The story begins with happy memories in sunny Pensacola, Florida.
It’s the home of powdery-white beaches, clear turquoise waters and the Navy’s Blue Angels.
It was the Navy that brought Sherri and Greg Malarik to Pensacola.
They both worked air traffic control at the local naval station.
Friday, September 21, 2001, was a busy night for the Malariks -- a blended family with five children.
Sherri’s sister, Tina, had two children as well, and that night, Sherri was hosting a sleepover for the young cousins at her house.
Sherri’s oldest son, Jacob, who was 11 at the time, remembers, at one point, his mother being inside with the kids, and his stepdad being out in the backyard.
As the kids were sitting down to eat, Sherri stepped out of the house to talk to her husband.
She never came back inside.
Greg later told the kids that Sherri had gone to the store.
Hours passed and still no Sherri.
When Sherri’s brother-in-law Jeff heard the news, he jumped into action and went looking for Sherri and her red Dodge Caravan.
He searched for hours.
It was around 8:00 a.m. when he spotted Sherri’s red van sitting in a Winn-Dixie parking lot.
When he approached the van, he could see blood.
Inside, was the body of Sherri Malarik. She’d been murdered.
To find out what happened in the family’s two-decade search for justice, watch the full episode “The Sleepover” on Peacock now.
You can also watch on the NBC App, or listen on our podcast.
Plus, listen to the latest episode of “Talking Dateline,” as Andrea Canning and Josh Mankiewicz go behind the scenes of the making of this episode.
After you’ve seen the episode, watch Sherri’s loved ones remember her as a supermom who was bright and loving.
