Transcripts For MSNBCW Dateline 20240704 : comparemela.com

>> twist after twist. >> instant panic. instant, instant panic. >> i still get chills. >> people have secrets. >> people have a lot of secrets. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the family that lived in this cozy house on this quiet street never came back after the awful thing that happened here. >> it's terrifying. it's terrifying to think of. >> it was april 10th, 2008. portsmouth, virginia, police sergeant robert mcdaniel was right nearby when the all points fullerton went out to law enforcement. >> and then the call comes out and it's literally one block away from where i'm standing. >> did the address ring a bell? >> it did and it didn't. >> all he knew was that someone had been killed inside that house. >> so, you go there and what do you discover? >> i went into clear the house out of anybody who was inside of the house to make sure this scene status pristine as possible. and when i looked down, i realized, then, that it was meghan. >> meghan landowski the teenage victim was someone he knew. >> he knew her whole family. it was her stepfather, chris, who found meghan as he came in from work. >> she was just wide. just like in as -- if she can be. and i went and i looked again and then i saw blood. >> my daughter, she's, looks like she's been sexually assaulted and she's bleeding to death. >> wait a minute, wait a minute, slow down. who, what's wrong with there? >> my daughter is bleeding. there's blood all over the floor looks like her throat is cut. >> she was a tiny 16-year-old girl who cared about people and loved to dance. he couldn't comprehend what had just happened to her. >> could you tell how she had been killed? >> i recognized what i saw. but i wasn't processing what i saw, does that make sense? >> when i found, chris he was thrown into a state of shock and he had this distant look in his eyes. >> i still had the phone in my hand. and he was the one trying to bring me out of the trance that i wasn't. he pointed out his eyes and said, you need to look at me. >> chris pulled himself together and called his wife angie at her office. her coworkers drove her home. >> so, we get there and there, they've got the house taped off and i'm running towards the house. and i had a guy grabbed me and said you can't go out there. >> i said, oh, i'm going up there. that's my child. that is my house and i'm like, i want to make sure that it is her. i want to see her. i want to make sure that it's her. and chris grabbed me and said, it's her. >> so, you are trying to protect or did not have to see what you saw. >> right. >> with good reason. megan had been stabbed over and over. there was blood everywhere. she never stood a chance. it was a terrible sight, even for veteran law enforcement. >> you can't get it out of your head. and it's something that you want to go home and hug -- >> it's okay, i know how hard it is given what you saw. >> new york. >> you just want to go home and hug your children. >> investigators put aside their personal feelings and started to decipher the story told by the evidence. they learned fairly quickly that after school, meghan dropped in on a neighbor. >> so, they had a conversation, for a few minutes, a short one. >> a short conversation. >> did she say if anyone's coming? that if she's expecting a visitor? >> maybe. >> anything? >> she's talking about school, normal stuff, how she's feeling, that kind of stuff and then she tells her that i'm going to get back in and make macaroni and cheese for my brother when he gets home. >> susan -- and her husband karl are crime scene investigators. they arrived at the house and quickly started to identify clues. like a small leaf found on a bedroom floor. that told them how the killer might have gotten inside. >> finding this leaf was kind of a surprise. when we went outside there was this big bush right under the parents window that actually had this type of leaf to it. >> -- the bedroom window was unlocked. the screen, pushed up. they surmised the killer climbed over the bush and through the window. and forced meghan upstairs, where she was bound with tape and sexually assaulted. >> her underwear and her skirt were on the floor. there was also -- she had a watch and a hairclip and it was thrown through the room. so it looks, like at that point, that there probably had been a struggle. she had been fighting back. we believed that somehow as she gets up and gets down into the kitchen. >> it was there that the killer finished his attack with a knife from the kitchen, he stubbed meghan about 40 times. seven of those moons were inflicted after she was dead. >> just the mere body of the stab wounds has a whole lot of anger involved in that. that's not what you would typically find on a random attack. >> this was personal. this -- somebody knew meghan. >> at the base of the sink, where bloody shoe prints. the investigators noted how the prints led from the kitchen to the front door. >> you could see them leading from the body coming out of the door. >> based on the fact that there was blood on the door coming out, from the inside, so we know that he came out the front door. >> was megan's blood found on the doorknob to the front door? >> it was a mix. there was a little bit of hers and the suspects. >> police believe the killer was still carrying a second knife taken from the kitchen. >> it was from the butcher block? >> it was the missing knife. >> do you believe the killer had dumped the murder weapon as he ran down the street? >> yes, as he was running down the street, we believe he just tested on the sources he was running away. >> while police launched a murder investigation, then you spread quickly through the community. heather manassas was a friend from a constand square. >> my dance teacher called a meeting, they wanted everyone there who knew her. most of the other students in the room were a lot younger so i think she was trying to be very very sensitive to that. and i just remember her saying that meghan had died. and it was at that point that i asked, you know, did she get into an accident and they told us we don't really have any details right now. >> but, it wouldn't be long before details of the killing did come out. brittani hopper was a friend from school. >> it is hard enough to lose somebody. sorry. it was just so brutal. and she was all by herself. i think that that was the worst part. >> megan's lonely, painful death was something everybody took to heart. friends, family police. they remember the girl gleaming with a life. now, finding her killer would require determination, imagination and help from everyone her life had touched. >> coming up -- >> i didn't know if it was somebody who had targeted her, specifically or if it was just a random. to me, it sounded like someone who would have been pretty angry with her. >> a sudden realization hits meghan stepfather. one earlier obvious suspect. >> i was in the back of the police car and i called the agent in the ncis. and i told her, that that's killer. >> when dateline continues. that starts working in 30 minutes, while other allergy sprays take hours. with astepro's unbeatably fast allergy relief you can astepro and go! ♪ chevy silverado has what it takes to do it all. with up to 13 camera views. and the z71 off-road package. ♪ you ok? 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[sfx: video game sound] new emergen-c crystals. throw it back. ♪ i gotta good feeling about this, yeah ♪ new emergen-c crystals. ♪ i'm with it ♪ ♪ i gotta good feeling about this ♪ ♪ yeah, ♪ ♪ so let's get it ♪ ♪ i'm feeling good vibes ♪ the savagery of meghan landowski's killing, prompted the reaching response by law enforcement. >> is this all hands on deck? >> everybody was. they're a lot of our resources were used on that case. >> as investigators begin talking to megan's friends and family, they were hearing pretty much the same thing. >> meghan had really close friends. and then she had basically, she was friends with everybody. >> more than that, they heard that meghan lived to make people happy. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> their parents say, she was happiest when she danced. >> she was really good at it and she was so small, she was so tiny. and she just would float across that stage. and she was beautiful. just beautiful. >> i remember her parents coming in with this wild child. [laughs] >> you could kind of tell when they first walk in what they are like. and she just had tons of energy. >> her after school dance coach, kelly, derek says her favorite kind of dance was also the most rigorous. >> as soon as she started ballet, it just -- it just -- it looked good on her. it looked right on her. >> she had really, really great ballet feet. we used to call them ballet banana feet. she had perfect arches. >> is that what you call ballerinas with good feet? >> that's what we called them, yeah. >> the girl with the banana feet also had a sense of empathy on her years. >> i met her at my audition for the kelly dance explosion dance team. i was really, really nervous. i have no friends there, i didn't know any of the teachers. and megan was the first person to approach me. and kind of walk me through the audition. >> investigators learned that kids and adults just liked being around. >> she always had her hand hugging or jumping on somebody. she was just always in your face, always, if i had walked on the hallway she was always, what are you doing miss kelly? what are you doing? where you're going? do you need any help? >> one of the jokes that she started a monarch dance school, i'm not sure if i should say this are not -- >> sure, go ahead. >> she would say my balls hurt. like, the balls of her feet. so, that became a saying that we joked around the school for many, many years because of her. >> megan and her family lived right across the elizabeth river from the naval station in --, virginia. >> her mom had a job at a construction company. her husband chris, worked at the naval hospital. >> so, megan was her stepdaughter but really like your daughter? >> absolutely. we just headed off as just she was my