and grace-- esther bridges: i want to tell her all about her mom. it's-- it's one of those where i just-- i want to show her, you know, like, your mother really did love you. keith morrison: maybe some day she'll know about that uncontainable woman who while she stayed brought joy, marie. andrea canning: that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm andrea canning. thanks for watching. [end theme] [music playing] hello, i'm andrea canning, and this is "dateline."ou to get in the car with us." they zip-tied my arms and zip-tied my legs, duct taped my hair. there's no words. i'm sitting there just hysterical. andrea canning: what's that feel like? meghan verikas: it's terrifying!

andrea canning: she thought he was mr. right, a confident handsome surgeon till the good doctor seemed to turn sinister. he had put his hands over my face and said, "go ahead and try and leave." i didn't know where else to go. i mean, she just broke down. she looked afraid. andrea canning: taunts, threats, then something deadly. they had said that he had hired somebody to get rid of me. andrea canning: a doctor plotting a murder. he's giving you a way to kill someone. very detailed, precise instructions. andrea canning: investigators would launch a plot of their own and unravel not one murder scheme, but two. so now you have a man and a woman who both want their ex's dead. is that beyond bizarre? shocking. it just was unreal. i couldn't believe that this was happening. andrea canning: an unthinkable crime and an unbelievable twist. these detectives had a plan. mhm. and you were a big part of it. oh, my god. it's just mind-boggling to most people.

i said, just please tell me. it was the worst, worst day of my life. hello, and welcome to dateline. it looked like an ordinary lunch meeting. four people having a conversation at a chain restaurant, except nothing was as it seemed and what was being discussed would eventually be at the center of a court battle. but to understand how a nice looking couple ended up at the table talking with two people they thought were hitmen, we need to go back to the beginning when meghan verikas had just met a charming doctor named leon jacob. here's twisted in texas. [birds chirping] in the beginning, it was heady, fun. he is very charming. andrea canning: she was swept away. meghan verikas: i don't think i've ever had somebody tell me i'm beautiful that much.

andrea canning: but without warning, it all turned from love story to crime story. he's a relentless tsunami. he doesn't care who he affects. andrea canning: it's like out of a movie. it is, it is. andrea canning: a thriller. i ran across the street yelling, leave her alone! andrea canning: with secret recordings-- leon jacob: i want her gone. andrea canning: a fake death and another death that was all too real. it's awful, it never should have happened, none of it. andrea canning: meghan verikas is a pittsburgh girl born and raised. steeler games, tight knit friends, a solid family. meghan verikas: i grew up with my parents who have been married for 35 years. andrea canning: meghan's own love life wasn't so simple. she got married in her 20s, but she and her husband

drifted apart. so she threw herself into work managing a busy hotel downtown. it's a fun job. you meet a lot of different people. andrea canning: one of those people was a local doctor who checked in during the winter of 2014. his name was leon jacob. what's your first impression? he was arrogant. like, just, you know, "oh, i'm a doctor. give me whatever suite you have." what did you make of that? were you-- did you think to yourself, i don't want anything to do with this? exactly, exactly, but he wears on you. andrea canning: leon came from a well-to-do family and attended an elite boarding school. now, he told her, he was a transplant surgeon. i think that anybody is enamored by somebody who can save lives. andrea canning: like meghan, leon was unlucky in love. he told her he was going through a divorce. the more meghan got to know him, the more approachable he seemed. he's very charming.

andrea canning: soon enough, a romance blossomed. and when leon moved back to his hometown of houston, he asked meghan to join him. he had made me feel like i deserved something else. something better? yeah. andrea canning: houston was good for meghan. she found a job in hotel sales and signed a lease on a cool new apartment. leon moved in. that, to me, was really scary. i'm very independent and he's like, i opened a bank account and i put your name on it. and i'm like-- that's quick. but i was like, oh, he really cares. like, ok. andrea canning: leon's family welcomed meghan like one of their own. did you start to envision the possibility of marriage with leon? yeah. at 30 years old, you don't spend time with somebody that you won't want to be serious with. that's not who i am. andrea canning: meghan settled in. she got a dog and made a new friend through work, ariel washington. we really clicked over just being from out of town, both transitioning into houston.

