Transcripts For MSNBCW Dateline 20240703

Life. I wanted them to find the real killer. I wanted all of this to be behind us. And go on happily ever after. Single mom single dad. And any single moment, it was love. He was very handsome. He was fun. All smiles, very outgoing, charming. Everything he did melted my heart. But there is Something Else about this dreamy single dad, something about his past, something deadly. My wife, shes dead. I just came into the house, i saw janet on the floor. She was crying, he was in shock. His whole life was shattered. He said i should probably let you know that my wife was actually murdered. Killed in a crime that had never been solved. She was almost the perfect victim. And what about him . He had become the focus in his first wifes mysterious death. Was he a victim too . On the father, i have a family, i did not kill janet. I felt horrible for him. You did not want to believe . It who would want to believe that . Hello. Welcome to dateline. Vanessa pond was a single parent looking for Second Chance at love. And in raven abaroa, she thought she found her soulmate. The pair started dating. Then, came a chilling admission. Raven told vanessa he was carrying some heavy baggage, more than 2000 miles away. He was a suspect in his wifes unsolved murder. Still, vanessa cloned to the dream that they could live happily ever after. Here is Josh Mankiewicz with deadly denial. She had found plenty of the wrong guys, now, here in front of her was someone different. We met at a daycare for both of our children. Vanessa pond of Salt Lake City was 25 and a single parent went back in 2007 she met raven abaroa. Like vanessa, he was single and raising a child alone. He was very charming, he would always come up with such he seemed very different. A good guy . Very good guy. And you felt for him . Hard. Along with the charm and the lavish dates, raven also had a story. A horrible, awful story. That had changed his life and would also change vanessa ponds. The story raven told wasnt just about himself, it was about his first white janet. He said, i should probably let you know that my wife was actually murdered. The murder, raven said, happen three years earlier when he and janet were living in north carolina. It happened in a Home Invasion and he came home and found her and he didnt want to talk about it any further. It was not the kind of thing vanessa expected to hear from the man who had just stolen her heart. I was beside myself. Vanessa retreated to her laptop and began searching online. Looking for exactly the details. Raven abaroa had not provided. I had started researching and i stayed up to 4 30 in the morning. The homicide, vanessa learned, occurred in april of 2005. Raven had just come home from playing in the soccer game when he found his wife on the floor of their tiny second floor office. Janet had been stabbed three times. Raven talk to us about that dreadful discovery. When i initially looked at her, im talking to her, like hey, janet, what is wrong . And then it clicks on me that she her eyes are open looking at me but she is not blinking her eyes. Something was terribly wrong. My wife, shes dead okay. Youre gonna have to calm down, whats the address . For janets parents, val and janet it was the worst day of their lives. I picked up the phone and there is raven screaming into the phone. Shes gone. Thats what he was saying, shes gone. Of course, i cant breathe. I thought for sure i was gonna have a heart attack. Theyve raced to durham, n. C, to be by rave inside. We immediately broke down into bawling tears. I remember putting my arms around him and saying that we will get through this together. Everyone was left to wonder, why janet . A woman as gentle as she was pretty. She is extremely loyal i guess is the word, with all of her friends, when she has Close Friends shes really good to them, shes really good to me. She always wanted everybody to be happy. Very supportive of people, love to help other people. That came in handy growing up in a mormon household with no fewer than nine siblings. She was a peacemaker. She didnt like confrontation . Absolutely not. In college janet excelled, in the classroom, and especially on the soccer field. But from a very early age, janet had her sights set on something more. Her goal in life was to be married and have children and be a mom. Having a very, well, a perfect home. Enter her college sweetheart, raven abaroa. With her, you know, i want to say that i knew right away, her not started talking about long term relationships three weeks into being together. She was janets best friend in college. He was very handsome, and i said all the time, you are the all american couple. It was a foregone conclusion that the young couple was destined for marriage. It rained the night of the wedding, but no one seemed to care. And then the perfect all american couple completed the perfect picture, well coming into their world a son, caden. She said this is so phenomenal. She loved, she absolutely loved being a mother. But just six months later, that perfect picture went dark. Janet was discovered lying in a pool of her own blood. Was there anyone who disliked her . Not that i know of. She was a good person. Three years later in Salt Lake City, the news of Janet Homicide was also shocking to vanessa pond. Vanessa had learned the killing had never been solved. She wanted more details from raven. About his terrible loss. We sat down, had a conversation, i had my questions right