discriminated against because of their identity, or to be targeted with -- because of their lived experiences. this is a difficult moment for the lgbtq+ community, but it is not unique. never forget that pride was inspired by the 1969 stonewall riots. at stonewall, the community stood its ground and defended its right to exist, free of fear, and judgment. today, the community is still fighting, and will do so until lgbtq+ people have freedom without exception. and, pride without exception. thank you for watching msnbc's defending pride, i'm jonathan capehart, goodnight, and happy pride. >> she was a mom looking for her baby, and her baby had not come home.

>> -- had been nothing but trouble. >> she couldn't tell me what had, happen she was so upset. >> it was about to get much worse. >> my mom would say, if you find, the car you will find kathy. he did not want to be, dark because you wanted to keep looking. >> she had been stabbed multiple times, there was blood in the interior of the car. she was a targeted victim. >> who killed kathy? >> we had no witness, no confession, no dna. >> 20 years went by. >> they still had to keep looking for what i had lost. >> but, kathy had her, and she had him. >> i put a lot of faith in god. >> and the killer, he never had a chance. >> this was -- i fulfilled my promise. >> in the wee small hours of

the morning, while it's a whole wild world is fast asleep, mary bennett is awake, not because she wants to be, but because something stay with you, whether you want them to or not. and for mary bennett, it is a 80 -- 3:40 a.m.. >> every day i wake up around the time, it is embedded in my brain. >> for more than two decades, that particular time has stamped her in the heart, held her awake. it is an internal clock permanently said to the worst day of her life. it began with a phone call, then, a knock on the door, and news of something that should never have happened to this family, to this girl. >> when should come inside the house, her favorite thing was i'm, home what is for dinner? even if we just finished cleaning the, kitchen should still ask what is for dinner. that was kathy. >> kathy tourist grew up -- in a small town nestled amongst

the sprawling cities of southern california. >> even as a baby, she was a good baby, -- >> mary bin is kathy's mother. >> she was always happy, always running, and always very loud and very smiling. >> that radiant smile shined everywhere she went says kathy sister tina. >> kathy was energetic, she was happy, she loved to laugh. >> kathy was one of four siblings, there was younger brother -- and the baby debbie, tina was the eldest. she watched as kathy excelled in school. >> kathy was exceptional, kathy made her own way. she did not follow a role model. >> nobody guiding, her nobody pushing her. >> exactly, she had her own drive. she used to tell her younger sister she had two -- you had to leave your mark in this, world so people would

remember you when he moved on. >> you have to leave your mark on the world? did you teach for that. >> no, that was just her. >> it seems for an admirable thing for a child to come up with. >> kathy was different. >> beautiful, smart, and social. and, popular. >> you know more about her dating life than your mom or dad did. >> yes, i believe to some, extent yes. >> kathy dated a few guys in high school, but no one she was -- and then, in 1980, four out of high school and a young woman of 20, kathy started to -- a boy she played with a child, and was no interested in romantically. >> where they boyfriend and girlfriend? >> she said they were seeing each other, but it was not anything serious or formal that i knew of. that is how she explained to me. he was a nice guy. >> kathy's play was full that february of 1994. she was an honor student at cal state four to, holding down two

jobs, one of the local drugstore, and another as a teacher's aide, all to pay for college. and now, she was also seeing a new guy, just a few days before february 14th, kathy told sister -- what she had wanted for valentine's day. >> she said, tina, i would just like if somebody gave me a dozen red roses for valentine's day. and i, said yes, that is all you want. she said, i would just like a dozen red roses. >> she had never received a dozen roses for anyone. that year, she was -- it was saturday february 12th, kathy went off to her job at the drugstore. >> how was she that morning? >> she was, fine, routine nothing out of the ordinary. >> dean it was trying to catch up with kathy that day before she went, to work, but just missed her home. only to see her moments later in traffic. >> we saw each, other and she

gave me the biggest smile. the i will always remember. she saw me, we looked at each other, and it was beautiful smile. >> the smile, that moment, burned in memory. kathy's shift ended at about 8:00 that night. she was supposed to come straight home, but -- did not see her. >> so, 9:00, 10:00, comes there is no you were not worried? >> no i was not worried. >> saturday night, she probably went out after. work >> then sunday morning, came and, still no kathy. coming up. kathy's family launches a search. >> i drove into the parking lot, i said i see her, car let me just see her car. >> and the fear and frustration where -- >> you were out and just time were, there was no dais and no

nights. you did not want her to be -- he wanted to keep looking. >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues ♪ breeze driftin' on... ♪ [coughing] ♪ ...by, you know how i feel. ♪ if you're tired of staring down your copd,... ♪ it's a new dawn, ♪ ♪ it's a new day... ♪ ...stop settling. ♪ ...and i'm feelin' good. ♪ start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy makes breathing easier for a full 24 hours, improves lung function, and helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. take a stand, and start a new day with trelegy. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy,

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valentine's day, 1994, was two days away, but mary bennett's heart was already racing, days away. mary bennett's heart was already racing, and for all the wrong reasons. her daughter kathy torres never came home after her shift at -- ended. and the next morning, there was still no sign of her, mary called kathy's friends, no one has seen her. so, mary got in the car and scoured the streets, searching for kathy and her red toyota corolla. kathy's sister tina saw the wrenching worry in other mother's face. >> she was a mom full of pain, she was a mom who was hurting,

because she was looking for her baby. she would say. just find the car. if you find the car, it was like an equation. if you find the, car you will find kathy. >> did you get any sleep? >> no. >> just waiting. >> you don't want to call the police, because that makes it real. >> that is why, it makes it real, because you are still holding on to the hope that she is going to come running and through the back door. >> my monday, kathy still was not home. panic was setting in. mary called the police department to report her daughter missing. >> and the police said -- >> well, you don't know, that maybe she ran off -- >> she could have met some guy, they could be in vegas right, now and you are saying no, not possible. >> no, i thought when you want to yell and scream out, them and tell them that that is not true. you do not know that -- not my kathy. >> the tourist family was not going to wait for police to catch up to what they already knew.

that kathy was not someone who just disappeared. they went to reporters. mary spoke to knbc in los angeles. >> this is one thing that nobody should have to go through. >> and took the search into her own hands. >> the police was not receptive, so i told my mom, okay, give me a picture. >> -- was in charge of flyers, working the -- and younger brother -- kept watch in front of -- soon, it was not just the tourist family searching for kathy, police did jump on the, case and it seemed as if all of -- that as well. >> we had strangers, people coming to the house, asking what can we, do we or can we take the, flyers can we have some flyers to pass out. >> tina drove to the school where kathy, worked all the while, mary's mantra echoed through her mind, find the car, and you will find kathy. >> when i drove into the

parking lot, i said, let me just see her car, let me just see her car, because i knew a lot of things were going on in her life, even that week prior. >> a lot of things was an understatement. kathy's family was very worried about her state of mind, after a strange and terrifying series of events that had happened the week before she vanished. first, she had come home the previous saturday in a bizarre state, incoherent, unable to stand up. >> she couldn't get out of the car, my son went out to help her, -- >> that could not have made you happy? >> no it didn't. because i had never seen her come home like that. and she couldn't tell me what have been. >> the chief molecular call? >> no she didn't. that was the scary part to me. she did not smell like alcohol. yet something was wrong with her. >> even more alarming, mary

