20/20 (ABC) - 1999-05-05

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:01] Good evening. I'm Kathy Marshall

[0:02] >> and I'm John Marta Russell. Tonight,

[0:03] we're on the verge of breaking a world

[0:05] record for snow. Details at 11.

[0:09] >> Looks like the moon's going to be

[0:10] heading behind the clouds. I'm Rhonda

[0:12] Shelby. Look for increasing clouds

[0:13] tonight and a low of 48. And tomorrow,

[0:16] rain is in the forecast. Details at 11.

[0:18] Channel 2 News and weather at the top of

[0:20] every hour

[0:22] >> from ABC News around the world and into

[0:26] your home. The stories that touch your

[0:28] life. This is 2020

[0:32] with Barbara Walters,

[0:35] Diane Sawyer, Sam Donaldson, Connie

[0:39] Chun, Charles Gibson, and Hugh D.

[0:45] Tonight, a real life courtroom drama

[0:48] that will keep you on the edge of your

[0:50] seat.

[0:50] >> It's going like this

[0:52] with a cigarette.

[0:54] >> Who killed Sandy Maloney? A mother of

[0:57] three beaten, choked, and set on fire to

[1:01] destroy the evidence.

[1:02] >> I just Oh my god. Sandy.

[1:07] >> But incredibly, the fire extinguishes

[1:09] itself. What clues were left behind?

[1:12] >> This was a case of love, hate,

[1:14] obsession, sex, money, power, and

[1:18] ultimately rage and murder.

[1:20] >> Why did investigators zero in on one of

[1:22] their own? Did you kill your wife?

[1:25] >> No, I did not.

[1:27] >> But what about his girlfriend? Did she

[1:29] have a secret to hide?

[1:30] >> There are people who say you could have

[1:32] done this as easily as John could have

[1:33] done.

[1:34] >> I didn't.

[1:35] >> Wait until you see what happens when she

[1:37] goes undercover for the police.

[1:40] >> If I don't tell you what you want to

[1:42] hear.

[1:43] >> And he lets down his guard.

[1:45] >> We were

[1:47] making love.

[1:48] >> Could this arson investigator really be

[1:50] a murderer? Bill Ritter with an

[1:53] astonishing who done it. Burning the

[1:56] evidence

[1:59] and a story that will make you believe

[2:02] God works in mysterious ways. An aging

[2:05] population of nuns desperately needs a

[2:07] new home. But where would they find the

[2:09] money?

[2:11] One day, divine inspiration struck and a

[2:14] startling idea was born.

[2:15] >> Good afternoon, Fleian sisters.

[2:17] >> Why not offer nuns for adoption?

[2:20] >> Who's going to marry? Here's one.

[2:22] >> For a donation, one of these women will

[2:24] pray for you. Is this a matter of you

[2:27] pay and we pray, and you won't believe

[2:29] what miracles begin to happen?

[2:32] >> How could you not believe in the power

[2:34] of prayer?

[2:35] >> Bob Brown with a remarkable plan that's

[2:38] been the answer to a lot of prayers.

[2:41] Adopting a nun.

[2:45] Plus, nature's overwhelming fury. Two

[2:49] tornadoes directly next to each other.

[2:52] Unbelievable.

[2:53] >> Tonight, the amazing survival stories

[2:56] you haven't heard.

[2:57] >> It was backing up to us. I realized if

[2:59] it got to us, we were going to heaven.

[3:03] >> Guju Chang reports from one community

[3:06] where in a heartbeat there was almost

[3:10] nothing left.

[3:13] Those stories tonight, May 5th, 1999.

[3:17] Remember

[3:23] life in the fast lane? I do. First you

[3:26] meet, then you get married, and things

[3:29] slow down.

[3:31] >> Yeah, right.

[3:32] >> To help you keep up, drive the

[3:34] supercharged Regal GS sports sedan.

[3:36] Plenty of room, standard traction

[3:39] control, and the most power in its

[3:41] class. Hey, you haven't slowed down. Why

[3:44] should your car? Regal by Buick.

[3:46] Official car of the supercharged family.

[3:59] Tick tock.

[4:03] I want to ride like an eagle

[4:07] to the sea. Fly.

[4:11] Let my spirit carry me.

[4:19] Oh, honey.

[4:20] >> Missed a great night. We laughed, we

[4:23] cried, watched the Lion King 35 times.

[4:26] >> You need a nice hot breakfast. You

[4:28] >> bet I do.

[4:30] >> And you better get to McDonald's.

[4:32] >> That's right. Two Egg McMuffin

[4:34] sandwiches or two sausage biscuits with

[4:35] egg or one of each for just $2. And for

[4:38] you sleepy heads, two quarter pounder

[4:40] with cheese sandwiches or two six-piece

[4:42] chicken McNuggets or one of each for

[4:43] just $2. Did somebody say McDonald's? We

[4:47] are training him so well.

[4:52] >> From ABC News in New York, Diane Sawyer

[4:56] and Charles Gibson.

[4:58] >> Good evening and welcome to 2020

[4:59] Wednesday. Sam is on assignment tonight

[5:01] with the president in Europe. I'm glad

[5:03] to say Charlie Gibson is filling in. We

[5:06] begin tonight with a story of romance,

[5:08] rage, and murder. One that grew out of a

[5:11] shocking discovery. The charred body of

[5:14] a woman found in her own home. A victim

[5:16] of arson and something even more

[5:19] horrifying.

[5:20] >> Investigators in the case followed a

[5:22] trail of clues that pointed to just one

[5:25] suspect. But before the case could be

[5:27] solved, lovers would betray each other

[5:29] in a shockingly public way. and a

[5:31] well-known Midwestern city would find

[5:34] itself reeling in the aftershocks. Bill

[5:36] Ritter reports. It all began in a most

[5:39] unlikely place. It doesn't get much more

[5:42] American Gothic than Green Bay,

[5:44] Wisconsin, where cows still graze just a

[5:47] few miles from the center of town. Where

[5:50] cheese will always have it over computer

[5:52] chips, and where it's still pretty

[5:54] common for high school sweethearts to

[5:57] spend their lives together.

[6:00] But like every other American city,

[6:02] Green Bay also has a dark side. And on

[6:05] February 10th, 1998, it showed up at the

[6:09] simple home of Sandy Maloney, a

[6:11] 40-year-old mother of three. On that

[6:14] night, Sandy was beaten, choked, and

[6:17] then set on fire by an intruder.

[6:20] >> The minute I

[6:23] put my foot in there, I just said, "Oh

[6:27] my god, Sandy." This is Sandy's mother,

[6:30] Lola Kater, describing how she found her

[6:33] daughter's body during testimony at the

[6:35] trial of the accused murderer.

[6:37] >> She was on the coach.

[6:39] >> What did you see?

[6:42] >> She was all burned.

