>> this isishe story of two women, drawn for different reasons to the sun. to the brighghlighgh. to the blue water. both chase that promise of success. both saw what can go wrong. >> it was a gorgeous sunny dayay in newport beach, california. the last of 4th of july weekend.

eight passenger bubucalled the green machine, marvelling as a school of dolphins, when they came across the unexpecteded >> newport beach. >> the captain radioed the coast guard thatats s boat was circling out of control nearby. apparently fell off the boat. >> the man in the water was frananc. >> does he still look like he's pretty distraughf? >> absolutely. very. >> his name was eric beckler. nowhere to be found. >> just laying on his boogie board and laying. >> can you make out any words?s?s?

words. >> a a time now that the unit should be on t t scene. >> a stunning end to what began as a perfect day. this newport beach couple was s celebrating g eir wedding anniversary and peggy just turning 38. >> it was her birthday, so she was in good spirits. >> linda was one of the friends thth invited to a big party a couple of days earlier. >> she was talking about how much she loved eric, howowreat life is. >> and maybe life was great. because peggy had it all. her story beginsnsn a small town, dexter, new mexico, this is where peggy made her entrance. >> i've often said t tt she was born winking at the doctor and swinging on ththchandleries.

from the very day she was born. >> she was never still. >> she danced, sang, plalad sportsts and it seemed, nothing could hold her back. >> she had scoliliis as a kid. she had to wear a brace around the clock. >> just a terrible burden for a young kid like that to bear. but it alslsmotivated her. >> it really did. >> peggy's'soctor tataed to her about a career in phphical therapy. she volunteerereand loved it. >> she made up her mind right then she wanted to be a physical therapist and she wanted to move to california and be a b butiful so she did. >> a farmer's daughter with big dreams, so peggy left the small town of dexter for sunny california, and settled in that's where she met glenda, who was also from new mexico a a they immediately hit it off. >> peggy was probably one of the most gregarious people i had ever met.

griffin to establish herself as a successful physical therapist. she had almost everything she wanted. >> she did want to find a guy. >> and the clock was tickingng little bit. >> it was. >> and then one day on the beach, you f fnd somebody for her. >> we did. so one afternoon on a weekend, peggy called me and said what are you doing. i said i'm going to go down and watch dave play volleyball on the beach. >> dave was glenda's husband. >> i asked her if she wantededo come down and she said absolutely. she immediately spotted eric and she said who's that. >> eric in his early 20s, was a lking commercial for the california beach life. >> i'm going to guess when she notices the guy playing beach volleyball, he is good-looking and great shape. >> indeed he was. >> handsome.

>> and he was available. he was also eight years younger. >> was that t problem for either one ofofhem? >t was not a problem for either one of them.

>> the unimaginable happened. >> the unimaginable happened. >> malal distraught, said his wife feleloverboard. >> it was a boating accident, , said eric, and the coast guard agaged. something they see all too often. but soon, secrets emerged that would make s s speople wonder. what really happened to peggy beckler. >> when we come back. >> i thought they would find her. >> maybe alive. >> i did, because she is a fabulous swimmer. >> where was peggy, and what had gone wrong on that boat? >> i had b bn crying and face is red and i was up set. >> there would be a sea of questions to comom >> you thought peggy faked her death?otal care helps prevent cavities, strengthens teeth

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it is said nothing more beautitil than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline. this was supposed to be something like that. a romantnt outing, an anniversary and gift h hplanned for his wife peggygybut turned into something else anannow peggy was gone. >> the coast guard immediately unched a search, b b by nightfall, no sign of peggy, alive or otherwise.

