hate me. new i totally understand it. i go through those same feelings about myself every day. and it to anyone that this has hurt, any of tom's friends, his family, my family. anyone that has loved him today. for the role i played, i am deeply, deeply sorry.

>> i know my sister would've fought. we used to tell each other that if someone ever tried to hurt us that we would do everything we can to leave something behind, so the other one can figure it out. i believe that she was murdered. >> this is a very bizarre death. >> it was baffling from the start. a young woman dead at her millionaire boyfriend's mansion. >> 9-1-1 what are you reporting ? >> i got a girl, hung herself. >> my heart started racing. >> you found her. >> i did. >> detectives ruled it a suicide, but was it? >> at the scene knives, rose, a cryptic phrase. >> her hands were tied, she was naked. >> this was sending a message. >> that wasn't the only suspicious death here. >> no mom wants to hear that her son was a victim of a homicide. something happened at the top of the stairs. >> what really went on in that mansion.

hear from the man at the center in his first television interview. you thought you had nothing to hide? >> i knew i had nothing to hide. >> the worst shock in probably my entire life. >> hello and welcome to "dateline." >> some places feel secured in, insulated, secure. >> i remember saying that in feeling that. saying nothing bad could ever happen here. >> here is coronado, california. just over a bridge from san diego. a town of beautiful beaches, people in homes. like this one on ocean boulevard. except that in the summer of 2011, this mansion became ground zero for a mystery. >> this is a very bizarre death.

there is no doubt about it. >> well actually there's been plenty of doubt and plenty of theories. >> my sister was dead. and did a lot of things go through my mind? yes. >> secrets, both suspected and imagined. >> is it possible that other people know more than they're saying? yes. >> it's certainly possible. beyond that, it's hard to say for sure. especially when it seems everyone has a story to tell. and those stories lead to accusations, often with zero proof. >> people are gonna believe what they wanna believe with no evidence. >> paradise valley arizona was home for the shacknai family, but the summers they spent in coronado were special, for dina and her son max. >> max loves the beach, he loved the water. he used to tell me on the way to coronado, mommy this is our place. >> she and maxes father jonah met in 1997.

>> we had an instant connection , it's very rare you meet someone like that. >> they married in 2001, a second marriage for jonah, who was already the father of two. he'd gotten rich owning a pharmaceutical company. she went back to school to get a ph. d. in developmental psychology. and then along came max? >> and then along came maxie. >> he's almost told the edge. oh my. he did it. how do you feel max shacknai? >> he was an active kid who loved sports and performing, for his mother and her camera. >> mom. this is my song, right? >> it is. >> during one of those summers in coronado, a mansion on ocean boulevard was on the market. >> i said let's go by and look. >> they bought it in 2007. but soon there was trouble in paradise, and a bitter divorce in 2009 when max was four. they shared custody and worked to be civil, and it wasn't long before jonah met someone

new. >> max told me about it and i said, maybe i should meet her and he said, that would be great, mommy. >> rebecca zahau was 32 and born in myanmar. she'd moved in the u. s. in her twenties. you were okay with her spending time with max? >> max said he had feelings for her, he liked her. at that time i had no concerns because i trusted that jonah, based on our history, max would be safe there. >> and safe in coronado, where nothing bad is supposed to happen. >> tell the operator what is going on. >> hello -- >> july 11th, 2011, max was staying with his dad and rebecca. dina ws in conorado, too, at a home down the street that is when jonah called her. >> he said dino you have to get here right away. >> as rebecca explained it to police jonah had been at the gym, six-year-old max was home with her. rebecca said she heard a crash and found max on the floor near the staircase, the mansion's

heavy chandelier had fallen to the floor next to him. rebecca said max wasn't breathing, she started cpr. rebecca's 13-year-old sister xena, who was visiting, called 9-1-1. >> my sister is trying to resuscitate a boy. >> i'm sorry she -- >> he can't breathe. >> police and paramedics arrived within minutes, jonah called dina from the hospital. >> when he tells me, thank god that she was able to give him cpr, i think to myself thank you , thank god. >> he's gonna be okay? >> he's gonna be okay. >> max was unconscious. dina and jonah took up a vigil at the hospital. jonah's brother adam flew in from his home in tennessee. you came out to support jonah? >> correct. >> how well did you know max? >> i knew max well. he was a really wonderful kid.

>> what was a story you heard about what you heard about max? >> they were trying to piece together exactly what happened. >> at that point no one was sure what it was? >> i don't think so. but that was not the focus when i got there. it was about him getting better. treating him. >> at maxes bedside, jonah asked one of the doctors for his prognosis. >> the doctor looked at him and said, i don't know. i don't know. i'm not sure if he's going to walk or talk. >> that sounds about the worst news you could get. >> but it wasn't real. i would bet my life on it at that time that max was going to be okay. >> there was more bad news on the way. >> 9-1-1 emergency, what are you reporting? >> yeah. i got a girl. hunger self in the guesthouse. >> coming up. what happened in that hole? police uncovered some disturbing clues. >> they located a female on the

property. the victims hands and feet were bound. >> i guarantee you, my heart started racing. >> who is this victim? >> okay. how old is she? -- >> soon, detectives would be investigating that just one puzzling death here, but to. >> it was the worst shock in probably my entire life. >> when the mansion on ocean boulevard continues. boulevard continues.

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through the streets of quiet coronado island. and once again their destination was the mansion on ocean boulevard. jonas girlfriend rebecca was staying there, jonas brother adam had spent the night in the guesthouse. >> you wake up, you walk out, tell me what you see? >> a woman hanging, at the time i didn't necessarily think to myself, oh my goodness she's bound, or whatever. but just rebecca's hanging. >> naked, bound hand and foot, rebecca zahau was hanging by the neck from the second floor balcony. >> my heart started racing. this is actually happening. >> okay. how old is she? >> i'd say about 30. >> 30? okay. when was the last time you saw her? >> last night. >> even as he called 9-1-1, adams said he thought she was dead. but you tried to do something about it? >> i tried to do something,

absolutely. it never really occurred to me that someone would look at this as a crime scene or something like that. that was the furthest thing from my mind. >> so you cut her body down? >> yeah. >> and? >> started cpr. >> to no avail? >> to no avail. >> when the coroner units arrived at the scene and located a female on the property who appeared to be deceased. >> rebecca's sister, mary was hundreds of miles away in missouri when her husband doug came to her work to bring her the awful news. >> i remember him saying rebecca's gone. and i said, what do you mean? i just talked to her last night. >> in that phone call, rebecca told her sister about what happened to max. it was the same story she told police. >> she said she was in the bathroom and she heard a loud noise, a loud crash, and when she came out max was there on the floor and the chandelier was close to him.

and he was unconscious. >> how did you describe jonah during those days? >> that he was upset. and it broke her heart to see him upset. >> they've met when rebecca worked for an eye doctor, and jonah was a patient. >> he came in for an appointment and started talking a next thing you know they're going out? >> apparently, yes. >> you are making an expression that makes you think that you thought that was not a particularly good idea? >> i never approved of the relationship, if that's what you're asking me. >> because? >> first of all, he's almost twice her age. >> doesn't batteries is that it makes your parents away from. >> her free spirited sister fell for jonah anyway. they seemed happy, they seem and love? >> and married before. >> and all of the. family >> just got a divorce. >> and he's a ceo and you know his way out of our lead. >> her first period sister fell for jonah anyway. >> they seem happy?

