o. and this comes from guy number two in your house. he said after the home invasion, they came back. are you serious? he wanted another round. they parked in front of your place, did a little surveillance, scoped it out. and jason scott wanted to come back in and even the score. i didn't know that. that's scary. it could have been your picture on the 11 o'clock news. that's right. like, how does one person cause so much damage and so much hurt and so much loss for so many people? it still blows my mind. now that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. [music playing] hello, i'm andrea canning, atold me, he loved me."diane i told him, i loved him. he said, he'd be right back. i could hear a commotion of some sort,

and then i remember hearing gunshots. to see him lying there, it was bad. andrea canning (voiceover): it's the website where lovers go to meet and cheat-- chad mcdonald: this was someone looking to have an affair. andrea canning (voiceover): --but this affair was about so much more than deceit. cindy lutz: you couldn't write this as a movie. you couldn't write this as a book. andrea canning (voiceover): this affair became a game, a wife and her lover spying on her husband and his lover. dianne mcknight: you just think, well, what else have they done? andrea canning (voiceover): and then, this spy game turned deadly. one of the four lovers was gunned down. this, obviously, was not something that was random. andrea canning (voiceover): waiting at the scene, a man with a strange story, and waiting for detectives, a strange video. how creepy was that video? chad mcdonald: it was very creepy. andrea canning (voiceover): an affair to remember-- he was the one.

andrea canning (voiceover): --an affair to forget, and one more secret still to be revealed. cindy lutz: she said, i need you to sit down. i have something to tell you. the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. hello and welcome to "dateline." by all appearances, sam and danielle dreher had a storybook marriage. then, one tragic afternoon, their world came crashing down, destroyed by a series of bullets and a senseless killing. as investigators began to dig, they realized, not all was as it seemed. they had entered a thorny maze of marital betrayal. here is a "tangled web." andrea canning (voiceover): sarasota, florida, the perfect backdrop for romance, beautiful beaches for long walks, gorgeous sunsets, and the slow rhythm of a gentle gulf tide.

stories of love abound in this city by the sea, but not all have ended happily ever after, like the one that unfolded here back in the summer of 2012 when secrets, lies, and infidelity led to murder. andrea canning: it's really, a twisted love story? aubrey cake: it's so twisted. it's tangled. it's a knot. i'm not sure that it will ever come undone, but i do know that there is more to the story than has been told. andrea canning (voiceover): it all began back in 1998, when a 26-year-old local firefighter by the name of sam dreher met the love of his life, danielle leborvo. cindy lutz: they were just the ideal, young couple. they held hands. they looked at each other dreamily over dinner. he seemed crazy about her. andrea canning: sam's older sister, cindy lutz,

was thrilled when she found out sam had a serious new girlfriend. what was your first impression? she was really sweet. she seemed crazy about him. she liked the outdoors, she liked to travel, so they just had a lot in common. andrea canning (voiceover): so it came as no surprise, when sam announced he was ready to pop the question. as for how he proposed, the firefighter didn't disappoint. he had hired a sand sculptor to build a rather large sand sculpture of a treasure chest, and then he had placed the engagement ring in the box. so there was some real pirate booty in there. cindy lutz: right, right. he pulled the ring out and got down on one knee and proposed to her. sam's a romantic. he is, isn't he? andrea canning (voiceover): the lucky in love newlyweds would become equally successful at work. sam quickly climbed the fire department ladder, rising to the rank of lieutenant at the young age of three. he loved the fire services, absolutely loved it.

loved being a paramedic. andrea canning (voiceover): danielle was just as ambitious, finding her stride in the administrative office of a local hospital. cindy lutz: she became the regional marketing director for the whole hospital corporation. andrea canning (voiceover): sam and danielle didn't have children, but they had the next best thing-- sam's great niece, aubrey cake. aubrey cake: "you're, like, the daughter we never had." they always told me that. andrea canning (voiceover): aubrey, who attended college nearby, often spent weekends with the drehers. aubrey cake: sam was the best ever. he really took me in as family right away. he was just, like, a regular-- a dad. he really just cared. focus on school. don't let those boys ruin your life. they're no good. don't let those boys get around you. he's, like, and you're never allowed to date a fireman. what's wrong with fireman? aubrey cake: oh, he just worked with them. he knew how they were. did danielle also take you in, like, you were one of her own? yes, yes. she was as welcoming as he was.

