>> she almost got away with it. >> almost a perfect murder. >> who better to do that than a police officer. that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm natalie morales. thanks for watching. you know when they tell you your life passes before your eyes. you think about everything that happened in your life and you wonder, am i ready to die? >> he was a hollywood stunt man. this was no hollywood stunt. >> this is a hit. >> shot four times and left dying on the floor. somebody definitely wanted him dead. >> but who? and why? >> you'll meet a lot of possible suspects. >> oh, my gosh. >> including his ex-wife, an actress once married to movie mobster, but she had a strong

alibi. >> and that's only the start of the twist in this hollywood mystery. >> this is one of those stranger than fiction kind of things. certainly nobody would write a ski script like this. >> the most stunning twist of all is what didn't happen. >> my mom said don't you [ bleep ] died. that hit me harder than the bullet. my mom never swore. hello. welcome to dateline. garrett was a hollywood stunt man who made living pulling off death defying acts. one night, he opened the door for a stranger and found himself in the middle of a terrifying scene all too real.

here's josh with the plot thickens. action. it rang second only to the word money in hollywood. here in lawhere life and art are not often the same thing, real life drama that rivalled any action movie. a mystery featuring an assassin. a stunt man who takes the fall. as for the money, we'll get to that. let's start with the biggest name on the mar equity.

joe, famous for roles as a cold-blooded killer. this drama would co-star his ex-wife. a man very familiar with danger. fade in, early evening in the quiet town of westlake village, california, outside of la. stunt man garrett heard a knock on his door and a voice on the other side asking about his new silver volvo parked in the driveway.

garrett answered and then comes our first plot twist. the daredevils luck had run out. >> i called and his mother answers the phone. was a fellow stunt man and his good friend. >> garrett was on of those men you could count on. you hear in life you're very lucky if you have five friends where you can count a friend on one hand. he has been in the business more than 30 years. >> he was probably the finest fight man you could ask for. i had hired him on several

shows, got to know him, watched his expertise, phenomenal athlete, stunt man. >> you've probably seen garre garrett's work, you just didn't know it. his stunt work was featured in charlies angels. garrett was a very focused individual. people think of stunt men as oh, daredevil. crazy people. that's the last person i want on my job. i want the very best at what they do. >> towards the end of 1997, he says that focus shifted the minute he met claudia i think people who got to know her, she just has a beautiful soul. men were attracted to that as much her beauty. >> claudia's good friend

remembers when claudia and garrett first got together. >> one day she says to you, i met this guy. >> yes, she was very excited. i was always a big fan of garretts, he was tweet, funny. and she just seemed so happy with him. stayed close after after she started dating garrett who came from a different part of movie business. garrett loved action and adventure. when he met claudia, he was ready to settle down. >> we felt this would be the girl that garrett would end up with. no dating, no running around. i'm going to end up with

claudia. >> married less than a year after they met. >> in the beginning, it was a very good relationship. >> oh, my gosh. >> they soon had a beautiful daughter. >> look at the hair. >> the new couple enjoyed being parents. >> i love you guys, but happy scenes like this one did not last. claudia and garrett couldn't make it work. >> it was a series of events. it just wasn't the right marriage. >> once the relationship started going south, it went fast. >> less than two years after their wedding, claudia and garrett split up for good. >> divorce is never easy, but in the long run, it was two parents trying to figure out a way to live and both see their children. >> garrett went back to

stuntman. how did his life go to this. >> somebody definitely wanted him hurt or dead at that time. >> but who? >> detective mark of the la county sheriff's department said investigators looked at every angle. remembering how the gunman at first asked garrett about his brand new volvo. they wondered if this could be road rage. someone he tangled with on the la freeways. >> mr. warren is a stunt man. >> yes. >> i'm guessing he maybe doesn't always drive the speed limit or use his blinker when it's time to change lanes. >> that could be possible. >> or it could be personal. >> could have been an exbusiness partner or if it was someone he was dating that was jealous, maybe an ex-husband or ex-boyfriend. there was an array of possibles on who could have done this. >> possibilities that led from the bloody crime scene to the

bright lights of movie business. all the way to la that the tourist never see. >> who did want garrett warren dead. there seemed to be an entire cast of suspects. >> coming up, getting ready to say good-bye to a friend. >> i'm going to lose my friend. he's not going to make it. >> when dateline continues. to spellbinders, pathfinders, to grand plan designers. to historians, victorians, and all the targaryens. to gastronomers, astronomers, and new cinematographers. to wizards, to witches, to those who cross stitches. if you're a dreamer, big thinker, or discovery seeker. through these doors, more wonder awaits. nobody knows books like we do. barnes & noble. ♪

