Transcripts For WCAU Dateline NBC 20171028

Harm to her . No. Did you have anything to do with her disappearing . No. At all . No. Reporter adding to the mystery where it all began. Youre in the middle of nowhere. It was pitch black. You had the majority of people in costumes, disguised. A worst Case Scenario to start an investigation reporter so many dead ends. One big question was chelsea still alive . I had to find her. She says, oh, my god, brian, thats her shoe. Reporter a halloween mystery. That will leave you chilled to the bone. Reporter what did you think when you saw that . The hair on the back of your neck kinda stands up. Reporter im lester holt. And this is dateline. Heres Keith Morrison with the Halloween Party. Reporter in a quiet rural township in southeastern michigan, as october chilled into autumn two young women prepared for the social event of the season. Its gonna be great. Itll be so many people. Reporter or so they imagined, so they hoped, in their sunny naivety. They and so many others of a particular demographic, on the farms and in the small towns around Monroe County. It was, like, a buildup that whole summer that we couldnt wait to go to this Halloween Party. Reporter halloween Becky Brinson and her friend Chelsea Bruck just loved dressing up for halloween. Chelsea and becky worked together at a restaurant called olgas kitchen in monroe and, as they served their customers, they talked endlessly about what was coming. This wasnt going to be just any Halloween Party. It was big mikes annual Halloween Bash of 2014. Everyone just everyone knew, big mike has the biggest Halloween Party. Reporter and after all, their friends were going and thered be bands and noise and excitement and, who knew what all thered be . We were definitely gonna be there. Reporter big mike had made quite a name for himself, with his heavy metal music and his epic parties, here at his mothers farm. The girls had been to some of those parties before. And nothing bad ever happened. So, really why should they worry, as they dreamt up their costumes. Their clever impersonations of evil. We were both gonna be batman villains. Reporter chelsea would be the essence of evil, batmans nemesis poison ivy. She looked beautiful in her costume. Yeah, ill bet ill never forget. Reporter chelsea made it herself, spent weeks bent over a needle and thread. By hand, she sewed on each leaf of artificial ivy i didnt even know she could do that. Reporter and she found a wig, just the right thing. Maroon with tips, red like blood, like the wine jug she carried. Like the bright red of her poison lips. Reporter and she must have been very proud of it . She was. Reporter did they imagine even for a moment as they prepared. That true evil would find them here on this sleepy country road, not just the pretend kind. No, not as they tingled with excitement that saturday october 25th, 2014. And blended into the wild, bacchanalian scene inside two giant tents big mike had set up for the occasion. And the revelers poured in 600, 700 people, hundreds more maybe. Who knew . A parade of eight heavy metal rock bands blasted their shock waves into the night. One of them big mikes very own band, pick axe preacher. Thats him, singing the band had dressed up as Ninja Turtles for halloween. Somewhere out there in that crowd were becky and chelsea and their friend penny watkins. Me and chelsea kind of kind of attached at the hip. Reporter penny was a decade older than chelsea, had four growing kids. But, that night at the party . We were Walking Around and being goofy [ laughter ] kind of like two little schoolgirls, just laughing and giggling and drinking a little bit. I felt like 21 again when i was hanging out with her. Reporter chelsea was 22, grew up in a tiny safe place called maybee. She was the youngest of five children, still lived at home with her parents. She was nice. She was friendly, um kind of wholesome. Just this girl that, you know, came from the country and was ready to meet new people and do things and have some fun. Happy, happy start her life, happy to adventure and explore and do new experiences. Reporter just after midnight, the last band stopped playing, and big mike lit up a huge bonfire, flames up to 15, 20 feet high. We actually walked over there together. Thats when she bumped her nose. Reporter chelsea, that is. Chelsea bumped her nose on a tent pole. Had to hurt. Reporter was it bleeding or anything . It wasnt bleeding. There was a mark where she had hit it, and she was holding her face. We were kinda laughing at her. [ laughter ] cause j you know, she shes clumsy sometimes. It hurt, you know when you hit your nose and it kinda stings . I kinda babied her a little bit. Like, oh, youre gonna be okay. Its gonna be okay. She wanted to go home right then. Reporter oh . Its gonna be okay, its gonna be okay. Just drink a little bit. Itll go away. You know, and after a minute or two, she was fine. Then she was back, enjoying the party. Reporter then, about 1 00am, it was time to go home. Earlier, chelsea had asked penny for a ride home, but sometime during the bonfire they lost sight of each other. And pennys sister had work the next morning, and so had to leave right then. She had to be up at 6 00, so reporter oh my so it was time to go. Reporter such confusion. By then becky was holding chelseas phone because chelsea had no pockets in her poison ivy getup, but becky couldnt find chelsea either. And i was, like like, what do i do . Like, do i find a different ride . Do i get stuck here . Like, find go find chelsea . I assumed that, you know, she knew other people and she someone would give her a ride home. I felt like she was there with people in the community, people that knew her. So i didnt have a reason to be concerned that anything bad would happen. Reporter so they left penny and becky, who still had chelseas phone. Probably the biggest regret of my life. In hindsight it was probably the worst mistake ive ever made was not looking out for her better than i did. There was so much i could have done to help protect her, and i didnt. Reporter later, much later, someone would report seeing chelsea as the party wound down. In the dark. Alone. Seemed to be crying. And then nothing. Chelsea bruck simply vanished into the cold night air. Reporter where was chelsea . Certainly shed turn up by the next day. When we return at the time i guess there was a hope that maybe something silly happened. Reporter but that hope faded fast. There were probably about 15 people all searching through the field. Thats when it started getting more alarming. Reporter this is real. Yeah. Want in on the secret to ageless skin . Take the olay 28 day challenge see visible results day 1. By day 28 . Years off your skin age. 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Serious allergic reactions may occur. Never give up. See me. See me. Clear skin can last. Dont hold back. Ask your dermatologist if cosentyx can help you find clear skin that lasts. Reporter the day after big mikes Halloween Party, 2014, was a sunday. Recovery day i remember just telling my dad, how much fun it was and how happy i was to get outta the house and, you know, just all good things. Reporter penny watkins and Becky Brinson failed to understand. Just yet, it was going to be second guessing day, too. Becky, through the haze in her morningafter head called chelseas mom, left a message that she had chelseas cell phone. And whenever chelsea woke up that day, she could come get it. cause id be home all day. Reporter did you hear anything back . I didnt hear anything until late that night. Reporter when chelseas sister sent becky a message on facebook, saying chelsea hadnt come home. So becky responded. Shes probably at a friends house. Shes probably, you know, maybe still sleeping. Who knows . Maybe got up, ate, and went back to bed, you know. Who knows . Reporter who indeed. By monday, when chelsea had still not turned up at home or called or sent word. Her worried family contacted whoever they could think of, friends, the police big mike. I was sitting at breakfast. Reporter this is big mike. The party guy his real name is Mike Williams. And this is his mothers farm where hes lived pretty much all his life. I got a couple facebook messages. Did you see chelsea . Do you know where chelseas at . And im like, i didnt even know who they were talking about at first. Reporter it was chelseas sister who messaged big mike. The family was worried. Very worried now people were like messaging me, michael, look through your field. You know, go look. Take a walk. You know, im like, all right. Reporter but look for what . A body . Surely not anyway, look he did. I took my dog with me. We went walking. I went hiking through the field. Probably hiked a couple miles and then my dog stumbled on a fox trap. Reporter so mike took his injured and bleeding dog back to his house. And there encountered chelseas mom who, he said, gave him a chilly reception. He excused himself, took his dog to the vet. And then i came back here. And, you know, there were probably about 15 people here. Theyre all searching through the field. Thats when it started getting more alarming. Reporter this is real. Yeah. This is real. Shes shes missing. Reporter chelseas family was frantic, did not waste time. They set up camp here. Yeah, they did. This was kind of like their base for a little bit. Reporter did they put up a tent or something . They put up a tent. I had a generator, portapotty. And i talked to my attorney and what we should how we should handle it. And he said just just leave them alone for now. And then eventually theyll go away. And we took that advice. And just kind of let them do their thing. And reporter did they say, do you mind if we set up here . Or they actually i dont think they even asked. I think they just did. Reporter really . Yeah. Reporter cause they sort of suspected you. Yeah, they kind of suspected me. And i dont think they really maybe they were trying to put heat on me or something. Reporter maybe. Yeah, i dont know. Yeah, they kind of suspected me. And i dont think they really maybe they were trying to put heat on me or something. Reporter maybe. Yeah, i dont know. Reporter