switch. >> james will most likely be in prison when that happens, he was sentenced to life. kristi who waited 40 years to meet nick now faces the rest of her life without him. >> you will always be my superman, i will always love him. >> even in the middle of morning his brother, john takes some comfort and how he helped solve knicks murder. >> you still have his back. >> absolutely. >> i guess that never ends. >> no. >> that is all for this edition of dateline. thank you for watching. watchin [music playing] -- hello. this is "dateline." enough that i before angila

thought you heard somebody messing at the front door of the residence, she thought she was being watched. all the wounds she had to her body, it was a very angry attack. >> a nursing student with three children. nobody was busier than angila. and that is where they found her. >> the officers could see a lot of blood. >> the officers thought her boyfriend's behavior seemed odd. >> people thought there was something suspicious about it. >> buddy had an alibi. >> did he try to point the finger at somebody else? >> he did. her ex-husband. >> he had an alibi, too. and there was something else missing. >> we got a phone call. >> until someone found it. just one old friend talking to

another. about a secret she was dying to share. >> i think she was almost proud of the whole thing. >> a case for the biggest swiss came after the verdict. >> that was my response. wow. >> hello and welcome to "dateline." working mom angila wilder came to becoming a nurse and was burning the candle at both ends to make it come true. then angila was murdered. investigators suspected the attack was personal and when they thought it was case close, it turns out it was not. so they set an elaborate trap hoping to catch a killer. here is keith morrison with prairie confidential. >> it was dark. moonless and nearly that morning.

was there a muffled cry? the sound of a car making haste away? no one heard. not a thing. it's a modest place, minot, modest in a good way. and uncommonly friendly. comparatively speaking, of course. >> it is a family community. >> north dakota nice may be an old-fashioned phrase but still fits. >> people who have been around a long time to greet each other on the street. >> as they did that chilly morning in november 2015 when parents dropped off their kids at this elementary school and where later that morning at minot university department of nursing, a professor wondered why one of her students had not shown up for an exam. >> before we started taking the

test, i said, has anyone heard from angila? >> angila was this one. >> she was a sweet little southern girl. always yes, ma'am and no, ma'am. >> angila wilder was an addition to a nursing student a mother of three who just days before revealed to her professor that she was pregnant. >> did you have any advice for her? >> we talked about how stressful school is and we talked about her not feeling well and that is when i told her, yes, she is expected to come to class, but if she couldn't, she needs to call and we would make other arrangements. >> that morning, no call. no angila. was she killed? class was over before one of her students dropped a bombshell.

>> she said, i think it was angila's house when i came to school but there is police tape around it and a lot of people get hazmat suits. >> indeed it was angila's house. this place to lutheran church across the street from the elementary school. it was angila's fiance home from the night shift to called 911. >> i just got home and the back door is kicked in. my girl ain't answering the phone. my son is inside with her. i'm going to go inside and see what that [ bleep ] is going on. in so, the fiance date outside. the officers went in. the house was neat, tidy and they found a 2-year-old unharmed. they went down the hall, looked in the next bedroom and there she was. very dead. >> i did not know at the time how many times she was stabbed but i knew it was vicious. >> mina police sergeant david

goodman.ck what story did he tell about coming home? >> he reported he was at work all night and when he arrived home he found the back door kicked open. he said that he was obviously concerned about that. >> if that was me, i think i would have rushed in their to see what was going on with my family. >> i say that, to. of course, until you experience that yourself, none of us know how we would react. >> still, his instinct kicked in. so what if a dispatcher told him to wait. when an innocent worried parent really do that? it was suspicious. why did angila's fiance chris stay outside? and had he really been at work all night and he said he was? they took him downtown for the

first of several interviews were goodman and his partner to 22. angila said he drove him to work and dropped him off of her 11:00 p.m. >> i kissed her and i said i love you, sweetheart. drive safe. have a good night. >> angila was nervous, he said. afraid to be alone. >> the night before she thought she heard somebody messing at the front door of the residence. she thought she was being watched. in so, chris called and texted e her repeatedly. but after 2:00 a.m. he said she did not pick up when he called. >> he figured she had fallen asleep. >> but no, she wasn't sleeping. but who killed her? h

and why? when chris first arrived at the police station, they let him make a phone call. it was obvious he had his own suspect in mind. >> richie is probably [ bleep ] who did it [ bleep ]. got i hope [ bleep ]. >> richie? who was he? >> a pregnant mom dad and her child lived nearby. an investigation about to leave to darker discoveries. coming up, >> her fingernails were broken up. >> detectives talk to richie. >> what happened to your face? >> are they getting closer? are getting played? >> did he have an alibi? >> he said he did. >> when "dateline" continues. but trelegy has shown me that there's still beauty

