brian's mother ran to a payphone frantically pleading for help. >> reporter: brian watkins died on the way to the hospital. old. >> they were the targets of young killers. >> reporter: a tourist was stabbed to death -- >> brian waktins was stabbed. >> how would you describe the media reaction to this murder? wave of panic. >> it is the terror of life in new york city. no one is safe from random violence. >> reporter: new york in 1990 was a city under siege. the worst year of crime in the city's history. >> reporter: twenty five years ago, the man responsible for policing the transit system was >> it was a terrifying time. there was no denying that crime was out of control. >> reporter: bratton is widely recognized top cops. he's run the police departments of america's two largest cities. today, he's on his second tour as new york city's police commissioner. >> but just to put it in perspective, the murders of 1990, compare that to other years. >> there is no comparison 1990 -- 2,243. last year -- 333. >> i'm damn angry. of course i am. >> reporter: beginning with then mayor david dinki

>> reporter: you was one of seven to be convicted of killing brian watkins, a tourist from utah visiting new york city with his family for the u.s. open tennis tournament. watkins was stabbed september 3rd, 1990, on all platforms at the seventh avenue 50 third street subway station. as he defended his family from a group of muggers. new witnesses and come forward claiming enemkpali was not on the platform when watkins was savagely murdered and the enemkpali said the detective be a false confession out of them. >> it is that it took 24 hours for the truth to be uncovered. is sad that they kept in isn't man in prison for so long because of a false confession that it never have taken place but i thank god that now i can put this behind me. >> reporter: the killing of watkins was one of 2200 in 1990. it was emblematic of a far more dangerous city than the one we know today. by comparison 333 people were killed according to the nypd. this there was a long time in coming and his mother could barely find words to describe her joy. >> i bring about isn't the 5 years. >> reporter: he is looking f

important moment in a new york courtroom about a 1990 murder of a tourist in a subway platform, the brian watkins murder. part of your story tonight, a clip from them. one of the young men arrested today. >> we saw you had incredible access to this story. >> we've been working on this story for over a year for an upcoming dateline episode. i talked to his family about the impact of the case and today's decision, so we're going to have our full report coming up at 6:30, and dateline quite soon. we'll tell you about that in the near future. >>> a bronze stapt tue of funny lady lucille ball got a lot of attention being anything but funny. now she has a new location. angry family members demanded it be taken down. the statue will now be scaring folks in the chataqua mall for halloween. >> scaring people, that's what it does. it doesn't look anything like her. >> 'tis the season to scare people. our weather today was the best. temperatures were back in the 70s again and we'll be holding onto that. right now as we look at our view from the top of the rock camera, you'll notice some high clouds streamin

. >> reporter: he was one of seven convicted of killing brian watkins, a tourist from utah visiting new york city for the u.s. open tennis tournament, he was stabbed on september 3rd, 1990, on a platform at the seventh avenue, 50 third street subway station as he defended his family from a group of muggers, new witnesses and come forward claiming he was not on a platform when watkins was savagely murdered and a detective be a false conviction out of him. uncovered, is sad that they kept in isn't man in prison so long because of a false confession that should never have taken place. i sang god now i can put this behind me. >> reporter: the killing of watkins was one of 2200 in 1990, it was emblematic of a more dangerous city than the one we know today. by comparison 333 people were killed in the city according to the nypd. this was a long time in coming and his mother could barely find words to describe her joy. he's looking forward to eating seafood. could face a new trial but he did not think that. >> jim on individuals who did this city or had knowledge of what happened to me. i forgi

