you're under arrest for the murder of your wife. total shock. >> the headlines are calling it the spray tan murder trial. a young wife's sudden death. >> it was the first time she had gotten a spray tan. and she passed away a few hours later. >> but is that the real story? >> it was strangulation. the proof is there. >> what about the spouse? >> this can't be happening. i know i'm innocent. >> inside this week's most riveting case. "in an instant." but first, how far would you go? how long would you wait to get justice for a friend? >> he killed her. he needed to pay for it. 3.

>> they'd been college roommates, super close. until that terrible night. >> that many wounds certainly suggests rage at the victim. >> absolutely. >> who could have done it? her boyfriend? >> something just didn't seem right. >> her new friend. >> things weren't adding up. >> her ex? >> he was very obsessed with angie. >> the trail went cold for more than two decades, but she was sure she knew who the killer was. even got a private detective license to help prove it. >> i said i'm a private investigator and i need you to tell me where's the evidence, all of that wasn't well received at all. >> finally the break they needed. >> we got the match. >> leading to one of the greatest twists of all time. >> it could not have shocked me more. >> what really happened "in the middle of the night." hello, and welcome to "dateline."

i'm lester holt. tonight we're going to tell you about two murder cases. one that came to a dramatic end just this week, the other that first made news a generation ago. a sorority girl brutally killed leaving behind plenty of suspects. but it would be years before technology and one determined woman would help reveal who the murderer really was. and in a case that started out with so many possibilities, no one would believe how it ended. here's josh mankiewicz. >> it was a saturday morning in october 1984 when sheila's phone rang. >> it was his girlfriend. she said there'd been an accident. >> an accident involving sheila's good friend, freshman roommate and fellow student at southern methodist university. angela samota. >> i initially thought angie had been in a car accident.

i went through the is she in the hospital, where is she? and i wasn't getting any information from her. and my girlfriend was crying. >> that's because it wasn't an accident. that same morning, angie's sorority sister evelyn sandy was given the news straight out. >> they told me angie had been murdered. she had been found naked with a lot of stab wounds. it was absolute shock. >> angie samota had not only been killed but butchered. repeatedly stabbed in her own bedroom. it was a bloody end to a life that had so much promise. >> she was the most amazing person. she was full of life. she could light up a room. she was a very hard worker, and she knew where she was going. she was very, very driven. >> angie had grown up in

amarillo, texas, and attended the exclusive hockaday school. she bought a condo near the smu campus. >> she was this amazing shining star to so many people that she knew. she was absolutely brilliant before her time. she was a double major in engineering and computer science at smu. at a time when girls were not doing that. she had this amazing absolute love of life. was really the life of the party. >> beautiful, intelligent, single, and 20 years old. it's a combination that attracts men of all kinds. >> she used to get notes on her car. she'd get flowers. she'd come in and show me who wrote her that day. she had a lot of attention. absolutely a lot of attention. >> am i right in thinking she didn't always have the best taste in guys? >> like any other 18 to

20-year-old, she didn't choose wisely at that point in her life. >> some of those choices and some of those men would figure prominently in the interlocking stories of angie samota's life and of her death. there was lance whom angie had dated back home in amarillo and through her freshman year in dallas. according to her friends, angie said she was afraid of lance because he had a temper and had once pulled a knife on her. there was ben, angie's boyfriend at the time of her death. older and already out of school, he was a construction supervisor in dallas. sounds like he was the opposite of lance. >> i would say he was the opposite of lance. >> and there was russell. a new friend of angie's who'd gone out with her that night and her friend anita. another female engineering student at smu. >> you saw her that last night. >> yes. >> how was she? >> she was angie. i mean, she was fine.

>> that night anita accompanied angie and russell on an expedition to a series of bars and clubs. angie's boyfriend ben was not present. >> ben was aware of the fact that angie, russell, and i were going out together. >> at least to evelyn, dben didn't seem like the type to get jealous. >> i couldn't imagine him hurting angie. >> the even ended at 1:00 a.m. angie dropped russell off at his apartment then took anita home. anita thought about spending the night at angie's but decided against it. what was the last thing you said that night? >> see you at the football game. >> that would be the texas-oklahoma game. but anita did not see angie at the game. and in the era before cell phones, there was no way for

anita to try to find her. >> she doesn't meet me there. very strange because angie was a woman of her word. i remember her saying i wonder where angie is. my roommate said there's something i need to tell you. she said you might want to sit down. she goes angie was murdered last night. and the police are wanting you to call them back. >> what'd you think? >> i didn't want to believe it at first. beyond that i started with the whole what i, could i, should i. should i have spent the night? could i have prevented it? would things have been different? >> but she was not the last person to see angie alive. it turns out angie's boyfriend ben was that person. she had stopped by his place on her way home after dropping off anita. later that night it was ben who

called police to angie's condo. what got their attention was not just what ben said, but how he sounded when he said it. >> a car is here and she won't answer the door. >> did he sound frantic? panicked? investigators didn't think so. >> coming up, police start focusing on ben. but soon the list of suspects gets longer. >> he was a pretty scary guy. he was creepy. >> when "in the middle of the night" continues. [ indistinct conversations ] ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] mango pineapple real fruit smoothie from mccafé. two of your favorite fruits come together to create a smoothie made just for you. the simple joy of refreshing memories. ♪

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>> so this was a vicious assault. >> there were 18 stab wounds breaking the breastbone and going through the body. >> assistant attorneys say whoever stabbed angie, their intent was killing her. >> that many stab wounds suggests rage, anger at the victim. >> absolutely. >> from what you could tell, did she have enemies? >> she had broken hearts. but she was not the type of person that had enemies. the only people that seemed to be mad at her were ex-boyfriends or people that wanted to be her boyfriend. >> police immediately focused on the man in angie's life. starting with ben, her then

boyfriend. ben told police a story that sounded a bit suspicious. he said that after dropping off anita after their night out, angie had stopped by his place waking him up for a brief visit. and that she then drove home. within minutes of reaching her condo, ben says angie called him around 1:45 a.m. in that phone call, ben says angie told him she let a man she didn't know into her home in the middle of the night. a man who'd asked to use her phone and bathroom. ben says angie then hung up promising to call him back a few minutes later. but she never did, ben said, and she didn't answer his calls. concerned, ben told police he drove to her condo but angie wasn't answering her door either. and now ben was locked outside calling police on the early generation mobile phone in his truck and sounding to them oddly calm. >> my girlfriend called me, said

there was a man in her apartment using the bathroom and the phone. now i cannot get her to answer her phone. her car is here and she won't answer the door. >> he broke in? >> no. >> she let him in? >> i'm not sure. i believe so. >> she doesn't know this man? >> no. >> police weren't sure what to make of ben and his version of events. >> so there was no way to tell whether the story that ben had told police on the 911 tape actually happened? >> the only thing we had was ben's word. >> no cell phone records back then and no records of local phone calls. that call that ben talked about, that may never have happened? >> that is correct. >> i would expect someone to be, i can't find her, she's not answering. it was a very mellow, feelingless phone call. it was something who didn't feel too concerned. >> ben waited in the living room while police went in the bedroom. they came out and told him angie