>> this email? >> i think my sister loved him in her way. to her, she was somewhat in awe of him to a certain extent. >> mary says that while rebecca and max were close, rebecca gave the impression she didn't get along well with maxes mom. and when max had his fall, mary said, rebecca worried how dina would react. >> she was upset about it and she said, jeanne is going to kill me. >> she said dina is gonna kill me? >> that's correct. >> rebecca seemed upset, stressed, you get any sense that she blamed himself for what had happened? >> she seemed stressed, but not inappropriately so. >> because everybody was stressed? >> everybody was stressed. and actually sympathized with her, maybe mention that, it has to be tough on you. how terrible. did anytime did it make sense to that to rebecca could be involved in what happened next? and terms of one some

deliberately willful way? >> now. nobody talked about it as being a possibility. it was -- i don't even consider a remote possibility of what happened there. >> you didn't hear anybody blame rebecca, either to her face or talking about her when she wasn't there? >> nobody, as i say, played the blame game. as far as i know where people were out, it was just focus on max. i didn't hear anybody try to blame rebecca for any of that. >> soon, rebecca's death became national news. in large part because of details revealed by sheriff's investigators. >> the victims hands and feet were bound, and she was completely nude. it has yet to be determined if this will become a criminal

matter or will remain as a death investigation. >> in other words, did rebeca hang herself or was someone else involved? >> a neighbor reported hearing streams the night before, was that rebecca? there was a scream that somebody heard, did you hear that? >> well, my windows were closed and i did not hear scream. >> meanwhile at the hospital, dina said she was only focused on max. she kept watch by his bedside willing him to open his eyes. it was saturday july 16th, 2011, five days after maxes fall. >> i notice that his eeg was just flat. and i thought that the machine was broken, and i am shaking the machine and i'm thinking, it's not working, it's malfunctioning. and then i'm saying the eeg machine is not working, it's not working. but it was working, six -year-old max was gone. and dina was devastated. >> i mean, it was the worst shock in probably my entire life. >> a mother in shock and in mourning.

but also questioning, how exactly had max's fatal fall happened? others asked what led to rebecca's hanging? the mystery of this mansion was only getting deeper. >> coming up. the stunning evidence inside that oceanfront estate, ropes, knives, a curious yeah phrase on the scene. >> there was a message painted in black paint on the door leading to the room. >> but to some of the most curious thing of all, the police theory of what really happened. >> this is a very unusual circumstance. >> we conducted an experiment to determine if it is possible for a person to secure their hands behind their back in the fashion we found. when the mansion on ocean boulevard continues. evard continues.

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>> in july 2011, a private funeral was held for six -year-old max shacknai in arizona. just a few days later, rebecca zahau was laid to rest in missouri. back in coronado, the mansion on ocean boulevard was the focus of overflowing numbers of

both questions and rumors. >> there is roughly 200 years of experience in the sheriff's homicide unit, they all agree that this is a very unusual circumstance. >> rebecca was found hanging, naked, bound hand and foot. if it was suicide, it looked like a highly unusual one. and remember, rebecca was in the house when max shacknai fell. >> right now we don't see any connection between the two incidents. >> the sheriff's department investigated for two months. coronado held its breath. then at a news conference sheriff bill gore laid out the facts as his investigators saw them. >> was max's death a homicide? the answer is no. it was a tragic accident. was rebecca's death a homicide? again, the answer is no, it was a suicide. >> sergeant dave -- said that the evidence show showed a sad tale in which one tragedy lead

to another. when rebecca checked her voice mail just before 1 am, sergeant nimoth? said that she heard a grim message from her boyfriend, max's dad, jonah. >> that message that was left on her phone was to inform rebecca of max's grave condition and imminent death. >> did rebecca blame herself for the child severe injuries? and then, take her own life. the sergeant showed photos from inside the bedroom where rebecca spent her final moments. there was a rope tied to the bed, the other hand had been looped around rebecca's neck. there was also two knives in the bedroom, apparently used to cut the rope. everything was swabbed for dna. >> dna profiles were only from rebecca. >> so what about rebecca's hands and feet being tied, didn't that show another person was involved? sergeant nemeth said, it did not.

>> we conducted an experiment to determine if it is possible for a person to secure their hands behind their back in the fashion we found. >> they even showed a video demonstration, and while tying ones hands in a suicide is uncommon, the medical examiner said that it is not unheard of. >> people do it, the thinking is that they bind themselves so that they won't change their mind midway through, it's unusual at first glance but it does happen. >> the location of the apparent suicide note was also uncommon. >> there was a message painted on the door leading to the room, i'm going to show you a message, we will not be revealing with what the message said. >> the investigation left some people unsatisfied. none more so than rebecca's family. >> i know in my heart she did not commit suicide. >> also unsatisfied, dina shacknai. sheriff's investigators illustrated their findings with this graphic. they said max was riding his

scooter on the second floor landing, somehow fell over the railing, then hit or grabbed the chandelier and took down with him. >> that sounds to me like, is max is a stuntman, a jet li?. >> why is that ridiculous, he's six years old? kids that age do crazy things, i was seven years old i'd trumped off of the roof of the garage -- >> no. i'm absolutely positive. he was a very smart six year old. he was very athletic, he was very coordinated and he was a very careful person, a thoughtful person. >> dina did not just insist that something wasn't right, she opened her checkbook and hired her own experts. including doctor judy --, a respected forensic pathologist who reviewed the autopsy report and photos and who also disagreed with the official conclusion. >> max had too many injuries to be explained with a simple accidental fall.

>> the doctor -- thought that maxes injuries indicated that he had been assaulted before he fail. what's more she suspected whether the fall could happen as the sheriff's department described it. measurements showed the railing was 32 inches high, six-year-old max was only 45 inches tall. >> his center of gravity was too low. even on a razor scooter, his center of gravity is too low to go over that banister. >> it all pointed to a chilling alternate scenario. according to the doctor, someone assaulted max, and then he somehow went over the bannister. in other words, this was a homicide. >> i would much rather have them say that this is an accident and here's why: no mom wants to hear that her son was a victim of a homicide. and if someone killed max, the doctor's theory focused on one person. >> yesterday's last night was that he was in fear, he was scared, he was hurt. and that is horrible! >> and if someone killed max,

doctors theory focused on one person. >> i think rebecca was somehow involved, but how much she was involved and to what degree, she took that to the grave. >> that alarming suspicion was only the beginning. because it wasn't just dina who was investigating. rebecca's sister mary was equally convinced rebecca would never hurt max or kill herself out of guilt. two women coping with terrible tragedies. neither willing to accept the sheriff's department's conclusions. mary was about to make some incredible accusations. and she wouldn't back down. coming up! >> could rebecca have been killed? a second autopsy magnifies the mystery. >> some deeper saying, and internal bleeding, which

couldn't be explained by the hanging. >> but could be explained by what? >> somebody knocking her down from behind and hog-tying her. there was a struggle. >> a twist was coming. >> did you have anything to do with rebecca's death? >> absolutely not. >> you thought you had nothing to hide? >> i knew i had nothing to hide. when the mansion on ocean boulevard continues. boulevard continues.

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the official investigation was over. the crime scene tape and evidence marker long gone. that said, an unofficial search for clues was just beginning. online message boards buzzed, with their is from the far fetched to the implausible. through it all, rebecca sister mary didn't buy the official finding of suicide. >> was she fragile? was she easily upset? it's a potential person that will fall apart after a crisis? >> not at all. if she is very upset to where she doesn't want to deal with the situation or feel like she can't handle it then she will go work out. and so she comes up with the situation and then deal with the situation. if she doesn't think she can, then she will move on. >> so when detectives said that voice mail, the one jonah shacknai left for rebecca with a grim news about max, may have caused rebecca to hang herself, mary wasn't having it.

