Decades of Deceit | Full Episode | Forensic Files

Say goodbye to Emily. >> Bye. >> What' your baby say? >> What happened is something that I don't
really remember. [music] >> Give your baby a kiss. There were definitely times where I wish
that I could just remember anything that would help. Anything at all. >> What's your name?
>> My name is Emily Weidner. And when I was two, my mother Amy was murdered. I wonder what Amy would be like now. Would
she have gone to college? What would she have done with with her life? I imagine
that Amy and I would probably be friends. Not just mom and daughter, but friends. My daughter Amy was intelligent
and she smiled all the time. She was kind to people. She made people feel good because she would make them
important. I got upstairs and found Amy. No parent should ever find their child.
She was terrified. That's how she died. Terrified. On the day that Amy died, Emily was
there with her. She was in bed with her. >> Maybe have a kiss. >> And she called Amy and she told me she
tried to pick my up, but she was just too heavy. She tried to pick her up. You have 24 years of always wondering
why this happened? Why did they not find anyone? Is he still out there? >> Family's littleer.
>> I thought they're going to see we're a good family and they'll figure this out.
And then you go through periods of you think it's it's never going to be resolved.
>> This is the original case file for the Amy Witner murder. I'm William Carter.
I'm the detective sergeant with the Metropolitan Police Department. I'm just a civil type police officer.
I wasn't a homicide detective or anybody that ever investigated a homicide. The detective that was assigned to Amy's
case didn't know how to print from Facebook. And he approached me originally and asked me, "How do you
print from Facebook?" That's how I got involved in the case. I spoke to Gloria Widner. She had lost all hope. And it
just kind of made it a personal thing for me. Did you have faith that he could solve
this? >> Well, we really didn't know. No one else had. We expected to hear a name that we
did not know, not someone that we knew. I just remember feeling mostly [music] sad
and mostly sad for my family because I was so young. >> There is not one day of my life that I
do not think about my daughter. >> For more than 24 years, Gloria Widner has been mourning her daughter Amy, who
at age 16 was brutally murdered in their Indianapolis home. >> She loved school. She loved education. I
always thought that um someday she would probably have been a teacher. She kind of was our leader as far as doing our
chores and making dinner. >> Cassie, the youngest of the four Widner children, was just 12 when Amy was
killed. Despite the decades that have gone by, the Widner siblings, Tanya, one year younger than Amy, and JP, one year
older, have vivid recollections of their sister. >> What's some of your favorite memories of
her? >> My ninth birthday cake. She baked that. >> Mhm. >> We would play make believe. Karen and BB
were our names. And she always made me be BB just playing and being a kid. >> How about you, JP?
>> Just how much she looked up to me. >> The thing is, I had good kids. >> Gloria, a divorced mother, was raising
four children by herself, which came with challenges, especially when she learned Amy was 5 and a half months
pregnant. I was overwhelmed. I just couldn't even believe it. I thought that was the worst thing in the world that
could happen. [sighs] But, you know, I found out worst things can happen. >> How did she hide her pregnancy from you
for 5 and 1/2 months? >> Well, she did. They wore the the the sweatshirts. >> You had no suspicions?
>> No, no one did. >> That was until Amy could keep her secret no longer. and she just started crying
and she said, "Mommy, I don't want you to hate me." And I said, "I would never hate any of my children." I really
didn't know what to do. >> It helped that Amy's teachers like Jodie George were supportive.
>> And I just remember asking her, "Amy, are you pregnant?" And then she said, "That's why I'm coming in every day
early. I want to be sure that I'm as caught up as I can possibly be when I have to miss school."
>> Of course, I just said, "Well, you let me know. I'll do whatever I can to help
you. >> Gloria made it clear to her daughter that school would remain a priority and
told Amy she didn't want her involved with the baby's father, 17-year-old Tony Abberrombie, a friend of JP's that Amy
had been quietly seen. >> I was angry. I'm not going to tell you anything different. I felt uh betrayed
by a young man that was, I would say, my son's best friend. In October of 1987, Amy gave birth to a beautiful daughter,
Emily. >> I believe she missed six days of school. Not many grown women can do that.