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rushed to the bedside of his buddy garrett warren. a movie stunt man who had been shot with real live bullets. >> i run in to garrett's mom and realize i'm going to lose my friend. he's not going to make it. >> garrett was in critical condition. >> all these things run through your head. the time you spent together. the things maybe you should have said that you didn't. it was rough. >> shot three times in the body. and once through the eye. all at close range, hard to imagine anyone surviving it. ready for our second twist, it's one that neither garrett's family innor the gunman saw coming. this is garrett warren today.

>> thank god i'm still here. i was very fortunate. very lucky. >> to the surprise of the doctors treating him, garrett warren pulled through. and he livid to tell the story of the night he was almost murdered. a flash back as vivid now as it was then. to be honest with you, when a bullet hits you, you don't really know it hits you. it's not like you see in the movies. i slipped aside and passed by my heart and is still stuck in my rib cage. still there. >> then bullet two. >> i look down and here comes another one. >> bullet number three. >> then i realized okay. this is for real. i went to close the door he shot

center mass at me. i did he turned sideways. that one hit my bone. >> that sound gruesome, then hang on for what's next. >> i fell back behind my door to the ground. and then he walked in and put the gun to my head. the first thing i did, i flinched just like this. like a fighter would. as i did this the hit miee and came out my year and stuck out the wall. >> those are pretty good reflexes. >> if it was the may trtrixmatr wasn't good. so as much i moved, i still got hit. >> somehow, the bullet that went through garrett's head missed his brain. >> you know when they tell you your life passes before your eyes, it doesn't pass through your eyes. you run through it. you think about everything that happened in your life, you wonder did i do anything wrong

and did i not make up for it. am i ready to die. >> at the time of the shooting, he was home helping. took two shots at her, but he missed. and then out of bullets, he fled. >> i looked at her and i said i love you mom. i'll see you on the other side. my mom said, don't you [ bleep ] die. i was shocked. that hit me harder than the bullets. my mom never swore. here she shook me. she said don't you die. you've been a fighter all your life. fight one more time for me. i said okay. you got it. i'm not going to go. i'll stay. >> as garrett ran through his life, he looked back on his failed marriage to claudia. >> it was true love. it was the things that poetry was written about, you know. that movies were made of. >> that brief marriage produced

their daughter. and even though the marriage didn't last t bond both parents felt with their daughter, surely did. >> my daughter being borne was amazing. was the most amazing part of my life and probably one of the greatest things i can leave as my legacy, i guess. >> when the marriage broke up, there was a nasty fight over who would get custody of her. in the midst of it, claudia made perhaps the worst accusation you can make. she claimed garrett had sexually molested their daughter. after a thorough investigation, a family court judge ruled there was no evidence of abuse. it was shortly after that that the gunman showed up at garrett's home. so naturally accident detectives brought in claudia for questioning. >> it was just another road that we went down. you know, during the investigation. it's like, hey, could it be an x. >> she was cooperative. she didn't appear to have any

ties to the shooting and had a strong alibi to even ting. they kept talking to garrett. who had gotten a glimpse of the man who shot him. >> it was very difficult to decipher what his ethnicity was because i was looking through a little peephole in thimy door. >> as garrett recovered from wounds, the sheriff's department tried to piece together theories. >> i'm guessing they asked garrett if he was carry can go on with someone else's wife or girlfriend. >> everything was being looked at in his life and lifestyle and business. >> exciting high energy lifestyle from the gym he owned to the film circle he ran in, garrett had no shortage of adventures. investigators received a tip suggesting that garrett also had enemies. >> the sheriff station received an anonymous letter advising there were people involved at

