Transcripts For KNTV Dateline NBC 20161203

Stranded in the desert, if shes being held somewhere. Can we find her before she meets a horrible end . Reporter police questioned her husband. They treated me like a suspect. Reporter then they discovered her lover. We just kind of started developing a bond. Reporter were there more secrets to uncover . There was Something Big going on there. We didnt realize there would be a predator reporter what would they find deep in the desert . Reminds me of indiana jones. Had no idea what we were getting into. She was dealing with the devil. My heart aches so bad this really cant be happening. Reporter im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres Andrea Canning with, the last day. Reporter they say if youre feeling down, its time to saddle up. With a little love, trust, and respect, these majestic creatures can emerge as loyal and gentle companions. For both horse and rider, theres nothing like it. She transformed into this awesome horse handler. And she knew what she was doing and what she was talking about. Reporter if only romantic relationships were that simple. This is the story of a young woman, so gentle, so vulnerable. She may have understood what makes horses tick, but humans . A different beast indeed. This doesnt happen to people we know. It just doesnt. It was crushing. I cried. I cried for days. I still cry when i think about it. Not really sure what type of person it takes to do that. Reporter oak ridge, tennessee, nestled along the beautiful clinch river, is an unassuming place with a big story. Atomic capital of the world, oak ridge, tennessee. Home of manhattan project. They call it the secret city for its part in the manhattan project, which produced the first atomic bomb. Oak ridge still prides itself on being a community that values science and education. And its a good place to raise a family. This is where Erin Heavilin grew up. When erin was three weeks old she joined our family as a foster child. She was a tee tiny little thing. She i think she was five pounds, three ounces when we got she was a tee tiny little thing. She i think she was five pounds, three ounces when we got her. Thats thats small. And all we thought she was the sweetest little thing. Our oldest girls were 16 and they carried her around. She was, like, their little doll . Yeah, they loved her. Reporter lore and her husband officially adopted their little doll when she was three. Erin grew into a shy little girl, reserved around those she didnt know. But with the horses she cared for at the east tennessee riding club, that was a different story. When i think of erin with horses, i think of her as a bigger shes very confident. She knows exactly what she wants, and what shes going to do. But with people, she was much meeker. Much quieter, calmer. Reporter horses would always be erins first love, but as she entered her teen years, a certain young man caught her eye. His name is jon corwin. What was it about you that could kind of break through to erin . Because her mom says how shy she was. And she was better with horses than people. So what was it about you . Guess its my charming personality. I i have no idea. It still surprises me today. Really . Yes. I guess, i was always able to talk to her, and figure out what she was feeling. Reporter erins parents had strict rules about when she could start dating. Jon was sure to get their blessing first. Thats very chivalrous of you to go to her parents. Its the way i was raised. You should always get the parents permission before anything. Reporter after graduating from high school, jon joined the marines. He asked erin to marry him when she was just 18yearsold with an unusual proposal. There was no champagne, but there was a cup of sprite. My hands were clammy and everything, nervous as heck. And so i go grab the st sprite. And i put the ring on top of it. And ask her to marry me. The ring was around the straw . Did she see it right away . No. I told her, hey, look at your drink. And what did she what was her reaction, when she finally looked down . She was crying tears of joy, ecstatic, and just screaming, yes, yes, yes. I would love to. Reporter erins mom had heard that being a military wife comes with sacrifice. Im a marine corps wife, myself. And i know that it can be a very lonely life for people. And its not easy. Did you try to warn her oh, yes. And did she listen . I know, mom. I know, mom. You know, and of course when i was 18 i knew also. You know, you probably couldnt tell me a whole lot. Reporter the couple decided to elope to las vegas and tied the knot after an annual formal celebration, known as the marine corps ball. Okay, so my husband and i have had a lotta fun at marine balls. However, i never thought about getting married at one of them. Why did you guys decide to get married there . Because we were young. It was vegas. I honestly didnt plan on a lotta things. It was more like spurofthemoment type deal. And thats how we lived. Reporter jon was assigned to the Twentynine Palms marine base out in the california desert. In september 2013, erin packed up for her move to join him. Her mom saw her off at the airport. Shes very directionally challenged. And she had two layovers. And im like, when you get off that plane you ask somebody where you need to go. And you let me know as soon as you get there. What emotions were you feeling letting your baby go to start her new life . It was scary for me. You know, i knew that it was gonna be harder than she ever dreamt. Reporter like any parent, lore worried about her daughter finding her place in this new life. Shes very shy. And i did have concerns about her making friends. We felt like base housing would be safer for her. Because her husband was out in the field so often. Reporter it wasnt long before jon and erin learned they were expecting a baby. She was very excited. I was excited for her. Reporter sadly, her excitement was shortlived. In early 2014, she suffered a miscarriage. Wanting desperately to be a mother, erin vowed to try again. Around four months later, in june of that same year, during a visit to the hospital for nausea, the couple got good news. Erin was pregnant again. She decided to wait to surprise her mom with the news. Lore already had a trip planned to visit the following month. We had, you know, plans of, like, just going for walks. We were gonna go to san diego to go to sea world and san diego zoo. But mostly just spend time together. You both mustve been really wanting, needing this trip . Absolutely. Reporter in anticipation of her mothers visit, erin told her husband she was going to scout out some good hiking locations at nearby Joshua Tree National park. She had woke up and gotten dressed, and gave me a kiss goodbye and said, hey, im headin out for the day, and i love you. I told her, i love you, too. And i rolled back over and went to sleep. Reporter a routine goodbye, or so it seemed. Until erin corwin vanished without a trace. What happened to erin . When we come back i was just so stressed. When you have a spouse that is not super frantic, you have a lot of questions. We had a lot of questions for john. To soak up tough messes and lock them away stop cleaning. Start swiffering. And i used to ask if you could hear me now with verizon. Not anymore. I switched to sprint because their Network Reliability is now within 1 of verizon. And they save you 50 on most current at t, tmobile, and verizon rates. Why is this one twice as much . This one right here has 1 more needles. Why pay twice as much for only a 1 difference . Well take this one. Can you hear that . vo dont let a 1 difference cost you twice as much. Happy holidays to you and your family. For people with hearing loss, switch to sprint today. Visit sprintrelay. Com special k nourish. Apples, almonds, and raspberries. Devour something different. Special k nourish. Without writing a single word. Wrote you a love note. Introducing a new way. To create a gift from the heart. That could only come from. The new pandora boutique at jared. A world of pandora. Including exclusive pieces designed just for jared. Ready to be mixed. Matched and stacked. With help from jareds own pandora expert. The one gift that speaks volumes. Youll both treasure forever. Thats why he went to jared. Reporter 19yearold erin corwin couldnt wait. Her mom would soon be making her first trip to see erin and her husband jon at their new home in Twentynine Palms, california, at the marine base in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Around 7 00 in the morning, erin said goodbye to jon and told him she was coming here to Joshua Tree National park to scout out hiking trails for her mothers upcoming visit. Reporter jon expected her home that afternoon, but she didnt show. He tried her phone. No answer. Did you keep calling . Called her throughout the night. How many times would you say you tried to call her or text her . At least 50 times. I was just so stressed and worried. Reporter hours passed and by the next morning, jon was frantic. John calls. And he said, erins missing. Reporter lore heavilin got the call back home in tennessee. He said, she left yesterday morning and i havent seen her since. My first question was, how much water did she have with her . Youre thinking this is, like, maybe a hiking situation . Well, you know shes gotten this is the child that has no sense of direction. You know, so im assuming shes lost. Reporter jon reported his wifes disappearance to the local police station. San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department was soon notified. Detective Trevis Newport obviously we were concerned. Can we find her before something, you know, horrible, before she meets a horrible end . You dont know if shes being held somewhere. We dont know if shes