>> tonight's "48 hours mystery" will continue. coming up tonight. >> i was taken inside baghdad and had been kept in and around different locations within the city. >> an american hostage in iraq, free tonight. good teamwork, good team. >> hoyas getting ready for n.c. state. we'll see you tonight.

>> i would say this is one of the worst capital murder cases >> i would say this is one of the worst capital murder cases that anyone could ever talk about or deal with. >> reporter: kelly siegler should know; she's sent 19 men to death row. >> you will hear from the evidence in this case. >> reporter: so, in february 2010, she was ready, willing and eager to make it an even 20 when she was appointed to retry anthony graves. did that scare you that she was coming after you? >> no. >> reporter: why not? >> i was standing up for what was right, so it didn't make no difference who was on the case. the fact that i was innocent was unchanged.

>> reporter: by the fall of 2010, pam colloff's investigation of the case had produced one of the longest articles in the history of "texas monthly" magazine. >> there were so many things about this case that fascinated me, beginning with how weak the evidence was. i wanted to understand how someone could be sent to death row on so little evidence. >> reporter: of course, making graves' case in print is a lot easier than making it in court. with the trial date approaching and kelly siegler circling, defense attorneys kathryn scardino and jimmy phillips were feeling the pressure. >> you make a mistake in a death penalty case, and it's over. >> they chose to hire a good prosecutor. we're going to have to work hard and be doubly, triply prepared. kelly is a formidable opponent. >> reporter: siegler has beaten most of the best lawyers in texas, and now she asked for a meeting with the graves team. >> why did she want to meet with us? was she trying to get

information from us? was she trying to learn what our trial strategy was? i didn't really know what to make of it. >> reporter: siegler met with the graves' lawyers around this table, and she asked a lot of questions, but the defense team could not have imagined why. the prosecutor, with her 19-0 record on death penalty cases, was having serious problems with the case against anthony graves. >> i read every page of every document in 25 boxes, and at some point it switched from getting ready to go to trial to "can we go to trial," to, "oh, my god, what happened here?" >> reporter: siegler and her investigator, otto hanak, soon realized nicole and her students were right on target. >> every single time we would reinvestigate or re-talk to a witness that they had talked to, we would find that they were right. >> reporter: one by one, the pillars of the prosecution's case crumbled. >> we tried to find paperwork, people, anything that we could--

especially a motive-- to say anthony graves committed the capital murder with robert carter, and we found nothing. >> reporter: otto hanak tried to confirm the testimony from sebesta's jailhouse witnesses. >> we can't find anybody that can positively say, in court or in this room, that "i heard anthony graves say this, i heard robert carter say this." >> reporter: he looked into roy reuter's knife. >> the blade is flimsy. >> reporter: and, according to hanak, a knife this flimsy could not have caused the kind of wounds to the skulls that were found on some victims. >> i personally do not believe that that blade is strong enough, nor is this knife made well enough to go through human skulls. >> it's a switchblade knife. they're made pretty sturdy. >> reporter: d.a. charles sebesta had argued graves' identical knife had inflicted 66 stab wounds the night of the murder. >> there's no doubt that that knife could have survived that.

we had texas ranger testimony that it could have done it. >> reporter: but hanak, who is a former texas ranger himself, believes the knife would have left its mark on the killer. >> when you get down to the 10th, 11th, 12th stab wound, the knife becomes very slippery, becomes very bloody. the person that inflicted those wounds is also going to have an injury themselves. >> reporter: and did anthony graves have any injuries on his hands? >> none at all. >> reporter: did robert carter have any injuries on his hands? >> no. >> reporter: what does that tell you? >> that tells me that this is not the knife that caused those injuries. >> reporter: siegler thought any new case against graves would have to be built almost solely on robert carter's testimony, but that was before she found out how charles sebesta got that testimony from his star witness. he made a deal with mr. carter. >> and what a deal he made. >> reporter: sebesta had a

powerful card to play: carter's wife, teresa. shortly after the killing, sebesta had also indicted her for capital murder. >> she had given conflicting statements about his burns. there were a number of things that she did. >> reporter: the deal sebesta made: he would not question carter about his wife on the stand if he testified against graves. >> how does a prosecutor... i should say, how does an ethical prosecutor put a witness on the stand, your main piece of evidence in a death penalty case, and say, "okay, you get up there and talk about what you did and what graves did, but i'm not going to ask you about your wife." you can't do that. >> reporter: why in the world would you agree not to ask him about her? >> well, i needed his testimony. >> reporter: and sebesta points out the deal was approved by a judge and the defense never questioned it. >> that put on the record, i did put on the record.

