ukraine. >> and what will happen to prigozhin himself and the comics he recruited? what is undeniable, is that prigozhin broke the air of invincibility. and exposed cracks in what some call the mafia state that he has run in the last two decades. all because of a fight within the family. ♪ ♪ ♪ how could this happen? a very healthy 31 year old just winds of dead? >> a young father's death, so sudden, so strange. >> we wanted answers. >> the word poison just kept coming up. >> it was antifreeze poisoning. >> you can't smell it, you can't see it. >> someone wanted him dead. someone who was hiding something. >> the details of the case are very salacious. there is sex. there is the allegation of the

poisoning. >> cleaned out the bank account. >> are you trying to accuse me of something? >> a brother determined to find a killer. >> how dare anybody do that to my little brother? >> it wasn't supposed to happen like this. >> a toxic mystery and an emotional trial. >> is the jury being out long a bad thing or a good thing? ♪ ♪ ♪ >> it was a mystery from day one. from that time, right around the end of the hockey season. it made sense of what was happening to matthew podolak,

matt the hockey amateur, matt the hunter, the fisherman, the athlete. it would make sense from the very first day that matthew podolak woke up with the pain in his back. and after what happened in the hospital a couple of months later, nothing made sense after that. [noise] god knows there were accusations. well yes, plenty of those. and a brother, mark, from whom the stories, the mystery became a kind of obsession. >> it's had quite an effect on me over the past seven years. >> the story of what happened to matt podolak, was one of those of, well, you be the judge. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> let's begin in the spring of 2006. matt was 31 years old. maybe more than ever, he was loving the intense male roughness of amateur hockey. he was number 10. and he was good at it. he even managed to keep all his teeth. >> he started to take it up when he was in high school. and that was really one of his loves. >> mark podolak was just a little older. a little more academically accomplished than his kid brother baby. but mark loved him.

loved him for what he was. >> he was a good kid. i mean he didn't give into any trouble. to be honest with you, my dad is a cop. so, he started to put the fear of god with me and my brother when we started growing up. >> matt told his mom, patricia, he was going to join the police force when he came home from brooklyn after extending the navy. >> brooklyn, ohio, by the way, is one of the towns around the edge of cleveland. >> matthew always wanted to be a police officer. since he was little. >> his dad, land, was a 39 -year-old veteran of the brooklyn pd. >> there was a point in time where it looked like we may even work together. >> but life is full of disappointments. matt did not get the call. and so, instead, he went to work for his uncle who is phoenix industrial power coated engine parts for ford, another company. >> what did you think of that job of his over at the factory? >> my uncle owned the shop. so he liked it.

and he kind of moved up through the ranks. the thing that excited him about it was that he was going to take over. my uncle was kind of grooming him to become the boss. i remember him, in many cases, telling me about how he was looking forward to that. >> but what matt wanted, perhaps most of all, was a family. and so, when he met holly, holly mcfeeture -- >> matthew fell in love. he fell in love 100 and 10%. and he really loved holly. >> there were some people who planned out their lives very carefully. those people may have taken issue with matt and holly, whose daughter samantha was born, give or take, nine months after they met. the marriage part became later they decided. >> he loved being a dad. he loved that little girl. >> and loved holly. holly loved him. holly told her sister, chrissy, the story of how they mention they got engaged. it was during a romantic weekend in niagara falls, just before samantha was born. holly was preparing a bubble bath.

>> and she couldn't hear because the faucets running. and here's matt, down on his knee, like -- hello! and then she realized, oh my gosh, you're proposing. >> that is a kind of romantic little setup. >> i thought so. the bubbles. i thought that was pretty romantic. >> after samantha came along, matt and holly, now engaged, went to vegas to witness a friend's wedding, lynn kuriko. did you also make a force wedding? >> yes, actually. yes holly and matt said we should do a double wedding. >> but holly knew that her family would not be happy with that so i think that that's what made them not get married. >> didn't get married. but something happened in vegas. nine months after that, josh was born. >> from what holly has told me, josh was planned in vegas. >> ready or not, matt was not the father of samantha. and the baby boy he nicknamed,

little man. and holly's daughter from a previous relationship. big changes. in a very short time. and, by the end of the hockey season, a lot of things started going wrong. josh was still very new then. and was stressrf. and with that young family to support -- he began gambling on the internet. he complained of feeling depressed. so depressed is doctor prescribed anti depressants. and that's about when it started, the pain that is, spasms of back pain. he ignored it. thinking it will go away on its own. but it just got worse. after weeks of, this holley insisted he go see a doctor. >> he had been complaining of pain and she finally said that you need to go. obviously, something is not right. so, she basically, you know had to drag him there. >> kidney stones was the diagnosis. the doctor gave matt pills to help to solve it.

four days later, he took a turn for the worse. way worse. holly called her father, matts father a 9-1-1. >> i got a call from holly saying that there's something wrong with matt. so i talked to, matt and he said that i do not feel, good i fell off the couch and i'm really dizzy. so i said, get in the ambulance. >> holly's father, mike-- arrived and followed him to the hospital, where things went bad fast. >> it was nerve-racking because all we kept hearing about was, okay they're trying to dial in on his kidney issue. well, then that medication was making his heart go so than they try to address the heart. and they kept seesawing back and forth. >> and nobody seem to know really what it was causing? >> no. >> matt faded in and out of consciousness. doctors told holly and family members, go home, get some rest. and then another few hours later, they called everybody back to the hospital, right away, they said. one look at the icu and big brother mark felt his world come apart.

>> when i saw him in the hospital, it's something i could never forget. it seemed like he was in the calm, i knew that if you made it through, he wouldn't be the same. >> and everyone felt a particular kind of helplessness. knowing something was killing him. but not knowing, how could they, what it was. >> coming up -- >> i got a calling and they say you better get here because he's gone into full arrest. >> how could this happen? all of a sudden, a very healthy 31 year old, young man just winds up dead? >> a family, simple question, which would take seven years to answer. >> how can you go into the hospital for kidney stones and then die hours later? >> when dateline continues. so i didn't think i needed swiffer, until, i saw how easily it picked up my hair every time i dried it! only takes a minute. look at that! the heavy duty cloths are extra thick, for amazing trap & lock. even for his hair.

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july 31st 2006. there in the icu, this mysterious element attacked matt --

overwhelmed his defenses completely. >> i got a call, and they said you better get here because he's gone into full arrest and we've revived him already, once. so, when i got there it was just one downhill. >> as fiancée, holly mcfeeture, but the doctors to keep trying. >> and holly said, don't stop, don't stop! don't stop, matt, don't leave me. >> it was no use. >> and, once the doctor or nurse stepped away, holly just launched on matt and just wouldn't like they actually had to pull her off of his body >> he was just 31 years old and now his children were fatherless. and holly, a single mother of three at the funeral, said her sister, she did not take it well. holly was sitting in her car for about 20 minutes bawling

her eyes out before she even went in. i don't even know how i would be able to do that myself go in and see him lying there in the casket. if that was my fiancée, i probably wouldn't be able to go in that room. because i would want to scream and cry and ask for him to just be back. >> matt and holly son, josh, was just six months old. and he cried, a lot. so, said chrissy, holly repeatedly had to leave the reception line to care for her colicky baby >> she was in the basement with josh because she was nursing. she had to still take care of her kids and show them that she had to be strong. >> holly's friend, rebecca baker, did what she could to help. especially with that little boy, so young. >> this poor baby, he would've never known his father. how could this happen? all of a sudden, a very healthy 31 year old, young man just winds up that. it's kind of strange. >> kind of strange?

it certainly was. matt's brother mark couldn't stop thinking about how strange it was. >> he had kidney stones. how could you go into the hospital for kidney stones and then die eight hours later? >> exactly what the corner was wondering when he had a look at some of the damage to matt's organs, as if he had been exposed to some toxic chemicals in his environment. matt had worked for four years that is uncles finest industrial supervised assembly line involved in painting and powder coating. any toxic chemicals there? >> the corner called hawley to ask said her friend linda curry co-the corner told are that a lot of the chemical compounds were similar to what the chemical compound was that they had found in him. >> right after that, holly called matt's uncle, the man who, on the factory seeing the act my brother needed to call the coroner so that he can explain what matthew was exposed to.

