Transcripts For KNTV Dateline NBC 20170708

What had happened . And who was behind it . Everything was a mystery. Was she still alive . Was she not . It tore us apart. For years they demanded answers, a struggle each day. Then came the cold case squad with a new bag of tricks. I always felt that this was a case that could be solved. They wanted justice just as bad as we did. As a mother she fought and fought and fought. We just never gave up. Dont mess with a mother bear. Im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres Keith Morrison with the knock at the door. A baking sun. A school bus made its methodical way among the residential streets of punta gorda, florida. Stopped and started and stopped again. It was inland now, miles from the the harbor, the peace river, the center of the town whose warmth had drawn them to the gulf coast. It stopped in the middle of a quiet neighborhood. Driver opened the door. It was 3 45 p. M. We got off the bus and walked home. Reporter we means veronica ord, then almost 14 years old, and her younger brother, paul. And i remember halfway down the road, remembering that i forget my key. But the closer we got to the house, i had seen my sisters car. So i said, oh, okay, cool. You know, i dont i dont need the key. You know, shes home. Reporter then she noticed the door wasnt quite closed. It was closed, but it wasnt latched. Like you could just pull on it and the door would open. I remember walking in and oprah was on the tv. What did you assume when you saw the door open and the tv on . I thought maybe she left in a hurry. Maybe she went with a friend, you know, and she just didnt close the door all the way. Reporter she was tara, veronicas older sister, not quite 20 then. Veronica called out. No answer. She walked through the house, bathroom light was on. I went and looked in the bathroom and then i went in our bedroom and id seen her purse and everything on top of her dresser. So then, im like, where would she be without her purse . cause that wasnt usual. So thats when i had called keith. Reporter keith was keith mcphillips, her moms fianca. He was just leaving work, told veronica he was thinking of stopping for coffee with a friend on his way home. Then veronica told him about tara, that her purse was home, but she wasnt. What did you think when she told you that . Well, just something wasnt right. Because if tara was gonna go somewhere, i knew she wouldnt leave her stuff or her car. She woulda said, i wont be here when the kids get here. Thats how responsible she was. Sure. Reporter keith canceled the coffee plan, drove straight home. As soon as i got home, it just didnt look right. There was all kinds of tracks on the floor and i said, what are these marks on the floor . And she said, i dont know. Tracks . Muddy footprints. Reporter muddy footprints in the living room and master bedroom. And Something Else something only those who lived there would know. In the bedroom, like, our tv would be turned a certain way because when you lay in bed, you wanna see it. But when i looked in, it was straight. And then i notice stuff missing off the dresser. Jewelry was gone, money was gone. What was going on in your head when you saw this, as you noticed things were missing . I knew something was something bad. Reporter oh, and it was. What happened to that grownup girl in this modest house in the little city by the sea on the first of october, 2001 . A mystery for so many years. She was such a sweet, loving, kind caring. Caring, full of life. Reporter sharon ord mcphillips is taras mother. She had dreams and ambitions. She was a cheerleader, a catcher for softball. She loved art. Most of all we were a family. She loved her family and we loved her right back. Reporter they were new to punta gorda. Had moved, recently, from scranton, pennsylvania. Tara, almost grown up, told them shed stay behind, make her own life. She didnt wanna come down, you know. Im sure it was, you know, its change, especially when youre older and but we had a bet going on how long it would be before she got here, because were we are so close. So we had a bet going, and i think she lasted three weeks . Im gonna stay here on my own. No, im not. Yeah. Yes. Yep, no. Reporter she got a job. Made plans to start college. Had already decided that she wanted to be a crime scene investigator. She had her books and everything. Yeah. Reporter and though sharons thenfiance keith wasnt officially taras stepdad, they had a fatherdaughter sort of relationship. Yeah, we were very close. Yep. Always always hung out together. She would make our famous Peanut Butter and jelly tripledecker sandwiches we would have. And she would be going to make them all. She was my buddy. Reporter and now he didnt know where she was. Right away, that afternoon, keith called sharon, just finishing her work day at her office. Never forget