>> reporter: the indictment against carter's wife was later dismissed due to a lack of evidence. and siegler never bought into sebesta's theory that there had to be multiple killers. >> we appreciated the fact that you didn't have to have three killers because five of the people killed were children, some little babies, asleep in their bed. how hard is it for a grown man to stab little babies asleep in their bed? >> reporter: and all the evidence, siegler says, points to robert carter, not anthony graves. there must have been a moment when you concluded, "gee whiz, this guy is innocent." not just not guilty, but innocent. >> it wasn't even a difficult decision. it was pretty clear. >> reporter: and by "innocent," you mean he wasn't there, had nothing to do with it? >> nothing. no motive, no reason, no connection, nothing. >> never in a million years would i have predicted that this would be the outcome of this case, particularly with kelly siegler as prosecutor. >> oh, my god, what happened in

anthony graves' trial? just ahead, an american hostage freed. president obama celebrating st. patrick's day. 9 news now is next. ♪ ...sing-alongs, or whatever else, then you and your family will love netflix. netflix lets you watch unlimited movies and tv episodes on your pc or tv via game console or other devices connected to the internet. search by age, or character, and get information that helps you make the right choices for your family. it's instant, it's unlimited. and it's only 8 bucks a month. start your free trial today.

fight both fast with new tums freshers! concentrated relief that goes to work in seconds and freshens breath. new tums freshers. ♪ tum...tum...tum...tum... tums! ♪ [ male announcer ] fast relief, fresh breath, all in a pocket sized pack. has a facebook page these days. but where's the relationship status? well, esurance is now in a relationship...with allstate. and it looks pretty serious. esurance. click or call. and it looks pretty serious. (looh!s) a little 'leakster' on the laughing? i know, it's not funny, but it's so not a big deal.

one in three women have lbl, and that's like a... that's like a ton. just use poise, instead of your period pads. because your period pads are for your period, period. thanks. now get out there and find me a hot guy. poise liners work better than period liners. want to stay fresh and dry? give poise a try! >> reporter: on an autumn afternoon in the burleson county, texas, jail, anthony graves was summoned unexpectedly out of his cell. >> i'm sitting and writing a letter. they come get me and say, "put your shirt on." they walk me up to the front of

the jail. >> reporter: nicole casarez and jimmy phillips, members of his legal team, were there to see him with a message he'd waited to hear for 18 years: the murder charges had been dropped. >> both of us could barely talk, we were so emotional. and she says, "anthony, god is great." and he knew. >> she just said, "you're free. you can leave right now. it's over, anthony." >> reporter: and on october 27, 2010, the man known as inmate number 999127 got his good name back. anthony graves, carrying all of his belongings and looking a little dazed, walked out of jail and into the warm texas sun.

>> unbelievable! oh! >> reporter: probably the dumbest question i've ever asked, but i've got to ask you anyway: how do you feel? >> oh! well, i feel good. >> reporter: i'll bet you do, sir. >> i feel good. i feel good. 18 years is a long time. i think i've lost a lot, but today i gain my freedom. >> you want to talk to someone here. hold on. >> reporter: his first call as a free man is to his mother. >> say, what are you cooking tonight? >> reporter: his mother didn't know that her son was free. >> can you put something on? because i'm on my way. this is your son! ( laughs ) and just so you know, i did not escape. ( laughter ) ( cheers )

