i didn't like what i saw happening. >> reporter: tonight -- an nbc news exclusive. >> this could not be. >> reporter: on the eve of the funeral, aretha franklin speaks out. emotional. personal. about family friend whitney houston. >> she was on the verge of a comeback. >> she looked healthy and she looked gorgeous. >> reporter: plus, pictures never seen before. al roker with aretha franklin, remembering whit any. also tonight -- >> she had a very vivid recollection of her mother

saying to her, i love you, i'll be back soon. and she has a very distinct image in her mind that's the last time she saw her mother. >> reporter: tonight, the latest in a headline-making days of a picture-perfect power couple. he had been a producer for the reality blockbuster "survivor". >> he was a very creative person. >> she a vivacious restaurant owner. with their young children, they took off to paradise, hoping to reinvigorate their marriage. >> she was going to go on a trip to rekindle the relationship, find the spark, and go to a romantic place. >> reporter: in the lap of luxury, she disappeared. among the palm trees and pools, a frustrating hunt for clues. >> the security guard could tell something wasn't right. >> what really happened to this beautiful wife and mom? >> i'm not going to rest until justice is made. "mystery at moon palace." welcome to "dateline," everyone.

i'm lester holt. we'll have "mistery at moon palace" in a moment. first, some of the biggest names in hollywood are gathering in newark, new jersey ahead of tomorrow's funeral for whitney houston. we have an exclusive interview with one of those who will perform, aretha franklin. she was mentor and honorary aunt to whitney. now she opens up to al roker about whitney's talent, the troubles that came with it, and what the legend was like as a little girl. >> when the news broke about this, we were all shocked. how did you hear? >> i was in charlotte, north carolina, and i was sitting on the side of the bed. i had just finished watching some movies, and i flipped back to the regular tv and it came across the screen. and i just jumped up off the side of the bed, what? this is -- this could not be. what is this? it's just so sad. it's just -- it's hard to believe.

it's really just hard to believe. >> reporter: aretha franklin knew whitney houston for more than 40 years. the queen of soul is a close friend of whitney's mother sissy. whitney called franklin her mentor and idol. franklin called her nippy. >> nippy was a pet name. she called me aunt re. >> she first met nippy in the late '60s. she remembered her as a quiet girl. when was the first time you heard her sing? >> the first time i actually heard her sing was say saving all my love for you". ♪ so i'm saving all my love for you ♪ >> and when she hit the soprano, i said, oh, this little girl can sing. okay, sissy's baby can sing. >> did you ever have any idea that this little girl would become this -- >> who knew? who knew?

no one could forecast the monumental success that she had. >> in 1989, franklin and whitney recorded "it isn't it wasn't it ain't never gonna be," their only collaboration. ♪ it isn't it wasn't ♪ >> she was a very exciting young artist. she had a lot of class and she was one of the better singers, if not the best. sissy taught her how to fight and how to be a fighter in this business. she just had it going on. ♪ and i will always love you ♪ >> reporter: whitney was at the height of her success, but franklin knew all too well the temptations that come with fame and fortune. >> when one has as much success as she did almost overnight and she had phenomenal success overnight, so i'm sure it was very overwhelming for her at times.

you get a lot of adoration, when people like you and i think it's easy to lose sight of yourself. >> we've all read about whitney's struggles, through the years did she ever talk to you about that, look for some sort of guidance or counseling? >> no. but early on i let her know then that if she needed any advice and if she needed to talk about anything she could always call me. >> but the call never came and so franklin watched from afar as whitney's success faded, as she desperately tried time and again to regain her superstar status, including a 2009 european tour when dogged by rumors of alcohol and drug abuse whitney's once magical voice tragically let her down. >> she had a number of difficult evenings in europe. i watched that online myself. >> when you watched it, what did you think?

>> i didn't like what i saw happening, the audience was -- they were very rude. oh, i'm sure that she was totally devastated by the time it was over. you know, when you're a singer and you can't sing what it is you want to sing, you know, when you can't give the audience what they want, it's disheartening. >> reporter: but franklin says she saw something else in the scenes of anguish, the fighting spirit her mother had instilled in whitney. that was still there. >> let me tell you, she stood there and with the heart of a champion she went through it, night after night. >> reporter: at the end of 2011, franklin says she finally saw hopeful signs that whitney could resurrect her career. in a preview of "sparkle," the movie whitney had executive-produced and starred in. >> she looked fresh. she looked healthy. and she looked gorgeous. i thought, yes, she has conquered her challenges and she's on the way. >> she was on the verge of a comeback.

