english. >> she used to say, then this afternoon i go store. and i said anna, go to the store. she says oh, it is not necessary, it is so silly, not necessary. i go store. [laughs] >> and anna will continue posthumously in the role of news to jerry, the poet. >> she is not a dream, she is as real as can be. i knew at the moment her wings covered me. she flew from afar, and awakened new site. and only i see her, my angel of light. of light. of light. >> i'm really sorry, i understand why they hate me. anyone that has loved him for the role that i played, i am

deeply deeply sorry. >> it was right out of a soap opera. the husband, the wife, the affair with a local dentist. >> i just don't think of myself as someone, why would he be interested in me, you know? >> was it passionate? >> yes. >> but the script turned dark when her husband turned up dead. >> everything was a blur, she said she found him in his car outside his gym. words like heart attack, and and tourism. >> we all assumed it was a health related death. >> 40-year-old men just don't drop dead. >> it's just too many coincidences, shall we say. adding up. >> they believed it was poisoning. >> someone else was there with him that morning. >> this is now a murder investigation. >> 100%. >> you are hearing about a love triangle. >> she admitted that she was having an affair. >> i had nothing to do with his death. >> the plot was just beginning to thicken. >> oh my god, this can't be happening now. ♪ ♪ ♪

>> a new love makes the world seem a little brighter. >> a very smooth, i want to say a almost sexy way about him. >> makes the heartbeat a little faster. >> was it passionate? >> yeah. >> but when that love is forbidden. >> i was like why, how, how can that be? how could i am not have known? >> a family would wonder if other secrets maybe hidden. >> why would you do this, how could you be so irresponsible. >> the whole thing was an atrocity, it wasn't a tragedy, it was an atrocity. >> it all began just a couple of hours north of new york city. a photographer's dream called the hudson valley. rolling hills, on the majestic river.

and quaint small towns. >> easy good girl. >> for linda it was the perfect place to raise a family. >> i grew up in --, small schools. yeah, just involved in sports. >> everyone seems friendly, it seems kind of -- >> a small home town, you know. >> it's where linda lived with her husband tom and their family. a loving home where they celebrated birthdays and holidays. thanksgiving, 2011, was a busy time. visiting relatives, over eating, and watching football. >> you just love the game of football, he was a giants fan from a kid. >> and you took comfort to his first game? >> i did, i have pictures of him like standing down by the field. look at me! a kid in a candy store. it was great. >> both linda and tom had been married before, but this felt like the real deal. what was it about tom's personality that made him so

lovable? and maybe you love him? >> he had a shyness about him that was sweet. he had like a kind of shy flirty kind of way. it was just adorable. >> when it came time to tie the knot, they rolled the dice and eloped. >> little white chapel? >> a chapel. it was beautiful, flowers, music, really beautiful. >> unusual, you know walking through a casino. and someone has a wedding gown on. >> the only guess where linda's parents and tom's mom and dad dad, marie and tom senior. >> did they seem like a good match? >> i think they fit, i think they fit. >> both tom and linda had kids from their previous marriages, but a few years later, they welcomed a child of their own. ryan. >> he would say all along throughout the pregnancy, i don't care if it's a girl or boy i will love it either way. i knew deep down he wanted a boy. and so when he was delivered, and he saw it was a boy.

he cried, he was so happy. really happy. >> did you immediately see a relationship made in heaven? >> absolutely. >> they were a blended family, his, mind, and our, as they like to call it. linda had a daughter who lived with her and tom. while tom's two kids from his first marriage lived in colorado. brad and julian. >> i grew up knowing that my step siblings were my siblings. it never felt not normal. you know, it felt like at dad's house that was my house. >> and despite the distance, tom was very close to his oldest kids. >> i was a daddy's girl definitely, no doubt about that. he always made sure that whenever brad and i were in town that we would have fun. like we wouldn't just, you know, be sitting around. we always had fun plans. >> jillian and her dad talked on the phone all the time. thanksgiving weekend, 2011 was no exception.

>> and i remember we hung up and we blew a kiss over the phone like we used to when i was ten and we hadn't in years. i thought that was cute. >> and when the weekend of family and football was over. it was monday, november 28th. and a lucky for tom the new york giants were on tv. >> we stayed up and watched the football game, the giants football game. i went to bed. >> the next morning as usual, he was up and out of the house before linda and of the kids were even awake. >> he normally got up to go to the gym around five for 30. and give me a kiss on the forehead. >> after working out like clockwork he almost went straight to his job as a physical therapy supervisor. he and linda usually texted soon after. but when linda sent him a message that morning. >> i didn't get a response, and usually tom is good at responding. and i was getting a little concerned. but maybe he's in a meeting, maybe he's, you know, whatever, tied up. >> she wasn't really worried until her phone brian, it was a friend of tom's name gill. >> i got a phone call from gill, and he said no i haven't heard from tom either. but he didn't show up at work. >> what's going through your mind, is there concern?

or maybe he's at the gym? >> tom would never, missed a morning of work. >> linda jumped in her car to retrace her husband steps. hoping to find him. she never imagined that search would lead where it did. coming up, linda's heartbreaking story. >> i saw his car. i was like, oh my god. >> tom had gone to the gym. in fact, he was still there. >> i was like wake up, what are you doing, they are looking for you at work? i was just like oh my god, this can't be happening now. >> when dateline continues. my husband and i have never been more active. shingles doesn't care. i go to spin classes with my coworkers.

good for you, shingles doesn't care. because no matter how healthy you feel, your risk of shingles sharply increases after age 50. but shingrix protects. proven over 90% effective, shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. shingles doesn't care but, shingrix protects. shingrix is now zero dollars for almost everyone. ask your doctor about shingrix today. ♪ ♪ to all the chevy silverado owners out there.

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then own it support your immune system with a potent blend of nutrients and emerge your best every day with emergen-c with a majority of my patience with sensitivity, i see irritated gums and weak enamel. sensodyne sensitivity gum & enamel relieves sensitivity, helps restore gum health, and rehardens enamel. i'm a big advocate of recommending things that i know work. >> tom coleman wasn't the kind

of guy who didn't return calls from his wife. and he always showed up for work. his family said he loved his family as a physical therapist. >> he was always dedicated in terms of his work. he loved it so much, he went to get his doctorate in physical therapy. >> we'll see the type of parent person who liked helping people? >> he did. elderly people just loved him. he was such a sweetheart. >> so, that morning, when tom went mia, linda was frantic. she jumped in her car to look for him. >> usually goes to the gym. then to work. so, i went to the gym. i pulled in and, at first, i don't see his car. as i pulled further through, i saw his car. so, i just pulled up alongside. i looked over. and i was like, oh, my god. he was laying down. i thought, he fell asleep. like, he looks like he is sleeping. i jumped out of the car and i

opened the door and i jumped in. and i said, what do you doing? they're looking for your work? >> but tom wouldn't wake up. linda called 9-1-1. >> all-star 9-1-1, what is the dress of your emergency? >> i'm in -- i'm in the parking lot by planet fitness in kingston. i was looking for my husband, and i found him in his car. and i don't know if he's breathing. >> what did you think had happened to him? >> at that point? maybe had a migraine and took some migraine medicine and lay down. >> he's not waking up, while you're waiting for the ambulance. no matter what you're doing... >> his hands were really, really cold. and then i realized that his nails were blue. >> you've got a son somebody. >> ma'am. are you able to check to see if his chest is going up and down? >> i don't think it is. >> paramedic, tim missile, was one of the first responders. >> i believe we were here within three minutes of the call. >> what did you see a soon as you arrived in the parking lot? >> mr. coleman's car was parked here, and mrs. coleman car was

