But she was perfect for me. Craig melvin and when her daughter became a mom, life itself seemed perfect, but not for long. Dayna herroz called the sergeant, and said, please, tell me that this isnt true. He said, i cant. Craig melvin but who wanted her daughter dead . She had lovers, not enemies. Josh mankiewicz how did tori describe her relationship . Friends with benefits. Craig melvin the question for police, which friend was the father, and which the killer . Josh mankiewicz it doesnt seem as if she always made the best choices in men. No. Hello, and welcome to dateline. Single mom Tori Vienneau was surrounded by love. In addition to her baby, dean, she had a boyfriend, a Best Friend, and a mother who adored her. The Grown Ups worked as a team caring for dean, but when tragedy struck, Toris Mother realized the only way left to help was to fight for justice. Heres Josh Mankiewicz with complicated. Josh mankiewicz in some families, the birth of a child can change everything. Dayna herroz i wouldnt have cared if we had a boy or a girl, but it was going to be nice to have a little boy. Josh mankiewicz Dayna Herroz was over the moon when her first grandchild was born. Dean Robert Springstube came into this world on september 26, 2005, weighing 7 pounds, stretching out to 20. 5 inches. Dayna herroz he was beautiful. I was madly in love with him. Josh mankiewicz her husband, roy, felt the same way. You were charmed. Roy herroz i was absolutely charmed, yes. Josh mankiewicz the babys mother, daynas daughter, Tori Vienneau, was just 21, and not ready for the challenges of parenthood. But as Baby Dean grew from a newborn into a happy infant with a sweet smile, tori grew, as well. Dayna herroz he was something that we didnt know we were missing, until he came, and he was one big, Fat Ball of love. And he opened up my daughter. Its like you could just see her heart go huge. It was a beautiful sight to see, watching her become a mom. I think every mom should be able to see that with their child. Josh mankiewicz all of that joy turned to horror on the evening of july 26, 2006. Josh mankiewicz we tell a lot of sad stories here on dateline. And while this one isnt easy to tell, it might make you think about the relationship you have with your kids or your parents. What happened here in San Diego turned a happy Mother And Grandmother into a fighter, who now wants the world to know what happened to her family. Because, she says, there are lessons here. Theyre about life, about trust, and theyre about the choices we make. And what shes learned might be a gift to Someone Elses family. Before we go ahead here, i want to ask you something. Are you sure you want to do this . Yes. Yes. Because this isnt going to be pleasant. Mmhmm, but i think its important. I think its important to do. Tori could have been any girl. Josh mankiewicz but of course, she wasnt any girl. She was daynas. Dayna Herroz Tori was the perfect daughter for me. She wasnt perfect, but she was perfect for me. And from the minute she was born, we were two peas in a pod. She was perfectly flawed, i believe. Most mothers probably would argue that their daughters dont have any flaws. Theyre perfect. No, she had flaws. Josh Mankiewicz Dayna says tori would get so focused on a goal that she sometimes ignored signs of problems along the way. Stubborn. Yeah. And it doesnt seem as if she always made the best choices in men. No. Theres a flaw there. Josh Mankiewicz TorisBest FriendDaniel Moen remembers how tori always seemed to fall for the wrong guy. What kind of guys was she going out with . To me, they werent they werent stable guys. Bad boys . Kind of, yeah. Guys that werent that nice to her . Yeah. Not nice to her, and probably, not nice in general. Maybe that shouldnt be a surprise, given that our relationships as adults often reflect The Ones we witness as children. Tori was barely two when her father left and cut all ties with her and dayna. And though stepdad, roy, filled his shoes later on and certainly loved her, tori spent years dealing with her mothers issues. Dayna herroz ill say this from the jump. Im a recovering alcoholic, and up until she was 16, her life was fairly normal, and then, i crashed. I think ive always been an alcoholic, but it came to a head at this point. Although you were drinking, you were functioning. Dayna herroz i was functioning, but then, i could no longer function. And then, what . Dayna herroz and then, i just couldnt stop. I woke up, and i had a drink, and id take my daughter to school. Drunk. Yeah. Yeah. Josh mankiewicz as many children of alcoholics do, tori helped her mother cover up the drinking. Hiding bottles. Denying there was a problem. And for a while that worked, but at 16, tori felt she couldnt take it anymore. Dayna Herroz Tori said, i love you, but i hate you when you drink, and i will not watch you destroy your life. And i found a place for you to interview for recovery home, and you get one shot. And if you fail at this, im not coming back. I need my mom back. That had to feel good, knowing that whatever mistakes you might have made you had raised a daughter who had that kind of backbone. I was very proud of her. Josh mankiewicz and so dayna went off to rehab for nearly a year. Roy moved away to deal with the Familys Collapse in his own way. And tori, still in High School, lived with friends, worked as a waitress. When dayna emerged nine and a half months later dry and sober, it was toris turn to be proud. Dayna herroz i wanted her to see that you could stand back up when you fall. And you could get your life back together, put our marriage back together, put our family back together. Josh mankiewicz over the next few years, Tori And Dayna became closer than ever. Then one day, tori came home with some news of her own. Dayna herroz she kept hemming and hawing, and i said, just spit it out and tell me, and well deal with whatever it is. And she said, im pregnant. Josh mankiewicz it should have been the beginning of a happy new chapter in the lives of both mother and daughter, but sometimes, as we told you earlier, the birth of a child can change everything. Craig melvin coming up, and so can a Phone CallDayna Herroz he said, havent the police contacted you . And i said, why would the police be calling me . When dateline continues. When you have moderate to severe eczema, its okay to show off. With dupixent, show off your clearer skin and less itch. Because you have plenty of reasons to show off your skin. With dupixent, the 1 prescribed biologic by dermatologists and allergists, you can stay ahead of your eczema. It helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema to help heal your skin from within. 