Transcripts For WCAU Dateline NBC 20170521

Was a heart. Then a message, on facebook. Who is sending me something at this hour of the night . Shes like, i got a message from nicky. So shes not really missing, shes off somewhere and she just doesnt wanna be found . Right. But where . I found one surveillance camera that captured the highway. This is our biggest lead. But the road to the truth, would be bumpy. [ bleep ] you hows that . Maybe, even dangerous. You didnt see that he had a gun . I missed it completely could anyone find answers, for a frantic family . Where is she . Why did she have to leave . What happened to nicole out on that lonely highway . Im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres Josh Mankiewicz with under the prairie sky. Way out west. The view in every direction is as big as the sky and just about as empty. Across montana from the betterknown, breathtaking ski resorts that bring in a mountain of money sits the prairie where our story begins. Its a mystery that without a doubt remains to this day. A tale wound around the slow, downward spiral of a group of longtime friends. You hear people say that life is high school with money, right . Yeah. Well, this is high school with murder . Very much. The twists start with the discovery of a Ford Expedition alone on a bleak highway outside a small town. An expedition like this one, that belonged to a woman named, Nicole Waller. She loved animals, i mean as kids we had mice, frogs, salamanders, and newts. Childhood memories spill happily from nicoles sister. Carmen. And as sisters carmen and nicole loved and sometimes loathed each other. The beauty of our relationship is we would butt heads, we could fight, scream. But the moment we got in trouble for it, we were like, in it together. Oh well, we were just playing around, dad did that work . Sometimes. As adults, she needed anything, we were there. Nicky was the type of person that if you were low on food. Shed be like yknow what . Come over, have some dinner on me. She would literally give you the shirt off her back. Nicole, carmen, and another friend named cami. All grew up together in the western montana town of kalispell just a stones throw from the majesty of Glacier National park. Cami loved nicoles free spirit. She didnt really have a care in the world. Yknow we were young. We were kids. And nicole, especially, acted like one. In fact, when cami got married back in the late 90s, nicole was a bridesmaid. And, true to her personality, she missed the rehearsal. But things changed in 2000. Nicole had a little girl when she was 18. Howd she change when she became a mom . She became like, oh, im a mom. I cant go out and party all the time, i have a child. I have to get a job. Im going to go do a cna. Nursing assistant. Yeah and that s what she did. In 2002, at age 21, nicky married a guy named jason. They welcomed two boys, who joined their sister. Then medical problems started. A neurological condition put pressure on her brain. Uncomfortable, but something she could live with. Her friends and family say it did take a toll on her marriage. Eventually she went on disability. It did not stop her. She never let it get her down. She always thought positive, she didnt let life stop her. By 2012 things seemed to be looking up. Shed reconnected with an old friend named cody on facebook and fallen head over heels for him. Once her divorce was final, nicole planned to move with her kids to join him. 500 miles across the state on the montana, north dakota border. Where the discovery of billions of barrels of oil, and an extraction process known as fracking had led to a boom in an area called the bakken. But before the final move could take place, during a trip to see cody in february 2013, nicole texted her sister the night before valentines day to say she was returning. Driving back home to see her kids, who were staying with their dad. And in between is a, what . An 8 or 9 hour drive . Correct. A pretty long, desolate 8 or 9 hour drive in some places. Yes but on those long drives across montana nicole did have company. Tell me about your sisters relationship with her phone. Yknow some people love their pillow . My sister loved her phone. I swear she slept with it. She certainly drove with it. Thats why nicky was the queen of texting. Where are you at . Did you stop and get gas yet . You need to stay awake . Call me. But on this trip. Neither those calls nor those texts arrived from nicole. You didnt talk to her every day . No so the fact that a few days and gone by and you hadnt heard from her, that was not in and of itself unusual or shocking . No because, shed come home, shed sleep, and wanna spend that time with her children. So for me to go a couple days without hearing from her wasnt unusual. What carmen didnt realize,is that while she wasnt worried, some friends of nicoles were, because they hadnt heard from her. Worried enough to file a missing persons report. Which brings us back to that vehicle. Nicoles expedition, found on the side of the highway. About an hour up the road from her boyfriends house. It was after dark, on a frigid 5degree night in midfebruary when fbi agent craig overby received a call from another agent about that vehicle. He asked me would i go out and take a look at the car and see if there was any evidence of why she might be missing. So overby, one of only a handful of fbi agents posted among the endless prairies of eastern montana. Drove the 70 miles from his home to the edge of a small town called poplar. The car was locked but we could see inside the car that it was just packed with belongings from the floor to the roof. The agent quickly made a decision. Whyd you decide to go inside . It was very possible that an injured or deceased person was concealed under all those things inside the car that we just couldnt see from the windows we opened the car. Looked inside. Can you tell if theres anybody in the car . No but, but we heard sounds coming from the back. Sound of what . I didnt know what it was, a sound id never heard before. It was a sound the agent would never forget. What was making that strange sound . When we come back, a bizarre discovery. I was really surprised they were alive it was 5 degrees outside. And then, it turns out the place where nicoles car was found has a reputation. Im thinking you gotta have a lotta stabbings to be called stab city . yeah everyday, millions of you walk through our front doors. And you inspired our new flavors. Introducing mcdonalds signature crafted recipes. Sweet barbecue bacon made with crispy onions. Pico guacamole made with real hass avocados. Maple bacon dijon with thickcut applewood smoked bacon. Purchase any signature crafted recipe sandwich and use the mcdonalds app to get a free medium fries and soft drink. You bring your flavor to the world. We bring ours to you. 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But 80 of bacteria arent even on teeth. Eughty purschunt . colgate totals different. It fights bacteria on teeth, tongue, cheeks and gums. Protecting 100 of your mouths surfaces. Colgate total for whole mouth health. Reporter fbi agent craig overby was looking at Nicole Wallers Ford Expedition. It had been found packed full of her belongings and abandoned, on montanas fort peck indian reservation, about a mile outside the small town of poplar. Then overby heard something strange. The agent walked around to the back door. Opened it. There were two guinea pigs in the very back cargo area of the expedition. The two guinea pigs were making squealing noises. They hadnt been fed in a while probably. Thats right. And i was really surprised they were alive. The car had been there for a few days. And it was 5 degrees outside. Reporter would nicole, the girl whod loved animals, have walked away from those family pets . It seemed unlikely. But the fbi knew nothing yet about nicole. Only, a highway patrolmans report that her expedition had been sitting there for four days. And, that she was nowhere to be found. The highways here in montana are long and desolate. If you stop here, if you break down here, if youre forced off the road here, it might be a long time before anyone comes to help. And theres one more thing. The place where nicoles vehicle was found was in an area so violent that decades ago police gave it a nickname. They called it stab city. The fbi has jurisdiction over certain crimes that occur on the indian reservations throughout the country and so primarily we work Violent Crime investigations on the fort peck indian reservation. Im thinking you gotta have a lotta stabbings to be called stab city . Yeah, you know not a lot of gun crime, but a lot of terrible assaults. People that live on the reservation are some of the finest people in the world. But there are a few that abuse alcohol and drugs. Which leads to a lot of Violent Crime. If someone had stopped there, or been made to stop there for some reason and was walking into poplar would they be in a position of some danger . Most of our crimes are people who know each other random crime is very rare in poplar. Reporter rare. But not unheard of. Just a year before, overby was lead investigator when a School Teacher named Sherry Arnold disappeared during a morning run in a town less than an hour from the reservation. Reporter massive searches did not find Sherry Arnold. Her disappearance became national news. Reporter just a week after arnold vanished, an excon and an accomplice were arrested. Like so many other men and women, theyd been drawn to the bakken by the prospect of oil jobs. Two months later, one of her killers led police to Sherry Arnolds body in a shallow grave. Both men were eventually convicted of her murder. It really changed the nature of the community. Eastern montana was like