tv Dateline MSNBC November 13, 2022 11:00pm-1:00am PST
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relief, the bad guys win. but maybe connie and rick are the best living proof that somebody can blossom from even the darkest of situations. >> a friend of mine told me that he really likes you. i said, no he doesn't! he is my friend! then i started paying attention. i was like, oh, i think he does. [laughs] >> turned out, at my age, why was important to me is not only is she beautiful, but she's intelligent. >> somehow, out of fear, danger, and the need for protection grew love. connie and rick married in december, 2013. >> you did your job. you protected her. she still here. >> i'm happy about that. >> if you like the universe shows you a little happiness here? because i do! >> [laughs] well, we are. we have a very good family. i'm proud of it. >> i've been married twice. this is the only husband i've ever had. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. it's the thing that most people would fear to be home, asleep in your bed and have intruders come in and do the unthinkable. >> i felt like i had a hand
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being placed on my mouth. i started shouting, please don't kill me! please don't kill me! >> an attack in the night. >> i was like, really freaking out, what's going on? what's going on? >> a mother, murdered. >> looked like two -- had just committed the ultimate karen. we >> he lived to tell police a harrowing story. was it true? >> he's the only one who survived. he's practically unharmed. >> they're treating you like a subject or witness? >> they are treating me like a suspect. >> now, an undercover plan to solve the mystery. >> he's stepping out of the car right now. >> who was the real mastermind? >> we all stopped breathing for about ten seconds. >> i wanted to be wrong. i really wanted to be wrong. >> the american dream, so many
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of us wanted. the loving family, the honest job. the home you can afford. the idea that you can start over here. and, in this new country, that better life will be yours. this is a story about that dream. about a family that worked for it, wanted it and then what happened then after. >> 9-1-1 emergency! >> this wasn't part of anyone stream. >> yeah, well, someone just robbed her house. they broken and they timed me and my mama. >> how can it happen in this safe gated community? in this home they'd work so hard to have. >> is everybody okay? >> i don't know. they just beat me up. i don't know where my mom is. >> and, who deserved it less than this woman? who my mom had the heart to the
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family. >> ryan girgis was the baby of the family. >> we couldn't function without my mom. my mom was like the chef in the household, they counselor. >> the full service mom. >> oh, yeah she did it all. she was really, really a nice and sweet lady. >> she was one of those mothers who shown her love through food. her cakes were legendary. making every birthday that much more special says her older son, richard. >> she made this really good upside down pineapple cake. it was phenomenal. i always remember cake and ice cream at the birthdays. >> growing up, richard was inseparable from his mom. >> was she like the other moms that your friend said? >> no, i think she was a bit more like conservative side. >> conservative because of where she came from. ariet girgis was born in egypt. and that came to the u.s. when she was 29 years old.
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her family settled in northern california. ariet let a comfortable all american life. but, cultural ties are strong. and in 1980, ariet was called back to egypt to meet a nice young man named magdi. one my mom went out there and went out to meet magdi, she really liked him. >> years later, she would reminisce about how the romance blossomed. >> in egypt, you really can't just go out on like dates and stuff. so, they went up to a movie theater and then when it got really dark, my dad reached over and give your like a kiss on the cheek. >> which was a very big deal. >> yeah, for her. was i think that almost sealed the deal. >> it wasn't the american way of falling in love. but ariet seem to be. she and magdi married just two years later in egypt, and move together to california. in 1981, richard was born. five years later came ryan. richard was delighted to have a brother to play with and to
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watch over. >> so, you were his protector, big brother? >> yes, that was kind of it. i kept an eye on him. i loved my brother with all my heart. >> how did you and your brother get along? >> like best friends. i always looked up to him. >> their dad was the classic hardworking immigrant, magdi earned his license to become a respiratory therapist. then, put in and listen hours to keep a roof over his family said. and clothes on their backs. >> he came from a really poor country. so, for him, it was like to come here he was working really hard to try and build things up and try to establish a life. >> magdi emphasized education. teaching both his sons math at an early age. he strove and saved to help them all prosper. and, they felt he would do anything to keep this family safe. >> you didn't want your family to get pushed around? >> not at all, not at all.
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>> it took many years of hard work, saving and investing. but magdi finally put together enough money to buy this home in a gated community in the city of westminster. a quiet town in orange county, california. with the girgis family was well on its way to living out the dream magdi and ariet had worked so hard to build. but then, on september 29th 2004, all of it came crashing down. ryan gorgeous, then 17 was out with friends and stayed out later than he was supposed to. >> when did you get home? >> like, one to 1:30 that night. i had slipped the back door open and i went upstairs. >> his dad was not at home. his brother, at work. his mom, asleep. >> i remember i was fixing up my ipad dock and i fell asleep to music that night. the next thing i know i hear a
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door open and first instinct was that maybe it was my brother. >> his older brother, richard, his best friend and protector coming home. or so he thought. but it wasn't richard. >> kind of look back and then that's when i felt like a hand being placed on my mouth. and it was a hand with some time of cotton gloves. >> can you see what this is? >> i noticed it was a black male who was heavy said, he was going for my brother and my mom to help me. and i was really scared. >> with ryan says that he fought the intruder. >> i picked out on the hand and i rolled off the bed and then i popped up and i was shoved into the wall. he's telling me to like shut up and calm down. >> the men put duck tape overruns mouth and started taping his hands and feet together. >> and, right after that a
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second suspect comes in inside and he starts making threats to me, like, don't get your moms killed. don't get your mom killed! >> don't get your mom killed, that had to be terrifying to hear? >> yes, i was really terrified. >> what did you think was going on? >> i don't know what was going haunt. i thought it was maybe a robbery or something. >> a terrifying situation was about to get much worse. >> through the hallway, i saw my mom yelling to take anything you want, take anything you want! and then, after, that i just noticed that the guy was taking my mom away, like, towards her bedroom. >> ryan's attacker drive him into the closet. but then notice the duck tape was slipping around ryan tense. >> i heard him taking some shoestring off of one of my shoes. >> using the shoelace, the men tied ryan's hands behind his back. through the closet door, ryan pleaded with this attacker. >> i started telling him, please don't kill me, please
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don't kill me! and i started praying. and, during that time, he was like, i know your circumstances. i know what you're going through. i'm not going to kill you. >> i know your circumstances. strange as those words sounded, ryan found them somehow comforting. >> and then after that i started feeling a little bit of a sense of relief. >> but then, ryan heard a sound that would come to haunt him. >> i heard a, like a cutting of a sheet. so i thought he was cutting my sheet open. i didn't know what was going on. >> and, what was going on was worse than anything he could've imagined. >> coming up -- >> there like, don't make me have to tell you, i will tell you. >> a panicked call to 9-1-1. and another to his brother. >> i was like really freaking out, i was like what's going on, what's going on? >> what really happened inside that house. >> oh my god! oh my god! >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues e best.
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through a terrifying ordeal. two men, breaking into his home in a gated community in the middle of the night. >> both black guys. and they were really huge to me. and their whole persona was like gangster and thugs. >> you've never seen them before? >> never, ever. >> they tied him up, threw him in the closet. but not before he saw one of the men drag his mother into her bedroom. he says he thought he heard the men walk out. thought i heard a car drive away. but, for a few more moments ryan said in that dark closet heart thumping. afraid, he says, to come out. it was now or never. ryan says he managed to untie ms. self and grab his cell phone. >> i went down the hallway, i looked to the right really quickly and i noticed that the door was like, in a closed
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position. >> to your mother's bedroom? >> to my mother's bedroom. >> why didn't you check on her? >> i wanted to get out of the house as fast as possible and come back without. >> i, mean you had to -- be thinking my mom is in there, how she. is >> the whole time i was thinking, i need to get out of this house and come back with somebody because i already got overpowered by myself. >> he ran outside the house and called 9-1-1. >> what happened? >> they, two black guys just jumped in my house. and they just started beating the -- out of me, they said, don't make me have to kill, you don't make me have to kill you! don't make me have to kill you! i will kill you! don't get your mom skilled. >> ryan called his that, we magdi was shocked, and asked two things. if ryan was okay and where ariet was. and ryan didn't know. ryan also called his older brother, richard. who was working the night shift at the queen mary hotel. >> what did richard say when you called him? >> he questioned if i was all right.
