Dateline NBC - The Overlook

Episode Date: December 28, 2021

Two young women are shot and left for dead on a beach in Texas. After one miraculously survives, she is determined to find out who the attacker is. When a young man is eventually convicted, the long road to justice seems to be complete until a stunning twist raises a question - could the wrong man be in prison? Josh Mankiewicz reports.

I'm Lester Holt, and this is Dateline. Two women were attacked so brutally. I would want the guy that did it, too. But you think they got the wrong guy? I'm positive they have the wrong guy. It started with a savage assault. I could see two girls laying there. It was horrifying. There was duct tape on their mouths, on their hands.

I couldn't fathom who would do this to them. One girl dead, but miraculously, the other survived. I'm just like praying, please God, don't let me die. The hunt for their attacker went nowhere. Then, a mysterious message. The letter is written from the perspective of a hitman. We moved to an arrest very quickly. If you looked at him, you probably wouldn't think him capable of this, but he certainly was. Was he? Some said a critical crime scene clue was ignored. This presumably came from the person who attacked them. Got to be.

It is biological, unimpeachable evidence. This is the guy. Here's Josh Mankiewicz with The Overlook. Just outside Corpus Christi, Texas are some of the most beautiful stretches of the Gulf Coast, with breathtaking vistas. But back in the summer of 2012, this tranquility was shattered by an unimaginable evil. I looked over and I saw, to me, it just looked like a pile of debris, to be honest. And then he looked and he said, oh my God, it's two bodies. I can't even imagine what was in that person's mind that evoked his violence, his rage. Two young women, who wanted them dead and why? It was a true whodunit type murder. And along with who and why was the question of why here? This was definitely

something that we weren't used to or accustomed to in our town. This is San Patricio County. Folks here talk about roping, riding, and Friday night Lights. Not about murder. This is where Christine Chapa and Molly O'Gean grew up. And where they shared a very special bond. Molly definitely brought out Christine's crazy side. It was never a dull moment with those two. Brittany Selby was Christine's close friend. She was like the comic relief in our little group of friends. While Christine had the jokes, Molly had the car and she kept the group

on the move. That's Molly behind the wheel singing to her favorite band, the Spice Girls. She loved her car a lot. Friends Stephanie Chasak and Brooke Ostrom relied on Molly to get them places. They also cherished Molly's big heart. She had a lot of friends. Yes. Oh yeah. A lot of friends. Yeah. She never let anybody leave from hanging out with her without giving them a hug. And saying I love you. Ever. For these young women it was a carefree, low-key life. We were not the party kids. We never drank or anything like that. We would go to Taco Bell.

We would go to coffee shops. And we would go to parks. What happened in the parks? At the parks? I mean, we just loved talking to each other. We would just go sit out there and talk. Which is exactly what Molly and Christine decided to do one warm June night back in 2012. Their destination? Violet Andrews Park.

That place seem safe to you? Yeah, it did. All of the parks were, I mean, we would go. We would go at night all the time. On that particular night, Violet Andrews turned out to be anything but safe. Brittany Selby had planned to join them. They had asked me to go, but I had a volleyball game the next morning, so I wasn't able to. It was a decision that still haunts her. I just know because they like, you know, they called me that night. I'm like, if I was there. The next morning, Chris and Stan Seymour were taking a nature walk in the park.

We started looking around for birds in general. Didn't see a thing. This place was as quiet as we'd ever seen it. And that's when, just below one of the overlooks, they made their terrible discovery. In the tall beach grass lay the bodies of two young women. It just looked like they had both been

molested or mauled. We didn't know if they were alive or dead. We had no idea. The Seymours went for help. First responder, Travis Wiseman. It was horrifying.

