but even time, they say, doesn't heal all wounds. i don't think you can put a time when you would miss someone the most. the memories are good. i still have her pictures up around my home. and i'm not going to take those down. and so she's right there in my bedroom with me at all times. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. [music playing] hello, i'm andrea canning, and this is "dateline."hock. i had a bad feeling. she did say he has a gun and i'm afraid he might use it. a story of sand, sunsets, and fatal attraction,

she had so much to give. she would make everybody feel special. successful at everything except love. then she found him. she said she felt so good in his arms. he was handsome, sophisticated, and crazy about her. there was talk of marriage, then suddenly, there was talk of trouble. she was frightened enough not to go home. she had fear that something would happen to her. it did. my sister, she's not answering her phone. how did love go so wrong? in a surprising twist, it would take not one but two trials to discover the truth. all of a sudden he wasn't convicted of killing my sister anymore. hello and welcome to "dateline." beth lochtefeld was a savvy entrepreneur

who built her own business. tom toolan cut his teeth in the financial world. their connection was instant. but when their summer love cooled, tempers flared, and the relationship took a tragic turn. initially, it seemed like an open and shut case, but there was a surprise in store. here's hoda kotb with "murder on nantucket island." hoda kotb: nantucket, massachusetts, a gorgeous smudge of an island off the coast of cape cod. it's simple and elegant in a way that says serious money. the beaches are pristine, the food phenomenal, and the shopping, pack your credit cards. as the setting for romance with its surf sunsets and sea breezes, nantucket is fifty shades of fabulous. but then the fog rolls in, dense, mysterious, and everything changes. suddenly it seems anything is possible in this moody place,

maybe even sinister things. dispatch: 911, this line is recorded. state your emergency. peter lochtefeld: hi, we got an emergency. my sister, she's not answering her phone. hoda kotb: it was monday, october 25, 2004, a gray day. officer daniel furtado of the nantucket police department was on patrol when the car radio crackled at about 1:15 in the afternoon. a call had come in. peter lochtefeld: she was supposed to leave and pick up my son at daycare. now she won't answer her cell phone. dispatch: ok. i'm gonna send someone over right now. hoda kotb: it was a routine matter, or so it seemed. furtado was dispatched to check it out. he met his partner at hawthorne lane. there were two houses on the property. both were owned by longtime island resident barbara kotalac. i said, excuse me, are you miss elizabeth lochtefeld, and she said no. she's over there and pointed towards the cottage. hoda kotb: the officers walked to the cottage and knocked.

no answer. it was the first hint of trouble. i moved around to the bay window, and i looked in at which time i saw someone laying on the ground. hoda kotb: furtado was looking at a crime scene. i turned towards sergeant coakely, and i told him that we had somebody down inside. hoda kotb: furtado's partner kicked in the door. the body was on the living room floor, a woman stabbed to death. furtado had never seen anything like it and was hit by a wave of fierce emotions. from shock to awe to frightened, that's pretty much how it went, and then the police training kicked in. hoda kotb: adrenaline surging, the cops pulled their weapons. daniel furtado: our immediate thought was to draw our weapon for our safety. so with weapons drawn, we proceed to clear the house. hoda kotb: it was all clear but horrifying. there were signs of a struggle, blood in a bedroom and in the living room by the body. officer furtado radioed in.

i made the comments just get here. hoda kotb: it was furtado's first homicide, but if he was a stranger to homicide, so was nantucket. there hadn't been a murder on the island for two decades. it doesn't happen here. it can't happen here. and that was kind of the way it was up until that day. hoda kotb: her name was elizabeth lochtefeld, but everyone called her beth. and she was an unlikely victim. she was 44 years old, a successful businesswoman from new york who'd sold her company for a tidy profit and moved to this nantucket cottage just months before. beth had this incredible gift of making people feel comfortable around her. hoda kotb: beth's brother tom lochtefeld. i would be with her, we would go into the store to run an errand, and she'd be chatting up the clerk at the counter, getting into a conversation. i'd be like come on, beth. let's go. what are you doing? hoda kotb: smart, vibrant, adventurous, beth was