andrea canning (voiceover): aubrey listened to their tales of romantic trips to exotic lands. aubrey cake: they traveled the world together. they had so many good times and so many great experiences. i would imagine, they were almost like role models to you. - yeah, they were. they were. the perfect life, perfect wife, everything just seemed great for both of them. andrea canning (voiceover): but all that changed in august of 2012. it was a hot saturday afternoon in sarasota, when registered nurse trish murphy heard a disturbance coming from the stairwell just outside her apartment. trish murphy: it sounded, like, somebody was being chased, and then i heard somebody yell, oh, god, no! andrea canning (voiceover): the unmistakable sound of gunshots followed, four of them in quick succession. trish immediately called 911. i think, my heart was probably going

a gazillion miles a minute. andrea canning (voiceover): trish slowly peered out of her apartment door and saw a man lying in the stairwell bleeding. she knew he wasn't a resident of the apartment complex. trish murphy: i had no idea who he was. my concern was to get him over on his side because he was face down in a really big pool of blood. andrea canning (voiceover): trish wasn't the only one at the scene. her upstairs neighbor, dianne mcknight, also tried to aid the victim. there was just blood everywhere. and i didn't-- i just didn't know what to do. i ran back into my apartment and i got towels. andrea canning (voiceover): as the minutes ticked by, trish began to worry the shooter might still be in the area. then, all of a sudden, you start to think, well, wow, i wonder where the person is that did this? and for all i knew, the person upstairs shot him. andrea canning (voiceover): but those questions would have to wait. soon, paramedics arrived on the scene.

they learned the victim was one of their own. it was firefighter sam dreher. the paramedics immediately airlifted sam to the nearest trauma center, as word of the shooting spread. cindy lutz: and it's danielle, and she is screaming into the phone. "you have to come. he's been shot. he's been shot." and i said, "who's been shot?" and she screams out, "sam." andrea canning (voiceover): cindy jumped in her car to be at her brother's side. a thousand questions swirled through her mind-- why sam, who shot him, and why was he at that apartment complex? a firefighter gunned down, but this seemed like more than just a random shooting. andrea canning (voiceover): coming up-- chad mcdonald: there's some infidelity going on, and there's a reason-- a cause for concern. andrea canning (voiceover): --when "dateline" continues. protect against rsv with arexvy. arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older.

arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache and joint pain. arexvy is number one in rsv vaccine shots. rsv? make it arexvy. long after guests leave, viruses and bacteria linger. air fresheners add a scent. but only lysol air sanitizer helps erase the trace, eliminating odor and killing 99.9% of viruses and bacteria in the air. scent can't sanitize. lysol can.

z's bakery is looking to add a pizza oven, arissa's hair salon wants to expand their space, and steve's t-shirt shop wants to bring on more help.

with the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee, they can think more about possibilities for their business and not the cost of their internet. it's five years of gig-speeds and advanced security. all from the company with 99.9% network reliability. get the 5-year price lock guarantee, now back for a limited time. powering five years of savings. powering possibilities™.

as cindy lutz raced to the hospital, all she knew was that her brother sam had been shot. it was a nightmare. it seemed, like, we were traveling 1,000 miles. we just-- we just could not get there fast enough. andrea canning (voiceover): when cindy finally made it to the icu, sam's wife danielle was already there, waiting in the hallway. and she started crying. and i said, "is he alive? just tell me, he's alive." she said, "he's alive." andrea canning (voiceover): but the prognosis wasn't good. and the doctor said, he was shot four times.

and i'm thinking, wrong place, wrong time. i didn't know what happened. andrea canning (voiceover): the responsibility of finding out what happened fell to detectives chad mcdonald and jarek szalbirak, who began gathering pieces of the puzzle as soon as they arrived on scene. andrea canning: this case was personal to you. jarek szalbirak: in our area, law enforcement and firefighters are very close. in this case, it wasn't just another victim. this victim was part of this larger brotherhood, and it kind of hit home. andrea canning (voiceover): first, they interviewed the two neighbors who found sam lying in the stairwell. jarek szalbirak: whenever we work a crime, that's usually where you're going to start with, is your 911 caller. andrea canning (voiceover): trish murphy told the detectives, this normally quiet, upscale, gated community had never experienced anything like this before. it was a nice, quiet place to be. andrea canning (voiceover): but she did remember seeing something that troubled her one evening just a month before the shooting-- a man standing in the woods across the lake staring at the building.

