Did you physically abuse her . Yes. Or was it another man in her life . They had been together the night she died. Did you have sex with hannah . No. More than 13 years would go by as hannahs family fought for justice. Two possible suspects. Did you kill hannah hill . Absolutely not. Did your kid kill hannah hill . No. Two trials. I was a wreck. It was just very intense. Would there ever be justice for hannah hill . The truth always comes out. The night hannah hill disappeared. Hello and welcome to dateline extra. Im craig melvin. 18yearold hannah hill may have been living in her parents basement, but she was about to move up in the world. She had just bought her own car and was set to start a new job. Then she vanished, leaving friends and family reeling. Why, they wondered, did hannah go out so late the night before her big day . And where had she gone . Heres dennis murphy. She was a girl who made big entrances. She could walk in the room and light up a place. Shed make a whole room smile. She was always happy, just wanted to have fun. But it was her exit, her sudden disappearance. Poof, gone from her house just like that, that enshrouded young hannah hill in mystery. Ms. Hill was last seen last wednesday. Were asking anyone with any Information Contact the Akron Police Department detective bureau. She was 18 years old, just days from turning 19, and seemed to be in for the night. A former homecoming queen in her pjs, phoning a few friends from the basement bedroom at her mom and dads in akron, ohio. Its too late now, but you wish she could answer just one question. Why did you leave the house so suddenly that night . Her brother justin doesnt know. She got dressed and said, im going to go out for a little bit. Ill be back. I love zbyou. And that was it . Never seen her again. The thing was, the next morning, a thursday in may in 1999, was going to be a red letter day for hannah. Shed drive her geo prism to her first day at the company that makes atms. Her boyfriend of more than a year expected her to swing by his place in the morning to pick him up. He says she was a noshow. I remember waking up with this eerie gut feeling that something wasnt right. I paged her. No answer. She always called me back, always. And she didnt. The kids relied on pagers back then. Cell phones and text messaging we were off in the future for hannahs circle of friends. Her mom, kim, was a homemaker. And dad, elza, was scratching out work as a boilermaker in the smokestacks of the rust belt. Dad loved his girl. Hannah, she was a very lovely kid. She always loved everybody. She liked the spice girls and signed her letters with tiny pink hearts, a nice kid. These friends of hannah thought so. She was a very easy going person, definitely somebody you could be friends with very easily. She was a great friend. She was a great girl. Tara ferguson was the best friend forever. Shes so fun and silly and funny. There was no doubt she was a very pretty young girl. Yes. She was a hopeless romantic, and she was bound trying to find that prince charming. Now, not every teenage girl has the same definition of prince charming. Hannahs boyfriend, brad, for instance was a High School Dropout with more than a few rough edges. But by all accounts, hannah was smitten. Definitely her one true love. She just really loved him and was really happy. And brad . He remembers like yesterday being captivated by the girl at the party with the lively brown eyes. They quickly became a couple. Did you think, im really lucky to have this girl . I did. And we used to get compliments. People would say, you guys look so cute together. But by late spring 1999, hannahs friends and family thought she was growing distant. They worried that brad was tugging her into a world where she didnt belong. She trusted everybody. She saw the best in everybody . Yes. And didnt have her radar up . No. Thats where we differed. And now hannah hill had vanished into the night. Out there somewhere, but where . Thursday turned to friday. The Close Friends were frantic. Brad and i were calling each other back and forth. Im calling the hills. Im paging her. Shes not calling. That just wasnt like her. Were freaking out now. So we make out thousands of fliers, and were passing them out. Have you seen my sister . Has anyone seen my sister . And youre hearing, no, no, no, no . Nothing. Brad, the boyfriend, took it a step further. He went down to the Police Station on that friday, the first of several visits to the cops. My girlfriends missing, and it doesnt seem like the police are doing very much. Long days became longer nights with no word from hannah. By tuesday evening, shed been missing nearly a week. The police finally turned to the media. An 18yearold girl has vanished, and tonight police are asking for your help. When it came across the tv that she was missing, i got it got really real. The very next morning, a breakthrough. News that police had located hannahs car. It was parked on a quiet dead end street called caine road. Jerry hughes, then with the akron p. D. , raced to the scene. Detectives popped the trunk. It was worse than hed expected. Youve seen a lot of stuff in a lot of years. How does this fit in the awful things that cops encounter . Its sickening. Its something you cant unsee. Youll see that for the rest of