you louisiana man ♪ ♪ ♪ [ cheers and applause ] this is "nightline." >> juju: tonight, breaking news. the crackdown on college protests at columbia university. the nypd forcibly removing and arresting dozens of pro-palestinian protesters who had barricaded themselves into a campus building. horrifying discovery. what we're learning about

colorado mom suzanne marfew who went missing on mother's day 2020. >> did you have anything to do with the disappearance of your wife? >> absolutely not. >> juju: explosive new details in the autopsy report and a possible connection to something belonging to her husband. >> i absolutely believe barry was involved in my sister's death and disappearance. >> juju: the couple's children standing by their dad, once considered the prime suspect. could barry once again be in the prosec prosecutor's crosshairs? "dance moms" reunion. >> it blows my mind. it is now bigger than it ever was. >> juju: years after the wildly popular reality show went off the air, cast members back together to remember the good and not so good old days. >> that fight happened, and then we never danced again. >> juju: what some of the now-grown dancers say about instructor abby lee miller. robin roberts' exclusive with brittney griner.

the wnba star opening up about her imprisonment in russia. what she says shocked her just after her release. >> you wrote you were hoping to see someone else on that plane? join the millions who're feeling the power of osteo bi-flex®, the #1 pharmacist recommended joint care supplement. (♪) find our coupons in sunday's paper.

♪ >> juju: thanks for joining us. tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. college protests reaching a

boiling point. at columbia university a short time ago, nypd forcibly removing and arresting students and some outsiders who had broken into and barricaded themselves in an academic building after days of protests at an encampment on campus. abc's stephanie ramos is on the ground at columbia. what can you tell us? >> reporter: at columbia university, over 100 nypd officers positioned themselves outside of the campus, many of them moving onto campus to remove student demonstrators. s.w.a.t. team members moving into hamilton hall where demonstrators broke in monday night. sources telling us the building was heavily fortified by protesters. s.w.a.t. team members making their way into the hall from a second-story window. police also here to clear the encampments that have been in place almost two weeks. we've seen individuals escorted from campus in zip ties. the new york city mayor urging student demonstrators earlier tuesday to leave campus.

the mayor advising parents to call their students and tell them to disperse. many of those student demonstrators deciding to stay in place, juju. >> juju: stephanie ramos, thank you. we'll have much more on the protests overnight and on "gma" tomorrow. we turn to a major development in the case of the colorado mother of two who disappeared nearly four years ago on mother's day. her body not discovered until just last year. and now new autopsy results find her cause of death -- homicide. here's abc's erielle reshef. >> reporter: a bombshell development in the mysterious murder case of colorado mother suzanne morphew nearly four years after she vanished. >> might be the most shocking thing to date in this case. >> reporter: a new toxicology report concluding suzanne's death was a homicide and finding a chemical cocktail consistent with an animal tranquilizer in her bones. >> the ultimate manner or cause of death is unspecified, but

this is giving us more answers to the questions we've long had. >> reporter: for years, the case, topping headlines and captivating the public. >> a twist in the case of a missing colorado mom. >> new developments tonight in the disappearance of that colorado mom. >> reporter: her husband, barrymorebarry morphew, initially charged with first-degree murder and evidence tampering. he spoke exclusively to abc news with his daughters macy and mallory by his side, maintaining his innocence, claiming his life has been ruined by false accusations. did you have anything to do with the disappearance of your wife? >> absolutely not. >> reporter: you never had a shred of doubt once you heard of evidence of law enforcement against your doubt, that your dad was completely evidence? >> i've never had a shred of doubt. >> not one. >> reporter: it began on mother's day back in 2020. suzanne esfamily says she went on a solo bike ride near their home in colorado. when the 49-year-old didn't

return, barry asked a neighbor to call police. at the time, barry was reportedly near denver, over three hours away. before her disappearance, suzanne was fighting cancer. >> i know that she was going through chemotherapy for the last couple of years before her disappearance. i know she was going through some hard things and made some -- some bad decisions. >> reporter: what kind of bad decisions? >> she was -- she was really having trouble with the chemotherapy and the drugs. >> reporter: in addition to struggling with her health, prosecutors say suzanne was having an affair with a high school friend who authorities ruled out as a suspect. when you found out suzanne was having an affair, what was your first thought? >> my heart was broke -- my heart was broken. i didn't believe it. anybody that knows her wouldn't have believed it. and i didn't believe it. >> reporter: barry denies the marriage was in trouble. >> we had a wonderful life.