certainly all that and more. but what tom remembers most is her way with people. it sounds like your sister made the other person feel better, bigger, you know, more loved. it's a gift. she would make everybody feel special. hoda kotb: the third of five children, beth was raised in peekskill, new york, about 50 miles north of new york city. tom lochtefeld: my mom stayed home, cared for us. my dad was home at 5:30 for dinner at 6:00. hoda kotb: but when school was out, the family headed to nantucket where beth's father john lochtefeld was a well-known local artist. and for years, if it was summer, beth was on the island. she was game for everything. hoda kotb: leslie costello met beth more than three decades ago. they were freshmen together at the university of notre dame. the last time that she was in california, we were going to go out surfing, and i said, beth, i think you-- she'd never surfed before, and she was-- she'd boogie boarded plenty. i said, you know, you might have

more fun boogie boarding. she says, oh, no. she wanted to go for it. i wanna go for it. i want to learn to surf. so off she was, you know, always willing and wanting to embrace a new experience with joy. hoda kotb: after college, beth settled in new york and started her own company. in this video, she talked about those early days. hard work, you work your fingers to the bone, your nose to the grindstone. it's about blood, sweat, and tears. hoda kotb: she chose a tough gig, helping architects navigate new york's byzantine building regulations. that seems like the kind of business for a tough, savvy, hard-edged type woman. it doesn't sound like the woman you're describing really. oh, you know what, she was enormously successful because she was hardworking and she was honest. you know, she shined, and people just could trust her. but it sounds like there was just one part of her life that was missing, just love, finding someone

to spend her life with. did she talk about that? she did want a family. hoda kotb: in early september 2004, that dream suddenly seemed to be within reach. she was thinking this could be the guy. absolutely. hoda kotb: it was labor day weekend, a sunny day on nantucket. bernadette called her friend beth. i said hi, hi, and i said you know what. i think i'm looking at your future husband right now. and she said really, and i said, yeah. and she said i'll be right over. hoda kotb: bernadette feeney had only known beth for a few months, not long but long enough. she told me she'd been successful in every part of her life except for love. hoda kotb: so when bernadette's old friend tom toolan came to stay at her nantucket home, she introduced him to beth. it was a connection. it was electric. the minute she walked in, it was like whoa. hoda kotb: beth had finally met mr. right, but people aren't always what they seem to be or pretend to be.

there was a lot to like about beth's new boyfriend, but there was also something a little troubling, especially after he met beth's friends. hoda kotb: coming up-- bernadette feeney: she said something like i thought you were really sophisticated and charming, and he said under his breath, boy, i really should have been an actor. hoda kotb: when "dateline" continues. ♪♪ when your child has moderate-to-severe eczema, it's okay to for them to show off. show off their clearer skin and noticeably less itch with dupixent. because children 6 months and older with eczema have plenty of reasons to show off their skin. with dupixent, the #1 prescribed biologic by dermatologists and allergists, they can stay ahead of their eczema. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema to help heal your child's skin from within. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe.

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in september 2004, beth lochtefeld was a woman in love. her brother tom remembers exuberant phone calls about the new man in her life. tom lochtefeld: of course, she was over the top. i met this guy, friend of a friend. and, of course, i had learned after many of those phone calls to try not to get too excited for her. hoda kotb: at 37, tom toolan was a walking, talking swoon machine-- tall, broad shouldered, preppy. and beth had a lot in common with him. tom lochtefeld: he liked literature. he liked music. he was good looking. he came from a catholic family whose parents were still married 30 years later. that was the big attraction for beth. she saw someone who she thought was like minded i guess. in many ways, yes. hoda kotb: tom toolan's childhood friend bernadette feeney had introduced the couple. bernadette had known tom since he was a toddler. they'd grown up in the same apartment building

in brooklyn, new york. he was four years younger and the same age as my brother. so he always felt like a little brother to me, and we were-- i can't even tell you how close we were. hoda kotb: tom went to private school then columbia university. after college, he sold cars for a while then landed a job as a broker at smith barney. other jobs in finance followed including a stint as a bank executive on wall street. he seemed to have it all with charm to spare. she called me on the corner-- some corner in manhattan saying, oh my gosh, i'm just waiting for him here. i just have to thank you. this is unbelievable. we're having so much fun. hoda kotb: tom was smitten, too, from day one. bernadette feeney: he just said, my gosh, she's a great gal. i mean, she's an amazing gal. hoda kotb: even though tom lived in new york and beth in nantucket, they started seeing each other regularly. beth at 44 was eager for marriage and a family. very soon, there was talk of rings although beth's brother says it was mainly tom doing the talking. as a matter of fact, it's my understanding

