Huge struggle. She is the definition of grit. She didnt give up. Hes hurting me. The details that she gave. It was unbelievable. She said, you did it. I said, no, you did. Route 66 once stretched across the southwest from one horizon to the next, going from what america was to what it wanted to be. Cities like albuquerque, new mexico, were celebrated stops along the journey. Today buildings that once lined this part of the iconic highway had faded and closed as the Cottonwood Mall became the new downtown. The mall was the big hangout. I met my husband at the mall. So did i. It has played a pivotal part in our lives. For the marcell sisters, all six of them, along with their brother, jonathan, the Cottonwood Mall in albuquerque was the center of their social lives. 17yearold brittani worked at a sunglasses kiosk. She is this blueeyed girl with a big eyes and a striking smile. Life was simple good, until september 11th, 2008, brittani just starting her senior year of high school had planned to meet her mom for lunch. I opened the door and i saw her favorite pair of sunglasses on the floor, and i thought that was weird. A seemingly trivial detail now burned into dianes memory because of what she saw next. I see her lying on the floor, and bleeding profusely. Then what do you see. I see a person i never have seen before in my house, and he is holding a shovel, and he walks through my living room and drops the shovel and walks through the dinner room to the kitchen, and i am looking at him and he tells me i am next while hes reaching for a butcher knife. Hes going to kill you . Yes. What do you do . I ran out. Im screaming and yelling. Dianes screams got the attention of a passerby who was brave enough to help. He ran into the house, he yelled back, you better get the paramedics here, shes going to die. Diane called 911 but waited outside certain the attacker was still in her house. I am afraid to walk in, and he was coming after me, he ran to the kitchen. Police and paramedics were there in minutes, and brittani was taken to the hospital. Someone was calling me saying that brittani got stabbed, i thought she was in a car accident and we didnt realize what had happened. I rushed home to my mom and she told me what happened and i truly Thought Brittani would die. The sisters rushed to the hospital but once then, they were met with confused looks. They are, like we dont have a Brittani Marcell. Putting brittani under an assumed name. May have been a smart move, because the family was later told about a mysterious visitor was trying to get into see brittany. When we were in The Waiting Room one of the nurses came out and said do you know that some man came in to see her . Do you know what . Was we dont know. The man left before he could be identified, and diane had a terrifying thought, maybe it was brittanis attacker . I didnt know if this person was watching us from a far, did he follow the ambulance, and i went to the rest room and i would look at the back of every door to make sure nobody was in there and standing on the commode. Fear took over. Fear. As Brittani Teetered on the edge of does, her family could only guess as to who attacked her and why. We started looking, who is in our lives . Was it any of the boyfriends . Everybody in our family is a natural problem solver, everybody was Formulating Ideas of who, how, what, when. The marcells were raised to be close and self sufficient, their Dad A Truck Driver was often away, when he and dianne divorce she had to go to work. The children looked out for each other. How do you think it shaped brittani being number five in this big family . She looked up to kathleen, kristin and alicia. Remind me who is the oldest . I am. I think i was kind of like her mom. The littlest one has the most moms. Like her oldest sisters, brittani was disciplined and hard working. She was an excellent student. She had a good circle of friends. I think she kind of set herself apart from the Popular Crowd rather than was inside it and thats because shes very genuine in everything she does. Brittani was headed to college and hoping to be a local tv reporter. Very driven, she was expected to graduate High School Early and she wanted to study journalism. But her mom, diane, said brittani hit a rough patch during her junior year in high school. How was brittani acting . Rebellious. Just like a 17yearold, confrontational if you ask them something. Things got so tense for a while brittani moved in with her dad. And he was not there all the time, so it was perfect for her. This was her mild way of running away from home . A little bit. Right. By the start of her senior year, brittani wanted to come back, and thats why she and her mom were meeting for lunch to discuss brittanis return, and instead brittani was attacked. What did the doctors tell you when she was brought to the hospital . She would not survive. Were you able to see her . We could see her but she doesnt know we are there. Brittanis head was the size of a basketball if not bigger. I dont think any of us really thought, thats brittani. What goes through your mind when you realize you may never have any moments with your sister again . This could be it . The moments you missed. Brittani had a couple nights before asked me to go to a maroon 5 concert, and i was like no, im too busy and i didnt tell her i loved her enough, and she didnt know how much she meant to me and i didnt tell her how much i appreciated her, and my son