[ cheers and applause ] this is "nightline." >> tonight, poison plot. she was a devout christian wife, mother of four. the organist at her church who harbored a deadly secret. >> i'm a horrible mother.

her daughter clinging to life. so is this a grieving mother? or a cold-blooded killer? plus how this former beauty queen turned her own skin care struggle into a $100 million cosmetics empire. with a single rallying cry -- real makeup for real women. and samantha b. >> holy [ bleep ] you guys. >> comedy's newest it girl taking on the boys of late night with biting political satire. >> oh my god, i agree with donald trump! >> going full frontal with the comedienne rocking audiences and throwing some shade. first the "nightline 5." >> don't let dust and allergies get between you and life's beautiful momentth. with flonase allergy relief they won't. most only control one substance, flonase controls six, six is greater than one. flonase changes everything. friends, tonight i present a very special bottle.

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good evening. thanks for joining us. a chilling whodunit almost too sinister to comprehend. it started with a seemingly ordinary family suffering two devastating blows -- the father and adult son suddenly dead. supposedly of natural causes. but it wasn't until their daughter ended up near death in the emergency room that the pieces started falling into place. abc's deborah roberts has our story. >> i'm horrible. i'm a horrible mother. >> reporter: with 24-year-old sarah clinging to life in a missouri hospital, instead of

is in interview room number 3 at the springfield police station. >> my husband died last year of a heart attack. >> reporter: answering questions about the recent deaths of her husband mark and son sean. >> do you have a son as well? >> no. not anymore. he died. >> reporter: both found dead within months of each other. now with sarah on the verge of death, investigators are wondering whether this church-going organist is the victim of unimaginable tragedy or a cold-blooded killer. >> i screwed up everybody. i screwed up my whole family. >> reporter: it all began here in the heart of the bible belt where diane and mark are raising four kids in a small house. tight quarters for what looks like a tight family. diane is a nurse and church organist at redeemer lutheran. she's the family breadwinner. mark, lead singer and guitarist of a local blues band. >> did you get any sense of what their relationship was like?

was great. >> reporter: charles alexander is mark's close buddy and the drummer in the band. >> he loved them, he loved his family. it was a great family. >> reporter: it's a shock to friends and family when he dies suddenly in his sleep. >> i was devastated. i was devastated. >> did you have any inkling that anything was wrong? >> no. >> reporter: the medical examiner rules the death due to natural causes. diane moves her fourchildren into a new house, then months later, that coroner is back at her house again. this time for son sean. >> i said, we just saw the coroner's van was here. are you okay? is everything all right? and she said, oh, yeah. my son died. >> reporter: her neighbors say she's surprised by diane's condolences. >> was she distraught? >> no, she said it to me just like that. "my son died." very matter of factually. i was shocked.

are left. diane, daughters rachel, sarah, and 12-year-old briana. >> i think they closed the doors even tighter. because you didn't see them outside. i don't know how they got their mail because we didn't see them at the mail box. >> reporter: it's just the following june when tragedy seems to strike again. diane rushes 24-year-old daughter sarah to the e.r. >> nip 11, where is your emergency? >> reporter: but this time someone claiming to be close to the family calls in a tip to police, hinting that the pious church organist may harbor an unholy family secret. >> what did the caller say exactly? >> that diane stouty might be homicides. brought up mark's death, sean's death being very close proximity to each other. also spoke about the potential that sarah was going to die as >> reporter: the detective assigned to investigate, neil mcamus, visits the hospital where he gets troubling news

>> he said that he was suspicious. that it was a possible poisoning case. >> your radar goes up? >> definitely. >> reporter: mcamus figures it's about time for diane stouty to answer questions. she voluntarily comes to the station. >> i don't know what i can tell you. >> reporter: with cameras rolling, he asks about her life and marriage. quickly revealing a reservoir of resentment. >> we were still married, but -- it was not what you'd call a good marriage. i was unhappy. >> reporter: he shifts from questioner to sympathizer. >> i'm a believer myself. so i understand where you're coming from on that. >> reporter: and elicits a bombshell confession. >> to put it really short and sweet -- i knew they were drinking anti-freeze. >> reporter: and the chilling details pour out. diane stouty describing how she slipped anti-freeze into her family's drinks.

