clifford bret friend, for these reasons i'm sentencing you to life in prison. >> reporter: 20 years ago katherine fernandez-rundel vowed that lynne friend's story would not end up in some cold case file. now she says there is justice both for the young mother and for her son, even though he disagrees with the outcome of the case. >> ultimately it is about a boy. isn't it? >> it's all about the boy. >> tug-of-war between the two parents. >> i would beg to say i don't think a father who would deprive a boy of the love of a mother really loves the boy. he loved himself more, it seems to me. >> reporter: markers. out west there's the great open sky. in south florida, the ocean. always the ocean. the vast churning tropical waters. for the aging friends, still remembering it is lynn's marker, too. after a violent death, the place where they prayed she might finally rest in peace. >>> that's all for now. i'm lester holt. thanks for joining us. right nowe >>> nbc bay area news starts now. >> right now at 11:00, new numbers from the valley fire. more destruction reported. more lives changed. tod