The Fitbit Alibi | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] To most Wisconsinites, Green Bay is a magical place. It's where the Packers play. It's a fun
town and everybody knows everybody. Drinking is part of the Wisconsin tradition.
Green Bay is a great downtown pulse and I feel it's relatively safe. Nobody would ever think that something like
this would happen in our community. >> Continuing coverage tonight of a death investigation in the village of
Belleview. >> When I had gotten the news, I just shook. I just shook. >> There is police activity in a field.
>> I was a good friend of Nicole Vanderhidens. She was my neighbor. We watched each
other's kids. She just was a ball of fire. >> Nicole Vanderhiden was 31 years old. She
was living with her boyfriend, Doug Dietri, and they had just had a baby together.
It was Friday, May 20th of 2016. Doug and Nicole decided to go out that night. This was an opportunity for them to go
out and have a great time. The night didn't end in a great time. It ended in a nightmare.
[Music] >> Nikki walked off into the darkness that night. >> She just walked off. She vanished.
>> That was the last anyone saw of her. >> About where was she found? >> Right down this embankment. When we
arrived on scene on this one, we kind of knew right away it was probably going to
be different. So, at the scene, that was the most apparent thing is the trauma to
the left side of the face. >> When you came here, there was no way to identify her. You had no idea who she
was. >> Not right away. No. >> Doug Dietri, >> he woke up in the morning. Um, eventually later that afternoon, he had
called uh the sheriff's officer 911 to report that um his girlfriend did not come home from the night before.
>> We're here for a missing person's report. We sent some officers over to uh her residence to take the missing person
report. >> So this is not normal behavior for her? >> Not at all. >> And this is where Nicole was living.
>> Correct. >> And you believe that she was killed here? >> Correct. Across the street um in the
roadway. A large quantity of blood that was determined to be Nicole's. >> Everything's pointing to Doug Dietri's.
>> Yeah. So that so then Monday night >> right now I'm going to be taking you into custody.
>> We felt we had probable cause to arrest Doug Dri. I'm a I'm a I'm I'm a decent
guy. >> Okay. I'm I'm a decent guy, too. >> I get that. I'm sure you are. >> I think people were shocked.
>> People are wondering, could he have done it? >> Did Doug do it? His alibi was his Fitbit
that he had been wearing all night and that supposedly proved that he was asleep at the time of her murder. The
technology is really what drew me to this case. We had this evidence we wanted to check
out, have tested at the lab. >> The DNA evidence starts to come back and it belonged to an unidentified male.
>> Subject outside on the porch. >> That was our goal is to figure out who who is this mystery person.
>> It's definitely a who done it. There's lots and twists and turns to it and it's
hard to know who's telling the truth. Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. [Music] [Music]
Green Bay is supposed to be a really safe place. You know, mothers don't go missing and
police don't find their bodies in farm fields. February 2018, friends and family of Nicole Vanderhiden
gather in a packed Brown County courtroom, seeking justice for her brutal, senseless murder two years
earlier. >> What happens in this case could definitely come down to the technology.
>> Kate Brickle covers crime for the Daily Beast. >> Who would do this? Who would do this to
Nikki? >> I was just It's not real. You know that can't be. >> Tiffany Hoffman was a close friend of
Nicole's who everyone called Nikki. They had been friends for years and shared a
love of the outdoors. >> What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of her?
>> Light spirit, um, a verve and a zest and zeal. She was close with her family and
loved her children. Nikki was a mom to three, Michaela and Tyler from a previous marriage, and
six-month-old Dylan, whose father was her boyfriend, Doug Dietri. The two had met in January 2015 and soon moved in
together. >> She was really, really happy. When she talked to me, she said they both were
excited. Yeah. That they both were excited to have a baby. On the night of Friday, May 20th, 2016,
Nikki and Doug make lastminute plans to get a babysitter and join friends at a bar called The Watering Hole to see a
Steel Panther concert. [Applause] I think Nikki was really looking to let loose and have a good time.
As the concert is ending, Nikki decides to go with Doug's friends to another bar
called the Sardine Can and leave him. >> Doug agreed that he would finish his conversation he was having and and find
her at the next bar. As seen on this sardine can security camera, Nikki appears to be having a
great time talking and dancing with friends. But as the night wears on and Doug still
hadn't shown up here at the sardine can, she gets upset and begins sending him angry texts.