june. >> he says we e n't find peggy. and i said what do you mean you can't find her? where is she? what are you trying to tell me? >> eric told j je peggy was drivivg the boat, towing him on a body board, , en all of a sudden, a wave w w w him out. he came up from ununr the water, he said, he could no longer see peggy inside the boat. >> we thought t e would be finding her, because we really just thohoht she would swim out of it. >> you seeeeeggy was quite at home in the water. growowg up, it was the only time she didn't have to wear the back brace and she became a very accomplished swimmer. >> she wouldn't panic. she would swim. because she loved the water. >> t t next morning, june and glenn marshall were on the first flight out to california. peggy had been missing almost 24 hours. >> of course, the ocean is just bigger, bigger, bigger than you

mexicoco >> peggy's friend glenda, tried to stay optimistic. >> i thought they would find her. >> maybe alive. >> i did, because she is a fabulous swimmer. >> she went to the beckler house to see eric. >> how did he look? >> hysterical. he looked up set as he would be, one would expect. >> she was the best person. >> this video from local news shows a devaststed eric. it was now day two of the search for peggy, still nothing. the next day, the coast guard

eric beckler could barely speak. >> what did you take with you? >> we had a couple of bags and a cooler. we wanted to see if we couldldee catalina, , t it was so hazy, so peggy, you know, it was too o hazy, we shouldn't go too far out. >> eric told the coast guard he tried to body board on the way t. >> eric said they stopped on the water to enjnj some margaritas peggy had made and wanted to try e body board again. eric was being pulled on the board.

you know, just couldn't hold on. the boat was jususgoing circles. the boat kept going farther and farther away. and i couldn't see any other boats, and i was screaeang. and looking around. it was my faulul if i could only see her again. >> and so peggy beckler was simply gone. maybe even within sight of the same beach that spawned her rriage. eric seemed devastated, fearing his wife was dead. >> i was sure theyeyould find her. it would turn out well. >> not just because peggy was a strong swimmer. everyone knew that. linda knew more, about her daughter-in-law. >> you thought what, peggy faked her death, or disappeared

>h-huh. >> coming up, peggy's secret. what was it? >> stopped me on the stairway and she said i have to talk to you. and enter, the bikini model. >> she was just a hot number, as they say. >> how would she figure into all of this, when "dateline" continues. announcer: todd's a great guy. i mean, look at him. what. a. sweetheart. attaboy. wait, todd, what are you doing? how totally selfish and un-toddlike of you.

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a brilliant pacific ocean sun set, closed out day three of the search for peggy beckler, and evennhough familynd frieies tried to remain hopeful, reality was slowly starting to set in. and i i was painful. >> at thth point, you didn't think hee was alive any more? >> i kept thinkinghat she was, but you know, how couou she, you know, that length off time. >> unless, of course, whaha

the coast guard convected a re reenactment at sea. they couldn't do it. >> they said it doesn't appear to be feasible to them given the sea conditions. that's when the coast guard called the orange cnty sheriff'f' office. . >> detective shawn murphy was put on the case. >> they weren't eveve to duplicate what was ahead by eric thatat his wife was tossed off by a wave. >> ifpeggy's disappearance w w no accident, hur fee's job was to find out what did happen. detectives s srted by re reinterviewing eric and asking him about his relationship with peggy. >> he said his marriage was good, no problemssith it. >> you didn't take his word for it. >> no, in our game, we don't take anyone'e' word into anything. we looked into it. >> they met with the improbably named, kobe laker, eric's best friend and kobe backed him up. >> terrific marriage, no problems whatsoever.

solid, there were questions about peggy,t least according to linda beckler, eric's mother. linda says peggy told her something in confidence. just before she disappeared. >> she stoppede on the stairway as i was leaving and she said i have to talk to you. she saiai i'm afraid i'm going to jail. >> according to court documents, about a year before peggy disasaeared, the couple sold their physical therapy business to another company. but theytayedd on as employees. then just four months before peggy vanished, the becklers were fired, amid allegations they had over buildilled medicare for over $1 million. vanished. >> i startedhinking how jail. >> and she wondered if peggy hadad somehow staged her own disappearance.

