One of the suspects had an alibi, until a camera caught him in a lie. And the strangest clue of all, there in an empty parking lot. Six perfectly stacked cardboard boxes. Narrator what was in there . I watched enough date line to know that was probably not a good sign. Reporter in lester holt and this is dateline. Heres Keith Morrison with smoke and mirrors. Narrator it wasnt like this, you understand. It wasnt gray, wasnt cold. No flecks of snow to catch the bitter breeze. It was hot and after midnight, september, 2007. Dark and still. And vacant. Here where the deep woods fought back against the decaying suburban sprawl. And then nothing was clear at all. I never cried this violent cry. Youre experiencing everything, but its not true. Youre just waiting to wake up. It just feels like youre literally in a nightmare. Narrator yes, still does. The name, youll want to remember, is nailah. This is nailahs mother, maria. I wanted her to be successful successful, and she was. She lived her name. Narrator quite true, as frankly had the rest of them in this big family. This is lehia, the first born. We might need a graph or a chart because its kind of narrator full siblings, half siblings, quarter siblings once removed that sort of thing. The family was very blended. To me, it implies that its something less and i have never felt that way, i have never used that word. Were just siblings. Narrator one big, close happy family, so said john, the youngest. Its simple for us because we grew up together from the time we were young, so for us, its like were one big family. Narrator not one but two ashleys. Shes ashleys with an e, and shes ashley with a y. I think this is kind of unusual, kind of rare, that everybody gets along. Yeah, everybody gets along, its a good thing. Although when we were kids, it was a lot more crazy to other people. Hi. Narrator and in the middle of this big family, was nailah. Her, because once she decided something, all arguments against were mute. She was sure of herself from really the earliest time. Narrator yes, Nailah Franklin was going somewhere. She was like my hero, i always looked up to her. She always accepted you for who you are. Its like she glowed when she came into a room. Narrator she came to chicago and built a career in pharmaceutical sales. She owned a condo in the heart of the city. I think everything she wanted to be she was. The theme fabulous was the aspiration and she always met that mark. Narrator she always stayed in touch, never failed. Call her, she would call back right away, text her, she would reply instantly, always. She managed to water all of her relationships, she would spend time with everyone, thats a pretty special skill. To manage that and your career. Narrator there were men, of course there were. Though she was shall we say, discertaindis discerning. Professional nice men. She was dating with Plastic Surgeon guy, and this guy and that guy. She took up briefly with a dashing investor with a white bentley. And in july of 2007, she met andre wright. She had a big, beautiful smile, a big beautiful woman, she had a very warm personality and we kind of walked around the space looking at different pieces, talking about my interests, what i was looking for in a piece of art. Search. The art work became of little interest to me at that point. Narrator just like that, it was all over for both of them. I dont want to go all Hallmark Card on you, but this was clearly like a trance indental moment. The family loved andre, who wouldnt wouldnt. He came to my sons Birthday Party and he brought a gift. Because hes a nice, quality person. You started planning on moving in together, right, on being together . We did. And it was happening pretty fast . It felt good though, it just felt natural. It was long distance, he in milwaukee, she in chicago. They stayed connected by phone and email and text all day long. I would call her every narrator and no one seemed to notice any dark force, any unseen thing festering in the heat of that hot late summer, didnt feel the warning, didnt know who said what to whom. It was september 18, a tuesday. That tuesday morning, i thought i had called her on my way to work. But i was interrupted and she called me and said, hey, what happened to my call. I said oh, i thought i had. So we spoke for a bit, exchanged emails later. And then just kind of went about the day. Narrator evening came, he in the flush of love, called again. No answer. Left her a message saying i was heading home and got a text message back from her phone saying she was at a dinner and would reach out later. Wait a minute. You had been calling her every day, talking all the time. Yeah. And she said, im at dinner, ill call you later . Then, 9 00 p. M. , one of the ashleys call nailah, nailah who always picked up the phone for a sister. I texted her and i got something along the lines of im at dinner and ill call you in a few. Was that like her . Its