xfinity internet customers can enjoy the ultimate entertainment experience and save on some of the biggest names in streaming, all for just $15 a month. get the fastest connection to paris with xfinity. [music playing] hello, i'm andrea canning, monica peck: she was so alive. hello, i am ewandrea cannin and this is "dateline."

she was so alive. to hear that news, and realizing that it is amber, how could that be? her life was just beginning. an amber made friends for life here >> there was just no trying with our friendship, it just was. >> but that like did not last long. >> amber is on the floor, face down and she has a plastic bag wrapped around her head. >> most people that rob a store do not kill anybody. >> or comments, the murder stayed cold. >> they had witnesses, video, dna. >> we had everything against us, we go down and talk to the detective, we wouldn't let it go. >> then, a break, another victim. >> he would duct tape me, duct tape my mouth.

>> and she knew a secret, she risked revealing it? a killer ready to run face-to- face with the one person who might be able to copy him. >> he just reached over at the glove compartment and pulled out a gun. i said, please don't kill me. i wanted to get out of there alive. amber belken was a force to reckon with, hello, and welcome to "dateline." amber belkin was a force to reckon with, a petite , young woman whose drive made her seem unstoppable. then, she was found murdered. was ever the victim of a robbery gone bad, or was this brutal crime personal? three people knew the truth, two of them would risk their lives to reveal it. here is keith morrison with "everything she knew." it was a monday morning in january, 2007, 9:08 a.m. . a young woman in san antonio,

texas texted her boyfriend, i love you. that is all he said, i love you, nothing more. downtown, the alamo had just opened its doors. a few tourists began boarding little to gaze at remnants of texas's history along urban stretches of the san antonio river. several miles away, in the far reaches of a mother city, the manager of a videogame store began his daily ritual. his name was mariano rivera. >> the store opens at 10:00, but the managers typically get there at 9:00 in the morning, get the tills ready, grabbed the money, take it with you and go to the bank. >> similar process at its sister store, same company, not her away. that one managed by the woman who sent the text to her boyfriend. except, this was strange. as the morning went by, her store remained closed.

mariano got a call from the district manager. >> can go over there and maybe you can be something, see what is going on? >> he did. he saw a white car in the parking lot that looked like the young woman's car. he peered into the door window, nobody there. >> i thought, man, this is strange, where is she? i kept calling, nothing. >> her name was amber belkin . tiny, just 5'2", 100 pounds. energetic, ambitious, and very much in charge. >> she was a firecracker, that is the easiest way to put it. >> met piña is in texas politics nowadays. back then, he worked in amber's door. she would let you know what wanted, but i think she was one of the kindest souls that you ever met. i guess it depended on what side you met her on and how much you had made her mad. >> she could be tough? >> most certainly. >> these were amber's best friends.

>> was she cut out to be a manager? >> oh yeah. she was years. she was still friendly, she loved all of her employees and all of her customers. >> she was only 25. she was the store manager. so, it was a very good sense of, she is doing it, making something of her life. she had goals, ambitious, and she wanted to go back to school. she wanted all of it. >> not that she set out to work in a games door. she wanted to be a veterinarian. >> she was just so loving. we cannot pass a turtle on the road, she had to turn around, pick it up and take it to her house. >> she would find these random animals on the side of the road. it was like, how did you find that animal? >> like her little dog, buddy. her parents, lee and randy. >> she actually ran across buddy on the expressway and the hair was all method of, it looks like dreadlocks. >> and she said, well i can't put it back on the road, it'll get killed.

>> i just open the door and let it in. >> amber was their only child. they doted on her from the day she was born and she was good in return. >> she helped anybody that needed it. they didn't even have to ask. >> she was going to make sure that you are protected. >> but now, where was amber? why was her store not open? why did she answer the phone? early afternoon, still no sign of amber. so again, the district manager called mariano. >> something is strange. >> and sent him back for a second look. again, mariano looked through the front window, but this time, he saw someone, amber's assistant manager brandon standing there behind the counter. >> i knock on the door, and he lets me in. i say, brandon, have you seen amber? he's like, no, but something is strange. there's money on the floor, looks like some kind of struggle or something happened, some things got not over.

my first thought was, where is amber? he said, he did not know. of course, right away i take it, what's going on with this guy? clearly see something's wrong. he must have recognized her car. i'm thinking, that's her car outside, you see it, you see things on the floor, why haven't you reacted right away, called someone, or check the rest of the store. >> but he had it. so, mariano ran to the back office, the only other room in the store. not a moment he'll ever forget, not for the rest of his life. >> and when i ran to the back, i find that amber is on the floor, face down, and she has a plastic bag wrapped around her head. instantly, i knew what happened. >> one mystery solved. amber was no longer missing, but a much bigger mystery remained. coming up. most people that robbed the store don't kill anybody. >> maybe the robbery was just a cover for murder. >> he had a classic motive.

