sometimes real life is better. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline extra". i don't know what it is about my mom that has captured the heart of so many people. there's just something to her that people connect with. what was so beautiful about her, it made her a target, too. >> she was the queen of the million dollar listing, the real estate broker who sealed the deal. >> her customers love her. >> hands downs most genuine person you ever met. >> she headed out to show a house that day and never made it home. >> i'm texting her, i'm calling her. >> oh, gosh, what's happened here? >> something's wrong. >> was she in danger? was someone behind this? >> please don't call the police.

if you call the police, it could be bad. >> you can hear how scared she was. >> suddenly an all-out manhunt. >> this is like a movie, this chase and this kidnapping. >> oh, yeah. >> could anybody reach her in time? >> i had to be strong for everybody. i had to be. >> emotions were everywhere. >> i know she pleaded. i know she pleaded. >> did you find her? is she alive? >> beverly carter was making a name for herself in little rock, arkansas. >> her face was in the paper every week. >> she had a billboard on one of the busiest interstates with her face on it. >> as a top selling realtor, beverly carter had become somewhat of a local celebrity. with her smile, he put house hunters at ease, trusted to find

the perfect home like she often did. >> nobody can do it like beverly could. >> but there was a down side to celebrity. >> this realtor had a target on her back. >> she did and she didn't know it. >> for beverly, being a realtor was more than closing the deal. was see in the perfect job for her personality? >> yes. >> her son and his wife were amazed at how much they loved her. >> one of her clients, she went to their baby shower. she just sold them a house. >> she a beautiful smile. >> she had a smile that would fill the room. >> beverly's youngest son said it was like his mother glowed. >> i think that's what stood out was that confidence. she was naturally beautiful. >> it was that natural beauty that caught the eye of her husband, carl. they met when they were just kids.

>> she was 16. i was 19. >> where did you meet her? >> splendora, texas. she was working at a little hamburg are joint named the bionic burger. >> it was that natural beauty that caught the eye of her husband, carl. they met when they were just kids. >> she was 16. i was 19. >> where did you meet her? >> splendora, texas. she was working at a little hamburg are joint named the bionic burger. wow, i didn't know i would get me a wife when i got me a burger. >> a wedding soon followed at city hall. their young love led to three children, all boys and later six grandchildren. they had their share of marital problems, including money issues and infidelity, but they worked them out. so when their 20th anniversary

rolled around, they decided to renew their vows and throw their big party. >> i said would you marry me again if i asked you to? she said, well, yeah. i says, okay. >> you know, they wanted to renew their love, show everybody. >> and it was a way for her to get her dream wedding. gosh. >> a few years after that, she got her real estate license and her best friends, stacy, brenda and denise say it didn't take long for beverly to build a loyal clientele. >> did she sell a lot of property? >> she was the top listing in 2013. she did over $12 million, which in central arkansas is very well. >> what was it that made her good at closing the deal. >> she had that magic about her. >> she had the bubbly personality that it made you fall in love with the house. >> the women worked together in the same office, though they often said it felt more like play than work. >> we would laugh about anything.

you know how it is whether you get with your girl friends, you talk about things you find funny, we would tell stories. she had this huge, goofy laugh you could hear all the way down the hall. >> and as realtors, they looked out for each other. their office even came one a secret code, a text that signalled there was trouble. >> so red folder was the code? >> you would say "do you have the red folder on 123 main street?" >> the code they hoped they would never have to use. as her 50th birthday approached, beverly was determined to get in shape. she started running, working her way to up 5k races. >> the reason she started running was the medal. she had this fascination with medals. >> she lost nearly 60 pounds and gave herself a present, cosmetic surgery. >> she'd have the tummy tuck but

she'd also have implants because she had a lift. and it was kind of a joke because when they put the implants in, they were a little bit larger than she wanted them to me. we had some big laughs about that. she's going to have them reduced because they hadn't fallen and they were sitting up here. >> but she did look good. >> she looked fabulous. >> and being a real estate agent, she felt it was important to look her best. on an unseasonably warm day, beverly was easing back into work. she was going to show a house near her home. the potential buyers were offering cash. >> she really didn't want to go, she was tired. she wanted to get a fast close.

if it's a fast close, you can get a closing quicker. >> beverly led left the office and headed off to show the property to a young couple. she told her husband she'd be home for dinner. but you didn't hear from her? >> no. >> carl started to worry. beverly had given her the address so he decided to take a ride over. >> if she was over there, her car would be there. i went over and didn't see her car. >> so this is panic time for you. >> right. i thought it was weird. because beverly wouldn't leave unless she was in her car. >> did you call the police? >> yes. >> that call set off a frantic search for beverly carter. where was she? coming up, what happened to beverly? >> all of a sudden, beverly texted me. >> and all of a sudden our phone started lighting up. she said, i'm sorry, my phone was dead. >> i still can't feel the same pain. >> when "dateline extra" continues. welcome back to "dateline extra."

