That question would launch a spellbinding mystery. You got a roommate. You got a boyfriend who she is maybe about to dump. You got an exboyfriend whos suddenly back in her life. There were a number of potential suspects, absolutely. Reporter was a killer out there . She was in danger. Reporter could police catch him . Theyd hatch a plan of Virtual Genius one of the detectives said, youre not going to believe this reporter im lester holt, and this is dateline. Heres Josh Mankiewicz with mystery in Orange County. Reporter Orange County, california. On tv, its a place of sun, fun, and privilege. Its where the real housewives first aired their dirty laundry. What is wrong . Nothings wrong with me. Its you. Reporter its where the kids from the o. C. Showed us all what temperature cool really was. Who is that . Reporter around here, you get the sense everyones rich and white, and lives in a mansion with a view of the pacific. But step back from the coast, and youll see the Orange County that isnt on tv. Not as wealthy. Not as white. Full of those who came here from somewhere else, chasing a better life. And finding it in places like santa ana, a mostly working class immigrant community in the shadow of disneyland. Its the part of the o. C. Where people know that to survive theyll have to work hard. Maribel ramos arrived here as a baby, leaving mexico behind. She would not only survive here but thrive. To tell you the truth, this should be the story of a woman who worked hard to change her life and, in doing so, carved a path for others to follow. Hello . Hi, Orange Police. Reporter but this story is going to end differently. Why are you crying . Because im afraid. Reporter there are some parts of life that hard work just cant fix. Im just scared. Im just, like, calling to let you guys know that if something happens, i did it because i was trying to defend myself. Reporter some things that are beyond our control. All im trying to say is that im warning im honestly i will fight for my life, and i swear i will kill him. Reporter all of this should never have reached that point of no return. So maybe its a story of simple bad luck, of two lives that should never have come together. Tell me about growing up with maribel. What was she like . Troublemaker. Mom wanted her to stay in the home, and she wanted to go play baseball. Reporter tomboy . Yes, yes. Reporter her sister lucy says tomboy Maribel Ramos also had a spark. I mean, shed come in and immediately, what . Introduce herself to everybody, and make friends, and people were drawn to her, easy to talk to. Reporter you saw boys interested in her . Oh, definitely. Yeah, definitely. Reporter from an early age . From an early age. Reporter and that never ended, did it . No, no. Reporter little sister lucy remembers how maribel was also in charge of watching out for her while their single mother often worked two jobs to make ends meat. You were how much younger . Seven years younger. Reporter lot of girls wouldnt want their little sister tagging along. No, she didnt want to, but she had to. Reporter yet, even as a child, maribel figured out that a different world existed, and she wanted to live there. Oh, she knew at a young age that there was a lot more to life than what we had around us. Theres things you can do, and go to school and have opportunities, and live in a nicer house. Reporter she saw all of that . Yeah, yeah. Definitely. Reporter Maribel Ramos knew shed have to work hard to get what and where she wanted. After high school, she worked in security at kmart and hatched a longterm plan to become a cop. But shed need a college degree, and that meant money. So Maribel Ramos became private first class ramos. She joined the army hoping to use the g. I. Bill. Her first day was august 8th, 2001. And just 34 days later, the whole world changed. We all sort of recoiled in horror. But you probably also thought, thats going to affect my sister. Yes. I turn on the tv, and the towers are crumbling. First thing i thought was, oh, my gosh, my sisters going to war. How do you wrap your mind around that . Reporter lucy worried. Their mother worried. But maribel was like a rock. What did maribel say about going overseas . She didnt express her feelings about it. She just said, well, this is whats happening, sister. You need to talk to mom. Reporter maribel went to war in iraq. What was it like to see her in uniform . It was pretty amazing. Reporter giselle cendejas is lucys daughter, maribels niece. I saw her as, like, a really brave, strong soldier. Sometimes i wouldnt even see her as my aunt. It was just, like, whoa, youre going out there, like, to save everybody. Reporter you were proud of her . Yeah. Reporter maribel learned to