>> he told me he loved me and i told him i loved him. and he said he'd be right back. i could hear a commotion of some sort. and then i remember hearing gunshots. to see him lying there -- it was bad. >> reporter: it's the website where lovers go to meet. and cheat. >> this was someone looking to have an affair. >> reporter: but this affair was about so much more than deceit. >> you couldn't write this as a movie. you couldn't write this as a book. >> reporter: this affair became a game. a wife and her lover -- spying on her husband and his lover. >> you just think, well what else have they done? >> reporter: and then, this spy game turned deadly. one of the four lovers was

gunned down. >> this obviously was not something that was random. >> reporter: waiting at the scene, a man with a strange story. and waiting for detectives, a strange video. >> how creepy was that video? >> it was creepy. >> reporter: an affair to remember. >> he was the one. >> reporter: an affair to forget. >> i shouldn't have done it. >> reporter: and one more secret still to be revealed. >> she said, i need you to sit down. i have something to tell you. and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. >> reporter: i'm lester holt, and this is dateline. here's andrea canning with tangled web. >> reporter: sarasota, florida. the perfect backdrop for romance. beautiful beaches for long walks, gorgeous sunsets and the slow rhythm of a gentle gulf tide. stories of love abound in this city by the sea. but not all have ended happily

ever after. like the one that unfolded here back in the summer of 2012. when secrets, lies, and infidelity led to murder. >> 911, what's the location of your emergency? >> a man's been shot. >> it's really a twisted love story. >> it's so twisted. it's tangled. it's a knot. i'm not sure that it will ever come undone. but i do know that there is more to the story than has been told. >> reporter: it all began back in 1998, when a 26-year-old local firefighter by the name of sam dreher met the love of his life, danielle lebourveau. >> they were just the ideal young couple. they held hands. they looked at each other dreamily over dinner. >> he seemed crazy about her. >> reporter: sam's older sister, cindy lutz, was thrilled when she found out sam had a serious new girlfriend. >> what was your first impression?

>>she was really sweet. she seemed crazy about him. >> she liked the outdoors. she liked to travel. so they just had a lot in common. >> reporter: so it came as no surprise when sam announced he was ready to pop the question. as for how he proposed, the firefighter didn't disappoint. >> he had hired a sand sculptor to build a rather large sand sculpture of a treasure chest. and then he had placed the engagement ring in the box. >> so there was some real pirate booty in there? >> right, right. he pulled out the ring, got down on one knee, and proposed to her. >> sam's a romantic! >> he is, isn't he? >> reporter: the lucky in love newlyweds would become equally successful at work. sam quickly climbed the fire department ladder, rising to the rank of lieutenant at the young age of 33. >> he loved the fire services. absolutely loved it. loved being a paramedic. >> reporter: danielle was just as ambitious, finding her stride in the administrative office of

a local hospital. >> she became the regional marketing director for the whole hospital corporation. >> reporter: sam and danielle didn't have children, but they had the next best thing -- sam's great niece, aubrey cake. >> you're like the daughter we never had. they always told me that. >> reporter: aubrey, who attended college nearby, often spent weekends with the drehers. >> sam was the best ever. he really took me in as family right away. >> he was just like a regular a dad. he really just cared. >> focus on school. don't let those boys ruin your life. you know, they're no good. don't let those boys get around you. he's like and you're never allowed to date a fireman. >> what's wrong with firemen?! >> oh, he worked with them. he knew how they were. so -- >> did danielle also take you in as one of her own? >> yes, yes. she was as welcoming as he was.

