the head. >> there's a female who had mud and blood all over her. >> frantic. saying her husband had been shot. >> a woman in distress. a murder in the dead of night. >> calm down. breathe slow. we were concerned for her. >> she was next to him as he was hit. >> yes, sir. >> ridge say who shot her husband? >> i saw a shadow. >> she said it was a figure and turned and ran into the darkness. >> we take you inside this mystery. >> we don't know the suspect is still out there. >> who killed your husband? >> a small town murder with a big-time twist. >> she knew something she wasn't telling? >> yes, sir. welcome to dateline. at nearly 300 pounds, robert looked menacing but to loved ones, he was a gentle giant. the selfless fire captain enjoyed helping others. no one could help him when he was murdered. an eyewitness offered fuzzy details yet investigators piece together the clues, bringing the deadly deed into sharp focus. here is josh mankiewicz with out of the darkness. >> 911. >> this friday night are ready felt like -- now it sounded like trauma. it was 10:47 p.m. the woman calling 911 sounded desperate. >> calm down. where are you at? ma'am, where are you at? >> she was on a cell phone somewhere on the outskirts of town. >> she is pinging on county road and she's extremely out of breath. it sounds like she's running and she's crying saying she needs a police. >> seconds later, the call dropped out. >> hello? ma'am, are you there? >> what was she running from? and what had happened on this texas country road? those questions would be answered quickly. >> all i could do was cry because i thought oh, my god, this cannot be true. >> it was the y and the secrets at answer dragged out of the darkness that were so much harder to comprehend. when you get a call, what is it usually? >> like any other warrants, thefts. reckless drivers. >> not that night. not on september 9, 2016. according to the running gasping woman on the phone, someone had been shot. it was happening in royse city, texas, 31 miles from dallas. >> somebody shot is a major call. >> the officer of the pd rushed to the scene. his dash cam rolling. >> what's going on? >> my husband has been shot in the head. >> the woman's name was chacey poynter. he took me to the road where he found her. >> she seemed frantic. she said her husband had been shot. i put her in the back of my car. >> have ac. have ac. stay here. >> the shooter could be out here somewhere? >> yes. up auteur in the safety of my car and ran down the road to find the victim. >> he and issues deputy who pulled up at the same time ran half a mile down kelly road 2595. >> that's a long way on foot in the dark. you have no idea whether the shooter is behind one of these trees are waiting for you are running away? >> halfway down the road an abandon pickup truck. we kept going. >> we continue running down the road. we can see headlights through the tree line. we come around the curve. our duty weapons are drawn in giving the orders let me see your hands. headlights in our eyes. what is inside the vehicle is unclear until we get closer. once we get closer to the vehicle and saw nobody around it, suspect-wise, we saw victim inside a car. >> a man slumped over in the drivers seat. he had been shot in the head. >> it was evident he was d.c.'s. >> his partner was also called to the scene by a dispatcher. >> i made a joke to her, said, what you have, a murder? she said i think so. oh, i got to go. it doesn't happen that often. >> the last murder was years ago. >> i knew i had to respond pretty rapidly not knowing what we had. >> he called for backup because the shooter or shooters remained on the loose. >> everybody was on point as far as keeping their heads on a swivel. we didn't know who or how many were out there. >> while he waited for their loan detective to arrive, he took chacey to paramedics who responded to the scene. >> calm down. breathe slow. was anyone else out there with you? >> i was out there by myself. >> was that your husband? what is his name? >> robert poynter. >> somewhere she hit the ground and blood and mud on her. >> we were concerned and wanted to make sure she was taking care of and find out as much and as quickly what had happened. >> all the cops kept watching the sky because this is texas. the heavens were about to open. >> rain or weather can damage or completely get rid of possible evidence. we had to move quick because the storm was moving fast. >> the race was on to uncover renick clues the crime scene might hold. what would investigators find? >> her purse was on the floorboard and his personal cell phone was in the center console covered in blood. a big clue was the weapon was a shotgun. >> shotgun turned murder weapon. where was it? no two bodies are the same. some pads, never got that message. but, always flexfoam did! it protects against different flows for up to zero leaks. and it flexes to fit all bodies, for up to zero feel. feel it yourself with always flexfoam. everybody wants super straight, super white teeth. they want that hollywood white smile. new sensodyne clinical white provides 2 shades whiter teeth and 24/7 sensitivity protection. i think it's a great product. it's going to help a lot of patients. what can you do with sensitive skin? 