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for a great low rate, keith morrison (voiceover): the wind on the prairie is a fickle thing, will wind on the prairie is a fickle thing. like people sometimes are. is that why angila wilder's fiance chris was so angry? there was a history to this. long before that november morning in 2015 and are away from minot, north dakota, and alabama, angila met richie at church. they were the best of friends as kids and after angila had a

baby as a teenager it was richie who scooped her up, married her, adopted her little girl and before long they had a boy of their own. all witnessed by angila's sister crystal. >> she tended to date guys that were funny and gentle. that were intelligent. and, really, richie was all those things. >> richie was in the air force. that is why they moved to minot. and that is where angila pursued her dream of becoming a nurse. >> she took classes whenever she could. she would have two jobs at a time and still attend classes and take care of her kids. >> why do richie and angila's lifelong bond rupture? who really knows? but there's curdled into a corrosive anger. richie was court-martialed and convicted of domestic abuse. kicked out of the military and a divorce followed. then, like the prairie wind, their affection shifted and

richie remarried a small town north dakota girl named cyndi who moved to minot and was a kindergarten teacher soon cyndi and richie had a baby of their own and angila got engaged to chris and she had another baby, too. these two new families all settled down again or they might have except for richie and angila's nasty custody battle. >> she said he is fighting me all the time and it's bar harbor the kid >> it was that between those two. scary. >> i got a frantic phone call from her one morning and i was like, calm down. what's going on? she said, it's richie. i went into the living room and he's sitting on my couch and looked at me and said, see, i can get you if i wanted to. >> is that what happened here? and angry ex-husband's revenge? a few hours after the murder and talking to angila's fiance

chris, detective goodman and mattice called richie and for a talk that he didn't seem to know what was going on. did he seem upset by what happened? >> he didn't, no. >> did that strike you as odd? >> it did, yes. >> that he would have some reaction. it was the mother of his child >> that is what we would expect. >> their questions got tougher. >> did he have an alibi? >> he said he did. >> did you work last night? >> from 7:00 to 11:00 >> where did you go after work? >> straight home. >> can anybody tell us what time you got home? >> yes. cyndi. >> that is his new wife, the kindergarten teacher who confirmed and she woke up for the baby during the night richie was beside her in bed.

>> maybe he was home. is that possible? sure. but what do you know about this? in so, maybe the detectives could get some evidence from the crime scene technicians who told them angila try to fight off her killer. >> her fingernails were broken off. appeared the assault occurred while she was in bed and ended up on the floor next to the bed. >> your dna will not shop and they were on her? >> no. >> would it show up under her fingernails? >> but they could not help but see a scratch. >> what happened to your face? >> he had a story that he had been wrestling with his younger son and that is how he got scratch. >> police impounded two cars driven by richie and his wife and in one a small spot of

something. dark brown on the inside of the door. >> visible to the naked eye but not obvious it was blood. enough suspicious for them to collect it. >> and when the lab called back a few weeks later with his, well, it was quite a moment. >> we were excited. we could not believe it. >> that spot in richie's vehicle was indeed blood. angila's blood. >> we ended up standing up during the conference call and hugging. we were so excited to get that news. >> but, no arrest, not yet. not until more results came in on material found under angila's fingernails. >> a week later we heard about the fingernail clippings and that came back to richie and we said, okay. let's go get him. >> and they did. >> we found him at a local gym. we told him that we have an

arrest warrant for the murder of angila. >> he was charged with murder and pleaded not guilty. >> we offered an interview to him but he did not want to talk. he went to jail. >> then, a couple months later, richie asked her seat the detectives again. because he was finally ready to tell the truth. and blow the whistle on his accomplice. wait. accomplice? >> coming up. richie story and why he says he kept it secret. when "dateline" continues.