There is blood. I can see that the clothes are off both girls. There was duct tape on their mouths, on their hands. You could see they were clearly bound. Duct tape also covered their eyes, and each girl had been shot in the back of the head. Christine's driver's license was found at the scene, but because of the girl's head wounds, no one could tell which girl was Christine. I went and checked the pulse on the first girl. I could feel her body was cold and didn't feel a pulse. And then something no one expected. I went to reach for the second girl and that's when she started to sit up and moan. It looked so hopeless, and to think that one was alive was just a miracle. Which girl had survived? Could doctors keep her alive? And what story could she tell? The questions were just beginning.

One victim surviving. Just the first surprise in a case teeming with twists. When we come back, investigators focus on one particular clue. Sometimes that can suggest somebody who knows the victim. Yes. As dawn gave way to morning on that June day in 2012, news that two young women had been shot in one of the parks began to slowly spread throughout San Patricio County. Brittany Selby tried to call both Christine and Molly. Neither one of them is picking up, so that's when I started to get worried.

Christine's mother, Grace, was worried too. Her husband, Larry, was out of town, and she'd been pacing the floor all night ever since she discovered Christine hadn't come home. By now, how many times have you called your daughter? I would say about four or five times I called her. I even told her I'm going to call the police if you don't call me right now. Eventually, Grace did call police, and that's when worry turned to panic. The officer told Grace that Christine was in the hospital.

Nothing more. He doesn't tell you what happened? No, he doesn't know what happened. Only after an agonizing 20-minute car ride to the hospital did Grace finally learn the two girls' fates. One girl, she was told,

didn't make it. The other was in a coma. And they don't know who died and who lived? No. The hospital said it was up to Grace to identify the survivor. You couldn't go? I couldn't go. I couldn't do it. So Grace assigned her eldest daughter that grim task. So the best you're going to hope for here is that it's your daughter, but she's

she's hurt. Already pretty seriously hurt. The wait was excruciating, and then Grace's daughter returned with the news she had been praying for. She comes back down and she tells me, Mom, it's Chris. By now, Christine's father, Larry, had joined the rest of his family at Christine's bedside. The unspoken question on everyone's mind, would Christine ever regain consciousness? I could see her little heart, you know, rising, Paul. I got her hand, too, you know, and I was talking to her, telling her that I was there, you know, and that we loved her. Brittany was there, too. How'd she look? It was bad. It was so bad that you couldn't even, you didn't know it was her. But at least Christine was still alive. That meant only one thing for Molly's family. Megan is Molly's oldest sister. I was in shock.

I remember crying really hard and I was throwing stuff in my room because it just didn't seem real to me. How were your parents? Really emotional. I'd never seen my dad cry. They took it really hard. So did Molly's friends, Stephanie and Brooke. I just remember, like, she's dead, she's dead. And everyone was like, who's dead?

And I said, Molly. Now the questions of who pulled the trigger and why fell to Portland, Texas, police detective Roland Chavez. Molly can't give us any information, and Christine's in the hospital, and she can't give us any information. At that point, it's not even clear whether Christine's going to survive. So Chavez and his team focused on the crime scene. There was no murder weapon.

They did find two spent.45 caliber casings. And on the overlook, just 30 feet from where Molly and Christine were discovered, police found an empty monster energy drink can and five cigarette butts. And the girls didn't smoke. The girls did not smoke. Chavez sent all that for DNA testing. As for the duct tape used to cover the girls' eyes, Chavez thought maybe that was itself a clue. Sometimes that can suggest somebody who knows the victim didn't want to see them. As far as you know, either of them have any enemies?

No, that's what was so confusing. Everyone loved them, you know, either of them have any enemies? No, that's what was so confusing. Everyone loved them, you know. Well, maybe not everyone. Roland Chavez continued interviewing Christine and Molly's many friends. They began to tell us they were in a relationship. These weren't just two friends, they were dating. Yes. That had many here wondering if their romance might in some way have

been a motive for the attack. Conceivable that this was some kind of hate crime? I mean, I'd be lying if I said that thought didn't cross through my mind. After three long sleepless days and nights, more extraordinary news. Christine Chapa had regained consciousness. We're hoping now we're going to be able to really get the ball rolling. The story Christine eventually shared with police provided intriguing clues about the identity of her attacker. And it's a story Christine will also share with you. Coming up, her stunning account. The first thing we asked her, of course, is, did you know the person that did this?