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he questioned where his mom. he also questioned who do you think it is, was it someone you know, right? >> why would richard think that you might know the people who broke into the house? >> well, he felt like i was the one that got tied up and things like that, they came into my room. so, he was just like questioning ryan, is this something having to do with? you what's going on? did they have a personal vendetta against you or anything? >> as you see, that's a question that would come up again. after ryan's call, richard left work and drove to the house. but the police tape was already up and they wouldn't let him through. >> i was like really freaking out. i was like, what's going on, what's going on? and you, know i was asking them, was my mom at, where's my mom at? >> police took richard and ryan to the station. the boys were surprised to find themselves split up and sitting in separate interview rooms. ryan's hands were begged to preserve any evidence. but, before detectives could
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ask too many questions, richard asked one of his own. >> what happened to my mom? please? >> before we go on, please, i deserve that, at least. >> your mom is dead. >> so we have a murder investigation. >> oh, no she's not, no she's not. i didn't hear that. i didn't hear that. >> ryan says he didn't hear what was happening right then. but he could tell it was bad. >> oh my god! oh my god! >> i just hear like a scream. and i'm like, what just happened? and it sounds like richard, my brother. and he is coming to the top of his lungs. >> no she's not. she's not! >> you can see richard, you could just hear. >> i could just hear amid another room and he's going hysterical. i've never heard him scream like that in my whole life. >> oh my god! does my little brother no? >> police student told ryan the same awful news. that their mother ariet had
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been murdered. now, the cops started asking questions. that wasn't all they did. >> police to keep fingerprints? >> police took my fingerprints, cotton swabs, dna, everything, they did it. >> they're treating you like a suspect or witness? >> they are treating me like a suspect at this point. >> did you have a chance to check out your mom before you run out of the house? >> no. i didn't want to like chase after her, and i just ran out of the house. >> is the stairs before your mom's room? >> i have to pass by my mom's room. >> you have to pass firearms room to get downstairs? >> yeah, i didn't even, look i didn't even look at run as fast as i can. >> richard was facing questions that were slightly different but just a skeptical. >> what i'd ask is why would someone pick your house and break into your -- >> i don't know, man i wish i knew. i don't know. >> cops took her fingerprints? >> yeah. >> and your dna? >> yeah. >> did you think to yourself, they're looking at me as a suspect?
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>> yeah, it was scary, i've never been in that situation with the police. >> but the detectives focus seemed to linger on his brother ryan. >> this wouldn't be like directly against him, that you know of? >> i mean, i don't know, dude. i don't know, the first reaction i had when he called me was like, was a one of your friends, did someone break in or something? >> that was your first reaction. >> my first reaction was that. >> as police continued their questioning, one question stood out above all. >> why would these two thugs come into your house, basically not hurt you and then really brutally kill your mother and leave behind a witness? >> yeah. >> this investigation was about to take a turn that no one expected. >> coming up -- >> looked like too ghost just walk in and committed the ultimate crime. >> dna and csi! what will the evidence reveal?
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leave me? >> police, and even his own brother were asking the same thing. >> how many murders do you get in westminster? >> not that many, really. sonia by a state was a deputy da in orange county california. the ariet girgis case landed on her desk. >> it's a nightmare, it's the thing that most people would fear to be home in the safety of your home, asleep in your bed and having intruders come in and do the unthinkable. >> police found harriet's body beneath her bed. she had been stabbed multiple times. that odd tearing sound, ryan said he heard, investigators believed it was the sound of the knife ripping through the mattress as ariet's killers the her throne. >> wasn't i found at the scene? >> it was. not >> james -- was a patrol officer. wilson said, the details of the crime scene when into something other than a home invasion
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robbery. in part because nothing appeared to have been stolen. >> this was not a burglar in which he was sort of collateral damage. >> definitely not. >> cash was in plain sight, jewelry too. even reince ipod and new dock, all untouched. , the house wasn't even rummage through as if they were looking for something, what's more this was a gated community. the killers would have needed a gate code to get in. they start getting more interesting as to who could've done it. crime scene investigators collected amount of evidence, and surprisingly, with all of that blood, not a single trace of unknown dna. all the dna results matched the people who lived in the house. ariet, magdi, richard and ryan. a witness who for some reason was left alive. >> two guys came into the house, beat up brian, tied him up and
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then killed ariet in a brutal hands on way and leave no trace? >> that's what it looked like. it looked like two ghost had just walked in and committed the ultimate crime. >> it seemed improbable. and, it encouraged detectives to look closely at ryan. he claimed to be a victim. but, was he really? >> police learned the friend he was with, the night of the murder, had offered ryan a knife for protection. just hours before ryan's mother was brutally killed with a knife. a knife that had not been found. they also learned, ryan smoked marijuana and not just at the occasional -- he smoked every day. and he wasn't just smoking. >> i was helping out someone with, like, selling, like narcotics and stuff. >> what kind of narcotics? >> marijuana. >> police found small amounts of marijuana in ryan's room. along with the bong, baggies
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and tinfoil. and there was more, like the -- description ryan had given about the two suspects. >> both male, black, they were large, he said they acted like they were from a gang. but that was something that we still didn't know 100% sure. if that was true or not. >> claiming two black men committed the murder seemed almost too convenient. and, more troubling if ryan had been beaten by gang members, much bigger than he was, why didn't he look like it? >> there's no question if ryan had been in a serious duking it out fight with a couple of guys that he would've ended up much more better than he was. >> if those guys wanted to hurt him worse than they did, definitely so, yes. >> and, remember, line had told police that one suspect said, i know your circumstances. i am not going to kill you. was that true? and, if so, what did it mean?
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and then there was the issue of ryan claiming to have left the house before he so much as took a peek into his mother's bedroom. >> that strike anybody as of? >> i think, so as a detective you have to consider what somebody would do that. >> soon, detectives found out, ryan had more dark secrets than they had realized. >> coming up -- >> he's the only one who survived. he's practically unharmed. >> new questions for ryan. and, a new clue. had he received a warning before the attack? >> it popped up like, you better watch your back, i know where you live. >> when dateline continues. hen dateline continues is driven by eosinophils, which nucala helps reduce. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. nucala is not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor.
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not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider if cologuard is right for you. hello i'm dara brown, at least six people were killed after an explosion in a popular pedestrian she didn't stumble. according to the interior minister, the suspect has been arrested. the terrorist organization is set to be responsible.
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and in dallas, six people died after a historic military during world war ii airshow on saturday. they are taking over the investigation, it means that the victims have not yet been released. now, back to dateline. to dateline. investigators looking into the savage murder of ariet girgis, naturally took a look at the other person in the house when she died. her 17 year old son, ryan. he's the only one who survived, he's practically unharmed, he was selling the small amount of drugs. we had to pursue that. >> -- >> police still have a lot of questions about ryan story, but they hadn't yet found any evidence to suggest he killed his mom. for, now at least, they had to take him at his word. >> until you could find a reason not to believe that
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person, you can't have to go with what they have to say, unless they start going to you. >> as far as you know, ryan was not lying. >> as far as i knew, yes. >> but the investigation was just starting. and, police could not discount another possibility. that area was killed because of ryan, detectives learned that a year before the murder, ryan had confronted another kid at school who had been paid him for some weed. later, that kids friends dropped rind. >> it doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would spark a homicide. but i am guessing you've seen homicides that were sparked by a lot less. >> it is typical for specially gang related homicides to be something just a small is that. >> remember, ryan described his assailant as sounding like gang members. and, then there was this bombshell. a message ride received on his aol is the messenger just weeks before the murder. >> about a week about -- a week ago you said?
