of dr. nose feels like a fate well deserved. i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie moralis. >> and this is "dateline. i don't know what it is about my mom that has captured the heart of so many people. there's just something to her that people connect with. what was so beautiful about her, it made her a target, too. >> she was the queen of the million dollar listing, the real estate broker who sealed the deal. >> her customers love her. >> hands downs most genuine

person you ever met. >> she headed out to show a house that day and never made it home. >> i'm texting her, i'm calling her. >> oh, gosh, what's happened here? >> something's wrong. >> was she in danger? was someone behind this? >> please don't call the police. if you call the police, it could be bad. >> you can hear how scared she was. >> suddenly an all-out manhunt. >> this is like a movie, this chase and this kidnapping. >> oh, yeah. >> could anybody reach her in time? >> i had to be strong for everybody. i had to be. >> emotions were everywhere. >> i know she pleaded. i know she pleaded. >> did you find her? is she alive? welcome to "date line." beverly carter was well known in little rock, arkansas. she was a beloved mother, wife

and a successful real estate broker with a long list of clients. then she vanished. like all too many missing persons cases, police knew it was a race against time to find her before it was too late. here's andrea canning with "the client." >> beverly carter was making a name for herself in little rock, arkansas. >> her face was in the paper every week. >> she had a billboard on one of the busiest interstates with her face on it. >> as a top selling realtor, beverly carter had become somewhat of a local celebrity. with her smile, he put house hunters at ease, trusted to find the perfect home like she often did. >> nobody can do it like beverly could. >> but there was a down side to celebrity. >> this realtor had a target on her back. >> she did and she didn't know it. >> for beverly, being a realtor

was more than closing the deal. was see in the perfect job for her personality? >> yes. >> her son and his wife were amazed at how much they loved her. >> one of her clients, she went to their baby shower. she just sold them a house. it was a newer client and that speaks for themselves. >> she a beautiful smile. >> she had a smile that would fill the room. >> she was hands down the most genuine person you ever met. >> beverly's youngest son said it was like his mother glowed. >> i think that's what stood out was that confidence. she was naturally beautiful. >> it was that natural beauty that caught the eye of her husband, carl. they met when they were just kids. >> she was 16. i was 19. >> where did you meet her? >> splendora, texas. she was working at a little

hamburger joint named the bionic burger. wow, i didn't know i would get me a wife when i got me a burger. >> you just knew? >> yeah, right there. >> a wedding soon followed at city hall. their young love led to three children, all boys and later six grandchildren. they had their share of marital problems, including money issues and infidelity, but they worked them out. so when their 20th anniversary rolled around, they decided to renew their vows and throw their big party. >> i said would you marry me again if i asked you to? she said, well, yeah. i says, okay. >> you know, they wanted to renew their love, show everybody. >> and it was a way for her to get her dream wedding. gosh.

>> a few years after that, she got her real estate license and her best friends, stacy, brenda and denise say it didn't take long for beverly to build a loyal clientele. >> did she sell a lot of property? >> she was the top listing in 2013. she did over $12 million, which in central arkansas is very well. >> what was it that made her good at closing the deal. >> she had that magic about her. >> she had the bubbly personality that it made you fall in love with the house. >> the women worked together in the same office, though they often said it felt more like play than work. >> we would laugh about anything. you know how it is whether you get with your girlfriends, you talk about things you find funny, we would tell stories. she had this huge, goofy laugh you could hear all the way down the hall. >> and as realtors, they looked out for each other. their office even came one a secret code, a text that signalled there was trouble. >> so red folder was the code?

>> you would say "do you have the red folder on 123 main street?" >> the code they hoped they would never have to use. as her 50th birthday approached, beverly was determined to get in shape. she started running, working her way to up 5k races. >> the reason she started running was the medal. >> she lost nearly 60 pounds and threw herself a big birthday party. she gave herself a present, cosmetic surgery. >> she'd have the tummy tuck but she'd also have implants because she had a lift. and it was kind of a joke because when they put the implants in, they were a little bit larger than she wanted them to me. we had some big laughs about that. she's going to have them reduced because they hadn't fallen and they were sitting up here. >> but she did look good. >> she looked fabulous. >> and being a real estate

agent, she felt it was important to look her best. on an unseasonably warm day, beverly was easing back into work. she was going to show a house near her home. the potential buyers were offering cash. >> she really didn't want to go, she was tired. she wanted to get a fast close. if it's a fast close, you can get a closing quicker. >> beverly led left the office and headed off to show the property to a young couple. she told her husband she'd be home for dinner. but you didn't hear from her? >> no. >> carl started to worry. beverly had given her the address so he decided to take a ride over. >> if she was over there, her car would be there. i went over and didn't see her car. >> so this is panic time for you. >> right. i thought it was weird. because beverly wouldn't leave unless she was in her car. >> did you call the police?