. >> brian watkins, a 22-year-old from utah name became a new york city crime statistic last night. and hincapie, 18 years old was iarrested along with six others for killing a utah tourists. he confessed on tape to the crime but later said he was coerced by abusive cops and maintained his innocence. his family remained by his side. >> i dreamed about it. >> reporter: a new trial is a possibility in the future, but first -- >> love you! at?d>> face time? okay. >> reporter: he's catching up ons technogegy. catching up with riends over dinner and grateful for freedom. what's the first thing he wanted with his freedom, seafood. you probably saw the lobster on his plate. he hid dinner at this restaurant behind me this evening. the manhattan d.a. says it will pursue another trial but ncapie says he's taking it one brynn gingras, nbc four new york. >>> police released a video of a man wanted. >> a triple shooting left one of the victims dead. according to investigators, 53-year-old man was fatally unded when he and a co-worker tried to stop a man from breaking in to their shop the co-worker w

. >> labor day weekend of that year, brian watkins, a tourist from utah, visiting from utah, was stabbed and killed at subway platform while being robbed by a group of teenagers. within 24 hours, seven teens, including the 18-year-old confessed on tape to taking part in the robbery. >> [ inaudible ]. >> though he didn't have or use a weapon himself, because he was part of the group, he and the others were convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years to life. >> if you're going to do the crime on transit system, we're coming to get you. >> nypd commissioner bill bratton was in charge of the transit police back then. >> it was a seminole case for me. it allowed us to have a tipping point impact. >> among the changes, thousands of new cops, followed by a 25-year reduction in crime. but questions arose. was justice served? >> did you have any idea what was happening on the platform. >> no. >> he said he left the group on the platform before the robbery and his confession was coerced by an abusive detective. >> he slapped me in my face, and he pulled my hair and kicked me down to the floor.

he spent 25 years in prison for his alleged role in a deadly mugging. 22-year-old brian watkins from utah was stabbed to death in 1990 at the seventh avenue and 53rd street subway. hincapie one of eight people arrested said he only confessed after a detective beat him. >> he didn't rob anybody. he didn't kill anybody. he was falsely wrongly accused and involved in this by the police. >> manhattan district attorney cy vance has not announced whether he will appeal the judge's decision. >>> the u.s. department of justice will release thousands of prison inmates starting this month. about 6,000 inmates will get early releases after changes in federal drug sentences. the inmates are drug offenders who went through an appeal process. this mass release is the largest in the bureau of prisons history. >>> a drug smuggling arrest at newark liberty airport. the drugs hidden in food. u.s. customs and border protection officers said they found 10 pounds of cocaine in cakes, cookies, bags of coffee, powdered drinks all the stuff you see there that giant cookie there, they say william sanchez was

he was only 18 when he was convicted of murder for the 1990 stabbing death of utah tourist brian watkins on a subway platform. tkins was here with his family for the u.s. open. a woman who knew him wasn't at the crime scene until never came forward until recently. he is tweeting developments and we'll have more at 5:00. you can also track the story on nbcnew york.com. >>> turning now to a tragedy on staten island. woman rushing home early from work to see her children was hit and killed by a car. and she was six months pregnant. this happened along hylan boulevard. another pedestrian was killed last night. it is where we find katherine creag with the latest. >> reporter: there is so much sadness here. this is where that young mother, the pregnant mother of two was struck by a car, hylan boulevard, her family is in mourning, also her co-workers also at the restaurant where she worked. co-workers said she had everything to look forward to. six months pregnant and the mother two little girls. >> very hard worker. great woman. >> reporter: the 31-year-old mom just finished her shift, 11:00 l

he was one of seven people arrested for the 1990 stabbing death of brian watkins, a tourist from utah. he confessed to the crime on tape, but he later said he was coerced by abusive police officers. for 25 years he insisted he was innocent. >> i feel wonderful, wonderful. i feel free. >> i've waited 25 years for this. >> incredible. this is the greatest day of our life. >> his conviction was overturned based on the testimony of witnesses who came forward earlier this year. the manhattan district attorney's office says they'll consider retrying the case. >>> new york's top prosecutors are investigating fantasy pay sites draft kings and fan dual for alleged cheating among employees. attorney general eric schneider man wants to know if workers used inside information. it comes after a draft kings employee won $350,000 on fan dual. prosecutors are asking both companies to hand over data going back a year. >>> 4:39. as we've been saying this morning, the yankees' season is over. the team couldn't even get a run out at the stadium last night. some fans booed, others sat there stunned. news

