Skip to main content

tv   Dateline  MSNBC  September 3, 2023 2:00am-3:01am PDT

2:00 am
place came the indomitable lydia, who forgave, who won, who told us, live your days inspired a new. >> i'm craig melvin. and i'm natalie morales this. and this, is dateline. >> i was in my room, it was all dark, and everything was just spinning away from me until blackness. it was terrifying. >> it was a world wind romance with mr. right that morphed into a mind bending mystery. >> my blood went cold. >> she was like, i feel like i'm being watched. >> my phone would be followed. he said, you could be under surveillance. >> followed? surveillance? she had stepped right into the
2:01 am
twilight zone, hidden codes, government agents, undercover spies. >> i was so scared. >> who was this man she was about to marry? your brains got to be saying, holy cow! to learn the truth, she would launch a secret mission of her own. >> testing, testing. >> a high stakes game of spy versus spy. >> you are on detective. here >> i was. he wasn't going to stop, unless somebody stopped him. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> hello, welcome to dateline. asked any divorced parent, finding love of a second time around could be hard. when michelle luis met leah mail-in, he had all the boxes. he was charming, smart and something of a jet setter. michel welcomed him into her heart, only to realize that a
2:02 am
new boyfriend was leading a double life. who was the real liam allen? it was a riddle the single mom was determined to solve. here's dennis murphy with the mystery man. >> what's love got to do with it? well, as michel lewis tells it, just about everything. love, her new guy, at long last, major tingle as though ginger ill had filled her heart. >> i felt really good about myself. he was a wonderful person. >> why oh why should something so good and rare lead to something of a dark place. a shadowy world where nothing was as a seemed. we're secrets became goggles blinding the truth. >> this is so intricate and so dark. >> as she was pulled deeper into the rip tide over fiancée
2:03 am
's hidden under world, she joined forces with a woman in an ocean away to uncover the truth. >> he intruded on every part of your body, your mind. >> would michel be as patient at the game of revenge as she had been in the game of love? >> michelle lewis is a born caregiver. as a little girl in new jersey, she dreamed about working with medicine, helping people. sure enough, as an adult, she got a nursing degree and reported happily to the labor and delivery ward. >> you were delivering babies? >> i do. it's wonderful every day. you connect with your patients. i'm there with them the whole way. i've cried with, them of laugh with them. it's amazing. >> fellow nurse, robin -- said michelle was a natural. as a nurse, and as a best friend. >> she's a light and dark place. she's wonderful.
2:04 am
she's the one trying to brighten up somebody else's bad day. >> but, michelle has seen her own bad days. for years, she struggled in difficult marriage. eventually, she moved with her kids into her mother's house. >> she knew that she would be the single parent. she put her best foot forward to do that. >> after calling it quits with her husband, she started to explore the possibility of finding new love. she went online. >> i want somebody who was established, had their stuff together. >> one man caught her eye. his name was liam allen. >> he seemed to be well traveled, well versed. everything he had said was when i was looking for. >> they agreed to me for coffee at the mall. >> i walked in, and he was exactly like this photo. very warm, smile, nice, very charming. he was probably good for hours, for five hours. we just sat there and talked. >> this is a long cup of coffee. >> i had a really good vibe
2:05 am
when we parted. >> as they talked more in the days that followed, liam allen opened up about his life. never married, no kids. like michelle, he had been born in new jersey was raising the united kingdom. -- >> like the accent. >> another bonus, he was geographically desirable. he had a nice house in a nearby town of cherry hill. >> he had sent me photos of it. he had sent me renovation photos of before, during and after. >> all well and good, but you want to tone know more about his resume. the guy at the mall was nice -- but i need to know more. do you have some i. d.? [laughs] >> i went to the internet, typed in his name, nothing came up. i'm like, okay, so is not some crazy criminal with the past record. >> michelle could feel herself letting go. she felt comfortable about
2:06 am
starting to see liam more. >> i felt good to be myself again, to laugh again, to be happy. >> but michelle soon discovered that leah mullen came with boundaries. notably, he told her, he couldn't spend time with her outside of the hours of 9 to 5. >> he didn't warn me that a lot of nights and weekends, he wouldn't be available. >> do you think it is off putting? >> i thought it was bizarre. >> liam explained his odd schedule was related to his nighttime work with the medical software company. it still bothered her. why could he barely send her a text while on the job. -- >> it's kind of what i started to use. on the map and off the map, the blackout times. >> when michelle asked liam about why he was so distant, he's slowly began to reveal some jaw-dropping information. his true line of work was into computers. he took out his phone and pointed to some letters at the top of the screen. >> it just as uk. he says, this is uk because i work for the british government. >> leah mullen went on to describe his assignment for the
