>> i remember, did she come into a lot of money she couldn't explain skbl maybe she was selling secrets? >> maybe. >> that's like out of a spy novel. >> what about other secrets, the personal kind. >> t we knew they were having issues. >> right beforeavin they got mad she found out he was cheating. >> but somewhere out there was a stranger keeping secrets, too. >> my data guy starts going through her facebook. >> she made reference to firearms in her social media. >> sawci that they were communicating her gas mileage. >> what a weird thing to do. >> a mystery that would drag on for months, and then one final secret uncovered by science. >> we started peeling the layers back until the number is visible. hello and welcome to "dateline." texas native, carly ramirez grew up surrounded by friends and family and west east. she was shot dead in her home. her killer thought he'd covered his tracks, but investigators were determined to follow the truth exposing a plot so devious itso defied imagination. here's andrey yeah canning with "theh alley by." >> love you, mommy. >> across the spectrum of love. is there anything more precious than a mother for a daughter ♪ ♪ you are my sunshine, my only sunshine." >> our story is about the maternal tie that endures from generation to generation. it begins in a military town near the mexican border. dell rio, texas. a small city anchored by the lockd lynn air force base. she wasr an easy going child. >> carla, when she was young she was calm. she would sing all the time ♪ let me see ♪ >> whenever she was out with her friends. >> rosanna flores was one of those friends. >> what was it about carla, you wanted to be her friend? >> herer smile, her voice. her really big heart. she never saw any bad in anyone. >> her friends say it wasn't all about singing. >> we would go to the local bar here and sing and dance. >> they say the dancing could literally happen anywhere. that's carlyn. >> fun times in the walmart parking lot. >> only in a small city, right? she went to college in del rio. started in nursing and transferred to criminal justice. nothing that would prepare her mind for what she did at 22. enlist in the army. >> she didn't ask me. she did it. >> your family is a military family? >> we are. my dad is air force, my sister was air force and i was army reserves. >> she went to south korea. off duty she found time to give back. >> she found herself volunteering at orphanage. she started sending me pictures of a little boy that she's in love with. she said, mom, i want to adopt him. i t said, no. >> in korea, carlyn found another love. she started dating malik kierney. she was attracted to his confidence. >> he was a decorated soldier. did she like that about him? >> yes. they worked>> out together. >> carlyn gushed about malik. they were engaged. >> engaged and expecting. pregnant, theec army transferre her to fort meade, maryland. one of the nation's most secret and secure facilities. >> was shese happy? was she excited? >> she was excited. she started working and absolutely loved it. >>te top secret? >> she would say, mom, i can't share anything about what i do. >> meantime, the army moved malik to fort jackson. the couple was 500 miles apart. >> while living apart, she was friends with marissa. >> she was the light of the office. she was igloving. everyone loved her. >> marissa was a single mom with a young daughter. when car lynn was nearing the end of their pregnancy, they decided to share a house together. >> it had a backyard, decent sized kitchen and right by base. >> did you ever have security concerns about the town house? >> we did have. carlyn came home and said she felt like stuff was moved around the house. >> if somebody said that to me, i'm getting worried. >> the twott women kept the doo and windows locked and worked together to make their townhouse a home. she set up a nursery and on april 23rd, 2015, catala veil ramirez was bosh. grandma susan was on the first flight from texas. >> what was it like for you to see carlyn and her baby together. your baby's had a baby. >> it was amazing. i got her and i wouldn't share her withi anybody. healthy and beautif beautiful. carlyn radiant. their town house was filled with the beautiful sounds of song. ♪ you'll never know, dear, how much i love you ♪ >> it was happy. it looked like she found her purpose in life. >> three months after veil was born, theyr married. after the party, carlyn went back home with the baby. she said it was hard, the distance, not seeing him all the time. >> susan stayed in touch. >> but tuesday, august 25th, would be different. susan called carlyn that morning. >> and she didn't answer. that -- unusual. >> you had such a close relationship. >> so i waited and i called her again and she didn't answer. so i sent an email to her work email. never got a response to that. called her on my lunch break. she did not answer. i said, if you do not call me back, message me, i'm going to call the police. now she reached carlyn's offices on the base. >> i hang up with him, i put the phone down and i hear in our front yard we have river rock. i looked out and i saw the three uniformed soldiers. >> oh, gosh. >> and