paige, this is carol. i just saw something on tv about you being gone since thursday night. i hope you're all right. oh my god. oh my god. >> paige, if you get this, please, please call somebody. everybody's worried about you. you know, whistle while you work. >> reporter: but her life was no fairy-tale. >> she said she knew something bad was gonna happen. couple days later, she was missing. >> reporter: where was she? tonight, the stunning end to this story, of a supermom with a secret. >> we found out that she had this second life. >> quite obviously it's

dangerous! >> reporter: paige had been playing a risky game. >> that opened up the door to a multitude of people we needed to start looking at. >> reporter: like this real estate investor. >> reporter: he was a scam artist? >> correct. >> reporter: and this drifter. >> he was a liar. he was manipulative. >> reporter: two possible suspects would become four, then eight! including a firefighter with a fixation. >> he had a list of names. their bra size and whether or not they would have sex. >> reporter: did one of them have a motive, to hurt a loving mom? >> we weren't gonna stop until we found the truth. >> reporter: what happened to paige? i'm lester holt and this is "dateline." here's keith morrison with double lives. >> reporter: its been nine years since she vanished. but few people in grand junction, colorado have forgotten paige birgfeld how could they? the story of this young mother's

disappearance has long since woven itself into local lore. >> she's a great mother, a great friend. >> reporter: it's a mystery we've been following since it began. and now, as thunderheads darken the high-desert sky, finally a trial. >> what he told me is that he knew how to get rid of a body so that nobody could find it. >> he said, "i'm going to kill you" and then he just slapped me repeatedly. >> reporter: finally rumors and gossip would be dispelled or made fact. and the secrets known not only by the guilty but also the shamed would finally be revealed. why so many secrets, whispers, rumors? because in this town, where everybody knows everybody else's business, there were enough potential suspects to fill a mini-van. >> did you have anything to do with the disappearance of paige birgfeld? >> no. >> i was put under psychiatric care for the first 48 hours and then sent to jail.

>> i did not kill paige. i mean, that's the bottom line. >> reporter: it was late june, 2007, when news of paige birgfeld's disappearance first spread like the morning sun. over the mountains, in denver, four hours away, frank birgfeld was driving to his office. the phone rang. >> voice on the phone says, "this is somebody with the mesa county sheriff's office." and he said, "are you paige's dad?" and i said, "yep." and he said, "did you know she's missing?" >> reporter: barbara campbell got the call from her husband, hans, who told her -- >> paige is missing. i was -- "what do you mean she's missing?" >> reporter: andrea land got the news in an e-mail. >> it said paige is missing in the subject line. i knew something horrible had to have happened because it didn't make any sense that she would be missing. >> reporter: no way for even a best friend to prepare for such a thing. >> stunningly beautiful. one of those women that was

almost a little bit intimidating at first if you were -- you know, you're a more average mom. >> reporter: andrea land and the other young mothers of grand junction could have been forgiven for feeling a little envy. she had the look, the money, the big house on the hill, and three attractive kids. but no, it wasn't like that at all. >> the way she talked, the way she acted, the way she treated you, everything about her was just so wonderful. ♪ taking care of kids now >> reporter: barbara campbell, andrea, and paige were members of grand junction's "mom's club international." a kind of social and support group for young, stay-at-home mothers. >> woo! there's paige, everybody! >> reporter: once a year they'd throw a "spring fling," a sort of put-on prom for mom's. fancy clothes, red carpet entry, even a pretend reporter throwing fashion questions. >> tell us who you're wearing. >> reporter: paige was always the star, of course and this

year the party was held at her place, which made it a very special event. >> most of us did not live in a home that large. she was just so down-to-earth and humble about it that once you got over the artwork on the walls and how, you know, beautiful home it was, you almost forgot that you were in this really very high-end home. >> so the winner is, drumroll please, paige birgfeld! >> she was so comfortable hosting people that made it -- it made anybody there feel comfortable. sometimes you meet someone and you just instantly have a good feeling about them. you're gonna be friends with them. it's just gonna be an instant match. that's what i had with paige. >> reporter: and then that call. the sheriff's deputy told the birgfelds that after meeting a friend on the afternoon of

thursday, june 28, 2007 paige simply didn't come home. as they drove from denver to grand junction, paige's parents tried to understand what was happening. >> as we started out, i -- i don't know that i was very tense or i thought of the worse. i guess, "gee, i wonder where she is. g -- i hope she's --" but as -- as the drive went on, it became more and more anxious, more and more tight, more and more -- >> and i would be calling the kids on the home phone just saying, "w -- we're gonna be there, you know," and t -- tryin' to sound reassuring. >> reporter: the kids had just a nanny with them because paige had parted ways with her husband, rob dixon, who'd since moved out of state. still as a single-mom, with three little kids, paige had her life well in control. due in no small part to her obsessive organizational skills. she ran several small businesses and kept track of every soccer practice and dentist appointment in an old-fashioned,

hand-written, day-planner. >> i mean, every page was full and crossed referenced and -- >> and she was always with it. and she'd come over to visit it came in the door right there in front of her. she was always checkin' it, and phonin'. >> reporter: over-booked, divorced, three kids. first question, was there a chance paige birgfeld simply walked out on her life? >> we talked about, "boy, sometimes i just wanna run away." and she said, "you know, i never feel that way. i never wanna run away. even if i did run -- want to run away just to get away from here, i would wanna take my kids with me. >> there was no way she would leave without her children. they were her life. >> if she needed to hide she would've found a way to do it with them. >> reporter: so what, then? what happened to paige? her friends, her parents didn't

know what to do or where to look. maybe a clue could be found tucked away in her day planner. except it too, was missing. when we come back, one encounter grabs their attention. >> we found out she was visiting her ex-husband. obviously, he was a person of interest. caesar on a caesar salad? surprising. excuse me, pardon me. what's not surprising? how much money matt saved by switching to geico. could i get my parking validated? fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.

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>> reporter: it was a thursday, june 28th, when paige birgfeld, of grand junction, colorado, quite suddenly went off the radar. which was, at least a place to so mesa county sheriff's investigators henry soffel and wayne weyler set out to trace her steps that day. >> we found out that she had been at eagle visiting her -- ex-husband and they had been reconciling at that point. >> reporter: but he, having been the last person known to have seen her, i suppose would be a person of interest in your -- >> yes, obviously -- he was a person of interest. >> reporter: this person of interest, rob beigler, was paige's first ex-husband. they married right out of high school. young, immature, and soon, divorced. but, funny how this works. ten years had sanded off their sharp edged disputes, and they saw anew why they fell in love. >> it seemed like as if no time had passed at all. >> reporter: this is ron beigler, talking to a "dateline" producer soon after paige's disappearance.

