beat tremendous odds. poverty to a phd and became a symbol for victim's rights. a role she now embraces. >> the reason i went into psychology, was to help heal people. i think it's enough to be terrorized. it's enough to be abused. it's enough to be traumatized by a rape, and i tried to seek a meaningful life where i can change people's lives and that has been my objective. i'm going to put this behind me. i need to put this behind me. hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline." i couldn't live with that. i said, i know something, and it's terrible. i felt guilty. i couldn't live with that. i said, i know something is

terrible. i'm the only person that knows the truth. i had to do something. >> reporter: he swept her right off her feet. >> i was drawn to him right away. >> a dreamy single dad, wealthy, charming, smitten. >> i had never been spoiled like that. i remember thinking i was like julia roberts in pretty woman. >> reporter: he had been so much. a mysterious accident at sea. >> he went under and when he came up he no longer saw his wife. >> he was hysterical. >> reporter: it was a heart wrenching story. so why, then, were so many people so suspicious? >> no one knows exactly what happened on that boat. >> reporter: an accident? a disappearance? >> you thought what, she faked her death? >> reporter: or, maybe a murder. >> there is no way. absolutely no way. >> i felt like the police were just trying to frame an innocent man. >> reporter: now, she would be

the one to unravel it all. >> i thought i could do this. >> in a dangerous undercover operation. >> my heart was was so fast. i said you y need to tell me th truth. id >> reporter: welcome to dateline. they were a good looking couple with an expanding family and a booming business, but when he whisked her away on a birthday boat cruise, disaster struck and pegye bechler was gone. here is josh mankiewicz. >> reporter: if you crave money or fame or want to meet beautiful people, maybe become one of them, you will find your way to southern california. it is where everything is

possible. or seems to be. this is the story of two women drawn for different reasons to n the sun. to the bright lights. to the blue water. both chased that promise of success. both saw what can go wrong. it was a gorgeous summer day in new port beach california. the last of 4th of july weekend. some lucky tourists on a passenger boat called the green man were marveling at a school of dolphins playing in the water when they came across the unexpected. >> we have a loose boat out here. five miles out at newport beach. >> reporter: the captain radioed the coast guard that a small speedboat was circling out of control in the water nearby was a man holding onto a body board. >> the husband apparently fell off the boat. and the wife apparently fell off the boat. >> reporter: the man in the

water was frantic. >> he still looked like he is pretty hedistraught. >> absolutely. >> reporter: his name was eric bechler. his wife was pegye, but she was nowhere to be found. >> what is he doing? >> yelling out. >> roger, and can you make out any words he is yelling out? >> no. he is kind of slurring his words. >> a unit should be on scene. >> reporter: it was a stunning end to what began as a perfect day. this newport beach couple was celebrating their wedding anniversary and pegye just turning 38. >> it was her birthday. she was in good spirits. >> reporter: brenda was one of the friends they invited to a big party a couple of days earlier. >> she was talking about how much she loves eric. how great life is. >> reporter: and maybe life wase

great. because pegye had it all. her story begins in a small town, dexter, new mexico. this is where pegye made her entrance. >> i have always said she was born winking at the doctor and swinging on the chandelier. >> reporter: she was glen and june's fourth child and june said pegye was going places from the very day she was born. >> she was never still. >> reporter: she danced, sang, played sports. and, it seemed, nothing could hold her back. she had scoliosis as a kid. she had a wear a brace around the clock. >> that's a terrible burden for a young kid like that to bear. >> uh-huh. >> but it ended up motivating her. >> it did. >> reporter: her doctor talked to her about a career in physical therapy. >> she wanted to be a physical therapist and move to

california and she wanted to be a beautiful blond. >> reporter: so she left dexter for sunny california and settled in newport beach where she met glenda who was also from new mexico and they immediately hit it off. >> pegye was one of the most gregarious people i ever met. she was happy, always smiling. >> reporter: and she was driven to establish herself as a successful physical thermist. she had almost everything she wanted. >> she did want to find the guy. >> and the clock was ticking a little bit. >> yeah. >> reporter: and ckone day on t beach, you found somebody for her? >> we did. so, one afternoon on a weekend, pegye called me and said what are you going? i will go watch dave play

