gratitude that he was in my life, even for a brief moment in time. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm natalie morales. thank you for watching. i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline". she was so alive. to hear that news and realizing that it is amber, how could that be? her life was just beginning. amber made friends for life. >> there was just no trying with her friendship. it just was. >> but that life didn't last long. >> amber is on the floor, face down, and she has a plastic bag wrapped around her head. >> the pills open, the doors open. most people that rob a store don't kill anybody. >> my whole world just died right there.

>> for months the murder stayed cold. >> didn't have witness, didn't have video, didn't have dna. we had everything going against us. >> we would go down and talk to the detective. we wouldn't let it go. >> then a break, another victim. >> he would duct tape me, duct tape my mouth. >> and she knew a secret. could she risk revealing it? >> something is going to happen tonight. >> a killer ready to run, face-to-face with the one person who might be able to stop him. >> he just reached over the glove compartment and he pulled out the gun, and i said, "please don't kill me." i wanted to get out of there alive. ♪ hello and welcome to "dateline". i'm natalie morales. amber belken was a force to reckon with, a petite young woman whose big dreams and drive made her seem unstoppable.

then she was found murder. was amber the victim of a robbery gone bad or was this brutal crime personal? three people knew the truth. two of them would risk their lives to reveal it. here's keith morrison with "everything she knew." it was a monday morning in january 2007, 9:08 a.m. a young woman in san antonio texted her boyfriend. "i love you." that's all it said, "i love you," nothing more. downtown the alamo had just opened its doors. a few tourists began boarding little boats to gaze at remnants of texas history along urban stretches of the san antonio river, and several miles away in the farther reaches of the modern city a manager of a video game store began his daily ritual. his name was mariano rivera. >> the store opens at 10:00 but

managers get there at 9:00, grab the till, the money and take it to the bank. >> same process at a sister store, same company, not far away. that one managed by a woman who sent the text to her boyfriend, except this was strange. as the morning slipped by, her store remained closed. mariano got a call from the district manager. >> can you go over there and maybe you can see something, see what is going on. >> he did. he saw a white car in the parking lot. looked like the young woman's car. he peered into the store window. nobody there. >> i thought, man, this is strange, like where is she. so i kept calling, nothing. >> her name was amber belken. tiny, just 5'2", 100 pounds, but energetic, ambitious and very much in charge. >> she was a fire cracker. that's the easiest way to put it. >> matt pena is in texas politics now days but back then

he worked in amber belken's store. >> she would let you know what she wanted, but i think she was one of the kindest souls ever that i have ever met. so i guess it depended on what side you met her on and how much you made her mad. >> she could be tough in. >> oh, most certainly. >> she loved her job. >> she did. >> monica peck and ashley flores were amber's best friends. >> was she cut out to be a manager? >> yeah. >> oh, yeah. >> she was fierce. >> but she still was friendly. she loved all of her employees and she loved all of her customers. >> she was only 25. she was the store manager, and so it was a very good sense of she is doing it. she is making something of her life. like she had goals, she had ambitions. she wanted to go back to school, she wanted all of it. >> not that she set out to work in a game store. she wanted to be a veterinarian. >> she was just so loving. we couldn't pass a turtle on the road, she had to turn around and pick it up and take it to her house.

>> she would find these random animals on the side of the road. it is like, how did you find that animal. >> like her little dog, buddy. amber's parents, leigh and randy. >> she actually ran for buddy across the expressway, and the hair was all matted up. looked like dreadlocks. >> and she said, well, i can't put it back out on the road, it will get killed. >> so i just opened the door and let it in. >> amber was their only child. she doted on her from the day she was born, and she was good in return. >> she helped anybody that needed it. they didn't even have to ask. >> she was going to make sure that you were protected. >> but now where was amber. why was her store not open? why didn't she answer the phone? early afternoon, still no sign of amber. so, again, the district manager called mariano. >> something is just strange. >> and sent him back for a second look. so again mariano looked in

