>> we talk about her mom and how much she loved her and what we think her mom would want for her now. that's all for this edition of "dateline "". i'm craig melvin. thanks for watching. this is "dateline." . i felt guilty. i couldn't live with that. i said, i know something, and it's terrible. i'm the only other person that knows the truth. i had to do something. >> he swept her right off her feet. >> i was drawn to him right away. he was handsome. he was super athletic. >> a dreamy, single dad, wealthy, charming, smitten. >> i had never been spoiled like that. i remember thinking i was like julia roberts in "pretty woman." >> he had been through so much.

a mysterious accident at sea. >> he went under and when he came up, he said he no longer saw his wife. >> he was just hysterical. >> they were never able to find her. >> it was a heart-wrenching story. so why then were so many people so suspicious? >> no one knows exactly what happened on that boat. >> an accident? a disappearance. >> you thought what, she faked her death? >> maybe murder. >> there's no way. absolutely no way. >> i felt like the police were just trying to frame an innocent man. >> now she would be the one to unravel it all. >> i thought i could do this. >> in a dangerous undercover operation. >> tell them everything! >> what! >> my heartbeat was going so fast. i said, you need to tell me the truth. ♪ welcome to "dateline." they were a good-looking couple

with an expanding family and a booming business, but when he whisked her away on a birthday boat cruise, disaster struck. and pegye bechler was gone. was it an accident? or was it perhaps something more sinister? here's josh mankiewicz with "troubled waters." >> if you crave money, or fame, or if you want to meet beautiful people, maybe even become one of them, you will find your way to southern california. it's where everything is possible, or seems to be. this is the story of two women drawn for different reasons to the sun, to the bright lights, to the blue water. both chased that promise of success. both saw what can go wrong. it was a gorgeous summer day in newport beach, california.

the last of fourth of july weekend. some lucky tourists aboard an eight-passenger boat called "the green machine" were marveling at a school of dolphins playing in the water when they came across the unexpected. >> we've got a loose boat out here about five miles out of newport beach. >> the captain radioed the coast guard that a small speed boat was circling out of control in the water, and nearby was a man holding on to a body board. >> the husband apparently fell off the boat and the wife apparently fell off the boat. >> the man in the water was frantic. >> he still looks like he's pretty distraught. >> absolutely. >> his name was eric bechler. his wife was pegye. but she was nowhere to be found. >> what is he doing at this time? >> just kind of yelling out. laying on his board and yelling out. >> roger. can you make out any words he's yelling out? over. >> no.

he's kind of slurring his words. >> any time now units should be on scene. >> it was a stunning end to what began as a perfect day. this newport beach couple was celebrating their wedding anniversary, and pegye just turning 38. >> it was her birthday. so she was in good spirits. >> brenda was one of the friends they had invited to a big party a couple of days earlier. >> she was talking about how much she loves eric, how great life is. >> and maybe life was great. because pegye had it all. her story begins in a small town, dexter, new mexico. this is where pegye made her entrance. >> i've often said that she was born winking at the doctor and swinging on the chandelier. >> pegye was june and glen marshall's fourth child. and june said pegye was going places from the very day she was born.

>> she was never still. >> she danced, sang, played sports. and, it seemed, nothing could hold her back. she had scoliosis as a kid. young pegye had to wear a brace around the clock. that's a terrible burden for a young kid like that to bear. but it also ended up motivating her, didn't it. >> it really did. >> pegye's doctor talked to her about a career in physical therapy. she volunteered and loved it. >> she made up her mind right there she wanted to be a physical therapist. and she wanted to move to california and be a beautiful blond. so she did. >> so pegye left the small town of dexter for sunny california, and settled in newport beach. that's where she met glenda, who was also from new mexico, and they immediately hit it off. >> pegye was probably one of the most gregarious people i'd ever met. she was happy, and she was always smiling. >> and says glenda, pegye was

driven to establish herself as a successful physical therapist. she had almost everything she wanted. >> she did want to find a guy. >> and the clock was ticking a little bit. >> it was. >> and then one day on the beach, you found somebody for her. >> we did. so, one afternoon, on a weekend, pegye called me and said, what are you doing? i said, i'm going to go watch dave play volleyball on the beach. >> dave was glenda's husband. >> i asked her if she wanted to come down with me. and she said absolute. she spotted somebody and said, who is that? >> eric bechler, then in his early 20s, was a walking commercial for the california beach life. >> i'm going to guess when she noticed a guy playing beach volleyball, he was good looking and in great shape, and handsome.

