00:00:00
Good morning. Hey, good morning. You're listening to the Dateline Story Meeting.
00:00:06
I'm here. We can get started. Our producers are swapping tips and story ideas. Explain a little bit more about the evidence case file.
00:00:14
The killer was a local drug dealer who wanted to make nice with the witch doctor.
00:00:18
I really believe that he's innocent. Welcome to Dateline True Crime Weekly. I'm Andrea Canning.
00:00:25
It's February 26th, and here's what's on our docket. In Miami, a jury hears unusual testimony at the trial of a former college football player accused of murdering his teammate.
00:00:37
They decided to have him testify on videotape just in case something happened to him.
00:00:43
In Dateline Roundup, the son and alleged killer of slain Hollywood director Rob Reiner appears in court,
00:00:49
and a former American Idol contestant is accused of murder. He was a Golden Ticket winner.
00:00:54
He described himself as a music pastor who absolutely loves to sing. Plus, after Savannah Guthrie calls for more attention to be paid to the families of the missing,
00:01:04
we bring you the case of a young mother I've never been able to forget. In the end, Olivia and her children still deserve some type of justice.
00:01:13
But before all that, we're heading to Utah, where the highly anticipated murder trial of mom of three, Corey Richens, is finally underway.
00:01:20
Corey Richens first made news in April 2023 when she appeared on a local ABC4 morning show,
00:01:29
Good Things Utah. To promote a children's book she wrote about grief after her husband Eric
00:01:34
died suddenly the year before. My kids and I kind of wrote this book on the different
00:01:39
emotions and grieving processes that we've experienced last year and, you know, hoping
00:01:46
that it can kind of help other kids. A month later, she was arrested and charged with her husband's murder.
00:01:52
Prosecutors say Richens poisoned her husband, Eric, with fentanyl so she could cash in on his life insurance.
00:01:58
Richens has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against her. And as she told Dateline in an exclusive recording she made from jail back in 2024,
00:02:07
she's been eagerly awaiting the chance to defend herself. I'm anxious. I'm anxious to prove my innocence.
00:02:12
I'm anxious to get a trial, and I'm ready to get this one heck of a fight. That time has finally come.
00:02:20
Richen's trial began Monday in the Summit County Courthouse in Park City, Utah. Dateline producer Karen Israel was there and is joining us to give us all the details.
00:02:29
Hey, Karen. Hi, Andrea. And I know that you're a little under the weather, and it didn't help that you had to wait hours to get into the courtroom, right?
00:02:39
No, and I apologize for my voice. So, yeah, there's been a lot of anticipation for this trial.
00:02:46
And especially on day one, there were spectators lined up well before 6 a.m. to get seats in the courtroom.
00:02:54
The trial began with opening statements. The prosecution went first. And Karen, you and I, we've been on this story for a while.
00:03:01
We've learned pieces of their case over the past few years. What exactly did they share on Monday in their openings?
00:03:09
So the state is accusing Corey of intentionally poisoning Eric with fentanyl. And the attorney for the state, Brad Bloodworth, began by giving the jury a dramatic play-by-play
00:03:20
of what the prosecution alleges happened that night. Starting with Corey texting the man that she was having an affair with, love you, and then
00:03:31
handing Eric a drink in their bedroom. He drinks on the bed. She departs the bedroom.
00:03:37
Corey Richens returns to the bedroom at about three o'clock a.m. She feels that Eric is cold.
00:03:45
She nudges him. He does not respond. She sees that he is stiff and pale. His mouth is wide open.
00:03:54
The prosecution told the jury this wasn't the first time Corey had attempted to murder Eric,
00:03:59
that she allegedly laced a sandwich with poison a couple of weeks earlier on Valentine's Day.
00:04:05
Did the prosecution offer a theory about how Corey got her hands on the fentanyl?