>> reporter: aubrey listened to their tales of romantic trips to exotic lands. >> they traveled the world together. >> they had so many good times and so many great experiences. >> i would imagine they were almost like role models to you? >> yeah, they were. they were. >> the perfect life, the perfect wife. everything just seemed great, you know. for both of them. >> reporter: but all that changed in august of 2012. it was a hot, saturday afternoon in sarasota when registered nurse trish murphy heard a disturbance coming from the stairwell just outside her apartment. >> it sounded like somebody was being chased. and then i heard somebody yell, oh god, no. >> reporter: the unmistakable sound of gunshots followed. four of them in quick succession. trish immediately called 911. >> 911, what's the location of your emergency? >> i just heard gunshots. and somebody screaming outside and somebody running outside. >> i think my heart was probably going a gazillion miles a minute, you know? >> reporter: trish slowly peered out of her apartment door and

saw a man lying in the stairwell bleeding. she knew he wasn't a resident of the apartment complex. >> i had no idea who he was. my concern was to get him over on his side because he was face down in a really big pool of blood. >> reporter: trish wasn't the only one at the scene. her upstairs neighbor, dianne mcknight, also tried to aid the victim. >> there was just blood everywhere. and i just didn't know what to do. i ran back into my apartment and got towels. >> reporter: as the minutes ticked by, trish began to worry the shooter might still be in the area. >> then all of a sudden you start to think, well wow, i wonder where the person is that did this. >> and for all i knew, the person upstairs shot him. >> reporter: but those questions would have to wait. soon paramedics arrived on the scene. they learned the victim was one of their own. it was firefighter sam dreher.

the paramedics immediately airlifted sam to the nearest trauma center as word of the shooting spread. >> and it's danielle. she is screaming into the phone, you have to come. he's been shot. he's been shot. and i said, who's been shot? and she screams out sam. >> reporter: cindy jumped in her car to be at her brother's side. a thousand questions swirled through her mind. why sam? who shot him? and why was he at that apartment complex? >> a firefighter gunned down, but this seemed like more than just a random shooting. when we return -- >> there's some infidelity going on and there's a reason -- a cause for concern.

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>> reporter: as cindy lutz raced to the hospital, all she knew was that her brother sam had been shot. >> it was a nightmare. it seemed like we were traveling a thousand miles. we just, we just could not get there fast enough. >> reporter: when cindy finally made it to the icu, sam's wife danielle was already there, waiting in the hallway. >> she started crying. and i said, is he alive? just tell me he's alive. and she said, he's alive. >> reporter: but the prognosis wasn't good. >> and the doctor said he was shot four times. and i'm thinking wrong place, wrong time. i didn't know what happened. >> reporter: the responsibility of finding out what happened fell to detectives chad mcdonald and jarek szalbirak, who began gathering pieces of the puzzle as soon as they arrived on

scene. >> this case was personal to you? >> yes. in our area, law enforcement and firefighters are very close. in this case it wasn't just another victim. this victim was part of this larger brotherhood and it kind of hit home. >> reporter: first, they interviewed the two neighbors who found sam lying in the stairwell. >> whenever we work a crime, that's usually where you're gonna start with is your 911 caller. >> reporter: trish murphy told the detectives this normally quiet, upscale, gated community had never experienced anything like this before. >> it was a nice, quiet place to be. >> reporter: but she did remember seeing something that troubled her one evening just a month before the shooting. a man standing in the woods across the lake staring at the building. >> i thought to myself that that was an odd thing. who would be just standing there? >> reporter: detectives then turned to trish's traumatized neighbor, dianne mcknight. they learned dianne was holding onto a secret. >> it turns out that the -- the witness, dianne mcknight, was a

lot more than just a witness. she -- she was very important to this case. >> yes, she was. >> reporter: dianne revealed that she knew sam -- intimately. >> she admitted that they were boyfriend and girlfriend. she had stated that they had only been dating for a few months. and stated that they were in love. >> sam was having an affair? >> yes. >> reporter: which is why sam was at the apartment complex that day. >> there's some infidelity going on. and there's a reason -- a cause for concern. >> did you ever think that you'd be the kind of person to have an affair? >> no. >> reporter: dianne told the detectives her affair with sam started as affairs so often do. with an innocent encounter at a bar. >> he asked me if i was married and had kids and, you know, i told him that i was but no kids. and i'm like, what about you? he said, yes. married. >> reporter: in fact, sam had been married for 13 years. but according to dianne, it took