volleyball on the beach. >> reporter: dave was glenda's husband. >> she spotted eric and said who is that? >> reporter: eric bechler, then in his early 20s , was a walking commercial for the california beach life. >> i'm going to guess when she noticed a guy playing beach volleyball, he is good looking and in great shape. >> indeed he was. >> reporter: and, he was available. he was also eight years younger. >> was that a problem? >> it was not a problem for either one of them. pegye, when she sets her sight on something, she is going to make it happen and it developed really quickly. really quickly. >> reporter: within a year, they were married. within four years they had three beautiful kids. pegye and eric went into business together. she opened up her own physical therapy business and eric, a computer whiz, managed the technical side of their venture. which quickly became very profitable.

>> her business was doing good and she was happily married. >> reporter: and the happy couple was happily spending a lot of money on a german sports car, italian clothing and a lo spectacular bluff side home in newport beach. >> they were the little dream story. beautiful girl, good looking guy. drive nice cars, beautiful children. >> reporter: until that summer day in 1997 when the unimaginable happened. >> male kind of distraught. said his wife fell overboard. >> reporter: it was a boating accident, said eric. and the coast guard agreed. something they see all too often. but soon, secrets emerged that would make some people wonder. what really happened to pegye bechler? >> where was pegye and what had gone wrong on that boat? coming up, there would be a sea of questions to come. >> you thought she faked her death? >> when dateline continues. death?

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josh mankiewicz (voiceover): it's said there's nothing but shingrix protects. more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline. this was supposed to be something like that-- a romantic outing, an anniversary it's said there is nothing icmo beautiful then the way the ocean never stops kissing the shoreline. this was supposed to be like that. a romantic outing, an

anniversary and birthday gift planned for eric's wife pegye. now pegye was gone. the coast guard immediately launched a search. but by nightfall, no sign of pegye. alive or otherwise. eric calls her mom june. >> he says we can't find pegye. i said what do you mean you can't find her? what are you telling me? >> reporter: eric told june that pegye was driving the boat towing him on a body board when a wave wiped him out. when he said he came out of the water, he no longer could see pegye inside the boat. >> we thought they should be finding her because we really just thought she would swim out of it. >> reporter: you see, pegye was quite at home in the water. growing up, it was the only time she didn't have to wear that back brace. and she became a very

accomplished swimmer. >> she wouldn't panic, she would swim because she loved the water. >> reporter: the next morning, glen and june marshall were on the first flight out to california. pegye had been missing 24 hours. >> that ocean is just bigger than you think about if you are in new mexico. >> reporter: pegye's friend glenda tried to stay optimistic. >> i absolutely thought they would find her. >> maybe alive? >> uh-huh. i did. because she was a fabulous swimmer. >> reporter: glenda went to the bechler house to see eric. >> how did he look? >> historical a little bit. he had been crying. his face is red. and, you know, all of those things. he looked upset. as he should be. >> she is the best person. >> reporter: this video from

local news shows a devastated eric. it was now day two of the search for pegye. still nothing. the next day, the coast guard interviewed eric. eric bechler could barely speak. >> what did you take with you? >> we had a couple of bags, and a cooler. we wanted to see if we could see catalina but it was so hazy. i told pegye, you know, it was too hazy, we shouldn't go too far out. >> reporter: eric told the coast guard he tried to body board on the way out. and said there was a pretty good swim in the ocean. >> was it as high as the side of the boat? >> probably. it was big enough to notice. >> reporter: eric said they stopped out here on the water to enjoy some margaritas pegye had made. later in the day, they decided to try the body board again. this time on their way back to the harbor.

pegye was driving. eric was being pulled on the board. >> well i mean, there's big waves. then all of a sudden it jerked out of my hand. i thought pegye would be right there. but she wasn't. the boat was just going in circles. and i couldn't see her. i could just see that pegye wasn't standing there on the wheel and the boat kept going further and further away. independent couldn't see any other boats. i was screaming. looking around. it was my fault. i could only see her right now. if i could only see her right now. >> reporter: and so, pegye bechler was simply gone. maybe even within sight of the same beach that had spawned her marriage. eric seemed devastated. fearing his wife and business partner was dead. but eric's mother linda saw

things quite differently. >> i was sure that they would find her. that it would all turn out well. >> reporter: not just because pegye was a strong swimmer, everyone knew that. linda knew more. a secret about her daughter-in- law. >> you thought she faked her death or disappeared deliberately? >> uh-huh. >> reporter: coming up, pegye's secret. what was it? >> she stopped me on the stairway and said i have to talk to you. >> reporter: when dateline continues. >> reporter: when dateline continues.