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>> possibly. probably. >> bob was her middle child between two sisters, jennifer and cheryl. >> he was not confrontational. >> he was very nonconfrontational. >> he liked helping people. maybe that's why he became a firefighter, a well-respected one. he swallowed smoke for 19 years. winding up as a captain in the university park department outside dallas. from his firehouse, from the rig, even from the fires, bob kept in close touch with his mom. >> we had that 15 calls a day. >> mama's boy. >> truly. i adored him. >> so did his fellow firefighters. he got it done. he helped in louisiana after hurricane katrina and always came home unscathed. professionally speaking. his personal life was also a story of a man who ran toward trouble. bob married young and had two kids. after 19 years, that marriage fell apart, expensively so. around then is when bob met chacey who was much younger. >> i think it was infatuation. he saw somebody 22 years old and he is in his 40s. >> a flag. >> basically. >> it was not a flag. bob married chacey and it was a fresh start for bob with this woman born and raised in small town texas. >> she had a heart of gold. she loved everybody. >> ashley met tran dashed chacey in middle school . >> there was nothing here. we had jack-in-the-box and one gas station. that was it. >> farm town. >> farm town and country. >> quiet. people did not lock their doors. >> no. >> ashley and chacey lost touch after high school then we connected. >> she did it in her spare time and enjoy doing it and she was amazing at what she did. >> what made her so good? >> being crafty and her imagination was everything. >> ashley got to know chacey's husband bob and their young daughter named edison who helped her mom decorate cakes. >> it was something her and addison did together. >> if chacey and addison spent time together, chacey and the husband she could robert did not. what did she say about robert? >> he was never there. he always worked. >> he was a fire captain and worked a lot of shifts? >> yes. >> bob tried to make things right. in 2016, he took his family on a trip to mexico. it was a chance to reconnect. six days later bob poynter was dead and not in a fire. detective michael burke drove out to county road 2595 to investigate his first career homicide. >> i grabbed my criminal investigation equipment and mostly at the time it was just a camera, flashlight. >> and off you go to the scene. halfway down the road was the truck, later identified as bob's . then another discovery. >> we were shining our flashlights on the path to make sure we don't trip and fall into one of the deep ruts and there was a reflection in the water. a closer look, showed it was a cell phone. >> it was chacey's cell phone. she had apparently dropped it when she felt. it is why her 911 call was cut off. further down the muddy road and around a bend was heard she with bob poynter's body behind the wheel. he took a close look. >> was he robbed? >> no. chacey's purse was on the floorboard of the vehicle. his personal cell phone was in the center console covered in blood. >> the fatal shot had apparently been fired at close range. >> a big clue was what the weapon was was a shotgun and the wadding from the shotgun shell was still on the victim in skull. >> who shot bob and why? >> coming up. >> just breathe for me. >> what had happened on a desolate road? chacey tells a dramatic story. >> i heard a shot and the jeep started rolling. i saw a shadow. >> when "dateline" continues. i t in the things i love. then i found a chance to let in the lyte.” discover caplyta. unlike some medicines that only treat bipolar i, caplyta is proven to deliver significant symptom relief from both bipolar i & ii depression. and in clinical trials, movement disorders and weight gain were not common. caplyta can cause serious side effects. call your doctor about sudden mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts right away. anti-depressants may increase these risks in young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. caplyta is not approved for dementia-related psychosis. report fever, confusion, or stiff muscles, which may be life threatening, or uncontrolled muscle movements which may be permanent. common side effects include sleepiness, dizziness, nausea, and dry mouth. these aren't all the side effects. in the darkness of bipolar i & ii depression, caplyta can help you let in the lyte. ask your doctor about caplyta. find savings and support at caplyta.com. ask your doctor about caplyta. can i get some information from you real quick? josh mankiewicz: chacey poynter had just witnessed her husband being shot. and she could barely breathe. chacey poynter had witnessed her husband being shot. she could barely breathe. >> slow your breathing down. concentrate on that. >> even as she was getting hooked up with oxygen, the officer needed to speak with her while everything was fresh in her mind. his body cam was rolling. >> tell us what happened? >> chacey told me she was on her way to meet bob at the local jack-in-the-box. >> when he texted me, i told him i was three miles away. >> their daughter addison was at a friends house so it would just be the two of the. >> he texted me. when he texted me, came around the curve, and i went up the road. >> chacey still visibly shaken sitter jeep got stuck on that muddy road. bob, already at the jack-in-the- box, drove out to help her. when he got there. >> he said i don't think i can make it down the road. we walked up here and we walked back back to my jeep. >> she said bob jumped in the driver's seat and pulled her jeep out. >> i was standing at the back. i went to get and i -- i heard a shot and the jeep started rolling and i did not see anything. i saw a shadow. that's all i saw. >> she went to bob, she said and yelled his name. no answer then she said in a panic, she ran. chacey asked about her husband. >> is he okay? >> inside the ambulance, chacey could see her own arms. >> that is my husband's blood. >> just breathe for me. >> that's my husband's blood. >> i knew not to let her focus on that so i would ask a separate question to redirect her focus. >> the officer documented her injuries and the visible blood on her. once the paramedics released