that's it. i don't know. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm natalie morales. thanks for watching. i'm craig melvin. >> i'm natalie morales. >> this is date line. >> he told me he loved me. i told him i loved him. he said he would be right back. i hear a comotion of some sort and then i remember hearing gunshots. just lying there. it was bad. >> it's the website where lovers go to meet and cheat. >> this was someone looking to have an affair. >> but this affair was about so much more than deceit.

>> you couldn't write this as a movie. you couldn't write this as a book. >> this affair became a game. a wife and her lover spying on her husband and his lover. >> you just think well, what else have they done. >> and then this spy game turned deadly. one of the four lovers was gunned down. >> this was obviously not something that was random. >> waiting at the scene, a man with a strange story and waiting for detectives, a strange video. >> how creep pi was the video? >> it was very creepy. >> an affair to remember. an affair to forget. >> i shouldn't have done it. >> and one more secret still to be revealed. >> she said i need you to sit down. i have something to tell you and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. hello and welcome. by all appearances, they had a

story book marriage and then one tragic afternoon their world came crashing down destroyed by a senseless killing. as investigators began to dig they realized not all is as it seems. they had entered a thorny maize of marital detrail. >> sarasota, florida, the perfect backdrop for romance. beautiful beaches for long walks or just sunset. stories of love abound in the city by the sea but not all have ended happily ever after like the one that unfolded here in the summer of 2012 when secrets, lies, and infidelity lead to murder. >> 911. >> a man has been shot. >> it's really a twisted love

story. >> it's so twisted. it's a knot. i'm not sure that it will ever come undone but there's more to the story than has been told. it all began in 1998 when a 26-year-old local firefighter met the love of his life. >> they were the ideal couple. he seemed crazy about her. >> sam's older sister was thrilled when she found out sam had a serious new girlfriend. >> what was your first impression? >> she was really sweet. she seemed crazy about him. she liked the outdoors. she liked to travel. they had a lot in common. >> so it was no surprise when sam announced he was ready to

pop the question. as for how he proposed, the firefighter didn't disappoint. >> he hired a sand sculptor to build a rather large sand sculpture of a treasure chest and placed the engagement ring in the box. he pulled the ring out and got down on one knee and proposed to her. >> sam's a romantic. >> yeah. >> the lucky in love newlyweds became equally suck saysful at work. he climbed rising to the rank of lieutenant at the young age of 33. >> he loved the fire service. loved being a paramedic. >> danielle was just as ambitious. finding her stride in the administrative office of a local hospital. >> she became the regional marketing operator for the whole corporation. >> sam and daniel didn't have children but they had sam's great niece aubrey kate. >> you're like the daughter i

never had. they all told me that. >> aubrey that attended college nearby often spent weekends with them. >> sam was the best ever. he really took me in as family right away. he was just like a regular, a dad. he really just cared. focus on schools, don't let those boys ruin your life. they're no good. don't let those boys get around you and you're never allowed to date a fireman. >> what's wrong with firemen? >> oh he just worked with them and knew who how they were. >> did danielle take you in as one of their own? >> yes. >> she listened to their tales of trips to exotic lands. >> they travelled the world together and they had so many good times and so many great experiences. >> they were almost like role models to you. >> they were. perfect life, perfect wife.

everything seemed great for both of them. >> but alabama of that changed in august of 2012. it was a hot saturday afternoon in sarasota when registered nurse trish murphy heard a disturbance coming from the stairwell just outside of her apartment. >> it sounded like somebody was being chased and then i heard somebody yell oh, god, no. >> the unmistakable sound of gunshots followed. trish immediately called 911. >> 911, what's your emergency? >> i just heard gunshots and somebody running outside. >> i bet my heart was going a bazillion miles a minute. >> she saw a man lying in the stairwell bleeding. she knew he wasn't a resident of the apartment complex. >> i had no idea who he was. my concern was to get him on his side because he was face down in a pool of blood.

