andrea canning: aj hadsell left an indelible mark on her family and all her many friends. through them, her memory will live on. i just hope that everyone is aware of how great she was, of how amazing she was, how smart she was, how dedicated she was. yeah, i just-- i just miss her. and i just-- i know i'll never forget her. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. e." i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline."t frie. monique winkis: he just liked to make people smile. kelly horn: he would always boast about how he was an fbi agent. he was so proud. my brother and his friend came running down to the neighbor's house.

his body had appeared to be concealed. a robber is not going to take the time to cover your body. it's personal. and maybe some tenants had bad blood. i know he gambles all the time. someone that he put behind bars might have had it out for him. several doors were padlocked. it seemed like it was forever, but it was maybe a 10-second silence in the courtroom. he was an fbi agent. dealt with many criminals. josh mankiewicz: he could take care of himself. kelly horn: at least he thought so. hello, and welcome to "dateline." when special agent scott horn retired from the fbi, it seemed he had left crime and violence behind him.

then he was beaten to death outside his own home. it was a puzzling mystery, leaving police to wonder, had someone from his past resurfaced for revenge, or was the killer much closer to home? here's josh mankiewicz with "the house." josh mankiewicz (voiceover): a young man walks toward his house in the middle of the evening. he's wearing a gopro camera to do that. now, if it sounds strange for someone to start recording a video of their own actions, well, stay tuned. this is actually one of the less weird things you'll hear about. [thumping] what happened next was nothing short of terrifying. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): what he found that night would spark an investigation and a mystery that would only deepen over time.

it's all linked to the drama that began just hours earlier, when a daughter couldn't find her father. scott horn wasn't the kind of dad to disappear. you see, scott had spent 23 years as an fbi special agent. even in retirement, he still scheduled his life like clockwork. if he did something, he normally did that same thing every single day at the same time. he never slept in either. he was up every morning at 7:30. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): scott's daughter kelly was living on her own by age 18. even so, she remembers her dad starting each morning with the same phone call. your dad called to wake you up every day. yeah, he would call and say, are you up? and then five minutes later, he would call and say, are you up? oh, so he's not just the alarm clock. he's also the snooze alarm. yeah.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): except, on that morning, march 16, 2017, kelly's phone was silent. so i texted him, and he didn't respond. and i called him, and the phone went straight to voicemail. and i texted him, and i said, i hope you're ok. this is unlike him? totally. josh mankiewicz: he would respond to you. yeah. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): kelly reached out to her dad's next door neighbors, marty and cindy. kelly called and asked me if i had seen scott all day. and i said, no, i hadn't. and she said, call a wellness check. so i called the laurel police. they came out. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): officers from the laurel, maryland police department met kelly at the house to do what's called a welfare check, when police go to an address essentially to make sure something bad hasn't happened. we walked through the house. officer 1: laurel police. officer 2: laurel police department.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): they moved from room to room. kelly horn: so my dad normally would take the dogs out to make sure they went potty outside, and there was pee all over the floor. which meant the dogs had been left inside for a long time. right. because now, it isn't just the morning he's been missing, obviously. nobody has seen him. josh mankiewicz: since, like, the day before. right. officer 1: would he be down here? josh mankiewicz (voiceover): they went into the basement. another officer searched upstairs. officer matt zimmerman was there. nothing appeared to be in disarray. nothing appeared to be-- have a struggle. matt zimmerman: she grabbed some belongings and stated that she was going to continue to try and locate her father. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): later eventually arrived, and kelly still hadn't heard from her dad. by this time, you have to be really scared. i was. i was. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): kelly had been talking with her older brother, riley. he hadn't seen their dad since the night before

and was worried, too. so that evening, riley went over to the house with a friend. that's when riley hit record on his gopro and headed up the lawn of his family's large suburban home. [thumping] as they walked, riley and his friend heard banging and clattering on the left side of the house. and when they went to the area where the sounds had come from, they could make out a tarp in the darkness. they lifted it up. what they saw sent riley running to a neighbor's house where his sister kelly was waiting. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): kelly ran to the house. i just-- i didn't understand what was happening. they saw a body. they didn't know who it was? i honestly don't remember. i was so-- like, my adrenaline kicked in.