>> yes. instantly. >> that call set off a frantic search for beverly carter. where was she? coming up, what happened to beverly? >> all of a sudden, beverly texted me. >> our phones started beeping at the same time. she said, i'm sorry, my phone was dead. >> some simple miscommunication? the mystery was just beginning. >> i still can feel the same pain. >> when "date line" continues. l. l. in flea and tick protection. frontline plus. trusted by vets for nearly 20 years.

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carl carter was worried about his wife beverly. she had promised to be home for dinner after showing this house not too far away. it was dark, she wasn't answering her phone and at the property for sale her car was in the driveway but there was no sign of her. carl said he called the police, then his son. >> he says, you know, it's almost 9:00. he said, son, i haven't heard from your mom. have you heard from her? i'm texting her, i'm calling her and i can't -- i can't get any response. and my first thought was, dad, this is just the nature of the business. >> to reassure his dad and himself, carl jr. and his wife, kim, drove over to beverly's office hoping she'd be there. >> there was no one there. i mean, the place is completely black. and about that time dad had let me know that he had made it to the property where mom told him she was going and her car was there but she wasn't.

>> carl jr. figured there must be an explanation, as did beverly's friend stacy and brenda. being real estate agent themselves, she thought maybe she had gone with the potential buyers to show them other houses. >> we went to the two vacant houses that were her listings and went and checked the locked boxes to see if anyone had read them and nobody had opened them. >> beverly's friend couldn't sleep so she checked her phone. >> there's an e-mail from brenda and i can still see the words that said "it is with a very heavy heart that i let you know we can't find beverly, she went to show a house and she is missing." i still can read that and feel the same pay. >> police and beverly's family gathered at the property trying to figure out where she was. >> how was your dad handling everything? >> he was hard to read. he would sneak away from time to time trying to collect his thoughts.

>> and then at 1:00. bam, bam, bam, three texts. i hollered at the officer, come here, beverly texted me. >> it gave everyone hope. >> i was like her phone it died, she got it charged, it's good. >> brenda and stacy got texts of their own. >> our phones started beeping at the same time with texts. >> it was such an eerie feeling. >> what was she saying to you two? >> she said, i'm sorry, my phone has been dead and it's back on. >> concerned brenda used that safety technique the office came up with and texted beverly with the special code. i said "can you tell me if you left the red folder on my desk?" there was no response. >> the one i got was, "i'm out having drinks with friends."

i was like, well, we're just here. >> the ones on her husband's phone were just as deflating. carl jr. knew his mom would never go out and not tell anyone. >> i can't even tell you, to go from she's okay, this is all over, till the second we saw the screen and saw what the texts said, we knew someone had her phone. >> totally flipped me out. she'd been took. >> the patrol division that responded to the call decided they needed backup. they rushed to the property. beverly hadn't been missing that long. why were you called so quickly? >> the division showed up and determined some of the factors in the case were odd. >> not only was beverly's car parked in the driveway, her purse was locked inside. did you have just a grim feeling right out of the gate that this

woman did not disappear voluntarily? >> i was hopeful but i did have a feeling, yes. >> the detective searched the vacant house. it was pitch black. the electricity was off. >> i got down on the floor and with my flashlight when it's dark you can shine a light at a specific angle, you could see disturbances in dust. it just looked like somebody had walked through there. >> no signs of a struggle inside but he did discover a clue outside the front door. >> there was a tire track in the grass. looked look somebody had pulled up into the front door or backed into a back door. >> the neighbor across the street had seen something? >> yes, she looked out the window and saw a vehicle pulled into the driveway and later looked outside and saw a skinny white male at the house with a vehicle backed to the door. that's probably where the tire track came from. >> the detective found more in

