how could this happen? how could this happen to someone that we knew? it s been very long 13 years. homecoming queen, hannah hill, was just 18 when she disappeared. everybody sweetheart. this doesn t happened to people like her. what? why? where? when? and who? was it her boyfriend? they had fought before? did you verbally abuse her? yes. did you physically abuse her? yes. or was a another man in her life? they had been together the night she died. we kissed and stuff. did you have sex with hannah? no, i did not. more than 13 years would go by as hannah s family fought for that justice. two possible suspects. did you kill hannah hill? ? absolutely art. did your kid kill hannah hill? two trials. i was a wreck. it was just very intense. were there ever be justice for hannah hill? the truth always comes out. hello, and welcome to dateline . hannah hill was an outgoing teenager with a future as bright as her smile. then suddenly, hannah
brad oborn s testimony carefully. doubid you believe him? none of us felt it was him, and none of his dman was there. so, on friday just after lunch came word of a decision. lawyers, friends, family all assembled at the court. hannah s brother stayed away shaking. i was at a friend s house waiting by the phone. i was terrified. in just moments, there was no more need for guess work. count one, is it your determination that defendant committed murder in this count in that he did purposely cause the death of hannah hill? is that your decision? yes, your honor. denny ross guilty on all five counts. in the back of the courtroom, hannah s friend tara was visibly shaken. i was a wreck. it was just very intense.
followed by an inconclusive trial, took it s toll. people still wondered if brad oborn had committed the murder. he did time for drugs and even tried to rob a bank. perhaps the hardest hit of all was hannah s mother, kim. it ripped our family apart. about six years ago, a figure of an angel appeared in a tree near where her car was found. a small shrine to her memory. for hannah s friend tara, it wasn t that she stopped thinking about her sweet friend but found she couldn t talk about it. emotions all bottled up. hannah frozen forever at 18. so you went on with your life and you had babies. yes. she never got to do that, did she? no. the case, meanwhile, was mostly in the deep freeze,
appeared in a tree near where her car was found. a small shrine to her memory. for hannah s friend tara, it wasn t that she stopped thinking about her sweet friend but found she couldn t talk about it. emotions all bottled up. hannah frozen forever at 18. so you went on with your life and you had babies. yes. she never got to do that, did she? no. the case, meanwhile, was mostly in the deep freeze, making a glacial procession through the courts. seasons passed with no resolution. but that was about to change in startling fashion. coming up, a second trial, but at times it was hard to know exactly who was the defendant? was it denny ross? he was choking me from behind and just squeezing. or hannah s boyfriend? did you blame yourself for hannah s murder? yes. oh, come on. flo: don t worry. you re covered. (dramatic music) and you re saving money, because you bundled home and auto.
in that he did purposely cause the death of hannah hill. is that your decision? yes. denny ross, guilty on all five counts. in the back of the courtroom, hannah s friend tara was visibly shaking. i was a wreck. it was just very intense. i remember thinking, thank you, god, and a sense of relief all in one fell swoop. those long years of work for prosecutors and detectives had paid off. jurors told us that in the end it all came down to the blood evidence on hannah s clothes. the dna outweighed a lot of unknowns for us. it said denny ross was there. as a result of the hannah hill case, lieutenant hughes said the akron police department has made many changes throughout the years. especially in the communications department to make sure mistakes like the failure to locate hannah s car never happen again.