we're both steelers fans. andrea canning: leon's selfies showed a loving couple, but there was one trouble spot in meghan's new life. leon didn't have a texas medical license yet. meghan verikas: so then i was like, ok, why don't you go work as a surgical assistant? and he was like, you don't understand what it's like to be a doctor. you can't just take any job. andrea canning: meghan had to support both herself and leon. it really just seemed like frustrations within a normal relationship. andrea canning: but one night, everything changed. meghan expressed her frustration in front of leon's high-achieving family. like, i don't understand why he's not working. and he was like, we're going to talk about this when we get home. and he just tore up my entire closet and just threw all of my stuff on the balcony. what did you say back to him? i was, like, shocked. i didn't know what to say. and i didn't know what to do. like, here i am. i live with this person. andrea canning: that night started a downward spiral. according to meghan, soon every day leon seemed to find

a new reason to get angry. eventually, she says, his anger turned into abuse. it was always something like, almost like clockwork. he used to chew tobacco and he-- i don't know what i did or what happened, he took the thing of spit and threw it across the room at me. it was constant. it's humiliating. yeah. and he just didn't think it was a big deal, even though he would call me these horrible names and just demeaning and awful. andrea canning: then, she said, he would beg forgiveness. meghan verikas: i'm sorry, you know i love you. i have so much other things going on, i need you in my world, you're the only thing that keeps me happy. would you forgive him when he would say sorry? of course. andrea canning: she says leon always promised to change, but never did. and did you ask yourself, how did i-- i don't know how i ended up there. andrea canning: --get under this man's world? exactly. don't expect to be in a relationship like that. andrea canning: then came january 12th, 2017.

meghan got home late after a long day at work. meghan verikas: he started throwing stuff out of the dishwasher. he's throwing it and throwing, and then he, like, threw a glass of wine on me. andrea canning: meghan had to get out. and i was like, i'm done, i'm leaving. andrea canning: she rushed to pack a bag. meghan verikas: he put his hands over my face and said, "go ahead and try and leave, you dumb [bleep]."." andrea canning: meghan made a run for it. she took their dog and got in the car. she said leon chased her down the driveway. he's pulling on the car door and pulling on the car door, and he was like, "if you don't give me the dog, i'm going to punch you in your [bleep] window." andrea canning: leon grabbed the dog, but meghan got away. she was free, or so she thought. coming up-- meghan verikas: i had pulled out and he was right behind me. she looked afraid. andrea canning: was meghan in danger? he said, "she's got to be out of the picture." if he'd hired somebody to do something, who knows what they're going to do? andrea canning: when dateline continues.

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eggs make all our family moments better. especially when they're eggland's best. taste so fresh and amazing. deliciously superior nutrition, too. for us, it's eggs any style. as long as they're the best. eggland's best. every morning around as 8:30, ariel washingtonst. had a sales meeting with her friend and coworker, meghan verikas, but january 13th, 2017 was different. i was like, good morning. and i was-- the next words out of my mouth were, what's wrong? her face was blotchy, marks and things like that around. andrea canning: it was the morning after meghan's desperate flight

from her boyfriend, leon. ariel washington: she started crying. i closed the door. you know, broke out tissues. andrea canning: until that moment, ariel knew very little about meghan's troubles with leon. she looked afraid and in disbelief that something like this happened to her. andrea canning: as the women talked, meghan's cell pinged incessantly. it was just nonstop emails, phone calls. andrea canning: all from leon. erratic messages from an account called leonlovesmeghan. he was like, i love you, here's this wedding ring i was going to buy you. then the next email would be, oh, you're so done. i want nothing to do with you. andrea canning: meghan texted leon to leave her alone. they were over. but there was more to come and it was infuriating. meghan found out that leon had withdrawn most of the money from their joint bank account. and when she went to her apartment to get her belongings, she was shocked by what she saw. i had no furniture left, nothing. he-- luckily, i'd gotten there in time before he took my clothes.

andrea canning: meghan went to the police and swore out a complaint against leon. and i just sat in this filthy office just crying and writing down everything i could remember. andrea canning: she told police leon had assaulted her. she applied for a protective order. but it didn't come through immediately. a few days later-- meghan verikas: i had pulled out of my work and he was right behind me. andrea canning: meghan said she sped through downtown, but she couldn't shake her ex, then leon cut her off with his car. meghan verikas: he jumped in front of my vehicle, telling me i'm making a huge mistake and that he loves me. andrea canning: meghan says she managed to swerve around leon and escape, but he kept showing up at the hotel where she worked asking to see her. ariel washington: his demeanor was very calm, but very persistent. that's actually scarier because you don't know what's going on in the back of their head. andrea canning: the hotel banned leon from the property, but coworkers