was dead. >> the first responding officer, what he remembered most was even after he had discovered the body and said so, ben didn't even ask what condition, how she was or anything like that. >> and sometimes people who don't ask that question don't ask it because they already know the answer. >> exactly. >> he didn't ask how she was killed, whether it was gun shot, whether it was stab wounds. >> that's unusual. >> very. >> and there was something else. ben's story may have been suspicious, but ben himself was squeaky clean. >> this was approximately 2:00 in the morning. he had been awakened from sleep, and he arrived at the location in a clean, pressed shirt. and he smelled of soap as if he'd just cleaned up. that tended to raise some suspicions with the first responding officers that something just didn't seem

right. >> while police were trying to process the story ben was telling, they widened their investigation to include angie's ex-boyfriend lance. the boy next door in amarillo. the boy angie had trouble with. it was something angie's friend sheila knew all about. >> he was very obsessed with angie. he was so obsessed with her, he would come down all the time to school to see her. >> they had dated through angie's freshman year. >> one night i got a call from angie. she was crying and she said that lance had gone crazy. and i needed to get over there. she was screaming. lance had taken a knife and shredded all of her clothes. >> did he threaten her? >> yes, yes he did. >> physically? verbally? >> verbally. and you have a weapon. whether it's a knife, scissors, he threatened her. he was a pretty scary guy. he was creepy.

>> suddenly lance was at the top of the investigators' list. >> crime suspect, absolutely. >> especially when we have an 18 wound stabbing. >> there was no forced entry. >> that's right. >> suggesting that whoever had gotten into her apartment had either figured out some way of getting in undetected or angie knew them and let them in. >> yes. >> and all that pointed either to the ex-boyfriend lance or to angie's current boyfriend ben. or maybe to a new man in her life, the man she'd been out with the last night of her life. russell. soon police would ask sheila, then a college student, to help narrow down that list of suspects and solve the crime. >> he killed her. he needed to pay for it. coming up, sheila's nerve-racking night with the suspected murderer. and then investigators get a break. >> they hen "dateline" continue.

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it was overwhelming emotionally. >> it was hard for angie's friends to hear, but the rape did help law enforcement because they now had the perpetrator's dna profile. back in the mid-80s, that wasn't the help it would be today. >> back in 1984 they could at least do a type of blood testing where they can determine whether or not an individual is a secreter or a nonsecreter. >> roughly 80% of americans are secreters, meaning their bodily fluids contain markers for blood types. the other 20% don't have those markers. the killer was a nonsecreter. >> correct. >> and that meant it couldn't be lance, the ex-boyfriend. angie's friends say she told them lance had threatened her with a knife. blood tests revealed he was a secreter.

in addition, lance had an alibi putting him 370 miles away on the night of the murder. >> he was staying with his parents in amarillo working at the local gym there. so they were satisfied that he was not in town when this took place. >> so he was eliminated based on that. >> and what about ben? ang angie's oddly unemotional boyfriend who officers thought acted strangely the night of the murder. >> did police check to see if there were scratches or bruises on him? >> they checked that. they checked his vehicle. they checked his apartment for any type of blood, bloody clothes, anything like that. >> nothing? >> nothing. >> and tests showed ben was also a secreter. whoever raped and killed angie was not. so cross ben off the list. which leaves russell. >> he was a nonsecreter. so he could not be eliminated. >> his alibi was he was home in bed. not exactly the strongest.

>> there was no witness that could confirm where he was after he was dropped off by angie and anita. >> no one could confirm he went to bed. no one could confirm where he was after that. >> did he ever move off that story? >> no. >> and russell said there was nothing romantic about the evening. it was just a night out for three young people. he continued to insist he didn't have any feelings for angie, that he didn't perceive the evening for a date and he wasn't romantically interested in her. >> correct. >> i get the feeling nobody believed that. >> no one did. a lot of things weren't adding up. >> soon police were questions angie's friend anita about russell buchanan. was there anything they wanted to know about russell? >> if he was romantically interested in angie was the primary question. they were piecing together we went out that night, that he'd had some romantic interest in her and maybe she rebuffed him. and that he had committed the crime.

>> what anita didn't know was the day after the crime, russell left town for about 24 hours. it seemed suspicious. when he returned, police paid him a visit. he told them he didn't know anything about angie's murder even though it was in the headlines and all over local news. it seemed hard to believe. police saw both motive and opportunity. and while there was no witness placing russell at the crime scene, there was also no one to back up his alibi. angie's friend sheila met with the lead detective who laid out for her the police theory. >> russell snapped, is the word he used. and then he grabbed a knife, took her into the room, and proceeded to rape her. this is probably the one and only murder that he will do. that it was just a passionate moment and he snapped. and he's going to be back to his old calm self. >> investigators asked sheila to

have dinner with russell and ask him about his whereabouts the night of the murder. she agreed. >> it was so uncomfortable. here i am sitting across from the man thinking i'm having dinner with a murderer. i'm getting into a car with the murderer. this guy murdered my roommate. >> but even to sheila, russell stuck to his story. even as he did a couple weeks after the murder when he was asked to take a lie detector test. he was found to be truthful when he was asked questions about angie's murder. about three months later, dallas police took a second look. >> and they looked at the polygraph again and came to a consensus that he was deceptive on those questions. >> that's a big difference from the way his original polygraph results were perceived. >> huge. they had their guy now. >> i did not want to believe that it was somebody close to her. it was more than i could handle. >> did you think police were going to charge russell. >> absolutely.

>> but they didn't. russell hired an attorney and stopped talking with police. >> they told me he had lawyered up and they couldn't touch him. they also said russell was leaving the country. so of course he was leaving the country, he lawyered up, he is hiding. it's done. he's going to get away with murder. >> not so fast. russell buchanan is about to tell us a story that will make you re-evaluate everything you've just heard. coming up, russell answers the tough questions. >> the police theory was you attacked her, you had sex with her, and you stabbed her to death. >> and then will investigators have a way to finally know if he's telling the truth? >> they did have a sample that in today's technology could be tested to find a dna standard. >> when "in the middle of the night" continues. [ male announcer ] it's happening right now at your local walgreens.

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only from at&t. murdered, the prime suspect russell buchanan hired an attorney and refused to speak with police. several months after that, he left the country. it seemed suspicious, but without enough evidence to arrest russell, police could not

stop him. russell was not arrested or charged with angie's murder. he went on to become a successful architect. now 28 years after angie samota was murdered, russell is talking once again about what happened that night. and about angie. her friends describe her as the kind of girl that guys get crushes on. >> maybe so. >> possible that you had a crush on her? >> oh, no, no. not at all. i hardly knew her. >> but after questioning angie's friend anita about that shared night out, investigators wrote that she told them that the evening centered around russell and angie and that anita felt as if she was along for appearance's sake only. >> it didn't occur to me it was an angie and russ event. it was the three of us. i remember anita and i sitting at the table visiting while angie was out on the dance floor dancing.

