gonna drink it, but, yeah, it starts january second. january 2nd after the holiday. right. >> okay. now i know things about you guys. you, me, i always bring something i know i can imagine that something. well, look, i'm glad that you joined us. we love it with being here with you on, like it or not, i hope you'll always join us. we'll see you next time on like it or not. yeah a high flying discount. furniture king drops a devastating bombshell he's dying and that i'm only going to have six more months with him. or that's what he wants everyone to think. at any point, are there any red flags going off the whole time? >> i mean, when you don't see a body and then they just disappear. >> it's weird. an international

manhunt for a dead man walking, then a high school honors graduate viciously murdered. >> i still have to pretend like it didn't happen. >> dead in her bed. killed by a masked intruder. but why? >> if it's random, that would be scary. >> who is the mystery man she'd been meeting with before her death? >> ashley was, like, way too honest to have a double life. >> your daily source for true crime starts right now. let's get right to our top story. he was the discount furniture king who lived large and died that way too. but did jose lantigua die from mad cow disease, or was it something more sinister? everyone in jacksonville, florida knew jose lantigua was the owner of discount furniture stores. his commercials for the circle k chain even made him a local celebrity. >> america, we have a choice.

>> and selling dining room tables and bedroom sets made lantigua very rich. would you say he was a millionaire? >> he told me he was. he said that he had millions. >> lantigua. his wife, daphne simpson, said when she first met her husband, he seemed every bit the knight in shining armor. >> he was a really fascinating person, very kind, very thoughtful. he's, you know, great person here in the community. he's contributed to so many, you know, charities, everything, including intriguing stories about his past as a high ranking military officer. >> but he embellished those tales, saying he worked with the cia, carrying out top secret missions in south america. but there was nothing stealth about his love for daphne. and within four months, jose and daphne were on their way to the altar. the pair honeymooned in north carolina, where they quickly snapped up a rustic mountain

retreat. but the dream of a marriage to a secret agent turned furniture king was about to become a nightmare. just a few months later, jose drops a shocker, telling her he's dying from a rare condition called cjd, better known as mad cow disease. >> i started bawling because we'd only been married for a short time, and now i think he's dying and that i'm only going to have six more months with him. >> daphne says jose told her he contracted the disease while he was in the military, and had to eat monkey brains while on assignment in the jungle. you spoke with the doctor? >> yes, i did. >> and what did the doctor tell you? >> that he had cjd and he would answer any questions i had. we went to an mri clinic and he had an mri done of his brain. >> did he show you the mri or any x-rays or anything? >> i did look at it, but i didn't know. i mean, it had a

bunch of white spots everywhere, so i just assumed, you know, that's part of the disease. >> daphne and jose went to miami, breaking the devastating news to their extended family members. but not long after they get home, jose makes a completely different and even more shocking admission to daphne. >> he sat me down and said, i needed to let you know that all that stuff i told you about the cjd was a lie. >> jose told her his past as a cia special ops agent south of the border was dangerously haunting him. he claimed a mexican drug cartel ordered a revenge hit, and he needed a cover story to protect the family. >> i was terrified, but i didn't want my children's lives to be in danger. >> the truth? jose was in debt up to his eyeballs and his seemingly successful circle k furniture chain had been in the red for years. instead of filing for bankruptcy. assistant u.s.

attorney mark devereaux says jose concocted an elaborate plan to rake in over $8 million in life insurance payouts. >> he thinks it's going to. everything is going to be better, just like the gambler. i'll win the next hand, but it doesn't. >> and in order to get the insurance companies to cough up the cash, jose had to fake his own death. >> he needed a conspirator, a coconspirator. and it ended up being his wife. but he knew his wife. and he knew that if he told her the truth, she wouldn't have jumped on board. so he tricked her. >> so jose and daphne tell their children he is headed to venezuela for an experimental treatment to stop the deadly progress of mad cow disease. and wouldn't you know it, months after disappearing deep in the jungles of south america, lantigua drops dead. or so he said. at any point, are there any red flags going off? >> oh, yeah. the whole time. i mean, when you don't see a body

and then they just disappear. it's weird. >> but lantigua moved pretty well for a dead guy while in venezuela, he ends up purchasing death certificate, a certificate of cremation. daphne is instructed to tell her kids that she's flying to venezuela to collect his ashes. she boards the plane loaded with about $20,000 in cash. what was that money for? >> he told me it was to. to get the records that they needed to show that he was dead. >> the couple goes to the u.s. embassy in venezuela to get a certificate of death, a document daphne will need to get the 8 million in insurance. he's outside the embassy waiting for you. you're inside the american embassy in venezuela with his death certificate, trying to get it approved. >> yeah. i don't know how you can do what he did and wake up every morning not hating yourself.

