Caught before he kills again . It makes you realize how fragile your life is, you know, and that anybody can take it. Reporter im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres Andrea Canning with the face of evil. Looking back now, this woman almost didnt make it. I said if you keep doing this youre going to kill me. And he just said, do you think i actually care about that . That when you feel like youre looking in the face of evil . I knew then completely in that moment that he intended on killing me. Little did she know that in this college town she wasnt the only one. He said that he would go to jail for murder before hed ever go to jail for rape. What is going through your mind . I wish i had told all the people that i loved, you know, that i loved them. But was their private horror connected to a very public mystery . Everyones saying, what is going on in this community it just had people asking whats gonna happen next. More women connected by tragedy and by questions. Sooner . I was so angry that two people had to die in order for someone to believe me. The story begins in a small texas town. But its not just any town. This is College Station, home to texas a m and in 1999 the home to 21 year old student jamie hart. I was immediately struck with her beauty. Chuck crews was her boyfriend at the time. He says jamie was the light of his life. He remembers when he first laid eyes on her. I could barely speak when i saw her, she was so pretty. It was like when the color came on in the wizard of oz. I had been living in a dark world and she showed me a world full of color. And she was a loyal friend, funny, outspoken. She would tell you exactly it was early one morning in may. Jamies roommates couldnt find her. They called chuck. I got a call asking me if i knew where she was. And i said, no, she didnt come over here last night. I didnt know where she was. I hadnt talked to her the night before. And and i went to work. That same morning detective kenny elliot of the Brazos County Sheriffs Office was summoned to the scene of a disturbing discovery. There was a young female, appeared to be in her early 20s. She was nude. She had extensive road rash on her entire body. And she was obviously deceased. Reporter a jogger spotted the victim in a ditch, nine feet from the side of the road. When i arrived there was probably half dozen officers here and they taped off the area, blocked. Traffic, and at that point we started conducting a search of the area. We figured that she had been sexually assaulted and dumped here. Less than a mile away, deputies discovered what was presumed to across the entrance to an oil field. Another nine miles from there an abandoned vehicle its engine still running. There was blood on the car, and that raised suspicion. We sent a team over there to process the car. And inside the car, a drivers license that belonged to jamie hart. When detectives showed up at chucks workplace that afternoon, he says his heart sank. There was this building sense that something was wrong. And the appearance of Police Officers is never a good sign. And when they told me that she had been found dead, it felt like i had been hit by a truck. Reporter so your sense of dread was coming true . Yep. Realized, fully realized. Did fear spread throughout the campus . Oh, yes. I mean, it was front page news. 19 year old freshman. My brother actually worked with jamie at the time ill never forget him coming home devastated. Reporter a killer in a college town is terrifying. Very much so, yes. This is something that happens in chicago. It something that happens in houston. Its not something that happens in Bryan College station in aggieland. Kelly brown is the editor of the eagle, the local newspaper i think at the time people were hoping this is a drifter that just kept on going. Because the location of her body. Sheriffs deputies canvassed the crime scene, searched jamies car. And looked for eyewitnesses. Talked to several hundred people, and no ones seen anything. Turns out, there were no fingerprints inside the car. But during an autopsy the medical examiner did recover dna from jamies body, dna which likely came from her rapist and killer. Did you put the dna into a database . We put it in codus. None. No eyewitnesses, no fingerprints, no dna matches. The investigation wasnt off to a good start. And thats when we started contacting people at her place of employment, friends, roommates. Reporter did she have any enemies . Everybody seemed to love her. Detective elliott began to retrace jamies steps on the night of the murder. Jamie was taking time off from her studies at texas a m and was working at a pizza parlor. Her shift had ended around midnight. We contacted everybody on that she delivered pizzas to, and nothing out of the ordinary. After work, shed headed over to a friends house. He said they were there watching movies and she left his house around 4 30 in the morning. Reporter what time did you think that she was killed. We got the call, i think, at 7 15 a. M. , so between 4 