but me, i hugged the family members. i cry with the family members. and you feel satisfied that notwithstanding everything muth did to avoid being held accountable at the end of the day justice was done. it's the thing that most people would fear, to be home, asleep in your bed and have intruders come in and do the unthinkable. >> i felt like a hand being placed on my mouth. i started saying, please don't kill me, please don't kill me. >> an attack in the night. >> i was rae freaking out. what's going on? >> a mother murdered. >> it looked like two ghosts had just committed the ultimate crime.

>> he lived to tell police a harrowing story. is it true? >> he's the only one who survived. he is practically unharmed. >> they're treating you like a suspect or a witness? >> they are treating me like a suspect. >> now an undercover plan to solve the mystery. who was the real master mind? >> we all stopped breathing for about ten seconds. >> i want it to be wrong. i really want it to be wrong. >> the american dream. so many of us want it. the loving family. the honest job. the home you can afford. the idea that you can start over here. and in this new country, that better life will be yours. this is a story about that dream. about a family who worked for

it, won it, and then what happened to them. this wasn't part of anyone's dream. >> someone just robbed our house. they broke in, they tied me and my mom up. >> how could it happen in this safe gated community? in this home they worked so hard to have? >> is everybody okay? >> i don't know. they just beat me up. i don't know where my mom is. >> and who deserved it less than this woman? >> my mom brought the heart to the family. >> ryan girgis was the baby of the family. spoiled rotten by his mother ariet. >> we couldn't function without my mom. my mom was like the chef in the household, counselor. >> the full service mom. >> oh, yeah. she was really, really nice, a sweet lady. >> she was one of those mothers who showed her love through

food. her cakes were legendary. making every birthday that much more special, says her older son richard. >> she made this really good upside down pineapple cake. it was phenomenal. i always remember cake and ice cream at the birthdays. >> growing up, richard was inseparable from his mom. was she like the other moms your friends had? >> no. i think she was more on the conservative side. >> conservative because of where she came from. ariet girgis was born in egypt and then came to the u.s. when she was 29 years old. her family settled in northern california. ariet led a comfortable all american life. but cultural ties are strong and in 1980, ariet was called back to just a minute, to egypt to meet a nice young man. magdi. >> when my mom went out there

and ended up meeting him, she really liked him. >> years later she would reminisce about how their romance blossomed. >> in egypt you can't just go out on dates and stuff. so they went together to the movie theater. when it got real dark, my dad reached over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. >> which was a very big deal. >> yeah. for her it was. i think almost sealed the deal. >> it wasn't the american way of falling in love, but ariet seemed happy. she and magdi married just two weeks later in egypt and moved together to california. had rich was born and then ryan. richard was delighted to have a brother to play with and to watch over. >> so you were his protector, big brother. >> yeah. i would keep an eye on him. i love my brother with all my heart. >> how did you and your brother get along? >> like best friends. i always looked up to him. >> their dad was the classic hard working immigrant. magdi earned his license to

become a respiratory therapist. then put in endless hours to keep a roof on his family's head and clothes on their backs. >> he came from a really poor country. for him, to come here, he was working real hard to build things up and try establish a life. >> magdi emphasized education. teaching both his sons math at an early age. he strove and saved to help them all prosper and they felt he would do anything to keep his family safe. >> he didn't want your family to get pushed around. >> not at all. not at all. >> it took many years of saving and investing but he finally put together enough money to buy this home in a gated community in the city of westminster, a quiet town in orange county, california. the girgis family was well on

its way to living out the dream they'd worked so hard to build. but then on september 29, 2004, all of it came crashing down. ryan girgis, then 17, was out with friends and stayed out later than he was supposed to. >> when did you get home? >> like 1:00 to 1:30 that night. i slid the back door open and i went upstairs. >> his dad was not at home. his brother at work. his mom, asleep. >> i remember i was fixing up my ipod dock and i fell asleep to music that night. next thing i know i hear a door opening and first instinct was maybe it's my brother. >> his older brother richard. his best friend and protector coming home. or so he thought, but it wasn't

richard. >> i looked back and that's when i felt like a hand being placed on my mouth. and it was a hand with some type of cotton glove. >> can you see who it is? >> i know it was a black male that was heavyset. i was going for my brother and my mom to help me and i was really scared. >> ryan said he fought the intruder. >> i bit down on the hand and i rolled off the bed. i popped up and i was shoved into the wall. he was telling me to shut up and calm down. >> the man put duct tape over ryan's mouth and started taping his hands and feet together. and right after that, a second suspect comes inside. he starts making threats to me like, don't get your mom killed. don't get your mom killed. >> don't get your mom killed. that had to be terrifying to hear. >> yeah. i was really terrified. >> what did you think was going on? i didn't know.

i thought it was a robbery or something. >> a terrifying situation was about to get much worse. >> through hallway, i saw my mom yelling take anything you want, take anything you want. and then after that i noticed the guy was taking my mom away towards her bedroom. >> ryan's attacker dragged her into the closet but then noticed the duct time was slipping around ryan's hands. >> i heard him taking some shoe string off one of my shoes. >> using the shoelace, the man tied ryan' hands behind his back. through the closet door ryan pleaded with his attacker. i started telling him please don't kill me, please don't kill me and i started praying. and during that time he was like i know your circumstances, i know what you're going through, i'm not going to kill you. >> i know your circumstances. strange as those words sounded ryan found them somehow comforting. >> after that i started to feel

a sense of relief. >> but then ryan heard a sound that would come to haunt him. >> i heard a cutting of the sheets so i thought he was cutting my sheets up. i didn't know what was going on. >> and what was going on was worse than anything he could have imagined. coming up -- >> a panicked call to 911 and another to his brother. >> i was like really freaking out. i was like what's going on, what's going on. >> what really happened inside that house? >> oh, my god. oh, my god. >> when "the man who wasn't there" continues. "the man who w there" continues - [announcer] welcome to intelligent indoor grilling

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ryan girgis had just been through a terrifying ordeal. two men breaking into his home in a gated community in the middle of the night. >> both black guys, they were really huge to me. their whole persona was just gangsterism. like thugs. >> you had never seen them before. >> never, ever. >> they tied him up. threw him in a closet. but not before he saw one of the men drag his mother into her bedroom. he said he thought he heard the men walk out. thought he heard a car drive away. but for a few more moments, ryan sat in that dark closet, heart thumping, afraid, he says, to come out. it was now or never. ryan says he managed to untie himself and grab his cell phone.