And then, a mysterious message rocks the case. The letter is written from the perspective of a hitman. When Dateline continues. 18-year-old Christine Chapa had been shot in the head and left outside for more than eight hours. And somehow, she had survived. Then, just days after brain surgery, Christine again defied the odds and began to stir. That's an incredible little girl here. I'm telling you, she is something else.

We asked her questions, she would squeeze our hand. That must have been a wonderful thing to say. It was. For police, the pressure to find the shooter was intense. Detective Roland Chavez hoped Christine, now conscious, would be playing a big part in that. Except Christine still could not speak. It was either a squeeze of the hand and then the blinking of the eyes. Soon she was able to write out her answers, so Chavez kept his questions simple.

Can you say yes or no? The first thing we asked her, of course, is, did you know the person that did this? And she said no. She didn't recognize him, but she could provide important details, including how tall he was. She described him as about 5'8", 5'9". She said the shooter smelled of cigarettes. When he was close to your face, could you smell anything? His breath? Had he been drinking?

Okay, so he smelled like he smoked. Which made Chavez think about those cigarette butts found at the crime scene. He asked that DNA tests on those be put on the fast track. One of the things that Christine was also able to give us was that the assailant wore gloves, and Under Armour gloves specifically. She saw the logo. Yes. Soon, Christine helped police make this sketch of her assailant.

And as the days passed, her communication skills steadily improved, allowing her to share with police more details of that horrible night. We had supposed to be peaceful and safe. And when she was well enough, she shared her story with us. You look great and it's great to see you. Thank you. Christine began by describing that June night in the park. Why'd you go to the park that night? Well, because we had missed our movie and so we're kind of driving around and just trying to figure out what to do. Molly had been baptized in that park. She wanted to show Christine exactly where, near one of the park's overlooks.

We weren't even there for five minutes. When we ended up seeing this guy walk by, I got this weird feeling. We wanted to hurry up and get out of there. And the next thing you know, he's right there on Molly's side with a gun. She said the man then forced the two girls down a steep embankment and into the tall beach grass below. And she recalled the odd way he referred to them both. He called Molly girl number one and I was girl number two.

And he referred to you that way by by numbers, all the way through it? He did. What'd you say to him? Well, once we got under the overlook, I asked him if he was going to take us anywhere. And he just told me, like, no, this will be quick and easy. I can feel, like, my heart beating so fast. I'm like, man, I want my mom. And that's when I'm just, like, praying,, please God, don't let me die, please.

Molly say anything? We both asked each other if we were okay. And that was the last thing. We both asked each other. Christine says the gunman then raped her. And the ordeal wasn't over. He had the gun pointed at us still, and he made me put duct tape over Molly's mouth and her eyes, and I had to do the same to myself.

I was already at that stage, like, I'm going to die, like, this is it. And I hear the gun go off, and then I went black, and, like, everything went black. One year after the shootings, Christine returned to the scene with Detective Chavez, showing him exactly where and how the attacker approached them. Christine was kind of our inspiration. Seeing how hard she was working just made us continue to work

even that much harder for her. By then, they had something very interesting to work with. DNA tests of the cigarette butts and the drink can had come back from the lab. What did the DNA show? The DNA showed that it returned to Dylan Spellman. Dylan Spellman lived just three blocks from the crime scene, and according to Chavez, he had a striking resemblance to Christine's police sketch. The detective also learned Spellman had a criminal past and was, at the time, awaiting sentencing on an armed robbery charge in Nevada.

Spellman denied having any involvement in the girls' shootings. And Chavez also had no way of tying him directly to the crime. We have no gun. We have no usable prints. The only thing we have are cigarette butts, monster cannon suspicion. Spellman admitted being at the park that night, but said it was long before the attacks happened. So his DNA on that overlook might not be proof of anything. What's more, Chavez's one eyewitness to the shootings could not identify Spellman from a photo lineup. It was very hard because the suspects all looked the same. And then there was the matter of Mr. Spellman's height.

