48 Hours - The Final Hours of Cayley Mandadi

Episode Date: September 20, 2020

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ConstantContact.ca Even the most explicit television shows don't show you what I saw that day. Did she fall out of an airplane? Was she thrown off a bridge? I've received a phone call from Luling, Texas at about four o'clock in the morning. Your daughter's been involved in some incident and she's been life flighted to Kyle, Texas. You need to come up right away. I'm just praying that she's still alive. My daughter, Kaylee Mondati, was a personality unlike any I've ever encountered. She was a happy, happy person, trusting and always smiling. Hi. Just warm.

I don't think I've ever met anybody I could open up to like I did with her. I've ever met anybody I could open up to like I did with her. My name is Taylor Ann Clement, and I was best friends with Kaylee Anita Mandotti. Is Kaylee really smart? So smart. And did she have a good heart? Yes. Yes, yes, yes.

That girl was full of love. We walk in and they direct us to the room and my heart just stopped. I could see that she was on a ventilator. I saw my daughter's body smashed almost beyond recognition. The doctor came in. He just looked at me and he said, she's not coming out of... I just couldn't figure out what could have caused this.

And then bits and pieces of the story started to come in. Very quickly, I learned there was a suspect and that this was looking like a murder. Mark met Kaylee about a year prior to her death. He was very involved in athletics, excellent sportsman. My name is John Hunter, and I'm a criminal defense attorney. My client is Mark Howerton. I think that they're both very beautiful people, and I think that that was the primary attraction.

All right, Mark. I'm just trying to figure out what's going on. He gave four different statements to the police. She said she wasn't feeling good. I said, well, what's wrong? And she just fell asleep. Was he obsessed with Kaylee? He felt a very deep connection to Kaylee. He knew that Kaylee would be an easy mark, and so he fixated on her. And then when it didn't go the way he wanted, he snapped. Mark was possessive, angry.

He was a jerk. That doesn't make him a murderer. This is a case where there's more than meets the eye and things aren't always as they seem. Thank you. They did CPR on her approximately seven times. Every time they'd get her heart started, she would crash and it would stop again. It had been two long days since an unconscious Kaylee Mandati was life-flighted to Kyle, Texas. since an unconscious Kaylee Mandati was life-flighted to Kyle, Texas. I saw her future and my future disappearing. Kaylee's mother, Allison Steele, and stepfather, Lawrence Bateland, were told there was no hope for recovery.

Their daughter, once so full of life, was now brain dead. Based on what you were seeing, what had your daughter been through? Some enormous fatal physical trauma. Kaylee, just 19 years old, had suffered a traumatic brain injury. All that potential had been destroyed, and not knowing how it happened or how it was even possible. Allison and Lawrence told doctors Kaylee had one last wish, that her organs be donated to help others. Then, Kaylee was taken off of life support.

It was very emotional. Of course, we didn't want to let her go, but this is what had to be. It was hard to believe that just days before, things seemed to be going well for Kaylee. She was a sophomore studying communications at Trinity University, a small liberal arts school in San Antonio. She made friends, like, effortlessly. Kaylee's best friend, Taylor Clement, says she was active on campus. She had joined a sorority and was a cheerleader. I was so happy for her because it looked like she was

feeling like she was fitting in. At Trinity, Allison says her daughter was interested in more than just her schoolwork. Kaylee at the time was very much in love with the only serious boyfriend she had ever had. His name was Jet Burcham. Jet was a Trinity football player and fraternity brother. Kaylee had met and dated him her freshman year. She was very proud of him and that relationship. But Allison says it was typical young love, and by sophomore year, they were on again, off again. What she told me was, I don't know that he wants a serious relationship, and she did.

