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
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
you knew it was your daughter. what went through, you judy? i lost a son in 78, in a car wreck. he was already gone at the hospital. i should ve few tears and went on about my business, but this was different. my son was 21, he had no children. the loss of earon harper, a mother of four, was devastating, but they had to see what happened with baby erica. finding out in the most impersonal way. i knew she was hurt, because the police rushed down the street that i saw on tv. later, they learned how badly hurt. she had been shot in the head. why, in the name of god, would someone do that? it was this man s job to find out. in your experience, how many times have there been babies who were victims? never then there been a case i ve worked, where a baby s been shot. a lifelong worker, without a pitching career at the university of louisville, now, retired detective, said that
doorway, what went through your mind? i lost a son i a car wreck and he was already gone when i got to the a hospital. it shed a few tears and went about my business but this was dirch. my son was 21. he had no children. reporter: the loss of erin, a mother of four, was devastating, but now the family had to deal with what happened to baby erika, finding out in the most impersonal way. i knew she was hurt and the police rushing her down the street that ius saw on tv. reporter: and late they learned how badly hurt. she had been shot in the head. why in the name of god would somebody doing that? reporter: it wasng this man jobis to find out. now in your experience, how many times have there babiesen were victims? never case i worked that a baby was shot. reporter: a one time pitching career at the university of of louisville, rick arnold knew thisd would be a high profile case. he just didn t know it would be the case ofhe a lifetime.