your life. The body of hannah hill had been found naked from the waist down, posed, her shirt pulled up. At approximately 7 30 this morning, the auto belonging to missing person hannah hill had been seen parked on caine road. Pictures of her car being towed away made the evening news. Devastated. How could this happen . I just totally kind of blacked out. Every emotion just hit me all at once. What had happened to hannah and why . And who had killed hannah . Police quickly focused on one man, hannahs boyfriend, brad. Coming up found out that he was a drug dealer. He liked to chase other girls. When the night hannah hill disappeared continues. Chicago ok, so, magnificent mile for me i thought i was managing. My moderate to severe Crohns Disease. Yes until i realized something was missing. Me. You ok, sis . My symptoms kept me from being there for my sisters. Flight boarding for flight 2007 to chicago. So i talked to my doctor and learned. Humira is for people who still have symptoms of Crohns Disease after trying other medications. And the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief. And many achieved remission in as little as 4 weeks. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections. Serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. 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. Be there for you, and them. Ask your doctor about humira. With humira, remission is possible. If you cant afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. He used to worry about how to fix the worlds oral health problems. I think ive got it. [narrator] then he invented therabreath formulas. You want fresh breath . Ill give you a fresh breath. [narrator] for fresh breath, healthy gums, dry mouth, and healthy smiles. Whoa, thats fresh. [narrator] now, the worlds mouths have never been healthier. sighs contentedly works for 24 hours, i guarantee it. Therabreath, its a better mouthwash. [narrator] available at walmart, target and other fine stores. Hannah hill was buried in a family plot in kentucky a day after what would have been her 19th birthday. For her friends back in akron, caine road, a quiet residential street where her car had been found, became a place to honor her all too brief life. We put ribbons around a nearby tree in remembrance. For detectives, the heat was on to find her killer. The Akron Police Department was already facing intense scrutiny for taking a full week to find hannahs car. There it had sat, abandoned in the night on caine road where just hours after hannah first disappeared, residents began calling police to come take a look. At least five neighbors called police. We have a car in our neighborhood thats totally unexplained, and you need to come out here. Ed meyer was a reporter for the akron beacon journal. He says the neighbors saw car keys on the dashboard and hannahs name written in two places. In a black eye for the department, police came and ticketed the car but failed to make the connection. Major, how could this car have sat there since wednesday and not be connected with ms. Hill . Well, i think thats entirely possible for a car to be parked for many days anywhere in the city. Did somebody drop the ball here, captain . Well, again, like i say, thats under investigation. Was the investigation compromised horribly because of that delay . The condition of the body, the forensic results . Very possible. It gave time for whoever did this to cover his tracks. Who did do it . In the week after hannah had vanished, all the while her body in the trunk of her car undetected, the police were trying to make sense of her boyfriend, brad oborn. When detectives checked him out with hannahs family, they got an earful. Mr. Hill was never a fan of brad oborn. They knew very well who he was . Yes. Mr. Hill didnt like him, and mr. Hill made no bones about it. I tried to pull her away from brad oborn. And, you know, when kids get something in their head, the more you try, the further they get away from you. Hannahs friends saw things they didnt like brad too. I probably told her she was better than that, and she could do better, and he wasnt good for her. And when they met him, police were struck by brads demean or. Before hannahs car had been found, washington lacy, a Police Officer at the time, was pulling weekend duty when again into the station walked a fuming teenager, demanding to know what was being done to find his missing girlfriend. First impression, i didnt like him. He was he just was abrasive. Brads attitude wasnt the only thing to catch the officers eye. Right away, i noticed some scratches on him, and that kind of raised our eyebrows at that. Lieutenant hughes was on duty that weekend too. He made note of the angry boyfriend with the scratches. Hes got physical injuries. Hes coming on like a house afire. Right. Either he was completely innocent and concerned about his girlfriend and really loved her, or he had done something and was going to use us as a tool. Could have fallen either way. Right. Right. The detective said brad was visibly upset and told him hed been a bad boyfriend, jealous, controlling. We found out he was a drug dealer and that he liked to chase other girls. You know, it takes you pretty closely into means, motive, opportunity country. You would think. Hughes had tough questions