2:07 am
british ministry of defense as a glorified chauffeur, shuttling foreign dignitaries, other vips, back and forth between new york and d. c.. as for that medical software company, well, it was real. >> he also was asked to obtain personal medical information on targeted people. >> targeted people? so, he's in the secret world. he's a spy, michelle. >> pretty much. >> it was a doozy of a secret. liam allen, the easy chatting, established man turns out to be a spy from the british government. your brain's got to be saying, holy cow, what is his guy telling me? >> i was a little taken aback. >> are you starting to drift out of your body as you hear this? >> i was concerned. he was willing to hold my hand through it. >> there was more. liam told her that to date him
2:08 am
seriously, she need to follow his rules and that man to disclosing her and her personal life to the british authorities and undergoing her own government security clearance. >> he told me that, in the coming weeks, he would bring me an application. i said, oh i, have to apply? he said, no, because i work for the ministry of defense, you need to be security checked. >> he's telling you, you're going to be introduced into the secret life. >> pretty much. >> the british intelligence. >> he said, i could think about. it >> on the plus side, when she got clearance, liam said there would be no more communication blackout periods. but, if she declined the vetting process, she could never meet his parents or even visit's house. >> i couldn't meet them, i couldn't go to the cherryhill home. we had no go zones. >> this is getting stranger and stranger. >> very. very strange. >> did you think this is quite, cool scary? >> a little of both. >> coming up -- what other secrets might this
2:09 am
man of mystery be keeping? >> you put that name into google. >> i did. >> we'll came back? >> a horrific, horrific news. beyond anything i could've expected. >> when dateline continues. some luxury creams just sit on top of skin.
2:10 am
but olay goes 10 surface layers deep. our clinically proven hydration beats the $500 cream. to strengthen my skin for smoother, brighter results. your best skin yet. olay. my husband and i have never been more active. for smoother, brighter results. shingles doesn't care. i go to spin classes with my coworkers. good for you, shingles doesn't care. because no matter how healthy you feel, your risk of shingles sharply increases after age 50. but shingrix protects. proven over 90% effective, shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever,
2:11 am
and upset stomach. shingles doesn't care but, shingrix protects. shingrix is now zero dollars for almost everyone. ask your doctor about shingrix today. [sneeze] (♪♪) astepro allergy, steroid free allergy relief that starts working in 30 minutes, while other allergy sprays take hours. with astepro's unbeatably fast allergy relief you can astepro and go! frustrated by skin tags?
2:12 am
dr. scholl's has the breakthrough you've been waiting for. the first fda-cleared at-home skin tag remover clinically proven to remove skin tags safely in as little as one treatment. the guy michele lewis had been dating was shaping up to be mr. wright.
2:13 am
right up to the point you told her he worked for the british government, as some kind of covert operative. she was willing to try to make things work. michelle needed to prove that she could keep a secret, because liam had just given her and globe stuffing -- official looking documents. the security clearance documentation. >> everything was very personal information, back on information, date of birth, social security number. then, in the pages after that, it was almost like taking the sats. it was like an essay format. >> did you do it? did you thought the? form >> i did not. >> michelle would soon find out that liam had already passed on a name to his bosses. they were already checking up on her. >> in may, that's when i first received an odd text message from a number i didn't recognize. >> the person introduced himself as tom drummers from the five star realty company. he said, that understand that you made an inquiry regarding
2:14 am
whether our overseas properties located in the uk, specifically an allen home model. >> a live ball there? >> not at first. it took me a minute. >> she noticed that the texts were coming from the 202 area code, washington, d. c.. >> that's when the light bulb hit. oh, these -- are >> this is part of your security clearance. >> yes. >> did you ride with it? did you play a part? >> i did. i thought as well was expected of me. i did, i went along with the code. it was crazy. >> the ride was about to get a lot crazier. >> he said that my phone would be followed. mine and liam's phones were dots on the map. >> liam allen even told michelle in her mom to expect some surveillance at their own house. >> he says, don't be surprised if a car rides by. they're just checking you out. ten, 15, 20 minutes later, a car would ride by with dark
2:15 am