>> indeed he was. >> and he was available. he was also eight years younger. >> was that a problem for either one of them? >> it was not a problem for either one of them. pegye, when she sets her sights on something, she's going to make it happen. and it developed really quickly. really, really quickly. >> within a year, they were married. within four years, they had three beautiful kids. they went into business together. she opened up her own physical therapy business and eric a computer whiz managed the technical side of their venture, which quickly became very profitable. >> their business was doing good, and she was happily married. >> and the happy couple was also happily spending a lot of money, on a german sports car, italian clothing, and a spectacular bluffside home in newport beach. >> they were the little dream story. beautiful girl, good looking guy, drive nice cars, beautiful children. >> until that summer day in 1997, when the unimaginable

happened. >> male, kind of distraught, said his wife fell overboard. >> it was a boating accident said eric, and the coast guard agreed, something they see all too often. but soon secrets emerged that would make some people wonder, what really happened to pegye bechler? where was pegye? and what had gone wrong on that boat? coming up, there would be a sea of questions to come. >> you thought, what, pegye faked her death? >> when "dateline" continues. ♪ protect your pet with the #1 name in flea and tick protection. frontline plus. trusted by vets for nearly 20 years.

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♪ it said there's nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline. this was supposed to be something like that. a romantic outing, an anniversary and birthday gift eric bechler planned for pegye, but it turned into something else and now pegye was gone. the coast guard immediately launched a search, but by night fall, no sign of pegye alive or otherwise, so eric called pegye's mom, june. >> he says we can't find pegye.

and i said what you mean you can't find her? where is she? what are you trying to tell me? >> eric told june that pegye was driving the boat, towing him on a body board when all of a sudden a wave wiped him out. when he came up from under the weather, he said, he could no longer see pegye inside the boat. >> we thought they should be finding her because we really thought she would swim out of it. >> you see, pegye was quite at home in the water. growing up, it was the only time she didn't have to wear is that back brace, and she became a very accomplished swimmer. >> she wouldn't panic. she would swim. because she loved the water. >> the next morning, june and glen marshall were on the first flight out to california. pegye had been missing almost 24 hours. >> of course, the ocean is just bigger, bigger than you think about, if you're in new mexico. >> pegye's friend, glenda, tried to stay optimistic.

>> i absolutely thought they'd find her. >> maybe alive? >> mm-hmm. i did. because she's a fabulous swimmer. >> glenda went to the bechler house to see eric. how did he look? >> hysterical. a little bit. he had been crying. his face is red. and, you know, all of those things. he looked upset. as he should be. one would expect. >> she's the best person. >> this video from local news shows a devastated eric. it was now day two of the search for pegye. still nothing. the next day the coast guard interviewed eric. eric bechler could barely speak. >> what did you take with you on the boat? >> we had a couple bags and

coolers. we wanted to see if he could see catalina, but it was so hazy. i told pegye, you know, it was too hazy. >> eric told the coast guard he tried the body board on the way out, and said there was a pretty good swim in the ocean. >> as high as the side of the boat probably. big enough to notice. >> eric said they stopped out here on the water to enjoy some margaritas pegye had made. and then later in the day they decided to try the body board again, this time on their way back to the harbor. pegye was driving, eric was being pulled on the board. >> the waves would get real big, and then they would jerk the board out from under me. and i couldn't hold on. i gave up. i thought pegye would be right there. it was just going in circles. i couldn't see her.

i could just see that pegye wasn't there. the boat kept going farther and farther away. and i couldn't see any other boats. i was screaming. i looked around. >> and so pegye bechler was simply gone. maybe even within sight of the same beach that had spawned her marriage. eric seemed devastated, fearing his wife and business partner was dead. but eric's mother, linda, saw things quite differently. >> i'm sure that they would find her. that it would all turn out well. >> not just because pegye was a strong swimmer, everyone knew that. linda knew more. a secret about her daughter-in-law. and you thought, what, pegye faked her death? or disappeared deliberately? >> mm-hmm. coming up, peg yes,'s

secret. what was it? >> she stopped me on the stairway and said i have to talk to you. >> when "dateline." continues. okay you gotta be kidding me. hold on, don't worry, there's another way. directions to the greek theater. (beep) ♪can i get a connection? ♪can i get can i get a connection?♪ ♪ohhh can i get a connection? ♪trying find the old me