30 a. M. And 7 00. The male friend, a college student, was the last known person to see jamie alive. The detective paid him a visit. They were friends, and had been for some time. The friends grief seemed genuine, but something was peculiar. When investigators asked for a dna sample. He said no. No . And of course we wanted to know why. Was he the killer, or was he not . The detective was determined to anticipate that question. So he put the young man under surveillance, followed him to a local restaurant. Reporter and are you hidden somewhere in the restaurant . Im kinda back in a corner, yeah. He watched the student have a few drinks, and when he left, the detective snagged the dirty beer mugs and sent them out for dna testing. The results would take weeks leaving a town full of young people on edge. Dads and moms were telling their collegeage kids, be alert everywhere you go. Go with people when you go out. Dont be alone. Order to give anybody. Frightening but sound advice, because in this case, connecting the dots wouldnt be so easy. Detectives have a possible suspect in their sights. Jamies boyfriend is invited to sit down for a polygraph test. Failed the test. Bad sign for you, right . Bad sign for him. But theres a difference between the omega3s in fish oil and those in megared krill oil. Unlike fish oil, megared is easily absorbed by your body. Which makes your heart, well, megahappy. Happier still, megared is proven to increase omega3 levels in 30 days. Megared. The difference is easy to absorb. Hello my love the flame is out. Ugh. Today the flame is out, tomorrow my attitude. Your mother. Antonio. Antonio. Que . The stove. Its not working. Campbells microwaveable soups. 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At kay, the numberone jewelry store. In america. Levian chocolate diamonds. For the sweetest thing in your life. Reporter 21yearold jamie hart had been sexually assaulted and left to die on the side of a busy roadway. I could barely function. About was loss, that shes gone from my life forever. Reporter jamies boyfriend, chuck cruz, then 24, says right after the murder he took off to baytown texas, jamies hometown. About the only thing i is, when are you coming down . So i got some stuff together and and i spent most of the next week with them, mourning with the family. And then acting as a pallbearer for her funeral. Reporter back in College Station, detective Kenny Elliott was working the case. Anytime you have a killer out on the run its frustrating. You want to catch the person responsible. Reporter one possible suspect that male friend jamie visited the night of her murder. Hed refused to give police a dna sample for testing. Reporter thats kind of odd, a lot of people will not give up dna. Too much tv. Reporter but the detective had snagged a sample from a beer mug and when the dna finally came back, he was not a match. Reporter you felt confident that you could rule him out, based on yes. Yes. Reporter the dna not matching . Yes. Reporter but even before the dna test cleared jamies friend, the detective was already looking for other suspects. And his attention quickly landed on someone very close to the victim. Her boyfriend. The questions that they asked, focused on where was i the night before, what had i been doing. Reporter looking at you as a possible suspect . That that was what they were for information. Reporter chuck told the detective that before jamie was killed he hadnt seen her for two days. On the night of murder, he said he was at home. I was playing Computer Games like a good nerd. Reporter did you have anyone there to corroborate your alibi . I think my roommates were there but they were both asleep. I had nobody right there, sitting there with me. Reporter so the boyfriends alibi wasnt solid. And as they spoke the detective was looking carefully for signs he might be hiding something. He was cooperative. Apprehensive. He said everything was fine in their relationship. Reporter the detective asked chuck for dna, and he said yes. And when they asked him for a polygraph he agreed to that too. But heres the thing with that last part, the polygraph. He failed the test. Reporter thats a bad sign for you, right . Also bad sign for him. Yes. Doesnt tell you that hes guilty. But he was a very strong person of interest. Reporter and whats more, the detective had been speaking with jamies friends who said the relationship wasnt fine. In fact the couple had a fight and were on the verge of a all of which just led to more questions. Basically, he went over every aspect of the relationship. Just questioned him on his whereabouts. Tried to get him to confess. Reporter and if a failed polygraph wasnt suspicious enough, then listen to what the detective says chuck told him next. He said he had done some bad things, and wouldnt tell us what. Reporter did you look him in the eyes say, is one of those bad things killing jamie hart . I did. He denied it. At that point in time, i i really thought he could be our killer. Reporter and the more you started to