answer. >> why? and how could he ever harm such a nice person? i mean, nikki was such a good person. >> the hardest question always the why craig melvin. thank you for watching. i'm craig melvin. and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is dateline. >> he told me he loved me. i told him i love tim. he said he would be right back. i could hear a commotion of some sort. and then i remember hearing gunshots. looking to see him lying there, it was bad. >> it's the website we're

lovers go to meet and cheat. >> this was someone looking to have an affair. >> but this affair was about so much more than deceit. >> you couldn't write this as a movie. you can write this is a. book >> this affair became a game. a wife and her lover, spying on her husband and his lover. >> you just think, well what else have they done? >> and then, this by game turned deadly. one of the four lovers was gunned down. >> it's obviously was not something that was random. >> waiting at the scene, a man with a strange story. and waiting for detectives, a strange video. >> how creepy was that video? >> it was very creepy. >> an affair to remember. >> he was the. one >> and a fair to forget. >> i shouldn't have done it. >> and one warmer secret still to be revealed. >> she said, i need you to sit down. i have something to tell you. the hair is on my the back of my neck stood up.

>> hello, and welcome to dateline. by all appearances sam and danielle dreher had, a storybook marriage. then one traffic afternoon, their worlds came crashing down. destroyed by a series of bullets and a senseless killing. as investigators began today, they realize not all was as it seemed. they had entered a thorny maze of marital betrayal. here's thief andrea canning, with tangled web. >> sarasota, florida. the perfect backdrop for romance. beautiful beaches for a long walks, gorgeous sunsets, and this little rhythm of a gentle gulf tied. stories of love abound in this city by the city. but not all have ended happily ever after. like the one that unfolded hair back in december of 2012.

when secrets, lies and infidelity led to murder. >> 9-1-1 was the location of emergency? >> hello? a man's been shot. >> it's really a trusted love story? >> it's so twisted. it's tangled. it's a not. i'm not sure that it will ever come undone. but i do know that there is more to the story than has been told. >> it all began back in 1998, when the 26-year-old local firefighter by the name of sam dreher, met the love of his life, danielle laborovo,. >> they were there just the ideal young couple. they held hands. they looked at each assure there. he seemed crazy about her. >> sam's older so sister, cindy lutz, was thrilled when she found out sam had a serious new girlfriend. what was your first impression? >> she was really sweet. she seemed crazy about him. she liked the outdoors.

she liked to travel. so, they just have a lot in common. >> so it came as not a price when sam announced he was ready to pop the question. as for how he proposed, the firefighter didn't disappoint. >> he had hired a sand sculpture to build a rather large sense culture of a treasure test. and then he police the engagement ring in the box. >> so there was some rails pirates booty there? >> right, right. he pulled the bring out, got down on one knee, proposed. or >> sends a romantic. >> he is, isn't he. >> the lucky in love newlyweds would become equally successful at work. sam quickly climb the fire department ladder, rising to the rank of lieutenant, at the young age of 33. >> he loved the fire services. absolutely loved it. lumping the paramedic. >> daniela was just as a ambitious, finding her stride in the administrative office of a local hospital. >> she became the regional marketing director for the

hospital operation. >> sam and danielle didn't have children. but they have the next best thing, sounds great niece aubrey cake. >> you're like the daughter we never had. they always told me that. >> aubrey, who attended college nearby, often spec weekends with the dreher. >> sam was the best ever. he really took me in as family. right away. he was just like our dad. he just really cared. focus on school, don't let those boys ruin your life. you know? they are no good. don't let those boys get around you. and you are never allowed today a fireman. >> what's wrong with firemen? >> oh, he just work with them. he knew how they. we're [laughs] >> did danielle also take you in like you are one of your own her own? >> yes, she was as welcome as she was. >> but aubrey listen to their tails of romantic trips to exotic plants. they >> travel the world together. they had so many good times.

and so many great experiences. i would >> i would imagine they're almost like role models? you >> yeah, they were, they were. >> perfect life, perfect wife. everything just seemed great. for both of them. >> but all of that changed in august of 2012. it was a hot saturday afternoon in sarasota, when registered nurse trish murphy, heard a disturbance coming from the stairwell just outside her apartment. >> it sounded like somebody was being chased. and then i heard somebody yell, oh god, no. >> the unmistakable sound of gunshots followed. four of them in quick succession. trish immediately called 9-1-1. >> 9-1-1, was the location of emergency? >> i just heard gunshots. and somebody screaming outside and somebody running outside. >> i think my heart was probably going a gazillion miles an. minute >> trish slowly paired out of her apartment door and saw a man lying in the stairwell, believing. she knew he was an a resident of the apartment complex.