>> They were scorching. And they were all but accusing him of infidelity. >> Sometime after 11:30 p.m., Nikki tries
calling Doug, but he doesn't answer. So, another friend calls Doug and he answers and this enrages Nikki.
>> And so, she gets up and leaves the bar. One of Doug's friends runs after Nicole,
begging her to come back to the bar, but she refuses. Instead, Nicole walks down
this street, turns left, and vanishes into the night. When Doug finds out that Nikki has left,
he and his friend Greg drive around looking for her. When they can't find her, they go into the sardine can where
Doug, seen here in long pants, has more to drink before the two of them head out.
>> Honey number one, what is the address? >> Uh, we just found a human body laying in
some Okay, sir. Early the next afternoon, farmer Richard Vanderhigh makes a gruesome discovery
>> over this hill right over here. >> Yep. At first, I thought it was a deer because of the rust color in her hair.
Then I realized it was a young lady. >> She was naked other than socks that were
on her feet and a pink wristband. Other than we had no form of identification. Brown County Sheriff's Sergeant Rick
Lopn now is among the first to respond to the scene. >> There was a lot of blood. There's
obvious injury, um, trauma on the side of her face. >> Obviously, the first step of the
investigation is to identify who the person is. >> Sergeant Brian Slinger is the lead
detective on the case. >> That in itself was difficult due to the severity of the injuries.
>> Brown County Public Safety, this is Terres. Deputies get their first lead at 4:30 that afternoon when Doug Dietri
calls 911 to report Nikki is missing. >> And her date of birth, >> uh, March 29th, 1985.
>> Her description matched what we had found in the field as far as age, approximate size, um, hair color.
Slinger sends officers with a hidden camera to Dietri's home, which is just a little over three miles
away from where the body has been found. >> Okay. So, you left Canada and drove around for another 30 to 40 minutes.
>> Yeah. You didn't get back here. I don't even know what time it was. It was that
It was late. >> 2:30. Doug tells deputies that after Greg dropped him off, he fell asleep around
3:00 a.m. and except for getting up to check on the baby, he was asleep until after 6:00.
>> Did you do anything to cause her to go missing? No, not at all. >> That night, Doug's parents watch baby
Dylan while Doug is further questioned at the station. >> It's here they tell him that Nikki has
been murdered. I can't see. Please no. Please. >> As Dietri is being questioned,
detectives get a warrant to search his and Nikki's home. They find blood on the floor of the garage and in Nikki's car,
>> on the headboard, on the side, and then in the back seat area. They also discover a pair of Air Jordans in the
garage that appear to match the shoe print found on Nikki's back and seem to have blood smudges on the bottom.
>> For us, it's adding up. Okay, this this is our guy. >> Just before dawn, an offduty patrolman
reports items scattered along a highway ramp less than 2 miles from where Nikki's body has been found. There's a
purse as well as her cell phone and items that she was wearing that night. >> And there are more damning clues found
in a neighbor's yard who lives across the street from Doug and Nikki. >> And what was found here?
>> A large quantity of blood that was determined to be Nicole's, as well as some clumps of blonde hair. And then
there was also a cord, which I would describe as like a phone charging cord. >> This was a huge discovery. Now they had
a murder scene and it was 118 ft from Dietri's front door. >> More than 70 pieces of evidence are sent
to the state crime lab. >> Statements. >> Now detectives had a theory about how Nikki had died.
>> There was some sort of argument between her and Doug. Maybe when she got home
somehow it ended up out in the street. >> Right now I'm going to be taking you into custody. Sheriff deputies are
recording when they arrest Doug Dietri, who quickly becomes emotional. >> I just want to answer everything in this
into this cleared up. >> Dietri isn't charged with murder, but deputies hold him on a $1 million bond
while they wait for DNA results. >> Is there DNA on the bottom of the shoe? Is that blood on the bottom of the shoe?
>> 18 days later, investigators are stunned. Crime lab tests show the blood in the
car isn't Nikki's. The blood in the garage isn't human. And tests on the shoe stains are inconclusive, but appear
not to be blood at all. >> We had nothing on Doug, so he was released. >> What's more, on the night Nicole
disappeared, Doug just happened to be wearing a Fitbit, a personal tracking device. It goes on your wrist just like
this, like a watch, and it tracks your activities, the steps you take, your heart rate, even your sleeping patterns.
