Transcripts For WRC Dateline NBC 20160425

Her body had kind of been propped up onto the bed. Even law enforcement, they thought, what do we have on our hands here . Theres growing danger because police are looking in the wrong place. I lived to tell, and then nobody believed me. This monster is walking free while theyre wasting their time on me. Reporter can the killer be caught before he kills again . It makes you realize how fragile your life is, you know, and that anybody can take it. Reporter im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres Andrea Canning with the face of evil. Reporter looking back now, this woman almost didnt make it. I said, if you keep doing this youre going to kill me. And he just said, do you think i actually care about that . Is that when you feel like youre looking in the face of evil . I knew then completely in that moment that he intended on killing me. Reporter little did she know that in this college town, she wasnt the only one. He said that he would go to jail for murder before hed ever go to jail for rape. What is going through your mind . I wish i had told all the people that i loved, you know, that i loved them. Reporter but was their private horror connected to a very public mystery . Everyones saying, what is going on in this community . It just had people asking whats going to happen next. Reporter more women connected by tragedy and by questions. Could a killer have been stopped sooner . I was so angry that two people had to die in order for someone to believe me. Reporter the story begins in a small texas town. But its not just any town. This is College Station, home to texas a m. And in 1999, the home to 21yearold student, jamie hart. I was immediately struck with her beauty. Reporter chuck crews was her boyfriend at the time. He says jamie was the light of his life. He remembers when he first laid eyes on her. I could barely speak when i saw her, she was so pretty. It was like when the color came on in the wizard of oz. I i had been living in a dark world and she showed me a world full of color. Reporter and she was a loyal friend, funny, outspoken. She would tell you exactly what was on her mind at all times. Reporter it was early one morning in may. Jamies roommates couldnt find her. They called chuck. I got a call asking me if i knew where she was. And i said, no, she didnt come over here last night. I i dont know where she is. I hadnt talked to her the night before. And i went to work. Reporter that same morning, detective kenny elliot of the Brazos County Sheriffs Office was summoned to the scene of a disturbing discovery. There was a young female, appeared to be in her early 20s. She was nude. She had extensive road rash on her entire body. And she was obviously deceased. Reporter a jogger spotted the victim in a ditch, nine feet from the side of the road. When i arrived, there was probably half dozen officers here and they taped off the area, blocked traffic, and at that point we started conducting a search of the area. We figured that she had been sexually assaulted and dumped here. Reporter less than a mile away, deputies discovered what was presumed to be the womans clothing strewn across the entrance to an oil field. Another nine miles from there, an abandoned vehicle, its engine still running. There was blood on the car, and that raised suspicion. We sent a team over there to process the car. Reporter and inside the car, a drivers license that belonged to jamie hart. When detectives showed up at chucks workplace that afternoon, he says his heart sank. There was this building sense that something was wrong. And the appearance of Police Officers is never a good sign. Had been found dead, it felt like i had been hit by the truck. Wow. So your sense of dread was coming true . Yep. Realized, fully realized. Did fear spread throughout the campus . Oh yes. I mean, it was front page news. Reporter Kristin Lancaster was a 19yearold freshman. My brother actually worked with jamie at the time. Ill never forget him coming home devastated. A killer in a college town is terri terrifying. Very much so, yes. This is something that happens in chicago. It something that happens in houston. Its not something that happens in Bryan College station in aggieland. Reporter kelly brown is the editor of the eagle, the local newspaper. I think at the time, people were hoping this is a drifter that just kept on kept on going, because the location of her body reporter sheriffs deputies canvassed the crime scene, searched jamies car and looked for eyewitnesses. Talked to several hundred people, and no ones seen anything. Reporter turns out, there were no fingerprints inside the car. But during an autopsy, the medical examiner did recover dna from jamies body. Dna which likely came from her rapist and killer. Did you put the dna into a database . We put it in codus. Any hits . None. Reporter no eyewitnesses, no fingerprints, no dna matches. The investigation wasnt off to a good start. And thats when we started