it's important we are here now entering the work for our democracy and our future. >> nobody can afford not to be engage right you. >> that is the wrap on msnbc live democracy 2024. to those tuning in, we will see you at the next one. ext one. hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline.": ma. ok. we are-- robin owens: oh, god. oh, god. operator: ma'am. i just knew that she was gone.

narrator: she was a bright, young mom-to-be. she was beautiful. confident, strong. it was the smile that really got me. narrator: moving on from a messy divorce, jumping into a new romance. no one could believe it when they found her. they're saying it was a homicide. narrator: then, police found something else-- revealing recordings. brittany eldridge: everything changed-- like, instantly. it's weird. brittany's essentially speaking from the grave. you could see the emotions that she went through. narrator: could she point police to her killer? i'm in shock and scared to death. all at once, just in a flash, her life just changed. [theme music playing] hello, and welcome to dateline. it started with a little flirtation in the office and bloomed into a full-blown romance. problem was, brittany eldridge was married to another man.

then, brittany found out she was pregnant. and it was just weeks before her due date that tragedy struck. investigators would quickly home in on the two men in brittany's life-- but was either capable of murder? here's andrea canning with deadly circumstances. andrea canning: imagine all of your phone conversations being recorded for posterity. how would you feel? what secrets would they tell? man: why are you talking like you're trying to hide something? andrea canning: this story begins here, at a suburban office outside knoxville, tennessee. looks a lot like any office in america. but when workers here talked on their desk phones, every word was captured. woman: she always looks like she's about to kill somebody. andrea canning: and oh, the stories they told-- unfiltered and intimate, with details about office romances. woman: oh my god, he was so hot.

andrea canning: and in one heartbreaking case, maybe even clues about a murder. woman: this was a real whodunnit. andrea canning: norman clark loves sports. his mother estella says he was a top athlete, and a good son, too. he was a loving, hard worker, caring person. andrea canning: as a boy, norman had dreams of playing in the nba, then studied sports management in college. but by his mid-20s, he was working here, vanderbilt mortgage and finance. 23-year-old brittany eldridge started there the very same day. she was beautiful, but it was the smile that really got me. andrea canning: that winning smile got to a lot of people. brittany's big brother jeffrey says she embraced life with a contagious enthusiasm. jeffrey eldridge: she liked to cheerlead, and she liked to play soccer. she was a girly girl and a tomboy at the same time.

she was really big about living in the moment. andrea canning: at vanderbilt mortgage, norman and brittany were collectors, calling people to make sure they kept up with their house payments. what was it about brittany that you formed this instant connection with? she was very good at the job, so i actually used her as a tool, at first, to teach me. so she helped me out a lot. and that's when we started talking more and more about different things other than work. and what do you think she liked about you? i think she liked that i listened, that i actually cared about what she had to say. so it was just strictly platonic. you know, strictly friends. but then it just developed more, probably eight months later. andrea canning: it developed a lot more. they became lovers, and that's when things got complicated. norman was single, but brittany, it turns out, was married. her husband was a man named terry eldridge, a truck driver who drove his rig at night. what did she tell you about her marriage? she was happy, but she wanted children, and he did not.

were there any other issues, or was that the only one? they didn't spend a lot of time together because of their work schedule. she worked during the day. he worked at night. so they didn't see each other a lot. andrea canning: a married woman having an affair with a co-worker-- not exactly the script for a fairy-tale romance. so for obvious reasons, norman and brittany kept their relationship on the down-low. we never went out in public, you know, out to eat or anything like that, maybe one time. andrea canning: but if colleagues could have heard their recorded interoffice phone calls, they would have discovered some suggestive, flirty banter. brittany eldridge: i could use your big, strong, manly muscles. norman clark: man, you know, we all could. [laughter] andrea canning: more than a year after their affair started, norman and brittany were still keeping things quiet. then, in february 2011, their secret affair became not-so-secret. brittany's husband found out, and not long after, she moved out and a divorce was in the works.