>> When the Fitbit data stored in Doug's phone is examined, it corroborates his story.
>> He had a few footsteps throughout the night, getting up to go to the bathroom,
check on the baby, whatever. His story that he told us was absolutely 100% true.
So, who killed Nicole Vanderhiden? Will more high-tech forensics blow this case wide open?
[Music] Nicole's mother and her brother Brandon struggled to understand how anyone could
murder their beloved Nikki. >> It was a horrendous thing and it's just so hard to
let that out of your heart. >> What do you miss the most? I'm I'm waiting for her to come walking
through my door again. You know, I miss her the most. I miss her. >> I have a picture of me and her when we
were younger. Just look at every night and ask her all the time. >> Remember, the evidence appears to clear
Doug Dietree. So, in June of 2016, his focus turns to raising his son, Dylan, while Nicole's two older children live
with their father. >> The case torments Sergeants Brian Slinger and Richard Lop now. They are
back at square one with no idea who did this. Two of you have this horrific murder on your hands. What are you
feeling at that moment? >> We needed to figure out how Nicole got home. >> We pulled video cameras from every
single bridge in the city of Green Bay because in order for her to walk home, she would have had to cross a bridge.
>> They rein witnesses, re-examine phone logs. >> It was getting to the point where, you
know, we had looked at each other and said, "I really hope this isn't a cold case."
>> Their first big break comes over the course of the summer. DNA results trickle in and they are tantalizing. The
investigators learned that many of the samples taken from Nicole's clothing and from the neighbor's yard have DNA from
an unidentified man on dozens of samples, the same partial profile, but never enough for a positive ID.
>> We had this one consistent mystery guy, I guess you'd call it, and our job was
to try and find out who that was. >> It was just a very confusing time. Nobody knew who would have done this to
Nikki. >> And then finally that August, almost three months after Nicole disappeared,
the investigators get a call from the crime lab. One of the socks Nicole had been wearing has enough DNA to run
through the national database and they get a name. >> The excitement was amazing. The DNA
belongs to a man named George Steven Burch. >> I was a hit out of the state of Virginia.
>> Virginia? >> Yeah, Virginia. So, it was like, okay, who is who is George Burch and and why
is he in Green Bay, Wisconsin of all places? >> Yes, we have a name now, but now we need
to start digging on who this person is. >> Burch moved from Virginia to Green Bay
on March 1st, 2016, looking for a fresh start. A longtime friend gave him a place to stay and helped him find a job.
He also loaned him a car, a red Chevy Blazer. That red Blazer would provide crucial evidence. It had been involved
in a hit and run accident and destroyed in a fire a few weeks after Nicole's murder. So when detectives run Bir's
name through the local police database, up pops the accident report, which leads
them to an address for George Burch. Swear to God, drive by the first time. Who's standing out in front of the house
smoking a cigarette? George Burch. My hair stood up on the back of my neck. I had goosebumps. It was like, "Oh my
god, there's our guy." They videotape his movements and keep their suspicions to themselves. And they
learned that when Bur was questioned about the hit and run, he handed over his cell phone and on it a high tech
treasure trove. >> He gave them consent to search his phone. They extracted the entire thing.
>> So I requested a copy of that. It's an Android phone that had a a Gmail account
associated with it. We were recently made aware of this Google dashboard data that could potentially give us GPS data.
>> You may not know this, but chances are if you have an Android device with a Google account, your exact location
gathered via cell phone towers, local Wi-Fi hotspots, and GPS locators is constantly tracked and stored within
Google servers. The information can be viewed with a tool called Google Dashboard.
The investigators obtain a warrant to view Bir's Google dashboard. What they get back is astonishing.
Birch started the night that Nicole disappeared at Richard Craniums, a bar a half mile from the sardine can.
The data tracks Burge at 2:30 a.m. leaving Richard Craniums and driving to Nicole's house, the crime scene, where
he stayed for nearly an hour. It was very obvious that here's our guy. >> He is next tracked at the field where
Nicole's body was found. Then near the offramp where her bloody clothes were discarded and then at 4:22
a.m. back at his home. >> I mean, when you saw that he was right there, what was your reaction?