still saw him lurking. ariel washington: we walk outside and see him standing there behind a bush like you're invisible. i just remember the first words coming out of my mouth were, do you know we can see you? andrea canning: furious, ariel says she ran across the street yelling-- go away! get away from us! leave her alone! andrea canning: police arrested leon for assault. ariel washington: but that was very short-lived because he was out, i want to say, within the next day. andrea canning: two weeks later, leon and meghan appeared in court. the judge granted that protective order. he then ordered leon to be arrested again on the spot. this time for stalking. as officers read leon his rights, meghan was surprised to see a familiar face in the gallery. i noticed valerie was sitting in the stands, which i thought was odd. andrea canning: valerie mcdaniel, a successful veterinarian in town recently divorced from her husband of 19 years-- mack. meghan met valerie, mack, and their daughter

when their marriage was falling apart. meghan verikas: she would come over and have martinis, and she would be over a lot. we went to a couple of nightclubs and things like that. she seemed like a nice person. andrea canning: how did leon act around valerie? like it was anybody else. andrea canning: but that was then. on this day in court, meghan thought leon and valerie looked like a couple. she learned later that valerie even posted leon's bond with this man, a bail bondsman named michael kubosh, who a couple of days later, got an unsettling visit from leon. he shut the door behind him. was that odd? very odd, and he says, i'm here because i want to know one thing. andrea canning: leon asked the bail bondsman for help finding another client of his. leon said the client's name was zack. and i said, well, i don't know a zack. who are you talking about? he said, you know him, he's ex-military, ex-cia, he's middle eastern. andrea canning: leon said he'd hired zack to do a job for him, but now couldn't find him. and then he tells me that he's paid him a lot of money

to take care of this. i said-- take care of what? he said, "she's got to go either back to pittsburgh. she's got to be out of the picture. i'm a doctor, i can't have her come to this court and testify against me." andrea canning: kubosh found leon's words frightening. i felt like it was much more sinister than just wanting her to go to pittsburgh. to what extent were you thinking? i didn't know if he'd hired somebody to do something, who knows what they're going to do? andrea canning: turns out the bail bondsman also happened to be a city councilman and a friend of the houston police chief. so he gave the chief a call and said they should take a closer look at leon and the mysterious zack. coming up, an undercover mission to learn what leon's really up to. he's giving you a way to kill someone. very detailed, precise instructions. andrea canning: and the real jaw dropper-- meghan wasn't the only target. leon jacob: (on the phone) we're taking care of both problems? zack: (on phone) what both problems?

both of the individuals that we're talking about. andrea canning: when dateline continues.

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february 23rd, 2017, leon jacob had been arrested two days before meghan verikas had a protective order against him. so for the first time in weeks, she should have felt safe. but that evening, her phone rang.

it was a police officer and he basically said that there was a credible threat to my life. andrea canning: police came to meet meghan the next morning. her friend ariel remembered meghan was so afraid, she wore a disguise. you know, she's putting this wig on, putting a hat on. you know, jeans, tennis shoes, t-shirt so that, you know, she could try to be as inconspicuous as possible. andrea canning: meghan and ariel checked the officer's ids one by one. then investigators shared the tip they got from the bail bondsman, michael kubosh. they think that my ex-boyfriend may have hired somebody to have me hurt, and that i need to be surrounded by people 24 hours a day and not be left alone. normally, i would say, that must have been shocking. were you all that surprised that-- i wasn't. andrea canning: the police suggested meghan go back to pittsburgh for a while. so she bought a ticket and flew home. meanwhile, at the harris county da special crimes bureau, investigators jimmy turpin and mike mauldin

started looking into leon. were you surprised to see a doctor involved in this? it was surprising to us. normally, we don't deal with professional people looking to have somebody killed. andrea canning: their first priority, locate the elusive zack, the guy leon asked the bail bondsman about. the guy who may have been a hit man. they searched databases, knocked on doors, and they found him. his real name was moataz azza, or taz for short. and he said, we need to talk. andrea canning: taz said they had him all wrong. he was no hit man, but they were right about leon. he wanted to get rid of meghan. his main goal was that she'd not appear in court, whatever means that required that to happen, that was fine with leon-- up to killing her. andrea canning: taz said leon gave him $9,980 in cash and a couple of fancy watches to do the job.