parked here. mrs. coleman was on the side. she was very distraught. >> did you attempt to resuscitate him? >> i did not. after my quick examination, i could tell that there was nothing that we could do. he had been deceased for a while. >> the paramedics just stood there. and i was like, what are you doing? like, help him. get in the car and help him. and i just stood there. they were like... no. i was shocked. like, can you at least try? you know, the one just said, he's gone. and he did. he just felt so cold. >> did you feel like, this is so unfair? >> it just, like oh, my god. this can't be happening right now. it was now. >> shortly after, tell us tom's friend gayle called linda and rushed to the scene. that's him off to the right. collapsing in grief as he learns the news. meanwhile, first responders and arriving officers process the

scene. >> anything unusual about his body? did he look peaceful? >> his trousers were opened just a little bit. his collars were undone. his shirt was pulled out, he was reclined back in his car. it felt like he took a nap and did wake up. there is a presumption that it may have been a heart attack, cardiac event, something had happened. he was a large man. >> but since tom's death was what police call an unattended death, there had to be an investigation. detective mike thomas and lieutenant carl berardelli worked the case for the all-star police department. they took note about how linda, the wife, was reacting at the scene. >> her demeanor, was it something you would expect from the wife making a discovery like this? >> 100 percent. 100 percent. there was nothing out of the ordinary with her. reaction, her words, it was more hysteria. >> police escorted linda down

to the station to ask her questions about tom's help. >> she had mentioned to us that he had hypertension. he had sleep apnea which are you're not familiar with sleep apnea, unfortunately, they ultimately stopped breathing at certain times during the night. >> sounds dangerous. >> absolutely. he was diagnosed by his doctors having a severe case of sleep apnea. >> did you kind of think that this was going to be an open and shut case once you got the autopsy results? >> absolutely. that, unfortunately, was not the outcome the next day. >> instead, the results would turn this tragedy into a tangled mystery. >> coming up. what's had happened to tom coleman? >> 40 year old men don't just drop dead like that. >> we couldn't believe it. >> why didn't you believe it? >> well, he was always in good shape. exercised and everything. >> if there is a death that is not a natural death, you look at the closest person first. usually, the spouse. >> a blockbuster new clue.

>> what did that video show? >> we were able to observe a white suv arrive in the parking lot. someone else was there with him that morning. >> when dateline continues.

>> just after a busy thanksgiving weekend. linda found herself surrounded by family and friends again. this time, it was not to celebrate, but to grieve.

tom, her husband of ten years, was dead. >> i think she was just in such a state of shock. that it's almost like she wasn't there. >> linda's sister deborah. >> my family was there, my parents, and there were some friends that had gathered. some close friends. >> there were so many people to tell, tom's siblings broke the news to his parents. >> when i came home at 3:00, all my children were at my house. they were told that it looked like a cardiac event. he didn't survive it. but, we just couldn't believe it. >> why didn't you believe it? >> he was always in good shape. a little overweight, but still. he was healthy.

>> his daughter julian, and son brad found out from their mom michelle. tom's ex-wife. >> she just looked at both of us, and no beating around the bush just said your dad is dead. and i just. everything was a blur. words like heart attack and aneurysm kept flying at me and none of it was registering. it was just utter heart break. >> the three of us stood together hugging, and then collapsed on to the floor. but it did seem to be a really long time that we just didn't let go of each other. >> they flew to new york and joined of the growing crowd at tom and linda's house. >> linda was a wreck, she needed help standing up sometimes. she was just riddled with grief.

>> as the colemans made a funeral arrangements, investigators met with the medical examiner to nail down the cause of tom's death. what they heard changed everything. >> it was undetermined pending toxicology results. >> the medical examiner explained there was no evidence of a heart attack, aneurysm, or any health related event. >> now you have an undetermined cause of death on a 40-year-old male which 40 old men just don't drop dead like that. >> are you still thinking that this could be medical? or are you starting to think we could have a homicide on our hands? >> you can think both at that point in time. we had to wait for toxicology reports to come back. to come up with a cause of death. in the meantime, we are thinking, i say thinking the worst. >> until we can disprove it's not a homicide, we have to treat it as such. >> crime scene techs worked on tom's car, and took swabs for clues. while detectives set out to learn more about his movement from the day he died. linda told police, the last

time she saw tom was the night before, watching football. she assumed he left for the gym the following morning around 5:30. so investigators pulled security video of the parking lot to see what that could tell them. it was dark and grainy, but revealed a lot. >> in the video itself. we were able to observe a white suv, arrive in the parking lot of planet fitness. that was about at 4:30 in the morning. ten minutes later, we actually see tom's vehicle pulled into the parking lot. and park right next to this white suv. that's when we knew that obviously someone else was there with him that morning. >> the plot really thickened, i'm sure, after seeing that video. >> yes. >> so this is the planet fitness right here? >> planet fitness to your right. where tom worked out every morning. i will pull into tom's spot. >> bill is a retired fbi agent, and the chief investigator for the district attorney. he showed us in the light of day, what is hard to see in that grainy video. >> this is exactly where tom was parked, right here. which is as you can see, it's a great distance away from the

planet fitness where he normally worked out in. so this would not be a normal parking spot to pull into at that. hour in the morning to work out in that gym. >> and the mystery suv pulled up? >> it pulled up right here. so they were both facing, north. >> could you identify a person, make, model of the car? what details were you getting? >> it was pitch black, these lights were not providing any illumination at all. the only thing we could observe is that the two vehicles were parked side by side for about 30, 35 minutes. >> the mystery suv left around 5:30 am. but tom's car never moved. what does that tell you? >> there had to be contact between the two to meet at this point and that our. so we knew now that someone had met with him, prior to his death. and we now have to figure out who that is. >> easier said than done, of course. we just pulled up here, and lo and behold, there is a white suv here, beside us.

there is a white suv there, there is a white suv there. once you think about it, there's a lot of white suvs, they are everywhere. >> they are everywhere. >> but thanks to the video, investigators now thought they had an important lead to help narrow their search. >> whoever tom was interacting with, in this white suv. he was expecting him, and he knew him. >> time for investigators to start looking at tom's inner circle. picking apart his simple suburban life. linda, i would imagine, would be someone you would want to look closely at? >> no question, if there is a death that is not a natural death, you look at the closest people first. usually the spouse. >> coming up, i mean, is your head starting to spend a little bit? >> we're trying to get a hold of what we have now. because things are starting to pile up. >> they did want to talk to me. >> soon they discover another reason to take a look at linda. >> me and linda, we have, we have a relationship so -- >> sexual relationship i'm assuming?

>> well yeah. >> he's having an affair with linda. >> it caught us all off-guard. >> when dateline continues. kids are so expensive, dad. now katie needs braces. maybe try switching your car insurance to progressive. you could save hundreds. i don't know, dad. ♪♪ maybe try switching your car insurance to progressive. you could save hundreds. that's a great idea, tv dad. but i said the exact same thing. some day when you're a father, you'll understand. i'm his father. it's not a competition. listen to your tv dad. drivers who switch and save with progressive save nearly $700 on average.