think he was the killer, how does he react to that . Hes very nervous. He just acted like as if he was guilty. Reporter chuck was free to go, but as authorities waited for his dna to be processed, the detective developed a theory of the crime that made sense to him. He was in love with her. He didnt want to lose her. And they were having some issues reporter so the boyfriend, a likely suspect was in the cross hairs. But when the dna results came back the dna was not a match. Reporter so were you able to rule out chuck cruz, then, once you got that dna checked . I didnt rule him out completely, no. Reporter that was enough for you with with the the friend, who she was with the night before. You ruled him out, after you got the dna, correct . I did. The other guy wasnt her boyfriend. He hadnt flunked polygraphs. He wasnt in a bad relationship with her. Chuck was. Reporter but they didnt arrest chuck. Months went by and the detective kept investigating him. Authorities seized his computer, searched his car. All the while chuck was saying they were looking at the wrong guy. Theres a lot of people that wont confess to a murder for obvious reasons. And at that point, he was a person of strong person of interest, but i still didnt know if he was my killer, so we continued to search. Students on campus began to go back to normal. Parties every weekend. But when police were called to the scene of one house party, it wasnt because of noise or underage drinking. Another woman was in a fight for her life. Coming up a prisoner in a strangers apartment. I screamed as loud as i can. Immediately, he grabs me and starts choking me again. When dateline continues. So when your tax refund arrives, make it go a little further at walmart. From electronics, to home decor, even tires, get low prices on everything you need to get more fun out of your tax refund. Walmart. flourish spray noise flourish spray noises school bell sigh flourish spray noise share the joy of real cream. Share the joy of real cream. flourish spray noise . With reddiwip. dog mmm, beneful healthy weight is so good. And lowcalorie. Keeps me looking good. Hey, i get some looks, i hear the whistles. vo beneful healthy weight, a delicious, lowcalorie meal your dog will love. With wholesome rice, real chicken, and accents of vegetables and apples. Cut i just want to talk to women about my decision to use poise. Ive had four kids. Ladies, who pees a little when they laugh . Uhuh, uhhuh. You see . Switching to poise helps make life easier. Roll that thing get 3 in 1 protection for dryness, comfort, and odor control. And unlike period pads, poise thin shape pads have thin flex technology. Seize your poise moment at poise. Com. These are my dogs dusty and cooper. I work for the dogs twentyfour seven. I am the butler. These dogs shed like crazy. Its like being inside of a snow globe. It takes an awful lot of time to keep the house clean. I dont know what to do. doorbell whats this . Swiffer sweeper and dusters. This is nice and easy boys. It really sticks to it. It fits in all the tight spaces. This is really great. Does that look familiar to you . When chuck cruzs girlfriend was murdered, he was immediately a strong person of interest. Reporter they said that you were acting nervous, like you they interpreted all these things as signs of my guilt rather than a distraught boyfriend. At the time i had long hair and this was a cowboy town. That was considered to be weird and unusual. As for those bad things he told the detective hed done he explained to us he was referring to a petty argument theyd had just days before jamies murder and the guilt he felt from not being with her the night she died. Reporter do you remember what you were arguing about . A loaf of bread the grocery sacker had put a cantaloupe on a loaf of bread. [ laughs ] and she was upset that the sacker had squished the bread. And i told her it wasnt that and we had picked our sides and we argued about something as stupid as a loaf of bread. And now he says he could hardly grieve with police waking up every morning and knowing that youre under a cloud of suspicion . Incredibly depressing. He left College Station moved home to be with his family near dallas who spent money to hire a defense attorney. The biggest thing that was going through my mind the whole time was that i didnt do it, the guy who did it is out Walking Around and likely to prey on more victims. This monster is walking free while theyre wasting their time on me. Kelly brown of the eagle newspaper was writing front page stories about the unsolved crime in the college town. And it really shook the community because this is an area that isnt used to seeing this type of crime. And kelly was hearing talk that the police had a suspect. But there was no arrest and thats what kept everybody saying, well, then, okay. Was it the boyfriend . Thats still out there . Is he going to strike again . It was scary of course and students like Kristin Lancaster followed the investigation . Did people change their behavior patterns