why can't i touch her? that hurts. and, yeah, she's-- she's still here. [chatter] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and so are his friends. woman: come on! let's go! woo! josh mankiewicz (voiceover): once the star quarterback, he's happy to be finally out of the spotlight-- touchdown! [cheering] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): --and, again, back on the sidelines. hey, cougs! good job. good job. [cheering] [theme music] i'm andrea canning, and this is "dateline." goi? my husband, he's been shot in the head, please. there was a female. she had mud and blood all over her. frantic, saying her husband had been shot.

he's andrea canning: a woman in distress, a murder in the dead of night. calm down. breath slow. we were concerned for her. she was right next to him as he was hit? yes, sir. josh mankiewicz: does she say who shot her husband? she said it was just a figure, turned and ran into the darkness. andrea canning: we take you inside this mystery. we don't know if the suspect is still out there. it's nerve racking. andrea canning: a small town murder with a big time twist. she knew something that she wasn't telling. yes, sir. hello, and welcome to "dateline." at 6' 4" and nearly 300 pounds, robert poynter looked menacing.

but to loved ones, he was a gentle giant. the selfless fire captain enjoyed helping others. but no one could help him when he was murdered. an eyewitness offered only fuzzy details, yet investigators pieced together the clues bringing the deadly deed into sharp focus. here is josh mankiewicz with "out of the darkness." josh mankiewicz: this friday night already felt like rain. now it sounded like trouble. it was 10:47 pm. the woman calling 911 sounded desperate. she was on a cell phone somewhere on the outskirts of town.

seconds later, the call dropped out. what was she running from? and what had happened on this texas country road? those questions would be answered quickly. all i could do was just cry. because i thought, oh my god, you know, no, this cannot be true. josh mankiewicz: it was the why and the secrets that answer dragged out of the darkness that were so much harder to comprehend. when you get a call, what is it usually? i mean, just like any other police department, thefts, criminal mischiefs, reckless drivers. josh mankiewicz: not that night, not on september 9th, 2016. according to the running, gasping woman on the phone, someone had been shot. it was happening in royse city, texas,

31 miles from dallas. i mean, if somebody's shot, that's a major call. your adrenaline is running. josh mankiewicz: officer john bivins of the royse city pd rushed to the scene, his dash cam rolling. what's going on? my husband, he's been shot in the head, please. josh mankiewicz: the woman's name was chacey poynter. bivins took me to the road where he found her. she seemed frantic. she said that her husband had been shot. so i gathered her up, put her in the back of my car. come here. have a seat. have a seat. have a seat. - please. - stay in here. stay in here. and the shooter could be out here somewhere? yes. yes, so i put her in the safety of my car. and i ran down the road to go find the victim. josh mankiewicz: bivins and a sheriff's deputy who had pulled up at the same time ran a half mile down county road 2595. that's a long way on foot in the dark. in the dark it is, yes. and you have no idea whether the shooter is behind one of these trees or waiting for you or running away

or you don't know what. yeah. josh mankiewicz: halfway down the road-- an abandoned pickup truck. they kept going. we continued running down this road. and we could see headlights through the tree line when we come around the curve. our duty weapons are drawn, giving orders, let me see your hands. the headlights are in our eyes, so what's inside of the vehicle is unclear to us until we get closer. and once we get closer to the vehicle and saw nobody around it suspect-wise, we just saw a victim inside the car. josh mankiewicz: a man slumped over in the driver's seat, he'd been shot in the head. it was evident that he was deceased. josh mankiewicz: bivins' partner shane meek was also called to the scene by a dispatcher. and i made a joke to her. and i said, what do you have a murder? and she said yeah, i think so. and i'm like, oh, i gotta go. you know, because it just doesn't happen that often. josh mankiewicz: the last murder in these parts