and i ran up to the house, and i stopped at right before the door. and i just fell to my knees, and i was crying and screaming. so i went out to the porch and saw her prostrate in the snow, you know, just screaming. it was 10 minutes or so before i could understand what she was saying. josh mankiewicz: which was what? that her dad was dead. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): for the second time, officer zimmerman was first on the scene. matt zimmerman: so we start moving down the driveway. i tell him to show me where he found the body. [scream] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): scott horn was dead. now the mechanics of a murder investigation began. officer: do you have crime scene tape? we have a body. we need a couple more units here. going to have a potential crime scene.

who killed scott horn? as police searched for clues outside the house, someone inside is apparently unaware of it all. craig melvin (voiceover): coming up. craig melvin (voiceover): and whoever murdered scott horn didn't just kill him. this was overkill. so someone shoots him from behind, and then after he's on the ground, begins beating him. that's correct. craig melvin (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. ooo! our car's value went up! maybe we should track all our cars' value on carvana? we need more trackers! oh! i'm getting a value update! do you see which one is going off? how's it trackin'? some dips, some rises. now what? "hold?" sold. track your car's value on carvana today. why pay more for an effective daily body lotion? gold bond healing lotion hydrates for half the price of the leading daily moisturizing lotion.

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or reverse orders so you won't miss an opportunity. e*trade from morgan stanley or rjosh mankiewiczo you won(voiceover): policeity. were swarming the house on this quiet residential road. scott horn had been found by his son. he'd been murdered in his own backyard. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detective kezzi henderson came to lead the investigation. he didn't need a medical examiner to tell him scott horn had been the victim of a brutal murder. and it wasn't just a beating. another investigator noticed a bullet lodged in a shed. scott was shot in the neck. would the neck wound have killed him by itself? no. the neck wound would have disabled him. so someone shoots him from behind, and then after he's on the ground, begins beating him. that's correct. could you tell what he was beaten with? he was beaten with firewood.

you didn't find the specific piece of firewood he was beaten with? no, unable to find that. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): unable to find it maybe because next to the body was a wood burning stove. it connected to a boiler that heated the whole house. scott had installed the system. he was quite proud of it. suddenly, it seemed scott's own accomplishment might have helped his killer destroy the murder weapon. possible that someone just threw it in the boiler after they were done using it? that's correct. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detective henderson had a sense of how scott died. to get to the who, the detective needed more about his victim's life. and right there at the crime scene, family and friends were eager to talk. i go right up to the officers, and i identify who i am. and i let them know that he's one of ours. and they know he's a retired fbi agent. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): monique winkis had been one of scott's supervisors at the bureau. josh mankiewicz: it has to be weird

being both an fbi agent and a friend of the victim in that situation. it is. it's a tough place to be. you want to do so much more. you're more friend than special agent in that moment. yes. i'm there for the family. i'm there for him. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): not surprising. that was the way scott had been there for the bureau. he'd carried fbi credentials for more than two decades after serving in the air force. he just liked to laugh and make people smile. so in suspect interviews, he was the perfect good cop. he was. he would say, listen, just be honest with us. work with us. and i'll talk to the prosecutors. i'll talk to my boss. we'll see what we can do for you. and then you would come in and put them in a chokehold. then i would-- right, exactly. tell us the truth. [chuckles] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): on drug cases, bank robberies, and kidnappings, scott horn's good cop persona came in handy. after a while, family considerations made him ask for a lower octane assignment-- background checks for people seeking government jobs.

that squad handled polygraphs, presidential appointments. new recruits came through that squad. now that's not exactly the sexiest of fbi details. it's not. it's not something that everyone shoots for. but it really had consistent hours. it's a dad schedule. it's a dad schedule, exactly. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): scott's wife anne worked long shifts as a nurse. their daughter kelly says dad liked being mr. mom. he made sure that we ate a well balanced meal every night. and he made sure we went to bed on time and all of our homework got done and that our clothes were clean. my dad was my best friend. he took me everywhere with him and taught me so much. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): scott loved his family, including the four-legged members. mama bear, there was papa bear, and then there was kenai bear. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and running a close second to family, scott's passion for this four-bedroom house.