now and so, we addressed every single one. How long did that take . We took an entire evening just to go over everything. When the evening was over, vanessa was convinced that the horrific crime, back in 2005, had claimed two victims. One of course was janet, but the other was raven. I felt so, so sorry for him. I couldnt imagine, possibly, going through that. Coming up why had this killing never been solved . We delve into the clues. A bloody shoe print, mystery dna, and a coin in the yard. When dateline continues. Ever notice how stiff clothes can feel rough on your skin . For softer clothes that are gentle on your skin, try downy free gentle. Downy will soften your clothes without dyes or perfumes. The towel washed with downy is softer, and gentler on your skin. Try downy free gentle. I gotta good feeling about this, yeah is softer, and gentler on your skin. Im with it i gotta good feeling about this yeah, so lets get it im feeling good vibes oh what a good time we will have you can make it happen yeah oh now, try new Dietary Supplements from voltaren for healthy joints. On your period, sudden gushes happen. Say goodbye gush fears thanks to always ultra thins. With rapiddry technology. That absorbs two times faster. Hellooo clean and comfortable. Always. Fear no gush. Dude . Dog food in the fridge . Its not dog food. Its freshpet. Real meat. Real veggies. Real weird. He was bad luck anyway. The power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. And thats a good thing . Great in my book who are you . No power . No problem. Introducing stormready wifi. Now you can stay reliably connected through Power Outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery backup to keep you online. Only from xfinity. The disturbing story of how home of the xfinity 10g network. Raven abaroas first wife had been killed did not scare off vanessa pond. She was in love with him and committed to helping raven get beyond both, the heartbreaking loss of janet and the homicide investigation. I wanted to i wanted them to find the killer. I wanted all of this to be behind us. But, vanessa knew that wouldnt be easy. The past seem to haunt raven as he shared with vanessa just how much janet had meant to him. He laid, kind of, in a Fetal Position next to me, and then, he just started talking about how mad he was after janet died. He said, i love my wife. I loved my wife. For everyone who loved janet, the days following the homicide back in 2005 were agonizing. Raven said, he found himself asking the same question over and over again. Why we could have this beautiful child, this beautiful relationship, and then to have her die. A friend of both janet and raven attended janets memorial service. He looked crushed. He was trying to hold up. Soon, attention turned to finding her killer. We didnt know exactly what happened, all we could think is that somebody broke into the house for what reason, did expect there, and killed her. Charles sole, now retired, was a cop with the Durham Police department in 2005, when he was called to the scene of the homicide. It was a two story family resident. Nice part of town . It was quiet, for sure. First responders found janet lying on the floor of the office. She was on her back, her shirt was raised up, exposing the wound to the center of her chest. Janet also had a stab wound to her hand, suggesting that she tried to protect yourself. The fatal wound was to her neck, and the weapon was nowhere in sight. It was literally no disturbance on the desk. Suggesting it was not in violence trouble. No, not at all. Which was kind of odd, based on being a stabbing. Crime scene investigators began the task of swabing the entire house. It was no surprise that most of the blood and fingerprints tested came back is either raven or janets. There was some things that tax had a hard time explaining. The first was a fingerprint found on the upstairs Office Closet door, not far from jennas body. That print didnt come back . Anybody know. Then, there was a shoe print left in blood, next to janet. Could you tell anything about this bloody footprint . It was right by janet, but nothing definitive about the type of shoe, the make, or anything. Finally, analysts found unidentified dna mixed with janets blood on a door leading to the side entrance. None of that forensic evidence could be traced to raven, janet or anyone connected to the investigation. Those are things, as an investigator, you absolutely want to try to figure out. Technicians process the house, detectives began interviewing raven, hoping he could help point in the direction of the killer. Raven was visibly crying, he looked like he was distraught and upset. He, himself, said he had new enemy. He realizes some items from the house were missing. They asked me, where was the last time you had the computer . This wouldve been later that night, or the next. Day it was later that night. The initial meeting with them. His computer was gone, robbery . It was possible. He also talked about some knives been missing. But theyre a lot of burglaries in the neighborhood . Yes. Lisa c lee was one of the neighbors, who had been burglarized. Your car was broken into, right . Yes. It was unlocked, someone went into it and took us some change. A seemingly petty, relatively insignificant theft, until the canine dog was called to search the grounds of the admiral home, where janet had been killed. When the dog got to the front of the house, it stopped, unexpectedly. It was in that proximity