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then his son. >> he says, you know, it's almost 9:00. he said, son, i haven't heard from your mom. have you heard from her? i'm texting her, i'm calling her and i can't -- i can't get any response. and my first thought was, dad, this is just the nature of the business. >> to reassure his dad and himself, carl jr. and his wife, kim, drove over to beverly's office hoping she'd be there. >> there was no one there. i mean, the place is completely black. and about that time dad had let me know that he had made it to the property where mom told him she was going and her car was there but she wasn't. >> carl jr. figured there must be an explanation, as did beverly's friend stacy and brenda.

being real estate agent themselves, she thought maybe she had gone with the potential buyers to show them other houses. >> we went to the two vacant houses that were her listings and went and checked the locked boxes to see if anyone had read them and nobody had opened them. >> beverly's friend couldn't sleep so she checked her phone. >> there's an e-mail from brenda and i can still see the words that said "it is with a very heavy heart that i let you know we can't find beverly, she went to show a house and she is missing." i still can read that and feel the same pay. >> police and beverly's family gathered at the property trying to figure out where she was. >> how was your dad handling everything? >> he was hard to read. he would sneak away from time to time trying to collect his thoughts. >> and then at 1:00. bam, bam, bam, three texts. i hollered at the officer, come here, beverly texted me. >> it gave everyone hope. >> i was like her phone it died, she got it charged, it's good. >> brenda and stacy got texts of their own.

>> our phones started beeping at the same time with texts. >> it was such an eerie feeling. >> what was he saying to you two? >> she said, i'm sorry, my phone has been dead and it's back on. >> concerned brenda used that safety technique the office came up with and texted beverly with the special code. i said "can you tell me if you left the red folder on my desk?" there was no response. >> the one i got was, "i'm out having drinks with friends." i was like, well, we're just here. >> the ones on her husband's phone were just as deflating. carl jr. knew his mom would never go out and not tell anyone. >> i can't even tell you, to go

from she's okay, this is all over, till the second we saw the screen and saw what the texts said, we knew someone had her phone. >> totally flipped me out. she'd been took. >> they decided they needed backup. they rushed to the property. beverly hadn't been missing that long. why were you called so quickly? >> the division showed up and determined some of the factors in the case were odd. >> not only was beverly's car parked in the driveway, her purse was locked inside. did you have just a grim feeling right out of the gate that this woman did not disappear voluntarily? >> i was hopeful but i did have a feeling, yes. >> the detective searched the vacant house.

it was pitch black. the electricity was off. >> i got down on the floor and with my flashlight when it's dark you can shine a light at a specific angle, you could see disturbances in dust. it just looked like somebody had walked through there. >> no signs of a struggle inside but he did discover a clue outside the front door. >> there was a tire track in the grass. looked look somebody had pulled up into the front door or backed into a back door. >> the maybe across the street had seen something? >> yes, she looked out the window and saw a vehicle pulled into the driveway and later looked outside and saw a skinny white male at the house with a vehicle backed to the door. >> the detective found more in the back of beverly's car. >> i found a note back that she kept with realtor information on it that showed a listing on that house. >> was there anything show anything clues? >> attached to the listing was an e-mail address and phone

number. >> did you call it right away? >> i did not call it right away. >> he did not pick up the phone for a good reason. the detective had a theory. >> i felt that beverly, wherever she was, she was being held against her will. >> he knew they had to tread lightly with any suspects. like the couple at the house. if they were involved, the last thing he wanted to do was tip them off. and the detective said there was someone else he had his eye on. >> coming up -- >> people were saying, oh, the husband had something to do with it. >> they were asking questions like you're the husband, why did you just completely contaminate our crime scene? >> i knew that i was a suspect. >> when "dateline extra" continues.

welcome back. when a person goes missing, many detectives will tell you that >> and hundreds of people joined search parties all over the area. >> her family, her office family came together and we had realtors from all over the state helping us. and by that afternoon, we had the search set up and everybody had an assignment.