later realized, kathy's underwear was missing. >> what you are describing, is what happens when people come home after they have been date raped. they can't remember what, happened they may not be wearing all their clothes, and they are clearly under the influence of something. >> well yes, i was afraid that maybe that had happened to, her but i did not know for a fact. >> and she had no memory. >> and she had no memory. >> do you think about calling the police? >> sadly, no. i did not think about that. >> it did not end there, the next morning, tina saw kathy's car. >> i remember looking at the tires, and seeing what happened, how could this be the way they were slashed. it was deliberate. i just kept saying, what happened here, times who slashed your tires? >> she said she did not know. >> the worst was yet to come. two days after kathy came home

in that strange condition, her new boyfriend -- apparently tried to commit suicide, even left a note that seemed to be in his own handwriting, all of this just days before kathy disappeared. albert and himself at work, but he did not die. he lingered in a coma in the hospital. and kathy was devastated. >> she was so, upset she was crying, she could not believe that someone would do something like that. >> and now, the tourist family was left to wonder if and how all of this connected to kathy's disappearance. >> it just felt like you were -- in this time warp, even though there was no days, no nights, and you did not want it to be dark because you wanted to keep looking. >> the next big search was planned for saturday morning, february 19th, in one week since kathy had last been seen. >> we got all of the -- ready and we just got another box donated flyers.

and everything was set. >> and then, around 3:48 am saturday, there was a knock on mary's front door. coming up. police find kathy's car. >> kathy issues on the floor, there is blood within the interior of the car. >> what had happened to kathy? when dateline continues. e continues. sensitivity, helps restore gum health, and rehardens enamel. i'm a big advocate of recommending things that i know work. the day you get your clearchoice dental implants makes every day... i'm a big advocate of a "let's dig in" day... mm. ...a "chow down" day... a "take a big bite" day... a "perfectly delicious" day... - mm. [ chuckles ] - ...a "love my new teeth" day. because your clearchoice day is the day everything is back on the menu. a clearchoice day changes every day.

schedule a free consultation. (christine) what you're doing is not just hurting you. if you can't make up your mind to quit for yourself, do it for those who love you. (announcer) you can quit. for free help call 1-800-quit-now. >> the torres family had

the torrez family had planned a major search for cathy for free help

planned a major search for kathy on saturday, a week after she disappeared. but at 3:40 that morning, mary had a visitor. >> a police officer. >> he asked for kathy's keys. >> i gave him the key, and i asked him if it was the, car he looked straight, he did not look at, me and he said he did not know that they had just told and said to pick up the key. and he left. >> find the car, and you will find kathy. it had become practically a family motto. so when another officer arrived hours later, the tourist family was waiting for what they had traded all week. >> my mom asked, him what happened? did you find kathy? and then, he looked at my mom, and he said i'm sorry. and all i remember where the

flyers that were on my mom's table. and a feeling -- so much pain. i was yelling. not my kathy. not kathy. >> mary bennett had been right all along, kathy's toyota corolla had been spotted in a hospital parking lot. a plastic bag was speaking out of the truck, officers opened, it kathy torres was missing no longer. >> she had been stabbed multiple times, all about the upper chest and neck. >> detective sergeant -- >> there is no way to time the death, but i think it is pretty safe to assume that she had been dead since she disappeared on that saturday night on the 12th. >> it was devastating not just for the tourist family, but for

all of those who had been searching so tirelessly for kathy. >> she was a vibrant very intelligent young girl. this is truly a tragedy. >> detectives want to work trying to find kathy's killer, they set up a hotline. >> do you have any information regarding the homicide of kathy torres? >> and scoured the city for clues. by studying her car, and her body, investigators got a sense of what happened. first, kathy was completely clothes, no sign of sexual assault, and one more thing, also seemed clear, >> most likely the attacker started in the car, there are pieces of the gearshift that were broken, pieces of the center council that were, broken as if a struggle had, occurred and then there was blood within the interior of the car. >> orange county prosecutor matt murphy reviewed the case. he noted blood on everything the killer must have touched. the steering wheel, above the

glove compartment, drivers side armrest, and of course the trunk release. but, one noteworthy place where there was no blood, the driver side seat lover. for 11 kathy drove her car with the seat moved closest to the steering wheel, when police found a car the seat was -- all the way back. >> suggesting somebody called taller than kathy was operating the car. >> not only operating the car, but did that before the murder, because that was touched, and that seat was moved without any transfer of blood. so the seat was moved back before the killing started. >> and if so, perhaps it was because kathy knew her killer, and opened the door for him or her. investigators also found her right shoe on the floorboard of her car, her sock covered in dirt. >> if she got out of the car? >> yes, absolutely, she had

fled from the vehicle on foot, and most likely been caught and attacked again before she was ultimately placed in the trunk of the car and died. >> she fought pretty hard to get away? >> she did. she ran for her life. >> detectives, this was not a sex, crime or a robbery. more than 70 stab wounds suggested something else. >> there is nothing random about, it she was a target. >> and perhaps, the most chilling, clue the letter in kathy's and writing found tucked away on the passenger side of her car. >> she says in the letter, it is a little after 8:15. >> it is 8:15, just finished my shift, today it was, crazy everybody was -- and the v was for valentine's day. >> that is as far she got. she is interrupted midsentence. >> just who had done? detectives were not quite sure. he believed the letter was intended for albert, who at the time of kathy's murder was lying in a coma in the hospital,

after a suicide attempt. he never woke up and died almost two years later. >> obviously you have to look at that, and you have to ask, is there something that is involved in that. >> it was almost too strange to imagine, except, to police. >> there are rumors within the community that that may have been the motive for her disappearance and murder. hey, you need to look at the family. >> members of albert's family rumor said, we're angry with kathy, thinking that she might have been the cause of his suicide attempt. >> because of his relationship with kathy, the fact that she was not serious about him as he was with, her so it had to be looked at. >> so the investigation continued, as people -- in paid final respects to the friendly cashier they knew from save on. more than 1000 people attended kathy's funeral. >> pretty impressive. >> that's the kind of person kathy was. she touched a lot of people.

they remembered her. >> she left her mark. >> she did. >> kathy had hoped for a dozen red roses that february, instead, her family remembered her with a headstone. and a smile will shine forever. that was not the only promise kathy's mother made. >> i did not know -- i would have to wait, but i knew that we had to do everything we could to get the answer, -- >> because? >> because it was my daughter. someone had taken her away from me. someone had done something horrible to her, and, they needed to be held accountable. >> no one could have imagined at the, time just how long mayor's quest for justice would take. >> coming up. detectives have a few questions for one of kathy's closest friends. >> the minute i said no to her,