[6:47] >> At first, cops thought this was just a

[6:49] case of careless smoking. But the fire

[6:52] that burned Sandy didn't destroy her

[6:54] house. And that was a critical flaw in

[6:56] the killer's plan. Only one window in

[6:59] the house had been opened and only

[7:01] slightly. The fire ran out of oxygen.

[7:04] >> How close was that fire from consuming

[7:08] the house?

[7:09] >> Seconds.

[7:11] Seconds. That front window would have

[7:12] cracked open. Fresh air would have

[7:14] poured in and the entire thing would

[7:15] have burned to the ground. You wouldn't

[7:17] have had a case.

[7:18] >> Perhaps not.

[7:19] >> In fact, that the fire didn't destroy

[7:21] the house turned out to be a huge break

[7:23] for the police. Although Sandy's body

[7:25] was badly charred, it was intact. And so

[7:28] the coroner was quickly able to

[7:30] determine that Sandy Maloney's death was

[7:33] no accident. There were matches uh

[7:36] burned matches laying on the floor in

[7:38] front of the couch. You know, it

[7:39] appeared to me that this had been made

[7:41] to look like uh it had been set up to

[7:44] look like a careless use of smoke and

[7:46] materials fire. It was an unlikely end

[7:49] for the cheerful Green Bay native who

[7:51] appeared to have it all, including her

[7:54] high school sweetheart, John Maloney,

[7:56] whom she married in 1978.

[8:00] >> John was a cop with the Green Bay Police

[8:02] Department, a wellrespected arson

[8:04] investigator. Sandy was a devoted

[8:07] mother, shuttling her active boys from

[8:09] one sport to another.

[8:11] >> Your first love? Yeah. Her first love?

[8:13] Yeah. And you were the high school

[8:16] sweethearts who were trying to make a

[8:18] life for themselves.

[8:18] >> Yes. And we did. We enjoyed life

[8:22] together. We had three beautiful sons.

[8:27] But Sandy had problems. She began

[8:29] abusing alcohol and prescription drugs.

[8:32] And soon her life spiraled out of

[8:34] control. By 1995, she was showing signs

[8:38] of mental illness and was

[8:39] institutionalized twice. In 1997, the

[8:43] Maloney's marriage fell apart and John

[8:46] moved out. Six months later, Sandy was

[8:49] dead. And soon, John Maloney, devoted

[8:52] father and veteran cop, would become the

[8:55] prime suspect in her murder.

[8:57] >> Well, this was a case of love, hate,

[8:59] obsession, sex, money, power, and

[9:03] ultimately rage and murder.

[9:05] >> Did you kill your wife? No, I did not.

[9:09] John vehemently denied involvement in

[9:11] the murder. And in fact, the police had

[9:14] no eyewitnesses, no incriminating

[9:16] physical evidence, no proof. You didn't

[9:20] really have the goods. You had your

[9:21] suspicions. You had circumstantial

[9:23] evidence, but you had no direct evidence

[9:26] that he committed this murder. That's

[9:28] true. It was an effort to try to find

[9:30] out if there was anything that could

[9:31] link him directly to the house on the

[9:33] night of February the 10th. So, the

[9:35] police began to investigate one of their

[9:37] own, John Maloney. And it wasn't long

[9:40] before they discovered the new woman in

[9:42] his life. Eventually, she would help put

[9:45] John Maloney on trial for murder. In

[9:48] 1997, soon after John left Sandy, he met

[9:52] 28-year-old Tracy Helenbrand. She was

[9:55] young, vibrant, and attractive. Like

[9:58] John, Tracy was also in law enforcement,

[10:01] an undercover agent with the IRS. What

[10:04] happened when you first saw Tracy? Were

[10:06] Were there fireworks? Somewhat. I mean,

[10:08] she was attractive, uh, very

[10:12] sophisticated looking. You were

[10:13] impressed.

[10:14] >> Yeah.

[10:15] >> I found a friend and I saw him

[10:19] struggling with so much that I wanted to

[10:21] help him and eventually um,

[10:26] we grew closer. By the end of summer

[10:29] 1997, John and Tracy were living

[10:31] together. Living with them were Jon's

[10:34] three sons. But Sandy's reluctance to

[10:37] get divorced tinged Jon and Tracy's

[10:39] romance from the start. Sandy simply

[10:42] refused to show up at several hearings.

[10:44] And there was financial pressure as

[10:46] well. John already had heavy debts, and

[10:49] his own divorce attorney would later

[10:51] testify. John got angry when told he'd

[10:55] have to support Sandy after the divorce.

[10:58] >> I remember one of the comments was

[10:59] something to the effect, um, why should

[11:01] I have to pay or anything? I'm doing all

[11:03] the work. She's not even working.

[11:05] >> Yet another divorce hearing was

[11:07] scheduled for February 11th, 1998. But

[11:10] the night before that hearing, Tracy

[11:12] told John she was getting fed up. I just

[11:16] said I can't live like this anymore.

[11:20] We'll see how tomorrow goes, but I'm

[11:21] done.

[11:22] >> And how did he react to that?

[11:24] >> When I look back on that time, I see his

[11:28] hair like standing straight on end

[11:32] and he just looked overloaded.

[11:34] >> This is just reaching a a crescendo.

[11:36] He's seeing that he's going to lose

[11:38] possibly lose his girlfriend who he

[11:40] cares about very much. Kim Skorlinsky

[11:43] led the state's investigation into

[11:45] Sandy's murder. And here's his theory

[11:48] about what happened the night of

[11:49] February 10th. At 700 p.m. after Tracy

[11:52] comes home from work, she takes a nap.

[11:55] John then makes the 4-minute drive to

[11:57] Sandy's house. He wants to convince her

[11:59] to proceed with the divorce. But when he

[12:02] gets there, he finds Sandy is very

[12:04] drunk. They start arguing. Sandy is hit

[12:07] in the head. police say perhaps with

[12:09] John's service revolver and she's

[12:11] knocked unconscious.

[12:13] >> He takes her shirt off her, goes down

[12:15] the basement and puts it in the laundry

[12:17] hamper. And then as he's coming back

[12:19] upstairs, he's probably thinking about

[12:21] that he can't have her wake up. She's

[12:26] laying face down on the couch and he

[12:27] gets behind her on top of her and uh

[12:30] strangles her with his hands at the same

[12:32] time as he's pushing her face into the

[12:34] sofa to suffocate her. Did it just get

[12:37] out of control?

[12:38] >> I think it did.

[12:39] >> By 7:53 p.m., a fire is burning hot

[12:43] enough to stop this clock in Sandy's

[12:45] living room. By that time, police say

[12:48] John Maloney had already driven back

[12:50] from Sandy's house. Tracy Helenbrand

[12:53] wakes up from her nap and joins Jon for

[12:56] a cigarette out on the patio. I was

[12:58] looking at him from the side and he was

[13:01] standing

[13:03] against the uh

[13:07] wall basically by the patio door and he

[13:09] was going like this

[13:11] with a cigarette.

