We didnt really know what had l happened. Who would ever imagine youd have a murder in your family . Ed soon there would be secrets. We were dealing with a person that was leading a double life. And one of them would prove deadly. Have you ever said i know you that did this . It hurts too much for me to say it out loud. Hello. And welcome to dateline. Its a case that centers on a th mother who had gone missing and the small town secret that led to a very big surprise. Heres Keith Morrison. Suppose for a minute you were sitting in your car smack dab in the middle of tuscaloosa, f alabama and you pointed southwest down highway 69 and 9 kept a sharp eye out after half an hour or so. Youd roll into a sweet little place called moundville. One stoplight, one main street,t one general store. Been around for a long time has moundville. But its a sad truth, as the sheriff says, even here where everybody used to know everybody its not that way anymore. Th so many different people are moving in from around the world. Trying to escape the crowds. Well, escape the crowd or ow running from something. Yes. And where have you gone, Andy Griffith . Mayberry apparently has up and left us. Sheriff ken ellis fights real crime nowadays. The crime that you see in the county is any crime youd see in any large city, just a smaller version. E still, moundville is moundville and neighbors tend tv know more of each others business than they might in tuscaloosa, for example. Which can be a bit of a nuisancl as youre about to see if you need to keep a secret. Especially, for example, if your secret is about murder. To begin with, this thoughtful young woman was just a girl of 17 back in 07 when things 07 started coming apart in the way things do when parents dont talk about it. Kelsey mayfield saw that troubled look in her moms eyes mostly, her mom theresa. I could just tell she was very stressed. Ever clear what it was she was stressed about . S money would be the main thing. She wanted to be sure she had enough money to take care of her family. A lot of that going around of course, moundville no exception. Like so many americans, kelseys dad had to work two jobs just tx keep his head above water. A very hardworking man. It took two jobs to take care of our family. Ng but money trouble aside, ar teresa seemed to have a happy pp life as anybody could see including teresas mother, reba all teresa ever wanted was to have a husband that cared for her, somebody she cared for, and to have a family. And it was sweet and corny when even after her two Little Brothers arrived she could see the signs of her parents affection for each other. Every night before he got ready to go to work heht would give herto a kiss on the cheek d say good night, i love you. Teresa was the softball mom, the trunk of her car a muddle of bats and balls. She shuttling kids back and forth. I had a softball game and they had a baseball game at the same time. She would stay 30 minutes at as their games and 30 minutes at my game. Watching the clock and she was an amazing mother. Es there was nothing she would not do for myself or my two brothers. Then there was that sweltering morning, june 2007, teresa drove off to run errands and didnt come back. Kelsey was babysitting the boys, then 8 and 11. Hours ticked by. She called her mom. Where are you . And she didnt answer. Then i called her back around lunch and she didnt answer. I called her pretty much all day long. Her dad was at work, her mom was who knew where . Just wasnt like her to do this. Is she the sort of person who would take her cell phone with her . The yes. It was attached to her hip. You could always easily get hold of her . Mmhmm. And you couldnt . No. By nightfall still no word. Kelsey was in a panic. She called her dad who had gone from his day job to his night shift at a local factory. Im sure you told your dad you were worried. Da yeah. We kept in touch during the day to see if one of us had talked to her. Did he seem to be worried . He did. And we could never get in touch with her. At midnight it was clear, something was terribly wrong. Scott left work to file a ly missing persons report with the moundville police. And then they all waited. What was it like for you that night . It was awful. I was very scared when she didnt come home. And i pretty much knew in my heart that something was wrong. T the next morning, said kelsey, she woke up in a house that no longer felt like home. She called her grandmother reba at her home in prattville, a town two hours away. She said is mama down there at your house . I said no, shes not here. And she said, mama didnt come home last night. So what was going on in here . Im just turning upside down. You know, im just tied in a knot. Reba called teresas younger sister, ashley, at her office at the local circuit court. Mama called me up. Ic she said teresa is missing. Ed i said let me make some phone calls. Right away ashley called the sheriff of her town and he called sheriff ellis. To see if they knew anything. His response to me was its bad. Its bad. It certainly was. They had found teresas truck on a dirt road less than a mile from home. Uc she was slumped behind the wheel and she was dead. And this much was perfectly clear. It wasnt an accident. Coming up the investigation begins. We had to ask ourselves, who would get her to this location and why was she murdered . When dateline continues. Hi susan honey . Yeah . I respect that. But that cough looks pretty bad. Try this new robitussin honey severe. The real honey you love. Plus, the powerful cough relief you need. Mind if i root through your trash . New robitussin honey severe. Strong relief for your severe symptoms. Here . Nah. Here . Nope. Here. When the middle of nowhere. Is somewhere. The allnew chevy trailblazer. Whove got their eczema under control. 