windows and he says, they just saw you on the porch. >> she was like, i feel like i'm being watched. i feel like i'm under a microscope and i feel like, it's starting to creep me out. >> if michelle's life was no longer quite her own, soon she was being asked to risk even more. again, in coated language, tom shimmers instructed or to transfer some money into a certain account. >> your personal money? >> my personal money. >> was that for? >> to basically prove that i was committed to everything. committed to liam, committed to the process. >> the money transfers of a few hundred dollars would be returned when the security clearance was complete. michelle followed through and held on. >> i had this strange gut feeling that told me i need to keep going. that the light at that other and will be worth it. >> liam allen would be worth it? >> he would be worth it. >> now, a few months into the
2:16 am
relationship, liam was decidedly on the map at home. it turned out he was great with michelle's children, especially her teenage daughter. >> he related to victoria very well. he was there for her. >> behind the scenes, michelle was starting to realize just how deep and dangerous liam allen's covert connections really were. there was the time he showed up late to a summer wedding, wearing heavy winter clothing, only to sell or to keep our eye on the news. >> the following week is when the whole edward snowden story broke. >> when she learned snow didn't ed sought asylum in the cold country of iceland, she realized her boyfriend must have played a part. >> i knew before it was a big deal. which is a little creepy. >> it's a little creepy now, michelle. >> it is creepy. >> and it wasn't the only time that michele says that lead
2:17 am
tipped off about a world event before it went public. >> when kate middleton had her baby, i had a couple hours notice on that. syria, i knew about the attacks on syria before it hit mainstream eta. >> he was getting secret mojo from somebody. >> he knew somebody, somewhere, who knew something. and i knew too. >> and then came that strange early morning phone call from one of liam's british handlers. >> 4:00 on the dot. my phone starts going off, hey, wake up, wake up, i have to talk to you. >> the handler felt that she should be clued in about liam's treacherous past. he was way more than a driver. after 9/11, he had been dispatched to an elite mission in the middle east to spearhead the takedown of top bad guys. faces from the militaries in the terrorist deck of cards. so, your liam was an operative, a commando basically in the war against terrorism. >> it was very heavy news. >> the question now had to be asked, how much did the terrorists know about him and the people closest to him. >> a chilling thought.
2:18 am
but any fears about terrorists would be pushed aside. >> a few weeks before christmas, liam asked michel's hand in marriage. on his knees? >> on his knee. i said yes. >> her family and friends were thrilled for her. >> michelle came to work and i looked, and she went, like this. >> this is what you want it. i was pleased with it. >> but what should have been a happy new chapter together was the start of a descend into chaos. liam began coming around less and less, skipping christmas celebrations with their family. mr. wonderful never showed? >> didn't show. i was so upset. i was infuriated. i was crushed. >> then, in january, michel discovered that she was pregnant. how did that conversation go? >> he said he needed to process. >> there is a disconnect. >> yes. >> her, to confused. she searched her memory for when it all went wrong. she recalled a detail about her inscrutable fiancée.
2:19 am
a couple of weeks before she had nosed into liam's wallet. >> something urged me to look at it. i opened it up and i had a pulled out a card and said, william allen jordan. >> william allen jordan? >> i was like, wow. this is in him. it's close but it's not him. >> at the time, she had talked to the information away, thinking it must be an alias used for undercover work. now, she decided to dig some more. >> you put that name into google. >> i did. >> what came back? >> horrific, horrific news. news beyond anything i could've expected. >> and, her enter, enter and it gets worse and worse. >> the more i read, the worse it gets. >> coming up -- >> this is not spies to, me i knew this was going to happen. >> a revelation from halfway around the world. another woman with another tale about leah mullen. >> it was devastating.
2:20 am
it was crushing. it was a coming out of the matrix. >> when dateline continues. your best plan. but you know what is? myplan from verizon. (vo) football season is here. get nfl sunday ticket from youtubetv on us. a $449 value. plus, get a free samsung galaxy z flip5. only on verizon. ♪ upbeat music ♪ ♪ [ tires screeching ] director: cut! jordana, easy on the gas. force of habit. i gotta wrap this commercial, i think i'm late on my payment. it's okay, the general gives you a break when you need it. yeah, we let you pick your own due date so you can pay your car insurance when it's best for you. well that's good to know, because this next scene might take a while. [ helicopter and wind noises ] for a great low rate, go with the general.
2:21 am
(josh allen) is this your plan to watch the game today? (hero fan) i have to watch my neighbors' nfl sunday ticket. [ helicopter and wind noises ] (josh allen) it's not your best plan. but you know what is? myplan from verizon. (vo) football season is here.
2:22 am
get nfl sunday ticket from youtubetv on us. a $449 value. plus, get a free samsung galaxy z flip5. only on verizon. the power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. michelle lewis had been pouring home of the xfinity 10g network.
