>> she is the definition of grit. >> she didn't give up. >> he's hurting me. >> the details that she gave. >> it was unbelievable. >> she said, you did it. i said, no, you did. route 66 once stretched across the southwest from one horizon to the next, going from what america was to what it wanted to be. cities like albuquerque, new mexico, were celebrated stops along the journey. today buildings that once lined this part of the iconic highway faded and closed as the cotton wood mall became the new downtown. >> the mall was the big hangout. >> i met my husband at the mall. >> so did i. >> it has played a pivotal part in our lives. >> for the marcell sisters, all six of them, along with their brother, jonathan, the cotton wood mall in albuquerque was important in their lives. 17-year-old brittani worked at a sunglasses kiosk. >> she is this blue-eyed girl with a big eyes and a striking mile. >> everything was good, until september 11th, 2008, brittani just starting high school had planned to meet her mom for lunch. >> i saw her favorite pair of sunglasses on the floor, and i thought that was weird. >> a seemingly trivial detail now burned into her memory because of what came next. >> i see her lying on the floor, and bleeding profusely. >> then what do you see. >> i see a person i never have seen before in my house, and he is holding a shovel, and he works through the living room and drops the shovel and around to the kitchen, and i am looking at him and he tells me i am next while he's reaching for a butcher knife. >> he's going to kill you? >> yes. >> what do you do? >> i ran out. i'm screaming and yelling. >> diane's screams got the attention of a passerby who was brave enough to help. >> he yelled back, you better get the paramedics here, she's going to die. >> diane waited outside, certain the attacker was still in her house. >> i am afraid to walk in, and he was coming after me, he ran to the kitchen. >> police and paramedics were there in minutes, and brittani was taken to the hospital. >> i thought she was in a car accident and we didn't realize what happened. >> i rushed home to my mom and she told me what happened and i truly thought brittani would die. >> the sisters rushed to the hospital but once then, they were met with confused looks. >> they are, like, brittani, we don't have a brittani marcell. >> putting brittani under an assumed name was a smart move, because then the family was told about a visitor waiting to get into see brittani. >> i said do you know a man came in to see her? >> who? >> we don't know. >> the man left before he could be identified, and diane had a terrifying thought, maybe it was brittani's attacker? >> i didn't know if this person was watching us from a far, did he follow the ambulance, and i went to the rest room and i would look at the back of every door to make sure nobody was in there and standing on the commode. >> fear took over. >> fear. >> her family could only guess as to who attacked her and why? >> we started looking, who is in our lives? was it any of the boyfriends? >> everybody was trying to formulate as to who, how and when? >> the marcels, they were self-sufficient, and the children looked out for each other. >> how do you think it shipped brittani being number five in this big family? >> she looked up to kathleen, kristin and alicia. >> remind me who is the oldest? >> i am. i think i was her mom, too, and the littlest one has the most moms. >> like her oldest sisters, brittany was disciplined and hard working. >> she was an excellent student. she had a good circle of friends. >> i think she kind of set herself apart from the popular crowd rather than was inside it and that's because she's very genuine in everything she does. >> brittani was headed to college and hoping to be a tv reporter. >> she graduated high school early and she wanted to study journalism. >> but her mom, diane, said brittani hit a rough patch during her junior year in high school. >> how was brittani acting? >> rebellious. just like a 17-year-old, confrontational if you ask them something. >> so she moved in with her dad? >> and he was not there all the time, so it was perfect for her. >> by the start of her senior year, brittani wanted to come back, and that's why she and her mom were meeting for lunch to discuss brittani's return, and instead brittani was attacked. >> what did the doctors tell you when she was brought to the hospital? >> she would not survive. >> were you able to see her? >> we could see her but she doesn't know. >> brittani's head was the size of a basketball if not bigger. i don't think any of us thought, that's brittani. >> what goes through your mind when you realize you may never have any moments with your sister again? this could be it. >> the moments you missed. brittani had a couple nights before asked me to go to a maroon 5 concert, and i was too busy and i didn't tell her i loved her enough, and she didn't know how much she meant to me and i didn't tell her how much i appreciated her, and my son will not see her again. >> you are having a rehearsal for a death that has not happened. >> coming up, who was brittani's attacker? >> this seems so personal . >> this person seemed like he was full of rage. >> who was he? >> we never experienced that kind of imminent danger -- >> when "dateline" continues. >>s e fund, we are giving back by reseeding native wildflowers and grasslands. learn more at airwick.us nexgard is the #1 vet-recommended flea and tick protection, and it's easy to see why. it protects for a full 30 days, prevents the infection that causes lyme disease... ...and is safe to start protecting puppies as early as 8 weeks. but your vet doesn't just prescribe it to her patients... ...she also trusts nexgard to protect her own dog. and she knows that its beef-flavored deliciousness makes it #1 with dogs. ask your vet about nexgard, and why it's #1 with pretty much... everyone. and why it's #1 (man) i'm a verizon engineer, part of the team that built 5g right, the only one from america's most reliable network. we designed our 5g to make the things you do every day better. with 5g nationwide, millions of people can now work, listen, and stream in verizon 5g quality. and in parts of many cities where people can use massive capacity, we have ultra wideband, the fastest 5g in the world. this is the 5g that's built for you. this is 5g built right. only from verizon. introducing the new sleep number 360 smart bed. it's the most comfortable, dually-adjustable foot-warming, temperature-balancing, proven quality night's sleep we've ever made. and now, save up to $500 on select sleep number 360 smart beds. plus, free premiumdelivery when you add a base. ends monday. when you switch to xfinity mobile, you're choosing to get connected to the most reliable network nationwide, now with 5g included. discover how to save up to $300 a year with shared data starting at $15 a month, or get the lowest price for one line of unlimited. come into your local xfinity store to make the most of your mobile experience. you can shop the latest phones, bring your own device, or trade in for extra savings. stop in or book an appointment to shop safely with peace of mind at your local xfinity store. >> reporter: while the marcells tried to grasp what happened to brittani, the police were trying to find out who did it. albuquerque police detective jason morales was the lead investigator. >> reporter: you've seen a lot of murders in your career. how -- how brutal was this attack in this house? >> it was very brutal. >> reporter: morales said brittani had been hit repeatedly with a shovel, so hard it crushed the left part of her skull. >> when i got here, the crime van was already parked out front. they had been here for a little while. they were waiting on the condition of the victim, brittani, to see if she was going to survive or if she's gonna die. >> reporter: morales said the fact brittani's purse and sunglasses were found right in the entryway led him to believe the attacker came up behind her as she entered the house. >> reporter: did you get the sense that maybe this was a burglary in progress and brittani just happened to come home? or do you -- did you feel like the perpetrator was someone that brittani knew? >> this just seemed so personal. it seemed, to me at the time, that we're looking at somebody that either knew brittani or knew somebody in the family. or there was something -- there was more of a connection to there. >> reporter: the brutal nature of the attack, did that tell you anything? i mean, this person seemed like they were full of rage. >> it does. we started trying to figure out who was brittani hanging around with? who might be a suspect 'cause it really -- at this point, we had no suspect at all so everybody is. >> reporter: morales believed the attack had just started when brittani's mom arrived. >> i don't think he was -- anticipating diane showing up. >> reporter: the pattern of blood at the scene indicated the attacker actually chased diane when she fled the house, but stopped for some reason. maybe, morales thought, when diane started screaming. >> and he panicked. so instead of going out a sliding glass door whether it was locked or unlocked, he jumps out of a dining room window, i mean, not through the screen, he jumps through the glass to get out. >> reporter: inside the house, morales found a room full of evidence. >> so once we were able to go inside, you could see it was pretty violent. there was blood on the floor. a shovel. there was duct tape. and, then, there was also a knife. >> reporter: a lot of clues. >> yes, absolutely. >> reporter: enough, morales thought, to solve the case. that is, until he got the lab results. the fingerprints found on the shovel, knife and tape were incomplete. dna from a male was found on the shovel and the knife, but it was so intermingled with brittani's blood, it was impossible to develop an individual profile. but on a shard of broken glass, police found a drop of blood that looked promising, because it was pristine. >> when he jumped out of the window, he cut himself. >> reporter: the blood drop was analyzed and a complete, male, dna profile was generated, which morales uploaded to the national criminal