>> She was just a very strong student. I think the most important thing about her
was her work ethic. She had everyone to help her and she was more than capable. >> Like, this is sleepy girl. Time to go to
bed. >> We called her ours. That means my family. >> Motherhood seemed to agree with Amy.
Jodie George noticed a newfound confidence in her student. >> She used to talk to me about my daughter
Molly, asking me questions. I'd ask her about Emily and she would say, "Now, you
know what you should do? You need to get Molly a coat this year." Or something like that. She was just giving me little
bits and pieces of of advice. >> Still, Amy enjoyed teenage life, spending time with high school friends
Angie Moore and Amy Summers. >> Angie had a Halloween party. It was hilarious. Amy was the jelly green giant
and Emily was sprout. But then later on, Gloria came by and picked up Emily, but
she would, you know, allow her to have some time cuz she did still want her to be a teenager.
>> Happy birthday. >> In the Widner home, there were celebrations as well, especially on
Emily's birthdays. >> Blow candles. Yeah. >> But on November 13th, 1989, 1 month
after celebrating Emily's second birthday, the Widner home was changed [music] forever.
>> She told me her throat was hurting. And I said, "Well, okay." And she I said,
"Do you want me to take Emily to the babysitter?" And she said, "No, leave her home with me today." And I cannot
remember exactly what time I started calling, but I'm going to say probably around 9:30. And she didn't answer the
phone. And so when I called back and she still didn't answer, I called my neighbor. I said, "Would you please go
check on the door?" So she knocked on the door, came back and called me and said, "Nobody's answering."
>> Gloria immediately left work to return home and to a scene in Amy's [music] bedroom that will always haunt her. Her
daughter was beaten, strangled, and dead. >> She was laying on the bed. You really
don't know what to do. You just kind of you panic. You don't know what to do. And I don't remember now if I called 911
first or I got Emily out of the house. Emily was there with her. >> You knew right away that she had been
murdered. >> I didn't know what had happened. I felt like somebody had done something to her.
So the word murder is just really [sighs] a hard word. The other thing I had a problem with for a very long time when I
talked about her, I'd say, "Well, before Amy died, after Amy died." But the truth
was, she didn't just die. Another human being did this. [music] I'm sure that there were moments when I
was angry, but I think I felt more confused like why did that have to happen? On November 13th, 1989,
family and friends of Amy Widner were learning the unthinkable. That the 16-year-old's life suddenly ended.
Despite the years that have gone by, emotions remain raw. >> First thing you think of with teenagers
is suicide. And after school, a reporter was there. And I remember stopping and saying, "Well, she didn't get an A
from me this time. She got a B." thinking, "Was it because of a French grave?" And she said, "No,
it's a homicide." >> She had lacerations to her upper head, unclothed. It was a scene that you don't forget.
>> Captain Jack Gilker, now with the Marian County Sheriff's Office, was at the time
of Amy's murder, one of the first to arrive at the Widner home from the Indianapolis Police Department. There
was blood prints and you could tell that it was a violent scene. >> Police believed Amy's murder was a
result of a robbery gone wrong. Stereo equipment and cash were missing. The theory was that the asalent entered
through an open back door. Amy surprised him and a struggle ensued during which she was raped, beaten, [music] and
strangled. When you see that this young mother [music] is murdered and the baby was
there was wandering the same floor, it's something you really don't see too much
in your career. Thank God. >> Emily no longer has a memory of those events, not even of how she learned Amy
was murdered. >> I don't even remember when a serious conversation was had about it. I feel
like from that point on, they would say, "Here's, you know, Amy is gone." >> Emily talked about the crime. Uh there
was a a police officer uh that actually interviewed uh victims and he used finger puppets to talk to her about the
crime. She would show me how she ran back and forth from her bedroom and Amy's bedroom to my bedroom. Back then,
Gloria said Emily shared a few details about what happened to Amy. >> May have a kiss
>> or maybe as Emily called her. >> She also told me that my was mean and meaning that she fought.
>> At first, the family hoped the crime would be quickly solved. Whoever killed Amy had left behind a key clue.
>> They had a handprint. They took parts of my wall. They took all the bedding. They
took clothes. >> Police also conducted interviews with people like Amy's classmate Angie.
>> They obviously wanted to know who she'd been around, who she's been dating, what
she's been doing, where she been. >> Even Amy's brother JP was questioned. >> How old were you?
