saw that? anger. with two young kids of his own, this case had already hit rick arnold hard. on the spot, he made a promise to erica s grandmother. you said we re going to find who did this? yes. that s a lot to promise somebody, isn t it? yes, it is. coming up, a glimmer of hope from baby erica. i was rubbing her hand and she opened her eyes. when against all odds continues. seen almost everything, so we know how to cover almost anything. even a parking splat. fly-by ballooning. (man) don t.go.down.oh, no! aaaaaaahhhhhhhh! (burke) rooftop parking. (burke) and even a hit and drone. (driver) relax, it s just a bug. that s not a bug, that s not a bug! (burke) and we covered it. talk to farmers. we know a thing or two because we ve seen a thing or two. we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum
burn in his memory throughout the investigation. the first thing that immediately hit me was the dora the explorer pillow. and it had blood on it. what was the emotion when you saw that? anger. with two young kids of his own, this case had already hit rick arnold hard. on the spot, he made a promise to erica s grandmother. you said, we re going to find who did this? yes. that s a lot to promise somebody, isn t it? yes, it is. coming up, a glimmer of hope from baby erica. i was rubbing her hand and she opened her eyes. when dateline continues. so you can spray and stay. febreze one.
knew it was your daughter. what went through you? i lost a son in 78 in a car wreck. he was gone when i got to the hospital. i shed a few tears. this was different. he was 21, had no children. the loss of erin was devastating. now the family had to deal with what happened to baby erica, finding out in the most impersonal way. i knew she was hurt. the police rushing her down the street, i saw on tv. reporter: later, they learned how badly hurt. she had been shot in the head. why, in the name of god, would somebody do that? reporter: it was this man s job to find out. in your experience, how many times have there been babies who have been victims? never a case i worked where a baby was shot. reporter: a pitching career at the university of louisville, now retired detective, rick
bananas are rotten, i don t eat them. what else do you know? erica s struggles from the brink of death became blockbuster news in her hometown. and the miracle baby became the media s celebrity as the familiar face for a community leader s campaign to keep the children of louisville safe. she is still the miracle baby, but she is also a great advocate for fighting crimes against children. erica, what do you want to be when you grow up? a nurse and a teacher. why a nurse? you have to help people. erica, come here. like the nurses and, doctors from kosair children s hospital who saved her life. we re so glad to see you. more than three years later, they celebrated erica s recovery with a red carpet reunion. taking it all in, surgeon thomas
hospital. steve kelsey also served as a minister in a local church. it was so moving and personal, but for jesse, then a crime reporter for a louisville journal. what el evaluated the story was simple. little erica. the public concern from the beginning was always there was a two-year-old involved. after nearly two weeks in the hospital, erica was well enough to move to nearby frazier rehabilitation institute, but the hard work was just beginning. the brain injury had damaged her ability to walk and talk. what had been second nature to her had to be relearned. running, talking back and forth, and just being a playful kid again. erica s sister who knew her best was worried. erica had lost sight in her right eye forever. and ebony was afraid she would never be her old self again. what was different. she didn t run and play and talk