>> i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this, is dateline. >> it is the hardest part, i can't help him. >> i am a mother, i fix stuff. this gave me a hard feeling. i cannot fix this. i can't bring him back. >> he is on the ground, in front of his vehicle. something is very wrong. >> it was devastating when they found him. >> oh my god. >> the single dad, so passionate about helping others. >> he was a selfless person. he just wanted to do what he could. >> so dedicated to his young

daughter, siena. >> two peas in a pod. >> she loved being with her dad. >> she was every single thing to him, every single thing. >> for police, a puzzle. >> it was such an unusual murder, with a victim who scenic to have so no enemies. >> then the chilling, on camera clue. >> there is a figure. you see someone wearing a hoodie come out from the dark. >> yes, you get the goose bumps, the hairs on the back of your neck. >> a father, dead in the garage. who was behind? this >> i am thinking, what? >> it is mind-blowing. lies, delusion, betrayal. >> you just don't want to believe that people can be that evil. ♪ ♪ ♪ hello, and welcome to dateline. twice divorced, don fluitt was not lucky in love, but that did not stop him from making others happy. to feeding the homeless, to

working with -- the father of three was selfless. so when don was brutally murdered, it scarred the community. the death has uncovered a blurring image caught on camera, that helped put the investigation in focus. but could it help them catch the killer? here is dennis murphy with, the figure in the garage. >> look closely, top left of the screen. a hooded figure walks away from the camera. who is it? what are they doing? why are they there? minutes later, a truck pulls in. a different person walks out. his name, we know. don fluitt. it appears that his trash can was tipped over. he pulls it back up. >> you look at him, and he is fine. he is happy, healthy, picking up his trash can. and then basically, the garage

closes. >> and that was the end of his life, basically? >> yes. >> 9-1-1 emergency. >> hi, yes. we are at my coworkers house, and we found him in the garage. >> the neighbor's security camera captures these images, and left a mystery. >> that was one of those moments where you kind of get the chills and you think, i think we know when it happened. now, we just have to figure out who. >> and, why? >> there was just nobody that i could think of who would want to hurt him. >> albuquerque, new mexico. thousands of people come here every fall to watch the colorful hot air balloons sail through the desert sky. for others, it is just a pit stop as they continue their track on to santa fe. but for some, it is a place for new beginnings. >> you could just throw a dart at the map, and it is their, pretty. much >> this is don fluitt's you under brother, born and raised in california, they grew up close.

two of them, and two sisters. >> we had to rely on each other. when my parents divorced, it was just my mom, so there was a lot of time at home, alone. >> like most siblings, the brothers were competitive. >> they had to outdo each other, constantly. what one did the next one did. >> the brothers fluitt led a hard partying lifestyle, until dennis stopped at age 20. dennis matured, thought his brother could do the same. he urged don to join him in new mexico. >> he was on a dead end trail, not doing anything good or productive so i called him, convinced him to come out here. >> you saw your brother change? >> oh, yes. you know, you saw a complete change. >> don turned his life around. at 26, he got married and had two kids. but the marriage did not last. his kids move to oklahoma with their mom. the daughter tiffany says that don never stopped being a good father. >> he had to go out of his way to keep you too in his life as well? >> oh, he did.

>> albuquerque is a far place away. >> it is. but he always made that drive, though. >> when don was in his late thirties, he decided to pursue a childhood dream to become a firefighter. dennis joked with him and told him he was too old, but that did not stop don. >> was it the adrenaline, running hot, all going down? >> maybe, i just think that he cared for people, he wanted to do his part to save as many lives as he could. >> and soon, he met dennis is neighbor, a woman named christine. >> she made him happy. she was kind of quirky, silly like he was. they got along really well. >> into us literally the girl next door? >> yes, literally. >> it was not long before dawn and christine married. just a little over a year later, they had a baby girl together. they named her siena. his son josh says that siena seemed to complete don's life. >> he was above the world, knowing that we were so far away, at least he could have his own child, right there with him, every step of the way, every second of the day.