>> is nothing personal. >> when "dateline" continues. it is coming down. [ cellphone buzzes, chimes ] oh, flood warning in louisiana. are they obsessed? oh, yeah. the stuff they do on the green screen, unbelievable. they said 10% chance of rain. -seems more like 40% to me. -no. it has nothing to do with the dew point. progressive can't save you from becoming your parents, but we can save you money when you bundle home and auto with us. what are those, cumulus clouds?

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keith morrison: there are some things, which once seen, there are some things which once seen, can never be unseen. amber belkin sprawled in that death in the back office of a videogame store, her head wrapped in a plastic bag.

mariano riviera dialed 911, his might a horrified confusion . he stared at amber's assistant manager, brandon beale . >> i was upset, and i am looking at brandon like, i don't understand, how did this happen? i don't want to blame anybody, but your first thought is, who is around? maybe he had something to do with it. >> it has got to be a pretty shocking thing to discover. >> i mean, it's hard to describe. you just have 1 million motions running through you, you just don't know what to make of them. >> the police came, took one look and called raymond ray bob roberts, then a detective with the san antonio police department. >> it looks like a robbery gone bad. the store is in disarray. the clerk is found in the back office. she's dead. try to get some information. are there any witnesses? no, sir. so you tell them, hold the thing down, get the crime scene detectives out there. >> the news spread, somebody

dead in amber's store, but most people did not know who, including amber's father, as he headed over there. >> i jumped in my truck and i called a friend of mine who is a defense attorney, and i said, i need you to call anybody that you can and see what you can find out. i was just about there and he called me and he said, well how far are you from there? >> that is when he realized, it wasn't that amber found someone dead. >> they found her. >> my knees just buckled, and i just-- my whole world just died right there. >> it's a pretty dreadful feeling, isn't it? >> it's the worst feeling in the world, because you totally realize, no one can fix this. nobody can bring her back.

>> not for them. not for her friends. >> and then everything just stopped. disbelief. disbelief. your earth shatters. >> i sat on the curb and cried. everything around me was just a blur. >> inside the store, detective roberts had a look around. >> there's a bunch of dvd games all around. where the cash register was at the front, the deal is open, the drawer is open, there is some change laying around. more dvds laying around in the back. >> like somebody came and ransacked the place. >> and took out the back. >> out the back alley, was this escape route? electing to have their car in the alley, or had it parked over there and put the boxes out and drove off. >> you wouldn't think robbing a game store would be worth

killing somebody in the process. >> you wouldn't think would rob a game store. normally, during robberies, it's just a robbery. there is no murder. >> and this was certainly a robbery, given the mess and the empty safe. >> we checked the bank. there was no deposit made for that morning. there was $1900 stolen, three or four big deal games, play stations, ps3's, dvd games, all of that was taken. >> the hall total just under $6000. maybe surveillance cameras could tell detectives who took it, except-- >> there is no surveillance video in the store. there is not in the strip center that the store is located in. there's no video anywhere. there was video at the starbucks next door, but it only showed the front door. that's it. you don't see anything. >> who would know that? who would know it was the videogame company's only store

in san antonio not equipped with cameras? the answer was obvious thought the detective. an employee would know, just like an employee would know amber had taken to the cash to the bank yet. then marciano told the detectives about the encounter with brandon. he couldn't understand why brandon did not look for amber until he, mariano, arrived. >> is first , air it might've been a robbery, let me make sure the robbers are not still in here and can hurt me. let me see where amber is. >> he talked to amber's coworkers. they said, she had issues with brandon. >> they had never learned to work together yet. when you have a guy like that, who is not really the same type of attitude or mentality that the rest of us were, it causes some problems. >> did she trust him? i don't know. i think in some instances with some things, no. >> even amber's parents said, they knew she was dissatisfied