through the big front window, but this time he saw someone, amber's assistant manager brandon just standing there behind the counter. >> i knock on the door, and so he lets me in. i said, brandon, have you seen amber. he's like, no, but something is strange. there's money on the floor, looks like there was some kind of struggle or something happened, things got knocked over. my first thought was where's amber. so he said he didn't know. you know, of course right away i'm thinking, you know, what is going on with this guy. he clearly sees something is wrong, he must recognize the car. i'm thinking, that's her car outside, you see it, you see there's things on the floor, why haven't you reacted right away and call someone or check the rest of the store. >> but he hadn't. so mariano ran to the back office, the only other room in the store. not a moment he will ever forget, not for the rest of his life. >> and when i run to the back, i find out amber is on the floor,

face down, and she has a plastic bag wrapped around her head. and instantly i knew what happened. one mystery solved. amber was no longer missing, but a much bigger mystery remained. coming up -- >> most people that rob a store don't kill anybody. >> maybe the robbery was just a cover for murder. >> he had the classic motive. >> it does kind of seem personal. >> when "dateline" continues. ♪ protect your pet with the #1 name in flea and tick protection. frontline plus. trusted by vets for nearly 20 years.

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♪ there are some things which once seen can never be unseen. amber belken, sprawled in death in the back office of a video game store, her head wrapped in a plastic bag. mariano rivera dialed 911, his mind a horrified confusion. he stared at amber's assistant manager, brandon beale. >> i was angry, i was upset. i'm looking at brandon, like i don't understand, how does this happen. you don't want to blame anybody, but your first thought is you look around and say, maybe he had something to do with it. >> it has to be a shocking thing to discover. >> i mean it is hard to describe. you just have a million emotions just running through and you just don't know what to make of them. >> the police came. took one look and called raymond "ray bob" roberts, then a

detective with the san antonio police department. >> it looks like a robbery gone bad. the store is in disarray. the clerk was found in the back office, she's dead. try to get some information, are there any witnesses? no, sir. you tell them, hold the scene down and get crime scene detectives out there. >> the news, indistinct, unconfirmed, spread through the texas afternoon, somebody dead in amber's store, but most people did not know who including amber's father as he headed over there. >> i jumped in my truck and i called a friend of mine who is a defense attorney, and i said, i need you to call anybody that you can and see what you can find out. and i was just about there and he called me and he said, well, how far are you from there. >> and that's when he realized, it wasn't that amber found someone dead. >> they found her.

>> and my knees just buckled and i just -- my whole world just died right there. >> that's a pretty dreadful feeling, isn't it? >> it is the worst feeling in the world, because you totally realize no one can fix this. nobody can bring her back. >> not for them. not for her friends. >> and then everything just stopped. disbelief. disbelief. your earth shatters. >> i sat on a curb and cried. everything around me was just a blur. >> inside the store detective robert had a look around. >> there's a bunch of dvd games on the ground. where the cash register was right there by the front, the till is open, the drawer is open. there's some change just kind of laying around. there's more dvds on the ground in the back.

>> like somebody came in, ransacked it? >> ransacked the place, took off, yeah. >> he went around to the back alley. was this an escape route? >> probably stacked all of the games up here. either had their car here in the alley or had it parked over there, put the boxes out here, picked them up, took off. >> you wouldn't think robbing a game store would be worth killing somebody in the process. >> well, you wouldn't think anybody would rob a game store. yeah, it -- normally during robberies, you know, it is just a robbery, there's no murder. >> and this was certainly a robbery, given the mess and the empty safe. >> we checked the bank. there was no deposit made for that morning. there was $1,900 stolen, three or four big video games, play stations and ps3s and dvd games. all of that was taken. >> the haul totaled just under $6,000. maybe the store's surveillance cameras could tell the detectives who took it. except --

