Were waiting for. And Hannah Andersons exclusive first tv interview. In the beginning, i was a victim. But now i consider myself a survivor. She speaks out and answers her critics. Most of them think that im not innocent. But i am. The rescue of Hannah Anderson. But first, a dateline mystery. I could be dead right now. It doesnt make any sense that he left me alive. She was a new bride, married just six days. Then came that horrible night. I see kind of a dark shadow. All i remember was the bright flash of the gun. A mysterious man she told police burst into their new home and killed her husband. I told him i loved him. Its a heartbreaking story. But it was puzzling, too. Who was this strange man or was there a strange man at all . Brand new bride tells a story of some mystery man thats got to set off alarm bells. She was somebody we had to look at. Suddenly, shes the one under scrutiny. The detective asked me if i killed my husband. I knew something was coming. Im lester holt and this is dateline. What really happened in the middle of the night . Heres josh mankiewicz. Albuquerque, new mexico, a mile high city. Famous for its annual balloon festival. And the city where a match made in heaven came in 2005 when a friend of katherine baileys set her up with a man named scott. What was it that made your friend think that the two of you would be a good match . Im not sure if it was anything than he was a tall handsome man and she knew thats what i looked. Scott pierce certainly was tall at 68 and more than 350 pounds. He was a gentle soul, trapped in the body of an nfl lineman. The two soon fell in love and nature played an Important Role in their lives. Both, their own goodnatured urs and their love of nature. What did you like about him besides he was 68 . He saw the beauty in anything. He would stop to take a picture of anything. Scott was behind the lens for pictures like these. We would make special trips to the desert when the cactuses were blooming. We took a lot of photographs. But nature alone wasnt important to scott pierce. He was also nurturing. This big guy also had a big heart. He dreamed of one day becoming a nurse practitioner. If i had a plant and it was almost dead and i was like ready to give up on it, he wouldnt let me because there was a chance it could come back. He just wouldnt give up on anything. In may 2008, nearly three years after they were matched, scott and katherine who worked in retail, took a big step as a couple. They bought a house in northeast albuquerque. This was your first home . Uhhuh. I qualified for had on my own actually. But with his nursing career finally taking off, were going to be living okay. What appealed to you about that house . It looked very homey and gave us more room. We didnt need a huge house. We were both simple people. Apr month later they were married. I scott take you katherine, to be my wife. Was there a honeymoon coming . The honeymoon was going to take a back seat for a while. Which was fine. We had a house. We still had boxing everywhere. That decision to buy that home at that time on that schedule would one day become a choice katherine and others would examine and reexamine. Because that honeymoon the new couple had put off would never come. Just six days after the wedding, scott and katherines new life took a turn no one saw coming. He actually stayed up late that night watching a movie. And then came to bed. Next thing we know the dogs are barking. I got up, went down the hall. I noticed the back door was open and i thought, its 3 00 in the morning, i didnt have my glasses on and i thought why would scott leave the back door open . So the back door had been open when he went to bed. He probably would have noticed it. Yes. His routine was to go through the house and check that everything was locked. Then from nowhere, katherine noticed something strange. I see kind of a dark shadow that looks like hes pointing a long pointy thing at me. And i said, scott, stop messing around. You thought it was your husband . It didnt make sense it would be a stranger in my home. It had to be scott playing a trick. Tell me about this man with the shotgun, white, black, hispanic. A black shadow. Thats literally all i saw. Then it snapped. This wasnt scott. What did you think . Your mind works very fast. He said get down on the ground. So i did. He said, where is manny . I said what, what did you say . He said wheres manny . And thats when from the corner of her eye, katherine caught sight of her husband. He had woken up to see a man pointing a shotgun at his wife. He was charging this guy. Your husband of six days was coming to your defense . Yeah. At that point, it was kind of a blur. All i remember was him turning very fast, but i saw the bright flash of the gun. And i think that kind of temporarily blinded me. Where is the guy with the gun . The only thing i can imagine is that he ran out the back door as soon as the gun went off. Katherine grabbed the phone, called 911 and said she found scott on the Kitchen Floor with a gaping wound in his neck. Did you say anything to them . Oh, yeah. I told him i loved him. I put my handson his face and i told him i loved him. He had his hand up on his stomach and i by the time they loaded him into the ambulance and took him away, you didnt have a lot of hope . I wouldnt even say that. I wasnt going to give up hope until somebody told me finally. And minutes later at the hospital, someone did. I remember the doctor finally walking in and he said so tell me what happened. I said no. Is he alive . I wasnt going to play this game. I wanted to know right away. He said no. At age 41, scott pierce was dead, six days after his wedding. And just like that, katherine pierce was a widow. What had happened in that kitchen . Who was manny . The mysterious man for whom the killer had come calling. And who held the answers to all those questions . A whole lot of questions in this case. Police were quick to set out to answer them and they started with katherine pierce. When we come back, its more than her story thats under scrutiny. Its everything. Her clothes from that night. Her marriage. Even a Life Insurance policy. I knew something was coming. Did she have something to hide . [ male announcer ] a man. A man and his truck. And a broken fence. And a