someone who loved her friends, loved the beach, and died too young. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you very much. melvin thank you very much. [ music playing ] one of the investigators brought someone over to me saying this is our violent crime advocate. i was stilling mafl for it already because of the massive police presence. they said that they believed that he had been murdered. >> craig rideout, dad of seven, cared deeply about his kids. >> he was a loving man, provider, warm. >> so it was puzzling and alarming when he vanished. >> she said, craig is not here. i said, that's weird. >> i didn't know what was

happening. >> i know something is wrong. i don't know how wrong. >> a disturbing discovery in the basement. >> one particle is found on the wall. >> it appeared to be some sort of ambush. >> something about his wife. >> craig didn't want to believe there was a romantic relationship between them. it became painfully obvious there was. >> in the park two young men acting strangely. >> they identified alexander rideout. >> the victim's two sons? >> the victim's two sons. >> they would leave bare the bone chilling truth. >> a die bought cal plan is forming here? >> it appears that way. >> i was stunned, absolutely stunned. >> i remember him crying. >> this is a family divided like no other? >> yeah. >> devil's bathtub. hello, welcome to "dateline extra." i'm craig melvin. laura and craig rideout had been married for more than 20 years.

to friend, they appeared happy. but it tons out the relationship was in trouble and they were headed down a path toward divorce. then that path forged in a different direction. exactly where it led was up to the he police to figure out. here's andrea canning. ♪ >> this is devil's bathtub. a deep, dark pond formed by glaciers a millenia ago. it's hidden and secluded, but beyond the tangle of the weeds, a secret was about to be discovered. >> we weren't ready for this. >> the sirens in my head, red lights going off in my head. >> the discovery would tell the tale of an all american family torn apart and a twisted loyalty hard to comprehend. >> it was like hitting a brick wall and life just stopped. >> this is the ultimate story of

betrayal? >> yes. ♪ >> pittsburgh, new york. a pretty suburb of rochester chester. big houses, big families. and top-rampblged schools that make the people who move here want to stick around. >> in this community, you are in a bubble. the community is a bubble. >> the rideout family lived in that happy bubble. chelsea noyer dated the oldest rideout boy colin. >> i remember one of the first times i went over to his house in high school, he was cooking me dinner and he was like, oh man, cooking dinner, that pretty cool. >> very responsible? >> oh, yeah, that was one of the reasons i fell in love with him. he loved his family. >> and it was a big one, three girls, four boys. the rideout household was always bustling. family dinners, holidays. colin's parents craig and laura

embraced the chaos. this is craig's sister rob and drew. >> clearly, they liked being parents in they were enjoying this? >> right. seven kids. >> seven kid. >> dad craig worked as a computer programer and spent time mentoring kid at his church. >> craig is an outwardly personal person. you meet craig rideout, will you like him. >> pj was craig rideout's best friend. pj was there when craig fell in love with laura. >> laura is compassionate. she's also really intelligent. she double majored in physics and english 4.0. >> as for the rideout kids, they were smart like their parents, hard working, articulate. but while they thrived, family life took a toll on craig and laura's marriage. laura had been on bed rest for some of her pregnancies and money was tight. >> it circles back to i believe some financial hardships.

>> it's understandable. seven children, bills. these are real life -- >> real life problems. >> real life issues. craig and laura separated in 2014. craig took it hard. >> he sent an e-mail to me saying, well, it looks like i'm getting divorced. they don't think i can talk about it without crying. >> pj says he wasn't surprised to see the marriage dissolve. >> sometimes you got to feel, there are a lot of positive that's came out of that relationship, but there's a lot of negatives. >> oldest son colin was away at maritime college when hess parents split. >> i asked him if he was going to be okay. i am going to be okay. are you? i'm more concerned making sure my siblings are okay. >> he decided to put family first and help out his mother. he moved back to rochester chester and put his life college and goal of becoming a five seal. >> he left kind of his dream to put his siblings first.