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here i was top story. on the state of -- consequential decisions by the supreme court this week on affirmative action and student debt relief. the -- poised to take up another controversial case next time. the justices agreed friday to consider whether domestic violence abusers can be barred from having guns. cia director william burns returned from a secret trip to kyiv in june, according to the washington post he heard about ukraine's a vicious plans to retake russian occupied land and start cease-fire negotiations by the end of the year. now back to dateline. >> kathy torres had been

murdered, and stuffed into the trunk of her car. police were considering what role her new boyfriend howard and his attempted suicide may have played. but for now, they were left with unanswered questions, and a town shaken by a murder. >> kathy had so much to live for, and was a very happy person, a people person. >> that was armando lopez speaking back in 1994, armando was kathy's brother in, tina smith and husband. but, that wasn't the only connection between the two families. it turned out, kathy had dated armando's younger brother sam off and on. and, the families lived right down the street from each other, -- >> you can see one house on the other? >> exactly. >> and she was going out with sam, you are made to his older brother, so that house was not just another house of the street, it was family. >> right, right. >> police spoke with members of

the lopez, family sam and kathy -- >> how long have you known kathy? >> i've known her for over five years. >> the interview down at the station. >> like i said, that is -- always have a smile, would always be asking -- given their friendship, detectives are curious about what kathy might have shared with sam about howard -- >> taking suicide, taking it pretty hard? >> was she confiding in you? >> the only thing she mentioned about him is that he hung himself, and she was -- because she thought it was her fault, and -- we never really talked about -- you know what, i think she was trying to hide from -- >> meaning, she was smoking marijuana. kathy's family said that for her, that would be out of

character. >> sam told detectives he had lasting kathy the thursday before she disappeared, he said she had paged him several times that day, and when they finally, met up -- she was are you going to give it to me or, what and i'm like you know what, the minute i said no to her, she blew up. she started costing me out, if i did not get it for me i will get it from somebody else. >> then, sam, said kathy got in her car, and took off. >> i'm like, if you shoot a girl, i think protesting after, her cause i never thought she was going to -- this was going to happen. >> sam shared his suspicions about what had happened to kathy. the same rumors about alberta that were circulating around. >> you know what, it's a possibility that somebody else from his family. i'm not blaming anybody. but, why the coincidence?

that after -- why? have you guys ever thought of that? >> of course police also asked them where he was the night kathy disappeared. >> can you tell us where you are saturday night? >> it is last saturday? >> that's, fine i understand, i was up in -- helping a friend of mine move. >> sam told police how he and his cousin helped their friend move in the afternoon, and then he said, he dropped him off at his home. >> where did you go from? they're >> from their went to my girlfriends store. and i was there to she closed and -- up for -- then the day -- i think my -- cousin up again, so we had to

contact everyone and get their names and addresses or where you started in a. >> and chernoff they did, fully spoke with heavier who corroborated sam's story. >> javier told investigators that he was with them, that sam had picked him about his house in anaheim, and given him to another friend's house, during the time that we believe kathy was contacted and ultimately murdered. >> so he could not have been the -- interrupted kathy when she was -- >> nevertheless, they arrest them for more details. >> i -- for sure >> sam readily gave those -- to the police, and searches house as well, and he willingly gave samples of his hair, and blood. something about sam's behavior that we kathy was missing whether her family.

instead of reputedly -- but, she was slow to respond. >> did he call you back? >> not at first. >> but eventually they did. >> eventually did. >> but he hadn't seen her? >> hadn't seen her. >> two appearances, that was, true in the physical evidence seemed to corroborated. his dna was not found anywhere on, kathy or her car. and his clothes, the ones he gave voluntarily to police, had no dna of kathy. but that behavior of sandwiched bothered kathy's family also bothered police. they focused on him. however, when investigators took their suspicions to the orange county d.a., the outcome was not what they expected. coming up. sam has a new woman in his life, one week soon discover his old life -- >> you are freaked out by that? >> well, yeah. >> when dateline continues. ontinues can be tough.

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sleepovers just aren't what they used to be. without talking a house full of screens? basically no hiccups? you guys have no idea how good you've got it. how old are you? like, 80? back in my day, it was scary stories and flashlights. we don't get scared. oh, really? mom can see your search history. that's what i thought. introducing the next generation 10g network. only from xfinity. i know there's conflicting information about dupuytren's contracture. i thought i couldn't get treatment yet?

well, people may think that their contracture has to be severe to be treated, but it doesn't. if you can't lay your hand flat on the table, talk to a hand specialist. but what if i don't want surgery? well, then you should find a hand specialist certified to offer nonsurgical treatments. what's the next step? >> police had their suspicions visit findahandspecialist.com today to get started. police had their suspicions about sam lopez's involvement in the murder of his neighbor and former girlfriend, about sam lopez's involvement in the murder of his neighbor, and former girlfriend kathy torres. there was no physical evidence tying him to the murder, and he had a solid alibi on the night kathy was killed, sam was with his cousin javier, which is why

when police took their case to the d.a. office, the dea refused to file the charges against sam. police pursued other leads as well, like a possible connection to the suicide of kathy's boyfriend albert. >> did you think kathy's disappearance had ever anything to do with albert? >> no. >> in what sense? >> just two tragedies happening at the same time. >> but not connected? >> not connected. >> even though that coincidence continued to bother them, police were forced to agree. that left the investigation with nowhere to go. >> whoever had killed kathy was still out there wondering around. >> yes. still out there enjoying the sun. >> breathing the same air your breathing. >> yes. >> do you think about that a lot? >> i did, especially if it was a beautiful day. >> those sunny days turned dark, months past, seasons changed.

still, the tourist family was left wondering, what killed kathy? something that never changed was mary, steadfast in her resolve, to get justice for her daughter. early on, a friend gave her some advice. >> she said remember mary, this week, do not let anyone tell you different. you keep going. that is what i did. >> mary and her family sought the attention of the media. they marched and rallied, lobbied officials for greater victims rights, and spoke with that in california governor pete wilson about kathy's murder. the even contributed to the reward funds, some of it by selling tamales at the local fair. >> you were just doing anything you could think of, where you? >> yes. you have to because you did not have a name or resources to do it on your own. so then, you, look and you knock on a lot of doors trying

to keep it out there. >> the tourist family says, they spent thousands of hours knocking on doors, speaking at events, all in the hope that kathy's case would not lie forgotten in a filing cabinet, and mary did something else as well. >> i worked part-time for the city, it just so happens that my desk was right at the door, the hallway that connected the police department and the city. so, they would see me sitting at my desk when they walk into city hall. >> every two police chief. >> would get a meeting with. you >> yes, i would go into their office, and talk to them. and i would tell, them see what they could do. >> you are a pest? >> i was a squeaky wheel. >> your mom was relentless with the case. >> yes. i want a couple times with her to meet the new chief that would come into the police department. we would go in, there we just want to let you know that we represent kathy torres, and we have not forgotten, and we just want to make sure that you,

know our case is still being worked on, -- >> we haven't, forgotten and we want to make sure you don't either. >> right. >> the city did not forget. the community learning center was dedicated in kathy's name. >> kathy torres learning center. >> that will leave your mark on the world. >> she did. >> and, a tree was planted, in memory across the street. >> they planted it in a way where from my mom's kitchen, she could see the tree. >> sam lopez could see as well. he was still living in the same home police had searched after kathy's murder. a search that had turned up nothing. sam was also moving on with his life. in may 1994, just months after kathy's murder, sam walked into a local restaurant. >> he walked in with his friend, and i just remember thinking, he was cute -- >> tina was a host this then.

>> so i offered him some free food, and we started talking. >> she felt a spark right away. >> i did not think i would mayhem whenever, some that was the word that came out of my mouth. i will get married to that guy. >> you were -- >> i was. >> sam and tina started dating. but in a small town like -- it was not long before tina heard the rumors. >> i found out my sister went to school with, him and i asked her what she knew about, him what she thought about him? that is when she told me that he was the one that they suspected -- >> in the murder of kathy tourists? >> he had not told you that? >> he had not told me that. it was in the first few weeks that was dating him. >> sam emphatically denied any involvement in kathy's murder. but just the idea spooked tina. so she made up a lie. >> i met him, i told him most dating somebody else, which was not true.