But there was another man in Kaylee's life, Mark Howerton. He was 22 years old and had been a star high school baseball player. I've been a pretty good hitter. I just keep my weight back and keep your eye on the ball and whack it. Mark lived in Houston but was often on Trinity's campus visiting his friends. That's where he met Kaylee. I think that there were problems with her relationship with Jed, and Mark was offering an alternative to that. John Hunter is Mark's attorney. And she was finding herself spending a lot more time with Mark. Both Jed and Mark knew Kaylee was seen the other man,

and neither, friends say, like the competition. One month into this new relationship with Mark, Kaylee's life would take a fatal turn. On Sunday, October 29, 2017, at 10.30 p.m., Mark Howerton rushed Kaylee to the emergency room in a small rural hospital in Luling, Texas. Oh, I'm just looking for quiet place to talk. Oh, well, the chapel is actually really quiet. While medical staff tended to Kaylee, police officers interviewed Howerton in the quietest place they could find. Okay.

It was recorded on the officer's body cam. So tell me, where were you all at today? all that today. Mark told officers that he and Kaylee had spent the weekend at the Malaluna Music Festival in San Antonio. There they drank alcohol and took MDMA, a drug known as molly or ecstasy. Did Kaylee have any drug issues in university life? Kayley was known to use recreational marijuana and MDMA, and it was a huge point in conflict with us. Mark says just hours earlier, between 5 and 6 p.m., they left the festival in his Mercedes and soon got into an argument. Cayley told Mark that she still had feelings

for her ex, Jet Burcham. I was pretty much saying, you need to get over this dude and he ain't worth your time. I was like, your friends are fake as... I was just telling her all this. I was trying to get it through her head because she can't get it through her head that she doesn't need to be around those dudes. Mark said they then stopped at a Valero gas station parking lot where they had makeup sex. But their roadside sexual encounter turned rough. Very rough. We were having sex. I choked her. But it wasn't like killing her.

It wasn't like that. Mark admitted having rough sex was not unusual for the couple. I've never hit her. I've slapped her before. She slapped me before. I've never punched her, no. I've shoved her. But Mark was adamant about one thing throughout the police interview. I need to know that everything was consensual for Juan. It was.

500% consensual. It was definitely consensual. It was definitely consensual. Mark said after sex, Kaylee passed out. After we had sex, like, she still talked to me for five, six minutes afterwards. That's when she was like, I'm not feeling too good, but then she just passed out. And she was snoring. He decided to drive Kaylee to Houston to spend the night at his place. And I was just driving, and she stopped snoring. I just had a bad feeling in the back of my head when she stopped snoring.

So I looked at her like, Kaylee, Kaylee. And I reached over and I felt her throat. And I didn't feel anything. That's when I started freaking out. That's when Mark rushed Kaylee to the nearest hospital. Do you know if you have a pulse what that means? That means you're alive, right? Yes.

Yeah, if you have a pulse, then your heart's beating. Why isn't she responding? interviewed mark several times but he was not charged with any crime related to kaylee's death then three months later her autopsy report was released the medical examiner ruled that kaylee had died from blunt force face and head trauma. It was labeled a homicide. Several weeks after that, Mark Howerton was charged with murder and sexual assault. Okay, here we are, here's this person, and we need the system to work. We really need the system to work in this case. Mark pleaded not guilty to all the charges and was released on bail. There was a music festival.

There were a large amount of drugs taken over the course of this weekend. Mr. Howerton brought the deceased to a hospital, which is something you don't typically see. Murderers don't usually do that. No. All rise for the jury. The idea that it was open and shut is a mistake. And as the trial begins, John Hunter says he has evidence

that will surprise the jury. What do you think happened that day? See more of Mark's interview with detectives at 48hours.com. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing.

The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military, and when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. The scary cult classic was set in the Chicago housing project. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name

five times into a bathroom mirror. Candyman. Candyman? Now we all know chanting a name won't make a killer magically appear, but did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? I was struck by both how spooky it was,

but also how outrageous it was. We're going to talk to the people who were there, and we're also going to uncover the larger story. My architect was shocked when he saw how this was created. Literally shocked. And we'll look at what the story tells us about injustice in America. If you really believed in tough on crime, then you wouldn't make it easy to crawl into medicine cabinets and kill our women.

Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, wherever you get your podcasts. In December 2019, two years after Kaylee Mandati's disturbing demise, Mark Howerton is finally brought to trial for allegedly kidnapping, assaulting, and murdering her. I was ready for this trial to begin for a very long time. Daniel Conrad was a student at Trinity University and the editor of the school newspaper when Cayley died. Everyone felt some degree of loss mourning the death of a fellow Trinity student. Now he's covering Cayley's murder trial for Courthouse News. What was it like to see Mark Howerton in the courtroom?