>> at what point did you start to rekindle your relationship? >> about six months ago. we tried to take it slow, but there was -- there was no denyin' that -- that it was just as it was before. >> reporter: problem was biegler lived in denver, a 4-hour drive east. so the two lovers would often meet at some midway point. on the day of paige's disappearance they chose eagle, colorado. >> we were going to have a picnic and hang out together, all day. we went to subway and brought it back to where we were sitting outside down by the river. it was very familiar. and, you know, i brought some pictures, you know? and we just sat there and relaxed and enjoyed the day and the weather. i mean, it was special wonderful day. >> reporter: and then, around 7pm, they kissed and said goodbye and drove back to their respective sides of the state. two-hours later, at 8:57pm, paige called biegler. >> to see if i made it back into denver. and then we had a brief conversation. >> reporter: paige told biegler

she wasn't home yet. she was stuck behind a bad traffic accident in grand junction. and indeed, investigators confirmed there was a fatal traffic accident right here at this intersection. somebody saw paige's car here, too, that very evening. thing is, this is five miles past her house. why was she here? an hour later, 9:56pm, paige's 8-year-old daughter, jess, left this anxious voice mail message on her mother's cell phone. >> hi mom, it's me, i was just wondering when you would get home. love you, bye. >> reporter: no response. her daughter waited, worried, and called again. >> hi mom, i was just wondering when you were gonna get home. bye. >> reporter: they slept then. best they could. all three children. and awoke the next day, friday, june 29th, to a whole new kind of anxiety. she still wasn't home.

>> hi mom, you said you would be back last night and you're not even back today. bye. >> reporter: something in the pit of the stomach. paige's old, and new love, ron beigler, seemed to feel it, too. >> hi, where are you? call me if you get a chance. i'm getting worried about you. >> reporter: and, hour by hour, they piled up. phone messages. like a normal day. >> hi paige, laura just wanted me to give you a call and let you know -- >> hi, this is sears repair service for the fan, calling to let you know -- >> hi paige, it's kevin from performance pool. curious if your pool cleared up. please give me a call. thank you. >> reporter: not a single call was returned. and, that night, again, the children, with their nanny, waited in vain for their mother. the following day, saturday, june 30th. ron beigler called the house and spoke to paige's 8-year old daughter, jess. >> she didn't sound particularly that distraught. i don't think she had -- idea what was going on. of course she didn't.

>> reporter: beigler's next call was to 911. >> dispatch, this is clint. >> yes. i needed to talk about -- a missing person emergency. >> okay. and who is missing? >> her name is paige dixon. >> how -- how old is paige? >> she's -- 33. >> okay. >> she hasn't been home all -- all night thursday night, all day yesterday, and today. something is definitely, definitely wrong. she either got abducted, or in an accident. >> reporter: and that's when word of paige's disappearance began to spread across colorado. investigators didn't have a clue what happened to paige. but they wondered if beigler did. >> have police questioned you? >> yes, they have. >> and have they released you as a, you know, a potential suspect or -- >> i don't know what they -- what they've done on that. i know that i -- that was never a concern or worry of mine -- havin' it get pinned on me, you know? >> reporter: you have an alibi for that night?

>> just -- i'm confident that the police know that i had nothin' to do with it. >> reporter: do you feel like you have any thoughts as to what may have happened or what's happening? >> i think it was a major premeditated abduction or a completely random incident. i think that it's more likely that it's a premeditated abduction. >> reporter: but sometimes those not asking questions, find answers. it was the third day. sunday, july 1st, 2007. 9:58 pm. a woman driving home from work, slammed on her brakes, called 9-1-1. >> 911, this is dusty, where's your emergency? >> hi. i'm at the corner of 23 and logos. and there is a car on fire in the parking lot -- at the building right here. >> there is a car on fire? >> yeah. >> do you see flames or smoke? >> yeah. there's -- there's a lot of flames. coming up, paige's car. what will it reveal? >> more intense on the drivers side.

>> then, something else belonging to paige. >> it was an awful feeling of dread thinking how did this get here? what does it mean? >> when "dateline" continues. hey allergy muddlers are you one sneeze away from being voted out of the carpool? try zyrtec® it's starts working hard at hour one and works twice as hard when you take it again the next day. stick with zyrtec® and muddle no more®. at the home depot friday that means more color, more power, more time outdoors for a lot less. come in now for spring black friday

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except watch from a distance as investigators crawled over his daughter's car. and that morning, frank gave the first of what would be many, many interviews. >> we were hopeful when we found the car things would fall into place and maybe they will. >> reporter: this interview, though, was one frank just couldn't get through. >> you know it occurred to me that i haven't cried in a long time. i've learned how to do that. that's it. >> reporter: firefighter robert thomason helped with the arson investigation. >> you can see that the glass itself was all burned out and you can see where it's still kind of intact over here. it was really obvious to see that more intense was on the driver's side. >> reporter: meaning that's where the fire started. that's where the arsonist wanted to be sure to erase evidence. under the car, damaged skid plates and strands of wild grass caught in the suspension,

meaning somebody had driven off road very recently. and after? dumped and torched the car in an industrial area just a quarter mile from where paige made her last phone call. >> it was way beyond her house, right? >> correct. >> didn't fit for the car to be there. >> reporter: news of the car fire was a turning point. no longer did the public suspect this was a case of an overwhelmed, run-away mom. the response was an outpouring of volunteers, a spontaneous community project to find paige. >> just seeing the dad on tv and everything like that, i have some children of my own and i know what i'd be feeling like if one of my children was gone and i just wanted to try to help if i could. >> reporter: paige's dad was there everyday, greeting a small army of volunteers. >> thanks for helping us. >> you know it's just really tough you know for people to give of themselves to that degree. i just -- [ sighs ] >> one of our moms was gone. and her kids needed her, and we

needed our friend. and our kids needed to know -- [ crying ] that if someone's mom is missing, that people are gonna work hard to find her. >> reporter: paige's brother and his wife came from seattle to help. >> the thing is i know that somebody out there knows where she is, and you know we're looking for clues to find that person, but there's somebody maybe who's watching this who knows where she is. >> reporter: but, this seemed odd, not helping to find paige, was her ex-husband and current boyfriend, ron beigler. >> do you feel like you wish you could go there and help search for her? >> a part of me does definitely. >> what's keeping you away from there? >> i don't know if i can handle being -- being right in the situation. >> reporter: then, knowing we were preparing a report about the case, beigler made a strange request. >> try to keep me out as much as

possible? like, just a few words here and there, but i don't want to -- >> you just don't want to talk about how you love her, like, be on talking about things. >> reporter: but, hundreds of people, many who'd never once met paige, searched on horseback, on atv's on foot. they peered under bushes, they walked miles of desert brush in hundred degree heat, and nothing. truth be told. paige could have been anywhere. and then, four days after paige's disappearance, a driver stopped along a lonely stretch of highway 50. and as he stepped out of his truck, a piece of litter caught his eye, a blank check trapped in the roadside weeds. the name on it? paige dixon, paige's married name. so then, the flock of searchers descended on that road. >> making my way back west along the median, i saw a checkbook. >> it was an awful feeling of dread, thinking, "how did this get here? why is it here?

what does it mean?" >> reporter: then more, paige's wallet, charm bracelet, this shoe, various cards, bank registers, and dozens of checks from both paige's personal and professional accounts, nearly a hundred items spread along 13 miles of road, which left investigators with two very different theories. either paige's abductor was trying to throw them off track or -- >> she was in the trunk of a car or something of the sort and dumped these items out to leave a trail. >> reporter: and while volunteers gathered the sad detritus of paige's life, a new wrinkle. >> paige's most recent ex-husband, rob dixon, came back to town to look after the kids and help out with the search. and his re-appearance stopped volunteers in their tracks. because of the stories paige told while they were married, many thought him the most obvious suspect. >> she was afraid of him.

coming up, what else paige told loved ones about rob dixon. >> she was afraid he would kill her.

