Lester Holt

And this week, 25 years after her brutal death, a man by the name of Edric Lamont Faust is standing trial for Tara's murder.

He's pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including murder, arson, and sexual assault.

Here to get us up to speed as the trial gets underway is Dateline producer Dorothy Newell.

She's at the courthouse for us.

Dorothy, I normally wouldn't start an interview with this kind of question, but it's pertinent here.

How's the weather down there?

Yeah, and I point out, I'm asking that question because some courts were closed because of this big storm that was coming.

All right.

Before we get into the trial, tell us what you've learned about Tara.

Who was she?

Okay, let's turn to the night of the murder.

What do we know about Tara's final hours?

And early on, police believe this wasn't some kind of random attack.

Why?

Okay, so years have passed, decades really.

Tell us about this podcast and how that may have changed things.

Cameron and Tara's mom didn't just focus their efforts on Tara's case.

They ended up lobbying for a crucial piece of legislation to help other families.

Tell us about that.

And Tara's mom said she hadn't expected it, but one of the first cases they looked into was Tara's.