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>> they found each other o their own tropical island. >> we saw love and the waters. and that's it. that will be our spot for th rest of our life >> she said it's like living i a postcard >> a picture perfect life. until she disappeared. >> imagine you were callin leaving messages >> calling, texting, and w started wondering. >> why would she just leave? >> i called her best friend an said, does she have a man that i don't know about >> is something going on >> where would she go? >> she wasn't selling that place. she loved it >> and why did someone new now on her slice of paradise >> this guy fooled us all. he fooled everybody. >> he got away with murder >> he got away with murder hello and welcome to dateline. it was a tropical hideaway where a group of adventurous aware american thought they ha found paradise

good times, sunshine, a relaxe lifestyle, a place where peopl didn't ask a lot of question about their neighbors unti some of those neighbors starte to disappear here is kate snow with "stealing paradise". >> it is a dream that seemed s out of reach quit the rat race, move to a exotic glenn, and by your very own private island >> even when she was young, sh wanted to travel she wanted to see the world. >> had cher hughes the dream and she made it come true in the most unlikely place. a tiny, far away island of bocas del toro, panama >> she would just take a picture of the sunset and send it to me she said, it's like living in postcard >> life was beautiful an simple an escape from the pressures o modern living. who could have known that evil could find a place in paradise

too. that beneath all that beauty was a dark secret. >> it still seems very on real i don't want to believe it >> this is a really, really ba guy. >> just send chills down m spine. >> but before the nightmare, came the dream bocas del toro is the kind o place where people come to escape a group of islands off the coast of panama and weight off the beaten path. it's the kind of place where things move more slowly. and life is supposed to be easy >> cher first visited th islands with her boyfriend keith werle, with cher it was love at first sight. what's more, it was affordable for the same money cher ha been saving up to save aroun the world, she bought he little piece of paradise a rental property, a small house, and that tiny rhode island >> we saw that lump in the water inside, that's it.

that will be our spot for th rest of our lives. >> cher and keith met seve years before that when the vibrations blond walk into a bar keith owned in florida >> came in big ice, big smil and it was, she was just s beautiful. >> grew cher up in st. louis where her all american goo looks got her into modeling as a teenager >> she walked in a room an just beat. everybody knew she was there she was always happy she always had a smile for everybody. >> eventually cher move to st. petersburg, florida, where her sister judy says she became savvy businesswoman. running her own neon sig company. >> she always make sure she ha that income. she made sure she was settin herself up for exactly what sh wanted to do, retire and trave around the world >> they cher traveled bu mostly in the u.s. then a friend invited her to visit exotic bocas del toro.

and cher jumped at the chance. >> took a seven days to decide we're gonna live there through the rest of our lives. just hit us that hard. people here, just phenomenal >> we love you >> cher loves children and panama has lots of kids >> keith is a carpenter s he built their dream home. a combination of woode buildings on top of their lush green island cher trend planted tropica gardens and adopted lots o animals, including a pet monke and a beautiful brown, doberma pinscher named jack. he adored cher and followed he wherever she went. she loved the local school kids planned movie nights wit popcorn and celebrated the holidays with enthusiasm even though her friend sea trainer said the kids didn't always get the significance. >> she would do all thes activities where the kids ha no idea what this crazy whit woman was doing. coloring eggs. hiding them around on th island and they never participated in anything like that before. >> cher's.

, expat. >> kristen who moved fro norway was part of her close group of friends >> we treated each other lik family and take care of each other. >> everyone went by their firs names or nicknames keith and cher were known as ken and barbie the man who owned one of the local watering holes, anothe american, was known as "wild bill". viking hat and all bill and his wife jane opened bar on their secluded property accessible only by boat. where the sometimes gathered for brunch drinks. >> bill had the saturday parties at his place once or twice a month.

everybody was there. >> it was cher's tropical drea come true. a beautiful backdrop for famil reunions light heard the tim her and mary came to visit >> her grandmother, my mother, and i came down and visited. we had a tour and they met u at the airport with a bi bouquet of flowers and it was just wonderful. >> there was another big tri in the works cher's sister judy was plannin to visit for the very firs time >> she wanted to show you he paradise >> oh, yeah. >> the trip would be a goo disruption destruction for che her. life had recently turned upsid down her five your marriage to keit had a rough spot he'd had even moved out. >> when keith had moved off th island, she was pretty devastated but then again, i also thought whose marriage is perfect? hopefully they will work i out. i know they still loved each other. >> the sisters were excite about the trip plans were in full swing >> and then what happens >> then i don't hear from her. >> one day past. then in other. and still, nothing