2:23 am
over a flood of shocking information she found online about her fiancée, liam allen. >> i was in my room, it was all dark and everything was just spinning. the hallway was going away from me into blackness. i was literally sick. >> he was notorious, no better word for this william allen jordan. the true name on liam's wallet i. d.. she saw that someone had even written a book about him. a woman named, mary turner thompson, who lived in scotland.
2:24 am
she emailed the author. >> i said, oh my god, i'm dating this man right. now >> i immediately center my phone number. >> mary had been expecting the call from michele or someone just like her. >> this is not a surprise to me. i knew this was going to happen. >> the story may return or began to tell her was eerily similar to michelle zone. it began in late 2000, mary was a single mother when she met a man named will jordan. >> he was charming, he was tall, he was good-looking and he just seemed to be a really nice guy. >> he told her he was from america and work unity. >> she found him highly intelligent, humble and family oriented. >> spending time with mary's daughter. >> he would play games and stuff. it's him, oh, we're gonna have on today.
2:25 am
>> just as michelle lewis would experience lawyers later, mary also grew frustrated with his frequent absences. >> i wasn't happy with it at all, so i started digging into his background a bit and finding out more about him. so >> mary in her private detective mode -- to an address. when she peaked over the fence into the house's yard, she saw children's toys. she confronted him. >> he sat down and said, i have something to tell you. he explained to me that he was working for the otc i, the cia in the uk.
2:26 am
>> that house with toys in the yard, he explained it was actually a safe house for agents, only staged to look like a family lived there. a female agent onsite sometimes posed as his wife. as time passed, will jordan gave mary all the prove she needed to believe him. she spoke with other agents on the phone, and when he was called away, she received his dispatches from the war on terror. >> i can't really complain. it's like about complaining about superman not coming on for dinner. >> mary kept a step up to look when he postpone their wedding date, after being sent on an assignment.
2:27 am
they did eventually get married. soon after, they welcomed their first child. it was a baby girl, who they named, bailey. >> he was really fun but then kind of strict. it was like, you knew he cared about you. >> a baby boy named zach soon followed. not long after, will jordan's work threatened murray and the children in the most dire way imaginable. >> he explained to me that the injured instance that he dealt with in the past were threatening him, that they were wrong to steal the children, kidnap them, and rip bits off them and send it to the post unless we came up with money to pay them. >> frantic, mary's older house an empty door bank account. >> i had nothing left. there is no further down i could go. >> how wrong she was. almost four years intermarriage to will jordan, the phone rang. >> april 5th, 2006, i got a phone call from a woman who said, are you married to? -- are you also mrs. jordan? i said, yes. she said, i'm the other mrs. jordan. >> that's when the other misses jordan deliver the knockout punch. >> she said, have you've been told i'm an agent. i said, yes. i've been told even agent. >> mary can from the sickening truth. both were married to william allen jordan, and both had children by him. their husband was no special agent, just a fraud and -- >> it was devastating.
2:28 am
it was crushing. it was like the whole -- it was a coming out of the matrix. >> now is michelle lewis's turn, back in jersey, to absorb the massive imports of ordinary was telling her. >> everything is a lie. everything was a lie. he had been married, he had children. >> are you angry, heartbroken, or somewhere in between? >> everything. it's a putting on your feelings in the blender and hitting the high setting. >> even more shocking, michelle or that it hadn't been just mary in the other misses jordan and his man's life, there were others, oh, yes there were. >> he has 13 children by six different women. he had two wives in -- in 2005. >> this baker's dozen of sons and daughters lived in several different countries. he had four children within one year by three different women. mary sums up her take on his mo, to target some gold mothers, get them pregnant, and then siphon then away from -- another values bulls. >> the thing is, he doesn't picked him women. he picks intelligent women
2:29 am
because otherwise it's like playing chess with a toddler. >> mary expose jordan in her book, the bigamist. after realizing that he had ultimately taken her for about $300, 000, she also helped put him in prison. in 2006, he was convicted in a british court for a big dummy, fraud and illegal possession of a stun gun. mary says after jordan spent two and a half years behind bars, he was deported to the u.s.. >> within about six months, i was contacted by the first of his victims in the usa. >> mary heard from a woman in the northeast, another in mexico. the weird thing was, after 2010, there was nothing. >> that is until the call from michele lewis. once michele's head stopped spinning, she knew exactly which he wanted to do, beat will jordan at his own game. and then, bring him down for good. >> i want to be is very last victim. >> coming up, aaliyah mullin, british spy meets michelle lewis, super spy. >> testing. >> does he expect anything is going on? >> when dateline continues.