did things start to get a little too serious and real? actually, i don't know, because she didn't even come to me and tell me they were getting a divorce. she just told me that she was moving out, and that he had found out that we had been having an affair. andrea canning: not long after moving out, brittany delivered some unexpected news to her mother, robin. she was pregnant, and the father was her co-worker, norman clark. when brittany told you that she was having a child with norman, what did you think? uh, kind of shocked, at first. surprised. didn't know how to feel. did you think it was a mistake? or were you just-- it's a blessing to have a baby? it was a blessing to her. and so, i guess when the shock wears off, you're just happy for her. and you're just there to do whatever you can to support her. andrea canning: norman says the baby certainly wasn't planned. but he says brittany was still his best friend, and he took the whole thing in stride. i was happy for her because i knew she wanted to have a baby.

but at the time, she was still married. this is starting to get a little messy. got a baby, she's now divorcing her husband, who found out about you. well, i wouldn't say it was messy. it was complicated. andrea canning: this wouldn't be norman's first experience with parenthood. a year earlier, he had a baby girl with a nashville woman he'd been seeing. norman helped to support his daughter, and says he was ready to do the same for brittany. what's it like for you, being a father? is that something that you cherish? it's the best thing in the world. i've become a better man, a better person. and i worked hard to become a better parent for her. had you always wanted more kids? yes. andrea canning: brittany was excited about becoming a mother, and thrilled to learn she was having a boy. she even picked out a name for the baby? she did. what was the name? zeke. ezekiel. robin owens: she was just working, and being happy about the baby, and waiting for it to come, and getting things ready for it. andrea canning: brittany decided to keep working

for as long as she could. december 13, 2011, was just two weeks away from her due date. it's a day her friend and co-worker andrea ray will never forget. brittany uncharacteristically was late for work. andrea ray: she should have been there at 8:30. i was one of the only people that knew anything about norman. i went over there to norman's desk, and i said, can you get in touch with brittany's mom? so i called her and asked if she had heard from brittany, and she said she hadn't, so she'd go check on her. was your first thought that, oh my gosh, maybe brittany has gone into labor? it was. that was-- i think everybody's first instinct was, oh, she went into labor, and she's in the hospital having the baby. andrea canning: robin went to brittany's apartment to be sure her daughter was ok. but when she called norman. it wasn't happy news about a new baby. it was a very frightening phone call. she was very upset, and she was crying.

and i'll never forget how she sounded on the phone. andrea canning: robin was frantic, and her world was about to be turned upside-down. robin is about to make a disturbing discovery inside her daughter's apartment. narrator: coming up-- robin owens: oh, my god. operator: what? ma'am, what? i ran out of the apartment, because i'm scared, and the 911 operator said, go back in there. robin owens: oh, god. please send something. operator: ma'am. ok. we are. robin owens: oh, god. oh, god. operator: ma'am, hold on, honey. hold on. all at once, just in a flash, her life just changed. narrator: when dateline continues. [coughing] copd isn't pretty. i'm out of breath, and often out of the picture. but this is my story. ( ♪♪ ) and with once-daily trelegy, it can still be beautiful. because with 3 medicines in 1 inhaler,

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andrea canning: robin owens will never now with vitamin d forget the day she learned her pregnant daughter, brittany, did not show up for work. it was unusual for her, because she always showed up, even if she didn't feel good. she would be there. so i just knew something was wrong. andrea canning: her fear became a terrifying reality the moment she stepped into her daughter's unlocked apartment. the whole place is just a mess, and i don't see her anywhere. and i'm calling out for her, and i'm scared to death. andrea canning: without taking another step, she called 911. robin owens: i've got an emergency. operator: what is it? robin owens: um, my daughter-- um, her work just called me. and i came over to her apartment,

and it looks like it's been trashed. i ran out of the apartment, because i'm scared, and the 911 operator-- she said, you know, go back in there and see if you can find her. andrea canning: inside the front door, seen here in this police video, robin saw brittany's new flat screen tv lying on the floor. robin owens: oh my god. operator: what? ma'am, what? andrea canning: next to the living room couch, the scattered contents of her purse. then, robin heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. robin owens: oh, god. operator: ma'am, talk to me. so i had been everywhere except for the bedroom. and there was back in the back, and i didn't want to go in there. and i get to the doorway of the bedroom, and i just got a glimpse of her. and i just knew that she was gone. robin owens: she's in the floor, dead. operator: are you sure? don't-- robin owens: she's-- she's naked.