[13:13] >> At the time Tracy didn't think much of

[13:15] John's behavior and when John gave his

[13:17] first statement to police a few days

[13:19] later, Tracy was standing by her man. I

[13:23] never wanted to believe he was capable

[13:26] of committing murder.

[13:27] >> Did you want to protect John at that

[13:29] point?

[13:30] >> It was an instinct to.

[13:32] >> But as an arson investigator and Sandy's

[13:34] aranged husband, John Maloney was a

[13:37] natural suspect. What puzzled police was

[13:40] John's hostile reaction to their

[13:42] questions.

[13:43] >> His attitude changed. He got upset,

[13:45] raised his voice. Was

[13:49] that something that happened on more

[13:51] than one occasion?

[13:52] >> More than one occasion.

[13:53] >> And there was something else that

[13:55] troubled the police. When Sandy's body

[13:57] was discovered, they say her doors had

[14:00] been deadbolt locked from the outside.

[14:02] And besides Sandy, there was just one

[14:05] person known to have a key. John

[14:07] Maloney.

[14:08] >> Did you have a discussion about the key?

[14:12] >> Yes.

[14:12] >> What did you ask? I asked him if he had

[14:15] located the key to that deadbolt door.

[14:17] >> How did he respond on this occasion? He

[14:20] said he didn't find it. He was done

[14:23] looking for it and it was no big deal.

[14:26] >> Scorinsky was convinced that John

[14:28] Maloney had committed the murder. But he

[14:31] didn't have enough evidence to charge

[14:32] him. So he turned to the one person he

[14:35] thought could help, Tracy Helenbrand,

[14:37] who says she was beginning to have

[14:39] doubts of her own. It was definitely

[14:41] crossing my mind

[14:42] >> that John might have done that.

[14:44] >> Yes,

[14:44] >> that was your opening.

[14:46] >> That was my opening to work on Tracy.

[14:48] >> Yes.

[14:48] >> Scorlinsky began to share his suspicions

[14:51] about Maloney with Tracy, parceling out

[14:53] details about the murder and the

[14:55] investigation. Tracy says she found

[14:58] herself torn between her love for John

[15:00] Maloney and the growing body of evidence

[15:03] against him. But she says she wasn't yet

[15:05] convinced John Maloney was a killer.

[15:08] That happened in a private moment.

[15:10] >> We were

[15:12] making love.

[15:14] >> And what happened?

[15:16] >> I placed his hands on my throat and

[15:18] asked him

[15:21] or told him that this is how I imagined

[15:24] that he killed her

[15:25] >> while you were having sex with him. And

[15:28] what did he say?

[15:29] >> I didn't do that with her.

[15:31] >> And what did that mean?

[15:32] >> I interpreted it to be that he didn't

[15:38] make love to her while he was killing

[15:40] her. I just remember feeling relieved

[15:43] that the police weren't making a

[15:46] terrible mistake,

[15:48] that they were zeroing in on the right

[15:50] person.

[15:56] So then I agreed to help them.

[15:58] >> And so this undercover IRS agent became

[16:01] an undercover informant. And the target

[16:04] was the man she loved. You think I'm

[16:06] stupid? You think I think I

[16:10] >> soon in an emotional and secretly

[16:12] videotaped meeting with John?

[16:15] >> Tracy would try to get what the cops

[16:17] most wanted. A confession for the murder

[16:20] of Sandy Maloney.

[16:23] When we continue, more of that

[16:25] clandestine meeting in a Las Vegas hotel

[16:28] room and the question, were police

[16:30] putting their star witness at risk?

[16:34] When we come back, a heated argument.

[16:36] >> I don't tell you what you want to hear.

[16:39] >> Some terrifying moments.

[16:41] >> Were you scared?

[16:42] >> I'd be lying if I said I wasn't.

[16:45] >> And a key piece of evidence captured on

[16:47] tape.

[16:47] >> This side you were.

[16:48] >> But did she use sex to coersse a false

[16:51] confession? An astonishing development

[16:53] in a brutal murder. When 2020 continues.

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[20:02] >> We continue now with the story of a

[20:04] brutal murder that police suspect may

[20:07] have been committed by one of their own.

[20:10] But police don't have enough evidence to

[20:11] charge John Maloney. And as Bill Ritter

[20:14] reports, they were about to employ their

[20:16] secret weapons. Maloney's new girlfriend

[20:20] and a video camera.

[20:22] >> Tracy Helenbrand had agreed to help the

[20:25] police get a confession from John

[20:26] Maloney. But this dual life soon became

[20:29] too much for her. To get away, she left

[20:32] Maloney and Wisconsin and moved to Las

[20:35] Vegas in July 1998.

[20:37] But John quickly followed her. On July

[20:40] 27th, the two met in a room at this

[20:43] casino hotel, picked by Tracy because it

[20:45] was called the Lady Luck. What John

[20:48] Maloney didn't know was that they were

[20:50] being watched by a tiny surveillance

[20:52] camera hidden in a clock radio. For

[20:55] hours, the cops watched in frustration

[20:58] as John angrily denied the murder.

[21:00] >> I didn't

[21:02] kill her cuz I wasn't there. We were

[21:06] monitoring the uh

[21:08] the video equipment and I saw John grab

[21:11] Tracy by her neck like this.

[21:14] >> God damn it. Stop it.

[21:16] >> Were you scared?

[21:18] >> I'd be lying if I said I wasn't.

[21:20] >> I was personally concerned that uh Tracy

[21:22] was was going to be severely injured

[21:24] because of the position that John had

[21:25] his hands on her throat.

[21:27] >> The police were so worried they called

[21:29] the room pretending to be hotel

[21:31] security. They asked Tracy if she wanted

[21:33] them to intervene. No, no, that's okay.

[21:36] >> She said no. She was convinced she would

[21:38] eventually wear John Maloney down and

[21:41] she did.

[21:42] >> John kind of breaks down and starts

[21:44] crying and she goes over and comforts

[21:46] him. And at that point, we were saying,

[21:48] "Okay, she's got him. She's broke him

[21:50] down."

[21:51] >> What happened next would become the most

[21:53] important piece of evidence in the case.

[21:56] >> John tells Tracy he was inside Sandy's

[21:59] house the night of the murder.

[22:01] >> Which door?

[22:05] Please

[22:07] allow me that

[22:09] the side door.

[22:11] >> For the first time, John Maloney had

[22:13] placed himself at the scene of the

[22:14] crime. Within hours, he was arrested on

[22:17] the streets of Las Vegas. And this past

[22:19] February 8th, he went on trial for the

[22:22] murder of his wife.

[22:23] >> They joined in this Dodge. Defending

[22:26] John Maloney was a tough fatherdaughter

[22:28] legal team, Jerry and Bridget Bole, who

[22:31] embraced Jon's innocence.