just a month for sam to fall in love with her. and, she said, the feelings were mutual. >> what was it about him that made you fall so hard? >> he was just the most thoughtful person. he was just comforting and i just couldn't wait to always just be around him. >> did you still feel a little guilty? >> oh yes. >> reporter: but dianne said there were already issues in her marriage. >> i just thought -- if i'm doing this, my marriage is definitely already over. >> reporter: a few months after the affair began, she decided it was time to tell her husband she wanted a divorce. >> i remember just saying, we need to talk. nobody ever wants to hear that. and he looked at me. he said, are you having an affair? >> wow. >> and i said no. >> why didn't you just be honest at that point? >> i didn't want to hurt him. >> what came next.

>> we both got very emotional. and he agreed to it. >> reporter: then came the shooting. dianne tried to think of anyone who could have been responsible. that's when she remembered a strange visit, a month before the shooting, from a man claiming to be a plumber. he said he was looking for a water leak in the building. >> he needed to check her pipes or something along that line. >> i said okay thinking, what am i doing letting this strange person in my home? i just had this feeling of, this isn't right. >> reporter: five minutes later, the plumber was done and on his way. >> did you ever check with your super? >> yes. i called the office and told them the incident and they said there should not have been anybody at my door. >> oh. that must've been just a weird feeling. >> it was. very unnerving. >> reporter: the following day, the same man appeared again, right below her apartment balcony. >> he was standing down there on the ground by the tree and looking directly up right at me.

>> that's creepy. >> yes. >> now are you thinking, i'm being stalked? >> yeah. >> reporter: dianne then saw him a third time. this time, immediately after sam had been shot. >> that same man. >> that just gave me chills. >> came running up the stairs towards me. i just looked at him and i said, what are you doing here? >> she recognized him. and you can hear her on the 911 call. >> i didn't see, who. i don't -- i don't know. what are you doing here? i remember him just kind of making this motion like, whoa. then he ran off. >> did you start to think in those split seconds that this mystery man was really after sam? >> yeah. i mean, it was definitely a suspicion. >> it must've been. >> yes. >> such a puzzle. >> yes. >> reporter: puzzling too for detectives. >> we needed to know what this connection was.

coming up, more secrets, waiting to be revealed. >> she said, i need you to sit down, i have something to tell you. and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. when "dateline" continues. during last year's super bowl, an estimated one billion chicken wings were consumed... 100 million pounds of avocados... and a gazillion deli platters. ♪ this year... the game is changing. ♪ good morning super bowl 50

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how scared are you, knowing that there's a shooter on the loose? >> i was terrified. >> reporter: dianne told detectives about the strange man she had seen multiple times around her apartment complex -- the same man who appeared moments after sam was shot. >> they said, "could you describe him?" and so i described him.

>> reporter: little did dianne know, a man fitting that very same description had just been arrested. he had approached sheriff's deputies moments after they arrived on scene and confessed to the shooting. >> the deputy that had him in the back of the patrol car already told us that he made statements that he was the shooter. >> reporter: did you feel like this could be any easy one, case closed? or did you think there's gotta be more to this story? >> there's never an easy one. there's always more to the story. >> reporter: the man identified himself as michael minor. detectives mcdonald and szalbirak immediately brought him down to the sheriff's office for questioning. >> he's very distraught, but he's willing to talk to us. and we were very much ready to listen to him. >> reporter: michael outlined for detectives the details of the shooting. he started by insisting it was all an accident. >> i never intended to pull that trigger. >> reporter: but detectives weren't so sure. after all, michael shot sam not once but four times. >> one of the shots was to the

back of sam's head. >> reporter: so sam is laying here, and michael is right on top of him, basically, giving him the final shot? >> he would have had to have been. that's what the evidence indicates. >> one shot might've been an accident. not the three or four shots that he actually fired. this was no accident at all. >> reporter: but detectives wanted to know, if this wasn't an accident, why then did michael shoot sam? >> you got all these pieces to the puzzle and you try to fit them all together. >> reporter: that's when michael revealed something that would turn the case on its head. he told detectives about an affair, but it wasn't the affair between sam and dianne. it was an affair he was having with the victim's wife, danielle dreher. >> they had been having an affair for four years. >> reporter: it was a mind spinning moment. detectives had just discovered the victim, sam, had been cheating on his wife danielle. now they were learning danielle had also been cheating on sam. >> everybody here is involved