because of this crime . To a certain degree, but i think it was shortlived. I mean people went back to their classes and their business, yeah. You start rationalizing that maybe, you know, she trusted the wrong person. Reporter this doesnt happen to you . Exactly, yeah. And then it was late october half a year since the murder of jamie hart. Kristin didnt know it yet, but she was about to become part of a chain of events that only deepened the mystery. I think maybe i went to classes that day. Im not exactly sure. I know that the evening time rolled around. I think, was it a friday . A friend invited kristin to a party. And she said you know im having a little get together at my house. Why dont you come by . Kristin drove over to the apartment complex in bryan texas thats the town next to College Station. The door is open. Theres a few people inside. Theres some music playing and with her friends upstairs neighbor. He was 24, hadnt been to college, but mixed in easily with the students. Reporter was he kind of a likeable guy . He seemed, yeah, very likeable. Yeah, he was very approachable seemed very nice. In fact, he had no problem sharing intimate details with kristin about his personal life. He had been married and and somehow the conversation, you know, goes into him telling me how he had found god. I made a lot of mistakes. I wasnt a great husband. Reporter yeah, you guys yeah, you guys got into quite the personal conversation for having just met. Well, i was young and i think that was normal, and he was drunk. Not long after the Party Started it abruptly ended kristins friend hosting the party got into a fight with her boyfriend. There was alcohol involved and so it was worried that it would get out of hand. Everyone left. But not kristin. She was concerned about her friend and stuck around talking to the upstairs neighbor. So, you were feeling protective yeah. He said to me, you know are you you know youre worried about your friend . And he said we can go to my apartment so you can be close to a phone to call. She and the neighbor walked up the staircase to his apartment. Its directly above her apartment. And he opens the door. I was barely a step into the door and he just sort of kind of pushes me in, slams the door shut. He locks the door and immediately grabs a remote that was right there and turns the stereo up to this deafening volume, just deafening. Kristin reached for the door to leave. And he pushes me back. And thats when he starts making some demands. All of a sudden its very serious and aggressive. And i almost to the point where i thought he was joking. But he was serious. Demanded she undress. I kept arguing, im not gonna do it. Hes, like, youre gonna do it. And thats when he runs over and he grabs me by the throat. Hes choking me and choking me. And then the second he lets up i scream as loud as i can. And then immediately he grabs me and starts choking me again. And this time he picks me up almost by the throat and sort youre a prisoner in this apartment now . Yes. And he puts me on the mattress. And this is the first time i black out. I wondered if this for a second, this was it. I could die . Yeah. Hes like, has a hand still on my throat and hes sort of shaking me. Kristin couldnt fight him off physically, so she tried to talk her way out of a Sexual Assault. I said you dont want to do this and he stops and he says, why dont i wanna do this . And and i say, well, because i have i have hiv. And you can tell hes thinking about it for a second. And he says to me, he says, well, guess what, so do i. The lie didnt work. She tried something else. I was, like, well, what about, you know you know, you finding god, and, like, trying to work on yourself. I actually was able to stall him for quite some time. I mustve gotten off the bed and we were standing talking. And i remember thats when i started to just stomp my foot. Like, and i was sort of, like, trying to make it look like i was making a point and stomping my foot and then he grew angry he threw her back on the bedhis grip on her neck tighter as he sexually assaulted her. Hes squeezing so hard at this point in time that it felt like the bones in my throat were cracking. I said, if you keep doing this youre going to kill me. And he sort of looked at me and it was this half smile, and he looked at me for a second, and he just said, do you think i actually care about that . Reporter is that when you feel like youre looking in the face of evil . I mean, he i knew then completely in that moment that he intended on killing me. Coming up a knock at the door. This is like a miracle. And doubt. I couldnt believe like nobody believed me. Rly unique to wear, go to your wardrobe. Your jewelry wardrobe. Jared the galleria of jewelry. For the ultimate selection of levian. Only levian, masters of jewelry design for centuries. Makes jewelry with chocolate diamonds. Gorgeous, trendsetting looks. Making levian the essential part of her jewelry wardrobe. Thats why. She went to jared. Chobani simply 100. Its the only light greek yogurt