>> what is going to be the custody arrangement? >> the oldest kids were free to make their own choice. custody got sticky with the two youngest kids. >> the divorce still wasn't final in the summer of 2016. and robin says there was tension over the shared custody of the 6 and 12-year-old kids. though craig told her he was trying to make the best of a difficult situation. >> one of the phrases that he used that we most recently was that he saw light at the end of the tunnel. but it was stressing him out. >> and on top of that, something weird happened to craig that summer. someone broke into the townhouse where he had recently moved. he thought it was no big deal. maybe one of his sons playing a prank. but his sister was worried and she urged him to report it to police. >> my name is craig rideout. >> what happened? >> i wake up at midnight with a

sharp pain in my arm. i jump up, this will sound crazy. a hooded black figure, not a black man, was running out of the room. the reason i have to file a police report is my black backberly which was taken that night. >> july 19th, a few days after the break-in what is no exception. >> i said i'll check on you in the morning. >> morning kram, craig wasn't returning robin's calls. >> if he had been in a meeting and felt his phone go off, he would have sent a response in a meeting, call you later. >> concerned, robin decided to pay a visit to craig's townhouse and inside that house the beginning of a dark family drama that could never be unwritten. >> i know something is wrong. i don't know how wrong.

>> what was going on with craig rideout? a discovery in the basement was about to find an ominous clue. coming up. >> we more closely examined the area and found what appeared to be blood spatter on the walls and the shelving unit. >> what they found next would change everything. >> this is a big moment in this case? >> it is. >> when "devil's bathtub" continues. 's bathtub" continues. i have moderate to severe pnow, there's skyrizi. ♪ things are getting clearer, yeah i feel free ♪ ♪ to bare my skin

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welcome back. rob and drew had been in daily contact with her brother, so one morning when he was not returning her calls, it raised a serious red flag. just days before craig reported a mysterious break-in at his townhouse. a dark hooded figure who craig says snatched his blackberry. concerned, robin wanted to locate her brother and would soon find out she was not the

only one on the lookout. here again is andrea caning. >> robin couldn't imagine where her brother was. it was a warm morning. >> you can't reach him at work, at home? >> right, i'm getting no response. >> that break-in was fresh in robin's mind when she decided to leave at lunch and head to craig's townhouse. his soon to be ex-wife laura was there. she couldn't find him either. >> oh, i figured it wouldn't be long before someone came looking for him. i don't know where he is. she said it was craig's night. >> that morning the kids texted her to say dad wasn't there when they woke up. she sent colin over to get them. >> colin was always picking up his siblyings. he would drive them places. >> robin decided to look around the house.

she went to the bedroom. the door was locked. >> i thought that's odd. >> were you worried he might be in the bedroom? something happened to him? >> yes. >> exactly what, she didn't know. she called 911. >> my brother has not been answering text or cell phone calls or e-mails. and i could be making a mountain out of a mole hill. >> reporter: deputies from the monroe county sheriffs office arrived at craig's, they stepped outside and told robin they needed a warrant, after all, her brother was a grown man and this was his private property. investigator dave bolton spoke to robin briefly. >> she had called a number of times. this made her nervous not getting ahold of him on an e-mail or text. >> laura had gone home, came to the townhouse with the kid to see what was going on. >> did she express where he might be? >> she said she didn't have no idea where he would be.

craig was home when the kids were dropped off the night before. >> obviously, you are a little concerned about him, yes? >> i didn't know. he doesn't -- his personality -- >> reporter: then the investigator asked the kids some questions first the 6-year-old daughter. was he there when you woke up? >> no, that's when i woke up and the dad wasn't there. >> dad was there when, honey? >> yesterday, he was playing video games on the computer. he, went to the bathroom and then downstairs and then that night he was down stairs and then he disappeared in the morning. >> the 12-year-old son told the same story. >> when was the last time you saw him? >> almost 11:30 last night. >> then what happened this morning? >> he wasn't there, so i was just guess he went to work. >> no one could find craig. laura tektd pj, too. >> she said, craig's not here. i said, that's weird. >> colin called chelsea.