>> russell had told police angie and anita dropped him off around 1:00 a.m. he then went to sleep. for him, that was the end of the night. your alibi was you were at home in bed. >> yeah. and there was no way to prove it. unfortunately. >> the police theory was that you -- after you were dropped off, walked back to angie's house, knocked on the door, she let you in because she knew you. you already had a thing for her, something went wrong, you attacked her. you had sex with her. you raped her. and then since she knew you and could identify you, you stabbed her to death. >> that's what they thought. >> and so in the days after the murder, police started picking up russell after work and bringing him down to the station for questioning. >> it seemed like two or three times a month for six months. as they got towards the five to

six month time period, there was a significant shift in the tone and tenure of the time. >> accusatory. >> i remember the detective leaning back in his chair with an envelope of photographs of the crime scene. that they were absolutely horrific. he would hold them up in front of me and his questions were russell, this looks familiar, doesn't it? you remember this, don't you? because you did this. >> we think you did this. >> no. it wasn't "we think." it is "you did this." you had sex with her, you killed her. you stabbed her 18 times. >> but russell continued to deny it. that steady drum beat of accusation and denial ended only when russell hired the attorney and refused any further free

trips downtown. and the murder of angie samota then went cold for years. then in 2004, 20 years after the crime, angie's friend sheila by then living in nashville decided to act on something she'd thought about for awhile. >> i actually had felt angie around me for awhile. and then i was doing homework for a bible study class, and all of a sudden i look up and as you're sitting there, there was angie. and i thought it's time. and i called the police. >> and said? >> i wanted to know about the angela samota case, who was working on it, if they were working on it. and if they weren't, would they reopen it? and at that point told me nobody in 20 years had called, not one single phone call. >> that prompted sheila to take

a big step. she decided to get a private investigator's license to see if she could learn enough about crime and criminals to actually help solve angie's murder. at the very least, she wanted dallas police to take her seriously. she earned her license in 2006 and called the police again. >> i said i'm private investigator, you need to send me all the information on angela samota's case. and i need to talk to the detective and i need you to tell me, you know, what has been done, what hasn't been done. where's the information, where's the evidence. all of that wasn't well received at all. >> but they met with you to talk about the case? >> no. >> they gave you the evidence. >> no. no, no. >> doesn't sound to me like it helped to be a private eye. >> it did not. so after finding out they were

not going to welcome me into the investigation, i started making phone calls to them. and the first 50 phone calls went to the lead detective who had been moved to traffic. got nowhere with him. and finally one day six months into it i talked to a receptionist who said he's in retirement. he's not even working traffic. >> wait a minute. you left 50 messages in one month? >> yeah. i'm a little obsessive. >> sheila's persistence paid off. she was put in touch with the investigator looking at cold cases. a woman who dusted off the old angie samota files, took a look inside, and found some promising evidence. >> in '06 when she decided to reopen the case, she went over to the lab and realized they did have a rape kit. they did have a sample that in today's technology could be tested to try and find a dna standard.

>> but 2006, of course, dna testing had evolved. some of angie's other friends also approached police about reopening the investigation, but it was sheila who eventually made more than 700 phone calls over the years trying to move angie's case forward. she everyone offered to pay for the dna testing herself. >> i said okay, i'll send you a check. i'll overnight it. who do i make it out to? she said we can't do that. you're not allowed. >> that's something police departments pay for, not p.i.s. >> right. >> finally in 2008, the dna test was entered into the national data base. to sheila wysock, the frightened coed turned mom turned private eye, the pieces were about to finally fall into place. you still focused on the theory that russell buchanan did it and got away with murder? >> absolutely. absolutely found out he was still in dallas. that he was actually a

professional and i kept thinking why is this man having a good life after he had murdered angie? it was going to be solved and russell was going to go to jail. >> well, just a minute. if it were that easy, do you think this story would be on "dateline"? coming up, the case is cracked. >> the detective said we got him. my mind immediately went to russell. who else could have done it? >> good question. but the last thing she was prepared for was the answer. [ male announcer ] count the number of buttons in your car. now count the number of buttons on your tablet. isn't it time the automobile advanced? introducing cue in the all-new cadillac xts. the simplicity of a tablet has come to your car. ♪ the all-new cadillac xts has arrived. and it's bringing the future forward.

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march 2008. the dna from angie samota's killer was entered into the national dna data base. and finally police had the answer that eluded them for 23 1/2 years. >> we got the break we were looking for. we got the match. >> i received a call and it was the detective. and she said we got him. my mind immediately went to russell. who else could have done it? >> and then she says to you -- >> it's not russell. >> it's not russell? >> it's not russell. you could not have shocked me any more. everything i had known my whole life was just gone.

this whole time i thought this guy had done it and it wasn't him. it wasn't him. >> dna as we now know does not lie. the sample taken from angie samota's body did not match russell buchanan. did you feel guilty for having done everything -- >> to put somebody behind bars? well, yeah. >> done everything you could to convict russell and send him to death row. >> yes, absolutely. of course i did. you know, i thought this guy was it. and absolutely i was going to get him. and he wasn't the guy. so everything that i thought was truth was not truth anymore. and yes, i felt very guilty. still do. >> she felt guilty. russell felt anything but. all those years he'd been unaware of how hard sheila had worked to convict him.

all he'd known was the intense heat police had applied. but even now, russell just can't seem to get the words "i told you so" out of his mouth. >> it doesn't change anything. angie's life hasn't been resurrected. but my role or lack of role in this case was put to rest. i no longer had to wonder anymore about who perpetrated this horrible crime. i no longer had to live with the idea that there were people in the police department that thought i had perpetrated this crime. >> the dallas police called him on the phone to apologize. >> the police sergeant was very, very thoughtful. he said on behalf of the dallas police department, i want to tell you that we apologize for anything that we may have done

to have accused you of a crime in this case. and we wish you well. >> wait a minute. >> they made me feel great. >> and you were okay with that? >> sure. >> that's all it took? >> you bet. >> how many interrogations? >> i have no idea. >> holding up crime scene photos in front of you? >> not a happy experience. >> so they apologized and you're like that's fine. >> yeah. that's fine. i refuse to let this incident be who i am. i harbor no bad feelings against the police department. i happen to be an innocent bystander wrongly accused. i was thrilled they offered an apology. >> but he does think about what might have happened. >> what if i had said i could

i wouldn't be here. i would not have even been considered a suspect. so the fate of that one decision to go out one evening cast a very long shadow. and not only for angie but for everyone else involved. >> and there's an even bigger question for russell. what if he hadn't been able to hire a lawyer? he was, prosecutors say, an eyelash away from being arrested for angie's rape and murder. >> you believed he was attracted to angie, he had motive, he had opportunity. he didn't have an alibi. now you add failing a polygraph. >> all the evidence pointed towards him. >> it was all circumstantial. >> correct. >> in the mid-80s, that was the kind of thing that got you locked up. >> got a lot of people locked up.

