>> and rightfully so. he went through so much. for any of us to add to his anguish is regretful. he is a victim of a horrific crime and a good man and a courageous man. >> while the men behind the crime will be in prison for years into the future, all of their victims seemed to have been deeply traumatized. reporter jamie. >> they will never be able really to ever fully rest easy in their own homes. that is the price they pay. security. >> your life can never be the same. it never will be. no matter how much i tell everybody i am fine. i will never be the same after this. ancanning. this is dateline.

stick i was trying to determine what she had on. clothing. he got real quiet and whispered and said red blood. chills up and down my spine. this kit saw this. >> a little boy witnessed something terrifying the night his mother vanished. >> it was ripping my heart. >> he was so traumatized. >> everybody's life changed that night. >> what had happened to his mom? >> i wake up in the middle of the night. >> haunted for two decades and he would make a chilling discovery that would unlock the mystery. >> now you know the whole story. >> it's so unbelievable. >> i knew he was telling his mom's story. be

hello, and welcome to dateline. aaron frazier was three years old when his mom left the house, never to be seen or heard from again. police soon learned that aaron may have witnessed the unspeakable, the murder of his own mother. the boy would become a man before the truth was revealed. although memories faded, the evidence pointing to the killer could not stay buried. here is dennis murphy with, she never left. >> she had been gone from his life, unaccounted for for more than 24 years. his mother. >> it was odd to be the one to find her. >> you spent a lot of your life looking for her. >> yes, sir. >> there's a poignant video of the mother and child's last christmas morning together.

december 1992. the boy, aaron, was 3.5. >> yes. >> will watch that later. >> you've seen videos and pictures. >> i have seen the christmas video. >> do you like that? >> it didn't trigger a memory. >> can't remember so much as a toucher the sound of her voice. this story is all about memories. memories lost, memories later testified to. had the child, now a grown man, really seen something as terrible as all that? it's a boy's story like few others. go back in time to january 1993 in jacksonville, florida.

it is just after the holidays and there's an argument going on ins that myna starter home. the young wife, 23, is restless. she walks out the door. the phone rang early the next morning in the bedroom across town. a funny question at that hour. did they know where bonnie was, the wife of their nephew mike? >> we got a phone call from a police friend of ours. he knew mike and bonnie. he said, where's bonnie? we just found her purse at the dumpster at the red roof inn and you need to get out here. >> a maintenance man came upon the person a dumpster behind the airport motel. inside were her i.d., keys, credit cards, and more than $1000 in cash. they got to the motel just after 8:00 a.m. mike was already there. >> by the time we got there,

mike and his dad john were in a room. they detectives were there. they had her purse on the bed and everything was laid out. >> the husband seemed perplexed by the amount of cash. >> he said what is she doing with this money? >> given on wad of money not taken, robbery was ruled out. >> they requested another dumpster because we thought maybe bonnie was in the dumpster where they found her purse. >> you are thinking foul play. >> i know foul play. >> a woman separated from her purse is a bad sign. >> we were sitting there crying hoping they did not bring a body out of the dumpster. >> there was no body and no sign of her car. they handed the purse to mike and advised him it would be best if he go home. >> they said go home and sit by the phone. weight from a call.

a ransom caller accident call. >> the homicide detective came on duty later that day at the sheriff's office. he was assigned the missing person case that would change his life. you go back after the airport hotel? >> yes, we did. we spent some time out there canvassing the rooms together register and saw and interviewed people. >> there were story circulating by strangely acting man. >> even then. >> a security guard told the detective a man standing earlier on the second floor balcony seem to be overly interested in the activity below in the dumpster. but, he checked out before they could talk to him. the same security guard remember seeing a woman fitting bonnie's description going into one of the second-floor rooms. the detective wondered, where was the woman's car? it was still out there. >> the car was still missing.

