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>> and freaking out. i walk in and my sister is not there. her doors open, her lights are on, her bed is undone. everything is horrible and i felt it. >> she had been fearless on the front lines in iraq. but, something had her terrified at home. >> i'm scared. i don't feel safe. >> a desperate call to police, and then she vanished. >> somebody made her pretty scared. there's nothing to say what that was. >> right. >> what had happened to this beautiful army sergeant? that question would last -- lunch a spellbinding mystery. was a killer out there? could police catch him? they would hatch a plan a virtual genius. >> one of the detective said you're not going to believe this.

>> welcome to dateline. maribel ramos was a fighter, joining the army and doing two tours overseas before returning to civilian life, but even her military experience would not be enough to prepare her for the evil she battled back home. here is josh mankiewicz with mystery and orange county. >> orange county, california. on tv, it is a place of sun, fun, and privilege. it is where the real housewives first air their dirty laundry. it is for the kids from the oc showed us all what temperature cool really was. around here, you get the sense that everyone is rich and white and lives in a mansion with a view of the pacific, but step back from the coast and you will see the orange county that is not on tv.

not as wealthy, not as white, full of those who came here from somewhere else chasing a better life, and finding it in places like santa ana, a mostly working-class immigrant community in the shadow of disneyland. it is the part of the oc that people know where to survive, they will have to work hard. maribel ramos arrived here as a baby, leaving mexico behind. she would not only survive here, but thrive. to tell you the truth, this should be the story of a woman who worked hard to change her life and in doing so, carved a path for others to follow. but, this story is going to end differently. >> why are you crying? >> because i'm afraid. >> there are some parts of life that hard work just can't fix.

>> i'm scared. i'm just calling to let you guys know that if something happens, i did it because i was defending myself. all i am trying to say is that i morning -- honestly, i will fight for my life. i swear i will kill him. >> all of this should have never reached that point of no return, so maybe it is a story of simple bad luck, two lives that should never have come together. >> tell me about growing up with maribel. what was she like? >> troublemaker. mom wanted her to stay at home and she wanted to go play baseball. >> tomboy? >> yes. >> her sister, lucy, says tomboy maribel ramos also had a spark. >> she would come in immediately and introduce herself to everybody.

>> make friends, people were drawn to her, easy to talk to. >> you saw boys who are interested in her? >> definitely, from an early age. >> and that never ended, did it? >> little sister lucy remembers how maribel was in charge of watching out for her father single mother often worked two jobs to make ends meet. you are how much younger? >> seven years younger. she didn't want to do it. she had to. >> it, even as a child, maribel figured out that a different world existed, and she wanted to live there. >> she knew a young age that there was a lot more to life than what we had around us. there were things you could do, go to school and have opportunities and live in a nicer house. >> she saw all of that? >> definitely. >> maribel ramos knew she would have to work hard to get what and where she wanted. after high school, she worked in security at kmart and

hatched a long-term plan to become a cop, but she would need a college degree and that meant money. so, maribel ramos became private first class ramos. she joined the army hoping to use the g.i. bill. her first day was august 8th, 2001, and just 34 days later, the whole world changed. >> we all sort of recoil in horror, but you probably also thought, that's going to affect my sister. >> yes. i turn on the tv and the towers are crumbling. the first thing i thought was oh my gosh, my sister is going to war. >> lucy worried. their mother worried, but maribel was like a rock. >> what did marable say about going overseas? >> she did not express her feelings about it. she just said this is what's happening. i need to talk to mom. >> marable went to war in iraq. >> was it like to see her in uniform?

>> pretty amazing. sometimes i would see her and i was just like whoa, you're going out there to save everybody. >> maribel learned to jump out of airplanes and mount guns for armed convoys. she saw more than her share of combat and also made sergeant. when her tour of iraq ended, she and risk -- re-enlisted for another. she seemed fearless. she could've very easily become a casualty. >> yes, and other people did die, friends of her. >> in 2009, after two tours in iraq, maribel left the army and enrolled in college, but adjusting back to civilian life was not as easy as marable had expected. like a lot of war veterans, she suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder, or ptsd.

>> she had seen some terrible things. did she ever talk about that? >> not with me. >> instead, she focused on school, work, and family, especially her niece, giselle. >> she kind of adopted you as this project. >> yeah. >> why did she do that? >> i think it was because she wanted me to have the best. >> as giselle grew older, the self-improvement message sometimes came complete with push-ups. after all, maribel was all army. >> when i would get in trouble, she would make me do exercise in order to work off the punishment. >> and all this time, maribel was hammering away at giselle. you're going to finish school, you're going to study hard. they're going to have a career. >> yes. this is what you're going to do, she would tell her. okay, giselle?