wonderful marriage. she was just so loving and giving. and such a good mother. >> reporter: but a 100-plaus page affidavit from the district attorney filed in may 2021 presents a different story. prosecutors offering text messages which appear to show a strained marriage. suzanne referring to barry as jek sell and hyde, and just before she disappeared, telling barry, "i'm done." suzanne's sister telling an fbi investigator that in the months leading up to her disappearance, suzanne had come to realize what a narcissist her husband barry was. and she shared a text message she says suzanne sent her days before she was reported missing saying, "he's also been abusive, emotionally and physically." >> she revealed to me that she had really kind of come out of her denial about her marriage and that there was a lot of unrest in the home. >> reporter: according to the affidavit, that linda telling

investigators when she found out suzanne was missing, she said, "dammit, dammit, dammit" to herself because she was certain barry killed her. >> i absolutely believe barry morphew was involved in my sister's death and disappearance. >> reporter: law enforcement believed they had their guy. what do you say to that? >> they're wrong. they've got tunnel vision. they looked at one person, and they've got too much pride to say they're wrong and look somewhere else. >> reporter: in april of 2022, prosecutors dropped all charges against barry just before his trial was supposed to begin of the reason, prosecutors were barred from calling key witnesses and didn't turn over evidence to the defense, including dna found in suzanne's car linked to a man with a history of sexual assault. these charges were dropped without prejudice, which means if authorities feel there's more evidence, they could charge you again. do you live with fear of that? >> well, i was innocent the

first time they arrested me. so i'm sure it's possible, but i don't have anything to worry about. i've done nothing wrong. >> reporter: just months after our 2023 interview, last september, authorities discovered suzanne's remains in a shallow grave 45 miles south of the family home. back in 2021, the arrest affidavit said a needle cap for a tranquilizer dart was found in the dryer inside bedsheets. at the time, in his defense, barry claimed he shot a deer with that tranquilizer dart and said he disposed of the tranquilizer solution. the toxicology report released yesterday officially determining suzanne's death was a homicide and finding a chemical cocktail consistent with an animal tranquilizer in her bones, noting, these drugs are marketed as a compounded injectable chemical immobilizer for wildlife. >> the fact that barry morphew has been on the record saying he does go hunting with tranquilizer darts and a cap was

found in his clothes in the dryer does create more of a problem for him. however, prosecutors will have to connect the specific drug that was found in suzanne morphew's body with that owned by barry morphew. >> reporter: we reached out to the family, and they told us through their attorney they are skeptical about the integrity of this investigation. authorities previously told abc news, they are not ruling out future charges. >> prosecutors of more likely than not to present the evidence they already had against barry morphew with this new autopsy to a grand jury. if a grand jury feels there's sufficient evidence for an indictment, barry morphew or anyone connected to the murder of suzanne morphew would be charged. >> reporter: as suzanne's family awaits justice, they are keeping her memory alive. >> it's important for people to remember that, although time has gone by, she will not be forgotten. i will not stop speaking for her. >> juju: our thanks to erielle.

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♪ >> juju: welcome back. you know, "dance moms" was wildly popular, in part thanks to the drama that surrounded abby lee miller, a tough instructor who accepted no excuses from her young dancers. some of those dancers reuniting, spilling the tea on their time learning the ropes. ♪ >> i just really hope this

reunion shows a little bit more of our personalities, because we weren't really old enough to speak up and use our voices and show our true personalities. >> juju: "dance moms" is back 13 years after its debut. members of the popular reality show, now fully grown, reuniting in a new special. >> "dance moms." it blows my mind, because it is now bigger than it ever was. it was literally the stepping stone into who we are today. >> we would not be here without "dance moms." >> yeah. >> juju: the reunion airs tomorrow on lifetime, which is owned by disney, the parent company of abc news. >> one thing t learned -- >> juju: ring on the show, kendall vertiz, chloe, brooke and paige, kelani, and jojo. >> the fight happened, and we never danced again. >> juju: not everyone came back. the other star -- maddie and mckenzie and mia sue --

noticeably absent. >> i think everyone knows maybe they just don't think they needed this? >> some people might still be processing, and it's hard to talk about some of the stuff we went through. >> they closed the book, and they don't want to open it back up, backtrack. >> juju: the one-time tween dancers, now in their 20s, grappling with mixed feelings about their former instructor, abby lee miller, who also did not participate in the reunion. >> i definitely have a way different relationship with abby i think than anybody. i credit a lot of my thick skin and my ability to handle good news, bad news, to abby. >> let me make something clear. i don't give her credit for my success. i went on to be successful in spite of her, not because of her. >> yeah, yeah. >> juju: for eight seasons, "dance moms" rocked reality tv. audiences watched the budding dancers learn to compete. their moves, charming and