trish murphy: i thought to myself that, that was an odd thing. who would just be standing there? andrea canning (voiceover): detectives then turned to trish's traumatized neighbor, dianne mcknight. they learned dianne was holding onto a secret. andrea canning: it turns out, that the witness, dianne mcknight, was a lot more than just a witness. she was very important to this case. yes, she was. andrea canning (voiceover): dianne revealed that she knew sam intimately. she admitted that they were boyfriend and girlfriend. she had stated that they had only been dating for a few months, and stated that they were in love. so sam was having an affair. yes. andrea canning (voiceover): which is why sam was at the apartment complex that day. chad mcdonald: there's some infidelity going on, and there's a reason-- a cause for concern. andrea canning: did you ever think that you'd be the kind of person to have an affair? no. andrea canning (voiceover): dianne told the detectives, her affair with sam started as affairs so often do-- with an innocent encounter at a bar.

dianne mcknight: he asked me, like, if i was married and had kids, and i told him that i was and no kids. i'm, like, what about you? he said, yes, married. andrea canning (voiceover): in fact, sam had been married for 13 years, but according to dianne, it took just a month for sam to fall in love with her, and she said the feelings were mutual. andrea canning: what was it about him that made you fall so hard? dianne mcknight: he was just, the most thoughtful person. he was just comforting, and i just couldn't wait to always just be around him. did you still feel a little guilty? oh, yes. andrea canning (voiceover): but dianne said, there were already issues in her marriage. dianne mcknight: i just thought, if i'm doing this, my marriage is definitely already over. andrea canning (voiceover): a few months after the affair began, she decided it was time to tell her husband she wanted a divorce. i remember, just saying, "we need to talk." nobody ever wants to hear that.

and he looked at me. he said, "are you having an affair?" wow. and i said, "no." why didn't you just be honest, at that point? [exhale] i didn't want to hurt him. what came next? dianne mcknight: we both got very emotional, and he agreed to it. andrea canning (voiceover): then, came the shooting. dianne tried to think of anyone who could have been responsible. that's when she remembered, a strange visit a month before the shooting from a man claiming to be a plumber. he said he was looking for a water leak in the building. he needed to check her pipes or something along that line. i said, ok. i'm thinking, what am i doing letting this strange person in my home? i just had this feeling of, this just isn't right. andrea canning (voiceover): five minutes later, the plumber was done and on his way. andrea canning: did you ever check with your super? yes. i called the office and told them the incident, and they said, there should not have been anybody at my door.

oh. that must have been just a-- dianne mcknight: it was-- --weird feeling. --very unnerving. andrea canning (voiceover): the following day, the same man appeared again right below her apartment balcony. dianne mcknight: he was standing down there on the ground by a tree and looking directly up right at me. that's creepy. yes. now, are you thinking, i'm being stalked? yeah. andrea canning (voiceover): dianne then saw him a third time, this time immediately after sam had been shot. that same man-- that just gave me chills. dianne mcknight: --came running up the stairs towards me. i just looked at him, and i said, "what are you doing here?" she recognized him, and you can hear her on a 911 call. dianne mcknight: i remember him just, kind of making this motion, like, whoa. then, he ran off. andrea canning: did you start to think, in those split seconds, that this mystery man was really after sam? yeah. i mean, it was definitely, a suspicion.

- it must have been-- - yes. andrea canning: --such a puzzle. yes. andrea canning (voiceover): puzzling, too, for detectives. we needed to know what this connection was. andrea canning (voiceover): coming up, more secrets waiting to be revealed-- cindy lutz: she said, "i need you to sit down. i have something to tell you." and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. andrea canning (voiceover): --when "dateline" continues. dry eyes still feel gritty, rough, or tired? with miebo, eyes can feel ♪ miebo ♪ ♪ ohh yeah ♪ miebo is the only prescription dry eye drop that forms a protective layer for the number one cause of dry eye: too much tear evaporation. for relief that's ♪ miebo ♪ ♪ ohh yeah ♪ remove contact lenses before using miebo. wait at least 30 minutes before putting them back in. eye redness and blurred vision may occur. ♪ miebo ♪ ♪ ohh yeah ♪ ask your eye doctor about prescription miebo.