>> i thought so. >> reporter: and then february 11, 2012. do you think about what her legacy is going to be? this collection of just unbelievable songs. >> yes. certainly her body of work is going to go on for generations to come, from generation to generation. that definitely would be had her legacy. >> but, you know, again, there's this ending, do you think that tarnishes it at all or takes away from it? >> no, i don't. i don't think that we should focus on the challenges that she had because, in some way, we all have challenges from time to time. look at the character of the person and the character of the woman. think about the hits and forget the misses. >> reporter: that's how the people in her hometown of east orange, new jersey, want to remember whitney, radiant and humble humble. like she was when they renamed her elementary school in her

honor in 1997. a superstar who had not forgotten where she came from. how are you going to remember her? >> as an adorable young lady, as sissy's baby, a great artist, a very kind and giving person. very sensitive young lady. ♪ she is my friend ♪ >> reporter: franklin will pay tribute tomorrow at whitney's funeral at new hope baptist church. is it kind of ironic that it comes full circle back to new hope baptist church? >> well, that is where sissy wanted the service to be. sissy decided that that's where nippy was brought up singing, found her voice in the church. >> you'll be singing at the funeral. >> uh-huh. >> how difficult is that going to be for you? >> it's not going to be easy, i can tell you that. it's not going to be easy. but sissy asked me to, and i'm just going to try to do my best.

and when she sings, franklin believes, whitney will smile from above. the way she always did when a song filled her heart. >> she had this little twinkle in her eye, though. she didn't just smile with the lips. she had this little twinkle in her eye. since it happened i wrote a little something with that in mind, and that was twinkle twinkle superstar, we don't wonder where you are. up above the world so bright like a diamond in the night, twinkle twinkle she stood alone, i can't believe that she's gone. >> and now another story, a mystery also in the news this week. it began with a vibrant young couple taking a vacation to a lavish resort in a place where crime sometimes lurks just outside the gates. when the wife disappeared, police would search the surrounding neighborhoods but soon her family began to believe that the real danger might have

been right in her own room. here's natalie morales. ♪ >> reporter: for years, it's been the ritual destination for spring breakers. cancun, mexico, providing fun in the sun by day and a nightlife full of girls and boys gone wild. but there's another part of cancun that isn't quite so wild or sexy. >> this was the place that had a spa, that had high-class restaurants, that had 24-hour security, and was kind of gated away from the riff rave of cancun party life. >> reporter: this quieter, family-friendly corner was where a young california couple traveled for their own version of spring break in 2010. but that vacation would turn into a hellish ordeal. >> a person that does something like that has no heart, you

know? no heart. it's just horrible. >> reporter: life seemed to be sailing smoothly for bruce berisford redmond and his wife monica before that time. monica bore goes was a bright eyed girl from brazil and arrived in california at age 21 to make her dreams come true. her two older sisters, karla and gianni gianni, later followed her here. >> my sister was always like finding jobs for other people and helping people to find places to stay, cars to buy. you know, she was always helping someone. >> reporter: she settled in los angeles and opened up this brazilian restaurant and club zabumba, which soon became the hot spot for the brazilian community there. then one day a handsome customer caught her eye here at zabumba. monica's friend gisele. >> he came here to have lunch. it was charisma and energy and love at first sight.

>> reporter: they married in 1999, just as bruce berisford redmond's tv career took off. he became a young hot shot producer for the show that started the reality tv phenomenon, "survivor." he went on to produce other high-profile reality shows like "the contender" with sylvester stallone and with a partner created the mtv hit "pimp my ride". >> his fame, his status didn't matter. what mattered to us was that he made monica happy. >> reporter: monica even caught the tv bug herself, recording footage for a brazilian reality show. but a more domestic life was on the way as the couple began a family. their daughter camilla came along first, then a son alex. >> everything was about those children. >> reporter: their friend junior ozzie is camilla's godfather. what was monica like then as a mom?