well, that might be an understatement. Meanwhile a few sheriffs deputies joined the family and searched the fields behind mikes house with their atvs and a search dog. And found nothing. But suspicion was in the air. That monday evening, at least as mike saw it, chelseas mom, understandably very worried, took on an accusing tone. Is she in your basement . Is she in your trailer . Do you have her . Like i have her locked up somewhere you know, that kind of, like, threw me off. Like, no, im out here helping. Reporter but here around the farm, people wondered. Was he . Anyway, that was about the time penny heard that chelsea never made it home after the party. Kinda got a lump in my throat. Like what . Reporter and she joined in the search that night. At the time, i guess there was a hope that maybe something silly happened, like she got her leg caught in somewhere. That maybe she just somehow was on the property. Reporter got lost, was in the woods somewhere or something. Yeah. I mean, this is monroe, stuff like that dont happen in monroe. Reporter its safe, safe little place. Yeah. Reporter the next thing becky heard was very early the next morning. Tuesday i got a knock on my door from the police. Reporter and then, finally, becky understood. Something awful may have happened to her friend chelsea. What did your mind go to . The worst possible scenarios. Maybe she walked home. What if she got hit by a car . What if shes in a ditch somewhere, you know . What if somebody kidnapped her or trafficking . Reporter there were cases of Human Trafficking . Yes. Reporter so people were being snatched, you know, women particularly. And then taken to be prostitutes somewhere against their will yeah. Reporter how did that feel . It was helpless. Reporter penny used facebook to get the word out about chelsea and kept looking. I was out there almost every day. Some nights i would put the kids to bed and go out searching all night. Reporter out on big mikes property, the family invited the media including our detroit affiliate wdiv to their command post. And chelseas mother tried to stay focused through her fear and regret. Had i known she was going to a party with over 600 people, 22 or not, she would not have been going. Reporter this was agony for a mother and for a sister. If she was able to come home, she would have by now. Reporter from mikes farm, the family sent volunteer search parties around the neighborhood and beyond. And they were still conducting searches throughout the fields. And they were knocking on farmers doors. Asking if they could look around their fields and things like that. Detectives from the Sheriffs Office were very active, too, by then. But theyd already encountered a serious problem. How to investigate six or eight hundred people, many in halloween disguise . Reporter coming up, an eyewitness. He saw chelsea. He described her as being tipsy. Reporter he also spotted someone walking away with her. He described this guy pretty good which ultimately led us to this composite sketch. Upon releasing that, we we got flooded with phone calls. Reporter when dateline continues traveled, what is your nationality and i would always answer hispanic. So when i got my ancestry dna results it was a shocker. Im everything. Im from all nations. I would look at forms now and wonder what do i mark . Because im everything. And i marked other. Discover the story only your dna can tell. 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With the card accepted in all 50 states, well continue to light the way. Independence blue cross. Live fearless. Reporter each day that first week, little groups of people showed up at big mikes place out in rural Monroe County, eager to follow a worried sisters direction. 5mile radius outside the first circle, my house, 10mile out. Thats where were looking, thats where shed go. Reporter while in town, the Sheriffs Office confronted a baffling mystery. Its a Halloween Party, so you had the majority of people in costumes. Reporter it didnt take but a minute for detectives brian sroka, and Mike Preadmore to get the picture. This wasnt going to be easy. Somehow, they had to figure out what happened to one young woman at a rowdy party of more than 600 people whod been drinking. Many of whom had disguised themselves for halloween. So, you put all those together, it almost makes it a worst Case Scenario to start an investigation. Reporter there certainly wasnt a list of people they could contact. Youre in the middle of nowhere and its its pitch black, you know, minus the fire and the a little bit of moonlight, and this partys going all throughout the Early Morning hours. People are coming and going. Theres just no accountability, whos there, whos coming, whos leaving. So, somebody walking through the grounds of the party, if they werent right beside the fire, it would be a little hard to tell who they were. I mean, its like some ghostly presence coming out of the dark and yes. Theyre wearing makeup, and then theyre gone. Yes. It was chaos almost. Reporter still they needed to figure out what happened, and also they wanted to understand the young woman who was missing. Chelsea, she almost became our sister during this. You talk to the family. I mean, weve searched her room. You know almost everything about her, it seems like. Shes 22 years old. Shes the youngest of five children, almost the baby of the family. She was the only one still living at home with mom and dad, and they they kind of were lenient on on her, but she was theres something a grown adult. Very special about that. Yes. Youngest daughter of the yes. When youve got a large family. Yes. So her place in the family was sort of family sweetheart, that kind of thing . Pretty much. And we started to establish this, you know, her personal history of she has nowhere to really go. She doesnt drive. She wouldnt just up and leave. Reporter which is just what chelseas sister told our toledo affiliate wnwo. She even had told my mom that night, im not even staying that long. Ill be home in a couple hours. She was just going to go with her friends for a little bit, and come back. Reporter detectives talked to chelseas friends, too, of course. And what did they tell you about her dating history . She wasnt currently seeing anybody, but there were a couple of guys she was interested in. So we obviously we looked into these people. These were guys she had dated before . She had dated, or is interested in. How carefully did you look at these guys she had been interested in, or had dated . Very in depth. Did any of them go to the party . No. No. Oh. So, we were trying to determine did they pick her up. Did they have someone pick her up . What did they know about chelsea that night . We brought them in. We talked to them. We searched their homes. We searched their cell phones. You know, we at one point, we even collected some of their clothing, you know, to maybe possibly get some type of every, dna, fibers. Reporter but detectives were hearing from people who had been at the party. We actually have six different people that we made contact with who let chelsea borrow their phone for phone calls,and then she actually tried to call two friends. Reporter one of those friends was penny who was home by the time chelsea called. She asked if i could come get her. At the time i thought i was being responsible, and i told her, im sorry, i drunk too much, i really have no business driving. She didnt sound desperate for a ride. She didnt sound upset. She never tried to call her mom or anybody else. She was seen crying a few times, you know, by the fire. She was saying, nobodys, she has no friends to give her a ride. She was cold. She was just upset. Reporter but then, a couple of days after the party, a woman called in, said her son may have seen something important. He saw chelsea, and he remembers clearly that it was chelsea because he talked to her about her poison ivy costume, and that how badly allergic he is to poison ivy. Did he remember what time this was . It was approximately 3 30 in the morning. He described her as being tipsy. Reporter but heres the thing, and maybe it was some kind of break in the case, he said he saw a man hovering over chelsea. You know, hes kind of comforting her, standing with her, you know, talking to her. Reporter almost like they knew each other, said the witness. He described him, you know as a little taller slender, hair swooping, wearing glasses, and then the two disappeared into the dark, he said. He described this guy pretty good to one of our a Michigan State Police Sketch artist which ultimately led us to this composite sketch. And released it to the public . Right away, as soon as we had it. Upon releasing that, we we got flooded with phone calls. We didnt realize how common of a look that actually is. I mean, a lot of people actually look like the sketch. Reporter Mike Williams offered an opinion. It looks like 150 different people that i know. You know, i dont know. I could take you to a bar right now where everybody in the bar looks like that. Reporter but mike told the detectives that a couple members of a milwaukee band that worked the party looked a bit like the sketch. Maybe talk to them. I dont know. Maybe she hopped in their in their tour van and went to back to milwaukee. I dont know. She was kind of a free spirit. So i mean, i thought maybe she just cut town. You know. We sought assistance from the fbi tracking them down. Nothing panned out. They all had alibis. Yes. Reporter but big mike . Neither the detectives nor chelseas family could shake the idea this guy was hiding something. Coming up we asked for his consent to search the house, and he denied us consent. Reporter big mike in the spotlight and, a new witness who says he saw chelsea right before she went missing from mikes party. So you went back out to the parking lot, and the vehicle that you put her in was gone . And her too. vera wang we got inspired. We jumped in. We got close. We waited. We tied the knot. We drifted. We walked in others shoes. We laughed. We created something new. We keep going, together. 10 years and counting. Vera wang and kohls. By listening to an thiaudiobook on audible. 