incredible on his facebook page and keep up with the team's efforts there. jason maddy, thank you so much for doing what you're doing and being with us tonight. >> thank you, sir. good night. >> that is all in. a motive. love is a motive. a pageant queen. she was a whole lot of gorgeous women. lester holt: and at center stage, a charismatic guitar hero. --just charming. you know, everybody loved him. he was playing us both for quite some time. lester holt: two women, one man-- a love triangle with sharp edges. jim, at one point, had told me that he wanted to know what it felt like to kill somebody. in this twisted game of hearts, how many would have to pay the price? she called and let me know that russ was dead. lester holt: how far would things go?

i looked at her eyes and i-- i mean, she's evil. she is evil. lester holt: a manhunt which stretched from the northwest down to mexico, and runs smack into mother nature. your suspect is, quite literally, in the wind. he's gone. [theme music] [music playing] josh mankiewicz: love, according to the songwriters, is a many-splendored thing. financial empires have been built on our annual homage to hearts and flowers. but this story, is about people caught in the powerful grip of love's darker side-- obsession. it involves talented and beautiful people.

announcer: ms. washington. josh mankiewicz: smart people, whose obsessions made them do stupid things. passionate people caught in an emotional whirlwind. woman: we, the jury, find the defendant-- josh mankiewicz: and finally, innocent people who paid the price when those passions ran amok. it all began, of course, on a dark and stormy night. newscaster: they now expect, what they're calling, a worst case scenario. josh mankiewicz: it was august 2004, friday the 13th, hurricane charley was hammering florida's gulf coast, particularly the coastal city of punta gorda. our message to you now is urgency and safety. newscaster 2: get into your safe room right now and hunker down. josh mankiewicz: that night, jean huden says her life was, quite literally, in shambles. i stayed and rode the hurricane out by myself at the house.

and watched my house come apart around my ears. josh mankiewicz: 60 miles to the south, jean's husband, jim, was holed up in a hotel-- hiding, not from the storm but from his past. he was scared, so he figured he'd get while the getting was good. josh mankiewicz: as soon as the worst of the storm had blown over, jean says she joined her panicked husband. they ordered pizza and turned on the tv. newscaster 3: the losses are substantial. josh mankiewicz: but jean couldn't concentrate on the hurricane news. the personal storm that was wrecking her marriage and ruining her life took precedence. it was a big tension fest. we talked, you know, i asked a lot of questions. you know, why? and, what were you thinking? and, what are you going to do now? josh mankiewicz: it was a messy situation. betrayal, deception, desertion-- the usual menu of dysfunction

that all too often falls under the category of another woman. but there was more to it than that-- much more. a homicide investigation was at stake. one that, just days earlier, had led detective mark plumberg from whidbey island, washington all the way to punta gorda, florida. he was hot on the trail of a potential suspect. and then, came the hurricane. i didn't think he was going to stick around for us to come back. so the hurricane comes and goes, and your suspect is, quite literally, in the wind. he's gone. josh mankiewicz: for detective plumberg, the twisted trail that led him from whidbey island, washington to south florida began six months earlier-- just after christmas 2003. a geo tracker, a small suv, had been spotted in a secluded driveway in a remote section

of whidbey island-- passenger door open, dome light on. the first thought was possibly a suicide. but on initial investigation, they couldn't find a weapon. josh mankiewicz: standing in the damp december cold, the detective took stock. the body inside appeared to have been dead for 24 hours. id found in the glove box indicated the dead man was named russell douglas. a ragged hole between his eyes had frozen his age at 32. if it was a robbery, whole lot of stuff left behind in the car that didn't make sense. josh mankiewicz: just inside the driver's side door, an empty 380 caliber shell casing lay on the floor. the detective thought it was a curious place for a homicide. near the end of a dead end road, parked in two bushes-- as though he meant to be there--

