Transcripts For MSNBCW Dateline 20201205

Loop. When he found out that my mom had met somebody else. Police had a suspect and a case that was about to take an unbelievable turn. E one of the most shocking things ive ever seen in a courtroom. Hello and welcome to dateline. Deede keller had made a comfortable life for herself. A successful realtor in southern california, she lived in a charming neighborhood where she was surrounded by family and friends. Then suddenly deede disappeared. As her loved ones launched a frantic search, investigators would follow the trail of clues to a suspect with a dark obsession. But the final twist in this case would leave the courtroom stunned. Heres Josh Mankiewicz with betrayal of trust. Southern californias south bay. A singularly stunning strand of shoreline with familiar names like hermosa, redondo, and manhattan. We call it the sandbox. No one thinks that this part of los angeles exists, but it does. This Seaside Playground is lined with Beachfront Properties worth millions. And nestled among these small beach towns is an oasis called el segundo. Its main street usa. Its a great place to raise kids. And in 2003 one of the rainmakers in the real estate business selling those Beautiful Homes in el segundo and the south bay was a woman named julia keller, known as deede. She really just embraced everyone that came into her path. Deedes best friends, mortgage executive cindy ertman and Real Estate Sales partner Linda Dondero. She was good at her job . I loved working with deede. Everybody did. She was just so easy to like and always wanted the best for everybody. And her clients were very loyal over the years. Deede was loyal too. Not only to her clients but as a divorced mom to her children, mike and julie. I remember my mom explaining to me when i was about 10 years old that as you get older were probably not going to be as close or you wont like me quite as much. And it never happened. If anything, we just got closer. But deede keller had a heart problem. Not literally. It may have been a little too big. She loved without limits. And she simply hated to disappoint or let anyone down. She loved dogs so much she literally couldnt say no to another one. She was surrounded by them at home. I always joked that as soon as i graduated college thats when she started, you know, replacing us with dogs. You know, she never stopped being a mom. And she never stopped sort of loving everybody i guess. No, she never did. She was ready to be embraced and to embrace you whenever you wanted it. But there was one area of her life in which deede kellers honesty and embrace hadnt caught hold. Your mom was so lucky and life was so easy in so many ways. She couldnt quite make the man in her life thing come out right. She had a wonderful life. But no, i guess she hadnt found that person. She did have a longrange relationship but that ended sadly in 1997. Soon after she met someone new. He was a real estate client named erwin howard, a pilot, an Airline Mechanic, originally from bolivia. I remember deede telling me that she was not going to date anyone else until they loved, treasured and adored her. And she did feel loved, treasured and adored by erwin. You know, he treated her like a queen. When erwin popped the question, deede said yes. At deedes bridal shower in march of 1998 erwin dutifully delivered his fiance to the surprise party. But the smiles didnt last after the engagement was over and the marriage began. It wasnt more than six months after they were married, she just blurted out that she had married him on the rebound. And was having second thoughts . Apparently so. It was very hard for her to think about ending it because of what it was going to do to him because she knew he loved her. So much in fact that the marriage lasted another four years after that conversation. Ultimately their divorce was amicable, and a year after the split in the summer of 2004, deede seemed to be finding her footing once again. Shed begun dating a wellknown south bay car salesman named bobby lowe. That new relationship was going so well that on the evening of thursday july 8th bobby lowe took deede out to dinner at this restaurant to meet his father. I talked to her before her date. Any sign that she was nervous about anything . She was in a happy state when i talked to her, and we had made plans to hopefully get together the following night, so i could get the update on the date. But that conversation never took place. I called her on friday, and she didnt call me back, which was not unusual for deede. I called her on saturday and she didnt call me back. That was pretty typical. But by sunday i started getting concerned. Concerned too was daughter julie. She talked of meeting her mom that same friday during a layover at l. A. X. As julie headed for cabo san lucas, mexico. Shes like you know, i might have an appointment that morning but if i dont ill come by, ill text you, well have coffee. So i laid over in los angeles. I didnt get a text. It was a little odd but didnt think much of it. Deedes son mike was beginning to worry after he returned from a business trip to the San Francisco area. When i called her cell phone, the voicemail was full. And that had never happened with my mom and she prided herself on being responsive. So you go over to your moms house. So i went in the back gate and then instantly it was clear that she had not been there for a while. What made that clear . The dogs water dish was bone dry. My mom would die of thirst before