of "dateline. " i'm andrea canning, thank you for watching. hing hello, i'm andrea canning and this is dateline. >> he was my super man. he was always my protector. this is the man that i'm supposed to marry. this was just not possible. >> he is found him on the floor, the fiance that was the love of her life. >> i zeroed in on him and he was just laying there. >> it is a stone cold assassination. >> nick, the marine, a tough vet turned target.

>> someone hated him so much they shot through his window. >> they came in and shot him some more. >> angry colleagues at work. >> people complained about how he spoke to them. >> he was like let's go, get the job done. >> angry exes, too. >> he dated a number of women. >> who was the killer? >> someone full of hatred. >> we wanted answers. >> there needs to be justice. >> people are no good at getting away with murder. >> tell low and welcome to "dateline. " a woman found nick gunned down in his own home. the happy couple were engaged to be married when suddenly her

world crumbled. she found nick gunned down in his hone home. investigators would wade through a deep pool of potential suspects, from spurned lovers to office enemies before a boost from nick's brother helped reveal the true killer. here is josh mankiewicz with stone cold. >> put people together in a workplace and things can develop. friendships, rivalries, sometimes even love. most of the time it is not a problem, but in this case it was deadly. >> 9-1-1 you have an emergency? >> he is laying here on the floor with a bullet in his head. >> this is a stone cold assassination. >> it was like our house was turned into a shooting gallery. >> one man's militant style of doing business that left a trail of bruised egos in his a professional life. >> you hear about doing what your job requires, he's going

to have. it >> had a trail of broken hearts in his personal life. >> at work architect he was probably a pretty good womanizer. >> by the end of it the investigators would discover a world of grudges and a hotbed of affairs and messy love triangles. and it all began with this man, nicolas morales. >> we constantly were teasing and messing with each other. >> john morales and his brother nick grew up outside of tucson, arizona. what was he like as little brother? >> he was a prankster, he was either going to get in trouble or do something that was gonna get in trouble. >> forget you in trouble? >> absolutely. >> just 18 months apart, john and nick were close. partners in crime. brothers who had each other's backs. and, just like his brother, nick served in the military. at 18 he enlisted in the marines. in 1990, he fought in operation

desert storm. >> he came back a changed person. very motivated, very dedicated. >> maybe he was a little less of a jokester and more of a straight arrow? >> very much so. definitely more serious. >> after the war, nick returned to tucson and settled down. he married and had a son, nicolas junior. and, while nick loved being a father, the marriage didn't last. >> it really hurt him for many years. he told me that he would never get married again. >> actually, he did, but that marriage didn't work out either. and nick focused on work. starting as an aircraft mechanic, he quickly rose to director of maintenance at what was then moreno aerospace. >> that is the fastest i've seen anybody move up through the ranks. >> bob wells was a client who brought aircraft to moreno for service. >> he was not a, per se, people person. >> within the laws of moreno aerospace, nick was tougher than an irs audit and every bit

as unforgiving. but, at the same time, he wasn't devious or sneaky. nick murillo's would stab you in the front. >> he didn't know how to approach people and just have a conversation about, maybe you should do it this way rather than this way. >> it was you are doing it wrong, start doing it right. >> and if you don't do it this way, go home. >> john, a lieutenant colonel in the army, worked at the same airpark as nick. >> what would people say about him? >> he was tough. excuse the language, he was a hard as. very vocal, intimidating to some. >> there is one area where nikkhah seemed quite popular, with women. and, conveniently, moreno aerospace employee to some. >> you have any idea women at rhino he dated? how many of his coworkers? >> he only admitted to two. he told me have to. >> and one of them changed everything. in 2016, knit met christy.

>> i liked that he was such a hard worker and he was so smart. >> no immediate fireworks, but as christy and nick got to know each other, they realized that they both loved books, dogs, and plants. >> he was the tough guy at work and hear e is tending to his delicate plants. he talked about how much he loved his dog. >> his dog smoky, an american pit bull terrier. >> look at smoky and, oh my goodness and it's a big scary dog. and this is the most gentle dog you will ever know in your life. >> christine fell, not just for smoky, but for nick to. and hard. >> you sound kind of swept off your feet. >> i was. absolutely. i never knew a man like that in my life. he was my superman. you as always my protector.

