until, weeks later when police came back here looking for johnny altinger. wntown to check on a report that was taken from trevor and marissa. and? it did not fit. that call was taken a week before johnny disappeared. besides, no victim ever came forward. no one claimed to have been attacked by a masked man. the whole thing sounded almost like, well, like a scene from a movie. coming up! just maybe, a tv show about a serial killer. >> what attracted to you to dexter? >> what i love about the show in the books is how he was able to explore that darkside. rationalize that it is okay to kill somebody because this person deserved it in a way. >> when dateline continues! it was just so easy to find a car within my budget. i'm just happy i was able to pick this baby. good on ya! we'll drive you happy at carvana. the holidays were awkward for romeo and juliet. ♪♪ thankfully, amazon had just the gift to bring the families together. ♪♪ shop legendary deals. trelegy for copd. ♪birds flyin' high, you know how i feel.♪ ♪breeze driftin' on by...♪ ♪...you know how i feel.♪

of the premeditated first degree murder of johnny altinger. he was sentenced to life in prison. >> i have never been involved in an investigation like this in my whole career. as homicide detectives, you theorize about how someone has died. and there's no doubt that we do not always get it right. we have a good idea, but we're never right. here, we knew exactly what happened to johnny. >> because he told you? >> he told us. ultimately, johnny led us to it. and mark twitchell closed in on himself, by writing >> i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is dateline. >> that night it's absolutely pitch dark. it was abandoned and it was secluded. this was his playground. this was the place we had been searching for. >> it was the still of the night when the killings started. >> i have been shot me and my mother have been shot. >> you can feel in here the fear in her voice. >> a single mother and her teenage daughter, ambushed in their bedrooms. >> here comes a monster into your house. >> i just broke down. i just couldn't imagine w