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Indeed everyone 45 at average risk should screen for Colon Cancer. These folks are getting it done at home with me, cologuard. Cologuard is a oneofakind way to screen for Colon Cancer thats effective and noninvasive. Its for people 45 at average risk, not high risk. False positive and negative results may occur. Ask your provider for cologuard. I did it my way. Ask your provider for cologuard. Josh mankiewicz when she became pregnant, tori was living with her boyfriend, neil springstube. Also under the same roof, toris Best Friend, Daniel Moen. When tori brought Baby Dean home, these three 20something roommates shared the parenting. They took different shifts. One worked one shift, and Someone Else worked another. And Daniel Always was carrying him in the baby pouch. Where normally the mom is carrying the baby in the baby pouch, no, daniel would be doing that. You were pretty taken with that baby from the beginning. Yeah. He was my little buddy, my little friend. Most times, he was my Best Friend. Really . Yeah. I mean, i watched him every day while everyone was at work. Josh Mankiewicz Dayna was amazed and amused by the Threeway Child Care that tori had figured out. The three of them were comical, and dean was just filled with love. Josh mankiewicz but by the summer of 2006, when Baby Dean was 10 months old, Tori And Neil had broken up. Daniel had moved home with his mom. Though, he continued to help out daily with deans care. Mother and baby were living in Lowincome Housing in a rough part of San Diego, but even so, Grandma Dayna still thought life was good. The last time you saw them was, you were in the pool together. Mmhmm. She had gotten into a bikini, and she was very proud of that. Josh mankiewicz she lost the baby weight. Dayna herroz yeah. And daniel was in the pool with dean, and roy was in the pool with dean. And dean had learned how to splash. He realized it was his hand that was making the water splash, and he would just roar with laughter, and thought it was just the funniest thing. And i said, isnt our life perfect . Weve come full circle. Doesnt that sound like music from heaven when he laughs . Josh mankiewicz that was what day . That was sunday sunday. The 23rd of july. Josh mankiewicz three days later, on a wednesday night, dayna was struck by a News Story about a mother and her baby. That night i saw on the news that, i think, they said a mother that was 27 and a child that was eight months had been murdered. Reporter one of the roommates came home to the Southcrest Complex just before 9 00, and found Dayna Herroz i said a prayer for that family. Thought, that is horrible. Went to bed. Thought nothing more of it. Josh mankiewicz but the next day, dayna got a call from toris workplace. She hadnt shown up. She called daycare. Baby Dean Wasnt there. So she called Daniel Moen, who was with Tori And Dean nearly every day. And daniel, in an almost matter of fact way, told dayna the worst News Shed ever heard. He said, havent the police contacted you . And i said, why would the police be calling me . And he said, the Mother And Child on the news Last Night was Tori And Dean. Josh mankiewicz it was too terrible to hear. Dayna herroz i was engulfed in heat. And i know when i went back to the phone, the line was dead. Josh Mankiewicz Dayna called police to find out more. They confirmed the news that both her Daughter And Grandson were dead. They held back the details because it was a gruesome crime, but soon enough, dayna would hear it on the news. Tori had been beaten. Both she and 10monthold Baby Dean had been strangled. Dean was still in his crib. I called the sergeant and said, please, tell me that this isnt true. He said, i cant tell you that. And then, the nightmare began. Josh mankiewicz by the time dayna had learned what had happened to her Baby Grandson and her daughter, police had already gone through the Apartment Dusting for prints, searching for dna, looking for anything that might explain this Double Murder. First of all, what could you tell from the Crime Scene . Just that it appeared to be a violent assault. Josh Mankiewicz LieutenantKevin Rooney supervises the San Diego police homicide unit. There was no forced entry into the apartment, but it wasnt uncommon for tori and her two roommates to leave the door unlocked. Sexual assault. Robbery. What do you guys think . She was clad with a bra, but there were some tears to her clothing. So at the beginning, yeah, we were open to the possibility that maybe it was an intruder who had attempted to rape her. But if this was an attempted rape that went wrong, why kill a 10monthold Child who wasnt going to be able to testify. Exactly. I mean, a 10monthold Boy who doesnt speak. Josh mankiewicz right away, The Cops started bringing in toris friends. You didnt kill her, did you . No. Wednesday night you talked to her. I talked to her wednesday night. Yes. Josh Mankiewicz TorisBest Friend daniel, The One who had taken such good care of Baby Dean, was also brought downtown. Its your typical interrogation. Little, tiny room. Yeah. Little, tiny room. Light on me. Talking. What did police ask you . They asked me where i was. Josh mankiewicz take your fingerprints . Daniel moen yes. Confiscate your Cell Phone. Yes. Did you feel like a suspect . I didnt feel like a suspect the first night, no. That changed. That changed big time, yeah. Craig Melvin Dateline returns after the break. Craig here pays too much for verizon wireless. So he sublet half his real Estate Office to a pet shop. Theres a smarter way to save. Comcast business mobile. You could save up to an incredible 70 on your wireless bill. So you dont have to compromise. Powering smarter savings. Powering possibilities. Switch to comcast Busines Internet and mobie and find out how to get te latest 5g Phone on s with a qualifying tradei. Dont wait call, click or visit an xfinity store today. Josh mankiewicz Tori And Dean were gone. San Diego Detectives were piecing together toris life. Her mother, dayna, was planning a double final farewell. How do you get t