>> Uh 17 at the time. >> What kind of questions did they ask you? >> Really, I don't remember all the
questions they ask, but they were accusing me of doing it, and that was pretty tough. I talked with him. You've
got to consider everybody in a situation like that. >> As police investigated, the news of
Amy's murder spread. The room was full of students who who [snorts] needed help coping.
But nobody teaches you how [snorts] how to help kids cope with tragedy. >> At school, Jodie George wrote a letter
to help Amy's classmates. We have all suffered deeply because of Amy's death. How can we accept it? Why does sorrow
have to be a part of our lives? >> It was unfortunately my first funeral. I remember being so overwhelmed with
sadness that I almost couldn't feel. >> Attending the funeral were not just those close to Amy, but also detectives.
We went to the cemetery and to the funeral home the night before just to watch people with the leads that we'd
had, the names that we'd been given. You got to go there [clears throat] and you
got to study what's there. >> One of the names they were given was Tony Abberrombie, the friend who got Amy
pregnant, seen here in a news report a day after Amy's murder. >> Great girl. There wasn't really too many
out there like her. I mean, she was very, very smart, pretty. I actually called him at work.
>> Joy Haney was friends with Tony Abberrombie and Amy living across the street from the Wideners at the time of
the murder. >> I said, "Hey, you need to come home. There's something's wrong." >> I had to leave work because I was just
tore up. I mean, hit me pretty hard. >> Abbercrombie had an alibi. So eyes turned to another friend, Troy Jackson,
who lived in a house behind the Wideners and who police say knew about the stereo
equipment stolen on the day of the murder. DNA testing was in early stages, so police photographed Jackson's hands,
which did not show bruises from a struggle. Jackson also submitted hair samples, which did not match any found
in Amy's room, and he passed a polygraph test. So, detectives continued their investigation into other suspects.
>> We're not close by any stretch of the imagination. >> Weeks went by, then months, and still no
arrest as family and friends wondered, was there a killer in their midst? >> We didn't know who it was. You're lry of
everyone. It's just constantly in the back of your head wondering who It's a sad thought knowing the family
you [music] could have been growing up with versus the family that just fell apart and they didn't really know how to
put the pieces back together. >> She's your child >> to become that family that they were
before Amy died. >> Exactly what I had. >> Wait a minute. >> We became a family that really didn't
talk for a long time. It was you didn't know what to say. My children didn't even come home for school uh for a while
until they knew I was home. It was difficult. >> This house holds a lot of memories, some
of them painful. >> Yes. >> Why did you decide to stay? >> I had no money. I had four other
children. Where am I going to move to? >> The man in the house. >> Gloria did her best to keep life normal
for her family. She legally adopted Emily, the little girl who had been a granddaughter and a niece, became
daughter and sister. >> I was raised knowing Cassie and Tanya as my sisters and John Paul is my brother
>> and mom Gloria as mom. >> I understand that Amy is my biological mother, >> but Gloria has raised me.
>> You got that? I hope. >> So, she's absolutely my mom. Family and friends kept Amy's memory
alive with stories for Emily, as did teachers like Jodie George, who had both Amy and Emily in her French classes.
>> I said, "I just remember so many things about your mother and about how your mother felt about you." And when it was
time for her to graduate, we talked a little bit and I just said to her, "I know your mother would be so proud of
you right now." While Emily only recalls life following Amy's death, she says when watching home
movies, she can see a before and after. [applause and cheering] >> Birthdays one and two, family is great.
They're all happy. >> Family's little >> and after that it sort of changes. >> Close up.
>> You can feel the difference in their personalities. >> It was tough going for everyone.
Police believed Amy had been murdered by an acquaintance. And with no arrest, [music]
fear and suspicion spread. >> When I come home and I know one of my children were supposed to be home
and they're not answering me and I have to walk up those same stairs to find out
if they're in their room, it's terror because you don't know what you're going to see.