it had more than just his fingerprints on it. our house is so wonderful. i know it sounds really conceited, but it is. it's something to be proud of. and a lot of the nice things about it, he had personally worked on. oh, yeah. lots of projects. solar panels, wood burning stove. you know, the pool had solar panels that heated it. all his doing. yeah, there were just so many projects that he was excited and did in the house. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): now that house scott had loved so much had become a crime scene. outside, officers stood watch. but inside? josh mankiewicz (voiceover): someone was walking down the stairs. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): it was anne allen, scott's wife and kelly and riley's mom. anne appeared to have no idea what was transpiring just outside her front door.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): it would be up to a detective to tell anne what was going on. investigators break the news to anne, and she shares some troubling details about scott's personal life. craig melvin (voiceover): coming up, did scott have money problems? craig melvin (voiceover): or other problems? we did receive leads that maybe some tenants had bad blood. craig melvin (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. what causes a curve down there? is it peyronie's disease? will it get worse? how common is it? who can i talk to? can this be treated? stop typing. start talking to a specialized urologist. because it could be peyronie's disease, or pd.

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you waiting for? police officer: i'll try to get a second evidence tech out for us. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): as he began his investigation, detective kezzi henderson thought it best to keep some details of scott horn's murder to himself. ma'am, detective henderson. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): so as he talked with scott's wife anne in the couple's kitchen, henderson was careful not to share everything he knew.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): anne seemed to have no idea what was going on. and if you're wondering why anne hadn't been out searching for her husband earlier, the answer is that after two decades of marriage, anne and scott were living separate lives under the same roof while negotiating a divorce. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): right away, anne helped police with this detail-- where scott had likely been the night before his body was found. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): he'd been at a casino. we established a timeline for him. and we wanted to look at maybe someone followed him. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): security footage from the maryland live casino showed scott spending some of his final hours playing cards.

after midnight, he cashed out and headed to his car. how do you know he wasn't followed, coming back from the casino? the video footage of him walking around inside the casino, he's by himself. there was no one tagging along behind him. when he went to his car, there's no one following him in the parking garage. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the night of his murder, scott horn won less than $100. kelly says that was typical. her dad was hardly a high roller. i wouldn't call it gambling. if anything, when my dad went to play, he would go and strategize what table was the best table to sit at because of winning. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detective henderson still had to determine if this was a random crime of opportunity, a robbery gone wrong. investigators at the scene had noted scott's cell phone and wallet were missing. we checked into the activity on his bank cards. there were no activity.

in my experience, when a robber takes property from a victim, they end up at a gas station. and they're trying to use the cards as quickly as possible. yes. didn't happen. no, not in this case. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and anyway, the crime scene was telling the investigators this wasn't random. there was a lot of emotion involved in the way scott was assaulted. because whoever murdered him shot him. he falls to the ground. they could have shot him again. but instead, they choose to beat him to death. that's correct. which sounds like anger. it does. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): as an fbi agent for 23 years, scott horne had come into contact with plenty of bad guys, many of whom might have carried a grudge about scott putting his hands or his cuffs on them. so they looked at scott's cases and found a whole lot of nothing. there had never been any threats in his past

that i'm aware of. there had never been anything like that that "i'm going to get you," or "curse you." and even though that does happen-- it does. --but that didn't seem to apply with him. that is correct. it did not apply with him. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): so what about scott's second career? after fixing up his own house, scott had bought several properties in the neighborhood. he was now a landlord with more than a dozen tenants. we did receive leads that maybe some tenants had bad blood. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detective henderson found out scott had recently evicted some people from one of his rental properties. any possibility those people could have been angry enough at scott to want him dead? we received that information. we followed up on that as a lead. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): a lead that, like others, didn't go anywhere. as they ticked through the possibilities, investigators were thinking the heart of this mystery was closer to home. that included considering scott's son riley. detectives knew the person who discovers the body

is sometimes the murderer. i want you to-- listen to me. i want you out front on the porch. have a seat. have a seat. we brought riley back to the station. he voluntarily came. and he also voluntarily gave us a detailed description of what he found and how he found it. and where he'd been. and where he'd been. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but detective henderson quickly determined riley had been at work all day. as far as you know, he had no history of being at odds with his dad. he actually loved his dad. and his dad was one of the strong figures in his life as a mentor also. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): like kelly, riley said his dad had been his best friend. so then who were scott's enemies? that big house looked beautiful from the outside. inside was another story. craig melvin (voiceover): coming up. he just said, if you ever see her gun again, call 911.