>> too much time has gone by and now i know something has happened >> judy was worried. and cher was gone. >> coming up - >> where is cher they're going, i don't know. but we're mad at her too >> but maybe her mysteriou disappearance could be soft. a text message from cher two keith with some bad news >> she just said, i me somebody else. better than you. >> and she was running awa with that person >> yes >> so maybe she just got on boat with someone that she you didn't know about and should b back in a week >> right yeah e >>d thyr it wouldn't surprisea all mary, i went sailing and then my phone fell off the dec when i brought my purse. that would be cher >> but who was this new myster man? and we're was cher >> when "dateline" continues or...your eyes feel like they're getting kicked in the backside,

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panama, cher hughes had been living out the dream of owning her own island but then she vanished. >> imagine you were calling? leaving messages >> calling, taxing, facebook then i started reading her facebook it's like, cher where are you? people that were in panama haven't seen you around town where are you at give me a call and we started wondering >> when cher's husband keith realize she had left town, she was he was surprised but he thought he might know i had cher been talking abou

spending time in panama city, place where she could blen into the scenery more easily and wrap her head around their breakup. >> she told me she won a apartment in panama city, to spend some time in the city get out of bocas becaus it is such a small community >> she's got a little tired? >> yeah. bumping into the same people telling the same story she was ready for a little break from the bocas >> it's not unusual for people to come and go around here after all, the easygoing lifestyle is part of the islands charm. but cher's friends and famil said it wouldn't be like her t leave so abruptly. leave her cherished island wit all her belongings still here.

cher's and mary started phonin friends in panama's. >> everyone was saying, yo know cher she might have jus gone for a week or lost he phone. we're >> like, okay, maybe >> mary logged onto cher's facebook place page and reache out to those friends >> they're going worried she, i don't know. why would she not call me? were aggravated with her like what are you doing? >> and then, some good news. cher's received a text message from her saying she had go sale she's a free spirit? right? >> oh she had an opportunity she, go. >> so maybe she just got on boat with some new friend that you didn't know about.

and should be back in. week >> right. yeah >> it wouldn't have surprise me that, oh, mary i went sailing and then my phone fell off the deck when i was ou there. that would be cher, for 3 to 4 days >> the messages were reassuring, but not for long a few days past and cher didn' return then another text message. this one from cher two keith >> she just said, i me somebody else better than you. >> she said she had met someon else >> yes >> and she was running awa with that person >> a mystery man keith wanted to get to the bottom of. >> well i called her bes

friend and said, did cher meet somebody does she have a man that i don't know about is something going on? she never mentioned that ever she's waiting for you. there's no man she didn't >> that keith noted somethin strange about the messages they were written in cher' usual style. >> instead of small letters, i would be all capitals. and she would always right a-r-e, and it would be "r" for our. instead of t-o it would be "2" it just changed. >> and then, the text messages just stopped cher's aunt mary call the u. s embassy in panama and beg fo help >> the embassy made a big poin of saint people disappear al the time and if she wants to b found she will contact you so, i had a hard time shouting into the darkness of the embassy, saying help me, hel me >> things got worse. cher didn't call her father on his birthday it was a huge alarm bell >> i knew how she felt about her dad. she would never, ever miss his birthday so, something had happened t cher for sure. >> after two months, it wa staring everyone in the face the unanswered phone calls, th strange messages, the missed birthday all the clues pointing to horrible conclusion. >> did you start to panic? >> yes i knew something was wrong the whole family started t panic. >> the terrible realizatio sank in. cher hadn't gone all ceiling o run away with a mystery man. she wasn't hiding out in a apartment in panama city something had happened to her. friends in bocas wrapped rocke their brains for answers and started thinking about another american from their group wh had also left abruptly had anyone heard from him? what if cher was the onl

person missing what if there were to? >> i just woke up one mornin is like, i just knew >> coming up - another american apparentl just walked away leaving his home and a lot o questions behind >> shoes by the door, his game is next to it. dirty dishes in the same just gave me a really weir vibe >> i knew right off the bat, it's like whoa, what's going o here >> i couldn't ignore any more. somebody had to do something >> when "dateline" continues new pronamel active shield actively shields the enamel to defend against erosion and cavities. i think that this product is a gamechanger for my patients- it really works.