but taz said he had no intention of doing it. his story was, he was playing leon, he wasn't ever going to do the hit. andrea canning: but taz told police he had no doubt leon still wanted it done. taz also said he was willing to work with them to help catch leon. so police told taz to call leon. they recorded the call. leon jacob: (on phone) hello? moataz azza: hey, what's up man? leon jacob: how are you doing, buddy? moataz azza: pretty good. hey, listen, i'm going to set up a meeting with you tomorrow so we can finish this, ok? leon jacob: ok. andrea canning: taz told leon he was bringing a partner. moataz azza: i'm going to bring with me, the-- the-- the navy seal guy because he wants, you know, so we can get this done-- andrea canning: taz didn't tell leon his new partner was really an undercover police officer. then leon said something taz wasn't expecting. leon jacob: we're taking care of both problems? moataz azza: what both problems? leon jacob: both of the individuals that we're talking about. taz looked at me and shrugged his shoulders. a second potential victim has

just been added to the mix. yes. andrea canning: leon agreed to meet at an olive garden restaurant with taz and the undercover officer who went by adam. we've agreed not to show his face. what is the goal of this meeting? adam: make sure that this really is a murder for hire and to gather evidence to see what it is that they want, and also to discuss payment. andrea canning: when leon showed up, he wasn't alone. adam: we followed leon to the table where we sat down. we were introduced to valerie. andrea canning: that's right. valerie mcdaniel, leon's new girlfriend, the woman who bonded him out of jail. here was valerie meeting two supposed hitmen. valerie mcdaniel: hey, valerie, nice to meet you. adam: nice to meet you. valerie mcdaniel: nice to meet you. andrea canning: when the conversation started, leon didn't sound like someone trying to hire a hitman. he said he'd be happy if meghan just went back to pittsburgh. leon jacob: i want her just to leave. moataz azza: mhmm. leon jacob: i don't want her hurt. andrea canning: but as they ate their pasta, leon's tone hardened. leon jacob: make it very clear to her that if she doesn't listen this time,

there's going to be some severe consequences. andrea canning: during the conversation, leon said he wanted adam to try another tactic-- plant some drugs on meghan. leon jacob: she gets pulled over, she has cocaine-- she's not a credible witness anymore. andrea canning: and leon had a more sinister idea, which to the undercover officer sounded like an invitation to murder. leon jacob: give her an injection of potassium chloride and stop her heart. untraceable. adam: it's up to you. do you have that stuff? leon jacob: i can get access to it, yeah. i have access to a pharmacy. valerie owns a pharmacy. she has a pharmacy at her clinic. i'd prefer not to do that, but my survival is more important. andrea canning: he's giving you a way to kill someone. he gave me very detailed, precise instructions on how to kill somebody. andrea canning: but it wasn't just meghan whose life was in danger. remember, leon had said something about both individuals. who was the other target?

leon jacob: he really needs to go. i don't mind what you [bleep] do to him. he's one of the worst human-beings i've ever met in my entire life. andrea canning: leon clearly hated the guy, so who was he? leon jacob: i have never met a human-being like her ex-husband, and i've met some pretty bad people. andrea canning: her ex-husband, he meant valerie's ex-husband, mack. that's right. this murder for hire was a double plot, a twofer. it seemed leon and valerie both wanted their exes dead. leon and taz left the table for a smoke and valerie talked specifics with adam about how he could bump off her ex-husband. valerie mcdaniel: he might have a boating accident, you know? adam: mhmm. valerie mcdaniel: harder? adam: mhm. andrea canning: the undercover officer suggested some simpler execution options. adam: take his car, leave him on the street, make sure he's dead, maybe put another bullet in his head. we call that a double tap. they'll think it was a robbery. andrea canning: but first, adam wanted to know, was she sure? adam: you need me to give me the go-ahead-- there's no going back from this, ok?

valerie mcdaniel: what other option do i have? he's gonna take my daughter. andrea canning: of course, explained adam, a second target would cost extra money. leon returned to the table to negotiate a payment plan. adam: $5,000? leon jacob: yeah, after-- after everything's done. we'll take care of it. andrea canning: listening in from a nearby table was sergeant frank quinn, who was in charge of the undercover operation. so now you have a man and a woman who both want their exes dead. yes. is that beyond bizarre? i hadn't seen anything like it before. it was really shocking. andrea canning: the meeting broke up. adam and taz promised to be in touch. investigators thought they had a case, but to make it stick they needed the money to change hands. and they had a wild, elaborate plan to make that happen. coming up-- meghan verikas: they said, we need you to get in the car with us. andrea canning: undercover sting, scene number two. we zip-tied her hands and zip-tied her feet, and then duct tape around her mouth.

i'm sitting there just hysterical. there's no words. andrea canning: when dateline continues. the freestyle libre 3 plus sensor tracks your glucose in real time, and over time it can help lower your a1c. ♪♪ this is progress. learn more and try for free at freestylelibre.us ♪♪ feeling ughh from a backed up gut? ughh. miralax works naturally with the water in your body to help you go. free your gut and your mood will follow. for 8 grams of fiber, try mirafiber gummies. icy hot. ice works fast. ♪♪ heat makes it last.