>> many realtors felt this was personal. one of their own while out doing her job had gone missing. and agents were already on alert. in recent years there had been a rise in crimes against real estate brokers across the country, brutal assaults and even murder. >> how often did you talk about safety? >> i mean, we always talked about it but a lot of times if someone called us and asked us to go show a house, out of instinct you'd jump up and go. >> beverly said she'd been in contact with the client for the few days. >> she wanted to make sure the wife was going to be there also. i think it made her more comfortable that the wife would be with him. the wife got on the telephone and told her, yes, she would be there. >> her friends pointed out the neighborhood where she was showing the house she knew well. >> she had sold several houses on that street. she was very familiar with the area. >> her pastor lived on that street. >> and that street was now a

crime scene. >> an arkansas real estate agent remains missing this evening. >> did that become the lead story? >> the biggest story online, the biggest story on facebook. >> shannon miller covered the story. she said finding beverly became a local obsession. >> people came out in droves, looking for her, wondering where she had gone. to not come home from work after doing something you do every day left a huge mystery. what happened to her? >> beverly's husband, carl, even made a plea. he sounded heart broken but not everybody was buying the distraught husband story. >> people were saying, oh, the husband must have had something to do with it, must have hired somebody. we all watch a lot of "dateline." >> carl jr., so worried about his mom, now feared his dad

could become a suspect. >> they were asking questions like, okay, you're the husband and you just went into this home to search for her, you've gone up in the attic. your fingerprints are everywhere. you just completely contaminated our crime scene, why did you do that? and so you could just see their wheels turning. it was like, oh, no. >> he was right to worry. detective allison brought carl sr. in for questioning. >> did you put carl in an interview room? >> yes. >> and treated him like this is someone we need to tack seriously? >> yes. >> any time you do an interview like that, it's best to do it in that setting. it plays on their emotions. >> did you ever consider the possibility that carl could have paid somebody to do this? >> yeah, i thought about it. >> did you know why you were considered somebody that they needed to talk to? >> once i got in there and they started questioning me, then i

knew that i was a suspect. >> as detective allison continued to question carl, he discovered some skeletons. they were having financial issues? >> yeah. >> how much money did beverly carter have in her checking account in. >> i don't know exact dollar amount but it want much. >> $126? >> that sounds about right. >> was there a life insurance policy? >> yes, several thousand dollars. $100,000. >> $100,000? >> yes. i don't remember the exact dollar amount. >> the detective learned about other issues he found disturbing. >> he said, well, did you have any kind of affair? >> i said, yes, i had one. >> and carl said he got violent with beverly when he tried to stop her from driving drunk. >> i even hit her one time. that's when she got out of the truck and said i'm not going to ride with you. i said stay here then.

i just drove off, just straight into a ditch. >> did you regret it? >> oh, yeah. like i felt like poo-cocky as far as that goes. >> so did you worry did it a little bit? >> no, i didn't worry about a thing. i wanted to find beverly. i wanted to find beverly. i hit her and that was it. just one time in 34 years, one slap upside the head isn't bad. >> and he said beverly never held it against him. >> she never held it against me. >> detective allison had other work to do. the client's phone number and address in her book were fake. and eerie photos taken inside the house just before she went missing.

>> coming up -- >> she knew something was wrong. >> what had happened inside that house? a new lead morphs into an all-out manhunt. >> a guy jumps out a second story window. >> this is look a movie, the chase and kidnapping? >> oh, yeah.

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beverly carter's cell carrier turned over everything on her phone. and there was one thing that caught investigator's attention. these blurry and dark pictures she took of the house she was trying to sell.

not exactly showcase material. when her daughter-in-law had a chance to see them -- >> you have a theory about why they're badly taken photos. >> you can just tell that it was like quick, just quick. >> like she knew -- >> i knew she knew something was wrong. >> she believed beverly was scared of those potential buyers and was rushing to fin, showing the house. it was all bad news. beverly carter had now been missing for three days. >> i've never felt that kind of loss of control. you feel utterly hopeless. >> and helpless. you can't do anything. >> yeah, yeah. >> what they didn't know was that detectives were about to crack this case wide open. the team that had discovered the buyers' contact information was fake kept investigating. >> and they were able to start taking the e-mail address and phone numbers and sending out search warrants and obtaining subscriber information to that e-mail and phone number. >> did names pop up?

