. >> reporter: his name was daniel bar telt, dan to his friends.was the same dan jessie had been writing this music with that summer. ♪ detective clausing called hartford police right away. they had a suspect for them in custody. jessie's parents refused to believe the news. >> we were saying, no, not this kid, no. >> reporter: he's are friend of ours and our daughter's. >> yeah, he's a little screwed up. he just got back from college. and he doesn't know what he's doing right now, blah, blah, blah. but we don't think it's dan. >> reporter: after all, dan was more than jessie's friend. he was her first love in high school. and had never been in trouble. >> he had everything going for him. he was a top-notch student, straight-a student. >> general enthusiasm. >> he got the lead role in most of the musicals. very talented. >> i was like, i like this kid, you know, just because, you know, he could make me laugh. and he came from a nice family. >> we said, it's not dan. he's a good kid. >> reporter: jessie's friends agreed. when detectives called danie