data base, called codis. >> to see if it would match anybody that's already in the database. >> reporter: did you get a match? >> no. >> reporter: no match? morales couldn't believe it. he was convinced brittani's attacker had to be a repeat offender. >> you'd have to figure that somebody that's done something in that extreme has done -- done something like that before. >> reporter: brittani's attacker, basically, vanished into thin air. >> yes. >> so now morales' investigation went from the lab to the street. he'd heard brittani was seeing someone, kind of a boyfriend. >> reporter: was he a potential suspect? >> absolutely. >> reporter: did you do a dna test on her s -- sort of boyfriend? >> yes. he was cleared. his dna did not match that. >> reporter: police didn't have to rely on just hard evidence, though. they had an eyewitness to the attack. >> i could see his height. reporter: brittani's mom had actually seen the guy. >> i saw he had jeans on. he had a long-sleeved shirt on, >> reporter: and what does he look like? >> either a dark caucasian man or a light hispanic with brown hair, kinda spiky. >> reporter: police created a composite sketch and spread the word across the rio grande valley. >> there was both billboards, rewards, crimestopper's rewards. names just start pouring in. so we were talking to a bunch of people. >> reporter: but to no avail. the billboard campaign didn't produce any workable suspects, witnesses or leads. meanwhile, the marcell family was on edge. in the days following the attack, brittani remained on life support, close to death. >> we really didn't know what to do when they said, "she's probably not gonna make it." >> reporter: their home, once a safe and sacred place, was now marred by evil. >> walking in was like someone died there. like, it was just morbid. >> it -- it was just dark. >> hard. >> very dark. >> going back there, it's a dark feeling you get on the inside of this is not okay and you just want to get what you have to get to survive and leave. >> reporter: brittani's mom soon found a rental house, but changing addresses didn't help with the lingering unease. >> whenever we're in the house, the alarm was set constantly. no open windows. no open doors until we go out. our whole lifestyle changed. >> reporter: the marcells were terrified brittani had been attacked by someone who knew them and their routines, someone who might strike again. >> we just never experienced that kind of imminent danger. >> i think it was unsettling for everybody. and i think they had every reason to be worried. >> reporter: they worked out a schedule, taking turns standing vigil at the hospital with brittani. they tried to be hopeful, but they also knew the doctors and the police all thought brittani was going to die. >> and all the reports at the hospital were looking -- like, the trajectory was for brittani to pass. >> reporter: but, somehow, brittani held on, and six weeks after the attack, against all odds, she finally opened her eyes. >> when brittani came to and she woke up, her eyes were blue like the ocean before. and they -- they were gray. and i kept thinking, "he took your light, oh my god, he took your light." >> reporter: and in brittani's new, gray eyes, her family saw something else, fear. coming up -- >> who is this guy that hurt me? why did he hurt me? >> reporter: brittani and her family still haunted. >> your friends, your teachers, your boyfriend. >> reporter: so everybody's a possible suspect? >> it sounds crazy but it could be anybody. >> reporter: when dateline continues. ve skin. that's why we always look for new tide hygienic clean free. it goes deep into fabrics, to remove the visible and invisible dirt. and, it's designed for sensitive skin. hey! what's that? it's got to be tide hygienic clean free. hey shaq, remember you were talking about the general being great insurance and we stopped letting you sit with us at lunch? i do. well turns out you were right. they're actually a quality insurance company. that's what i've been telling you. can we sit with you? *sips* ahhh. for a great low rate, and nearly 60 years of quality coverage, go with the general. >> reporter: brittani's beating was so horrific, we created sketches of her time in icu rather than show you the actual photos. part of her brain was removed, then she contracted meningitis which nearly killed her. one surgery after another. but brittani held on. and by christmas, three months after the attack, the family was told brittani would survive. but what would her new life be like? >> we talked to her, and she would blink her eyes and smile, but we knew at that point, her -- there was a lot paralysis. and that's when they told us her ear canal is crushed. she's going to be deaf. they also told us that her optic nerve is probably atrophied, which it's severed, just from the hitting of the head, the jolting of it. >> reporter: despite her extensive injuries, brittani's family started taking her on short outings. >> and we put her in the wheelchair and she still couldn't hold her head up. and she's drooling. i was like, "please don't let this be it." >> reporter: the family knew this might be all they could hope for. >> there was so much dead tissue in the front temporal lobe. they removed pieces of that. and they -- with the brain they were saying it's so unpredictable. that could be any -- >> your short term -- >> that could be your speech. that could be short term. it could regenerate. >> reporter: as they tended to brittani, her sisters continued to wonder who could have done this to her? >> it's violating because you start questioning relationships you trust. >> exactly. yes. >> at school, your friends, your teachers, your boyfriend, your circle of influence. you're like, "well, maybe it was you." >> reporter: so everybody's a possible suspect? >> even going to the gym, going to the grocery store, you know, standing at the gas station, i mean, it's -- it sounds crazy. but when you don't know who it is it could be anybody. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: it was all so personal. the attacker had been in their home. possibly stalked them. maybe brittani wasn't even his intended target? maybe it was one of the other sisters. no one could say for sure. but the family had to put their fears aside when caring for brittani, who now needed all of their help. >> it's really taking your baby and raising her all over again. so you're raising a child that you already raised. >> that, i think, was the hardest part, watching mom have to go through that again. you just -- you wanted to cry for them. >> reporter: five months after the attack, her condition had stabilized to the point brittani could be released from the hospital. but she was far from healed. >> she didn't realize why she couldn't walk, why she couldn't eat, why she had to learn all these things over again. >> reporter: as helpless as a child, which meant if the attacker returned, the marcell family was more vulnerable now than ever. so diane fled albuquerque, taking brittani along with the two youngest children to neighboring texas. she found a new home, a new job, and most important a rehabilitation clinic for brittani. >> her mom was very, very anxious because we didn't know who the assailant was, and that they were still very concerned for her safety. >> reporter: doctor lori wright was one of brittani's therapists. what was your first impression of brittani when you met her? >> she just didn't know much beyond where she was. and she was very, very confused. crying a lot. she had to have somebody shower her. she had to have somebody take her to the bathroom. she had to have all those things done for her all over again. >> reporter: doctor wright, a neuropsychologist, practices what's known as "cognitive behavioral therapy." >> we believe with practice, practice, practice, the brain can heal. >> reporter: which means teaching a head trauma patient to do one simple task over and over again until it becomes reflexive. >> because their brain is just not the same brain that that used to be. it's -- >> reporter: is it like rewiring the brain? >> absolutely. it is rewiring the brain. and so what do you do? you sit down, you do it with her until she's able to do it herself. >> reporter: brittani's brain injury was so severe much of her therapy was almost like a pre-school class. >> she would read her dr.seuss books to me. and that was a rehab. and she would have to read. and i'd read, and she'd read. it's like reading to a toddler all over and teaching a child to read. >> reporter: but the attack on brittani was so brutal, dr. wright wasn't sure how far she'd get in her recovery. >> there was 25% of the brain she wasn't able to access that she used to be able to access. >> reporter: did you think she'd ever get her memory back? >> getting that memory back, most people don't ever. especially if it's a traumatic brain injury, if you're -- you don't usually remember. >> reporter: if brittani's memory did return her account of the attack could later be used as evidence. so dr. wright didn't give brittani any of the details out of concern it could create false memories. >> when people come out of this kind of trauma, they're not sure if this is a memory that they're remembering, or this is something that somebody's told them. >> if her memory were to come back, we wanted it to just be her memory. >> reporter: as she slowly learned to talk again, brittani seemed stuck in a loop of fear. >> she would -- just on repeat, you know, "i'm afraid, i'm afraid. who is this guy that hurt me? why did he hurt me? and you know, what am i going to do if he comes to get me?" >> reporter: after months of constant, repetitive therapy brittani's brain did start to rewire itself. and in such a dramatic way it still brings tears to dr. wrights' eyes. >> it took a year. a year of intense therapy. and she didn't give up. >> and it's really hard to explain. brittani's special. she is definitely special. >> reporter: she is, indeed. as you're about to see for yourself. coming up -- >> reporter: britanni speaks out at last. you wake up from your coma. what's the first thing that happens? >> i'm just like trying to communicate. >> and she speaks to