daughter. i mean we joked and carried on. >> she was the protective older sister. she was the comedian of the family. she was the entertainer. >> and the boss. >> and the boss. >> and, as it turns out, a pretty chatty boss. >> there was a joke in the family that was, meghan, five minutes, can you go five minutes without talking? >> and she goes, okay. time me! >> so i'm like, okay. so we did it one day. she couldn't, she couldn't do it. >> from what i've been told, she cared a lot about a grades. >> yes. >> so everything -- it seems like everything with meghan was, was she like a perfectionist? >> i wouldn't say she was a perfectionist, she just wanted to please everyone. >> her freshman year, she got into a high school with the special arts program. she found herself surrounded by talented dancers, singers, classical musicians. she was putting in long hours, commuting on the bus. >> would you to sit to get on the bus? >> yes, all the time. >> what did you talk about? >> anything and everything. just friends, people that she had met. >> would you talk about boys on the bus? >> yes. yeah. we would here and there. for sure. >> she did talk quite a few times about sitting guys. but it wasn't anything serious. it was all just, little crushes here and there. >> was there type of guys that she liked? >> was there like an athlete? >> not that i know of. i mean, like i said, she just kind of liked everybody in their own way. it didn't matter where you came, from what you looked, like what your story. was she was going to be your friend. >> and that's how it was, until it seemed that meghan's smile started to disappear. she just wasn't herself. >> a little over halfway through the year, her grades started slipping a little bit and she kind of changed. out of nowhere! and she was kind of just rebelling a little bit. she was getting into trouble a little bit at school. >> which he confided in you and all about what was going on? >> yes. typically she would. but this, it was a complete switch that kind of changed. >> something was seriously wrong. and, a few months later, meghan was killed. >> i just didn't know what to think. i didn't know if it was somebody who had targeted her specifically or if it was just a random. to me, it sounded like someone who would have been pretty angry with her and i couldn't think of who that would be. >> she didn't have any enemies that you know? >> not that i know of, nobody. but her parents knew something that friends didn't. in his grief and panic, his home, now a murder scene, his stepfather made one more phone call. this went to investigators with the navy. i was in the back of the police car and i called the agent in and cis. and i told her, i said, the bastard killed her. >> a secret was about to come out. a secret that meghan's family believed had everything to do with her murder. >> coming up -- >> i said, tell me what happened! tell me what's going on! >> megan's shares her explosive secret. first with their parents then with the police. >> this has got to be excruciating for a 15 year old. >> yeah. >> i was hurt, i was mad. >> it was betrayal, plain and simple. >> when dateline continues. wer e*trade's easy-to-use tools, like dynamic charting and risk-reward analysis help make trading feel effortless. and its customizable scans with social sentiment help you find and unlock opportunities in the market. e*trade from morgan stanley. with powerful, easy-to-use tools, power e*trade makes complex trading easier. react to fast-moving markets with dynamic charting and a futures ladder that lets you place, flatten, or reverse orders so you won't miss an opportunity. e*trade from morgan stanley when it comes to your hair, ingredients matter. that's why herbal essences is packed with naturally derived plant ingredients you love, and none of the stuff you don't. our sulfate-free collections smell incredible... ♪ and leave your hair touchably soft and smooth. ♪ herbal essences i'm jayson. i'm living with hiv and i'm on cabenuva. it helps keep me undetectable. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete, long-acting hiv treatment you can get every other month. cabenuva is two injections, given by my healthcare provider, every other month. it's really nice not to have to rush home and take a daily hiv pill. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients or if you taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. serious side effects include allergic reactions post-injection reactions, liver problems, and depression. if you have a rash and other allergic reaction symptoms, stop cabenuva and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have liver problems or mental health concerns, and if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering pregnancy. some of the most common side effects include injection-site reactions, fever, and tiredness. if you switch to cabenuva, attend all treatment appointments. ready to treat your hiv in a different way? ask your doctor about every-other-month cabenuva. every other month, and i'm good to go. sleepovers just aren't what they used to be. every other month, a house full of screens? basically no hiccups? you guys have no idea how good you've got it. how old are you? like, 80? back in my day, it was scary stories and flashlights. we don't get scared. oh, really? mom can see your search history. that's what i thought. introducing the next generation 10g network. only from xfinity. megan landowski's's parents were blind with grief. but even with all the chaos that followed her murder, they felt certain about what did it. it had to do with something that happened months earlier. when meghan's grades took a dive, along with her spirit. >> she was very emotional and we finally told her, we said, okay, your grades are our only concern right now. we have to get them up. whenever we have to do, let's do it. >> megan's parents thought the school was the problem. so, they switched her to a different high school, closer to home for her sophomore year. it was that fall that when even heather noticed the change. >> i hadn't seen her in probably about a month and a half. so, i was excited to see. and she did not seem like herself. she just seemed -- i don't know, not her bubbly personality. it was almost like she didn't even want to say hello. >> like a light had gone out. >> kind of. yeah. >> her parents also wondered about some of the kids she was hanging out with. they suspected one of them was involved with drugs. >> we noticed that she came home a couple of times and all she wanted to do was sleep. which threw up red flags with us. >> they had her take a drug test. it was positive for marijuana. >> we confronted her about it. and she finally admitted it. that she had tried it. and i was like, okay, let's try not to do that anymore. so, she agreed. >> but meghan continued to have problems. >> i asked her, what is going on? and she told me, nothing. and i'm like no, this is not nothing. >> so, this is more than just pot at this point. you feel like your gut is telling you some things up with meghan. >> right. >> she actually ended up leaving dance. her parents were kind of having her take a break for a little bit, hoping that she would bring her grades back up. and then, that she would be able to come back. >> did you try to call her or text or to talk about it? >> no. i just figured i didn't want to intrude on her. maybe she just needed some space. >> at home, the problems were getting worse. chris says, he threatened to do something he had never done before. >> i told her i said, if you don't tell me right here and now, you're gonna be severely punished. i told her, i, said i'm going to blister your butt until you tell me the truth. >> she told chris something that changed everything. something that convinced him the grades, the attitude, the pot weren't the problem. they were symptoms of something far more serious. >> then she tells me that rob hickey had been touching her. >> robert hickey, a married father of four daughters. a navy health specialist, a close friend of the family. >> he picked up for officer. he was on his way to make captain. >> their families hung out together. birthday parties. summer cookouts. grown-ups and kids. >> this is your close friend. >> this is my best friend. and i trusted him more than i would trust just about anybody else. >> chris immediately called megan's mother and told her what he had just heard. >> and i'm like, are you serious? are you sure? and she got on the phone with me and i told her i said, tell me what happened. tell me what's going on. and then she told me and i said, are you sure? because this is someone's life you're going to ruin. and she goes, mom, i am absolutely 100% sure. >> how did you feel on the phone when you were told this news? >> i was hurt. i was mad. i was sad for his family because of what they're about to go through. and i was more hurt for chris. because that was chris's best friend. >> it was betrayal. plain and simple. but you don't expect it from a guy that you trust with your life. >> isn't that feeling but you've got this news, you want to just like run over there and, you know, i don't to say it but, you know -- >> oh, trust me -- >> oh yeah. >> 100%. >> megan's parents decided she needed to talk to the police. and that's when she first met sergeant robert mcdaniels. >> i was a detective in the specials victims unit. >> that's right. the officer who would go on to investigate megan's murder was the officer who first heard megan's story about robert hicke. >> so, this is gotta be excruciating for 15-year-old to come in and talk to a total stranger, even though you get there to help her. >> it was. >> to put -- expose this potential secret. >> he remembered she started slowly, fearfully. >> and then i told her i said, i've heard just about anything that you're going to say, you're not gonna embarrass me. >> she said it all began with hicke paying special tension to her when she was 14. >> and she started talking about how pretty she was. and that kind of stuff. and then he kissed her one-time. and that was closer to when she turned 15. he'd always catch her by herself. and that's