i even said-- i said, scott, you should leave the house. craig melvin (voiceover): life behind closed doors. you sort of keep the details of this from other people? yeah, it's embarrassing. it got to the point where there were locks on everyone's doors. craig melvin (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. (cough cough) (sneeze) (♪♪) new alka-seltzer plus cold or flu fizzy chews. chew. fizz. feel better fast. no water needed. new alka-seltzer plus fizzychews. why pay more for an effective daily body lotion? gold bondo water needed. healing lotion hydrates for half the price of the leading daily moisturizing lotion. it visibly heals and moisturizes dry skin in just 1 use. choose gold bond. long after guests leave, viruses and bacteria linger. air fresheners add a scent. but only lysol air sanitizer helps erase the trace, eliminating odor and

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hi, richard lui with the hour's top stories. the world continues to remember the 39th president jimmy carter this morning. carter dying sunday at the age of 100. nearly two years after entering hospice care. he was the longest living former president. speaking to the nation sunday, president biden called carter a dear friend and that the world lost a statesman and humanitarian. biden later announced the u.s. will hold a national day of mourning for carter on january the 9th. now, back to dateline. i'm crin.

scott horn was murdered in a violent rage. police suspected the crime was personal and set out to find anyone who may have held a grudge against the former fbi special agent. but their leads quickly fizzled-- all but one. turns out scott did have an enemy, someone local police knew very well. back to josh mankiewicz with "the house." josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the celebration of scott horn's life drew quite a crowd. nobody could make scott laugh more than scott could make scott laugh. [laughter] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): there were jokes and tears. and there was an air of awkwardness, too. scott's estranged wife was in the front row. just about everyone who was close to scott knew there had been trouble inside that marriage and that home. and i even said-- i said, scott, you should leave the house.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): debbie wrightson tessier was an fbi colleague and one of scott's best friends. she says the clashes with anne started years earlier, mostly over the kids. what i saw, sometimes she would be really sweet and nice to the kids. and then she could just turn on a dime and be mean to them. you saw that? i saw-- yeah, i saw that on occasion. and he'd tell you about it all the time. yeah. craig melvin (voiceover): it turned out scott's friends were getting only glimpses of what happened at home. daughter kelly says growing up, her mother was volatile, sometimes violent. you sort of keep the details of this from other people because-- yeah. --you know, you don't want everybody to know that you're-- kelly horn: no, yeah. --living in this atmosphere? yeah, it's embarrassing. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): kelly says one time, she got in trouble for breaking a rule and having a facebook account, and then for borrowing a pair of her mom's heels.

for that, she says, anne made her sleep in a hallway for months. her dad, she said, pushed back. we were in the hallway where i had been sleeping. and an argument arose. and my dad said that, you know, that i deserve to have my bedroom back. and my mom got so angry. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): out of nowhere, kelly says, anne pulled a handgun from underneath her bathrobe and pointed it at scott. she said, you know, we made an agreement. you said i'm taking care of the kids, and if you get in my way, there's going to be a problem. like, his whole demeanor changed. it was more like, ok, you know, we're just going to take a step back. and you leave the house with him. kelly horn: mm-hmm. josh mankiewicz: what did he say? he just said if you ever see her gun again, call 911. you never saw that gun again? no. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): kelly says that happened about five years before the murder.

and she says the fighting escalated in the years that followed. it was bad. it got to the point where there were locks on everyone's doors on the outside and on the inside. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): both spouses padlocked their bedroom doors to keep the other out. scott and anne became two sides of the same coin, bound together, but unable to face one another. it was a toxic atmosphere that seemed beyond repair. riley began recording his interactions with his own mother. that's why he was wearing a gopro the night he went looking for his missing dad. by that point, the family home was already quite familiar to the laurel pd. how many times did police come to that house? we-- they knew us regularly. they were there a lot. you lost count. yeah, yeah. we didn't lose count. between 2012 and the start of 2017, laurel police responded to that home at least 15 times.

sometimes it was anne calling. sometimes it was scott calling. sometimes it was the kids. sometimes they went down and filed paperwork on their own. we found 30 cases ranging from domestic violence to second degree assault to numerous protective orders, all of it representing more contact with law enforcement and the criminal justice system than most of us have in a lifetime. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): none of those cases resulted in criminal convictions for anyone. kelly says her mom told her to move out of the house at 18. scott, however, stayed. this was, after all, his house. that said, debbie believes scott may have underestimated his wife's resolve and that anne's engine was running on spite. she said, he loves this house. she said, i hate this house.