investigators, too. >> i put that big x through that one picture. i thought it was this guy. i really did. >> reporter: there was a time why choose proven quality sleep from sleep number? because staying healthy isn't always easy. but quality sleep is scientifically proven to help improve your overall health and wellness, and it couldn't be easier. the new sleep number 360 smart bed helps you fall asleep faster by gently warming your feet. and it helps keep you asleep by sensing your movement and automatically adjust to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. proven quality sleep, is life-changing sleep. only from sleep number. second a stay in place order. now back to "dateline." ine. >> reporter: there was a time when doctors gave brittani marcell just hours to live. but somehow she held on almost rising from the dead. in 2010, with her attacker still on the loose, the tv show "america's most wanted" did a story about brittani's case. as you can see in their video, through hours upon hours of hard work, brittani's mind and body began to heal. she's permanently deaf in her left ear and blind in her left eye, but these days, she no longer struggles to talk. here, at last, is brittani in her own words. >> you wake up from your coma. what's the -- the first thing that happens that you can tell us about? >> and i'm just, like, trying to communicate. but you can't at that age. i was at that, as you say, newborn stage per se 'cause i couldn't walk. talking was the hard thing, speech in general. i mean, after everything that happened, you're kinda like a toddler. you don't understand the language that you and i are speaking today. and, then, when i went to rehab, i was more of, like, a teenager, a young teenager. and as time went on, i started becoming more like -- a better -- like, a stronger teenager, like, knowing what to do. >> so you were rapidly going through all the -- the phases you'd already done once before. >> right. right. >> reporter: and by her side the entire time -- her mom. >> she's been there with me on every medical appointment, every surgery. like she's somebody who i look up to, very much so. she's, like, my best friend now. >> how well do you remember your high school years? >> like nothing. like, i don't remember that. but i remember my childhood very well. >> oh, that's interesting that you remember childhood but not high school. >> or middle school, very little of middle school. i -- i remember going to new york in middle school. but when i was in high school, not very much. >> reporter: brittani's nerve damage is so extensive, she's unable to shed a tear or control many of her facial muscles and is no longer able to smile. >> how many surgeries have you had so far? >> gosh, i've had, i wanna say, up to 20. my mom says, "i think you're done with surgeries." i'm like, "no. i'm not mom." i want my smile. that's what i want, my smile. and she's like, "well, most people don't notice that." i'm like, "no, but i do every day." >> reporter: the brittani you see today is not the same person she was before the attack. as her brain rewired itself, her speech patterns and even aspects of her personality changed. she became more reserved, more cautious. not as bubbly and outgoing as she once was. >> did you still have fears even though you had moved to a new state? >> i did. >> did you still feel like he could come find you? >> uh-huh. that's why on my, like, social media, i don't put a location as to where i live. i mean you can put where you live on facebook now. i don't put that. >> reporter: despite her fears brittani was improving, dramatically, and police hoped she'd eventually help them find her attacker. >> we asked her to look at the composite sketch and. she said it looks like somebody that she knows. but she just couldn't put all the information together. but i was hoping that she could, at least, give some information that would lead us in a direction whether it be, you know, somebody that she remembered being with at a party or somebody that showed up to work, you know, just give us another clue or a lead that we could follow up. and it didn't. >> another dead end? yes. very frustrating. >> reporter: meanwhile the marcell sisters, still working with brittani, did what they could to help with the investigation by going over facebook and old yearbook photos. >> and just flip through to see if she recognized anybody or had any idea who it could be. >> and anything? were you getting anywhere? >> she -- i mean, she would point to some pictures. but i think she was still processing what we were having her do. >> reporter: but there was one picture in what would have been her senior yearbook that got their attention. >> this guy just looks so sketchy, it's like kind of like you get that, that vibe, it's like he looks kinda almost guilty, like a criminal like somebody who's going to go out there and do something and harms somebody. that's why i put that big "x" thru that one picture. >> reporter: she did more than draw an x through it, she drew an inverted pentagram, the mark of the beast, the devil. >> i thought it was this guy. i really did. >> reporter: but it wasn't the guy. police investigated him and found out he was just a random classmate who did nothing worse than take a bad picture. so the family kept up their armchair sleuthing. >> were you passing along names of friends -- >> i was -- >> -- co-workers, anybody that would be in brittani's world? >> right -- even people in my kids' worlds and my world. i mean, i didn't -- at that point, i didn't trust anybody not to have done this. >> they were always calling in. you know, they'd see -- like i said, they would see somebody at the bank. and it looked like him. they didn't know who it was. but they'd give me a license plate. and we would follow up that information. but still, it didn't lead to the identity of the suspect. >> reporter: did you feel like you had started to exhaust everybody in brittani's world? >> yes. >> and how many -- how many names of -- of potential suspects or people of interest did the family give you? >> i would say somewhere in the area of about 30. the frustrating part is the fact that we have the key right there. it's brittani. >> reporter: coming up -- >> you're not only the victim in this, you're the key witness! >> that's the scary part. it's almost like a nightmare. >> reporter: enter a new detective. >> when she got, like, her hands on the case, she would call my mom almost every day. >> reporter: you finally had hope? >> i did. >> reporter: could she find a new lead? >> i thought, well, maybe this is the guy? >> reporter: when "dateline" continues. >> reporter: when "dateline" continues. the #1 pediatrician recommended brand . >> reporter: everything about the brittani marcell case was inside-out. police had the suspect's dna, but not his name. fingerprints, but too smeared to read. and two eyewitnesses, who couldn't identify the attacker. >> reporter: you're not only -- the victim in this, you're the -- the key witness. i mean, you know who did this to you. you may not know his name. but you -- you saw him. >> uh-huh. it's like that's -- that's -- that's the -- kinda, the scary part. it's almost like a nightmare. reporter: ironically, for investigators, the fact that brittani didn't die posed a problem. there's no statute of limitations for murder. but attempted murder is a different story, and two years into the case, morales worried he was running out of time. >> i wouldn't want something like that to be the technicality that gets this individual off in the future is the fact that the statute of limitations ran. >> reporter: for help, morales turned to cold case prosecutor david waymire. >> even if the defendant was ultimately identified through dna, even if he admitted the crimes, the statute of limitations, once it hits, it's an absolute bar to prosecution. >> reporter: but waymire had an idea as to how they could get around that hard deadline. indict the dna profile as a "john doe." a creative legal maneuver, but one that had never been tested in state court. >> although we felt like we were on solid ground to do it, we didn't know for sure that it would be upheld by the new mexico courts. >> reporter: with no other options, waymire went ahead with the unusual indictment. a good thing because the investigation was at a standstill. morales was afraid the only way he'd catch brittani's attacker, was if he struck again. >> i cannot believe somebody that would commit a crime of this nature would not mess up again. >> reporter: brittani's sisters were afraid they might be the next victims. >> i mean over the years, we will all sit around a table and we will go into hours of the night, trying to come up with possibilities of why and who. >> reporter: but the marcell family -- like detective morales -- had no workable leads. by the fifth anniversary of the attack, the case was no closer to being solved. >> i really hate calling cases cold. the -- it's just that you just haven't found that right person. >> reporter: sergeant liz thomson -- head of the homicide unit and detective morales' boss -- was optimistic something would break. >> you know, that one person hadn't talked or that one piece of evidence hadn't matched up. and it just took persistence. that's what it needed. >> reporter: but that optimism was lost on the marcell family. they were still living in constant fear brittani's attacker would one day return, possibly for them. >> it was a scary thought because we didn't know if we were being followed still. and we're all scared. >> reporter: and that's when, in 2012, brittani's mom placed an uncomfortable call to sgt. thomson. >> i finally said, "you know what, i think we need new eyes on the case." >> and so we had to have some hard discussions about what are the next steps? how can we move this case forward? >> reporter: sgt. thomson decided the best way to accomplish that was to re-assign the case to veteran homicide detective jodi gonterman. >> so, i read through the case. i briefed with detective morales. i spoke with the family. brittani didn't remember what happened at all. >> reporter: describe her for us. your first impression, what you thought of her? >> she's a go-getter. she's