stranded in the desert still. Reporter lores phone rang again. This time it was a deputy. He had another idea about what might have happened to erin. One of his first questions was, do you think shes driving home . To tennessee . Yes, and so maybe shes just left. Yes. And i about laughed because i know how much she hates to drive, has no sense of direction, and theres absolutely no way she would give up a trip to sea world laugh and the zoo. Reporter back at Twentynine Palms, jon rounded up some of his marine buddies and headed into the national park. Its a vast expanse of nearly 800,000 acres of rugged rock formations, twisted joshua trees, and desolate open desert, where summer temperatures climb well past 100 degrees. We literally drove around Joshua Tree National park all day, trying to find any signs, any clues of where she mightve been. Do you see anything any signs of her, her car, a cl piece of clothing, anything . Nothing. Reporter theres a certain protocol detectives follow when investigating a missing person. Start small and close to home, that inner circle of friends and family, the ones who know the person best. So, when jon corwin reported that his wife erin had disappeared. It was natural. Theyd look at him. So, like, with any investigation you start closest to the source of the missing person. So we had a lot of questions for jon. Reporter investigators learned that once childhood sweethearts erin and jon settled in Twentynine Palms, things were far from perfect. Lieutenant Trevis Newport their relationship wasnt intertwined. We knew that it was a relationship that was probably starting to dwindle. Reporter there was her miscarriage in early 2014. Jon says it was heartbreaking, and erin had trouble coping. She became very enclosed and depressed and would stay at home. And im definitely not the one that actually speaks out on his emotions. Ive always kept them bottled up my whole life. She felt like i didnt care about it. And i did and it actually hurt me a whole lot. It really took a toll on our relationship. Reporter and erins mom, lore, knew that the young married couple also had money problems. We gave each of our kids a certain amount of money when they got married. And they kept just buying things. And then, all of a sudden i think that huge chunk of money was not there. You struggled with finances . Definitely. The pays not that great. But we had food on the table. We just didnt have any money for extracurriculars. Was that hard for erin . I know there was an issue with her credit card. Yes, it was hard. We ended up racking up debt. I ended up having to take away the card. Times were lean . Yes, very lean. Reporter they were grownup problems for a couple barely out of high school. Erin shared her worries with her friend abby. Its just hard to transition from being on your own to being married. And sometimes a hard hand is what you need. And i think thats what jon was teaching her. And she didnt like it. Reporter detective newport and his colleague jonathan woods wondered about jons behavior when his wife didnt return home why did he wait a whole day to call police . It was a little suspicious that he waited till the next day to report her as missing. Reporter jon said he explained to the investigators. He thought that was how these things worked. You see these common things on television now. You cant report a missing person until 24 hours after theyve been missing. And i truly believed that. Reporter made sense, maybe. But, detectives noticed something. Jon was kind of withdrawn. He was concerned, but he was withdrawn. And at at times we wondered, is it his . You know. His military background . You know, when you have a spouse whos not extremely frantic you youve got to question, you know, why why arent they super excited . Why arent they super upset . Reporter jon had gone into the park to search for his wife, sign of aconcerned husband, or Something Else . Well, obviously as an investigator you have to wonder, is this person trying to put themselves there . Is this person trying to give us the reason why they would be there where the last person was seen, or was possibly contacted . You were seriously looking at him . Yes. I did think, maybe jon. And i think thats normal. It doesnt make it right, but i think that its normal human response to think the spouse. Reporter but really, they might have been getting ahead of themselves. Erin was missing and could well have run off on her own. There was no reason yet to believe any harm had come to her, much less that jon was responsible. There were other people to talk to, and a new place to explore, a sanctuary for erin right here in the desert. One that that would prove to be full of clues and secrets. Coming up they were laughing and going on. Flirtatious . Giggly. Erin, the shy young wife. What kind of secret was she keeping . 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The whole thing caught on video and you can check it out on our homepage. Reveal and president elect donald trump is tweeting that the president of taiwan called him today to wish him congratulations on winning the presidency. The us broke diplomatic ties with the nation in 1979. Experts say the move is certain to anger china. End reporter when erin corwin went missing after a trip to the Joshua Tree National park. Detectives started out by questioning her husband, jon. Then they widened the circle, trying to learn as much as they could about her life at the marine base here in Twentynine Palms. They discovered that erin had been lonely when she first moved to the base, but quickly bonded with other military families. It was like ,kinda like Melrose Place in there. That is a perfect description of that apartment complex. Everybodys friends. Everybodys door is ten foot away from the next couples door. Reporter erin and jon grew close with their fellow marine corps neighbors. Including nichole and chris lee, a couple originally from alaska. Chris and nicole, and john and erin cooked out together all the time. I was happy, you know, that she had this. Reporter erin and nichole shared a common passion for horses. I was excited when erin and nicole met, because nicole was into horses. And i knew erin needed the horses. Reporter nichole introduced erin to the white rock horse rescue ranch and its owner, isabel megli. Youre not very far away from Twentynine Palms, the marine corps base. No. 45 minutes. So, is this not only a kind of a sanctuary for the animals, but maybe a little bit for the marine corps wives . Yeah. Reporter isabel started the ranch in 2004. The spouses come to the ranch when their husbands or their fiances or boyfriends are out in the field. They have nothing to do, most of em dont work. And they get very lonely. Loneliness is probably the biggest problem that they have. This is where erin had her horse. Yes. Named cassie. Cassie. And that was very special to her. Come here cassie. Come here. Hi. So youre erins horse. She picked a horse that i would never have chosen for her. Why . What was what was with the horse . The horse was standoffish. It didnt like anybody and sh it liked her. This horse was so bonded to her. And we couldnt believe it. Reporter before long, erin and jon, chris and nichole, were spending more and more time at the ranch together. Wed go shooting, go out in the desert and shoot our guns. And wed go up to the horse ranch and typical shenanigans. I had a little dune buggy that wed all go take offroading, while the girls were doin their horse stuff. Reporter isabel said when the couples were together, chris was always the life of the party. At the ranch chris was very funny, he was a real soft individual when he talked about his daughter, his wife, his family. But he also had the ability to be very stern. Reporter the ranch was clearly an escape for chris, who struggled after returning from deployment in afghanistan. There was something that you just stayed away from that subject. So he mighta had a rough time overseas . Yes, he did. He had a very hard time. Reporter but, said isabel, chris was a loving father to his and nicholes daughter, liberty. Erin took to the little girl, too, and would help out her friends by babysitting the sixyearold. Erins mom says she was always good with children. Gentle. Very gentle. The younger kids at the barn. You know, they knew that she cared about them. Reporter so erin had found her place here, surrounded by friends and horses. But isabel said that around christmas of 2013. She started to see a connection between chris and erin. That seemed a little too close for comfort. They were laughin and carrying on about somethin on the computer. Was there anything flirtatious about it or was it just too close for you . Giggly. I hadnt seen her act like that. It was like a kid in the candy store. I wasnt used to it, so it stuck out. Reporter isabel said she found the behavior so alarming she mentioned it to chris wife, nichole. I said, nichole, somethins wrong. I said the way theyre acting. She says, no, no. Theres nothing going on. She says, they they connect. What was it that they could relate to each other about . She said they could relate to being sad. She said chris was sad. And that when he came back from the service he was a different person. And that he he just wasnt himself. And erin could understand depression. She said they were just friends. Reporter but two months later. Nichole told erins husband jon she needed to talk to him. And by then she was singing a very different tune about erin corwin. Nichole had found out that chris had been having an affair with erin. I didnt actually get specifics at the time. Youre totally clueless. Yes. Is this just a bombshell to hear this news . Yes, it was a bombshell. It was earth shattering. But jon says he still loved his wife and was committed to his marriage. I tried my hardest to make it work. Were you in this for life . Yes. This marriage . Definitely. Theres you should always try to fix something instead of just replacing it. And i was trying everything i could to fix it. Reporter he says that over time, he and erin reconciled. And even patched things up with chris and nichole. And welcomed chris and nichole back into their lives. They started hanging back out with us. Really . You were able to accept them in, knowing what chris had done with erin . Yes. It wasnt the same that it was before. But you always give somebody a second chance. Reporter or do you . Erin was now missing. And the fact that shed been unfaithful to her husband just added to investigators suspicions about him. Lieutenant Trevis Newport anytime you have a spouse whos missing, and you hear that there might be some infidelity there involved, youre its just human nature, not just as an investigator, but as a human being to question whether or not that person might possibly be involved in the significant others missing. Reporter but then detectives found out something, that made the potential pool of suspects a whole lot deeper. The secret affair with the neighbor wasnt quite over. And stunner number two. The baby might not be his . He very likely realized it wasnt his kid. I overpack. But my guy knows what to bring. Like viagra single packs for ed. Ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension. Your Blood Pressure could drop to an unsafe level. To avoid longterm injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. 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Did you worry at all, in the moment, that, theyre looking at me . No, i did not. Reporter jon told detectives that his wife said the affair was over. He and erin had reconciled, and hed even reestablished his friendship with erins former lover, chris lee, and chriss wife nichole. But in the first days of their investigation, detectives learned that erins relationship with chris seemed to be going strong right up until the day she disappeared. It wasnt just your friendship, slight infidelity. It was full on. They were completely involved with each other. Reporter one of erins Close Friends back in tennessee told investigators she talked and texted with erin nearly every day. Erin, the friend said, was making plans for a life with chris lee. Erin had expressed to this friend that she was going to get married to chris. Reporter the friend told investigators erin said that chris was taking her on a special trip the morning she disappeared. And shed texted her all about it. Erin wrote, so apparently this surprise trip is super important, and i finally got him to tell me its by the national park. Erin told her friend she didnt know what plans chris had in store. Yeah i am clueless. Lol. Im ready to know what it is i mean, i have a couple ideas. I feel like its big but yeah, lol, we shall see the friend responded with a series of emojis, including a diamond ring, hearts, and question marks, suggesting, perhaps, an engagement . Erin responded, maybe and mentioned, he was mysteriously playing with my ring the other night. Erin added, we shall see this day cannot come quick enough and it apparently takes two hours just to get there. A long slow drive. Good talking time though after erin went missing, that same friend spoke to jon. She had told me that erin had supposedly been out with chris that day. And that she was expecting that chris was supposed to propose to her that day. How betrayed did you feel . It was earth shattering. I was felt like Somebody Just stuck literally, stuck a knife in my back. I was, honestly, ready to about strangle chris. Reporter but detectives soon learned something even more explosive. Remember, erin had recently found out she was pregnant. She told her friend that she believed the father of her baby was her lover, chris, not her husband. Did you think that the possibility existed that that he did find out that this affair had not ended like he had thought, and that this baby might not even be his . I mean, thats heavy stuff for someone to deal with. Absolutely. Thats why we wanted to question him so much. Did jon realize that it was very likely not his kid . Which again, that brings motive to a spouse. Did you have anything to do with your wifes disappearance . No, i did not. Everybody that knew me personally, knew that there was no way i could do that. Reporter but jon says marines on the base who did not know him well seemed suspicious. You could tell that they would look at me differently. And i eventually ended up staying home because of it. Were you not able to do your job, then, if you didnt want to leave the house . No. At that time, they considered me to be mentally unstable, and they took me away from everything pretty much because we handle firearms every day, and so i stayed at home. Reporter but now jon wasnt the only one on detectives radar. If his fellow marine chris lee might be the father of erins baby, and the person she was going to meet that day, then chris, too, might have a motive and an opportunity. Did you look at both chris and jon as suspects . Yes, absolutely. Reporter there was at least one other possibility. That erin, naive and just 19 years old, had simply decided to run away from her troubles. Whatever happened, there was still no sign of her. That is, until this woman noticed something strange, something she had never seen before. I didnt know if somebody was doing drugs in there, or if somebody was just up to no good. And i knew that it wasnt supposed to be there. And then after youve found yourself youre really happy to leave the place behind. Reporter debbie valek and her family lived just outside the marine corpsbase in Twentynine Palms, california its pretty barren. Its really flat. You can see for hundreds of miles in every direction. There was shoe lines and tire impressions. Are on the best network. both yes vo with no surprise overages, you can use your data worry free and even carry over the data you dont use. And right now get four lines and 20 gigs for only 40 per line. And, just for the holidays, get a Samsung Galaxy s7 edge for only 15 per month. No tradein required. I love you in that, no, i love you in that. No, i love you in that vo hurry, these offers end soon. Get the best deals and the best network, only on verizon. We were in a german dance group. I wore lederhosen. So i just started poking around on ancestry. Then, i decided to have my dna tested through ancestry dna. It turns out im scottish. So, i traded in my lederhosen for a kilt. Youre so cold, come in whats wrong . Its dry. Your scalp . Mine gets dry in the winter too. Try head and shoulders dry scalp care it nourishes the scalp and. Keeps you up to 100 flake free head and shoulders dry scalp care Twentynine Palms is an experience. You go out to the desert to find yourself and after you find yourself youre happy to leave it behind. Debby lives just outside of Twentynine Palms. It is barren. Reporter it was so remote, in fact, that a saturday morning donut craving meant an 8 mile drive to the nearest grocery store. So around 8 30am on june 28, 2014. Debbie and her daughter set off. And we were gonna go get donuts together. And my daughter was all excited. Reporter they took their typical path into town via ranch road. And as we were driving down the road there, i noticed a car parked off to the left hand side of the road that wasnt there the night before. Reporter debbie said it was extremely rare to ever see cars parked near their home in this desolate stretch of desert outside the national park, a full five miles from the entrance. I thought it was odd, because there was no reason for it to be there. Theres no hiking trails near my property. Theres nothing to do out there. And if you dont live out there theres no reason for the car to be there. Reporter about 30 minutes later, on their return drive from town, debbie said she was surprised to see the vehicle still sitting there. And i decided to drive up behind the car, and take some pictures with my cell phone. Reporter from inside her truck, she took three photos of the back of the car. I didnt wanna get outta my truck, because i didnt know what was inside the car, and who it belonged to. Reporter she had no idea at that time how important those photos would become. Debbie and her daughter went home, enjoyed those donuts, and got on with their day. She said she thought about reporting the car to police, but. I think i thought my imagination was just getting the better of me, and somebody had probably parked it out there with good reason. Reporter so there it sat. Until two days later. 