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a brilliant pacific ocean sunset closed out day three of the search for pegye bechler. and even though pegye's family and friends a brilliant pacific ocean sunset closed out day three of the search for pegye bechler. though her family and friends tried to remain hopeful, reality was slowly starting to set in and it was painful. >> at this point, you didn't think she was alive anymore? >> i kept thinking that she was. but, how could she, you know, with that length of time? >> reporter: unless of course what appeared today be an accident was not. the coast guard conducted a reinactment at sea to understand how pegye could have fallen off the boat. and, they couldn't do it. >> they said it just, it doesn't appear to be feasible to them given the sea conditions. >> reporter: that is when the coast guard called the orange

county sheriff's office. detective shawn murphy was put on the case. >> they weren't able to duplicate close to what was alleged by eric bechler that his wife was tossed off by a rogue wave. >> reporter: if pegye's disappearance was no accident, murphy's job was to find out what did happen. they reinterviewed eric and asked him about his relationship with pegye. >> he said his marriage was good. no problems with it. >> you didn't take his word for it? >> no. we look into it. that's what we did. >> reporter: they met with the improbably named kobe lake kobi laker. eric's best friend. there were questions about pegye. linda says pegye told her something in confidence. just before she disappeared. >> she stopped me on the

stairway. as i was leaving and said, i have to talk to you. she said, i'm afraid i'm going to jail. >> reporter: according to court documents, about a year before pegye disappeared, the couple sold their physical therapy business to another company. but they stayed on as employees. then, just four months before pegye vanished, the bechlers were fired amid allocations they had overbilled medicare for more than a million dollars. so, when linda heard pegye had vanished. >> i started thinking about howdies tubbed she was about going to jail. >> reporter: and she wondered if pegye had somehow staged her own disappearance. pegye's friend glenda said no way. >> was pegye bechler capable of committing white collar crime? medicare overbilling? >> in my opinion, no. >> if you are wrong about that, then maybe the idea that she faked her death to escape

possible prosecution for that, maybe that's a little more plausible. >> white collar crime and faking your death and leaving your children and family are two separate issues. >> reporter: glenda said pegye adored her children and would never abandon them. >> i will say that people who have never been in the inside of a courtroom or the inside of a jail, sometimes they do pretty crazy things when they realize that might happen to them. >> i believe that, but not pegye. >> reporter: glenda did tell the detectives that pegye and eric were having some issues about how pegye was busy with work and kids while eric seemed occupied on the volleyball court. >> she just confided in me they were having financial troubles. he had a pretty high lifestyle to keep up with. >> reporter: glenda said eric and pegye seemed determined to

work everything out. but now pegye was gone and eric was a single dad with three kids under the age of four. and, a new player was about to enter the story. >> you were drawn to eric right away? >> yes. >> reporter: like countless young women before her, tina new had hollywood dreams. but that turned out to be the peak of her career. soon, tina found herself slipping into the darker side of show business. she started doing drugs and lost custody of her two young children because of it. and fell for a succession of guys who did not treat her kindly. >> i mean, i had an ex- boyfriend put a gun to my head. played russian roulette between me and him. i was held over the balcony by my neck. >> reporter: tina who was broke and near rock bot ton was desperate. >> i got down on my knees

begging and i said i'll do whatever you want lord. i need you show me a sign. the next day i meet eric and all my problems are gone. >> reporter: she had taken a modeling gig. eye candy, at a trade show. eric was there promoting his new business. it was three months to the day since pegye had disappeared. >> i just thought he was really handsome. >> so there was some serious chemistry from the beginning? >> yes, we went out that night actually. he asked me out that night and i moved in the next day. really fast. >> you don't wait do you? >> no. not then. >> reporter: eric lived in a giant house and drove a porshe. and he was a gentleman in her life after a long string of men who were not gentle. >> i had never been spoiled like that. i remember thinking i was like julia robert ins pretty woman. >> reporter: tina was moved by his story. >> he said his wife died in a