oh, my god. operator: in where? what room? robin owens: in her bedroom. operator: ok. robin owens: oh, god. please send something. operator: ma'am. ok. we are. robin owens: oh, god. oh, god. operator: ma'am. hold on, honey. hold on. i ran straight out of the apartment. and by this time, the ambulance, and police, and fire department, and all the emergency crews are coming. andrea canning: robin was in shock. the pain was more than she could bear. at the scene, a police cruiser's dash cam captured an officer trying to console her. robin owens: oh, god. i just can't believe this happened. why did it happen? why? it's the worst horror a mother could ever have to witness. it is. and you wouldn't thinking anything like that would happen in a million years. and all at once, just in a flash, your life just changed. andrea canning: brittany eldridge had been strangled and stabbed in the throat. police found her on the floor next to her bed, her naked body partially covered by lingerie. she was just 25 years old. the unborn boy she had named zeke was gone, too.

after the shock has worn off, you must be thinking, who did this? i'm thinking, how in the world could somebody murder a young lady that's eight and a half months pregnant? you know, how could somebody be so cruel? i'm thinking, why? that's a question that's never answered, is why? were you the one who broke the news to jeffrey? yes. that must have been extremely difficult. it was very hard. andrea canning: jeffrey, brittany's older brother, was at the gym. when i got back to my locker, and i got my phone, i had, like, 40 missed calls or something. she said, somebody killed your sister. did you immediately ask, who did this? i never thought about it. andrea canning: all jeffrey could think about was that brittany was gone-- the kid sister who had always filled him with pride. she often talked about becoming a mom. now, that dream would never be realized, and in its place would be a murder investigation.

it was a very closed-off scene that they had. of course, crime scene tape around. andrea canning: when reporter jamie satterfield of the knoxville news sentinel heard about a body being found, she went straight to the scene. are police talking to you? are they telling you anything about what's inside? no. the major crimes folks came later, as did the crime scene folks. andrea canning: what investigators found was a ransacked apartment, suggesting a burglary that was interrupted and had turned violent. in fact, there had been a series of burglaries in the area in recent days. for jamie satterfield, there were things to speculate about in those early moments, but nothing concrete to report. other than just hunches and all that, we just didn't have anything to go on. did you have an open mind, as to the scenarios of what might have happened, who could have done this? i didn't focus in on any one person. i just wanted to know who did it, and why.

yeah, i never had a specific person in mind that could have done it. i didn't have a clue. andrea canning: there weren't many clues. but there were so many questions. and in this case, there would be no easy answers. narrator: coming up-- norman clark: that was my baby, man. officer: i understand. norman clark: my family's out there. officer: i understand. norman clark: i can't--i'm sitting in the back of a police car-- officer: look, look-- norman clark: i can't even grieve. narrator: the father-to-be, from grief to disbelief, when dateline continues. announcer what if you could whiten your teeth by simply brushing your teeth? now you can with smileactives, the teeth whitening breakthrough that safely gets your teeth white and keeps them white every day just by brushing your teeth. christine i never thought that whitening my teeth could be so easy. i just put the gel on the brush, the toothpaste on it, brush and i can see my white teeth. announcer simply add smileactives to any toothpaste, and our patented polyclean technology activates into a powerful micro foam

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beforeandrea canning: when, norman clark heard about brittany eldridge's murder, he left work and rushed to the scene. what's going through your mind as you're racing to brittany's apartment? that it's not real. that this wasn't going on. this wasn't really happening. when i got there, there was police officers there. so i pulled up to her apartment. i parked right in front and jumped out of the car, and i was heading into the apartment. andrea canning: here's norman at that exact moment, captured on a police dash cam. norman clark: that's-- that's my-- my baby. officer: ok. ok. ok. ok. andrea canning: what did you say to that police officer? i told him that that was my baby that was in there. i needed to get in there. i was thinking that the baby could still be born. that was what was going through my mind the whole time. andrea canning: norman says officers blocked him from entering the apartment, and in a matter of minutes,

