for some, it's a place for new beginning. >> would youfo just throw a dar at the map. >> pretty much, yeah.

born and raised in california, they grew up close two of them and two sisters. >> we had to rely on each other. when my parents, divorced it was justiv my mom. >> like most siblings, the brothers were s competitive. >> they had to out do each other, constantly. >> the brothers led a hard partying lifestyle unless dennis headed east at age 20. he matured and thought his brother could do the same and urged john to join him in new mexico. >> he wasn't doing anything good or productive so-called him, convinced him tole come out her >> you see your brother change? >> oh, yeah. he saw a complete change. >> don turned his life around.s at 26 he got married, had two kids, but the marriage didn't last. his kidse moved to oklahoma wi their mom and daughter tiffany said don never stopped being a loving father. >> i had to go out of his way to

keep you two in his life. >> he did. >> albuquerque is far away. >> he always made the drive, though. >> when don was in his late 30s, he pursued a dream to become a firefighter. he was told he was too old but that didn't stop. do you think it was the adrenaline running hot when it's going lidown? >> maybe. i think he cared for people and wanted to do his part to save as many lives as he could. >> and soon, don met dennis' neighbor, a woman named christine. >> she made him happy. she washi corky and silly like was so i think they got along real well. >> and she was like literally the girl next door. >> yes, literally. wasn't long before don and christine married.st just a little over a year later, they had a baby girl together. they named her sienna. she seemed to complete don's life. >> he was above the world knowing that we were so far away at least he can have his own

child right there with him every step of the way, every second of the day. >> as you can see in this home video that christine took, the coupleti doted on their little girl. >> you can do it. keep pushing. keep pushing. >> she loved him. they were>> always doing goofy things. >> they were two peas in a pod. >> life was great until don after eight years as a firefighter lost his job. according to a close friend, christine who worked as an x-ray tech had to shoulder most of the bills. the financial strain proved to be too much. when sienna was only 4 years old, christine filed for divorce. the couple shared custody of sienna. don made sure his life still revolved around his little girl. >> he would braid her hair before school. he would design it for all of her plays that she was in, they'd go out and get her costumes and he would dress her, do her makeup. he was an amazing father. >> he wanted to make the best

life possible for sienna, and be the best man he possibly could. >> this is amber, dennis' daughter and don's niece. she taught sienna to help others as he always tried to do. >> they would go to church every sunday and have spaghetti on sundays and one day they made too much spa get ghetti and dec to find somebody and give them dinner. >> theye started calling it spaghetti sunday. they would hit the streets of albuquerque and feed the homeless. >> she's not dragging her feet with sthis. you got to do this again. >> not at all. i think they were in cahoots. >> fromth spaghetti sunday to silly home made music videos. >> he wouldn't do anything unless he could do it with her. >> a few weeks before christmas 2016, don's oldest sister died of cancer. his mother sharon was devastated. don and sienna then 11 years old took a road trip to california to spend christmas with her. and when the festivities were

over. >> i didn't wantti him to go. >> don who was now working at an agency that served the develop mentally disabled told his mom he had a heat memeeting he coul miss. >> went outside withmeet him, hd and kilszssed and got everythinn the car. >> after an 11-hour drive sienna found a new bicycle under the christmas tree but before she could rideee it, don needed to drop her off with her mom christine. the next day, sienna who spoke to her dad every day didn't hear from him. e she called her dad's co-worker valerie torrez. >> sheo- says i can't get aholdf my dad. i said youd know, honey, let m try your dad. don't worry, he's fine. >> valerie called, texted, no answer. she and a co-worker went to don's home. >> when i knocked on the door, the door gave a little bit. >> so the front door wasn't locked. >> no, and i w was able to walkn the house. >> valerie called out don's

name. no response. >> so i told my friend the only way we'll know if he's here or not is if the's truck is here si opened the garage door and when i g opened the garage door, i found my friend. coming up, what had happened in that garage? a throuclue from the neighbor. >> she has two cameras in the house and sees don's truck backing out. >> and another from his ex-wife. had someone been in don fluid's house. >> he said it's weird someone used aid man in my house. >> when "dateline" continues. ws hey! yeah!? i switched to geico and got more! more savings on car insurance!? they helped with homeowners, too! ok! plus motorcycle, boat and rv insurance! geico's got you covered!