>> and shortly after the memorial service, lantigua miraculously rose from the dead, telling daphne to hire a lawyer to start the insurance claims on seven. that's right. seven policies. >> that takes some guts. >> right now. many of us are thinking about holiday celebrations, but as we gather for a festive meal, many animals are wondering if food will ever come. many animals are starving right now with the unbearable pain that comes with that. and they need our help. >> there are animals that have no idea when their next meal will come. they can't even remember when their last meal was, and they are moments from dying. >> so i'm here to ask you at a time when we have so much to be thankful for, will you open your heart to help an animal who's hungry? go online, call or simply scan this code and donate

just $19 a month. you'll help feed a hungry animal that's just $0.63 a day to fill their empty bowl and show them the love in your heart. >> there are empty bowls that are sitting there waiting to be filled. you can tell that these dogs are so weak from hunger. they've known no other life but a life of suffering. >> no animal should have to go hungry. and this holiday season, you can help. you can fill their bowl. but you have to make your urgent, life saving gift today. do it now and we'll send you this welcome kit and this animal champion t-shirt to thank you for helping an animal today. >> there's always an empty bowl on the ground that should have food in it, and it's very clear from the appearance of these dogs that that bowl hasn't had food in it for a long time. >> we urgently need 3000 new donors in the next 30 days.

please say you'll be one of them by signing up today. no animal should ever go hungry. and i know you agree. this holiday season helped fill their bowl. to go online, call or scan this code right now on the next true crime news. >> a college student murdered is her killer, a

welcome back to true crime news. we are back with the fake death of a discount furniture king, jose lantigua. he thought that he could get away with a multi-million dollar insurance scam. he thought wrong. jose lantigua says he's died, but he's the dead man talking. he says mad cow disease killed him. or so he wanted his life insurance company to believe. and how long did this lie go on for? >> way too long. a long time. that was the hardest. having to lie to my kids and my family. but i thought i was protecting them. >> protecting them? she was led to think from a mexican drug lord out for revenge because mild mannered furniture salesman jose was actually a cia secret agent who needed his wife, daphne, to help him outfox his

covert past. >> daphne travels to the bahamas on a carnival cruise line that leaves out of jacksonville. it leaves here twice a week. she carried money. she met with lantigua and daphne, then returns back on the cruise ship. >> he missed me. he wanted to see me. >> even though daphne insisted she wasn't in on any insurance scam, she immediately filed the claims on jose's policy. after returning to the united states. that's when insurance adjusters smelled a rat. >> the first red flag that we had was the fact that mr. lantigua was apparently an affluent individual had actually traveled to venezuela, a country that was basically in a civil war to obtain medical treatment. another red flag that we noticed immediately we found out that he was allegedly staying at a lodge that had not been in operation

for several years. >> nothing adds up. jose's body is allegedly driven 250 miles to a distant crematorium, despite dozens closer by. and then a confession from the doctor who signed the death certificate. >> and so the hunt was on. >> meanwhile, jose lantigua is still living out his double fantasy. smuggling himself back into the united states. >> the next morning, daphne picks him up, awaiting a fat insurance payout. lgua holes up in the couple's mountain retreat, nestled at the end of a long driveway hidden by tall pine trees. his children have no idea. daddy's home. >> his wife, daphne, did have family visit in that house in north carolina at christmastime and thanksgiving, and he would stay at a hotel because he'd move out. so they didn't know he was alive. >> jose then gets busy creating a new identity, but his next move to create a new life will be his last.