without bottle is. The dog made the alert, that there was something in that area. Amongst the weeds, the dog had found a coin. One of the neighbors found the and some change had been stolen. You are correct. I guess, at least one theory this coin was for that. It certainly couldve been. A homicide, a burglary down the road and a coin that could link the two. Detectives needed to find out more about that coin. Coming up secrets from the past revealed. You never knew when the coin would flip and All Of A Sudden, everything that was wrong with the world when dateline continues. An addfor specific types of moderatetosevere asthma. And can help improve Lung Function for better breathing in as little as two weeks. Dupixent helps prevent asthma attacks. And can even reduce or eliminate oral steroids. Can you picture it . Dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. Get help right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. Tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. Dont change or stop asthma medicines, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. Who knows what you can do when you du more with less asthma. Ask your Asthma Specialist about dupixent. The theory that janet was dead may have been Collateral Damage from a burglary gone bad was not getting traction. Generally, were you they run away . Thats correct, there was no rummaging. The jurors werent gone through, no ransacking that you would see an outbreak in. It just didnt add up. As for the coin found in front of the home, the police dog was unable to track assent from it, back to the house or anywhere else. Detectives were having a hard time finding a link between the burglary down the road and janets killing. The next step was the obvious one, the text of took a look at janets husband, raven. Its pretty common to look at the spouse in situations like this. That is correct. , you know, thats part of the process. According to raven, the day of the murder was like any other for the abaroas. He told investigators not a member of rioters had come to their house. He loved janet and his son at home, to go play in a nighttime soccer game about half an hour away. Jason small was one of Ravens Teammates. Business as usual. Bunch of guys playing soccer together, trying to be on the team, nothing out of the ordinary, he seemed normal to you that night. After the game, brave and told police he drove to a gas station to grab a sports drink. Are you doing . Just to be sure, detectives checked the Station Security and there was raven. Ravens that he then headed home to find Kaiden Undisturbed in his crib but janet, lying in a pool of blood. My wife, shes dead okay, youre gonna have to calm down, okay . Whats the address . The tactics also talk to ravens family and friends, he was outgoing, friendly, charming, and broke. They dont have any money, they cant rub two nickels together. Money, or the lack of, it couldve been behind something that happened five months earlier, raven had been caught stealing Sporting Equipment from his employer, and reselling it on ebay. Ravens mother, karen, was stunned. I just couldnt believe it, how could you be so stupid . But at least he admitted it, he didnt try to get out of it. I was proud of him for that. For owning up . For owning up. Along with the young couples financial stress, friends told Detectives Raven and janet had also had a brush with infidelity. According to janets friend, brittany, within just months of the wedding, raven had cheated on janet. How did she sound when that happened . Devastated. And then she went back with him after that . She forgave him. She made promises to love him for good, for bad, for ugly and to support him. But brittani notice other problems in the marriage. Janet, she says, was struggling with what appeared to be ravens increasingly dramatic mood swings. She told me that sometimes things were like perfect and it was like holding your breath because you never knew when the coin would flip and All Of A Sudden everything that was wrong in the world was her fault. Things got so bad that a year before the homicide, janet and raven briefly separated. By itself, a Marriage On The Rocks did not mean raven wasnt anyway responsible for janets death. Despite police suspicion, many refused to believe raven could or would kill janet. Including janets own parents. When you heard the police thought raven was a suspect, what did you think . I defended him. You stuck up for him . I couldnt bear the fact that someone whom i intrusted my childs life with would turn on her like that. I could not go there. Neither could raven and janets friend misty. Raven could not have killed janet, he loved her. He loved her. He wouldve done that. Detectives had an equally difficult time convincing the District Attorney who after reviewing the evidence felt there wasnt nearly enough to get an indictment. They are the ones that make the decision, why they didnt do it, i dont know. With no other strong leads, the investigation into janet on the side began to cool. Raven had relocated to utah to be closer to his family. Which is where, two years later, he met vanessa pond. He wanted to move things very, very, very quickly. With you . Yes. Despite all the things vanessa had learned about raven, she stood by him. In part because raven was really upfront about how police were investigating him. He said that they didnt have anybody else to look at which is why he was the only person of interest. Wait a minute, you find out