it certainly seemed like a perfect marriage. >> said this is the one. >> nice house. four kids. plenty of hone. but it was not what it seemed. >> peter told me susan had had an affair. >> soon they were headed to divorce court, but this was no ordinary split. >> it was nasty. >> how bad? she hired a private eye to dig up dirt, but did she really want something else. >> she says i need my problems to go away. >> cold blooded scheming and white hot rage as you rarely see it. an angry wife caught on camera plotting her crime.

>> i want him hurt. >> you want him dead? >> s w'tonay it. you said it. >> can they stop her before she goes it too far. >> once someone's dead, it's forever. >> i know that. >> something about susan. good evening and welcome to dateline. it's not on which you can watch a criminal at work, but thanks to a hidden camera and a principal private eye, tonight you will. it's a homicide investigation that started before anyone was dead. the challenge would be't keepin it that way. the houses are large. elegant. traditional. and as you drive past these regallon home, you can't help but imagine the happy and fulfilled lives being lived inside. at this house, however, the finely painted trim belied a simmering anger which would soon

explode. >> this is a nightmare. he's just so angry. >> once something is done, it complaint be undone. >> reporter: rarely is such rage caught on camera. >> i want it as sifrp as possible. >> reporter: but as in so many stories of anger, hate and violen violence, at first there was love. >> i said would you mind if i visit and bring a friend of mine. i said sure. so he showed up with this woman named suze. >> reporter: michael had been friends with peter williams since high school. >> what crew the two of you together, what was the bond? >> one of the top athletes in the county and i kind of took peter under my belt. i was a mentor of peter's. >> what does that say about a guy like peter? >> i'd say it's consistent with his personality.

very quiet person. a very determined person. and a very honorable person. >> so a few years later when he was this london, michael was excited when peter came to visit with his sunning new girlfriend. lawed a nice time? >> very nice time. >> was she attractive is this. >> very attractive, very nice. >> susan, who was in college working towards a degree about business, came to london with her bubbling personality and a passion for shopping. and peter was in love. what did peter tell but suze on that first trip? >> he said this is the one. >> this is the one. two years later, in may of 1989, peter and sue sue san were married. peter was 27, susan 23. is it happily ever after? >> if you knew peter back then, you would say yes. >> he love this had woman. >> will he you haved her respect are wanted to go to work, he was just looking for a normal stable life. that's the way peter was.

>> it seemed as if the happily ever after for peter and susan williams was well under way. and in those early years remembers another high school friend of peter's, all seemed well in the williams household. >> peter and susan always seemed to get along. they looked like a very happy couple. >> the outward appearance eventually include that had house in garden city, an upscale long island up to. susan worked various jobs before settling in as a legal assist tapped and peter had started a successful fence company. >> he joined a local country club. was doing very well. >> chris says peter was also a devoted father to his four children, two girls and between boys. >> really doeted upon his children. he would cook them gourmet meal, he would ferry them from

activity to activity. he was an integral part of their existence. >> and says chris susan was there every step of the way. seemed to be a very nice wife, great mother p. >> but in 2007, the happy marriage began to strain. chris says he had no indication that anything was wrong until peter confided in him. >> peter told me sis usan had h an affair. he seemed to be very you crushed. >> even though, says chris, peter wasn't ready to end a marriage of nearly 20 years over susan's affair. sg >> he loved his wife and children, he loved the stability and cohesiveness of a family. he didn't want to lose that. >> for months peter and susan tried to work things out. they couldn't. and in january 2008, it was susan, not peter, who filed for divorce. while she may have had an affair, she accused peter of cheating and much more.

although they both remained in the house, peter's close friends say the divorce proceedings were anything but amicable. >> this was a nasty divorce. >> yes. >> and the allegations suze leveled against peter were pretty brutal. >> it was everything could you blame somebody for. theft, infidelity, drug, alcohol. >> it turned the divorce proceedings in to a are behalf at triblgs. >> every action he attempted within the divorce proceedings, susan would oppose. and it became a -- just a tug of war. brutal tug of war. peter wanted just to split up, separate, divide assets. declare a schedule for visitation. and he said it. that's all he wanted. and susan resisted. she wasn't getting what she

wanted, which was her kidkids, money, house. >> with the divorce seemingly going no where, susan south tghe help of this private investigator. but what sort of help exactly did susan want? coming up -- she starts off with digging up dirt on her husband. >> she had no leverage. she had no ammunition. sg >> but would that satisfy her or would she be after something very different? when something about susan continues.

