1
00:00:04,537 --> 00:00:04,571
   -                            

2
00:00:04,571 --> 00:00:04,604
   - So                         

3
00:00:04,604 --> 00:00:04,637
   - Some                       

4
00:00:04,637 --> 00:00:04,671
   - Some s                     

5
00:00:04,671 --> 00:00:04,704
   - Some sto                   

6
00:00:04,704 --> 00:00:04,738
   - Some stori                 

7
00:00:04,738 --> 00:00:04,771
   - Some stories               

8
00:00:04,771 --> 00:00:04,804
   - Some stories a             

9
00:00:04,804 --> 00:00:04,904
   - Some stories are           

10
00:00:04,904 --> 00:00:04,938
   - Some stories are           
 Un                             

11
00:00:04,938 --> 00:00:04,971
   - Some stories are           
 Unfo                           

12
00:00:04,971 --> 00:00:05,005
   - Some stories are           
 Unforg                         

13
00:00:05,005 --> 00:00:05,038
   - Some stories are           
 Unforget                       

14
00:00:05,038 --> 00:00:05,071
   - Some stories are           
 Unforgetta                     

15
00:00:05,071 --> 00:00:05,105
   - Some stories are           
 Unforgettabl                   

16
00:00:05,105 --> 00:00:06,673
   - Some stories are           
 Unforgettable.                 

17
00:00:06,773 --> 00:00:08,575
  This is one of them.          

18
00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:16,282
 - She just said                
your father's been shot.        

19
00:00:16,383 --> 00:00:17,517
  - A massacre.                 

20
00:00:17,617 --> 00:00:19,019
   It was just                  
   a puddle of blood.           

21
00:00:19,119 --> 00:00:20,653
- This was a horrific way       
  that he died.                 

22
00:00:28,161 --> 00:00:29,362
  - Did you have any suspects?  

23
00:00:29,462 --> 00:00:31,064
  - It's always                 
  nearest and dearest.          

24
00:00:31,164 --> 00:00:33,600
 - This family tree had         
   a lot of branches,           

25
00:00:33,700 --> 00:00:36,002
  both born and chosen family,  

26
00:00:36,102 --> 00:00:39,272
and investigators               
 would examine them all.        

27
00:00:39,372 --> 00:00:41,508
 - Ben had quite                
  the criminal history.         

28
00:00:42,909 --> 00:00:44,310
 - Okay.                        

29
00:00:45,445 --> 00:00:48,782
   - There was DNA there that   
  brought our attention to Leo. 

30
00:00:53,953 --> 00:00:57,157
  - A story broke that          
   totally stunned me.          

31
00:00:57,257 --> 00:00:59,692
   - When I learned the truth   
   about Dr. Schwartz's past,   

32
00:00:59,793 --> 00:01:01,327
 I was shocked.                 

33
00:01:01,428 --> 00:01:03,863
  You just don't expect         
 a wild twist like that,        

34
00:01:03,963 --> 00:01:05,331
   even on "Dateline".          

35
00:01:05,432 --> 00:01:07,867
  - There was a very big secret 
   that your dad had.           

36
00:01:07,967 --> 00:01:08,768
 - Yes.                         

37
00:01:08,868 --> 00:01:10,470
 He never talked                
 to me about it.                

38
00:01:10,570 --> 00:01:12,205
 - As they say,                 
follow the money.               

39
00:01:12,305 --> 00:01:14,274
  - Everything kind of          
   started lining up.           

40
00:01:14,374 --> 00:01:16,676
   - It's like                  
 all the bells went off.        

41
00:01:18,278 --> 00:01:20,980
   That is it.                  

42
00:01:21,081 --> 00:01:22,949
   - Talk about karma.          

43
00:01:28,788 --> 00:01:30,957
- This is                       
   "Dateline: Unforgettable".   

44
00:01:31,057 --> 00:01:33,359
  I'm Blayne Alexander          
  with a fresh look at          

45
00:01:33,460 --> 00:01:35,728
   The Death of Dr. Schwartz.   

46
00:01:41,768 --> 00:01:45,705
- It took love and dreams       
and lots of money               

47
00:01:45,805 --> 00:01:47,407
to create                       
   this sprawling home          

48
00:01:47,507 --> 00:01:50,076
   in Tarpon Springs, Florida.  

49
00:01:50,176 --> 00:01:52,712
  A place to celebrate,         
to relax,                       

50
00:01:52,812 --> 00:01:54,414
 think about the future.        

51
00:01:54,514 --> 00:01:55,782
   - I would imagine,           
with your dad, obviously,       

52
00:01:55,882 --> 00:01:57,083
 having a house                 
  on the water.                 

53
00:01:57,183 --> 00:01:58,284
Was water special to him?       

54
00:01:58,384 --> 00:01:59,519
 He loved water?                
  - Yes, yeah.                  

55
00:01:59,619 --> 00:02:00,653
  It was, uh...                 

56
00:02:00,753 --> 00:02:04,090
   This was sort of his dream   
  of a retirement home.         

57
00:02:04,190 --> 00:02:06,526
   - That is, until one night   

58
00:02:06,626 --> 00:02:09,662
 when his father's wife         
  came home from a dinner party 

59
00:02:09,762 --> 00:02:12,298
 and everything changed.        

60
00:02:12,398 --> 00:02:14,734
 It was May 28th, 2014.         

61
00:02:25,211 --> 00:02:26,813
- Her bedroom was a mess.       

62
00:02:26,913 --> 00:02:30,150
   Drawers pulled out,          
 watch boxes all over the floor.

63
00:03:05,418 --> 00:03:06,686
  - She wasn't kidding.         

64
00:03:06,786 --> 00:03:09,455
   The home was nearly          
8,000 square feet               

65
00:03:09,556 --> 00:03:11,357
  with a tennis court,          
 a pool,                        

66
00:03:11,457 --> 00:03:12,592
and its own dock.               

67
00:03:16,930 --> 00:03:17,964
 - Yep.                         

68
00:03:18,064 --> 00:03:20,833
 - As the dispatch gave         
   more and more information,   

69
00:03:20,934 --> 00:03:23,303
   it-it piqued my curiosity.   

70
00:03:23,403 --> 00:03:26,606
 Sergeant Scott Brockey         
  arrived a few minutes later.  

71
00:03:26,706 --> 00:03:29,075
One look at the big house       
 told him it would take         

72
00:03:29,175 --> 00:03:32,679
 more manpower to check         
all four stories.               

73
00:03:32,779 --> 00:03:34,914
 So he called in                
  the K9 units.                 