stubborn. she doesn't give up. she's just fascinating. she's cute, vivacious. she's a mom. she has kids. >> when she got, like, her hands on the case, she would call my mom almost every day. >> reporter: you finally had hope? >> did -- i did. >> reporter: that they would find your attacker? >> i did. she goes out. and she goes after, like, the evidence she's got. she goes after every tip. >> reporter: gonterman immersed herself in brittani's world prior to the attack. >> who she was friends with, what those relationships were -- who, who was in her phone, who the photos were, who she hung around with, what did she like to do? she was a very social girl. she was a very good girl. >> reporter: now five years after the attack, gonterman worked the case like it happened yesterday, searching for new leads, new witnesses. >> talked to neighbors, and i would look at every house to see is there anybody at this house who has a criminal history that would fit this type of crime. >> reporter: because the case had been out of the public eye for so long, gonterman and thomson began drumming up local press coverage hoping it would shake loose a new lead. >> so i did a piece on local media. we reissued the sketch. and, then, detective gonterman started taking in tips. >> and right off the bat, they got a good one. >> i thought, wow, maybe this is the guy. >> reporter: coming up. one name -- then two. then three. then four. >> a suspect was developed, and then another suspect would be developed and over and over, they were excluded. >> what is it that we're missing? >> i did not give up. we need to get an answer for brittani and her family to give them closure. >> when "dateline" continues. hes potent blend of nutrients so you can emerge your best with emergen-c. condos. 150k. how are you, son? who's your friend? oh, um, this is eric. ooh. the big "e." [ chuckles ] great to meet ya. people love my nicknames. it's a whole thing. that's wonderful, sir. switch to progressive, and you can save hundreds. you know, like the sign says. i'm still exploring what's next. and still going for my best. even though i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib not caused by a heart valve problem. so if there's a better treatment than warfarin, i'm reaching for that. eliquis. eliquis is proven to reduce stroke risk better than warfarin. plus has significantly less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. what's next? i'm on board. don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. ask your doctor about eliquis. and if your ability to afford your medication has changed, we want to help. our new scented oils give you our best smelling scents. now crafted with more natural ingredients your medication has changed, and infused with essential oils that are 100% natural. give us one plug and connect to nature. in just a couple of weeks, detective gontermon found someone who fell through the cracks earlier. >> what was the history? >> stalking his girlfriend. he lived across the street behind brittany. >> also suspicious, the suspect left after the attack. >> where was he? >> i think in colorado, if i'm not mistaken. so they surprisingly tracked him down and asked him for a dna swab. scientist alana williams took over from there. >> how long did it take you to see if there was a match? was it instant? >> no, so it takes several days to look at the item of evidence, swab the sample, extract the dna, see how much you have, and when it's on the instrument, you get a dna profile. >> at the end of all that did you think it was him? >> i thought it was a point i got my hopes up. then i was very disappointed when it wasn't. >> the dna didn't match. a big let down. one of many to come. then other tip. gonterman took it seriously who it was from. >> a parent saying i think it's my son who did this. my son would visit the house right across from brittany's home and he looks like the sketch and this was considering this would be very difficult for a parent, i thought, wow, okay. >> but when she got the man's dna sample -- >> he was excluded. >> another let down? >> yes. >> so she and thompson tried a different strategy, focusing on cases that bore some similarity to brittany's attack. they found one that was eerily similar. >> oh my gosh, the same part of town. it was at her own home. it was a shovel. they knew her. i thought how could it not be? >> but his dna didn't match, either. he wasn't john doe. the old school approach of working tips, leads and hunches wasn't paying off. so they went over the case file and came across a report about brittany's cell phone, in 2008, police didn't have the technology to break into the phone without erasing the data. >> so when it was first processed, there were only so many tools to get in it. brittany couldn't remember her pin. so years later, i took it down to the forensics laboratory for computers. >> you tried it again? >> tried it again. >> there was new advancement in technology? >> yes. >> this time technicians were able to get into brittany's phone and right off the bat, gonterman found an intriguing clue. >> a text message from a male who texted brittani the day it happened and wanted to meet her for lunch. >> wow. >> i was like, wow, we didn't know about this guy and brittani didn't remember him. >> did it have a name? everything right there for you? >> name, phone number. i figured out who it was. at the time he had gone to high school with brittany. >>reporter: she did an online search and easily found brittany's high school friend, to her surprise, he was a police officer. >> did that kind of rattle you a little bit? >> of course, it did. what a way to wait and not get caught and cover it up. >> gonterman contacted the officer, broke the news to him that he was a person of interest in the brittani marcell case. she also checked dna. once again it wasn't john doe. >> somewhat relieved it wasn't him? >> i was. but if it was him and he was a law enforcement officer, good, we got him. >> about how many men would you say you got your hopes up for that this could be the one? i think those four were the most significant. >> but many more were tested. >> a suspect was developed and then the dna profile wouldn't match. and another suspect developed and no match. every time it seemed like over and over, suspect by suspect they were excluded. >> we tested and tested and tested and no matches. >> what's that like up and down, up and town? you get your hopes up and it's not a match? >> oh, it's really hard and we have to remind each other, all time, okay, how do we move forward? what is it that we're miss -- missing. >> it's an emotional roller coaster. >> as the years slipped by and you have all those false leads, false hope, are you starting to wonder if maybe we're never going to solve this, maybe it's all for nothing what we're doing? >> i didn't give up. we needed to get an answer for brittany and her family to give them closure. >> like detective morales before her, she kept going back to participant my. each visit was like the last. >> she didn't have a lot of memory. it was talking to a little girl a sweet little girl trying to remember. >> by 2014, six years after the assault on brittani marcell, the detective was out of leads, suspects. >> gonterman and thompson believed if they were ever going to solve this case, they had to do something radical, possibly even traumatic, find a way to let brittany relive the attack that nearly killed her. >> there was no doubt brittani was improving dramatically, but she still had no recollection of the attack. nobody knew if her memory of that day was gone forever, or would eventually immerse from the haze, and they believed they had to do something radical and possibly even traumatic to get brittani to relive the attack that nearly killed her. >> we didn't know if brittani had brain damage that was interfering with her ability to remember the attack, or if they were repressed memories that could be recovered from using hypnosis. >> putting a witness under hypnosis is legally controversial, and many states won't allow it out of concern that the recovered memories could be nothing made up of nothing more than stories. >> your memories starting back, and i am afraid if i get hypnotized, more than expected would come back. i wouldn't want to remember the beating, just the guy's face. >> just enough to say -- >> this is him. >> coming up, do i have permission to hypnotize you? >> yes, sir. >> brittani under a doctor's spell. >> tell me what's happening. >> he's hurting me. he's hurting me. >> can he jog her memory and help solve this mystery? >> 1, 2, 3 -- >> when "dateline" continues. vet wildflowers. since 2009, we've lost 33 million acres of grassland and wildflower habitat in the us great plains. air wick scented oils is partnering with world wildlife fund to reseed 1 billion square feet of native wildflowers and grasslands... making our connection to nature stronger. learn more at airwick.us [ garbage truck creaking and whirring ] [ speaking indistinctly ] [ truck beeping ] [ speaking indistinctly ] [ beeping continues ] [ engine revving ] obviously, i have not been to the zoo since. [ truck departs ] what? switch to progressive and you can save hundreds. you know, like the sign says. so you're a small business, switch to progressive and you can save hundreds. or a big one. you were thriving, but then... oh. ah. okay. plan, pivot. how do you bounce back? you don't, you bounce forward, with serious and reliable internet. powered by the largest gig speed network in america. but is it secure? sure it's secure. and even if the power goes down, your connection doesn't. so how do i do this? you don't do this. we do this, together. bounce forward, with comcast business. brittani marcell had defied the odds. it would be his first criminal case using hypnosis and he was confident there were memories to recover. >> have we met before? >> i don't believe so. >> dr. morris was well aware, though, that what memories brittani did have the attack could be wrong. >> there's something called confablation. if a person doesn't remember something they fill in the blanks with things that may not be accurate. >> before starting, dr. morris made sure