5 chilling details about Cara Ryan’s brutal crime against her husband ahead of Dateline

Dateline returns to a case that still draws strong reactions. The episode revisits the killing of retired St. Petersburg police sergeant John “J.J.” Rush and the shooting admitted by his ex-wife, former teacher Cara Ryan. Investigators pressed to determine whether it was murder or self-defense. A jury later acquitted Ryan of second-degree murder.

The re-air brings A Shot in the Dark back to Oxygen with back-to-back episodes at 3:00 am ET and 4:00 am ET. The case also appears in Dateline: Secrets Uncovered, season 7, episode 9, which was first aired in 2019.

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Case background for Dateline: A Shot in the Dark

The pair married in 1997, divorced in 2006, and then kept an on-again, off-again relationship. On March 7, 2015, Rush went to Ryan’s Indian Rocks Beach apartment. One gunshot followed.

Rush made it outside seeking help, then died at the scene. Ryan told investigators she fired in self-defense after a violent encounter. Prosecutors disputed that account and pointed to shifting statements.

Ryan was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. In 2017, after a brief deliberation, a jury found her not guilty. The decision turned the focus from criminal liability to the record of what happened that night and to later civil actions tied to Rush’s estate.

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5 key details Dateline examines

1) Investigators cited many changing accounts

Detectives said Ryan gave at least ten different versions of the night’s events. They also described a single bullet that passed through Rush’s left arm and into his heart. According to Bay News 9, investigators cited those points when announcing the second-degree murder charge and during pre-trial proceedings.

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2) The timeline began with a late-night 911 call

Deputies responded around 10:17 pm after Rush, wounded, reached a neighbor’s door. Initial statements noted that Ryan had invited Rush over by text, that a message from another man reportedly sparked tension, and that she later claimed self-defense. TBN Weekly reported those early facts from the sheriff’s office.

Deputies responded around 10:17 pm after Rush reached a neighbor’s door (Image via Pexels)

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3) A Miranda rights dispute surfaced pre-trial

At a hearing, Ryan said her Miranda rights were never read, while prosecutors maintained the evidence still weighed against her and that she lied to investigators.

The defense questioned deputies and detectives about missing audio during parts of her recorded interviews. According to WTSP, those challenges became part of the pre-trial record.

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4) Prosecutors framed the visit as an invite that turned deadly

Opening statements said Ryan invited Rush over for sex and that jealousy over explicit messages preceded the shooting, allegations the defense rejected. The state argued her story did not add up, while the defense said Rush was intoxicated and violent, and that Ryan acted to protect herself.

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5) The jury cleared Ryan after about two hours

No one disputed that Ryan fired the gun. The question was intent and self-defense. After roughly two hours of deliberation, jurors returned a not-guilty verdict on second-degree murder. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the defense argued that the state presented no evidence to rebut self-defense, and Ryan’s team emphasized the speed of the verdict.

Jurors deliberated about two hours before returning a not-guilty verdict (Image via Unsplash)

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Where to watch Dateline and Dateline: Secrets Uncovered

Oxygen re-airs Dateline, 'A Shot in the Dark,' in consecutive slots at 3:00 am and 4:00 am. Dateline NBC streams on Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, fuboTV, NBC, or for free with ads on The Roku Channel.

The same story is also covered on Dateline: Secrets Uncovered in season 7, episode 9, with the same title. The Secrets Uncovered library is available on Oxygen, and the series is also carried by live TV streamers such as fuboTV and YouTube TV, subject to plan and region availability.

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