In her first interview since the final chapter of the Harry Potter series went public, J.K. Rowling revealed the secrets she could never previously discuss to TODAY's Meredith Vieira in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Rowling covered all topics including the rationale behind her plot choices;  the character she saved and the ones she decided to kill later in the writing process; what Harry, Hermione and Ron are up to these days; her plans for the future; and the way Harry Potter has saved her own life.

Meredith's interview with Rowling airs both this morning and Friday on TODAY and in a one-hour Dateline special this Sunday.

But to give you a little taste, allDAY talked to Meredith about the most poignant moments in the hours she spent with Rowling.

allDAY: So, after all you read about Jo going into this interview, what surprised you the most?

Meredith: I had read that she was not an easy interview; I think "aloof" was the word I read.

But I found her very much the opposite.  I found her warm, I found her charming.  I found her protective of her material, but not proprietary.

In so many other interviews she had to be guarded.  There was still this whole series and she didn't want to reveal secrets before now.

allDAY: There were a few really delightful off-camera moments with Jo and the children during the interview.  Did any of those in particular stand out for you?

Meredith: She asked how many of us had gone to the last page first and a few of us raised our hands and she said, "How could you!," (as an author would).  She was teasing the kids.

I love that she was so protective of them during the interview.  She didn't want to spoil this book for anybody.  That spoke a lot to Jo, the person, not just the author.

allDAY: While she was quite concerned about not spoiling the book for anyone during the portion of the interview when the children were present, you also got a chance to speak with her one-on-one when went into more detail about the book and also spoke openly about her own life.  What struck you about that portion of the interview?

Meredith: She talked about Harry saving her, financially, and him being her touchstone for 17 years, that's important.

She also said her biggest regret is not telling her mother about Harry.  At the end of the day her biggest regret is that her mom never knew about the books, and if she had she would have been at every book opening, every signing.  That was such a lovely moment.

allDAY: It was a story about her mother that actually brought you to tears at one point when the cameras were off….

Meredith: Yes, she had been talking about her mom having MS and a case where she declined very rapidly.  I starting talking to her about my husband having MS and I just connected with her on a special level.

We were just talking about the strength of character of people dealing with illness – not the caretaker, the person with the illness – and I felt a bond with her.  Then I was embarrassed because I started crying a little.  I said I didn't mean to cry, and she said, "Don't worry, I'm usually the one crying!"

allDay: Of all the things she talked about – and she talked about a lot! -- what are you most excited to share with the TODAY audience?

Meredith: I think they're going to be most excited to know why she killed off who she didn't, and the choices she made throughout the series. 

For more coverage of Meredith's interview with J.K. Rowling, click here.

When J.K. Rowling sat down with NBC's Meredith Vieira, the two discussed Rowling's life pre-Potter, how the Harry Potter franchise changed her life, and the decision process in killing off a character. Ever wonder what Rowling would re-write and what "almost" happened in prior Harry Potter books? Read excerpts from the interview below and tune in to NBC Sunday for a one-hour special.

By Chris Hansen, Dateline Correspondent

The fireman
Tonight we're back in Ocean County, N.J., for the second part of our "To Catch A Predator" investigation. Among the first men you'll meet here is a guy who uses new ruse to convince a 14-year-old girl named Jane to let him come over to her family's house and have sex. Jane is really a decoy from Perverted Justice.

In his online chat 42-year old Rick Burnham pretends to be a 21-year-old college student going by the screen name "uconnbluenwhite". Then he introduces "Jane" to his older friend "stevetakespix" who supposed to be a real cool guy who just happens to be interested in taking the virginity of a 14-year-old.

We think what he's trying to do is not scare off the young teen by giving his real age in the beginning of the chat. As you watch Burnham walk into our hidden camera house, he's just driven three hours from Connecticut. Watch as it appears he want to get right down to business. He chats with Casey, our decoy, for a bit and when she excuses herself to go to the next room, he's right behind her. As I walk out to talk to him, we almost bump into each other.

That's when I see something sticking out of his back pocket. When I ask him what it is, he says it's his cell phone. I know it's not a cell phone so I say: "No. The other back pocket." As you're about to see, the item he pulls out leaves little doubt about his intent. Burnham, by the way, is retired fire department captain who says he's now a freelance photographer.

Grooming technique
We're about to see another man who makes himself comfortable on the beach of our multi-million dollar home on the ocean. James Marcott, 32, doesn't seem one bit nervous as his sits down to talk to our decoy posing as a 13-year-old girl. Perhaps he has experience talking to teenagers.