>> i had no idea who he was. my concern was to get him over on his side, because he was faced down and in a really big pool of blood. >> trish was it the only one at the scene. her upstairs neighbor, dianne mcknight, also try to aid the victim. >> there is just blood everywhere. and i just didn't know what to do. iran back into my apartment england tells. >> as the minute stick by, trish began to worry this shooter might still be in the area. >> then all of a sudden you think, well, i wonder where the person is that did this. for ole new, the person upstairs shot him. >> but those questions would have to wait, soon paramedics arrive on the scene. they learned the victim was one of their own. it was firefighter sam dreher, the paramedics immediately airlifted sam to the nearest trauma center.

as word of the shooting spread. >> she is screaming into the phone, you have to come. he's been shot. he's been shot. and i said who's been shot? and she screams that, sam. >> but cindy jumped in her car to be at her brother side. 1000 questions world through her mind. why sam, who shot him, and why was gave apartment complex? >> a firefighter gunned down. but this seems like more than just a random shooting. coming up -- >> there some infidelity going on and there's no cause for concern. >> when dateline continues. plus a cooling sensation. live claritin clear.

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♪♪ [ humming ] [ door creaks ] oh. [ soft music playing ] what are you all doing in my daydream? it's better than that presentation. a lot better. you know, whether it's a fraction or a decimal, it's still fun, you know? it's very common to have both sensitivity and gum issues. whether it's a fraction dentists and hygienists will want to recommend sensodyne sensitivity and gum. you get the sensitivity relief as well as improved gum health all in one. >> as cindy lutz race to the

hospital, all she knew that was that her brother sam had been shot. >> it was a nightmare. is seemed like we were traveling 1000 miles. we just could not get there fast enough. >> when cindy finding made it to the icu, sam's wife daniel was already there, waiting in the hallway. >> she started crying. and i said, is your life? just tell me he's alive. >> she said he's alive. but >> the prognosis wasn't good. >> then the doctor said he was shot four times. and i'm thinking, wrong place, wrong time. i didn't know what happened. >> there responsibility of finding out what happened fell to detectives chad mcdonald and jarek mike szalbirak, who began gathering pieces of the puzzle as soon as they arrived on scene. >> this case was personal? you >> lloyd forsman and

firefighters are very close? in this case it was in just another victim. this victim was part of this larger brotherhood. and it kind of hit home. >> first, they interviewed the two neighbors who found sam lying in the stairwell. >> whenever we work a crime, that is usually when you're gonna start with. your 9-1-1. caller >> trish murphy told detectives this normally quiet, upscale gated community had never experience anything like this before. >> it was a nice quiet place to be. >> but she did remember seeing something that troubled her one evening, just a month before the shooting. a man standing in the woods across the lake, staring at the building. >> i thought to myself, that that was an odd thing. who would just be standing there. the >> detectives then turned to trish is traumatize labor with dianne mcknight. they learned dianne was holding on to. secret >> it turns out that the witness, dianne mcknight, was a lot more deaths than just a witness. she was very important to this

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

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

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

>> yeah. >> but dianne then saw him a third time. this time immediately after some had been shot. >> that same man -- >> that just gave me skills. >> came running up the stairs towards me. i just looked at him and i said what are you doing here? >> she recognized him and you can hear her on the 9-1-1 call. >> i didn't see who -- i don't know -- i don't know -- what are you doing? here >> i just member him making this motion like, whoa. then he ran off. >> did you start to think in those split seconds that, this mystery man was really after sam? >> yeah, it was definitely a suspicion. >> it must have been such a puzzle. >> yes. >> puzzling two for detectives. we >> needed to know what this connection was. >> coming up. more secrets waiting to be revealed. >> she said, i need you to sit down i have something to tell you. and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

>> when dateline continues. this past year has felt like a long, long norwegian winter. but eventually, with spring comes rebirth. everything begins anew. and many of us realize a fundamental human need to connect with other like-minded people. welcome back to the world. viking. exploring the world in comfort... once again.