>> was peggygy beckler capable of commititng white color crime, medicare overbilling? >> in my opinion, no. but if you're wrong about that,,hen maybe the idea that she faked her death to escape possible prosecution, wouldld than - -maybe that's more plausible. > white color crime and faking your deathnd leaving your family and youou c cldren arere two separate issues. >> glendndsaid peggy a dorddored her children and would nevev abandon them. >> i would say that people who have never been in the inside of a courtroom or jail cell, sometimes do pretty crazy things en they relelieds that might happenalize that might happen to them. >> i believe that, but not peggy. >> she did telll the d d dtives they were having some sues, like how peggy was busy with

occupied on the volleyball court. >> she confided in me. they were having some financial trouble. >> eric and p pgy seemed determined to work everything out. but now peggy was gone a a eric was a single dad with three kids under the age of four. and a new playeye was about to enter the story. >> you were drawn to eric right away? >> yes. >> like countless young women before her, tina had drop dead looks and hollywood dreams. she had done some bikini modeling and had a small part on "bay watch nights." but that turned out to be the peek of her career.. soon, sheound herself slippinin into the darker side of showbiz. she startedoing drugs and lost custody of her twowo children bebeuseef itit fell for a succession of guy

>> i mean, i had an ex-boyfriend put a gun to my head, i was held over the balcony by myy neck. >> tina, who w w broke a a n nr rock bottom, was desperate. >> i got down on my knees and said i'll do whatever youou want, lordrdrdust help me. i can't do this any morere i need to you show me a sign. >> and the universe sent t u eric beckler. >> the next y, i meet him and all my problems are gone. >> she had taken a modeling g, eye candy at a trara show. eric was there promoting his new business. it was three months to the day since peggy disappeared. >> he w w handsome. >> so there was some serious chem tree from the beginning. >>yes, we went out that night actually. he asked me out thatightnd i moved in the next day, really fast. >ou don't wait, do you? >> nono not then. >> eric liveded in a giant house

>> i had nevev been spoiled like that. i remember thinking ias like juliaa roberer in pretty woman. >> she was moved by eric's story. >> he said his wife died in a tragic boat accident a ahat they were never able to find her. >> she couldn't help noticing how great he was withh his kids. >> heould get on t t floor and play with them. i thought he was a great dad. >> she was eager to help whwhe. >> ihought they lost their mom, they need someone to stepp in and not be their momo but do things their mom would do for em. >> and when they took the kids to visit the parents, thereas a lot of animosity. >> there was a hot young woman daughter.

new woman in his life. >> just a hotnumberer as they say. and she was cohabitating with him right after this horrible boating accident with his wife. >> so murphyy arranged to bump into tina. >> said hey, if you have any information about thisisoating accident involving eric, your boyfriend, just give us a call, and i gave her my card with my number on it. >> nothihi came of . tina didn't call. but someone else did. >> coming up, thehe best friend has second thoughts. kobe laker goes undercover. >> i protecteded you. iasically made you like lie a saint. >> and the new girlfriendds about to see this casee in a a whole new light. >> i took a videotape in and i i said oh, my gosh whaha is this.his other level of clean to it. it just kinda like...wipip everything clean. 6x cleaning

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the o shawn murphy, it sounded more than suspicion. taking up with gorgeous r r head, just three monthsftft his wife was lost at sea. but murphy didn't have much more than a gnaw in his gut until hisis phone rang. >> we got a call from kobe's lawyer saying he wanted to have an interview with kobe. >> kobe laker, ic's best friend and volleyball buddy. he told d dectives the marriage was great. now he had a different story. >> eriri has told me on several occasions that he is sick and tired of his wife and he would ll me t tt he just couldn't take it any re, hee was tired of it. >> a aut seven months before peggy vanished, kobe says he and eric had a c cversation that kobe describes as hauauing him