finally in 2008, the once happy marriage of susan and peter williams was in shambles, while they were still living together under one roof with their four children age 9 to 17, they were living very separate

lives. the divorce proceedings were wearing on peter says friend chris trapani. >> he was a happy go lucky guy. he became more withdrawn. i never witnessed him cry, but he told me that at certain times he would just break down and cry and ask himself why is this happening to me? >> peter's friends said susan was determined to get as much as possible in a divorce settlement. in order to do so, she felt she needed help. >> she had no leverage, no ammunition. >> joe labella, a former detective, now works as a private investigator. >> give me a sense for the range of cases you work on now. >> anywhere from matrimony to corporate espionage. a lot of background intel work. >> labella met susan through a mutual acquaintance. >> a female friend of his and asked if i was interested in doing some surveillance. i said absolutely.

>> the acquaintance put them in touch. they set up a meeting. it was spring 2008. >> what kind of a person did she seem like? >> she seemed like a nice woman, clean cut, you know, pretty. nice family, four kids. nice house in the city. it seemed like she had a lot on her plate. i've seen them before, going through a bad divorce. >> this is an affluent area. i imagine here in garden city where there's a divorce, there's a lot of money on the line and there's the issue of the children as well. >> sure. >> and what you dig up can determine the results of how that's all divided? >> yeah, absolutely. >> labella says susan painted a bleak picture of her marriage and a grotesque image of her husband. >> based on what susan was telling you, what kind of a guy was peter? >> this extremely bad father. heavy alcoholic drinker, very neglecting.

>> labella felt sorry for susan and agreed to work for her. she asked him to follow peter to dig up dirt on him. >> what did your surveillance show? >> the first few times we followed him, we didn't come up with much. we didn't ascertain whether he was drinking or whether he was drunk? >> average guy going about his business. >> peter was not oblivious to what his wife was doing. >> he knew he was being tailed. he knew. he knew a private investigator was following her. he knew she would stop at nothing. >> how did he feel about being followed? >> like someone was breathing on you all the time. >> labella said susan would tip him off to peter's whereabouts. it was one of these tips that labella hit pay dirt. susan told him that peter was at his brother's house drinking. labella and a colleague waited outside the house for peter to leave. >> he did leave the location, we tailed him. he was obviously drunk. he was swerving. >> he was all over the road.

>> at one point, he almost swerved into my vehicle. i had to pull away. it clearly -- he was drunk. >> labella called 911 hoping to diffuse what he saw as a dangerous situation, labella made a play to keep peter from continuing to drive. >> he stopped at a red light. my vehicle and my partner's vehicle was -- >> you boxed him in? >> he wouldn't be able to pull out and hurt anybody. >> were you trying to nail this guy? or were you worried about somebody getting hurt because he was drunk driving. >> i was worried about somebody getting hurt that he was drunk driving. as well as that, it was part of my -- part of my case. >> out to get him. >> the police arrived and arrested peter for drunk driving. susan was thrilled, says labella. she hoped peter's arrest would work to her advantage in the divorce. by then, the atmosphere in the house had become so volatile, that peter decided to move out. >> peter felt it was a bad environment for the kids to see their parents fighting.

it was a good idea to move out, to separate himself from the volatility. >> shortly after peter moved out, susan dropped a bombshell of an accusation against him. she had been diagnosed with cervical cancer, cancer she claimed developed from an untreated sexually transmitted disease that peter had given her. >> susan suggested that peter upon giving estimates to female customers that he would have sex with them and bring home dreaded diseases. >> peter said she even told the children in order to turn them against him. >> that's how she got cancer. because it was their father's fault and that affected pete greatly. >> what did he tell you about that? >> he said he tested negative. >> peter denied all of susan's other accusations, saying he never cheated on her or stole anything. and he did not have a drug or alcohol problem. the divorce dragged on through the summer.