she was still a willing subject. >> if you have reservations about reexperiencing what happened to you, would that be too traumatic for you, i would recommend you don't do this? >> part of me wants to get it done. >> it may help solve the case. >> at first the session seemed to be going in slow motion. >> first off, i want you to hold your hands out in front of you like this. >> dr. morris calmly instructs brittani to slowly bring her hands together. brittani will be fully in a trance the moment her hands touch her forehead. watch the clock in the upper left hand side of the screen. >> your eyes will close and relax. >> it takes brittani almost 10 minutes to go under dr. morris' spell. >> i want you to open that door. and that's the door to your memory. >> a passage which led to another time and place, brittani's home on september the 11th, 2008. brittani recalls walking inside. it's empty. >> no, no, no one's home. >> then she sees someone. >> huh, who's he? who is he? no, no. >> her body shakes as she relives the beating. >> tell me what, what's happening. >> he's, he's hurting me. >> eerily, brittani describes this fight for her life in an almost flat monotone. >> tell me what's happening. >> he's hurting me. he's hurting me. i'm bleeding. i'm bleeding. bad. bad. >> can you describe him? >> he's -- he's tall. hair, like, like, like spikes. like spiked hair, muscle. light skin tone. mexican? hispanic? brown eyes. >> you remember seeing this man? >> did i see him at my work? i don't know. >> did you see him at your work, you said? >> yeah, maybe. maybe he bought glasses. maybe. >> brittani is apparently talking about a possible customer of hers at the cottonwood mall sunglass kiosk where she worked. >> so he may have looked familiar to you? >> uh-huh. >> he's tall. he's tall. square. >> face. almost square. >> his face was square? >> had a big nose. >> i'm sorry, what? >> big nose. >> he had a big nose. weird eyes. >> what's that about his eyes? >> weird eyes. >> weird eyes? >> yeah. >> brittani had been in a trance for just 36 minutes and had apparently provided more details about the attack than had been uncovered over the last 6 years. according to brittani, her attacker was tall, muscular, with brown eyes, a square jaw, big nose, light skinned. and possibly latino. and this was important: he may have been a customer of hers at the cottonwood mall sunglass kiosk. someone she knew. and whose name she'd hopefully remember. >> i'm going to bring you out of hypnosis. >> once she came out of her trance -- >> you will remember everything that occurred. >> would she remember the name of her attacker? >> 1, 2, 3. >> coming up. >> i knew what she told me, but i didn't know if it was accurate or not. new information from brittani and cutting edge new technology. >> oh, wow, if i was a suspect in a criminal case this would give me away. >> i think so. >> could it lead to a break in the case? when "dateline" continues. and protected from sensitivity. new pronamel mineral boost you said you'd never get a dog. you said you'd never do a lot of things. but you never knew all the things a dog could do for you. and with resolve you never have to worry about the mess. love the love, resolve the mess. the #1 name in flea and tick protection frontline® plus kills fleas, ticks, and chewing lice, and its fast-acting, waterproof formula protects for a full 30 days. with frontline plus, and new frontline shield for dogs with tick and mosquito repellency... you and your pet can go everywhere. ♪♪ ♪♪ no matter how you define it. frontline®. here. there. everywhere. >> one, two, three -- >> reporter: as soon as brittani marcell emerged from hypnosis, she had a question for dr. leon morris. >> who is he? who is he? >> reporter: brittani was hoping she'd blurted out her attacker's name while in a trance. but that didn't happen. the identity of her attacker was still a mystery. >> i was like, well, that wasn't really helpful. >> did you get upset during the session? >> very. uh-huh. i was just, like, angry. the reconstruction i've had on my face, you can't tell when i'm happy or sad, unfortunately. but it's like -- i was like getting that, like, mad face when i was being hypnotized just 'cause -- it was like you're feeling the pain of what's happening. >> it was not totally in vain, though. brittani's mom also said the same thing and brittani was able to provide new details of her attacker's face and physique. >> with those descriptors, we sent her to our sketch artist and had another sketch done with what brittani remembered from those characteristics. >> reporter: the two sketeches -- brittani's and her mom's six years earlier -- had some some similarities and some differences. while both said the attacker had brown eyes and light skin. the fay -- facial structure, nose and hair didn't match. dr. leon morris had a possible explanation. >> a lot of eyewitness identification is wrong! at the end of her hypnosis, i knew what she told me, but i didn't know whether it was accurate or not. >> reporter: no one knew if what brittani said while under hypnosis was accurate or not. the composite sketch based on her description failed to produce any usable leads. once again, the job of pushing the case forward fell to detective jodi gonterman. >> she's probably the best detective i could ever ask for. >> did you find yourself getting emotionally invested in the case with so many years going by and -- >> yeah. i did. yeah. >> i didn't think i would be graduated from college right now, i didn't think i would be doing that. >> to go to college and to come this far, it's just incredible. i mean, how do you do it? >> you gotta be strong in yourself. you gotta believe in yourself. >> reporter: and it was around the time of brittani's graduation that gonterman got another one of her out-of-the-box ideas. she heard about a new way to make a sketch not from an eyewitness account, but from a dna sample. >> they do a different type of testing that gives hair color, eye color, skin tone, ancestry. >> this is an incredible tool. >> it's amazing. >> reporter: the company behind this new crime-fighting tool is parabon where they do something called "dna phenotyping." >> it's essentially a genetic witness. >> reporter: dr. ellen greytak is parabon's director of bioinformatics. >> how does it work, in laymen's terms? how can you take dna and make a sketch? >> well, you focus on those traits that are passed down from parent to child. so if you think about, when you say, "oh, you have your mother's eyes." well, you have your mother's eyes because you have your mother's dna. and we can figure out, "well, this piece of dna we see in blue-eyed people, but not in brown eyed people. >> so all your features are connected to your dna. >> absolutely. >> reporter: parabon started off by helping the u.s. military create dna profiles from the remains of insurgent bombmakers during the iraq war. it wasn't long before cold case detectives were sending them e-mails looking for help, as well. >> these investigations that we're working on, sometimes they've been cold for decades. in these cold cases, they're cold because there are no leads. and in a lot of cases that's because there's no witness description, and we're able to give them that just with the dna. >> reporter: from a single dna sample, parabon can make an estimation of someone's hair-color, eye-color and complexion. we hired parabon to test a sample of my dna. but we didn't tell them it was from me until this interview. >> i sent in my dna as a blind -- >> that was yours. >> that was mine, as a blind sample. you did not know whose dna we were sending in. >> no. we did not. >> reporter: parabon built a profile of me as if i were a random criminal suspect. >> so all we received was a dna vial labeled tr19411, and so these are the predictions that we produced just from that dna. this actually was a pretty interesting eye color prediction, one we don't see very often. it will either come from people with fairly dark bluish green eyes, but a dark ring and a gold center. >> okay, so i have -- i have the gold center. >> i see it. >> the pigment that is in your eyes is a yellowish color. so that's why, as you get more, it turns green and then brown. and so you've got that pigment, but it's only in the middle, which is pretty interesting. >> that's fascinating. >> um, your ancestry came out as a mix of northern european and southeast european. >> my grandparents on my mother's side are from czechoslovakia, and then my -- my father's family from london, >> that's perfectly how it came out. >> well, you nailed that. good. so we predicted that she would have -- wider cheekbones and wider eyes, larger eyes, and then a wider jaw and a narrower chin. a fairly petite nose but a little bit wider at the the nostrils, and so the next page is going to include your composite. >> uh -- okay. >> oh, wow. >> the eyes look very much like mine. >> these light eyes, but with a golden center and a dark ring. medium blonde hair. >> if i was a suspect in a criminal case, this would give me away. >> yeah, i think so. >> reporter: putting together a profile like this is labor intensive and costly. up to $3,600. a lot of money for cash-strapped homicide units like albuquerque's. but after months of dogged persistence, gonterman wrangled the funds and shipped a sample of the john doe dna to parabon and settled in to wait. the process would take several months. meanwhile, gonterman set brittani's file aside and focused on other cases. and it was at this time -- in october 2016 when a name suddenly emerged from brittani's memory. >> she said the name justin kept coming up. >> i asked my mom like, "hey, did you know this person?" and she goes, "no." i was like, "well, for some reason that name keeps coming back to mind." she's like, "how often?" i was like, "like every day." i was like, "i don't know why." >> every day? >> every day. >> reporter: this was the first time a name had just popped into her head. brittany said hanson. >> he worked at the mall. >> these guys? >> he now you were going into control being -- >> the question was, why was brittany suddenly remembering him now? >> were you getting an eerie feeling or his name was pop nook your