enforcement. i certainly wish them the best. and, in bringing justice for this just incredibly egregious act. eric williams was making the tv interview rounds, but he hadn t sat down for a formal interview with investigators. because of his connection to both mark hasse and mike mclelland, investigators had to take a serious look at him. on the surface it made seem impossible because he s a lawyer and a judge and successful. the more we learned about him, the more viable in our minds he became as a suspect. just a year before, williams had been prosecuted for theft by hassle and mclelland. you must be chomping at the bit to talk to eric williams. obviously, we wanted to talk to him. the problem was he was still
mike mclelland. in a surprise tactic, this trial was only for the murder of cynthia mclelland. why not just tried the murders at the same time? what if something went wrong on the first trial. we wouldn t have the idea to try him twice. and make sure that he got justice. christina sat in court. and had to relive the deaths of her parents. what gave you the strength to go to court every day? he showed up every day for the three people who gave their lives. for something good. they stood up. and they did what they were supposed to. and, they died for it? this is my chance to tell you the story of the murders of mike and city mclelland. prosecutor, bill, thought if he could prove that eric williams had killed cynthia. that would obviously show that he killed mike. this is the story of the massive law enforcement state and federal agencies working together for the airtight case. one of the people called
call her mom and stepdad. i tried mom, and she did not answer. i tried mike, he did not answer. by now it was late afternoon. so leah took things into our own hands. so i said, okay, i will go on over there. she did go over! and nothing would ever be the same again! coming up! the door just eeked open. like in slow motion. inside the mclelland house! a heart stopping discovery! i screamed, and then my knees buckled and i hit the ground and started crying! when dateline continues.
just the normalcy of mike, cynthia! you need to sit down and take a break! because you re getting tired! and we re just getting at! it day the next morning, saturday, the sun goes over the mclelland house. it was cynthia s data prep. she had sent me a text about the menu we re gonna have free easter. leah phillips, and her husband, close friends were excited about joining them for dinner. she was making our family all easter brackets. and then she would make clues, and hide the easter baskets. while that s elaborate! it s very elaborate. leah, who was supposed to drop off some vegetables for cynthia, texted her. and she never answered me back. did you think that was odd that she did not answer you? back the only thing i can think of as maybe she did go to work? where she couldn t answer the phone or text me back. leah called mike s phone, and the house phone, no response. and she was not the only one. christina was also trying to
i mean, i was frantic. it was terrifying! her colleague told her to watch her back. we do not know who s next. we do not know who s next tonight. just get home and be safe. watch out! are you feeling world targets? now we all felt that! including the people she loved most in the world. i think that was what was so scary. it s not just me anymore, i have no kids! my husband, my family, and, i mean, i cannot keep putting them at risk. mike, cynthia, we were all in danger. as deputies began around the rob watch on her house, something kept nagging her about the murders. there s no way that she open that door to anyone, it s someone we know, or someone like a police officer. it s so concerning. even a police officer. so that someone can be posing as a police officer? right! and everyone was wondering how the killers got into mclelland s front door. mike like his entire staff was still vigilant after the chief prosecutor was gunned down.