Justice for Nikki
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She was an amazing mother, literally one of the best. It was hard. Everything that we hoped wouldn't be true. I just remember thinking this can't be happening. It was the mystery that gripped Green Bay. A vivacious young mother of three

found murdered in a field. It's a lot of sadness that someone would do that to a mother. Why would this happen to her? Was it someone she met that night? Is it someone she knows? Do we know them? Blood in the house, in the car, on the road, and the trail led straight to her boyfriend. She started crying. She's so hot.

There is no way, no way Doug could do this. We knew that there was another person out there. Then, a tantalizing high-tech clue, a Fitbit. The Fitbit was almost like a witness in this case. Not human, but a witness. It definitely played a big part. It showed steps, and then there was nothing again. Investigators will crack this case one step at a time. We're crazy excited. This is getting really scary. Whose side is this?

Do you believe? I was tug of warring the whole time. I'm Lester Holt, and this is Dateline. Here's Andrea Canning with Justice for Nikki. Green Bay, Wisconsin, home of the legendary Packers, a place where folks love their Sunday football.

and a good knockdown on Lambeau Field. But in 2018, after the football season had ended, the city became transfixed by a new battle of sorts. One that played out not on the gridiron, instead in a courtroom.

A murder case where nothing was as it seemed. A whodunit featuring, of all things, a fitness tracker as an intriguing clue. With two opposing sides pointing fingers at each other. And one gavel-rattling twist. At the heart of it all, a beautiful 31-year-old mother named Nikki Vander Heiden. My first encounter with Nikki was at a cookout, and I just remember...

Being like, okay, this girl, she's definitely my type of person. When Haley Defnett and Caitlin Uncles first met the perky, cheerful single mom, they instantly clicked. It was just like three musketeers right away. As soon as we get together, we're like a bunch of little kids playing on the playground. We called ourselves the traveling music group. We would rollerblade and sing.

Of these BFFs, Nikki was the oldest. You could count on Nikki for anything and everything. She had the biggest heart. Nikki was as active as she was loyal. What did Nikki...

like to do. "She was so spontaneous. We would jump on the trampoline, be cooking, be planting, be making games, just up for any adventure." Case in point: how Nikki celebrated her 29th birthday. "She decided to jump off a plane." That's Nikki taking the leap. "Yep, with a big smile on her face." "Why did she decide to jump out of a plane?" "That's just Nikki."

Nikki also taught high school science and shared a passion for biology with her students. "I think she just loved the discovery of things." Kids meant the world to Nikki, and she had two of her own: a son and a daughter from a previous marriage. "Was she a good mom?" "Absolutely. She's an amazing mom." In 2015, the busy mother finally decided to start dating again when she met 33-year-old Doug Dietry.

The two immediately hit it off. When they met, everything happened quickly with their relationship. They just, you know, clicked right away. Doug came from a prominent Green Bay family that owned a successful home building company. He had a reputation around town as an attractive, wealthy bachelor. A catch. Jesus.

Do you think that's part of what attracted Nikki to him? I'm sure it was, you know, him and his family having a company, him having his own house in a nice neighborhood. Any woman would be attracted to that. About a month after they met, Nikki was pregnant. I think she was probably surprised, but, you know, like a good surprise. In October 2015, she and Doug welcomed a son into their lives.

I think she was very excited to be a mother again. Nikki wasted no time getting back in shape by hitting the gym. That was one thing about Nikki. She was very physically fit and loved working out and going to the gym. And she inspired Doug to do the same. The new dad started wearing a Fitbit fitness tracker. Little did he know just how valuable that digital device would become.

Seven months after their son's birth, Nikki was ready for some adult fun. A popular band was playing at a local venue called The Watering Hole. So she and Doug and a group of his friends planned to make a night of it. She was thrilled just to spend time with Doug and, you know, do a couple things. Nikki's friend, Dallas Kennedy, offered to babysit. She never gets an opportunity to stay out all night, and I was available, so why not?

The night started out great. As the concert was getting underway, Nikki sent Dallas a photo of her and Doug. She was happy. He was smiling. They looked like there was a great...

But the moment wouldn't last. After the concert ended, Nikki and Doug got separated. Doug stayed inside the bar while Nikki and Doug's friends followed the large crowd as it emptied into the parking lot. I said, where's Doug? And she just shrugged her shoulders at me. And I said, well, come with us. She's like, okay, perfect.

Doug's friend, Angela Delfoss, took Nikki, new to the group, under her wing as they left Doug behind and headed to the next bar, the Sardine Can. This was just a fun night. Yes. But by around 12.30 a.m., friends said Nikki had enough. So she left the bar and headed home, alone. Or so they thought. That was the last time you saw her? It was.

The next day, Haley got a text from Nikki's sister. This was on Saturday evening and had said, "Hey, have you heard from Nikki at all? We're concerned about her. She hasn't returned home from last night. She's still breastfeeding, so this isn't like her." Were you worried? I had a hard time sleeping that night, to be honest with you. I really didn't know what to think at that time. I just knew that something wasn't right.

Then, a news alert. Brown County officials searching for more clues after a body was... A body found in a farm field on the outskirts of town. Rumors spread the body was that of a male. So I'm kind of like, okay, well, chances are then we're good. You know, it's not her. She's fine. She's somewhere. But the news only got worse. They later learned the body was, in fact, a young woman's. Your heart must have sank. I dropped to my knees and prayed.

And I just remember thinking, this can't be happening. A young mom missing, a young woman found dead in a field, and Nikki's friends and family holding out hope this was all an unfortunate, horrifying coincidence. When we come back, clues to a mystery.

We were looking for drag marks, footprints, any type of weapons that might be involved. Who was the woman in that farm field? The only thing she was wearing was socks and then a pink bracelet on her left wrist. This was a real whodunit, and who is she? Absolutely. When Dateline continues. Green Bay winters can be long, brutal, and unforgiving.

But local teenagers, Tommy Vandehei and Jacob Vincent, have learned to take them in stride. It was a lot warmer here back in May of 2016, when both boys were helping Tommy's grandfather till an alfalfa field for planting. We were picking stones in a field down on Hoffman Road. We were clearing out a field so we could plant it. That's when the two boys made a gruesome discovery. The body of a woman. She was lying on her stomach.

It was like her arms folded across her forehead. And she was naked. Her hair was all bloody and it looked red. And half of her face was showing, maybe like this half. But it was all bloody. It was a sight neither teen will ever forget. I was shocked, like more shocked than anything. It just felt weird, like the sudden knowing that that's a dead person. You never really think that you're going to see someone dead.

Tommy's grandfather immediately called 911. Soon, Brown County Sheriff's detectives Brian Slinger and Rick Lopnow got a call and headed to the crime scene. Neither detective had to travel very far.

So the body was found right near here, the sheriff's department? Yep. It's about a half mile away. You don't see that every day. I mean, it's literally right in your backyard. Yes.

The condition of the victim's body disturbed even these two seasoned detectives. I had been in law enforcement for 18 years, but to see this up close and personal on a young lady was very difficult for everyone. Describe her body for us. When I arrived on scene, she was laying face down with her head towards the field and her feet towards the road. Her arms were

Up in front of her face, crossed, and there was other abrasions and bruising really throughout her body. What was the approximate time of death, do you think? It was hard to say up front, but we believed it was probably from the night before sometime. From all indicators, the woman had been sexually assaulted. The only thing she was wearing was socks and then a pink bracelet on her left wrist. And nothing else? Nothing else. This crime sounds very personal. Yeah, it was...

