>> and on that note, i wish you a good night, and a great weekend! i'll see you at the end of, well not tomorrow! i'll see you late night monday! >> my parents always told me that monsters don't exist. i can tell you with absolute certainty, that is 110% false. he is a monster. >> a wife and mother killed in her own home. >> we get a phone call from a screaming irrational call at the other and. i said is it rachel? >> she said what do you mean, someone came in the middle of the night and murdered her? who murdered her? >> police discovered, rachael had a complicated love life. >> she said i felt hopelessly in love with you. >> were you married with someone else? >> i wanted to get out of the

marriage as soon as possible. >> was there a bigger secret? varied in this box? >> for realizing there was a former wife. >> we're coming around this turn. a whole side of the mountain is on fire. >> marriage, money and murder, some say more than one. >> when people say i know how you feel, you have no idea how i feel. i don't want you to know how i feel because no one should ever feel this way. >> the night was profoundly dark, the lowest canopy of trees, even the meager moonlight was shut out. as the driver rushed too fast on the twisting stomach churning tracks, desperate to

save the passengers life. what were they doing out there, so far from civilization from safety? what's answers that the fire consumed? as one of them was launched on a path as dark and twisted as the path itself, when evil of getting another, and another until, this whole story is a mixture of murder and blood a feeling and god, and it is a real crazy situation. >> but to begin. 2500 miles west of that trail in georgia is one of the more civilized places on earth. napa, california, world famous winery, michelin star restaurants, there lived a beautiful woman who loved and admired man. the father, a prominent artist,

the ex fighter pilot and pharmaceutical executive, her husband. her lover, the handyman former marine and firearms expert. and her first boyfriend, the would-be impressionist painter, his name is tim. and she, the woman of the center of all of it was rachel, rachel hadfield. so, rachel, tell me about her. >> i'm sorry. >> jess whatever. >> i'll start again. >> what did that do to you and i said that? >> my heart made a sound. >> the subject of rachel is painful for tim, the pain that might lessen if he could learn to forget, all he can do is remember. like the night they first met. >> it was a july night, a party, she was dancing and i said wow i have to meet that girl. >> how old were you?

>> i was 18, i think she was 17. >> oh wow! love of teens, they set a house together, that's tim really serious looking like a character from the movie dazed and confused, and here is rachel unconsciously glamorous like a movie star in her own unconscious romantic comedy. aspiring artists, waiting for their break. >> could she see you making a life as a painter? >> yeah, she could. >> rachel could pictured because she had seen it happen. her own father, don had phil had made a big name for himself painting the romantic beach scenes that have graced living rooms around the country. you may have seen his how to paint courses on youtube. >> this is called, this is called aiming your shot. >> rare is the artist who like don could comfortably raise for kids in the napa valley. but though many are called,

fewer susan, tim's artistic hopes were not met. he and rachel lowered their sets, and hustled work like murals that could help pay the rent. >> we were doing year olds and that is all the income we had. >> murals don't pay all that well? >> no they don't pay much at all. >> she was supporting and loving, and directing tim. >> don hadfield thought that she would outgrow tim, she buckle down and went to college. >> graduates top of her class, recruited by the law it, they started her at 80 k, we want you -- know, i want to do a business of my own. and she and tim would run around and do stuff. >> pink murals? >> yeah. >> were they any good? >> no, not really. >> but she loved him nonetheless.

14 years this went on, rachael wanted to get married, have kids. >> i didn't ask her to marry me yet. >> did you want to have kids? >> i did, i did, but i wasn't there yet, do you know what i'm saying? >> well, an old story, isn't it? tim was blindsided by what's happened next. rachael met another man, someone who was everything tim was not. todd wynne color, focused, disciplined, a former fighter pilot was on track to be a corporate leader, tim scrambled. >> we and i went and bought a ring real quick to propose to her and i did. >> it was too late by then, of course. >> rachel turned him down and announced her engagement to todd. >> it was really hard. you know? the love of my life was leaving me for some guy that had a good job, a house, a boat, a nice car. >> tim, to me, was rachel's

soul mate, he was nothing but loving and kind to her. >> hard to watch said rachel's closest friend shannon. >> she called me when she broke up with him and said, you know, we're done, i want to have a family and he's not ready to have a family. and so, you know, we're done. literally like two months later she called me and said, you know, you need to be here in two days, i said great, you guys made up, she said no, we didn't make up, it's this other guy, his name is todd, i need you to be here in two days. >> tim didn't go to the wedding, couldn't handle it, went to a bar to escape it. no idea the wedding party would swoop into his bar for around of toast. >> it was hard, man. your girl on this big guy with this hot pink dress, and he is the guy that has everything going on, and she's a pro girl, they look like a great couple. >> i can't imagine with i would

be like? >> yeah, it was just hard. to be the guy who gets dumped is bad. >> it was bad. i quit painting a soon as i found out she married todd and i had no energy, i had no inspiration, i had given up. >> so, what does this broken hearted love story have to do with the fiery mountain crash? more than you could possibly imagine. >> in my mind this is not an accident. our friend was murdered, i truly believe that. >> coming up -- a married woman's complicated love life. one of rachel's lovers is gone, but not forgotten. >> i thought maybe later down the road we could get back together again and share life

together. >> and there is a new lover on the horizon. >> i couldn't get her out of my mind. >> when dateline continues. continues ody was telling a different story. i felt all people saw were my uncontrolled movements. some mental health meds can cause tardive dyskinesia, or td, and it's unlikely to improve without treatment. ingrezza is a prescription medicine to treat adults with td movements in the face and body. it's the only treatment for td that's one pill, once-daily, with or without food. ingrezza 80 mg is proven to reduce td movements in 7 out of 10 people. people taking ingrezza can stay on their current dose of most mental health meds. don't take ingrezza if you're allergic to any of its ingredients. ingrezza may cause serious side effects, including sleepiness. don't drive, operate heavy machinery, or do other dangerous activities until you know how ingrezza affects you. other serious side effects include potential heart rhythm problems and abnormal movements. it's nice people focus more on me. ask your doctor about ingrezza, #1 prescribed for td.

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it's inconvenient crip as an inconvenience, we must pay for our debts. rachel had filtering her life as if on a dime, left her past behind and embrace an existence that was everything it wasn't with her old boyfriend. when she married todd, the ex fighter pilot turned corporate executive she'll so married into a very different lifestyle. there were private airplanes and boats and motorcycles. a big house in the development east of sacramento.

tim, versus todd, no contest said her dad don hadfield. >> the guys an air force academy graduate, he is successful in business, he's a family man, from the midwest, he is great. >> good solid upper middle class, and has a plane. >> planes, boats, all over the place. >> for tim the starving artists could offer a lot of nothing. taught on the other hand -- >> i went to orlando with him to disneyland -- >> and he was picking up the bill for this stuff? >> most of the time, yes. >> don had no way of knowing that tim was, for a time, still in rachel's life, sort of. you didn't lose touch completely? >> we kept in touch. >> why would they do that? maybe because marriage, her marriage, rachel led him to believe wasn't all apple pie and ice cream. >> she wanted to share with me what was going on -- >> when did she tell you?