with his car in gear, his emergency brake on, and casually dressed in flip-flops. sounds like he was there to meet someone. that was the only thing that really made sense to us. josh mankiewicz: but who? the detective hope russell douglas' widow, brenna douglas, might shed some light on that. but that night, when he told her the father of her two children had been murdered, the detective says he got a strange feeling. i never try to judge how people are going to react when i tell them things. but her response wasn't what i expected. as in not emotional enough? she wasn't shocked, at least not visually shocked. it was a bit matter of fact. and that did leave us, at least, wondering when we walked out of the house, yes. josh mankiewicz: and so brenna douglas, as the wives of murdered men often do, became a person of interest. the domestic situation seemed unsettled. they were separated. russell was living in an apartment in renton. according to brenna, they were trying to work it out--

talking about getting back together. josh mankiewicz: in fact, the new widow told the detective that her husband had spent the holidays with her and the kids. she said the last time she saw him was the morning of december 26. he left the house somewhere mid-morning. and she thought he was going to run some errands. brenna douglas have an alibi? she didn't need an alibi. at the time we went to talk to her, it was basically a death notification. she was able to answer our questions for us. who didn't like russell douglas? nobody could think of someone who really, truly didn't like him. josh mankiewicz: as winter turned to spring, the detectives investigation seemed to be going nowhere. but a routine check of the numbers in russell douglas' cell phone had yielded a tiny clue. there were a few phone calls to a number with a las vegas area code. and we made a phone call to that number, there was no answer.

it went to an answering machine. it was a cell phone voicemail? or was it a person's voice? it was a cell phone voicemail for a woman named peggy. josh mankiewicz: peggy, that's a name you'll hear again. the detective made a mental note to have that number traced. but within minutes of hanging up, his phone rang. and there was a female who said she had just gotten a phone call from that number. and she identified herself as peggy thomas, explained that she was a friend of brenna and russell douglas. josh mankiewicz: peggy thomas told the detective she'd been visiting friends over the holidays. and explained that she had simply contacted russell in order to pass along a present for brenna. she answered all of my questions to my satisfaction. there was nothing about that phone call that made me include her in the suspect list. josh mankiewicz: but then again, the detective's suspect list was essentially a blank page. there were no names on it from florida, or nevada, or new mexico, or any of the other places

this investigation would eventually lead him-- at least, not yet. coming up, the investigation begins close to home-- with the dead man's on-again, off-again wife. [music playing] and i said, well, is he-- is he hurting you? is he-- is he hitting you? and she said, no, really, he isn't physical. it's just emotional and verbal, but i've hit him a couple times. you don't want to believe the mother of your grandkids would ever be a suspect. josh mankiewicz: but a wife, as a potential person of interest, is just the beginning in this cross-country tale of love gone wrong. when "dateline" continues. people spend less time lying awake with aches and pains with advil pm than with tylenol pm. advil pm combines the number one pain reliever with the number one sleep aid. gentle, non-habit forming advil pm.

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[music playing] death never takes a holiday. as a nurse, gail o'neal knows that better than most.

still she was unprepared for the news that greeted her when she returned home from a late shift two days after christmas 2003. the minute i opened the door, i saw my husband on the phone. and it was like something hit me in the pit of the stomach, just by his face. and then he said, russell's gone. josh mankiewicz: gone? gone where? as far as gail knew, her son's rocky marriage was on the mend. and i'm thinking, so, is this another drama filled call from brenna that they had another argument or something? and what bob had done is just repeated the words that brenna had given him, was that russell had been killed. and then all i could do is just go sit down and just sit there for a while. josh mankiewicz: russell's sister, holly, got the same call from russell's wife. she instantly assumed russell's personal troubles were to blame. my first thought was that he probably committed suicide. so i was in shock, and then realized

i needed to get over to the island for brenna and the kids. josh mankiewicz: an alaskan bush pilot delivered the news in person to russell's father, jim-- who was in the wilderness hunting and unreachable by phone. he said, your son's dead. and i had to say, of course, which one? and, russell-- and i mean, he didn't know a whole lot about anything other than he knew it was important to get me out of there. josh mankiewicz: russell's brother, matt, was the last to know. he, too, had been out of cell phone range for several days, while vacationing in british columbia. we drove across the border in our friend's vehicle and my phone had a seizure. it started buzzing for every voicemail message and text message that had been sent. and it's, matt call, call me, matt call me, matt call me. josh mankiewicz: within days of his death, russell douglas' far flung family reunited on whidbey island. we rallied around brenna.