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i'm richard lui with the news update. on saturday president biden honoring 19 people with the presidential medal of freedom. among the recipients hillary clinton, magic johnson, anna winter, and bono. a severe weather alert across the country. 60million people are under winter weather warnings across the plains and mid-atlantic. the storm is forecasted to bring heavy snow and crippling ice over the next three days. for now, back to "date line"." now, police were telling

her he was trying to hire a hitman to potentially take hers. and there was more. she wasn't the only target, but the police were putting the wheels in motion on a plan of their own. back now to twisted in texas. after some anxious days in pittsburgh, meghan verikas got a call from investigators to come back to houston. soon after she arrived, they called again with a surprise. andrea canning: they said, we're outside, we need you to get in the car with us. it's like out of a movie. it is. they take me to some lot that looks like a junkyard kinda'. there's cars with bullet holes in them. andrea canning: just then another car pulled up and a man got out. meghan recognized valerie's ex-husband, mack, and learned that he too was the target of a hit. he just hugged me and he was like, i heard about this, like, a day ago. and i was like, yeah, i've been dealing with this for some time. andrea canning: but neither meghan nor mack could have anticipated the incredible scheme

police had in mind for them. sergeant frank quinn and his officers wanted meghan and mack to participate-- get this-- in a fake kidnapping and murder. what a bizarre request of someone who's a victim in a potential murder for hire plot to-- hey, we want you to pose-- - it is. --and you're going to look dead. yes. andrea canning: quinn's plan was to show photos of the staged scenes to leon and valerie. he wanted to see their reactions and also have them make a payment for the fake hit. mack went first playing a murder victim. was mack up for this? yes, definitely. andrea canning: quinn's unit used pig's blood to simulate a head wound. they knew they had to make it look convincing to leon. when you're dealing with a doctor who's probably seen wounds, then you need to be as realistic as you can. he's been shot? yes, shot in the head. andrea canning: in the photos? shot in the head, yes. andrea canning: meghan's role was different. she played the victim of a kidnapping. we zip-tied her hands, zip-tied her feet, and then

duct taped around her mouth. for us, this is very clinical. but in meghan's case, it hit her and tears were flowing, and she just broke down. there's no words. i'm sitting there just hysterical, but i guess it made the photos look better because it was real tears. it was real emotion. andrea canning: meanwhile, adam, the undercover police officer posing as a hit man, exchanged texts and calls with leon. leon jacob: (on phone) i want that taken care of asap, too. this has got to be [bleep] fixed. adam: most of the conversations have to do with leon asking me to hurry up and commence with the murder. leon jacob: we just want these two situations taken care of immediately. andrea canning: later that day, armed with the staged photos, the undercover officer, adam, went over to leon and valerie's home to tell them he'd killed mack and get them to pay. adam: the male subject is-- i'm sure you know who i'm talking about-- he's-- he's gone, he's done. andrea canning: but leon wanted to talk about meghan

and how they were a bad match from the start. leon jacob: she grew up sort of middle, lower-middle class. this girl-- she didn't understand my world. andrea canning: adam returned to the business at hand, said he'd planned to deal with meghan the next day. if she refused to leave town, he would kill her. leon jacob: tomorrow? adam: more than likely at-- at-- by tomorrow, she'll more than likely be dead, and that's it. leon jacob: i'd rather not. adam: i understand you prefer not, and i-- but i can't give you 100% guarantee. andrea canning: leon showed the undercover officer a pile of cash wrapped in a dish towel. payment for homicidal services rendered. adam: $1,800 in cash with the promise to pay me the remainder of the $10,000 at a later time. what does that say to you in that moment? like, this guy is obviously serious. adam: that's what told me there was no going back. he was dead serious about it. andrea canning: the next day, adam texted leon that photo of meghan crying, zip-tied and duct