00:04:10
Yes. So the prosecution told the jury that Corey got the fentanyl from her housekeeper,
00:04:16
who had bought the fentanyl from a drug dealer. That housekeeper is expected to be a key
00:04:21
prosecution witness. The prosecution talked about the possible motive for these alleged crimes,
00:04:28
which, of course, money is at the center. The evidence will prove that Corey Richens
00:04:33
murdered Eric for his money and to get a fresh start at life. More than anything,
00:04:43
she wanted his money to perpetuate her facade of privilege, affluence, and success.
00:04:51
Eric Richens was well off. His estate was worth over $4 million when he died. According to the
00:04:57
prosecution, Corrie, on the other hand, was in financial trouble. She was allegedly over $4.5
00:05:03
million in debt. What the prosecution is arguing is that not only did Corrie believe she was set to
00:05:08
inherit Eric's business, but also other assets and various life insurance payouts. Weeks before
00:05:14
attempting to murder Eric Richens, Corrie Richens took out an insurance policy by fraud and forgery
00:05:24
on Eric's life. And two weeks after Eric died, she submitted a fraudulent claim on yet another insurance policy. And she believed that she would benefit from nearly
00:05:38
$2 million in insurance on Eric's life. And the fresh start part of the alleged motive,
00:05:45
does that tie back to this man she's having the affair with? It does So the prosecution told the jury about Corey paramour a man named Robert Josh Grossman The prosecution says internet history and text messages will show they were having a full affair and that Corey wanted to be with Josh not Eric
00:06:07
11 days before the charged murder, Corey Richens text messaged Josh Grossman, I do want a future together.
00:06:16
If he could just go away and you could just be here, life would be so perfect. Karen, then it was the defense's turn. What did they hit on in their opening statement?
00:06:29
The defense argues there's simply not enough evidence to prove that Corey gave Eric fentanyl and caused his death.
00:06:35
The defense attorney said the drugs Corey got from the housekeeper were oxycodone, not fentanyl.
00:06:41
And so the fentanyl that killed Eric couldn't be connected to Corey. An important point to emphasize, Andrea, the defense isn't disputing that Eric died of fentanyl poisoning.
00:06:51
but they're saying there's reasonable doubt about how he ingested it. The defense argued that Eric had consumed drugs before, mainly weed gummies,
00:07:01
but there was an empty pill bottle by his bedside too. Corey's attorney made a lot of references to Eric Richen's family members
00:07:08
and their involvement in the investigation. Where were they going with that? That's right.
00:07:14
So Corey's attorneys say Eric's family was pointing the finger at Corey immediately.
00:07:20
They're suggesting that the family's hostility towards Corey maybe somehow contaminated the investigation.
00:07:27
Corey's attorney finished off her opening statement with an interesting image. Tell us about that.
00:07:34
Yes. So she shared on the screen an optical illusion that went viral a while back.
00:07:41
Some of our listeners have probably seen this. It's a drawing that from one angle looks like a young woman.
00:07:49
And if you look at it differently from another angle, it looks like an older woman.
00:07:54
So look at this picture of a young woman in a fur coat. See it? Now look again. You see a witch?
00:08:01
There's going to be times in this case where the state is going to show you the witch.
00:08:06
And I'm going to show you a widow. At the end of the trial, if you can still see both faces, that's reasonable doubt.
00:08:12
So fascinating. Once Karen, the opening statements were done, the prosecution started right away to call their first witnesses.
00:08:21
And among those first witnesses, Eric's family. Yeah. So they started with Eric's dad, followed by his sister, Katie Richens Benson, who got pretty emotional talking about her brother.
00:08:34
Eric was one of the most likable people. I'm sorry, guys. Sorry, I'm trying so hard.
00:08:42
Eric's sister told the jury that Eric was not a drug user, as the defense had implied.
00:08:48
They were raised to be aware of the dangers of drugs. The prosecution also showed jurors some body cam footage from a police officer who responded to Corey's 911 call.
00:09:00
And what's interesting, Karen, is that you see Corey in her pajamas. She's very emotional.
00:09:04
Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. But then you also see Katie arrive with her husband.
00:09:11
This body cam video was so interesting because Katie mentioned in her direct examination, she told the prosecutor that Corey didn't really console her when she was so upset.
00:09:27
But in this clip, you could see Corey did embrace Katie at one point. So it felt like a contrast to what we had just heard Katie say.