9am monday june 30. Debbie and her family were eating breakfast when, to their surprise, they heard choppers overhead. I guess it dawned on me at that moment that i probably shoulda called the police. Because it, you could tell there was somethin big goin on there. Reporter someone else had called police, who quickly determined the abandoned vehicle was erin corwins. Debbies photos showed it had been there for two days. Since the morning erin disappeared. Whats more, next to erins car, detectives noticed tire tracks. And shoeprints. Those tire impressions made what appeared to be a loop back towards the vehicle, erins vehicle. And there were shoe impressions that appeared to walk from the drivers side of erins vehicle to those tire impressions that came through that area. Reporter it appeared to detectives that erin had driven to this spot, and possibly switched into another car and gone off. I realized at that point that we were dealing with a situation where were being led into one direction, which is the Joshua Tree National park. Whereas in fact now her car is several miles north of that location. So im obviously very concerned that we hadnt been searching the right area. Thats a daunting task. Joshua Tree National Park is huge. And then now youre adding on this new area. Is it like finding a needle in a haystack . Did it feel like that . Its like finding a needle in a thousand haystacks. Reporter when erins mom heard about the car her mind went to the worst possible place. When they found her car without her, thats when i knew Something Else had happened. And i think at that point in time i knew she was not with us anymore. You knew. I knew. Just from the car . Yeah. I know my daughter. And it was just, i couldnt get to Twentynine Palms quick enough. Whats that like getting on a plane, youve had this revelation, the worst kind of revelation and there you you have to there you are. You have to turn your phone off. You know, youre, you cant get any communication until you get back on the ground. I mean, it was must be excruciating. It was. The plane could not fly fast enough. Reporter but detectives had to keep an open mind. They had no way to know yet whether erin had run away, or gotten lost. Or, was the victim of a crime. We had to bifurcate the investigation. We had to turn it into a search and rescue mission, and a potential homicide investigation. One was to try and look for a live and well, hopefully, erin corwin. And the other was to work another angle whereas unfortunately we might be looking for a deceased erin corwin. Reporter whichever course the investigation took, they knew they needed to check out a key piece of information. Erin had told her friend back in tennessee that she was supposed to meet up with someone the day she vanished. Her neighbor, and lover, chris lee. Deputies first knocked on chriss door the day erin was reported missing. Christopher lee told the deputies, the extent of any contact he had ever had with erin corwin was waving hi in passing in a hallway of the apartment complex. Reporter apparently that wasnt true. But it wasnt necessarily incriminating either. Chris had every reason to downplay his relationship with erin. Nevertheless, detectives knew it was time to talk to chris lee again. Coming up i could see him definitely more tense in his body. Marine Corporal Chris lee prepares for battle. It was unusual and a wild story he was telling me. 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Which means the mccafe peppermint mocha is back at mcdonalds. Buy any 5 mccafe beverages and you get 1 for free when you use the mcdonalds app. Yaaaaaay yaaaaaay enjoy a mccafe moment. Crazy stuff, man. Ing at . Can i see . Oh yai yai yai yai yai yai yai. Look at the moon. Whoot. Cool. And with a capful of downy infusions with touch activated freshness, youve got a few more tricks up your cozy sleeve. Because with every touch, tug, or tender hug you release a bounty of beautiful botanical fragrance. Now, our knitted friend, youll always smell as good as you look. Because clothes deserve more. Reporter two days after erin corwin disappeared, chris lee sat down for a formal interview. Was he being cooperative . Yes, he was. How you doing . Reporter detective daniel hanke was part of the Team Investigating erin corwins disappearance. He wanted to know why chris didnt admit to police right away that he and erin were more than just friends. I didnt, uh, bring up mine and erins thing because it didnt seem pertinent at the time. Okay. Reporter but now chris began to open up. He said his relationship with erin started innocently enough. He was depressed after his 2013 tour in afghanistan. Erin was someone he could talk to. I had, uh, confided in her, you know, that i was feeling suicidal. And, you know, shes like, you cant be doing that stuff. You know, its kind of like she was someone to talk to about stuff that i didnt want to talk to about with my wife. Reporter he said erin confided in him as, well, a terrible secret, that she suffered physical abuse at the hands of her husband jon. She said her husband was beating her, and choking her, and, like, she was scared for her life. Shed say that he would choke her whenever, like, he would get mad. Reporter the way chris told it, erins story of jons abuse is what brought them together i just, like being in the state i was was like, okay, well, i can fix this. And then, you know, broken pieces fix each other. So, we just kind of started developing a bond. Reporter chris said that bonding soon turned to love. When you told her that you loved her, did she tell you that she loved you . She did. Reporter remember, police had heard from a friend of erins that she thought she was pregnant with chriss baby. But chris insisted the relationship had stayed pretty pg. Okay, and how many times did you guys kiss . Four, tops. Maybe some, like, hands up and down, while we were kissing, but nothing real heavy. Okay. Um, nothing under clothes or anything like that. Okay, so clothes never came off . Reporter chris said they talked about running away together, but he didnt want to risk losing his daughter, liberty. And i told her, im im not going to put liberty through a broken home. We had bounced the idea back and forth. Reporter he said the affair ended abruptly when his wife nichole found out about it. Chris also said thats when he learned a big part of his bonding with erin was based on lies. What did she lie to you about . She told me that her husband was beating her, and that she was afraid for her life. Reporter he said he never talked to erin again after that. But detectives had those Text Messages between erin and her friend back in tennessee, which seemed to show the affair was far from over. Detective Trevis Newport confronted chris. So no reason at all, why she would message people saying that shes planning to meet with you on saturday . Like, she very well couldve overheard me and conor talking, or me and skylar talking. Reporter chris suggested erin had overheard his plans for a trip to the desert, and upset that she wasnt invited, lied to her friends, saying chris planned to meet her that day. I just dont think she ever got over the fact that we had to stop seeing each other. We all know cheating in the military. That can be a dishonorable discharge. Did you think that would be a possible reason why he didnt want to talk about it . Yes. And its not uncommon to see military personnel deny such a relationship, because they know that it could lead to repercussions. Reporter still, they pressed chris on his whereabouts the day she went missing. He told them hed taken a drive to Joshua Tree National park, to hunt coyotes, and that hed shot his. 22 caliber rifle four to five times at some rocks. And at one point he said he encountered another man with a gun. Im not sure if the individual shot at me, or if he was just, like, recreational shooting. But there was an individual out there with a handgun, and it was fired in my general direction. He was very descriptive about this guy and his clothing and where he was out on a ridge line. And, you know, that he was reloading. And then, he fired, you know, four rounds at him. I got kind of lost, and at one point in time i came out. Uh, followed gold crown road to old dale mine road, and then followed that to the road that comes out of the national park, and came home that way. And then i got home about 3 30. It was just a very unusual, wild story that i thought he was telling me. Reporter so detective hanke tried to shake chris up with new information. We found her car. Oh, did you . Yeah, it was parked in that area. Okay. He seemed surprised that we had found the car. Did he start to tense up after this reveal . Yes, i could see it definitely him more tense in his body. Reporter and then hanke tried bluffing. Your tire tracks are there, as well as her tire tracks. And your tire tracks drove over hers, showing that you met her there. But you didnt know for sure. I didnt know for sure, but i i had a suspicion. Reporter under pressure now, chris changed his story slightly, saying that while he didnt see erin the day she disappeared. He did see her car. I was worried that if i told you guys i saw her car, because of my previous relationships with her, you wouldve automatically assume i did something. Reporter that didnt ring true to hanke, and his ears perked up even more when chris said this. Did you make any other phone calls, uh, when you were out . No, i couldnt. I i literally lacked the ability to, because of the area we were in. You heard that word yes. We. Yes, yeah, that was a big tell for me. He had told me this entire time he was by himself. Reporter detectives interviewed chris for nine hours and thought theyd caught him in numerous lies. But they didnt have proof hed committed a crime or for that matter, that anything bad had even happened to erin. So, detective hanke drove chris home. Anything telling from that car ride . Yes. It was pretty chilling actually some of the questions he asked me. And it like what . What was he asking you . He asked me how good good i was at my job and how good our Detective Team was. What did you tell him . Really good . Told him [ laugh ] we were very good. He asked me specifically how many bodies that have we not found in the desert. This is a freaky conversation. Yeah. Reporter it wouldnt be long before investigators heard another strange thing. This time from chriss wife, nicole, about something out at isabel meglis horse ranch. Nichole told you that something was hidden in isabels closet. Yes. What was that . It was a rifle, a. 22 caliber rifle. Coming up, chris lees weve. Tell erin if she had anything else to do with her husband she would kill her herself. Would this person pay someone to harm erin . At marvel studios. We are very much handson producers. If my office. Becomes a plane or an airport the surface pros perfect. Fast and portable but also light. You dont do this 14 hours a day, 7 days a week for. Decades if you dont feel it in your heart. Listen, i know my super power is to not ever sleep. Thats it. Thats the only super power i have. 