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Reporter four days after detectives decided it was time for a serious talk with big Mike Williams. Chelsea. Ok, you know her . I dont know her, know her. But i do know who she is. Funny thing about mike. On the one hand he seemed cooperative. But on the other. We asked for his consent to search the house, you know, for any kind of evidence from the investigation and make sure chelsea wasnt even in the house. And he denied us consent. Reporter so, they did it the hard way. They came in with 13 swat guys in full gear. And i said, do you have a search warrant . And they presented it to me right then and then. And then are you gonna let us in or we going to kick in the door . Thats when i let them in. Theyre getting tough with you at this point. Yeah. They went through my house and they were searching for things, like, they left a terrible mess. Its the first time, i think, ever in my entire life of living here, like, forever that i didnt feel comfortable in my own home. Reporter outside, investigators took one look at mikes firepit and was there something in there . They dug through, you know, years of burning stuff. You know, having parties and what was that like . I kind of shoot my head. They had it all taped off and i think they dug all day looking in looking in there. Nothing. Still. Was he a person of Significant Interest . Oh, yes. Absolutely. We kept mike big mike close. Reporter but the investigation was about to take a turn. Det. Preadmore was at the office when a new tip came in about a young man named harlin bird. Hed possibly have information that would help us find chelsea or what happened to her. Reporter which is how the 19yearold mr. Bird wound up in an Interview Room at the Sheriffs Office. So who did you go to this party with . I went with my best friend i consider my brother. He remembers two subjects harassing a female in the parking lot of the party. And at this time, they were, you know, shoving her around and pushing her around and pushing around assaulting this female, and that she was crying and yelling for help. He intervened and he fought these guys off and he helped chelsea up off the ground. And he actually got blood of chelseas on his shirt. Could he describe her . He described her as chelsea. He he described wearing the poison ivy costume . As her poison ivy, the wig. He he described chelsea to a t. Reporter finally, a witness who could actually tell them something. I just told her to please sit still. I didnt want to leave her but i didnt want to stay there either because i didnt know whether or not if someone found her like that theyd blame me. Reporter harlin said he put the woman in a red fourdoor car, though he didnt know who it belonged to, and then he went back to the party to find anyone who knew her. I was looking for like 5 to 15 minutes. Walked back to the car and it was gone. So you went back out to the parking lot and the vehicle that you put her in was gone . And her too. Reporter the detectives knew chelsea bumped her nose at the party. So when harlin mentioned blood, that got their attention. So from where you picked her up there was a little bit of blood on your right shoulder. Not this shirt. I was wearing, it was a different shirt i was wearing but yeah. Im not saying it was a big spot it was just a dab. I didnt realize it until i got home that night and looked at my shirt. You still got the shirt . I should. Im pretty sure its being cleaned right now because my fiance has a or girlfriend slash fiancee well, if theres blood on it we want it for her dna. If it was cleaned would you still be able to get something off it . No. Reporter unfortunate, if true. But there was something about young harlin, that didnt seem quite on the level. And when you got her up she had a bloody nose . Well i didnt see her have a bloody nose, but i figured that she was bleeding somewhere because earlier you told me she had a bloody nose i didnt say i seen it when i ask you said it was up here i said it had to be because when she brushed my shoulder or her face on my shoulder thats what i figured. Well when i asked how much blood you said just a few spots. And i said from her nose and you said just a few spots. I dont know for sure. I mean im having a little bit of problems with your story here harlin. Im just telling you what this girl that i found. When a person tells a story like that, frequently its cover for having actually done something bad. Correct. Correct. You start thinking he says that he has her blood on his clothing, is he but i tried to save her. Is he trying to make yes. An excuse if something did happen to chelsea, if we find her with some injuries . Is he trying to account for that and cover that up . Yeah. Hey, are you in here for another reason . You know, did something happen and and did you have something . That youre and youre to do with it . Coming forward, but you dont want to come forward and just be direct . This is your way of telling us that you possibly had something to do with chelseas disappearance . And he denied he denied, you know, doing reporter they put some pressure on harlin. Did you take that girl and do harm to her . No. No. Did you take that girl and have sex with her . No. Did you rape her . No. Did you kill her . No. And it was through more questioning and his story kind of got, you know, it wasnt makin sense at all. And thats when, you know, ultimately we asked him, did you ever see her . Do you even know chelsea . Did you have any contact with her . He ultimately said, no, i just wanted to look good. He made the whole thing up . He made the whole thing up. This is nothing but a big lie that i shouldnt have done, and im sorry. Reporter of course they had to waste more time checking harlins stories, whether made up or not. And then they arrested him for lying to the police. Whats it like to think youve got a lead like that and then its gone . Its deflating. Reporter still. Something about that young man. As they moved on, they kept him in mind. Just in case. One tip that sounds too good to be true. He had a knife and he goes, this is what i used with Chelsea Bruck. Reporter and another tip, thats all too real. She says, oh, my god, brian, thats her shoe. H. Oh well, all hope is lost oh thanks clearly my whitening toothpaste is not cutting it. Time for whitestrips. Crest glamorous White Whitestrips are the only adaaccepted whitening strips proven to be safe and effective. They work below the enamel surface to whiten 25x better than a leading whitening toothpaste. Hey, nice smile thanks i crushed the tissue test yeah you did crest. Healthy, beautiful smiles for life. Try revitalift triple power antifrom loreal. I have more confidence. My coworkers were like, your skin looks great revitalift triple power visibly reduces wrinkles, refirms and smooths texture in one week. Guaranteed, or your money back. From loreal paris. I love her, and i miss her, and i want her to come home. Reporter when her family and friends gathered for a prayer vigil. Shes coming home. Its not hope, its a reality. Its something that i wish no one else ever has to go through. Shes just, shes your baby sister, youre supposed to take care of her, and be there for her and you cant. Reporter chelseas family moved their search operation from big mikes place to a more permanent base. They actually went to a vacant bank from monroe bank and trust, set up a headquarters. A lot of new faces today which is good because people are tired. Reporter and from here her family held for dear life to a fading hope. That chelsea was alive might still come home. Absolutely miss you. Love you. If someone is holding you no matter where youre at no matter, we just want you home. Reporter the familys organization was impressive. Each volunteer assigned to a group, each group sent to a particular area or neighborhood. And this just went on and on. Reporter soon there were posters of chelseas face and purple ribbons her favorite color everywhere. Reporter friends like penny worried she might have been kidnapped by sex traffickers. So penny went looking in the darker corners of toledo, ohio, a half hour south of monroe. I was handin out flyers. Have you seen this girl . You know in the areas where prostitution is known. I had policemen tell me, you dont need to be out here, you need to go back home, because i would go out at night because thats when the prostitutes were out thats kind of a dangerous thing to do, you know . I had to find her. I just you know, what do you do . I mean i couldnt live with myself just sitting at home and hoping that she turned up. Reporter chelsea was featured on datelines own missing in america series. Her mother tried to stay positive. Cannot lose hope. Cannot give up. The faith and prayers has given us that hope and if anything its only gotten stronger. Reporter but penny and others couldnt quite keep that up. I know her sweet mom always had hope, and i know one time i introduced myself and i said, i was chelseas friend. And she corrected me, no, you are chelseas friend. Chelseas out there. Reporter but christmas 2014 came and went no sign of chelsea. And then a week into the new year a break. Maybe the break theyd been waiting for, a terrified woman in toledo reported that her exboyfriend confessed to her that he killed chelsea. Ok kerri, im det. Preadmore, this is det. Smith. We brought her in right away. And another detective and i sat down with her and interviewed her. Reporter her name was kerri carr. When i went to go leave i walked out and was trying to get in my car. Ok. And he pulled out a knife. Ok. A pocket knife. And then he goes, this is the one i used on chelsea. She provided information that this exboyfriend of hers told her that, you know, he was at the party and that he left with chelsea, and that he ultimately ended up killing chelsea and dumping her body in the toledo area, in a cemetery. Reporter and kerri said he threatened to kill her, too. He like grabbed me by my shirt and he had a knife and he goes, this is what i used with Chelsea Bruck. He didnt say her name exactly what did he say . I need to know exactly. He said, i used it on chelsea, dont make me use it on you. You could tell that she was nervous, you know, real