>> i went down the hallway. i looked to the right really quickly. i noticed that the door was in like closed position. >> to your mother's bedroom. >> to my mother's bedroom. >> why didn't you check on her? >> i wanted to get out of the house as fast as possible and come back with help. i thought i need to get out of this house and come back with someone. i already got overpowered by myself. >> he ran outside the house and called 911. >> what happened? >> two black guys just jump in my house. they're like don't make me have to kill you, don't make me have to kill you. i will kill you. don't get your mom killed. >> ryan called his dad magdi. he was shocked and asked two things. if ryan was okay? and where ariet was? and ryan didn't know. he also called his older brother richard who was working the

night shift at the queen mary hotel. what did richard say when you called him? >> he questioned if i was all right, he questioned where was mom, and he said who do you think it is? someone you know? >> why would richard think that you might know the people who broke into the house? >> he felt like i was the one who got tied up and they came into my room. so he was just questioning, is it something having to do with you? did they have a personal vendetta on you or anything? >> as you'll see, that is a question that would come up again. after the call, richard left work and drove to the house but the police tape was already up and they wouldn't let him through. >> i was really freaking out. what's going on? i was asking him, where is my mom at? where is my mom at? >> police took richard and ryan to the station.

the boys were surprised to find themselves split up and sitting in separate interview rooms. ryan's hands were bagged to preserve any evidence. but before detectives could ask too many questions, richard asked one of his own. >> can i talk to my mom, please? >> mom is dead. >> oh, no. no, she's not. i didn't hear that. i didn't hear that. >> ryan said he didn't know what was happening right then but he could tell it was bad. >> oh, my god. oh, my god. >> i just heard like a scream. and i'm like, what just happened? it sounds like richard, my brother, and he is screaming to the top of his lungs. >> no, she's not. she's not. >> you can't see richard. you can just hear him. >> i could just hear him in the other room and he's going hysterical. i've never heard him scream like

that in my whole life. >> oh, my god. does my little brother know? >> police soon told ryan the same awful news. their mother ariet had been murdered. now, the cops started asking questions. that wasn't all they did. >> the police took your fingerprints? >> the police took my fingerprints, cotton swabs, dna, you name it. they did it. >> are they treating you like suspect or a witness? >> they are treating me like a suspect at this point. >> did you have a chance to check on your mom? >> no. i just ran out. i had to pass by my mom's room. >> you had to pass by your moms room to get down the stairs. >> i didn't even look. i just ran back down. >> richard was facing questions that were slightly different but just as skeptical. >> why would someone break into your house? >> i don't know, man.

i wish i knew. >> did the cops take your finger prints? and your dna? >> yes. >> did you think they were looking at me as a suspect? >> yeah. it was scary. i had never been in that situation with police. >> but the detective's focus seemed to linger on his brother ryan. >> this wasn't directed against him that you know of. >> i don't know, dude. the first reaction was, is that one of your friends? did someone break in or something? >> that was your first reaction? >> my first reaction was that. >> as police continued their questioning, one question stood out above all. why would these two thugs come into your house, basically, not hurt you, and then really brutally kill your mother? and leave behind a witness? >> yeah. >> this investigation was about to take a turn that no one expected.

coming up -- two guys come into the house, beat up ryan, tie him up and then kill ariet in a brutal hands on way and leave no trace? >> looks like two ghosts had just walked in and committed the u u ultimate crime. >> dna and csi. what will the evidence reveal? when the man who wasn't there continues. reveal? when the man who wasn't there continues. i stood in line for hours to get this. it has to be washed on delicate. it has to be cold water, it's better for the planet. the secret is, with tide pods it all works. of course it does. told ya! they're going to do it their way, and i get a break from the laundry. no matter how you wash, it's got to be tide. with this seal, this restaurant is committing to higher levels of cleanliness. ♪ ♪

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♪ may your holidays glow bright and all your dreams take flight. visit your local mercedes-benz dealer today for exceptional lease and financing offers at the mercedes-benz winter event. ryan girgis was attacked in his own home and hours later, given the worst news imaginable. while he had managed to escape, his mom ariet had not. she was dead. all of which begged a pressing question. >> why would they kill her and leave me? >> police and even his own brother were asking the same thing. >> how many murders do you get in westminster?

>> not that many really. >> she was a deputy d.a. in orange county, california. the ariet girgis case landed on her desk. >> it's a nightmare. the thing most people would fear, to be home in the sanctity of your home and have intruders come in and do the unthinkable. >> police found ariet's body near her bed. she had been stabbed multiple times. that odd tearing sound ryan said he heard? investigators believed it was the sound of the knife ripping through the mattress as ariet's killer slit her throat. >> was that knife found at the scene? >> it was not. >> james wilson was a patrol officer at the time of the murder. wilson said the details of the crime seasonable pointed to something other than a home invasion robbery. in part because nothing appeared to have been stolen. >> this was an burglary in which she was collateral damage. >> definitely not. >> cash was in plain sight.

jewelry, too. even ryan's ipod and new dock, all untouched. >> the house wasn't even rummaged through as if they were looking for something. >> what's more, this was a gated community. the killers would have needed a gate code to get in. >> it starts getting more interesting as to who could have done it. >> crime scene investigators collected mounds of evidence and surprisingly, with all that blood, not a single trace of unknown dna. all the results were people in the house. ariet, richard, magdi and ryan. a witness who for some reason was left alive. >> two guys came into the house, beat up ryan, tie him up and kill ariet in a brutal hands-on way and leave no trace? >> that's what it looked like. it looked like two ghosts had just come in and committed the ultimate crime.

>> it seemed improbable and it encouraged detectives to look closely at ryan. he claimed to be a victim. but was he really? police learned the friend he was with the night of the murder had offered ryan a knife for protection. just hours before ryan's mother was brutally killed with a knife. a knife that had not been found. they also learned ryan smoked marijuana and not just at the occasional party. he smoked every day. and he wasn't just smoking. >> what kind of narcotics? >> marijuana. >> police found small amounts of marijuana in ryan's room along with a bong, baggies and tin foil and there was more like the description ryan had given detectives about the two suspects. >> both male blacks, he said

they were large. he said they acted like they were from a gang but that was something that we still didn't know 100% sure if that was true or not. >> claiming two black men committed the murder seemed almost too convenient. and more troubling, if ryan had been beaten by gang members much bigger than he was, why didn't he look like it? >> there's no question if ryan had been in a serious duking it out fight with a couple of guys, that he would have ended up much more battered than he was. >> if they wanted to hurt him worse than they did, definitely so. yes. >> and remember, ryan had told police that one suspect said, i know your circumstances. i'm not going to kill you. was that true? and if so, what did it mean? and then there was issue of ryan claiming to have left the house before he so much as took a peek into his mother's bedroom. >> did that strike anybody as odd? >> i think so.

as a detective, you have to consider why someone would do that. >> soon detectives found out. ryan had more dark secrets than they'd realized. coming up -- >> he's the only one who survived. he is practically unharmed. >> new questions for ryan. and a new clue. had he received a warning before the attack? >> when the man who wasn't there continues. >> when the man who wasn't there continues. centrum helps your immune defenses every day, with vitamin c, d and zinc. season, after season. ace your immune support, with centrum. (har(betsy) twelquarter mile of tinsel. lights. (harold) and real snow all the way from switzerland. (betsy) hmmhm... gonna be tough to top. ♪

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hello. i'm dara brown. here's what's happening. the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell will temporarily suspend in-person gop lunches. the socially distanced meetings have been taking place throughout the pandemic. democrats meanwhile have opted to meet by phone. the capitol has seen an uptick in cases with two senators testing positive for the virus just last week. and president-elect joe biden announced three new members for his covid 129 advisory board saturday. this as the u.s. tops 13 million cases and over 266,000 deaths. now back to "dateline." investigators looking into the savage murder of ariet girgis naturally took a hard look at the only other person in the house when she died. her 17-year-old son ryan.