mayberry in a way prior to the Sherry Arnold case. That investigation was really fresh in our minds when Nicole Waller became missing. Kidnapping . Carjacking . Everything was on the table reporter from the beginning of nicoles case, one clue seemed important. Inside the Expeditions Center console, agent overby found her keys. Did you check to see whether the car could be started . Yup, i started it. So presumably, she didnt break down there. Thats correct. She stopped for some other reason thats right. Reporter but then weirdly left the keys locked inside . Agent overby drove the expedition to an impound lot, and called in montanas department of criminal investigation. And agent mark hilyard, who acted as both crime scene technician and detective. So as you go through the car, what do you find . It was somebodys life thrown into a vehicle it didnt make sense to me. Why . Why is it like that . Nicole had Health Problems were her meds in that vehicle . Yes, there were. I mean it doesnt make any sense for her to walk away, leave that medication when she needed it to survive. There was a calendar on the passenger floorboard, and on the date of february 14th, valentines day, it was like cody forever, and a heart. And on the 15th she had a medical appointment which i thought was odd. Shes got plans. Reporter across the state of montana, the same day that search was going on, nicoles sister carmen found out from nicoles friends that she had never made it back to kalispell. Immediately concerned or just thinking shes off the grid for a little bit . Immediately concerned. Like freaking out. So you talked to her on a wednesday. Shes gonna come back on thursday. Correct. And now its monday and youre getting a call that no ones seen or heard from her. Yeah and im angry because nobody got a hold of me prior to that and my mind is like, why . And im like, okay let me call the sheriffs office, you know, because im in disbelief reporter incredibly, nicoles friends had filed a missing persons report without ever once checking with nicoles family. Any good reason why nicky would go off the grid for four full days . None at all. She wouldnt have left her kids. I must have made a dozen or more phone calls to her. And you texted . Texted her. Where are you . Whats going on . Please respond can you talk to us . Reporter but again, from the woman known as the queen of texting. No response. So why would Nicole Waller just disappear . It was time for investigators to speak with those whod last seen her. Coming up, why some thought nicole might be just fine. So shes not really missing, shes off somewhere and she just doesnt wanna be found . Right. And that does sound like nicky . Very much so. Reporter when dateline continues. Nice man cave nacho . [ train whistle blows ] what . stop it mmhmm. 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Reporter across western montana, word spread that Nicole Waller had disappeared while driving more than 500 miles across the state. A trip that began near the booming Bakken Oil Patch on the border with north dakota. It was left to nicoles sister carmen. To break the news to their mom. My mom knew something was wrong and shes like whats going on . And i had to tell her and im like, i just got the phone call that nickys missing. My moms like what . And shes screaming at me on the phone and it wasnt that she was mad at me. Its fear. So i had to tell my mom her daughters missing. Reporter carmen and her mother immediately wondered if nicoles neurological condition was the cause. My mom and i called hospitals, we called sheriffs departments. All just thinking okay, did she have some sort of medical issue on the way over and is unconscious and they brought in a jane doe . And they all told us no, they hadnt seen anybody with that. Reporter looking for support, carmen called her best friend angie. Howd she sound . Frantic. And carmens never frantic. Carmen is the most levelheaded person i know. Reporter what did you think had happened . Neither one of us really knew what was going on she was just disappeared. Reporter news of nicoles vanishing spread via facebook. Where it was seen by longtime friends like cami. And yknow at first you wonder if shes just somewhere you know, cause this doesnt happen in smalltown usa. Reporter so shes not really missing, shes off somewhere and she just doesnt wanna be found . Or she doesnt wanna talk to anybody . Right. Reporter and that does sound like nicky . Very much so. Reporter but before long, nicoles friends and family wondered if something more sinister was behind the disappearance. Carmen called nicoles estranged husband. Reporter did you talk to jason . Yes i called him and asked him have you seen nicky . Have you heard from her. And he said, i have not heard from her since the morning of the 14th she was on her way home. Reporter detectives too, called jason waller. Jason, do you know why im calling you today . Yes i do. cause uh. Yeah. No one can find her. Reporter jason said hed last spoken with his ex, nicole about 7 a. M. On valentines morning, february 14th, when she called to say she was heading back home from her boyfriend codys house in eastern montana. By all accounts, nicole and jason got along well. They had an opendoor policy regarding visitation for their two boys. And he was known as a good father. There was, however, a big day coming up a meeting about officially ending their marriage. We were supposed to sign some divorce papers and parenting plans monday. Thats why i was kinda wondering where she was at. And she didnt show . No. Is that like her . No not usually. I mean if shes going to stop somewhere or her trucks having problems shell call me because im a mechanic. Reporter did you think he could have had anything to do with this . No. He had the boys. He was working. Just no way. Reporter carmen felt the same way about Cody Johnston. Nicoles boyfriend. Hed been an old friend of the family since high school, before he and nicole had reconnected on facebook in 2012. Reporter we live in a world in which the boyfriend is always the first suspect. Right. Reporter did you suspect cody . Not at all. Reporter when you get cody on the phone whatd he say . I said hey bud, hows it going . And im like, have you seen my sister . Have you heard from her . And hes like, i havent talked to her since thursday, and i said, cody my sister never made it home reporter cody as the last person known to have seen nicole alive also received a call from investigators and he volunteered to go to the Police Department for an interview. I am recording this. Reporter cody told detectives that on the night before valentines day he and nicole had been arguing and decided to break up. He said he drove to his workplace. Where he was a diesel mechanic at a trucking firm. That was 12 miles from the home he owned in a small town called fairview. Cody said he slept with a colleague in a camper the company kept to help provide shelter because of the chronic housing shortages during the oil boom. Still, the next morning, cody said nicole texted him. And then the last one she says to you is at 6 51 am. Uh, your dog needs food. Is that correct . Mmhmm. Reporter cody said nicole then called him a couple of times. But he didnt want to talk with her. I said fine, i shut my phone off. I go back to bed. Ok. 8 oclock i get up, i go in the shop. I get on the computer. Her cell phones on my plan so i shut the damn thing off cause i cant block her, the only option i have is to suspend service on her phone. Okay um, yeah i shut off her phone. I went to work. Reporter so maybe thats why nicole didnt text that day she couldnt. Cody said he knew nicole was leaving his house that morning so he avoided her by staying at work until lunchtime. It was valentines day. February 14th. At lunchtime you went back. Yes. And she was already gone . Yes. Reporter fbi agent craig overby. When he went home he found that she and all her belongings were gone. And he figured shes headed home . Thats right. Yknow theyd broken up. And she was going back to kalispell. You know, i just hope she shows up. I hope shes okay. Reporter thats what everyone hoped. And then just two days later came what looked like a break. Maybe a miracle. A facebook message that changed everything. Coming up whos it from . Nicole willis waller. Thats her facebook name. Was carmen now messaging with nicole . Where are you . Whats going on . Where have you been . Yeah. It went from shes missing to shes just hiding. Migraines steal moments from my life. So i use excedrin. 