by the fall, joe labella was no longer working for susan williams. >> case closed for you. >> case closed. i was paid in full. that was it. >> the case was far from closed for susan williams who became increasingly desperate and reached out to labella once again. >> would you have dreamed in a million years that the scenario that played out would in fact -- >> involve me? >> -- involve you? >> no. in two million years. coming up -- the stakes go up as susan reveals her real goal. >> she says i want him to disappear. >> later, the planning continues and it's all caught on tape. >> like an accident would -- is best. >> when "dateline" continues. the bay area -- a place with natural beauty and a forward thinking spirit. at bank of america, we've been fueling economic growth here for over a century. today we're investing in innovations that will define our future. every day, we're working to help set opportunity in motion.

from financing a solar project for the milpitas school district to funding the institute at golden gate. because when you're giving, lending, and investing in more communities across the country, more opportunities happen.

by the winter of 2010, private investigator joe labella had all but forgotten about susan williams and her bitter divorce. >> the job was done, you know, that was it. >> did you ever think you'd hear from susan williams again? >> no. no. not at all. >> but while labella had moved on to other jobs, other investigations, susan and peter williams remained embroiled in the two-year-long divorce that grew more acrimonious by the day. >> not just a divorce, but a

nasty divorce. >> yeah, where it was the war of the roses divorce. it escalated to that level. >> as the proceedings dragged on, peter was getting on with his life and was living with a new girlfriend. susan, meanwhile, was still in the house with the couple's two youngest children and she was about to take their battle to a whole new level, a level joe labella would never have dreamed of when susan reached out to him again nearly 18 months after he last worked for her. >> you met susan williams in this very diner. was she nervous? >> no. she was very relaxed. smiled. >> small talk at first, chitchat, says labella. >> we sit down, have coffee. how are your children, my children. how's everything going. how's your health? >> nothing in your demeanor tipped labella to susan's intentions. he assumed she wanted more dirt dug up on her husband. as he soon found out, she wanted something else entirely. >> she says to me, i need my problem to go away.

she said i need this over. i need this all to just disappear and i want him to disappear. i said, peter? she says, yeah. gone. >> him to disappear? peter gone? susan wasn't playing games, says labella. she wanted her husband, peter, out of the picture for good. she wanted labella to help. it was a lot to process for the former nypd detective. >> when people are going through bitter divorces, you know -- >> they get emotional. >> but it decided to become more clear to me that she either wanted him badly hurt or disappeared, gone, problem solved, out of her life. >> la bella decided to play along. >> i'm saying, again, you know, the smile is on my face. i'm a little chuckly and i go, like, what, you want him badly beat up to the point where he's like, you know, in a hospital bed sipping through a straw, comatose. you know? can that be done?

she would say. i'm like, well, anything can be done. it's a question of are you serious? are we serious here? do you hear yourself? this is the father of your four children. and she says, i don't care. he needs to be gone. >> was she looking around? >> no. no. >> hushed tones? >> pretty much the way we're talking right now. you know, level a little bit lower. >> according to labella, susan had a financial incentive to get peter out of the picture. >> rattling off about the insurance policy is a large insurance policy, $1 million plus. >> remarkably despite the bitter divorce, susan was still the beneficiary of peter's life insurance policy and would collect the money if anything happened to him. >> did she give you any suggestions as to how she wanted this to take place? >> suggestions as far as blowing up his car. >> blowing up his car? >> blowing up his car. >> this is one angry woman. >> yeah, extremely. >> having another car crash into his? >> yeah.

>> whether it be one of my workers or me finding somebody to drive a vehicle to him at a high rate of speed. >> labella said they started referring to hurting peter as option a, killing him as option b. >> what would the motivation be for being badly beaten up? would she get long-term disability money? >> i don't think that was in her mind the option that she wanted to go with, obviously. >> he says susan wanted to know how much each option would cost. >> you know what i'm saying? i don't know. maybe $10,000, maybe $20,000. $10,000 at the very least, to have him beat up. >> did she even blink at that number? >> no. no. >> how do you end that first meeting here at this diner? >> by telling her, wait until you hear from me. don't talk about this to nobody. >> security cameras show them calmly leaving the diner. but jo labella's mind was racing. >> you weren't considering having this done? >> no, absolutely not. >> even so, labella spent three sleepless nights wrestling over

