i got a call, and she said he was missing. >> i knew that my dad had been on match.com. >> this is not going to end well. this is a crime scene. miles of nothing up here. it's an easy place for a man to go missing. >> you can't find my brother. >> he was the school superintendent, not the type to play hooky. >> he really loved teaching and working with kids. >> turns out, he wasn't missing. he was dead. >> a missing person case has become a homicide. >> that solved one mystery but left another. why would anyone want to kill

him? maybe it had something to do with a woman in his life. he'd broken off his engagement with one. >> now i feel like i'm a suspect. >> and there was somebody else nobody knew about. >> i was lonely. just needed someone to talk to. >> did you also get a little steamy? >> yes. >> passion, and a secret that the wrong person discovered. >> her face looked like she'd seen a ghost. and she said sheriff, you have a phone call i think you need to take. >> i'm lester holt, and this is dateline. here's dennis murphy. >> winter comes early and stays late in far western new york. the farmlands near cha tau what lake. and in this place of frozen

stillness, the place of hottest passions and jealousy came to call. and 1700 residents are still shaking at the shock of it all. joe is the long-time sheriff. >> my 35 years in law enforcement. can you ever remember a homicide in climber? never. >> it began quite simply. the new superintendent in school went missing in 2012. keith reid, 51 years old, was a long-time educator who landed in the sweet spot of his professional career. >> parents and family members, do you believe in our graduates? >> the up until then principal had applied for the position with his big brother urging him on. >> this school called climer. i don't know whether i should apply there, i said apply. i knew what he wanted. and once he was there, it was

over. >> you might think a close-nit community like clie mer would be stand offish. but parents and students quickly engaged him. >> kids in the morning coming off the bus, he talked to them during the day. he was in the hallways. he really loved teaching and working with kids, and he was wonderful at it. >> the new superintendent had three grown daughters and a painful divorce behind him. but he'd never let life's difficulties distract from his primary role, dad. meagan is the middle child. >> he would dance and pick us up in the arian slide us between his legs and throw us up. >> and the old family snapshots, hiking in hawaii, disney world, all the christmases seemed to show a dad over the moon with his three girls. kaitlyn was a star volleyball

player and all american and knew without a doubt when her father was in the stands on game days. you could hear him? >> yeah. i could. everyone could. >> her dad was in a long-time relationship with a single mom named kimberly. >> he had three daughters and i had two boys, and a lot of our time was spent being involved in their sporting events. >> they'd been on again/off again for years. but no sooner had they decided to take one of their periodic time outs than they'd rubber band back together. boyfriends like keith were hard to find. >> the sun would come out, he would take me out of the car and dance along the side of the road. he was amazing. >> and now that his girls were grown, he was at long last finding his special place, getting comfortable. he'd bought a big house in town, a sign that the superintendent wasn't just using clymer as a career steppingstone. >> he found where he wanted to

be, finally. after years and years of looking. they'd have to pry him out with a bar. >> but on september 22, when the principal drove by his friend and colleague's house he was surprised to see both of his vehicles still in the driveway. the superintendent was meant to be across the state in a conference. >> i made a mental note, i'll stop in and see what's going on. >> when all looked the same on his return trip, the principal turned into the drive. >> i actually went into the door of the house and yelled, yelled his name. and of course there was no answer. >> someone else who started to wonder what was up that saturday was kaitlyn. the two spoke by phone every day. >> he didn't answer my phone call on that saturday. so i thought that was a little strange, but i was really busy, so i just kind of forgot. >> by sunday, his middle daughter meagan had become very concerned. she hadn't heard from him

either. worrying. >> i was like, okay, it's time to answer the phone. i was confused because he always answers the first time we call. >> that sunday night, her uncle was being called to the school by a school official. we can't find your brother. he was supposed to be in a conference. both his cars are at the house. >> kevin was hoping for a simple explanation, that they'd come upon his brother on the property hurt and unable to get up. >> my hope was that he gone out on the tract of land behind his home and had fallen and couldn't get home. >> but when he walked in the house the former fbi man didn't like what he saw. >> $600 in his wallet, suitcase is partially packed. i said everybody out. everybody out. this is not going to end well. and this is a crime scene.

