Transcripts For KNTV Dateline NBC 20131026

And heres what made this so chilling. Costumes. The cowboy and the penguin, everybody is dressed as everybody else. Cowboy, penguin, costume killer . Sounds like something ripped from the pages of stephen king. A halloween crime that sends sheriffs down your spine. I was terrified something had happened. I didnt know what. Im lester holt, and welcome to dateline dont watch this one alone. Narrator its the one time when everyone pretends to be someone else. When being two faced is part of the deal. When theres a feeling when the rules dont apply. And during those moonlight hours, which all have license to eat, drink and be scary. Its a coast to coast alcohol fueled party. And nowhere is that more true than in the rough rider state of north dakota. But in october of 2007, several lives would collide under that halloween moon. And at least one person may have used a costume to try to hide his true identity, a murder. That weekend before halloween heather and joel were putting on costumes getting ready to go out. He dressed up as a hockey fan, wearing his favorite green jersey. I dressed in a mechanics outfit. A friend of mine texted me and said meet us at the broken drum. The broken drum, half casino, half bar. Heather and joel had a lot to celebrate, she had just moved here from texas after dating long distance. It was nearly love at first sight. How long did you go out with joel before you realized this is the guy . A week. Thats it . Yeah. He was taken aback when i told him, i said, im going to marry you, thats whats going to happen here. And he wasnt really ready for me to Say Something like that to him, but i was ready, thats how sure i was. A divorced man who loved golf and fishing with his friends, would soon be ready for marriage too. Just 10 months after they met, this smart, hospital computer it tech proposed to this 31yearold elementary schoolteacher. He proposed on a dance floor in front of about 200 texas dance hall two steppers. Narrator they were to be married the following year. But that evening, inside the broken drum, they were completely unprepared for the most frightening night of their lives. It all started with a bus packed with party goers arrived at the bar. Heather watched as they started piling into the broken drum. The partyiers were mostly well oiled 20somethings and they had been fueled by an estimated by 325 jello shots that were on board that bus. Heather and joel were suddenly in the midst of people in halloween costumes. As this security video shows, there was a clown with a bright rainbow colored head of hair. There was also a cowboy, a hunter, a lion, a gangster, and a woman who went as paris hilton. Joel in his green hockey jersey was enjoying a rare cigar. And playing blackjack next to a man dressed as the penguin. How was the night going . It was fine. At one point he had to take a call that was too loud inside so he had gone outside to take the call. Narrator while joel was outside on the phone, that party bus was getting ready to go on to the next bar. But suddenly, someone from that bus needed help. Joel came back in the front door and said, somebody got left by the bus, im going to go check on them. He missed me and went outside. Within a few minutes, someone else would come into the broken drum yelling to call 911. 911 enermergency. Narrator in 911 call wasnt for the person joel went to help, it was for joel. I went to the back and around some cars and found him on the ground. Joel was laying there with blood all over the cement near his head. Could you tell what happened to him . No. No. Narrator heather says that when she got outside, she didnt see the party bus or any of the people in costumes. But joel, the Good Samaritan who had gone to help a stranger, had himself been the victim of a savage beating. I just remember hearing the ambulances coming and the cops coming, their sirens. Joel loveling was rushed to the hospital and treated. They said they did everything they could, but joel was gone. Narrator 800 miles away in indiana, joels parents heard the most terrible news that parents can hear. You raise your children and you do what you can to protect them. And somebody within one minute, has stolen my child. Narrator joel just 38, had left behind not only a fiance, but a daughter, alexa from a previous marriage. I went to the hospital thinking hes hurt, not dead. Narrator later, joels stepdad learned more about the horrible details. The grand Forks Police Department called us and they determined it was a murder. Who would want to hurt him . I dont know anybody who had that much hate in their heart to commit a crime like that. So it was just being in the wrong place at the wrong time . Yeah. Trying to help the wrong person . Yeah, evil exists. Evil dwells in people. When it comes out and things like this happen. Narrator what evil had killed joel luveling. There was a long list of potential systems and maybe one of them had left a calling card, something found at the scene. A bloody piece of a halloween costume. Police thought it might be the key to unmasking a killer. A killer in a costume . Investigators had never seen anything like this. A case playing out like a deadly real life game of clue. And when we come back, the roundup of those possible systems begins. The penguin it could be the penguin. Yep, that was the thinking. The cowboy. The cowboy is really difficult to deal with. The clown. The clown was crying. It made us wonder, why was this guy crying . Helps relieve your ugliest, nastiest, roughest, toughest nighttime cold symptoms. New nyquil severe. With maximum symptom fighting ingredients. You know, from our 4,000 television commercials. Yep, there i am with flo. 