>> yes. >> maribel got a dog and rented a two-bedroom apartment in the city of orange, which she shared with a roommate, a quiet chemist named kc joy, who also had a dog. >> i thought it was a perfect match, like he has a dog, she has a dog. he seems quiet. he's not going to have all these people coming over. >> by may, 2013, everything seemed great. maribel was leading by example, finishing up her degree in criminal justice at cal state fullerton. giselle was following in her strong footsteps. >> she was dropping off money at my house because i had gotten good grades and she had just gotten her hair done, died in style because for her graduation. >> she looks great and she was happy? >> yes, she was. >> that is why it made no sense when just days later, maribel ramos, soldier, student, loving aunt simply disappeared. coming up, what had happened to

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right. >> i had a text from casey at 10:00 a.m. and he said your sister didn't come home. >> they had been roommates for more than a year now. casey felt protective of maribel. he told lucy he had already called police to report her missing. >> this is not an emergency. i have a roommate his 36 years old and she didn't come home last night. >> so what i did was text her and said happy friday. we usually text each other anyways. that was my way of connecting. she didn't text me back. >> lucy still was not worried. she knew her combat-hardened sister could take care of herself but then evening came in for maribel, friday night was softball night. she loved to play, and never missed a game. but, this friday night she did not show. now, lucy's phone was ringing.

maribel's teammates on the line. >> they told me go to the house. the police are there. do not take giselle. i'm freaking out, and i walk in and my sister is not there. her door was open, her lights were on, her bed is undone. my head started spinning. everything was horrible. and, i felt it. >> detective joey ramirez with the orange police department got the call that evening and he also had a bad feeling about everything. it sounds like you are taking this pretty seriously from the get-go. why couldn't she just be off by herself or with some other friends and maybe she lost her phone and forgot to call? >> that was our hope, that she was just missing and that she would come walking through the door but the family and friends

had expressed that she was very responsible. >> and nobody had heard from her. >> nobody. >> so, ramirez and his team went into action. they quickly figured out that if she left of her own accord, i did not look like she plan to be out long. >> her car was there. her keys were gone. her phone was gone. >> but, her toothbrush was there. so is the big purse she is 20 she had a lot to carry. casey returned home hours after police first got there. he again told cops what he had told them that morning, that maribel was missing. lucy and the softball team went to the police station hoping for answers, but morning came and there were not any, so channeling her big sister, lucy decided to stop waiting, and make her own luck. >> i woke up on saturday and i thought wow, this is seriously happening, so i posted a picture of her on facebook, and it was immediate. people went into action. >> friends from the university got together. family members, her roommate.

lots of people who marable had touched wanted to help. they hung flyers in english and spanish. they reached out to reporters. >> it's very not like her to just disappear. >> the next day friday morning she was not here. >> i helped my mom pass out flyers around school, pretty much anything i could do. >> did you think they would find her? >> yes, i did. >> giselle was 14 at the time, but detective ramirez had been a cop for more years than giselle had been alive, and was not hopeful. >> she's not using her cell phone, she is not taking any money out. when you have picked up no trace of her after a couple of days, do you still think you're looking for a living person? >> the percentages are starting to drop not in our favor. >> because by then, you've called all the hospitals?

>> all the hospitals, jails. >> there is an alert out that if any police officer in southern california sees her. >> correct. the media was also helping. >> know maribel and any security tape from any nearby store. police checked all of them. they found only this images on the camera outside her apartment complex. it is maribel paying the rent on may 2nd at 8:18 p.m., the night before anyone realized she had disappeared. maribel seems to be alone, so what the cops needed to do was talk to everyone who is anyone in maribel's life. turns out there were a lot of people they suddenly needed to get to know, including a current boyfriend, and ex- boyfriend, and someone marable had just met, a guy she had made a date with online, a guy whose name maribel had apparently kept completely to herself.

coming up, that hunting phone call. something had happened to make her pretty scared. >> yes. >> when dateline continues. >> yes. >> when dateline continues.