generally what we call like the grooming. ticket are used to being around without her parents. and then she was kind of -- kind of impressed that somebody older was paying attention to her that wasn't her parents or her family. >> meghan told him that after she turned 15, the relationship became sexual. >> how the sea, at this time? >> he's in his 30s. >> after meghan told his story, sergeant mcdaniels came out to speak with chris. >> i said, all we could charge him with this a misdemeanor and he can get, maybe, 12 months in jail for it at the most. >> and i looked at him and i said, are you kidding me? >> he said, unfortunately not. >> that is because, in virginia, while sex between an adult and a child 14 and under is a felony, sexual contact with the 15 year old is only a misdemeanor. >> so, as a father, as a mother, you must be just infuriated by that. >> i was furious. >> and i was, like where do we go from here? >> sergeant mcdaniels had an idea. hicke was in the navy, and the military takes a harsher approach to adults that engage in sexual contact with minors. >> the age of consent in the military, under the uniform code of military justice is 16. >> special agent dana shutt handle crimes against certain children for ncis. the naval criminal investigative service. >> the first thing we did was bring in meghan doctor and get a sworn statement from. >> the agent found her to be credible, believable. that this young woman was telling the truth? >> yes. the agent found it to be very credible. >> now, robert hicke was facing possible military charges that could put him in prison for years. they brought him in for questioning. >> he said nothing. he invoked his right to silence. >> with that, the navy continued its investigation towards a possible court marshals. >> do you feel that meghan has some relief? >> meghan's stress level dropped tremendously. her grades are starting to come back up. she was actually looking forward to trying to help put robert hicke away. then, came that april afternoon. when meghan's short life came to a terrible end. and suddenly, robert hicke was the number one suspect in her murder. >> coming up -- >> we handcuffed robert hicke, he was in a state of panic. >> wow. what just response? >> he drops to the ground and starts crying. >> robert hicke in police custody. and the heat is on. >> did you kill meghan? >> no. >> do you have any doubt anyone who would hurt her? >> not a clue, sir, not a living clue. >> when dateline continues. advil targets pain at the source of inflammation. when pain comes for you, come back fast with advil liqui-gels. will you pause it real quick? 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and -- that generally doesn't happen in these cases. >> but megan's family said she wasn't reassured. >> she was scared. >> that's a heavy burden for a 16 year old. >> absolutely. very heavy. every car that came down the street, she would call and say, i think i saw his truck. and they would say, no i didn't worry about it. he knows better. they're getting more trouble when he comes by the house. but in the back of her, mine it was always there that he was going to come after her. her family and police told him not to worry. but now, it seems so obvious to them. have hicke plenty to gain from her death. it meant the end of an investigation into those sexual allegations. >> so, robert hicke's case kind vanish is, right? >> his case vanishes because it has a right to confront his accuser. so, he can no longer do that because she's dead. >> there's only one person we thought it could be. just one. there's only one person that didn't want her to talk. and that was robert hicke. >> chris also told investigators at the scene that he had another reason to suspect his former friend. >> he said,, one of the footprints looks just like the shoes that he wears -- that he worse when he goes to the gym. >> and that scene had looked personal to investigators. like the killer was someone who was angry with mcgahn. they went right to her house to fine robert hicke. nobody was home. he wasn't responding to phone calls or knocks on the door. that was a bad sign for us. we staked out were his house for a while, we were there for a couple of hours. and, then robert hickey came up and the family van with the wife and the kid. we were taken, then at that point, because we had a severe brutal murder that occurred. we get them about the van. we handcuff robert hickey. we were in a state of panic. and the families in the van had. i walked up, and i, thought meghan landowski's been murdered. and we want to know where you were today. >> wow, what was his response? >> he drops to the ground and start crying. so we put him into custody, we brought him into a, car we brought in. back and we sat him in an interrogation room. >> and then, they watched for a bit. letting him stew. and pray. >> jesus, jesus, jesus. >> he was clearly upset, and clearly nervous as investigators walked in. >> why are you worried about the family? >> they're scared. my daughters were crying and their little. >> how old are your kids? >> one, four, ten and almost 13. >> hicke seem shaken, but not surprised to find himself in the hot seat. >> -- >> the police officer told me somebody killed meghan. >> yeah, yes. >> that's what he told me and that -- i'm because of an investigation that was done prior. they said that they had to consider me a suspect. >> -- were you boyfriend and girlfriend at one time? >> i can't really say anything about that because it has something to do with another investigation. >> when was the last time that you were at her house? >> sometime in december. >> sometime in december, you don't remember? >> i don't remember when, no. >> so there's no reason why your fingerprints or anything like that -- >> no. >> would be on her house? >> no, not unless they've been there since last december, no. >> no, they don't last that. >> no, then no. >> on the day megan was murdered, hicke said he was busy. he and his wife had an appointment with the marriage counselor. >> i had to be home by three because our counseling sessions are at four. >> and, before that, he said he had been at work. >> and you'd only work at all? >> not at all. >> i could tell you from the time i got up to the time that you saw me, i was with someone every second of the entire day. except for the moment i went to the bathroom. now i've got computer records, i've got people that i saw, i mean. it would never even occurred to me to have to -- to -- to -- to tell everybody where i was every second of the day. >> you have a computer there. >> yes i do. >> is there anything on that computer that's going to relate to meghan. >> no, nothing. >> nothing? >> is there any pornography or anything that's going to get -- >> there is no pornography on that computer. >> and there is nothing on that computer? >> no. >> because i think it's better that you tell me now then you -- >> up until january there was pornography on the computer. i was addicted to pornography. i got rid of everything off their. >> detectives wanted to get their hands on hicke's sneakers to see if they match the footprints left at the scene. >> they're in the garage. >> they're in the garage? >> yeah, right beside the door. >> on that, detectives asked hicke flat out, did you go to meghan's house today? >> do you know who went to meghan's house today? >> no i didn't that was absolutely the furthest things from my man until they told me what was going on. i have no clue, sir. i wish that i knew but i don't. >> did you kill meghan? >> no. >> are you angry at her? >> no, not at all. >> all the stuff that's going on you're not angry other? >> no, what i did, i did to myself not anybody else. >> and you have no idea who would hurt her? >> not a clue, sir. not a living clue. >> hicke insisted he was not their man. >> i really don't know what to tell you. i was in shock and i'm still in shock. i -- i -- i don't know what to think. >> but was he telling them the truth? the investigation was just getting started. >> coming up -- >> the shoes we're supposed to be in the garage. we got into the garage and there were no shoes. >> new questions about robert hicke's story, the plot thickens. >> he thought maybe he hired somebody? >> yes. even if it wasn't him, he had someone do it. >> when dateline continues. ahhh! icy hot pro starts working instantly. with two max-strength pain relievers, so you can rise from pain like a pro. icy hot pro. 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(vo) for a limited time get nfl sunday ticket from youtubetv on us. a $449 value. plus, get a free samsung galaxy s23. only on verizon. >> there was plenty of suspicion on robert hicke. while police talk to him and the station, investigators searched his house for those gym shoes. >> we're looking for the shoes that had the footprint. >> there was bloody shoe prints found at the crime scene had a distinctive pattern. but at hicke's house -- >> we asked initially where his gym shoes were. his wife took us around, a lot of places where robert hicke's stuff was, specifically now. and the shoes were supposed to be in the garage. we got to the garage, and there were no shoes. >> he easily could've disposed of the shoes? >> and that was what we were worried about, that he threw the shoes away, or got rid of them, or left them at the base. >> it only notched up investigators suspicions. back in the interrogation room, detectives noticed hicke's nervousness, but began to think his grief over meghan's murder seemed genuine. >> i feel so bad for her mom and dad. >> yeah they're pretty, they're pretty upset. >> i can't imagine -- because -- if that -- my, my kids. >> while, it looks like, it looks like something probably didn't mean to happen the way did. and just things got out of hand. you know, stuff sometimes gets out of hand, you know. >> yeah, but it's, it's still no excuse for somebody killing her. >> he's acting more strong. >> susie almost acting like a loved one? >> yes. >> i'm not angry at you, i'm not angry at anybody. >> here we are accusing him of possibly murdering, meghan, and he isn't -- up, he's giving us an excuse