was years ago. i knew i had to respond pretty rapidly to the scene not knowing what we had. josh mankiewicz: meek called for backup because the shooter or shooters remained on the loose. everybody was on point as far as keeping their heads on a swivel. because we didn't know who or how many people were out there. josh mankiewicz: and while meek waited for royse city's lone detective to arrive, he took chacey to paramedics who'd responded to the scene. that's all right. calm down. breathe slow. oh my god. i'm trying. so was anyone else out there with you? no, i was out there by myself. i did tell him that. no, was it your husband? what's his name? robert, robert poynter. josh mankiewicz: somewhere in all this, she'd hit the ground, both blood and mud on her. we were concerned for her and wanted to make sure she was taken care of and find out as much and as quickly what happened. josh mankiewicz: and all the cops kept watching the sky because this is texas

and the heavens were about to open. rain or any type of weather can damage or completely get rid of possible evidence. we had to move quick because the storm was moving fast. the race was on to uncover any clues the crime scene might hold. what would investigators find? coming up. chacey's purse was still in the floorboard. his personal cell phone was still in the center console covered in blood. big clue for us was that the weapon was a shotgun. andrea canning: a shotgun turned murder weapon, so where was it? when "dateline" continues. mirajoy: the overwhelming relief after miralax® helps you “go” miralax® works naturally with the water in your body. putting you in a supernaturally good mood. miralax®: free your gut to free your mood.

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4", close to 300-pound physique, bob poynter could look intimidating. to those who knew him best, he was the complete opposite. his mom, candy. he just didn't have a mean bone in his body. he was your favorite? so they say. what do you say? possibly. probably. josh mankiewicz: bob was candy's middle child between two sisters, jennifer and cheryl. he was not confrontational, not-- he was very non-confrontational. peacekeeper all the time. josh mankiewicz: he liked helping people. maybe that's why bob became a firefighter, a well-respected one. he swallowed smoke for 19 years, winding up as a captain in the university park department outside dallas. and from his firehouse, from the rig, even from the fires, bob kept in very close touch with his mom. just because we had that rapport, 10 to 15

calls a day. 10 to 15 calls a day? uh-huh, honestly. mama's boy. i know, yeah, truly. i adore him. josh mankiewicz: so did his fellow firefighters. bob poynter got it done. he even helped in louisiana after hurricane katrina. and he always came home unscathed, professionally speaking anyway. bob's personal life was also the story of a man who ran toward trouble. bob married young and had two kids. after 19 years, that marriage fell apart, expensively so. around then is when bob met chacey mormon, who was much younger. i think it was an infatuation. he thought it was somebody 22 years old liking him and he's in his 40s, you know? and, uh-- a fling. a fling, basically, yeah. josh mankiewicz: it wasn't a fling. bob married chacey. it was a fresh start for bob, with this woman born and

raised in small town texas. i mean, she just had a heart of gold. i mean, she loved everybody. josh mankiewicz: ashley met chacey in middle school, back when royse city was just a speck on the map. there was nothing here, nothing. we had jack in the box and we had one gas station and that was it. farm town. farm town, and just country. quiet. very quiet. people didn't lock their doors. no. josh mankiewicz: ashley and chacey lost touch after high school, then reconnected when ashley noticed chacey's cake business on facebook, something chacey did in addition to her job at a dental office. and she did it on her spare time and she enjoyed doing it. and she was amazing at what she did. what made her so good at that? just her being so crafty. and her imagination was everything. josh mankiewicz: ashley got to know chacey's husband bob and the couple's young daughter

named addison, who helped her mom decorate cakes. and it was kind of something that her and addison did together as well. josh mankiewicz: however, if chacey and addison spent plenty of time together, chacey and the husband she called robert did not. what'd she say about robert? he was never there. he always worked. well, he was a fire captain. right. and he worked a lot of shifts. yes, he did, a lot. that was a problem? yes. josh mankiewicz: bob tried to make things right. in early september 2016, he took his family on a trip to mexico. it was a chance to reconnect. six days later, bob poynter was dead and not in a fire. detective michael burk drove out to county road 2595 to investigate his first career homicide. i grabbed my cid equipment, my criminal investigation equipment. and mostly at that time, it was just a camera, flashlight.