>> there's no surveillance video in the store. there's none in the strip center that the store is located in. there's no video anywhere. there was video at the starbucks next door, but it only showed the front door and that's it. you don't see anything. >> who would know that? who would know it was the video game company's only store in san antonio not equipped with cameras? the answer was obvious, thought the detective. an employee would know, just like an employee would know amber hadn't taken the cash to the bank yet. then mariano told the detective about encountering brandon and that he couldn't understand why brandon didn't look for amber until he, mariano, arrived. >> his first thought should have been i think there might have been a robbery, let me make sure, first of all, the robbers are not still in here and can hurt me, but also let me see where amber is. >> just what the detective was thinking. he talked to amber's co-workers. they said she had issues with brandon. >> they had never learned to work together yet, and it

just -- when you have a guy like that who's not really the same type of attitude or mentality that the rest of us were, it causes some problems. >> did she trust him? >> you know, i don't know. i think at some instances with some things, no. >> even amber's parents said they knew she was dissatisfied with brandon. >> because she had written him up. >> she had prepared a negative work review. >> she was going to turn it in that day. >> it is just his last chance, mom, she said. i can't -- i can't allow him to continue to make these mistakes. >> so motive, opportunity, behavior that didn't seem innocent. i mean, he had the classic motive. he didn't want her to write him up. >> yeah. >> he didn't want to get fired. >> he didn't want to get fired, yeah. >> this seemed like a personal crime, right? could have been. >> most people that go in to rob a store don't go in with the intention of killing somebody.

they go in there, do the robbery and leave. putting a plastic bag on her head -- >> squeezing it that long. >> it takes four or five minutes, it takes commitment. >> no kidding. >> you know she's struggling. she's not going to just lay there. it takes a while. it does kind of seem personal. >> they had brandon in the back seat of a patrol car. a detective went to talk to him. >> he tells me a story and it is just not making any sense. >> so he had brandon taken downtown and questioned by a colleague known for her special interviewing skills. >> she's a real good detective. she has a way with getting stuff out of people. about an hour later i'm still at the scene and she calls me back, yeah, something is up with this guy. coming up -- amber's parents were convinced it was brandon. >> everything pointed to him. >> would that explain what amber's mom said she saw at the funeral?

>> he put one of the game stop tag holders that had their id on it, he put one of those in her casket. >> when "dateline" continues.

it was four days after that awful morning in the video game store. amber belken's funeral was huge, as if in death she had been adopted by the community around

her. >> over 600 people. and the ones that couldn't get into the chapel waited in the lobby and in the parking lot. >> was that a comfort? >> a very big comfort, that she touched that many lives. >> they loved amber. they said, "we love amber." >> as amber's parents watched, they could not stop seeing in their heads another scene, the one in the back room of the video game store, the way she was killed. >> they told me it was personal. >> she had to be so frightened, and when she tried to pick up the phone i know it was to call us and he yanked the phone out of the wall. >> was it brandon beale? by the day of the funeral they were sure. >> we definitely thought brandon did it. >> everything pointed to him. >> and then as mourners filed by

to pay their respect, suddenly there he was at the funeral, in front of them. brandon beale. >> did you think, my god, her killer has come to the funeral? >> oh, he came in, shook my hands. he got up, my knees got weak and i just fell. >> and then amber's mother was sure she saw brandon walk up to the casket and put something into it. >> he put one of the game stop tag holders that had their id on it, he put one of those in her casket. and i got that thing out of there as fast as i could and put it in a tissue and put it in my purse because i thought, that's the last thing i want buried with my daughter. >> was that id potential evidence, she wondered? was brandon trying to bury evidence with amber's body? >> so i was automatically thinking brandon did it. >> it has to be brandon. >> a week after the murder detective roberts questioned brandon on videotape.