with somebody else. it was interesting to say the least. >> reporter: and challenging for detectives, who now had to contend with a second affair. michael minor, the plumber, 13 years younger than danielle, told them the two had met on "ashley madison," a website for husbands and wives looking to cheat. the website's slogan -- life is short, have an affair. >> this was someone looking to have an affair. >> reporter: they both were. >> yeah. >> reporter: but michael insisted this was no casual fling. after all, the affair had lasted four years. what's more, he told detectives he had fallen in love with danielle. >> it was like i really found my soulmate. man, it was wonderful. i really had every intention of marrying this girl. >> michael was smitten. i mean, he was totally obsessed with her and in love with her. >> reporter: he went on to say that on the day of the shooting, he decided it was finally time

to talk to sam, man to man. he wanted to come clean about his love for danielle. >> he wants to confront sam and basically tell him that he's the other man. >> i concocted this scheme to go up there and tell him, you know, yeah, i'm seeing your -- i'm seeing your wife. >> reporter: that day, michael said he tracked sam down and found him in the parking lot of dianne's apartment complex. he also said he brought a gun because he had no idea how sam would react. >> he's bigger than me. so i just, you know, brought my firearm, you know. i intended to just go up there and scare him. >> reporter: but according to michael, his "mano a mano" with sam, didn't go as planned. when sam saw michael was armed, he fled. >> i'm like, don't -- don't run. i'm trying to like frickin' force him to talk to me. >> reporter: michael ran after sam up these stairs. he said at some point, while the two were in the stairwell, sam

turned. >> michael claims that he was in fear and closed his eyes and just fired his gun. >> then he, you know, comes toward me and i just, you know, i just close my eyes and just pulled the frickin' trigger, i'm so sorry. >> reporter: with all the things he's telling you, he's in a relationship with danielle. do you start to think, "we need to talk to danielle dreher?" >> yes. so the next step was -- let's find out, let's hear danielle's story. >> reporter: so detective szalbirak left michael and headed to the hospital where danielle had been waiting for updates on sam's condition. all danielle had been told was that sam had been shot. no one told her by whom. >> when i got over there, she was crying. she was very upset. >> reporter: detectives recorded the interview. >> we're trying to piece together what, what all happened. >> okay, let me get calm here. >> reporter: at first, detective szalbirak didn't reveal that he knew about danielle's lover michael minor, or that it was michael who shot sam. instead, he started by asking

danielle about her marriage to sam. danielle candidly described it as troubled -- >> we have been not getting along for many months. >> reporter: danielle also explained that she knew sam was having an affair, despite sam's best efforts to conceal it. did you know where he went today? today, i'm sure he went to his girlfriend's, yeah. but he always goes to her house. i'm not surprised by that. >> reporter: danielle then admitted that, she too, was unfaithful. >> she was pretty straightforward, told me about the affair. >> it was wrong. i shouldn't have done it. nobody should cheat. >> reporter: little by little, the detectives led danielle to believe they were focusing their investigation on her lover, michael. >> so would it kind of shock you if michael went and confronted him? >> yeah. >> that's what happened. >> really? >> and we have michael. >> do you? >> reporter: it wasn't the reaction the detective was expecting. he found danielle's tone to be strangely flat and unemotional. >> that was troubling to me. that was disturbing to me. >> i cannot believe he did this. >> reporter: danielle went on to

