But first, the nightline 5. Good evening. Thanks for joining us. One teenager admits to taking part in a gruesome murder, landing him in jail for theheest of his life. Now his lawyers are saying that his confession was coerced. D. Its the lynchpin in Brendan Dasseys controversial case. Tonight my nightline coanchor dan harris investigates. Come on, brendan, be honest. You can do it. Just tell us the truth. I graraed her arm, put it on the side, and tied her up. Reporter are we looking at a killer reluctantly unspoolg the details of his crime . Then we shot her. Why dont you draw what the blood stains looked like . At a confused intellectually challenged teenager being manipulated into falsely confessing . The case of Brendan Dassey has leapt into the National Consciousness as a result of the nelix documentary Series Making a murderer. They got to my head. Eporter this controversial confession tape was the centerpiece of dasseys trial. Hes been in prison now for nearly ten years, convicted of raping and murdering teresa halback. But he and his family have maintained his innocence. They intntrogated him and made him say what they wanted to hear. Reporter dassey now has a new legal team and theyve filed a new federal appeal based in large measure on the argument that dasseys confession was coerced. So we went out to explore these questions. If dassey didnt commit thehe crime, why would he confess . And if this videotape really shows dassey falsely confessing, what made the jury convict . First stop wee going to lauras office. Of dasseys lead attorneys and fiercest defenders. Come on, buddy. Lets get this out. Okay . What you have here are Police Officers who are using psychological interrogation tactics that were designed for seasoned adult criminals on a 16yearold with intellectual limitations. Reporter the interrogators arent banging the table. Theyre not threatening him. Does it fit into the sort of classic model of coercive interrogations . Absolutely it does. Reporter at the time of his arrest Brendan Dassey was a High School Sophomore in manitowoc county, wisconsin. He had a low i. Q. And was enrolled in several special ed classes. He lived on the familys salvage yard right next to his uncle steven. Im free. Reporter whod been released from prison after serving 18 years for a rape he didnt commit. Im just glad youre home, honey. Reporter but then avery was arrested and charged with the murder of teresa halbach. Dwroent you have have a seat, later brendan was brought in for questioning. Cut her. Cut her where . On her throat. It appeared hard to argue that it was coerced. Reporter Len Kachinsky was one of dasseys original Court Appointed attorneys. He says when he watched the confession tape he became convinced there was no way a jury would believe dassey was innocent. Kachinsky did try toet dasseys confession thrown out. The defendants motion to suppress these statements is denied. What are your thoughts after today . Well, were disappointed in in start over. Reporter so kachinsky steered dassey to cut a plea deal. He even set up another interview with his client and the police. You and steve had this planned . Yeah . Yes or no . Ah. Reporter an interview kachinsky actually skipped because he says h had army reserve duty. How on earth could you opt out of that . With 2020 hindsight, yead, it was a mistake. Reporter for his failure to why dont you sign that . Reporter the judge removed kachinsky from dasseys case. Do you have a clear conscience . Yes, i do. I did what i thought was in dasseys best interests. I dont think those mistakes had any impact at all on the verdict in dasseys case. Reporter several months later dassey went to trial with different attorneys, and his confession dominated the proceedings. Your job at the end of this case will decide whether that statement ought to be belilied. When you watch the videos carefully, theyll be exposed for what they are. And i think theyre just garbage. Reporter dassey himsese took the stand. You made it up. Yeah. Reporter sticking to his story even under tough crossexamination. And you lied to the police. Yes. Are you lying youre lying today . No. Reporter the prosecutor at confident assertion. People who are innocent dont confess. The defendant confessed because he was guilty. Because he did it. R rorter but the fact is innocent people do confnfs. Leading defense experts on interrogation tactics. He worked on the infamous case of the central park five. I grabbed her arm. Grabbed one arm and her legs and stuff. Reporter five teenagers who confessed in gruesome detail to attacking and ring a 28yeaeaold woman in the spring of 1989. He would smack her and say shutp. Kept smacking. Reporter but these confessions were all false. They came to believe that they would only be able to minimize their punishment if they cooperated with the police. Reporter turns out 1 out of 4 people wrongfully convicted and later exonerated by dna evidence have made a false confession or incriminating statement. So when you look at Brendan Dasseys confession, what do you see in. I see something that almost makes one ashamed to be an american. Its that bad. They get him to say anything that they want him to y. I dont feel if i was faced did not commit that i would confess to it. What wld you do . I would say give me a lawyer. And thats the difference. Those are the people i never see. The ones i see tend to think ive got to get myself out of this. And probably your income is a bit higher than the average person. Reporter if she can get her client a new trial, Laura Nirider hopes to demonstrate how she says the interrogators railroaded dassey. We just need to see the w wle story from you. They reduce him over time to a place where heoesnt think that he can convince these officers of his innocence. D when hes at that position of hopelessness, then the officers offer him a way out. Your mom said youd be honest with us. Shes behind you 100 no matter what happens here. Thats what she said. Because she thinks you know more too. Were in your corner. And what you see is brendan beben to believe the officers and think, okay, i have to say these things that they want me to say. Breaks down and confesses any nirider says by her analysis he offers no information that was not