her dogs went without water. Mikes first call was to cindy. And he said cindy, wheres my mom . And i just i instantly knew in that moment that something had happened. I just knew. And i just said michael, call the police, im on my way. Where was deede keller . Not only was there no water left outside for deedes beloved dogs but detectives noticed lots of other things wrong inside the house. Her purse was there but her wallet was missing. And this was a woman with money, a lot of it. Was deedes hefty bank account a factor in her disappearance . Investigators follow the money trail. Coming up who got that money in the event of her death . The beneficiaries were her two children. And detectives wondered where were deedes son and daughter when she vanished . Both out of town at the time their mother went missing. When dateline continues. Every emergenc gives you a potent blend of nutrients so you can emerge your best with emergenc. Another bundle in the books. Got to hand it to you, jamie. Your knowledge of victorian architecture really paid off this time. Nah, just got lucky. So did the thompsons. That faulty wiring couldve cost them a lot more than the mudroom. Thankfully they bundled their motorcycle with their home and auto. 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And live. Well. Introducing mywalgreens. A whole new way to wellness. On a sunsplashed sunday in l. A. s south bay clouds were rolling in over one household. It was july 2004. El segundo Real Estate Agent julia keller, known to the world as deede, was missing. Deedes son mike had gone to her home when he hadnt heard from her in three days. The biggest red flag, deedes beloved dogs left without food or water. What did you think happened . I didnt know at that point. I just knew that something was very, very wrong. Mike called his moms best friends, Linda Dondero and cindy ertman. Cindy, whod last spoken to deede three days before as deede prepared for a date, rushed to the house. You could tell just the dogs had been, you know, running around for days. But the way the tv was on and the way the shades were i felt like thursday night had never ended. I felt like friday morning never came. Cindy immediately phoned deedes new boyfriend, car salesman bobby lowe. He reported theyd had dinner on thursday at a local restaurant, then returned to deedes house for a nightcap. He said shed had a little bit too much wine and she laid down on the couch and was kind of starting to fall off to sleep and so he just said good night and let himself out. Anything about what bobby lowe said sound in any way suspicious to you . Not at all. The next call, to el segundo police. And soon on the scene then detective sergeant carlos mendoza. This does not happen in el segundo, especially people that are known as well as deede is. And what detectives found in their initial search of deedes home only deepened the mystery. In the kitchen deedes purse, her cell phone still inside but no wallet. A vodka bottle that police learned was usually kept in the freezer was out on the counter. And in the living room the tv was on cnn. We discovered that whenever she left the house shed always put the tv on to a Classical Music station. So it would relax the dogs. But it was on cnn when we came into the house. So deede was watching cnn, had the dogs there, was having a drink, and then left for some reason . Suggesting kind of whatever happened happened in a big hurry. She didnt have time to do her routine that she usually does before she leaves. And it appeared deede had left in her car. The garage was empty. Her silver 1999 mercedes gone. But strangely, police found the car keys sitting on deedes patio. We decided to call the l. A. County Sheriffs Department Homicide Bureau to come and assist us. Jimmy gates was the detective who answered that call. There was no forced entry whatsoever, and when we started walking through the house i noticed several articles that were very valuable. So she let in whoever it was, and it wasnt robbery. Absolutely correct. If she didnt let them in, that person let themselves in. And they may have had a key. Gates wondered, had deede left in her car with someone she knew . And how did her car get taken without its key . If you dont have a key, is it easy to steal a car as movies depict . Its certainly not a 1999 thats hard to hotwire. Its hard to steal it. You almost need a key to gain access to it. If your car doesnt have a key, the next stop is a car dealership to have a new one made. But first gates and his crew searched the house, looking for deedes spare mercedes key. Without success. And gates quickly became convinced of one thing. You thought finding deedes car was going to be the key to this. That was going to be extremely important. Deedes friends and family printed up posters and along with Law Enforcement launched a massive search. An army of people banned together to try to help find her, and we broke up into teams and we mapped everything out in onemile increments to start to search every parking lot looking for her car. We would ask people, have you seen this woman . Have you seen this car . It was frantic. It was heartbreaking. And it was leading nowhere. At the same time detective gates wondered who might have had a motive to have abducted deede from her home. Those most common of motives, love, money, jealousy, are always the ones police hug first like old friends. Deede made a lot of money being a realtor. She was successful. Yes, sir. How much money did she have in the bank . I think it was over seven figures. Seven figures. A lot of murders committed for a lot less than that. Absolutely. Who got that money in the event of her death . The beneficiaries were her two children. And the detective noticed something about the whereabouts of deedes two children, mike and julie. At the time of deedes disappearance. Theyre both out of town at the time that their mother went missing. Why is that significant . Why wouldnt the reverse be more true . I thought that the mother goes missing and it just so happens mikes in san jose and julies down at a resort and its been my experience that people sometimes dissipate stress after they commit a crime in different ways. Some people drink. Some people take drugs. And some people leave the area just to dissipate stress. And there was strangely one more person who just happened to have been traveling near the time of deedes disappearance. Her exhusband, erwin howard, had just flown to his home country of bolivia. And erwin was a mechanic who worked for American Airlines in l. A. The Common Thread in all these trips . Nearby l. A. X. Airport. And so the detective thought, what better place to dump a car. L. A. X. Is a big place. Very big place. A lot of parking lots. A lot of parking lots. And it took a few days. You looked through them all. Every one of them. No mercedes. And no shortage of persons of interest. A lot of people close to deede keller were about to be hugged like old friends. Coming up, detectives were about to get blunt with julie and her brother. All of a sudden he says did you have anything to do with your moms disappearance . I think it was more did you kill your mother . When dateline continues. With mucinex nightshift youve got powerful relief from your worst nighttime cold and flu symptoms. So grab nightshift to fight your symptoms, get your zzzs. And get back to your rhythm. Feel the power. Beat the symptoms fast. In the days after the disappearance of el segundo realtor deede keller all of l. A. s south bay seemed to be looking for her and for her missing mercedes. Leading the search, her best friends cindy and linda. A lot of times when people disappear they get the immediate family working on it and everybody else is like, well not in this town. She had an army. Deedes daughter julie rushed back to l. A. From a trip to mexico. It was the most surreal experience. Only to be greeted by suspicion. L. A. Sheriff detective jimmy gates had discovered that in the event of their mothers death julie and her brother mike stood to inherit more than a million dollars. So he confronted deedes kids, using one of the oldest tricks in the investigators handbook. Do you remember an interview that you did with jimmy gates . I do. In which he asked you some pretty basic questions like, you know, whats your name, where do you live, pretty ordinary stuff, and then all of a sudden he says, did you have anything to do with your moms disappearance . I think it was more did you kill your mother . And youre what, startled or angry . It was a horrible question, but i can understand why it needed to be asked. Detectives asked similar questions of julie. Next, in attempting to rule out as suspects those closest to deede, detectives turned their attention to her exhusband, erwin howard. It turned out that although deede and erwin had been divorced for more than a year at the time of her disappearance friends told police she had recently invited him back into her life. About six months earlier deede had been in a car accident and as she recovered she needed help with her dogs. Deede also apparently felt bad about the pain their divorce had caused erwin. She called erwin to help her because that was what he did best, was to help and assist her. So he helped kind of nurse her back to health and take care of the dogs and the house and her. And in taking a hard look at erwin howard the detective found he had a rock solid alibi. On the night of deedes disappearance, july 8th, erwin had clocked into work for his job as an Airline Mechanic at the American Airlines hangar at l. A. X. At 8 30 p. M. He said he worked all night. But it wasnt just erwins word. He had to use an electronic key card to get into the hangar. Thats a pretty good alibi. Thats not something that generally the employee can influence. Thats correct. Thats absolutely correct. That left the last person to admit seeing deede alive, her new boyfriend, car salesman bobby lowe. Lowe said he left deedes house between 11 00 and midnight that night, then gone to the gym the next morning. What possible motive could bobby lowe have to want deede either dead or out of the picture . There was no motive that i could determine whatsoever. And lowe provided investigators with two important clues. First he said while he was at deedes that night her dogs had all started barking at something outside, as if someone were lurking. And the next morning he discovered someone had keyed the side of his ford explorer, leaving a long scratch. Which suggests what, somebodys following them on that date . Absolutely. Thats what it meant to me. But who was following deede and bobby . Who was that angry . That act of vandalism pointed away from bobby lowe. I was an investigator for several years and id never known anybody to vandalize their own car. That kind of thinking is what would make it a perfect alibi. Sure. Sure. If hes sophisticated enough but his background indicated he was a wellliked guy, kind of successful himself, didnt have a lot of enemies. And then