a former beauty queen named michelle mcneil and she was -- look at this. she was truly lovely. but this is about what happened to michelle, the year she turned 50, the very last year of her life, though she couldn't possibly have known it. as we contemplated a question a lot of people do as youth fades. plastic surgery, should she or shouldn't she? she answered for one way or another, yes, yes, i will. before long. >> everything that we thought in her life just all shattered. >> reporter: what happened to michelle mcneil? what was behind the breathless play in a utah courtroom and raw family drama played out in full public view and the hidden scenes of -- well, you'll see. here, this is a picture of their magical beginning, both beautiful michelle and martin mcneil. everybody liked smart, charismatic michelle from childhood on said her sister linda. >> she in her different pageants and she won homecoming queen and she did modeling and she was an exchange student in switzerland and she excelled at everything. >> reporter: martin did too in his open way. took a little while but ev