>> there you go, you did it! >> as you can see in this home video that christine took, the couple doted on their little girl. >> you can do it, keep pushing! keep pushing! >> she loved him. they were always doing goofy things. >> they were two peas in a pod. >> life was great, until don, after eight years as a firefighter, lost his job. according to a close friend, christine, who worked as an x-ray tech, had to shoulder most of the bills. the financial strain proved to be too much. when siena was only four years old, christine filed for divorce. the couple shared custody of siena. don made sure his life still revolved around his little girl. >> he would get it from preschool, he would design for all of her place that she was in, he bought her costumes. and he would dress her, do her makeup. he was an amazing father. >> out one of the best life possible for siena, and being

the best man that he possibly could. >> this is amber, dennis is daughter, dons in these. she says don tot siena to help others, as he always tried to do. >> they would go to church every sunday, and have spaghetti on sundays. one day, they just made too much spaghetti. they decided to find somebody and give them a dinner. >> they started calling it spaghetti sunday. don and siena would hit the streets of albuquerque and feed the homeless. she is not dragging her feet with all of this? >> oh, no. not at all. i think they were in cahoots. >> from spaghetti sundays, to silly homemade music videos. >> he wouldn't let her do anything unless he could do it with her. >> just a few weeks before christmas, 2016, don's oldest sister died of cancer. his mother, sharon, was devastated. don and siena, then 11 years old, took a road trip to california to spend christmas with them. and when the festivities were over --

>> they did not want to go. >> don, who was now working at an agency that served the developmentally disabled, told his mom he had a meeting he could not miss. >> so i said, all right. so i went outside with them, hugged, kissed, got everything in the car. >> after an 11 hour drive, they arrived home in albuquerque, where siena found a new bicycle under the christmas tree. but before she could write it, don needed to drop her off with her mom, christine. the next day, siena, who spoke to her dad every day, did not hear from him. she called her dad's coworker, valerie torres. >> she says, i can't get hold of my dad. as that honey, let me try your dad. don't worry, he is fine. >> valerie called, texted. no answer. she and a coworker went to don 's home.

>> what i knocked on the door, it gave a little bit. >> so the front door was not locked? >> no, and i was able to walk into the house. >> valerie called out don's name. no response. >> so i told my friend, we will only know if he is here whether or not his truck is here. so i opened the garage door. and, when i opened the garage door, i found my friend. >> coming up -- what had happened in that garage? a clue, from the neighbor. >> she has two cameras in her house. she sees don, his truck, backing out. >> and another from his ex-wife. had someone been in don fluitt 's house? >> it is weird, someone used a -- a -- pan, in the house. >> when dateline continues.

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even as the rio grande, a great but gentle reverend through this bedroom community, north of downtown albuquerque. valerie torres made a grisly discovery in don fluitt's garage. her friend called 9-1-1. >> he's on the ground, in front of his vehicle. something is very wrong. >> don had been bludgeoned, his throat slit slip, and stabbed. >> oh my gosh. >> i absolutely knew he was gone. i knew there was nothing i could do to help him. >> then she thought about siena who was at her mother's house. >> and i just remember my

heartbreaking. light literally, i've never felt my heart like that. >> where you see? >> within minutes, an officer from the albuquerque pd arrived on the scene. valerie and her friends were still in tears. his body camera ruled as he walked pass siena's new bicycle, still next to the christmas tree. then into the garage where don 's body lay. as night fell, the yellow tape went up. albuquerque police detective matthew kaplan left the investigation. >> everything was in pristine order, the only thing or two of order was don fluitt in the garage. >> there was no sign of forced entry. don cell phone was on the couch, as well as on the kitchen counter. police located all the kitchen knives and sent them off to the crime lab. they also gathered other forensic evidence including dons fingernail clippings. >> there was immediate blood in the vicinity of the walls, underneath him, on the truck. that looked like hand prints. >> but the detective thought it didn't seem like enough blood if the injuries don't had