they had him in the back of this police cruiser. norman clark: i'm in trouble? officer: no, sir. you're not in trouble. no, sir-- norman clark: so, tell me more, please. just update me, because i'm really confused right now. andrea canning: the police were asking questions, and so was norman. norman clark: so you're telling me this is normal? officer: yes, sir. this is protocol, sir. norman clark: but why for me? officer: you're the boyfriend. norman clark: and i sat there for a while-- i'd say probably for an hour. i was in the back of the car. did you wonder why you were sitting in the back of the car for so long? i was. and i understood that they wanted to ask me questions. i just didn't understand why i was sitting in the back of the police car, and being treated like that. i was just going to ask you-- how were you treated? to me, i felt like i was treated unfairly, especially voluntarily answering every question. i feel they just automatically did jump to a rush of judgment on who i was, you know, for showing up there. officer: we have to talk to the people that know her, because we have to figure out what-- what's going on there. norman clark: that was my baby, man. officer: i understand. norman clark: my family's out there. officer: i understand. norman clark: i can't--

i'm sitting in the back of a police car. i can't even grieve, or do anything, because i'm so worried about-- i don't even know what's going on. i'm devastated that this happened to my friend and my child. did you start to think, maybe i should get a lawyer? norman clark: no. the fact that the tone they're taking with me-- no, ma'am. why not? there was no reason for me to have a lawyer. i was innocent, and i was answering every question that they wanted to know. andrea canning: detectives had more questions for norman, downtown at police headquarters. detective: you have the right to consult with a lawyer, and have a lawyer present with you while you're being questioned. andrea canning: he didn't ask for a lawyer there, either. detective: i just want to make sure that you're still willing to talk to me. norman clark: yeah. andrea canning: norman says he had nothing to hide, and tried to be helpful. he told detectives he did have plans to see brittany the night she was killed, but ended up going straight home after work, and then spent the night with a friend. he gave police his phone, said they could search his car, and when they wanted dna from him-- detective: i'd like to get a, uh-- a saliva sample from you. norman clark: ok. andrea canning: he let them take a sample immediately.

that night, detectives drove norman to his house to collect the clothes he wore the night before. then, it was back to headquarters for another round of questioning. it had been a very long day. norman felt he'd cooperated every step of the way, but by now, he'd reached the end of his rope. norman clark: i'll give you anything you want. i've given you everything. detective: and we appreciate that. we appreciate your cooperation. andrea canning: detectives spent hours with norman that day. but after that second interview, he was released. norman was relieved. but there would be tough days ahead. crowd: (singing) --how sweet the sound-- andrea canning: just one day later, he attended a candlelight memorial vigil for brittany. - how were you received at those vigils? oh, with open arms from the whole family. you know, they knew that i had just lost two people that i loved, also. andrea canning: brittany's family buried her a few days later, still not knowing who was responsible, or even who would want to harm her.

of course, there was someone police knew they needed to look at-- the man brittany had recently divorced, terry eldridge. brittany was 17 years younger than terry. she was only 22 when they got married. it wasn't long before their marriage was in trouble. jeffrey owens: really, it started to fall apart because she was getting antsy, and just really wanted to have a family, and kind of settle down, you know? and he was just out driving a truck all the time. you know, she just kind of felt like this is not right for me anymore, like, you know, like it used to be. andrea canning: the final straw was when terry found out brittany was having an affair with her co-worker, norman clark, and was pregnant with his baby. given that basket of facts, the police investigating brittany's murder knew it was time for a talk with her ex-husband. narrator: coming up-- investigators uncover secrets from brittany's life-- brittany eldridge: everything changed. it-- like, instantly.

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hi, i'm richard lui with a news update. hezbollah confirming its leader hassan nasrallah was killed in an israeli strike. they continued strikes across lebanon saturday while iran praxis launched retaliatory missiles into israel from lebanon and yemen. hurricane helene is killed by the 50 leaving millions without power crosses southeast. allene made landfall as a category 4 in the big ben region of florida thursday. the strongest storm to strike that area. and now back to dateline. i'm craig melvin. brittany eldridge had been found dead in her apartment, and police immediately questioned her lover, norman clark.