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From neutrogena®. At enterprise, we not only rent we sell them, too. And buying from us is different than buying from anyone else. At enterprise, we clearly mark our lowest price on every car. No games. Thats the price. And every vehicle comes with a 12month, 12,000 Mile Limited Powertrain warranty. Well even buy it back if youre unhappy for any reason. Its like a happiness guarantee. Hagglefree buying. Worryfree ownership. Let us show you what that means. Narrator a night of halloween drinking in grand forks, north dakota that somehow ended with joel lovelings death. Police were investigating who would want to beat joel in the parking lot of a bar, in an attack that apparently nobody witnessed. Inconceivable that he picked a fight with somebody else . Oh, of course, totally inconceivable. Hes not a fighter. What would he do if somebody wanted to fight with him . He would back away and use logic. He didnt play into anger the way some people do. The cause of death, joel choked on his own blood. It was now up to police to find the killer or killers of joel loveling loveling. The chief of police, john packet. This was one of the more challenging cases that we have ever had, cause of the alcohol involved, large crowd, people in costume. Narrator the night of joels murder, the Police Interviewed about 80 people. The party bus went downtown after it left the broken drum and police heard descriptions of some costumed people last seen near a either joel or that bus. A clown, a cowboy, a penguin, a gangster and a construction worker. And while searching for people in costumes sounds almost comical, it actually helped Police Identify some persons of interest. If the cops could locate them before they took off those costumes. So youre going to find the penguin and the joker, youve got to find them pretty quick. Narrator there was also some interesting evidence left behind at the murder scene. Police thought it was a birds foot from someones costume and it had blood on it. Grand forks police sergeant, bill mackey. Could be the penguin. We definitely didnt know how the foot played into it or not. Was it webbed . I dont recall if it was webbed or not. Y but the thinking was this actually came from somebody who had done the beating or at least somebody who was there during the night . That was the thinking. Narrator police swarmed downtown grand forks at another bar, they found one of the costumed characters they were looking for. That same night we found the clown. And clown was crying . Yes, he was. What was he crying about . Initially, thats something that made us wonder, why is . Guy crying . The tears of a clown, it made police suspicious. One officer reported the clowns hands were shaking, from the cold orsome Something Else . October 28, 2007. Narrator by the time the clown was brought to the Police Station, he had dried his tears, but he was not cooperative. Whats the big deal . Listen to me, someones dead. Your name particularly has come up. The clown told police he had nothing to do with any murder and was crying because of a domestic argument. That night he explained to us that he had had a bad argument with his girlfriend. Its not real clear and convincing to us. Narrator police say the clown then asked for a lawyer. But police just let him go. You got the clown whos crying, who is belligerent who asked for a lawyer. It cou its a challenge to determine if those are tears of remorse, or maybe tears of fear or maybe they had onions for lunch. Narrator that same night police also found the cowboy, but the cowboy gave a fake name and a fake birthday and became physically aggressive. Police placed him in hadnt cuffs even though he wasnt arrested. What did the cowboy say . The cowboy is very difficult to deal with. He doesnt want anything to do with us, he doesnt want to cooperate with us. Narrator there is no record of his interview, but investigators said the cowboy asked a very interesting question, if the victim was wearing a green shirt, with the initials und on it. Who was wearing a university of north dakota sweatshirt that night . Joel loveling the victim. Narrator police also let the cowboy go, but soon after, they got the break they needed. The owner of that birds foot would come forward. Police believed it would lead them