taped. leon didn't respond. so the undercover officer called to tell him he'd had to kill meghan. adam: there's no reasoning with her. she just put too much risk on us, and uh, she doesn't care about leaving. that's pretty much it, man. she's, uh, she's dead. she's gone. leon jacob: she was just like, [bleep] him? adam: in so many words, yeah. she's, yeah, she's dead. leon jacob: you already took care of it? adam: yeah. andrea canning: hours later, continuing the ruse, police arrived at valerie and leon's apartment with their body cameras rolling. we're just coming to inform her that her husband has been killed to get her reaction. your ex-husband's been found. it looks like it, uh, turned out to be a fatality. andrea canning: what was their reaction? well, you know, they try to feign some kind of surprise. and then we want to gauge his reaction, too. leon jacob: oh, my god. we were here all day with their daughter

and watching movies. he immediately offers an alibi. he's like, oh my gosh, we've been here all day. suspicious? very suspicious, yes. the one thing he's not is an actor, a good actor. andrea canning: the police got the reaction they were looking for. they had the money paid to the undercover officer and so they sprang their trap. right now, we're going to read you your rights. leon jacob: me? - both of you. andrea canning: they arrested leon and valerie for solicitation of capital murder and revealed there was no murder and no kidnapping. meghan and mack were alive and well. they had no idea. they believed that their issues had been taken care of. they had no more problems. and to immediately go from a death notification to you're under arrest for solicitation of capital murder-- that's a head snapper. yeah, and that'll get your attention. was valerie mcdaniel a murderous mastermind, or

another victim of leon jacob? coming up-- i couldn't believe that this was happening to my sister. andrea canning: what could have driven valerie to do this? valerie mcdaniel: i hate the idea everybody thinks i'm a monster. andrea canning: she tells her story and leon tells his when dateline continues. speaker: who's coming in the driveway? speaker: dad. dad, we missed you. daddy, hi.

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ritzy river oaks couple take out hits on their exes. woman: the murder for hire plot that sent shockwaves through river oaks. andrea canning: in the days following the arrests, revelations about leon's past flooded in with every newscast, including nbc affiliate kprc. woman: channel 2 investigates is digging up new details. andrea canning: court documents showed leon wasn't exactly who he appeared to be. he'd been kicked out of residency programs, convicted of attempted cyberstalking and criminal trespassing. and there was another woman from leon's past who accused him of abuse-- his ex-wife. one count of solicitation of capital murder. andrea canning: leon was held without bail, but the judge did set bail for valerie. she was allowed to go home. her sister angela was in shock. it just was unreal. i couldn't believe that this was happening to my sister. this-- the most kind, sweet, loving person.

andrea canning: valerie's best friend, maggie, said valerie was scarred by her recent divorce. it left her extremely vulnerable to a predator like leon to come along and sink his teeth in. andrea canning: after the arrest, maggie confronted valerie. and i just kind of said, listen, you are under some sort of spell right now. this monster has gotten you into some trouble and you need to fight like hell. what did she say? she did not understand what was happening. she just seemed off. terribly, terribly sad. andrea canning: at home, alone, valerie recorded an audio diary on her ipad. valerie mcdaniel: hey, it's valerie again-- andrea canning: she recounted how back when her marriage to mack was crumbling she ran into her neighbor's son, leon. valerie mcdaniel: i was completely turned off immediately by his attitude because you could tell he knew how beautiful he was.

but over time, valerie-- like meghan before her-- thought she saw something in him. andrea canning: and as with meghan, leon captured their budding romance and selfies. valerie mcdaniel: i got through that exterior and realized he a-- a nice person and i was lonely, and he kept me company. i felt deeply in love with leon. andrea canning: but valerie said she never intended to have her husband killed. valerie mcdaniel: i hate the idea that everybody thinks i'm a monster. andrea canning: the audio diary turned out to be her final recorded words. valerie mcdaniel: i don't want to hurt anyone, just me. ok, thank you for listening, bye. andrea canning: a little over two weeks after her arrest, valerie mcdaniel jumped to her death from the seventh floor balcony of her apartment building. it was the worst, worst day of my life. andrea canning: valerie's friend maggie blamed leon. i see it as murder, i really do. i think he's murdered her reputation, and he ultimately murdered her.