jump out of airplanes. She manned the guns for armed convoys. She saw more than her share of combat. She also made sergeant. And when her tour in iraq ended, she reenlisted for another. She seemed fearless. She could very easily have become a casualty. Yes. And other people did die. A lot of other friends of hers. Reporter in 2009, after two tours in iraq, maribel left the army and set part two of her plan into action, enrolling in college. But adjusting back to civilian life wasnt as easy as maribel had expected. Like a lot of war veterans, she suffered from post Traumatic Stress disorder, or p. T. S. D. Shed seen some terrible things. She ever talk about that . Not with me. Reporter instead she focused on school, work, and family, especially her niece, giselle. She kind of adopted you as this project. Yeah. Reporter now, why did she do that . I think it was because she wanted me to have the best. Reporter as giselle grew older, the selfimprovement message sometimes came complete with pushups. After all, maribel was all army. When i would get in trouble, she would make me do exercise in order to, like, work off the punishment. Reporter and all this time, maribel was hammering away at giselle. Youre going to finish school. Oh yes. Reporter youre going to study hard. Uhhuh. Reporter youre going to have a career. Yes. This is what youre going to do, mija . And she would tell her, okay, giselle . Yes, tia. Reporter maribel got a dog, and rented a twobedroom apartment in the city of orange, which she shared with a roommate, a quiet chemist named k. C. Joy, who also had a dog. I thought it was a perfect match. Like, he has a dog. She has a dog. He seems quiet. You know, hes not going to have all these people coming over. Reporter by may 2013, everything seemed great. Maribel was leading by example, finishing up her degree in criminal justice at cal state fullerton. Giselle was following in her strong footsteps. And she was dropping off money at my house because i had gotten good grades. And she had just got her hair done, dyed and styled for her graduation. Reporter she looked great . Yeah. Reporter and she was happy . Yeah, she was. Reporter and thats why it made no sense when, just days later, Maribel Ramos soldier, student, loving aunt simply disappeared. What had happened to Maribel Ramos . When we come back im freaking out her door is open, her lights are on, her beds undone. Everything was horrible, and i felt it. The mystery was about to deepen. Nobody had heard from her . Nobody. Im telling you i heard something. Oh awkwardly laughs get out. Enoughs enough dcon baits are fomulated to kill in one feeding. Guaranteed. Before the first sneeze, help whenprotect with a spray. Ead. Before the first tissue, help defend with a wipe. And help prevent with lysol. To get ten times more protection and kill 99. 9 of germs around the house. This season, help protect your family with lysol. Start healthing. Where do you think man syoure going . Ously . Mr. Mucus to work, with you. Its taco tuesday. Man youre not coming. I took mucinex to help get rid of my mucusy congestion. Mr. Mucus oh, right then ill swing by in like 4 hours. Just set aside a few tacos for me. Man forget the tacos one pill lasts 12 hours. Im good all day. Mr. Mucus to himself wait your loss. I was going to wear a sombrero. [announcer ] only mucinex has a bilayer tablet that starts fast, and keeps working. Not 4, not 6, but 12 full hours. Start the relief. Ditch the misery. Lets end this. Reporter may 3rd, 2013 was a friday, a day that should have been an easy day for Maribel Ramos. School was nearly over, graduation was so close, but that morning things werent right. I got a text from k. C. At 10 00 a. M. , and he said, your sister didnt come home. Reporter theyd been roommates for more than a year now. K. C. Felt protective of maribel. He told lucy hed already called police to report her missing. Orange police, dispatcher rose. Oh, this is not an emergency, and i have a roommate. Shes 36 years old, and she didnt come home last night. So what i did is i text her at 11 00. And i said, happy friday, because we usually text each other anyways. That was my way of connecting. And she didnt text me back. Reporter unusual . Yes. Reporter lucy still wasnt worried. She knew her combathardened sister could take care of herself. But then evening came and for maribel, friday night was softball night. She loved to play and never missed a game. But this friday night, she didnt show. Now lucys phone was ringing, maribels teammates on the line. They told me, go to the house. The police are there. Do not take giselle. Im freaking out. And i walk in, and my sisters not there. Her door is open. Her lights are on. Her beds undone. My