[22:33] >> They claimed there was reasonable doubt

[22:35] from the moment John was told of Sandy

[22:37] Maloney's death. A moment Tracy

[22:39] Helenbrand remembers well.

[22:41] >> The police report says John cried. Put

[22:45] his head in his hands and cried.

[22:47] >> Yes. And I just remember looking at him

[22:49] saying he must have really loved her

[22:52] because he was acting like um

[22:57] someone that lost someone they loved.

[23:00] >> Police say you could have just been

[23:01] acting.

[23:03] >> No, there's some people that are trying

[23:05] to portray that that that relationship

[23:08] was not something special, but it was

[23:11] the feelings that you have for someone

[23:13] don't just go away. doesn't have to take

[23:15] the stand.

[23:16] >> John Maloney did not take the stand

[23:18] during his trial. Now, for the first

[23:20] time, John tells his side of the story.

[23:24] He says he lost the key to Sandy's house

[23:26] weeks before the murder. He claims he

[23:29] never went to his wife's house on the

[23:30] night of the murder. And he says Tracy's

[23:33] story about that shaking cigarette has

[23:35] an innocent explanation.

[23:38] >> I was in a short sleeve shirt, pair of

[23:40] pants, and a pair of tennis shoes. and I

[23:42] went outside in February. In February,

[23:44] it's cold in Green Bay. And yes, my hand

[23:46] was shaking. I didn't have a coat on at

[23:48] the time.

[23:49] >> John does admit he got angry when

[23:51] questioned by the police, but defense

[23:53] attorney Bridget Bole says that

[23:55] shouldn't have been suspicious.

[23:57] >> They started asking him questions about

[23:59] his whereabouts on the day that he

[24:02] learned about her death. He got angry

[24:04] because of everything that was going on

[24:06] in his life, the funeral arrangements,

[24:08] having to tell his children, having to

[24:11] console his children.

[24:12] >> And what about the fire begun to cover

[24:14] up the murder? The prosecution expert

[24:17] said it was the work of a professional.

[24:19] >> The uh the fire was set in front of a

[24:22] couch with trailers to the couch. I just

[24:25] think this is a much more sophisticated

[24:27] fire set.

[24:28] >> And that would seem to implicate John

[24:30] Maloney. He was after all an arson

[24:32] investigator. But listen to the expert

[24:35] called by the defense.

[24:36] >> If the person wanted the place to um

[24:41] uh totally engulf and flame, they would

[24:43] have made sure that it was proper

[24:45] ventilation. My professional opinion is

[24:48] the person is not very knowledgeable at

[24:50] all in arson investigation or fire

[24:52] investigation. The defense also claimed

[24:55] there were serious flaws in the

[24:57] prosecution's central piece of evidence,

[24:59] the Las Vegas video tapes.

[25:01] >> No, I didn't kill anybody.

[25:03] >> What? No, I didn't kill you.

[25:05] >> No, I didn't kill anybody.

[25:07] >> For hours, John denied he was at his

[25:09] wife's house the night of the murder.

[25:11] But Tracy kept asking questions, and

[25:14] that, John says, is why he lost his

[25:16] temper. At one point in the tape, John,

[25:19] you seemed to get very angry at her and

[25:22] and go after her.

[25:23] >> Well, I I did go toward her. Yes, I did.

[25:27] Um, what I did do is I took her hands

[25:29] and put them up to my throat.

[25:31] >> Why did you do that? Why did you put her

[25:32] hands on your throat?

[25:33] >> Because it was like she was, you know,

[25:35] it was like she was trying to to kill me

[25:38] also, you know, to have me admit to

[25:40] something that I knew that I didn't do.

[25:43] I mean, six hours of tape. With all due

[25:44] respect, Kim, he never says on the tape,

[25:47] "I killed Sandy Maloney." He He doesn't

[25:50] have to confess in the tape. He puts

[25:52] himself in the house after all those

[25:54] denials. You know, why didn't he just

[25:56] come forward and tell me that in the

[25:57] beginning that I was there, we had an

[25:58] argument. I left. She was alive cuz he's

[26:01] scared. He doesn't want to admit that to

[26:02] you. You're a cop. He's a cop. He knows

[26:04] what that would look like.

[26:05] >> And it looks worse the way it played out

[26:07] with him making all these denials and

[26:09] then finally making the admission. But

[26:11] the defense contended there was nothing

[26:13] surprising about the way it played out.

[26:15] John was in love with Tracy and he was

[26:17] willing to say anything to start a new

[26:20] life.

[26:20] >> The only reason you told me

[26:22] >> y

[26:22] >> that you killed

[26:25] was to stay with me.

[26:27] >> And that is the only reason cuz you

[26:28] think that's what I want to hear.

[26:30] >> Y

[26:32] >> that's right. That's exactly right. I'm

[26:34] a 40-year-old guy infatuated with a

[26:38] 28-year-old woman and I loved her and

[26:40] and wanted to be with her. You know, it

[26:43] wasn't things that that I knew would be

[26:46] harmful because I knew they weren't

[26:48] true.

[26:48] >> But the worst of it, said Jerry Bole,

[26:50] was that while acting as an informant

[26:52] for the police, Tracy was using sex to

[26:55] get a confession from John.

[26:58] >> I was the girlfriend of a man who may

[27:01] have committed murder. go have sex with

[27:04] him.

[27:06] >> A law enforcement officer using that

[27:09] kind of conduct to get somebody to make

[27:12] statements that were ultimately used to

[27:14] prosecute him while this was being

[27:17] videoed. This is just outrageous.

[27:21] The defense claims Tracy had sex with

[27:23] Maloney even during their 6-hour meeting

[27:26] at the Lady Luck. It happened, said

[27:28] Maloney's lawyers, when Tracy obscured

[27:30] the view of the hidden alarm clock

[27:32] camera. Tracy says there was no sex. The

[27:36] defense made much of the fact that she

[27:38] continued to sleep with him after she

[27:40] believed he was a killer and after she

[27:42] started informing for the police. Is

[27:45] that something that you encourage or

[27:46] discourage your informants to do? Have

[27:48] sex with the people they're informing

[27:49] her? It was strongly discouraged, but

[27:52] sometimes the witnesses or people in the

[27:54] heat of uh the situation have to make

[27:56] tough decisions and there's a certain

[27:58] type of person that can get close to a

[28:00] killer. To the defense, it's smacked of

[28:02] an elaborate frame up and in a stunning

[28:05] courtroom turnaround, they would point

[28:07] the finger at the state's star witness,

[28:10] Tracy Helenbrand.

[28:13] Could John Maloney's lawyers convince a

[28:16] jury that his girlfriend was the real

[28:18] killer? A twist to the story and the

[28:20] final verdict is just ahead.

[28:24] >> In a highstakes gamble, defense lawyers

[28:27] say the police missed an obvious

[28:29] suspect.

