Arc New Problem News Today

>> we not only had to establish that kenneth dion was the killer, but we also had to disprove that it was an accident and prove that, you know, she had been murdered and she didnt fall off the cliff. >> reporter: his co-counsel jenna gruenstein was an anchorage school girl when bonnie was murdered. >> i remember very vividly how much this impacted the community. everyones sense of security when you know that somebody was kind of literally snatched off the street. >> reporter: here in anchorage t...

Alaska. karens anxiety only grew. >> i didnt trust the investigation. is the evidence still there? the investigators, the witnesses. can we get a conviction on just the dna? >> reporter: and to make it worse, dozens of pretrial hearings dragged on four more years. >> unbelievably long and painful. everythings like the day that she was murdered. its like having everything ripped open again. >> reporter: the trial finally started in may 2011. >> she has 11 lacerations on the back of the skull. >> ...

>> kenneth dion was on trial for the rain and murder of bonnie craig. dna proved he had sex with bonnie and it was certainly not consensual. she was too busy and in love with her boyfriend to sneak off with a terrorist with her stranger. the defense was about to tell a different tale. did bonnie have a secret she kept hidden from family and friends? heres the conclusion of our story. >> it was september 1994 and kenneth dion was a cocaine addict on the way down a long criminal spiral.

Found the crime scene tape. good news? well, you think. but -- >> my concern was that it threatened the trial itself. we immediately took a recess. a five-day break in trial. >> reporter: the amazing discovery of the long lost videotape could very well be grounds for a mistrial because the defense got it after the start of the trial. for five days the prosecutors researched case law, marshaled their arguments and worried about yet more relays in the trial. but then, good news. the defense attorn...

Can leave harsh chemical residue on your food surfaces. what do you do with that? like, whos going to eat that? unlike clorox clean-up, lysol daily cleanser uses three simple ingredients to leave surfaces free from harsh chemical residue. lysol. what it takes to protect.® ♪ protect your pet with the #1 name in flea and tick protection. frontline plus. trusted by vets for nearly 20 years. they have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps.com print discount...

>> reporter: his co-counsel jenna gruenstein was an anchorage school girl when bonnie was murdered. >> i remember very vividly how much this impacted the community. everyones sense of security when you know that somebody was kind of literally snatched off the street. >> reporter: here in anchorage they were under intense pressure. the courtroom was packed, standing-room only. then on the second day of the trial arc new problem. the defense attorney told the jury in his opening statement that the...

Start of the trial. for five days the prosecutors researched case law, marshaled their arguments and worried about yet more relays in the trial. but then, good news. the defense attorney decided he would not request a mistrial. back in court prosecutors played the crime scene tape. the publics first chance to see what investigators did the day of the murder. >> i recalled prior to playing the tape my dread on, boy, whats the family going to feel? >> reporter: it was trooper beatty who took the s...

Painful. everythings like the day that she was murdered. its like having everything ripped open again. >> reporter: the trial finally started in may 2011. >> she has 11 lacerations on the back of the skull. >> reporter: it was paul miovas first trial as district attorney in cold case homicide, and he was worried. >> i went into it with a heavy heart. i knew it would be a task. >> reporter: because the dna from kenneth dion did not prove he raped and killed bonnie, only that sex took place betwee...

And, in fact, the crime scene video was missing and had been for years. confirming karens worst fears about the troopers. >> it just made us sick. >> reporter: which made the news that came the next day all the more shock. out of the blue, somebody at the alaska state troopers office found the crime scene tape. good news? well, you think. but -- >> my concern was that it threatened the trial itself. we immediately took a recess. a five-day break in trial. >> reporter: the amazing discovery of th...

Heart. i knew it would be a task. >> reporter: because the dna from kenneth dion did not prove he raped and killed bonnie, only that sex took place between them. and beyond the dna, the prosecutor had little to connect dion to the murder. there was no weapon, no motive, no witness to the crime. >> we not only had to establish that kenneth dion was the killer, but we also had to disprove that it was an accident and prove that, you know, she had been murdered and she didnt fall off the cliff. >> r...