74
00:03:35,014 --> 00:03:36,316
  - I explained to them         
  what we had,                  

75
00:03:36,416 --> 00:03:37,850
 And they said,                 
yeah, no problem,               

76
00:03:37,951 --> 00:03:39,953
   we'll-we'll go in.           

77
00:03:40,053 --> 00:03:41,521
   - But in less than           
   a minute...                  

78
00:03:41,621 --> 00:03:44,390
  - He had called to me         
 both verbally and on the radio 

79
00:03:44,490 --> 00:03:46,759
 to come inside,                
he had one down.                

80
00:03:46,859 --> 00:03:47,827
 - What does that mean?         

81
00:03:47,927 --> 00:03:49,629
 - Well, unfortunately,         
 it meant that they had         

82
00:03:49,729 --> 00:03:52,899
   a-a deceased person          
inside the house.               

83
00:03:52,999 --> 00:03:54,634
- Brockey found the body        
  at the bottom                 

84
00:03:54,734 --> 00:03:56,336
of a short flight               
of stairs                       

85
00:03:56,436 --> 00:03:58,571
 that led to the garage.        

86
00:03:58,671 --> 00:04:01,374
 - And that's where the victim's
  body was discovered,          

87
00:04:01,474 --> 00:04:03,376
 was on the floor there.        

88
00:04:03,476 --> 00:04:04,577
 It was pretty graphic.         

89
00:04:04,677 --> 00:04:06,179
- Could you tell                
   what had happened?           

90
00:04:06,279 --> 00:04:08,214
  - Well, on its face,          
it didn't appear                

91
00:04:08,314 --> 00:04:10,550
   that this was an accident.   

92
00:04:10,650 --> 00:04:12,318
   And it was                   
  one of the few times          

93
00:04:12,418 --> 00:04:15,622
  that I actually felt          
 like this is--                 

94
00:04:15,722 --> 00:04:17,557
This is a little spooky.        

95
00:04:17,657 --> 00:04:20,026
 - It's hard to imagine         
that this moment,               

96
00:04:20,126 --> 00:04:22,395
  this death in                 
Tarpon Springs, Florida,        

97
00:04:22,495 --> 00:04:25,031
  would launch a story          
 that would span decades        

98
00:04:25,131 --> 00:04:27,533
 and take me to                 
   Texas, New Mexico,           

99
00:04:27,634 --> 00:04:29,702
even all the way                
   to Albania.                  

100
00:04:29,802 --> 00:04:32,972
   This is a case that made me  
  think about a lot of things.  

101
00:04:33,072 --> 00:04:36,309
  Who deserves a second chance? 
 Who deserves sympathy?         

102
00:04:36,409 --> 00:04:40,013
 and whether forgiveness        
   can leave a person exposed.  

103
00:04:40,113 --> 00:04:42,682
   And it all started           
   the moment police realized   

104
00:04:42,782 --> 00:04:45,151
there was a body                
 in that house.                 

105
00:04:45,251 --> 00:04:47,120
  - There was something         
   that just hit me that day.   

106
00:04:47,220 --> 00:04:48,588
 The size of the house.         

107
00:04:48,688 --> 00:04:50,456
  Once we found                 
  the victim, I'm like,         

108
00:04:50,556 --> 00:04:52,659
  this is really going          
   off the rails here.          

109
00:04:52,759 --> 00:04:54,794
This is--                       
- So far from what you expected.

110
00:04:54,894 --> 00:04:55,828
- Right.                        

111
00:04:55,928 --> 00:04:57,196
  - And just like that,         

112
00:04:57,297 --> 00:05:01,200
  the case had morphed          
   from burglary to homicide.   

113
00:05:01,301 --> 00:05:03,369
  Or maybe it was both.         

114
00:05:03,469 --> 00:05:06,706
  More police arrived,          
including Detective John Diebel,

115
00:05:06,806 --> 00:05:08,741
   who headed straight          
 for the victim.                

116
00:05:08,841 --> 00:05:09,976
  As you looked at him,         

117
00:05:10,076 --> 00:05:11,878
 could you tell                 
   what had happened?           

118
00:05:11,978 --> 00:05:15,348
   - I could see that           
 he had had a laceration        

119
00:05:15,448 --> 00:05:18,818
across his neck,                
   a rather large one.          

120
00:05:18,918 --> 00:05:22,889
  - In fact, the victim         
 was cut multiple times.        

121
00:05:22,989 --> 00:05:24,390
   - I'm noticing that          
   there's lacerations          

122
00:05:24,490 --> 00:05:26,059
   on top of his head,          

123
00:05:26,159 --> 00:05:27,527
   small ones.                  
- Hmm...                        

124
00:05:27,627 --> 00:05:29,095
  - I looked at                 
  the back of his neck,         

125
00:05:29,195 --> 00:05:30,830
 and I could see                
where he clearly                

126
00:05:30,930 --> 00:05:34,167
   had been shot with           
 a small caliber round.         

127
00:05:34,267 --> 00:05:38,538
  - You see a cut on his neck,  
cut on his head,                

128
00:05:38,638 --> 00:05:40,506
  and gunshot?                  
 - Yeah.                        

129
00:05:40,606 --> 00:05:42,208
- There was a lot               
done to this man.               

130
00:05:42,308 --> 00:05:43,509
 - Yeah.                        

131
00:05:43,609 --> 00:05:45,778
 - Did this look like something 
 that had just happened?        

132
00:05:45,878 --> 00:05:47,847
 - No, you could tell by        
   the condition of the blood   

133
00:05:47,947 --> 00:05:49,349
   that it was                  
starting to dry.                

134
00:05:49,449 --> 00:05:51,017
 Some of it had                 
 already dried.                 

135
00:05:51,117 --> 00:05:54,053
  So he had been there          
  for-for-for most of the day.  

136
00:05:54,153 --> 00:05:56,856
   - The investigators          
 found the victim's ID.         

137
00:05:56,956 --> 00:05:59,292
   Rebecca's husband,           
  Dr. Steven Schwartz,          

138
00:05:59,392 --> 00:06:01,828
 wasn't working                 
at some hospital.               

139
00:06:01,928 --> 00:06:05,965
He was the man lying dead       
 at the bottom of those stairs. 

140
00:06:06,065 --> 00:06:08,968
 Now, they had to break         
  the news to Rebecca.          

141
00:06:09,068 --> 00:06:11,437
 And she had initially thought, 
okay, this is a burglary,       

142
00:06:11,537 --> 00:06:12,472
and I just can't                
reach my husband.               

143
00:06:12,572 --> 00:06:13,473
- Mm-hmm.                       

144
00:06:13,573 --> 00:06:15,541
 - Now she's being told         
he's dead inside.               