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welcome back to "dateline when eric bechler told police his wife, pegye, was swallowed by the ocean in a freak accident, he seemed inconsolable. but detectives question his story, wondering if eric's tears were genuine. here's josh mankiewicz again with "troubled waters." >> a brilliant pacific ocean sunset, closed out day three of the search for pegye bechler. and even though pegye's family and friends tried to remain hopeful, reality was slowly starting to set in. and it was painful. at this point you didn't think she was alive anymore? >> i kept thinking that she was. but could she, you know, that length of time. >> unless, of course, what appeared to be an accident was not. the coast guard conducted a reenactment at sea to try to understand how pegye could have fallen off the boat. and they couldn't do it. >> they said it just -- it doesn't appear to be feasible to them, given the sea conditions. >> that's when the coast guard called the orange county sheriff's office. detective sean murphy was put on the case. >> they weren't able to duplicate even close to what was alleged by eric bechler that his wife was tossed off by a rogue wave. >> if her disappearance was no accident, murphy's job was to find out what did happen. detectives started by

re-interviewing eric and asking him about his relationship with pegye. >> he said his marriage was good. there was no problems with it. >> you didn't take his word for it? >> no. in our game we don't take anybody's word for it. we look into it. and that's what we did. >> they met with the improbably named kobi laker, eric's best friend, and kobi backed upper eric. >> they had a terrific marriage, there was no problems whatsoever. >> but if the marriage seemed solid, there were questions about pegye. at least according to linda bechler, eric's mother. linda said pegye told her something in confidence just before she disappeared. >> she stopped me on the stairway as i was leaving, and said -- she came up and said, i have to talk to you. she said, i'm afraid i'm going to jail. >> according to court documents, about a year before pegye disappeared, the couple sold their physical therapy business to another company, but they stayed on as employees. then just four months before pegye vanished, the bechlers

were fired amid allegations they had overbilled medicare for more than $1 million. so when linda heard pegye had vanished -- >> i started thinking about how disturbed she was, about going to jail. >> and she wondered if pegye had somehow staged her own disappearance. pegye's friend, glenda, said no way. was pegye bechler capable of committing white collar crime, medicare overbilling? >> in my opinion, no. >> but if you're wrong about that, then maybe the idea that she faked her death to escape possible prosecution for that, maybe that's a little bit more plausible. >> white collar crime and faking your death and leaving your children and your family are two really separate issues. >> glenda said pegye adored her children, and would never abandon them. i will say that people who have never been in the inside of a courtroom, or the inside of a

jail cell, sometimes do pretty crazy things when they realize that might happen to them. >> i believe that. but not pegye. >> glenda did tell the detectives that pegye and eric were having some issues, like how pegye was busy with work and kids, while eric seemed occupied on the volleyball court. >> she just confided in me that they were having some financial troubles. because, you know, they had a pretty high lifestyle to keep up with. >> glenda said eric and pegye seemed determined to work everything out. but now pegye was gone, and eric was a single dad with three kids under the age of 4. and a new player was about to enter the story. you were drawn to eric right away? >> yes. >> like countless young women before her, tina had drop-dead looks and hollywood dreams. she had done some bikini modeling and had a small part on

the tv show "baywatch nights." but that turned out to be the peak of her career. soon tina found herself slipping into the darker side of showbiz. she started doing drugs, and lost custody of her two young children because of it. and fell for a succession of guys who did not treat her kindly. >> i had an ex-boyfriend put a gun to my head, play russian roulette between me and him. i was held over the balcony by my neck. >> tina who was broke and near rock bottom was desperate. >> i got down on my knees, literally begging, and i said, i'll do whatever you want, lord, just help me. i can't do this anything. just show me a sign. >> the universe sent you eric bechler. >> the next day i meet him. and all my problems are gone. >> she had taken a modeling gig, eye candy at a trade show. eric was there promoting his new business. it was three months to the day since pegye had disappeared. >> i just thought he was really handsome. >> there was some serious chemistry from the beginning.