>> you could see it in his eyes. he was happy, his heart was full. he spoke to my parents about things like i never thought he would talk about. >> like? watch >> like marriage. >> a serial monogamist finally settling down? >> yes. >> nick and christine finally came to an agreement that the past was the past. he did a lot of that women in that same company, a lot of your coworkers. did that give you any pause at all? >> absolutely. my outlook was that we both have a history, you are single, he's allowed today to he wanted to. >> nick and christie got engaged. by july 2016 they were making plans to move in together. >> he just looks right at me and he just said, i want you to know, how much i love you and appreciate everything you do for me. i just remember walking into the kitchen and thinking, god,

i am so lucky. i am so lucky. >> 24 hours after that moment came this call. >> my fiancée -- i think he's been killed. i think he's been shot. >> coming up, what had happened to nick? >> i zeroed in on him and -- he was just laying there. >> curious clues in the garage. >> immediately i noticed a bucket full of water and some carpet fibers. >> and blood in the bedroom. >> the floor was very sticky and it smelled very heavily of mouthwash. we felt that whoever did those tried to clean up whatever trucks they left. >> this was the man i was supposed to marry. this was just not possible. >> when dateline continues. was life. now, powerwash gives me the power of an overnight soak in minutes. i'm sorry, minutes? with 3 cleaning boosters not found in traditional dish soaps that help

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>> i just felt like, i can't

[crash] so tkristy: i just felt..day like i can't believe believe that i get to be his bride. i was excited. i waited four years for him. >> christy and nick were engaged to be married. >> every morning started with either a text or a call, good morning, i love you, have a great day. every night the same thing. >> so when christina woke monday, july 18th, 2016, and saw that nick, an early riser, had not cold she was

immediately concerned. >> of course i'm rationalizing, maybe got to stop on a call with his boss or maybe slept in a little bit. >> a few hours later, still no word from nick. so, christine drove to nick's house and went up the stairs to the master bedroom. the door was barely open. >> i zeroed in on him. he was just laying there. just full of bullet holes. >> he's just lying there, and it looks like he had the bullet hole in his head. >> this is the man i'm supposed to marry. it was just not possible. the police arrived and the nightmare began. >> we received a message advising that there was a homicide on the north side and that the whole unit needed to

respond. >> eli county sheriff detective jennifer garcia had been in the homicide unit for all seven months. this was a call she had prepared for ever since she was a little girl and saw her grandfather in uniform. >> it was just something that i always wanted to do, sort of my dream job. >> and now here she was, lead detective in the biggest murder investigation in tucson. she began by methodically walking through the scene, nick's house, starting with the garage. >> i immediately noticed a bucket full of water and some carpet fibers, which, at the time, i thought was odd. >> inside the cabinet under the kitchen sink was open. in the living room, cleaning products left out. and, in the backyard, was a large pitbull. >> presumably who lived there had let the dog out. >> possibly, s. >> or the killer had? >> yes. >> as detective garcia went up the stairs and she saw bullet holes in the wall.

at the top, the master bedroom door was ajar. >> i immediately saw a bloody foot of nick murillo's. i opened the door and saw his naked body laying there, riddled with bullets. >> a lot of people will tell you that when their time comes, they want to die at home. very few will say they want to go the way that nick morelos did, in his bedroom, alone with his killer, in a hail of bullets. nick had been shot eight times, including once in the middle of his forehead. >> they shot through his window and assassinated him. >> then came in through the window and shot him some more? >> yes, until he was finally dead. >> detective garcia believed the killer climbed onto the roof outside of nick's bedroom. that is where she found blood on broken panes of glass and on the stucco. so maybe the killer cut him or

herself coming in through that window? >> yes. >> there was blood throughout nick's bedroom, in his closet, and on a mouthwash cap in his bathroom. >> the floor was very sticky and it just smelled very heavily of mouthwash. so we felt, at the time, that whoever did this tried to clean up whatever tracks they left. >> in the bedroom, more evidence the killer tried to clean up. >> it appeared that the rug under the bed was cut, like half of the rug was gone. >> detective garcia believed the killer bled so heavily on the rug that he or she cut the rug and took it right out of nick's house. there was also evidence the killer failed to get rid of. garcia's team recovered 11 shell casings, each with a unique five star stamp. and, this was odd. 11 shots, yet none of the neighbors called 9-1-1. >> very early on the detectives