00:09:35
Who else do we expect the prosecution to call to the stand? We know that Corey's mom is on the witness list as a prosecution witness.
00:09:44
There'll be more first responders and investigators. And the trial's going to be quite long.
00:09:49
Yeah, it's expected to last five weeks. Okay, and we know you've got it covered, Karen.
00:09:54
Thank you for getting there early and waiting in line in the cold and bringing us all the updates from the trial.
00:10:01
Thank you. Coming up, the prosecution makes its case against a college football player on trial for murdering his teammate 20 years ago, but has too much time passed?
00:10:22
For our next story, we're back at the Miami-Dade County Courthouse. It's week two in the murder trial of Rashawn Jones, a former University of Miami football player.
00:10:31
Prosecutors say nearly 20 years ago, Jones was so consumed by jealousy of his more successful teammate, Brian Pata, that he ambushed him in the parking lot of Brian's off-campus apartment and shot him dead.
00:10:44
Brian's roommate found his body and called 911. But according to prosecutors, someone did see something that night.
00:11:01
They say one of Brian's neighbors heard what sounded like a gunshot and then saw a man walking briskly past him, a man he later identified as Rashawn Jones.
00:11:11
On Monday, the jury got to hear from that eyewitness, only he didn't show up in person.
00:11:16
Because of his age and failing memory, the jury watched a video recording of his testimony instead.
00:11:22
Here to walk us through what happened and how the defense is pushing back on all of this is Dateline producer Jay Young, who has been in the courtroom.
00:11:29
Jay, thanks for being here. Thanks for having me, Andrea. So, Jay, we should just start this off by saying that Rashawn Jones has pleaded not guilty.
00:11:37
He says he was never jealous of Brian, certainly not jealous enough to kill him.
00:11:42
What evidence has the prosecution presented so far to try to prove Jones's state of mind at the time of the murder?
00:11:49
Well, prosecutors are saying that Rashawn was both envious and jealous of Brian.
00:11:54
Brian was a shooting star at the time of the murder He had everything going for him and there a huge talent on the football field destined for the NFL Rashawn on the other hand was suspended right before the
00:12:06
murder for having tested positive for marijuana use. So yeah, his future wasn't nearly as bright
00:12:12
as Brian's was. And then there was Brian's girlfriend, Jada Brody. Apparently she had had
00:12:18
a relationship with Rashawn before she met Brian. Prosecutors have been trying to hammer home that
00:12:24
that too was a source of tension. And then prosecutors have spent a lot of time presenting
00:12:29
evidence of a fight between Rashawn and Brian two years before the murder. Brian punched Rashawn,
00:12:36
and Rashawn responded, you better clip up, which Brian understood to mean you better get your guns.
00:12:43
Did anything happen closer to the time of the murder? Well, that's interesting. You know, not really, except for this. Once it was announced that Brian
00:12:51
was shot and killed, the team gathered, and it was, according to some, a mandatory meeting.
00:12:57
The only person not there was Sean Jones. So beyond this idea that Sean may have been jealous
00:13:02
of Brian, is there any physical evidence connecting him to the crime? The answer to that question is
00:13:07
no, not really. I mean, there were no shell casings found at the crime scene. What they did
00:13:13
know, there was close to his body. You could see his keys were left at the crime scene. Also, there
00:13:19
was roughly $900 in his wallet. So they did know that it likely was not a robbery. But beyond that,
00:13:26
yeah, that's a lot of money. That's a lot of money. Finally, the state presented cell phone
00:13:30
tower evidence that put Rashawn very close to the crime scene at the time of the murder.
00:13:36
Now, the defense is going to argue, well, that Rashawn lived close. Yeah, I was just going to say they went to the same school. They were on the same team.
00:13:44
That's right. That's right. So we'll see how that plays out. So we talked, Jay, off the top about this eyewitness, the state star witness who testified through a video recording.
00:13:55
What do we know about him? Well, this was really interesting. This is a man who actually lived in the apartment complex with Brian Pata.