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>> he brought it to his attention during the interview. >> and it popped up in and said, you better watch your back, i know where you live. this, this,. this and i was, like i've never even seen this person before. that's why i didn't really like pay attention to it. you know what i mean? >> ryan told police, he had chalked up to a prank. now, it seemed like key evidence. except, ryan had not saved the message. no way to tell now, who had sent it. >> and the idea where was from? >> no. >> aol able to help you with any of the? >> no. >> a frustrating deaden. but, by now, police were looking at other possibilities. they had dug deeper into the american dream the girgis family seem to be living. and, interviewed the man of the house, magdi. >> how did you feel about your wife? >> sir i am very devastated, we lived together for 24 years. it's, she's the mother of my kids.
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>> he really didn't have any vices, he didn't spend any money on any hobbies of any sort. so, he was the guy who went to work and went home. >> but their father wasn't just a hard worker, said his sons. he was more like a workaholic. >> i think my mother felt neglected. he wasn't affectionate towards her. it was like all he would do was just work. >> i played sports like all my life and he never, ever came to watch and the sports that i played. >> a lot of the childhood, a lot of me growing, up i can remember a lot about my mom but i don't remember a lot about my dad. and it's not because i don't want to, it's because he just wasn't there. he would come, go to sleep, get -- come, go to save, get up, get back to work. >> that was because for magdi he said, the american dream was all about the green. >> if he was work, work, work -- >> money, money, money. >> exactly. >> after a rare outing to the beach monday, ryan says he and
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his father dropped by mcdonald's. >> i asked him if i can borrow dollars so i could buy a burger and he said, not only did he ask for the dollar back, he also asked for the tax money on it. >> what kind of father asked his 13-year-old son to reimburse him for $1 hamburger? >> my father. he was always trying to hustle someone for some type of money. >> it didn't take prosecutors sonia biased a long to learn about mac these obsession. >> this is the united states, everybody goes to work, everybody tries to make money, everybody tries to provide for themselves and their family. is he different? >> yes. he's very different. he's a in the category of very few people who have a unhealthy relationship with money. it drives everything that they do. >> we're not talking about penn areas or thrifty. >> no. >> we're talking about squeezing every dollar into --
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>> yes. i mean to the point where you have a house paid off but you can't run the electricity for more than one room at a time. >> even though you have the money. >> oh, absolutely. he has food that expires and he hordes it. it's about collecting money. >> and never paying it out. >> correct. >> his sons described magdi as not only obsessed with work and money, but also a strict disciplinarian. >> did you love him? >> yeah, i did love him. >> were you scared of? >> yeah, from when i was a kid, i felt like there was a good thin line and i didn't want to cross anything. >> the brothers say, they saw what could happen when they crossed that line, one night when ryan was 14 and came home passed curfew. they say magdi simply lost it. >> he threw me on the floor and started kicking me and my brother had to pull them off of me. >> your brother kind of shielded, you a little bit, didn't he? >> he did. he did. >> sounds like you are closer
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to your brother than you were with the father. >> very much so. >> ryan rebelled. staying out late. smoking weed. >> richard was more dutiful. but he too felt his father's wrath. >> a punch, a kick, you can name it depending, i would find that the sooner i would cry the sooner that it would stop. >> it's a tough lesson to learn from her dad. >> yeah, he was a very harsh person. which, just made it more unfortunate to have it in my life. he was like the complete opposite. >> as tough as he was on his sons, he says mccarthy was just as tough on his wife. ryan and richard say that they never saw his father hit their mother. but they say they heard the yelling. and they did see the bruises. >> we never ever caught by 11, it was just like we have that sense of fear that we didn't want to cross the line. >> you are more afraid of what your dad would do to you if you did call 9-1-1 than what might
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happen to your mom if he didn't? >> yeah, yeah. we were scared of my dad. yeah, we were just so petrified. >> did you know your dad was capable of more than just getting people? >> i was felt like he didn't want to mess with that guy at all. you didn't want to like push him to the other level. >> so, the boys stayed quiet. but a storm was brewing. in the end, harriet would give investigators their best lead. coming up -- >> a transformation. >> i really felt like my mom was empowered. >> and a confrontation. >> my mom told her that, you know, he punched me in the face. that started the whole cascade. >> there is no going back. >> there's no going back. >> and so, the life you had before -- >> was never going to be the same. >> when dateline continues. hen dateline continues from the world's #1 selling nerve care company. nervive contains alpha lipoic acid to relieve occasional nerve aches, weakness and discomfort.
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murder of ariet girgis, the herd disturbing information from their sons. most disturbing, by far was what happened seven months before the murder. in february 2004, on the eve of magdi and ariet's 24th running anniversary. >> so, she starts talking to magdi, can we go out to dinner? that's what starts this fight. >> doesn't sound like it was a
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very long fight. >> no. he punches are in the face. >> richard remembers arriving home, that evening and seeing his mom. >> she looked very subdued, her face was swollen, her nose was still like bleeding. so, i went upstairs and i confronted my dad. >> what was his response? >> he told me to stay out of it. >> but, richard, in nursing school at the time, worried his mom could have a concussion or, worse, he rushed her to the emergency room. >> they had kept their family secret for so long. but that was about to change. >> the nurse asked or, like, what happened? >> and your mom said? >> my mom told her that, you know, he punch me in the face. that started the whole cascade. >> police want to the gorgeous home and arrested magdi. that was very scary. >> that was scary? not thrilling? >> it was terrifying. >> not the moment he'd been
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waiting for? >> no, no, no. there was no point of return. somehow i knew, immediately after that that it was like -- >> there's no going back. >> there's no going back. >> and so the life you had before? >> it was never going to be the same. >> a court issued a protective order and magdi moved out of the house he worked so hard for. to an apartment complex he and his brother owned nearby. after more than two decades of marriage, it seemed magdi and ariet we're headed for divorce. there was a thought that seemed to terrify ariet. i think she was scared and had a lot of cold feet. >> about striking on on her own in the world? >> exactly. >> ariet it was totally dependent on magdi she had never written a personal check, didn't even know their mortgage was paid off. >> she would express to me, like, you know i wish all of this would just not be, here or i wish everything could go back to the way it was. >> magdi to seemed frightened.
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and perhaps, chastened. >> he was definitely trying to get back with my mother. >> did it seem like her mom was wavering, at all? >> yet, there was a limbo period where my mom was considering taking him back. >> richard, who had stepped up during his father's absence as the man of the house overheard a strange conversation between his parents. >> so, it's, like oh, i love you. >> how do you ever heard your dad say i love you to your mom? >> i can't really recall that. >> until that conversation when he needed something from her? >> yeah. >> what did magdi need? it turns out, he was more worried about himself than anyone else. a domestic violence conviction my costume is respiratory therapists light since. which would cut off his income. and, magazine you, a divorce would force him to split his hard earned money with ariet. he had his back to the wall?