what to do. could susan seriously be considering having her husband killed or was she so angry and desperate she wasn't thinking straight. maybe she would come to her senses. >> how agonizing were those couple of days for you? >> i wouldn't want to put that mental anguish on anybody? >> how close did you come to giving her a call and saying, look, you can't do it. it's the wrong thing to do. you need to get some help? >> i came very close to doing that a few times. >> and what made you ultimately decide to go the other way, to pick up the phone and call the cops? >> because i was afraid that she was going to go and have this done anyway. >> through a friend, labella contacted a defense attorney with connections in the d.a.'s office. >> you don't very often have an instance where a wife says i want to get rid of my husband, kill the father of my children, instead of just seeing the divorce through. >> kathleen rice is the district attorney for nassau county, new

york. her office met with joe labella. >> give me a sense of the urgency once your office became aware of this. >> as you can imagine, time is of the essence. the first thing you have to do is to ensure that this is really real. is what this person telling you the truth. so you go and get the surveillance tapes from the diner. lo and behold, a picture of susan williams and joe labella leaving the diner. >> right there. >> that corroborated the fact that he met with her on that day. >> detectives with the d.a.'s office had joe labella call susan, a call they recorded. >> what are you doing? >> picking my son up and taking him to choir practice. yeah, we're acting like good little catholics. >> at first, it's like two friends catching up. but labella changes the subject. >> let's cut through the bull -- did you give what we talked about much thought? >> yeah, a lot. >> you still want to move forward. >> labella then tells her, he's found someone.

>> i have a buddy of mine that i reached out to, an old-school guy, very good. >> it's chilling to hear susan so nonchalantly discuss the potential cold-blooded murder of her husband. >> we can go with either option a or option b. >> yeah. >> all right, so that's something you'll, umm, sit and kick around again and you'll let me know. but both are available. but, remember, like i said, there's no turning back right now. >> no, i understand. >> the three-minute conversation ends with labella promising to set up a meeting with his friend. >> going to get back with you and let you know. all right, sweetie? >> all right, thanks so much. >> all right, baby. >> but would susan actually go through with it? it's a nightmare. he's scum. he's scum. >> wow. >> all right. >> raw emotion. it's all caught on camera. ♪

[ woman ] sam begged and pleaded... so i sent him to camp. we'd earned lots of points with our new citi thankyou card... and i put them to good use. he told me about his bunkmates, and how he signs up for every activity. ♪ he even hangs out with the camp director. just like that. [ male announcer ] the new citi thankyou premier card gives you more ways to earn points. what's your story? citi can help you write it.

it was february, 2010, the winter landscape mirrored the cold and bitter divorce over which peter and susan williams had been fighting for more than two years. friends like michael blamed susan for holding things up believing she cared too much about the house and the couple's

belongs to agree to divide them. >> she was very materialistic. she was counting everybody else's money. she would walk in, say it's nice. how much? she knew the cost of everything but the value of nothing. >> susan, it appears, found a way to get rid of peter without sacrificing that lifestyle. >> she wanted out of this marriage. >> yeah. >> she wanted out of it by having peter dead. >> yeah. >> that's pretty cold. >> yeah. >> joe labella is the man whom she asked to get it done. but labella instead had gone to the authorities. >> he knew her. he worked for her before. he took her seriously enough that he said it's way over my head. what do i do? that's when we intervened. >> nassau county detectives had labella set up a meeting between susan and one of their own. >> as part of the investigation,

we took a detective. he posed as an assassin. >> on the day of the meeting, labella and susan arrived here in the parking lot of the diner where they hatched the initial plot. but before taking her across the street to the waiting hitman, labella had something to say. >> rolled my window down. she rolls the passenger window down. i said, hey, how are you doing? she said, what's up? sue, go home. you don't have to do this, sue. and she looked at me and she said, no, i'm all right. >> with that, susan followed labella across the street where she was introduced to the hitman. >> i'm not too far away. >> in the conversation with joe labella, susan at first just makes chitchat. >> how are you? oh. >> this is odd in the parking lot. >> before long, the two of them got down to business. >> what do you need, susan? >> all right, i'm in a nasty divorce. my husband is a -- he's the type that needs to like get the

[ bleep ]. out of him. he's an outright liar. he's a nightmare. you know, i was manipulated for 20 years. he's got my house in foreclosure for the purposes of getting me on the street. his attorney is trying to destroy me. i can't take this anymore. it's like he doesn't go away. it's like it's torture. >> you heard in really disturbing detail the way she talked about her husband, the lack of any kind of feeling that she had for him, the enormous hatred and anger that she had towards him. >> i want him out of my life. >> okay, you want him out of your life. >> i don't know if an accident is best. i want less repercussions on my end. >> the undercover is careful to let susan speak. >> i'm not here to put words in your mouth. you tell me what you need. >> he also gives her the opportunity to walk away. >> you sure this is what you want? >> yes. >> they go back and forth over whether the hitman should kill peter or just beat him severely. >> once someone's dead -- >> mm-hmm. >> mm-hmm.

