it or not, answering some of the tough questions. absolutely. all right. the next installment of like it or not is coming up soon, but thank you for watching ktvu. like it or not, we'll have another episode coming up soon. let's go. make your body. let's go. make your bo . l 's go >> i'm andy garcia right now on true crime news. a horrifying scene in san francisco. a single mom found viciously murdered and buried in a shallow grave. >> who would want her dead? i have no idea. >> but the mystery deepens. her adorable two year old daughter is missing, too. it sounds to me like what you're suggesting is kill the mother. take the baby. >> yes, that's exactly what i think happened. >> then she's a hollywood d-list

actress who came into an a-list fortune with this tycoon's family. says it was her biggest acting gig. >> i believe that she manipulated him to change his trust and his will. >> grief stricken wife or greedy gold digger? >> meadow pretended to be the grieving widow. >> the explosive family feud over the vitamin mogul's empire and the big shocker revealed after his funeral. >> what she's done is so outrageously wrong that something needs to be done. >> your daily source for true crime starts right now. welcome to true crime news. our top story. it is one of the most frustrating cases that cops in the bay area say they've ever worked. it all started when a single mom, nicole fitz, and her two year old daughter arianna, are reported missing by their loved ones. it leads to a desperate search, and then a grisly discovery only raises more questions. at a city park

in san francisco, just feet from the swing sets and slides, the horrible discovery of a young woman in a shallow grave. >> who would want her dead? i have no idea. >> and now there is a second question. terrifying. nicole. fitz. family. where is her two year old daughter? where was arianna? >> i don't know. >> could she have been snatched by the hands hired to rock her cradle? >> i heard she was with the babysitter. >> the search is on to bring this little girl home. nicole fitz is, by all accounts, the nicest of her group of friends. always wearing a smile that masks the struggle of a single mom totally devoted to her two year old daughter. >> she was just the doting mom running after arianna. it was, like, really fun to watch. >> but those special moments were becoming few and far

between. nicole often had to work double shifts at this best buy just to survive in the uber expensive city of san francisco. >> living here in the city, it is nearly impossible to find affordable rent. >> the devoted mom is tortured, spend time with her beautiful daughter, or pay the rent. so what was her solution? >> apparently, at the time, she had a full time babysitter who watched her day and night while she looked for a place to stay. >> that babysitter, helena hearn. and she came with a backup. her sister, sislo nicole, trusted the hearn sisters so much she would often leave arianna overnight instead of waking her little girl. >> sometimes she would work long stretches at work, and sometimes it would be a long stretch in one day till morning to night, and then back again early the next morning. so she felt that it was better and safer for arianna to stay put with the

babysitter. >> then a godsend one of nicole's coworkers invites her and arianna to move in the apartment just minutes from work. >> we had already purchased a bed set for arianna. bed sheets and all of that stuff and had it assembled and ready to go. we were just waiting to hear back from a daycare center. >> everything was looking perfect. it was kind of going kind of like those feel good movies where like, you see this person, she's down on her luck. and then over a stretch of time, it starts getting better, you know, one step at a time. and it was all building up to having her family back together all in one place. >> but it's miles away from the two. babysitters and friends say they don't want to let go. >> she said that she was starting to become a little possessive and started to question nicole's parenting abilities. >> then nicole's heart stops. the babysitters have reportedly

taken arianna and left town without telling her. >> nicole was supposed to have her for easter sunday, and i remember waking up that morning and like i heard her in the kitchen crying. and she's like, well, they said that they took her to disney, but i'm just now hearing about it and i'm just like, how are you going to go to disney? you ain't ask for permission. like, that's crazy. >> for nicole, it's the last straw. and time to bring arianna back home for good. >> she was like, okay, april 3rd, i want my daughter. like, i'm coming to get her. she's coming to live with me. end of story. >> on the night of april 1st, nicole takes out $600 from an atm and tells goyette she's running an errand and she's like, oh, i have to meet my babysitter. >> she's over at some restaurant on third street. she's upset. i need to go see if she's okay. so like she said, she was only going to be gone for five minutes. >> but nicole isn't back in five minutes. >> instead, i got a text message

at 1245 in the morning saying she was on her way to fresno with somebody named sam, who she's never mentioned before. and i'm like, who? who, sam? like, how are you getting to fresno? >> good questions. but nicole would never answer them. nicole never comes home and never shows up for work. >> definitely unusual. she doesn't just up and take off. >> this is starting to become a little too weird. >> friends and family, contact police. and what's the next thing you do? >> the only thing we can do is wait. >> but after a week of waiting, the news they don't want to hear. >> they. they found nicole. and. you got part of me. never talked about this.

you got part of me. never talked about this. that was the worst feeling i ever felt. >> nicole's death devastated her friends and family and left everyone desperate to know where is arianna? it sounds to me like what you're suggesting is kill the mother. take the baby. >> yes, that's exactly what i

think happened. >> the search for arianna is on. but will she be found? >> my name is brayden. i was five years old when i came to saint jude. i'll try and shorten down the story. so i've been having these headaches that wouldn't go away. my mom, she was just crying. what? they said your son has brain cancer. >> it was your worst fear coming to life, watching your child grow up is the dream of every parent. >> you can join the battle to save the lives of kids like brayden by supporting saint jude children's research hospital. families never receive a bill from saint jude for treatment, travel, housing or food so they can focus on helping their child live. >> what they have done for me, my son, my family.