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>> yeah. >> so, magdi came up with a plan, a letter in which ariet would say she wasn't sure what happened. that her injuries could've resulted from a fall. magdi and ariet weren't speaking at the time. so magdi convinced richard, the dutiful older son to transcribe the letter and persuade ariet to sign. it thus, getting her husband off the hook. >> do you feel bad, at all? trying to get your mom to change her story of something that you knew she was telling the truth about? >> yeah, back then i kind of felt like i was just trying to help. >> and maybe the price of saving your family is convincing your mom to lie about something that you know is true? >> he really just manipulated me. >> he knew his mother had mixed feelings about the breakup of her marriage. richard told himself, he was doing the right thing. i was trying to support my mom, at the same, time i still felt
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like he was my dad. so, i felt really pulled. >> ariet agreed to sign the letter. magdi, no doubt, breathe a sigh of relief. but, then k's preliminary hearing. in which, ariet did something quite unexpected. she took the witness stand. and she told the truth. >> she felt that enough was enough. so, she went and she really laid everything now. >> not just about the night magdi gave her a black eye and bloodied her nose, but about abuse ariet described a stretching over two decades. >> did your dad feel betrayed? >> my dad was like, i can't believe what she set up there. >> ariet girgis had finally stood up for ourself. it might have been the manifestation of her own american dream. harriet hired a divorce attorney and begin planning a new life. >> i really felt like my mom was empowered. she just wanted to be happy,
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you know, she had felt like there was happiness like that coming. >> instead, the next month, she was murdered. and to investigators who heard ariet's story, and all seemed obvious her husband magdi was the prime suspect. >> everything pointed out magdi. except for the fact, the phone records prove that magdi was others on apartment when ryan called him that night. and, according to the only witness, two black men committed the murder. and, there was still the question of why that witness, ryan, was left alive. and just a few days after his mother was killed, the rebellious son, ryan, received another anonymous message on his computer. how did you like your gift? lol, lol. >> how did you like or give? >> yeah. >> coming up -- an aha moment for police, a new
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look at that old interrogation unwritten. >> did you say you get this guy? >> yeah, he had to take off the glove to put on the tape. >> could it lead to the break they'd need? >> you know, the detectives were thinking, oh maybe i have some dna lying around. >> when dateline continues. hen dateline continues to 12 hours. vicks sinex targets congestion at the source, relieving nasal congestion and sinus pressure by reducing swelling in the sinuses. try vicks sinex. there's nothing like volunteering at the fire department. there's nothing like hitting the waves. but with my moderate-to-severe eczema it hasn't always been easy,... ...since my skin was so irritated and itchy... ...and even worse with all my gear on. now, i'm staying ahead of my eczema. there's a power inside all of us to live our passion. and dupixent works on the insie to help heal your skin from within. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema. so adults can have
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long-lasting clearer skin and fast itch relief. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. healing from within is a powerful thing. ask your eczema specialist how dupixent can help heal your skin from within. why ted's lucky jersey is really just a dirty jersey. presented by me, clay matthews. what is clay matthews doing in my house? here's you wiping tears of joy with it after a win. i am never washing you. your wife tells me these are complete strangers? you're drooling, ted! and here it is in the delivery room of your daughter's birth? ew, dad!? alyssa, how old are you again? i'm thirteen. thirteen years, ted! honey, i love you. but it's time to wash that jersey. deeply. when clay matthews says it, it makes so much sense. it's dirtier than it looks. it's got to be tide hygienic clean. [coughing]
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on magdi girgis in the prime suspect in the murder of his wife ariet. the two had been going through a domestic violence case and were divorcing. >> you know, he's an obvious suspect but that doesn't we needed it. >> no matter how obnoxious he may have been during the marriage, maybe he's not the guy that you're looking for? >> sure, you have to explore every possibility. >> especially after the couple son, ryan, received a taunting message on his computer days after the murder. how did you like your gift?
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lol, a well. >> it didn't make any sense to me. >> police looked into it, but just as with the threat ryan received before the murder, they weren't able to track down the center of those messages. >> you know, in hindsight, you wish more work had been done on that? >> yes. older brother, richard, also came under scrutiny. >> richard had sort of stuck up for, maybe even covered for his father during the domestic violence investigation. did you guys think he might be doing that again? >> and nationally they think it was a possibility, yes. >> soon after the murder, the brothers left westminster and moved to northern california. and they did so without telling magdi as police continued to dig, richard and ryan said they worried. whoever killed their mom was still at large. and new ryan was a witness to the crime. >> i have recollections, i have
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nightmares, i get chills, i don't like to be at home by myself, i have trouble sleeping. i mean, the list goes on. >> ryan and richard say that they had a growing suspicion their father was responsible for their mother's murder. they said that they were too scared to confront. but, in the months that followed, the investigation seemed to stall. >> seems like you had a lot of leads that kind of hadn't gone anywhere. >> we had a lot of paths that we went down, yes. >> remember, there was no physical evidence linking mccarthy to the murder. ryan said it was two black men that broke into the health and killed his mom. police had never found those men or any trace they ever existed. and, those threatening messages to ryan? still no idea who sent, them either. >> was there a point where you, thought maybe this wouldn't be
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resolved? >> it's hard to think that way when you desperately want to solve. it but, yes. >> and so, the years rolled by. richard became a critical care nurse. ryan, the self admitted stone or says he stopped smoking. he was working towards a bachelor degree in business and had started his own events and entertainment company. magdi would've been proud of his boys if he knew how far they come. but richard and rind say, they never once got a call from him in all of those years. and they made no effort to contact him. the brothers did call the westminster police department, again and again. urging detectives to investigate their father. and, each time, they heard the same response. >> you know we're still looking into it but we don't have any new leads. there's nothing. >> depressing. >> it was. >> they made endless calls, enlisting family and friends to
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write america's most wanted. and, they raised to 55,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspect. all of it led to nothing. >> how many other cases do you need in those areas? >> a lot of murders. >> but, something about this on stuck with the. >> absolutely. >> was it something about area that may do not want to quit? >> you don't ever want to quit on any case but i think that the fact that she came so close to being an independent woman to standing up herself, to being the kind of mother that she wanted to be to those voice. and, she did everything right. she died on her watch. it was a terrible feeling. terrible feeling. >> it was 2010, nearly six years after the murder when richard made another of his many phone calls to the westminster pd. this time, it was james wilson
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who answered. he had been a patrol officer at the time of the murder. but, in the intervening years, he worked his way up to detective. >> i really didn't have very good answers for him. what's going on with my mom's case? what are you guys doing on my mom's case? and, i know there's nothing really going on with my mom's case. so, i just started looking into it. >> a lot of guilt? >> i think, in obligation really. that's one of the reasons why you become a police officer, tell people like that. >> and, as detective wilson port through the mountain of evidence on the case, he came across that interview, detectives had with ryan. right after the murder. reading through the transcripts, he saw a key detail that no one had noticed. >> you said you get this guy? >> yeah. >> on the hand, was it on the hand or through a glove or -- ? i >> think it was through the glove. but he had to take off the glove to put on the tape. >> ryan was telling detectives the intruder took his gloves off before handling the duck
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tape. and also, the shoelace used to time up. >> you, know we have to detectives will maybe that might have some dna on it. >> detective wilson checked to see if the chalets had ever been tested. it had not. so, he sent it off to the county crime lab. and, sure enough, one afternoon, eight years after ariet's murder, detective wilson's phone ring. >> the crime lab did call me. they told me that they had a hit. >> and no one could've predicted the name police were given. >> it had to be our suspect release one of our suspects. >> and the name the crime lab hits you for the dna is? >> anthony edward bridget >> was that name in any of the case files? >> -- no >> -- >> it wasn't even in our computers, or anyone who had ever been contacted by police. >> and yet, the dna proved, anthony edward bridget was one of the attack tours who are
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tied to brian. detective wilson entered bridget center mission into a computer. >> so, who is? >> he is a member of the trace 57 crips. >> the crips. one of the most notorious and violent gangs in the u.s.. and, mr. brigitte street named, little shotgun was by any standard of professional criminal. >> coming up -- >> he had the resume that he would expect the intruders who came to kill ariet to have. >> the kind of guy it hard to -- >> that's why. >> a whole new suspect. >> did you know where? was >> i knew exactly where. was >> the investigators pay a surprise visit. when dateline continues. when dateline continues. but we don't always love their hair. let's face it. pets are gonna shed. every minute of every day. which is why we made bounce pet hair and lint guard with three times the pet hair fighting ingredients. just toss one sheet in the dryer
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first solid break. home invaders had tied up areas son, ryan with the chalets. the detective submitted that she leads to a crime lab, hoping for a long shot dna hit. and, the results were in. look at the end of the longed to anthony bridget. he had no malicious allowing conduct. including prior conviction for manslaughter. so this was no novice. >> long, violent, rap sheet. >> absolutely. >> bridget also had a drug conviction. and, remember, ryan girgis said that he had sometimes dealt with. could ryan and anthony brigitte have known each other? is that why richard immediately wondered if ryan was the target of the attack? police considered that there and dismissed it. in fact, four police, anthony brigitte and his gang affiliation confirmed ryan story. for one brigitte amass drones
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account that the man who timed him up seemed like a gang member. >> he looked like one of those guys who had just came out of the pen and stuff. and just wanted revenge on someone. and to, brigitte pryor booking photos matched the sketch ryan had given police. and, so investigators developed a different theory about bridget involvement. >> he had the resume that you would expect the intruders who came to kill ariet to have. >> the kind of guy you'd hired to commit murder. >> that's right. >> and, they suspected the person who hired him was magdi girgis. but of course, there was no proof of any of that. >> i am guessing one of the things you did, pretty early on was subpoena magdi records. >> oh yes. >> looking for that big chunk of money that he took out a few days before his wife was killed? >> you could hope. but -- >> it wasn't there? >> it wasn't there.