and off you go to the scene. yes, sir. about halfway down the road was that truck, later identified as bob's. then another discovery. it's dark so we're shining our flashlights on the path to make sure we don't trip or break an ankle or fall in one of the deep ruts. and there was a reflection in the water of one of the puddles. and a closer look showed it was a cell phone. josh mankiewicz: it was chacey's cell phone. she had apparently dropped it in the mud when she fell. it's why her 911 call was cut off. further down the muddy road and around a bend was chacey's jeep with bob poynter's body behind the wheel. burk took a close look. was he robbed or-- no. chacey's purse was still on the floorboard of the vehicle. his personal cell phone was still in the center console covered in blood. josh mankiewicz: the fatal shot had apparently been fired at close range. a big clue for us was of what the weapon was was

a shotgun was that the wadding from the shotgun shell was still in the victim's skull. josh mankiewicz: there was no weapon at the scene. so who shot bob and why? andrea canning: coming up. what had happened on that desolate road? chacey tells a dramatic story. when "dateline" continues. >> are you. >> tired of reaching for names and words during conversations? trust me, you're not alone. that's why we developed new doctors. >> preferred mindful advantage. >> the cutting. >> edge, science. >> backed brain. >> health supplement that will help. >> keep your. >> mental edge sharp. >> to get your complimentary sample. >> of new.

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news israel. >> and hamas will enter. >> a cease fire. >> in the. >> nation's capital. >> philadelphia and. >> el paso. >> el paso. >> can i get some information from you real quick? josh mankiewicz: chacey poynter had just witnessed her husband being shot. and she could barely breathe. what i need you to do is in through your nose, out through your mouth. slow your breathing down, concentrate on that. josh mankiewicz: even as chacey was getting hooked up with oxygen, officer meek needed to speak with her while everything was still fresh in her mind. meek's body cam was rolling. ok, tell us what happened. josh mankiewicz: chacey told meek she was on her way to meet bob at their local jack in the box. their daughter addison was at a friend's house that evening, so it would be just the two of them. chacey, still visibly shaken, said her jeep

got stuck on that muddy road. so bob, already at the jack in the box, drove out to help her. but when he got there-- she said bob jumped in the driver's seat and pulled her jeep out. she went to bob, she said, and yelled his name. no answer. and then, she said, in a panic, she ran. chacey asked about her husband. under the bright lights, inside the ambulance, chacey could see her own arms.

i knew in my training experience not to let her focus on that. so i would ask her a separate question to redirect her focus. josh mankiewicz: officer meek documented chacey's injuries and the visible blood on her. and once the paramedics released her, meek escorted chacey back to the police car where she seemed to open up. i was young and stupid when we got married. josh mankiewicz: she described ongoing marital problems. we don't spend a lot of time together. we can only see each other for a couple of days. right. because we just-- argue. yes, but it's because we don't spend a whole lot of time together because of his shifts. josh mankiewicz: chacey said they talked about divorce and bob had threatened to take addison if it went through. my daughter's my world. why would your husband be trying to take your daughter from you though? like, what reason did he give you? because he knows that that's what's going to hurt me the most and he knows that's what's going to make me stay. he's done it before. josh mankiewicz: she said they'd been trying to work things out.

and things have been fine. we actually-- we just got back from mexico this week. we had a really good time. ok. and things were fine. josh mankiewicz: that didn't last, she said. soon after returning from mexico, their marriage started heading south again. she told bob she needed space. and so chacey went to see a friend, michael garza. he knew about chacey's troubled marriage and had offered his home to her whenever she needed it. that night friday, chacey texted bob and they made plans to talk at a familiar spot. we used to stop and get tacos at jack in the box when he'd come home late from work. uh-huh. and so i asked him if he wanted to meet me at jack in the box. josh mankiewicz: and bob agreed. i said, i love you. i do want us to work out. and he said, do you promise? and i said, yes, i promise. josh mankiewicz: that promise now permanently unfulfilled because bob poynter was no more. i took off running.