to search his home, he's giving us information, telling us what time he gets off work, telling us where he had been. >> police did not have enough to hold hicke, but they did ask for one thing during the interview. he willingly gave up a dna sample? >> he willingly gave up a dna sample. >> which is a big deal? >> it is. >> given that you believe the killer left is dna behind. >> yes. >> hicke's sample was rushed to a lab, and was comparing if the dna found at the scene. please also check his alibi. >> and you leave work at all today? >> not at all. >> we were eventually able to, through his demand, determined that he was at work that day. >> he had never left? >> he had never left. >> and then, the results from that dna test came back. investigators were floored. >> he was your prime suspect? >> he was. >> and there's no match? >> there is no dna match. >> what's that moment like? >> it's frustrating, because what you think you have, you do not. >> a solid alibi, and a negative dna result. investigators believed hicke had the motive to kill meghan, but there is absolutely no proof he did it. >> i'm like, are you a hunter percent sure? you still believe she killed her? >> that point, i still believe he killed her. >> at that point with the dna? >> and we thought he had something to do with it? >> you thought he hired somebody? >> yes, even if it wasn't him, he had somebody do it. >> did you believe that there is a possibility that robert hicke had paid someone to do this? >> yes, that was absolutely a possibility and something we looked into. we pulled financial records to determine was there a large amount of money passed to someone, and that came up to a dead end. >> again, no evidence, but one more possibility, thought investigators. someone else, they believed, might have motive to kill meghan, hicke's wife. >> she had a lot loose, her husband, his retirement, the benefits, they had four kids, the lifestyle that they were accustomed to living. there was a lot for her to lose at the same time. >> so, she could not be crossed off the list either? >> no. >> investigators spoke to her, and it did not take long to determine she was not involved in the murder. >> overall physical ability and the fact that she had the four kids all the time, there is a lot of different things they looked at. they just kind of eliminated her. >> did she have a solid alibi? >> yes. neither robert hicke or his wife had anything to do with robin's wife. hicke's told dateline that his client -- any sexual contact with meghan, and the investigation roomed hicke's lie for the time. still, the restorations did not look good to the navy. he was given other than honorable discharge, and denied his -- . as for the homicide detectives, they were back at square one. are you stumped? >> we all were. the two lead investigators at the time thought they really had a case solved. and then, there is no dna match. so, they had to start all over again. >> now it's come down to okay, we have to find our killer. and we need to find her killer as quickly as possible, because with every passing day, you know, that makes an arrest even more unlikely. >> or put somebody else in jeopardy? >> yeah, absolutely. >> investigators were going back to the beginning, a closer look at the crime scene, and the people in meghan's life. who would have wanted this young girl dead? coming up, that trail of bloody shoe prints is about to lead investigators in a brand-new direction. >> one of the neighbors kids had a pair with the right shoe range we are looking for. >> i knew this kid, and he never came up on my radar. >> when dateline continues. having fun these days? family cookouts! 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think again. flex any style... with hairspray that flexes with you. new tresemmé hairspray. >> word was spreading throughout portsmouth, virginia, the prime suspect in meghan landowski's was not involved in her murder. meghan's friend heather read about it in the newspaper. >> at the time they're saying, you know, we knew that we had dna. and his dna did not match. we are shocked by that, but at the same time, the dna does not match, you know? >> where do you go from there, you know, there is a killer out there. >> right, and we had no idea, no idea. i think your mind just goes through who in the world to do this? and if they will do it in the middle of the day, to someone so young, are they going to do it again? >> detectives promised meghan's family they would only call they had an arrest. weeks past, and that call did not come. reporter mike mather covered the story, and said there was a growing sense of frustration. >> part of you hoped that something sews up quickly. something obvious enough for the police to solve it right away, and not have this community worry about. it's somebody who came, it done this horrific murder, and is now free in the community there is fear but also profound sadness. even for those who knew meghan, a local church dedicated a tree in her honor. >> this is meghan's tree? >> this is meghan's tree, and always be in her honor. >> the place where people can mourn, and it's where people could mourn like agent shortt and shutt. these two had tried to help her in life, and now, they were united in the effort to find her killer. >> having known her and met her, we know we had to do it for her, find out who had hurt her so terribly. >> you had a war room, of sorts, with this case. and you met often. >> yes, i essentially moved into portsmouth police department. i was there every day. and we were all collaborating. we had a list, a to do list, if you will, and it was every day, day in and day out, it consumed all of us. >> another look at the house gave them greater insight, according to crime scene investigators suzanne and karl 's acquire, the attack appeared unsophisticated, the killer tried to clean up quickly. >> we saw some -- in the sink, so there's a good chance that he or she has washed their hands in some point, and possibly got the victims blood off their hands. >> the killer had also cut themselves, and the killer's blood was mixed with meghan's. there was no shortage of physical and formation left behind. >> you've got your killer indian a form, practically, you just do not know who he is. >> we had his touch dna, his blood and dna, his semen, we had his fingerprints. so, the so forensically, we had what we needed. it fell on the detectives, at that matter time, it was just a matter of old fashioned detective work. >> ncis as a psychologist greater profile of meghan's killer. the profiler believe that meghan's murderer was a schoolmate or a member of the victims social groups. which made sense, because they now know whoever left those footprints had been wearing nike air force ones. >> air force one was the hot shoe at the moment. i believe we look at a lot of air force one tennis shoes in a lot of different places, especially on kids, young kids. that was the really sought after tennis shoe. >> there is a lot of young people in meghan's life, in their school, but her neighborhood too. it was on meghan's block where sergeant mcdaniel got his next lead. >> one of the kids had an air force one in the right size range we are looking for. they're very close to meghan, and had a brother at the time. >> that neighborhood kids turned out to be the younger brother of one of meghan's close friends. meghan's parents were skeptical that he could be involved. >> i knew this kid, and he was harmless. he was kind of the younger of the group, but he always followed them around. he never came up on my radar. and they were like, the pattern is similar. >> it turned out that boy had been given the shoes by a couple of male relatives shortly after meghan's murder. those relatives were older than the profile, but they were -- had brushes with the law. >> the family members were known to have had criminal activity. and both had been fled the state after the murder. >> so you think they dispose of the shoes by -- >> the two men were picked up by u.s. marshals an outstanding warrants, and we're about to be brought back to virginia. what, if anything, did they know about meghan's murder? coming up, someone else in the interrogation room. >> i made a mistake, lord, and i'm sorry for it. >> everything he was doing would make you believe that he was the killer. >> when dateline continues. 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[sfx: video game sound] new emergen-c crystals. throw it back. ♪ i gotta good feeling about this, yeah ♪ new emergen-c crystals. ♪ i'm with it ♪ ♪ i gotta good feeling about this ♪ ♪ yeah, ♪ ♪ so let's get it ♪ ♪ i'm feeling good vibes ♪ >> continuing with our story, dancer in high school sophomore meghan landowski has been murdered. >> my daughter, she is bleeding to death. >> it was just so brutal. and she was all by herself. >> the main suspect? her stepfather's best friend. >> there's only one person we thought it could be, just one. >> but he was cleared by dna evidence. >> he was your prime suspect, and there's no match? >> it's frustrating because what you think you have, you do not. >> what would it take to solve this case? >> we completely change direction. >> the identity of the real killer would surprise them all. >> instant panic, instant, instant panic. >> i still get chills. >> it just can't be. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the investigation into who murdered meghan landowski, a sweet 16-year-old who loved to dance, had shifted to her circle of friends and acquaintances. a few weeks in, investigators had a good lead. they were trying to connect that sneaker print found at the crime scene to neighbors of meghan's. >> you took these two people seriously, to have marshals come in. >> we took everybody that potentially could've done this, we took everybody seriously. >> the man in question had left town not long after the murder. >> so you brought it back, did you interrogate them? >> we brought them in, talk to them, we found that they did not know meghan. i did not know anything about her murder. their fingerprints, their dna, did not match what was left at the scene. but investigators had plenty of other people to talk to, starting with a high school full of potential suspects. >> so, the day that she was killed, we went back and pulled all the video and try to track meghan all the way through the school, just to see if there's any type of confrontation, if there was a gap. >> the videos did not point to anyone suspicious. still, they interviewed student after student, looking for someone who had a problem of meghan, but no luck. >> everyone talk nice about meghan, but when you have no leads, you want to find one person, or several people, who are not saying nice things about meghan. >> popular at school, meghan even state friendly with the kids from the arts magnet programs she attended as a freshman. >> she's inclusive, she would hang out with anybody. >> anybody, anybody, she did not care what you look like, what she looked like, if you like different music when her, she did not care. >> meghan's friendliness made it harder for investigators. in fact, she was so beloved, her remembrance tree was getting plenty of visitors. and that got detectives thinking. maybe one of them was more than just a visitor. >> we went with ncis, and we said hey, we've got this idea. maybe the tree -- with the killer came to the tree, maybe they'll say something, write something, -- >> so, right next to the tree, and sea ice technicians placed a hidden camera in the memorial stone. >> we had a container off to the side, we are running coordinates back to the container, vhs, every single day. >> investigators every find anything? >> no, we saw plenty of our friends, people who cared about her, people we did not know who they were, and they would come up, people from out of town, but no killer. >> so, a creative tactic, yet another -- >> dead and. it ended in a dead and. >> investigators had what they hoped was a another source of leads, megan's own words. she kept a diary. >> we went to the journals meghan cap. we're looking for boyfriends, anything that would give us a clue. >> someone who's angry at her. >> she wasn't down a negative, she was very upbeat. >> i remember having a boyfriend during that time? >> no, not anything super serious that i would say this guy was somebody she dated as a boyfriend. >> was there anybody she was interested in? >> not really, there is a few guys that she talked to that we're in -- there is one who was in the band, and another one who played baseball. >> but the guy who caught investigators attention was named donald. her parents thought he was a bad influence. but meghan had befriended him. detectives had not had to look hard to find donald, he was in jail for being arrested after driving without a license. right off the bat, they found his words and demeanor strange. >> i made a mistake, lord, and i am sorry for it. >> what was he talking about? he told the detective he and meghan had briefly dated. >> i used to go out with her, behind her parents back. >> behind her parents back? >> because apparently they didn't want her going out with me, because i was two years older than her. >> between tears, he swore he had only fond memories of meghan. >> and i don't know why somebody would do this to her, because she, she always made everybody laugh and smile at the school. i mean, i loved her to death. like, she was my little angel. >> loved her to death? he also told the detective it was meghan who broke up with him. they wondered was he torn up enough to murder her? >> when you need to tell me about meghan's that, for anyone who's listening? what you need to tell me? >> i did not do it. >> the detective asked him what he knew about the crime. >> they grabbed her, took her inside. tiger up with some ran, her surround wrap or something like that. >> and then, the detective came at him. >> now, explain to me how you know the girl was taped. >> because that is what i heard. >> that is not what you heard. >> yes it is. >> i think you know some firsthand information, that you're not giving us. >> no sir, i swear. >> you're digging yourself a hole you're not going to get out of. you've got one chance at this today. >> can we start over? >> all right, let's do that, let's start over. >> he swore he was just repeating gruesome gossip. >> who's telling you the story? >> everybody at the school. >> and as he fell apart before them -- >> i did have nothing to do with this girls that, i swear to you. >> his grief, to them, looked more like guilt. >> i did not have anything to do with it, honest to god, lord. honest to god, sir. i don't want this on my chest right now. >> everything that he said, the way that he was acting, everything that he was doing would make you believe he was the only killer. >> coming up, a another dna test and another sharp turn in the case. >> we completely changed direction in our investigation. >> she looked at him like a big brother. >> how did he act? >> don't trust the police, didn't want to talk. >> not very cooperative? >> not very cooperative. >> when dateline continues. his commercial, i think i'm late on my payment. it's okay, the general gives you a break. yeah, we let you pick your own due date. good to know, because this next scene might take a while. for a great low rate, go with the general. i need it cool at night. you trying to ice next me out of the bed? while. baby, only on game nights. you know you are retired right? am i? ya! save up to $500 on the new sleep number® smart bed. plus, free home delivery when you add an adjustable base. ♪ ♪ ♪ shop now only at sleep number®. >> the only thing that's gonna keep ursula peace unless you're gonna tell me what's going on. >> i don't know anything. >> -- >> i don't know anything, man. >> that's not going to work. >> detectives thought the young man that they were talking to just might be the killer that they were looking for. he clearly had very strong feelings from again. >> you need to tell me the truth. then if you're part of, it you're going -- >> eyesore on everything. i love this girl to death. >> things got out of. hand and you need to tell me. >> he insisted he cared for meghan, he had never hunter. >> i didn't do nothing wrong. i don't want to die. i didn't do nothing. >> he offered up his alibi. >> do you work that day? were you at work that day? >> i was cutting grassroots that. >> investigators wondered, was he there man? one way to find out, get a swathe of his dna. >> and robin both sides, the inside of your cheeks. >> and then, they sent him back to the jail. and waited for the test results. >> meantime investigators still had their long to do list. >> who are we going to interview? where are we going to go? >> what evidence needs to be sent to the lab? >> as detectives drove deep into may concern life, friends, neighbors, even strangers of the community seemed eager to help. anything to narrow the field of suspects. >> we're getting dna samples volunteered by anybody that we talk to. which is pretty amazing. because we collected a hefty number of dna samples from different people. >> more than 80 people volunteered samples. even megan's stepdad, chris. but not one matched up with the murders. and that included meghan's friend, donald. another letdown. >> we were all hard on ourselves because we hadn't, we hadn't found the killer yet. >> we were meeting every single day for months. >> every day? >> every day! >> are you holding press conferences up the montauk to king by to generate leads? >> and nationally, they did. they held a few of them. but we've got to where we just didn't have any leads. >> so, investigators asked themselves, what else could their forensic evidence told him? >> they heard about a dna test that could trace a person's geographic ancestry. >> at that time, it was relatively new dna. and, so, ncis had done some research into it. we know what race that we were looking for, which helps generally. --. >> the team sent the colors dna to a lab in florida. >> what did you find? >> we found that 72% sub-saharan african was the makeup of the killer. this person would self-identify as african american. so we completely changed direction in our investigation. >> investigators looked through the records for anyone they might have missed. and found notation in a file. meghan took martial arts classes. >> the one that was running the studio, at the time, it's an african american man -- owned business. >> the team asked the studios owner to provide dna swabs. >> they all voluntarily came in and gave dna samples. >> none of the samples got a hit. then, the detective scanned through meghan's extra extracurricular. she also spent time of the teen center on base. someone there matched their profile. >> there was a counselor there who was african american. and we talked to him. >> he seemed more like everybody's friend. >> megan's parents near the counselor. and told the tech tips, meghan consider them a trusted friend. >> she looked at him as a big brother. it never went anywhere from that. >> did you start to wonder about him? given how close they were. >> you grasp for straws. i, mean you don't have anybody pinpointing that anybody is a suspect. >> most everyone they talked to so far had been helpful. but this guy? >> how did he act. >> he would be very -- he didn't trust the police. he didn't want to talk to the police. >> not very cooperative? >> not very cooperative. >> still, investigators were questioned that the counselor, like dozens of others, provided dna sound bowls. >> his response, unlike the others. >> he said that he was too busy and then he never came in to give it. >> did he start moving higher up on the list? >> yes, he became a person of interest. >> now the detectives had a lot more question for the counselor. they officially asked him down to the station. >> he was actually a no-show for his police interview? >> yes. >> so, what did that tell you? >> it makes him look guilty. >> but looking guilty and being guilty are two different things. >> it's still not definitive. >> it wouldn't be the last time in this vexing case, investigators would have to get creative. >> coming up -- >> the detectives told us, they're going to turn over every stone that they have to to get the case salt. >> i wanted to do something for the community to raise questions to get somebody talking, to get anything out of anybody. >> a memorial walk for meghan is about to bring investigators one step closer to the killer. >> did you believe her killer was hiding in plain sight? 