>> I was absolutely terrified. I asked my dad to put nails in my windows. And then
when you go few weeks, months, years, and you're thinking, I could be standing at the grocery store next to this person
and I'd have no idea. >> It was unbelievable cuz you think there's a print on the wall and we can't
figure out who it is. >> But police could not find a match for that promising lead, the handrint. And
the investigation grew cold. Years would go by without contact from the police. >> Sometimes you get to the point or I got
to the point that um maybe I I didn't want him to solve it. I wanted them just to go away and leave us
alone. >> But you certainly you wanted justice for your daughter. >> Yes. And it's not that I didn't want it
solved. Truth is I wanted it all to go away because every time they come back with
something else, it brings you start all over again. Like in 2002 when police thought they had a promising
lead. >> This call came in about a person wanting to talk about an old murder. >> 12 years after Amy's murder, Roger
Spurgeon was heading the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department's new cold case unit. He was telling me that
he had had some dreams about uh this murder that happened um ultimately back in 1989 and that he from this dream uh
believed he knew who the suspect was. >> Lieutenant Spurgeon was not familiar with Amy Widner's murder. It was in a
pile of 800 cold cases, but the caller seemed to know all about it. >> A lot of information did match up. Um,
but there was really not a lot of what he had spoken of that could not have been gleaned from news reports at the
time. >> It was determined the caller was not a legitimate source, but it raised
Spurgeon's interest. >> Did this look like a case that could be solved? >> Well, I believe that all cases
potentially could be solved. >> What were the challenges with this particular case, though? It was really
difficult to kind of figure out who the suspects might most likely be. You know,
is this somebody that simply was committing a burglary and it was a burglary that went bad? Uh, is this
somebody that had some sort of a relationship with Amy? >> Still, Spurgeon had persons of interest.
He spoke again to several people previously investigated. >> And then a few years pass after I've
done everything I can do. I move on to another um job. The case remained with the cold case unit with no new leads.
Then in 2011, in response to a newspaper article about unsolved cases, friends created a remembering Amy Widner
Facebook page. The cold case detectives were not familiar with Facebook, [music]
but knew someone who was call information on a carjacking. >> Detective Sergeant William Carter, a
nuisance abatement officer. that >> this is like a typical Saturday night detail.
>> We'll we'll hit three or four of them. We'll we'll start. >> We'll be looking at the nightclubs.
They'll be looking for uh liquor law violations. The fire marshall is going to be looking for over capacity.
>> Concerned with quality of life issues like underage drinking and overcrowding.
Carter uses Facebook to try to find events being promoted, not solve murders. >> I really knew nothing about the case. My
job was to print this Facebook memorial page out. I looked at it and then eventually I read the case file, the the
case notes. It's something that I dove into and I just couldn't put it down. >> Well, no one asked you to read the file,
did they? >> No. >> So, what prompted you to just pick up the file and take it home and and read
65 pages? Why were you intrigued? I think it was the the photo we always saw of Amy.
>> In the file was u the original palm print that was recovered from the scene. >> On his own time, Carter continued
working the case, looking at everything that had been collected over two decades. Evidence at the crime scene,
school attendance records from the day Amy was killed, even the list of people attending the funeral.
>> Older files, of course, um were all typewritten. Carter entered it all into a database and soon realized the other
investigators had overlooked some obvious leads. >> There was tons of friends of her
brothers that they had never even talked to and never got DNA from. Once I saw a
lot of those things, I guess it became u a mission of mine to say, "Hey, we're going to fix this."
>> What did you have to work with to solve this crime? >> I had the original palm print. Um it was
a full palm print that was left on the wall in Amy's blood. and I had some partial DNA, not enough
DNA to put into the national database. >> Carter started contacting the Widner's
family and friends, asking for names of people who might remember anything and began collecting DNA from individuals
police had ruled out. >> Did you canvas this neighborhood when you started investigating?
>> Luckily, in 1989 when they canvased the neighborhood, they wrote down and took
notes of everybody that lived in the neighborhood. I took those notes and went to those homes to see if those
people still live there. And for the most part, most of them did not. >> So Carter tracked down old neighbors
like Joy Haney, Amy's friend who had lived across the street. >> He just mainly was asking me to kind of
recall the day and if there was anybody that, you know, um, stuck out in my mind or just give him
names of, you know, people that hung out with us. Most of the people Joy mentioned were ones Carter was already
familiar with and had been cleared of wrongdoing. But one name was new. A name that Carter hoped could solve a
22-year-old mystery. >> We probably all turned pale. It was disbelief. It would come in waves.
