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I get really tired of the whole "How could two intelligent college kids do this" or "How could a young, smart athletic man this" .... Sociopaths, predators, killers, etc. can be, and probably usually are, goal-oriented and educated people. We need to stop pretending that evil comes only in those who are not privileged enough to be highly educated.

I’m also autistic and autism is ABSOLUTELY NOT an excuse for raping a child. Autism doesn’t remove your ability to understand how wrong that is.

"She left out the window... with her favorite blue cartoon blanket" she was just a sweet baby angel!!!!😭😭😭😭😭

I grew up next to David, he lived in my neighborhood for a few years. He showed signs even as a kid of something seriously wrong with him. He was aggressive and abusive preying on anyone smaller than him, a total bully and freak. I tried to warn his dad after an incident where he tried to attack me with a shovel. His dad said word for word “I don’t see my son doing that kind of thing”… David I hope you Rot.

A 13 year old does not need all that freedom on her phone. Parents need to be aware of what their kids are doing online

That father setting up a trap with his buddies is F'ing amazing. We need more of those people in this world

Its not about monitoring your children its about teaching them the truth in life's deprevities. This was heartbreaking to watch

That girl sure didn’t look surprised, shocked or upset as she barreled through Walmart HOLDING the shovel!!! I’m glad they gave her 40 years!! She deserved LIFE!

That father has some damn good friends!! They were willing to risk everything to stand up for their friend’s daughter.

Elizabeth's friend was very brave to tell her Mom about the 30y.o boyfriend so she could warn Elizabeth's family. That would've been a difficult thing to do at her age, and she probably saved her friend's life!

She’s crying, why? The pain he caused you??? He was definitely wrong, she should have accountability as well.

Kids do NOT need social media. They can live just fine without it. As a parent you should be able to say the word "no" to things that put your child at risk. So many parents today are too lax in their parental duties, trying more to be best friends with their kids rather than their guardians.

How can kids be so cruel? Teasing someone because they have scars from surgery. It’s disgusting how awful kids can be. WTF are these parents teaching their kids??

The shocking fact that the cops wouldn’t intervene with a pedophile visiting a 15 year old makes me sick to the stomach.

I love this District Attorney. Telling parents what they need to hear.......

Let us not forget a part of this horrible story too: bullying. PLEASE PARENTS RAISE YOUR KIDS WELL. It is amazing how young kids at just 10-15 years old can be so mean to other kids

There's no such thing as a relationship between a 15 year old and a 30 year old! That's just nasty!!! 🤢 And I'm tired of child molesters getting light sentences!! Just disgusting! And omg when Nicole's mom says, 'In her coffin' after she was asked about the last time she saw her daughter! That's just heartbreaking! 😞

The parents who thought quickly and caught the predator are great, and I LOVE the dads friends who were prepared to protect the daughter as if she were their own.

The fact that parents blame the app instead of parenting their children is absurd.

Why I have a problem with this girl blaming Jason for everything? She knew exactly what she was doing.

Parents need to watch this. This can happen to anyone. Show your kids how real this is! Show them shows like this!

So happy I grew up in the eighties with no pressure from this social media crap.

What great friends to have. Standing by her father and ready to do anything to catch a disturbed dangerous person.

The guy blaming his autism for statutorily raping a minor boggles my mind... I'm autistic and have never in my life slept with anyone under 18... That's disgusting.

I’m so happy that Elizabeth’s parents were so proactive they literally saved their daughters life at that time

So so SO proud of those dads for stepping up and keeping Jason away. I hope the then 15 year old daughter is now old enough to appreciate this ❤

I know a lot of us can relate to Nicole's experience as a kid with some small physical "imperfection", being forced to attend middle school by adults who can't imagine the level of cruelty that she faced there. I'm so, so sorry that she didn't survive that terribly hard phase of life. I wish I could have been her friend.

I think every family should watch this with their kids. I am so sorry for the loss of your baby girl. 💜

Two intelligent college kids? Stop calling them that. Absolutely NOT. I'm so sick of bringing the "mental health" in the defense for Natalie K. All of a sudden your're mentally ill, but you knew it was wrong. And as a daughter of a schizophrenic, I have NEVER heard of a sort of schizophrenic diagnosis.

R.I.P Nicole. It broke my heart when she said nobody cared about her, she had her family and friends. And those that bullied her because of her scars are disgusting!! I hope her killers get KARMA in prison!!

I've been saying this for years now, if you love your life and if you love your children keep yourself anf your children away from social media.

I can't imagine losing my baby so brutally and violently!!! I lost my son to pneumonia while he was asleep. That's hard but to think that her daughter died in so much pain!!! It breaks my heart to think of all the pain this baby girl went through.

We have been warned about strangers in chat rooms since the 90s. The same parents who would prevent their preteen from going into an online chat room won't think twice about getting them a smartphone...

This needs to be shown in every school and home in the country.

You can understand how a man can be tricked when a girl lies about her age. But the minute he learns of her real age, whether it’s through his own inquiries or she tells him the truth--THAT should be the end of the relationship, right there.