contacting people at her place of employment. Friends, roommates. Did she have any enemies . Everybody seemed to love her. Reporter detective elliott began to retrace jamies steps on the night of the murder. Jamie was taking time off from her studies at texas a m, and was working at a pizza parlor. Her shift had ended around midnight. We contacted everybody on that she delivered pizzas to, and nothing out of the ordinary. Reporter after work, shed headed over to a friends house. He said they were there watching movies, and she left his house around 4 30 in the morning. What what time did you think that she was killed . We got the call, i think, at 7 15 a. M. , so between 4 30 a. M. And 7 00. Reporter the male friend, a college student, was the last known person to see jamie alive. The detective paid him a visit. He was upset, obviously. They were friends, and had been for some time. Reporter the friends grief seemed genuine, but something was peculiar when investigators asked for a dna sample. He said no. No . And of course we wanted to know why. Was he the killer, or was he not . Reporter the detective was determined to answer that question, so he put the young man under swainsz, followed him to a local restaurant. And are you hidden somewhere in the restaurant . Im kind of back in a corner, yeah. Reporter he watched the student have a few drinks, and when he left, the detective snagged the dirty beer mugs and sent them ou the results would take weeks, leaving a town full of young people on edge. Dads and moms were telling their college aged kids, be alert everywhere you go. You know, go with people when you go out. Dont be alone. And thats a frightening order to give anybody. Reporter frightening but sound advice, because in this case, connecting the dots wouldnt be so easy. Detectives have a second possible suspect in their sigtsz. Jamies boyfriend is invited to sit down for a polygraph test. When we returnzploorb failed the test. Thats a bad sign for you, right . Bad sign for him. Every time the toilet gets cleaned, someones there to undo it. Break the cycle by starting with the superior clean of lysol power toilet bowl cleaner. D then add the lysol click gel, so the toilet can stay fresh, flush, after flush, after flush. For a toilet that gets clean, then actually stays that way. Lysol that. New pantene expert gives you the most beautiful hair ever, you wanna see something intense . With our strongest prov formula ever. Strong is beautiful. I think we shouldve taken a tarzan know where tarzan go tarzan does not know where tarzan go. Hey, excuse me, do you know where the waterfall is . Waterfall . No, me tarzan, king of jungle. 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I i all i could think about was loss, that shes gone from my life forever. Reporter jamies boyfriend, chuck cruz, then 24, says right after the murder, he took off to baytown, texas, jamies hometown. About the only thing i remember her father asking me is, when are you coming down . [ sighs ] so i got some stuff together and drove down as soon as i could. And i spent most of the next week with them mourning with pallbearer for her funeral. Reporter back in College Station, detective Kenny Elliott was working the case. Anytime you have a killer out on the run, its frustrating. You want to catch the person responsible. Reporter one possible suspect, that male friend, jamie visited the night of her murder. Hed refused to give police a dna sample for testing. Thats kind of odd, if he had nothing to hide. A lot of people will not give up dna. Too much tv. Reporter but the detective had snagged a sample from a beer mug and when the dna finally came back, he was not a match. You felt confident that you could rule him out, based on yes. Yes. The dna not matching . Yes. Reporter but even before the dna test cleared jamies friend, the detective was already looking for other suspects. And his attention quickly landed on someone very close to the victim, her boyfriend. The questions that they d asked focused on where was i the night before, what had i been doing . Looking at you as a possible suspect . It didnt really occur to me that that was what they were doing. I just thought they were asking for information. Reporter chuck told the detective that before jamie was killed he hadnt seen her for two days. On the night of murder, he said he was at home. I was playing Computer Games like a good nerd. Did you have anyone there to corroborate your alibi . I think my roommates were there but they were both asleep. I had nobody right there, sitting there with me. Reporter so the boyfriends alibi wasnt solid, and as they spoke the detective was looking carefully for signs he might be hiding something. He was cooperative, apprehensive. He said everything was fine in their relationship. Reporter the detective asked chuck for dna and he said yes. And when they asked m but heres the thing with that last part, the polygraph. He failed the test. Thats a bad sign for you, right . Also