and if he thinks that he's going to live here and keep this house, he has another thing coming. she said, because i will take this house from him, and i will take everything he has. and i can do it. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detective kezzi henderson heard all of this and thought back to the first night he spoke with anne. was she really as clueless as she seemed? she seemed calm. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): maybe too calm, thought detective henderson, and definitely too eager to offer up alternative theories. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): scott has enemies. scott has gambling problems. did you find any evidence that scott had any enemies other than his wife? no.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): they did find evidence that anne was likely home all day. she said as much to police. officer: laurel police. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): that would mean she was there that afternoon when kelly and the officers went to check on scott. [dogs barking] how could anne not hear them? investigators now believed scott was already dead at the time of the welfare check. as for those sounds riley said he heard by the side of the house when he went over there that night, he later told police there was more to that. he'd seen someone out there. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): he said he believed that shadow was his mom. police asked anne about it that night.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): investigators thought anne was hiding something. were they all just dead wrong? as suspicion mounts, friends and family share another side of anne. craig melvin (voiceover): coming up. anne was very kind-hearted, very compassionate. craig melvin (voiceover): and woodchips in a washing machine. it suggested a cleanup. it suggested a cleanup. craig melvin (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. let's monopoly go! friends are like money. keke, i won again? they make everything more fun. and you can never have enough! toodaloo. my moderate to severe crohn's symptoms kept me out of the picture. now i have skyrizi. ♪ i've got places to go and i'm feeling free. ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪ ♪ control is everything to me.♪

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josh mankiewicz (voiceover): as investigators dug into the circumstances surrounding scott horn's death-- josh mankiewicz (voiceover): --his estranged wife anne was quickly emerging as a prime suspect. police spoke with neighbors like cindy and marty. you thought it was anne from the get-go. i did, yes. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): they say anne seemed aggressive and never missed a chance to spread what they say were lies about scott. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): here's a voicemail anne left them months before scott was killed. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): another neighbor shared with police this video of an interaction she

had with anne on the street. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): at the time, anne was claiming her family was abusive to her. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and as neighbors shared these stories, one name kept popping up-- jason byrd. jason byrd is a person who was previously employed by scott horn. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): he was one of scott's contractors. melissa hoppmeyer was the prosecutor, and she'd heard enough to make her think jason should be investigated. what was the gossip in that neighborhood? i mean, your people went out and talked to a bunch of neighbors. that anne was out to get scott, that they had a very contentious divorce, that she was

having an affair with jason and wanted to, i guess-- i don't know-- ride into the sunset with jason. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): anne denies they were anything more than friends. still, police wondered if anne's friend had helped her after the murder, maybe disposing of the gun and scott's wallet and cell phone. it turns out jason's truck was spotted at the house. and neighbor cindy took this photo of what police thought was jason leaving the house that afternoon. that led to a police theory. anne had asked jason to get rid of scott's things. he doesn't seem to be carrying anything in his hands, but i guess he could have had scott's property in his pockets. yes, he could have had scott's property in his pockets. he could have had the handgun in his pockets. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): weeks went by, and there were no arrests. kelly thought it was just a matter of time. i never had any doubt that she did it. josh mankiewicz: you were still sure it was her.

yes. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): could kelly be right that her mom killed her dad? impossible, says anne's friend, rita [inaudible] she and anne went to high school together. and rita says anne's life is marked by her goodness to others. anne was very kindhearted, very compassionate. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): she says anne used that kind heart and compassion over her 30-year career as a nurse, part of it at walter reed national military medical center. she would tell me how sometimes she would actually hum and/or softly sing to her patients, whether they were soldiers or infants. anne's background is not what you typically associate with someone who's a murderer. correct. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): anne's divorce attorney, lauren kollecas says the picture police were getting was clouded by a tumultuous marriage

and a bitter divorce. and, she says, don't blame anne for that. why was that house such a toxic place? and why didn't anyone want to leave? so i think a lot of the issues that developed between anne and scott actually arose from their daughter, kelly. and anne had a difference of opinion from scott as to how to deal with kelly. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): despite anne's long hours at work, lauren paints her as an involved parent, scott as overly permissive, and kelly as an out of control teen. there were many allegations that anne made against kelly that kelly was physically violent with anne. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): kelly denies all of that and says her mom lied. so was anne mean, erratic, or violent? her attorney lauren says, not at all. she was just a mom trying to compensate for her husband's lax parenting. anne grew up in a very strict catholic family.