that that first day he said i'm gonna marry you. and she was like, yeah, right. hoda kotb: beth may have hesitated as she learned more about her new man. he told her he'd had drinking problems. but for bernadette feeney playing cupid, tom's drinking hardly seemed like a deal breaker. bernadette feeney: i knew that he had a drinking problem. regardless, i know a million people with drinking problems. hoda kotb: other friends had misgivings. louis gornacia taught beth japanese martial arts on nantucket, and she confided in him. she was, well, i met somebody. i says, oh, that's great. and she says but he smokes and drinks. i go, wow, beth, that doesn't sound like a good mix for you. and she's, well, he's a little crazy, and then she had to subdue. she's, well, i'm a little crazy, too. hoda kotb: if she was making excuses for him, she had her reasons. bernadette feeney: she said she felt so good in his arms. he was so protective.

she-- he was-- she told me this is the first time in 15 years i'm with a man that wants to be with me. hoda kotb: and besides, beth was a fixer. tom lochtefeld: when she would date guys, a lot of times she would say to herself, well, he'd be really great except for this, but i think we can work on that. hoda kotb: no surprise then that beth decided to work on tom's drinking problem with him. bernadette feeney: i believe, yes, she was trying to help him dry out, and he told her he wanted to stop and he wanted to dry out. hoda kotb: two weeks after they met, beth and tom flew to california together. tom, who was now working as an investment consultant, had meetings there, and beth decided to tag along. it was their first extended trip together, and for beth, it was an eye opener. now she saw things she could not dismiss. he's a mess she said. he couldn't get on the plane. they-- they missed the plane. i said what was he doing. what do you mean? she said i just stood back and watched him, and he was just walking in circles in the hotel room

smoking cigarettes, not packed, just a mess. hoda kotb: beth wanted to introduce tom to her friends on the west coast. top of the list was leslie costello, beth's college friend. leslie lives in san diego, and she was eager to meet beth's new beau. but she was less than impressed. leslie costello: he was distant and very formal, and i didn't understand him. hoda kotb: the trip ended badly. bernadette feeney: they were in a taxi, and he had a temper tantrum. and i guess she said let us off here. whatever she said, he turned and he, like, really yelled at her, and she said it was, like, a little bit scary. hoda kotb: and he was drinking. she said he had had eight beers by the time he even got to the airport and got on the plane. hoda kotb: bernadette says that on the way home, tom asked beth what her friends thought of him. he said something chilling during the exchange that followed, something that troubled her so much she told bernadette about it right away. bernadette feeney: he said what did they say about me.

and she said something like they thought you were really sophisticated and charming and this and that, and he's-- and he said under his breath, boy, i really should have been an actor. and she said that just went right into her gut. hoda kotb: it was at that point perhaps that she began asking who was the real tom toolan. she told family and friends that she was going to give the relationship the four seasons test to see how things stood in a year. but it was becoming clear that tom toolan was not inclined to let one season pass, let alone four. coming up, a troubled relationship becomes a terrifying one-- why she didn't leave that next day, i'm not exactly sure. hoda kotb: when "dateline" continues.

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toin october 2004, bethte nelochtefeld went to new yorkom. to be with her boyfriend tom toolan. by then, the two had been dating for six weeks, but the relationship was fraying. beth was beginning to see a troubling side of this new guy, and she had started to give him ultimatums. he'd start drinking, and then he'd get really ugly. she would just say that you're a good guy, but when you're drinking, you're an idiot and you need to decide between alcohol and me. and he would, you know, apologize and say, you know, i choose you and i want you.