>> i'm going back over everybody we talked to, trying to figure this thing out. >> brandon repeated the story he had been telling from the start, he was nowhere near the store that morning. >> got up, let my dog out. watched "sportscenter," and then at 9:45 i left because i had to go help my fiance's parent move a big island that goes to the kitchen. >> he didn't get to the store, he said, until after 2:00 p.m. for afternoon shift. and when he got there he insisted it was still closed. so he panicked. was he supposed to open that morning? >> so i'm about to put my stuff in so i can check the computer. >> he looks around and sees the dvds on the floor, the cashier's drawer open. he sees all of this and thought, hmm. so he starts going about to open the store. >> he thought, hmm? >> yeah. so he's not looking for amber or not looking for anybody that's

supposed to be working. >> brandon told detective roberts he had no idea amber was in the store, no idea amber intended to submit a negative work review about him that very day. didn't notice her car in the parking lot, he said. didn't think the obvious mess in the store meant they had been robbed. >> you saw the disarray. >> yeah. >> if an employee saw that disarray -- >> a normal person you would think would go in and start looking, something's up. >> something's wrong here? >> yeah. >> so roberts got a search warrant for brandon's house and car. maybe they would find some of the stolen dvds and game consoles there. they did not. but there had to be something. for weeks the detective looked for evidence on brandon beale. >> randy and her mom called me 24/7, every day, two, three times a day. >> brandon? >> brandon, brandon, brandon. >> detectives questioned his fiance, her parent. they scoured his found records. >> we did everything we could to try to get some kind of evidence

on brandon, and there was none there. >> yeah. >> there was none there because he didn't do it. >> that alibi about helping his fiance's parents checked out. and his phone records revealed he was miles from the store when amber was murdered. finally, brandon beale was cleared. >> did you at some point think, i'm going to be charged with murder? >> yes, i did. >> the memory is still fresh. >> had nightmares of going to jail. it was hard to sleep. >> that terrible day -- >> my whole process was, let me get this store open because, you know -- >> i screwed up? >> yes, i screwed up. >> maybe is store was messier than others. >> brandon was 23 then and terrified. >> i'm just thinking, you know, just -- they're really trying to

put this on this young black man, you know. >> when they questioned his fiance, now wife -- >> they were trying to convince her that i did it. they would say things to her like, how can you sleep with a murderer, you know. you know he did it, you know. you're possibly next. >> when they searched his house -- >> it was like in a movie, going through drawers, throwing my clothes. they left the house a wreck. >> even when he was finally cleared, he says no one told him. nor was he told amber had written him up, though he agreed they hadn't seen eye-to-eye on things. until we spoke with him, he said, he had no idea amber's mother believed she saw him put something into amber's coffin. >> did you walk over to the casket and put in a lanyard or something? >> that's the most absurd thing i ever heard. no, no. that was my very first funeral so i didn't even get that close to the casket. >> but brandon is a father now,

two kids. so he told us he thinks of amber's parents and understands. >> i couldn't imagine, you know, losing one of my children. >> but if brandon beale didn't kill amber belken, then who did? coming up -- >> i'm sitting at the office and the phone rings. >> a caller, reluctant to give his name, but gives up someone else's. >> say, well, i know who killed -- killed this girl. >> when "dateline" continues. just like your fingertips, your lips have a unique print and unique needs your lips are like no others, and need a lip routine that's just right for you chapstick has you covered chapstick. put your lips first. free! free!! uh...free! free, free, free. free. free free! free!! that's right, turbotax free is free.

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hello. i'm dara brown. nbc news predicts joe biden as the winner of the south carolina primary giving him momentum heading into next week's super tuesday contests. black and moderate voters played a part. a washington state resident is the first u.s. patient to die

from coronavirus. he was in his 50s with underlying health conditions. they responded to, quote, the first possible outbreak of the virus. the governor declared a state of emergency. now back to "dateline." ♪ welcome back to "dateline". i'm natalie morales. brandon beale believed he was going to be charged with the murder of game store manager amber belken. but detectives verified his alibi and phone records placed him miles from the crime scene. police initially played out a hunch that the culprit must have had a game store connection. now a call from an anonymous tipster was about to breathe new life into that theory. once again, here is keith morrison with "everything she knew." that brandon beale did not kill his boss amber belken was very clear, which meant that detective ray bob roberts had a big problem. >> we had everything going against us. didn't have witnesses, didn't have video, didn't have dna,