tragic boat accident. >> reporter: she couldn't help noticing how great he was can the kids and she was eager to help taking care of the kids while eric went as usual to the beach to play volleyball. >> i thought they lost their mom. they need someone to step in and not be their mom, but do things their mom would do for them. >> reporter: but when they took the kids to visit pegye's parents? >> there was a lot of animosity toward me. i understood why. >> all they saw was a hot young woman brought in place of their missing daughter. >> and three months to the day. i can't imagine what they were thinking. >> reporter: pegye's family wasn't alone. detective shawn murphy had also noticed the new woman in eric bechler's life. >> she was just a hot number as they say. and, she was cohabitating with him right after this horrible boating accident with his wife. >> reporter: so murphy arranged to bump into tina. >> he said hey, if you have any information about this boating

accident, involving eric, your boyfriend, juster give us a call. >> reporter: nothing came of it. tina didn't call. but someone else did. coming up, the best friend has second thoughts. and goes undercover. >> i protected you. i basically made you look like a saint. >> reporter: when dateline continues. teline continues. everybody wants super straight, super white teeth. they want that hollywood white smile. new sensodyne clinical white provides 2 shades whiter teeth

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i'm jessica layton with a look at the top stories. a third victim in baltimore has been recovered. the 38-year-old construction worker's body was found and they notified maryland state police. and in miami, florida, a shooting in a bar in a popular outdoor suburban mall saturday left two dead and seven injured. police shot and killed the gunman, but not before one officer and six bystanders were hurt in the shoot-out.

and now back to dateline. welcome back. i'm craig melvin. with a new live in girlfriend, eric bechler seemed to be recovering quickly from losing his wife pegye and that didn't sit well with quite a few people. including the police and pegye's family. but eric's best friend, what exactly did he know and how far would he go to get proof? let's return to josh mankiewicz with troubled waters. >> reporter: to detective shawn murphy it sounded more than suspicious. eric bechler taking up with a gorgeous redhead just three months after his wife was lost at sea. but murphy didn't have much more than a gnawing in his gut until his phone rang. >> we got a call from kobi's lawyer. he wanted to arrange an interview with kobi.

>> reporter: kobi laker. he told sheriff's detectives the bechler marriage was great. now he had a different story. >> eric told me on several occasions he is sick and tired of his wife. and he would tell me that he just couldn't take it anymore. >> reporter: about seven months before pegye vanished, kobi said he and eric had a conversation that kobi describes as haunts him ever since. >> eric asked me about what i thought of the idea of him killing his wife. and, i was shocked. i didn't know what to say. he told me subsequently he was thinking of taking her out to the ocean. and dumping her in a barrel. >> he said when he saw there was a boating accident and eric's wife was missing, he knew right then and there, he saw it on tv. he knew he had killed his wife

and he lied to us because he panicked and didn't know what to do. >> reporter: detectives convinced kobi to wear a wire and meet eric. eric had no idea the police were listening in. even so, he stuck to his story that pegye's death was a terrible accident. >> i was there. i know what happened. and it's so hard for me to understand. you know, that there could be any other, people could think anything else. >> you never said hey, look, man, i don't know what the [bleep] you guys are talking about. but i'm innocent. you never said anything about anything. >> i have to what, say it every week? >> reporter: kobi tried again. >> i protected you. i basically made you look like a saint in the interview i had with the detectives. >> i am. >> reporter: a dead end. but detectives were not convinced that eric killed his wife. >> that conversation with kobi, that got you from suspicion to knowing. >> yeah, it move it all the way

over. we knew we had a homicide. >> reporter: but knowing it and proving it were two very different things. >> you didn't get to process that boat as a crime scene for almost a week. >> right. right. so, that wasn't good. that hindered the investigation. >> reporter: the boat, said detective murphy, was pretty clean. crime scene did find blood. just one drop under one of the cushions. but not enough to determine whether it was human blood. it could have come from a fish. not enough evidence to arrest eric for murder. or even prove that a murder occurred. pegye's close friend glenda didn't believe eric was a killer. >> there is no way eric would have done that. there is just absolutely no way. it was unfathomable to me. >> reporter: tina new felt the same way. >> i felt like the police were trying to frame an innocent man. the way he treats me, there is no way he could have hurt his wife. >> reporter: tina noticed eric