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Trt 06 jeff wx wall and, chilly mornigs ahead. Full next rain chance. Jeff 11pm close at 11. Young military wife erin corwin has gone missing. Police question her husband, john, and her neighbor, chris, who was secretly her lover. Did you look at both chris and john as suspectesuspects . Absolutely. A break was coming. My heart was racing, i was sweaty this cant be happening to us. Three days passed since erin told her husband she was going out to scout hiking locations at Joshua Tree National park. And there was still no sign of her. The horse rescue ranch that seemed to hold so many secrets. Erin corwin, john, chris lee, they were all tied to that ranch. Looking for possibly a body on that ranch . Any piece of evidence that could lead to her disappearance. I said shes not here. But they said they had to follow every lead that might be possible. So thats what they did. Detectives knew one thing they were looking for. Erin said she stashed a rival in the closet. The 22 caliber rival that chris said he took to the park the day erin went missing. I was very disturbed. I cant imagine someone hiding something in my house and not telling me. So i was starting to get more angry at chris and nicole. Now im part of it and i didnt even know. And you dont allow guns here . No, i dont. And the day that erin disappeared, she got a text from nicole saying they would not be at the ranch that day because they were sick. The next day they were back at the ranch. I blew off the call that she was missing because i could not believe it. Theyll find her. Reporter isabel noticed things were tense between chris and nichole that day. And that nichole had nothing good to say about her missing friend. Nichole was tellin me that erin is probably hiding out somewhere to make chris life miserable. That shes settin us up. Shes tryin to hurt our family. Shes erins doin this just to get even. Shes tryin to get sympathy. So the idea was that erin was okay somewhere, but was causing trouble to make chris look bad. Right. Reporter chris was about to be discharged from the marines and planned to move back to alaska. Isabel had lent them her s. U. V. To move some of their belongings. Detectives searched the s. U. V. And found a potato launcher like this one. A sort of homemade cannon, that shoots chunks of potato or other small objects. And and the officer said, you didnt know thats thats a weapon . I said, i had no idea it was even in my car. Reporter a weapon, as it happens, that was illegal in california. Detectives were already suspicious of chris, now they used that potato launcher to get some leverage on him. He was arrested here. This patio were sitting on. Yes. Is where chris was arrested . He was handcuffed to a chair. Reporter the charge, possession of a destructive device. Chris had already spoken to detectives at length, but now that he was under arrest, isabel noticed that nichole seemed to be getting nervous. And she started to say some odd things. She was very concerned that he would get his story confused. Because he wasnt in control of the facts as much as she was. Reporter detectives had already noticed nichole didnt seem interested in helping to find her friend erin. Extremely uncooperative, angry. Just not what you would expect of somebody whos trying to assist an investigation. Reporter isabel told them chris and nichole had also searched the internet, for some very specific information. They had researched how to how to dispose of a body, a dead body. She said that weve watched enough of those csi movies to know, no body, no case. Reporter remember, it was nichole who told jon about the affair. According to isabel, nichole said that she then confronted erin. It was very important to her, to tell erin that if she ever had anything else to do with her husband, shed kill her herself. Given that erin has disappeared, that is a very strong statement, and now, very relevant. Did you have to consider her as a possible suspect as well . Of course we did. Hearing a Statement Like that, obviously just raises all kinds of red flags. Nichole lee had an alibi. Detectives learned she was at home with her child the day erin disappeared, but even if she wasnt out in the desert that day, investigators believed she still could have played a role in arranging erins disappearance. Really makes you wonder, you know. Did this person pay somebody to harm erin . Reporter erins mom lore had suspicions of her own. In those initial days following erins disappearance, lore stayed at erin and jons apartment on the base. I went for a walk. And i come back, and nicoles sitting on the their walkway. And if looks could kill. Toward you . Towards me. Must have been an odd moment. I guess it, for some reason, didnt surprise me. Reporter instead of shrinking, the suspect pool seemed to be growing. But there was still no proof any crime had even occurred, except maybe possession of a potato gun. Chris bailed out on july 5, 2014, one week after erin disappeared. Two days later he was officially discharged from the marines. And the lees returned to alaska. People kept having a fit because they let him go to alaska. Reporter meanwhile, detectives in San Bernardino continued to hunt for clues, as to where erin corwin might be found. And they learned something that would launch them on a massive, treacherous search in the desert. You dont want to make one wrong little turn. Danger in the heart of the desert. What would investigators find . With our new flavorfilled pairings. Enjoy our freshly filled pastas bursting with indulgent flavors. And perfectly paired with irresistible steak, shrimp or chicken. Comfort and joy, love and laughter, happiness and cheer. Served with all the salad and breadsticks you want. Bring flavorfilled pairings and your family together this holiday. At olive garden. Hey julie, i know todays critic. Need a sick day. Dads dont take sick days. Dads take dayquil severe the. Nondrowsy, coughing, aching, fever, sore throat, stuffy. Head, no sick days medicine. Yopantene expert gives you thee . Most beautiful hair ever, with our strongest prov formula ever. Strong is beautiful. Oh caroline. So corporate put you up in a roadside motel. But with directv from at t, you can download then binge watch your dvrd shows from anywhere. That makes you more powerful than whatever it is you just stepped in. Or that friendly dumpster diver outside. I wouldnt sit there. Its your tv, take it with you. Now you can watch your dvr anywhere, at no extra cost, with directv from at t. Reporter was erin corwin still alive somewhere in the desert . Or was she the victim of foul play. This is a huge operation, tryin to find erin corwin . Lieutenant Trevis Newport yes. Yeah, we had hundreds of searchers from four different counties. Reporter but with such an enormous area to cover the search dragged on. And in the withering desert heat, the odds of finding erin alive dwindled. Her parents had long ago returned home to tennessee. It must have been so hard getting on that plane. Was there any part of you that felt like, of course its reasonable, but did you feel guilt or oh yes. Yeah. Youre right. I shouldnt be leaving, or, what if they find her tonight or tomorrow. Right, right. Reporter the investigation had narrowed in one way. Detectives cleared erins husband jon of any wrongdoing in connection with her disappearance. Cell phone and computer records showed jon was on the base the entire day that erin went missing. They also concluded chris was lying when he told investigators erin claimed jon had been abusive. Over the period of the investigation jon was interviewed multiple times. Jon submitted to a polygraph test. I mean, easily 20 hours total we had spoken with jon. Did he pass the polygraph . Yes. I knew what was true, and i gave them my honest answers. And i never lied to them, and the light shined through. Reporter but chris lee had lied to them and seemed interested in how to dispose of a body. And isabel told them hed taken a trip to the desert with a friend the week before erin disappeared. And he says, we found a lotta mines, but i found this one mine no one will ever find. Reporter detectives believed it was all adding up. Chris killed erin and then dumped her body in a mineshaft. So they decided to start searching. But here was the problem. The Mojave Desert is pockmarked with hundreds of mineshafts. Detectives knew they needed help. The searchandrescue folks explained that there was a guy who knew a lot about the desert, knew a lot about the caves, you know, would be a great resource to us. Reporter this is the man they were talking about, doug billings. Cavedoug to his pals. As much desert rat as the gold miners who used to roam the mojave a century ago. But instead of a pick axe and a mule hes outfitted with gps and a hummer. Id been down every one of these mines, including the one were standing in front of right now. I know how deep they are. I know whats inside em. When other kids were playing Little League billings was hanging off a rope catching rattlers. By the time he was an adult billings was traveling the globe, exploring the underworld. But the mojave is his home. So detective newport and billings started talking and a relationship quickly formed. Almost every day, doug and i would talk on the phone, and he would send me photographs, aerial images, satellite images, and say, check these mineshafts. You know, these are more that i have located reporter just getting to a mineshaft could be an ordeal as we discovered. Billings took us out to one of the high priority search areas but the road got