>> the airport was new nearby so the cruise the parking lot. >> it would be the logical place to hide a car. >> bingo. there was bonnie's car. maybe she caught a plane? >> right. >> had a frustrated wife and mother taken a timeout? the detective pursued the theory but struck out. >> there was no indication of her on the and manifests of any departing flights. >> that's where the road runs out. >> the next day they process the car and find a shoe print. >> a large man's shoe print on the driver side fresh and sandy with the trademark from a sneaker. while investigators did their thing, a public appeal for help. >> if anyone has seen her or can shed any light on the story, please let us know something. >> on the 11:00 news, jacksonville was introduced to husband mike and little aaron. the search for his missing

mother was growing feverish by the minute. >> coming up. what had happened to bonnie? >> i am looking for a crime scene and there was nothing there. >> a secret encounter with another man and a marriage on the rocks. >> bonnie said this is a. >> there is no way she would've left aaron. left aaron. copd isn't prett. i'm out of breath, and often out of the picture. but this is my story. ( ♪♪ ) and with once-daily trelegy, it can still be beautiful. because with 3 medicines in 1 inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open for a full 24 hours 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.

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by dermatologists and allergists, that helps heal your child's skin from within. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes, including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. ask your child's eczema specialist about dupixent. 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 walmart and drinkcirkul.com. dennis murphy (voiceover): the old snapshots show

a curly-haired young mother and an adoring boy with a beatle cut. who knew that video under the christmas tree the old snapshots show a t curlyhaired young mother and ane adoring young boy. who knew the video under the christmas tree would be their last. she didn't have much time left. >> she did not have much time. only a couple more weeks to hold her son. >> bonnie, her sisters told us, had married her high school study, michael haim. they thought she had done okay for herself. >> i have a journal entry and it says, today bonnie met the man of her dreams. he was cute and he was charming. he looked like the total package. >> from high school graduation ceremonies direct to the altar, 18 years old.

patty is bonnie's mother. were you surprised they were getting married? they were very young. >> oh, no. i was not surprised and she seemed happy. >> happier still with the arrival of aaron two years later. >> that's what she wanted. >> she liked being a mom? >> everything circled around aaron. she worked so she could get aaron everything he wants. >> they both worked for a construction supply company. mike's uncle was the owner. >> he was my brother's son. >> mike was the manager. bonnie ward 2 hats. she did the books and with her neck for computers, she was the i.t. person as well. >> all the employees loved her. >> and you got to be pretty good friends with bonnie. >> yes. our relationship grew over the years working together. >> good mother, good employee,

no known enemies which made her sudden disappearance more mysterious. abandoned person car had investigators following theories of foul play. detective henson went to the couple's home. >> i'm looking for a crime scene. i'm looking for spatter. i was looking at everything i could look at. there was nothing there. >> nothing in the backyard either. police launched a massive search. helicopters scoured the areas near the hotel. family members searched as well. everyone came up empty-handed. mike said he would not stop searching. >> haven't given up. >> his father offered a $2000 reward for information on his daughter. meanwhile, detectives began their investigation asking the question, is there something in my victim in background or life choices that explains why she's gone?

they learned bonnie had a brief affair early on. you had to check him out. >> yes. he came to the office and we interviewed them. >> he said it was a one time, one night stand. >> he was cooperative and agreed to take a polygraph and passed it. >> the detective had to take a hard look at the husband, mike. he told police bonnie left the house around 11:00 p.m. and did not come back. he said he went looking for her around 3:00 a.m., joe by her mother's house to see if her car was there. it was not. why had bonnie left? >> there was an argument and she allegedly according to him stormed out. and now nobody could find her. >> investigators heard from friends and family that bonnie was unhappy in her marriage. by christmas, two weeks before she disappeared, bonnie told her sister it was all over. >> bonnie and i went shopping

together. she said this is it. i am leaving. >> bonnie told her sister she put a deposit on a apartment and found a new school for aaron. family members were wondering if she broke the news to mike the night she disappeared. she and bonnie had planned to get together that night but instead, bonnie called her crying. >> she said mike and i are having a discussion. i am going to stay home. i said, do you want me to come out there? she said i will be fine. >> that was the last time anyone on the outside had spoken to her. there was growing suspicion that mike had done something to bonnie. he was always your person of interest? >> i tried to stay neutral at the beginning but there were too many things that were screaming at me. >> among those things with a shoe print found on the mat of the car. when the csi tech center the

house, the first thing they spotted were shoes. size 10 sneakers. >> that matched the print. >> bonnie's sisters suspicions were based on her love for the 3 1/2-year-old son. >> there is no way she would've left aaron. there is no way she would've walked out the door and left aaron behind with him. >> then there was an interview mike did on the tv the night after bonnie disappeared. his matter-of-fact manner left many baffled. >> she wasn't happy and wanted to leave. i couldn't stop her from leaving. >> detective henson was focused on the smiling boy next to mike. little aaron. >> i wanted the child interviewed. i wanted aaron. >> the 3 1/2-year-old boy? >> yes. what a horrifying story the boy would tell.