It was apparent early on that there was a pretty good fight that must have happened. Initially, the detectives couldn't find a murder weapon. Severe bruises on her neck led them to believe she had been strangled. Identification? There was no identification with the body. You had no idea who this woman was? No, not at first. This is sad. And not only sad, it's scary.

I mean, to see a woman like that just lying in a field. It is, in a community like Brown County or the greater Green Bay area, it's not something we deal with normally. Both Slinger and Lopp now were struck by just how little evidence there was to go on. Initially, we didn't really know if it happened here or not, or if she was just dumped here. We're very careful about...

how we were approaching the body, looking for drag marks, footprints, any type of weapons that might be involved. There was no indication of how many people might have been involved or any evidence to point us in any certain direction, at least not right away. This was a real whodunit, and who is she? Absolutely. Did you also immediately think about the community and if this would start ringing alarm bells for them? Yeah, I think when the news of what was going on started to break and that we didn't

have, you know, information up front of who was involved. I think that's definitely alarming to the community. While the detectives continued searching the field for clues, they learned a woman by the name of Nikki Vander Heiden had been reported missing. Who filed the missing persons report? Douglas Dietry, who was the boyfriend and father to Nicole's child.

A sheriff's sergeant headed to Doug's house with a video camera to take the missing persons report. There was no reason just yet to tell Doug they had found a woman in the field. Doug gave a physical description of Nikki to the sergeant, who then relayed it to Slinger and Lopnow in the field.

They suspected their victim was Nikki Vander Heiden, but they couldn't be sure. Based on the condition of the body, it was not easy to make a positive identification. Then, early the next morning, detectives got a break.

bloody clothing near the crime scene. A large amount of clothing and other items laying along the side of the road here in between the fog line and the ditch. The person that was responsible was panicking and probably didn't know what to do at that time and just discarded them as they were traveling back westbound on 172. The clothing, did it tell you anything about who...

The photo was of Nikki. Dental records later confirmed what everyone by now already knew. The victim was Nicole Vander Heiden.

Representatives of the sheriff's office went to the home of Nikki's parents, where all of her friends and family had gathered. The chief and another police officer came over and had the immediate family in the backyard. We knew, you know, we saw the looks on their faces and all we could do was just hold them. That is an awful moment. Did anyone talk or was it just silence and crying? Just silence.

To silence, you know, everything that we hoped wouldn't be true. It was hard. So why, you know, why would this happen to such a good person and of all people, you know? Coming up... I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. The last night Nikki was seen alive, where was her boyfriend, Doug? You want to go out? Yeah.

This doesn't make sense. You go out together and you're not coming home together. When Dateline continues. For true crime fans, nothing is more chilling than watching Dateline. Have you ever seen such a thing before? For podcast fans, nothing is more chilling than listening. What goes through your mind when you make a discovery like that? And when you subscribe to Dateline Premium, it gets even better.

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They are the families of the missing in America, and they're desperately searching for answers. Somebody knows something. I'm Josh Bankowitz. Join me for season three of Missing in America. Listen carefully.

Because just one small detail might allow you to solve a mystery. We have seen miracles happen. Dateline, Missing in America. All episodes available now, wherever you get your podcasts. Never miss a moment of the 2024 Olympic Games from Paris. For in-depth coverage of the athletes, events, and medal counts, download the NBC News app.

A body in a field with few clues to go on. Detectives Brian Slinger and Rick Lopnow began trying to answer the question everyone in Green Bay was asking. Who murdered Nikki Vander Heiden? The official cause of death ended up being blunt force trauma and ligature strangulation. The detectives also found what appeared to be a shoe print on Nikki's back, indicating she had been stomped on.

Like a herringbone or zigzag pattern that would be consistent with the bottom of a shoe. Multiple abrasions and bruises covered Nikki's body. That sounds like a monster. Yeah, it's hard to describe, but it's obviously severe and pretty extreme.

At the sheriff's office, detectives continued their investigation by talking with those who saw Nikki last, including her boyfriend Doug. A lot of people saw Nikki. Correct. Our first step was to interview Doug Dietry, get a good timeline from him from the night prior. What time did the concert end? I'd say 11.30 maybe? 11, 11.30?

They also interviewed Doug's friends. All accounts from all the people that saw her said she was having a blast.

Slinger learned that after the concert at the watering hole, Doug and a friend stayed behind while everyone else headed to the next bar. Nikki was here at the sardine can. Take us through her night. So Nikki came here with Doug's friends. There's a group of about four or five of them, including Nikki. The plan was to come here and hang out and have a couple extra drinks. Detective Slinger asked to review the sardine can's security video. On it, he could see Nikki...

There she is on the left. Was she having a good time? Did anything seem like it was wrong? No, she appeared to be having a great time. She was up dancing, socializing, talking to people, walking around, just like any normal night. But according to Doug's friend Angela, Nikki's mood soon changed. Doug was still at the other bar, and Nikki began to feel ignored. I noticed her being a little quiet, and I said, well, where's Doug?

And she just shrugged her shoulders. She starts texting, calling him, asking him where he is. She's with all his friends that she wasn't all that familiar with. So she wanted her boyfriend to come be with her at the new bar. Is she getting a response from Doug? Very limited. She was getting annoyed and kind of frustrated that he wasn't responding to her. Angela offered to help Nikki out by calling Doug herself using her own cell phone. I was just like, let me call him. Did he answer? He did.

That, said Angela, made Nikki furious. Nikki was upset because he wouldn't answer her calls, but then he answers your call. Yeah. Did she have a reaction? Did she say anything? It happened so fast. I just remember her

jumping up and running. Detective Slinger could see Nikki leaving on the bar's security video. Did anyone follow her, try to get her to come back? Yeah, one of the friends of the group tried following her. He exited out this same gate here. You can see that on the video. And he's like, come on, Nikki, come on, Nikki. Come back to the bar. We'll Uber you home. And she just started hitting him. And she told him, let me be, let me go. And so he said, okay, I'll

At first, neither Angela nor anyone else could figure out what had just happened. I'm like, why did she go running? Is that something I said? So she was more upset than she was letting on in the bar. She must have been. I mean, to run out like that. Yeah. So not too far from here is where the mystery began. The ultimate mystery began as she went out of the camera view here, just a few feet from where we're standing.

To try to solve the mystery, Detective Slinger reviewed all the text messages between Doug and Nikki on Doug's phone. To Slinger, those messages revealed a relationship more troubled than their friends knew. What kind of things was she writing? Trust issues that she had with him. Maybe that he was out with some other girls. Nikki wrote, Wow, what slut are you with? Because none of your friends know. And then, you hurt me all the time.

When Angela learned just how angry Nikki was with Doug, she couldn't help but feel she may have contributed to the couple's problems by making that phone call to Doug outside the bar. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. Because I kept thinking, what if? Could I have done something different? Should I have not called Doug? Because that was her trigger, it seemed. Detectives also asked Doug why Nikki was so angry with him that night.

He said he didn't know where any of that was coming from, which to us, you know, seems weird. Did you think he was lying? Wasn't sure if he was lying, but it was just bizarre that he would have no clue where these messages were coming from, from her, as far as accusations go. They then asked Doug what he did after finding out Nikki had left the second bar.

Doug said he immediately drove around the area looking for her. But the bar's security camera seemed to tell a different story. Was he really out looking for Nikki? Based on the surveillance video, it didn't really appear that he was. He went into this sardine can and started drinking, stayed at pretty much the same spot in the bar the whole time. It seemed like maybe he had exaggerated the amount of looking that he was doing for her at the time. Was that suspicious to you?