so rugged and treacherous, we were forced to leave behind our s. U. V, along with two members of the crew, and carry on in billings hummer. This is really hard to get around. Yes, yeah. I mean, this is, sort of, at times, White Knuckle driving. Yeah, there i have to admit. I mean, you look straight down, you dont wanna make one wrong little turn. Yeah, yeah, one wrong turn can be your last turn. This is one of the mines that was searched . Yes. Reporter billings and the other volunteers checked off one dangerous mineshaft after the next. Were monitoring the oxygen. So its all clear. The next step we do is we always throw in a little bit of rocks. And you listen quietly for a rattlesnake. Its, kind of, a general protocol. This part of the desert, they love to come and hide out in these mines its cool in here to get out of the sun. Yeah, you see the temperature drop. And, as we walk in here, click your light on. Oh, that could be scary if it dropped down. Yeah. Yeah, so this could be a false floor here. Well stay on this side here. It makes me think of indiana jones. Yeah kind of, the unknown trap almost. Uhhuh, uhhuh. Ive seen that in real life. Reporter these are the most dangerous shafts to search. Vertical ones that go straight down into a crumbling abyss. Originally we were dropping mine shafts. We were physically going down the shaft. We would rig the ropes, rappel in, check it, clear it. And move on. But it became not feasible with the amount of mines we had to search. Reporter so they outfitted buckets with cameras. It sped up the process, to be sure, but with hundreds of mines to explore the search dragged on for days, then weeks. How daunting of a task was this . Well at first i didnt really quite grasp it. And then once we had been out here pounding this area for several weeks, it was, it started goin through my head. Like, oh my god, when is this gonna end . You know . Reporter detectives were often side by side with the hundreds of searchers looking for erin. We were diggin holes. We were searching. I was wearing tshirt and jeans goin into mine shafts. We wanted to find her. So we were doin everything we could to help. Reporter and yet, there was no sign of erin corwin anywhere. No clothing, no footprints, nothing. But then detectives caught a break. Remember that trip chris took with a friend to look at mines . Turns out, chriss friend had taken pictures. Detectives obtained the photos, and seven weeks into the search showed them to cave doug. Without skippin a beat, mr. Billings almost immediately began identifying each photograph and we began plotting em on the topographical map. The first picture they showed me was the mine across here. Immediately recognized the tower. They showed the shaft, going down the shaft. I recognized that. Second, they showed me the cabin. And then, and then the next picture was of, actually, the mine were standing next to. Reporter so they bet on billings memory and focused their efforts here. Around whats known as the rose of peru mine. Around the rose of peru mine are hundreds of other abandoned mines like this one. And anyone of them could have been a potential burial site. Reporter investigators had high hopes they were finally targeting the right area. But after an exhaustive and expensive search that lasted for weeks and weeks, they decided this was it. Saturday august 16, 2014 would be the last day of the search. We felt we had one more shot at it. Reporter in the early evening they headed for the very last mine on their list. And as nighttime falls out there, you dont want anybody out there, still. So we began to really collect our thoughts and decide, you know, any minute now, we need to start calling this search. A member of the San Bernardino cave rescue team, a doctor in fact, came upon this mine and right away noticed a strange smell. It was the stench of gasoline. Reporter there was also a shell casing resting near the mouth of the mine. The searchers lowered a bucket cam. We received a phone call from one of the satellite phones that was out there with the search team. And they could see what appeared to be a leg or some sort of a body part down at the very bottom of the mineshaft. That is unbelievable that this search was minutes away from being called off, after weeks and weeks, and you find something. Yes. It was very unbelievable. Reporter a full exploration of the mine would have to wait until daybreak. He called me at roughly 9 00 or 10 00 that night, and said that we had found a body at the bottom of this mine shaft. Did you sleep at all that night . I did not. No. Reporter a massive search effort that once spread across 2,000 square miles of desert was now focused on a single fourbysixfoot hole. I had no idea what we were getting into. Reporter Paul Anastasia and brenton baum are with the san dont let the food you eat during the day haunt you at night. Nexium 24hr. Shuts down your stomachs active acid pumps. To stop the burn of frequent heartburn. All day and night. Have we seen them before . Banish the burn with nexium 24hr. Lois pricese. [ifrom Grocery Outlet. Hi, its. The rest of us hey there. Hi hey. Loifor over 60 years now, Grocery Outlet has been selling the brands you know and love, for up to 60 less than what youd pay at Traditional Grocery stores. And check this out. Lois weve got meats and produce, naturals and organics, at prices thatll make you wanna sing. Good thing weve got a really catchy theme song. Hit it Grocery Outlet bargain market bargain market. Now its stuck in my head. Reporter a massive search effort that once spread across 2,000 square miles of desert was now focused on a single fourbysixfoot hole. I had no idea what we were getting into. Reporter Paul Anastasia and brenton baum are with the san Bernardino County Fire Departments elite urban search and rescue team. I was told they had found a body approximately 140 feet in a mine shaft. No one had actually rappelled down into the mine . No. All they had was video from their camera and the belief that there was a good chance that this was erin corwin . Yes. Reporter but there were problems. They detected, propane, gasoline fumes. Reporter the bucket cam used the day before picked up images of a gas can and propane tank which were venting fumes into the shaft. Thats why anastasia and baum were called theyre trained to work inside tight spaces while using sophisticated breathing equipment. From what they described, it sounded pretty precarious just as far as the soil type we were facing, how deep and the environment it was. It seemed like a pretty questionable entrance. Reporter the two regularly risk their lives to rescue people in danger but in this case taking a grave risk in order to recover a dead body, gave them pause. Its risk versus gain. Do i want to put my life in danger . Reporter after talking it over and knowing how important their Recovery Efforts could be to solving erins disappearance they agreed to go. Baum, who is admittedly claustrophobic, got the short straw and was first in the hole. And i started descending down. How deep were you going in . About 100, 140 it was a lot deeper than ive ever been. And what are you seeing as youre on your way down . How how tight is it . It was eerie. Rock collapsing um snakes rattlesnakes. Yeah. And also, just the heat. It was about 110a topside. And i believe it was about 90a downside. So work in that environment, you only have a limited amount of time effectiveness before youre quickly fatigued. What did you see . A sprite bottle a rope a tire down there propane tank some plastic jugs a lot of rock and rock debris some railroad ties. Reporter and then he saw it a human body. Sounds like out of s a horror movie. I mean, i hate to say it like that. But to to rappel down and then to see a decomposing body. We see a lot of death in this line of work. Over time you just develop a method where you just ignore your emotions for a little while. And you just focus on the task you need to do. And then, you know, face up with your emotions later. Reporter baum first took photos while suspended above the grisly crime scene. Then methodically set about gathering evidence and sending it back to the surface. The original plan was for me to do the whole operation. But i had been down there about 45 minutes and was pretty fatigued. So our captain made the decision to go ahead and rotate us out. How did you feel when when you finally got out of that mine, i took my mask off, i was hit with the smell all of a sudden, what i what i had been immersed in and didnt smell in the shaft, i smelled on the topside, cause it was all saturated in my clothes. I started dry heaving. Reporter then it was anastasias turn. His assignment . Get the body. I would be lying if i said i was excited about goin down into that mine shaft. I never put a body in a bag. Reporter once in the mine, anastasia realized retrieving the body was going to be far harder than expected. I did a little assessment with my flashlight. And i i realized that that was a false bottom. And then i got a little more concerned with some rocks coming down and knockin out that false bottom, or loosening it up. cause then everything would be gone. Yeah. I had no it would go to the bottom of the mine. I had no idea how deep that shaft was. Reporter so, suspended in mid ai. Anastasia began placing the body in the bag without disturbing the false bottom on which it rested. Once that was done he found Something Else. A torch in the corner of the mine had it been lit . It it didnt look like it had been lit to me. It looked like it was brand new. Like it someone had just made it reporter ever so carefully, anastasia made his way back up the mine shaft with that torch and with the body. Back on the surface detectives made a positive id. After eight weeks of searching, on the day theyd decided would be their last, they had finally found erin corwin. I dont know if either of you are religious, but it almost feels like some kind of divine intervention that it would happen that way detective. I felt it was a small miracle. I get emotional just just thinkin about that day. All these hours we had worked and just thinking, deep down inside, shes gotta be somewhere in one of these last caves, she just has to be, and then actually having that confirmed just over overwhelming emotion. Lore heavlin. A few minutes before midnight, the phone rings again. Wakes us up and its detective dan. And says its her. Its like, this really cant be happening to us. You know . Not that child. Reporter the cause of erins death . Possible blunt force head injury and apparently, strangulation with a sinister tool. The pathologist discovered whats known as a garrote. I was unfamiliar with that at the time. But i quickly learned what that was. It was a paracord with two rebar handles, and it was encircled her neck. Reporter isabel from the horse ranch said nichole lee once told her, no body, no case. Now detectives finally had the body. And soon they had an arrest warrant. The charge murder. Coming up all of the evidence in this case points to one person. 