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W us how it feels to lose weight it feels so good in the first two months, members have lost 15 more weight than on our Prior Program join for free and get a one month free hurry, offer ends may 22nd reporter as investigators looked into the disappearance of Nicole Waller, the options for where she might be seemed as endless as the plains in eastern montana. Department of criminal investigation agent, mark hilliard. Could she have walked away . Sure, could she have been abducted . Sure. Again, you just dont know. You never, never know. Reporter then, came a huge break one week after nicole apparently abandoned her Ford Expedition. Nicoles sister carmen, whod spent every night tossing and turning since hearing the news heard a noise in the dark. My phone kept it binged at me. And im like who is sending me something at this hour of the night . Well im up. So i rolled over, grabbed my phone. And whos it from . Nicole willis waller. Thats how her facebook name was. And i immediately bolt out of bed. And im panicking, im shaking, and i read the message. Reporter here it is that facebook message reads, everybody had a lovely evening. Not coming home. Dont laugh at me. Sorry i let everybody down. Carmen got out of bed and frantically phoned her friend, angie. Shes like, i got a message from nicky sweet shes alive so i pop on facebook, im sending private messages to nicky. Youre messaging nicky on facebook right then while youre still on with carmen . Yeah and so is carmen. Carmens sending these private messages to her sister. I think it was like two or three that i sent back. Where are you . Whats going on . Where have you been . Yeah we have the fbi and the police, and everybodys looking for you. Where are you . And you could just hear it with every message sent, and no reply. Carmen was getting more and more frantic. And i just started crying because im frustrated. Im thinking how could you send me Something Like that and then just leave me hanging . You call your family and tell them that . No. You didnt tell your family that a facebook message had come in from nicky . No. Because . I didnt wanna get their hopes up. I didnt wanna crush em that, hey she reached out but, she wouldnt respond to me. Okay, but if that message is legit, then shes alive right, i didnt wanna give my parents false hope. I had already felt like i had crushed em enough by having to tell them that their childs missing. Reporter by the light of day, carmen and angie took a closer look at the message. Just the please dont laugh at me, that was nicky. She didnt wanna be the butt of anybodys jokes. I know ive made a mistake. I dont wanna hear about it, that sounds like her . That was very much sounded like nicky. That had to change the way everybody felt about this. Yes it went from, shes just missing to shes just hiding. Why would she hide . Thats what none of us could figure out. Reporter but even though the message sounded like nicole, the more angie and carmen looked at it, the more skeptical they became. For example, nicole was notoriously poor at spelling, ask anyone who knew her. Most texts sent by the socalled queen of texting practically required a translator. In this new facebook message, all the words were spelled correctly. And, some of the facts were clearly misstated. Had a lovely night . I mean, shed been gone for like a week at that point, so shed had seven or eight lovely nights in which she hadnt contacted anyone. Right, so of course at that time i have my cell phone with me. I take pictures, i sent it to craig overby with the fbi and i said, you know i get this message craig, this isnt right. It sounds to me like you thought shed sent that message, but that something was wrong with her . Yeah, maybe shes got too much pressure built up or shes had a head injury and thats why it sounds so odd. Reporter as the fbi went to work trying to trace the message, frustration led nicoles friend cami back to facebook. To get the word out about her friends disappearance. With the case of missing, and subsequently murdered, schoolteacher Sherry Arnold still fresh in mind, cami started the find Nicole Waller facebook page. When nicky first went missing there was no talk of it on the news, it wasnt in the newspaper. And having just gone through the Sherry Arnold case, you know, tons of people came out and looked for her, rightfully so, but there was no word of a search party for nicky, there was nothing. And when people go missing you look for them. Thats what you do. And i was angry. It was like she was forgotten . Very much so. I told carmen that i was going over to eastern montana and kick up a ruckus cause she deserved to be looked for. And we were basically told that we were not allowed to go to eastern montana by law enforcement. You feel helpless. You feel like you have to do something. Reporter but according to fbi agent craig overby there was a very good reason for asking nicoles family and friends to handle this disappearance differently than the Sherry Arnold matter. For one Sherry Arnold was snatched off the street while jogging. A sneaker left behind. We had leads on where Sherry Arnold may be. But we never had a good lead on where nicole might be. And montanas too big to just its too big. Join hands and people walk across a field. Its a needle in a haystack. If i had a place to go look, i would go look. But we just never had that. Reporter its a big state, plenty of places to hide. Or to hide someone. Coming up, investigators were about to take another look at nicoles boyfriend, but everyone seemed to agree, cody was awesome. He always seemed to be able to calm the storm, with nicky. Which is a valuable talent to have around nicky. She was a tornado sometimes. Cody was the best thing that ever happened to her. 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Yoits shocking actually. Ey put in tyson fun nuggets. Theyre made with real 100 allnatural ingredients. Like white meat chicken. And thats it. Keep it real. Keep it tyson. Reporter the prairie winter of 2013 was cold, bleak, empty. Much like the mysterious disappearance of the 31yearold mother of three, named Nicole Waller. There were no answers written on the montana wind. Only her family, left twisting in misery. You havent had a good nights sleep since this happened, have you . No. I wanna find her. Reporter carmen clung to hope, especially after she received that facebook message from nicoles account the one that read, everybody had a lovely evening. Not coming home. Dont laugh at me. Sorry i let everybody down. Reporter that message seemed far more comforting than the other facts of the case. Nicoles Ford Expedition with all her stuff in it found on an indian reservation on the edge of a town once known as stab city. Fbi agent, craig overby, was studying those facts. For someone to just disappear like that in montana is very unusual. Nicole was the type of person who was in constant communication with her family and friends, and so for her just to basically cease all communications, something was not right. Reporter investigators circled back to the two men in nicoles life. Her estranged husband, jason, and her boyfriend, Cody Johnston. Both men claimed theyd been at work the day she disappeared. She said well theres nothing i can do you know . Nothings good enough for you im gonna leave, i said okay, yeah i said thats fine. I said im going back to work. Reporter in that videotaped interview cody had given to police, hed made no secret of how he and nicole had been arguing for the 48 hours before her disappearance. And, that it was his decision to break up. I said, were done i said we i cant i cant do this. Cody, would there be any reason why anyone would suspect that you had something to do with her being gone or missing or anything . I hope not. It actually hurts me and offends me if anybody would think that. Ive done nothing but try to help her and no the last thing, no matter what shes ever done to me i love her and no i wouldnt hurt her, and i dont wanna see her hurt. Reporter in fact, nicoles family and friends felt that cody was perhaps the very best thing that had ever happened to her. They had big plans. We all thought that this was going to be nickys happily ever after. He always seemed to be able to calm the storm, if you will, with nicky which is a valuable talent to have around nicky she was a tornado sometimes. He promised her the moon. He was gonna take care of her. Reporter and he was doing just that. Cody made six figures as a diesel mechanic in the oilfields, and he wasnt shy about sharing it. Im the one person that actually tried to do everything for her. He was helping her manage her money, you know, make really good Financial Decisions for her and her children, helped her get a bigger home. Reporter hed become so close with nicoles daughter, ashlynd, that with her own father out of the picture, ashlynd had started thinking of cody as a parent. Reporter my niece was always very protective of my sister. Tried to shove out every boyfriend she ever had. I knew that it was serious when ashlynd told me, i was ready to call him dad. The perfect guy right josh loves you. Loves your kids. Takes care of everybody and there when you need him exactly. With all your faults and everything. I love her dearly but shes strained every relationship with every person shes ever had. You know ive taken her to every doctors appointment i could have, ive gone to her neurosurgeon with her. Reporter like many couples, theyd been on and off but by late 2012, just five months before nicole disappeared, they, were back together. Because . If poor choices paid money, Nicole Waller would have been a rockefeller. My sister made a pretty big mistake. I think she was just desperate because she realized that cody was the best thing that had ever happened to her. So she told cody she was pregnant. Even though she was not. Exactly. How did she persuade him that she was pregnant . She had taken my nieces ultrasound pictures cut it off, like the date off and sent them to him. And i know it makes my sister right now, look like a real winner. But people have done worse to keep relationships. Reporter heres the thing about lies. They work. This one did until about a month before nicole vanished. Finally, it all broke down to where she finally you know admitted to me about a month ago she says, uh, i wasnt pregnant. I lied to you. So at that point you know we talked and you know and i said this is just, i said youre, i said you need help. Reporter and it was about that time, cody told detectives that, with his relationship, with nicole starting to crash, another player would change the geometry of this story into a triangle the night after cody said nicole left him and headed for home . Valentines day, thursday, february 14th . There was someone else sleeping in codys bed reporter coming up, for investigators, what appears to be an eyepopping clue in a very strange place. I think craig said, hey mark, theres something up