There would be times where I was very hopeful and I thought, "Yes, certainly. Certainly this could be solved."
>> For more than two decades, Emily Widner [music] had been waiting for justice.
And then there were times where so many years had gone by that I didn't know. I didn't know anymore.
>> But in 2012, with the cold case unit's approval, Detective Sergeant [music] Bill Carter was on the case and asking
lots of questions. >> I reached out to one of the former neighbors and uh she gave me the name of
of Rodney Dink, [music] not as a suspect, just talk to Rodney and see if he actually knew anything. But Rodney
Dink was a new name that I I hadn't heard. But the Wideners were very familiar with him.
>> I hadn't seen him in a long time, but uh I would have considered him to be a good
friend. >> What kinds of things did you do with Rod? >> Just normal things that kids do. Running
around, being teenagers, riding bikes, fishing. >> When Detective Carter asked me about
Rodney, I said no. I said Rodney was quiet, kept to himself. There wasn't a suspicion of Rodney.
Still, Carter went to Dank's Indianapolis home. Long divorced from a woman with whom he had a son, Denk lived
with his mother, but was at work at an auto shop when Carter came by. So, he left his card with Dank's mother.
>> He did call the office. I left me a message. I immediately called him back and asked him if he would meet me. I
need to talk to him about this case. And um I told him Amy Widner and that was it.
Denk agreed to meet at his house. But when Carter arrived, he was nowhere to be found. Now, Carter was suspicious and
ran Dank's name to see if he had prior arrests. He found a 1991 battery and a 1997 larseny.
With his interest raised, Carter took the prints from Denk's last arrest to the forensic [music] unit to compare to
the palm print from Amy's bedroom wall. >> My goal was kind of, hey, I'll submit
the print. If it doesn't match, we'll just move on. just wanted to clear him as a suspect.
>> Later that day, Carter checked back with forensics to see if he could cross Dank
off his list. Instead, he received stunning news. Rodney Denk's print was a match.
22 years of waiting were over. Finally, there was a real suspect for the murder of Amy Widner.
>> I was kind of shocked. I really, you know, didn't expect it really to be that
easy. While it had been a year since Carter had been asked to look at Amy's Facebook page, it was only in the past
two weeks that he began questioning potential suspects. And now he felt he had his man. But Dank had disappeared.
>> We contacted our fugitive task force unit to try to track him down. He had used his credit card to rent a car that
is equipped with OnStar. With the help of the OnStar tracking device in the rental car, detectives
went in search of Dank. Meanwhile, Carter let the Wideners know they had identified a suspect, but did not give a
name. >> He felt a wave of relief. >> No, almost fear. >> Why fear? >> Cuz who is it?
>> A few hours later, they would have their answer. Dank's rental car was found in
Indianapolis where he was visiting a friend. As Dank was about to get into his car, police approached him and he
pulled out a knife. >> He made a statement, something to the effect of, "I didn't do it." And he had
a knife that he cut his wrist with, but they were able to bring him into custody
without any further injury to himself or any other officers. >> Anything you say he used his evidence
against you in court? You understand that? >> Well, Dank was taken to a hospital to
treat his wounds. The Wideners wondered why their former friend would betray them.
>> To comprehend that this person that you knew did this, it's um it's just impossible to wrap
your mind around it. >> I think the four of us just stood there looking at each other in
shock. >> I found out through Cassie and then my next thought was, "Oh my gosh, he was at
the funeral with us. How can you commit this murder this brutal to someone you know and two days later sit with us at
the funeral and mourn with us? >> Dank had even signed the visitor's book at Amy's funeral. And that wasn't the
only place Carter found Dank's name. >> Dank was overlooked and his name was given to a detective as somebody to talk
to. And >> did they talk to him? >> They didn't talk to him at all. Had you heard of the name Rodney Denk before
Sergeant Carter came to you? >> No, never heard that name. >> However, Denk's name appeared in this
2003 statement from Tony Abberrombie, Emily's birthfather, as someone who spent time at the Widner home. A
statement taken by Spurgeon when he led the cocase unit. If the name Rodney Dank
ever came up in the course of my investigation or relooking through the files, uh that was one of literally
dozens upon dozens of names that I may simply have not had the opportunity to look at uh during my years of the
investigation. I simply don't recall seeing that name. What I don't understand is how did you recognize the
mistakes that were made in this investigation that seasoned detectives overlook?