on edge. Reporter kerri said she lived in fear of her exboyfriend and she wanted him arrested right away. I want him locked up but i cant have him like questioned and then released. He lives on the same street as me. Hes going to go after me and my kid. Reporter if kerri was telling the truth, this was very big. Did you actually confront this guy . We did. We interviewed him. And we we brought up the same information that was provided to us. Without even mentioning her name. He says, this girlfriend of mine, kerri carr, weve had problems for a long time. And i believe that shes doing this to get back at me cause she dont like me. She wants to see me in trouble. Reporter the detectives brought kerri in for another chat. After a lengthy discussion, she ultimately said, yes, what her exboyfriend told us, that she was trying to get back at him and try to get him in trouble, almost like i got you kinda thing. You know, its frustrating work that you do. Yeah, this was i mean, this took days. You know, it took us away from the what were thinkin were investigating, trying to locate chelsea and find out what happened to her with this information that someone comes in and brings to us. Reporter so they arrested kerri, too, for lying to the police and they went back to square one. While chelseas family waited for something anything good. Still very hopeful that she is somewhere alive and well. Reporter and the searchers slogged. Its pretty marshy back there. Its a lot of mud. So its pretty tough to get through. A lot of downed timbers. So its challenging. Reporter cops deputies volunteer firefighters. Any type of clues, um maybe some things she might have been wearing or disturbed ground or anything like that. Reporter and everybody waited for something from the detectives. A lot of pressure. Oh, yeah, intense pressure. We did work on it every single day. All of our resources were still on this case. New leads coming in and you just kept chippin away at it. Reporter and then it was a sunday in late march Spring Cleaning time. And a woman called in shed found something on the edge of her property. How far away from the party was this . That was 2. 3 miles. So, that is a route that you know, many people leaving the party would have taken. Reporter her name was sheryl retzlaff. This is her. She told the detectives shed been cleaning up a winters worth of debris along the country road. Just like every other spring. What what sorta stuff do you find out here . Yeah. I find all manner of things. I mean, i have found cameras hanging from my trees with cd you know, the the disk cards in them. Weve found car radios and speakers. And cases of booze and broken booze bottles. Reporter she followed her usual route along the tree line. Where were you that particular day . That i start usually here. And make my way all the way around. And then end up back here. Reporter and thats where it was. A shoe. What kinda shoe was it . It was leather, flat. Okay. Red. Like a mary jane type of shoe. Reporter sheryl threw it in the trash bag. Moved on. My husband comes home from work and as per the usual hes like, so whatd you find this year . Im like, well, i didnt really find anything but trash, other than this shoe. And he was im instantly on alert. A shoe. Hes like, you know, sheryl, really, maybe, do you think it could be hers . And i knew who he meant right away. Right away. And im like, no. Theres no way. All winter . They searched everywhere here. How could they have missed it . How could they have missed it . Yeah. Reporter sheryl called the Monroe County Sheriffs Office and deputies came to pick up the shoe. And the next day det. Sroka sent a photo of the shoe to chelseas mom. Im on the phone with her. I tell her, i i just sent the email to you. Did did you get it . She opens it up and she says, oh, my god, brian, thats her shoe. And it it was just surreal. At that point, you your heart drops and youre like, this this may really be, you know, something weve been waitin for. And she checks with other family members and they also confirmed that it was chelseas shoe. Now, that was a tip. Yes. Reporter the shoe was tip number 623. But what does it tell you, really . Yeah, it it didnt look good. Uh but again shes still missing. We have one shoe. You know, wheres the other shoe at . Wheres chelsea at . Wheres her costume . Wheres Everything Else at . So and nothing else found in that area during nothing else. We searched within several miles on on foot and in the air you in fields, woods, and not a single sign of anything else. Reporter and then . Then a certain young man ran out of money. Fascinating, what a person will do when he has to. It looked kinda like a plant, like a fake plant. Chelseas costume. And a strange coincidence. What did you think when you saw that . The hair on the back of your neck kinda stands up. avo when you have type 2 diabetes, you manage your a1c, but you also have a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. Noninsulin victoza® lowers a1c, and now reduces cardiovascular risk. 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You just she knew at that point, i think, that reporter like the air coming out, yeah. Yeah. Spring. People go outside. They see things. Reporter was this here before . Was this here when you came that day, this berm, this earthen thing youre climbing up . Yeah. It wasnt as big to my knowledge but it was definitely there. Reporter erik kassab and a friend were trying to make some quick cash finding and selling abandoned bits of metal. This was 10 miles from big mikes. That day, i was comin here to find any scrap metal that i could take out. I was in a rock in a hard place and i needed money pretty quickly and reporter what do we call that, scrapping, or something . Yeah. It was scrapping. Reporter erik wasnt having much luck. And then inside this halfcollapsed ruin, he turned over a piece of disintegrating plywood and i saw what i thought was like it looked kinda like a plant, like a fake plant, so i went and picked it up. I didnt realize what it was, because it was all bunched up. It had leafs on it, like fake leafs. Reporter sewn on . Yeah. Reporter there was also a maroon wig. I did see the wig and kinda creeped me out, so i didnt wanna pick it up at all. Reporter so whatd you and your friend do at that point . I showed him. He told me it was a poison ivy costume. We actually contemplated keeping it cause it looked cool. Reporter yeah. And decided that it wasnt worth our time, threw it back down right where it was underneath the plywood and then continued to look for scrap metal. Reporter the two left with what little metal they could salvage and forgot all about it until about a week later, i was at work and i saw a poster for the missing girl wearing that costume. Reporter oh, and immediately you thought . Hey, that looks just like what i found. Reporter so, should he report it . Well, he probably should, he knew but, after all, he touched that costume. Couldnt that make him look kind of suspicious . Ive seen enough Television Shows to know what dna is. Reporter yep. And i was around the same age as the girl. There were just so many circumstances that could make me look like a suspect. I contemplated it. I didnt want to turn it in. I just wanted to leave it alone and pretend like it didnt exist, but i couldnt get it outta my head. Reporter erik joined his sister for easter brunch and told his sister about the costume and his dilemma. She knew right away what erik had to do. Had to. She was tellin me that like i had to report it. And she basically gave me the ultimatum. She calls the police or i call the police. Reporter so he made the call. I was actually sitting down for easter dinner. And then the phone rings. And our sergeant called and he said, im needing you to come in. We have chelseas costume and wig. And im thinking, are you sure . Are you sure this is hers . He texted texted me a photograph of it and you get that feeling in your heart and stomach and youre like, wow, this is this is what weve been lookin for for a long time. Reporter the costume had been ripped at the straps and the crotch. Important . Maybe. They sent it to the state lab for tests. And officers picked through the discarded junk on foot, by air, all day, and into the evening. And, right away, that easter sunday, the detectives brought erik kassab to the station for a talk. Its suspicious that he just happens to find this costume. He waited a week to call us. So, theres a lot of things that are looking kind of suspicious. Reporter just as erik had feared. Did you go to that party by chance . No. Tons of people went to this so were trying to talk to everybody who went to the party no, ive never gone to a party. So youre saying you didnt go to the party on post road in newport at all . Or no. However, at that time my babys mother lived in newport. Reporter in fact, his exgirlfriend lived on war road, the same road where chelseas shoe was found. You said you dont know chelsea. I dont know her. Okay. I gotta ask you yeah, i know did you have anything to do with her disappearing no. At all . No. Reporter erik swore he was at home with his daughter that weekend and had nothing to do with chelseas disappearance. He agreed to give his dna and fingerprints. All right. Open your mouth im going to swab the inside here. Reporter but there was Something Else about the discovery of the poison ivy costume. And it had to do with harlin bird. Remember him . The guy whod tried to sound like a hero, who told detectives he helped chelsea at the party, then admitted his story was a lie . This abandoned building, where the costume and wig were found, was literally 100 yards, 200 yards tops from harlin birds house. You could pretty much see harlin birds residence from where the costume was found. Reporter harlin lived with his grandmother in a trailer park directly across the road from the abandoned building. Reporter what did you think when you saw that . The hair on the back of your neck kinda stands up. Reporter coincidence . The detectives didnt think so. The first thing we did was call harlin harlin bird in for another interview. Reporter yeah. We think finally we got our guy here. Yes. Reporter because youd