>> i was trying to determine what she had on. clothing. he got real quiet and whispered and he said red blood. >> mommy was wearing blood. >> chills up and down my spine.

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bonnie haim supposedly walked out the door. or, was there another witness? the detective began wondering what the 3 1/2-year-old boy aaron might remember. >> i want to see if he has seen anything. i don't know if he has a story. i want someone who is a professional to talk to him. >> how did you find a person to do it? >> i was fortunate to have brenda do it. >> she was the state child protection team. she interviewed dozens of kids, aaron would be the child she would never forget. >> he had this cut that went all the way around his eyes and he had big eyes. >> bonnie's mother and heather amount said in to make a more comfortable. his mother had gone missing just 48 hours before. did you know much in advance? >> the only thing i really knew was the mother had disappeared.

they suspected foul play. he was traumatized, i could tell. >> a few hours later and a happy meal later, he began opening up and the story he told was alarming. >> aaron tells me his daddy shot his mommy. >> shot. >> and i asked shot her with what? he said with a gun. i asked where he shot her? he pointed to his stomach. i will never forget the most poignant moment was when i said, i was trying to determine what she had on? clothing. he got quiet and whispered and said red blood. i remember -- >> mommy was wearing blood. >> chills up and down my spine. this kid saw this. >> did you think he was reciting a movie or something? >> i knew the way he delivered it, it was what he had seen.

i have interviewed -- i am sorry. i have interviewed lots of kids. this was like, such a huge moment. it was always like when he would talk, about these things, he would whisper when he was talking about the things that were so horrible he had seen. >> is there any doubt he saw his father shoot his mother? >> no. i said you can take it to the bank. >> you took it literally true. >> oh, yeah. you either believe him or you don't. >> that would be the question to tear about the -- tear apart the family. his aunt and uncle were believing the child. >> i know he killed bonnie. all the evidence was there. >> mike also had two unlikely defenders.

bonnie's mother and father. bonnie's mom had been in the rougher parts of the interview. she was not there when the social worker said he made the most disturbing statements. he tells the social worker, daddy shot mommy. >> no. >> and i saw blood on her middle section. >> i don't think she -- he made that statement. >> more than anything, patty said she didn't think mike was capable of hurting her daughter. detective henson knew he could not make an arrest based on the statement of a 3 1/2-year-old child. it was a circumstantial case with a stumbling block. there was no proof that bonnie was even dead. nobody. no case. >> no case. >> the case would remain a mystery. haunting the detective and the little boy. >> an investigation stalled but little aaron was not done talking. not by a long shot.

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i am andrea canning. did mike haim murder his wife? that question toward the family apart. bonnie's parents believe their son-in-law was innocent while mike's aunt and uncle thought he was a killer. was so much uncertainty, one thing was clear to authorities. little aaron's life could be in jeopardy. once again, here is dennis murphy with she never left. >> jan aaron told a horrific story of watching his father shoot his mother. a 3 1/2-year-old eyewitness was not enough for the detective to make an arrest. you work -- >> you work hard and get nowhere. it's a missing person case. >> the child protection team felt aaron might be in danger because of what he said he witness. the state removed aaron from his father's custody and sent him to live with his aunt less.

he was allowed to see his son twice a week. the visits took a toll. >> he would start pounding the floor. i would have to scoop him up and hold him as he fell apart. every visitation. >> the stress added up for less affecting her family and health. one solution was to put aaron in a foster home where mike would not be allowed to visit. >> the best place to be was in foster care so we could discontinue the visitation and maybe start moving aaron into a healing cycle. >> liz do something else. she petitioned the court to have aaron declared a protected witness. >> we called it, aaron is in protective custody. >> aaron now five years old went to live with foster parents . >> i never wanted to take bonnie's place. that would not be the right thing to do. i wanted him to have the best life he could.