josh mankiewicz: and chacey the only witness said she didn't get a good look at the shooter. honestly, i don't know. i-- i was looking at my phone trying to call 911. and then when i looked up, there was nobody there. ok. you probably think i'm crazy. no, i need to understand. i wasn't there. i need to understand what you saw, ok? and he was tall, tall and-- and-- and dark. that's-- that's all i could see. i didn't see any-- i didn't see any firearms. josh mankiewicz: naturally, meek wondered about chacey's friend michael garza. the cops looked up his facebook profile and there he was holding a shotgun. could michael garza be the shooter? but then she starts talking about he's on a long haul truck driver and wasn't in town. so then that kind of threw a wrench in that scenario. so then you start thinking, well, who else could it be? josh mankiewicz: meek wasn't sure. he did know this. she was giving me too much information.

it's-- she-- she was telling me things that ultimately didn't make sense for what we were there for. josh mankiewicz: and he noticed something odd. when i wasn't talking to her, she would calm down. but as soon as i started talking to her, she'd get upset again and start hyperventilating. the more i spoke to her, the more it seemed like an act. josh mankiewicz: was it all an act or was there something else going on? --my mom's house. josh mankiewicz: only one way to find out. they escorted chacey back to the police station and dug deeper into her story. and that was sometimes as hard to follow as county road 2595. andrea canning: coming up. the fire captain's wife feels the heat.

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>> to you, call one (800) 403-7539. that's one (800) 403-7539. >> i'm jessica. >> layton with the hour's. >> top story. is former fox. >> news anchor and army combat veteran pete hegseth has been sworn in as secretary of defense after vice president jd vance cast. >> the. >> tie breaking vote to confirm him in the senate. >> it is the. >> second time in u.s. history that a vp has done so for a cabinet nominee. and for female. >> israeli soldiers have. >> been released in exchange for 200 palestinian prisoners. it is the second group to be released. by hamas into israeli territory. >> as part. of a very fragile. >> ceasefire agreement. and now >> ceasefire agreement. and now back to dateline. welcome back to "dateline." i'm andrea canning. chacey poynter told investigators

that her husband robert had just pulled her jeep from the mud when he was shot dead. by who, she couldn't or wouldn't say. now chacey was headed to an interrogation room where a keen-eyed detective was determined to get to the truth. back to josh mankiewicz with "out of the darkness." josh mankiewicz: royse city detective michael burk might have been working his first homicide, but he already knew this, something about chacey poynter's story did not ring true. she gives a shadowy figure wearing dark clothing shoots her husband and runs away. shadowy figure waiting out there in the dark on this remote road? correct. didn't make a lot of sense. josh mankiewicz: burk didn't challenge her right away. he wanted to know more about the bumpy road that was chacey and bob's marriage. she'd already told police she and bob had problems. to burk, she revealed much more.

she's describing a marriage full of domestic abuse. yes, sir. and violence? yes, sir. she had made comments that he had thrown her up against the wall. and i told him it was my concern-- josh mankiewicz: the rest of her story was by now as familiar as a summer rerun. the planned meeting at jack in the box, her jeep getting stuck, and then chacey hearing, but not seeing, the shot that killed bob. detective burk zeroed in on a key detail. if chacey touched bob the way she said, the blood should have dripped down from her hand. it did not. chacey had a pattern of blood on her arms, her shirt,

a little on her face, which indicated to burk that chacey had to be standing very close to bob when the fatal shot was fired. chacey denied it. burk pressed her. how could she be so close and not see the shooter? this is the point where a lot of people would stop talking and ask for a lawyer. but that would not be chacey poynter. she kept answering questions, including about her friend, the truck driver. how did she describe her relationship with michael garza? she started out stating that they had some mutual friends in common on facebook. she noticed his truck and sent him a message on facebook

saying i like your truck. josh mankiewicz: remember, hours before bob was shot, chacey said she went to garza's home. that was after telling bob she needed space. she apparently did not tell bob there were also some other needs. what's more, chacey revealed that garza knew chacey and bob were supposed to meet that night and garza was jealous. so did michael garza kill bob poynter? chacey had told officer meek that by the time the murder occurred, garza was probably driving his truck out of state so he couldn't have been the shooter. now with detective burk, she seemed less sure of that. she insisted she didn't see garza on county road 2595.

somebody taking a shotgun, then she admitted there was something she did see at garza's house that evening. a camo shotgun like the one garza's holding in that facebook photo. her story changed multiple times. as if she's making it up as she goes along or like she's remembering additional details? more along the lines of she realized the story that she provided wasn't good enough. and so she's gonna give a little bit more hoping that i bite off on that and leave her alone. josh mankiewicz: he did not. and after two hours, chacey spilled it.

chacey said she and garza had discussed roughing up her abusive husband. according to chacey, what actually played out on county road 2595 was michael garza's plan. and it was all his own. chacey said it wasn't her idea, but she went along. >> garza told you this?

