A fight for freedom. Laura nirider what happened to this teenager could happen to any one of our children. Craig melvin at 18, he was arrested for murder, adamant he was innocent. Teenager could happen to anyone of our children. The mac at 18 he was arrested for murder, adamant he was ed innocent. So what could have possibly led to this . Why would he confess to something he didnt do . Why would he . What really happened during that police interrogation. I cant lie to you about this, but the officer is lying about lying. An extraordinary look inside of the Interview Room. This is one of the intense interrogations that ive ever seen. Ever seen. How could you confess to a crime you didnt commit . Welcome to dateline. How could you confess to a crime you didnt commit . It seems to defy logic and common sense. Advocates say it happens far more often than any of us realize. Here is Keith Morrison with the interrogation. A freak snowstorms mother the little town of the blue ridge mountains. February 19, 2003 just before 9 00 a. M. Went to orono, virginia was unused to this. A piercing sound, a fire alarm. Now the snowstorm was the last thing on the fire chiefs mind. The alarm went off for a house fire with hostages possibly ramped trapped inside. The alarm is on a quiet street, lined with starter homes. You are running a lot of things through your mind. Who are the occupants you will have to rescue . The fire trucks raced to the home of a recently separated woman named anne charles. We were concentrating on getting up the steps and getting into those rooms that we were pretty sure we have victims. Neighbors crowd in behind police barricades. One of them an 18yearold who lived up the street with a single mom. An awkward kid, a bit immature for his age. He has strep throat that morning and was taking antibiotics, but nothing could keep him from this. His name was robert davis. Everyone goes down to watch. We sat there and watch for about five minutes. One of the Fire Department people asked us to go to a truck that was maybe 100 yards away to get them oxygen tanks. It felt good to help out. Carrie greene who lived right next door sit beside robert, watch the fire, worried about the pretty young mother trapped in their, anne charles. She will come outside and play with the kids. We will talk here and there. She was a really nice person. Something good, annes two daughters escaped unharmed from their downstairs bedrooms. But that left anne and little thomas just three years old unaccounted for, somewhere upstairs. We put the fire out and started checking the bedroom for occupants. Nothing good after that. Upstairs firemen found little thomas on the floor beneath the window, dad of smoke inhalation. She gentry felt his way through debris and lingering smoke to annes room. I climbed over to the bombay and that is where we found a victim in the bunkmate. That person was secured in the bunkmate. Both hands and both legs tied up. Now that what an entirely different complexion on things. This wasnt just a fire. What did i tell you . Head back hes up this is a crime scene. We basically extinguished the fire and left everything as is. Then the horrific investigator took over. One thing that was out of place, there was a five Gallon Bucket sitting in the middle of The Living Room floor with an empty bottle of rubbing alcohol. It didnt look like it belonged there. Upstairs scattered near the body he found three aerosol cans, quite possibly also accelerate. All of that Liquid Condemning for murder. There was a blob of melted plastic consistent with a Smoke Detector laying on the floor. There was a battery, a nine volt battery that looked like it would go to a Smoke Detector in the sink. Though someone had taken it out of the Smoke Detector . That is what it appeared to be. All the more shocking in a town where murder is exceedingly rare. It is not a common occurrence, it is our style of homicide. How does the hit you . You have a victim and you also have a child. The child always touches you in a different way. It is a threeyearold child. These things to touch personally, dont they . Outside the curious onlookers or a beat behind. All they knew is anne charles and her little boy were not more. It was devastating. I was in shock, especially about that little boy. I still didnt know what happened really. It wasnt long watching the Silent Basis Stream in and out of that little house, a person couldnt help but put 2 and 2 together. It was very scary. Right in the very Neighborhood Police would find their suspects. Coming up. They recovered a knife. Two suspects, two suspects. It was supposed to be routine. Where they telling the truth when dateline continues . Datel . All with the worlds smallest and thinnest sensor. Manage your diabetes with more confidence and lower your a1c. Try it for free at freestylelibre. Us. How long have you been tracking the value of our car . Try it for free at should we sell it . We hold. Our low mileage is paying off. You think we should. Hold. Hoooold hooold now im on it. Im, on it. Already sold to carvana. Go to carvana and track your cars value today. After advil lets dive in but. What about your back . Its fineeeeeeee [splash] before advil Advil Dual Action fights pain two ways. Advil targets pain at the source, acetaminophen blocks pain signals. Advil dual action. Youre the one that i want nexgard® plus helps you protect your dog from fleas, ticks, Heartworm Disease and more. All in one delicious, monthly soft chew. Use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures or neurologic disorders. Nexgard® plus. The one you want for oneanddone protection. Oooh i cant wait for this Family Getaway shingles doesnt care. Shingles