that a guy you are going out with was a suspect in a murder, still a suspect in a murder yeah . And he gets another date . He talked me into that. Everything he did just melted my hard because i felt, i felt so bad for him. And thats how vanessa decided raven, the person of interest, remain the only person she was interested in spending the rest of her life with. After a four month long courtship, raven proposed and vanessas head because. Both before vanessa walked down the aisle she sought foot council of her father randy. Randi pond wasnt just her father, he was also a retired cop with 23 years on the force. Randi decided he needed a man to man with raven. He came in and he was all smiles and very, very fun to be around, very talkative, outgoing. You and your wife taught good . Oh yes, i was very impressed with raven. So impressed randy gave the two his blessing. How is the wedding . The wedding was beautiful. It was great. And you thought, whats, were gonna be okay . Absolutely. Coming up you think, at last, justice. Yes. And arrest in the case when dateline continues. Feeling sluggish or weighed down . Could be a sign that your digestive system isnt at its best. But a little metamucil everyday can help. Metamucils psyllium fiber gels to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down and also helps lower cholesterol and slows Sugar Absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. So you can feel lighter and more energetic. Lighten everyday the metamucil way. Feel less sluggish weighed down after just 14 days. Sign up for the 2 week challenge at metamucil. Com rebecca it wasnt until after they had done the surgery to remove all the toes that it really hit me. You see the commercials. You never put yourself in that persons shoes until youre there. announcer you can quit. Call 1800quitnow for help getting free medication. Want your clothes to smell freshly washed all day without heavy perfumes . Try downy light inwash freshness boosters. It has longlasting light scent, no heavy perfumes, and no dyes. Finally, a light scent that lasts all day. Downy light [ sighs ] cant sleep . Just a lot on my mind. I cant sleep either. It only gets tougher with age. Mom, what . Well, knowing progressive can protect your home, auto, and business should help you relax. Good, because i could use a good nights sleep me too. Dyknow how early the Chimney Sweep gets up every day . Wait, is this all a dream . Why would jamie be in my dream . I am americas biggest spokesperson debatable. I said biggest well, hes got you there. Air wick. Air wicks limited Edition Fragrances are infused with natural Essential Oils for authentic seasonal scents that fill your home with warmth and cheer. The Writers Guild of america announces a tentative deal with a hollywood contract. The agreement is ratified by killed members would bring an end to the historic writer strike that began in may. The fight for new contract, riders demanded higher computation, and individuals as well as stronger protection against a i. Hollywood actors are still on strike. Now back to dateline. To dateline welcome back to dateline, im craig melvin. Vanessa pond thought that raven admiral was honest and true, but that was a far cry from what investigators covered. A trail of circumstantial evidence led them to believe that raven was a killer, yet he remained free man. Janets family was desperate for answers. Here again is Josh Mankiewicz with, deadly denial. The family never gave up the request to pursue their family s killer. They made phone call after phone call to police in durham. We just werent sure that they would be able to ever solve the case. But, detectives felt that they already had. They shared with janets family the evidence of ravens stealing and cheating. Eventually, jens parents agreed that raven was responsible for killing janet. I just knew in my heart that he had done it. It was a horrible realization. In 2009, new, more aggressive prosecutors reach the same conclusion, after taking a fresh look at the evidence. Concluding, there was, after all, enough to seek an indictment. Five years after janets killing, raven admiral was arrested and extradited back to durham to stand trial for first degree murder. When reagan was finally arrested, you think but, at last, justice . Yes. Finally. In april 2013, assistant District Attorney Charlene Franks was tapped to look at the case. You felt in pretty good shape heading to trial . Yes, i did. Prosecutor franks first one after ravens character, by calling women from his past. She hopes the jury would start to see the defendant as an amoral, controlling man, who cared little about his marriage. You swear To Tell The Truth And Nothing But the truth she testified that one afternoon she went to his house and revenge odorous ex tape, and then janet came home the. We have to go hide, we have to go hide. He almost physically pushed me, didnt hurt me, but he pushed me into the closet. I just stayed until she left, and then i left. Next to testify, ravens coworker, and abel have zero. She said raven flirted with her and they eventually had six. I did say to him, what if your wife finds . Out he said, she wont ever know. Prosecutor franks then got to the heart of your case, opening to prove that janet was trapped in an emotional lee abusive marriage. Janet ever talking about problems she had in a marriage . Yes. Breast finn, Brittany Romero said that she heard just how destructive janets merit had become. I overheard him talking