never give her, an apology. as for her boy, her pravin -- >> i miss hearing him call me. mommy -- yeah, i miss hearing his footsteps. >> but she thinks he would have been proud of her. >> i believe it was pravin's spirit who brought us all this week. he wanted us to know what happened to him and who did this to him. and we got it. we know who did this to pravin. that's all i needed to know. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> that's all for this edition of "dateline". i'm natalie morales. thank you for watching. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> i'm natalie morales and this is dateline. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> what's going on?

>> my husband -- he's been shot, help, please. >> she had mud and blood all over. >> panicked, saying her husband had been shot. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> a woman in distress, a murder in the dead of night. >> i'm trying. >> we were concerned for her. >> that's my husband's body. >> yes sir. >> did she say who shot her husband? >> that's all i saw. >> she said just a figure, who turned and ran into the darkness. >> we take you inside this mystery. >> we don't know if the suspect is still out. there >> it's nerve racking. >> who killed your husband? >> oh my god. >> a small town murder with a big time twist. >> she knew something that she wasn't telling? >> yes, sir. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> hello and welcome to dateline.

at six four and nearly 300 pounds, robert poynter looked menacing. but to love once he was a gentle giant. the selfless fire captain enjoyed helping others but no one could help him when he was murdered. an eyewitness offered only fuzzy details and yet investigators piece together the clues, bringing the deadly deed into sharp focus here is josh mankiewicz with "out of the darkness". ♪ ♪ ♪ >> 9-1-1. >> this friday night sounded like trouble. it was 10:47 pm, a woman calling 9-1-1 sounded desperate. >> calm down. what do you need? where are you at? >> ma'am, where are you at? >> she was on cell phone, somewhere on the outskirts of town. >> this is when county.

she's thinking on center 25 95. she's extremely out of breath. she sounds like she's running and she's saying, crying, saying she needs the police, she needs the police. >> reporter: seconds later, the call dropped out. >> hey, hello? ma'am, are you there? >> what was she running from? and what had happened on the sticks this country road? those questions would be answered quickly. >> all i can do is just cry because i thought, oh my god you, no. no, this cannot be true. >> reporter: it was the y and the secrets that answer dragged out of the darkness that were so much harder to comprehend. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> when you get a call, what is it usually? >> i mean, just like any other place, theft, criminal mischief, reckless drivers. >> reporter: not that night, not on september 9th, 2016.

according to the running, gasping woman on the phone, someone had been shot. it was happening in roy's city, texas, 31 miles from dallas. >> if somebody is shot you are running -- >> reporter: the officer rushed to the scene. his dash cam, rolling. >> what's going on? >> my husband, he's been shot in the head, help, please. >> the woman's name was tracy pointer. evan stuck me to the road where he found her. she seemed frantic. she said her husband had been shot. i got her up, put her back in my car -- >> have a seat, have a seat. stay right here. >> and the shooter could be out here somewhere? >> yes, yes, so i put her in the safety of my car, and i ran down the road to find the victim. the sheriff's deputy pulled up at the same time, ran a half mile down kelley road 25 95.

>> that is a long way on foot in the dark. >> and the dark it is, yes. >> and you have no idea whether the shooter is behind one of these trees are waiting for you, or running away, or what -- >> reporter: halfway down the road, and abandoned a pick up truck kept going. >> we continued running, and up and down this road, and and we could see headlights and the treeline, and we made it around the curve. our weapons were drawn, we gave orders, let me see your hands. headlights, what's inside the vehicle was unclear until we got closer. and once we got closer to the vehicle and saw nobody around it, suspect wise, we saw victim inside the car. >> reporter: a man, slumped over and the driver's seat. he'd been shot in the head. >> it was evident that he was deceased. >> reporter: his partner shane meek was also called on the scene by dispatcher. >> and i make a joke to her,

