i couldn't comprehend what was happening. i couldn't sleep. losing my husband. it's an image that is never going to go away. >> reporter: a father out for a walk with his son. >> i heard shots, very loud shots. >> reporter: the child survives. the father doesn't. >> all he was asking, was, "honey, tell me how's the baby? is the baby ok?" >> it was an execution? >> yes. >> reporter: the killers never caught. >> waiting for a phone call. waiting for a break. nothing was coming in. >> reporter: then one month later another shooting. the victim? the dead man's partner. and no question this time who the killer was. >> i panicked because i thought he was reaching for his gun. and that's when i shot. >> reporter: was it

self-defense? >> the lead detective kept tellin' us 'everyone's life is in danger. >> reporter: or was it something else? >> it's a lousy excuse to kill somebody. >> reporter: what secrets were stored on this tape? >> when he come out, i was ready. >> reporter: villain? >> i just couldn't believe what i heard. >> reporter: or victim? >> hug your family, kiss your children. you don't know when you're going to lose them. >> reporter: i'm lester holt and this is "dateline." here's keith morrison with "miami heat." 3 f2 >> estamos con el calor de miami the day's heat retreated, parks filled up, soccer games were called to order. orlando mesa loved the evening ritual. he and his 18-month old son, noah. orlando doted on the boy. >> he was a hands-on dad. >> reporter: and noah's mom,

cindy, was there to record it all. >> my husband was an outdoor person. so, you know, he was always doin' things with noah. >> reporter: and so, on a spring evening in the gathering dusk, orlando walked behind noah, who rolled along on his toy car. a security camera watched them toddle down the sidewalk. they disappeared around a corner. >> that was the worst day of my life.ter: what happened? well, that's still being debated, in a way. a chain of events, certainly. of which a father-son evening stroll may have been the first. but certainly not the last. but, a moment first to fill you in. cindy, or janepsy, the name she was born with in cuba, came to miami as a teenager. she was bright, and ambitious. she learned english pretty much from scratch, became a hair

dresser, experimented with her own, quite frequently, as you will see. it was back in 2006. cindy carballo had been invited to a super bowl party. lots of people there, in the crowd, and the noise. she didn't notice orlando mesa, but he noticed her. >> according to him, it was love at first sight. [ laughter ] >> reporter: did you feel that way, too? >> not at first. >> reporter: and then, after that super bowl party, she got very interested in that funny, handsome guy named orlando, the mechanic with the wild curly hair. >> he definitely was a jokester. so he made me laugh. >> reporter: orly, as she called him, was as ambitious as she was. he didn't just fix cars, he bought a couple of lunch trucks, and then he branched out into real estate development. having tried marriage once, cindy was reluctant to try again. but orlando, not a man inclined

to entertain doubts. and one weekend he invited cindy to a barbeque party. >> he surprised me. he knew that i loved mariachis. and then all of a sudden, all these mariachis, they come in and singin', and he gets on his knees and he proposed. so it was exciting. >> reporter: that's a day you don't forget. >> never. >> reporter: so in short order, they got married, and had a baby, and became a family. why'd you pick noah as a name? >> they had a book on baby names. and i saw the name noah. and it said it meant new beginning. so i loved it. >> reporter: so it was. a new beginning. as amply recorded as any new parents could make it. but, if this was the beginning,

then what was this? that early evening in april 2008, orlando and noah heading down the street with his toy car. they turned the corner. out of camera range now. and then -- >> i heard shots, very loud shots. and i went outside. that's when i saw my husband, full of blood cryin' for help. i'm sorry, it's an image that is never going away. i didn't see my son at first. so i thought the worst. i went crazy because i thought my son was kidnapped. >> reporter: then from the front yard near where orland neighbor called out. >> and she said, "no i have your son." my brave neighbor, she took my son from my husband's arms. when i ran to grab my son, my son was shot, full of blood. >> reporter: neighbors called 911 -- >> a baby's been shot. >> reporter: in the distance, as the caller spoke to 911, a woman