for boyfriend, brad. Take all your shirt. We need to get all your photos. We want full fingerprints and palm prints, you know. Is he saying, wait, wait. Slow down. I need to talk to a lawyer. No. Heres the thing. Never once said anything about an attorney, his rights. Just whatever you need, find my girlfriend. Then came the awful day they discovered hannahs body. And now were hammering him. Were peppering him, if not you, who basically . You think hes good for this crime . Im not sure, but i want information. Give me something to go on. To detectives, brad was a puzzle. Angry and abrasive on one hand and yet cooperative and seemingly distraught about hannahs death on the other. It just didnt click with oborn. Questions still swirled around brad in the hours after hannahs body was discovered. But now the case was about to spin off in a whole new direction. Investigators had obtained hannahs phone logs and learned shed made four calls on her last night. One to a girlfriend. Two to brad. And another to a boy named denny ross. Denny ross, does it mean anything to anybody . It doesnt mean anything to me. The detectives learned that this denny ross lived in a threebedroom apartment next to a porn shop. They drove over and knocked on the door. Denny ross answers the door. Hes got a phone in his hand. I say, im detective hughes. Id like to talk to you about this. He goes, well, ive got my attorney on the phone. Attorney . Yes. Im like, thats a little different. And denny ross would share a surprising admission about a visit from hannah the very night she disappeared. Coming up her and i were conversating. One thing led to another, and then we kissed. But did that lead to murder . When the night hannah hill disappeared continues. And theyre always glad you came applebees. Now thats eating good in the neighborhood. And still going for my best. Even though i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib. Not caused by a heart valve problem. So if theres a better treatment than warfarin, im reaching for that. Eliquis. Eliquis is proven to reduce stroke risk better than warfarin. Plus has significantly less major bleeding than warfarin. Eliquis is fdaapproved and has both. Whats next . Im on board. Dont stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. Eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. Dont take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. While taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. Seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. Eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. Tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. Ask your doctor about eliquis. And if your ability to afford. Your medication has changed, we want to help. Welcome back. Investigators learned that brad oborn was a drug dealer with a jealous streak, and he was cooperating with police after his girlfriend, hannah hill, was found murdered. Then another name turned up in hannahs phone records. Denny ross. When detectives showed up at dennys apartment, denny surprised them with an admission, and they got a second surprise. A crucial clue that practically fell into their laps. Once again, heres dennis murphy. Investigators looking into the murder of hannah hill had followed her phone logs to the doorstep of 20yearold denny ross. Denny, it turned out, was a friend of hannahs boyfriend, brad oborn. The kids knew denny as the host at a nonstop fun house and crash pad. Were you surprised hannah was hanging around with that crowd . No. I mean we hung out with people that didnt do some great stuff, but i guess we just kind of thought it was not that it was okay, but we werent doing it, so i guess we were pretty naive too. Denny was days into probation on a drug charge and asked to have his lawyer present when detectives arrived for a conversation. Once the lawyer showed up, detectives took out a tape recorder and began an interview. Would you say your full name, sir. Denny frederick ross. Denny told the detective he stayed in the night hannah disappeared, but then volunteered an astonishing bit of information. Hannah stopped over wednesday evening . Yes. That makes him in place jargon the last known person to have seen her alive. Absolutely. Her and i were conversating, and then, you know, one thing led to another and we kissed ask stuff. Did you have sex with hannah . No. Denny offered up a tip for the cops. Take a look at hannahs boyfriend, brad oborn. Do you know . Jealousy. Fear that maybe shes seeing somebody else. I recall many occasions that he would basically have hannah basically under control. She could not go anywhere. But denny, not brad, was suddenly the person cops wanted to know a lot more about. At 3 00 a. M. , they returned to dennys in force with a search warrant. The officers charging up these exterior stairs said they heard a thud. It wasnt long before one of them found a garbage bag beneath dennys window. In it, hannahs missing clothing. Is that case closed . Its not case closed, but its a big factor. Ive always called that bag of evidence the key factor in this whole case, the magic bag. Critics of the Police Working the case, like local journalist ed meyer, were skeptical. We didnt buy it. Why would he keep a potential bag of evidence that could hang him inside his apartment for a full