00:14:04
And on the day of the shooting, as he was walking home, he said he heard a pop. And then he saw somebody walking briskly past him.
00:14:14
Didn't mean much to this person, Paul Conner. But later, when he heard reports of the shooting, he realized he should call the police.
00:14:21
And the police had him do a sketch. Seven months later, police called him in again and asked him to try to identify the person that he saw in a photo lineup.
00:14:32
And he did. And it turns out that the person he identified in that photo lineup was Rashawn Jones.
00:14:38
So that was in 2007. Years passed. A new detective got the case. And Rashawn Jones was arrested.
00:14:46
By that point, Paul Conner was in his late 70s, and prosecutors did something unusual.
00:14:52
So what they did is they decided to, in a pretrial hearing, have him testify on videotape
00:14:59
just in case something happened to him. It's called perpetuated testimony. And as far as the prosecution is concerned, they're glad they did because soon after testifying,
00:15:08
Paul Conner vanished, and they suspected he had died. Ultimately, investigative journalists at ESPN, they were able to find Paul Conner and get him to do an interview.
00:15:19
What did he tell the reporters, Jay? Well, he basically told them that he didn't remember much and he sounded very unsure of himself.
00:15:26
In the end, the judge ruled that Mr. Conner was not able to testify. She allowed Paul Conner's 2022 videotaped statement to be played before the jury in this trial.
00:15:39
Let's listen to some of that testimony. How would you describe the person that you saw, Mr. Conner?
00:15:46
I would describe him as a young African-American, six feet to six foot one tall.
00:15:58
Were you able to make eye contact with him? Yes. In order to enter the part of my eye, I had to turn left.
00:16:05
And for a moment, that brought me face to face with one. After you passed by him, Mr. Conner, what did you notice about the man in his station?
00:16:22
Well, he spied away. Since the judge ruled Conner was too incompetent to testify in person, the defense didn't get to cross-examine Paul Conner in front of this jury.
00:16:33
But what the jury did get to hear this week was a defense attorney challenging Connor at that 2022 videotaped testimony.
00:16:41
And they got him to admit some things, right? You bet. They got him to admit that it was, in fact, dark that night.
00:16:47
They also got him to admit that he had type 2 diabetes and that did compromise his eyesight.
00:16:53
And there was a question as to whether he was wearing glasses when he saw that person walk past him.
00:16:59
If you're wearing glasses, do you think you would have had a better look? Yes. So all those things could potentially raise a little doubt about the credibility or at least the believability of this particular witness.
00:17:12
All right, Jay, thank you very much. This is a riveting case. Thank you, Andrea.
00:17:19
We have a quick update for you about this trial. On Wednesday afternoon, after I taped my conversation with Jay, the prosecution wrapped up its case.
00:17:28
And then the defense did something surprising. They rested without calling a single witness.
00:17:34
Closing arguments quickly got underway. We'll bring you all those details and what the jury had to say next week.
00:17:41
Up next, it's time for Dateline Roundup. Updates from the courtroom on the double homicide of Rob and Michelle Reiner.
00:17:48
And the trial of Dale Warner the Michigan farmer accused of murdering his wife and concealing her body in a fertilizer tank Plus the case of a mom of five who went missing that I never been able to shake
00:18:10
Welcome back. Joining us for this week's roundup is Dateline Digital producer Veronica Mazzica.
00:18:15
Hey, Veronica. Hey, Andrea. For our first story, we're heading to L.A. where Nick Reiner, the son of legendary Hollywood
00:18:21
producer Rob Reiner and photographer Michelle Reiner appeared in court on Monday. He has been
00:18:27
accused of stabbing both of his parents to death in their bed in December. It was an appalling crime
00:18:32
that stunned the country. Tell us what happened in court this week. So this was Nick's arraignment.
00:18:38
That is usually when a defendant formally hears the charges against them and enters a plea. Nick's
00:18:44
arraignment was originally scheduled for early January, but his previous defense attorney,
00:18:48
Alan Jackson, who you know, Andrea, from the Karen Reed case, withdrew at the last minute.