>> yes. >> their real names, aaron lewis and his wife, crystal lowrie. police raced over to put the couple's house under surveillance. >> this was a very delicate operation. >> yes. we were working with the expectation with the hope that she was still alive. >> detective allison said he wasn't sure if the couple was even involved. they wanted to see what he looked like. remember the eyewitness had seen a skinny man with short brown hair the night beverly disappeared. they hadn't been there long when a man matching that description walked out the door but this didn't approach him. >> were you hoping he would lead to you beverly? >> yes. we felt if we made contact too early, if he was the one we were looking for, everything is shot. >> louis got into his car and the plan fell apart. >> he saw us sitting there. that's when he started speeding off. he was out of the vehicle before

the time we saw him. >> louis was injured. police photographed him and rushed him to the hospital. >> the detective is taking aaron back to get an mri or whatever they're doing, he decide to leave the hospital. >> aaron doesn't come back. >> he doesn't come back. >> aaron louis bolted from the hospital. what seemed the closest link to beverly carter slipped through their fingers. police launched a citywide manhunt. >> was that one of the first things you did was get photos out to the media? >> yes. >> and her life is at stake? >> yes. >> reporter shannon miller cuts in with breaking news. >> was the whole city glued to their tv sets as the hunt for beverly was on?

>> absolutely. so many people knew this picture, knew this face. >> and. >> was on the lookout. these men who knew beverly were discussing the case from this office.

when you see that kind of unity it's going to be telling whether or not this pivot can be made because it certainly is that. it certainly is a pivot. >> and ali, we know that earlier, president trump had had meetings with the amir of qatar, with the president of egypt, along with the king of bahrain. and in those meetings, he said that, you know, the united states is standing with these countries and looking forward to working together with them. how much of this is a turnaround from the obama administration now with the trump administration in there making this effort to really work closely with saudi arabia and the leaders? >> well, definitely, you saw it from yesterday, even with just the scene at the airport and all of the kind of pomp and circumstance surrounding yesterday's events, you did see a lot of excitement from the government in welcoming him, and you also say the saudi minister

here appear with rex tillerson, in a briefing with reporters last night. you were seeing a lot of synergy between the two governments and when you compare that to the obama administration a lot of it has to do with the trump administration, and countries like iran. saudi arabia is of course concerned about iran, as the united states has expressed to the trump administration. that really is a point of connectivity for these two governments that you want to look at and consider. similarly in his relationship, a rather lighthearted moment in one of his bilaterals this morning when he was talking to the egyptian president sisi and he said the president has a quote, unique personality that's capable of doing the impossible. of course everyone laughed. invitation to visit ee sipt. he didn't say when and you're seeing a lot of outreach in this reege. that's something we were talking, trump is someone who

really does value the idea of relationships, this idea of frying to build personal partnerships that speak as much in mutual policies as personal relationships. with shinzo abe, with xi jinping. i think we're seeing it now on this first foreign trip his attempt to solidify personal relationships in the name of legislative policy and international policy gains. >> we do know earlier when he was talking about having the meeting with the amir of qatar, he said he has met before. obviously president trump has had meetings with some of these leaders so he is reinforcing this. is this difficult to keep the political line versus the business also following the fact that they signed the joint strategic vision that included the $110 billion arms treaty that they signed in saudi

arabia. so, how is president trump sort of walking that line between business and politics? >> well the business is the politics, the politics is the business, i think. as much as these relationships are personal, it does impact the way that deals are getting done. i think that the administration will point to yesterday's arms deal which was combined with a lot of other -- from u.s. economies into the saudi economy as an sample of relationships paying off for the benefit of, for example the american worker. i know rex tillerson, secretary of state was here last night telling reporters that not only was the arms positive from a defense perspective from saudi arabia and an alliance perspective sfwr the united states, but also, it could benefit by adding hundreds and thousands of jobs to the united states economy. so i think the administration's really looking at that as something that they will call and especially early on in the trip to sign that on the first day really does put them off on a good foot. and i know that gary cohn one of