that call. I remember saying, i have to leave now. It was a 40minute ride. And i cried that whole way home to please dont let nothing be wrong, please, please. I remember my mother pulling up. How did she look . Oh, panicked. Reporter keith had called 911 as sharon rushed home. An officer was there when she arrived. My first thing, you need to do something. My daughters not here. I just knew. I just knew. When we come back what had happened to tara . Why wasnt anyone taking action and figuring out where she was . Earrings in the carpet. Ribbons on the ground. Tire tracks on the lawn. It was obvious we had a serious problem. Gutwrenching pain. Please, please dont let this be true i lost my sight when i was 14 years old. So i really navigate the world by touch. When dove asked me to try out this body wash. I was excited that it was foam. It was so light and soft. Not sticky. Its light. Its different. Its foam. Tand, our adulte children are here. So, we save by using tide. Which means we use less. Three generations of clothes cleaned in one wash. Those are moms. Anybody seen my pants . Nothing cleans better. Put those on dad its got to be tide. What do you have there . P3 its meat, cheese and nuts. I keep my protein interesting. Oh yea, me too. I have cheese and uh these herbs. P3 snacks. The more interesting way to get your protein. Itsave up to 40 on top branduly eappliances. And save up to 60 on top brand mattresses. Save on this kenmore top load laundry pair, now 44 off. And save 46 off this kenmore front load laundry pair, now 499. 99 each plus, receive up to a 300 free gift with the purchase of a qualifying mattress set. Plus, free delivery is available. See store or sears. Com for details. Its time for savings. Its time for sears. Reporter so there they were, as evening deepened, pacing around the little house, frantic about tara. What happened . Where was she . It was getting late. You know, why why wasnt she home . Reporter the policemen who came to help them only seemed concerned about the jewelry and cash that appeared to have been taken, not sharons missing daughter. They were concentrated on the burglary. Reporter they didnt seem to hear what she was saying, didnt understand her panic. They just werent getting us or it wasnt sinking in. What was going on. They were trying to say, well, maybe shes at a Football Game. And then they reporter there was a Football Game that night . Both yeah. And then, they went through her friends. And then actually they called one friend. And this person was dating a tara. Reporter sharon almost shouted, it wasnt her tara. The officer tried a different tactic. Well put a b. O. L. O. Out. Reporter b. O. L. O . Both yes. Be on the look out. Reporter taras family knew if she had gone to the Football Game, if she had gone anywhere, she would have told them. Deputies said since tara was an adult, they would wait 24 hours before calling her a missing person. Maybe she just left on her own. If my daughter was a runaway or a troubled child or whatever the case may have been, i would have told you that. I know my child. Reporter how frustrated were you . Oh, so very frustrated. Reporter veronica, not quite 14, remember, was terrified. Why wasnt anybody taking action and figuring out where she was . Reporter keith and sharon called everybody they knew in town. Their best friends offered moral support, came to the house, and one of them noticed something on the floor. We just heard, oh, my god and we walked in and she was bending over, pulling it out of the carpet like it was embedded in the carpet. Yeah, it wasnt just laying there. She pulled it out and she said, sharon, isnt this one of her earrings . And she said, yeah. Reporter so then . Then eventually we found the we found another one. Yeah. And and then the third one. Reporter like, ground into the carpet . Yeah, right oh, yeah, just we had to pull them out. Hen ere was tire tracks. Reporter what, across the lawn . It wasnt a big yard, but no, it wasnt a big yard. Reporter they went up to the door. And they found two ribbons, the kind tara wore in her hair, outside their front door, and scuff marks on their bedroom dresser. Tell me about the what those scuff marks look like. Like somebody moved it or rubbed something against it . If you took your shoe and you kicked something and you left a mark. Reporter okay. Like, if, you know, if you walk on a floor and you drag your feet, it leaves a mark . Reporter yeah. Well, that was on the dresser drawers in our bedroom. Reporter one of the missing pieces of jewelry was a ring tara had given to keith. My dad ring she she bought me. I didnt care about anything else but that. Reporter the officers left the house with nothing learned, nothing resolved. And still no tara. Sharon and keith didnt sleep. Not a wink that night. Reporter what goes on in here as youre sitting up all night