Transcripts For WRC Dateline NBC 20170211

Cases were colder than a grave. Youre always trying to make the pieces fit together nothing fit but one former cop couldnt let go. This is crazy this isnt solved. Reporter and one woman couldnt forget. The warning signs were there. Reporter two victims with one link in life. It was an obsession. It was control its the same mo. Reporter could a break in one murder help solve another . Things started fitting. Were getting to the end. Reporter im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres Josh Mankiewicz with fury. Reporter the kansas river separates kansas from missouri. But it also divides more than that. Theres a family on each side. And for a long time, each has been separated from the truth. And from each other. Each thought they were alone in wanting answers to the same questions. Outraged that ive gone years without ever knowing connecting them and getting closer to those answers took more than a quarter century. Unless you go through this, you have no idea what its like. This is how it happened. And how it began. Reporter it was december 29, 1989, in kansas city, kansas. A train conductor found the body. Right alongside the railroad tracks, under the highway. This just seemed like it was somethin right out of a crime scene book. Reporter at only 19, police cadet jeff cheek had already been to a few homicide scenes. But now he was looking at the body of a girl about his own age. The body was behind the pillar. So hidden from the road . Obvious attempt to hide her from the road. Reporter the victim had been stabbed to death. Her name was sarah de leon. She was eighteen. Just horrible scene. It was it it just was horrible. It was just reeked of evil. Reporter jeff realized theyd gone to the same high school. Id never talked to her. But i said, i do think i recognize her. I think i remember seein her in the halls i just remember it hittin me like a ton of bricks that this is this is a young girl. Reporter this is sarah de leons mom, gail. She was just just a good, quiet, funloving girl. She was healthoriented. She didnt even drink caffeinated beverages. When you worried about her and every mom does, whatd you worry about . I was concerned about her going away, just growing up, going away to school. Dating, meeting someone. Reporter sarah and her younger brother, matt now 44 were only a year apart. You guys get along . We got along really good. I played tennis at the high school and she would come to my practices and sit on the hill and watch me practice. And not a follower. People wanted to be like her, you know . She was, like, a trendsetter. She didnt care what other people thought. Reporter that december, sarah had just finished her first semester at community college. She was intrigued by other cultures and hoped to one day work in the travel industry. Everything was coming together for her so well. It was just coming together so well. Reporter she had a serious boyfriend, even introduced him to the family. She and her boyfriend, came over for a christmas party. It it was wonderful. And she didnt want to leave. She stayed and she told me she loved me and gave me a big hug. And it was it was just beautiful. Reporter that wednesday night was the last time gail saw her daughter. Friday afternoon, two Police Officers were at her front door. They came in and asked me if i was sarahs mother. Yeah. And they told me that they had found her body by the railroad tracks. And that she had been murdered. Reporter jeff the young cadet didnt just know the victim, he also knew that spot down by the tracks. This was an isolated area. I told the detective it used to be a party spot for kids our age and older. And the reason why there were parties there is because they knew it was isolated from the police. So High School Kids went out there right. To drink beer and smoke not to be caught. Right, so immediately i was kinda thinkin in my mind, who else knows about this place . Reporter gail could not fathom what her sarah might have been doing there. She didnt put herself in risky situations. You couldnt have imagined her doing drugs. No. Or drinking. No. Reporter police tried to retrace sarahs steps. Her boyfriend told cops theyd gone out for dinner that evening, and when sarah left his place in her car late that night, he said, he never saw or spoke to her again. And the next time anyone saw sarah de leon, she was dead. Killed somewhere else and dumped Somebody Just pulled up, dragged her out of the car . Right. Thats what it appeared to be. It looked like the car stopped out here, and you could see the drag marks all the way around. Reporter there was nothing to suggest that sarah had been at those parties down by the tracks. But when word of the crime spread, jamie locke, 20 at the time and familiar with the local party spots, says it was terrifying. The eerie feeling was the fact that, you know, where she was found. The place where you guys went to party . Yes. Reporter so, was it someone sarah knew or something random . Jamie remembers that some thought that it might have been a bumpandrob. Someone was bumping into cars, you know, little fender bender and then robbing them. After you pull over . Yeah. After you pull over. We did have a