>> she said that todd had taken credit cards and max them all out, bought a plane. put her in debt for $45,000. >> wow! >> wow! i said are you freaking out? she said yes, but he will take care of it. >> which sounded less like complaining then maybe boasting, tim after all could barely qualify for credit at all. eventually being on the outside looking in, it was just too hard. >> i said i can't take it no more. it's getting harder and harder. >> he asked her to stop calling him, he had to move on, start painting again, forget her. though, as he admitted to us, he wasn't very successful. >> i got, you know, for maybe later down the road i thought, we could get together again and share life again. >> wishful thinking, of course. tim simply fail to understand that rachel's life with hospital todd was getting more exciting by the day. when talks company sent him to

live in briefly in australia he invited rachel's dad to visit. and he paid his way. >> every night after work, boom, we went to cirque du soleil, the comedy club, the dinners, it was a six-week party down there. >> it was back home where their social life blossomed. >> all kinds of things from oktoberfest, the neighbors get together, christmas parties, easter, valentine's day parties. >> i scream -- >> i scream socials, yes! >> these were the neighbors. >> todd had one airplane, and one in the driveway. >> they love having an ex fighter pilot for a neighbor. >> todd was always, i mean, he was just a genuinely interested guy. he would make eye contact with you, he always wanted to know about my job, what cases are you working on, what law do you practice? >> i had actually kind of looked at todd as a guy's guy.

>> he enjoyed their company. they enjoyed todd more than rachel, maybe. >> i knew her less well then i knew todd, i feel. i feel like we were both in the same place in our lives, but moving in different circles. >> she wasn't one of those people you immediately were attracted to her, or what? >> no, i don't, i really liked her but she always seemed a little bit distant, very polite, very friendly but a little bit distant. >> you want to go for there? >> by 2009, rachel and todd had two little daughters, eva and aerial. >> he always seemed very involved and very engaged with the kids, and to me always seem to be trying to help rachael and give them a break. >> rachel and talk to us were like the perfect family. both very proactive parents, loving parents, caring parents. as well to each other a couple,

they seemed like the perfect couple. >> in our experience, we saw todd more on a social level with the kids than we saw rachel. >> not every day, mind you, todd landed a lucrative job with an international pharmaceutical company. grew expense account socked on his desk -- when he called a sweet, as and ceo. the only catch was his office was a long drive away in the san francisco bay area. and not wanting to uproot his family, todd got an apartment in town, returning home to the air park for the weekend. which meant of course that rachel was now anchored to home and two toddlers, mondays through fridays, and was soon restless. she put her kids into daycare and got a full-time job, managing the air park. how is she has a mother? >> oh, she was okay, i guess. >> was that harsh? >> don, you should know has

firmly rooted religious beliefs. >> i try to lead all of my children to the love of jesus christ. >> it was an article of don's faith, a mother should be at home with her kids. >> that was frustrating for me that she had them over in daycare and that she was working full-time. i didn't like it. >> but of course it wasn't the only thing that he didn't like about rachel's job. there was also him. >> first thought i had, wow, what a beautiful woman. and i still remember what she was wearing, i remember her hair was. >> his name? james white, former marine, gun enthusiast, air park handyman. >> she was just the most perfectly nice, most beautiful woman i have ever met. i couldn't get her out of my mind. >> intoxicated by a married woman.

well, no good can come of that. >> coming up -- >> i wanted to get out of that marriage as soon as possible. i want to be with rachel. >> the attraction was mutual, and the fact that they were both married was just one problem. another was soon to arrive. how did she feel about caring todd's baby? >> when dateline continues. teline continues ng homeowner is turning into their parents. -not those two. -yep, they're gone. -forever? -yep. that there is progressive's homequote explorer website, where i compared home insurance rates. we don't need to print the internet. some are beyond help. i will give you $100 if you can tell me what this is. -scotch egg. -it's a meatball. progressive can't help you from becoming your parents, but we can help you compare rates on home insurance with homequote explorer. we've got a lot of work to do. nexgard is the flea and tick protection that's #1 with vets. it even prevents the infection that causes lyme disease. your vet trusts nexgard for her patients and her own dog.

plus, its delicious beef flavor is #1 with dogs. ask your vet about nexgard. (rebecca) it wasn't until after they had done the surgery to remove all the toes that it really hit me. you see the commercials. you never put yourself in that person's shoes until you're there. (announcer) you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit-now.

that oddly satisfying feeling when you don't do it yourself. >> service in the military, as

so many americans have come to know can form a person. as it did, james white. >> i was a marine for life. it never leaves you. >> once a marine, always a marine, they say. james white loved everything about the core. >> i miss marine corps very much. >> though not so much as his next job as a mississippi deputy sheriff. what was it you didn't like about it? >> i don't like seeing human suffering on a daily basis. >> so, after a failed marriage and with his young daughter in tow he moved back to the place he started out, northern california, that little girl kaitlyn white is all grown up now. >> we're more best friends than father and daughter, we fight like siblings and we're more focused on having fun and not really caring about what other

people think. >> james and caitlin had a house together in the sierra mountains, coincidently just a few miles from rachel and todd's air park. james started a handyman business and again, pure coincidence got some jobs at the air park. he also started a website called -- not so much about guns as about the craft of creating custom ammunition. >> we have automatic pistols, and this is the cartridge, -- >> that's what his life in the spring of 2010, a little business, his second marriage wasn't going terribly well. oh, and he had a secret mat crush on the beautiful young woman who manage the air park, rachel when clear. >> she called me to her office, this is in june, beginning of june of 2010, she said have a seat, i said okay, i thought i

was in trouble. and she leaned over from her chair, she grabbed my hand and says i have something i really have to tell you, and i said oh, your fired, she said no, i have fallen hopelessly in love with you and i don't know what to do about it. >> was it like to hear that? >> it was a huge relief. >> relief? >> yeah. >> because you were in love with her? >> i was in love with her at the time. i couldn't tell her. i didn't feel like i should tell her. i didn't know how she would react i thought of her as my friend. and i'd rather have has that done nothing at all. >> so having left artist him to marry ex fighter pilot or todd, rachel now launched into an affair with ex marine james. this by the way wasn't one of those sneak off into a closet and steal a kiss kind of affair. with todd living and working in the san francisco bay area during the week, james and rachel were to gather almost

constantly. >> we tried to spend as much time as we could together. i felt like we were family. i felt like we were one. one heartbeat. our hearts were intertwined together, i can't describe it. it's indescribable love. i never love someone so intensely in my life. >> their children were soon in on the secret. kaitlan was beguile why rachael. >> you could be talking to her like we're talking and she would make you feel like the most important human being on this earth. >> how did that make you feel? >> special. loved. i could open up to her. >> if todd suspected anything he didn't lead on, but rachel's dad, don, began to get a queasy feeling, during his visits to the air park. tell me what you talk about him, at the time? >> he came across as this christian guy, he's helping rachael, he's helping her

around the airport, i said okay, fine. after about the second time i said is this guy trying to bet you? what's going on. she said he'd like to but it's not happening. >> there were whispers around the neighbor hood to, people notice things. >> i think we suspected it -- >> suspected watch? something was going on? >> that maybe something was going on. >> you saw the two of them together a lot? she and james. >> i didn't see them as a couple. outwardly has a couple, even though you would see them together. >> rachel and james had more than todd and don and the neighbors to worry about. you are married to somebody else? >> i was. >> what did you do about that? what did you think about that? how troublesome was that for you? >> i wanted to get out of that marriage history as possible. because i wanted to be with rachel. >> so you told your wife? >> no, my wife discovered us. and we separated. >> you will perhaps not be surprised to hear that james