145
00:06:15,641 --> 00:06:18,077
- Right, she put her face       
  in her hands                  

146
00:06:18,177 --> 00:06:21,481
  and, uh, just started to sob. 

147
00:06:21,581 --> 00:06:23,649
- The next day at               
   the police station,          

148
00:06:23,750 --> 00:06:26,219
Rebecca was still               
   distraught.                  

149
00:06:26,319 --> 00:06:28,054
   - 90% of the time.           

150
00:06:28,154 --> 00:06:31,257
90% of the time,                
  he leaves before me.          

151
00:06:31,357 --> 00:06:32,658
  I'm always--                  

152
00:06:32,759 --> 00:06:35,461
   I mean, I'm usually          
the last one out                

153
00:06:35,561 --> 00:06:38,097
 because he likes to get        
 a jump on the hospital.        

154
00:06:38,197 --> 00:06:40,066
   Then I'm out having dinner.  

155
00:06:41,868 --> 00:06:43,503
 That makes me seem like        
a terrible wife.                

156
00:06:43,603 --> 00:06:45,271
I don't even know               
where my own husband is.        

157
00:06:53,513 --> 00:06:55,681
  - And at the autopsy,         
  the medical examiner          

158
00:06:55,782 --> 00:06:59,118
   recovered portions           
of two .22 caliber slugs.       

159
00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:01,954
  Armed with that information,  

160
00:07:02,054 --> 00:07:04,457
 the detectives started         
   to develop a theory          

161
00:07:04,557 --> 00:07:07,960
 about the final moments        
   of Steven Schwartz's life.   

162
00:07:08,060 --> 00:07:09,829
 So this is not                 
  the actual staircase          

163
00:07:09,929 --> 00:07:11,631
where the crime happened        
   or the same house,           

164
00:07:11,731 --> 00:07:14,000
 but it gives us an idea        
   of what happened that day.   

165
00:07:14,100 --> 00:07:15,701
   - Yes, yes.                  
 - Okay.                        

166
00:07:15,802 --> 00:07:17,804
   So walk me through           
 what-what you believe happened.

167
00:07:17,904 --> 00:07:20,506
   - I believe he was           
at the top of the stairs        

168
00:07:20,606 --> 00:07:23,309
when he was shot                
in the back of the neck,        

169
00:07:23,409 --> 00:07:25,678
   which would have caused him  
to fall down the stairs.        

170
00:07:25,778 --> 00:07:27,213
  He had broken                 
 his vertebrae,                 

171
00:07:27,313 --> 00:07:28,915
   so he was paralyzed          
  from the waist down.          

172
00:07:29,015 --> 00:07:30,616
He couldn't move.               

173
00:07:30,716 --> 00:07:32,785
  - That's when he was          
shot in the head,               

174
00:07:32,885 --> 00:07:34,720
   but it was                   
more of a surface wound.        

175
00:07:34,821 --> 00:07:36,456
   He was still alive?          

176
00:07:36,556 --> 00:07:37,990
   - Yes, he was still alive.   

177
00:07:38,090 --> 00:07:41,360
  - Diebel believes the doctor  
 was awake and helpless         

178
00:07:41,461 --> 00:07:43,029
  as the killer                 
finished him off                

179
00:07:43,129 --> 00:07:44,831
  with that cut                 
  to the neck.                  

180
00:07:44,931 --> 00:07:46,432
- That would have               
   accounted for all the blood  

181
00:07:46,532 --> 00:07:48,334
   that we could see.           

182
00:07:48,434 --> 00:07:50,236
   - It was a lot to take in.   

183
00:07:50,336 --> 00:07:53,239
A cruel killing,                
a grieving widow.               

184
00:07:56,943 --> 00:07:58,744
   - And as detectives          
would soon learn,               

185
00:07:58,845 --> 00:08:03,249
   a case and a family          
 with plenty of secrets.        

186
00:08:03,349 --> 00:08:04,984
- The crime scene               
  looks staged                  

187
00:08:05,084 --> 00:08:07,019
  to make it look like          
  a burglary gone bad.          

188
00:08:07,119 --> 00:08:08,621
- After he was murdered,        

189
00:08:08,721 --> 00:08:11,324
  a story broke                 
  in the papers                 

190
00:08:11,424 --> 00:08:13,192
that totally stunned me.        

191
00:08:13,292 --> 00:08:17,730
 - Shocking doesn't even        
  begin to describe it.         

192
00:08:17,830 --> 00:08:19,665
 - I would have                 
 never, ever in my life         

193
00:08:19,765 --> 00:08:21,501
  thought I'd run into          
 somebody that could be         

194
00:08:21,601 --> 00:08:23,603
this devastating                
 to the family.                 

195
00:08:37,817 --> 00:08:37,850
   -                            

196
00:08:37,850 --> 00:08:37,884
   - As                         

197
00:08:37,884 --> 00:08:37,917
   - As f                       

198
00:08:37,917 --> 00:08:37,950
   - As for                     

199
00:08:37,950 --> 00:08:37,984
   - As foren                   

200
00:08:37,984 --> 00:08:38,017
   - As forensi                 

201
00:08:38,017 --> 00:08:38,050
   - As forensic                

202
00:08:38,050 --> 00:08:38,084
   - As forensic te             

203
00:08:38,084 --> 00:08:38,117
   - As forensic team           

204
00:08:38,117 --> 00:08:38,217
   - As forensic teams          

205
00:08:38,217 --> 00:08:38,251
   - As forensic teams          
 co                             

206
00:08:38,251 --> 00:08:38,284
   - As forensic teams          
 comb                           

207
00:08:38,284 --> 00:08:38,317
   - As forensic teams          
 combed                         

208
00:08:38,317 --> 00:08:38,351
   - As forensic teams          
 combed t                       

209
00:08:38,351 --> 00:08:38,384
   - As forensic teams          
 combed thr                     

210
00:08:38,384 --> 00:08:38,417
   - As forensic teams          
 combed throu                   

211
00:08:38,417 --> 00:08:39,452
   - As forensic teams          
 combed through                 

212
00:08:39,552 --> 00:08:42,355
  the palatial home of          
  Rebecca and Steven Schwartz,  

213
00:08:42,455 --> 00:08:46,192
Dr. Schwartz's son Carter       
 was half a world away.         

214
00:08:46,292 --> 00:08:48,861
He was heading back home        
  from a trip to Asia.          

215
00:08:48,961 --> 00:08:50,796
  Well, sneaking back.          

216
00:08:50,897 --> 00:08:53,132
 His father didn't know         
 about the trip.                

217
00:08:53,232 --> 00:08:56,269
   - He was always pushing me   
 to study more and travel less, 

218
00:08:56,369 --> 00:08:59,272
  so I didn't tell him          
  I was going.                  