i knew. >> it a just made me -- >>ju yeah, sick. >> that's what it did to me, too. >> it's what any relative of a -- somebody in the military dreads. i'm a marine corps wife myself. >> it's the last thing -- you don't ever want to have to see that. i yelled my s husband's name ani just dropped to my knees and i began to cry. and then they knocked. >> she was right. something had happened toas carlyn, and now this mother was about to hear the words every military family draeds. ta coming up -- >> what did they say? >> we regret to inform you, just like they always say. >> what the soldiers said next would leave this mom horrified and confused. >> what scenarios are running through your mind? >> i couldn't even imagine what could have possibly happened. >> when "dateline" continues. hes ♪ here's to the duers. to all the people who realize they can du more with less asthma thanks to dupixent, the add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. dupixent isn't for sudden breathing problems. it can improve lung function for better breathing in as little as 2 weeks and help prevent severe asthma attacks. it's not a steroid but can help reduce or eliminate oral steroids. dupixent can cause serious allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. get help right away if you have rash, shortness of breath, chest pain, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection and don't change or stop your asthma treatments, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. are you ready to du more with less asthma? talk to your asthma specialist about dupixent. if your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. there he is. oh, wow. you're doing, uh, you're doing really great with the twirling. dad, if you want to talk, i have a break at 3:00. okay, okay. i'm going. i'm gone. like -- like i wasn't here. [ horn honks ] keep -- keep doing it, buddy. switch to progressive and you can save hundreds. you know, like the sign says. in del rio, texas, susan ramirez's husband opened the door to an army casualty notification team and the worst news imaginable. their carlyy was dead. >> what did they say? >> we regret to inform you, just like they always say. the same words. they had a chaplain. couldn't give me any specifics. i asked for the baby. they said that she was in the hospital. >> so what scenarios are running through your mind? >> i couldn't even imagine what could have possibly happened. >> reporter: the answers would come 1700 miles away at carlyn's town house. homicide detectives were on the case. >> a maintenance person saw a dog walking around leading to an open back door of the town house. the officers got there and carlyn was murdered. >> it was car lynn and her 4-month-old daughter together. >> she was laying in the master bedroom and a little girl was they thought initially also had been murdered, but it turns out she was sleeping alongside of her mom. the baby was unharmed. >> the investigators began searching for clues. >> she was laying on the floor near the crib. her pants and her underwear had been removed. >> did that suggest to you there may have been a sexual assault? >> it's something you have to consider. >> the crime scene ramped up and they collected dna samples. carlyn had been shot three times. they recovered a bullet from the floor. they were able to narrow down the weapon to a few different models. >> the caliber of the projectile was .357. >> of course, a hard look at the spouse is homicide investigation 101. the day after they found carlyn's body, they talked to ma league. >> he was waiting for us. >> they started asking about carlyn? >> what can you tell us about her. >> she was the love of her life. >> they had given him the vaguest of details. >> do you know how she passed away? >> they said you guys would answer all of my questions. i so miss her. >> she was murdered. >> why? >> we were hoping you could help us. >> i don't know. >> they wanted to know his whereabouts. they said he stayed in his apartment until he reported for duty tuesday morning. >> didn't go out monday night, go anywhere, talk to anybody? >> no. >> the questions got personal. detectives had been told carlyn was planning to divorce malik. >> i'm telling you as an outsider, she was done. she was done with you, right? >> she had withdrawn. >> they learned about a brief relationship carlyn had with another soldier and asked him about that. >> i didn't forget. >> did you ever cheat on her when you were in an exclusive relationship. >> cheat, no? >> you didn't kill her? >> no. >> he appeared to have nothing to hide. >> malik let them download his phone. he offered fingerprints, provided a dna sample. he gave police permission to search his apartment and car and detectives got to work. >> right away we talked to neighbors that were in his apartment building. they said he never left. >> a distinctive jaguar xtl came up clean and all of his electronics, cell phone, netflix account put him at home that night, 500 miles from the crime scene. police checked toll plazas between south carolina and maryland. there was no sign of malik's jaguar on what would have been a 15 hour trip. >> would you say he