the other senior advisers in the west wing was saying to reporters yesterday the trip is going well. i think there is this general feeling among the staff that's here that this is a trip that's going well for a white house that has been rather embattled in the months that it's been in washington, especially the past few weeks. we've seen a lot of scandals and controversies kind of ungulfing this white house. i think the trip has of course put that distance there but it's also allowed them to get some victories on the international stage that i think you very much need. of course the controversy has followed him here in that rex tillerson, for example, was asked about this reported person of interest in the russia probe that's currently in the white house. he had a very specific answer saying i don't know anything about that. that is very personal answer for him in terms of distancing himself from knowing about that probe and what the white house's role is in that. but you know the controversy is definitely still here. that doesn't mean there's not a

separate cause to this saying they can't get some victories out of this trip as well. >> ali you've mentioned rex tillerson, you mentioned gary cohn and also others on this trip, wilbur ross, jared kushner who we've seen in a few of the photo opportunities along with steve bannon and reince priebus. this is white a trip for the white house and the president's staff, as well, to be traveling to saudi arabia. is this typical? i know saudi arabia has rolled out the red carpet for president trump and this group. but this is a very large group to be traveling to saudi arabia. are they making the right impression here? >> well, it's a large group but it's also not when you compare the fact that [ inaudible ] pretty small inner circle. so while you do have the who's who of administrators and cabinet members here you also have to consider that they're looking to satisfy a wide range of things. wilbur ross, obviously the

commerce secretary, he's been very involved in a lot of trade negotiations we've been seeing the past few months. rex tillerson the secretary of state, it makes sense for these people to be here, and you know, they're directly involved in these diplomatic and trade deals that this administration is trying to make. i will say that we've been here one day so it's hard to start picking up patterns, but tillerson was the one to brief us here last night. i think it shows the administration is feeling good about what it's accomplished to this point. i think it helps to have the saudi officials flanking him to further bolster the arms deal and the direct investments that were made yesterday. and so i think that you have these advisers here, that's kind of a show of force that this trip matters, that they're taking it seriously, that the choreography is important to them as well as the outcomes are things that they're really pushing for and they're really hoping for for success on. >> ali, there were three key points that the administration wanted to hit on which was

reafirming the american -- america's global leadership, continued relationship with these world leaders, and also broadcast a sense of unity. has the president trump and this group done that in saudi arabia? >> well, i think that you've definitely seen unity in terms of messaging from the saudi arabian government officials that we've seen. and the united states officials. i think that yesterday's opening ceremony, as well as last night, there was one of the ceremonies here as well that a lot of the advisers, including dancing, and there were -- [ inaudible ] meeting of tillerson and ross and dancing and swaying with a lot of the saudi officials in attendance at that meeting. it does show that there is a vossive feeling here among both saudi officials and american officials about how this meeting is going. of course, as we go forward, we're looking forward to the next leg of the trip which is israel for example where you

have trump has repeatedly put himself out there as an ally and a friend to israel. his rhetoric has certainly said that but then you also have again the domestic controversy kind of leaking in, which is that in that meeting russian foreign minister last week he did disclose highly classified information that came from, and we've seen it confirmed the israeli intelligence forces so i think that that is kind of a soft spot where there would be other places of optimism, that's something that is certainly something that has to be overcome in the next leg of this trip. right? so i think that there is a good chance that unity will be projected. and i know that that's definitely a goal that they're looking to pursue here. and i think on the saudi arabian front they're succeeding in it but there's a long way to go on this trip and they've got several countries. it's a gruelling schedule. and i think that, you know, the devil's in the details in terms of the overall success of this trip but i think that yesterday was definitely a good one optically and tangibly from this administration getting the arms deal out, saying that there's --

invest in the saudi economy -- administration has been pushing for rhetorically, happened now tangibly. >> ali vitaly, thank you so much for your time. ali vitaly traveling with president trump in riyadh. this is a live look at the president and summit leaders gaergs for a photograph here. this is a press opportunity. the summit is going to begin after this and we are going to stay with this for programming, as all the leaders gather now around president trump to take this photo opportunity. as ali was saying earlier, this is the kickoff of the second day pretty much for president trump. he has already met and had bilateral meetings with the king of bahrain, with the amir of qatar and also the president of egypt, and this is a photo opportunity at the king of abdul aziz international convention center. ali if i could ask you another question. let's talk about this upcoming

speech that that president trump will be doing later this afternoon where we know he's going to call for unity. are we expecting any surprises in this speech? or is he pretty much going to stay on point with the reaffirming that the united states and saudi arabia and its fellow members are going to work together? >> i definitely think you're going to hear that in this speech, and details have been trickling out. >> ali, i think -- i think we've lost ali but we will try to get her back online. she's been traveling with the president this now his second day in saudi arabia. and we see more photo opportunities here at the convention center. they're seven hours ahead from hour eastern standard time here and president trump has met with lerz of other countries this morning. he met with bahrain.