00:18:54
So the hearing got pushed to this week. So walk us through this latest hearing. According to our producer in court, Nick walked in wearing a jumpsuit with a buzz cut and a
00:19:04
scruffy beard. He talked to his public defender and then he slumped over when he got into the
00:19:09
glass box where defendants go during the hearing. He waived his right to a speedy trial and pleaded
00:19:15
not guilty to the two murder counts he's facing. After the arraignment, L.A. District Attorney
00:19:20
Nathan Hockman spoke to the press. What did he say? He said the case is on track. They are waiting
00:19:26
on a coroner's report, but the majority of discovery has been turned over to the defense.
00:19:31
He said that the prosecutors are considering whether to pursue the death penalty in this case,
00:19:35
though. We will be looking at all aggravating and mitigating circumstances, and we have invited
00:19:40
defense counsel to present to us, both in writing and orally in a meeting, any arguments that they
00:19:47
would like to make in consideration for our going forward or not going forward with the death penalty.
00:19:54
How are Rob and Michelle's other children, Nick's siblings, handling these new developments? I mean, this whole thing, our hearts just go out to them.
00:20:02
Nick's sister and brother have not attended any of the hearings. Back in January, they did issue
00:20:07
a statement through a family spokesperson saying that they have the utmost trust in the legal
00:20:13
process. Next hearing is scheduled for April, and we will, of course, update you with anything we
00:20:19
hear before that. Next, we're heading to Lenawee County, Michigan, where the murder trial of farmer
00:20:26
Dale Warner, which we told you about last week, is still underway. Veronica, remind us of what
00:20:31
happened there. Dale is accused of murdering his wife, Dee, back in 2021 and hiding her body in a
00:20:37
fertilizer tank on his farm. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and tampering with
00:20:43
evidence. What's unfolded in the courtroom since last week? The prosecutors painted the portrait
00:20:49
of a troubled marriage. Dee's former nanny and personal assistant, Madison Wolfe, testified that
00:20:55
Dee started talking about divorce three years before she disappeared. Do you know what the
00:20:59
sleeping arrangements were between Dale and Dee? Yes. What were they? Most of the time, Dee slept
00:21:05
on the couch and deal with sleep in the bedroom. She also said that Dee had an affair. Other people
00:21:11
close to Dee, like her massage therapist and one of her employees, testified about seeing
00:21:17
bruises and marks on her. The prosecution is using that testimony to suggest that the marriage may
00:21:23
not have just been unhappy, but possibly physical. How did the defense handle all of this? The
00:21:27
defense has leaned heavily into the trouble with marriage, suggesting that the relationship was
00:21:32
strained long before she disappeared, but arguing that the problems don't equal murder. They are
00:21:38
also stressing the fact that none of the witnesses directly saw Dale Harm D, and the state's evidence
00:21:44
is highly circumstantial, and the prosecution has merely interpreted the data to fit the theory that
00:21:49
they've developed. This is one of those trials where the jury is allowed to ask questions along
00:21:54
the way. Was there anything that stuck out to you what they're curious about? The jurors have asked
00:22:00
for explanations on the more technical parts of the trial. Dr. Patrick Cho, the medical examiner,
00:22:05
was asked about whether contusions can form after death, referring to the bruises found on D's body.
00:22:12
So could they have formed while the body was being moved? Dr. Cho answered no, that both the bruises
00:22:18
and brain bleeding found on D could have only happened when she was alive. Okay, and we have
00:22:23
a few more weeks left with that trial. Finally, we're headed to Tip City, Ohio, where a former
00:22:30
contestant on American Idol has been charged with his wife's murder. Bring us the latest on that
00:22:35
case. Yeah, you might remember seeing Caleb Flynn on season 12 of American Idol. He was a golden
00:22:42
ticket winner. At the time, he described himself as a music pastor who absolutely loves to sing.
00:22:48
He talked a lot about his wife, Ashley, in his interview for the show. I love my wife more than anything. She is very, very pretty. Just, oof, I love her.
00:22:57
What do authorities Veronica say happened the day Ashley died? Caleb called 911 around 2.30 a.m. on February 16th about an intruder he said had come into the house and shot his wife in the head. He sounded very distraught.