[28:29] >> She was a woman and in their eyes, a

[28:31] woman could have never committed the

[28:33] heinous crime that happened to Sandy.

[28:36] >> The riveting conclusion to a bizarre

[28:38] case when 2020 continues.

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[30:45] >> A lawyer fighting for a father accused

[30:47] of murder. Now it may cost him his life.

[30:50] >> Get your daughter out of the house.

[30:51] >> Matthew McConna, Sandra Bulock, Samuel

[30:53] L. Jackson, and Kevin Spacy.

[30:55] >> You think they deserve to die, MR.

[30:56] >> YES, THEY DESERVE TO DIE. AND I HOPE

[30:58] THEY BURN IN HELL.

[31:00] >> JOHN GISHAM'S a time to kill. ABC

[31:02] Thursday 87 central. Parental discretion

[31:04] is advised.

[31:05] >> Come on, guys.

[31:05] >> Get your ready. Call the O to get chest

[31:08] pray.

[31:09] >> Oh no.

[31:10] >> 1 2 3.

[31:11] >> We all love you. You just hold on. Pray

[31:14] for our sinners now and the hour of our

[31:16] death. Amen.

[31:27] >> You believe that God kills the people

[31:29] you love. That's your theory. That's my

[31:32] history.

[31:36] We're going to return to that Wisconsin

[31:38] courtroom now where a police

[31:39] investigator, John Maloney, is on trial

[31:42] for the shocking murder of his aranged

[31:44] wife, Sandy, and where defense attorneys

[31:47] are about to turn the tables on the

[31:48] prosecution star witness. As Bill Ritter

[31:51] picks up the story, John Maloney's new

[31:53] girlfriend, Tracy, is about to come

[31:55] under attack.

[31:57] >> This is the moment of truth. Defense

[32:02] attorney Jerry Bole latched on to a bold

[32:04] strategy. Use Tracy Helenbrand's

[32:07] betrayal of John Maloney to shift the

[32:10] blame for Sandy's murder. If you didn't

[32:13] kill your wife, then who did? Tracy

[32:17] Helen Brand did.

[32:18] >> It was Tracy Helen who killed this poor

[32:22] unfortunate woman.

[32:24] >> The defense charged that Tracy had the

[32:26] same motives for killing Sandy as John.

[32:29] Sandy was ruining their romance and

[32:31] their finances. And they claimed that

[32:33] Tracy could have committed the crime

[32:35] after she left work, but before she came

[32:38] home for that nap in the early evening

[32:40] of February 10th. The problem, said the

[32:42] defense, was the police never took Tracy

[32:45] seriously as a suspect.

[32:47] >> Did you ever ask John for his gun to see

[32:50] whether his gun

[32:53] object?

[32:56] >> Yes.

[32:57] >> Did you?

[32:58] >> Yes. ever she?

[33:01] >> No.

[33:02] >> She was a woman. And in their eyes, a

[33:04] woman could have never committed the

[33:06] heinous crime that happened to Sandy

[33:08] Maloney.

[33:09] >> And so the defense went after Tracy with

[33:12] a vengeance, grilling her about

[33:14] inconsistencies in her statements. First

[33:16] saying she wasn't with John the time of

[33:18] the murder, then saying she was.

[33:19] >> However, you did say we had nothing to

[33:22] do with it. We had no reason to do it

[33:26] and we were together all night that

[33:29] night. Did you So you were lying.

[33:32] >> I didn't want to

[33:33] >> I didn't ask you that

[33:34] >> do harm to my boyfriend.

[33:36] >> I asked you you were lying.

[33:41] >> I was avoiding the truth

[33:44] >> for an entire day. Jerry Bole hammered

[33:47] at Tracy Helenbrand. Finally, Tracy

[33:50] broke down in tears. 41. You're not. And

[33:53] this is what this is all about.

[33:54] >> But there was no Perry Mason moment. No

[33:56] lastminut admission of guilt.

[33:59] >> There are people who say you could have

[34:00] done this as easily as John could have

[34:01] done it. You had motive. You had

[34:03] opportunity. You had means.

[34:06] >> I didn't.

[34:07] >> They said some pretty nasty things about

[34:09] you. They talked about your sex life. I

[34:13] was maintaining

[34:16] the same consistency of our relationship

[34:20] without drawing just drawing suspicion

[34:22] to me that I was cooperating with the

[34:25] police.

[34:25] >> And so the case rested, the prosecution

[34:28] pointing to the statements Maloney had

[34:30] made in Las Vegas. The defense claiming

[34:32] those statements were part of a terrible

[34:34] sham.

[34:35] >> She has perpetrated a fraud on law

[34:37] enforcement. She has attempted to

[34:39] perpetrate a fraud in this courtroom.

[34:41] And I know by the time you finish your

[34:43] deliberations, you will state that the

[34:46] fraud ended. John Maloney is not guilty

[34:50] of killing his wife.

[34:52] >> After an 8-day trial, the jury

[34:54] deliberated John Maloney's fate for 12

[34:56] hours and then handed a verdict to the

[34:59] judge.

[34:59] >> With respect to count one, we the jury

[35:02] find the defendant John R. Maloney

[35:04] guilty of first-degree intentional

[35:05] homicide as charged in the first count

[35:08] of the information.

[35:10] All right.

[35:12] I'm going to ask you to remove the

[35:14] children, please.

[35:15] >> Over the sobs of his children, who

[35:17] appeared in court for the verdict, John

[35:20] Maloney was led away by the officers he

[35:22] used to work with. Later, jurors would

[35:25] confide that Maloney's videotaped

[35:27] admission at the Lady Luck Hotel was the

[35:29] convincing piece of evidence.

[35:31] >> When that jury came back and you heard

[35:34] their verdict, guilty,

[35:37] what went through you?

[35:39] >> I was stunned. And I was just

[35:41] flabbergasted. I still to this day feel

[35:44] that my attorneys showed that there was

[35:46] more than reasonable doubt that that I

[35:48] should have been acquitted.

[35:50] >> The three Maloney children are now at

[35:52] the center of a custody battle between

[35:54] the families of John and Sandy. They

[35:57] believe their father did not kill their

[35:59] mother. And as for Tracy, she says she's

[36:03] still struggling with what's happened.

[36:05] The trauma of helping to send a man she

[36:07] loved to jail for her life.

[36:10] >> The family of Sandy Maloney

[36:14] >> certainly they supported you, right?

[36:16] They wrote you a letter.

[36:17] >> Yes, they did. what they said.

[36:22] >> Dear Tracy, we the family of Sandy

[36:26] Maloney, thank you for your strength of

[36:28] character and perseverance in assisting

[36:32] law enforcement to develop the true

[36:34] facts.

[36:36] It took a lot of guts to do what you had

[36:38] done in the face of personal danger. We

[36:41] will all pray that you have a bright and

[36:43] happy future and good health. Sincerely,

[36:46] the family of Sandy Maloney.