>> but soon after the corner talk to matt's uncle, after he got a proper list of the chemicals, he pretty much ruled out any industrial caused >> all of those chemicals were safe to work with. they were osha proved and they had masks to wear. >> so, if not that, what? >> perhaps a cause all to -- but a depressed young man overwhelmed with his sudden responsibility and the pain of his kidney stones decided to end it all >> it was a corners investigator who brought up the subject of matt's mother >>, and she was questioning me would matthew had committed suicide? >> never, said his mother. never! but it was his family had to admit, a not unreasonable question given mass depression and all. even though mark believed his brother had that under control. >> he went to a doctor to get some help with that.

the doctor gave him some antidepressants. >> did that help? >> i thought it did. he seemed to be better. >> but then, matt had a new family now. you know how it is, matt was spending most of his time with holly in the kids and her parents. they, said so maybe mark didn't know. >> did you go to his home, his parents house very often? >> i don't recall him talking about that much. >> his connection didn't seem to be that close. >> it didn't seem to be >> and mark didn't know, not then anyway, that matt actually asked a friend to remove his hunting guns from his house as if he was afraid, perhaps, he might harm himself. >> was he really thinking about killing himself? >> from what i heard, yes. i heard that he was having thoughts, he had told holly, i think, he had actually told my dad just as she insisted to see the doctor for kidney stones, it was holly, said the sister who insisted that he get help for us depression >> she had

sent him to the doctor and got him on medication for that as well. >> what happened to matt podolak. who knew? apparently not the corner. who had still not issued any official report. and, then finally, three months after matt's death, mark got a call from his mother. >> come to a family meeting, she told him. she refused to tell them what would be said there. because, i knew that he would be very, very upset the news was too bizarre, too shocking to share over the phone >> coming up -- >> the whole family was there, and i kind of lost it the >> coroner's report makes it clear, matt's death wasn't just strange. it was also highly suspicious >> we were all thinking it was kidney failure, we were not expecting that. >> it was my mission to find an answer for this. >> when dateline continues. 0?

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them. big brother mark and the kid he looked out for, his little brother matt and now, matt was dead and nothing made sense to mark podolak. >> there's no way that a guy is going to go into the hospital with kidney stones and you're

going to die because of kidney stones. >> three months after his death, matt podolak's family gathered for a meeting. matt family arranged. it before, that they told mark that they've been discussing a wrongful death suit against the hospital where matt died. >> my mom called me over and she said, we're going to talk with a lawyer, tonight we're gonna find out the next steps of what's going to happen. >> but matt's father wasn't exactly straight with her son, that was not what was going to happen >> so, when i got to her house, the whole family was there and i was like, where is the lawyer? and she's like, he's not here. >> no lawyer. something far more disturbing. the autopsy report matt's mother did not want her surviving son hearing about this over the phone, afraid of how he'd react. >> and i felt like it was almost like an intervention it was weird it was so surreal so, she sent me down in the whole family was there as a supporting. and they said, we got the corners report back. and it was antifreeze poisoning. and i kind of lost it. >> antifreeze poisoning?

that just -- >> yeah. >> the correct phrase for this at the corners report was chronical -- ethylene glycol. ethylene glycol, being the active intoxicating ingredient in antifreeze. >> so, i was saying, what is that? ethylene glycol is antifreeze for chronic? >> so, it means it happened over a period of time. so once that kind of said in, i was shocked. i was speechless. >> and that's when something profound happened to mark podolak. maybe not at that moment but the decision snapped into place. >> from that moment on, when we found out, it was my mission to find -- to find an answer for this. >> a mission complicated by the fact that there was one very big question the corner couldn't answer. was matt death the result of some terrible mistake? or suicide? or was it murder? nobody knew. and so, the coroner labeled the manner of death, undetermined. across town, mets fiancée holly

was figuring out the news to. holly sister, chrissy -- >> what did she say? >> what can you say, what do you mean, there's antifreeze in the system. we were all thinking it was kidney failure. we were not expecting that. >> wasn't really possible that matt somehow ingested small amounts of antifreeze for a period of weeks, six -- if not longer? >> that was the implication of the phase, chronic ethylene glycol poisoning. mark had already made up his mind that his brother did not commit suicide. and certainly, not gradual suicide. but what did he have to go on? so far, only a growing suspicion and rage which he made perfectly clear to the police. >> i finally got a of the detective on the case and he did some initial stuff. but it wasn't the follow-through that i had hoped. maybe that was just because i was just grieving and i was so upset. >> but when something like that happens, you want the whole world to stand up and pay attention and do something. >> when something like that

happens, i want every member of the police department to be on it and over there and searching the house and everything. and i understand that it's not realistic but i wanted somebody to find out what the hell happened. >> and it seemed like nobody -- >> know, it didn't seem that way. and time started to go on. and i became extremely frustrated. >> matt's father, lynn, a former cop himself could see the problem. the case fall was stuck. >> it became a catch 22 situation. the coroner said he couldn't labeled it as a homicide without more evidence from the police. well, at the very same time. >> cleveland homicide was saying that they can't investigated as a homicide until the corner rolls it a homicide. >> and so, it remains, month after month, year into year -- and still the manner of death was listed as undetermined. just like mark, matt father, lynn, made something of a pest of himself.

>> i would call the detective that was assigned to the case and say, whatever you got in the standard answer to me was, i don't have anything. what do you got? i was like, well, this is your job not my job, you know. >> not like the way that met beyoncé hawley was thinking. >> she was upset, you know, that there was -- >> nobody's doing anything. >> yes, yeah, none of our family was interviewed. >> it was like they were letting it go. >> exactly. >> but holly had three children to race, alone. police versus corner politics was not exactly uppermost in her mind. to make ends meet, she took on two, sometimes three jobs at the same time. and through herself into coaching her children's little league baseball team. meanwhile, mark kept hounding investigators but getting nowhere. >> made me feel like there was nothing -- it made me feel like my brother's case was on the desk of somebody who could care less

and was counting down the days to his retirement. >> but the mark was getting nowhere, holly was hearing things not from the police. remember the plant where matt supervised other workers? what was really going on around the powder coating machines? >> coming up -- >> holly and her sister had their own theory about how matt died. >> there were some people at his job that may have not liked him. he was supposed to get a promotion. and i think that there were some people that -- >> that didn't think he deserved it? >> didn't think he deserved it. >> where they right? >> he wasn't this guy that was going around picking fights with people. he was loved by his coworkers. >> when dateline continues. sic playing ] when we first arrived at st. jude, it was just claire and i. she was still recovering from her brain surgery. and side effects of that surgery meant that she had to relearn how to walk and how to speak.