bad sign for him. Yes. Doesnt tell you that hes guilty. But he was a very strong person of interest. Reporter and whats more, the detective had been speaking with jamies friends who said the relationship wasnt fine. In fact, the couple had a fight and were on the verge of a breakup. All of which just led to more questions. Basically, he went over every aspect of the relationship, just questioned him on his whereabouts, tried to get him to confess. Reporter and if a failed polygraph wasnt suspicious enough, then listen to what the detective says chuck told him next. He said he had done some bad things, and wouldnt tell us what. Did you look him in the eyes say, is one of those bad things killing jamie hart . I did. He denied it. At that point in time, i really thought he could be o think he was the killer, how does he react to that . Hes very nervous. He just acted like as if he was guilty. Reporter chuck was free to go but as authorities waited for his dna to be processed, the detective developed a theory of the crime that made sense to him. He was in love with her. He didnt want to lose her. And they were having some issues in their relationship. Reporter so the boyfriend, a likely suspect, was in the cross hairs. But when the dna results came back the dna was not a match. So were you able to rule out chuck cruz, then, once you got that dna checked . I didnt rule him out completely, no. That was enough for you with the with the friend, who she was with the night before. You ruled him out, after you got the dna, correct . I did. The other guy wasnt her boyfriend. He hadnt flunked polygraphs. He wasnt in a bad relationship with her. Chuck was. Reporter but they didnt arrest chuck, mont w authorities seized his computer, searched his car. All the while chuck was saying they were looking at the wrong guy. Theres a lot of people that wont confess to a murder for obvious reasons. And at that point, he was a person of strong person of interest, but i still didnt know if he was my killer, so we continued to search. Reporter the investigation dragged on, life for the students on campus began to go back to normal. Parties every weekend. But when police were called to the scene of one house party, it wasnt becasue of noise or underage drinking. Another woman was in a fight for her life. Coming up, a student at party ends up a prisoner in a strangers apartment. I screamed, as loud as i can, and then immediately he grabs reporter when chuck crews girlfriend was murdered, he was immediately a strong person of interest. They said that you were acting nervounervous, that you like you had something to hide. They interpreted all these things as signs of my guilt rather than a distraught boyfriend. At the time i had long hair and this was a cowboy town. That was considered to be weird and unusual. Reporter as for those bad things he told the detective hed done, he explained to us he was referring to a petty argument theyd had just days before jamies murder and the guilt he felt from not being with her the night she died. Do you remember what you were arguing about . A loaf of bread. The grocery sacker had put a cantaloupe on a loaf of bread. And she was upset that the sacker had squished the bread. And i told her it wasnt that big of a deal. And we had picked our sides and we argued about something as stupid as a loaf of bread. Could hardly grieve with police breathing down his neck. Whats it like waking up every morning and knowing that youre under a cloud of suspicion . Incredibly depressing. Reporter he left College Station. Moved home to be with his family near dallas, who spent money to hire a defense attorney. The biggest thing that was going through my mind the whole time was that i didnt do it, they dont know who did it, and the guy who did it is out Walking Around and likely to prey on more victims. This monster is walking free while theyre wasting their time on me. Reporter kelly brown of the eagle newspaper was writing front page stories about the unsolved crime in the college town. And it really shook the community because this is this an area that isnt used to seeing this type of crime. Reporter and kelly was hearing talk that the police had a suspect. But there was no arrest and that thats what kept everybody saying, well, then, ok was it, you know, someone thats still out there . Is he going to strike again . Reporter it was scary of course, and students like Kristin Lancaster followed the investigation. Did people change their behavior patterns because of this crime . To a certain degree, but i think it was shortlived. I, mean people went back to their classes and their business, yeah. You start rationalizing that maybe, you know, she trusted the wrong person. This doesnt happen to you . Exactly, yeah. Reporter and then it was late october, half a year since the murder of jamie hart. Kristin didnt know it yet, but she was about to become part of a chain of events that only deepened the mystery. I think maybe i went to classes that day. Im not