[36:49] >> What happens to you, Tracy? You You're a

[36:52] a woman who fell in love with this guy.

[36:56] He commits a murder. You didn't want to

[36:59] believe he did it. You helped put him

[37:01] away.

[37:02] >> Whatever.

[37:03] >> You're trash during the trial.

[37:04] >> Objective. There's no question.

[37:05] >> You've given up your career as a law

[37:07] enforcement officer.

[37:09] >> What happens to Tracy?

[37:12] >> I keep living.

[37:13] >> Doing what?

[37:15] going where

[37:17] >> I have um a lot of ideas.

[37:21] >> Come here

[37:22] >> and a lot of goals.

[37:25] Just start over again and this time

[37:28] maybe not reach so high

[37:30] >> or low

[37:32] >> or low.

[37:36] >> John Maloney was sentenced to life in

[37:38] prison on April 23rd. He will be

[37:40] eligible for parole in the year 2024.

[37:44] His lawyers say they'll appeal the

[37:46] verdict. We'll be right back.

[37:50] >> A small town picks up the pieces. The

[37:52] stories behind the tornado headlines

[37:54] when 2020 continues after this from our

[37:57] ABC stations.

[38:02] >> In shelters tonight, Oklahoma sort

[38:04] pictures found after the tornadoes. They

[38:06] try to return them to their owners. Good

[38:08] evening. I'm John Marlin.

[38:09] >> And I'm Kathy Marshall. At 11, Rob

[38:11] Marciano will report live from Oklahoma.

[38:13] Also tonight, a family still trying to

[38:15] recover 3 years after the Northwest

[38:18] floods.

[38:18] >> And Hugh Downs is stepping down at 11.

[38:22] >> For a while, I wanted to do sports. And

[38:24] so my um three youngest brothers, I

[38:27] would make them have wrestling matches

[38:29] and I would do the playbyplay and make

[38:31] up goofy names for him. I was never very

[38:33] good at the playbyplay, but we had a lot

[38:35] of fun.

[38:48] There's jillions of things kids can do

[38:50] with new adult fruit bowls.

[38:57] >> Eating the delicious fruit is just one.

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[39:03] >> Noodle Fruit Balls. Half the fun is when

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[39:07] >> It's outdoor week at Home Base, where

[39:09] you'll find everything to get ready for

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[39:31] Outdoor Week only happens once a year,

[39:33] so go to the base. Home base. We've got

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[39:37] >> What is channel 2 news actor Kathy

[39:39] Marshall doing with actor George Burns?

[39:41] Log on to happy to behome.com this week

[39:44] and find out.

[39:47] >> Wake up with Steve Dunn and Natalie

[39:48] Marmian. Now on Channel 2 News this

[39:50] morning.

[39:54] 2020 Wednesday continues once again.

[39:57] Charles Gibson.

[40:00] You have heard the numbers after

[40:01] Monday's tornadoes in Oklahoma and

[40:03] Kansas. The number of dead, the number

[40:05] of injured, the number of homes

[40:07] destroyed. But behind the numbers are

[40:10] poignant stories. Bridge Creek, Oklahoma

[40:12] suffered the greatest loss of life of

[40:14] any town on Monday. And ABC's Guju Chang

[40:17] is there.

[40:20] >> Bridge Creek is nestled in green pasture

[40:22] south of Oklahoma City. It's a rural

[40:25] community. People here say life centers

[40:27] around faith and family. Folks, you need

[40:29] to be in your shelters. This is a

[40:31] extremely

[40:32] >> But a black swirling mess on Monday left

[40:34] a disastrous treadmark right through the

[40:37] area. The sky was electric. The

[40:40] aftermath apocalyptic.

[40:43] >> This house didn't collapse. It was just

[40:44] sucked off top of us. Just completely

[40:47] sucked right off of us. It was gone.

[40:50] >> Dion Darnell and his family huddled

[40:53] together in a closet. His wife was

[40:55] cradling their newborn son as winds of

[40:57] more than 260 m an hour literally tore

[41:01] his house and his family apart.

[41:03] >> They're just black and chaos

[41:06] >> and I could hear like the all the

[41:10] windows being knocked on the house from

[41:12] the hail and all of a sudden it started

[41:14] rocking. There was all this wind

[41:17] >> and and the baby was gone. hadn't seen

[41:20] it and so I don't I don't know if he's

[41:24] okay or not.

[41:26] >> He's in God's hand.

[41:29] >> The storm spawned dozens of tornadoes,

[41:31] but the worst one touched down here. The

[41:34] all volunteer fire department had to

[41:36] turn the school gym into an emergency

[41:38] medical center. The cafeteria became a

[41:41] makeshift morg.

[41:44] School principal Kathy Turner was put in

[41:46] charge of triage. And it's real

[41:48] difficult to see your your friends and

[41:52] your neighbors um

[41:55] dead,

[41:57] bleeding.

[42:00] It's very difficult. It's still very

[42:02] difficult.

[42:02] >> It's also quite difficult for 5-year-old

[42:05] Jordan Whis to understand what happened

[42:07] to the walls of his mobile home.

[42:10] >> It got ripped off

[42:12] and then a tornado picked up the house.

[42:16] Is that scary?

[42:18] >> Yeah. And then it took it apart when it

[42:21] picked it up.

[42:22] >> The kindergartener was found wandering a

[42:24] field after the storm

[42:25] >> and we both ran to the bathroom and

[42:28] holded on to each other.

[42:30] >> His mother has been missing for 2 days.

[42:32] >> Um was calling for my mom. Then um they

[42:35] took me over there and um I got took to

[42:39] the hospital. Jordan is staying with his

[42:42] grandmother as authorities continue the

[42:45] search.

[42:47] >> A short distance away, another Bridge

[42:49] Creek family assessed damage.

[42:51] >> The living room. That was my parents

[42:54] bedroom. Kitchen's over there.

[42:57] >> The Loveless family had gone to a

[42:58] cellar. For them, this debris field was

[43:01] hallowed by precious memories.

[43:03] >> We played baseball over here. We played

[43:06] basketball there. We ran around the

[43:08] house. Played hide and seek. We had a

[43:10] playhouse in the backyard as swing said,

[43:13] a fort the girls and I had built just a

[43:15] few years back that God only knows where

[43:18] it's at.

[43:19] >> Bobby Loveless had to bury his horses

[43:21] after the storm. They've lost all five,

[43:24] including Levi and Star on the right.

[43:26] >> What was it like riding her and where

[43:27] did she take you?

[43:29] >> She took me anywhere I wanted to go. She

[43:32] was my baby.

[43:33] >> But amid all the heartache, all the

[43:35] loss, there are wondrous discoveries.

[43:38] This is Blackie. And

[43:39] >> this is Blackie.