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what's happening donald trump filed retribution for his enemy at his speech at cpac saturday. he went on to win the 2024 gop primary straw poll with 62%, rival ron desantis did not intend but did receive 20%. thousands took to the streets in israel against saturday protesting the governments plan to overhaul the country's judiciary. a controversial bill would give parliament the power to overturn high court decisions, this is the ninth straight week of protests. now back to dateline. to dateline with no obvious medical explanation for tom's death,

police decided to treat it as a possible homicide. but said nothing to his family. >> we decide to sit back and wait until we found out the cause of death. and that is what we did. we just sat back. for tom's parents, burying their first born was excruciating. something the funeral director said gave them comfort. when people die, if they're well respected, people come from all over. and they did. i had relatives from rochester, long island, new jersey virginia, even from california. >> how moved were you by all the love that was in that room? >> incredible. >> walking into the wake was probably one of the hardest things i had to do. i waited for my siblings.

we all walked in, arm in arm. just crying. and we walked up to the coffin, almost collapsed. >> detectives [inaudible] they wanted to keep an eye on linda [inaudible] any enemies >> he was a great guy. loved family we couldn't find any enemies. any enemies in the world that want anything against tom. you had a real mystery out to. solve >> oh, absolutely. >> investigators were interested in speaking to anyone close to tom. including his friend that raced to the scene that morning. nunez was his name. he was a prominent local dentist. originally from the dominican republic. >> how long, i guess, have you known him? >> we've been, i mean, i've known him for four years. but we, were like, starting in friendship like three years ago.

>> gill seemed to know a lot about tom's life, his work hours, his marriage, even his medical history. >> at any medical conditions that you know? >> yes. that i know of, he had sleep apnea. >> investigators also to fish for information about tom's wife. >> how's linda doing? -- >> yeah, i've been there you know, i go to the house. >> how is she doing? >> she is not too good.

you know? she's very, really, really, really bad. >> you know. bad shape. >> that wasn't all gill had to say about linda. he had saying far more interesting to share with the detectives. >> how long have you guys known. me and linda, we've had a relationship. >> okay. >> sexual relationship, i'm assuming? >> well, yeah. >> what is that moment like when he reveals he is having an affair with linda coleman? >> i think it caught us off-guard because that was the first time we discovered that. we had no reason to ask linda butter relationship with -- >> how long ago did that start? >> probably, like, a year. >> yeah. >> gill revealed another detail that was even more surprising. to talking about that? >> he knew better relationship. yeah. he -- he found out sometime in the summer. >> gill said that not only did trump know about the affair, the two men continued their friendship. >> i think so. i was honest about. it he was honest about it, to. so, we are pretty close. i mean, to the point of, like, he got me into football, which i don't have a clue. >> how crazy is this though that tom continued to hang out with gilberto? they stayed friends, even after he finds out he's sleeping with his wife.

>> better man than i am. it's not the norm. it's not something that you see. >> is your head start to spin a little bit? >> we're trying to get a hold of what we've got now because stem from unintended death of the parking lot of the fitness club. to, now, we got all this. within days, things are starting to pile up. >> now, i would imagine that you more than ever need to talk to linda coleman. >> they did want to talk to me, a few days after. one of the questions was, what was your relationship with gilberto nunez? >> coming up. >> he had a way about him. he had a very smooth, almost sexy way about him. his personality was sucking me in. >> did he kiss you while you were in there? >> yeah. >> i had my real life and my fantasy life. >> secrets, anger. >> it's a scandalous. >> and then he said, this is what has been going on. >> when dateline continues. new pronamel active shield actively shields the enamel

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with polident cleanser and polident adhesive refresh and secure for any close encounter. if your mouth could talk it would ask for polident and poligrip. >> tom's cause of death was still a mystery. but detectives now had a juicy love triangle smack in the middle of their investigation. they asked linda to come down to the station to share her side of the story. >> i told them everything, i didn't care anymore. at that point i wasn't hiding a thing. >> how did you meet gilberto? >> i met him at my son's kindergarten orientation. >> he had a child in the same class?

>> a son? >> yes. >> that was in 2009, he was married then. and the two couple started socializing. >> we all seem to like each other, and we are friendly. and they would just say hey, want to go out to dinner, okay. >> and then you started to get to know him better? >> overtime, yeah. >> through school events? >> yeah, and our sons both did karate together. they were in the same karate class. >> tom and gill also hit it off, and became close. talking sports, and watching giants games. and like tom, gil was a hands on dad. he went to all his sons karate classes, where he would see linda. >> we would sit next to each other, and just talk. it was like three times a week, for an hour. >> what was it about gilberto that you liked? >> very friendly, very personable. >> a year went by before linda says she realized something was happening between them.

>> every time he would leave he would give me a kiss goodbye. >> on the lips? >> for him to give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, see you next week. it really wasn't that big of a deal to me. it was kind of like his culture. and as time started going by when i was realizing the kiss was no longer on the cheek. so i would go back to my car like, was that an accident? >> lingering? >> you know fairly quick. >> linda said nothing to her husband, and she and gil never discussed whatever it was that was going on. until one day he finally said it. >> he actually called me one night, he basically was like, you know. i can't get you off my mind, your beautiful. i just adore you, and i was like wow. >> that's a hot potato right there. >> yeah, yeah, from then he started texting me.

here and there we would talk. and it just progressed. >> did you think he was handsome? >> [laughs] not really. to be honest with you. but he had a way about him. he had a very smooth, i want to say almost sexy way about him. with the accent. >> a lating thing going on? >> yes, yes, totally. his personality was sucking me in. >> it was early 2011, both gil and linda's marriages were going through rough patches. >> in all honesty, tom and i we were having some struggles in the home. >> what were you struggling with? >> i think probably the same stuff that same marriage after ten years struggles with. you know paying the bills, working two jobs. >> real life problems. >> yeah, and they were stressful. >> so was gilberto a little bit of an escape for you? >> yes, yes, that's a really good way to put it.

>> how does that finally get acted upon? >> i went and had some dental work in his office. so then you can imagine once i'm there. and i'm in the chair and the next step. >> did he kiss you while you were in the chair? >> yeah which blew me away the fact that this dentist, the smart guy, this you know smooth guy who seems to have everything would even want to kiss me. or choose me. like i just don't think of myself as someone... why would he be interested in me? >> was it passionate? >> yeah. >> pretty soon they were meeting for sex, and by spring, he had separated from his wife and was living in an apartment above his dental practice. >> you had a busy life, a job, husband, children. in a small town. how are you carrying on this affair? >> i still was the wife and the mother, i was home for my kids every night after work. and i would see him at

lunchtime. >> linda thought it was a well kept secret. but maybe not so much. a few months into the affair someone tipped off tom with an anonymous text message. >> he comes right at me with it, i'm getting these texts that you're with gil. what the hell is going on? >> it's sort of scandalous? >> yeah and i said this is what's been going on. i cleared the table, i have been having an affair. it was with him. >> was there any part of it that felt i don't want to use the word "good". but you got it off your chest, you weren't carrying around the secret anymore. >> it did because then at least i could talk to tom about it. and at one point he said to me lynn i can see he has some kind of hold on you. he's like i see it and he did. >> and linda told us what detectives had found so hard to believe. how did it affect tom the fact that it was gilberto?