not like her to not answer her phone. I have seen her step out of the shower to answer her phone. I sent her an email, in all caps, are you alive . One of those things half in jest, half knowing. Reporter not only was nailah increasingly hard to get after work. One more ominous sign, three calls to 911 from her cell phone. Background. Thats got to be kind of eerie to hear that . It is. We know what it means to serve. Get an insurance quote and see why 92 of our members plan to stay for life. Pet moments are beautiful, unless you have allergies. Then your eyes may see it differently. Only flonase is approved to relieve both your itchy, watery eyes and congestion. No other nasal allergy spray can say that. Complete allergy relief or incomplete. 1kwergss of protein and no added sugar. So she can watch her calories and where shes going. Light fit feel free to enjoy. Get to kohls Super Saturday this saturday and save on early birds till 1pm. Like 40 to 60 off dresses. Save on sport shirts and knit tops for him. And on all cookware and food prep. Everyone get kohls cash too . Narrator september 19, 2007 dawned in chicago like any other day, hot, the usual, except for one thing, nailah frank in, ambitious, dependable, always on her phone, are silence, even with her new love, andre. I called her that morning, emailed her, called her again early afternoon. Narrator thats when he sent her that all caps email, are you alive . You probably didnt mean it the way it was . Its like to say to someone, are you there . Later in condo, no answer. She got a key, went in. You see her eggs and coffee that she had just left there, im like, you know what . This isnt right. Narrator then lehia got a professional, she snowknows how, shes a Public Relations executive. Your p. I. Experience really kicked in . Yes. Lehias experience told her not to hope too much for medias help for one unfortunate reason. Quite frankly, i dont know of one woman of color that gets the same attention by the media, in general. In fact theres some truth to it. That the good looking young blond, the whole world wants to know about her, stay talking about her for years, a black womans not quite the same deal. There is really got that. It troubles the mind when people of color go missing, or if it didnt fit the narrative of gun violence or Gang Violence or somehow, its not real. Narrator though lehia knew, but lehia was not to be denied. They damned well going to cover it. Well, they were. Narrator maybe this is because of lehias media salve ity savvy. We were in the streets and putting up any place we could, downtown, suburbs. Narrator they phoned and texted and emailed their friends, but no one reported seeingsee ing nailah, no one. Nailahs sisters kept replaying their last conversation. She called me and she said, ive got something to tell you. And before she could tell me, she got a call on the other line. She clicked over and said she would call me back. She didnt call you . She didnt call me back. Persons mind can churn up in the dark, as day one became day two, and then day three. I just kept calling her, i was thinking, shes going to answer, shes going to answer. Theres no handbook about this, you think youre going to wake up and its a dream, but, no, its reel. Detective greg jacobson, who right away scanned nailahs phone records and found something alarming. Just after 10 00 p. M. , the night nailah vanished, her cell phone made three calls to 911. Chicago emergency, may i help you . No voice, no struggles could be heard, no background noise, with the exception of some light music in the background. Thats kind of eerie to hear that. If a person is unable to conversation and just able to dial the nang 911. Narrator so the investigators set about talking to just about everybody nailah knew. There was doctors she had visited to try to retrace her steps and everyone she had encountered. Everyone we knew had a relationship with her. Narrator maybe lehias campaign worked because we had some anonymous tips of people saying they had seen her at this location. Narrator but not a single one of them led to nailah, now detectives knew they were dealing with a serious crime. And yet shes missing, technically, there hasnt been a crime committed. That makes it somewhat awkward when youre looking into it. We looked at the boyfriend she went to see from wisconsin the week before she went missing. Andre was helping in the of it. The perfect boyfriend, now to police, a perfectly obvious person of interest. Reporter coming up, a discovery in an empty parking lot. It was in a pretty secluded area and right adjacent to a lagoon. I watch enough dateline to know thats not a good sign. Reporter but what if anything did it have to do with nailah. When dateline continues. Use your miles to cover the cost. Now youre getting somewhere. Whats in your wallet . Ever since darryls wife started using gain flings, their laundry smells more amazing than ever. sniff honey, isnt that the dogs towel . Hey, mi towel, su towel. More scent plus oxi boost and febreze. Its our best gain ever 3d touch on iphone 6s respondsto the pressure of your finger. So you can do a ton of stuff in a lot less time. Like look at a site without going to it. Or watch a video without opening it. You can do pretty much everything faster. Shooting stuff. Music stuff. Couch shopping. Shoe shopping. Running. Kind of. Checking a flight from an email. Im peeking my flight. Im not peeking my flight. Im peeking my. Wait, i missed my flight. Owl photos. Desert photos. Photos of. Dolphins a highstepping man. Pizza gifs. Its all faster with 3d touch on iphone 6s. 