>> in the beginning, she knew was that his mother was missing. about six months after he moved in, the boy began dropping hints that he knew something more about his mother's fate. >> he started talking occasionally about his dad shooting his mom. >> it went on this way a few months. glimmers of information then aaron backing off but over time, that changed. >> he would say so much i had to write it down. then he would dictate it to me what he wanted me to write. >> foster mom wrote it down in a notebook and shared it with a mental health professional. in one session, jean listened his six-year-old aaron spoke with the social worker. his psychologist taped it. >> i am wondering since you are a smarty-pants, can you read this? >> i do not want my dad to kill

other people. >> very good reading. me either. >> aaron asked the social worker to read what he said. >> my dad killed my mom. then, he threw the pocketbook away in a different place somewhere near our house in a dumpster. he buried my mom. we did it, the whole. you know, aaron? man, that's a really important memory but it's a bad one too. i am sorry you have to have that memory. >> he knew what had happened and he could not find her. >> aaron seemed determined to try.

he would ask jean to take him to search for bonnie. on one trip, jean remembered something the child did before they left her house. >> he said can we look for my mom? we go to get in the car and he runs to the backyard. i said where you going? he said, to get a shovel. he didn't know where she was buried. >> aaron did the same with the detective as well. >> he said i want to search for my mom. we would put him in a car seat and off we would go. >> the detective thought the body would be buried but they never found anything. the investigation drew colder even as his relationship with the boy grew stronger. and the frasers did everything they could to give aaron a normal life. the chance to be a kit again. >> he was into racing bicycles. he had motorcycles. he played baseball. he took karate. the most fun he had was fishing.

he was a great fisherman. >> aaron is grateful for the family who embraced him. tell me about the frasers. how did your life change? >> they are special people. they opened their home to me. loved me like their own son. i never had to ask for anything. they gave me unconditional love. if i needed something, they were always there. >> aunt liz remain devoted and shared his gratitude toward the frasers. >> they have been fantastic. it was the best thing that happened to aaron. >> by 1999, aaron had been living with the frasers for six years and they wanted to adopt him. >> he bonded with them and he wasn't -- they were amazing. why would we pull away? >> liz went to court and had her sister declared legally dead. mike's rights were revoked. aaron became aaron frazier.

liz wasn't through with mike yet. she sued him on behalf of aaron for the wrongful death of bonnie. in 2005, a judge ruled in favor of aaron and liz. they won and won big. >> it was a $26 million award. >> which was fantasy money. >> oh, yeah. mike didn't have 26 million. >> by then mike had moved to north carolina and remarried. he owned shares in the company and the key to the old house on dolphin avenue. at age 16, aaron got the shares and became the owner of the house. growing up under the loving care of the frasers, aaron thrived. he graduated from high school and married his wife. >> i don't think you realized how much you meant to me through the years. >> the detective remained close by just in case he needed him.

>> i told him, i love you. if you need me, i am here. i told him, call me no matter what. >> little did he know a call one sunday afternoon from aaron would turn this case upside down. >> coming up. the chilling discovery that will change everything. >> we start digging against the house and i see a piece of plastic. i said that's weird and everything clicked. >> i pulled to the side of the road to try to compose. excuse me. tried to come pews -- compose myself. ose myself.

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ask your doctor about hormone—free veozah... dennis murphy (voiceover): aaron fraser, the little boy with the bowl haircut, was 30 years old when we sat down to talk to him. it had been more than two decades since he aaron frazier, the little boy was 30 years old when we sat down to talk to him. it had been more than two decades since he last saw his mother. in a story about memory, we discovered a deep irony. when it comes to the murder investigation that ripped open his childhood, the aaron of today doesn't remember anything. did you know your history about what happened? >> i knew in the back of my mind but i don't have a memory of it happening. i know a lot of things happening but i don't remember how i learned them. >> he has no memory of bonnie

or mike, his biological parents. he also doesn't remember saying his father shot his mother. >> i saw daddy hurt mom, that's not an active memory? >> no, sir. >> he heard more details about his missing mother and his role in the investigation. was that out of body hearing all this stuff? what 3 1/2-year-olds you said. >> it's like i'm watching a movie of somebody else. i have the emotion that it was but putting that together with what my brain is telling me as far as memories go, there's a disconnect. >> his memories begin after all of that. your brain turns on and you are aware of where you are, how old are you and where you living? >> i would guess 4 1/2 or five years old as my earliest memory. i remember coming to the frasers.