I'd describe him as a monster of people. Like everybody else, I'd try not to look at him too much. The trial begins with prosecutor Alessandra Cranshaw's opening statement. I think the best way to tell this story of how this case came about is to start where Kaylee Mondotti's life ended. And that's in the car of this defendant. Prosecutors allege that on October 29th, 2017, Howerton forcefully escorted Kaylee from the Malaluna Music Festival to his car. festival to his car. He then drove her to a parking lot where prosecutors claim he sexually assaulted and beat her, causing a fatal brain bleed. These photos show Kaylee's condition about 18 hours after she arrived at the hospital. Kaylee is covered with bruises from head to toe.

I believe that you will have no reservations about finding this defendant guilty of the offensive murder. Things are not always as they seem. In his opening statement, defense attorney John Hunter attacks the very foundation of the prosecution's case, from the alleged abduction to Kaylee's tragic death. No one saw anything that transpired between Mark Howerton and Kaylee Mondati that evening on the 29th. There are no eyewitnesses. And what about all those bruises?

Hunter says they most likely came from medical staff as they tried to revive Kaylee at least seven different times. She had been worked on within an inch of her life. Mr. Howerton did not cause Kaylee Mendotti's death. The state begins its case with paramedic Cheryl Lane, who was driving an ambulance up to the Luling Hospital that night when a vehicle suddenly appeared in her rearview mirror. There's a black car behind us honking and flashing the lights.

Before I even get out, I see a gentleman that's hollering and screaming. I open the door. He's telling me that his girlfriend is not breathing and he needs help. When Lane looked inside Howerton's car, she saw a disturbing scene. She was exposed all the way down and her pants and clothes were in the floorboard by her feet. She had bruises on her that I just remember seeing and that's when I started CPR. Lane says there were bruises on the inside of Kaylee's legs. The defense says medical staff didn't see any on Caylee's face. Evidence John Hunter claims that Mark Howerton never punched her. The treating physician at the Luling Hospital approached this as a drug overdose.

Wasn't that because Mark had told them he thought she had overdosed? Correct, but the symptoms she was presenting were consistent with that patient history. While the medical team fought for Kaylee's life, police interviewed and photographed Mark Howerton, police officer Chris Adams. While I was taking photographs of my notice, the tops of both of his hands. They look red to you? Yes, sir. Unusually red? Yes, sir. Evidence investigators believe that Howerton did hit Cayley. The Mark Howerton arrested back in October of 2017 was an enormously muscled, intimidating figure. Cayley's friends say he used steroids.

friends say he used steroids. Two years later, Howerton has shrunk to the point of being unrecognizable to an officer who once questioned him. Mark Howerton initially cooperated with investigators, allowing police to search his Mercedes, where they found a gun and marijuana. If he was worried about himself, he would have told the police to search his Mercedes where they found a gun and marijuana. If he was worried about himself, he would have told the police to get a warrant. Instead, Hunter says, Howerton was much more concerned about Cayley. Can I find out an update on her, please? Is there any way? They're probably not going to be able to tell us right now, most likely. No, I'm going to be able to tell us right now.

Most likely. But prosecutors were not going to give Howerton a pass just for cooperating. Why? They believe he lied to investigators about where he had sex with Kaylee. In his last interview with law enforcement, the same day that Kaylee was removed from life support, Howerton changed his story. We didn't have sex at the gas station. We had sex somewhere before the gas station. After that, we went to the gas station.