>> she was the perfect mom. >> reporter: the family lived in this $2 million home in a plush l.a. suburb right near the ocean. but travel was their real passion. >> she took the kids everywhere. those kids have been to more places than most people in their lifetimes. >> reporter: in march of 2010, they were off to cancun to celebrate monica's birthday, booking a suite at this luxury hotel. the moon palace golf and spa resort. bruce and monica arrived with their two young children at the hotel and enjoyed a few days snorkeling and bathing in the cancun sun. but by the fourth day something had gone terribly wrong. >> bruce called me tuesday in the afternoon when i was at work, around 1:45, and told me that my sister was missing. >> reporter: where was monica? >> her family and friends are about to find out.

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>> reporter: monica beresford-redman had vanished while vacationing with her family at a luxury resort in cancun, mexico.

her husband bruce told police she'd left their hotel at 8:30 in the morning to go shopping and never came back. >> i don't know. >> reporter: panicked and frightened, her sister gianni quickly booked a ticket to cancun to go and help her brother-in-law. >> he has the children with him. i'm going there to help with that, too, to relieve him so he can do what he needs to do. >> reporter: gianni and other family and friends worried that monica, an adventurous traveler, might have stepped off the beaten path and into the more dangerous parts of cancun that tourists aren't supposed to see. >> the drug war in mexico reached a new level of violence with the murder -- >> 19 people have been murdered in three days. >> reporter: today mexico is a country in crisis, with a deadly drug war raging every day. >> we've done storiesyies --

>> reporter: john has covered stories in mexico for los angeles. he traveled to cancun to report on the disappearance. >> i think the perception as to what's happening in mexico right now is if you're a tourist and you stay in the tourist areas, you're going to be fine. as soon as you step out, it's dangerous. >> reporter: mindful of those dangers, bruce searched through the contacts he'd made on "survivor" and other snows and zeroed in on blake wegstaff, a wealthy california man who owned a resort bruce had visited. why was he reaching out to you? >> i think that bruce thought that i might have some connections in mexico that could help him. >> reporter: bruce sent tim a desperate e-mail and tim immediately called him in cancun. >> and he started telling me, monica's missing. i said, when did she leave? she said monday morning about 8:30. i was concerned. if someone needs help, i try to help them. >> reporter: down in mexico, police launched a search as

bruce put up flyers around cancun. one day had gone by, then another, and still no sign of monica. their friend junior ozzie flew down to help, but when he got to cancun 72 hours after monica disappeared, the police had some news, and it was the worst imaginable. >> the moment i arrive at the hoemt, some guy from the mexican authorities came in and walked away with the manager. and i overheard him saying, we found the body. >> how were you feeling? >> i still don't believe that. it's probably one of the worst moments of my life. >> reporter: that day, april 8th, was monica's birthday. she would have been 42. mexican police broke the news to bruce. >> he was very quiet, you know, and i'm not -- it's one of those things where you might say the guy was in shock. and then he hugged me.

i was standing up, he goes, monica's gone. he cried on my -- you know, hugging me. >> it was severe, horrible. >> reporter: police told gianni how horrific her sister's death had been. >> she was naked, and she was strangled. actually, she died from asphyxiation. and she had bruise all over her body, including her face. >> reporter: mexican authorities now had a brutal murder to solve with the crush of american reporters eager for information. but it wasn't the story they had expected. monica hadn't stepped out into the criminal fringes of cancun. a hotel worker had found monica's body inside this sewer drain less than 300 feet from bruce and monica's room. >> i went to this spot and i saw where her body was found. it was disgusting. >> reporter: monica had been

found, but the mystery had only deepened. gianni got a friend to take her young niece and nephew back home to los angeles. >> i want the kids out of there because something is wrong. >> reporter: now cancun police focus their investigation on the resort and potential suspects there. a hotel worker. a guest. or perhaps bruce himself. yes, bruce. because what he was telling people about monica's disappearance was making some of them suspicious. >> my antennas were going, this is r not.ight is not right.