Partially, at that point, yeah. Doug told the detective he couldn't find Nikki, so he went home. Nikki's friend Dallas was there babysitting and greeted him. My first question is, where is she? This doesn't make sense. You go out together and you're not coming home together. And he had said, we're all out together tonight. And she just got mad and stormed away. She wanted to walk home.

Dallas then offered up several suggestions of where Nikki could be, including crashing at a friend's house. In everything I'm saying, he is coming back to me with a no, no, no. So I finally had said, Doug, is she in the trunk of your car? And he looked at me and he smiled and he goes, no, no.

Dallas said she finally headed to her car at about 3 a.m. According to Doug, once Dallas took off, he checked on the baby and then went to bed. You went to bed? Yep.

We really didn't have an alibi for him because he was home sleeping. Hours after Nikki's body was discovered, Detective Slinger and his team decided to search Doug's house. What they would find inside would set off alarm bells. Coming up.

There was some blood on some tissues as well as a sweatshirt. Bloody evidence in the house, on the road, in a yard. He started crying. Doug Dietry. Are police reeling him in or ruling him out? We knew that there was another person out there that knew something. When Dateline continues.

Haley Defnett and Caitlin Uncles walk the main drag of Green Bay, desperate for answers. We had a lot of communication with Detective Slinger during that time, and he had asked us first to hang some flyers for him, just to get some information on where...

Meanwhile, Sheriff's Detective Brian Slinger was about to search the house of Nikki Vander Heiden's live-in boyfriend, Doug.

After learning the two had been arguing just hours before she disappeared. She accused him of being abusive on one of the text messages from that night. That was obviously alarming. At first, nothing seemed to be amiss. There was not a lot of signs of any struggle in the house. There was no, like, broken vases or broken tables or anything like that.

But after a closer inspection, they found a trail of intriguing clues. There was some areas in the garage that had concerned us. Specifically, what appeared to be bloodstains on the floor. And then down in this area here is what appeared to be drag marks, maybe potentially back this way towards the rear of Nicole's vehicle.

And inside Nikki's car... Her vehicle had what we thought at the time to be some blood smears throughout the back and throughout the headboard area. This is the red drip, consistent in nature of that of a drop of blood. As you can see here, it's some more brownish, dried substance that we were concerned about.

Back inside the house, more blood. In one of the lower bathrooms, there was some blood on some tissues that was located on the floor, as well as a sweatshirt that had some blood on it. And there's also what appeared to be potentially blood drops near the entrance into the shower. Detectives then discovered a possible source of the shoe imprint found by the medical examiner on Nikki's back. You can see there is some of the zigzag pattern here. Some shoes like that were found in the garage on the shoe rack.

which had what appeared to be some sort of red dots on the bottom of them. It could be blood. Could be blood. But that pattern on the bottom of the shoe was consistent with what we'd seen on Nicole's back. What's more, a member of the search team reported smelling what she thought was cleaning solution throughout the house. She thought she smelled the strong odor in the house that caught her attention. CSI sent swabs of all the evidence taken from inside the garage and house to the lab for testing.

But it was what detectives found outside that proved to be the most intriguing evidence yet. A neighbor across the street from Doug was mowing his lawn when he saw in the grass a strange object. We responded out to the scene, found what appeared to be like a phone charging cable cut in two in his front yard that he had ran over with his lawnmower.

Detectives believe that cord was likely used to strangle Nikki. It was full of blood, and it matched some of the markings that we had on her neck. There were multiple large bloodstains on the roadside near the cord. Detective Slinger felt confident this was the area where Nikki was beaten, strangled, and ultimately killed.

an area just 118 feet from Doug's front door. "Nicki's blood was telling you a story?" "Correct." As detectives began looking more closely at Doug Dietry, they discovered a local police report that initially seemed only to strengthen their suspicion.

The report cited a past incident involving an ex-girlfriend who claimed Doug had abused her. How bad was it? It sounded like she was in fear. In the incident report, the woman accused Doug of choking her and covering her mouth and nose with blankets. Doug was arrested and he denied the allegation. He was never charged. As it turned out, the woman had been convicted of battery in a previous relationship.

Then, detectives interviewed Nikki's own mother. She told them that just a week before the murder, Nikki revealed Doug had abused her. She was crying and I started asking her questions, you know.

With the blood, the text messages, the shoe print, and those allegations of abuse, detectives felt they had enough probable cause to arrest Doug Dietry.

two days after finding Nikki's body. - Right now I'm gonna be taking you into custody. I'll be handcuffing you. - Okay. - Be cooperative with me. - All right. - And we'll roll it that way. - Wow, okay. - I'm a decent guy. - Okay, I'm a decent guy too. - And I get that, I'm sure you are. - Eventually he was brought out to our vehicle when we had to transport him to the jail and that's when I think it really hit him.

He started crying. While they waited for the results of the forensic testing, they wanted to learn all they could about Doug Dietry. They continued interviewing anyone with information about Doug's past. We had some people come forward from his background that had talked about some things that they had observed in his behavior from past relationships. Did they come in voluntarily or were you digging into his past?

Probably a little bit of both. Another ex-girlfriend of Doug spoke to detectives and described Doug as controlling and a stalker type. This woman never filed a complaint. So we have all these ex-girlfriends coming forward. Obviously those relationships didn't work out for a reason that why do they have a bone to pick? You know, are they coming forward and saying this because it's

their ex and they want to see something happen to them. We don't know. But then there's also power in numbers, too. The fact that you had that many women coming forward. Right. Yeah. And it's you have that many people. It does definitely take out the whole revenge factor when you have that many people that are coming forward. Absolutely. There's definitely patterns of behavior from his past that would lead us to be concerned. Doug Dietry's attorney tells Dateline the allegations about Doug's past behavior are defamatory.

What are you all thinking? At that point, it's definitely looking like Doug's our person that's responsible here. What did you think happened that night? I thought that she got a ride home from someone and that he had heard her get dropped off and went outside to confront her about where she was. And there was some sort of altercation would have happened out in front of their house. And then he used the vehicle in the garage to transport her body to the field.

But why would Doug want Nikki dead? Detectives felt the answer could be in Doug's phone. They discovered more text messages about his relationship with Nikki, this time to his mom. He was contemplating ending the relationship. He wasn't happy. According to those messages, Doug seemed to be buckling under the pressure of being a family man, and he wanted out. Doug wrote, I'm very seriously thinking about telling Nikki and the kids they have to move. I'm not cut out for this life one bit."

He also wrote, That could be a motive for murder. It could be. News of Doug's arrest quickly spread across Green Bay. And to Doug's friend, Angela Delfoss, I was shocked. Angela couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was convinced the police had made a mistake. There is no way.

No way Doug could do this. He's never had a mean bone in him where he could do this to somebody. Did you feel like he was being wrongly accused? Yes. Was that kind of the sentiment among your friends and your group? Yes. We knew he didn't do it.

Nikki's friends, Haley Defnett and Caitlin Uncles, were just as dumbfounded. There were a lot of arrows pointing at Doug Dietry based on what the police had. Yes. Did you two start thinking that as well because everybody else was thinking that? Of course, yeah. You don't know what someone is capable of, so...

The investigation was only days old, and already the pieces seemed to be easily fitting into place.

But were they fitting too easily? See, I knew we had a lot of work ahead of us. And there were still vexing questions left to answer. Sergeant Lopnow and I struggled to find out how Nikki got home. We knew that there was another person out there that knew something of value. This is a missing piece of the puzzle. A huge piece.