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You know, the world seems so big when youre looking for someone. Chicago, and nailah would be anywhere, tied up in a basement, in the trunk of a car, or worse. Then middle of the night, 20 miles south of town in a place called calumet city, a cop was on routine patrol checking out a golf course parking lot. His name is Calvin Lucius. I was in this area right here, i noticed right in front of me, six perfectly stakt lyly stacked cardboard boxes right in the parking lot. Something stood out, so im like somethings not right here. Narrator inside the boxes, pills, hundreds of them. I was thinking this might be something big, some type of narcotics and drug related case. Except it looked like examples, something a pharmaceutical rep would be handing out to doctors. What were they . Different types of medicines, i cant even pronounce the narrator the label, the address to a storage locker and a name. Nailah. Pretty soon the fib and Chicago Police, everybody was out here looking. Narrator including detective greg jacobson. It was right next to a nature preserve, that was right adjacent to a lagoon. I watch enough dateline to know thats not a good sign. They drudged the lagoon. Narrator back and forth they went, dragging the pond and found one thing. Jewelry hanging from a tree. Nailah wasnt here. But remember sister lehias p. R. There, next town over a person saw a newscast, and theyre like, that cars been on my block for a couple days. And thank god they found that and thank god they cared enough to call it in. Narrator that call came in here, a black chevy impala. We went out there to see it. Narrator it was hers. You opened that trunk, the last thing you want to think is theres something in that trunk. And fortunately there wasnt. Did you find any prints, any dna, anything useful at all . I think ourthe way our technicians described it, it was wiped clean. Narrator determined that she might find her sister, the younger ashley drove out there. Of an abandoned house. I knocked on the door, i banged on the windows, i screamed her name. I didnt want to leave. I had to be taken from that area. Narrator of course the cops canvassed the neighbors, and what do you know . They had even a male loitering around the vehicle. Did they give you a good description . It was an africanamerican. That description may have fit a lot of people in nailahs life. For example her new boyfriend, andre wright. Police had questioned him about their relationship and where he was when she disappeared. They asked when the last time i saw her was, the last time we spoke. Narrator or could that man Milling Around the car have been someone else, her exboyfriend, his name was reginald pops. But before the cops could find him, he stepped up and called he said he wanted to know why the Chicago Police wanted to talking to him. Narrator he agreed to stop by headquarters to talk. He had met her a year earlier, but purely by chance in the street on the ritzy gold coast, she was sophisticated, so was he. They dated on occasion, and realized it wasnt for life. He lives in a very large apartment complex, a highrise. Nice place . Beautiful. In an upscale area. Its where you want to live. Narrator reginald told them everything they wanted to know. Shopping with friends at target, bar hopping with not one, but two lady friends, after that an intimate plan with a third girlfriend. They made plans to meet at reginalds apartment around this guy gets around. If you got a bentley, your options are open. As investigators went out to check Reginald Potts alibi, down in calumet, when a partner notices something. He saw a couple of ear buds hanging from the trees. Bright little babbles hanging there in the dark. What else was there at the edge of the midnight woods. Reporter detectives take a closer look at a man from nailahs past. She felt that there was starting at 12. 