and i said, what do you have, a murder? and she said, yeah, i think so. and i was like, i've gotta go, because it doesn't happen that often. >> reporter: the last murder in these parts was years ago. >> and i got a response, i had to respond pretty rapidly to the scene of knowing what we had. >> reporter: he called for backup because the shooter or shooters remained on the loose. >> everybody was on point as far as keeping their heads on a swivel because we didn't know who or how many people were out there. >> reporter: and while meek waited for royse cities loan detective to arrive, he took chacey two paramedics who responded to the scene. >> that's all right, calm down. very slow. so, was anyone else out there with you. >> no, i was out there by myself -- >> was it your husband? >> what's his name? >> robert -- >> somewhere in all of this, she'd hit the ground with blood and mud on her. >> we were concerned for her and wanted to make sure she was taken care of and find out as

much in this quickly what happened. >> reporter: and all the cops kept watching the sky because -- this is texas and the heavens were about to open. >> rainy weather can damage or completely get rid of possible evidence when the storm is moving fast. >> the race was on to uncover any clues the currency might hold. what would investigators find? >> coming up -- >> chacey's purse was still on the full board. his personal cell phone was still in the center console, loaded in blood. big blue for us, the weapon was a shotgun, a shotgun turned murder weapon. >> reporter: so, where was it? -- when dateline continues. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪breeze driftin' on by...♪ ♪...you know how i feel.♪ you don't have to take... [coughing]

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♪ ♪ ♪ >> what's going on? >> my husband -- it was around the corner. he's been shot in the head, around the corner. plays -- >> reporter: it was the worst crime royse city had seen in a very long time. a men shot to death on a muddy road. his wife, standing close by. now, she was in an ambulance, and police were trying to piece together what had happened. who their victim was, and who might have wanted him dead? >> i don't know -- i don't know. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: sporting his

signature mustache, and a 64, close to 300 pound physique, bob poynter good look intimidating. to those who knew him best, he was the complete opposite. his mom, candy -- >> he just didn't have any bone in his body. >> it was your favorite? >> so they say. >> what do you say? >> possibly probably. >> reporter: bob was candies middle child, between two sisters, jennifer and cheryl. >> it was not not confrontational. it was very non confrontational. >> he speaks all the time. >> translator: >> reporter: he liked helping people, maybe that's why bob became a firefighter, a well respected one. he swallowed smoke for 19 years. and he ended up as a captain and the university park department outside of dallas. and from his firehouse, from the rig, even from the fires,

bob kept in very close touch with his mom. >> we had that report of 10 to 15 calls a day. >> 10 to 15 calls a day? >> yes, honestly. >> mama's boy? >> yeah, truly. i adored him. >> reporter: so did his fellow firefighters. bob poynter got it done. he even helped in louisiana after hurricane katrina, and he always came home unscathed, professionally speaking anyway. bob's personal life was also the story of a man who ran toward trouble. bob married young and had two kids. after 19 years, that marriage fell apart, expensive lee so. around then is when bob meant chacey mormon, who was much younger. >> i think was infatuated with her. he thought, somebody 22 years old, you know, like he was in his 40s. and, you know -- >> a flame. >> a flame, basically, yeah. >> reporter: it wasn't a flame.

bob married chacey. it was a fresh start for bob, with this woman born and raised in a small town of texas. >> i mean, she just had a heart of gold. i mean, she loved everybody. >> reporter: ashley met chacey in middle school, back when royse city was just a speck on the map. >> it was nothing, nothing here. we had jack-in-the-box, and we had one cast a shun, and that was it. >> farm town? >> farm town, and just country. >> quiet? >> very quite. >> people didn't lock their doors? >> no. >> reporter: ashley and chacey lost touch after high school, then reconnected when ashley noticed chacey's kick business on facebook, something chacey did in addition to her job at an office. >> and she did it on her spare time, and she enjoyed doing it, and she was amazing at what she did. >> what made her so good at that? >> just her being so crafty and her imagination was everything. >> reporter: ashley got to know