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>> well, maybe he's innocent. >> maybe he's just careful. >> careful? perhaps. but in what universe would magdi girgis and anthony bridge its path across? one way to find out, they could ask anthony bridget. >> did you know where he was? >> i knew exactly where he was. >> he was in soledad state prison. prosecutor balleste and detective wilson decided to pay him an unannounced visit. >> and, there you are in a little room -- >> yes. >> a table like this one between you. >> yes. >> and you say? >> i want to talk to you. >> and he's a little surprised, right? >> he's a little surprised, yes. >> but anthony brigitte was hard to rattle. >> he's been involved in gang related homicides, in the past. pretty experienced at the prison system. >> so, saying to him, hey, the guy that hired you might just
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roll over on you. that's not going to work? >> right. >> this is not a virgin. >> exactly. >> but, they did get something. >> you said to him, i have your dna had a murder scene. >> yes. >> and? >> and he said, where? >> he said, we're not, i hadn't committed any murder. did you ask him if he knew -- >> no, we never got that far. >> here is what bridget didn't know. the prosecutor and the detective didn't really care what he set. their target was magdi girgis, and all they wanted was to prove a connection between him and anthony bridget. that's why, before they left orange county, they set up a wiretap on magdi's phone. he was back living in the house where his wife was murdered. even had a new girlfriend. and now, investigators listened to see brigitte would tip off magdi. >> i was hoping that at least my visit would inspire him in
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some way. >> didn't happen? >> no, it didn't. >> so, game over? >> he's stepping out of the car right now. >> no. it was just starting. >> coming up -- >> a return to the scene of the crime. >> what's up man? >> a dramatic confrontation at magdi's house. >> check it, outmanned, my home is locked up in the pen right now. >> who were these men and what did they want? when dateline continues. when dateline continues. fo rmula repairs hair. as well as the leading luxury bonding treatment. for softness and resilience, without the price tag. if you know... you know it's pantene. ♪ ♪ for softness and resilience, at lowe's, you'll find products from veteran-owned businesses all throughout our store. 26,000 veterans and military spouses work here. and our no annual limit discount program
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few ticks, let me holler at you for a few seconds. >> and it was all caught on camera. >> check it out, man, my homies locked up in the pen right now. police to perched him about him killing your wife. -- >> >> interesting because prosecutor sonia balleste and detective james wilson had just returned from visiting crips gang member, anthony brigitte in prison. they suspected magdi have hired boarded a neither yet unknown meant to kill ariet and now, apparently, here were a pair of gangsters on magdi's property. the more talkative of the two called him self, the money. and money is what he wanted from magdi. >> you know what i'm saying? we don't care about it. but you know what, we want to get paid for it. we're not gonna say anything. >> what are you talking about? >> good question, and who better to answered than the money himself. >> you are born actor. >> i am.
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>> he is not a gangster. he's an officer from the long beach police department who was working undercover. which is why we are concealing his identity. >> you a little nervous going in? >> not at all, no. >> the role he played at magdi 's home that day was part of a war game that sonya and detective wilson that set in motion, even before they met anthony bridget. >> tell me about this scheme. >> you call it a scheme i call it a plan. >> by any name, it was an attempt to trap magdi. the only name anthony barr or anyone creates a crime like this is some kind of gain, financially primarily. so, you develop that kind of individual and you come up with a way in which they people able to contact for the and demand more money. >> let me holler at you for a few ticks. >> and another, were these two undercover cops pursuing -- what approach magdi and hit him up for hush money. since, investigators knew that
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magdi's was mike these particular obsession. they hope that they were about to stricken or. but, they have to be careful if the killers were working for magdi, it wasn't clear if he knew them directly or hired them through middlemen. >> so, you couldn't have these guys claim that they were the actual guys in the house. >> correct. >> because, possibly, he knew them. >> possibly he knew them. >> so, you had them pose as friends of the guy in the house. >> yes. >> and he's now into. >> in person, which is renewed, that was true because anthony brigitte was in prison. >> and so, his friends are, what? trying to leverage that knowledge in some extra money for them. >> correct. >> operations like this are especially tricky. there is usually only one shot to get it right. if the phony gangsters threaten mack daddy, this thing wouldn't hold up in court and magdi could walk free.
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and, at the same time, one thing had to be crystal clear. >> you want to make sure that everybody knows that we're talking about the crime that occurred about his wife being murdered in that particular house. that couldn't be left to him. >> a risky plan and no guarantees it would work. >> true, the a lot of da's may not go for an operation like that? >> yes. >> sonia wanted a win. >> she wasn't filled to fill. >> i was very nervous to say the least. >> he had then taken nine years to get to this moment, a team of cops watched and videotape does the undercover approach mccarthy. >> they're stepping out of the corona. >> everyone was on edge except for the men casted in the role of the money. >> you had to be going over in your mind, like, if he says, this if he does, this i'm going to -- >> know, things come out spontaneously, you have to be
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quick. you say, i say be. ucc, i say be. you have to say something. and there's nothing you could, learn there's nothing you can write down. you either you do it or can't. >> still, there was cause for worry. when these officers looked the part, they had never done anything like this before. >> were you worry about about sort of your acting ability? >> i was sort of concerned. >> too late now, it was on. >> coming up -- >> a surprise snafu, >> the cell phone does the number of an undercover name, and he did not to the phone. >> an undercover officer misses the call and that was just the beginning. >> i think we all stopped breathing for about ten seconds. >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues round cleans better by surrounding each tooth. so clean, you'll feel like you just left the dentist. oral-b. brush like a pro. ♪♪ [coughing] hi, susan. honey.