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which helps me reach my maximum refund, guaranteed. man #2: try turbotax online now. you don't pay unless you're satisfied. ♪ >> reporter: three days after she'd gone missing, the investigation into who killed monica beresford-redman had shifted from the streets of cancun to inside the gated luxury moon palace resort.

monica's sisters began to pick apart everything their sister's husband bruce had told them about the day she had disappeared. >> he told me that she left the room at 8:30 in the morning on monday to go shopping in cancun where nothing opens. and my sister never wakes up early because she works late at night and she's not a morning person at all. >> reporter: and there were more details that struck jeanne as strange. bruce said monica had plans to go to a spa after shopping and didn't expect her to be back until 10:00 at night. it didn't seem like monica to be away from bruce and the kids for so long. what's more, monica had left her cell phone in the hotel suite. jeane began to think bruce was hiding something. >> the first thing that i said to him, did you guys fight? >> no, no, we were having a great time. >> reporter: but she knew that times had actually not been so great for the couple prior to their trip. bruce had recently had an affair with a co-worker.

when did you find out from monica that bruce was having an affair? >> exactly when she really knew for sure was around valentine's day. >> reporter: that was february 2010, just six weeks before their trip. monica shared intimate e-mails with her sisters, like this one from bruce where he fessed up to the affair. we first had sex in detroit. since that time we have had a sexual and emotional relationship. i take full responsibility for this and i apologize to you. jeane says her sister monica was preparing to divorce bruce. she threw him out of the house and changed the locks. >> for me, it was relief. it was like, okay, now she decide that they's going to go, get out of this relationship and she's going to just create her life again. >> reporter: but bruce wasn't ready to give up. i do not deserve it, but i would like one more chance. i am making a choice to be with you and fix what i have broken

and build from there. i still feel so much love for you. the desperate pleas for forgiveness worked. monica took bruce back, and they planned their family trip to mexico to rekindle their relationship. >> i think she wanted to save her marriage badly. she still naeltfelt she loved bruce and she really wanted to have the family together. >> reporter: now jeane wondered if bruce was telling the truth. he had said their reconciliation trip had been a happy one. but when she spoke to hotel workers in cancun, jeane heard a different story. what were you hearing from the employees who worked -- >> they had a fight, that my sister was crying. there were a lot of things going on that people said. >> reporter: reporter john cleem ak spoke to a security guard who witnessed the argument outside this restaurant. >> the security guard was telling us specifically that he could tell something wasn't right. because they were raising their

voices and yelltion at each other. even though he didn't understand the language, he knew they were angry about something. >> reporter: and several hotel guests said they heard another argument coming from inside bruce and monica's room. a family in the room below gave this written statement to police. they were woken by screams, crying for help and extremely loud banging from the room above. it sounded like a woman in extreme distress. junior ozzie spoke to the employees at the hotel who took their complaint. what did they tell you? >> the comments were they called the room and i guess bruce answered the phone and said everything was fine. >> reporter: it was the next morning that bruce said monica went shopping and never came back. as mexican investigators gathered evidence at the hotel, they kept bruce close in their sights. from your understanding, were they zeroed in on him already as

the primary suspect? >> they were questioning him, yes. >> did he show concern that he was being questioned in that way? >> when i saw had him, he looked like he was just like blacked out. >> reporter: back in california, bruce's business contact tim knew nothing about the witnesses in mexico or bruce's affair, but he was having his own suspicions as he looked overed the e-mails bruce had sent him asking for help. he said they were packed with details which seemed peculiar. tim talked with bruce further on the phone. >> and as i asked questions he would stutter a little bit, like when i said, did you have a fight with your wife? and he went, u had mm, well, security was called. he changed the topic, didn't say yes or no. just things like that, my antennas were going, this is not right. >> reporter: he was getting a weird feeling about it all and believed bruce might be using him. >> i thought that bruce was calling me as an alibi so later

on he could say, yeah, i called a guy that i know who had some connections in mexico, and i was very concerned. and so i said, i think i just talked to a murderer. coming up -- the investigation is about to turn up the heat on bruce. but bruce himself has disappeared. >> there is no other suspect. how can you not watch that one suspect? [ other merv ] welcome back to the cleaning games. let's get a recap, merv. [ merv ] thanks, other merv. mr. cletra power was three times faster on permanent marker. elsewhere against dirt it was a sweep, with scuffed sports equipment... had it coming. grungy phones... oh! super dirty! and grimy car rims... wow! that really works! ...all taking losses. it looks like mr. clean has won everything. the cleaning games are finished? and so are we. okay but i just took a mortgage out on the cabinet. [ male announcer ] clean more, work less, with the mr. clean magic eraser extra power. you don't disappear at midnight. and now, you've met your match.

