just pure evil. >> keith morrison with black friday but first tonight a powerful prophet's dark secret and the daring daughter, telling all. >> he's my dad. he was supposed to be my protector and he wasn't. >> reporter: rachel was a captive of a notorious, polygamous church seen here in rare home video. the flock, ruled by her father, warren jeffs. >> from our youngest years we were taught obey the prophet. forced to marry a man she'd never met and share a home, with other wives. >> reporter: the two pre-existing wives did not like you. >> no. >> now, in a new book, her ultimate, inside account of the church's most sinister secret. >> when i saw him marryin' little girls, that's what made me really angry. >> reporter: and her shattering claim about the father she was ordered to obey. >> "father, do you realize what you're doing?" i was just revolted in my heart. >> after a lifetime of submission, how she risked it all to escape. >> i knew father would try to stop me. >> i'm lester holt and this is delta "dateline." here's megyn kelly with the prophet's daughter. >> reporter: the road to redemption can be a long one, full of twists and turns through places never imagined like the wilds of northern idaho where on this first weekend of fall 2017 something special is underway. >> we call upon heaven to bless this union. >> reporter: just a few years ago, this wedding would have never been allowed to happen. it would have been called wicked, immoral, even sinful back in her other lifetime. when she wore those long prairie dresses, shared her husband with four other wives and was trapped in a life of polygamy. >> until you've been in captivity, you don't know how wonderful that freedom is. >> reporter: it took more than 30 years for rachel jeffs to find freedom. she was born into the fundamentalist church of latter day saints of flds, a radical offshoot of mormonism that has been condemned by the traditional mormon church. for decades, flds members have openly practiced plural marriage, polygamy. >> are you warren jeffs? >> yes. >> reporter: you may have heard of their notorious leader, who made the fbi's most wanted list. but tonight, we go inside this polygamous sect like never before with exclusive home video clips and rare pictures to reveal new details and dark secrets about the flds and the man who still runs it, the so-called prophet, who just happens to be rachel's very own father, the infamous warren jeffs. >> father, he's a master deceiver. i've seen him brainwash and deceive the most intelligent people. i saw how it really was from the top. >> reporter: from the inside. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: rachel was the first child of warren's second wife. here she is with her mother barbara. her first home was this secretive flds compound outside salt lake city. >> we were taught that the world was wicked, that everybody out here was just the most terrible people. >> reporter: back then, rachel's grandfather rulon jeffs, warren's dad, ran the flds. he was the prophet, preaching to his followers they were the only truly righteous people, that plural marriage would ensure their salvation. when you were growing up, generally, how many wives did your dad have at that time? >> till i was seven, father only had two wives. and then after that, he got 'em just every few years. so by the time i was 18, he had at least 30 wives. >> reporter: seemed perfectly normal to you? >> uh-huh. yeah, very much -- >> reporter: eventually warren had some 78 wives and more than 50 children. as seen in these rare photos which rachel is now sharing for the first time. to keep order, rachel says her father assigned everyone to a daily list of chores. he even required a "uniform" of sorts. men generally wore jeans and long sleeve shirts. but the women were more formal. that's little rachel in her flds "prairie dress." >> the dress code was wear a skirt to your ankles, sleeves had to be to our wrists and, you know, had to be up to our neck. we had to have our hair braided. we couldn't wear makeup. >> reporter: what was the main source of tension in the house? >> jealousy. certain moms were mad at other moms 'cause they wanted to spend time with father. and he was the kinda person to have his favorites. so he would spend time with only a few of 'em. and the rest were just, like, servants in the house. >> reporter: but unlike warren's many wives, most of his children got along. rachel was especially close with her half-sisters. one, we're calling angela and becky, who sat down with us to discuss life in the ever-expanding jeffs' family. >> growing up in a polygamous home was normal. and i really loved having all the siblings. so no matter who they were born from, we just merged together and take care of all of 'em. >> reporter: somehow, warren managed to find time to entertain his flock of children, who all seemed to love and admire him. >> he was the best father in the whole world. i mean, he would sit down, read stories with us. he sings with us every day. ♪ we practically worshiped him. he was the hero. >> reporter: sometimes warren would take the family hiking or fishing in the nearby mountains. but they never interacted with outsiders and saw very little of the surrounding city. >> most of the family didn't know very much because he made us think everybody out here was just such terrible people. >> reporter: isolated on the outskirts of salt lake city and hidden away in their walled-off compound, rachel's family kept to themselves. the children were not allowed to leave without permission. the family always ate meals together and learned to entertain themselves without tv, radio or the internet, which were off limits. much of the family's time was spent doing chores or listening to their father's lectures. >> now i remind you, the devil works through the weaknesses of the body. the lord works with us through the spirit. >> reporter: warren also ran the church's school, the alta academy. here rachel learned the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. >> we had just general schooling. it's very church-based. >> reporter: mainstream history? science? >> no, none of that. >> reporter: and unlike other teenagers at the time, she knew nothing of popular culture. no mtv, michael jackson or madonna. >> thank you. thank you. thank you, ladies and gentlemen. >> reporter: instead her father often provided some of the entertainment. >> the three bears, episode two. >> reporter: but mostly warren made sure that the morals and tenets of the flds were drilled into the students especially his children. >> obedience was the first law of heaven. we were always taught to keep sweet. you can't get mad about anything. >> reporter: was it forbidden to feel anger? >> you weren't 'posed to feel anger because-- because then you weren't keepin' sweet. >> if you're keeping sweet no matter what, you're a person ready to give up your own will. >> reporter: rachel always kept sweet and made sure to obey her father, which seemed to give her special status among warren's many children. >> he singled me out, and i was the kind of person to want to please him. >> reporter: but as rachel would soon discover, being her father's favorite came with a price. a very high price -- >> it would all start with a summons to her father's office. when we come back, what she says she saw inside. >> i was just revolted in my heart. >> a daughter raised to revere her dad, shaken to the core. >> i just remember thinkin', "do fathers teach their girls these kind of things?" you may be at increased risk for pneumococcal pneumonia, that can take you out of the game for weeks, even if you're healthy. pneumococcal pneumonia is a potentially serious bacterial lung disease that in severe cases can lead to hospitalization. it may hit quickly, without warning, causing you to miss out on the things you enjoy most. prevnar 13® is not a treatment for pneumococcal pneumonia... it's a vaccine you can get to help protect against it. prevnar 13® is approved for adults to help prevent infections from 13 strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia. you should not receive prevnar 13® if you have had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. if you have a weakened immune system, you may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects were pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, limited arm movement, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, less appetite, vomiting, fever, chills, and rash. help protect yourself against pneumococcal pneumonia. ask your doctor or pharmacist about prevnar 13®. give joy, geat kohlsght now with an extra 15% off give joy with a sequined sweater the perfect ankle boots or a cuddl duds throw. and when you give joy, you get joy with kohls cash presents for them, kohls cash for you give joy, get joy at kohls get unlimited data for $25 a month when you add a line to the cricket unlimited 2 plan. plus, get a free smartphone, when you switch. all on a network that covers over 99% of americans cricket wireless. something to smile about. freshly prepared chicken.'s full attention like my the delicious kfc $20 fill up. with eight pieces of extra crispy chicken and sides, we'll surely get your kids off their phones. and they may even look at you... their loving parent. kfc, "its finger lickin' good." he went to jared because no on...to getting a sweater.... it's the jared semi-annual event. enjoy our best prices of the season and new, exclusive pieces. november 10th through 12th. that's why he went to jared. so we know how to cover almost almoanything.hing even a swing set standoff. and we covered it, july first, twenty-fifteen. talk to farmers. we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ ♪ >> she was a star student. favorite. then