sustained -- >> that's when we noticed an empty bottle of bleach on the washer and dryer, and tools that spelled a bleach in the washer. >> so somebody had done cleanup? >> that's what it appeared, yes. >> his team didn't test with a substance like aluminum. the kitchen sink lit up with traces of blood. >> so it looked like either a hand or murder upon was awash off in the sink. >> the floor also lit up. same with the door. caplan and his team had already started going door to door and met don's next door neighbor. >> she tells us she has two cameras on her house. >> so that's interesting? >> yes, there is one which has pence to catch a portion of don fluitt's garage. >> and she told them she'd been home the night before when -- >> she hears a graduate come up, she happens to look at her camera and see don flutes truck backing out and. leaving >> the time, 7:37 pm. caplan had the first data point for a timeline. he gathered more when he talked to don's ex-wife christine at

her home. christine confirm he drop siena off with her at 7:45 pm. and she remembered something don told her that afternoon, he thought someone had been in his house while he had been away. >> and he said it, it's weird varies like cat here in my dryer. and they -- someone used a pan in my house. >> christine also told the detective that don sometimes suffered road rage. >> he's had really heated exchanges as a driver before. >> so, maybe an angry motorists followed gone home after an argument. or maybe it was someone he knew. someone with access to the house. caplan spoke to food dons landlord who had shown up at the scene. he told caplan that don was a kind hearted man and wondered if his murder had anything to do with his work with homeless people. >> he opens himself to everybody. you know, he opens his home -- >> don's mom sharon, out in california, got a call in the middle of the night. a detective caplan was on the

line. >> and he said, mom sorry your son is dead. and i think i started screaming. >> just 19 days before, she lost her eldest daughter to cancer. 19 years before that, her youngest daughter had also died. and now, don. >> i couldn't get my head around it. it didn't seem real. dennis called amber >> to let her know about her uncle don. >> i just started screaming no. over and over again. my dad was obviously a miss. >> and the new soon made its way to oklahoma where dons older children lived. >> i was just like, no this isn't real. this stuff doesn't happen. you just see the stuff on tv. >> this is an intimate murder. this is a hands on murder. >> yeah. very personal. >> it was up close and. personal >> very violent. personal.

>> sue would put a target on your brother of all people? mr. sunday night spaghetti? >> my first stop thought was terry. i even told a detective. that >> terry white, christine's husband, siena's stepfather. >> don told me a lot about him. i knew there's been some allocations in the. pass >> detective caplan went to see terry the next day. terry, a truck driver, was back from his shift and was at home with siena and christine. >> hi siena, how are you? >> siena and chris enough. through caplan asked terry about his relationship with. don't >> you know, in the beginning, i would say it was rocky. >> terry told caplan that when they went core over custody of siena, don seem sometimes seem to want a confrontation. >> and he get me in any kind of way -- violent or reelect scream at him. then it would make him look good. and he would ultimately, you know, when the courtside about -- his daughter. so i just, i would like that.

>> terry said to the detective that he mostly and void on. and haven't had any contact with him in a while. >> and we were not going to find any dna or fingerprint of yours anywhere in his house? or on his vehicle? or anywhere in that area? >> no. i just would not get in that guy's life. it's just not -- it was worth it. because i love that little girl. >> yeah. >> and i don't want to make her -- heat me, because she loves her dad. >> caplan asked about the night of the murder. terry said he spent the evening visiting his sister. he said he left about nine, stop that wendy's for dinner, then drove to work, slept in his car until his shift. >> so you napped in the parking lot work? >> yeah. >> terry sister confirmed his story. so did his boss, who said she she had security cam video that would sure terry outwork that night. but by then, caplan had received an unexpected phone call from don's neighbor. >> she'd become curious about her own surveillance video. she looked at it and made a discovery and said, hey, detective you need to look at

7:41 pm. >> a mysterious figure captured on camera. who is that lurking outside don's house? coming up -- >> there someone in a hoodie and the individual walks off camera towards were don fluitt 's door would be. >> did you take surveillance camera had taken picture of your killing? >> i did. >> when dateline continues. y other month. cabenuva helps keep me undetectable. it's two injections, given by a healthcare provider every other month. it's one less thing to think about while traveling. hiv pills aren't on my mind. a quick change in my plans is no big deal. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients or taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. serious side effects include allergic reactions, post-injection reactions, liver problems, and depression. if you have a rash and other allergic reaction symptoms,