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ready to let go of hep c? ask your hep c specialist about harvoni. >> reporter: a wave of whispers spread at the speed of suspicion among the searchers looking for the missing single mother, paige birgfeld. the ex was in town.

millions dixon met and married paige. and they had three kids and moved into a fine big house. maybe twice that much. >> reporter: and paige's parents watched him change. the whole town saw that, actually.

>> in his garage i saw three range rovers, a jaguar, two porsches, and then later he had a lemon yellow ferrari. if you've been to grand junction and you want to fit in, a lemon yellow ferrari is not exactly what you do. >> did he make any effort to meet you or the other guys? >> the mom's club would get together, they would have occasions when all the families would get together but he would never come to any of them. i never once saw him attend. >> i was so baffled how someone as upbeat and eternally happy as paige could have this grump around. >> reporter: but in hopes of promoting either good will, or himself, dixon joined the grand junction fire district board. and then donated a brand new fire truck. his generosity made news and locals wondering if they'd misjudged him. but, soon it turned to dust. dixon got himself in charge of fire district investments, put public money in what he said was

a sure thing. it wasn't. the money vanished. >> blew -- i -- as i recall about $750,000 in bad investments for the fire district. >> reporter: peter hautzinger was, at that time, the mesa county d.a. >> i made the decision to take that case to the grand jury and ultimately, the grand jury decided felony's stupid, but not worthy of criminal charges. >> reporter: then one day a repo man showed up for that shiny new fire truck dixon had donated. >> it turned out the fire truck was leased and they came and took it away from the fire department. >> reporter: that's when frank and paige and the whole town found out dixon's money was gone, too. >> he gave it to someone who pyramid schemed it. >> reporter: the missing money, the repoed truck, the grand jury

investigation, it all kept dixon on the front pages of the local paper for months. a series of public humiliations ending with an exclamation point when he was embarrassingly picked newsmaker of the year. >> it was clear rob, he was a big deal 'cause he had a lot of money. and then to lose it and be disgraced in a relatively small community -- >> they're writing about him in the local paper. >> and i said, "he has taken a gigantic fall and he will change dramatically for the worst." and i think that was very predictable and i think for rob that's what happened. >> at the end it was almost always bad rob that we were dealing with. >> she told friends and we saw an e-mail, she was afraid he'd kill her. >> he said he would kill her several times. >> reporter: in 2004, paige, in the midst of this downward spiral, called 9-1-1. >> 911. where is your emergency? >> my husband and i were in a fight -- he was supposed to watch my children while i went to work

and he said that i would come home and find them all murdered. >> reporter: police were dispatched but there was no arrest -- according to paige's parents the fighting only got worse. >> it was, you know, very ugly, the psychological, emotionally abuse that she endured all the time. and when i was there visiting, i saw an awful lot of it. >> reporter: after a 2nd incident, dixon was arrested on suspicion of third-degree assault. >> we had misdemeanor domestic violence case against him with paige as the victim. >> reporter: dixon pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of harassment and got a deferred sentence. the entire case, though, was later thrown out. anyway, paige filed for divorce and dixon for bankruptcy. and moved away to philadelphia to work as an emt again. and paige did what she could to keep the kids in the only home they'd ever known, that big

place with the mortgage to match, close to six grand a month. >> she would just sit and ponder how can a single mom with three kids make enough money to stay in the house that her husband used to support? >> reporter: she had no lack of ideas or ambition. she sold cooking products for a company called the pampered chef and slings for carrying babies. she taught dancing classes for little kids, anything to turn a buck. keeping track of it all in that big day planner of hers, the one that was almost an hour to hour record of her life. and even though he was now far away, she also kept an eye out for dixon. >> flat out she was afraid of him. she was afriday of him coming back to town. she was always nervous he was gonna be coming back into town. >> reporter: and sure enough, two years later, in june 2007, the week before she vanished, paige got a call from dixon. said he missed the kids.

said he was moving back to colorado. >> she said that she knew that rob was coming back. and that he was going to do something. and i was floored. i thought -- >> do something? >> what does do something mean? and she just said she knew something bad was gonna happen. but murder did not enter my mind. kidnapping did not enter my mind. >> that must have been very strange to hear that. >> it -- it was a staggering conversation. i mean, we were just two moms with small children faced with an unknown situation and a couple days later she was missing. coming up, inside the wreckage of paige's burned out car, her day planner. >> still had the pages intact. >> inside the planner, a shock for everyone in the case.

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why don't you t esom find your awesome with the xfinity stream app.crn. >> reporter: it was a dismal clue, the trail of bits and pieces of paige birgfeld's life found scattered by the highway, but still no paige, alive or and now detectives had two exba ron beigler, the last person rob dixon, the man she told liv. >> most people that she knew, friends, believed that rob dixon >> so he pops right up to the top of your list?

he and rob beigler, both. >> reporter: as for hard evence evidence they'd been hiding from everyone, even the birgfeld's something that by pure luck survived that car fire, paige's day planner. >> the melted dash had fallen the day planner and so it was as from the fire because it had. >> what sort of condition was it in? >> it was in -- i mean, it was smoke damaged and it had heat damage, but it still had the pages intact. >> reporter: t readable, was full of appointments, and plans and contact er most mundane routine. but -- and this was strange. three key pages,e surrounding paige's

out. and there was something , one particular business card th for a company called "ladies en confidante.." shad business called models inc, whose cards were found scattered personal effects.ex-husband ron beigler. that paige had "clients" she would see. >> it was, you knooncoanionship intelligent woman that they wa tried, what with the dancing classes, the babyslings, the couldn't keep up with the bills. and so paige -- investigators learned -- had taken on one more job. she started moonlighting as an

