Back. To know she had survived was a pretty powerful moment. Not just her body, but her mind. There was a guy that come in daycare and erica said dont let him hurt me. Hello and welcome to dateline. It all started with a crime that not even police could believe. A little girl. Just a toddler. Shot in the head deliberately. Left for dead by a killer who then disappeared. Detective vowed to crack the case no matter how long it took. Heres hoda copky. One of the biggest attractions at the louisville zoo was a floip eppy eared baby named scotty. Erica, whose storile captivated a city. That girl is a miracle child. Why do you think they call her that. Because shes been through a lot. A twoyearold shot twice and lived. Does she have an understanding of what happened to her. She knows she was shot. If you could have seen her, you would say theres no way this child could possibly make it. Louisville, the home of Churchill Downs. In betting. The odds of this storile ever finding oo happy ending were off the board. Virtually impossible. Would a little girl ever gain the strength not only to recover, but to come back whole . And would a dedicated detective not only crack his biggest case, but keep the emotional promise he made. Eri ericas story began. Twoyearold wild about dora the e employerer lived heerd with her mom. On may 18, 2006, police got a frantic 911 call when they arrived at the house. The man that made the call flagged them down. What was his state of mind. He was really hysterical. Theres a little girl in there. Detective now retired officer rushed into the house and found a horrifying scene. A woman almost certainly dead on the floor. When i first seen her, i thought she was dead. Was she saying anything, doing anything. No and eventually i touched her and she pushed my hand and said leave me alone. Tell me about the motion you felt at that moment. She was there. Barely. The officers could see the little girl had been shot in the head. Dry blood was everywhere. They could tell she had been left there for a long time. She has very labored breathing. Had you ever seen anyone who had made it. No. There was no time to wait for an ambulance. A sergeant at the scene parked the order for a police car to take her to the hospital. We were running to the hospital. Youre holding her head and youre holding her legs. Were you like this. Just like this. When they finally reached the car. Handed her to two ems firefighters in the back seat. Now retired officer jumped behind the wheel. Captured the final moments of the high speed motorcade as it made the left turn towards the hospital. With traffic, the ride can take up to 15 minutes. How long did it take you. About two to three minutes. Across town, another part of the story was unfolding inside this house. All day long Harold Harper and his wife were wondering why they couldnt reach their daughter erin and their twoyearold granddaughter, erica. Harold retired factory worker and judith a homemaker talked to their daughter nearly every day. The silence was strange. Then the tv news flashed on. First here at 7. Breaking news. Said there had been a shooting down on Wilton Avenue where she lived. A he and judith picked up erins oldest daughter and drove down to the house. It was a whole bunch of people outside. It was taped off. It was a mess. You knew something was up. Yes. I just freaked out. It wasnt long before judith and harolds worst fears were confirmed. The jewelry she had on, they brought it to me. I knew it was erin then. Their daughter, erin harper, 42 was dead in the doorway. When you saw that jewelry and you knew it was your daughter, what went through you. I lost a son in 78 in a car wreck. He was already gone when i got to the hospital. I could have shed a few tears and went on about my business. This was different. My son was 21. He had no children. The loss of erin, a mother of four was devastating. Now the family had to deal with what happened to baby erica. Finding out in the most impersonal way. I knew she was hurt. The police rushing her down the street i saw on tv. Later they learned how badly hurt. She had been shot in the head. Why in the name of god would somebody do that . It was this mans job to find out. Now, in your experience, how many times have there been babies who are victims. Theres never been a case i worked where a baby had been shot. A life long local with a once promising pitching career. Now knew this would be a high profile case. He just didnt know it would be the case of a lifetime. A video camera rolled at detective arnold processed the crime scene, honing in on clues. The harsh reality of death lay side by side with the every day images of young life. Erins body in a pool of red blood near a kid wagon. And the bed where erica once jumped for joy was now covered in her own blood. The suspected blood on the sheets, the pillows and pillow cases. Detective arnold noticed something on the bed that would burn in his memory throughout the investigation. The first thing that immediately hit me was a dora the explorer pillow and it had blood on it. What was the emotion when you saw that. Anger. With two young kids of his own, this case had already hit rick arnold hard. On the spot, he made a promise to ericas grandmother. You said, were going to find who did this. Yes. Thats a lot to promise somebody, isnt it. Yes, it is. Coming up, a glimmer of hope from baby erica. I was running her hand and she opened her eyes. When dateline continues. Tada all this devotion only calls for a little bit of dawn ultra. So concentrated, just one bottle has the grease cleaning power of three. Bottles of this other liquid. A drop of dawn and grease is gone. 