we're sleeping on the floor in the living room. she stayed in her bedroom a lot. she definitely was, like, sad. nothing seemed to be getting done. and so i kind of ended up taking over the organization of the house, what do we do for meals. josh mankiewicz: russel douglas had left behind a lot of unfinished business. the oldest of three children born to jim and gail before they divorced, russell had been a late bloomer. but adulthood intruded early. shortly after he started dating brenna, she became pregnant. marriage and parenthood did little to help him mature. i think he was mourning and missing being an 18-year-old who had a lot of dates, and drank, and went out with the guys. he did a little of that in college but not a lot. josh mankiewicz: russell and brenna fought often-- over children, money, and russel's affairs with other women. she had called me after a really rough, supposedly,

argument. and i said, well, is he-- is he hurting you? is he-- is he hitting you? and she said, no, really, he isn't physical. it's just emotional and verbal, but i've hit him a couple of times. josh mankiewicz: earlier that year, russell had separated from brenna. he'd taken an apartment near seattle and had a new girlfriend. for his family, the ongoing drama of russell's life was exhausting. he stopped talking to basically all of us. i think he was so angry with the whole situation he was just saying, i am cutting off everything. josh mankiewicz: but then, just after thanksgiving, all that seemed to change. russell had recently changed jobs and was close to completing an online master's degree program. and as christmas approached, russell reached out to family members and told his brother matt that he wanted to reconcile with his wife. he said, you know, i think i need to start doing the right things. brenna wants me back. i want her back.

i want to be involved in the kid's life. josh mankiewicz: then, for reasons they could not fathom, their son, their big brother, was dead. and the family became defensive when detectives suggested that russell's wife, brenna, may have had something to do with his murder. you don't want to believe that anybody that you've known for that long, that is a mother of your grandkids, would ever be a suspect. josh mankiewicz: so gail offered to help her daughter-in-law hire a lawyer. one of the detectives seemed a little strong armed. and i said, you know, you also need to get an attorney for all of your business affairs. let me see if i can find somebody for you. josh mankiewicz: the financial picture for brenna and the children was murky. russell and brenna had filed for bankruptcy a few years earlier. and though brenna owned her own hair salon in this upscale shopping center, russell had handled the business end of things. if there was a bright spot during those dismal days,

it was that russell douglas did have some life insurance. i think, when it comes down to it, he had a total of three life insurance policies-- each one a couple hundred thousand dollars, i want to say. josh mankiewicz: in fact, the face value of those policies was more than half a million dollars. that money would come in handy, particularly since brenna was under pressure to buy the house she'd been renting from a woman who used to work at her hair salon. the landlady's name was peggy, peggy thomas. in those last dying days of 2003, russell douglas' family had no idea how large that name would loom them for them in the months and years to come. [music playing] coming up, detectives get a call from a mystery man who says he knows who the killer is. but getting him to talk won't be easy. it sounds as if he's afraid for his own life. he said, if i told you what i know, the shooter's going to know that i told you.