exactly sure. I know that the evening time rolled around, i think was it a friday . Reporter a friend invited kristin to a party. And she said, you know, im having a little get together at my house. Why dont you come by . Reporter kristin drove over to the apartment complex in bryan, texas. Thats the town next to college st the door is open. Theres a few people inside. Theres some music playing and people having some drinks. She struck up a conversation with her friends upstairs neighbor. He was 24, hadnt been to college but mixed in easily with the students. Was he kind of a likeable guy . He seemed, yeah, very likeable. Yeah, he was very approachable. Seemed very nice. Reporter in fact, he had no problem sharing intimate details with kristin about his personal life. He had been married and and somehow the conversation, you know, goes into him telling me how he had found god. I made a lot of mistakes. I wasnt a great husband. Yeah, you guys yeah, you guys got into quite the the personal conversation for having just met. Well, i was young, and i think that was normal, and he was drunk. Reporter not long after the party started, it abruptly ended. Kristins friend hosting the party got into a fight with her boyfriend. And they, you know, there was alcohol involved, and so it was and worried that it would get out of hand. Reporter everyone left. But not kristin. She was concerned about her friend and stuck around talking to the upstairs neighbor. So, you were feeling protective . Yeah. He said to me, you know, are you you know, youre worried about your friend . I said yes i am. And he said, we can go to my apartment so you can be close to a phone to call. Reporter she and the neighbor walked up the staircase to his apartment. Its directly above her apartment. And he opens the door. And i was barely a step into the door and he just sort of kind of pushes me in, slams the door shut. He locks the door and immediately grabs a remote that was right there and turns the stereo up to this deafening volume, just deafening. Reporter kristin reached for the door to leave. And he pushes me back. And and thats when he starts and then making some demands. All of a sudden its very serious and aggressive. And and i almost to the point where i thought he was joking. Reporter but he was serious. Demanded she undress. I kept arguing, im not going to do it. Hes, like, youre going to do it. And thats when he runs over and he grabs me by the throat. Hes choking me and choking me. And then the second he lets up, i scream as loud as i can. And thened and starts choking me again. And this time he picks me up almost by the throat and sort of, like, pulls me back into the bedroom thats in the back. Youre a prisoner in this apartment now . Yes. And he puts me on the mattress. And this is the first time i black out. I wondered if this for a second, this was it. I could die . Yeah. Hes like has a hand still on my throat and hes sort of shaking me. Reporter kristin couldnt fight him off physically, so she tried to talk her way out of a Sexual Assault. I said, you dont want to do this, and he stops and he says, why dont i want to do this . And and i say, well, because i have i have hiv. And you can tell hes thinking about it for a second. And he says to me, he says, well, guess what, so do i. Reporter the lie didnt work. She tried something else. I was, like, well, what about, you know you know, you finding god, and, like, trying to work on yourself . I actually was able to stall him for quite some time. I mustve gotten off the bed and we were standing talking. And i remember thats when i started to just stomp my foot. Trying to make it look like i was making a point and stomping my foot, and then he grew angry again. Reporter he threw her back on the bed, his grip on her neck tighter as he sexually assaulted her. Hes squeezing so hard at this point in time that that it felt like the bones in my throat were cracking. I said, if you keep doing this, youre going to kill me. And he sort of looked at me and it was this half smile, and he looked at me for a second, and he just said, do you think i actually care about that . Is that when you feel like youre looking in the face of evil . I mean, he i knew then completely in that moment that he intended on killing me. Reporter coming up a knock at the door. This is like a miracle. 