with zero preservatives. To love this life is to live it. Naturally. Trandgender target. Reaction to a south dakota bill requiring students to use bathrooms that match their biological sex at birth. Good evening. Look for that story, tonight, on news 4 at ten. And. A bill repealing south dakotas Death Penalty is shot down. Reporter 19yearold Kristin Lancaster was preparing to die. Moments of your life, when you kill you, what is going through know, that i loved them. Reporter she was in a strangers apartment being sexually assaulted, drifting in and out of consciousness. I black out, but then i start to come to again. And its, you know, the scenes in the movies where the bombs explode and everythings really fuzzy, you cant hear, like, everythings, like, coming through this fog. Reporter suddenly, the man stood up and left the room. Ordered her to remain quiet. And i scream as loud as i can, call the police. Call the police. Reporter turns out, the bryan police were at the door. So my friend had heard me screaming and stomping and had called the police. Reporter this is like a miracle it was yeah. Reporter that in the nick of time the police show up. That that only happens on tv. I know. Believe me, i know. They ran in. I was just curled in a fetal position on the floor just i remember them asking me what happened and i just the words were just coming out so fast. Reporter the cops took the man away in handcuffs while kristin slept on her friends couch that night. The friend called the police to see what would happen next. She found out that they didnt book him for Sexual Assault charges. Reporter in fact, kristins attacker, the man she said almost killed her, had been released. That mustve been a tough pill to swallow. It was terrifying. I just i thought he was going to come and find me and kill me. Reporter down at the police station, the man had given a wildly different version of events. Eric buske is the current bryan police chief. He wasnt with the department back then, but says the suspect told investigators that he and kristin had a fight over drugs. She got angry when he substituted aspirin for cocaine, and she went off in a rage when that occurred. I think he had told them some story about how it had been a drug deal that had gone bad. And so, then i was crying, rape. Police charged him with unlawful restraint. A misdemeanor. The next day, kristin and her dad went to the Bryan Police Department to find out why her attacker wasnt charged with something more serious. I was furious. I had thought in this moment that i survived, i survived. Like, this is it. This guy is going down. Reporter she met with a detective who asked her questions. Lots of them. I had bruises all up and down my throat. I couldnt swallow. And then at one point in time the detective asked me to place my hands on my own throat and i mean, which even then reporter why . Like, psychologically, like, that was just even traumatizing. Want you to do that . Looks at me and he says, well, selfinflicted. Reporter what did you say to the detective whos coming up with these theories . I mean, i was hysterically crying and telling him, like, this is this man tried to kill me. You know, and he would just say, well, thats not what he says. Im, like, of course thats not what he says. Reporter kristin says that despite her bruises, police treated it like a he saidshe how angry were you getting . I was furious. I just couldnt believe, like, nobody believed me. Reporter chief buske maintains the detective was just doing a thorough investigation. Everything ive read indicated the detectives did believe her. You know, sometimes when youre conducting an investigation, your job is to get to the truth as a detective youre going to have to ask some hard questions. Reporter they interviewed her attacker again and a few months later did charge him with Sexual Assault. The unlawful restraint was still in place. And then we booked him on first degree Sexual Assault. Reporter the case went to a grand jury but it decided not to indict him. So the Sexual Assault charges were dropped, because they felt that there was insufficient evidence. Reporter oh, that must have been tough to hear that. It was very tough to hear that. And it was at a point in time though when i found that out i just didnt feel like i had any recourse. Reporter she did talk about the case later with reporter kelly brown. Because i wondered, why didnt the grand jury indict him for at least attempted Sexual Assault . But it seemed a little troubling to me that what were we missing . What part of the story did we not have . Did the detectives Say Something that made them think, maybe it was consensual . Reporter he was still facing the misdemeanor charge of unlawful restraint scheduled to go to court down the road. In the meantime, he was a free man. Hes out Walking Around. Hes out Walking Around. Reporter in the next town over, detectives at the Brazos County Sheriffs Office were still working the jamie hart murder case in addition to keeping an eye on jamies boyfriend