and he was friends with both of you? >> strangely enough they still continue to be friends. >> it is so hard to grasp. >> i know it is, but they did. they cared about each other, they were like buddies. tom would invite him over for sunday dinners, i know, sounds nuts. i know it does. >> a little bit. >> yeah, i know. >> and how are you handling that? >> i'm just like in the middle like what do i do? >> you are the object of both of their affection. >> yeah. and i loved them both. and we would say well we don't have to decide tomorrow. we could just take some time and figure this out, you know. >> linda says tom didn't pressure her to end the affair. to the contrary he gave her the time and freedom to continue seeing gill and sort out her feelings. you're just living in almost two different lives? but they've intersected? >> i had a real life and then i

had a fantasy life basically. >> but everyone in the triangle knew it couldn't last. linda had to make a choice. gil or tom, and a few weeks before tom's death she did. coming up. her husband or her lover? >> he threw me on the bed and was like tickling me. who would linda choose? >> hindsight i think he knew probably by my body language. and him just knowing me as well as he did. that he was losing me. >> had she and gil been telling police the truth? >> maybe linda wanted tom out of the way so she could be with gilberto? >> no question. >> when dateline continues. es doesn't care. but shingrix protects. proven over 90% effective, shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome

was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingrix today. ♪ ♪ to all the chevy silverado owners out there. the adventurers and the doers. to everyone that works hard and plays hard. whether it's your first silverado or your tenth. thank you for making chevy silverado the #1 best-selling retail full-size pickup. >> it was just a few days after

her husband's death when linda admitted to detectives that, yes, she was having an affair with her husband's best friend.

>> for a little bit of time there it was me, tom, and gill, really trying to decide what we were going to do. or when i was going to do. they were letting me decide, you know? >> for months, len linda affection ping-ponged between the two men. that is, until her october wedding anniversary rolled around. her and tom decide to take the kids away for the weekend. i think it was really that we realized, i just want to be with my husband. he's my best friend. i love him. i don't want to do this anymore. i've been stupid and foolish and ridiculous. i don't wanna do it anymore. >> you chose tom? >> i chose tom. >> a couple of weeks later, it was thanksgiving. still on friendly terms, gil shared the holiday with tom. linda, and their family. monday, linda met with joe bill

alone, but decided to postpone telling him that the affair was over. >> what was that discussion like with gilberto? what did you tell him? >> holidays are here. we have all these kids. like, we can't, you know. after the holidays. he's was like, okay. i'll wait for your decision. you know? >> do you think he knew? >> hindsight, i think he knew probably by my body language. and just him knowing they as well as he did, that he was losing me. >> that night, linda felt she and tom are back on track. >> i remember coming upstairs and pick-me-up and their me on the bed. tickling me. i think we both just felt like there was light at the end of this tunnel. this is the old us. we're happy and silly. and we will get through this, you know? >> the next morning, tom was dead. and investigators were now learning details about his complicated personal life. >> a bit of a soap opera going on here.

>> funny thing is, prior to meeting you guys, we said this is a dateline case. >> and here we are! >> despite what they heard from london, gill investigators were somewhat subject skeptical that this love triangle had no jealousy or resentment. da investigator, bill. >> we had to try and determine if there was some kind of relationship that we weren't seeing between the victims and unions. but was going on between the two of them that tom coleman would allow the sexual relationship to continue between his wife and nunez. >> did you have to think of a scenario that maybe him and -- maybe wanted tom out of the way so that she could have gilberto? >> no question. that was top on the priority list. >> and the first question for investigators? did lend or kill drive a white suv? detectives knew that linda didn't. but gil did. he drove a white nissan pathfinder.

>> there are 1 million white u. suvs out there. >> once you think about it and look at it, they're everywhere. >> absolutely. >> a coincidence. but as suspicious. when detectives were also remembering how gill showed up at the scene of tom's death to console linda and their reaction struck them as odd. >> it was described as that he was hysterical. almost jumping up and down like a pogo stick. very dramatic. >> not a common reaction that you would see. >> if it's a good friend that died, is that not possible that someone would have a very hysterical reaction to that? >> you do see strange reactions, but i believe his reaction was more than overdramatic. i would say. we kept it in the back of our heads for later on. >> both linda and gayle told police the fair was now over. but investigators weren't so sure. and began watching them closely. >> there was electronic surveillance, in terms of constantly monitoring their

phone records, their computer records, and we also had a gps tracker on nunez car for a while. >> what were you hoping to fining with that? >> we just wanted to determine whether, in fact, they were still together. if they were together, at all. >> it looked like gil and linda are telling the truth. after weeks of watching them, police found no signs they had been together since tom died. phone records also prove that tom and bill weir indeed friendly until the end. texting each other throughout the last giants game tom watched. gil, like tom, was well respected around town. >> he works hard and he is not interested in money as far as i can tell. >> zak scar is a patient of gayle and he is always admired his generosity. >> he does a lot of volunteer work in poor areas. >> did he ever said why he likes to do that? >> i think he's a man who cares. it's a simple as that. i think he cares about his patients.

he cares about, you know, people having access to get dental care. >> he was a member of local chamber of congress, volunteer firefighter, volunteered one of the top valley dentist five times. chosen to endorse products and online ads. >> i'm doctor gilberto nunez, a practice in kingston. >> it was a very thriving practice, we were very busy. >> his office manager has worked for gayle for 13 years. >> he's always very positive, very upbeat, very kind. he's a pleasure to work for. >> and everyone else police spoke to said the same. gil nunez didn't seem to have anything to hide. what's more, after weeks of investigating, there was still no clear cause of death. so, all investigators could do was wonder if the love triangle was just an interesting story that had nothing to do with tom's death. but that would all change when

nearly two months after time coleman mysteriously died, his toxicology results finally came in. they were a shocker. >> we find out that there was a narcotic, conscious sedative, called -- in tom's system. no one had heard it before. at least in our field. >> you would never see it in a murder before, as a street drug or something people abused? >> it wasn't a common thing, from speaking to the medical examiner. >> it's not a common street drug. >> but to investigators. the most important thing he could talk about midazolam was this -- >> it was only used in the medical field. either by a dentist or a doctor in an inpatient procedure. >> the fact that this is used by dentists -- >> it is just too many coincidences, shall we say? adding up.

they all come from gilberto. >> the dentist. >> the dentist. >> that put a whole new spin on their investigation. they wondered if maybe gill had used the medication to somehow poison his friend and romantic rival. >> it was told to us by medical professionals that it would be put in coffee, or juice, or some kind of substance that could mask the taste of it because it is a very better, better taste. >> and tom's autopsy had shown liquid in his stomach that might have been coffee. >> we now have a gentleman who is friends with the family, is having an affair with the wife, drives the same type of vehicle that we have on that video. next to our victims in the morning that he is found. >> this is now a murder investigation. >> yes. >> 100 percent. >> they called landed back down to the station for more questions. >> they asked me if i knew what drugs where in tom's system.

