ABC NEWS' CHRIS CUOMO INVESTIGATES THE DISAPEARANCE AND MURDER OF 7-YEAR-OLD SOMER THOMPSON IN AN HOUR-LONG REPORT ON "20/20,"
FRIDAY, APRIL 16 AT 10:00 PM/ET
It seemed like a neighborhood right out of the 1950's, where adults kept an eye out for trouble and children walked home from school every day without fear. Until one day last October, when 7-year-old Somer Thompson seemed to vanish into thin air on a crowded sidewalk -- in broad daylight -- less than a mile from her home. Her body was discovered two days later in a landfill in Georgia, and the community was shocked to learn that there were 162 known sex offenders and predators living amongst them within a five mile radius of Somer's elementary school. "20/20" co-anchor and chief legal correspondent Chris Cuomo brings viewers the results of his five month investigation into Somer's disappearance and murder in an hour-long report airing this Friday on ABC News' "20/20," FRIDAY, APRIL 16 (10:00-11:00 p.m./ET), on the ABC Television Network.
"20/20's" investigation reveals new information about the key suspects, as well as behind-the-scenes details into the police investigation. The hour also includes an exclusive interview with the man who was the prime suspect for months following Somer's disappearance. Police sat outside his home, watching and monitoring his every move, suspecting this man, who kept a noose in his garage, binoculars by his front door, and admitted to failing a polygraph test when questioned by "20/20" about Somer's murder. However, police would eventually realize they had focused most of their attention on the wrong man, learning that their real primary suspect had also been living in the neighborhood all along. During Friday's broadcast, "20/20" has another exclusive interview with the couple whose early tip eventually cracked the case. If police had acted faster on this information, could they have possibly had this alleged predator off the streets before Somer went missing? "20/20" explores that question and much more this Friday night.
Elizabeth Vargas and Chris Cuomo are the co-anchors of ABC News' "20/20." David Sloan is the executive producer.
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