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it was december 29th, 2016. even as the rio grande, the great but gentle river ran through this bedroom community north of downtown albuquerque, valerie torrez made a grizzly discovery inside don fluid's garage. >> the 911 emergency? >> he's on the ground in front of his vehicle. something is very wrong. >> don had been blugenned. his throat slit and stabbed. >> i absolutely knew he was gone. i knew there was nothing that i could do to help him. >> then, she thought about sienna who was at her mother's house. >> i just remember my

heartbreaking like literally. i've never felt my heart hurt like that. >> where is he? >> within minutes an officer from the albuquerque p.d. arrived on scene. valerie and her friend were still in tears. his body camera rolled as he walked past sienna's new bicycle still next to the christmas tree. then into the garage where don's body lay. as night fell, the yellow tape went up. albuquerque police detective matthew chaplain led the investigation. >> even was in pristine order, the on thing out of order was don fluid in the garage. >> there was no sign of forced entry. the cell phone was on the couch and wallet on the kitchen counter. police located all the kitchen knives and sent them off to the crime lab. they also gathered other forensic evidence including don's fingernail clippings. >> there was immediate blood in the vicinity of the walls underneath him, on the truck that looked like hand prints. >> but the detective thought it

didn't seem like enough blood given the injuries don sustained. >> and that's when we noticed an empty bottle of bleach on the washer and drier and towels that smelled of bleach in the washer. >> so there was some effort of cleanup. >> that's what the appeared, yes. >> his team did a test with a substance like luminol. >> the floor also lit up. same with the door. c he and his team started going door to door and met don's next-door neighbor. >> she said she has two cameras in her house. >> that's interesting. >> there is one that happens to catch a portion of don fluid's garage. >> she said she was home the night before. >> when she hears the garage come up and happens to look at her camera when she sees don fluid's truck backing out and leaving. >> the time 7:37 p.m. >> caplin had the first data point for a timeline. he gathered more when he talked

to don's whex-wife christine. he dropped sienna off with her at 7:45 p.m. and she remembered something don told her that afternoon. he thought someone had been in his house while he was away. >> and he said it's weird, there's like cat hair in my drier and someone used a pan in my house. >> christine was told the detective don sometimes suffered road rage. >> he's had really heated exchanges as a driver before. >> so maybe an angry motorists followed don home after an argument or maybe it was someone he knew. someone with access to the house. caplin spoke to don's landlord and said don was a kind hearted man and wondered if his murder had anything to do with his work with homeless people. >> he opens himself to everybody. he opens his home. >> don's mom sharon out in

california got a call in the middle of the night. detective caplin was on the line. >> he said ma'am, i'm sorry, your son is dead. and i think i started screaming. >> just 19 days before she lost her eldest daughter to cancer. 19 years before that, her youngest daughter had also died. and now, don. >> i couldn't get my head around it. it didn't seem real. >> dennis called amber to let her know about her uncle don. >> i started screaming no over and over again. my dad was obviously a mess. >> and the news soon made its way to oklahoma where don's older children lived. >> that was just like no, this isn't real. this stuff don't happen. you just see the stuff on tv. >> this is an intimate murder. this is a hands on murder. >> very personal. up close and violent. personal. >> so who would put a target on your brother of all people?