head started spinning. Everything was horrible, and i felt it. Reporter detective joey ramirez with the Orange Police department got the call that evening. And he also had a bad feeling about everything. It sounds like you were taking this pretty seriously from the get go . Absolutely. Reporter why couldnt she just be off by herself or with some other friends and maybe she lost her phone or forgot to call . That was our hope, that she was just missing and that shed come walking through the door. But the family and friends that were expressed that she was very responsible. Reporter and nobody had heard from her . Nobody. Reporter so ramirez and his team went into action. They quickly figured out that if she left on of her own accord, it didnt look like maribel had planned to be out long. She left her car at home. Her car was there. Her keys were gone. Her phone was gone. But her toothbrush was there, so was her big purse she used when she had a lot to carry. Reporter k. C. Returned home hours after police first got there. He again told the cops what he had told them that morning, that maribel was missing. Lucy and the Softball Team went to the police station, hoping for answers. But morning came, and there werent any. So channeling her big sister, lucy decided to stop waiting and make her own luck. I woke up on saturday, and i thought, wow, this is seriously happening. So i posted a picture of her on facebook. And it was immediate. People went into action. Reporter friends from the University Got together, family members, her roommate, lots of people whom maribel had touched wanted to help. They hung flyers in english and spanish. They reached out to reporters. Its very not like her, after eight years of service in the army, to just disappear. Unusual thing was being next day, friday morning, she was not here. I helped my mom pass out flyers around school, pretty much anything i could do. Reporter did you think theyd find her . Yes, i did. Reporter giselle was 14 at the time. But detective ramirez, who has been a cop for more years than giselles been alive was not as hopeful. Shes not using her cell phone. Shes not taking any money out. No ones heard from her. When youve picked up no trace of her after a couple of days, you still think youre looking for a living person . The percentages are starting to drop. Not in our favor. Reporter because by then youve called all the hospitals. All hospitals, jails. Reporter theres an alert out that any Police Officer, what, in Southern California sees her . Correct. And the media was also helping. Reporter and nothing . Nothing. Reporter no maribel on security tape from any nearby store. Police checked all of them. They found only this image from the Security Camera outside the Managers Office for her apartment complex. Its maribel, paying the rent. Its may 2nd at 8 18 p. M. , the night before anyone realized she had disappeared. Maribel seems to be alone. So what the cops needed to do was talk to everyone who was anyone in maribels life. Turns out there were a lot of people they suddenly needed to get to know, including a current boyfriend, an exboyfriend and someone maribel had just met, a guy shed made a date with online, a guy whose name maribel had apparently kept completely to herself. Coming up the men in maribels life suddenly, under scrutiny no, youre not under arrest. Anything like that. I wouldnt think so. And that haunting phone call. I was scared for my Life Reporter something had happened to make her pretty scared. Yes. R reporter this is the city of orange, california in the county of orange, california. Much of it is a small town stuck in time. Theres a university, a zoo, cute local businesses and a Police Department that doesnt have to deal with a lot of violent crime. After all, the happiest place on earth is just down the street. But in may 2013, detective joey ramirez was far from happy. He had a lot of ground to cover and a strong sense that time was against him as he tried to figure out what had happened to Maribel Ramos. She just vanished . Yes. Reporter how often does that kind of thing happen . It doesnt happen often. Reporter ramirez started by investigating the men in maribels life. It turned out there were a few of them. Did you know she was doing all that Online Dating . Did she talk about that . Yeah, she did. Reporter maribel sometimes met guys through a website called plenty of fish. Thats how she found paul lopez. Theyd been dating for a few months and paul had even joined her weekly softball game. Lopez was the last person maribel talked to on the phone. Now Police Wanted to talk to him. You know youre not under arrest, anything like that. I wouldnt think so. Reporter ramirez sat across from