doesn't work. >> reporter: and so ernest scherer iii was found guilty.of first-degree murder, two consecutive life sentences, no parole. his sister katherine, daughter of the victims, spoke publicly for the first time outside the courtroom. >> hard to have to talk about my parents and the loss. they're no longer with me at all. it does tear me up. >> do you feel justice was served? >> i don't know. it's hard. it's hard to admit that anybody could do something like that. >> reporter: and adrienne solomon, the one-time teacher of the flying trapeze, the woman who thought she had learned a thing or two about reading people, still wonders why she just didn't see it. >> i don't trust my judgment and i don't trust other people are >>> i'm craig melvin. >> i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." >>> i called my mom and she didn't answer. i pretty much knew in my heart that something was wrong. >> a mother vanish. >> i desibed cried myself to sleep. it's awful realizing your worst nightmare had come true. >> a family's anguish. >> she was gone. >> do you

ernest scherer iii would turn 30 in july.killed in march. >> ernie's father had a couple million invested in real estate, though at the time of his death, the value of the estate was certainly shrinking right along with housing prices. still, was it even remotely possible ernie would kill his parents to cash in on an inheritance? the detectives had a look at his financial situation. and you know how some professional poker players claim they win a lot? maybe not. at least not in ernie's case. >> we learned that he had 60-some-odd-thousand dollars in credit card debt and in talking with different casinos he lost a significant amount of money to the tune of $80,000 to $90,000 in the last year. >> that was not the worst of it. not even close. by march of 2008 when the murders happened, real estate was huffing and puffing on its race to the bottom. six months before that they wanted to buy a house in the city of brea but couldn't get a loan. banks not so sanguine anymore about the security of a poker player's income. so he borrow