99 may all your tomorrows be as delicious as today olive garden mmm. I cant believe it has 40 fewer calories than butter. I cant believe its made with real, simple ingredients. I cant believe. Were on a whale. [whale] i cant believe they talked me into this. I cant believe my role isnt bigger. Real, simple ingredients. Unbelievable taste. Oh its real vo know you have a dedicated advisor and team who understand where you come from. We didnt really have anything, you know. But, we made do. Vo know you can craft an Investment Plan as strong as your values. Al, how you doing. Hey, mr. Hamilton. Vo know that together you can establish a meaningful legacy. With the guidance and support of your dedicated its a grassroots effort by family and friends. Narrator for all the frannic activity, the phone calls, the about, it was a rare quiet time nine days in in Nailah Franklins sister felt it. I knew, i was like, shes not coming back. Narrator and that very night, in the 3 00 a. M. Hush of calumet city, Calvin Lucius made his way from the ear buds his partner found hanging in a tree, behind a derelict video store. I got right around in this area, and just looked over and the body was there. What was that moment like . Shock, you dont know if its her or not, but you have a idea, because its a female body. Narrator they had to resort to dental records to confirm, it was nailah. I think this type of death, it doesnt just kill that person, it kills a lot in the family. Its the absence of a piece of here. I cant describe it, its like you know its happening, but it just feel real. It just feels like youre in, literally like in a nightmare. Narrator an autopsy confirmed the death was by asphyxiation, so now it was homicide, but who was the killer . Not andre. Confirmed he was in milwaukee when nailah vanished. Everything with him checked out. Narrator as for being questioned are you upset by that at all . They should have done that, thats part of their job. Narrator what about Reginald Potts who had been so helpful. Well, this is curious, when investigators went to visit his highrise apartment, they couldnt help but notice one of the doors was extremely damaged, like it had narrator hmm, thats weird. But maybe not so weird. Reginald potts was visited by the Sheriffs Office in order to evict reginald pots. Of course this was 2006, a lot of people were falling behind in their mortgages. But reginalds was deeper than that. He was constantly in default. He had not a pot or pan in the kitchen, but what he believed were important items to surround himself with, cars, clothing, high end restaurants. There for show. Narrator the bentley it turned out belonged to somebody else. And his hookups and a wife who was raising his children and another. It didnt take nailah long to figure it out. She knew something was off about him, so she decided to look a little deeper. Narrator so she ended it, and as she did, she warned whomever she could about reginald, even one of his other girlfriends. Watch out for this guy, hes bad news, and hes cheating on you . Yeah, they were in communication about reginald. Nailah told andre that when reginald found out, he wasnt happy. He got wind of that and reached out to nailah in a threatening manner. Narrator sent her nasty emails and voicemails. Did you worry about that a lot . She didnt exhibit any worries to me about it. Narrator but she must have been worried. Detectives found a report that nailah had called a Nonemergency Police phone number, asked about filing an order of protection against a threatening exboyfriend. So, yes, reginald pots was a murder suspect. But he wasnt exactly hiding from the police. Remember, he had given them a very detailed alibi to check out. He was pretty specific on where hes at. Narrator and as the weeks went by, he seemed quite eager to help. He continuously called me on my cell phone. Really . Called you to tell you what . Trying to direct the investigation, why havent we talked to you eke echols. They were at a target store shopping. Narrator and sure enough, mr. Echols confirmed his account, there they are on security cameras at the target store, which would seem to exclude potts as a suspect if he was shopping, not killing and if youre going to commit a crime, do not do it at target, theyre going to have everything from the sign to every transaction on the keypad very clear. Although he managed to avoid every camera on the store, or his frchbd lied to him. He admitted that not only reginald wasnt at the target, but he got a phone call from Reginald Potts and traveled to hammond in order to pick him up because he needed a ride. Hammond, indiana, where nailahs car was found. On september 16, 2007, reginald pots was arrested for the murder of Nailah Franklin. But reginald, quite vehemently denied kill herring. 