. >> i was not about to have my sister's name smeared, and the world remember her as this crazy woman who committed her suicide because of a phone call. >> was all this just about how rebecca would be remembered? after her death came some revelations, things even mary hadn't known about. like in 2005, in california, when rebecca didn't show up for >> she was upset about it but you definitely were not killer self. >> was all this just about how rebecca would be remembered? after her death came some revelations. things even mary hadn't known about. let like in 2005, in california, when rebecca didn't show up for work and just vanished. her boyfriend reported her missing to local police department. rebecca turned up a few days later, saying it was just a misunderstanding. you're persuaded that if she did sort of mysteriously disappear back then for a day or two, it was something that

she willingly did and not some sign of mental fragility? >> i really don't know what happened at that time. >> now she said, she needed to know how rebecca died. she had rebecca's body exhumed, and media friendly forensic pathologists, dr. --, performed a second autopsy. his conclusion? homicide. >> was rebecca murdered? her family thought so. and eventually the case found its way to this man. >> it was intriguing from the beginning. >> san diego attorney keith greer. >> the doctor did identify some deep bruising and internal bruising which couldn't be explained by the hanging. >> wait one second, it couldn't be explained by the hanging but could be explained by what? >> by somebody knocking her down from behind and hog-tying her, something along those lines. a struggle. >> plus greer said the force of falling nine feet from the balcony should've caused more severe injuries to rebecca's

neck. greer like the other doctor believed someone killed rebecca and then placed her body at the end of the rope. he began to develop a theory as to who. >> the writing on the door is a key to the case. >> remember the message painted on the bedroom door? sheriffs investigators declined to reveal what it said, greer eventually found out. the message scrawled in black acrylic paint read, she saved him, can you save her. greer believes the message was not written by rebecca, it was written about her. how did she save? she didn't save max? >> she did save max. at the time you have to look at it in context. >> remember rebecca said she did cpr on max after he fell. so at the time those words were written, max was still alive? >> max was alive. >> and maybe because of her effort? >> it wasn't maybe because of

her effort, it was exactly because of her effort, and that's why it is the key to the case. because i know, whoever committed the murder, knew that rebecca had saved max. >> it was, he said, a small circle. mostly family. >> i had an eyewitness who put dina shacknai at the scene of the murder that evening. >> dina, the grief stricken mom. could she have blamed rebecca and then sought revenge? remember, mary recalled her sister saying, dina is going to kill me. where were you when rebecca zahau died? >> i don't know how she died, but i was in the hospital all night. >> in 2013, keefe greer filed a civil wrongful death law suit on behalf of the zahau family. based on his eyewitness, he named dina as a defendant along with her twin sister nina. there was also third defendant, the man who called 9-1-1, jonas brother, adam shacknai. did you have anything to do

with rebecca's death? >> absolutely not. >> greer disagreed. he pointed to those knots tied around rebecca's wrists and ankles. >> figuring out in the first place is hard, tying them almost impossible. >> greer believed whoever tied the knot had to be an expert, possibly a sailor. and adam shacknai worked on the mississippi river as a tugboat captain. >> when he ties things off he uses a figure eight, and then closes it with a single hitch or two, guess would knot's are tied on both her legs and her hands? figure eights, tied off with a single hitch or two. >> sheriffs investigators had questioned adam extensively after rebecca's death. you didn't hold anything back from investigators? >> nothing. >> you helped them to the extent that you could? >> yeah, exhaustively. >> you thought you had nothing

to hide? >> i knew i had nothing to hide. >> and when investigators determined there was no evidence placing adam at the scene--they cleared you? >> they did. >> did you think this was over at that point? >> yes, i did. >> it wasn't over. rebecca's sister was determined to hold someone accountable. i'm guessing that somebody said to you that filing a lawsuit, a civil lawsuit, to financers, in a criminal matter is generally an extremely unsatisfying way of pursuing justice? >> that may be, but my only recourse was the lawsuit. >> soon, they would start to get answers, just not the ones they expected. >> coming up. where was dina the night of rebecca's death? >> this eyewitness was adam, he was very clear, no doubt about it. >> powerful new video evidence and the dna evidence. where was it?

>> adam shacknai admits that that morning he cut rebecca he did cpr, punch to the chest. >> and there's no dna? >> zero. >> when dateline continues.

>> seven years after the death of her son max, dina shacknai lived alone in the arizona home she once shared with her family. how are you even standing up right today? >> max. my son. my love for him was so great. we were a perfect fit. we were lucky. i still feel lucky. >> even though he's gone? >> yeah. i told him every day, maxi, i love you every day, and all universes, and i'm the luckiest mom in this well because i have

you. he knew that very well and i can say that today, max, i am the luckiest mommy that ever lived in this universe because i still have you. because loved doesn't disappear just because the person is not right -- you can't see them. >> in the years following max's death, dina continued to investigate, and hired a woman named tara schneider. you are convinced that max died not as a result of the accident but a murder? >> yes, a homicide. >> tara has no law enforcement background. she calls herself an intelligence analyst. she and dina have floated several theories over the years. the current theory, whoever killed max, it was not rebecca zahau. these days, their suspission is focued on information from a neighbour that has never been verified. a story of all wild party at the mansion the night before max's fall. >> he has not been interviewed by the police and has not come forward. >> but what connection it might

have to max's death, you have no idea what that is? >> i don't. but i think it should be explored. >> she said police never spoke with a neighbor but we did and he doesn't remember anything about a party. and max's dad, jonah shacknai, who was in the house that night said that there was no party. jonah says that he never doubted the official investigation, but wanted to rebut the theories offered by dina and others. his lawyers hired the highly regarded investigative firm, krohl, the resulting report says the evidence is consistent with an accidental, tragic fall. and there is no evidence of foul play, malice, or other non accidental ocurrents. how many people said to you, you need to let this go and move on? >> many. so many. >> even if she'd wanted to move on, it really wasn't possible because dina, remember, was being sued by the family of

rebecca zahau, who blamed dina, in part, for rebecca's death. through it all, dina stuck to her story that she'd been at max's bedside at the hospital the night rebecca died. even though the zahau's attorney keith greer had an eye witness willing to testify that he saw dina outside the mansion that night. >> and this eyewitness was adamant. he was very clear, no doubt about it. >> and turned out to be dead bang wrong? >> turned out to be wrong. >> in april 2017, after four years of litigation, this security camera video came to light. it's from the hospital where max shacknai was being treated. the same night rebecca zahau died. clearly visible, dina shacknai. at some point you look at the footage and you realize, i'm wrong. and my witness is wrong. dina wasn't there, she was at the hospital provably. >> absolutely. i got mad. i got really mad. >> greer called a press conference to publicly eat some crow.

>> when these pictures come out though, you can't refute them. >> he removed dina from the lawsuit along with her sister nina. and the zahau family attorney apologized to you, was that enough? >> he made a public apology. and i would say that not as many people saw the public apology, as who sought continuous accusations against us. >> greer pushed forward anyway with just one defendant, adam shacknai. that says to me, this is some scattershot attempt and you are suing everybody that comes into your line of sight looking for a sympathetic jury. >> that's it. a lot of people looked at it that way. >> why shouldn't that shatter the credibility for the rest of your case? >> i think the reality of it is that we always had adam involved all through the process. >> in the lawsuit, greer outlined quite a detailed and unsubstantiated narrative. he argued rebecca was killed not to avenge max, but instead during a sexual assault.