they asked me more about the relationship with gill. they asked me what i know of that morning. >> they also decided to tell her about their suspicions, that they believed that tom was murdered, and her ex lover, gil, was the prime suspect. >> i found it hard to accept because in my mind, he loved us. he loved me. he loved tom. would he do that? would he do something like that? >> was a part of you saying, he couldn't have done this. >> when i first found out about it the midazolam, i'm with the detectives in the room. they're like, do you think he could have? i was like, no. i would never do that to him. >> after digesting what investigators told her, she realized that there were signs of trouble with gil. and after several more talks with police, she began revealing details that suggested that their love triangle was far from tension free. in fact, linda says that gayle had made it clear that he was

making tom long term plans for them. he even bought her a ring. >> we were out having dinner. he proposed. i said, i can't. >> how did he take that? >> well i know, i know, i know we have a lot to get through but, you know. and i said yeah, you're a little premature with that. >> it looks investigators like ill was growing impatient. maybe eager to get tom out of the way. remember those anonymous texts to tom. the one telling them about gayle and linda's affair? she told police they came from gill. when she found out, she confronted him. >> i was absolutely furious. >> what did you say to him? >> i just screamed who the hell do you think you are? why would you do this? >> very devious. >> very. very. >> according to linda, gill cried, saying he only did it because he felt tom should know the truth. she said he begged for forgiveness and even threatened to harm himself. >> tom felt bad that he felt suicidal. tom was that kind of guy.

you know? i know this is a really crazy situation we are in, but i'm not gonna let him kill himself over it. like, we will work this out, somehow. you know? >> linda says she was still worried that gill was suicidal. that is why she decided to postpone telling him that the affair was over until after the holidays. she seemed sincere. but investigators had to wonder if linda gill had plotted together to get rid of tom. coming up. linda, under the microscope. >> she took a polygraph. >> yes, she did? >> pass? fail? >> when investigators asked guilford his alibi? >> i was home alone. >> this isn't the strongest alibi. >> it is no alibi. >> when dateline continues. my husband and i have never been more active. shingles doesn't care. i go to spin classes with my coworkers. good for you, shingles doesn't care. because no matter how healthy you feel, your risk of shingles sharply increases after age 50.

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with a majority of my patience with sensitivity, i see irritated gums and weak enamel. sensodyne sensitivity gum & enamel relieves sensitivity, helps restore gum health, and rehardens enamel. i'm a big advocate of recommending things that i know work. >> the sudden death of tom remained an unsolved mystery. and his wife linda had not been ruled out as a suspect.

did it ever enter your mind for a second? i hope they don't think that i was in on this with someone. or that i had something to do with this because of the affair. >> not really. i had the affair, but no way in hell would i ever want harm done to my husband. ever, you know, and i assumed if i was going to be eliminated, let's do it. >> detectives went so far as to check out linda at her job. she worked at a hospital where she may have had access to--. >> we made sure all the -- that they had, was accounted for during that time period. >> they also asked her to take a polygraph test. >> she took a polygraph? >> yes she did. she passed. so she was ruled out in our eyes. >> that left one person police needed to talk to again. her former lover gill. and this time they planned to confront him with all their suspicions. so they decided it was time to bring gill in for another top.

>> are you and linda still? >> we're close. >> it lasted approximately seven hours. >> that's a long time. it was there was a lot to cover, our biggest thing was the drug. the other thing was the vehicle. >> a team of investigators took turns confronting gill. they told him they had a video proving his suv was at the scene. >> i never went to that jim, i never you know. i wasn't there. so [inaudible] >> but if i tell you i know you were there? >> then i am telling you you don't know, because that's not true. >> okay. >> that is you know totally the truth. >> so you think i lied? >> well i think you are lying to me, yes, yeah, totally. >> were you 100% sure that that was his white suv? >> was i 100 percent sure, i was 100% sure. but i could not physically give you a license plate to confirm that, no. >> and when investigators asked gill for his alibi.

>> i was home alone. >> okay. >> i'm always home alone, i live alone. >> he was all alone? >> all alone. >> this isn't the strongest alibi. >> that's no alibi. >> no alibi. >> but what about the sedative found in tom's system? gill didn't know, wait for while he was being questioned. police were at his office executing a search warrant. and inside an emergency kit, they found two vials of the drug. at first gill denied knowing anything about the drug. which also goes by the name--. >> so you don't keep it in your practice? >> yeah. >> and with that, investigators thought they had caught the dentist and eli. they kept pushing, as gil tried to explain how the drug may have gotten inside that emergency kit. >> i don't go in there, i have never been in my emergency kit. whatever comes in the emergency kit, it's their. >> okay, fair enough.

>> so -- >> by all means the fingerprints shouldn't be on it? >> on one, at my emergency kit? >> well if i put it in the there are yeah. >> it wasn't until we said, well what if we find your fingerprints on those pill bottles? at that point in time his story changed. >> we went from original denial of not knowing anything about it, to know he's handling it. >> they send it to me, and i put it in there. and the rest of them, they get tossed. >> okay so let me say this then. if there's the drug in the emergency kit. and your fingerprints will be on it. because you put it in there. >> yeah. >> and when investigators asked gill about those text messages to tom. tipping him off about the affair, he had an explanation for that to. >> i was like okay, i'm going to try to figure out how i can let him know. because if it was me, i would want to know. i don't want to be you know. so i guess he took that as -- as -- as a sign of courage.

and a sign of friendship. >> so in one breath forcing you care about the g. a. r.. and in your second breath you want to get rid of him. >> there's no reason for me to get rid of him. >> but investigators weren't buying it. and the mood in the room turned tense. coming up. >> -- you, you are so full of --. you're lying, right there, stop! >> when dateline continues. what's up, little bro? turns out, some wishes do come true. and it turns out the general is a quality insurance company that's been saving people money for nearly 60 years. for a great low rate, and nearly 60 years of quality coverage- go with the general. >> convinced gayle nunes

murdered his best friend and romantic rival, -- , now, they are about to turn up the heat. >> it's almost insulting when you say you are. because if your's best friend, you wouldn't be... his. life and then sending text messages trying to break them up. >> i did not send text messages to try to break them up. >> for nearly seven hours, investigators had to rattle

gill. >> tell me to drive the car there? you're lying. right there, we. stop right there, we stop. because your car was on the road and you are driving it. everything else he said after that -- >> through it all, gil stayed calm and never asked for an attorney. >> i have nothing to hide. they have nothing to, with anything that is in my office. or anything like that. i have nothing to do with whatever was in tom system. i had nothing to do with any of that. >> did you do a polygraph as well? . >> we offered. >> did he do it? >>. now and the next day we were contacted by a lawyer that said that there would be no further contact with his client. >> meanwhile, lindo plus reeling from all the police had told her. from the images of the white suv in the video, to the drug and her husband system that a dentist like gill would have access to. like investigators, she now believed her lover had killed her husband. >> i didn't ever want to speak

to him again. but socrates is a small place. within days, linda says she found gill waiting for her outside a chinese restaurant. >> he sitting in the parking lot. gets out of his car and start screaming at me. we get in a huge fight. he's like, they're trying to pin this on me! they say you were involved, and i was, like no i wasn't, you did this and get away from me. >> he was saying that the police was saying that you are involved. >> i was like, okay. liar, and he was like, i didn't, i didn't. >> well both wouldn't the police were convinced skill was behind tom's death, investigators had no solid evidence. that grainy video didn't conclusively put him at the scene. they couldn't prove the sedative found in tom system came from gills office. the district attorney told his chief investigator they didn't have a case. >> we didn't have the evidence that i felt, or that my boss felt, was compelling enough to put before a jury. >> but the investigation wasn't over.