>> -- they're not walking the earth anymore. it's forever. >> yeah, i'd love that. but i know, of course, i don't have it. >> right, if you want him dead, it's going to be $20,000? >> that's it. i'm sorry. >> ultimately, it's that $20,000 price tag that makes up susan's mind. >> i guess hurt him bad. >> hurt him bad? >> i don't have the cash to do the rest. >> okay, you want me to hurt him bad? >> yeah -- bad that he can't speak. i don't want his leg broken or his arm broken. i could do that. you know? i could trip him, you know? >> you want him dead. >> yeah, to the point where he's so bad that he can't fight the divorce anymore. he's got to give up, give in. >> the meeting ends with the agreement that next time susan will bring a $500 cash down payment as well as

information on how the hi man can find her husband. but despite agreeing to pay to have her husband beaten, susan was not arrested. >> no money had been exchanged. she was very nervous, it seemed. she was a little unsure about exactly what she wanted done. >> so she walks away after the first meeting, the potential of charges is -- >> there may not have been charges. >> susan and the undercover detective meet again three days later at eisenhower park, less than five miles from the williams family home. once again, susan gets into the undercover's car. there's a camera rolling the whole time. remember, at that first meeting, susan said she wanted her husband, peter, badly beaten, having him killed was too expensive. but as it soon becomes clear, susan has been thinking very hard about that decision. >> i'm going back and forth and i'll tell you why. >> yeah, go ahead. >> i just -- if he's hurt, my kids are going to go crazy. they're going to feel bad for him. he's not going anywhere. nothing really happens. like this is just going on forever and he's going to hire more attorneys because he's just so angry. he wants to put me in the ground.

>> susan's anger for peter boils over. >> let me tell you what my husband did to me. he gave me hpv and it turned into cancer. they ripped everything out of me, my uterus, my lymph nodes. >> how did he give you cancer? >> he gave me hpv and it turned into cancer. he's scum. i don't feel bad. >> how far was she now willing to go. >> i want him more than hurt. cause if he gets hurt, it's -- >> all right, i understand. you want him dead. coming up -- as susan spells out her plans, she actually seems to be enjoying herself. >> if i could do it myself, i would, you know? >> will she be stopped before it's too late? e powerful.

when not used in the right way, they can divide a nation. but when used wisely, they can bring us together in ways that make us stronger. words can connect us all... the more you know. susan williams had is about to make a fateful decision. she had resigned herself to have her husband badly beaten because she couldn't feud the $20,000 to have him killed. but h. but now it seem she's

changed her mind. >> you want him dead? >> i don't want to say it. you said it.her mind. >> you want him dead? >> i don't want to say it. you said it. >> susan with a smile on her face has just given a go ahead for peter's murder. >> i want it as simple at possible. an accident would be good. >> a car accident is good. there's no mystery, there's no illegal weapons. it's just, you know -- actually, i was thinking i like that idea. not shot, nothing like that. >> what are they going to do? it's an accident. >> as in first meet, the undercover gives her an opportunity to call it off.

>> if you want to walk away that's fine. >> susan remained committed. >> i'd love forget it done. >> although she seems to realize the line she's crossing. but it's not just any family that susan would disgrace. it's a family she splexplains o cops. >> you look like a cop. >> i wanted to be a cop. my brother is an aviation policeman. >> she even jokes prophetically perhaps about her fate. ultimately, susan feels more concerned about potentially incriminating in her home. she ponders how best to react to the news of peter's death. >> when the cops come to my house, i know it's the proper expression and whatnot it say and what to say when they come to me. that's what i think about. i'm very big like the domino effects.