>> even with the frasers he doesn't remember everything. like the stories told of him searching for his mother. when you were out of the frasers, do you remember asking if we could bring a shovel? >> i don't have an active memory. >> he remembered nothing about the house he lived in on dolphin avenue. he became the owner of to the wrongful death suit. >> i really didn't want to have anything to do with the house. it was a tough spot about my life. >> renters lived there until 2014 and when they moved out aaron realized the house was a wreck. is do-it-yourself repair started inside and in the backyard he found the swimming pool and outdoor shower were in shambles. >> i had a decision to make about the swimming pool. it needed to be completely redone and it would be expensive. i did not feel like in the neighborhood, there was a cap on what the properties were

worth. with or without a pool. >> backyard would've been the same with or without the pool. he decided to fill in the mood -- pool and fill in the shower. they rented a small excavator and they went at it. that sunday, a snafu. they broke a pipe near the outdoor shower and had to find the leak. they grabbed their shovels. >> we started digging against the house. i see a piece of plastic. i think i broke the bag when i was digging. that's weird, there's a coconut in here. why would somebody bury a coconut. >> it was not a coconut. >> i picked it up and i did not know what it was. i handed it to bad and we looked at the hole in we could ct. >> teeth? >> we could see teeth. you could see the top portion of the eye socket on the skull and everything clicked. we stopped what we were doing. >> it was a horrifying

discovery. aaron was holding a skull. he believed it was his mother's . how do you absorb that? >> it was odd to be the one that found her. >> aaron called jean frazier who was in church. >> i saw a missed call from him so i called him back. he said, what is detective's phone number? and i said why? he said i found her. >> i get on the phone with jean and she says we need you right now. i thought something might've happened to her family. she said we found a body in the backyard. i said, what backyard? she says on dolphin avenue. i said what are you talking about? i was arguing with her. i searched that area. >> is a race to the house, he

called a friend from the sheriff's department to go to the scene. >> he called me back and said is it a dog? i said it is a human skull. i pulled to the side of the road to try to compose, excuse me, tried to compose myself. >> henson was retired but when he arrived at the house he faced a fact every detective dreads. haunted by the search not made. >> i knew when i got there i had mr. that's a hard thing is an investigator. >> you are beating yourself up? >> i'm not beating myself up but i would've rather i found her instead of he founding her. >> breaking a cold case. the disappearance of this young mother more than two decades ago. >> the search turned up more than bonnie's skull. there were disintegrating bones, the ring, the acrylic fingernails. even her pants found in the dirt

beneath the shower. four months later dna testing confirmed the remains were bonnie's and the medical examiner ruled the death a homicide. in august 2015, mike haim was charged with second-degree murder and taken into custody in north carolina. >> can you think of anything from jacksonville that would come back to you? >> my wife. >> she was recovered. >> i will not make any statements. >> mike would not face a jury for another four years in the case was far from a sure thing. there was little forensic evidence and the key witness aaron had no memory of the crime he could testify to. what amazes everybody as you could argue you solved your mother's murder. >> yes, sir. >> not a detective or investigator. the happenstance of this day.

in his quiet unassuming way, aaron nodded. the question, a painful one. he would bookend the case against his father. what he found as an adult and what he witnessed as a child. >> coming up. >> i called my mom. >> you see him trying to hold back the english. >> the show down 26 years in the making. >> did you harm your wife? >> would the jury believe father or son? son? wet amd, you never want to lose sight of the things you love. some things should stand the test of time. long lasting eylea hd could significantly improve your vision and can help you go up to 4 months between treatments. if you have an eye infection, eye pain or redness, or allergies to eylea hd, don't use. eye injections like eyla hd may cause eye infection, separation of the retina, or rare

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welcome back. as a child, aaron haim told authorities he saw his father kill his mother. as a child, aaron told authorities he saw his father kill his mother. as a grown man, he said he had no memory of the event. then, by pure coincidence, he discovered her body in the backyard of his boyhood home and investigators believed they finally at the missing piece to sell bonnie haim's murder. it was time for a family reunion in court. here is dennis murphy with the conclusion of she never left. more than two decades after bonnie disappeared, five years after her son on earth her remains. bonnie's husband went on trial for her death. charged with second-degree murder and pleading not guilty on conviction, he was facing up

to life in prison. while forensic evidence was lacking, the prosecutors said there was one overwhelming fact. circumstantial the way it might be. >> bury a wife in the backyard is hard evidence for any defendant overcome. >> the state believed they had an eyewitness, little aaron. he could not remember that awful event. the judge ruled the social worker who interviewed aaron could testify, but not about the details of what aaron said. only about who he identified as the person who hurt his mother. >> did aaron indicate that his mother had been hurt? >> yes, he did. >> did he identify who did that? >> yes, he did. >> who did he say? >> his daddy. his father. >> you had a good day on the stand with that testimony. that they would hear aaron telling a different story. about the gruesome discovery of his mother's remains under the