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josh mankiewicz (voiceover): this is the city of orange, california, in the county of orange, california. much of it is a small town stuck in time. there's a university, a zoo, cute local businesses, this is the city of orange, california in the county of orange, california.

much of it is a small town stuck in time. there is a university, a zoo, cute local businesses, and the police department that does not have to deal with a lot of violent crime. after all, the happiest place on earth is just down the street. but, in may 2013, detective joey ramirez was far from happy. he had a lot of ground to cover, and a strong sense that time was against him as he tried to figure out what had happened to maribel ramos. >> she just vanished? how often does that kind of thing happen? >> it doesn't happen often. >> ramirez started by investigating the men in maribel's life. >> did you know if she was doing a lot of online dating? >> yeah, she did. >> maribel sometimes met guys

through a website called plenty of fish. that is how she found paul lopez. they had been dating for a few months and paul had joined her weekly softball game. lopez was the last person maribel talked to on the phone. now, police wanted to talk to him. ramirez sat across from paul and asked about his relationship with maribel. >> most of it is just been dating. >> okay, and you did of the people, too? >> yeah. >> okay. you don't know if she dates other people are not? >> i don't ask, don't tell. >> did you come into orange at all on thursday? >> police also had to consider this. marable had told lucy that things were not working out with paul lopez. >> she was not a match with paul, so she was online talking to people. >> maribel was back on plenty of fish, and had met a new man, a photographer who had worked a lot with the military.

it was a connection for both of them. how would you describe that guy? >> she said oh, i met someone. he's very interesting. we have a lot in common. >> they planned a date for cinco de mayo, two days before that date was to happen, maribel vanished, so police talked to that photographer and made a recording of the conversation. >> you are saying you've never actually met her in person? >> no. >> so he said, anyway. there was also an ex-boyfriend who had been calling. police needed to check him out, and there was this league. >> there was a person at cal state fullerton who was in the veterans association with her that had given her a bad feeling. he may have wanted to pursue some sort of dating relationship. >> gave her a bad feeling how? >> she was not interested in she did not give him any attention and he didn't go away. >> so, he made her feel uncomfortable? >> correct.

>> by now, detective ramirez had learned something else. just a little over a week before she vanished, maribel ramose had called 911. >> hi, it's not an emergency but i just is there a recording? is this conversation recording? >> yes, every conversation is recorded. >> maribel wanted it on the record. she wanted police to know that she was very afraid of someone. >> i'm just calling to let you guys know that if something happens, i did it because i was trying to defend myself. >> she might have been afraid, but the semi-strong woman who had always taken care of herself feared she might be the one putting the hurt on her attacker. >> all i'm trying to say is that i morning. honestly, i will fight for my life.

>> something had to have happen to make her pretty scared. there is nothing on the call to say what that was. >> right. >> what was she afraid of? not clear. who was she afraid of? and that was another story entirely. coming up -- >> you were doing your own surveillance? did her roommate know something that police did not? when dateline continues. [♪♪] if you're only using facial moisturizer in the morning, did you know, the best time for skin renewal is at night? olay retinol24 renews millions of surface skin cells while you sleep. wake up to smoother, younger-looking skin with olay retinol24. what is cirkul? cirkul is the fuel you need to take flight. cirkul is the energy that gets you to the next level. cirkul is what you hope for when life tosses lemons your way. cirkul, available at

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i am jessica with the hours top stories. faith leaders around the world blood christians and easter celebration sunday. pope francis led remarks at st. peter's basilica king charles made his first public appearance since being diagnosed with cancer. the u.s. is starting the week under the threat of severe weather. systems bringing rain and snow are expected to hit the midwest and the east coast. now, back to dateline.

welcome back. i am craig melvin. maribel ramos had joined the army to put herself through college, but just a days away from graduation ceremony, she vanished. earlier, maribel had called police to say she was in danger and afraid for her life. what was it, or who was it that had her so concerned? here again is josh mankiewicz with mystery in orange county. >> by now, posters blanketed the city of orange. maribel ramos was missing, and her family was frantic. >> as soon as i got a call that she didn't show up to her baseball game, i got the worst feeling in the world. >> putting himself out there with all the rest was maribel's roommate, kc joy. >> she's the only family i have.

>> casey had moved from tennessee to southern california for a job. he had no family and few friends here, so he turned to maribel, and she was happy to include him. she even arranged for casey to tutor her niece in math. >> he seemed nice, respectful. he liked to be involved with the family and my aunt. >> so he kind of attached himself to your family, but they were boyfriend and girlfriend? >> no. >> and photos, maribel and casey seemed to be having a great time. they even went on a cruise together. soon, police would be talking with kc joy. >> i like to keep track of names straight. >> that's a good idea. >> the formalities over, detective ramirez started asking about maribel. >> as you know, right now there are some people, some family and friends that are worried about maribel, your roommate.