>> so who was the man behind the dna match? and what story would he tell? coming up, a killer revealed. >> i remember the air being sucked out of the room and the feeling that i'm in the presence of pure evil. >> but what would a jury see? when "in the middle of the night" continues. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] the jeep grand cherokee has won more than just respect. ♪

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more than 23 years after the rape and murder of angie samota, the man behind that dna was finally identified. it was not as we now know russell buchanan. it was not lance, the ex-boyfriend. and it was not ben, the boyfriend who never asked police how angie died. the man whose dna was found in

angie samota's body is donald andrew bess. not a name you'd heard before. >> never. never had hit the radar of the dallas police department. >> not someone she knew. >> never crossed paths. >> why was mr. bess' dna on file on the national data base? >> he had been arrested and convicted of two different rapes. >> donald bess had been out on parole seven months on a rape charge when angie was raped and killed. she had no idea of his history when he came knocking on her door. and angie let him in the house. why would she do that? >> a different time. little more innocent. 1984. they said, hey, can i use the bathroom, can you give me directions. she was the type of individual that would help. she wouldn't have thought twice about it. >> he never admitted to it. >> has not.

>> he still has yet to admit that he had sexual relations with her. >> in may 2008, donald bess was charged with angie's rape and murder. the trial took place two years later. his dna was fresh, but everything else in the case was more than 20 years old. and the murder weapon was never found. by now donald bess was 61. angie would have been 45. her college friend sheila walked in the courtroom on the first day of trial. >> and i just remember feeling shaky all over. >> she got a close look for the first time at the man accused of robbing angie of most of her life. >> and he walks in the door, and i remember the air being sucked out of the room. and the feeling that i'm in the presence of pure evil. >> anita and russell, the friends with whom angie spent her last night both testified.

both found it emotional. >> just keep reliving the situation that is just difficult. it was just a flood of emotion, of how could you do something like that. >> it was tough. very tough. >> did you look at the defendant while you were there? >> yeah. that was scary. >> and think to yourself -- >> that was scary. >> -- you're the reason i was under suspicion so long. >> no. that was not going through my mind at all. what was going through my mind was, dude, do not come after me. >> prosecutors had dna on their side which sounds like a slam dunk. but nothing ever is in a jury trial. >> the mere fact that his dna is found in her doesn't necessarily put him at the crime scene and make him a murderer. >> the defense went on this attack. >> all you can assume from dna is he had sex with her. it's up to the fact and the evidence to determine whether or

not it was consensual or unconsensual. >> you're going to tell me angie samota chose to have sex with convicted rapist donald bess. >> i can't tell you. no one can tell you. nobody was there but angie samota and donald bess. >> and the defense did the same thing the police did in the hours after the murder. make her boyfriend ben a suspect. the man who made that calm 911 call that police found suspicious. >> to assume that a very intelligent young lady is going to throw the door open to some stranger at 1:30 in the morning to let him use the bathroom. but then is afraid of the person that she calls her boyfriend then hangs up the phone willingly. and yet this is supposed to be the assailant that kills her. it doesn't make sense? >> you find ben's actions suspicious. >> extremely suspicious. >> she and the others on the defense team didn't point their

fingers only at ben, but also ex-boyfriend lance. at russell, and at any other man that could have been invited by angie into her home. >> it almost seems she were overcome by someone she knew. >> or someone holding a knife and she was terrified. >> it still could be someone she knew but could be someone other than donald bess. >> someone like the ben, the defense suggested. and they put the blame on angie herself for possibly making him jealous. >> a bouncer at the club where she had been that night talked about the way she was dressed, the way she was acting. that she was extremely flirtatious with him and that's how she got in the club. and just the general tenor of her behavior. >> you're kind of making her out to be -- >> it sounds that way, doesn't it? >> -- sort of trampy. >> trampy is a harsh word. what i'd say is things weren't exactly as they seemed.

that there maybe had been some reckless behavior. maybe a little bit more fun and flirtatious than certain people would have liked. and that maybe someone found out about it. >> you think ben was angrier than he let on? >> much angrier. >> even though he appeared calm. >> there are a lot of suspects out there that can appear calm when they need to be calm. >> they put on a defense of anything they could that would stick. and the best way to do that is to attack the victim. and the victim's reputation and credibility. and she wasn't there because he had murdered her to defend herself. and that's what they did. shame on them. >> and it didn't work. >> it didn't work. >> despite the defense's attack on angie and its suggestions about the men in her life, the jury deliberated for less than an hour. the verdict was guilty. the same jury sentenced donald bess to the death penalty.

he has appealed his conviction and his sentence. for angie's friends, this was the end of a very long and very sad trail. i can only guess that angie would have been probably overwhelmed to know that so many of you were still thinking about her all those years later. >> angie was really special. i mean, she never left our hearts and minds. >> you still think about her? >> i do. >> you fought pretty hard to find out who killed her. >> i did. i did. >> you should feel some accomplishment at that. >> i feel that maybe she can rest in peace. she died such a horrific death that she deserved to rest in peace. >> one woman's commitment to get justice for a friend. now we're going to move on to our second "dateline" mystery. this is a case that's been in the news. the puzzling death of a young

the questions started early one morning with a dramatic call for help that you'll hear. and they ended just this week with an equally dramatic verdict in court. >> total shock and disbelief. i mean, this is not happening. am i having a nightmare? >> it was so sudden. >> i don't know what's going on! >> that moment is engrained in my memory. time stood still. >> a wife and mom collapsed and gone. >> i go to run to her and she's cold. >> her death baffled the experts. a heart attack, a seizure? could it have even been her new tan? >> it was the first time she had gotten a spray tan and she passed away a few hours later. >> finally investigators had an answer. this mystery, they said, was murder. >> we were in complete shock. >> curious evidence. >> suspicious markings on her neck. >> strange behavior.