Another problem? This one coming from the lab. Tex found male DNA all over Nikki's body, but the profile was only partial, so they couldn't find a match. We need to try and find a match for that. The investigation was just getting started, and its direction was far from certain. Coming up.

The shoe, the tissues, the blood in the garage, the blood in the car. I still kept thinking, no way. How solid was this evidence really? That's a big revelation right there. Huge revelation. I'm like, oh my God. When Dateline continues. Police thought they had a strong case against Doug Dietrich. They believed there was motive, opportunity, and compelling physical evidence.

Nikki's friends, Haley Defnett and Caitlin Uncles, didn't know what to make of it all. It didn't make sense that, you know, anyone besides Doug would be in her front yard killing her. Yet Angela Delfoss remained squarely by Doug's side. I still kept thinking, no way. And yet the police are sure they have the right guy. I still knew there was something in me telling me it was not him. How good are you feeling about...

But less than two weeks after Doug Dietry's arrest, tests of the forensic evidence taken from in and around the house started to trickle back from the lab. And the case against him began to collapse. First, there were Doug's shoes that detectives believed could have left the imprint on Nikki's back.

The imprint was very generic zigzag pattern. The lab could not make a definitive match. It was inconclusive, basically. It could be anybody's shoe. It could be any shoe that has that zigzag pattern. Then came the DNA and blood tests. As for those red dots detectives found on the shoes? No DNA on the bottom of those shoes. Another surprise? Another surprise.

But what about the blood on the garage floor? What are you learning? We're learning that the blood in the garage was not human blood. It was, in fact, animal blood. We had found out earlier that Doug was into hunting and that he had actually killed a turkey a couple weeks prior. That's right. It was the blood of a turkey. That's a big revelation right there. Huge revelation.

Then there was Nikki's car. The car detectives thought Doug used to transport Nikki's body out to the field. There was one little drop that turned out to be human blood in the back seat, which was ultimately determined not to be Nicole's. It was likely a daughter of hers.

But that wasn't the only thing calling the car theory into question. Detectives found a device installed in Nikki's car, one that insurance companies use to track driving habits. It indicated the car remained in the garage the entire night of the murder. The vehicle last moved on Friday the 20th. And the blood on the tissues and the sweatshirt found inside the house? It was from Nikki's sister, a nosebleed.

And even more surprises from the forensic evidence you found in the house. Yes. Have you ever seen anything like this before? That's just one thing after the next. That's not what it appeared. Yeah, it was definitely crazy. Then came the biggest blow to their theory. It had to do with that partial profile of male DNA found on Nikki's body and the bloody cord. While lab techs couldn't identify whose DNA it was, they were able to definitively rule out Doug.

I mean, this is a huge mistake to arrest somebody for murder who it's really appearing now did not commit the crime.

Yeah, I mean, I take full ownership of that myself and my supervisor that made the decision based on what we had at the time. I didn't have a crystal ball to know the results of some of the testing that was going on. You know, we're responsible for the safety of the community, safety of Doug's child that he would have had custody of. So we had to take all those things into consideration. I would really hesitate to say anything.

use the term mistake, based on the circumstances, we had probable cause to make our arrest. But detectives had bigger problems on their hands. The unknown male DNA on the cord and the unknown male DNA in her body, was that a match? Was it the same person? Those were all consistent with one another, yes, with one person. And I'd add that it was of no one's DNA that we had already collected. Which

Which led Slinger and Lopnow to one very disturbing conclusion. There's someone else out there involved that we had to identify. You knew that there was a mystery man out there at this point that very likely killed Nikki. Yeah, that's the point where we were at with trying to figure out who is this person. Without enough evidence left to keep Doug in jail, the sheriff's office had no choice but to let him go.

Doug Dietry spent 18 days in jail. His release left Caitlin and Haley more bewildered than anything else. By now, they had come to believe Doug was responsible. Doug Dietry is released. It's a huge twist to all of this. What are you two thinking? It was definitely surprising and not the news that we really wanted to hear at that point. Did this start to shift your focus away from Doug? A little bit, yeah. Learning about this DNA? We knew that there was someone else's DNA there.

So then it became, "Who's DNA?" There was different rumors, you know, of what could have happened, but we kind of worked around our own scenarios trying to figure out why this could have went bad. You know, it was supposed to be a fun night out for her, and why did it go so wrong? There was a lot of, you know, missing pieces.

As for Angela Delfoss and the rest of Doug's supporters, they were elated by the news that Doug was now free. I'm like, oh my God, thank God. There was, they had no proof it was Doug. No proof. And nor would he have ever done this. Did you feel sort of vindicated because maybe your opinion that he didn't do it wasn't the popular one at the time? Yeah, I didn't care. I didn't care what anybody thought.

But Doug Dietry wasn't off the hook just yet. Police could not overlook that he seemed to have motivation to kill Nikki. And they weren't impressed with his alibi that he was home sleeping. Did you think that maybe Doug paid someone or someone did this for him? Yeah, that was definitely something that we had thought about. Obviously, that's something that's always in the back of your mind. So the door wasn't completely shut on Doug? Correct.

For Slinger and Lopnow, 10 frustrating weeks passed with no breaks in the case and still no clue whose DNA was on Nikki's body. So I kind of felt like we were going to get a full profile eventually. I felt like something was going to break eventually. And it did. It did. Coming up. You got a hit on Nikki's sock.

A sock, a cell phone, a dark past. Who was this mystery man? That must just set off alarm bells right there. It did. When Dateline continues...

It had been an adrenaline-rushing start to the case, an arrest just two days after the murder. But the investigation came to an abrupt stop with the release of their first suspect, Doug Dietry. After you released Doug, did you feel like you were back to square one after all that work? In a way, because you just have to keep moving. But I definitely viewed it as a step back.

But ten weeks after Doug Dietry's release from jail, detectives received startling news from the lab. You got a hit on Nikki's sock. That's where the hit came from. Ultimately, that was the item that got us the DNA that we needed. We were crazy excited. It gave us new hope that we were going to be able to get answers for the family. Answers about the origin of the unknown male DNA found on Nikki's body and on the cord.

And this hit is a full DNA profile. Enough to put into CODIS to be able to be processed against all the records nationwide. Which is just what the lab tech did. That's when he got a match. It gives us the name George Stephen Birch out of the state of Virginia. Does that mean anything to you? What are you thinking when you hear this name? It meant nothing to me. Next step is to find out who George Birch is.

Detectives discovered that 38-year-old George Burch had moved to Green Bay from Virginia five months earlier. He'd been living with an old pal, Ed Jackson, who owned an auto repair shop in town.

He had no place to go and asked me if, you know, he could get a fresh start. George said he was getting a divorce. Ed immediately lent him a helping hand. After all, the two had been friends since they were young adults. Long-time friend. 20-plus years. Did you consider him to be trustworthy? Oh, yeah. Yep, would have trusted him with anything back then. Great with kids, great around my family.

And I never really had an issue with him. Never really saw him snap too much about anything. You know, always calm, cool, collected. And a lot of fun. Both Ed and George shared a love of fishing. A lot of male bonding can go on while two men are fishing. Yep.

Is that kind of what happened? Yeah, pretty much. Spend a lot of time in a boat. Ed's wife, Linda, considered George to be the typical Southern gentleman. He called me Miss Linda all the time, and I always thought that was kind of cool because he had that Southern accent. Did you take an instant liking to him? Yeah, he seemed real easygoing, and we're just really easygoing people, so it was okay.

Cool. George got a job and soon started dating. A young woman named Jordan Schuyler became the object of George Burch's affection. The way he kind of talked, the way his mannerisms were so...