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I had mantadamantly deny that i was anywhere near her the day she disappeared. Narrator he was nowhere near her when she vanished. I was nowhere near her. Narrator of course they told them they had evidence. I have video of your bentley in the parking garage of your building. I can tell you for sure thats a lie. Narrator a police frameup to which the detectives said you understand that video cameras are everywhere . Nailahs apartment building, and there is reginald, plain as day with nailah, arriving and leaving with her on that very day she disappeared. So you knew he was there . Yes. Narrator but reginald, doubled down on hiss denials. I am certain that i am nowhere near inside of Nailah Franklins apartment. Narrator accused the police of fabricating evidence. I guarantee you you dont have video of me getting off the elevator at Nailah Franklins house, if you do, youre very good at photo shop. Narrator he never expressed any desire for an attorney, but a lineup so that witnesses could the states attorney is representing the people in registering the case, i would not feel comfortable at all, at all. So they waited for reginalds attorney to arrive. And then, it got odd. Your attorneys right there. Why are you taking your clothes off . Your attorneys right here, we want to take him for a lineup right now. You can step in the other room. Reginald removed all of his clothing and refused to stand in the lineup. Thats an interesting tactic. Yes. Have you ever seen that before . No. Narrator so no lineup, but they charged him anyway with capital murder. Nailah by then had been dead three months. I was definitely relieved, i was kind of surprised that it took so long. Narrator relieved too that Reginald Potts as was his right, demanded a speedy trial, but then Reginald Potts used every resource at hiss disposal to delay the process. Narrator nbc chicagos charlie husky watched in amazent as reginald turns speedy justice into Something Else all together. He hired lawyers, he fired lawyers, he tried to act as his own attorney. At each step of the trial, the trial had to be reset. In the fourth half of the year, indiana had apolished capital punishment, so that was off the table. Still reginalds actions forced delays. Just as nailahs family had reached out to the media, Reginald Potts tried to launch a p. R. Campaign from behind bars. To convince me that there may besome way that he was not associated with this crime, that it might be associated with someone else. Narrator every delay, every manipulation was slow torture. I very much believe that everyone should have a fair and just trial and that too often people who are poor or people of color do not or most often, they dont get proper representation, and they dont get a fair shake in our court system. But this was not that. Narrator and then finally, on october 28, 2015, on a crisp, fall day in chicago, the trial of Reginald Potts began, it had taken eight years to get here. When it was finally happening, we were confused about how things would go down. Finally a trial, what type of experience is this going to be . How could they . Assistant state attorneys Maria Mccarthy and fabio value leanentini were the district attorneys in the crime. Narrator and not many cases with a defendant quite like Reginald Potts. Reporter coming up, an accused killers defense. Hes smarter than the average criminal, but not as smart as he thinks he is. Reporter then after eight years, a verdict. What really tormented me all these years is that theres a be done. Get to kohls Super Saturday this saturday and save on early birds till 1pm. Like 40 to 60 off dresses. Save on sport shirts and knit tops for him. And on all cookware and food prep. Everyone get kohls cash too this saturday only at kohls. 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Theres never been a better time to rethink your hep c because people like you may benefit from scientific advances that could help cure your hep c. Visit hepchope. Com or call a hep c educator to help prepare you the video at the target store that did not show him and thus blew up his alibi. Nailahs friends testified she showed them emails and played a voicemail in which he threatened her. Nailah played that voicemail for them because she was so terrified and essentially, in that voicemail, he said, nailah, im going to have you erased, im going to make you disappear. Narrator in fact said the prosecutors, thats exactly what he did. Snuck into her building, led her terrified to the garage, strangled her and stuffed her into her own car. How did they find out where . Cell phone towers, linked shes not calling anybody, shes not answering calls, her texts are all odd. But her phone and his phone were together, lock step, the entire rest of the day. Narrator right to the abandoned video store behind where they found nailahs body. No coincidence that he chose that particular spot so far from chicago, said the prosecutor. We find out that the video store next door is owned by potts brotherinlaw. Narrator he said yes, he did lie for reginald, but he didnt know it was to cover up a murder. Remember those odd, mails and texts her boyfriend and sister received . It was potts, using her phone, hours after he murdered her, said the prosecution, a clever attempt to throw off a missing persons investigation. Hes smarter than the average criminal, but not as smart as he