he met with qatar, he met with the president of egypt and as ali was saying earlier, there was a moment and a photo opportunity when the president of egypt said that president trump had a unique personality, and it was a break in the mood where president trump even laughed and said yes, i guess so. therehave been lighter moments here although most of this is definitely business, politics, trying to pull the countries together. we know that yesterday there was also the signing of basically a treaty where they're going to send $100 billion over the years it will turn into about $350 billion. it is an arms deal selling arms to saudi arabia. rex tillerson was the one who brokered that deal. again this is a photo opportunity here and we will continue to follow president

trump's visit to saudi arabia. right now we are going to go back to our regular programming. thank you for joining us. we'll follow president trump for the rest of the day. >> four days after beverly carter disappeared, police pulled up to this remote cement plant. they frantically searched for the missing real estate agent. you just now have this gut feeling that that's where she's at? >> yeah. >> shortly after arriving, an officer stumbled on something straight out of a crime novel. an elbow sticking out of a shallow grave. it was beverly. detective allison went to see carl. >> you never forget the look on somebody's face when you tell

them that you found their spouse, it's hard. that's probably the hardest part of it. >> they said we found beverly. i said, well, was she alive? and i'm sorry but she wasn't. >> we had worked so hard i mean, to find her. i mean we just really tried to do right and it wasn't enough. >> i know she pleaded. i know she pleaded. for her life. and to be come back to us, and for her grand babies. and i just have to know that god was there comforting her. >> aaron lewis was charged with murder and kidnapping. and his wife crystal lowry charged as his accomplice. they pleaded not guilty. but his words to reporter shannon miller outside the sheriff's office didn't sound like those of an innocent man. >> why beverly? why beverly? >> she was a rich broker. >> it was just as chilling in

person as it was on tv. and then he gets into the car, and you're going, what did he just say? >> two weeks later, shannon interviewed lewis in jail, and he told a vastly different story from the one he told detectives. was he willing to cop to anything? >> no. >> i didn't kill her. i didn't murder her. and anything that did occur was an accident. >> then he tried to say beverly played a role in her own death. he implied she willingly met him at the house for a sexual hookup that went wrong. >> didn't have nothing to do with her -- >> in your opinion how far-fetched was this new story about the sexual encounter? >> well, it was 100% made up. so it was completely farfetched. >> assistant district attorney john johnson was assigned the case. he believed it was a kidnapping gone wrong. but needed help proving it in

court. he turned to lewis' wife crystal lowry. >> i thought from the very beginning that we would need to flip crystal and it would be important for the case for her to testify. >> he made a deal with crystal. she agreed to testify against her husband, and plead guilty to murder and kidnapping in exchange for a reduced sentence of 30 years. >> it's good for the jury to be able to hear you know the back story of what went on and the why of what went on. >> aaron lewis went on trial. the prosecution's star witness crystal lowry took the stand and told the jury all the grisly retails. she claimed it was all about money, not sex. >> she said he came up with the idea of kidnapping someone. but she went so far as to suggest real estate agents. >> she testified that she was in class at nursing school when lewis abducted beverly. >> she got a text from aaron

saying, look at this or something like that and it was a picture of miss carter, bound in the trunk of the car. she said that when she got home he had brought miss carter back to the house. >> she told the jury when she got home beverly was locked in their bathroom and what she said next showed how little thought went into this plan. lewis had forgotten beverly's purse with her atm card at the property so he went back to get it. crystal says when he got close to the house, cops were everywhere. one even pulled him over. >> this particular officer just stopped a car coming in to say hey, have you seen, and just ask questions and put the person on alert. >> the officer couldn't have known that aaron lewis was the man they were looking for. >> this carter was still alive. and he just didn't know it. >> when lewis returned home, crystal told the jury that's when the couple ran out of options. >> she was in the bathroom with