number of those at the time. You get out of the car. And they go, thank you. Im takin your car. They leave you there. Bump and rob turned bumpandmurder . Sarahs car was found abandoned at this overpass, miles from where her body was dumped. The police did take sarahs car, put it up on a rack, and look at the springs and the shocks to see if it looked like it had been bumped. That does kinda fit with some things that were going on at the time. Yeah. That would fit. I mean, its out there. The police are considering it. But that didnt fit, for me. Reporter it didnt fit she said, because detectives told gail how many times sarah had been stabbed. Too many to count. The passion in this murder, i who hated her that much . cause thats fury. It was real fury and hate with a passion. That was personal. Reporter it was that mothers intuition that would fuel a search for the truth. It would take many years and it would lead to the other side of that river. Saras boyfriend was a person of interest, but there was another. His exgirlfriend. When we come back, there was animosity there. Jealous. But whoever it was, didnt leave many clues behind. No fingerprints. No tire tracks. No witnesses. And no witnesses. Walgreens has you covered. So drop by and seize the savings walgreens. At the corner of happy and healthy. Its a mosaic of all the faces before it. Only true match has loreals technology to match your skins unique tone and undertone. 100 guaranteed. And its perfect. From loreal. 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Jeff cheek, then a cadet, says the pieces werent falling into place very easily. They didnt find a weapon. Reporter no fingerprints . Couldnt get fingerprints from anything. Reporter and no witnesses. And no witnesses. Reporter what do you do . I know they were looking at robberies. Whether it was kind of a process of elimination. Friends threats you start developing motives. You Start Talking to people in the inner circles. That s thats really how you work that kind of a homicide. Police briefly considered the possibility that sarahs death had been the result of a bumpandrob carjacking. To jeff cheek, that didnt make much sense. In this case, they left a perfectly good car behind. Bumpandrobs dont do that. They dont kidnap you, take you somewhere, kill you and then leave a perfectly good car behind. So they started working through sarahs inner circle. First up, her boyfriend matt uland. Reporter did you know her boyfriend . I met her boyfriend and, and i didnt spend a lot of time with him. He seemed like a good guy. To matt in the hours before sarahs body was found. Sarahs boyfriend called the house. And i said, hello. First thing he said was, do you know where sarah is . So, you know, i was, kind of, like, no. They questioned him. Of course thats one of the first things you do. Whos the last person to see her alive . And his answer was, i dont know anything about this. He said hed spent the the night with her. They had went to dinner. The boyfriend told police that after sarah left his house around midnight, he was home all night. And his mother backed up that alibi. Matt, her boyfriend. Uhhuh. Reporter do you suspect him . I didnt. And i didnt know him that well. But hed just been at the house. He seemed like a decent kid. His mother said that he was home at the time. I i believe that. I didnt see him as as a suspect. Reporter but when that happens, you got to start looking at everybody in her life. You do reporter thinking maybe ive maybe ive m everybody id go to the store and everybody there was a suspect the back of my mind it was like a computer going 24 7, trying to fit the pieces together with what little i had. Sarahs friends confirmed what her family had said sarah was popular. A leader. A good kid and a good student. Police did hear one weird story from a few kids in town about a girl who asked a male friend to help her do something mean to sarah. Reporter somebody had encouraged this guy to put something in sarahs drink . Yes. Reporter to what . At a party. Reporter knock her out . Yes. Reporter so that . She could cut off her pretty little hair. Thats what i got. This girl who police heard wanted to drug sarah and cut off her long hair . She was sarahs boyfriends ex there was some animosity there. Reporter jealous. Jealous. Jealousy. The police asked me if id heard of this gal. I said no. But apparently she had threatened to cut sarahs hair. Was sarahs death some of sophomoric prank that went too far . It seemed crazy, but police went ahead and interviewed the girl. It led exactly nowhere. Meanwhile sarahs mom did everything she could to help the investigation. Even going on a tv show called missing reward to plead for information. Somebody has to know what happened. And im just asking for them to let the authorities know. Its hard to come to terms with the death of your child when you dont really know what happened. Before long, the investigation seemed as cold and empty as the place where sarahs body was found. I was told there was just nothing. Reporter and you get the feeling the police think were not going to solve this. They had no no clues is what i was told. Reporter could you live with that . I was living with that, yes. That we would never. Jeff was still on the police force. Although not assigned to the case. I talked to the detective id say, hey, what happened with the de leon case . Did you get her did you get that solved . He said, no, you know, we havent got it yet. Reporter disappointing. Oh, yes. Very disappointing. Gail faced life every day without sarah, and without answers. And that lasted five years. Thats when another family in the same area found itself in the same darkness. Another young woman was dead. Another case with no answers. Coming up, a mother murdered. She was walking towards the kitchen. Thats when i heard the gunshot. And a husband with a secret when dateline continues. [burke] and we covered it, february fourteenth, twentyfifteen. Talk to farmers. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum i cant work out without immy music ata again im telling you, you need to switch to sprint. I got unlimited data, talk and text for 50 bucks a month vo get sprints unlimited plan for 50 a month. Plus, get the Samsung Galaxy s7 edge and save 300. For people with hearing loss, switch to sprint. Visit sprintrelay. Com but with this usp seal i know seaexactlyap. Whats in my nature made gummies. Nature made has the first gummy certified by usp. A Non Profit Organization that sets purity and potency standards. Trythe unique formula withched nourishing almond oil. Leaves skin smoother. Moisturized for 24 hours. Nivea essentially enriched. For noticeably smoother skin. Woo called your own number . Are you bringing the thunder . Chorus theres a big mac® for that. On the edge of your seat . screaming beat . Chorus big mac® for that. Only in it for the halftime show . Its ok we know. Chorus theres a big mac® for that. Got into formation . Pumped up the nation . Got your own celebration . Ow juicy, cheesy, iconic big mac®. Now in three sizes, but only for a limited time. screaming man, im lovin it® ba da ba ba ba reporter sarah de leons murder had been cold five years and now once again, it was a frigid night. Super bowl sunday, 1994. Just about everyone had the day off. Except, perhaps, for the cops on the night shift. Patrolling independence missouri, across the river from kansas city. They spotted a car around midnight. Lights on, engine running, abandoned in a Church Parking lot. A quick check of the plates told them the cars owner, 26yearold diana ault lived in house a mile away. They say i have her nose and her hands. Thats the best compliment really. Reporter katie ault is dianas daughter. Shes now almost the same age as her mother was back then and like her mom in more than just looks. She used to work several jobs and do direct sales. She was always so busy and a lot of people tell me im the same way. Just lookin back at pictures it does bring back back memories, reporter this is dianas son, josh. My dad worked nights, and sometimes shed let me stay up watchin tv and, waitin for dad to come home. Reporter dad was tim ault. He worked at a Postal Service Bulk Mail Center and was pulling a night shift that super bowl sunday. Josh was just 4yearsold, his little sister katie in diapers. Diana and the kids watched part of the game with family, the Dallas Cowboys versus the buffalo bills, and then headed home. Reporter tell me about that night. I remember coming home and it being dark. I remember going into the house, heard my mom going back out to the car for something, whether it was groceries or a bag diaper bag. Reporter kid stuff. Yeah. Memories are fuzzy, but not what happened in that very next moment. As she was walking through the livin room to towards the kitchen. Thats when i hea heard the gunshots. Reporter gunshots. And then, fouryearold josh saw the shadow of his mom collapsing onto the kitchen floor. Police later theorized the shooter had been waiting inside the house when the family got home. Very quickly after, i was picked up by somebody. I cant remember the details as far as what the person was wearing or the body structure or reporter whether it was a man or woman . Yeah, i i i cant remember. Reporter he says the person who scooped him up wore a mask. And then gently carried him down the hallway and into his parents closet. It wasnt like they just picked me up, threw me over their shoulder, and threw me in the closet. I mean, th reporter they they were holding you like like like youd hold a baby. Right. Reporter how long were you in that closet . I dont know. Finally working up the courage to come out. And i can remember seeing my sister crawling on the floor in the area of my mom. And ive been told that i tried to make my sister a bottle or comfort her. Reporter the killer had left in dianas car, so when police found it in the Church Parking lot and then traced it back to the owners home, they found a fouryearold giving a bottle to his baby sister. Their dead mother lying next to them. Grandma told me that i had a really brave older brother, and that even after everything that happened, he was still trying to take care of me. Reporter late that night, dianas father got a knock on the door. So as i opened the door, tims father was standing there. And the first thing he said when i opened the door was dianas been hurt. And shes dead. Reporter he immediately called his other daughter, sharon. I