>> couple of teaspoons, maybe. >> i couldn't believe what i was hearing. there were times i didn't know what to say or how to react. >> reporter: apparently she'd had it with her husband, saying she considered him an abusive deadbeat. >> by then i hated his guts. he would throw things at me. he would throw things at the kids. >> reporter: her children sean and sarah, both burdens in her eyes, not living up to mom's expectations. >> both sean and sarah would just basically -- i don't know -- trash the house and contribute. sean would be interfering with whatever i would do. bother? wouldn't leave you alone? >> he was more than a bother. >> a pest? would that be a good word? >> it was more than that. i'm not a perpetual killer. i'm just stupid.

i really do. >> reporter: but it's too late. diane's arrested. case closed? not by a long shot. with sarah still clinging to life across town, police are busy combing through the stouty home. the anti-freeze in plain sight. they also find an unassuming purple diary that belongs to diane's other daughter rachel. >> appeared to be a journal entry written by rachel knowing that mark and sean were getting ready to be killed. >> reporter: that journal entry dated june 13th, 2011, nearly a year before mark stouty died. it reads -- >> it's sad when i realize how my father will pass on in the next two months. sean, my brother, will move on shortly after. it will be tough getting used to the changes but everything will work out. >> at first you're thinking, this is a mother, evil mother, who's tried to wipe out her family. and now you discover her daughter might be involved helping her? >> yes. >> reporter: confronted with her

favorite, reveals the awful truth. that she was also mother's little helper. >> when did you guys come up with this plan? >> i mean, we talked about it like christmas. >> reporter: in another interrogation, rachel tells police he and mom diane weren't exactly finished. the next target, the youngest, 12-year-old briana. >> when were you guys going to kill briana? >> some time after sarah. >> two people dead, two in jail, one in the hospital -- >> reporter: the tale hits the news like an f-3 twister. a mother and daughter both arraigned for murder. the springfield community is in shock. >> when i heard that he was poisoned? then i just cried. i collapsed. this. >> reporter: but no one's more surprised than this young woman. >> i assumed it wasn't true, they were innocent people being >> reporter: sarah stouty

time, defying all the odds, surviving a vicious poisoning and living to tell the tale. >> do you still consider them family? >> not anymore. i consider them as killers. who hate me. >> reporter: she had to relearn to walk and talk. >> i'm right here. >> reporter: her speech still stunted from the irreversible brain damage she suffered. >> they really planned this heinous crime. i was shocked. i just felt like i wanted to strangle my mom. because of what she did. >> did the police blow this thing? could they have prevented sarah's poisoning? by connecting these dots? >> i think it's easy to go back now and there was nothing at that point to indicate anything malicious. neither one of them knew about the other deaths. >> reporter: as for the medical examiner who critics say bungled the bodies of mark and sean, missing obvious signs of foul play, they defend their work on the case.

loss, sarah says she harbors no ill will against her mother, who in the end pleads guilty. sarah was even brave enough to face her mom in court on the day she was sentenced to life in prison without parole. >> i forgive my mom. >> what changed? >> as time went by, i matured. >> reporter: her sister rachel pled guilty to lesser charges and will be eligible for parole when she turns 65. sarah smiles fondly when sharing photographs of a life that seems like a distant memory. >> that little boy here is my brother sean. >> reporter: deborah roberts for "nightline" in springfield, missouri. up next, the multimillion dollar empire born of one woman's personal skin care struggle. later, another woman's struggle to get to the top of late-night comedy.

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would you display your deepest insecurities for the world to see on live tv? that's exactly what one former "baywatch" beauty queen did and it helped launch her cosmetics empire on qvc, selling to the masses while winning prestige brand of the year from "women's wear daily." the beauty guru takes us to qvc, coming to terms with her insecurity is now allowing her to help others do the same. >> worldwide launch! >> reporter: jamie kern lima is in the middle of a retail marathon. showing off her it cosmetics

over the course of 36 hours. live on qvc. >> your eyes come alive. your whole face comes alive. >> reporter: we're behind the scenes at the mega sales network headquarters where business dreams come true. >> our best-selling brushes are all about flawless skin -- >> reporter: with millions of viewers the stakes are high. it may be surprising in a world seemingly run by online companies like amazon and retail giants like target, tv shopping is still a key player. in 2014 alone, qvc hauled in $8.8 billion in revenue. it's just like joy mangano and her rags to wonder mop riches story which later turned into box office gold. >> don't ever think that the world owes you anything. because it doesn't. >> hi, i'm jamie. >> reporter: jamie climbed the as seen on tv ladder too, by turning her brand from a startup in a cramped studio apartment to a splashy company worth over $100 million.