is a painful, blistering rash that can last for weeks. Ahhh, theres nothing like a day out with friends. Thats nice, but shingles doesnt care 99 of adults 50 years or older already have the virus that causes shingles inside them, and it can reactivate at any time. A perfect day for a Family Outing guess what . Shingles doesnt care. But shingrix protects. Only shingrix is proven over 90 effective. Shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. Shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. An increased risk of guillainbarre syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. Fainting can also happen. The most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. Shingles doesnt care. But shingrix protects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingrix today. Keith morrison voiceover at first, it was just. A rumor that spread around little crozet, virginia that february 2003. But pretty soon, everybody knew it was true. First it was just a rumor that wspread around little crozet, virginia. Pretty soon everyone knew it was true. It wasnt any ordinary buyer robert davis witness. You hear about it in the Grocery Store or at the gas stations and stuff like that. It was clear that it was a murder . Yes, sir. Anne charles and her three yearold thomas was there, corporately. This is probably one of the more horrendous cases that i have worked on in my career. Two larry couldnt give investigators too much to go on. A few small footprints outback. Forget dna. Any possibility of finding that was flushed away by fire hoses. I get word from the medical Examiners Office they recovered a Knife Sticking in the womans back. I went back to my photographs and sure enough it was in the middle of her back. So someone stabbed her, but who . Firefighters tipped police that a brother slashed Brother Sister Duo Across The Street after watching the fire and claim to know the victim. Robert davis and his friend kevin marsh knew them as aggressive troublemakers. People were afraid of them. They come to the hallway people would move out of the way and try not to be around them. And a shy and awkward robert seem to be a favorite target. They would pick on him all the time. Robbers that he tried to ignore it, but they knew his vulnerabilities. I try to keep my distance when i could and stay cordial whenever we were in close proximity. Safer that way, said robert. In any case the texas paid attention to the fugett house with a large enough to march the pared down to Police Headquarters for questioning. Rocky admitted he was there to rob the place. E place. She tried to say it was somebody Detective Giles interviewed jessica. She eventually acknowledged, she tried to say it was somebody else first. At some point she put herself there. It was supposed to be routine, we find her purse, take her money and we leave. Within rocky oneoff strip, tied anne to the bat with duct tape and turned it into murder. Who cut her throat . Rocky. Jessica told Detective Giles the Murder Weapons were a Kitchen Knife and a metal rod for bludgeoning which they stashed in a hole behind her house. We drove her out there and we walked the entire path until we got to the holes. Thats it right there. Lo and behold, we reached in and discovered those two items were there. What was that night lie . These are intimate details. So that was that. The story and the culprits, except there was one more very significant detail offered up by both jessica and rocky, something the Towels Rumor Mill failed to catch by the time kevin and robert went out a couple days later. We went bowling. We went out to eat. By that time it was after midnight, about time to go to bed. Were sitting in the parking lot talking and laughing and all of a sudden multiple police cars will not. They order me out of the vehicle first. They get me walking backwards to them with my hands up. Then, through the terror and confusion it dawned on kevin, it was not him they had come for. I see them getting robert out, kicking him by his feet and knocking him to the ground, ramming his face into the asphalt and putting him into the handcuffs. The story they told the police, they had accomplices when they murdered anne charles. One was robert davis. Coming up, now it would be robert daviss turn in the Interrogation Room when dateline continues. Dateline continues. [gum stretches] dang it. [tires pop] dang it. Thats some bad luck brian. And i think im late on my car insurance. Good thing the general gives you a break when you need it. Yeah, with flexible Payment Options to keep you covered. So today is your lucky. Oh [crash]. Day. Meteor [screams] dangit. For a great low rate, go with the general. Keith morrison voiceover by all accounts including his own robert davis was a mamas boy because of his childlike ways by all accounts, including his own, robert davis was a mamas boy. Because of his childlike ways perhaps or his Learning Disability. He is like me, hes got a kind heart and he is gullible. Robbers seem to need his mother to protect them from the big, bad world when hes took care of her, medication of which tends to slur her speech. He is a big dude, hes a teddy bear. He also wanted to grow up and be in healthcare and nursing like i was. Robert did get into trouble once over a petty theft and his Learning Disability landed him in a Special School for several years. The good thing . A Family Acquaintance was a School ResourcePolice Officer. He had known robert and his mom for years. Robert trusted him. Someone officers need, now a detective, came looking for robert After The Fire Sandy told him without hesitation where he could find her son. I said is robert in trouble . He said he is in serious trouble. Said