greer's theory is that it began when rebecca stepped out of the shower and saw adam in her bedroom watching her. >> she then gets uncomfortable and tries to escape, screams for help, at 11:30 that night. >> greer says that explains the screams heard by a neighbor. >> right after that, to silence her, adam hits her at the back of the head knocks or partially unconscious and then he has time to think, wraps the black pink and he paints this phrase on the door. >> she saved him, can you save her? if i'm gonna kill somebody and try to make it look like a suicide, i'm not gonna write a cryptic phrase behind, i'm gonna write a phrase that said, i'm sorry, i'm guilty i did it. >> it wasn't staged to be a suicide. >> even greer says evidence placing adam at the scene is weak. adam shacknai have any marks or

scrapes or cuts on him that suggests a struggle with anyone. >> none. >> same with adam's dna. >> it's pretty hard to get rid of your dna. >> hard to get rid of dna. all right. adam shacknai admits that that morning he cut rebecca down, he loosened the ropes on her wrist to check her pulse. he gave her mouth to mouth resucitation, he gave cpr pumps to her chest-- >> and there's no dna? >> and how much dna and how many fingerprints are found on the knife, the rope, her body, how much? >> none. >> zero! zero. >> zero of adam's, that is. rebecca's dna and fingerprints were everywhere. according to greer, that means adam, who had no criminal history, knew exactly how to wipe down the scene, somehow removing his own fingerprints and dna, but leaving just rebecca's. of course, it could also mean that adam simply wasn't there when rebecca died, which is exactly what law enforcement came to believe. i'm guessing that if you walk in court in any case, and

opposing council said, there is no evidence here, there is no fingerprints and there's no dna, and that is the proof of the case that i am bringing, you would think to yourself: i have a grand ball here. >> the absence of evidence isn't the evidence of absence. and so, we know it's murder because it's wiped down. we know it's not suicide. >> what about the idea of that she was depressed, upset a maxes. and that everybody thought that she might do that and took her life as her own result. >> out of guilt and honor. the way that it happens it doesn't fit. that if there was a note that said, i'm sorry everybody, i love deer max, i wasn't there for him. i'm sorry for all of you. >> and i feel responsible. >> it's too much for me to bear. that would be one thing. and then overdosing on ambient which was available there. it may have fit.

but this is sending a message. this was stripped naked, hung out in front of the world with no -- you know, direct note that says what happens -- the honor theory just didn't work. it just didn't fit. >> would a jury agree? greer had to prove that adam shacknai was somehow responsible for rebecca's death. that his own actions made him liable. in a wrongful death civil case the standard is more likely than not. a significantly lower bar than beyond a reasonable doubt, which is the standard in a criminal case. it is however still a challenge, and when the case went to trial, keith greer would be against a top notch defense team. did you feel overmatched? >> i was so out gunned it was pathetic. >> two families connected by tragedy prepare to go head to head in a courtroom. coming up. >> did you attack her?

>> no. >> did you sexually assault her? >> no. did you tie those knots on her body? >> no. >> would a jury believe him? >> i sat down next to him and said mary i'm sorry, this is probably not good news. >> when the mansion on ocean boulevard continues. boulevard continues.

♪ ♪ ♪ the plaintiffs attorney got a good imagination. >> adam shacknai says it's simple. he had nothing to do with the death of rebecca zahau. were you present when rebecca died? >> no. >> did you attack her? >> no. >> did you sexually assault her? >> no. >> did you tie those not on your body? >> no. >> are those a types of knots that only a sailor would know? >> no. those are common knots. >> sheriff's investigators found no evidence adam was present when rebecca died. and they cleared him. that didn't stop rebecca's family from suing in civil court. the lawsuit, the long string of

accusations, what do you think is going on here? >> it's denial, it's they don't want it to be seen that their sister committed suicide. >> we asked rebecca's sister mary about that. >> a lot of times, families do not want to admit that someone committed suicide. because they blame themselves for not maybe having seen the signs, is that what you're doing here? >> no. and i have been accused of that multiple times, including the sheriff's department. >> is it possible that rebecca was depressed and you missed it? >> no. >> in march 2018, the wrongful death law suit began--. defending adam was dan web, former u.s. attorney and a veteran of many courtrooms. >> there is no evidence that shows that adam shacknai had anything to do with the death of rebecca zahau. >> in particular, no dna or fingerprints from adam were found at the death scene. plaintiffs attorney keith greer

called several experts who testified that the lack of physical evidence could show adam had cleaned up after himself. >> there was nothing on the doorknobs whatsoever. as far as prints. >> again, that's consistent with them being wiped down? >> yes. >> and the handwriting expert who looked at that message on the door. >> the writing on the door is more consistent with adams than rebecca's. >> greer also claims that rebecca had been sexually assaulted with a knife prior to her murder. his expert testified a steak knife found in the bedroom had her blood in the handle. greer said the sheriff's department had overlooked that evidence. >> that is nowhere in the records, they never considered that. they never analyzed that. >> to defense called a forensic technician who does testified she did find the blood on the knife and with it, a simple explanation. a recent cut on rebecca's right hand.

and when greer asked her if the blood could've come from a sexual assault? >> i didn't see any evidence of that. >> no evidence. a point the defense hammered home. >> no fingerprint evidence. no evidence that was indentified or directed to adam shacknai. >> adams brother jonah took the stand, he called rebecca's death unfathomable, but said adam was not responsible. >> is there anything that adam has ever done in his life that would cause you to believe that he ever would've done the acts that he is accused of in this case? >> never. anything, it's inconceivable. >> adam took the stand too. >> did you hit rebecca on the head? >> i never hit rebecca on the head. or anywhere else, for that matter. >> did you devise this scheme to try to cover up your wrongdoing by painting the saying on the door and making it look like she had been hanged by someone else? >> absolutely, positively,

knot. >> the case went to the jury. >> did you feel confidence deliberations began? >> i felt like we could possibly win very convincingly. >> less than four hours later, a verdict. >> i sat down next to mary and said, i'm sorry, this is probably not good news, this was it a decision that even keefe greer would be in for quite a plot twist. >> you know we did our job, we did our job. we don't let our dine. vein >> all those things you said that -- >> and even kate greer would be in for quite a plot twist. look >> number one did adam shacknai touch rebecca before rebecca zahau's death with the intent to heart hurt? the answer is yes. number two, did that touching cause the death of rebecca zahau the answer is yes. >> yes, meaning that the jury found adam shacknai responsible for rebecca zahau's death. >> i just broke down.

i was just like ok, i'm not crazy. i'm not the only one who believes that adam murdered my sister. >> that's not quite what the jury said. finding someone liable in a civil case is not the same as finding them guilty of murder. what's more, the verdict in this case did not have to be unanimous, and it wasn't. nine jurors found adam responsible, three did not. the jury did award the zahau family $5 million. >> courtrooms are supposed to be a place where justice is dispensed, was this about justice? >> no, it wasn't. >> since this wasn't a criminal case, adam didn't go to jail, he returned home to tennessee and filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied in january 2019. then in february, adam's insurance company and rebecca's family reached a settlement of $600, 000, and the case was dismissed. after the civil trial, the

sheriff's department took a fresh look at rebecca's death. eight months later, that review also concluded that rebecca died by suicide. dina shacknai would like to see authorities reinvestigate her son's case. do you think they will reinvestigate max's death? >> i think it's the right thing to do. do i think it will happen? i really don't know. >> how does a mother ever truly accept the tragic loss of her child? the ripples keep on spreading to this day. in a place where nothing bad was supposed to happen. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> i'm craig melvin, and natalie -- and this is dateline! look >> i don't even think i asked him what happened.

because you don't want to hear details. that was the worst day of my life that i found out about my mom. . >> a loving couple, a romantic hike, a secluded spot. . you >> it's a curfew just went out from under her. >> all this up i'm hearing, yelling from coming downstream. there was mrs. mueller floating face up. >> a white falling to her death, her husband falling apart. >> panicking, shaking, crying. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the evidence at the scene makes us believe that something entirely different happened. >> you can reach about 20 feet. where were the injuries? why did i not see what i expected to see? >> a search for the truth in the words and water. >> if you're three is right, that's almost like she was being hunted? >> it's almost like a hair and a wall. >> two chilling account of what happened to them and they all adored.