will not see her again. You are having a rehearsal for a death that has not happened. Coming up who was brittanis attacker . This seemsed so personal. This person seemed like he was full of rage. Who was brittani hanging around with . When he returned . The alarm was set constantly, we never experience that imminent danger. When dateline continues. Ine continues it was time for a nunormal with nucala. Nucala is a oncemonthly addon treatment for Severe Eosinophilic Asthma that can mean less oral steroids. Not for sudden breathing problems. Allergic reactions can occur. Get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. Infections that can cause shingles have occurred. Dont stop steroids unless told by your doctor. Tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. May cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. Ask your Asthma Specialist about a nunormal with nucala. Chevy silverado has what it takes to do it all. With up to 13 camera views. And the z71 offroad package. You ok . Yeah. Any truck can help you make a living. This one helps you build a life. 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Albuquerque Police DetectiveJason Marella s, since retired, was the lead investigator. Youve seen a lot of murders in your career. How how brutal was this attack in this house . It was very brutal. Morales said brittani had been hit repeatedly with a shovel, so hard it crushed the left part of her skull. When i got here, the crime van was already parked out front. They had been here for a little while. They were waiting on the condition of the victim, brittani, to see if she was going to survive or if shes gonna die. Morales said the fact brittanis purse and sunglasses were found right in the entryway led him to believe the attacker came up behind her as she entered the house. Did you get the sense that maybe this was a burglary in progress and brittani just happened to come home . Or do you did you feel like the perpetrator was someone that brittani knew . This just seemed so personal. It seemed, to me at the time, that were looking at somebody that either knew brittani or knew somebody in the family. Or there was something there was more of a connection to there. The brutal nature of the attack, did that tell you anything . I mean, this person seemed like they were full of rage. It does. We started trying to figure out who was brittani hanging around with . Who might be a suspectcause it really at this point, we had no suspect at all so everybody is. Morales believed the attack had just started when brittanis mom arrived. I dont think he was anticipating diane showing up. The pattern of blood at the scene indicated the attacker actually chased diane when she fled the house, but stopped for some reason. Maybe, morales thought, when diane started screaming. And he panicked. So instead of going out a sliding glass door whether it was locked or unlocked, he jumps out of a dining room window, i mean, not through the screen, he jumps through the glass to get out. Inside the house, morales found a room full of evidence. So once we were able to go inside, you could see it was pretty violent. There was blood on the floor. A shovel. There was duct tape. And, then, there was also a knife. A lot of clues. Yes, absolutely. Enough, morales thought, to solve the case. That is, until he got the lab results. The fingerprints found on the shovel, knife and tape were incomplete. Dna from a male was found on the shovel and the knife, but it was so intermingled with brittanis blood, it was impossible to develop an individual profile. But on a shard of broken glass, police found a drop of blood that looked promising, because it was pristine. When he jumped out of the window, he cut himself. The blood drop was analyzed and a complete, male, dna profile was generated, which morales uploaded to the National Criminal data base, called codis. To see if it would match anybody thats already in the database. Did you get a match . No. No match . Morales couldnt believe it. He was convinced brittanis attacker had to be a repeat offender. Youd have to figure that somebody thats done something in that extreme has done done Something Like that before. Brittanis attacker, basically, vanished into thin air. Yes. So now moralesinvestigation went from the lab to the street. Hed heard brittani was seeing someone, kind of a boyfriend. Was he a potential suspect . Absolutely. Did you do a dna test on her sort of boyfriend . Yes. He was cleared. His dna did not match that. Police didnt have to rely on just hard evidence, though. They had an eyewitness to the attack. I could see his height. Brittanis mom had actually seen the guy. I saw he had jeans on. He had a longsleeved shirt on, and what does he look like . Either a dark caucasian man or a light hispanic with brown hair, kinda spiky. Police created a composite sketch and spread the word across the rio grande valley. There was both billboards, rewards, crimestoppers rewards. Names just start pouring in. So we were talking to a bunch of people. But to no avail. The Billboard Campaign didnt produce any workable suspects, witnesses or leads. Meanwhile, the Marcell Family was on edge. In the days following the attack, brittani remained on life support, close to death. We really didnt know what to do when they said, shes probably not gonna make it. Their home, once a safe and sacred place, was now marred by evil. Walking in was like someone died there. Like, it was