thing that can come at you >> two years later, there were still purple ribbons in alex kogut's hometown, friend attending a college memorial t honor students will have die at a college that has itself had to heal, a college that ha hope in the center to rais awareness about dating violence and there are still those, lik page with me, who will never let the memory of a graceful joyous young spirit fade away. >> for the rest of my life whenever i see purple i will think of her whenever i hear a story of any type of domestic violence will think of her. and i will not stop telling he story. >> that is all for this editio of dateline. i'm craig melvin, thank you fo watching >> i'm craig melvin. >> and this is dateline.

>> i couldn't comprehend wha was happening. i couldn't sleep losing my husband. it's an image that is neve gonna go away. >> a father out for a walk wit his son. >> i heard shots very loud shots. >> the child survives, the father doesn't >> all he was asking was "honey, tell me how's the baby is the baby okay? >> it was an execution >> yes >> the killers never caught. >> we're waiting for a phone call, waiting for a break. nothing was coming in. >> then, one month later another shooting the victim the dead man's partner and no question this time wh the killer was >> i panicked because i though he was reaching for his gun an that's when i shot >> was it self-defense >> the lead detective kept telling us, everyone's life is in danger. >> or was it something else? >> it's a lousy excuse to kill somebody

>> what secrets were stored on this tape? >> when he come out, i was ready. >> villain >> i just couldn't believe wha i heard. >> or victim >> hug your family kiss your children you don't know when you're going to lose them >> hello, and welcome to "dateline. as day turn tonight, a dar mystery unfolded on a stretc of sidewalk in miami, when a car pulled up and opened fir on a father and his infant son a widow was wrecked with grief desperate for justice. the shooting was caught on a security camera, but detective soon learned that the pictures only revealed a small glimps into this twisted tale here's keith morrison with "miami heat" >> it was dusk in miami.

the day's heat retreated parks filled up. soccer games were called t order. orlando mesa loved the evening ritual he and his 18 month old son, noah orlando doted on the boy >> he was a hands-on dad >> and noah's mom, cindy, wa there to record it all >> my husband was an outdoor person, so he was always doing things with noah >> and so, on a spring evening in the gathering dusk, orlando walked behind noah, who rolled along on his toy car a security camera watched them toddle down the sidewalk they disappeared around th corner >> that was the worst day of m life >> what happened well, that's still being debated in a way a chain of events certainly, o which a father - son evening

stroll may have been the first but certainly not the last but, a moment first to fill yo in cindy or "janepsy", the name she was born with in cuba, cam to miami as a teenager she was bright and ambitious she learned english pretty muc from scratch became a hairdresser experimented with her own quit frequently, as you've seen it was back in 2006, cindy carballo had been invited to a super bowl party lots of people there in the crowd, in the noise, sh didn't notice orlando mesa, bu he noticed her >> according to him, it wa love at first sight. [laughs] >> did you feel that way, too? >> not at first. >> but then after that super bowl party, she got very interested in that funny handsome guy named orlando the mechanic with the wild curly hair >> he definitely was a

jokester so, he made me laugh >> orly, as she called him, wa as ambitious as she was. he didn't just fix cars. he bought a couple of lunc trucks and then he branched out int real estate development. having tried marriage once cindy was reluctant to try again. but orlando? not a man inclined to entertai doubts and one weekend he invited cindy to a barbecue party. >> he surprised me he knew that i loved mariachis then all of a sudden, all thes mariachis, they come in singing, and he gets on his knees and h proposed so, it was exciting. >> that's a day you don' forget >> never >> so, in short order they got married and had a baby and became a family. why'd you pick noah as a name? >> they had a book on baby

names and i saw the name "noah and it said it meant "ne beginning, " so i loved it >> so, it was a new beginning. as amply recorded as any new parents could make it. but if this was the beginning, then what was this that early evening in apri 2008, orlando and noah, headin down the street with his toy car. they turned a corner out of camera range now. but then - >> i heard shots very loud shots. and i went outside that's when i saw my husband full of blood, crying for help i'm sorry. it's an image that is neve gonna go away. i didn't see my son at first so i thought the worst i went crazy because i thought my son was kidnapped