gutwrenching pain. Big hole. Praying that, oh, please, please dont let this be true. Reporter before the sun came up, sharon called 911 again. And a new officer arrived. A woman deputy, ill never forget that. And she came. And i remember saying to her, please help me. And she did. She got the ball rolling. She listened to me. The deputy called in crime scene investigators. I remember my mother waking me and my brother up. And i remember seeing so many people there, and the crime scene van outside. Reporter now deputies were taking taras disappearance seriously. Mike gandy was a captain at the Charlotte County Sheriffs Office back then. Sometimes youll respond to a scene or a call where someones missing and you can tell from the family interaction that its not a big deal. This was not the case with taras mom. It was obvious that we had a serious problem. First thing, find out the last time anyone had seen or spoken with tara. They knew by the time veronica got home just before 4 00 p. M. , tara was gone. They learned taras last phone call began at 11 49 a. M. Ended at 12 05. Shed talked to a colleague at the mall jewelry kiosk where she worked. She said shed be by, pick up her paycheck, and go shopping. But first, their landlord had arranged for a septic repair company to drop by the house. So, did tara stay and wait . Maybe the owner of the repair company knew something. One of our criminal Investigation Division sergeants on his way in to work stopped by this guys house and asked had he been to taras home. Yes, he had. Had he seen tara . Yes, he had contact with a female there. And, he said, she was perfectly fine when he left the house early that afternoon. Reporter so, assuming that was true, who else came to that little house on the afternoon of october 1st and took away their tara . Coming up something needed to happen. Reporter a frustrated family reaches out to someone new. If you met sharon, you woulnt tell her no. I looked her in the eye and i told them i would do everything i possibly could to try to help them. Reporter a turn in the case was coming. When dateline continues. Swelling and joint damage, even without methotrexate. Xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. Dont start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. Tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. Your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. Tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. Needles. Fine for some. But for you, one pill a day may provide symptom relief. Ask your doctor about xeljanz xr. An unjection™. Getwith lunch duosow, starting at 6. 99en choose your favorite pasta, piadina or sandwich and pair it with all the soup or salad and breadsticks you want get neverending value for lunch at olive garden oh no, the fridge just died. Dont worry. At lowes, we offer free next day delivery on instock appliances. Hurry in to lowes and get up to 40 off select appliance special values. Are you still trying to perform with an old computer . Thats like lebron. Trying to perform with old equipment. Ooh. Well that is not what the fans signed up to see. Is outdated Equipment Holding you back . Upgrade your game to intels fastest processor. You should probably upgrade those, too. a act 3 reporter how to explain how a mother feels when her child has vanished and all signs point to something bad . Reporter keith, what did this do to her . Tore her apart. Its just like watching everything crumble. Reporter though the family appeared to be very close and loving and sincerely distraught, investigators believed they still needed to be looked at as possible suspects. You know its a cool reality though of the detective business that they start close and widen out, and they always start with members of the family to eliminate them yes. Reporter and it winds up tragically and horribly often being somebody very close to them. I actually asked them myself, did you check us out . Reporter whatd they say . They said they did. They said, oh, dont worry. We did. Reporter meanwhile sharon and keith pushed through their fear and anxiety and did what they could. You look through garbage bags and you go everywhere and anywhere and in the woods, dumpsters. Reporter really. I would do it every day. We would go in the woods so far, we didnt even know where we came out half the time. We didnt even know where we were. Reporter captain gandys investigators searched for tara as well. The investigation shifted this morning with deputies searching 500 acres of pasture. If someone called and said, hey, we saw a suspicious vehicle in this wooded area, or theres buzzards and vultures over here, and we would always go and search. We did have a couple of different times where we used cadaver dogs in certain areas. Reporter four weeks after tara vanished she turned 20, and they tried to stay positive, as they told