chuck, they say they followed up on hundreds of other leads and tips. But no one in that department looked at kristins case for a possible connection. Reporter you were sexually assaulted. Jamie hart was sexually assaulted. Did you start to think that these could be connected . I didnt think they were connected. With jamie there was a boyfriend that may have been involved. It was a romantic relationship that went wrong. It wasnt some random occurrence by a stranger. Reporter kristin was now living with overwhelming anxieie and dread,d,hich she says mamafested into dangerous behavior. Instead of being afraid of everything i became afraid of nothing. I, you know, i just became completely risk seeking. Reporter what kind of things would you do . I think i started drinking heavily for a while after that. You know, id d p on the back of a strangers motorcycle after hed had three beers and it took a long time to really get out of that hole. Reporter just as kristin was starting to turn a corner her attacker was due in court on that misdemeanor charge. But nothing came of it. He didnt even show up. Id done what i needed to do. And part of me just wanted to forget it ever happened. Reporter but she couldnt. Into another crime scene in College Station. Coming up felt what do we have on our hands here . A shockingly brutal murder, the clothing that he was wearing was different than what he had just told us. You get hungry. And you count the seconds until red lobsters lobsterfest is back with the largest variety of lobster dishes of the year. Like new dueling lobster tails with one tail stuffed with crab, d the other with langostino lobster mamaandcheese, its a party on a plate and you know every bite of lobster lovers dream lives up to its name. Hey, eating is believing. 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If you are 50 or older, one dose of the prevnar 13 vaccine can help protect you from pneumococcal pneumonia, an illness that can cause coughing, chest pain, difficulty breathing, and d y even put you in the hospital. Even if you have already been vaccinated with another pneumonia vaccine, prevnar 13 may help provide additional protection. Prevnar 13 is used in adults 50 and older to help prevent infections from 13 strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia. You should not receive prevnar 13 if you have had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. To the vaccine. Common side effects were pain, redness or swelling at the injection site, limited arm movement, fatigue, headache, muscle or joint pain, less appetite, chills, or rash. Get this one done. Ask your doctor or pharmacist it was may of 2000, six months since kristin had been assaulted. Her attacker had failed to show up to court and seemed to have just disappeared. Reporter he just didnt show up . Didnt show up. In the e xt town over, detective Kenny Elliott continued to work the jamie hart murder case. Hed spent the lasyear casting a wide net for possible suspects. Reporter you took dna from 70 people . I think 77, mainly people that were bein booked into jail for Violent Crimes. Anyone that was in the area that just didnt want to talk, we took dna from everybody that would give it, practically. But he also had never taken his eye off of her boyfriend chuck cruz. Something that was bothering you there was a lot bothering me about chuck cruz. So the brazos county sheriffs chuck even communicated with the da about possibly convening a grand jury. The detective on many occasions. And the detective continued to think chucks behavior was suspicious. And he still seemed nervous. Reporter did you ever think that maybe the reason that chuck cruz was acting this way was that you guys were coming down pretty hard on him and hes lost his girlfriend. I mean, is this a way to act . I dont know, but he had he had d veral things goin a ainst him, and we just couldnt walk away from him. We either had to prove that he did it, or prove that he didnt do it. But chuck says he should have been cleared almost right away. Reporter so even though the dna didnt match there was no match. But they insisted on targeting me as the prime suspect. They were trying to build a case that wasnt there. While chucks life had been on hold for a year kristin was starting to feel like her in the six months since her attack shed taken up running had a new boyfriend. And though kristin hoped the pain of that horrible night was behind her for good. It wasnt. And theres p pice tape everywhere. May 28 2000. Kristin had just arrived to visit friends at an apartment complex. There was no reason, not then anyway, to think her case was connected to the scene unfolding there. Police cars and ambulances and all kikis of, you know, vehicles, like, Emergency Response vehicles everywhere. And now the sight of police tape sent memories rushing back. It was just, you know, fear. Firefighter leon moore had arrived at the apartment early that morning, after a neighbor reported smoke in one ofofhe units. The bedroom door was open and we could see some