that the bullet only struck the brain s frontal lobe, which can absorb injury better, especially in the very young. less than 3 years old, the brain s ability to repair is truly remarkable. after a delicate 3 1/2 hour surgery, dr. moriarty was encouraged by comparison scans of erica s brain. the bullet and brain fragments in the pre-op image were gone. despite the repair, brain injuries are unpredictable and dr. moriarty urged caution. next few days in the icu would be critical. panning in now. another shell casing. at the crime scene, detective arnold continued to sift through clues. more leads came in to focus. a bloody footprint. three big red soda cans and two cigarette butts by the bed. the second one had an ash about an inch long. someone had left that cigarette and rushed out of there. detective arnold ordered dna testing on the cigarettes and
what a blessing as opposed to the bullet going through and damaging and destroying everything. dr. moriarty was relieved that it only struck the brain s frontal lobe, which can absorb injury better, especially in the very young. less than 3 years old, the brain s ability to repair is truly remarkable. after a delicate 3 1/2 hour surgery, he was encouraged by comparative scans of erica s brain. the bullet and brain fragments in the pre-op image were gone. despite the repair, brain injuries are unpredictable and dr. moriarty urged caution. next few days in the icu would be critical. shell casing. at the crime scene, detective arnold continued to sift through clues. more leads came in to focus. a bloody footprint. three big red soda cans and two cigarette butts by the bed.
next to that is a cell phone. one of the first things we do is check cell phone records. phone records show that erin received two phone calls, both from a family friend hours before the shooting. james quisenberry had known erin for years and called her aunty a. police brought him in to see if he had any information that could help the investigation. one of the very last people to call her or talk to her by phone was you, which is why we want to talk to you. was me? uh-huh. quisenberry provided some names and order ffered to assis police in any way he could. back at children s hospital, erica was now in the icu, holding on for life. her heartbroken grandparents and big sister stood daily vigil. it was like a horror movie, really.
and offered to assist police in any way he could. help you find whoever did this. reporter: back at children s hospital, erica was now in the icu holding on for life. her heart broken grandparents and big sister stood daily vigil. it was like a horror movie. reporter: ebony took it very hard. 14 years older, she had been like a second mother to erica. in fact, erica actually called her mommy. by day four in the icu, erica s family was seeing signs of hope. doctors believed erica was strong enough to remove her breathing tube. now, it was time to see how she would do on her own. i was rubbing her hand. she opened her eyes a little bit and said, mommy. everybody was like, oh, my goodness, she s speaking. reporter: while erica took the first small steps toward recovery, there was a big sign of life in rick arnold s
repeatedly offered to assist police in any way he could. i ll help you find whoever it is. back at children s hospital, erica was not in the icu holding on for life. her grandparents and big sister stood by her side. ebony took it very hard. 14 years older, she had been like a second mother to erica. in fact, erica actually called her mommy. by day four in the icu, erica s mommy was seeing signs of hope. doctors believed erica was strong enough to remove her breathing tube. now, it was time to see how she would do on her own. i was rubbing her hand and she opened her eyes a little bit and she said mommy. and everybody was like, oh, my goodness. she s speaking. while erica took the first