This one broke my heart. Not only murdered but bullied by the cruel children in this world who were raised by lousy parents.

This is so sickening. Pedos should be immediately put behind bars forever.

The most insincere and disrespectful “apologies “ I have ever seen.

Huge props to the parents and friends for setting that guy up and getting him arrested!!

Thrilled the woman got almost as much as the murderer. A very strong message. May they never see the light of freedom ever again.

Why do they think child predators can be fixed? He will continue with his sickness. It's disgusting knowing he only received 3 years

This is why my wife and I keep tabs on my 13 year old daughter's accounts. But some of the blame is on the kids. Doing everything I can doesn't mean my daughter can't decide to sneak out the window. That's why we've got to be honest with our children about the dangers of the world. Sadly, children are over-trusting because they don't know YET😢. Unless they have been informed.

Why is it always social media's job to protect? As a parent, it's your job to be aware

My heart hurts for this mom, omg, heartbreaking. I wish her happiness and peace.

It's always the same: Idiot does something criminal and, afraid of it coming out, he does something even more glaringly criminal. 🤦

STOP 👏🏽 GIVING 👏🏽 YOUR 👏🏽 *_CHILDREN_* 👏🏽 IPADS 👏🏽 AND 👏🏽 PHONES 👏🏽 and they don't need an all access pass to the internet/social media! And they should never be allowed to take their phone into the bedroom at night when they should be sleeping. When will parents learn?

I don't think shutting kik down is called for. I've always despised the whole idea of "this was used to hurt someone so get the government to shut it down." It's short sighted and tyrannical.

That was absolutely the WORST advice a friend can give. Why tf would you say "oh she's underage? ok date her, but just ignore her and she will go away". Noooooo. I swear ppl are stupid.

As a parent, I really found it surprising that these parents are putting responsibilities solely on these applications when they are not monitoring their OWN kids. Nowadays, as soon as the kid turns 3 they have a iPad in their face. You all are literally buying them access to these predators. You’re paying for the devices they use these applications online and pay for the Internet services. Then they don’t even take the time to read these guys. That apps like kik, provides them to learn more about the app. Anything to keep the kid out of your face SMDH. There are literally apps that you can use to block your key from going on certain websites or used in certain apps. You can also wait until they get to a certain age to provide them with smart phones and iPads. Maybe it’s because I’m millennial that was raised on technology but you cannot solely blame technology companies because you don’t wanna be responsible parent.

It's so heartbreaking to think of all the parents who probably sit by their murdered child's gravestone every day. Not to mention, the absolute terror the child must have went through in their last moments 😔

I love that DA from Alabama, she's trying to keep kids safe, thank you DA and all other DA's that follow in her footsteps. You can be a snooping parent w/o being annoying. Until they move out you as a good parent can create boundaries, and if they (children) don't like it then grow up and move out. I would never tolerate disrespectful yelling, loud talking to me or walking off and slamming doors.

Look at the parents blaming everything but the fact you're not keeping up with their online activity.

I can't believe with all of the pictures and communications the police say they can't do anything to help the family of the 15yr old. She says "what can you do, you have a 15yr old who is denying it"... I would say you have all of the evidence they needed. It's sad the family has to take care of the situation themselves. The girl is in Virginia Tech, an engineering student, and all of a sudden she has 7 mental illnesses

The fact that parents are still shocked that this kind of thing happens is crazy to me. Social media has been a major part of our lives for around 20 years, and, for just as long, underage kids have connected with predators through social media. Here’s the thing: before social media, pedophiles lured kids on instant messenger. And before that, they found their prey in person. The idea that your kid is safe anywhere without you as a parent taking steps to ensure their safety is a really irresponsible, entitled way of thinking. If you regularly drop your child off at a Starbucks unsupervised, and they are groomed over time and ultimately snatched by a frequent customer, are you going to blame Starbucks? I would hope not. Responsibility for your child’s safety does not transfer over to a location, physical or digital, and the onus isn’t on the company that runs it simply because your kid walks into their establishment or uses their website. If you are handing your kid a smartphone or giving them any access online, it is on you to monitor who they’re engaging with. Parents are not helpless against the big bad social media machine. They have to be more involved and less permissive. They need to do the hard things: limit screentime, insist on access to all logins, set automatated restrictions, and take the phone/tablet/laptop if the kid isn’t going to comply. Facebook/Kik/etc. are not your kids’ parents…you are.

That poor kid! She had a rough start in life and struggled to survive, only to have her life cut short in such a cruel manner.

That 15 year old girl knew what she was doing. Now she sits and cries that he messed up her life. No sweetie, you messed up your own life.

I am so impressed with Brandon and his love for his daughter. It sure speaks volumes for what kind of a dad he is. I wish all kids had parents like him.

Unsupervised life online is all it takes to lose a child to anyone from anywhere. These people don't even have to be in the same country to hurt and abuse your children.