already widely reported in theemedia. The 25yearold photographer disappeared last halloween. Was last seen takinin pictures at the avery salvage yard. Reporter or directly fed to him by investigators. All right. Im just going to come out and k you. Who shot her in the head . He did. Why didnt you tell us that . Because i couldnt think of it. Ny fair reading of that sequence is that brendan is guessing in an attpt to placate his interrogators. Reporter we reached out to the detectives in this video for comment, but our efforts were not succsful. Even now that i understand that false confessions are a real problem in our justice system, when it comes to the case of brdan dassey there are still so many open questions. If heidnt do it, is it just a total coincidence that he was at a bonfire that night with his uncle and in that bonfire theh found the remains of a murder victim . Look, wat happened that night is exactly what brendan the family had bonfires all the time to bprn their garbage. Same thing with cleaning up the garage with his uncle. Again, this was an auto salvage yard. People were constantly tinkering around with cars and having to clean up after the fact. Reporter even though two lower courts have already denied his appeal, Brendan Dassey sits in prison tonight holding out hope that a federal judge wl answer his prayers. I wish i could have a family someday. Reporter toward the end of m king a murderer he can be heard reading a letter with an emotional plea. I am innocent of the rape and murder of teresa halbach. Please help me if you can. Sincerely, Brendan Dassey. So do you think Brendan Dasseys confession was coerced . Head to the Nightline Facebook page to weigh in. And next wee with the men attacking isis from the air. On board an Aircraft Carrier with massive firepower. The results o couldntstonights heated primary contests. Republican donald trump once again trouncing his rivals. Projected to win in michigan. Although a strong showing from senator ted cruz and Governor John Kasich in that state. Trump is also projected to win in mississippi. Moving west keeping the pressure on trump. Cruz projecting a win in idaho. And on the democratic side a split decision. Abc projects Hillary Clinton will win handily in mississippi but an upset in michigan. Abc now projecting Bernie Sanders will win by a narrow margin in the rust belt state. Of course trump, the nights biggest winner, sizing up his victories with his trademark bravado. The bottom line is we have something going thats so good. We should grab each other and we should unify the party. And nobodys going to beat us. Okay . Man. Woman. Or where youre from. City. Country. Were just everyday people fighting high blood sugar. I am everyday people, yea, yea. Along with diet and exercise, farxiga helps lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. One pill a day helps lower your a1c. And, although its not a weightloss or bloodpressure drug, farxiga may help you lose weight and may even lower systolic Blood Pressure when used with metformin. Do not take if allergic to farxiga or its ingredients. 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You can worry about them. mom honey, are you ok . child im ok. announcer vo love. mom were ok. To land a fighter jet on a moving ship in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night . Were with thed countrys top Fighter Pilots risking their lives in the campaignto wipe out isis. Abcs chief Global Affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz gives us a rare look aboard the massive mother ship that these aces call home. Do you have any rituals before you go out in. I go to the bathroom, say a srayer. Reporter Lieutenant Commander john hilts, call sign johnny kittens, is calm on the surfe, but he is about to be hurtled off an Aircraft Carrier to attack isis. Lieutenant charles wickware, call sign wingnut, has his camera rolling as he embarks on this risky mission, flyg in the dead of night over enemy territory, crossing iraq into syria through a gatheri storm. Whatever you can do to avoid some of the weather. Reporter we joined the harry s. Truman, deployed to the persian gulf, the truman is home to more than 5,000 sailors and a jawdropping amount of military might. This is what they call the bb farm. Hundreds of precision guided weapons, millions and millions of dollars worth of ordnance ready to be loaded onto the aircraft. Landing on a moving target the length of a football field is a delicate maneuver. But to the pilots its routine. Lets be brilliant at the basics tonight. This is a pretty Standard Mission for us. We should be able to execute it flawlessly. Let me start with you, Lieutenant Commander, because you outrank him, you know, so we should do that. Im taller too. Not by much and not by much. Reporter the duo jokes, but they are some of the navys best pilots. Wickware has been in the navy 11 years. Growing up in hawaii, he started flying gliders when he was just 14. John hilts played basketball for navy, where he would be chosen for the elite blue angels demonstration team. It takes a crew of 5,000 to get hilts and wickware in the air on a ship 20 stories high with miles of passageways. Life below the deck is bustling. The ships barber shop doles out 20,000 haircuts and trims per year. And the kitchen dishes up 18,000 meals to the hungry crew each day. They worship on board as well. Everything from voodoo to Roman Catholic services, an anglican services, anything you can imagine we have. Wait a minute. Voodoo . Thats true. Reporter these creature comforts are true on a ship that launches or lands an aircraft every 60 t 90 seconds when Flight Operations are under wa it is the rainbow warriors who make it happen, the maintainers recovery, and the red bombs. A lot of ordnance has been dropped. A lot more than my last three cruises combined. Reporter all that teamwork leads to this. Lieutenant commander hilts leads a detailed mission brief where we were allowed to hear exact what the night would hold. Were going after that Oil Infrastructure in syria. There will also be some thunderstorms that may impact tanking and then possibly into the execution. Weve got a 30minute window to execute. Reporter the pilots head for their jets just as thehe sun goes