>> he's the only one who survived. he is practically unharmed. he was selling a small amount of drugs. we had to pursue that. >> police still have a lot of questions with ryan's story but they haven't yet found any evidence to suggest he killed his mom. for now, at least, they had to take him at his word. >> until you can find a reason not to believe that person, you kind of have to go with what they say unless they're lying to you. >> as far as you knew, he was not lying to you. >> yes. >> but the investigation was just starting and police couldn't discount another possibility. that ariet was killed because of ryan. detectives learned a year before the murder, ryan had confront another kid at school who had not paid him for some weed. later that kid's friends jumped

ryan. it doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would spark a homicide but i'm guessing you've seen homicide that's were sparked by a lot less. >> it is typical for especially gang-related homicides to be something just as small as that. >> remember, ryan described his assailants as sounding like gang members. then there was this bombshell. a message ryan received on his aol instant messenger just weeks before the murder. >> about a week ago -- >> he brought it to detectives' attention during interview. >> you'd better watch your back. i know where you live. i've never even seen this person. that's why i didn't pay attention. >> ryan told police had he had chalked it up to a prank and seemed like a key evidence except ryan had not saved the message. no way to tell now who had sent it.

>> any idea who it was from? >> no. >> aol able to help with you that? >> no. >> a frustrating dead end but by now police were looking at other possibilities. they dug deep entire the american dream the girgis family seemed to be living. and interviewed the man of the house, magdi. >> how did you feel about your wife? >> i am devastated. we've been together 24 years. she's the mother of my kids. >> he really didn't have any vices. he didn't spend any money on any hobbies of any sort. so he was a guy who went to work and went home. >> but their father wasn't just a hard worker, said his sons. he was more like a workaholic. >> i think my mom felt neglected. he wasn't affectionate toward her. it was like all he would do was just work. >> i played sports all my life and he never, ever came to watch any sports that i played.

>> you wanted your dad to watch you play. >> of course. every kid does. i wanted to brag hey i won that three point competition at the park, and he just wouldn't even like care. >> a lot of childhood growing up, i can remember a lot about my mom but not about my dad. it is not because i don't want to. it is because he wasn't there. he would come, go to sleep, get up, go back to work, come go to sleep, go to work. >> that was because for magdi, they said, the american dream was all about the green. >> he was work, work, work. >> money, money, money. >> exactly. >> after a rare outing to the beach one day, ryan said he and his father dropped by mcdonald's. >> i asked him if i could borrow a dollar so i could grab a 99 cent burger. not only did he ask for it back.

he also asked for the tax money on it. >> what kind of father asks a 13-year-old to reimburse him for a hamburger? >> he was always trying to hustle someone for some type of money. >> it didn't take the prosecutor long to learn about magdi's obsession. >> this is the united states. everybody goes to work. everybody tries to make money and provide for themselves and make money. he's different? >> yes. he's very different. within the spectrum of people who work and how they approach money we have people more conservative about their money and who are thrifty about their money, and we have people who are well spenders. and then there's magdi. he's in a category of very few people who have an unhealthy relationship with money. it drives everything that they do. >> we're not talking about

penurious or thrifty. >> no. >> we're talking about squeezing every dollar until it bleeds. >> yes of to the point where you have the house paid off but you can't run the electricity for more than one room at a time. >> even though you have the money. >> absolutely. he has food that expires and he hoards it. it is about collecting money. >> and never paying out. >> correct. >> his sons described magdi as not only obsessed with work and money but also a strict disciplinarian. >> did you love him? >> yes. >> were you scared of him? >> yes. from when i was a kid. i felt like there was a line and i didn't want to cross anything. >> the brothers say they saw what could happen when they crossed that line. one night when ryan was 14 and came home past curfew. they say magdi simply lost it. >> he threw me on the floor and started kicking me. my brother had to pull him off

of me. >> your brother kind of shielded you. >> he did. >> it sounds like you were closer to your brother more than your father. >> very much so. >> ryan rebelled staying out late. smoking weed. richard was more dutiful but he, too, felt his father's wrath. >> a punch, a kick, kind of name it depending. i would find the sooner i would cry, the sooner it would stop. >> a tough lesson to learn from your dad. >> yeah, he was a very harsh person which made it more fortunate to have my mom in my life because she was like the complete opposite. >> as tough as he was on his sons, they say magdi was just as tough on his wife. ryan and richard say they never saw their father hit their mother but they say they heard the yelling and they did see the bruises. >> we never ever called 911. it was just like we had that sense of fear that we didn't want to cross the line. >> you were more afraid of what your dad would do to you if you

did call 911 than what might happen to your mom if you didn't? >> yeah. we were scared of my dad. we were just like so petrified. >> did you know your dad was capable of more than just hitting people? >> i always felt like you didn't want to mess with that guy. you didn't want to push him to the other level. >> so the boys stayed quiet but a storm was brewing. in the end, ariet would give investigators their best lead. coming up -- a transformation. >> i really felt like my mom was empowered. >> and a confrontation. >> my mom told him, he punched me in the face. that started the whole cascade. >> there is no going back. >> there's no going back. >> so the life you had before -- >> was never going to be the same. >> when the man who wasn't there continues. >> when the man who wasn't there continues.

as investigators worked the murder of ariet girgis, they heard disturbing information from her sons. most disturbing by far was what happened seven months before the murder in february 2004. on the eve of magdi and ariet's 24th wedding anniversary. >> so she starts talking on magdi. can we go out to dinner? that's what starts this fight. >> doesn't sound like a very long fight. >> no. he punches her in the face. that was a challenge to magdi. that will not happen in this household. >> someone standing up to him. >> oh, yeah. challenging him in how he should run his marriage. that was absolutely completely out of line. >> even if the person challenging you is the other partner in the marriage, your wife. >> well to magdi she's not a

partner. that's what we would call her, but that's not what he sees. >> richard remembers arriving home that evening and seeing his mom. >> she looked very subdued. her face was swollen. her nose was still bleeding. >> all that damage from one punch. >> yeah, my dad was a very strong person, and my mom was very -- she was very small and very fragile. so i went upstairs and i confronted my dad. >> what was his response? >> he told me to stay out of it. >> but richard in nursing school at the time worried his mom could have a concussion or worse. he rushed her to the emergency room. they had kept their family secret for so long but that was about to change. >> the nurse asked her what happened. >> and your mom said? >> my mom told her that he punched me in the face. >> my husband hit me. >> yeah.

her exact words, she was very timid when she told her, but she was like he hit me, and made like the hand gesture like he'd punched her in the face. and from that there that started the whole cascade. >> police went to the girgis home and arrested magdi. >> that was really scary. >> that was scary. not thrilling. >> it was terrifying. >> not the moment you'd been waiting for? >> no, no, no. there was no point of return. somehow i knew immediately after that that it was -- >> there is no going back. >> there's no going back. >> so the life you had before -- >> was never going to be the same. >> a court issued a protective order and magdi moved out of the house he worked so hard for to an apartment complex he and his brother owned nearby. after more than two decades of marriage, it seemed magdi and ariet were headed for divorce. it was a thought that seemed to terrify ariet. >> i think she was scared and had a lot of cold feet.