>> ericc pasasd me about what i thought of the idea of him killing his wife, and i -- i was in shock. i didn't know what to say. he told me that he was making her take him out to the ocean and dumpipi him in a barrel. >> when he saw there was a boating accident and sheas missing, you knew right then and there, he knene he killed his wife. he lied to us because he panicked and he was afraid and didn't know what do. >>etectives convinced kobe to wear a wirere and to meter rick at a restaurant in orange county. eric had no idea that police were listening in, even so, he stuck to his story that peggy's death was a terrible accident. >> i w w there. i know what happenen. it's so hard for me to understand, you know, there could be any other -- people ulul think anything else. >> you never said, hey, lookok

[ bleeping ] but i'm innocent. anything. do i have to say it every week. >> kobe tried again. >> i protected you. i basically made you look leak a saint in the interview i had with the detectives. >> a dead end. but detectives were now convinced that eric killed his wife. >> evenn though he didn't lead to anything, that conveveation with kobe, that got you from suspiciouso knowing. >> it moved it over. we knew we had a homicide. >> but knowing it and proving it were two very different things. >> you didn't get the process at the crime scene for almost a week. >> right, right. so that wasn't good. that handed the investigation. >> the boat,, said detective murphy warks murphy, was pretty clean. they found blood, just one drop, under one of thee cushions, but not enough to determine whether it was human bloooo

not enougug evidence to arrest him for murder, or even prove that a murder occurred. peggy's close friend glenda killer. >> there is no way eric would have done that. no way. >> tina felt the same way. >> i felt the police were trying to frame an innocent man. no way, the way h h treats me, no way he could have hurt his wife. >> t ta alsls noticic he kept photos of peggy in every room in the house. he could not imagine a man that killed his wife would want to see her face everywhere. >> eric was the answer for your problems for a while, wasnsn he? >> yeah, he was. >> so you weren't too anxious to question him. >> no, i believed him. >> afterbout six months. >> he says will you mary me? >> and you say. >> i said yes. >> you don't say no a lot. >> i mean, he trereed me so good. >> she also admits, she newer riri was due to collect more

money, once he was cleared in his wife's disappearance. >> and everything would work out. >> everything would work out, yep. >> well, you were wrong. i was definitely wrong. >> they had been a couple for two years. still, not married, but living together off and on. e night,t,inin was showingng eric some of her old modelingg shots and tv appeararces. >> we werereooking at my picture, but i put the video in and i was fast forwarding it and it just stopped. >> purely by chance, she accidentally recorded a news report about peggy's disappearance. >> the whole screen was just a picture of her face and i said exex , my gosh what, is this. and she turned to erer. >> he turned white. like he lost the color in his face. she he saiai how did you get that? >> his reaction troubled r. he hit play and it got worst. the news report did not match

about peggy's disappearance. >> he told me there was three to four-foot w wes, it was choppy out there. >> but on the report she went missing there were only two-foot waves and the weather was described as eal. >> he lied.. he lied all this time to me. you know, and he was just really quiet. >> sitting next to you. >> signaturetting next to me. >> i yelled at him and i said why is this different than what you told me. he j jtt like got really quiet. >> then she says eric b bklkl told her a new version of what happened when peggy fell off the boat. he thinks she hit a wake and fell off. he said, and iidn't get to her. and i said didn'n' get to her or you didn't want to get to her. he said, at first he told me that he didn't get to her. then later he changed it and he said i could have helped her but i didn't.

from what he told police. >> right. >hilling as that sounded, tina feareddt s sll wasn't the whole story. she was determined to get thehe rest, but like a career in showbiz, you haveeo be careful what you wish for. coming up -- >> i'm a aaid ofyou. >> nobody knono anything but you. >> from model and actress to undercover agent, a secret operation to learn the truth. >> this is where it gets really scary. >> when "dateline" continues.itit to geico because you could save hundreds on car insurance. ah, perfect. valet parking. hello! here's t t keys. and,d,h, go easy on my ride, mate. hm, wouldn't mind some of that wellington... to see how much you could save on car insurance, go to geico.com. ah! (car alarm sounds)