In his on line chat he told the decoy that he had earlier met a 15-year-old girl online. Watch now as he tells Casey that not only did he met her, he also had sex with her. When I talk to Marcott, he changes his story, saying he never had sex with a 15-year-old. Why would someone say this online?

Experts tell us it's a common grooming technique used by potential predators. Almost as if to say: "It's ok. Other kids you age have already done this." But in this case it's going to be another lead to be followed up on by detectives with the Ocean County Prosecutors Office.

Everyday guys
Once again, we see just how many of the guys who surface in our investigations look like everyday guys who don't stand out of a crowd. If you live in Pennsylvania, you might have even purchased a car from one of our next visitors.

When we meet 39-year old Jeremy Keister he has a job selling luxury cars. Watch as Keister walks into our home. Something spooks him right away. He almost freezes. I think it may have been when Casey offered him some brownies that something clicked and he maybe realizes he's just walked into a "To Catch A Predator" investigation. All doubt is removed when he admits he knows exactly who I am. He even says: "It's nice to meet you."

Head first
You may have seen last week's preview to tonight's show, where we showed video of one of our visitors who went head first into the bar in the family room of our hidden camera house. People have been asking me about it all week. Tonight, you'll see the whole story.

The man I'm talking about is 37-year-old Kazuo Akustso. When we meet him he's a shirt-and-tie salesman at a major Manhattan department store. I have seen a lot during the three years we've been doing these investigations, but nothing quite like this. Kazuo walks in, chats with our decoy Casey, and then I walk out. What you don't see on camera is that the color literally drains from his face.

I can't be sure that he knew who I was or what he has just walked into, but he knows it's not good. He goes down on his knees, gets back up and then apparently faints, crashing head-first into the bar. A medic comes in to check him out. Later police say he's OK.

What were they thinking?
As we finish up in New Jersey, consider this: nearly half of the 28 men who surfaced in this investigation had seen one of our earlier investigations. What does that say to me? Some people have suggested that some of these guys want to get caught, perhaps maybe even want to be on our show. Possibly, but I still think most of these guys just really don't think it could happen to them.

Click here for the script to "To Catch a Predator" New Jersey

By Chris Hansen, Dateline Correspondent

In her only television interview after the highly anticipated release of the seventh and final installment in the Harry Potter series, author J.K. Rowling sat down with NBC's Meredith Vieira in Edinburgh, Scotland.

During the interview, Vieira asked the author about what she's left out of past books and what the future holds for Harry Potter.

VIEIRA: Were there other things that you left out that-- you wish you could have put in?

ROWLING: There have been all through the books, not just in this book. I've said before that-- Dean Thomas had a much more interesting history than ever appeared in the books for me. And you-- you just see glimpses of it. But to write it really would take us into prequel territory. And that does take us into Star Wars territory. And that's not really a place I'm-- I'm planning to go. But-- yeah, so there's always been bits that I knew about characters that didn't make final cuts because they weren't that relevant. And I've said-- on my website I think I said that in a way I had to sacrifice Dean's back story for Neville's back story because, ultimately, Neville's back story was more central to the-- to the climax of the books as I knew it would be.

VIEIRA: We've also had a lot of e-mails-- from people that-- who have read the book now and have questions so I wanna go through some of them, set the record straight. Okay. Number one, 19 years later, who's the headmaster of Hogwarts?

ROWLING: Well, it would be someone new. McGonagall was really getting on a bit. So someone completely new. But if I ever do the encyclopedia, I'm promising I will give details.

VIEIRA: You're gonna do that, aren't you?

ROWLING: I think I probably will. But I'm not going to do it tomorrow. (LAUGHTER) 'Cause I'd really like a break. So you may be waiting--

VIEIRA: You mean you haven't started that yet? (LAUGHTER)

ROWLING: Well, in a way I suppose I have because the-- the raw material is all in-- in-- in my notes. But-- I wanna take a break from publishing for a little while. It would be a-- you know, I've still got a young family.

VIEIRA: Do you-- do Ron and Hermione or Harry ever return to Hogwarts in any capacity?

ROWLING: Well, I can well imagine Harry returning to give the odd talk on-- on defense against the dark arts. And-- I-- and, of course, the jinx is broken now because Voldemort's gone. Now they can keep a good Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher from here on in. So that aspect of the-- of the wizarding education is now provided for.

Get the full story of the interview here, and tune in to NBC to see the full interview, which airs on  "Today," Wednesday, July 25, Thursday, July 26 and Friday, July 27 and during a one-hour special of "Dateline," Sunday, July 29.