>> yes. we went out that night actually. he asked me out that night. i moved in the next day. really fast. >> you don't wait, do you. >> no. not then. >> eric lived in a giant house and drove a porsche. and he was a gentleman in her life after a long string of men who were not gentle. >> i had never been spoiled like that. i remember thinking i was like julia roberts in "pretty woman." >> tina was moved by eric's story. >> he said to me that his wife died in a tragic boat accident, and that they were never able to find her. >> she couldn't help noticing how great he was with his kids. >> he would sit on the floor and play with them. i actually thought he was a great dad. >> and she was eager to help, taking care of the kids while eric went, as usual, to the beach to play volleyball. >> i thought they lost their mom, they need someone to step in and not be their mom, but do things their mom would do for them. >> when they took the kids to visit pegye's parents --

>> there was a lot of animosity towards me. i understood why. >> all they saw was this hot young woman who had been brought in to replace their missing daughter. >> right. exactly three months to the day. i can't even imagine what they were thinking. >> pegye's family wasn't alone. detective sean murphy had also noticed the new woman in eric bechler's life. >> she was just a hot number as they say. and she was cohabitating with him right after this horrible boating accident with his wife. >> so murphy arranged to bump into tina. >> i said, hey, if you have any information about this boating accident involving eric, your boyfriend, just give us a call. and i gave her my card, with my number on it. >> nothing came of it. tina didn't call. but someone else did. coming up, the best friend has second thoughts and goes under cover. >> proi tected you. i basically made you look like a saint.

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top stories, a rescue operation is under way right now in thailand to save 12 boys and a soccer coach who have been trapped under ground in a kaf for more than two weeks. it is expected to make many hours and perhaps even days before all those trapped are brought to the surface. north korean official is calling u.s. efforts to denuclearize the country deeply regretly after a two day visit by secretary of state mike pompeo who referred to the talks as productive. now, back to "dateline." ♪ welcome back. i'm craig melvin. with the new live-in girlfriend, eric bechler seemed to be recovering quickly from losing his wife, pegye. and that didn't sit well with quite a few people. certainly not with the police, or pegye's family. but eric's best friend, what exactly did he know, and how far

would he go to get proof. here again is josh mankiewicz with "troubled waters." >> to detective sean murphy, it sounded more than suspicious. eric bechler taking up with a gorgeous redhead just three months after his wife was lost at sea. but murphy didn't have much more than a gnawing in his gut until his phone rang. >> we got a call from kobi's lawyer, said he wanted to arrange an interview again with kobi. >> kobi laker, eric's best friend and volleyball buddy. he told sheriff's detectives the bechler marriage was great. now he had a different story. >> eric's told me on several occasions that he's sick and tired of his wife. and he would tell me that he just couldn't take it anymore. he was tired of it. >> seven months before pegye vanished, kobi said he and eric had a conversation that kobi

describes as haunting him ever since. >> eric asked me about what he thought -- what i thought of the idea of him killing his wife. and i -- i was in shock. i didn't know what to say. he told me that he was thinking of taking her out to the ocean and dumping her in a barrel. >> he said that when he saw there was a boating accident, and eric's wife was missing, he knew right then and there, he saw it on tv, he knew that he had killed his wife. and he lied to us, he said, because he panicked and he was afraid and he didn't know what to do. >> detectives convinced kobi to wear a wire, and to meet eric at a restaurant in orange county. eric had no idea that police were listening in. even so, he stuck to his story that pegye's death was a terrible accident. >> i was there. i know what happened. and it's so hard for me to understand, you know, that there could be any other -- people could think anything else.

>> you never said, hey, look, man, i don't know what the [ bleep ] you guys are talking about, but i'm innocent. you've never said anything about anything. >> i have so. do i have to say it every week? >> kobi tried again. >> i protected you. i basically made you look like a saint in the interview i had with the detectives. >> i am. >> a dead-end. but detectives were now convinced that eric killed his wife. even though it didn't lead to anything, that conversation with kobi, that got you from suspicion to knowing. >> it moved it all the way over. we knew we had a homicide. >> but knowing it and proving it were two very different things. >> you didn't get to process that boat as a crime scene for almost a week? >> right. that wasn't good. that hindered the investigation. >> the boat was pretty clean, said detective murphy. crime scene did find blood, just one drop under one of the cushions, but not enough to