>> you are freaked out by that? >> well yes. >> but the spark that first to her to stem, was too strong, and tina had only known him a few short weeks. something in her heart said, sam was innocent. >> so, i gave him a call, and i started seeing him again. >> you are an attractive woman. i have trouble believing that there were not guys available who were not already suspects in the murder investigation? >> i'm sure they're probably were. but, there -- they did not have my attention. >> they dated for a year, and then married. >> i was ready, this is it, this is who i want to, me with this is who i want to grow old with, and it is who i want to have kids with. >> and, they did, a year later, came a baby girl. and sam embraced his role as that. >> he was like mr. mom, he stayed home and took care of

the baby while i worked. >> if sam had anything to do with kathy's murder, he certainly did not act like it. he stayed put, living with his wife and baby right down the street from kathy's mom mary. >> she would sit outside, and stare at us. i felt like she was doing it to make me uncomfortable, probably him as, well when i'm sure she did not want him to be happy if she thought he had anything to do with what happened to her daughter. >> this mc anything about mary? >> no. no. he would try to tell me to ignore. >> was it -- what happened? >> there was no communication, no association with them. you know, that was basically it, and it became strange. >> which made it difficult for teen, who are still married to sam's older brother. police continued to work the case, but the fact, was they had no solid leads, and they

were not even close to resting anyone. but then, two years after kathy torres was murdered, an unexpected meeting with this investigation in the fast lane. coming up. as a -- with a familiar last name, who inspires a renewed search for a killer. >> we do not believe in coincidences. >> and then, a tip that catches when investigators attention. >> sit up straight? >> it did. >> when dateline continues. teline continues t's just say she bundled her dream house and her dream car for round-the-clock protection with progressive. oh. she has another house in malibu. she's been an astronaut, an architect, a ceo. we're in front of her house, dude. i'd love to tell you who her boyfriend is, but i don't think i "ken." i'd love to tell you, but i don't think i -- "barbie" only in theaters july 21st.

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it was 1996. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy... passed since the gruesome murder of kathy torres in california. >> i had been to several places, knocked on many doors, all i

have worn it was the truth as to what had happened to kathy. >> the case had gone cold, but it's memory still clung to the breeze in the small town. -- was a patrol officer back then, one afternoon, his shift brought him to this park, just across the street from where kathy had grown up. durant was about to busted drug suspect, when the guy started talking. >> he's playing the game of, i will tell you what you want to, know just ask the right questions, and i will tell you and you will tell me to jail. so, you, know almost us a flip in her, mark talking to me who killed kathy tourists? >> it was a shot in the dark, a tactic he picked up at a seminar for cultivating informants. >> and, the patrol officer next to me start kicking my foot. and he has an explorer scout writing with him, a young hispanic female, i look at her

name pack and it was detours, kathy torres younger sister. who just as heard you asking that question. >> correct. >> i had no idea. >> they beat tourists, her younger baby sister was now 14 years old, eager her mom says to assist police, because of everything her family had been through. >> she remembered, that we needed help, people came to help us, so she thought it was her turn to help others. >> which is why, debbie was in the park that afternoon, and how she heard darren mention kathy's case. >> that is a weird coincidence. >> we don't believe in coincidences. >> to darren, it felt more like faith, and just months later, on january 1997, his lieutenant suggested darren applied to the homicide unit. >> so i ended up putting in for that job and being selected. >> it wasn't long before he cracked open the doors that housed the homicide files.

>> i open the cabinet, i see the tourist, case and i remember the incident with debbie from about a year earlier. i fully, iowa state reading, and just on free time, just reading it a little bit. >> by then, the kathy tourist case had been cool for a good three years. >> i'm know work had been done on it for the last two years. >> from the beginning, police had suspected kathy's one-time boyfriend sam lopez had something to do with her murder. but they had nothing connecting him with the crime. no witnesses, no dna, and some had that solid alibi. tina was still married to stems brother -- the two families intertwined, as kathy's family continued to search for answers. >> then in april of 1997, i had a phone call from -- >> kathy's mom, it would be their first conversation of many. >> mary told darrin, how she had seen reports about a new

program in orange county, centered around investigating cold cases. kathy's case, and specifically been mentioned. >> mary says, if they will use my daughter's murder against publicity for the program, by all means, they are going to work it. it is your job to make sure that happens. >> there were no new murders in 1997. allowing their into focus full attention on this old one. >> and, because you have -- and the family was persistent, who are very well known and liked within the community, it did give me a lot of leverage when i went forth to say hey, i need time to concentrate specifically on this case. >> darren forward through the, files and hunkered down through leads. and then, a tip came in. seemingly, out of nowhere. >> so a guy from a repositioning company calls the, police says i reported this car earlier today, and there is a folio in the trunk of the car,

us and going through the folio, there are articles in there about this murder from 1994, and there are receipts from save on. >> save on, the drugstore chain or kathy was working at the time she was stabbed to death. >> that to make everybody sit up straight. >> it did. >> there was more. the guy whose car had been repossessed, had recently been released from state prison. and was now in custody for threatening someone with a knife. >> and what you wanted to know first, was where were you on the night kathy toys disappeared. >> correct. >> and where was he? >> state prison. >> so whatever is going on -- >> is not personally, but is he related to, does he know, what is the connection, why is the stuff in the trunk of his car? >> you are saying to him, why would you have or tickles about kathy toys's murder, and receipts from save on in the trunk of your car, because --

>> it is all my wife's stuff. he disowned said. he separates himself from it. which now, raises more suspicion. >> could you tell if he was connected to anyone in the case? >> not initially, i really had to dig deeper to see what the connection was. >> there are finally located the convicts wife. >> she wasn't cooperating at first, which is again now raising suspicions. ultimately, she did come in and talk to us, her explanation was she went to valencia high school with kathy, and upon closer examination, we are able to see the receipts were from a different sai'vyon than the one she worked at. it was basically her keepsake file. >> she had saved those articles just because she knew someone who got murdered. >> correct. >> so the sun nothing to do with her husband and present at all? >> absolutely no. >> so your back to basically no suspect. no, we are back to the same. >> but at the same time, darren i had to admit that sam

certainly did not fit anyone's profile. no criminal, history no indicators it was anything other than a normal 22-year-old kid. >> even sounded like a killer? >> no, absolutely not. >> the victims that interviewed him on two separate, days first on audiotape when kathy went missing -- and later, this time on video, after her body was found. >> i have been -- all i did was think about -- >> he had always been cooperative. >> he voluntarily gave had hair samples, he gave a blood sample, he gave fingerprints, and at the end of, that he ultimately said, you know, whatever i can do, i will do. >> but as he read the file, darren heard there were other things sam did not do. for example, sam lived right down the street, yet kathy's

family said he never stopped by during the whole week when they were searching. he did speak extensively with police. >> i don't think anybody thought sam was telling the truth. >> remember how sam told detectives kathy came to him looking for weed. but -- >> there is no indication that any of that was true. >> which pulls into question sam story. >> it does. >> coming up. as darren digs deeper into the case, some behavior from sam in his old interview tapes. >> he never shows any emotion about the fact -- no emotion whatsoever. >> that is a big red flag? >> huge. >> and he learns kathy and sam's relationship with anything but straightforward. >> you know, every time instruments and some guys name a fist off. >> when dateline continues.