chacey's husband, bob, and the couples young daughter named addison, who helped her mom decorate cakes. >> and it was kind of something that her and addison did together, as well. >> reporter: however, if chacey and addison spent plenty of time together, chacey and the husband she called robert did not. what >> did she say about robert? >> he was never there. he always worked. >> well, he was a fire captain. >> right. >> and he worked a lot of shifts? >> yes, he did, a lot. >> that was a problem? >> yes. we'll >> reporter: try to make things right. in early september 2016, he took his family on a trip to mexico. it was a chance to reconnect. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: six days later, bob poynter was dead, and not in a fire. detective michael berke drove out to county road 2595, to investigate his first career homicide. >> i grabbed my say equipment,

i grab night investigation equipment, and mostly at that time, it was just a camera, a flashlight. >> and off you go to the scene. >> yes, sir. >> reporter: about halfway down the road was that truck, later identified as bob's. then, another discovery -- >> flashlights on the path, to make sure we don't trip, or fall on one of the deeper it's. and it was a reflection in the water. and one of the puddles, and upon a closer look, it showed it was a cell phone. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: it was chacey's cell phone. she apparently dropped it in the mud when she fell. it's why her 9-1-1 call was cut off. further down the mighty road and around the bend was chacey's jeep, with bob poynter 's body behind the wheel. burke took a close look. >> did you see rob? >> no, chase birth was still on the board of the vehicle. his personal cell phone was still in the council covered in

blood. >> reporter: the fatal shot had apparently been fired at close range. >> the weapon was a shotgun -- and it was that the warning from the shotgun whistle on the victim. >> reporter: there was no weapon on the scene, so who shot bob? and why? >> coming up -- >> just, just brief for me. >> that's my husband's blood on me. >> reporter: what had happened on that desolate road? chacey tell us the dramatic story. >> i heard a shot, and the jeep started rolling. i saw a shadow. that's all i so. >> reporter: -- when dateline continues. in continues.

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♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: chacey poynter had just witnessed her husband being shot. she could barely breathe. >> breathe through your nose, slow your breathing down, concentrate on that. >> reporter: even as chacey was getting hoped up on oxygen, officer meek needed to speak with her, while everything was still fresh in her mind. meek's body cam was rolling. >> okay, tell us what happened? >> reporter: chacey told meek she was on her way to meet bob at the local jack-in-the-box. >> and when he texted me, i told him i was 30 miles away. >> reporter: their daughter addison was in a friends house that evening, so it would be just the two of them. >> he texted me, he told me it was a long three minutes. when he texted me, i came

around the curve, and i went off the road. >> reporter: chacey, still visibly shaken, said her jeep got stuck on that muddy road. so, bob, already at the jack-in-the-box, drove out to help her. but when he got there -- >> he said, i don't think i can make it down the road. so, we walked, we walked up here, and we walked back, back to my cheap. >> reporter: she said bop jumped to the driver seat and pulled her jeep out. >> and i was standing right at the back of it, and i want to go get it, and i just heard a shot, and as he started rolling, i don't see anything. i saw a shadow. that's all i saw. >> reporter: she went to bob, she said, and yelled his name, no answer. and then, she said, in a panic, she ran. >> i don't know what to do. >> reporter: chacey asked about her husband. >> is he okay? >> reporter: under the bright lights, inside the ambulance, chacey could see her own arms. >> that's my husband's blood.