you know, i don't want the alcohol. hoda kotb: that week, beth invited her brother to meet her boyfriend. perhaps she wanted his take on tom. first impression, you see him walk in. well, he had longish blonde hair sort of combed back and a double-breasted blue blazer on. he looked like something off of, you, know "the love boat" captain stubing, you know. but very pompous, very-- i don't know he seemed fake to me. hoda kotb: that night over dinner, beth's brother kept asking tom toolan what he did for a living. and he couldn't really tell me to my satisfaction-- what was he saying? what he did. oh, i'm an investor. this, that. well, what do you invest in, and then he couldn't really give me an answer. hoda kotb: beth's brother says toolan was drinking during dinner but not to excess. afterwards toolan and beth headed back to his apartment, and on the way home, beth told friends something shocking happened. she'd seen him drunk, she'd seen him angry,

but she'd never seen her new boyfriend like this. leslie costello: he'd put her into a headlock and was walking down the street saying i want to beat your head in. she shared with me-- you know, i went back to his apartment to just get my palm pilot and my cell phone and get out of there. and i wonder if i shouldn't have just left that stuff behind and left at that moment. hoda kotb: little did beth know that toolan had apparently been aggressive with at least one other woman. after he'd had a few drinks. becky hammonds: i thought, wow, flowers, how nice, you know. i thought this is a really-- he's such a gentleman. hoda kotb: becky hammonds, who was working as a bartender at a new york sports bar, dated toolan once. we had plans to go to dinner at the new york athletic club when i thought, well, that's nice. that's a nice date. hoda kotb: but it didn't turn out that way. dinner was pleasant. then came drinks. becky hammonds: and that's when he accused me of being lascivious with the bartender because i was just having a conversation with the bartender. hoda kotb: they got into a cab to go home, and becky says toolan tried to grope her.

when they reached her street, she didn't wait around. becky hammonds: i jumped out, and i ran. i literally ran across the street. hoda kotb: and now four years later, beth lochtefeld was in a frightening situation with the same man. but that night instead of grabbing her stuff from toolan's apartment when she got there, beth stayed, and leslie says beth later told her that things went from bad to terrible. and then he got very violent with her that night, and he sexually assaulted her. and i think that beth was probably sort of in a state of-- and it's-- it's a confusing thing when it's somebody that you're supposably close to violates you. and my guess is that she was just probably in a state of shock, and why she didn't leave that next day, i'm not exactly sure. hoda kotb: by friday, october 22nd, days after the dinner with her brother, beth had decided to leave new york. friends and family say it was clear that she intended

to call it quits with toolan. she'd even left a message at her brother's connecticut home saying she was coming to spend the night. but by now, something else was becoming clear. tom toolan was not going to let beth go. he wouldn't leave her, and he followed her. and she said we ended up in the metropolitan, and she said i was standing there in front of this painting-- and it was an incredibly dark painting-- thinking this painting reminds me of tom toolan. hoda kotb: as bizarre as it sounds, that was the moment beth later told leslie that tom toolan picked to propose to her. he chose the most public place possible, a gallery in this world famous museum, the metropolitan museum of art. he'd proposed to beth before but never like this. leslie costello: he pulls this ring out, gets on his knees, and, you know, proposes to her again. and she said i was not-- she didn't feel safe enough to say no. she knew she was in a dangerous situation,

so she said to him i need more time. she was, like, so upset because he said, you know, it's now or never. and her response to him was-- then it has to be never. and these were words right out of beth's mouth. hoda kotb: beth rushed out of the museum. toolan pursued her. he was screaming i'm gonna go get drunk with my friends. she was just gonna go back, get her stuff, and get out, and he at the last minute hopped in the cab with her. and they ended up back at his apartment. hoda kotb: at some point that night, beth called her brother. in retrospect he says, she sounded terrified. tom lochtefeld: her words were very measured. she was talking very slowly and enunciating very clearly, unlike her. and she kept saying i'm here with tom in the city, and we're trying to work things out. and i didn't even think to ask her are you ok or cough twice

if you are in trouble or something like that. hoda kotb: he had no idea his sister was in danger. tom lochtefeld: i was sort of tired. i didn't wanna deal with the breaking up, making up kind of thing. hoda kotb: later from family and friends, he would learn the horrifying details of beth's ordeal that night. tom lochtefeld: it's my understanding that he was holding her at gunpoint. hoda kotb: beth's brother says he has no proof of that or other details of exactly what went on that night, but he's pieced together a story from various accounts. tom lochtefeld: he held her captive. she tried to get away. he was either drunk or tired, and he ended up-- she was laying down on the bed. he ended up laying on her legs to-- and then going to sleep or passing out himself. to prevent her from leaving. tom lochtefeld: yeah, at which point she slipped out and slipped away. and i understand that she didn't even want to use the elevator because she was afraid that ding might wake him up, so she ended up taking the stairs. it was around 4:00 am when beth managed to escape from the apartment.