2:30 am
♪ chevy silverado has what it takes to do it all. with up to 13 camera views. and the z71 off-road package. ♪ you ok? yeah. any truck can help you make a living. this one helps you build a life. chevy silverado. carvana has hundreds of thousands of five star reviews and thiscounting.s you build a life. the whole process was really simple and easy, and this is my third time selling to carvana. you just enter your license plate or your vin, answer a few questions. boom, you get a real offer. sell your car to carvana today. ♪ 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 the most wonderful time of the year. live claritin clear. (josh allen) is this your plan to watch the game today?
2:31 am
(hero fan)t wonderful time i have to watch my neighbors' nfl sunday ticket. (josh allen) it's not your best plan. but you know what is? myplan from verizon. (vo) football season is here. get nfl sunday ticket from youtubetv on us. a $449 value. plus, get a free samsung galaxy z flip5. only on verizon. (josh allen) is this your plan to watch the game today? (hero fan) i have to watch my neighbors' nfl sunday ticket. (josh allen) it's not your best plan. but you know what is? myplan from verizon. (vo) football season is here. get nfl sunday ticket from youtubetv on us. a $449 value. plus, get a free samsung galaxy z flip5. >> i'm katie phang. only on verizon.
2:32 am
2:33 am
to our stop story. authorities are searching for 34-year-old escaped inmate from chester county prison of pennsylvania. he was convicted of murdering his former girlfriend. he was last seen on a residential surveillance camera earlier saturday just one and a half miles from the president. and, overseas, south korea's military claims north korea a lot of several cruise missiles towards the yellow sea on saturday. this came two days after the -- 11 a military training exercises. now back to dateline. welcome back to dateline, i'm craig melvin. mischele lewis had fallen head
2:34 am
over heels in love with a lie. her fiancée, liam allen jordan, claimed to be a british spy, but was in reality, a convicted bigamist and fraud. she was not alone. jordan had more than a dozen children with several different women, around the world, but mischele was determined to be his last victim and hatched a daring plan to stop jordan, once and for all. here again, dennis murphy with the mystery man. >> mischele lewis's head spawn like the dry cycle on the washer. too much to take in. according to a woman named mary in scotland, the man she was engaged to was a rare breed of devious career criminal, and a complete fraud. he's a phantom, he doesn't even exist. you don't know who this person is. >> no. it certainly wasn't who you portrayed. everything was a lie. >> did you feel at the biggest fool who was ever born? >> oh, yeah.
2:35 am
i was like oh my god, i can't believe i have. this >> marion scotland said something to reassure you at one point, didn't she? >> she did. she said, oh my god, i feel don't so shamed -- he's been doing this for three decades. he's very good. >> and of all the things michel learned about william jordan, one was most chilling. and 2006, he also pleaded guilty to ferrying to register as a sex offender. mischele found out his prior conviction involve the daughter of a would've his victims. a girl around the same age as mischele's own daughter. how awful is that? >> horrible. >> this man i brought into the house, is he targeting my daughter? >> he was never alone with my kids, but i don't know it is long term plans were. >> as tempting as it was for mischele to just crawl in a hole and make it all disappear, she couldn't. for one, she was still pregnant with this man's child and had a supremely difficult decision to make. >> his first wife said mental illness ran through the family lines. as a nurse, i know how genetic that can be. not only that, it would've tied
2:36 am
me to him forever, to have that baby. so thinking long and hard, i chose to terminate. >> and you know, as people hear your story, they will be judgmental about you because of that. >> absolutely. but, they're not walking in my shoes. it's not their life to live. it would be that child's life. this monster of a man would be labeled as a father. >> the painful decision, she vowed to make her broken dreams his last trail. >> now, i was trying to prevent anyone else from being hurt. to stop his damage. >> but how? first, mischele confronted him at her house. >> i said, you know, here's mary, and he left me a little
2:37 am
you know, your wife? he kind of close desires and side. he said, you know? i said, oh, yes, i know everything. >> instead of disappearing, will jordan, the international man of mystery, did something surprising. first, he came clean, sort of, explaining his misdeeds were a thing of the past. then, he tried to woo mischele right back. >> he very much thought that he had his claws in her so deep that she was just going to roll over and say, okay, that's fine, i still love you. >> and that gave mischele an idea. if william allen jordan still wanted to play, then mischele would give as good as she got. through mary turner thompson's connections, mischele linked up with the surveillance video company. >> he had brought me this purse, which has a camera built into this little rivet here. he fitted me with a vest that had a camera on it. testing, testing. >> now, she played the part of the spy and tried to catch him making him incriminating statements and video.