head? >> just popping up. >> nothing more. >> like what does this keep happening? >> he had worked at hollister and he would come over to my kiosk and all and, of course, run out of the kiosk, of course, and it was what i thought was mutual relationship. >> did he seem interested in you? >> i don't remember that at all. >> flirty? >> flirty. >> brittany called detective gonterman with this latest memory. >> she says a name popped into my head, i don't know where this guy was justin hanson, he would come in and visit me. it was nothing bad. i remember him hanging out with me an hour at a time. it happened maybe three month before the attack, he would come by and just talk to me. >> she knew brittani said under hypnosis, he said she may have met her attacker at the sun glass kiosk. >> did i see him at my work? i don't know. >> did you see him at your work, you said? >> yes, maybe, he bought glasses from me. over the previous nine years, the family asked them to investigate several men and none turned out to be the attacker, and this was the first time brittani has ever come up with a name so maybe this was a new memory that was important, and on the other hand, maybe it wasn't. >> coming up -- >> hi, how are you? >> are you justin? >> when "dateline" continues. no way! simparica trio is the first chewable that delivers all this protection. and simparica trio is demonstrated safe for puppies. it's simple: go with simparica trio. this drug class has been associated with neurologic adverse reactions, including seizures; use with caution in dogs with a history of these disorders. protect him with all your heart. simparica trio. these are real people, not actors, who've got their eczema under control. with less eczema, you can show more skin. so roll up those sleeves. and help heal your skin from within with dupixent. dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups. dupixent is a biologic, and not a cream or steroid. many people taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin, and, had significantly less itch. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. if you take asthma medicines, don't change or stop them without talking to your doctor. so help heal your skin from within, and talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent. if your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. our son says, since tide antibacterial fabric spray kills 99.9% of bacteria, he wants us to spray everything every time we walk into the door. it's just to be sure. just to be sure! tide antibacterial fabric spray. here's what is happening. air travel at its highest level since 2020, and in london calls for the metropolitan police asked to resign. the public held a memorial last night in honor of a woman killed earlier this month while walking home allegedly at the hands of a police officer. now back to "dateline." >> reporter: for sergeant liz thompson and detective jodi gonterman, calling brittani's case cold was an admission of defeat. but 8 years after the attack, the investigation had clearly stalled. so this new name from brittani -- justin hansen -- didn't look to be any kind of case-changer. >> she gave me so many names -- names of people, but nothing was really significant to her and all along justin's name never came up. >> did she have any reason why his name, of all people, was popping into her head? >> she didn't know. it just popped into her head one day. >> reporter: hansen didn't match the description brittani gave while under hypnosis. >> he's hurting me. >> reporter: that person was tall, muscular, and had brown eyes. hansen on the other hand is average height, thin and has green eyes. hansen was also a married father of four with no criminal convictions other than a dui. was this immediate for you? i have to run this down right now? or was it like, "okay, i'll get to it." >> well, i said, "okay, i'm gonna set it aside, and i'm gonna wait to contact him," because the more i had when i do an interview, the more information i have behind me is gonna be more helpful. >> reporter: justin hansen just didn't seem like a high priority, until three months later, january 3, 2017, when detective gonterman and sergeant thompson finally got the parabon dna report. dr. ellen greytak of parabon walked us through her dna analysis. this is the dna from the person who attacked brittani. >> yes, so this is from blood that was found at the crime scene, and so we find that this person, you know, has fairly fair skin. >> reporter: so this is a white male, as -- >> it's a fair-skinned male. fairly confident in that, and this person has sort of light brown hair. so, we say blonde to brown. it's fairly equally likely blonde to brown. so, it's sort of on the -— the lighter brown side, and most likely doesn't have a lot of freckles. >> reporter: there was one detail in john doe's profile that turned out to be crucial information. the color of his eyes. remember brittani's description of john doe. brittani marcell, brown eyes. well, it turns out she was wrong. john doe's eyes weren't brown. >> we found that this person has green to hazel eyes. >> reporter: which is unique. >> it's fairly unusual, yes. >> reporter: green eyes. the same color as justin hansen's and the sketch itself. here it is. >> when we saw that composite, i was like, oh my god. >> reporter: it was that close. >> it was. >> oh yeah. >> reporter: to justin. >> we think it's -- yeah. yeah. >> yeah, but i still didn't wanna get my hopes because i didn't wanna get disappointed again. >> reporter: still not convinced this man was the guy she'd spent years hunting, gonterman, along with a fellow detective wearing a body cam, paid justin a visit. >> hi, how are you? are you justin? >> i am justin. >> okay, cool. i'm jodi. we're detectives with the apd. >> okay. >> reporter: right from the start justin was calm and cooperative. >> i'm investigating a case, an older case and i'm just going back and to talk with the friends or the people who knew brittani marcell. >> okay. >> it's from '08. >> okay. >> reporter: hansen invited the detectives into his home, where gonterman started off with the basics. >> do you remember hanging out with her at her sunglass place ever? >> not hanging out with her. i walked by, maybe and kind a just, "hey, how ya doin'? what's new? how's your family? how's your sisters?" that kind of stuff. >> on a like, on a regular basis or do you just remember, like -- >> no, no, no. just when i -- when i think when i was working at the mall. i'd just happen to walk by and say "hi." it wasn't like a hanging out, regular basis type thing. >> because she -- 'cause brittani actually remembers you coming in and visiting her and hanging out and talking with her, like twice a week. >> no, no. >> reporter: after a few minutes of this, gonterman told hansen what she was really after. a dna sample. >> just to compare with the dna at the scene just so we can exclude everyone because that narrows down the field. >> reporter: expecting, or hoping, hansen would agree gonterman put on a pair of latex gloves as she continued to talk. >> not that you're suspect at all anyway, because you're not. >> reporter: but hansen hesitated. >> can i -- can i think about this then come back and see you? just 'cause seems kinda -- >> what's your concerns? what's -- >> what's your concerns? >> i don't know. me and my wife watch a bunch of -- a bunch of shows, and we hear people, you know, "oh, i've been...i've been in trouble, or i got in trouble for something i never did." and then 10, 15 years later they come back and "oh, it wasn't you," or that kinda thing and then they've been in trouble for it for a long time. >> yeah. >> can i get your card, though, and come back, and just so i can think about everything and talk to my mom or whatever? and if they're like, "yeah, this is what they normally do, type thing," and just come and see you guys? >> absolutely. >> is that okay? >> yeah. >> reporter: what did you make of his demeanor that first time when you went to go see him? >> well, you know, he was friendly. he was acting like he was concerned, but it was almost an act. >> but then he wouldn't give his dna. >> we thought it was odd for a man of that age to say they wanted to talk to their mom. his wife is right there. he's, what, in his thirties and suddenly he's wantin' to talk to his mom. and so we're like, "is his mom a lawyer?" and you know, just -— the whole thing seemed suddenly very odd and a big red flag, yeah. >> and he seemed like a bad actor -- >> yeah. >> -- when i spoke with him. it seemed like he was putting on an act. it wasn't genuine to me. >> reporter: before she left hansen's house, gonterman decided to rattle his cage by telling him, brittani's memory was finally starting to return. >> your statement doesn't match what she remembers. she remembers very well that you used to visit her. when she was bored, you would come in about twice a week and hang out. she remembers you used to wear tight abercrombie shirts and pants a little bit saggy you know with your underwear hanging down. >> reporter: hansen said he'd come by gonterman's office after speaking with his mom, but he never showed up. so, gonterman gave him a call to see what was going on. [ phone ringing ] >> hello? >> hi, justin. >> hello. >> hi, it's detective jodi gonterman with the apd. how are you? >> i'm doing okay. how about yourself? >> good. >> reporter: the call started off well enough, but the tone quickly changed. hansen said he felt targeted and outright refused to give a dna sample. >> i felt like the way you guys were coming at me was like no matter what i said. i was the person you were looking for and no one wants to be that. >> reporter: hansen ended the call demanding an apology. >> i'd appreciate a call to let >> i'll apologize after i get your direct dna. >> reporter: detective gonterman had been investigating justin hansen for 5 months now. yet, there was still a question mark next to his name. so, time again, for gonterman to get creative. >> coming up. an undercover mission to mcdonalds? >> they followed him, and watched him eat. >> a hunt for treasure in the trash. >> i said, "i can't believe this." >> when "dateline" continues. fd to reseed