with brandon. >> because she had written him up. >> she prepared a negative work review. >> she was going to turn it in that day. >> it is just his last chance, mom. she said, i can't allow him to continue to make these mistakes. >> so, motive, opportunity, behavior that didn't seem innocent? >> i mean, he had a classic motive. he did not want her to write him up. he did not want to get fired. this seemed like a personal crime, didn't it? >> most evil that go in and rob the store, they don't go in with the intentions of killing anybody. they just go in there, do the robbery, and leave. putting a plastic bag on her head, squeezing it tight, takes four or five minutes. it takes commitment, emotions, struggling. she is just not laying there. you texting while. so that takes-- and it does kind of seem personal. >> they had brandon in the

backseat of a patrol car. a detective went to talk to him. >> he tells me a story and it's just not making any sense. >> is yet brandon taken downtown and questioned by a colleague known for her special interviewing skills. >> she's a real good detective. she has a good way of getting stuff out of people. about an hour later, i'm still at the scene, she calls back and says, yeah, something's up with this guy. >> coming up, amber's parents were convinced it was brandon. that excites what amber's mom says she saw the funeral. >> he put one of those tag holders that had their i.d. on it, he put one of those in her casket. >> when "dateline" continues. . hoooold!!! hooold! now!!!! i'm on it. i'm, on it. already sold to carvana. go to carvana and track your car's value today. upset stomach iberogast indigestion

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keith morrison: it was four days after that awful morning in the video game store. it was four days after tha awful morning in the videogame store. amber belkin's funeral was huge , as if in death she had been adopted by the community around her. >> over 600 people and the ones that couldn't get into the chapel waited in the lobby and in the parking lot. >> is that a comfort? >> a very big comfort that she touched that many lives. >> they loved amber. they said, we love amber. >> they did.

>> as amber's parents watched, they cannot stop seeing in their heads another scene, the one in the back room of the videogame store, the way she was killed. >> it's only it was personal. >> she had to be so frightened. and when she tried to pick up the phone, i know it was to call us and he yanked the phone out of the wall. >> was it brandon beale? by the day of the funeral, they were sure. >> we definitely thought brandon did it. >> everything pointed to him. >> but then, as mourners filed by to pay their respects, suddenly there he was, at the funeral, in front of them. brandon beale. >> did you think, my god, her killer has come to the funeral? >> he came in and shook my hand and i got up and my knees just felt weak and i just fell. >> and then, set amber's mother , she was sure she saw brandon walk right up to the casket and

put something into it. >> he put one of the game stop tag holders that had their i.d. on it. he put one of those in her casket and i got that thing out of there as fast as i could and put it in a tissue and put it in my purse because i thought, that's the last thing i want. with my daughter. >> was that i.d. potential evidence, she wondered ? was brandon trying to bury evidence with amber's body? >> so mom was automatically thinking, brandon did it. >> it's got to be brandon. >> a week after the murder, detective roberts questioned brandon on videotape. >> i'm going back over everything we talked about to try to figure this thing out. >> brandon repeated the story he had been telling from the start. he was nowhere near the story that morning. >> i set the dog out, watched "sportscenter." at 9:45 i left because i had to

go help my fiance's parents moved. >> he didn't get to the store, he said, until after 2:00 p.m. for afternoon shift. when he got there, he insisted it was still closed. so he panicked. was he supposed to open that morning? >> i'm about to put my stuff in so i can check the computer. >> he looks around and sees the dvds on the floor, the cashier's drawer open, he sees all of this and thought-- so he goes about to open the store. yeah, so you know, he's not looking for amber, or not looking for anybody that's supposed to be working. >> brandon told detective roberts he had no idea amber was in the store, no idea amber intended to submit a negative work review about him that very day. didn't notice her car in the parking lot he said, didn't think the obviousness in the storm it they'd been robbed. >> you saw the disarray, if an employee saw the disarray--