on the ceiling. Could it have been blood . Sure. [ male announcer ] the typical vacuum head. It can struggle with large debris and stuckon dust. At shark, we asked, what if the vacuum head can do more . So we removed the front wall and added a rotating soft brush. So while deepcleaning carpet, you can also grab large particles, even pull in piles. And directly engage floors for a beautiful, polished look. Shark duoclean. Invented to help you do more on carpets and floors. I am totally blind. And non24 can throw my days and nights out of sync, keeping me from the things i love to do. Talk to your doctor, and call 8442142424. First you start with this. These guys. A place like shhh no. Found it and definitely lipton ice tea. Lots of it. A lipton meal is what you bring to it. And the refreshing taste of lipton iced tea. Toward her home in western montana. I figured since i broke up with nicky then i would actually, you know, talk to amber again see if maybe something cause she was she was a great girl. Reporter so what, if anything, did Amber Flemings appearance have to do with Nicole Wallers disappearance . Well, that was the question. Amber was a schoolteacher. And in montana, where everyone seems to know everyone else, she was also a lifelong friend with another woman youve already met, cami. In 1999, at camis wedding, where nicole was a bridesmaid. Yes, thats amber. She was the maid of honor. Nicky and amber were both in your wedding. Yes. Whats it like to look at those wedding photos now and see the two of them . Seems like a completely different life. Nicky and amber got along . They did. If youd askd either of them she wouldve said, shes my friend . They were more acquaintances. Two separate friend groups. And youre the connection. Uhhuh. Reporter cami considered herself best friends with both nicky and amber. In fact she unwittingly introduced cody to amber, and felt terrible when shortly after. Nicole and cody split, and then he took up with amber. But remember when nicole sent cody those ultrasound photos, and lied about being pregnant with codys child . That was nicoles play to get cody back from amber. It worked. Until cody found out nicole was lying. I think she came back from kalispell to try to rebuild the relationship. But it was not working. Reporter and then, investigators learned cody started texting amber again just a few weeks before nicoles disappearance. Amber and cody were texting about nicole. And she was insisting that he end this relationship with nicole if she was gonna continue to see him. Reporter and with that, the pot was stirred. Now, it was up to state and federal agents to find out what was really going on, in what looked like a love triangle grudge match involving cody, amber, and nicole. Hes dating a woman that she knows right in front of her, and shes lying to him about being pregnant and phonying up the evidence. Thats right. He was really upset about the fake pregnancy, and she was really upset about him seeing amber. Reporter the problem was, that despite the way it looked, and for cody it didnt look good. On the day nicole left, there was no evidence implicating cody in her disappearance. None. And so codys story is, i got home. She was gone. All her stuff was gone and i dont know how she got 60 miles away and stopped. Thats right. He doesnt know anything about her leaving, other than that shes gone. Reporter investigators served a search warrant at codys house. Reporter they took a video camera, and searched room after room, after room. You didnt even really know what you were looking for, right . No, and a lotta times too when you go into these crime scenes you have the luxury of having a body. And just looking at the surrounding walls you can kinda figure it out. You tell a story. This one i didnt have a story. Any sign that a weapon was fired inside that house . No. Reporter similarly, no sign of a clean up. No smell of cleansers. But there was this. I think craig said, hey mark, theres something up on the ceiling. It was in the kitchen. And there were several of them there. It looked like it had some pattern to it. Could it have been blood . Sure. You test it, and what is it . I came up with probably spaghetti sauce. It wasnt human. There were some things that raise your eyebrows, but theres certainly no smoking gun in that house. No. Not at all. Reporter a contentious break up. A man with another woman waiting in the wings. And suspicion swirling. And then, something that might change the course of this missing persons case. A safe with a lock on it. And inside, maybe the answer to a mystery. Coming up protruding from the safe door, were documents. We did see nicoles name on the face of those what could that mean . Reporter when dateline continues. R new flavors. Introducing mcdonalds signature crafted recipes. Sweet barbecue bacon made with crispy onions. Pico guacamole made with real hass avocados. Maple bacon dijon with thickcut applewood smoked bacon. Purchase any signature crafted recipe sandwich and use the mcdonalds app to get a free medium fries and soft drink. You bring your flavor to the world. We bring ours to you. I have been working for the last 12 years. There is a perception amongst dentists that whitening toothpastes are not good for people with sensitive teeth. Some are quite abrasive. What weve developed in sensodyne true white is a product that is 10 times less abrasive than many of the whitening toothpastes that are out there, and especially designed for sensitivity sufferers. Its different, theres nobody else out there that im aware of that has developed whitening for people with sensitivity in this way. I discovered a woman my family tree, named marianne gaspard. I became curious where in africa she was from. So i took the ancestry dna test to find out more about my african roots. Ancestry really helped me fill in a lot of details. Just turn on cars. Coms on tprice dropswant . And get realtime notifications that could help save you money. Use cars. Com and save. Youll be amazed what happens when you pu your red nose on. You help ensure that children in the u. S. And around the world are safe, healthy and educated. This red nose day, swing by walgreens and get your noses on to help end child poverty. Walgreens. At the corner of happy and healthy. Itsand your doctor at yoto maintain your health. A because in 5 days, 10 hours and 2 minutes you are going to be 67. And on that day you will walk into a room where 15 people will be waiting. 12 behind the sofa, 2 behind the table and 1 and a half behind a curtain. Family surprise but only one of them will make a life long dream come true. Great things are ahead of you when your health is ready for them. At humana, we can help you with a personalized plan for your health for years to come. Reporter continuing our story Nicole Waller has disappeared. Her family, is frantic. I wanna find her. Reporter the last person to see nicole . Her boyfriend, who was also seeing someone else. Amber and cody were texting. And she was insisting that he end this relationship with nicole now. Reporter detectives are about to question amber, about cody. I have a list of people that saw him at work. Reporter were asking questions, too. And not everyone likes them. [ bleep ] you hows that . [ bleep ] reporter here again, the man on the receiving end of that, Josh Mankiewicz. Nicole wallers family was teetering on the edge. Thered been no word, nothing. Since that odd facebook message from her account a week after her disappearance. As more and more time goes by, after that facebook message im pretty sure my sister wasnt coming back. Nicoles three children, like everyone else, were desperately waiting for word about their mom. And carmen, the rock of the family, was beginning to fracture under the pressure. My girls were fighting, you know, theyre girls. They fight. And something tripped. And my husband, he said didnt you ever fight with your sister . And i just lost it, my husband, carried me to my room and i pretty much cried all night. I remember telling him its not fair. Where is she . Why did she have to leave . Investigators had looked into several possibilities in nicoles disappearance. Random crime centered in stab city, where her vehicle was found . No evidence of it. Nicole hadnt left a single electronic footprint since she vanished on valentines day. She using any credit cards or debit cards . We did not find any activity. Thats ominous. It also makes a deliberate disappearance way less likely. The agents on the case had become suspicious of nicoles boyfriend, Cody Johnston, who had quickly taken up with another woman named amber. Had a love triangle played some role in nicoles disappearance . But with nicoles vehicle 60 miles from codys house and nicole, or her body, still out there somewhere in the many hundreds of square miles of grasslands, investigators had nothing more solid than suspicion. With the case a couple of weeks old, investigators asked another pair of detectives to take a crack at applying pressure on cody and amber during a trip the couple took to her hometown of kalispell. Geno cook and his longtime partner, kipp tkatchyk. He would never do anything to ever jeopardize me and him. Amber insisted to detectives shed spent the entire weekend with cody after nicole left. And she said she saw no behavior that concerned her. He doesnt like to fight. He doesnt like to argue. Is she covering for him . Is he covering for her . Are they covering for each other . The thought was there. Absolutely. Detective tkachyk decided to lay it on the line with amber. What would really hurt me is if we came to amber and said, amber, youre now under arrest as an accessory to nickys death. Okay . And i dont want that to okay. No, and i and i dont want that. No, and ill