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instead of celebrating the start of a new year, don fluitt's family was making funeral arrangements. his niece amber meet posters with voters of john. his ex-wife christine pitched in. >> she brought some pictures over that she had had, that i could add to the boards. and she said, can i help you? i said, yeah absolutely. let's do this. so we had a glass of wine and put the picture boards together. >> siena help to. >> she lost her best friend. and she wanted to be a part of it. >> siena picked up most of the music and readings for the service. it was held at the church she attended with her dad. >> meanwhile, the murder investigation continued. detective caplan spoke to don's neighbor, who said she'd found something on her home security video. >> i start looking at the clips she's talking about. and believe it or not, there's a figure.

>> a figure? >> a figure, there's someone in a hoodie walking to don fluitt's trash. can they leave the trash can down on his side. and the individual walks off camera towards where don fluitt 's door would be. don fluitt returns, pulls into the garage, you see him walk out of the garage. he walks his trash can, picks it up, and then walks into his garage, again. >> at this point, said caplan, you can see the light from the garage diminishing as the garage door closed. >> and then inexplicably, the garage shoots back up, and you see a series of flashes. >> i'm the hooded figure, outside. we went to the seam of the crime to understand how this could happen. it's as easy as that, have? >> so words don. he's in the house low? >> i believe he's in the house. and there is your series of flashes that you see on this relates cam.

>> caplan believe the hooded figure sneak trip the figure and state into the garage. the door closing behind. >> did you think that surveillance camera had taken a picture of your color? >> i did. >> a tantalizing image, but no fees to go with it. >> do you see the figure depart? >> no, never. the garage closes and don fluitt is founded the next morning. >> even as he puzzled over the hog who did figures identity, the detective started to hear about someone else. don don's brother dennis. just days after the murder dennis got the keys to john's house. don's children from oklahoma wondered what he was up to. >> they felt it was on that dennis was there. as sort of taking control. >> taking over his brother's life? yes, that was concerned. >> caplan also learned that dennis and don had had a falling out the year before. dennis had moved away, lived in arizona for a while. but he moved back to albuquerque just a couple of months before dawn's murder. >> a kind of puts up a red flag for me. you're in the process of reconnecting, you had a falling out before. and now don is has inexplicably been murder. >> tiffany and josh had the

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

landlord, benny? >> benny, the landlord. dana says just days after don's murder, he found many inside don's home. >> benny claimed he was feeding the dog. dennis claimed, well i don't love he's messing with a crime. seen >> dennis told caplan that he had her own don was upset with many over a hole in his ceiling that hadn't been repaired. detectives asked benny for fingerprints and dna. but as caplan question him, he told the detectives he was and easy about dennis. benny said dennis wanted to rent another town house many owned, just a few blocks down from the murder scene. >> he said he was gonna move all of down stuff over there, and set it up. >> did he tell you why he wanted to do that? >> for siena. he wanted to set it up for siena, don's little daughter. which is kind of weird. >> many said he didn't read to dennis. not after background checks revealed that dennis had a criminal record for assault and disorderly conduct. caplan, of course, already knew about dennis is record. but more importantly -- >> i wondered why he had suddenly taken a massive interest in don fluitt's

affairs with a con condo and with siena. >> when we spoke with dennis, we wonder that too? >> coming up -- the brother, the landlord, the stepfather -- three possible suspects. >> those were names that i just couldn't eliminate. >> and one of them is about to change his story. when dateline continues. what is this nightmare? it's how some people describe... shingles. a painful, blistering rash that could interrupt your life for weeks. forget social events and weekend getaways. if you've had chickenpox, the virus that causes shingles is already inside of you. if you're 50 years or older ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingles. ♪ ♪ fight fleas and ticks with seresto.