219
00:08:59,372 --> 00:09:01,173
 - Typical dad.                 

220
00:09:01,274 --> 00:09:04,243
- Carter is Steven's son        
  from a previous relationship. 

221
00:09:04,343 --> 00:09:07,480
 He was 24 and had just         
   applied to medical school,   

222
00:09:07,580 --> 00:09:10,249
 ready to follow                
 in his dad's footsteps.        

223
00:09:10,349 --> 00:09:12,785
   He says his father           
  was thrilled.                 

224
00:09:12,885 --> 00:09:15,321
 - My dad said he would         
  not only pay for med school,  

225
00:09:15,421 --> 00:09:17,256
   he'd pay for every           
   living expense, everything.  

226
00:09:17,356 --> 00:09:18,491
   It would have been           
   the happiest check           

227
00:09:18,591 --> 00:09:20,159
   he ever wrote in his life.   

228
00:09:20,259 --> 00:09:23,663
   - Carter was nervous as he   
 awaited the acceptance letter. 

229
00:09:23,763 --> 00:09:26,032
   But his dad                  
   never had a doubt.           

230
00:09:26,132 --> 00:09:27,600
 - And he's like, yeah, they're 
 gonna get you a letter.        

231
00:09:27,700 --> 00:09:29,769
  Just call me                  
when it happens.                

232
00:09:29,869 --> 00:09:32,505
   - He was in Taiwan           
   when he got the good news.   

233
00:09:32,605 --> 00:09:33,773
   - And I got the acceptance.  

234
00:09:33,873 --> 00:09:35,508
And I tried to call him.        
He didn't answer.               

235
00:09:35,608 --> 00:09:38,477
  So I catch the flight         
   at the connecting airport,   

236
00:09:38,578 --> 00:09:41,347
which was Tokyo.                
 Try to call him again.         

237
00:09:41,447 --> 00:09:42,715
   No answer.                   

238
00:09:42,815 --> 00:09:45,017
  - He finally arrived          
   in the U.S.                  

239
00:09:45,117 --> 00:09:48,321
 and that's when                
  his world fell apart.         

240
00:09:48,421 --> 00:09:50,089
- And I remember landing,       
  turning my phone on,          

241
00:09:50,189 --> 00:09:51,424
  and my mother                 
   calling me, bawling          

242
00:09:51,524 --> 00:09:53,125
 that my father                 
 had been shot.                 

243
00:09:53,225 --> 00:09:55,561
 - I spent a lot of time        
  talking with Carter,          

244
00:09:55,661 --> 00:09:58,064
  getting to know him,          
 and I was really struck        

245
00:09:58,164 --> 00:10:00,933
   by the cruel timing          
 of his father's death.         

246
00:10:01,033 --> 00:10:03,169
  This was the man who          
   had inspired Carter          

247
00:10:03,269 --> 00:10:04,604
 to become a physician.         

248
00:10:04,704 --> 00:10:07,707
And just as he was taking       
   his first meaningful step,   

249
00:10:07,807 --> 00:10:10,142
 everything came                
 crashing down.                 

250
00:10:10,242 --> 00:10:13,312
 Carter deeply admired his dad, 
  not just as a father,         

251
00:10:13,412 --> 00:10:14,680
but as a doctor,                

252
00:10:14,780 --> 00:10:17,149
and he dreamed of               
 working alongside him.         

253
00:10:17,249 --> 00:10:19,185
 So it was heartbreaking        
   to know that Carter          

254
00:10:19,285 --> 00:10:21,253
   was robbed                   
 of that chance.                

255
00:10:22,755 --> 00:10:25,758
For people who never had        
   a chance to meet your dad,   

256
00:10:25,858 --> 00:10:27,026
   how would you describe him?  

257
00:10:27,126 --> 00:10:28,928
- I couldn't really have        
asked for a better father       

258
00:10:29,028 --> 00:10:30,396
   or a better mentor,          

259
00:10:30,496 --> 00:10:34,233
  seeing how kind and generous  
he was with his patients        

260
00:10:34,333 --> 00:10:36,369
 and how patient                
   he was with nurses           

261
00:10:36,469 --> 00:10:40,072
   and just kind to everybody   
   he came into contact with.   

262
00:10:40,172 --> 00:10:42,108
- Steven Schwartz               
   was a nephrologist,          

263
00:10:42,208 --> 00:10:45,077
 a kidney doctor                
with a thriving practice.       

264
00:10:45,177 --> 00:10:48,214
   He was 74,                   
   and had three kids.          

265
00:10:48,314 --> 00:10:50,216
 Carter,                        
 and two other children,        

266
00:10:50,316 --> 00:10:53,052
  a son and a daughter,         
from a previous marriage.       

267
00:10:53,152 --> 00:10:54,854
- Tell me about your dad        
   and his interests.           

268
00:10:54,954 --> 00:10:56,188
 What did he love to do         
 other than, of course,         

269
00:10:56,288 --> 00:10:57,390
  practicing medicine?          

270
00:10:57,490 --> 00:10:59,925
- I mean, that was truly        
   his love was-was medicine.   

271
00:11:00,026 --> 00:11:01,861
You know, he was                
very much into baseball.        

272
00:11:01,961 --> 00:11:03,763
He loved the Rays               
and always wanted               

273
00:11:03,863 --> 00:11:05,231
  to go to those games.         

274
00:11:05,331 --> 00:11:08,634
  - The Tampa Bay Rays.         
 He had season tickets.         

275
00:11:08,734 --> 00:11:10,536
 - You would have loved         
  Dr. Schwartz.                 

276
00:11:10,636 --> 00:11:13,105
  Absolutely loved him.         

277
00:11:13,205 --> 00:11:16,475
- Helen Como ran                
 his dialysis center for years. 

278
00:11:16,575 --> 00:11:18,644
- He had                        
 a good sense of humor,         

279
00:11:18,744 --> 00:11:21,714
  a big heart,                  
  very caring.                  

280
00:11:21,814 --> 00:11:24,550
  For example, if, uh,          
   there was a patient          

281
00:11:24,650 --> 00:11:27,586
or a family that                
   was struggling financially,  

282
00:11:27,687 --> 00:11:29,188
 he would help them out.        

283
00:11:29,288 --> 00:11:32,191
   And he would always          
take his time with them,        

284
00:11:32,291 --> 00:11:34,393
  not just from                 
 a physical standpoint,         

285
00:11:34,493 --> 00:11:36,696
 but just to see                
   how they're doing,           

286
00:11:36,796 --> 00:11:38,431
what's going on.                