the local nbc station, wbbh. Were gonna have a cake and, uh, you know, we got her presents. And were just gonna celebrate her birthday. Reporter you had a Birthday Party . Of course. Had to. [ crying ] and we had the presents. And ill never forget this. I went to open one, and my son said, youre not opening that. He said, shes coming back. [ crying ] and i didnt open it. Reporter months went by, they couldnt accept what their heads kept telling them, that tara had been snatched away and murdered. But nobody was telling them anything. The investigation seemed to them to have stalled, wasnt going anywhere. Something needed to happen. Reporter and it didnt feel like it was happening. Exactly. Reporter not at all, right . Not at all. Reporter and so out of sheer desperation, about six months after tara vanished they hired a civil attorney, a woman named amanda downing. Reporter what did they want you to do . They wanted anyones help, a lawyers help, the medias help, civilians help, neighbors help, anybodys help in finding their daughter. And i think by hiring a lawyer, they believed that i could somehow assist them in fact, finding their daughter, searching for anything. They were they were grasping reporter what did you tell them . I looked her in the eye. I looked keith in the eye, and i told them i would do everything i possibly could to try to help them. Reporter you know, you wouldve been perfectly within your rights to look at them and say, look, im sorry, but thats not what i do. If you met sharon, you wouldnt tell her no. Reporter wow. Did they want you to sue somebody or just get information or what . I dont think that their goal was to sue anyone. I think their goal was to find tara. Reporter and then nine months after tara disappeared a man traveling on a desolate road on the outskirts of punta gorda, pulled over for a pit stop, walked into the woods and saw, not a girl, bones. We actually sat on the steps of the crime scene van while they were out there reporter out there at the scene. Yes, we did. You want to find her. But not like this. You dont want it to be like this, you know . You just hope and pray everyday that shes alive. But it was her. It was tara. Enough of the teeth were there to to make a positive identification that it was tara. Reporter by then, sharon and keith were at home, waiting for the results. Detective gandy went to tell them. Thats never easy, huh . Hardest thing you ever have to do. And then when they come to your door with clergy reporter you see them coming . Yeah. [ crying ] then the reality is thats it, youre never gonna see her again. Its so devastating. Its the worst pain ever. [ crying ] she didnt belong out there. Reporter 284 days after tara vanished, they knew, finally, she was never coming back. But they were no closer to knowing how she wound up out there in the woods. Reporter coming up now what . Find the killers and make them pay for the crime. Reporter new leads, at last isnt that your connection . It was a great connection reporter and new questions for someone whod been at the house that day. I feel like ive been, you know, harassed. If youve got a life, you gotta swiffer so we know how to cover almost almoanything. Hing even a swing set standoff. And we covered it, july first, twentyfifteen. Talk to farmers. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum wow means you save 50 or more. There are three stages of wow. Denial. Is this price right . Acceptance. And boooyah wait for it. Boooyah has three os. Grocery outlet bargain market give 5, get 5. Help us fight hunger, july 1st through july 31st. Police headquarters and communications center. We e tweeting live from the scene. Reveal also investigators w san jose pd are looking for five men wanted in connection with a man s death last month. They re seen on newly released surveillance video. Go to our Facebook Page to see the footage. We ll reporter in the end, bones and a few teeth were all they found. There was every reason to think they were not helpful. Only half of the bones in her body were recovered. And some of the more important bones like the hyoid bone which would show whether or not there might been a choking or strangulation was not recovered. Reporter the medical examiner, though, found evidence that four of taras ribs were fractured. A perimortem fracture, a fracture that occurred at the time of death. So theres a big, big slam into her ribs somehow. The medical examiner clearly found that there was evidence of a violent struggle. There was evidence of Blunt Force Trauma and that would contribute to her death. Reporter detectives scoured the woods, looking for anything that might tell them something. They found a belly button ring near the bones. The kind tara wore, sharon confirmed. And the remnants of only one piece of clothing that belonged to her, a pair of panties. But no hair, no