had a good alibi? >> yes. >> malik kearney was free to go. >> they were back to square one on what would be an incredibly complex homicide case, an investigation that would involve hundreds of witnesses, multiple government agencies and a mountain of forensic evidence. coming up -- could carlyn's top secret work cost her her life? >> i wondered if she was targeted or knew something she wasn't supposed to know. >> i remember them specifically telling me, did she come into a lot of money that she couldn't explain? >> when "dateline" continues. a little more than a week after she was killed private first class carlyn ramirez was buried with full military honors. flags were presented to her parents, husband and daughter. susan had little time to mourn. she was busy caring for carlyn's daughter in texas. susan was also doing everything she could to help solve the case. investigators asked again and again who would want carlyn dead? >> i am racking my brain. i wish i could tell you but i just cannot. >> detectives cast a wide net. they spoke with carlyn's roommate, marissa, multiple times. they were curious about the soldier carlyn had a brief relationship with malik. >> their line of questioning made me think they were looking at the soldier that she was involved with. >> the guy she was having the fling with at work? >> yes. >> what kind of questions did they ask about him? >> what the relationship was like. did he love her? did she love him? did malik know? >> did you ever to check into the soldier that she had the little side thing with? >> certainly, and he was devastated that this happened. he provided his phone, his whereabou whereabouts. we concluded he was telling the truth. >> with the boyfriend cleared, some of carlyn's friends thought this might have dealt with her work. >> i wondered if she was targeted because of her job. >> the detectives were looking for any sign carlyn might have been recruited as a spy. >> did she come into a lot of money that she couldn't explain to you. >> meaning she was selling secrets? >> yes. >> something like a spy novel. >> what did you learn about carlyn ramirez's role. >> she was a spy. >> was this related to her job? >> there was no evidence of handler or misbehaving with her information. >> espionage was ruled out. weeks went by without a break in the case. >> homicide detectives are still conducting several interviews, processing information from the scene. >> the crime scene investigation intensified. >> they had my house taped off for almost a month just going through evidence, going through the house trying to find things, trying to find leads. >> and marissa lived in fear remembering carlyn's fears about someone creeping around the house. >> carlyn went to the concern or possibility of someone who did it. >> it seemed like a hit man did it. >> they told us they had security concerns. someone had maybe been in the town house at some point. >> that was always something we kept in the back of our minds. >> did you ever to consider the possibility carlyn had a stalker, someone who was stalking her? >> yeah. we looked extensively into her background and communication. >> investigators pursued the information they had all the while susan was pushing them for answer. >> two, three times a week they would hear from me. >> must have been getting frustrating. her killer is out there. >> yes. >> her daughter is with you. you must have felt that fear. >> constant fear. veil was not out of our sight. >> but she heard nothing. >> in april the family took veil to visit her grave. >> love you, mommy. >> by that time ma league was living nearby. the army had allowed him to transfer from south carolina to a fort in houston. >> he had gotten orders to get as close to the baby. as close as he could get was san antonio. >> the ramirez family struggled to find normalcy. they offered $25,000 and it generated no personal leave. >> detectives turned to the fbi as a stunning new theory to take center stage. coming up -- >> there's no likely suspects so the first thought is, serial killer. no individual. >> and then an eyebrow raising rev very blags carlyn's husband. >> she said they had been intimate for several years. >> when "dateline" continues. th our renters insurance. yeah, switching and saving was really easy! drink it all up. good! could have used a little salt. visit geico.com and see how easy saving on renters insurance can be. you're not welcome here! get out of my face! hpv can cause certain cancers when your child grows up. get in its way. hpv can affect males and females... and there's no way to predict who will or won't clear the virus. but you can help protect your child by taking a first step. the cdc recommends hpv vaccination at age 11 or 12 to help protect against certain cancers. hey cancer! not... my... child. don't wait... talk to your child's doctor about hpv vaccination today. robinwithout the commission fees. so, you can start investing today wherever you are - even hanging with your dog. so, what are you waiting for? download now and get your first stock on us. robinhood. hello, i'm dara brown. the white house released new photos overnight of the president working at the