>> I mean, it's a huge piece of evidence, obviously. Finally, enough for an arrest
captured on police dashboard cameras. >> We sent one guy out to the house a little bit earlier to get eyes on and he
called me and he's like, "Oh my god, he's on the move. We got to go now." We all had a rally up get in our cars and
drive. On a drizzly September day, 4 months after Nicole's murder, George Burch is
arrested and charged with firstdegree intentional homicide. >> The reason you're here is in reference
to a homicide investigation into Nicole Vanderhiden. So, if I read your Miranda rightites, you don't want to talk to me,
so I prefer a lawyer. >> Okay. Nicole's former brother-in-law, Shawn Vanderhiden, says the news came as a big
surprise. >> I had no clue who he was or where this guy came from, but I was just happy to
hear that they had they had someone. >> Nicole's family and friends have a new anguish, waiting for a trial. In March
2017, on what would have been Nicole's 32nd birthday, they came together on Lake Michigan to release lanterns in her
honor. >> It was so cold. So cold, but her memory, you know, warmed us. We all went out on
that dock on that pier and lit our lanterns and sent them off into, you know, her memory.
>> Why lit lanterns? Why was that used to honor her? >> The light. Her light. She was a light
for so many in this world. >> All right. >> Nearly one year later, on February 19th,
2018, George Burch goes on trial for Nicole's murder. The prosecution has a strong case.
>> Mr. Bur must be held accountable. But according to the defense, prosecutors have the wrong man.
>> You will know that Douglas Dietri, Nicole's boyfriend, murdered Nicole. [Music]
For Nicole Vanderhiden's family, every day of George Burch's murder trial is agony.
>> Vicki, how did you get yourself to go every day to that courtroom? >> I don't know. God,
you must have just taken our hands and led us there because I mean, we wanted we wanted answers. Friends say it's
agonizing for Doug Dietri, too. Especially once he learns that George Burch's defense team is planning to
blame Nicole's murder on him. >> He was nervous, and I would be too. You know, you were accused of a murder. And
it's so many things going through your head. >> And now Doug Dietri's testimony is
critical to the prosecution. kind of interesting that the man who you first thought
might have killed his girlfriend is going to be one of the most important witnesses at this trial. Right.
>> Right. He will be very important. >> Just as important would be the technology evidence. Data collected from
both Doug Dietri's Fitbit and George Burch's phone. Prosecutors say that Dietri's Fitbit shows he couldn't be the
killer. the autopsy results, the DNA identification, the Google dashboard data, the records from Fitbit. That is
the evidence that will drive you. You will follow that evidence and you will find the truth.
Doug's Fitbit is seen here in this video captured by officers on their very first
interview, the day he reported Nicole missing. Prosecutors say downloaded data showed
Doug barely moved in the hours they believe Nicole was killed and left in the field.
>> And is that based on the data that you obtained directly from Fitbit? >> Yes, it is everything that I could view
directly on the device and lined up with um what had previously been stated. Did
you ever during this trial or have you thought much about it that how lucky it was that Doug happened to be wearing a
Fitbit that night and the next morning? >> Yeah, that was huge in this case. I think right there that pretty much said
he he wasn't there when this all happened. [Music] >> On day three of the trial, Dietri takes
the stand. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but >> Prosecutors aimed to present him as a
normal guy? Not the best boyfriend maybe, but an unlikely killer. Can you >> tell us about your family?
>> Um, my my mother, uh, my father, my amazing little son, Dylan, >> Dedri tells the jurors he and Nikki
dreamed of getting married one day. And early on in the night she disappeared, they were having fun.
[Music] Nikki didn't usually drink, he says, but that night they were both partying hard.
>> What was the pace she was drinking that night? >> Pretty quickly. I think she had like two
down and I was still on my first one. >> Once they got separated and Nikki went ahead to the sardine can with friends.
Doug continued drinking and smoked some marijuana. Before long, Nikki sent him her first
angry text, wondering where he was. Nikki's texts got angrier and she accused him of being with other
women >> at any point in response to those messages. Did you get upset with Nikki?
>> Uh, no I didn't. >> The texts kept coming. Doug said he offered to pick her up, but
her phone died. Were you concerned that Nikki was missing at that point in time?
>> I was uh I'm not concerned that she was missing. I was kind of concerned like
why is she upset? >> Did you have absolutely any involvement in Nikki's disappearance or death?