were you concerned just for him? >> yeah, i was concerned. nobody wants to hear somebody went missing from their family and i just assumed he had to step outside or go on a quick trip. >> late at night, investigators finally had their search warrant. >> you go inside? >> we go inside, the initial walk through, the house was very neat, very well put together. there doesn't appear to be any forced entry. >> reporter: the investigators unlock the master bedroom. it was undisturbed, no ig kra. they looked around, found nothing. then headed to the basement. what do you find? >> there's box on the she was, all neatly stacked, everything is in the home. on the other side, it's kind of disheveled. >> it was messy but nothing seemed out of the ordinary for a basement until they noticed something alarming. >> when we more closely examined the area, we found what appeared

to be blood splatter on the she was and the shelving area. >> they sprayed with lum knoll and found more blood, blood that someone tried to wipe away. then a discovery inside a bar ganl bag. >> we find out a grott two handles knotted to hold on to both handles and use it as a ligature. >> a weapon used for strangulation. the evidence was telling them a story. one that wouldn't end well for craig rideout. >> we were pretty sure we had a murder scene. >> this is a big moment in this case? >> it is. >> now on the hunt for a killer, police uncover a bombshell about craig rideout's toon to be ex-wife laura had a secret. coming up --? craig didn't want to believe that there was a romantic relationship between them. i think over time it became painfully obvious that there was. >> and then just off a country

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. welcome back. what happened in craig rideout's basement? detectives were trying to answer that question when they got an intriguing tip that would send them two counties away. but would it lead them to kra ig? here again is andrea canning. >> it was late afternoon, july 20th, 2016. craig rideout, father of seven had been missing since early that morning. investigators had discovered a horrid scene in craig's basement, a scene that told them he wasn't coming home. >> we're starting to find more and more items with a lot of blood on them. >> craig's sister robin was waiting outside, watching the police action unfold in front of her brother's townhouse. >> then one of the county investigators brought somebody over to me saying this is our

crime advocate. >> did your heart sink when -- >> it did. they told me that they believed that he had been murdered. >> murdered in his own home? investigators surmised it happened overnight while his young children slept. who would do such a thing? the version told craig bolton about that break-in a few days earlier. >> i wake up at midnight with a sharp pain in my arm. >> he says he was upstairs sleeping in his bed, in the middle of the night he was working with somebody pulling a hair out of the bedroom. the male ran out of the bedroom and ultimately out of the house. >> craig told his sister he thought it was a prank. she didn't know what to make the of it. nor did robin. she had that's details about her brother's marriage. how long had craig rideout and laura rideout been separated for? >> about two years. >> and it hadn't been a good separation? >> it hadn't been. >> the reason?

laura has a new man in her life and it was well awkward would be an understatement. her boyfriend was craig's old buddy pj tucci. >> palm tucci go es from craig rideouts best friend to craig rideouts estranged wife's boyfriend? >> yes. >> so that doesn't always work out well for relationships? >> certainly not between the two of them. >> craig and laura had been close friends with pj and jennifer for many years. >> all of the kids really grew up together. they would go out together. they had parties together. >> but around the same time that laura and craig's marriage was falling apart, pj's wife died from liver disease. j says he leaned on laura for support and laura began confiding in pj. his best friend. >> his former best friend, yes. >> in a romantic relationship now? >> at first craig didn't want to believe that there was a

romantic relationship going on between them and i think over time it became painfully obvious that there was. >> i didn't know i was going to fall in love with lawyura. but that happened over time. >> does craig know about this? >> he says i don't know if you found yourself in a dam sell and distress situation and you are helping or you are romantic feelings toward lawyer remarks either way, i'm happy. >> that's big of him. >> i thought it was interesting. i don't know what he was trying to elicit. >> it was certainly interesting to the homicide detective. but before investigator bolton could run down that juicy lead, he got some news, two counties over a shovel had been left by the side of the road and 50 feet into the woods a man's body was discovered. >> 911. >> we discovered it in the woods in a body under a tarp.