>> trish wasn't the only one at the scene. her upstairs neighbor also tried to aid the victim. >> there was just blood everywhere. i didn't know what to do. i ran back into my apartment and i got towels. >> as the minutes ticked by, trish began to worry the shooter might still be in the area. >> then all of a sudden you start to think, i wonder where the people is that did this and for all i knew the person upstairs shot him. >> the questions would have to wait. soon paramedics arrived on the scene and learned the victim was one of their own. it was sam. the paramedics air lifted sam to the nearest trauma center as word of the shooting fell. >> it was danielle. she was screaming.

she said you have to come. you have to come. he's been shot. sam. >> she jumped in the car to be at her brother's side. a thousand questions squirrelled through her mind. why sam? who shot him? why was he at that apartment complex. >> a firefighter gunned down but this seemed like more than a random shooting. coming up. >> there was some infidelity going on and a cause for concern. >> when date line continues. i think dentists will want to recommend sensodyne rapid relief. sensodyne rapid relief builds a layer fast on the tooth's surface over those sensitive areas, which means patients are going to get fast relief from their sensitivity. sensodyne rapid relief is clinically proven to work in 3 days. i think dentists will want to recommend this product because it's going to help their patients and that's what we are trying to do is help patients. w...that keep us active every day.... like you, your cells get hungry. feed them... ...with centrum® multigummies.

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as she raced to the hospital all she knew was that her brother had been shot. >> we were traveling 1000 miles. we couldn't get there fast enough. >> when she made it to the icu, sam's wife was already there waiting in the hallway. >> she started crying and i said tell me he's alive. >> she said he's alive. >> but the prognosis wasn't good. >> and the doctor said he was shot four times and i'm thinking wrong place, wrong time. i didn't know what happened. >> the responsibility of finding out what happened fell to detective chad mcdonald who began gathering pieces of the puzzle as soon as they arrived on scene. >> this case was personal to you. >> in our area, law enforcement and firefighters are very close.

in this case it wasn't just another victim. this victim was part of this larger brotherhood and it hit home. >> first, they interviewed the two neighbors that found sam lying in the stairwell. >> whenever we work a crime that's usually where you're going to start with your 911 caller. >> trish murphy told the detectives this normally quite upscale community had never experienced anything like this before. >> it was a nice, quite place to be. >> but she did remember seeing something that troubled her one evening just a month before the shooting. >> a man standing in the woods across the lake staring at the building. >> i thought to myself that that was an odd thing. who would just be standing there. >> detectives then turned to trish's traumatized neighbor diane mechan diane mcknight. she was holding on to a secret. >> it turns out that the witness diane mcknight was more than

just a witness. she was very important to this case. >> diane revealed she knew sam intimately. >> she admitted they were boyfriend and girlfriend. they had only been dating for a few months and stated they were in love. >> sam was having an affair. >> yes. >> which is why sam was at the apartment complex that day. >> there's some infidelity going on and cause for concern. >> did you ever think you'd be the kind of person to have an affair? >> no. >> diane told the detectives her affair with sam started as they often do. with an encounter at a bar. >> he asked if i was married and had kids and i told him i was but no kids. i said what about you? he said yes, married. >> he had been married for 13 years but according to diane it took just a month for sam to fall in love with her and the

feelings were mutual. >> what was it about him that made you fall so hard. >> he was just the most thoughtful person and i just couldn't wait to always be around him. >> did you still feel a little guilty. >> oh yes. >> but diane said there were already issues in her marriage. i just thought if i'm doing this my marriage is definitely already over. >> a few months after the affair began she decided to tell her husband she wanted a divorce. >> i remember just saying we need to talk. nobody ever wants to hear that and he looked at me and he said are you having an affair? and i said no. >> why didn't you just be honest at that point? >> i didn't want to hurt him. we both got very emotional and he agreed to it.