>> finding out that paigruing a high quality sort of -- prostitution business was kind i had no idea that that took place in my jurisdiction and nice part of town and -- >> and known to a number of people that -- that i knew. i mean, she was a soccer mom. one of my best friends' daughter i ev >> sure. >> kids. manage to keep her escort service a secret from ybntfor s? well, she went by the name "carrie" selling her services ro called models inc. a name that implied, intentionally, that several women worked with her, when it fact it was just her didn't. >> it was very hard for me to li >> reporter: but she did, according to t

po$100 a session. you can imagine how these revelations hit paige's mom and dad. they just couldn't believe it. >> if i had known about it, i -- er ay from it.ould've tried to i mean, if nothin' else, quite . >> robteously, but they said th could understand her motives, after all, >> she was doing whash do to keep life as normal as poeporler: the news spread, of course pretty soon most peop >> there were, people who wrote to the paper and said horrible things like,y for a dead hooker?" spread, said andrea, by those who didn't even know paige. >> we knew her heart. we knew who she was every day th it ly put us

mode and -- and made us all wan much as possible. problem, though, was that phone that she was using for models inc.you art identifying e who had the most recent contact- multiple people. >> hello, you've reached models c, geme >> reporter: now every client who contacted paige on june 28th and therre potential suspect. here's ja >> yes, this is buddy. i wawo aernoon. >> yeah, please give me a call baroom now. s available tonight. >> hi, this is glen, i'm just wondering if anybody's still available. >> i'm at the country a

anybody's still available for the night. is jim, i tried calling you last night. give me a call, thanks. >> my name is dave. i was calling about the adn sp female escorts. hours and stuff like that. >> yeah, this is john at motel 6, room 237. >> reporter: so they put ble sp" the two ex-husbands now joined by six of paige's clients. nothing to do but check out all of them. gi paige called -- this guy, george coralluzzo. wh called her 19 times. >> we're thinking, "that's our guy." >> i cout and he's still coming up, what this woman saw. >> it hit me. >> and what she told investigators. investigators. >> he totally did is

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>> reporter: grand junction is a modern town in every way, but lift your eyes from the humdrum, watch a setting sun fire the great monument cliffs all around. and for a moment you're in the old west. a mystique that clings to the place, as do the drifters attracted to such things. young men who split their time between odd jobs and the county

jail. like, for example, george coralluzzo. here from new jersey and eager to hustle a buck, or a woman or whatever. >> george corraluzzo was a conman, a sick person. >> reporter: meagan williams knew coralluzo because he and her then husband had partnered in a house painting business. knowing coralluzzo as she did, she was not surprised by a visit she got on july 1st 2007. >> sheriffs came to our house. and they said, "is george corraluzzo here?" i actually thought they were there to talk about this kidnapping case. >> reporter: to meagan "this kidnapping case" meant one six months earlier in which coralluzzo, allegedly took this woman against her will on a long scary ride across state lines. >> i spilled to them everything i knew up to that point. >> reporter: thinking you were talking about a different crime altogether? >> correct. >> reporter: deputies didn't let on, but of course they were really looking into the disappearance of paige birgfeld,

three days earlier. where was coralluzzo that day? well very interesting, said meagan. he'd failed to show up for work. and later that night he offered a truly bizarre reason why. >> that his family had been in an accident. and we said, "what kind of accident?" "oh, well, my brother and my sister-in-law and my niece and nephew were beheaded on the turnpike in new jersey." >> he had to go to new jersey. he had to solidify funeral arrangements. >> he was sobbing and hands were flying and he was just like, "i don't know what i'm going to do." and just very upset. and we believed him. >> reporter: as she told the detectives, coralluzzo took the first available flight back to new jersey. and that was that. the detectives thanked her and left. didn't mention a thing about paige birgfeld. and then the very next day meagan was watching the news on tv and saw the story about the burned out car.

>> her car was found ablaze, in this parking lot, off 23 road. >> and then i saw the -- paige's face come across the news. and i looked at my ex-husband tim and i said, "that's what happened." i said, "he murdered that woman." it just -- it hit me. >> reporter: then of course she had to know, was that wild story about a decapitating accident in new jersey just coralluzzo's excuse to run from what he had done to get out of town? >> i scoured the internet and made phone calls. >> reporter: scoured the internet looking for evidence of a big traffic accident. didn't find -- >> uh-huh. nothing there. >> reporter: so who did you phone? >> i called their local gazette newspaper, talked to a reporter. nothing happened. i called the coroner. nothing. so newspaper, coroner, hospitals. nothing. >> reporter: but meagan was able to locate coralluzzo and passed that tip on to lead investigator beverly jarrell, who would end up playing a key role. you'll hear more about her later. jarrell caught up with coralluzzo in new jersey. grilled him for five hours. but coralluzzo denied

everything. more important he was in new jersey when paige's car was set ablaze so jarrell let him go. >> reporter: if he didn't burn the car, doesn't that let him out? >> no. >> reporter: why not? >> because his actions lead me to believe that he did something so disgusting and vile that he had to leave grand junction and lie about his family dying. something happened. >> reporter: and there was something else, said meagan. >> he told multiple people that he did something so terrible that he could never take it to the grave and that he would never be forgiven. what was that besides murdering somebody? >> george was a sketchy person and he totally did this. >> reporter: the coralluzzo she knew she said was cunning enough to have one of his pals help him, somebody like this guy, his best friend, jose tavera. detectives suspected that too. so they found tavera brought him

in for questioning and what do you know he'd recently injured his arm. >> i had a bandage on it and the cop asked me -- he's all, "what -- what is that, you know?" the detective goes, "what happened there?" i said, "well, i burned my --" "i burned myself at work." he's like, "well, are you good enough of a friend to burn a car down for george, you know?" discovery about paige's clirnt >> phone numbers, bra sizes and whr >> strange, but did it mean anything? when "dateline" continue make all your pains a distant memory with advil the world's #1 choice

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continuing now with the am se >> i knew something horrible happened. >> finding out page was running a rather high class prostitution business was stunning. >> at least one of her patrons is under investigation. >> george was a sick person. >> now, investigators will focu a man with an ex-wife. an ex-wife with a story to tell. >> he saidi' >> the astonishing end to a heart breaking case. >> reporter: it was a traumatic time, here in grand junction, colorado, that summer of 2007. what with the fruitless search , loved by so many, who turned out

to have secrets. mails and phone records that seemed to point eight different ways at once, two ex-husbands and six "clients." >> i don't think that i've every entire career. >> reporter: one by one, the suspects or tried to. ex-husband number one and current boyfriend, ron beigler. >> we were able to determine cel phone records. >> reporter: second husband, rob dixon, the one man she said she feared? >> we were able to corroborate the philadelphia area at the time. cell phone connected to a tower in pennsylvania the night paige left this message on paige's ph >> paige, if you get this, please, please, call somebody.

