The attacker had left behind a bloody shovel, knife, and roll of duct tape, but he had also unintentionally left behind another critical clue. “Once we were able to go inside, you could see it was pretty violent,” he told “Dateline” reporter Andrea Canning.

An unknown attacker had hit Brittani so hard with a shovel it crushed the left part of her skull. Albuquerque Police Detective Jason Morales was shocked by the “very brutal” nature of the attack.