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can take you to deep, depressive lows. or, give you unusually high energy, even when depressed. >> while sam dreher clung to overwhelmed by bipolar i? ask about vraylar. some medicines only treat the lows or highs. vraylar effectively treats depression, acute manic and mixed episodes of bipolar i in adults. full-spectrum relief for all bipolar i symptoms, with just one pill, once a day. elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis have an increased risk of death or stroke. call your doctor about unusual changes in behavior or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. report fever, stiff muscles, or confusion, which may mean a life-threatening reaction, or uncontrollable muscle movements, which may be permanent. side effects may not appear for several weeks. high cholesterol and weight gain, high blood sugar, which can lead to coma or death, may occur. movement dysfunction, sleepiness, and stomach issues are common side effects. when bipolar i overwhelms, vraylar helps smooth the ups and downs.

life in the icu, dianne mcknight, remained at the crime scene wondering who could've been responsible for his shooting. >> how scared are you knowing that there is a shooter on the loose? >> i was terrified. >> dianne told the tech gives about the strange man she had seen multiple times around her apartment complex. the same man who appeared

moments after sam was shot. >> they said, could you describe him? so i described him. >> little did dianne no, a man fitting that very same description had just been arrested. he had approached sheriff deputies moments after they arrived on scene and confessed to the shooting. >> the deputy had him in the back of the patrol truck are. he told us that he made statements that he was a shooter. >> did you feel like this could be an easy one? case closed? or did you think there's got to be more to the story. >> there's never an easy one. there's always more to the. story >> the man identified himself as michael minor. detectives mcdonald and szalbirak, immediately brought him down to the sheriff's office for questioning. >> he's very distraught, but he's willing to talk to us. and we were very much ready to listen to him. >> michael outlined for detectives the details of the shooting. he started by insisting it was all an accident. >> i never intended to pull that trigger. >> but detectives weren't so sure. after all, michael shot sam not

once but four times. one of the shots was to the back of sam's head. so sam is laying here and michael is right on top of him, basically, giving him the final shot? >> he would have had to have been. that's when the evidence indicates. >> one shot, in the back of would've been an accident. not the four shots that he actually fired. that was no accident, at all. >> but detectives wanted to know, if this was an accident, why then did michael shoot sam? >> we had all these pieces of the puzzle and we're trying to fit them altogether. >> that's when michael revealed something that would turn the case on its head. he told detectives about an affair. but it was in the affair between sam and dianne. it was an affair he was having with the victim's wife, danielle dreher. they >> have been having an affair for four years. >> it was a mind spinning a moment. detectives had just discovered the victim sam had been treating cheating on his wife danielle.

now they were learning danielle had also been cheating on sam. >> everybody here is involved with somebody else. it was interesting to say the least. >> and challenging for detectives who now had to contend with a second affair. michael minor, the plumber, 13 years younger than danielle, told them the two had met on ashley madison with, a website for husbands and wives looking to cheat. the websites slogan, life is short. have an affair. this >> was someone looking to have an affair. >> they both were. >> yes. >> but michael insisted this was north casual fling. after all, the affair had lasted for years. what's more, he told detectives, he had fallen in love with danielle. >> it was like i really found my soulmate, man. it was so wonderful. i really had every intention of marrying this girl. >> he was smitten. i mean, he was totally obsessed with her. and in love with her. >> he went on to say that on

the day of the shooting, he decided it was finally time to talk to sam, man to man. he wanted to come clean about his love for danielle. >> he wants to confront sam, basically tell him that he is the other man. >> i concocted this seem to go up there and tell him, you know, yeah i'm seeing your wife. i'm seeing your wife. >> that day, michael said he tracked some down and found him in the parking lot of dianne fun's apartment complex. he also said he bought a gun because he had no idea how sam would react. >> he's better than me. so i just, you know i brought my fire arm. i intended to go up there and just scare him. >> according to michael, his man-to-man with sam didn't go as planned. when sam sob michael was armed, he fled. >> don't run, don't run. i'm trying to force him to talk to me. >> michael run after some of these stairs. he said at some point, while the two were at in the stairwell, sam turned.