her, he escorted her back to the police car where she seemed to open up. she described ongoing marital problems. >> we don't spend a lot of time together. we can only see each other for a couple of days. >> argue. >> yes. we don't spend a lot of time together. >> chacey said they talked about divorce and bob threatened to take addison if it went through. >> why would your husband try to take your daughter? what reason did he give? >> he knows that will hurt me the most. >> she said they had been trying to work things out. >> we just got back from mexico this week. we had a really good time. things were fine. >> that did not last, she said. soon after returning from mexico, their marriage started heading south again. she told bob she needed space. chacey went to see a friend, michael garza. he knew about chacey's troubled marriage and offered his home to her whenever she needed it. that night, friday, chacey texted bob and they made plans to talk at a familiar spot. >> we used to stop and get tacos at jack-in-the-box. when he would come home late from work. so, i asked if he wanted to meet me at jack-in-the-box. >> bob agreed. >> i said i love you and i still want to work it out. he said you promise? >> the promise unfulfilled. because bob poynter was no more. chacey, the only witness, said she did not get a good look at the shooter. >> i didn't see. i don't know. i was looking at my phone trying to call 911. you probably think i am crazy. >> i wasn't there. i need to understand what you saw. >> tal. dark. that's all i could see. i didn't see any e- >> naturally, he wondered about her friend michael garza. the cops looked up his facebook profile, and there he was, holding a shotgun. could michael garza be the shooter? >> then she talks about he was on a long-haul truck driver and was not in town. that threw a wrench in this scenario. then you think, who else could it be? >> week wasn't sure but he did know this. >> she was giving me too much information. she was telling me things that ultimately didn't make sense for what we were there for. >> he noticed something odd. >> when i wasn't talking she would calm down. when i started talking, she would start hyperventilating. the more spoke to her, the more it seemed like an act. >> was it all an act? or was there something else going on? only one way to find a. they escorted chacey to the police station and dug deeper into her story. that sometimes is hard to follow as county road 2595. >> coming up. >> you are a table length distance away. somebody taking a shotgun and pushing it against her husband's head. boom. and you're telling me you see nothing? you see nothing? >> the fire captain's wife feels the heat. >> i don't buy it. ♪♪ when your child has moderate—to—severe eczema, it's okay for them to show off. show off their clearer skin and noticeably less itch with dupixent. because children 6 months and older with eczema have plenty of reasons to show off their skin. with dupixent, the number one prescribed biologic by dermatologists and allergists, they can stay ahead of their eczema. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema to help heal your child's skin from within. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. ♪♪ show off to the world. ask your child's eczema specialist about dupixent. wanna know a secret? 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[♪♪] end clogged gutters for good. call 833.leaf.filter, if you're only using facial moisturizer in the morning, did you know, the best time for skin renewal is at night? olay retinol24 renews millions of surface skin cells while you sleep. wake up to smoother, younger-looking skin with olay retinol24. i am jessica layton with a look at what's happening. we are awaiting the results of the mexican mexican up dess election after polls close. the country expected to elect its first female leader following a campaign season marred by violence. police are searching for suspect after a late-night shooting at a birthday party in akron. the incident left one dead and over 20 injured. two of the victims are said to be in critical condition. chacey poynter told investigators t welcome back to dateline. i am andrea canning. chacey poynter told investigators are husband robert had just pulled her jeep from the mud when he was shot dead. by who, she couldn't or wouldn't say. now, chacey was headed to the interrogation room or a key night detective was determined to get to the truth. back to josh mankiewicz with out of the darkness. >> royse city detective michael burke might've been working his first homicide, but he already knew this. something about chacey poynter's story did not ring true. >> she gives a shadowy figure wearing dark clothing and shoes her husband. >> shadowy figure in the dark on this road. >> doesn't make a lot of sense. >> he didn't challenge her right away. he wanted to know more about the bumpy road that was chacey and bob's marriage. she had told police she and bob had problems. to burke, she revealed more. >> i've got random bruises from robert. he could just be him grabbing me. he has done this to me for seven years. >> marriage full of domestic abuse. and violence? >> yes, sir. she made comments he had thrown her against the wall. >> the rest of her story was as familiar as a summer rerun. a planned meeting at jack-in- the-box. her jeep getting stuck. then, chacey hearing but not seeing the shot that killed bob. >> i put the jeep and park. then i touched, i pulled my hand away and there was blood. >> the detective zeroed in on a key detail. if chacey touch bob the way she said, the blood should've dripped down from her hand. it did not. >> the streak on your arm is blood splatter. >> chacey had a pattern of blood on her arms, shirt and a little on her face. whi