say she had no idea michael planned to talk to sam that day. >> michael never said anything about going over there? >> no, he didn't. >> reporter: but detectives were skeptical. they wondered if danielle knew more about michael's intentions than she was letting on. >> at this point, i don't know to believe her or not. >> reporter: you're not done with danielle dreher? >> oh, we're not done with her. >> reporter: for the time being, szalbirak left danielle at the hospital to be with sam's family. it was up to danielle to reveal the identity of the shooter and explain the sordid details of how she was connected to him. she said, "i need you to sit down. i have something to tell you." and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. >> reporter: first, cindy learned sam and danielle were getting a divorce. then, that both danielle and sam were having affairs. most shocking of all -- it was danielle's lover who shot sam. >> did i just hear what i just heard? >> reporter: four adults,

ensnared by lies and deceit. one clinging to life, but this tangled story was about to get a whole lot more twisted. coming up -- >> danielle was just totally obsessed with what sam was doing, which went beyond anything that i've seen before in investigations. so it doesn't sag and stays dryer so wiggle it and jiggle it in new pampers cruisers. wishing you love, sleep and play. pampers

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( ♪ música ♪ ) sam's sister, cindy, was there when the family decided to take him off life support. >> i hated it. i thought of him like he was one of my children. i loved him that much. >> were you able to be with sam? were you able to hold his hand and say goodbye? >> i did. >> what did you say to him? >> i made him a promise that the people responsible for his murder would, would pay for it. >> reporter: the news of sam's passing hit dianne mcknight

hard. >> in my mind i'm still thinking, "maybe there's still some hope that he can survive this." but when i heard that, i knew that i was never going to see him again. >> reporter: sam's great niece, aubrey cake, didn't make it to the hospital in time, but she made sure to be at sam's funeral. >> the bagpipes, i still remember to this day. >> did it make you really proud in that moment? >> yeah. i'm still proud of him. >> reporter: full, fire department honors were bestowed upon the admired young lieutenant. >> it's like the whole community came out to pay their respects. it was very humbling, very, very humbling. >> reporter: but along with the tears, there was tension. by now, sam's family and friends had learned danielle's lover had shot sam. >> no one could believe it, that she even had a boyfriend, or

that it was her boyfriend that killed him. >> people didn't even want her at the funeral. >> reporter: but the drama didn't end there. jaws dropped with the arrival of the other woman. >> was that awkward with danielle being at the funeral, the wife and the mistress? >> yes it was. but i felt it was more important for me to be there than to worry about how awkward i felt. >> to her surprise, sam's family embraced dianne. >> they all received me well. in fact, they invited me to come up with and sit with them. >> she's, she's truly a lovely person and -- >> i think she made him happy. and he deserved to be happy. >> you've come down pretty hard on danielle for her affair. sam was also having an affair. >> yes. >> do you condemn him for, for that behavior as well? >> no, i don't think he intended to meet someone. i don't think he intended to have an affair.

>> he met dianne. he had known her three months. that's a far cry, you know, a world apart from danielle seeking a man on ashley madison and having a long term affair with him for four years. >> reporter: in the weeks following the funeral, detectives mcdonald and szalbirak continued their investigation. they had their shooter but they also had lingering questions about whether danielle may have somehow been involved. >> obviously one of the first things that comes to mind, the wife has a hand in this. she's, she's linked. she's got to have something to do with it. >> reporter: and as mcdonald and szalbirak sifted through the evidence, they became more confident they were on the right track. what they discovered stunned even these two seasoned investigators. for months, danielle had been spying on both sam and dianne's every move. >> danielle was just totally

obsessed with what sam was doing which went beyond anything that i've seen before in investigations. >> reporter: what's more, it appeared to them that danielle had persuaded michael to help her. >> they had basically stalked them. >> they actually put a tracker on their vehicles. >> this is spy equipment? >> correct. >> reporter: sheriff's deputies discovered it in the wheel well of sam's pickup. police also found evidence that both danielle and michael were taking surveillance photos of sam and dianne. this is a photo taken of them on sam's boat. in this one, they're on dianne's balcony. >> michael would have been somewhere across the lake there. and that's where he would have been hiding in the bushes. it seems like a perfect spot, actually, if you wanted to spy on someone. >> absolutely. >> reporter: but detectives said the couple only got bolder from there. they discovered evidence michael had brazenly broken into dianne's apartment, and videotaped the inside. >> inside the belly of the beast. >> he's narrating. i believe his first words were,