flames. They were on the carpet so we had a water extinguisher that we used and and put the small fire out. There on the floor a body we backed out and made sure that we preserved as much evidence as we could. Just a fire. And called for detective jeff capps of the College StationPolice Department. It looked like her body had kinda been propped up onto the bed. She was nude from the waist down. Reporter this is really disturbing. It was. Theictim was 21 year old Carolyn Casey a day care worker. Her parents anita and larry so proud of their eldest daughter. She was wonderful with kids. All the kids loved her. Everyone loved her. Never could they have prepared themselves for the dreadful phone call they received. Is your daughter Carolyn Casey . I said, yes. I think he said, well, theres been an accident and your daughters dead. A fire. When carolyns younger sister amanda learned the news, she collapsed with grief. And i just i screamed really loud, made my ears ring from my screaming. Yeah. Somethings wrong. She didnt she didnt die. And i said, no, shes not dead. What was the turning point . I called her apartment. And she didnt answer. Detective capps did say it was homicide. I think we we had a strong feeling that possibly there was some type of Sexual Assault that occurred and that somebody was trying to cover up some evidence. Kelly brown of the eagle newspaper had another story to write. This is a community thats not used to a lot of murders. Its not used to Violent Crimes like this. And it certainly wasnt used to having a murder victim be set on fire. Even law enforcement, they thought, what, what do we have on our hands here . On the night of carolyns murder, there had been a small party in one of the apartments. And now the detective was looking for leads. Reporter youre literally dock knocking on doors. Yes. In one unit, two men answered. One of them had been to the party. His name was Ynobe Matthews he he mentioned that he did attend this party. She was there. Like many people whod attended, ynobe agreed to an interview, his down at the Police Department. He was friendly, and cooperative said carolyn had left the party before he had. He later left the party. Went with another female that was at the party over to a Convenience Store that was close by and bought some cigarettes. Ynobe gave the detective a dna sample, and supplied the clothes hed been wearing. To verify his alibi, the detective pulled Surveillance Video from the Convenience Store and noticed something. The clothing that he was actually wearing was different than what he had just told us and why is he not telling us the truth . Ynobe claimed hed simply forgotten and then handed the detective the proper clothing. No forensic evidence found on the clothes connected him to the crime scene. So this wasnt your big moment. It wasnt. The big moment did come though, just a few nights later when the pieces of this puzzle finally came together. Coming up an arrest of a familiar suspect. I was certain that he had done this before. But at the same time, i didnt think he would do it again. Abdominal pain. Urgent diarrhea. It could be ibsd new prescription xifaxan is an ibsd treatment that helps relieve your diarrhea and abdominal pain symptoms. Do not use xifaxan if you have a history of sensitivity to rifaximin, rifamycin antibiotic agents, or any components of xifaxan. 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Why lawmakers turned back a the states Death Penalty, reporter it was two nights detective capps made a Discovery One that would finally connect the dots in the series of crimes that had terrorized this college town. Spent that evening basicallllreading through all l these reports. Reporter the detective had ordered background checks on some of the people who attended the party in carolyns apartment complex, including Ynobe Matthews. It turns out, there were several Police Reports in the file accusing ynobe of a number or crimes. Mr. Matthews had a tendency to try to sexually assault females, and in the process of that he would choke them if they were not willing to have sex with him. Die . Her death was ruled a strangulation. Up. Reporter ynobe had never been convicted of sexuxu assault, but in the files the detective read the story one particularly brutal assault. A case ended up being charged as it was kristins. Ynobe was the man she says almost killed her. I was certain that he had done this before. But at the same time i didnt think he would do it again. Called Ynobe Matthews back down to the station for another interview decided to pull a fast one with his suspect telling him he was about to get dna results from the crime scene. Reporter what were you really about to get it that quickly . We werent gonna get it that quickly that day, but tryinno get him to believe that we had that information, that we had everything that we needed. I had contacted my supervisor earlier. And i told him, if he would page me just say put in type in the words that says dna matches. Reporter and right on cue, the detectives