mr. sunday night spaghetti? >> my first thought was terry. i even told the detective that. >> terry white, christine's husband sienna's stepfather. >> don told me a lot about that. there had been altercations in the past. >> detective caplin went to see terry the next day. she was back from his shift and at home with sienna and christine. >> hi, matt. >> hi. >> sienna and christine left the room. caplin asked terry about his relationship with don. >> you know, in the beginning, i would say it was rocky. >> terry told caplin when they went to court over custody of sienna, don sometimes seemed to want a confrontation. >> if he can get me in any way, violent orio yell or scream at m he would look good and ultimately win the court eastside of getting his daughter so i just wouldn't bite for that. >> terry said to the detective

he mostly avoided don and hadn't had any contact with him in awhile. >> we're not going to find any dna or fingerprints of yours anywhere in his house or on his vehicle or anywhere in the area? >> no. i just would not get in the guy's life. it wasn't worth it. i love that little girl. i don't want to make her hate me because she loves her dad. >> he asked about the night of the murder. terry said he spent the evening visiting his sister. he said he left about 9:00 and stopped at wendy's for dinner and slept in his car until his shift began. >> you napped in the parking lot at work. >> terry's sister confirmed the story and his boss who has security cam video that would show terry at work that night but by then, caplin received an unexpected phone call from don's neighbor. >> she was curious about her surveillance video and looked at it and made a discovery and said

hey, detective look at 7:41 p.m. a mysterious figure captured on camera. who was that lurking outside don's house? coming up. >> there is someone in a hoodie and the individual walks towards where don fluid's door would be. >> do you think surveillance camera took a picture of your killer? >> i did. >> when "dateline" continues. i >> when "dateline" continues mucinex lasts 12 hours, so i'm good. now move! kim, no! mucinex lasts 3x longer for 12 hours. smells more amazing than ever. flings now so their laundry isn't that the dog's towel? hey, me towel su towel. more gain scent plus oxi boost and febreze in every gain fling. who knows where that button is? i don't have silent. everyone does -- right up here. it happens to all of us. we buy a new home, and we turn into our parents.

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january 2017, instead of celebrating the start of a new year, don fluid's family was making funeral arrangements. his niece amber made post tors with photos of don and his ex-wife christine pitched in. >> she brought pictures over she had i could add to the boards and said can i help you? i said absolutely, let's do this. we had a glass of wine and put the picture boards together. >> sienna helped too. >> she lost her best friend. and she wanted to be a part of it. >> sienna picked out most of the music and readings for the service. it was held at the church she attended with her dad. meanwhile, the murder investigation continued. detective caplin spoke to don's neighbor that found something on her home security video. >> i start looking at the clips she's talking about and believe it or not, there's a figure. >> a figure.

>> a figure. there's someone in a hoodie walking to don fluid's trash can. they lay the trash can and the individual walks off camera where don fluid's door would be. don fluid returns and pulls into the garage. you see them walk out of the garage. he walks to his trash can, picks it up and walks into his garage again. >> at this point said caplin, you could see the light from the garage diminishing as the door closed. >> inexplicably, the garage shoots back up and you see a series of flashes. >> i'm the hooded figure outside. >> yes. >> we went to the scene of the crime to understand how this could happen. >> it's as easy as that. so where is don? he's in the house now? >> i believe he's not house now. >> and there is the flashing light. >> there is the series of flashes you see on the video. >> caplin believed that hooded figure tripped the sensor. the door closing behind.

>> do you think the surveillance camera took a picture of the kill sner. >> i did. >> no face to go with it. >> do you see the figure depart? >> never. the garage closes and don fluid is found dead the next morning. >> even as he puzzled over the hooded figure's identity, the detective started to hear about someone else, don's brother dennis just days after the murder, dennis got the keys to don's house. don's children from oklahoma wondered what he was up to. >> they felt it was odd dennis was there taking over control. >> taking over his brother's life. >> yes. >> they learned dennis and don had a falling out a year before. dennis moved away, lived in arizona for awhile but he moved back to albuquerque a couple months before don's murder. >> it puts up a red flag for me. you're not process of reconnecting. you had a falling out before and

don is murdered. >> tiffany and josh had the same feeling. >> did you think maybe your uncle, his brother had something to do with this? >> there was talk of it just because of the strange relationship and what had happened and when you're hurt, grieving, you don't know what to think. >> caplin interviewed dennis that said it started after their father died. >> i got a little angry with him about that because he took a lot of my dad's stuff. there was just disagreements just like i'm starting to see with my brother's death. >> caplin learned don lost his job of a firefighter because of a drug test. he asked dennis about that. >> that's true? >> marijuana. >> marijuana. okay. >> nothing heavy. i guarantee you my brother hasn't touched heavy drugs in 30 years. >> then dennis came up with a name, someone else he thought detectives should look at. >> it makes me mad. i'm no investigator. i'm no cop. you know, but this guy spends two hours in my brother's house.