screamed. it was cindy. >> how old is the baby? [ screaming ] >> oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. >> reporter: cindy held her son for dear life. orlando tried to speak. >> he was askin' was, "honey, tell me how's the baby. is the baby okay?" >> reporter: then an agonizing decision, ride in the ambulance with her baby, or stay by her dying husband. >> of course i was torn in two. but my main concern was my baby. so i jumped immediately in the ambulance. >> reporter: as cindy sped away to the hospital with noah, the paramedics worked on orlando where he fell, but it was too late. they could not save him. detective felix guadarrama of the north miami police department went to the hospital, to check on the boy, and deliver the bad news. >> that's the toughest part of my job. >> reporter: how did she take it? >> she obviously became even more upset, yeah, everybody

started crying. it was just horrible to hear the news like that. >> reporter: but little noah would make it. would be ok, thanks to his father's selflessness. >> my son was shot in his arm and in his leg. but you know his father protected him. >> reporter: held him and covered him? >> when they were shooting at him, he just lifted my son up. >> reporter: keep 'em away from his body. >> yes. >> reporter: what do you miss most about him? >> bein' with him all the time. >> reporter: that was when your life made sense. >> that's what i knew. us together with our baby. >> reporter: but now orlando was gone. and little noah was wounded and suffering. so she took him home to care for him there, in a house that felt empty. >> i couldn't sleep. seein' my baby suffer with the

wounds. losing my husband. he was very loved by everyone in my family. >> reporter: clearly, however, there was someone who didn't feel the same way about orlando mesa. and before long, said cindy, she and the north miami police came to the very same conclusion about who that might be. cindy points to someone she thinks is a possible suspect and begs for help in bringing her husband's killer to justice. >> hug your family. kiss your children. you don't know when you are going to lose them.

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>> reporter: they were just going for a walk, on a pleasant miami evening and yet, when her husband was gunned down and killed, her 18 month old son wounded, cindy carballo didn't quite get it right away, that her's was a particular kind of nightmare. this was an execution. what does it do to your head when you think that? somebody wanted him dead. >> i couldn't comprehend what was happenin'. i was just in pain that i had lost my husband. >> reporter: three days after the shooting, cindy went before tv cameras at police headquarters. >> hug your family, kiss your children, you don't know when you're going to lose them.

>> reporter: holding her son, noah, his injured arm wrapped in bandages. she appealed for help to find the killers. >> the most little information that you know please come forward. >> reporter: police had urged her to make the appeal hoping that all that emotion would help generate some much needed leads. though there was one lead, both amazing and ultimately frustrating. right there just below the roof line of cindy and orlando's house was a security camera. >> we had video footage that we obtained from the victim's home. >> reporter: that's the camera that captured father and son heading out of the house and down the street on that last walk they took together. then, watch this -- a car barrels up to the curb. two men burst out, guns drawn, run around the corner, out of camera range. that's where they opened fire on orlando and noah. within fifteen seconds, they're back in the car, speeding away.

but they're not done. >> he was on the ground, they come back by and now, you have -- a second -- rally of shots. >> reporter: it was an execution? >> yes. >> reporter: nobody could identify the two you can see on the video. best witnesses could say was -- they were african american males with dreadlocks. one caller said she thought she saw a third man in the car besides the two shooters. >> i think there was about three people in the car. >> reporter: they found the car eventually. abandoned. it had been stolen. and the evidence trail cooled dramatically. as for what the motive was, no one seemed to know. >> it was shockin'. because my husband was very much liked. he didn't have any known enemies. >> reporter: was that true? detectives at the north miami police department threw out a wide net. and, they got some help from cindy. >> when you're workin' a homicide, you -- you wanna reach out to the people who were close

to the victim. >> reporter: yeah. >> spouses, best friends, business associates. you want to get as much information. are there beefs? are there bad businesses? >> reporter: that's when cindy thought about her husband's new business partner, a man named ilan nissim. the guy he got involved with in real estate development. >> when the police questioned me and they said "who are his friends and partners, did he have any incident, that's when i said, "well, you know, there was an incident with this business venture. >> reporter: cindy met ilan nissim and his girlfriend, neketa, at a birthday party for their daughter who was noah's age. and then, said cindy, orlando told her later, not long before he was murdered, that ilan lost a big packet of cash orlando entrusted him with. >> my husband gave ilan nissim money to purchase lots to get in the business. >> reporter: a lotta money?