to janet, and the way that you wouldnt want your dogs to talk to. Would it be . Say he said that she was good for nothing, that she couldnt do anything right. Brittani said, raven had taken control over every aspect of janets life, including your phone calls. Who he doesnt like me talking to you, she said, i have to walk to the pay phone to talk to you. My heart just i said, how long have you been walking to the pay phone, and how far is this payphone . Does any of this makes us sense to my friend . She was almost the perfect victim for a Domestic Violence situation. She did exactly why she was told, when she was told. Do you feel sorry for janet . Yes. I felt sorry for the fact that she didnt have an outlet. If janet was a perfect victim, who was raven . Hes a predator. A predator, who, according to Charlene Franks, lied repeatedly to police. For proof, she turned to janets contact lenses. One of the biggest things where the contacts. In his interview with police, raven said that janet was in bed, watching tv and about to go to sleep, when he left or to go play soccer. And all the sisters, mom, dad, they were adamant that, before going to bed, janet always took the outer contact ounces. On a hunch, detectives exam jennas body, according to the prosecution, unearth the truth, when they discovered that she was still wearing her contacts. Suggesting that she wasnt about to go to bed, as her husband had suggested . Correct. She was not in that bed to sleep. Then, prosecutor frankss turn to ravens non 11 call. Is your wife conscious . No, shes, like, blue. Shes blue . Her eyes are open. He says she was dead. Her lips were blue, and her eyes were open. But, mike guzman, the admiral is councillor, testified that raven said scum something really different about finding janet. I believe he said to me that she had asked him why do i hurt so bad . That statement he made to mike is extremely important, because that shows she was not dead at the time that he was with her. One of those is a lie . Exactly. One item conspicuously absent from a growing pile of states evidence was the weapon. Franks had something that she thought was just as good, the evidence that raven was a collector of knives. Raven had told detectives that his collection was missing, along with his laptop. Then, there was the issue of motive. Prosecutors dont need to prove it, but jurors need to come to expect it. It charlene francs called charlene garrett, ravens boss, at the time of janets death. Garrett told the jury that raven knew he was about to lose his job. Did i get my picks the boss . I said, no word, in a way to the end of the month. Charlene francss point that and mounting debt couldve driven raven to kill. She then show the jury jans Life Insurance policy. The payout was 500,000. The beneficiary was raven abaroa. The only way you could afford to lives lifestyle was to get that insurance policy. Another piece of this puzzle was about to be presented in court, it had to do with raven second wife, vanessa pond. It turns out, vanessa and raven were not a match made in heaven. I was way too naive, way too naive. Vanessa traveled from Salt Lake City to durham to testify, not for the defense, but for the prosecution. She told the jury how her storybook romance with raven ended almost as quickly as a began. Did you guys argue a lot . Yes. At one point, vanessa said, raven became physical. He had me by the arms and he threw me up against the wall. He told me how much he hated me, and how much he didnt care if i died. Right after that, he comes right down. Im so sorry, im so sorry, im so sorry. According to vanessa, raven display that same moody, unpredictable behavior again and again. The moment he got fired up about anything, he flew off the handle with that quick . Instant. Their marriage lasted only three months. You think you escape something worse than just about three month marriage . Absolutely. Charlene franks rested or case with confidence, even if she admitted that there were some things that she didnt have. No Murder Weapon . No. No witnesses . No. No blood in his car . No. His advantage was trying to say that im just a bad husband, i am a criminal as far as money goes, but theres no evidence i can my wife. Now, it was the defenses turn to fire back. Coming up and fire back they did. Among their targets, rraven second wife. Vanessa has your motives for saying which is going to say. Which would be . When dateline continues. Do you struggle with occasional nerve aches in your hands or feet . Try Nervive Nerve relief from the worlds number one nerve care company. Nervive contains ala to relieve nerve aches, and bcomplex vitamins to fortify healthy nerves. Try nervive. And, try nervive pain relieving rollon. Raven sat quietly at the Defense Table as the prosecutor wrapped up her case. But inside, raven said he was fuming. There is no evidence that says that i did it. Theyre coming up with circumstantial stuff that are quite frankly lies. Raven has always maintained his innocence. Did you love her . I did love her. Did you kill her . I did not kill her. And raven says he did not emotionally abused janet either. You were abused accused of dominating her . Truth to that . No truth to that, no truth at all. I have a strong personality but ive never been dominating. Just as ravens Defense Attorney called Character Witnesses of their own. Offering the jury a completely different image of both raven and Ravens Relationship with janet. They were a close couple. They really