>> the landlord benny. >> benny, the landlord. just days after don's murder, he found benny inside don's home. >> then he claimed he was feeding the dog. dennis claimed i don't know if he's messing with the crime scene. >> dennis told caplin he was upset about a hole in the ceiling that hasn't been repaired. detectives asked benny for fingerprints and dna. as caplin questioned him, benny told the detective he was uneasy about dennis. benny said dennis wanted to rent another townhouse benny owned a few blocks down from the murder scene. >> he said he'd move don stuff over there and set it up. >> did he tell you why? >> for sienna. he wanted to set it up for sienna for don's little daughter, which is weird. >> benny said he didn't rent to dennis, not after a background check reveal that dennis had a criminal record for assault and disorderly conduct. caplin of course, knew about dennis' record but more importantly. >> i wondered why he had

suddenly taken a massive interest in don fluid's affairs with the condo and with sienna. >> when we spoke to dennis, we wondered that, too. coming up, the brother, the landlord, the stepfather, three possible suspects. >> these were names that i just couldn't eliminate. >> one of them is about to change his story. when "dateline" continues. story when "dateline" continues. deadline is only days away. with so many changes, do you know if your plan is still the right fit? having the wrong plan may cost you thousands of dollars out of pocket. and that's why i love healthmarkets, your insurance marketplace. with healthmarkets' fitscore, they compare thousands of plans from national insurance companies to find the right medicare plan that fits you. call or visit healthmarkets to find your fitscore today. in minutes, you can find out if your current plan is the right fit, and once you've let the fitscore do the work, sit back and enjoy not having to shop for insurance again.

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hey, there, i'm joshua johnson. this evening president trump said he plans to head to georgia next saturday. he lost that state narrowly to joe biden. the president will go to campaign for david kelly. this dir cremocratic challenger spent part of thanksgiving feeding homeless and hungry in atlanta. now let's get back to

"dateline." welcome back to "dateline." i'm craig melvin. who killed don fluid? detectives believed if they could i.d. the hooded figure captured on a neighbor's surveillance camera, they would have their answer as they worked to dwindwide whittle down the l possible suspects, the fluid family was mourning don's loss. here is dennis murphy with the figure in the garage. >> to say don fluid loved the christmas season would be putting it mildly. >> he was obsessed. we're talking lights, music, you know. it was everywhere. >> a month after don's murder, his family was still grappling with the fact that he would never see another christmas. no one more distraught than his daughter sienna. >> how was she doing? >> she was strong.

she was praying about it. she would cry. >> meanwhile, detective caplin was looking closely at the bad blood between don fluid and his brother dennis. >> they kept talking about an estrangement between the two of you. do you know what they're referring to? >> when my dad passed, we came to an agreement on the few assets that he did have. >> there was a set understanding. >> set understanding, well, don didn't keep to his part of the deal and kept one of the trucks that we were going to sell. >> according to dennis, that led to radio silence between the two brothers. dennis said he tried to reach out to don just a couple of months before his murder, but don never returned his call. and when he heard about don's death, he only wanted to help. >> i knew him better than anybody and he knew me better than anybody and i made a promise to him and sienna early on i would do everything to bring justice and protect him. >> he said if some people found that suspicious, so be it. dennis remained on detective