just remember sliding down my stove, just with this gutwrenching scream cry. It was ill never forget it. Reporter sister sharon and her dad, and dianas husband tim, rushed to the police station, where police asked tim the obvious question. Who would want to kill your wife . Tim said he had no idea. One more thing, the murder weapon was one of tims guns, taken from the house and left in dianas stolen car. Tim said none of it made sense. Tim was sayin that they had a good marriage, everything was good, they got the two kids, and things couldnt be better. He couldnt think of anyone who would want to hurt her. He didnt understand why this happened. Reporter detectives told the family the working theory was a robbery gone bad. But dianas sister responded by telling the Police Something they did not know. She said tim and diana did not have a great marriage. In fact, she said, tim had been cheating on diana. And just a month earlier on Christmas Eve, hed h the other woman. She was very upset about it. So and i i just remember thinking, on Christmas Eve . Really . Reporter that other woman was a coworker of tims from the Postal Service. Dianas sister sharon also told the cops that after a very unhappy holiday season, tim had ended the affair and moved back home. This detective sat there like he was just shocked. He hadnt ever heard this. And i ask. I said, is tim still here . And he said, yeah. So i said, go ask him if what im sayings true. And he confirmed it. Reporter so police spoke with both tim and his mistress. Questioned both of them. Tims alibi checked out. He was at work. And the other womans alibi was good, too. She said she was more than 100 hundred miles away. The case remained unsolved. Diana aults children were raised by their granar their father, tim. I remember asking josh, you know, why we didnt have a mom. And, you know, all your friends, you go to their house, and and they have moms. But he was the one who kind of first said, shes not here because someone took her. Reporter so now fast forward twenty years. Diana aults children are grown. Son josh newlymarried. Across the river in kansas city kansas, frustration is a feeling that the other family, sarah de leons family, has grown used to. I think they went on to other crimes. And that was just kind of on the back burner. Reporter and jeff cheek is no longer a cop. But he never forgot about the crime scene down by the railroad tracks. And then, one day the local news covered a vigil. Turns out, the tv was on in exactly the right home. I know that case. Coming up. Two murdered women with one link. Some wondered is that what linked them in death. The same mo. I want this person. I dont want you to have this person. Ething. Set it free. See you around, giulia i have the worst cold i better take something. Dayquil liquid gels dont treat your runny nose. Seriously . Alkaseltzer plus cold and cough liquid gels fights your worst cold symptoms plus your runny nose. Oh, what a relief it is. Reporter it was january, 2014. Jeff cheek was home, the tv on. I was just getting ready to fall asleep. Reporter sarah de leons family was holding a candlelight memorial. I waved goodbye to her. Reporter the local news turned out to cor reporter for just a second, jeff thought maybe someone had solved sarah de leons murder. But i quickly was disappointed in seeing, oh [ sighs ] its just a vigil. Reporter by then, jeff had left the kansas city, Kansas Police force, and he couldnt believe the case still hadnt been solved. He decided to reach out to sarahs family and work for them as an investigator. I could tell as soon as i met jeff, he was just a goodhearted guy that just wanted to do the right thing. Jeff, our little angel, gets online and starts thinking theres got to be some new technology. I did a ton of research. I talked to people all around the united states. I talked to the best forensic minds. I talked to cold case bloggers. Reporter he also began looking for witnesses. And one of the people he spoke tfwith was jamie locke, the woman whod grown up in the same area as sarah de leon, and used to go to those parties down by the railroad tracks. The place where the police didnt come that often . Right. Reporter jamie told jeff she didnt know sarah personally, but she did know sarahs boyfriend, matt. And, she knew the girl who dated matt before sarah. Her name was carol coon. Was she your best friend . She was one of them, yes. Reporter that friend carol is the same young woman who was briefly questioned by police back when sarah was killed. Thats her on the left in the overalls. What was she like . She was smart, focused, driven. Reporter and says jamie, carol was determined, very determined. Heres one example. Carol was a fan of those Radio Station contests where you could win a car by physically keeping your hands on it longer than anyone else. Carol won a car that way, not once, but two years in a row. That is someone with some significant willpower. Yes. But i knew. I knew she would win. I knew. Reporter jamie says that through their long friendship, she noticed carol was always determined to get what she wanted. And when she didnt, jamie says carol sometimes played dirty with her romantic rivals. She was seeing a guy, had a