>> just breathe for me, okay? >> just breathe for me. >> that's my husband's blood on me. >> given my training experience, i need to not her let her focus on that. so i would ask are separate questions to redirect her focus. >> reporter: officer meek documented chacey's injuries and the visible blood on her, and once the paramedics released her, meek escorted chacey back to the police car, where she seemed to open up. >> it was -- >> reporter: she described ongoing marital problems. >> we don't spend a lot of time together. we only stay with each other for a couple of days. >> why? >> because -- >> do you argue? >> it's because we didn't don't spend all a lot time together because of his shifts. >> reporter: chacey said they talked about divorce, and bob had threatened to take addison, if it went through. >> my daughter is not -- >> why would your husband would be trying to take your daughter from you? >> because he knows that's what's gonna hurt me the most. he knows that's what's gonna

make me sick. he's gotta go for that. >> reporter: she said that they're trying to work things out. >> we just got back to mexico this week. we had a really good time. >> okay. >> and things were fine. >> reporter: that did not last, she said. soon after returning from mexico, their marriage started heading south again. she told bob she needed space, and so chacey went to see a friend, michael garza. he knew about chacey's troubled marriage, and had offered his home to her whenever she needed it. that night, friday, chacey texted bob, and they made plans to talk at a familiar spot. >> we stop and talked. and when he comes home late from work -- so, i asked him -- >> reporter: and bob agreed. want to still work out.i he said you promised that? i said, yeah, i promise. >> reporter: that promise now

permanently unfulfilled because bob poynter was no more. and chacey, the only witness, said she did not get a good look at the shooter. >> i don't see him, i don't know. i was looking at my phone, trying to call 9-1-1, and then when i was there, there was nobody there. he ran. i don't want you to think i'm crazy. >> no, i need to understand what you saw, okay? >> he is tall, tall. and dark -- that's how i describe. i didn't see any firearms. >> reporter: naturally, meek wondered about chacey's friend, michael garza. the cops looked up his facebook profile, and there he was, pulling a shotgun. good michael garza be the shooter? >> but then, she starts talking about, he's on a long haul truck driver and wasn't in town, so that kind of threw a wrench in that scenario. so then you start to think, what else could it be? >> reporter: meek was not sure.

he did know this -- >> she was giving me too much information. she was telling me things that ultimately did not make sense for what we were there for. >> reporter: and he noticed something odd. >> when i wasn't talking to her, she would calm down. but as soon as i start talking to her, she did upset again, and start hyperventilating. the more i spoke to her, the more it seems that, like an act. >> reporter: was it all an act? or was there something else going on? only one way to find out, they escorted chacey back to the police station, and dug deeper into her story. and that was sometimes as hard to follow as county road 2595. >> coming up -- >> you are the stable length distance away from somebody taking a shotgun, pushing it right against your husband's head, and boom! boom, and you're telling me, you see nothing?

you see nothing! >> reporter: the fire captain's fields to hate. >> i don't buy it. i think you are full of [bleep] -- >> reporter: when dateline continues. ♪ ♪ ♪ for a nunormal with nucala. nucala is a once-monthly add-on treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma that can mean less oral steroids. 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. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your asthma specialist about a nunormal with nucala. mom, look! a clown! ♪♪ if ocean spray can make a juice drink with only one gram of sugar, then i cran overcome my fear of clowns! hi. (screams) ♪♪ what will you do with all that power? ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year. ♪ get fast relief of your worst allergy symptoms, including nasal congestion, with powerful claritin d,

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or live chat at calhope.org today. here is what's happening. five memphis police officers were fired friday after a traffic stop that preceded the death of terry nichols. the internal investigation found they violated apartment policies related to the use of intensive force, a duty to intervene, and duty to render aid. the justice department found six additional items with classified markings during a search of president biden's home friday. the search was prompted by the white house, and not the justice department, according to white house official, and a source familiar with the matter. now, back to dateline. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ matter now, back to dateline. >> welcome back to dateline. i am natalie morales.

chacey poynter told investigators that her husband, robert had just pulled her jeep from the mud when he was shot dead. by who? she couldn't or wouldn't say. now, chacey was headed to an interrogation room, where a canine detective was determined to get to the truth. back to josh mankiewicz with "out of the darkness". ♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: royse city detective michael berke might have been working his first homicide, but you already knew this, something about chacey poynter's story did not ring true. >> she gives a shadowy figure when dark loads. she says her husband doesn't went away. >> a shadowy figure waiting out there in the dark on this remote road? >> correct, it did not make a lot of sense. >> reporter: burke did not challenge her right away. he wanted to learn more about the bumpy road, and that was chacey and bob's marriage. she already told police she and bob had problems.