>> the principal id bailey was taken aback by kevin's comment. >> i understand that we have an issue here that keith's not where we thought he should be, but what do you mean it's not going to end well? >> the principal had called the sheriff's office to report ken missing. >> he had a bag packed. it looked like he was reaping for his trip. but nothing else that was out of place. >> deputies broke out flashlights and searched the house, the grounds, with no luck. keith reid was flat out gone. >> and it's really a mystery to them when they leave the house. >> correct. >> sunday night ended in drenching rain, darker than usual around the house. they hadn't yet figured out why the exterior lights by the garage weren't working. they had talked to the neighbors about some loud voices they heard. where was the superintendent, mr. reid. >> this was a man who was

responsible and respected. didn't seem the sort to just take off without telling anyone. as the search continues, police make a startling discovery. >> a missing person case has become a homicide. >> correct. and it was, like, wow. a good o. what did geico say to the mariner? we could save you a boatload! ♪ foghorn sounds loudly ♪ what's seattle's favorite noise? the puget sound! ♪ foghorn sounds loudly ♪ all right, never mind doesn't matter. this is a classic. what does an alien seamstress sew with? a space needle! ♪ foghorn sounds loudly continuously ♪ oh come off it captain! geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

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cold wind, and pollution can make all skin sensitive. that's why simple cleansing wipes are made to be kind. tough on makeup, gentle on skin. simple. the sensitive skin experts. one down, mr. bailey, don't forget this. >> the snippet of cell phone video shows keith reid at the

end of school in september of 2012. in three weeks time, the high-profile educator would be reported to the share ever's office as a missing person. >> the school superintendent that everybody loved. kids loved him. he was there every morning greeting them as he got off the bus. >> his last known whereabouts was dinner with a friend. a camera caught him leaving the restaurant. the next day i was a no-show at an educator's conference. his brother had a bad feeling about things when he arrived at his brother's house on sunday night. >> i went right into fbi marked for identification. i didn't have time to get emotional. >> his brother was no one's candidate to just one day go missing. why, just a few weeks before he had the moment every dad lives for, walking his eldest daughter kaitlyn down the aisle. >> it was one of the most home tus days of his life. i'd never seen him that happy.

>> at the reception he even busted out his signature dance moves. >> he was a very happy guy? >> yeah, he was. >> mm-hm. >> now as dawn broke a month later, monday morning, september 24, keith reid had vanished. the sheriff's people were dispatched again to do a daylight search of the grounds. it wasn't long before a canine handler had reported back. >> immediately they found the body in the shrubs. >> keith's girlfriend kimberly was driving to a new job that morning when she got the news. she couldn't believe what she was hearing. >> he's dead. they found him. and i just started crying. i said that's not possible. >> but tucked into the heblg row about 50 feet from his driveway lay keith reid's body. he had been shot three times. twice in the back. once in the chest. all at close range.

>> it was like, wow, how could this happen? who could have done this? why would they do it? >> those same questions were soon roaring through the halls at keith's school. principal ed bailey had gotten the news from the sheriff's office. >> i just about dropped the phone. just couldn't believe it. >> we're talking about keith reid. >> yeah. may friend. >> along with the shock in the community came an unnerving question, given the national climate of school-related shootings, could keith been targeted because of his work leading the district? angered student or parent? >> who could have possibly could have done this? there was one incident that the family was very upset with him. >> school-related beef? >> nothing out of the ordinary, nothing that should have ever

rose to this level. >> neighboring districts were understandably on edge too. were they next? >> my phone blew up from other schools. are we in danger? is this the beginning of something bigger? there was a lot of people worried. >> and concern only heightened says the sheriff, when word spread that an unknown man had stopped by keith's school asking to see mr. reid. >> he had told them that he was applying for a job as a substitute teacher, that he came in from connecticut looking for work. >> the man, seen here, was captured on school surveillance cameras. was this visitor a piece of the puzzle? detectives didn't know. but given the potential nightmare of children and schools in jeopardy, it was more important than ever for the sheriff to have all hands on deck at the crime scene. county attorney was there and they turned up a critical clue. >> a neighbor couple had heard