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If your financial situation has changed, when you drink or eat something thats acidic everyone is at risk for enamel loss. It sucks the minerals out of the tooths surface. Pronamel is formulated to help deliver minerals to the tooths surface to help reharden and strengthen your enamel. It was a lovers lane. A quiet dusty, deadend road miles from main street moundville. A spot so uncommonly traversed a car with Engine Running taillights blazing late into the night could go unnoticed. It was here they found Teresa Mayfields truck, body inside, gunshot wound to the head. Teresas younger sister broke the terrible news to their mother. When i went to the house, mama was sitting in the recliner. I knelt down on my knees and i grabbed her and i said, mama, shes gone. Shes gone. Do you have any idea how hard that was . Teresas daughter kelsey had spent a sleepless night waiting in vain for her mother to come home. How did you find out . My dad came and told my brothers and i. It was just awful realizing that your Worst Nightmare had come true. For a brief second i thought she had committed suicide just because i knew how stressed out she was. But then i also knew how much she loved her family. Everybody who knew teresa knew that. Even sheriff kenneth ellis, who drove out to the crime scene, if thats what it was. Corporal mark boyd, Alabama Bureau of investigation, met him there. This case was kind of personal for you, sheriff. Yes. My daughter and miss teresa and scotts daughter played softball together. You would see teresa out at the ballpark. Every game. It felt like part of my family was gone too. They had a look around the truck. No sign of a struggle. Dusting revealed no viable fingerprints. There were no footprints. Not even a loose hair. Puzzling. Was there any thought once you saw the scene that this was a suicide . There was things missing that prevented the suicide theory. Like what . If youre going to commit suicide with a gun, its usually at the scene. It was clear teresa had been murdered. Shot with a gun which was now missing. And what was more, her cell phone, the one that was always attached to her hip, was nowhere to be found. Did it look like it could have been a robbery . The wallet wasnt taken. The purse was on the console. But the contents of the purse had been dumped out in her lap. A clumsy attempt at staging, you might say . Yes. But there was one important clue the killer left behind. We noticed that the only window down was the drivers window. So we figured that she had to have known the person because she had let down her window. We had to ask ourselves, who could get her to this location and why was she murdered . Someone in moundville had to know something. From there the investigation went where . Investigating her inner circle, trying to find a motive. Usually, so im told, in cases like this the husband has got to be a person of interest. Yes. So as the family gathered to mourn the loss of their beloved teresa, scott couldnt be with them. He was down at the Sheriffs Office answering questions. Came willingly, no issue . Yes. Did he ask for an attorney or anything . No, he did not. Corporal boyd chatted with scott for three long hours. And during the whole time he was cooperative and helpful. You know, the standard questions that we would ask is, is anyone having an affair . Are you having an affair . No. Was she having an affair . No. Good marriage, happy marriage, christian marriage . Right. I asked them did they argue . He said no. Scott answered all their questions about what teresa was supposed to be doing that morning. He told them he phoned teresa from his morning job on the farm, a wakeup call. And then about two hours later she called him. But the call faded out. He couldnt hear a thing. Scott said that it sounded like she was on the road. He thought nothing of it then, he said. But now was it a distress call . No way to know. But there was one thing that call certainly cleared up for investigators. Scott could not have killed teresa. He was Something Like 30 miles away up near tuscaloosa, had a breakfast receipt to prove it. He had stopped at hardees and had a receipt showing he was there. So scott rejoined his family. Caught up in the terrible business of grieving. I kept wondering, why was it happening to our family. It was awful. Who would ever imagine youd have a murder in your family . Investigators tried with the help of friends to fill in the gaps of teresas last hours. They talked to scott and teresas friend dawn lavender. She had plans to go shopping with teresa the morning of the murder. Im sure dawn was shocked and upset by what had happened. She did cry during the interview. She was at her house waiting on teresa to come pick her up because she was going to ride with her. She finally got the chance to talk to teresa around 7 00. And after that call, nothing. Dawn told the investigators she phoned teresa over and over and each time the phone went to a recording. Just to be sure of all this, they pulled teresas cell phone records and began plotting out a timeline of her whereabouts. But the picture the records painted wasnt quite what they expected. That morning call to scott, the one he couldnt hear, teresa did not call from moundville. Cell tower shows thta its pinging from up in tuscaloosa. Wait a minute. How could it be pinging from tuscaloosa . Thats miles and miles away. Right. Theres no way she could have made the call and been back to the location where she was murdered at. So courtesy of the cell towers, you were able to show that teresa could not have made that call. It had to be somebody else using her phone and what do you know . Her phone is missing from the crime scene. Correct. So the person who very likely killed Teresa Mayfield must have used teresas cell phone to call her husband, scott. What could that mean . Did the killer know scott . And did scott know something he wasnt sharing . Coming up we were dealing with a person that was leading a double life. Secrets and lies. This was betrayal. Thats a very good word. When dateline continues. At leaf blowers. You should be mad your neighbor always wants to hang out. And you should be