didn't have fingerprints, didn't have nothing. >> he went public then. had to. >> we held a big news conference with the parents, mom and dad, pleading for help. crime stoppers put up a lot of money. nothing. i was hoping, you know, money talks. >> $100,000 reward. >> $100,000 reward is a lot of money. nothing. >> we put flyers up all over san antonio. >> we wouldn't let it go. >> but as months went by without a single solid lead, detective roberts sank through frustration and into a kind of despair. >> this little girl, she looked like my girl. and she resembled my daughter, same build, same color hair. amber's favorite book is "if you give a mouse a cookie." i read that to my daughter a million times. you know, you do this for an extended period of time, you try

to distance yourself. >> sure, you gotta. >> and the worst mistake we can make is getting too close to it. >> yeah. >> i got close to the family, mentally, physically. for the detective, you do that every case -- >> you're no good. >> you're no good. you're burned out. >> and then about seven months after amber's murder. >> i'm sitting at the office and the phone rings. >> the caller claimed to know something. >> what's your name? well, i don't want to tell you my name. just call me joe. okay, joe, what have you got. he said, well, i know who killed this girl. i said, okay, who? he said, a guy named geovany. okay. what makes you think this guy did it? he asked me if i wanted to do a robbery with him, you know, before. i said, okay. >> fascinating. >> he says, we used to both work for eb games. i said, well, why did he want to do this robbery?

he wanted to do the robbery at this store because there's no cameras. i hang up from him, call eb games. yeah, both of them did work for eb games. so i'm thinking, finally got a break. the detective asked joe to come in for a talk. joe told him that at first he didn't think geovany's request was serious. >> i just kind of blew it off. you don't think your best friend is actually going to want to go through something. >> but after he heard about amber, said joe, it all clicked. geovany must have killed her. but how much stock could roberts put in this guy joe, who initially wouldn't even give his full name, and who was this geovany anyway? the detective checked for priors. there wasn't much. >> he had a record as a juvenile. get his fingerprints, get the fingerprints we lifted from the crime scene, hardly any are legible. >> none were a match. >> you have a suspect, and you want to tie him to the scene but there's nothing to tie him.

there's nothing to hit him on. >> but worth a try. he brought geovany in for an interview. >> water or coke? >> do damage without food. >> of course he denies it. >> i'm real comfortable thinking that you're responsible for this murder. >> that's crazy, sir. >> was it crazy? no way to prove really. and then a couple of days later detective roberts brought the tipster, joe, back in. this time joe poured it all out. said geovany actually told him straight out that he killed someone. >> i just was in shock when he told me that. i was like, well. i was scared too because, like, i was in the car alone with him thinking, if i freak out what's he going to do to me. >> now, that was huge if joe was telling the truth, but just one guy's accusation, no idea how credible it might be, wasn't much to go on. still, it was all they had. so -- >> so i draft out an arrest

warrant and i draft out a search warrant. bring it to the magistrate. she reads it, says, it's about time. because this was in the news, it was a high-profile case for san antonio. rich white girl, dies at work. people went crazy. shouldn't matter but they want justice. i go get the search warrant signed. it is my birthday. man, it is the best birthday present ever. >> but then he got a call from his sergeant. >> he says, ray bob, i want you to keep your mouth shut, don't say anything. i just want you to do what i'm telling you to do. he said, i need you to get that arrest warrant quashed. >> wow. geovany would not be arrested after all. just not enough evidence. the prosecutor had made it clear he didn't want to try him and fail in court. but the detective still had a warrant for geovany's dna. so they went to his house, unannounced. >> he opens the door. i said, i got a warrant for you.