paul and asked about his relationship with maribel. Nothings been like exclusive. Its just been, you know, dating. You date other people too . Me . Yeah. Okay. You dont know if she dates other people or not . Dont ask dont tell. Reporter and he asked lopez where he was on the night maribel disappeared. Did you come into orange at all on thursday . No. Reporter police also had to consider this. Maribel had told lucy that things werent working out with paul lopez. She wasnt a match with paul. So she was online, talking to people. Reporter it wasnt clear if paul knew, even as they kept dating, that maribel was back on plenty of fish and had met a new man. He was a photographer who had worked a lot with the military. It was a connection for both of them. How did she describe that guy . She said, oh, i met someone. Hes very interesting. We have a lot in common. Reporter and you thought what, good . I thought great. Reporter they planned a date for cinco de mayo, but two days before that date was to happen, maribel vanished. So police talked to that photographer and made a recording of the conversation. Youre saying you never actually met her in person . No. Reporter so he said, anyway. There was also an exboyfriend whod been calling. Police needed to check him out. And there was this lead. There was a person at cal state fullerton that was in the Veterans Association with her that had given her a bad feeling. He may have wanted to pursue some sort of dating relationship. Reporter but it gave her a bad feeling how . She wasnt interested in him, and she didnt give him any attention, yet he didnt go away. Reporter so he made her feel uncomfortable . Correct. Reporter and by now, detective ramirez had learned something else. Just a little over a week before she vanished, Maribel Ramos had called 911. Hi, Orange Police. Hi, its not an emergency, but i just is there recording . Is there a what . Is this conversation recording . Yes, every conversation is recorded. Reporter maribel wanted it on the record. She wanted police to know that she was very afraid of someone. Im just like calling so that you guys know that if something happens, i did it because i was trying to defend myself. Reporter she might have been afraid, but this armystrong woman whod always taken care of herself feared she might be the one putting the hurt on her attacker. All im trying to say is that im warning im honestly i will fight for my life, and i swear i will kill him. Reporter something had happened to make her pretty scared. Yes. Reporter theres nothing on the call to say what that was. Right. Reporter what was she afraid of . Not clear. Who was she afraid of . That was another story entirely. Coming up another man in maribels life sits down with police. And he seems eager to help with the case. So you were doing your own surveillance . Yes. Reporter did her roommate know something that police didnt . How their holiday glscent made me feel,ing which inspired this song. 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She had joined the army to put herself through college, but just days away from her graduation ceremony, she vanished. Earlier, maribel had called police to say she was in danger and afraid for her life. What was it or who was it that had her so terrified . Here again josh main koe wits. Reporter by now, posters blanketed the city of orange. Maribel ramos was missing and her family was frantic. Soon as i got a call that she didnt show up to her baseball game, i got the worst feeling in the world. Reporter putting himself out there with all the rest was maribels roommate, k. C. Joy. Shes my only family i have. Shes my best friend. And i want her to come back. Thats all. Reporter k. C. Had moved from tennessee to Southern California for a job. He had no family and few friends here, so he turned to maribel. And she was happy to include him. She even arranged for k. C. To tutor her niece in math. He seemed nice, respectful. He liked to be involved with the family and my aunt. Reporter he didnt have a family of his own, so he kind of attached himself to yours . Yeah. Reporter but they werent boyfriend and girlfriend . No. Reporter even so, in photos maribel and k. C. Seem to be having a great time. They even went on a cruise together. Soon, police would be talking with k. C. Joy. Do you mind have you got a business card, sir. Yeah. Because i like to keep track of names straight and yeah, thats good idea. Reporter the formalities over, detective ramirez started asking about maribel. As you know, right now theres some people, some family and friends that are worried about maribel, your roommate. Im also a friend. And i care about her very much. Reporter but, he said, he had no idea what