>> about striking out on her own in the world. >> exactly. >> ariet was totally dependent on magdi. she had never written a personal check. didn't even know their mortgage was paid off. >> she had expressed to me, i wish all this would just not be here. i wish everything could go back to the way it was. >> magdi, too, seemed frightened and perhaps chastened. >> he was definitely trying to get back with my mother. >> did it seem like your mom was wavering at all? >> yeah. there was a limbo period where my mom was considering taking him back. >> richard, who had stepped up during his father's absence as the man of the house, overheard a strange conversation between his parents. >> he was like, oh, i love you. >> had you ever heard your dad say i love to you your mom? >> i can't really recall that. >> until that conversation when he needed something from her. >> yeah. >> what did magdi need?

it turned out he was more worried about himself than anyone else. a domestic violence conviction might cost him his respiratory therapy license which would cut off his income. and magdi knew, a divorce would force him to split his hard earned money with ariet. >> he had his back to the wall. >> yeah. >> so magdi came up with a plan. a letter in which ariet would say she wasn't sure what happened. that her injuries could have resulted from a fall. magdi and ariet weren't speaking at the time so magdi convinced richard, the dutiful older son to transcribe the letter and persuade ariet to sign it. thus getting her husband off the hook. >> do you feel bad at all trying to get your mom to change her story of something that you knew she was telling the truth about? >> yeah. back then, i felt like i was just trying to help.

>> and maybe the price of saving your family is convincing your mom to lie about something you know is true. >> he really just manipulated me. >> he knew his mother had mixed feelings about the break-up of her marriage. richard told himself, he was doing the right thing. >> i was trying to support my mom. at the same time, i still felt that he was my dad. i felt really pulled. >> ariet agreed to sign the letter. magdi, no doubt, breathed a sigh of relief. but then came his preliminary hearing in which ariet did something quite unexpected. she took the witness stand and she told the truth. >> she felt enough was enough. she went and she really laid everything out. >> not just about the night magdi gave her a black eye and bloodied her nose.

but about abuse ariet described as stretching over two decades. >> did your dad feel betrayed? >> my dad was, i can't believe what she said up there. >> ariet girgis had finally stood up for herself. it might have been the manifestation of her own american dream. ariet hired a divorce attorney and began planning a new life. >> i really felt like my mom was empowered. she just wanted to be happy she felt like there was happiness coming. >> instead, the next month, she was murdered. and to investigators who heard ariet's story, it now seemed obvious her husband magdi was the prime suspect. >> everything pointed at magdi. >> except for the fact the phone records proved that magdi was at his own apartment when ryan called him that night. and according to the only witness, two black men committed the murder. and there was still the question of why that witness, ryan, was left alive.

and just a few days after his mother was killed, the rebellious son, ryan, received another anonymous message on his computer. how did you like your gift? lol. lol. >> how did you like your gift? >> yeah. >> coming up, an ah-hah moment for police. a new look at that old interrogation of ryan. could it lead to the break they needed? when the man who wasn't there continues. when the man who wasn't there continues.

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investigators were zeros in on the prime suspect in the murder of his wife ariet. the two had been going through a domestic violence case and were divorcing. >> we know he's an obvious suspect, but that doesn't mean he did it. we have many cases where individuals may want to divorce your wives, unfaithful to your wife, but certainly didn't consider them. so you have to consider that as a careful prosecutor. >> no matter how noxious he may have been during the marriage, maybe he's not the guy you are looking for. >> sure. you have to explore every possibility. >> especially after the couple's son, ryan, received a taunting

message on his computer days after the murder. how did you like your gift? lol. lol. >> it didn't make any sense to me. >> police looked into it. but just as with the threat ryan received the weeks before the murder, they weren't able to track down the sender of those messages. >> in hindsight, do you wish more work had been done on that? >> yes. >> older brother richard also came under scrutiny. >> richard had stuck up for maybe even covered for his father during the domestic violence investigation. did you guys think he might be doing that again? >> initially we believed it was a possibility, yes. >> soon after the murder, the brothers left and went to northern california. and they did so without telling magdie. richard and ryan say they worried. whoever killed their mom was still at large and knew ryan was

a witness to the crime. >> i have recollections. i have nightmares. so i would get chills. i don't like to be at home by myself. i have trouble sleeping. i mean, the list goes on. >> ryan and richard say they have a growing suspicion their father was responsible for their mother's murder. they said they were too scared to confront it. but in the months that followed, the investigation seemed to stall. >> it seems like you had a lot of leads that kind of didn't go anywhere. >> we had a lot of paths that we went down, yes. >> remember, there was no physical evidence linking magdie to the murder. ryan said it was two black men that broke into the house and killed his mom. police had never found those men or any trace they ever existed. and those threatening messages to ryan? still no idea who sent them

either. >> was there a point where you thought. >> it's hard to think that way when you desperately want to solve it. but yes. >> and, so, the years rolled by. richard became a critical care nurse. ryan, the self-admitted stoner, says he stopped smoking. he was working toward a bachelor's degree in business and had started his own events and entertainment company. magdie would have been proud of his boys if he knew how far they had come. but richard and ryan said they never once got a call from him in all those years, and they made no effort to contact him. the brothers did call the westminster police department again and again, urging detectives to investigate their father. and each time they heard the same response. >> you know, we're still looking into it, but we don't have any leads. there is nothing. >> depressing. >> it was. >> they made endless calls,

enlisting family and friends to write "america's most wanted." and they raised a $55,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspects. all of it led to nothing. >> how many cases did you do in those years? >> a lot of murders. >> but something about this one stuck with you? >> absolutely. >> was there something about ariet that made you not want to quit? >> you don't ever want to quit on any case, but i think that the fact that she came so close to being an independent woman, to standing up for herself, to being the kind of mother that she wanted to be to those boys and she did everything right. and she died on our watch. it was a terrible feeling. terrible feeling. >> it was 2010. nearly six years after the murder when richard made another of his many phone calls to the

westminster pd. this time it was james wilson who answered. he had been a patrol officer at the time of the murder. but in the intervening years, he had worked his way up to deit c can. >> i didn't have any answers for them. i know there is nothing going on with mom's case, so i just started looking into it. >> out of guilt? >> i think an obligation, really. you know, this is one of the reasons you become a police officer. >> it is tough when family comes out here and say what's going on with the case and you know the answer is not really anything. >> yeah. it's not a good feeling. >> as detective wilson poured through the mountain of evidence in the case, he came across that interview detectives had with ryan right after the murder. reading through the transcripts, he saw a key detail that no one noticed. >> you say you bit this guy? >> yeah.

>> i think it was in the glove but he had to take off the glove to put on the tape. >> ryan was telling detectives the intruder took his gloves off beforehandling the duct tape and also the shoelace used to tie him up. >> you don't have to be a detective to think, well, maybe that might have some dna on it. >> the detective checked to see if the shoelace had ever been tested and it wasn't. sure enough, one afternoon, eight years after ariet's murder, his phone rang. >> they got a hit. >> and no one could have predicted the name police were given. >> it had to be our suspect or at least one of our suspects. >> and the name the crime lab gives you is? >> anthony bridget. >> was that name in any of the files? >> no. >> wasn't even in our computer,

our in house computers as ever being a person that's been contacted by police. >> yet, the dna proved anthony was the attacker who had tied up ryan. detective wilson entered brian's information into a computer. >> who is he? >> he's a member of the crips. >> one of the most notorious and violent gangs in the u.s. and mr. bridget, street name little shotgun, was by any standard a professional criminal. coming up -- >> he had the resume that you would expect the intruders who came to kill ariet to have. >> the kind of guy you would hire to commit murder? >> that's right. >> a whole new suspect. do you know where he was? >> i knew exactly where he was. >> investigators pay a surprise visit when the man who wasn't there continues. continues. who transforms homes for those in need.