gunshots, three gunshots friday evening somewhere around 9:00. >> on the property themselves, detectives found themselves frustratingly short of clues, but they did find a soggy piece of paper that looked like a receipt. and around the garage, investigators took notice of something perplexing, three exterior lights, the bulbs were missing. >> why are the bulbs missing? this is odd. >> somebody had done some planning. >> ring the doorbell, can't see anybody out there, flips the light, opens the door, there's the assailant. >> so someone unknown became one thing to pursue. something more traditional, was it possible that keith reid was the victim of a bad romance? as it happened, someone on-again, off-again was about to pull into the drive. >> coming up.

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the body of keith reed, the admired school superintendent had been found in a hedge by his house. he'd been shot three times. keith's brother kevin, a law enforcement veteran had caravanned to the house with his 80-year-old parents expecting to search for a missing person. the sheriff broke the news. >> so now i've got my mother wanting to go cover him up with a blanket because he's cold. try that sometime. it's crime scene, mom. you can't go up there. it's tough. >> ased reed family struggles to

make sense of the horror, investigators would put the question to keith's daughters. did they know of anyone who had a reason to hurt their dad? >> we could not think of anyone to tell them. we had no one. >> everyone was just, no. >> but a name had occurred to their uncle kevin. of the leads to sort through he suggested investigators look at his on-again, off-again girlfriend of many years, kimberly roush. >> i said you need to talk to kim birl. >> and where did that come from in you? >> experience, and knowing the relationship. >> the investigators learned from kevin and others that the superintendent's relationship with kimberly had at times been rocky. they'd been engaged to be married, but keith recently called off the wedding. >> by the time summer was over, he said no, we're not doing this. >> was this what the crime scene was all about? a deadly confrontation between a man and his lover upset over a

canceled wedding? kimberly who was almost two hours away raced to the house. >> i said kevin, what happened? i said, did he have a heart attack or something? and he said, no. somebody shot him. and i just started sobbing, and i started to go down to my knees in the road. >> investigator randy bowlin was assigned to talk to her. >> she is crying and very, very emotional. so i immediately go and speak to her, but i give her some moments. >> but in the investigator's eyes kimberly quickly went from grieving girlfriend to potential suspect. he asked for her phone. >> i said okay. is there a reason why? you know, i just was kind of shocked. >> it turns out that keith had asked kimberly to join him at the educator's conference that weekend. she said they'd never finalized the plan, but she'd been mad at him for not returning her calls. >> she is very upset in her text messages back, like, i can't

believe you're not talking to me. you know, and it was like half violent, like, why are you not calling she in. >> really flaming stuff, huh? >> yeah. >> and something else. in keith's bedroom upstairs, crime scene analysts noticed this picture frame. it was toppled over and taken apart on a bookcase. whatever picture was in it was gone. >> you can put a story twogt that, huh? >> the pieces of the puzzle were just starting to come together. >> investigator bowlin brought kimberly in for a formal taped interview. >> i was still in shock. i barely had my head around that he was killed. and now i feel like i'm going right from that into are you the one that killed him? i just found out this morning, and then i show up and i find out he was shot. and now i feel like i'm a suspect. >> kimberly told investigator

bowlin she'd been three hours away at her parents' house at the time they believe keith was shot. she admitted that while she did get angry with him, she would never hurt him. >> never in a million years. no matter what he said or did, did i ever consider or conceive of the thought of hurting him or living without him. >> i remember feeling absolutely terrified. and i thought, i have two little boys at home. i need to get home. they don't even know he's gone. >> in some of your messages you displayed -- >> anger. >> anger, anger. >> i had been angry. anybody would be in certain situations. that doesn't make them a killer. >> but had there been a trigger leading up to friday night? the investigator saw in kimberly's text messages that she was intent on getting back from reed a high school diploma, something she thought might be at his house.