happened to her. So when was the last time that you saw her . About 9 00 p. M. Thats when i talk at 9 00 and i went out. Reporter that was thursday night, may 2nd. The next night, when the cops were called to maribels house, k. C. Wasnt there. He explained hed been so worried that he did his own investigation, watching his own front door from his car parked out front. All those movies and detective movies, if somebody always comes back their crime scene or whatever, i want to see whos going to knock on my door. So i just park the car in the front. I took my notebook, had a binocular in there. So you were doing your own surveillance . Yes. Reporter it sounded a little odd. Maybe k. C. Had just seen too many crime movies. But if he had, then hed probably know cops dont miss Little Details like well, like this. Hes sitting across the table from me. Hes wearing a short sleeved shirt. He has jeans on and sandals. And instantly i can see he has scratches on both his arms. Hes got a scratch across his forehead from his hairline to his eye. Howd you get all these scratches on you . We go Eisenhower Park all the time. Ah huh. And like you go exactly you go we pick up by the pond. Ah huh. We pick up fishing lines all the time you go there. Can i see . Fishing lines. Those are from fishing lines . No, no, no. Im going to explain. Reporter k. C. Explained he was walking the dogs when he saw fishing line in a bush. Worrying about the ducks in the park getting caught in the line, he reached in to remove it, and got all those scratches. Youve been around long enough you could tell the difference between scratches that a person might get, you know, reaching into a bush or from an animal, and scratches that somebody would get during you know, an actual fight with another person. Right. And some of the scratches on his arms did look like scratches that would be from something other than fingernails. But there was one particular set of scratches on his right bicep that to me clearly look like scratches from a hand. Reporter and that says to you he was in a fight . It does. When was the last time you guys had any sort of an argument . Actually the thursday. This thursday . Reporter that was the last night anyone saw maribel. The night she was caught on camera paying the rent, which k. C. Said was what they were arguing about. Well, what happened . Rent money. Tell me about that. Because i was im supposed to move out. Reporter it turned out k. C. Had recently lost his job and could no longer pay his share of the rent. Maribel had asked him to move out. That was reason for concern, of course. And so was this. Detective ramirez had learned about the 911 call maribel had made 11 days before she disappeared. And he knew that in that call, the man maribel said she might have to kill was k. C. Joy. His full name is kwang chol what i understand, its kwang chol joy. Now werent the police out to your house recently because you guys had an argument . Wed been drinking quite a bit that night, and she started yelling at me. Reporter k. C. Said it was all just a drunken misunderstanding. I dont like you. Im not attracted to you. She started screaming and yelling. I said, maribel, we had great time tonight. Whats the problem . Reporter what was the problem . Detective ramirez heard from maribels family something very interesting. K. C. Joy had wanted to be more than just roommates with Maribel Ramos. Lucy told us the same thing. When did it become apparent to you that k. C. Sort of had a crush on your sister . He called me, and then he just says, im, like im, like, in love with your sister. So i was, like, oh, this is great. Reporter because you knew that your sister wasnt in love with him. Yes. And thats a bad situation. So at that point im like, okay, k. C. , you know, youre a good man. And im sure youll find somebody out there for you, but reporter but its not going to be her. Yeah. Reporter now the woman k. C. Had told lucy he wanted had told him that not only did she not love him, but he had to basically get out of her life. Despite that, k. C. Continued talking with police. Mr. Joy was being cooperative. He was. Reporter talking to officers. Let you guys take stuff out of the house. He did. Reporter never showed up with a lawyer . He did not. Reporter doesnt sound like that did a lot to set aside your suspicions . No, it didnt. Reporter suspicions, sure. But no proof a crime had even occurred. Maribel ramos was missing, thats all anyone knew. You ready, sir . Yes. Reporter and so k. C. Joy walked out of that police station, like all the other men in maribels life, a free man. Coming up he knew a lot more than he was telling us. Finally, the clue theyd been waiting for. And you wont believe how they got it reporter no one had searched there . No. Reporter but hes looking at it . Yes. When dateline continues. Protect with a spray. Before the first tissue, help defend with a wipe. And help prevent with lysol. To get ten times more protection and kill 99. 