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conduct, including prior conviction for manslaughter. so this was no novice. >> long violent rap sheet. >> absolutely. >> bridget also had a drug conviction. and remember ryan admitted he sometimes dealt weed. could ryan and anthony bridget have known each other? is that why richard immediately wondered if ryan was the target of the attack? police considered that theory. and dismissed it. in fact, for police, anthony bridget and his gang affiliation confirmed ryan's story. for one, bridget matched ryan's account that the man who tied him up seemed like a gang member. >> he looked like he came out of the pen and stuff. >> and, two, bridget's prior booking photos matched the sketch ryan had given police. and, so, investigators developed

a different theory about bridget's involvement. >> he had the resume that you would expect the intruders who came to kill ariet to have. >> the kind of guy you would hire to commit murder? >> that's right. >> and they suspected the person who hired him was magdie. of course there was no proof of any of that. >> i'm guessing one of the things you did early on was subpoena magdie's records, looking for that chunk of money he took out a few days before his wife was killed. >> you could hope. >> but it wasn't there? >> there wasn't there. >> maybe he's innocent. >> maybe he's just careful. >> careful perhaps. but in what universe would their paths cross? one way to find out, they could ask anthony bridget. >> did you know where he was?

>> i knew exactly where he was. >> he was in solodad state prison. that he decided to pay him an unannounced visit. >> and there you are in a little room. >> yes. >> in a table like this one. and you say? >> i want to talk to you. >> and he's a little surprised, right? >> he's a little surprised, yes. >> but anthony bridget was hard to rattle. >> he's been involved in gang-related homicide in the past. pretty experienced at the prison system. >> so saying to him, hey, the guy that hired you just rolled over on you, that's not going to work? >> right. >> this is not a virgin. >> exactly. >> but they did get something. >> you said to him, i have your dna at a murder scene. >> yes. and he said where? >> he said where, not i haven't

committed any murder. did you ask him whether he knew magdie. >> no, we never got that far. >> here's what bridget didn't know. the prosecutor and the detective didn't really care what he said. their target was magdie and all they wanted was to prove a connection between him and anthony bridget. that's why before they left orange county, they had set up a wiretap on magdie's phone. he was back living in the house where his wife was murdered. he even had a new girlfriend and now investigators listened to see if bridget would tip off magdie. >> i was hoping at least my visit would inspire him in some way. >> didn't happen. >> no, it didn't. >> so game over? >> he's stepping out of the car right now. >> no. it was just starting. coming up, a return to the scene of the crime. >> what's up, man?

>> a dramatic confrontation at magdie's house. who are these men? and what did they want? when the man who wasn't there continues. gly) when the food you love doesn't love you back, stay smooth and fight heartburn fast with tums smoothies. ♪ tum tum-tum tum tums is often unseen. because the pain you're feeling could be a sign of irreversible joint damage. every day you live with pain, swelling, and stiffness... you risk not being able to do the things you love. especially in these times, it's important to keep up with your rheumatologist. schedule an appointment today.

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january 30th, 2013, the home where ariet had met her awful death was suddenly once again the scene of an unexpected confrontation. two men showed up on the lawn. >> let me holler at you for a few ticks. let me holler at you for a second. >> check it out, my homey locked up in the pen. police approached him. >> interesting, because the prosecutor and detective had just returned from visiting anthony digit in prison. they suspected magdie hired bridget and a yet unknown man to

kill ariet. and now apparently here for a pair of gangsters on his property. the more talkative of the two called himself d money, and money is what he wanted from magdie. >> we don't care about that. the thing is, we want to get paid for it. we're not going to say [ bleep ]. you know what i mean? >> good question. and who better to answer it than d money himself. >> you're a born actor. >> i believe i am. >> he's not a gangster. he's an officer from the long beach police department who was working undercover, which is why we are concealing his identity. >> were you a little nervous going in? >> not at all, no. >> the role he played at magdie's home that day was part of a war game set in motion even before they met anthony bridget. >> tell me about this scheme. you call it a scheme. i call it a plan.

>> by any name, it was an attempt to trap magdie. >> the only way anthony bridget or somebody like him is commits a crime like this is some kind of gain, financial. you come up with a way in which they were able to contact magdie and demand more money. >> in other words, these two undercover officers posing as gang members would approach magdie and hit him up for hush money since investigators knew that money was magdie's particular obsession. they knew they would strike a nerve. but they had to be careful. they didn't know if he hired him directly. >> you couldn't have these guys claimed that they were the guys in the house. >> correct. >> because possibly he knew them. >> possibly he knew them. >> so you have them pose as friends of the guy in the house.

>> yes. >> and he's now in jail. >> in prison, which is who knew that was true because anthony bridget was in prison. >> and so his friends are, what, trying to leverage that knowledge and get extra money for him. >> correct. because the rouse would be that the police came to see mr. bridget, which is also true. so there would be a need for the remaining to get out of town. >> even if anthony bridget does tip off magdie that this is all in play, that the tcopping came to see me, this all matches up with that. >> that's right. >> operations like this are especially tricky. there is usually only one shot to get it right. if the phony gangsters threaten magdie, the sting wouldn't be held up in court and magdie couldn't walk free. at the same time, one thing had to be crystal clear. >> you want to make sure that

everybody knows that we're talking about a crime that occurred about his wife being murdered in that particular house. that couldn't be left ambiguous. >> a risky plan and no guarantees it would work. >> is it true das might not go for an operation like that? >> yes. >> son yeia wanted to win. >> i was very nervous, to say the least. >> it had taken nine years to get to this moment. a team of cops watched and videotaped as the undercovers approached magdie. >> he's stepping out of the car right now. >> everyone was on edge, except for the man cast in the role of d. money. >> you had to be going over in your mind like, you know, if he says this, if he does this, i'm going to -- no. things come out spontaneously. you have to be quick. he says a, i say b. you have to have something out there.

there is nothing you can rehearse. either you can do it or you want. >> still there was cause for worry. while these officers looked the part, they had never done anything like this before. >> were you worried at all about their acting ability. >> i was concerned. >> too late now. it was on. coming up, right out of the gate, the mission hits a speed bump. >> the cell phone dials the number of the undercover and they told me he didn't answer the phone. >> an undercover officer misses the call. that was just the beginning. >> i think we all stopped breathing for about ten seconds. >> when "the man who wasn't there" continues. i wanted to help protect myself. my doctor recommended eliquis. eliquis is proven to treat and help prevent another dvt or pe blood clot. almost 98 percent of patients on eliquis didn't experience another. -and eliquis has significantly less major bleeding