down. Most naval aviators will say i do this job for freeuring the day but you have to pay me to do it at night. Youve been in afghanistan and iraq before. Is it different going after this kind of enemy . I think it is. You dont have as many eyes on the ground to develop those targets. Have a safe flight. Reporter the mission is a go. Lieutenant wickware gives a sign and hes off. Catapulted from 0 to 160 miles an hour in seconds. Thats one element where youre almost c cpletely out of control. Those few seconds as it accelerates you down that catapult stroke. If its night sometimes you have no stars no, horizon, youre launched right into darkness. Reporter that target an oil pipeline in a remote area of eastern syria. An effort to cripple isiss financial resources. But before they hit their target the jets must refuel, midair. Connecting with a tanker to gas up. You are left side joining. Reporter the pilots guiding their probe into the tankers basket. Youre over hostile territory running out of gas. So you need to get that gas. And if you dont, then we cant complete our mission. Whatever you can do to avoid some of the weather would be great. Reporter an intense storm develops. Lighthing strikes illuminate wickwares nightvision. Three, two, one. Tickle. Reporter the twopilots hit the target with a quick, intenge flare. But the mission is not over ye we still have to come back and land on a moving Aircraft Carriereck at night. Really nobody else around the world operates at night the way Americas Navy does. Expect the approach. It is an intse rush. At nighttime your eyes can play all sorts of tricks on you in the dark. Final bearings. While youre doing it you dont realize how amped up you are. Your bodys flooded with adrenaline. Reporter we met up with the pilots seconds after lanng safely on deck again. It was not exactly routine. We had to climb above a thunderstorm and then to employ wewead to drop down below it. But we got the results we wanted. Reporter but as the military moves closer to trying to help take back major cities under isis control, the danger will only increase. Theres risks that are inherently placed on us throughout the world. Repepter for nightline im Martha Raddatz on the uss truman. Up next, shes the glamorous wife of republilin frontrunner donald trump. Tonight, a look back into melanias world in slovenia. Shopping for an suv . Well, this is the time. And your ford dealer is the place, to get 0 financing for 60 months on a ford suv. Thats right. Just announced. Ford explorer. Edge. Escape. And expedition. Are available with 0 financing for 60 months. Ford suvs. Designed to help you be unstoppable. No wonder ford is americas best selling brand. But hurry, 0 financing for 60 months on ford suvs is a limited time offer. See your ford dealer today. Moderate to severe Crohns Disease is tough, but ive managed. And when i finally told my doctor, he said humira is for adults like me who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe Crohns Disease. And that in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. And many achieved remission. Humira can lower your ability to fight infection including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Fore treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are pne to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Donstart humira if you have an infection. Ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, remission is possible. What backache . What sore wrist . Advil makes pain a distant memory. Nothing works faster stronger or longer what from a small town in slovenia to ritzy fifth avenue, melania trumps next residence may even be the white house. So did the man who says hes her hometown ex see it coming . On the banks of the sava river, sevnica, slovenia, a modest factory town that boasts one very famous export. Melania trump. Two words. Grace kelly. She was like an nngel. Reporter before the paparazzi and that very public marriage, she was Melania Knauss and this was her home. We met for the first time. Reporter before the donald there was the jure, who says hes melanias exboyfriend. She was never a typical slovenian girl. Reporter from sevnica to manhattan to perhaps next t white house. A lofty end to quite the fairy tale. You can watch much more of cs digital shorts like this one by downloading the abc news app. Thks for watching tonight. Tune in to gma for a full wrapup of Election Results in the morning. And as always, werenline 24 7 on our Nightline Facebook page good night, america. Live, the one and only local 10 news starts right now. Oh what a night this is turning out to be. It is wiwior go home, if he wants to concur hillary clintotos lead tonight. And donald trump is on top with two more wins. Lets get right to the numbers. First the republicans, trump the state of michigan tonight he also won mississippi the second largest at stake in tonights raise into idaho those polls just closed those results should be coming in any moment, in hawaii, republican caucuses are being held tonight, so keep in mind hawaii is about five hours behind our time zone so will it be a while until we get those results. On the democratic side, the results in michigan this is turning into a dramatic race. Sanders and clinton are in a very tight contest here. More than 80 nearly 90 of the preintercepts reported right here, Bernie Sanders up 51 , to 47 at this hour, once again, still otoo close to call. And in mississippi here, clinton skidded to a very clear victory there, in fact, it was a landslide in the magnolia state. You can can see that clinton is getting 83 of the vote. We have Team Coverage on the candidates in south florida tonight, carlos swarez with the trump campaign. And we begin with andrew perez in downtown miami, where moments ago sanders held an unexpected press conference, andrew . Sanders already had a very busy night, we heard from him earlier. We werent expecting toking hear from him again until tomorrow. Within just the last hour i would say, his campaign started putting together another podium, another set, getting ready for an unexpected speech in front of his hotel all the way down in h kenned can call. He has been neck and neck as you mentioned with Hillary Clinton all night, s still is, in the