his wife, angry and betrayed, made phone call to todd, who begged rachel ended with james, she in a rush of guilt and shame agreed. >> he tried to call it off, and we couldn't stay apart from each other for more than two days, we were crazy for each other. >> how would you call it off? what would you do? >> she said i need to work it out with my husband, and i said i need to work out with my wife, we can talk to each other, two days later she would text me, she would say i love you and i miss you. i said i love you and i miss you too. we had a strong spiritual bond. >> but then all love sick they would sneak off and see each other, leave longing messages to the phone like this one from rachel. >> one of the great things when you're in love with somebody is that those feelings come to the surface more. your feelings about work, about your heart, about your spirit,

about everything. and, we can share those with each other, okay? i love you. take care. by. >> during their heart to hearts, rachel complained that her todd was not so perfect as people seem to think. did she lay it on a little thick for the sake of her other man? wouldn't be surprised here? mainly, james related to us would she told him that todd was stingy, emotionally distant. that he was so devious he actually face having cancer twice to avoid deadlines at work. then on a business trip to amsterdam he feigned some sort of catatonic state the day he had a presentation and worse, as james related to us, todd talked about staging a car wreck as a pretext for suing his own company and collecting a big settlement. now, all this may have just been trash talk about the

husband whose mere existence was an impediment to their happiness, but wrapped up in the fog of their loved, they began talking about running away from it all, together. and then, it was just about a year into their affair, oh, no. she was pregnant. with todd's baby. so, did rachel and james and it then? why, no. they did not. what did it do to your relationship? >> brought us closer. she said to me, who in their right mind would want to take a woman with two toddlers and an infant? i said i would. without hesitation. she started crying and so did i. >> how did she feel about caring todd's baby? >> she said that the life in her was a gift from god and no matter who the father was she would love the baby no matter

what, because half the baby was her. >> true, of course. >> and i said i would love that boy and the daughters just like my own. >> but wait a minute, there was after all a husband, todd was not about to take this lying down. and sure enough, he recruited a powerful ally, all on a tense and anxious day they brace themselves, setting out to confront his wife's lover, and james was ready for them. >> i had a nine millimeter and i know how to use extremely well. >> coming up -- witness to a showdown between an angry husband and his wife's pistol lover. >> i see these two men walking of the driveway, and i was like, oh, my, god. what are they doing here? >> and what was about to happen? when dateline continues. ine continues. and in the dark. but what if you could begin

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here's what's happening. a missile attack by russian forces killed almost 40 people, and injured almost -- more at a train station in the city -- of. the station was filled with thousands of ukrainians fleeing to safer areas within the country. president biden commemorated judge concia g brown jackson's confirmation to the supreme court. she's the first black woman confirmed to the senate. -- when it returns from its summer break. and now back to dateline! todd wynne claire, distressed by his whites infidelity, found an unlikely ally as he prepared to confront her lover james. but in this case, james -- rachel's dad don was only too happy to help.

he did not approve of his daughter's behavior. it was too much like his own once was. and don was a guy who had been carrying his guilt like across four years. >> i tried to lead all of my children to the love of jesus christ. there is only one of major obstacle ever occurring in a way that i wouldn't be happy with. and that was my hypocrisy! >> what do you mean? your hypocrisy? >> my hypocrisy,. ! the chasing women. blowing my manage. >> as don has it, women found his role quite appealing. never mind he was a married father for. >> and that kind of thing destroyed, literally destroyed my family. >> by the time it rachel was in middle school, don string of affairs led to a divorce. >> i think that the obliteration of the nuclear family had a profound effect on rachel. >> now, he feared, the apple

had not fallen far from the tree. his daughter rachel was in the middle of a affair herself, and was putting her marriage at risk. >> you know, with todd calling me. what am i gonna do? one among the say to her? and i said todd, if you just told him to stay away from your wife until this thing is worked out, >> he said no! >> i said have you thought about that? >> he said not till right now. sounds like a good idea! will you go with me? >> i said yeah i'll go with you. so we drove over there. >> james's daughter caitlin, 16, sounded the alarm. as rachel's worried father and betrayed husband pulled up to the isolated mountain property. >> we just got done shooting, and i heard this car rolled up. wow, sounds like rachel. and i see these two men walking up the driveway. and i was like, oh. my. god! what are they doing here? then i ran out, i'm like,

todd's here! so is don! he said all right, let's get this over with. and i grabbed the m for. >> caitlin is talking about the gun she had ready. the nine millimeter pistol, and an m4 rifle. and james? he had a pistol holstered in the day back, as he walked out to meet don. >> i had -- a on me. and i know how to use it extremely well. >> here is james's memory of a confrontation so tense, it sounds almost surreal. as the two men approached the house, he said. they hid, behind todd and rachel's children. >> he had aerial in his arms, using her as a human shield. and don, had alex in his arms on the other side of the car. >> afraid that you are gonna shoot them? >> perhaps. >> i can't remember whether todd went to the door with the

kid, or i went to the door. or if he was a human shield. he was gonna stop the bullets, right? >> it is scary. >> todd was holding aerial, don was holding alex. and todd came up, he looked just a wreck. >> tom confirmed, rachel and i aren't divorce yet, and i would appreciate if you stayed away from her. >> and? >> nope. >> he said no? >> i said nope. >> there was a pause, if something was going to help in, this was the moment. >> and then it turns to me and he says, hi caitlin. >> i was like, get off this property! >> and suddenly it was over. todd, and don, and the kids got back into the land cruiser in drove off. >> what was the feeling like? as this was going out. >> the feeling for me was, god i hope this clears the air. he's asking to stay away. so maybe he will stay away, and maybe they can figure out what to do. >> was it a civilized conversation? >> yes. >> did they yell at each?

other sarah daggers at each other? >> zip. the fact that he -- hears a marriage in trouble, and guys will play on that. if he's a gentleman, he says i will wait in the wings. and if this flies, perfect. but you know, he didn't. >> no, apparently nothing could keep the lovers apart. james emailed rachel. hey my love, i miss you something awfully bad. i've been crying on and off since sunday. i am dying inside. my heart is shattered, i love you endlessly. my sweet love. no, this was not over. not the affair, not the marriage either. and, not the confrontation. something was coming. watch out! >> 9-1-1, what's your emergency? >> i'm calling to report a fatality. >> where did this occur? >> it's in the cameron park.

>> coming up! >> i was in my yard, and i shot the sheriff's department pulling into the neighbor next door. taking tactical positions. donning flat jackets and pulling ar-15s. >> who had been killed? >> i get a phone call from a screaming, irrational voice on the end. >> and who was the killer? >> when dateline returns! when dateline returns o they were trying to verify my employment status while i was at work, in a giant hole, in a mine. but then something amazing happened. hello? carvana worked with my shift manager and got everything sorted out so i didn't miss out on the car. super helpful. i was over the moon, even though i was underground. we'll drive you happy at carvana. also peaceful!

the air park that last sunday february 2012. don -- and marital issues did not noticeably ruffle the surface of normal suburban life. a neighbor talked to todd that afternoon. >> he stopped and talk to us for a couple of minutes and which does well and kept going. he was pushing the two strollers with all three kids. and he looked particularly cheerful. >> todd had no way of knowing that sunday afternoon, that late -- james -- double checking her divorce application. >> she finished the paperwork, and said i'm gonna vaccine the next morning. >> you're continuing the relationship, she's filling out divorce papers, he's trying to block a, she's determined to do it. >> she turned to me and said with you in the picture or not i am divorcing todd. i want out! >> whether you're in the picture of not? was there some doubt about that?