i didn't say a search warrant, i didn't say arrest warrant and he sinks. he turns to his wife and says, i'm going with them. he was defeated. >> put his head down. >> head down, shoulders sank down, he put his hands behind his back. >> like he was getting ready to be caught. >> like he was getting ready to be handcuffed, getting ready to go to jail. >> that's certainly a tell. >> yes. >> geovany gave them a dna sample but afterwards clammed up. wouldn't say a word. >> i was disgusted. i had somebody take him back home, but i had friends in swat keep an eye on him. >> sure enough. he got a call. >> they said, he loaded everything in a car, he's moving. >> they pulled geovany over in a traffic stop. where was he headed. >> i'm going to laredo, getting the -- out of here. >> he was going to laredo on the mexico border, nothing they could do it. the case went pretty much

nowhere after that for many months. until there was a woman. she was terrified and did she have a story to tell. coming up -- a young mother locked in with a killer. >> he just reached over the glove compartment and he pulled out the gun. and i said, "please don't kill me." >> when "dateline" continues. with this one little nexgard chew comes power, confidence, reassurance you're doing what's right, to protect your dog from fleas and ticks for a full month. this one little nexgard chew is the #1 vet recommended protection. and it's the only chew, fda approved to prevent infections that cause lyme disease. plus, it's safe for puppies. there's a lot of power in this one little nexgard chew. nexgard. what one little chew can do. ♪

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♪ welcome back. their case was getting colder by the week when out of the blue investigators got a break. a tipster told police that his friend, geovany rivera, killed amber belken while robbing the store where both men once worked. detectives believed the story but didn't have enough evidence to make an arrest. now someone else close to geovany was about to step forward, and her chilling tell would blow the case wide open. here again, keith morrison with "everything she knew." late june, almost a year and a half after the murder of amber belken, detective ray bob roberts roared down the highway to laredo. he had just gotten a call from the police there. geovany's wife wanted to talk. her name was veronica, and what a story she told. >> i made a dumb choice. i was really young and i got pregnant really young. >> still in high school? >> yeah. >> she had tried to resist him,

she said, wasn't attracted that way, but he was so insistent. and once she was pregnant -- >> our family would insist that we get married. then i listened to everyone except my own feelings. >> and once they were married, she said, he demanded sex whenever he wanted it. >> whenever he, like, touched me i would feel sick and i would -- i would tell him to stop. there were times when he would get angry and frustrated and then he would force himself on me. >> and right beside sleeping children in their one small bedroom -- >> he would duct tape me, duct tape my mouth, duct tape, you know, my wrists to the leg of a share, and just to keep me quiet. i was very afraid and, again, i was young. >> much too afraid to tell. >> and while detectives search for more clues in amber's death here -- >> then one day in late january

2007 as she watched tv she saw the news of amber's murder. >> and i said, look at this. wow, isn't that crazy? and he just looked and he just said, wow, that's -- he mirrored my reaction to it. >> sure. >> like, wow, that's -- wow, i can't believe it. i never thought for one second, like -- like he just acted normal that whole time. >> that is until after the police knocked at their door in the fall of 2007, after joe reported geovany, after detective roberts got that search warrant for geovany's dna. >> we were asleep and it was early in the morning, and then we hear a pounding at the door. boom, boom, boom. you know, that woke us up. that woke me up. we're like, what is that? and he got up first and he went to go check. >> and then he returned and told her, it's the police. >> they think i killed someone. i said, did you? >> what is it like to hear that? >> i was shocked and mortified.

and he says, it is because i did kill someone. >> what? >> and that's all he said, i killed someone. who? why? i'm assuming maybe he had like an altercation with someone, like maybe a friend or some guy down the street. i don't know. >> but geovany only said -- >> we're going to move to laredo. let's just go. >> that very day? >> the next day, uh-huh. a very rapid move. unprepared. it was just fast. >> veronica was beside herself, paralyzed by fear. >> how do i tell somebody? do i call the police? do i tell a family member? what do i do? i just -- i just stayed quiet and i was so afraid to say something. >> and then one night she worked up the courage to ask him a question. >> i asked him, does this have anything to do with what i saw in the news that day? and he said yes, i did that. that was me. >> what was that like to hear? >> i just started crying and sobbing. i was like, oh, my god.

