What happened to Marie Carlson? NBC Dateline to revisit Fort Walton Beach woman's murder 

This Friday on NBC Dateline, Keith Morrison will report on the mysterious disappearance of a mother of two in 2011. She reportedly left her three-month-old daughter in the custody of a pastor and his wife and never returned.

Last seen in October 2011, Marie Carlson disappeared from her home in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The circumstances of her disappearance just didn't sit well with her family.

The upcoming episode of NBC Dateline, titled Secrets on the Emerald Coast, set to be released on July 22, 2022, will delve deeper into the cold case from 2011. It will detail how a TV show called Cold Justice, produced by Law & Order's creator Dick Wolf, helped solve the case.

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NBC Dateline: Who was Marie Carlson?

Originally from the Philippines, Marie Jane Carlson was born in 1974 and was described by her loved ones as a woman with an adventurous spirit. She loved to cook and partake in karaoke sessions. She also loved working in the field of criminal justice. Unfortunately, her own case took too long to be brought to justice.

At the time of her disappearance, Marie was a 37-year-old mother of two. Her first daughter was with her ex-husband Jeff Carlson. She also had a newborn daughter with a pastor named James Flanders, with whom she was in a polygamous relationship that also included his wife Tanya.

Marie was last seen by Flanders on October 17, 2011. Two days later, her family received a cryptic message about her leaving to do what she had always wanted to.

Disturbed and suspicious, Marie's family refused to let go, and Jeff eventually reported her missing on October 24, 2011.

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NBC Dateline: What happened to Marie Carlson?

After she was reported missing, Marie's car was located at the local airport, but authorities confirmed that she never left the area.

Although the initial investigation suspected James Flanders, nothing concrete was found to make progress in the case.

There was no dead body, and Flanders claimed to have left the house between 6 pm and 7 pm on the day of disappearance while his wife Tanya was out with the newborn. He claimed that the couple returned to find Marie gone with her car.

However, something was not right about the situation as Marie would never have left her newborn daughter behind. Her belongings were still at home, and she had not retrieved any money from her bank account.

In 2015, the show Cold Justice aimed to work with law enforcement to take a fresh look at cold cases. The producers were interested in the disappearance of Marie Carlson after they found out that there were no confirmed sightings of her after October 17, 2011, but no direct evidence that she was dead either. Moreover, an FBI missing persons alert and a $10,000 reward had been in vain.

The presence of the film crew in town drew out reluctant parishioners. They revealed that the relationship between Marie and Flanders had been strained, and the two had an altercation the day she disappeared.

After tracking Flanders' old cell phone records and tracking his movements on the day of Marie's disappearance, authorities once again got a hold of him.

Flanders was arrested from his home in Arizona, where he moved three months after Marie's disappearance. He was extradited to Florida, where he described Marie as his "sister wife."

In April 2016, Flanders pleaded guilty to manslaughter for a reduced sentence and admitted that he asphyxiated Marie by putting her "in a choke hold." He also showed the authorities where he had buried her body.

Okaloosa County Circuit Judge William Stone sentenced him to 15 years in prison, which was the maximum sentence for voluntary manslaughter.

NBC Dateline: Secrets on the Emerald Coast airs on July 22, 2022, at 10/9c only on NBC.