Gentlemen-like, I guess that was the best thing that drew me towards him. Jordan said the older man with a southern accent swept her off her feet. We ended up hanging out almost every day, literally every day. Did your mom worry that maybe he was a little too old for you? She honestly didn't know. I didn't know how to tell her because my mom is my best friend and I know that she wouldn't approve of it.

- The age difference. - Was he romantic? - Yes, very much so, very much so. - In what way? - I know it sounds dumb, but like little stupid corny ways, I guess. He would make little poems or something or come up to me and say something very sweet. - Did you feel safe around him? - 100%. He made me feel like he would always be there to help me and protect me and be by my side.

George the Gentleman. That's the man who swept Jordan off her feet. But turns out, there was a lot she didn't know about George Birch. Coming up, investigators take a deep dive into George's past and make a startling discovery. You're seeing George Birch homicide. Correct. When Dateline continues...

Three months after Nikki Vanderheiden's badly beaten body was found in a Wisconsin field, investigators matched DNA on her sock to a man named George Burch. George had recently moved to the area from Virginia and was staying with an old buddy and his wife. He had friends, a job, a romantic relationship.

It seemed like George had settled in nicely to Green Bay. But then, Detective Brian Slinger started digging into George's past. We were able to find that he was involved in another homicide case from 1998 in the state of Virginia. Slinger immediately began researching the case, but the information was limited. After all, it was 18 years earlier.

Did you learn anything else about that case? We learned it was a shooting between him and another group of people at the time, and that for whatever reason went to a jury trial, and he was ultimately acquitted of it. Acquitted of all charges, but still. You're seeing George Birch homicide. Correct. That must just...

Set off alarm bells right there. It did. Detective Slinger also learned George Birch had been suspected of a crime here in Green Bay. The crime, far less serious. A traffic accident that occurred about two weeks after Nikki's murder. Someone drove this Chevy Blazer into a parked car, then abandoned it on a Green Bay street.

The blazer happened to belong to Ed and Linda Jackson. They had lent it to George when he moved in with them. Was he saying somebody else hit the car? Yes. The truck? He swore he didn't do it. He claimed it was stolen. A seemingly minor offense, and Green Bay police never ended up charging Birch with the crime. But during their investigation of the car crash, they did obtain a treasure trove of evidence that would become critical for the detectives involved in the homicide case.

They had gotten consent from Mr. Birch to download his cell phone. Was that a stroke of luck that you had all this information at your fingertips? Luck is one way to put it. Yeah, I would say definitely some luck was shining on us that day.

And when sheriff's detectives, Slinger and Lopnow, began poring over that data, they couldn't believe what they stumbled upon. There was some phone internet searches that we found very interesting about he was looking up the homicide, looking up the case, looking up things on local news about Nikki and about that event in particular. But the big thing that we found was his Gmail address, which is associated to his cell phone.

And that Gmail address led detectives to Georgia's Google Dashboard, a service that enables users to store and manage personal data, including detailed information as to where and when they traveled. Where did it take you, the location data? When we prepared the search warrant, we obviously focused very much on that night of May 20th into the 21st.

What they found was astonishing. At about 12:30 a.m., the night of Nikki's murder, George Burch was at this bar called Richard Cranium's, a bar about a half mile from the sardine can, Nikki's last known location. They showed him going from there to his residence briefly and then from there right to Nikki's residence. They were there for about 40 or 50 minutes. From there, it tracked him to where Nikki's body was found.

within an accuracy of about nine feet. But that wasn't all. The GPS location actually followed a set of tracks that we saw in the field that did a loop from the driveway. It almost went right with those tracks out of the field to where her clothes were located along the highway and then all the way back to his residence.

That is so incredibly precise. It appeared to be very accurate. The detectives could now place George Birch close to every known location of either Nikki or her belongings that night. From the sardine can to Nikki's house to the field and finally to the highway on-ramp,

They could also now answer that vexing question of how Nikki got home from the sardine can. When we got it back with the roadmap, so to speak, of the crime, it was huge. This is your moment. Absolutely. Coming up.

George Birch under arrest and apparently unfazed. What was his reaction when you told him why he was there? His demeanor changed, zero. But not everyone takes the news in stride. Shocking. Didn't believe it. This is a totally different guy you're talking about. He's so sweet, there's no way. Could police have the wrong guy again when Dateline continues?

They are the families of the missing in America. And they're desperately searching for answers. Somebody knows something. I'm Josh Bankowitz. Join me for season three of Missing in America. Listen carefully, because just one small detail might allow you to solve a mystery. We have seen miracles happen. Dateline, Missing in America. All episodes available now, wherever you get your podcasts.

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George Burch was now the chief suspect in the Nikki Vander Heiden murder investigation. Data from his Google dashboard had allowed investigators to retrace his movements on the night Nikki was killed, and the picture that emerged cemented their suspicions.

First, the DNA on Nikki's body matching George Burch's. Now this. What do you think happened? We knew that Nikki and George came into contact with each other, most likely near Richard Cranium's bar, which is a short distance away from the sardine can. We knew that they drove over to Nikki's neighborhood where they were in the car for roughly 40 to 45 minutes.

Detective Slinger believed that's where George Burch sexually assaulted Nikki and strangled her to death. We did have evidence of a sexual assault that likely occurred, so that was clearly our motive at that time and explained his behavior. Obviously, there's only two people that would have known exactly what happened, Mr. Burch and Nicole. My belief is there's some sort of struggle inside the car and she would have tried to get out of the car. She likely then fell out of the car onto the concrete.

where he then went around to proceed to stomp on her face and on her back up against the curb. It's amazing that nobody heard anything. I mean, you would think she would be screaming for her life at that point. You'd think that, but if you're being strangled, you really can't scream. The injuries to Nicole's neck were very, very severe. It's likely that she would not have been able to get much of a scream out, if anything.

Both Slinger and Lopnow were certain they had their man. But remember, they had been down this road once before. So this time, they waited. We wanted to make sure that we had all of our ducks in a row before he was taken into custody. And to make sure that there wasn't anything in that Google data that would maybe potentially have exonerated him before he was arrested. Subject outside on the porch. They also watched Birch carefully. You had been worried about public safety.

one of the reasons you arrested Doug when you did. Obviously, there would have been concern about public safety for him as well. Correct. We maintained pretty good eyes on, pretty good surveillance on him.

Satisfied they had crossed T's and dotted I's, they made their move. We came up with the game plan that we were going to come in early one morning, set up I's on his house on the west side of Green Bay, and then when he left there we were going to follow him briefly until we had enough cars, law enforcement personnel in place, to do a high-risk traffic stop on him.

As he did with Doug Dietry three months prior, Detective Slinger personally took George Birch into custody. He was handcuffed and then placed in the back of a squad car, transported here to the sheriff's office. Birch sat in the interview room, smoked, and casually chatted with the detective.

What was his reaction when you told him why he was there? His demeanor changed zero. Birch appeared to be calm throughout.

According to Detective Slinger, too calm. He just continued smoking. Less than 30 seconds later, he starts talking about Donald Trump. It was like we were buddies from way back. And we were just hanging out, chatting, catching up. And didn't seem to have care in the world at that time.

It's alarming that someone would be that nonchalant about such a serious crime that they're being accused of doing. That told me that we're definitely dealing with someone that has some psychological issues. Just as Doug Dietrich's supporters were stunned to find out about his arrest months earlier, George Birch's supporters were now left scratching their heads. What was your reaction when the police told you that George Birch had been arrested for Nikki's murder? Shocking. Didn't believe it.