one day when she was 8, rachel says her father called her down the hall to his office. something he had done many times before. but this day was different. a day, rachel says, when everything changed. >> he didn't really say much. i just thought, "father, do you realize what you're doing?" >> reporter: he exposed himself to you? >> he exposed himself. and i was just revolted in my heart. >> reporter: and he asked you to pleasure him? >> yeah. but it was just more like as though he was giving me a lesson. >> reporter: as she sat in her father's office, rachel as always obeyed. but this time she could not understand. >> i just felt so sad. so hurt. it's the most terrible feeling that i've ever felt. and i just remember thinking,"do fathers teach their girls these kind of things?" and i knew in my heart that it felt wrong. and it made me scared of him. eventually after what she says were several horrifying incidents, rachel told her mother. >> i just was crying. and i said, "father is makin' me touch him, and touchin' me in private spots." and she was just mad. "that is not okay, rachel." i hear her go down to father's room. >> reporter: rachel desperately hoped her mother would protect her. instead, rachel says her mom obeyed, kept sweet and let warren have his way. >> she never said a word after that about it. never, ever. and she still let father have time alone with me. she never ever tried to prevent -- i know she didn't agree. >> reporter: according to rachel the abuse continued frequently usually in her father's office. >> it just felt like a piece of me was lost. >> how many times did he abuse you? >> i don't know. too many to count. >> reporter: rachel says her father swore her to secrecy. she didn't even tell her sister becky. >> i did not know he was molesting her. when we became teenagers i got this scared feeling that he looks like he's treating her like a wife. why is he looking at her like that? and i would think, "oh, no. no, he wouldn't do that. no, he wouldn't do that." >> reporter: but he did, says rachel, on and off for eight more years. then when she was 16 -- >> he had told me to come talk to him and so he told me to come sit by him, and he took my hand and put it on him. and i pulled it away. and i just stood up and walked out of his room and shut the door. and i had never done that before. like nobody treated father like that. >> reporter: rachel ran to her room and did the unthinkable. she wrote her father an angry letter. one of her sisters just happened to snap this shot as she was writing it. >> i just told him, "father, i hate you when you do these things. i hate you when you -- when you hurt me like that and i am so tired of you doing that to me." >> reporter: that night, rachel left the letter inside her father's office. the next day, they met. >> he just looked at me with a really like, "how could you hurt me like -- >> reporter: he was the victim? >> yeah, he became the victim. and then he gets down on his knees with his hands together like this and he's just like, "rachel, please forgive me." and he'd say it, said it over and over again. and i was just like, "yeah, i forgive you." >> reporter: did he ever abuse you again? >> no. never again. he treated me kinder than i thought he would. but i think it was to keep me silent. >> reporter: rachel felt unable to share her explosive secret. >> you can't tell anybody, because no matter what, father's gonna be protected. he's the good guy. so basically everyone is gonna look at you as the bad person. >> reporter: how isolating. >> it was very, very painful to know i was the only one that really knew who father was. >> reporter: meanwhile, her father's power was growing. warren became second in command of the church to his father rulon. as the millennium approached, warren passed on a revelation from the aging prophet. salt lake city would soon be destroyed, because the "end times" were coming. warren moved his entire 40-member family to the fields headquarters along the utah-arizona border where they would join some 10,000 other loyal flds followers who lived there. >> reporter:church members call the area "short creek." >> we moved to short creek. it was a huge change for us. there was a lot more meetings, trainings. >> reporter: trainings are when what? >> the whole people gather together and he preaches. >> if the lord has a message through me this morning to do father's will, i yearn and do submit my will to him. >> reporter: outwardly rachel remained loyal to her father. inside, she was still devastated by what she said he had done to her. then on her 18th birthday, warren sent her a card with this unexpected note inside, which rachel read for us. >> so he wrote, "forgive me any bad examples i have set. may the lord bless you forever." >> reporter: and what did you understand that to be a reference to? >> i knew he was referring to what he had done to me as a child. and i have a couple others of him asking forgiveness. >> reporter: rachel kept all those notes and filed them away. the only evidence of the abuse she says her father had inflicted. she thought her problems with him were over. but little did she know, he had something else in mind for her with a man she had never met. coming up. rachel was about to be forced into a new life, where she was expected to honor and obey. >> i think polygamist men feel very much like a king in their household. >> inside her new home, where she was considered, the competition. the two pre-existing wives did not like you. no. >> when "dateline" continues. i love you, couch. you give us comfort. and we give you bare feet, backsweat, and gordo's... everything. i love you, but sometimes you stink. soft surfaces trap odors. febreze fabric refresher cleans them away for good. because the things you love the most can stink. and plug in febreze to keep your whole room fresh for up to 45 days. breathe happy with febreze. ♪ ♪ lots of vitamins a and c. and only 50 calories a serving. good morning indeed. v8. the original way to fuel your day. ♪ eve♪ i drop what i do me ♪ you are my best friend ♪ and we've got some things to do ♪ ♪ ♪ do you wanna, do you wanna, do you wanna ♪ ♪ do you wanna, do you wanna, do you wanna ♪ ♪ ♪ yeah-ea-ea-eah ♪ christie: this is new jersey is facing an epidemic fueled by addictive opioid painkillers. codeine... oxycodone... fentanyl... morphine. these are just some of the medications prescribed for pain relief. these pills can be highly addictive, and the addiction doesn't end when the prescription runs out. many times, people turn to a deadlier option - heroin. addiction is a disease, but help is within reach. call 844 reach nj or visit reachnj.gov. >> reporter: sunday in short creek, 2002. after a long day in church, rachel jeffs and her sister changing surprise waiting for them. >> after a song then he's like, "rachel and becky i want you to get your wedding dresses done by friday. you're gonna get married." oh, i was just so shocked. >> i looked at him like, "what? you didn't ask me." i just walked out and bawled and bawled. i wasn't ready. i was 18, but i still wasn't ready. >> reporter: and whom would they marry? rachel and becky had no idea. that was up to their father. >> nobody found out till they walked in the room. >> wait a minute. most people don't find out until they're at the chapel? >> yeah, until they walk in the room. father's right there, their wife is right there and they get married. >> did you have the luxury of meeting him the day before? >> yes, yes. he was 25. and he had two wives and three children. and then i was gonna be his third wife. >> reporter: his name was rich, richard allred. his older brother was picked to be becky's husband. the weddings were held, not at a chapel, but at this church-owned motel in caliente, nevada. first rachel, then becky with their father presiding. >> when it came time to say, "i do," i just stood there and stared at my father. i wouldn't say anything. he kept noddin' his head and mouthing, "i do. i do." finally i just said very quietly, "i do." >> reporter: rachel said "i do" as well. while her wedding pictures look happy they didn't tell the whole story. just 18, she had suddenly gone from single woman to plural wife in a home where she was seen as a rival. >> the two pre-existing wives did not like you. >> no. they were so dang jealous, and so they would try to snoop in my stuff and see if rachel's havin' sex with richard or is she expecting. >> as a wife in the flds, what was expected of you? were you supposed to give him sex whenever he wanted it? >> i think especially polygamist men feel very much like a king in their household. >> could you ever say no to sexual intercourse, ever? >> not really. >> reporter: but rich and rachel, strangers at first, gradually fell in love. >> he'd always say, "rachel, you're different than my other wives." you know, i don't know he tried to make me feel like i was so special and stuff. >> reporter: a few months after the wedding rachel became pregnant. but the news of rachel's first baby was soon overshadowed by the death of her grandfather, rulon jeffs, the prophet. he was 92. as expected his son warren took over. by 2002, he was the most powerful man in the church. but privately, rachel questioned his authority. >> of course, i knew what i did about father and i just never really felt like father was the prophet. i tried to decide if he was sometimes, 'cause i was tryin' to be good, so to say, in the church. >> reporter: after warren became the prophet, he banished nearly two dozen men he considered disloyal or a threat to his power. >> the only men that become gods in the eternal world are those that live plural marriage properly. >> reporter: warren also wasted little time arranging marriages for many of his father's