kept photos of pegye in every room of the house. she could not imagine that a man who had killed his wife would want to see her face everywhere. >> eric was really the answer to all of your problems for a while. >> yeah. he was. >> so you weren't too anxious to question him. >> no. i believed him. >> and after about six months. >> he says will you marry me? >> yes. >> and you say? >> u i said yes. >> you don't say no a lot. >> he treated me so good. >> reporter: she also knew eric was due to collect $2 million in insurance money once he was cleared in his wife's disappearance. >> and everything would work out. >> yep. >> you were wrong. >> i was definitely wrong. >> reporter: they had been a couple two years, still not married, but living together off and on. one night, tina was showing eric some of her old modeling shots and tv appearances. >> we were looking at my pictures. then i put the video tape in.

i'm fast forwarding it and it stops. >> reporter: purely by chance, tina recorded a news report about pegye's disappearance. >> the whole screen was a picture of her face and i said oh my gosh, what is this. >> reporter: then she turned to eric. his face turned white. >> he said to me how did you get that? i said i don't know. >> reporter: his reaction troubled her. but she hit play and it just got worse. the news report did not match the story eric had told her about pegye's disappearance. >> e h he told me it was choppy. >> reporter: but on the report it said on the day pegye went missing there were two foot waves and the weather was described as ideal. >> he lied. he lied all this time to me. and he was just really quiet. >> he is sitting right next to you. how does he look?

>> flushed and stressed. i yelled at him and said why is this different than what you told me? and he just, got really quiet. >> reporter: then, she says, eric bechler told her a new version of what happened when pegye fell off the boat. >> he thinks she hit a wake and fell off. and he said, and i didn't get to her. and i said, you didn't get to her or you didn't want to get to her? and he said, at first he said, he told me that he didn't get to her. then later he changed it and said i could have helped her but i didn't. >> now that's completely different from what he told police. >> right. >> reporter: chilling as that sounded, tina feared it still wasn't the whole story. she was determined to get the rest. but like a career in show biz, you have to be careful what you wish for. coming up. >> i don't trust you, i'm afraid of you. >> nobody knows anything but you. >> reporter: from model and actress to undercover agent.

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tina new thought she'd found happiness with eric bechler, until he changed his story about what happened the day his wife tina new thought she had found happiness with eric bechler. until he changed his story about what happened the day his wife disappeared in the ocean. >> you didn't think about going to the police? >> no. not yet. i just felt like he wasn't telling me the truth and i was afraid because he was always with me. >> reporter: afraid. yet, they continued to see each

other. sleep together. and party together. about two weeks after eric changed his story, he and tina went to a club and took the drug ecstasy. >> we get home, we walk inside the house, and we are just both laying on the bed staring straight up at the ceiling together. all of a sudden as we were talking it just came to me and i said to him, i said, oh my god, you hit her over the head and he goes how did you know that? >> reporter: the fact is she hadn't known. call it intuition or the effects of the drug or a random guess. but it was an opening and tina barreled through. >> i said, you need to tell me the truth. he is calmly talking to me and he says i'm going to tell you the truth. he goes we had this huge party. so everybody could see how happy we were together. >> reporter: all their friends were there. witnesses to the happy marriage. then, a couple of days later, she says, eric told her he took

pegye out to see on the rented boat and though pegye didn't know it, he took along some weights. >> then he said i hit her so hard she didn't feel a thing. i said what do you mean? he said i hit her with theweight. >> reporter: he told her there was blood everywhere. then tina says, eric bechler told her how he got rid of his wife. >> he did her wrists and ankles so she was bent in half. he put her body in a trash bag and tied weights to the rope and threw her in. >> reporter: two years after pegye vanished, a stunning confession. >> then you go to sleep next to him? >> no. then we had sex and i felt like i had to do it because i felt like he would think i would be quiet like he was sealing the deal with me. >> reporter: but the deal was