>> reporter: and his first stop is home to his sons who had grown up without him and, at long last, to an embrace with his mother. ( cheers ) when was the last time you were able to put your arm around your mother? >> 18 years. >> 18 years ago. >> reporter: you haven't touched your son in 18 years? >> no. in 18 years. i had no idea. >> reporter: he is rejoining the world, picking up where he left off. >> okay, guys, here he is. >> reporter: and after all that time behind bars, he finally has places to go and people to see. ( cheers and applause ) at his lawyer's office, graves is able to thank the people who may well have saved his life: the students who got him off

death row. but there's someone else in the crowd. for the first time since graves' trial, he sees roy reuter... >> how's it going? >> reporter: ...his best friend... >> good to see you, man. >> reporter: ...whose testimony did so much to put him away. >> it happens to the best of us, but you know i love you, man. >> reporter: what does that mean to you? for him to take those... minute and a half and give me that assurance... you know, that's what life is really all about. >> reporter: was it hard to forgive him? >> no. no, it wasn't hard at all. he just became another pawn in their game of chess.

>> in anthony graves' trial... >> reporter: but kelly siegler is not nearly as forgiving. at a news conference, she lashed out at charles sebesta, who was once a fellow prosecutor. >> i think ultimately it's the prosecutor's responsibility. charles sebesta handled this case in a way that would be best described as a criminal justice system's nightmare. >> reporter: what are you saying about him? >> i'm saying that charles sebesta did everything he could-- manipulating witnesses, fabricating evidence, using people, misrepresenting things to the judges and the jury-- to make sure anthony graves got convicted of capital murder and put on death row. >> reporter: graves' attorneys had filed a complaint against sebesta, but the texas state bar dismissed it.

and sebesta insists he did nothing wrong, that siegler was just afraid of losing a big case. >> they didn't have any intention of trying this case. basically, they're looking for a way out. >> reporter: sebesta says you didn't want to take the risk of losing at trial. >> really? >> reporter: that's what he said. >> well, i would say that he's going to have a hard time finding any single other person that would agree that i'm afraid to go to trial on anything. >> reporter: but siegler says there was one thing she dreaded about this case: telling the victim's family that the man they believed was a murderer for so long is not. >> 18 years, they've believed that the two men responsible for killing their family-- their babies, their mom, their sister-- got what they deserved. >> it could have been different. >> reporter: glenda rutledge lost her two daughters that august night in 1992. >> some of them are never going to change their minds. they're always going to think anthony graves is guilty no matter what i say.

how do you get upset with them? they're as much a victim of what happened as anthony graves is. >> reporter: for his own troubles, anthony graves should have been paid $1.4 million when he was released. that's what the state of texas figures 18 years of wrongful imprisonment is worth. but there was a paperwork snafu; his release documents never used the words "actual innocence," so texas refused to pay. >> two words, two words. they're holding me hostage behind two words. >> reporter: finally, after nine months of public pressure, the legislature passed and the governor was quick to sign a special measure awarding him the money. graves credited "48 hours mystery" for drawing attention to what he was owed. but he had already won the biggest fight of his life, for his life and for his freedom.

>> you could put your hands out and touch both walls where i was living at, you know. >> reporter: he can come and go as he pleases as he tries to absorb how far he's come from a previous life he's still struggling to understand. >> they were trying to kill me. i still can't wrap my mind around how the hell did i go from home to death row for a crime that happened in another town to people i don't even know. it's crazy. and i gave 18 years of my life. captioning sponsored by cbs

captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> refusing to go down. >> he was discovered with bloodstains on his neck and the back of his head. >> either arturo was murdered or arturo killed himself. >> i have nothing to do with my husband's death. >> i think she knows what happened. >> on television, online, on the go, and now on ipad-- cbs news.