He was big. He's what, 6'8"? 6'8". Remember, Christine said the shooter was quite a bit shorter than that. 5'8", maybe 5'9". For me, it was always the difficulty of getting over the size. The investigation again slowed, and two years passed. Eventually, Chavez's chief decided to give it to a new detective, hoping he might have better luck finding the missing pieces.

Detective Aaron Volleman had been working the case, and now he took the lead. Within a matter of days, Volleman caught a break. We received a phone call from the investigators at the Sinton Police Department. Those investigators in the neighboring town of Sinton had just been handed an intriguing letter, addressed to Christine Chapa's father. What does the letter say? The letter is written from the perspective of a hitman who has been hired to kill the surviving victim, in this case, Christine Chapa.

In the letter, the hitman even named the person who had hired him. All of it was a twist as big as Texas. Coming up, investigators receive another tip. He came in as a good Samaritan wanting to provide information on a white vehicle that he saw on the night of the murder. And then, a possible suspect turns up, along with some suspicious belongings. It was a Glock.45 caliber pistol and an underarmor glove. Day by day, inch by inch, Christine Chapa walked a steady, if uneven, road to recovery. I couldn't move my left side.

I couldn't move my hand or my arm or my leg. I had to relearn to swallow. You don't give up, do you? I don't. I try to stay motivated. So was Detective Aaron Volleman. He'd just learned of a bizarre letter addressed to Christine's father. Immediately I knew this was something very, very big and very important. The writer described himself as a hitman hired by the person who shot Molly and Christine. He wrote the gunman had sought his services to finish the job and make the only witness to Molly's murder disappear.

He's telling Christine Chapa's father, I'm going to tell you who the murderer is and then you can go do something about it. It seemed too good to be true, except the letter mentioned details of Christine and Molly's shooting. Police had never released to the public. He forced the girls to duct tape themselves. The fact that he called them by numbers, girl number one, girl number two. Who does he say the murderer is?

He identifies him. His name is Christobal Melcher, and he gives an address in Utah. When Volleman confronted Melcher, he denied even being in the state of Texas at the time of the shootings. And he had a rock-solid alibi, military training, which left Volleman asking who could have written that letter and why. Chris Melcher thought he might know. His ex-roommate, a guy named David Strickland. Volleman immediately recognized the name. I had interviewed David Strickland in 2012, just days after the murder. He was living in Portland, Texas at the time. He came in as a good Samaritan wanting to provide information

on a white vehicle that he saw near his parents' home on the night of the murder. His parents live near the crime scene? Yes. Volleman learned Strickland had moved to Utah soon after the shootings, where he and Melcher eventually became friends. According to Melcher, that friendship didn't last long. That was because Melcher had Strickland arrested after he suspected Strickland had stolen part of his gun collection. The gun robbery put a damper on their relationship. After Strickland's release from jail, he returned to Portland, Texas. Volleman began to suspect this letter could have been payback for Melcher having Strickland arrested.

I know there was bad blood between David Strickland and Christobal Melcher, but to accuse someone of murder. So Volleman asked the local PD in Utah for David Strickland's case file, and in it he found photographs of Strickland's belongings, which were seized at the time of his arrest. I'll never forget the first photograph that popped up. It was a Glock.45 caliber pistol and an Under Armour glove, and you could see very clearly the white Under Armour logo. A Glock.45.

The same type of gun the crime lab said was used to shoot the girls. As for the black glove, Christine was absolutely certain that the shooter wore a pair exactly like that. I know that because I played softball and that stuck out to me right away. Then more good news for Volleman. The local PD in Utah still had Strickland's belongings in evidence, so the detective got a hold of that gun and had it tested. That firearms analysis changed everything in this case. What that report said was that the two shell casings found at the scene and the two shell casings from the test fire were linked to the same weapon. Detective Vulleman felt he'd finally found the gun used to shoot Christine and Molly.