week . Denny insisted he did not toss the bag out the window. His fingerprints werent found on it, and it didnt match any of the garbage bags he had at home. The officers didnt check the temperature of the bag and couldnt say if it had been outside for minutes or for days. Still, the next day, denny was charged with hannahs rape and murder. Breaking news at this hour. An arrest has been made in the murder of 18yearold hannah hill. The arrest of goodtime denny was incomprehensible to hannahs friends. You just cant see why someone we knew would want to hurt her. Dennys father, alan ross, said he was stunned too. You tell me who your boy is. Who is denny ross . Denny ross. A young kid who got himself in a situation by telling the truth. The father says denny was an average carefree kid, excited about a new job in internet marketing, not a killer. Personality, demeanor. If he walked in the door, who would we meet . You meet a person who doesnt stop smiling. Youll feel at home when youre around him because hes got that personality. The medical examiner ruled hannahs death a homicide by asphyxiation, saying she was strangled to death. But little else was clear. For instance, the m. E. Found semen inside hannahs body during the autopsy but said the sample wasnt useful because it had degraded so much during the week her body lay in the trunk of her car. And then there were what critics saw as investigative lapses. Police never checked boyfriend brad oborns alibi the night hannah disappeared. Never checked her pager records. And never performed a key chemical test of the carpet in dennys apartment, the luminol test. The investigators can spray, and it will lumen es. Blood spots were found on dennys apartment balls bwalls. No dna, no blood . Thats correct. You theorized she was killed there in a bloody homicide, and yet there was no trace of her. Yep. Nor was there a trace of denny in or on hannahs car. Despite the ambiguous evidence, in october 2000, denny ross stood trial for the rape and murder of hannah hill. He pleaded not guilty and faced the Death Penalty if convicted. He beat her into submission so that he could rape her. Two young prosecutors argued their theory of the case. That inside that apartment, denny had raped and killed hannah. They faced off against what the papers were calling a Million Dollar defense dream team hired by dennys father. The lead defense attorney was from las vegas. The Police Rushed to denny and ignored everything else. The girls mother was called to the stand but not videoed. Those were her favorite pants. It all came down to the contents of the trash bag found beneath the window. Of all the dna tests run on hannahs clothing spotted with blood, only one came back to denny. A small semen stain on the girls underwear. Hardly proof of a crime, said dennys lawyer. Theyre kids. Theyre fooling around. That doesnt mean he raped her. The case went to the jury, and in the midst of deliberations came a stunning turn. The judge why unexpectedly walked into the jury room and declared a mistrial. She said she took that drastic measure because she was getting a report that one of the jurors was talking about a Lie Detector Test not in evidence. A Lie Detector Test brad oborn, hannahs boyfriend, had taken and passed. Well, that, said the judge, was jury misconduct. The court finds that the jury is unable to fulfill the obligations required by law. The Prosecution Team was stunned. It was not a good day. Nor was it a good day for the defense. Everybody was brokenhearted, including denny. Dennys team was even more heartbroken to learn that when the judge interrupted the jurors, they had already reached a decision on the major counts. Dateline spoke with four jurors after the trial, and they said they had already signed and sealed the ballots on all of the charges except the lesser charge of manslaughter. Rape . Not guilty. Not guilty. Murder . I voted not guilty. Not guilty. Denny had come, oh, so close to being acquitted in hannahs murder. Because jurors had voted in his favor, his lawyers went back to the courts to contest his being tried again on grounds of double jeopardy. How does one get tried again for a crime that he was found not guilty of . Denny waited in jail for over a year while the courts tried to sort out what to do with him. In september of 2001, he was released on a 1 million bond. Its great to finally be out of there. But dennys freedom would be shortlived. Youll hear more about that later. For hannahs friends and family, the shock of her violent death followed by the inconclusive trial, took an enormous toll. Brad oborn now lived under a shadow of suspicion, with people still wondering if he had killed hannah. He tumbled deeper into drugs and even did time for robbing a bank. Maybe hardest hit of all was hannahs mother, kim. She went into a shell. I mean it ripped our family apart. Several years after hannahs murder, the figure of an angel appeared in a tree near where her car had been found. A small shrine to hannahs memory. And for hannahs best friend, tara, it wasnt that she ever stopped thinking about her sweet friend, but found she couldnt talk about it. Emotions all bottled up. Hannah frozen forever at 18. So you went on with your life. Mmhmm. And you have babies. Yes. She never got to do that, did she . No. The case, meanwhile, was mostly in the deep freeze, making a glacial procession through the courts. Seasons passed with no resolution. But that was about to change in startling fashion. Coming up, a second trial. But at times it was hard to know exactly who was the defendant. Was it denny ross . He was choking me from behind and just squeezing. Or hannahs boyfriend . Did you blame yourself for hannahs murder . Yes. When the night hannah hill disappeared continues. Locating your parked car with the touch of a button might seem. Excessive. Unless. 