to burke, she revealed much more. >> i've got random bruises from robert, and you could see him grabbing me. he's done this to me for seven years. >> she says she is in a marriage full of domestic abuse? >> yes, sir. >> and violence? >> yes, sir. >> she made comments that he had thrown her up against the wall. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: the rest of her story was by now as familiar as the summary run. the planned meeting at jack-in-the-box, her jeep getting stuck, and then, chacey hearing, but not saying, the shot that killed bob. >> and i put jeep in park, and then i touched his face, and i yelled his name, and then i put my hand away, and there was blood all over my hand. >> reporter: detective burke zeroed in on key detail. if chacey touched bob the way she has said, what -- the blood should have dropped down from her hand. it did not. >> this street, the street right there, you see how it's betters up your arm?

>> yes. >> reporter: chacey had a pattern of blood on her arms, her shirt, a little on her face, which indicated to work that chacey had to be standing very close to bob, when the fatal shot was fired. chacey denied it. >> that's not from -- i was not next to him. >> i was not next to him. when i touched him, i had blood running down my arm, and then i fell into a mud puddle. we >> reporter: burke pressed her, how could be she so close and not see the shooter? >> you can see anybody standing there? >> no! >> i don't buy it. i think you are full of [bleep]. i want you to tell me the truth. i want you to tell me who pulled the trigger. >> reporter: this is the point where a lot of people would stop talking and ask for a lawyer. but that would not be chacey poynter. she kept answering questions including about her friend, the truck driver. >> how does she describe her relationship with michael garza. >> she started out stating that they had mutual friends incumbent on facebook. she noticed his truck and sent

him a message on facebook, saying, i like your truck. >> reporter: remember, hours before bob was shot, chacey said she went to garza's home, and that was telling bob she needed space. she apparently did not tell bob there were also some other needs. >> michael and i ended up having six while i was there. >> reporter: what's more, chacey revealed that garza new chase e. and bob were supposed to be that night, and garza was jealous. >> he said, if i see him kissing, you i'm gonna come [bleep] -- >> reporter: so, did michael garza kill mike poynter, chacey had told officer meek, that by the time the murder occurred, he was driving his truck, so you couldn't have been the shooter. now, with detective burke, she seemed less sure of that. >> i don't know if he did it. i don't know that. >> reporter: she insisted she didn't see garza on county road

2495. >> you are this table length distance away. somebody taking the shotgun, and pushing it right up against your husband's head, and boom! boom! and are you telling me you see nothing? you see nothing! >> reporter: then, she admitted there was something she did see, at garza's house that evening. >> he had a camel gun. >> a camel gun. how big is this camo gun? >> a camo saga, like the one garza is holding and that facebook photo. >> her story change multiple times. >> as if she's making it up as she goes along, or she is remembering additional details. >> it went along the lines of sheer law is the story that she provided wasn't good enough, and she was gonna give a little bit more, hoping that i'd bite off on that and leave her alone. >> reporter: he did not, and after two hours, chacey spilled it. >> who killed your husband? who shot robert? >> [silence]

>> mike. >> can you say that loud for me, please? >> mikey did. >> chacey said she and garza had discussed roughing up her abusive husband. >> that way he could get a taste of his own medicine. but i never -- i never asked him to -- to kill him. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: according to chacey, what actually played out on county road 2595 was michael garza's plan, and it was all his own. >> and then, the plan to kill robert was planned today? >> he had talked about it, yes. and then he -- >> and what exactly did he say was the plan? >> he told me he was gonna make it look like a robbery. >> reporter: chacey said it wasn't her idea, but she went along. >> he told me -- he told me to make him go down a dirt road. >> garza told you this?