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And its, you know, the scenes in the movies where the bombs explode and everythings really fuzzy, you cant hear, like, everythings, like, coming through this fog. Reporter suddenly, the man stood up and left the room. Ordered her to remain quiet. And i scream as loud as i can, call the police. Call the police. Reporter turns out, the bryan police were at the door. So my friend had heard me screaming and stomping and had called the police. This is like a miracle. It was, yeah. Police show up. That that only happens on tv. I know. Believe me, i know. They ran in. I was just curled in a fetal position on the floor just shaking, shaking uncontrollably. I remember them asking me what happened and i just the words were just coming out so fast. Reporter the cops took the man away in handcuffs while kristin slept on her friends couch that night. The friend called the police to see what would happen next. She found out that they didnt book him for Sexual Assault charges. Reporter in fact, kristins attacker, the man she said almost killed her, had been released. That mustve been a tough pill to swallow. It was terrifying. I just i thought he was going to come and find me and kill me. Reporter down at the police station, the man had given a wildly different version of events. Eric buske is the current bryan police chief. He wasnt with the department back then, but says the suspect told investigators that he and kristin had a fight over drugs. She got angry when he substituted aspirin for cocaine, she went off in a rage when when that occurred. I think he had told them some story about how it had been a drug deal that had gone bad. And so, then i was crying rape. Reporter after the attack, Police Charged him with unlawful restraint, a misdemeanor. The next day, kristin and her dad went to the Bryan Police Department to find out why her attacker wasnt charged with something more serious. I was furious. I had thought in this moment that i survived, i survived. Like, this is it. This guy is going down. Reporter she met with a detective who asked her questions. Lots of them. I had bruises all up and down my throat. I couldnt swallow. It was and then at one point in time, the detective asked me to place my hands on my own throat and i mean, which even then why . Like, psychologically, like, that was just even traumatizing why why would he want you to do that . Because i did that and he looks at me and he says, well, those couldve been selfinflicted. What did you say to the detective whos coming up with these theories . I mean, i was hysterically crying and telling him, like, this man tried to kill me. You know, and he would just say, well, thats not what he says. Im, like, of course thats not what he says reporter kristin says that despite her bruises, police treated it like a he saidshe said story. How angry were you getting . I was furious. I just couldnt believe, like, nobody believed me. Reporter chief buske maintains the detective was just doing a thorough investigation. Everything ive read indicated the detectives did believe her. You know, sometimes when youre conducting an investigation, your job is to get to the truth as a detective, youre going to have to ask some hard questions. Reporter they interviewed her attacker again, and a few months later, did charge him with Sexual Assault. The unlawful restraint was still in place. And then we booked him on first degree Sexual Assault. Reporter the case went to a grand jury, but it decided not to indict him. So the Sexual Assault charges were dropped because they felt that there was insufficient evidence. Oh, that must have been tough to hear that. It was very tough to hear that. And it was at a point in time though when i found that out i just i i i didnt feel like i had any recourse. Reporter she did talk about the case later with reporter kelly brown. It bothered me at the time, because i wondered, why didnt the grand jury indict him for at least attempted Sexual Assault . But it seemed a little troubling to me that what were we missing . What part of the story did we not have . Did the detectives Say Something that made them think, maybe it was consensual . Reporter he was still facing the misdemeanor charge of unlawful restraint, scheduled to go to court down the road. In the meantime, he was a free man. Hes out Walking Around. Hes out Walking Around. Reporter in the next town over, detectives at the Brazos County Sheriffs Office were still working the jamie hart murder case in addition to keeping an eye on jamies boyfriend chuck, they say they followed up on hundreds of other leads and tips. But no one in that department you were sexually assaulted. Jamie hart was sexually assaulted. Did you start to think that these could be connected . I didnt think they were connected. And that was primarily because, with jamie was that there was a boyfriend that may have been involved. It was a romantic relationship that went wrong. It wasnt some random occurrence by a stranger. Reporter kristin was now living with overwhelming anxiety and dread, which she says manifested into dangerous behavior. Instead of being afraid of everything, i became afraid of nothing. I, you know, i just became completely risk seeking. What kind of things would you do . I think i started drinking heavily for a while after that. You know, id hop on the back of a strangers motorcycle after hed had three beers, and it took a long time to really get out of that hole. Reporter just as kristin was starting to turn a corner, her attacker was due in court on that misdemeanor charge. But nothing came of it. He didnt even show up. Id done what i needed