even as investigators looked at suspects came the news that all who knew deede had at once hoped for and feared. Deedes car had been found, not at l. A. X. , not in l. A. , but 2 1 2 hours down interstate 5 in san diego. That silver mercedes had been parked on this street in downtown san diego for days, earning it several parking tickets. When the local pd ran the plate, it came up as belonging to a missing person. And when the trunk was finally opened, there was a body wrapped in sheets, covered by a blanket, which was itself decorated with dog paws. Deede keller was no longer missing. Police asked to meet with deedes family. It was just a wide range of emotions. There was almost some type of relief they had found her because we were starting to think at that point how long could this go on. Hardest days of my life. And one of the hardest days for my children, and all of her friends and her family. Deede keller was dead at age 54. An autopsy showed shed been asphyxiated. And the clues that were and were not left in her car were about to take this case back in a familiar direction. Coming up just days before she was murdered, deede had a visit from a stalker. She said she was in the shower, kind of pulled her out of the shower, and they had this huge altercation, he was calling her every name under the sun. When dateline continues. upbeat holiday music narrator upgrade your protectin this holiday season. Available at boomer naturals,n nanocvs s[whats this . ]m. Or you. Oh, are we kicking karly out . We live with at t. It was a lapse in judgment. At t, we called this house meeting because you advertise gigspeed internet, but we cant sign up for that here. Yeah, but im just like warming up to those speeds. Youve lived here two years. The personal attacks arent helping, karly. Dont you have like a hot pilates class to get to or something . [ muffled scream ] stop living with at t. Xfinity can deliver gig to the most homes. Hello, im dara brown. Heres whats happening. A federal judge has ordered the Trump Administration to reinstate the socalled daca program which protects some undocumented immigrants from deportation. The ruling also allows up to 300,000 new applicants to apply for protection under the program. The u. S. Continues to experience high case numbers and daily deaths due to covid19, with more than 14 million confirmed cases and over 279,000 deaths in the united states. Now back to dateline. Welcome back to dateline, im craig melvin. Deede keller was missing and when she was found her familys worst fears were realized. Deede was gone, the apparent victim of a gruesome crime. But with the discovery, detectives would uncover a crucial clue, one that would convince them deedes killer was someone close to her. Here again is Josh Mankiewicz with betrayal of trust. On a downtown street in san diego in july 2004 deede keller had finally been found, dead in the trunk of her silver mercedes. The car had been the subject of a massive search ever since deede had been discovered missing a week earlier from her home two hours north in el segundo. Homicide detective jimmy gates, whod always thought finding the car would be the key to finding deede, now gave the mercedes a thorough going over. Fingerprints or dna on the car . There wasnt one fingerprint either on or in that car or was there any partial print. Nothing. Deedes or anybody elses. Nobodys. So what does that say . Professional. Someone took went to Great Lengths to make damn sure they werent going to be identified through fingerprints. Thats for sure. But the killer did leave a clue in the tape wrapped around deedes body. Id never seen tape like that. It appeared to us to be consistent with red duct tape. That started gates in one direction. But he also looked closely at the way deedes body had been placed in that car. Someone took great care to place her in that car, and that indicated to us that someone cared deeply about her. So part of this says professional and part of this says somebody that knew her. Thats exactly correct. But the suspicions that said professional soon fell away in favor of those that said someone who knew her. Not her children but someone who had reentered deedes life in the months before her death. Her exhusband, erwin howard. Did you ever think of erwin as violent or dangerous . No. I never suspected that he would do something physical. But detectives soon learned something had changed in erwin howard in the months before deedes murder. Remember, after a car accident in january 2004 deede had invited erwin back into her life, to help care for her and her dogs. That request had apparently been misinterpreted by erwin. We know he started wearing his wedding ring again. Erwin wanted back into her life, and sounds to me like on some level she sort of appreciated that part of him that adored her and wanted to take care of her, even if its someone youre not going to be with anymore. Right. Do you think she made that point clear enough to him . No. She was too nice . Always too nice. And very trusting. And that may be why, investigators thought, erwin seemed surprised when just two weeks before deedes murder, erwin gained access to deedes computer and found emails referring to a relationship with a new man, bobby lowe. And i think that really threw him for a loop when he found out that my mom, you know, had met somebody else. And thats when things started getting scary. Scary because erwin, detectives learned, had started doing things that pointed to an obsession with deede. And