>> he went from hysterical to calm. >> the trial had everything. exploding emotions, a secret affair. >> did you have an affair? >> yes, and my husband is well aware of it. >> even an identical twin. five years of suspicion comes down to one moment. >> i don't think that anyone could imagine what it's like to love someone so much then be charged with their murder. it's unfathomable. >> keith morrison reports on a cliff-hanger of a case. "in an instant." >> the story when it hit the news sounded almost crazy. >> killed by a spray tan. >> claiming the wife died after a spray tan. >> tries to blame her death on a simple spray tan. and thus a myth was born. the case of the spray tan defense. what a headline. though it was a strange tale, it was true that a spray tan did

briefly play a role at the heart of what sounded like murder. but the real story? headlines don't always tell it, do they? the true story what happened in miami was far more troubling, tragic, and bizarre than any headline. and it all happened so fast. >> business was good. beautiful house, great friends. and then it changed in an instant. like that. like that. >> to begin with, there was aventura. a brand new town, an upscale suburb where clipped lawns and boats that skirt miami. and among the families in this new place was the kaufman clan. migrants from generations ago in new york. jerry kaufman came first. >> we are -- we're four brothers. lots of children. and grandchildren. the family's been very close for

generations. >> and pretty soon aventura was a magnet for a bigger family. including the twins. identical. seth tried to explain it the day adam cut his finger. >> i said it hurts. and it was adam's finger. so i truly do believe we feel each other's pain. >> they were teachers first. good teachers. for little kids. >> we both started teaching pre-k because there were no jobs available at the time. >> i'm trying to imagine you with 4-year-olds. >> like kindergarten cop. it was a lot of fun. and also very rewarding. >> but teaching didn't pay the bills. so they joined the family business. real estate development. though frankly they looked more

like wrestlers or bar bouncers. big athletic men. and it turns out, suckers for love. >> she was my soul mate. we had an instant connection. >> adam fell first for a woman named eleonara. though everybody called her lina. she'd been everywhere. russian roots and quickly decided he was the twin for her. and he? >> i knew right away this was the girl i wanted to spend my life with. >> what did she do for you? >> she is absolutely spectacularly beautiful. she's a head turner. she's got class. and, you know, you got this poor schlub from new york, you meet a girl like this. you got to jump on the opportunity. i did my best. something worked. >> what would people think when they'd see you and lina walking down the street together?

>> happy. the happiest time in my life. i had everything i ever wanted in a woman. caring, loving, giving. she was my best friend. >> they got married in march 2000. before long they had a girl and a boy, a nice house in a gated community, a big extended family they saw all the time. and as adam's mother elaine saw it, a remarkably happy and untroubled relationship. >> there was just so much harmony in that marriage. he absolutely adored her and she adored him. she would tell me all the time. he's so cute, mom. >> i'd say lina the guys want to go out and grab a drink or get a steak. no problem. go. there was never an argument about me spending time with my friends. there's really nothing i would have changed about our relationship. nothing. >> then it was seth's turn. >> and here comes this brazilian

girl who is loud. >> that was richelle. they became inseparable. >> we traveled together. on the weekends we were together. restaurants, everything. family events. it was the four of us. >> it's like you had a sister, too, huh? >> yes. yeah. really did. i mean, we truly talked about and enjoyed everything together. everything. and it had to be that way. because adam and seth, they're so close. >> so you get the picture. it was a sweet spot in life. too sweet, too perfect to last. november 6th, 2011, seth and richelle were getting married in ten days. lina was to be a bridesmaid. she got her first ever spray tan to look her best in the dress. just hours after that is when it all came crashing down in an instant.

and this big, happy family suddenly plunged into a very dark place. it was a little after 6:00 the next morning, said adam kaufman. when he woke up and realized lina wasn't with him in bed. he walked into the bathroom, he said, and there she was. >> i go to run to her and it's just in slow motion as i'm going to her. and i touch her and she's cold. i'm screaming lina, lina, wake up. >> that's when he made the frantic call to 911. >> please, please. my wife is in the bathroom dying. i don't know what's going on! >> he was hysterical. >> sir, i need you to calm down. i can't understand what you're saying. >> my wife is in the bathroom. she's on the floor dying. i don't know what's going on. >> okay. she's not breathing? >> no! >> a million things are going through my mind. all i'm focused on is getting her help. >> please. please. [ bleep ]. oh my god!

>> the 911 operator tried to instruct him in cpr, but it wasn't working. 23 minutes went by that way. >> you know how many times in your life seconds feel like minutes? this felt like hours. >> then the medics finally arrived. shoed adam out of the way, started working on lina. adam called his twin brother seth. >> adam was on the other end of the line frantically screaming my name. get over here quick. lina's not breathing. >> they raced over to the house as the emts did everything to coax life into her body. >> and adam is pacing back and forth screaming oh my god my kids. and he's saying to me please go to my kids. please go to my kids. >> richelle got the baby from the crib and went into the 4-year-old's room. >> she was on the floor playing with her toys and she looked at me.

she said did mommy ask you to come babysit me because she's not feeling well? i said yes, baby. >> lina was being rushed out of the house and to the hospital, but they could not save her. and adam was a mess. destroyed. what on earth had happened to lina? and the big question. did someone close make it happen? when we come back, you know where this is going. a husband now under suspicion. >> the whole scene together of the fire and rescue was like this is not adding up. >> when "in an instant" continues. there's a reason that sound instantly starts up the waterworks in your mouth. [ sizzling ] it's the sound of flavor erupting, as freshly prepared ingredients sear, simmer, and caramelize, right there at your table. but, hey...it is a pretty good show. i'll have that. [ male announcer ] try our new sizzling entrees! like the double barrel whisky sirloin, the new sizzling n'awlins skillet, and more. starting at just $9.99.

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your soul. your heart. i couldn't -- i couldn't believe that was true. >> adam kaufman insisted he had no idea what killed lina. she was so active, seemed so healthy. how could a 33-year-old go to the bathroom at night and just drop dead? didn't make sense to the emts either. something didn't look right. which is why detective anthony anculo was called in. to take a closer look at this medical mystery. he never investigated a homicide before, but could this perhaps be his first? even a rookie knows a husband is always a potential suspect when a wife drops dead. and certain things about adam's story that morning seemed off. >> i mean, yeah. the whole scene together for fire rescue was like this is not adding up. >> the chief assistant attorney

kathryn hoge said it didn't either. some of the first responders said they found adam fully dressed when they arrived. >> nobody sleeps dressed. even down to the fact at the hospital itself, one of the officers recognized he had cologne on. he had his watch on. or something? >> or at least up. >> another officer reported the hood of the car in the garage felt warm to the touch as if he'd just been driving it. >> being warm leans it to being driven. >> when the detective looked in the bedroom, did his eyes deceive him? or was one side of the bed undisturbed as if it hadn't been slept in. so what was adam's story about how he found his wife in the bathroom again? turns out, it was a little unclear. >> he told the first captain that he went into the bathroom and saw her slumped over the toilet. after that he made a statement

where he said that she was slumped over the magazine rack. >> the other way? >> yes. >> strange. isn't that what guilty people do? change their story? but more than anything, it was something on lina's body that just might tell what happened to her. some nasty looking bruises on her neck. those and other signs of trauma suggested that lina's death wasn't from natural causes. it looked like she'd been strangled. >> something has happened which has cut off the air supply and created the pressure as such as you get these, you know, marks in your eyes. >> when somebody has caused their airway to be closed. in other words it doesn't happen just by itself? >> not usually. >> so the picture coming together was not of an unexplained innocent death. but the story of perhaps a husband who came home after a night out and suddenly snapped. >> my wife is in the bathroom! >> that's panic on the 911 call.

either the sound of a man realizing he'd just done the unthinkable. >> could also be this man ended up strangling his wife, freaked out over what he did, didn't necessarily mean to do it but it happened because he's twice her size and a whole lot stronger than she is. whatever set him off set him off. >> but did they arrest him? no. that, if it happened at all, would have to wait for an autopsy report. hard evidence. and so ten days after lina's death when seth and richelle went ahead with their wedding, police were paying attention. >> and in particular, we celebrate life before death. >> adam was there. made a speech. even cracked a few jokes about his brother. >> and he just wanted for his brother, his twin brother, to have somewhat of a good time at his wedding.