>> he makes a dreadful mistake. he applies for the passport in the united states government on his passport application. >> jose actually listed the address of that mountain house in north carolina and daphne as the emergency contact. >> he had the department of state on him, and they knew the passport was supposed to be delivered to a post office box in north carolina, though he changed his look for the passport picture, going from gray hair to a brown toupee and a fake goatee. >> feds finally get their man. >> they got him, and they handcuffed him and arrested him. >> jose and daphne eventually both plead guilty. he is convicted of conspiracy and bank fraud. the judge sentenced him to 14 years in the pen. >> i think it was well deserved. he will be in his 70s when he gets out of prison.

>> and daphne, who all the while thought she was helping her cia husband evade a mexican drug cartel, faced up to five years in prison for conspiracy. she wound up serving 17 months. >> she was in there for months and believed wholeheartedly that her husband was telling the truth, and she was waiting every day for the cia to come and fix it all. >> my family hired a lawyer to defend me, and he kept telling me, he said, daphne. that's all a lie. you were duped. and i'm like, no, it's the truth. and you'll see, because the government is going to expose it and tell the truth. it's all the truth. >> even though she's split her time, daphne was put on house arrest, unable to go anywhere except church. she hopes to find a job so she can somehow pay back the $871,000 jose collected

in insurance money. she refuses to answer the dozens of letters he has written to her from prison. >> the fairy tale. it doesn't exist. >> jose lantigua remains behind bars. he filed an appeal in 2020 for reduction of his prison sentence under the compassionate release guidelines, and the judge said, absolutely not. when we come back, a masked madman executes a teen asleep in her bed. >> all sudden i just see her face was just gone. >> who killed ashley love? that's next. >> we know that time with loved ones is a precious gift to be cherished, especially during the holidays. on behalf of all of us at visiting angels, it's our pleasure to bring you and your loved ones happiness, joy and cheer. may your holiday be a heartwarming time to celebrate

the relationships that we share together. we're privileged to be a special part of your family. happy holidays! from our family to yours. >> watch this. witness what happens to this woman's bags under her eyes in an actual time lapse. in just minutes, the problem will disappear before your eyes. with a revolutionary topical formulation that works in just minutes. and the effects will last for hours. over 1 million people are using this topical technique to visually reduce puffiness and bags even fine lines and wrinkles on the face and forehead. introducing plexaderm jump on board and say yes to this amazing 1495 plexaderm trial. order right now! we'll pay your shipping. >> for the latest breaking crime news, go to true crime news.com. watch or

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considerations for true crime news provided by go friends. >> gather. kiki. chris. jason. >> hook friends. >> let's go, let's go friends, hold on to your dice. >> thanks for hosting, fran. thank you. how are we doing? >> kiki tastes like money to me. >> i can't go back to jail. wait, did you rob my bank? >> are we winning? ha ha ha. money. power. friendship. let's go. >> visibly eliminate wrinkles and under-eye bags in ten minutes, with results that last up to ten hours without needles and without surgery. plexaderm does it for only $14.95. try it this new year. visit plexaderm. trial.com. >> this next case is one where we need your help solving. ashley love had just graduated high school with honors when a masked gunman stormed into her family's home and took her life.

now, police need help finding her killer. her grieving parents will never be able to erase the nightmarish scene from their minds. >> i still have the blanket. i still have to pretend like it didn't happen. >> ashley love held a special place in her mother, tammy, and father joe's hearts. the only girl among their three children. ashley had also done her mom and dad proud as a quiet overachiever. >> she was very smart. she didn't like to let anybody know that, but high school was a breeze for her. >> even with the world at her feet. after finishing high school, ashley happily took a job at an arby's near the family home in milwaukee, wisconsin. while deciding what career to pursue. >> she really didn't know. >> her options were open, and on the night she was murdered, ashley had come home from work as usual and watched a packers game with her family. >> she took her shower and then went to bed. >> the next thing tammy

remembers is suddenly being jolted from her sleep, with an actual nightmare about to unfold. >> i just specifically remember jumping out of my sleep like, but she didn't know what had woken her, you know? and i'm looking at my alarm clock and it said 2:00, 2 a.m. and now, thinking back, i really believe that's when she died. so then i get up and i open the door up and in front of me, standing this person with a gun, a big long gun. i'm like, oh my god, i thought we were being robbed. >> she had called my name. check on ashley. >> check on ashley in the upstairs bedroom. >> i'm like ashley. ashley. i get up there and it's like, i couldn't really see that. well. >> joe was about to reel back in horror at the sight of his beloved daughter lying dead in her bed after being brutally shot point blank in the face. >> all sudden i just see her face was just gone. i just

