yadda yadda. and then james cede james said i would go kill him right now. you just say the word, i'll go kill him. she was like a broken record. i want him dead. i want him dead. >> sound like a woman who was shocked the murder happened? but there was more. it was after that when james matlean told his attorney it was time to tell the whole story. >> i could tell he was telling the truth. over the course of 15 months, i was told the same story. >> so now comes another story. james is story. not a love story this time. >> nobody could believe it that i did what i did. i've never been a violent person. >> james matlean did not have an easy star in love life. by the time he was a teenager he was drinking, doing drugs, stealing things. >> i had pretty much given up any hope on continuing successfully in life. >> dawn, after her marriage to ben, befriended james. made him feel rescued. give him a place to live.

it now. and hopefully just one woman will have the courage to stand up and say, i'm being abused. i'm living in fear. i'm living with secrets. and i need to stand up and be bold. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline". i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. >> i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline". >> horrible. knowing the person that you love is dead. and then your being looked at for it. >> imagine, your shaken in the dead of night. >> my ears were ringing. i thought i was dreaming. >> in bed, right next to you. your husband, murdered. >> hearty wrap around your head, is it? >> yes. >> and here's the twist. you are the suspect.