♪♪ [ male announcer ] you can join the battle to save lives by supporting st. jude children's research hospital. two months after we arrived, my three-year-old came to visit, and claire lit up. she was quiet before. and i thought it was just because cancer's hard, but she was really missing her siblings, and i didn't realize how much. all right, young lady. we're going to see how much you weigh, and how tall you are real quick. ♪♪ mama. hey, claire. [ laughter ] ♪♪ [ male announcer ] families never receive a bill from st. jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. when you call or go online with your credit or debit card right now, we'll send you this st. jude t-shirt you can wear

to show your support to help st. jude save the lives of these children. i experienced life at st. jude. every dollar that goes to st. jude goes to a good place. it's keeping families together during the hardest thing they'll ever face. ♪♪ the first thing i'm going to do when i get home is pet my dog. ♪♪ [ woman ] st. jude saved my daughter's life. [ claire ] i love st. jude. [ male announcer ] please call or go online right now and become a st. jude partner in hope today. [ tires screeching ] jordana, easy on the gas. i gotta wrap this commercial, i think i'm late on my payment. it's okay, the general gives you a break. yeah, we let you pick your own due date. good to know, because this next scene might take a while. for a great low rate, go with the general. the united states is sending

cluster munitions to ukraine aid in their war effort against

russia. the pentagon announced that friday. the weapons can be used to spread multiple bombs in a large area, increasing ukraine's firepower. and a wave of record breaking heat has no end in sight as temperatures continue to climb nationwide. heat advisories are in effect in parts of texas and new mexico, well excessive heat warnings are in effect for most of arizona. another wave of brutal heat is expected to hit the southwest next week. now back to dateline. now back to dateline polley holly mcfeeture was up against -- three, kids to still in diapers. she lost the father of her children, the police couldn't seem to figure out what happened to her. didn't seem to even be trying. a little bit of cash left over in mats checking account was soon gone. eventually, mets work base life insurance paid out 10,000. but that was way off yet and i wouldn't be very much. so, in the meantime, she did what she had to do. she took on several jobs at a

time. even babysat for neighbors. when she had a spare hour two. >> the children needed food, they still needed a roof over their heads. and that's exactly what she was doing. she was paying their bills and making sure that the kids were taking care of. >> the thing is, holly mcfeeture loved kids. not just her own -- while matt's passion was playing hockey, holly's was coaching little league baseball. she threw herself into it after matt's death. baseball is how rebecca vega mitali. >> our kids were in little league together at that time. >> that was the spring of 2006 before matt died. their oldest girls were school classmates and sports teammates. and holly -- >> she was friendly in the way that was intoxicating. so i guess it wasn't intoxicating friendliness.

>> you just wanted to be around her? >> you did, you did. you wanted to be around her. >> being around holly was how rebecca met matt, actually. and then one day, matt tagged along with holly to one of the kids to ball game. he was already sick by that time. though, nobody knew yet how sick. he was sitting under this tree, all alone, said rebecca. watching the game. >> you could tell he didn't feel well. you could tell that he was in pain. he shifted in the chair quite often. >> and, four days later, matt was dead. after the funeral, rebecca had tried to comfort holly and help with the kids. >> if she needed help with the children, if the children needed something, yes. it was just the kind of help her. >> when the coroner's report came out and shocked everyone, holly told, rebecca, of course, right away >> what did you think when you heard that he died of antifreeze poisoning? >> kind of put the mystery of how this healthy 31 year old actually passed, suddenly. you know, he was poisoned >>

but who would want to poison matt podolak. just a regular guy no enemies no known enemies, anyway holley told rebecca the police didn't seem to be doing anything to find out but that she had some leads of her own >> and she suspected somebody at work. >> she suspected somebody at work. >> that eventually, she told rebecca, the police did to. >> she thought that somebody poisoned him at work or poison just kept coming up. >> sister chrissy heard the rumors to. why would they do such a thing? >> there were some people at his job that may have not liked him. it was his uncles company. , and people i think we're a little jealous. he was supposed to get a promotion. and i think there were some people that -- >> didn't think he deserved it? >> didn't think he deserved it. >> increasingly, all the and members of the family became convinced that somebody at work found a way to put antifreeze

into mats drink or something. and if that phrase in the corners report was true, chronic ethylene glycol intoxication, that somebody would've done it several times. >> but, one person who wasn't buying that theory was matt's brother, mark. >> he didn't have any enemies. >> matt had worked his way up from the production line to supervisor at the plant said mark. and he was well liked by the people and phoenix industrial. >> he wasn't this guy that was going around picking fights with people. he was loved by his coworkers. >> by then, solving the case of his brother's murder had become mark's obsession. he collected stories from matt's factories coworkers, from the streets, from friends. he fumed when the official investigation seemed to go nowhere. and then, after three frustrating years, one small change that made a huge difference. a new supervisor in the

cleveland homicide division took over matt's case. his name, detective sergeant mike quinn. >> so, at the time, you took it over -- >> i took it over. >> three years? >> pushing three years. and i reviewed the file. >> with fresh guys, quinn went over the case. reinterviewed people who knew both matt and holly. and suddenly -- >> i felt a completely different sense of what was happening. >> now, said mark, what he called was questions of suggestion, he felt like somebody was listening. especially when he told him what he was hearing on the streets. >> i was trying, hey, maybe this is something that could help you. maybe you should look into this. >> you heard about things? >> absolutely. it was a really close knit town. so, people talk. there's chatter out there. >> strange how that chatter seem to focus on one particular person. >> coming up -- a possible motive for murder. >> she went the atm machine and used his card the day after the

death. she wrote checks writing his name on the check. cleaned up the bank account, left one penny in it. >> what did that say to you? >> obviously, a huge red flag. >> in my mind, there was nobody else, there was no other way that could've happened. how dare anybody do that to my little brother. >> when dateline continues. you know that feeling of having to rewash dishes that didn't get clean? i don't. new cascade platinum plus has me doing dishes... differently. scrub? soak? nope. i just scrape, load and i'm done. only platinum plus is bigger. with double the dawn grease fighting power and double the scrubbing power. for a no rewash clean... and a cabinet ready shine. rewash? not in my house. upgrade to new cascade platinum plus. dare to dish differently.

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three years after matt podolak died of antifreeze poisoning. two families had sharply different theories about the cause.

matt's fiancée, holly, her whole family infect suspected somebody at work headed out for him. but mark and his family, well, they were looking closer to home. how close? let's put it this way. the two sides of the family weren't talking anymore. and already existing mistrust ramped up in the hospital years before when matt was in the icu. that's when matt's brother, mark, began to wonder if holly was in some way responsible for matt mysterious illness. >> my mom and i had a specific conversation, i remember. it just thinking that she could've done this to him. and we were kind of like, i don't know, maybe. but at the time, we didn't know why he passed. >> and then, there was the funeral. holly's family said she was very upset, cried in the car before going in, but when

sergeant quinn read the old case fall he found a curious statement from holly's friend rebecca vega. what sort of grief was this? >> she was back and forth talking to different individuals, almost like a flirtatious, that intoxicating friendliness that she had. as if her fiancée wasn't even laying there in front of everyone. >> talking to just everybody or was she concentrating on men or women? >> mostly men. >> flirtatiously? >> flirtatious. >> that's how she was, said matt's family, how she always was. at first, friendly, magnetic even. but didn't stay that way for long. later, matt told them, holly became controlling, demanding. >> did you ever complain about his relationship? >> of course he did. yeah. he did. he said she's nagging me, she's yelling at me, she's calling at me, she's doing all this stuff.

there was some incidents that happened, sometimes where they had to have belief show up. >> math protect a big brother called it down right nasty, the way she treated. i'm said so too. >> we said, it's not worth the hard to keep going through this. he was afraid that he wouldn't see his kids if they were part. and i had discussions with my mom and my dad on many occasions about how, hey, he's worried about this. let's get him out of the situation so he could kind of move on. and he could still be a father. >> and now he was dead. and his family was raw with suspicion. when they want to collect some of matt's personal effects like his computer, they told sergeant quinn, hotly told him, she no longer hallett. the hard drive was being fixed. which sounded fishy to the detective. >> was this in the -- in the effort to destroy evidence? >> that's what most people do when they get rid of a computer. they may have been connected to the crime. they're gonna get rid of it.