>> you, i care about her very much. >> but, he said he had no idea what happened to her. >> when was the last time you saw her? >> about 9:00 p.m. >> that was thursday night, may 2nd, 2013. the next night, when the cops were called to maribel's house, casey was not there. he explained he had been so worried that he did his own investigation, watching his own front door from his car parked out front. >> in the movie somebody comes back the crimes or whatever, i want to see who was knocking on my door so i just parked the car in the front, i took my notebook and had not kill in there. >> you are doing your own surveillance? >> yes. >> it sounded a little odd. maybe kc had just seen too many crime movies but if he had, then he probably would know cops don't miss little details like this.

>> is sitting across the table from me wearing a short sleeve shirt, he has genes on and sandals and instantly, i can see he has scratches on both his arms. he's got a scratch across his four head from his hairline to his eye. >> how did you get all the scratches on you? >> we go to eisenhower park all the time and you go exactly, we pick up by the pond, we pick up fishing lines all the time. you go there -- >> can i see? >> fishing lines. >> those are from fishing lines? >> kc explained he was walking the dogs when he saw a fishing line in the bush. worrying about ducks in the park getting caught on the line, he reached in to remove it, and got all the scratches. you've been around long enough you can tell the difference between scratches that a person might get reaching into a bush, or from an animal, and scratches somebody would get from an actual fight with another person?

>> right, and some of the scratches on his arms to look like scratches that would be from something other than fingernails, but there was one particular set of scratches on his right bicep that to me, clearly looked like scratches from a hand. >> and, that says to you he was in a fight? >> it does. >> was the last time you guys had any sort of an argument? >> thursday. >> that was the last night anyone saw maribel, the night she was caught on camera paying the rent, which kc said was what they were arguing about. >> what would happen? tell me about that. >> i was supposed to move out. >> it turned out kc had recently lost his job, and could no longer pay his share of the rent.

maribel had asked him to move out. that was reason for concern, of course, and so is this. detective ramirez had learned about the 911 call maribel had made 11 days before she disappeared, and he knew that in that call, the man maribel said she might have to kill was kc joy. >> his full name is kwang chol joy. >> now, weren't the place out to your house recently because you guys had an argument? >> we had been drinking quite a bit that night, and she started yelling at me. >> kc said it was all just a drunken misunderstanding. >> i don't like you, i'm not attracted to you. she starts screaming at me. i said maribel, we had a great time. >> what was the problem? detective ramirez heard from maribel's family something very interesting. kc joy had wanted to be more than just roommates with

maribel ramos. lucy told us the same thing. >> when did it become apparent to you that kc had a crush on your sister? >> called me and then just said like i'm in love with your sister. so i was like oh that's great. >> because you know that your sister wasn't in love with him? >> yes, and that is a bad situation so at that point, i'm like okay, kc, you know you're a good man and i'm sure you'll find somebody out there for you, but -- >> but is not going to be her. >> yeah. >> now, the woman kc had told lucy he wanted had told him that not only did she not love him, but he had to basically get out of her life . despite that, kc continued talking with police. >> mr. joy was being cooperative? >> he was. >> talking to officers, let you take stuff out of the house and never showed up with a lawyer.

that does not sound like a lot to set aside your suspicions. >> no, it didn't. >> suspicions, sure, but no proof of crime had even occurred. maribel ramos was missing. that is all anyone new. and so, kc joy walked out of that police station like all the other men in maribel's life, a free man. >> finally, the clue they had been waiting for, and you won't believe how they got it. >> coming up. >> no one had search there but he's looking at it? >> yes. he knew a lot more than he was telling us. >> when dateline continues. g u >> when dateline continues. a month, each lasting 4 hours or more - can be overwhelming. so, ask your doctor about botox®. botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine before they even start. it's the #1 prescribed branded chronic migraine treatment. so far, more than 5 million botox® treatments have been given to over eight hundred and fifty thousand chronic migraine patients.