where was she gonna go? i know she just wanted to get away-- she was going straight to laguardia, get the next flight to nantucket, and get away and get back to her home. hoda kotb: it was now saturday, october 23rd. at 8:00 am, beth called her brother. it would be the last time the two spoke. tom lochtefeld: she mentioned that she had broken up with him and that he had called her about 50 times since on her cell phone, and the guy wouldn't stop calling her. and did that raise any alarm bells with you. no. no, it didn't raise any alarm bells. hoda kotb: just a guy who's heartbroken. yeah. so i was thinking, well, she's gonna go off to nantucket, it's all gonna be over, and everything's gonna be fine. hoda kotb: except that was not going to happen. tragedy was two short days away. coming up, a surprise visitor and a panicked phone call-- he just said to me, barbara, lock your door. don't go out. i'm calling the police. hoda kotb: when "dateline" continues.

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hi, i'm richard lui with a news update. u.s. officials saying israel narrowed down its targets for a strike on iran. sources telling nbc news the strike could happen at any time including during this weekend's holiday. spacex is set for another test of its star ship mega rocket as soon as today. this will be their fifth test flight in pursuit of a fully reusable spacecraft. back to dateline. back to dateline. had turned dark. she told friends and family tom was a heavy drinker with violent tendencies. on a trip to new york, she said he sexually assaulted her and later held her at gunpoint. beth had left town but danger was not far behind. once again, here's hoda kotb with "murder on nantucket island." hoda kotb: after a terrifying night when she was held

captive in tom toolan's new york apartment, beth lochtefeld had managed to escape and get home to nantucket, her island refuge. she called her friend leslie the morning she got back. but she did say he has a gun and i'm afraid he might use it. i'm not gonna stay here tonight. i'm gonna go spend the night at my brother's house. hoda kotb: that same day, saturday, october 23rd, beth stopped by the nantucket police department to ask about filing a restraining order. for her to get to the point of even stopping at the police department, that probably tells you all you need to know about what was going on inside of her. tom lochtefeld: yeah. yeah, i would think so. i mean, i think she had very well founded fears, especially after the incident in new york where he held her captive. hoda kotb: but beth did not file the paperwork. she spent that night and the next at her brother peter's home. she was frightened enough not to go home. i would have to say she had fear that something

would happen to her. hoda kotb: on monday, october 25th, beth returned to her cottage in the morning, collected tom toolan's clothes, parceled them up, and mailed them back to him. she returned to the cottage and chatted with her landlady barbara kotalac. it was just after 10:30. barbara kotalac: she came in the yard, and we were talking in the driveway. she's going to do some work on a computer, and we were gonna meet again around 1:00. hoda kotb: beth went inside the cottage to work. barbara kotalac: and that's really-- that's the last i saw of beth. hoda kotb: barbara continued to garden. a short time later, she was filling a wheelbarrow when suddenly she heard a voice behind her. and the voice said is there anyone here in this house, and i just turned around and looked up. and i looked right at him. hoda kotb: the man, oddly dressed for nantucket in a hat and long overcoat, was inquiring about beth lochtefeld cottage. ara kotalac: and i said i don't know. hoda kotb: something about him bothered her. barbara kotalac: 'cause i knew beth had been seeing someone

and i think she more or less told me that i think it's over. and i said, oh, i guess this is the boyfriend has come back. hoda kotb: he moved toward the cottage door. barbara went to her house to have lunch, but she was uneasy. and as i said, it was an intuition. hoda kotb: barbara says she called beth's brother peter but couldn't reach him. she says she called beth's parents and couldn't reach them either. she knew beth was planning to pick up her nephew before 1:00 pm, but beth's car did not move. and then she noticed the shades in beth's bedroom windows had been drawn. barbara kotalac: i had a bad feeling. i had a bad feeling. hoda kotb: she called peter lochtefeld again, and this time she reached him. i told him that there was somewhere in the yard and i think it's beth's boyfriend. and he just said to me, barbara, lock your door. don't go out. i'm calling the police. dispatch: 911 [bleep] peter lochtefeld: he's come to nantucket.