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i'm craig melvin. who killed don fluitt? detectives believe that if they could i. d. the hooded figure captured on a neighbor's violence camera, they would have their answer. as they worked to whittle down their list of possible suspects, the fluitt family was mourning dons loss. here again is dennis murphy with the figure in the garage. >> to see don fluitt love the christmas season, would be punished mildly. >> he was obsessed. [laughs] we're talking lights, music. it was everywhere. >> a month after don's murder, his family was still grappling with the fact that he would never see another christmas. no one more distraught than his daughter, siena. >> how is she doing? >> she was strong. she said she was just praying about it. she would cry.

>> meanwhile, detective caplan was looking very closely at the apparent bad blood between don fluitt and his brother dennis. >> they kept talking about an estrangement between the two of you. do you know whether referring to? >> oh yeah. when my dad passed, we all came to an agreement on the few assets that he did have. >> there's a cylinder standing? >> so understanding. will gone didn't keep his part of the deal and kept one of the trucks that we were going to sell. >> according to dennis, that led to radio silence between the two brothers. dennis said he try to reach out to don just a couple of months before his murder. but don never returned his call. and when he heard about on staff, he only wanted to help. i knew >> i knew him better than anybody. and he knew me better than anybody. and i made a promise to him and siena early on, that is gonna do everything to bring justice and protect him. >> he said if some people found that suspicious, so be it. dennis remained on detective caplan's list of potential suspects. >> benny, dennis, terry -- these were names that i just

could not eliminate. >> so he kept the heat on all three. caplan had already question landlord many release and questions and taken assemble of his dna. he also took another look at santa's stepdad terry. white remember terry additionally told detectives that he stayed with his sister until 9 pm, then drove to work until the nap in the parking lot. but when detective caplan check the security cam video -- >> you could see terry white pollen and immediately get out his truck and walk to the front door. so now there's a discrepancy in his story. >> again, thank you for coming down. >> a, no worries. i'm sure your busy man. >> detective caplan acts terry to start by the station, go over his timeline one more time. and -- >> his story changed. he didn't pull into the parking lot as originally express. he went around the corner to a dark area and fell asleep there. and then he pulled into the parking lot.

>> that was the only discrepancy. remember, in his first interview, terry said he'd only stopped at a wendy's on his way to work. but now -- >> i stopped at walmart. >> walmart? now what's he doing at walmart? >> that was an interesting story. >> i wanted to stop and get a new sweatshirt for me, for work, because my wife bought me one for christmas. i said, i'm not going to wear that work. so, i went about this one. >> caplan as terri about dennis. he never met the guy he said. but he'd heard about his troubled relationship with don. and that dennis had moved into dons home. >> now he's back and he's like -- trying to protect siena from whatever. and it's just making people feel kind of off. >> terry willingly gave a dna samples and caplan sent him on his way. two days later, the detective went back to dennis. >> i took his dna and i took his fingerprints. >> dennis too was cooperative. he told detectives he worried

about siena and he felt bad for christine. >> you know, she's a mess. i mean, i talk to her for and half an hour on the phone this morning and there was probably four or five times she started to cry. >> and he was still very vocal with his suspicions about bennie ruiz. >> i mean how do we know that many didn't go over there and on might have just let him in, like everybody knew each other. and then it went bad. >> caplan didn't think dennis was helping himself. >> was he receding as a person of interest for you? >> know, unfortunately not. >> if you have your own anybody particular? >> oh no, we can tell you that. >> come on, man. >> no, we can tell you that. >> oh, that's right. i'm still not clear it as a suspect. >> nobody is. in my opinion, nobody is. >> as the weeks past, don's kids began to worry. did you think it was going to be cold and not solved? that someone was going to get away with murder? >> it scared me for a little

bit that may be that way. >> but that was about to change. remember, fingernail clippings from don's body had been taking for testing. three months after don's murder, a lab reported a hit. someone else is danny beneath dons fingernails. >> i remember just kind of jumping out of my chair. well whose dna is it? >> coming up -- >> that's a bangle moment? >> yes. >> a final suspect, at last. but can they get to him in time? >> the deputy immediately think, oh no. >> when dateline continues. it's effective and vet recommended. seresto. learn more at seresto.com. ♪ ♪ looking to get back in your type 2 diabetes zone? once-weekly ozempic® can help. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ ♪ oh, oh, oh ♪ ozempic® is proven to lower a1c. most people who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it.