287
00:11:38,531 --> 00:11:42,034
   - But Dr. Schwartz also had  
a little bit of an edge.        

288
00:11:42,134 --> 00:11:46,572
 - He just had a way of         
   making jokes about things,   

289
00:11:46,672 --> 00:11:49,408
   and not only to me,          
but with others.                

290
00:11:49,508 --> 00:11:52,244
 And one of his favorite        
expressions was,                

291
00:11:52,344 --> 00:11:54,980
what do you have,               
sh-- for brains?                

292
00:11:55,081 --> 00:11:58,217
   - Police learned Steven met  
Rebecca in the late '90s.       

293
00:11:58,317 --> 00:12:00,619
She was divorced                
 with two sons.                 

294
00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:02,822
  They started dating,          
 and it wouldn't be long        

295
00:12:02,922 --> 00:12:05,124
   before Rebecca was           
  working at the clinic         

296
00:12:05,224 --> 00:12:07,593
   and then running it          
  all together.                 

297
00:12:07,693 --> 00:12:11,697
 Fourteen years after they met, 
they got married.               

298
00:12:11,797 --> 00:12:13,632
 Family friends                 
 told detectives                

299
00:12:13,733 --> 00:12:16,769
 Rebecca catered                
 to Steven's every need.        

300
00:12:16,869 --> 00:12:18,537
   And it all seemed to work.   

301
00:12:18,637 --> 00:12:21,574
He had a helpmate at home       
   and at the office.           

302
00:12:21,674 --> 00:12:24,176
Not every couple                
   can work together.           

303
00:12:24,276 --> 00:12:25,911
It sounds like they both        
   just kind of found           

304
00:12:26,011 --> 00:12:27,713
   a lane where they excelled   

305
00:12:27,813 --> 00:12:29,915
and were able to do that        
in the practice.                

306
00:12:30,015 --> 00:12:31,951
 - Yeah, for sure, but,         
   you know, uh, Dr. Schwartz   

307
00:12:32,051 --> 00:12:34,420
wanted to concentrate on        
  taking care of his patients.  

308
00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:37,823
Becky was                       
  financially motivated         

309
00:12:37,923 --> 00:12:39,692
   and she was                  
  all about, you know,          

310
00:12:39,792 --> 00:12:42,394
 kinda making--                 
making decisions.               

311
00:12:42,495 --> 00:12:44,764
 - Eventually, this man,        
  Kyle Smithee,                 

312
00:12:44,864 --> 00:12:47,366
 took over the clinic's         
 day to day operations.         

313
00:12:47,466 --> 00:12:49,635
But Rebecca still               
   helped out.                  

314
00:12:49,735 --> 00:12:52,037
 - What was your working        
 relationship like with Rebecca?

315
00:12:52,138 --> 00:12:53,939
  - We got along well.          

316
00:12:54,039 --> 00:12:55,841
 We spent a good amount         
of time together                

317
00:12:55,941 --> 00:12:58,043
   outside of                   
   the clinic as well.          

318
00:12:58,144 --> 00:13:00,045
- She would often               
 invite Kyle to join her        

319
00:13:00,146 --> 00:13:01,881
 for drinks and dinner.         

320
00:13:01,981 --> 00:13:03,616
   - Just one of the most fun   
   people to be around          

321
00:13:03,716 --> 00:13:05,618
 and so engaging                
and just kinda--                

322
00:13:05,718 --> 00:13:08,420
She had this real               
unique a-ability                

323
00:13:08,521 --> 00:13:11,357
   when talking to you          
to really make you feel,        

324
00:13:11,457 --> 00:13:12,758
  like, seen and heard          

325
00:13:12,858 --> 00:13:14,693
  and-and just                  
   an energy about her          

326
00:13:14,794 --> 00:13:17,596
   that you wanted to           
quite frankly, be around.       

327
00:13:17,696 --> 00:13:19,865
   - She was 20 years younger   
than her husband,               

328
00:13:19,965 --> 00:13:21,367
   but Carter says his father   

329
00:13:21,467 --> 00:13:24,403
   had his own kind of          
youthful energy.                

330
00:13:24,503 --> 00:13:26,772
  He remembers reading          
  a story about his dad         

331
00:13:26,872 --> 00:13:28,274
   after he was gone.           

332
00:13:28,374 --> 00:13:29,975
 - The one that I think         
   would have brought him joy   

333
00:13:30,075 --> 00:13:31,977
 was the article                
that said                       

334
00:13:32,077 --> 00:13:33,679
a 50-year-old man               
 was found dead.                

335
00:13:33,779 --> 00:13:36,849
  I kind of laugh now thinking  
  my 74-year-old father         

336
00:13:36,949 --> 00:13:38,651
 would have been                
   loved-loved being described  

337
00:13:38,751 --> 00:13:41,754
 as the 50-year-old man.        

338
00:13:41,854 --> 00:13:44,557
 - As detectives learned        
   more about Steven Schwartz,  

339
00:13:44,657 --> 00:13:46,225
they had                        
   a hard time finding          

340
00:13:46,325 --> 00:13:48,427
anyone who had it               
  out for him.                  

341
00:13:48,527 --> 00:13:50,830
 - Dr. Schwartz couldn't        
 find one person                

342
00:13:50,930 --> 00:13:52,331
to say a bad word               
   about him.                   

343
00:13:52,431 --> 00:13:54,733
- Mmm...                        
 - Just nothing but good things.

344
00:13:54,834 --> 00:13:57,002
  Good doctor,                  
cared about his patients.       

345
00:13:57,102 --> 00:13:59,438
Half the time he wouldn't       
   even charge people.          

346
00:13:59,538 --> 00:14:03,409
- A kindly doctor killed        
   in the worst possible way.   

347
00:14:03,509 --> 00:14:06,078
  Maybe his wife would          
 help solve the mystery.        