straight to the murder. Coming up i had a yellow hooded sweatshirt on. I had some paws. A new witness offers to help the police. How much help would he be . What are the cults here from . More than he realized, when dateli dateline continues. Offline. Thats banking for how you live your life. Thats bank of america. Your bristles are so slim [ slimsoft ] my flosstip™ bristles are up to 17x slimmer than other toothbrushes. They easily clean between teeth and along the gumline. Wow so slim [ male announcer ] colgate® slimsoft™. Flosstip™ bristles for a deep clean. [ male announcer ] colgate® slimsoft™. Need advice on how to juggle those big family meals . This kenmore elite dual temperature double oven, exclusively from sears, can help. So you never have to worry. About dropping a dish. Impressive and so is j. D. Power ranking kenmore elite highest in customer satisfaction. One Appliance Store helps more people find savings and solutions than any other. This is sears. Your sleep number setting. It even knows you by name. Now its easier than ever to experience deep, restful sleep with the sleep number beds dualair technology. At the touch of a button, the sleep number bed adjusts to each persons ideal comfort and support. And youll only find it at a sleep number store. Where right now our newest innovations are available with 36month financing. Sleep number. Comfort individualized. Narrator in those first hours and days after the murder of joel loveling, police were rounding up the unusual suspects. Were looking for a suspect thats dressed as a penguin, someone dressed as a joker from batman, just a yellow colored sweatshirt. Narrator those investigators were scratching their heads over what appeared to be a bloody claw from a bird costume that was found near joel lovings body. Were looking for somebody in what 90 of a bird costume . We didnt know what it was. All we knew is that we had this piece of a costume. Detectives invited the guys on the party bus who had been so difficult the night of the murder to come back to Police Headquarters the following day, they did, and this time singing a different tune, one that seemed to get them all off the hook. They told cops they didnt see joel lovelings murder, but told of a fight outside the broken drum earlier that evening between one of their pals, dressed as a hunter and a guy in an odd costume with a yellow sweatshirt who had also been on the bus. Because of that fight, they told the guy in the yellow outfit, he couldnt get back on the bus. Then they drove downtown to another bar. The now sober and cooperative cowboy told detectives that he last saw joel loveling alive and well. The guy in the und sweatshirt was talking to the guy in the yellow sweatshirt. Narrator he explains that his clown fears were all about a flash back when he learned about joel lovelings death. I just thought about it, that could have been me, you know . Narrator meanwhile across coun town, the guy who had been wearing that yellow costume was just waking up. His name was travis stay, a student at the university of north dakota. And today he was nursing the mother of all hangovers because he had had so much to drink on the bus and in the bars the previous night, that he slept away most of the next day. When he awoke, one of his friends shared some worrisome news. One of my roommates said that they were looking for a guy in a yellow sweatshirt, so i went down to the Police Station. Was your attorney with you . I had nothing to hide. Narrator so two days after joel lovelings death, travis sat down across from detectives. When the Nursing Student described his lion costume the detectives antenna went up. He suddenly realized it wasnt a bloody birds foot next to joels body but a lions paw, and travis confirmed it. I had a yellow sweatshirt on, i had some paws. Narrator the cops became even more suspicious when they noticed the injuries to traviss face and asked how he got them. Punched out by the hunter in the parking lot of the broken drum. Detective shoals noticed some scrapes on traviss hands. Whats the cuts here from . Where s your costume at now . My costume . My costume, i threw it away. Why did you throw it away . Because it was full of blood. When i was looking at him, i saw what appeared to be a blood drop on his shoe. Sholes pounced on that new evidence. Narrator travis gave the cops everything they asked for, including a dna sample and permission to search hiss apartment, where his lions costume was still in the trash. I gave them everything. Without them needing to get a search warrant . Because i knew i didnt have anything to do with this. Narrator but investigators were suspicious, in part because travis said he couldnt remember anything from the time he was punched until the time he got into a cab more than an hour later. And on the cops timeline, that was the time when joe loveling was killed. Once he said he was going to go check on him, that was the last anybodys seen him and he was found dead in the parking lot . You guys think its me . We dont