>> a normal person would go and start to go in and think, something's up. >> so they got a search warrant for brandon's house and car. maybe they'd find some stolen dvds and the game consoles there. they did not. there has to be something. for weeks, the detective looked for evidence on brandon beale. >> randy and mama called me 24/7 every day, two, three times a day. brandon, brandon, brandon, brandon. >> detectives questioned his young say, there parents, scoured his own records. >> we did everything we could to try to get some kind of evidence on brandon, and there was none there. there was none there because he didn't do it. >> at alibi about helping his fiancee's parents checked out and his phone records revealed he was miles from the store when amber was murdered. finally, brandon beale was cleared. >> did you at some point think, i'm going to be charged with

murder? >> yes, i did. >> the memory is still rest. >> i had nightmares of going to jail. it was hard for me to leave. >> that terrible day? >> my whole thought process was, let me get this store open because-- >> i think i screwed up. >> right, i screwed up. >> why did he notice date been robbed? >> the store is a little messier than others here my thought process totally opposite of, hey, there is somebody did here, or there is a robbery. >> brandon was 23 been, and terrified. >> i'm just thinking, they are really just trying to put this on this young black man. >> when they questioned his fiancee, now wife. >> they were trying to convince her that i did it. they would say things to her like, how can you sleep with a murderer, you know he did it, you know, your possibly next. >> when they searched his house . >> it seemed like a scene or the movie, going through the

drawers, going through her close, they left a mess. >> even when he was finally cleared, he said, no one told him, nor was he told amber had written him up, although he had agreed they had not always see eye to eye on some things. until we spoke with him, he said, he had no idea amber's mother believed she saw him put something into amber's coffin. >> did you walk over to the casket and put in a lanyard or something? >> that's the most absurd thing i'd ever heard. no. no. that was my very first funeral, so i did not even get that close to the casket. >> but brandon is a father now, two kids. so he told us, he thinks of amber's parents, and understands. >> i couldn't imagine someone killing one of my children. >> if brandon beale did not kill amber belkin, then who did? >> coming up, a caller reluctant to give his name, but

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i'm jessica layton with the tower's top stories. california governor, gavin newsom, has declared a state of emergency in three northern california counties following the rapid spread of wildfires. the park fire is now the state's largest fire this year and rapidly growing, destroying buildings and forcing evacuations. kicked off the opening ceremony of the olympics in historic fashion. athletes from more than 200 delegations floated down the in a first of its kind outdoor flotilla. fingers lady gaga and celine dion dazzled the crowds, despite the rain. now, back to "dateline." anning.

i am andrea canning. brandon built believed he would be charged with the murder of game store manager amber belkin, but detectives verified his alibi and phone records placed him miles away from the crime scene. detectives believed the culprits must have had a game store connection. now, a call from an anonymous tipster was about to breathe new life into that theory. once again, here is keith morrison with "everything she knew." brandon beale did not kill his boss, amber belkin, was very clear to me which meant that detective ray bob roberts had a very big problem. >> we had everything going against us. did not have witnesses, did not have video, did not have dna, did not have fingerprints, did not have nothing. >> he went public in, had to. >> we held a big news conference with mom and dad. we played for help.

crime stoppers put up a lot of money. nothing. i was hoping. >> money talks. >> $100,000 reward, a lot of money, nothing. >> we put flyers up all over san antonio. >> we wouldn't let it go. >> as months went by without a single solid lead, detective roberts sank through frustration and into a kind of despair. >> this little girl how much she looked like my baby. my little girl. she resembled my daughter, same build, same color of her hair. amber's favorite book was a baby is "if you give a mouse a cookie." i read that to my daughter 1 million times. you know, you do this for an extended period of time, you try to distance yourself. >> sure, you have got to. >> and the worst mistake you can make is getting too close to it. i got close to the family, mentally, physically for the detective, you do that every

case-- >> you are no good. >> you are burnt out. >> and then, about seven months after amber's murder. >> i'm sitting at the office and the phone rings. >> the caller claimed to know something. >> what's your name? >> i don't want to tell you my name. just call me joe. okay, joe, what you got he said, i know who killed this girl. a guy named geovany. what makes you think this guy did it? >> well, he asked me if i wanted to do a robbery with him before. i said, okay. >> fascinating. >> he says, we stuber-- we used to both work for eb games. i said, why would he want to do a robbery at the store? hang up the phone, both of them did work for eb games. i'm thinking, finally got a break. >> the detective asked joe to come in for a talk. joe told him that at first he