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deal with the president with the first face-to-face meeting since biden took office. the white house meets to cooperation with the u.s. to curve threats of attorneys invasion of taiwan to turn -- and to help and russia's war in ukraine. now, back to dateline. k to dateline. magdi girgis didn't know it, but he was the target of a sting operation. he had just arrived home, the undercover officers approached. and the camera was rolling. >> take it out, man, my homie is locked up in the pen right now. police approached him about him killing his life your wife for you. we don't care about it but the thing is we want to get paid for it. we're not going to say [bleep] you know what i mean? >> what's his reaction when you make it clear that you know but his wife's murder. >> he appeared to be shocked. you could tell was something that it wasn't prepared for. he never thought was going to
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happen. we want five racks. 5000. you know what i'm saying? we're gonna say [bell ringing] [bleep]. we're not gonna go to the police, we're not gonna say anything else. we understand. all right, give me a call, that's my number. call me by 10:00. >> who are you, what do? name >> don't worry, i'm demon, eat just give me a call by 10:00, 5000. hit me up tomorrow. >> can i see your i.d.? >> almost as soon as it began, it was over. magdi left standing there would be money's phone number with instructions to call the next day. >> and, in terms of the oscar winning performances they did a pretty good job. >> i think so, they did a great job. >> now, police waited and wondered, what would magdi do? if >> he doesn't call, this is all for nothing. >> it's a done deal, the cases over. >> more than eight years after the murder, here was the make-or-break moment. >> he was either going to
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ignore them, he was gonna contact them or was gonna call the police and say, guess what, i think the guys involved in my wife's murder just came to the house. >> which is what an innocent person would've done. >> yes. >> but he didn't call the police. >> he did not. >> and he didn't ignore them. >> very true. >> the next day, the surveillance team tracked magdi driving. and, just at that time -- >> his cell phone dallas the number of undercover. and i'm notified immediately by the war room. and they told me, he didn't answer the phone. >> the undercover officer missed by magdi's call. >> so i had to call undercover. >> saying, the target of the investigation into trying to reach. >> he wasn't a bad area for reception so we have to move. >> it's like a nightmare. >> so, we were hoping he called back. >> the undercover, as usual, was confident. >> why were you so convinced he'd call back?
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>> because he called the first time. to me, in this type of deal, when you call the first time, you know, you get over the nervousness and they're gonna call back. >> and magdi the call back. the surveillance team caught him on camera. this time, from a place that doesn't get a lot of traffic in the 21st century. >> we know he's at a payphone. that got really interesting for me, right. their >> i'm sitting in the car and myself on one off, i let it bring a few times and answered the phone, you know. >> this is the money, what's going on. >> you stopped by yesterday. >> yeah, i came by yesterday. man >> yeah, what is the problem, my friend? >> what's that? >> what's up? >> the problem is, my boy is locked up in the pen, like i told you yesterday. we want to know what's going on. you, know my boy to care for little business, you know. so we're just trying to get paid to keep the hush. you know what i mean? >> i thought you got paid everything. >> once he told me, hey, i thought i paid you guys everything --
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>> you know, it's one of those feelings where you've known this all along and then you actually hear from him. and so i think it was overwhelming feeling of confirmation. >> and then, just as quickly, it all threatened to blow up in their faces. listen carefully. >> who is, who was the middleman? >> what? >> who was the middleman? >> middleman, the undercover had no idea. maggie had just asked a question that none of the investigators could answer. >> when magdi said, tell me who the middleman is so i could trust you, that's something the undercover officers i think weren't ready for. >> no, i think we all stopped breathing for about ten seconds. >> investigators had considered the possibility that magdi might have hired the killers to a third party. and now, this conversation seemed like confirmation that he had. but, who was?
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>> it seems to me that the middleman for this would have to be somebody that magdi really trusted. somebody he knew. >> he would've had to trust this person, yes. >> somebody who would stick up for him. >> yes. >> any thoughts on who that might be? >> i do. i do. >> there was no way to tell the undercover that. so, the money just didn't character. >> i don't, you know, everybody knows who the middleman was. i'm not worried about that. people are talking. >> then how can i trust you? >> because i have the information that i've got, i can go to the police. but i'm not. >> you can go, it's not a problem. >> i'm just trying to get my money. >> so, the conversation about hush money continued. magdi true to form, haggled over the price. >> 5000 ain't that much, you. no >> i don't have, it that's
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the problem, i lost my job. i have some but not the whole amount. >> it just goes to show the true character of this man. i, mean here is a guy who will negotiate with thugs ten years later because he feels like he already paid. it's just, that's what i mean, he is not in a normal range. >> i can -- i have 1500. 1500, i have on me. >> >> police had enough to arrest magdi right then and there. but they waited. >> now, you want to do the actual exchange of money. >> we have to get the money. >> that meant a second meeting. but would magdi even show up? and, if he did, would he come with the plan of his own? >> coming up -- >> nerve-racking -- >> >> and, nail-biting. one more hidden camera moment. >> what's happening? did you bring me a check? >> no. >> when dateline continues.
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caught on tape, apparently admitting to hiring thugs tickle's wife. >> i thought you got paid everything. >> he seemed willing to pay even more to keep things quiet. and made a date to do it. >> i have on my 1500. >> what's that? >> 1500, i have on me. >> the next day, officer secretly trailed magdi leaving us home. driving on the freeway. and pulling into this home depot parking lot. the meeting point, chosen by magdi. >> everybody is out of sight except -- >> everybody's out of sight. unmarked vehicles. and a tour bus. >> i'm no police officer but this is starting to sound like fun. >> yeah, it was definitely fun. it was a rush. i would do it all over again. >> prosecutor, sonia balleste,
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was nearby watching it all unfold. >> tell me what that was like. >> nerve-racking. it's exhilarating. >> did you see magdi? >> not at first. >> but soon enough, he came into view. the undercover's approached his car. >> what's up my [bleep] what's going on? what's happening? did you bring me a check? >> no. >> cash? 15? >> yeah. >> so i took the envelope, basically snatched, it and counted. >> what was, it 1500 dollars? >> 1500 dollars in bills. >> -- >> all right, my friend. >> everything good? >> yes. >> so, this was not some sort of frightened little miles who was doing what he was told by you guys. this was a guy who was poised and kind of in control of the situation. >> yeah, i'm going to get it done and this will be it and it will be over. >> but, before it was, the undercover dropped one more
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line to see if magdi would buy. >> what did your wife did so bad to make you want a killer of? >> see you, my friend. >> he didn't take the bait? >> he almost did. >> magdi probably thought he was home free. but, as you drove away, officers swarmed in. >> you arrest him and you guys are feeling like -- >> yes, we're feeling pretty good, very good actually. >> ryan girgis of course had no idea any of this was happening. he had moved back to southern california. and was completely unprepared for the call he received from detective wilson. >> you come to the station, the cops bring you in and they say? >> your father has been arrested. and i couldn't be more happier. i really felt like my dreams and my prayers have been answered. >> richard wants their dads
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loyal and trusted confidant was not a struggled. >> i was happy that the restless made. but then, on the other hand of it, i was said in a way to because even though i knew in my heart, yes, he had something to do with it -- >> he still you're that? >> he still my dad. and i always had some deeply wedged fantasy that maybe one day the cops would arrest someone else completely and end up actually telling us that, you know what, your dad ends up not having anything to do with it. >> you wanted to be wrong. >> i wanted to be wrong on that. i really wanted to be wrong. >> have a seat over there for me, magdi. >> i'm detective wilson. >> hi. >> detective wilson brought magdi to the station and sat him down in the interview room. his tactic wasn't old one in small rooms like this. play dumb and see we're magdi talking. >> basically, what i need to know is what was going on in long beach there by that home
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depot center? looked like there was a money transaction there, or something going on. can you explain that? >> two days ago, on wednesday around 12:30 i was coming from costco i find two guys approaching me. i never saw them in my life. they are black eyes. this is the truth. >> but his account differed in key ways from what detective wilson already had on tape. >> i stunned one when they told me is, your lady got killed in this house and you have to pay us five grand otherwise we're going to hurt you and your kids. >> that's a lie number one. there are no threats on the tape. >> well how did you get to be with them today? >> yeah, they throw telephone number on the lawn.