and i were working with who have done in previous homicides, they believed that a silencer was used. >> one neighbor said she heard a noise around four a.m., but wasn't sure what it was. investigators thought that good will be nick's time of death. while detective garcia worked the scene, two other detectives went to john morelos office to tell him what happened. then, john had to break the news to his mother. >> a difficult conversation to have? >> most definitely. it's probably one the most toughest things i've done in my life. >> kristie also wrestled with her new reality. a life without nick. >> i went from this amazing life too, just being traumatized and complete disbelief. >> while nick's family faced the loss of a man they loved, investigators began to learn what nick's coworkers and axes

already knew. he was not beloved by everyone. not by a long shot. >> coming up, angry colleagues on the job. >> people complained of out nick talked to them. >> except the way nick talked to them was kind of what nick was being paid for. >> correct. >> which was, let's go. >> were any angry enough to kill? >> it seems to me like there are maybe a lot of people that you ought to be talking to at the office? >> yes, the list was very long. >> when dateline continues. ne continues you want what's best for them. ♪ ohh, ohh, ohh! ♪ so ask your vet about new nexgard plus. it's one-and-done monthly protection from fleas and ticks, plus heartworm disease, roundworms, and hookworms... all in a delicious, beef-flavored, soft chew. use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures or neurologic disorders. from the maker of #1 vet-recommended heartgard plus. nexgard plus: the one you want for one-and-done protection. lowe's knows that fall's shorter days...

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every other month, josh mankiewicz: often at "dateline," we tell you the stories of murder victims on a date line we tell you the who lit up a room or who didn't stories of murder victims who lit up a room or didn't have an enemy in the world. well, not so much with nick morelos. he definitely knew how delight of a room, but depending on which room it was, they might have been people in it who actively wished him ill. that was true in his personal life and it was true here at work. the question for investigators, which side of next life had caught up with him? detective garcia quickly began to find out how much knicks leather neck exterior had robbed people the wrong way. jeff johnson was hr director at miranda aerospace. >> i did have some exit interviews that people complained of out nick talked to them. >> except, the way nick talked to them was kind of what nick was being paid for. >> correct.

>> which was let's go. >> get the job done and get it done on time and on budget. >> he was brought in as kind of being a hammer. >> exactly right. >> but, when you are hired to be a hammer, sometimes everything and everyone starts looking like a nail. >> it seems to me like maybe there are a lot of people that you wouldn't be talking to out of the office. >> yes, the list was very long. >> a lot of them had petty grievances like a safety inspector named james will pan. >> it's just, we never got along. >> we'll pandas to gators that nick had given him a hard time for parking his car in a restricted area and then accused him of using a personal tablet computer during working hours. >> anybody you know that wants to kick his ask? >> kick his pass? >> no. >> maybe not over a parking spot, but then, detective garcia started learning for herself about the other part of nick's life. >> he is got to have made a lot

of women angry? >> yes. >> his second ex-wife once threatened to kill him, but an ex girlfriend slipped into his house and nick woke up to find her watching him and a new girlfriend while they slept. and, then there were knicks romantic entanglements at work. >> we did not have a fraternization policy. >> and nick took advantage of that? >> i think so. from what i heard. anytime i questioned nick on it he would deny it to me, for good reason i am sure. >> because you are the hr director, i'm thinking that might be the reason. >> correct. >> long before nick met christy, he was involved in a relationship that, now, caught detective garcia's attention. >> he was really, really, really hard worker. >> claudia banks worked in administration at marana aerospace. he and nick dated for six months. >> he was awesome. he really was. >> claudia told detective garcia that she had had a good relationship with nick. however, that came at the

expense of someone else. her ex boyfriend, justin skinner. >> claudia moved in with nick and broke up with justin almost in the same breath. >> yes, that is right. >> >> claudia told detective garcia that she tried to cut off all contact with justin. >> and, shortly after the break up, it was reported that he had followed claudia while she was driving her vehicle and nick was in the vehicle. >> claudia also said that justin unexpectedly came by her home a couple of times. then, the day next body was discovered, claudia said she went out with her mom. >> me and her went to circle s. >> the circle as saloon, the proverbial bar on the outskirts of town, where she saw justin. >> did he have any marks on him at all? >> i saw him, and pretty much walked -- just walked right by. >> the next day claudia said justin left a note on her front