>> my knowledge was $180,000. and there was a robbery and the money was gone. >> reporter: 180,000 lost? in cash? that's the sort of thing that makes a cop sit up and take notice. tell me about the links between nissim and orlando. what were they doing together? >> some small real estate, from what we understand. >> reporter: but -- all these sound like businesses on the up and up. >> yes. >> reporter: cindy began to suspect that nissim must have had reason to want her husband dead. but as for what he may have done. >> i don't think she could say -- she just kept saying that he had to be involved. and there was an issue over money and it was just, like, her gut feeling this guy was involved. >> reporter: and then, the 20th of may. one month to the day after the murder, the investigation had stalled. cindy was at home, alone, packing to move out of the house she shared with orlando.

what happened? well, sometimes it can take a while to figure out who did what to whom. coming up, a knock, a shot and a mystery. >> he made a move and i panicked because i thought he was reaching for his gun. >> when "dateline" continues. lyrica significantly relieves fibromyalgia pain and improves physical function. with less pain, i feel better. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever tired feeling or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol

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>> reporter: burying a loved one is never easy. burying a loved one who was murdered is incomprehensible. and to make it somehow worse, said cindy, police told her that her suspicions about that guy ilan nissan were well placed and

they gave her a warning. >> she kept tellin' us, this is a dangerous individual. >> reporter: and then, this was pretty terrifying, said cindy, after the murder, nissam called her on the phone incessantly. >> he always inquired about the investigation. so i felt he wanted to keep me close for information if he was -- maybe a suspect. >> reporter: and on the day of orlando's funeral who should show up, but nissim himself. that's gotta be pretty bizarre, to have him at the funeral when you think he had your husband killed. >> it was. it was. i immediately told the lead detective in the case. >> reporter: the lead detective came to the funeral also. >> and she instructed us to act natural, not to let him suspect that we knew that he was the person.

>> reporter: and to keep taking nissim's calls. cindy thought she could help police solve the case. but there was a little more involved than a pure murder investigation. the feds were in on it now, said abbe rifkin, the prosecutor assigned to the murder case. >> they were looking at mr. nissim, as they were looking at her husband, as they were looking at other people who were allegedly in the drug business. >> reporter: the drug business? yes. all that missing cash. and orlando's three prior convictions for marijuana and cocaine possession. those things gave the crime the whiff of a classic drug hit. >> my husband unfortunately had a past. before i met him, before i married him. >> reporter: mind you, orlando's crimes were not exactly big time. he pleaded "guilty" to all those charges and served a few days in

jail. and though nissim also had a record, several assault convictions years earlier, when he was not yet 20, none of them had a thing to do with the drug trade. still, question was, had something happened to sour their partnership? just over three weeks after the murder, the police asked cindy to do more than just keep an eye on nissim. >> i was asked by the lead detective to maintain communication with him so i could work for them, wearing a wire, and help them catch this individual. >> reporter: a potentially dangerous thing to do, of course, wearing a wire, secretly recording conversations. still, cindy said she would do it. and on the advice of the lead investigator, said cindy, she bought a gun for the first time in her life. she also decided to move out of her house. but as for the wire? >> she never wore the wire. >> reporter: no, she did not. and the reason? it was may 20th, exactly one month after the hit on orlando mesa.

cindy was home alone packing to move. and suddenly, an unexpected guest was at her door said cindy. not just any guest, ilan nissim. way in, she said. peppered her with questions about her husband's business. >> he started askin' me about my husband's warehouse. and if i had my husband's keys. and i said, "i don't know where he keeps his keys." that's when he became aggressive. and he said that i knew more than what i was tellin' him. >> reporter: she watched in terror, she said, as he walked around the house. as he looked outside and saw that her dogs were securely leashed. unable to help her. and then, she said, it got very scary indeed. >> and he grabbed me. that's when he attacked me. i was able to get away from him. he reached out to grab me again. he scratched my neck. he ripped my shirt. he chased me through the house. >> reporter: cindy said she ran

to the living room where she kept her newly purchased gun. and nissim, right behind her, tripped on some bags she was packing. >> and when i turn around, he made a move. and i panicked because i thought he was reachin' for his gun. and that's when i -- i shot. and i ran outta the house. and i called 911. >> somebody just tried to kill me, and i fired. i ran to the streets, hurry up come! >> i need you to try to calm down so i can understand you. >> somebody tried to kill me. >> reporter: had she stopped him? were there others with him? she kept running. >> and she's frantically saying, "oh, they're chasing me, they're chasing me." >> reporter: back at the house, police found nissim on the floor. he was very dead. they finally caught up with cindy a few blocks away, drove her to headquarters. how did they treat you that day? >> they treated me very well. they were very nice.