the gym that garrett was having a relationship with that might be questionable to detectives. >> they followed up on every lead. hit a dead end at every turn. >> depressing. >> very depressing. sometimes you just need that one break. need a phone call that somebody wants to give up in information, give us another road to go down, give us another adventure to try. >> it took two years before that break arrived. that's when police in another county searching a car for drugs instead found a note and a photo that would make clear just what kind of danger garrett warren was facing. coming up, was garrett warren's would be killer coming back for take two. >> back for take two. >>

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. closeup. garrett warren was gunned down in his own home, but lived to tell the tale. he knew the would be killer was still on the loose and garrett was looking over his shoulder. >> had a bulletproof vest on. i invested whatever money i can into all sorts of security around my house. scared someone is going to come

back and finish it. >> did you think there was ever going to be an arrest. >> no. i gave up on it. you did move on with your life. >> i did. that's where he met isa. >> a client of mine i was a personal trainer to. while we were first training, she said i really like you. i would like to date you. i said i have a rule. i don't date clients. >> she came back saying i'm not in your gym anymore. i'm not your client. let's date. >> they married in december of 2002, two years after the shooting. maybe the happiness brought along by garrett's second wife made it easier to get along with his first. claudia. the anger that had marked their divorce had faded.

>> went back to visitation schedule again, back to shared custody and we're on speaking terms and actually friendly. >> it was about 18 months after garrett was shot when detectives got that lucky break. they were looking for drugs, but found something else under the spare tire in his trunk. it was a photograph of garrett warren. with a circle drawn on it. and garrett's home address. which very few people knew. so detective showed garrett a six packapho, a photo lineup th included a photo. i say by all means, that's a guy i recognize. >> that's the guy that shot you. >> yes. >> no doubt in your mind. >> no doubt in my mind. >> in 2003, detectives arrested

miguel for attempted murder. he was neither a gang banger nor a hired gun. instead, he owned a pizza parlor. sheriff's detective mark. >> just seemed like he was your middle class, very nice guy that everybody in the community loved. >> and yet garrett was identifying him as the shooter. >> yes. >> other than his id of him, there was nothing to suggest they ever met. >> had they done any business deal before. >> no. >> connected in any way to the gym. >> no. >> any chance we was driving a car near garrett that night. >> no, no one whatsoever. >> so what their connection was or why he would kill him, not clear. >> there was though direct connection whatsoever. >> and as detectives soon learned, proving an attempted murder charge against miguel wouldn't be easy. multiple witnesses said they saw

and spoke to him at his pizza parlor on the night of the shooting. they were frequent customers of that establishment, plus he had the receipts. it was pretty good all alibalib. why did he have garrett's picture hidden in his car? how and why would garrett finger him as the shooter? he's got a map hidden in his car

of someone who was nearly a murder victim. and a photograph of that guy. >> yes. >> and the guy picks him out. >> yes. >> aren't there people on death row for less than that. >> sometimes there's more to a story than meets the eye. >> investigators discover another picture of garrett warren. this one of him and the man he accused of shooting him. coming up. >> this is one of those stranger than fiction kind of things. certainly nobody would write a script like this. >> when dietline continues. diets

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california most devastating fire on saturday while surveying the town. president plenled additional federal aide to residents. florida governor's race has come to an end. democrat conceding on saturday. this comes after recount determined desantis leading by

more than 3,000 votes. now back to dateline. welcome back to dateline. i'm craig melvin. just arrested suspected drug dealer for attempted murder. searching a search warrant when they found the photo and address in the trunk. later iddid'd him as the shoote. closer look at the evidence led to stunning discovery. garrett wasn't out of danger yet. here is josh with the plot thickens. >> fade in, los angeles county california. garrett warren was gunned down, shot four full-times in his own home by somehow survived. it fit his character really.