>> michael claims that he was in fear and closed his eyes and just fired his gun. >> then he, comes towards me and i just -- i close my eyes and they just pull the trigger. and i'm so sorry. >> with all the things he's telling you, he's in a relationship with daniel, do you start to think we need to talk to danielle dreher? >> yes, so the next step was let's hear danielle's story. >> so detective szalbirak left michael and headed to the hospital where danielle had been waiting for updates on sam's condition. all danielle had been told was that sam had been shot. no one told or by whom. >> when i go over there, she was crying, she was very upset. >> detectives recorded the interview. >> we're trying to piece together what's all happened here. >> okay. let me get come. here >> at first, detective but szalbirak didn't reveal that he knew about eight danielle's lover michael minor, or that it was michael who shot.

sam instead started by asking daniel about her marriage to same. daniel candidly described it as troubled. >> we have been not getting along for many months. danielle also explained that she knew sam was having an affair, despite sam's best efforts to conceal. it >> did you know where he went? today >> today? i'm sure he went to his girlfriend's. but he always goes to her house. i'm not surprised by. that >> danielle had admitted that she to, was unfaithful. >> she was pretty straightforward and told me about the affair. >> it was wrong, i shouldn't have done it. nobody should cheat. >> little by little, the detectives led danielle to believe they were focusing their investigation on her lover michael. >> so it was kind of shot you if michael wanted to confront him? >> yeah. >> that's what happened. >> really? >> and we have michael. >> do you? >> it wasn't the reaction the detective was expecting. he found daniels tone to be strangely flat and unemotional. that was troubling to me.

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

>> did i just hear what i just heard? >> for adults and snared by lies and deceit. one clinging to life. but this tangled story was about to get a whole lot more twisted. >> coming up -- >> danielle was just totally obsessed with what sam was doing. which went beyond anything that i've seen before in investigations. >> when dateline continues with. with the first and only 24-hour eye allergy itch relief drop now without a prescription. a single drop of pataday once daily relief extra strength works on the cells that make your eyes itch...fast. in minutes you get relief that lasts 24 hours. that's a full day and night in one drop. make it a pataday with the drop that's right for you. available everywhere

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darkside.>> 24 hours after sanr had been shot, his condition began to deteriorate, rapidly. sam's sister cindy was there when the family decided to take him off life support. >> i hated it. i thought of him like he was one of my children. i loved him that much. >> were you able to be with sam? were you able to hold his hand and say goodbye? >> i did. >> what did you say to? him >> i made him a promise that the people responsible for his murder would pay for it. >> the news of sam's passing hit dianne mcknight hard. >> in my mind i'm still thinking, maybe there is still some hope. that he can survive this. but when i heard that, i knew that i was never going to see him again.

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

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

, danielle. >>,. . . >> mcdonald szalbirak,. . , danielle dianne. >> danielle was just totally obsessed with what sam was doing. which went beyond anything that i've seen before and investigations. >> what's more, it appeared to them that danielle had persuaded michael to help her. >> they had basically stocked them. >> they actually put a tracker on their vehicles. >> this is by equipment?

>> correct. >> sheriff's deputies discovered it in the wheel well of sums pick up. police also found evidence that both danielle and michael were taking surveillance photos of sam and dianne. this is a photo taken of them on sam's boat. in this one, they are on dianne's balcony. >> michael would've been somewhere on the lake there and that's where he would've been hate hiding in the. bushes >> seems like a perfect spot actually. if you wanted spire on someone. >> absolutely. >> but detective said the couple only got bolder from there. they discovered evidence michael had brazenly broken into dianne's apartment and videotape the inside. >> inside the belly of the beast. but >> i believe his first words were i'm in the believe the bees. and his first but hand over was to the alarm pad where it was unarmed. >> that could've been bad, ha? >> as michael documented every aspect of dianne's personal life, poking around her drawers,

