tonight on "nightline," the busch files. how did a beautiful model end up dead in the bed of one of america's richest playboys? august busch iv. the inside story of the budweiser heir and his checkered past. plus, storming the gates. the biggest crowds yet in egypt swarm parliament in downtown cairo today, demanding the assembly's immediate dissolution. and our terry moran went with them to witness a revolution in action. and, super granny. a 75-year-old woman rushes into action on the trail of six robbers armed with sledge hammers. why unlikely heroines are

tonight's "sign of the times." >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, and terry moran in egypt, this is "nightline," february 8th, 2011. >> good evening. we begin tonight with the mysterious death of the girlfriend of august busch iv, heir to hiss family's beer fortune. adrian nicole martin, a model and single mother had been dating busch for a year. but suddenly, she was gone, her bodice covered in busch's bed. shockingly, this isn't the first untimely death in his life. tonight, investigators are asking what could have killed adrian nicole martin. neil karlinsky has our report. >> emergency 911. >> yeah, we need an ambulance. >> reporter: it was just a week before christmas and behind the gates of one of the most elite homes in st. louis, something was desperately wrong.

>> okay, what's the problem? >> she's just not waking up. >> reporter: adrienne martin was unresponsive in the bed of one of the most powerful men in town. august busch. >> is she breathing? >> we don't know. it's dark back there. i'm going to get a light and try to see. >> reporter: paramedics couldn't save her. >> she was a beautiful girl but she was a lot more than that. she was a mother. >> reporter: if it was anyone else, you would have likely never heard about it. but the fact she was dating busch went out like a lightning bolt. >> this is a story that's captivated st. louis. >> 27-year-old martin was found dead. >> reporter: after all, the man known around here simply as the fourth is the former an huzic busch ceo, heir to an iconic american brand -- >> budweiser. >> what's up! >> reporter: and part of a family that's put its name on st. louis like in other.

>> started making budweiser. >> couldn't be more proud to be america's favorite beer. >> reporter: from the historic all-american beer to countless parks and buildings, the busch name is inescapable in st. louis. they're the former owners of the st. louis cardinals. >> game three as august bush jr. resides. >> reporter: and for years, source of much of the city's wealth. so, what is it to be a busch in st. louis? >> it's not bad. it's pretty amazing. they are treated like royalty. they behave like royalty. >> reporter: this isn't just an opulent upbringing this is an upbringing that was unique and over the top in many ways. >> right. the busches had the license and the where with all to have some crazy tastes. the busch men over the course of history have had elephants and chimpanzees that they dress up and have them drink budweiser.

>> reporter: julie mcintosh is the author of "dethroning the king." the buyout was devastating. abruptly ending the family's 150-year reign and it happened on the fourth's watch. it was a time he was still trying to prove himself to the former ceo -- his father. and overcome a well-worn reputation as a playboy. >> august iv is a pretty tortured soul from an emotional standpoint and so i've always got an sense that though he may be the life of the party, beneath that, there is always a layer of sadness. >> reporter: what impact did losing the company have on august busch? >> absolutely devastated him. he went into a spiral of depression and a lot of people, his friends and former colleagues were worried about whether he has substance abuse problems. >> reporter: it was during that depression, after making a reported $100 million on the sale, that the 46-year-old met

martin. in his only interview on the subject, he told "the st. louis postdispatc postdispatch", she was always by my side. she was the only girl i've ever been with that i didn't want to have someone on the side. long-time st. louis columnist bill mcclellan says there are things about the incident that just don't add up. >> when the initial report came about a sudden death at august's home, the immediate speculation was drugs. it also struck me as odd that he himself wouldn't have made the call. >> reporter: in fact, that calm voice on the phone to 911 isn't august busch iv, but one of his employees. >> people tend to be incredibly suspicious about anything that happens to the busch family. and a lot of people think that august iv got a free pass, twice, in two different inls

dens. >> reporter: upables of something amiss are hard to separate from the fourth's tangled background. in 1983, while at college in arizona, his corvette karined off a road, killing a young waitress who was riding with him. august iv reportedly left the scene and was found at home still bloodied, hours later. blood samples taken from him were reportedly either lost or damaged and he was never charged. two years later, he got into a high speed chase with police in st. louis and was accused of intentionally trying to run the officers over. he claimed he didn't know they were cops and following a jury trial, he was acquitted of assault charges. today, in the city built by bud, everyone from the police to martin's family and friends are all but silent. his attorney has said the fourth did nothing wrong. >> i would expect family and friends to be a little more questioning and maybe angry, i mean, a young woman dies of

mysterious circumstances and everybody just seems kind of complacent about it. so, i was taken aback by the reaction. >> she was the best daughter i could possibly hope for. >> reporter: in a phone intervi interview, the young woman's mother says medication could be to blame. but not august busch iv. >> she took trazodon when she couldn't sleep. that's the only thing that i can think of that could have contributed to it. >> reporter: her mother says she was taken the anti-depras sent, and sources say her toxicology report shows lethal amounts of cocaine in her seasoystem. police won't comment, but the case is in the hands of prosecutors. since martin has been crematedc

they fear the truth may never be known. >> if there's an inconclusive result, it will be frustratinfr because this will be the third time where the area has been left gray in the wake with a run-in with law enforcement with august busch. >> reporter: twice in a lifetime, a young woman, an untimely death and questions unanswered. today, the young man who was once the king of beer s stays t himself, while martin stays forever young who wrote of herself on a website, i can't wait for my exciting times ahead. i'm neal karlinsky for "nightline." >> such a tragic waste. up next, the biggest day of protests yet in egypt, as thousands take to the streets, demands the dissolution of the government. when it comes to investing, no one person has all the answers. so td ameritrade doesn't give me just one person.