>> so yeah, life is a gift, especially for a child battling cancer. call or go online and help save the lives of children like brayden. >> now i'm 11 years old. we were actually doing the checkup for my brain and they they saw something in my throat. it's thyroid cancer. >> it was heartbreaking to find out that he has cancer again, but we knew who we had behind us. >> it just gives me hope. >> you can make a difference. join with your credit or debit card for only $19 a month, and we'll send you this saint jude t-shirt. >> without saint jude or its donors, we would have been in a bad place. >> these kids, they've done nothing wrong in the world. finding a cure for childhood cancer. >> it means everything. >> help saint jude give kids

with cancer a chance. >> on the next true crime news. stabbed to death by his girlfr nd. >> i didn't even do anyth ing

we're back with one of the biggest bay area mysteries. where is baby arianna fitts? that's what investigators want to know. after discovering her

mother's body in a local park. nicole fitts hasn't been heard from in days. family and friends were on a desperate search when the unthinkable is learned. >> it was just a couple feet from. from where? the playground where the kids play at a local park. >> her body is discovered buried in a shallow grave. >> she had been violated and left in a ditch underneath a piece of plywood. why? who would want her dead? i have no idea. >> could the board that covered nicole's body be a clue? police think so. they say whoever placed nicole in the hole brought the board with them, and the unusual markings could help them identify where it came from. >> we'll pursue all leads, examine all evidence, and seek out all individuals who may have

information on this case. >> but with nicole's body found now, cops grow alarmed about her missing baby girl. where was arianna? >> i don't know, the last time i heard was that she was with the babysitter. >> nicole's sister says suspicion immediately falls on the babysitter. sislo and helena hernández. it is one of them. have a background you're concerned about. >> one of them does have a background. has. has been in prison? >> yes. prison. helena did six years of hard time for killing the father of one of her children in 2001. now friends wonder if nicole's baby is safe. >> i think that helena was the last one to have arianna. >> helena's attorney was quoted as saying, we should not assume they were the last ones to see arianna. police served search warrants at the hurn family

residences in emeryville and oakland, as well as a third home in daly city. but reportedly, there was no sign of the two year old anywhere. what do the police say about who was the last one to have arianna? >> from what i've been told, that is that they're denying being the last ones with her. >> it's been reported that the babysitter statements about arianna's whereabouts have been inconsistent. they soon refused to cooperate with cops. >> there's no way that that these are two isolated occurrences. >> it sounds to me like what you're suggesting is kill the mother. take the baby. >> yes, that's exactly what i think happened. >> helena and sislo hurn were reportedly not talking to police. but would they talk to anyone else? first stop silovs last known address in daly city.

but there was no answer. next stop oakland. helena's last known address. no answer. but neighbors tell us that helena, her husband and kids are long gone. >> he's lived here? yeah, those. those two lived upstairs. >> they don't live here anymore. no. cops called the hurn sisters. persons of interest in arianna's disappearance. but the babysitters have not been charged. and they have not been connected in any way to nicole's murder. >> we will never give up until this case comes to a resolution. >> now, in the latest, police have raised the reward for information leading to an arrest to $250,000. they've also released an age progressed photo of what arianna may look like today. for now, nicole's heartbroken loved ones are left with no choice but to keep searching and hoping for arianna's return. >> i need to do whatever it takes to get this out there so

people know that there's a little girl who's missing and her mother was undeservingly taken away from her. >> the fbi just released an age progression photo of what arianna fitts would look like today. recognize her, call the fbi or our tip line. the reward has now been up to $250,000. up next, a hollywood a-lister takes the spotlight. but her husband's family says she upstaged them by connin her husband out of almost a billion bucks. >> if you have wet amd you never want to lose sight of the things you love. we get it. some things should stand the test of time. long lasting ilia hd could significantly improve your vision. more people on ilia hd had no fluid in the retina compared to those on ilia at four months. ilia hd is the only wet amd therapy that helped.

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closed captioning and other considerations for true crime news provided by. >> want a great idea for a holiday gift? give hands free sketcher slip ins footwear you just step into when they're on. there's no bending down and no