hello. i'm bruce johnson. thanks for joining us. she was riddled with bullets allegedly fired by her ex- boyfriend, and tonight police still looking for the man who tried to kill the mother of his three children. it happened more than a month ago. ken molestina spoke with the victim's sister who is still trying to make sense of all this. >> reporter: the victim's sister says yolando stonehead showed up here in northeast d.c. to pick up her 1-year-old

son, and that's when things took a turn for the worst. >> just shot twice in the head, once in the ear and i want to say four times in the back and twice in the arm. >> reporter: that was back on february 15th. ross says her younger sister, yolando son was gunned down by cook, her ex-boyfriend and the father of stone's three children. the three children were witnesses to it all. >> they were the ones, she knows a lot. she always say, you know, my mommy got shot. my mommy got shot. >> reporter: ross says because the suspect and her sister's attempted killing is still on the loose, the family is not allowed to know where the 27- year-old is being treated. all they know she's at a local hospital, and they receive daily phone calls updating her progress. >> she still have a bullet lodged in her head and in the back of her spine. >> reporter: while the victim remains in critical condition, her suspected attacker is still

nowhere to be found. it's been more than a month now, and police are asking for the public's help to find raynerd cook. no explanation has been given as to why the shooting happened. the family is hopping cook is taken off the street soon. >> you need to give yourself up. if you love your kids, if you really care for your kids, you give yourself up where they can start to live a normal life. >> reporter: take a look at the man police are on the hunt for tonight. he's 27 years old, 6'3", weighing 165 pounds. he's got black hair with brown eyes. police say he's got a scar on his left hand and a tattoo on his left arm. anyone with information on his whereabouts is being asked to call d.c. police. we're in northeast d.c., ken molestina, 9 news now. turning elsewhere, a former u.s. soldier held captive by iraqi militia is in the custody of the united nations tonight. randy michaels was released in baghdad on saturday. michaels had been in iraq as a

civilian before that, he was working in a military capacity. after nine months captivity, michaels appeared at a press conference today wearing a u.s. military uniform. >> i was taken inside baghdad and had been kept in and around different locations within the city. it was explained to me that my release has been more for humanitarian reasons and there was no exchange involved. >> so far, neither the u.s. embassy nor military officials here in washington could be reached for comment. tonight, we're learning more about the u.s. soldier accused of killing 16 afghan civilians, including women and children. staff sergeant robert bales was flown to the u.s. military prison in fort leavenworth, kansas, yesterday. neighbors in his home of washington state describe bales as a kindhearted father who was seen playing with his two children in their yard. they say he was guarded, though, when talking about the

three tours of duty and war. >> i'm shocked. i'm completely shocked. he was always a happy guy, full of life. i really wouldn't expect it. >> bales could face the death penalty if convicted. back here at home, d.c. police chief captain lanier meet with residents of a neighborhood following two hate crimes that happened during a 24-hour period. armando trull has more on what the chief had to say. >> i'm appalled to know this crime happened at 9:15 p.m. on a monday evening, a time when the streets are still fairly crowded, and there's still a lot of traffic. >> reporter: last week's violent mugging happened on the corner of georgia northwest and irving street. it sent the victim to the hospital with a concussion and a broken jaw and without his wallet, cell phone and laptop. it also sent residents to this community meeting. >> we wanted to point out to

police about more patrols and higher security. >> reporter: police are investigating the assault as a possible hate crime. >> speech in itself is not a crime, but speech in conjunction with an assault can give us an indication whether something is bias motivated. >> another gay man shot in the stomach at this columbia road pancake house after an argument with another patron. >> it occurred because one person brushed up against another person. that was enough to pull a revolver and shoot them in a public restaurant at breakfast time. >> reporter: the third attack happened here on the corner of west virginia avenue northeast shortly before midnight. a transgender woman says she was attacked from behind by two young male suspects and knockedunconscious. she told police she believed she had been targeted because of her transgender sex. >> i would like to see more of the murders solved of the

transgender women. npd brags about 90% closure rates of homicides but certainly not the case for transgender victims. >> reporter: hughes is a park view resident and she says police need to increase their patrols of known crime spots, install cameras in these locations and pay more attention to hate crimes. the mayor and council members promised this past week that no effort would be spared to arrest and prosecute anyone responsible for hate crimes, including those behind the latest batch. in park view, i'm armando trull. >> police are reminding residents to report suspicious behavior or people right away by calling 911. turning to a lighter subject, la hoya silenced critics who predicted a quick exit in the ncaa tournament. dave owens is out in columbia, ohio, with the story. >> reporter: the euphoria of winning one tournament game is

