The words of a 3-year-old child are not enough to convince investigators that an adult isn't telling the truth and a case goes unsolved. However, one steadfast detective believes in her and spends years working the case alone. As more evidence is brought to light and more alleged victims are found, the memories of the little girl prove to be true and a killer is brought to justice. NBC's Rob Stafford reports Friday at 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT on Dateline NBC.
From Stories of Redemption to Candid Personal Reflection, Hear People in the Public Eye Say Things You've Never Heard Before About How Their Lives Changed in 2009
With the dawn of the New Year weeks away, NBC takes a look at the most fascinating, inspirational, heroic and notorious figures, and most-talked about stories of 2009. Taylor Swift, Nadya Suleman, Susan Boyle, Kobe Bryant, Captain Chesley Sullenberger and Captain Richard Phillips, all speak out in new and revealing interviews with NBC's Matt Lauer in a Thanksgiving night primetime special. From candid reflections and stories of redemption to surprising talk about how fame has affected their personal lives, viewers will get to see people in the public eye saying things they've never heard before.
NBC's "People of the Year" with Matt Lauer premieres on Thursday, Nov. 26 at 9:00 p.m. ET.
Childhood sweethearts re-unite as adults and find love again. After a failed marriage, she was back together with the man she'd loved since high school. Until the morning of a fateful Friday the 13th, when a single shot rang out in a parking garage. It would take a different kind of luck for investigators to solve the mystery. NBC's Josh Mankiewicz reveals the answer to the Friday the 13th Mystery.at 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT.
When a well-liked young man lost his wife and son on a family outing, an entire town mourned. But there was somebody who suspected the tragedy was no accident.
He was the only one who could discover the truth - but also the one most afraid to do just that - because he was the widower's best friend.
NBC's Keith Morrison uncovers the Mystery at Lost Dog Road at 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT on Dateline Friday.
It was a crime that happened twenty years ago, but for the detective in charge, it could have been yesterday. The cold-case file was always right on the corner of his desk, where he could reach it whenever the victim's family called. She was a young woman who had been murdered in her own home. The detective thought he knew who killed her - but he had to prove it. And, he would, with some help from the victim herself.
NBC's Keith Morrison reports on "When the Smoke Clears," at 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT on Dateline Friday.
One of the world's most popular authors, Dan Brown, sits down for a rare and exclusive interview with NBC News' Matt Lauer to talk about his new book, "The Lost Symbol," the beliefs of the Freemasons, the power of the human mind, whether people can become gods and a little known science that may tie them all together. For the hour-long report, "Secrets of the Lost Symbol," set to air on Friday, Oct. 16 (9:00 p.m. ET), Lauer travels to Washington, D.C. to interview Brown and explore the backdrop and secrets of this new bestseller.
"Secrets of the Lost Symbol" will take viewers behind the scenes of the secretive brotherhood of the Freemasons in attempt to make sense of what is fact and what is fiction for all Brown's fans, and find out from the Freemasons themselves what he got right, and what he got wrong. The broadcast also goes in search of what Brown calls the true meaning of his book and why, he says, its so unlike his others. Additionally, he speaks with Lauer at length about the beliefs of the nation's founding fathers, saying "America wasn't founded a Christian country. It became a Christian country."
He was an intruder who came in from the rain, in the dark of night, assaulting women in upscale neighborhoods. The hunt for the man in the mask went on for years. He might have gotten away with it forever, except for one thing he didn't count on: the courage of his victims, extraordinary women who would keep their composure in moments of terror, and trap a predator who haunted an entire community for 14 years.
NBC's Keith Morrison reports on "Through the Pouring Rain," at 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT on Dateline Friday.
The kidnapping and the rescue of Jaycee Dugard, 18 years after the crime, stunned the nation this past summer, leaving many to ask why wasn't the alleged kidnapper caught sooner and how could there have been so many missed opportunities. Now, Dateline investigates and brings viewers up to date on the latest developments on the case. NBC's Keith Morrison reports. See it Friday at 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT.
As investigations into the death of Michael Jackson continue to take center stage, viewers will have a rare chance to hear the King of Pop in his own words this Friday, Sept. 25 in a Dateline exclusive, reported by Meredith Vieira. From 1999 to 2001, Jackson was a friend of Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, and he often confided in him. And now, recordings of those conversations -- made with Jackson's permission -- will be made public for the first time.
In the tapes, Jackson comes out from behind his mask to reveal a man who in spite of all his fame, success and musical talent, was desperately lonely. He dishes about celebrities like Madonna and Brooke Shields, but also talks openly about his love of children, the torment of his childhood and his deepest fears. For the one hour special, Vieira interviews Rabbi Boteach, who calls himself "America's Rabbi," about their conversations, detailed in his new book, The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation. Rabbi Boteach will also appear live on
TODAY on Friday, Sept. 25 and Tuesday, Sept. 29.
Below are excerpts from the tapes:
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF DISAPPEARING:
Jackson: Yeah, I would like to some kind of way to disappear where people don't see me anymore at some--at some point, and just do my things for children but not be visual. To disappear is very important.
IF IT WEREN'T FOR CHILDREN:
Jackson: If it weren't for children, I would choose death. I mean it with all my heart.
ON WHAT HE'S BEEN THROUGH:
Jackson: Anybody else would probably be dead by now, or a junkie, with what I've been through, Shmuley.
ON MANNEQUINS IN PLACE OF HUMAN COMPANY:
Jackson: I needed someone. That's probably why I had, uh, the mannequins, I would say. Because I felt I needed people, someone, and I didn't have, I was too shy to be around real people.
ON HEALING POWER:
Rabbi Shmuley: You feel that God gave you a certain healing power?
Jackson: Yes ...and I've seen children just shower all over me with love. They want to just touch me and hug me and completely just hold on and cry and not let go...and mothers pick their babies and put them into my arms. "Touch my baby, and hold them, touch my baby, touch my baby."
ON GETTING OLD:
Jackson: ...when the body breaks down, and you start to wrinkle, I think it's so bad...
Rabbi Shmuley: So you would die before that happens?
Jackson: I don't want to grow old.
What mysteries lie at the heart of a marriage? Dateline goes "Behind Closed Doors."
First, a husband and wife who were the very picture of a perfect modern marriage. She was the breadwinner. He took care of the children. And it worked fine, but then there were rumors of an affair, fights over the kids, and finally... an ugly divorce. The marriage was ending, but a crime even seasoned detectives would find hard to believe was just about to begin. NBC's Keith Morrison reports on a case of "Bad Chemistry."
Then: A case that was controversial, and a verdict that was even more so. It centered on a young couple who'd just recently been married. They were settling into a new house and a new life together until something unsettling happened upstairs. The young husband discovered his wife had drowned in the bathtub! It seemed a horrible accident, but police were bothered by one thing: Why was her body dry? NBC's Dennis Murphy reports on "The Mystery in the Master Bedroom."
Join us for "Behind Closed Doors," Dateline's two-hour season premiere, this Friday at 8 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. CT on NBC.