i go, why, why, why did you do that? he said, we -- we needed the money. >> she begged him, turn yourself in. instead he went to his mother. >> she would cry to him, no, don't, please don't go, you don't want to leave your children, they're never going to see you again. i'm just there crying, like, why. like inside, i'm trying to do it as peacefully as i can without making him angry toward me. >> and then around dinnertime one evening veronica finally told him she had had enough, the marriage was over. >> then he said, you know what? let's go for a drive. let's go get the kids something to eat. >> instead, he drove her to a secluded area. >> it was just dirt all around, empty, and no people, no one in sight. that's when he pushed the auto -- the lock. >> yeah, the car lock? >> the car lock, and it locked all of the doors, and that's

when i was like, okay, like something's going to happen tonight, something's going to happen. because we were in the middle of nowhere and i didn't know if he was going to kill me then. i'm thinking, how am i going to get out of this. and i look over and he just reached over in the glove compartment and he pulled out the gun, and i said, "please don't kill me." he said, "don't worry, just do what i say." >> get into the back seat, he ordered. he followed her. >> and then he raped me back there. and i started crying, i just started praying, god, please. i wanted to get out of there alive. >> but it wasn't veronica who would die. it was geovany. he pulled her out of the car. take the gun, he said, shoot me. >> i said, i can't do that. he said, yes, you can do it, because if you don't do it i'm going to come after you and i'm going to come after the

children, i'm going to come after your family and whoever you end up with, i'm going to come after him, too. so you need to end my life tonight. geo, i can't do this, i cannot kill you, i cannot be like you, i can't do this. >> she tried to reason with him, she said. told him if she killed him and went to prison their children would have no parents. >> i just said anything i could say just to get him out of this mentality. >> and it worked. he drove home, told her what she had to do. >> he had me lay down next to him. he made sure that i was right there. i was awake the whole night because i was afraid he would do something while i was asleep or to the children or just do something crazy. then the next morning he -- he said, i'm just going to disappear. >> he drove veronica and the kids to her mother's house and he took off. >> what did it feel like to walk away from him? >> like i'm almost there, it is almost over. and i run in there and i said, i need to make a phone call, i need to tell the police what

happened. >> and she did. >> they asked me, why did you take so long. i said, i was just so afraid but i'm here now and i'm telling you everything i know, everything that he told me. >> but now he was truly gone. truly gone. a manhunt goes into overdrive and stretches across the board. coming up -- >> we're in a jail, a cold, stinky loud jail. >> confronting a killer. healing a wound. >> they were grateful that i said something, that i did the right thing. >> when "dateline" continues. protect your pet with the #1 name in flea and tick protection. frontline plus. trusted by vets for nearly 20 years. frontline plus. when it comes to parenting, you're a pro. you know reflexes are key.

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welcome back. veronica rivera had gone to the police a horrific daily. her husband confessed to killing amber belkin. he raped her and begged her to kill him. she couldn't do it and now he was on the run. here is keith morrison with the conclusion of "everything she knew." >> reporter: the day veronica called the police was the beginning of the end for geovany rivera. >> i'm drafting an arrest warranty to get the son of a -- you know? >> reporter: not that easy. all they knew was he'd gone somewhere, probably mexico. but it was a full six weeks before they tracked him down. surprised him at a relative's

house -- sure enough -- in mexico, as he played one of the video games he stole from amber's store. detective roberts finally got his suspect exactly where he wanted him. >> we're in a jail, a cold, stinky, loud jail. >> i'm detective roberts, raymond roberts, san antonio police department. >> all this background noise, we read geovany his rights. >> you have the right to remain silent. >> and he starts talking. >> i've had this guilt for a long time. i wanted to turn myself in, so -- but i always put the needs of others before me. >> reporter: wait -- "put the needs of others before me"? really? >> he says, "it was just past christmas." says, "i need money, e.b. games." said, "i want to do the one on san pedro 'cause there's no video." he drives there, he tells me, he says, "i had tape and a knife." "what's the tape for?" "tie 'em up." >> reporter: he claimed he didn't know it was tiny amber belken running the store that day. >> in my heart, i think he knew.