conference room at walter reed. he got a second dose of remdesivir without complication. trump remains fever free and off supplemental oxygen. the team says they remain, quote, cautiously optimistic about his recovery. now back to dateline. welcome back to "dateline." i'm natalie moralimoralis. who killed cashlyn ramirez. her estranged husband was hundreds of miles away. it was time to broaden the investigation. they would make a remarkable discovery. here's andrey yeah with "the alley by." >> it had been months since she had been found murdered at home. with all leads exhausted, homicide detectives wondered if this may be part of a pattern. they reached out to profilers with the fbi's behavioral analysis unit. jonathan schaeffer would join the team. >> the story is the husband is in south carolina. there's no apparent likely suspects. first thought is serial killer, some unknown individual. that's where they requested profiling. >> had there been any serial killers in the area that could possibly tie to this thing? >> no, there wasn't. at the time it was a long shot. >> did this lead anywhere? >> their opinion was probably somebody close to her did this. >> with no obvious progress in carlyn's case, friends began to despair. >> it was beginning to look like carlyn would never get their justice. >> what they didn't know is they had been quietly collecting a massive amount of electronic information. of course police had initially aukd to carlynn's ee strangtd husband ma league, but they indicate where she was. months after they asked for it, police had not still they had it. >> we requested information from the people malik was communicating with. >> all of their tedious digital searching had paid off. it took them in a whole new direction with calls and texts. from deloris delgado. >> when they poured over her informati information. >> that phone number had her number and placed her in malik's complex. >> this was a huge break. >> on a wednesday afternoon in march 2016, detective harding turned up unannounced on delloris's doorstep in coco beach, florida. >> knock on the door and i say, hi. i'm detective harding. i'd like to talk to you. >> that's a shock. >> she was very shocked. she said, about what? malik? >> and i said, yes, actually. >> in an interview room at the sheriff's office, the detective asked deloris about the night of the murder, if she was in malik's apartment and if he was with her. >> she admits that she was there that night. >> what happened? she was in the living room. he went to bed. as far as she knew he was there the whole time. >> this was a sexual relationship? >> they were intimate for several years. >> they had a long relationship. >> the detectives now knew one thing for sure, after talking to delloris delgado, malik kearney had lied to them about being faithful. >> do you have anyone snels. >> no. >> but most critically about what happened the night of carlyn's murder. >> didn't go out. didn't talk to anybody. >> if you have somebody that can account for your whereabouts during the time of the murd ger. why wouldn't you offer that to us? >> the detectives had to consider maybe he didn't want to admit he was cheating on his wife. they took a closer look at the girlfriend who said she and malik hooked up while serving in the service. >> she lied about owning a gun. >> she told me she was almost ignorant about firearms. in her phone she was looking for a very particular firearm. >> on her phone there was a text that said my last .357 i paid 400 so i want to stay in that range. detective myers dove deeper into deloris's life. >> my data guy here starts going through her facebook. >> there are 24i7ks going on with firearms, information about where she purchased firearms previously. >> this is a woman with no details. >> a shop had a federal firearms reaction for a taurus .357 revolver. both were made out to deloris delgado. this matched the caliber of gun that killed carlyn. >> we saw this was one of the guns on lift. other than herself, the detectives wondered why she would lie about owning a weapon. there was something else. myers soon learned that delores had put a box of a.m. munition up. >> it matched all of the characteristics. >> all of this smoking, they under that into an apartment. the mother in del rio, they knew nothing about this. >> it's me again. i don't want you to forget my daughter because she was very much in love. they were homing in on delloris delato? >> just how, for lack of a better term. they were just sort of best friends with a romantic bint. >> there was another weird thing, her phone was full of texts between her and malik kearney that weren't on his phone. what a twisted story those texts would tell. coming up -- a tip from a complete stranger could blow the case wide open. >> we got rid of a gun. i think. >> i mean, do you get calls like this every day? this is pretty remarkable. >> i wish, but we don't. >> when "dateline" continues. load it up with a week's worth of groceries. take the kiddos out for ice cream. check that it has enough wiggle room in your garage. you get the time to make sure you love it. and on the 6th day, we'll reach out and make sure