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by the spring of 2004, detective mark plumberg has been working the phones and knocking on doors for months but getting nowhere. i actually decided to just start over and do the entire investigation from step one, all over again.

josh mankiewicz: he had a murder and a good address on his hands and many more questions than answers. who had brought russell douglas to this remote area of whidbey island on the day after christmas? who put a bullet between his eyes? and why? we ran out every lead i could run out, and none of them connected to russell douglas. money, love, pride, talk to homicide detectives they say those themes come up all the time. all the time. any of that seem to fit? we did find that russell had several hundred thousand dollars in life insurance on him. obviously, like you said, money is a motive. love is a motive. pride is a motive. josh mankiewicz: for the detective, those factors seemed to point in the direction of russell's wife, brenna douglas. not only had she been cheated on and publicly humiliated by russell, but she was the main beneficiary

of three life insurance policies he'd taken out on himself. the problem was, brenna's alibi was solid. there were plenty of people who could confirm that they had been with her at the time russell douglas was killed. the detective knew he needed a break. and in july 2004, exactly seven months to the day after the murder of russell douglas, he got one. i was actually out canvassing and interviewing again. and i got a phone call that said we had a tip on the russell douglas homicide. josh mankiewicz: plumberg's partner on the investigation, mike beech, took the call. he just said, hey, i'm just calling to see if you have any unsolved homicides from december 2003. and i said, well, yes sir, we actually have two in december of 2003, which one are you referring to? and he says, the guy who got shot in the head. josh mankiewicz: beech says he didn't know if the caller was the killer or someone

related to the killer. but he knew he didn't want to lose it. i'm doing everything i can to keep this gentleman on the phone because, at that point, he still hadn't given me his name. josh mankiewicz: the caller was using an untraceable calling card. and on the phone, he seemed nervous. he said, if i told you what i know, the shooter is going to know that i told you. josh mankiewicz: that first call lasted more than an hour. but the cops learned neither the name of the caller nor the killer. he was still afraid to give us any more information. so i'm doing everything i can to gain his trust, just keep talking to him. josh mankiewicz: the informant agreed to call again the next day. and this time, he was more forthcoming. he started telling me that i needed to look for a girlfriend of the shooter that was from las vegas. he kept saying the shooter is where i am. josh mankiewicz: the caller told beech that he was a retired air force serviceman and played in a band with the shooter.

the shooter, he said, was his best friend. i asked him, again, to call the next day. and he said, i have to work, but i can call on thursday. and i said, ok, well, i'll be here waiting. and he almost whispered, the shooter is jim huden. josh mankiewicz: jim huden, in the age of google, that was all the break mark plumberg needed. by the end of the day, the detectives knew that jim huden lived in south florida and played in a band. and according to the band's web site, one of its members was retired air force. and so the next time the caller phoned, detective beech was ready. he was asking me, were you able to do anything with what i gave you? and i said, well, yeah. but i think i'm looking at a picture of you. and the phone went quiet. and he goes, you guys are good. i go, we're not good. it was just simple google searching. josh mankiewicz: at last, the detectives had a solid lead-- one that raised plenty of questions. who was this jim huden?

and why was their tipster so willing to give him up? the cops knew the answers to those questions could not be found in a google search. they would have to fly to southwest florida, at a time of year when violent storm clouds always seemed to lurk just over the horizon. coming up, was this a case of love turned lethal? detectives learn about an affair between this beauty queen-- she was a whole lot of gorgeous woman. --and a guitar man with a dark side. jim, at one point, had told me that he wanted to know what it felt like to kill somebody. josh mankiewicz: when "dateline" continues. giveyou're finished! curse you, he-man, you interfering imbecile! give us one good reason we shouldn't vanquish you to another dimension! ok, guys, hear me out. switching to geico could save you... hundreds on car insurance.

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nearly 500 years ago, a middle-aged spaniard came to this part of florida searching for the fountain of youth. ponce de leon never found it. but in 1982, it seems jim huden did. like de leon, huden was a middle-aged wanderer. but unlike the conquistador, the locals loved jim huden. jim was always a happy-go-lucky, fun guy. he was just a-- just a wonderful human being. very witty guy, just charming.