the back of beverly's car. >> i found a note back that she kept with realtor information on it that showed a listing on that house. >> was there anything in that notebook that provided you with any clues? >> attached to the listing was an e-mail address and phone number. >> did you call it right away? >> i did not call it right away. >> he did not pick up the phone for a good reason. the detective had a theory. >> i felt that beverly, wherever she was, she was being held against her will. >> if this was a kidnapping, he knew he had to tread lightly with any suspects. like the couple at the house. if they were involved, the last thing he wanted to do was tip them off. and the detective said there was someone else he had his eye on. >> coming up -- >> people were saying, oh, the husband and you completely contaminated our crime scene. why did you did that. >> i knew i was a suspect.

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as the sun rose the next morning, there was still no sign of beverly carter. family and friends were out searching. >> we had beautiful 8 x 10 color fliers that we were posting everywhere. >> she had just had some new head shots done. >> we had hundreds. >> and hundreds of people joined search parties all over the

area. >> her family, her office family came together and we had realtors from all over the state helping us. and by that afternoon, we had the search set up and everybody had an assignment. >> many realtors felt this was personal. one of their own while out doing her job had gone missing. and agents were already on alert. in recent years there had been a rise in crimes against real estate brokers across the country, brutal assaults and even murder. >> how often did you talk about safety? >> i mean, we always talked about it but a lot of times if someone called us and asked us to go show a house, out of instinct you'd jump up and go. >> but this was not a last-minute showing for beverly. she said she'd been in contact with the client for a few days. >> she wanted to make sure the wife was going to be there also. i think it made her more comfortable that the wife would be with him. the wife got on the telephone and told her, yes, she would be there.

>> her friends pointed out the neighborhood where she was showing the house she knew well. >> she had sold several houses on that street. she was very familiar with the area. >> her pastor lived on that street. >> and that street was now a crime scene. news stations helped get the word out. >> an arkansas real estate agent remains missing this evening. >> did that become the lead story? >> every newscast. all kinds of feedback from viewers. the biggest story online. the biggest story on facebook. viewership latched onto it. >> shannon miller covered the story. she said finding beverly became a local obsession. >> people came out in droves, looking for her, wondering where she had gone. to not come home from work after doing something you do every day left a huge mystery. what happened to her? >> beverly's husband, carl, even

made a plea. he sounded heart broken but not everybody was buying the distraught husband story. >> people were saying, oh, the husband must have had something to do with it, must have hired somebody. we all watch a lot of "dateline." >> carl jr., so worried about his mom, now feared his dad could become a suspect. >> they were asking questions like, okay, you're the husband and you just went into this home to search for her, you've gone up in the attic. your fingerprints are everywhere. you just completely contaminated our crime scene, why did you do that? and so you could just see their wheels turning. it was like, oh, no. >> he was right to worry. detective allison brought carl sr. in for questioning. >> did you put carl in an interview room? >> yes. >> and treated him like this is

someone we need to take seriously? >> yes. >> any time you do an interview like that, it's best to do it in that setting. it plays on their emotions. >> did you ever consider the possibility that carl could have paid somebody to do this? >> yeah, i thought about it. >> did you know why you were considered somebody that they needed to talk to? >> once i got in there and they started questioning me, then i knew that i was a suspect. >> as detective allison continued to question carl, he discovered some skeletons. they were having financial issues? >> yeah. >> how much money did beverly carter have in her checking account in. >> i don't know exact dollar amount but it want much. >> $126? >> that sounds about right. >> was there a life insurance policy? >> yes, several thousand dollars. $100,000. >> $100,000? >> yes. i don't remember the exact dollar amount. >> the detective learned about other issues he found disturbing.