everything's amazing. if so... excellent. if not, swap it out for another or return it for a refund. it's that simple. because at carvana, your car happiness is what makes us happy. here's to the duers. to all the people who realize they can du more with less asthma thanks to dupixent, the add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. dupixent isn't for sudden breathing problems. it can improve lung function for better breathing in as little as 2 weeks and help prevent severe asthma attacks. it's not a steroid but can help reduce or eliminate oral steroids. dupixent can cause serious allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. get help right away if you have rash, shortness of breath, chest pain, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection and don't change or stop your asthma treatments, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. are you ready to du more with less asthma? talk to your asthma specialist about dupixent. if your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. special guest flo challenges the hand models to show off the ease of comparing rates with progressive's home quote explorer. international hand model jon-jon gets personal. your wayward pinky is grotesque. then a high stakes patty-cake battle royale ends in triumph. you have the upper hands! it's a race to the lowest rate, and so much more. only on "the upper hands." it was a bitter sweet day in august 2016 when carlyn ramirez's loved ones celebrated her life and the first anniversary of her murder. back east, lead detectives developed two prime suspects. carlynn's husband, malik kearney and deloris delgado. as they studied the evidence, malik had deleted a lot of texts. >> they were communicating her gas mileage. what a weird thing to do. >> not only that, they were talking gas kansas well. the detectives had delores's bank records which showed a purchase at home depot. >> it included two gas cans. >> finally, they saw the pieces of their puzzle coming together. at the start of the case harding and myers thought it was unlikely that malik would have been able to travel to maryland, kill carlyn and remain undetect undetected. >> take us through what you believe happened that night. >> delores is providing all of the tools, and she's the first alibi. >> the detectives saw it as an elaborate plot. delloris was in there pretending to be his, texting on his phone, streaming the account creating an electronic alibi while he killed carlyn. if he did that long drive in delloris's car and carried extra fuel to avoid gas station security cameras, there wouldn't be any trace of him. >> so he drives straight there. you believe he kills carlyn ramirez. >> he stopped on the roadside in a dark area to fill up the car, immediately gets back in the car to continue to drive. >> to plan this out so meticulously, how cold blooded this was. yell at what am i doing? this is crazy. >> driving eight hours by yourself with your own thoughts in the car, you have a lot of time to change your mind. he was determined. >> 13 months after carlyn's death, they were arrested in san antonio. >> out of the blue i get a phone call at work. they ask me if i could come to san antonio that evening? i said, for what? they said, this's been an arrest. >> susan and her husband made the long drive across west texas. >> that's when i first met the federal prosecutor. they're the ones that told me that malik had been arrested and his girlfriend. >> what were you learning about delores? >> i didn't know anything about her. she was no one. she was no one to me. >> assistant u.s. attorneys met with delloris and malik. >> i introduced myself. >> you spoke with ms. delgado. >> we presented to her the evidence we had compiled against her at that point in time. >> after the arrests came a new lead. a tip to detective harding from an ex-boyfriend of delores's in florida. >> he calls me and says, hey, one night i was hanging out with delores and we got rid of a gun. he said, i think that was your murder wep 307b. >> do you get calls like this every day? this is pretty remarkable. >> i wish, but we don't. >> they met with the pro tipster in florida. not long before that they burned clothing and sneakers. he told them he destroyed a revolver, dismantled it, and an fbi dive team out of miami was soon on the scene. the water was clear and divers found forensic sunken treasure. there on the bottom, rusted, encrusted with seaweed and barn knackless. it was rushed to the lab. "dateline" was given access to the world renowned access. brett mills told us how he examined and reconstructed. >> quickly, the frame of the gun. >> when i finished cleaning it there was no serial number. from my reference collection, it was gone. >> totally obliterated it or so he thought. mills had a plan. >> we call it serial number restoration. there are still compressed layers underneath that still has that impression of the serial number. using acid, we could restore that number. >> he demonstrated the process on a gun from the fbi collection. >> once you've polished it, you start peeling the layers back until the number is visible. >> it's amazing how it reappears, the