chaplain's list of potential suspects. >> benny, dennis, terry, these are names i couldn't eliminate. >> so he kept the heat on all three. chaplain had already questioned the landlord benny and obtained a sample of dna and took another look at sienna's step dad terry white. terry initially told the detective on the night of don's murder, he stayed with his sister until 9:00 p.m. and drove to work and took a nap in the parking lot, but when detective chaplain checked the security cam video. >> you can see terry white pull in and immediately get out of his truck and walk to the front door. so now there is a discrepancy in his story. >> again, thank you for coming down. >> no worries. >> detective chaplain asked terry to stop by the station. go over his timeline one more time. and. >> his story changed. he didn't pull into the parking lot as originally expressed. he went around the corner to a

dark area and fell asleep there and then he pulled into the parking lot. >> that wasn't the only discrepan discrepancy. in the first interview, terry said he'd only stopped at wendy's on his way to work but now. >> i stopped at walmart. >> walmart. what's he doing at walmart? >> that's an interesting story. >> i want to stop and get a new sweatshirt for me for work because my wife bought me one for christmas. i said i'm not going to wear that for work so i went and bought this one. >> chaplain asked terry about dennis. he never met the guy but heard about his troubled relationship with don and he moved into don's home. >> he's back trying to protective sienna from whatever and making people feel off. >> terry willingly gave a dna sample and chaplain sent him on his way. two days later, the detective went back to dennis. >> i took his dna and i took his

fingerprints. >> dennis, too, was corporative. he told detectives he worried about sienna and he felt bad for christine. >> you know, she's a mess. i talked to her for half an hour on the phone this morning and there is probably four or five times she started crycrying. >> and very vocal about suspicions about benny. >> how do we know benny didn't go over there and don would let him in and then it went bad? >> chaplain didn't think dennis was helping himself. >> was he reseeding as a person of interest? >> unfortunately not. >> do you have your eye on anybody in piarticular? >> i can't tell you that. >> that's right. i'm not cleared as a suspect. >> nobody is. in my opinion, nobody is. >> as the weeks passed, the kids began to worry. >> did you think someone would get away with murder here?

>> it squacared me. >> that was about to change. fingernail clippings from done's body were taken for testing. three months after don's murder reported a hit. >> i remember jumped out of my chair. whose dna is it? coming up. >> that's a big oh moment, huh? >> yes. >> a final suspect at last. but can he get to him in time? >> the deputy immediately thinks oh, no. >> when "dateline" continues. oh, no. >> when "dateline" continues you're not using too much are you hon? charmin ultra soft is so soft you'll have to remind your family they can use less. charmin ultra soft is twice as absorbent so you can use less. enjoy the go with charmin.

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one murder, three potential suspects. something had to break the tie. then about 12 weeks into the investigation, the crime lab called with some major news. the foreign dna under don fluid's finger nails belonged to non-other than his ex-wife's current husband terry white. >> that's a bingo moment, huh. >> yes. >> it started lining up. terry's strained relationship with don, his shifting timeline, his sudden need for a new hoodie. >> the fact he's amended the second story to include buying a hoodie, what does that tell you? >> a lot. there was probably a lot of blood on him and that he needed something to wear when he went to work. >> and above all, terry's dna where it simply did not belong. >> we're not going to find any

dna or fingerprints of yours anywhere in his house or on his vehicle or anywhere in the area? >> no. >> no? >> no. >> okay. so if we did, it would be weird. [ laughter ] >> yeah. i would say that would be weird. >> at this point, i'm 100% sure terry is our guy. >> chaplain spoke to don's mom sharon and dennis. >> we have a suspect in this case and we have an arrest warrant. >> yes! >> who is it? >> terry white. >> the case seemed to be solved but there was a problem. before chaplain could find terry, he got a call from christine. she said terry was missing. >> you're putting the news around terry's neck but seems to be he's not around anymore. >> right. >> chaplain asked christine to stop by the station. he thought she might have information that could help him find her husband. >> you're having a contentious relationship with christine. >> right. i think at that point, her

willingness to cooperate with me was sort of gone. >> chaplain got a search warrant for her car and phone hoping to find clues that might lead him to terry. >> interesting enough, we find her cell phone in the glove compartment and there is a last will and testament right next to it. >> a last will and testament in the glove? >> yes. it's terry white's. i found that to be extraordinarily unusual. >> how old again was it, the document? >> three days after we took his dna. >> chaplain started to wonder if terry would be gone permanently. then a few days later, he caught a break. a sheriff's deputy had happened on a pickup truck at an arizona rest stop more than 200 miles from albuquerque. >> there is a hose from the exhaust into the cab so the deputy thinks oh, no, it looks like someone is trying to commit suicide. >> in the cab of the truck, the missing murder suspect. >> terry white is red faced, probably from the carbon monoxide and looks drowsy.