please, please, please, let us know you're okay.re ats dixon alibisinatthem as far as -- having some involvement and maybe paying somebody. >> reporter: tn clies -- corallt the top of it given he didn't have a solid alibi and skipped town right after her at was most concerning.ntio corralluzzo's friend jose tavera the one with the big burn on his arm.. >> i said -- well, i said, "i " >> reporter: who swore he did not help corralluzzo by setting. >> i said, "i don't care mother theresa comes and asks me to burn a car -- tell her t hell, you know." >> reporter: so they let him go too, for the moment. the other clients? hautzinger knew one of them very well, a prominent real estate i. he was almost as well known and

dixon, for the w handled when i came to this mean, i had prosecuted him and sent him to prison back in the early '90s for that. so when he came up again as a suspect in the birgfeld matter it was interesting. >> reporter: when detectives he embezzled money from his company to pay for dates with p. but then, he claimed, paige . >> he made allegations that she was essentially blackmailing him asking for extra money. >> reporter: what a motive. except heald's wife supplied an night, reading, watching tv. so heald seemed to be in the afte being questioned by detectives -- heald attempted suicide. that, d.a. hautzinger assumed, was not guilt but shame. >> people don't really want to have it out in public that, "oh, yeah. i was patronizing a

call-girl." >> reporter: they checked ou who, the night paige vanished, called her again and again a motel 6. desperate, apparently, for her atnt 6, room 237.epter: except thereo evidence paige ever went to but then there was this client, lester ralphes that's him standing in the shadow of s investigators got a tip about jones from this friend of paige's named carol linderholm. paige had scheduled an appointment with jones the night before she disappeared. but for some reason didn't want to go, asked linderholm to meet jones instead. and then i think -- >> and then you showed up at his door. expectat, led escort service. >> well, he let it be known ie

wanted sex. >> reporter: linderholm said that didn't happen. instead they talked for an hour. couple of days later, she said, she called paige. you? >> at first i thought she was just busy and she couldn't call back.ws that the kids actually went to that's when i knew something terrible had happened to her. oh, i hope you're all right. oh my god. >> reporter: linderholm mentioned paige's second ex-husbandof b him. then, the next day linderholm fire. >> i wanted to go over and -- and look at it -- and i arrived ston arailer and >> and when it

just -- it just left me with this horrible feeling. >> reporter: as she drove away her eye. it was a sign for bob scott rv's. >> lester jones had told me tha car in the parking lot that was the same one that was in the driveway when i walked up to lester jones' house. and i thought, "oh my god." >> reporter: right away carol went to the sheriff's office, e lester ralph jones.you ve that story, or did you? >> we gave it a lot of credence. >> reporter: i after paige disappeared they brought jones in for questioning >> mr. jones, i appreciate you coming down, ok? >> sure. >> reporter: jones wase department, which is where his >> ok. >> reporter: rob dixon. paige's ex-husband. >> go down that road. what dthhe fire

department up in hotchkiss. there. >>ka >> that was a long time ago. >> reporter: and had also met dixon's then wife, paige. >> 'cause she, aere >> and she had come to where? the fire department, you mean? >> yeah. >> aback --jones claimed, when a couple of years later he went to the models inc massage parlor, and was greeted by, rob dixon's >> do you know if she recognized you? >> i wouldn't -- e u o you think she would? feel uncomfortable? >> yeah. >> but things went ok. >> yeah. >> and how often h business with them? >> i think twice, i think. >> reporter: while jones answered questions downtown, investigators scoured his house and bob scott rv's, where he worked. >> what did you -- what'd you find when you searched bob scott's rv location? >> a list of names of escorts

that we knew ie junction area, where he had their names, phone numbers, bra size and whether or not they wo. >> some viagras, and also some -- condoms. >> reporte a black bra -- t d in a locked ca chef one of paige's many businesses. creepy. certainly suspicious but not es ll which led investigators to a new theory. >> i still have difficulty believing that you killed her. unless you're working coming up, investigators gen for a very strange call. if you should bury the body.me o of no. >> nobody asked that? >> nobody. plus, mobile hot spot gbs of

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>> did you like rob dixon? >> reporter: detectives ppearan

of paige birgfeld had a big hunch. connection between le second husband, rob dixon. >> when was your l with rob? dixon had been looking for dirt abouig use in family court as a way of gettin so, as the cops saw it, rob dixon had the motive while leer means. so, maybe murder for hire? ne calls.ence of any contact no wire transfs. nothing suspicious. on the othe hand. well, er holes in his story. paige went missing. even worse, jones admitted that when paige's car was set on fire, he was at bob scott rv's practically across the street.

by your own admission you'and a. >> tell me that. explain that. >> i -- i can't explai t you. >> reporter: and guess what they found at jones' work site? a discarded package that once a the os reveal the identity of the user. le to determine that the phone was bought at walmart on north avenue. r security camera video. and -- well, well, well, the lester ralph jones. why was that important? particular tracfone called paige at models, incve night she disappeared.was e thi rose above all else it was the video of him buying the tracfone on that was uso

th that was him in the video. tracfone at walmart. >> i didn't buy no tracfone at ? h, video.onesas you can five hours, and then, they had to let him go. a couple of days later, a detective called jones to say his two cars which had b up. and jones' wife answered the phone.es, y i speak with ralph please? >> hold on please. >>ister jones? >> yes, sir. >> this is art smith with the sheriff's office, just calling both oth office right now. >> no. >> i'm sorry? >> i don't think so. >> you.

>> you asked ld h bury a body. >> whiam which surprised us. >> becau n >> nobody had asked him about where he buried the body. we were calling him about his and the day before, we never and most certainly interesting when theun seemed so out of it, he'd just taken an overdose of sleeping n wife, what appeared to be a suicide note.ve,"e wrote. "i've prayed all night and this! i want you to know how much i love you. you're the best thing that has en please forgive me!" and then he added this, "tell the cops to get. i never did it, but i can't be jones recovered quickly but his

actions that day remained a investigators. >> the evidence was definitely pointing toward lester jones. but we still had to keep an eye open on mr. livingston, mr. heald, mr. coralluzzo. ones we know about. is there somebody else out there we don't even know about yet?s came back negative. the fire burned it clean of evturned to a volunteer search dog team for help. and sure enough, the dogs appeared to hit on jones' scent in paige's charred car. and along highway 50 where all those items were found. and then they sniffed their way ends at the gunnison river.iven dogs followed exactly the same gravel road into the so was paige's body in here somewhere?lein divers.