serial number. >> there was another way to determine how they found the murder weapon. he would try to match the telltale markings on the bullet. >> these fine striations that you see are the equivalent of a human fingerprint. >> but there was no way the recovered weapon would fire again so mills removed the barrel, gently cleaned it and attached it to a working revolver for a test firing. he demonstrated that process with a similar revolver. mills was able to do six test firings. the only thing they have would be added to the weapons. they'll have to see when they went to federal court. coming up, the trial begins. could a major twist tip the case? >> it was right before christmas. >> so it was like an early question. the emotional fallout when "dateline" continues. ♪ wild thing, ♪ ♪ you make my heart sing ♪ ♪ wild thing i... think i... you know what i think? i think you owe us $48.50... wild thing. if you ride, you get it. geico motorcycle. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. welcome back. malik quiche any was charged in the shooting death of his wife carlynn. he and his girlfriend devised an elaborate coverup keep. they found a trove of records and what they suspected was the murder weapon. now the case was headed to court where a surprise witness was about to take the stand. here's andrey yeah canning with the conclusion of "the alibi." >> in august of 2018 malik kearney's trial began in federal court in baltimore. >> he was charged in interstate travel. the trial is a conviction. it's an extraordinary physical effort. prosecutors jim warwick and clark wanted jim kearney not to be a superstar army but as a killer. soleless executioner who took quiche any's life, he left her in his dead mother's arms. >> they could end by him. >> they showed the digital evidence. >> there was a tremendous amount of electronic data. >> including photos delloris showed malik of the car's odometer and kril call. >> one particular text message very important. he's test firing. he said, let's go. this was part of the prosecutor's plan. to put delloris's gun into his firearms. they told about the results of the serial number restoration. >> it wound up pulling up all but one of the digits. it matched the bill of sale or ms. del good doe's area. >> does this work? >> that was awesome. >> and mills had something else to tell the jury. remember, he had done a test firing like this one through the barrel of the key record gun. >> what happened? >> we did our comparison from the victim and we identified those three bullets as having been fired from that revolver. the prosecutors introduced the interrogation journaly. i love her. i love her to det. >> you did the show that the jury would realize he was being untruthful. >> do you know? >> no. >> no? okay. that prosecutors wanted to be but he never actually asked husband, how did my wife die. >> you want to know what happened to her? tell me what happened. >> but the u.s. attorneys knew their case would hinge on whether jurors believed their star witness, delloris delgado. she had agreed to cooperate three months before her arrest. >> an early christmas present? >> the only christmas present -- at 2016, yes. >> prosecutors argue about the long time strand. the gas cabs even packed a sandwich for the drive and provided him with that crucial electronic alibi. >> in your directive, you said malik wasn't home. she answered no. was that the beginning of the end of his alibi? >> it is. placing him at another location was critical for this case. >> the prosecution arrested. they argued they had done nothing. >> the argument that are close done. it was her done discovered by her exboy friend that killed carlin. >> she's will ton sent this before carlyn's murder. crazy pitch is going to be put out. the jurors didn't find it. they found malik kearney guilty. carlyn's mother was in court. >> i was so glad because with the guilty verdict. i don't have to worry if i have free relations. they sentenced him to life plus another ten on top of that. delloris delgado was sentenced to 17 years for her part of the crime. >> why do you think malik and delloris did this? >> i think malik kearney killed carlynn because she was the first woman that stood up to him. she was postponed or whatever. he said it was important to carlyn ramirez, the baby, the important measure of justice. >> with the trial, the ramirez family and carlyn's friends found it important to teach her about her mother. >> she sang to her when she bathed her. she sang to her when she undressed her. >> veil's family kept her memory there. >> we are the constant. we want her to feel protected, loved, everything i know her mom would have given her. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm natalie morales. thank you for watching. i'm craig melvin. and i'm natalie morales. a >> and this is "dateline." >> anytime a child goes missing, it's a scary thing. you know there's evil out there. >> reporter: first, michela. then, jenny. >> bloodhounds came, police were there. >> this is a little girl that was doing nothing more than riding her bicycle in a park. >> two young girls taken. >> the similarities. blondeme blonde, blue-e