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We know times are hard and were here for you. vo verizon knows how to build unlimited right. Start with americas most awarded network. Im on my phone 24 7. vo then, for the first time ever, include disney , hulu, and espn . Were a big soccer family. Handmaids tale. I love frozen. vo then give families plans to mix and match so you only pay for what you need. You get so much more, and its a great network. vo with plans starting at just 35. Plus, get up to 1,000 off our best phones when you switch. The network more people rely on gives you more. Thats verizon. I got it all from you im always pushing through i know well make it to the finish line i know youre waiting on the other side im like you ondemand glucose monitoring. Because theyre always on. Another lifechanging technology from abbott. So you dont wait for life. You live it. Welcome back to dateline extra. Im craig melvin. Denny ross murder trial had ended with a stunning twist. Just as the jury was about to acquit denny on the most serious charges, the judge declared a mistrial. Denny was released on bond, but he was not off the hook yet. Prosecutors would get another chance to prove he killed 18yearold hannah hill. This time they would be armed with crucial new evidence and a bombshell witness. Here again is dennis murphy. The trial of denny ross for rape and murder had collapsed. Years passed with the Akron Police Department getting kicked in the teeth for losing the conviction with what so many people called Sloppy Police work. People remembered the case. It goes down as an akron p. D. Fumble. Unfortunately thats probably the way its remembered by most. But defending ourselves is not what were concerned with. Solving the case is what were concerned with. With a team of detectives and prosecutors, jerry hughes, by then lieutenant hughes, toiled away in hopes of a Second Chance at convicting denny ross. The case went careening into years of appeals in the state, federal, and the Ohio Supreme Court. Finally the Ohio Supreme Court overturned Lower Court Decisions and ruled that denny ross could be retried for hannahs murder. 13 years after hannahs death, the second trial began. Hannahs mother was dreading it, said best friend tara. Kim said, i have to be here every day. And i know that was probably hard for her. Thats just what she felt she had to do. The evidence will show that on that fateful evening of may 19th, 1999, hannah hill the prosecutors laid out the theory of the crime that hannah hill was lured over to denny ross bachelor pad for what would be a fatal encounter. Do you solemnly swear nearly 70 witnesses were called, some of them testifying off camera to things denny had told them over the years about hannahs death. Denny had made a comment to me that he was going to [ bleep ] hannah. He said, we were all having sex, and i was having sex with this girl and ended up [ bleep ] choking her. Excuse me my language. She died. This woman was a stripper back then and a regular at dennys place. For 12 years she denied being there the night hannah died. But just months before the second trial, she changed her story, saying now she was there that night and hasnt spoken up earlier because shed been afraid. And while you were there, what did you observe . What did you hear . What did you see . Denny and hannah were in the bedroom. Did you know what was going on in that bedroom . I had kind of a good idea. I knew they were [ bleep ] around, and then when i heard her make weird sounds, i just said, [ bleep ], i dont want to be a part of any crime scene and left. Would you believe these kids if they told you the sun was going to come up in the east, youd get a second opinion. 10, 13 years later, i think you look at somebody for who they are when they come before you. The jury can believe some, all, or none of what these people testify to. And then there were expert witnesses like this pathologist who said dna testing had advanced so much in the years since hannahs death, that now they could detect dennys dna on hannahs pants discarded in that trash bag and even on her tshirt found on her body in the camera. The denny profile from one of the cuttings from inside the pockets is consistent with denny ross. The new evidence, his blood on the victims clothing, seemed to belie his account of two teenagers making out, kissing and stuff. Any intimate relationship, there isnt an exchange of blood unless its violent. This prosecution witness said she first met denny at a bar in 2004 five years after hannahs death. Denny was out on bond at the time. She said she invited him back to her place where she says he violently attacked her. How were his hands fixated on your neck . From behind. He was choking me from behind