2:38 am
did authorities know you were doing this? >> no. they probably would've advised against it, for safety purposes. >> she chose a public place for the first meeting, agreeing to talk over coffee. >> how is your parents? >> they're okay. >> after some chitchat, jordan assures her he is still the man she fell in love with, and not everything was a lie. >> that's the hard part. i'm trying to differentiate between was true or not. >> and you really can't, at the moment. it's too soon. >> does he suspect anything going on? >> i was hoping not. but i became very nervous and i started to fidget with my hands. i completely shredded a poor napkin. >> jordan even wonders aloud if she's taking the sort of the press. >> what's the worst that could happen, and how could i cope with it if you're next phone call was a tour reporter? why would i do? >> i'm not -- >> i'm just saying. >> trust me, that would expose me as well. >> he's the one to bring up all the allegations against him. >> all these horrible, horrible, horrible things i've done and supposed to have done, and all
2:39 am
the things i'm supposed to have taken, and all the people i'm supposed to have hurt, and this in, that and the other -- >> he tells me shell to put those transgressions in perspective. >> not stealing millions of dollars. i'm not beating up a little old ladies. i'm not hanging out in school yards. >> -- the major allegations against him. >> no. he didn't deny. he didn't hourly it mid them, but he didn't deny, including -- >> including the sexual attack on a minor child. >> yeah, absolutely. >> mischele shows him a picture, a montage of his own children. 11 of the 13 known. his response is a shrug. >> i can't connect with that. >> really? >> no, because what can i do about it? >> before they wrap up, mischele gives him a piece of his mind. >> my perspective, i feel like
2:40 am
i have been amazing to you in the last year, and i feel like you -- >> and that would be inappropriate perspective given what you know. >> this day felt light years away from that first long cup of coffee they once shared, yet -- it's almost as if nothing is different. >> you know i love spending time with you. >> i love you. >> i love you too. that hasn't changed. >> i hope that never does. >> on one of these tapes, he says, i love you. and you reply, i love you too. >> yeah. i'm, like okay, i can't take that rotation quite yet. he may know something is up. >> after her first day of secretly recording him, mischele knew she had him right where she wanted him. she wasn't done with him yet. >> i wasn't happy with all the answers i had. i needed more.
2:41 am
>> it was time for mischele lewis to go undercover again and turn up the heat on william allen jordan. >> because i still want answers. at the end of the day, i still want answers. >> coming up, deeper undercover, but now over her head? >> i was like, oh, my gosh, did something happened to her? >> when dateline continues. . now, i'm staying ahead of my eczema. there's a power inside all of us to live our passion. and dupixent works on the inside to help heal your skin from within. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema. so adults can have long-lasting clearer skin and fast itch relief. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines
2:42 am
without talking to your doctor. healing from within is a powerful thing. ask your eczema specialist how dupixent can help heal your skin from within. [music playing] subject 1: cancer is a long journey. it's overwhelming, but you just have to put your mind to it and fight. subject 2: it doesn't feel good because you can't play outside with other children. subject 3: as a parent, it is your job to protect your family. but here is something that i cannot do. i cannot fix this. i don't know if my daughter is going to be able to walk. i don't know if she's going to make it till tomorrow. [music playing] interviewer: you can join the battle to save lives by supporting st. jude children's research hospital. families never receive a bill from st. jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food so they can focus on helping their child live.
2:43 am
subject 4: childhood cancer, there's no escaping it. but st. jude is doing the work, continually researching towards cures, giving more than just my child a chance at life. interviewer: please, call or go online right now and become a st. jude partner in hope for only $19 a month. subject 5: those donations really matter because we're not going to give up. and when you see other people not giving up on your child, it makes all the difference in the world. interviewer: 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. subject 6: st. jude is hope. even today after losing a child, it's still about the hope of tomorrow, because. childhood cancer has to end.
