Dateline season 33 episode 2: A detailed case overview

NBC’s Dateline season 33 episode 2, titled Wrong Turns, premiered on October 4, 2024, at 9:00 PM. The episode explores two murders that took place in Riverside, California, in 2016. The series, known for its investigative journalism, will release new episodes every Friday. The synopsis for the episode reads:

“A new father is found dead on the side of a road. Then the stabbing of a young woman lead police on a high speed chase. Could these two chilling murders be connected?”

Dateline's Wrong Turns focuses on the murders of Justin Hilbert and Bailey Sharp, whose deaths quickly became a city-wide phenomenon, prompting authorities to conduct a complicated interrogation.

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Dateline season 33 episode 2 case analysis

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Background

The Dateline episode focuses on Bailey Colleen Sharp, a 23-year-old student from Riverside, California. Born in May 1993, Bailey was known for her cheerful and magnetic personality and was reportedly dating Jared Gordon Bischoff at the time.

Bischoff was an active military personnel. On July 10, 2016, Bailey was allegedly seen by multiple witnesses collapse near Calmhill Drive and California Avenue. She was quickly rushed to the Riverside Community Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries an hour later. This event led to a lengthy murder investigation, which ultimately culminated in a high-speed chase.

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About the crime

Witnesses at the scene reported that they had seen Bailey and Jared in a heated argument before she was found stabbed. Bischoff became the immediate suspect and was believed to have stabbed his former partner multiple times before fleeing the scene.

Jared was reportedly quickly tracked down and spotted the following morning at 4:45 AM, which led to a high-speed chase. Driving his own vehicle, the chase spanned multiple highways, majorly occurring on Interstate 5 and State Route 91. He was eventually arrested near Rubidoux and Grand Avenue in Riverside and was quickly charged with Bailey’s murder, among other crimes.

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Investigation

The case did not require a lengthy investigation. Another victim connected to the case, Justin Hilbert was found brutally murdered on June 21, 2016. Subsequent investigation revealed that he was engaged to Tonya Bischoff, the ex-wife of Jared.

While Jared was not immediately charged with Justin's murder, authorities suspected a link between the cases due to the connection between Jared and Tonya. Justin and Tonya had recently welcomed their son, Logan. However, Justin, described by Tonya as a loving person who enjoyed making others laugh, was reportedly found dead on the side of a road in Riverside County.

Despite a thorough investigation, the Dateline episode revealed that the police could not find any evidence linking Jared Bischoff to Justin's death.

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Resolution

Jared was charged and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Bailey Sharp. However, Justin’s murder remains unsolved. Leaving behind a loving family, the lack of evidence in Justin’s case meant that the police did not have any real suspects.

Hence, Tonya Bischoff and her family were left stranded without justice and had to contend with the loss of Justin. While police suspected that Jared was somehow involved in this case as well, there was no piece of evidence tying him to the second time. Hence, to this day, Justin’s killer remains unidentified.

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Final thoughts

Despite the lack of evidence, authorities majorly suspected that Jared was also involved in Justin’s murder. However, the nature of such cases often means that without quantifiable evidence connecting the incidents, Jared was able to escape a conviction in the second case.

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Interested viewers can stream the first two episodes of Dateline season 33 available on NBC.