[♪♪] looking for a moisturizer that does more than just moisturize? try olay regenerist for 10 benefits in every jar. olay visibly firms, lifts, and smooths wrinkles, by penetrating the skin, to boost regeneration at the surface cellular level. try olay.

while sam dreher clung to life in the icu,. dianne mcknight remained at the crime scene wondering, who could have been responsible for his shooting? andrea canning: how scared are you, knowing that there's a shooter on the loose? i was terrified. andrea canning (voiceover): dianne told detectives about the strange man she had seen multiple times around her apartment complex. the same man who appeared moments after sam was shot. they said, "could you describe him?" so i described him. andrea canning (voiceover): little did dianne know, a man fitting that very same description had just been arrested. he had approached sheriff's deputies moments after they arrived on scene and confessed to the shooting. jarek szalbirak: the deputy that had him in the back of the patrol car already told us that he made statements, that he was the shooter. did you feel, like, this could be an easy one, case closed, or did you think, there's got to be more to this story? there's never an easy one. there's always more to the story. andrea canning (voiceover): the man identified himself as michael minor. detectives mcdonald and szalbirak

immediately brought him down to the sheriff's office for questioning. he's very distraught, but he's willing to talk to us. and we were, very much, ready to listen to him. andrea canning (voiceover): michael outlined for detectives, the details of the shooting. he started by insisting, it was all an accident. but detectives weren't so sure. after all, michael shot. sam, not once, but four times. one of the shots was to the back of sam's head. andrea canning: so sam is laying here, and michael is right on top of him, basically, giving him the final shot. he would have had to have been. that's what the evidence indicates. one shot might have been an accident, not the three or four shots that he actually fired. that was no accident at all. andrea canning (voiceover): but detectives wanted to know-- if this wasn't an accident, why then did michael shoot sam? you got all these pieces to the puzzle, and you try to fit them all together. andrea canning (voiceover): that's when michael revealed something that would turn the case on its head.

he told detectives about an affair, but it wasn't the affair between sam and dianne. it was an affair he was having with the victim's wife, danielle dreher. chad mcdonald: they had been having an affair for four years. andrea canning (voiceover): it was a mind-spinning moment. detectives had just discovered the victim, sam, had been cheating on his wife danielle. now, they were learning danielle had also been cheating on sam. jarek szalbirak: everybody here is involved with somebody else. it was interesting, to say the least. andrea canning (voiceover): and challenging for detectives, who now had to contend with a second affair. michael minor, the plumber, 13 years younger than danielle, told them the two had met on ashley madison, a website for husbands and wives looking to cheat. the website's slogan? "life is short. have an affair." this was someone looking to have an affair. they both were. yeah. andrea canning (voiceover): but michael insisted, this was no casual fling. after all, the affair had lasted four years.

what's more-- he told detectives, he had fallen in love with danielle. he was smitten. i mean, he was totally obsessed with her and in love with her. andrea canning (voiceover): he went on to say that on the day of the shooting, he decided, it was finally time to talk to sam man to man. he wanted to come clean about his love for danielle. chad mcdonald: he wants to confront sam and basically tell him that he's the other man. andrea canning (voiceover): that day, michael said he tracked sam down and found him in the parking lot of dianne's apartment complex. he also said he brought a gun because he had no idea how sam would react.

andrea canning (voiceover): but according to michael, his mano a mano with sam didn't go as planned. when sam saw michael was armed, he fled. michael ran after sam up these stairs. he said at some point, while the two were in the stairwell, sam turned. chad mcdonald: michael claims that he was in fear and closed his eyes and just fired his gun. andrea canning: with all the things he's telling you, he's in a relationship with danielle, do you start to think, we need to talk to danielle dreher? jarek szalbirak: yes. so the next step was, let's find out. let's hear danielle's story. andrea canning (voiceover): so detective szalbirak left michael and headed to the hospital, where danielle had been waiting for updates on sam's condition. all danielle had been told was that sam had been shot.

no one told her by whom. when i got over there, she was crying. she was very upset. andrea canning (voiceover): detectives recorded the interview. at first, detective szalbirak didn't reveal that he knew about danielle's lover, michael minor, or that it was michael who shot. sam. instead, he started by asking danielle about her marriage to sam. danielle candidly described it as "troubled." danielle also explained that she knew sam was having an affair, despite sam's best efforts to conceal it. danielle then admitted that she, too, was unfaithful. she was pretty straightforward, telling me about the affair. andrea canning (voiceover): little by little, the detectives led danielle to believe

they were focusing their investigation on her lover, michael. it wasn't the reaction the detective was expecting. he found danielle's tone to be strangely flat and unemotional. that was troubling to me. that was disturbing to me. andrea canning (voiceover): danielle went on to say, she had no idea michael planned to talk to sam that day. but detectives were skeptical. they wondered, if danielle knew more about michael's intentions than she was letting on? at this point, i don't know to believe her or not. you're not done with danielle dreher. oh, no. we're not done with her. andrea canning (voiceover): for the time being, szalbirak left danielle at the hospital to be with sam's family. it was up to danielle to reveal the identity of the shooter and explain the sordid details of how she was connected to him.