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he drove her off the bed, and he kept just stabbing her. keith morrison (voiceover): richie wilder, . he kept stabbing her. >> richie wilder jr. had a new story. a new shocking story that put him and his ex-wife angila's bedroom the night she was stabbed to death. but did he kill her? oh, no, richie said. so who did? richie was finally ready to reveal the secret to point the finger at that very man who first accused him. the killer was angila's fiance chris.

but to start from the beginning . richie said chris discovered angila was cheating on him while he worked his night shift at walmart. he wanted to catch her in the act. who -- fruit she was an unfit mother so they chris and richie could win custody of their respective kids. sounded good to richie so friday, november 13th, 2:15 a.m. >> richie said he picked up chris from walmart and drove him to the house. they were supposed to catch her in the act of treating gents up cheating on chris. >> the first thing i noticed is it wasn't a person. >> maybe chris didn't understand that, said richie, because he went crazy and started stabbing her. >> i checked her for a pulse. like, she scratch my face.

i grabbed her hands and she said, i love you. >> that is why is faced with scratch scratch said richie. he dropped chris back off at walmart. the same side of the car where that spot of blood was found. angila's blood. >> when we first interviewed you , why did you not tell us this? >> one, because he kept threatening my family. you tell anybody and i will kill your wife and your little one. >> it was quite a story that the only problem, walmart where chris worked has cameras everywhere. and it just so happened that detective goodman spent most of the night watching videos. videos that kept witness of every movement, every minute. if chris left the store to kill

his wife, then goodman would not find him on any video shot between 2:15 i am at 3:00 a.m. >> every 5 to 10 minutes we have him there at the store. we have him in the entryway sitting down eating his lunch. during the time that richie is telling us he is stabbing angila. >> in fact, the only time chris briefly left the store was his scheduled breaks. >> he couldn't have taken part in such a game with richie? >> he couldn't and we knew that. >> goodman held back as richie's told this tale and then. >> chris did not leave walmart. >> i know he did because i picked them up. >> i know he didn't because i watched him on video. >> minutes later, richie wilder, his bluff called, simply folded. so when richie wilder's murder

trial started a few months later. >> the evidence shows. >> the prosecutor was confident. >> i thought i had a strong case. my strategy was to present the crime scene and physical evidence and present richie's multiple stories about how this went down. >> straightforward enough. as richie listened, his wife cyndi dutifully seated near the defense table, the prosecutor called witnesses who told the jury about angila's blood in one of richie's cars. dna under his fingernails and the changing story richie told. >> she leaned up and like scratch my face. i grabbed her hands and she was like, i love you. >> up to that point i was thinking he might be able to convince a jury but when he got to the point where angila sat up and that, richie, i love you.

it was done. it was done for me. it's just such an incredible thing to throw into that story. it was an example of richie needing to be the hero. >> what did he gain from killing her? or think he would gain? >> control. he wouldn't have to deal with angila anymore. >> he is responsible for angila's murder. and only richie wilder. >>'s defense attorney countered that the murder weapon was never found and suggested richie was somehow set up. >> i think there is reasonable doubt here and i asked that you find richie wilder guilty. >> the jury went out. i returned in less than an hour. >> i have had theft cases that have taken longer to decide then this case did. >> we the jury find the defendant guilty of the crime

of murder. >> guilty. richie's wife cyndi dissolved into tears in the courtroom. then, again, later in the hallway. >> he's a good man. he's a good husband. he would never do anything to hurt his kids. none of it makes any sense at all. i know i was home that night. i got up on a couple occasions for my kids and when i get up he was at home. >> sad and loyal and clinging to that long demolished alibi. not so uncommon, really, for a spouse to refuse to accept an awful truth about her man anyway, cyndi was left to pick up the pieces per her sister abby moved to minot to help. >> i felt like she needed me as a sister and she needed the support. i've been a single mom for years and i know how hard it is to do it on your own. so i felt like i was going to

do what i could to help her. to bear that burden and figure things out. >> then it helped. cyndi went back to teaching. but even with abby there, she felt lonely. a certain kind of lonely. >> coming up. growing suspicions about cyndi. >> that she try from there? was she inside the house? was she involved in this? >> and i secret revealed. >> wow. that was my response. wow. >> when "dateline" continues. up to 50% of people with graves' could develop a different condition called thyroid eye disease, which should be treated by a different doctor. see an expert. find a t-e-d eye specialist at isitted.com