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i think it's a grjosh mankiewicz (voiceover): the days were taking by, and still no maribel. forensic results were coming in-- dna, fingerprints, cell phone data-- none of it adding up to anything that told the cops what had happened to her. so police were looking at the usual suspects, the days were taken by, and still, no maribel. forensic results were coming in. dna, fingerprints, cell phone data, none of it adding up to anything that told the cops what happened to her, so police were looking at the usual suspects like her boyfriend, paul lopez. lopez works for the gas company and goes from call to call in the company truck. the gps on that truck puts him nowhere near the city of orange on the night maribel was seen on the security video until about midnight. lopez told police that is when he went home. he said he was alone, and could

prove it. >> my parking spot is actually right by a surveillance camera. >> that was enough to get lopez off the list. there was that ex-boyfriend who had been calling. maribel had never mentioned he had been a problem in police did not think he was involved. there was the photographer from the website, plenty of fish. his cell phone data placed him in san diego, out of the area at the time in question, and the veteran from cal state who had come on too strong? he was in japan. none of them could be connected to maribel's disappearance, so in the end, there was just one person the cops could not stop looking at, the first person to report maribel missing, her roommate, kc joy. >> orange police, dispatch arose. >> this is not an emergency. i have a roommate. she is 36 years old and she did not come home last night.

>> he was also the last to see her alive. >> fl she most likely was dead. i felt that there was a high probability mr. joy was responsible for it, and he knew a lot more than he was telling us. >> so, detective ramirez became kc joy's shadow, appearing in the morning and then later by moonlight, hours after kc's first police interview, a tearful joey ramirez showed up at his house. he brought a voice recorder and a few more questions. >> how are you this morning? >> detective ramirez already knew the answer to some of them. >> when you say works, she works at caltech fullerton? did you have any marks on your leg or anything? okay well, let me just ask you, do you have any injuries on your legs? no injuries on your legs whatsoever? okay.

>> then, ramirez showed up again that night. >> kc, joey. a couple of quick questions. are you okay? >> how many times did you talk to him? >> at least nine times. >> ramirez tried scaring kc about potential evidence found in his car. >> why would there be blood in the red versa? >> blood? >> yeah, right. >> you tell me there's blood, i don't know anything about it. >> what blood? >> you tell me. >> he tried back in kc into a corner about what might be found on kc's hard drive. >> the good thing is, if there is anything you ever deleted that you wish you had, we should be able to help you out. >> your hoping is going to say

to himself okay, everything i've deleted, they're going to see. >> didn't work. >> we were swinging and missing regularly on a daily basis. >> kc joy was willing to talk repeatedly without an attorney. >> kc, you've been cooperative with us. >> he says to you, i've seen this movie and you're going to take my fingerprints. >> you like a pro. he's seen it all. >> is being very relaxed. i felt he was very confident. >> what mr. joy apparently did not know was that other officers were watching him 24/7. the surveillance teams noticed he was spending a lot of time at the public library, and he was using the computers there, probably because police had taken away his phone in maribel's computer, which was the one kc normally used.

>> initially would have policeman going to the library, walking around and seeing what he was doing, at one point we were seen, can't his cell phone be tracked if it's turned off? >> that is certainly suspicious. >> it is. detective ramirez needed to see exactly what kc was doing on those library computers. that would require a very unusual plan. they obtained a search warrant allowing him to watch in real time, every move made on the computer. this is a recording of kc's

actual computer. that is kc applying for an email. that is kc applying for a job. that is kc typing and, how long does it take a buddy to decay? suspicious, maybe, but not enough. and then he did this. >> he pulled up us -- a facebook page. hey google mapped the park and zoomed in on to it then panned out, navigated over about eight to 10 miles. kc is mapping a google area

that he search. watch as he zooms in on a tree. >> no one had search there, and no reason for that to be in the paper or anywhere else? >> it's out in a remote canyon location. >> but he's looking at it? >> yes, yes. >> by the time kc was walking out of the library that afternoon, police were already headed to that tree. coming up, another startling discovery. >> this is way off the beaten path. we didn't know what to think. >> when dateline continues. and prevents future flare-ups. trelegy also improves lung function, so i can breathe more freely all day and night. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis.