you know, everybody loved him. josh mankiewicz: a native of washington state, huden's first fans in punta gorda were customers at his computer store. former mayor marilyn mooney, was one of those. he was brilliant with computers. in fact, you could go in there and they would build a computer for you. josh mankiewicz: but it was huden's band, buck naked and the exhibitionists-- bnx for short-- that made him one of the most popular people in punta gorda. tim goodman played keyboards in the band. we had two names to decide on. it was buck naked and the exhibitionists. or less moore and the contradictions. so we packed buck naked, but he came up with both names. i mean, that's the way his brain worked. he was a brilliant guy. josh mankiewicz: bill hill, the band's bass player, says huden was also a guy who never liked to let wives or girlfriends get in the way of a good time. i had a lot of fun. safe to say that you were kind of his wingman. he covered for you.

you covered for him. yes, indeed. josh mankiewicz: golden oldies, like wilson pickett's "634-5789," were the band's bread and butter. lead singer, al holland, used to perform with the platters. he said that whenever buck naked played, people would dance. we would pack the place every single friday and saturday night. and it would just be one very big party. most have been fun to be part of the big band in town. it was. oh yeah, it was. josh mankiewicz: the band was so hot, in fact, that jim huden eventually turned over the computer store to his top assistant, jean spender, so he could concentrate on music. i kind of pushed him towards doing that because i knew that was his love and that's where he was most happy. were you in love with him? very much so. i loved that man very much. josh mankiewicz: so much so that in december 2001, after six years of living together,

jean and jim got married in las vegas. and i was asked, by jean, if i would walk her down the aisle. was she happy? oh, yeah. all smiles, both of them were all smiles. josh mankiewicz: but the smiles did not last long. in june 2002, jim huden returned here to washington state for the funeral of an old friend. and it was here that fate intervened. a tall, red-haired beauty caught jim's eye. it was the beginning of a love triangle, one that would wreck the lives of all the people who were involved-- and some who were not. the woman in question was peggy thomas-- a whidbey island hairstylist who also dabbled in beauty pageants. in fact, in 2001, thomas represented the state of washington in a las vegas pageant, winning the evening gown competition.

leslie birkland got to know peggy thomas a few years earlier, when she was just breaking into the beauty pageant circuit. birkland, who was once on the reality tv show "big rich texas," i still consider myself new to dallas. josh mankiewicz: says peggy thomas was working as an auto mechanic at the time. you couldn't not notice peggy because she was a whole lot of gorgeous women. would you say she's a typical pageant contestant? no, not 1998. here's this beautiful, voluptuous, red-head, gorgeous woman and she was a mechanic. she had this guy kind of a job. it just sort of added to her sex appeal. josh mankiewicz: though jean says she knew nothing of her husband's budding affair at the time, she did notice that he had returned from his friend's funeral a changed man-- secretive, sullen, and withdrawn. i think jim's sister-in-law had mentioned peggy to me.

and i didn't quite put two and two together. she had made some comment about them being there at the funeral. and it just didn't click because i didn't want to acknowledge it. josh mankiewicz: jean says she later found e-mails and letters from this peggy. and that the woman even called her home looking for jim. but jean says that jim told her peggy was simply a music contact who could get him gigs in las vegas. worrisome, to be sure. but jean says it was her husband's heavy drinking that really had her concerned. he started drinking constantly at home. and drinking to obliterate himself, basically-- to numb himself. and then he started making trips out west. did you, at the time, think that there was another woman? no. i had no idea. josh mankiewicz: there is, of course, no cure for willful blindness. but bill hill, huden's faithful wingman, knew the truth about those out of town trips because sometimes he'd been along for the ride.