so far we not heard any comment from the family of brian watkins about hincapi-e's release. >> i heard he was sentenced 25 years to life. he 25 years he has done that done his time. say. thank you. >> police are looking for a man suspected groping kids in a park in the bronx. they released this video of him. >> this august 8th, when he allegedly grab ad 13-year-old park. in the -- seat ton falls park and touched a 15-year-old boy inappropriately. >> in the park they say he pulled a 12-year-old boy into a wooded area and grabbed his own waistband. the man said to be slim, a shaved head and foreign accent. if you have any information, look at this video, please call crimestoppers at 1-800-577-tips. >> terrible accident in richmond hills, queens. one little girl dead, a little girl seriously injured. a suv jumped curb in queens. >> it happened 6:00 last night a white suv ran a red light and hit by a black k.i.a. the suv careened on to the sidewalk and hit maria and she was 5 years old and hit another woman and 2-year-old goal. she was pronounced dead. the little girl is in critical but st

he was found guilty for playing a role in the september 1990 murder of brian watkins on new york cityned the innocence saying he was nowhere near the crime scene. he also said he was coerced into making a false confession. joining me now, nbc's lester holt whose "dateline" special is "tipping point" airing tonight on "date lineli." tell us about the case. a stunning reversal for him. >> look at it through the prim of 1990 and crime off the rail in new york city. murders were rampant. violent crime. here this group of tourists from utah in town for the u.s. open. they're on the subway platform going to dinner and a group of teens comes off and a number of them rob them and then kill brian watkins. that was the context of this. there was a lot of pressure. capture the guys. get them within a day they rounded up eight of them, seven were ultimately tried. and convicted. sent away for 25 to life. one of them was johnny. >> there he is in prison. his family is trying to get him out. they believe he's free. i know you spent time with his mother. let's play a little bit of sound from his mom

convicted of killing brian watkins of utah. he was killed from defending his parents while the family was visiting for the u.s. tennis tournament. the judge stopped short of calling him innocent. >>> an 11-year-old boy who jumped out of a window to escape the flames from a house fire in connecticut died. the mayor of new britain said fire broke out in a three family home just before 1:30 this morning. she says it was dark, hot, and the smoke was so dense the boy decided to leap from a second- story window. homeless. >>> there is push for a big change on long island. the suffolk county republican caucus is going to demand major reforms. the red light camera program. they took notice when one man started redirecting the cameras in protest. and now the legislators agree. they say yellow light durations were shortened right after cameras went up. caucus members say this is a got ya law enforcement at its worst. >>> discounts on the bridge the u.s. supreme court disagree with those who objected to island drivers. the judge ruled dis

brian watkins, a young tourist from utah stabbed in the chest defending his parents from muggers in the new york city subway. in the high profile roundup that followed, seven young men were convicted in the attack. others, including hincapie, as accomplices civil rights attorney -- >> i think the da's office always knew that a bunch of people who participated in the killing got away and some people didn't participate in the killing were placed under arrest. >> reporter: the conviction was overturned after hincapie insisted he was elsewhere in the subway at the time of the attack. and two witnesses and a co- defendant came forward to say he wasn't among the attackers. >> he didn't rob anybody. he didn't kill anybody. he was wrongly accused and involved by the police. here we are. >> it is now up to prosecutors to retry the case. we regret the fact that retrying the case would subject the family of mr. watkins to testifying at another trial, said the da. reopening old wounds and forcing them to relive the horror of that night 25 years ago. end quote. nypd commissioner was the chief the ti