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

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

she did manipulate him. and she manipulated him to the point of killing sam i don't know? >> detectives mcdonald and szalbirak, realize they needed to pay danielle dreher another visit. >> we're going back to find out what is your intent? what is your involvement in? this >> coming up -- >> did someone have 1 million reasons to commit murder? >> it was a substantial amount of money she was going to gain if sam turned up dead. >> when dateline continues. we're carvana, the company who invented car vending machines and buying a car 100% online. now we've created a brand-new way for you to sell your car. whether it's a year old or a few years old. we wanna buy your car. so go to carvana and enter your license plate answer a few questions. and our techno wizardry

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as a movie. you can write this as a book. it wouldn't be believable. who does this? >> tracking devices, surveillance photos, sneaking into an apartment. it sounded more like a couple of privatized van a plumber and marketing director. diane recall the time she and sam were eating at this restaurant went out of nowhere, danielle appeared. >> all of a sudden this woman comes up from behind sam and she said, i'm danielle, the soon to be ex. you must be the next. >> wow. awkward? >> yeah. i just wanted to get out of their. >> danielle they left them without incident. >> did you think you are being followed? >> no, i thought it was just a big coincidence, out of all the places. now i know why she was there. >> this is like marital espionage.

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

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

for good measure. do you remember him saying that? >> i don't. >> he said it before. he would say things like al kill the -- >> did you ever think he was serious? >> no. >> they then asked danielle about the messages she sent back to him. >> i'm so close to introducing them go both to daisy. >> i remember saying. that i didn't have days with me, though. >> okay. >> at the time. nor would i do anything with a gun. i mean i, think i was trying to impress michael, in a weird way. >> do you think that there are joking with each other, or do you think it's real? >> i asked danielle that very question. why are you saying this? and she just said, oh, i'm just trying to sound a tough. so she denied this to be for real. >> that that is not the weary sands sister saw it. when detectives showed those text to cindy she was dumbstruck. >> i could not believe what i

was reading. this is someone who has been in my family for almost 13 years. even talking about it with you now, i have chills. >> those tex, she said, prove just how much danielle heated sam, and wanted him out of the way. she is convinced danielle manipulated michael to feel the same way. do you think that danielle had anything to do with your brother's death? was she somehow directly associated? >> i think she is. and i hope danielle but dreher i hold her as much if not more responsible than the man actually shot him. >> cindy told affective she believed hatred wasn't danielle 's only motive, that she was also driven by that age-old incentive -- >> i believe it was the money. to divorce him and split half of it is one thing. but to get all of it, i think it was money. i think it was always money. >> just over 1 million dollars in fact. >> it was a substantial amount of money that she was going to

game if sam turned up dead. and that's exactly what happened. >> we asked danielle dreher to sit down with us for an interview. both she and her attorney declined. but during dreher danielle's interview the detectives she emphatically denied having anything to do with sam's murder. >> i would never come a husband. i would never kill another human being. >> and the man who pulled the trigger supported danielle's claim of innocence. in no uncertain terms. >> i acted on my own. i did this all of my own. and, you know, i just -- >> so you are indicating, then, that danielle's only involvement was in order to help you -- basically, get dirt on her husband. to help in the divorce. nothing to do with harming him? >> right. >> but michael's response did it sway cindy lutz. i >> didn't believe him. i think he was protecting her. i think he would've done anything for her.

>> cindy believe that included lying about danielle being involved in sam's murder. and cindy was an alone. >> do i believe that she was part of the murder scheme? yes. >> sarasota county lead homicide prosecutor karen fraivillig, believed danielle manipulated michael to kill sam. >> she's very manipulative person and she was able to manipulate michael minor. and there is a dead man because of that. but >> the question now before the prosecutor, could she prove it in court? >> coming up -- when one lover be tree another? >> my hope is that he would contact us and say, hey, i want to tell you the truth. >> and the lover left behind ponders what might have been. >> we'll see the one? >> he was the one. without a doubt. he still is the one. >> when dateline continues.