>> no, she said the reason that you want to be with me is because she wanted to be with me. not because she had to be with. me >> i'm trying to imagine what you are feeling. >> i was elated! we were gonna start our life together. we were talking about, and dreaming about, and wanting together this life for so long. >> rachel headed home to tell tot they were history! that she was leaving him for the man she loved. evening fell, in the sunday night. no one who drove pass this home in the dark would notice anything untoward. but come monday morning, it was a day unlike any other the committee had ever seen. >> 9-1-1 what is your emergency? >> good morning, i'm calling to report a fatality. >> where did this occur? >> it's in the cameron park air park, my understanding it was domestic. >> it was just so surreal! it almost seemed like a dream. >> what was going on? the neighbors, watching anxiously from their windows, didn't know of course.

>> i was in my yard and saw the sheriff's department pulling into the neighbors next door house. and taking tactical positions. donning flat jackets, and pulling ar-15s. >> there were five sheriffs in the backyards with their guns drawn, facing todd's house. >> what happened next, floored marianne calk low. >> and i saw todd walking backwards across the street. >> stop right there, turn around! put your hands on top your head! drop down to your knees. yay keep your hands on top your head, do you understand me? >> there's no one else inside the house. >> where is your wife? >> you said nobody else is inside. though >> my wife is dead. >> how could it be? rachel was just 37 years old. with those three year little children to whom she meant the whole world. >> where is your wife? she isn't, when you enter the house and turn to the right. the first bedroom on your

right. >> and you're sure she's dead? >> i'm positive. >> how can you be, how are you sure? >> no pulse. no breathing. >> amid the chaos, frantic calls. one of the neighbors reached rachel's father. >> and i get a phone call from his screaming, irrational voice on the end. >> i said is it rachel? >> yes! it's rachel! >> i have a question for you, is there are yellow ribbon around the property? >> yes! >> is there a big white van in front of the? house >> yes! >> don was in the middle of moving, the mover tried to calm him down. >> and the guy says, we don't know that she's dead. >> i said count on it, he killed her. i got there in she was gone. >> he was right to begin with, rachel is dead. the horrific news fret spread. >> i got a call, from a friend. and i said, can't be! and the next thing i knew, i woke up on the floor. >> you fainted? >> completely blacked out. hit the floor. so i called the sheriff's

department, and asked them if they knew it was going on. and they said, stairway rat. >> james's daughter caitlin got a message at school. >> i got outside, and i called a family friend. and he goes, are you sitting down? i think you need to sit down caitlin. >> i said what's going on? >> and. all i remember was dropping to the ground. >> rachel's friend shannon, could not believe which he read online. >> i found out there are facebook. i was scrolling, and saw someone post something with rachel. and i was like, with the hell is going on? so i called her younger brother. and she said, someone came into our house and murdered her. and i said, what do you mean? someone came into our house and murdered her? >> coming up! what had happened in that house? an eyewitness account from todd!

>> i was like, oh my god! get the children out of here. >> and what does this box have to do with a long ago fire on a dark mountain? when dateline continues. eline continues. when i get a migraine, i shut out the world. but with nurtec odt that's all behind me now. nurtec can treat and prevent migraines. don't take if allergic to nurtec. the most common side effects were nausea and stomach pain and indigestion. ask your doctor about nurtec today.

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that can help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up refreshed. the brand i trust is qunol. stop right there, turn around. put your hands on top of your head. drop down to your knees, keep your hands on top your head to understand? me >> the scene that played out in front of the tub and rachel holmes february 27th 2012, grew more did bizarre by the moment. as david and caulk row look the police around todd. he saw something incomprehensible. >> he didn't know what was going on. >> todd? under arrest? charged with murder for killing rachel. what about the man with all the guns? no, it was taught in handcuffs.

the investigators disappeared into the house and found a bloody crime scene. and rachel wind color, dead, in her baby's bedroom. they found the couples three young children safe and sound across the street at the neighbor's house. todd had dropped him off there before the police arrived. soon, todd himself was sitting in an interview room at the sheriff's department. where he admitted, yes he killed rachel. but he said he had no choice. and then he told the police a harrowing story of rage and violence, and self-defense. the trouble began the night before, sunday night, as he was preparing early the next morning for work. rachel told him straight out, she was leaving him for james! >> she, went back to the arms of james. >> then, when todd went into the babies remit three in the morning where the babies were

sleeping, they argued bitterly about custody of the children. >> i said, i'm not going to agree to you having the kids up here, and having primary custody. i'm gonna fight you on this. and, she said, you know, i'm looking to have my boyfriend. how boyfriend is a big gun collector. >> as todd told it, as rachel said that, as she threatened for james to get rid of him, he overreacted and punched rachel. >> where did you hear? >> i had her in the right side of the face. >> after she had told you, basically, she would have her boyfriend take care of you. >> yeah, yeah. >> todd said he tried to apologize. >> i mean, i'm rubbing her back, and saying i'm sorry. you know? i'm sorry. >> but then he said, rachael turned around and attacked him!

with a deadly weapon. >> she was coming at me with a v of silver scissors. and i got hold of it. and there was a struggle. and we rolled off the bed. and, the struggle over the sister, i took some cuts on my hands trying to get them away from her. >> they wrestled on the bedroom floor, he said. just a couple of feet from the crib, where seventh month old alex was sleeping. and overweight, and out of shape, said todd. he was fighting for his life with his much fitter wife! >> it was a long, long, long, struggle. i don't know how long, but it was a long time. she's a very strong girl. an extremely strong girl. a, and she had me on bottom. and she was on top of me, and we were like, back and forth between bottom and top with the

struggle over the scissors. >> then he said he finally overpowered her, got control of the scissors. >> i was then, able to turn around on her and give her some jabs. she was, she was, she was injured at this point. but probably not seriously. >> a ha. >> i poked are in the eye really hard. and got it a break free. >> he retreated he said, as quick as he could. >> and i got up and -- 20 i got to my car and thought, i gotta get out here. oh my god, i don't -- get the children. get the children out of here. >> the two daughters were in the room, but baby alex was in the wounded rachel. starting at the garage, he made a decision. he had to protect his children. he would go back in and rescue them from rachel. >> i grabbed my motorcycle jackson at that point -- jacket at that point.

and i rushed into the room. >> she must of been waiting, said todd, to pounce! he was, he told the police, soon in the fight to the death to save his own life. >> i tripped and fell floored when i rushed into the room. she kicked me in the face. and then we got into another trump's second struggle, adam, on the floor. and once i started to get the upper hand, i push the scissors and as far as i could. >> where was that? do you recall? >> in the throat. in their throat. i don't know how long? >> okay. why did you hold or they're like that with the scissors? >> i knew if i like oh, i mean she still other hand on the

scissors, i was also fearing for, you know, she was, it was the kill or killed type of situation. >> coming up, what's really happened in that bedroom? investigation reveals someone was keeping secrets. >> we're realizing, wait, there was a former wife? and that was just the beginning. >> when dateline continues. continues ♪ you know how i feel ♪ (coughing) ♪ breeze driftin' on by ♪ ♪ you know how i feel ♪ copd may have gotten you here, but you decide what's next. start a new day with trelegy. ♪ ...feelin' good ♪ no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function. it also helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it.

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>> reporter: when todd winkler was arrested for killing rachel he claimed it was self defense. he told the cops she came after him with those scissors. he had to protect his children and save himself even if it meant a duel to the death. >> it was probably kill or be killed kind of situation. >> eventually he got to his feet and prepared a bottle for crying alex he said and he worried.