he was one of seven young men convicted in the stabbing of brian watkins, a tourist from utah, who was defending his parents from the subway platform mugging. the suspect claims he was just a bystander and was coerced by police into a false confession. steve: a father of two who was gunned down in brooklyn after confronting a group of would-be car thieves. dari: arthur chi'en is live in east williamsburg near the scene hi. >> reporter: this happened at a very brazen 8:00 this morning. one witness tells police he saw three suspects going down the road trying to get into car after car and stealing things through. when they were at the end of the block, the owner of the car they were tampering with comes out. they shoot him, his co-worker and down the avenue, a stray bullet hits a 13-year-old girl in the hip. munch was his nickname. the father of two had a passion for cars. finding a trio breaking into his car ended with him being shot dead. >> they tried opening the doors. they tried to see inside what they had. they went towards his car. and he came outside and i'm assuming confronted t

he maintained he was coerced into confessing that he killed 22-year-old brian watkins of utah back in 1990. a judge rule prosecutors neglected important testimony and ordered a new trial. >> i thought i was going to have a nervous break down. i was crying and breathing heavily. i couldn't believe it. it was surreal to me. >> no word from the manhattan district attorney on whether he plans to appeal or retry the case. >>> an suv jumps the sidewalk in queens, killing a woman and critically injuring her 2-year- old niece. it happened yesterday. the black kia sedan and a white suv collided at the corner of 108th street and atlantic avenue. the impact hit the suv on to the sidewalk and hitting the girl and her mother and her aunt. >> i seen a little girl under the car. and right after that hit, the other woman hit the wall of the building and stopped after that. >> the girl's mother and the two drivers are reported in stable condition. police say the suv driver ran aa red light. so far, no charges have been filed. much more on the story in the next half hour. >>> is bribery business as usu

. >> reporter: tourist brian watkins was in the subway on september 3rd, 1990 when he was stabbed inruggle with at least six teenagers who robbed his father and hit his mother. publications urged the mayor to do something as the city faced a record murder rate. more than 2200 people were killed that year. >> i'm damn angry. of course i am. >> reporter: within 25 hours police rounded up eight suspects including hincapie and he was convicted in 1991. this july, three witnesses came forward to say hincapie was not on the subway platform when the stabbng happened. after a quarter of a century in prison with his family by his side, hincapie celebrated with a seafood dinner where he toasted his future. >> i have plans of my own, but i have to see how seasonable they are, being that the world has changed after so long. >> the world has definitely changed. hincapie has already served a minimum sentence for murder and his lawyer said while in prison, his client finished high school and earned a bachelor's and master's degree. new york city prosecutors have not said if they will appeal the dec

he was one of seven people arrested for the 1990 stabbing death of brian watkins, a tourist from utah. hincapie confessed to the crime on tape but later said he was coerced into a confession by for 25 years, hincapie insisted he was incident. >> i feel wonderful, wonderful. i feel free. >> i waited 25 years for this. >> incredible. this is the greatest day of our life. >> hincapie's conviction was overturned based on the testimony of witnesses who came forward earlier this year. the manhattan da's office says they'll reconsider trying the case. >>> police investigators wondering if something other than gas caused a deadly building explosion in brooklyn. initially authorities believed the explosion was caused from a stove disconnected from a gas line. now the nypd has learned the gas had been shut off to that floor. teams are now combing through the rubble, checking for other types of fuel or chemicals that could have been involved. >>> on long island, some suffolk county lawmakers want to suspend the red light cameras there to investigate claims that the cameras are rigged against dri

swain: and a question from brian watkins, "how much influence did mamie have in ike's declaration ascan? " do we know? irvin holt: we don't know for sure. i have wondered, but i don't think that there's any discussion that they made public about how they decided or he decided. and i'm not sure if her father, being a republican, and he and ike being on very good terms had an influence. i just don't know. swain: here's... irvin holt: well, it more -- it has more to do with who would have been running for president in the republican slot if not eisenhower. and eisenhower really agreed to run because when he looked at the other candidates, he couldn't see them -- especially if they were going to be isolationists -- in the world as it was, after world war ii. swain: post-world war ii. irvin holt: it was almost as if he said, "well, if it has to be me, i can handle this better than these people can." swain: david is watching us in san francisco, and you're on. hi, david. david (ph): david (ph): hi. swain: we're listening. david, go ahead, please, with your question. david (ph): david (ph):