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million fortune, many wondered if she was the traitor. she became one of the wealthiest women in america. >> my name is meadow williams. >> how did this little known tennessee seductress, with a long credit of d-list movies, make her $800 million fortune? she married into it. >> it's blatantly disgusting what she's done and took advantage of an elderly man. >> meadow williams, whose real name is melanie kaye williams, hit the marriage lottery when her 80 year old husband died in 2015. gerald kessler made his fortune in vitamins with his $500 million company, natural organics. she was more than 30 years younger. >> gerald kessler was a true american entrepreneur. >> we all helped him build the business. my brother and myself and my sister worked for my father for 30 years. >> my grandfather was he was a

father figure to me. >> craig and marshall kessler are just two of the eight kessler children and grandchildren who sued meadow williams, claiming she took their inheritance. >> what she's done is so outrageously wrong that something needs to be done. >> meadow got most of the money, the mansions and the company causes great concern to the family that that. >> meadow is the current ceo. >> in 2002, gerald met meadow and a year later they began living together, essentially as husband and wife. a storybook romance that lasted 13 years, according to her attorney, gerald bought her this mansion in malibu and started financing her movies. how much money do you think your grandfather put into meadows movie career? >> anywhere from 5 to $10 million. >> did your grandfather make any money on these movies? after eight years together, gerald and meadow decided to get married. but first, gerald would have to finally divorce his wife of 55

years, betty kessler. >> meadow intentionally isolated gerald from the family. >> it wasn't long after their vows, gerald's health started failing. >> he had severe liver cirrhosis. >> three years after they wed, at age 78, he shocked the family when he decided to leave most everything to meadow. >> i believe that she manipulated him to change his trust and his will. >> then gerald's health worsened. >> how he looked was alarming to me. >> my father was left alone for ten 12 hours a day by himself, couldn't get up to go to the bathroom. >> meadow claims she was gerald's primary caretaker, but the kesslers say she wasn't around much when gerald was in the hospital. >> she didn't come to the hospital when he passed away. she skipped weeks at a time. >> after months in the hospital, gerald kessler passed away. >> meadow pretended to be the grieving widow. >> the children and grandchildren say they want

their inheritance back, and their attorney uncovered a secret landmine that could blow everything sky high. >> she committed bigamy by pretending that she wasn't married and married my grandfather. >> there was no divorce decree. >> according to these court records, meadow filed for divorce in 1994, but callahan claims the divorce was never finalized, so gerald kessler and meadow williams, in the eyes of the law of the state of nevada and every other state, were never legally married. but a nevada court granted meadow's motion to dismiss the claim that her marriage to kessler was illegal. so then why fight this just to rectify a wrong? >> i mean, this is what she's done is so outrageously wrong that something needs to be done. >> meadow's attorney, adam streisand, issued a statement saying, in part, the questions these plaintiffs have raised about mr. kessler's marriage are nothing but a smokescreen to obscure the fact that they are the only gold diggers here.

while miss williams is the largest beneficiary. mr. kessler also provided millions in that trust to certain grandchildren and 60 million in other trusts for the benefit of his family members, even ones with whom he had no relationship. craig admits he wasn't close to his father, didn't speak to him for years. >> he was very difficult as a father. he still was my father. i still loved him. i still was there for him. >> the kesslers say nobody loved gerald more than his grandson, marshall. at age seven, marshall moved in with the man he called papa because of his own father's addiction problems. >> he saved my life, basically. you know, if i still lived in the conditions i did when i was younger, i probably wouldn't be alive. he's the only person who. he's the only person who believed in me, you know, no one else. no one else believed in me. like he believed in me and.

i just i just, you know, i can't think. i can't thank someone enough for that. i can't thank someone for, you know, he's he's my world. >> he's my world. >> it appears there may be some end to the legal drama in this story. the kessler family and meadow williams have come to an agreement in their legal battle, but we won't hear the details anytime soon. the kessler family attorney has said in a statement that the agreement is contingent on both sides keeping quiet. when we come back, the incredible moment officers spring into ction to save a choking baby. >> let's let out a cry sweetheart. >> want to instantly look more attractive and years younger? >> the solution is whiter teeth. but you love coffee and tea, maybe even wine or smoking. and all of them stay in your teeth and make them yellow. it's time you discovered power swabs. the

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>> on the next true crime news. a couple's rocky relationship ends with one of them dead. >> he falls face first to the

ground and dennis is like, call 911. >> she's like, no, he's just faking. he's just drunk. nothing wrong with him. >> stabbed to death by his live in girlfriend. i grabbed it and i went like this. she says. it was self-defense. >> i didn't even do anything wrong. >> i just protecting myself does the key to what really happened hang on? a startling social media post on the next true crime news. welcome back. it's every parent's worst nightmare. your baby is choking and you are helpless. thankfully, our next story ends well. we take you to heightstown in central new jersey. officers find a panicked family. their baby is choking. without missing a beat, they performed the heimlich maneuver. it dislodges the object from the baby's throat, but the baby is silent. so then the officers flip her over to help her with her breathing. >> let's let out a cry, sweetheart. >> and then finally this. there it is. the baby lets out a cry, letting everyone know that she was okay. you can feel the sigh

of relief from her parents and the officers, our heroes of the day. that's it for today's true crime news. i'm anna garcia. see you next me, everyone. - [nancy] on a sun-drenched saturday in august, a search team gathered around an abandoned mineshaft. - there were dangerous areas in the national park. - [nancy] they found the body of erin corwin, who had been missing for two months. - they met in high school, they married young. they moved to a place where they didn't know anybody. - she appeared kind of lonely. - [nancy] this is a story of love won and lost. - a lot of drinking took place there. and they're very young. they were all very, very young. - [nancy] of jealousy bordering on obsession. - [sean] seemed to be extremely obsessed with weapons