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tina thought she found happiness with eric beckler, titi he changed his story about what happened the day his wife disappeared in the ocean. >> y y didn't think about going to police? >> no. not yet. i just felt like he wasn't telling me the truth all the way. i was always afraid because he was always with me. >> afraid, yet they continued too see each other, sleep together, and --bout two weeks after eric changed history, he and tina went to a club and took the drug ex t t see. >> we're both just laying in the bed and staring at thth ceilingng together.

him, i said oh, my god, you hit her over the head. he said how did you know that. >> the fact is, shehe h hn't known. caca i i intuition or the effect of the drug or a random guess, but it was an opening, and tina barreleld through. >> i said you need to tell me the truth.h. he is calmly talking to me and he saiai i'm going to tell you the truth. we had this huge party so everybody could see how happy we were together. >> a a their friends were there. witnesses to the happy marriage. then a couple of days later, she says, eric told her he took peggy out to sea on that renend boat, and although peggy didn'n' weights. >> and then he e es, then i walked up behind r, i s sd didn't feel a thing. i said what do you mean? he said he hit her over t t head with a weight. everywhere.

he got rid of his wiwi. >> he j jt -- he did her wrists and her ankles togogher so she was completely bent in half. he took the two trash bagss he had and put her body inn it and put the weights and tied it down to the a rope and threw her in. >> two years after she vanished, a stunning confession. >> and you go to sleep after a man -- >> no, actctlly then we have sex. and i felt like i had to do it, because i think that made him feel like i was going to be quiet and you knowow that he was, i don't know, sealing the deal with me or something. >> but the deal was not sealed. not with anyone. e case was still open,nd detectivesesad been keeping an eye honor rick -- on erirind tina all along. >> we knew itit was going to go sideways. >> because when they go

>> and that's what happened, two weeks after eric's apparent confession. a neighbor called 911 after hearing yelling. when police arrived, eric was gone, but tina was angry, and she still had the business card detective murphy had g gen her almost two years earlier. >> i kbrabedgrabbed my partner and we met up witit tina. >> she toldd him what eric said. a big break, yes, but not enough for an arrest. tina was pretty far from an ideal witness. detectives knew they would need more than her woror against eric. so they a aed tina. >> would you be willing to wear a wire. i said yes. >> why would yououurn in a guy who had basasally takenou from a tererble life andnd given you a great life. >> because iouldn't live with myself. i mean, no way..

r car, in her purse, and on hehe body. and tina arranged a meeting. she toldric that after the domestic violence caca, sheriff's homicide detectives came in to ask questions about eric. it was to get their stories ststight in case thehe cops questioned her again. tina wired up, picked upper rick from his home a a drove to a staurant called el toreito. >> were you worried? >> not really. i was w wried that i wouldn't get him to confess. >> i had two stories. >> no story to tell. you you weren't there. it was an accident. >> once inside the restaurant, tina tried to getter rick to repeat the details of peggy's death. eric wouldn't gothere.e. >> don't worry a aut it. details are not important. >> so tina tried to get him to

>> i mean, how do i know you wouldn't get so mad at me. > tina, i've been way more mad at you. >> you knono how could you do that. >> i don't know. >> no confession, but not a denial either. >> are you thinking to yououelf at that point, that's it, i got him. >> i honestly thought it was good, buttill thought it wasn't enough. >> but you do know, there was a reason. >> rememeer, peggy had a life insurance policycyorth more than $2 million. >> again, sheried to get him to give her a reason. >> what was it about her that mama you want to -- >> i felelike i was backed in a corner, like she was gonna steal the kids. >> and eric tried to reassure tina. >> i would neverer do that. >> she was good. she was really good. >> but the drama wasn't over. tina l lt the restaurant with eric, still wired . >> this iss where it gets scary.

and he says to me let me drive. >> that was not part of the plan. >> we lose sight of them. >> in a movie, this is where you hear t t sound of gun shuts. >> that would not have been good. >> in the car, with eric behind the whwhl, tina cranked up her acacng skillsls and -- >> just tell -- i haven't talked about it for over a year and of ma. >> y y're making me e. >> i'm not making you do anything. you tell them anything. >> i don't care at this point. >> tell them what? >> what? >> whatever you [ bleeping ]. >> don't you talk too me that way. >> now she t ted to getter rick out of the car. >> pull my car over. >> i will. >> now. >> i don't trust you. i'm afraid of you. >> i'm just -- all i'm asking -- yoyo donon have to -- nobody knows a athing but you.