pager went off. And i showed it to mr. Matthews. It said dna matches. Reporter so whats his face like when he looks at that match . And he said he it was an accident but he had killed her. Reporter the detective called carolyns parents and gave them the news of the confession. Saiai i think we got got him. I i id, well, how sure. E. He said, ill bet the farm on it. Reporter it was the next morning when Kristin Lancaster opened up the newspaper and learned her attacker had been charged with murder. I felt overwhelming guilt, just overwhelming guilt knowing thth hed killed someonenend that, you know, perhaps i hadnt trd hard enough to make people believe me. Reporter did you feel like a life couldve been saved if you hadve been taken more seriously . Oh yes, carolyn would still be here. I mean, theres no doubt. Reporter and what about the woman at the start of our story . Jamie harts case had been handled by the Brazos County Sheriffs Office. But after ynobe was arrested, it didnt take long for the College StationPolice Department and the Sheriffs Office to compare what they found . Ynobe was also jamies killer. Reporter whats that moment like . I remember the feeling of wanting to feel relieved. But all i could think was, this this is exactly at i knew was going to happen. He struck again, another girl is dead, and another family has lost their precious daughter. Reporter chuck says to this day he misses jamie and has never gotten over being viewed as a suspect. Having to spend such a long time under investigation for the death of a loved one. It hurts. It hurts a lot. Scsc . Very much so. O. Very much h. Reporter do you feel bad put through that . Im sorry that he had to go through that, yes. But if i had to do the investigation over, i wouldnt change anything. His life. But we had a job to do, d we had to either arrest him for murder, or clear him. We cleared him. Reporter but before jamie, before kristin, before carolyn, there was another victim who soon learned she was also connected to this horrifying series of events. Her name is misty johnson. If i didnt let him rape me, would have killed m m repororr like kristin, misis reported her attack to the Bryan Police Department. But ynobe denied it, claiming it was consensual, and misty was too traumatized to help police in the investigation. It was probably within a week, i quit my job and left u u to. I was scared. Reporter she now regrets that decision. Her attack happened first. Months before jamie was murdered. I feel like if i would have stayed and fought him through the Police Department that able to go on to hurt anyone else. Reporter and kristin, is left with h e memory of an assault, that, according to the law, never really happened. I was so angry that two people had to die in order for someone to believe me. Reporter did the system fail . It failed me. It failed carolyn. It failed jamie. Reporter you think about them a lot . They were total strangers to you. But theyre my alternrnive future. I mean, theyre what couldve happened to me. I mean, theyre what couldve happened to any of us. Reporter a jury convicted Ynobe Matthews of carolyns murder and sentenced him to he also pleaded guilty to jamies murder. Kristin faced him in court duriri the penalty phase. It was s rrifying. I had to testify and i met carolyns family and and jamies family they all came out it helped me realize that their against me, you know. Its not her fault that my and kristin should have no guilt over that. Reporter r ith the casey family as [itnesses, Ynobe Matthews was executed three years later. If there is a lesson to take from this story, it is one that comes directly from a survivor herself. Someone who has learned the hard way to cherish lifes moments each and every one. T makes you realize how fragile yourife is, you know, and that anybody can take it, you know, in a moments notice. This story, you know, for them thats it. Thats their life story. The final chapters been written. But for me i get to keep going on. Reporter what would you call yourself . I mean, people have called me a survivor, i would call myself lucky. Thats all for this edition well see you tomorrow at 8 00, 7 00 central with a date looip saturday night mystery and sunday at 7 00, 6 00 central. Im lester holt. For all of us at nbcworkers mark the one Year Anniversary of a deadly workplace shooting in southeast south dakota. Plus. Reaction to a south dakota bill requiring students to use bathrooms that match their biological sex at birth. Well show you around a local sweet spot for some last minute valentine ideas. And, teams tune up for the playoffs. Weve got games from all three siouxland states, good evening and thanks for joining us. Im sheila brummer. And im matt breen. One year ago today, a disgruntled sioux steel employee left work then returned with a g g. Moments latete the community of lennox was changed forever. Today, more than two hundred employees took time to mark the tragedy. A plaque, releasing balloons and taking eight minutes of silence, were ways employees of