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of bocas del toro, panama, a crisis was brewing cher hughes had been missing for two months now her family and friends wondered if her disappearanc had anything to do with anothe american who had left th island a rubber abruptly, fo months before cher a man named bo icelar. >> bo was quiet. introvert. he was really great guy. >> kept bo a low profile since moving to bocas from sante fe, new mexico, in 2004. the former antique dealer wa so quiet that no one reall notice when he took off. >> a lot of people said hey, get on a boat and go t argentina for six weeks. and though ever tell anybody they're leaving. it's pretty easy to be not missed for a while >> it made even more sense whe they found out that bo had sol his home too wild bill another american in their grou famous for throwing lively parties many of the expats attended

including cher's frien kristen. i >> knew he wanted to sell an move somewhere different so i assume they came to a understanding over the price and that bo had just left. >> still, as keith stop though back two days after bo moved out, an image kept returning t his mind an image of bo's house right after eid left >> i walked in and looke around and it looked as if b had gone out to the store. not moved out. i went back until my friend, i said i can't believe it. it's really weird. towels on the back of th cheers, shoes by the door, his skin is next to the front door dirty dishes in the sink it just gave me a really weird vibe that bo would just walk away >> two americans missing rumors began to swirl.

could their disappearances b linked the >> more you think abou something like that then, yo know, it didn't add up >> did it kind of eta yo thinking about it? >> yeah, i kept thinking about it the cause it was a righ that cher would leave withou the party. i knew that this girl would no leave town without throwing party. and bo could leave, but the tw of them together, i'm just like, send them their belongs afte the fact that didn't sound. right >> and then kristen hear something that made the floo drop from under her. bo had abruptly stopped paying his bills. something totally unlike him >> i just woke up one morning was like one of those were things and i just knew i couldn't ignore any more i just couldn't. somebody had to do something >> kristen went to the police. >> did they immediatel investigate? >> no. they just put it in a file

they just go, yeah yeah, yeah. they say all, people get las lost in panama all the time. >> christine reached out t someone she thought could. help me another expat, don winner, who went ran panam guide. a news website for foreigner living in panama >> i was contacted by one of her friends that was concerned she was missing. and they asked for my help >> had don lived in panama for decades and acted as a consultant on this story he had originally come her with u.s. military intelligence the case of the two missin americans caught his attention >> i knew right off the ba that this was like, whoa, hey, what is going on here? i knew that i had to apply a lot of time to it and a lot of attention to it. and also knew that i had to ge it right >> he hopped on a flight from his phone in panama cit to bocas del toro, and tappe into the coconut telegraph >> what is the coconut telegraph? >> it's just the rumor mill. they call it the coconut telegraph.

it's when something happens, word spreads quickly >> and from what don was hearing, things just weren't adding up. he checked to see if bo an cher might have left the country. >> i knew that bo cher, both o them, their passports had no gone through the airport and if you look at immigration movements, both of them you ca check if they come in, whe they come in >> they're still in panama >> they came in, they neve left so they're still in panama somewhere. but where there was one more piece of th puzzle falling into place. and that would point a finge of suspicion at someone living right among them >> coming up - >> bill was the loudest voic in the room. he text everybody and said your lord commence you to come to the party >> a pirate out to make killing in real estate killing in real estate >> she wasn't selling that place. ♪♪ allergies don't have to be scary. she loved it >> bill showed up and said yeah, i bought everything. >> when "dateline" continues new and allergy relief! two pills relieve allergy headache pain? and the congestion that causes it! flonase headache and allergy relief. psst! psst! all good! watch how easy it is to put on new hands free skechers slip-ins. i just step in and go. sitting? doesn't matter. i don't even have to touch them. ooo, gangsta. in a hurry? there's not a faster, easier way to put on shoes. they know a 10 when they see it.