2:44 am
interviewer: please, call or go online right now. [music playing] [bell dings] are you good? no, i think i'm late on my car insurance. good thing the general gives you a break when you need it. yeah, with flexible payment options to keep you covered. just tag us in. like right now?! oh...i was talking about insurance. ouaaaahhhh! [bell dings] for a great low rate, go with the general. after mischele's first
2:45 am
undercover session with will jordan, she was eager for more. to capture more footage that could be uses evidence, perhaps, in a criminal case. >> it was more about gaining evidence against him. can i get him to confess? >> she taped him every chance she got. with the purse, her phone, her ipad. >> one, two, three, testing. >> she was concerned about him. >> i was so worried wearing the shirt, that he would feel it if you had to hug me. >> hey. >> how you doing? >> good, how are you? >> fine. >> and, she had to wait for her safety. she had no idea who this man really was, or what he was fully capable of. >> i was so scared. every day i want to go meet him, i told mary i was going, i told my mom i was going, i told my friends i was going. >> mischele is about to turn up the heat on william allen jordan. she asked him more about his prior convictions, which michel had found out, he pleaded guilty to. >> he denied it.
2:46 am
i said, why would you plead guilty? he said, it would've cost me more money and legal fees to get out of it. he said, by pleading guilty, i got a lesser sentence. >> now, two weeks after the first session she set up another secret recording of him. this time, in her car. >> i would set my ipad to accord audio and i tucked in between his seat and my center console with the microphone facing up. >> i still want answers. i don't care if they're blunt. i don't care if they're minors by full but at least there will be answers. >> she put him on the spot. was he really a british spy? his answer was cryptic. >> i never lied about what i actually did. i lied about who it was for, directly. >> he said he didn't lie about
2:47 am
his job, that he didn't lie about who he worked for, but he didn't lie about what he did. >> what does that mean? that's ominous. >> it is. >> well part of him was the truth? >> he did admit to the wives, the kids. he denied taking the money he took. he said, they all knew what was going on. >> back in the car, she pressed on. just too was tom --, his supposed british handler? >> the possibility is it could've been you, not that i'm saying that it was. >> it could've been me? >> she wondered why she stopped hearing from the handlers. >> maybe you didn't feel like keeping the charade up beyond that. i don't know. >> whoa. >> trust me. >> you can't believe although -- >> i can't believe -- >> she leaned into him but her missing money, those funds she had wire to the handlers for the security clearance. >> for all i know, maybe you spent. it i don't know. i have no answers. >> he said neither did he. he had nothing to do with the demands they made. >> ranting at me is not beneficial because i can't do anything about it. >> ultimately, it's not about
2:48 am
the money for mischele she has lost so much more. >> i just want to stop hurting. that's all. >> that's what we're trying to do. >> this is supposed to be love. loves not supposed to hurt. >> love does have sometimes. as you well know. >> in the, and jordan told or the decision about whether to stay with him was hers alone to make. >> you will have to reach whatever conclusions you reach an act on them. >> and act she did. with the help of marion scotland. back at home, she scanned through hours of footage and fact-checked jordan stories with mary's. >> i want -- calling her to say, hey, this is what he told me, what can you verify. >> as for jordan's take on the meetings, mary turner thompson got the sense that her former
2:49 am
husband was enjoying every minute of it. >> it's a challenge. it's the challenge that he likes. having let someone down, and then having to pull them back under control. that's exciting, that's entertaining. >> with jordan didn't know, is how deeply mischele was connected to the other women from his past life. >> i introduced mischele to five or six of the other victims because i had still talk to them. he thought she had one little puzzle pieces, but you have to have the whole thing. >> with behind the scenes support from jordan's other women, mischele forged ahead with her undercover -- right up to her emotional breaking point. >> here she is, trying to portray her old self, in front of him, where she's screaming inside, wanting to tear him apart because of what he's done to her, what doesn't her life. >> and then the unthinkable happened. mischele went missing. she hadn't checked in with family and friends all day. no one could reach her. >> we kept calling in calling and i'm thinking, oh my gosh, where is she? >> i knew that she was supposed
2:50 am
to be undercover that day, that she was supposed to be meeting him and i'm not concerned. i was like, oh, my gosh, did something happen to her? >> had mischele's escalating game of cat and mouse with william allen jordan turn dangerous? >> coming up -- >> i was panicked, like, oh my god, he's here. >> the police are about to enter the picture. had mischele gone missing? when dateline continues. and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. and you may lose weight. adults lost up to 14 pounds. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes.