how did they know that . In one of those only in a small town coincidences deedes son mike lived just down the block from deedes new boyfriend bobby lowe. One night mike was sitting in his living room when he saw a familiar green range rover driving by. And inside was erwin. As the evening went on, he continued to drive by the house. Did you call your mom and say by the way, erwins driving around the block while youre with bobby lowe . I didnt. I didnt really put two and two together. But the very next day, now just ten days before her murder, deede would call her friend cindy ertman in a state of panic. She was crying hysterically. She said that she was in the shower, erwin came into the house without her knowing, pulled her out of the shower, and they had this huge altercation and that he was calling her every name under the sun. Deede told the same story to her friend Linda Dondero. I said do you realize that erwins behavior is escalating, deede . And she said yes. And you said call the police . No. I said have you changed your locks . And she said no, ill do it on the way home. And of course she never did. But investigators soon learned that in those conversations with her friends deede had left something out. A detail she mentioned only to her daughter julie. That during that argument erwin howard had also slapped her. I said mom, you have to call the police. You have to get a restraining order. And then i remember her asking me not to tell michael and that she was going to handle it. And i remember being torn like okay, this is my mom telling me i got it but also thinking maybe she didnt have it. A few days later it was clear julie was right. The very night her mom went missing julie got another phone call. This time from erwin. I got on the phone and hes like jules, jules, jules, what is your mom thinking . And i said erwin, you know, i really i dont want to talk about this. I feel like this is between you and my mom. And hes like, well, you just need to pray for her soul. And i remember thinking it was a little odd. But then you know what . I mean, given his his grasp on the english language sometimes hed say some funny things or get something wrong. But i just remember thinking that was an odd comment. Detective gates now felt erwin howards motive for killing deede keller was clear. But proving erwin had the means to commit the murder was another matter. And erwin steadfastly maintained his innocence to investigators. From the moment he stepped off the plane as he returned from bolivia after the murder through the months after, even though he was clearly the prime suspect. And the case against erwin was not without its problems. Its one thing to stalk someone, quite another to kill them. There was no physical evidence tying erwin howard to the crime. And there were those key card records showing him clocking into his job at American Airlines the night of the murder. Still, detective gates took the information he had gathered to the l. A. County District Attorneys Office and asked for a warrant. They declined to file charges. They wont file . They wont file. Did jimmy gates have the wrong man in his sights . Was there ever going to be enough evidence to arrest a killer . Any killer. Coming up its like lightning striking. Twice. Make that three times. One of the most shocking things ive ever sign in one of my cases in a courtroom. When dateline continues. And downtown. But dont worry, julie. Robitussin shuts coughs down. Beds get sick too protection. Lysol laundry sanitizer kills 99. 9 of illnesscausing bacteria detergents leave behind. Proven to kill covid19 summer had come and gone in l. A. s south bay without an arrest in the murder of beloved el segundo Real Estate Agent deede keller. And as the months dragged on, detective jimmy gates kept pounding the pavement, building what he thought was a strong circumstantial case against kellers exhusband erwin howard. But the l. A. County d. A. s office had so far declined to issue a warrant for howards arrest. Deedes son michael wanted answers. There was a long time when erwin was Walking Around free. Seemed like decades. It was so frustrating, painful, emotional. Jimmy gates was feeling all those same things. And soon his hard work started paying off. That unusual red tape found on deedes body . A specially trained dog found erwins scent on it, and detectives found similar tape at erwins workplace, that American Airlines hangar at l. A. X. But what about erwins alibi . Computer records showing him at work in that same hangar the night of deedes disappearance and that hed worked a tenhour shift. It turned out that the more detectives dug into that alibi the less solid it seemed. Detective gates painstakingly dissected the procedures at the hangar, and he found this. Erwin howard could swipe into work at the employee parking lot using a key card at this turnstile, then clock in inside the hangar. But he could also leave whenever he wanted by walking out the large bay doors and catching an employee shuttle back to the parking lot. There would be no record of his leaving. Jimmy gates discovered that on the night of the murder erwin used his key card to swipe into the parking lot at 8 24 p. M. And again at 10 21 p. M. And for a third time at 1 47 a. M. , which completely blew apart his alibi that hed been at work the whole time. So he would swipe his card to get back in absolutely. After there was no record of him leaving. Right. By now youre convinced erwins the guy. Absolutely. All the witnesses, all the