gate about her ex boyfriend, nick. >> saying, i, i heard what happened, i am really story. if you need anything, let me know. >> then, claudia directed detective garcia's attention to yet another ex girlfriend from nick's past. >> before me, he was dating a girl. jessica, i don't know if you have spoken to her yet. >> just get stillwell, another of next goal friends from marana aerospace. she and nick dated for about six months, even lived together for a while. >> she seemed nice, never saw them argue, always happy and giggling together. >> detective garcia learned that that didn't last. nick abruptly kicked just get out of his house and his life and moved claudia into both. and then garcia heard about something that happened shortly after claudia and nick started dating. >> claudia was at his house and

jessica showed up seeing her vehicle in the driveway area and was very upset. banging on the door, saying i know she is in there, let me in. >> nick had told his brother, john, about the dustup with jessica. and he thought that was, what, i'm using? alarming? >> man, it is going to be drama, i can already tell. >> and then, a day after nixon murder, john's kids snapped these pictures of a woman poking around nick's house. >> my children were adamant that it was just gonna. >> does that seem at all significant to you that nick was murdered like, almost exactly a year from the time of his breakup with jessica? >> i found it very odd. >> or very coincidental? >> correct. >> the number of scorned lovers in nick's past was enough to warrant a scorecard. investigators weren't even done counting. there were more answers to be discovered in the place where so much of nick's social life was centered, marana aerospace.

>> that mystery woman at nick's house. was it an angry ex? coming up -- >> some of the family identifies you as being the -- >> it wasn't me. >> a lover's a triangle and a tight-knit circle of suspects. when dateline continues. when dateline continues. el) copd is harder on the folks around you, i think. my wife smoked, and she quit. because she needs to be here for to take care of me. (announcer) the people you love are worth quitting for. you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit-now. are you tired of clean clothes that just don't smell clean? downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters keep your laundry smelling fresh waaaay longer than detergent alone. if you want laundry to smell fresh for weeks, make sure you have downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters. icy hot. ice works fast. ♪♪ heat makes it last. feel the power of contrast therapy. ♪♪

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yes! [ cheers ] yeah! woho! running up and down that field looks tough. it's a pitch. get way more into what you're into when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. welcome back to "dateline." welcome back to dateline, i'm i'm andrea canning. andrea canning. when nick morelos was murdered, rookie detective jennifer garcia took a deep dive into his complicated personal life. there, she found a web of a score and lovers and wondered if one of them wanted him dead. meanwhile, as nick's loved ones grieved, the woman who stole his heart was also feeling another emotion. here again is josh mankiewicz

with stone cold. >> in the days after nixon's murder, his fiancée kristi was living in fear. >> i jumped at every sound. my family was scared for me. >> did he ever express any indication that some relationship that he had before with something that he was concerned about, now in terms of his safety or your safety? >> no. and nick was my protector above all else. so, i don't know that he would have said anything to me, not wanting to worry me. >> but, perhaps there had been reason to be worried. detective garcia now spent some time charting the romantic geometry of knicks love life, pre-christie. >> it all comes back to their employment. they all worked at the same place, marana aerospace. nick had been dating jessica. very quickly began to date

claudia. >> bob wells, nick's friend and a client of marana aerospace, remembers how just gut reacted to the breakup. >> whenever nick was in the same room, there was no smiles out of her. i could tell it was not a good atmosphere between the two. >> did nick ever say why they broke up? >> no. no, and it's not of my business. >> it was detective garcia's business. she eventually interviewed jessica on tape. >> i know he was cheating on me with claudia. when he got caught was her and then he kicked me out, and then moved her in. >> that is the kind of speed that is going to make people feel bruised and angry. >> yes. >> and maybe vengeful? >> yes. >> he kept denying it. so i drove by his house, and i took a picture of her truck out side. confronted him with it. >> was the morelos family right?

was she the woman they sought poking around nick's house just after the murder? >> some of the family identifies you as being the one that without the house. >> it wasn't me. >> why are they saying it was? you >> i have no idea. i haven't been to his house in almost a year. >> it turned out she was telling the truth. detective garcia ran the mystery woman's license plate and found it belonged to a mother who is looking for her missing son, not jessica. >> do you think that this should've happened nick? >> no, this shouldn't happen to anybody. nobody deserves that. >> jessica told detectives that she was home with her young daughter at the time nick was killed, which was not exactly an airtight alibi. detectives also needed to speak with the other scorned lover in this story, claudia's ex-boyfriend, justin skinner. in the neck jessica, claudia triangle, he was the square who didn't fit. >> so you are in a relationship with claudia? when was that?