deputy runs his name and realizes he has a warrant for a homicide so he's arrested right then and there. >> detective chaplain and his partner went to arizona. >> do you want to talk today? >> i need an attorney. >> of usualyouls obviously, you thinking something. >> so terry didn't feel like talking, not to the police anyway but once transferred back to al baalbuquerque, he talked someone. dennis received a facebook message from someone. >> you don't know me but my boyfriend is in jail with a guy by the name of terry white. what? >> roderick white, no relation of course. rod and terry shared the same last name, the same birthday and for three days in april 2017, the same jail cell. soon, terry's former cell mate was in the interview room with detective chaplain. >> from what i understand, you want to talk about kind of what

terry has confided in you? >> yes. >> according to rod, terry made a full confession. >> he tells him everything. he tells him how he snuck in. >> he tripped the garage door and thought he was busted then but got underneath the guy's [ bleep ] truck. >> terry told rod don was a smoker whose routine was to smoke in the garage. so he waited for don to come out. >> he said i got up. i was waiting right there by the door. >> rod said terry then described in gruesome detail inside the garage away from the neighbor's security cam. >> he said as soon as he came out, he hit him as hard as he can, i hit him so hard it broke it in three pieces. >> chaplain showed him how the cell mate's story matched the evidence at the crime scene. >> he explains he hits don with this tire thumper. don continues to fight. it continues in here.

we know this because there is a coat rack that would have been here. there is blood on a jacket that belonged to sienna. there is blood on the garage door and then we find. >> then what? the action moves back out here? >> it moves back out here. this is a very narrow space because the bumper of -- >> he's got a big truck and would have used every inch of this. >> to about right here. we know there is bloody hand prints on the hood of the truck. there is hand prints and blood swipes on the wall so we know don had fallen on his back this way. he even described how don got terry's dna on him. >> he said i know exactly when it happened. when i was raining down on him his finger caught him. >> he said terry hit him so hard, don finally went down. >> i'll give him this, he fought for his life. >> then, according to rod, terry finished the job. >> i went inside the house and i got a steak knife and he said

something about slitting the side of his throat. >> if the knife didn't work, terry told rod that he had a backup plan. >> i had plan b, he said there was an ax on the wall of the garage. that was plan b. >> what you can clearly see in the crime scene photos. there is no way you'd know that unless you were there. >> were any of those details that you just listed, were they online or the newspapers? >> no. >> the cell mate is telling you a story that is exactly matching your evidence or the observations at the scene? >> yes, not only is it matching the evidence but filling in gaps. >> the case against terry white was starting to look airtight. but rod, the informant wasn't done talking. coming up. >> she's the one that told him we've got to do this now. you got to do this for your family. >> she? >> she kept, we all have our dirty little part in this. >> one more jaw dropping revelation to come. when "dateline" continues. come when "dateline" continues. (♪upbeat holiday music)

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welcome back. the walls were closing in on terry white. dna linked him to the murder. after catching him in the middle of a suicide attempt. police made an arrest. in jail he confessed details of the crime to his cell mate. who told detectives. it seemed they had their man.

but investigators were about to learn terry may not have acted alone. here's dennis murphy with the conclusion of the figure in the garage. >> informant gave detectives a play by play of how he murdered don. one revelation after another. >> she's said there's an ax on the wall of the garage. >> he had one more revelation to offer. a big one. >> several occasions that he did it for her. and she told him we have to do it now. >> according to rod the she in question was terry's wife. don's ex. the mother of his darling. rod said and later testified in court that christine was the prime mover of the murder plot.