"i'm in the belly of the beast." and his first thing when he pans was of the alarm pad where it wasn't armed. >> that could have been bad, huh? >> reporter: as michael documented every aspect of dianne's personal life, poking around her drawers, her refrigerator, even inside her bathroom. police said danielle played lookout. in this text message to michael, danielle wrote, "get outta there if you aren't already. getting bad feeling." >> he's doing it at the request basically of danielle. >> reporter: but what detectives found most alarming were the text messages michael and danielle sent each other. >> michael minor writes, "i wanna blow his head off and then put two on her just for good measure." >> reporter: he goes on to say, "bang bang, done. i won't though because it's 'wrong'." danielle later responded, "you would not and could not because that would be illegal." >> that was definitely disturbing. >> reporter: in another text,

danielle referred to her handgun, which she called "daisy." she wrote, "i am so close to introducing them both to daisy." michael responded, "haha we can do it together! as a date. smiley face." in yet another, she wrote, "i hate them with every inch of me. revenge will be mine and it will be very, very sweet." >> it was very obvious that danielle had some kind of hatred towards sam, that there was, that she wanted to hurt him. >> reporter: and based on those text messages, it seemed clear to detectives that she had persuaded michael to feel the same way. >> absolutely think she poisoned michael's mind as far as what sam was. >> everything he knew about sam was that he was a violent person. >> he was described to him as a drunk, as a cheater, as a liar. >> that knowledge came from one

person and one person alone. it was danielle. >> did you have evidence as you kept investigating that sam was abusive or violent toward danielle? >> there was no evidence of that whatsoever. >> danielle definitely had control over michael minor. she did manipulate him. did she manipulate him to the point of killing sam? i don't know. >> reporter: detectives mcdonald and szalbirak realized they needed to pay danielle dreher another visit. >> we're going back to find out what is your intent, what is your involvement in this? coming up, did someone have a million reasons to commit murder? >> it was a substantial amount of money that she was gonna gain if sam turned up dead. >> when "dateline" continues.

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>> you couldn't write this as movie. you couldn't write this as a book. it wouldn't be believable. >> who does this?! >> reporter: tracking devices, surveillance photos, sneaking into an apartment. sounded more like a couple of private eyes than a plumber and a marketing director. dianne recalled a time she and sam were eating at this restaurant when out of nowhere, danielle appeared. >> all of the sudden this woman comes up from behind sam. >> and she said, "i'm danielle, the soon-to-be ex. you must be the next." >> whoa. >> awkward. >> yeah. i just wanted to get out of there. >> reporter: danielle then left them, without incident. >> did you think you were being followed?

>> no. i thought it was just a big coincidence, of all the places. like now i know why she was there. >> this is like marital espionage. >> exactly. it's exactly like that. >> they were playing spy games. >> reporter: now it was up to mcdonald and szalbirak to find out if all those "spy games" somehow developed into a conspiracy to commit murder. >> i became very suspicious that she had a part in this homicide. >> reporter: detectives sat down with danielle and recorded interviews with her on three separate occasions. from the very first interview, danielle willingly acknowledged that she and michael had been tracking sam and dianne. >> where did you put the tracking device on the vehicle? >> i put it up under the driver's side, um, rear wheel. >> okay. >> and i've been tracking him for about a month and a half. >> reporter: danielle also admitted to helping michael take those surveillance photos. >> who took the pictures?

