Thaddeus Rice News Today

>> she was brave. she was incredibly brave. why didnt i know that she needed me and that she was alone and that she was hurt? nothing was the same after that. nothing. >> they found her at the soccer field. the straight arrow student killed by a single bullet. >> i just hit the floor. >> i remember the pain. every time i talk about it the pain comes rushing back. >> that someone would shoot my child. like, why? >> this is a small town whodunit. >> oh, yeah we were afraid. >> what had h...

>> oh, yeah we were afraid. >> what had happened that night? was the answer somewhere in her circle of friends? >> were trying to find out why! >> i would never hurt halee. >> they came and talked to me. it was four fbi agents. >> hes there. hes got a gun. >> how could it not have been him? >> then a secret spills out in court! >> thats a bombshell. >> that definitely was. >> i felt like i had gotten my heart ripped out. >> for that mother to get on that stand. it was absolute silence....

She was brave. She was incredibly brave. Why didnt i know she needed me and she was alone and she was hurt . Nothing was the same after that. Nothing. They found her in the soccer field. The student killed by a single bullet. I hit the floor. I remember the pain. The pain comes rushing back, that someone would shoot my child. Why . This was a small town whodunit. What happened that night . Was the answer in her circle of friends . We are trying to find out why. Became and talk to me. Four fbi ag...

>> this is a small town whodunit. >> oh, yeah we were afraid. >> what had happened that night? was the answer somewhere in her circle of friends? >> were trying to find out why! >> i would never hurt halee. >> they came and talked to me. it was four fbi agents. >> hes there. hes got a gun. >> how could it not have been him? >> then a secret spills out in court! >> thats a bombshell. >> that definitely was. >> i felt like i had gotten my heart ripped out. >> for that mother to get on th...

every time i talk about it the pain comes rushing back. >> that someone would shoot my child. like, why? >> reporter: this is a small town whodunit. >> oh, yeah we were afraid. >> reporter: what had happened that night? was the answer somewhere in her circle of friends? >> were trying to find out why! >> i would never hurt halee. >> they came and talked to me. it was four fbi agents. >> hes there. hes got a gun. >> reporter: how could it not have been him? then a secret spills out in c...

Night she was murdered, where she was messaging back and forth with jordan, "hey, im gonna go pick up my wallet from your house" late at night the night she was killed. so then that was the theory, she wept, she told jordan, thaddeus killed her over it. >> investigators decided it was time to find out what thaddeus and jordan knew. thaddeus refused to talk to them. but jordan did. >> we did interview thaddeusgirlfriend. she was -- she said they were home together all night at thaddeusbrothers ho...

Boyfriend a man named thaddeus rice had dropped the baby down the stairs after tripping over a diaper bag. >> jordan was crying and we, like, gave her a hug. and i looked at halee. and halee like looked at me and i was, like, "what are we gonna do? " >> they did what they could to help. they got jordan some food and went to her apartment to get her some clean clothes. >> we walked in and halees, like, "do you know whats weird? " and i was, like, "what? " she goes, "the diaper bag is sitting righ...

Halee if she spoke out. thaddeus had a bad reputation around town. halee could be poking a hornets nest. >> she absolutely could have. >> if she starts making accusations. now halee was dead. and heather wondered if her fears had come true had thaddeus killed halee to shut her up? >> i just felt like you know, he was looking at some pretty serious charges if i had to think of people who had reasons to hurt her, that would have been number one. >> the day after halee was murdered someone sent hea...

>> phillips noted that detectives questioned isaiah aggressively for hours, they used profanity, invaded his space, intimidated him. >> im supposed to believe a stack of -- >> maybe, he theorized, isaiah simply lied to make them go away. were you worried though the jury is going to hear lies, and thats just gonna trump everything else? "this guys lying. why should i believe him that he didnt kill her? " >> thats a hard one to overcome. but we had no confession, first and foremost. isaiah never s...

Have been postponed. the south american nation has been experiencing an increase in covid-19 cases since the beginning of the year. now back to dateline. >> ♪ ♪ ♪ >> welcome back to "dateline. " im natalie morales. detectives wondered if halee rathgebers murder was tied to another recent death. her god son reportedly died in a horrible accident, but halee suspected the mothers boyfriend, thaddeus rice, may have harmed the baby on purpose. did thad kill halee to silence her? to find out, po...