Dateline NBC Aired a Two Hour Special on Elicia Hughes

A high profile Mississippi murder case gets national attention. Dateline NBC aired a two hour special on Elicia Hughes Sunday night. She's the former Jackson school teacher who was cleared of murder charges in the death of her husband, after being convicted just months before. Where is she now? Why did her story catch the eyes of the national media?

"A doting mother, third grade teacher, and to prosecuters a stone cold killer," said Dennis Murphy with Dateline NBC. "Cause For Alarm" is the title Dateline NBC gave to the story of Elicia Hughes.The two hour special aired Sunday night and described the details of the mysterious murder of hughes husband Brian. A tearful Hughes recounts the night of June 3, 2004 when she says she found her husband shot six times in the foyer.

"I didn't know what to do. As I was touching him I felt blood and he was there and he was hurt and my mind was racing," said Hughes in the interview.But Hughes was later charged with her husband's murder. In court the prosecution gave their theory, that Hughes had killed her husband out of jealousy. Witnesses testified he had two girlfriends. There was a also a $260,000 life insurance policy Hughes was the beneficiary of. The jury made their decision, Hughes was guilty. In February 2007, the judge granted Hughes a new trial citing jury selection discrimination by the prosecution.

In November the new jury reached a different verdict...not guilty. Hughes was cleared of murder charges. The District Attorney at the time Faye Peterson was sure the jury got it wrong. "Unfortunately there's times that killers go free and this is one of these instances," said Peterson.For Hughes she finally felt justified. "The true tragedy of this is not the time that I've been persecuted and prosecuted these past three years but the person that actually killed Brian is still out there and they are living their life," said Hughes on November 17, 2007.