>> tina hopped in the driver's seat. >> meet me at my house. that's why i'm going to be. >> and just like that, tina drove awayy from her old life. >> i ithe end, you got enough. >> oh, absolutely, yeah? understand you're under arrest. >> he was arrested and charged with peggy's murdrd. >> what was it like to get thehe call that he had been arrested? >> i just trembled all over. i couldn't really believe it. >> but two weeks after eric's arrest made headlinene tina made some headlines of herer own. put the whole case in jeopardy. coming up -- >> i did notommit this crime. >> eric beckler on trial, and tina's credibility, that's on trial too. >> do you think anybody was -- >> no. >> without thattstatement, they don't have anything that makes this a homicide. i'm ken griffey, sr., i'm ken griffey, jr., and we're proud to be men who speak up about advanced prostate cancer.

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beach volleyball is a kid's game played by grown-ups, murder for profits is played only by adults. and it's for keeps. prosecutors believed eric ckler was trying to be successful atboth. detectives put him in jail, but then two weeks after ericic arrest, came this headline in the local paper. witness inurder case doubts suspect's guilt. tina, who had worn a wire andnd helped police nail eric, now said maybe he didn't kill her. >> thehe kids lost their mom and they're probably going to lose their dad for a long time. i felt guilty.

about to marry. >> he tried to hang himself with the sheets. >> that was enough to make you ththk twice. >> i didn't want him to die. >> you felt guilty. >> i felt guilty. >> you tried to roll the whole thing back. >> yeah, i did. >> butheaid she always believed he was guilty. and in the winter of 2000, eric beckler went ontrial. the star witness, tina, a witness who was to be fair, compromised, not just about her waffling and her ownheckered past, but one detail in the story tina says eric told her. defense attttney says it's critical. >> you expect if pepey's head was caved in by 35 pound dumbbells, there would be blood. >> quite a lot of it. >> everywhere. and there wasn't. >> on the stand, tina tried to defend herself. >> i'm a horribleitness when it comes to looking at me on per. >> do you thihi anybody would believe you?

you know, i knew that i told exactly what he had said to me, and i knew that i was d dng the right thing. i honestly didn't care what anybody thought. >> then there was the conversation she had recorded at the restaurant. eric's own words. the jury heard all of thth. >> nobody knows anything but you. >> barnett offered his own explanation. >> i argued the reasoso he said it is to shut h h up, to calm herr down. >> in any event, the defense said, eric never said on tape thatate hit peggy. the only person who heard him say that was tina, a drug user, a woman with h fraud conviction on her record. >> without that statement, they have a lot of sir couplecircumstantial evidence. >> a ather theory. >> she was under a great deal of pressure and could easily be distracted.

she she rarely drank, but she did on that day, could contribute to a lack of care in drdring the boat. >> you don't thihi peggy beckler faked her death? you think she's dead. >> i do not think she faked her death. >> do you think she died accidentally and her body hasn't been found. >> that's right. prosecutor's argued it was eric's dodog. >> he had 3.5 million reasons for killing her. and that'shat h h stood to gain if he had gotten away with it. >> he e d a weight t te back at home that appeaead to be incomplete. they believe he used the missing weight to killeggy and sink her bobo. >> what about the blood?? a luminol test, a lot of blood