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>> like on a piece of paper? >> small piece of paper. >> they threw it on the lawn? >> on the lawn. >> line number two, the tape clearly throws maggie taking the number. >> then, detective wilson axed magdi the million dollar question. >> why didn't you call us? >> because i worried about my kids and myself. >> are you scared of the police, is that why? >> no, i'm not scared -- my wife's problem is not solved yet. and they considered the husband as a suspect. >> those tears had no effect on wilson. who now had magdi on tape paying hush money. >> and we know you paid. >> no. >> yes. >> no. >> yes. i'm here to find out one thing. what kind of person are you. because right now, we don't know. is magdi the type of guy that's a hard, cold, calculated
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murderer that pete someone to gillis wife? what kind of person or you? >> i'm just an innocent person just simple person, believe me. >> okay. >> magdi pleaded for sympathy. detective wilson was not sympathetic. >> i lost my wife. >> but it's your fault, you hired somebody. >> i did not hire anybody. >> we recorded it. >> oh -- >> we recorded the conversation with these guys. >> no, no, no i need a lawyer. >> what do you want to tell? i >> know you guys are going to entrap me and stuff, no, no. >> magdi had said the magic word, lawyer. he was done talking. there would be no confession. >> you didn't expect that he was going to do that. >> no, the lies were good enough for me. >> good enough to make the case. but, wilson thought he tried one more time to crack magdi. this time, by making him faces on some. ryan wasn't so sure, at first. >> i called my brother, i will,
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psych -- and i told him what do you think? it was like, do you feel like you want to talk to him? i was, like yeah, i want some questions answered. >> so, he walked into the little room and saw his father for the first time in more than eight years. >> what's wrong with you? you forgot that? >> you don't even look the same. >> and ryan had a lot to say. >> you had a choice not to hurt me and richard. you had a choice not to her dear wife. why did you do that? >> i didn't hurt anybody. >> what did -- what are you talking about, you didn't hurt any one. look at me. >> i'm looking at you, i'm looking at you. >> i can't believe you, a man? >> my son, i don't believe -- >> don't call me your son, i don't want to hear. that your horrible person for what you did. i just want to let you know that. >> i didn't do anything. >> yes you did. >> i did not. >> was it hard to tell your dad
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that you thought he was in love with your mom's murder? >> yeah. it was definitely very, very hard. >> it's hard for you to talk about it now. >> yes, it is. it is. and the person that i had nightmares over was right in front of me. and i was scared. >> and soon, ryan would face his father, again. this time in court. >> coming up -- >> the killing of ariet girgis was because she interrupted a robbery or drug transaction between ryan and these two suspects. >> a father, son showdown. but, exactly who is on trial? >> the evidence suggest he was involved with people that were dealing hard-core drugs. >> when dateline continues. hen dateline continues i recommend cascade platinum and a new routine. let's watch it work! only cascade uses dawn... as a built-in pre-rinse system. it rehydrates dried on food...
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[school bells] when pain says, “i'm here,” i say, “so are they.” ♪♪ aleve - who do you take it for? just between us, you know what's better than mopping? anything! ugh. well, i switched to swiffer wetjet, and it's awesome. it's an all-in-one, that absorbs dirt and grime deep inside. and it helps prevent streaks and haze. wetjet is so worth it. love it, or your money back. away things. fit together with away things. ♪ ♪ that's our thing. ♪ ♪ march 2014, ryan magdi girgis
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had been to them in jail for about a year, after an undercover sting had led to his arrest for the murder of his wife, ariet. it was a case prosecutor sonia balleste couldn't wait to trial. nearly a decade in the making. and, as it turned, out it would be her last. sonia had been promoted to management. -- >> so you wanted to go out with a win. >> prosecutors don't like to lose. >> yeah, i noticed that. >> despite what you've seen, the case still wasn't a slam dunk. there was no proof magdi knew the alleged killer, anthony brigitte. no proof of paid bridget any money. and while detectives had their suspicion about their involvement of a middleman, they still can improve it. and, as you'll see, even that undercover tape could be seen through a different lens. >> who is it, who was the middleman? >> on the eve of the trial, richard and ryan got ready for
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the big day. their suits were pressed. they reviewed their prior statements. and they weighed the consequences of what this moment meant. >> i'm happy that we would get closure. but then it's just sad, we lost a mom and in the same night we lost her dad to. >> they're only surviving parent, the one they lived in fear of, for years. would be the one that they had to face in court. >> part of me is scared of him, but also part of me wants to stand up and let my voice be heard after all these years. i want to be strong. >> and so, the brothers walked into court, together. the first day of opening statements. standing strong, united in their quest for justice for their mom. >> we magdi girgis in spite of his wife murdered. she was an inconvenient woman to him. and people are disposable to this defendant. >> our cameras were not allowed
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to report witness testimony inside the courtroom. sonia balleste stocked up their evidence against magdi. she showed the jury how, in the months leading up to the murder, magdi slowly drained his join to count with ariet. leaving her with almost nothing. and sonia said, the crime scene evidence showed this wasn't just some random murder. it was about silencing somebody who defied him. but then, on the witness stand, richard who once helped his father persuade ariet the back of his story, now, defied girgis magdi just does ariet not done. richard testified about the abuse his mother had suffered at his father's hand. he testified about coming home and finding his mother battered and bruised. richard recounted the story to the jury. but it seemed he was really speaking to his father. he caught up with richard after court.
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>> it was really a good chance for me to finally face and face to face and look him in the eyes and actually be able to confront him for what he's done. >> but, magdi based in even tougher confrontation from the words of his no dead wife. ariet's testimony from the preliminary hearing from the domestic case had been save. and now, the prosecution read it into the court record. >> how important was ariet's testimony from the previous case? >> it was huge. it was massive for enough turner. and she just came back to life and took the stand. >> ryan whitney to channel that same strength of his mother's for what came next. he took the stand with magdi just feet away, his father's eyes poured into his son. >> i really felt like if he had me one-on-one, he just wanted
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anything to get me to shut up. >> this time, ryan refused to keep quiet, telling the jury and his father about that terrible september night when two men broke into his home, beat him up and repeatedly stabbed his mother in the next room. then, ryan faced cross-examination. and defensive attorney, rudy -- had already told the jury that he planned to put run on trial. the killing of ariet girgis was because she interrupted a robbery or a drug transaction or a collection of a debt of some kind between mine and these two suspects. >> the defense argument ariet's was tied directly to runs criminal activity. >> i think that the evidence suggests that he was involved with people that were dealing hard-core drugs. >> ryan admitted that he smoked
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and sold we'd, but loan steam told the jury, ryan was doing much more than that. he pointed to the drug paraphernalia that police farm in ron's room. tinfoil, and what lawrence dean stepped was a pipe with white residue. which he said was consistent with heroin and methamphetamine use. evidence that police had four to test. the defense said, it showed reince drug dealing was bigger than he had led on. >> then, the defense directed jurors to those threats ryan had received on his computer just weeks before the murder. you better watch your back, i know where you live. and, the taunting message that came after the murder, how did you like your gift? lol, lol. >> did anybody follow up? not really, no. they just said, oh well, we know who did it, magdi did. they focused on magdi they never left magdi. get the threat to be the reason
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ryan's friends offered him and i? >> the fact that he was offered a knife for his protection by his drug dealing friend just minutes or, at the latest, hours before the murder of his mother by someone using a knife suggests to me that there was some reason for him to be afraid for his own safety in his own home. >> the defense also attacked ryan's credibility. remember what ryan told us, that one of the intruders said -- >> i know your circumstances, i know what you're going through, i'm not going to kill you. >> it turns, out ryan did not tell that to the 9-1-1 operator. >> why? the defense argued because those words were never spoken. and said ryan made them up later to deflect suspicion from himself and his drug connections. one thing was irrefutable and hard to explain the defense told the jury, ryan did not check on ariet before he fled
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the house. >> how does a young man whose mother has come to save him not look in and check to see whether not he can save his mother before running out of the house? what does that say about his character? >> after two days of brutal cross-examination, ryan says he felt dejected and betrayed. >> i feel like i'm getting backstabbed by my own father, that he's claiming that his son is such a trouble -- >> take my number. >> of, course the defense also had a huge problem. those videotapes of magdi taking the phone number from the undercover. >> it me up tomorrow. >> calling them the next day. >> i thought you got everything paid. >> and, then showing up with 1500 dollars. >> it's a piece. >> all that made magdi look very, very guilty. >> i would like him to get up to the stand and tried to explain what he meant when he said i already paid everything on.