one seemingly unsolvable mystery. >> either you believe the crazy story a, or you believe crazy story be. both stories are crazy, which one do you want to go with? ♪ ♪ ♪ >>, spill over granite. sunlight filters through a spins and evergreens. cottonwood creek, an only in the west sort of backdrop. these snapshots barely capture it. but who can resist trying. what a spot to preserve a memory. careful though, this is wilderness. the dangerous kind. >> she's in the river. she fell. they can't find her. they thinks she's dead. >> the frigid currents here can take a life. and also, maybe, sweep away

secrets. >> where is the perfect place to commit a murder, where nobody would see it? >> if you go into it looking for trouble, you are gonna find it. >> and up in those mountains, sometimes questions are left behind. >> i don't have an explanation for this. but certainly, it does truly haunt me. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the story begins with those pictures. together, they form a couple. husband and wife. leslie and fred mueller. married for almost 27 years. >> they were always super affectionate. they acted like they were two high school kids that had just started dating. just all over each other. >> ooh. [laughs] >> these are the mueller's three children. amanda, the eldest. then him ariel and alex, the only boy. they were brought up in texas near the town san angelo. but for fun this family heading out to their second home in

lake city, colorado. those photos of their parents were taken nearby. >> they both love the cabin and going up to colorado. >> it was so pretty. >> it was in a valley and you would look and see the postcard mountains. >> there was a river running right near there. >> their rockies getaway was a family place to relax and escape their busy lives back home. >> what was life like up at the cabin? >> we would usually go in the summer's. we would just hike together. horseback riding. hang out as a family. >> did you feel like there was a lot of family bonding? >> yes. definitely. we ended up having a lot of fun. board games, going out hiking. doing all these different activities together. >> in texas, leslie had an ob/gyn practice and worked long hours or delivering babies. she was the areas first ob/gyn? female ob/gyn? >> she was. she was very much a pioneer in that sense. i think the more people told her you can't do this, she

wanted to do it. >> she was very strong and willed. and definitely a feminist in a way that she was all about, like i can do anything that anyone can do. and i can do it better. >> in 2004, leslie decided to make a change in her life. she retired from medicine and devoted her time to the church. she even studied theology. but most of all, leslie loved the outdoors. especially riding horses. >> i think if she had her choice she would be riding horses every day and practicing theology. i'm sure she wished the days were longer. >> she's like super woman. >> yeah. >> their mom embraced adventure and she wanted her kids to as well. >> one time mom and i went, just the two of us. i had made horseback right in while. i told her i didn't want to go maybe five, six miles. she said, okay, on this trail is eight miles. you can do it. by the time it ended, it was 16 miles.

i said, mom! >> so she tricked you? [laughs] >> we had such a wonderful time. but the next day i was not moving. >> as for fred, he owned a multi million dollar company importing steel for construction. still, their dad wasn't all business all the time. >> in the traditional motherly rolls, he would definitely step up and wasn't afraid to be mr. mom. >> the mueller kids say their parents fit one another perfectly. >> he make a point of every night trying to do something nice for her. >> they talked all the time. anytime there was any type of disagreement about who-- the dishes weren't done or some honey-do chore. they would talk about it until they were completely resolved. the next second, they would be all over each other again and be perfectly happy. >> it was a happy weekend at the mueller's colorado cabin. may 3rd, 2008. now that leslie was no longer working, she was spending much more time up here. that saturday, the spring day was sunny. the high altitude air still chilled. morning began with chores.

>> i think we were unloading some hay. doing stuff kind of like that around the house. >> so was this just a very typical weekend in colorado? >> yeah. >> it was just alex, then 14, up with his parents on this trip. then afternoon the three went to mass in town. later, after a snack, his parents suggested they cap off the day with a hike to photograph some stunning waterfalls nearby. >> i was pretty wiped out by that time. i wanted to hang out in the cabin and read a book or something like that. so, i turned them down on going for the hike. >> fred and leslie headed off with her dog gracie, a border collie pup. >> i think she was only six months old. >> was she rambunctious? >> she was rambunctious, for sure. she was the type of dog that when the ceiling fan would be going to try to jump up and follow it around. >> fred and leslie parked at the base of the trail. snow still covered the ground in patches.

they hiked up, past a series of waterfalls. up until they found the perfect spot for pictures. they had arrived at cottonwood creek. fred struck a pose first. next, leslie's turn. one more of fred, big smile. and then leslie, again. this time with her beloved gracie. then, something went wrong. >> it's like it just happened in slow motion in front of me. >> in an instant, leslie was gone. >> at the waterfall. she's in the river. >> what happened at cottonwood creek? >> coming up -- >> is she dead? tell them its too soon to know. >> the hunt for answers would start with a frantic search. >> at the waterfall. she fell and they can't find her. >> where was leslie mueller? and did she survive. >> all of a sudden i hear yelling. and the yelling is coming from downstream.

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family's vacation cabin in colorado. his sisters were on this weekend trip. and that saturday afternoon, his parents went out for a hike without him. do you remember the last words you said to your mom as she was leaving the cabin? >> just see you later. you know? >> just a normal, of course i'm going to see my mom in an hour? >> yeah, exactly. nothing really memorable. >> so then, there's a whole period of time that they are gone. what's the next thing you remember? >> so, reading. hanging around. i think the first time i kind of notice it was getting a little late. it had gotten dark, and i know nobody should be kind of hiking when it's dark. >> alex had no inkling of the tragedy unfolding at cottonwood creek. it started right after his dad

took this picture of his mother, leslie. leslie and gracie posed here. you can see it's a stunning setting. but just about an arms length behind me is a cliff. a steep drop off to the granite below. the icy cold waters of cottonwood creek. right after fred snapped the picture, leslie fell and was swept away in the water. unable to find her, fred raced for help. driving more than a mile to the nearest house. >> somebody just showed up at my house. >> with no cell service up by the creek, the owner of the house, justin sparks was the first to call 9-1-1. >> he pulled up, he said... it is the waterfall. she's in the river. she fell and they can't find her. he's frantic, of course. he said he thinks his wife is dead. >> it's his wife? >> yeah. >> the homeowner offered right away to help fred. the sped back up the mountain and fred dropped him off at a spot to begin searching. just down the road, physicians assistant and ems volunteer

michael golob was on duty. >> a call went out over the radio for a female drowning victim. >> golob headed over to the base of the trail. there he ran into fred. >> he comes barreling down at a very high rate of speed. kind of slams on his brakes. starts yelling at me. let's go! let's go, let's go! >> the ems responded notice the man he was trying to help could also be injured. fred's face was also scratched up. >> he had some superficial lacerations and so i take a minute to make sure this isn't my second victim. to make sure he's okay. he assures me he's fine, he's fine. just kind of wants to keep going. >> but then, as fred drove, he seemed disoriented. he pulled over but he couldn't seem to find where leslie fell. >> i start to unload from the jeep. he says no, this isn't it. and we get back to the jeep. he continues upstream, or uphill. >> after another stop, they found the right place and hike toward the creek. >> all of a sudden i hear yelling. and the yelling is coming from downstream.