widows. including several for himself. later he even started marrying girls, some as young as 13. even though the weddings were secret, he proudly had them photographed. >> that could be his daughter. why is she sleeping in his room? he's sleeping with a girl my age. oh, my goodness. >> reporter: warren's "activities" were also catching the attention of law enforcement. not just the polygamy, which was illegal, but especially the underage marriages. around this time, warren acquired what he called "lands of refuge," remote locations where the flds could practice their religion away from the gaze of investigators. >> reporter: in 2004, warren sent rachel's husband, rich, who by now had married a fourth wife, to a secret and well fortified compound in the black hills of south dakota, just outside the little town of pringle. rachel, now pregnant with her second child, joined him a few months later. >> south dakota is very secluded. there's really nobody around. so we just didn't mingle or go out anywhere. >> reporter: occasionally warren would turn up there unexpectedly. and then he would suddenly vanish. rachel didn't know it at the time but her father was actually a fugitive. because in 2006 he was charged as an accomplice in a rape case involving an underage marriage he had arranged. and now the fbi was hot on his trail. >> we are here to jointly announce that today warren steed jeffs was placed on the fbi's 10 most wanted fugitive list. >> reporter: but even on the run warren remained firmly in control of the flds. he would issue revelations from the road, or sometimes in person like when he surfaced at his secret ranch in texas where becky was now living. >> i happened to see my father as he was walking down the hall. so i come out with my little boy. and all he says is, "he can't wear those pajamas. they have pictures of cars on 'em." i says, "all his clothes have some kind of design and picture. "you gotta get rid of all his clothes. and does he have any toys?" i says, "yeah." "get rid of all those toys. we work in zion. we don't play." >> reporter: word traveled fast to rachel, richard and his wives in south dakota. >> so richard made this big fire in this burn barrel and had the children throw all their toys in the burn barrel to show that they were obeying the prophet. >> no toys. >> and then no music. we had to only have music that we made up ourselves. >> no music. no laughter? >> we were told that laughter was light-mindedness, so we couldn't laugh. >> no fun. >> no fun. >> reporter: but the prophet himself was having plenty of fun. his life on the road included side trips to mardi gras, disneyland, even a tanning salon, where he claimed to be "witnessing" the wickedness of the outside world. but one day while enjoying the good life outside las vegas of all places warren jeffs' luck ran out. >> announcer: coming up, so why was rachel the one about to suffer? >> i felt like i died inside every single day when i woke up. >> announcer: the unthinkable new way her father had found to control her. >> it was just torture. >> announcer: was she ready to do something about it? want in on the secret to ageless skin. take the olay 28 day challenge. millions of real women see results starting day 1. 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>> reporter: in 2011 jeffs was convicted and sentenced to life plus 20 years. what was your reaction when you heard that news? >> i was sad for him in a way that he made the choices he made. i'm not sad that he's gettin' punished. i felt like he deserved it. >> reporter: her father was sent to solitary confinement. but even behind bars he remained in complete control of the flds and of rachel. how is it possible he was calling the shots from prison? >> through letter writing, phone calls, visits. >> reporter: from his tiny prison cell in texas, warren dictated a series of revelations that became increasingly bizarre, restricting even the most trivial aspects of his followers' daily lives. >> he started sendin' out stricter and stricter revelations about not eatin' chocolate, squash, potatoes, corn or just normal food. and if you don't do what i say, you'll lose your family because you're not obeyin' the prophet perfectly. >> reporter: rachel and her family managed to make the best of it, living in their isolated outpost in south dakota, as seen in these home videos. no toys meant inventing new games. and providing their own entertainment. ♪ ♪ to make our dreams come true >> reporter: what's amazing to me is even you who seem savvy, continued to do as he said while he was behind bars. >> yes, yes, for my family's love. >> reporter: explain that. >> i mean, if i didn't obey -- well, he would punish me for sure. i mean i would get separated from my kids and my family. >> reporter: they obeyed, even when the restrictions got more personal.. >> we got sent a revelation that we couldn't sleep with our husbands or have any marital relationships. >> reporter: how do husbands and wives accept, "we can't have sex anymore?" >> they do -- >> reporter: especially in a polygamist family? >> we did. we did it. >> reporter: no one questioned that? >> i did. i felt like the only reason that he required us to do that is 'cause he didn't want us to have what he didn't have. >> reporter: it got worse. especially for rachel, whose husband richard was ultra obedient to whatever warren wanted. >> reporter: you couldn't even hug your husband eventually. >> right. and we didn't. >> reporter: and you obeyed? >> we obeyed. >> reporter: rachel says her father continued to issue edict after edict, often banishing loyal followers. even his own family, whom he arbitrarily called "unworthy." both becky and angela were sent away without their families. but rachel and her family remained together in south dakota. by now rich had takenj on a fifth wife and their family included 22 children who somehow seemed happy despite all the prophet's restrictions. but then in 2012, warren claimed rachel and rich had marital problems. he sent them away to nevada to resolve their "issues" without their children. not even infant son nathaniel was allowed to go. >> that was my worst time i have ever lived through wonderin' how my kids are doing. i felt like i died inside every single day when i woke up. >> reporter: you're a new mother, again, nursing your son. >> it was just torture. it didn't seem right to take a baby, a nursing baby, from their mother. and then when i came back, he didn't remember me. i just cried and cried, because -- 'cause he didn't remember me, and i was his mom. >> reporter: rachel was near her breaking point. all the rules, restrictions, and now being separated from her own children. could it get any worse? oh, yes, much worse. >> announcer: coming up, rachel was about to get a startling phone call. >> reporter: that was the moment. >> that was the moment. >> announcer: triggering a bold decision. >> we said, we don't know when, but we're going to go. >> announcer: but was she really ready to leave the church and cross her father, the all-powerful prophet? when "dateline" continues. shooting pain in my feet. i hear you, sam. cedric, i couldn't sleep at night because of my diabetic nerve pain. i hear you, claire, because my dad struggled with this pain. folks, don't wait. step on up and talk to your doctor. because the one thing i keep hearing is... i'm glad i stepped on up. me too, buddy. if you have diabetes and burning, shooting pain in your feet or hands, step on up and talk to your doctor today. 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(announcer) kohl's. give joy. get joy. what do you get the person that loves to tailgate? ♪ how about a new tailgate. ♪ i can almost smell the brats from here... ♪ ring in the holidays with buick. ♪ discover the new buick and get 20 percent below msrp on all 20-17 enclave leather models. that's over 96 hundred on this enclave leather. ♪ >> reporter: they were home now the rest of their children stayed behind with the sister wives. rachel would be confined to a tiny section of this ramshackle church-owned house until her father decided she had atoned. >> i was in such solitary confinement. i didn't have a car to drive away. i couldn't go get my own food. you know, of course i didn't have money. it was literally prison. >> reporter: days crept by. then weeks. one month. three. eventually seven excruciating months passed. >> it was just killin' our spirits. i felt like i know this isn't right. so i can live through this, but what about my kids? >> reporter: finally in the fall of 2013 warren relented and allowed rachel to be re-united with her children in short creek. but it was now clear to her that she could no longer endure life in the flds, especially her father's relentless and increasingly restrictive revelations. >> when was the first moment it occurred to you, "i gotta go. i gotta get outta this." >> when he started separating me from my family, then i was done. >> did you have any idea how you might do it? >> i didn't know what i would do from that point. i just thought, "i have to get out of here. there -- there has to be a way to get out of here." >> reporter: a year passed, rachel's husband richard still had not returned. she and her children remained stuck in that house in short creek trapped, isolated, and hopeless until -- >> one night my sister angela called me, and she said to me, "rachel, you know what father did you to when you were little?" i was so shocked, because i had never told her that father had done anything to me. she's like, "rachel, i know you know what i'm talking about. 