john quinones back on the case that he broke wide open. >> reporter: in the heart of utah's salt lake valley single mom vanessa pond raises her 11-year-old daughter. the only man she can depend on is her father, and he says, she's fine with that. >> i used to jokingly refer to her as the president of the man hater's club. >> reporter: that is until this man, raven abaroa, a good-looking 28-year-old widower chats her up at their children's school. she agrees to have lunch. what was it about him that you liked? >> he seemed very upfront, very honest and genuine. i found that, you know, he was a single father. and i really, really admired that. i'd been a single mom for five years. i know what it takes to raise a child. i thought, you know, maybe i'll give him a chance. >> reporter: vanessa and raven were both raised mormon and she felt she could take raven and his son kaiden under her wing. did he mention his ex-wife? what happened to her? >> yes. as we were just starting to date, he just mentioned that, "my wife actually died." i immediately felt so sorry for him. he said that there wa

abc's john quinones tracking this case for five years to its surprising conclusion. ohn. >> reporter: this is a fascinating story, the crime of a decade down in durham, north carolina. the couple had everything going for them. but then the husband's true colors begin to seep through the canvas and what emerged was a frightening study of deception, murder and denial. >> i did not kill my wife. >> reporter: raven still professing his innocence in a north carolina courtroom last wednesday even after agreeing to a sentence of up to ten years in prison for the 2005 stabbing death of his first wife, janet. >> personally accept this plea bargain? >> yes. >> reporter: raven says on that night he returned to the couple's home after a soccer match to make a horrifying discovery. >> my wife, she's dead. she's been shot or something. >> reporter: in this interview with a local crime show raven plays a grieving husband and father. >> losing not only a wife but now a family was very difficult. >> reporter: but just days after burying janet, he takes their infant son and moves 2,000