did not think geovany's request was serious. >> i just blew it off. you don't think your best friend is going to actually want to go through something. but after he heard about amber, he said, it all clicked, geovany must have killed her. but how much stock would roberts put into this guy? he initially would not give his full name and was this, geovany anyway? the detective checked for priors . there was not much. >> he had a record as a juvenile, get his prince we live from the crime scene. hardly any that are legible. >> and not was a match. >> now you are stuck as an investigator. you got this one got as a witness and you want to tie him to the scene, but i have nothing to hit him on. >> but worth a try. he bought geovany in for an interview. >> of course, he denies it. >> on real comfortable thinking

that you are responsible for this murder. >> that's crazy, sir. >> was it crazy? no way to prove, really. and a couple of days later, detective roberts brought the tipster, joe, becky and at this time, joe poured it all out and said geovany actually told him straight out that he killed someone. >> i was in shock when he told me that. i was scared too me because i was in the car alone with him thinking, i freaked out. what's he going to do to me? >> now that was huge, if joe was telling the truth. but, just one guy's accusation, no idea how credible it might be, wasn't much to go on. still, it was all they had. >> so i draft out an arrest warrant and i draft out a search warrant, bring it to the magistrate. she reads it and says, it's about time. this is in the news. this is a high-profile case for san antonio. rich white girl dies at work, people went crazy.

it shouldn't have mattered, but people went crazy. they want justice. go get the search warrant signed, go get the arrest warrant signed, it's my birthday . i said, man, it's the best birthday present, ever. >> but then he got a call from his sergeant. >> he says, ray bob, i want you to keep your mouth shut, don't say anything, i just want you to do what i am telling you to do. he says, i need you to get the arrest warrant quashed. >> wow. geovany would not be arrested after all, just not enough evidence. the prosecutor made it clear he did not want to try him and bill in court, but the detectives still had a warrant for geovany's dna, so they went to his house unannounced. >> he opened the door and i said, i got a warrant for you. i did not say a search warrant, did not say an arrest warrant. he thinks. he turned back to his wife and said, i'm going with them. he was defeated. his head down, his shoulders down, put his hands behind his back like he was getting ready

to be handcuffed. >> that is certainly a tale. >> oh yeah. >> geovany gave them a dna sample , but afterwards, he clamped up, would it say a word. >> i was disgusted, so i had someone else take him back home . i called my friends at s.w.a.t. and said, you keep an eye on this guy. >> sure enough, just hours later he got a call. >> s.w.a.t. says, hey, ray bob, he's loading everything up in a car, is moving. >> they pulled geovany over at a traffic stop and asked him, where is he heading? >> i'm going to laredo, getting the hell out of you. >> geovany was going to laredo, texas , along the mexican border. nothing ray bob could do about it. in the case with pretty much nowhere after that for many months until there was a woman. she was terrified. and did she have a story to tell? coming up, a young mother locked in with a killer. segment he just reached over

the glove compartment. he pulled out the gun and i said, please don't kill me. >> when "dateline" continues. choose advil liqui-gels for faster, stronger and longer-lasting relief than tylenol rapid release gels. because advil targets pain at the source of inflammation. so for faster pain relief, advil the pain away. ♪ that colonoscopy for getting screened ♪ ♪ is why i'm delaying ♪ ♪ i heard i had a choice ♪ ♪ i know the name, that's what i'm saying ♪ -cologuard®? -cologuard. cologuard! -screen for colon cancer. -at home, like you want. -you the man! -actually, he's a box. cologuard is a one-of-a-kind way to screen for colon cancer that's effective and non-invasive. it's for people 45+ at average risk, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur.

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ask your provider for cologuard. welcome back. their case was getting colder by the week, when out of the blue, investigators got a break. welcome back. their case was getting colder by the week went out of the blue, investigators got a break. a tipster told police that his friend, geovany rivera , killed amber belkin while robbing the store where they both wants work. detectives believed the story, but did not have enough evidence to arrest. no, someone else was to geovany was about to step forward and her chilling tilt would blow

the case wide open . here again keith morrison with "everything she knew." late june, almost a year and half after the murder of amber belkin, the tech of ray bob roberts roared down the highway to laredo. he had just gotten a call from police there. geovany's wife wanted to talk to her and her name was veronica . and what a story she told. >> i made a dumb choice. i was really young, and i got pregnant really young. >> still in high school? >> yeah. >> she tried to resist him, she said, wasn't attracted that way, but he was so insistent. and once she was pregnant-- >> our family would insist we get married. i listen to everyone except my own feelings. >> and once they were married, he said-- she said, he demanded sex whenever he wanted. >> whenever he would touch me, i would feel sick and tell him to stop. there were times when he would get angry or frustrated, and