>> but looked at another way, it seemed to the police somehow suspicious. as it did when a couple months after lina's death, adam seemed to be dating again. so they kept an eye on him and waited for the medical examiner to issue his autopsy report. waited for months, a year, longer. this was not like some slick miami tv show. bureaucracies don't move so fast in real life. but then it was april 2009. quite suddenly, decision day. coming up, was lina kaufman murdered? >> they pointed out the suspicious markings on her neck. >> or is there another explanation? something to do with that spray tan. >> received complaints of seizures by people who have undergone spray tan? >> yes. >> when "dateline" continues. afternoon can be. undergone spe how colorful an

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together, every step of the way. 17 months after that desperate november morning when adam kaufman claimed he was still in the dark, no clue he said as to how his lina died. he said dozens of called to the medical examiner's office went unanswered. so finally he called the state board of examiners to complain. >> very nice guy. said mr. kaufman, i will look into it, take care of it, get back to you as soon as possible. >> and the very next day there was a ruling on the cause of lina's death. but no one told adam. not yet. it was a week later, a sultry tuesday evening.

adam was working o at a new ice cream shop he and his brother opened on the boom to bust. >> police always frequent our shop. and i look back down. and i see red dots on my shirt. all over my shirt. i look back up, and then i see about 15 police officers, s.w.a.t. officers, in the store. and i see them say there he is. they're pointing at me. i'm like, me? and they jump over the counter, throw me down to the ground. i'm like what's going on? in walks a gentleman, plain clothes. comes up to me, leans down on the floor and says remember me? >> it was detective anthony asking the question. the investigator who'd poked around the house the morning lina died. the first to be suspicious of adam's story. >> he said i don't want you to say a word. real nasty. he said you're under arrest for

the murder of your wife. again, time froze. and i said are you kid -- total shock. and disbelief and awe. this is not happening. this is a joke. this is a nightmare. am i having a nightmare? >> the medical examiner ruled the cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation, that she was strangled by a person. they took him to the dade county jail, locked him away. >> i was thinking this is a mistake. this can't be happening. >> but it was happening. days turned to weeks, weeks to month. reality sank in. he was accused of murder. >> what was it like sitting in jail. >> i was sitting there saying when are they going to realize what happened? they're going to find the cause of death and that's going to release me. i was waiting for that.

it didn't come. >> for the past year and a half, the children had no mother. now they had no father. finally after adam had been in jail three months, his attorneys arranged a bond hearing. as so often happens in florida, it turned into a mini trial. the state presenting its evidence against adam. that this big strong man, the only other adult in the house when lina died, lied to cover it up. the state played that 911 call in a courtroom packed with adam's family. many of whom were hearing it for the first time. >> please, please. my wife is in the bathroom dying. i don't know what's going on. >> as the tape continued to play, one family member couldn't take it and passed out. >> there's a nurse attending with so you should p >> this is raw stuff.

rarely seen in miami courtrooms. the first witness was detective angulo who said he'd been investigating him since the first morning. >> i examined the body. present were a couple of other officers. they pointed out suspicious markings on her neck. >> and there was something else. >> i saw what i thought was hemorrhaging in the eye and eyelids. >> and what indication does that suggest to you? >> asphyxiation. >> asphyxiation, death by suffocation. detective angulo said he was sure he had gotten his man. had been suspicious since he talked to adam at the hospital. >> he seemed upset at one point. then the other minute he was very angry. i could see his jaw muscles clench. obviously disturbed, but it was strange going from being upset to angry. >> and where had adam kaufman been earlier that night? not sleeping, investigators thought. remember, his side of the bed

looked to them undisturbed. but on lina's side, there were unusual smudges. >> the staining appears to be on the actual pillow itself and just below the pillow where the body would lie. >> they were stains from the spray tan lina got the previous evening when she wanted to look her best for seth kaufman's wedding ten days later. defense attorneys went on that and made their case famous overnight. they called in a doctor, ronald wright. the former chief medical examiner in dade county. >> in your investigation, have you received complaints of seizures by people who have undergone spray tanning? >> yes. >> do you believe that the spray tan material should have been investigated for potentially causing an allergic reaction? >> oh, sure. i mean, we don't know exactly what happened to mrs. kaufman.

we know she collapsed. we know she asphyxiated. but we don't know why any of that happened. and certainly there's a real possibility that that could have been caused by this exposure to the tanner. she's got it all over her hands. it certainly raises the possibility of an allergic reaction caused by that. >> she gets her first spray tan the night before she passes away? why not investigate it? stranger things would have happened. it would be negligent on our part not to do that. >> it became known far and wide as the spray tan defense. the idea of lina's death maybe being caused by an allergic reaction won more ridicule than serious reaction. >> it was almost comical. >> but they had a point. it was never tested, right? to see whether or not there was a possibility that could have caused it. >> actually, there was some testing done just for the heck of it after that. but even the doctor they put on the stand couldn't ascribe to

that theory. i mean, i guess it sounded sexy but wasn't feasible. >> the judge was not persuaded either. adam would stay in jail. no bond. his family was devastated. twin brother seth left in tears. but shortly after that hearing in one of those rare moments, the judge had a change of heart. it was just after father's day. >> the judge said -- he used the term i had a catharsis. he said i'm going to let this boy go home to his kids. it was a great day. >> except adam would have to wear an electronic ankle monitor. a stark reminder he was not a free man. and the real trial was yet to come. when we come back, evidence about marks on lina kaufman's neck and torso. marks her best friend says she didn't see the night before when

lina showed off her new tan. >> you said she took off her jacket. >> yes. >> was she nude under her jacket?

he buried his wife came the day of reckoning for adam kaufman. accused of killing her in the bathroom of their home. >> ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you have been selected and sworn as the jury to try the state of florida versus adam kaufman. >> adam was surrounded by his protective family including his identical twin seth. the family was terrified. adam was facing up to life in prison if convicted. >> i was really worried.

because bottom line is that the fate of my twin brother rests in the hands of 12 people i don't know. >> joe mansfield methodically laid out the case for the jury. there was only one possible way to explain lina's death, he said. >> as a result of mechanical asphyxiation to her neck. and the defendant, her husband, is the one that did it. >> that ultimate evidence would be scientific, medical said the prosecutor. but he wanted jurors to keep in mind the obvious. adam kaufman was the only adult home at the time of lina's death. giving him the opportunity to kill her. and with his bodybuilder strength, the wherewithal too, on top of that adam could keep his stories straight. version one came from the 911 call when adam said he found lina on the floor. >> she's not breathing?