we came out to las vegas. the reason that he asked me to go was to cover for him. he was seeing peggy. yes. tell me about jim's relationship with peggy. oh, it was all love and kisses. really? mm-hm. more so than with jean, who was waiting for him back home? yes. josh mankiewicz: before long, other band members say that they too began seeing the same changes in jim that troubled jean-- heavy drinking and erratic behavior. he'd go through a fifth of crown royal in a night. and one night, i'm calling chord changes to the bass player and he hollers at me in the middle of a song, quit criticizing the bass player-- or something like that. and i hollered back to him, why don't you just keep your mouth quiet. i'm doing my job over here. and he shut his guitar off and walked off stage, which is about the most unprofessional thing you can do. josh mankiewicz: after that, the band's days were numbered. and seemingly, so were the days of jean huden's marriage. but jean says the drinking and philandering

were not the worst of it. jim, at one point, had told me that he wanted to know what it felt like to kill somebody. he told you that he had wanted to know that? yes. one of his deep, dark secrets. and you say, what? sure, great idea, honey? i didn't know what to say. josh mankiewicz: who would? jean could only guess at what was behind this sudden change. he lost his dad when he was, i believe, 10 or 11 years old. and his mom dated a series of men throughout that were abusive drunks, and he saw his mom get beat up many, many times. he wasn't able to do anything. and he always swore he would get this guy. but the man who mostly beat her has since passed away. josh mankiewicz: jean didn't know if something back in washington had triggered her husband's black moods, but she says she remained determined to pull him through. i loved that man more than life itself, at the time. i was so in love with him. i thought he was the one. even though he was in the process of treating you like dirt. right. i was hoping there it could be salvaged.

josh mankiewicz: then, came the day in june 2003, when the cold, hard facts of her husband's affair could no longer be denied. jim moved out, telling jean that he needed a change of scenery for his music. jean knew better. i was like, they're going back to see peggy. i was like, go, get out. and don't ever come back again. and he didn't want to hear that. he still wanted me to be hanging on while he had peggy as well. josh mankiewicz: that moment of clarity, it turns out, was short lived. all that summer, while jim huden set up housekeeping with peggy and her two daughters out in las vegas, jean says her husband kept her dangling with promises that his dalliance with peggy thomas was over. he'd soon be home, he told her. and for jean, that was a reason to believe. i thought there was some hope. i didn't want to let go. josh mankiewicz: and for a brief moment in september of 2003, jean says it looked as if her perseverance would pay off.

jim invited her out to las vegas for her 40th birthday. for several days, he wined and dined her. but her dreams of a happy ending, she says, vanished when her husband turned to her in bed one night and told her he intended to make his darkest dreams come true. there was a man out in washington, he told her, who needed to die. [music playing] coming up, not the kind of thing a wife wants to hear. but jean has an even bigger shock coming. it was like getting kicked in the stomach. life, as i knew it, was over, at that point. josh mankiewicz: when "dateline" continues. my doctor recommended i switch laxatives. stimulant laxatives make your body go

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they say that what happens in vegas, stays in vegas. no one wanted that slogan to be true more than jean huden did, especially since vegas was where her husband had told her he intended to kill a complete stranger. he wanted to know what it would feel like to kill someone? kill somebody, yes. nobody's ever said that to me before. yeah, me either. josh mankiewicz: but this was not to be a thrill killing. according to jean, her husband believed murdering the victim he had in mind would be a kind of public service. he just said he beat his children. and beat his wife. and didn't take care of his family. and just an abusive-- made him sound exactly like the guy that jim had grown up with.

exactly. what did jim say he was going to do? well, he said that peggy's friend, brenna, had approached him and that she would share the insurance money with him. murder for hire? yes. did you try to talk him out of this? i did. i thought he was just talking. i was just hoping he would get over it. josh mankiewicz: it had been a tough year for mr. and mrs. huden. the death of a childhood friend had sent jim huden spinning off into a hall of fame worthy midlife crisis, that ran the gamut from alcoholism and adultery to vague notions of murder. i just didn't think he would follow through with it. i mean, he didn't even know how to shoot a gun. josh mankiewicz: by christmas 2003, things seemed to have hit rock bottom. instead of returning home with jean after their romantic reunion in las vegas, jim had stayed out west. did you think he was with peggy? i, at that point, i thought so. yeah. i mean, i knew what was going on. and i knew it was over.