>> I respected those people because I assumed, hey, you know, I've never done this job. I'm just a more of a civil
type police officer. But um I don't know why no one ever looked at Rodney Dink. I
really don't. For some reason, Detective Carter found it in his heart and who he is to have
this determination to find who Amy's killer was. When you walked into homicide, were you met with wild
applause? >> Um, I don't know. I really don't know. Um, I always felt like I was u stepping
out of where I belonged. >> Still, Carter found himself an unlikely hero at the center of a press
conference. It's been a long time coming for the family. I will say that. And I'm
just happy that we do have someone in custody and we can offer some closure to the family. It
>> was emotional for me to think that, you know, all these years after all these
years, you know, it was somebody that was there. It wasn't the boogeyman. It was somebody that was a friend of their
families. You feel like you can tell us and finally put this to bed of what you carried for 22 years.
>> With Dank now under arrest and in the hospital, investigators got some long overdue answers about his motive. It was
as suspected, a robbery gone terribly wrong. >> I didn't know she was in there. I was in
John's room taking the radio and she came around the corner. >> Over the course of 48 hours, police
questioned Dank on videotape who admitted to raping and hitting Amy with an object, but kept changing his story
about whether he acted alone. had one dude that was >> like staking at the house,
but his name was like Bucky or Buck or some crap. Maybe it wasn't Buck. Maybe it was the other guy.
I don't remember. I don't remember a whole lot about that day. Can I just say it was me? I did everything. And
>> one thing Dank seemed certain about was that he never saw Emily. >> Where was Emily?
>> I don't know. >> Did you ever see the baby at all? >> Did you ever hear the baby crying?
>> I don't remember seeing or hearing the baby much. >> In the time that you spoke to him, what
were your impressions of Rodney Dank? >> Was never upset, never screamed, never hollered. Uh was pleasant with us. Um
not what I would think that would be a killer. Rody, did you have anything to do with Amy's death?
>> Dank provided a DNA sample which, as expected, matched semen taken in 1989 from Amy's sheet and blanket. Do
>> you have anything you wish to say? >> However, [music] there was something unexpected that police discovered during
their investigation about Rodney Deng's son, Dylan. always tried to be a good person, but I
guess I know deep down inside I'm I'm not a good person. >> With Rodney [music] Denk in custody for
the murder of Amy Widner, detectives were learning more about their suspect, including something shocking about
Dank's son, Dylan. >> It was very odd to me that father and son about the same age committed two
terrible acts, horrible acts. This is probably best described as just a bizarre coincidence.
>> In 2009, Dylan Dank was charged with murdering his mother, Mary Mckenry, beating her to death with a baseball
bat. The circumstances stand out to Kentucky Commonwealth Attorney Bruce Keel. >> I think it's the brutality of the crime,
the fact that he is so young. He was 16 years old at the time, almost 17. In fact, during that week, he turned 17.
one year younger than his father, Rodney, was at the time of Amy's murder. >> This one involved just a brutal act by
son against his mother. >> A mother who, according to court testimony, had a history of abusing
Dylan. Rodney Den had little contact with his son or ex-wife for years, but he did attend some of Dylan's hearings,
prompting a social worker to recommend Dylan be released to his father, who no one knew was living with his own secret.
However, the judge ruled against releasing Dylan. >> Sir, uh, you want to, uh, apologize.
>> In a plea deal, Dylan Dank was sentenced to 20 years. Meanwhile, his father was
looking at spending the rest of his life in prison for the murder of Amy Widner.
>> You were prepared to stare down, evil. You were preparing to go to trial. >> I'm worried to death about it. I didn't
want my girls and my son to have to hear or see any of the things that I saw when
I found her. >> Gloria Widner was set to go to trial, as was Marian County Prosecutor Denise
Robinson. Attempts at a plea deal had been stalled until Den told the prosecutor no one else was involved in
Amy's murder. Before you offered him this plea agreement, he had to make certain admissions to you.