Wild about Harry? For more Harry Potter mania:

7 signs you're infected with Harry Potter fever
Photos: Fans flock to Harry's 'hometown'
For true Potter fans, no other place to be
First Person: Potter-mania at the book release

By Sue Simpson, Dateline Producer

The trial of Thomas Toolan III, was the first murder trial on

By Chris Hansen, Dateline Correspondent

These posts are meant to coincide with the broadcast.

10:03 p.m.
One of the things you may notice tonight as you watch our 11th "To Catch A Predator" investigation is how much more interaction there is between the men and the young woman we've hired to be our onsite decoy. In past investigations the young woman or young man typically invites the potential predator in, chats for a few seconds, and then disappears.

Here in New Jersey, where we've set up in a multi-million dollar home on the beach, our decoy Casey is able to have much longer conversations with the men. This gives us a keen insight into what they plan on doing to a young teen. Usually we mostly rely on the men's online chats with Perverted Justice decoys and while that does give us a graphic look at these guy's intentions, it is really startling to see them engage in the grooming process in real-time.

At the start of each of these investigations I'm never sure what to expect from the onsite decoy. They are usually college students who happen to look younger than they are, who have an interest in the theatre, and see this as a chance to perform and do something worthwhile in the process. All of the ones we've used have been sharp kids and have done a great job for us. Here in New Jersey, though, you'll see tonight Casey's work is extraordinary.

10:12 p.m.
A few months ago, in our Flagler Beach, Fla., investigation, we tried something different: a second location on the beach. Here in New Jersey, thanks to all the hard work of Mitch Wagenberg and his crew, we just about perfected it. It gives us the option of having the decoy invite the guys into a different setting. I wasn't sure it would work out as well as it did. Would the men be nervous about being seen in public with a young girl? What if a beachcomber walked by and spooked him?

As you'll see, it posed no problem at all. Several of our visitors seemed very comfortable in the beach chair. The real challenge was getting good, quality audio on the beach without having the men see a microphone. It's another technological feat. The microphones were hidden in seashells.

10:32 p.m.
I know I have said this before, but each time we do another "To Catch a Predator" investigation, I keep wondering if it's going to be the one where no one shows up. After all, this one is our 11th. We've conducted them in 8 different states now and 286 men have surfaced in the investigation over three years; 256 have been arrested and, as of this writing, 117 men have either pleaded guilty or been found guilty after a trial. You'd think word would get out -- and I suppose it has -- but here on the Jersey shore men are practically lined up at our door.

Many of them -- perhaps a third to a half -- know exactly what they've walked into as soon as they see me. In a few minutes you'll meet Michael Lubrano. He's 25 and comes to our house to meet a girl who told him she was 14. Here's another "To Catch a Predator first."

He brings marijuana and actually has Casey the decoy give it the smell test. Now listen to what he says when I walk out. He knows exactly who I am. In the back of my mind I'm thinking: How could a guy who "religiously" watches our show walk into one of our hidden camera houses? Listen to the compliment he gives me. For those of you who don't know, "Opie and Anthony" is a syndicated morning radio show.

10:44 p.m.
In this investigation we continue to see men from all walks of life and of all ages. Before the New Jersey operation is over we'll meet an engineer, a school bus driver, a former camp counselor, a retired fire fighter and, as you're about to see, a 33-year old Air Force mechanic named Ernest Timmons. He shows up after a sexually explicit conversation with a decoy posing as a 13-year-old girl. Watch how fast he moves after he comes into our house. I've never seen anything quite like this guy.

He's got his expensive digital camera in hand and ready to go as he tries to hustle Casey upstairs for some quick photos. There's a moment when our decoys tells him she wants to stay downstairs and talk first and that's when I sense he might be ready to take off. As I walk into the room and start to talk to him, he offers up his excuses: a big misunderstanding; a friend sent him.

While sweating profusely, he's sticking to his story. He tells me he's about to be deployed to Iraq. Apparently that's not going to be happening anymore.

By Chris Hansen, Dateline Correspondent

Our 11th computer predator investigation takes place in a multi-million dollar home on the beautiful shoreline of New Jersey. It's a picture perfect vacation spot for parents and children -- and for potential predators as well.

This particular investigation is full of firsts. We have had decoys in our hidden camera homes in previous operations greet and chat in person with our visitors, but this is the first time we were set up to capture such extensive interaction between the two. As you'll see, our onsite decoy Casey looks a lot younger than her 18 years, but don't be fooled.

She was exceptional when it came to making conversation with almost every one of the 28 men who came to our house. What makes this so revealing is that we not only see the potential predator engage in the grooming process in his online chat, we also see it in real time.