started screaming. who would do something like this? >> a distraught tammy couldn't bring herself to look at her daughter's body. >> that would have made it real to me. it wasn't real. >> nobody in the house, including the two suns, heard the gunshot that killed ashley. fired by a masked intruder who had apparently broken into the house and then escaped through one of the doors. and tammy thinks he may have had an accomplice with him. >> i heard something like a flash on the side. i could see like somebody else running. >> police can't say if there was a second intruder. and while they were able to secure some clues from the crime scene, we recovered evidence. >> there is and has been evidence to the crime lab and back. >> understanding why someone would so viciously murder a sleeping teenager was the real mystery. nothing was missing from the house, which quickly discounted burglary as a motive. >> i think when you have a crime

like this, you don't know for sure what their motive is until they explain it. >> tammy described the gunman to detectives as a hispanic male, about 20 years old, of average height and build. police scoured ashley's social media accounts looking for anyone who met that description. >> they were all thoroughly reviewed and nothing led us to a suspect. >> we have talked to everybody that we were aware of that she socialized with. interviewed them. you know, we obtained their background information. >> but detectives did get reports that ashley had been secretly meeting with a mystery man on several occasions before her murder. >> and it appeared to the people that saw those two interact that that she didn't want other people to know she was meeting with this person. >> eventually, they held a joint news conference with ashley's family in an effort to find the so-called mystery man. >> right now, we just need to talk to him to find out what he

can tell us about his involvement with ashley. >> ashley's anguished parents pleaded for the killer to come forward. >> we feel like we are in hell and we can't climb out. please, we beg of you, come forward. anything? just any information that you mean. if you think it doesn't matter, just tell the police, please. >> but lifelong friend joey clancy is surprised ashley didn't confide in her that she had a secret boyfriend. >> they talk about people with double lives and stuff, but ashley was, like, way too honest to have a double life. >> as of now, they're still no closer to finding ashley's killer than they were when she was first murdered. >> and that's what's hard and frustrating for us. >> but ashley's mom refuses to give up hope. recently, a charity called season of justice erected two billboards in the milwaukee area encouraging anyone who knows anything about ashley's case to come forward. they are also part of a $12,000 reward for helping close her

case and bringing justice to a heartbroken family. >> she just started her life. usually i go every day to the cemetery. i know she's not there. i go there for me. i could talk to her and i feel feel her. that's what i do it for. >> if you have any information that might help this grieving family, please contact the milwaukee police department at (414) 933-4444 or call the true crime news tip line a (888) 845-7555. we'll be right back. >> most men over 40 look into the mirror and see this when they could be seeing this. most men over 40 look into the mirror and see this when they could be seeing this. most men over 40

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- man, i need some serious help with this health insurance stuff. - check out covered california. it's a free service from the state that helps you get health insurance. millions of people have used it. - wait, for real? - mmm hmm, they even offer financial help to lower the cost. - nooo... how you know about all this? - that's how i got my insurance. i got a great plan for about $10 dollars a month. - okay, i see you. - if you've got questions, covered california can help, every step of the way. enroll by december 31st. covered california. this way to health insurance. >> on the next true crime news. >> i was actually frantically trying to get ahold of her that evening until about two in the morning. >> a college student abducted, found nude, shot twice in the head. >> what they were telling us, it was like you were having an out-of-body experience. >> the critical clue cops uncover in her abandoned car,

and why they fear her killer is a monster that they've encountered before. >> i looked at him in his eyes, and i saw pure evil. >> on the next true crime news. for the latest breaking crime news, go to true crime news.com. watch more exclusive content on our youtube channel, listen to our podcast and follow us at my true crime news. that's it for today's true crime news. i'm anna garcia. see you next time, ever ne (upbeat guitar music) - the world is a challenging place for injured pets. i'm jim alaimo, i've spent 25 years helping humans walk again. and now my team and i do the same for animals. - [client 1] you wouldn't believe the transformation. - [client 2] this is worth a million dollars. - [jim alaimo] every pet deserves a second chance. (guitar strums) (upbeat guitar strums) - good girl, lunabelle.