>> Uh no, I did not. >> Under cross-examination, George Burch's attorney, Lee Sugar, pushed Doug on
whether things at home were really as good as he said they were. Burg's lawyer shows jurors a text Doug sent to his mom
10 days before Nikki died saying, "I'm very seriously thinking about telling Nikki and the kids they have to move."
>> So, in May of 2016, though, there were times where you were seriously considering breaking up with Nikki and
the kids. >> I never really like seriously thought about it like like made plans or
anything like that. >> It's just a lie to your mom. What the jury would never hear is that several of
Dedri's past girlfriends accused him of being jealous, abusive, and controlling.
>> One girlfriend claimed that he put a tracking device on her phone so he'd always know where she was.
>> In her barrage of angry texts to Doug that night, Nicole also accused him of being abusive.
>> Did you hurt Nikki that night? Uh, do you mean physically or what? I >> No, I mean,
>> did you physically beat her in the past? >> No, I didn't never physically beat
Nikki. >> Had you cheated on her in the past? >> Uh, no, I have not. >> You know, Doug is not an angel.
Isn't that going to be a problem in this jury? >> Doug Dietri is not on trial. George
Burch is on trial. Defense attorneys asked the babysitter who took care of Dylan that night to recount an odd
conversation she had with Dietri the day after Nicole died. >> I just asked what happened, you know,
like what happened? And uh he just replied, um, I don't know, she hit her head and then she just wanted to walk
home. >> So specifically when you had asked him what happened, he said, I don't know,
she hit her head. Correct. It came out of his mouth that comment. >> Would the questions raised about Doug
make jurors wonder if the right man was on trial? And would they buy George Burch's stunning version of what
happened that night? >> It was fairly dark. I saw someone standing behind me. >> Who was it?
>> It was that Beatri. It's day eight of the George Burch murder trial. >> Judge, at this time, the defense calls
George Steven Burch to the stand. >> And with it comes the testimony everyone has been waiting to hear. George Burch's
version of what happened the night Nicole Vanderhiden was murdered. >> Let's start from the beginning.
>> Okay. Prompted by his attorney, Burch tells jurors he's a hardworking family man with an easygoing nickname.
>> Most people call me Big Country. >> Public defender Scott Steins takes Bur back to the night of the murder. Bur
claims he ran into Nicole at the local bar called Richard Craniums. >> How were you acting towards her?
>> I was flirting. >> And how was she acting towards you? >> Somewhat the same, pretty much. um
flirting back and forth with each other. >> According to Burch, they continued flirting until closing time around 2:30.
And just as the Google dashboard evidence showed he drove Nicole the 8 miles to her house and pulled up to the
curb across the street, >> we sat there and talked for a few minutes. Okay. >> What happened after that?
>> Started just fooling around, messing around a little bit, started kissing. Burch then detailed what he says was
consensual sex. Nicole was in the back seat and Bur, too big to fit in the back seat with her, stood just outside the
rear passenger door. >> I was standing outside the blazer. >> Nikki's family and friends had to sit
there silently and listen. >> Anyone who knew Nicole knew that that was nothing that she would ever ever do.
That was not her. >> She was. But it's what Bur says happened to him while he says he was having sex
that was perhaps the most difficult to accept. He says he was knocked out. >> The next thing that I remember apart
from us having intercourse was literally waking up on the ground outside the truck.
>> Did you hear anything? >> The first thing I heard was don't even think about it.
Bur said he turned and saw someone standing behind him holding a gun. >> 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 Dri. >> Burch says he saw Nicole laying on the
pavement. >> I didn't know she was alive. Um, there was a lot of blood. The 6'7", 250lb Birch said Dietri told
him to put Nicole's body in the blazer and then drive to the field. Dietri, he said, ordered him at gunpoint to carry
Nicole's body down an embankment. >> That's when I turned and with everything I had, I lunged at him and pushed him as
hard as I possibly could. B said he ran back to the Blazer and headed for home, throwing Nicole's
clothes out the window on the way. The next day, he met up with friends and went fishing.
>> You didn't call 911. >> No, sir. >> But he didn't tell anyone else either. >> You don't tell them people. People get
killed all the time where I'm from for that. As Bur told his story, two women were in
the courtroom listening to every word. They have traveled more than a thousand miles to be here every day.
