is dateline. she s the little girl that one hard in a big city they called you the miracle baby, why did they call you. that shot in the head at point blank range, a crime scene that shocked, even hardened police. dorothy explorer pillow and it had blood on it. as she fought to live, this detective vowed to catch whoever left her, soon he turned up a promising lead. bells and whistles go off in my head. in the hospital she battled back. to know that she had survived was a pretty powerful moment. not just her body, but her mind. they was the guy that came in the daycare, and erika said don t let him hurt me. she had handed investigators what could be a vital clue. but would it be enough to crack the case? . hello and welcome to dateline. i m craig melvin. it all started when the crime but not even police could believe. a little girl, just a toddler. shot in the head deliberately, left for dead by a killer who then disappeared but a, defective vowed
she s the little girl who won the heart of a big city. they called you the miracle baby. why did they call you that? yay shot in the head at point blank range there was a pillow and it had blood on it. as she fought to live, this detective vowed to catch whoever left treated today. soon, he turned up a promising lead. in the hospital she battled back. to know that she had survived was a pretty powerful moment. not just her body but her mind. they come in the daycare and erica said don t let them heard me. investigators found what could be a vital clue but could it be enough to crack the case? hello, welcome to dateline. i m craig melvin. it all started with a crime that not even police could believe. a little girl. just a toddler. shot in the head, deliberately. left for dead by a killer who, then, disappeared. but a detective vowed to crack this case, no matter how long it took. one of the biggest attractions at the louisville zoo was a floppy you
beginning. the brain injury had damaged her ability to walk and talk, what had been second nature to her had to be re-learned. running, talking back and forth, and jazz being a playful kid again. erica sister who knew her best was worried. erica had lost sight in her right eye forever. i ve been he was afraid she would never be her old self again. what was different? she didn t run and play and talk as much. she was quiet. with still no idea why her sister and mother were shot, ebony and her grandparents remained fearful. you must have been worried like who did this? where are they? yes. i was thinking about the safety of the kids and me. i didn t go out much. back at the police station, detective arnold was trying to figure out his next move, when his investigation caught a lucky break. a 75 year old person had
kentucky derby. so, it knows a thing or two about long shots. but in betting parlance, the odds of this story ever finding a happy ending were off the board, virtually impossible. would a little girl ever gain the strength not only to recover, but to come back whole? and would a dedicated detective not only crack his biggest case, but keep the emotional promise he made? erica s story began in a neighborhood in louisville in this brick house on wilson avenue. a 2-year-old, wild about dora the explorer, erica lived here with her mom, earon harper. on may 18th, 2006, police got a frantic 911 call. when they arrived at the house, the man who made the call flagged them down. what was his state of mind? he was really hysterical. what was he saying? there s a little girl in there. there s a little girl in there. detectives tom bart and officer larry riley rushed into the house and found a horrifying scene. a woman, almost certainly dead on the floor. you just see a big like a pool
that is beautiful. to see the looks on those faces and know that she had survived was a pretty powerful moment. erica laughed, cried and acted like a two year old. reporter jesse holiday was amazed by her progress but also concerned about long term brain damage. i didn t feel at that point i could say for sure if she was going to be okay. but even getting this far beat the odds. erica was going home. just great to have her there, get her home from the hospital. it was a home she already knew. grandparents judith and herald harbor were waving good five to their carefree golden years, they were full-time parents again. i agreed from the first day that i would take care of her not to knowing what kind of shape you she is going to be in, not knowing what medal state you would be in. erica s father had never been a big part of her life, so court granted judith and harold