Where did you have sex at? It was just a parking lot. It was empty. After we had sex at that parking lot is when she told me she wasn't feeling good and she passed out. The new sex location was the parking lot of a hamburger chain's office building, more than a 40-mile drive from the gas station. If you're going to conceal something, right, if you're going to lie about something, it's probably because that's where the crime occurred. The only person who could counter Howerton's story was dead. Investigators hoped Kaylee's remains might speak on her behalf. Dr. Susanna Dana performed the autopsy,

and prosecutors now hope her testimony will convince jurors that Howerton beat Kaylee to death. She had a number of what I call blunt force injuries to her face and her head. And what is this that we see behind the ear? That's a bruise. That's a contusion. So we got to see a lot of photographs from the autopsy. When I saw those images, it looked like a girl who was badly beaten. That's kind of how anybody looking at it would say. But during the cross-examination, John Hunter challenges Dr. Dana's conclusions, suggesting it was the medical staff and not Mark Howerton who created much of that bruising. So CPR can cause a lot of different injuries, not just simply superficial ones, right?

Yes. In this case, the rib was broken. Is that correct? I believe so, yes. The medical examiner says the cause of death is complications of blunt force face and head trauma. And the manner of death is homicide. Is the examiner wrong? I believe the examiner is definitely wrong. If you can undermine Dr. Dana, you can at least create reasonable doubt. No doubt. It's one of the most important features of the case. at least create reasonable doubt. No doubt. It's one of the most important features of the case. Whatever the jury thinks about

how Kaylee died, they're about to learn much more about her troubled love life with Mark Howerton. He had grabbed her and thrown her against the wall. What do you make of the defense attorney's theory? See more photos from the case on Facebook at 48hours.com.

And when somebody asks you, what was Kaylee like? How do you answer that? Bubbly. Happy. She just was an awesome friend. I mean, you want her to be your best friend. Some of those friends now nervously wait to testify in the trial of the man charged with Kaylee's murder, Mark Howerton. Prosecutors hope they can provide eyewitness details of Howerton's stormy history with Kaylee.

I'm showing you what's in Mark's exhibit number one. Do you recognize this person? Who is this individual? Do you recognize this person? Who is this individual? Her roommate, Morgan Sampson, recounts one particularly disturbing incident just a few weeks before Kaylee's death. She was planning to go to a party. I invited Kaylee to come with me.

And at that point, I asked her out loud. And Mark got really upset about it. And when you went back into the room, what happened? At that point, Mark and Kaylee were out on the balcony, and he had thrown her up against the brick wall. Did they appear to be having a happy conversation? No. Kaylee ended up going to that party against Howerton's wishes. He was not happy. Kaylee's neighbor, Carol Cortez,

describes what she heard next door while Kaylee was away. There was some banking. We could hear a male's voice saying, I'm going to smash your face in, saying violent things and doing violent things. No one responded, so I said no one was in there with him. And that was the alarm, each? Yes. Campus police officer Roderick Lewis was dispatched to investigate. When I arrived at the location, I made my way to the fifth floor, and as I was going down the hallway to room 561,

a male subject was exiting the room. So this is not your room? No, this is my girl's. Is she here? No, this is my girl's. Is she here? No, she's at a party. And so you're in the room just waiting on her while she's at a party? Exactly. Okay.

I can call her right now if you want proof. You mind if I take a look in the room? Man, no, this isn't even my house. I understand that. There's nothing in here, but for real. Well, I want to see if anything's missing here. No, there's nothing missing here. Again, it's not your room, so you don't have the option here.

Well, I'd like you to step out here with my partner right now. Once Howerton stepped out of the room, Officer Lewis went in. It had been torn apart. It was completely destroyed. The glass door to the balcony had been cracked and Caylee's clothes were scattered in the trees. Friends say Howerton later smashed Caylee's laptop on the street. The university barred him from campus. Caylee was done with him, completely done. She didn't take his texts, didn't take his phone calls, nothing.

done. She didn't take his texts, didn't take his phone calls, nothing. Howerton was reportedly enraged and he wasn't about to go away. So he escalated and he allegedly snapchatted a picture to her with him sucking on a pistol saying, I'm going to commit suicide if you don't return my calls. Kaylee's friend, Ariana Conway. He was saying that he was going to kill himself if she broke up with him. And she didn't want to have something like that on her conscience. We all know as adults that that's just manipulation. He's a grade A predator.

He didn't try to commit suicide. He was trying to manipulate her into doing what he wanted. But Kaylee was now caught up in a dangerous emotional triangle. She told her ex-boyfriend, Jet Burcham, that she wanted to get back with him. Kaylee's not sure what she wants. That's pretty evident. She texted Jet, I'm literally in love with both of you. in love with both of you. This all came to a head on the last weekend of October 2017.