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>> it turned out, the defense did have an explanation. and documents to. which might prove magdi's innocence. >> coming -- up >> with that undercover tape convict him or clear him? a defense surprise. >> he's playing along with them in order to be able to apprehend them. >> and, the verdict, with that be a surprise to? >> this is it. >> i didn't want to let those boys down. >> when dateline continues. hen dateline continues not having the energy to do the things that i wanted to do. before dexcom g6, i was frustrated. all of that finger-pricking and all of that pain, my a1c was still stuck. there is a better way to manage diabetes. the dexcom g6 continuous glucose monitoring system eliminates painful fingersticks, helps lower a1c, and it's covered by medicare. before dexcom g6, i couldn't enjoy a single meal. i was always trying to out-guess my glucose
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once a patient gets on dexcom g6, it's like the lights come on. (david) within months, my a1c went down to 6.9. (earl) my a1c has never been lower. (donna) at my last checkup, my a1c was 5.9. (female announcer) dexcom g6 is the #1 recommended cgm system, and it's backed by 24/7 tech support. call now to get started. you'll talk to a real person. don't wait, this one short call could change your life. (bright music) in spite of the damning
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he was an immigrant who came with nothing and made something of himself. >> magdi how this flaws and he had done some bad things, the defense said. but he did not have ariet killed. but then, what to make of those undercover tapes and magdi a's parent admission. >> i thought you got everything? >> would magdi take the stand to explain what he meant on those tapes? >> no. apparently he felt he done enough talking. instead, the defense attorney showed the jury evidence when she said proved magdi was not kill the. i magdi had written down the serial numbers of the 15 100 dollar bills he had given the undercover officers. and he tried to write down the license plate number of their vehicle. which, said the defense, cast that undercover video in a whole new life. >> he's playing along with them in order to be able to apprehend them. >> and so, when he says to them,
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just tell me the name of the middleman so i could trust you, he's bluffing. he doesn't really know the name of the middleman. he's just trying to get that information out of them. >> absolutely. >> lawrence dean said, the only thing magdi was guilty of was trying to play detective. >> the police have never left their vision of him as being the suspect. and because of, that he's got to, essentially, solid the case on his own. >> what would the jury think? on the day of closing arguments, richard and ryan walked to court together. they had brought something for a prosecutor sonia balleste, a religious tile belonging to ariet. sonia wanted me to bring an item from my mom and stuff to have right there that she would hold on to. >> they learned, the evidence driven prosecutor had a superstitious side. she wanted to have something of ariet's to touch it during her last closing argument to channel ariet's spirit and courage.
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>> she took the witness stand, in the preliminary hearing. and faced evil. and, for the first time in her life, stood up to him. she knew exactly what he would do to her for. >> he done some bad things in his life but he didn't hire anybody to murder ariet girgis. he is innocent. >> there was nothing left to do, now but wait. >> i don't know it's -- been >> there's a lot of anxiety built up right now. just wondering when the verdict is going to come in. it's going to be like any moment. >> sonia, already on her new job waited for the phone to ring. she had played the waiting game numerous times. it wasn't any easier as last time. >> i didn't want to let those boys down, so, yes. i was probably a little bit
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more nervous than usual. >> it was definitely agonizing. >> after two days, the jury had reached a verdict. >> were you worried there was going to be a -- ? >> the only thing that had worried me was all it takes is one person to not see things the way that everyone else sees it. >> you never know what a jury is gonna do. >> never know what a jury is going to do. >> all, right council member with the jury. >> and, when they fall back into the crowded courtroom, ryan didn't look at his dad. instead, he held on to his brother. >> i was just embracing the moment, this is it. this is all riding on this. >> we the jury, in the above entitled action, find the defendant magdi girgis, guilty of the crime of felony, conspiracy to commit a murder. >> all that hit us was what we've been waiting for for nine and a half years. >> in the gallery, the brothers cried and as the hearing
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continued, richard sobs grew louder and louder until he couldn't contain himself any longer. >> why, bubba? why? >> i couldn't hold myself. i was trying not to say anything. but, it was just -- i was like, why dad? why? why? why? i still can't fathom the reason of why he would do such a thing? why he would throw away our family? why he would throw everything away? >> what was magdi trying to tell us on? we'll never know. magdi's thoughts at his sentencing were somewhat clear. >> i have nothing to do with the killing of my wife. i did do my best ability to work hard, secure future and advise my kids not to get involved with all of this gang activity kind of thing. i am not a bad father.
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maybe i missed tracked but i love them. you know, my kids. >> magdi girgis was sentenced to life in prison without parole. >> if magdi i'm not taking the bait, if he hadn't gotten the number from here to undercover officers and thrown it away and just, that i don't know who you are, i don't know what you're talking about and if you call me again i'm gonna call the police, would he be in custody for that? >> probably not. >> so, he ended up giving you your whole case? >> his greed gave me my whole case. >> magdi girgis had worked tirelessly to build the dream. and then, by his own hand, destroyed it. well, perhaps not all of it, these two brothers may have lost both their parents but they still had each other. >> that's my little bro.
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>> in april 2018, accused hit men anthony bridget was found guilty on several charges, including the murder of ariet girgis. in august 2020, the two most serious conviction, conspiracy to commit murder and first degree murder were upheld on appeal. the court reversed to others. aggravated assault and false imprisonment because the statute of limitations had run out before bridget was brought to trial. he is serving life without the possibility of parole. the second intruder has never been identified and despite investigators suspicion, neither has the mysterious middleman. >> did you ever find out who that was? >> not yet. >> it's been ten years. >> that's true. took me nine to get magdi. you have to be patient in the sign of work. >> there is still reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of remaining suspects.
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richard and ryan hope someone will come forward. in the meantime, they are keeping their heads down and working hard. justice their father always taught them to do. >> when we last interviewed ryan, he said he planned to do some things differently. do you picture yourself as a dad someday? >> i do. >> what kind of that are you going to be? >> i'm gonna be the opposite of my father. i'm gonna be there when my kids need me. >> and that's the beauty of the american dream. there is always a new beginning, no matter where you came from history. >> definitely not a republican wave, that's for darn sure. >> the democrats hold on to control of the senate. >> america shows that we believe in our democracy. >> while reps are still clinging
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