>> basically, we go across the river about a 100 feet. they let us out five feet. we come back across the river, feel, i just got o bottom. >> reporter: but, there just sns? anyway, the labor-intesive i guess that's the only soat d thing, at this point, to do because there isn't anymore to their own lives. >> reporteut option for paige's family. i really wish i could get into . >> reporter: even offered a $15,000 reward, no questions asked.d if she's out there, we need to find her.

ul tips.not one, even though frank stayed on in grand junction for a whole fruitless year. >> at some point, you have to doing this? or is it time to go back to >> what was it like on the way you were leaving for good? >> i would say kind of a mewher i'm -- i'm leaving her. >> reporter: but while no one knew where paige was. idea as to what may have happed this is lisa nance, who was rather briefly married, once lisa will always remember him.

coming up, the ex-wife's tale. >> he looked at me and said, i'm >> he looked at me and said, i'm going to kill you. it helps to strengthen it also has stain lifting action. the protection that they need ♪ higher! parents aren't perfect, but then the.ke

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no doubt about it, thought lisa nance -- lester ralphes was a catch, tall, strong, a firefighter, for heaven's sake. >> he was a really nice person. >> really nice, huh? what do you mean by really nice? nice how? >> he just seemed really nice >> reporter: well, you know how people are, caht blinding glare of new love. and then, in a month, or two, or six, disturbing things begin to occur -- unimagined traits emerge.mes ni story like the one lisa nance told us abou lester ralph jones. >> i caught him, you know, watchin' me and stuff, you know? >> like, watchin' me where i was

>> reporter: he tapped her phone, she said. he hid secret recording devices. >> like, if i'd talked to any of my friends or anything like tha, he would already know that i had talked to whoever. .> reporter: it just wasn't better sooner than later, she thought. and one morning, as she was drivinhe a car drew up beside her car, it was him,es d my car. and it knocked h and caused the airbags and stuff to go off. took off running. but jones had a gun. >> he shot at him twic and i think the other one grazed his head. nd i thought. i thought that. >> >> it was scary. i asked him to put the gun down,

you know? 'cause he had it pointed right at me. and finally he put it in the backseat -- the back floorboard. and then, you know, i talked t him and tried to calm him down, you know? >> what was he saying to you?di anymore. and i didn't want him anymore. and i was tryin' to convince hif she called the police, he was but in no time made bail. and then, lisa was at home a few ek >> i came out of my room. d as just sitting on the couch. i mean, just sitting in the >> my stomach just -- you know,, "what on earth are you doing here?" you know? and he didn't say anything. scared, because he just didn't look like himself. anything. >> reporter: he had something on his mind? >> i think so. we -- it seemed like it an- ans

wanted to get out of the house, you know, as quick as we could. >> >> reporter: she said what came into her head, lets go o t driving but then she realized he wasn't going to dinner.e mounta. >> i was like, "where are we anything. he just kept rubbin' the back of my head, saying, "it's gonna be okay." >> rubbing the back of your >> uh-huh. >> what sortto saithat? >> he wasn't being loud. he wasn't yelling or anything like that. he was just really, really quiet. uh-huh. >> it's a little creepy. "we're not gonna eat, are we?" and he looked at me. and he said, " do?" and he was like, "i'm goin over. >> the moment had come for you?. 'cause all i could think aseei . >> but i was, like, trn' talk to him, youw? and trying to get him to talk to me, listen to he's like, "you don't love me

anymore."and was like, "no, tha true, you know?" and he's like, "well, then prit me to make love to him in the car. and i e could just go get a room and talk, you know? and so finally he agreed to that. >> so what happened when you go? >> we went to that motel. and he pulled in there. and he looked at me. he's like, "you'll be waitin' here when i come back." and i said, "yes." so he goes in. as soon as he went in that second door and he was out of sight, i took off. >> i started drivin' back toward -- wn and i was goin' really fast, hoping that i -- >> i should think so. told him what someone would was happening. and -- and then they took me back to the police sta to the motel to arrest jones. but --. >> they said they couldn't find e. >> reporter: where was he? terrified, went home.

and he called. hsaid was, "where are you?" and -- i house. >> and did they catch him?>> noo look. somebody broke into lisa's mother's house in oklahoma. >> she called me, la -- later that day and said when she was leaving work that she noticed this car was following her and she said it was ralph. she called the sheriff's department and she's like, he's here, he's following me, and they arrested him. >> my mom said she asked him what was he doing. and he said, "looking for your daughter." >> reporter: lester ralph jones was convicted of assault and kidnapping and served three years. and now he was out and remarried and by the fall of 2007 a pile of circumstantial evidence connected him to paige birgfeld's disappearance.

>> why didn't you just go arrest him? >> our job is to gather the facts. and then present it to the district attorney's office and they make that determination. >> you wanna add 'cause -- he had to fight that battle constantly for years. >> oh, i think you hit it -- hit it right on. >> reporter: meaning they were ready to pick up jones, but d.a. hautzinger was not. why didn't you decide to pull the pin on lester ralph jones? >> i didn't have a body. >> and that was the defining --. >> absolutely. that was really --. >> i mean, there are lots of no body cases that go to trial. >> not a lot of no body cases where the victim has a double life and has been lying to her family and friends. >> because of her double life the possibility that -- defense attorney could throw out there that -- she ran off with some rich client and is living on a beach in brazil or something --. >> reporter: and as the years passed, paige's story went from the front of the paper -- to being filed away on microfiche. where was she?

coming up, they were about to fipd out, and it would transform the case. >> we need to make a critical decision. >> and then, a brand-new theory of what happened to paige. >> i think that triggers something and something went wrong. unpredictable diarrhea and abdominal pain, you may have irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea, or ibs-d. a condition that can be really frustrating. talk to your doctor about viberzi, a different way to treat ibs-d. viberzi is a prescription medication you take every day that helps proactively manage both diarrhea and abdominal pain at the same time. so you stay ahead of your symptoms. viberzi can cause new or worsening abdominal pain. do not take viberzi if you have or may have had: pancreas or severe liver problems, problems with alcohol abuse, long-lasting or severe constipation,

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♪ >> reporter: grand junction, colorado has been a boom and beautiful places that draw hikers, bikers and rafters for years. a couple trekking through the wells gulf march 6, 2012. pretty soon, paige's dad got another one of those phone calls, this time from a local reporter. he said, do you know they found paige's remains this morning? he asked if anybody had called me. i said you are the first one. >> reporter: it took time

though, to be certain it was her. >> a couple weeks or so was verified it was paige's remains. >> reporter: a few miles south of where the documents were. it had to be paige that left the trail. a call for help or arrow pointing where to find her. all that, while restrained. they found remnants of duct tape wrapped around her jaw. >> we really think the searchers were here. to miss it, you know, it's like, darn, how did that happen? >> reporter: probably, said the detectives, her killer buried her five years earlier, back in 2007 when she first disappeared. eventually, what was left of her was unearthed by run off. so, the d.a. said -- >> this is what we have been waiting for. we need to put the pedal to the

medal and make a decision. >> reporter: now, with a body, they decided to fashion a murder case against one of the eight possible suspects, rob dixon and bieglor had solid alibis. both being hundreds of miles away. so, that left the six clients. of course, lester ralph jones was at the top of the list. george coralluzzo, remember him? >> coralluzzo is the suspect that gave me, as the d.a. heart burn and concerns. that's because his alibi was so hard to pin down. he was partying at jose's apartment. but what time exactly? that depended on who you spoke to. what everybody did agree was this, coralluzzo was out of control. >> he was intoxicated, slurring his words, not being able to

focus. he wouldn't have been able to murder her and get rid of the body. he wasn't capable of it. >> reporter: of course, he might have been lying to protect his friend. detectives wanted to talk to coralluzzo himself but they couldn't find him. they asked for help. >> dune where george is? i said george is dead. >> drown the year before while swimming in a river in new jersey. still, to satisfy the d.a., investigators had to make a case that coralluzzo was guilty of innocent. because dead men don't talk, they had to go through seven years of reports, interviews and statements. it was two years after paige's body was discovered, investigators stumbled upon an overlooked piece of evidence that would change the case.