>> is it near your home? >> it's down the road. >> could it be craig? the victim's identity was obvious right away. his killer or killers used some sort of acid so intentionally disfigure his face that sounds like someone had a major grudge with this person? >> it certainly seemed they didn't want him to be found. >> even though he was unrecognizable, deputies were able to i.d. him. the answer in his pocket. the victim's phone was ringing. the person popping up on the calmer i.d., it was robin drew, craig's sister. >> if i was trying to reach him, the cell phone was ringing in his pocket. >> you are calling and the phone is ringing in yates county and your brother -- >> and my brother is dead. yeah. >> it sound like some really dumb criminals to leave the cell phone in the pocket when they have gone to these great lengths

of pouring possibly acid on this man? >> it does seem they overlooked a pretty obvious scene. >> they had a crime scene and a marriage with a soap opera ending. the next bit of evidence would lead the story to an even darker place. a place called devil's bathtub. a million things must be going through your mind? >> they get strange quick. >> a chance sight and a call to police. >> i saw a couple males in the parking lot. we saw garbage bags getting thrown out. >> when "devil's bathtub" continues. "devil's bathtub" continues. it's tough to quit smoking cold turkey.

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i'm darragh brown with the hour's top stories. mark esper didn't see specific everyday iran was attacking and he sid say such an attack was probably in the works. cleaned up and rebuilding in the south tonight after severe storms swept through leading to the death of at least 11 people.

louisiana, an elderly couple was killed after their home was wiped out by a tornado and 135-mile-per-hour winds. now back to "dateline." welcome back to ""dateline" ext extra" i'm craig melvin. >> whoever tried to kill craig rideout tried to cover their tracks. his body found in the woods, his face changed beyond recognition to make sure he would not be identified. but the killer or killers did not take his cell phone. with it the detectives quickly started connecting dots. they were about to get another clue. one that would lead to a place called devil's bathtub and two unlikely suspects. once again, here's andrea canning. >> the case of the missing dad was now a murder investigation. investigator dave bolton had

been up for 36 hours working two critical crime scenes. the basement where craig was likely killed and the woods where his body was found and now the investigator what's about to be called to another location, that place called devil's bathtub. it's a secluded pond set deep in a 2500 acre park. >> what is going on here? why are you called to the scene? >> there were some walkers in the park that saw something they thought was suspicious. they saw a couple males in the park in a car parked up in the parking lot and they saw what they believed to be garbage bags getting thrown out. >> and why was a homicide detective getting a call of a suspicious littering? when deputies on the scene detained the two young men, they recognized their last name, rideout, the same name as the murder victim in the case being worked by investigator bolton. >> they identified colin rideout and alexander rideout in there the victim's two sons? >> the victims two sons.

>> colin was in the park with his 19-year-old brother alex, who had just graduated from high school. investigator bolton pulled out his iphone pressed record and he and another investigator began to ask questions. younger brother alex was first. >> you and your brother out for a walk? >> basically, we have been just out and suddenly people show up. it's like i've never encountered police before, so it was like. >> you never got in trouble before, right? >> no, i don't really do drugs or drink or party. i'm 19, i'm due in college next year. >> investigator bolton's radar was up. he knew craig thought one of his sons might be behind that weird break-in. now here were his sons acting suspiciously in a secluded park. the investigator decided to ask what they thought happened to their dad. but without telling the boys craig had been found brutally

murdered. >> you know you are saying i can disappear, i figured he was on the next flight to mexico. >> colin said he didn't know where his dad was either. >> have you order anything from your dad? >> well, i e-mailed him last night. i didn't hear from him. >> i heard from him monday. he picked up my brother and sister i think tuesday. >> the investigator wanted to keep colin talking and he did. >> what is colin opening to you about? >> colin talks about the family dynamic and how he believes his father might be having some sort of mental issues or breakdown. >> i have been kind of worried about him, stuff is freaking him out. >> then the investigator asked him directly, what were in the garbage bags they were trying to get rid of. >> can you tell me before i see what's in that bag will be better for you. >> i don't know what's in the bag. >> investigators didn't think colin was being honest.