been kind of wonky about him before, right . Yes. Yeah. Things looked like they were adding up that we might finally have somethin on harlin. Reporter harlin came back to the station, this time with an attorney. How do we explain that those items were found that close to your grandmas house . I cant explain it. You recognize how bad that looks . I understand how bad that looks, but it has nothing to do with me. Reporter harlin admitted he had been to the abandoned building where the costume was found. Do you have any thoughts as to why some of her clothing would be found 1 10 of a mile from your grandmas place . No, unless someone is over there trying to frame me. Reporter harlin was adamant he never saw chelsea at the party, he made up the story. He had nothing to do with her disappearance. He did appear to be nervous, like you know, this is gettin serious now. I i really made everything up. I i really have no involvement. Ill do whatever you want. Would you be willing to take a polygraph . A Lie Detector Test . Uhhuh. Yes. Reporter harlin took the test, and passed. Are they accurate . Are they not . Can somebody deceive them . But we also obtained a a dna sample from harlin bird, because we did recover the leotard and wig, and we had a pretty good feeling there was gonna be some kind of dna on there. So he did give us a dna sample. Reporter so they sent it off to the lab, and waited. Penny heard the news, and still distressed by a sense of failed responsibility, felt some force pulling her to the place the poison ivy costume was found. Very eerie place. There was a train track just on the other side of it and i dont know, i just envisioned being tortured in there and the trains going by and the clinking and the echoes. But i just had to see for myself, i suppose. Maybe id find something that someone else missed. Reporter or maybe someone else would it was spring, remember time to get outside, clear the land find things. Reporter coming up i found a dead body on my property. Reporter has chelsea finally been found . I think its the girl that was posted all over town. Reporter when dateline continues. Dates. You look amazing. And you look amazing. Ly comfortable. When your vneck looks more like a uneck. Thats when you know its halfwashed. Add downy to keep your collars from stretching. Unlike detergent alone, downy conditions to smooth. And strengthen fibers. So, dont halfwash it. Downy and its done. An epic flavor. Its cranberry. Its pineapple. And theres no. Sugar. Added. Cranberry pineapple 100 juice. The next big thing to hit the juice aisle. Cranberry pineapple 100 juice. I have no idea how were going to get through this. Follow me. Unitedhealthcare has the people and tools to help guide you through the confusion. Well that wasnt so bad at all. Thats how we like it. Unitedhealthcare. Continuing our story nobodys seen her. Nobodys heard from her. Reporter 22yearold Chelsea Bruck had vanished from a Halloween Party. If she was able to come home, she would have by now. Reporter with hundreds of guests, many in costumes, anyone could be a suspect. A worst Case Scenario, to start an investigation. Police had found her costume. She says, oh, my god, brian, thats her shoe. Reporter but not chelsea. Where was she . A million things coulda happened. Reporter one mystery was about to be solved. I think its the girl that was posted all over town. Reporter one mystery remained. We need to find that person as fast as we can. Reporter here again is Keith Morrison. Im priya mann live in carleton where we have breaking developments in the search for Chelsea Bruck. Take a look behind me where just hours ago a body was discovered. Reporter april 24, 2015. About seven miles from big mikes place a dump truck pulled up to a construction site. A man was building his dream house, needed fill for a low spot on his property. But as the driver backed up across the springwet soil this truck gets stuck in the mud. He goes behind the truck, walks behind it to assess the situation, see if we can get it moving again. Reporter and thats when he saw it. A few minutes later the Property Owner called 911, very upset. I found a dead body on my property. Can you tell if its male im freaking out. Or female . Its a female. Because i can see the hair. Its blonde. I think its the girl that was posted all over town. Reporter he was guessing. Because the face was unrecognizable. But was it chelsea . Had the truck dumped its load of dirt, had it not gotten stuck, theyd never had a chance to find out. The body would have been buried forever. Instead we all responded out there. Um we had the crime lab from the Michigan State police come out there and help us out, too. We took a close look at the body and reporter had it been covered up or anything like that . The body had some small logs branches over parts of the body. Reporter as if somebodyd tried to hide it. Yes. Reporter not far from the body, they found one artificial leaf. Just like the rest of the leaves on chelseas poison ivy costume. Reporter that kinda tells you something, doesnt it . Yes. Reporter so, thats a hard call. You dont have absolute confirmation that its her. But you know it is. We had a pretty good idea. Reporter i mean, do you call her family then or we reporter do you wait . We went out and told the family. We wanted them to know before they heard it, cause the media was showin up. And we knew the news was gonna be all over it. We didnt want the bruck family to hear it that way. So, we went out and personally visited them and said, you know, we found we found a body. We dont know for sure its chelsea but its a female. We we we think it might be. You know for it to come down to that it was extra tough to go out there and be the bearer of such bad news. Reporter becky wasnt family of course. But it hit her pretty hard just the same. One of the ladies at work said, they found a body. And i went home, turned on the news. And sure enough, they were by the Railroad Tracks. And they had the helicopters and reporter what was happening in your tummy . Sick. Sick. My heart was pounding. Butterflies. And by this point, we just wanted to know the truth. And still, we had to wait for them to verify that it was her. Reporter they did that the next day. Dental records it was a relief to know the truth. But then opened a whole new door of questions of what happened . Why . Who did this . So, like, it was a whole new stressor. We almost felt more pressure on us all of a sudden, too. Because its not a missing person case anymore. Its a homicide. We know theres a killer out there. Is the killer gonna strike again . You know we we need to find that person as fast as we can. Reporter and thats about when the state lab called with dna results from chelseas costume. They found her dna, of course. In fact, her own blood was inside the front of the leotard. But someone elses dna was there, too. A man. A mystery man. Because we entered it into our codis system, and there was no hit. Reporter its a database of dna. Correct. The crime lab assured us that it was it was a pretty good sample, the unknown male dna. And they said, its just a matter of time. And sooner or later, we think well well get a match on it. Reporter they checked, of course, the dna of erik kassab, who found the costume, and harlin bird. And both men were cleared. When we got that information from the dna. It was almost like our investigation kinda shifted gears. We were in the recovered dna mode. We were trying to collect dna from anybody and everybody we could. Reporter did you go back to the people at the party . We did. We did. We did. The people we talked to on the first day of the investigation. We now were goin back and askin for their dna because, before, we didnt know there was gonna be dna. We didnt we didnt even know it was a homicide at that point. So, were goin back, makin a list of peoples dna we wanna get. Reporter like, for example, big mike. Big mike. Thats thats the dna that we wanted. Reporter and . He wouldnt give it to us. Reporter what was it with big mike . Was he cooperating or what . They asked for my dna. And i talked to my attorney. He said, you dont have to if you dont want to. And i just felt like i didnt want my dna in some database. You know, im not im not a criminal. Im not a felon. Also i felt like they were almost pointing, pointing the finger at me again. I was over it. And i was trying to move on with my life. Reporter and so Mike Williams stayed on the persons of interest list. About a month later, the medical Examiners Office told the detectives they now knew what killed chelsea. They ruled the the cause of death as Blunt Force Trauma to the face. We we had initially noticed, that there was a a break in the jaw. And they just kinda confirmed that there w were severe facial injuries, which they they believed was the cause of death. Reporter several facial bones were fractured, especially around her eyes. The detectives decided to keep all that secret. And chelseas parents held a private funeral for their sweet youngest child, the baby of the family. Hearts are breaking in this small town today. And then in early september, about 10 months after chelsea disappeared, the man whod found her remains called the Sheriffs Office. Hes doin some more excavating on his property there, movin dirt around, workin on the property. And he notices a red shoe. And we have several detectives that go out to the scene and it happens to be the the left shoe. Its the same size, same brand, same style as the one that had been found on war road. Obviously its chelseas other shoe. Reporter yeah. The detectives began to look around a little bit more. And they they happen to find the green tights of chelseas. So, at that point, we have everything accounted for. We have chelseas shoes, her tights, her costume, her wig and her body. Reporter everything, that is but her killer. Coming up peace and love. Thats my motto. Reporter a peaceloving suspect confesses but not to murder. I just like smoking weed and having sex. Remember 2007 . Smartphones . O m g ten years later, nothings really changed. Its time to snap out of it. [hello moto] snap on a jbl speaker. Put a 70 screen on a wall. Get a 10x optical zoom. Get excited world. [hello moto] moto is here. The new moto z with moto mods. Buy the new moto z and youll get a free projector mod. vo treating others like wed like to be treated has always been our guiding principle. Lrich matte lipstick. S new color riche matte. 