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suspects. something had to break the tie. then about 12 weeks into the investigation, the crime lab called with some major news. the foreign dna under don fluitt's fingernails, belong to none other than her ex wife's current husband, terry white. >> that's a bangle moment, ha? >> it all yes. >> it all started lining up. terry strained relationship with don. the shifting timeline. his sudden need for a new hoodie. >> the fact that he's amended his second story to include buying a hoodie. >> in hindsight, a lot. it tells me that there was probably a lot of blood on him and that he needed something to wear when he went to work. >> and above all, terri's dna where it simply did not belong. >> and we're not going to find any dna or fingerprints of yours anywhere in his house are on his vehicle, or anywhere in

that area? >> no. >> no. >> so if we did, it would be weird? >> yeah, i would say that would be weird. >> okay. >> at this point i'm 100 percent sure that terry is our guy. >> caplan spoke to don's mom sharon and his brother dennis. >> we do have a suspect in this case, and we do have an arrest warrant. >> yes! >> who is it? >> it's terry white. >> the key seemed to be sold. but there is a problem. before caplan could find terry, he got a call from christine. she said terri was missing. you put the noose around terri 's neck but you also find that he doesn't seem to be around anymore. >> right. >> caplan asked christine to stop by the station. he thought she might have information that could help him find her husband. >> and you're having a contentious kind of relationship now with christine? >> right. and i think at that point her willingness to cooperate with me was sort of gone.

>> caplan got a search warrant for her car and phone hoping to find clues that might lead him to terry. >> interesting enough, we find herself phone in the glove compartment and there is a last will and testament, right next to it. >> alas will and testament in the glove? >> yes, it's terry whites. i found that to ex be extraordinary unusual. >> and hold again was it, the document? >> three days after he took his dna. >> kaplan storied wonder if terry would be gone prominently. then a few days later, he caught a break. a sheriff's deputy had happened on a pick up truck in arizona rest up more than 200 miles from apple bakery. there is a host traveling from the exhaust into the cab. so the deputy immediately thinks, oh no, it looks like someone is trying to commit suicide. >> in the cab of the truck, the missing murder suspect. >> terry white is red face, probably from the carbon monoxide, looks a little bit drowsy and out of it. deputy runcie's name and realizes, he's has worn for a homicide.

so he's arrested right then and there. >> detective caplan and his partner made a beeline for arizona to see if terry would talk. do you want >> do you want to talk with me today? >> i need an attorney. >> i mean, you guys obviously are thinking something, so i gotta protect myself. >> so terry didn't feel like talking. not to the police, anyway. but once he was transferred back to albuquerque, he did talk to someone. dennis received a facebook message from a woman. >> she's like, you don't know me, but my boyfriend is in jail with a guy by the name of terry white. you can imagine, i'm thinking what? >> the boyfriends name, roderick white. no relation, of course. rod and terry xin did share the same last name, the same birthday, and for three days in april, 2017, the same jail cell. soon, terry's former cellmate was in the interview room with detective caplan. >> from why understand -- you want to talk about what theories confided in you.