>> due believe that? >> i do, up. >> we seek truth. >> we hope that there is a lot of truth in that bag. >> all that talk about truth worked. the boys admitted something big. they had been at their dad's house the day before and listen to this. >> is there anything you knead to tell me about? >> well, there was -- there was a lot of blood in the basement. you know, and i was -- i was worried that you know something had happened. >> there was a lot of blood in the basement? >> yeah. >> they just placed themselves at the scene of the crime. and when the investigator opened up those garbage bags. >> bloody clothing. a bloody sneaker. some work gloves that have blood on them, what would appear to be evidence of a murder. >> colin the would be navy seal who always put family first and booksmart alex with plans to go to college were taken down to the sheriffs office and

arrested. they weren't charged with murder, but tampering with everyday, something to hold the boys while the investigation continued. how do you process that? >> to be honest, shell shocked work the best word for it. >> reporter: colin called chelsea from jail. >> hey, hi. >> colin, oh my god. what -- what -- >> i was arrested. my lawyer says that i'm -- i'm just not supposed to talk about anything. >> what was his state of mind like? >> he's confused. he loves his family. he was hitting a pediatric wall and life just stopped. >> was there any part of you that said maybe i don't know colin as well as i think? >> he's a guy that just had everything ahead of him. he wouldn't have thrown it away for nothing. >> so did you wonder then how he ended up with the garbage bags with that everyday? >> i think he would give anyone just to pause and think about it and question, but we also know

him and we know the man he is. >> investigator bolton didn't know the rideout kids, but he knew there had to be more to this story than two nice boys deciding to kill their dad. his investigation turned to tear mom, laura rideout, the woman who had been married to craig for more than 20 years and who would raise those sons. robin had been telling investigators about the divorce and it wasn't pretty. >> there is a contentious separation and custody battle going on, where they're not really supposed to see each other even at dropoff. >> at the same time, laura and her new significant other, craig's former best friend, pj tucci were preparing for a big change. >> their intention was to move as a family to north carolina. that was supposed to happen in a couple of days. >> but craig had custody of the two youngest and wouldn't let laura take them out of state. >> so how is laura rideout moving to north carolina?

>> that's a good question. >> robin was suspicious of laura from the moment she arrived at her brother's townhouse. remember the day craig went missing, laura was there and she was inside, tidying up. >> when i get in and i open the sliding glass door, it's laura. standing in his kitchen. cleaning. that's kind of. >> that would be odd. >> it was odd. in my head i'm thinking what are you doing here? >> cleaning up a crime scene, that's what investigator bolton suspected. in fact, the boys admitted it was their mother that gave them the bags of bloody clothes. >> it's just something my mom told me to do. >> what did your mom tell you to do? >> it was this morning. >> did she give you the bag? there yeah. >> just hours after arresting the two sons, investigator bolton headed to the home that laura shared with pjtucci. >> i was stunned. i was absolutely stunned. stunnd i was absolutely stunned

. >> security video from days before the craig rideout os murder leads to a sickening revelation. coming up -- >> a diabolical plan is forming. >> yes. >>. >> it appears that way. >> over a number of days? >> yes. >> when devil's bathtub continues.