>> he said, well, did you have any kind of affair? >> i said, yes, i had one. >> and carl said he got violent with beverly when he tried to stop her from driving drunk. >> i even hit her one time. that's when she got out of the truck and said, i'm not going to ride with you. i said stay here then. i just drove off, just straight into a ditch. >> did you regret it? >> oh, yeah. like i felt like poo-cocky as far as that goes. >> so did you worry did it a little bit? >> no, i didn't worry about a thing. i wanted to find beverly. i wanted to find beverly. i hit her and that was it. just one time in 34 years, one slap upside the head isn't bad. >> he said that was many years

ago and beverly never held it against him. >> she never held it against me. >> detective allison had other work to do. the client's phone number and address in her book were fake. tracking the couple required more digging. he had a new lead. and eerie photos taken inside the house just before she went missing. >> what had happened inside that house? a new lead morphs into an all-out manhunt. >> a guy jumps out a second story window. >> this is look a movie, the chase and kidnapping? >> oh, yeah. >> when "date line" continues. do you want me to go first or do you want to go first, brea?

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it's on during my commute, it's on all the time. doing the dishes. working out. while i'm in the car. at bed time. an audible listener is someone that wants to broaden their mind. people who are tired of listening to the radio, or music. to hear her speak those words. it was incredible. it was unbelievable. with audible originals, there's something for almost every taste in there. everything you ever wanted to hear. i signed up for getting a credit every month, and i started exploring books that i normally wouldn't read. our ability to empathize through these stories, with these stories, can be transformational. it's my own thing that i can do for me. see what listening to audible can do for you. just text listen5 to 500500. i'm dara brown. here's what's house. jerry nadler said friday the committee is requesting grand jury material related to the

mueller report to help determine whether to impeach the president. several democrats have come out in favor of impeachment in the wake of mueller's testimony. in a 5-4 decision friday, they lifted a stay of the block of the border wall. that's what's happening. now back to "date line." welcome back. i'm craig melvin. the hours had turned into days since family and friends had seen real estate agent beverly carter. and it was some good old fashioned detective work that gave police their first big clue. once again, here's andrea canning with "the client." >> detectives searched computer and phone record and data was pouring in. they were hoping it would lead to the missing real estate agent. beverly carter's cell carrier

turned over everything on her phone. and there was one thing that caught investigator's attention. these blurry and dark pictures she took of the house she was trying to sell. not exactly showcase material. when her daughter-in-law had a chance to see them -- >> you have a theory about why they're badly taken photos. >> you can just tell that it was like quick, just quick. >> like she knew -- >> i knew she knew something was wrong. >> she believed beverly was scared of those potential buyers and was rushing to fin, showing the house. it was all bad news. beverly carter had now been missing for three days. >> i've never felt that kind of loss of control. you feel utterly hopeless. >> and helpless. you can't do anything. >> yeah, yeah. >> what they didn't know was that detectives were about to crack this case wide open. the team that had discovered the buyers' contact information was fake kept investigating. >> and they were able to start taking the e-mail address and phone numbers and sending out

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

>> he saw us sitting there. that's when he started speeding off. he was out of the vehicle before the time we saw him. >> louis was injured. police photographed him and rushed him to the hospital. >> the detective is taking aaron back to get an mri or whatever they're doing, he decide to leave the hospital. >> aaron doesn't come back. >> he doesn't come back. >> aaron louis bolted from the hospital. what seemed the closest link to beverly carter slipped through their fingers. police launched a citywide manhunt. >> was that one of the first things you did was get photos out to the media? >> yes. everybody knows you've got to get this guy? >> right. right. >> and her life is at stake?

>> yes. >> reporter shannon miller cuts in with breaking news. >> authorities are searching for a man -- >> was the whole city glued to their tv sets as the hunt for beverly was on? >> absolutely. so many people knew this picture, knew this face. >> and. >> was on the lookout. these men who knew beverly were discussing the case from this office. >> as we're standing in front of this window with the window open, aaron louis walks in front of this window. >> they immediately called 911. >> 911. >> they're looking for a guy here that was involved in the realtor being kidnapped and this guy looks like him and he is nervous and he's out here at a bus stop. >> conan went out to the bus stop to conform it really was louis. >> i approached him. he was a little standoffish.