>> yes. >> according to rod, terry made a full confession. >> he tells him everything. he tells him how he snuck in. >> he tripped the -- the garage door. and he said, man i thought i was busted right then. but he ended up getting underneath the guy's truck. >> terry toll rod that john was a smoker whose routine was to smoke in the garage. so he waited for don to come out. >> he says, i got up and i was waiting right there by the door. >> rod said terri then described in gruesome detail what took place inside the garage away from the neighbor's security camera. >> he said, he's a truck driver, so he has a tire thumper -- he said as soon as he came out, he said i hit him as hard as they could with that -- tire thumper. he said a hitmen so hard, is flip the tire from her into three pieces. >> kaplan showed us how the cellmate story matched the evidence that the crime scene. >> he explains that he hits don with this tire thumper. don continues to fight. it continues in here. we know this because there is a

coat rack that would've been right here. there's blood on a jacket that belong to siena. there is blood on the garage door. and then we find -- >> and then what, the action moves back out here? >> a loose back up here. and this is a very narrow space, because the bumper of -- >> he's got a big old truck, and it was a dove use every inch of the space. >> it was about right here. but we do know there's some bloody handprints on the hood of the truck. there's hand prints and blood swipes on the wall. so we know that don had fallen on his back this way. he even described how dawn got terri's dna on him. >> and he said, i know exactly when it happened. he goes, when it was raining down on -- he reached up and his -- his finger caught inside his lip. >> then rod continued that terri hit him so hard don finally went down. >> he said, i'll give him this -- he fought for his life. >> then according to rod, terry finished the job. >> he said, i went inside the house, and they got a steak knife. and he said something about

splitting the side of his throws. >> and if the knife didn't work, terry told rod that he had a backup plan. >> he i had a plan b, he said it was an ax on the wall of the garage. he said that was plan b. >> which you can clearly see in the crime scene photos. there is no way you would know that unless you are there. >> importantly. were any of those details, detective, that you just listed were they online. in the newspapers? >> no. >> so this cell me is telling you a story that is exactly matches your evidence, with the observations at the scene? >> yes. not only is it much in the evidence, is filling in some of the gaps. >> the case against harry white was starting to look your tight. but rod, the informant, wasn't done talking. >> coming up -- >> she is the one that told him, we've got to do this now. you've got to this for your family. >> she? >> she said, we've all have our dirty little part in this. >> one more jaw-dropping revelation to come. when dateline continues. dateline continues.

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but like so many of my colleagues, i resigned in protest because chesa boudin interfered in every single case and failed to do his job. the office is absolutely in disarray right now. chesa dissolved my unit prosecuting car break-ins. now criminals flock to san francisco because there are no consequences. we can't wait. recall chesa boudin now. the walls were closing in on terri white. dna linked him to the murder of don fluitt. and after catching him in the middle of an apparent suicide attempt, police made an arrest. in jail, terry confessed grisly details of the crime to his cell meat, who then told detectives. it seemed they had their man. the investigators were about to learn terry may not have acted

alone. here's dennis murphy with the conclusion of the figure in the garage. >> he said, i'll give him this -- he fought for his life. >> informant rod white gave detectives a virtual play by p of how terry white murdered on fluitt. one revelation after another. >> i had a plan b. he said there was acts on the wall in the garage. >> but just when they thought they'd heard everything, rod had one more revelation to offer. a big one. >> terry told on several occasions -- ? >> told me on several occasions, that he did it for. her that she's the one that told him, we've got to do this now. you've got to do this for your family. >> according to rod, the she in question was terry's wife. dons acts. the mother of his darling siena, christine. rod said and would later

testify in court, that christine was the prime mover of the murder plot. >> so terry told you that christine told him to do it for the family? >> yes. they had been looking for an opportunity for a while. >> the cell mate said that christine and terry called don the black cloud. and with him out of the way, they'd have siena all to themselves. of course, any dreams of a happily ever after had gone belly up once police zeroed in on terry. but terry did have an ironclad life insurance policy. >> so the reasoning it would be then i, terry white, in the can, unlimited go down for this, they got me? >> but i can do you, christine and find a little bit of good by killing myself and the insurance will be paid off to you. >> having you collect $250,000. >> rod told the detectives that terri's suicide attempt in arizona was his third. and according to rod, christine was not exactly thrilled when terry survived. >> when he called her -- she picked up the phone and said, what -- why are you still here? basically, why have you not killed yourself?