and she had her idea of how to deal with kelly. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): she says scott had turned the kids against their mom. kelly's story about the gun? anne's lawyer says it never happened. and police found no proof anne had ever bought a gun. and as for what neighbors and friends thought and heard, lauren says anne was just trying to defend her reputation and get a fair settlement. anne knew that scott was going around, telling these individuals their personal business, painting a terrible picture of who anne was as a wife and a mother. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): lauren says she hoped the police's suspicion of anne would subside. it did not. once again, body cams were rolling on june 30, 2017. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): at a hotel 2 and 1/2 miles from her former home, anne allen was arrested for scott's murder. jason byrd was later arrested as well.

it was like a weight off of our shoulders. you know, something is finally going to be done. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): after anne's arrest, the crime lab gave police some welcome news. some wood chips found in the family washing machine had scott's dna on them. it linked the house and the person in the house, which was anne allen, to the murder. and it suggested a cleanup. and it suggested a cleanup. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): even with this new evidence, prosecutors were worried. the case against anne allen was threatening to fall apart before it even got started. craig melvin (voiceover): coming up. there's no way that anne would do something so heinous. there is no way. from the moment detective henderson arrived on that scene, anne was the one and only suspect. and you can see it when you watch his first interaction with her in the kitchen.

craig melvin (voiceover): did detectives rush to judgment? and did the jury hear enough to make a judgment? we were really limited to what the jury could hear about what really went on in that house. craig melvin (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. long after guests leave, viruses and bacteria linger. air fresheners add a scent. but only lysol air sanitizer helps erase the trace, eliminating odor and killing 99.9% of viruses and bacteria in the air. scent can't sanitize. lysol can. my moderate to severe crohn's symptoms kept me out of the picture. now i have skyrizi. ♪ i've got places to go and i'm feeling free. ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪ ♪ control is everything to me.♪ and now i'm back in the picture. feel significant symptom relief at 4 weeks with skyrizi, including less abdominal pain and fewer bowel movements. skyrizi helped visibly improve

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all in one place? my favorites. get xfinity streamsaver with netflix, apple tv+, and peacock included, for only $15 a month. you waiting for? craig melvin: welcome back. anne allen and jason byrd were arrested for the murder of anne's husband, scott horn.

investigators believed she shot him, then bludgeoned him to death with a piece of firewood. wood chips found in the family's washing machine appeared to link anne to the crime. but the defense was about to attack the very foundation of the prosecution's case. here's josh mankiewicz with the conclusion of "the house." josh mankiewicz: charged with her husband's murder, anne allen pleaded not guilty and waited in jail for her trial to begin. her friend rita was stunned. rita lepinskie: it was like you got to be kidding. there's no way that anne would do something so heinous. there is no way. josh mankiewicz: anne's defense attorney andrew jezic. andrew jezic: so she's in jail, and she just couldn't conceive that anybody could think that this lifelong nurse would harm anyone. josh mankiewicz: jezic says he looked at the state's case

and saw no real evidence. he says commonsense told him there was no way anne could have pulled off such a brutal beating since she walked with a cane or a crutch. andrew jezic: the scene itself is so important and the manner of the killing, his forehead was demolished by whatever was hitting him, it was presumably a piece of wood. and anne just didn't have that strength. josh mankiewicz: i'm guessing the state responded to that by saying that people who are furious enough at other people can do superhuman things. andrew jezic: they can say that, right? but then again, there needs to be evidence of it. josh mankiewicz: not long after anne was arrested, the state's case seemed to fray. after first arresting jason byrd, prosecutors decided not to move forward and dropped all charges. melissa hoppmeyer: when we got to the point where we were going to present the evidence to the grand jury to make a decision, there wasn't enough. josh mankiewicz: search warrants were executed for jason's home, for his truck?

melissa hoppmeyer: correct. josh mankiewicz: and nothing, none of scott's stuff was there? melissa hoppmeyer: right. josh mankiewicz: prosecutors forged ahead, hoping a jury would see what they saw. a woman who appeared sweet and harmless, but was actually filled with murderous rage, but prosecutors were also hampered by what they could say in court. melissa hoppmeyer: maryland law doesn't allow all prior bad acts to come in, and so because of that, that we were really limited to what the ju cldout wh really went on in that house. josh mankiewicz: do they get a real perspective-- they get a real picture of what life was like there? melissa hoppmeyer: i don't think they did. josh mankiewicz: the jury didn't get to hear just how toxic that marriage was, didn't get to see the entirety of those police files on the family. anne allen: because you're stupid. josh mankiewicz: and didn't get to hear any of those neighbors' recordings of anne. still, prosecutors said anne was the only person who hated scott enough to kill him. melissa hoppmeyer: it's personal.