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the delay raised questions for the biden administration about the effect the ban would have on black voters in the election. now, back to "dateline." welcome back to "dateline." it took less than an hour for a jury to find richie wilder guilty of murdering his ex-wife angila. even after the verdict, his second wife cyndi continued to stand by her man insisting to reporters that he was no killer. but cyndi was about to rekindle a connection with an old friend and the story she would tell him would come with a surprising new twist. here again is keith morrison with prairie confidential. >> murder can have so many innocent victims. like the children. angila and richie's forever

deprived of both parents now. >> i have had them with me for the past year and they will continue to be with me. they need to know that their dad is a good man. >> stepmother cyndi said she was doing her best and circumstances raising a step kids the children of the woman her husband had been convicted of murdering. she did get some help, mind you, from her sister abby. >> i saw that she was struggling and needed some help. trying to figure out the whole single-parent ink. >> of course, abby had to wonder what happened that night. the night richie murdered angila. human nature, really. >> i tried to ask her a few times. are you sure he was home that night? >> the same christian that bothered the for detectives but cyndi stuck to her story.

>> he did not leave the house. >> yes he did leave the house. >> no, he didn't. >> as you can tell, they had their doubts about cyndi. >> did she drive him there? was she inside the house? was she involved in this? >> no way to know. >> we did not have anything to go one. >> did you kinda put it out of your mind? >> we did. >> meanwhile, abby help cyndi with the kids and watch her sister grow even more sad. >> she did seem lonely. she wanted someone to talk to. she wanted a companion. it seemed like she was dealing with the realization that her husband wasn't coming home. >> it wasn't necessarily romance she was looking for, just the man to talk to like the bartender she had known at a watering hole called the original. his name was matt walters. he and cyndi met before her marriage to richie in 2013. >> we hang out on slow nights

and do shots together. there was one night where we had a really good in-depth conversation and ever since then she felt this connection. that's how she referred to it. this connection. >> did she trust you? did she seem safe with you? >> it seemed like it. >> they lost track of each other after cyndi married richie and have a little girl but after the murder, cyndi found matt on facebook. >> she said something like i suppose you heard and i said, heard what and she linked an article about richie being arrested. >> did you feel sorry for her? >> i did. >> they took cyndi out for a drink and talked about you guessed it. richie's arrests. did she have any comment about his guilt or innocence? >> she insisted he was home alone with her all night and he

never left. i think the only thing i said to her was, if that is not true, then you testify that in court, you could end up in prison. >> met something firsthand about prison. he had done a little more than a year behind heart ours himself in his early 20s for burglary for turning his life around and going to work as an electrician. he warned her. >> i let her know that prison isn't a place she wants to go to. >> anyway, matt was a shoulder to cry on. >> she was going to a crappy time. >> even after matt moved to denver, they chatted online. one day, cyndi said something very disturbing. >> we were talking about how richie got caught and was going to prison and i said, a knife is a stupid way to do something like that and she said, well the knife was a backup. i was supposed to be a gun. >> wow. >> that was my response. she wasn't the innocent bystander and the right thing

was to let the proper people know. >> so, matt did. he caught the minot police who by then had all but given up on the cyndi angle. >> there was a phone call on the general police department phone line. this individual gave his name and phone number and had information in regards to the angila wilder homicide. >> what did you do? >> we schedule a time for detect mattice and i to meet with him. we heard him out. >> he seems credible. he was someone that had this gut feeling from conversations he had with cyndi that there was more to this. >> detectives took the next step. they enlisted him as a confidential informant and gave him a name. what was it like to be a confidential informant? >> during the time it was kind of cool. it's kind of like what you see on tv.

>> the arrangements, however were a little daunting >> they asked me if i would come up there and wear a wire. >> but was it like to hear that? >> i was kind of stunned and dumbfounded for a second. after a second i thought, if she was involved, the right thing was to help them. >> careful. you can never know when you set a trap exactly what she will catch. >> test, test, test. i am almost there. >> coming up. cyndi stays silent until. >> all of a sudden it happens. >> we had a plan for years. >> when "dateline" continues. with 90% clearer skin.