>> so, terry told you that christine told him to do it. for the family. >> yes. looking for opportunity for a while. >> the cell mate said they called don the black cloud. and with him out of the way, they would have her all to themselves. any dreams of a happily ever after went belly up. he had an ironclad life insurance policy. >> the reason would be i will be down for this thing. they got me. i can do you a final bit of good by killing myself and the insurance will be paid off. >> collect $250,000. >> rod told the detective terry suicide attempt in arizona was his third. and according to rod, christine was not exactly thrilled when terry survived. >> the cell mate tale got

stranger. he said after he was released from jail, he met with the christine. and made up a story. he told her he would smuggle some pills into the jail so terry could make good on the suicide promise. >> i said -- >> rod said he never bought the pills of completed the scheme. >> what'd you do with the money? >> i spent it. to be honest. >> he said he had a vivid memory of the the last time she saw him. >> she was crying. we have all have our dirty part in this. >> detectives had heard enough. a new days after the interview. >> we arrested her. >> she was charged request first degree murder and conspiracy. >> she was upset. but resigned to what was happening. >> the case was flimsy. it rested on the word of a

felon. >> it wasn't strong enough to move forward. with her. >> the charges against her were dismissed. >> in june 2018, terry white went on trial. the sole defendant. the prosecution start witness was his cell mate. back in jail on an unrelated charge. he told the jury everything. even this career criminal couldn't understand why. >> why did you kill him? was he touching the girl? he was like, no. he wasn't touches her. i said okay, well was he beating her. he said no. why'd you kill her? he said -- he wouldn't go away. >> as a result of the testimony, rod who is a meth addict avoided prison time and enrolled in rehab. he insisted he didn't come forward in hopes of a deal. but because he believed don's murder was wrong. >> they killed him because he

was a good father. they killed this guy. he was a good dad. >> they took the jury six hours to reach a verdict. >> guilty of first degree murder. >> guilty. instant relief. >> this man can't walk freely ever. he wasn't going to take my decide life and have his own still. >> i never took my eyes off him. from the time the jury handed the paper. i watched him. the whole time. i want to see something. a tear. a remorse. a smile. something. nothing. >> in august 2018, terry white was sentenced to 42 years in prison. but for don's family it's not over. >> the puppet is pulling the string. >> christine. and the puppet is terry. >> think about it. she manipulated that man into killing himself. think about that. it's one thing to talk somebody

into murdering somebody for you. to talk that same person into killing themselves if they got caught. how do you do that? >> she didn't attend the trial. she declined request for interview. but wrote a letter. saying they had no custody d battle. only different ideas in school. regarding the murder she wrote i know nothing of the what occurred until i got a call from the coworker who found him that night in december. it was an awful and unbelievable thing to hear. and efb harder to tell your child. prosecutors say the investigation into christine is open. but they don't know when or if she might be charged. >> we have to be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt she intended for terry to do this. and she actually did something concrete to aid and abet. to help the crime be committed.

>> can you get there? >> i'm hopeful. i would like to say yes. if the evidence isn't there, we can't charge for something we can't prove. >> don enjoyed helping people. he loved being a firefighter. feeding the homeless. and helps people with disabilities find work. what he loved most was being a dad. a bond so tight, people stood in awe of it. >> she loved being with her dad. she revelled nd it. she loved that man. to this day. that void in her life. terrible loss. >> it's primary victim is his daughter. >> i would say so. >> tiffany and josh and myself too. we got to live our childhood with him. we got to go to him for advice. and to share those moilestones n

life. my dad is still here. her is not. hers is not. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." thank you for watching. this is "dateline." another friend from high school had put something up on facebook. diana is one of my oldest friends. i just fell apart. i couldn't believe it. it still doesn't seem real to me. >> the wedding was in the woods. >> a really nice, outdoor forest wedding. >> a few years later, the marriage was in shambles. >> she wanted to just have a clean divorce. >> then, a call out of the blue. >> they were gonna meet? >> yes. >> followed by a shot.