a hollywood stunt man, marshal artist and former fighter. not only did he survive, he was able to identify a shooter. a man who had been caught with what looked like a hit note. it sounded at first look a strong case. the more law enforcement and prosecutor investigated, the weaker it seemed to become. >> you've done a lot of work. mostly what you've done is help prove your defendant's alibi. >> so far. >> eventually, really proved the alibi that he didn't do this. remember, multiple witnesses put him away from the home on the shooting. then like a scene came the latest twist. something the prosecutors saw during a court hearing. >> i'm noticing some things. first of all, he's left-handed.

the shooter was described by the witnesses, victim and mother as right-handed. that's a little odd. >> that's like out of a movie. >> yes, crypt writer might do something like that. real life doesn't make any sense. >> then prosecutor saw this photo taken at a party, a barbecue. >> this this photo, you have garrett warren and he is facing miguel. they're kneeling down. their children are in front of them. we can tell from the scar on garrett warren's face this is post shooting. we can tell from the ages of the children as well as the championship t-shirt that mr. miguel is wearing, this is very shortly after the shooting. >> the two men were both guests at the same party after the shooting, but before garrett

made his eyewitness id. >> you think this is where he knew him from. >> yes. >> you think that's why he identified as the shooter because he remembered him from the party. >> right. classic transference. >> to both the prosecutor and garrett, the photo explained the id. >> for some reason, when i saw him in the photo lineup, it clicked and i said that must be him. i recognize him. and obviously it wasn't him. could he have been involved? prosecutor began to rethink the case. >> the defense attorneys agreed that we could talk to mr. curos. we keep coming back to this hit

note. where it's found. he doesn't know garrett warren. their interaction was very brief at that barbecue. >> detectives kept after him. they knew whoever ordered the hit really wanted garrett warren dead. it's a rehit if you want to call it that. >> that finished the job note. started to unravel the mystery. >> that was what broke the case open. that was the lifeline we had on this case. >> the one unavoidable piece of evidence. >> we go back around and around about this. finally he admits he was one of the middlemen. >> admit thad while he wasn't the shooter, he was in on the plot. and that he was caught by his

own carelessness. >> he explained that hit note had been sent directly to him. that he had put it under the spare tire in the trunk of his car. literally, he said, he had forgotten about it. >> the reason you ended up finding that hit note under the spare tire in the trunk of his car was that he put it there for safe keeping and then forgot it. >> this is one of those stranger than fiction kind of things. certainly nobody would write a script like this because they would have the kind of look that any self respecting director or producer would have the look that you're having in any hollywood movie and say that's ridiculous, but people forget things. >> disorganized crime. >> luckily, miguel had not sworn a blood oath to never rat on his friends. quite the opposite. he rolled over and cut a deal. he agreed to wear a wire and collect evidence on co-conspirators. >> as they say around here, the

plot thickened. coming up, the world's worst hitman. >> i apologize. i'm not a good shot. >> when dateline continues. they're all going in the same direction but in very different ways and pampers gives all of them our driest best fitting diaper. pampers cruisers with three-way fit.

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fade in. a talks about a partner in crime. >> the informant, miguel, he's

the pizza parlor owner turned small time drug dealer, and the man found with a hit note in his car targeting garrett warren. now, he was cooperating with investigators. detectives already knew he was not the shooter. he told them the man who actually pulled the trigger, was an old friend of his named jorge hernandez. heard here. >> he hired hernandez for $10,000 to kill garrett warren. on the tape, hernandez makes clear that he didn't waste any of that money on transportation. >> i used my own car. >> hernandez can be heard saying that he is sorry he didn't manage to kill garrett warren. i apologize, i'm not a good shot. >> hernandez made clear, he was ready to try again.