tell, like, absolutely no. Hes no theres no inkling of anything. Like, we do not i mean, he does not know where she is. I do not know where she is. Leave us out of this because we had nothing to do with it, you know . He was at work. I have a list of people that saw him at work. For his part, cody gave investigators two interviews that weekend. As the hours passed, and detectives asked him to go over his timeline again and again. Cody did eventually lose his cool a bit i just want to run back over a couple of things. Get some timelines right and well be done with this. How about i get my phone and i leave . Okay. cause yknow what geno . You just sat there and tell me that youre trying to get this, you know, you got these kids that need their mother. You know, i bought them Kids Christmas presents and birthday presents and ive taken to basketball games, and i understand the importance of getting their mother back. It got to the point where he was pretty frustrated with the whole interview. Because he thought you didnt trust him, or because he thought, im under suspicion and i shouldnt be . I believe so. I think he thought he was under suspicion. Cody and amber soon left the justice building. But authorities, in an effort to find some evidence that might link cody to nicoles disappearance, confiscated his pickup. And in the back of the truck, they found an item that interested them greatly, an item taken from nicoles house. It was like a diamond plate toolbox. And when that toolbox was opened up, there was a black plastic bag. And inside that black plastic bag was the gray safe. And protruding from the safe door, which was locked, were documents. I didnt know what they were at that time, but we did see nicoles name on the face of those. Was there anything valuable in the safe . Not in regards to gold, silver you know. Jewelry . Diamond rings, jewelry nothing of that sort. Personal documentation. Detectives hung onto the safe and its contents. Amber and cody returned to eastern montana. And its a long trip. And no ones watching. Or were they . The unblinking eye of a camera perched high above that lonely highway where nicole disappeared was about to tell investigators something they needed to know. Coming up, the tale of the tape. This is our biggest lead. This is our best lead. And then, for investigators, a new person to focus on and the shock of a lifetime. I missed it completely. You didnt see he had a gun . Its here. The first night your teenage daughter stays out way too late. But after three years of specialist cancer care, to guide her into remission, you couldnt be happier about it. Aetna. You dont join us, we join you. In the book of riddles that lay open before fbi agent craig overby, the toughest one to solve, was this, if in fact Cody Johnston was involved in the disappearance. And possible death of Nicole Waller, how did her Ford Expedition end up more than an hour from his home on valentines day, 2013, at a time when cody said he was at work . The agents thoughts returned to that kidnapmurder case hed worked the year before. Its a protocol in a missing person investigation to get on surveillance videos right away. We learned that in the Sherry Arnold case. Surveillance videos that we obtained from local businesses gave us a lot of evidence about what happened. And so in this case, we went out and started thinking about videos that might have captured her car going from the sidney area, to the fort peck indian reservation. This is not los angeles or chicago where anything that happens outside is probably gonna be on some piece of security tape thats right. In fact, in the 70 miles between Cody Johnstons house and where her car was found in poplar, i found one video. One surveillance camera that captured the highway. That one camera in here, in culbertson, a town of about 700 souls along the missouri river. Its atop the local high school and its aimed at lonely highway two. Agent overby asked for the tape from that camera from february 14th. And . And sure enough, theres nicoles vehicle coming through town. Here is that tape and right there is nicoles expedition. You sure its nicoles car . Yes, nicoles vehicle was two toned and this was a two toned Ford Expedition, older model not so many around anymore. People think that maybe youre gonna find some video of an actual crime being committed. But thats generally not what security video reveals its really more about building your timeline. Thats exactly right. And the time that nicoles expedition passed that camera, which is situated almostl exactly halfway between codys house and the town of poplar, where the vehicle was found. Well, that only added to the intrigue. Turns out the last text nicole sent, was on that valentines day, when she texted her caregiver a little before 7 30 am, saying she was leaving. Could you tell what time it was when her car passed that camera . It was around 10 oclock. So she left at 7 30, and in two and a half hours, she only goes 35 miles . Somethings not right. Not right. But agent overby didnt stop there. He wondered what else might be on that tape. And right there, not far behind nicoles expedition, was a pickup. Its a large f350 pick up truck with an amber light. Not exactly unusual out here in rural montana to see a pickup on any road. But . I was really interested in that pickup truck. And it was distinguishing because it had an amber warning light on its top. You cant see the license plate . No. You cant tell from the tape whos at the wheel of either vehicle. But now overby and hilyard had a hot lead, who owned a pickup with an amber light . Pretty soon they heard a name they never heard before, bill sorteberg. Bills farm is out in the middle of nowhere. And its dark. And we go down a long dirt road to get to his house. And there i see the f350 with the amber light on top in the driveway. And you think what . That weve got a really, maybe a good suspect here. Or a very good witness. Agent hilyard could barely contain himself. I almost ran to the trailer to confront whomever, cause i was so focused on do we have a bad guy . Do we have a witness . Is nicole here somewhere . Could be, you know, i mean this is our biggest lead. This is our best lead and i wanted to find the answer. When bill came out and his wife came out, bill kinda had a deer in the headlights look on his face. And i said, bill can we talk to you in my vehicle . and so bill said, sure. the three men walked to the waiting fbi suburban. Bill got in the passenger side. Mark got in the backseat, i got in the front. And i look down, and bill had a. 45 pointed in my direction. I said, bill, do you mind putting that gun up on the dash . and he took the magazine out, jacked the round out and threw it up on the dash. I missed it completely. You didnt see that he had a gun . I was so tunnel visioned as far as getting him to cooperate i didnt care. And i put people in danger. He had a. 45 . He did, he looked back at me and he goes, i thought you were her to kill me. he thought i was a hitman. What on earth was going on here . Coming up, from out of the blue, what could be a serious blow to the case. Thats gotta be shocking. It was. It felt like the bottom was being dropped out yet again. When dateline continues. Get 6 months of netflix plus a free entertainment kit when you buy the galaxy s8. Neutrogena® hydro boost hydrating tint. Wake up skin. The first water Gel Foundation with hyaluronic acid it plumps, quenches. Delivers a natural, flawless look. This is what makeups been missing. Neutrogena® its so delicious. I cant believe it has 40 fewer calories than butter. I cant believe its made with real, simple ingredients. I cant believe were on a whale. I cant believe my role isnt bigger. Oh, its real. Real ingredients. Unbelievable taste. Go ahead, enjoy. Introduwith two sizzlingig bold hotoffthegrill favorites, like our generous halfrack of barbecue ribs and savory grilled chicken. Our tender juicy steak and perfectly seared lemon butter shrimp or cooked to perfection halfrack of ribs and delectable sirloin. Applebees new grill combos. Enjoy your two grilled favorites with two sides, like our hot and crispy unlimited fries, all on one plate from just 12. 99. Only at applebees. State investigator mark hilyard has been called by many names over his two decade career as a montana lawman. But a hitman . That was a new one. But thats exactly who bill sorteberg thought the agent was when hilyard and fbi agent craig overby showed up at sortebergs farmhouse. A hit man sorteberg believed had been hired by none other than sortebergs friend, Cody Johnston. The time is 2030 hours, and this is agent hilyard. Now why would bill sorteberg think Cody Johnston would want to kill him . In a series of interviews over the next couple days, detectives learned the answer. Theres an old saying a good friend will help you move. But a best friend will help you move a body. Investigators thought bill sorteberg fell somewhere in between. Aw, this is nuts remember, investigators had been looking for an explanation. For how nicoles Ford Expedition ended up 60 miles from Cody Johnstons house the morning of valentines day 2013. A time cody claimed he was at work. Bill told investigators cody called him around 8 am. Saying nicole had run off with another man. It was basically a game, yknow. And bill said the game came with a request, meet on the road, in his pickup. Bill drives out to the highway and sees cody drivin nicoles Ford Expedition and bill says, i know somethins not right. Does he know thats nicoles car . He asked cody about it and cody said well, im just playin a practical joke on her and im gonna take her car out to the reservation and drop it off. I know you all are more trusting out here in montana than we are in the big city. I have trouble