The day I looked at that ballistics report is the day we arrested David Strickland. Four years after Christine Chapa was raped and shot, four years after Molly O'Geen was murdered right next to her, Christine slowly walked the courthouse steps, determined to look her attacker in the eye and ready to relive her ordeal in front of a jury. Sitting quietly in the defendant's chair was David Strickland, his charges, aggravated assault,

aggravated sexual assault, and capital murder. If you looked at him, you probably wouldn't think him capable of this, but he certainly was, and he is. Prosecuting attorney Sam Smith. Shooting both of these girls for no identifiable reason at all. He's certainly a psychopath. Prosecutor Smith laid it out for the jury, the gun, the shell casings, the gloves, and one other damning piece of evidence. Soon after Strickland's arrest, investigators discovered on his computer portions of that letter written to Christine's father. You can delete the letter off of your computer, but if you've used the spell check, grammar check function, that information is still stored in the computer.

It was a lucky break for the prosecutor. Before Smith rested, he called Christine to the stand, putting her face to face with David Strickland. I was trying to make eye contact with him. I wanted him to see me and see what he had done, but he would not look at me. Despite Christine's bravery, the prosecutor had a problem. She couldn't positively identify Strickland as the shooter, a point Strickland's attorneys John Gilmore and Jimmy Granberry seized upon as they presented their defense. She doesn't know who shot her. She has no recollection. She wasn't able to pick our client out of a photo lineup. They also attacked the lab report saying Strickland's gun matched the shell casings found at the scene. We had our

expert who said that it's inconclusive. I mean, there's no way that you could say for sure. And then there was the matter of that letter. Strickland, I mean, there's no way that you could say for sure. And then there was the matter of that letter. Strickland, they said, may have written it, but his motive was simply revenge for Chris Melcher having him arrested. Police, they argued, should never have taken their sights off their first suspect, Dylan Spellman. Well, they had the right guy. He's a better match than my boy. The defense pointed out Dylan Spellman's Well, they had the right guy. He's a better match than my boy. The defense pointed out Dylan Spellman's DNA put him at the scene.

And he had a history of violence. Their client had none. David Strickland did not do this. After five days of testimony, the jury began deliberations. And then six hours later, a verdict. Guilty.

For Molly's family and friends, that word, as it often does, provided hollow satisfaction. We were waiting for justice, and then now it's here, but we don't get her back. We have had so many huge, major life moments, and she hasn't been there. Molly hadn't been there for Christine either. What would have been our anniversary, her birthday, the anniversary of us getting shot. Those days are the hardest. Christine's journey had already proved long and painful. And as she would soon learn, despite that verdict, it was about to become a whole lot longer.

Coming up, was a critical clue ignored? The focus falls on a hair found at the crime scene. This presumably came from the person who attacked them. Got to be. Why it could turn the entire case upside down. You think they got the wrong guy? I'm positive they have the wrong guy. When Dateline continues. With a guilty verdict against David Strickland now behind her, Christine Chapa looked forward to getting her life back on track.

You've come a really long way. I mean, I have come a long way, like from not being able to sit up or walk or even chew. Was that a chocolate chip? Christine went back to college and she began dating again. Did you think this was all behind you? I was hoping that it would be behind me. And then three years after the verdict, Christine went online and saw a headline she couldn't believe. News of a startling twist in her case. Old DNA evidence had resurfaced. The San Patricio County judge has cleared the way for new DNA testing in the David Strickland

capital murder case. I knew it was extremely significant. Cynthia Orr, David Strickland's appellate attorney, was reviewing her client's case file when she stumbled on something she hoped was huge. The test results of a tiny hair. This particular hair had been lifted from Christina Chapa's body. A preliminary test on the hair performed soon after the shootings showed it wasn't Molly's or Christine's.