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overnight colorado governor announced he and the first gentlemen both tested positive for the coronavirus. he was already in quarantine after learning he was exposed to someone who had covid-19 earlier this week. and the pennsylvania supreme court rejected an election challenge by the gop saturday. the lawsuit claimed no excuse mail-in voting violated the state constitution based on a 2019 law. the court dismissed the motion with prejudice. now back to "dateline." magdie didn't know it, but he was the target of a sting

operation. he had just arrived home. the undercover officers approached, and the camera was rolling. >> check it out, man, my homey locked up in the pen right now. police approached him about him killing your wife for you. we don't care about that. the thing is, we want to get paid for it. we're not going to say [ bleep ]. you know what i mean? >> what's his reaction when you make it clear that you know about his wife's murder? >> he appeared to be shocked. you could tell it was something he wasn't prepared for, he never thought was going to happen. >> we want five racks, $5,000. you know what i'm saying? we ain't going to go to the police. we ain't going to say nothing. you understand what i'm saying? all right. give me a call, man. take my number. that's me. call me tomorrow by 10:00. i'm d money. just give me a call tomorrow by 5:00, $5,000. >> almost as soon as it began it

was over. magdie left standing there with d money's phone number with instructions to call the next day. >> and in terms of oscar winning performances, they do a pretty good job. >> i think so. >> certainly the audience they wanted bought it. >> yes. and i really wasn't too worried about him not buying that because he wasn't the type of person typically to hang out with gang members. so if they were off a little bit, i don't think he would have known, you know, other than what he sees on tv. >> now police waited and wondered what would magdie do. >> if he doesn't call, this all is for nothing. >> it's a done deal. >> more than eight years after the murder, here was the make or break moment. >> he was either going to ignore them. he was going to contact him, or he was going to call the police and say, guess what? i think the guys involved in my wife's murder just came to the

house. >> which is what an innocent person would have done? >> yes. >> but he didn't call the police. >> he did not. >> and he didn't ignore them. >> very true. >> the next day the surveillance team tracked magdie driving. and just at that time -- >> his cell phone dials the number of the undercover. and i'm notified immediately by the wire room. and they told me he didn't answer the phone. >> the undercover officer missed magdie's call. >> so i had to call the undercover. >> saying? >> i'm like -- >> the target of the invest dpags is trying to reach you. >> he was in a bad area for reception, so he had to move. >> that's like a nightmare. >> so we were hoping he'd call back. >> the undercover as usual was confident. >> why were you so convinced he'd come back? >> because he called the first time. to me in this type of deal when you call the first time, you get over the nervousness and you are going to call back. and magdie did call back. the surveillance team caught him

on camera. this time from a place that doesn't get a lot of traffic in the 21st century. >> we know he's at a pay phone. that got really interesting for me right there. >> because that's a sign he's trying to cover up that phone call. >> that's right. there is no reason for him to cover up the phone call. they know where he lives. >> because we're at a point in america where what people who are not trying to cover their tracks don't use pay phones? >> he's lucky he found a pay phone. that's how far away from that kind of covert behavior we've gotten away from. and especially if it's an innocent man. there would be no reason to call them. >> yeah. i'm sitting in the car and the cell phone went off. we let it ring a few times and answered the phone. >> it's d money. what's going on? yeah. i came by yesterday, man. >> yeah. >> what's that? >> what's up? >> the problem is my boy is locked down in the pen, like i

told you yesterday. we know what's going on. you know, my boy took care of a little business, you know. so, you know, we're just trying to get paid just to keep it hush. you know what i mean. >> you got paid everything. >> once he told me, hey, i thought i paid you guys everything, home run. >> you me, it is one of those things where you have known this all along and then you actually hear it from him. and, so, i think it was overwhelming feeling of confirmation. >> and then just as quickly, it all threatened to blow up in their faces. listen carefully. >> where is the middleman? >> what? >> who was the middleman? >> the undercover had no idea. magdie had just asked a question that none of the investigators could answer. >> when magdie says, tell me who the middleman is so i know i can

trust you, that was something the undercover officers i think weren't ready for. >> no. >> they considered the possibility that magdie might have hired the killers through some third party. and now this conversation seemed like confirmation that he had. but who was it? >> it seems to me that the middleman for this would have to be somebody that magdie really trusted, somebody he knew well. >> he would have had to trust this person, yes. >> somebody who would stick up for him? >> yes. >> any thoughts on who that might be? >> i do. i do. >> there was no way to tell the undercover that. so d money just stayed in character. >> you know, everybody know who the middleman was. i ain't worried about that. people talking -- >> how can i trust you? >> because the information that

i got, player, i can go to the police. but i'm not. i'm just trying to get my money so i can go. >> so the conversation about hush money continued. magdie, true to form, haggled over the price. >> $5,000 ain't that much, man. >> that's the problem. i don't have it. i have some. not the whole amount. >> it just goes to show the true character of this man. i mean, here's a guy who will negotiate with thugs ten years later because he feels like he already paid. i mean, it's just -- that's what i mean. he's not in the normal range of th thrifty. this is a whole new level. when you consider what his network, it is unthinkable that he would ever such a conversation. >> what's that? >> police probably had enough to

arrest magdie right then and there, but they waited. >> now you want to do the actual exchange of money. >> got to get the money. >> that meant a second meeting. but would magdie even show up? and if he did, would he come with a plan of his own? coming up -- >> nerve wracking. >> and nail biting. one more hidden camera moment. >> did you bring the check? >> yeah. >> when the man who wasn't there continues. did you know that some aluminum free deodorants only mask odor? secret aluminum free helps eliminate odor

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magdie had just been caught on tape, apparently admitting to hiring thugs to kill his wife. >> i thought you got paid everything. >> he seemed willing to pay even more to keep things quiet. and made a date to do it. >> what's that? >> $1,500 i have on me. >> the next day officers

secretly trailed magdie leaving his home, driving on the freeway and pulling into this home depot parking lot, the meeting point chosen by magdie. >> everybody is out of sight. >> everybody is out of sight, plainclothes, unmarked vehicles except the two of us. >> i'm the police officer, but this is starting to sound like fun. >> yeah. it's definitely fun. it's a rush. i would do it all over again. >> the prosecutor was nearby watching it all unfold. >> tell me what that was like. >> nerve wracking. it's exhilarating. >> did you see magdie? >> not at first. >> but soon enough, he came into view. the undercovers approached his car. >> what's up? what's going on? >> what's happening. >> did you bring a check? >> no. >> cash? that's $1,500. >> so i took an envelope, snashed it from him and counted

it right there. >> it was 15 $100 bills. >> no more, man. all right. >> yeah. >> is everything good? >> this was not some sort of frightened little mouse who was doing what he was told by you guys. this was a guy who was poised and kind of in control of the situation. >> yeah. i'm going to get it done and this will be it. >> but before it was, the undercover dropped one more line to see if magdie would bite. >> what the [ bleep ] did your wife do so mad to you to make you want to kill her ass? >> he didn't take the bait? >> he almost did. >> magdie probably thought he was home free. but as he drove away, officers swarmed in. >> you arrest him and you guys are all feeling like wyatt earp. >> we were feeling pretty good, yes. >> ryan had no idea any of this

was happening. he had moved back to southern california and was completely unprepared for the call he received from detective wilson. >> you come to the station. the cops bring you in and they say? >> your father has been arrested. and i couldn't be more happier. i really felt like my dreams and my prayers had been answered. >> richard once their dad's loyal and trusted confidant was not as thrilled. >> i was happy that the arrest was made. but then on the other end of it, i mean, i was sad in a way, too because even though i knew in my heard he had something to do with it -- >> it's still your dad. >> it's still my dad. and i always had some deeply wedged fantasy that maybe one day the cops would arrest someone else completely and end up actually telling us like, you know what, your dad ended up not