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[ tires screeching ] jordana, easy on the gas. i gotta wrap this commercial, i think i'm late on my payment. it's okay, the general gives you a break. yeah, we let you pick your own due date. good to know, because this next scene might take a while. for a great low rate, go with the general. >> investigators had a new person of interest in meghan landowski's murder. her town -- >> he ended up becoming a suspect because of the way he acted. >> detective said the counselor did not seem eager to talk, and never provided a dna sample. >> did eventually give it or did you have to get through another -- >> no, we have to get it through another way? >> we want to other measures. we got assertive shifts dna samples by swapping the door handle of the driver side of his vehicle while it was at the stop. >> is that considered part of his property or because it's on the outside? >> it's on the outside. >> oh, so that's for game. anything on the outside. >> yes. >> and so, the councillor was not the wiser as this dna was compared against the killer's. >> was it a match? >> no. >> to detectives, it felt like déjà vu. >> what's everyone thinking? >> again, deflated. >> deflated. but not done. they were still thinking about meghan's friend donald and a strong emotional attachment to her. >> all right, donald, i need your attention for a minute, okay? >> dna had ruled him out as the killer but maybe he knew something. >> as for some sitting here, donald, i believe you know who killed her. >> no, sir. >> and i'm sure as i'm sitting here, donald, i will tell you that you haven't been completely honest with me since day one. well who was in there with you? who was ever in the house with you? >> nobody, when i was there, there was just me. -- >> he again, told the investigators, he knew nothing. >> i'm not going to lie to you. if i knew who did, it you'd be the first one i'd call, sir. >> and again, they thought he acted odd. he said he was too ill to talk. >> can we please just like hurried up a little bit. because i'm seriously like, i need to go. to the hospital. i'm serious. >> let me tell you something, donald. >> feel my forehead, sir. >> i'm not going to fill your forehead. i'm not a doctor so i'm not gonna feel your forehead. >> despite the drama, investigators had no evidence connecting donald to the crime. he didn't do it. he didn't know who did. >> he said, i really liked. and he was very forthcoming after a while. >> he tells dateline, he was traumatized by his lengthy interrogation. and, is truly sad about the loss of his friend. five months into the investigation, still no call to the family to report an arrest. after dozens of interviews, dna test and tips, every lead had dried up. >> it exhausted a lot of the investigative skills, a lot of time. and, every direction we turn was always a disappointment. >> a new kind of fear gripped portsmouth as the case went unsolved. reporter, mike ma, they're remembered how folks were worried that the killer might never be caught. >> one by one, the people who were the most obvious suspects, the most obvious potential suspects have been ruled out. and, that also means that they were willing nobody else in. there was definitely severe on the community. >> megan's parents lived in a nightmarish limbo. >> you never lived in that house again. >> no. >> after that -- >> too painful? >> i could see her after she was gone. >> that image of your daughter must onto. seeing her like that. >> absolutely. >> we started a new school year. and everything. and it was still, nobody knew. >> did you start to get, really worried that this may not be solved? >> yes, and then you need to start to except maybe this is a random thing. we all just kind of started to not really know what to make of it at that point. >> the police aren't telling th >> no, there wasn't really mh as far as updates or what was happening. >> did you have any fear that this would turn into a cold case? that they wouldn't be able to catch meghan's killer? >> we did have a fear that it was going cold. but the detectives told us, they're going to turn over every stone that they have to to get the case salt. >> the investigators we spoke to, they had such a passion for this case for solving this case. they said they were not gonna let this go. did you feel that? >> yes. >> i felt it, yeah. >> as the investigators tried to keep the case from stalling out, megan's friends yearned for an arrest. >> did you feel like there was a chance that meghan's murderer may never be solved as the months went by? >> i guess i thought maybe there was a chance. but a very small one. i know that the police were working very hard. and i didn't think that it was something that they were just going to let go. >> you had faith that they would solve the case. >> -- >> and then make's dance teacher, kelly derek, came up with an idea. something she thought might help the police. >> i wanted to do something for the community to raise questions to get somebody talking, to get anything out of anybody. >> on a saturday in late september, friends and family gathered for a walk-in, megan's honor. >> it was a huge turnout. it was a beautiful day. >> we told the community, you know, to come out and to remember megan. >> you cut it ask for better friends. >> your daughter was loved. >> very much, so. >> investigators were there to. just in case someone had a tip. >> did you believe at this point, that our killer was hiding in plain sight? >> we did. >> this time, in this lengthy and often trying investigation, creative thinking worked. just days later, the phone rang at the police station. a new lead. >> a phone calls from a concerned citizen that said, hey! i just heard something that might be of interest to you. >> and was a denver. >> coming up -- >> the bus driver said, there was one kid that took a liking to. and she kept telling him, hey, that's not the girl for. you and i said who was this kid? we have never heard his name. >> enter, a friend of migrants. >> what they have a study together? >> i know the few times that they hung out after school or, you know, he'd get off other stops and swap home from there -- >> and a bubble gum mystery. when dateline continues. ahhh! icy hot pro starts working instantly. with two max-strength pain relievers, so you can rise from pain like a pro. icy hot pro. (vo) crabfest is back at red lobster. when you can choose your crab, and one of three new flavors like roasted garlic butter... ...this is not your grandpa's crabfest... ...unless grandpa's got flavor. dayumm! crabfest is here for a limited time. welcome to fun dining. ♪ chevy silverado has what it takes to do it all. with up to 13 camera views. and the z71 off-road package. ♪ you ok? yeah. any truck can help you make a living. this one helps you build a life. chevy silverado. kayaking is my thing. running is awesome. but her moderate to severe eczema would make her skin so uncomfortable. i was always so itchy especially when i was hot. now my skin doesn't itch as much. now we're staying ahead of her eczema. there's a power inside all of us to live our passion. and dupixent works on the inside to help heal your skin from within. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema. so, they can have clearer skin and less itch. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. healing from within is a wonderful thing. ask your child's eczema specialist how dupixent can help heal their skin from within. with a majority of my patience with sensitivity, i see irritated gums and weak enamel. sensodyne sensitivity gum & enamel relieves sensitivity, helps restore gum health, and rehardens enamel. i'm a big advocate of recommending things that i know work. with woolite, jill feels super confident in her favorite sweater. so much, she marched up to her boss and said 'dan i want a raise'! his name is bob. woolite protects your favorites from fading, pilling, and stretching. so you can wear them as long as you love them. ♪ i gotta good feeling about this, yeah ♪ pilling, and stretching. ♪ i'm with it ♪ ♪ i gotta good feeling about this ♪ ♪ yeah, ♪ ♪ so let's get it ♪ ♪ i'm feeling good vibes ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> meghan's memorial walk did the trick. one that drummed up a promising new lead. a concerned citizen suggested the tech does talk to meghan's bus driver, the one from her freshman year. so, sergeant mike daniels caught up with the driver outside of meghan's old high school. >> he turned up at the high school i walked up and he said, a, can i talk to you about meghan. we had already interviewed 12 kids on that bus. and they all said, yes, we knew megan. she wrote the bus. she was a good girl. >> but the driver said detectives may have missed someone. she shared a story, mcdaniel had never heard before. >> the bus driver said that there was one kid on the bus that took a liking tour. and she kept telling him, hey, that's not the girl for you. i am not trying to tell you what to do with their life. but, you are showing interest in her, and she is not showing interest by kenya. >> so, the bus driver is giving this kid -- >> saying hey -- >> love advice, kind of harmless teenage stuff? >> the bus driver worried, it would end in heartache for the boy. >> and i said, well, who's this kid? i talked to the ones that you picked up. >> and he said, his name was robert barnes. we didn't know who robert barnes was at the time. we have never heard his name. >> but, megan's parents remembered him. he lived nearby. >> robert bonds would come over and catch the bus with meghan when they were both going to -- high school. >> they were part of that same exclusive art program. megan danced. and robert played the violin. around the school, he was considered an exceptional violinists. there was even talk of him going to juilliard. >> he played violin at a -- school of music. he wasn't on a roll. he was a kid who was going to make the success story. >> and, the world's workout lied, when he was dancing, he was playing. >> i mean he liked music, she liked music too. that's how they sort of click together. >> he'd practice with the bus with us on the way. oh yeah, he was really, really good. he was a nice guy. he was normal. we blended in. and he made good grades, did great in orchestra. he was very committed to his craft of the violent. >> megan's friend, britney, remembers teasing robert about his crush. >> there was always that time where there was just me and him kind of on the bus. and i was, like i think that you like meghan. and he would, you know, he tried to play it off at first and was, like no, no, no way. and he finally admitted it and was, like yeah but don't say anything. >> did he say what he was he like the butter? >> nothing super specific. it was just that he liked hanging out with her. and she was funny. and she was smart. >> but they have a study together? , yeah i know the few times that they hung out after school or you know he'd get off better stop and just walk home from there. >> the detective went to churchill and high school to have a chat with robert barnes. >> so, i, said you knew megan? he said, yeah. can we sit down and talk to him? >> we sat down we talked, he, lefty kindness smiled about. things didn't do anything out of the way. but the whole time i have this funny feeling about him. and it was just a kind of weird feeling. >> what was weird about it? >> for some reason, the smile on the face felt like it was not the person i was dealing with. >> like it was a facade? >> it was all the facade. >> so i talk to him -- >> but it doesn't make him a killer. >> no. it could've happened that he stole something from the 7:11. >> or, he's a teenager being interviewed by a detective. >> robert seem to fit that geographic ancestry profile. and, the detective realized, he could be the kid that they've been looking for. a friend of meghan's, a young person who might own a pair of air force one sneakers, mcdaniel asked him to provide a dna swab. >> and he said, well, i can't do it right now but let me talk to my mom and see what she says. >> which is fair. >> it's just -- >> if your house cools goal kid. >> and i really didn't expect him to say anything other than that. >> the next morning. something unexpected. sergeant mcdaniel got a call from robert. and it's from his home phone number. and he says, hey, can you meet me at the school? i think i remembered something, you asked about, and you said if i remember i could call you. >> he said he had new information. >> and i want to the school, and this kid robert barnes said he might have something for me. he remembers something about meghan. can you go get him out of class and talked him? >> at first, the meeting was a waste of time. his new information wasn't new at all. >> he starts giving me some store-bought hey, you know, i thought it was kind of weird that she said she was afraid of somebody. all of that was in the news. so, he's repeating stuff that he heard on the news. i said, by the way, did you ask a mom about the dna. >> he said no, but i think it will be okay. and he's chewing on a piece of gun. >> robert offered to give the detective his gun. >> so, you're like, i'll take what i can get. >> i knew that the bubble gum was just as good as a swamp if not better. >> so, we sent the bubblegum off to the lab, with the other samples. it was about two, three weeks later when the lead investigator comes up and he says, hey, man. the lab tech need to to call her now. it's 9:00 at night. and i was, like what is the lab tech doing in the dna lab? and he goes, she needs to talk to right now. >> robert's dna test result wasn't. and it was about to crack the case wide open. but not in a way anyone suspected. >> and she said, we have a problem. >> coming up -- >> that's ahead snapper. right? >> i just sat then i said, we gotta talk to this kid again. and talk they did. >> can, you, know -- >> sure. >> robert barnes tells a chilling story about the day of meghan's murder. >> the guy is just sitting right there, come here, good, and then he pointed the gun at the both of us. how are folks 60 and older having fun these days? family cookouts! [blowing] [dice roll] ♪ playing games! 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(chainsaw revs) (tree crashes) (chainsaw continues) (daughter screams) let's pretend for a second that you didn't let down your entire family. what would that reality look like? well i guess i would've gotten us xfinity... and we'd have a better view. do you need mulch? by now, police had tested the what, we have a ton of mulch. goli, taste your goals. a literal ton. dna and dozens of potential suspects. so, far not one hit. then, sergeant mcdaniels got word that he needed to talk to the technician about the results for 17-year-old, robert barnes. >> so, i called them on the phone and she goes, did you get it from a guy or from a girl? >> and i said, i got it from a guy. >> he told the technician how robert had given him his bubble gum. >> she said, did you see him actually touch it or spit it out of his mouth? >> and i said no, he put it in a wrapper. and he put in the glove. in the way that i sent it. >> and she said, we have a problem, because the dna is coming back to grow. >> that's ahead snapper. >> and, i just sat there and i, said he could've switched. because i had to turn my head. >> if robert barnes had tried to pull a fast one, it did not work. it only made the detective more suspicious. this is a big moment here. >> so, i'm standing there with the lead investigator and i, said we have to talk to this kid, again. >> with permission from robert's mother, sergeant mcdaniel picked robert up from school and drove him to the police station. >> the funny thing, is when he was walking out of the car, i offered to open the door for him. and he said, no, i got it. but then he pulled his hand up into sleeves. because he was worried that we were going to get his fingerprints from. >> so, this is a red flag for you. >> red flags all the way. >> at the station, with robert bryant's mother in the room, sergeant mcdaniel told them, the dna on the gum belonged to a female. suddenly, like a switch had been flipped, robert began to talk. >> can you, you know, go, like, close the door? >> sure. >> robert barnes looked at him and he said this occurred on april 10th, right? >> april 10th. the day meghan was killed. >> it was, what, thursday, right? >> the day that it happened? yeah? >> he said, we got out of school at 12:00. and we stopped. >> why did you stop? >> his mom wanted to talk to him. >> let me speak to him out the door. i just want to speak to him out the door. >> he was there voluntarily. we let him leave go and talk to his mom for a minute. so that they can make a decision. whether she wanted this conversation to go any further. they walked out. they sat in the car. they talked and then they came back in. >> and that is one robert barnes admitted he was in meghan's house on the day of her murder. >> i go over thursday. she says, no matter what just come over. >> he starts filling up the story but how he went to the house, meghan had invited him over. he had seen her on valentine's day, prior to that. and then this -- he came over because they had planned this out. >> and knocked on the door for like five minutes straight, no answer. so i'm, like okay the window, the side window might be open. okay, i go lift the window up and i go in. >> he climbs into the window, and he's calling megan's name. >> she goes, i'm up here, come. here she hesitantly said come here, though. >> and here's where his story took a bizarre twist. he told the detective, he walked into a crime in progress. another man was already in the house. >> i go in her room, and the guy is just sitting right there come here good. and he just had a gun you know, sitting like this. >> he claimed the man was on the bed wearing a mask and holding meghan at gunpoint. >> suddenly, the man started barking orders at him. >> he goes, rough her up. and i'm like what am i to do? he's, like i don't know, grabber by the throat. >> so, he's just having me do all this sort of stuff to. >> like what? >> he just basically grabbing her roughly in the. he told me to tie her mouth up with the tape. but when i did it, she like bit it. so i couldn't you not do it. and in the end, he put the gun to her head and said, don't move! >> robert, said the men demanded that you have six of meghan. >> then i attempted. we did that for like five minutes. and then that failed. >> and, even though they were being held at gunpoint, robert said megan tried to fight back. >> and then, that's when i was, like meghan, just stop, you know, just stop, just do what he says. >> according to robert, the man told them to go downstairs. >> he got really, really, angry. take her downstairs. i took her downstairs. and then he pointed the gun at the both of us we were both standing there. >> and, the mask man grabbed the knife and started stabbing meghan. >> stabbed in the neck a few times. and then i think he stabbed her in the back a few times. at the time, i just didn't want to watch it. after i saw the neck part. >> and the masked man, when it was, done made him pull his finger out any stuck's finger, cut his finger open and put blood in the blood with megan 's. >> and then he let some of my blood drip out. and then he was like, you tell anyone, i swear to god, i'll kill you and your family. >> he ended his twisted tale by explaining how the mask man ordered him to leave. >> i want for you to take your shirt off, because when he stabbed her the blood splattered everywhere. he said, take your shut off and run. ditch the knife in the gutter down the street. >> okay. >> and after all that, i just did exactly what he said, and i just run home. >> are you buying any of this? >> no. he's going through all the motions. and i'm watching his face. and you could see, like he's proud of what he's talking about. but he's trying to play it off like is just repeating what happened. >> the