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report fever, stiff muscles, or confusion, which may mean a life-threatening reaction, or uncontrollable muscle movements, which may be permanent. side effects may not appear for several weeks. high cholesterol and weight gain, high blood sugar, which can lead to coma or death, may occur. movement dysfunction, sleepiness, and stomach issues are common side effects. when bipolar i overwhelms, vraylar helps smooth the ups and downs. fraivillig has prosecuted, she found this case of sam dreher's murder especially frustrating. >> it's hard to remain unemotional in a murder. the murder of an instant person. who did nothing except fall in love with another woman. >> michael minor may have shot sam, but prosecutor fraivillig believed danielle manipulated him to do it. and that her motive it was more than just money. >> i think there was a

financial motive, certainly. probably the most overarching motive was, just a jealousy. despite the fact that she was conducting an affair of her own, i think that she was just completely enraged that sam started stepping out on her, as well. >> but in order to prove that in court, fraivillig felt she would need something she didn't yet have. a statement from michael saying danielle acted as his accomplice. so she waited, thinking time would compel him to come forward and admit danielle was involved. he never did. michael maintained danielle played no role in sam's murder. was this possibly a twisted act of chivalry? >> i think that certainly, one of his motivations, if not his sole motivation was, trying to protect the woman that he loved. >> did you say to him, why are protecting her? >> yes. and he said, i'm not. he said i'm not protecting her.

>> we were hoping that he would contact us through his lawyers and say, hey, i want to tell you the truth. i want to tell you what part she had in it. that never happened. >> two and a half years after shooting sam, michael minor agreed to plead guilty to second degree murder. >> and it will live with me forever and it will hurt me forever. >> and exchange for his plea, michael received a sentence of 30 years. >> i would not give him anything less than that. i mean, he pulled the trigger. he didn't pull it once, he pulled it four times. >> i was glad that he was going to jail. >> michael minor didn't just kill our brother. he has mortally wounded our entire family. >> michael minor never wavered in his statement that he acted alone. in the end, prosecutor fraivillig felt she didn't have enough evidence to charge danielle as michaels accomplice. >> i cannot just charge someone based upon my speculation's, the families beliefs, and even

the ugliness of these text messages isn't off. unless i can show that there was a conspiracy. michael minor never gave me that information. >> what is your gut telling you? that daniel was indirectly involved? directly involved? or -- >> she wasn't >> had no part in this whatsoever. >> she wasn't involved in the homicide. >> news of the decision not to prosecute danielle for sam's murder made sam sister, cindy, furious. >> do i think it's a tough case, yes. absolutely. but you know what? their job is not to prosecute cases that are easy. their job is to prosecute criminals. >> but just when everyone thought danielle was free and clear, prosecutor fraivillig said, not so fast. remember michael minor's videotape breaking of dianne mcknight's apartment? the prosecutor believe daniel not only helped plan the break-in, she also instructed michael to steal some of

dianne's possessions. daniel was charged with burglary and theft. at trial, the defense argued daniel never asked michael to steal anything. the jury didn't agree. she was found guilty as charged and sentenced to three years in prison. >> this was a very satisfying verdict. to see the woman be punished for her actions. >> is the murder of sam with dreher an open case or close case? >> no, it's a close case. >> but not for cindy. who continues to mourn the loss of her brother. she keeps his uniform close by for comfort. and with it, a lifetime of memories. >> he was loving, he was carrying, he was the peacemaker. he was always doing for others. he was just sweet. >> cindy wants felt the same way about her sister-in-law, danielle. now there is bad blood between the two. cindy faust daniel in court over benefits from sam's life insurance. they ultimately reached a confidential settlement. cindy also keeps a watchful eye on danielle.

according to cindy, daniel was dating another man before she went to prison. >> she was living with a firefighter with as a matter of fact. one of my brothers supposed fire brothers. >> what's your advice to this guy? this firefighter? >> watch your back. you know? the last two guys involved with daniel, one said, ones in prison. >> as for dianne, she's now left to reflect on a life with santa that could have been. did you to talk about marriage? >> yes. >> and was that in the cards? >> oh, absolutely. >> did you ever feel like i'm being punished for having the severe? >> oh, yes. i might have said those exact words to myself. >> it all started in a club, with an innocent conversation. was it all worth it? falling in love with sam? >> i would never change having

met sam. >> was he the one? >> he was the one. without a doubt. he still is the one.