that he would force himself on me. >> and right beside sleeping children in their one, all bedroom-- >> he would duct tape me, duct tape my mouth, duct tape my wrist to the leg of the chair, just to keep me quiet. i was very afraid. and again, i was young. >> much too afraid to tell. >> while detectives searched for more clues in amber's-- >> then, one day in late january 2007, and she watched tv, she saw the news of amber's murder. and i said, look at this, wow me isn't that crazy? and he just looked at me and he just said, wow,-- he mirrored my reaction to it. wow i can't believe it. i never thought for one second-- he just acted normal that whole time. >> that is until after the police knock at their door the fall of 2007, joe reported

geovany, after detective robert scott that search warrants for geovany's dna. >> we were asleep. it was early in the morning, and then we hear a pounding at the door, boom, boom, boom. that woke us up. that woke me up. i'm like, what's that? he got up first and he went to check. >> and that he returned and told her, it's the police. >> they think i killed someone, i was like, did you? >> what is it like to hear that? >> i was shocked and mortified. and he says, it's because i did kill someone. that's all he said, i killed someone. who? why? i'm assuming, maybe he had an altercation with someone, maybe a friend or a guy down the street, i don't know. >> but geovany only said-- >> were going to move to laredo . let's just go. >> that very day? >> the next day. a very rapid move, unprepared, it was just past.

>> veronica was beside herself, paralyzed by fear. >> how do i tell somebody? do i call the police? do i tell a family member? what do i do? i stayed quiet, i was so afraid to say something. >> then, one night she worked up the courage to ask him a question. >> i asked him, did this have anything to do with what i saw on the news that day? he said, yes, i did that. that was me. >> what was that like to hear? >> i just started crying, sobbing. i was like, why, why would you do that? he said, we needed the money. >> she begged him, turn yourself in. instead, he went to his mother. >> she would cry to him, no, please don't go. you don't want to leave your children. they're never going to see you again. and i'm just there crying, why? like insight, i'm dressed trying to do it as peacefully

as i can without making him angry toward me. >> and then, around dinnertime one evening, veronica finally told him, she'd had enough. the marriage was over. then, he said, you know what, let's go for a drive. let's go get the kids something to eat. >> instead, he drove her to a secluded area. >> it was just dirt all around, empty. no people. no one in sight. that is when he pushed the auto , the lock. the carlock and it locked all the doors. that is when i was like, okay, something's going to happen tonight. something's going to happen. because we were in the middle of nowhere. and i didn't know if he was going to kill me. [ crying ] i'm thinking, how am i going to get out of this? and i look over and he just reached over the glove compartment and pulled out the gun. i said, please don't kill me. he said, don't worry i'm just doing-- just do what i say. >> get into the backseat, he

ordered. and he followed her. >> and then he raped me out there, and i just started crying and praying . i wanted to get out of there alive. >> but it wasn't veronica who would die. it was geovany. he pulled her out of the car, take the gun, he said, shoot me. >> i said, i can't do that. he said, you're going to do it, because if you don't do it, i'm going to come after you, i'm going to come after the children, i'm going to come after your family and whoever you end up with, i'm going to come after him too, so you need to end my life tonight. i can't do this, i can't be like you, i can't do this. >> she tried to reason with him , she said, told him, if she killed him and went to prison, their children would have no parent. >> i just anything i could say to get him out of this mentality. >> and it worked. he drove home, told her what she had to

do. >> he had me lay down next to him, make sure i was right there. i was awake the whole night, because i was afraid he would do something while i was asleep, or to the children, or something crazy. the next morning he said, i'm just going to disappear. >> he drove a veronica and the kids to her mother's house and he took off. >> what did it feel like to walk away from him? >> like, i'm almost there, it's almost over. and i run in there and i said, i need to make a phone call. and i need to tell the police what happened. >> and she did. >> they asked me, why did you take so long? i said, i was just so afraid, but i am here now, telling you everything, everything he told. >> but now, he was truly gone. a manhunt goes into overdrive and stretches across the border. coming up. >> we are in a jail, a cold,

stinky, loud jail. >> confronting a killer, healing a wound. >> they were grateful that i said something. that i did the right thing. when "dateline" continues. . coworker, and trusty copilot. for all your dog does for your family, give them cosequin a daily joint supplement that supports healthy joints and cartilage for dogs of all ages and sizes. it's the number one veterinarian recommended retail joint health brand. for your dog, your co-everything choose cosequin and other nutramax lab(granddaughter laughing).