bibles like "allure," "cosmo," "harper's bazaar." >> you're still in the pinch me i can't believe this mode, aren't you? >> yes. >> reporter: the bold entrepreneur is accustomed to pinch me moments. as a young coed she won the "baywatch" college search in 1999. and the miss washington usa title. >> washington, jamie kern! >> you go from baywatch babe to miss washington, was this a calculated plan? >> i was young and having fun. i got scholarship money which was great. >> it's all about country this money -- >> reporter: only after landing her dream job as a news anchor in portland, oregon -- >> jooimamie kern, the 10:00 news. >> reporter: that she began the struggle to find makeup that covered rose sash sha, the skin condition that left her skin with red blotches, and hereditary hair loss. >> i was in the middle of a newscast where i wiped my brow

i have no brows. and i couldn't take a break, so i had to even correspond the rest of the newscast with half a brow. okay, there's got to be a better way. >> but when you talk about your lack of brows and your rose sash sha with a smile on your face, yet i'm sure there's been painful moments. >> it used to be really hard to deal with. >> reporter: jamie and husband paolo came up with the idea for the skin care-based makeup on their honeymoon and developed it with inputs from dermatologists and plastic surgeons. struggling to get it off the ground on a shoe string budget. >> every one of our biggest retail partners ss offer no. >> then a yes. >> reporter: the yes from qvc meant jamie would have ten minutes of precious tv time that could make or break their dream. >> we had to hit a certain sales target. or we didn't come back. i don't know how many minutes. i think nine or ten. the "sold out" sign came up and i looked at the host and tears started streaming down my face.

afford the inventory we had to buy to do the ten-minute airing. >> this is my skin. >> reporter: jamie didn't rely on her beauty queen good looks. in fact, she says it was only when she rubbed off all the stardust that her customers grew to love her. and her products. >> i always show my skin to be brave and show really that our products are different and that they work. >> you look like the beauty queen that you are right now. so the idea that you have any flaws is beyond us. >> i'm going to remove my cosmetics. this is our number one product. and then you're going to smooth it on. i have a lot of redness. this is going to completely give me coverage. >> and you're instantly back to the perfect, flawless skin. >> you'd never know i had rosacea. >> reporter: fans call themselves it girls. those products beloved by ever-polished celebrities. emily blunt. kaley cuoco. jennifer garner.

displayed on her awards show. >> we won the most loved brand this year. >> reporter: there are other tricks in her makeup bag too. she uses model desiree to demonstrate. >> one of the most popular questions is, i have undereye circles, how do i look like i got eight hours of sleep? in 30 seconds, the perfect concealer, it is life changing. she's using our undereye concealer, smooth it in. >> that is flawless. >> amazing, 30 seconds to eight hours of sleep. >> reporter: as for desiree and many it cosmetics fans the makeover is far more than skin deep. >> i was embarrassed to be in my own skin. now it's different. to know it inspired other women to feel better about themselves and feel confident about the skin they're in, it's more an honor. >> it's like you're not selling makeup, you're selling self-esteem. >> i think that every woman is beautiful. every woman deserves to look and feel her most beautiful.

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it's one of the thickest glass ceilings for even the most hard-working and hilarious of women, late-night television comedy. one woman is breaking through. samantha bee sat down with yahoo! global news anchor katie couric sharing what it takes to stand tall and hold her own against the boys club of comedy. >> welcome our senior senior correspondent correspondent, samantha bee! >> reporter: she lit up late night as a correspondent on ""the daily show."" >> have you had your picture taken with a black person yet? >> i don't think so. >> reporter: biting wit, signature samantha bee. using political satire with brutal honesty. >> and of course a tangerine-tinted trash can fire -- >> reporter: now taking center stage with her own solo gig "full frontal with samantha bee."