>> then from the front yard, near where orlando fell, a neighbor called out. >> she said, "i have your son. my brave neighbor, she took my son from my husband's arms when i ran to grab my son, m son was shot, full of blood. >> neighbors called 9-1-1. >> a baby's been shot. >> in the distance, as the caller spoke to 9-1-1, a woman screamed it was cindy >> how old is the baby >> oh, my god. oh, my god oh, my god >> cindy held her son for dear life orlando tried to speak >> all he was asking was "honey, tell me how's the baby is the baby okay? >> then an agonizing decision. ride in the ambulance with her baby or stay by her dying husband >> of course, i was torn in two, but my main concern was my baby so, i jumped immediately in th ambulance.

>> as cindy sped away to the hospital with noah, th paramedics worked on orlando where he fell, but it was to late they could not save him. detective felix guadarrama o the north miami police department went to the hospita to check on the boy and delive the bad news >> that's the toughest part of my job >> how did she take it >> she obviously became even more upset everybody started crying it was just horrible to hear news like that >> but little noah would mak it would be okay. thanks to his father's selflessness >> my son was shot in his ar and in his leg, but his father protected him. >> held him and covered him? >> when they were shooting a him, he just lifted my son up. >> keep him away from his body what do you miss most about him?

>> being with him all the time >> that was when your life mad sense? >> that's what i knew. us, together, with our baby. >> but now, orlando was gone and little noah was wounded an suffering. and so, she took him home to care for him there, in a house that felt empty. >> i couldn't sleep seeing m baby suffer with the wounds. losing my husband. he was very loved by everyon in my family >> clearly however, there wa someone who didn't feel th same way about orlando mesa. and before long, said cindy, she and the north miami police came to the very sam conclusion about who that migh be >> coming up - cindy points to someone sh thinks is a possible suspect and begs for help in bringin her husband's killer t justice.

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when you think that somebody wanted him dead >> i couldn't comprehend wha was happening. i was just in pain that i ha lost my husband. >> three days after th shooting, cindy went before tv cameras at police headquarters >> hug your family kiss your children you don't know when you're gonna lose them. >> holding her son noah, his injured arm wrapped in bandages, she appealed for help to fin the killers. >> what little information tha you know, please just come forward. >> police had urged her to mak the appeal, hoping that al that emotion would hel generate some much neede leads. though there was one lead both amazing and ultimately frustrating. right there, just below th roof line of cindy and orlando 's house was a security camera north miami police major trevor shinn

>> we had video footage that w obtained from the victim's home >> that's the camera tha captured father and son headin out of the house and down th street on that last walk the took together. then watch this. a car barrels up to the curb two men burst out, guns drawn. run around the corner out of camera range that's where they opened fir on orlando and noah. within 15 seconds, they're bac in the car, speeding away. but they're not done >> he was on the ground. they come back by and now yo have a second rally of shots >> it was an execution >> yes >> nobody could identify the two you can see on the video best witnesses could say was they were african american males with dreadlocks. one caller said she thought sh saw a third man in the car besides the two shooters >> i think there were thre people in the car. >> they found the ca

eventually abandoned. it had been stolen and the evidence trail coole dramatically as for what the motive was, no one seemed to know >> it was shocking because m husband was very much liked. he didn't have any known enemies. >> was that true detectives at the north miam police department threw out wide net and they got some hel from cindy >> when you're working a homicide, you want to reach ou to people who are close to the victim >> yes, of course. >> spouses, best friends businesses associates. you want to get as muc information. are there beefs? are there bad businesses >> that's when cindy thought about her husband's ne business partner a man named illam nissim the guy he got involved with i real estate development. >> when the police questione me and they said who are his friends and partners, did he have any incident, that's when i said, "well, you know, there was an incident with thi business venture. >> cindy met illam nissim an his girlfriend, nikita, at a