. welcome back. colin and alex rideout were in jail on charges of tampering with evidence. they had been spotted throwing away bags of bloody clothing. in a stunning admission to detectives, the two brothers divulged their mom laura gave them those bags. it was time to pay the mother of seven a visit. continuing our story, here's

andrea canning. >> laura rideout wasn't expecting sheriffs deputies to show up at the front door that evening, wasn't dress ford a trip to the county jail. but that's where she was going. >> they told her to get shoes and laura loves to wear heels. they said, get a different kind of shoe. so she throws on a pair of nike pump shoes. they came down and i watched them arrest her. the scariest thing i ever seen. her kids were there watching their mother get arrested. >> did she say anything? >> she said what for? the arresting officer said you had to have been expecting this. she was like, no, what? she said, if i were expecting this, i would have had makeup on. >> boyfriend pj says he thought there had to be some sort of misunderstanding. a terrible mistake. >> had laura ever said i wish craig was out of our lives? >> no, she wanted craig to have a relationship with the kids.

she didn't have animosity toward craig. >> but when deputies searched the home where laura lived, there were clues everywhere, inside the master bedroom, a key fo to unlock craig's car. in another bedroom, blue tape, identical to make the garot found in his basement. incriminating in the home where pj also lived. >> when craig was killed. where were you? >> we were at home. >> you were at home with laura? >> i was at home with laura. >> the investigator believed he was at home with laura. six weeks after craig's murder, pj tucci had been under arrest. >> i can tell you this i know where it is, dropped kids off. i have never been in there. >> were you a part of the overall plan to cover it up? >> there was no plan. >> four people were under arrest and all four let out on bail. >> colin, alex, do you have any

comment? >> they were only charged with every day tampering while investigators tried to figure out exactly who did what. no one was talking anymore. >> lawyer remarks anything to say? all four lawyered up and presented a united front. investigators still didn't know if this was a crime of passion or conspiracy. if it had been planned, who was the ring leader? investigator bolton says the answer to some of those questions came after analyzing items on or around craig's body, dumped in the woods. >> we found the bungee cords and we have a tarp. from backtracking the receipts, we were able to find some video at a number of stores, particularly the walmart. >> when investigators pulled security video from walmart. they saw what appeared to them to be a murder plot in the making. july 18th, two days before the murder, laura, colin and one of the younger kids goes shopping to buy drain cleaner, which investigators believed was used to disfigure craig rideout's

face. the next day, just a few hours before the murder, laura and pj are at a different walmart buying a large tarp, bun gee cord and more drain cleaner. >> the tarps matched up to the one itself found on craig's body. >> and the day of the murder, here's colin buying a shovel. a shovel identity cam to the one left by the side of the road where craig's body is found. a diabolical plan is forming here. >> it appears that way. >> over a number of days? >> yes. >> there was laura on tape, looking completely relaxed. a wife, a mother and now investigators believe a killer. craig's sister saw a woman who had somehow turned her two sons against their own father. >> honest to god, i don't know what happened. what was said that could have turned the kids against him? >> this is the ultimate story of

betrayial. >> yes. >> what do you believe happened that night? >> my belief is that the two younger children are brought over to craig rideout's house that evening. laura or paul go up to craig's room to maybe talk about this move to north carolina. i think laura is the one that gets him to come down into the basement. >> it was in the basement where investigators believe members of craig's own family and even his one-time best friend were there to do the unthinkable. >> i think the intent was to murder him with no blood at all. i think the victim started to fight. i think one of the suspects hit him in the head during that struggle in order to get control of him. >> is there anything you'd like to say? >> when the charges came down, all four, including colin, who had just proposed to his girlfriend chelsea were charged with murder. >> that was a surprise. >> you have to have a million questions? >> oh, yeah, a million and one. >> and as the investigation unfolded, authorities had more

questions, too. including a big one about p pj tucci. it had to do with his first wife jennifer who died from liver disease, patrick o'flynn, then sheriff in monroe county thought it was a suspicious coincidence her death coincided with his new relationship with laura. >> we spoke with the district attorney's office, because we said this needs to be investigated. >> you learned that it would be possible to poison someone and it could look like sir rovcirrh the liver? did you talk to people and find out. >> without a doubt. >> they both wanted to exhume her body. but the medical examiner was satisfied with the original autopsy. >> the medical examiner wrote on the death certificate what happened. stop bringing her into this. she had nothing to do with it. >> the questions about jennifer tucci's death went nowhere.