he's at her house now. she won't answer her cell phone. hoda kotb: it was then that sergeant daniel furtado of the nantucket police arrived at the cottage and with his partner made the discovery, beth lochtefeld's body on the living room floor. it was just weeks after she thought she'd found the love of her life and dreamed of a new beginning. for the lochtefeld family, life would never be the same. what did you lose on that day? i would have to say i lost probably my best friend and confidant aside from my wife. she was-- she was my closest sibling. we always got along really well. hoda kotb: leslie costello got a call that same day. when you heard the news, how was it told to you? he killed her. and i remember just being in shock. i didn't see it coming. i didn't know it was coming. i was in-- it was shocking. you knew exactly who the he was?

oh, yeah. yeah. i did. hoda kotb: tom toolan was arrested within hours of the murder, picked up in rhode island driving a rented car with bottles of beer and vodka in the car with him, his bloody clothes in a bag on the back seat. the rhode island state police videotaped his arrest and recorded his voice in the cruiser. toolan was held without bail and arraigned a month later. bernadette feeney was in the courtroom. she could barely contain herself. bernadette feeney: it was the reality hitting me, sitting there that this-- this happened. this really happened. and he walked in, and it was like they were bringing in, you know, king kong like a monster, you know. and i felt it's just, you know, like it was my fault,

you know, and she's gone. hoda kotb: toolan was charged with first degree murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. he pleaded not guilty. ahead and lay a trial and explosive revelations about a man finally stripped bare of all pretense. coming up, what seemed like an open and shut case was anything but-- it's like the perfect storm. have all of these swirling together inside this man's head. hoda kotb: when "dateline" continues. hey, get your head in the game, son. the scout from football college is up in the stands. maybe i'd rather go to school for insurance. i didn't raise no insurance man. but you did, dad. football's your passion. but mine is providing around-the-clock protection to progressive customers who bundle home and auto. jamie, we need you out here for football. you're giving up on your dream, james. no, dad. i'm giving up on yours.

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ask your eczema specialist in june 2007 while tourists wandered through old nantucket town looking for souvenirs, tom toolan went on trial for the murder of beth lochtefeld in a courthouse in the center of town. he'd pleaded not guilty. all rise. hoda kotb: the defendant was as smartly turned out as ever, looking like the successful executive he'd long wanted to be, the sort of guy who'd fit right in on this toney island. but the defense would argue that toolan's polished exterior was nothing more than a facade for a profoundly troubled man. they wouldn't say that he did not kill beth lochtefeld, but they would argue that he shouldn't go to prison for it. he was, they said, not guilty by reason of insanity.

good morning, jurors. hoda kotb: toolan's attorney kevin reddington began by hinting at the turmoil that lurked within tom toolan. see tom toolan? looks good. he's got a suit on and a tie. hair slicked back. certainly someone may say doesn't look crazy to me. hoda kotb: but the master of the universe act was just that, reddington declared, an act. because tom toolan was a mess plagued not just by alcohol abuse but drug addiction, too. his drink of choice would be absolut vodka right out of the bottle. drink a fifth a day. he was on the prescriptions legally. he was taking them illegally. hoda kotb: when beth broke up with him, reddington told the court toolan snapped. the drinking and drugging and even deeper troubles, all of them combined to push him over the edge. kevin reddington: the evidence will show that thomas toolan was suffering from a mental disease a defect at the time of this incident, that he was well within our legal definition of insane.

hoda kotb: and who better to tell the jury about the defendant's demons than the defendant's mother. my name is dolores toolan. hoda kotb: she recited the sorry facts of her son's life-- kevin reddington: at some point, was it apparent to you that he had an alcohol problem? yes, i would say when he was 16, 17. hoda kotb: his battle with drugs-- kevin reddington: did you know if he had occasion to make purchases from places other than drugstores? he got some prescriptions from the internet. hoda kotb: she told the court that she and her husband tried to straighten him out, sending him to rehabilitation several times beginning in 1999. and how long was he in hazelden for? a month. hoda kotb: now to describe toolan's state in the days before the murder. kevin reddington: did you at some point receive a phone call from your son? yes. hoda kotb: she described a conversation with her son two days before the murder.