know. But we want to eliminate you and thats why we appreciate you coming in. What kind of murder not only keeps the bloody clothing that they were wearing during the murder, but actually wears some of it into the Police Interview . One thats probably not too smart. And theres plenty of them. Narrator the cops let travis go home, but they went buying his story, he was now a definite person of interest. And two days later, they had more questions for him. This time around, the questions were more pointed about just what happened while travis was in hiss blackout. Where were you . Its very important that we try to remember this, travis. I do not remember talking to that man. I can almost guarantee you that the cops are thinking to themselves, come on, you dont remember . Really . Yeah, i think they probably thought i was conveniently drunk. Well, it is convenient. And then you walk out of the Police Station . Yep. And you think, what, thats the end of it . At that point i had taken a swing in the wrong direction. Travis was about to find out he would need a lawyer. Coming up there was a knock on the door and they said that it was bad news. Police make an arrest and the case moves into court. Two distrault families on two sides of a murder case. He was just lying there and i was screaming his name at him. With one horsepower. That makes you feel pretty dumb doesnt it . [ laughs ] this is literally 360 times more powerful than you. Look at you. Youre worthless. There you have it 360 times better than a horse. Staring contest go. I win. Because an empty pan is a blank canvas. [ woman 2 ] to share a moment. [ man 1 ] to remember my grandmother. [ woman 3 ] to show my love. [ woman 4 ] because life needs flavor. [ woman 5 ] to travel the World Without leaving home. [ male announcer ] whatever the reason. Whatever the dish. Make it delicious with swanson. [ woman 1 ] thats why i cook. cause you dont want to wait to eat your raisins. You dont want to wait to eat your raisins . No why not . Because they will turn into grapes. Not sure thats the way it works. Yes are you competing for cutest kid right now . Yes. And what place are you in . Kindergarten thats adorable. [ male announcer ] its not complicated. Now is better. And at t is the nations fastest and now most reliable 4g lte network. Married to morty kaufman. [ lee ] now that im getting older some things are harder to do. This is not a safe thing to do. Be careful babe. There should be some way to make it easier [ doorbell rings ] lets open it up and see whats cookin. Oh i like that. Look at this its got a handle on it. I dont have to climb up. This yellow part up here really catches a lot of the dust. Did you notice how clean it looks . Morty are you listening . Morty . [ morty ] im listening i want you to know narrator on a night just before halloween, a haunting real life crime. A young father is murdered possibly by someone in costume. Part of a costume was left behind at the scene that night. A lions paw, stained with blood. Now police are about to make an arrest. Narrator in the months after her fiances murder, heather eastons pain is beyond words. Its like someone sucks the life out of you and tells you your life isnt what you wanted it to be, and your crime life isnt going to happen. Narrator grand forks detectives had been working around the clock to solve this rare murder case. And then those dna tests of traviss lion costume came back. Some of that blood on travis was his own. But some of it belonged to joel loveling and with that, police had everything they needed. And then one morning there was a knock on the door and there was detective sholes and detective simon. And they came in and they said that there was bad news and that joels blood was on me and i was arrested for his murder. A nervous travis was arraigned from jail via closed circuit tv. His anguish and misery is evident in his call home. Mom. Hi, travis. Its going to be okay. Its going to be okay. I dont know. I know this is difficult for you, trav. Narrator it would get even tougher, a little more than a year after traviss arrest, he found himself on trial for murder, facing the rest of his life behind bars. The prosecutor laid out the states case. Joel loveling, a 38yearold man. Narrator for a trial that would define traviss fate. He did not seek help for him avenuewards, left the scene, allowing mr. Loveling to choke on his own blood. Joels fiance heather, as she relived that awful night. He was just lying there, and i was screaming his name at him. He didnt say anything, he didnt do anything. He was the last person that we believe was seen with mr. Loveling. Detectives felt they had given their prosecutors an open and shut case, with overwhelming physical evidence. When we looked at traviss clothes, it was covered in blood. And most importantly, none of the other costumes matched the paw that matched the crime scene. We tested four different areas of traviss sweatshirt, three out of the four samples tested positive for joel lovelings blood. And