not sealed. the case was still open, and detectives had been keeping an eye on eric and tina all along. they knew the relationship was growing volatile. >> we were excited about it in a morbid kind of way because we knew it was going to go sideways. >> when relationships go sideways, sometimes people start talking. >> reporter: and what is what happened two weeks after eric's apparent confession. a neighbor called 911 after hearing yelling comeing from tina's apartment. when police arrived, eric was gone, but tina was angry and she still had the business card detective murphy had given her almost two years earlier. >> i grab my partner. we went out to her in the middle of the night and met up with tina. >> reporter: she told detective murphy and his partner gary jones what eric had said. tina was pretty far from an

ideal witness. detectives knew he would need more than her word against eric so they asked tina. >> would you be willing to wear a wire? >> i said yes. >> why would you turn in a guy who gave you a great life? >> because i couldn't live with myself. >> reporter: police planted microphones in her car, purse, and body. and tina arranged a meeting. she told eric that after the domestic violence call, sheriff homicide detectives came in to ask questions about eric. this dinner date, tina told eric, was to get their story straight in case the cops questioned her again. tina wired up, picked up eric from his home. and drove to a restaurant called el torito. >> were you worried about this? >> no. i was more worried i wasn't

going to get him to confess. once inside the restaurant, tina tried to get eric to repeat the details of pegye's death. eric wouldn't go there. >> you don't worry about details. details are not important. >> reporter: so tina tried to get him to say why he did it. >> you could have just gotten a divorce. why did you go to that degree? how do i know you wouldn't kill me? >> how could you do that? >> i don't know. >> reporter: it is no confession, but it is not a financial either. >> are you thinking to yourself at that point, that's it? i got him? >> i honestly thought that was good. but i still thought that wasn't enough. >> no, you do know. there was a reason. was it for the money? >> reporter: remember, pegye had a life insurance policy worth more than $2 million. >> it's partly money. partly about the kids. >> reporter: again, she tried to get him to give her a reason. >> i felt like i was backed in

the corner like she was going to steal the kids away. >> reporter: and eric reassured tina. >> all i know is i would never do anything to ever harm anybody ever again. >> she was good. she was really good. >> reporter: but the drama wasn't over. tina left the restaurant still wired up. >> we are walking to the car, and he says let me drive. >> that was not part of the plan. >> we lose sight of them. >> in a movie, this is where you hear the sound of gunshot. >> that would not have been good. >> reporter: in the car, with eric now behind the wheel, tina cranked up her acting skills and the tension. >> just tell them i haven't talked about it over a year-and- a-half and you don't know the details. >> don't make me lie. >> i'm not making you do anything. you can turn me in if you want to. turn me in. i don't care. >> turn you in for what? >> what? >> whatever you want. >> don't you talk to me that

way. >> reporter: now, tina tried to get eric out of the car. >> pull my car over. >> i will. >> now. i don't trust you. i'm afraid of you now. >> all i'm asking, you don't have to, nobody knows anything but you, you don't have to tell anybody anything. >> reporter: eric pulled over and got out. and tina hopped in the drivers seat. >> if you can hear me, met me at my house, that's where i will be. >> reporter: and just like that, tina new drove away from her old life. >> in the end, you got enough? >> oh absolutely. yeah. >> you understand you are under arrest? >> reporter: eric was arrested an charged with pegye's murder. >> what was it like to get the call he had been arrested? >> i just trembled all over. i couldn't really believe it. >> reporter: about two weeks after eric's arrest made headlines, tina made some headlines of her own. that put the whole case in jeopardy.

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she shoots from here? that's kinda my thing. get the real deal with xfinity internet today, and get fast speeds and a reliable connection to all your devices in the home —even when everyone is online. welcome back to "dateline." when eric bechler confessed to his girlfriend that he tossed his wife into the ocean, he may have sunk himself. etwelcome back to dateline. when eric bechler confessed to his girlfriend that he tossed

his wife into the ocean, he may have sunk himself. but as the trial loomed, tina's determination wavered. would she take the stand? here is josh mankiewicz with the conclusion of "troubled waters." >> reporter: beach volleyball is a kid's game played by grown- ups. murder for profit is played only by adults. and it's for keeps. prosecutors believe eric bechler was trying to be successful at both. two weeks after his arrest, came this headline in the local paper. witness in murder case doubts suspect's guilt. tina new who had worn a wire and helped police said maybe he didn't kill pegye. >> i knew that the kids had lost their mom and now they were probably going to lose their dad for a very long time so i felt guilty. >> reporter: guilty that she had helped jail a man she once