>> not evidence, really, but suggestive like one, according to them, holly said right after matt died, he wanted to be cremated. an idea matt family quickly shot down. still, why would she have said that? and then, they said, when they asked her for his clothes and other effects, she told them that she'd already gotten rid of them. it was as if she wanted to erase matt from her life. >> was there anything left of this guy at all in her house? >> not that i'm aware of. not too much. >> then, there was the business about the money. the big deal that, said detective quinn. >> she went to the atm machine and used his card the day after his death, two days later, she wrote checks writing his name on the checks. cleaned up the bank account, left one penny in it. >> wow! what did that say to you? >> obviously, a huge red flag. >> it was a measure of the suspicion of broken trust that matt mother in charge of his estate reported holly to the police. holly was arrested and charged with theft and two counts of forgery. she agreed to make restitution and was put on probation for a year in return, prosecutors drop the charges.

>> what happened to her? what was the sentence? >> she was given the first time offenders program, so she didn't do any jail time. >> then, there was the life insurance. it wasn't much, including matt 401(k) amounted to just $15,000. but here's what made matt's brother mark suspicious. >> my brother was talking about a couple of days before removing her from the life insurance policy, removing her from, as a beneficiary of the policy in the 401 k. and that's how serious it was getting. >> and so, holly actually got 10,000 of that insurance, it seemed to mark to confirm what he had been thinking since the beginning. she must have killed him. >> in my mind, there was nobody else. there was no other way that it could've happened. and none. >> so, the first reaction is shock. what's the second reaction? >> anger. and then sadness. how dare anybody do that to my little brother. how dare they? >> but really, 10,000 in left

insurance, a motive for murdering the father of your children? >> what did you think when you heard that. i mean, that seems a fair -- fairly serious allegation. >> oh, yes, absolutely. i thought that it was ridiculous, it's that somebody would actually think that i mean, seriously. that's silly. >> you laugh. >> why would somebody kill somebody over a life insurance policy? >> well, they do it all the time. >> well, i know my sister didn't. because holly is a very strong woman. and if, you know, she was not happy with him, she would've left. >> yes, holly and her family heard all the whispers. they knew all about the podolak's suspicion. which they said were absolutely baseless. that business about stealing money from the bank account, for example -- did she understand she was breaking the law when she did it? >> no. absolutely not. she was thinking that she had to take care of her children and his. what else would she -- was she supposed to do?

>> as for getting rid of his stuff, erasing him from her life. >> that is not true. at all. as a matter of fact, she still has a lot of matt's shirts that she actually wears. >> but, quietly, four years after matt's death, sergeant quinn collected the stories he heard. but there was one story he had not heard. nobody had. holly's story. >> coming up -- >> holly, we're investigating the death of matthew podolak. >> holly is invited downtown for a little chat with detectives. >> have you ever told anyone that you put something in matthew's drinks? >> no. >> did you give matthew any type of poison? >> no. >> when dateline continues. ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year ♪ ♪ non-drowsy claritin knocks out symptoms from over 200 allergens. without knocking you out. feel the clarity and make today

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death by antifreeze poisoning, the -- and pointing at her. matt's fiancée and the mother of his children, holly mcfeeture. >> holly mcfeeture was a suspect from day one. prosecutors were appointed. brian make done in and -- they were frustrated >> but we were missing missing pieces, missing critical links on the case. evidence already collected was madly inconclusive. for example, detectives recovered two bottles of antifreeze in the garage were holly and matt lived. but it turned out somebody else had been living in the house for more than a year by the time they found. it whose antifreeze was it? nobody knew. but still, was there a way that we could go ahead and link it up? >> nope. tests confirmed that the garage antifreeze did not match the antifreeze that killed matt. but, remember holly's friend, rebecca vega? detective quinn found her name

in the old file. called up and discovered that after matt died she spent practically every day with holly. and here's where detective quinns eyes really opened wide. rebecca told them that one day, she was at holly's house when she noticed some odd-looking jugs of chemical in holly's kitchen. >> she had said that it was antifreeze and that it was to winterize matt's boat. >> did you ask why they were there? >> yeah, i did. >> i mean, they were fixing the boats. >> but, yeah the it was in the kitchen on the boats outside. so you, know why would the antifreeze be in the kitchen? >> and then she said at the time rebecca was complaining about her husband. >> and holly said, i can get rid of him. >> i can get rid of him? >> i could get rid of him. and i kind of thought, that was a kind of joke about it. i kind of laughed.

and she actually backed up that statement with well you can work and you could just move into your house. >> weird as she looked back on that. so, when she heard about the corners report and the podolak 's family suspicion, she cut off all contacted with holly -- >> i thought to myself, i'd expose my family to murder. >> she seemed to me like she believed that holly poisoned matthew. >> was she a little freaked out by this? >> she stated that she was afraid of holly. >> so, quinn kept an eagle eye on holly mcfeeture. and one day, he heard about holly and the karaoke bar. >> holly and her sister were singing a song by the dixie chicks. it's a song about an abused woman in a relationship with the man who, to get back at the man, ends up poisoning his food. and they were up there singing the song and laughing about it. this was after matthew's death.

i thought it was really cold blooded when i heard about it. >> matt was 2010, four years after matt's death. the same year sergeant queen received a big gift. maybe was the fact prosecutors were appointed. maybe it was sergeant quaint investigation. maybe it was the karaoke. whatever was, that's when the coroner changed his ruling on matt manner of death from undetermined to homicide. and with that little bureaucratic struggle appearance, everything changed. >> you see that little thing? >> for, one for the very first time, holly was invited to the police station to give a formal statement. >> holly, we're investigating the death of matthew podolak. the coroner's office has ruled it a homicide. >> chewing gum, looking casual. holly came in without a lawyer and was read her miranda rights. >> are you willing to talk with officers without consulting a lawyer or any --

having a lawyer present with you? >> yeah. that's fine. i don't have anything to hide. i didn't do anything, so -- >> so, what would she say about her relationship with matt? >> did you and matthew ever have any fights? physically? >> yeah, a couple. >> did you call the police? >> i know on one time i called the cops. >> holly said it happened when she had a mill friend over at her house. >> it was because he assumed something was going on when that was in the case. i had a friend over, we were talking and the moment he came home, he didn't like, it he got jealous. she told him, if they really wanted to solve the mystery, they should ask questions at matt's factory. >> so, did matthew ever have any type of enemies? >> at work, from what he would come home and tell me, there

was a lot of people there that he didn't get along with. he was considered one of the supervisors. and he would tell me different stories on how so and so would get into a fight. >> and, remember the 10,000 life insurance -- about as a possible motive for murder? holly said she didn't know it was life insurance until after matt was dead. >> as far as i, knew the only thing he had at work was the 401k plan. i didn't find out that he had life insurance until at the funeral home when his uncle told us. >> the obituary was -- >> it ended up being me. and we found that out at the funeral. >> but, how about that night in the karaoke bar? >> earl's gotta die. do you know that song? >> yeah. >> and laughing about it with the reference about abusive relationship with the female poisons the man and he dies. >> it's a song. yes, it's a karaoke song. >> well! >> over and over, the

detectives challenged holly with the accusing question. >> did you give matthew any type of poison? >> no. >> did you give matthew any type of antifreeze? >> no. >> isn't it a fact that you poisoned matthew? >> no, it's not a fact. because i didn't do. it i did not do that. >> and have you ever told anyone that you put something in matthews drinks? >> no. i never put anything in matthews drinks. so i would never said it. >> all the protested. none of this made sense, she said. this is the father of my children. my fiancée. the person i was going to spend the rest of my life with. i'm not going to hurt him in any way possible. i mean, dreams, our goals, everything -- my whole life has completely been changed upside down. and i know nothing.

and his family just despises me and does nothing but speak evil. >> and with that, detectives thanked her for coming in and sent her on her way with the warning that most likely she'd be indicted. >> you don't shop for arrangement interview. >> that was late september, 2010. but holly wasn't indicted. not that year, not the next year either. but, something strange happened in 2011. holly answered her phone and found herself talking to a guy she dated briefly after matt died. >> do you remember what you told me about the drinks? >> do you hear the trap snapping shut? >> coming up -- >> he claimed to have heard holly mcfeeture confessed by saying she put something in his drinks. >> police and prosecutors think that they did -- with a new witness. >> what was so compelling about

his testimony was that he was the only person to have that knowledge. >> but, is he enough to take this case to court? >> the details of the case are very salacious. there's sex, there is the allegation of poisoning. it's very interesting but that doesn't make it necessarily a dead bang winner for trial. >> when dateline continues. want your clothes to smell freshly washed all day without heavy perfumes? try downy light in-wash freshness boosters. it has long-lasting light scent, no heavy perfumes, and no dyes. finally, a light scent that lasts all day. downy light! ahhh! icy hot pro starts working instantly. with two max-strength pain relievers, so you can rise from pain like a pro. icy hot pro. with woolite, jill feels super confident in her favorite sweater. so much, she marched up to her boss and said 'dan i want a raise'!