after my statement, they told me that it was a justifiable self-defense. >> reporter: afterwards, the lead detective dropped cindy at her parent's house. >> and she told my family that i did the police a favor by taking out the trash. >> reporter: the next day, news reports quoted the police as saying nissim was a suspect in orlando's murder and that cindy was justified. shot him in self defense. but now, regardless of that, you had just killed somebody. you'd taken another human life. >> yes. >> reporter: that can't be ease rye to deal with. >> no, and -- and it felt unreal. it felt unreal. >> reporter: however, as you say, the police told you'd taken out the trash. and did they essentially leave you alone after that? >> they dropped me off at my house and they -- my family members had nothing to worry

about. >> reporter: you went on rebuilding your life. >> correct. >> reporter: but as they say, don't count your chickens. >> don't judge a book by its cover. was this a story of self-defense or revenge? >> i couldn't believe what i heard. yep. when you design the whole phone, all the parts work together as one amazing part. if it's not an iphone, it's not an iphone. ♪ it's an olive garden first, but it won't last long! create your own tour of italy, starting at $12.99. choose three of our nine most-loved dishes

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>> reporter: cindy carballo's husband had been murdered, her son wounded, and she had just killed the man she believed was responsible. it wasn't an easy load to put in the rear view mirror. but a few months after she killed ilan nissim --it was noah's second birthday. and cindy decided his happiness would come first. so she organized a party. pony rides, a pinata, the cake. cindy, remember, had always been an ambitious person. now that she was the family bread winner, in 2010, 2 years

after the murder she and a partner opened a clinic that specialized in managing pain, located in nearby broward county, just north of miami. she hired this man to help get the business going. his name is john friskey. >> i was sellin' her computers and helpin' her get set up. >> reporter: pain management clinics were popping up all over south florida just about then. and some of them were suspected of being so-called "pill mills", where unethical doctors got rich writing prescriptions for narcotics like oxycontin. >> in broward county, there was one hundred and some-odd pain clinics, which is believe it or not more than all the mcdonald's. >> reporter: detective rob weir was part of a d.e.a. task force set up to investigate these pill mills. and while cindy insisted she ran her clinic by the books, it came to the attention of the d.e.a. task force. >> we had received complaints on it. and so we send somebody in, see what we could do. >> reporter: and guess who the task force sent?

john friskey, the computer expert. he also happened to be a d.e.a. informant. >> every time i went in there, i wore a wire from the dea. >> reporter: when you wore the wire, what were >> my main goal was to get anything that would piece it together and prove it was a pill mill. >> reporter: he talked to cindy a lot. fishing, really, for what might be evidence of medical fraud. then one day, it was just over two years after cindy shot nissim, friskey got a very big surprise. >> made me very uncomfortable. i just wanted to leave. >> reporter: what happened? frisky asked cindy about her family and she launched into an amazing story about the shooting of ilan nissim. >> so i went through hell and back, you know? >> reporter: it was the story of how her husband was murdered and her son wounded, and how she suspected her husband's business partner, ilan nissim arranged it

all. and then she said, when she decided the police were never going to arrest him. >> i was like "i have to do something." "i can't let this go." "i won't let it go, okay?" an eye for an eye. i want his daughter to grow up without a father just like my son. >> reporter: and that's when a completely different story emerged about the day she shot nissim. a far cry from the one she told the police. nissim didn't barge into her house uninvited, she said. >> i knew what was gonna happen, and you know, i was shaking inside, but outside i was calm. >> reporter: she told friskey, she asked nissim to take down some speakers in her bedroom. and then she went to the living room and got her gun. >> and then when he come out, i was ready. he came out of that room. he said, "oh sh." one. two. five shots. he fell on the floor.