determine whether it was human blood. it could have come from a fish. not enough evidence to arrest eric for murder, or even prove that a murder occurred. pegye's close friend, glenda, didn't believe eric was a killer. >> there's no way that eric would have done that. i mean, there's just absolutely no way. it was infathomable to me. >> tina new felt the same way. >> i felt like the police were just trying to frame an innocent man. the way he treats me, there's no way he could have hurt his wife. >> tina also noticed that eric kept photos of pegye in every room of the house. she could not imagine that a man who had killed his wife would want to see her face everywhere. eric was really the answer to all your problems for a while, wasn't he? >> yeah, he was. >> you weren't too anxious to question him. >> no, i believed him. >> and after about six months -- >> he says, will you marry me? >> yes. >> and you say? >> yes. >> you don't say no a lot. >> yeah, i -- i mean, he treated me so good.

>> she also admits she knew eric was due to collect more than $2 million in insurance money once he was cleared in his wife's disappearance. and everything would work out. >> everything would work out, yep. >> well, you were wrong. >> i was definitely wrong. >> they had been a couple for two years. still not married, but living together off and on. one night tina was showing eric some of her old modeling shots and tv appearances. >> we were looking at pictures. but then i put the video tape in. i'm fast forwarding it, and it just stops. purely by chance, tina accidentally recorded a news report about pegye's disappearance. >> the whole screen was just a picture of her face. and i said, oh, my gosh, what is this? >> then she turned to eric. >> and i looked at him. his face turned white. like he literally lost the color in his face and he said to me, how did you get that? and i said, i don't know. >> his reaction troubled her. but she hit play, and it just got worse.

the news report did not match the story eric had told her about pegye's disappearance. >> he said there were three to four-foot waves, that it was really choppy out there. >> but on the report they said on the day pegye went missing, there were only two-foot waves, and the weather was described as ideal. >> he lied. he lied all this time to me. he was just really quiet. >> he's sitting right next to you. >> right next to me. >> how does eric look at that point? >> flushed and stressed. i yelled at him and said, why is this different than what you told me? and he just, like, got really quiet. >> then, she says, eric bechler told her a new version of what happened when pegye fell off the boat. >> he thinks she hit a wake and fell off. he said, and i didn't get to her. i said, you didn't get to her, or you didn't want to get to her? and he said -- at first he told me that he didn't get to her, then later he changed it and said, i could have helped her,

but i didn't. >> now, that's completely different from what he told police. >> right. >> chilling as that sounded, tina feared it still wasn't the whole story. she was determined to get the rest. but like a career in showbiz, you have to be careful what you wish for. coming up -- >> i don't trust you. i'm afraid of you. >> nobody knows anything but you. >> from model to actress, to undercover agent -- a secret operation to learn the truth. >> this is where it gets really scary. >> when "dateline" continues. n. a delicious chew that protects for an entire month. ask your vet for more information. reported side effects include vomiting and itching. nexgard. the vet's #1 choice. it's just my eczema again,. but it's fine. yeah, it's fine. you okay? eczema. it's fine.

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tina new thought she found happiness with eric bechler until he changed his story about what happened the day his wife disappeared in the ocean. >> you didn't think about going to police? >> no. not yet. i felt like he wasn't telling me the truth all the way. i was really afraid because he was always with me. >> afraid yet they continued to see each other, sleep together and party together. about two weeks after eric changed his story, he and tina went to a club and took the drug ecstasy. >> we get home, walk inside the house and we're both laying on the bed staring straight up at the ceiling together.

all of a sudden as we were talking it came to me. oh my god, you hit her over the head. he goes, how did you know that? the fact is she hadn't known. call it intuition or the effects of the drug or a random guess. but it was an opening and tina barrelled through. >> i said, you need to tell me the truth. he's calmly talking to me and he says i'm going to tell you the truth. we had this huge party. so everybody could see how happy we were together. >> all their friends were there, witnesses to the happy marriage. then a couple of days later, she says, eric told her he took pegye out to sea on that rented boat. although pegye didn't know it, he took along some waits. >> tina, i hit her so hard she didn't feel a thing. i'm just like, what do you mean you hit her so hard? >> he told her there was blood everywhere and then tina says,