crystal's medication so she knew crystal's name. >> beverly had seen too much. they agreed she had to die. >> aaron took miss carter from their house, and put her in the back of the car, and drove her out to the cement plant. >> that's when prosecutors believe lewis did something horrific. he wrapped beverly's face in duct tape and let her suffocate. >> he came home and told crystal that she was dead. >> and that's the heart of the prosecution's case. that recording of beverly pleading to her husband. they played it for the jury. >> -- please don't call the police. if you call the police, it could be bad. >> prosecutors argued the recording proved beverly had been kidnapped, and contradicted lewis' claim of a hookup. so how would the defense slain that tape? attorney bill james chose to ignore it. >> i was unable to come up with any plausible explanation for that recording. that helped us. >> so was this one of your biggest obstacles, then?

>> i mean, everything came back to the recording. >> instead, he led jurors in a different direction. beverly's personal life. >> you said this case is about secret lives. what did you mean by that? >> in order for our defense to be correct, she would had to be living a life that was basically secret or at least doing something that other people didn't know about. >> here's where lewis' story got even stranger. he was no longer implying that he had sex with beverly. he claims he was out of the house at the time? >> i mean that's what he said, yes. >> lewis said the tryst was between beverly and crystal. he said beverly accidentally died during rough sex. >> she died with his wife and he was on just protecting his wife and trying to cover up for her. >> to further bolster this story, james suggested to the jury that beverly had been prone to poor judgment. he pointed out that she was broke, but driving a brand-new

cadillac, and getting expensive plastic surgery. >> i'm saying she made some bad decisions, maybe she made another one. >> finally, aaron lewis took the stand. and told the jury about the story of the alleged rendezvous with beverly and his wife. during cross-examination prosecutors pounced. they questioned him about every detail, including that one piece of evidence that seemed to contradict his entire story. bevly's voice on that tape telling her husband she'd been kidnapped. >> what he ultimately told the jury was that he had -- he had done it himself. he had synthesized her voice and created this tape. >> you'll forgive me if that sounds maybe a little silly. >> well you'll forgive me if i remind you that i didn't say it happened. i'm just telling you what the evidence was. i mean i'm just saying what happened at trial. >> to beverly's friends and family, lewis' story was not only preposterous, it was painful to listen to. >> we've been victimized over

and over again by him. i was angry that not only that he was able to do it, but that he continued to be able to hurt my mom. >> i was so mad, because i thought how dare you try to tarnish our sweet beverly's reputation. >> the verdict was back in less than an hour. >> we hear footsteps running, they're like the verdict is in! what? it was very quick. >> good sign? >> yes. >> great sign. >> aaron lewis was found guilty on all counts, and given two life sentences. >> i felt relief. i instantly relief that we got him. >> and beverly's family is working to make sure this doesn't happen to someone else's family. they started the beverly carter foundation. her son travels the country training real estate agents about safety. >> it's a blessing for me, because i get to not only raise awareness, talk about safety,

best practices, but then i also use that as an opportunity for me to kind of slide in some great stories about my mom and so kind of keep her alive. >> that's all for now. i'm lester holt. thanks for joining us. >> i couldn't handle talking about it. >> i was angry at him. >> you're not going to tell me what happens and dance around the issue and tell three different stories. what are you hiding? >> it started as a teen romance. >> two of my girlfriends were like, there's this guy and you need to meet him. >> i was in love. >> yes. >> it ended in one of the strangest love stories you'll ever hear. >> i felt like i got hit by a bus. >> right before their wedding. her mother and his father got married. >> they told us, we ran off.

we eloped. who does that? >> two families in a small town left stunned. but it was nothing compared to what happened next. >> he looks like he's been shot. he said someone broke in somebo night. >> a deadly attack in the dark of night. her mother murdered. >> i realized that last conversation i had with her, that was it. >> his father bruised and bewildered. >> i don't remember anything else other than waking up in the morning. >> was it a robbery? or was it revenge? >> you're always going to look at the closest people to the victim. >> or was it something much darker? >> you were 11 years old when your mother disappeared? >> a missing woman, a murdered woman and a lie. >> i didn't get through more than a page knaff and i threw it. i could barely stomach to finish it. >> i'm lester holt and this is "date line." here's keith morrison with tangled.