and just squeezing till i till i couldnt breathe. I couldnt breathe at all. I know i passed out a few times. And what are you doing at this point . Pretending im dead, hoping he cant see me breathe. Choked during sex, battered, and left for dead. The prosecutions implication was clear. Is this what happened to hannah hill years before . People develop patterns of behavior. I mean its what we do. We form habits, and killers are no different. The prosecutors knew that dennys lawyers would offer the jury an alternative killer in this trial. And who would that be . Why, brad oborn, the scratched up boyfriend. To preempt the defense team, prosecutors put brad on the stand. It was a risky strategy. You know, i was a heroin addict for quite some time. The story brad told of his relationship with this nice girl, hannah, was for sure a warts and all presentation. I was not a good boyfriend. Can you explain to us what not a good boyfriend means . I was abusive. I i abused her. Did you verbally abuse her . Yes. Did you physically abuse her . You need to answer out loud, please. Yes. Brad testified that just days before hannah disappeared, theyd had a big fight about him cheating on her and said thats when shed scratched him. Does that picture fairly and accurately represent the scratches that are on your arms . Yes. Most painful, he said, was the fact that he had introduced hannah to denny in the first place. So but for you, hannah hill would never have met denny ross. Is that what youre saying, mr. Oborn . Yeah. Did you blame yourself for hannahs murder . Yes. Do you still blame yourself for hannahs murder . Yes. Did you kill hannah hill . Absolutely not. The prosecutors had had their chance to show brad as someone clearly not the killer. But now Defense Attorneys would have their crack at him, an all or nothing crossexamination. Coming up, did brad have a motive for killing hannah . Maybe something he had read in her secret diary. She wrote that she was going to dennys. Did you read that when you read the book . When the night hannah hill disappe disappea disappears continues. Disappears continues. Ut. Safe drivers save 40 safe drivers save 40 safe drivers save 40 thats safe drivers save 40 . It is, thats safe drivers save 40 . Hes right there. Its him hes here. Hes right here. Hi hi. Hey thats totally him. Its him thats totally the guy. Safe drivers do save 40 . Click or call for a quote today. Safe drivers do save 40 . Gillette proglide and proglide gel. Five blades and a pivoting flexball designed to get virtually every hair on the first stroke, while washing away dirt and oil. So youre ready for the day with a clean shave and a clean face. Which is why when it comes to his dentures only poligrip cushion and comfort will do. The first and only formula with adaptagrip cushioning technology. Choose poligrip cushion and comfort. Instead of using aloe, or baby wipes, or powders. Try the cooling, soothing relief of preparation h. Because your derriere deserves expert care. Try new soothing relief. Little things can become your big moment. Thats why theres otezla. Otezla is not a cream. Its a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. With otezla, 75 clearer skin is achievable. Dont use if youre allergic to otezla. It may cause severe diarrhea, nausea or vomiting. Otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. Tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. Some people taking otezla reported weight loss. Your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. Upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. Tell your doctor about your medicines, and if youre pregnant or planning to be. Otezla. Show more of you. Welcome back. At denny ross second murder trial, prosecutors presented new dna evidence placing dennys blood on hannah hills clothes. Then in a risky move, they put hannahs boyfriend, brad oborn, on the stand. Brad told jurors he blamed himself for hannahs death but swore he did not kill her. Now it was the defenses turn. They were hoping to convince the jury that brad was lying, and the investigation had been hopelessly botched. Here again is dennis murphy. For 13 years of hearings, appeals and trials, denny ross always had one loyal person in his corner, his father alan. Did your kid kill hannah hill . No. In a moment of rough sex that went bad . Oh, my god, shes dead. Put the body in the car. Ditch the car. Walk home. And then make yourself a suspect by telling the police she was there . No. No. My son didnt do this. Alan sees hannah showing up at denny apartment that night looking for a shoulder to cry on. The teenager upset that her boyfriend, brad, the guy shed recently scratched up, had cheated on her. The father says the night unfolded just as denny had told the cops. They fooled around a little, kissed and stuff, and hannah left a few hours later. Had someone been waiting below for her to leave the notorious party house . So denny ross was framed by the true killer is what youre saying . Well, thats pretty obvious. That was the theory Defense Attorneys took to court. Preparing for dennys trial number two was a daunting task. Turned out to be a 13year investigation. So there was an awful lot of data. They insist denny is innocent. The fallout victim of all that heat that came down on the akron p. D. When