16 shades pulse with lush comfort. Nondrying. Never flat. Its addictive. Matte addiction. New color riche matte. From loreal paris. Outer layer of your enamel tooth surface. White, the thing thats really important to dentists is to make sure that that enamel stays strong and resilient for a lifetime the more that we can strengthen and reharden that tooth surface, the whiter their patients teeth are going to be. Dentists are going to really want to recommend pronamel strong and bright. It helps to strengthen and reharden the enamel. It also has stain lifting action. Its going to give their patients the protection that they need and the whiter teeth that they want. Reporter big Mike Williams did not throw a backyard Halloween Bash in 2015. It didnt seem right, one year after whatever happened to chelsea. I wasnt going to do it. I i felt like i was just gonna be done with it. And then i kind of had some people kind of contact me reporter oh, no, you gotta have one, mike. Yeah. You gotta keep doing it. You gotta do something, gotta do something. Im like, you know what . Ill do it. Reporter mike took his party to a club in detroit. The investigation, however, was stalled. And so it was out of desperation, really, that in june 2016 they gave the media photos of this guy, captured from video shot at the party. Reporter what was that all about . So, we had received a tip r very early on in the investigation about a white male with a mustache that had showed up around 3 00 in the morning at a residence on war road. This is about a quarter of a mile or so, not even, from where chelseas shoe was found. This guy shows up at three in the morning, pounding on this guys door. Says hes comin from the party, hes lookin for a place to stay. You know, the the the gentleman says, you know, you cant stay here. You have you have to get goin. Reporter the partygoer took a snooze on the mans front porch, but he then left. And the homeowner found the guys vest the next morning and called the tip line. The vest had a a pocketknife and some rope inside of it. So, this guy shows back up, wants his vest back. He gets his vest and he leaves. Reporter weird. Back at the time, it didnt seem like much of a lead. But who knew . So they combed through the party video. And we actually could see several frames where this guy is actually dancin around wearing a black leather vest. So, were thinkin maybe this is the same guy that was at the house on war road, knockin on the door. Reporter but when those pictures went out on local media . Reporter did you find him . He actually came forward. Reporter what did he have to say . He came in and, you know, another key factor in the identification was he he resembled the sketch. He was reporter ahh, the original sketch. Looked pretty close. Yes. Yeah. So reporter thats a boom, boom, boom, boom. Yeah. I mean, things were adding up. And hes in the area where her shoe is found, late, you know, a knife in his pocket, rope. Reporter the young man said he was very drunk at the party and didnt remember much. They took his dna and scheduled a polygraph. But, on the very day that was supposed to happen the sheriffs evidence tech received an email. She says, hey, you guys, i i have somethin here youre gonna wanna see. And we were pretty much focused on what we were doing at that time. And we kinda, you know, said, hey, just hold off. You know, wait a minute. Let us finish doin what were doin. And she put her foot down and she said, youre gonna wanna see this right now. So, we stopped and she handed me the the lab sheet, and it was a confirmation of dna. Reporter it was a match to the unknown male dna on chelseas costume. But it was not the guy in the party video. It wasnt any of the men theyd been looking at. They could clear them all, including big mike. No, this was someone else. Someone new daniel clay. Reporter had you ever heard of daniel clay before . Never. Never heard reporter and hed never his name. Reporter come up at all . Not in this case. Reporter who is daniel clay . Daniel clay is a guy that lives in in Monroe County and doesnt really have a permanent address. He just kind of flops around from house to house, girlfriend to girlfriend. He has a few a few kids. But he just kinda does his own thing. Reporter someone thats not doing very well in life . Unemployed. Reporter oh, boy. And we had found out that he had actually been arrested a month or two prior, i believe it was in may of 2016, by the monroe city police, for a larceny from person, where he stole a a backpack with some tattoo equipment off of somebody. Reporter a petty crime, essentially. But its a felony. Reporter and unfortunately for daniel clay, the law in michigan had recently changed. Under the old law, only dna from convicted felons was entered into the National Database codis. The new law included the dna of anyone arrested for a felony. So, upon his arrest, with the with the new law in michigan, they they took a dna sample from him and sent it to the Crime Laboratory to get entered in the codis. Reporter so where was this guy . Well, that was one of our big things, was locating him. Reporter yeah. He was homeless and was just bouncing around from home, trailer to trailer. Reporter and imagine this. There were two warrants out for him for unpaid Child Support. So when they found out where he was, they set up surveillance and made a plan to arrest him on those outstanding warrants without telling him he was a murder suspect. That is, if they could catch him. On at least one occasion, we see a male subject come out of the front door onto the front porch and smoke a cigarette. And we confirmed that that was daniel clay. The deputies go up, they knock on the door. I mean, theyre poundin on this this mobile home for quite a while. Reporter oh, boy. Okay. So, it doesnt look like hes gonna come out. They keep knockin. Suddenly, the back door flies open and out comes daniel clay. And he takes off. Fortunately, we had several officers at the back door who were able to take him into custody immediately. They take him to jail, book him in just like a s hes bein arrested just for his Child Support. Can you let me call my girlfriend and tell her im going to jail for Child Support . Okay. Reporter so when they put him in an Interview Room, daniel clay did not know he was a murder suspect. And questions about the Halloween Party may have come as a surprise. So what time did you go to the party . About 8 00, 9 00. I was out of there about 10 00 or 11 00. Reporter did he say he knew chelsea . He denied ever knowing chelsea. Didnt see chelsea, never heard of her, didnt know her, until later on he s he watched stuff on the news and that about this girl that went missing. But denied ever knowing her. Reporter still, said mr. Clay, he did know a lot of women. He was a lover of women, he told the detectives. A real ladies man. He already had two children with two women, another on the way. A nice simple life, said daniel clay. I live like it should be like the seventies, free love, peace and love. Thats my motto. Like i dont like fighting, i dont like violence, i dont i just like smoking weed and having sex. Reporter well, really. Sex and pot . Oh, he probably liked those things a lot didnt he . But peace . Nonviolence . Hmmm. Time to figure out mr. Clay. And this was when detective preadmore went to work. You told me you never had sex with Chelsea Bruck. Never had sex, never nothing with her. Would there be any reason that your dna would be with Chelsea Bruck . No. Or on her clothes or in her hair . Not to my knowledge. Reporter a good interrogation is like peeling an onion to get to the truth at the core. Reporter coming up daniel clays story starts to change. When i ask you about Chelsea Bruck and having sex, theres a possibility . There is a possibility. Reporter when dateline continues. Trusted battery for your sons favorite toy . T maybe not. Maybe, you could trust he wouldnt leave the upstairs water running. woman screams or, you could just trust duracell. Gives skin the moisture it needs and keeps it there longer with lockin Moisture Technology skin is petal smooth after all, a cleansers just a cleanser unless its olay. Getting an appointment with a specialist shouldnt be. At Cancer Treatment centers of america in philadelphia, you can see a cancer specialist in as little as 24 hours. Youll meet with a physician who will discuss treatment options, answer your questions and recommend next steps for your Personalized Care plan. Learn more about Cancer Treatment centers of america and schedule your appointment at cancercenter. Com appointment reporter july 2016, 21 months and 1037 tips after the untimely death of Chelsea Bruck. Detective Mike Preadmore confronted daniel clay, the ladies man whose dna was on her halloween costume. Reporter you never had sex with chelsea at the party . No. Before the party, after the party . Nothing. I didnt even know her. Reporter like a patient fisherman, the detective flicked lures around his suspect. Youre a lucky man. I wish girls just be confident. Just talk to them. I think im a pretty confident kind of guy. Do you have a wife . I do have a wife. Thats probably the problem. Reporter so it went. Until, calmly and quietly, the detective broke the bad news. For all of daniels denials, dna doesnt lie. And his dna was on chelseas costume. And so the question how could that be . I did not do anything to that girl. I did not. Im telling you. Reporter he was adamant. They kept talking. And then daniel admitted he did have sex with a woman at the party, could it have been chelsea . Well, maybe. When i ask you about Chelsea Bruck and having sex, theres a possibility . There is a possibility. So that means i had sex with someone that night. I was out in the car and i [ bleep ] somebody. And then not long later, i talked to my baby mama, got in the car and left. Okay. Reporter so, time to reel in the fish. This is the thing. Hear me out, i have been nice. I