>> then came the shooting. diane tried to think of anyone that could have been responsible. that's when she remembered a strange visit a month before the shooting from a man claiming to be a plumber. he said he was looking for a water leak in the building. >> he needed to check her pipes or something along that line. >> i said okay. thinking what am i doing letting this strange person in my home and i just had this feeling of this just isn't right. >> five minutes later the plumber was done and on his way. >> did you ever check with your super? >> yes, i called the office and told them the incident and they said there should not have been anybody at my door. >> that must have been -- >> it was weird feeling. >> very unnerving. >> the following day the same man appeared again right below her apartment balcony. >> he was standing down there on the ground by a tree and looking directly upright at me. >> that's creepy. >> yes. >> now are you thinking i'm being stalked?

>> yeah. >> diane then saw him a third time. this time immediately after sam had been shot. >> that same man. >> that just gave me chills. >> came running up the stairs toward me. i just looked at him and i said what are you doing here? >> she recognized him and you can hear her on the 911 call. >> i don't know. what are you doing here? i'm just making this motion like whoa. then he ran off. >> did you start to think in those split seconds that this mystery man was really after sam? >> yeah. it was definitely a suspicion. >> it must have been such a puzzle. >> yes. >> puzzling too for detectives. >> we needed to know what this connection was. >> coming up, more secrets waiting to be revealed. >> she said i need you to sit down. i have something to tell you and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

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diane told detectives about the strange man she had seen

multiple times around the apartment complex. >> she said could you describe him? i described him. >> little did she know a man fitting that very same description had just been arrested. he had approached sheriff's deputies moments after they arrived on scene and confessed to the shooting. >> he already told us that he made statements that he was the shooter. >> did you feel like this could be an easy one, case closed? or did you think there has to be more to this story. >> there's never an easy one. there's always more to the story. >> the man identified himself as michael myer. detective mcdonald immediately brought him down to the sheriff's office for questioning. >> he's very distraught but he's willing to talk to us and we were very much ready to listen to him. >> michael outlined the details of the shooting. he started by insisting it was all an accident. >> i never intended to pull the trigger. >> but detectives weren't so sure.

after all, michael shot sam not once but four times. one of the shots was to the back of sam's head. >> so sam is laying here and michael is right on top of him basically giving him the final shot. >> he would have had to have been. that's the evidence in the case. >> one shot is an accident. not the three or four shots he fired. >> but detectives wanted to know if this wasn't an accident, why then did michael shoot sam? >> got all of these pieces and tried to fit them all together. >> that's when michael revealed something that would turn the case on its head. he told detectives about an affair but it wasn't the affair between sam and diane. it was an affair he was having with the victim's wife. danielle. >> they had been having an affair for four years. >> it was a mind spinning moment. detectives had just discovered the victim sam had been cheating on his wife danielle.

now they were learning danielle had also been cheating on sam. >> everybody here was involved with somebody else. it was interesting to say the least. >> and challenging for detectives that now had to contend with a second affair. >> michael myer, the plumber, 13 years younger than danielle told them the two had met on ashley madison, a website for husbands and wives looking to cheat. the website's slogan, life is short, have an affair. >> this is someone looking to have an affair. >> they both were. >> yeah. >> wbut michael insisted this ws no casual fling. the affair lasted four years. what's more he told people he fell in love with danielle. >> i really had every intention of marrying this girl. >> he was submitmitten and obse

with her. >> on the day of the shooting he decided it was time to talk to sam man-to-man and wanted to come clean about his love for danielle. >> he wants to confront sam and tell him he's the other man. >> you can tell him yeah, i'm seeing your wife. >> that day, michael said he tracked sam down and found him in the parking lot of the apartment complex and said he brought a gun because he had no idea how sam would react. >> he's bigger than me. i brought my firearm. i intended to go up there. >> but according to michael his one-on-one with sam didn't go as planned. when sam saw michael was armed he fled. >> i said don't run, don't run and i'm trying to force him to talk to me. >> michael ran after sam up these stairs. he said at some point while the two were in the stairwell sam

turned. >> michael claimed he was in fear and closed his eyes and just fired his gun. >> he came toward me and i just pulled the trigger and i'm so sorry. >> with all the things he is telling you, he's in a relationship with danielle, do you start to think we need to talk to danielle? >> yes. so the next step was let's hear danielle's story. >> so the detective left michael and headed to the hospital where danielle had been waiting for updates on sam's condition. all danielle had been told was that sam had been shot. no one told her by whom. >> when i got over there she was crying. she was very upset. >> detectives recorded the interview. >> we're trying to piece together what all happened. >> at first the detective didn't reveal he knew about danielle's lover or that it was michael who shot sam. instead he started by asking