>> detectives were hoping that they would find gills dna in sean's car and link him to the crime scene. while they waited for that test result, they let chanced family know they were investigating the death as a homicide. tom's ex-wife, michelle, called linda for an explanation. >> linda told me she had had an affair with gayle. she was crying on the phone. crying that this had happened and she didn't use the word responsible, but i know that is what she felt. tom's daughter, jillian, who have been close with their step mom, was no furious. >> why would you do? this how could she be so irresponsible? just math, really, and confused. trying to process it. took a long time to process. i stopped talking to linda that point. >> linda's sister was also finding out about the affair for the first time. >> she was just very sad and very upset. i think embarrassed or ashamed

for having been in a relationship other than her marriage. >> what did you tell her, as the protective covers older sister? >> it's not your fault. she blamed herself from that moment on. he didn't choose this. people have affairs. millions of people. every day. and no one deserves this. >> tom's parents were stunned by the new direction the investigation is going. >> you go from think that your son likely died from natural causes, to now, there is a murder investigation. it just seems like something that can happen. >> just piles of crap on top of you. write a top of it. it's just, what else are they gonna tell me? now? >> did you call linda? >> no. >> why did you decide to just let it be? with her? >> we were so devastated by the news, we didn't know how to deal with her. we didn't know what to think. >> if i called her, i spoke to

her, i'm only getting one side of the story. my son is not around to tell his side. or anybody. you know? i figured, if i ask her, i don't know what i'm being told. >> you must have been so angry. >> we were angry. we were sad. but, you know, we lost a son. nothing's going to change that. we just wanted answers. >> investigators wanted answers, to. when the dna results came back, a new question was at the center of the case. >> that was not only important, that was a showstopper. >> coming up. the new evidence. would it clear gil nunez? >> it just wasn't possible that he would do anything of that nature. >> when dateline continues.

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saturday night. he used the address to criticize florida governor ron desantis. he went on to win the conferences 2024 gop primary straw poll. residents were asked to shelter in place saturday after a freight train derailed in ohio. they confirmed the crash but said that no hazardous materials were involved. it's a company second accident in that state in just over one month. now back to dateline. ck to dateline >> tom coleman had been dead in his car with his shirt loosening belt buckle down. at the time, investigators didn't give his appearance much thought. almost a year later, it became crucial to the case. >> we had a report back from the lab that indicated there was an and known male's dna on the inside of the bell flap of mr. coleman, near the belt buckle. >> did you test his dna against

gilbert nunes? >> yes. it was not a match. >> no? match >> no match. >> where do you go from there? >> that's a showstopper. nothing moves in this investigation unless we determine who it is. >> an unknown john doe. and that is a problem for me. >> holly cartwright is the district attorney. >> i said, well, we're not gonna go forward with the indictment. not going forward with any arrest until i have the answer to that. >> investigators collected dna samples from all of the first responders to see if they could have accidentally left their dna at the scene. they considered another possibility. but the dna belonged to an accomplice. >> we're also trying to get some samples from people who we have identified that were close to nunez. that is a little trick here because you can't just walk up and asked for dna. you would conduct a surveillance of those individuals and wait for them to discard an item that would most likely have their dna. then you would cook. that >> will kind of items she

collects? >> i think there was a cigarette but an account of soda. >> over many months, all the samples were processed. it turned out to be a complete bust. >> it identified no. and >> it's not the first responders. it's not gilberto news. who is it? >> at that point, i was banging my head against the wall. >> linda was also growing frustrated. she was now a widow, a single mom, shunned by her fifth husband's family and eagerly waiting for a break in the case. >> a lot of time passed without an arrest. >> torture us. >> every day are you wondering, is today the day? it's never going to happen? >> it would kind of get to the point where you would say, okay, we're gonna liberalize and when it happens it happens. you know? and then they would need something from me. and that i would get pulled back in again.

>> one of those times, placement with linda to explain there was a problem with the original autopsy. turns out, it was incomplete because back that, no one suspected poisoning. many samples, like the contents of tom stomach, that might have proved midazolam as the cause of death, weren't safe for testing. so, the da's office decides to do something radical. >> they said, we need to examine tom's body tomorrow. i just started sobbing. i was like, oh, my god. it feels like the man -- he can never recipes, you know? >> in fact, the medical examiner exam tom's body twice to do additional testing. >> there wasn't just one explanation in this case. there were two. why twice? >> we would do going to do whatever to get the evidence we needed. >> meanwhile, gill was very. his dental practice, thriving. the public had no idea he was a murder suspect. but he did confided his staff. >> i remember him telling us

that, you know, he was innocent. and that we needed to just work hard to keep the, you know, office opened. i do the kind of person that he was. it just wasn't possible that he would ever do anything like that. >> gil's life moved on. a here turned into two. then, three. >> it's been really very hard for him. i think the only way he's been able to keep on is that he now sees innocent. >> he fell in love again and got married and the dominican republic. >> they were married on the beach. it was very beautiful with all his family. and closest friends. he was very, very happy. >> time was more cruel to the coleman family. brad, thompson from his first marriage, became depressed after his father's death and committed suicide. he was just 18. >> brad made an attempt on his life with sleeping medications. i can say to him was, why? why would you just yourself and

to us? that is that surplus, i just wanted to go to sleep and we kept with that. three months after that, he did commit suicide. >> he just wanted to be with. you know? he made a decision. >> at this point, now, you have this affair, this horrible choice that has now led to, potentially, two deaths. >> it hurts. hurts a lot. every day. >> surreal. i remember just staring at the programs with his picture, bradley coleman, the dates. and, just, like telling you eurocrats funeral right now. it became upset only familiar. i felt too comfortable at the funeral setting. i realize this isn't fair. i'm getting too good a receiving bad news. >> through it all, the da never

gave up on tom's case. >> we are conducting these other parts of the investigation. we're developing video information. look at the car. we're doing some pretty interesting things with regard to the vehicle. >> but the ad identified dna was their biggest challenge. investigators gathered the brightest minds from the state crime lab to ask for advice. >> and one of them said, have you checked the autopsies that were done before? >> before tom coleman? same day? >> same. day i look to this person and said, always thought that was a sterile and byron? >> she said, well, you should get better check.

so, we did. >> sure enough, they got a match. turns out, the dna belonged to the deceased male who had been on the medical examiners table before tom. so, the dna had nothing to do with the case. but it did be that some evidence had been contaminated. >> what do you think when you hear that? >> well, i'm thinking a couple things. i'm thinking, that's going to be a problem at trial. because of the contamination. but i'm also thinking, thank god, get a little break. >> and after all the additional testing, the medical examiner finally had a cause of death. acute midazolam poisoning. investigators took everything they had to a special prosecutor and argued they were sure gilberto nunez had killed the man he called his best friend. >> i don't think nunez was ever a friend to coleman. not for a minute to i believe. that he is a master manipulator.

he lives to manipulate. i believe he drew tom and because he wanted to be close to the wife and have access to the wife. >> nearly four years after trump's death, gilberto nunez was indicted for second degree murder. >> how did that feel when you got an? his >> eye cried. well cried pretty hard. it felt good in that or one step closer to justice for tom. >> but tough times were still ahead for linda. a trial, prosecutors were about to reveal new details about her affair. coming up. another stunning secret. >> he pulled out an i. d.. it said cia on top of it. it had gilberto face on. it. >> gilberto nunez, an agent? when dateline continues. es is strong enamel- nothing beats it.