he gave them his dna and his full cooperation, but he had not shared everything. norman had a secret, one police would soon discover. now, it was time to question the other man in brittany's life-- her ex-husband, terry eldridge. once again, here's andrea canning with deadly circumstances. andrea canning: after more than two decades covering murder investigations, reporter jamie satterfield knew this one was a no-brainer. the husband who discovered his wife was having another man's baby was someone detectives needed to investigate. did you wonder immediately about brittany's ex-husband? you know, the ex-husband is always your first suspect. their divorce had not been very pleasant. it was a little bit ugly. andrea canning: so detectives questioned brittany's ex-husband, terry eldridge. terry was looked at by the police. they did take a dna sample. and it did cross my mind-- what if terry did do this? you know, you have to think about all

the different possibilities. you know, could this person have done this? would they have done it? what would have been their reason to do it? andrea canning: but when the results of terry's dna test came back from the lab, it didn't match samples from the crime scene. police also found out he was nowhere near brittany's apartment at the time of the murder. his alibi was airtight. he really ended up not being much of a player in the case once they ruled him out. andrea canning: eldridge was cleared of any wrongdoing. norman clark had been questioned and released, too. if police had any leads, they were holding them close. i was curious why they were being so particularly tight-lipped about it. i think my primary concern was that this was just a case that was going to get shelved. andrea canning: that's exactly what brittany's family feared most, too-- that she, and the baby she was carrying, would be forgotten. we are her voice. we have to keep her memory alive.

andrea canning: a full year passed. then, two-- with no arrests. but investigators were still working the case, in part because they heard from someone with inside information, someone unexpected-- the victim herself. brittany eldridge: vanderbilt. this is brittany. can i help you? andrea canning: remember, brittany's employer recorded every call she made on company phones. it was done for quality control-- but now, investigators could listen to her conversations, and those calls explained a lot about her relationship with norman clark. friend: how are things going with you? brittany eldridge: um, well, very odd with norman. andrea canning: brittany's conversations with friends made it clear-- the oddness with norman began the day she told him she was pregnant. brittany eldridge: he was emailing me like normal. and then, as soon as i told him, everything changed. it-- like, instantly.

friend: wussy. brittany eldridge: yeah, i mean-- it's weird. andrea canning: andrea ray, a close work friend, says brittany often gave her an earful about norman. andrea ray: i think that she had hopes that he would respond, you know, to her pregnancy in a positive way, and that that would somehow bring them together. but that was not the response that she got. brittany eldridge: i can't take the wishy-washy, like, bi-polarism. you know, i don't know if, on a daily basis, he's, like, thinking about all this. i mean, how can you not, for one thing? andrea ray: he's a guy. that's why not. [laughter] andrea canning: brittany was still in love with norman, and pregnant with his child. she seemed desperate to figure out her future as a mother, and how norman would fit into her life. norman, to put it mildly, was not acting like he was ready for a commitment. norman clark: hey, what's up? how you doing? woman: i'm great. andrea canning: investigators had access to all of norman's

recorded work calls, too. they were very revealing. friend: you know, i wanted to ask you, uh, you ever get with, uh-- norman clark: oh, yeah. i banged that out last week. friend: did you really? norman clark: yeah. [laughter] yeah, yeah. that was only my second time seeing her. friend: congratulations, dude. norman clark: oh, thank you. thank you. friend: you're wild, man. you're wild, dude. andrea canning: norman, it turns out, was in other relationships at the same time he was with brittany. when we sat down with him, norman said he loves sex and women-- lots of women. how many women were you seeing at the time? maybe 15 to 20. [laughter] norman, that's a lot of women. i was single, and i'm a very friendly person. they knew that i was not looking for a relationship. so it was friends with benefits. how do you even meet that many ladies? through work. online dating sites. were you sleeping around with multiple co-workers? yes. did that ever get messy?

no, ma'am. seems a little odd that all these women were ok with you sleeping with all these other women. i wouldn't be ok with that. but maybe i'm old-fashioned. well, i mean, with the different women that i met, they accepted what it was. because i was honest upfront-- this is what i'm looking for. andrea canning: 15 to 20 different women at the same time? hard to believe brittany would be ok with that. and norman didn't quite fit the image of a playboy. to save money, he was living in his parents' basement, yet was still barely staying ahead of debt collectors, who would call him at work. debt collector: you're still due for september, october, and november. norman clark: for the-- for the payment? debt collector: yeah. andrea canning: investigators might have simply written off norman as a low-budget don juan-- except for this. three days before brittany was murdered, after months of ignoring her, norman suddenly showed an interest in her and their baby.