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years long, matt podolak's death was still non solved mystery. and -- all that time, mark podolak had neglected his own life to prove that holly was the killer.

>> i knew that my relationship with my friends suffered, ultimately it led to me being divorced. it was destructive on a lot of levels. because we focus so much on a certain goal, asserted mission. >> and you're so -- angry. >> and i'm angry. >> even angrier, now if that was possible. because there had been a change. the case was reclassified as a homicide. but holly was living her life, free. no charges filed. >> and i became extremely frustrated. i'm not going to lie. >> so frustrated, he sent a message to dateline on facebook asking us to look into his brother's death. holly and her family, meanwhile, we're waiting to see if the hammer would fall. >> i can't tell you how many times she's cried knowing that people are saying, you know, that she's a murderer and that this loving mom and softball coach can kill a man that she loved. >> but day-by-day, sergeant mike quinn was closing in on holly. just one more big thing, one solid piece of evidence, all he needed. and, maybe he and the

prosecutors decided, maybe a joe bird could provided. >> holly briefly dated a man named jameson kennedy, a year or so after matt died. and, according to kennedy, during a wine and sex driven evening, holly made some kind of confession. >> this, thought the prosecutors, was gold >> what did he claim he heard? >> he heard to have heard holly makes feature confess by saying she put something in his drinks. >> then, prosecutor brian mick dunn -- >> and that she wanted to stop but then his kidneys had failed. and that was compelling evidence. >> but, all with something. mr. kennedy was not exactly the local church pastor, his rap sheet was longer than a sunday sermon. >> in fact, when he came up

with a little offering about holly, he was in county jail. under rest for beating up some cops. so, a snitch. >> as a prosecutors, we don't like informants. but what was so compelling about his testimony was that he was the only person to have that knowledge. >> how would he have that knowledge in the first -- >> how would hear that? >> he heard that from her lips to his ears. >> but, how could they possibly prove it? >> one possible way, sneaking. but it might work. they set up a phone call kennedy in prison called holly and they turned on a tape recorder >> hello? >> holly. >> yeah. >> do you know who this is? >> yeah, hi jameson. >> sometimes these things work. sometimes they don't. it's just how it is with the investigation of this story. suffice to say that the call wasn't everything that they wanted to be so heard they were, at a kind of crossroads. should they go forward or finally drop it? the evidence, the story of a

jail house snitch with multiple felony convictions, never an easy sell. so an ex friends who is talk of antifreeze in the house offers to get rid of her husband, might be real or imagined. a financial motive that, at most, might have amounted to paltry 15 grand. and a bit of dixie chicks karaoke, the performance of which may have been monstrously cruel or perfectly in innocent. still, who could've done it? >> the details of the case are very salacious. then prosecutor alison ford -- >> their sex, there's the allegation of poisoning, it's very interesting and it certainly enough to keep anyone 's attention but, that doesn't make it necessarily a strong case or a dead bang winner for trial. >> and so, the prosecutors consulted mark in the family they were all committed now. all emotionally attached. but the family should decide. >> he, said this is where we are, he ladle out. and he said we can take a shot

and see where this goes. and -- >> you might lose >> we might lose. and we all agreed that we wanted to go with it. we've suffered long enough. >> case number 564265, holly mcfeeture. >> so, in 2012, six years after matt podolak's's death, holly was indicted for aggravated murder and contaminating substance for human consumption. from her mugshot, it did not look like she was too worried about the outcome of the case. but this was serious maximum sentence. life without parole. her attorney, brett jordan applied for bail. >> she was scared, she missed her kids, i would say probably in some state of shock at that point. >> the judge took a look at the circumstantial case against her and granted the bail request. half 1 million bond with an ankle bracelet.

but, though the case was not the strongest. there was publicity. antifreeze poisoning? holly was suddenly famous but not in a good way. the old brooklyn little league, told the once beloved coach that she wasn't welcome anymore. and holly mcfeeture prepared to defend her life in court. >> coming up -- >> his body was shutting down his organs were systematically shut down >> ice tea spiked with antifreeze? the prosecution's theory of how holly poisoned math. you can't smell it and you can't see it in the tea. he would have no way to know that it's coming. it's so secretively done. >> when dateline continues. i work out whenever i can. but with my moderate- to-severe eczema, it can be tough. my skin was so uncomfortable. the itching was so bad.

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pestering the investigators, seven years of brooding seven years after the sudden

agonizing death of his kid brother matt marc podolak marched with satisfaction as holly mcfeeture walked into the courtroom i finally felt like we were going to make this happen. >> please rise! >> again, the case against holly was possibly a leech no guarantees here but, mark knew it. >> i was extremely nervous. oh my gosh! being in that courtroom >> and you don't know how it's going to turn out >> you have no idea how it's going to turn out. >> truth was, the prosecution didn't have much to work with. without any hard evidence to pin on holly, their case boiled down to a process of elimination. someone did this to mad. who else could've been? other than his fiancée. >> in this case, telling a story would be crucial because there wasn't a whole lot else to do, right? >> absolutely. >> prosecutor brian -- began his story with the scene inside the hospital room the night matt died. >> his body was shutting down.

his organs were systematically shut down. >> and then, matt's father, glenn , describe the horror of watching his son final agony. so much pain, he couldn't talk. except to ask for his children. >> he would say where's little man and where's samantha. >> a picture was passed around the courtroom, matt dead, lying on the autopsy table. mark began to cry. across the courtroom, so the holly. >> and then, corner dan -- told the -- what he found during the autopsy. discoveries had became the core of the case against holly. >> the cause of death was chronic intoxication by ethylene glycol >> poison with antifreeze, very, very slowly. he explained he had found crystals in matt's heart and brain. having inched their way through the body, the kidney, the hard in the brain.

>> how much time would it take for the crystals to deposit themselves into the blood vessels of the heart? >> it takes weeks, at least. >> the fact that crystals were forming in his heart and had traveled to his brain indicated long term exposure and not a one-dose kill. >> and matt's friends and were colleagues testified. they had seen his body disintegrate before their eyes, starting weeks, if not months before his dad. >> he began sweating profusely and he complained of back pain. >> he was sitting beside me and practically was hunched over to where his chest was on his knees. >> who could've made that happen and how? investigators, remember, they had found antifreeze in halle and matt's garage. immediately, a year after holly moved out. prosecutors knew that they

could not link these bottles to the crime. but even so, detective queen to the mouth of the evidence back for the jury to see. left them on the witness stand as prop. a little courtroom theater. >> a bottle of scent turn antifreeze equivalence. >> take a look at those bottles, the prosecution seemed to be saying. and, common sense will tell you it wasn't suicide. nobody would down antifreeze on purpose, said the prosecutor. let alone, bit by bit. as indicated in the corners report. >> there was no suicide note. he didn't go ahead and give away his possessions. suicide did not make sense. >> now, there was one person prosecutor argued that only one had the means in the motive to poison matt, his fiancée, holly mcfeeture. a parade of witnesses testified about math and all these rocky relationship the bitter words, fierce arguments that they could end up but over here. >> when we would be fishing, that phone would be ringing