evidence, everything pointed directly at erwin. And there was one more key piece of evidence. The day after the murder a witness saw a mercedes on the street in el segundo. She thought it belonged to a friend so she sped up to catch her. She sees its not her friend and she sees a male hispanic driving the car. And she remembers that license plate. The license plate belonged to the mercedes owned by deede keller. The man driving . The witness helped a Police Artist draw this sketch. Who does it look like . It looks like erwin. The witness was then shown a photo lineup, and she picked out erwin howard. Thats like lightning striking. Twice. And then it struck again. Six months after the murder jimmy gates phone rang. It was deedes nextdoor neighbor, whod been interviewed once and had offered nothing of value. But now apparently she was having an attack of conscience. The neighbor now told the detective that shed seen erwin on june 30th, the day erwin had confronted and slapped deede. She said the conversation lasted 15 or 20 minutes where he articulates he was mad enough to strangle her with work gloves. Thats what deedes neighbor says erwin said to her . Correct. Do you think she didnt tell you for six months . I have no idea why a neighbor during a Murder Investigation just wouldnt simply tell the cops the truth that he wanted to kill her. Armed with that new and threatening statement, detective gates was able to get his warrant, and soon, erwin howard was under arrest for the murder of deede keller. Now the case was in the hands of l. A. County Deputy District Attorney john lewin. What made this case different . I love cases where you have a very good idea who the suspect is but its a question of kind of putting the evidence together. So circumstantial cases where you have high motive, but youre looking at lots of little facts and seeing, okay, what can you turn this into. It would take three years for the case against erwin howard to come to trial. Cameras were not present in the courtroom that day when trial began in the fall of 2008. John lewin laid out his case in a devastatingly thorough 2 1 2hourlong Powerpoint Presentation to the jury. Opening statements are like a check. Im writing a check, the jury hears it, and if i do my job right after opening all theyre waiting to see is if there are funds in the bank. In other words, if you deliver during your case what you say youre going to deliver in the Opening Statement, youll get a conviction . Thats my hope. But never in this prosecutors wildest dreams did he believe his Opening Statement would have the effect it did on erwin howard and his defense attorney, andrew flyer. You heard that Opening Statement and something changes. Something changed. After the Opening Statement i went back into lockup and i spoke to erwin and i said hey, listen, remember how i was speaking about the circumstantial case and it could be powerful . I think there could be some problems now. And his answer was i need to tell you something. That something would stun deede kellers family and friends. And the prosecutor himself. One of the most shocking things ive ever seen in one of my cases in a courtroom. Dateline returns after the break. That works to turn down acid production, blocking heartburn at the source. With just one pill a day, you get 24hour heartburn protection. Take the prilosec otc twoweek challenge. And see the difference for yourself. Prilosec otc, 1 pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. Wthe Natural Light is amazing. Hardwood floors. There is a bit of a clogging problem. clog dancing at least geico makes it easy to bundle our renters and car insurance. Yeah, helping us save us even more. For bundling made easy, go to geico. Com whove got their eczema under control. With less eczema, you can show more skin. So roll up those sleeves. And help heal your skin from within with dupixent. Dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderatetosevere eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups. Dupixent is a biologic, and not a cream or steroid. Many people taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin, and, had significantly less itch. Dont use if youre allergic to dupixent. Serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. Tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. If you take asthma medicines, dont change or stop them without talking to your doctor. So help heal your skin from within, and talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent. If your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. My kids, they know im a scientist. But its hard to explain to them what i do every day. Right now, im working on purification technologies that help advance vaccine and Therapy Research for covid19. One day, theyll realize i wasnt just trying to help them go out and play again. I was trying to make it safer for the whole world to get back outside too. I wathe teams been workinger around the clock. Wire, weve had to rethink our whole approach. Were going to give togetherness. Logistically, its been a nightmare. Im not sure its going to work. Itll work. I didnt know you were listening. In a los angeles courtroom in september 2008, something extraordinary was taking place the murder trial of erwin howard, expected to last three months. It was on the verge of ending in just two days. Prosecutor john lewin had presented a powerful Opening Statement. I had seen the defendant during the opening and i thought, maybe, you know, something had