348
00:14:20,893 --> 00:14:20,926
   -                            

349
00:14:20,926 --> 00:14:20,960
   - Th                         

350
00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:20,993
   - The                        

351
00:14:20,993 --> 00:14:21,026
   - The da                     

352
00:14:21,026 --> 00:14:21,060
   - The day                    

353
00:14:21,060 --> 00:14:21,093
   - The day af                 

354
00:14:21,093 --> 00:14:21,126
   - The day afte               

355
00:14:21,126 --> 00:14:21,160
   - The day after              

356
00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:21,193
   - The day after th           

357
00:14:21,193 --> 00:14:21,227
   - The day after the          

358
00:14:21,227 --> 00:14:21,260
   - The day after the mu       

359
00:14:21,260 --> 00:14:21,293
   - The day after the murd     

360
00:14:21,293 --> 00:14:21,327
   - The day after the murder   

361
00:14:21,327 --> 00:14:21,427
   - The day after the murder,  

362
00:14:21,427 --> 00:14:21,460
   - The day after the murder,  
 th                             

363
00:14:21,460 --> 00:14:21,493
   - The day after the murder,  
 the                            

364
00:14:21,493 --> 00:14:21,527
   - The day after the murder,  
 the cr                         

365
00:14:21,527 --> 00:14:21,560
   - The day after the murder,  
 the crim                       

366
00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:21,594
   - The day after the murder,  
 the crime                      

367
00:14:21,594 --> 00:14:21,627
   - The day after the murder,  
 the crime sc                   

368
00:14:21,627 --> 00:14:21,660
   - The day after the murder,  
 the crime scen                 

369
00:14:21,660 --> 00:14:22,628
   - The day after the murder,  
 the crime scene                

370
00:14:22,728 --> 00:14:26,165
  offered investigators         
a wealth of information.        

371
00:14:26,265 --> 00:14:29,702
  Steven's exact time of death  
   was difficult to pinpoint,   

372
00:14:29,802 --> 00:14:33,105
but his clothes suggested       
   he was killed that morning.  

373
00:14:33,205 --> 00:14:35,774
- He was dressed                
   in a suit.                   

374
00:14:35,875 --> 00:14:38,377
  Had a kind of                 
a light yellow shirt on,        

375
00:14:38,477 --> 00:14:39,511
   but no tie.                  

376
00:14:39,612 --> 00:14:40,613
  - Sounds like                 
 he looked like somebody        

377
00:14:40,713 --> 00:14:42,581
 who was going to work.         

378
00:14:42,681 --> 00:14:44,683
   - He-he was going to work.   

379
00:14:44,783 --> 00:14:46,719
  - While investigators         
   continued to search          

380
00:14:46,819 --> 00:14:49,154
every inch of that house,       

381
00:14:49,255 --> 00:14:52,291
detectives were trying to       
   find out what Rebecca knew.  

382
00:14:57,096 --> 00:14:58,397
  The questions I have,         
a couple of them                

383
00:14:58,497 --> 00:15:01,634
might maybe seem a little       
  unnecessary or even invasive. 

384
00:15:01,734 --> 00:15:03,335
   - She talked about           
 the good times                 

385
00:15:03,435 --> 00:15:04,870
 with her late husband.         

386
00:15:04,970 --> 00:15:06,739
- How long have you guys        
  been married?                 

387
00:15:06,839 --> 00:15:08,941
  - We actually                 
  got married in 2010,          

388
00:15:09,041 --> 00:15:11,911
 but we've been together        
   since 1996.                  

389
00:15:12,011 --> 00:15:13,312
Took me a while.                

390
00:15:13,412 --> 00:15:16,115
 - And mentioned                
 a past failed marriage.        

391
00:15:16,215 --> 00:15:17,316
 - I got burned.                

392
00:15:17,416 --> 00:15:19,451
We were married 10 years        
 and when that didn't work out, 

393
00:15:19,551 --> 00:15:22,021
  it was kind of like,          
 wow, you know?                 

394
00:15:22,121 --> 00:15:24,189
But then Schwartz               
   is awesome.                  

395
00:15:24,290 --> 00:15:26,325
   He's 20 years older          
than me,                        

396
00:15:26,425 --> 00:15:28,594
   but, um, he                  
   kind of grounds me.          

397
00:15:28,694 --> 00:15:31,530
 My best bud, you know.         

398
00:15:31,630 --> 00:15:33,265
 That's the way                 
   he referred to me.           

399
00:15:33,365 --> 00:15:34,633
  We were best friends.         
   We did everything--          

400
00:15:34,733 --> 00:15:37,002
   - She was,                   
 for the most part, calm        

401
00:15:37,102 --> 00:15:38,404
as she answered questions       

402
00:15:38,504 --> 00:15:40,906
  about her whereabouts         
that day.                       

403
00:15:41,006 --> 00:15:42,007
- What I'm trying               
  to do now is                  

404
00:15:42,107 --> 00:15:45,010
 just establish                 
everybody's routine for the day.

405
00:15:45,110 --> 00:15:48,113
 - Rebecca repeated what        
   she said on her 9-1-1 call,  

406
00:15:48,213 --> 00:15:50,482
   that when she left           
 the house around 8:30,         

407
00:15:50,582 --> 00:15:53,719
Steven was still in bed,        
   reading the paper.           

408
00:15:53,819 --> 00:15:56,522
   She added, he was scheduled  
  to start his hospital rounds  

409
00:15:56,622 --> 00:15:58,157
   later that morning.          

410
00:15:58,257 --> 00:16:00,259
 Her day started                
  with errands.                 

411
00:16:03,595 --> 00:16:05,397
   - She said she also          
  went to the cleaners          

412
00:16:05,497 --> 00:16:08,267
   and the gas station          
 before heading to work.        

413
00:16:08,367 --> 00:16:10,402
   - And she was able           
   to provide receipts          

414
00:16:10,502 --> 00:16:12,304
from every place                
 where she went.                

415
00:16:12,404 --> 00:16:16,275
- I probably left               
 around 6:00ish.                

416
00:16:16,375 --> 00:16:18,877
  - After work, Rebecca         
 hosted a birthday party        

417
00:16:18,978 --> 00:16:21,213
  for their good friend         
  and handyman,                 

418
00:16:21,313 --> 00:16:23,582
a guy named Leo Stragaj.        

419
00:16:23,682 --> 00:16:28,354
- I stopped at Total Wine       
and got a birthday gift,        

420
00:16:28,454 --> 00:16:30,222
   you know, for Leo.           

421
00:16:30,322 --> 00:16:31,957
 - She said she                 
   didn't really worry          

422
00:16:32,057 --> 00:16:34,760
  when her husband was          
 a no-show at the party.        

423
00:16:34,860 --> 00:16:36,562
  - Did you just assume         
he got busy, got tied up?       

424
00:16:36,662 --> 00:16:40,799
   - If he's able to,           
he'll call me right then.       

425
00:16:40,899 --> 00:16:45,371
 If he's with a patient         
or whatever the thing is,       

426
00:16:45,471 --> 00:16:46,939
 you know, if he's busy.        
 - Mm-hmm, yeah.                

427
00:16:47,039 --> 00:16:48,974
 - On the phone,                
 whatever it is,                

428
00:16:49,074 --> 00:16:52,277
   he kind of forgets about me  
and doesn't call me back.       

429
00:16:52,378 --> 00:16:54,013
 - Yeah.                        
 - And I-I mean,                

430
00:16:54,113 --> 00:16:56,849
  it happens more times         
   probably than not.           