believing anybody would fall for that. Knowing bill, it doesnt surprise me that maybe he was just helpin his friend out in a mischivious thing but not a criminal thing. So, bill said, he did what cody asked. And took off following the expedition. Not long after is when the two vehicles nicoles expedition and bills pick up were tagged by that camera atop the high school in culbertson, montana. A half hour later bill said, cody stopped the expedition right where it was later found, just a mile outside poplar. That reservation town with a violent reputation. Would cody have known about stab city to leave her car there as a way of throwin people off the track . He would but poplars not a violent place to a stranger for a random person drivin through poplar, its a very friendly place. And cody probably didnt know that. Thats right. Bill said that when cody jumped out of the expedition, bill thought it was strange that cody was wearing gloves. And . Im thinkin what the hell you got two phones for . Bill noticed cody was carrying two cell phones and they actually stopped at a small store on the reservation. And he saw cody take the phone apart and throw it in a trash can. The agents wondered did that 2nd cell phone. Belong to nicole . And there was one more thing. Bill said cody was looking for a barrel. I just cant believe he asked for a barrel. Yeah. And this, like one of them steel barrels with. 55 gallon drum. He was, well i dont want one it aint go no lid on it. For investigators, hearing that cody was looking for a barrel big enough to hold a body and one with a lid was confirmation that nicole was dead and that cody had killed her. There has to be a discussion about arresting him right then and there. We were talkin to prosecutors as this was ongoing. And prosecutors said despite the evidence agents had gathered this case still had one glaring hole. Nicoles body had not been found. Weeks, then months passed, without a word. That was hard. Yknow her birthday was may 22nd i decided to make my sister a cupcake. And i put a candle in it and i make a wish i blow it out. Whats the wish . That shell be found. Six months after nicole vanished, though they were not yet ready to make an arrest. Authorities called together nicoles family and broke the news they believed nicole had been killed by cody. Her body placed in a barrel and hidden somewhere. That was devastating for somebody that said they loved somebody so much, thats the way you get rid of em . That shes just like trash. Youre gonna put her in a barrel and just get rid of her. For cami, the news not only meant her friend nicole was very likely dead. But it also meant another of her best friends, amber, was dating a suspected killer. And not just dating. Just after the First Anniversary of nicoles disappearance, in march 2014, cody and amber. Seen here in a photo taken at a county fair got engaged. Soon after, they were married. Were you invited to the wedding . Thankfully i was in another friend of mines wedding it was heartwrenching because amber was my maid of honor. Were you supposed to be ambers maid of honor . I wouldve been in her wedding. I wouldve been helping her celebrate her happily ever after. As cody and amber began their life together. Agent hilyard who was raised on the prairies of eastern montana, was scouring the oilfields and other areas for any trace of nicole. I found some great holes while i was out looking for her. I jumped into a few of em. How many times did you think, maybe this is it . A few times. But the agents search hit a snag in the spring of 2014. When he fell into a hole he could never have foreseen. I was diagnosed with stage four melanoma cancer. Youre a young guy. Thats gotta be shocking. It was, it was shocking for me. It was shocking for my family. But for mark hilyard almost worse than the cancer. Was having to call carmen and tell her what this might mean for her sisters case. It kinda felt like the bottom was being dropped out yet again. Like we couldnt catch a break. I wanted to reassure her that, yknow nobodys gonna forget about nicole. If something happens to me, somebodys gonna run with this. Sounds like youre worried more about nicoles family than you are about yourself. They needed answers. And unbelievably, agent hilyard wasnt the only one wondering if hed live long enough to find those answers. Because when hilyard began his cancer treatments, right alongside him was the prosecutor in charge of the case. The chief of the attorney generals Prosecution Services bureau, brant light who had lung cancer. You and agent hilyard were getting chemo at the same time . Yeah we actually were at the same facility and often talking about this case and working on the case as we were receiving our treatment. For these two lawmen, and longtime friends how much time they had left on the job and on the earth was an unknown. All of that might suggest that you would be in sort of a hurry to file this case but you didnt do that. You actually kind of slowed it down. I thought the longer that we put it off, the better it was for us in the back of our minds, we were hoping maybe thered be a hunter or somebody who would discover her body. That didnt happen. Nicoles family and friends were asked to be patient and as the two Year Anniversary of nicoles disappearance came and went her case was featured on datelines Digital Series missing in america. Still no body. And no arrest. Im thinking you must have been pretty frustrated at this point, because after realizing that nicole was never where her car was found, and having mr. Sorteberg say, heres what happened. Prosecutors wont file a case. And a lotta time goes by. Its difficult, the problem goes back, theres no body. And up until this point there had never been a prosecution of a no body homicide in montana. Until finally, august 2015, two andahalf years after nicoles disappearance. It would be a new development in cell phone tracking technology, that would give the prosecutor the confidence to give the goahead. And agent hilyard. Back on the job in between cancer treatments, got to snap the handcuffs on. I go, youre being arrested for the murder of Nicole Waller. He didnt say a word to me. It was time to see if montana prosecutors could send a man to prison, for the first time ever, in a case without a body. Coming up, the lack of a body wasnt the only problem. But could groundbreaking Software Save the day for prosecutors. He was able to show us where Cody Johnston was on the very morning of the murder. Woman for some, lyrica can significantly relieve fibromyalgia pain and improve function, so i feel better. Lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. Tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. Or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. Common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. Dont drink alcohol while taking lyrica. Dont drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. Those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. With less pain, i can be more active. Ask your doctor about lyrica. I can be more active. It shouldnt be whateverfleas and ticks. Home. No, no no no no. Seresto® kills and repels fleas and ticks for 8 continuous months for effective protection in an easytouse, nongreasy collar. 8month seresto®. From bayer. Think good things introducing the outback aussie 4 soup and salad. Centercut sirloin and dessert. A four course meal, starting at just 14. 99. The outback aussie four course is a big win. But, hurry in its not 4 ever. Desdice diria si cody fue el because before Cody Johnstons trial started prosecutor brant light did this reluctantly, we offered him a deal. We were certainly prepared to go to trial. But you didnt have a body we didnt have a body and the family wanted the body the states offer to Cody Johnston give up nicoles body. Plead guilty and receive 80 years in prison. What was in it for cody . No life sentence and possible parole, after 17 years. I looked at it like a window for him. If he ever wanted to get out this was his one and only opportunity. And the response from codys attorneys . Was absolutely not were going to trial . Were going to trial, which was fine with me. Fine, he says. But it came with a cost. Prosecutor light was suffering from lung cancer. Hed been going through chemotherapy alongside state investigator and fellow cancer patient mark hilyard. Now light made a life threatening decision. Three weeks before trial i stopped treatment. I have trouble believing that your doctors thought, great idea. No, they didnt think it was a great idea. But i knew that, to do those 16 to 18 hour days during trial, i needed to have energy. So youre risking your own life to do that . I wasnt gonna let this cancer change who i am. I made such a commitment to the family that i wasnt gonna let em down. To be safe in case his health was compromised and he couldnt continue, the prosecutor brought in two assistants, Joel Thompson and ole olson, who understood the task ahead. I think there was an awareness that you feel like the average person on the street is gonna say, how can you prosecute a case without a body . But the average people on the street, thats whos on your jury . That was the big challenge for me like we dont have any of these traditional things that people expect in a homicide case. Forensics, dna, physical evidence, and is that glaring omission gonna be something that the jury says is reasonable doubt . By october 2016, when Cody Johnstons trial began it had been three and a half years since Nicole Waller had vanished. For all but a few months of that time, cody had been a free man, out on bond. At trial, his wife amber was in the front row accompanied by their newborn son. That was a shock. I did not know about the baby and at the same