birthday party for their daughter who was noah's age. and then, said cindy, orland told her later, not long befor he was murdered, that illa lost a big packet of cas orlando entrusted him with >> my husband gave illam nissi money to purchase lots to ge in the business. >> a lot of money? >> my knowledge was $180,000 and there was a robbery and th money was gone >> $180,000 lost in cash? that's the sort of thing makes the cops sit up and take notice tell me about the links betwee nissim and orlando what were they doing together? >> some small real estate, fro what we understand >> but all these sound lik businesses on the up and up. >> yes >> cindy began to suspect that nissim must have had a reaso to want her husband dead

but as for what he may hav done - >> i don't think she could say she just kept saying that he had to be involved there was an issue over money. it was just like her gut feeling this guy was involved. >> and then, the 20th of may one month to the day after the murder the investigation had stalled. cindy was at home, alone packing to move out of the house she shared with orlando. what happened? well, sometimes it can take while to figure out who di what to whom >> coming up - a knock, a shot and a mystery. >> he made a move and panicked because i thought h was reaching for his gun >> when dateline continues with flonase, allergies don't have to be scary. spray flonase sensimist daily for non-drowsy, long lasting relief in a scent-free, gentle mist. (psst psst) flonase. all good. ♪ ♪ away suitcases come in many colors.

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easy burying a loved one who wa murdered, incomprehensible and to make it somehow worse said cindy, police told he that her suspicions about that guy illam nissim were well placed and they gave her a warning. >> the lead detective, she kep telling us, these are dangerou individuals. >> then this was prett terrifying, said cindy,. after the murder nissim called her on the phone, incessantly.

>> you always inquire about th investigation, so i thought he wanted to keep me close fo information. if he was maybe a suspect. >> and on the day of orlando's funeral, who should show u that nissim himself. that's got to be pretty bizarr to have him at the funeral whe you're thinking that you husband was killed >> it was. it was i immediately told the lea detective in that case >> the lead detective came t the funeral also >> and she instructed us to ac natural. not to let him suspect that we knew that he was the person. >> and to keep taking nissim's calls. cindy thought she could help the police solve the case. but there was a little mor involved than a pure murde investigation. the feds were in on it now said abbe rifkin, th

prosecutor assigned to the murder case. >> they were looking at mr nissim as they were looking at her husband as they were looking at other people wh were allegedly in the drug business >> the drug business yes. all that missing cash an orlando's three prio convictions for marijuana an cocaine possession those things gave the crime th whiff of a classic drug hit. >> my husband unfortunately ha a past before i met him, befor i married him. >> mind you, orlando's crime were not exactly big time. he pleaded guilty to all o those charges and served a few days in jail and though nissim also had a record, several assaul convictions years earlier when he was not yet 20, none of the had a thing to do with the dru trade. still, the question was, had something happened to sour their partnership? just over three weeks after th murder, the police asked cindy to do more than just keep an eye on nissim. >> i was asked by the lead

detective to maintai communication with him, so i could work with them wearing a wire and help them catch thi individual >> a potentially dangerous thing to do, of course, wearin a wire, secretly recording conversations. still, cindy said she would do it and on the advice of the lea investigator, said cindy, sh bought a gun for the first tim in her life. she also decided to move out o her house. but the wire >> she never wore the wire >> no, she did not and the reason it was may 20th. exactly one month after that hit on orlando mesa. cindy was home alone, packin to move. then suddenly, an unexpected guest was at her door, sai cindy. not just any guest

illam nissim he practically forced his wa in, she said peppered her with question about her husband's business >> he started asking me abou my husband's warehouse if i had my husband keys and i said, i don't know where he keeps his keys. that's when he becam aggressive and he said that knew more than what i wa telling him. >> she watched him in terror she said, as he walked aroun the house. as he looked outside and saw that her dogs were securel leashed, unable to help her. then, she said, it got ver scary indeed >> and he grabbed me that's when he attacked me i was able to get away fro him. he reached out to grab m again. he scratched my neck he ripped my shirt he chased me through the house >> cindy said she ran to the living room, where she kept he newly purchased gun. and nissim, right behind her tripped on some bags she was packing. >> and when i turned around, h made a move, and i panicke because i thought he was reaching for his gun and that's when i shot and i ran out of the house and i call 9-1-1 >> somebody just tried to kill me and i fired.