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>> four and a half years after tom coleman was found dead in his car, gil nunez went on trial for killing the man he once called his best friend. >> was there any doubt in your mind that gilbert nunez went out that morning to kill him? >> not my mind. there's no other viable explanation. i am open for explanations or reasons. but it's not fair. >> do you feel like you had a rock-solid case? >> it was a circumstantial case going into. it no smoking gun, no eyewitness. no confession. but when you put everything together, we knew we had a solid case. >> i was glad to see him being exposed for what he truly was. >> the rest of the coleman family felt the same, but we're far from a united front. tom's parents still weren't speaking to linda. tom's daughter, jillian, had limited contact with her while in town for the trial. i wanted to hear everything

that i wasn't being told for all those years. >> gill's supporters were also there. his new wife, employees, and several loyal patients. this man was one of them. >> why did you feel the need to be there? >> we live in a society where you're innocent until proven guilty. i didn't see anything that could prove that this could possibly be true. i want there to support him, to show him, particularly because he is dominican in a very white area, that there are people who will support him. >> but the prosecution's case would be difficult for gills friends to hear. the state's theory? gill killed tom because he wanted linda all to himself. a special prosecutors summed it up on day one. >> ladies and gentlemen, obsession.

it was an obsession furthered by manipulation and deception. >> to show jurors just how obsessed he they believed gill had become, prosecutors read emails he wrote to linda. >> when you look back, you know, that first kiss. she would have slapped him in the face or kicked him in the nuts, it wouldn't have happened. >> you believe this affair is the reason you're son is no longer with us. >> yes. if they didn't -- meet tom would be alive today. >> in court, prosecutors portrayed gill, not just as a man desperately in love, but also as someone capable of outrageous lies, along with those anonymous text messages gill sent to tom about the affair, jurors jurors also learned he sent text to linda, posing as a woman named samantha.

>> linda received some disturbing, anonymous text messages from a person named, samantha. telling her that tom and she, samantha, we're having sex, wild sex. >> and that wasn't the only fiction gill created. linda testified gill even told her he was in the cia. >> he had an i. d. card. he said he sometimes would put trackers in peoples -- >> mouths? >> mouths. >> did you believe? >> yeah. i didn't think that much of it , honestly. he showed me a little card. i was like, oh. >> linda didn't make much of it. but prosecutors had another prosecutor they wanted the story to hear. a story they thought would show a darker side to gills deceptions. >> just not a good idea. >> nick monaco is a retired -- nick testified that the friend came to him one day saying that gill wanted to pay them to go

harass and intimidate tom. >> he said, well, gill wants to know if you would want to accompany be to, you know, just scare the guy. and he goes, we may pretend, like, where from the cia or something like that. it was just as long as he sees that you have a gun on you and badge. if he sees the gut, you don't have to wave it around or take it out. he says, gill was in the cia. i was like, now, i didn't know that. >> did you believe that? >> no. >> he pulled out an i. d. with the cia on top of. it. it had gil's picture on it. and his name. and it had a badge that said special officer. the badge was obviously from walmart or came art or something. it was definitely fake. >> nick said he refused to participate and never heard about the plan to scare tom again. >> you have to wonder what a jury would be said from all this.

>> reporter james covered it for the local times herald. >> they're hearing about a love triangle and poisoning and death in homicide. and a dentist, and emails, and the cia. >> police later found the fake cia -- ideally. on guilt computer. attacked on felony charges. and on a computer server in gills office, police found a computer search for the word midazolam. the prosecutor suggested that gill, as a medical professional, figured out that tom sleep apnea, combined with a sedative could be a fatal combination. >> walk through your theory of what happened the morning of tom's death. >> night before, i believe, gil and tom had text about meeting that morning. i think, at that point in time, gill wanted to meet up with tom because of the fact that he knew he wasn't getting linda. gil got out of his vehicle, entered tom's vehicle. maybe he brought him a vehicle. hey, buddy. i brought you a coffee. we gotta talk.

a short time later, gill was driving away. thomas dead. >> prosecutors faced a couple of obstacles. for one, the judge wouldn't let them use parts of gil's interview with the police because he had not been read his rights. so, jurors never saw how gill initially denied to police that he had ever heard of midazolam. a prosecutor's still had to link guilt to the crime scene. they wanted to prove the suspect suv seen at the fitness parking lot belonged to gil. >> so, we're able to track the movements of this vehicle through this gauntlet of cameras. this is a frantic video analysts. was the key to making that connection. >> and then we can begin to make observations of the vehicle itself and the pattern. >> police gathered additional video from nearby businesses to

get a better look at the white suv. grant then poured through a database of 18,000 vehicles that is used by the fbi. >> each manufacturer has a unique way of differentiating their vehicles. the length of the vehicle might be a bit longer, the shape of the windows will be slightly different from manufacturer to manufacturer. >> frederick's testified that gills car was a closest match as he could find to the one of the security political. a 2010, nissan pathfinder. and he told the jury one more important detail. the suv in the vehicle had a fog light defect. when that cast a distinct headlight pattern. >> what we're seeing from this vehicle is that it has this white light that is on the ground that moves in front of the vehicle. >> detective tracked down gills white suv which he sold a few weeks after tom's death. and drove it along the same route scene in the security footage. >> sure enough, when we went out to the scene and get our test and turn the lights on,

there was the pattern that was quite visible. >> gills car had the same defect visible in the video. prosecutors thought it was just what they needed to place gill at the crime scene and tie all their evidence together. >> that was a unique feature to that vehicle. and it was still exactly the same a year later. i have yet to find another nissan pathfinder color white with those exact same issues. >> but, of course, the defense was about to tell a different story and had witnesses in store that could destroy the entire foundation of the prosecution's case. coming up. >> his heart was a ticking time bomb? >> was this even a murder at all? when the good husband continues. continues. i've never been healthier. shingles doesn't care. but shingrix protects. proven over 90% effective, shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older.

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second degree murder played out blocks away from his practice, the dentist tried not to let it distract him from his patients. >> even during his trial, he would come and see patients. in the evenings. some days were better than others. he seemed to be doing okay. >> patient zach never wavered in his support. >> although i had doubts over whether he murdered someone, absolutely not. >> are you so sure that there is no darker side to gilbert and? yes >> i'm not sure about anything. i think there's a darker side to all of us. people are complex. but there is absolutely no evidence that the guy committed murder. >> in court, gilberto was represented by two heavy hitters from new york city, evan lipton and -- who had previously presented mafia boss. they argue that the case against his clients were pure fantasy. >> the plot that they describe here is like something out of a bat lifetime movie. >> the defense said if anyone was manipulating things, it wasn't gil. it was linda.

they read her text to kill, sent the very weekend she said she was rekindling her relationship with tom. >> i love you. i'm missy. i miss holding your hand. soft spot scar on your babies. kiss, kiss, kiss. can you just picture? you're there with your significant other, she's behind you texting her lover? >> so, gil had no reason to kill tom, defend said. because he didn't think the affair was over. reporter, james manny -- >> up until the night mr. coleman died, that they had still seen each other. they had spoken via text. i think that weakens the prosecutions narrative that there is an obsessive person that will do anything to get blended to go back into his arms. >> the defenses trying to say that you're telling tom one

thing, you know, you are passing's up. you're telling color to one other thing. stringing him along. >> yeah. >> was there any truth in that. do you think that was unfair? >> there was some truth to it because, you know, i was striking him along. we were playing his game. so that he would kill himself over the holidays. so yeah. there is just a dirty, stupid game. >> the defense set out to dismantle the rest of the prosecution's case, point by point. all that business about the cia, they said, was more like a joke. hardly criminal. and relevant to the charge of second degree murder. there was ample evidence that gilberto cared too much about tom to ever heard him. >> tom told him -- did spend time together, did make plants, did talk about going into business together. there was no motive whatever for this alleged murder. >> they stressed that none of the physical evidence linked gilberto to the crime scene. >> no dna. no fingerprints. >> as for that internet search for the word bedazzle app, defense partial that anyone in the office could have done it.