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not all caitlin clarks are the same. caitlin clark. city planner. letting her imagination run wild even though just like not all internet providers are the same. don't settle. you want fast. get fast. you want reliable. get reliable. you want powerful. get powerful. get real deal speed, reliability and power with xfinity. she shoots from here? that's kinda my thing. police were growing confident they knew who was involved in the disappearance of maribel ramos. there had not been an arrest, but that was about to change. welcome back.

police were growing confident about who had been involved in the disappearance of maribel ramos. there had not been an arrest, but that was about to change. here is josh mankiewicz with the conclusion of mystery in orange county. >> as he dug deeper into kc joyce background, detective ramirez found more and more evidence that kc was infatuated, even obsessed, with maribel ramos. for instance, the time maribel told kc he was too old for her, and he responded by getting plastic surgery. >> $12,000 later he's got a different face and he said the reason he got it was because a woman was missing. >> now here was kc about public library google mapping a remote wilderness area.

since the dawn of detective novels, killers have returned to the scene of the crime. but now there is no need for bad guys even get in a car. now, it can be done with the click of a mouse. the good guys still have to do it the old-fashioned way. detective sean hayden got the call on the radio, drive out to rustic majestic canyon southeast of the city of orange. >> we did not know what to think. this was a very rural area. no one would be out here mountain biking, hiking, this is way off the beaten path. >> at the other end of the two way radio, detective brian stanley was watching kc's google search, trying to give better directions. kc focused on an intersection and then moved over to the tree. they found the tree and then moved off the road.

>> the first thing we found was the overwhelming smell of a decaying body or something dead. my partner and i kind of turned her head and looked over and saw this sallow grave site. >> at long last, there she was. >> one of the detectives called and said joey, you're not going to believe this, we found her. >> maribel ramos had been left alone in that dusty canyon since before anyone knew she was missing? now, ramirez knew it was time for one last meeting with kc joy. >> thanks for coming down here voluntarily. i really appreciate it. >> ramirez did not tell kc that maribel had been found. he just tried for the final

time to get kc to be the one who would say what had happened. >> kc, i think that you have the answers in your heart and that you should share them. >> once again, kc joy walked out of the interview room. he did not get far. this time, he was arrested and charged with the murder of maribel ramos, the woman he had loved to had not loved him, and he was taken into custody. kc joy was wearing maribel's dogtags. kc joy pleaded not guilty and in july 2014, a year after maribel vanished, he went on trial for her murder. >> maribel ramos is no longer with us. >> the prosecution laid out the evidence against kc, the unrequited love, the scratches, the 911 call, and finally, the computer searches. >> he is wondering, how close is maribel's body to where they are doing that awareness search? that's why he goes to google maps.

>> the defense pointed out there was no fingerprints, cell phone info or standard forensic evidence that tied kc joy to maribel's mother or the crime scene. >> we don't know what happened. what kind of force was used? nobody knows. who used it first? nobody knows. was there a weapon used? was it used by maribel or kc joy? nobody knows. >> all true, but the computer searches were enough for the jury. >> we the jury in the 11th pallet action find the defendant kwang chol joy guilty . >> kc joy was convicted of second-degree murder, after which, he told me the jury got it wrong. >> are you dangerous? >> me? i'm the perfect most honest guy there is, most trustworthy. i'm a gentleman. >> you had a crush on her? >> absolutely not. i always maintained we were

platonic friends. >> you never told lucy you had a crush on her? you never said you were in love with her? you were not obsessed with her? >> no, i never said that. i was not obsessed with her. >> the plastic surgery? his toys, he says, not done for maribel and the internet searching for maribel's body was found, kc said he didn't do it. someone else did by remotely accessing the same computer right after he had used it . >> you don't think that's quite a coincidence? >> it might be a coincidence but i didn't do it. >> your been framed here? >> yes. if i had a paid attorney like o.j. simpson had i would be out. >> so the problem here is not that you're guilty, it's that

you don't have money? >> kc joy was sentenced to 15 years to life for killing maribel ramos. what you think happened? >> i think she went to bed and what he did was get a pillow and smothered her, and as she got this pillow over her face, she struggles a little bit and i believe that is where he got the scratches on his right eye set. >> if mr. choi had not done that google maps search essentially leading you to the body, would he be a free man? >> if no other evidence came up, yes. >> he would be a person of interest in a cold case. >> correct. >> maribel ramose graduated from college posthumously. her niece, giselle, who maribel would helped -- had hoped would follow in her footsteps, instead end up -- ended up walking the path meant for her aunt. >> it was difficult to see my daughter in such pain, walking for her aunt. >> maribel ramos, we lost this

gal a couple years ago. >> every wednesday in the city of orange, they lower the flag for the fallen who served. but, maribel has a legacy. giselle seems well on her way to becoming the successful woman maribel had hoped for. your mom says that you were sort of in the rock. >> yeah. >> they would not have made it through this without you? >> yes. >> where did you get that toughness? >> from her. >> from maribel? >> yeah. >> that is all for this edition of dateline. i am craig melvin. thanks for watching. am craig m. thanks for watching.