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monica beresford-redman's family believed her husband bruce knew more than he was telling about his wife's murder in cancun and now, four days after her death, mexican authorities branded the hollywood producer their person of interest in the investigation. police confiscated his passport and told him to remain in mexico.

robin sax, a former los angeles prosecutor and writer, followed the case. >> their feeling was, let's hold his passport. that will keep him safe here in mexico until we decide whether or not we should pursue criminal charges. >> reporter: but now, monica's sisters believed they knew what happened and that their brother-in-law would be arrested any minute. >> we really can't say anything about the investigation. just that it was very productive and we are satisfied with the work that the officials in mexico are doing. >> reporter: investigators gathered more and more evidence and went public with it. bruce had scratches on his face and body when they interviewed him. perhaps signs of a struggle. and word leaked out that police had found brood traces on a pillow on the bathroom sink and a railing outside. then police also noticed something curious in the hotel records. on the night bruce said he was waiting for monica to return from her shopping trip, the key

card to their room had been used 11 times, between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. francisco allure, the attorney general overseeing the investigation, thought that was very odd. >> translator: going in and out of the room 11 times back to back is not logical. it's not normal. i'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it's not normal. >> reporter: he said all the evidence in the case seemed to point one way. >> translator: what we're finding is that everything in this investigation is revolveing around bruce. >> reporter: and yet weeks went by and police still hadn't arrested him as he kept a low profile in mexico. >> do not forget monica. >> reporter: back in los angeles, monica's sisters rallied friends together at her restaurant, urging mexican officials to take action and charge bruce with murder.

>> just forice for monica! >> we have no doubt. i wish that it wasn't true. >> all the things that happened doesn't even leave space for me to think anything else. >> reporter: then, on a friday night in may, seven weeks after monica's murder, mexican police had some news but not about an arrest. they tried to bring bruce in for more questioning but couldn't find him. he was missing. >> there is no other suspect. how can you not watch that one suspect? >> reporter: after all, this was a man who globetrotsed to exotic locales for a living with survival instincts that could come in handy for someone on the run. >> this is someone who knew how to get things done in foreign countries. he was very strategic. >> reporter: but then, two days later, bruce suddenly resurfaced. he hadn't chartered a boat to a desert island or hidden underground.

he wasn't on the lam. he was in los angeles. and far from hiding, bruce, the reality tv producer, had just walked into his own reality show with reporters following his every move. news cameras caught him doing household chores and playing with his kids camilla and alex, and tmz followed him around los angeles. >> did you kill your wife? >> no comment. >> who do you think killed your wife? >> reporter: bruce wasn't speaking to the media. >> sorry, i have no comment. >> reporter: but he did issue a written statement -- monica was the axis around which our whole family revolved. i am devastated at her loss, and i am incensed at the suggestion that i could have had anything to do with her death. i am innocent. >> he wanted to be with his children. >> reporter: richard hirsh and

vicky are bruce's attorneys. they said by leaving mexico he wasn't a fugitive at all. he was just coming home. >> reporter: he checked with local counsel in mexico and was told unless there was a warrant for his arrest or a judge had ordered him to stay, neither of which had occurred, he was under no obligation to stay in mexico. >> but police kept his passport and gave him the instructions, don't leave the country. so isn't that in defiance of the authorities? >> the authorities had no legal authority to order him to stay. of. >> but it certainly gave the impression of a fugitive. >> that may be their impression, but there were film crews camped outside his house. he certainly wasn't hiding. >> reporter: no reason to hide, say his attorneys, because bruce is nntd is innocent. they say the investigation in mexico was botched from the start. >> it was like round up the usual suspects, aala cass blaunk ka and not to determine if

someone else had a motive or were involved in this death. >> reporter: they were about to present evidence that they said could clear bruce's name. coming up -- the couple's young daughter speaks. could it turn the case upside down? >> she has a very vivid recollection of her mother wearing a blue dress, gold hoop earrings, and saying to her, i ou bi'llcke ban. soo love you, i'll be back soon. today my journey continues across the golden state, where everyone has been unbelievably nice. mornin'. i guess i'm helping them save hundredssurance. it probably also doesn't hurt that i'm a world-famous advertising icon. cheers! i mean, who wouldn't want a piece of that? geico. ah... fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent oh dear... or more on car insurance. [train whistle blowing] we're here

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we think the police could have done a better job.