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what's happening, the majo storm system playing through the south and midwest ha killed at least 30 people. 13 died in tennessee, where tornado destroyed building down to the foundations. indiana, illinois, arkansas ar among the other affected states former president trump has announced he will speak at mar-a-lago on tuesday afte returning to his arraignment i

manhattan. mr. trump denies any wrongdoin in the hush money probe, the actual charges are not publi yet. now, back to dateline. >> welcome back to "dateline". i'm andrea canning cher hughes and bo icelar, two americans who were living th good life in panama, each seem to have mysteriously vanished. but a check of their passports confirmed that neither had lef the country. their disappearances seeme oddly similar. it turned out there wa something else they shared raising even more concern. here's kate snow with "stealin paradise". >> two americans had vanishe from tropical tropical bocas del toro, and now after months of searching, their friends an family were convinced that their disappearances wer linked and that something terrible ha happened to both of them >> they both disappeared and neither of them contacte anybody.

same story both of them had their persona belongings, that is going to b sent to them one and one is two >> american bo icelar had been the first to leave last fall at the time, no one thought it was unusual. especially when they learned h had certain sold his house t someone else in the expa community, wild bill >> bill had this persona of, i've got lots of cash. i can just wait for you it outright >> blogger don winner did some digging. he pulls documents from th public registry and found ou that wild bill had actuall bought more than just bo's home bill cortez had taken over b bo icelar's company. and the company owned th property so shortly after bo goes missing, bill cortez and his wife are now the president and secretary of the company and they own it. >> was bill in a hurry to ge

bo's remodelled and fit flip t a new owner. he even places added a local pale paper and try to sell in fact, while bill seem to be on a real estate buying an selling spree. he got his first property in 2007 from a reclusive family living on an estate close to cher's islands, the browns a father, mother and teenage son. and now he had acquired bo's house as well. but it was bills next purchase that grabbed everyone' attention. >> dogs were there my clothes were. their belongings were still on the island so where is she? at war is all that stuff when you get she gets back, yo can deal with. that's between you and her >> keith asked bill to bring his dogs and his stuff back. >> he placate it and brought m one of my dogs here's one dog and here's a table and two

cheers so, here's a tool box. there is a lot more missin here, bill >> to keith, the whole story just didn't add up >> she would've never sold the island never happen >> did you have any interest i that property? >> we put everything in cher's name >> so she had the right senate >> she had the right everything >> but you don' think he would've done that >> i don't think. so it was our home we set it up to live there forever. >> it all sounded wrong to aun mary, as well. >> she wasn't selling that place. she loved it she loved it >> mary wanted answers she picked up the phone an called wild bill >> and he told me, yeah, i got a great deal on's property i brought by everything at 5 cents on the dollar.

i said i would like to see tha receipt. >> well i signed a confidentiality statement. i said oh, i'll take a look at that >> where did he tell you she got? >> you know, i heard she got a apartment in panama city i said, so where is her stuf and everything he goes, oh yeah she got there and had me send her some jewelry and money air cargo. so i like to see the receipt o that he says, this girl is not goin to have you looking through he drawers finding her. julie >> and another curious thing was happening over a bill's place no one could figure out wh cher's devoted dog jack, kep swimming two bills house ove and over again they kept putting them back at your old home and he would swi right back >> stay right there. >> but for bill, it wa business as usual. even through one of his famous parties at cher's place with all her things still there it all seemed a little odd to her friend, sean trainer, who sought by that night >> it was it very well attended >> why didn't people go? >> i guess everybody kind of had the same thing it is really weird that it was in cher's house and he was throwing it. >> believing made a toss at th party. two friendship >> and bill gave a speech? >> yeah.

it just really with somethin about having good friends. >> just like a heyer's to good friends? >> yeah, yeah, it was like that >> lived wild bill about a hours boat ride from the mai island here in bocas del toro. they guy with a bi personality. he was known for throwin parties at his place even in a place that is full o colorful characters, wild bill stood out. >> he was always the loudest voice in the room. he text everybody and say, you lord commence you to come to m party. >> your lord commence you? >> yeah. he always talked about himself in third party, in a royal sense of some sort you kind of took it as another one of bills quirks. >> another quirk a pirate club bill created called the jolly roger socia club bill joked that only 90% of it members survived by now, and an easy feelin about wild bill with spreading throughout bocas and then normally rowdy part guy suddenly was lying low every >> time i saw him, whatever he was doing he was trying to get the heck out o their. didn't want to answer a whol lot of questions he was definitely nervous.

