>> reporter: "we" means veronica ord, then almost 14 years old, and her younger brother, paul. >> and i remember halfway down the road, remembering that i forget my key. but the closer we got to the house, i had seen my sister's car. so i said, "oh, okay, cool." you know, i don't -- i don't need the key. you know, she's home. >> reporter: then she noticed -- the door wasn't quite closed. >> it was closed, but it wasn't latched. like you could just pull on it and the door would open. i remember walking in and oprah was on the tv. >> what did you assume when you saw the door open and the tv on? >> i thought maybe she left in a hurry. maybe she went with a friend, you know, and she just didn't close the door all the way. >> reporter: "she" was tara, veronica's older sister, not quite 20 then. veronica called out. no answer. she walked through the house, bathroom light was on. >> i went and looked in the bathroom and then i went in our bedroom and i'd seen her purse and everything on top of her