she said, "i need you to sit down. i have something to tell you." and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. andrea canning (voiceover): first, cindy learned sam and danielle were getting a divorce, then that both danielle and sam were having affairs. most shocking of all, it was danielle's lover who shot sam. did i just hear what i just heard? andrea canning (voiceover): four adults ensnared by lies and deceit, one clinging to life, but this tangled story was about to get a whole lot more twisted. coming up-- jarek szalbirak: danielle was just totally obsessed with what sam was doing, which went beyond anything that i've seen before in investigations. andrea canning (voiceover): --when "dateline" continues. (vo) if you have graves' disease, your eye symptoms could mean something more. that gritty feeling can't be brushed away. even a little blurry vision can distort things.

and something serious may be behind those itchy eyes. up to 50% of people with graves' could develop a different condition called thyroid eye disease, which should be treated by a different doctor. see an expert. find a t-e-d eye specialist at isitted.com hey, i just got a text from my sister. you remember rick, her neighbor? sure, he's the 76-year-old guy who still runs marathons, right? sadly, not anymore. wow. so sudden. um, we're not about to have the "we need life insurance" conversation again, are we? no, we're having the "we're getting coverage so we don't have to worry about it" conversation. so you're calling about the $9.95 a month plan -from colonial penn? -i am. we put it off long enough. we are getting that $9.95 plan, today. (jonathan) is it time for you to call about the $9.95 plan? i'm jonathan from colonial penn life insurance company.

sometimes we just need a reminder not to take today for granted. if you're age 50 to 85, you can get guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance starting at just $9.95 a month. there are no health questions so you can't be turned down for any health reason. the $9.95 plan is colonial penn's number one most popular whole life plan. options start at just $9.95 a month. that's less than 35 cents a day. your rate can never go up. it's locked in for life. call today for free information. and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner, so call now. (soft music) ♪ hello, colonial penn?

hi, i'm richard lui with a news update.

over 60 million americans are facing the threat of severe winter weather. the mid-atlantic region is expected to be most affected they are bracing for snowing and icing conditions. the brutalist m musical emilia perez took home the top prices for film and the golden globe awards. the period drama shogun and comedy acts won the top honors for television. for now, back to dateline. o deteriorate rapidly. sam's sister, cindy, was there when the family decided to take him off life support. cindy lutz: oh, i hated it. i thought of him, like, he was one of my children. i loved him that much. andrea canning: were you able to be with sam? were you able to hold his hand and say goodbye? i did. andrea canning: what did you say to him? i made him a promise, that the people responsible for his murder would pay for it. andrea canning (voiceover): the news of sam's passing

hit dianne mcknight hard. in my mind, i'm still thinking, maybe there's still some hope that he can survive this? but when i heard that, i knew, that i was never going to see him, again. [bagpipes] andrea canning (voiceover): sam's great niece, aubrey cake, didn't make it to the hospital in time, but she made sure to be at sam's funeral. aubrey cake: the bagpipes i still remember to this day. did it make you really proud in that moment? yeah. i'm still proud of him. andrea canning (voiceover): full fire department honors were bestowed upon the admired young lieutenant. cindy lutz: it was like the whole community came out to pay their respects. it was very humbling, very, very humbling. andrea canning (voiceover): but along with the tears, there was tension. by now, sam's family and friends had learned danielle's lover had shot sam. no one could believe it, that she even had a boyfriend

or that it was her boyfriend that killed him. people didn't even want her at the funeral. andrea canning (voiceover): but the drama didn't end there. sitting not far from danielle was the other woman. andrea canning: was that awkward, with danielle being at the funeral, the wife and the mistress? dianne mcknight: yes, it was, but i felt, it was more important for me to be there than worry about how awkward i felt. andrea canning (voiceover): to her surprise, sam's family embraced dianne. they all received me well. in fact, they invited me to come up and sit with them. she's truly, a lovely person, and i think she made him happy, and he deserved to be happy. you've come down pretty hard on danielle for her affair. sam was also having an affair. yes. do you condemn him for that behavior, as well? cindy lutz: no. i don't think he intended to meet someone. i don't think he intended to have an affair. he met dianne.