to do, and part of me just wanted to forget it ever happened. Reporter but she couldnt. Kristin was about to walk right into another crime scene in College Station. Coming up even law enforcement, they thought, what do we have on our hands here . Reporter a shockingly brutal murder. And a suspect makes a big mistake. The clothing that he was actually wearing was different than what he had just told us. Reporter when dateline continues. Ive just arrived in atlanta and i cant wait to start telling people how switching to geico could save them hundreds of dollars on car insurance. But first, my luggage. Ahh, there it is. Uh, excuse me, sir . I think youve got the wrong bag. Sorry, they all look alike, you know . No worries. Well, cars here, i cant save people money chatting at the baggage claim all day. Geico®. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. My m. About my toothpasteice. She eveand mouthwash. Ice. But shes a dentist so. I kind of have to listen. She said jen, go pro with crest prohealth advanced. Advance to healthier gums. 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Reporter in the next town over, detective Kenny Elliott continued to work the jamie hart murder case. Hed spent the last year casting a wide net for possible suspects. You took dna from 70 people . I think 77. Mainly people that were being booked into jail for Violent Crimes. Anyone that was in the area that just didnt want to talk, we took dna from everybody that would give it, practically. Reporter but he also had never taken his eye off of her boyfriend, chuck cruz. There was just something that was bothering you about about chuck cruz. Reporter so the Brazos County Sheriffs Office kept investigating chuck, even communicated with the d. A. About possibly convening a grand jury. Chuck and his lawyer spoke to the detective on many occasions. And the detective continued to think chucks behavior was suspicious. And he still seemed nervous. Did you ever think that maybe the reason that chuck cruz was acting this way was that you guys were coming down pretty hard him . And hes hes lost his girlfriend. I mean, is there a way to act . I dont know, but he had he had several things going against him, and we just couldnt walk away from him. We either had to prove that he did it, or prove that he didnt do it. Reporter but chuck says he should have been cleared almost right away. So even though the dna didnt match there was no match. But they insisted on targeting me as the prime suspect. That wasnt there. Reporter while chucks life had been on hold for a year, kristin was starting to feel like her old self again. In the six months since her attack, shed taken up running, had a new boyfriend. And though kristin hoped the pain of that horrible night was behind her for good, it wasnt. And theres police tape everywhere. Reporter may 28, 2000. Kristin had just arrived to visit friends at an apartment complex. There was no reason, not then anyway, to think her case was connected to the scene unfolding there. Police cars and ambulances and all kinds of, you know, vehicles, like, Emergency Response vehicles everywhere. Reporter and now the sight of police tape sent memories rushing back. It was just, you know, fear. Reporter firefighter leon moore had arrived at the apartment early that morning, after a neighbor reported smoke in one of the units. The bedroom door was open and they were on the carpet. So we had a water extinguisher that we used and put the small fire out. Reporter there on the floor, a body. We backed out and made sure that we preserved as much evidence as we could. Reporter he sensed foul play, not just a fire, and called for detective jeff capps of the College Station Police Department. It looked like her body had kind of been propped up onto the bed. She was nude from the waist down. This is really disturbing. It was. Reporter the victim was 21yearold Carolyn Casey, a day care worker. Her parents, anita and larry, so proud of their eldest daughter. She was wonderful with kids. All the kids loved her. Everyone loved her. Reporter never could they have prepared themselves for the dreadful phone call they received. Is your daughter Carolyn Casey . I said, yes. I think he said, well, theres been an accident and your daughters dead. A fire. Reporter when carolyns younger sister, amanda, learned the news, she collapsed with grief. And i just i screamed really loud, made my ears ring from my screaming. Theyve got this wrong . Yeah. Somethings wrong. She didnt she didnt die. And i said, no, shes not dead. What was the turning point . I called her apartment. And she didnt answer. Detective capps did say it was homicide. I think we we had a strong feeling that possibly there was some type of Sexual Assault that occurred. And that somebody was trying to cover up some evidence. Reporter kelly brown of the eagle newspaper had another story to write. This is a community thats not used to a lot of murders. Its not used to Violent Crimes like this. And it certainly