graceful. their mothers' attitudes, sometimes less so. >> why are you yelling at us? >> i'm not! i'm yelling at my friends!" >> you've had too much to drink. >> [ bleep ]. >> reporter: abby lee miller's sometimes harsh critiques of her young dancers sparking controversy on the show. >> don't cry! 8 means 8, not 9 1/2, not 10, 8! can't count to 8? >> juju: the mothers often standing up for their daughters, like this defining moment when mom kelly highland exited the show in dramatic fashion. >> is your mother speaking for you? >> get out of my face! >> girls, out of the room now. >> juju: kelly, brooke and paige's mom, joined the reunion, along with fellow "dance moms." the women describing lasting impact on their families. >> i think if that didn't happen, that they would probably still dance. i mean, they would have been on the dance team at college or

something. and they do no dance, none. and that's sad, to me. because that was their life. you know? i just feel like it's all my fault. >> juju: kelly has not spoken to abby since the day she left the show. why go back to a reunion show? >> it was easier for me because we kind of have been talking about it. i didn't leave on the bad or horrible terms like some of the moms did. i'm not ashamed of what kendall and i did, and, you know -- i'm kind of proud of it now, because it has brought really good things to my young kendall. >> juju: each girl has carved their own path since leaving the show. >> this is going to be a little tropical storm to say, i think, but to me, abby was always right.

i did interrupt two adults talking. if i was a mess, she wasn't just quelling at me because she wanted to yell at me, i was a mess, a beat off. one thing i've learned, really working insane in hollywood, is that that's normal. >> juju: jojo went on to have a full-blown hollywood career. the now 20-year-old pop star is climbing the music starts with her hit "karma." ♪ i was a bad girl i did some bad things ♪ ♪ i swear i did it all for fun ♪ >> juju: she was known for her colorful personality and fluorescent hair bows, appearing on disney shows like ". j-team." >> hey, georgia! >> juju: dancing in the first-ever same-sex paring on "dancing with the stars," coming in second place. kelani went on to be a dance teacher and has her own dancewehrlein. kendall continues to dance on the james madison university dance team. >> a lot of people really only

saw the bad side of abby. she was a great dance teacher. she knew what she was talking about. and -- i mean, i can thank her for making me the person i am today, whether it was good or bad experiences. but she knew what she was doing. >> juju: chloe created a new kind of dance competition called ellavet. >> let's start a new thing, encouraging environments where dancers thrive, not just survive. >> juju: paige and brooke highland no longer dance, but thanks to their "dance moms" fame are influencers, working on a clothing line. paige says she doesn't have a lot of memories from her time on "dance moms." >> i think i blocked it out of my memory totally. >> do you go back and look at it and have certain feelings and thoughts? >> we weren't allowed to watch it. i only have seen clips on tiktok. and my coping mechanism was kind of just blocking it out. >> i will see a dance that i was on stage, i at one point knew

the choreography, knew the song. i'm like, am i in this? i see myself like, oh, that is me. >> juju: you literally blocked it out. for some of these dancers, the reunion proving a place to heal all these years later. >> when we did the reunion, it made me realize that i still had a lot of unhealed emotions. and i'm working through them. but i think i'm at a really good place in life. >> i didn't really know what to expect. not seeing them in so many years. i wasn't nervous, but i went in with an open mind like, these have been my best friends. the second we locked eyes, it felt like we never left. >> juju: the "dance moms" reunion airs tomorrow night at 8:00 eastern on lifetime. when we come back, robin roberts' exclusive with wnba superstar brittney griner. my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis held me back... now with skyrizi, i'm all in with clearer skin. ♪ things are getting clearer...♪

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♪ >> juju: welcome back. our robin roberts sat down with wnba star brittney griner, who shared her emotional account of what it was like being imprisoned in russia and the moment she was told she was finally coming home. >> reporter: they send a note to you? >> "be ready to leave." i was so thrilled. >> reporter: you get on the plane? >> i didn't know where we were going. i had no idea where the trade was going to be. >> reporter: you wrote that you were hoping to see someone else on that plane, paul whelan. >> uh-huh. when i walked on and i didn't see him i was like, okay, maybe i'm early. maybe he's next.

maybe they're going to bring him next. when they closed the door, i was like, are you seriously not going to let this man come home right now? >> reporter: being traded for a person known as the merchant of death, there were some americans who thought that wasn't a fair trade, that this was a heinous criminal, and to be traded when it should have been, perhaps, somebody else -- what do you say to those who felt it wasn't a balanced trade? >> if it was left epto me in that trade, i would have went and got paul and brought him home. but any time that we can bring home an american, that is a win for americans. no one should be left behind. >> juju: our thanks to robin. we'll have more of her exclusive interview with brittney tomorrow on "gma," and the full primetime interview will run on "20/20" tomorrow night at 10:00 p.m. that's "nightline" for tonight. watch full