watkins. and the clemson defense rises up. to hold off a furious notre dame rally. >> kirk: interesting call by brian kelly. relying on the feet and the legs the defensive line of clemson. watch dodd and watch watkins work here. and then, you have the safeties come in and help out. but a great job up front. i mean, kevin dodd, 98, would not -- look at the extension there against a tight end, wisher. he just throws him back into the -- into the quarterback. boulware's involved. you saw blanks get in there. >> chris: you saukelly's disappoint. watson's relief. the decision by kelly to go for two early in the fourth quarter. they got that first touchdown. it will be questioned now, the way things eventually worked out. >> kirk: no doubt about that. and you go to the last second here with seven seconds left. you had an unsportsmanlike penalty here on clemson, so, notre dame is going to be kicking from midfield for this onsides kick. and if they -- you know, it's a slippery field, it's wet. recover it, at least it gives you a chance at either a hail mary or a really long field goal. >> chris: cassidy hubbarth wil

watkins. and the clemson defense rises up. to hold off a furious notre dame rally. >> kirk: interesting call by brian kelly. relying on the feet and the legs of kizer -- this is all about the defensive line of clemson. watch dodd and watch watkins work here. and then, you have the safeties come in and help out. but a great job up front. i mean, kevin dodd, 98, would not -- look at the extension there against a tight end, wisher. he just throws him back into the -- into the quarterback. boulware's involved. you saw blanks get in there. >> chris: you saukelly's disappoint. watson's relief. the decision by kelly to go for two early in the fourth quarter. they got that first touchdown. it will be questioned now, the way things eventually worked out. >> kirk: no doubt about that. and you go to the last second here with seven seconds left. you had an unsportsmanlike penalty here on clemson, so, notre dame is going to be kicking from midfield for this onsides kick. and if they -- you know, it's a slippery field, it's wet. if you kick this and you somehow recover it, at least it gives you a chance at either a hail m

watkins. and the clemson defense rises up. to hold off a furious notre dame rally. >> kirk: interesting call by brian kelly. relying on the feet and the legs of kizer -- this is all about the defensive line of clemson. watch dodd and watch watkins work here. and then, you have the safeties come in and help out. but a great job up front. i mean, kevin dodd, 98, would not -- look at the extension there against a tight end, wisher. he just throws him back into the -- into the quarterback. boulware's involved. you saw blanks get in there. >> chris: you saukelly's disappoint. watson's relief. the decision by kelly to go for two early in the fourth quarter. they got that first touchdown. it will be questioned now, the way things eventually worked out. >> kirk: no doubt about that. and you go to the last second here with seven seconds left. you had an unsportsmanlike penalty here on clemson, so, notre dame is going to be kicking from midfield for this onsides kick. and if they -- you know, it's a slippery field, it's wet. if you kick this and you somehow recover it, at least it gives you a chance at either a hail m

watkins. and the clemson defense rises up. to hold off a furious notre dame rally. brian kelly. relying on the feet and the legs of kizer -- this is all about the defensive line of clemson. work here. and then, you have the safeties come in and help out. but a great job up front. i mean, kevin dodd, 98, would not -- look at the extension there against a tight end, wisher. he just throws him back into the -- into the quarterback. boulware's involved. you saw blanks get in there. >> chris: you saukelly's disappoint. watson's relief. the decision by kelly to go for two early in the fourth quarter. they got that first touchdown. it will be questioned now, the way things eventually worked out. >> kirk: no doubt about that. and you go to the last second here with seven seconds left. you had an unsportsmanlike penalty here on clemson, so, kicking from midfield for this onsides kick. and if they -- you know, it's a slippery field, it's wet. if you kick this and you somehow recover it, at least it gives you a chance at either a hail mary or a really long field goal. >> chris: cassidy hub