native wildflowers and grasslands. learn more at airwick.us dave! do you remember when we kicked you out of the band for recommending the general for our car insurance? yeah. turns out you were right about the general. they're actually a quality insurance company that's been saving people money for nearly 60 years. for a great low rate, and nearly 60 years of quality coverage, go with the general. for a great low rate, and nearly 60 years (man) i'm a verizon engineer, part of the team that built 5g right, the only one from america's most reliable network. we designed our 5g to make the things you do every day better. with 5g nationwide, millions of people can now work, listen, and stream in verizon 5g quality. and in parts of many cities where people can use massive capacity, we have ultra wideband, the fastest 5g in the world. this is the 5g that's built for you. this is 5g built right. only from verizon. >> reporter: if justin hansen really was the guy who assaulted brittani marcell, he'd done a masterful job getting away with it. over the course of a nine-year investigation, not once had police considered him a suspect. >> it's pretty unique that his name had never been mentioned by any of the family, the friends. >> reporter: and now that he'd come to the attention of prosecutor david waymire and detective jodi gonterman, after brittani remembered his name, hansen was able to keep them at bay by simply refusing a dna test. >> so our district attorney suggested having him followed and getting his dna. >> and one of the main ways that that can be done is through things that a subject throws away. >> reporter: on april 3, 2017, six months after brittani told police about hansen, detective gonterman requested a couple of undercover officers to tail him. but by the time the request was approved, two months later, hansen had both moved and quit his job. police didn't know where he was. two more months passed before the surveillance team tracked hansen to his new job at this this body shop in north albuquerque. >> and they followed him to a mcdonalds. and they watched him eat. and he took the lid off of his mcdonalds cup. and he drank it directly out of the cup. and when he walked out, the trash was pretty full, like, to the top. and he wrapped his own meal, his own trash nicely in the placemat that comes on your tray. so it was all separated from everything else. and so the undercover detective just walked right behind him and picked up -- picked it up. >> reporter: and the detectives took that trash straight to albuquerque police criminalist, alanna williams. >> i really did not have high hopes that this would be the individual that might match to our unknown person. >> reporter: she'd already processed the dna of 17 potential suspects without a match. no reason to think number 18 would be any different. what was the results from this suspect, justin hansen? >> it was a complete match. >> reporter: after a nine-year investigation and 18 dna tests, "john doe" had finally been identified. it was justin hansen. did you keep checking it over and over again, just like a lottery ticket? [ laughter ] >> i -- i actually checked it twice. i did it once and then i went back through and i checked it again. and i said, "i can't believe this." >> reporter: williams wanted to deliver news this big in person. >> and alanna told her. and i wish i had it on video because jodi -- [ laughter ] i think she jumped about four feet off the ground and -- >> threw my keys. >> yeah. it was very, very exciting and was such good news. >> and then i -- yeah. >> and, then -- yeah. we were -- >> and, then, i broke down crying. >> -- all just in tears. >> and, then, we all started crying. and i said, "i can't believe it. i can't believe it. oh, my god. i gotta call diane." >> well, i'm at work. and she goes, "diane, hey, how you doin'?" i said, "i'm fine." and i'm thinking, "great, more bad news," 'cause every phone call had been kinda, like, "yeah, it's not him." she goes, "we've got a match." i'm like -- just blown over and i'm overwhelmed and i could hear the emotions in her voice. and -- and she says, "yeah, we've got a match." and said, "this is how it happened." and i'm goin' -- >> reporter: wow. >> "just like on tv, huh?" [ laughter ] and goes, "yeah, it does happen." >> reporter: diane then called brittani, who was in boston with sister, jennifer. >> i said jodi called, and she's got a match. >> she's like, "they know who the guy is." i'm like, "what?" she goes, "it's a dna match 100%." i'm like, "who is it?" she goes, "justin hansen who you ga -- you remember giving that tip to her?" i'm like, "yeah." she says, "it's 100% match." i'm like, "well, holy crap." i was like, "my prayers were answered." so i called jodi. and i'm like, "you have no idea how thankful i am for -- for you solving this, jodi." she goes, "no. you did it." i said, "no, you did." she goes, "you have me the name." i was all, "but you acted on it." >> reporter: hansen was arrested while out shopping. for the marcell sisters, it was hard believe the monster who'd haunted them for the past nine years may have been just a guy they knew from the mall. >> and i thought, "this guy? this little, skinny guy? like, he is charming, but how could he have done something so horrible?" like, this guy looks great. it messes with your mind. like, it's so frustrating -- >> because it's not black and white. >> right. >> because we wanna put our criminals or our violent offenders in this -- and they look like this. and he doesn't look like that -- >> reporter: he's the cute guy who worked at the -- the clothing store in the mall. >> yeah. and people liked him and wanted to date him. and, like, you did that? >> reporter: the next hurdle would be the trial. brittani would have to testify and re-live the emotional trauma of the attack. normally, people don't look forward to trials like this. are you actually looking forward to it to get it done and to see justice? >> very much so. i can finally kind of close that chapter finally after nine years. >> reporter: what brittani didn't know at the time of this interview was that there were problems with the case. believe it or not, there were serious doubts justin hansen would ever go on trial. coming up -- a stunning setback. the case against justin takes another dramatic turn. >> there's a lot of evidence that doesn't make sense. it's hard to prove your innocence after a certain amount of time. >> when "dateline" continues. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ is skincare from around the world better than olay? to find out, olay faced the world. we tested our vitamin b3 formula and beat japan's top moisturizers. south korea's most innovative. and even the $400 french cream. olay regenerist faced 131 premium products in 12 countries, over 10 years. olay's hydration was unbeaten every time. olay. face anything. introducing the new sleep number 360 smart bed. it's the most comfortable, body-sensing, automatically-responding, energy-building, dually-adjustable, dad-powering, wellness-boosting, foot-warming, snore-relieving, temperature-balancing, recovery-assisting, effortlessly life-changing, proven quality night's sleep we've ever made. and now, save up to $500 on select sleep number 360 smart beds. plus, 0% interest for 48 months & free premium delivery when you add a base. ends monday. >> reporter: police found a mountain of evidence at the marcell house following the attack on brittani. there was the shovel, the knife, the duct tape, even the clothes brttani was wearing. all collected and carefully stored away. and of course, when detective gonterman started working brittani's case, she wanted to see it all first hand. >> when i went to pull evidence and view it myself, it wasn't there. >> reporter: where was it? >> it had been destroyed. >> reporter: all of it gone due to a simple clerical error. >> when anyone retires, you get a list of evidence on cases. there's a box. you either check dispose or retain, and the box was checked dispose for this case. >> reporter: i mean, what's that moment like when you're trying to solve this case, only to find out that physical evidence has been destroyed by your own police department? >> well, i was pretty upset. i was pretty mad. okay, to be honest, i was really mad. >> reporter: the most important piece of evidence, though, was that blood drop which was stored separately. the defense would want their own experts to test it. so if it was missing, too, the case against hansen might well be over. was that kind of a, "oh, my gosh, what if this has been destroyed, too?" >> yes. >> reporter: because then you're kind of done. >> i was stressed. >> i met with alana williams, the forensic scientist. she went to look for it and she found it. it was in the freezer. and so, thank god. >> reporter: still, prosecutor david waymire knew the case had taken a serious hit. >> proving a case beyond a reasonable doubt, unanimously to 12 jurors, would be difficult when we had evidentiary problems. >> reporter: justin hansen's defense attorney could now claim the albuquerque police department had mishandled evidence. evidence that may have pointed to another suspect. >> a judge and a jury might very well hold that against us and that could make it more difficult to get a conviction. >> reporter: while awaiting trial, the judge allowed hansen to be placed under house arrest. we tried for months to get him to sit down with dateline, but he put us off. he finally agreed to talk, when we dropped in on the farm house where he was living outside of albuquerque. overcome with emotion, justin hansen fought back tears as his family looked on. this case i mean, is unreal, all the twist and turns that have happened. what do you make of everything? i mean you're at the center of it. >> it's hard. it's hard to try to take everything in. lots of nights of not sleeping. lots of nights of trying to figure things out. >> reporter: what do you say to people who say that there is irrefutable evidence in this case that you did this? >> i've kind of realized who counts and who matters. those people, they don't matter. >> reporter: they're looking at the evidence that they feel points to you and there's no way to get