time, its anger because here he had been out, living his life and my sister is not out there living her life. Ladies and gentlemen, this week were going to take you back to valentines day 2013. That valentines day, prosecutors argued, was the final day of nicoles life. It was the last day the woman her sister called the queen of texting had used her phone. Since then, they said, nicole had left no electronic trace spent no money using credit or debit cards. And in todays world, if somebody hasnt used any of those things, it can reasonably be presumed that theyre no longer alive . Exactly. And perhaps most revealingly, the state argued, never after that day had nicole reached out to the three children she loved so much. She was, they argued, undoubtedly dead. As you sit here today and im sorry to ask you this, do you have any doubt in your mind as her sister, that nicole is gone . Shes gone. I dont believe shes alive anymore. But how was she killed, and why . Prosecutors began their case by calling a former detective, whos developed a groundbreaking Software Technology to accurately turn the route a cell phone travels into something that looks like google maps. He was able to basically show us as if we had a tracker on his car where Cody Johnston was on the very morning of the murder. And where Cody Johnston was the state argued was not where hed claimed hed been. Remember, cody said he and nicole were fighting. So he spent the night before valentines day in a camper in sidney. 12 miles away from his home where nicole was staying in fairview. Cody said nicole texted him at 6 51 am, then called him around 7. But cody didnt want to talk. I said fine, i shut my phone off. I go back to bed. 8 oclock i get up, i go in the shop. But it turns out this map of the location of codys cell phone, showed something else. Starting after that 7 am phone call from nicole. Right after that phone call, he leaves. And hes heading to fairview. Fairview, back to codys house where nicole had been staying. Heres the map, the state said, that proved it. So by 7 13 a. M, we start to see the device move toward sidney. 7 18 just north of sidney, another one at 7 23. On the way to up fairview to confront her, he calls her five six times it wasnt her that was harassing him. It was him calling her because he was angry and getting more angry as he went up there to confront her. At 7 25 am, in fairview, records showed nicole texted her caregiver, saying she was on her way back home. Shes moments from getting in her car and going back to kalispell. He arrives at 7 26, according to the cell tower analysis. Cody does. Cody does, and i think they had a horrible fight. And i think he exploded. Whether he strangled her, whether he suffocated her, thats one of the things we dont know because we dont have the body. Nicoles family and friends always said cody was such a great guy. And prosecutors agreed. Until they said he suddenly lost his cool and became so upset, and so angry, that he drove home and committed murder. Though prosecutors said amber had nothing to do with the crime they said her calls and texts to cody those last weeks may have helped light the match that led to the killing. She was putting pressure, days before valentines day that he had to make a choice. Its either her or me. And he kept reassuring her that yknow, she was the one, and that he just needed some time. Time, prosecutors argued, not only to break up with nicole, but also to get her out of that home hed purchased for her over in kalispell. You think this is not about love. You think this is about money . Yeah i think by the time we get to february 14th love was kind of out the window then he was already seeing amber without nicole knowing it. this was simply about how is this break up going to go, and who is gonna get the home . In fact, that night before valentines day, cody was so angry at nicole that he had this man place a padlock on the home. When nicole talked to her estranged husband jason on valentines day morning she found out what cody had done. I told her there were padlocks on it. How if at all did she react to that . Very upset. So upset, in fact, prosecutors theorized that nicole reminded cody in that 7 am phone call that he had sold her that home. That she had a Sales Agreement in the safe, showing she owned it. Not him. To prosecutors, thats why cody exploded and drove over. And days later, showed up at her home to take that safe. With the Sales Agreement still inside. Cody johnston had plenty of money why kill somebody over a mobile home . He had put a lotta money into the home. He had basically told amber, we are gonna get this back. and i think that was just the vehicle that started that angry argument that morning. And he lost his cool and killed her. And after . Prosecutors said what really proved Cody Johnston was a killer was what they called the cover up that followed nicoles disappearance. What did he want . Did he ask you for anything at that time . A barrel by 9 30 that same morning cody had visited his friend bill sortebergs house. Prosecutors said he was looking for a way to dispose of nicoles body. What else did he ask you for . Give him a ride back from poplar. Poplar, where cody had driven and dropped nicoles expedition, 60 miles up the road. And during that time . From 9 30 am until about 12 30 that afternoon. Cody johnston turned his cell phone off. Reappearing as this security video shows, shortly after 1 pm. How often did he turn his phone off for 3 hours in the middle of the day . Never this was the only time he really went off the grid. And finally, prosecutors argued. The coverup included cody asking friends to send that facebook message using nicoles account. The one that gave false hope to her friends and family. Two men turned him down. Another, sent the message. And said he felt terrible about what hed done. Yeah after i did it i realized it was probably not the best thing to do. If he had her password, why would he involve other people who could end up testifying against him . I dont think cody thought things through very well. I think thats the bottom line. Finally then prosecution rested. But did the state have enough to convict cody . The defense was about to present its case. And star witness, Cody Johnston. Coming up a disarming strategy i was behaving badly. I was being very childish and very vindictive. Cody, boldly owning his mistakes. Why should people believe you now . Ive had just shy of 4 years im here for my day in court. The surprising case he would make to the jury, when dateline continues. Etimes, cause different sides of you struggle with which ones to make. Well, what if you kept making good ones . Then . You could love your numbers. Discover oncedaily invokana®, a pill used along with diet and exercise to significantly lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. Its proven to lower a1c better than januvia®. Invokana® works around the clock by sending some sugar out of your body through the process of urination. Its not for lowering systolic Blood Pressure or weight loss, but it may help with both. 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Keep in your mind your task is to determine whether theyve proven to you beyond a reasonable doubt that cody deliberately killed nicole, its not codys responsibility to give you this explanation of why shes missing, because he cant do it. If mathews, and his fellow counsel casey moore, both of whom declined datelines request for an interview could convince even one of the twelve jurors of reasonable doubt, Cody Johnston would walk out of this courtroom a free man. Mr. Mathews you may begin. It turned out the first witness the defense called, would be its only witness. We would call to the stand Cody Johnston. It was a move that shocked everyone at the prosecution table. I would have bet my house that he wasnt going to take the stand. But cody did. And portrayed himself as a hardworking father whod bought nicole a home, taken her to doctors appointments, and loved her children as his own. He told the jury he was an honorable man who, despite dating amber in the fall of 2012, did the right thing when nicole claimed she was having his baby. I broke up with her and i um, went back to nicole. Did you eventually confirm with nicole that she was not, in fact, pregnant . Yes, i told her that i loved her, but we couldnt do this. That to carry on a lie like that for so long and stick to it and cody said the pregnancy wasnt the only thing nicole was lying about, he said she was also lying to herself. It turned out that over the years, nicole had become addicted to painkillers. She was making trips to a methadone clinic every two weeks to deal with her addiction. I thought she needed to go to a Treatment Center and just get some help. Although prosecutors said medical records showed nicole had been clean from narcotics or any nonprescription drugs for 10 months prior to her disappearance cody claimed nicoles refusal to go into treatment, was the reason they broke up just before valentines day. He said shed fallen off the wagon. You discussed with her a need for her to go to treatment . Yes. Did she agree to do that . She told me that uh, first she told me she wouldnt be able to do it because of her kids. I guess i made the decision we couldnt go on. There was a complication, he said. That home hed bought for nicole. And despite that signed Sales Agreement found in the safe, cody claimed nicole had never paid him for the home. You believed you still owned the house . Yes. It was clear from texts sent by amber, that she wanted cody to get nicole out of the house as part of the breakup. The morning of valentines day, cody said he woke up in a camper at his workplace, and nicole called him and started yelling at him because