Kaylee told Jett she would break up with Mark Howerton at the Malaluna Music Festival. She told me that she was planning to break up with Mark on Sunday and after spending the previous night with him, and confirmed that she wanted to be back with me. She said she wanted to break up with them at Maulana because there would be plenty of witnesses and people around. Did she seem worried about breaking up with them? Yes.

When Howerton went to pick Kaylee up at her dorm room for the second day of the festival, she wasn't there. Howerton's friend Joe Goodwin was with him. How did the defendant's attitude change while waiting for Kaylee? He was getting steadily angrier because he did not want to wait on her. So then we got in the vehicle and he asked her, where were you? She had no response. He then said something along the lines of, that's bulls**t. And then we proceeded to drive towards the festival. And then we proceeded to drive towards the festival.

But first, they pulled into a nearby car wash to take drugs. He breaks out a bag of Molly, and he gives Kaylee some, he gives me some, and then we continue on towards the festival. When they got there, they put more Molly in a water bottle and started drinking from that. We're talking about massive doses, well above what would be necessary for it to be effective to gain the experience, combined with consuming large amounts of alcohol. Soon after they arrived, Howerton told Joe he and Kaylee were going to get drinks. Jet Burcham, who is also at the festival, says he saw them leave, seemingly against Kaylee's wishes. Kaylee looked like she was trying to

create space and kind of just get away. And it looked like they were having an intense conversation. Now, what did he seem to do? As she's trying to step away, I see him reach out his right arm and hook it around her shoulder and pull her in closer. And then turn and walk away. When she didn't show up at the dorm or a sorority meeting that evening, Kaylee's friends started calling her, worried that she was in danger. Now who answered when you FaceTimed Kaylee? The defendant. I first asked, I was like, have you seen Kaylee? Have you heard from her?

Like, are you with her? And he said, she can't talk right now. And then hung up the phone. Panicked, they kept trying to contact Kaylee. Then, friend Dominique Hussain received an ominous Snapchat. I got a video recording of Mark Howerton saying, go f*** yourself, you stupid bitches. And then that's when we all started

more actively looking for her off campus. Jets searched for Kaylee as urgently as anyone that night. But at trial, his version of events would soon be dramatically challenged, surprising everyone. What was it like to watch Jet Bersham's story come apart? In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand,

lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still a virgin. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones and for almost two years I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn Trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse

and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld and she's informing on them all.

I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defence attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop.

Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. On day four of Mark Howerton's murder trial, he repeatedly comes face to face with his former romantic rival for Kaylee Mandati, Jet Burcham, a key prosecution witness. Do you see Mark Howerton here in the courtroom today? Yes, a blue suit. Burcham's eyewitness account of Howerton's behavior towards Kaylee as they left the festival

led investigators to charge Howerton with kidnapping her and causing Kaylee's death. It looked like she was nervous and trying to separate herself as in like create distance between the two of them. And then I saw Mark reach and grab her with his right arm. Mark Howerton pulls Kaylee Mandati into his car, sexually assaults her, beats her to death in a rage-filled murder. Is that how you see it? No, not at all.

It's not a homicide. This is a terrible, terrible accident. To back up his claim, defense attorney John Hunter attacks Burcham's credibility, asserting that Burcham lied to investigators about what he really saw that day. And you advised the police that you saw Mark physically pick her up and place her in his car. Isn't that correct? Yes, sir. And that differs from the testimony that you gave to the grand jury, doesn't it? Yes, sir.

And it differs from the testimony that you gave today, right? Yes, sir. I did not see him put her in the car. He lied. Jet lied to the grand jury. He concocted part of that story to try to get the police to respond out of desperation that they felt for her situation. His exact words were, I exaggerated. And then once he was trapped into that storyline, he repeated it for the grand jury as well. Mr. Burcham, I'd like you to take a look at these.