>> it was the homeowner justin sparks. michael golob, took off towards him. he was in a knee deep pool towards the waterfalls. >> there was mrs. mueller. she's dressed in a lime green jacket. and she's floating face up. he actually found her. i believe he used the word pinned under the log and face down. >> leslie had no pulse. and golob thought there was still hope she could be revived. fred had caught up, towering over them from the creek embankment. >> he says, she dead? >> i told him it was too soon to. >> golob sent fred back down the road for more help. by then a small village of's first responders had assembled at the start of the trail. among them was hinsdale county sheriff's deputy at the time, justin casey. >> we had other officers responding. we also had ems personnel, ambulances. fire personnel coming with fire trucks. >> dispatchers put in a call call to local sheriff ron bruce. >> we got report of a drowning at cottonwood creek.

they said they would keep me advise. >> by then, a group of medical responders made their way up to the creek to help. but still, no heartbeat. not a breath from leslie. and it was clear she was gone. >> we were not going to be able to bring mrs. mueller back. >> at the cabin, alex was wondering why his parents weren't back yet. their hike was only supposed to last an hour or so. but they had been gone more than three hours. were you worried? >> not really worried as in something happened to them. it was more like it was weird they would stay out past dark. >> it was passed 8 pm when his dad got home... without his mom. >> it's my dad and the deputy. they come in. it's kind of a shock to see. when you're expecting somebody, to see strangers coming in instead. >> what did you think when you see that? >> not a whole lot at the time to think honestly. you kind of going to shut down mode. >> alex recalled his dad seemed

like he was in shock. >> he was very disheveled. had been crying a lot. he gave me a big hug and that's kind of how it broke. >> i can't even imagine getting that news. when you just thought your parents were going for quick height. >> it's disbelief, really. the whole thing just seemed so surreal. >> then, father and son were shuttled to the sheriff's department where fred could file a report about the accident. >> i remember them saying, you take fred and i'll take alex. >> sheriff bruce was at the station to meet them. >> my initial reaction to fred was he was a victim. a grieving husband. >> fred gave a brief handwritten statement. >> we want to make sure we've dotted the i s, cross the t s. we were dealing with the death of a woman. >> then fred and alex headed back to their empty cabin. and there in that home, that had been then full of happy memories. fred and alex endured the longest night of their lives.

>> we stayed together in the same room, the whole night. >> and did your dad sleep at all? >> it was a very long night. >> that they had no idea it was just the first sleep in this night of what would become the longest ordeal of their lives. coming up... >> we started taking photos. she took a few of me. i took some of her. >> fred gives investigators a detailed account of what happened to leslie. >> it looked to me like she just did a swan dive... and lands on the rocks, right by the water. >> and he's very clear on who was to blame. >> it was that damn dog tangled up in her legs--it--its what i think it was. >> what would police think of that? when "dateline" continues. s. . if you have symptoms of covid-19, even if they're mild, don't wait, get tested quickly. if you test positive and are at high risk for severe disease act fast-

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daughters, amanda and ariel, were hundreds of miles away from colorado when it happened. their dad had to break the terrible news to them by phone. >> he said, i'm so sorry. i'm so sorry. i said, what happened? he said, we were hiking. i was trying to take a picture. she fell. and i remember saying, but she's going to be okay? he said no, she's dead. and i kind of lost it. started crying terribly. and he said, i am so, so sorry mandy. >> what did your dad say to you when you got him on the phone? >> i don't even think i assumed

what happened. because you don't want to hear details. i could easily say that was the worst day of my life that i found out about my mom. the only detail that mattered was that she was gone. >> the tragic details, however, were the business of hinsdale county sheriff ron bruce. he and his small office had the huge job of patrolling more than 1100 square miles of potentially dangerous wilderness and wildlife. should they have not gone to that area? >> no, no. it was perfectly fine. i think he related that it was something of an idyllic day. >> the day after leslie died, sheriff bruce stopped by the mueller's cabin to get a more precise account of what happened during that hike. bruce's under sheriff and a state state investigator talked to fred. >> you know. i should have taken or up there. it's all my fault. >> the conversation at the mueller's kitchen table was recorded. >> we started taking photos. she took a few me.

i took some of her. >> fred described in detail how that kodak moment went wrong. >> i suggested that she take a picture with her dog. and it's -- a border collie and it's just an extremely skittish dog. she -- looks at me and i take her picture and we think everything is cool. and i think, like, a bird kind of flutters by. >> fred said the rambunctious border collie got startled. >> but the dog just jumps out as she's turning and it's like ... like her feet just went out from under her. it's like a just happened in slow motion in front of me... she falls forward and--and i remember lunging for to try to... get to her. but i was probably five, six, seven feet from. her >> fred said he witnessed leslie freefall. it looked like to me like she just did a swan dive, and lands on the rocks, right by the water. just -- just -- like head and shoulders. and --

just crumples. and then just slides like mush into the little channel... and i'm screaming her name. i'm hollering. i should've just jumped in. >> fred says he lost sight of leslie in the waters, so he ran down to where he thought the current would take her. he said he got scratched up as he stumbled up and down this embankment, navigating rocks, and running through bushes. >> i must have tripped. a few times. quite a few times coming down. i'm sure i hit, obviously hit something coming down a few times. >> he told how he had left the camera with those last images of his wife behind. >> i would imagine i would imagine i just dropped it while i was screaming. >> unable to locate leslie, he abandoned his search of the creek bed and made the decision to go for help. >> i hauled butt down to justin's house. and i'm honking and i'm screaming at him too, you know,

i think my wife's dead. >> after listening to fred's story, the sheriff wanted to go up to the site of the accident. you take fred back up to the mountain. >> yes, we did a walk through on the scene. >> up at the scene, fred repeated how the dog seemed to call leslie's fall. >> it was that damned dog tangled up in her legs... is what i think it was. >> gracie ran off into the woods right after the accident. a member of the sheriff's department later found her and took her back to his house. >> everything changed that day. >> changed forever. in ways the kids could not in their immediate grief begin to grasp. that's because while their father was on that mountain talking to authorities, seeds of doubt were being planted. right in the landscape around cottonwood creek. >> coming up-- >> one of those seeds found near the ledge were leslie spent her last moments. >> all the alarm bells were going off. even till this day it gives me the chills. >> and a family worries about

their grieving father. >> you just didn't know if he was going to do something crazy. or if he was ever going to get over this and be able to move on. >> when "dateline" continues.

-- here's what's happening, new details this week about the shooting at the walmart in virginia that left seven dead. police revealing the gunman along the employee left a note railing against coworkers saying that they were quote, mocking him. and in business news, thousands of amazon workers and 30 countries including here in the u.s. are going on strike friday, time of the actual traditional start of the holiday shopping season. new workers calling for better pay and working conditions. now back to dateline. w back to dateline ♪ ♪ ♪ >> fred mueller spent the day after his wife's death talking with investigators about the antecedent on cottonwood creek.

the next day, he and his son alex flew home to texas. varied by a friend in a private plane. >> you never think that it could have been to you. there, fred and alex were reunited with amanda an aerial. alex's older sisters. >> you hear horrible stories and you feel for these people. it's surreal that we were now that family and now trying to get through it. >> so many came to pay their respects. but morning took its toll. >> i would hold myself together in front of people who would visit and i would go into the other room to cry and breakdown. and it's kind of a saving face a little bit. >> leslie, the horse lover, was buried on the texas ranch where she grew up riding. >> when the blur was over and you finally had time to process what had happened, what did you think about with the mom and future -- >> i was angry.

i was really looking forward to being pregnant and calling my mom anytime i had a little odd thing happen. >> two weeks before my graduation, it was a week before my prom. all these big things that are the like... not the biggest things in the world. it's just things that your mom should be there for him. i mean we're -- seeing us grow up. >> the kids were just grieving their own loss. they felt their fathers too. >> i had never seen him so sad. you just didn't know if he was going to do something crazy or if he was ever going to get over this and be able to move on. >> and, up in colorado, sheriff bruce was building on either. he still had questions about the accidents and fred story. he sent deputy justin casey up to cottonwood creek. casey brought her brother with him. they shot videos and snap photos along the way. >> we started below where mrs. mueller's body was found. and we took photographs below as we progressed upstream. >> as the casey brothers moved

up the creek, we noticed that the creeks flow didn't seem very strong. it didn't push us around as we were walking. >> we were careful with their footing in the sense that there were slippery rocks underneath the water. but it wasn't hard to go against the current. >> the deputy couldn't help but wonder, how had leslie's body floated so far? >> the water was coming down but it's not a raging river. it's not fast moving. >> deputy casey reported back to sheriff bruce, who, by that time and talk to the couple who lived by the trail and it helped a friend in those first frantic moments. but they said it costed a new light on fred story of that awful day. >> a little tickling at the back of their necks that instead of some red flags to them. >> they told chair bruce that asked called 9-1-1 and set out to help in the search, fred was frantic one minute and seemed calm the next.