>> he wanted him to drive out there. [crying] >> i'm sorry. >> reporter: chacey all bob to tell her her jeep was stuck, and bob the man who was always ready to help, drove over to assist his wife, with no idea that michael garza was lying in wait for him. chacey said at the last moment, she tried to save her husband. >> i yelled, stop! and he didn't -- he didn't even have -- [crying] he didn't even have time to react. and he shocked -- oh my god, he shot him. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: and a panic, she said she called 9-1-1, and ran, only to have garza stopped her. >> he pushed me down. he picked up my phone.

he ended the call. and he threw it down in front of me. and i was on my hands and knees in the mud. >> reporter: she may have tried to stop it. she definitely call for help. and nevertheless, chacey but poynter was arrested for conspiracy to commit murder. hours later, bob's sister, jennifer, got a call from her mom. >> she was screaming, bobby is dead, bobby is dead. >> reporter: jennifer was stunned. >> and then, her next words were, and chacey is in custody. and i thought -- >> wow. >> and i said, what? she was hysterical. and it was horrible. >> i thought he died. >> no, i think he died at 47. >> that's too soon. >> 47 years old, young man still, it's so much more to live -- it will be more lives to save. >> reporter: a murdered son, a daughter-in-law arrested.

it was all too much to take, and it was not over. a manhunt was underway for the mysterious michael garza, a possible killer at large, whose world was shrinking by the minute. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> coming up -- >> i am officer meek. >> reporter: inside the high stakes search for michael garza. >> i know i did -- [inaudible] >> we don't want it to get ugly for him anymore than we do for us, right? >> reporter: -- when dateline continues. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ on top of the worlddddd!!! before advil. advil targets pain at the source of inflammation. when pain comes for you, come back fast with advil liqui-gels. ♪♪ ready to feel what it's like? when you can du more with less asthma. it's possible with dupixent. dupixent is not for sudden breathing problems. it's an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma.

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investigating the murder of robert poynter search for their prime suspect, but michael garza, they knew he may have already climbed in his big rig and left texas, never to return. >> is it sheila? >> yes. >> i'm officer meek. >> reporter: they turn to his family for help. >> we would like him to walk in with a smile on his face and let us do our job. >> -- i don't have a son that's evil like that. >> we don't want it to get our ugly for him anymore than we do for us. >> reporter: it never came to that. two days after the murder, garza turned himself in. >> when he comes in, does he have an attorney? >> no sir, he does not. he turned himself in, i tried

to speak to him, and he did not wish to speak to me. >> reporter: a few days after garza surrendered, bob's fire company laid him to rest with full honors. chacey couldn't make it to that service. she and her lover were sitting in the hunt county jail. then a month after garza turned himself in, a local farmer made a discovery. that too was recorded on police body cameras. >> plowing his field, getting ready to grow some crops. and saw something pulled out of his fields and it ended up being a camouflage shirt, and a camouflage shotgun. >> traceable to anyone involved in the case? >> the serial number came back to michael garza's brother. >> so conceivable that that's your murder weapon? >> yes sir. >> michael garza commits the murder and ditches it as he runs away? >> yes sir. >> reporter: it would seem to support chacey's story, that garza had been the trigger man. she already told police that

she saw a camo -- at garza's house, plus the cell phone has pinned near the crime scene the night of the murder. believed was just following his heart. >> he was infatuated with her. >> reporter: detective burke picked up on that, the night he interviewed chacey at the station. he spoke with her about it while he prepared to swab chacey's hands for gunshot residue. >> i believe he's infatuated with you, obsessed with you. i don't know what you've truly told him. >> he had talked about us, you know, trying to live together. and i kept angling him, i don't want to live with anybody. >> okay. >> and when he -- when he told me he loved me, i kept telling him, i was like -- and i was, honestly?