it failed to find hannahs car. Once they found the bag of her clothing outside the window, the case turned from an investigation into the death of hannah hill, into an investigation of denny ross. Dennys lawyers told the jurors about all the things police had failed to do, like check hannahs pager records or do a luminol test of dennys place. They questioned how denny could have possibly killed hannah in his apartment and left no trace of the murder. No blood, no excrement, nothing that belonged to hannah hill, and yet thats where they say she was murdered. As for the socalled new blood evidence, dennys attorneys told jurors those spots were so tiny, they didnt prove anything. And also challenged the notion that bleeding necessarily proved a violent encounter. We all get paper cuts, dont we . Correct. We get mosquito bites, dont we . Yes. The defense team challenged the credibility of prosecution witnesses in dennys circle back when. For instance, the former stripper who 12 years along had changed her story, now testifying she heard denny hurting hannah the night she died. The defense team got her to admit she had smoked a lot of pot that night and had a pattern of lying, even lying in a formal pretrial interview with dennys lawyer. So you decided that it was better to lie to me, correct . Yeah. It was in your best interest to lie to me . Yes. Correct . And when it came to this woman, who had electrified the court by saying denny had attacked and choked her, Defense Attorneys had lost the pretrial battle to keep her off the stand. They insisted that no matter what she had to say, she couldnt tell the jurors anything about what had happened to hannah. Do you know where hannah hill was between may 19th, 1999, at 9 00 p. M. , to may 20th, 1999, at 2 00 a. M. . Absolutely not. Thank you. I have no further questions, your honor. Defense attorneys said the focus on those other witnesses was the prosecutors attempt to shift attention away from the true killer. The person who we still to this day killed hannah is her boyfriend. Brad oborns alibi as to where he was that night was that he was home watching television with his roommates, and they never interviewed the roommates. And now dennys attorneys would have a shot at the one man who could create reasonable doubt in their case, brad oborn. They began by attacking his depiction of himself as a bad boyfriend. You were a bad boyfriend, but you were also abusive. Correct. You hit this young girl. No, i didnt. You slapped her. No, i didnt. You kicked her. No yes, i did. Dennys lawyer tried to trip brad up on dates and times. You told us earlier today just want to get this straight that you were not youre not trying to get it straight. Youre trying to confuse me. But did brad have a motive for killing hannah . For an answer to that question, dennys attorneys would turn to hannahs diary. Page after page of entries in her own handwriting, you could argue that she was fed up with brad oborn and was reaching out on the very night she disappeared. Thats going to be something for a jury to think about. It would be if i was sitting on the panel. The diary entries, speaking from her grave, hannahs own words telling jurors who she was thinking of. Denny. Here on november 11th. Again on december 2nd. And yet again on december 16th, in hannahs handwriting, denny. Whats more, the defense attorney got brad to admit he had read the diary cataloging hannahs visits to denny. Did you recognize under the 19th where it said, brad read this book, it hurt really bad. Ive never loved someone so much . I recognize the fact that she recognized that i read the book. She wrote that she had gone to dennys. Did you read that when you read the book . I dont remember. Was it jealousy, then . Was that the motive . You were concerned that denny might get one up on you. Yes. And you were concerned that any male was a potential risk to your relationship with hannah, correct . Correct. Dennys lawyer closed by saying the states case couldnt possibly add up to a conviction. Inconclusive dna, a long string of sketchy witnesses, and most of all, an angry, abusive, jealous boyfriend. In your deliberations, ask yourself against who is the evidence stronger . And if theres any kind of evidence against brad oborn, weve got reasonable doubt then. Had the defense made a persuasive case . For ahannahs family and friend, there was now more waiting. And just one hope. Justice for hannah. The truth always comes out, no matter what it is. Coming up, the verdict in the second trial of denny ross. All rise, please. We have two families out there. We had to take our time and make that right decision. When the night hannah hill disappeared continues. Ht hannal disappeared continues oh. Whats going on . Oh, darn let me help. Here we go. Lift and push and push there. Its up there. Oh, boy. Hey joshie. Wrinkles send the wrong message. Help prevent them before they start with downy wrinkleguard. Hey bud. Hey, pop pop so you wont get caught with wrinkles again. [woman laughs] welcome back. At denny ross second murder trial, the prosecution presented new dna evidence and testimony from a woman who claimed denny had attacked and choked her years after hannah hills murder. The defense said hannahs boyfriend, not denny, was the one should have been on trial. Hannahs