>> just get the guns or whatever and i'll -- we'll finish it off as best you need. >> speaking to prosecutor, miguel explained his own involvement. that he had been paid to hire hernandez as a hit man. and he explained where the trail led. >> miguel told you he didn't do it, but he was in on the planning. >> yes. >> he did it at the behest of his friend. >> manny was miguel's long time friend. worked together in the pizza business and in the drug business. if the last name sounds familiar, it should. that explains his involvement. >> manual was doing this for his sister, claudia. >> who was married to garrett. >> who was once married to garrett, but at the time going through a very contentious

divorce. on scale of 1-10, this was an 11. >> this was custody of the daughter. >> yes. >> and she had a lot of antipathy that was expressed towards garrett warrwarren. >> she said you're going to bleed. it's a sign there are bad times to come. >> you're right. believed he had set it all in motion. proving that wouldn't be easy. investigators began by looking at how claudia may have persuaded her brother to get involved in a murder. >> detectives arrested jorge hernandez and manny and charged them with attempted murder and conspiracy. when they questioned manny, they learned about a secret of his that might explain why manny would want garrett warren dead. >> didn't really talk about me

getting molested until i was at least 22, probably. >> manny told investigators he had been molested as a child and remember, manny's sister claudia during her divorce from garrett warren claimed that garrett had molest ee eed molested their daughter. >> those allegations were thoroughly investigated. a judge said they were unfounded. now investigators had to consider another plot twist because of something else manny said. not only had he been molested, but the only other person in the world who knew about that secret was his sister claudia. being that i had been through certain things in my childhood and my sister was the only one i confided in and told her about my molestation that happened to me when i was younger. >> had claudia manipulated manny by telling him only part of the story. >> did she ever let you know that the judge, someone

independent in her child custody case, found that the allegations that she was making against him were false. did she ever tell you that. >> i never asked and she never told me. i think she knew how to hit the nerve back. he was molesting her. i think she knew it was hitting a nerve that way. i never really talked about it. >> manny said his sister's exact language was that she wanted garrett taken out. i'm almost positive she didn't use the word murder or kill. she wanted him to take him out. you know in slang, take him out means kill. >> manny a small time criminal was pointing the finger of guilt straight at his sister. an actress, a mother, who had been married to hollywood stardom. who never had a problem with the law. it was hard to belief. except for the intended victim

of the murder plot who believed claudia was behind it from the get go. >> i knew there was only one person that wanted this done to me. >> he felt that even as the investigation pointed in every other direction. until finally, five years after the shooting, detectives arrested claudia harrah. >> i did think to myself, thank god, you anyway, finally, i don't feel cray thi anymozy any >> he was in for another shock. prosecutors did not feel the case was strong enough. manny had not agreed to testify against claudia. and the da's office declined to file charges. >> i'm thinking you probably hated that. >> yes, but that's not the worst of it. i was proud to call garrett and tell him, guess what, i've arrested claudia for hiring a hitman to dill you. >> and then you have to call him back and say, you're not going to believe it, but, i've got to let her go. >> 48 hours after detectives arrested claudia, she was back

on the street completely free once again. >> i guaranteed him that i would not stop sg. >> what would it take to write a new ending to the story for a new role that investigators believed was their femme fatale. or would claudia escape prosecution simply by denying she had been involved. >> the bottom line principle is this, lying isn't just about saying the words and mouthing the words. the words have to make sense. lying is a lot tougher than people think it is. >> it's your day in the limelight. >> go ahead. >> do you know who shot garrett warren. >> i don't know. >> do you know why he was shot. >> no, i don't know. >> when daitline continues. hi, i need a thriller for my wife. political or psychological? psychological. small town or big city? small town.

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. closeup.

claudia once played a show girl in a gangster movie. once was married to a legendary movie gangster. now accused of hiring a hitman in real life. sheriffs detectives arrested her. prosecutor did not file charges. and claudia was turned loose. he felt he needed stronger evidence. >> i did not think it was a fileable cafil fileable case at that point. >> he finally agreed to testify against his sister. >> at some point, does somebody approach you about doing something, killing someone. >> yes, my sister claudia approached me. >> that made the difference. detectives rearrested claudia harrah. this time the prosecutor charged her with two counts of attempted murder and one of conspiracy to commit murder. claudia denied everything.