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He did mention the benefits of hiding a body in a vertical position so Ground Penetrating radar wouldnt be able to see the outline of the body. Reporter former downstairs neighbor and onetime friend, Aisling Malakie also took the stand. How many times prior to june 28th did you hear the defendant talking about murder . More than i can count. Reporter aisling also told the jury about chriss wife nicholes odd and cold response when she heard erin was missing. I called nichole and said, wheres your husband . Theres people here looking for her, you know. Erins missing. She replied with, i dont care what happened to that little bitch. And she laughed at me and told me to mind my own business. And then, i hung up on her. So youre becoming emotional . Why . Because i just i knew something happened to erin at that point, and there was no way she went off on her own. Reporter and aislings husband, conor malakie, testified he saw chris lee around 6 00 the morning erin disappeared, and in the back of his jeep, he noticed something. I saw a bunch of items covered by a tarp and i saw a white propane cylinder. White propane cylinder . Correct. Like for a barbeque . Yes. Reporter conor said the propane tank he saw in the jeep looked like the one recovered from the mine. I asked him why it was in there and what he was going to do with it. What was the defendants response . That he was going to blow up a mine shaft with it. Reporter isabel megli from the horse ranch told the jury she also recognized the tank pulled up from the mine. She said chris had borrowed it from her the day before erin disappeared. I asked him if he was going to have a barbeque. And what was his response . He said no. He was going to use it to play games. Did the defendant ever return the propane tank . No. Reporter and detective woods testified that a search of the suv chris was driving at the time of his arrest yielded another piece of evidence. That is the garrote that was located underneath the front passenger seat. Id only seen one of those in my life, and that was the one that was wrapped around ms. Corwins neck. And for the second time in the same week, i saw the second one. Reporter and there was another link to chris, that shell casing found near the mouth of the mine shaft. It matched chriss rifle. The jury also got to hear from erins confidante back in tennessee. Jessica trentham was erins close friend and secret keeper. Shes the one who told detectives everything she knew about erins affair with chris. Did she tell you how she felt about Christopher Lee . She made it known that she loved him more than her husband. Reporter jessica said erin had plans for a future with chris. She stated that she believed she would be divorcing her husband or that a divorce would come and that she was hoping to be able to stay with him. Reporter she said chris told erin he had a special trip planned for her the weekend she disappeared. She said that he was going to surprise her with a trip out to the desert. How did she sound . What was her feelings about that . What did she sound like to you . She was excited to get to spend time with him. Reporter jessica also testified about a text she got from erin, my mother comes in a week. Im excited jessica responded, are you gonna tell her . What did what did you mean when you sent the text, are you gonna tell her . Hat she was pregnant. Reporter erin texted back, well chris wanted to tell everyone next week. On june 28, 2014, jessica spoke to her friend for the last time. At 7 19 am california time, erin called jessica back in tennessee. She said that she was getting ready and about to leave the apartment to go meet chris to have their special date. Did what was your response to that . I was excited for her. Why . I wanted her to be happy. Did you guys make plans or talk about her calling you later . She was supposed to call and let me know how it went. Did you ever get that phone call . No. Do you think she was planning to start this new life with him . With the baby seems seems so. In alaska . It seems so. It was really hard to hear that. I think one of the harder things is to know that she was going through all that and she did not share it. It just makes me wonder the level of his manipulation because obviously he was leading her on. Reporter but perhaps the most damning evidence came from this dna expert, who analyzed the items that were pulled out of the mine shaft where erins body was recovered. In this case, i chose to go with more substantial testing. Reporter remember that homemade torch . It consisted of a piece of wood with a green tshirt wrapped around one end. And on the shirts collar, dna. In this particular case we have a major dna profile which includes christopher uh, Christopher Lee. Reporter there was also dna around the mouth of the sprite bottle found in the mine. I have a mixture of two individuals. Uh, Christopher Brandon lee and erin corwin. Reporter erin and chris, it appeared, had been sharing a sprite that day, the same drink her husband had once used to propose marriage. I believe Christopher Lee took erin corwin out to the desert to kill her that day because she was a hurdle between him and the rest of his life. By the end of this entire investigation we realized Christopher Lee didnt care about anybody but himself. Reporter the prosecution said chris took erin out to the mine, strangled her with the garotte, and dropped her in. He may have intended to use the propane tank and torch to blow up the mine and conceal her body, although he apparently didnt follow through. Their conclusion, it was a carefullyplanned, coldblooded murder. The evidence seemed overwhelming. But now it was the defenses turn, and jurors were in for a surprise. Chris lee was about to testify, and no one was prepared for the dark tale he would tell. A story from the stand that stuns the court. I could not build it myself and i cant keep it a secret any longer. But then i realized there was. So, i finally broke the silence with my doctor about what i was experiencing. He said humira is for people like me who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohns disease. In clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. And many achieved remission. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. 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Repor ctehris had asked two friends to join him, including his neighbor, conor. Why were you inviting all these other friends of yours, if you needed to talk to erin . Because i didnt really wanna have lengthy conversations. So i wanted to be able to go hang out with my friends, and actually do some hunting. In case the conversation got too deep, or became to the point where i was uncomfortable with it. Reporter but chris said by the morning of june 28th, he found out his friends had bailed. So he and erin set out for the park, just the two of them. Chris had a propane tank and, he said, he wanted to blow off some steam literally. Had you told erin that you were going to actually try to blow up this mine . On the way there. Do you remember what her reaction was . She wasnt happy about it. She thought it was stupid, unsafe. You know, she thought this trip was gonna be about us talking. And i told her that it was but, you know, that i wanted to try and do this, too. Reporter when they arrived, chris began unloading his supplies. I took the tires out of my jeep. And i tossed em down the mineshaft. What was erin doing during this time . She was sitting in the jeep, listening to music. She didnt wanna be near any of this. All right. So what did you do next to blow the mine . I went to the back of the jeep to grab my torch. And i realized i had not doused it in gasoline. Reporter feeling frustrated, chris said, he returned to his jeep. We started havin a conversation. About what . About plans. She wanted to come to alaska. She wanted to be part of libertys life. I had told her, you know, i i didnt want that. I told her, you know, i decided that, you know, you cant be a part of libertys life. And she said that she wanted to, that she loved liberty, you know . And i told her, you know, its not your choice. Its not your daughter. You dont get to love her. Shes mine. What were you thinking at that point . Di was thinking there was no reason for erin to love liberty. Shes not hers. She she couldnt have any kind of emotional attachment to her. Reporter and then, chris said, he remembered Something Else. A story that would be central to his defense, and