family waited 13 years for justice and their wait was almost over. Here with the conclusion of our story is dennis murphy. Jurors deliberated, asked by the state to pass judgment on another human being. We have two families out there. We had to take our time and make that right decision. What would they make of the weeks of testimony . Why a murder defendant who didnt even look like one. First day win thought he was the lawyer. He had this boyish look, as if to say, why am i here. I didnt do this. Seven jurors in the case spoke to dateline and told us initially they were an evenly divided panel of 12. As they talked, it became apparent they regarded some of the prosecution witnesses as literally unbelievable. And then you as a juror have to make a decision, do i believe the story this person is telling me . Thats really hard, especially when they tell you how many drugs they put in their system. When it came to this woman, the one who testified about denny attacking her, jurors said they believed her story about being attacked, but nonetheless, her testimony was not a factor in their final decision. You still would have got ton where you got . Yes. And still 13 years later, the investigation still bedevilled the case. The jurors said the police work left them with some unanswered questions. They didnt look at her pager. I wasnt convinced he dropped the bag. We all couldnt figure out the first time they didnt luminal the first time they went out there. Monday, tuesday, wednesday, passed and for those outside the jury room, the wait was exkruch nat i exkruchuating. The jurors said they weighed brad oborns testimony carefully. Did you believe his story . Looking at his body language, making contact with the jury, i believed him. None of us felt that it was him. And none of his dna was there. And so on friday, just after lunch, came word of a decision. Lawyers, friends, family all assembled at the court. Hannahs brother stayed away, shaky. I was at a friends house, waiting by the phone. I was terrified. All rise, please. In just moments, there was no more need for guesswork. Count one, is it your determination that the defendant committed murder in this count in that he did purposely cause the death of hannah hill . Is that your decision . Yes, your honor. Denny ross, guilty on all fife counts. In the back of the courtroom, hannahs friend, tara, was visibly shaken. I was a wreck. It was just very intense. I remember thinking, thank you, god, and a sense of relief all in one fell swoop. Those long years of work for prosecutors and detectives had paid off. Jurors told us that in the end, it all came down to the blood evidence on hannahs clothes. The dna outweighed a lot of unknowns for us. It said denny ross was there. As a result of the hannah hill case, lieutenant hughes said the Akron Police Department has made many changes throughout the years, especially in the communications department, to make sure mistakes like the failure to locate hannahs car never happen again. Can akron residents be assured that the screwup has been rectified . I believe so. And theres been a lot of changes. Denny ross was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison for hannahs death. He wont serve that time for years to come. What the jurors didnt know is that he is already serving a 25year sentence for the rape and attempted murder of this woman between the two trials. He will be 67 years old before he is eligible for parole. You know, were disappointed. We had hoped for a different result. Dennys lawyers filed a request for a new trial, which was denied. After the trial, reporter ed meyer said he was still suspicious about how the bag of evidence appeared underneath denny ross window. Skeptics can still wonder. Despite the fact that dennys defense had hauls bealways, tha killed hanna, oborn was never considered a serious suspect. Brad said he loved hannah and living under a cloud of suspicion had taken its toll. Do you feel like this verdict has cleared your name . I believe it has. I know i didnt do it. I know in the back of my mind, i didnt do anything. The only thing im guilty of is being a bod boyfriend. And i cant change that. I wish i could. If i had three wishes, all three would be to change that. I cant. On a rainy sunday after the verdict, hannahs friends and family gathered for a balloon release in her memory. They passed around sharpies and wrote little midwest messaessag lost girl, her brother. Im just glad its over with, finally. Now we can start mourning. Father. I will always love you. The best friend. Fly high, my bright star. Love teri. And after a brief prayer, they stood by the pond and the brisk wind carried away their goodbyes. Farewell to hannah hill. Never forgotten by her family and friends, or as it turned out, by the criminal justice syste system. Thats all for this edition of dateline extra. Im craig melvin. Thank you for watching. Im craig melvin thank you for watching talk about shudders going down your spine. A crime like this doesnt happen. This was just a lightning bolt. She was found laying face down, a large amount of blood. What does the scene tell you . What do your victims tell you . Youve got a killer lose here, whos specifically targeting people. Yeah. She was somebody that he really thought was too hard on him, was the