>> i used the f-word and said i'm sure you're obviously there with another woman, and i don't even care. i just need my [ bleep ] diploma, why don't you peck your [ bleep ] phone up. >> you think i'm going to show up and shoot him over my missing diploma i can't find? i would just go thayer, look through the bin, find it, take it and leave. >> but what about that picture frame? detectives thought it might have been toppled over during a fight. >> no, we've never broken pictures of each other. so i really have no idea what they were talking about. >> investigator bowlin confronted kimberly with a working theory, thinking keith was away she stormed over to the house with a male friend to get her diploma back, only keith was still home, an unhappy surprise. >> there's an issue here where there's two males going at it. did you sigh something you didn't want to see? >> i don't understand. >> not at all? >> not at all. >> they were thinking i was

guilty of this. and i loved him so much. i could never have even thought of doing anything like that. >> the nearly three-hour-long interview was over. kimberly was still in the cross hairs, and the thought was terrifying to her. >> am i going to go to jail for something i didn't do? >> but investigator bowlin had his doubts that she had anything to do with keith reed's death. >> she didn't leave my suspect list. but at the same time, she, she seemed genuine that she didn't, she would never do something like this. >> meanwhile, there'd been a very puzzling development in the investigation. the sunday night the superintendent was reported missing the cops had asked the phone company to ping keith reed's cell phone, to ask if the technological question, where are you. the phone answered back electronically, i'm in harrisburg, pennsylvania. >> this man is dead in the hedges of his house and the phone is in harrisburg,

pennsylvania? >> hours away. >> hours away. >> the superintendent is dead at hit home. his phone more than 200 miles away. what was going on? >> coming up, things get way more complicated when a second woman makes a phone call to the sheriff. >> i don't know. >> just relax. >> she was very, very upset. vi. i'm still not going to make it to mars, but thanks to hotwire's incredibly low travel prices, i can afford to cross more things off my list. this year alone, we went to the top of the statue of liberty... and still saved enough to go to texas-- to a real dude ranch! hotwire checks the competition's rates every day... so they can guarantee their low prices. so we got our 4-star hotels for half price. next up, hollywood! ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com save big on car rentals too, from $11.95 a day. saffect over 1 million homes a year and can cost thousands of dollars to repair. thankfully, rid-x has enzymes to break down waste

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returning to our story, a school superintendent in upstate new york has been found murdered. without much to go on, police have questions about his former

fiance, but a phone and a phone call will soon take detectives in a new and unexpected direction. here, again, is dennis murphy. >> of the many details concerning the homicide of well-liked school superintendent keith reed perhaps none was more perplexing than the murdered man's cell phone. why was the phone company reporting the phone's location in harrisburg, pennsylvania? >> i thought it was a mistake. no one knew of anyone that he would know in harrisburg. >> in the hours after keith's body was found, relatives desperately called that phone trying to get a voice on the other end of the line. >> he said i just called keith reed's phone and somebody answered. >> that's a holy cow moment. >> but it turned out the person saying hello was a construction foreman on a bridge in harrisburg. the phone had been found on

scaffolding which suggested that someone tried to toss the phone into a river. >> it was on a bridge deck set up to do repairs on a bridge. it was a lucky break for us. >> what are the odds? >> one in a billion. >> while the recovered cell phone was on its way to a fbi lab, analysts scoured the property for clues. david foley knew the clymer the community was anxious for the case to be solved, but an arrest looked a long ways off. >> you can't calm people down, can you? >> no. >> but then wednesday afternoon, something totally out of the blue happened that turned the investigation upside down. the sheriff was in a closed-door meeting when his sent interrupted. >> i thought it was a family emergency. her face looked like she'd seen a ghost. and she said sheriff, you have a phone call i think you need to take. >> a panic-stricken woman was on the phone. she needed to talk to the

sheriff immediately. the sheriff returned to his phone call so he could take the phone call. >> i don't know. >> just relax. >> her name was mary taglianetti. she was calling from virginia. no one in keith reed's life had ever heard of her. >> does mary know her? >> no. >> did it ring a bell? >> no. meagan's older sister kaitlyn didn't know the name either, but would soon realize this mary was a woman her dad had taken to dinner in 2010 during an off time with kimberly. >> i remember him saying he was going out to dinner, but yeah, no. nothing ever came from it. >> but now this mary was on the phone. >> she was very, very upset. >> stay with me. this is going to be okay. relax. >> i kept her on the phone purposely, as long as i could. and while we were talking, i had my staff scrambling to get somebody in law enforcement to

