Mother who had gone missing and the small town secret that led to a very big surprise. Heres keith morrison. Suppose for a minute you were sitting in your car smackdab in the middle of tuscaloosa, alabama and you pointed southwest down highway 69 and kept a sharp eye out after half an hour or so. You roll into a sweet little place called moundville. One stoplight, one main street, one general store. Been around for a long time has moundville. But its a sad truth, as the sheriff says, even here where everybody used to know everybody its not that way anymore. So many different people are moving in from around the world. Trying to escape the crowds. Well, escape the crowd or running from something. Yes. And where have you gone, Andy Griffith . Mayberry has up and left us. Sheriff ken ellis fights real crime nowadays. The crime here is the same crime you see in any large city, just a smaller version. Still, moundville is moundville and neighbors tend to know more of each others business than they might in tuscaloosa, for example, which can be a bit of a nuisance if you need to keep a secret, especially, for example, if your secret is about murder. To begin with, this thoughtful young woman was just a girl of 17 back in 07 when things started coming apart in the way things do when parents dont talk about it. Kelsey mayfield saw that troubled look in her moms eyes, her mom teresa. I could tell she was very stressed. Was it clear she was stressed about . Money would be the main thing. We wanted to be sure she had enough money to take care of her family. A lot of that going around. Like so many americans, kelseys dad had to work two jobs just to keep his head above water hard working man. It took two jobs to take care of our family. But money trouble aside, teresa seemed to have a happy life as anybody could see including teresas mother, reba. All teresa ever wanted was to have a husband that cared for her, somebody she cared for and to have a family. A sweet and kind of corny and even after her two Little Brothers arrived, she could see the signs of her parents affection for each other. He would give her a kiss on the cheek and say good night, i love you. The softball mom, the trunk of her car, a muddle of bats and balls. She shuttling kids back and forth. I had a softball game and we all had a game at the same time. She would stay 30 minutes at their games and each of our games. She was an amazing mother. Theres nothing she would not do for myself or my two brothers. Then there was that sweltering morning, june 2007, teresa drove off to run errands and didnt come back. Kelsey was babysitting the boys, 8 and 11. Hours ticked by. She called her mom. Where are you . She didnt answer. Then i called her back around lunch and she didnt answer. I called her pretty much all day long. Her dad was at work, her mom was, who knew where . Wasnt like her to do this. Is she the sort of person who would take her cell phone with her . It was attached to her hip. You could easily get ahold of her in. Yes. And you couldnt . No. She was in a panic. She called her dad who had gone from his day job to his night shift. Im sure you told your dad you were worried. We kept in touch during the day. Did he seem to be worried . He did. We could never get in touch with her. At midnight, it was clear, something was terribly wrong. Scott left work to file a missing persons report with the moundvil pic what was it like for you that night . It was awful. I was very scared when she didnt come home. And i pretty much knew in my heart that something was wrong. The next morning, said kelsey, she woke up in a house that no longer felt like home. She called her grandmother reba at her home in prattville, a town two hours away. She said is mama down there at your house . I said no, hon. , shes not here. And she said, mama didnt come home last night. What was going on in here . Im just turning upside down. You know, im just tied in a knot. Reba called teresas younger sister ashley at her office at the local circuit court. Mama called me up. She said teresa is missing. I said let me make some phone calls. Right away ashley called the sheriff of her town and he called the sheriff of ellis. His response to me was its bad. Its bad. It certainly was. They had found teresas truck on a dirt road less than a mile from home. She was slumped behind the wheel and she was dead. And this much was perfectly clear. It wasnt an accident. Coming up the investigation begins. We had to ask ourselves, who would get her to this location and why was she murdered . When dateline continues. With frontline plus for dogs and frontline plus for cats. Its two killer ingredients work fast and keep working all month long preventing new flea infestations on your pet. Frontline plus. The number 1 name in flea and tick protection. Voting for your favorite has never been easier. Just say vote for world of dance into your xfinity vmo. Um jennifer, its called a voice remote, not a vmo. Yeah, i just think vmo has a nicer ring to it. So, just say vote for world of dance into your xfinity vmo to choose your xfinity fan favorite to join the world of dance experience on my its my party summer tour. Cast your vote by saying vote for world of dance into your xfinity x1 voice remote. Or as jlo likes to call it, your vmo. It was a lovers lane. A quiet dusty, deadend road miles from main street moundvle. A spot so uncommonly traverse a car with Engine Running taillights blazing could go unnoticed. It was here they found Teresa Mayfields truck, body inside, gunshot wound to the head. Teresas younger sister broke the terrible news to their mother. When i went to the house, mama was sitting in the recliner. I knelt down on my knees and i grabbed her and i said, mama, shes gone. Shes gone. Do you have any idea how hard that was . Teresas daughter kelsey has spent a sleepless night waiting in vain for her mother to come home. How did you find out . My dad came and told my brothers and i. It was awful realizing that your Worst Nightmare had come true. For a brief second, i thought she committed suicide just because i knew how stressed out she was. But then i also knew how much she loved her family. Everybody who knew teresa knew that. Even sheriff ellis who drove out to the crime scene, if thats what it was. He was met there. This case was personal to you, sheriff. Yes. My daughter