brittany eldridge: i'm trying to figure out this text norman sent me last night. he said, i'll be back sunday. stay pregnant till then. promise? and she said, what do you think that means? and i said, i have no idea. and she said, well, i guess he wants to be part of this baby's life. andrea ray: well, he doesn't get a trophy for that. brittany eldridge: no. [laughter] andrea canning: why the sudden interest? what was norman thinking? investigators believed an entry from brittany's diary provided a hint. she wrote that she planned to take norman to court to get child support for her baby. she knew that he had a child with someone else, and that he did participate, there. so while wouldn't he here? andrea canning: andrea says the night before the murder, she was on the phone with brittany, who was texting with norman at the same time. she says that he wants to meet monday after work, and i said, tell him no.

andrea canning: but brittany said yes. norman insists he blew off their date and did not go to her apartment monday, the night she was murdered. but her family didn't believe him. they'd grown very suspicious of norman, and wondered why police hadn't moved in on him. how frustrated were you that he was walking around? very frustrated. i even called the lead investigator at one point, and told him, if you don't come get him, i will take care of myself. were you being serious? oh, i was being dead serious. andrea canning: despite the family's frustration, the case was moving forward. and almost two and a half years after brittany was killed, prosecutors presented their evidence to a grand jury. they charged norman clark with the murders of both brittany and their unborn son. clark was arrested on may 14, 2014. he pleaded not guilty. norman clark: when you're arrested for something you didn't do, and then there's no evidence to even show that you should have been arrested, that's when

things really hit hard. that's when i really got scared. andrea canning: norman clark had reason to be scared. if convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. narrator: coming up-- they've taken a good, young man, and they've destroyed his life. narrator: norman clark on trial. and on the stand-- girlfriends. many, many girlfriends. but where was the evidence? he gave dna. he gave hair samples. they all came back negative. narrator: when dateline continues. if you have wet amd, you never want to lose sight of the things you love. some things should stand the test of time. long-lasting eylea hd could significantly improve your vision. more people on eylea hd had no fluid in the retina, compared to those on eylea at 4 months.

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ask your eczema specialist andrea canning: in august 2015, nearly four years after brittany eldridge's death, norman clark, a man who'd never been in trouble with the law, went on trial for murder in a knoxville, tennessee courtroom. how nervous were you, going into trial? your life's on the line, here. your future. i was extremely nervous and scared to death. andrea canning: the prosecution told the jury norman clark strangled and stabbed brittany because he didn't want her to have his baby. reporter jamie satterfield-- she believed it was the baby that was the target, that this baby was going to ruin norman's life. and so he killed brittany more to kill the baby, and she was collateral damage. prosecutor leslie nassios painted an ugly portrait of clark-- a man having trouble paying his bills,

a playboy trying to juggle relationships with more than a dozen women. leslie nassios: can you describe to the jury the nature of your, uh, relationship with him? i thought he was my boyfriend. i loved him with all my heart. andrea canning: the jury heard all about norman clark's prolific sex life as several of his lovers took the stand. leslie nassios: at some point, did your friendship with him become intimate? yes, ma'am. leslie nassios: i don't mean to embarrass you, but did he, uh, have a particular way of referring to, uh, a part of your anatomy? yes, ma'am. leslie nassios: in what way? what did he say? ownership. it was his. andrea canning: he must have been stretched so thin to be attentive to 15 different women. that is one of the reasons that the prosecution said he was just-- he broke. and now, here's this baby, and brittany's saying, i'm going to take you to court. andrea canning: next, the prosecution established a timeline to place clark at brittany's apartment

at the time she was killed. here's brittany leaving work at 8:05 pm. the medical examiner estimated her time of death as early as 8:30. an fbi cell phone expert testified that clark's phone pinged off a tower near brittany's apartment at 8:28, and again at 9:05. leslie nassios: we know where his phone was. it was in brittany eldridge's cell tower location during those critical times. andrea canning: remember, clark's alibi was that he was at a friend's house the night of the murder. that friend, leanne hawn, was actually one of his many girlfriends. clark was at leanne's that night, but her testimony seemed to shred his alibi. leslie nassios: your testimony is that he comes into your bedroom without calling you, without any notice, and you recognize the time as-- around 10:30. andrea canning: the prosecutor said if clark was at brittany's at 8:30, and arrived at leanne's two hours later, that gave him plenty of time to commit murder,