the prosecutor didn't do it. then as the summer of 2017 approached, the craig rideout case was set to go to trial. >> that pretty town of pittsburgh braced to hear the story. >> we lived in a bubble. this doesn't happen in our bubble. we weren't ready for this. >> and no one was ready for what would happen in court. the family's united front was about to implode. coming up -- >> who's getting divorced? colin is not getting divorced. >> four defense teams about to throw each other's clients under the bus. >> you can't get around the incriminating evidence against alan rideout. >> i think you need a football diagram. >> yes. >> all the relationships. >> and then, the jury speaks. >> i heard those words. i just blocked out. >> i had to check the verdict sheet to make sure i heard it right. >> when devil's bathtub continues. hen devil's bathtub continues.

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welcome back. laura rideout, her son us alex and collin and her boyfriend stood together after craig rideout's murder. but the trial was about to begin, and that united front would be tested. in a case filled with uncertainty, at least one thing was certain. the rideout family would never be the same. with the conclusion of our story, here's andrea cannon. they all had big plans. collin rideout was looking forward to getting married. his younger brother, alex, was planning to go to college, and laura and p.j. were preparing for a fresh start in north carolina. but instead, in the summer of 2017, they were all going to court to stand trial for second degree murder. and in a highly unusual ruling, the judge decided all four would

be tried together. four trials this one. >> it's just bizarre. >> yeah. >> that this family would be on trial together. >> i don't think i've ever seen anything like that. >> each had his or her own attorney that sat down with us. collin's attorney. >> there was no motive. >> alex's attorney. >> a lack of evidence case. >> p.j. tucci's attorney. >> no proof whatsoever. >> and two attorneys for laura. >> it was a circumstantial case. >> they were all prepared to argue that the prosecution had no idea what really happened in that basement. does anyone know who is real killer is? >> the real killer knows. it could have been one of many people. >> this is a classic who done it. >> district attorney sandra doorly and then assistant da admitted they didn't know who delivered the final blow, but that didn't stop them from saying all four defendants were responsible for craig rideout's death. >> so you can charge them all with second degree murder even

if one of them didn't actually provide the final blow to craig rideout? >> exactly. >> some example would be a bank robbery. the driver is just as criminally responsible as the person that goes into the bank. >> the prosecution showed the jury the walmart security videos and told them about the purchase of items like the tarp, acidic train cleaner and a shovel. and the jury learned about the garbage bags full of bloody clothing at bloody's bathtub. come ebb a collin and laura's clothes had the most blood, but dna an ofrol four defendants was found. >> you had dna from all four defendants? >> exactly. >> and the prosecution said the motive was simple and obvious. >> to allow the mother to take the younger children out of the state and start off with a new

life with her boyfriend, pnk tucci. >> it's hard to understand why the sons would want to do this for their mother. >> perhaps there was some underlying agreement between the son and the mother that we weren't aware of. >> it was now time for all the defense attorneys to have their say. >> who killed craig rideout? who did it? >> the defense said the walmart videos didn't reveal a murder conspiracy. the tarp, the cord, the drain cleaner, all were purchased in preparation for that big move to north carolina. and that's what p.j. told us. >> we got the trucks coming. and we've got the a game table. i need something to strap the wood things. i said i need something big to cover the floor because i'm going to do the ceiling paint the drain cleaner? >> we have girls that have long hair, and they clog up shower drains and sinks all over the place. laura even said this stuff works