We have two separate places where the men can be greeted. One is inside the house in the family room and one is on the beach, with the roar of the ocean in the background. It's stunning to watch, as some of these men feel so comfortable sitting across from Casey in a beach chair explaining to her in person what they want to do to her sexually. A 53-year-old man named Eugene tells Casey, "You just relax. And I'll take care of everything, okay?" Then he says: "Just be your self. I'll just try to explain as I go. Tell me if you enjoy it." Of course he's not so explicit when I walk out.

In each of our recent investigations we've found men who have seen or heard about our "To Catch a Predator" shows and surprisingly, still show up to meet a young teen. I've gotten used to the fact that this will happen, but I have never seen anything like what happened in New Jersey.

There was actually one guy who came in and instantly recognized me. He told me that he was a religious "To Catch a Predator" viewer and that he never missed an episode. Before I could formulate my next question, he volunteered that he had heard me on a syndicated radio program and complimented me for doing a good job.

Once again we see men of all ages and from all walks of life, including a military man who seemed to be in a hurry. He comes running in with an expensive digital camera and tries to get our decoy to hustle upstairs.

Instead, he encounters me. Watch as his story changes and his situation goes from bad to worse in what is one of the most compelling "To Catch a Predator" shows we've ever put together.

"To Catch a Predator" airs on Wednesday, July 18 and Wednesday, July 25 at 10 p.m.

by Tim Uehlinger, Dateline Senior Producer

We had just a few hours to make it all happen.

In March, I flew down to Knoxville, Tenn., with Today's Matt Lauer for an exclusive interview with the husband of a student teacher -- a husband charged with murdering her teenage boyfriend.

From the moment we arrived, it has been one of the most unusual stories I have ever covered.

When we landed in Knoxville, Matt and I were greeted not by the accused or his attorney, but by the news that prosecutors in Knox County had attempted to block the interview, citing the possibility of too much pre-trial publicity. This is unusual; it's usually the defense arguing that the accused is being harmed by public notoriety. After the judge eventually decided there were no grounds to stop the interview, the defendant was moved from his cell to a small conference room within the confines of the Knox County jail, and the interview was allowed to take place. It was one of the most compelling and emotional interviews I have ever witnessed: the defendant fully and freely admitted he had killed the 18-year-old boyfriend. But the story got stranger still.

In the last two months, correspondent Natalie Morales and I were assigned to follow up and expand on this unusual tale, and as you'll see, the ins and outs of the story only raise more questions. Was the accused a cold-blooded, pre-meditated murderer? A sympathetic character who snapped under the pressure of being caught up in a tragic love triangle? Or was it all an accident? The defendant again sat down for an in-depth interview, and this time, told the story of a marriage gone haywire--a couple who all the while had projected the image of the ideal, all-American family.

We went to great lengths to cover all sides of this story. It is a tale so disturbing that some people connected with the case wouldn't talk at all. But in our report, the story of the teenage victim is told, and for the first time, the former student teacher at the center of the case has her side presented. The former student teacher agreed to, then cancelled, a scheduled interview. But her attorney says the 29-year-old educator was trapped in "a classic, loveless marriage." There is a lot more to this story than appeared in the headlines, and we have it in a Dateline exclusive.

"A Deadly Triangle" premieres tonight, Monday July 16, on Dateline NBC at 10 p.m.

by Keith Morrison, Dateline Correspondent

Even in his drab prison jumpsuit, chained and handcuffed, confined behind a thick glass barrier in the county jail, Sean Goff is an engaging man. Which shouldn't have surprised me, of course.  After all, the man was a minister, a youth pastor, before-- well, before what he did. 
 
We met in the narrow confines of the visitor's center, separated by that barrier, not long after his conviction for a crime that was so horrific it had left more than a few people pondering the possibility for evil in one human soul.  Did I expect his face to betray something sinister or monstrous? 

Instead, the man who shuffled in leg irons to take his position behind the glass practically radiated goodness.  He was wan, of course, pale from his months of confinement during the trial and the long period of preparation since his arrest.  But he was as well groomed, as he was kindly, friendly... engaging.

And he was obviously bright. We talked for, what, 90 minutes? About the Bible, about the theological underpinnings he believed he had discovered for polygamy (a personal error, he now believes), and about many of the endless arguments surrounding Christian dogma. I confess I enjoyed the exchange; Goff is an easy man to talk to.

Then we turned to the murder of his young wife, Joy... his wife-number-two. And that's when Sean Goff's talent for argument took a turn into territory that sounded, quite frankly, as bizarre as it was self-indulgent.  Round and round we went, as he took my questions about his dreadful behavior on a merry-go-round of circular logic. Each answer became a denial -- frequently in blatant disregard of known facts -- of the crime for which he was convicted. He built elaborate excuses for the limited "bad judgment" he was prepared to admit.