eric bechler told her how he got rid of his wife. >> he did her wrists and her ankles together so she was completely bent in half. took the two trash bags he had. put her body in it and put the weights and tied it down to the rope and threw her in. >> two years after pegye vanished a stunning confession. >> then grow to sleep next to a man that you believe was a killer? >> no, actually then we have sex. and i felt like i had to do it because i think that made him feel like i was going to be quiet and that he was, i don't know, sealing the deal with me or something. >> but the deal was not sealed. >> the case was still open and detectives had been keeping an eye on eric and tina all along. they knew the relationship was growing volatile. >> we were excited about it in a morbid kind of way because we knew it was going to go sideways. >> when relationships go sideways, sometimes people start

talking. >> that's right. >> and that's what happened two weeks after eric's apparent confession. a neighbor called 911 after hearing yelling coming from tina's apartment. when police arrived, eric was gone but tina was angry and she still had the business card detective murphy had given her almost two years earlier. >> i grab my partner. we went out there in the middle of the night and we met up with tina. >> she told detective murphy and his partner gary jones what eric had said, a big break, yes, but not nearly enough for an arrest. remember, tina was pretty far from an ideal witness. detectives knew they need more than her word against eric's. so they asked tina -- >> would you wear a wire? >> i said yes. that's the only way you're going to get him. >> why would you turn down a guy who had basically taken you from a terrible life and given you a great life. >> because i couldn't live with myself, i mean no, way.

>> police planted microphones in her car, in her purse, and on her body. and tina arranged a meeting. she told eric that after the domestic violence call, sheriff's homicide detectives came in to ask questions about eric. this dinner date, tina told eric, was to get their story straight in case the cops questioned her again. tina wired up, picked up eric from his home and drove to a restaurant called el torido. >> i was worried i wouldn't get him to confess again. >> i have two stories in my head. i don't want to screw up at all. >> there's no story to tell. you weren't there. it was an accident. >> once inside the restaurant, tina tried to get eric to repeat the details of pegye's death. eric wouldn't go there. >> details are not important. >> so tina tried to get him to say why he did it? >> why would you go to that

degree? >> it's no confession, but it's not a denial either. >> are you thinking to yourself at that point, that's it. i got him. >> i honestly thought that was good but i still thought that wasn't enough. >> you do know there was a reason? was it for the money? >> remember, pegye had a life insurance policy worth more than $2 million. >> it's partly about the money. partly about the kids. >> again, she tried to get him to give her a reason. >> what was it about her that made you want to go to that extreme? >> i felt like she was going to steal the kids away and i would never see her again. >> eric reassured tina. >> all i know i would never do this ever again. >> she was good. she was really good. >> but the drama wasn't over. >> tina left the restaurant with eric still wired up. >> this is where it gets really scary.

we're walking out to the car and he says to me, let me drive. >> that was not part of the plan. >> we lose sight of them. >> in a movie, this is where you hear the sound of gunshot. >> that would not have been good. >> in the car, with eric now behind the wheel, tina cranked up her acting skills and the tension. >> just tell 'em i haven't talked about it for over a year and half and you don't remember the details. >> i'm not making you do anything. turn me in if you want to. turn me [ bleep ] in. i don't care. >> tell them what? >> don't you talk to me that way. >> now tina tried to get eric out of the car. >> pull my car over now. i don't trust you. i'm afraid of you now. >> all i'm asking -- you don't have to -- nobody knows anything but you. you don't have to tell anybody anything. >> eric pulled over and got out.

and tina hopped in the driver's seat. and just like that, tina new drove away from her old life. >> in the end, you got enough. >> oh, absolutely, yeah. >> you understand you were under arrest? >> eric awas arrested and charged. >> i trembled all over. i couldn't believe it. >> but two years after erica arrest made headlines, tina made headlines of her own that put the whole case in jeopardy. coming up -- >> i did not commit this crime. >> eric bechler on trial and tina's credibility, that's on trial, too. >> do you think anybody would believe you? >> no. >> without that statement, they don't have anything that makes this a homicide. >> when "dateline" continues.

