Who Was Leslie Mueller? 'Dateline' Explores Her Mysterious Death on Saturday

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Dateline will cover the case of Brittani Marcell on Friday. NBC

Dateline will premiere an episode on the death of Leslie Mueller Saturday. Mueller's death was previously investigated on an episode of CBS's 48 Hours in 2013.

The trailer previews a hike gone wrong. Details of a woman who fell in a waterfall creek are heard on a 911 phone call.

Leslie and her husband, Fred, hiked at Cottonwood Creek the day of her death in 2008. The pair called it a date and captured their happy moments on Fred's camera. Through the Aspen pine trees and granite waterfalls, they walked until Leslie met her death—apparently by falling from a cliff.

According to Fred, Leslie and the couple's dog were posing for a photo on the cliff when a bluebird flew by, startling them both. Leslie tried to stand but fell backward, according to CBS.

Fred told investigators, however, Leslie dived into the water. "And she did a swan dive, just like head and shoulders and just slides like mush into the channel," Fred told investigators. "I'm screaming her name, I'm hollering, I don't know what I'm doing and the next thing I know she's out of sight there. And I can't really see where I can get to her. She's just face down in the water head first going downstream."

Leslie's autopsy raised questions about her death being accidental. She didn't have any broken bones, though the fall would imply physical damages.

Investigators argued Leslie may have fought with her husband, who then drowned her in the creek, the Denver Post reported in 2013.

Fred faced two trials for the death of Leslie, where he was charged with first-degree murder. Neither jury could unanimously convict him. The first trial, which lasted five weeks, resulted in an 11 to one verdict, with only one juror claiming Fred was guilty. The second trial lasted 18 days and ended with an eight to four verdict.

A third trial was up for discussion but ultimately did not commence on a basis of no new evidence and the assumption a unanimous verdict would not be reached.

"As prosecutors, we accept the highest burden of proof and the responsibility to be ministers of justice," Seventh Judicial District Attorney Dan Hotsenpiller told The Denver Post. "After an extraordinary investigation and two jury trials presenting all evidence available to the people, it is my determination that a unanimous verdict is an unlikely outcome of a third trial."

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