outdoor shower. >> i was digging the hole -- >> sitting a few feet away was his biological father. >> i picked up the coconut object and it was a top portion of her skull. >> when you see it's human remains, what do you do? >> we set the top portion back in the hole. i called my mom who i refer to as my mom, jean frazier. >> aaron is not the kind of person who shows emotion. >> the defense did not cross- examine aaron to challenge the meeting of the testimony about daddy hurting mommy. >> you never determined as to what he was talking about. >> i did ask was it during the day or night time? he said nighttime. >> you didn't try to establish if it was yesterday or a year

ago? >> no because of his age. >> when did daddy hurt mommy. how did daddy hurt mommy. how do we know if daddy didn't make her cry? that doesn't mean he killed her. >> the defense reminded the sure there was no forensic evidence leading him to his wife's death. the attorney said it was a bad police investigation, focused on the husband and one that ignored critical evidence. >> there was this letter received by authorities in 1996. >> three years after she went missing, an anonymous letter was sent that said the body was in the backyard. >> do they go back again? >> they don't. >> the attorney suggested maybe the letter was sent by the real killer. >> the theory of the defense was she was killed somewhere else. somebody else came and bury the body. >> to point the blame at the

husband. the last witness called by the defense was to everyone's surprise, mike haim. after 26 years, it would boil down to jurors believing either father or son. >> -- >> composed, mike described his wife's state of mind the night she disappeared. told the same story he told all along that bonnie walked out. >> she had been unhappy for maybe a month. maybe two. i can't put my finger on how long but she was not a bubbly self like she was at one time. i wanted to try to find out what was making her so unhappy. >> mike said he told bonnie that he was so concerned about her state of mind that's he had spoken to her mother. >> i don't think she appreciated me getting her mother involved in our relationship. >> around 11:00, bonnie grabbed her keys and drove up.

>> where do you think she went? >> i don't know. i thought she might've gone to her mom's house. >> by 3:00 a.m., mike said he went to look for her. drove to her mother's car -- house but didn't see her car. he drove around a little longer than returned home. >> i was very upset because i didn't know what to do. >> the final question was one that mike had to address. >> even hearing people pointing the finger at you, calling you a murderer. everybody wants to know, did you, in fact, harm your wife? >> absolutely not. i loved my wife and would never hurt my wife. >> the prosecutor did not buy anything mike said. why, he asked, did my call bonnie's mother 3:00 a.m. when she had not returned? >> i talked to her the next day.

>> the next day after her purse was in a dumpster. >> it didn't alarm until they called me about her purse. >> it didn't alarm you because you were driving around the city at 3:00 a.m. you were dumping the car the airport. >> the trial was brief. four days. deliberations brief as well. in less than two hours, a verdict was announced. >> with the jury on the guilty murder of 2nd degree. >> that was not all. the jury found that mike killed his wife in front of their 3.5- year-old boy. >> the crime was committed and fun of a family member. >> the finding exposed mike to a harsher sentence. life in prison. after decades waiting for the verdict, there was relief tempered with sadness. >> it was a little hollow hearing the guilty because i was expecting, i would be elated. be like, yes. that is not what i felt like.

i wanted to collapse, and it was empty because she is still not here. >> went went through you? >> it was a sense of relief. after all this time and the people who believe me and did not believe me. it was brought together and finally the end of the story. >> mike was sentenced to life in prison. even after that verdict, bonnie's family remains split. her mom still thinks mike is innocent but she shares the families grief. when if you missed her the most? >> her other children she may have had. i don't have the words. the time missed. >> after the trial, bonnie's

sisters organized a celebration of her life in a garden dedicated to her. >> tomorrow is her 50th birthday although she probably wouldn't want me to say that. >> friends and family prosecutors gathered and also aaron despite having no missed -- memory. to be able to find her after all these years, you know, i think god had his hands on it. he wouldn't have let all this happen for no reason. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm andrea canning. thank you for watching. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm andrea canning. thank you for watching. speaken phone): hello, 911. speaker 2 (on phone): i think there's a body out here. this is