Page 20 - Dave Mcmannis News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Attended both trials together. >> we started this together, we're gonna finish it together, no matter what. >> reporter: and after all that time? in each case, deliberations took less than 90 minutes. the veicts: guilty both men were sentend to life inrisowiout parole. mcmannis has filed an appeal. barr lost his. >> i think everybody would agree that but for sharon, neither trial would've taken place. she fought and fought and fought for justice. >> reporter: tara's little sister veronica has two children of her own now. >> they know their aunt tara. and they have necklaces with her pictures o...

It would've been, how -- how far from the door? like, right up to the door like that? >> that's correct. and -- and in this general area, on the outside -- track, tire track, was found the hair ribbons. >> reporter: way out here? >> right out here. >> reporter: okay. so suggesting that they put her in the back of the truck and the hair ribbons came loose as they were driving away or putting her there or something? >> that would be a pretty good -- explanation. >> reporter: well, well, well. this makes it all the more real when you see how close this must have been. >> reporter: the woman said ...

Repair business, dave mcmannis was his helper the day tara disappeared. the detectives had learned that barr used his business as a cover for stealing from the homes of unsuspecting customers. and here's what happened, said the state, that first of october, 2001 -- tara's landlord asked barr for a repair estimate. barr and his helper, mcmannis, began their workday by smoking crack. around noon, four hours before veronica arrived home from school, the men most likely knocked on the door and tara let them in, unaware they had robbery, not work, on their minds. >> dave mcmannis was taking the pro...

Scribe." he organized it in -- in such a way that it was easier to understand. >> what had been difficult to understand? >> it was confusing to the point where you didn't know what we were gonna be able to get into court. >> the context was in there. you couldn't figure it out because it was a mess. >> the majority of it was in there, yes. we had to try to do the analysis on it, and that's what took so long. >> reporter: an awful lot of detective work amounts to reading. thousands of pages of reports and witness statements, and this and that all were followed up, everyone of them. detective me...

>> and it was somebody with credibility. >> better than what we had before, yeah. >> reporter: but overall, a key problem remained. >> terrible witnesses. >> reporter: meaning detectives spoke with other people who'd also heard the men talk about the murder, but they were not the type a jury would likely believe. much of what they'd say sounded like drug and booze soaked gossip. there wasn't enough certainly to support charging peewee. but, thought the prosecutor, maybe he could find a way to go after barr and mcmannis. and he had an idea. bring some of the key witnesses before a grand jury ju...