>> okay? >> he was. >> he was. >> wanting chacey called bob to tell him her jeep was stuck. and bob, the man who was always ready to help, drove over to assist his wife with no idea that michael garza was lying in wait for him. chacey said at the last moment, she tried to save her husband. he didn't. he didn't even have he didn't. he didn't even have time. he. in a panic, she said she called 911 and ran, only to have garza stop her.

she may have tried to stop it. she definitely called for help. nevertheless, chacey poynter was arrested for conspiracy to commit murder. hours later, bob's sister jennifer got a call from her mom. she was screaming, "bobby's dead, bobby's dead." josh mankiewicz: jennifer was stunned. and then her next words were, "and chacey's in custody." and i thought-- - wow. - yeah. and i said, what? what? and she was hysterical. and it was horrible. i thought i died. he was how old? when he died? 47. that's too soon. yeah, 47 years old, a young man still. he had so much more to live for, more fires to fight and put out. so many more lives to save. josh mankiewicz: a murdered son, a daughter-in-law arrested. it was all too much to take.

and it wasn't over. a manhunt was underway for the mysterious michael garza, a possible killer at large whose world was shrinking by the minute. andrea canning: coming up. is it sheila? uh-huh. i'm officer meek. andrea canning: inside the high stakes search for michael garza. i know i didn't raise a boy that-- that is evil like that. we don't want it to get ugly for him any more than we do for us, ok? andrea canning: when "dateline" continues. touch can mean so many things. even for people with moderate-to-severe eczema. touch can make two feel like one. or simply be a helping hand. dupixent can help you stay ahead of eczema as you welcome the feeling of touch. dupixent helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema to help heal your skin from within. many adults saw 90% clearer skin.

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josh mankiewicz: as the cops investigating the murder of bob poynter search for their prime suspect michael garza, they knew he might have already climbed in his big rig and left texas, never to return. is it sheila? uh-huh. i'm officer meek. josh mankiewicz: so they turned to his family for help. we don't want to hurt him. we don't want anything-- we'd like him to walk in with a smile on his face and let us do our job. josh mankiewicz: garza's mom defended her son. i know i didn't raise a boy that-- that is evil like that. we don't want it to get ugly for him any more than we do for us, ok? josh mankiewicz: it never came to that. two days after the murder, garza turned himself in. when he comes in, does he have an attorney? no, sir, he does not. he turned himself in. i tried to go speak to him and he did not wish to speak to me. josh mankiewicz: a few days after garza surrendered, bob poynter's fire company laid him to rest with full honors.

bob poynter's wife chacey couldn't make it to that service. she and her lover were sitting in the hunt county jail. then a month after garza turned himself in, a local farmer made a discovery. that, too, was recorded on police body cameras. plowing his field, getting ready to grow some crops and saw something pulled out of his field. and it ended up being a camo shirt and a camo shotgun. any of that traceable to anybody involved in this case? the serial number and everything came back to michael garza's brother. so conceivable that's your murder weapon? yes, sir. and that michael garza commits the murder and then, what, ditches his shirt and gun as he's running away? yes, sir. josh mankiewicz: the evidence seemed to support chacey's story, that garza had been the trigger man. she'd already told police she saw a camo gun at garza's house.