After all, longtime friend Ed Jackson and his wife Linda had invited George into their home. Why not? Just wasn't him, wasn't what I knew of him. I was stunned, of course. I was just like, really? It's like, oof. George's girlfriend, Jordan Schuyler, felt the same way. Did you tell the police, there's no way he did this? First time I was interviewed.

That would soon be up to a jury to decide. As for George Birch, he was about to break his silence and drop a bombshell no one could predict. Coming up...

but looked like a man standing with a firearm in his hand. A dramatic story from the stand. Was there someone else there that night? Someone else who killed Nikki? Do you know who that individual is now? No, I don't. Who was it? When Dateline continues.

On February 19, 2018, almost two years after Nikki Vander Heiden's murder, George Birch sat in a Green Bay courtroom hoping to convince a jury he was innocent. George, from the start, told us he did not commit this crime. Lee Shugart and Scott Stebbins were public defenders trying their first murder case.

And in the shadow of Lambeau Field, these young attorneys were going to call some unusual plays. Please state your full name and spell your last name. George Stephen Birch Jr. Starting with their decision to let their client, George Birch, all six foot seven of him, tell the jury exactly where he was the night of the murder. He admitted he was with Nikki. I noticed there was a fairly attractive blonde woman standing next to me.

Birch said he met Nikki at Richard Cranium's around 11 p.m. How were you acting towards her? I was slurring. And how was she acting towards you? Same, somewhat the same, pretty much. Slurring back and forth with each other. As closing time approached, Birch said he asked Nikki if she wanted to go home with him. She gave you the impression that she agreed to that? Yes, sir. She walked to my vehicle, opened the passenger door, and said,

But when they arrived at his house, according to George, someone was still up watching TV. So they agreed to head to Nikki's place instead. As they approached, he said Nikki noticed someone was home there too. Instead of going into the house, Birch says they stayed in his car. Did you guys stay in the front seat? No, sir.

He said he stood outside the Blazer with the door open while Nikki was lying down in the back seat. By then, he claimed, Nikki had taken her clothes off. The next thing that I remember was waking up on the ground

outside the truck. Did you see anything? I saw what looked like a man standing with a firearm in his hand. Birch says he figured the man must have pistol-whipped him, knocking him out with a gun. The first thing I heard was, don't even f***ing think about it. The whole time, he still had the firearm pointing in my direction. Birch said he spotted Nicky lying on the ground by the side of his car, unconscious and bloody. The next thing I remember was...

The person behind me had been saying, look what the f*** you made me do. Birch said the man then forced him at gunpoint to put Nicky in the car and drive. It was then, he said, peeking in the rearview mirror, he finally got a good look at the mystery man. At that point, did you know who that individual was? Never seen him before in my life. Do you know who that individual is now? Now I do. Who was it? It was Doug Dietrich.

Doug Dietrich. It was quite the twist. Nikki's boyfriend, the man who was first accused, then cleared, was now being accused again. And according to Birch, that night, Dietrich was forcing him to do his dirty work. Were you being given strict directions? Yes, sir. When they arrived at the field, Birch testified Dietrich ordered him to carry Nikki's body from the car and then put her down. The whole time, I'm trying to

"Burke said he finally got a chance to get away when Dietrich got momentarily distracted."

He testified that as he drove away, he spotted Nikki's clothes in his car. He panicked and threw them out the window. He also admitted he never called 911 or told anyone what happened that night. Where I'm from, you don't talk. You don't tell about things you've seen. You don't tell on people. People get killed all the time where I'm from for that.

And I feared for my own safety. It was an amazing story, one that certainly seemed to explain much of the damning evidence against George Birch, namely why his DNA was all over Nikki's body, why he was at Nikki's house, and why he was in the field that night, just feet from where her body was discovered. Our theory from this whole thing is look at the whole picture. What's George's motive in this versus what's Dietrich's motive in this?

So Burch's defense team called another unusual play. Essentially, they put Doug Dietry on trial for Nikki's murder. Our strategy was to show that he was never truly looking for Nicole, that he didn't care about Nicole, and that ultimately...

And during cross-examination, they tried to use Doug Dietry himself to make their case, zeroing in on his behavior before, during, and after the night Nikki was killed.

To show Doug's relationship with Nikki was on the rocks, Sugart asked Doug about those messages he'd sent his mother. So in May of 2016, when you said that when your house sells, you and Nikki were going to go on your separate ways, don't worry about it, it is what it is, when you said that to your mother, is that an accurate statement? I don't recall that conversation happening.

How about when you told her, I'm very seriously thinking about telling Nikki and the kids they have to move. I'm not cut out for this life one bit. Do you remember that? I remember, you know, I think I said something along the lines of that. I just said that to my mom with not truly meaning it, I guess. Do you think he looked guilty on the stand? Did he come across that way to you? I would have thought that, you know, two years, almost two years after my girlfriend's murder, that I would have...

piece together every single part of that night and talk to every single person again and again and again. And when I'm asked questions about it, I'm going to remember it and I'm going to be able to talk about it. And I'm not just going to say, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

As for the night of the murder, the defense suggested his response to those angry text messages Nikki had sent showed he didn't care about her. So when you were receiving those messages, you never thought, oh my gosh, I should go be with Nicole, I should figure out what's going on? Well, I tried to, you know, I sent her an LOL, you know, what's the deal basically, you know, nothing to be upset about.

So it was funny to you that she was upset? You laugh out loud. Well, I don't know. I overly use that. Does she typically call you an abusive a**hole? No. Does she typically ask you what bit you with? No. But that still didn't cause alarm to you that you need to get with Nicole? No.

And what was he thinking, Sugart asked, the day after Nikki was killed? Why did he wait until 4.30 the next afternoon to report her missing, even though he was up early that morning? 6.30 to be exact.

No. No. No, I did not. Yeah, I was tired. I was hungover, and I just had a crying baby, and...

And when Doug got up again at 11 a.m., he never attempted to look for Nikki. There was a reason, the defense claimed, that Doug waited so long to report Nikki missing. The defense had planned to show that Doug had a history of abuse towards women.

In a pretrial motion, they listed several such allegations, but the judge ruled that evidence was inadmissible. This just has to be a huge blow to your defense. It was. We weren't able to present the pattern of abuse that we saw from past girlfriends, from people that knew Nicole, from anybody that we could talk to on the case, specifically for the people duct-dated.

And there was something else the judge would not allow. Doug Dietry had recently been arrested for abuse. It is a wild story that he gets involved with Nikki's sister after her death. I couldn't believe it. Of all people, Nikki's sister. She had been living with Doug, helping him take care of the baby. According to the criminal complaint, Doug was driving when he touched Heather's leg in a sexual way.

She didn't want it, and so, you know, he locked the doors and took off at a high rate of speed to the point that her father's following him and he's running red lights and doing all sorts of stuff. Doug was charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety, false imprisonment, and disorderly conduct. He would later plead no contest to those charges. Even without that evidence, the defense still felt it had made a strong case against Doug Dietry. He had the motive to murder her, he had an opportunity to murder her, and he had a direct connection with her murder.

Halfway through the trial, Nikki's friend Caitlin still wasn't sure what to think. There was holes in Birch's story, but there was also things that didn't quite make sense about Doug's, and I think that that's how it, you know, turned this case into a whodunit. Whose story or whose side do you believe? Coming up.

No. A new side of George Birch. I told you before and I will say it one more time for you, sir. I thought a little bit that temper showed. And a new witness with revealing information. A witness right on Doug Dietry's wrist. When Dateline continues.