and i ran to the street. hurry up >> i need you to try to calm down, so i can understand you. >> somebody tried to kill me >> had she stopped him were there others with him she kept running >> and she's frantically sayin they're chasing me they're chasing me >> back at the house, police found nissim on the floor. he was very dead they finally caught up wit cindy a few blocks away. drove her to headquarters. how did they treat you that day? >> they treated me very well they were very nice. after my statement, they tol me that it was a justifiable self-defense >> afterwards, the lea detective dropped cindy at her parents'house. >> and she told my family that i did the police a favor b taking out the trash >> the next day, news report quoted the police as saying, nissim was a suspect in orland 's murder and that cindy was

justified. shot him in self-defense but now, regardless of that, you had just killed somebody you'd taken another human life >> yes >> that can't be easy to dea with >> no, and it felt unreal. it felt unreal >> however, as you say, th police told you you had take out the trash. and did they essentially leave you alone after that >> they dropped me off at my house and they told my famil members i had nothing to worry about. >> so you went on rebuilding your life? >> correct >> but as they see, don't coun your chickens. >> and don't judge a book by its cover. was this a story o self-defense or revenge? >> coming up

>> i can't let this go i won't let it go. eye for an eye >> i just couldn't believe wha i heard. when dateline continues. advil dual action fights pain two ways. advil targets pain at the source, acetaminophen blocks pain signals. advil dual action. ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year ♪ acetaminophen blocks pit's spring! non-drowsy claritin-d knocks out your worst allergy symptoms including nasal congestion, without knocking you out. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. claritin-d. scout is protected by simparica trio, and he's in it to win it. simparica trio is the first and only chew with triple protection. oh, fleas and ticks ♪♪ intestinal worms... wow heartworm disease, no problem with simarica trio. this drug class has been associated with neurologic adverse reactions including seizures. use with caution in dogs with a history of these disorders. for winning protection. go with simparica trio. >> how much a lawyer with he

hours top story, a medical group in sudan says at least 5 civilians are dead and 595 wounded, as clashes turned int a full blown battle for powe in the country saturday. this comes after months of escalating tensions betwee rival factions of armed forces and, france's president signed a controversial bill into law, that increases the state pension age from 62 to 64. the proposal prompte nationwide protests that hav been ongoing since january now, back to dateline. >> welcome back to dateline. i'm craig melvin a grieving widow admitted to shooting a man she suspected o murdering her husband. but, the question remained was it self-defense, or cold

blooded revenge? a clue was about to surface, from an unexpected source. here is keith morrison wit more "miami heat." >> cindy carballo's husband ha been murdered, her son wounded and she had just killed the ma she believed was responsible it wasn't an easy load to pu in the rearview mirror but a few months after she killed illam nissim, it wa noah's second birthday and cindy decided his happines would come first so, she organized a party. pony rides, a piñata, a cake cindy, remember, had alway been an ambitious person now that she was a famil breadwinner, in 2010, two year after the murder, she and partner opened a clinic that specialized in managing pain located in nearby browar county, just north of miami. she hired this man to help get

the business going his name is john friskey >> i was selling her computers and helping her get set up >> pain management clinics wer popping up all over sout florida just about then, and some of them were suspected of being so called "pill mills" where unethical doctors go rich writing prescriptions for narcotics like oxycontin >> in broward county, i thin there was 100 and some odd pai clinics, which is more tha mcdonald's >> detective rob weir was part of a dea task force set up t investigate these pill mills and while cindy insisted she ran her clinic by the books, i came to the attention of the dea task force >> we had received complaint on it. so, we sent somebody in to see what we could do >> and guess who the task forc sent john friskey, the computer expert he also happened to be a dea informant. >> every time i went in there, i wore a wire from the dea

>> when you wore the wire, wha were you assigned to do? >> my main goal was to get anything that would piece it together and prove it was pill mill. >> he talked to cindy a lot. fishing, really, for what migh be evidence of medical fraud and then one day, it was jus over two years after cindy sho nissim, friskey got a very big surprise >> it made me very uncomfortable and i just wante to leave >> what happened friskey asked cindy about he family and she launched into a amazing story about th shooting of illam nissim >> so, i went through hell and back, you know >> it was the story of how her husband was murdered and her son wounded. and how she suspected he husband's business partner illam nissim, arranged it all. and then, she said, when she decided the police were neve going to arrest him -- >> i was like, i have to d something... i can't let this go. i won't let it go. an eye for an eye.