it was security camera video of coralluzzo's friend. he wasn't in the video but the time stamp backed up the story, minute by minute that he had been telling the cops, lifting his credibility and, in turn, helping to establish coralluzzo's where abouts. >> it helps kor ob rate what the witness was saying, piecing together a time line of where he was, where we could prove he was during the relevant window of opportunity -- >> right. >> that evening or next day when paige went missing. by interviewing lots of people that had been with coralluzzo or talked to him, we were able to pain stakingly alibi him. . >> reporter: they felt they had enough to take the case to a jury. in november, 2014, 7 1/2 years

after paige vanished, police arrested ralph jones for her murder. did they know the whole story now? oh, no, they certainly did not. they didn't know where or how paige was killed. >> it would have been nice to have that additional piece of evidence or additional puzzle piece to put into the jigsaw. >> reporter: help you tell the story, too. >> exactly. >> reporter: that's an important thing for a prosecutor to do. >> it's the entire thing. i don't have to prove motive, for example, but i usually try to anyway because the jury wants to know, why did this person do this. >> reporter: tell us the story, what happened in your view? >> i think lester jones was obsess obsessed with paige and she had not enjoyed her time with him and was putting him off. i think that triggered something and that's why he got the tracfone and something went wrong.

my guess is that he physically subdued her and drove her down to where her body was found but she was conscious and had the ability to throw things out the window or trunk or whatever it was leaving the trail going down to delta and she was ultimately killed not far from where her body was found. >> reporter: but the defense had its own compelling story to tell or rather stories. a separate tale for each of those alternate suspects, waste of time? well, maybe not. remember, it takes just one juror with reasonable doubt to throw a whole case into, well, you'll see. coming up, at trial, the defense goes hard at the original lead detective in the case. >> did you actually receive an official reprimand for the poor quality of work you did in this case? >> reporter: maybe the case against jones never stood a chance.

>> if you are doing shotty work in the beginning, your investigation is sick. it's impossible to make it well again. >> when "dateline" continues. it's spring black friday at the home depot that means more color, more power, more time outdoors for a lot less. come in now for spring black friday and the best prices of the season. the home depot. more saving. more doing.

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>> reporter: in a town with zero degrees of separation paige birgfelds' disappearance and murder impacted many here. if they didn't know paige personally, then they were in on the search, or were a potential witness, or knew somebody who was or, in the worse case, they knew one of the possible suspects. so when the trial finally got underway. the town's attention was very much focused on this courtroom. >> we're on the record, >> reporter: but the trouble began before a single witness could be called. ron beigler was angry, wound up. the new district attorney dan rubinstein was set to call paige's first husband. he was a key witness, but was afraid he might actually attack jones in the courtroom because beigler had actually threatened to kill him. >> and indicated that he wanted mr. jones to be found not guilty

so that he could kill him and feed him his genitals, although he used a different word than that. >> reporter: proceedings ground to a sudden halt. beigler was hauled before the judge. >> if you have any outbursts or you do anything in an attempt to harm anybody in the courtroom, that will result in serious consequences. >> i think it was over exaggerated. taken out of context. >> all right. >> sarcasm may be taken out of context. >> reporter: chastened, but still insisting it was all a misunderstanding, beigler took the stand and testified about his last day with paige. >> we talked about me moving into her house in grand junction. we talked about her quitting that business. >> which business? >> the adult entertainment business. >> did you give her reasons why you wanted her to quit? >> mm-hmm. >> what were the reasons you said? >> because she could get killed, for one. >> reporter: the jury heard about it all. the day planner, items along the roadside, the bits of paper left along the highway, the search dogs who scented on jones the tracfone jones bought then lied

about. and the apparent suicide note he'd left for his wife, and the jury heard that strange call jones had with a deputy. when jones said -- >> you asked me where i would bury a body. >> reporter: lisa nance told the jury the harrowing tale of the night jones took her into the mountains. >> and he looked at me. he said, "i'm going to kill you." >> reporter: and, there was this. >> hi mom. it's me. i was just wondering when you would get home. >> reporter: the prosecution played the fearful phone messages paige's then 8-year-old daughter jess left on her mother's cellphone. >> love you, bye. >> reporter: and here was jess today, now a senior in high school, but still able to give a child's perspective of a very loving mother. >> she was pretty much a typical soccer mom. she -- she -- we did everything with her. we all slept in the same bed with her, and -- [ sniffs ] we always went shopping together. and she took us to all of our

soccer games, and to school, and she provided us with everything that we needed, whatever that may have been. >> reporter: a procession of witnesses that lasted for weeks. and the defense team's response? that this was all so much show to distract from a shoddy investigation that focused on jones from the start, despite the lack of any physical evidence. >> do you solemnly swear -- >> reporter: and they drove that theory home by boldly calling former lead investigator, beverly jarrell. remember her? she was in charge of the investigation and all those detectives from the beginning, yet was never called to testify for the prosecution, perhaps for good reason. >> would you agree, investigator jarrell, that you made some mistakes in this investigation? >> um, yes. >> okay. has it come to your attention that you did, in fact, forget to

book in a few recordings into evidence for this? >> yes. >> reporter: jarrell admitted reports had gone unwritten and evidence was actually lost, like jose tavera's first police interview. >> and did you actually receive an official reprimand for the poor quality of work you did in this case? >> i don't remember that. >> you don't remember getting a major disciplinary action because you kept evidence from this case in your office? >> in writing? no. >> reporter: jarrell said her memory's been fuzzy since a 2010 horseriding accident, something that happened three years after the slip-ups on the birgfeld case. and then came the alternate suspects, the guy who called paige from that motel 6. >> and in that storage unit you had numerous guns, right? >> i did have, yes. >> reporter: this former client, who allegedly discussed killing paige. >> did you tell ms. waylan that you had killed ms. birgfeld by putting ms. birgfeld through a woodchipper? [ laughs ] >> no, ma'am.