danielle about her marriage to sam. danielle candidly described it as troubled. >> we have been not getting along. >> danielle also explained she knew sam was having an affair despite sam's best efforts to conceal it. >> did you know? >> i'm sure he went to his girlfriends, yes. he always goes to her house. >> danielle then admitted that she too was unfaithful. >> she was pretty straightforward. told me about the affair. >> little by little, the detectives led danielle to believe they were focussing their investigation on her lover michael. >> would it shock you? >> yeah. >> that's what happened. >> really? >> it wasn't the reaction the detective was expecting. he found danielle's tone to be strangely flat and unemotional. >> that was troubling to me. that was disturbing to me.

>> i cannot believe he did this. >> danielle went on to say she had no idea michael planned to talk to sam that day. >> so michael never said anything about going over there? >> no. >> but detectives were sceptical. they thought she knew more about michael's intentions than she was letting on. >> at this point, i don't know who to believe or not. >> you're not done with danielle. >> we're not done with her. >> for the time being, it was up to danielle to reveal the identity of the shooter and explain the sorted details of how she was connected to him. >> she said i need you to sit down. i have something to tell you. and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. >> first, cindy learned sam and danielle were getting a divorce. and then that both danielle and sam were having affairs. most shocking of all, it was danielle's lover who shot sam.

>> did i just hear what i just heard? >> four adults ensnared by lies and deceit. one clinging to life but this tangled story was about to get a whole lot more twisted. >> coming up. >> danielle was just totally obsessed with what sam was doing which went beyond anything that i have seen before in an investigation. >> when date line continues. lead to certain cancers. i knew her risk for hpv increases as she gets older. i knew there was a vaccine available that could help protect her before she could be exposed to hpv. i knew. so i talked to my child's doctor. now that you know that hpv can lead to certain cancers, don't wait. talk to your child's doctor today. you should know the location of a decent bathroom.ation, my gut says, take new benefiber healthy balance. this daily supplement helps maintain digestive health naturally while relieving occasional constipation

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they're seeing significant damage after dorian made landfall. a construction crane collapsed and a roof has been torn off buildings. so far no injuries have been reported in that area. the firefighters are battling a 250 acre brush fire in riv riverside, california. at last check it was 40% contained. they're being told to avoid the area but officials say no one

has been hurt. now back to dateline. >> 24 hours after sam had been shot his condition dee titerior rapidly. his family decided to take him off life support. >> were you able to be with sam and hold his hand and say good-bye? >> i did. i made him a promise that the people responsible for his murder would pay for it. >> the news of sam's passing hit diane mcknight hard. >> i kept saying maybe there's some hope that he can survive this but when i heard that, i knew that i was never going to see him again.

>> sam's great niece didn't make it to the hospital in time but she made sure to be at his funeral. the bagpipes i still remember to this day. >> did it make you really proud in that moment? >> yeah. i'm still proud of him. >> full fire department honors were bestowed upon the lieutenant. >> people came out to pay their respects. >> along with the tears there was tension. by now sam's family and friends learned danielle's lover shot sam. >> no one could believe she even had a boyfriend or that it was her boyfriend that killed him. >> people didn't want her at the funel rangers. >> but the drama didn't end there. sitting not far from danielle was the other woman. >> was that awkward with danielle being at the funeral? the wife and the mistress? >> yes.

it was. but i felt it was more important for you to be there than worry about that. >> to her surprise, sam's family embraced diane. >> they invited me to come up and sit with them. >> she's truly a lovely person and i think she made him happy. you've come down hard on danielle for her affair. sam was also having an affair. do you condemn him for that behavior as well? >> no, i don't think he intended to have an affair. he met diane. he had known her three months. that's a far cry, a world apart from danielle seeking a man on ashley madison and having a long-term affair with him for four years.

