Dateline : Before Daylight - 5 harrowing details about Jesse Valencia's murder, revisited

Dateline revisits the chilling case of Jesse Valencia's murder in a gripping episode titled "Before Daylight." In true Dateline fashion, the episode pulls the curtains on a crime that sounds like it could only exist in a gritty detective novel- except, it's very real.

The murder of 23-year-old University of Missouri student Jesse Valencia involved a secret affair, a brutal murder, and a police officer hiding behind a badge.

Here's what you would want to know about the case.

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Dateline: Before Daylight - 5 harrowing details about Jesse Valencia's murder, revisited

1] A childhood premonition that proved tragically accurate

From the start, this case had an eerie undertone. According to the Dateline episode, when Jesse was just seven years old, he told his mother;

“I’m not gonna live to be very old.”

Fast forward sixteen years, and Jesse's prediction came true in the worst way imaginable. On June 5, 2004, his body was discovered between two homes near the University of Missouri campus, partially clothed, his neck slit open.

His mother, Linda, recounted;

“I never dreamed that he was gonna die that way.”

But Jesse, it seems, may have sensed death long before it could get him.

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2] A police officer guarding a scene he may have created

Now here's where things turn from tragic to downright unsettling. While piecing the case together, the NBC true crime show reveals that Jesse had been romantically involved with a Columbia police officer, Steven Rios.

The two met after Rios arrested Jesse at a college party. The twist? Rio was married with a newborn. According to Jesse's friend, Patrick, Jesse referred to Rios only as "Columbia's finest" and was excited about the affair.

The kicker? After Jesse's murder, Rios volunteered to guard the crime scene. Detective John Short told Dateline this detail "unnerved" him. That's not just suspicious. That's horror-movie level irony.

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3] Rios’ unraveling included suicide attempts and a shotgun

If Rios wasn't on your radar before, he crashed onto it like a meteor. After rumors began swirling, the NBC show reveals he confessed to the affair under pressure, but still denied the murder.

Then came the meltdown. Four days after the killing, he told his wife and police he was visiting his dad. Instead, he went to a Walmart, bought a shotgun, and planned to end his life. However, he was convinced to change his mind.

Days later, he climbed atop a Columbia parking garage, ready to jump. Again, stopped just in time. Detective Short says;

“His behavior reeked of guilt.”

When someone spirals that hard, the word 'coincidence' at that moment tends to lose all of its meaning.

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4] Forensics flipped the entire investigation

In classic Dateline fashion, the case breaks wide open with forensics. Initially, Rios claimed he'd gone home after work the night Jesse was killed. But his fellow officers contradicted that timeline that was being set up by Rios.

Then, DNA evidence slammed the doors shut. Rios' DNA was found under Jesse's fingernails. Arm hair from Rios was discovered on Jesse's chest. The NBC true crime show suggests these details line up with the prosecutor's theory: that Rios used a choke-hold to subdue Jesse before slashing his throat.

It's that grim intersection where cold, clinical science meets gut-wrenching truth, and the NBC show never once flinches to get things out in the open.

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5] Jesse planned to expose the affair, then he was silenced

Possibly the most bone-chilling revelation? Jesse had plans to expose the relationship. Rogers told Dateline;

“He said distinctly, ‘I’m going to out him to the police chief.’”

Jesse, who had always been vocal and unafraid, was preparing to make noise. And then he turned up being murdered. That's the heartbeat of the whole story: motive.

The narratives that NBC lays out suggest that a man, Rios, faced with the collapse of his personal and professional life, made a fatal choice. Two juries later, Rios was found guilty.

Yet, he still proclaims his innocence.

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Dateline doesn't just tell stories. It digs into the marrow of what makes them unforgettable. Jesse Valencia's murder was a tragedy, but what followed was a chilling spiral of secrets, guilt, and irreversible choices.

His voice was silenced, but in revisiting the case, NBC ensures his story won't be.

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