>> no! she's on the floor dying. >> but a fire rescue lieutenant said adam told him he found lina somewhere else in the bathroom. >> he told me that he found her slumped over the toilet. and he indicated that if she was vomiting, kneeled in front of the toilet with her head down in front of the toilet. >> but later at the hospital said that same emt, he heard adam say something else entirely. >> i took note of it because it was completely different than the other story he told me. >> okay. >> this time he mentioned the patient being slumped over a magazine rack. >> kathleen hoge wanted jurors to know about adam's puzzling behavior that morning and called a firefighter to the stand. >> he went from hysterical to calm. >> his demeanor, his emotions fluctuated? >> yes, ma'am. >> from hysterical to calm?

>> yes, ma'am. >> and there were the other unusual things the first responders couldn't help but notice. like how they'd seen adam kaufman dressed. not at all like someone who said he just woke up. >> it stood out to me that mr. kaufman was completely dressed. if he was doing cpr, how does he have shoes, clothes on, why is she naked? it didn't sit right. it didn't seem normal. >> if as adam said he'd been home all night, why was the front of his mercedes warm to the touch? >> i put my hands on the hood and i felt it was extremely warm. >> of course there were the marks on lina's torso and neck. they weren't there the evening before when she showed they are best friend her spray tan. >> she took off her jacket? >> yes, she did. >> was she nude under her jacket? >> she was. >> did you notice any marks on the body? >> no. >> and gave a stark description

of the indentations on lina's neck. >> and it was consistent, consistent with fingertip size marking. >> and called a witness who had been key. crime scene investigator. she testified about what she saw on lina's hands. >> the nail polish on her middle finger and index finger are chipped. >> were those chipped nails a sign of a struggle. and then they called who they called the e most important of all. the medical examiner who determined the death. >> what would be the manner of death? >> homicide. >> why? >> because this mechanical asphyxiation could only occur at the hands of somebody else. >> somebody else? >> yes, somebody else. >> just to be sure there was no doubt lina was murdered, the prosecution provided evidence she couldn't have died of something like a heart failure. they called the plastic surgeon who gave her an ekg before

giving her breast implants just before her death. >> she had a healthy heart. >> they wanted to prove adam wasn't that distraught after the death of his wife. so they called a woman he dated two months after the death. >> he had a wedding ring. >> yes. i asked if he was married. he said she was passed. i said so when do you think you're ready to take that off? >> at some point did you become intimate? >> yes. >> but as the state began to wind down, prosecutors would have no idea what would stick with the jury. any more than they knew that their star csi witness was about to blow up on them. >> isn't it true, ma'am, that you previously had an intimate sexual relationship with detective anglo. coming up, fireworks from a witness and the victim's mother. and is the prosecution's case

completely to unravel? when "dateline" continues. life. try and be nice to people. avoid eating fat. read a good book every now and then. get some walking in and try to live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations. that's pretty spectacular advice actually. thank you. i enjoyed this chat immensely. you are very eloquent. that's nice of you to say.

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bias, incompetence, flawed. >> the way adam kaufman's attorneys saw it, prosecutors put on a great show for the defense. >> you will hear this is a prosecution in search of a crime. an innocent man has been falsely

charged with a crime that did not occur which he did not commit. >> no crime at all said defense attorney bill matthewman. certainly not murder. the defense has claimed that lina blacked out, collapsed, fell first on a magazine rack that cut off air flow and caused her death. a theory he could have proven if it hadn't been for incompetent prosecutors. first of all angulo had this woman disregard a key piece of evidence in the scene president. >> specifically told you not to take those items of evidence, those magazines into custody. is that right? >> correct. >> the magazines in that rack said the defense were the key to the mystery. they would have proven that lina fell there because they would have been stained by her fresh spray on tan. >> i think the failure to

collect the magazines in and of itself could constitute reasonable doubt. you never fail to take in to custody evidence. >> in fact, said adam's lawyers, the police were so determined to prove this was a murder they misread the scene entirely. like, for example, when howe told the court she found chipped polish on the nails. >> the nail polish on the middle finger and index finger are chipped. >> the detective's suggestion? that lee in's husband attacked her. and she fought for her life. but the defense hired its own crime scene investigator to look at the tiny bathroom space. >> did you find any signs of a struggle inside the house? >> i found nothing that would indicate anything like that. >> but to be fair, said the defense, howe wasn't the only one who screwed up that morning. >> i put my hand on the hood and

i felt it was extremely warm. >> a police officer said the hood of adam's car was warm to the touch. but they said of course it was warm. it was locked in a garage on a hot miami night. evidence of nothing. prosecutors said the defense tried the same attack with the emergency workers. they said adam didn't seem like a man who just rolled out of bed to find his wife unconscious. he was fully clothed. yet that's not what the very first responder on the scene witnessed. >> i saw a man on top of a woman attempting what looked like cpr. >> what was the man wearing when you entered the room? >> at that time he was wearing boxers and t-shirt. >> what the others likely saw was adam's identical twin who arrived at the house perfectly dressed minutes after that 911 call ended. >> i had no reason to change my opinion whatsoever. >> but what really stuck in the craw of adam's lawyers was that medical examiner who ruled

lina's death a homicide. why did it take him a year and a half to call it that? because, they said, he was pressured into it by police. on cross examination, co-counsel ripped into the doctor. >> detective anthony angulo had pushed you to rule it a homicide. >> objection, your honor. >> that's not true, counselor, and you know it. >> and the defense used lina's autopsy photos to make a case for their own theory. that she died accidentally. >> there are these marks on the undersurface of the chin. these match the spines of the magazine in terms of a contact mark. >> this former medical examiner testified for the defense and said the pressure on the neck would have blocked her air flow, killing her. but it was why the defense said lina collapsed. that was the real shocker. >> these cells should not be here. >> the doctor said he took apart lina's heart and found scarring.

>> this is active -- >> scarring of the heart that the state medical examiner never found. heart disease. the doctor explained to a riveting courtroom that lina likely had no idea how sick she was until her heart suddenly gave out that morning. >> the whole truth and nothing but the truth. >> i do. >> then just for good measure. the defense called someone else with star power to the stand. dr. michael bodden. the former new york city medical examiner in high profile murder cases. reviewed lina's autopsy file and says to him there was no question about it. >> there was no murder. she died of natural causes. >> even lina's own mother said her daughter suffered frequent fainting spells before her death. that it might have been an accident. but they wouldn't listen. >> how many calls were made to the detective trying to reach him?