and i just-- there was no point in confronting him because he would lie about it anyway. josh mankiewicz: abandoned and alone, jean spent the holidays waiting for word from jim. then in early january, jean says her phone rang. her husband was on the line. but jim huden wasn't calling to wish his wife a happy new year. according to jean, he was calling to tell her that dreams do come true. he had killed a man in cold blood. he just said, it was done. and he's coming back. the murder? yes. what did you say? i think i was speechless at the time. i just-- i just-- i think i asked if he was ok. and does anyone know? are they after you? i just had basically asked if he was ok. your husband had just confessed that he had committed a murder for hire. mm-hm. i was just-- it was like getting kicked in the stomach. i just-- i mean, i knew it was-- i knew life, as i knew it, was over, at that point. josh mankiewicz: jean says her husband drove through the night, pulling into their garage in punta gorda

after dark the next day. he basically told me how they had lured russell to a certain spot on the island. and how he had came out of some bushes and walked up to him and just shot him in the head. and he made it sound like, you know, it was kind of gentle and peaceful. and that his just head just tilted over and he walked away. jim had told you that he had this dark secret, that he wanted to know what it would be like to kill someone. right. did it live up to his expectations? no. at first, he said, for a few days he felt like a big man. and, you know, it was exhilarating. and he thought he had accomplished something and rid the world of someone who didn't need to be there anymore. but then it started to close in on him. and then he wasn't such a big man. and that, you know, he knew he had made a terrible mistake. based on what jim told you, did brenna douglas offer any shred of proof that her husband was abusive?

or did jim just kind of commit that murder, pretty much, on faith. pretty much on faith, as far as i knew because i had come to find out later there were no records of him-- there were no reports of domestic abuse, as far as i understand. josh mankiewicz: after laying low for a while, jean says, jim gradually started picking up the pieces of his old life in punta gorda. as the weeks passed, jean says she even allowed herself to think that, perhaps, the ugliness of the past two years was in the past. that is, until the april day when a tall, red-headed stranger appeared on her doorstep. jim was doing a local radio show here in the morning. and i was at home. and there's a knock on the door and opened the door and it's peggy thomas standing on my doorstep. josh mankiewicz: in that icy instant, jim huden's complicated double life collapsed. as the women talked, jean says, it became clear that both had been lied to.

both believed jim was done with the other and committed to them. he was playing us both for quite some time, trying to keep us both apart from each other. so there you are with peggy, and jim's not there. mm-hm. for how long? not long because i called the radio station and suggested he get home real fast. he stopped the show and came home. and peggy and i are sitting there on the couch. how did he look? not good. so what happens at that meeting? there was a lot of yelling. the two of you yelling at jim? or at each other? a little of both. i was yelling at her because she knew he was married. and she's saying, what? i was led to believe that there's nothing left of your marriage anymore. right, and it was like a knife in the heart. it was. and at that point, he needed to make a choice. and he said he was going to stay with me. josh mankiewicz: although, jean says, peggy agreed to leave them in peace and return to las vegas, a few weeks later she was back. this time, showing up unannounced at a reunion gig for jim's old band, buck naked and the exhibitionists.

bill hill says the moment he saw her face in the audience, he knew it was trouble. trouble because shortly after returning to punta gorda, jim huden had told him that peggy had helped jim murder a man, who reminded jim of someone he'd known as a child-- a man who had allegedly beaten and abused jim's mother. he says, i would have done him in if he was still alive. and he says, i found a person that met his description, as far as abusiveness. and i says, yeah? and he says, well, i shot him in the head and killed him. no chance that he was kidding or not telling the truth? i knew he was telling the truth. he says, peggy found a person that, supposedly, was abusive. and it happened to be the husband of a woman that owned the hair salon in whidbey island, i believe. where peggy worked? where peggy worked, yes.

so peggy knew all about this? she helped him. josh mankiewicz: for five months, bill hill says he struggled under the weight of that confession. then, in late july 2004, his conscience finally got the better of him. i decided to make my first call. your first call? to whidbey island. to the police. yes, to the island county sheriffs. i felt guilty i was giving up my friend. but i knew something had to be done. josh mankiewicz: within days of that call, detectives mark plumberg and mike beech were sitting face-to-face with both their tipster, bill hill, and their suspect, the artist formerly known as buck naked. [music playing] coming up, the interrogation gets tough. you know what you've told bill. the guy is falling apart over the guilt he's carrying around because you told him what you did. josh mankiewicz: will jim crack? or will detectives realize they have the wrong man?

when "dateline" continues.

