dylan mcdermott actually heard his mother's final moments. violent argument with her boyfriend inside this house, followed by a gunshot. >> dylan watched his mother being taken out of the house on a gurney, and even at 5 years old had a vivid recollection of that. >> it was classified first as accidental, and then it was classified possibly as a suicide. >> reporter: out of this tragedy, mcdermott went on to become a big star on the small screen, recently playing a pychiatrist living in a haunted house in "american horror story." >> it's okay. it's okay. >> there's something in there! >> it's okay. >> reporter: and a ruthless boss and attorney in "the practice." >> i'm doing what i have to do to defend my client. >> reporter: but for all his success, lingering questions about his mother's death never left him. and in 2010, he asked the police to look into the case once more. investigators had difficulty finding 45-year-old police reports, so they instead combed through newspaper clippings, reinterviewed witnesses and took a closer look at the

dylan mcdermott had violent memories of his mother and her boyfriend, john sponza. him enough, that last year he pushed police to reopen the investigation into the mystery that plagued him for half a century and is now solved. he has the starring role on fx's "american horror story." but he was living his own nightmare. the actor was 5 years old, when his mother, diane mcdermott died after a gunshot wound to the head. he was a key witness, standing on the doorstep of their home. he heard shouting. then, the fatal gunshot. john sponza, mcdermott's boyfriend at the time, was a known gangster and heroin addict. he gave a statement to police. >> one statement says that miss mcdermott accidentally shot herself. the second version he gave police, was that she picked up the gun and committed suicide. >> reporter: connecticut police ruled it an accident. but the medical examiner reported the gun found near the body was too small a caliber to be the weapon used to kill her. and that the gun had been pressed to the back of her head. >> any trained, competent homicide investig

winning bite to eat and take in some culture as well. óm >>> police in connecticut say actor dylan mcdermott'sther was murderrd back in 1967. the actor was just five years old at the time of her together and had recently asked police to reopen the case which had at first been ruled an accident. police now say his mother's boyfriend, who had ties to organized crime and reportedly abused mcdermott and his mother, killed her. that man identified by police as john spanza, was shot and killed back in 19726789. >>> yesterday marked three years since michael jackson died. doesn't even seem like it's been that long. his daughter paris was one of many to honor him on twitter. she posted a message. here is the quote. rip michael jackson. dad, you will forever be in my heart. i love you. jackson's youngest brother, randy, visited the grave site in glendale, california and you've probably seen images on the website all over perez hilton, for instance, a group of fans raised $30,000 to decorate jackson's tomb with 10,000 roses. unbelievable sight. >> wonderful. >>> the next time you are looking to impress

dylan mcdermott, famous from "the practice" and "american horror story" his mother was killed, believedry of 1967. years later, he is ready to deal with the family tragedy. he goes back to police in connecticut. and asks them to reopen the case. which they do. and come to find out she did not commit suicide, his mother diane, she actually was murdered by this guy named john spanza, killed himself in 1972, he had links to organized crime. basically went to the police superintendent of the town and said i never have been able to deal with it. want to deal now. please reopen the case. when they did they found out it was this guy who killed her. hopefully a sense of peace now. >> peace and definitely closure. >> for sure. >> absolutely. since us three got a haircut. since my first twenty-ninth birthday. [ female announcer ] live flake-free with head & shoulders. it starts working from your first wash. with seven benefits, there's no worries from flakes, itch or breakage. i haven't worried about flakes since my grunge days. remember them? trying not to. [ female announcer ] head & shoulders.

once considered a cold case, a reopened police investigation in connecticut determined actor dylan mcdermott's1967 by her then boyfriend, a gangster, now dead. the case was reopened after mcdermott recently raised questions about her death to officials. police say they have enough evidence to prove he killed her. >>> here is what's coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news." brian. >> hey, natalie, good morning. coming up tonight we'll update you on a story we brought awe few weeks ago. a mother's fight for her daughter. she took on the government to save her dying daughter and she won. a big breakthrough especially where bone marrow transports are concerned. we'll have the story tonight. for now, natalie, back to you. >> thank you, brian. now for a look at what's trending today. a quick roundup of what has you talking online. another video by barak, makes the president sing and rap. in this spoof, a spoof of justin bieber's "boyfriend." ♪ >> the clippard racked up more than 100,000 hits on youtube. >>> just call them the real life wedding crasher. they were posing with their wedding party on a s