narrator but Reginald Potts is nothing if not strategic. Defense attorneys need to create reasonable doubt. So in this case it was very hard to determine cause of death. Its Little Things like that in the hopes that one juror or two jurors will latch on to that and say i cant convict. Narrator they even disputed the cell phone evidence the prosecution believed sinced the case. The idea that you can learn the location of a cell phone by the pings on a cell phone tower is flawed. Did reginalds art persuade them, two hours and 15 minutes after they began, the jury answered no. They pronounced Reginald Potts guilty of firstdegree murder. Whew. I was so relieved. Now is the next thing. Narrator the next thing was sentencing, nearly four months later. Still waiting and hoping he doesnt get four years or something stupid like that. Narrator but again, they had no idea. What was this man all about . There was a hearing to help the judge make a decision about sentence, normally just arguments, recommendations from both sides. But not this time. The prosecution called 35 witnesses to tell the judge a hair raising story about Reginald Potts. Reginald was not quite the gold plated Success Story he appeared to be. He lived a live of a lot of smoke and mirrors. He was a con man who conned a lot of people. Narrator and when the con man was challenged, even Law Enforcement was a target. He said he would kill my family, my family would never be safe. Mr. Potts in the face. Narrator he has a long record in prison where he struck guards. All of that was too prejudicial to present at trial, but now absolutely relevant. He took her back by the elevator and i heard slap. This guy has been a menace his entire adult life. And when a woman stood up to him. Witness after witness testified that reginald betrayed them, by bullied them or worse. This guy not only had a propensity to hurt women, but he had a propensity to choke them and kill them. If he tells you what time it is, look at your watch. That bad, huh . The guys a monster. Narrator a monster, who sophisticated, successful nailah, to her mothers eternal sorrow. You dont know who youre letting into your life. They dont always come looking like a monster. Narrator there was a kind of ceremony about these things, everyone gets to talk. Nailahs murder is stole from our community of bright light. I can still hear her moaning and screaming, calling out, begging for her life. Narrator but reginald cried, denied everything. The jury of my peers came back with a verdict that i believe is false and i believe is invalid, and i believe a court of appeals will overturn it. But right now this court has to honor what they said and impose sentence, but i tell you i am not the person that ms. Mccarthy has tried to paint in this courtroom. Im not a monster. Im not a monster. A judge would buy reginalds story, or the prosecutors. And here it was. You are a cold, calculating, conniving, coward of a conman who must be punished. Narrator and indeed he was, life without parole. Take him away. Narrator so that was justice, the most nailahs family could hope for. Terribly important. And strangely, empty. Its still not done. Shes still not back. We still cant talk with her. Narrator no, they try to remember nailah, not as a murder victim, but as the beautiful young woman she was, the vibrant center of her family. But grief, real and painful, comes to visit every day. You know, people say, oh, well shes your spirit and shes your angel and shes in a better im like yeah, but i want her here, i dont want my 28yearold sister to be my angel, i want her to be right here in the thick of it with me. Reporter thats all for this edition of dateline. Well see you tomorrow for at 8 00 for the dateline saturday night mysteries. Im lester holt, for all of us at nbc news, good night. Cmpd is investigating the circumstances after one person was shot near Plaza Midwood police say the we begin the 11 clock news with breaking news. Cmpd tells us theyre investigating circumstances after one person was shot. This happened near Plaza Midwood. Police say the victim ended up at the shell on east way drive with a gunshot wound to the leg. Police officers are searching hoodies and camo pants. Well of course continue to follow this and bring you any updates over the next halfhour. All right. Over a week of above average temperatures, change moving forward for the weekend. Hello, everybody and thanks for staying up late, im bill mcginty. And im beth trout. A front is coming in, tracking some rain, and even some snow. Our meteorologist, brad is tracking it all for us, brad . Just in time for the weekend, weve got these big changes. Heres the good news, its not going to rain the entire like it. Weve already got the high southwest. You see the showers in parts of alabama, the florida panhandle, weve got a dry air mass in place and that moisture will fall into the air and some of the rain will evaporate, causing