just morbid. It it was just dark. Hard. Very dark. Going back there, its a dark feeling you get on the and going back there, its a dark feeling you get on the inside. This isnt okay and you just want to get what you have to get to survive and leave. Brittanis mom soon found a rental house, but changing addresses didnt help with the lingering unease. Whenever were in the house, the alarm was set constantly. No open windows. No open doors until we go out. Our whole lifestyle changed. The marcells were terrified brittani had been attacked by someone who knew them and their routines, someone who might strike again. We just never experienced that kind of imminent danger. Did you worry about them, that they could be targets . That he could go after one of them or that he could finish off brittany . Right, because we know dont know that britney was the official target. It was unsettling for everybody. And i think that every reason to be worried. They worked out a yuck schedule, Taking Turns Standing Vigil at the hospital with brittani. They tried to be hopeful, but they also knew the doctors and the police all Thought Brittani was going to die. And all the reports at the hospital were looking like, the trajectory was for brittani to pass. But, somehow, brittani held on, and six weeks after the attack, against all odds, she finally opened her eyes. When brittani came to and she woke up, her eyes were blue like the ocean before. And they they were gray. And i kept thinking, he took your light, oh my god, he took your light. And in brittanis new, gray eyes, her family saw something else, fear. Coming up who is this guy that hurt me . Why did he hurt me . Brittani and her family still haunted. Your friends, your teachers, your boyfriend. So everybodys a possible suspect . It sounds crazy but it could be anybody. When dateline continues. Wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. Its to die for. And its all right here. Streaming was never this easy, you know. This is the way. You really went all out didnt you . Um, its called commitment. Could you turn down the volume . Here, you can try. Get way more into what your into when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. Wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. Its to die for. And its all right here. Streaming was never this easy, you know. This is the way. You really went all out didnt you . Um, its called commitment. Could you turn down the volume . Here, you can try. Get way more into what your into when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. Brittanis beating was so horrific, we created sketches of her time in icu rather than show you the actual photos. Part of her brain was removed, then she contracted meningitis which nearly killed her. One surgery after another. But brittani held on. And by christmas, three months after the attack, the family was told brittani would survive. But what would her new life be like . We talked to her, and she would blink her eyes and smile, but we knew at that point, her there was a lot paralysis. And thats when they told us her ear canal is crushed. Shes going to be deaf. They also told us that her optic nerve is probably atrophied, which its severed, just from the hitting of the head, the jolting of it. Despite her extensive injuries, brittanis family started taking her on short outings. And we put her in the wheelchair and she still couldnt hold her head up. And shes drooling. I was like, please dont let this be it. The family knew this might be all they could hope for. There was so much dead tissue in the front temporal lobe. They removed pieces of that. And they with the brain they were saying its so unpredictable. That could be any your short term that could be your speech. That could be short term. It could regenerate. When i hear all the wonderful things about her, and all of the things she wanted to accomplish, and now youre describing her like this. Were you angry . Absolutely. As they tended to brittani, her sisters continued to wonder who could have done this to her . Its violating because you start Questioning Relationships you trust. Exactly. Yes. At school, your friends, your teachers, your boyfriend, your circle of influence. Youre like, well, maybe it was you. So everybodys a possible suspect . Even going to the gym, going to the grocery store, you know, standing at the gas station, i mean, its it sounds crazy. But when you dont know who it is it could be anybody. Uhhuh. It was all so personal. The attacker had been in their home. Possibly stalked them. Maybe brittani wasnt even his intended target . Maybe it was one of the other sisters. No one could say for sure. But the family had to put their fears aside when caring for brittani, who now needed all of their help. Its really taking your baby and raising her all over again. So youre raising a child that you already raised. That, i think, was the hardest part, watching mom have to go through that again. You just you wanted to cry for them. Five months after the attack, her condition had stabilized to the point brittani could be released from the hospital. But she was far from healed. She didnt realize why she couldnt walk, why she couldnt eat, why she had to learn all these things over again. As helpless as a child, which meant if the attacker returned, the Marcell Family was more vulnerable now than ever. So diane fled albuquerque, taking brittani along with the two youngest children to neighboring texas. S