'cause i saw those letters that father wrote to you." >> reporter: those letters asking for her forgiveness. angela revealed she had seen them when organizing some of rachel's things. but then she shared something else. >> she said "i knew what he was talkin' about, because he did it to me." >> reporter: after years of keeping her dark secret, rachel says she was stunned to hear angela's story, that her father had molested another one of his daughters. >> i just started crying. i -- i was crying for sadness for her, but for joy that someone believed me, and somebody knew what i had gone through and understood me. >> that was the moment. >> that was the moment that we actually said, "we're going to go. we don't know when, but we're going to go." >> reporter: together rachel and angela made the biggest decision of their lives to flee the flds. they spoke again to plot their escape and included their sister becky, who had also been separated from her family by warren. >> i says, "then what in the heck are we here for? he's a bad man." and so, you know, we're all like, "we're gonna leave. where do we go? we're gonna leave. >> reporter: but how? when? and where could they go? life in the flds was all they knew. >> angela wanted me to help her figure out how to leave. so, we decided that maybe if she contacted our relatives outside of the church that maybe one of them would help her. >> reporter: rachel's maternal grandparents, who had left the church and lived near short creek, agreed to help. they arranged to have angela picked up in south dakota and brought to their house. a week later becky and her children fled too but rachel and her children weren't quite ready. not yet. she desperately wanted her husband richard to join them. >> i wanted to speak to richard one more time before i left, and see if i could convince him. you know, "look how crazy it is getting. >> did you still love him? >> i did. i loved him very much. i tried to get him to talk to me, but he wouldn't. >> reporter: rachel believes richard chose the church over his children, warren over his wife, his faith over his family. >> rich was my hardest thing. realizing that i would never see him again and he wouldn't understand exactly why i made that choice. >> reporter: then in december 2014, rachel called her sisters and said she was ready to go. >> it was scary. i knew father would try to stop me. >> announcer: coming up -- in the dark of night, a nerve-wracking bolt for freedom. what was it like walking out that door? >> i was afraid we were gonna get caught. >> announcer: and then rachel's surprising new life and the one thing she'd like to tell her father. if you could say anything to him, you can do it in that camera. you manage your a1c, but you also have a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. non-insulin victoza® lowers a1c, and now reduces cardiovascular risk. victoza® lowers my a1c and blood sugar better than the leading branded pill. 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must've been hot out there today, huh? yeah. yeah. why don't you go put that stuff in the laundry room right now? ok. do your athletes bring home big odors? tide sport is super concentrated to beat even... ...the toughest stains and odors. hey, buddy! hey. woo! somebody ran laps. yup the new tide sport collection. it's got to be tide. >> reporter: december 31st, 2014. the last day of the year and rachel jeffs' last day in the flds. after a life in captivity she now put her escape plan into motion. >> i called my sisters and told 'em to come get my children, so that i could get my stuff ready to leave. so they came and snuck over and got 'em. >> reporter: rachel's sisters took the children to her grandmother's house. she then spent the rest of the day packing her belongings. as it got dark, rachel braced herself. in just a few hours it would be 2015. a new year and a new beginning. what was it like walking out that door? >> it was scary. it was scary mostly 'cause i was afraid we were gonna get caught. >> reporter: with their hearts racing rachel and her sister sped out of short creek. there was no turning back. it had taken years for rachel jeffs, daughter of the prophet, to finally break away from the flds. but it took just minutes to drive to freedom. >> we had a party, a new year's party that first night. we never had parties. games, laughing, drinking. >> were you just like, "i am free?" >> yeah. i just was so happy to be free. that relief of freedom is -- it's priceless. >> reporter: rachel suddenly found herself in a whole new world, with different customs, culture, even clothing. it was daunting and also exhilarating. >> within a week i was wearing pants. >> was that magical? >> oh, i loved it. i felt, "ah, finally." >> what was it like the first time you put makeup on? >> oh, i felt so beautiful-- it was fun to get dressed up. to choose things that i wanted to wear that i've always wanted to wear. >> reporter: rachel was 31 now, a single mother and suddenly on her own in a world she once considered wicked. she had no house, no job and no experience to find either. nothing in the church had prepared her for this. and her five children, ages 4 to 13, were even less ready than she was. >> mostly the social life was really hard on them. >> how so? >> they cried. they didn't wanna go to school because they didn't know how to make friends. they felt like they were weird like they didn't belong. >> reporter: it didn't help that their father, richard, remained loyal to the flds. we were unable to locate him, but sources tell us he's still a member of the church and hasn't seen his and rachel's children since they fled. >> how did you explain to your children that they would never see their father again? >> i just said, "you know what? you can go back if you want, but i'm gonna stay here." it was really emotional for 'em. they cried. they just hope that someday he'll talk to them again and be in their life. >> reporter: a few months after her escape rachel moved with a cousin to montana. there she got her ged, attended college for a year and gave violin lessons to make ends meet. one day she happened to meet a man there named brandon blackmore. the two had a lot in common. >> he left the flds, and his family stayed there. he got told he was unworthy because he was listenin' to music and just being normal. he didn't want to live polygamy either. >> and did he have children in the church? >> yeah. four kids. >> reporter: rachel and brandon started dating. something rachel had never, ever done. >> it was wonderful. i felt like, i wanna get to know him," so we fell in love. >> reporter: after just a few dates brandon proposed. rachel said yes! and two years later. >> and with this ring. >> and with this ring. >> i take you as my husband. >> reporter: on a warm autumn day in september 2017 rachel jeffs became mrs. rachel jeffs-blackmore. it was a wedding very different from her first one. >> reporter: today rachel, who just a few years ago could never have imagined freedom lives near "imagine lane" with brandon and their children. a thousand miles and memories from short creek, the flds and of course her father. >> believe me, the judgments are coming and we have got to survive them, and we must be lifted up. >> reporter: after more than a decade behind bars the prophet continues to rule the flds from prison. his followers in short creek have dwindled. once almost 10,000, it's estimated they now number a quarter of that. but still take their direction from warren jeffs. >> do you think your father is a fraud? >> oh, yeah. of course. i think he is a liar. i think he pretends to be someone he's not. >> if you could say anything to him, you can do it in that camera. >> father, i wish that you would acknowledge what you really are, and let your family be free. and the people. and just tell 'em the truth so that they have the right to choose who and what they want to follow. >> reporter: rachel has written a new book chronicling her life in the flds. she says she's not a victim and doesn't want anyone's sympathy. but she is a survivor of more than three decades in her father's church. a life that is now hard to imagine, but one she won't soon forget. >> you said before that being in the church was starting to kill your soul. how does your soul feel now? >> it's coming alive. and there's so many things to learn and so many things to do that i feel like i got born again when i came out. and now i have to stay young because i have so many things to do. and now our second hour of "dateline: murder and mystery on black friday." ashlea was a wild and funny texan who everyone seemed to love. >> caring, loving, compassionate. >> so why did she have this strange premonition? >> ashlea always felt like she was gonna die young. >> the call came on black friday. >> she said, "ashlea's apartment's on fire." >> when the coroner pulled up, my heart broke. >> and this fire was no accident. >> they had conducted surveillance at ashlea's apartment. >> reporter: they're going back to the place where ashlea worked. >> yes, sir. >> they were going after tens of thousands of dollars. >> but was money the only motive? or was there something else? >> there were a lot of rumors goin' around that ended up being true. >> i coudn't believe somebody would do that to her. just pure evil -- >> here's keith morrison with "black friday." >> reporter: a hot august night in texas, 2014. the lone figure knew where to go, knew where the store kept the cash. grabbed $18,000, and was gone. but it was only money. and no one got hurt. not that time, anyway. the story begins here in ft. worth, texas, which turned out to be the perfect growing up place for a rough and tumble, free spirit named ashlea harris. >> i was around 10 when she was born and so the perfect age to pretend she was my baby. >> reporter: melissa hill is ashlea's eldest sister. >> she marched to the -- a beat of a different drum. she would wear just things that