her home. >> almost 400 miles south, officers in virginia brought mary to an interview room. she was the second woman in three days investigators were speaking to about the murder of the superintendent. >> i just might need them. >> mary says she and keith first developed a relationship on match.com. she'd separated from her husband and had moved with her four children to upstate new york. after 11 years of marriage, she says she was trying to figure out how to get back into the dating game. >> i was lonely, and just needed someone to talk to. friends. >> mary says she was intrigued by the superintendent and responded when he sent her a message saying hello. >> i said, you know, you're really good-looking. but we started talking. and we had some things in common. and then he asked if he could call me. >> they talked on and off for a couple months, she says. keith who always had a soft spot for someone in need provided

emotional support as she struggled to find her footing as a newly separated woman. >> i kind of felt lost, you know. i didn't know what to do or where to go next. and he was great. he was, he was really encouraging. >> it was sometime in the summer of 2010, she told the detectives that she met her online match for their one and only date. >> he took me to dinner. and we had a night together. >> it was little more than a one-nightstand. mary said she decided to try to make things work with her husband. keith reconciled with his girlfriend. >> we both just kind of said good luck to each other. >> so it was like a handshake and good-bye, huh? >> pretty much, yeah. >> but a couple years later, mary says, her marriage was once again coming undone. in the spring of 2012, she tried to friend keith on facebook. he didn't accept the request, but the superintendent did write her a message. >> he sent me a message back,

asking me how i was, ai told him that i wasn't happy, and things weren't going too well. >> she says they started calling each other on the occasional evening. keith struggling with his relationship and mary lonely in hers confided in each other. >> was that something nice in your life at that time, mary? >> yes. >> what was it doing for you. >> it was a piece of happiness, like i felt a little more fulfilled. >> but she says their phone conversations at times did get sexual. >> but was it hi, how are you, but did it also get a little steamy? >> yes. >> still, it hardly seemed like a big deal relationship. could a single date and some suggestive phone calls really add up to murder? in mary's mind, yes. but she hadn't called the sheriff to confess to the crime, nor had she called to point the finger at a jealous girlfriend. she had someone else in mind. and the clue could be found on

his computer. >> coming up, the secret comes out. >> i'll try to give you everything that i can. it was this long thing about don't, don't you dare contact my wife ever again. and if you do, you're going to be sorry. >> when dateline continues. septic system breakdowns

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renewed life to the cyber relationship between school superintendent keith reed and mary tagtaglianetti. now mary would share with detectives why their amorous trail could have led to his death. mary had met her husband, rob taglianetti in college. he was a historian with the marines. she was mostly a stay-at-home mom to their four kids. she told detectives that their 11 years together had been difficult at times, but something had happened back august that pushed the marriage to the brink. sheer was at the doctor when her husband discovered an e-mail, an e-mail thanking her for phone sex. >> he said do you know who keith reed is. >> mary who had struggled through separation once now decided to keep her family together. >> i was really thinking about the kids, and i thought they

deserve to be in their home with their father and mother. >> but her husband was adamant, she says. if he was going to stay, there was a condition attached. she'd have to hand over her passwords. mary told detectives he later logged onto her e-mail account and fired off a blistering message to reed. >> but it was this long thing about don't, don't you dare contact my wife, ever again. and if you do, you're going to be sorry, because i have the e-mails, and i'll post at all of your schools. >> the superintendent responded simply and directly, back off, stay away from me or i'll take action and tell your wife the same. >> and that should have been the end of things. >> it should have been the end of things. >> but it wasn't. >> no. >> she said after the e-mails rob started getting dressed. i said where are you going? he said you know me.