>> in the weeks following the funeral the detectives continued their investigation. they had a shooter but they also have lingering questions about whether danielle may have somehow been involved. >> obviously she has to have something to do with it. >> and as they sifted through the evidence, they became more confident they were on the right track. what they discovered stunned even these two seasoned investigators. for over a month, danielle had been spying on both sam and diane. >> danielle was just obsessed with what sam was doing which went beyond anything that i have seen before in an investigation. >> what's more, it appeared to them that danielle had persuaded michael to help her. >> they had basically thought they actually put a tracker on

their vehicle. >> sheriff's deputies discovered in the wheel well or sam's pick up. police also found evidence that both danielle and michael were taking surveillance photos of sam and diane. this was a photo taken of them on sam's boat. >> he would have been somewhere across the lake there. that's where he would have been hiding in the bushes. >> seems like the perfect spot, actually. >> absolutely. >> but detectives said the couple only got bolder from there. they discovered evidence that michael had broken into diane's apartment and video taped the inside. >> inside. >> he narrates. i believe his first words were i'm in the belly of the beast and he pans over to the alarm pad where it wasn't armed. >> that could have been bad, huh? >> as michael documented every aspect of diane's personal life, poking around her drawers, her

refrigerator and even inside her bathroom, police said danielle played look out. in this text message to michael, danielle wrote get out of there if you aren't already. getting bad feeling. >> and he's doing it at the request basically of danielle. >> but what detectives found most alarming were the text messages michael and danielle sent each other. >> michael writes i want to blow his head off and then put two on her for just good measure. >> he goes on to say bang, bang done. i won't though because it's wrong. danielle later responded, you would not and could not because that would be illegal. >> that was definitely disturbing. >> in another text, danielle referred to her handgun which she called daisy. she wrote i'm so close to introducing them both to daisy. michael responded, we can do it together as a date, smiley face. in another she wrote i hate them

with every inch of me. revenge will be mine and it will be very, very sweet. >> it was very obvious that danielle had some kind of hatred toward him. that there was -- she wanted to hurt them. >> and based on the text messages, it seemed clear to detectives that she had persuaded michael to feel the same way. >> i absolutely think she poisoned michael's mind as far as what sam was. everything he knew about sam was that he was a violent person. >> he was described to him as a drunk. as a cheater. as a liar. that knowledge came from one person and one person alone. it was danielle. >> did you have any evidence? you kept investigating that sam was abusive or violent toward danielle? >> there was no evidence of that whatsoever. >> danielle definitely had control over michael myer.

she did manipulate him. >> detectives realized they needed to pay danielle another visit. >> we're going back to find out wh who was involved in this case. >> coming, did someone have a million reasons to commit murder. >> it was a substantial amount of money she was going to gain. >> when dateline continues. been damaged-it's amazing. the way you triumph over adversity. and live your lives. that's why we redesigned humira. we wanted to make the experience better for you. now there's less pain immediately following injection. we've reduced the size of the needle

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you couldn't write this as a movie or a book. who does this? >> tracking devices, surveillance photo, sneaking into an apartment. diane recalled a time she and sam were eating at this ra restaurant. >> this woman comes up from behind sam and she said i'm danielle, the soon to be ex. you must be the next. >> oh. >> awkward. >> yeah. >> i just want to get out of there. >> danielle then left them without incident. >> did you think you were being followed? >> no, i thought it was just a big consequence and out of all the places, now i know why she was there. >> it was like marital

espionage. >> it's exactly like that. they were playing spy games. >> now it was up to mcdonald to find out if all of those spy games somehow developed into a conspiracy to commit murder. >> i think it's very suspicious that she had this. >> detectives sat down with danielle and reported interviews with her on three separate occasions. from the very first interview, danielle willingly acknowledged that she and michael had been tracking sam and diane. >> where did you put the tracker in the vehicle? >> i put it up under the driver's side rear wheel and i have been tracking him for about a month and a half. >> danielle also admitted to helping michael take the surveillance photos. >> who took the pictures? >> michael did. >> okay. whose camera? >> mine. >> but danielle denied all of