>> just pacing around the house. >> by and by the kids woke up, todd kept them out of the room where their mom lay dead and he cleaned up the house as well as he could. and he called a lawyer friend and asked him to inform the neighbors. >> i'm an attorney and i received a call. >> about the same time, todd took his children to the neighbor's house. >> murder investigations of course are based on more than just witness statements. the cs iteam rushed to todd and

rachel's house. an assistant d.a. joined them as they searched the house that was strangely chaotic. what did it looks like? >> the house is well manicured, minus the fact that there is this yellow crime scene tape up. and then you walk through that and you walk into the doors and the house is in complete disarray. kitchen is completely undone. baseboards missing all over the place. the house is not put together at all. >> reporter: such an odd place. in the garage that doubled as a hangar, investigators found todd's mustang, rachel's suv, a boat, a bmw motorcycle and parts of a plane todd was refurbishing. back inside the house, in the master bedroom, in a night stand, they found something else, too. something quite unexpected. this blue box. inside? ashes. what?

at the bottom of the box was a label that simply said, "cremated remains of catherine lynn winkler." and now, suddenly, there were two mysteries to solve. what really happened in the winkler baby's blood-stained bedroom? the prosecutor listened carefully to todd's version of events and was skeptical. that is her job of course. still, no one else in tothd's house saw what happened. so there was no one to contradict his story. but then the investigators found that box with ashes in it. >> we're realizing, wait, there was a former wife? >> oh, yes. there was. todd winkler had been married before and clearly his ex-wife was dead. so what happened to her? no choice decided the prosecutor, she would have to find out. and that is when she set out to follow a trail that led to a man in georgia named gerald johnson,

a judge now. but back in 1999, a rookie detective. >> it really shocked me that i was getting a call from california about a case that i had worked in our little gentle town there. >> had you forgotten all about that case? >> no, sir. i actually over the years, i've thought about that case many times. >> the case, an auto accident in the fall of '99. an accident that killed the first mrs. winkler. cathy. >> my father called me that night and told me that cathy was no longer with us. >> what was that like for you? >> it hurts. still hurts. >> so many years later, charles carlisle still smarts from the lot of his big sister cathy. just never got over it. but then cathy was also his mentor, his protector, perhaps his only true friend. they grew up on hk dill air force base near tampa, charles

painfully shy. cathy outgoing, stlikingly attractive, popular. tonya and julie lynn were school chums. they remember what a knockout she was, but that there was more to her than just that. >> she could have her choice of young men. she was beautiful. inside and out. it wasn't just her exterior beauty. she was a beautiful girl, but she just had such a sweet, kind, caring personality that was attractive to everybody. >> it was a small miracle perhaps, but she's turned out so well given what was demanded of her said her friends. >> her mother left when they were young. her grandmother lived with her for a while. but she was the caretaker of her siblings. cathy pretty much mothered them and cared for them. >> she definitely was the mom. >> except on weekends when the school chums remember sneaking around the base to get a glimpse of the true stars among the young men there.

no surprise, it was the macho fighter pilots. >> the man in the uniform. >> definitely. the jumper suit. very hot. cathy and i would always joke that do you think that you would marry a pilot? that would be so cool, like top gun. and of course she ended up marrying one. >> first in her early '20s she struck up a relationship with a pilot who in the end couldn't seem to commit. and so just like rachel, years later in napa, california, cathy was a young woman on the rebound when she met fighter pilot todd. >> where the first one didn't work out or perhaps maybe it didn't work the because you wanted to, maybe she felt like this is what she needed to do and todd came into the picture. i think having that pilot probably maybe is what caused her to marry todd. >> and at that time todd was

ready to commit. right away. how long did they date before they got married? >> i wouldn't say it was a very long time at all. >> they got married within weeks of dating. she appeared to be happy, so i didn't question it. she had married her pilot and so i thought, you know, her fairy tale was coming true. >> the air force sent todd to japan soon after the wedding. it was an exhilarating time for cathy. getting married, heading off to live in an exotic place. >> cathy was excited to move to japan and she was going to be an english teacher. >> later after todd left the air force, cathy's friends remember how she was there for him as he tried to figure out what do next. >> she was very nurturing in the fact that she was supporting him in whatever different career he was going to choose. >> it was a difficult time for todd. >> we did spend thanksgiving with them one year and todd had put on a lot of weight. and i know that he wasn't working and he was depressed. >> but todd always had a knack

to making money. and he figured it out. got into the booming wi-fi business. and pretty soon cathy and todd moved into a big lakeside house in georgia with a boat and fancy cars and of course an airplane. cathy always so nurturing told her friends that she was ready to take the next step. >> i remember cathy calling me and telling me that they were living in georgia and she was excited about it and that she wanted to have children, so i was excited for her because i could see her with little kids. but nine years into what looked like a happy marriage, children had yet to arrive. and now we know because of what was in that blue box, they never would. time to find out what happened. who knew that the discovery in that box would bring investigators all the way across the country to the blue ridge mountains of north georgia, to a campsite high on a hill.

here was a lonely place that had kept its secret long enough. coming up -- >> i was sleeping in my tent and i heard somebody shouting from the road about 100 yards away, help, help, help. >> finally come around this turn, the whole side of the mountain is on fire. >> did it looks like it was possible that anybody could be alive down there? >> no. >> i remember falling to the ground and i said, what do you mean she's dead? >> a mysterious death and suspicion. when "dateline" continues. ion. when "dateline" continues. are gonna be expensive. let's just accept that. going to the movies can be a lot for young homeowners turning into their parents. bathrooms -- even if you don't have to go, you should try. we all know where the bathroom is and how to us it, okay? you know, the stevensons told me they saved money bundling their boat insurance with progressive. no one knows who those people are. -it can be painful. -hand me your coats. there's an extra seat right here.

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>> reporter: white county, georgia. >> it's beautiful, just nature at its best. >> reporter: this is where the blue ridge mountains begin. >> and it's sweet here. it's quite lovely.

>> beautiful. >> reporter: a person can find what really matters up here, said mike hodnett and woody depew. up here so far from the raucous urban world are weekends steeped in the peace and beauty of a natural cathedral. >> we'd ride our mountain bikes, go sit in the river, hike, go rappelling. >> most of the time you're just -- you're out there by yourself. and you make your own rules. >> reporter: and at night? >> you can go up to the top of the mountain and you can see a lot of stars you didn't know were there. >> reporter: but down the sides of the mountain, under a thick canopy of leaves -- >> many, many nights it's just pitch black. >> reporter: this is the place, these are the conditions that california prosecutor lisette suder needed to understand. it was september 26th, 1999, one of those pitch black nights, the night mike and woody lived through one of the strangest experiences of their lives. mike and woody were asleep in separate tents around a common campfire.

and both, same moment, were suddenly startled awake. >> i was sleeping in my tent and i heard somebody shouting from the road about 100 yards away, "help, help, help, my wife is dead." >> this is the middle of the night. >> it's the middle of the night. >> and then i kind of was like -- just laid there and i was like, "nah, nah, i didn't just hear that." and then i heard it again. >> reporter: they got up fast and out of the black night. >> some strange man come walking into their campsite going, "oh, help, help me. my wife is dead." >> reporter: the stranger was emotional, distraught, told them he and his wife had been camping a few miles farther up the narrow mountain road. >> he said that he had been stung by a bee and that his wife was rushing him to the hospital. and he was laying in the back of the truck. he then told us that his wife lost control of the vehicle. >> reporter: and then the pick up went over the edge and tumbled down the ridge, he told them.