>> reporter: bruce beresford-redman beresford-redman's attorneys believe that mexican authorities made a rush to judgment. they say police zeroed in on him as their only suspect in his wife's murder because of his extramarital affair, an affair his attorneys say that he openly admitted to when he spoke with police. >> everything that was going on at that time was indicative of an attempt to have the marriage work out. >> reporter: the evidence against him, they say, is circumstantial and weak. >> the hotel security guard said he witnessed bruce and monica having what appeared to be a very physical and loud fight. do you know what they were arguing about? >> no, we don't think that that happened. there's just a lot of discrepancies in what he has to say. the children were with them. this man never sees any children. and it seems highly unlikely that that scenario would have been playing out in a family vacation.

>> reporter: but what about that other loud and possibly violent argument guests said they heard from the room below. what was bruce's account of what happened in the room during the night? >> bruce had given an account about how he was playing a game with his family and as part of that game he was jumping on furniture and jumping on the bed and they were all screaming. >> reporter: so there was no argument, just a game the kids called matter after a boist strus character from the movie "cars." and the 11 trips in and out of the room the night monica vanished. bruce's mother juanita gave his explanation for that to ann curry on "today". >> he was looking for her and then he would come back to check on the children. he did that numerousimes. you tend to do that when somebody's missing and you're nervous. >> reporter: as for any physical evidence, bruce's attorneys say they have nothing to tie him to monica's murder.

bruce had scratches on his face and body. what was his explanation for that? >> he was attempting to get his son out of a river that they were swimming in and it was very rocky rocky. he indicated that he also sustained some scrapes to the back of his neck on a different water adventure they went on. >> sounds like a rough vacation. >> they were a very active family. they were not sitting at the beach every day. >> reporter: and whatever happened inside the room they say that those supposed blood samples police found proved to be mostly useless. some weren't even blood. >> if a homicide had occurred in that room, you would have certainly expected to see blood throughout the room or certainly in many areas of the room. >> reporter: what's more, they say, the notion that bruce could have killed his wife on a family vacation is absurd. and, in fact, mexican police never even interviewed the two people who may have seen everything, their children alec and camilla. >> she's very, very articulate little girl.

>> reporter: camilla was 5 years old when her mother was murdered. with a therapist present, she told bruce's attorneys what she remembered about the mexico trip, and she mentioned that loud game of mater with her doubt. >> she recounted a very similar type of game, said that her brother was screaming very loudly. she then screamed for me to show me how loud it was -- it was very high pitched, could ease lid have been mistaken for a woman. >> reporter: and her account of that morning in the hotel room matched her father's. when was the last time that she remembers seeing monica? >> she has a very vivid recollection of her mother wearing a blue dress, gold hoop earrings, and saying to her, i love you, i'll be back soon. and she has a very distinct image in her mind that's the last time she saw her mother. >> reporter: could that account be enough to clear bruce? monica's sisters carla and jeane were outraged that his attorneys

would even subject the child to questions about the case. convinced that bruce murdered monica, they've been fighting an emotional battle for custody of the children, who are now under the permanent guardianship of bruce's parents. how much pain do you feel for those kids? >> a lot. i can feel it's very confusing and painful for them not to have their mother with them. >> reporter: with bruce now in los angeles, jeane flew down to cancun one more time to press the mexican authorities for action. >> so how do you feel about produce escaping from mexico? >> what a shame. >> reporter: then the sisters got what they had wanted at the mexican judge issued a warrant for bruce's arrest on charges of aggravated homicide. the mexican police couldn't arrest bruce on american soil themselves. that would be up to u.s. marshals who arrived at his home to take him to a federal jail in november 2010, seven months

after monica's death. the hollywood producer accused of killing his wife in mexico appears in a los angeles court and vows to fight extradition. >> reporter: a federal judge would hold a mini trial in los angeles to decide if mexico's case was strong enough to send bruce back to cancun to face the homicide charge. coming up -- the judge rules after prosecutors release disturbing new details about monica's murder. >> that takes the ruthlessness of this case from being a disgusting, despicable crime to being off the charts. and coming up next friday on "dateline," a husband accused of murder. seems to confess right on tape. >> i just shot my wife. >> reporter: but this is it the tape that had everyone talking. why was he acting like this in prison? >> no, i wouldn't do that. >> his daughters believe he's innocent. >> i know that my dad did not pull that trigger. >> reporter: but what would a