plus garza's cell phone had pinged near the crime scene the night of the murder. prosecutors jeff kovach and calvin grogan believed michael garza was just following his heart. i think he really loved her. he was obsessed and infatuated with her. josh mankiewicz: detective burk picked up on that the night he interviewed chacey at the station. he spoke with her about it while he prepared to swab chacey's hands for gunshot residue. you? >> i don't know what all you've truly told him. >> he had. >> talked about. >> us. >> you know, trying to live together. >> and i kept telling. >> him, i. >> don't want to live with anybody. >> okay? >> and when he. >> when he. >> told me he loved me. >> i kept telling him i was like. >> that's. >> a little soon, and i've. >> a little soon, and i've. >> honestly infatuated.

oh, yes, the text messages, thousands of them retrieved from chacey's cell phone that was found in the mud. "i just worry about you. i would burn the world down over you." these texts from garza full of misspellings were in response to chacey's complaints about her abusive husband. and they seemed particularly damning. "your problems are my problems," and, "i'll shoot his ass." and this, "i rock an orange jumpsuit." michael garza actually said in a text to chacey poynter, "i rock an orange jumpsuit?" yeah, that wasn't very smart of him to say that. but you see what he's doing, he's trying to be her protector, ok? josh mankiewicz: michael garza may have been a fool for love, but he was now accused of murder.

in july 2018, he went on trial. garza took the stand in his own defense and offered a novel alibi for the night of the murder. he told the court he couldn't have killed bob poynter for one simple reason. michael garza's alibi is that he's not committing murder, he's milking the cow. that he's milking oreo the cow. that was his story. josh mankiewicz: it took less than two hours for the jury to reach a verdict of guilty. michael garza was sentenced to 99 years in prison. we couldn't find a full length photo of garza, but trust me, he looks just about as good in orange as you'd expect. the prosecution then set its sights on the second defendant in this case, chacey poynter. she had led police to garza and said she never wanted him to kill her husband. chacey insisted she tried to prevent that.

prosecutors didn't buy it. they had raised the charge against her from conspiracy to murder. because once again, chacey's verbal account was betrayed by her digital one. andrea canning: coming up. more men in chacey's life? secrets spill out in court. she was looking for somebody to do her dirty work. absolutely. absolutely. andrea canning: who would the jury believe? my heart dropped. mine, too. i was petrified. andrea canning: when "dateline" continues. (cough cough) (sneeze) (♪♪) new alka-seltzer plus cold or flu fizzy chews. chew. fizz. feel better fast. no water needed. new alka-seltzer plus fizzychews.

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>> calm. download the free app >> calm. download the free app now. and when she walked in and our eyes met, i mean, i just-- i wanted to strangle her, i really did. josh mankiewicz: bob poynter's mom had to wait nearly three years to see her daughter-in-law stand trial for her son's murder. and when it finally happened, bob seemed to be the one on trial. the defense argued whatever lies chacey may have told police, she told the truth about this. she was a battered wife.

bob poynter, all 6 feet 4 and nearly 300 pounds of him was a bull of a man, often a raging one, implied the defense. because bob took testosterone which had been prescribed by a doctor. chacey's friend ashley believed her story of abuse. she did tell me that he was abusive. not just verbally or mentally, physically abusive? physically, yeah. josh mankiewicz: the defense said chacey also shared her troubles with someone who decided to take matters into his own hands, michael garza. he and he alone, argued her attorneys, killed bob poynter in a warped show of vengeance and love, a murder that chacey tried to stop. the defense told the jury that chacey's actions at the scene proved her innocence.

she called 911. and flagged down those officers to help her husband. what's going on? my husband-- it made my blood boil. i think i was shaking, literally, sitting in the courtroom when i heard this stuff. josh mankiewicz: bob's family said the defense case bore no resemblance to reality. prosecutors agreed. is there any credible evidence at all that chacey poynter was abused by her husband? no. there's no er visit? there's no 911 calls. no previous law enforcement contact at that address? zero. there's nobody else who's ever even said they saw bob even get mad. he's been described as a big teddy bear. josh mankiewicz: on the other hand, they did find plenty of evidence that chacey wanted bob gone. she's kind of fishing around for multiple men to commit this murder for her. josh mankiewicz: that's right, it turned out michael garza wasn't chacey's only lover. in the months leading up to the murder,