>> and then, he was thrown out of the back bed of the truck. it just threw him out. and then he was able to walk away. >> reporter: he said it crashed at the bottom and burst into flames with his wife still inside. the man looked disheveled but okay. he wanted to call 9-1-1 but didn't have a cellphone with him. and he wanted to try to find his wife he told them. woody and mike told the stranger he could ride in the bed of their truck, while they drove up the twisting track, looking for the accident site. >> i -- i kept asking, like, "where's the wreck? where's the wreck?" and then after that went on, you know, 20 or 30, 40 seconds, you know, going around different turns and stuff, we finally come around this turn and the whole side of the mountain's on fire. obviously, we knew we were there. >> reporter: it looked like several acres of forest were on fire. >> did it look like it was possible anybody could be alive down there? >> no. >> no. >> reporter: just the same, woody and mike climbed down the steep incline as far as they could.

>> i don't see how anybody could've survived that wreck. the cliff, the fire, but i'm still hopeful, okay? i got to do something. >> yeah. >> reporter: but there was no getting near the truck and no sign of a survivor. and then the firefighters came and the emts and, of course, the cops. they too heard the husband's bizarre tale. and they also learned his name was todd winkler. in their report they wrote that when they encountered todd, he was calling out for his wife cathy over and over. cathy, cathy, as if he was hoping she'd come walking out of that burning forest. the patrol deputies called in the investigators, which is how gerald johnson, a brand new detective at the time, found himself deep in the georgia woods early that autumn morning. >> what happened up there on the hill was -- well, you -- you can describe to me as best you understood at the time what had happened. >> sometime during the night, he had gotten up, according to his

statement, to go outside to use the restroom. and as he came back to the tent, he realized that he had been bitten by something or was having some type of reaction, that his throat was closing up and -- >> a sort of anaphylactic shock type reaction? >> well, that -- that's what i described it as. and she takes him out to this toyota pickup, if i remember correctly. he's crawling on his hands and knees at this point and having all these symptoms of some type of allergic reaction. >> reporter: johnson mostly just observed, he said, as the georgia bureau of investigation looked into what happened. but took no action. and eventually, the coroner ruled cathy's death an accident. and then the life insurance company did the same. and as the more than half million dollar policy on cathy's life was a double indemnity, it paid double in the case of an accident. todd got close to $1.2 million. and the case was closed.

but for the heartbreak. it was julie-lynn who told tanya what happened. >> and she said, "tanya, cathy's dead. she's not alive anymore. she died." i remember falling to the ground and i said, "what do you mean she's dead?" >> reporter: cathy's friend julie-lynn felt not just for herself but for todd, too. >> and i wanted to console him and just let him know that we were there for him, supporting him, anything we could do for him. and he never returned any of my calls. >> reporter: tanya -- tanya tried to call him, too. for a different reason. >> it just didn't add up. my phone call was strictly to figure out and to pick his brain and ask questions. >> reporter: because, by then, tanya was a cop herself, who knew a little something about suspicious behavior. >> did i think he was going to answer that phone? no, and let me tell you, i tried

that phone number numerous times. and after about a month of calling it repeatedly, the phone number was disconnected. >> reporter: she didn't get anywhere. no. but sometimes, maybe, with a little help from a curious prosecutor, you get a do-over. >> so, as the years went by, you thought about it? >> oh, yes, sir. >> it bothered you? >> yes. >> so that must have made that call that you got from california all the more remarkable. >> when -- when i realized what they were asking me about, yes, sir. i thought, "oh, my goodness, what in the world is going on with this case?" coming up -- so many questions about that long ago case, starting with why was cathy even camping? >> cathy was not a camper. >> the more we read, the more we realized this was not an accident. >> he was sobbing i would say, horrible acting going on.

>> it wasn't believable. >> recall him at some point mr. winkler saying do you think i killed my wife? >> when "dateline" continues. n s ...when it comes to our skin, what if it could feel differently? say hello to opzelura for the treatment of mild to moderate eczema. opzelura is a steroid-free cream proven to help clear skin and significantly reduce itch. do not start opzelura if you have any infection as it may lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you are being treated for an infection;... ...have tb or have been in close contact with someone with tb; have had hepatitis b or c. serious lung infections, skin cancer, blood clots, and low blood cell counts have been reported with opzelura. in patients taking jak inhibitors, serious infections, increased risk of death, lymphoma, other cancers, immune system problems, and major cardiovascular events have occured. the most common side effect is pain and swelling in the nose or throat. it's a one-of-a-kind cream.

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i'm dara brown. here is what is happening. a missile attack conducted by russian forces killed 50 and injured nearly 100 more at a train station in an eastern ukrainian city. the station was filled with thousands of civilians fleeing to safer areas within the country. and there were no convictions in the trial of four men for their involvement in a plot to kidnap a michigan governor gretchen whitmer in 2020. a setback for the federal prosecutors who make domestic terrorism a priority in the aftermath of january 6. now back to "dateline." reporter: once, when

outsiders came to these north georgia mountains and valleys it was to make a movie called 'deliverance'. this time, the visitors were california detectives. here to find out exactly what happened on this mountain path on a dark night more than a decade ago. >> we got all those police reports. >> reporter: out in california, 15 years later, prosecutor lisette suder was convinced. for the sake of her own case, she had to find out what really happened up here on this isolated mountain road in september 1999. >> what is very important about the georgia case and our case is it goes to his intent in the rachel case. >> reporter: and before long she knew. this was going to be explosive. the georgia case could be her best evidence in the here and now in california to show that todd winkler was perfectly capable of spousal murder.

because she soon believed he had done it before. >> the more we read, the more we realized that this was not an accident. >> reporter: todd's behavior up here on the mountain, said prosecutor suder, was deeply suspect. for one thing, his stories just kept changing with each telling, like the one about where he was sitting in the truck as it headed down the mountain trail, in the passenger seat, holding cathy's hand, as he told the police, or back in the bed of the truck, as the campers insisted he told them. and when the truck went off the road? did he describe being thrown out of the vehicle? >> not to us, but there was another interview that was done earlier, where i think he described to someone as a twisting and turning motion. but in our interview, what i recall him sayin' is that when he came to himself, he was layin' on the ground, outside the vehicle. there was a huge fire. and he didn't know where his wife was. so from -- >> reporter: so that he didn't remember the accident at all, in your interview? >> right, right.

>> reporter: but apparently he did in some other interview. >> and that's correct. >> reporter: there were differing stories about what sort of bug supposedly bit him. supposedly causing an allergic reaction so bad he had to ask cathy to rush him down the mountain to a hospital. yet, when the cops asked to see the bug bite? >> he didn't know where the bug bite was. didn't know what bit him. >> reporter: didn't know where it was? >> no, sir. >> reporter: something serious enough to give him an allergic reaction that doesn't present anywhere is a bit odd. >> that was a big question in my mind. >> reporter: todd told the cops back then that he had a history of allergic reactions. always carried an epi-pen for emergencies. yet didn't take that to the wilderness that weekend. did that seem strange to you that he'd go camping without an epipen if he was subject to this sort of thing? >> it seemed strange to me that we were spendin' so much time talkin' about bug bites. it was almost as if we were tryin' to steer away from the real issue, which was a fatality crash involving his wife.