[43:41] >> And this one's

[43:42] >> Tom.

[43:42] >> Tom. And they survived. Okay.

[43:46] >> Here's some friends from church took

[43:48] days off work to help clean up.

[43:51] >> We're Oklahoma community. It's just

[43:53] everybody. And when something happens,

[43:55] people want to help.

[43:56] >> The twister was particularly cruel to a

[43:59] focal point of the community, Ridgerest

[44:01] Church. Despite all the loss, many in

[44:04] Bridge Creek consider themselves

[44:06] blessed. What I know about this stuff is

[44:08] that you can bulldoze it and build it

[44:10] again. Uh what you cannot do is is um

[44:14] replace people. We just we just need to

[44:16] take care of our people.

[44:20] >> We'll be right back.

[44:22] >> Looking for an answer to your prayers?

[44:25] Now anyone can get a little help from

[44:27] the professionals even if you don't

[44:28] share the faith.

[44:29] >> I am Jewish so this is new to me and

[44:32] being involved with nuns.

[44:33] >> What's going on here? Bob Brown with a

[44:36] startling story of divine intervention

[44:39] when 2020 continues.

[44:46] Time keeps on slipping

[44:51] into the future.

[44:58] >> I'm sorry, Grandma.

[45:00] >> Don't worry, honey. It's okay. Things

[45:02] can be replaced.

[45:03] >> May I help you? It's the people in your

[45:05] life you hang on to.

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[48:57] You may remember a small but astonishing

[49:00] study in 1998 that showed that AIDS

[49:02] patients who did not know they were

[49:04] being remembered in the prayers of

[49:06] others were healthier a few months later

[49:08] than a control group of AIDS patients

[49:10] who had received no prayers. Well, while

[49:14] the medical community is slowly coming

[49:16] to recognize the role of spirituality in

[49:19] human healing, there's another community

[49:21] that has taken the idea of praying for

[49:23] others a step further. And as Bob Brown

[49:26] discovers, there have been some

[49:28] surprising benefits for everyone

[49:31] involved.

[49:33] >> Now, regarding the sprinkler pipe, I

[49:35] think those are at the right size,

[49:36] aren't they?

[49:37] >> That's correct.

[49:38] >> You think we're going to make our

[49:39] schedule to be finished?

[49:40] >> Uh, I don't. When you work for a nun in

[49:42] a hard hat, you're answering to a higher

[49:44] authority.

[49:44] >> Okay. Well, we'll increase our prayers

[49:46] when that time comes.

[49:51] >> Sister Agatha Constantino is the

[49:53] construction supervisor on this

[49:54] 50-bedroom project for the Order of Nun

[49:57] she belongs to, and they have a direct

[49:59] interest in how well it turns out.

[50:03] Hallelujah.

[50:05] >> Project manager Tony Cassenza remembers

[50:07] that just before the groundbreaking, he

[50:09] expressed concern to another nun that it

[50:11] might rain.

[50:12] >> And she said to me, "Well, it's not

[50:13] going to rain." And I said, "Okay, are

[50:16] you sure?" She said, "Tony, it's not

[50:18] going to rain."

[50:21] >> It did rain everywhere around here, but

[50:24] not here. These are the grounds of a

[50:26] convent and school run by the Celisian

[50:28] Sisters of St. John Bosow in North

[50:30] Halen, New Jersey. And this is a story

[50:33] about how the nuns here, when they

[50:35] needed money and a new building to

[50:37] support an aging population, came up

[50:39] with a unique plan to market their most

[50:41] precious commodity.

[50:43] It is called Adopt a Sister. Donors

[50:47] contribute money, often around $100, to

[50:50] adopt a nun, who in turn prays for them.

[50:53] >> My name is Kathy and I'm adopting a

[50:55] sister as a gift for my mother. On

[50:57] March, she was diagnosed with cancer. Do

[50:59] you have a sister named Mary after my

[51:01] mother?

[51:02] >> When the requests come in, Sister Mary

[51:04] Raldi assigns a nun to each case.

[51:06] >> Let's pick a Mary. Here's one. Mary

[51:09] Baron.

[51:10] >> Sister Filamina Marterana, 82, prays for

[51:14] Jack Gagino.

[51:15] >> Let's try something here.

[51:17] >> Gagino is now a successful

[51:18] opthalmologist in Tampa, Florida. But

[51:21] once he was a kid attending St. Joseph's

[51:23] school here, run by the Celisian

[51:25] sisters. He was often in the care of

[51:28] sister Filamina.

[51:29] >> Well, he was very mischievous,

[51:32] got in trouble,

[51:34] but he always managed to get out of it.

[51:38] >> And because he misbehaved so often, one

[51:41] day when sister Filamina was

[51:42] particularly exasperated, she took off

[51:45] this medal, which had been blessed by

[51:46] the Pope and gave it to a thunder struck

[51:48] Jack Gagino, saying, "Maybe this will

[51:51] help you."

[51:52] Anyway, I went over to the water

[51:54] fountain pretending like I was taking a

[51:56] drink of water.

[51:59] It's terrible.

[52:01] And I washed the tears from my face.

[52:05] They just,

[52:07] you know, only my mom and dad can make

[52:09] me feel that way.

[52:12] >> So, how could you forget them?

[52:15] >> He didn't forget. Dr. Gagino adopted

[52:18] Sister Filamina. Is this a matter of you

[52:20] pay and we pray? Is that what it's

[52:23] about?

[52:24] >> Not really. Not really. Um, I wouldn't

[52:27] even call it a payment. We're using the

[52:29] word gift. I dare to say that not one

[52:32] sister in the province knows how much

[52:34] money was donated for her care. Neither

[52:36] has any sister have as asked me. So

[52:39] whether a person gives $100 or 1,000 and

[52:42] sometimes that's the case, the sisters

[52:45] really don't know that. What they do

[52:46] know is that there are people out there

[52:48] in need of prayer.

[52:51] >> The order of Celisian sisters, an order

[52:54] dedicated to teaching poor children,

[52:56] arrived in America just after the turn

[52:58] of the century. Many of the Celisian

[53:00] nuns in this country came here as

[53:02] immigrants, gave their lives to teaching

[53:04] and retired when they no longer could

[53:06] work. But they also reflect a larger

[53:09] picture. Younger nuns are joining

[53:11] orders, including the Celisians, at a

[53:14] much slower rate. And so there are fewer

[53:16] of them, to support the needs of their

[53:18] elderly sisters, and more than 70% of

[53:21] all nuns in this country are now over 60

[53:24] years of age.

[53:25] >> We aged all at one time. There is the

[53:28] the finished project, what it will look

[53:29] like, and it almost looks like that.

[53:31] We're we're that close. The idea of

[53:33] raising money for a convent by inventing

[53:35] the adopt a sister program came when

[53:37] Sister Mary was looking for suggestions

[53:39] at meetings like this one in Tampa,

[53:41] Florida. And a member of the audience

[53:43] stood up.