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arexvy is number one in rsv vaccine shots. welcome back. veronica rivera had gone to police with a horrific tale. welcome back. veronica rivera had gone to police with a horrific sales. her husband, geovany confessed

to her that he had killed amber belkin. and with the terrified mother of two told her her marriage was over, he raped her, and make her to kill him, she could not do it, and now geovany is on the run. here is morrison with the conclusion of "everything she knew." the day veronica called the police was the beginning of the end for geovany riviera. >> i am drafting a rest, we are finally going to get the son of a . >> not that easy, all they knew what he had gone somewhere, probably mexico. it was a full six weeks before they tracked him down, surprised him at a relative's house, sure enough in mexico, as he played one of the videogames he stole from amber's door. detective roberts finally got his suspect exactly where he wanted him. >> we are in a jail, a cold, stinky, loud jail. >> detective brian's from the police department. you have the right to remain

silent. >> and he starts talking. >> i've been wanting to turn myself in, i always put the needs of others before me. >> put the needs of others before me? really? statement he said, this past christmas i needed money, even games. he said, i'm going to go to the one on san pedro because there's no video. he drives there and says, i had taped and a knife. what's the take for? five them up. >> he claimed, he did not know it was tiny amber belkin running the store that day. >> in my heart, i think he knew. after all, geovany had worked for the gaiser company, who managed the stores, he knew amber pierce if he knew he was going to pick somebody to rob, why would you pick this 5'2", 100 pound woman instead of brandon whose-- >> this big guy, he knew.

but when he got there, said geovany -- >> she recognized me. when i was in there, i asked for the money and try to explain to her, look i'm having some problems. she said, just take the money. >> but then, he claimed, she reached for the phone, so he took her down, taped her wrist with duct tape, like yet often does to his wife. >> that's when she panicked and she wanted to scream. i just covered her mouth and that, please don't scream don't scream like that. now i'm saying again, i can't lose everything i have to gain my family. i've already hit the point of no return. i just grab a bag, just be quiet, just be quiet. >> he put a bag on her head, he said, squeezed it tight around her neck, he held it there. >> when she stopped moving, i just heard her gurgling. i did hear her screaming, i just stopped and i said okay, i

turned her around and i untied her. i said, are you okay, and she wasn't breathing. i heard her gasp, but she did not respond anymore. that is when i had already had the money and i put the stuff i wanted to pick up so i can sell , and i left out the back door. >> geovany's story would not be tested in court . he took a plea deal, murder, a life in prison with parole possible beginning in the year 2038. at the sentencing, the family finally confronted the killer of their only child, their darling daughter. >> is it helpful to do that? >> it is. it is. >> no. >> not for you?>> he sat back on the cost the bull's desk, tapping his foot, just looking around. >> like you're wasting my time. it would have been beneficial if i had heard him say, i am

really sorry. i am so sorry, mr. and ms. belkin , you know, amber didn't deserve to die, i'm so sorry. >> what did he say? >> nothing. >> the belkin family did get an apology from someone else, geovany's now ex-wife, veronica. >> hi. >> they met for the very first time when we shot this story. >> i blamed myself for not saying something sooner, for waiting too long. and i always felt like maybe they had some anger towards me. >> but blame her, no. they knew she was a victim too. in fact, geovany pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting veronica. >> they were grateful that i said something, that i did the right thing. >> we don't have any ill feelings at all. she's a

wonderful girl. >> they are, they told us, broken still, and always will be . and they clean now to amber's best friend, ashley and monica. >> our daughters, our adopted daughters, which are amber's friends through thick and thin. >> may have each named daughters after amber. and they hang onto memories like gold. >> it's like you have to put it in a box and just keep it there for safekeeping, because that's what you have. that is what you hold on to. it hurts. it hurts. life will never be what it was with her. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i am andrea canning, thank you for watching. for watching.