00:23:10
Let's take a listen to part of that 911 call. My wife is crazy. She's got two shots to her head. There's been blood everywhere. Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.
00:23:19
So what did the police find at the house when they got there? According to the police report, Ashley was found dead from gunshot wounds in her bed.
00:23:27
There were two shell casings on the floor. The officers also observed that the side garage door was open,
00:23:33
but there was a refrigerator in front of the door that would have needed to be pushed away for it to be open.
00:23:39
The officers also determined that the children were asleep when the shooting happened.
00:23:43
This led police to the conclusion that there was no intruder and Caleb had actually shot his wife
00:23:48
and then tried to stage the scene as a break-in. Caleb was arrested and on Friday,
00:23:53
he was charged with Ashley's murder, felony assault and tampering with evidence.
00:23:58
Did he enter a plea? not guilty and is denying everything. Okay, thank you for these updates, Veronica. Thank you.
00:24:12
For our next story, we're shifting gears to a story that's close to all of us here at NBC News.
00:24:18
The disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, the mother of our friend and colleague Savannah.
00:24:24
Investigators say they continue to work all viable leads. And on Tuesday morning, Savannah posted a new video message.
00:24:31
It is day 24 since our mom was taken in the dark of night from her bed. And every hour and minute and second and every long night has been agony since then.
00:24:50
Savannah thanked people for their prayers and announced that the family is offering a $1 million reward for information that helps bring Nancy home.
00:24:58
And she also said this. We also know that we are not alone in our loss. We know there are millions of families that have suffered with this kind of uncertainty.
00:25:11
And for that reason today, we also are donating $500,000 to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for their work in helping families who are coping with loss and actively looking for those who are lost.
00:25:32
we are hoping that the attention that has been given to our mom and our family will extend to
00:25:42
all the families like ours who are in need and need prayers and need support bringing attention
00:25:50
to cases of the missing is something we feel very strongly about here at dateline 12 years ago we
00:25:56
started our series missing in america since then we have published hundreds of digital articles and
00:26:02
produced more than a dozen podcast episodes spotlighting cases of people who have gone missing.
00:26:08
One of those cases was Olivia Lone Bear Olivia went missing on the night of October 24th 2017 She was a 32 mother of five She was living on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in Newtown
00:26:22
She was last seen leaving a local sports bar in her teal Chevy pickup truck. Her daughter, Haley Abramson, told us that the family knew instantly that something was wrong.
00:26:32
We had met with some detectives, and they kind of just tried to convince me that she was fine,
00:26:39
that she had gone somewhere and she'd be back, but we didn't really believe it. Olivia's loved ones did all they could to get attention for her case.
00:26:47
They held candlelight vigils, distributed flyers, and searched tirelessly for her.
00:26:52
Her brother Matthew spoke to the news program Democracy Now. We do still need water support.
00:26:59
We do need people on the ground, definitely, because the Fort Berthold Reservation is just about a million acres,
00:27:05
so that's a lot of ground to cover. They also turned to Lissa Yellowbird-Chase, an advocate who has dedicated her life to finding missing people in indigenous communities.
00:27:16
Through her volunteer coalition, Sawnish Scouts, she organized search efforts and brought trained dogs to help cover areas that hadn't been thoroughly explored.
00:27:25
And in July 2018, nine months after Olivia disappeared, Lissa found her. Olivia's body was inside of a pickup truck submerged in Lake Sakakawiya on her reservation.
00:27:38
Lissa is joining us now to tell us more about that search. Lissa, welcome to the podcast.
00:27:43
Thank you. It's so good to hear your voice. You too. It's been a while. It's been a while.
00:27:48
Yeah. Well, I mean, I think about you and Olivia's case all the time. As I said, it's one of those cases that I can't shake, and I'm sort of angry that it hasn't been solved because for whatever reason, I have it in my brain that it's solvable.
00:28:03
Something that many people may not realize about the missing is that, like Olivia, a disproportionate number of cases involve Indigenous women.