his phone still in his hand. "help." orly asked for help too. >> reporter: she didn't shoot him just once, she emptied her gun into him. john friskey simply wanted to find out if cindy was operating a pill mill. instead, it sounded like she had confessed to a much, much more serious crime. >> i went in the restroom. i called rob weir, dea agent, and i told him, "she just confessed to murder." "and she wants to go to lunch." and he said, "no, get-- just get outta there, make any excuse." "you're not goin' to lunch with her." >> reporter: friskey gave the tape to weir. >> and i'm like, "nobody could just flat out confess like that." "i just couldn't believe what i heard." >> reporter: detective weir contacted north miami police and prosecutor, abbe rifkin, who, it turned out, had her doubts all along about the story cindy told the cops. >> the persona that she tries to portray of being this poor,

little widow is completely belied by those tapes. >> i want his daughter to grow up without a father just like my son. >> reporter: nissim's daughter is a little girl named "imani." >> he really did love her. >> reporter: ever since nissim was shot, imani's mother, neketa roberts, had been hearing people say the man she loved was a killer. >> i couldn't see this person hurting anybody, or being this whoever they said he was. that's not the person that i knew. >> reporter: prosecutors put their case together. miami state attorney, katherine fernandez rundle, had to sign off and she did so without hesitation. >> revenge isn't tolerated anywhere in the system, even if it's understandable, and somebody might have some sympathy. >> reporter: there's kind of a push in that direction, isn't there? you ought to be able to kind of act out in your own defense. >> sometimes revenge is just an excuse, but it's a lousy excuse to kill somebody. you cannot do it. you will be held accountable. >> reporter: and the state of florida did hold cindy accountable.

just before christmas 2010, she was charged with first degree murder. >> coming up, there was a dead man, an apparent confession and a motive. but under florida law, was it murder? >> it was at that point in time that you shot him to protect yourself? >> yes, i did. i was in fear for my life. in my mind, he was there to kill me. >> when "dateline" continues. yogurt is creamy and delicious and has 12g of protein and 0 fat. i think i found the perfect snack! seriously, you'll love snacking on dannon oikos or it's free! mmm dannon. in the outback we're searing up our... new sirloin portabella. just $13.99 for a limited time. we let the bold flavors of the outback.

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>> reporter: words. what a lot of trouble they can be. >> he played my husband and he got played better. >> reporter: cindy carballo's words, recorded by d.e.a. informant john friskey, could put her away for life for first degree murder. but this being florida, she had a shot at getting the charge thrown out. the controversial stand your ground law. >> both sides are ready to proceed? >> reporter: if cindy could satisfy this judge that she had to use lethal force to protect herself from ilan nissim, she'd walk away free as a bird. if she couldn't, she'd go on trial for murder. watching in the gallery, nissim's girlfriend, neketa roberts, and their daughter, imani. >> are there any witnesses the defense needs to call at this time?

>> reporter: cindy would be the first, telling the judge that, yes indeed, a tape would tell the story of what happened. but not the undercover dea tape. that was nonsense, she said. the true tape, the one that told the honest story of what she went through that day back in 2008, was her recorded 911 call. after she shot nissim. >> oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. >> reporter: that was the true cindy, the defense said, tearing out of the house, hysterical, panic-stricken, telling the operator she was sure he was going shoot her. >> i thought he was gonna fire at me. so i fired and then i run. i -- i panicked, i panicked, please help me. >> reporter: sitting here on the witness stand, cindy swore her story was the same now as the one she told the cops from the start, that she was home alone when nissim, showed up uninvited. and attacked her. >> he got aggravated and aggressive with me and he grabbed me by my shirt. >> and it was at that point in time that you shot him to protect yourself? >> yes, i did. i was in fear for my life. in my mind, he was there to kill

me. >> reporter: cindy turned to the judge, fighting back tears, and explained that she fired because it looked like nissim was about to shoot her. >> he turns with his left hand toward his right and at that moment i just started shooting and shooting. like there was no tomorrow because in my mind, he was reaching out for a gun that i'd seen him with. he was gonna shoot at me. it was so scary. >> reporter: cindy's attorneys reminded the judge that after the shooting, the police announced cindy would not be charged. >> after the detectives interviewed her, no, they felt at the time that this could be a case of self-defense. >> reporter: and the defense pointed out news stories of the time in which police were quoting nissim a suspect in orlando's murder. >> at the time, he was the person the police was investigating and the only