seem to have a genuine concern and love for each other. Misty couldnt recognize the man the state was describing. I dont know what they were talking about. I was shocked, very shocked. What are they saying . Not only about raven but about janet. When you heard janet described in court as this meek, little mouse who you were pushing around yeah. Does that sound familiar to you at all . No. Shes quiet and reserved but when she did talk people listened. But what about the testimony that janet would walk a mile to a payphone so raven wouldnt find out that she was talking to her best friend brittany . That doesnt make you look like a good guy. That didnt happen, never happened. Totally fabricated story. More evidence that janet was an independent spouse with a will of her own came from the prosecution, after it made a stunning announcement, a computer hard drive had suddenly been found in an evidence locker. It was an inconvenient piece of evidence. It was the hard drive from janets were computer, containing emails she sent right around the time of her death. The hard drive, to me, was janets voice and it was the truth about who janet really was. Some of that emails selected by the defense exposed a flirtation janet was having with an old fling. Raven side said those emails made it clear, janet was making decisions on her own. It showed that people were taking the stand and saying things that werent true. If the hard drive had been part of the evidence from the very beginning, you wouldve seen the whole picture of janet and janet and Ravens Relationship. The defense immediately made a motion for a mistrial. Arguing that without this new evidence, they were unable to properly cross examine the states witnesses. The judge did not agree. Motion for mistrial is denied. The defense decided to hit head on what were by now ravens undeniable misdeeds. Ive done a lot of bad things in my life. I admit that. Most damaging was ravens history of infidelity, janet knew of at least one of fair, and when janet confided in her motherinlaw, karen said she was furious with raven. I said, he doesnt deserve you, leave him. You told her to go . Yes. They did separate. Janet called me just a few months later and she said we have been to counseling and we love each other. Im not leaving him either as he. Did you think that their troubles were behind them . I knew the troubles were behind them, they were stronger than ever. Then came that horrible night in 2005, almost as soon as karen arrived in durham, she said she had an uneasy feeling about the investigation and the way police were looking at raven. I think the immediately decided, oh, this guy is not perfect. He has embezzled. Husband always does it. They wanted it to be raven. Defensive attorneys hammered Crime Scene Analyst the possible exculpatory evidence. They claim was being ignored. The bloody footprint, the fingerprint on the Office Closet door, and the dna on the storm door to the side entrance. All of which were never identified, and any of which defense that could have been left by an unknown killer. There was a lot of things that they didnt do. Forensic evidence that wasnt pursued. But Defense Attorneys felt jurors wouldnt have to look any further than ravens alibi to be convinced of his innocence. Mike guzman, was the last person to see the couple on the night of the killing. On that particular night, did there seem to be any stress in their relationship . No. Did they seem to be getting along just fine . Yes. He said that he left the abaroas at 7 pm. It seemed like any other night that i was there. Both the prosecution and defense agreed, it wouldve taken raven about 30 minutes to drive to the sports arena where he played soccer that night. The defense called Ravens Teammate jason small, he testified raven got to the game right before it started at 9 pm. Was raven there when you got there . Yes. What was he doing when you got there . He was already warming up on the field. Add it all up, the defense says, and raven would have had to kill janet, clean up and compose himself enough to appear normal on the soccer field. All within less than 90 minutes. There wasnt the time for him to get it all done, change clothes, get to the game, it just didnt make sense. The defense was about to rest. But first, in needed to address the damaging testimony of vanessa pond, ravens second wife. She says you put your hands on her, shoved her, push up against the wall. Yeah, and i pointed my finger poking her. Didnt leave bruises, but i poked her. But the story has been twisted. Vanessa has her motives for saying whats shes going to say. Which would be . Shes better, obviously. You didnt believe anything but its upon said . No. Karen suggested that her testimony was payback for a bitter breakup back in 2008. How do you believe someone would do that, but karen said she overheard raven on the phone with vanessa soon after they broke a. He happened to have it on speakerphone, she was screaming at him, how dare he leave her . She flat out said all it takes it one phone call for me, it doesnt matter when i say, people will believe me. You heard her say that . I heard her say that. You ever threatened him like that . No. He threatened me. A Courtroom Battle between two bitterly divided families was about to come to an end. Now, it was up to the jury, but just after 24 hours, word began to spread throughout the courthouse, there was trouble in the jury room. Coming up another stunning turn was in store for both