fiber, no dna of any kind at the scene that would help them i. D. A killer. It was frustrating for the family, it was frustrating for the detectives and it was frustrating for the prosecutors that worked on the case, including myself. Reporter so detectives went back to the beginning. They reviewed all the witness statements theyd taken over the course of the nine months tara had been missing. And there was a note about a man whod turned in some jewelry three days after tara went missing. A ring and bracelet, which turned out to belong to taras family. It would had been in the possession of glen saint john. Took a couple of pieces of jewelry to his probation officer. Reporter glen st. John, who went by peewee, was on probation for felony burglary. So, did peewee kill tara . He insisted, no, and he didnt take the jewelry, either, he said. Somebody gave it to him. Told him that he received that jewelry from phil barr, and phil barr told him it came from the missing girls home. Reporter phil barr . He was the owner of the septic repair business that had been at taras house the day she went missing. But, was pee wee telling the truth . Would he ever tell the truth . He told multiple different stories. What did he say . He said a little more each time he was interviewed and he would change his story to where to the point where it made him an uncredible witness. He admitted that he had seen the body at some point. It was a little interesting in that that particular area, taras bones were recovered was within a couple hundred yards of one of peewees favorite fishing spots. Isnt that your connection . That it was a great connection, but mr. Saint john was a very incredible witness. Reporter that story about getting stolen jewelry from phil barr . No jewelry from taras home was found in the possession of phil barr. Reporter and anyway, barr told investigators, tara was fine when he and his helper left her house that afternoon. But questions went on and on. And phil barr, who had a business to run, didnt appreciate that kind of attention. Barr complained to a local nbc reporter about it. Its been very stressful. I realize the police are doing their job and theyre looking into things, but nonetheless i feel like, you know, ive been harassed. Reporter and several times, he himself confronted the detectives. Insisted he was innocent, all the talk was unfair. I am telling you the truth. I have nothing to do with this girls disappearance. Im getting the [ bleep ] shaft here. Reporter it was a problem. Detectives certainly had their suspicions. But evidence . There was none. And most everyone they questioned who knew barr was, well, a bit shady. Hard to believe. Prosecutor feinberg concluded he simply didnt have enough to make a charge stick. The dna evidence in this case that was collected from the residence either came back to the family or was not relevant to this case. There was no indication that the perpetrators had left blood or body fluid at the home. Reporter and so cases typically go cold when you run out of leads and when you run out of information and you run out of ideas. Reporter taras mother, sharon, again and again, demanded to know what, if anything, was going on. Prosecutor feinberg had no choice, he said. He couldnt tell her. The frustration was clear. You could see it on her face. You could hear it in her voice. The family was devastated and they wanted answers. And i can understand that. You cant as a prosecutor and you cant as a detective give all those answers. You cant put that information out there. Reporter still, sharon continued to ferret out what she could. We just never gave up. There was no stopping. Reporter as did her attorney. She would hear a piece of information from a neighbor or a news source or a detective that wasnt supposed to tell her. And then she would confirm it, run with it, call me. She fought and fought and fought for justice. Justice for tara. And as sharon would say, my tara. Shes always said, my tara. Reporter but none of these efforts turned up anything useful. And the sheriffs case wasnt going anywhere either. There was no getting around it. Justice for tara just was not happening. In fact, the case was growing cold. Stone cold. Eventually mike gandy retired, as did these two cops, way up north. Retired and moved to sunny florida. And i got very bored. Reporter oh oh. Coming up i always felt this was a case that could be solved. Reporter enter the cold case squad could they do what no one else had . How important was that . Extremely important. Reporter when dateline continues. And helping to. Block a specific source. Of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. Its proven to help relieve pain and. Stop further joint damage in many adults. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas. Where certain fungal infections are common and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. 