>> michael did. >> okay, whose camera? >> mine. >> reporter: but danielle denied that all this elaborate spying escalated into a murder plot. instead, she said it was simply preparation for her pending divorce. >> and i told my attorney about it and the attorney said, "whoa, you're good because he said that's good evidence." >> she wanted to be able to just have leverage and be able to embarrass him. >> reporter: danielle told the detectives another reason was plain old curiosity. >> i had to see for myself that it was a girl. it broke my heart. >> how did you -- >> i don't know why because i was cheating on my husband. >> and, and that's the big question, right? you were doing it for four years and why -- why did it break your heart? >> i think i still love my husband. i still have feelings for him. >> reporter: what's more, danielle said she and michael had stopped their spying weeks before the shooting. detectives also asked about those text messages which they

found so troubling. danielle said they were all in fun. they first questioned danielle about the texts michael sent her. >> i want to blow his head off and put two in her just for good measure. do you remember him saying that? >> i don't. he's, but he said it before. he would say things like, "i'll kill the m-f'er." >> did you ever think he was serious? >> no. >> reporter: they then asked danielle about the messages she sent back to him. >> i'm so close to introducing them both to daisy. >> i remember saying that. i didn't have daisy with me though, at the time. nor would i do anything with a gun. i mean think i was trying to impress michael, in a weird way. >> do you think they're joking with each other? or do you think it's real? >> i asked danielle that very question, "why, why you saying this?" and she just said, "oh, we just, you know -- i'm just trying to sound tough." so she denied this to be for real.

>> reporter: but that's not the way sam's sister saw it. when detecves showed those texts to cindy, she was dumbstruck. >> i could not believe what i was reading. this is someone who's been in my family for almost 13 years. >> even talking with you about it now, i have chills. >> reporter: those texts, she said, proved just how much danielle hated sam and wanted him out of the way. and she's convinced danielle manipulated michael to feel the same way. >> do you think that danielle had anything to do with your brother's death. was she somehow directly associated? >> i think she is. >> i hold danielle dreher as much if not more responsible than the man that actually shot him. >> reporter: cindy told detectives she believed hatred wasn't danielle's only motive, that she was also driven by that age old incentive. >> i believe it was the money. to divorce him and split half of it is one thing.

but to get all of it? i think it was money. i think it was always money. just over a million dollars, in fact. >> there was a substantial amount of money that she was gonna gain if sam turned up dead. and that's exactly what happened. >> reporter: we asked danielle dreher to sit down with us for an interview. both she and her attorney declined. but during danielle's interview with the detectives, she emphatically denied having anything to do with sam's murder. >> i would never kill my husband. i would never kill another human being. >> reporter: and the man who pulled the trigger supported danielle's claim of innocence, in no uncertain terms. >> i've acted on my own. i did. i did this all on my own. you know, i just -- >> so you're indicating that danielle's only involvement was in order to help you basically get dirt on her husband to help with the divorce? nothing to do with harming him?

>> right. >> reporter: but michael's response didn't sway cindy lutz. >> i didn't believe him. >> i think he was protecting her. i think he would have done anything for her. >> reporter: cindy believes that includes lying about danielle being involved in sam's murder. and cindy wasn't alone. >> do i believe that she was part of the murder scheme? yes. >> reporter: sarasota county lead homicide prosecutor, karen fraivillig, believed danielle manipulated michael to kill sam. >> she's a very manipulative person and she was able to manipulate michael minor, and there's a dead man because of that. >> reporter: the question now before the prosecutor, could she prove it in court? coming up, will one lover betray another? >> we were hoping that he would contact us and say, hey, i want to tell you the truth. >> and the lover left behind ponders what might have been.

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>> reporter: of all the homicides karen fraivillig has prosecuted, she found the case of sam dreher's murder especially frustrating. >> it's hard to remain unemotional in a murder. in the murder of an innocent person who did nothing except fall in love with another woman. >> reporter: michael minor may have shot sam, but prosecutor fraivillig believed danielle

manipulated him to do it, and that her motive was more than just money. >> i think there was a financial motive, certainly. probably, the most overarching motive was just jealousy. despite the fact that she was conducting an affair of her own, i think that she was just completely enraged that sam started stepping out on her as well. >> reporter: but in order to prove that in court, fraivillig felt she would need something she didn't yet have -- a statement from michael saying danielle acted as his accomplice. so she waited, thinking time would compel him to come forward and admit danielle was involved. he never did. michael maintained danielle played no role in sam's murder. was this possibly a twisted act of chivalry? >> i think that certainly one of his motivations, if not his sole motivation, was trying to protect the woman that he loved. >> reporter: did you say to him,