wasnt used to having a murder victim be set on fire. Even law enforcement, they thought, what what do we have on our h reporter on the night of carolyns murder, there had been a small party in one of the apartments. And now the detective was canvassing the complex, looking for leads. Youre literally knocking on doors . Yes. Reporter in one unit, two men answered. One of them had been to the party. His name was Ynobe Matthews. He mentioned that he did attend this party. She was there. Reporter like many people whod attended, ynobe agreed to an interview, his down at the Police Department. He was friendly, and cooperative, said carolyn had left the party before he had. He later left the party. Went with another female that was at the party over to a Convenience Store that was close by and bought some cigarettes. Reporter ynobe gave the detective a dna sample, and supplied the clothes hed been wearing. To verify his alibi, the detective pulled Surveillance Video from the Convenience Store and noticed something. The clothing that he was acly than what he had just told us. Why is he not telling us the truth . Reporter ynobe claimed hed simply forgotten, and then handed the detective the proper clothing. No forensic evidence found on the clothes connected him to the crime scene. So this wasnt your big moment. No. It wasnt. Reporter the big moment did come though, just a few nights later when the pieces of this puzzle finally came together. Coming up an arrest of a familiar suspect. I was certain that he had done this before. But at the same time, i didnt think he would do it again. Reporter it was two nights after the murder and fire. Detective capps made a discovery. One that would finally connect the dots in the series of crimes that had terrorized this college town. I spent that evening basically reading through all these reports. Reporter the detective had ordered background checks on some of the people who attended the party in carolyns apartment complex, including ynobe mathews. It turns out, there were several Police Reports in the file accusing ynobe of a number of crimes. Mr. Matthews had a tendency to try to sexually assault females. And in the process of that, he would choke them if they were not willing to have sex with him. How did carolyn die . Her death was ruled a strangulation. So thingsta matching up. Reporter ynobe had never been convicted of Sexual Assault, but in the files the detective read the story one particularly brutal assault. A case ended up being charged as a misdemeanor unlawful restraint. It was kristins. Ynobe was the man she says almost killed her. I was certain that he had done this before. But at the same time i didnt think he would do it again. Reporter the detective called Ynobe Matthews back down to the station for another interview. Decided to pull a fast one with his suspect, telling him he was about to get dna results from the crime scene. What were you really about to get it that quickly . We werent going to get it that quickly that day but trying to get him to believe that we had that information, that we had everything that we needed. I had contacted my supervisor earlier. And i told him, if he would page me just say put in type in the words that says dna matches. Reporter and right on cue, the detectives pager went off. And i showed it to mr. Matthews. I asked him to read it. So whats his face like when he looks at that match . He became pretty emotional. And he said he it was an accident, but he had killed her. Reporter the detective called carolyns parents and gave them the news of the confession. They said, i think we got him. I said, well, how sure . He said, ill bet the farm on it. Reporter it was the next morning when Kristin Lancaster opened up the newspaper and learned her attacker had been charged with murder. I felt overwhelming guilt, just overwhelming guilt knowing that hed killed someone and that, you know, perhaps i hadnt tried hard enough to make people believe me. Did you feel like a life couldve been saved if you had have been taken more seriously . Oh yes, carolyn would still be here. I mean, theres no doubt. Reporter and what about the woman at the start of our story . Jamie harts case had been handled by the Brazos County Sheriffs Office. But after ynobe was arrested, it didnt takng department and the Sheriffs Office to compare the dna. What they found . Ynobe was also jamies killer. Whats that moment like . I remember the feeling of wanting to feel relieved. But all i could think was, this is this is exactly what i knew was going to happen. He struck again. Another girl is dead, and another family has lost their precious daughter. Reporter chuck says to this day he misses jamie and has never gotten over being viewed as a suspect. Having to spend such a long time under investigation for the death of a loved one it hurts. It hurts a lot. Its its like a scar . Very much so. Very much so. Do you feel bad about that at all, that he was put through that . Im sorry that he h t investigation