>> she left -- almost on the day -- a year ago. >> detective garcia and her colleagues spoke with justin at his home. justin told them that he loved claudia, had plans to marry her, and then she ended to things. >> well, i never really expected to go as a south as it did. so i -- was i was really -- you know, i was really hurt by it. >> he is certainly showing all the earmarks of somebody who you might want to be wary of. >> yes. >> justin's alibi the night nick was killed? the circle s saloon, the same bar where claudia's awe him the night after nick was murdered. >> i got to circle s at 6:00, and then at midnight i ended up leaving. >> when you left where did you go? >> home. >> video from the circle as confirmed justin's presence until midnight. however, his story that he then had gone home was somewhat harder to prove. >> his roommate stated that he

wasn't quite sure if he was actually in his room or not. >> and then there was this. >> so i -- i'm seeing a few scratches on your arm. how did those happen? >> landscaping. >> when she asked to photograph those scratches and take a dna sample, justin said no. >> that had to make you sit up a little straighter. >> yes. >> coming up. >> your loved one had just been murdered, we wanted answers and we just weren't getting them. not quickly for us, anyways. >> nick's brother is about to turn detective. could he give the true detectives the lead they need? >> he said to johnny, you're not going to believe this. i just dealt with that guy a few months ago. >> when dateline continues. ne continues you can't leave without cuddles.

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breaking news for you. it least 632 people are dead, more than 300 injured after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake strike

morocco. now, online videos are showing buildings, as you see here, reduced to rubble damaging historic buildings in this city. that is 1000 years old. the city of marrakech. it has also hit areas of the villages in the atlas mountains. rescue operations continue this morning, but there are fears of aftershocks. we will have more on this story later, but for now back to dateline. dateline detective yuma county sheriff detective jennifer garcia was suspicious of nick's jennifer garcia was suspicious of nick's ex's ex, justin skinner. he seemed to have both opportunity and motive to kill nick. so, when just didn't didn't want to give a dna sample -- >> i thought that he might be the guy. >> but then, after a little persuasion. yeah, that's fine. collect dna. let's do it. >> his cooperation plus date

means of people at the bar and claudia were enough for detective garcia. >> we were able to rule him out pretty quickly as a suspect. >> the morelos family was wishing impatiently for an arrest. >> your loved one has just been murdered. we wanted answers and just weren't getting them. not quickly enough for us, anyways. >> two small tucson is how some referred to this city. it is a place where everyone seems to know everyone else. while detectives were examining nick's romantic passed, brother john started doing a little detective work of his own, by talking with next coworkers. he told hr director jeff johnson how the suspect had apparently been cut while going through next window. >> jeff johnson told me and said hey, you're not going to believe, it but this guy that i have had concerns about and who i filed a grievance against nick as bandages on his left arm. >> what is his name? >> james le pen.

>> james lipan. one of next coworkers that they had already spoken with. >> it's just, we never got long was a thing. >> jeff johnson said took just 11 days before the murder, the pan and come to him with a complaint about nick and, with it, a warning. >> he said that if i don't handle it he has this own way of handling things. and just pulled it right out of my office. >> you knew that james -- >> nick had talked to about him as somebody having problems with? >> but not being afraid of? >> no. >> detective garcia now interviewed le pen again at marana aerospace. he told her that he spent the sunday before the murder with his family, and he and his wife went to bed around nine and got up around five a.m., which would have been an hour after nick's murder. >> if i contact your wife, she's going to tell me this is where you were on sunday? >> i would hope so. >> okay. >> he pretty much answered all the questions that we had.

the interview ends. >> but then, maybe two minutes later, there was a knock on her door. >> and it is james. he came back. and he tells us, i basically need to tell you the truth. >> the truth? like a confession? well, yes, but not to murder. james owned up to slipping. >> what was the part you were not forthcoming? >> just go and i have slept. >> slipped, as in about an affair. with nixon ex girlfriend, just go still well. >> she broke it off pretty quickly because she did not want to be the other person and he didn't want to leave his family. >> now detective garcia had someone knew she wanted to talk with. james lapan wife serena. >> i know he's been, fell off the marital bandwagon, so to speak. >> serena said james had told

her about the affair weeks earlier. they were going through counseling, she said, and working on the marriage. and, when detective garcia asked her about the night of nixon's murder. >> her statement was exactly the same as a james. >> they hung out together during the day, they went to bed together, they woke up together. >> yes. >> so she alibis him? >> yes. >> you wouldn't try to be, covering out for him for anything? >> no. >> okay. >> if serena was telling the truth, james could not be the killer. as detective garcia pondered that, nick's brother john kept up his own investigation. he mentioned lapan name to a childhood friend. remember how tucson can be a big, small town? >> he said johnny, you're not doubly, this but adult without guy a few months ago. >> john's friend owned a machine in fabrication shop. he said that james lapan had come in looking for a tool. one he could use to fix a silencer.