this elaborate spying escalated into a murder plot. instead, she said it was simply preparation for her pending divorce. >> i told the attorney about it and the attorney said whoa, you're good because he said that's good evidence. >> she wanted to be able to have leverage and to be able to embarrass him. >> danielle told the detectives another reason was plain old curiosity. >> i had to see for myself that there was a girl. it broke my heart. i don't know why. >> that's the big question, right? you were doing it for four years and why did it break your heart? >> i think i still loved my husband. still had feelings for him. >> what is more is danielle said she and michael stopped their spying weeks before the shooting. detectives also asked about the text messages that they found so troubling. danielle said they were all in fun. they first questioned danielle about the text michael sent her. >> i want to blow his head off and then put two in her just for

good measure. do you remember him saying that? >> i don't. but he said it before. he would say things like i'll kill them bl[ bleep ]. >> did you ever think he was serious? >> no. >> they then asked her about the messages she sent to him. >> i'm so close to introducing them both to daisy. >> i remember saying that. i didn't have daisy with me at the time. i think i was trying to impress michael in a weird way. >> do you think they're joking with each other or do you think it's real? >> i asked danielle that very question. why did you say this? and she said oh, just trying to sound tough. so she denied it to be for real. >> but that's not the way sam's sister saw it. when detectives showed the texts to cindy she was dumb struck. >> i could not believe what i was reading.

this is someone who has been in my family for almost 13 years. those texts she said proved just how much danielle hated sam and wanted him out of the way. and danielle manipulated michael to feel the same way. >> do you think that danielle had anything to do with your brother's death? was she somehow directly associated? >> i hope she is. i told her as much if not more responsible than the man that actually shot him. >> she believes hatred wasn't danielle's only motive. that she was also driven by the age old incentive. >> i believe it was the money. to divorce him and split half of it is one thing but to get all of it, i think it was money. i think it was always money. >> just over a million dollars, in fact. >> there was a substantial amount of money that she was

going to gain if that turned out bad and that's exactly what happened. >> we asked danielle to sit down with us for an interview. both she and her attorney declined. but during danielle's interview with the detectives, she emphatically denied having anything to do with sam's murder. >> i would never kill my husband. i would never kill another human being. and the man that pulled the trigger supported her claim of innocence in no uncertain terms. >> i acted on my own. i did. i did this all on my own. >> so your opinion is that danielle's only involvement was in order to help you basically get dirt on her husband to help with the divorce. nothing to do with harming him? >> but michael's response didn't sway cindy. >> i didn't believe him. i think he was protecting her. i think he would have done anything for her.

>> cindy believes that includes lying about danielle being involved in sam's murder and cindy wasn't alone. >> do i belief that he was part of >> she's a very manipulative person, and she was able to manipulate michael minor, and there's a dead man because of that. >> reporter: the question now before the prosecutor, could she prove it in court? >> coming up -- will one lover betray another? >> we were hoping that he would contact us and said, hey, i want to tell you the truth. >> and the lover left behind ponders what might have been. >> was he the one? >> he was the one without au doubt. he still is the one. when "dateline" continues. reco. because to a kid a grassy hill is irresistible. children's claritin.

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of all the homicides karen fraivillig has prosecuted, she found the case of sam dreher's murder especially frustrating. >> it's hard to remain unemotional in a murder. in the murder of an innocent person who did nothing except fall in love with another woman. >> reporter: michael minor may have shot sam, but prosecutor fraivillig believed danielle manipulated him to do it, and that her motive was more than just money. >> i think there was a financial motive, certainly. probably, the most overarching motive was just jealousy. despite the fact that she was

conducting an affair of her own, i think that she was just completely enraged that sam started stepping out on her as well. >> reporter: but in order to prove that in court, fraivillig felt she would need something she didn't yet have -- a statement from michael saying danielle acted as his accomplice. so she waited, thinking time would compel him to come forward and admit danielle was involved. he never did. michael maintained danielle played no role in sam's murder. was this possibly a twisted act of chivalry? >> i think that certainly one of his motivations, if not his sole motivation, was trying to protect the woman that he loved. >> reporter: did you say to him, why are you protecting her? >> yes. and he said, i'm not. he said, i'm not protecting her. >> we were hoping he would contact us through his lawyers and said, hey, i want to tell you the truth. i want to tell you what part she had in it.