he was inconsolable over the breakup with beth. and he said she's gone. she's gone. she's taken all her stuff. she just-- he said i was asleep, and she just left. hoda kotb: the next day, sunday, the toolans went to manhattan to see their son. he was in terrible shape. dolores toolan: his whole body exuded, you know, the smell of alcohol. hoda kotb: the defense believed that established toolan's state in the days before the murder. now for the day itself. when toolan was picked up in rhode island hours after the murder, he had been drinking. sobriety tests later put him at twice the legal limit. and multiply that by six-- hoda kotb: a forensic toxicologist doing some complicated calculations estimated that at the time of the murder, toolan's blood alcohol level was 0.30. the 0.30, where does that fit in? that fits in the next level above confusion

to the stupor phase. hoda kotb: so the defense argued toolan was profoundly impaired at the time of the murder and that was just from the drinking. add in the drugs-- how much did drugs play in tom toolan's life? he would take whatever drugs that he could get his hands on. such as? methamphetamine, benzodiazepine, paxlovid, zoloft. hoda kotb: there was more. the defense revealed that toolan had spent years fighting depression and obsessive compulsive disorder, that in the late '80s, he'd attempted suicide. and finally the defense was ready for its knockout punch. a neuropsychologist. my opinion is that he has profound frontal executive dysfunction. hoda kotb: davidoff testified that years of substance abuse had brought about that mental defect. because of it, toolan could not control his impulses,

and so the defense argued he could not be held criminally responsible for the murder. it's like the perfect storm. you have the frontal lobe defect, a person's unable to control their emotions and the executive function, coupled with the lowering of the inhibitions through the alcohol. you have all of these swirling together inside this man's head. the prosecutor's job was to blow that argument away, to argue that tom toolan knew exactly what he was doing when he murdered beth lochtefeld, that he was so enraged by the breakup that he planned and carried out a cold, calculated killing. the [inaudible] will present to you, ladies and gentlemen, a timeline. hoda kotb: as evidence of premeditation, prosecutor brian glenny told the court that on the night before the murder, security guards at new york's laguardia airport stopped toolan from boarding a plane to nantucket because he was carrying a 10-inch knife. when asked about the knife, toolan offered a series of stories.

he said that he forgot it was in there. he had it to cut a birthday cake. he was having lunch with his sister in nantucket and that she wanted him to bring a knife. hoda kotb: the prosecutor presented evidence to show that the next morning toolan boarded another plane bound for nantucket, this time without a knife, but when he landed, he went shopping for knives. toolan may have been drinking that day, the prosecutors argued, but he was used to consuming quantities of alcohol and drugs without showing it. and the prosecutor called witnesses who would testify that toolan didn't seem drunk. raise your right hand please, sir. hoda kotb: that's what the clerk who sold him the knives testified. i would say he was sober. hoda kotb: and the rental car agent at the nantucket airport. attorney: did he seem intoxicated to you at that time? no. would you have rented a car to him if he appeared intoxicated to you? not likely. hoda kotb: the prosecutor played a surveillance tape from the airport at hyannis, massachusetts.

toolan flew into the airport after the murder, arriving at about 1:15. jurors could see him renting a car, walking out to get it, and driving away in a gray chevrolet impala. brian glenny: you're able to see how he's walking, and he's not falling. he's not stumbling. the persons that are interacting with him are interacting in a normal way. hoda kotb: and there was audio of toolan in the back of the state trooper's cruiser after he was arrested in rhode island. the prosecutor argued toolan was coherent. he was capable of thinking clearly and of distinguishing right from wrong despite the alcohol. dr. martin kelly please. hoda kotb: and the prosecution also had a forensic psychiatrist whom they thought would deliver their own knockout punch. brian glenny: were you able to form an opinion concerning the criminal responsibility of thomas toolan iii

on about october 25th of 2004 in respect to the killing of beth lochtefeld. on that date, he did not have a mental disease or defect. and so the prosecutor told the jury tom toolan was criminally responsible when he stabbed beth lochtefeld to death. the testimony took nine days in all. as the summer arrived on nantucket, the surf and sea beguiling visitors, the stores beckoning shoppers, inside the nantucket superior court, the jury in toolan's murder trial got the case. coming up, the end of a trial-- is the defendant guilty or not guilty? hoda kotb: but not the end of the story when "dateline continues. dupixent can help people with asthma breathe better in as little as 2 weeks. so this is better. even this. dupixent is an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma that's not for sudden breathing problems.