suspect in my husband's murder. >> reporter: and as for that d.e.a. undercover tape. which so faithfully recorded what she told friskey, about planning, and vengence. an eye for an eye. >> this is me telling him how i felt. my embellishment on the story. >> reporter: it was all pure theatre, she said. she was trying to impress friskey, not confess to him. >> i made myself to look tougher than i was because -- >> reporter: why did you do that? >> because i'm a single mom, living in a man's world. so i wanted to sound like, "i'm tough, you can't mess with me." >> reporter: cindy asked the judge to look to one statement on that tape that was all true and consistent with the fear cindy showed on the 911 call. >> you told friskey that you had to defend yourself against ilan, correct? >> yes. i told him that i was very scared.

i told him that i have to defend myself against ilan. >> reporter: cindy's testimony appeared to be a powerful performance. but there was one person not impressed, the lead prosecutor abbe rifkin. what was your impression of her testimony at the stand your ground hearing? >> that she was an actress and she was putting on an act. >> reporter: and the act began with that 911 call. was that the real cindy? not a chance, said prosecutor rifkin. the real cindy was the one on that friskey tape speaking freely when she thought no one else was listening. and during cross examination, prosecutors said police were never as suspicious of nissim as cindy claimed they were. instead, they said, it was she who pushed him as the number one suspect. >> at the time you were telling the police to investigate him, isn't it? >> he was being investigated for the murder of my husband at the time, that is correct. >> reporter: so, was nissim a murder suspect or not? we put the question to these two

detectives. in the paper, it says that she shot in self-defense the number one suspect in her husband's killing. so is that what the police were thinking? >> no. >> no. >> he was never our number one suspect. >> he was never our number one suspect. >> reporter: words. words in court, words on tape. which words would the judge believe? >> coming up, in a case full of twists and turns, one more. >> that blew my mind. it was just disgusting. ♪ hey, we'll do an asian salad. a chicken mcnuggets! a big mac. minions: (speaking in minionese)

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>> reporter: it was just after thanksgiving, 2012. cindy carballo had made an impassioned case that she shot ilan nissim in self defense and under florida's stand your ground law she qualified for immunity from prosecution. >> he was gonna kill me. >> reporter: she sobbed and pleaded on the stand. now she stood quietly to hear the judge's decision. >> the defendant's motion is denied. >> reporter: denied. cindy, said the judge, failed to meet the legal burden of a stand your ground case. so, two years later, cindy went on trial for murder. >> please be seated. >> reporter: now, prosecutors had the burden to prove her guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. >> evidence will show that the defendant lured mr. nissim to

the house for revenge. >> reporter: listen to the d.e.a. tape, said prosecutor abbe rifkin to the jury, to hear not a victim, but a calculating, cold-blooded killer. >> so when i knew that it was gonna be hard to catch him, i was like "i have to do something." >> reporter: what did she do? she bought a gun, and then, prosecutors said, she invited nissim to her home. miami dade county medical examiner, dr. emma lew, demonstrated the path of bullets from cindy's gun into nissim's body. five shots, mostly in the back. >> gun shot wound "a" was on the right upper back. >> reporter: the day cindy shot nissim he wasn't even armed. and if she was as frightened of him as she claimed to be then how to explain this? phone records that showed the two were in constant contact. thirty times in the weeks after orlando was killed.

>> we're talking about somebody who was clearly having a relationship with this person. >> reporter: well, come on. that's a pretty thin thread, clearly having a relationship. i mean, that's your speculation, truly to god -- >> absolutely not. this is someone who was calling the victim equal number of times that he called her. >> reporter: then prosecutor rifkin went a step further. she discovered, she said, that cindy got pregnant after her husband was killed, miscarried at three weeks. and who did she text from the hospital? >> the person that she texted from the hospital a little after 6:00 in the morning was the victim. >> reporter: it was clear what the prosecutor was implying that nissim might have been the father. cindy seemed stunned by the whole idea. >> that blew my mind. how do they come and can assert that i was pregnant by this man? it was just disgusting. >> reporter: and simply untrue said defense co-counsel bruce fleisher. >> for them to suggest that she

was pregnant from nissim was ludicrous. >> reporter: in fact, said the defense, the state's whole case was ludicrous. this was clearly an act of self defense. just listen to cindy's sister describe the time she saw nissim talking to cindy right after her husband was murdered to understand why she was so afraid. >> then the next thing i see is him lifting up his shirt and he had a gun. i saw my sister looking a little frightened about it. >> one of the detectives had told her that this person has a long rap sheet and that she should arm herself. >> reporter: and after cindy shot nissim, her sister said she saw proof that cindy had been attacked. >> she had bruises on her arm and she had like scratches or bruises on her neck. >> reporter: and that "shot him in the back" thing? the defense called a medical expert of its own who said the first bullet was in nissim's side, when he turned his body as if to reach for a gun.