i want his daughter to grow up without a father just like m son. >> and that's when a completel different story emerged, about the day she shot nissim. a far cry from the one she tol the police nissim didn't barge into her house uninvited, she said. she lured him there. >> i knew what was going t happen and - you know, i was shaking inside but outside i was calm >> she told friskey she aske nissim to take down some speakers in her bedroom. then she went to the livin room and got her gun >> then when he come out, i wa ready. he came out of that room.. he said oh, [bleep >> one, two, five... shots - and he fell on the floor his phone was still in his hand "help. " orly asked for help, too >> she didn't shoot him just once she emptied her gun into him john friskey simply wanted t find out if cindy was operatin a pill mill. instead, it sounded like she

had confessed to a much, muc more serious crime >> i went in the restroom. i called rob weir, the dea agent. and i told him, "she jus confessed to murder and sh wants to go to lunch. and he said, "just get out o there. make any excuse. you're not going to lunch with her. " >> friskey gave the tape t weir and i'm like, nobody can jus flat out confess like that i just couldn't believe what i heard. >> detective weir contacte north miami police and prosecutor abbe rifkin, who it turned out, had her doubts all along about the story cind told the cops. >> the persona that she trie to portray of being this poor, little widow, is completel belied by those tapes. >> i want his daughter to grow up without a father just lik my son >> nissim's daughter is little girl named imani. >> he really did love her. >> ever since nissim was shot,

imani's mother, nikita roberts had been hearing people say th man she loved was a killer >> i couldn't see this perso hurting anybody or being whoever they said he was that's not the person that i knew >> prosecutors put their cas together >> miami - dade state attorney katherine fernandez rundle, ha to sign off, and she did s without hesitation >> revenge isn't tolerated anywhere in the system, even i it's understandable an somebody might have some sympathy >> there's a kind of a push in that direction, isn't there? you ought to be able to act ou in your own defense? >> sometimes revenge is just a excuse, but it's a lousy excus to kill somebody you cannot do it you will be held accountable >> and the state of florida di hold cindy accountable just before christmas, 2010, she was charged with first degree murder. >> coming up - there was a dead man, an apparent confession and motive but under florida law, was i murder >> and it was at that point in time that you shot him t protect yourself >> yes, i did. i was in fear for my life. in my mind, he was there t

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what a lot of trouble they can be >> he played my husband. and he got played better >> cindy carballo's words,

recorded by dea informant john friskey, could put her away fo life for first degree murder but this being florida, she ha a shot at getting the charge thrown out the controversia stand-your-ground law. >> both sides are ready to proceed? >> if cindy could satisfy this judge that she had to us lethal force to protect hersel from illam nissim, she'd wal away free as a bird. if she couldn't? she'd go on trial for murder watching in the gallery, nissim's girlfriend, nikit roberts, and their daughter, imani. >> are there any witnesses the defense needs to call this time? >> cindy would be the first, telling the judge that yes indeed, a tape would tell th

story of what happened but not the undercover dea tape that was nonsense, she said. the true tape, the one tha told the honest story of wha she went through that day back in 2008, was her recorded 9-1- call after she shot nissim >> oh, my god. oh, my god oh, my god >> that was the true cindy, th defense said tearing out of the house hysterical panic stricken telling the operator she was sure he was going to shoot her >> i thought he was gonna fire at me. so i fired and then i ran i panicked i panicked please help me >> sitting here on the witness stand, cindy swore her story was the same now as the one sh told the cops from the start that she was home alone when nissim showed up uninvited and attacked her >> he got aggravated and aggressive with me and h grabbed me by my shirt >> and it was at that point in