9 of germs around the house. This season, help protect your family with lysol. Start healthing. Eh, yea, actually i do. One. Its Mucinex Fastmax night time and its got a nasal decongestant. Is that really a thing . It sounds made up. I cant sleep when im all stuffy. I take offense to that. Im not going to argue with a talking ball of mucus. I think youre being a little hasty. Hes not with me. Mucinex fast max night time. Multisymptom relief plus nasal decongestant. Breathe easy. Sleep easy. Start the relief. Ditch the misery. Lets end this. Reporter the days were ticking by and still no maribel. Forensic results were coming in dna, fingerprints, cell phone data none of it adding up to anything that told the cops what had happened to her. So police were looking at the usual suspects, like her boyfriend, paul lopez. Lopez works for the gas company and goes from call to call in a company truck. The gps on that truck puts him nowhere near the city of orange on the night maribel was seen on that security video, that is until about midnight. Lopez told police thats when he went home. He said he was alone and could prove it. My parking spots actually right by a surveillance camera. So the surveillance camera would show you parking reporter that was enough to get lopez off the list. There was that ex boyfriend whod been calling. Maribel had never mentioned hed been a problem. And police didnt think he was involved. There was the photographer from the website, plenty of fish. His cell phone data placed him in san diego, out of the area at the time in question. And the veteran from cal state whod come on too strong . He was in japan. None of them could be connected to maribels disappearance. So in the end, there was just one person the cops couldnt stop looking at, the first person to report maribel missing, her roommate k. C. Joy. Orange police dispatcher, rose. Oh, this is not an emergency. And i have a roommate. Shes 36 years old and she didnt come home last night. Reporter he was also the last to see her alive. I felt she most likely was dead. I felt that there was a high probability mr. Joy was responsible for it, and he knew a lot more than he was telling us. Reporter so detective ramirez became k. C. Joys shadow, appearing in the morning and then later by moonlight. Hours after k. C. s first police interview, a cheerful joey ramirez showed up at his house. Hey. Hey, k. C. , how are you . Can we come in . Reporter he brought a voice recorder and a few more questions. How are you this morning . All right. Good, good, good. Reporter detective ramirez already knew the answers to some of them. So when you say work, she works at for fullerton. Cal tech fullerton . Yeah. Reporter and to some he didnt. Did you have any marks on your legs or anything . No. Okay. Well, let me just ask you do you have any injuries on your legs . No. You have no injuries on your legs. No. Whatsoever . Not a one on no, i dont have any. Okay. Reporter then ramirez showed up again that night. K. C. Joy, hey, just a couple of quick questions for you, then ill get out of here. How are you doing . Are you do are you okay . Ive been crying. Reporter how many times did you talk to him . I believe i talked to him at least nine times. Reporter ramirez tried scaring k. C. About potential evidence found in his car. Why would there be blood in the red versa . Blood . Yeah right. You tell me theres a blood i dont know anything about it. What blood . You tell me. Reporter he tried backing k. C. Into a corner about what might be found on k. C. s hard drive. Well the good thing is if theres anything that you ever deleted that you wished you hadnt, we should be able to help you out with that. Reporter youre hoping hes going to think to himself, okay, everything ive deleted, theyre going to see . Right. Reporter didnt work. Didnt work. We were swinging and missing regularly, on a daily basis. Reporter k. C. Joy was willing to talk, repeatedly, without an attorney. This is bree. Bree this is k. C. Hi. Hes been very cooperative with us. Hes got ive seen movie. Now you can take this take a fingerprint. Reporter he says to you, oh, ive seen this movie, and now youre going to take my fingerprints. Hes like a pro. Hes seen it all. Hes being very relaxed. I felt that he was very confident that we werent going to figure it out. Reporter what mr. Joy apparently didnt know was that other officers were watching him 24 7. The surveillance teams noticed he was spending a