>> within a fraction of a second he would fall forward and during that period of time he gets all the rest of the gun shot wounds. >> reporter: the defense wanted to ask the lead detective, diana roman, just what she told cindy after her husband was murdered. roman has denied ever telling cindy to buy a gun or congratulating her for "taking out the trash" when she killed nissim. but here in court, the judge would not let the defense ask about those things, though, she did allow questions about all those texts and calls. >> you told janepsy to stay close to him? >> i asked her to maintain a communication that already existed there. >> reporter: but, the big issue, of course, was that d.e.a. audio tape. >> i knew what was gonna happen. >> reporter: this tape is the one in which she seems to confess. >> but she's not confessing.

she said that, "i shot that man in self defense. i thought he was armed." it's not a confession. >> did he have a weapon on him when they found 'em? >> i think he did. >> reporter: remember the defense argued that cindy was exaggerating wildly when she talked to the d.e.a.'s friskey, embellishing to make herself look tough. but, if you listen carefully, they said, you can hear one thing cindy did say on that tape that was true, the one thing prosecutors ignored. five big words. >> i had to defend myself. >> reporter: i had to defend myself. now that, said the defense, was >> somebody tried to kill me. >> reporter: just like the 911 call was true. to all of which the prosecutors said, nonsense. that 911 call? that was all an act. and their proof of that was something cindy said to d.e.a.

informant friskey on his tape. >> what does she say when she thinks no one's listening? "i was really nervous. but i made it look authentic." >> reporter: and the judge agreed with the prosecution. dismissed the 911 call, ruled it inadmissable. which was a very big problem for cindy and perhaps the reason that, in her trial, she chose not to take the witness stand. >> we couldn't let her do it, because we saw that we were not being treated fairly in the rulings. >> reporter: in his closing, defense attorney nathan diamond insisted that cindy was within her rights when she shot nissim. >> the shots are being pulled off in rapid fire consistent with the fear of the attack that was being placed on janepsy in her home. >> reporter: so now, the big wait. one day, two days. on the third day, jurors said

they were deadlocked. the judge sent them back. >> please be seated. >> reporter: and hours later -- >> we the jury find the defendant guilty of first degree murder. >> reporter: what was it like when they said "guilty"? >> it was very, very, very difficult. i never imagined that i was gonna go to trial and not be able to tell my -- my side and actually how the events occurred. >> reporter: the sentence was swift, ordained by law. life, no parole. cindy told us she isn't done, she will appeal. she tells her son noah, now eight years old, that she will fight the "lies" that put her here. >> he told me that he understands because sometimes in school there's boys that tell lies about him and try to get him in trouble with the

teachers. so he said, "i understand, mommy." >> reporter: ask state attorney, katherine fernandez rundle, about what happened to young noah, now living with relatives and she calls it a tragedy. >> that is really the heart of this case. because that's the person who really has suffered and lost everything. >> reporter: it's been seven years since the tumultuous events that put cindy carballo behind bars, seven years since her husband was murdered in a case that still hasn't been solved. seven years to contemplate the act that put her here and whether she'd do it again. >> yes. because i was attacked. and i -- that moment i felt that he was gonna kill me. and if not having remorse makes me guilty, i don't -- i don't think it should be that way.

>> reporter: perhaps not. but certainly, cindy carballo has years to re-think the question and her answer. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." we'll see you tomorrow at nine, eight central for the "dateline" saturday night mystery. and join us right here again next friday night at ten, nine central. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news,

now at 11, he is not backing down. >> right now i'd start, i would build a wall. people aren't coming in except people that are legally documented. >> donald trump blames the media for twisting his words. and tonight he is doubling down on the issue of immigration.