On day eight of the trial, prosecutors David Lassay and Mary Kerrigan Mayers finally got their shot at George Birch. Their chance to pick apart his story. What did you make of George Birch's story? It seems like utter fantasy to me. It seems a little ridiculous and far-fetched. Lassay says since Birch had declined to speak to police when he was arrested, he had months to concoct his version of events. Do you think he used the evidence to fit

the narrative of his story that would make him look good. It certainly seemed as if this was a story that was created after the fact. And the prosecutors had a game plan of their own: show the jury that Birch's story was nothing more than a Hail Mary to cover up a vicious crime. They told the jury about Birch's DNA, found on 16 different points on Nikki's body and on the murder weapon.

They also showed the tracking data from Birch's phone that put him in all the locations where Nikki was that night, including the place where her body was dumped. One thing that just seems...

Hard to explain is George Burch's motive. He attempted to sexually assault her. She did not want to have sex with him, and she would have fought. She would have struggled. Obviously, Nicole got into the wrong car with a very violent individual, and something horrific happened to her. And D.A. Lassay had a very interesting card to play.

Ed and Linda Jackson, George Birch's friends, the couple who had taken him in. They were testifying for the prosecution, now convinced Birch was guilty. George is a smooth talker and he's got a very good imagination. And knowing him for as long as I've known him and reading that story, I don't buy it one bit.

On the stand, Ed was asked about a fishing trip he and Birch took the day after Nikki's murder. Ed said Birch never said a word about what happened the night before. The prosecutor then showed the jury a photo taken that day. That picture was very important because he said that he had been hit on the head. And this picture showed his head. There were no marks.

And when Birch got on the stand, the prosecution tried to poke holes in his story. For starters, Lassay didn't believe Nikki willingly had sex with him. I mean, he described it as this, you know, fantasy sex in the back of a vehicle.

If that were true, Lassay argued, how could Burch explain away earlier testimony from the medical examiner that Nikki's injuries suggested she had been sexually assaulted? "That was all a result of your not gentle sexual activity that you had with her?" "If that's the way you would put it, yes sir." "I think that's the way you put it." "It wasn't gentle, no." "It was painful." "That I don't know." "Painful because it wasn't consensual, right?" "No sir, that's not true."

And the prosecutors wanted the jury to get a glimpse of Birch's temper. He kept his composure throughout his cross-examination until the prosecutor asked Birch about dragging Nikki's body through the field. So clear this up for me. You're backing down the embankment with Nicole's body in a fireman's carry position, right? No. No.

What are you doing? I told you before, and I will say it one more time for you, sir. I was carrying her over to this area. When I got to the final position, I let her legs go because I could barely carry her. At one point, he pretty much barked at Dave that he wasn't going to answer any further, and I thought a little bit that temper showed. Anger, violence, lies. Lassay put it all together for the jury with a series of questions that

that laid out what he believed really happened outside Nikki's house. — When you get there, and it becomes clear that Nikki isn't going to have sex with you, when she attempts to go into her house and leave your vehicle, that's when your mood changes, right? — No, sir. — That's when things get aggressive, don't they? — Not at all. — That's when you grab that cord and strangle her, don't you? — No, sir, not at all. — That's when Nikki gets slammed on the ground repeatedly when she's trying to run toward her house.

Not only did prosecutors have to prove George Burch was guilty, they also had to leave no doubt that Doug Dietry was innocent, that he would not and could not have killed Nikki. Did you have absolutely any involvement in Nikki's disappearance or death? No, I did not.

As for how he and Nikki got along, Doug said they were a family with typical family problems. How would you describe your relationship with Nikki? It was very, very good for a lot of it. We did have little arguments here and there, but we always had plans for the future and everything like that. He told the jury they had even discussed marriage, and their son would be part of the ceremony. We had talked that

The prosecutor then asked Doug about those text messages from Nikki. Doug insisted he wasn't angry with her. I was kind of puzzled. I didn't know what she was thinking or...

I didn't know what was going on, you know? Lassay also called a crime lab analyst to the stand, who testified that Doug's DNA was not found anywhere on Nikki's body or on the murder weapon.

And the prosecutor had one more ace in the hole. A silent witness. A witness that could corroborate Doug's alibi that he was home sleeping. Remember Doug had started wearing that Fitbit to get in shape? Prosecutors say he was wearing it that night. And what did it show? Doug Dietry's Fitbit demonstrated that he took a total of

12 to 18 steps during the three hours of 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. when we know that Nikki was killed. Could he have taken it off? Those 12 to 18 steps that were registering during that time frame. So it demonstrated that he was likely still wearing it or would not have registered any steps during that time frame. Doug Dietry's alibi wouldn't have been all that strong without that Fitbit because just to say you're home with a six-month-old sleeping is...

That's not the strongest alibi. It helps a lot, but the lack of anything of note in his home once the crime lab reports came back in was very helpful. And that you would commit this heinous crime outside your own home down the street and you'd leave the murder courts laying in the street to be found, I mean, you'd have to be pretty lame as far as a murderer to do that. So we thought that was helpful, too.

After nine days of testimony, attorneys gave their closing arguments. Public defender Lee Sugart addressed the jury. Doug Dietry had the motive, the opportunity, and the connection to this crime. He then asked the jurors to search their souls for reasonable doubt. As we sit here right now, you are literally surrounded by doubt. You are surrounded by reasonable doubt. That's why you must return a verdict.

of not guilty. Did you have any concerns about reasonable doubt? Pointing the finger at Doug, giving the jury another person to look at? I think there's always concerns about reasonable doubt. That's why we have trials. That's why trials are challenging. So DA Lassay knew what he needed to address as he summed up his case for the jury. We bear the burden of proving this case to you beyond a reasonable doubt. Beyond a reasonable doubt.

Follow the path. Follow the evidence that's been presented to you in this case. That path leads to one place. His guilt. That is the man that killed Nicole Vander Heiden. Bring justice to Nikki and her family. The case went to the jury, and we went to a jail for an exclusive interview with George Birch. Coming up...

We ended up getting a little intimate, and then one thing led to another. I'm just going to put my mother hat on here. Okay. Nikki is breastfeeding. She has a new baby. Her infant child is asleep in the house. Why would she have sex with you right outside the house? When Dateline continues.

We met George Birch at the Brown County Jail for an exclusive interview with Dateline. We came with a lot of questions about that night, starting with his claim that his encounter with Nikki was consensual. We ended up getting a little intimate, and then one thing led to another. I'm just going to put my mother hat on here. Okay. The one thing that just doesn't add up for me is...

Nikki is breastfeeding. She has a new baby. Her infant child is asleep in the house. Why would she have sex with you right outside the house? I can't tell you what she was thinking. There...

I have no idea why she would do that. We didn't get into that. George Burch then described what happened after he said Doug Dietry pistol-whipped him. Why didn't you fight back with Doug? I mean, you're 6'7". You're a lot bigger than him. Bullets don't know size. I don't know if you're familiar with firearms, but someone can shoot someone no matter how big they are. It doesn't matter how big you are. A bullet can still kill you. What kind of gun did he have?

I am not sure. A handgun? Yes, ma'am. A handgun no one was able to find. Where do you think the gun is? I bet I don't know. Is the gun something you made up? Why would I make that up? I'll say this to you straightforward so you understand it correctly. I have not made up any single part of this at all in the least little bit. Everything I have stated is exactly what happened. You said that Nikki took her clothes off before Doug...