lot of time at the public library, and he was using the computers there, probably because police had taken away his phone, and maribels computer, which was the one k. C. Normally used. Initially we would have undercover policemen go into the library, walk around him, see what hes doing. And at one point hes seen googling can a cell phone be tracked if its turned off. Reporter well, thats certainly suspicious. It is. Reporter detective ramirez was consulting daily with Orange CountyDeputy District Attorney scott simmons. There are things that can be called into question, but theyre not immediately proof of anything. Exactly. And thats why we didnt arrest him right away. Reporter Police Needed to see exactly what k. C. Joy was doing on those library computers. That would require a very unusual plan. They obtained a search warrant allowing them to watch, in real time, every move made on the computer. This is a recording of k. C. s actual computer key strokes and mouse clicks. Thats k. C. Checking his email. Thats k. C. Applying for a job. Thats k. C. Joy typing in how long does it take a body to decay. Suspicious maybe, but not enough. And then he did this. He pulled up a Facebook Page that showed there was going to be an Awareness Walk in the near future. Reporter a walk to help find maribel . It was. He google mapped that park and zoomed in onto it he then panned out, navigated over about eight to 10 miles. Reporter this area that he was zeroing in on, was it an area that had crossed your field of vision at all . No. Reporter here k. C. Is google mapping a place that no one had searched. Watch as he zooms into that area with the tree. That tree didnt figure in the investigation in any way . Not in any stretch of the imagination. Reporter and no one had searched there. No. Reporter and no reason for that to be in the paper or anywhere else . No. I mean, its out in a remote canyon location. Reporter but hes looking at it. Yes, yes. Reporter by the time k. C. Was walking out of the library that afternoon, police were already headed to that tree. Coming up another startling discovery. This is way off the beaten path. We didnt know what to think. And the suspect speaks. Hear from k. C. Joy himself. Are you dangerous . Me . Im the perfect, most honest guy there is reporter as he dug deeper into k. C. Joys background, detective joey ramirez found more and more evidence that k. C. Was infatuated, even obsessed, with Maribel Ramos. For instance, the time maribel told k. C. He was too old for her, and he responded by getting Plastic Surgery. And 12,000 later hes got a different face . Correct. Reporter and he says the reason he got it is because of the woman whos missing . Correct. Reporter now here was k. C. At the public library, google mapping a remote wilderness area. Since the dawn of detective novels, killers have returned to the scene of the crime. But these days theres no need for the bad guy to even get in his car. Now, it can be done with the click of a mouse. The good guys still have to do it the Old Fashioned way. Detective shawn haydon got the call on the radio. Drive out to rustic modjeska canyon, southeast of the city of orange. We didnt know what to think. This is a very rural area. No one would be out here Mountain Biking or hiking. This is way off the beaten path. Reporter at the other end of the two way radio, detective Bryan Stanley was rewatching k. C. s Google Search trying to give detective haydon better directions. K. C. Focused on an intersection, and then moved over to the tree. In the center of the shot, theres one tree that looks like a bush out in the middle of the wash. I told him to look for that tree, and then in the wash from that area. Reporter hayden and his partner found the tree, then moved off the road and past the barbed wire fence. And then they knew they were close. As we were kind of trekking through this brush here, the first and foremost thing we found was, you know, an overwhelming smell of like a decaying body or something dead. And my partner and i kind of turned our head, and we looked over, and we saw this kind of shallow grave site. Reporter at long last, there she was. One of the detectives called and said, joey, youre not going to believe this. We found her. Reporter Maribel Ramos had been left alone in that dusty canyon since before anyone knew she was missing. Now, ramirez knew it was time for one last meeting with k. C. Joy. Well, thanks for coming down here voluntarily. I really appreciate it. Well, you going to give me a ride back to library. Then i have to walk. I say thats i dont have car. Reporter ramirez didnt tell k. C. That maribel had been found. He just tried for the final time to get k. C. To be the one who would