John Hunter hands Jet Burcham copies of photos found on his phone. This consists of several large bags of marijuana, does it not? It does. This was on your phone, wasn't it? The man next to John Hunter is Burcham's attorney. He's here because these photos may implicate Jet in serious crimes. It turns out he was on probation for a drug charge at the time of Cayley's death. You were distributing large quantities of marijuana to the students at Trinity University and to people throughout San Antonio, were you not?

I wish to assert my rights as provided by the Fifth Amendment. In the course of your workings as a drug dealer, part of the profession requires that you document the materials that you are trying to sell to people, correct? I wish to assert my rights as provided by the Fifth Amendment. I wish to assert my rights as provided by the Fifth Amendment. During 47 minutes of brutal cross-examination, Burcham takes the Fifth 30 times when asked about his drug activity while on probation.

I wish to assert my rights as provided by the Fifth Amendment. Tell me the impact of him saying over and over that he's taken the Fifth. The impact, I think, can't be understated. It's a huge thing to see somebody do that. And it's not clear why Burcham needed to take the Fifth at all. He already had a deal with prosecutors. You were offered immunity in exchange for your testimony in your anger, correct? He got the golden ticket, and all he's got to do in exchange for that is testify. It questions his credibility. Exactly. Calls into question his credibility completely.

And Hunter is unrelenting on Burcham's troubled past, including an allegation that he committed sexual assault. Were you aware that there was a title line investigation against you? I was aware, yes. And that pertained to an alleged sexual assault? Yes, sir. Burcham transferred to another university and says he was told the assault investigation was not ongoing. and says he was told the assault investigation was not ongoing. When the defense presents its case, they bring Dr. William Anderson to the stand. I reviewed the medical examiner's autopsy, the medical records, and the photos which were included with the autopsy.

Dr. Anderson is a forensic pathologist and a former medical examiner who has conducted more than 8,000 autopsies. He challenges the prosecution's claims that Cayley was beaten. Three separate observers did not see any injuries to the facial area when she arrives at the emergency room. We don't see any fractures to the eye sockets. We don't see any fractures to the nose. We don't see any kind of fractures on the face. That's a pretty good indication we're not talking about a full frontal assault. In fact, Dr. Anderson tells the jury that Kaylee's autopsy photos indicate her brain bleed may have been caused not by a beating, but perhaps by a fall at some point when she was not in Mark's car. So I'm here. We have this jagged line. It's like I said, it's like a crack in the neck shell. And that is a skull fracture. What you take away from this is that this injury is consistent with a fall.

Yes. She never left the vehicle for five or six hours. As far as anyone can tell, yeah. It doesn't make any sense. And as for the bruises all over Kaylee's body, Dr. Anderson says they may have been caused by internal bleeding, brought on by long stretches without a heartbeat, and preparation for organ donation. So you look at the autopsy, you're going to see what look

like bruises. The pictures could be picking up detail that had to do with the organ donation and not a potential assault, precisely. The defense also puts on the stand pharmacologist Jason Wallach, an expert in molly, MDMA, the drug Cayley and Howerton were using. You know, the level of MDMA in her blood was 980 nanograms per mil, and that's high. According to Dr. Wallach, high blood pressure from MDMA increases the chance of a hemorrhage. In situations such as this, it's possible that someone sustained a minor head injury and by result of the MDMA became a fatal condition? Yes. Once the defense rests, prosecutors bring Dr. Dana back to the stand

in hopes she can shut down these alternative theories of Kaylee's death, particularly the notion that a fall killed her. Did you have an opportunity in conducting the autopsy to closely examine the skull? Yes, I did. Is that a skull fracture? No, it's not. The jurors now hear closing arguments. The state refocuses on Kaylee and the man they say murdered her.

She was just starting out her life. She was just beginning her life. And she got into the car with that defendant. This is what happened to Kaylee Mendoza. It wasn't medical staff. It wasn't the post-mortem organ donation that did this to her. It was the defendant. The defense says that while Mark Howerton is no angel, he also isn't a killer.

