investigators were largely basing their case on the words of patricia esparza.raped her. she confided in gianni and he got very angry. giving him a motive for murder. but then, prosecutors found out something surprising, something that changed everything. >> ms. esparza and gianni van had gotten married, in las vegas, after the murder. patricia, who told authorities gianni was her ex boyfriend, had secretly married him, one month after the murder. investigator, dean folger. >> based upon this false approved privilege, in the state of california, in no way was patricia going to be forced to testify against gianni, who was still denying any involvement. >> without her testimony, prosecutor mike murray, it would be very hard to prosecute gianni. >> this is a major game-changer. >> absolutely. because ms. esparza had so much information and was so immersed in the case that the prosecution would be hard turned, to the point that they wouldn't be able to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. so, rather than put the case in front of a jury and take the chance that