>> they said the vibes were all wrong from him, here they became very uncomfortable. >> did they kind of like, in hindsight, think back or was it right then? >> they were immediately concerned that something was amiss. >> it was the husband, justin, who found leslie's body in the creek. but he told the sheriff that initially had sent him off to search too far downstream. >> he drove up on the short waves he said that he was sure that his wife's body was somewhere in that area. just thought that was odd. >> was it possible that fred was just disoriented and it's kind of a tougher to navigate? >> it's possible. >> yet, sheriff said that he also got a stream five from fred the night leslie died. and again, the next day when they went back up to cottonwood creek. >> his emotions and his response to everything seemed to be extremely flat. and i felt, almost rehearsed. >> is that fair though? with everyone being different in this world. everyone reacting differently to tragedy. is it fair for you to judge him

based on how you think he should be acting? >> i don't know if it's fair. but in my business, it's realistic. because, you have to look at all angles of an event and make sure that your uncovering everything that's there. >> on the ledge where leslie fell, investigators found fred's camera and the photos of leslie's last moments alive. as he stared at leslie, the vibrant wife and mother, sheriff bruce's gut told him, keep looking. >> the vibes were all. wrong all the alarm bells were going off, even to this day, it gives me a little bit gives me the chills. >> coming up -- >> vibes on one thing, but investigators thought they also had evidence that fred wasn't telling the truth. >> he told me she fell 20 feet. where was the trauma? where were the injuries? why did i not see what i expected to see? >> there were no broken bones. any substantial abrasions or contusions. >> what really happened to leslie that day?

when dateline continues. it's time for the "good news of the week." and, boy, do we need it. [ chuckles ] well, this safe driver saved money with the snapshot app from progressive. -how do you feel? -um, good? he's better than good. he got rewarded for driving safe and driving less. sorry, barb, just to confirm, this is the feel-good news of the week? this is what we found. -yay, snapshot! ♪ ♪ ♪

>> for the folks charged with keeping the words and water across cotton would say, lizzy was drowning was a tragedy but also mystery. >> now, upon myself in fresh shoes and they didn't fit. >> chef wanders had thought the

president of the day leslie died was unusual. fred, to him, showed a lack of emotion. but what really spoke volumes to the sheriff and his team was something they knew well. the terrain around cottonwood creek. as fred told them, leslie did a swan dive from up their landing on the head and shoulders on this rock. then she slipped into the water, a horrible accident for the law enforcement. something seems off. the first trained rescuer on the scene noticed at first what appeared to be a major inconsistency in that story. such a treacherous fall, leslie's body went pulled from the creek didn't look at all injured. >> he told me she fell 20 feet. where was the trauma? where were the injuries? why did i not see what i expected to see? >> one look at that drop off and sheriff bruce was wondering the same thing, and when the

autopsy report came back, it only heightened his suspicions. >> there were no broken bones. any substantial abrasions or contusions. they simply weren't there. >> every accident is different. every fall is different. is it possible that she just fell in a certain way that didn't produce those injuries that you are looking for? >> no, if she landed headfirst like you told us she landed she would've had head injuries, facial fractures, spinal trauma. none of that was present. so sheriff bruce made a quick conclusion that fred had to be lying. >> what you see here is -- >> we went back to cottonwood creek with the sheriff in may 2014. that's the same month leslie died. >> we got a late snowstorm this.

you're a spring storm had just blanketed the woods and rocks. >> i have to say, i am honestly nervous just standing here. this is very steep >> it's a sheer dropoff. >> it's up here where they had pose for pictures that sheriff bruce showed me what he thought were key pieces to their puzzle. >> the evidence here at the scene makes us believe that it's something entirely different happened. >> they found trampled bushes, what they thought looked like scoffed marks and a pair broken glasses that turned out to be friends. >> there was an evidence of a struggle where the mongol glasses were found. >> sheriff bruce formed a theory and after snapping those photos, fred and leslie got into a physical fight. we think that at that point, i think, anyway that she was able to break free of his grasp at that point. and she ran back this way and down paralleling this path that goes down eventually and meet up with the string. you think you chased after? her i think he parallel turned down that road and he got to a point where he can easily interceptor if she's going down by the stream. >> if your theory is right, that is almost like she was being hunted.

>> it's almost like a hare and a wolf. >> and according to persist theory, fred chased his wife right into the shallow pool where she was found. >> that's where he held her underwater ground. and placed her right under the submerged log. >> but bruce admits, investigators had some evidence to back up that scenario. >> what about footprints? there were no footprints in the mud? >> no, at that time we had investigators in there and -- >> so the evidence was ruined essentially? if there was evidence. >> right. >> the sheriffs and agents at the colorado bureau of investigation, the cbi, work together. investigating what they now thought was a homicide. >> they went down to where the meuller's lived in wall texas to push around in french life. but, they couldn't find anyone to say anything bad about him. >> we found that the interviews were largely unproductive. >> so you were hitting walls. in while texas, which is an outline community outside of--

>> it's a pretty close community. >> and inside that community, none of leslie's friends or family doubted fred. and couldn't understand why folks something colorado were asking questions. >> yeah, people loved that. that's why he had immense amount of support. >> and then, ten months after leslie's death, ted mueller got an invitation from the cbi. the agent wanted fred to come back up to colorado for a top. >> you know, he casually mentioned that he's going up to colorado and they wanted me back up there. and he's just saying, i don't know what they're doing. but it's just that we have to cooperate, they're doing their jobs, let's just get past it so we can move on. >> i just wanted to first, fred, thank you for coming. >> you're welcome. >> again, he shared his recollections that they at the vacation home. >> it was a beautiful day -- there's so many things that i wish i had done differently. >> and again, described what happened to leslie after she post for that last photo. >> she was flare living in the air, screaming. and i was screaming. and she hit --

and never made another pete. same to town this interview was >> if it's account of the different accident was the scene, the tone of this interview was different. the cb i agent made it clear cia made it didn't believe his story. a clear denis of his story and you know what >> and, i want to take this opportunity to ask you everything that makes you think that this may not have been an accident. now >> ask me anything you want. question found about those broken glass is found at the scene lachine abitibi-témiscamingue >> they question fred about the broken glass is found at the scene. >> i'm thinking you too had an argument by this bush. >> no ma'am. no ma'am. my wife and i did not have an argument, anywhere that day. veilleux bergeron déjà vu suspected that was the best day of our there been trump in lives until that last moment. the mueller's marriage >> the best day of their lives? the aging clearly's expected suggestion fait accompli that there have been trouble in the mueller's marriage. dismissed piaget ch-47 a suggestion that mueller coolly dismissed. hubert >> so i could see after that many years the two of you grow and i think we made a hell of a good pair. you know >> and you did know quite out to deal with that.