gotten to him. And the d. A. Was right, because after the opening defense attorney andrew flyer had spoken with howard, who then made a stunning admission. For the first time in my career, i heard a defendant confess to a crime, and i was the first one he told. And until that moment, his defense was i wasnt there and i didnt have anything to do with it. Correct. The defense attorney walked into the courtroom and made a statement that caused mouths to fall open. The defense attorney gets up and he says that youre going to see something that youll never see in a court ever. He says, my client killed deede keller, but he didnt murder her. What did that mean . They were basically trying to see if they could get a manslaughter out of it. So deputy d. A. Lewin asked to speak with erwin howard behind closed doors and made an offer. Plead guilty to seconddegree murder and be eligible for parole in 15 years. My memory is that, as i was saying this, hes nodding. But this wasnt just about erwin admitting it to you. He also had to come into court and admit it to everybody. Yes. And erwin howard did just that. I do. Surprising a courtroom filled with deedes friends and family. Howard. Howard. There was such a sense of relief to thank that, oh, my gosh, you know, were going to hear the truth finally and erwins going to confess. Lewin guided erwin through the sequence of events, beginning with why erwin went over to deedes house on the night of july 8th, 2004. I wanted to talk to her. And what did you want to talk to her about . To apologize for my act on june the 30th. June 30th, 2004, when after discovering she was dating another man, erwin stormed into deedes house, confronted her in the shower, tossed emails in her face, and slapped her. On that final night, though, erwin says he knocked and deede, alone after her new boyfriend left, he says, let him in. I said, please, listen to me, please listen to me. At some point, i guess i raised my voice. And the little dog, rosie, started growling. Erwin says he threw a pillow at the dog, and that angered deede. She told me, how dare you hurt my dog . And she slapped me. I reached towards her. I grabbed her hand. She started punching me with the other hand on my chest. I put her hand down. I grabbed her. I pulled her towards me. She struggled. We struggled. Erwin says he put deede in a sort of bear hug. I just kept holding her and telling her, please, listen to me, please, i dont want to lose you. I love you. I dont want to lose you. How tightly were you holding her . I felt her body going limp. I stood there and i thought, god, i killed her. You know, ive killed her, ive killed her, ive killed her. Erwin says he came back the next evening and put deedes body in the car, using a spare key he had for the mercedes, he started driving and headed for mexico. But he wondered how hed get back across the border. So he left the car on a street in san diego and hired an offduty taxi to take him back to l. A. Erwin admitted to the murder, but he talked about it in a way that made it seem almost accidental. Yes. He was willing to accept responsibility for the rage and for the anger. He was not willing to accept responsibility that the murder happened intentionally. Seconddegree murder but despite that, lewin felt a seconddegree murder conviction was the best he could secure. And after erwin left the stand and took the plea, deedes friends and family had the chance to speak to him. They offered surprising words, of gratitude and forgiveness, to a nowconfessed killer. Thank you. Thank you. And we also will find it in our hearts to forgive you. You did the right thing with the circumstances, and for that i thank you. Thank you. Thank you for doing the right thing. I remember thinking that something really special had happened, that although nothing is going to bring my mom back, we got the best possible outcome given the circumstances. Its rare in a murder trial to hear so much of a sort of lack of anger and vitriol toward the defendant. Theyre good people. Theyre not vengeful people. I think they also realized that deede, in hindsight, had not handled things as best she could have in terms of terminating that relationship. Erwin howard was granted parole in february 2019. Deedes friends and family, their sorrow tinged with regret, now honor deede by urging other women not to ignore the warning signs of domestic violence. We want deedes life to count for something. So i just hope people will reach out for help, get support. I know you dont blame deede for this, but i know that you also wish that she had been more forthright with the two of you because you would have acted even though she didnt want to. Yes, we would have. Theres no question, i would have done things differently, if i could go back and relive it. But for deedes friends regrets give way to wonderful memories. Today theres a plaque at the local dog park, both remembering and honoring a woman whose big heart wouldnt ever let her turn away a stray. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Im craig melvin. Thank you for watching. First up on msnbc, grim projections and dire warnings. The frightening numbers we could see by christmas week, if people dont stay home. Plus, a public jab. Joe biden now joining the pledge to get vaccinated on camera. The special election in georgia is going to determine, ultimately, a course of the biden presidency. My fellow americans, if you dont vote, they win. Dueling rallies ahead of highstakes runoffs. Donald trump takes the stage te