>> reporter: it also seemed strange he said that by the time the campers saw todd, he displayed no evidence of an allergic reaction. of course, lisette suder and her people interviewed mike and woody too. and they told her, as they told us, that they never forgot how strangely phony todd seemed when he arrived at their campsite that night. >> he was kind of -- kinda play-sobbing, i would say, you know? it was -- it was some horrible acting going on. >> it wasn't believable. >> reporter: they also wondered why, on a warm southern night, was todd dressed in several layers of heavy clothing? was he protecting himself from a fall he knew he was going to cause? >> he had a lot of extra clothing on. but i also remember he also had a toboggan hat on. >> reporter: the kind you pull down over your ears. >> the kind -- yes. >> and i'm standin' there in a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops. >> reporter: also, why did the accident happen on the one spot in the whole drive that offered

a long straight drop hundreds of feet into a deep ravine? >> the steepest cliff possible on that road. >> reporter: why did their toyota pick up erupt into flames? that might happen in the movies, but rarely in real life. why did it look like the fire had been burning for a long time? >> it was -- the whole side of the mountain. it was a big mountain. it had to have been burnin' an hour or two. >> yeah, probably. i would think. closer to two. >> reporter: curiosities. why would he bring up here to the very top of the mountain to go camping it's an hour's drive over a rutted track to the other campers farther down the hill. acording to cathy's family she didn't like camping at all. so why would he bring her to the most remote possible place? >> no one camps up there. unless you want to be really secluded. >> reporter: and that said cathy's brother was not something she would have wanted. did she like to go camping? >> no. she'd rather be in a hotel -- any day over -- a tent, knowin'

my sister. >> reporter: puzzled cathy's friends too. >> i was like, "camping?" >> cathy was not a camper. >> reporter: and there was this -- >> i recall him -- at some point, mr. winkler saying, "do you think i killed my wife?" >> reporter: is that a question an innocent man would ask, johnson wondered? and when the investigator responded, johnson remembered thinking todd's behavior seemed off, inappropriate. >> if i remember correctly, special agent roberts says, "did you?" and then at that point he became very emotional, you know? "oh, i can't believe --" and his body language and his demeanor was just so over the top. >> reporter: but though they may have had their suspicions back in 1999, suspicion alone didn't make the death of cathy winkler anything but what it was called at the time, an accident. insurance companies investigated and paid out, because they felt

that it was a real accident, and the -- authorities there couldn't show that it wasn't a real accident. so why was it worth you looking at it again? >> well, we knew a lot more about todd winkler at this point. we knew a lot more about how he goes about getting what he wants. >> reporter: the more she learned about cathy winker's death the more it seemed to her that todd must have planned it all. just as the evidence here in california was telling her that the killing of rachel winkler more than a decade later was a case of history, todd winkler's history, repeating itself. but if she had some crusading idea of finding justice in that old case, and using it to solidify her own here in california, she'd have to persuade a judge, first. coming up -- disorder in the court. >> this is a case about a

mastermind, a manipulator, a murderer. >> when "dateline" continues. n s every year we try to exercise more, to be more social, to just relax. and eating healthy every single meal? if only it was this easy for us.

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>> reporter: once, a long time ago, this part of california was the epicenter of the gold rush. back then, as legend has it, at least, there was no wait for justice. you committed a crime, the punishment was meted out then and there. but not now. for more than two years after the bloody confrontation in the winkler's nursery, todd waited in jail to be tried for her murder. >> and i just started just pacing around the house just saying, "god, i just killed their mother." >> reporter: for those two years, todd maintained, as he had from the very beginning,

that he killed rachel only to save his own life, to save himself and his children. from jail, he and his family fought a losing battle with rachel's father, don hatfield, who won custody of those children. and here began atoning for the sins of his youth by devoting his life to three little kids, eva, ariel and alex. it was after all that that they held the trial. prosecutor lisette suder intended to portray todd as a manipulative and devious man who murdered not one wife but two. that is if she could persuade a california judge to allow an old georgia case to be dusted off and brought back to life. >> i felt confident that i had the law behind me on that. and i submitted my brief, and i submitted the legal arguments that supported that.

>> reporter: and? she won. and so, in september of 2014, when todd winker went on trial charged with first-degree murder of second wife rachel, lisette suder could use the georgia story about first wife cathy's death 15 years earlier against him. and the defense? dismissed the georgia case out of hand. irrelevant, said todd's attorney. cathy winkler's death was thoroughly investigated, he said. and it was not ruled a murder, because it was not a murder. >> there's no evidence of anything other than an accident. >> reporter: todd's attorney was able to explain away the things that had raised suspicion. cathy's family was wrong, said the defense. she loved camping. a ranger who saw them making their dinner way up in this remote spot, so far from any other living soul, said they seemed happy. and the insurance money, remember that? that wasn't motive, just business as usual for a pair of upper-middle class professionals. >> in addition to the insurance

policy of about $1.1 million that cathy had at the time of her death on her own life, he had $1.2 million on his own life. >> reporter: no, cathy and todd were a young upwardly mobile couple. life insurance was cheap, easy to get. they both had it. anyway, todd loved cathy. why else would he keep her ashes all these years. cathy's death, said the defense, had nothing whatever to do with the event for which todd was on trial, the death of rachel winkler, and he wasn't guilty in this case either. >> this is not a murder case, ladies and gentlemen. it's a self-defense case, or at most it's a voluntary manslaughter case. >> reporter: there were two good reasons to believe that, said the defense. reason one, self defense. as todd told the police that very first day -- >> it was probably a kill or be killed kind of situation. >> reporter: he was a good guy in a bad situation, said his attorney.

he worked hard and long hours to support rachel. he wanted to make her happy, and he was a good dad. and for that she cheated on him, threatened him and then attacked with those scissors. of course, by that point, todd told the police, she was a very unstable woman. >> started drinking, started binge drinking. i was afraid for the children. she was just spinning into this mental cycle of self-destruction. >> reporter: and then todd's defense revealed this little gem. >> she's signed up for california sweetheart, which is an adult connection kind of -- you can judge for yourselves what it is. >> reporter: married to a man she'd grown to hate, in an affair with a man she was maybe thinking of cheating on, said the defense. she was conflicted, said todd's attorney. she was telling people she was afraid of todd. and yet she sure didn't act like it here, todd and rachel look happy. >> compare it with this photograph taken in las vegas

about just a few days before rachel died. >> reporter: but there was something else, said todd's attorney, and it was reason number two, that rachel's death was not murder. and that was that his client had a psychotic breakdown when rachel attacked him. his ability to understand what he was doing was diminished. why should the jury believe that? well, as you'll remember, rachel herself described todd as unstable at times. and now the defense presented evidence of what they said was his history of psychotic episodes. the first one happened in asia, something like 20 years earlier when todd was married to cathy and was flying with the fighting samurai squadron. he was caught shoplifting from a base px. he claimed amnesia. so the air force sent him off for psychiatric tests. but then it got even more bizarre, and cathy called her friend tanya. >> she telephoned me saying, "i'm in hawaii. todd had a mental breakdown, and

so he's in a psychiatric facility." she had said to me that he escaped and was in the wooded area in hawaii and for a week or two. and when he finally came out of the woods he said that he was a samurai warrior. >> reporter: back then, after months of psychiatric evaluation, todd was diagnosed with dissociative disorder, a neurosis that warped his view of reality. not exactly what the air force wanted in a fighter pilot. >> and because of events and the determinations by the air force psychiatrists, he was retired medically with a 50% disability. >> reporter: and there was that incident in amsterdam. remember? rachel told james about it. it happened just before he was due to make an important presentation at a conference. that time he appeared to black

out, became catatonic, ended up in the hospital where they found nothing wrong with him and released him. rachel told james he faked the episode. but here at trial, a defense psychiatrist testified todd suffered from real mental issues, dissociative disorder, conversion disorder, which meant he could be violent if he felt he was under attack. and that awful morning? first he told the police she threatened to sic her well-armed boyfriend on him. >> and she said, "no, you know, i'm looking to have my boyfriend get rid of you." >> reporter: and then -- >> she was coming at me with a vee of scissors. >> reporter: rachel's dad, don, and self-described soulmate, james, watched as the defense argued that todd had no choice but to kill the woman they so loved. >> his state of mind is what you really need to pay careful attention to here. he knows she'll kill him. he knows if he doesn't end it, it could end him.