2:51 am
taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. ask your health care provider about the ozempic® tri-zone. you may pay as little as $25. icy hot. ice works fast. ♪♪ heat makes it last. feel the power of contrast therapy. ♪♪ so you can rise from pain. icy hot. watch how easy it is to put on new hands free skechers slip-ins. i just step in and go. sitting? doesn't matter. i don't even have to touch them. ooo, gangsta. in a hurry? there's not a faster, easier way to put on shoes. they know a 10 when they see it. mischele lewis had been
2:52 am
2:53 am
2:54 am
planning william allen at his own game, spying on the fake spy. then, one day, after a hidden conversation with him, she disappeared. >> the hours passed by and i got really concerned. have you heard from, or do i need to look for? what's going on? >> mischele's mother had even called the police before mischele resurfaced. >> you are now a missing person. >> yes, she reported me missing. >> turns out the pressures of undercover work had finally got into mischele. she's taking a much needed mental health day off, by herself. >> i went home and apologized to my mom. then i want to the police station. they said, okay, what's going on? she told him about her year of spiralling down this -- strange world. discovering his lies. of her undercover hunt for the truth. police launched in a criminal investigation of their own and then made their move. mischele was the bait. >> i said, this is wrong going to be, and this is the route i
2:55 am
think he takes. catch him. >> then, she set up a date with him to run some errands, telling him, she'd pick him up in town. >> i got there about two minutes before our meeting time and for once, he was on time. >> she rolled down the window to hear him say that he had to pop into the pharmacy but he'd be back in a jiffy. >> i get on the phone with the police and i'm, like he's here, they need to come now. i was panicked at that point. i was hyper ventilating on the phone. >> her frantic thought, if jordan jumped into her car before the cops nab him, what would he do as soon as they were surrounded? now, jordan was done with his errand. >> at that point, time to stopped. he came out the pharmacy, was about across the street to me. >> every step you got closer was terrifying. then police swarmed him. >> they came in and intercepted him and arrested him. >> he took a good long look at you at that point? >> he did. i wanted to stare him down so that he knew, i was the one who took him down. but when the time came, i was
2:56 am
unnerved by it. >> relying, in part on evidence mischele provided them, authorities booked jordan on charges of theft by deception, impersonating law enforcement officer and a third offense that may be surprising to some, sexual assault. mischele lewis claims she was a victim of a crime that's only just started to be recognized in u.s. courtrooms, called sexual assault by fraud. >> nothing i knew about him was true. >> she says she was sexually assaulted by jordan, not by force, but by his lies. >> i really couldn't give him no one consent to any kind of sexual relationship, because i had no idea what i was sleeping with. >> mischele's case suffered a setback months later, when a new jersey grand jury failed to indict him on the sexual assault charge. >> they said, i couldn't prove that he was a harm to me. basically, because he hadn't
2:57 am
physically hurt me. >> as her case against jordan moved through the court system, mischele wanted to know, whether other victims out there. >> i don't know there is another victim in new jersey, pennsylvania, new york, d. c., baltimore anywhere, in between. >> mischele wondered, was he living with another woman in the cherryhill house, just as he once had two wives, two lives in scotland. dateline found out more about that cherry hill property. maybe you don't know this, the landlord of that property says he lived there but he was evicted for failure to pay rent. >> no kidding. i didn't know that. >> he lived there with a woman. identity unknown, and a child. >> wow. that's shocking. that is shocking. so, there was someone else. god knows. i don't know if that was his child, her child. wow. >> if there were other children
2:58 am
of jordan's out there, mary turner thompson's girls are ready to welcome them into their unusual family. when we last spoke, jordan's daughter, --, said she scrubs with some of her many siblings. >> we're all really good friends. we all look exactly alike. >> still, -- said many of jordan's children felt hurt by all he's left behind. >> i know loads of them who are really damaged by this. >> the girls were glad to hear that jordan had been arrested. >> as nice it would be to have more siblings, it would be easier for everyone if he just took a break. >> after his arrest, mary and her children were rooting for mischele lewis as she faced him in a new jersey courtroom. >> in 2015, he pleaded not guilty. >> it's laughable that he pled not guilty. i have so much evidence on it, i don't even know if he
2:59 am
realizes how much evidence i collected on him. >> after negotiations between attorneys, william allen jordan accepted a plea deal of three years in state prison for theft by deception. then, two years later, jordan was free in october 2016. he was granted early release from prison with credit for good behavior, his work in prison and the time he already served in county jail. through his attorney, jordan has declined to speak with dateline. >> this is going to impact my life for years to come. >> mischele was disappointed with the news but has moved on with her life. she said she hoped to protect other women by changing new jersey law, to make rape by deception, not just crime at the heart, but a prosecutable offense. family and friends said that whatever happened in new jersey courts, mischele lewis would have a bright future ahead of her. one she'd meet with arms in eyes wide open. >> she'll get her happily ever
3:00 am
after and she can rest knowing that will jordan is not going to have a happily ever after, not with her, and hopefully, not with anybody ever again. >> that's all for this edition of''dateline''. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. >>, -- . -- ,. >>,

179 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on