think i have been a pretty a gentleman to you. Yeah. Really, and you have to me. All right. There are some things you havent told me. All right, but were getting there. I do not think youre a murderer. Im being up front. Im being honest with you. I have been honest with you 100 percent. I think something happened. You did not have any intent to hurt her. I didnt do anything to her. She was fine and breathing when i left her. She got out of the car and walked away. Reporter daniel, figured detective preadmore, must have assumed they found semen dna, so he told that consensual sex story. But then det. Preadmore revealed a little more that dna, he told daniel, wasnt semen. It was skin cells, recovered where chelseas costume had been violently ripped at the straps and the crotch. I have your dna where her stuff was torn. Nobody others, nobody elses. No one. Okay. Either something happened where it was intentional, unintentional, accidental, so listen to me. Now is the time for you to tell us what happened, because are you that monster murderer no. Did you have intention, but it just it just got it just slipped, it got out of control . No, i didnt do that to her. Or was it an accident . I had sex with a girl. Thats it. It was like it for a split second, time stopped for daniel clay, because now hes thinking in his head about all them lies that he just told me prior to, that he dont know her. Never had contact with her, nothing, nothing. No contact with chelsea, nothing. Now im telling him that dna was recovered on her costume, his dna. So, daniel clay now has to rewind and see how hes gonna cover up, with lies, the lies that hes already told me. Reporter and then det. Preadmore told daniel a lie. And im going to tell you one thing that nobody knows about Chelsea Bruck except us and her mother, is that she had brittle bone disease. Brittle bone disease is a simple [ inaudible ] a touch, a tap, where [ bleep ] breaks. Like my bones, i break my fingers a lot because of it. So thats what happened. It was an accident. I had to do somethin to relax daniel clay and open him up to talk to me and tell me what happened. So, this is where the brittle bone disease came in. And at that time, i think, in the interview, is where the turning point, daniel clay kinda leaned back and was like, oh, yeah. Yeah, that brittle bone ive heard of that. Thats i had my hand broke one time real and he goes on. Reporter the detective could almost see the wheels turning in daniels head, if her bones broke easily, could he say her death wasnt his fault . Daniel, not so calm anymore, asked for a cigarette. And told a new story, that he saw chelsea walking down the road after the party and offered her a ride. And then, he said, they had sex in his car again, and this time things got freaky. She told me to choke her. I choked her. Then we switched because she got underneath me. Like i dont know. We were [ bleep ] for a minute, and then she kind of stopped and she went limp. So i stopped. Im like, you know, i started tapping her face. Okay. I guess i choked her too hard or Something Like that. Okay. I wasnt even choking her that hard. I didnt think i got girlfriends that like to be choked and stuff. I know how to do it. Like i didnt realize her bones were brittle or whatever. So, he says, i attempted cpr. I kind of hit on her chest a little bit. And after that, he just freaks out. He says that he drug her put her in the back of the car and was freakin out, didnt know what to do. Didnt think of going to the hospital or anything like that. And he found himself driving. Reporter driving, he said, until he stopped by these Railroad Tracks and carried her body to this wooded property and tried to hide her with leaves and branches. He claimed he simply had no idea how her costume ended up in that abandoned building five and a half miles away. I dont believe we ever got the full true story of what daniel clay did to chelsea. Something made him snap. We dont know. Did chelsea simply ask for a ride home and realize that he was going the wrong direction and then confront him on that . Try to get out of the vehicle . Did she turn down his advances for sex . We dont know. Something something set him off, though, and just made him snap. Reporter they arrested him then for murder. But before news went public becky heard about it, and this was an added shock, the friend who told her about daniels arrest, a woman named jessica, also worked at olgas kitchen, and has a son with, of all people, daniel clay. Daniel had called jessica before he was taken to his cell. Jessica, its dan. Im going to jail for a while. A long while. And shes crying hysterical. She took a big breath, and she said her son dad had killed chelsea. And she like, like, im so sorry. And then, i started crying because i felt bad for her. It was crazy that it was literally one person away, like, in our circle. Reporter but daniel clay had only confessed to an accidental killing, not murder, so he pleaded not guilty. After all. No eyewitnesses no hard proof he meant to kill chelsea. The ladies man was going to trial. Reporter coming up the prosecution says it was murder. He obviously used Massive Force against her and ultimately killed her. Reporter daniel clay takes the stand to say, it wasnt. Did you murder Chelsea Bruck . No. This is a story about mail and packages. And its also a story about people. People who rely on us every day to deliver their dreams theyre handing us more than mail theyre handing us their business and while we make more ecommerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country, we never forget. That your business is our business the United States postal service. Priority you then moisturize with isaveeno® skin relief. With oat oil and natural shea butter, it softens and smooths extra dry skin and lasts for 24 hours. Aveeno®. Naturally beautiful results® we used to resort to some to take care of our jeans. Ahhh luckily we discovered tide pods plus downy. So our jeans stay in great shape. And they actually get clean. Tide pods plus downy. Super concentrated to clean and condition. Its got to be tide. Most people think doilies and cabbage roses. Aper, we wanted to make wallpaper cool again. One of the greatest challenges of running a Small Business is having to do a little bit of everything. Office 365 really lets us collaborate in real time. Once a client sees a 3d rendering, they get it. Who knew there would be so much math with wallpaper . The math feature is so amazing. Love, love, love teams. It simplifies communication from everywhere. It makes our 10person company feel like 50. I like that math. Reporter daniel clay went on trial for murder this past may. And as chelseas family and friends gathered here at the Monroe County courthouse, the prosecutors prepared to deal with a tricky problem. Daniel clay had confessed to an accidental killing. Leah hubbard and Michael Roehrig needed to prove it was really murder. Of course, theres only one person alive who knows what really happened that night, and thats daniel clay. And hes certainly no friend to the truth. Reporter although lead prosecutor roehrig admitted some of daniels story was plausible. I think that the fact that she was alone at the Party Without a phone, without a ride home it was cold, and she was dressed only in that costume, i think does play a role here. Because i think it makes it somewhat more likely that she might have accepted a ride from the defendant whom she would probably have been acquainted. Reporter but what happened after that, the state argued, chelsea did not agree to. It seems fairly likely that daniel clay demanded of chelsea that something that she didnt wanna provide to him. And he obviously used Massive Force against her to get what he wanted and ultimately killed her in the process. Reporter daniel clays claim that chelsea asked him to choke her. And, after 20 or 30 seconds, she expired . On the stand, heres what the medical examiner said about that. There was nothing left for me to evaluate whether or not chelsea had been asphyxiated. Reporter nothing to evaluate because of the severe decomposition of her body. But, could choking have killed her so quickly . It is not a 10 or 20 or even 30 second process. Reporter no, said the medical examiner. And certainly not by accident. And with constant pressure placed on their neck, a person will loose consciousness within 20 to 30 seconds. After that point, the constant pressure has to be maintained on the neck of an unconscious person for an additional two to two and a half minutes before that victim is dead. Reporter if the jury couldnt believe daniels choking story, what would they think about this . In this case, chelseas costume spoke for her. In fact, it really shouted for her. Reporter the poison ivy costume. Daniel had told detectives she removed it by herself, willingly. Not possible, said leah hubbard. In reality, it would have taken quite a bit more force than chelsea would have been able to exert to remove the garment. Reporter prosecutors called a state crime lab fabric expert. My opinion is the leotard was torn or cut and torn with a blunt object. Reporter and prosecutor hubbard argued chelsea would never have ripped her costume for any reason. Chelsea spent months making this costume. She was so proud of it. We never believed that she would have done that. Reporter and, look inside the leotard, said the prosecutors to the jury. The jury had an opportunity to see the blood stains on the costume. And they were significant. The costume was turned inside out and shown to the jury. And it was very clear that she sustained a trauma that caused a significant amount of b blood loss. She was therefore obviously wearing the costume when she was beaten and bloodied. The defendant, by his own account, indicated that chelsea was naked during what he claims was a consensual sexual encounter. But clearly what happened was she was beaten and bloodied first, and then that costume was forcibly removed from her. Reporter and all those strands of evidence, said the prosecutor, from daniel clays lies to the dna, the broken facial bones, the blood inside the torn costume, added up to first degree murder. But daniels defense attorney, russell