sides. Heartbroken, shocked, stunned. Scared . Terrified. When dateline continues. Sometimes, the lows of Bipolar Depression feel darkest before dawn. With caplyta, theres a chance to let in the lyte™. Caplyta is proven to deliver significant relief across Bipolar Depression. Unlike some medicines that only treat bipolar i, caplyta treats both bipolar i and ii depression. And in clinical trials, Movement Disorders and weight gain were not common. Call your doctor about sudden mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts. Antidepressants may increase these risks in young adults. Elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. Report fever, confusion, stiff or uncontrollable muscle movements which may be life threatening or permanent. These arent all the serious side effects. Caplyta can help you let in the lyte™. Ask your doctor about caplyta find savings and support at caplyta. Com. smelling ew. Gotta get rid of this. Tell me why because it stinks. Have you tried downy rinse and refresh it helps remove odors 3x better than detergent alone. It worked guys Yeahhhh Downy rinse and refresh. Trelegy for copd. Birds flyin high, you know how i feel. Breeze driftin on by. You know how i feel. You dont have to take. [coughing]. Copd sitting down. Its a new dawn,. Its a new day, its time to make a stand. And im feelin good. Start a new day with trelegy. No oncedaily copd. Medicine has the power to treat copd. In as many ways as trelegy. With three medicines in one inhaler,. Trelegy makes breathing easier for a full 24 hours, improves Lung Function, and helps prevent future flareups. Trelegy wont replace a rescue inhaler. For sudden breathing problems. Tell your doctor if you have a Heart Condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Do not take trelegy more than prescribed. Trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. Call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating,. Vision changes, or eye pain occur. Take a stand, and start a new day with trelegy. Ask your doctor about oncedaily trelegy. And save at trelegy. Com. An investigation spanning eight years. A fiveweeklong trial with more than 80 witnesses. Our building to this one moment. It was painful. It didnt feel like it was going good, it didnt feel like it was going bad it was just painful. A painful three or four weeks. Janets parents felt optimistic. Were you hopeful . Yes. And one word, yes. But, after just ten hours, were came out of the Deliberation Room that the jury was irrevocably deadlocked. The quarters of the opinion that the deliberations of this jury would not likely reach a verdict. The court, and its discretion, will the split came down 11 to 1, in favor of conviction. And then they come, back in the Carriage A Verdict would you think . I had prepared to walk out of court that day, or spend life behind bars. And never even crossed my mind that a mistrial could be double decleared. But one thing i wasnt prepared for was to sit in Durham County and do this all over again. It was an outcome that no one seemed to want. For all the one person to say that he was guilty, and one of them, undecided. I was thinking, really . Send him back. Vanessa pond was back in Salt Lake City when she heard. How did you feel when the jury couldnt come to a verdict . Heartbroken, shocked, stunned. Scared . Terrified. Prosecutor franks immediately announced that she would try raven again. But, almost one year after the judge declared a mistrial, and less than one week before round two of Jury Selection was scheduled to begin, the state made a stunning announcement. Last week the District Attorneys office extended a plea to that has been accepted the das office made raven admiral a offer he couldnt refuse. Plead guilty to manslaughter, not murder, and serve less than four more years in prison. Do you personally accept this call . Yes. You are okay with that . Given the alternative. Because if he gets try to, get in his acquittal he walks free. Immediately. This wasnt just any plea raven was offered an alfred plea. Meaning he would not be offered that did not sit well with prosecutor franks. It wasnt my decision to make. I try the cases, im not the administrator. That was up to my boss, and my supervisor. Why did take the plea . I took the plea to get out. To get out. To have a guaranted date to get out, and be with my son. I felt that there was so much corruption, so much lying that was going into the trial, i just knew i wasnt going to get a fair trial. He denied any responsibility for this crime. We were very disappointed in that. I wanted to throw up. That was like stabbing janet all over again. He didnt mention, im sorry. He admitted nothing. Apologized for nothing. It was so cold. In trials like this, there are no winners, just two sides, bitterly divided. The person who killed my wife right now things hes home free, but im trying to clear my name so that we can shift the focus, and know that there is still a killer out there who, right now, is walking on the streets. Custody of janet and ravens son, caden, was granted to ravens mother. Janets mom is left with the memories of the daughter that she loved and lost. How often do you think about janet . Constantly. The only way i can handle it is i know shes happy. I know she is. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Im craig melvin. Thank you for watching. Im craig melvin. Im natalie morales. And this is dateline. My question is why . I did not need to, to my only question was wh