>> Yes. He told us that he acted alone, which was something that we had felt confident in after we had intercepted
some jail calls that he had made to his mother. We want to be able to tell the family that there wasn't another suspect
out there that we should be looking for. >> In June of 2012, just 10 days before the
trial was scheduled to start, [music] Denk plead guilty to the murder and rape of Amy Widner. He would be sentenced to
65 years. Despite Denk finally admitting to acting alone, family members and police are not completely convinced.
>> Was he really the only one? Was there other people that knew he did it? >> That's something we're not going to know
unless Rodney tells us those things. >> I just can't definitively say that with the arrest of Rodney Dink, the case is
absolutely closed and he's the only one that will ever be held accountable for it.
Without a trial, the Wideners would not hear testimony about what may have occurred. But at hearings and
sentencing, they faced the man who changed all their lives. >> I had prepared myself to feel this anger
and overwhelming rage. And when they brought him in, all I saw was Rodney. For the Wideners, having Dank behind
bars has brought some resolution, but the impact of Amy's murder still haunts them.
>> They still know that Amy is not coming back. So, relief, yes, but there's definitely still sadness there. I miss
her. And the thing is, the older I get, the more I miss her, cuz they're all grown
and they have their families and they have their their lives and she's not here.
>> What triggers the pain? Just Emily's birthdays, Emily's accomplishments, her her graduations.
I always feel like it should be Amy here enjoying these. >> Gloria tries as best she can to focus on
the present. Amy's old bedroom, the site of the murder and a place she once feared, is now used for happier times.
>> It's for my grandchildren now. When they come to stay, they have a room. The only
thing that's in here that was here when Amy was here was is the hat that's on the door. It's not Amy's room anymore.
Amy's in me. She'll always be with me. >> You're still in our hearts. Those touched by Amy have found through the
years different ways to cope with their sorrow. >> Does it feel like it's over to you?
>> No, not really. Me neither. >> For Angie Moore and Amy [music] Summers, visits to their friend's grave help. As
does reading that letter from long ago that teacher Jodie George gave students, which Amy still keeps nearby.
>> My advice to you, be kind to others always, even if it hurts. I wish you peace and comfort now and always.
>> You go through life and you wonder, I'm really introverted. I wonder why. Or I get really angry at certain things.
Maybe it's because of what happened, but I I don't know. >> Emily felt a change of scenery might
provide some answers. A year after graduating college, she left Indianapolis for California.
>> I couldn't be who I thought I was supposed to be in Indiana. And I'm I don't know that I'm necessarily the
person I'm supposed to be yet, but I'm getting closer in California. >> Emily visits when she can. 48 hours
brought her to Indianapolis to be part of a celebration decades in the making. >> We're calling this a Midwest open house.
[laughter] And I >> it was an opportunity to share memories of Amy. >> Oh, Amy would have loved this. She's
here. Believe me, she's here. >> As well as to honor the man who did what others [music]
could not. >> On behalf of everyone here, I say thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
>> It's nice for me to hear so many people who adore this girl. And she was a girl. She was 16.
She had like [music] impact. Like she was there and she had a purpose. >> We're going to release 24 balloons.
>> I like that cuz it makes me think that was my mom. >> One for every year that we've been
without Amy. >> That was Yeah. [music] I'd like to be like that. >> Give it love.
>> Give it love. Okay. Heat. Heat. [music] [music] >> [music] [music]

Can a Facebook-savvy investigator solve the case of a mom murdered two decades ago? "48 Hours" correspondent Troy Roberts investigates in the episode from August 2015. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

The episode recounts Amy Widner's murder and the emotional journey of her family, culminating in the arrest of Rodney Denk.

Key points

Emily's Memories of Her Mother. Emily reflects on her mother Amy, who was murdered when she was just two years old.
The Tragic Murder of Amy Widner. Amy Widner was brutally murdered at just 16 years old, leaving her family shattered.
The Investigation into Amy's Murder. Detectives struggled to solve the case, leading to years of unanswered questions for the family.
A Shocking Discovery. Detective Carter uncovers a new suspect after years of investigation.
Rodney Denk's Arrest. After a lengthy investigation, Rodney Denk is arrested for Amy's murder.
A Bizarre Coincidence. Rodney Denk's son, Dylan, is also involved in a brutal crime.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

No parent should ever find their child.

A mother reflects on the horror of discovering her daughter's death.

1:07WatchApr 28, 2026

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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