stage the crime scene to look like a burglary, and clean himself up. now, ladies and gentlemen-- andrea canning: after presenting a circumstantial case, the state rested. norman clark's defense attorney, greg isaacs, derided the state's case as all theory. they had no physical evidence, no eyewitnesses, no proof clark was a killer. he gave dna. he gave a statement. he gave hair samples. they all came back negative. andrea canning: the defense aggressively attacked the state's case and witnesses, starting with leanne hawn, the woman clark says he spent the night with. the question was, when did he get to her house? you have no idea, when you saw him at 10:35, as to what time he arrived, correct? leanne hahn: i do not. and you were asleep with your television on, correct? yes. andrea canning: the defense drove home the point-- since leanne was sleeping, her testimony about when clark arrived was meaningless. isaacs said clark actually arrived much earlier,

and watched monday night football alone before getting into bed. the defense argued there was no way clark could have committed a violent murder, cleaned himself up and the crime scene, staged a burglary, and then made it across town, all in less than an hour. andrea canning: the state's fbi expert said clark's cell phone signal placed him near brittany's apartment the night she was killed. the defense countered with its own expert, who said the state got it wrong. we had, uh, one of the nation's preeminent experts on this. he and the fbi agent testify against each other all over the country. it feels like this is almost one of those scenarios where the experts kind of cancel each other out. exactly. norman clark: i'll give you anything you want. andrea canning: it was a rush to judgment to pin the killing on norman clark, the defense said, claiming investigators overlooked the most obvious explanation for the crime-- the killer was a burglar who was caught in the act. greg isaacs: there were 12 break ins

that occurred within a three to four-week period in a very close proximity, and 10 of the 12 involved flat screen tvs. also, there was a break-in in that very same complex four days before the homicide of brittany eldridge, so-- very powerful. why not take the tvs? we don't know. maybe the person got startled. maybe they couldn't do this. that's law enforcement job, not mine. andrea canning: finally, the defense said there was powerful evidence to support the burglar theory that would prove norman clark's innocence-- irrefutable physical evidence. there were two unknown dna samples on the lingerie that covered brittney's body in her bedroom, where she was found murdered-- dna from an unknown male contributor, not from norman clark. all we have done, since day one, at 12:34, is focus on norman clark. andrea canning: as the trial drew to a close, defense attorney isaacs told the jurors to focus on the evidence, not norman clark's womanizing.

this is not a place for moral judgments. there's a guy upstairs that does that, uh, in a different court-- more majestic, at the end of the road. andrea canning: clark did not take the stand, but he says the state did not prove its case. the prosecutor said that you had the means, you had the opportunity, and you had the motive to kill brittany. and i feel all that is wrong. definitely far from the motive, because it doesn't make any sense. and the opportunity-- it's pretty much impossible. so. well. it's not impossible. to me, it seems impossible to get that done in that short span. officer: you're the boyfriend. norman clark: first suspect. andrea canning: the motive, from law enforcement's perspective, was very clear. you didn't want to be in a relationship. you didn't want this baby. you wanted it to go away, so you could continue to live your lifestyle. right. i don't understand how they could say that, when-- if you know my lifestyle, then you know that i love children.

i take care of my own child. and i wanted more children. well, there's the other side of your lifestyle, too-- that you're sleeping with 15 different women. right, which has nothing to do with the murder. andrea canning: during the trial, norman clark's mother was in the courtroom, supporting her son. as the jury started deliberations, she was anxious and bitter. they've taken a good young man, and they've destroyed his life. andrea canning: brittany's brother, jeffrey, was certain the jury would return the verdict he'd wanted so badly. i'd thought, 100%, we got this. there was no doubt whatsoever that they were going to come back and return a guilty verdict. andrea canning: but nobody on the outside really knows what happens in a jury room, and after deliberating for six hours, this jury gave up. they came close, but could not reach a unanimous verdict. the vote was 11 not guilty, only one guilty. at this point, i'm going to declare a mistrial

and disband this jury. they come back hopelessly deadlocked. and not only that, but it's 11 to 1 acquittal. right. you must have been just shell-shocked. devastated. just devastated. andrea canning: norman clark had been held in jail for 15 months since his arrest. he was released after his mistrial, but was still an accused murderer. do you feel like you have a cloud hanging over your head? oh, yes, ma'am. definitely. it's a huge, dark cloud above my head. andrea canning: that cloud would remain, because prosecutors decided they would try norman clark again. same charges, same evidence, same prosecutor. would it lead to a different outcome? narrator: coming up-- trial number 2. norman clark is a killer. you can destroy my character-- or try to-- but you still are not going to prove that i was guilty. narrator: when dateline continues. upset stomach iberogast indigestion iberogast bloating iberogast