>> reporter: after all, geovany had worked for the game store company, knew who managed the stores. and he knew amber. if he was gonna pick somebody to rob, why wouldn't he pick this 5'2", 100-pound young woman? >> instead of brandon, who? >> reporter: instead of brandon, who's big and tough? >> big guy instead of all these-- he knew. >> reporter: when he got there, said geovany -- >> she recognized me and, like, i, um -- when i was in there, i asked for the money and i -- i tried explaining to her, "look. i'm having some problems." and she -- she said, "just take the money." >> reporter: but then, he claimed, she reached for the phone. so he took her down, taped her wrists with duct tape, like he'd often done to his wife. >> and then that's when she panicked and she wanted to scream, and i just covered her mouth and just sayin', "please don't scream. don't scream like that." and now i'm -- i'm faced -- i don't like saying that. i can't -- i can't lose

everything that i've gained -- my family. and i've already hit the point of no return and i just grab a bag and just told her, "just be quiet. just be quiet." >> reporter: he put the bag on her head, he said. he squeezed it tight around her neck. he held it there. >> and when she stopped moving, i just heard her gurgling and i -- i didn't hear her scream. and i just stopped and i said, "you know what, okay." and, like, i turned her around and i untied her and i said, "are you okay?" and she wasn't breathing. and i heard her gasp, but she didn't respond anymore. and that's when i left. i -- i -- i had already had the money and i put the -- the stuff there that i wanted to pick up so i can sell and i left out the back door. >> reporter: geovany's story would not be tested in court. he took a plea deal. murder. got life in prison, with parole possible beginning in the year 2038. at the sentencing, the belkens finally confronted the killer of their only child, their darling daughter.

is it helpful to do that? >> it is. it is. >> no. >> reporter: not for you? >> he sat back on the constable's desk, tapping his foot, just looking around. and -- >> like, "you're wasting my time." but it would -- it would've been -- >> if we'd have gotten -- >> -- beneficial if i had heard him say, "i am really sorry. i am so sorry, mr. and mrs. belken, i --" you know, "amber didn't deserve to die. i'm so sorry." >> reporter: what did he say? >> nothing. >> reporter: but the belkens did get an apology from someone else -- geovany's now ex-wife, veronica. >> hi. >> reporter: they met for the first time when we shot this story. >> i've blamed myself for not saying something sooner, for waiting too long. and i always felt like they had

maybe some anger towards me. >> reporter: but blame her? no. they knew she was a victim, too. in fact, geovany pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting veronica. >> they were really nice. they were grateful that i said something, that i did the right thing. >> we don't have any ill feelings at all. she's a wonderful girl. >> reporter: they are, they told us, broken still, and always will be. and they cling now to amber's best friends, ashley and monica. >> our daughters, our adopted daughters, which are amber's friends through thick and thin. >> reporter: they have each named daughters after amber. and they hang onto memories like gold. >> it's like you have to put it in a box and then just keep it there for safekeeping, 'cause that's what you have. that's what you hold onto. >> it hurts.

it hurts. life will never be what it was with her. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm natalie morales. thank you for watching. ♪ first up on msnbc, joe biden rides a south carolina wave into the biggest contest of the primary season so far. this morning, a new look at how much it will matter in three days. >> fear factor. new information in the country's battle over coronavirus from the government and doctors. plus new details on the u.s. patient who died. >> reality check. head of the world's biggest health organization has two words dealing with coronavirus anxiety. the leaning tower of texas saga. it may be coming to an end