prosecutors believed eric bechler was trying to be successful at both. ctives had put him in jail. but then two weeks after eric's arrest came this head line in the local paper. witness in murder case doubts suspect's guilt. tina, who had worn a wire and helped police nail eric now said maybe he didn't kill her. >> i knew she kids had lost their mom and now going to probably lose their dad for a very long time. so i felt guilty. >> guilty that she had helped jail man she once thought she'd marry. >> he called me from the jail and told me he had tried to hang himself with his sheet. >> it was eric's frantic behavior from the lock-up, that was enough to make you think 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. >> but she says she always felt he was guilty and in the winter of 2000, eric bechler went on trial. the star witness, tina, a witness was, to be fair, compromised, not just by her waffling by eric's guilt and her own checkered past but the one detail and story t

and in the winter of 2000, eric bechler went on trial. the star witness, tina new. a witness who was, to be fair, compromised. not just by her waffling about eric's guilt and her own eric told her, something defense attorney john barnett says is critical. >> you'd expect if pegye's head was caved in by 35 pound dumbbells, there'd be blood. >> quite a lot of it. >> everywhere. and there wasn't. >> reporter: on the stand, tina tried to defend herself. >> i'm a horrible witness when it comes to looking at me on paper. >> did you think anybody would believe you? >> no. you know, i knew that i told and i knew that i was doing the right thing. and i honestly didn't care what anybody thought. >> reporter: then there was the conversation she had recorded at el torito. eric's own words. the jury heard all of them. barnett offered his own explanation. >> i argued that the reason he said it is to shut her up, to calm her down. in any event, the defense said -- eric never said on tape say that was tina. a drug user. a woman with a fraud conviction on her record. without that sta

. >> reporter: his name was eric bechler. but she was nowhere to be found. >> what is he doing at this time? >> he's just kind of yelling out, just laying on his boogie board and yelling out. >> roger. can you make out any words that he is yelling out? over. >> no, he's kind of slurring his words. >> it'll be anytime now a unit should be on scene. >> reporter: it was a stunning end to what began as a perfect day. this newport beach couple was celebrating their wedding anniversary and pegye just turning 38. >> it was her birthday, you know, so she was in good spirits. >> reporter: glenda slosser was one of the friends they'd invited to a big party a couple of days earlier. >> she's talkin' about how much she loves eric, how great life is. >> reporter: and maybe life was great, because pegye had it all. town, dexter, new mexico. this is where pegye made her entrance. >> i've often said that she was born winking at the doctor and swingin' on the chandelier. >> reporter: pegye was june and glen marshall's fourth child. and, june

and in the winter of 2000, eric bechler went on trial. compromised. not just by her waffling about eric's guilt and her own checkered past, but also by one detail in the story tina says eric told her, something defense attorney john barnett says is critical. >> you'd expect if pegye's head was caved in by 35 pound dumbbells, there'd be blood. >> quite a lot of it. >> everywhere. and there wasn tried to defend herself. >> i'm a horrible witness when it comes to looking at me on paper. >> did you think anybody would believe you? >> no. you know, i knew that i told exactly what he had said to me and i knew that i was doing the right thing. and i honestly didn't care what anybody thought. >> reporter: then there was the conversation she had recorded at el torito. eric's own words. the jury heard all of them. barnett offered his own explanation. calm her down. in any event, the defense said -- eric never said on tape that he hit pegye. the only person who heard him say that was tina. a drug user. a woman with a fraud conviction on her record. without that s