did not match. her hair was just -- didn't seem combed, you know. >> reporter: she was never the little princess type? >> no. no. >> reporter: there were three girls in the family. ashlea was the baby. their mom, monica, remembers how ashlea loved sports and music and art and bingo! >> it was our mom and daughter bonding time, and she'd just get all giddy and excited. >> reporter: by the time she got to high school, ashlea had lots of friends, even a boyfriend. and she was devoted to her two dads -- her father tommy and her stepfather, chuck, both retired police officers. didn't she talk at one point about getting into actually your line of work? >> she was interested in policing. i think that she took unique interest in it. >> reporter: but after high school she ended up working, for a short time, at blockbuster video. and that's where she met a customer named laura love. >> and i walked around the store for a little bit, and just kept lookin' at her, 'cause she was so beautiful. >> reporter: laura wanted to meet the girl behind the counter. they became friends. and then something more. >> we hung out for a few months, probably, like, eight months before it ever really got there. >> reporter: by that she means she and ashlea fell in love. >> it was a -- it -- a lot of growing up. she had to work through her feelings. being gay isn't necessarily an easy thing. and it definitely wasn't easy 14, 15 years ago. >> reporter: oh, no, it wasn't. was there a coming out period during which she sort of -- >> i believe it was 2004. she come over to the house and she goes, "mama, i got somethin' to tell you and chuck. i just want you to know that i was gay. and i said, "well, ashlea, i already knew it. but you need to give me some space. i need some time." >> reporter: so monica took some time, prayed about it, came to this conclusion. >> i can't imagine god giving me this child and living with her and raising her that he would want me to stop loving her. >> reporter: wouldn't make any sense at all. yet, for a long while, monica wasn't comfortable with ashlea's new relationship, though laura said she and ashlea were good together. >> she was just always very giving, and very -- what else can i do for you to make you happy? >> reporter: the romance lasted more than three years. then it was over. but they remained friends. and laura remembers how happy ashlea was when she started working at american eagle outfitters at the hulen mall in ft. worth. >> oh, she loved it. >> reporter: she was an assistant manager, and good at it, said her boss chris cravey. >> just her personality -- caring, loving, compassionate. she just loved life. >> um, yeah. >> reporter: and she loved taking videos of her life -- lots of them at work. >> i'm extremely tired and this right here is not even helping. look at my eyes. it's horrible. >> she had this laugh, it was so infectious. >> reporter: they weren't all like that, however. employee lindsey green said another assistant manager, carter, was very different from ashlea. >> she taught me how to love myself to a point. carter just taught me work-related things. >> reporter: not a jokester? >> right. >> reporter: but ashlea? polar opposite and popular. >> this is what cold looks like. i'm so hood. >> reporter: so, work was going well. her love life not so much. and then one night, ashlea went out with friends, and april moffit was there. >> and i was their waitress. and she was havin' a bad night and -- uh, try -- i was tryin' to pull her out of her shell. she wasn't havin' it. >> reporter: really? >> so i just -- fine. >> reporter: april gave up on her grumpy customer, until months later they connected on social media. they met for a dog walk -- ashlea brought her dog, nala, april brought cooper. and everyone clicked. what was it like when you first started going out with her? >> she has a magnetic, like, force to her. like, it's hard to not instantly love her. ♪ like a girl in a country song ♪ >> reporter: so by the summer of 2014, life was good for ashlea -- her social life, her job -- though she did hit a bump of sorts in august when someone stole 18 grand from the store safe. and it was ashlea who realized the theft had occurred and reported it to you. >> correct. >> reporter: she even helped i.d. the suspects. with her interest in police work, ashlea thought she might have a calling here. >> she wanted to go on to loss prevention and work for our home office at american eagle. >> reporter: she was 31. she had all kinds of plans. but on the morning after thanksgiving, black friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, chris cravey's phone rang at home. >> it was our other assistant manager, saying, "chris, ashlea's apartment's on fire and we can't get her on the phone." i threw clothes on as fast as i could get -- started drivin' to ft. worth and followed the smoke trail and the sirens. coming up -- no one would have guessed where that trail would eventually lead. >> we were asking if we could talk to ashlea or where she was at. they just said that she's unavailable right now. >> and ashlea's friends weren't the only ones with questions. >> the police start shuffling us into the office. ♪ i'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain ♪ ♪ what glorious feeling i'm happy again, ♪ ♪ just singing, singing in the rain. ♪ shark has added a rotating soft brush. so while deep-cleaning carpets, you can also grab large particles, pull in piles and directly engage floors. duo clean. invented by shark. so i trust nature made vitamins. health and life. duo clean. because they were the first to be verified by usp for quality and purity standards. and because i recommend them as a pharmacist. nature made, the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand. ♪ (boy makes siren noise) ♪ i'm watching that. eew. every christmas is memorable. but a gift from kay jewelers... makes it unforgettable. because it's more than a gift, it's a memory she'll wear forever. like these fabulous necklaces perfect for layering... ... stackable bracelets and other gifts she's sure to love. at kay... the #1 memory maker in america. ♪ every kiss begins with kay. stepping into the unknown. it can be difficult to find the way. but with the compassion and security of independence blue cross, obstacles become openings. as we have for nearly 80 years, we'll continue to light the way, with the card accepted in all 50 states. giving you the power to shine forward to whatever awaits tomorrow. independence blue cross. live fearless. >> reporter: it was the morning after thanksgiving, black friday. laura love had only one thing on favorito del año, me encanta ir >> reporter: but laura's black friday was about to turn very dark, indeed. >> i got a call from a friend of ours, and she said, "ashlea's apartment's on fire." >> reporter: ashlea's friends arrived at her apartment parking lot to something like chaos. >> there was multiple police cars. crime scene was there. >> reporter: ft. worth detective jerry cedillo and his partner ernie pate sped over there, too. >> there was a crowd that was startin' to gather. and next thing you know, we have about 40 to 50 friends and family and co-workers. and then we had residents that were just, you know, lookin' from balconies, so we had quite a crowd out here. >> reporter: by now, firefighters had squelched the flames, and the detectives walked up the steps to ashlea's door. >> when you went into that apartment, what was that like? >> it was um -- it was very disturbing. >> reporter: a woman's lifeless body was lying face down on the bedroom floor. >> we waited until she was turned over and we got a good look at her face. and she was also identified by some of the tattoos. >> reporter: and then they knew. the victim had her name tatooed on her rib cage, ashlea harris. outside ashlea's friends were totally in the dark. >> we were asking, um, if we could talk to ashlea or where she was at, they just said that she's unavailable right now. >> reporter: ashlea's boss, chris cravey had just arrived and was trying to get some answers. >> for a couple hours, we just assumed that she was being taken care of. >> reporter: and while they waited for information, investigators were realizing this was no accident. >> it was obvious that she had been beaten due to the amount of blood that we found. and then we observed that her arms were bound behind her back, and her ankles were also bound. >> reporter: it looked, said the detectives, like ashlea had been fighting back against a truly vicious attack. >> she had been beaten and possibly tortured. we later discovered that her neck had been slit. >> reporter: not only that, the fire looked suspicious, so veteran arson investigator, wallace hood, was called to the scene. >> i noticed that there was fire damage on the bed, and i also noticed that there was some fire damage to the victim. and i also saw what looked like a bottle of alcohol. >> fire damage actually on the victim. so, like, somebody set fire to her? >> there was some -- it looked like there was some burn marks on her. >> what did you ultimately determine about the fire and how it got started? >> there were several points of origin, and that's an indicator of an intentionally set fire. >> sure. so somebody took that rubbing alcohol, poured it here, poured it over there, poured it here? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: chris cravey, standing in the crowd outside watched his worst fears roll up in front of ashlea's apartment. >> i think it hit me like a sack a bricks once i saw them start taping it off for a crime scene. and when the coroner pulled up, my heart broke. i lost it. >> reporter: and then the detectives, looking very stern, came outside to ask some pointed questions. did someone know something, see something? >> at that point they start -- the police start shuffling us into the office. >> and they tell us that even if we try to leave we could be arrested. >> i mean, that told you something very bad happened in there? >> yeah. >> reporter: one person not in the crowd that morning was ashlea's girlfriend, april moffit. about 1:00 p.m. april got a text from one of ashlea's neighbors. >> "hey, have you checked on your girl? there was a fire in her apartment." and immediately i thought nala, ashlea's dog. >> reporter: april assumed ashlea wasn't at home. >> and i was like, holy crap. >> reporter: and then she got a message from another friend saying simply, call me. >> and i called her and i said, "where is ash -- like where is ashlea? where is nala? >> and she was like, "nala's fine." and i was like, well, where is ashlea," and she was like, "ashlea's gone." and it didn't register. >> yeah. like gone, what do you mean gone? >> yeah. and then i said, "well, is ashlea okay?" and she said, "no, april. she's dead." and i was sitting on my bed and i -- i threw my phone on the ground like that's not real. >> reporter: when reality settled in, april and all of ashlea's family and friends. even the police had to wonder who would do such a thing to such a good, sweet, person? ashlea harris had no enemies, did she? >> announcer: coming up -- >> so you're out here on the deck having a cigarette. what did you see? >> saw a vehicle parked there that i'd never seen before. >> reporter: but someone had seen it before. >> i said, "i know whose car y'all are asking about." >> announcer: when "dateline" continues. proof of less joint pain and clearer skin. this is my body of proof that i can take on psoriatic arthritis with humira. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. humira is the #1 prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. want more proof? 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i feel like i'm too close. get the iphone 8 and with all at&t unlimited plans, get hbo for life. only from at&t. >> reporter: ashlea's mother and stepfather were out of town when hurt. then ashlea's father, tommy harris, called. >> i saw chuck gettin' off the phone. and i saw him wipin' his tears. and i knew that my prayer wasn't answered. >> reporter: chuck couldn't reach ashlea's sister, so he left a message. >> and not two minutes later, my husband called me. and he said, "where are you? i need to come to you." and i said, "what is wrong with my mom? what happened to my mom?" and he said, "it's not your mom. it's ashley." and, i mean, it just comes like a blow. >> reporter: back in ft. worth, police were still rounding up people gathered outside ashlea's apartment. not among them was april. april, in fact, hadn't seen ashlea for a few days. their romance had hit a bit of a bump. >> that night we -- we talked briefly about me coming over after i got off work. but then i went home. >> reporter: but someone else was there. her name was alexis torres. >> alexis torres was the last person to see ashlea alive, and was the actual last person to leave her apartment. >> reporter: that is certainly somebody you'd wanna talk to. >> obviously. yes, sir. >> reporter: alexis said she and ashlea had gone to an early thanksgiving dinner with friends in ashlea's complex. so you had thanksgiving dinner, and that was -- >> i think it was from 12? >> reporter: sure. and then hung around for the afternoon? >> yes. >> reporter: but ashlea had to work that night. >> ashlea's shift was supposed to be from 7:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. and alexis agreed to come over during the time she was working to basically take care of ashlea's dog. >> reporter: then alexis told the police and later us that she went back one more time after ashlea got home from work. how long did you stay? >> i stayed for an hour. >> reporter: that would make it 4:00 a.m. if alexis was telling the truth, the police had the beginning of a timeline. but before they could check her story or anyone else's for that matter, a neighbor gave them even more to work with. an ex-cop named steve lee had noticed something about 6:30 that morning. so you're out here on -- on the deck having a cigarette. what did you see? >> saw a vehicle parked there that i'd never seen before. >> reporter: what was that vehicle? >> it was a black, older infiniti sedan. >> reporter: to the observant ex-cop that seemed worth noting. did it stay there for a long time? >> it was there when i left for work at about 7:40. >> reporter: detectives also talked to a neighbor who lived directly below ashlea. he had heard noises, heavy breathing coming from ashlea's apartment just before 8:00 a.m. >> a few minutes later the fire alarm started goin' off. water started comin' down into his apartment. >> reporter: and that's when the neighbor saw a black infiniti g-35 driving away. armed with this new information, cedillo went back to alexis torres. >> i asked her if she knew anyone or if ashlea knew anyone that drove a infiniti g-35. i never gave her a color. i simply asked her about a g-35. alexis said, "no." >> after he was done asking the questions, i walked outside and sat down on the brick. and i believe it was chris that was there. >> reporter: that would be chris cravey, ashlea's boss at american eagle. alexis told him that police were asking about an infiniti sedan. and chris made a beeline for detective cedillo. >> i approached him. and i said, "i know whose car y'all are asking about." >> and he says, "i just wanna make you aware that i have a former employee that did drive a infiniti g35. >> reporter: her name, he said, was carter. carter cervantez, that businesslike assistant manager who worked with ashlea -- >> so then i ask him, "you know, what color is the g35 that she drove?" and he mentions that it's a black one. >> reporter: what was that like, to hear that? >> well, it beats hearing the color red or white. >> reporter: and, by the way, chris told detective cedillo, carter left american eagle because she was fired. cedillo filed that away and sorted through the crime scene and talked to witnesses. and a day that began at 8:30 that morning didn't end until 1:00 am. did you get any sleep? >> no, sir, i didn't. >> reporter: the story about carter cervantez and her black infiniti was just bugging him. >> well, i'm thinkin' about the case and i'm thinking, "where do i go from here?" >> reporter: might have tossed and turned all night thinking about that. but something inside him said, "nope." >> i'm not gonna be able to get any sleep. i might as well go back out there and see what i can find. >> reporter: wouldn't be his first wild goose chase. he had carter's address. so, wee hours of saturday morning, he drove over there and what do you know? >> i saw a black infiniti backed in, right in front of their apartment. >> reporter: but he didn't knock on her door. >> i was going to go ahead and basically sit here and watch the vehicle to see if it moved. >> reporter: for more than four hours, he sat in his car, cold but patient. then about 8:00 a.m. saturday morning, he saw the lights of the infiniti flash as if someone was unlocking it remotely. >> i see the male enter the driver's seat of the vehicle. i then see a female enter the passenger side of the black infiniti. >> reporter: they drove off. the detective followed. and after a few minutes the infiniti pulled into, of all places, the hulen mall. there they are. they're going back to the place where ashlea worked, where the american eagle was. >> yes, sir. >> reporter: but what would they be doing there? >> well, that was the -- that was the million dollar question. >> reporter: coming up -- >> i ask him, "what are you doing here at the mall?" he said that he had dropped his girlfriend off to pick up some papers. n nra. >> announcer: a routine ear and or something else? >> reporter: you didn't see her at all in there? >> no, sir. >> reporter: did anybody see her? >> no, sir. twice a day, everyd, then they can expect to continually have that reparative layer of protection against sensitivity. sensodyne repair & protect has clinical evidence showing how effective it works. i absolutely think that dentists are going to want to recommend sensodyne repair & protect. ♪ we wanted to makes the wallpaper beautiful again. with office 365 it's really easy to collaborate on ideas. teams keeps us very dynamic. we're able to react very quickly to any client request. it makes our 10-person company feel like 50. >> reporter: on the saturday morning after black friday, 2014, homicide detective jerry cedillo called his partner, ernie pate -- asked him to check up on the guy. >> when i approached the car, then the person identified themself as david mallory. >> reporter: david mallory was carter's live-in boyfriend. he too was a former employee of american eagle. >> i ask him, "what are you doing here at the mall?" he said that he had dropped his girlfriend off to pick up some papers at aeropostale where she was a manager. >> reporter: so perhaps it was just that. david giving carter a ride to pick up some paperwork at her new job at aeropostale. cedillo decided to go inside. the mall was open but the stores were still closed. >> and i happened to go up to aeropostale and there is a manager that's actually in there working. and i was able to confirm that carter cervantez did not work for him and he doesn't even know who she is. >> well, so much for that story. >> yes, sir. >> reporter: cedillo turned his attention to finding carter cervantez. no luck. you didn't see her at all in there? >> no, sir. >> reporter: did anybody see her? >> no, sir. >> reporter: so, cedillo had a disgruntled employee coming back to the mall where she'd been fired. her boyfriend was telling