over, i wouldnt change anything. Im sorry he lost the love of his life. But we had a job to do, and we had to either arrest him for murder, or clear him. We cleared him. Reporter but before jamie, before kristin, before carolyn there was another victim who soon learned she was also connected to this horrifying series of events. Her name is misty johnson. If i didnt let him rape me, he would have killed me. Reporter like kristin, misty reported her attack to the Bryan Police Department. But ynobe denied it, claiming it was consensual, and misty was too traumatized to help police in the investigation. It was probably within a week. I quit my job and and left town. I was scared. Reporter she now regrets that decision. Her attack happened first. Months before jamie was murdered. I stayed and fought him through the Police Department that possibly he wouldnt have been able to go on to hurt anyone else. Reporter and kristin, is left with the memory of an assault, that, according to the law, never really happened. I was so angry that two people had to die in order for someone to believe me. Did the system fail . It failed me. It failed carolyn. It failed jamie. You think about them a lot . They were total strangers to you. But theyre my alternative future. I mean, theyre what couldve happened to me. I mean, theyre what couldve happened to any of us. Reporter a jury convicted ynobe mathews of carolyns murder and sentenced him to death. He also pleaded guilty to jamies murder. Kristin faced him in court during the penalty phase. It was terrifying. I had to testify and i met carolyns family and and jamies family they all came out afterwards and gave me a hug. It families didnt hold any grudge against me, you know . Its not her fault that my sister died. And kristin should have no guilt over that. Reporter with the casey family as witnesses, ynobe mathews was executed three years later. Reporter if there is a lesson to take from this story, it is one that comes directly from a survivor herself. Someone who has learned the hard way, to cherish lifes moments. Each and every one. It makes you realize how fragile your life is, you know, and that anybody can take it, you know, in a moments notice. This story, you know, for them thats it. Thats their life story. The final chapters been written. But for me i get to keep going on. What would you call yourself . I mean, people have called me a survivor. I would call myself lucky. Thats all for now. Im lester holtthanks for joini. This sunday, whatever happened to the stop Trump Movement . Were winning by a lock. Were kicking ass. Trump keeps winning. Gop leaders are falling in line. And neither cruz nor kasich are gaining momentum. Is it possible this stop Trump Movement has been stopped . Plus, my sitdown with Bernie Sanders. I will do everything that i can to make certain that donald trump is not elected president. The senator on strump, his chances of wining the nomination and why he thinks hes losing to Hillary Clinton. Poor people dont vote. Thats just a fact. Also, is the u. S. Helping to cover up a Saudi Arabian Government Role in 9 11 . There are 28 pages that may have the answers. Should they be declassified . And analysis are robert costa, of the washington post. Msnbcs joyann reid. Republican strategist nicolle wallace, and jose diazbalart, of nbc news and telemundo. Welcome to sunday. Its meet the press. From nbc news in washington, this is meet the press with chuck todd. Good sunday morning, with Bernie Sanders prospects for taking the democratic nomination from Hillary Clinton getting slimmer by the day, sanders told me yesterday hes fallen behind because in his words, poor people dont vote. Theres a lot more in that interview and well get tait later in the show and well get to the democratic as well. But we begin with the republican race. Its no stretch to conclude that when it comes to donald trump, the Republican Party has slowly been working it way thou the classic five stages of grief. The first one was denial. Trump cant be taken seriously. The second one, anger. What makes this guy think he is even a republican or lets take it to the voters. Theyll reject him, right . The fourth, depression. Oh, my god. Hes actually winning this thing. And now, the fifth stage, the hardest one of all, acceptance. Why . Trump just won big in new york. Hes expected to win big in the five primaries held this tuesday which include pennsylvania where our new poll has trump with a doubledigit lead, sitting at 45 . Over ted cruz at 27 , john kasich at 24 , and yes, if you add up kasich and cruz, its a majority, which is going to make the stop trump people hit their head against the wall. For the antitrump loyalists counting on indiana to be their firewall, consider this. The only poll we have seen out of indiana in the past week came out friday and it shows trump leading by just six points, but the fact that hes ahead is a big deal. 3731. Kasich at 22 . Again, cruz and kasich together over 50. Throw in a republican