Talking Dateline: Finding Rita

Josh Mankiewicz sits down with Andrea Canning to talk about her latest episode, “Chameleon.”  When Fran Gladden Smith went missing from her New Jersey home in 1991, police had their eyes on her husband, John Smith. Over the course of their investigation, they discovered that Fran wasn’t the first of John’s wives to go missing. Suddenly, one case became two, and a decades-long search for justice ensued. Josh and Andrea discuss the dedication of Fran’s family in trying to solve both cases, and Andrea shares a podcast-exclusive clip from a taped phone call with John Smith. Plus, Andrea answers viewer and listener questions about the episode.

When a New Jersey woman goes missing, investigators uncover her husband’s chilling history, including dark secrets about another missing wife. Andrea Canning reports.

Andrea Canning interviews Josh Mankiewicz about his newest episode, “Evil Walked Through the Door.”  The 1983 murders of Toronto women Erin Gilmour and Susan Tice four months apart left police stumped for nearly four decades.Finally, a breakthrough in investigative techniques led detectives to a freezing town in northern Canada in search of their killer. Josh and Andrea discuss the different ways of handling grief highlighted in the episode, and Josh plays a podcast-exclusive clip from his interview with Erin Gilmour’s brother. Josh describes his chilly journey to Moosonee, Ontario, and Andrea explains how, as a native of Canada, she no longer has a Canadian accent. Then, Josh answers viewer and listener questions about the episode.Watch Josh’s travelogue of his journey to get the story here: https://x.com/DatelineNBC/status/1781106464355938813

The separate murders of two women in Toronto ignite an investigation that spans four decades, taking detectives from the big city to a remote, northern town. Josh Mankiewicz reports.

Andrea Canning talks to Blayne Alexander about her most recent episode, “Justice for Joy.” In 1991, Joy Hibbs was stabbed, strangled, and her Pennsylvania home was set on fire to cover up the brutal crime. The investigation went cold until a detective with the Bristol Township Police Department picked up the case file decades later and uncovered a connection between the department and a man who’d been interviewed at the time of Joy’s murder. Blayne tells Andrea about the Hibbs family’s desperate search for answers and plays a podcast-exclusive clip from her interview with the woman who finally unlocked the mystery. Blayne and Andrea also discuss how motherhood has affected their approach to interviews. Blayne and Dateline producer Justin Balding answer viewer and listener questions about the episode.Listen to the full episode of “Justice for Joy” here: https://link.chtbl.com/justiceforjoy

When Joy Hibbs is found dead in a house fire, an autopsy shows she was murdered beforehand. Even with multiple suspects, the investigation stalls, leaving the case cold for years. Decades later, a shocking secret is revealed. Blayne Alexander reports.

Josh Mankiewicz interviews Keith Morrison about his latest episode, “The Night Time Stopped.”  The hunt for the killer of champion cyclist Moriah Wilson in 2022 took detectives and the Dateline team from the gravel bike paths of Austin, Texas to the sandy beaches of Costa Rica. Keith tells Josh what he discovered about the suspect’s plastic surgery and the technology that was key to investigators cracking the case. He also shares with Josh a new clip from one of the police interviews and they answer viewer and listener questions from social media.

Keith Morrison reports new revelations in the headline-making case of murdered professional cyclist Moriah Wilson, including fresh courtroom evidence and a police interview with a key witness.

After Tahereh Ghassemi disappears from the Louisiana home she shares with her adult son, detectives discover an astonishing plot with international implications. Andrea Canning reports.

After a U.S. Air Force airman is shot multiple times inside his garage, a trail of clues leads Las Vegas detectives to a secret love affair and a murderous plan. Keith Morrison reports.