And there was more. They identified it as a pubic hair. So this presumably came from the person who attacked them? Got to be. How else does a pubic hair get on her clothing? In pretrial, both sides were satisfied with the evidence they had. So neither side submitted that hair for any further testing. Post-trial was a different matter. My lab tested the DNA, and I did not know I was going to get a result that would identify any person. And then she did.

And here's a hint. The hair wasn't David Strickland's. Who does the hair come back to? Dylan Spellman. It's his. Pretty amazing. Dylan Spellman, the first man on detectives radar. To attorney Orr, that test result meant only one thing. The chances that a pubic hair from Dylan Spellman would somehow end

up down a hill in a field on the clothing of a rape victim are astronomical. It's got to be him. You think they got the wrong guy? I'm positive they have the wrong guy. So Orr and her team focused on all the evidence police had gathered on Dylan Spellman, back when he first became a suspect. Starting with Spellman's prior crime, a home invasion he committed with several accomplices. The victims were robbed, not killed. But it was how the crime was committed that intrigued Orr the most. They went in and tied up a mom, dad, and their two kids

and referred to each other as 1, 2, 3, and 4 so the family wouldn't know who they were. Remember, Christine said her assailant had also referred to her and Molly as Girl 1 and Girl 2. And they were also bound with duct tape. According to the police report, Dylan Spellman used duct tape during the home invasion. The similarities are pretty chilling. You know, you use what you know, right?

Or also listen to Spellman's police interview about the girls' shootings. When grilled about his possible involvement, Dylan Spellman asked about a deal. I just wanted to know, I mean, how much time I would be looking at. How much time would I get? Pretty stunning. Maybe so, except detectives were well aware of all this evidence against Spellman during their investigation. And yet they still dismissed him as a suspect. And one big reason was his unusual height. Dylan Spellman is 6'8".

Yeah. Christine never described her attacker as being extremely tall. Which is almost the first thing you'd say about Dylan Spellman if you met him. Unless you're standing on an overlook. Or has an explanation. The topography of the crime scene helped mask Spellman's size. He tells us to follow him. It's a theory she says was supported by Christine, who told police their attacker went down the steep slope first.

Did he lead you into the grass or did he have you lead him into the grass? He led us. He led you? She explains in this walkthrough interview that he walked down the hill before her, so the attacker was always lower down than her on lower ground. Which would make a taller person appear shorter by comparison. That's right. But what about all the incriminating evidence presented at trial

that David Strickland pulled the trigger that night, including Strickland's gun? Or argue the state's own expert couldn't say for sure that Strickland's gun fired those shell casings that were found under Christine and Molly. It could have been some other Glock. As for that letter addressed to Christine's father, some of which was found on her client's computer,

Orr insists the letter was not proof Strickland had inside knowledge about the crimes. In fact, it showed just the opposite. If you look at the whole letter, it's got tons of things wrong. I mean, clear mistakes and things that indicate total ignorance about the conduct. Is it any evidence at all that David Strickland attacked and shot these two women? it's zero evidence of that. After reviewing Strickland's entire case file, Orr asked to speak with the district attorney, hoping she could convince him to support David Strickland getting a new trial. She also would ask to have Dylan Spellman arrested.

Let's take a really good hard look at every piece of this and let's get the right guy. Christine Chapa feels the evidence has already had that hard look. As for Dylan Spellman being her attacker, Christine says that idea is absurd. Is there any way you could have missed how tall he was? Is there any way you could have been wrong about that? There's no way, like, I wouldn't know if there was somebody almost seven foot standing next to me. I wouldn't know, like, that would just stand out. To Christine, the thought of her attacker getting a new trial is devastating. Did you think this was over? I thought that once he would be caught, that I would feel some sort of relief.

But the trial was finally over. I just, I mean, nothing really changed. Three years earlier, Christine had waited anxiously, hoping a jury would put David Strickland in prison. And now she found herself waiting again and wondering, would the same system that put him behind bars keep him there? Coming up, what does the prosecutor have to say? You'd admit if you made a mistake.