he is repairing a silencer? >> correct. >> just a couple of months before your brother's murder with, perhaps, a silencer? >> correct. so i contacted detectives, gave them the information. >> detective garcia obtained a search warrant for james lapan's home. in his garage, her team found 18 boxes of 45 caliber ammo, all with a distinctive five star stamp. they also found to spent shell casings that matched the ones found at nick's house. >> so the same gun fired the bullets out of the crime scene and a couple of casings that you found in lapan's garage? >> yes. >> inside the house investigators did not find the gun itself, but they did find this empty box for a pair of ordinance black ops combat 45, which, they believed was the murder weapon. the search warrant also turned up an empty box for a silencer that would fit on that gun. what's more, investigators

found carpet fibers in the back of the lapan family vehicle that matched both fibers found in nick's garage and the cut up frog in knicks bedroom. and there was this. >> in the master bedroom closet, on a very, very top shelf, detectives noticed a pair of work pants that looked like they had blood on them. >> that same day james lapan was arrested while carpooling to work. in the driver's seat was, of all people, jessica still well. she said she was giving him a ride. four days after nixon's murder, newly minted homicide detective jennifer garcia had made an arrest. >> how did that feel? >> pretty good. pretty good that i had gotten the right person for this crime. >> maybe, but this case is still had to go to trial and james lapan still had an alibi.

that is, until a lifetime movie changed everything. >> coming up. >> she calls and says i've got a new story to tell. >> a lie told in fear. >> you didn't want to tell that why did you? >> no, i did not want to tell that lie. >> but you did? >> out of fear, yes. >> and the courage to reveal the truth. >> i actually slept all night without nightmares. >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues 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! lowe's knows that fall's shorter days with astepro's unbeatably fast allergy relief call for bigger deals. get the most out of your projects by getting the most out of our fall savings now. shop labor day deals under $90 now, in store or online. sometimes, the lows of bipolar depression feel darkest before dawn. with caplyta, there's a chance

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welcome back. welcome back, james lapan was james lapan was under arrest for the murder under arrest for the murder of nick morelos. searching his property revealed a mountain of evidence, including bloody hand and rugged fibers matching knicks carpet. but james did have an alibi, his wife sabrina says he was with her the night of the murder. but will itv movies can get serena to flip her script? the real story will be revealed. here's josh mankiewicz with a conclusion of stone cold. >> i assume because he carried himself with such confidence and attitude. >> serena met her future husband, james lapan at a weekly dance class.

>> every single time i came in, he would come sliding up again and is like, when do i get to throw my name in the hat? i was like, maybe never. you know? there is the door. go away. >> but he wouldn't go away? >> no. >> serena, a sergeant first class and the army and a self described alpha female was happy to have met a man that wasn't a pushover. >> with james, and his strong personality and my strong personality, we were on the same page. things were going amazing. >> in 2010, at james request, they enter into a confident marriage. >> what is a covenant marriage? >> a government marriage is recognized before god and state and, quite frankly, it's a lot harder to get divorced. >> less than a year into their marriage, james's father died and serene it says that something in her husband changed. he became, she said, controlling and frightening.

serena recalled the disagreement in which she wanted to step away from him to check on their children. >> he was physically holding on to my bicep at that point in time. he was like, we're going to finish this discussion. immediately following that she said the children are replaceable, we can make more, i am not. at that i am, like you are replaceable. but not like i can see it. because, at that point -- >> if you had decided what would have happened? >> i don't want to know. i don't want to know what would've happened. at that point it became an issue of pick your battle. and the battle i picked was protect the children. >> which is why, she says, she turned a blind eye to her husband's affair with jessica. even when james invited jessica home for dinner. >> what kind of hostess did your husband expect you to be for jessica? >> the same hostess as anybody else.