>> We just wanted him to see our face every day and know that we haven't forgotten
what he did. And we've never forgotten Joey. >> Joey is Joey White. >> It's Joey and Audrey.
In 1997, he was murdered in Newport News, Virginia. The man accused of killing him, neighborhood rival George
Burch. But this jury will never hear about it. >> He was out on bond when he killed Joey.
>> Shaina Stowe was Joey White's fiance and the mother of his child. >> I'm 16. Joey's 22 there. He was my first
love. He was it. >> Carla Rhodess is Joey's sister. I miss him a lot. >> Burch testified at that trial, too.
>> He looked at us, laughed at us the whole time, smirked. >> And what happened? Not guilty.
>> It was shocking. >> Mhm. >> When they said not guilty. >> Neither was surprised that Bur had been
accused of another murder. >> I'm not shocked at all. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if he's killed
other people. Look what he did. I mean, it's brutal. >> When it was finally District Attorney
David Lassay's turn to cross-examine Burch, he had one thing in mind >> to show how ridiculous his story was.
>> And he says he had plenty to work with. Like Burch's claim that Nicole would have agreed to have sex in the car. So
Nicole would rather have sex with you in front of her neighbor's home with your butt hanging out the door of the car
than ask the babysitter to go home. >> Sir, I don't know. >> I wasn't the one making decisions.
>> And if Bur was hit hard enough to knock him out, why didn't anyone see bumps or
bruises on his head when he went fishing the next day? >> I'm I'm 6' 7, so it's hard for someone
to see the top of my head. And why would Dietri murder Nicole and let Burch get away?
>> So rather than just beating you or killing you in the middle of the street, he decided to enlist you, a total
stranger, to help him dispose of the body of his girlfriend. >> I don't know what his plans were.
>> At one point, lay pushes Bur on a possible motive. What really happened was you drove Nicole home fully
expecting that you were going to have sex, right? >> I was hoping that we would.
>> And 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. >> None of that is true. >> And Bur loses his cool when lay presses
him on an inconsistency in his story. >> So, clear this up for me. You're backing
down the embankment with Nicole's body in a fireman's carry position. Right. >> 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. I think there was a big turn when you saw him lose his temper.
>> I think we both said, "Well, there's the real Steve Burch coming out. Not George,
not big country. This is how we know him." >> You're assaulted. You're held at gunpoint. You carried the mangled body
of a woman to her final resting place. And the next day, you're going fishing with your buddy with a smile on your
face and not a care in the world. >> I wouldn't say not a care in the world. That would definitely would not be
something I would say. Who will the jury believe? >> No further questions. [Music]
>> Morning everyone. Be seated. [Music] >> Does the state have any rebuttal witnesses?
The prosecution got one last chance to present witnesses to rebut the story George Burch told the jury.
>> During George Burch's testimony, he specifically said, if I recall, that they were having sex. Her pants were off
already at that point. So during the rebuttal, we brought those pants to enter into evidence and make
sure they were viewed. >> If she had been disroed in her car, how do those clothes get not just bloody,
but dirty and hairy? Those clothes are filthy and they're demonstrative of being worn during a struggle.
>> Carefully and respectfully, Sergeants Brian Slinger and Rick Glopp now unwrapped and displayed the pants that
Nicole wore the night she died. Found blood soaked and muddy on the highway. >> It goes to George's credibility, which
is zero, that this was not a consensual act. She fought, escaped the vehicle. He
bludgeoned her, strangled her, and um with her clothes on, and then transported her body to the scene. His
story was a lie. He disroed her at the scene and forgot her socks. >> And then the final arguments.
>> Go right ahead. >> Thank you. >> The prosecution reminded jurors of the weight of evidence against George Burch.
>> Whose DNA is on her sock? Who's with Nikki at the four key areas of Brown County? Their explanation is ridiculous
and it's insulting to your intelligence. >> While the defense hoped to plant doubt,
>> justice for Nicole is not going to be delivered by a wrongful conviction of George Burch.
Doug Dietri had the motive, the opportunity, and the connection to this crime. The man that met this woman in a
bar and admitted admitted by his own account to dumping her body in that field looks like this the next day.
Who does that? >> Ladies and gentlemen, the baiffs will escort you to the jury room. Good luck.