lost calf. And the heart to search for as long as it takes. And the truck that lets him search for as long as it takes. The allnew chevy silverado. The most fuelefficient v8 in a pickup. Strong for all the roads ahead. And im here to talk about your bums. These are bumwipes. Do you think that would be quite an interesting addition to your dry routine . Yes. So you like using them . I do. Because you feel. Ultimately clean, i guess. Youre welcome to borrow my container. Its new, look at that. Would you ever use these . I think i should. Would you like to have a go . Yeah, we could do that. Its awesome [ cherry ] nothing leaves you feeling cleaner and fresher than the cottonelle care routine. So lets talk about your bum on facebook. Where to next . So lets talk about there are lots ofook. Jajamies out there, but that doesnt mean were all the same. Just like greek yogurts. Thats why i prefer activia greek. Mmm activia helps regulate your digestive system. Activia greek, activia like no other greek yogurt. Dannon i dont do any cleaning. I make dirt. Very, very heavy. Im not big enough or Strong Enough for this. There should be some way to make it easier. [ doorbell rings ] [ morty ] heres a box, babe. Open it up. Oh my goodness what is a wetjet . Some kind of a mopping device. Theres a lot of dirt on here. Morty, look at how easy it is. Its almost like dancing. [ both humming ] this is called the swiffer dance. Ready in a minute dad. Whats the 411 . I can meet you in the car. Nah, bro im cool. Im just chillmaxin. Is there something that you wanted . We cant just spend a little qt as a posse . On the download . Dad, why are you talking like that . I was just hoping you would give me the last piece of bacon. Holler holla. I dont know. [ male announcer ] when it comes to common language we all speak bacon. The very best cuts naturally hardwood smoked. Its unanimous food. Its oscar mayer. A new day dawned in 2008 and as the sun came up, katherine pierce realized she had been transformed. In just six days, shed gone from smiling newlywed to bloodstained widow. And to a possible suspect in the murder of her husband scott. You know when a husband or wife dies, its very natural for police to at least look at the surviving spouse . I knew something was coming. It wasnt unusual. And soon katherine was face to face with veteran albuquerque homicide detective mike fox. A brand new bride tells a story of some mystery man coming into the house and executing her new husband. Thats got to set off alarm bells. She was somebody we had to look at. Tell me about katherine pierces demeanor. She shocked me how well she was able to put it together. Calmer than you would expect . Yes. Detectives had many questions, especially after looking hard at the crime scene and finding something confusing. The killer had dumped out katherines purse on the back deck. But on the purse, no fingerprints. So was this a robbery gone wrong or was the purse some kind of diversion . We knew we were dealing with somebody at that point had used rubber gloves or Something Like that. Which says to you what . It tells me that whoever was involved was going in there to kill somebody and not leave any evidence behind. Burglars sken generally do not carry shot guns. No. If somebody surprises them, instead of shooting them, they just runaway. Typically, thats what ive seen through my career. So even though the fact that katherines purse was sort of dumped out and searched through, everything about this says planned murder, not planned burglary . Correct. But planned by whom . Tell me about scott pierce. Anybody didnt like him . No. Everybody liked him. Great guy. Nothing bad in his background at all. You, no doubt, did your Due Diligence to find out whether that marriage was as happy as it appeared to be . Yes. Talking to people around them, everything was fantastic. But detectives had heard that story before. When they looked deeper, they learned that katherines husband had a Life Insurance policy. The payoff was in the mid sixfigure range. And she was the beneficiary. When they canvassed the homes nearby, police found neighbors who heard a man and woman talking around 3 00 a. M. Detectives wonder had that been scott and katherine. Within hours of her husbands murder, they confiscated the clothes katherine was wearing when she said her new husband was gunned down right in front of her. Police took their clothing to test it. Everything is evidence at that point. I understood that. You werent concerned . Not at all. The detective asked me if i killed my husband. Straight out . And i said no. And he seemed fairly satisfied with that. But detectives asked katherine to run through her story again looking for inconsistencies. So she went through what happened that night again. Just as she did in this video she would later make for her attorneys. From here i turned around and there was the person, the tall person standing here. So i said, oh, scott, stop messing around. And then he said, get down on the ground. Thats when i knew somebody was in my house that didnt belong. I saw scott standing at the other end of the room. I held up my hand and i said scott, wait. The gun went off. His head was right here. And his neck was blown open, all of this. His throat, everything to back here, it was just it was gone. Did she say or do anything that made you suspicious . No. Nothing showed that she wasnt telling the truth. But, unfortunately, in her situation i have to go after her as a possible suspect. Its to find out if she is involved, a. And b, if shes not, later on make it so when it goss trial, its not brought up by a defense attorney who tries to make it look like shes the one that did it. But remember, there was something katherine heard on the Kitchen Floor that night. Something that came from that shadowy figure who had held a shotgun to katherines head before firing the fatal shot at scott. The killer had also asked her a question that would soon become the focus of this investigation. He said, where is man yes . Manie . He said where it manny . It was a name that meant nothing to homicide investigators. But katherine pierce said she knew exactly who the man was after. Now, police were looking for him too. So who was this mystery man named manny and could he help break this case . It