Sean Goff with Joy Risker -- wedding photo

 In the end, he said, his religious beliefs dictated his controlling behavior toward his wives.  In the end, he said, it was Joy who was at fault for the horrible bloodbath that ended in her death, that it was she who refused to live by his rules, and she who attacked him.  In the end, he said, it was his commitment to the sanctity of family that led to his decision to dismember and hide Joy's body deep in the Arizona desert.  After all, he reasoned, had he turned himself in; his children would lose a father!
 
 I must tell you, I was not particularly kind in my questions. I called him on his excuses, sometimes harshly. Occasionally, to challenge the sincerity of the religious certainty he pulled around him like a cloak, I was probably unfair.  And yet he never once lost his measured cool.

It became obvious, eventually, that Goff had no intention of confessing the crime he was convicted of inflicting on Joy. And so the interview drew to an end. And then, with his strange calm certainty, free of any apparent sense of guilt -- apparent at least to me -- he told me he has been forgiven for what he did, expects to meet Joy in heaven and has started a new ministry -- in prison.  He smiled as the guards re-attached his shackles.  His goodbye seemed heartfelt.

Sean Goff, some members of the jury had come to believe, is a psychopath, incapable of genuine feeling.

A felt a chill as I drove home. What was the true nature of the man, beneath that charming, deflecting, demeanor?  Does he have a conscience?  Perhaps he does. Perhaps he is merely determined to keep his torment private. And then again, maybe Sean Goff is harboring some evil inside, well hidden behind those engaging public displays of piety and goodwill.

Keith Morrison's report, "Body of Evidence" airs Sunday, July 15, 7 p.m. on Dateline NBC. Click here to see our Web crime files, and to watch more Web-exclusive videos and to weigh in on the verdict.

[Originally posted on Jan. 8, 2007]

by Josh Weiner, Dateline producer

I've served on a jury for a criminal case. I've also had the opportunity to watch several murder trials in person through my job at Dateline. Every case has been interesting. But a trial where the defendant represented himself? This is one I'll never forget.

By all accounts Janine Sutphen was an artistic, gregarious and talented woman with many friends. So when she disappeared on January 22, 2003, the community of Durham, North Carolina was stunned. Her body turned up four months later and that's when her husband, Rob Petrick, was charged with first degree murder.

Their marriage had once seemed so ideal. But it turned out Mr. Petrick was keeping secrets. The biggest secret wasn't just that he'd been cheating. He'd actually gotten engaged to another woman.

I headed down to North Carolina last fall, just days after coming across the story of this upcoming trial. I knew this case would be fascinating and unique. You see, Rob Petrick, who had no legal background, made the risky decision to act as his own defense attorney.

Within days after the trial began, Mr. Petrick was cross-examining witnesses about his own behavior. Some were his ex-girlfriends, and his questions veered into the most intimate details of their relationships. To watch these women reveal such personal details in a courtroom full of people was often uncomfortable, yet compelling.

Rob Petrick had already pleaded guilty to fraud charges before the trial began. He was even serving a prison sentence. But the jury in his murder trial didn't know that. They had no clue that his daily commute involved being transported by police while wearing the orange prison jumpsuit and handcuffs.  Every morning, in the hallway outside the courtroom, the guards escorted Mr. Petrick into a small, dark holding cell where he would change into a suit and tie and review legal documents.

Included in the daily crowd of people attending the trial were other reporters and an assortment of Janine's friends and family. They're a tight-knit bunch and it's clear they are still heartbroken over losing Janine. They always sat closely together, commenting to each other and even taking notes. A Web-group called "Friends of Janine" had been created, and every evening after court, her friends would share updates online as the trial progressed.

After nearly three weeks, the case went to the jury.  Everyone was wondering... had Rob Petrick, the amateur attorney, been able to convince the jurors he had nothing to do with his wife's death?

Watch "Body of Evidence" on Dateline NBC at 7 p.m. Sunday to find out.

Click here for full story

[Originally posted June 2, 2006]

It's a story that made headlines across the country.

A small-town preacher was killed early one morning in his own parsonage as he slept.

This case would open a pandora's box of secrets -- because the pious and charismatic preacher, it seemed, was a different man when he stepped away from the pulpit.

PLAY VIDEO

Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison previews the case.

"The Preacher's Wife" airs Dateline NBC on Monday at 10 p.m.

Read full story with exclusive interviews and photos here.