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narrator: homicide cop daron wyatt was deep in the cathy

while, was deep in the murder case. he was looking closely at the behavior and statements from sound lopez. kathy's neighbor and ex-boyfriend. kathy's family said they never stop by the house while the family was searching for her. darren noticed an inconsistency and sam's account of the days right before kathy disappeared. mary, however, says sam was the one calling her home, looking for kathy. >> he called how many times? >> quite a few times. >> mary says sam sounded okay at first until she told him where kathy was. >> i said she was at the hospital. >> at the hospital, visiting albert. the boyfriend that had attempted suicide.

>> sam okay with that? >> no, he got upset. >> sam told police he was just worried about caffey, especially after he spoke with her that week. >> i was messed up, you know? i never tried getting hurt. i told her, you know what? calm down. because you're depressed, if you do dumb things. >> remember, this interview happened while kathy was still missing. sam seem to be implying she might have heard herself or another boyfriend might be involved. >> i mean, look, she's had, i know she's had a lot of problems in the past boyfriends. >> then there was a second interview. the day kathy's body was found. detective wyatt study that tape to. >> there is one thing important that sam didn't display that you would expect to see in a case like this. >> which is? >> a motion. >> he showed more emotion of the contents of a coke can. he picked it up when he left,

reading the code can, think radiance, number of colors. at one point, he put that on a pace of a baseball he had been wearing. he presses up and start swearing by the fact that there is dirt on his head. but he never shows any emotion about the fact that this gal has been brutally murdered. no emotion whatsoever. >> that's a big red flag. >> huge. >> darren went deeper to sam and kathy's relationship. >> there were a lot of things that brought them together. they weren't has, school lunch across the street. kathy's older sister was married to sam soldier brother. >> they had this long on again off again relationship in which -- what? he couldn't let go of her? she couldn't let go of him? >> i think a lot of it was mutual. >> even after kathy started dating albert, sam had another girlfriend to, they continue to see each other. darren found evidence that in sam's mind his ally ship with

kathy was far from casual. >> mary gave me a shoe box full of letters that were written between sam and kathy and the content of these letters showed a very jealous guy. a guy who would get angry anytime somebody flirted with kathy. >> some didn't try to hide the fact that he was prone to jealousy. >> she knows every time she mentioned some guys name, i get passed off, okay? >> that led the detected to take a fresh look at those bizarre events the week before kathy disappeared, when she came home impaired and had her tires slashed. >> she never regain full memory have what had happened. she was able to tell everybody who she had been with that night. >> the person kathy had been with that night? sam lopez. when police asked sam about that night, he remembered something very specific. >> i hickey. >> on her neck? >> right here. covered up with her brought.

>> you mean way down here on her shoulder? >> right here, right here. >> sam claimed it was no big deal. >> who were you with less? night whatever. >> that night, police records show, sam receive two traffic citations, both while driving kathy's car. one was an open container ticket from drinking alcohol in a parking lot. the other for failing to stop at a stop sign. the cops who pulled some over for not stopping said sam through -- flew through the intersection of. when he approached the car, the cops said it looked as of sam and kathy had been arguing. he did say kathy -- kathy look fine. no one was quite sure what happened after that, except they apparently parted company. sam in his car, kathy and hers. and then, kathy arrived home, two out of it to realized she had been driving on slashed tires. tina's of the tires the next day. >> i kept saying, what happened to tires? who slashed your tires? >> she said?

>> she said, she didn't know. she knew she had gone up with some that night. >> darren wyatt now believes sam drugged kathy, possibly assaulted her, slashed her tires. the next day, kathy cultivated more details about her strange night with some. >> he had told her, let's run off, let's get married, runoff and an elope. she told him, you're joking. you know, what he talking about? are you serious? >> remember, cathy was seeing another guy, albert. only days later try to kill himself. tennis as kathy thought about sam's proposal all that week. ultimately, kathy decided, cysteine, that she was so broken up about albert, she was going to tell sam the answer was no. >> she's crying and then she said, i'm going to tell him the saturday that i'm not going to take off with him, but i will not allow. that was wednesday. and the saturday, she never came home.

>> sounds admitted jealousy, kathy doting on albert, a rejected proposal. all of it seem to add up to motive. but motives don't prove murder. there was still no physical evidence tying sam to the crime. all of the blood on the car had been dusted and it was all cafés. then, welcoming the case file, detective darren why it learns something shocking. there were blood and hair samples that had never been sent to the crime lab. and when those samples were analyzed, they pointed to a whole new suspect. >> coming up -- >> new dna. and a new man in the hot seat. >> he sat there and put his best in front of his mouth to keep himself from talking. >> when dateline continues.

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narrator: back in 1994, police suspected sam lopez of killing his sometime suspected sam lopez of killing his sometime girlfriend, cathy torrez, but they couldn't make the case.

one big reason? someone's cousin, have a year, who told detectives he was with sam the night of the murder. how there was sam's alibi. >> he wasn't suspected of being part of the murder or being at the crime scene? >> that's right. yeah, they were looking at heavier slowly as a witness. >> that's why, as detective why now discovered, even though investigators in 1994 took blood, pear, and fingerprint samples from javier, they never had those tested. >> they had sent all of the evidence related to send lopez to the crime lab. fingerprints, hair, blood. they hadn't sent anything related to have your lópez to the crime lab. >> air -- darren said heavier lopez, now -- to the crime. left to consider, the phone rang. >> they had positively identified a fingerprint on kathy's car, left there by someone closing the trunk.

>> happier's print was on the back of kathy's car? >> yes. >> weeks later, another call from the lab. bloodstain on the car had tested positive for both kathy's dna and have ears. and the detective found there was something else. another major piece of evidence. investigators had initially overlooked at. >> when you look at the crime scene photos in the trunk of the car, something jumped out at me. it hit me like i got punched in the face. it was that there was arterial spurt on the side wall of the trunk. >> meaning only one thing, kathy was still alive when she was placed in the trunk of the car. if having or put her there, he could be charged with murder. >> why not grab heavier up that day and say, okay, your dna fingerprints were the same. we didn't know that until just now. you're going away from murder unless you start talking. >> let's say that we did that. we bring him in, he says, yes,

my fingerprint was there because i helped her push your car out onto the street a week before one was helping her change a tire, i cut my finger. a blood on it. >> instead of approaching javier, darrin white spent nearly five months carefully watching him and sam. he learned the two cousins were unusually close. >> sam lived in one bedroom bungalow with his wife and his baby at the time. heavier was there all of the time, sleeping in the same room. >> eventually darren why it felt he had enough new formation to get a search warrant. >> there was a loud pounding on her door. >> tina remembers it clearly. >> when i opened the door, there is five police officers there. the middle was white. he put us against the wall, patterns down. >> how was samuel they were

there? >> he was calm. he really was. i was freaking up. >> he wasn't worried? >> no. now. >> maybe he had no reason to be. police didn't find anything in the house linking sam to kathy's murder. they even sprayed his truck with luminol, looking for signs of blood. >> we take the seeds out, did everything we could. there was nothing. >> police briefly detained sam, but he was back home by morning. now, darren by focused on happier. >> we approached it very low-key. we think you can really provide some great information for us. would you mind coming down with us and talking? >> they brought him down to the station, listened patiently as he disesteem sell from kathy torres. >> he had never been shopping with her, never change a tire on her car. never cared nurseries. we went their whole litany of things that he would. >> that's all true. i'm 1 million miles away from her. >> right. right. separated himself. >> but, in so doing, how they

are ruled out any incident -- for finding his dna and fingerprints on her car. so, when police told him that's exactly what they had found -- >> it was like paper lock. all of a sudden, he said, well, this one time i was at the video store and i saw salmon cap either together and i went and sat in kathy's car and sat in the backseat and waited for them. they came out and i left. that was his only contact that he could give us of gabby's car. >> it is unfolded like a has a cars and say, okay, fine. you've got. meteorite. >> you probably watched thousands of these interviews. sometimes what people don't say is just as important as what they do say. >> what have they are either will not or could not say with these words -- i did not kill kathy torres. >> he says, i don't know who did. >> that's not what i said, heavier.