didnt quite seem right that this random person just happened to break in. Police are getting closer when dateline continues. New t. Now we have bold new tastes like never before. You like things made by hand. Were now grilling up freshly made eggwhites. You like to cool down. We just added a refreshing new smoothie. You get wrapped up in things. Were introducing new delicious ways for you to eat. Theres no one quite like you. Now more than ever, theres something for everyone to love at mcdonalds. Be in our ad. Go to imlovinit. Com [ male announcer ] hurry in for labor day deals like 20 off charbroil commercial series grills at lowes. Get in on the fun. During the Petsmart Fall savings sale save up to 20 on thousands of items including select kong® toys. At petsmart®. Do you see the 10 back in points, aw baby, im seeing triple again. Plus another 10 , plus Free Shipping . Yeah. Youre good. This is the member triple play deal. This is sears. Anarchy meets order. Working with at t, doctors set up a broadband solution to handle data and a mobility app to stay connected with their business. So they can run the office. Even when theyre not in the office. Where do you want to take your business . Call us. We can show you how at t solutions can help you do what you do. Even better. Can help you do what you do. Own pancakes part 2 is a hit i put caramel and bacon, says bobby. I like it when syrup goes down the side, says jenna. And michael was left speechless. Build your own pancakes are back for a limited run, only at dennys. It was just a few hours into a sunny saturday morning in albuquerque, june 2008. Katherine pierce was in a police car being taken home from the hospital where her husband of six days, scott, had just been pronounced dead. From the start, she had been treated as a suspect in her husbands murder. Katherines story was that a shadowy figure had broken into their home in the middle of the night and had then killed scott. But for some reason, spared katherines life. Detective mike fox was working homicide for the Albuquerque Police. It didnt quite seem right that this random person just happened to break in and was looking for a guy named manny. Manny, it was the name that was about to break this case. It had to do, it turned out, not just with katherine pierce and her husband, but with the house, the piece of property they had just bought as they began their life together. The couple had moved in just a month before the murder. A month before that question asked by the intruder in the middle of the night about where to find manny. You knew who he was talking about . Yes. I did. Thats who you bought the house from . Yes. They had moved out how long before . Almost exactly a month prior. Suddenly the murder case had moved off of katherine pierce and on to the presumed target that night, a man named manny. It turned out he was known to the Albuquerque Police and within hours after detectives put out word they were looking for him, manny called police. He offered to come in, sit down and help out anyway he could. Im guessing the first question is who is looking for you that wants to kill you . Yeah. Who would want you dead . He says . Jason skaggs. Hes the only one i can think of that would want me killed. This is jason skaggs. Manny told police he and jason worked together at a roofing company. Originally, from california, skaggs was an exmarine. A former trucker with a minor criminal record. And some of the story manny was telling police added up. At 63 and only 200 pounds, jason skaggs matched almost exactly the description given by katherine pierce of a tall, slender intruder. But he was not, as far as police knew, a killer. To detectives, a Home Invasion that ended in murder seemed to be outside jason skaggs criminal skill set. If he was the guy in katherine pierces house with the shotgun, he was a rookie. That didnt really match up with the gloves and some of the other things that were kind of popping in our heads as somebody that might be more experienced at this. The detectives started tracking skaggs cell phone. The cell phone started pinging off of el paso, texas. Sounds like a guy on the run. Thought okay, is this guy just heading for mexico . But it turned out el paso was just the closest cell tower to Elephant Butte lake. The campground where jason skaggs was spending the weekend with his wife. And not only did he say it, his employer backed him up. Even with what seemed an airtight alibi, detectives brought in skaggs. Jason, you mind saying your name and date of birth. My name is jason skaggs 5 12 73. He stuck with his story of a weekend trip at the lake. What police didnt know his wife had been interviewed and show told a different story. Detective fox broke that news to jason skaggs. At that point, i could see that we had the right guy. How can you tell when you have the right guy . When a person is cooperating with you, they have a certain demeanor. When you start to turn things on them and start to show what theyre telling you isnt the truth and that i know it and you can see a change in the eyes. So it just all starts to unravel. You can tell and see that . Oh, yeah. Its probably the most exciting part of Homicide Investigation is breaking a murderer with their own words. To detectives, it was looking more and more as if jason skaggs had been the man with the shotgun in katherine pierces home. The woman in the house describes you. Ive never broke into anyones house. I have never shot anyone in my life. By accident i have never shot anyone in my life, never. I have never shot a human being in my life and i have not broke in anyones home. Were going to solve this. Youll find out it wasnt me. It wasnt me. I wasnt in their house. Police kept hammering away. And thats when jason skaggs changed his story. He said he wasnt the man in katherine pierces home and he wasnt the person who pulled the trigger on that shotgun and killed scott. But he did know exactly who it was. Coming up a duffel bag, a gun and gloves. Do these belong to the killer . Who was in the house that night . Hey love. [off screen] there you are. [speaking german] hi, grandpa [off screen] give me a kiss [speaking mandarin] what do you think . Do you like it . [off screen] happy birthday can you see that . [speaking polish] [off screen] did he a