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keith morrison (voiceover): what do you do when you suspect an old friend has helped commit an awful cri what do you do when you suspect an old friend has committed an awful crime? do you wear a wire for the cops? matt walters was willing but how could he arrange away without arousing suspicious to see cyndi? after all, he lived in denver. how did you organize a meeting with cyndi? >> i told her i got laid off and i was coming back to minot to see some friends and i asked if she wanted to hang out. she seemed to jump at the opportunity. >> nervous? yes. they set up a secret meeting at this hotel. >> there were four detectives sitting there and that is when it hit me. holy cow, this is for real. >> how to do it without spooking her. the detectives had an idea. >> the idea was to have a hotel room that was wired and we would be in the room next to it.

>> matt was engaged to a girl in denver. >> i said, there is no way that's going to happen. there's only one reason you go to a hotel room. not doing that. >> so they considered hiding the wire on his body. matt didn't like that either. >> cyndi was very careful and paranoid. i just gathered that if they put a wire on me, and we started talking about this stuff, there was a chance she will want to search me. >> he thought it would be better to go for a ride or go out and have his car wired. >> police did just that. then hit a transmitter in the trunk so detectives could follow and listen in. >> test, test, test. >> 9:30 p.m. matt picked up cyndi at her house. they went to a bar where matt turned on a phone app that captured the conversation while

they worked in the car. >> i wanted us to all be comfortable together. >> he did not push too hard. did not probe. now he was just an old friend catching up until past midnight. then >> i drove her home and she didn't get out of my car which is good. but it got to the point that it seemed like an hour in, she wasn't saying anything, anything relevant. >> detectives goodman and mattice parked 30 feet away was trying to stay awake. >> at some point we both were thinking, okay. we are on our four and we are sitting in this dark car. you are getting tired and exhausted. we have been listening for hours. >> there's nothing there? >> and then all of a sudden it happens. >> then i said, i should probably get going. her body language chained and

the tone of the situation changed. it was pretty obvious that she was angry. >> angry? >> she seemed angry. >> about what? >> i didn't know for sure. so i asked her. >> are you mad at your husband? >> no. i am proud of him. i am only that he got caught. we had the thing planned for like [ bleep ] two years. >> plan for two years? what? >> it was like the floodgates open and she got it off of her chest. >> he said, it got sloppy and he did what he had to do. she put up a good fight. she did. that's what got him, too. if it was me, i would have [ bleep ] her fingers up and lit the house on fire.

>> what was it like to hear that? >> it was the hardest mental thing i've ever had to do. to hold back the urge to tell her to shut the [ bleep ] up. she is sickening that she is being disgusting. >> he went psycho on her because the hate and the anger and frustration. i totally would have done the same thing, too. >> like i said before, a knife is ace two. [ bleep ] way to kill someone. >> every time he took it, he had a gun but it kept on jamming. i helped him clean up. he left to dispose of the clothing. in the weapon and everything. i thought we were in the clear. >> do you think you are a horrible person or do you think it needed to be done? >> i think it needed to be done. >> needed to be done, she said, as if murder was a winning solution to the struggle of who

got custody of the kids. finally, remember how angila told her fiance before the murder that she was afraid she was being watched? angila wasn't right to be worried. >> i helped him. when he worked nights, i would leave the house at midnight and sit outside her house in my vehicle seeing who came into the house. yeah, [ bleep ] planned out. he did not clean the carpet in the upper one [ bleep ] plot of blood in my car. >> when she said, can you tell me what it was like? >> we were pretty excited. >> let's call it a night. i am be, you are beat. we will see each other again, right? maybe? >> matt rendezvoused with detectives. >> we got back to the hotel and

we went into the room and i said to them, is it too soon to hug you? >> i was so drained. we called it a night. i went back to my friends house that i was staying at and i couldn't sleep for a few hours. even though i was exhausted. it was all just so surreal. it was a whirlwind of disbelief and shock and discuss and i kept having graphic images of what angila went through during the murder. >> you did not know angila did you? >> i did not. >> a few days later detectives went to the school where cyndi was a substitute teacher. third grade that day. >> i showed her i had an arrest warrant for her being part of the homicide with angila. >> how did she take it? >> she really did not respond. she did not cry, she did not make any statements. >> but she would. such a surprise on the way.