infatuated? yes. as soon as he wakes up in the morning, he's texting me. >> reporter: oh yes, the text messages. thousands of them. retrieved from chacey's cell phone that was found in the mud. i just worry about you. i would burn the world down over you. these texts from garza, full of misspellings, were in response to chacey's complaints about her abusive husband. and they seemed particularly damning. your problems are my problems. and i'll bleep shoot his ass. and this -- i rock an orange jumpsuit. michael garza actually said in a text to chacey poynter, i rock in orange jumpsuit? >> that wasn't very smart of him to say that. but when you see what he's trying to do, he's trying to be her protector.

>> reporter: michael garza may have been a fool for love but he was now accused of murder. in july 2018, he went on trial. garza took the stand in his own defense and offered a novel alibi for the night of the murder. he told the court he couldn't have killed bob poynter for one simple reason. his alibi is that he is not committing a murder, he's milking a cow. >> he's milking oreo the cow. >> reporter: it took less than two hours for the jury to meet a verdict of guilty. he is sentenced to 99 years in prison. we couldn't find a full-length photo of garza but he looks as good in orange as you'd expect. the prosecution then settled on its second defendant in this case, chacey poynter. she had led police to garza and said she never wanted to kill

her husband. chacey insisted she tried to prevent that. >> i yelled stop. oh my god. he shot him. i told him to stop. >> reporter: prosecutors didn't buy it. they raised the charge from conspiracy to murder. because, once again, chacey's a verbal account was portrayed betrayed by her digital one. >> reporter: coming up -- >> a lot of it was for sex. >> reporter: more man in chases life? secrets. >> she was looking for someone to do her dirty work. >> absolutely. >> reporter: who would the jury believe? >> my heart dropped, i was putrefied. wind "dateline" continues. " continues. i have moderate to severe crohn's disease. now, there's skyrizi. ♪ things are looking up ♪ ♪ i've got symptom relief ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪ ♪

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blocking most trackers all forf your search history is never tracked, so it can't be shared. and when you leave search, duckduckgo helps keep companies from watching you as you brows. join tens of millions of people making the easy switch by downloading the app today. duckduckgo, privacy simplified. met, i mean. ... i want to strangle her. i really did. >> reporter: bob poynter the's mom had to wait nearly three years to see her daughter-in-law stand trial for her son's murder. when it finally happened, bob seem to be the one on trial. >> i've got rain and bruises from robert.

>> reporter: the defense argued, whatever lies chacey may have told police, she told the truth about this. she was a battered wife. >> it could be him describing me. he's done this to me for seven years. >> reporter: robert poynter, all six feet four inches, of him was a bowl of a man, often a raging one, implied the defense. because bob took testosterone prescribed by a doctor. >> chacey sister did believe her abuse. >> she told me that he was abusive. >> not just mentally but physically? >> physically, yes. >> she also told police that she shared her trouble with someone who decided to take matters into his own hands, michael garza. he and he alone, argued his attorneys, killed robert poynter. it was a murder that was chacey tried to stop.

>> i didn't want him to die. i yelled for him to stop. >> reporter: the defense told the jury that chases action at the scene proved her innocence. she called 9-1-1. and flagged down those officers to help her husband. >> what's going on? >> my husband! >> it made my blood boil. i was shaking, i think, literally, when i heard this stuff. >> reporter: bob's family said the defense case for no resemblance to reality. prosecutors agreed. >> is there any credible evidence at all that chacey was poynter abused by her husband? >> no. >> there is no er visit? >> no 9-1-1 calls. >> no previous law enforcement at that address? >> no one else saw robert poynter even get mad. he's been described is a big teddy bear. >> reporter: on the other hand, they did find plenty of evidence that chacey wanted bob gone. >> she's fishing around for multiple men to commit this murder for her.