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Progressive cant save you from becoming your parents. But we can save you money when you bundle home and auto. Prwe thats why at xfinityic. From becoming your parents. Weve been working hard to simplify your experiences with us. Now with instant text and email updates youll always be up to date. You can easily add premium channels so you dont miss your favorite show. And with just a single word, find all the answers youre looking for. Because getting what you need should be simple, fast, and easy. Download the xfinity my account app or go online today. Detective rick armed admitted it. The shooting made his blood boil. Thats why he guaranteed he would find out who killed her daughter and shot her granddaughter. Why did you make that promise. That was emotion spilling over. A baby shot as well as an adult killed. We were expecting at that point the baby do die. Erica had flat lined at the high speed caravan delivered her. She was rushed into the emergency room where doctors and nurses worked frantically to stabilize her. Her vital signs were barely measurable. Doctor thomas performed surgery on the gunshot wounds to ericas head. These were cat scans preop. This one you can see part of the bullet. Broken bone. Surgeons Life Saving Mission was to clean the fragments from her head, clear the wounds and preserve brain function if possible. She was lucky in one way. The angle of the bullet wasnt straight down the brain, but exiting downward through her chin. What a blessing. As opposed to going through and damaging and destroy everything. Doctor was relieved the bullet only struck the brains frontal lobe which can absorb injury better especially in the very young. Less than three years old, the brains ability to repair is truly remarkable. After a delicate 3. 5 hour surgery, the doctor was encouraged by comparison scans of the brain. The bullet and bone fragments in the preop image were groan. Despite the repair, brain injuries are unpredictable and doctor urged caution. Next three days in the icu were going to be critical. At the crime scene, detective arnold continued to sift through clues. More leads came into focus. A bloody footprint, three big red soda cans and two cigarette butts by the bed. The second one had an ash about an inch long. Someone had left that cigarette and rushed out of there. Detective arnold ordered dna testing on the cigarettes and can. Also learning about aaronerin. She was raising four children mostly by herself including erica. The only one home and ebony the oldest at 16. Instead of like mother and daughter, we were like sisters. You were like friends. Yes we did everything together. She was the best mom. And fun to be around. She was outgoing. Just do anything. She was just a daredevil. I just miss her so much. She was everything to me. She loved her kids. She tried her best to take care of them. Erin worked at Churchill Downs as a hostess, but she had to go on disability because of ms and a painful inflammatory condition known as fibromyalgia. She often took prescription painkillers to manager symptoms. She was a heck of a woman. As far as fighting spirit and everything is concerned. Her parents were concerned sometimes by the crowd she ran with. Even so her parents couldnt imagine who would have shot her and little erica or why. That just ramped up their own fears that the shooter or shooters might come back. I was scared to death. I thought, my god. What if they dont catch these people. At the crime scene, detective arnold was searching for answers. Combing the house for more clues. Panning in on a closet that contains a safe. Some contents apparently missing. First thing that popped in my head was some kind of robbery. Next to the door was a cell phone. First thing we do is check cell phone records. Records show erin received two phone calls in the hours before the shooting. Both from a family friend. James had known erin for years. He called her auntie a. Police brought him in to see if he had any information that could help the investigation. One of the very last people to call her and talk to her by phone was you. Which is why we want to talk to you. Was me. He provided some names for investigators to check out. And repeatedly offered to assist police in any way he could. Ill help you help youd find whoever did this. Back at Childrens Hospital. Erica was now in the icu holding on for life. Her heart broken grandparents and big sister stood daily vigil. It was like a horror movie. Ebony took it very hard. 14 years older, she had been like a second mother to erica. In fact, erica actually called her mommy. By day four in the icu. Ericas family was seeing signs of hope. Doctors believed erica was Strong Enough to remove her breathing tube. Now it was time to see how she would do on her own. I was rubbing her hand. She opened her eyes a little bit and she said mommy and everybody was like, oh, my goodness. Shes speaking. While erica had taken first small steps to recovery, there was a big sign of life in rick arnolds investigation. It was a mist fieing discovery. That would turn out to be crucial. Unlikely call. Cat lack leads to unlikely clue. When date line continues. Every day, on every street, in every town, across america. Small businesses show their love to you. With some friendly advice, a genuine smile and a warm welcome they make your town. Well, your town. Thats why American Express is proud to be the Founding Partner of Small Business saturday. A day where you get to return that love, because shopping small makes a big difference. So, today get up, get out, and shop small. Kelp is on the way with herbal essences bio renew made with active antioxidants that work from the inside out. To help animate lifeless hair. Let life in with herbal essences bio renew. Do you want clean, stain free dentures . Try polident. The four in one cleaning system kills 99. 