say what had happened. K. C. , i think that you have the answers in your heart. No, i want to go. That you do and that you should share them. I have to go. Reporter so once again, k. C. Joy walked out of the interview room. He didnt get far. This time, he was arrested and charged with the murder of Maribel Ramos, the woman he had loved, who had not loved him. When he was taken into custody, k. C. Joy was wearing maribels dog tags. K. C. Joy pleaded not guilty and in july of this year, a little more than a year after maribel vanished, he went on trial for her murder. This is Maribel Ramos. Maribel is no longer with us. Reporter the prosecution laid out the evidence against k. C. The unrequited love, the scratches, the 911 call, and finally, the computer searches. Hes wondering, how close is maribels body to where theyre doing that awareness search . Thats why he goes to google maps. Reporter the defense pointed out there was no dna, fingerprints, cell phone info or standard forensic evidence that tied k. C. Joy to maribels murder or to the crime scene. We dont know what happened, what kind of force was used . Nobody knows. Who used it first . Nobody knows. Was there a weapon used . Was it used by maribel . Or was it used by k. C. Joy . Nobody knows. Reporter all true. But the computer searches were enough for the jury. We the jury in the above entitled action find the defendant guilty of the crime of felony to whit reporter k. C. Joy was convicted of Second Degree murder. After which, he told me the jury got it wrong. Are you dangerous . Me . Im the perfect, most honest guy there is, and most trustworthy. They say, whats your secret . I say, im a gentleman. Reporter k. C. Says he wants a new trial to prove he couldnt have killed maribel his, quote, best friend. You had a crush on her . No, we are absolutely not. You know, as i always maintain that we are platonic friends. You never told lucy that you had a crush on her . Nope, i didnt ever said that. Reporter you never said you were in love with her . Nope, never said that either. Reporter and you werent obsessed with her . No. I was not obsessed with her. Reporter the Plastic Surgery . His choice, he says. Not done for maribel. And the computer search of the area where maribels body was found . K. C. Says he didnt do it. Someone else did, by remotely accessing the same computer, right after he had used it. You dont think thats quite a coincidence . It may be a coincidence, but i didnt do it. Reporter youre being framed here . I say yes. If i had a paid attorney, somebody who could somebody like o. J. Simpson had, i wouldnt be here right now. Id be out. Reporter so the problem here is not that youre guilty, its that you dont have enough money . Exactly. Since, like, money talks. If you have money, i would not be here. Reporter k. C. Joy was sentenced to 15 years to life for killing Maribel Ramos. What do you think happened . I think she went to bed, and i think what he did is he got a pillow and smothered her. And as hes got this pillow over her face she struggles a little bit. And i believe thats where he got the scratches on his right tricep. Reporter if mr. Joy hadnt done that google map search leading you, essentially, to the body, would he be a free man . If no other evidence came up, yes. Reporter hed be a person of interest in a cold case. Correct. Reporter Maribel Ramos graduated from college posthumously. Her niece, giselle, whom maribel had always hoped would follow in her footsteps, instead ended up walking the path meant for her aunt. I received her diploma, and i got to sit in her seat and walk upstage and receive everything. It was so difficult to be there. It was difficult to see my daughter in such pain, walking for her aunt. She was an army veteran reporter every wednesday in orange they lower the flag for the fallen who served. But maribel has a legacy. Giselle, now 16 seems well on her way to becoming the successful woman maribel had hoped for. Your mom says that youve sort of been the rock, that they wouldnt have made it through this without you. Thats true . Yes. Reporter where did you get that toughness . From her. Reporter from maribel . Yeah. Thats all for now. Im lester holt. Thanks for joining us. This sunday, a meet the press summit, race in america. Protests across the country following a grand jury decision not to indict Police OfficerDarren Wilson in america. A deep mistrust exists between Law Enforcement and communities of color. Are we just as divided under ameri americas first black president. And are leaders not following the president. We are heading to washington, and we are going to make them squeal. And what impact will younger and more conservative gop lawmakers have on the cotr