he had known her three months. that's a far cry and a world apart from danielle seeking a man on ashley madison and having a long-term affair with him for four years. andrea canning (voiceover): in the weeks following the funeral, detectives mcdonald and szalbirak continued their investigation. they had their shooter, but they also had lingering questions about whether danielle may have somehow been involved. obviously, one of the first things that comes to mind-- the wife has a hand in this. she's linked. she's got to have something to do with it. andrea canning (voiceover): and as mcdonald and szalbirak sifted through the evidence, they became more confident they were on the right track. what they discovered stunned even these two seasoned investigators. for over a month, danielle had been spying on both sam and dianne. danielle was just totally obsessed with what sam was doing, which went

beyond anything that i've seen before in investigations. andrea canning (voiceover): what's more? it appeared to them that danielle had persuaded michael to help her. chad mcdonald: they had basically, stalked them. they actually put a tracker on their vehicles. this is spy equipment. correct. andrea canning (voiceover): sheriff's deputies discovered it in the wheel well of sam's pickup. police also found evidence that both danielle and michael were taking surveillance photos of sam and dianne. this is a photo taken of them on sam's boat. in this one, they're on dianne's balcony. chad mcdonald: michael would have been somewhere across the lake there, and that's where he would have been hiding, in the bushes. andrea canning: it seems like a perfect spot, actually, if you wanted to spy on someone. absolutely. andrea canning (voiceover): but detectives said the couple only go bolder from there. they discovered evidence michael had brazenly broken into dianne's apartment and videotaped the inside. michael minor: inside the belly of the beast. he's narrating. i believe, his first words were,

"i'm in the belly of the beast," and his first thing where he pans over was of the alarm pad, where it wasn't armed. michael minor: that could have been bad, huh? andrea canning (voiceover): as michael documented every aspect of dianne's personal life, poking around her drawers, her refrigerator, even inside her bathroom, police said danielle played lookout. in this text message to michael, danielle wrote, "get out of there if you aren't already. getting bad feeling." and he's doing it at the request, basically, of danielle. andrea canning (voiceover): but what detectives found most alarming were the text messages michael and danielle sent each other. michael minor writes, "i want to blow his head off, and then put two on her just for good measure." andrea canning (voiceover): he goes on to say, "bang, bang-- done. i won't, though, because it's wrong." danielle later responded, "you would not and could not because that would be illegal." that was definitely disturbing. andrea canning (voiceover): in another text,

danielle referred to her handgun, which she called daisy. she wrote, "i am so close to introducing them both to daisy." michael responded, "haha. we can do it together, as a date. smiley face." in yet another, she wrote, "i hate them with every inch of me. revenge will be mine, and it will be very, very sweet." it was very obvious that danielle had some kind of hatred towards sam, that there was-- that she wanted to hurt him. andrea canning (voiceover): and based on those text messages, it seemed clear to detectives that she had persuaded michael to feel the same way. i absolutely think she poisoned michael's mind, as far as what sam was. everything he knew about sam was that he was a violent person. he was described to him as a drunk, as a cheater, as a liar.

that knowledge came from one person and one person alone. it was danielle. did you have any evidence, as you kept investigating, that sam was abusive or violent toward danielle? there was no evidence of that whatsoever. danielle definitely had control over michael minor. she did manipulate him. did she manipulate him to the point of killing sam? i don't know. andrea canning (voiceover): detectives mcdonald and szalbirak realized they needed to pay danielle dreher another visit. we're going back to find out, what is your intent? what is your involvement in this? andrea canning (voiceover): coming up, did someone have a million reasons to commit murder? jarek szalbirak: there was a substantial amount of money that she was going to gain if sam turned up dead. andrea canning (voiceover): --when "dateline" continues. sore throat got your tongue? mucinex instasoothe sore throat medicated drops, uniquely formulated for rapid relief

that lasts and lasts. that's my babyyy! try our new sugar-free cough drops. instasoooooothe! 60% of women experience side leaks with bladder protection underwear. try always discreet! it's rapiddry core absorbs up to 25% faster than depend and fits up to 95% of body shapes. try always discreet! designed to protect.

you couldn't write this as a movie. you couldn't write this as a book. it wouldn't be believable. who does this? andrea canning (voiceover): tracking devices, surveillance photos, sneaking into an apartment sounded more like a couple of private eyes than a plumber and a marketing director. dianne recalled a time she and sam were eating at this restaurant when, out of nowhere, danielle appeared. all of a sudden, this woman comes up from behind sam, and she said, "i'm danielle, the soon-to-be ex. you must be the next." andrea canning: oh, awkward.