>> and even discusses the funeral. >> i know i have to show it to the kids and bring the kids and make sure they don't go through grieving. go to the funeral home. >> really. >> i know it's tough in the end. everyone getting over the whole situation. >> again, that's why -- >> susan herself won't have any trouble getting over peter's death. >> i don't have any emotion. i do, but i don't. >> got you. >> everything i got, i'm not -- you know, i know. >> you're scaring me. >> calculating and cold, susan williams seems to throw even the undercover. >> you've never done this before? >> no. >> i should have been a policeman. i have to tell you. i was going to be a policewoman. >> you had me worried because you came with a good idea. me, the accident -- i'm thinking she's a cop or she did this

before. >> finally she hands over the down payment. >> how much is here? >> five. >> you want -- >> five is good. >> and a picture of peter taken, of all places, their daughter's sweet 16 birthday party. >> you cut yourself out of that picture? >> i did. >> not a problem. >> on the back of the photo is personal information about peter so that the hitman can be sure he gets the right man. >> this is the address. this is what he drives, bmw truck. >> susan uses every opportunity to take a shot at her husband. >> he's not a retired cop or nothing, is he? >> no. >> but it's also very clear that peter is the one and only target. >> i don't want to see anything happen to his girlfriend. >> no, i don't blame you. nothing is going to happen to anyone but him. >> the undercover drives home one last time the seriousness of what susan is asking.

>> and he's going be dead. >> yeah. >> not going to be living anymore. >> yeah. >> i want to be clear. i don't want you flipping out on me. >> with that, the deal is done. >> all right, i'll hear from you tonight. later. >> susan williams leaves thinking she'll soon get word that her husband is dead. coming up -- there's a knock at the door all right and a shock. and soon, a lively susan is caught on tape all over again. >> oh, i love you. >> now what does she want? >> and later --

on march 3, 2010, susan williams paid $500 for what she thought was a down payment

towards the murder of her husband, peter. >> and he's going to be dead. he's not going to be living anymore. >> susan was carefully preparing her reaction to news that peter was dead, but to her surprise, that's not what she got when detectives came to her door the next day. >> in reality, what she got was the doorbell ringing, but police officers were saying put your hands behind your back and they were handcuffing her. and her reaction tells you what you need to know. she was cold. there was no reaction. there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that she wanted her husband dead, and she was going to do whatever she was going to do to make that happen. >> the press had a field day with the petite and attractive 43-year-old mother of four. susan's frequent visits to a high-priced hair salon, including a trip on the day of her arrest, gave the tabloids a sensational mug shot to splash across their pages. besides trying to have her

husband killed, susan was also charged with forging peter's signature on the documents ensuring she would collect the money if he died. >> i opened the paper and right there, susie williams tried to hire a hit man to kill peter williams. i said i know these people. >> did it blow you away? >> yes, yes. my guess is susie grew tired of the marriage, but not the money. >> friends say peter was characteristically stoic when he heard the news. >> he's like an oak in the middle of everything. the wind blows, he just stands there, you know? just beautiful, he just stands there. he's a -- he's a very, very unique person. >> after susan's arrest, peter moved back in to the house in garden city. susan herself was now at the nassau county jail and despite the seemingly overwhelming video evidence against her, she pleaded not guilty. >> i have a prepaid call from -- >> susan. >> -- an inmate at nassau county jail. >> in fact, in this recorded

phone call she made from jail to her 20-year-old daughter, alexis, just days after her arrest -- >> mom? >> yeah, hi. >> susan hardly seems concerned that she could be facing as many as 25 years in prison. >> so how are you? >> i'm okay. they moved me to a different block. >> you have a really good attorney. did you hear him talking? he's amazing. >> we're going to the appellate division. >> the daughter meanwhile makes it clear she's firmly in her mother's corner. >> i went in to the house yesterday and i got everything. >> oh, i love you. >> alexis says she's taken some of her mother's papers out of the house. >> did you get the wooden thing off of my desk? >> oh, yeah, i took everything, dude. two, three full suitcases and your thing of files. every single paper that's in your house with your name on it. >> you don't know how much i love you. your father didn't see? >> no, he was there. >> when peter tried to stop his daughter from removing susan's belongings, alexis says she

threatened her father. >> i don't think it's a good idea. i started screaming and said i was telling him i would call the cops and say that he hit me. >> she brags to her mom about the performance. >> i'll cut my wrist right here. i deserve an academy award. i was throwing things and crying. and he finally was just like -- >> susan couldn't be prouder of her daughter. and even though she's behind bars, susan still seems upset with preventing peter from getting her hands on his stuff. >> i want my comforter, everything on that bed. who's in that bed? >> i took your entire jewelry box and put it in my car. >> my engagement ring, get rid of that. it's too expensive to be in that house. >> i will, i will. i love you. >> i love you so much, honey. thank you. >> i love you, good-bye.