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welcome back to "dateline." when eric confessed to his girlfriend that he tossed his wife into the ocean, he may have sunk himself. as the trial loomed, tina's determine waivered. would she take the stand? here is josh with the conclusion of "troubled waters." >> reporter: beach volleyball is a kids game played by grown ups.

murder for profit is played only by adults. and it's for keeps. prosecutors believe eric was trying to be successful at both. detectives put him in jail, but then, two weeks after eric's arrest came this headline in the local paper. witness in murder case, doubts suspects guilt. tina new wore a wire and helped police said maybe he didn't kill peggy. >> the kids lost their mom and are probably going to lose their dad for a very long time. i felt guilty. >> reporter: guilty to help jail a man she once wanted to marry. >> he tried to hang himself with his sheets. >> it was eric's behavior from the lock-up that made you think twice? >> i didn't want him to die. i felt guilty. >> you tried to roll it back?

>> yeah, i did. >> but, she always believed he was guilty. in 2000, eric went on trial, the star witness, tina new. a witness who was compromised. not because of her waffling about his guilt and her checkered past, but the detail in the story eric told her. something john barnett said is critical. >> you expect if her head was caved in by 35 pound dumbbells, there would be blood. >> quite a lot of it. >> everywhere. and there wasn't. >> on the stand, tina tried to defend herself. >> i'm a horrible witness when it comes to looking at me on pab. >> did you think anybody would believe you? >> no. i told exactly what he said to me and i knew i was doing the right thing. i honestly didn't care what anybody thought.

>> then the recorded conversation. eric's own words. >> nobody knows anything but you. >> barnett offered his own explanation. >> i argued the reason he said it was to shut her up, to calm her down. >> in any event, eric never said on tape that he hit beg peggy. the only person that heard that was tina, a drug user. >> they have a lot of circumstantial evidence. nothing makes it a homicide. >> the defense offered another theory about peggy. >> she was under a great deal of pressure and could be distracted and, in combination with alcohol, which she rarely drank, but did on that day, could contribute to a lack of care driving the boat. >> you don't think she faked her

death? >> no, i do not think that. >> you think she died accidentally and her body hasn't been found? >> right. >> they argue peggy's death was eric's doing. >> he had 3 million reasons to kill her. >> and, the circumstantial evidence was compelling. he had a weight tree that appeared to be incomplete. they believed he used the missing weights to kill peggy, then sink her body. what about the blood? a test indicated there might have been a lot of blood in the boat, but it was cleaned up, matching tina's testimony about blood everywhere. of course, there was tina, herself. despite her past and criminal record and drug use, she rang true to you? >> yes. absolutely. >> who would the jury believe and would tina's past make a

difference? >> doesn't matter what i did before or after i met him whachlt i did to myself has nothing to do with what he did. >> after seven days, guilty. >> you are thrilled the man who did it is behind bars, but nobody wins in this situation, nobody. the children now have no mother or father. >> the jury did not believe eric killed peggy for the money. he was found not guilty for murder of financial gain and the sentencing, eric addressed the judge, once again, denying he killed peggy. >> the accident was a horrible tragedy that has befallen both of our families. as much as they are hurting, my family is hurting because i did not commit this crime. >> the judge sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole. eric's mother, linda, thinks the verdict was wrong. >> is it possible you don't know

your son as well as you think you do? >> baloney. i know that kid like the back of my hand. >> look, i can understand a mother not wanting to believe her son committed a crime. >> listen, if my kid was a druggy, doper, thief, rapist -- >> murderer. >> whatever -- well, yeah, but he isn't. he isn't. >> peggy's body has never been found. >> you want to know what happened, but you don't want to hear murder. >> at least now you know. >> it's still hard to take. even with all this information, we don't have a body. >> you all right? >> yeah. >> you discover you were stronger than you thought you were? >> oh, yeah. >> peggy's mother and sister ended up raising her kids. one more person who was stronger than she thought, tina new. you are leading a different life? >> completely different.

>> gave up drugs, married a nice guy and is now a stay-at-home mom with five kids. a hollywood happy ending? no. sometimes real life is better. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thanks for watching. good morning. i'm da ra brown in new york at msnbc world headquarters. 7:00 out east, 4:00 out west. breaking news, the rescue mission in thailand is under way. divers trying to save 12 boys and their soccer coach, navigating a flooded cave in a race against time. the latest on how far they have come and how far they have to go. plus, gangster-like. how north korean officials describe the talks with the u.s. what is behind the different views of the same metings. on the