even though she made that choice on her own? yes, yes. never, ever, ever, none of this would have ever happened without him. andrea canning: leon jacob didn't see it that way at all. we met him at the harris county jail where he was awaiting trial, far removed from the promise of his early years. this was a privileged life. top boarding school, fancy vacations, nice house. would you describe it that way? yeah. i mean, i can't say that i wanted for anything. andrea canning: and what drew him to medicine-- i think in a lot of ways, as a physician you're a public servant. andrea canning: he says meghan caught his eye at first sight. she was beautiful and vivacious and smart. she thought you were obnoxious when she first met you. i don't-- i don't know-- i was just being myself. some people find me obnoxious or confident when they first meet me, but after they get to know me a little bit i'm just an easygoing, fun-loving loving kind of person. andrea canning: after leon was charged with soliciting

meghan's murder, the old misdemeanor assault charge was dropped. he told us he never physically abused her. i don't recall the relationship being like that. she said the final straw was when you grabbed her face in the bathroom and you physically assaulted her, and that's when she finally left. her recollection-- andrea canning: she couldn't take it any more. --of that night is different than mine. tell us what happened, in your eyes. we were fighting. i wasn't going to restrain her in any way. i mean, i never physically touched her or hurt her in any way, despite what she claims. andrea canning: he did admit he called meghan repeatedly and followed her around after their breakup, said he just wanted to talk things out. i've been to her work a bunch. i went to take her out to lunch sort of say, i'm sorry. you're making this sound like it's nothing. she was living in such fear that she didn't know if she was going to live to see another day if you found her. that's absurd. absolutely absurd. leon insisted he didn't hire anyone to hurt meghan,

he was just trying to help her return to her hometown. i never asked him to snatch anybody or kidnap anybody. what i was told was what meghan wanted to do was go back to pittsburgh. why would you want to be nice at this point, though? meghan doesn't want anything to do with you. it doesn't make any sense. i was told that's what her wishes were. andrea canning: and what about those tapes that sounded so damning? leon jacob: you already took care of it? adam: yeah. andrea canning: leon said the tapes didn't prove anything. why go down this road? why hire a-- who you think is a hitman if you don't want meghan dead? i never thought he was a hitman. you have to understand something. i never thought these people were violent criminals at all. that's not how it appears on the tapes. if you really listen to what's said, i never asked him to hurt anybody. i never asked them to kill anybody. andrea canning: but remember, he did offer a suggestion on how to kill her. leon jacob: give her an injection of potassium chloride to stop her heart. untraceable. why are you telling him how to do this?

i will talk about that when i'm on the witness stand. so there's nothing you want to share now? no. andrea canning: we also asked how valerie's husband became a target. i had nothing to do with what was going on with mack. andrea canning: if leon told us he was being kd mn,it was a y with valerie. he shifted blame to his late lover, even as he tried to sound sympathetic. valerie wasn't a monster. she clearly had reached a breaking point. and i can't say that i condone what she wanted to have done. as a doctor, just as a human-being, taking someone's life is not ok with me. so you're saying you two were not in on this together. not in on having anybody killed, absolutely not. did you mastermind the plan to have meghan and mack killed? there was never a plan to have anybody killed. so no, i did not mastermind a plan to have meghan and/or mack killed.

andrea canning: do you believe valerie was the mastermind behind this plan? she asked for something to happen that she clearly wanted to have happen. i don't think she masterminded. i think that she progressively got there. andrea canning: convenient for leon, valerie wasn't around to defend herself. then again, he was the one about to go on trial. the doctor takes the stand. will he be able to save himself? coming up-- you need to restate your question. andrea canning: --a suspect not as clever as he thinks, or just clever enough to convince a jury? i never asked to have anybody hurt, killed, harmed, kidnapped. andrea canning: what would the verdict be? when dateline continues. type 2 diabetes? discover the ozempic® tri-zone. i got the power of 3. i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight.

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okay, maybe not at work. point is at xfinity. we're constantly engineering new ways to get the entertainment you love to you faster and easier than ever. that's what i do. is that love island? harris county prosecutor, samantha knecht and her co-counsel, cameron calligan, knew they had a strong case against leon jacob for solicitation of capital murder, and additionally, for solicitation of kidnapping. they also knew they had a potential problem. as you headed to trial, what was going to be the cornerstone of your case? the recordings. samantha knecht: the recordings. there was no way that he was going to be able to get himself out of all of the things that he said. what would you say was the weakest part of your case? well, an aspect of the recordings as well. the defendant is educated.