431
00:16:56,949 --> 00:16:59,718
   - She seemed to be           
  looking forward to the future 

432
00:16:59,818 --> 00:17:01,920
   and a long vacation          
   they were planning.          

433
00:17:17,136 --> 00:17:19,638
 - The doctor certainly         
   could have retired.          

434
00:17:19,738 --> 00:17:21,440
  Between his booming practice  

435
00:17:21,540 --> 00:17:23,709
   and dozens                   
of rental homes he owned,       

436
00:17:23,809 --> 00:17:27,246
 Steven Schwartz                
   was worth millions.          

437
00:17:27,346 --> 00:17:28,680
  So it was no surprise         

438
00:17:28,781 --> 00:17:31,717
   he had an elaborate          
security system.                

439
00:17:31,817 --> 00:17:34,353
   Back at the house, that was  
 one of the first things        

440
00:17:34,453 --> 00:17:36,121
 investigators noticed.         

441
00:17:36,221 --> 00:17:38,257
- Of course, you can see        
the surveillance cameras        

442
00:17:38,357 --> 00:17:40,492
on-on all corners               
  of the house.                 

443
00:17:40,592 --> 00:17:41,693
- And you noticed               
that immediately?               

444
00:17:41,794 --> 00:17:43,062
- Oh, absolutely.               

445
00:17:43,162 --> 00:17:44,129
- You're thinking               
 optimistically,                

446
00:17:44,229 --> 00:17:45,998
 like, okay, we                 
   should have video.           

447
00:17:46,098 --> 00:17:47,299
  This should help us--         
- Right.                        

448
00:17:47,399 --> 00:17:48,667
 - ...kind of bring this        
   to a close pretty quickly.   

449
00:17:48,767 --> 00:17:50,803
 - Yes.                         

450
00:17:50,903 --> 00:17:52,738
   - So you all start           
  to search the house,          

451
00:17:52,838 --> 00:17:54,239
looking for the footage.        
What do you find?               

452
00:17:54,339 --> 00:17:58,410
 - Well, the DVR                
was-was missing.                

453
00:17:58,510 --> 00:18:01,914
- The DVR that connected        
 to the security system,        

454
00:18:02,014 --> 00:18:04,450
   so no video at all.          

455
00:18:04,550 --> 00:18:07,820
  A setback, certainly,         
but also a clue,                

456
00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:09,922
  because that                  
video recording equipment       

457
00:18:10,022 --> 00:18:12,591
 was hidden away                
in a small closet               

458
00:18:12,691 --> 00:18:14,326
above the garage.               

459
00:18:14,426 --> 00:18:15,527
What does that tell you?        

460
00:18:15,627 --> 00:18:17,229
  - It's an inside job.         
 - Mmm!                         

461
00:18:17,329 --> 00:18:19,631
  - Someone within the family,  
  known to the family,          

462
00:18:19,731 --> 00:18:21,066
   that's been                  
  to the house before,          

463
00:18:21,166 --> 00:18:25,237
knew where that monitor,        
 knew where the DVR was.        

464
00:18:25,337 --> 00:18:27,406
 - And knew their dogs.         

465
00:18:27,506 --> 00:18:31,110
 Rebecca said they'd been closed
   inside the bedroom all day.  

466
00:18:31,210 --> 00:18:34,113
 The same bedroom where         
 the burglary happened.         

467
00:18:34,213 --> 00:18:36,215
 - The supposed burglars        
   went into the room           

468
00:18:36,315 --> 00:18:38,450
  where the two                 
  very large dogs were          

469
00:18:38,550 --> 00:18:40,219
and had no issues               
with these dogs.                

470
00:18:40,319 --> 00:18:42,187
 One of them was                
  a Brazilian Mastiff,          

471
00:18:42,287 --> 00:18:43,589
over 100 pounds.                

472
00:18:43,689 --> 00:18:44,623
I mean, these are not...        

473
00:18:44,723 --> 00:18:45,691
   - Big dog.                   
   - ...friendly dogs           

474
00:18:45,791 --> 00:18:47,860
to people                       
  who don't know them.          

475
00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:50,662
   - And when Detective Diebel  
   looked around the bedroom,   

476
00:18:50,762 --> 00:18:53,198
   he thought                   
 something else was off.        

477
00:18:53,298 --> 00:18:55,634
   - There was several drawers  
 in the bedroom                 

478
00:18:55,734 --> 00:18:56,969
  that were pulled out,         

479
00:18:57,069 --> 00:18:59,371
 but it didn't look like        
anything had been               

480
00:18:59,471 --> 00:19:01,173
  gone through                  
in these drawers.               

481
00:19:01,273 --> 00:19:03,709
  And the drawers were          
   pulled out evenly.           

482
00:19:03,809 --> 00:19:06,545
   And then the boxes,          
   there's some jewelry boxes,  

483
00:19:06,645 --> 00:19:09,047
  watch b-boxes laying          
  in the floor                  

484
00:19:09,148 --> 00:19:10,949
  of the master closet.         

485
00:19:11,049 --> 00:19:13,152
 And it just looked like        
   someone just dropped them.   

486
00:19:13,252 --> 00:19:15,654
  The crime scene looks staged  
to make it look like a--        

487
00:19:15,754 --> 00:19:17,923
Like a burglary gone bad.       

488
00:19:18,023 --> 00:19:20,192
- The police told Rebecca       
  their theory                  

489
00:19:20,292 --> 00:19:22,127
 that the killer                
   wasn't a stranger,           

490
00:19:22,227 --> 00:19:24,163
   but someone                  
   who knew the family          

491
00:19:24,263 --> 00:19:26,632
and the house quite well.       

492
00:19:26,732 --> 00:19:28,767
  - I'm saying someone          
 that, you know,                

493
00:19:28,867 --> 00:19:32,404
   that that dog knows          
came in that house today.       

494
00:19:32,504 --> 00:19:34,907
   They came in for a reason,   
  to possibly take some stuff,  

495
00:19:35,007 --> 00:19:38,210
and then                        
something else happened.        

496
00:19:38,310 --> 00:19:39,711
 You understand                 
what I'm saying?                

497
00:19:39,811 --> 00:19:40,879
  That's-that's                 
what we're trying               

498
00:19:40,979 --> 00:19:41,914
 to find out here today.        

499
00:19:45,951 --> 00:19:49,254
  - Investigators were looking  
 for someone close to the family

500
00:19:49,354 --> 00:19:53,358
and someone who had spent       
   a lot of time at the house.  

501
00:19:53,458 --> 00:19:54,493
 It sounds like                 
  his fingerprints are          

502
00:19:54,593 --> 00:19:56,094
   literally all over           
the crime scene.                