every five minutes. she'd be screaming so loud he'd be holding the phone away from this ear. >> i told him that he needed to protect himself and i told him that he should remove his shotgun from his house. >> and, far from being shattered by matt's death, as her family claimed, prosecution witnesses described how holly seemed almost giddy after matt died. >> what did you observe that -- >> well, almost a party atmosphere. as if nothing had happened. >> and then, the prosecution called halle's old friend, rebecca vega. if anybody had a ringside seat to holly's life after matt, it was rebecca. >> how is it to actually be in the courtroom, seeing her there, answering those questions? >> couldn't even look at her. >> rebecca told the jury, holly didn't wait long after matt's death to remove any trace of him from the house. >> it seemed as if everything,

like, being of matt had been taken out of the home. >> but it was what holly hadn't cleaned up that made the biggest impression on rebecca. those bottles of chemicals on the kitchen floor >> what was hollies response when you asked her about those items? >> one of the items was brought up us antifreeze for matt to winterize his boat. >> but, who winterize is their boat in the summer? remember, matt died in july, said the prosecutors, so rebecca's story was evidence that hawley had access to antifreeze around the time of matt's death >> she was able to put antifreeze in the kitchen of holly mcfeeture after the death of matt podolak. >> now they needed to convince the jury that holly actually fed the antifreeze to matt. that would take a little doing.

first, several of matt's coworkers's testified that holly, sometimes dropped off matt's lunch at the factory. >> holly -- big needed every once in a while firm. >> how many occasions do you recall that happening? >> half a dozen. >> and, holly always make sure to include matt's favorite drink, he said. half a gallon of more of raspberry iced tea antifreeze is sweet, otherwise tasteless. could holly of spiked the tee? >> you can't smell it and you can't see it from the tee. he would have no way to know that it's coming. >> but, why in heaven's name which he do such a thing? what was her motive? well, as the prosecution saw it, at least, all those arguments met and holly were having represented the death throws of their relationship. a relationship she wanted to leave and he did not. stubbornly. because he didn't want to lose custody of those kids. >> so, it's your claim that he was sticking like glue. and to get rid of them, she had to poison him. >> that is how she saw the way out. >> a way out. sweeten suggested the

prosecution with -- and 401(k). he was worth $15,000 tour, if he died. >> that was clearly not a motive, really. i mean it's chump change, basically, right? >> $15,000 for some person might be worth 150,000 for another. >> interesting theory. trick question, persuade the jury that the hardworking committed young mother, the woman who was always volunteering to help others, who coached t-ball teams could, at the same, time be a devious cold blooded murder. yes, absolutely typical said the prosecution. star witness. still to come, the man who knew all about the violence and secrets and kissing in telling. >> coming up -- >> holly melt stunning court. what happened? >> when dateline continues. >>

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our top story. the biden administration is defending its decision to supply ukraine with controversial cluster bombs, saying that fighters are running out of ammunition against russian forces. cluster bombs have been outlawed by many u.s. allies because they can detonate months or even years after initially deployed. and the el paso walmart shooter who killed 23 people in a hate filled rampage was sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms for his crimes. you will be tried for murder in texas next, where he faces the death penalty. now back to dateline. now back to dateline way up on the 22nd floor of the criminal court building here in downtown cleveland, holly mcfeeture sat through a hailstorm of allegations and attacks on her character.

practically, a monster if you believe some of the witnesses. and, for the most, part she listened politely, turned occasionally to smile at her sister or share a word of encouragement. but then, then the announcement was made. >> your honor, at this time we have jameson -- >> and from those words, jamison kennedy, holly went into a kind of shock. and, then as quickly, even before kennedy walked into the courtroom came tears. something in her seem to crumble. the tears became racking sobs, as if she, in full blown terror or panic, simply could not go on. all this happened as the attorneys were at the bench, conferring with judge bryant before kennedy's testimony began. holly left her seat. rushed to her sister chrissy in the gallery and broke down. and it all happened in front of the jury. >> mark podolak was not moved. in fact, he was disgusted. >> where was that emotion during the funeral? where was that emotion when

your lover was dying in the hospital? yet, a guy that you hadn't seen in years stepped into the courtroom, you have an emotional breakdown? that's courtroom drama, in my opinion. >> was she afraid of the man? was he afraid of what he had to say? the whole business was highly unusual. holly, visibly shaking, was allowed to leave the courtroom while kennedy testified. >> how do you know holly mcfeeture? >> i originally matter at the board that she worked, out the dirty. dog >> jameson kennedy wasn't ex-con, holly dated the year so after matt's death. the snitch who -- historian from the jail cell.

was it was to call him a prosecution witness? the man had eight felony convictions under his belt. and he was serving ten years from beating up cops. and yet, here he was, central witness against holly. >> he's an alcoholic. he's a drug addict. and he wants something from you guys. so he'll say whatever you asked to say, right? >> the thing about this witness, about jameson kennedy is that he didn't want anything in exchange for what he was going to come into court and say. he knew that he was going to be in prison for quite awhile and that nothing he could say in court could ever change that. >> and, kennedy's story, if the jury chose to believe it, was a potential game-changer. it was september 26, 2008, two years after matt died. kennedy was on probation, he told the jury when holly stopped by the law office where a kindly defense attorney had given him a job and a place to sleep. they shared a bottle of wine. ate some takeout. >> we both were kind of a little bit, you know, tipsy. after drinking, we ended up having sex. and after the sex is when things got really emotional. she just started crying. >> what did she say? >> she made some remarks that she just wanted it to all go away. she wanted to move out of

cleveland. she was regretful for what had taken place. >> regret? about what? kennedy told the jury that he pushed holly to tell him more. >> but she just told me, at that time, that she was sorry for what she had done. >> what had she done? >> on her words was that she had put something in his drink. >> what has she put inside of his drink? >> she did not tell me. >> did she say what happened after putting something inside of the drink? >> that he had gotten sick and passed away. >> it was quite simply, stunning. but! big but. was it true? could the jury really take the word of this is eight time convicted felon?

>> yes, said the prosecution. because of this. >> did you tell anyone about what holly mcfeeture told you about putting something in this drink -- >> yes. >> who did you tell? >> my attorney. >> well, not exactly that said the attorney in question, who testified that kennedy asked him in a cryptic sort of weigh what he should do if he knew about a murder. he didn't name holly or any particular murder. >> as an officer of the court, did you provide him with any advice? >> i told him that if he had any information of that nature that he had to inform whoever about this supposed situation. >> but kennedy did not tell authorities anything. then, not until he was sitting into a jail cell under arrest for assaulting those cops. did he hope police will go easy on him if you told him

something they wanted to hear? sergeant quinn told the jury, he believed kennedy story because kennedy offered details only someone close to the crime would know. >> there was no mention in the media, anyway. where did it come from? >> the fact that this is the one witness who we can bring forward to the jury to say that i heard holly mcfeeture confess to putting something that you put in peoples during, it's so important that i think, in our minds, it could not have not gone to the jury. >> thank you so much for your time. >> and with that the prosecution completed its case of circumstantial evidence. but, there was a giant void in the room, a big empty hole with the hard evidence usually goes. but, what the defense make of that? >> coming up -- >> the defense strikes back. >> you have no idea how that man died, do you? >> i didn't have to see physical proof. >> i asked a question. you have no idea whatsoever how

that man died, do you? >> not to my knowledge. >> it was all speculation. it was all just finger-pointing without any basis. >> when dateline continues. rs know marco's is the real deal. real fresh dough, real signature sauce, three real cheeses, topped with real meats. now get another real deal, unlimited medium 1-topping pizzas for $6.99. marco's. pizza lovers get it.