[53:44] >> He said, you know, he said, "Think of

[53:45] the concept. Here you are nuns asking

[53:47] for money, but here we are the lay

[53:50] people that need prayers. Can we put the

[53:52] two things together?" He said, "We have

[53:54] more need for your prayer than you have

[53:56] for our dollars." And I'm thinking, hm,

[53:58] maybe he doesn't get it. I really need

[53:59] to build this house.

[54:02] And uh the concept was born that day in

[54:04] Tampa.

[54:09] >> Good afternoon sisters.

[54:11] >> When word of the program got around,

[54:13] soon people who had never known of the

[54:15] Celisian sisters began to call or write

[54:17] with requests to adopt a nun. Howie

[54:20] Prince is Jewish. He read about the

[54:22] program in his local paper on Long

[54:24] Island and set up a meeting with Sister

[54:26] Mary in a kosher deli. He and his wife

[54:29] Marie wound up adopting two nuns, asking

[54:32] that their family be remembered in

[54:33] prayer.

[54:34] >> But I am Jewish, so this is new to me

[54:36] and being involved with nuns. And then

[54:38] we began to communicate. It has to do

[54:40] with people helping people.

[54:42] >> And it's very comforting to know that

[54:44] you have an army of nuns praying for

[54:46] you.

[54:49] >> Amen.

[54:50] >> An overwhelming number of prayer

[54:52] requests center on the welfare of

[54:54] families or on a need for strength in a

[54:56] crisis. Of course, no guarantees are

[54:59] implied, no vows of poverty are being

[55:01] violated, and everyone seems to

[55:03] understand that it's simply a method of

[55:05] doing what all churches have always

[55:07] done, raising money. But there have been

[55:10] success stories. For instance, Sister

[55:13] Cla Pino prayed for Julian Chris Toner

[55:15] of Chicago, who after three years of

[55:18] marriage and fertility treatments, still

[55:20] had not conceived a child. you know, a

[55:22] lot of times when we thought maybe maybe

[55:24] this time and uh

[55:27] it just wasn't wasn't happening. Um

[55:30] >> I decided that my family needed prayers.

[55:32] We had

[55:33] >> it was actually Julie's mother-in-law,

[55:35] Betty, who adopted Sister Claire for her

[55:37] prayers.

[55:38] >> We got a letter from Sister Claire. She

[55:41] had one line that will stick with me um

[55:43] forever. We must try to be convinced of

[55:46] God's goodness and generosity.

[55:49] We might be asking the Lord for an

[55:52] apple, but he wants to give us an

[55:54] orchard.

[55:56] >> Graham and Colette and Lauren and

[56:00] Nicholas Toner were born on Father's Day

[56:02] 1997.

[56:04] >> How could you not believe in the power

[56:07] of prayer?

[56:12] >> Sister Claire was one of the first they

[56:14] called with the news and she has

[56:16] remained a part of their lives. They're

[56:18] so cute.

[56:19] >> I think it has given the nuns a new

[56:22] lease on life.

[56:24] >> Oh, it's really an extended family that

[56:27] makes me feel so happy. You know, it's

[56:29] not that you are doing nothing. No,

[56:32] you're doing a lot now.

[56:34] >> And two things have happened since

[56:36] outsiders started adopting the nuns

[56:38] here. The building they prayed for has

[56:40] gone up with nearly a third of its cost

[56:42] paid for by the adopt a sister program.

[56:45] and the people they prayed for have come

[56:47] into their lives.

[56:49] >> Sister Rose Zorsey turned 85 on this day

[56:52] >> and and she has two of her adopters

[56:54] coming in to surprise her.

[56:57] >> Come on, sister.

[56:59] >> And Judy and Buzz Davies, who had

[57:01] adopted her, came to the convent to

[57:03] throw a birthday party for her. She had

[57:06] prayed often at their request for their

[57:08] five children, but this was the first

[57:10] time they had ever met.

[57:12] >> The best birthday party Sister Rose had

[57:14] ever had.

[57:16] Why don't you ask me how old I am

[57:18] singing?

[57:22] >> She's got the biggest, broadest smile

[57:23] seen on a lady.

[57:25] >> She lit up like a Christmas tree being

[57:27] plugged in.

[57:30] The happy happiest

[57:32] birthday since I'm here in America.

[57:38] >> I wanted to build a house of bricks.

[57:40] Well, I wanted to have the the donations

[57:43] come in to build this home. It's just

[57:45] been reversed.

[57:47] We've built a family.

[57:53] >> The sisters have finished construction

[57:54] on the new convent, but have not

[57:56] finished paying for it. Isn't that

[57:58] always the way?

[57:59] >> Why do I have a feeling if they pray for

[58:01] it, it'll get answered. By the way, if

[58:03] you want more information on the

[58:05] Celisian sisters, visit our website at

[58:07] abcnews.com.

[58:09] We'll be right back.

[58:17] >> Church services in Oklahoma. Tornado

[58:20] victims seek comfort as they try to

[58:22] recover. Rob Marciano will have the

[58:24] story. Good evening. I'm Kathy Marshall.

[58:26] >> And I'm John Marlor. Also tonight, her

[58:27] former teacher was gunned down at Coline

[58:29] High School. Her remembrance at 11.

[58:36] Last weekend, Beth took her Ford ZX-2

[58:38] out for a little adventure.

[58:40] >> You know, that van is still following

[58:41] us.

[58:42] >> And she found it.

[58:44] >> Let's lose them.

[58:45] >> Yeah,

[58:47] of course. The ZX2 makes a perfect

[58:48] getaway car.

[58:51] As long as you know who you're getting

[58:52] away from.

[58:57] Oh well.

[58:59] Hey, she would have hated having a

[59:00] chauffeur anyway. Ford Escort ZX2 built

[59:04] to last.

[59:07] Coming up on 2020 Friday, a custody

[59:10] battle raging between two parents,

[59:12] between two countries. This prominent

[59:14] woman is powerless in a four-year fight

[59:16] to see her two young sons, taken by

[59:19] their father, kept out of her reach.

[59:22] >> The worst thing for a child is to

[59:24] believe that one of your parents

[59:25] abandoned you. Barbara Walders has the

[59:27] exclusive story of Katherine Mayer, a

[59:30] case where tragedy led to love at the

[59:32] highest level on 2020 Friday at 10 9

[59:36] central.

[59:36] >> And that's our program for tonight. I'm

[59:38] Diane Tyer. I'll see you tomorrow on

[59:40] Good Morning America. Good night to all

[59:42] of you. See you in a couple of hours.

[59:45] >> Good night, Diane. And don't forget

[59:47] Night Line after your local news. I'm

[59:49] Charles Gibson and we will see you

[59:51] tomorrow morning. From all of us here at

[59:52] 2020, good night.

[60:02] Diana Ross.