i don't know. >> do you know why he was shot. >> no, i don't know. >> but while there was evidence enough to charge claudia, was there enough to convict her. you got miguel's admission and mr. harrah and mr. hernandez on tape. you don't have anything proving that claudia set this in motion. >> we have the motive. the contentious divorce proceedings. we have the timing of this because what happens is that the judge finds the child abuse allegations to be false on april 12, i believe, 2000. the hit occurs about a month and a week after that on may 20, 2000. >> all of that is circumstantial. >> i agree. i agree. >> soon there was more. prosecutors said the handwriting on the hit note matched claudia. when prosecutors compared samples of letters to garrett with the hit note, they noticed the misspelling of this word.

agoura. the location of the home. on the hit note found in the car and in claudia's letters, the word is misspelled the exact same way. augora. claudia insisted she had never given any notes or maps to miguel. >> did you ever give him any paperwork. >> no. >> so -- if we had say someone's address written in your handwriting. i don't know. >> she claimed to know very little about what her brother might have been up to. >> why would your brother who never even met garrett want him killed. >> i don't know. that's not -- >> why would he tell us that you're the one that asked him to kill and help arrange it.

>> i don't know. >> did you ever give your brother a large amount of money. no >> any amount whatsoever. >> as we said, every hollywood story eventually comes back to money. if claudia harrow paid someone ten grand to ice garrett, where did she get the cash? detectives took a good look at her other ex-husband. tough guy actor, joe. >> remember that party snapshot of garrett and middleman along with their kids, that was taken at the hollywood hills home of joe peshi. >> we actually interviewed joe and we just wanted to ask if he gave her large sum of money at that time. he denied he ever gave her a large amount of money. did not indicate he had any involvement. claudia said she wanted to do an interview with us, but we were not able to speak with her?

jail. we spoke with defense attorney. picture that's drawn of her is sort of this vengeful woman who would stop at nothing to keep her daughter away from her ex-husba ex-husband. >> whoever gave you that information doesn't know claudia. >> he said if claudia is guilty of anything, it's of having a career criminal for a brother. >> i believe manny harrow was angry about being abused and molested as a child. he was desperate to maintain his street credibility as a drug dealer. when he got caught, he tried to blame it on his sister. >> not only that, he said, but those hit notes allegedly written by claudia, i am convinced these are forgeries. claudia never wrote any hit note to anybody. nobody ever talked to her about whacking someone or shooting someone. >> he was ready with those arguments and more. and who knows what a jury might have done. remember the movie my cousin

vinny where joe played a lawyer who got his client acquitted of murder charges, well, this movie didn't end that way. on the eve of trial, claudia decided not to fight the charges. she pleaded no contest to two counts of attempted murder. she received a sentence of 12 years and four months. she's unlikely to serve all of it. claudia's friend julie, the deal was offered. she'll be out in eight years and get to see her daughter grow up. >> that's why she took it. >> and at her sentencing, joe showed up to support his ex-wife. as if for the others, miguel and manny, took plea deals. miguel got three year suspended sentence in return for cooperation. harrow was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. he was released in june 2017. the hired gunman, jorge hernandez was tried and

convicted of charges of attempted murder and conspiracy. he's serving a sentence of 77 years to life. it's not uncommon in film war to have the femme fatale get away with the crime. and if claudia harrow did master mind this attempted murder, she ended up getting a very good deal. >> claudia's brother manny who set it up and actual shooter both got maxed out on sentences. the amount of time you spend behind bars is nothing to you know what i believe will be alternative. i believe that we all pay one day, no matter what. >> you seem remarkably free of anger. >> i am. everyone should be in this world. she made a mistake. i made mistakes. no one is perfect. >> surprised, you shouldn't be. that trifecta of love, money, and murder isn't new to hollywood. neither are stories about beautiful women who turn out to

be as tough as a five dollar stake. and the man who somehow find it in themselves to forgive them. that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. good morning, i'm dara brown in new york. it is 7:00 in the east. 4 out west. here's what's happening. president trump visiting the damage left by the wildfires in california and pointing a familiar finger of blame. leadership fight, this morning new insight into whether anyone wants to get in nancy pelosi's way. plus questions about robert mueller's next move. answers could lie in dozens of sealed indictments. president trump now back in washington from ca