lies about a job she didn't have, and a car that looked like hers had been spotted at the scene of a murder. detective pate still had david mallory out in the parking lot and was looking for a reason to hold him. >> he said that he had a driver's license. but he didn't have his driver's license with him. >> reporter: reason enough. he arrested mallory and brought him in for questioning. but carter? seemed to have vanished. wasn't anywhere in the mall. but then police went to her apartment complex, and there she was. >> where was she in the apartment complex? >> well, she initially was in the -- in the laundry room. >> reporter: calm as you please, she agreed to answer questions without a lawyer down at the station. >> do you go by carter or carol? >> carter. >> reporter: somehow she'd switched her dark clothes for bright pink scrubs. >> so how did you end up in ft. worth? >> i had a job opportunity with american eagle outfitters. >> reporter: ah, yes, carter's american eagle connection, detective cedillo had already heard a thing or two about that. carter had worked in the ft, worth store for about four months and was businesslike. but, unlike ashlea, she wasn't a very friendly assistant manager. she did, however, make an impression on some younger clerks check like liza schoenthal. >> carter was very smart. very deep. she was good at reading people and knowing how to converse with them. you could tell that she was well educated. just had a lot more to her than most sales/retail managers do. >> reporter: but detective cedillo knew something else about carter and david mallory. something very important. >> reporter: remember that burglary at american eagle three months earlier? carter and david mallory were the primary suspects. and ashlea harris was the one who discovered the money missing. >> and when ashlea came in to open the store, she found the safe open. >> reporter: ashlea knew that it was carter who closed the night before. and when she showed her boss the security video view of the burglary. >> she pointed at the monitor and she said, "that's david mallory." and i said, "who's david mallory?" and they said, "it's carter's boyfriend." >> reporter: the math was easy, ashlea figured carter set up the burglary and david carried it out. carter got fired. david sort of disappeared. and both heard that it was ashlea who identified them. they hadn't been charged. not yet but -- >> the case was basically actively being investigated when this happened. >> reporter: and now three months later, here was carter talking to the police who were growing suspicious that she and her boyfriend were connected to ashlea's murder. >> why am i here? >> reporter: cedillo started off easy. >> so were you raised in amarillo or just -- >> no. i'm originally from lubbock. >> is your family still here? >> yes. >> mom and dad, brothers and sisters? >> i don't have any brothers but i do have two sisters. and they all still live in lubbock. >> have you seen mom and dad in a while? >> no. i talk to them every day on text message and snapchat, but i haven't been home. >> reporter: more friendly questions. >> where did you go to school? >> west texas a&m university. >> reporter: cedillo asked about thanksgiving. small talk. >> what'd you make? >> i made turkey, and there was stuffing and mashed potatoes. and green bean casserole and this cabbaage bacon salad that my mom really likes but i don't think david liked it very much. >> reporter: except this wasn't really small talk. detective cedillo was paying close attention. >> alright. so let's start with this morning. >> okay. >> all right. >> this morning. >> okay, what time did you get up? >> about 7:30. 7:45. >> okay and then what happened then? >> and then we talked and i went back to sleep. when i woke up he wasn't there. >> okay. >> reporter: he'd heard enough. >> i know that's a lie. >> no, it's -- no, it's not. >> do you know why i know it's a lie? >> why do you know it's a lie? >> because i saw you come out of your apartment and get in the passenger seat of that car and i saw him drive out of there. that's why i know it's a lie. >> reporter: cedillo was tough. but carter cervantez wasn't giving an inch. >> announcer: coming up, if carter's lies weren't reason enough for suspicion, this was. >> she starts wiping down the bottle. she was afraid that we were gonna obtain her dna. >> reporter: and what was this all about? and who was it for? >> there was an actual human grave that's been dug. >> fresh grave. >> fresh grave. >> announcer: when "dateline" continues. i love you, couch. you give us comfort. and we give you bare feet, backsweat, and gordo's... everything. i love you, but sometimes you stink. soft surfaces trap odors. febreze fabric refresher cleans them away for good. because the things you love the most can stink. and plug in febreze to keep your whole room fresh for up to 45 days. breathe happy with febreze. cilantro. parsley. spinach. basil. toothpicks? 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[screams] ah, my phone. ♪you built the flame ♪that warms my heart, ♪but lying and cheating ♪has torn us apart ♪and i'm moving on. >> reporter: it was late saturday morning, the day after black friday. 25-year-old carter cervantez was talking to detectives and lying though her teeth. >> i know what i did this morning. i know where i was. i know where i went. >> reporter: detective cedillo certainly knew where she went -- the hulen mall. but she kept insisting she'd been at home all morning. >> you're about to make the biggest mistake of your life. do you understand me? >> reporter: and she still wouldn't confess to it? >> she wouldn't budge. >> i got up, i went and put the laundry in, and i went and checked my e-mail. that's all. you found me in my apartment complex. >> reporter: then when the detectives stepped out of the room, she did something interesting -- maybe incriminating. >> she took a drink, puts the bottle down. she picks it up again and before she can take the second drink, she stops mid-air, spills water on herself. puts the bottle down and just stares at it for about 10 to 15 seconds. she then reaches over and grabs a tissue from the table and starts wipin' down the bottle and then wipes down the mouthpiece. >> reporter: what did that say to you? >> well, that she was afraid that we were gonna obtain her dna from the bottle. >> reporter: after that police let her go. david mallory, too. but detectives had a theory cooking -- that carter and david killed ashlea, out of revenge for being fired for the burglary. but they also wanted ashlea's keys to the american eagle. because they were planning to rob the store again. those keys were the only thing missing from the murder scene. and when store manager chris cravey looked at his surveillance video from earlier that morning, he told police what they wanted to hear. >> reporter: describe what you saw on the videotape. >> somebody dressed in dark clothes with their face wrapped walk right up to the store and try to get in with keys. >> reporter: that, he said, was carter trying to pull off another, bigger burglary. police just knew -- one day after killing ashlea and taking her keys, carter was trying to break into american eagle where this time, tens of thousands of dollars -- the black friday profits -- were in the safe. but the key didn't fit, because after ashlea was murdered, chris cravey changed the locks. >> i wasn't gonna take any chance on whether it be a deposit or them harming somebody else in the store. we needed to lock them out. >> reporter: the detectives pulled the surveillance video, and look at this -- carter, slipping away from the mall, having already changed from her sweat clothes into pink scrubs. had to be trying to fool potential trackers, they thought. this was after she would have spotted police talking to david in the parking lot. then she walked all the way home. over the next few days, police got a warrant for carter and david's cell phones. that camera app, so useful. >> well, we learned that they had conducted surveillance at ashlea's apartment weeks before that. they had a picture of her apartment. her actual door to her apartment, and they had pictures of her vehicle, the white dodge ram pickup. >> reporter: in early december, 2014, carter cervantez and david mallory were arrested and charged with the murder of ashlea harris. cold comfort for ashlea's sister. >> it's just such a loss and it's so pointless. i just don't understand how people could do that. >> reporter: they were tried separately, but the cases against them were virtually identical. assistant d.a. kevin rousseau led the prosecution. >> on state's exhibit 1 -- >> reporter: ashleadeenor assisted. from the witness stand detective cedillo helped lay out the case. >> were you able to conduct a search of her apartment and her vehicle, things like that? >> yes, sir. >> and did you find a receipt that proved to be helpful? >> that's correct. >> reporter: a sales receipt showed some odd purchases on carter's credit card. >> she had purchased two shovels. she had purchased a tarp. she had purchased gloves. >> reporter: why was that significant? because of a discovery way out in the texas scrub. a discovery worthy of a horror movie. and the key to finding it was right there on carter and david's cell phones. >> they would text each other longitude and latitude coordinates, and it led us to a remote area near abilene. >> reporter: what was there? >> as soon as we got to where the spot says, "you're there," we look up and there's an actual human grave that's been dug. >> reporter: fresh grave? >> fresh grave. >> reporter: prosecutors believe the original plan was to kidnap ashlea, kill her, and put her body in that grave. she was killed in her apartment, the prosecutors