Deborah Atrops

During trial, the babysitter and Debbie's stepfather testified that Bob had called them the night Debbie went missing, which supports Bob's story.

Attorney Stephanie Poland says the best explanation for why those so-called missing calls weren't on his phone bill is that the billing equipment was faulty.

We found the engineer, and he testified that this equipment failed all the time.

But the cold case team believes Bob made those calls while he was out of the house getting rid of evidence to help him create a false alibi.

And they say it was impossible to check every payphone in the area back in 1988.

What was significant is he's not where he said he was.

He's not at home.

While the state emphasized the link between the mud on Debbie's tire and the soil from Bob Aitrop's front yard, the defense says that this soil is everywhere in the region and is as common as dirt.

Back in 1988, police didn't collect mud from Jeff Freeburg's property or John Pearson's.

They only took samples from where Debbie's car was found and from Bob Atrop's driveway and lawn.

Then there is the matter of the DNA from Debbie's coat.

Attorney Yates points out that the amount of DNA on Debbie's coat that the lab had said could be consistent with Bob Atrop's was minuscule, the equivalent of about six skin cells.

And this very low level of DNA is consistent with something called transfer DNA.

People who have babies in shared custody transfer DNA all the time.

So in your opinion, this DNA was not strong evidence?

This DNA was not only not strong evidence, it doesn't mean anything.

The defense argues there is a much more important DNA result from Debbie's autopsy.

One of the very first items that the lab tested for DNA were vaginal swabs taken from the autopsy.

Attorney Janice Puricell specializes in evidence that can lead to wrongful convictions.

She says the DNA from Debbie's autopsy does not point to Bob Atrops.