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Reporter but the anger remained and intense frustration as, year after year, sharon demanded answers and didnt get them. In 2008, almost seven years after taras murder, sharon appeared in a Crime Stoppers video, and spoke directly to the killers, whoever they were. I want to know how they wake up in the morning. How do they go on with their life knowing that they did this to a person . Dont think for a minute that you got away with this. cuz one day, and i truly truly believe this, that one day, theres going to be a knock at that door, and theyre going to be in cuffs. And thats what i, thats what i want. Reporter nothing came of it. The whole world had moved on, forgotten, apparently. But then, a year later, 2009, punta gorda got a new sheriff. And he thought some of the unsolved cases in town needed a new look and called upon the retired detective mike gandy. And these two, who had been detectives up north before they, too, retired and moved to punta gorda, mike vogel and kurt mehl. I moved to florida and came down here to hunt and fish and play golf and go boating and go to the beach and just relax. And that lasted a couple months. I got very bored. Reporter and so three bored exdetectives put on badges again to form the sheriffs very First Official cold case unit and decided early on theyd work on taras case. Prosecutor feinberg was finally optimistic, sort of. I always felt that this was a case that could be solved. If it had a new set of eyes, it had somebody that could put the case together, connect all of the dots. What requests did you make of them . We wanted to know more about every piece of evidence, every we have to rule out every piece of dna in that house. So it was closing doors, it was excluding other people. Reporter so, thats what these three did, as a large photo of tara kept watch. But, again, there was no dna to help them. All they had really were lingering suspicions about the workmen who went to taras house the day she vanished. Phil barr, the guy who owned the septic tank business, his helper that day, Dave Mcmannis, and their buddy peewee st. John, but nothing in this huge trove of investigative material proved anything. Kurt, we call him the scribe. He organized it in in such a way that it was easier to understand. What had been difficult to understand . It was confusing to the point where you didnt know what we were gonna be able to get into court. The context was in there. You couldnt figure it out because it was a mess. The majority of it was in there, yes. We had to try to do the analysis on it, and thats what took so long. Reporter an awful lot of detective work amounts to reading. Thousands of pages of reports and witness statements, and this and that all were followed up, everyone of them. Detective mehl chased down a 2001 walmart receipt, a minor, forgettable purchase, except that the time stamp on the receipt cast doubt on philip barrs alibi didnt exactly wreck it, but it caught him in a significant lie. Thats how detailed we were getting. Reporter but then they just happened to run into a guy who said he knew barr and mcmannis and peewee. And he overheard them talking about killing this girl. He heard David Mcmannis say, we shouldnt have done that girl that way. If i dont get out of town, im gonna spend the rest of my life in jail. Phillip barr said something similar because peewee is talking about, well, ive only seen a body. Its not against the law to see see a body. And barr tells him, hey, shut up. Were all gonna end up in prison. And it was somebody with credibility. Be better than what we had before, yeah. Reporter but overall, a key problem remained. Terrible witnesses. Reporter meaning detectives spoke with other people whod also heard the men talk about the murder, but they were not the type a jury would likely believe. Much of what theyd say sounded like drug and booze soaked gossip. There wasnt enough certainly to support charging peewee. But, thought the prosecutor, maybe he could find a way to go after barr and mcmannis. And he had an idea. Bring some of the key witnesses before a grand jury just to see who passed the credibility test and who didnt. Ive prosecuted over 100 homicide cases and the complexity, and the amount of information that we had to review to determine if we could prosecute this case was the most id ever seen. Reporter the idea worked. The grand jury indicted both phil barr and Dave Mcmannis for taras murder. They were arrested in late 2012, 11 years after tara vanished from her home. Dave mcmannis was arrested in maryland, where he grew up, while u. S. Marshals mounted a manhunt for phil barr. Kinda lost track of him. We were actually then able to to locate phil in the vermont area, very close to the canadian border, where we think he had fled with the