00:28:11
Why are they suffering like this? I think it's a lot to do with systemic ills that happen in our communities.
00:28:18
You've got first responders that may minimize the situation. One of the recent things we discovered here in North Dakota is when it comes to the investigations we had situations that could have been a potential homicide overlooked disregarded and just not given any attention to Lisa you were the first person to tell me about Olivia
00:28:39
Yeah. Yeah. How did you get onto Olivia's case in the first place? I actually got a phone call from her cousin, Matt, who was the person who organized, you
00:28:51
know, the big search efforts for Olivia in the very beginning. I remember her father said, you know, I heard that you're the best.
00:28:59
And I said, I can't say I'm the best at anything, but I can tell you I'll do my best.
00:29:03
Of course, you were really incredible how you, you know, took out, got a boat and bought some old sonar equipment and ended up finding her in this lake.
00:29:15
We had visited that spot before. Unfortunately, by the time we got to it during the initial search, it had frozen over and we didn't have access.
00:29:26
So I knew I was coming back to look for her in that area. And it didn't take long.
00:29:32
Yeah, it was pretty quick. So remind me, we don't know too much about what happened to Olivia.
00:29:40
Her cause of death was ruled undetermined after an autopsy. There were no obvious injuries.
00:29:45
You believe this was a murder. And correct me if I'm wrong, was she not found in the passenger seat of the pickup truck?
00:29:53
Yes, she was. Okay, so how is this undetermined if someone can't drive themselves into a lake in the passenger seat?
00:30:02
While they're buckled in. While they're buckled in. So, I mean, it's either murder or someone had an accident and left her there.
00:30:09
I mean, there's not a whole lot of options there, but you truly believe this was murder?
00:30:14
Oh, yes, definitely. And so it's been over eight years since Olivia went missing and we don't have an arrest.
00:30:22
And even the FBI has gotten on board. Right. Well, the FBI was on board from the very beginning because if it's a homicide, then this is a
00:30:31
major crime which falls under their jurisdiction. So they did interview me, but everything kind of went to a standstill.
00:30:39
And then a few years back I did inquire with the FBI I gave them some information Do you have a message for the FBI or for tribal police about what they could be doing
00:30:54
I think they just need to get up and get busy and really do the work. And we should say, Lissa, we did reach out to the FBI. They told us they continue to diligently investigate Olivia's disappearance and death, and they're offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information, leading to an arrest and conviction in this case.
00:31:14
I mean, in the end, Olivia and her children still deserve some type of justice. Lisa, thank you for all your work.
00:31:24
You were just tireless with your efforts for all these families and for the people who don't have a voice anymore.
00:31:30
Thank you. If you have any tips or information you want to share about the Olivia Lone Bear or Nancy Guthrie cases, you can call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
00:31:40
That's 1-800-225-5324. We will post that number in the episode description. We're thinking about all the families out there who are missing loved ones, and especially our friend and colleague, Savannah.
00:31:55
That is it for this episode of Dateline True Crime Weekly. Coming up this Friday on NBC, the Winter Olympics are over, and we have an all-new episode of Dateline.
00:32:05
When a loving father suspiciously dies, his family's decade-long fight for justice begins with the most unlikely piece of evidence, a hairbrush.
00:32:14
Put the hairbrush in the back. Don't tell anybody you have it. You basically have a detective mind at this point.
00:32:19
No, I just watch Dateline. Watch Blaine's episode, Malice, this Friday at 9, 8 central on NBC.
00:32:28
Thanks for listening. Dateline True Crime Weekly is produced by Carson Cummins, Caroline Casey, and Kiani Reed.
00:32:34
Our associate producers are Ellery Gladstone-Grath and Aria Young. Our senior producer is Liz Brown-Kurloff.
00:32:40
Production and fact-checking help by Audrey Abrahams. Veronica Mazzaka is our digital producer.
00:32:45
Rick Kwan is our sound designer, original music by Jesse McGinty, Paul Ryan is executive producer, and Liz Kohl is senior executive producer of Dateline.
00:32:54
Thanks, everybody. Have a great day.