is dateline. she s the little girl that one hard in a big city they called you the miracle baby, why did they call you. that shot in the head at point blank range, a crime scene that shocked, even hardened police. dorothy explorer pillow and it had blood on it. as she fought to live, this detective vowed to catch whoever left her, soon he turned up a promising lead. bells and whistles go off in my head. in the hospital she battled back. to know that she had survived was a pretty powerful moment. not just her body, but her mind. they was the guy that came in the daycare, and erika said don t let him hurt me. she had handed investigators what could be a vital clue. but would it be enough to crack the case? . hello and welcome to dateline. i m craig melvin. it all started when the crime but 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 but a, defective vowed
she s the little girl who won the heart of a big city. they called you the miracle baby. why did they call you that? yay shot in the head at point blank range there was a pillow and it had blood on it. as she fought to live, this detective vowed to catch whoever left treated today. soon, he turned up a promising lead. in the hospital she battled back. to know that she had survived was a pretty powerful moment. not just her body but her mind. they come in the daycare and erica said don t let them heard me. investigators found what could be a vital clue but could it be enough to crack the case? hello, welcome to dateline. i m craig melvin. 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. but a detective vowed to crack this case, no matter how long it took. one of the biggest attractions at the louisville zoo was a floppy you
kentucky derby. so, it knows a thing or two about long shots. but in betting parlance, the odds of this story ever finding a 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? erica s story began in a neighborhood in louisville in this brick house on wilson avenue. a 2-year-old, wild about dora the explorer, erica lived here with her mom, earon harper. on may 18th, 2006, police got a frantic 911 call. when they arrived at the house, the man who made the call flagged them down. what was his state of mind? he was really hysterical. what was he saying? there s a little girl in there. there s a little girl in there. detectives tom bart and officer larry riley rushed into the house and found a horrifying scene. a woman, almost certainly dead on the floor. you just see a big like a pool
earon, a mother of four, was devastating. but now the family had to deal with what happened to baby erica. finding out in the most impersonal way. i knew she was hurt by the police rushing her down the street that i saw on tv. and 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 man s job to find out. now, in your experience, how many times have there been babies who were victims? there s never been a case where a baby s been shot that i ve worked. a lifelong local, once promising pitching career at the louisville, he didn t know this would be the case of a lifetime. today s date is may 18th, 2006. a video camera rolled as detective arnold processed the crime scene, honing in on clues. the victim s body, a shell
board. virtually, impossible. would a little girl ever gain the strength, not only to recover, but to come back hole? and, would a dedicated detective not only crack his biggest case, but keep the emotional promise he had made? eric a story, beginning in a hard scramble neighborhood, in louisville, in this brick house, on wilson avenue. a two-year-old, wild about door of the explore, erica lived here with her mom, aaron harper. on may 18th, 2006, police got a frantic 9-1-1 call. when they arrived at the house, the man who made the call flagged them down. what was his state of mind? he was hysterical. what was he saying? there is a little girl here, a little girl. detective tom, and retired officer, larry riley, found a horrifying scene. a woman, almost certainly dead, on the floor. you can see a pool of blood.