prosecutors argued, they could prove that travis was there with joel loveling prior to the murder. Their eyewitnesses, the guys that had been so sloshed and uncooperative the night of the murder. The hunter, the gangster and the cowboy from the party bus. Brice larson, the cowboy took the stand and told a story both his friends would echo. Mr. Larsen, did you ever witness the murder of joel loveling . No. Did you ever see him assaulted in the broken drum parking lot . No. When you left that parking lot, where was he . Talking to the guy in the yellow. Narrator and that guy who had been wearing the cheesy yellow lion costume, he was sitting right there at the defense table. Prosecutors laid out their timeline using security video from the broken drum. Theres travis in his lion costume. Which by this point in the evening, is little more than a yellow hoodie, moments later, hes gone outside. Joel loveling, wearing his green hockey jersey, can be seen heading out a little later, never to return. The tape, prosecutors said, proved travis was in the parking lot when joel was killed. And according to the states witnesses from the bus, it was impossible for any of the other party goers to have attacked joel, because their party bus was gone by the time of the murder. The bus was not at the broken drum when joel loveling was murdered. Narrator the prosecution argued that joels last words to his fiance heather, supported that timeline. He reported to heather that some guy missed his bus, i was out there helping him, and then he went back out. Narrator the guy who missed the bus, they told the jury, was the defendant. The state used traviss own words against him. They played every frame of those Police Interviews, in which travis claimed not to remember the most critical part of that alcohol sodden night. You dont remember between the time you got hit until the time you got into the cab . Narrator jurors heard testimony that later that night travis was in another fight. After mr. Loveling was killed, travis left the broken drum on foot, went to the location in an alleyway where he confronted another individual. Narrator travis threw a punch at that man and missed, he then got into a cab and went home. If prosecutors were to be believed, the defendant was a halloween nightmare come to life, just add alcohol and nurse travis turn into a drunk and dangerous mr. Hyde. Joel was bleeding from his face. Narrator that theory helped themselves explain to jurors how the slightly built travis was able to take down and kill the much larger joel with his bare hands. Police also say the fact that joel had had a few drinks made it easier for travis. He was drunk. And so the fact that a little guy comes at him unsuspecting and hes unstable on his feet because hes intoxicated too makes perfect sense that he could drop him. Narrator eight days into the trial, the prosecution calls its final witness, a blood spatter analyst, who used photos to show that the blood spatter on the clothing was consistent with travis standing over joel while beating him. Travis was either standing right next to joel loveling or straddling joel loveling as he was punching him in the face. Narrator the prosecutions evidence was stacking up against travis stay, no question he had been in a fight with the hunter, before joel was killed. No question he had taken a swing at swung else afterwards and now he would have to explain why there were traces of blood on his costume, which travis was either unable or unwilling to do because of his suspiciously convenient amnesia. Coming up mob mentality are a recipe for tragedy. Could someone else be behind this . 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And joel was killed by the same costumed party goers he was trying to protect travis from. First traviss legal team had to address the image prosecutors had crafted. Was he in fact a cold blooded killer prone to chock rages. The prosecutions here by which is also the Police Theory was that travis became a different person when he was drinking. They made that up out of nowhere. If they had a witness that said that was traviss history, if they could provide anecdotal history that that had happened once before, twice before, we never saw it, we never heard it. And you couldnt find a witness that said that . Nobody even sniffed at that. They just made it up because it was clear to the jury that this was a nice young man. So we know hes si ees sitting unprote front of cops for hours, without any help, without any pause, without any break and baring his soul to them. What were you . Its very important that we try to remember this, travis. I do not know what youre talking about. Do you guys think it was me . We dont know. He was credible. He leaned across there in the second interview and said you think it was me . We have to be, you know, as honest as we can about it. Narrator next the defense tried to convince jurors just how improbable it was that the 57 travis could have hurt the 63 joel at all, let alone when he was knee walking