would stun this courtroom. He said he recalled something his wife had shown him one night when she was giving liberty a bath. Signs, chris said, that nichole believed, showed sexual abuse. Then she thought maybe erin had molested liberty. Because she was uncomfortable with the way she was around her, when she had been watching her. What was your reaction to that . I felt so safe in my Little Community that i i didnt think it was possible. You didnt believe nichole. No, not at the time. Reporter but now, as they talked at the mine, he said erin seemed way too attached to liberty. When erin told me she loved liberty and that she wanted to be with her, you know, something clicked. It turned a gear in my head. And i said, why do you care about liberty so much . Why why do you wanna be part of her life . And erin erin told me, you know, i just i just love her. And i and i i stood up, and i stopped her. And i i said, did you touch liberty . And she reeled back a little bit and started stuttering over her words. And she was saying, you know, i i and i stopped her again. And i yelled at her this time. And i said, did you molest my daughter . And she said, yes. But and that was the last thing i heard her say. Reporter an explosive allegation, against the victim. Did you worry that that could really turn off the jury . Absolutely. But it was what chris insisted was the truth. Erins husband said it simply wasnt possible. She was nurturing, caring, never did anything illicit or crude or harmful. Nobody that personally knows erin, or has even heard of erin, would believe that. Reporter and for detectives i personally felt disgusted. From all the people weve talked to that knew erin we didnt think this was even an angle that Christopher Lee would play. This came outta left field. Reporter but chris said, it was hearing what he believed to be, a confession from erin that caused the horrible events he now recounted, in chilling detail. I i stumbled back. And i sat on the edge of my jeep and caught myself with my hands. And in my right hand, i felt the metal from the garrote. It it set me off. I just felt so much hate, so much rage. And i grabbed it. And i stood up and i came up behind her. And i put it around her neck. Training took over then. And i turned around. And i started pulling. Nothing woulda stopped me, from doing what i was doing. I told myself, while i was doing this, never again. I wasnt gonna let anybody hurt my daughter again. I had let her into my daughters life. It was my fault that my daughter was hurt. I just kept choking her. I dont know how long it was. Mightve been five minutes, ten minutes. It felt like forever. And i just kept choking her. And then the anger, that feeling of disgust and hate, ebbed a little bit. And i let go. And she dropped to the ground. Reporter Christopher Lee was describing for the jury how he had killed erin corwin. After a few minutes, my i realized what happened. I know i killed her. And so the garrote was still around her neck. So i grabbed it. And i dragged her to the edge of the mineshaft. And i pushed her in. Reporter his story accounted for all the physical evidence, and portrayed the killing as a crime of passion committed by an outraged father. But now the prosecution took over, and shocked the courtroom all over again. Coming up, a heart stopping moment you couldnt have stopped there . No. What will the verdict be . At jared. We turn feelings. Into jewelry. Jewelry that tells her shes the best thing thats ever happened to you. In a way. That goes beyond words. It could be a piece jewelry designers created just for jared. 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No so youre still having sex with the woman who your wife thought was molesting your daughter, right . Yes. Reporter the prosecutions mission, show the jury that they could not believe chris. Because hed lied, claiming not to know where erin was through all eight weeks she was missing. People lie for a reason. It was important that i point out that he lies to protect himself. You had a choice to tell the truth . Right . I did. And you knew erin had a mother . Yes. You knew she had people that loved her . Yes. You knew a lot of people were looking for her . Yes, i did. You essentially made a decision to hold them hostage, right . Yes. Reporter perhaps the biggest moment in court came when the prosecutor found a striking way to demonstrate how chris had killed erin. Okay. So for the record, what you did is you put it around the dummys neck that im holding, you twisted it around, and then you turned backwards . So youre actually back to back with her . Yes, sir. Okay. And you testified earlier that you pulled really, really hard . Yes, sir. You couldve stopped there, right . No. You couldnt have stopped . No. Okay. You already made the decision to kill her . Yes. And you were gonna follow through with that decision . Yes. Okay. My goal was to show the jury how long it takes to kill somebody like that and to show them the brutality of what was done. Its one thing to say, as he did on direct, i strangled her and i pushed her down the hole. Its another thing for him to actually show us what you did. So i think the jury was entitled to see that. It was heavy, it was one of the heavier moments that ive had in court. Thats about ten seconds in. You couldve stopped. Right . No. Twenty seconds in. You couldve stopped . No. Why not . Nothing woulda stopped me at this point. I was too angry. I saw the reaction of the jurors. It was pained. Their expressions were pained. Okay. So were about 40 seconds in. Youre still doing it . Yes, sir. Thats about a minute in. Youre still doing it . Yes, sir. And your testimony is you couldnt have stopped . You couldnt have just let go of those handles . No. A minute 20 . Still no, huh . No. Okay. You can let go. Can you let go now . Yes, sir. And then you threw her down a mineshaft, didnt you . I did. Like a piece of trash. I threw her down the mineshaft, yes. Like a piece of trash . Right . Is that a question . Yes. Yes. Reporter the jurors had heard a confession from chris lee. Would they think it was voluntary manslaughter, a killing carried out in the heat of passion . Or, was it premeditated murder . The prosecutor made his final appeal to the jury. Do you think the defendant testified to express remorse . Ladies and gentlemen, if you do, youre mistaken. The defendant was not remorseful. He didnt care. He didnt care when search and rescue and homicide and Fire Departments are putting their life at risk looking for erin. He didnt care that he was holding her mother hostage. He didnt care one bit until it was time to talk to you. The people who are gonna decide what crime hes guilty of. Reporter defense attorney David Kaloyanides asked the jury to consider this case as a tragic crime of passion. Not one of premeditated murder. Mr. Lee was provoked. Only you can decide whether that provocation was sufficient to justify a lesser included. Not justify the killing, because it wasnt justified. But was it murder . Was it deliberate, willful, premeditated, lyinginwait murder . Or was it a tragic killing that shouldnt have happened . Track 1208 the jury pondered those questions. For just an hour and a half. Then they reached a verdict. We the jury find the defendant, Christopher Brandon lee, guilty of first degree murder. The defendant intentionally killed the victim by means of lying in wait. Reporter Christopher Lee was convicted on all counts. He will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. What was that moment like for you . That, that was pretty final, at that point. Guilty. It was like taking a breath of fresh air. Reporter although jon corwin still feels the lasting pain of regret. I just wish, wish i could have been there for her more. I tried my hardest, but it wasnt enough. Erin was a kid. She had her whole life ahead of her. She just didnt know that, in my opinion, she was dealing with the devil. Chriss wife, nichole, told detectives she had nothing to do with erins disappearance, and she has not been charged with any crime. Is there still a chance, is nichole out of the woods . Not every door has been closed. Reporter but for erins mom, the door on chris lee is closed. And she breathes a little easier knowing it. Every time theres a hearing, your emotional scab gets ripped off. And to know that im not gonna have to deal with that. Reporter lore finds comfort here. Way out in the joshua tree desert. Where doug billings cave doug created this. In the desolate place where erins life was cut short. A garden now grows in her memory. Reporter when you look at that desert garden, what are you thinking . Its beautiful, like my girl. Its a peaceful place. I have a peace that cant be explained. I decided i couldnt be bitter and angry. Hes already taken enough from me. And if im bitter and angry, hes taking my mind, my soul, and my heart. And im not giving him that. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Well see you next friday at 9 00, 8 00 central. And also on nbc news. Im lester holt, for all of us t really happened during and after her 22days in captivity. A california moms mysterious abduction. Tonight, her husband reveals what happened during and after her 22 days in captivity. And chilly mornings ahead. The full weekend forecast and when rain returns, next. Right now at 11 breakinf protocol. A simple phone call. Lands president elect trump in the right now at 11 00, breaking protocol. A simple phone call lands president elect donald trump in the middle of a diplomatic misstep with china. The news at 11 00 starts now. Good evening. Im jessica aguirre. Raj mathai has the night off. So will two tweets derail the u. S. one china stance . Thats the concern after president elect trump broke with decades of Foreign Policy and spoke with the