"why are you protecting her? >> yes. and he said "i'm not." he said "i'm not protecting her." >> we were hoping he would contact us through his lawyers and said, "hey, i wanna tell you the truth. i wanna tell you what part she had in it." that never happened. >> reporter: two and a half years after shooting sam, michael minor agreed to plead guilty to second degree murder. >> and it will live with me forever and it will haunt me forever. >> reporter: in exchange for his plea, michael received a sentence of 30 years. >> i wouldn't give him anything less than that. i mean, he pulled the trigger, and he didn't pull it once. he pulled it four times. >> i was glad that he was going to jail. michael minor didn't just kill our brother. he has mortally wounded our entire family. >> reporter: michael minor never wavered in his statement that he acted alone. in the end, prosecutor fraivillig felt she didn't have enough evidence to charge danielle as michael's accomplice.

>> i cannot just charge someone based upon my speculations, the family's beliefs, and even the ugliness of these text messages is not enough unless i can show that there was a conspiracy. michael minor never gave me that information. >> reporter: what is your gut telling you that danielle was indirectly involved, directly involved or -- >> she wasn't involved. >> reporter: what -- had no -- no part in this whatsoever. >> she wasn't involved in that homicide. >> reporter: news of the decision not to prosecute danielle for sam's murder made sam's sister cindy furious. do i think it's a tough case? yes, absolutely. but you know what? their job is not to prosecute cases that are easy. their job is to prosecute criminals. >> reporter: but just when everyone thought danielle was free and clear, prosecutor fraivillig said -- not so fast. remember michael minor's videotaped break in of dianne mcknight's apartment? the prosecutor believed danielle not only helped plan the break

in, but she also instructed michael to steal some of dianne's possessions. danielle was charged with burglary and theft. at trial, the defense argued danielle never asked michael to steal anything. the jury didn't agree. she was found guilty as charged and sentenced to four years in prison. >> this was a very satisfying verdict. to see the woman be punished for her actions. >> reporter: is the murder of sam dreher an open case or a closed case? >> no. it's a closed case. >> reporter: but not for cindy, who continues to mourn the loss of her brother. she keeps his uniform close by for comfort, and with it, a lifetime of memories. he was loving. he was caring. he was the peacemaker. he was always doing for others. he was just sweet. >> reporter: cindy once felt the same way about her sister in law danielle. now, there's bad blood between the two. cindy fought danielle in court

over benefits from sam's life insurance. they ultimately reached a confidential settlement. cindy also keeps a watchful eye on danielle. according to cindy, danielle was dating another man before she went to prison. >> she was living with a firefighter as a matter of fact. one of my brother's supposed fire brothers. >> reporter: what's your advice to this guy, this firefighter? >> watch your back, you know. the last two guys involved with danielle -- one's dead, one's in prison. >> reporter: as for dianne, she's now left to reflect on a life with sam that could have been. did you two talk about marriage? >> yes. >> reporter: and was that in the cards? >> oh, absolutely. >> reporter: did you ever feel like, "i'm being punished for having this affair?" >> oh, yes. i might have said those exact words myself. >> reporter: it all started in a club with an innocent conversation. >> uh huh. >> reporter: was it all worth

it? falling in love with sam? >> i would never change having met sam. >> reporter: was he the one? >> he was the one. without a doubt. he still is the one. . >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." we'll see you again sunday at 7/6:00 central and of course i'll see you each weeknight for "nbc nightly news." i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, -- shutting its doors. too many

peopl-- inside- leaving lot of disappointed people -- outside. this- juspart of the sry the bay area gets ready for kickoff. =raj/2-shot= good evening, i'm raj mathai. =jess/2-shot= and i'm jessica aguirre. parties, =jess/vo= lets start with our h. n-b-c chopper. you c see jt how packed it was at super bowl city. it prompted san francisco police to turn away thousands of people.