intent possibly of of leaving the country. Reporter but the case against the men needed more, and so the Cold Case Team kept investigating. And in 2014, one of them came across a name buried deep in an old file. Right after tara disappeared, a next door neighbor told investigators she saw barr and another man at taras house that day, but she couldnt see much because her view was blocked by a fence. So that went nowhere then, except the neighbor happened to mention that her sisterinlaw had been visiting that day. But, no one had ever interviewed her. Kurt, i think, had found her name and said, hey, do you who is this person . And mike said, oh, i know someone by that name. So mike then went out and and located her and spoke to her. Whatd she have to say . She floored me. Reporter why . That visitor was not blocked by the fence like her relatives were. Shed been sitting in full view not more than 15 yards from taras front door, and she saw a lot. She did see a vehicle pull in a couple different times. And then the second time she saw the vehicle there, it was backed up to the front door. And the two guys got out, opened the tailgate, and we were walking back and forth inside the front door. Wow. Yeah. And that was, kind of how important was that in the extremely important. She she identified David Mcmannis as being at the house with barr. She identified him there at a time when the pickup truck was backed up to the front door. What other reason was that pickup truck backed up the front door other than to take tara out of that house . Reporter we went out to the house to get a better idea of where this woman was sitting and what she could have seen. So, shes sitting right here. Wow. So thats one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, nine, 10, like maybe a dozen steps away where this truck is parked. Yes. So, thats close, yeah. Its very close. Huh. So if if the back of truck, it wouldve been, how how far from the door . Like, right up to the door like that . Thats correct. And and in this general area, on the outside track, tire track, was found the hair ribbons. Way out here . Right out here. Okay. So suggesting that they put her in the back of the truck and the hair ribbons came loose as they were driving away or putting her there or something . That would be a pretty good explanation. Well, well, well. This makes it all the more real when you see how close this must have been. Reporter the woman said she didnt actually see what the men were doing, because the cab of the truck blocked her view. But still, this was way more than they had before. Finally, 14 years after tara vanished, barr and mcmannis were going on trial for her murder. Coming up. What had happened at the house that day . A jury finally hears the story. We believe she confronted him. 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Ok, thanks, bud. Bye. Be nice to have your car for some shelter. Bye. When it really, really matters, you need the best network and the best unlimited. Just 45 per line for four lines. a act 6 reporter it was october 2015 when the trials began. Dan feinberg was joined by a coprosecutor named jennifer garczewski, 14 years almost to the day since taras life ended. Shes only a year younger than me. So when i think back to where i was in 2001, i was just finishing college and obviously that was a goal of hers. So i did feel a connection to her, thinking about her and where she wouldve been at my age now. Reporter and the defendants now on trial . Phil barr owned a septic tank repair business, Dave Mcmannis was his helper the day tara disappeared. The detectives had learned that barr used his business as a cover for stealing from the homes of unsuspecting customers. And heres what happened, said the state, that first of october, 2001 taras landlord asked barr for a repair estimate. Barr and his helper, mcmannis, began their workday by smoking crack. Around noon, four hours before veronica arrived home from school, the men most likely knocked on the door and tara let them in, unaware they had robbery not work on their minds. Dave mcmannis was taking the property while barr was distracting her in the bathroom. We believe she found out. She heard something or saw something that mr. Mcmannis was doing, where he was in a place he shouldnt have been and she confronted him. And two people with impaired minds do things that normal people wouldnt do. And their solution to that was to kill her. Reporter the woman whod been sitting out in the front yard told the jury how the two men had been laughing and joking when they arrived, but later when she saw them backing their truck up to taras front door breaking that small palm tree in the process. It was almost like they had a mission, that they had a plan. And one went straight to the tailgate and put the tailgate down out the truck and the other went went straight to