>> my son, my ex-husband, and myself had called there. i assume it was about 25 calls. maybe more. >> it was something you rarely see. a grieving mother defending the man accused of killing her daughter. she said adam was and is like a son to her. >> we were very close. even more closer than before. >> frida, do you love adam? >> like my own son. >> as has happened a number of times during this trial, a state witness ended up winni inning p with the interest. >> the so-called love interesting with it wasn't like that. yes they dated for awhile. but adam wasn't going to get deeply involved, she learned. >> adam wasn't emotionally available. which he made clear from the start. >> finally, one last loose end. remember csi anna howe? earlier she testified that she

is married woman had only a working relationship with lead detective angulo. >> off duty do you socialize with detective angulo? >> no, sir. >> but the very next day she was called back to the stand and had to admit she hadn't told the truth. >> you had misrepresented the relationship to this jury on the stand under oath, wasn't it? >> it wasn't part of the case. >> yes or no, ma'am is that true? >> yes. >> in fact, the two had had an affair. >> are you married? >> did you have an affair with detective angulo? >> yes, and my husband is well aware of it. i don't have any issues with that any longer. >> she said the old affair never effected her work. and with that she stormed out of the courtroom. to the defense, it was clear she and angulo were in cahoots and a man who wanted to prove adam was the killer, the man who never took the stand in this trial could not.

trusted. in his closing, it was said adam was the victim of a lousy police investigation. >> this bungled this beyond recognition with the charges lodged against him in this case. >> but there was one person they didn't hear from that mattered most. adam kaufman. he opted not to take the stand in his defense. but he wanted to speak to us. >> the problem with this case comes down to one word. investigation. a rookie detective working his first homicide. a fellow in a medical examiner's office not doing a good autopsy. >> more infuriating, he said, was the prosecutor's claim that her mother was only standing by him to see her grandchildren. that outraged lina's mother.

>> you think she's going to go against him? >> one of the prosecutors in his closing went after your family and basically said that your mother-in-law was a captive of your family, could do nothing to express her real opinion because otherwise she'd be left out in the cold. >> how dare he go after lina's mother? lina's mother, who bravely came into that courthouse and stood up for the son-in-law that's charged with second degree murder of her daughter. >> his mother-in-law's show of loyalty was striking. but would it be enough to impress the jurors and save adam? coming up -- >> i know i have the truth on my side. >> there was evidence of a strangulation. the proof is there. >> we the jury in miami-dade find -- >> and coming up, whispers in a

small town. she was the high school valedictorian heading for college, but she never made it. >> this may have been a killing involving girls. >> murder, rumor had it, by a jealous gang of mean girls. so why is he in prison? >> never give up until i walk out. >> is an innocent man locked away? did someone else commit the perfect crime? "dateline" investigates. >> these witnesses had the courage to come forward. >> the ♪ [ male announcer ] if you like movies that make you laugh... [ sirens ] ...tv dramas... ♪ ...timeless classics, or whatever else, then you'll love netflix. netflix lets you watch unlimited movies and tv episodes on your pc or tv via game console or other devices connected to the internet. browse genres, and get personalized suggestions. it's instant, it's unlimited. and it's only 8 bucks a month. start your free trial today.

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nearly five year s have passed since lina kaufman's death. and now her husband adam was about to learn his fate at the miami courthouse. two possibilities now.

that immediate handcuffed escorts to prison or instant and permanent freedom in the arms of his family. >> i had my entire family there with support. that's why i was able to walk into that courtroom every day holding my head up high. because i know i have the truth on my side. >> but kathleen hoge thought her side presented the real truth. that adam had choked lina to death after an argument early that morning at their home. >> there was evidence of strangulation. the proof is there. it didn't happen by itself. >> now adam and his twin brother seth and the family all watched in anticipation as the judge sent the jury in to deliberate. >> the jury may retire. >> i just wanted a fair trial because i knew once all the evidence was presented that there's no way that 12 people could sit there -- i don't care who you are. >> they were out of the room. you couldn't do anything about it. >> nothing you could do another about it. >> the jurors said they were

ready for the task ahead. jennings is a mediator. making him a natural choice to be the foreman. did you call for a vote right away? >> not initially. we took time to go through each piece of evidence and deliberate. >> here is the actual jury room where we can see how they literally weighed the evidence. >> i true three scales on the chalk board. broken as innocent and broken as guilty. i said you have to fit in one of these. we tried to fit everything in that to come up with a decision. >> they paid close attention to the testimony from the medical examiners. more than anything, the jury was determined to listen to that 911 call one more time. very carefully. >> it's much easier to hear from the confines of a jury room when there's 12 of us, it had been a month since we last heard the 911 call. i think it was imperative we got a chance to hear it again. >> please, please.

my wife is in the bathroom dying. >> they said they heard a man that wasn't changing their story but simply beside himself and utterly confused. >> you know, obviously when you first hear it in the openings, he said i don't know what's going on over and over again. when we listened to it during the end in the jury room, you think this is a terrified man that has no idea what's going on. >> and after eight hours of deliberation, they had reached their verdict. >> we the jury in miami-dade county, florida, on this 5th day of june 2012 find as follows. the defendant is not guilty so say we all. >> adam's family and friends burst with emotion. >> what was that like? >> i'll tell you. i -- i didn't hear her reading it. i put my head down. all i could think about were lina and my kids. i hear not guilty and i hear crying in the back. that's it? it's over? it's over?

it's over. finality. >> later, adam and seth pose for pictures holding the jury charge sheet with the words he longed to hear. not guilty. the very words miami prosecutors had dreaded. they'd spent a huge amount of resources on this case and lost. and the jury foreman told us he believed the case should not have gone to trial at all. >> why did the state bring this case to trial when there's such evidence that said no, don't do this. adam kaufman is innocent. he's not not guilty, he's innocent. >> i don't apologize for the case. i'm not going to. >> but you believe a murderer has gotten away with it. >> he's not the first one, he won't be the last. that guy, he paid for a lot of money for a defense. he got it. and he's a very lucky man. >> given what he's been through, lucky might not be the word adam would use. still, he says he's not angry, not bitter.

>> i can only move forward. i can't move backwards. i can only move forward and do the right things for my family, my children, myself. >> and as for the team that tried to put him away -- >> the discovery of the people who were looking for evidence against you had been actually having an affair and couldn't be relied on to tell the truth. >> that's right. >> what was that like? >> poetic justice. things happen for a reason. i'm a firm believer of that. lina's spirit was definitely with us during this trial. she was watching over it. >> lina. he will always remember lina, he said. and the love he lost in one instant that november morning. where do you put her now? >> she's with me every day. every day. you know, there's not a day that goes by that i don't think about her, the kids think about her.

she'll always have a place in my heart. we have pictures of her all over our home. our wedding photos, just pictures of her. so the children will never forget who their mother was and is. and she's still a very big part of their lives. every day. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline" friday. we'll be back again for "dateline" sunday at 7:00/6:00 central. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today." i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, good night.