and miss teresa and scotts daughter played softball together. You would see teresa at the ballpark. It felt like part of my family was gone too. They had a look around the truck. No sign of a struggle. Dusting revealed no viable fingerprints. There were no footprints. Not even a loose hair. Puzzling. Was there any thought once you saw the scene that this was a suicide . There was things missing that prevented the suicide theory. Like what . If youre going to commit suicide with a gun, its usually at the scene. It was clear teresa had been murdered. Shot with a gun which was now missing. And what was more, her cell phone, the one always attached to her hip, was nowhere to be found. Did it look like it could have been a robbery . The wallet wasnt taken. The purse was on the console. But the contents of the purse had been dumped out in her lap. A clumsy attempt at staging, you might say . Yes. But there was one important clue left behind. We noticed that the only window down was the drivers window. So we figured that she had to have known the person because she had let down her window. We had to ask ourselves, who could get her to this location and why was she murdered . Someone in moundville had to know something. From there the investigation went where . Investigating her inner circle, trying to find a motive. Usually, so im told, in cases like this, the husband has got to be a person of interest. Yes. So as the family gathered to mourn the loss of their beloved teresa, scott couldnt be with them. He was down at the Sheriffs Office answering questions. Came willingly, no issue. Yes. Did he ask for an attorney . No, he did not. Corporal boyd chatted with scott for three long hours. During the whole time, he was cooperative and helpful. You know, the standard questions that we would ask is, is anyone having an affair . Are you having an affair . No. Was she having an affair . No. Good marriage, happy marriage, christian marriage . Right. I asked them did they argue . No. Scott answered all their questions about what teresa was supposed to be doing that morning. He phoned teresa from his morning job on the farm, and then two hours later she called him. But the call faded out. He couldnt hear a thing. Scott said that it sounded like she was on the road. He thought nothing of it then, he said. But now was it a distress call . No way to know. But there was one thing that call certainly cleared up for investigators. Scott could not have killed teresa. He was Something Like 30 miles away up near tuscaloosa, had a breakfast receipt to prove it. He stopped at hardees and had a receipt showing he was there. So he rejoined his family. Caught up in the terrible business of grieving. I kept wondering, why was it happening to our family. It was awful. Who would ever imagine youd have a murder in your family . Investigators tried with the help of friends to fill in the gaps of teresas last hours. They talked to their friend dawn lavender. She had plans to go shopping with teresa the morning of the murder. Im sure dawn was upset and shocked by what happened. She did cry during the interview. She was at her house waiting on teresa to come pick her up because she was going to ride with her. She finally got the chance to talk to teresa around 7 00. After that call, nothing. Dawn told the investigators she phoned teresa over and over and each time the phone went to a recording. Just to be sure of all this, they pulled teresas cell phone records and plotted out a timeline of her whereabouts. But the picture the records painted wasnt quite what they expected. That morning call to scott, the one he couldnt hear, teresa did not call from moundville. Cell tower shows its pinging from up in tuscaloosa. Wait a minute. How could it be pinging from tuscaloosa . Thats miles and miles away. Right. Theres no way she could have made the call and been back to the location where she was murdered at. Courtesy of the cell towers, you were able to show that teresa could not have made that call. It had to be somebody else using her phone and what do you know . Her phone is missing from the crime scene. Correct. So the person who very likely killed Teresa Mayfield must have used teresas cell phone to call her husband scott. What could that mean . Did the killer know scott . Coming up we were dealing with a person that was leading a double life. Secrets and lies. This was betrayal. Very good word. When dateline continues. [karate sounds] oh baby you you got what i need you got everything i need your love will never go away cause you oh you got what i need amazons got everything you need and package tracking for all. Welcome, everyone. You wont find relief here. Congestion and pressure . Go to the pharmacy counter for powerful claritind. While the leading allergy spray only relieves 6 symptoms, claritind relieves 8, including sinus congestion and pressure. Claritind relieves more. Cis choosing to nurtureild and emotionally support children in urgent need. Its not just about opening up your home; it is also about opening up your heart. Consider fostering. Welcome back to dateline. Even though Teresa Mayfields husband scott had been very cooperative with investigators, they wondered if there was something he wasnt telling them. Here again with secrets in a small town is keith morrison. Its a funny thing about secrets. They can only stay hidden for so long. Especially in a little place like moundville. And it didnt take very long for sheriff ellis and boyd to stumble across more. Scott had a young lady to come pick up the boys. It was only later when the fog of grief lifted that one of teresas relatives wondered to police who was that woman hanging around the day teresa died . Ellis and boyd tracked her down and what they discovered, well, that changed everything. Or seemed to. The person they were talking to was scotts mistress. She was under the impression that scott was not married at that time. What did you make of that . We knew that wasnt correct. A love triangle, jealous home wrecker kills wife, claims husband . No, not even close. Scotts girlfriend thought his marriage was over. His divorce finalized. What was her reaction to getting the real story . She must have been upset. More hurt than upset because i think she had fallen in love. He had been lying like a sidewalk. Thats right. You had no idea that woman was