girlfriend. She would stop by the girls house, and let her air of the tires. Let the air out of the other girls tires . Yes. Reporter and jamie says her friend carol saw sarah as a rival. She says she heard carol talking about wanting to drug sarah and cut off her long hair. Was she serious about this . I didnt know if she was serious. This is a little beyond letting the air out of somebodys tires. Yes, right. This is past a prank . Right. Its a little scary . Very scary. Reporter which is why, for a split second after jamie learned of sarahs murder, she wondered if her friend carol had somehow been involved. Clearly, she was jealous of sarah and up and upset. Reporter but jamie had no proof that her friend did anything at all to sarah. In fact, after the murder, carol seemed even more afraid to go out than jamie. Carol said that, we should be careful because, you know, this could happen to us. Lets be really careful. Reporter and jamie tagged along when carol was questioned by police. She comes out. Shes smiling, giddy. Not a care in the world . Right, and i think then i was like, well, obviously, they dont think that she had anything to do with it. So you shouldnt either . I shouldnt either. Reporter but jamie also says she noticed something odd the morning after sarahs murder, something she told jeff about. She had a scratch on her neck. Did you ask her what that was from . Yes. She said her cat scratched her. Another thing. Carols car was carol was always sloppy, messy. And her car was spotless. It was clean. I think in my gut, you know, i was like, this somethings not right. The warning signs were there and i just chose to ignore them. Reporter she ignored any doubts she might have had for years. But jamie told jeff all that changed the moment she heard about another murder victim, diana ault. Did you know diana . No, no. I knew of her. You know, i knew that this was tims wife. Reporter and how did jamie know that . Well, it turns out that tim aults mistress. That coworker from the post office was also jamies friend, carol coon. She was saying this is coincidence just a coincidence. How could this be a coincidence . No. Reporter jamie says she knew all about the affair between carol and dianas husband, tim, and how certain carol was that tim ault would permanently leave diana for her. This was the man she was going to marry. After all these guys, you know, one ones sticking around. Ones staying. But then he didnt. He didnt. Reporter jamie says that when tim ault ended the affair and moved back in with his wife and kids, her friend carol was devastated and furious. According to jamie, carol asked for help in what jamie thought was an effort to get tim and his wife to break up. She asked me to call diana. She wanted me to call her and tell her that hes with me. That youre having an affair with tim that im having an affair with him. Even though you werent . Even though i wasnt. You didnt say to her, leave me out of this . I d i did. But she was persuasive. I mean i didnt want to. Reporter jamie says she ultimately gave in and made the call. And you said, im having an affair with your husband. He was with me last night. Yes. She hangs up the phone, and i hang up, and that was it. Reporter that was on a saturday. The next day. Was super bowl sunday. And the day after that, monday morning, jamie says, carol came to find her in person. And she said, sh shes dead. I said, whos dead . She said, tims wife is dead. She was murdered. And i said [ sighs ] did you murder her . Did you kill her . Thats the first thing you thought . I said, did you kill her . And she said, no. Just like that. Reporter but as jamie tells it, that wasnt the end of their conversation. She said, whatever you do, do not tell them anything about making that phone call to diana. Theres no way they can find that out. Dont tell them. So your friends telling you about the murder . Uhhuh. Saying she didnt do it, and telling you essentially to start concealing evidence. Right. Reporter and now a private investigator was taking notes on what sounded to him like a deadly pattern, two dead women with one jealous rival in common. Its the same mo. Its i want this person. And i dont want you to have this person. Reporter but here is perhaps the craziest thing about jamie lockes story. This wasnt the first time she it was way back in 1994, right after diana aults murder, when jamie says she told police she suspected her friend carol might be responsible for both crimes. These are two murders, five years apart, two different jurisdictions, two women killed in different ways. And the police dont put it together. You do. Yeah. Reporter and what happened next . For two families, that was the real mystery. Coming up, a loving parent as well as a murder suspect. When date line continues. Invokana® is used along with diet and exercise to significantly lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. 