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Really concerned about that. >> reporter: the d.a had his own concerns. the testimony of a schoolgirl, and the sister of the victim, didnt seem enough to convict. and thats about all the evidence they had. police never found any dna, fingerprints, or forensic evidence that linked c-styles to the garage of crystal taylors apartment. and while they found a .38-caliber bullet lodged in crystals brain, they never found the gun that fired it, let alone linked that gun to c-styles or anyone else. if c...

Coming up -- >> were looking for some help on some cases. >> a conversation with a convict. >> if you tell us something that you remember, truthfully, remember, then we can corroborate it, we can get you moved out of california. >> like to where, though? >> is c-styles about to come clean? when "dateline" continues. scot. and no matter who you root for, lets get to it. but she wanted someone who loves with the cats.ng. so, we got griswalda. dinners almost ready. but one thing we could both agree...

In improbable ways and end up happy. >> right. >> reporter: is what she wanted? >> yes. >> i know she wanted love. i know that she -- she wanted a fairytale life. i know she always talked about it, but, you know, she was happy with the life that she had. >> reporter: the life she had, working, being with family, and raising a son who was born the very day she turned 17. >> i went in and she was singing "it never rains in southern california" in labor, like shaking the bed. >> reporter: crystal c...

Something else they learned. >> as the investigation continued, we discovered that derek had been to prison -- for a federal offense of -- he was scamming money from a bank. >> reporter: it happened in 2004. heres derek in this fuzzy bank security photo stealing money from other peoples bank accounts. turned out he had a girlfriend who worked at a credit union. he got account numbers from her and used them to move money into accounts he controlled. what happened to the $80,000 that they skimmed?...

For the taylor family, history had been split in two. there was "before" when they had crystal and life was good. and then there was "after." >> people kind of started treating us like, "are yall still talking about that?" >> and they just kind of want you to move on. >> everybody wanted us to move on. >> and you say, i cant really move on. >> i cant move on. >> cause you start feeling like, "well, who life is this?" because you want me to go back to what life? this is my life. i dont have a lif...

It, but, um -- i told him asap. as soon as i got the opportunity. >> reporter: police once again arrested derek smyer for the murder of crystal taylor. and this time they thought they had the goods. a jury, though, would have other ideas. coming up -- a bombshell from the defense, did someone else kill crystal? >> witnesses testify to hearing an argument. she was confronting her killer. >> thats when she was shot? >> absolutely. >> was this murder a hit at all? >> this is breaking me. >> when ...

>> derek. >> do you have a middle name, derek? >> paul. >> he freely answered your questions? he didnt ask for an attorney? >> no. no, he -- he never requested an attorney during our interview time with him. >> when was the last time that you saw her at her apartment that you can recall? >> last time was not recently. >> okay. >> i havent seen her physically in about -- lets see, a couple months. >> about two months? >> longer than that. >> he kind of discounted it as "yeah, we were on and off r...

Verdict on all counts. thank you very much. >> reporter: crystals family was worried. they could only hope the jury believed c-styles video confession, and not his recantation of it. the wait for a verdict was agonizing. >> that was painful. >> reporter: one day passed. then two. three days in. >> im nervous. i dont want to do this again. i cant do this again. its not easy. >> reporter: then it was a week. then one week turned into two. >> im like im just praying. i just keep praying, no matter ...

Cause thats why youre in the hole. cause you cant go on the main yard, am i right? okay -- well, were looking for some help on some cases. now one hand washes the other. if you tell us something that you remember, truthfully remember, and we can corroborate it, we can get you moved out of california. >> like, to where, though? >> arizona, illinois, tennessee. >> detective lopez assured c-styles this wasnt your typical police interrogation. >> we didnt read you your miranda rights, right? so anyt...

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