. >> reporter: cops were beginning to develop a more sinister profile and brian brother william carrick would slayer hare were a local reporter. >> mario was allegedly selling dope and coerced my son into working for him and, somehow, yeah, things got out of hand. >> there are rumors that there was some things going on at the grocery store that shouldn't have been going on. >> reporter: term about that theory. >> that mario casciaro was selling drugs and would use people like brian carrick to sell the drugs. brian carrick being the sweet kid he was wouldn't always collect the money. who freely gave away pot was a victim of foul play, believed he was killed over a $400 drug debt he owed mario. >> police began to dig into mario a little bit and believed he was selling drugs. >> i think, you know, maybe he smoked pot. i think maybe he, him and his friends bought it and sold it to each other. i mean, you're talking about a very small amount. >> reporter: but with no eyewitnesses, no physical evidence tying mario to the crime scene, or even a body, the investigation grew cold. and so did the