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Reporter jamie locke suspected the connective tissue in two unsolved murders was her good friend, carol coon. And years before retiredcopturnedprivate investigator jeff cheek ever contacted her, jamie had shared her suspicions with police. You told police that you thought your friend carol was responsible for diana aults death. Yes. And sarah de leons death . Yes. I mean, i was still having a hard time believing that, how could sh y but i needed the police to to look into this. Reporter jamie came forward not long after diana ault was murdered back in 1994. She says she told police about what she saw as her friend carols history of seeking revenge on romantic rivals. Like how she says carol let the air out of one girls tires and later threatened to cut sarah de leons long hair and how carol asked jamie to make a harassing call to diana ault right before her murder. I mean, i know it was escalating. But i never thought that she would be capable of of hurting someone. Reporter jamie says that back in 1994, she believed police took her seriously, but she worried that the phone call she made to diana made iok she was letting on. Let me ask you. Any part of what youre telling us not true . No. Any part of it shaded to make you look less guilty no, not at all. You participate in or witness any act of violence involving carol and another person . No. Reporter jamie says she told Police Investigating both cases back then that she would do anything to help. Police wired up your phone and had you call carol. Yeah. They wanted me to, you know, to basically to get her confess to me. Howd that go . She didnt say much. Reporter back then, tim ault also wore a wire while speaking with carol. Apparently, she didnt say much that time, either. She was aware that Police Suspected her . Yes. And so maybe she was being careful what she said. I dont know. Reporter back when jamie first came forward, sarah de leons mom, gail, heard there was a lead in her daughters case. I think i got a call that someone came forth and gave them a name. And that name was also connected with sarah. This was ma dated sarahs boyfriend, and had an affair with diana aults husband. Right. And the one who threatened to cut sarahs hair. Reporter gail says that to her, something just clicked, and she wondered if police had finally found the person whod stabbed her daughter to death. It fit the rage. It fit the amount of rage in that attack. But . But the police looked at that a bit, and nothing came of that. Reporter what did police do back in 1994 . We dont know. Police in two departments arent saying. Copturnedp. I. Jeff cheek says the lead detective on the sarah de leon murder, did try to assemble a circumstantial case. Our detective submitted it to d. A. s office, and the d. A. s office refused to file. Thats the information that i got. Reporter what we do know is that two families lived through two decades of frustration and unanswered questions. And carol coon . She was never charged with any crime. She graduated from college, got married, became Carolyn Heckert, and had two daughters. She doted over children. She seemed like a good mother. Reporter cindy cygan met carol in 2013. The things she would say that she would do with them. And the lessons that she tried to instill in them, dont give up. You know, you have to keep trying. Reporter carol moved to the suburbs and became a successful real estate agent. And from the outside, at least, her life seemed to be working out just fine. She was very ambitious. She was a gogetter. She didnt have a fear in trying new things. She didnt worry about what people thought of her. Reporter Angie Loveless says carol tried hard to find her the perfect home, while being incredibly patient and never losing her temper. It. So i texted her, please dont kill me. I dont want that house anymore. Shes, like, oh, no. Its okay. So she didnt get angry . No, ive never seen her angry. Reporter so which was the real carol . A homewrecker . A homemaker . A homicide suspect . Jeff cheek was coming after all of them. I wasnt prepared to let it go. I got a lot of heat [ laughs ] from my old friends. But, its the right thing to do. Coming up. Decades later. Still more frustration. At times i felt like we were the enemy. And then, is this really happening . Reporter two murders, decades cold. One common ingredient in both victims lives, a woman whod been a romantic rival of both. Jeff cheek developed a theory of what had happened. Was this, you know, i have to have this guy . Or was this, i dont like coming in second. I cant lose . It was an obsession. It was control. It was, things are going to be my way. Nobodys going to have you if i cant have you. Reporter jeff spent months reinvestigating the sarah de leon case, interviewing witnesses and tracking down old leads. He knew there was evidence like sarahs clothing, which now, many years later, could be submitted for testing. Jeff researched cuttingedge dna science. Youre doing this for no money. Heres the thing. I feel so bad because my old profession, something that i used to represent has let these families down. How dare i take any money from them. Reporter jeff took his findings to his old colleagues in the kansas city, kansas pd. In 2014, they agreed to reopen sarah de leons case. For the first time in decades, sarahs mother, gail, had some hope. But when she met with police detectives, she says it didnt go as expected. I went in there so naively, talking to the police and the assistant d. A. s like, were going to be on the same