teenager's elaborate story appeared made up to fit the mountain of evidence. >> do you recognize that -- footprint? >> let me see. because it might be from my nike's. it kind of looks like mine from the kitchen area. >> yeah, i think that to me going out the door. >> when asked to describe the mask matt, the detective thought that roberts answer was convenient, to say the least. >> he just put a mask on me. he gave the description of me standing in front of. him cause i was asking him all talib us, what did the way, even told me that the guys eyes were blue. >> white male, blue eyes. a black mask. >> after interviewing robert for more than five hours with this mother listening, the detective had heard enough. >> robert, i'm gonna tell you something straight-up? you see the crime scene photos. >> yeah, i see them. >> all right, man, i want -- there's no other way to put this. there's, everything ties you to this -- >> i know, i know. >> there's no footprints, there's not the dna of the house, everything attaches you to this 100%. so i don't know any other way to put it by you got to convince me that this other guy existed, because i don't see anything that leads me to another guy. >> now, robert's mother jumped in. >> hold on, i want to know is he under arrest. that's all i want to know, is he under arrest right now? >> well, i mean that's -- >> is he under arrest? that's all i want to know. >> i'm just asking him. >> yeah, okay, no, hold on for a minute. don't say nothing else. because i mean, what can he do. >> excuse me, i don't want to interrupt. excuse me, robert i'm a detective on the case. okay i'm just gonna let you know that you are under arrest, for the murder of meghan landowski. >> man, does that answer your question? >> finally, an arrest in the case that have stumped detectives for months. but would lead to a conviction? >> i mean, it just looked like they must have gotten this wrong. the police must of -- >> coming up -- >> instant, instant, panic. it hit me so hard. i mean, you just feel so betrayed. i mean, i didn't have words to describe. it it was just, like why, why her? why him? >> a town stunned at the news. >> this split the community right down the middle. >> could this gifted teenager really be the killer? >> a jury might have a hard time convicting someone who's -- who looks like robert barnes, who is that young, -- >> that talented. >> never heard a bad word about him. never. it just can't be. >> when dateline continues. yeah, we let you pick your own due date. good to know, because this next scene might take a while. for a great low rate, go with the general. meet the portable blender we can barely keep in stock. blendjet 2 gives you ice-crushing, big blender power on-the-go. so you can blend up a mouthwatering smoothie, protein shake, or latte wherever you are! recharge quickly with any usb port. best of all, it even cleans itself! just blend water with a drop of soap. what are you waiting for? order yours now from blendjet.com before they sell out again! the lead detective had made a imagine you're doing something you love. rsv could cut it short. ♪ rsv is a contagious virus that usually causes mild symptoms but can cause more severe infections that may lead to hospitalizations... ...in adults 60 and older... ...and adults with certain underlying conditions, like copd, asthma, or congestive heart failure. talk to your doctor and visit cutshortrsv.com. deal with meghan's mom. he would only call once there was an arrest. six months after her daughter's murder, he called. >> and i put it on speakerphone so chris could hear it and he's, like his name is robert barnes. i know exactly who it is. >> it must be such as the strangest thing to hear. >> it was, it was just like why, why her? why him? >> word of robert barnes's arrest spread quickly. >> my now husband, who actually went to high school with me said somebody got arrested for meghan's murder. and it's robert. robert barnes. >> what is going through your mind? this is the kid that you rode the bus with -- >> rode the bus with. >> had a crush on her, who was the violinist. >> yes. instant panic. instant, instant panic. it hit me so hard. i mean, you just feels so betrayed. you feel so, just. i mean, i don't even have words to describe her. >> what was that moment like for you after such hard work and so many dead ends? >> it was surreal. you, know even talking about it right now, i still get chills. like, it was one of those moments that, you, know we've done our job. >> but not everyone believed law enforcement had done its job correctly. reporter, mike mather, remembers how some people in full portsmouth reacted when the news first broke. >> i recall, very early on, that, you know, here we go again, portsmouth as a white victim and they charged a black kid. >> this split the community on official line. i think, right down the middle fair to say. and, that line stayed there the entirety of the case. >> roberts defense attorney, robert moore, cox said that the teen was an outstanding student. he had no criminal record. how could he be the killer? >> never heard a bad word about him. never. and we talked to a lot of people. >> and, a jury might have a hard time convicting someone who's -- who looks like robert barnes, who is that young -- >> that talented. >> that talented. >> accomplished so much. and has such a good report card all across the board. academic, social, everything. and, so that helps steal the pro-barnes defense in the community. it just can't be. you know, it's a rush to judgment. >> sergeant mcdaniels knew this was no rush to judgment. the case against robert barnes was strong. and getting stronger. detectives had discovered the honor roll student, the violent virtuoso, had another side. an evil one. >> do you think he had planned this attack off for a while? >> yes. i do. i think he had planned it out long, about, probably since valentine's day until the time it happened. >> he was convinced it that because of what police found on robert's computer. >> he was very much into a fantasy world. breaking into houses and committing rape. he had put out questions on a chat room about if somebody said that they just killed somebody, what would you say to them? >> investigators began to wonder, if robert barnes just might be a serial killer in the making. >> he had put his picture, photoshopped his picture in a news report of an elderly woman who had been raped during a burglary of her own house. >> robert barnes put his own photo in a real news article? >> yes, a real news article. >> the more meghan's parents learned about robert barnes, the more horrified they became. it all so cold and calculated. >> after he did this to her, he went to orchestra practice. >> that night! >> that night! >> he cut his finger, he asked his mom, do you have any band-aids? >> wrapped his hand up because there are students there that remember his hand being wrapped. and this hand was wrapped anyone to orchestra practice. >> after his arrest, detectives were finally able to test his dna. >> we got it within 24 hours. >> oh, and, was it a match? >> it was a match. >> that must have felt pretty darn good to get that dna sample as a match. >> for the whole group, it was a relief. >> given the mountain of evidence, robert's attorney was ready to make a deal. and the prosecutor was receptive. >> i don't think he wanted to further inflame the community. i think he wanted to end the case, he wanted to be tough, but he wanted to be fair. >> so, they worked out a plea. robert barnes pleaded guilty to first degree murder. attempted rape, aggravated sexual battery, abduction and statutory burglary. in return, he would be eligible for release after serving 42 years. megan's parents were relieved there would be no trial. >> i didn't want to hear all the graphic details about what happened to her. i mean i know what happened to her. i see it. but i did not want the world to know that. >> and, because of virginia's violent sexual predator law, megan's parents were told by the prosecutor, it is unlikely robert barnes will ever be a free man. >> when he's up for a release, he has to take a test as a sexual predator. as a psych test. >> you kind of feel like he won't pass any won't get out, right? >> on the day of robert sentencing, megan's mom finally got a chance to confront in. >> i love her. i miss her so much. i don't understand why. i don't understand why. she never did anything to hurt anybody. >> i wanted him to feel my pain. i wanted him to know the person that he killed. >> losing meghan crushed my world. she was supposed to graduate this year from a high school. and i will never see that. i will never see her get married. or hold her children. i can't go see her. >> you caused all this pain that you see. and i wanted him to feel that. >> solving megan's murder still feels bittersweet. from the man who met the teen in the time of need. told her not to worry. >> does anything still haunt to about this case? >> still a lot, there's still guilt about what happened to meghan. i can't take that away. i'll never change that. because it's a promise that i made. that i did not break the promise. but i still feel responsible. >> meghan's family and friends, with their killer behind bars, there is finally some peace. >> you can at least start to heal, a little bit. a little bit from. it and just move on. and know that you don't have to constantly look over your shoulder. >> instead of focusing on how she died, they remember how she lived. joyful, loving and forever dancing. >> she definitely taught me how to be a better friend. and she's just, you know, just remember her light and her fund that she brought to the world. >> i miss you. wish you were here. >> she was just very, very given. i mean even if it was from the first second i met. or i just wish we had more people like that in the world. >> do you think megan is dancing in heaven somewhere? >> oh, i know she is. and it has tested our faith. i know she watches over. us you, know there are times when i kind of feel like someone watching me. you know. and i feel it's her.

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