dianne mcknight: yeah. i just wanted to get out of there. andrea canning (voiceover): danielle then left them without incident. did you think you were being followed? no, i thought, it was just a big coincidence out of all the places. like, now i know why she was there. andrea canning: this is, like, marital espionage. cindy lutz: exactly. it's exactly like that. they were playing spy games. andrea canning (voiceover): now, it was up to mcdonald and szalbirak to find out if all those spy games somehow developed into a conspiracy to commit murder. i became very suspicious that she had a part in this homicide. danielle, we know-- andrea canning (voiceover): detectives sat down with danielle and recorded interviews with her on three separate occasions. from the very first interview, danielle willingly acknowledged that she and michael had been tracking sam and dianne.

danielle also admitted to helping michael take those surveillance photos, but danielle denied that all this elaborate spying escalated into a murder plot. instead, she said, it was simply preparation for her pending divorce. she wanted to be able to just have leverage and be able to embarrass him. andrea canning (voiceover): danielle told the detectives another reason was plain old curiosity. what's more?

danielle said she and michael had stopped their spying weeks before the shooting. detectives also asked about those text messages, which they found so troubling. danielle said they were all in fun. they first questioned danielle about the texts michael sent her. they then asked danielle about the messages she sent back to him. andrea canning: do you think that they're joking with each other, or do you think it's real? i asked danielle that very question-- why are you saying this?

and she just said, oh, we just-- i'm just trying to sound tough. so she denied this to be for real. andrea canning (voiceover): but that's not the way sam's sister saw it. when detectives showed those texts to cindy, she was dumbstruck. cindy lutz: i could not believe what i was reading. this is someone who's been in my family for almost 13 years. even talking about it with you now, i have chills. andrea canning (voiceover): those texts, she said, proved just how much danielle hated sam and wanted him out of the way. and she's convinced, danielle manipulated michael to feel the same way. andrea canning: do you think that danielle had anything to do with your brother's death? was she somehow directly associated? i think, she is. i hold danielle dreher as much, if not more, responsible than the man that actually shot him. andrea canning (voiceover): cindy told detectives, she believed hatred wasn't danielle's only motive, that she was also driven by that age-old incentive.

i believe, it was the money. to divorce him and split half of it is one thing, but to get all of it? i think, it was money. i think, it was always money. andrea canning (voiceover): just over $1,000,000, in fact. jarek szalbirak: there was a substantial amount of money that she was going to gain if sam turned up dead, and that's exactly what happened. andrea canning (voiceover): we asked danielle dreher to sit down with us for an interview, both she and her attorney declined, but during danielle's interview with the detectives, she emphatically denied having anything to do with sam's murder. and the man who pulled the trigger supported danielle's claim of innocence, in no uncertain terms.

but michael's response didn't sway cindy lutz. i didn't believe him. i think he was protecting her. i think he would have done anything for her. andrea canning (voiceover): cindy believes that includes lying about danielle being involved in sam's murder, and cindy wasn't alone. do i believe that she was part of the murder scheme? yes. andrea canning (voiceover): sarasota county lead homicide prosecutor karen fraivillig believed danielle manipulated michael to kill sam. she's a very manipulative person, and she was able to manipulate michael minor, and there's a dead man because of that. andrea canning (voiceover): the question now before the prosecutor-- could she prove it in court? coming up, will one lover betray another? we were hoping that he would contact us and said, hey, i want to tell you the truth.

andrea canning (voiceover): and the lover left behind ponders, what might have been? was he the one? he was the one, without a doubt. he still is the one. andrea canning (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. inez, let me ask you, you're using head and shoulders, right? only when i see flakes. then i switch back to my regular shampoo. you should use it every wash, otherwise the flakes will come back. —he's right, you know. is that tiny troy? the ingredients in head and shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. microbes, really? they're always on your scalp... but good news, there's no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here! i love tiny troy. and his tiny gorgeous hair. make every wash count! and for stubborn dandruff, try head & shoulders clinical strength.