>> What was the feeling in the courtroom as the case went to the jury? It was very
tense and I was surprised that I think 45 minutes later, I mean, not even an hour
later, the jury had a question. The jury asked to see the bloody wire used to strangle Nicole as well as cords
found in Doug Dri's garage to see if they were possibly a match. You know, the fact that they're thinking
about that is telling me, okay, are they actually believing George Burch's story
here? >> It really made me wonder where this was going to go. >> After a 9-day trial and more than 50
witnesses, the jury took just over 3 hours to reach a verdict. >> I just had this horrible feeling it was
coming back, not guilty. It just was really hard. I could not breathe >> and you could feel everybody was like
shaking. >> We the jury find the defendant George Steven Burch guilty of firstdegree
intentional homicide is charged in the information. It is signed by our four person indictated this first day of
March 2018. >> Everybody was just like oh my god thank god he was killed me. Thank God.
>> What sticks out in my mind was the gas hearing that from the family and knowing
the relief that they had at that moment. Um, that'll stick with me >> in a good way, right?
>> Absolutely. >> I know Joey was there for this. It's just 20 years later. It was his 20 year
anniversary of his death in October. It's just try not to get upset. >> Could you see Doug Dri?
>> Doug Dree, I think, was relieved. Doug Dree was holding his mother. Doug wasn't
even on trial in this case, but he was finally free of any suspicion. >> Doug, what's your reaction,
please? >> So, what you found from this case is that this technology can do more than
connect someone to a crime. It can actually exonerate a person. >> Absolutely. Yeah. I feel bad that he sat
in jail for 18, 19 days. I mean, technology is very important and our goal is to exonerate people just as it
is to find them guilty. If we didn't have these Google data locations on George's phone, if we
didn't have the Fitbit, would it be Doug Dietree sitting in prison as opposed to
George Burch? >> Back in court two months after the verdict, the judge speaks to George
Burch before sentencing him while Doug Dietri and his mother look on. This family is destroyed. It's ruined. It'll
never be like this again. >> In a state with no death penalty, the sentence is as harsh as possible. Life
without parole. >> This is a crime that I believe merit the death penalty. And for that, you have to
die in prison. >> It is what the families wanted. And yet this is no time for celebration.
To Vicki, to the Dietri family, the prayers and support of this community are with you. Good luck and God bless.
This court is in recess. [Music] >> The only comfort for Nicole's family is that George Burch can never destroy
lives again. When they convicted George of being guilty, I still like it was a feeling of
happiness, but yet still like somewhat of realization that he's she's actually gone now. And it was hard.
>> What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of your daughter? >> Her big smile. Her big gorgeous smile.
>> She just radiates. She just does. She's always happy. >> What do you all tell her children?
Nicole is looking over them all the time and that she loves them and she'll see him again. And every night, I know Tyler
and Michaela always say a prayer and talk to their mom and say good night. >> We gained an angel. We lost a breath of
fresh air. The memory lives on through the stories we share, things we never forget. And
and she's okay. She's okay. >> I love you. and she had a passion for life, for living. She had good morals. What more
can a mom ask for? [Music] >> I can only describe it as evil, something horrible.
>> From 48 hours, this is Train to Kill, the dog trainer, the ays, and the bodyguard.
>> He couldn't control his obsession. >> Who was the hunter and who was the hunted? Follow and listen on the free
Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. [Music]

A suspect in a murder swears he didn’t do it – can his Fitbit prove he’s innocent? "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports. This episode aired on July 19, 2025. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. "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

Nicole Vanderhiden's murder case highlights the investigation, trial, and the role of technology in solving her death.

Key points

The Disappearance of Nicole Vanderhiden. Nicole Vanderhiden goes missing after a night out, leading to a frantic search.
The Arrest of Doug Dietri. Doug Dietri, Nicole's boyfriend, is taken into custody amid suspicions.
The Gruesome Discovery. A farmer finds Nicole's body in a field, shocking the community.
DNA Evidence Points to a New Suspect. DNA evidence leads investigators to George Burch, a man with a mysterious past.
Trial and Tension. The trial reveals shocking twists as both sides present their cases.
Doug's Alibi Under Fire. Doug denies involvement in Nikki's disappearance, but his past raises questions.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I just shook.

Reaction to the news of Nicole's disappearance.

0:44WatchAug 5, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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