>> or? how concerned the or? 27 years one could say that after 27 years we were looking forward to retirement. very sister been on the day she died that are more tractor than ever charlotte déjà vu we have a very >> and fred insisted that on the day she died, he funder more attractive than ever. >> she was beautiful, she knew that. and i would tell you that. she became more beautiful from being already beautiful in my eyes. cote she became more beautiful as she became older. and we had a very -- we had a very active sex life. we got along great. olivier and if you did an autopsy, bayou la batre brigitte clearly irritated the agent wasn't deterred scratches on his face today mostly died you would know that. >> what are you trying to tell me? >> that we made love that morning. >> but even as the seemingly confident fred grew -- bergeron >> the agent wasn't deterred. >> what about the scratches on that date that he got the day

that she died? montesquieu chargé d'affaires times, which i did fall. but it had to be from some of that. there's no other explanation. chargé d'affaires that's factual. chinon norad >> there's no altercation? >> no ma'am. taliban no ma'am. >> because -- >> look under her fingernails if you think that there's something on her fingernails missing from off my face. >> -- for now >> there was no altercation, it seems that none. was all the agents write it down. couldn't >> it seems like that's all document that they could. story arena do document fred story and watch him. jacques lead >> i'm sorry that -- >> time is 11:23, i'm stopping investigators the report. have their theories >> investigators had a very. do they have a case but did they have a case? that went home to texas where his family thought that would be the end of this entire fred went home to his family accident where he thought, this is the on the news bayou la batre but investigators haven't end of it. seen that >> his entire thing to all of this is that this is an not accident of telling the

truth. at all he wanted to help them see. that and >> but investigators hadn't if i seen that. can answer the not at all. questions and fred couldn't answer their they had that questions, they head back to concrete out that cottonwood creek and hope that the water the water could. should >> coming up -- cover-up that has always said that >> fred has always said that water carry blasting away water carried leslie away, to her body was found now investigators with that story to the test here where her body was found. now? we have to investigators put that story go back to the test. in charlotte >> we had to go back and tried to duplicate the water flow as trois-rivières it was on the evening of the event. this >> time went by, and the

mueller didn't hear anything from the colorado investigators. the kids assumed the sheriff and his team had finally decided to believe their dad too. >> we didn't hear from them for three years. after that, i had thought, you

know, i guess they're finished up their paperwork or whatever they needed to do. and then it was. over >> it wasn't over. >> we gotta go -- >> in fact, after fret interview with the cbi, investigators kept working. what drove them was a theory about a possible struggle. and that curious lack of injuries on leslie's body. but the sheriff knew they needed more. and he put the photo of leslie behind his desk. >> she was my constant reminder. that photo was what was the nudge that kept me going on this case. >> investigators decided to zero in on one aspect of fred story. was it really possible for her body to float from where he said she fell to where she was found? 150 feet and three waterfalls downstream? >> when we brought in the really top notch wonderful experts, we had to go back and try to duplicate the water flow as it was on the evening of the event. >> in august 2009, 15 months after leslie died, investigators headed up to cottonwood creek to conduct

some tests. they dressed a woman, around leslie size, in similar clothing to what she wore the day she died. and positioned the female standing on the rock ledge where fred said leslie landed before sliding into the water. >> the forensic people tried to float her from that location. where he alleged that she failed. the water did barely touch her body. so investigators put her in the water, to see what would happen. >> she was then moved into the very center of that stream. and it wouldn't. budge. finally, they went down to the pool where leslie was found. they then put her in a wet suit. which gives her buoyancy. she was able to float, but unassisted, she had a hard time making all the way to the lock where leslie's body had been pinned. this meant something big to the investigators. >> so, if you lied about what he told us about this ranging current turn her away from his view.

they tried it all again with a mannequin. and again, what they saw did not match what frederick called. in the deep purples, the mannequin sink. and it got stuck at the false. >> each time, she had to be physically moved or lifted over those waterfalls. the stream would not move her. >> did you feel like because this case was hard enough as it was that this testing had to be as perfect as it could be. yes we're dealing with circumstantial evidence. and circumstantial evidence is often to get your conviction. and we knew we had to get a lot of it. to investigators, these tests confirmed their suspicion. to them, fred story of her accident was impossible. >> they said that there was no way that her body ended up under that lock in less it had been placed there. the forces of nature would not have put her under there.

>> but, were these tests enough to put a full-fledged criminal case? the first person they'd have to convince was the local district attorney? >> he was quickly brought on board to what he was investigating. it turned out to be a hard sell. >> for whatever, reason we could not peak his interests. he never said no. but i didn't find the enthusiasm. >> even after those tests, the da wasn't ready to press charges. months went by, then a year. leslie's picture was still there right behind sheriff bruce's desk. but the investigators weren't about to shelf their case. >> are there things happening? are there wills turning? >> it was constantly on our radar screen that there were things yet to be done. but it much did run on. >> all of this time, fred was a free man in texas. his business ventures were moving on. and it's home we were all

saying that he got away with murder. >> but fred says that -- he may have under rested the county apartment. >> he was going to get some kind of bumping buffoon. and he was going to walk away on. us >> what do you say to someone who says, you're a small town sheriff who got tunnel vision. who focused on this rich outsider and like a dog with a bone, would not let go. >> i would say they were wrong. and i got thick skin. we did the right thing. >> they kept working and testing and poking around. not sure if it would ever amount to anything. >> as the years moved, on investigators were continuing to build a case against fred. though, his children were unaware that their father was under subs intense suspicion. they were trying hard to remember the happy moments with their mother and put the

colorado tragedy behind them. >> what became of the cabin that held so many memories for all of you? >> i think after the at sudden it wasn't going to be a happy place for us anymore. so that decided to sell the place shortly after mom died. >> i would imagine that that area is sort of bittersweet. now unfortunately, it's a beautiful area but just not for us. >> for the mueller children, life seem to be stabilizing. amanda was settling in with her husband. -- was in college. and alex, a high school student, was dreaming of a career in the navy. but as alex said, his dad was having a harder time of it. >> he married mom when he was 18 or 19, he depended so much on my mud there. and all of a sudden, he just cast adrift. >> unfortunately, the concern friend suggested he was ready to meet someone news. >> he finally started getting back on his feet. he started thinking about moving on. and he met wendy. wendy and fred were introduced through old family friends. >> she came into a very tough situation. but she also brought my dad out

of a very dark place. she saved his life, essentially, because he was so depressed. >> after two years as a widower, friend mary 20. >> she was really great and understanding and helped him move forward. >> a fresh start, such a long way from fred's tough grilling in colorado. he had good reason to think that it was all over. >> there were times where we were really frustrated. when they say that the wheels of justice turned slow, we felt like they were turning to slow this time. >> all the while, while the things were passing we were looking at leslie's photo in their office every day. >> yes i am. >> is that keeping you going, focused? >> absolutely. >> then, in 2011, 2000 -- two and a half years after her death. the new da took office, and the sheriffs lobbied him to take action. >> we were able to get 30 minutes of his time and say, here's what we're looking, at here is what we think occurred. he said, let's go. >> the da assembled a team to look into the case.

matthew durkan, a deputy colorado state attorney general came on board, he was later joined by ryan bradley, on loan from the boulder county da. >> what was your first impression? >> very tough case. >> they combed through the case file. fred statements, leslie's autopsy and all those tests conducted at the creek. >> this location was a breathtakingly beautiful case in the middle of nowhere. it was the perfect place to commit a murder where nobody would see. >> coming up -- >> authorities take a closer look at the scene. >> the defendants story did not match up. and for the mueller kids, a shock. >> i was just like, why? and i said all we can tell you that. >> a new chapter opens but nothing in this case will go the way anyone thinks. when dateline continues. people can get it bad. and for those who do get it bad, it may be because they have a high-risk factor. such as heart disease, diabetes, being overweight,

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