>> coming up. cyndi says she was just bragging. but will anyone believe her? >> that was kind of a shocker in the courtroom that day, wasn't it? >> it was a surprise. >> it almost feels like the death of someone in the family. >> when "dateline" continues.

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cyndi wilder did not hold back as she recounted the chilling details of angila wilder's murder towelcome back. cyndi wilder did not hold back as she recounted the chilling details of angila wilder's murder to her old friend matt walters. she had no clue matt was recording the conversation as part of a sting operation. cyndi was arrested and now headed to court to share a very different version of her story, but first, she talked to us. here is keith morrison with the conclusion of prairie confidential. >> cyndi wilder was tiny, almost childlike in her jail jumpsuit. barely five feet, maybe 100 pounds. a trusted teacher of the young and innocent. yet here she was in court answering to allegations of a very big crime. a huge one. lying to everyone, even those who loved her most. >> i felt betrayed because they

felt sorry for her and as a sister, i wanted to help her. to find out it all felt like a big lie and i was betrayed and deceived. it was terrible. >> no doubts. she did say what she said on those tapes with the confidential informant matt walters. >> what did you think when you heard that? knowing there was a 2-year-old child in the house at the time? >> those are strong words and a lot of hate. >> what was it? or was it something else altogether? a few days before that scene in court, we interviewed cyndi by phone from the jail and minot. how would you, how could she, explain all those terrible things she said to matt on tape

her answer, it was also her legal defense. >> i was lonely and i was trying to see if there could be a relationship. >> you were trying to impress him? >> yes. i know he has had a criminal history, to. i thought, you know, that would be our connection and commenting. >> so you said, i did all of these terrible things when you did not really do them? >> that conversation, they are somewhat true but for the most part it is false and exaggerated >> what would be true out of that conversation? >> the fact that i knew about it after it happened. >> okay. and you hit the fact that you knew about it? >> a right. i did not want to lose my kids or my job. >> what a jury believe her explanation that she was trying to impress a man with a bunch of made up tough talk?

certainly, the prosecutor did not buy it. >> if you are trying to impress a boy you make up a story about being a state champion gymnast or diver. not about being an accomplice to murder. >> in any case, no jury would have to decide. on a charge of conspiracy to commit murder, the prosecutor offered a deal and cyndi was spent 25 years in prison and then get out to resume her life. and cyndi turned it down. she had a strategy of her own. she was taken alford plea meaning she would plead guilty not because she did it, but because a jury would likely find her guilty and that way she believed the judge would impose a lighter penalty. and in may 2018, cyndi's attorney appealed to judge stacy louser for a lighter sentence.

now it was the judge's turn. what she believes cyndi's explanation? >> you were the one person who could have stopped this nightmare. you were the one person who could have intervened and who could've called law enforcement when she wilder left her home. you were the one person who could have spared angila wilder's life. you chose not to do so. i am remanding you to that north dakota department of corrections and rehabilitation as to count one, conspiracy to commit murder. to a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. >> the life without parole. that was kind of a shocker that day, wasn't it? >> it was a surprise but i mean, in my mind it is well deserved. >> were you surprised? >> this judge is known for hard sentencing particularly where children are implicated. >> they certainly were in this

one. >> absolutely. >> from cyndi, not a flinch. from her sister, -- >> it almost feels like a death of someone in the family. everything changed. at least before there was some sort of hope that even if it was a long period of time, there is still the hope that we could make memories again and go on trips and spend time together. outside of prison walls. that is gone. >> but for angila's sister, -- >> she is a horrible person. she is exactly where she needs to be and i am thankful that the judge saw her for the individual that she is. the monster that she is. >> so, hours straight ends with the family shattered. and matt walters doesn't regret his decision to wear a wire. but he struggles doing the right thing was not easy.

>> basically, i am responsible for ending another person's life in all meaningful ways. which is fine. she deserves it but it still is a hard thing to deal with to know you and one slight bit >> but you feel it is on you? >> there is like a weight on me. >> angila was shortly working as a nurse by now. and would finally have achieved her ambition to care for people and make them well. >> when she pops in my head, it's sad because she would have been one heck of a nurse. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." thank you for watching.