really well, so i said great. >> and then the family on trial together, sitting around that defense table went on the attack against one another. collin's attorney started pointing fingers. >> who is getting divorced? collin's not getting divorced. >> that united front that held the family together came crashing down. >> we pointed the finger at the person that was closest to us in terms of items of evidence. >> who is moving to north carolina? collin's not. collin's not moving there. laura rideout, paul tucci, they're moving to north carolina. >> laura's attorney fought back. >> you can't get around the incriminating evidence about collin rideout. >> so you're kind of pointing the finger at laura on behalf of collin. is anyone else pointing the finger at anybody else? >> everybody else and me. >> you're pointing the finger at collin on behalf of laura? >> sure. that certainly effects the family dynamics during the

trial. >> so we have mother and son and paul -- >> i never said it was collin. i never said it was laura. i never said it was alex. we said there's evidence connecting them to the scene, not my guy. >> i think you need a football diagram. >> yeah. >> all the relationships. >> and we had to. >> after a month of testimony, the case went to the jury. collin's fiance chelsea remained his biggest supporter of the end. >> do you think the way you've described him as being a protector of the family, do you think that's what might have got him in trouble? >> he's a smart guy so no, i don't think he would ever put himself in a situation. he had a life ahead of him. he had no need. >> after five days of deliberations, the jury reached a verdict. >> we said a prayer. >> hearts raising, game face on. >> tensions were high for everyone as the crowd filed back into the courtroom. the verdicts were read one by one. beginning with the sons.

first, younger son alex. >> you've been found not guilty of murder in the second degree. >> alex was acquitted to the murder charge but found guilty of tamrideout. >> then the oldest son, collin. >> the jury found you guilty of murder in the second degree. >> i hear the words, and i was just set back. i just blacked out. >> deputies led collin away in handcuffs. chelsea was inconsolable as she left the courtroom surrounded by family. it was the grownup's turn to hear their verdicts. the victim's former best friend, p.j. tucci. >> you've been found not guilty of murder in the second degree and tampering with physical evidence. >> p.j. tucci was acquitted on all counts. >> i actually had to check the verdict sheet to make sure i heard it right. >> laura rideout. >> but what about the mother at the center of it all? laura rideout? >> the jury has convicted you of

murder in the second degree. >> laura rideout, guilty of murder. >> not surprised at all. >> what's that emotion like sna. >> relief, and justification. >> laura and her son, collin were sentenced to 25 years to life behind wars. alex a maximum of 8 years. all three are app p.j. tucci walked out of court a free man. prosecutors had no physical evidence to prove that he was ever in craig's house. >> did paul tucci get away with murder? >> i believe he did. >> there will be people who will say he definitely had something to do with this. >> half the people out there are going to think one things. you can't change people's beliefs. i'm not here to change your mind. it's a sad story. a murder did occur. but i don't think that the whole story is out there, and i don't think the jury necessarily got

it right. >> p.j. tucci was free, but now alone. a widower who once planned to make a new life with laura, and now she was behind bars for what could be the rest of her life. >> does she want you to find love again? >> she always wants you to find love. sure. the question is is she set a really high standard. >> but she's been convicted of murder. >> but i know in my heart that she didn't do it. >> craig's sister, robin, is left trying to make sense of it all. the darkness that destroyed that big family. a family that once had so much ambition and promise. >> it's just heart breaking. nobody wins. nobody wins in this. >> i mean, this is a family divided like no other. >> yeah. >> that's all for this edition

of dateline extra. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. she was just so beautiful. >> they'd found each other, and their own tropical island. >> we saw the lump in the water and said that's it. that will be our spot for the rest of our lives. >> she said it's like living in a postcard. >> a picture perfect life. until she disappeared. >> imagine you were calling. leaving messages. >> calling, texting, and we started wondering. >> why should she just leave? >> i called her best friend and said did she meet somebody? does she have a man that i don't know about? is something going on? >> where would she go? >> she wasn'