over. the hoyas have entered the grind, that it's a quick turn around between winning one game and getting ready for another quality opponent. >> we didn't get back to the hotel until 7:00. then we watch film on n.c. state immediately. that's when you have to dig down and see how mentally tough your team is. >> once we leave the locker room, you have to enjoy it, but then you have to focus quickly. you have to get all the jitters, not so much the jitters, but all the excitement and rah rah stuff, all that goes out the window once you leave the locker room. >> it is difficult, but we've been in worse positions where we had to play back to back before, so this isn't new for everybody. >> we didn't come here to get the proverbial one-win monkey off our back. we came wanting to win two games and move on from there. >> reporter: that means beating north carolina state. not easy. you think georgetown has a chip on their shoulders? well the wolfpack have a boulder on theirs. i'll explain that later in

sports. from ohio, dave owens, 9 sports now. >> more on the hoyas later in sports. early cherry blossom blooms and great weather brought out big crowds today. what can we expect tomorrow? annie hung has the answers. >> reporter: temperatures will be falling into the 50s by early tomorrow morning. the big story is the fog where we can see areas of patchy fog developing. around the immediate metro area including downtown, it's fine. in some, less than two mile visibility. annapolis down to 5. along the water seeing fog now. we have the marine air that can bring fog into the metro area by tomorrow morning. pretty mild outside, 61 in downtown. 61 also in leesburg. even hagerstown in the 60s.

culpeper in the 60s. fredericksburg, packs river, you're in the low to mid-50s. tomorrow morning for your sunday, you've got brumple plans, going to church, it's going to be a gray start to the day. mostly cloudy conditions. we will see areas of fog. it could be dense. we might have a dense fog advisory right now that has not been issued. we're still expecting it to be mild. thanks to the unusually warm weather we're having, the famous cherry trees are on the fast track to an earlier peak bloom than usual. we're at the national mall earlier today where tourists are taking in the beautiful sights. the national park service says peak blooms next week, march 20th through 23rd, between tuesday and friday. >> i think they're beautiful. they're just amazing. i've seen them before and every time i'm just hypnotized by them. they're gorgeous. >> who could hate cherry blossoms, they're so beautiful. they make me happy just looking at them. >> the cherry blossoms are what

makes spring one of the most picturesque times of the year in washington. i will be checking those out in the next couple of days. how does the seven-day forecast look for checking out the cherry blossoms? i'll let you know how long the streak of the 70 degree weather lasts before we see showers and storms. bruce, back to you. >> anny thanks a lot. a thousands of people might be sore after the rock 'n' roll marathon in the nation's capital today. we talked to the runners and some of those cheering them on. >> reporter: they were off at 8:02 on a cool st. paddy day's morning. 21,000 runners for the rock 'n' roll half and full marathon. nearly 50,000 spectators lined the roads to cheer the runners, some with inspiring stories of their own. >> i lost my legs in vietnam in 1966, but i ran in high school. i was one of the top mile and two miles in maryland in high

school, and so i just got back into running. >> reporter: and if the signs didn't motivate them. ♪ [ music ] >> reporter: then the music certainly did. 40 bands on 25 stages entertained as runners pushed through to the finish. and leading the pack in the half marathon for women, from ethiopia and ricky flynn from lynchburg, virginia. >> overall it was a good workout. >> reporter: another local man in the full marathon, no stranger to big wins, michael wardian. >> this was of. >> this is a huge win. i won almost every edition of this race. it's really special. my wife and kids are here. >> reporter: there were also folks running in packs for a good cause. >> my run today was for a dear friend, kimberly vaughn and her family and the loss of a navy

seal, vaughn. we want to raise awareness for military and armed forces and all the sacrifices they make. >> reporter: top it off with a couple of wedding proposals and you can say it was a successful race all around. 9 news now. >> good stuff. coming up tonight on 9 news now. >> it's getting a little closer. i think i need a little -- i woulding a little leery. >> talk about a nightmare. it's all too real for one neighborhood where overnight flooding brings a massive morning mess. we're going to take you there. no letup on the campaign trail for the presidential hopefuls in the republican party this weekend. details next.