time that you shot him t protect yourself >> yes, i did. i was in fear for my life. in my mind, he was there t kill me. >> cindy turned to the judge fighting back tears, and explained that she fired because it looked like nissi was about to shoot her >> he turns with his left hand towards his right, and at that moment, i just started shootin and shooting, like there was n tomorrow because in my mind, he was reaching out for the gun i see him with, and he was going t shoot at me. it was so scary. >> cindy's attorneys reminde the judge that after the shooting, the police announced cindy was would not be charged >> after the detective interviewed her, they felt a the time that this could be case of self-defense >> and the defense pointed out news stories of the time, in which police were quotin nissim as a suspect in orlando's murder >> at the time, he was the person the police wa investigating and the only

suspect in my husband's murder >> and as for that dea undercover tape, which s faithfully recorded what she told friskey, about planning i vengeance, an eye for an eye >> this is me telling him how felt my embellishment on the story. >> it was all pure theater, sh said she was trying to impres friskey, not confess to him. >> i made myself to look tougher than i was because i - >> why'd you do that >> because i'm a single mom, living in a man's world. so, i wanted to sound like i'm tough. you can't mess with me >> cindy asked the judge t look to one statement on tha tape that was all true and consistent with the fear cindy showed on the 9-1-1 call >> you told friskey that you had to defend yourself against illam, correct >> yes, i told him that i wa very scared. i told him that i had to defen myself against illam >> cindy's testimony appeare to be a powerful performance but there was one person not impressed. lead prosecutor, abbe rifkin what was your impression of he testimony at the

stand-your-ground hearing? >> that she was an actress and she was putting on an act. >> and the act began with that 9-1-1 call was that the real cindy? not a chance, said prosecuto rifkin the real cindy was the one o that friskey tape, speakin freely when she thought nobody else was listening and during cross examination prosecutors said police were never as suspicious of nissi as cindy claimed they were instead, they said, it was she who pushed him as the number one suspect. >> at the time, you were telling the police t investigate him, isn't it? >> he was being investigated for the murder of my husband at the time. that is correct. >> so, was nissim a murder suspect or not we put the question to these two detectives in the paper it says that sh shot in self-defense, th number one suspect in he husband's killing. so, is that what the polic were thinking?

>> no. he was never our number on suspect. >> he was never a number one suspect. >> words words in court words on tape. which words would the judg believe? >> coming up - in a case full of twists and turns, one more. >> that blew my mind how do they assert that i wa pregnant by this man it was just disgusting >> when dateline continues ♪ ♪ it was time for a nunormal with nucala. nucala is a once-monthly add-on treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma that can mean less oral steroids. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your asthma specialist about a nunormal with nucala.

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thanksgiving, 2012

cindy carballo had made an impassioned case that she shot illam nissim in self-defense and under florida' stand-your-ground law, she qualified for immunity fro prosecution. >> he was going to kill me >> she sobbed and pleaded on the stand. now she stood quietly to hea the judge's decision >> the defendant's motion is denied >> denied. cindy, said the judge, faile to meet the legal burden of stand-your-ground case so, two years later, cindy wen on trial for murder. >> please be seated. >> now, prosecutors had th burden to prove her guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. >> the evidence will show that the defendant lured mr. nissim to the house for revenge >> listen to the dea tape, sai prosecutor abbe rifkin to th jury to hear not a victim, but calculating, cold bloode killer >> so, when i knew that it was going to be hard to catch him,

i was like, i have to do something. >> what did she do she bought a gun and then, the prosecutor said, she invited nissim to her home miami-dade county medica examiner, dr. emma lew demonstrated the path of bullets from cindy's gun int nissim's body. five shots, mostly in the back >> gunshot wound a was on th right of his back. >> the day cindy shot nissim h wasn't even armed. and if she was as frightened o him as she claimed to be, then how to explain this? phone records that show the tw were in constant contact 3 times in the weeks after orlando was killed >> we're talking about somebod who was clearly having a relationship with this person. >> come on, that's a prett thin thread. clearly having a relationship. i mean, that's your speculatio -- >> absolutely not.