he leaves late, 11:00 at night. >> that all happened she said the night before investigators suspected keith reed had been killed. >> i had thought in my mind, there's no way he's going to go all the way up there to beat this guy up. >> that's what you thought, confrontation in fistfights? >> oh, yeah. he had gotten in fistfights before. >> she had been concerned about her husband's tripwire anger. >> he would have episodes where i would be afraid of him, or the children would be afraid of him. >> it had caused their separation two years before. and now she worried her husband had lost all perspective. >> i hear you say it may have been a love triangle only in rob's mind. that was not what was going on. >> no. it was more like a connective friendship. and it was flirting. >> she says she e-mailed keith several warnings and tried to reach her husband throughout the next day, but her calls went straight to voice mail. >> i was just thinking i was going to get a phone call from

the police, saying your husband was acting like an idiot, but i didn't hear anything from anybody. >> mary says rob returned home saturday morning, telling her keith had been out of town. >> instantly, i was like, oh, good. i was so happy. like, i was so relieved. >> relieved, she told the detectives until four days later when she ran an internet search to see what her husband could have found out about the superintendent. >> there it was. keith's picture, saying 51 year old keith reed, shot to death. >> i couldn't believe it, like i lost my breath. and i was shocked. and i knew right away that it had to be rob. >> to investigators looking for the killer in upstate new york, mary's husband made more than a lot of sense. there was keith reed's cell phone found off this bridge in pennsylvania. >> harrisburg is on the way to virginia.

so now that makes sense too. that piece of the puzzle. >> and something else clicked. remember that man who'd appeared add clymer central school asking to speak to the superintendent? investigators sent a freeze frame from the school security cameras down to the interview room in virginia. >> does this look like him? >> yes. >> that's him? >> yes. >> mary identifies those stills as being her husband. so we know it's him in the school. >> now authorities had a suspect. but where was he? mary said a few days after her husband returned he told her he got a new job and had quit his position as a historian at the marine base in quantico. rob had also packed up some things and taken off, leaving behind a cryptic note about going on a camping trip to clear his hid. at the time it didn't make sense to her. >> i didn't understand why he didn't want to take us. if he's going to take a couple weeks off for vacation, why wouldn't he take his family.

>> but now everything added up. the authoritiesish issued a bol. a be on the look out. >> we consider him to be armed and dangerous. >> where are you? where are the children? >> we were at a hotel. they were worried that he was going to try to come back and look for us. >> as the authorities searched for rob taglianetti, keith reed's family gathered to say their good-byes. the church in his hometown was too small for all the mourners. brother kevin was a pallbearer. >> did you speak that day? >> i couldn't. my son had to hold me up. >> you were a wreck at that time. >> oh, yeah. completely. >> keith's three daughters, though, did find the strength to speak. years before, they'd almost lost their father in a motorcycle accident. he'd persevered. now they were determined to make

him proud. >> i knew that he wouldn't want us to be sad and depressed. i knew he would want it to be a celebration of his life. >> it was that same afternoon that taglianetti's gold buick was spotted speeding down a road near a national park in virginia. >> make the plate, pull it over and take him into custody without incident. >> anthony rob taglianetti was charged with a second degree murder of keith reed. to the prosecutor, the theory of a jealous husband killing his perceived rival connected all the dots. but wait, the defense said, the real theory of who was to blame was yet to be heard. rob was merely the puppet they would argue. it was his wife, a cunning and manipulative woman who had pulled the strings. >> all she wanted was to be with keith. which mines she's got to get rid of rob taglianetti. she's got to get him out of the

picture. >> coming you. an angry husband or a scheming wife? >> this is a story about manipulation and exploitation. >> who was really behind keith

a little more than a year after the killing of the popular school superintendent keith reed, rob taglianetti went on trial for second degree murder. he pleaded not guilty. the prosecutor told the jury that this case was about an explicit e-mail that provoked a husband to kill. >> he sought out keith reed and shot him to death. >> the prosecutor laid out his case. taglianetti caught here on tape at the superintendent's school the day of the murder. a gold buick like taglianetti's

spotted in reed's driveway that afternoon. and that soaked piece of paper found on reed's lawn was an atm receipt linked to taglianetti's bank account. there were more incendiary e-mails, too. a flurry of them september to keith reed the night before the murder, capitalized, exma', excn points. and all the forensic evidence found in taglianetti's car. a .357 revolver was found with a printout of the steamy e-mail. >> we had keith's blood in the barrel and on the barrel. that was the gun pressed on keith's back. >> and a surprise on the laptop, an exit strategy. hours before his arrest, rob taglianetti bought a one-way