associated with him that way either, did you . No. I had met her once or twice. But i just thought they were friends. I didnt think it was anything else. This was betrayal in all capital letters. Thats a very good word. You were betrayed. Lied to. Yeah. Taken advantage of if in a way. Kelsey may have been surprised but her mom and sister knew better. This wasnt scotts first dance with infidelity. Oh, no, there had been others. In fact, scott and teresa divorced during one affair, that was just after kelsey was born. Three years later, teresa took him back. Remarried him. She wanted to have her family back together. That was her whole thing, family. What was it like for you when scott came into your house . Whats happening here as he walked in the door . I tried to be sociable mutual with scott. He hurt my sister and i would not forget it. For a while, things were as things as hoped. Soon scott was back to his old ways with that girl cops were talking to in tuscaloosa. You know how gossip can be. Scott when from sympathetic maybe worse. He must have been aware of the fact that people were suspicious of him. It bothered me hearing the bad things people had to say about him. I knew my dad was never capable of doing Something Like that. I was going to have his back regardless. But to investigators, scotts affair and the fact he lied about it to police certainly was suspicious. Ellis and boyd asked the girlfriend to help them out by recording her conversations with scott. Maybe hed let something slip. Hey. Hey. Are you okay . Yes. Im okay. They just left. Look, all i want to know, did you do it . Of course not. They told me on the getgo, i would be number one prime suspect. I know. Because im the husband. Do you still love me . Yes, i do. If you do have anything do with her dying, was it because you love me . I didnt have nothing to do with it, no, no, no. I had nothing. My hands are clean as they can be. So infidelity . Yes. Murder . Didnt sound like it. We could prove that he was an adulterer. But we was trying to prove the murder. Guess theres no crime against being a lying sack of you know what. Its not against the law to have a mistress. So now the corporal and the sheriff reverted to standard procedure and followed up every tip and tracked down every tenuous lead and knocked down rumors. Somebody called scott from teresas cell phone that morning, whether he heard it or not. The investigation dragged on. Weeks and months went by and there was nothing. We had no idea how that anger will get the best of you, not knowing who done this and you want the person that done this to be punished for it. Kelsey took on the most difficult job of her life. At 17 she stepped into her mothers shoes defended her father, tried to maintain something of a normal life for her Little Brothers. Me trying to fill my mothers shoes. Those are some big shoes to fill. I felt like it was my responsibility to help my dad take care of my family. So you were able to continue to have a relationship of trust with your father. Right. He was there for you guys . Yeah. He tried to be strong for us so we wouldnt have a breakdown. By the First Anniversary of teresas death, there was still no arrest and the story was old news. So teresas mother plastered this poster on doors and windows and telephone poles hoping it would dislodge some clue. And then the weirdest thing happened. We found out that just about as quick as we were putting posters up, they were being taken down. Taken down by someone who didnt want teresas killer found, she presumed. And a dark thought crystallized in rebas mind. Was it scott . He never acted like a grieving husband. If he had, i wouldnt have had these thoughts. So your thoughts actually increased over the course of the time that you were with him . Yes. But you know what they say about assumptions. It wasnt scott. Me and my brothers took them down. At first, i was okay with it. But once they put the posters up and everywhere i went, i saw my mothers face, it drove me crazy, it broke my heart seeing her face splattered all over the pictures. So expectations faded again. A couple more months went by and then a girl who knew kelsey heard a strange little story. Overheard it actually. A guy saying he saw someone a gun on a dirt road around the time teresa was killed. Did she associate it with this crime . She knew miss teresa was killed down that way so she reported it. Was this the break they were looking for . The tip led to real flesh and blood. In fact, to a quite literal snake in the grass. A curious incident from teresas past. Could it shed light on the crime . Coming up i looked at her, and i said you need to stay away from that woman. She is no friend of yours. When dateline continues. Just like any other family the house, kids, theyre living the dream and here comes the wacky new maid maid . Uh, im not the. Is she an alien, is she a spy . Shes always here, someone tell us why why, oh, why shes not the maid we wanted because im not the maid but shes the maid we got again, im not the maid. I protect your home and auto. Hey, campbells. Whos your new maid . Monitor their blood glucose every day. Which means they have to stop. And stick their fingers. Repeatedly. Today, lifechanging technology from abbott makes it possible to track glucose levels. Without drawing a drop of blood, again and again. The most personal technology, is technology with the power to change your life. Life. To the fullest. Welcome back to dateline. I am craig melvin. Years after Teresa Mayfields murder, a casual conversation overheard in a bar gave authorities their first break. A break which would lead them to the chilling tale of teresas murder. Once again, keith morrison. Under a setting sun on a sweltering summer night, two years after her death, Teresa Mayfields friends and family gathered to remember. I talk to her almost every day and i miss those talks. They took turns talking about the loving daughter, the softball mom, the sweet woman gunned down on that lonely country road. A murder that was still a mystery. My family will not stop searching or doing whatever it takes to find out who took teresas life. When scott got up to speak, you can bet people were paying special close attention. Yes, she was a loving wife, loving mother and a loving friend to the community, yes, she would do anything for anybody at any