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before golo, nothing seemed to work. i was exercising for over an hour every day. it was really discouraging. but golo's so easy, the weight just falls off. we moved out of the city so our little sophie could appreciate nature. but then he got us t-mobile home internet. i was just trying to improve our signal, so some of the trees had to go. i might've taken it a step too far. (chainsaw revs) (tree crashes) (chainsaw continues) (daughter screams) let's pretend for a second that you didn't let down your entire family. what would that reality look like? well i guess i would've gotten us xfinity... and we'd have a better view. do you need mulch? for almost a week, holly what, we have a ton of mulch.

mcfeeture's family sat in a courtroom listening to prosecutors accuse holly of drip by drip, and by on feeding her fiancée the poison and watching him die. monstrous. evil. and, said her family, completely untrue. just nasty gossip. gussied up as evidence. >> it was just a bunch of people talking bad about my sister. >> such a one-sided burner at the stake type of scenario. >> defense attorney, brett georgian and billy summers agreed. >> it was all speculation.

it was all just finger-pointing without any basis. >> and now, they knew they'd have to persuade the jury to buy something they personally believed in their gut. that holly mcfeeture was wrongly accused. >> i don't think i ever believed the innocence in a client more than i believed holly mcfeeture. >> the defense began by putting some negative cards on the table, that is the fighting. holly and matt had been fighting a lot. but that was hardly a surprise, said the defnese. >> two babies, one with colicky and matt was out fishing all the time. >> you cannot say that just because somebody is arguing, every day that that is a sign of hatred and i'm going to kill that person. >> and that story that went around about holly's behavior matt's funeral, an informed judgments made from afar. said the defense. that summit became this big myth that holley did not care.

>> oh,. i can tell you right now that she didn't care. >> really, you go crawling to remind a new good tell us what she was thinking. >> no. you could read it on her face. >> read it on her face? >> you don't have to be crying your eyes out at a funeral to not be grieving. >> no, the defense argued all the testimony aligning all these behavior was really a product of the six plus years of rumor and innuendo. which, at courtesy of the authorities to matt's family hard into what sounded like truth even if it wasn't. >> if you listen to all the witnesses. anybody that was holly's friend, they all turned away once they talk to the detective. >> that was certainly the case, said the defense. when holly's friend rebecca vega cut off contact with holly about a year after matt died. >> who's the accused of murder in this room? >> holly. is >> yeah, and you, know you can't look at her anymore. >> no. >> after, then after she heard from the police said the defense, did she begin saying what she said at the trial.

>> but you have not a high do how -- >> i didn't have to see physical proof in order to -- >> i asked a question. you have no idea whatsoever how that man died, do you? >> not to my knowledge, no. >> did the memory of all those happy days that rebecca spent with ali suddenly sprout the duct suspicion once the police were spurred in rebecca's ear. like the bit about the antifreeze in the kitchen. >> holly has children. and she is very careful. and i know that she would not leave chemicals like that just flying around the house. -- it was just a smokescreen. the hard evidence, the prosecution did not have. like, anything, connecting holley to the murder weapon. but which of course would mean the antifreeze. remember those two bottles of antifreeze investigators found

in holly and matt's house after she moved out? >> this is a blow bottle of pink antifreeze and cool in. >> the prosecution showed them off like a crown jewel. all the while knowing that they had no known connections to anything or anyone did the fence was on that like a terrier on the bone. no fingerprints on the bottle, no indication it was even the same kind that killed max. no indication that it was in her house when she actually lives there. >> those two bottles of antifreeze are not linked to -- >> know. and those two bottles of antifreeze or not linked to holly at all. >> no. >> what was the point of that? >> exactly. there wasn't any. with the employing a connection? >> they were grasping! >> another very weakness of defense said was the prosecutions worry that holly

disguised the antifreeze in matt's beloved raspberry ice tea. zero forensic support for that, said the defense >> and do you know how the ice tea got into that thermos. >> i have no clue >> none of -- and there was nothing ever connecting that it was even ice tea. >> and the motive, the prosecution suggested. the modest life insurance money, laughable. said the defense. wouldn't even buy a decent car. besides, holly said she had no idea at the insurance existed. matt's uncle, who owned the factory where matt worked, couldn't see other wise. do >> you have any personal knowledge to holly actually knew that there was a life insurance driver at the -- >> i cannot say that i do. >> but, all these defenders didn't have a problem. no getting around it. huge problem. the pillow talk with de missing kennedy when, according to, him halle actually confessed.

if they couldn't knock him down, they were done. >> coming up -- >> was the prosecution bombshell witness seeded? >> are you trying to accuse me of doing something to him? >> i'm not trying to accuse you of anything. >> well you're putting words in my mouth right now. because i never said any such words to you >> when dateline continues who needs that much more tide? (crashing sounds) everyone's gonna need more tide. it's a mess out there. that's why there's 85% more tide in every power pod. -see? -baby: ah. my husband and i have never been more active. that's why there's 85% more tide in every power pod. shingles doesn't care. i go to spin classes with my coworkers. good for you, shingles doesn't care. because no matter how healthy you feel, your risk of shingles sharply increases after age 50. but shingrix protects. proven over 90% effective, shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions

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holly mcfeeture's do about this? >> her words was that you would put something in this drink there was no avoiding the impact of those few words from jameson kennedy. remember, just the mention of his name sent holly into an epic break down. weakening, sobbing, fleeing the courtroom. next day, it was the defense attorney's turn to take him on. >> good morning. >> holly had regained re-gained her composure when she came back into court. the strategy was to pick apart kennedys dory. exposing for what the defense

said he most certainly was, a liar. like the bit about being tipsy. holly, kennedy said, had a glass of one or two that night. but, he knocked off an entire bottle himself. >> you still are telling the jury here that holly was tipsy or drunk that night, right? >> yes sir. >> well, in fact it was you that was drunk that night. not holly. >> i think we were both, you know, feeling a buzz >> now this is the sort of moment the defense attorney probably lives for, listen. >> were you aware that holly is allergic to grapes and she can't drink wine. >> no >> it was this a man who could be believed when he said he had a real relationship with holly? >> she had told me that he was stalking her. he had got her name tattooed on him. he would not leave her alone >> how did she feel about this? >> oh, she was afraid >> and kennedy admitted, under defence

questioning that he got very angry with ali when he heard a rumor that she was with another guy >> so angry that you grabbed her by the neck, threw her against the wall, you punch turnovers times that type of angry, right? >> no sir. >> no, that didn't happen? >> i do believe i pushed her only when she approached me to try and hit, me i think, with the phone or to smack me or something. i just kind of stiff charmed her away. i think she fell down that was the extent of it >> really? >> holly called the cops that night and said that kennedy punched her five time. he had already fled when he said he was going to get a restraining order against or. but before she could, he was at her door again. and, one holly called the police, this time, kennedy tried to escape and fought with two of them before he was finally arrested and it was only, then after she turned him in and he was in jail facing years in prison, burning up in anger towards holley that he called his attorney, charlie feliciano to try to make a deal. >> you're say, charlie, get me the police.

i've got to help myself get out of this jam. i'm going to tell on holly, right? >> also, he was concerned that she would try to put this on me. >> so now we have a conspiracy theory going on here that holly is now going to blame you for the death of matt, is that what you're telling me? >> it's just an attorney's recommendation. >> this attorney. who bent over backwards to provide jamison with a job in a place to stay while he was on probation from an earlier conviction. and, what happened? kennedy stole from him. -- >> jamison threatened your life? >> he threatened me. yes. >> he threatened your family also? >> yes >> you had mental problems he was not stable, right? >> correct. >> according to the defense, not even the police believed kennedy. for more than two years they did nothing about his allegations. and after those years, one according to the defense they couldn't find any other evidence, they put a story to the test. by orchestrating that phone

call from kennedy, in person to holly. trying to get her to incriminate her cell. >> curiously, the prosecution didn't mention that call in court so, the defense was only too happy to push play for the jury this was something they had to hear >> halle. >> yeah. >> do you know who this is? >> yes, hi jameson. >> holly was taken by surprise. hadn't heard from him in years. police, of course, were listening too. >> you remember what you told me about the drinks? >> the drinks. >> the drinks with matthew? >> what did i tell you about that? >> didn't work out so well for the police, or for mr. kennedy. >> are you trying to accuse me of doing something to him? is that what you're trying to do to me? >> i'm not trying to accuse you of anything. >> well, you're putting words in my mouth right now. because, i never said any such words to you. about ever putting anything in this drink.

i would never have done that. i'm not the type of person. he's the father of my children, we were supposed to get married. my whole world destroyed when he passed away. are you serious? this is a very sick thing for you to say to me right now. >> no, said the defense, holly did not confessed. not then, not ever. and kennedy was a sick puppy who saw an opportunity to combine revenge with a little self help. >> you are not trying to tell everybody that holly confessed to you about this case. because it would benefit you, correct? >> i don't think so -- i know it's morally right, sir. >> it's morally, right if you would do what's marley right you would've gone to the police on september 26, isn't that correct sir?

