. >> reporter: rick abbot was one of the night watchmen on duty the night of the crime. until now, he'd never done a television interview about what happened that night. rick was 23 years old back in 1990. he had been working at the museum for about a year. the guard's shift began at 11:30 p.m. a shift that most nights was uneventful. >> boring. yeah, sit around, walk around, basically. one guy would go up and start his rounds, and then when he came back, the other would get behind the desk and the other person would go up. >> on this night, things would be far from boring. during the night shift, there is always one guard manning the computer at the security desk by the side door. the employee entrance, which was the only way into the museum at night. that door was locked. so anyone who wanted to get into the museum would have to ring the buzzer. the guard on duty at the desk could see who was ringing that buzzer through a security camera perched outside right above the door. the camera is in plain sight. if there was trouble, the guard had just one way of alerting the o