mad your smart fridge is unnecessarily complicated. Make ice. Making ice. But youre not mad because you have e trade which isnt complicated. Their tools make trading quicker and simpler so you can take on the markets with confidence. Dont get mad get e trade and start Trading Commission free today. Dont get mad get e trade and start trading verizon knows how to build unlimited right. Start with americas most awarded network. Include the best in entertainment and offer plans to mix and match starting at 35. Plus, get the Samsung Galaxy s20 5g uw on us when you buy any note20 5g. Only at verizon. Hi susan honey . Yeah . I respect that. But that cough looks pretty bad. Try this new robitussin honey severe. The real honey you love. Plus, the powerful cough relief you need. Mind if i root through your trash . New robitussin honey severe. Strong relief for your severe symptoms. Strong relief its totally not the same without you. We miss your lets do this look, the sound of your laugh cry screams, and how you make every day here the best day ever. We cant wait to get you back so weve added temp checks, face coverings, social distancing and extra sanitizing to get the good times going again. Were finally back. And cant wait until you are too. Buy now and get two days free at the parks. Restrictions apply. Welcome back to dateline. Even though Teresa Mayfields husband, scott, had been very cooperative with investigators, they wondered if there was something he wasnt telling them. Here again with secrets in a small town is Keith Morrison. Its a funny thing about secrets. They can only stay hidden for so long. Especially in a little place like moundville. And it didnt take very long for sheriff ellis and Corporal Boyd to stumble on a secret scott had been keeping. While we was out at the crime scene scott had had a young lady to come pick up the boys. It was only later when the fog of grief had lifted that one of teresas relatives wondered to police who was that woman hanging around the day teresa died . Ellis and boyd tracked her down and what they discovered, well, that changed everything. Or seemed to. The person they were talking to was scotts mistress. She was under the impression that scott was not married at that time. What did you make of that when you heard it . We knew that wasnt correct. A love triangle, jealous home wrecker kills wife, claims husband . No, not even close. Scotts girlfriend thought his marriage was over, his divorce finalized. What was her reaction to getting the real story . She must have been upset. More hurt probably than upset because i think she had fallen in love. He had been lying like a sidewalk. Thats right. And you had no idea that woman was associated with him that way either, did you . Mmmm. I had met her once or twice. But i just thought they were friends. I didnt think it was anything else. This was betrayal in all capital letters. Thats a very good word. You were betrayed. Lied to. Yeah. Taken advantage of in a way. Kelsey may have been surprised, but teresas mom and sister, they knew better. Because this wasnt scotts first dance with infidelity. No, no, there had been others. In fact, scott and teresa divorced during one of his affairs. That was just after kelsey was born. And then three years later teresa took him back. Remarried him. She wanted to have her family back together. That was her whole thing, family. What was it like for you when scott came into your house . What was happening here as he walked in the door . I tried to be sociable, mutual with scott. But i always had that thought in the back of my mind, he hurt my sister, and i would not forget it. For a while things were as teresa had always hoped. But wishes dont always come true. Soon scott was back to his old ways with that girl cops were talking to in tuscaloosa. And you know how gossip can be. Scott when from sympathetic figure, bereaved widower, to cad. And maybe worse. He must have been aware of the fact that people were suspicious of him. It bothered me hearing the bad things people had to say about him. And i knew my dad was never capable of doing Something Like that. I was going to have his back regardless. But to investigators, scotts affair and the fact he lied about it to police certainly was suspicious. Ellis and boyd asked the girlfriend to help them out by recording her conversations with scott. Maybe hed let something slip. [ phone ringing ] hello. Hi. Are you okay . Yes. Im okay. They just left. Look, all i want to know, did you do it . Of course not. They told me on the getgo, i would be number one prime suspect. I know. Because im the husband. Do you still love me . Yes, i do. If you do have anything do with her dying, was it because you love me . I didnt have nothing to do with it, no, no, no. I had nothing. My hands are clean as they can be. So infidelity . Yes. Murder . Didnt sound like it. We could prove that he was an adulterer. But we was trying to prove the murder. Guess theres no crime against being a lying sack of you know what. Its not against the law to have a mistress. So now the corporal and the sheriff reverted to standard procedure. They followed up every tip, tracked down every tenuous lead, knocked down rumors. Somebody called scott from teresas cell phone that morning, whether he heard it or not. The investigation dragged on. Weeks and months went by and there was nothing. We had no idea how that anger will get the best of you, not knowing who done this and you want the person that done this to be punished for it. Kelsey took on the most difficult job of her life. At 17 she stepped into her mothers shoes, defended her father, tried to maintain something of a normal life for her Little Brothers. Me trying to fill my mothers shoes. Those are some big shoes to fill. I just felt like it was my responsibility to help my dad take care of my family. So you were able to continue to have a relationship of trust with your father. Right. He was there for you guys . Yes. He tried to be strong for us so we wouldnt have a brea