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ask your child's eczema craig melvin: welcome back. did norman clark kill his lover, brittany eldridge, and their unborn son? after an eight-day trial, that question left the jury deadlocked, and the judge declared a mistrial. but prosecutors were determined to see norman behind bars, and so it was time for trial number 2. here, with the conclusion of deadly circumstances, is andrea canning. andrea canning: norman clark's second trial began in september 2017.

it had been six long years since brittany had been killed. trial 2 would play out a lot like trial 1, but with one big change-- clark had a new court-appointed lawyer, kit rodgers. what was your strategy, and was it going to be different from greg isaacs' strategy in the first trial? it didn't differ. d to me, when i looked at it, it looked like a burglary that was interrupted and went bad. andrea canning: prosecutor leslie nassios had been on the case from the very start. when baby zeke was born, clark was going to be exposed for exactly who he was. the birth of this baby threatened his way of life, and that his solution to that problem was murder. she was very emphatic that norman clark was not only guilty, but was kind of a sleazy human being. did you worry that the jury would just not like norman-- absolutely. --because of his lifestyle?

yes. that was a big worry, and we-- i addressed that from the very beginning, and all the way through. you'll hear a lot about sex. what i want you to pay attention to is the evidence. andrea canning: after six days of testimony, it all seemed to come down to norman clark, and what kind of man he is. you can't convict somebody of murder because you don't like the fact that he has sex with multiple partners. they did not prove their case. these murders were personal. strangulation is a personal type of killing. it is a killing that shows control, and a desire to control the victim. norman clark is a killer. he killed brittany eldridge. he killed his baby. andrea canning: those same arguments had led to a mistrial before. incredibly, when this jury got the case, it also came down to a lone holdout. only this time, the majority wanted to convict. we spoke to two jurors about their deliberations. the person who voted not guilty, who was not going to change their mind-- what was their issue?

we asked, and the response that was made is, i'm the smartest person in the room. yes. i have a phd. you guys are all ganging up on me. at that point, it became a very hostile room. yes. and we decided to call it. andrea canning: after four long days, they were hopelessly deadlocked-- another hung jury. you just wake up, and you wonder, why is this happening? you know, why is my baby sister not here? and why can people-- why can the people on the jury not see what i can see? our family can't keep going through these trials coming out with the same verdict. we can't do it. andrea canning: the family may not have to do it again. after six years and two trials, prosecutors said that was it. they decided to dismiss the charges against norman clark.

all they were worried about was trying to show the jury that i had a lot of women, i loved sex, and that i had bills to pay. that's it. you can restore my character-- or try to-- but you still are not going to prove that i was guilty. andrea canning: even when dismissing the case, prosecutors made it clear they believe they tried the right man, and would file new charges against clark if they get new evidence. did you kill brittany? no, i did not. what do you say to those people that believe everything just adds up to you being her killer? what do i say to them? i don't say anything to them. i don't like ignorance in my life. so if you feel that way? yes. you're ignorant. and that's very sad, and i will pray for them. andrea canning: brittany's family prays, too-- for justice and closure, and how to make peace with a loss they will never understand. over six years, i haven't focused on anything else except for getting justice.

there's no closing the book. me and my sister grew up doing everything together-- i mean, everything. how do you say goodbye to something like that? she and i had a special bond. and there are still times that i think, oh, i need to tell brittany about this, or-- you know, you can't call her. you can't email her. you can't text her. all you can do, now, is go to her grave. and that's not good enough. it's never going to be good enough. craig melvin: that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. [theme music playing] amanda jennings: i see her laying there. hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline." my dad is kneeling. that was the first time i'd ever seen him cry.