drunk. We read the autopsy and its gave the inches and pounds of the deceased. He outweighed him by 75, 80 pounds, was seven or eight inches bigger, then it started to take on a different color. So the defense offered some evidence of its own, that posse of costumed guys on the bus. Mob mentalities are a recipe for tragedy. You think the other people were covering up their own involvement in this . I do. What do you think happened that night . I think that the cowboy, the gangster and the construction worker came back outside and confronted joel and i. You know, they didnt get back on the bus and leave us standing in the parking lot. I think that, you know narrator the defense team tried to prove that. They conducted a withering crossexamination of the man who was wearing the cowboy costume that night. The cowboy admitted he had lied to police the night of the murder about not witnessing the fight between travis and the man in the hunters costume. The defense wanted to know what else he might be lying about. What is it that we can look for that will help us determine when youre telling the truth . I dont know. Well, if you dont know, who does . I dont. Narrator the lawyers strategy was to hammer away at the party goers shifting stories. Under crossexamination, that crying clown, who cops found weeping and said things had gotten out of hand that night now said on the stand, he didnt remember crying or being upset. Were you shaken up . Did you remember that . I dont remember that. Can we look at your shoes as well . And as for that blood the detective witnessed on traviss shoes, dna tests proved it was traviss not joels. The defense introduced testimony suggesting travis might have gotten joels blood on himself when he was trying to help joel, not hurt him. It appears somewhat evident in the photos. Narrator an er doctor who took the stand indicated that traviss hands would have been mo more consistent or inconsistent with having delivered the blows that did that damage . That would be inconsistent. Narrator prosecutors had argued that the party bus along with all those theoretical suspects in it, was long gone at the time of joels murder. But the defense counters that the broken drums security tape proves just the opposite. On that same tape was something important that police and prosecutors apparently missed. The clown. Everyone agrees the clown was on the bus when it left. But here he is, still in the bar after joel leaves. Which means, as long as is clown was in the bar, the bus was still in the parking lot. You can see joel leave the bar . Absolutely. And you can see the clown leave the bar . No doubt. 3 1 2 minutes later . Right. Plenty of time for any of the people in that crowd to have confronted and attacked joel . And beknow the cowboy, the gangster, the construction worker had already gone out. And the bus was still there. In court, the lead detective was forced to concede the Police Timeline was 234r5ued. Flawed. We know that they have 3 1 2 minutes to do that, have this faceoff, and be back on the bus, right . Right. Narrator 3 1 2 minutes, plenty of time for people other than travis stay to murder joel. Travis never took the stand, leaving open the question of what the jury would make of his amnesia during the most important hour in his young life. You had lost your memory before . Right . Because of alcohol . Every time you went out and g got drunk. I didnt drink every time i went out, but when i did, i drank hard. Whats the worst thing you ever did when you were drunk and didnt remember. Certainly nothing violent . Anybody ever tell you that your personality changed when you were drunk income. My friends described me as more of a happy go lucky. Happy go lucky or a heartless murder. Seven men and five women would soon decide. Coming up joels blood was found on one person. Jurors would have a surprise for one of them. Because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. Plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. Celebrex can be taken with or without food. And its not a narcotic. You and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. All prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. 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[ female announcer ] used by more plumbers, hall we do is go out to dinner. . Thats it . I mean, he picks up the tab every time, which is great. What . Hes using you. He probably has a Citi Thankyou card and gets 2x the points at restaurants. So hes just racking up points with me. Some people. Ugh no, ive got it. The Citi Thankyou preferred card. Now earn 2x the points on dining out and entertainment, with no annual fee. To apply, go to citi. Com thankyoucards my password is 1,2,3,4,5. I just use my hamsters name. Brian. Actually, were kidding. When it comes to creating passwords, make them complex, but easy to remember. You wont make password your password. The more you know. Narrator travis stay was looking at a real life halloween nightmare. More than 60 years in jail if he was convicted