>> i should've. >> big morals, right? >> -- >> i have no further questions. >> the prosecution said that kennedy did not get a deal on his exchange for a story. one more question to answer. if it wasn't holly who was it? >> for that, the defense offered doctor robert, bucks forensic pathologists. matt was not poisoned slowly over time said doctor bucks. the corner simply made a mistake. all that pain matt suffered in the weeks before his death, that was from simple kidney stone, said doctor buck. nothing at all to do with antifreeze. >> is flank pain a symptom of ethylene glycol poisoning. >> it shouldn't be, no. >> now, this was not the case of chronic antifreeze poisoning. this was a textbook case of acute poisoning. one large dose, said doctor. bucks >> this is a massive human injection. these injections are going to what in heaven's name would >> this is a massive human

injection. these injections are going to have to drink almost a pint of it. and the most likely person to a poisoned him with the drink of that size was matt himself. >> as to the manner of death, what would your ruling be? >> probably be a suicide. >> suicide by antifreeze. the method more common than most people realize, said the defense. >> who killed himself with ethylene glycol -- antifreeze, that stuff is horrible. what a horrible death. >> not true, it happens all the time. there had been famous cases covered in the media a retired pro football player, a writer for sunday night life. but, why matt? >> he had gambling debts he was depressed. he wasn't happy at work throw an experience of pain from kidney stones. throw in, maybe they weren't having the best relationship but that time. that all lives of the suicide. >> and, at, that the defense asked the judge to throw out the charges against holly. >> no, there has to be evidence, there has to be proof.

all to show that holly was the one who did it. and it just doesnt exist. >> a moment, it's getting the judge migrant the motion. but, now he ruled holly mick features feet would be decided by the jury. as it turned out, very slowly. >> coming up -- >> ethylene glycol, odorless, colorless, sweet tasting. >> but, did holly use it to kill matt. we don't know, is the jury being out long a good thing. >> when dateline continues -- s -- to help keep you undetectable than dovato. detect this: most hiv pills contain 3 or 4 medicines. dovato is as effective with just 2.

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the day since matt podolak,

took a last painful break. the prosecutor -- the jury convicted holly mcfeeture. >> fell in love with the wrong woman. she was toxic to him. >> this was the closing message. a stark visual. look how easy, said the prosecutor, for holly to mix antifreeze into matt's beloved ice tea. look how hard it is for matt to detect the poison. >> ethylene glycol, odorless, colorless, sweet tasting. >> the defense, appeal to the heart. there were two tragedies in the story, they said. matt's death and holly suffering nothing could be done about the first, said the defense. but, the jury could rectify the second. >> you've got to end the night here. and you've got to put to rest this familys tragedy. >> this could be a close call. the jury went out no verdict at the end of the first day. or the next. matt's brother, mark, didn't know what to think. you don't know is the jury being out long a bad thing our good thing. >> holly sister, chrissy, was nervous she tried to stick

confident. >> i mean they have hearsay from a man that was in prison. and some ice tea on the table. >> finally, towards the end of day three, cell phone started buzzing. verdict, holly, looking like she had seen a ghost, headed toward the courtroom surrounded by family. >> we rise! >> as the jury filed in. holly began mouthing the lords prayer. >> i understand you reached a verdict in this case, is that correct? >> and then the judge began to read. >> we, the jury in the state being duly -- do you find the defendant, holly mcfeeture, guilty of aggravated murder, violation of section 29 -- >> to hear those words, guilty. and it was emotional. >> please, sir. >> mark turned to hug his mother. her face washed in tears. across the courtroom -- >> nobody could react. because it was total shock.

nobody was expecting that. >> the guard came in. wrapped handcuffs around hollys wrist. she shook her head, no. seem to be reeling her words, less than a whisper. >> it's my children. >> she looked at me and she was gone. >> what did that do to you? >> it tore me apart i really could not understand how this happened. >> it wasn't supposed to happen like this. >> the defense team felt gutted. the prosecution case had been so flimsy, they felt. how did it all gone so wrong? >> still wondering what happened. >> this was not an easy one for the prosecutors, either. the sort of case you might reasonably walk away from if you did not let yourself get caught up and start to care, a lot. >> what was it like to get your guilty verdict?

>> it confirms the work that we do. >> was a good one. >> a very good one. >> what made it so good? >> you meet with the family, at the beginning. and you're on this journey all the way through and to be able to deliver something, to them that they believed from the beginning made a very satisfying. >> a month later, at the sentencing, holly sister wanted the judge to know what the children thought. that their mother was not a murder. and, that they were begging hinm to send their home, to them. >> my mom is the greatest mom in the world. because she is sweet and kind. i really want to see her home. i really miss her. i wish i could have my mom back. >> then, a surprise. matt's father, the retired cop had become an ordained minister since the son's death. and he told the judge, he had made a decision. >> i came to the point where i

can forgive holly. and i have forgiven her. and i'm asking you your honor, to temper the justice with mercy. >> but mark, seven years of suspicion, frustration, anger finally came bursting out. it filled the courtroom. >> i just have one simple question. why? why put someone in unimaginal pain when it could've just walked away from the relationship. why continue to slowly poison him when it could've stopped. and why take it away from those children that you so dearly loved? >> the sentence was swift and stern. >> the nature of the crime in the case without overlooking this matter, i'm first going to impose a sentence of life with parole eligibility after 34 years. >> holly mcfeeture won't be eligible for parole before 2043. as for the children, samantha

and josh moved in with one of hollys sister. mark said, he and the parents see the kids often. and that both families have been very friendly towards each other. something that would've made his brother proud. >> we want them in our lives. we want them to know who their dad was. the night before hollywood shipped up to state prison to start serving her life sentence, chrissy took the children to visit with her. they couldn't touch the glass barrier separating them. they spoke over jailhouse phone. >> that just breaks my heart. >> it's hard to watch. >> very hard to watch. i had to turn away. numerous times. because, like i said, it's just heartbreaking knowing that they couldn't just touch. that she couldn't touch her babies that she loves so much. >> and, mark podolak, went where he always goes on the anniversary of matt's death to talk to his brother at the cemetery. >> i hope that you're proud of your big brother a little bit. because i kind of hopefully help do you rest in peace a little bit more than you have been. and, there was still a podolak

playing amateur hockey here in cleveland. matt loved the game. mark took it up in his memory. and since matt couldn't be here to play, said mark, he played for him. i'm andrea canning, and this is dateline! >> jacob disappeared, they didn't know what had happened to him. >> this needs to be reported, to the police. >> unusual for him not to tell one of us that he was going to be gone. >> what is the last time that you heard from him? >> way back to yesterday. >> his dad stated that he has been gone in the past and taken off. >> it was always pretty tense at the ranch. >> i'm not supposed to know, but i do know. because everybody has candidate a big dark secret. >> if the wrong thing was said or done there was fire in their