thought, because she fought so hard. >> what is that? >> this is a glock 19 semiautomatic pistol. >> reporter: in fact, investigators believe ashlea harris was pistol whipped. so when this glock 19 was found in the black infiniti, prosecutor deener had it tested. the results were both sad and conclusive. >> it came back positive with ashlea's dna on the gun, so that was very significant. >> there was blood adjacent to her bed. and blood splattered on the bed. this was not an easy death. >> reporter: hearing all this was so hard on ashlea's mother monica and loved ones like april. >> i thought i could handle it. huh-uh, nope. so i went out and i went back into the room where monica was. and she was consoling me. and she shouldn't be consoling me. >> reporter: the brutality of the murder was never far from the prosecutors' minds. >> i think i just thought how painful and how awful the last few minutes of her life would've been on this earth -- >> reporter: how terrifying. >> and absolutely terrifying. absolutely terrifying. >> reporter: even that, they said -- even that appeared to be part of the plan. this wasn't just about robbery, or even revenge, said prosecutor rousseau. >> it was discussions that carter cervantez had had with people where she expressed certain -- i guess you would call them fantasies involving killing people. >> reporter: liza schoenthal remembers one such discussion at work. >> it was just us. and we were folding clothes, and she mentioned that she had thought about killing someone before and whether or not she could watch them die. >> reporter: as if the murder wasn't shocking enough, prosecutors were pretty sure ashlea's murder was a thrill kill planned by a sadistic young woman who thought she was smarter than everyone else. but tiny, meek, carter cervantez admitted none of that. she still had a plan, concocted all by herself, to explain why she, too, was a victim. >> announcer: coming up -- a vicious killer? >> reporter: you wanted to see the death penalty? >> death penalty was what i wanted. >> announcer: or a young woman forced into a life of crime? >> were you in pain? >> yes. i was screaming. i accept i don't conquer the mountain like i used to. i even accept i have a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. but whatever trail i take, i go for my best. so if there's something better than warfarin, i'll go for that too. eliquis. eliquis reduced the risk of stroke better than warfarin, plus had less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis had both. don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily... ...and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. i'm still going for my best. and for eliquis ask your doctor about eliquis. ♪ he went to jared because no on...to getting a sweater.... it's the jared semi-annual event. enjoy our best prices of the season and new, exclusive pieces. november 10th through 12th. that's why he went to jared. 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>> um, i thought he was going to kill me. >> reporter: this is where carter's defense truly began. she told the jury she was a woman enslaved by her sadistic lover. >> he was tellin' me what to drink, what to eat, um, and he made me have sex with him in the movie theater. >> reporter: and he had that gun, the glock, she said. used it like a threat and it scared her. >> did not feel comfortable with that weapon. >> reporter: she told the jury she was asleep at home when ashlea was being murdered. she didn't know where david had gone but somehow he wound up with a set of american eagle keys. >> gave me some gloves, told me to put them on, and then handed me a pair -- a set of american eagle keys. and he said go in and open the gate and bring me that fat ass deposit. >> reporter: and then she said he pulled out the glock. >> and he just pointed it at me. >> pointed it at you? >> yes, across his body. i shook my head that i wasn't going to do it. um, and he said, "you don't understand. there's someone sitting outside your parents' house right now. if you don't go in, i'm gonna kill them and then i'm gonna kill you." >> reporter: so that's why she tried to rob the store, she said. it was that or be killed. just a couple of hours before she showed up on this security video, she said, david made it very clear to her just how far he would go to make sure, absolutely sure, she would do what he demanded. >> somebody pushed me down right when i got into the apartment. >> reporter: during the night, before the break-in attempt, she said, david brought strange men into their apartment. she heard an angry voice above her. >> he said, "i'll make her follow directions." >> reporter: and then her story got even more harrowing. >> they took off my sweat pants, pulled them down to my ankles, and then they raped me. >> reporter: raped twice, she said sobbing, by two different men. >> were you in pain? >> yes. i was screaming. >> reporter: prosecutors kevin rousseau and ashlea deener seemed as taken aback as the rest of the courtroom. >> i know what i think. this is not true. >> reporter: and they needed to regroup, fast. >> this is the biggest lie she's ever told. we know that. but you never know what the jury's thinking. >> reporter: carter had an explanation for just about everything. even that moment during her interrogation when she wiped the bottle. she wasn't wiping off her dna, no. she said the smell from the bottle reminded her of being raped. >> i was telling myself, it's just water. it's just water, it's not them. but i could still smell it. >> she said that she suddenly was overcome with the -- with the smell of semen in the -- in the air. and it had something to do with drinking out of this bottle of water. and i thought, "now that -- that took some work. that is one heck of a lie." >> and it was at that point that i put my pen down and said, "i am not writing this. i am not going to write this down." >> reporter: his voice dripping with sarcasm, prosecutor rousseau took her story apart. he showed the jury a picture. >> is that the gun that you're talking about that you were very uncomfortable with being in your apartment? >> yes. >> that's the one that's laying beside you while you're having your morning coffee? >> yes. >> reporter: and then he drilled down into the heart of carter's story. just who were those mysterious rapists? >> they all spoke -- the only way i would describe it is ghetto ebonics. >> okay, so in your mind these are black people, black men? >> no, sir, i did not say that. >> reporter: but, said the prosecutor, that's exactly what she was suggesting. >> if she was gonna try and play that card, i was gonna make her spell it out. >> is ebonics a term that is commonly associated with african-americans in this country? >> i don't know where ebonics is commonly associated with. i associate it with a certain type of speech that i would associate with the word "ghetto." >> reporter: but if she was hoping to play to some random juror's racial bias, she guessed wrong. the jury didn't believe it. not for a second. they found her guilty in less than two hours. as for david mallory, his attorneys argued he had nothing to do with the murder. he was involved with carter, yes, but not with any killing. that jury didn't buy that either rendering a guilty verdict in no time at all. the verdicts were some consolation for those who loved ashlea harris. >> i still miss her. she saw the best in everybody. even when you couldn't see it, she could see it. she had such a big heart. and this world is worse off, at least, mine is. >> reporter: both david mallory and carter cervantez received mandatory sentences of life in prison with no possibility of parole. it wasn't enough for ashlea's mom and stepdad. >> reporter: you wanted to see the death penalty? >> death penalty was what i wanted, is what monica wanted. and -- but it wasn't to be. >> reporter: now they cling to memories of their ashlea. >> reporter: tell me about the last time you saw your daughter, physically, in person. >> it was november. >> reporter: about a week before she died, ashlea had invited monica to play bingo. monica was busy, almost said no. but something told her to stop what she was doing and go. and, oh, is she glad she did. >> and i walk into the bingo hall and, oh, my god, there set that little girl of mine. and i smile at her and i walk over and i kiss the side of her neck and i tell her how much i love her. >> you remember every syllable, every moment of that day, don't you? >> yes. >> reporter: these days, monica is making new memories at the bingo parlor. remember how skittish she was around ashlea's girlfriends at first? no longer. now, they're family. >> have a good weekend. >> when monica and i go and get our nails done, they always say, "oh, your daughter is so pretty." she never corrects them. as far as she's concerned, she gained several daughters. >> reporter: and when they're all together, ashlea is there too. >> announcer: that's all for this edition of "dateline." we'll see you again next friday at 9:00, 8:00 central and, of course, i'll see you each weeknight for "nbc nightly news. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, goodnight. talk about dedication. students did not let freezing temperatures stop them from showing their pride. shirtless. the rest of the crowd were covered up for a cold night of friday football. >> the fire pits were keeping these people warm on the bitter cold night. ohs were bund ul up to the see the holiday light show. oir or take a ride on a cold carousel. they had to call in a salt truck because black ice was forming. westbound lanes of the bridge have been shut down. because of the ice forming. good evening, everyone. >> i'm jacqueline

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