having doing to do with it. >> you wanted to be wrong? >> i wanted to be wrong on that. i really wanted to be wrong. >> sit there over for me, magdie. i'm detective wilson. >> detective wilson brought magdie to the station and sat him down in the interview room. his tactic was an old one in small rooms like this. play dumb and see where magdie took him. >> basically, what i need to know is what was going on at long beach by the home depot center. >> two days ago on wednesday around the 27th, i was coming from costco. i find two guys approaching me. i never saw them in my life. they are black guys. this is the two. >> but his account differed in key ways from what detective

wilson already had on tape. >> i stopped one, and they told me. is your lady get killed in this house? and you have to pay us $5,000. otherwise we're going to hurt you and hurt your kids. >> that's lie number one. there are no threats on the tape. >> well, how did you get to be with them today? >> yeah. they throw telephone number on the lawn. >> like on a piece of paper. >> small piece of paper. >> on the lawn. >> hit me up tomorrow. >> lie number two. the tape clearly shows magdie taking the number. then detective wilson asked magdie the million dollar question. >> why didn't you call it? you have a phone number. >> both my kids and myself. >> are you scared of the police? is that why? >> no. it's not scared. but my wife problem is not

solved yet, and you can say that the husband is the suspect. >> those tears had no effect on wilson who now had magdie on tape paying hush money. >> and we know you paid them. okay? >> yes. >> wilson bored in. >> what kind of person are you? because right now we don't know. is magdie the type of guy that's a hard, closed, calculated murderer that paid someone to kill his wife? >> i'm just an innocent person. just a simple person, believe me. >> magdie pleaded for sympathy. detective wilson was not sympathetic. >> i lost my wife. >> but it's your fault. you hired somebody. >> i no hired anybody. >> he recorded it. they recorded the conversations with these guys. i'm not lying. i'm not lying. >> you are a liar to talk like that. no. you guys are going to trap me

and stuff. no, no. >> magdie had said the magic word, lawyer. he was done talking. there would be no confession. >> you didn't expect that he was going to admit it. >> no. the lies were good enough for me. >> good enough to make the case. but wilson thought he'd try one more time to crack magdie. this time by making him face his own son. ryan wasn't so sure at first. >> i called my brother as i normally do as the younger one and i told him, what do you think? he was like, do you feel like you want to talk to him? i was like, yeah, i want some questions answered. >> so he walked into that little room and saw his father for the first time in eight years. >> what's wrong with you? you forgot dad? >> you don't even look the same. >> and ryan had a lot to say. >> you had a choice not to hurt me and richard. you had a choice not to hurt

your wife. why did you do that? >> i didn't test anybody. i'm looking at you. i'm looking at you. >> i can't believe you, man. >> my son. i don't believe you. >> don't call me your son. i don't want to hear that. >> you're a horrible person for what you did. i just want to let you know that. >> i didn't do anything. >> yes, you did. >> i did not. >> was it hard to tell your dad that you thought he was involved in your mom's murder? >> yeah. it was definitely very, very hard. >> it is hard for you to talk about it now? >> yes, it is. it is. and the person that i have nightmares over was right in front of me, and i was scared. >> and soon ryan would face his father again. this time in court. >> coming up -- >> the killing of ariet was because she interrupted a robbery or a drug transaction

between ryan and these two suspects. >> a father/son showdown. but exactly who's on trial? >> the evidence suggests he was involved with people that were dealing hard core drugs. >> when "the man who wasn't there" continues. ♪ you're all, you're all i need ♪ ♪ you're all, you're all i need ♪ ♪ as long as i got you then baby ♪ ♪ you know that you've got me, oh! yea...♪ ♪ to syour body needs routine. system, ♪ you know that you've got me, oh! yea...♪ centrum helps your immune defenses every day, with vitamin c, d and zinc. season, after season. ace your immune support, with centrum. lexus has been celebrating driveway moments.

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after an undercover sting led to his arrest for the murder of his wife ariet. it was a case prosecutor sonia couldn't wait to try. nearly a decade in the making. and as it turned out, it would be her last. sonia had been promoted to management. >> this was my swan song, yes. >> so you wanted to go out with a win? >> prosecutors don't like to lose. >> yeah, i've noticed that. but i think you want to do your best. i think that's how i approach my cases. i want to be able to say that i did my best and hopefully justice is done. >> despite what you have seen, the case still wasn't a slam dunk. there was no proof magdie knew the alleged killer, no evidence he paid bridget any money. and while detectives have their suspicions, they still couldn't prove it.

as you will see, even that undercover tape could be seen through a different lens. on the eve of the trial, richard and ryan got ready for the big day. their suits were pressed. they reviewed their prior statements. and they weighed the consequences of what this moment meant. >> i'm happy that we got closure, but then it is sad. we just lost our mom and in the same light we lost our dad, too. their only surviving parent, the one they lived in fear of for years, would be the one they had to face in court. >> part of me is scared of him, but also part of me wants to stand up and let my voice be heard after all these years. i want to be strong. >> and so the brothers walked into court together that first day of opening statements, standing strong, united in their quest for justice for their mom. >> magdie conspired to have his

wife murdered. she was an inconvenient woman to him and people are disposable to this defendant. >> our cameras were not allowed to record witness testimony inside the courtroom where the evidence was stacked up against magdie. she showed the jury how in the months leading up to the murder, magdie slowly drained his joint accounts with ariet, leaving her with almost nothing. and sonia said the crime scene evidence showed this wasn't just some random murder. >> it was about silencing somebody who denied him. >> but then on the witness stand, richard, who had once helped his father persuade ariet to back all her story now denied magdie. richard testified about the abuse his mom had suffered at his father's hands. he testified about coming home and finding his mother battered and bruised.

richard recounted the story to the jury. but it seemed he was really speaking to his father. we caught up with richard after court. >> it was really a good experience for me just to be able to finally face him face to face and be able to look him in the eyes and actually be able to confront him for what he's done. >> but magdie faced a tougher confrontation from the words of his dead wife. his preliminary hearing had been saved and now the prosecution read it into the court record. >> how important was ariet's testimony from the previous case? >> it was huge. it was as if for an afternoon she came back to life and took the stand. >> ryan would need to channel that same strength of his mother's for what came next. he took the stand with magdie just feet away, a father's eyes

bored into his son. >> i really felt like if he had me one-on-one he would beat me down. he just wanted anything to get me to shut up. >> this time, ryan refused to keep quiet, telling the jury and his father about that terrible september night when two men broke into his home, beat him up and repeatedly stabbed his mother in the next room. >> then ryan faced cross-examinati cross-examination. and the defense attorney had already told the jury he planned to put ryan on trial. >> the killing of ariet was because she interrupted a robbery or a drug transaction or a collection of a debt of some kind between ryan and these two suspects. >> the defense argument, ariet's murder was tied directly to

ryan's criminal activity. >> i think that the evidence suggests that he was involved with people that were dealing hard core drugs. >> ryan admitted that he smoked and sold weed. but ryan was doing much more than that. he pointed to the drug paraphernalia police found in ryan's room. tinfoil. and what he said was a pipe with white residue which he said was consistent with heroin and meth use, evidence that police had failed to test. the defense said it showed ryan's drug dealing was bigger than he let on. then the defense directed jurors to those threats ryan had received on his computer weeks before the murder. you better watch your back. i know where you live. and the taunting message that came after the murder. how did you like your gift? lol. lol? did anybody follow up?