this was someone who was calling the victim equal numbe of times that he called her. >> and then, prosecutor rifkin went a step further. she discovered, she said, that cindy got pregnant after her husband was killed miscarried at three weeks. and who did she text from th hospital >> the person that she texte from the hospital, a littl after 6:00 in the morning, was the victim >> it was clear what the prosecutor was implying. that nissim might have been th father cindy seemed stunned by th whole idea >> that blew my mind how do they come and can asser that i was pregnant by this man? it was just disgusting >> and simply untrue, said defense co-counsel, bruc fleisher >> for them to suggest that sh was pregnant from nissim was ludicrous. >> in fact, said the defense the state's whole case was ludicrous.

this was clearly an act of self-defense just listen to cindy's siste describe the time she sa nissim talking to cindy righ after her husband was murdered to understand why she was so afraid >> then the next thing i see i him lifting up his shirt and h had a gun. i saw my sister looking little frightened about it >> one of the detectives had told her this person has a lon rap sheet and that she shoul arm herself. >> and after cindy shot nissim her sister said she saw proo that cindy had been attacked >> she had bruises on her arm. she had scratch or bruises o her neck >> and that shot him in th back thing the defense called a medical expert of its own, who said th first bullet was in nissim's side, when he turned his bod as if to reach for a gun >> within a fraction of second, he would fall forward, and during that period of time

he gets all the rest of th gunshot wounds >> the defense wanted to ask the lead detective, diana roman, just what she told cindy after her husband was murdered roman has denied ever tellin cindy to buy a gun, or congratulating her for takin out the trash when she kille nissim but here in court, the judge would not let the defense as about those things though she did allow questions about all those texts an calls. >> you told janepsy to sta close to him >> i asked her to maintain a communication that already existed there. >> but the big issue of course was that dea audiotape >> i knew what was gonna happen >> this tape is the one in which she seems to confess >> she's not confessing. she said that i shot that ma in self-defense. i thought he was armed it's not a confession. >> did he have a weapon on him when they found him? >> i think he did. >> remember, the defense argue that cindy was exaggeratin wildly when she talked to th

dea's friskey. embellishing to make herself look tough but if you listen carefully, they said, you can hear on thing cindy did say on tha tape that was true the one thing prosecutor ignored. five, big words. >> i had to defend myself. >> i had to defend myself. now that, said the defense, wa true >> somebody tried to kill me >> just like the 9-1-1 call wa true to all of which the prosecutor said, nonsense that 9-1-1 call? that was all an act. and their proof of that wa something cindy said to de informant friskey on his tape. >> what does she say when sh thinks no one's listening? i was really nervous, but made it look authentic >> and the judge agreed with the prosecution. dismissed the 9-1-1 call ruled it inadmissible. which was a very big problem for cindy. and perhaps the reason that in her trial she chose not to tak the witness stand. >> we couldn't let her do it because we saw that we were no

being treated fairly in th rulings. >> and his closing, defens attorney nathan diamon insisted that cindy was within her rights when she shot nissim >> the shots are being pulle off in rapid fire. consistent with the fear of th attack that was being placed o janepsy in her home. >> so now, the big wait. one day, two days. on the third day, jurors sai they were deadlocked the judge sent them back >> please be seated. >> and and hours later - >> we the jury find th defendant guilty of firs degree murder. >> i never imagined that i was going to go to trial, and woul be able to tell my side an actually how the event occurred >> the sentence was swift, ordained by law. life, no parole. cindy told us she isn't done she will appeal.

she tells her son noah, no eight years old, that she will fight the lies that put he here >> he told me that h understands because sometime in school, there's boys that tell lies about him and try to get him in trouble with th teachers so, he said, "i understand mommy. " >> ask state attorney katherin fernandez rundle about wha happened to young noah, no living with relatives, and she calls it a tragedy >> that is really the heart of this case, because that's th person who really has suffered and lost everything. when we talk to cindy, >> it's been seven years since the tumultuous events that put cindy carballo behind bars seven years since her husban

was murdered, in a case that still hasn't been solved seven years to contemplate the act that put her here, and whether she'd do it again. >> yes because i was attacked, and -- that moment i felt that h was going to kill me and if not having remorse make me guilty, i don't think i should be that way >> perhaps not but certainly, cindy carball has years to rethink the question and her answer. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline. i'm craig melville thank you for watching >> hello i'm craig melvin and this is dateline ♪ ♪ ♪ >>