ticket to israel. >> his ultimate idea was to get out of the country. >> but as convincing as the prosecuti prosecution's case appeared the defense attorney told the jury it was not at all what it seemed. >> this is about manipulation and exploitation. >> rob was a u.s. marine with a sterling record, a devoted husband who loved his wife and wanted nothing more than to keep his family together. his wife mary, on the other hand, was a master manipulator, he said, dead set on destroying the marriage anyway she could. >> she wanted out of her life rob. keith rieed, she wanted to be with him. she did whatever she needed to do to accomplish both those ends. >> take the discovery of the e-mail. the defense suggested mary left that e-mail open on purpose. why? maybe because a confrontation between the two men was her goal. why else would she not have

alerted the authorities to her husband's impending showdown with the superintendent. >> if you're really worried what your husband's going to do to another individual, wouldn't you call the officials? wouldn't you call the police? she waits literally days to call law enforcement. >> mary taglianetti, a prosecution witness says she's appalled by the defense's theory and finds it preposterous. how is killing keith ride and getting her husband thrown in prison helping her cause? >> i didn't do anything on purpose. i wish i would never have left that e-mail open. >> because that's the story the jury's hearing about you, that you're driving the events. >> yes. that's not true at all. >> but the defense attorney went even further. maybe those blistering e-mails from taglianetti to reed had really been written by mary. while she denies it, he implied it could be a way to frame her husband, to show that he left

the house with murder on his mind. >> there's know corroborating evidence whatsoever of mary's testimony that rob authored those e-mails. >> to try to prove that point, the defense attorney cited a phrase in one of those messages that he said rob taglianetti would never have used. >> a marine doesn't refer to himself as a former marine. once a marine always a marine. >> as for what happened on keith reed's property the night he was killed, the defense do not concede that rob was there. but if he had been they said, maybe the superintendent was the aggressor. after all they argued, it was his reputation that was at stake in the phone sex with mary was exposed. >> when someone's confronted with that situation, who know what is they could do. >> no. there were just too many unanswered questions to justify a guilty verdict the defense told the jury. >> the prosecutor has failed to establish this case.

and every element of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. >> but it didn't take the jury long, just three hours, to come to its decision. >> we the jury find the defendant, the jury finds him guilty. >> guilty of the send murder ofh reed. he declined to interview with dateline. they say he suffers from bipolar disorder. and his attorney says it will be an issue in the upcoming appeal. >> state of mind. >> absolutely. that's crucial. >> outside, kevin embraces his niece. so overwhelming. >> i thought i would feel release or happy, but it just,

it wasn't. it was tough. >> among those thinking about keith reed's family is mary taglianetti. >> my heart goes out to them almost every day. and it's just, it's a tragedy. and my heart breaks. >> the reed family is far from the only victim in this case. kimberly roush had nothing whatsoever to do with the crime. yet, she said she had to endure being questioned as a suspect while simultaneously struggling with the grief of a man she loved and admired. >> he was an incredible man who loved life. his girls always came first. he was a wonderful father figure to my children as well. >> keith reed's three daughters now face a future without their dad. he won't be there to walk the two younger girls down the aisle or be a loving granddad to their children or take their daily phone calls.

>> when do you miss your dad the most? >> when i drive home from work, i always grab my phone to call him. >> it's just hard without that person there. that i talked to so often. >> it has been close to impossible for his family to understand it. a devoted educator who did so much good for so many students, ripped from their lives for something so mundane. some online flirtation, a single dinner date, more flirtation two years later and then three quick shots. >> a complete waste. lives of kids he could have helped. who knows what path they would have taken if they had contact with him. >> the homicide brewed in cyberspace may sound perfectly modern, one woman, two men and a jealousy that was all consuming. >> that's all for now.

i'm lester holt. thanks for joining us. i tell people it's the miracle of facebook. >> oh, my god. >> the murder happened in seconds. >> coming straight for me and with a gun leveled. >> the truth took decades. >> i said you know what? give me a lie detector test. >> i never believed it, never. >> did someone have it all wrong? or are innocent men in prison for a murder they didn't commit? >> did you ever imagine you