>> and with good reason. when don winner tapped into th islands legendary coconu telegraph, the more he becam convinced that wild bill was the key to finding both bo and cher >> this was a common denominator between the two of them this guy has supposedly brough their property for cash an then both of them disappeared. >> but while bill that wit both these people and they'r missing? >> do you remember that moment >> yeah, dread came over me. like oh my god he really could've don something to these people. >> could the brush real estate buying bartender be hiding a deadly secret? coming up -- the dark side of paradise. >> execute a search warrant at his house, i in the ak-47, get him in custody >> the police went appreciable 's then they came up about two hours later and said, we nee you to come off and take a look >> when "dateline" continues

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wild bill cortez in four months time he had snapped up the homes of tw people who had mysteriousl vanished cher hughes was one of them. now she was telling anyone who would listen that th disappearances and propert transfers were no coincidence. >> i thought that bill had don something to these people. i was telling people in bocas, the suspicions were all saying the same thing >> and bill is still livin nearby >> bill is still near, yeah. and he told people he was goin to shut me up. >> he told people that >> he told three people that he moved out of the house an into a hotel with security >> keith wasn't the only one that was nervous >> i became convinced that thi guy cortez had killed thes people in order to steal their property that's when i said, i'm goin to the authorities >> he urged keith to do th same >> you need to come to panam

city, get to the prosecutor an turn up the heat >> keith went to panama city and laid up the case to th panamanian fbi >> kudos to the panama police, they stepped it up >> but for all the suspicion there was no hard evidence of crime. that's when don winner got a idea he heard a lot of stories abou "wild bill" and his ak-47, how he would fire it off sometimes to impress his friends but in panama, it's illegal fo a civilian to own that type of women, so a suggestion was mad to police. >> get him in custody, find th ak-47. >> find the gun. >> find the gun, lock him down >> and find out what role, i any, he may have had in th disappearances police drew up the warrant on steamy day in july and descended on the home of "wild bill", police began the search >> police are looking around they have a search warrant

looking for a gun. >> right, they are executing a search warrant for a ak-47 when they got here, they encountered cher's dog >> jack, the doberman wh adored cher, who is already at the place. no one knew how he got there but the dog was anxious, pacin nervously. >> he was agitated and kep circling, running up to th jungle >> and the dog would come down and bark at the people tha were doing the search and then run up the hill. as if, follow me, guys >> this hill right here? >> right here, back up into th property >> jack bounded up and down th

hill until police followed him there, they found somethin shocking a mound of disturbed dirt. that began to dig. cher's husband keith waited at the bottom of the hill >> the police waited wit shovels and then they came dow about two hours later and said we need you to come up and tak a look >> in a shallow grave, hidde under amount of garbage, the police made a horrible discovery. the body of cher hughes, she had been shot once in the back of the head. >> and that was one of the hardest days of your life? >> yes when no one should ever se their kid look like that >> now keith finally understoo why jack kept swimming to bill place. >> he would swim that mile bac

and stay right there staying true to mommy. >> but the horror wasn't over. as police continue searching bill's property, the discovered another mound o disturbed dirt, another shallo grave. there, buried beneath more rubble, they found the other missing american >> when they found the bodies, that's when they found and realized it was not just suspicions and accusations it was really happening. >> keith watched as authoritie raided bill's home he says they found evidence of the ghastly crimes bo's i. d., cher's passport, her purse and her cell phone used to send those tex messages, saying she had simpl gone for a sale. and there was more, not se memorabilia, strange the tan

excites, and jewelry that ma have belong to the victims and the most gruesome discovery? about a dozen gold teeth >> he lived these things, he lived with personal effects an corpses around him the ex pats in bocas, were i turmoil, two friends dead an their friends fan of the backyard of a man they onc trusted, wild bill cortez. >> it was my home, i invited him to dinner, we did th social neighbor thing. and he shot my wife. it's just inconceivable. >> authorities launched search for bill and his wife who they also suspected wa involved but it was too late, they ha already fled >> this is now a major manhunt >> right, i knew he was alread out of the country already, on the fly. the most important thing a that point was to get hi picture out there. every television screen, o every newspaper cover, on ever computer monitor it's got to get out there in a big way. >> by then, wild bill and hi wife jane were in costa rica someone recognize them there and contacted the police, as the search intensified they made a desperate attemp to cross into nicaragua by boa but were stopped by soldiers a a checkpoint >> they got a drop on him at