she'd been juggling three other boyfriends. detective burk brought them in for questioning. along with frequent meet ups for sex, two of her lovers told police chacey also shared the story of abuse that she claimed to have suffered at the hands of bob poynter. she would meet these guys. they'd be interested in her. and she would immediately start-- playing the victim. telling her story. right, my husband is beating me. i'm in this terrible marriage. i feel threatened. but maybe there's something here with you and me. right, well, exactly. that's her mo. and she plays the victim and manipulates. josh mankiewicz: among chacey's stable of men

were a couple of firefighters. they were not however from her husband's fire company. that was apparently where chacey drew the line. to one of those firefighters, a guy named danny, she texted this about her husband. "i wish he'd run out of air in a fire." to another named sean she texted, "i only have one way out of this and it's not going to happen anytime soon." minutes later, he texted, "yeah. not an option." and then this exchange, "i hate him so much," chacey texted sean. his response, "shoot him." and she replied, "i don't look good in orange." chacey was looking for somebody besides the three she'd already been involved with. and michael garza is this perfect guy that comes along. she was looking for somebody to do her dirty work. absolutely. absolutely. josh mankiewicz: the same day chacey was traveling home with bob from that vacation in mexico, she texted garza. "me more than anyone wants him gone."

garza's reply, "well it can happen." before their trip to mexico, bob had already suspected that chacey was unfaithful. and he'd say, chacey's really losing a lot of weight. but he slipped one day and he said but she's not doing it for me. really? that's not a good sign. josh mankiewicz: it was when they returned from the trip that bob started taking steps to end their marriage. and he contacted his attorney via facebook. "not divorce hopefully." "it's looking like it. i have tried and tried but i think i want to file first and keep custody." "do you think she's seeing someone else?" "kind of do think so. but a lot of lies lately and i'm tired of it." prosecutors said divorce was the last thing chacey wanted because the couple had a prenuptial agreement. bob had insisted on it. and so chacey believed she wouldn't get a dime if they split. he's got a over six figure income from university

park as a fire captain. in addition, he works a lot of side jobs. there's no way she's going to be able to support herself. and so that ruled out divorce. that ruled out divorce. josh mankiewicz: on the other hand, if bob suddenly died, chacey would be flush with cash. just months before the murder, she'd convinced bob to make her the beneficiary of his life insurance policy. $680,000 in a lump sum, ok? you think robert essentially signed his death certificate the day he changed his insurance beneficiary? absolutely. and prosecutors believe that when chacey found out that bob had made contact with his attorney, she knew she had to move quickly. so that's just what hastened it. but she had been planning to kill him. so the divorce is what sort of caused her to put her foot on the accelerator? right. josh mankiewicz: prosecutors said the murder was chacey's idea, not garza's, and all about the money. that's why just before trial they raised the charge against her again to capital murder.

now the jury had to decide. if they found she killed bob for money, the sentence would be life without parole. but if they believed any of chacey's varied stories, they could set her free. when the verdict's announced, are you looking at her? yeah, we all were. what'd she do? she was just standing there looking down. the firemen were all there. and they all-- we all just clenched our hands like this. josh mankiewicz: the verdict-- guilty of murder. but crucially, the jury did not find that chacey did it for the money, which could mean a much lighter sentence. - my heart dropped. - mine too. i thought it was-- i felt sick. yeah, i thought it was very, very clear that she did it for money. and i was petrified that she was going to get like 10 years. josh mankiewicz: the jury didn't do that. they sentenced chacey to life in prison with the possibility of parole. she'll be at least 59 before she can be released. she's gotta live with what she did.

but if she's one of those people that doesn't really have remorse, i don't know. you gotta live with it, too. i mean, it took me a long time to get over bobby's phone calls that weren't coming through anymore. josh mankiewicz: her phone still rings. but now it's the firefighters who worked with her son. he always told me, mom, if anything ever happens to me, he says, you will have a second family. and i said really, bobby? he goes, you have no idea. he was right? yeah, truly right. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm andrea canning. thank you for watching. i'm andrea canning, and this is "dateline." andrea canning: it was one of the most harrowing days in our history. the attempted assassination of president reagan. screaming, yelling.