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the white house worked overtime to dispel any idea that it was easing pressure on egyptian president hosni mubarak, releasing a statement that the u.s. wants an orderly transition in egypt that is, quote, prompt, meaningful, peaceful and legitimate. meanwhile, in cairo, the biggest show of public protests so far, hundreds of thousands of egyptians overflowed liberation square today. terry moran is there. terry? >> reporter: an astonishing thing to witness, cynthia. it's alive, it's new and it's beautiful. somehow, the protests here caught a second wind and the egyptian revolution, because that's what this is, is changing not just the politics of this country or the politics of this region. it's changing the very lives and identities of the people who are

participating in it. you might say they're inventing a new way of being an egyptian, a new way of being an arab. and they know it. this is revolution. a father and his son and in their laughter is a new fact of freedom here. so many children are here. their parents bring them into the square, into the crowds, to be part of it, part of the birth of a new era, their era. >> when she grows up we will tell her that she was here and that she helped this regime to fall. >> reporter: this was the biggest day of protests in egypt yet. an enormous crowd thronged downtown cairo. and we entered liberation square. this is a peaceful, festive, huge crowd here today and it's diverse. you've got little old ladies, you've got bandaged young veterans of the protest movement, professionals, working

class, religious, secular, chanting, "we are egypt." it's breathtaking. >> this is the people's revolution here. >> reporter: that's it. they want to be heard. >> mubarak has to go. >> reporter: and they want america to hear us, too. >> we have the right to live as you live. in freedom, in dignity in a developed country. we have a history, 7,000 years of history. >> reporter: suddenly, they were on the move, surging towards the parliament. this was a first. the revolution at the gates of power. >> we need freedom. freedom. freedom. >> reporter: the powers that be looked on nervously, stunned soldiers stood guard and the crowd would not be denied. look what happened to our abc colleague, producer andrew morse. >> we're here in front of the egyptian parliament building

where the crowds have been building for about the past hour or so. the small protests have grown to about 1,000 people and it is getting busiest and busier as we go. the crowds have been peaceful, but make no mistake, they are chanting for mubarak to go, and they are chanting for their freedom. >> reporter: inside, the old elite was scrambling to write a new constitution. so many egyptians have stopped listening, or, rather, they are listening to their own leaders. like wahle ghonim, the 30-year-old google executive who was a key online organizer of the protests and jailed ten days. after his release yesterday, ghonim broke down on egyptian television as the host read the names of the dead from the square. it was this moment, many said, that fueled and inspired the new wave of protests we saw cresting today. then he was in the square,

declaring, we will not abandon our demand, and that is the departure of the regime. but egypt is much more than just that square. it's 80 million people and they need to work and eat. this is one of the real impacts the protests have had. i'm visiting the pyramids, virtually alone. they're closed. normally there would be thousands of people here, pouring their money into the egyptian economy. and now, all of that is at risk. policemen on camelback patrol the grounds now. and there are tanks instead of tour buses here. >> all the people who live around here, they depend on the life of tourism. if there is no tourism, there is no food for the people. >> reporter: this man is the minister of antiquities, a man who has worked around the pyramids his whole life. >> we hope that the sphinx will smile again. if the sphinx will smile again, that means tourists will come back. >> reporter: these old stones, these majestic, mysterious

monuments are among the great treasures of the world. but right now, it's another of humanity's ancient treasures that the egyptians are reaching for and grasping. freedom. how long can hosni mubarak hold out? how long can the democratic ecstasy of this protest movement last? how long can egypt endure the tension and the uncertainty and the economic toll that this is all taking? well, it's a revolution. you can't predict it. but you can say that there's much more of a sense of possibility and promise in the air than of danger and violence. it's really a privilege to witness it. cynthia? >> thanks, terry. and a final note. despite the jub lens in the square, egypt's vice president indicated today that police tools may be employed to deal with the protesters. when we come back, what do you call a woman in her 70s who stops six would be jewel thieves with nothing more than a handbag? super gran, that's what.

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>> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with cynthia mcfadden. >> ah, heroes, it seems, can come in all kinds of packages. witness a rather unbelievable video shot in england yesterday which depicts an elderly woman using her purse to drive off six sledge hammer-wielding thugs who were attempting to rob a jewelry sto store. in the battle of the thugs versus the super gran, the lady won. and for nick watt, that's a "sign of the times." >> reporter: broad daylight. six knuckle heads are smashing a jewelry store window. that guy just walked past like nothing's happening. hang on, out of nowhere, an old lady, running. look at her.

she's got groceries in that bag. wallop. she's ann timson. she's in her 70s. and now, she's super gran. a reluctant super hero. i feel very uncomfortable with all the press, she told her local paper. let's watch it again, maybe with some effects and music and stuff. ♪ i just kept hitting, she told the paper, and shouting and shouting for others to help. why did she wade in, swinging her handbag in the air like she just don't care? she's an unlikely hero. >> heroes are more likely to be men and more likely to be blue collar men who work in hard, physical jobs. >> reporter: so, not an old lady in a red coat. or this virginia woman, getting nasty. but there's a lot of this stuff

on youtube that doesn't make much sense, like, this grandma whacking a robber with a price scanner. why do people take a stand? >> it goes against all of, you know, human and evolutionary history to put yourself in that kind of risk. >> a bank robbery attempt in wisconsin and then -- >> reporter: this hero was 54 years old, the anchor explains his reason. >> the customer thought his wife was in danger so he went after the robber. >> i think it's not just the risk of someone dying but what it's like to live with the knowledge that you could have done something or didn't. >> my mother's instinct kicked in, super gran told police. she thought a kid was getting beat up. in the cold light of day, said super gran, i know i put myself in danger. and we salute you, super gran. tonight, four of those knuckleheads are behind bars. i'm nick watt for "nightline" in london.