the front door. All business . All business. Reporter that, said the prosecutor, is when they cleaned up and took taras body in a bed sheet, loaded it into the truck, and waited for dark when one or both of them dumped her body in the woods. But to tell that story took two long trials, each peopled by witnesses the jury might not think were very credible. We raped and killed the girl. Theyre not gonna find her. Im going to kill you like i killed the girl in florida. The girl i killed was 20. Reporter one witness testified about overhearing a conversation between barr and mcmannis. Phillip barr was saying to David Mcmannis, i didnt want to kill her. And she overheard David Mcmannis respond, she had to die. Reporter not very believable, said the defense attorneys. Just people making things up, said barrs lawyer, mark de sisto. We contended that those conversations never took place. Reporter some of those witnesses were inmates, too, snitches. I never met a confidential informant thats gonna inform just cause he wants to be a nice guy or a good citizen. Theres always something in it for him. Reporter that woman, the star witness found by the Cold Case Team, who said she saw the two men coming and going from taras house . Could it be she made herself believe this over so much of a time to make sure the bad guy goes away . Reporter Dave Mcmanniss attorney, michael bross, said his view those detectives focused on the wrong man. Said phil barrs accomplice must have been peewee st. John, the man whod turned in jewelry three days after tara went missing. Theres enough circumstantial evidence to believe that he was involved if not in the murder, but definitely in the complicity to cover it up. Reporter the only thing that Dave Mcmannis was guilty of, said bross was being a sarcastic guy. The majority of the statements that were made were sarcasm at best. So if hes guilty its a claim. Yeah. And thats kind of an easy out for saying terrible things, isnt it . Well, it was inappropriate statements, if said at all. David is known to be a jokester and sarcastic. Even during the course of the trial, he would say things that were sarcastic. Reporter the trials, two of them, dragged on for more than 15 months with delay after delay in a case that had taken more than 15 years to get to this point. Sharon and keiths marriage didnt make it that long. Theyre separated now, but they attended both trials together. We started this together, were gonna finish it together, no matter what. Reporter and after all that time . In each case, deliberations took less than 90 minutes. The verdicts guilty. Both men were sentenced to life in prison without parole. Mcmannis has filed an appeal; barr lost his. I think everybody would agree that but for sharon, neither trial wouldve taken place. She fought and fought and fought for justice. Reporter taras little sister veronica has two children of her own now. They know their aunt tara. And they have necklaces with her pictures on it. And my daughter, you would think that she had met her. She dreams about her. Never met her, but they love her. That warms my heart. Reporter a few weeks after the trials were over, the prosecutors, detectives and their spouses got together for dinner with sharon, keith and veronica. Detective mehl made a presentation. She was a fighter and she kept us fighting for her, for you and your family. Theyve had the picture hanging in their office for a very long time. And they they passed it onto me. I could look at it now and go, we did it. We did it. Youve given us a new chapter in our life. Reporter the family gave the cold case detectives and prosecutors gifts as well. Each was engraved justice for tara. They put in so much hard work and time and respect, compassion. So we wanna give them a little token of our appreciation and love for everything theyve done. They gave tara peace and justice. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Well see you again next friday at 10 00 9 00 central. Ill see you each weeknight for the nbc nightly news. Im lester holt. For all of us at nbc news, a Bay Area Police headquarters is evacuated. The Emergency Action forcing of an entire neighborhood onto the streets. Also a local construction site up in flames. A number of similar fires in just the last year. And its heating up for the weekend. Who will hit 103 degrees next. Right now at 11 not taking any chances. An east Bay Police Department and dispatch center right now at 11 00, not taking any chances. An east Bay Police Department and dispatch center evacuated. The threatening phone call that sent the city into emergency mode. The news at 11 00 starts right now. Good evening and thanks for being with us im raj mathai. Jess kay are ka aguirre. A bomb threat called into the richmond Police Department leads to evacuations the forced the department to reroute 911 calls. Jeanne elle