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where do you draw your 3 f1 strength? >> love. from love. from my love for my sister >> reporter: jeane and carla burgos had waited for more than a year for this day. and it finally came. a federal judge would now decide if their brother-in-law bruce beresford-redman could be handed over to mexico and stand trial for killing their sister monica. u.s. marshals brought bruce into court from his jail cell in downtown los angeles, and prosecutors laid out mexico's case against him. >> the prosecution's theory is that she was killed and dumped. >> reporter: former prosecutor robin sax says, according to the case file, mexican investigators believe bruce strangled or

smothered monica after a violent argument in their moon palace suite that april morning. >> there was also clearly injuries that had occurred prior to the point her body was thrown into the sewer. >> reporter: investigators believe her body remained in the room all day as bruce keptd a "do not disturb" sign on the door. they say he then disposed of her body later that night inside the sewer drain, making those 11 trips in and out of the room all in the presence of their two children. >> if this crime was committed by bruce beresford-redman and his children were there during the time, then that takes the callousness and ruthlessness of this case from being a disgusting and despicable crime to being off the charts. >> reporter: but bruce's attorneys argue that's one place where the prosecution's theory falls apart. >> these children love this man. i see the interaction between the children and bruce. if he had killed their mother in front of them, they would never

be as warm and loving of them as they are. >> unless they were sleeping and missed it all. >> but then there would have been screams. because the theory is that the screaming was her as she was being assaulted. it woke up the people downstairs. one would think if it was that loud the children would have been awoken also. >> reporter: what's more, they say that bruce could never have dumped monica's body in the sewer as mexican police claimed, carrying her nearly 300 feet down a flight of stairs and across a courtyard visible from dozens of other hotel rooms. >> he would have had to carry her quite a distance, and yet there's no evidence of a body being dragged, carried. >> reporter: in court, bruce's attorneys argued that the mexican investigation was flawed. there was no physical evidence to tie him to the crime because bruce was not a murderer but a loving father. he admitted to his infidelity and then worked to save his marriage and his family, as his

mother juanita explained on the "today" show. >> despite difficulties in the marriage, there's no way bruce would have taken their mother away from those children. >> reporter: now his own daughter camilla was set to testify that she never saw any arguments between her parents on that trip and even remembered seeing her mother leave the room alive. but, when the moment came, something changed. >> we spoke to camilla that morning, and the therapist concluded that she thought it would put camilla under too much stress to testify in court. and so we opted not to put her on the stand. >> reporter: camilla's prior statements were submitted. then the judge ruled -- enough evidence existed to try him for homicide. bruce beresford-redman would be extradited to mexico. and last week mexican authorities transported bruce back to cancun. >> we had been told that the jail in cancun is the most violent and dangerous jail in

all of mexico, that a person such as bruce, an american citizen coming down there, is going to be at great risk for his safety. >> reporter: in a hearing this week, his mexican attorneys asked that the charges be thrown out and gave a preview of their defense, producing two witnesses who said they saw monica out shopping that day she disappeared. bruce watched the proceedings from behind bars inside the courtroom. then, on wednesday, the mexican judge ruled the case will go to trial. >> i'm completely disappointed. >> reporter: jaime leen is his mexican attorney. >> i was there when he was notified by the court. i can assure you he is completely devastated. >> reporter: monica sister jeane was in cancun to support the prosecution. >> i'm very content and very grateful that they are doing an excellent job and they are putting all of their efforts in to bringing closure and justice to my sister. >> reporter: and now the sisters

have another mission -- to keep monica's memory alive for her two children. what will you tell the kids about their mother when some day they're old enough to ask you those questions? >> we'll never say to the kids, your father did that, your father killed your mother, or if that's the case, you know. what we say is, you know what, your mom is no longer with us, but she's in your heart. so when you want to talk to her, just go put your hand on your heart and go inside. she's there. she's going to talk to you. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." we'll see you again next friday at 10:00/9:00 central. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com