somebody had said something about, did you do this to paige? did you murder paige?" and i said, just out of context, "had i -- had i -- they wouldn't find her because i would have used a woodchipper." and it was totally out of context. >> reporter: the client who admitted embezzling his company's money to pay paige. >> did you kill ms. birgfeld? >> no. >> are you responsible for her disappearance. >> absolutely not. >> reporter: and then the defense went after jose tavera, who admitted he was so tight with coralluzzo he would have done just about anything for his friend. >> including burning a car to help him if he needed that done. >> i wouldn't do that. >> you wouldn't do that? >> no. >> that's the one thing you wouldn't do? >> yeah. >> reporter: meagan williams told the jury she was sure the killer was really corralluzzo. >> he was a pathological liar, and anything that came out of his mouth was a lie. and any story that he made up, was made up! >> reporter: so many suspects, said the defense, and they put on a retired detective to accuse

the police of tunnel vision. >> because if you're doing shoddy work in the beginning, and you're not paying attention to all the details and all the information, and vetting all of the leads, your investigation becomes sick, it's almost impossible to make it well again. >> reporter: as for forensic evidence, said the defense, forget about it. they called an expert to say there is no way a dog can follow a month-old scent. >> my opinion is that it's not possible. >> reporter: if true that meant there was no proof jones had ever been in paige's car or along the highway where her belongings were found. by the end of the six-week trial, the jury had heard from more than a hundred witnesses, testifying about a nine-year investigation, involving multiple suspects. so it wasn't surprising--during deliberations--the jury came back with one question after the other. the prosecutor -- >> i started to get worried and the question popped into my mind, "is it possible to ever convince 12 people beyond a reasonable doubt, unanimously as

to an answer on this case?" and i started to worry about that. >> please rise for our jury. >> reporter: by day three, the judge called the jury into his courtroom to ask -- >> is there a likelihood of progress towards a unanimous verdict? >> reporter: after getting this far, was the prosecution's case coming undone? coming up, jurors speak out saying the case went wrong from the start with the original lead detective. >> she boggled me when she was like, i don't remember, i don't know. you are a lead investigator? >> then, paige's parents emotional reaction. >> i will tell you, that was a hard part. >> that was the hardest for me. ♪ ♪

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by day three of deliberations, the jury sent word to the judge they were deadlocked. >> is there oo likelihood of progress toward a unanimous verdict? >> no. >> all right, thank you. >> reporter: the judge ordered them back to deliberate further. now there was concern. >> they won't make another effort consider their opinions further. if they are unable to make a verdict -- >> reporter: less than two hours later, another message from the jury. >> the jury remains in the same position period. we are not unanimous in our decision, period. we do not feel any further discussion will change our current state, period. >> that was it.

the judge had no option but declare a mistrial. minutes later, paige's dad, frank, tried to keep it positive. >> if we hadn't had a trial, it was a massive effort. i am grateful they gave us a shot at it. >> reporter: like many times in the past, frank cracked and the pain slipped through. >> at the end, they should have -- that all -- >> in my heart, i believe he was guilty. >> reporter: a handful of jurors spoke to us afterward to explain how the trial played out for them. this man, william sullivan voted guilty. >> because of the evidence. you know, nobody has that bad of luck in one week. >> this man was disturbed by the lead investigators testimony. >> she boggled me on the stand,

i don't remember, i don't know. whatever. and you are a lead investigator? they should have replaced her immediately. >> reporter: still, he voted guilty. there were others, three, who couldn't go with their doubts. >> not enough evidence for them to get past a reasonable doubt. >> reporter: the prosecutor said, in a way, he understood. >> the biggest weakness of the case, in my opinion was, there were no eyewitnesses that placed him with miss birgfeld that night. >> reporter: he conceded they did a good job defending jones. >> the point they were trying to make is a good one, it could be anyone. it could be anyone we never thought of. >> reporter: the seasons slipped by. with the leaves gone and snowfalling, a retrial.

>> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. >> reporter: with time and money tight, this would be the last shot at jones. another mistrial would be just as good as an acquittal. >> do you solemnly swear -- >> reporter: it all played out before. >> you have a track record of being dishonest? >> yes. >> reporter: the same witnesses. >> did you kill her? >> no ma'am. >> reporter: the same testimony. >> i have never been able to run a dog on a trail that is a month old. >> reporter: the same suspect. >> did they conduct a good investigation? >> no. >> reporter: the same closing argument from the defense. >> this man is innocent and he stays that way unless these people can convince you otherwise, beyond a reasonable doubt. >> reporter: what is different this time is the closing argument taking the alternate suspect seriously, he went after each theory, one by one, with attitude. >> and to think that somebody whose so drunk that three people

have to cart him around, who is also on cocaine is capable of doing this, carefully and going back and cleaning us up, carefully, with a car fire that specifically targeted to get the evidence, to tear pages out of a day planner. does this sound like george at all? no. >> reporter: would that make a difference to the new jury? few thought so. while deliberations went on from one day to the next, paige's parents braced themselves. >> i think there's a reasonable chance it could be another mistrial. if it is a mistrial, i suspect jones will walk out a free man. >> reporter: just as in the first trial, the jury deliberated for three days before sending a note to the judge. >> please be seated. >> reporter: this time, there was a verdict. we the jury find the defendant lester ralph jones guilty of count one, murder in the first degree. >> when the verdict came in, i

think we were supposed to feel elated, like the home team kicked a field goal with two seconds left and we just won. to be honest, i didn't feel that. there were no winners in this case. none of this brings paige back to us. >> reporter: what about you? >> this is about paige. this is about paige who has been gone and will not be able to come back to her friends, her brother, her parents, her kids. >> reporter: who now live far away in pennsylvania, as they have since paige first vanished. the birgfeld's tried to get custody, but the court ruled in favor of the father. >> just trying to get back to our normal lives. we won't. we never will be what we were ten years ago.

it's changed each of us, but we are working it, trying to get back to normal. >> reporter: or something like it. >> a big word that always hangs over is closure. i'm not sure what that means. >> paige was kidnapped. >> reporter: there were difficult moments for them during the murder trial. the first time they heard the frightened voice mail messages of her children. >> hi, mom. you said you would be back last night and you are not back today. bye. >> that was the hard part. >> that was the hardest for me. >> there is almost a recognition that you are in trouble, please don't be in trouble. please come home to us. >> reporter: and then, there was the day planner, when the sweet, mundane details of her life were made real once more. the family night, soccer games, the dance resitals and birthday

parties and library visits, they were all there. the precious, chaotic rhythms of a family that once was. proved there was a time when all was as it should be. proof, also, that time is gone, forever. that's all for this edition of "dateline." we'll see you again next friday at 9:00, 8:00 central. of course i'll see you each night for nbc "nightly news." i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, good night.

water woes, we have seen a wet start to the weekend but it is not a total washout. fire fallout tonight. three people are facing charges for this inferno on the interstate. the new way terrorists are trying to get explosives on to airplanes. rainy roadblocks. the wet water made it very difficult for drivers today. area streets were flooded. the creeks in your neighborhood could be filling up. a viewer sent us this video of a creek in bucksou