that never happened. >> reporter: 2 1/2 years after shooting sam, michael minor agreed to plead guilty to second degree murder. >> and it will live with me forever, and it will haunt me forever. >> reporter: in exchange for his plea, michael received a sentence of 30 years. >> i would not give him anything less than that. i mean, he pulled the trigger. and he didn't pull it once. he pulled it four times. >> i was glad that he was going to jail. michael minor didn't just kill our brother. he has mortally wounded our entire family. >> reporter: michael minor never wavered in his statement that he acted alone. in the end, prosecutor fraivillig felt she didn't have enough evidence to charge danielle as michael's accomplice. >> i cannot just charge someone based upon my speculations, the family's beliefs and even the ugliness of these text messages is not enough unless i can show that there was a conspiracy. michael minor never gave me that information. >> reporter: what is your gut

telling you, that danielle was indirectly involved, directly involved or -- >> she wasn't involved. >> reporter: had no part in this whatsoever? >> she wasn't involved in that homicide. >> reporter: news of the decision not to prosecute danielle for sam's murder made sam's sister, cindy, furious. >> do i think it's a tough case? yes, absolutely. but you know what? their job is not to prosecute cases that are easy. their job is to prosecute criminals. >> reporter: but just when everyone thought danielle was free and clear, prosecutor fraivillig said not so fast. remember michael minor's videotaped break-in of dianne mcknight's apartment? the prosecutor believed danielle not only helped plan the break-in, but she also instructed michael to steal some of dianne's possessions. danielle was charged with burglary and theft. at trial, the defense argued danielle never asked michael to steal anything. the jury didn't agree. she was found guilty as charged

and sentenced to four years in prison. >> this was a very satisfying verdict, to see the woman be punished for her actions. >> reporter: is the murder of sam dreher an open case or a closed case? >> no. it's a closed case. >> reporter: but not for cindy, who continues to mourn the loss of her brother. she keeps his uniform close by for comfort and, with it, a lifetime of memories. >> he was loving. he was caring. he was the peacemaker. he was always doing for others. he was just sweet. >> reporter: cindy once felt the same way about her sister-in-law danielle. now there's bad blood between the two. cindy fought danielle in court over benefits from sam's life insurance. they ultimately reached a confidential settlement. cindy also keeps a watchful eye on danielle. according to cindy, danielle was dating another man before she went to prison. >> she was living with a firefighter, as a matter of fact.

one of my brother's supposed fire brothers. >> reporter: what's your advice to this guy, this firefighter? >> watch your back, you know. the last two guys involved with danielle, one's dead, one's in prison. >> reporter: as for dianne, she's now left to reflect on a life with sam that could have been. did you two talk about marriage? >> yes. >> reporter: and was that in the cards? >> oh, absolutely. >> reporter: did you ever feel like i'm being punished for having this affair? >> oh, yes. i might have said those exact words myself. >> reporter: it all started in a club with an innocent conversation. >> mm-hmm. >> reporter: was it all worth it? falling in love with sam? >> i would never change having met sam. >> reporter: was he the one? >> he was the one. without a doubt. he still is the one.

>> that's all for now. i'm natalie morales. thanks for watching. good morning. i'm jo ling kent in new york at msnbc world headquarters. it's 6:00 in the east, 3:00 out west. here's what's happening right now. a secret meeting canceled. the president announcing a major foreign policy decision in a tweet. the implications ahead. decimation in the bahamas. the search for victims and the rush to help 70,000 people who are now homeless. it's total destruction. >> smell of death. a lot of death. it's badment it's very background. >> the life that we lived was bad enough. but that life that we're going to live is inhuman. in the u.s., what's being done to save residents in the bahas