he had no idea just how serious or what was about to happen in the parking lot. The mat guns pointed at you, you are wondering what is going on. I was scared. I was shaking. Why robert . Because the fugett siblings told police they had accomplices and he was one of them. Another one was fought in the same night and interviewed. At the end we both looked at each other, this kid has no idea. He is clueless to what we are asking him. Fell the fugetts had lied and the kid was eventually released. But robert . Robert had a far different experience in the Interview Room and a different detective. And there sitting across from you is randy sneed. You knew him . Since i was 12 or 13. I was on a first name basis with him. Ive known him for so long. Why dont you tell me, robert what took place that night. I was at my house. At first robert swore that he was innocent. Six hours later he had confessed to murder. Murder. Later that day, officer snead allowed robert to call his mother. I said, robert, what did you say . He said, since they wanted to hear that, i told them fine. Later that day officer sneed allowed robert to call his mother. I said robert, what did you say . He said since they wanted to hear that i told them fine. What did it feel like when you heard that from your son . I felt like i was going to have a heart attack and die. Around the neighborhood people who had known robert for years could not believe it. He was always polite and memorable. I knew robert was a follower. I still could not believe that robert was involved. Yet the boy said it himself. Why would he confess to something he didnt do . Robbers mother could not afford an attorney so the state appointed one, Steve Rosenfield. What was your impression . Robber was scared to death from the first meeting and forever. And dan robert told the attorney just about what you would expect an accused murder my say, he did not salve anybody. He wasnt even there. The only confess, he said, because he was so scared. Did you push hard enough to find out whether or not he was telling the truth . I think with the client tells me and do an independent evaluation based on what i learn. So he watched the tape of roberts confession which didnt look right to him. Besides. There was no physical evidence at the crime scene to tie robert to the crime. But just as intriguing with this question. Why would rocky and jessica include a kid like robert . The fugett siblings bullied robert mercilessly and he was terrified of them. Surely he would not help them murder the neighbor lady. Yet rocky fugett was going to tell the court just. s lawyer advised me rocky wanted to get a favorable sentencing and was going to be testifying against robert. The big problems. Rosenfield knew from long experience and a jury hearing the testimony and roberts confession was certainly quebecs. Robert was very probably get a life sentence, no parole. Robbers only chance of ever getting out of prison was to agree to something called an alford plea. We told robert if you plead guilty under an alford plea you admit there is sufficient evidence to prove your guilt, but you do not admit that you are guilty. If it met accepting a 23 Year Prison Sentence and also that he could never file an appeal. 37 years of practice and it is the strongest decision that ive made. At least it wasnt my. He was sentenced at 20 and would be free in his early 40s. The day that i was standing in front of the judge excepting that offered plea i was crying. Just praying that one day hopefully the truth will come out that i wasnt there. The fugetts of what it the death and also but got life without parole. And steve faithfully drove out to visit robert no i the only way to get him out was to persuade the Virginia Governor to issue a pardon. Fat chance of that. It was a pretty big long shot of getting him out before the 23 years for which he was sentence. And then two years after robber wants to present rosenfield open the mail and found a letter from all people, rocky fugett. Dear mr. Rosenfield, i have some information about robert that i think could be awfully beneficial. You are welcome to come and visit me. Snail mail, rest assured Steve Rosenfield drive to the prison was much quicker. Coming up that interrogation will still be the key to the case. He is lying about lying. When dateline continues. Dat everybody wants super straight, super white teeth. They want that Hollywood White smile. Will i think its a great product. Its going to help a lot of patients. Icy hot. Ice works fast. Heat makes it last. Feel the power of contrast therapy. So you can rise from pain. Icy hot. i did just pay 60 less for my ticket with the gametime app. its the best place to get lastminute deals on tickets. i guess im just a better fan than you. Crowd Cheering ive got to get the gametime app. download the gametime app and use promo code viva to get 20 off your first purchase. ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelenskyy announced saturday a bipartisan delegation of congressional lawmakers travel to ukraine to meet with him. Congressman nichols said it was the first multidate back on a mission for a congressional delegation since the start of the war. Back here in the u. S. Eight third victim of the collapse of the Francis Scott key bridge has been recovered. Dive team say they found the body of a 38yearold Construction Worker and notified maryland state police. Now back to dateline. It was shocking. Attorney Voicsteve Rosenfie was in for a big surprise when he arrived at rocky fugetts prison. Rocky wanted to find a sworn affidavit saying robber david was innocent and nothing to do with the murder. That was pretty powerful for him to do that considering h