the checkpoint and said halt o die, and he stopped and pu himself up >> end of the line >> that was the first time h was in handcuffs >> that was also the first tim anyone heard while bill's real name >> the man formerly known as bill cortez, was william datha holbert, actually a 30 year ol who had been on the run from american authorities since 2006 as the island absorb the new of the killer among them, wild bill, it was discovered, had a long and eateries past, that stretched miles from the beaches of bocas del toro al the way to north carolina. that's where he grew up, going by his middle name, dayton he played high school football married his high schoo sweetheart, and worked out o the landscaper his old boss at a gym, liked dave and, but until he had a affair with his employees. he embezzled money from th gyms accounts. >> he told me he thought tha it was part of his pay package and i said no, it wasn't par of your pay package. and that was just the beginnin william dathan holbert left th job and his wife he ran off with a woman late known as jane cortez invoke us in 2005, he started off on rea estate scams he sold a home that wasn't his for $200,000

police charge him with selling property under false pretenses by the time the owner realized what happened, david was on th run, and it landed him o america's most wanted. william dathan holbert sold stolen car in montana. and when pulled over for speeding in wyoming, he ran off, leaving them on a high-speed chase. it seems it was only after h moved to panama that william dathan holbert and his scams took a sinister turn >> he would kill people to get the documentation and get th property not only did he steal th property, he would steal everything in the house. cars, boats, right down to the toothbrush and the underwear o the docks. >> he took on their entire lives. >> right down to the change in their pocket >> four years after fleein from the states, wild bill was finally in police custody, charged with heinous crimes. and charged with murders >> there are dozens, if not 10 people in bocas that all new sharon bo, and they're thinking, wow, this guy fooled us all. he fooled everyone

>> he got away with murder >> he got away with it for a while. >> little did everyone kno that wild bill had actuall gotten away with a lot more. >> after authorities nabbe "wild bill" in costa rica, wha else would they discover whe he was brought back to panama? >> coming up - there is a guard in this jai that gives me a cell phone and gives me threats on my life. >> a jail cell interview wit wild bill. >> i'm not a bad guy, i' getting what i deserve >> when dateline continues there's an invisible threat in your backyard that could cause deadly heartworm disease for your dog. but not if you protect him every month with heartgard plus, the #1 choice of dogs. digestive and neurological side effects have been reported. ask your vet for heartgard plus.

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william holbert and his wife known to their expat friends a "wild bill" and jane cortez, where arrested for not onl stealing the island properties of two americans, but also allegedly murdering them i cold blood now bill was talking to th police but they couldn't have bee prepared for his stunnin confession here is kate snow with the conclusion of stealing paradise >> the search for cher hughe and bo icelar, ended tragically, both were found dead, shot i the head, and buried in shallo graves after being caught at th

nicaraguan border, wild bill and his wife are merged in shackles, charged with the murders. bill's wife was subdued. and she denied any involvement bill, however, appeare surprisingly cheerful, sayin he was happy to be back in panama >> those first days, when bill was brought back to panama what was he like >> he was making jokes and h was laughing he was really -- he went and wanted people to see him. he was trying to show off. >> national director of police gustavo perez, interrogate wild bill, and said he talke openly about the killings. he admitted to shooting bo o his boat for cher, it started with friendly dinner on bills place afterwards, she was take outside to look at som animals. when she turned to look at them, he shot her. >> did bill tell you why h

murdered the people that h confessed to murdering >> money >> money >> yeah, he said money, wanted to have their things. >> but even the most hardene cops were shocked to hear what else bill had done bill drew a map of his home, with "xs" marking where th bodies were buried there were more than two "xs", however, there were five not just bo and cher but three more people who died at th hands of "wild bill" this time was a father, mother and their teenage son. the brown family they were the original owner of bills property. cher's neighbors >> after the bodies were discovered, wild bill was seen as a monster in panama a serial killer who kept his victims personal things in his own house. we wanted to speak with bill holbert, so we reached out t his attorney we did get a return call, it was the lawyer, with "wild bill" on the phone, callin from his jail cell in panama he had already confessed but

