evidence of guilt. >> no, after years of waiting for their second chance at a trial, david dooley's defense team was ready to make the case, and at the top of their list of alternate suspects was michelle's husband. >> no alibi. the police did not even bother to take his phone.

>> coming up, new questions about michelle's husband and all that insurance money. what would the verdict be this time? >> right away, your heart just pounding. >> i was terrified. >> when dateline continues. te >> when dateline continues. it's tough to breathe and tough to keep wondering if this is as good as it gets. but trelegy has shown me that there's still beauty and breath to be had. because with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open and prevents future flare-ups. and with one dose a day, trelegy improves lung function so i can breathe more freely all day and night. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur.

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because advil targets pain at the swelcome back.ammation. david dooley was back in court, charged once again with the murder of his coworker, michelle mockbee. this time, there was a new prosecutor and new evidence, welcome back to.'s

david dooley was back in court charged again with the murder of his coworker, michelle mockbee. this time, there was a new prosecutor and new evidence including a screwdriver found in david's locker that marched private -- matched pry marks on michelle's office door. now, it was the defenses turned and they would come out swinging. >> david dooley had waited five years for a second chance in court. >> let go of the jury, david dooley did not kill michelle mockbee. >> his new attorneys, deanna dennison and jeff lawson, were eager to present their new evidence to a jury. >> there is no evidence of the random person i wanted to introduce. >> rules of evidence prevented defense attorneys from introducing linda tally smith's letters in court but what they did have this time around was the random dude video that had

led to the overturned conviction. >> we have an entire first trial in this case conducted on the fact that this was a fairly secure building. what the walking man shows is that that is not true. >> to the defense, that was just one of the alternate suspects ignored by detectives. >> everything that was done from the moment they saw that surveillance tape was in an effort to convict david as opposed to make sure they had the right person. >> the defense brought up other warehouse employees who they said were not thoroughly investigated. they focused on michelle's husband, dan. the money he received for michelle's life insurance policy. >> we started seeing cash withdrawals, 10,000, 20,000, 14,000. that suggests something is wrong. $409,000 of cash withdrawals? could he be paying somebody? i don't know. >> that feels like you are throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.

>> yes, i am. it's all reasonable doubt. >> prosecutors, detectives and michelle's family all agreed that dan mockbee had nothing to do with his wife's murder and on the stand, he said as much. >> did you have anything to do with hiring somebody to kill your wife? >> absolutely not. >> defense also questioned the state's theory of motive. >> you don't dispute that dave dooley was stealing. >> no. we think that he was, yes. >> you don't think he killed to cover that up? >> no. absolutely not. >> even though it would've meant the loss of his and his wife's job? >> are working to kill somebody? no. >> it had nothing to do with covering up the theft, theft for which we don't even know she knew about. >> the way she was bludgeoned, that's not from somebody just oh, shoot, she found out about it. you can spend the time to tape her legs up and dry girl over the top -- place? no, i don't think so. >> remember the steel toed boots the defense said whenever

found? they were found. they were not steel toed but the defense said dooley was not the only one to violate the footwear rules at thermofisher. in her closing argument, deanna dennison emphasized the circumstantial nature of the case against david dooley. >> it is not a question of did he maybe do it. did he probably do it, or could he have done it? maybe by process of elimination he's the only one that could've done it. that's not the standard. the standard is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he did it. and they have not shown that to you. >> now, once again, the case was in the hands of a jury. this time, it took seven hours. >> somebody said they have a verdict, so right away, your heart just starts pounding. >> i was terrified, going upstairs to sit in the courtroom. >> we the jury find the defendant david dooley guilty.

>> for the second time, david dooley was convicted of murdering michelle mockbee. >> what did your clients afterward? >> oh, no, not again. >> michelle's siblings had a very different reaction. >> when they read that guilty, it just felt everything just bam, release. lots of tears. lots of hugs. >> at the end of the day, this is a guilty man, and the jury rightfully found him guilty. >> david dooley maintains his innocence and remains silent at his second sentencing. >> he still says a mac and i confess to something i didn't do , even if it means that this judge could change my sentence, could give me a lower sentence, never going to admit to something that never happened. >> the judge sentenced david dooley to 43 years. it has been years since michelle's death, but she is still part of her daughters lives.

madelyn and carli say it is the little things that remind them of their mom. >> bon jovi will come on the radio and we will think of our mom and go to all kinds of concerts and she was just a fun person. >> everything i know about your mom makes me think she would've wanted you in a courtroom. she wouldn't have wanted you to hear about a murder trial. she wouldn't have wanted any of this to touch you at all. >> no. >> no, she would just want us to be like happy. >> maybe she will finally get her wish. >> yeah. yes. >> that is all for this edition of dateline. i am andrea canning. thank you for watching. rea can. thank you for watching. i'm craig melvin and this is dateline. >> my father always told me