i made quick conversation about the bus routes, which put him at ease. and i went inside and told my colleagues, absolutely that is louis without a doubt. >> they saw louis ducking inside a sandwich shop. and when louis left -- >> someone from a distance outside made a comment "i think that's him" and that spooked him. >> louis took off toward this apartment complex. >> i think we were confident where he was. luckily as soon as we turned the corner, we saw the police coming in. >> when the police get there, aaron takes off running into an apartment and jumps out of a second story window before he's taken into custody. >> this is like a movie, this chase and kidnapping. did it feel like that? >> oh, yeah. still does. >> the cops finally had a suspect. and what he revealed would send detectives on a hair-raising ride to find the missing real

estate agent. coming up -- a haunting recording. >> i just want to let you know i'm okay. i haven't been hurt. >> could beverly still be alive? >> i had hoped. it's what keeps you going. >> when "date line" continues. that keeps you up again, and again. advil pm silences pain, and you sleep the whole night. advil pm

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custody. his name was aaron louis. he was an unemployed truck driver who had been convicted of petty crimes in several states. to beverly's son carl jr., he didn't look like a kidnapper. >> he just looks like a regular guy. so it was like what did this punk want with my mom? like it didn't make sense. i almost was like are we sure we have the right guy? >> detectives believed they did. but the roller coaster ride for beverly carter's family and friends was far from over. >> i can remember the feeling when he was captured, we were just all like, yes, where is she? come on, where are you? we're ready to find you. >> as investigators focused on aaron louis, they backed off on beverly's husband as a suspect. now detective allison was keeping carl in the loop. >> he said we got him. i said, well, where's beverly? he said, we're still questioning him. we're going to find out. we're going to keep on till we find her. >> then did you have a little burst of hope? >> just a little bit of hope. that's all i had.

>> really your biggest task was to find out where beverly was? >> that was my biggest task and concern at that time. >> did louis know where beverly was? if he did, would he tell the detective? what was his story? where was beverly? >> he said that he kidnapped beverly and it was because of money. he said he found her on the internet, searched her out, saw that she was a broker and felt like she had money. >> louis described in detail what he claimed happened. he said when he contacted beverly about the house showing, he told her she didn't feel comfortable with the house showing without her wife. so he got his wife, crystal on the phone and told her she was going, too. >> louis said he'd asked beverly to send pictures to crystal because she couldn't be there. >> he said when they got to the top of the stairs, he pulled out

a flashlight taser and said she was about to have a bad day. she asked, what are you talking about? he said, you're being kidnapped. >> beverly must have been absolutely terrified. >> no doubt. no doubt. >> louis then claimed he had an accomplice and he wasn't talking about his wife who had set up the meeting with beverly. it was someone else. >> he said if anything happened to beverly, trevor done it. >> who's trevor? >> trevor is a guy that aaron lived with for a short period of time. >> did this give you hope there was an accomplice here and that maybe he did have beverly? >> i had hope we were going to find beverly alive. you have to. that's what keeps you going. >> louis said the last time he saw beverly, he was with trevor and offered evidence she might still be alive. louis played a recording from

his phone and it was chilling. >> carl, it's beverly. i just want to let you know i'm okay. i haven't been hurt. just do what he says and please don't call the police. if you call the police, it could be bad. i just want to let you know, i love you very. >> it was encouraging but it only proved beverly was alive at the time of the recording. the detective told louis he needed more. >> that's when he finally says i'll take you to the last place that she was. >> so this is a big moment now. >> yup. >> in this whole case. this is it. >> yup. that's when we load him up and he start going to cabot, arkansas. >> beverly's family prayed this nightmare was about to end. >> did you know that aaron louis was saying your mom was alive? >> yes. we knew that after they had him and they were interrogating him. >> there was a big boost of energy.

when he was telling us, it was so uplifting. he was like we're about to get her back. it's great. >> is everybody sit big the phone, waiting for the call, we got her? >> mm-hmm. pacing. >> louis led detective allison on a nail biting road trip 30 miles out of town, the last place he claimed to see beverly alive. a shed on the side of the road. >> what are you thinking as you're approaching the shed? there's a really good chance she could be here or you're not so sure? >> i'm hoping like hell she's there. we go in and she had never been in there. >> that's such a letdown. >> tell me about it. it was bad. it was bad. >> but louis wasn't done. he had a captive audience and he knew it. he took the police to a new location, a house about 35 miles away. >> and he says, well, this is where i initially took her after i abducted her. as soon as we walked in, there was nothing. >> another letdown. >> another letdown. >> are you feel like this guy is

taking us on a wild goose chase? >> yup. i was so mad that i couldn't drive him back. i had to ride back with another detective. >> there's a woman's life that could be at stake, he's messing with the police. >> playing games. playing games. >> while louis was leading detectives on this wild goose chase, another cop had tracked down this trevor, the man louis claimed was his accomplice. >> we figured out he was in the military here in little rock, assigned to the little rock air force base. we did make contact with him. actually interviewed him. >> they interrogated trevor for several hours, then let him go. >> he wasn't even in town. >> he had an ironclad alibi? >> absolutely. we confirmed with the military's office of special investigation he was on base that day. >> lie after lie. there was no accomplice. neither location turned up anything. police were running out of options.

