My mother called and said michelle is dead. How is that possible . Reporter a young mother found brutally murdered. Her little girl left to wander in her mothers blood. Police had a suspect and they say he had a motive. But could they prove he was the killer . It was a circle case. Reporter except for that witness. The girl who left those footprints. We will never know what cassidy saw and what she didnt see. Maybe she couldnt tell detectives who the killer was, but maybe, she didnt have to. The fact that cassidy was spared, would that mean anything to the jury . The person that killed the mother killed about cassidy. Hello, welcome to dateline. Michelle young was married to her College Sweetheart four months pregnant with their second child. The young mother was beaten to death in her own bedroom. The investigation revealed a troubled marriage. But the husband was away on business and unraveling this case would take years. Here is Keith Morrison with Silent Witness. I think i paused f
had the chair and doll and mommy doll in other hand and just hit him. unsettling as it was, prosecutors wanted jurors to know he left a silent witness behind, a witness he would never harm. the fact that cassidy was spared, did that mean anything to you or would that mean anything to a jury? certainly, it meant that the person tha killed the mother, we felt, cared about cassidy. fiona childs took the stand. prosecutors pressed her about a life insurance policy jason arranged. and michelle had questions. it did raise a red flag that she brought up specifically her life insurance. she brought it up several times asking me didn t i think that asking me didn t i think that a million dollars was too much,
thank you. you may be seated. reporter: fiona childs took the stand. prosecutors pressed her about a life insurance policy jason arranged. it did raise a red flag reporter: and michelle questioned. that she brought up specifically her life insurance. she brought it up several times, asking me did i think a million dollars was too much and did they really need that. reporter: after michelle died, fiona found out the true amount of the policy was actually $4 million. i was just like in total shock. that is incredibly excessive. reporter: and prosecutors also told the jury about civil lawsuits against jason brought by michelle s mother and sister. one was a wrongful death case filed in 2008, a year before he was charged with murder. over the defense s objection, court clerk lauren freeman testified about that lawsuit. there is an alleged paragraph, paragraph 6, again reading verbatim from the record, in the early morning hours of november 3rd, 2006,
i do. thank you. you may be seated. reporter: fiona childs took the stand. prosecutors pressed her about a life insurance policy jason arranged. it did raise a red flag reporter: and michelle questioned. that she brought up specifically her life insurance. she brought it up several times, asking me did i think a million dollars was too much and did they really need that. reporter: after michelle died, fiona found out the true amount of the policy was actually $4 million. i was just like in total shock. that is incredibly excessive. reporter: and prosecutors also told the jury about civil lawsuits against jason brought by michelle s mother and sister. one was a wrongful death case filed in 2008, a year before he was charged with murder. over the defense s objection, court clerk lauren freeman testified about that lawsuit. there is an alleged paragraph, paragraph 6, again reading verbatim from the record, in the early morning hours of november 3rd, 2006, jason youn
jurors to know the killer had left a silent witness behind. a witness he would never harm. the fact that cassidy was spared, did that mean anything to you? or would that mean anything to a jury? certainly. it meant that the person that killed the mother, we felt, cared about cassidy. i do. thank you. you may be seated. reporter: fiona childs took the stand. prosecutors pressed her about a life insurance policy jason arranged. it did raise a red flag reporter: and michelle questioned. that she brought up specifically her life insurance. she brought it up several times, asking me did i think a million dollars was too much and did they really need that. reporter: after michelle died, fiona found out the true amount of the policy was actually $4 million. i was just like in total shock. that is incredibly excessive. reporter: and prosecutors also told the jury about civil lawsuits against jason brought