You doggone right. Will he agree that David Strickland may actually be innocent? Christine Chapa had already suffered through six years of emotional and physical hardship. I wake up in the morning and I just, I'm reminded every day of what happened to me. Now she faced even more torment. After learning the man convicted of raping and shooting her might possibly get a new trial and could even be released from prison. You're convinced David Strickland's the right guy? I know he's the right guy. David Strickland's appellate attorney felt otherwise. Having gathered all her evidence, Cynthia Orr traveled to San Patricio County, hoping to convince the DA her client didn't shoot Christine and Molly. And that Dylan Spellman did.

How do you fight with evidence of a pubic hair on a woman who's just been raped and shot in the head? District Attorney Sam Smith listened, as Orr argued that the state's evidence was flimsy at best. You'd admit if you made a mistake. You doggone right. Orr then turned Prosecutor Smith's attention to Dylan Spellman. There was a time where you were convinced he was the right guy.

I was convinced that he was a suspect that we were going to keep pursuing. But there always was the same problem. The problem, Smith told Orr, was that according to Christine, the attacker approached them on level ground before he led them down that steep slope. Dillon's bone was 6'8"? 6'8", 6'10". So his height would have been apparent to Christine. Yes, it certainly would have. So far, the district attorney wasn't buying Orr's argument. Then he heard what Orr believed was her most compelling evidence, something she hoped would surely make the DA sit up and take notice. That hair found on Christine's clothes.

How could Dylan Spelman's DNA be on Christine Chapa's body if he were not involved in her assault? Dylan Spelman was on that overlook where those girls were. So it's just an amazing coincidence that Dylan Spelman's hair is found on Christine Chapa? I don't know if it's an amazing coincidence. Who's to say a pubic hair couldn't have been on that overlook if somebody was there in shorts smoking a cigarette? Okay, but if this is a pubic hair and it comes from Christine Chapa's body, that suggests that it was transferred during some kind of sexual contact, doesn't it? I haven't seen any evidence that anyone's definitely identified that as a pubic hair.

Nothing the defense has told you makes you want to run out and arrest Dylan Spellman? No. What's more, Smith said all of Cynthia Orr's supposed new evidence was not only known to detectives pre-trial, but also available to Strickland's defense attorneys as they prepared for trial, including that hair. There's not any new evidence. This is old wine and new bottles. There you go. In the end, the district attorney told Orr there was no way he would support the idea of David Strickland getting a new trial. You're convinced the right man's in prison for this? Yes.

All of the evidence that was presented at trial, which the jury heard and made their decision on, is that David Strickland committed this crime. Unfazed, Orr took her case to the Texas Court of Appeals. If police and prosecutors had had the information that a hair found on Christine Chapa's body came back to Dylan Spellman, would somebody else be locked up now?

I'm convinced that David Strickland would not have gone to trial. He wouldn't have been convicted and he wouldn't have been sent to prison for this case. In January of 2020, Cynthia Orr's hopes were dashed when the court denied David Strickland's appeal. Orr says she'll try again and again to set her client free. And that could go on for years.

For David Strickland, who insists he's innocent, it's his right to pursue all his legal remedies. But for Christine Chapa, it becomes a cruel irony. The very system that aims to bring her justice ends up preventing her from putting the worst moment of her life completely behind her. It just sort of never ends, doesn't it? It never will end. Christine's friend says she won't let herself be labeled a victim. She's such a strong person, and she's getting stronger every day. I feel like most people would be broken, you know. She's an inspiration for sure. Do you think of yourself as having recovered? Do you think yourself as still being in recovery? I think it'll always be

in recovery. I'll always be working on stuff physically and mentally. Like, I have my good days and bad days. I just miss everything we take for granted. Like, even just putting my hair up in a ponytail. It can be the simplest things. And then, of course, there is Molly. You still think about Molly? I do think about Molly every day. I saw her right on the wall from time to time on Facebook.

I mean, I know that she'll probably never read them, but hopefully God will, like, relay the messages. That's all for now. I'm Lester Holt. Thanks for joining us.