did you kill kathy torres? >> i don't know who did. >> we played that several times to where he finally say, i didn't do it. you didn't do, what have we are? i didn't do what i said i did. >> can't say the words killed kathy? >> correct. then it went to, did you put kathy's body in the trunk of the car? i don't know who did. finally, he sat there and put his fist in front of his mouth to keep himself from talking. >> but heavier had already talked himself into an arrest for murder. nearly four years after kathy's death, he was booked into the orange county jail. kathy's family was stunned when they heard the news. tina included. remember, she was still married for armando who was sounds brother and javier's cousin. >> that was a shock. that was a shock. >> we don't see that coming and police? >> that's right. it is part of their investigation. we had no knowledge of that. >> but they were relieved. at last, the case is moving

forward. darren wyatt was confident he had enough evidence to prove javier lopez had killed kathy torres. once again, the orange county district attorney did not agree. >> they decided not to charge? >> correct. >> and so, heavier is set free? >> heavier walks. >> coming up -- >> a detective who refuses to quit. >> i've occult kids that i need to take a look at. >> now, he is another good reason not to. >> my first daughter was born. i remember going shortly afterward and looking and say, i know now. i know now. i can feel. >> when dateline continues. line continues would make her skin so uncomfortable. i was always so itchy especially when i was hot. now my skin doesn't itch as much. now we're staying ahead of her eczema. there's a power inside all of us to live our passion. and dupixent works on the inside

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with this hour's top stories. supreme court issued for historic relies on friday after overturning affirmative action early in the week. the court sign club designed choice to refuse service to gay couples, requesting a wedding website.

63 decision, justices also struck down the biden administration's student loan forgiveness plan. the response to that decision, president biden announced new repayment options for americans still juggling their student loans, which includes a yearlong repayment program that we remove the threat to defaulting. now, back to dateline. >> detective darren wyatt never xavier lopez acted alone. believed javier lopez acted alone. even when he arrested heavier 1997 for the murder of a taurus. he thought heavier's real role was helping play princess by, heavier's cousin, some lopez. tina succumbs then wipe and happier strand, wasn't buying it. >> can you conceive of javier going through with a murder or being involved in that because of his loyalty to sound?

>> no. i don't see that it sounded it, would have your help him because they are close family? i don't see that. >> neither did the dea, who decided that there was not enough evidence to file charges. >> how do you tell mary bennett? >> it is extremely difficult. there were a lot of crying on both sides. >> darren knew exactly what releasing javier meant. >> walked out the jail along with have the air is any leverage you had for sam? >> absolutely. >> now, you really are back to square one. >> yes. >> it's at the end? >> to some people. >> but not to him. and not to marry. >> you put a lot of faith and darren. >> apart a lot of faith in god. darren was his tool. >> but for the time being, it

seemed darren's hands were tied. after all, the case had been rejected by the d.a.'s office twice before. >> this case has a lot of baggage over the years. >> yes, it did. >> if you go ahead with it, you're not only going ahead with the case, you're also insulting the d.a.. >> yeah. >> years went by. kathy tourist case grew colder by the day. so did the marriage between kathy sister tina and sam's brother armando. >> you and armando got divorced. >> yes. >> just a subtle thing to do that? >> he was a mix. >> darren by was promoted to detective sergeant at his caseload shifted to other types of crime. but he never forgot his promise to marry, in part because of a milestone in his own life. >> my first daughter was born. i remember going to marry shortly after that and looking here in the eyes and say, i know.

i know now how you feel. i know. i can feel it myself. i'm a dad now. if you haven't given up, i haven't given up. >> and 2003, nine years after the murder, darren once again approached a friend in the d.a.'s office. >> as it, i have a cold case i needed to take a look at. he physically stops walking and says, if it's a case and thinking about, i'm not going to touch it. >> darren was persistent. eventually, he persuaded his friend to take kathy's case back to the d.a.'s homicide unit. the same unit that had rejected him twice before. this time though, something different happened. the prosecutor, i'm familiar with the case, agreed to take a fresh look. his name is matt murphy. he noticed one thing right away. >> the first thing that you see when you look at the file is a big rejection really good lawyers who reviewed it individually and this group. >> which means they tried very hard to make a case and they couldn't do it. >> they tried very hard.

that's right. and they figured, based on their review, that they couldn't do it. >> some of the reasons were apparent from the get-go. >> you look at it on its face, this case was a really tough one. >> for one thing, there was so much evidence they didn't have against sam. >> there is no murder weapon here. we had no witness. we had no compassion. we had no dna. so, you can look at it that way in that conventional review. yeah, it looked really tough. >> what really made this case a prosecutor's nightmare was the fact that all the physical evidence put away from the man they thought was a killer. any defense attorney would ask if police found appeared dna and fingerprints, why would they charge them? >> were you surprised you didn't find sends dna there? >> yes. >> he thought newer, better test might find sam's dna. >> but it was too late for

that. kathy's family had sold the car. the case against sam would have to be entirely circumstantial. murphy felt the key to that was somewhere in those interviews sam gave to police. but here, to, was the problem. >> when you look at the interview, everything sam lopez said seemed logical at the time. everything seem to make sense. >> picking apart those interviews would be critical. >> this is one of those cases where you have to look at the details and it's truly one you have to look at each detail in light of every other detail. >> when you rearrange the letters in little tiny details, it's false larry montgomery? >> larry montgomery, or as he's known here dateline, the evidence whisperer. >> coming up -- >> i didn't ask her to marry? >> no! >> a human lie detector goes to work. >> like guilty person knows a

lot. all this information is in his brain. it can slip out. >> when dateline continues.