Elizabeth is very lucky to have people looking out for her

Advice of that “big brother” floored me. A normal person would say - if she won’t stop contact, find her parents and let them know. “Be a bad boyfriend, and she will go away”. Holy word…

No child under 16 needs a cellphone. And no child under 18 should have unmonitored access to social media or the Internet.

Man, kudos to this dad and his team of special ops friends. Major salute. Mom too. The daughter will be beyond proud of them one day.

Rip beautiful Nicole, everything you went through so early in life to survive and only for it to be taken so tragically!! 😢 I am so sorry.

If your children are still carrying a blanket with cartoons on it… then they are in no way mature enough for a cell phone! Wake up people!

I’m So sorry for her mom :(

Hearing the next time her mom saw her daughter after seeing her alive was her coffin. Absolutely heartbreaking.

This is one of the scariest episodes I’ve watched. This could literally happen to any one of our children.

The mom and dad in WA are badass! I love it.

blaming kik is absolutely ridiculous. "they need to shut the internet down because I wasn't paying attention to my child."

Can we please get more episodes like the second half of this one? It was amazing

This case is beyond heartbreaking! 😢💔

Please parents beware of the evil out there stalking your children 🙏🥀🙏 Thank you 48 hrs for this coverage and reporting 👏

My son is 18 now, he was aware of the dangers of social media from early on. Talk to your kids, don't underestimate their ability to understand and most of all: dont cage them with prohibitions and punishments like mad. It only drives a wedge between you and them. If they have a healthy homelife they are much less likely to fall for this.

My heart is breaking for Nicole's mother this poor woman is absolutely broken ❤❤❤❤

Scary times we live in especially for teens R.I.P Little Angel 😇 Strength to her Family 🙏🏻

It's so heartbreaking.The online world is so dangerous.R.I.P. Nicole

I HAVE A LOT OF RESPECT FOR THIS FAMILY. THEY WILL GO AS FAR AS IT TAKES. THIS FAMILY DOES NOT WAIT FOR COPS TO HELP THEM.

Thank you

Elizabeth needed more freedom to be herself, strict parents make sneaky children. Nicole needed way more attention from her parents. That girl was crying out for someone to see her. Both sets of parents served their girls up to predators on a silver platter by the way they raised them.

I’m curious if Walmart has kept track of how many murderers have been caught &/or convicted bcuz of their clear strategically placed security footage. My condolences to Nicole’s family and loved ones. Fly high in peace Nicole 🕊❤️

The guy with the shotgun who was “trained in special forces” had me laughing.

Respect to the parents. They saved their daughters life 🙏

Another example of great parenting. Especially dad. Good job. 👏🏽

I was also groomed by older men on kik when I was her age. Now as an adult, it makes me even more disgusted thinking about grown men preying on these impressionable children. These predators are looking for children who feel like they don’t belong with the rest of their peers & convince them that they belong with someone who “understands” them. Rest in peace to all the victims of these monsters :(

It's disgusting that the police claim there is nothing they can do.

I can't imagine myself being a parent having to endure that...

Her mother saying she was on the phone all the time, why on earth would you let your 13 year old daughter be online all the time talking to strangers?! You meant to be a parent!!!!

God the mom shaking and crying made me cry. That pain will be felt for a long time.

How can other kids be so cruel to be mean to Nicole who had been thru such severe medical ordeal as a liver transplant? What is wrong with some people?

Protecting your kid is important, but your child is also a human being, and you should give them privacy. Like, trust your kids, but also educate them on the harms/etc. Don't just go snooping in their phone/etc. ESPECIALLY if they are a teenager, as at that time they may be finding out who they are, and you don't want to run into their stash, iykwim. As long as you teach them the dangers, they should understand what to avoid without you having to invade their personal lives.

I am so sorry for your loss, my heart is broken to see your pain.

This is not a new type of predator. Like most predators, they adapt to their environment. The tactics have changed but the game remains the same.

R.i.p., Nicole. I hope your story helps others.

Can't believe the billionaire owners of these apps never get scrutinised. If I sell a product that eventually causes harm, I'm held accountable, even if that product is used incorrectly. But these guys seem to have no accountability whatsoever. The law is pretty clear - if there is a link between an action and the damage it causes, there is grounds for liability. Seems pretty straightforward?

What a despicable act. Such tragedy for Nicole and her family. 😔

Nicole needed more attention and time from her PARENTS. She cried out online and they could see that. When your child yearns for everyone’s attention, that means they need it from you MORE!!! Give it to them!

Oh please ! Stop blaming apps and look at your own parenting! Accountability for your children .

Nicole’s mother breaks my heart. Poor mama , I wish I could do something to ease your pain.

Here's a thought, maybe if people start actually being parents instead of letting their kids lock themselves in their room and sit on their phones or computers, just maybe being real parents they would know exactly what is going on in their kids lives. I always know when my son is feeling down or sad, i know when something is bothering him, I know when he's acting strange or wants to tell me something but doesn't know how to. YOU AS PARENTS have to put the work aside and make the child the priority, not the career or social life or relationship with partner.