they believe that it revealed very little. >> a question about the truck. not a kill with but dazzle am. a search that led to a wikipedia page. that search says nothing. >> as for the prosecution star witness, forensic video analysts that placed gilberto's at the scene, defenses that his findings prove nothing. >> even the expert does say, yes, i seen the video surveillance it is tom coleman with gilbert on the car. no. he didn't even see if one went from one car to the other car. >> the defense raised one other possibility over who else was in the suv. they reminded jurors that tom was found with his clothes disappear -- disheveled and his them tie ended, some suggested that tom had some sort of liaison plant. a search of his phone revealed that he had received an email from a hook website called b notti dot com. >> it was the website been audi. com. it was never the subject of any

investigation in this case. >> they were trying to throw some reasonable doubt into this investigation. what role does this have the play? it was left is an open question. >> but their main argument? prosecution couldn't prove that gill murder tom because they couldn't even prove it was murder. they challenge the medical examiner's conclusions, saying that despite all the tests, there was no way to know how much midazolam was in thomaston when he died. and any that was found, didn't look like enough to kill him. >> the reality? his heart was a ticking time bomb. might have dropped it at any minute. >> the defense put on their own medical expert who said tom's death was more likely from natural causes. >> the defense was very succinct. they had one witness who looked over the records of mr. coleman, who looked over the autopsies of mr. calm. and, essentially says, mr. coleman had an enlarged heart. that, we think, is the reason that he actually died. >> some prosecutors, detectives, they want this medical testing

to show a murder. it actually shows heart disease. a likely heart attack. the prosecutor wants the toxicology to support the theory of poisoning. but it really shows is a non lethal dose of mud as a lap. a widely used, safe medication. >> as the case went to the jury, -- we're more sure than ever that the dentist was innocent. but no one could be certain of the oh come. >> it doesn't matter if you're innocent or not. they can still say your guilty whether you are or if you aren't. it all depends on the jury. >> coming up. did you both believe that that was nunez's vehicle? >> i did. >> yes.

>> his cars there. >> a quick decision in the jury room. and a storm in the courtroom. >> i wanted him to look at me. >> when dateline continues. helps lower a1c, and it's covered by medicare. before dexcom g6, i was frustrated. all of that finger-pricking and all of that pain, my a1c was still stuck.

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you have no idea how good you've got it. huh? what a time to be alive. introducing the next generation 10g network. the case the dentist -- only from xfinity. the future starts now. killing his best friend was now on the hands of the jury >> i was worried because from day one i've been told this is a circumstantial case and it is

all in the hands of a jury. so, why we will try our hardest and we think it's a strong circumstantial case, we can never guarantee the outcome. >> what is the difference between that man that you got to know, that you fell in love with, and the man you know now? >> the man i know, or see now, is a cold, dead heart. someone who doesn't care about anyone but himself. >> trump's family hope the jurors felt the same. >> i thought that the case went very well for us. that the defense didn't do a good enough job to placed out. i was pretty confident, at that point. >> in the jury room, 12 men and women got right into it. >> frank and joseph are one of the jurors -- i believe that they were best friends. >> you believe? that >> yes. as odd as it may seem. they had a lot of common. they loved a lot of the same people. >> the police believe totally the opposite. that gilberto wanted to make you believe that they were best friends, but they really weren't. so, you weren't --

>> i wasn't so sure about. that if they were best friends. i just find it difficult to believe that. >> if the friendship was confusing, they say the security video made one thing clear. >> did you both believe that was nunez's vehicle? >> i did. >> yes. >> we all said that he had something to do with it. >> their deliberation didn't take long. after just six hours the judge announced there was a verdict. >> is that a good sign robe outside? >> i was back at police headquarters at the time. mike had texted me. i was confident. i felt a verdict was coming in. but they were decided it was guilty. >> if it happens too quick, it's not good. if it happens too quick, it is good.

there's no rhyme or reason to. it >> at that point, we start praying. we were just, like, this is set. >> [inaudible] count one, charging a defendant, gilbertown yes, murder the second degree? >> the defendant, not guilty. >> that verdict stands. >> yes, sir. >> not guilty. and not at all but tom's family expected. >> it was utter heart break. it was almost five years of hope. the beautiful possibility of closure, leaving it behind, just taken away. >> was that a tough love your family? >> absolutely. my family believes he had a hand in it. >> but of course, gilberto supporters felt the exact opposite. amazing relief. >> we were just crying. all of us. just clinging to each other and cry. it was years and years of just not knowing what was going to happen. you know, we were just so happy. >> i was pleased that he was found not guilty. clearly, the jury did feel there was not enough evidence

to convict him. >> i felt that all along. >> so, how did the jurors come to their decision? some came up with their own theory that maybe gill did give tom the midazolam, but now with intention of killing him. >> for the very beginning, i believed that nunez was there. at the same. but as a front. to help calm and get some rest. that he hadn't been getting. and that he had left and everything was fine. and that he was as much surprised with tom's death as anybody else was. >> you formed that opinion right away? >> first day? >> yeah. pretty much. >> as the medical evidence, they said it just unconvinced of murder. >> what did you think was the strongest point on the defenses side? >> that the mazda -- midazolam was not in an amount that could have or should have done any harm. >> i believe that it very well could have been just to help him sleep. >> some people have criticize you for the six hours in change verdict time. >> because it was so quick. >> yeah.

>> if we went over for another six hours, going over the same things over the over again. >> same result. exactly. >> it was a better pill for linda to swallow. she may have had a hand in starting the whole thing, but couldn't leave the courtroom without having the last word. >> psychotic. sociopath. >> i lost the. i was like, girl! i wanted him to look at me. say, year piece of -- i just felt around the, door i had to say. he's a sociopath! don't you -- like, don't you get? that does anybody get that? >> although gilberto was found not guilty of second degree murder, he was found guilty of the two forgery related charges for the fake cia materials. >> we still damaged him. he'll still be a convicted felon. it's not what i wanted. but he is not walking away completely free. >> gilbert turned unions to climb to be interviewed but invited us into his office.

he told an email he feel sorry for tom's family and his angered by what he calls, the selective prosecution against him and -- since the trial, gilberto was also convicted of two unrelated cases, found guilty of charges connected to insurance fraud and lying on a pistol permit application. his crimes resulted in a combined sentence of 2 to 7 years in prison. and september 2018, gilberto nunez was released on parole as part of a maritime program. and while the cold months are united in their grief, the gulf between linda and the rest of the family remains. tom's daughter, gillian, has found a way to stay close to ryan, her half brother, but it hasn't been easy. >> i forgive linda. i won't forget what she's done. the effect it has had on me. she will probably never be close to me again to have that effect again. but, i forgive her. >> as she tries to be forward, linda says she is having a harder time for giving herself. >> do you feel that guilt still?

>> every minute of every day. >> i know things have been strained with tom's parents. so anything that you would say to them if they are watching this? >> just that i'm really sorry. that i understand why they hate me. i totally understand that. i live with those same feelings about myself every day. and if anyone that this has hurt. his friends, his family, my family. anyone that has loved him. the role i played. i am deeply, deeply sorry.

>> i'm craig melvin. and i'm natalie morales. and this is dateline. >> i don't go