>> alexis wasn't alone in support for her mother. in fact, all four of the williams children stood by susan up through her trial which began last fall. by that time, susan's hair was gray and pulled back into a tight ponytail. there are no high-end salons in jail. she was barely recognizable from the raven-haired soccer mom the press feasted on in her arrest. >> this is great police work. >> nassau county district attorney kathleen rice and her prosecutors were confident. >> we had a very, very strong case. >> what was the most critical piece of evidence you presented at trial. >> the most powerful piece of evidence were the audio and videotapes of susan williams meeting with the person she believed to be an assassin. >> to counter the prosecution's evidence against her, the defense portrayed susan williams as a victim, a woman pushed to committing a crime she never would have done on her own.

>> what she wanted the court and the jury to believe is that these cops, they encouraged me to do this. i wouldn't but for them goading me and -- i never would have done this. this is not who i am. i never would have tried to kill my husband. >> but the prosecution emphasized the undercover detective gave susan several opportunities to walk away. >> susan, you want to walk away from me, you can walk away right now. >> see you later, that's fine. >> if you didn't want to do it, i'd be gone. >> i would just love to just do this and get it done. >> all right. all right. >> once the case went to the jury, it didn't take long. after just four hours of deliberations, a verdict. guilty. at the sentencing a month later, the courtroom was filled with susan's supporters, including her eldest daughter, alexis. susan read a statement apologizing to her parents and to her children. and although she was convicted of trying to hire a hit man to kill him, she didn't mention peter once.

>> the hypocrisy of susan williams to throw herself on the mercy of the court calling herself a mother and worrying about her children when she was the one who dragged her children through this shows you the type of person that susan williams is. >> still, all four of susan's children wrote emotional letters to the judge, pleading for leniency. but the judge saying he would afford her the same leniency she showed her husband gave susan the maximum sentence, up to 25 years in prison. alexis fled the courtroom in tears. relatives guiding her through the mob of cameras. susan, who plans to appeal her conviction declined to speak to dateline, but her attorney gave us this statement. for susan williams, this case is tragic, not so much for what happened to her but for what it did to her children. she believes that the publicity of retelling the story will serve only to injure them further.

as for susan's children, her two she's had no contact with her young e. son and is seeking visitation. and private investigator joe labella seems torn about the role he played in the case. >> to put a mother of four children in jail for a long time, i mean, it breaks my heart. >> but then again, had you not been involved? >> peter williams could be dead, absolutely. >> joe labella isn't the only one who can make that claim. michael, after he read about susan's arrest, had an epiphany. >> a different light went on and i said, what's the chances of that call. >> michael, an attorney, referring to a cryptic phone conversation he had with someone a few weeks before the arrest. >> he said i'm a private investigator. i was hired by a woman to tail her husband and after a period of time she asked me if i would kill him or if i knew someone

who would kill him. >> and you say to this man, what? >> i didn't say anything. i literally picked the phone up and looked at it. >> in a bizarre twist, joe labella had been put in touch with none other than michael, an old friend of peter, the target of the hit. and michael, without pressing the stranger for any details, had passed him along to his contact in the d.a.'s office. >> did you have any idea after that phone call that he was talking about susie and pete? >> no, no idea at all. >> michael now represents peter in his still pending drunk driving case. he's pleading not guilty. peter himself did not want to give an on-camera interview. he's looking to the future, friends say, rather than dwelling on the past. >> he's trying to rededicate himself to his business, his children. he met a great girl. he he just warranten with as to

move on. >> as for susie, despite what she tried to do to him, friends say peter recognizes she would always be the mother of his children. >> peter said it best, that anybody could want for her is she gets the help she needs so she can come to some extent a mother to her four kids. >> after more than three years of bitter fighting, peter and susan williams finally reached a divorce settlement. peter got the house in garden city, a house that susan fought so desperately to keep for herself. that's all for now. thanks for .