>> the cell mate's tale got even stranger. he said after he was released from jail, he met with christine and made up a story. he's told her he would smuggle some pills into the jail so terry could make good on his suicide promise. and i said, i need to buy the pills. i just don't have the money. we went her bank and got out $200. >> rod said he never bought the pills or completed the scheme. >> what did you do with the? money >> the money, i spent it to be honest with you. i just got a deal. i was broke. you know? >> but he said he had a vivid memory of the last time he saw christine. >> she was crying and she grabbed my hand and said, she's putting my head and she said, we all have our dirty little part in this. >> detectives had heard enough. a few days after the interview -- >> we arrested her. >> christine was charged with first degree murder and conspiracy. >> she was upset but resigned to what was happening.

>> but the case against christine was flimsy. it rested on the word of a felon. >> it wasn't strong enough to move forward with her. >> the charges against christine were dismissed. >> in june, 2018, terry white went on trial. the sole defendant. the prosecutions star witness was terry's cellmate roderick white. back in jail by then on an unrelated charge. he told the jury everything about how terry killed don. but even this career criminal criminal couldn't seem to understand why. >> why did you kill him? i said was he touching your little girl? and he was like, no. he was a touching or. i said, okay well was she beating her? he said no, he wasn't. i said, well why did you kill him? he said, he just wouldn't go away. >> as a result of his testimony, rod, who is a meth addict, avoided prison time and enrolled in a drug rehab program. he insisted he didn't come forward in hopes of a deal. but rather because he believed john's murder was wrong. >> they killed him because he was a good father. that's why they killed this guy. because he was a good dad.

>> it took the jury a little over six hours to reach a verdict. >> guilty of first degree murder. >> guilty. it was just instantly relief. >> that this man wouldn't be able to just walk freely, ever. you know? that he wasn't going to get to take my dad's life and have his own still. >> i never took my eyes off of him. from the time the jury and the papers. i watched him, the whole time. and i wanted to see something. a tier, or remorse, a smile. something. nothing. >> in august, 2018, terry white was sentenced to 42 years in prison. but for don's family, it's not over. >> the puppeteer is still pulling the strings though. >> who's the puppeteer? >> christine. and the puppet is terry. >> think about it, she manipulated that man into killing himself. think about that for a second. it's one thing to talk somebody into murdering somebody for you. but to then talk that same

person into killing themselves if they got caught -- i mean, how do you do that? >> christine white did not attend the trial. she declined our request for an interview. but wrote us a letter saying, she and don had no custody battle in december 2016, only different ideas of school choices and tuition. regarding don's murder, christine wrote, i knew nothing of the events that occurred until i got a call from the coworker of john who have found him that night in december. it was an awful an unbelievable thing to hear, and even harder to have to tell your child. prosecutors natalie stroke and david way meyer see the investigation into christine is still open. but they don't know when or if she might be charged. >> we would have to build proof beyond a reasonable doubt that she intended all along for her and wait to do this. and more than that, that she

actually did something concrete to eat and abet, to help the crime be committed. >> natalie, can you get there? >> i'm hopeful. i would like to say yes. but if the evidence isn't there, we can't charge her for something we can't prove. >> anyone who knew him will tell you, don fluitt enjoyed helping people. he loved being a firefighter. feeding the homeless, and helping people with disabilities find work. but what he loved most was being siena's dad. a bond so tight, people stood in all of it. >> she loved being with her dad. she reveled in it. she loved that man. you know, to this day i think about that void that's in her life. >> terrible loss, certainly with your uncle. but it's primary victim here in a way seems to be siena. >> i would say. so tiffany josh and myself, to. we got to live our childhood with him. we got to go to him for advice. and to share those milestones in life with him. what about siena?

my dad is still here, you know? hers is not. >> that's hold for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. >> i'm craig melvin. >> i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." >> i was one of the last to suspect anything. even though you were hopeful, you knew as soon as you hung up the phone, you knew. how does anybody look at somebody drowning and not help him? how do you do that? >> a perfect husband. a perfect father. a perfect mystery. >> they found the boat. mike wasn't in it. >> we thought maybe he's had an accident. >> the thought is the alligators have eaten mike. >> but this lake was hiding