There is no evidence that Mr. Howerton caused this death at all. Their side of the story doesn't make sense. It doesn't add up. Mark Howerton is not guilty. We're talking about a charge that if he's convicted of it, it's life in prison. Has your belief that your daughter was beaten in any way been changed by what was presented at trial? Not in the slightest. Not at all. No. She was beaten to death. And then, just a few hours into jury deliberations, the defense receives a shocking phone call.

We had no idea this person existed. That could impact the outcome of the trial. We're walking back to the office and I see that we have missed calls. Just hours after the jury begins deliberations, John Hunter unexpectedly learns of a new witness who claims to have seen crucial evidence that was not introduced at trial. I got a phone call from a person who advised me that they're working the front desk at the hospital on the night that Kaylee was brought in. She saw her pale white legs. There were no bruises on her legs. She thinks that the EMT's testimony is wrong.

This date calls Sherilyn. Remember, this is what the paramedic who treated Kaylee said she saw that night. She had bruises on her, multiple bruises that I just remember seeing. It was her bruising on the inside of her legs, correct? Yes. But Hunter says this new witness would turn that description on its head, supporting the defense claim that Kaylee's bruises came after she was admitted to the hospital and were not caused by Mark

Howerton. That's a very significant point in my mind. But the judge says it's too late to call the new witness. We've got this information. It's frustrating that the jury doesn't know about it. But it's encouraging because if things don't work out, this is the kind of thing that might get the courts to pay attention. Now all he can do is wait for the jury to come back with a verdict.

We have no clue what they're thinking. We didn't know what to expect. Lawrence and Allison say they couldn't wait for it to be over. We didn't know if it would be quick. We didn't know if it would take days. After just 10 hours of deliberating over two days, the jury sends a final note to the judge. All rise for the jury. There will be no verdict. After careful deliberation and discussion, unfortunately we cannot come to unanimous decision.

All jurors have expressed their strong position and inability to change their position with the evidence provided. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm declaring a mistrial. Mistrial. Are you happy? Is that, in a way, a victory for you? Any time that your client doesn't go to prison, it's a victory. No matter what the facts are, no matter what the circumstances. It was a little bit disheartening, but at the same time, I was mentally prepared for that outcome. Both sides say they are not backing down. The prosecution plans to retry the case, a decision John Hunter strongly disagrees with since he says their star witness, Jet Burcham, lied to the grand jury.

Why should they get another bite of the apple? Hey, we're not done yet. We're going to pick this back up again. Allison and Lawrence are determined to get justice for their daughter. There's no doubt in our minds what happened. I believe it was murder straight up, every day, twice on Sundays. This is Kaylee's room. It is as she left it. Since her death, Allison visits Kaylee's room every day. We have a lot of mementos here.

I love this saying, you will forever be my always. No truer word spoken than that, because she will always be more to me than I ever thought a human being could. I ever thought a human being could. It is here at her daughter's desk where Allison has tirelessly worked to turn her grief into action. Clear alert, as you're going to see, is a game changer. Last September, Allison was able to get the clear alert bill passed. There was an amber alert for children. There was a silver alert for seniors. So anybody else whose life was in danger for any reason, they were kind of out of luck. Now in the state of Texas, when someone between the ages of 18 and 64 goes missing, an emergency text will go out to the community. We cannot change what happened, but I want Kaylee's story to be used to help other people.

The one of us smiling at prom is my absolute favorite picture. Taylor Clement treasures the time she had with her best friend. She was going to be my maid of honor and godmother to my children, and there was no doubt about that. There are things I hold, and I don't tell anybody. And I know I could tell her. I miss that. idea yet. A brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with.

And the bolder risk takers who brought them to life. Like, did you know that Super Mario, the best-selling video game character of all time, only exists because Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala?

From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans, discover the surprising stories of the most viral products. Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're going to dominate your next dinner party. So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just the best idea yet. Mark Howerton's retrial is scheduled for January 2021. Learn more about the clear alert bill at 48hours.com. Now we're one, where's your emergency?

Hey, it's like this time one time of the night. But police say she confessed to murder. Thank you, officer. One big problem. The confession's on this video, and we can't hear it, and there's no sound there. There's sound. It's just a noise all the way through it. How do you mess up the confession? What will a jury believe?

48 Hours, Wednesday at 10, 9 central on CBS.