of murdering joel liveling. After nine days of trial, jurors began deliberating. Youre looking at what basically is life in a north dakota prison if youre convicted . Im nerve ous. But i have confidence. Narrator joels fiance heather was also confident of a guilty verdict. It just seemed like, okay, we have the right guy, and, yeah, done. Narrator the jurors we spoke with said prosecutors presented its case as if it were open and shut. I would not say their style was cocky at all. They were confident and they had enough evidence. Narrator the jury began examining the evidence and the testimony. One key issue was the prosecutions timeline in which the bus had gone by the time joel was killed. The bus was there at the time, it had to have been. The bus was there longer than the prosecution was saying. Narrator jurors were also troubled by the clown. Remember, he was found crying soon after joel was murdered. And that just struck me as completely odd, out of character for a young guy on a halloween night. Narrator they were also concerned by what the clown told police that evening. It was pretty important that you would actually say things got out of hanged. Narrator and they questioned why only travis stays lion costume was tested for blood. Why didnt they examine any of the peoples clothes that were on the bus . You know, why didnt they check anyone else . Anything else besides this lion . Narrator it took the jury only about five hours to reach a verdict. We the jury find the defendant Travis Robert stay not guilty of murder. My attorney said a quick verdict is a good verdict in this case and he was right. It was vindication. Travis, what are you going to do with your life now . Any ereaction to the verdict . Were you surprised . And the verdict comes . Redevastated. Not guilty . Yes. I didnt understand that, i still dont understand that. I dont know everything, but i do know that joels blood was found on one person. Narrator detective mile sholes . You dont think hes innocent . The fact that he was acquitted by a jury doesnt mean he was acquitted by me. The facts are strong, the physical evidence is strong. Theres not one stitch of physical evidence to suggest anybody else was involved other than speculation. Grand forks police consider this case closed and in an unusual move, some of the evidence was destroyed. Dateline contacted the cowboy, the gangster and the construction worker who were all on that bus, all declined our request for on camera interviews, but told us on the phone, as they maintained from day one, they had nothing to do with joel lovelings murder and they feel they have been unfairly accused by the defense. People talk, and when youre accused of Something Like this, im sure it has a negative impact on your reputation. Since the trial, even joels parents have been divided over traviss guilt. Joels mom believes he is most likely guilty. But joels stepdad thinks travis didnt do it. Travis was so drunk he couldnt hit the ground with his hat. How is he going to beat up a 247 pound fellow thats 63 or 4 when he can hardly stand up himself . Do you think people know more than theyre saying . Yes. People other than travis . Yes. Somebody knows something. Joels daughter alexa, now 21, is left with just memories of her dad who would take her outside to taste the snowflakes. He was kind of like my best friend. When you remember him, what do you think about . Him laughing, just so genuine and deep. Its just easy to remember. Because he laughed a lot. He liked to make other people laugh. Travis stay never became a nurse. After going through the legal system himself, he decided to enroll in law school. Hes in his last year and is now clerking for one of the attorneys who helped win his freedom and he wants to publicly apologize to joel lovelings family. Im sorry for being a part of the equation that night. You know, i drank too much and it was irresponsible, it was reckless. It was shortsighted and regettable. But, you know, i didnt kill joel. He was my only friend in the parking lot that night. Narrator the idea behind this night at the end of october is that all that fear, danger and horror are supposed to be imaginary. Manufactured for the child living in every one of us. Trickortreat narrator of course there is genuine evil out there, no matter what the calendar says, and sadly, sometimes the horror of halloween is the real thing. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Im lester holt, ill see you tomorrow on today. Previously grimm. Now the negotiations for the baby can begin. I want what was taken from me by the grimm. I want my powers back. [grunts, choking] that is fantastic. Weve got sort of a mini crime wave situation reporting several violent assaults and a lot of property damage. From the calls, they sound drugfueled. [tires screeching] the tox report shows various drugs like tetrodotoxin, scopolamine, and a powerful hallucinogen called datura. It causes lazarus syndrome. Makes somebody look dead, they come back to life. Let the games begin