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for seven months after russell douglas was shot between the eyes, police had little more to go on than a corpse and an empty shell casing. with their case at a dead end, whidbey island detectives desperately wanted to believe that bill hill-- the tipster who had led them to florida-- was something other than a crackpot with an axe to grind. when we first landed in florida, we met with bill hill. confirmed the story. we wanted to meet him face-to-face, obviously. what was his mood? he was a bit nervous. i think he was still in that mode where he knew he was turning in his best friend. josh mankiewicz: once again, bill hill told the detectives what he knew-- that his best friend, jim huden, had told him

he'd killed a man in whidbey island. and that huden's girlfriend, peggy thomas, had helped set up the whole thing with the knowledge of the victim's wife. it was a compelling story, but with no murder weapon or any other physical evidence connecting him to the murder of russell douglas. the detectives were no closer to being able to make an arrest. the next day we decide we have no cards other than to just go talk to jim huden. and see what he'll say to us. after arranging to have a second team of detectives visit peggy thomas simultaneously in las vegas, the detectives drove over to jim huden's house. jean answered the door. i showed her my badge and my id. and said, i was from island county, washington. jim was there? yes. he was sitting on the couch. and he says, what? what's island county, washington doing all the way here in florida? oddly enough, he didn't say anything like that. josh mankiewicz: the detective didn't beat around the bush. and i looked him right in the face, and i said, mr. huden,

i know you're the man who pulled the trigger and killed russell douglas. and his only response was to say, i don't know why someone would say that. i was sure, at that moment, i was in the room with the right man. because an innocent man would say, well, you're crazy. i didn't kill him or anybody else. i don't know what you're talking about. he never once made a denial of my accusation. josh mankiewicz: huden admitted to being on whidbey island with peggy thomas over the christmas holidays, but deed ever owning a gun. he admitted to having briefly met russell douglas. but said it was only to drop off a present at his apartment near seattle for brenna, from peggy. i asked if he'd be willing to come down to the police station with us. i said, we'd like to get your story on tape. he agreed. he's under no obligation to do that. he doesn't have to go anywhere with us. detective: need a soda or anything? no, i'm fine. if the coffee is ever done, sure like to have [inaudible].. detective: [inaudible] coffee? josh mankiewicz: once again, with tape rolling, jim huden freely admitted to being in washington at the time

of the crime, to meeting russell douglas there, and to being a lousy, two-timing husband. but that's where jim huden drew the line. i'm a son of a bitch, but i'm no killer. but i'm a son of a bitch. josh mankiewicz: for nearly an hour, the interview covered old ground-- with occasional interruptions from detectives in las vegas, who were, at that very moment, grilling huden's girlfriend, peggy thomas. detective: what do think peggy's reactions are going to be to my guys out there? i'd be surprised if it's any different than mine. josh mankiewicz: and he was right. like jim, peggy wasn't giving the police anything in her interview. so detective mike beech decided to shake things up. but with this tactic get jim to talk? [music playing] coming up, it's peggy's turn to be interrogated. will she give up her lover? he said, you know what? just know that i love you and you're never going to see me or hear from me again.

josh mankiewicz: and peggy herself? she's on to the next man. the biggest mistake i ever made in my life. i mean, she's evil. josh mankiewicz: and the whole case goes south, with a manhunt in mexico. when "dateline" continues. fortified.tored. replenished. emerge everyday with emergen-c packed with b vitamins, antioxidants, electrolytes plus more vitamin c than 10 oranges.

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