if they're invited over to dinner i'm going to be the one cleaning up the kitchen. >> for your husband's mistress? >> yep. >> did you get a sense that james enjoyed humiliating you like that? >> absolutely. i think it was a power thing. >> serena cooked dinner for her husband and his lover. and listened to james and jessica talk about nick morelos. >> it was all demeaning and hateful stuff. james used to pick on her and poke out her, why don't you go back to nick. you guys were such a couple and to think. go back to nick. >> so there was some jealousy? they're >> definitely. >> now james lapan's only possible hope at trial was serena and her statement to police that her husband was asleep next to her when nick was killed. >> you wouldn't try to be covering up for him for anything? >> no. >> okay. >> but now, a little bit of drama was about to spawn a lot more. in december 2017, as james lapan sat in a jail cell, his

wife of seven years sat in a hotel room during a work trip, watching a lifetime movie about an abusive, controlling husband. >> seeing that made me fully realize the fact that it is a pattern that is going to continue to get worse. if he had not been arrested this would probably be a direction in which my life would be going. >> it took months, but eventually serena found the courage to pick up the phone. >> she calls and says i have got a new story to tell. >> >> fema county trial council johnson mosher. >> we bring her in for an interview with recorders warning. >> when you talked to police previously? >> i lied. >> okay. what did you lie about? >> the fact that he had left the house, because he did. >> serena told prosecutors what really happened. the night nic morales was killed. she said that she and james went to bed about 9:00.

and then he got up and left the house. >> later that night, serena said she rolled over and saw james in bed. then, when she woke up in the morning, he was gone again. >> while i was in the shower he had come in and when he had come in his arm was bloody and he just looked at me and said i was home all night, we worked out this morning. >> he didn't tell you why he needs that alibi? >> nope. >> when james ordered her to lie to investigators. you didn't want to tell that lie did? you >> know, i didn't want to tell that. life >> what you did. >> out of fear, yes. >> until that movie made her want to tell the truth. >> how did that feel? >> for the first time, in a long time, i actually slept all night. without nightmares. so, it was terrifying and relieving at the same time. >> after james was arrested for

knicks murder, the case against him only got stronger. his dna was found all over nick's bedroom, and nick's blood was on the pants recovered at the lapan home. with the overwhelming dna evidence, plus serena's testimony, and the firearms analysis evidence, jurors didn't need much time to reach a verdict. >> we have the jury to find the defendant, james lapan, guilty of the offense of first-degree murder. >> you are not required to offer a motive. but what do you think the motive was here? >> obsession and hatred. it is all tied up around nick and jessica. >> jessica stillwell, james lapan's mistress and nick's former girlfriend. prosecutor mosher called her as a witness, but his interest in her was not so much about what she said, as what she might have done. >> i can't prove that she had involvement, but i can't rule it out either.

we have these texts from the evening of the murder that are really pretty disturbing. >> at 6:36 pm james lapan sent this text to jessica. pitbull. to which jessica replied, his dog, his name is smoky. and then, james instructed jessica to delete all of their texts. >> why are you talking about nick's pick bowl the night he is murdered? >> jessica testified that she and james had talked about her getting a dog like smoky for her daughter. that said, investigators still wonder if jessica was feeding james information about nick. remember, after the murder, smoky was found in the backyard. did james put him there and was he able to pacify the dog based on help just get provided? we wanted to ask jessica about all of that, but she declined

to be interviewed. >> if he committed a murder, or played a part in committing a murder, she is getting away with it. >> we cannot find any evidence. >> or, she is not guilty. >> correct. >> as for serena and james, and their covenant marriage, it is over now. they divorced in 2019. but, serena still worries about what effect james might still have on her and her children's lives. >> are you ever going to be free of this guy? >> when god hits his off switch. >> james lapan will most likely be in prison when that happens. he was sentenced to life. kristie, who says she waited 40 years to meet nick, now faces the rest of her life without him. >> he will always be my superman, i will always love him. that doesn't change. >> and even in the midst of mourning his brother, john morelos takes some comfort in how he helped to solve nick's

murder. >> you still have his back, don't you? >> absolutely. >> i guess that never ends. >> no. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i am andrea canning. thank you for watching. thank you for watching hello, i am andrea canning and this is dateline. >> she was brave. she was incredibly brave. why didn't i know that she needed me and that she was alone and that she was hurt? nothing was the same after that. nothing. >> they found her at the soccer field. the straight arrow student killed by a single bullet. >> i just hit the floor. >> i remember the pain. every time i talk about it the pain comes rushing back. >> that someone would shoot my child. like, why?