99 of odor causing bacteria, cleans where brushing may miss. Helps remove stains and prevent stain build up. Use polident daily. At lincoln financial, we get there are some responsibilities of love you gotta do on your own. And some you shouldnt have to shoulder alone. Like ensuring your family is protected, today and tomorrow, no matter what the future brings. See how Life Insurance from lincoln can help start protecting your familys financial future now, at lincolnfinancial. Com. Four days after she was shot, erica woke up and started talking to her family. In the icu, erica was feisty and combative. Her neurosurgeon said that was a positive sign. Her brain was rebooting. Did you pray a lot. Oh, yes. Judith was the most religious one in the family and a week after surgery, her prayers and unshakable faith were answered. Ericas condition was upgraded from critical to fair. She looked real bad, but i never dwelled on she wasnt going to make it. Now the family had to turn its focus to the one who did not make it. Ericas mom, erin. On may 25, 2006, a week after she was gunned down, erins family gathered for her funeral and the man who delivered the eulogy was none other than the officer who raced erica to the hospital. Steve kelsey. Also served as a minister in the church. It was so moving and personal because he had been on the scene. For jesse holiday, a crime reporter, what elevated the story was simple. Little erica. The public concern from the very beginning was always that there was a twoyearold involved. After nearly two weeks in the hospital, erica was well enough to move to nearby frazier rehabilitation institute. The hard work was just beginning. The brain injury had damaged her ability to walk and talk. What had been Second Nature to her had to be relearned. Running, talking back and forth, and just being a playful kid again. Ericas sister who knew her best was worried. Erica had lost sight in her right eye forever. And ebony was afraid she would never be her old self again. What was different. She didnt run and play and talk as much. She was kind of quiet. With still no idea why her sister and mother were shot, ebony and her grandparents remained fearful. I was thinking about the safety of the kids and me. I didnt go out much. Back at the police station, detective arnold was trying to figure out his next move when his investigation caught a lucky break. 75yearold spotted some of erins things in a rain soaked ditch three miles from erins house and phoned police. There were empty prescription pill bottles, credit card and id cards and personal papers and Something Else that did not belong. Tell me what this thing is. This is a cadillac manual. Cadillac owners manual. It stood out because it didnt seem to fit with the rest of the muddy mess. Why was the car manual there and whose was it. Rick arnold tried thumbing through it, but the pages were soaked together. The front and back cover were soaked together. I started to look through this the first time and flip through it, teenages were still sticking together. Days later. Rick could separate a few pages, but was still frustrated. The third time was the charm. I was able to find stuck all the way down in the binding of the book an automobile insurance card. With a name. With a name most importantly. By now, his working days had turned into working nights. Detective arnold typed the name, a mans name into his computer and it spit out 15 matches. One of them lived in southern india, just across the river from louisville. Around 11 00 p. M. Rick called the man. Asked him if he knows why his mu manuel would be in a drainage ditch. He said i dont know, but my car was broken into. I asked him. Where do you work. He said hes a pharmacist at a walgreens. And bells and whistles go off in my head. He works in a drugstore where they sell prescription drugs. It hit me immediately there was a reason that manuel with was the stuff. Someone broke into a shiny cadillac parked outside an indiana walgreens. Car happened to belong to the stores pharmacist. For no apparent reason, the thief grabbed the owners manuel from the glove compartment and tossed it into his own car. He then went to erins house where she and erica were shot. And earns prescription pills and credit cards were stolen. Then according to the theory, the person rushed away from the house, threw the pill bottles and credit cards into the get away car and drove off. A few miles away, who whoever was in the car got rid of the hot property, tossing the empty pill bottles and credit cards out of the window along with the cadillac manuel. And thats how everything ended up together in the drainage ditch. I think they were just grabbing stuff, and, i believe, they just thought, wow, we dont want to have this. Shes dead. Rick asked if the pharmacist knew who broke into his car. He said, i dont know for sure, but i have a pretty good idea. The pharmacist remembered and store security cameras confirm a man in a baseball cap and another man came into the walgreens at 9 30 p. M. On may 17. Just hours before erin was shot. And he said they didnt look like they were regular shoppers at our walgreens. Most of our prescription customers are regular customers. They had come back to the pharmacy and tried to obtain prescriptions using bogus names. And on the security cape, looked closely and saw the man leaning through the window of the pharmacy section seemingly checking out names from pill bottles. Over and over detective arnold staired at the grainy walgreens tape. The man in the baseball cap looked familiar. As in james. Erins Family Friends who phoned her minutes before the murder. Earlier he told the detective how much he wanted to help the investigation. I want to help you, help you find whoever did it. Rick wasnt buying any of it now. He has become a prime suspect. Though rick wasnt ready to arrest him. Not yet. Not until he had the other man, but that wouldnt be easy. Although there were two suspects in his sites, the mystery man was not in focus. How clear is the image of the second guy. Its not very clear. Coming up, it turned out it was an image that was all to clear to little erica. They was the guy that come in the daycare and they had braids in their hair and erica said dont let him hurt me. When dateline continues. The search is on in egypt for armed attackers who killed 235 people in a mosque during friday prayers. First detonate add bomb before spraying gunfire in the deadliest attack in history. On a matter, the presiden