smith, countered, uhuh. His client killed chelsea, yes, but this was no murder. Its a tragedy that this young lady is no longer with us. But the fact that these two people got together and one of these people passed away is not proof of murder. Reporter he argued it was just a horrible accident caused by choking during consensual sex. And he put on his own forensic pathologist to argue that as well. Some kind of neck compression, strangulation. Reporter though the expert conceded there was no physical proof of that. But, he disagreed with the states conclusion that chelsea was beaten to death. The facial bones by themselves would be an unusual cause of death. Theres a variety of things that could have occurred after death that potentially could have resulted in these type of fractures. Reporter then the defense called his only other witness, daniel clay himself. The one person who knew what really happened that night. And daniel swore his story about the accidental choking death was gods truth. And, when she died, he said, he panicked. I was extremely emotional. I never dealt with anything like that before. And never been in serious trouble in my life. Reporter as for the broken bones in chelseas face, he wasnt sure how that happened, he said. But he had some possible explanations. Maybe he accidentally hit her head with the car door. Or maybe he dropped her on the way into the woods. So how many times did you drop her if you recall . Probably five or six. Reporter or, he said, maybe, one of those logs damaged her face. I remember tipping a bigger one on her and a couple smaller ones. I just grabbed the one end of the log and proceeded to tip it up on top of her. Reporter it was all an accident, said daniel, and he felt just terrible. Every day i think about this and i regret what happened. Its something i have to live with. Its something that her family has to live with. I never wanted to put someone through Something Like this. Did you intend to cause her death . No, i did not. Did you murder Chelsea Bruck . No. Why do you say that . Why do you say no . Because i didnt mean for her to die. I didnt mean for this to end like this and this was not my intent. It was to have a good time. Reporter the prosecutor did his best to break daniels story. Said, of course, daniel didnt seek help, because people would have seen immediately that chelsea had been brutally beaten to death. And they would have seen her smashed in face, wouldnt they . No. And they would have seen her torn and bloodied costume, wouldnt they . No. There was no . I mean probably if they would have looked, yes. If they would have looked they would have seen it . Yes. Reporter but daniel said he was drunk and high that night and thought maybe it was all a bad dream. But then he said, he saw on facebook that chelsea was missing. And that must have confirmed it in your mind that yes in fact you did kill her. It started making things seem like they happened. I see. And thats when you contacted the police . No. In fact, you never reported ms. Bruck missing or murdered, did you . No, i did not. You never reported where her body was . I didnt remember where her body was. You never reported killing her did you . No. I did not. All right. Reporter daniel clay did not raise his voice he even came off as kind of sincere. Ive never hit a woman. Ive never done anything like this in my life. Its not something i chose to do. Reporter but, this was no accident, prosecutor roehrig insisted, and he implored the jury, just look at the evidence. The defendant murdered Chelsea Bruck. And then he discarded her lifeless naked body in those woods in an attempt to hide the evidence of his wrongdoing and escape any measure of justice for what he had just done. Reporter not enough, argued defense attorney smith. Oh, they should find daniel guilty, he said. But of manslaughter. Not murder. For daniel clay had no reason to kill chelsea and no motive to do so. He caused her death. Its not a secret. Is it a murder . What was his intent . Was his intent to kill her . Did he premeditate the intent to kill her . Thats the reasonable doubt, folks. Reporter what was the jury to do . Reporter coming up the verdict. You just heard gasps in the courtroom. And regrets. I know i didnt do anything wrong. But its something im not gonna forget. Reporter when dateline continues. People would stare. Psoriasis does that. 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But dont take it from us, take it from one of the millions of real women already in the know its not often you can say, you know i saw results right away visible results or your money back olay. Ageless there is not a friend that i have that will not own this product reporter Chelsea Brucks family and friends waited at the courthouse for the jury. A strange, nervous limbo. I feel like the prosecutors had a lot of evidence, a lot of people to back up the picture they made of what happened that night. Reporter but. Im past the point in my career where i feel confident about cases until the jury returns with their verdict. Reporter that afternoon of deliberation crawled by. It was about 4 00 or 4 15 at this point. The judge indicated to us in chambers at that point that he was gonna break for the day. Reporter some of chelseas family and the media were just about to leave the courthouse. And when the judge came back on the bench, he let us know at that time the jury had reached a verdict. That was shocking. I thought, for sure, it was gonna take at least a day or two. Reporter the jury entered the courtroom. Anxiety in the air. My heart was racin. We, the jury, find as follows count 1 first degree murder, not guilty. Reporter wait not guilty . Oh they werent finished. There was a second firstdegree murder charge. For killing chelsea while sexually assaulting her. Felony murder, guilty. Count 2, concealing the death of an individual, guilty. I was, like, i knew it. I knew it. You just heard gasps in the courtroom people crying. It was just unreal. Whats that feel like to get that result . Thats the closure youre lookin for. You know, you put so much time, effort it it this was a part of our life for several years, and and it comes down to that. And to get the conviction like that, it just it it feels satisfying and you feel very, very happy for the family. Reporter two months later, everyone gathered again for sentencing many wearing purple chelseas favorite color. Her mom, leannda, spoke directly to daniel. And what she said surprised many here. Today with the strength from jesus christ, i forgive daniel clay because if i dont, all that has happened the last 2 and 3 quarter years will destroy the rest of my life. But forgiving is not forgetting, because forgetting would mean that chelsea didnt matter, that chelsea is not important, that chelsea didnt exist. Mr. Clay, i am leaving you with a bible, jesus came to heal our mess of a life, and i hope you will let him in, heal your mess. Reporter was daniels response sincere . Only he knows, of course. This ladiesmannomore. I thank you for that bible, and i will keep that as long as im able to. Theres nothing more i can say except for i am sorry for what i have put you through and i will live with this for every day for the remainder of my life. I know her mother forgives daniel. Which is pretty remarkable that she would do that in court. It is. Could you do such a thing . One day, ill ill forgive him. Im not ready yet. Reporter and then the judge turned to daniel. Did not mince words. Whats very clear to me mr. Clay, youre a liar, a rapist, and a killer. It is the sentence of this court that you be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Reporter and a post script, chelsea was not daniels only victim. Shortly before his arrest, daniel sexually assaulted another young woman. In june, he was tried and convicted in that case, too. We have no doubt that if if he wasnt in custody right now, if we wouldnt be able to identify that hes the one that did this to chelsea, that there would be other victims, whether it be sexual assaults, more murders. Were just glad that hes off the streets and cant do this to anybody else. Reporter and big mike still throws his annual Halloween Party at a music venue in detroit. But hes not sure if his life will ever be back to normal. Even still to this day. Even though the guy is caught and convicted. Little things i hear Little Things here and there. And im just like, really . Really . Really . You know, oh, hes the guy that threw the party. Dont dont hang out with him. Like, what . You know, like, i you know i had nothing absolutely nothing to do with that. You know what i mean . Reporter becky and penny no longer attend big mikes parties. Difficult memories haunt them still if only they imagine if only. I know i didnt do anything wrong. I didnt mean for anything wrong to happen. But my actions couldve prevented something wrong from happening. And that goes through my head a lot. Its something im not gonna forget. How often do you think about chelsea . Every day. I think about her every day. I have a wedding coming up, and shed probably be in it. What would you say to her if you could talk to her right now . I talk to her all the time. That i miss her. You know. Tell her i was sorry. Sorry that i let her down. And that i loved her. But i think she knew that. cause i told her every day when she was here. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Well see you again next friday at nine, eight central and of course, ill see you each weeknight for nbc nightly news. Im lester holt. For all of us at nbc news, goodnight. We begin with breaking news in delaware county. Medics response to a high school. After people inside were exposed to some type of substance sfwl lye over the school. Where you see people gathers in the parking lot. Ambulances are on the scene. No word on exact will what the substance is. Were working the phones and will bring you more information. Also tonight. When two storms collide. Nbc10 issued a first alert. People heading to sundays eagle game could be in for a wet and windy mess. Good evening. Those storms could bring dangerous lightning. Lets get to tammie souza. This could change a lot of peoples