Attacked you and attacked Nikki. Right, I believe so. And yet her clothes were bloody. How do you explain that if she had no clothes on? That I am not sure. They could have gotten bloody from when I put her back in the vehicle because blood was coming out of her and her clothes were in the vehicle. Did you kill Nikki Vander Heiden? No, ma'am. Had no part of it, had nothing to do with it. Did you try to have sex with her? She rebuffed your advances and you snapped. No, ma'am.

The sex was purely consensual. Who do you believe is Nikki's true killer? The only person that I physically saw there was me and Douglas Dietrich. Did I see him do that? No, I didn't. But I can tell you one thing: I didn't do it. How do you explain the presence of so much of your DNA on her body? We had sex! How hard is that to understand? She's naked, my body is on her body. And if Doug Dietrich brutally beat her, why is his DNA not on her?

I don't know. He had on a sweatshirt. I don't recall if he had pants on. He could have had on gloves. I don't know. How do you explain that your DNA was found on that cord, but not Doug Detree's? I don't know if I was laying on the cord. I don't know if I touched the cord when I picked her up. It wasn't an overwhelming DNA match. It was barely there. He could have had gloves on and touched me. I don't know. I'm not a scientist. According to your story, this is a horrific event that you've experienced. Correct. It is.

And yet you wake up the next morning and you go fishing with your buddy. Like, nothing happened. I thought a lot about not even going. I wasn't sure what to do. I kind of just went along with the motions is the way that ended up panning out. You claim that you were struck from behind with a gun. Yes, ma'am. Ed Jackson says that there were no injuries on your head. Where was the injury from the gun?

That I don't know. My head was sore. Was there a laceration or a cut? No, ma'am, there wasn't. Just because someone hits you doesn't mean there's going to be a cut. George Birch never told his friend, Ed Jackson, what he says happened. In fact, he only told his attorneys what happened months after the murder. Some people see that you had a big advantage when you finally revealed your story because you knew that

what had happened to Doug Dietry. You were able to use him and his story and his arrest to help your own story. How would I know what happened with him? Because it was on the news. I didn't... The police just said he was arrested.

And when we asked George Burch about that unusual piece of evidence used to help clear Doug Dietry...

But how do you feel about the fact that Fitbit has become a part of it? It sucks because I know it's not true. As for all those who doubt him and his story? Many people say that your story is just really bad fiction. That you created this story that would fit the narrative of the evidence. You already knew about Doug Dietry, that he had been arrested, and that you just fabricated this whole thing to work in your favor. Everyone's entitled to their opinions.

Maybe so, but the only opinion that mattered was the jury's. And it was about to speak. Coming up, one verdict that would affect two men's lives. I hope they get it right. Would they? It was emotionally really hard. Yes. I was tug of warring the whole time. When Dateline continues...

As jurors in the Nikki Vander Heiden murder trial began their work behind closed doors, those outside the jury room also deliberated. The key component in this case really comes down to believability and credibility, Doug D. Tree versus George Birch. Doug's friend, Angela Delfoss, had no doubt who she believed. Did you watch George Birch testify? I did. I don't believe one word that came out of his mouth.

Neither did George Birch's girlfriend, Jordan Schuyler. Even before the trial started, Jordan had a change of heart. I knew that he didn't. Her boyfriend's behavior on that fishing trip with Ed Jackson, just one day after the murder, kept gnawing at Jordan. Any mention of that night at all?

For Jordan, having to accept that the man she once felt safe with had murdered Nikki was overwhelming. There were so many thoughts that went through my head. Biggest questions I have is why her? Why wasn't it me? And why'd you even do it?

And then there were Nikki's friends, Haley Defnett and Caitlin Uncles. Throughout most of the trial, they remained on the fence. I had my quarrels with both sides. I was on Nikki's side. But hearing Birch's testimony proved to be their tipping point. It didn't seem to make sense. Having someone take her home and willingly sleep with him in her front yard, there's no way. It just...

From their offices, prosecutors Kerrigan Mayers and David Lassay waited and worried. What if one person believed that story and thought maybe Doug did this or had some involvement? There's always concern about that. The thing that just kept running through my head was, I think this is a very dangerous individual. He needs to be off the streets.

and I hope they get it right. Then, in just under four hours, the 12 jurors filed back into the courtroom for the last time. Rachel Hillary and Eric Lardenois were two of the 12. How tricky was this case for a juror?

It was emotionally really hard. I was tug of war-ing the whole time on the state side, the defense side. It was tough. Over the course of the nine-day trial, these two jurors carefully considered the guilt of two men. First, there was the defendant himself, George Birch. What are you thinking as George is telling his story? The first half of the story was believable, but once it got to the point where

he got knocked out it almost seemed fabricated almost too much like a movie bad movie

Like a bad cop movie, yes. Then there was Doug Dietry. What evidence made you think that maybe Doug Dietry was the real killer? The text. Yeah, the text messages. But of all the evidence presented at trial, Eric and Rachel gave the greatest weight to the Google dashboard data on Birch's phone and his DNA on Nikki's body. The DNA all over Nicole's body was George's. There was nothing for Doug.

A packed courtroom listened intently as the judge read the jury's decision. The verdict reads as follows.

We, the jury, find the defendant, George Stephen Birch, guilty of first-degree intentional homicide. What's that moment like for you after so much time spent working this case? I just felt great for the family. It's not going to make Nicole come back. It's not going to fix everything, but it's a part of the healing process for them. Angela Delfoss and the rest of Doug Dietry's supporters were elated. I screamed hallelujah, and I was so happy. Yeah.

Technology played an unprecedented role in this case. The Fitbit was almost like a witness in this case. Not human, but a witness of sorts. It definitely played a big part. According to Detective Slinger, advancements in DNA analysis, location tracking data, and that Fitbit all helped convict George Birch and prove Doug Dietry did not kill Nikki. Has anyone apologized to Doug Dietry?

From the department. I've spoken with Doug and his family at length. I understand there's some hard feelings there for a while, and there may still be. I get that. But ultimately, we're all one team to get justice for Nikki. George Birch came to Green Bay hoping to start a new life. He may now die in prison for having taken one. I'm 40 years old. I will never be out of this life.

Jail cell again. As he had from the beginning, Birch remained defiant. Nikki's friends and family want to see you confess to her murder. Are you willing to do that today? That will never happen in a million years. I will never in my life confess to something I didn't do, ever. I will go to my deathbed and tell you to this day that I never did anything to her or never hurt her in any way. What would you say to Doug Dietrich? That I hope the truth comes out and I hope he burns in hell.

Oh, wow. What's your response to that? He's an evil person. Evil. We hope he burns in hell. Do you think George Birch is the one who's going to hell? It's not my place to say. He'll face his judgment day and we can all speculate. Three months after the verdict, George Birch sat in the courtroom again, this time for his sentencing. The judge first addressed the matter of Doug Dietry. And of course there's Mr. Dietry.

He's certainly a victim here as well. First being accused as her killer, you took away the mother of his child, Mr. Burch. That's a terrible, terrible crime. And then the judge turned his attention to George Burch's fate. This is a crime that would, I believe, merit the death penalty, and for that you have to die in prison. It's the order of this court, the sentence of this court, that you, George Burch, are sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole to Vicki,

and the family, to the Detree family, prayers in support of this community are with you. Good luck and God bless. This court is in recess. - I really hope that he understands for a lifetime what he all took away from us. - How is the world different now without Nikki in it? What did she leave behind? - I mean, she left behind her three beautiful children that are gonna grow without having a mother. To teach them,

But I just, I see her in so many things. I'm just constantly reminded of her. I feel like she's still there. She's still here with us. That's all for now. I'm Lester Holt. Thanks for joining us.