The Case Died With Her is not just the title of Oxygen's latest true crime special, it's the reality for Emilie Morris' loved ones.
For this new two-hour special, which airs Sunday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m., legal commentator and former prosecutor Loni Coombs takes a closer look at the case of Emilie Morris. As seen in the exclusive trailer below, prosecutors brought charges against former high school track coach Jim Wilder for alleged sexually inappropriate behavior with Emilie back when she was a minor.
"We did something that wasn't right," the coach says in a taped conversation with Emilie. "But, you know I'm not a creeper."
Per a voice over in the just-released trailer, "it was very difficult for [Emilie] to finally tell somebody what had happened."
Emilie's mother Joan is heard saying, "He was an adult teacher and she was still a kid."
Still, per one interviewee in the trailer, Emilie was "ready to face it" and was "ready for justice to be served."
Yet, after Emilie's unexpected death at 35, without the victim alive to testify, prosecutors dropped the charges, leaving Emilie's family eager for closure and justice.
Furthermore, Joan says she learned about the dropped charges while at her daughter's funeral.
Emilie's sister Andrea adds, "It seemed too unjust and too awful to just let it go."
The case is no longer open, but Wilder and the Lindbergh School District have since negotiated the termination of his contract.
"When we received additional evidence from the police in 2015, we worked with our attorneys, our board, and administration, to terminate Jim Wilder's contract as quickly as possible," said Beth Johnston, a spokesperson for the Lindbergh School District told Fox2Now in 2018.
According to KSDK, a state official noted that Wilder retained his teaching license as he was never convicted.
In the quest for answers, Loni is seen asking the question on everyone's mind about the taped conversation, "Why wasn't this enough to go forward with the case?"
For this answer, you'll have to catch the premiere of The Case Died With Her.
This case made national headlines thanks to reporter Jessica Testa's 2018 in-depth piece for Buzzfeed News and is the source material for the special. Wilder's lawyer did not respond to Buzzfeed News' request for comment on their story. While Wilder is no longer teaching, his license was still active at the time of Buzzfeed News' article.
The Case Died With Her is produced by Pulse Films and BuzzFeed Studios with Jon Alwen, Marisa Clifford, Dan Baglio, Cindy Vanegas-Gesuale, Karolina Waclawiak and Charlotte Simms all serving as executive producers.
The Case Died With Her premieres Sunday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m on Oxygen.
(E! and Oxygen are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)