team. Weve got the same goal. This is great. It didnt work like that. Reporter she says 9 months went by and dna tests still werent being done. And two years passed before jamie locke, the woman who first connected both cases, says she was reinterviewed. We come to them with names, this is who you need to talk to. Theyve got some good information connected with this case. And we are just discounted. At times, i felt like we were the enemy. Reporter across the river in independence, missouri, a detective told diana aults family they had reopened that case, too. But then, nothing. If youre going to make it known that, hey, im going to look into this, then that needs to be what you do. Reporter so now jeff spoke with dozens of people in dianas circle, many of whom had never been interviewed by police. But who he says told him carol coon was waging a campaign of intimidation and harassment against diana ault in the weeks and days leading up to dianas murder. Her sister says diana told of carol repeatedly making taunting calls to the ault house. Carol had called her and said she had checked on Social Security to find out death benefits that she and tim would receive, that she intended i told her i said, you know, something bad is going to happen to you or the kids. And she says carol made it known shed been inside the ault house. Diana said carol left proof. And she got home. There was writing on the li mirror of the bathroom in lipstick. You know, basically saying that this person had been there in her home, and had sex with her husband. She left notes. She left a tip kind of thing, like, hey, you know, thanks for your husband. It was very eerie. Reporter her sister says diana was fearful, telling her family shed changed the locks and her telephone number. She brought the kids back to my place, went to the police station, made a report. Reporter jeff found a note in a police file showing diana had reported the harassment to law enforcement. She reached out to a lot of people. She she wanted protection. She wanted help. Two weeks later, dianas dead. Reporter back in kansas city, kansas, sarahs family says they realized they had been far too passive for far too long. With jeffs help, they kept the pressure on. And eventually sarahs clothes were sent off to a lab for testing. You lost some friends that over this. Oh, i did. Theres no doubt. I did. They shouldnt have put me in a position that we had to fight. Reporter gail says she learned a thing or two about dealing with police and how to make sure they didnt forget about her daughters case. Dont be afraid to call them. Make yourself known. Be a nuisance. Yeah, i was. [ laugh ] i still am. [ laughs ] reporter and maybe that determination paid off. This past may, brought a tantalizing announcement. Everybody ready . Reporter kansas city, Kansas Police announced they had the sarah de leon case. They didnt give a name, but if you knew the story, you knew who they were talking about. Missouri authorities believe this case is linked to the january 30th, 1994 homicide in independence, missouri. We have also determined that the suspect has been involved in multiple instances involving the harassment and intimidation of romantic rivals. Reporter the big moment came five months later in october, 2016, nearly 27 years after sarahs body was found in that desolate spot down by the tracks. Charges filed against Carolyn Heckert. Reporter Carolyn Heckert was arrested and charged with the 1stdegree murder of sarah de leon. It was excitement, but it was shock. It was, is this really happening . Reporter sarahs brother, matt. I never thought id see the day. I never thought i would hear those words. Reporter what finally connected the dots for police . Theyre not saying, yet. Feel like youre at the end of a long road . Until theres a trial, im not going to feel were at the end of the road. Reporter Carolyn Heckert has pleaded not guilty to sarah de leons murder. Her defense Attorney Says hes seen the states evidence and theres nothing physically linking her to the crime. And, he says, that foreign dna was found on the victim, but none was from his client. The prosecution isnt saying exactly what the dna results are only that dna will not exonerate ms. Heckert. Shes been extradited from missouri to kansas where she awaits trial. And jeff cheek gave prosecutors in diana aults case a 70page report hed prepared. Prosecutors examined it, but say they dont have enough to go forward. There are no charges against Carolyn Heckert in dianas case. And so, the ault familys fight for justice continues. Were in this together with the ault family and, you know, were only halfway there right now. Reporter its been a slow, two families, on two sides of a river, separated from the truth for so many years. Its not over yet, but hope runs deep. Thats all for this edition of dateline. See you tomorrow at 8 00 p. M. Central dateline saturday night mystery, and, again, sunday at 7, six central. Im lester holt. From all of us at nbc news, good night. Now at 11 00, Edward Snowden reacting to reports he could be shipped back here to the u. S. Would russia give him up as a gift to President Trump . Questions unanswered about a deadly shooting. Who police are questioning tonight and