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the jury in the that sttom toolan trialontact took five hours to reach a verdict. do you get butterflies every time? yes, you do. hoda kotb: as family members and jurors returned to their seats, the courtroom suddenly seemed too small for a big drama. you can hear a pin drop in the courtroom, you know. the emotion is palpable. i think obviously it's high stakes. judge: madam foreperson, has the jury agreed upon a verdict. hoda kotb: high stakes with subtle hints. kevin reddington: you can tell, you know, if the court officers surround the defendant, you know, you figure things aren't going that well. what say you, madam foreperson? is the defendant guilty or not guilty? guilty.

hoda kotb: guilty of first degree murder, guilty of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. a stoic tom toolan, a distraught mother, and no rejoicing from the victim's family. we are relieved this troubled and vengeful and dangerous man can never harm another innocent person. hoda kotb: tom toolan was sentenced to life in prison, and that's where things stood for four years. but in august of 2011, everything changed. the massachusetts supreme judicial court overturned tom toolan's conviction. the court said there were flaws in the jury selection process and ordered a new trial. the trial got underway in june 2013, this time at a courthouse on the mainland in barnstable, massachusetts. for the lochtefeld family, going through it a second time was deeply disappointing and worrying. tom lochtefeld: all of a sudden, he wasn't convicted of killing my sister anymore,

and he was as far as i was concerned. hoda kotb: but for tom toolan, it was an incredible second chance. this time the defendant looked thinner than he had during the first trial, and this time a new defense attorney argued the case. this is not a whodunit. this is not a where, when, how case. this is a why case. hoda kotb: robert sheketoff opened with an admission that the first defense team never made explicitly that toolan did kill beth lochtefeld. what the jury had to decide was why. this is a difficult issue to look into somebody's mind and figure out what was going on in that mind. was he a common criminal, or was he not? that's the issue. hoda kotb: it was the insanity defense all over again dressed up a little differently, presented in court by an attorney who was keenly aware he had an uphill battle on his hands. robert sheketoff: the real question is is anyone

willing to let somebody who's done something this horrific, quote unquote, off the hook because of the problem with their drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and underlying mental issues. hoda kotb: the prosecutor, brian glenny, had the gloves off once again. 52 days, ladies and gentlemen, 52 days from the time elizabeth beth lochtefeld met thomas toolan until he stabbed her 23 times until she died. hoda kotb: glenny told this new set of jurors just what he said during the first trial, that tom toolan knew exactly what he was doing the day he killed beth lochtefeld. brian glenny: it was a choice that he made knowing it was wrong and he understood that at the time, and he still chose to do it. that's what criminal responsibility is. hoda kotb: this time the trial was considerably shorter, and this time when the jurors went out to deliberate, they were back the same day. judge: the defendant thomas e. toolan

is charged with murder. is he not guilty, or is he guilty? foreperson: the jury has found him guilty. judge: guilty and what please? foreperson: first degree murder. hoda kotb: guilty again on all counts and stoicism from the defendant sentenced again to life. beth's sister kathy read a statement in court. this verdict cannot bring beth back, but it does bring a measure of justice. hoda kotb: for tom lochtefeld, it was satisfying even though for him the first conviction was the one that mattered. tom lochtefeld: on that day, we all took a walk up to beth's gravesite after the conviction. and i just remember feeling that it was a beautiful june day, and it felt like, wow, this is finally-- i'm finally not upset to be here anymore. and it was good again. hoda kotb: for those who were close to beth lochtefeld,

there's a real sense of closure this time. the trial behind him, beth's father, the artist john lochtefeld, finished the book he and beth had worked on together. it was published after she died. he illustrated her words and dedicated the book to beth and her dreams, the dream she lived and those that died too soon with her. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm andrea canning. thanks for watching. hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline." it was horrifying. hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline." this was my mom, a vibrant woman, just ripped out of the world. everything that we thought in our life is just all shattered.