>> reporter: that's right. it turned out key michael garza wasn't chacey's only lover. in the month up to the murder, she had been juggling three other boyfriends. detective burke brought them in for questioning. >> a lot of it was for sex. >> reporter: along with frequent meet up for sex, two of her lovers told police, chacey also shared the story of abuse that she claimed with suffered at the hands of robert poynter. >> she did tell me that he heard her a lot and that there was a lot of abuse going on. but he would never leave marks because he didn't want no trace. >> she would meet these guys, they'd be interested. and she would immediately start telling her story, right? my husband is beating me, i'm in this terrible marriage, i feel threatened. but... maybe there's something here with you and me? >> exactly, that's her mo.

she plays the victim and manipulates. >> reporter: among chacey's stable of men were a couple of firefighters. they were not, however, from her husband fire company. that was apparently where chacey drew the line. to one of those firefighters, a guy named danny, she texted this about her husband. i wish he'd run out of aaron afire. to another, named sean, she texted, i only have one way out of this and it's not going to happen anytime soon. minutes later, he texted. yeah, not an option. and then this exchange. i hate him so much, chase he texted sean. his response? shoot him. in she replied, i don't look good in orange. >> she's looking for someone besides the three that she had been involved with, and michael garza comes along. >> she wanted someone to do her dirty work?

>> absolutely. >> the same day, bob was traveling home from that vacation in mexico, she texted garza. me more than anyone wants him. gone garza's reply? well, it can happen. before their trip to mexico, bob had already suspected that chacey was unfaithful. >> and you say, chase he is losing a lot of weight. but she's not doing it for me. >> really? that's not a good sign. it was when they return from the trip that bob started taking trips steps to end their marriage. he contacted his attorney via facebook. not divorce hopefully? it's looking like it. i have tried and tried but i think i want to file first and keep custody. do you think she seeing someone else? i kind of do you think so but a lot of lies lately and i'm tired of it. prosecutor said, divorce was the last thing that chacey wanted because the couple had a

prenuptial agreement. bob had insisted on it. and so chacey believed she wouldn't get a dime if they split. >> over six figure income from university park as a way fire captain. in addition, he works a lot of side jobs. there is no way he would be able to support herself. >> so that? works >> that works. >> on the other hand, if obstinately died, chacey would be flush with cash. months before the murder, she convinced bob to make her the beneficiary of his life insurance policy. >> $680,000 in a lump sum. okay? >> you think robert essentially signed his death certificate the day he changed his insurance beneficiary? >> absolutely. >> reporter: prosecutors believe that win chacey found out that bob had made contact with his attorney, she had to move quickly. >> she had been planning to kill him.

>> so the divorce was to push her foot on the accelerator? >> absolutely. >> reporter: prosecutors said that the murder was chacey's and not garza's, and all about the money. that's why, just before trial, they raised the charge against her again to capital murder. now the jury had to decide, if they found she killed bob for money, the sentence would be a life without parole. but if they believe any of chases varied stories, they could set her free. when the verdict is announced, are you looking at her? >> yeah, we all were. >> what did she do? >> she was standing there, looking down, the firemen were all there. we all just clinched our hands like this. the >> reporter: verdict? guilty of murder. but crucially, the jury did not find that chacey did it for the money, which could mean a lighter sentence. >> my heart dropped. >> mine too. >> i felt. sick >> i thought it was very, very clear that she did it for money. and i was putrefy that he was going to get, like, ten years.

>> reporter: the jury didn't do that. they sentenced chacey to life in prison with the possibility of parole. she'll be 59 before she can be released. >> she has to live with what she did. i don't know. >> you have to live with it too. >> it took me a long time to get over bobby's phone calls that weren't coming through anymore. >> reporter: her phone still rings but now it's the firefighters who worked with her son. >> he always told me, mom, if anyone anything ever happens to me, you will have a second family. >> i said, really bobby? he said, you have no idea. >> he was right. >> truly. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline" i'm, natalie morales. thank you for watching. watching