around that. >> i don't have a way to convince them otherwise, that's not for me to try to do. >> reporter: do you think about what brittani's lost? >> of course. she's lost a lot. and i'm glad she has a good support system, you know, her mom, and her sisters and everybody standing by her side. that's great she has that. i'm glad that she has that. >> reporter: they see you as a monster. >> they do. they see me as what apd's put me in there to be. they see me as what the media's put me to be. >> reporter: how do you explain the drop of blood at the scene? >> i don't. i don't. >> reporter: that's the one thing i think that people have a hard time getting around. >> they do. and there's a lot of evidence that doesn't make sense. >> reporter: did you attack brittani marcell? >> no. >> reporter: besides the missing evidence, hansen's lawyer had another plan to get the case tossed out. simply put, the statute of limitations had run out. sure prosecutor waymire filed an indictment in 2010, but the name on that indictment was john doe not justin hansen. >> you know they have a statute limitations set up for a reason. it's not to let people get away with things, it's just because it's hard to try to prove your innocence after a certain amount of time. like phone records. go back seven years. bank statements i think are six or seven years. so, like, you can't even try to go back to try, you know, prove your innocence or to prove things differently. and that's hard. >> reporter: hansen's lawyer argued the john doe indictment should be dismissed and the judge ruled an appellate court could hear that motion before the trial even got underway. a huge victory for justin hansen and a major setback for prosecutor david waymire who knew the john doe indictment was uncharted legal territory. >> although that had been done once before in new mexico in a different case, it had never actually gone up and been reviewed by the appellate courts to ensure that it was legally allowed. >> reporter: waymire had been concerned about the strength of the case all along, he'd even offered hansen a plea deal. but now, apparently emboldened by the judges ruling, hansen rejected the plea offer, hoping instead to have the entire case against him tossed out. >> reporter: coming up. >> brittani was robbed of the life that we all have. we want him to pay dearly. >> reporter: would he? the final scene in this 9-year mystery is about to play out in court. when "dateline" continues. when "dateline" continues. >> reporter: justin hansen insisted to us he was an innocent family man accused of a crime he didn't commit. but the marcell family wasn't buying any of it. they were certain hansen was the one who attacked brittani. and they wanted justice. >> you know, brittani has to deal with this for her whole entire life. >> she was robbed of the life that it appears that we all have. she doesn't get that. and everything that she has today, she's worked hard for, with the support of my mom. and i think it's kinda the same way. we want him to pay dearly. >> reporter: but there might not be a trial let alone a conviction if hansen's attorney could get the john doe indictment that was filed in 2010 tossed out. it was a tense time for both families, the marcell's and the hansens, as they waited weeks on the appellate court's decision. just 12 days before the start of the trial, the court issued its ruling. hansen's motion was denied. the john doe indictment was upheld and the case was going to trial. that's when prosecutor david waymire got a very unexpected phone call from hansen's attorney. >> they wanted to revisit plea negotiations. >> reporter: wanting to spare brittani the stress and anxiety of a trial, the marcell family gave their blessing to waymire's decision to move ahead with a plea offer. of no contest to attempted murder in the first degree. which hansen accepted. and just like that it all came to an end. the alternate suspects, the john doe indictment, the hypnosis, the parabon sketch, the dna tests, over. a case that took 9 years to get to court was resolved in a matter of hours. >> you had a really tough decision to make in this case to -- to go to trial or to take this deal. how did you ultimately come up with your decision? >> i mean i wanted to go to trial, i wanted to clear my name, but i just felt like the odds were against me. and i didn't wanna chance, you know, 58 to 60 years away from my kids. and that was kind of what pushed me into the plea. >> so the plea was not about an admission of guilt necessarily, but for you it was more about being there someday for your children? >> that's exactly what it was for. it was, like, 60 years or 18 years with a chance of being out in nine or less. my youngest will only be 11 and i can still be there for her and try to help guide her through stuff. >> it's like -- like i'm dying, like i'm not coming back. and it's hard. and i know it's goodbye because we don't know what -- what the outcome's gonna be, but at the same time it still feels like -- like i'm not gonna be here anymore. and you don't know what to say. >> reporter: the day after our interview, hansen went to court for sentencing. and the stakes were high. under the terms of the plea agreement, he could be released on probation. or sent to prison for up to 18 years. prosecutor david waymire argued for the longest possible sentence telling the judge three other women in the past had accused hansen of assault. >> the alleged victim, the girlfriend, was 17 at the time and was 4 months pregnant. >> reporter: next, for two pain-filled hours, the marcells testified about what the attack did to brittani and their family >> her life is a mere flicker of what it had the potential to be. she struggles with friendships, creating social circles, reading cues and understanding her emotions. her life is a shell of what it had the potential to be. i want my sister back. i miss her so much and i'm starting to forget who she was before the attack. >> reporter: last to speak was brittani, who with her back to hansen, faced the judge and told her about the severity of her wounds. the 22 surgeries she'd endured and of the injuries that may never heal. >> on september the 11th, my dreams and goals were beaten out of me. for 10 years i've been struggling to rebuild some semblance of the life i had once planned. i'm fearful that i won't get married. i'm worried that i won't have children. i'm worried that i'll never be able to live alone again. >> reporter: afterwards it was justin hansen's turn to speak. >> first of all, your honor, i want to apologize to brittani and diane and her family for everything they've been through. >> reporter: but that was all he had to say to the marcells. he spent the rest of his time telling his children how much he loved them. then everyone waited for judge cindy leos to tell hansen just how long he'd be away from those children. >> i'm going to impose the full 18 years in the department of corrections. i think that is the only sentence that makes sense under the circumstances of this case. thank you. >> reporter: and with those words, justin hansen was handcuffed and led away to prison, while brittani, her mom and siblings hugged and wept. detective gonterman and sergeant thomson were there, as well. >> how did it feel, hearing justin hansen get the maximum, 18 years, as part of this plea deal? >> it felt amazing. i was so happy. i mean, i -- overwhelmed with emotion, just so relieved, so happy for the family. >> it was truly one of the highlights of my career. >> did you get justice today? >> yes we did. >> justice. 100% justice. >> yes. >> he finally got caught. he played with fire and he messed with the wrong ladies. >> reporter: for the siblings there was more than anything, an overwhelming sense of relief and gratitude. >> i looked at my sisters before it started and said no matter what happens today it's over. we have to let this be over today. and this was a good way for this to be over. i feel very grateful to judge leos and i feel even more immensely grateful to detective gonterman. >> reporter: while thomson, gonterman and the marcells got justice. what they didn't get was an explanation. >> one of the biggest mysteries in this has been the motive. what is your working theory? >> so many people describe justin as being very friendly and social and they think he's good-looking and charming and he's that older guy, that i don't think he was ever turned down. and it's possible that maybe brittani was just the one person that said no and turned him down. >> reporter: brittani agrees. >> i think i was attacked because justin hansen had some jealousy. because he probably asked me out on a date, be his girlfriend and i had a different boyfriend at the time and it wasn't him, at all, so i think he struck out of jealousy. and since he didn't have me, no one else could. >> reporter: when we last spoke, she was living in rural texas, spending much of her time tending to the animals. she has one college degree, but would like to return to campus to get the degree she's wanted since high school. >> i am definitely thinking of going back to school for journalism. like it takes me -- my major was communications. i can communicate quite well. >> reporter: however, she had one more big hurdle to get over, another surgery. her 23rd. an operation that'll take hours with a recovery period of months. brittani could opt not to go through such torment. but for her, there is no choice. the surgery is to get her smile back. >> i had the biggest smile you could dream of. that's something -- that's what i want back. >> announcer: from nbc news in washington, the longest running show in television history, this is "meet the press with chuck todd." good sunday morning. in a few minutes, we're going to take an in-depth look at republican attempts across the country to pass a slew of new restrictive voting laws. we're going to lay out the scope of this effort, why democrats insist these new laws are aimed at hurry inghurting their voter. we'll talk to people on both sides of the issue. but we'll begin with the covid crisis. president biden signed the $1.9 trillion covid relief bill on thursday, then gave his first nationally televised speech