Page 11 - Dylan Spellman News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> reporter: while detective aaron veuleman continued trying to strengthen his case against dylan spellman, investigators in neighboring sinton, texas, received a mysterious letter addressed to kristene chapa's dad. >> immediately i knew this was something very, very big and very important. >> reporter: the letter writer described himself as a hitman hired by the person who'd shot mollie and kristene. he wrote the gunman had sought his services to finish the job and make the only witness to mollie's murder disappear. >> what he's saying is, "i was hired to kill kristene, but i'm not gonna do i...

Was wearing under armour gloves. was this a detail that could help police unlock the mystery? here is josh with a texas twist. >> reporter: day by day, inch by inch, kristene chapa walked a steady, if uneven, road to recovery. >> i couldn't move my left side. i couldn't move my hand or my arm, my leg. i had to relearn to swallow. >> you don't give up, do you? >> i don't. i try to stay motivated. >> reporter: so did detective roland chavez. he, too, was making progress. the cigarette butts and drink can, collected from the crime scene, had just given him his first major break in the case. >> wh...

Three blocks from the crime scene. and chavez also noticed a striking resemblence to that sketch kristene had helped police draw of the gunman. >> we start trying to get background on dylan spellman. >> reporter: some quick computer searches revealed spellman had a criminal past. >> dylan spellman had just been convicted of a violent crime. >> yes. >> on an armed robbery in in nevada. >> yeah. >> reporter: that nevada armed robbery occurred in 2010, a year and a half before the shootings. spellman and some accomplices broke into a home in a las vegas suburb and held a family hostage before rob...

Hitman even named the person who had hired him. if you're wondering, the letter does not mention dylan spellman. all of it was a twist as big as texas. coming up -- the mysterious letter. could this be the smoking gun police will be looking for? >> immediately i knew this was something very big and very important. >> when "dateline" continues. this new day looks nothing like yesterday.

You're involved in the crime? >> sure. so, i mean, it -- that definitely raised more suspicion. >> reporter: chavez then told spellman police found his dna just 30 feet from where the girls were shot. that's when he says spellman's demeanor changed. >> he asked me, you know, "what -- what -- what are the consequences?" and i said, "well, in texas, i said, you know this is a death penalty kind of case." >> reporter: and then dylan spellman asked about a deal. >> normally any person that's innocent isn't gonna ask for a deal. you're gonna profess your innocence. and he wasn't. >> now i'm thinkin...