thought she would marry. >> i remember he called me from the jail and he tried to hang himself with his sheets. >> it was eric's frantic behavior from the lockup. that was enough to make you think twice? >> i didn't want him to die. i felt guilty. >> and you tried to roll the whole thing back. >> yeah. >> reporter: but she always thought he was guilty and eric went on trial. a star witness, tina knew, a witness who was to be fair compromised not just by her waffling about eric's guilt, but one detail in the story tina says eric told her. something john barnet says is critical. >> you expect if peggy's head was caved in by 35-pound dumbbells, there would be blood. >> quite a lot of it. >> everywhere. and there wasn't. >> reporter: on the stand, tina tried to defend herself.

>> i'm a horrible witness on paper. >> did you think anybody would believe you? >> no. i knew that i told exactly what he had said to me and i knew i was doing the right thing and i honestly didn't care what anybody thought. >> reporter: then, there was the conversation she had recorded at el torito. eric's own words. the jury heard all of them. barnet offered his own explanation. >> i argued that the reason he said it is to shut her up. to calm her dawn. >> reporter: in any event, the defense said, eric never said on tape that he hit pegye. the only person who heard him say that was tina, a drug user. a woman with a fraud conviction. >> they had a lot of circumstantial evidence and what ifs. >> reporter: the defense offered another theory about

pegye bechler. >> she was under a great deal of pressure. she drank on that day and that could contribute to a lock of care in driving the boat. >> you don't think pegye bechler faked her death? you think she is dead? >> i don't think she did. no i do not theta. >> you think she died accidentally and her body has not been found? >> that's right. >> reporter: he basically had three-and-a-half million reasons to kill her and that is what he stood to gain if he had gotten away with it. >> reporter: and the circle evidence was compelling. eric had a weight tree back at home that appeared to be incomplete. investigators believe he used the missing weights to kill pegye and then sink her body. and what about the blood? there might have been a lot of blood in the boat but it was

cleaned up. matching tina's testimony about blood everywhere. and of course, there was tina herself. despite her past and criminal record, she rang true to you? >> yes. absolutely. >> reporter: who would the jury believe? and, would tina's past make a difference? >> it doesn't matter what i did before or after i met him. what i did with myself has nothing to do with what he did. >> reporter: after seven days, the verdict. guilty of first degree murder. >> you are thrilled that the map who did it is behind bars. but nobody wins in this situation. nobody. the children now have no mother and no father. >> reporter: but the jury did not believe eric killed pegye for the money. he was found not guilty of murder for financial gain. and his sentencing eric bechler addressed the judge. once again, denying he killed pegye. >> the accident was a horrible

tragedy. it has befallen both of our families. as much as the marshalls are hurting, my family is also hurting because i did not commit this crime. >> reporter: the judge sentenced him to wife without the possibility of parole. eric's mother linda thinks the verdict was wrong. >> is it possible you don't know your son as well as you know you do? >> oh baloney. i know that kid like the back of my hand. >> look, i can understand a mother not wanting to believe her son committed a crime. >> listen, if my kid was a druggie, a r, thief, rapist? >> murder? >> well, yeah. but he isn't. he isn't. >> reporter: pegye bechler's body has never been found. >> you want to know what happened, but you don't want to hear murder. >> but at least now you know. >> that is still pretty hard to take. and even with all this information, we don't have a

body. >> you all right? >> yeah. >> you discover you are stronger than you thought you were? >> yeah. >> reporter: pegye's mother and sister ended up raising her kids. and one more person stronger than she taught? tina new. >> you are leading a different life these days. >> completely different. >> reporter: she gave up drugs, married a nice guy. and now she is a stay at home mom with five kids. a hollywood happy ending? no. sometimes real life is better. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin. thanks for watching. i'm craig melvin. thanks for watching. hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline." she was a college student, found on a lonely road in texas. >> we figured she had been sexually assaulted and