background here, but something on this level was overwhelming. the learning curve was steep. early in the excavation, one investigator watched as an earth mover dug deep and dumped a load of dirt, only to see a human skull roll down the hill and stop at his feet. it was an eye-opener that taught everyone from seasoned criminal investigator to backhoe operator to tread lightly. from the time that bone came out of the hole, just about every single remaining victim came out. they using the best technology the department could bring to bear, lasers and ground-penetrating radar. but the work was slow and the commander would soon feel as if the eyes of the nation were watching every move he made. i m wondering how many more am i going to find and how many more names am i going to go home with tonight? coming up parents who lost a child find a
of evidence recovered from that gigantic crime scene would have to be cataloged and stored until it came time to prosecute the west mesa grave digger. the size and the scope of this thing was way beyond i think what any of us imagined it would be as it unfolded. reporter: it was a crime scene that covered the equivalent of 75 football fields. and because construction crews had once leveled and filled a dry stream bed where some of the body had been buried, the team had to dig deep to find what had once been shallow graves. we re police officers. we re not archaeologists. we have a little bit of background in some of these things. but something in this level was overwhelming. reporter: the learning curve was steep. early in the excavation one investigator watched as an earth mover dug deep and dumped a load of dirt. only to see a human skull roll down the hill and stop at his feet. it was an eye opener that taught
be cataloged and stored until it came time to prosecute. the size and scope was way beyond. as it unfolded. it was a crime scene that covered the equal of 75 football fields. and because construction drews had once levelled and filled a dry stream bed where some of the bodies had been buried, the team had to dig deep to finds what had once been sha low graves. we are police officers. we re not archaeologists. something in this level was overwhelming. the learning kifcurve was st. an earth mover dug deep and dumped a load of dirt. only to see a human skull roll down the hill and stop at his feet. it was an eye opener. that taught everyone from seasoned criminal investigators to back ho operator. to tread lightly. from a time that bone came.
fibia or a tibia. no, we re talking about a skull. kind of if you re a human skull. you know, this is where some people believe the soul resides. i know. reporter: would brittany go for it? was there a moment, brittany, where you said, wait a second, enough is enough. let my poor mother s spirit rest, here. it took me a second to process when he said, i want to have your mom there. it actually took my dad to tell me, it s okay. reporter: and so, in april 2016, brittany and her aunt stood by as dana s grave was opened up yet again. i m trying to be strong. you know, i ve been wanting this for so long, and for most people it s bringing everything back. for me, it s just anger. i m mad. reporter: the second trial began a few months later. brittany s family and adkins supporters gathered once again
commander feist knew every scrap of evidence recovered from that gigantic crime scene would have to be cataloged and stored until it came time to prosecute the west mesa grave digger. the scope of this thing was bigger than we imagined it would be. as it unfolded. it was a crime scene that covered the equivalent of 75 football fields. because construction crews had once leveled and filled a dry stream bed where some of the bodies had been buried, the team had to dig deep to find what had once been shallow graves. we re police officers, not archeologists. we have no background in some of these things. something of this level was early in the excavation, one investigators watched as an earth mover dug deep and dumped a load of dirt only to see a human skull roll down the hill and stop at his feet. it was an eye-opener that taught