>> reporter: all very sad, said the defense, but not murder. and what would prosecutor suder say about that? she said it was fakery. todd winkler may have had or feigned some disorder that got him out of the air force, but he killed rachel and it was murder committed by a man practiced at getting away with things. >> this is a case about a mastermind, a manipulator, a murderer. this is a case about todd winkler and how he brutally murdered rachel marie winkler, his wife, mother of his three small children. >> reporter: todd winkler did not have to fend off a scissor-wielding wife, said prosecutor suder, so it wasn't self-defense. and rachel's death could not be blamed on any mental condition

either, any more than the death of another mrs. winkler in those dark woods so long ago. but as she began to tell that part of the story watch what happened. >> she's found burned to death down a steep embankment where the car went. the car and she burned. and the defendant is very fine with just a few minor scratches on him. >> you are not samurai. >> stop, stop, stop. stop, stop, stop. judge -- >> you do not speak truth. you only want to destroy. you have no bushido. you have no bushido. >> reporter: bailiffs and his lawyer struggled to restrain todd. it looked like the whole trial would be over. coming up -- >> whatever happens, somebody had already made up her mind. >> i was told that monsters don't exist. my parents always told me that. i can tell you with absolute certainty that is 110% false.

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>> she's found burned to death down a steep embankment. >> reporter: just as the prosecutor was laying out her case against todd winkler in the killing of his wife, rachel, a sudden, inexplicable outburst from todd. >> you are not samurai. >> stop, stop, stop. stop, stop, stop. >> you do not speak truth. you only want to destroy. you have no bushido. you have no bushido. >> reporter: bushido? in japanese, the "way of the warrior," the honor-based code of conduct of a samauri. why was todd winkler raving about it now? was this another psychotic episode? >> judge, off the bench. stop, stop, stop. >> reporter: of course, the trial came to a screeching halt. a mistrial loomed. >> may we have the courtroom cleared? >> once order was restored, the judge allowed the prosecutor to

continue. >> they went on a camping trip and she died in a fiery crash, the only witness to the crime was in fact this defendant. >> were there parallels? you bet there were. the deaths of cathy and rachel were both cold-blooded, calculated killings. >> he's had, now, two wives where he has been the one who has been the only witness to a crime. >> reporter: but, she said, based on what investigators found, the events at 3:00 in the morning in the california airpark were not so hard to determine. and she prepared the jury. what happened that night was horrific. one, todd opened rachel's laptop and found the divorce documents she'd been working on with her boyfriend, james. that laptop has disappeared from its usual place in winkler home. two, he grabbed the scissors from a craft box, which was kept on a shelf right above the computer.

and three, prosecutor suder -- >> i believe he took a pair of scissors and he went in that room with the intent to kill her. he attacked her while she was sleeping, stabbed her repeatedly in the face and the neck area. and i believe, at that point, he thought he had killed her, and he left her for dead. >> reporter: then, said the prosecutor, as todd prepared to leave the house, he saw a light had been turned on in the baby's room. >> so that's when he then goes, gets his motorcycle jacket on for padding, for protection, bangs in the door, finds her in that corner. >> reporter: cowering? >> cowering. >> reporter: trying to save her own life? >> correct. >> reporter: they knew that rachel spent some time after the first attack holding her baby. >> baby alex's onesie was examined. and you know that there are drip blood, like being droplet blood, up on top of that onesie.

that's how we know that rachel was holding that baby. >> reporter: then todd came back. >> she's in the corner there. she kicks at him. >> reporter: didn't stop him. >> he bear crawls up her body. he takes those scissors, and this ex-fighter pilot jams them into her neck, and he sits there and lays there on top of her while she slowly dies. >> reporter: after that, for seven hours, todd cleaned up, said the prosecutor, then took his kids to the neighbor's house. and then, after dropping the kids at the neighbor's, but before the cops arrived, he took the time to cut his hands, to make it look as if he'd been attacked by rachel. how did they know the cuts were self-inflicted? the neighbor said his hands weren't cut when he dropped off the kids. and then the prosecutor told the jury about the ashes, cathy winkler's ashes, which rachel discovered months before she was killed. >> and learned how there had

been a crash, and he had no injuries and she had died. rachel was upset by this and said, "well, is this how i'm going to turn out?" and this defendant's reply was, "well, you're not going to get in my way, are you?" >> reporter: rachel knew she was in danger, said prosecutor suder, as a doomed young woman had already told her closest friends and family. >> and rachel explained that this defendant said to rachel, "if you divorce me, you will end up like my last wife." she did. >> reporter: after 13 days of testimony the jury got the case. they were out one day. >> we, the jury in the above entitled action, find the defendant todd alan winkler guilty of the crime of first-degree murder. >> reporter: no outburst this time. no breakdown. the former fighter pilot sat quietly and listened. he got 26 years to life. it was over for todd.

but not for anyone else. not really. as james white's daughter, katelyn, told us -- >> i was told that monsters don't exist. my parents always told me that. and after going through that trial and seeing what i had to see, i can tell you with absolute certainty that that is 110% false. he is a monster. >> reporter: and rachel's men? we weren't surprised to hear that james has his own idea of what justice might be. did you have any thought about what would happen if the justice system didn't look after todd in a way that seemed reasonable to you? >> he would have been dealt with. >> reporter: by whom? >> me. >> reporter: you know, they could have put you in prison for life. >> it would have been a one-way mission. he and i are both going to go down together. i'm not going to shoot him. i'm going to kill him with my two bare hands.

i'm going to do to him what he did to rachel. >> reporter: tim cherrington, the man who failed to commit and then watched the love of his life go on to her terrible end, has his own way of taking revenge, mostly on himself. kind of a tragic love story from your point of view? >> it is, it is. >> reporter: i mean, this is a woman you could've spent the rest of your life with. >> very, very easily could, yes. i should have pulled the trigger when i had that chance, you know. i blew it. i didn't, you know, give her the ring earlier. >> reporter: well, you're still paying for it, aren't you? >> yeah. yes, i am, yeah. that's a tough one. >> reporter: different kind of thinking across the country, among the friends of that other mrs. winkler, the one whose death on a lonely mountain road is still officially labeled, "accident." >> i mean, this is a beautiful woman who gave so much, was so nurturing and caring. i don't feel like there's been justice for cathy. >> i think about cathy's death all the time. >> reporter: about whether she

could somehow have done more to prevent a second death, the murder of rachel winkler. >> my heart breaks for those children. i wish i could hug them all and tell that i'm so sorry that i didn't press harder to make them open this case or be that strong person that i was. i apologize. >> reporter: and some day, said don hatfield, he'll find the words to tell the story to rachel's children, ariel, alex and eva. >> this whole story is a mixture of murder and blood and failings and grace and jesus and heaven and god, and so there's some real craziness to it. but that's the character of my life and some of rachel's life. it's just kind of life in general. >> reporter: in the meantime, he

said, he's trying to be the kind of parent he wasn't with his own children, but is now, for rachel. >> i believe it's my destiny to raise them. i intend to do that, you know, with god's help.

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