protect against rsv with arexvy. arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems

may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache and joint pain. arexvy is number one in rsv vaccine shots. rsv? make it arexvy. let's say you're deep in a show arexvy is number one in rsv vaccine shots. or a game or the game. on a train, at home, at work. 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? of all the homicides karen fraivillig has prosecuted, she found the case of sam dreher's murder especially frustrating. it's hard to remain unemotional in a murder and the murder of an innocent person

who did nothing, except fall in love with another woman. andrea canning (voiceover): michael minor may have shot sam, but prosecutor fraivillig believed danielle manipulated him to do it, and that her motive was more than just money. i think, there was a financial motive, certainly. probably, the most overarching motive was just, jealousy. despite the fact that she was conducting an affair of her own, i think that she was just completely enraged that sam started stepping out on her, as well. andrea canning (voiceover): but in order to prove that in court, fraivillig felt she would need something she didn't yet have-- a statement from michael saying danielle acted as his accomplice. so she waited, thinking time would compel him to come forward and admit danielle was involved. he never did. michael maintained, danielle played no role in sam's murder.

andrea canning: was this possibly, a twisted act of chivalry? i think that certainly, one of his motivations, if not his sole motivation, was trying to protect the woman that he loved. did you say to him, "why are you protecting her?" yes, and he said, "i'm not." he said, "i'm not protecting her." we were hoping that he would contact us through his lawyers, and said, hey, i want to tell you the truth. i want to tell you what part she had in it. that never happened. andrea canning (voiceover): two and a half years after shooting sam, michael minor agreed to plead "no contest" to second degree murder. and it will live with me forever, and it will haunt me forever. andrea canning (voiceover): in exchange for his plea, michael received a sentence of 30 years. karen fraivillig: i would not give him anything less than that. i mean, he pulled the trigger, and he didn't pull it once. he pulled it four times. i was glad that he was-- he was going to jail. cindy lutz: michael minor didn't just kill our brother. he has immortally wounded our entire family. andrea canning (voiceover): michael

minor never wavered in his statement, that he acted alone. in the end, prosecutor fraivillig felt she didn't have enough evidence to charge danielle as michael's accomplice. i cannot just charge someone based upon my speculations, the family's beliefs, and even the ugliness of these text messages is not enough, unless i can show that there was a conspiracy. michael minor never gave me that information. andrea canning: what is your gut telling you-- that danielle was indirectly involved, directly involved, or-- she wasn't involved. andrea canning: --had no-- no part in this whatsoever. she wasn't involved in the homicide. andrea canning (voiceover): news of the decision not to prosecute danielle for sam's murder made sam's sister cindy furious. do i think it's a tough case? yes, absolutely. but you know what? their job is not to prosecute cases that are easy. their job is to prosecute criminals. andrea canning (voiceover): but just when everyone thought danielle was free and clear,

prosecutor fraivillig said, not so fast. remember michael minor's videotaped break-in of dianne mcknight's apartment? the prosecutor believed danielle not only helped plan the break-in, but she also instructed michael to steal some of dianne's possessions. danielle was charged with burglary and theft. at trial, the defense argued, danielle never asked michael to steal anything. the jury didn't agree. she was found guilty as charged and sentenced to three years in prison. karen fraivillig: this was a very satisfying verdict-- to see the woman be punished for her actions. is the murder of sam dreher an open case or a closed case? no, it's a closed case. andrea canning (voiceover): but not for cindy, who continues to mourn the loss of her brother. she keeps his uniform close by for comfort, and with it a lifetime of memories. cindy lutz: he was loving, he was caring, he was the peacemaker, he was always doing for others, and he was just sweet.

andrea canning (voiceover): cindy once felt the same way about her sister-in-law, danielle. now, there's bad blood between the two. cindy fought danielle in court over benefits from sam's life insurance. they ultimately reached a confidential settlement. cindy also keeps a watchful eye on danielle. according to cindy, danielle was dating another man before she went to prison. cindy lutz: she was living with a firefighter, as a matter of fact. one of my brother's supposed fire brothers. what's your advice to this guy, this firefighter? watch your back. the last two guys involved with danielle, one's dead, one's in prison. andrea canning (voiceover): as for dianne, she's now left to reflect on a life with sam that could have been. andrea canning: did you two talk about marriage? yes. andrea canning: and was that in the cards? oh, absolutely. did you ever feel, like, i'm being punished

for having this affair? oh, yes. i might have said those exact words to myself. it all started in a club with an innocent conversation. was it all worth it, falling in love with sam? i would never change having met sam. was he the one? he was the one, without a doubt. he still is the one. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm andrea canning. thanks for watching. ♪♪ this sunday, rising threats. the country is on edge after a deadly new year's day terror attack that investigators say was