wanted to explain himself. >> i am not denying criminal activity and i am only sayin that what's been portrayed i the media of this crazy serial killer thing is not true i am not a serial killer i have never taken pleasure in harming a human being. and the things i am done haunt me like you wouldn't believe >> you also have to realiz that these families ar incensed, their family say tha you had parties at their homes how can you possibly defen that action. >> defend my actions i'm a bad guy. i'm your worst nightmare but i'm also saying is that didn't wake up one morning and decide to kill my neighbors. >> shortly after our call, a very different looking bil holbert gave an interview to a local panamanian tv station, his wild blond hair replaced with a buzz cut. >> i did it, i'm going to be punished for it. >> in cold and chilling detail he recounts how he murdered th brown family >> gruesome, and i understan it is very - i mean, you answer me and i'll answer your questions. i separated them and i asked

him to show me a well he had dug. and without him knowin happening, i shoved him from behind >> he also admits to another e pat victim jeffrey cline. he claims he died when the two got into a fight on a boat too afraid to go to authorities, holbert came up with his own solution >> on the next couple of days built another few picnic day over it. i know it's horrible and stupid but i had never been in that situation before i've never tried to pain myself as a good guy, i'm a ba guy, i'm getting witnesses deserve. i am sorry but i can do nothing to brin those people back. >> hobo repeatedly says he sorry for what he's done and he does shed tears but not for the victims. for his wife, laura, who h says is innocent she didn't deserve this. >> if i could give my life t make your free, i would. that's it.

>> and the man who said he killed six people had time t sit in the cell and think abou his own death. william dathan holbert and his wife apparently received threats in prison. there is a guard that brings m a cell phone and brings me threats from these people. i'm a dead man, i don't even care but my wife doesn't deserv this >> did you talk to your lawyer about this what options do you? have >> options! what options excuse me, give me a sense second to compose myself -- >> and the man who said he killed six people had time t sit in the cell and think abou his own death. william dathan holbert and his wife apparently received threats in prison. there is a guard that brings m a cell phone and brings me threats from these people. i'm a dead man, i don't even care

but my wife doesn't deserv this >> did you talk to your lawyer about this what options do you? have >> options! what options excuse me, give me a sense second to compose myself >> it doesn't get any wors than this guy. he's the worst of the worst. >> do you think the trail of bodies is longer than we know? >> i have no doubt how many people did this guy kill no one knows >> panama's auxiliar prosecutor on the case, bill calderon, says he reached ou to other countries to see if any of their missing persons may have crossed paths wit wild bill. >> once they verify any person who have had contact with hi and may have disappeared, they will take steps to investigate >> if there are victims ou there, they may be hard to find while bill mostly targeted loners, people whose disappearances may not b noticed.

>> it wasn't until bill killed cher, the woman who had a smil for everyone, that he wa caught >> it was a mistake, o targeting cher, that was his downfall >> he picked someone tha absolutely stood out everywher she went and would be missed and loved. >> someone the family cared so much about, that they woul start calling immediately. >> this is our girl, how dar you miss with our girl and think we're not coming for you >> it would take seven lon years for the wheels of justic to turn in panama. during that time, whole births wife divorced him while they both sat in separate panamania jails. but cher's family finally go the news they had waited for in august 2017, william dathan holbert, the man the peopl knew of bocas del toro new a "wild bill" cortez, we found guilty of the robbery an homicide of five people, according to a tweet from th panama ministry of justice he was sentenced to 47 years i prison and a woman once known as jane cortez, she was sentenced to 2

years for her role in th crimes for cher's sister judy, ther are only good memories and appreciation for the big siste who followed her adventurous spirit all the way to paradise >> you're not bitter that sh never went to panama, to bocas del toro >> i'm happy that she went because i know that she woul it meant to her. the piece in her heart of bein able to live there i wouldn't have wanted her t miss that. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline", i'm natalie morales, thanks for watching huge smile it's a child's worst nightmare to lose a mom.