not really. they just said, we know who did it, magdie did. they focussed on magdie. they never left magdie. >> and they never figured out who sent those e-mails. >> they to this day haven't figured it out and the da never once mentioned the threatening e-mails, never tried to explain them, just left them alone just like the police. what's hanging out there is who sent those e-mails and why? >> could the threats be why ryan's friend offered him a nice? >> the fact that he was offered a nice for his protection by his drug dealing friend just minutes or at the latest hours before the murder of his mother by someone using a knife suggests to me that there was some reason for him to be afraid for his own safety in his own home. >> the defense also attacked ryan's credibility. remember what ryan told us, that one of the intruders said -- >> i know your circumstances.

i know what you're going through. i'm not going to kill you. >> it turns outline did not tell that to the 911 operator. why? the defense argued because those words were never spoken and said ryan made them up later to deflect suspicion from himself and his drug connections. one thing was irrefutable and hard to explain the defense told the jury. ryan did not check on ariet before he fled the house. >> how does a young man whose mother has come to save him not look in and check to see whether or not he could save his mother before running out of the house? what does that say about his character? >> after two days of brutal cross-examinati cross-examination, ryan says he felt dejected and betrayed. >> i feel like i'm getting back stabbed by my own father, that he's claiming that his son is such a troubled youth. >> of course, the defense also

had a huge problem. those videotapes of magdie taking the phone number from the undercover. >> hit me up tomorrow. >> calling them the next day. >> you got paid everything. >> and then showing up with $1,500. all of it made magdie look very, very guilty. >> i would like him to get up there on the stand and try to explain what he meant when he said i already paid everything off. >> it turns out the defense did have an explanation and documents, too, which might prove magdie's innocence. >> coming up, would that undercover tape convict him or clear him? a defense surprise. >> he's playing along with them in order to be able to get after him. >> and the verdict, would that be a surprise, too? >> this is it. >> i didn't want to let those boys down. >> when "the man who wasn't

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in spite of the damning testimony against magdie by his own sons, this defense attorney tried to show jurors magdie did everything to provide a better life for them and his wife ariet. >> his life was dedicated to his family and to making the american dream work for him. he was an immigrant who came with nothing and made something of himself. >> he had some flaws, the defense said, but he did not have ariet killed. but then what to make of those undercover tapes and magdie's apparent admission. >> i thought you got paid everything. >> would magdie take the stand to explain what he meant on those tapes? no. apparently he felt he had done enough talking. instead, the defense attorney

showed the jury evidence which he said proved magdie was not guilty. magdie had written down the serial numbers of the 15 $100 bills he had given the undercover officers. and he tried to write down the license plate number of their vehicle which, said the defense, cast that undercover video in a whole new light. >> he's playing along with them in order to be able to apprehend them. >> and so when he says to them, just tell me the name of the middleman so i know i can trust you, he's bluffing. he doesn't know the middleman. he's just trying to get that information out of them. >> absolutely. >> the only thing magdie was guilty of was trying to play detective. >> the police have never left their vision of him as being the suspect. and because of that, he's got to essentially solve the case on his own. >> what would the jury think? on the day of closing arguments, richard and ryan walked to court together.

they had brought something for prosecutor, a religious tile. >> sonia wanted me to bring an item from our mom and stuff. >> they learned the evidence-driven prosecutor had a superstitious side. she wanted to have something of ariet's to touch to channel ariet's spirit and courage. >> took the witness stand in a preliminary hearing and faced evil. and for the first time in her life, stood up to him. she knew exactly what he would do to her for it. >> he had done some bad things in his life, but he didn't hire anybody to murder ariet. he's innocent. >> there was nothing left to do

now but wait. >> i don't know. this has been like -- >> i have so much anxiety built up right now. i'm just wondering when the verdict is going to come in, will it be like at my moment. >> sonia already at her new job waited for the phone to ring. she had played the waiting game many times. it wasn't any easier this last time. >> i didn't want to let those boys down. so, yes, i was probably a little bit more nervous than usual. >> it was definitely agonizing. >> after two days, the jury had reached a verdict. >> were you worried there was going to be a not guilty verdict. >> the only thing that had worried me was all it takes is one person to not see things the way that everyone else sees it. >> you'd never know what a jury is going to do. >> never know what a jury is going to do. >> all right, counsel. i'm going to bring the jury in. >> when they filed back to the crowded courtroom, ryan didn't

look at his dad. instead, he held on to his brother. >> i was just embracing the moment. this is it. this is all riding on this. >> we, the jury, in the above identi entitled action find the defendant guilty of conspiracy to commit a murder. it hit us. this is what we had been waiting for for nine and a half years. >> in the gallery, the brothers cried. and as the hearing continued, richard's sobs grew louder and louder until he couldn't contain himself any longer. >> why, papa? why? >> i told him in arabic. why, dad? why? why? i still can't fathom the reason of why he would do such a thing. why he would throw everything

away. >> what was magdie trying to tell his son. we'll never know. magdie's thoughts at his sentencing were somewhat clearer. >> i have nothing to do with the killing of my wife. i did to the best of my ability to work hard, secure future and advise my kids not to get involved with all this gang activity or anything. i'm not a bad father. and maybe i'm strict. but i love them. they are my kids. >> magdie was sentenced to life in prison without parole. if magdie had not taken the bait. if he had gotten the phone number and thrown it away and just said i don't know who you are. i don't know what you're talking about. and if you call me again, i'm going to call the police, would

he be in custody today? >> probably not. >> so he ended up giving you his whole case? >> his greed gave me my whole case. >> magdie had worked tirelessly to build the dream. and then by his own hand, destroyed it. well, perhaps not all of it. these two brothers may have lost both their parents, but they still had each other. >> what's up, bro? >> all my heart. >> i love you too, richard. i'll take one right here. >> in april 2018, accused hitman anthony bridget was found guilty on several charges, including the murder of ariet. in august 2020, the two most serious convictions, conspiracy to commit murder and first degree murder were upheld on appeal. the court reversed two others,

aggravated assault and false imprisonment because the statute of limitations had run out before bridget was brought to trial. he is serving life without the possibility of parole. the second intruder has never been identified. and despite investigator's suspicions, knitter has the mysterious middleman. >> you never found out who that was? >> not yet. >> been ten years. >> that's true. took me nine to get magdie. you have to be patient in this line of work. >> there is still a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the remaining suspects. richard and ryan hope someone will come forward. in the meantime, they are keeping their heads down and working hard, just as their father always taught them to do. >> we last interviewed ryan. he said he planned to do some things differently. do you picture yourself as a dad some day in. >> i do. >> what kind of dad are you going to be?

>> i'm going to be the opposite of my father. i'm going to be there when my kids need me. >> and that's the beauty of the american dream. there is always a new beginning, no matter where you came from. ♪ no, it can't be. it can't be. he was so big in my life, the thought that anything bad could have happened to him, didn't make sense to me. >> glamorous, good looking, golden, the dashing hollywood movie executive. >> he was more like a movie star in real life.