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narrator: prosecutor matt murphy thought daron wyatt's investigation of cathy torrez's murder thought darren by its investigation of cathy torrez's murder was compelling. he knew making the case against sam lopez wouldn't be easy. the d.a.'s office had declined to try twice before. so, murphy called for help from a detective whose legendary skill with cold cases has earned him of reverential nickname. >> larry montgomery's real deal. the guy's evidence was burned, the other is saint larry. larry see things that many people don't. >> he looks at it from a different perspective. >> they both felt the key to the case lay and sam lopez's own words. his taped interviews with the original detectives.

they thought the perfect mantle listen to those interviews was the evidence whisperer. >> guilty people have tells, just like an parker game? >> absolutely. they don't have that in the mindset, they fear. if you're getting caught. they can't get the story straight because there are too many details. >> montgomery spent months carefully listening and be listening. watching and rewatching. hours of sam's interviews, looking for the tells. >> how long have you guys mandating? >> it's off and on. >> okay. >> tell number one, how sam talked about his relationship with kathy. >> see, i'm going with somebody. and the jury call me up. and we were calling each other, going out to the, places like that. nothing serious at the time. >> sam definitely was trying to limit his connection with kathy, get the impression that it's not that big of a deal. >> remember, kathy's sister,

tina, had told detectives that sam had proposed to kathy just days before she disappeared. but when police asked sam about that, he denied it. >> you didn't ask her to marry? >> now. >> later, he changed his story. it seemed to say that getting married was kathy's idea. >> a lot of people hit me up. fifth that we were supposed to look. okay, but look, she had a crazy idea to go to mexico, okay? just the two of us. >> then there was sam's claim that kathy never tried to contact him after she disappeared. >> at that she's gonna patriot friday, she go somewhere. she never cage me and read. >> we know kathy's mom pitched him 20 to 25 times and a matter of a few days to try to get him to contact her because he's so close to kathy and she's missing. >> montgomery noted a key detail about those pages. >> mary's home phone kathy's phone at the same numbers. >> some numbers. >> seeing that number on his

pager, how did some know it wasn't kathy? >> if he knew she was alive, he would know that he had 20 to 25 pages from kathy, or at least think that. if he's guilty and he killed kathy, he knows those 20 to 25 pages were not from kathy. >> that was tell number two. then, montgomery noticed how in his second interview that sam referred to kathy's murder. >> you know? but then this happened and shoot. >> he doesn't have to say the word murder. this happened. as if it is small. it's not that big of a deal. it's not horrendous. he doesn't want to be horrendous because he did it. >> tell number three. >> then, larry constantly holes in the interview that sam did before cathy's body was found. listen carefully. >> you went out with her the saturday before the thursday? >> right. >> a week before she disappeared. >> did you hear that?

>> a week before she disappeared. >> before she was, what? dead? murdered? either way, said larry thought sam knew more than what he was telling. >> a guilty person knows a lot. cannot forget all that he knows. so, when he's talking, all that information is in his brain and it can slip out. >> another reason to think sam knew much more than he was saying? in his second interview after kathy's body was found, we spoke with him for 90 minutes before he asked them a single question. when he finally did -- >> so, she has no hush was killed? >> yeah, we do. >> larry noticed a telling statement. >> i thought you were never going to ask. >> well i don't memorize to come back, you know? >> that's interesting statement. i don't members to come back. what members of the have that

he doesn't want to remember? if he's innocent, he has members of kathy of good times, what they did. >> people want that those memories to come back. >> yeah. if you had a memory that he killed her, that certainly memory doesn't want to relive. >> after listening to the interview time and again, the evidence whisper had no doubt that sam killed café. but could the team prove it beyond a reasonable doubt? >> ultimately, in cold case murders, time because our friends because technology changes. >> at the time the murder, dna test could only be done on big samples like blood spatter. in the years since, analysis became possible for touch dna, microscopic calling cards many of us leave behind just by putting our hands on something. it's salmon happier place kathy's body in the truck, maybe, thought larry, there would be touch dna on her

clothes. >> you search for dna in areas that might be grabbed. especially areas that might be grab that don't have blood on them, from kathy. >> you looked on the ankles and under her arms? >> ankles, arms, under the likes. >> why it sends out that it is protected in a. >> are you optimistic? or are you thinking, shut in the dark. >> no, not optimistic. i wasn't optimistic. >> because, what? >> on this particular case, it seemed from the beginning phases, everything that could go wrong pretty much what roe. >> he also knew he was working with a cop on a mission. >> darren white wasn't going to quit until i follow this case or i died or he died. darren was absolutely dedicated to this. >> the truth was, if murphy declined the case other time, kathy torres filed would most certainly go from cold to dead. what would he decide? no one understand the stakes

better than kathy's mom. >> darren had told me that we were going to meet with the dea. mine to petition of it was that he was going to tell me that there was nothing they could do. >> coming up -- a key piece of evidence arrives. better late than never. >> how long? >> a couple of months at least. >> and they what? forgot to call? >> is it the smoking gun? when dateline continues. continues. and picking a color that pops. you got this. we got you. ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year ♪ it'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. prime day is coming july 11th and 12th. with two days of epic deals exclusively for prime members, you'll feel like a big deal. ♪

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>> it was an early morning 2007, narrator: it was an early morning in 2007, 13 years after cathy torrez had breathed her last. 13 years after kathy torres had breathed her last. >> i was having coffee at a mcdonald's before we're. i was reading my bible. he was a little bit after seven when i saw that i had a call from him. >> from darren quiet. scheduled to meet with the dea. >> my first thought was he was going to tell me that the meeting with council again. >> but that was not the message. not at all. >> he said, i'm standing here

in front of sam's house. we are making an arrest right now. >> an arrest? >> yes. >> you thought? >> i got up and i screamed there at the mcdonald's. >> years before darren wife had made a promise, now, he felt he was keeping it. >> that ought to have a pretty good. >> tears of joy this time. >> some lopez was arrested and charged with copies murder. but he wasn't alone. just as prosecutors now believed he wasn't alone that night he stabbed kathy to death. sam's cousin, happier, was also arrested and charged with murder. police also arrested sam's older brother, armando, who was once married to kathy sister, tina, and had help search for kathy. >> it's a tragic loss. it hurts, everybody loved kathy. >> armando was charged with being an accessory after the fact for allegedly helping cover-up a murder.

>> we believed he was telling people who had information that could help convict sam not to cooperate with the police. >> kathy sister had to ponder what that might mean about her former husband. >> betrayal of the worst kind. >> betrayal of her, betrayal of you. >> exactly. everything. >> your family? >> my family, trust, betrayal. everything's broken beyond belief. >> sam and his wife had also separated by this point. she was a work when her sister colten told her that police had once again come for sam. >> what did you think when sam was arrested? >> the same that i was. here we go again. >> nothing to. >> yeah. >> and that he will be held soon. >> yeah. >> after all, they had detained sam once before and had really set. as darren quiet now explained to sam lopez, this time was different. >> i told you before that we wouldn't give up until we were able to bring resolution to

this case and that's where we're at now. >> just when it seemed the case was buttoned up, darren got a surprising call. remember when the request for touch dna darren had submitted months earlier? the crime lab finally called back. >> the crime lab says what? >> hey, to be tell you that we found javier's dna on kathy's body? >> what? yeah, we found hovers profile on a sock on the back of her knee and under her right armpit. >> did we tell? you know, we didn't tell you. how long have they known then? >> a couple of months, at least. >> they what? forgot to call? >> yeah. i think the examiner that was doing it was looking for additional results and didn't realize she hadn't notified us. >> touch dna paid off? >> it did. >> but not quite the way they had all hoped. >> unbelievable that you would get touched dna evidence back that long after the fact.