josh mankiewicz: you think anne killed scott not as the result of some argument that sort of flew off the handle, you think that when she woke up that day, that was the plan? melissa hoppmeyer: i think she waited for him to get home that day. i think she knew he was going to go put a log, or a few logs on. i think she waited and she went out there and attacked him. kezzi henderson: have you been outside? anne allen: i was outside to put wood on the fire but that was it. josh mankiewicz: and they said anne's story about going outside to throw logs on the fire was beyond suspicious. kezzi henderson: and you didn't-- you didn't see scott out there? anne allen: no. melissa hoppmeyer: literally, in order to open that shed, would've had to step over scott horn's body. josh mankiewicz: and she saw nothing? melissa hoppmeyer: saw nothing. josh mankiewicz: on top of her hatred for scott, the state said there was another motive. kezzi henderson: there's life insurance. josh mankiewicz: how much? kezzi henderson: it's five hundred thousand dollars. josh mankiewicz: the prosecutors knew the defense attorneys would say anne was physically too frail to beat scott to death, so they were ready. a security camera at neighbor cindy's house

showed that sometimes anne used crutches, and other times she did not. cindy: the crutch and the cane would come and go, it seemed, at will. melissa hoppmeyer: i mean, neighbors saw her both before and after walking around. she was fine. i mean, was she a person in her sixties? absolutely, but she's not incapable of committing this crime. josh mankiewicz: the jury heard about the woodchips in the washer, except anne's dna wasn't on them, just scott's. in fact, prosecutors couldn't prove that anne's dna was on scott's body at all. josh mankiewicz: juries like dna. melissa hoppmeyer: juries like dna. josh mankiewicz: you didn't have it. melissa hoppmeyer: i didn't have it. josh mankiewicz: you go with ibuprofen or advil every night? melissa hoppmeyer: wine. josh mankiewicz: the defense thought prosecutors had every reason to worry. because, they said, there was zero proof anne killed scott. they argued the whole investigation was a classic case of tunnel vision.

lauren kollecas: i think a hundred percent from the moment detective henderson arrived on that scene anne was the one and only suspect, and you can see it when you watch his first interaction with her in the kitchen. kezzi henderson: listen. listen, if you know anything about that, then you need to be honest. anne allen: all i know-- lauren kollecas: he was interacting with her like he knew that he found the person that did this and that was it. josh mankiewicz: the defense argued there was nothing suspicious about anne not seeing scott's body in the yard, the video proved how dark it was. and even police didn't find it when they went for the welfare check that afternoon. the defense pushed back at the state's theory that anne was motivated by money. turns out she wasn't the beneficiary on that life insurance policy. scott had taken her name off it and a deep dive into the family finances showed this. lauren kollecas: scott had two hundred twenty thousand plus in credit card debt, spread amongst twenty-one different credit cards. josh mankiewicz: and she's on the hook for that? lauren kollecas: absolutely.

josh mankiewicz: the defense rested. and jurors went to deliberate. after one day, they told the judge they were deadlocked. she sent them back and on day two there was a verdict. lauren kollecas: when the verdict was read, anne just starts, like, wailing, just wailing and she kept on just saying, thank you, god. thank you, god. thank you, god. rita lepinskie: i had a lot of people who were praying for anne and when i heard the verdict, it was like yes, the prayers were answered. josh mankiewicz: anne allen was found not guilty and she was set free. melissa hoppmeyer: i think she got away with murder. kelly: everybody got up, and it was over on to the next case. josh mankiewicz: scott's friends at the fbi were devastated. monique winkis: i wish there was more justice for him. he worked as an investigator solving crimes, and his crime will never-- i don't think ever be solved. josh mankiewicz: laurel police later closed the case, pending new information.

since she was acquitted, anne cannot be tried again for murder. and after the verdict, she moved to another state. as for riley and kelly, they told us they're moving forward and trying to live each day the way their dad would have. kelly: you know, riley and i determine how we do things by how would dad do it. so, you know, just doing it the scott horn way. craig melvin: that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. [music playing] it can't be. it can't be. he was so big in my life that the thought that anything bad could have happened to him,