cody admitted hed had the place padlocked. I got concerned about her well being and i left and then i went toward my house. Cody drove to fairview. He admitted lying to investigators earlier when he claimed he never left work. Her car was there. I went into the house, i didnt find anybody there. My assumption was that shed either went to the store to get cigarettes before shed left or i didnt know if shed left with somebody. So are you saying when you went home to fairview, you didnt see nicole at all . No i did not. And cody said it was another childish act, to enlist the help of his friend bill to move nicoles expedition 60 miles away to the town of poplar. I was behaving badly. I was being very childish and very vindictive. I figured i would move her car, i would drop it off, and she would call me later on and i would say theres your car. Get your stuff, please go home. Cody insisted he was never looking for a barrel large enough to put a body in, only a small grease barrel to wash tools in. And he said he knew the lies he told, especially enlisting his friend to send a message from nicoles facebook account, did not make him look good. I was scared, so i thought itd be a harmless thing. Id get left alone and she would come back. How do you feel about that decision . Terrible. I feel terrible about it. Why should people believe you now . I guess the only thing is i can say is that ive had just shy of four years to run, im here for my day in court. Cody, did you kill Nicole Waller . No i did not. Before Cody Johnston could leave the stand, there was one more attorney waiting to question him. Prosecutor brant light. Even though i never thought he would testify, i had prepared hundreds of questions for him anyway. This was all about you getting away with murder, correct . No sir. No body, no case. Correct . No, sir. I didnt really care what his answer was. I knew he was gonna say no, no, no. After dumping nicoles vehicle, after hiding her body you then spent the weekend with amber, correct . Yes so you let me get this straight wait a minute, sorry. Hold on. No, i did not dump her body. Yes, i spent the weekend with amber. I was able to outline my case really make my First Closing argument to the jury and get him upset. Just by cross examining him . Just by crossing him. Youre hoping this jury gives you a break because you successfully hid her body, correct . No sir. The prosecution had had its shot with Cody Johnston. It would soon be our turn. Coming up [ bleep ] you. Hows that . [ bleep ] a startling confrontation and the verdict. Will there be justice for nicole . I just started crying. You brush your teeth diligently. Two times a day right . But 80 of bacteria arent even on teeth. Eughty purschunt . colgate totals different. It fights bacteria on teeth, tongue, cheeks and gums. 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Introducing mcdonalds signature crafted recipes. Sweet barbecue bacon made with crispy onions. Pico guacamole made with real hass avocados. Maple bacon dijon with thickcut applewood smoked bacon. Purchase any signature crafted recipe sandwich and use the mcdonalds app to get a free medium fries and soft drink. You bring your flavor to the world. We bring ours to you. Not long after the jury deliberating Cody Johnstons fate left the courtroom, came word that the wait for a verdict would not be a long one. Joel calls me and hes like, get to the courthouse, the jurys back. Im like its only been like 2 to 3 hours we gotta go let the record reflect all members of the jury are present. Any prosecutor will tell you, a quick verdict is either very bad or very good news. Sitting there next to carmen, carmens not an emotional person. Shes guarded. But my anxiety was at a 12 out of 10. Carmens had to be at a 50 outta 10. Would Cody Johnston become the First Defendant in montana history to be convicted of deliberate homicide, in a nobody case . The answer was . Count one on the charge of deliberate homicide, we the jury find the defendant guilty. Guilty of nicoles murder. And of tampering with evidence by hiding her body. I just started crying because finally the person that had taken my sister away was being punished. The prosecutor who stopped cancer treatments to save his strength for trial, now turned to nicoles family in the front row. When i see the look on their face, its why i do this. Cody johnston emptied his pockets, preparing to go to jail while awaiting sentencing. Minutes later, he hugged his wife amber and baby boy, for what could be the last time as a free man. As we walked out of the courthouse that day, after it was just carmen and i she goes, is it bad i just wanted to go give amber a hug . It was so heartwrenching to be so relieved for one person and yet feel so sorry for somebody else. Before sentencing, the prosecutor again offered to give cody a break if hed give up the location of nicoles body. We made an offer and it didnt go anywhere. We just kinda threw it out there, and they didnt wanna hear it. Sentencing came in january 2017. And for the first time in the courtroom, came ashlynd, nicoles daughter, 12. When her mom disappeared, she was once so close to cody, that she thought of calling him dad. I want to know why. I mean i know why this happened. But i wanna know why would somebody do this . I will not say that he is forgiven by me because hes not. I do feel like its my fault that shes gone. If i couldve been there, i couldve saved her. You know this is not your fault. Yes im starting to believe it wasnt my fault. But its still kinda hard. 12 year olds are not supposed to save adults from other adults. Yeah, hes not gonna ruin me. Im not gonna let him. Youre stronger than that . Stronger than him. Even though i wanna like hurt him for what hes done to my mom, im not going because thats stooping down to his level, and my mom wouldnt want that. The sentence . Life in prison. And in march 2017, the Montana State prison is where we found cody, who agreed to speak with us, still claiming he knew nothing about nicoles disappearance. I have to tell you, having spoken to that family, if you know anything, if you know where she is, youre putting people through agony. Yeah if i did i would be, yes. I dont know where shes at. But i do know if she showed up tomorrow, things would be a lot different. I dont think shes gonna show up tomorrow. I dont either but ill pray for it. You have a new son. Yeah. When he grows up, what do you want him to think of you . Well im going through the appeal process. And hopefully at some point in time, ill get out of here. But if not, what i want him to know is that i love him. And that i didnt do this. And that whether im here, or with him, ill always be there for him. Regrets . Whatd you do wrong . Lied, clearly. I dont know what else i can do but say im sorry. What are you sorry for if you didnt do this . For moving her car. For not telling the truth to the police. Remember, prosecutors said Cody Johnston was a great guy. Until he wasnt. Until his temper caused him to snap. And after we pressed him for awhile, we saw a little of that. If you had nothing to do with this, if youre innocent im done. Were done. Were done. Im not doing this. Im done. Youre not, you [ bleep ] youre not gonna make me look like a [ bleep ] anymore. Ive [ bleep ] had enough of that okay. [ bleep ] you. [ bleep ] you, you arrogant [ bleep ]. [ bleep ] you. Hows that . [ bleep ] im done. Thank you. We persuaded him to stay long enough to answer the big question. Did you kill nicole . No i did not. No i would not. Im not a killer. And nothing in my character has ever, ever spoken to the fact that i would be. And with that, Cody Johnston returned to his new life in prison. Hell first be eligible for parole in 2049. Two of the lawmen who put him behind bars, live to fight again. Brant light and mark hilyard, are still taking cancer treatments together. I think there may have been times when you didnt know whether you or brant were gonna make it to the end of this case, but you both did. Yeah. And were taking on new cases. Glad to see that. Probably not as glad as you are though. Yeah. Im glad to be here. The search for justice is over. The search for Nicole Waller, is not. There remains so much sadness. A daughter, sister, mother, and friend. Gone. Would it be easier if you had a grave to go visit . Yeah, at least with a grave site, or even if you go spread her ashes somewhere. There someplace special you can go talk. I dont have that. Were still in limbo. Wheres her body . Shes out there some place and we dont know. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Well see you again friday at nine, eight central and of course, ill see you each weeknight for nbc nightly news. Im lester holt. For all of us at nbc news, goodnight. Previously on shades of blue. Internal affairs. Keep up the good work. Its one thing running drugs; its a whole other thing when you make a little kid do it [camera shutter clicking] quince is a street thug trying to get out of prison. I killed miguel. He threatened me. He threatened christina. And i snapped his neck. Stahl knows. Caddie helped me bury miguel. I brought some more. My best friend got killed because of me. If you thought i was watching you before, youre not gonna believe how close im gonna get now. Robert, your badge. Your secrets have poisoned you. But soon im gonna heal you. We still have that chore to do tonight. Its handled. I have your back. I saw the feds at the dock. Feds . I want to make sure that they dont get you instead. [gunshot] julia, are you hit . [silenced gunshot] we gotta get him to the hospital bianchi, hes got dirt on everybody whos anybody in new york. Theres a box locked up in the lawyers office. Get the box, well get him. Whats the charge this time . Double homicide