he's intelligent. he was cautious in his approach to talking to the undercover officer. andrea canning: that was the problem. in all those recorded conversations, leon never said, kill meghan, yet the prosecutors had to prove that's exactly what he meant. leon jacob does not stop until he gets what he wants. andrea canning: the trial began on march 20th, 2018. the prosecution called the bail bondsman, michael kubosh, who told the jury he had no doubt leon wanted to hire a hitman to kill meghan. i felt like i was talking to the devil himself. andrea canning: the state then called the supposed hitman turned informant taz who testified that he, too, knew exactly what leon wanted done. i asked him to bring $2,500 to see how serious he is. man: and he brought that money? yes. andrea canning: prosecutors played the tape where leon discussed in detail how he, as a doctor, might get rid of meghan. leon jacob: give her an injection of potassium chloride to stop her heart, untraceable.

i'd prefer not to do that, but my survival is more important. he might not have said murder, he might not have said kill, but he knew what he was asking for. andrea canning: one of the star witnesses was the man who played dead. mack mcdaniel, alive and well, told the jury that he didn't want leon, a man accused of stalking and assault, anywhere near his daughter. did you convey to valerie your wishes that natalie not be around the defendant? yes. andrea canning: motive, said the prosecutors, for leon to have mack killed. mack and maybe even the courts may get involved, are going to make valerie choose between her daughter and the defendant. she's going to choose her daughter. andrea canning: mack recounted the emotional moment when he learned about the murder plot. that if they would have been successful, natalie would have not had any parents. andrea canning: then it was meghan's turn. no gag or zip ties this time, she told the jury she had no doubt leon wanted her dead. were you scared?

very scared? how did that affect how you felt about your safety around the defendant? i was terrified. andrea canning: defense attorney george parnham said the prosecution had it all wrong. leon didn't want anyone killed. he wasn't suggesting that this be done. andrea canning: he argued leon was just a lovelorn ex-boyfriend who'd gone overboard with big talk. he's braggadocious and then backtracks. andrea canning: you might think that would make him a risky witness, but leon wanted to testify. i never asked to have anybody hurt, killed, harmed, kidnapped. we had multiple discussions, or multiple conversations, about not wanting to harm or hurt anybody. andrea canning: the state said that was just semantics. on cross-examination, prosecutor samantha knecht pointed out that despite leon's claim he hadn't explicitly asked for meghan or mack to be killed, he didn't exactly shy away from violent talk. samantha knecht: snatch her, put her in a room,

and tell her if she doesn't [bleep] leave, i'm going to kill her parents, right? if that's what you say i said. samantha knecht: did you say it, mr. jacob? sure. andrea canning: as for leon's claim he never suggested killing meghan-- samantha knecht: if you injected someone with potassium chloride and stopped their heart that it would hurt them? yes. samantha knecht: it would kill them. yes. samantha knecht: you knew that as a doctor. yes. when we would ask him a question, if he didn't feel like we had phrased it right, he would rephrase it for us. you need to restate your question and put it into context. i believe that he felt like he was smarter than cameron and i. did you just want to smack him? yes. andrea canning: leon, they argued, didn't care who lived or died in his wake. he did nothing to stop it. in his mind, his ex-girlfriend is sitting by herself in a warehouse somewhere in this city, zip-tied with duct tape around her mouth.

he thinks he can just walk away from this. andrea canning: it took the jury all of an hour and 15 minutes to decide leon's fate. we, the jury, find the defendant leon phillip jacob guilty of solicitation of capital murder. andrea canning: guilty of all charges. and in texas, the jury can also decide punishment. in the penalty phase, prosecutors called a new witness, leon's ex-wife annie. she testified in vivid detail that leon was abusive. what did the defendant tell you? that was my punishment for calling the police, was being held on the bed with a knife to my throat. samantha knecht: this defendant cannot be trusted to live among us. a guilty verdict without the appropriate punishment is hollow. there's something you want out of the punishment phase. i would never want him to be able to do this to somebody else because if it wasn't me, if it wasn't valerie, if it wasn't annie, it's going to be somebody else-- and that needs to stop. andrea canning: the jury sentenced leon to life in prison.

afterwards, meghan addressed him directly. while you sit in jail, i hope you think of me, the girl that you called poor and uneducated. it's because of me you will be in prison for life. i was really proud of her. i think it took incredible courage on her part to see this through. andrea canning: meghan knows, in a way, she was lucky. every day there are women that are in situations like this that don't have the means to get out. i have had so many people help me and i just want to make a difference for those who don't have a voice. that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm andrea canning. thanks for watching. hello and welcome to this special holiday edition of morning joe. we are on time