Dateline NBC Talking Dateline: Secrets in the Ashes
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Jan 28, 2026 Andrea Canning, investigative reporter and Dateline correspondent, shares on-the-ground reporting and prison interviews. She unpacks a Texas house fire, a husband’s conviction, and a later Illinois murder-for-hire plot. The conversation explores reopened investigations, family pressure, social media’s role, and tense prison encounters.
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Child Escapes Locked Fire
- John Michael, a six-year-old, escaped a locked, burning house by breaking a window with his toy box and survived.
- His traumatic loss of his mother shaped his childhood and later struggles with drugs and depression.
Investigation Hindered By Resource Limits
- Initial investigators let the case fall through the cracks due to workload and resource limits, delaying justice.
- Andrea Canning and the victim's family credit persistence and a new sheriff for reopening the investigation.
Sister's Relentless Push Reopened Case
- Patricia Lee's sister Sharon relentlessly pressed the sheriff's office and effectively ran informal interviews to keep the case alive.
- That family persistence led the new sheriff to reexamine the fire and eventually charge Delbert.