then detective allison thought of one more possibility, a cement plant called argos where louis had previously worked. i point blank asked him if beverly was at argo's. at that point he looked up and had this stupid look on his face and i figured that's where she was at. police raced over to the factory hoping to find beverly alive. coming up -- another game from aaron louis. >> i was so mad about how dare you try to tarnish our sweet beverly's reputation. >> and at last an answer for her family. >> this is the worst ever. >> when "dateline" continues. we have to be able to

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four days after beverly carter disappeared, police pulled up to this remote cement plant. they frantically searched for the missing real estate agent. >> you just now have this gut feeling that that's where she's at. >> yeah. >> shortly after arriving, an officer stumbled on something straight out of a crime novel. an elbow sticking out of a shallow grave. it was beverly. detective allison went to see carl. >> you never forget the look on somebody's face when you tell 'em that you found their spouse. it's -- it's hard. that's probably the hardest part of it. >> he said, "we found beverly."

i said, well, was she alive?" and -- and, "no, i'm sorry. but she wasn't." >> we had worked so hard, i mean to find her. i mean, we just really tried to do right and it wasn't -- it wasn't enough. >> i know she pleaded. i know she pleaded for her life and to be sent -- come back to us. and for her grandbabies. and i just have to know that god was there to -- comforting her. >> aaron lewis was charged with murder and kidnapping. and his wife crystal lowery charged as his accomplice. they pleaded not guilty, but his words to reporter shannon miller outside the sheriff's office didn't sound like those of an innocent man. >> why beverly? why beverly? >> she was a rich broker. >> it was just as chilling in person as it was on tv. and then he gets into the car and you're going, "what did he

just say?" >> two weeks later, shannon interviewed lewis in jail and he told a vastly different story than the one he'd told detectives. >> was he willing to cop to anything? >> no. >> i didn't kill her, i didn't murder her, and anything that did occur was an accident. >> then he tried to say beverly played a role in her own death. he implied she willingly met him at the house for a sexual hook-up that went wrong. >> it didn't have nothing to do with her showing the home. just a place to meet. >> in your opinion, how farfetched was this new story about the sexual encounter? >> well, it was 100% made up. so it was completely farfetched. >> assistant district attorney john johnson was assigned the case. he believed it was a kidnapping gone wrong, but needed help proving it in court. he turned to lewis's wife, crystal lowery. >> i thought from -- from the

very beginning that we would need to flip crystal, and it would be important for the case for her to testify. >> he made a deal with crystal. she agreed to testify against her husband and plead guilty plea to murder and kidnapping -- in exchange for a reduced sentence of 30 years. >> it's good for the jury to be able to hear, you know, the the backstory of what went on and the why of what went on. >> aaron lewis went on trial. the prosecution's star witness, crystal lowery, took the stand and told the jury all the grisly details. she claimed it was all about money, not sex. >> she said he came up with the idea of kidnapping someone. but she even went so far as to suggest real estate agents. >> she testified that she was in class at nursing school when lewis abducted beverly. >> she got a text from arron lewis saying, "look at this," or something like that. and it was a picture of ms. carter bound in the trunk of the car.

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

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

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

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

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

some great stories about my mom and so kind of keep her alive. >> that's all for now. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. g melvin thank you for watching good morning. i'm jo ling kent in new york at msnbc headquarters. it's 6:00 in the east, 3:00 out west. here's what's happening. >> the supreme court issuing a new ruling. what it means for the president's plans ahead. strategy shakeup. the house is taking a major step forward in their legal fight against president trump. and it's a key takeaway from the mueller hearing, so why isn't more being done about the russian hearing. plus more about the fake presidential seal and how the president wound up standing in front of it. we have breaking news