up, and of course, there was tina herself despite her past and criminal record and h h drug use, she rang true to you? >> yes,s, absolutely. >> who would the jury believe? and would tina's past make a difference? >> it doesn't matter what did before or after i met him, you know. what i did with myself has nothing to do with what he did. >> after seven dada, the verdict. guilty of first degree murder. >> you are thrilled the man did it is behinin bars, but noboby wins in this situation. nobody. the children now have no mothehe and no father. so there is no winner. >> but the jury did not believer rick killed peggy forhe money. he wasound not guilty of murder for financial g gn. his at his sentencing, he addressed the judge. >> the accident was a horrible tragedy. it affects o o familieieand a as

hurting, my family is also hurting, because i did not commit this crime. >> t t judge sentencncd him to life without the possibility of parole. >> linda thinks the verdict was wrong. >> is it possible you don't know your son as well as you think you do. >> oh, baloney. i know him like the back of my hand i. >> i could understand a mother not wanting to believe her son committed a crime. >> listen, if my kid w w a druggy, gopher, thief, rapist. >> murderer? >> whatever, well, yeah, but he isn't. he isn't. >> peggy beckler's body has never been found. >> you want to know what happened? you still don't want to hear murder. >> at least you knkn. >> that's still pretty hard to take. and even with all of this information, we don't have a body. >re youll right? >> yeah. >> you discover you w we

>> oh, yeah. >> peggy's mother and sister ended up raising her kids. and one more person who was stronger than she thought. tina. >> you're leading a different life these days. >> completely different life. >> she gave updrugs, married a nice guy, and now she is a stay at homom mom with five kids. hollywood happypy ending, no. somememes real life is better. >hat's all for now. i'm lester holt. thanks for jning us. this sunday morning, the sudden deathf justice antonin scalia and the rarest of events, a vacancy on the supreme court in the middle of a presidential election. how the fight over his replacement could paralyze the senate and all of washington. we'll hear from four republican presidential candidates, donald

hn kasich. plus, that wild republican debate last night. >> you are a principle -- >> you are the single biggest liar. >> when you point to his own record, he screams liar, liar, liar. >> i think we're fixing to lose the election to hillary clinton if we don't't stop this. >> also, bernie sanders gets a taste of what he may face as h h trieso win a aican-amemecan voters. >>_v i've said black 50 times, all right. that's the 51st time. >> can hillary clinton win by making this campaign a referendum on anders, not herself? joining me this sunday morning for inside and analysis are gwen ifil, chris, ron fournier and kathleen parker, columnist for "the washington post." welcome to sunday. it's "meet the press." from nbc news in washington, this is "meet the press with chucktodd".

it hasn't happened since 1968. a vacancycycy battle on the supreme court at this stage of an election year. we learned late yesterday of the sudden and tragic death of supreme court justice antonin scalia. intellectual and conservative thought leader, a man president obama last night called one of the most consequential judges and thinkers to serve on the supreme court. scalia's death of course is a rsonal tragedy for his family and colleagues, but it is also bursting with major political implications. what will his loss due to the balance of power on the court? will the repububcan senate even consider someone nominated by president obama? how long will thihi vacancy paralyze the cocot, and perhaps the u.s. senate? and at last night's republican presidential debate in south carolina the candidatt made clear where they stand on this issue. >> i do not believe the president should a aoint someone. and it's not unprecedented. >> there's no doubt in my mind that barack obama will not have a consensus pick. >> the senate needs to stand strong and say we're not going to give up the u.s. supreme court for a generation.

mcconnell and everybody else to stop it. it's called delay, delay, delay. >> we're going to hear from four of the leading republican presidential candidatete this morning, donald trump, ted cruz, marco rubio and john kasich. the democratic candidides meanwhile were alsoquick to spond to the vacancy. >> supreme court of thehe united states has ninin members, not eightht we need thaha ninth member. >> elections have consequences. thth president has a responsibibity to nominate a new justice. and the senate has a responsibility to vote. >> we'll also be taking a close look at the democratic race and how hillary clinton's team is working overtime to try to turn this contest from b bng a referendum on her to a rrerendum on bernie sanders. a lot to getto, but we start with the impact and the implications of scalia's death