>> right. >> but the news, it doesn't have some lopez's name on it. >> that's right. >> so, the strongest physical evidence was still against javier. it was sam who had the motive and he was the first one going on trial. even without a trace of his dna anywhere. it had taken 13 years to arrest sam lopez. it would take another eight to bring him to trial. just months before that trial began, murphy learned that sam had a new defense attorney, someone matt knew very well. >> he is so good and i've been lying if i said my heart was not in my throat. sends defense to tierney, rosenblum, was the former assistant dea who supervised the homicide unit. in fact, he was the original prosecutor who, back in 1994, didn't think there was enough evidence to charge sam. not only that, lou was the man

who brought matt into the homicide unit. >> lou took me under his wing and train we had two homicides. >> what's it like to go against toronto? >> it's terrifying to go up against your mentor. >> another one of them had ever lost a murder case. but someone's winning streak was about to end. february 10th, 2015, 20 years after kathy torres's murder, sam lopez went on trial. >> at the end of this case, you are going to hold that men accountable for what he did. >> the very first witness matt murphy put on the stand with kathy's mom, mary. it seemed safe way to start. >> there's a cardinal role that you don't do a hard cross examination on a mother. >> but matt mentor broke that role. >> he really pressed her on some of the details. >> and scored some points? >> scored big points. i mean, scored big time points. >> mary, initially told the jury that sam only responded to one of her pages.

under cross examination, mary revealed he had actually returned three pages. >> they were trying to paint the picture of sam that he did absolutely nothing and that is not true. >> it is one of the only cases i've done in my career where i realize he understands this case as well as i do. >> it was mentor against people. mistake -- the stakes can be higher. >> coming up -- >> it's as cold blooded as you can possibly get. >> where is the evidence? >> a 20 year search for a killer draws to a close. but, as always, the jury gets the last word. when dateline continues. ateline continues.

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narrator: matt murphy was facing the biggest battle of his career against his former mentor, biggest battle of his career, against his former mentor. the prosecutor turned defense

attorney, blake rosenblum. >> you only heard once -- at >> the same man, who back in 1984, felt there was not enough evidence to charge said lopez, was now defending him. it was an epic showdown in a packed courtroom. >> two of the best attorneys in the nation battling one another over a high stakes murder, with absolutely zero evidence on the murder being tried. it was teacher versus didn't. >> sam had been a suspect for 20 years. during that entire time, his attorney said, police had it all wrong. >> the detectives made up their mind about who did this murder within hours. we had a bad feeling about who they said. we are going to prove it and they spent the next 21 years over and over trying. >> the defense argued sam's behavior didn't prove anything. not only was sam in touch with kathy's family the way she disappeared, he also participated in the search.

putting up a flyer at his girlfriend store. that business about him not showing any emotion in the interview with police? >> it is very easy to sit back and say, he should have done that, he should have answered this way. look, he stretching. he's yawning, he's reading a coke can. obviously, he is a sociopath. where is the evidence? >> step back from those supposed tells the defense said. you would see the man sitting in that chair was not wanting to cover up a murder. >> he voluntarily gives hair, blood, prince, shoes, everything they want. not a man who's hiding. that is a man who wants to prove his innocence. >> and, the defense said, after 14 years of tests, not a single front that link. not his fingerprints, not his dna, had ever been found tying sam to kathy's brutal murder. >> everything that they had expected to find of my client --

everything, none of it was there. why? because they are wrong. >> the fingerprints and dna at the calm scene was obvious. the wrong man is on trial. >> heavier lopez is all over this. prince, dna, because he was one that did it, not my client. >> prosecutor met murphy argued that javier's dna and fingerprints were really evidence against sam. remember, from the beginning, javier had been sam's ally. >> he paid me, saying, i need a right. >> prosecutor argued that if they were together, and how bears dna put him at the scene of the crime, then sam had to be there to. >> his alibi is that the murder scene. for sam lopez, i think, that is just devastating evidence. >> and, he told the jury, it was the first of many instances where the most powerful evidence of guilt came from sam's own words. >> sam's actions and its and

statements. >> he gave you the case against him? >> the best evidence that we have in this case and that we had with sam lopez and self. >> sam was the one who told police he had a jealous streak. >> and temperaments and some guys name, i get past, okay? >> kathy was seeing another guy, albert. prosecution said sam's jealousy was triggered the night he took kathy out and saw that. >> what effect that can have on a guy that gets kissed, his own, word peace, if she mentions another guy. was he going to do when he sees a hockey? >> he did, mets, that is slash kathy's tires. >> obviously, someone would have to be very angered her to slash her tires. if those tires were slashed, ladies and gentlemen, there's only one suspect. there's only one person that did it. >> and he said sam's anger continue to build as kathy's attention turned to albert, the same week sam asked her to elope.

a proposal she told her sister, tina, she was going to reject on saturday. the day she was killed. >> so, now it is not just a hickey, it is a denial of a proposal. it is all because of another guy. >> the result, the prosecutor set, was that an attack so savage, cathy was stabbed more than 70 times, that it could only be the work of a jealous lover. >> every one of those cuts meant something. everyone in the step winds meant something. >> and the finishing blow? >> she was alive and sam lopez cut her throat. it's as cold blooded as you can possibly get. >> the 21st anniversary of kathy's murder fell during the middle of trial, a day that reminded kathy's family, once again, of all they had lost. >> what did your family do that? >> we went to the cemetery, as we go every year.

we take red roses that she wanted on valentine's day that we are. >> for 21 years, the torres family had demanded answers. two days after deliberations began, the jury reached a verdict. >> i couldn't breathe. i felt tightness inside. and when the clerk took the folder, i started my press. the lord is my shepherd, i shall not want. >> we the jury find the defendant, samuel lopez, guilty of murder in the first degree. >> once i heard that, all i remember is that i held my hands to my chin, like this. i just thanked god. >> dared wyatt was watching mary in that moment. >> this is everything to her. and i wanted to look into her eyes when i came back and see that she knew that i fulfilled

my promise. >> for sam's ex-wife, the news was devastating. >> i cried. >> your daughter? for sam? >> for both. >> doesn't sound like it shook your faith at all, and him. >> it didn't. >> after the verdict, people have placentia strong little white hearts on the tree planted in kathy's memory. >> did she leave the mark on the ball that she was wanted to leave? >> she did. we have letters of coworkers, of student she worked with -- >> people you didn't know? >> people we didn't know that we're able to come back and tell my mom or tell one of us, you know, we miss her and save on. she was always smiling, she would always help us. so, what they did to her, although stebbins as she got, multiply those and those are her marks. >> for 21 years, sam denied he inflicted those stab wounds,

denied he killed kathy. at his sentencing, sam did something unexpected. >> i would like to apologize to the tortillas family, to everyone all of the harm and grief that i have caused them. this was horrible act that never should've happened. it's entirely my fault. i take full responsibility. sam lopez was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison. heavier pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and being an accessory after the fact. he served eight years and is now out of prison. sam's brother, armando, pleaded guilty to dissuading a witness and was sentenced to one year probation. mary bennett is still facing the rest of her life without kathy. >> 1994, i was given the

sentence and there is no parole for me. i live my life without ever seeing kathy again, without seeing her beautiful smile or having her come running through that door and say, what is for dinner? i will never have any kind of parole from that. that is my life sentence. >> she is serving it one night at a time because in the wee small hours in the morning still call to mary bennett, reading the bible and waiting for dawn while the whole wide world is fast asleep. leep hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline." >> hello, i'm craig melvin. veronica ord: i was, what happened to my sister? hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline." this is dateline. >> i was robb