503
00:19:56,195 --> 00:19:57,763
- Right.                        

504
00:20:09,408 --> 00:20:09,441
-                               

505
00:20:09,441 --> 00:20:09,474
- De                            

506
00:20:09,474 --> 00:20:09,508
- Dete                          

507
00:20:09,508 --> 00:20:09,541
- Detect                        

508
00:20:09,541 --> 00:20:09,575
- Detectiv                      

509
00:20:09,575 --> 00:20:09,608
- Detectives                    

510
00:20:09,608 --> 00:20:09,641
- Detectives w                  

511
00:20:09,641 --> 00:20:09,675
- Detectives wer                

512
00:20:09,675 --> 00:20:09,775
- Detectives were               

513
00:20:09,775 --> 00:20:09,808
- Detectives were               
 ju                             

514
00:20:09,808 --> 00:20:09,841
- Detectives were               
 just                           

515
00:20:09,841 --> 00:20:09,875
- Detectives were               
 just a                         

516
00:20:09,875 --> 00:20:09,908
- Detectives were               
 just a f                       

517
00:20:09,908 --> 00:20:09,942
- Detectives were               
 just a few                     

518
00:20:09,942 --> 00:20:09,975
- Detectives were               
 just a few d                   

519
00:20:09,975 --> 00:20:10,008
- Detectives were               
 just a few day                 

520
00:20:10,008 --> 00:20:11,109
- Detectives were               
 just a few days                

521
00:20:11,210 --> 00:20:13,845
  into the murder investigation 
 of Dr. Steven Schwartz         

522
00:20:13,946 --> 00:20:16,548
when they caught                
 their first big break.         

523
00:20:16,648 --> 00:20:18,317
   A match on some of           
the fingerprints                

524
00:20:18,417 --> 00:20:20,586
  they'd found                  
   at the crime scene.          

525
00:20:20,686 --> 00:20:23,222
They belonged to                
  Rebecca's oldest son,         

526
00:20:23,322 --> 00:20:25,290
33-year-old Eric Nichols,       

527
00:20:25,390 --> 00:20:26,858
  whose prints                  
  were on file                  

528
00:20:26,959 --> 00:20:28,794
 because he had                 
previously been arrested        

529
00:20:28,894 --> 00:20:31,697
for driving with                
  a suspended license.          

530
00:20:31,797 --> 00:20:33,732
 Eric lived near                
   Portage, Wisconsin,          

531
00:20:33,832 --> 00:20:35,834
  owned a Verizon store there.  

532
00:20:35,934 --> 00:20:38,270
   He was married with          
   a baby on the way.           

533
00:20:38,370 --> 00:20:40,706
   - His fingerprints           
 come back to the areas         

534
00:20:40,806 --> 00:20:43,742
 that were processed by         
  the crime scene technicians.  

535
00:20:43,842 --> 00:20:45,777
   - Including a door           
  to the garage                 

536
00:20:45,877 --> 00:20:48,347
close to                        
 Steven Schwartz's body.        

537
00:20:48,447 --> 00:20:50,983
  The door appeared to          
 have been forced open.         

538
00:20:51,083 --> 00:20:52,517
- His prints were there.        

539
00:20:52,618 --> 00:20:55,988
 His prints were                
 upstairs in the monitor        

540
00:20:56,088 --> 00:20:57,889
   where the DVR was.           

541
00:20:57,990 --> 00:21:00,759
   And also his prints were on  
some of the jewelry boxes       

542
00:21:00,859 --> 00:21:02,828
in his--                        
 in the master bedroom.         

543
00:21:02,928 --> 00:21:04,663
   - So the forensic evidence   
  comes back--                  

544
00:21:04,763 --> 00:21:07,399
  - And points                  
  right at him as being         

545
00:21:07,499 --> 00:21:10,269
   the number one suspect now.  

546
00:21:10,369 --> 00:21:11,670
 So I get a team                
  of detectives                 

547
00:21:11,770 --> 00:21:15,907
and we go up to Wisconsin       
   to interview Eric.           

548
00:21:16,008 --> 00:21:18,110
We walked into the store,       
we did this unannounced.        

549
00:21:44,536 --> 00:21:47,239
  - That was almost two months  
   before the murder.           

550
00:21:47,339 --> 00:21:50,609
 And Eric said he hadn't        
 been to Florida since.         

551
00:21:50,709 --> 00:21:51,877
  Did you confront him          
and say,                        

552
00:21:51,977 --> 00:21:53,178
  sir, we have                  
your fingerprints               

553
00:21:53,278 --> 00:21:55,614
   all over this crime scene?   
  - I did ask him, um,          

554
00:21:55,714 --> 00:21:58,550
   would you find fingerprints  
  in the monitor room?          

555
00:21:58,650 --> 00:21:59,484
  And he goes,                  
Yeah, you might,                

556
00:21:59,584 --> 00:22:01,420
   because I-I've been          
up there before,                

557
00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:03,388
  so my prints could be there.  

558
00:22:03,488 --> 00:22:04,456
   Could they be on the door?   

559
00:22:04,556 --> 00:22:06,692
  Well, I did take out          
the trash back in April.        

560
00:22:06,792 --> 00:22:08,994
   My-my fingerprints           
 could be there.                

561
00:22:09,094 --> 00:22:11,229
   I said, what about           
   on your mom's jewelry box?   

562
00:22:11,330 --> 00:22:13,031
  - No, absolutely not.         
- Hmm...                        

563
00:22:13,131 --> 00:22:14,966
   - My prints                  
  should not be there.          

564
00:22:15,067 --> 00:22:16,468
 So I'm thinking, well,         
  yeah, well, they are.         

565
00:22:16,568 --> 00:22:18,437
   - They are.                  
   - So we were gonna           

566
00:22:18,537 --> 00:22:20,005
maybe do                        
   a second interview,          

567
00:22:20,105 --> 00:22:23,141
   but we started, uh,          
  doing our background.         

568
00:22:23,241 --> 00:22:24,843
 He had gone to                 
   the doctor's with his wife.  

569
00:22:24,943 --> 00:22:26,478
She was pregnant                
  at the time.                  

570
00:22:26,578 --> 00:22:30,048
And we were able                
  to give him an alibi          

571
00:22:30,148 --> 00:22:32,184
   through the doctor           
and through video               

572
00:22:32,284 --> 00:22:34,553
   that showed                  
  his coming and goings         

573
00:22:34,653 --> 00:22:36,088
at the, uh, Verizon store       

574
00:22:36,188 --> 00:22:39,257
   both the day before          
  and the day of the homicide.  

575
00:22:39,358 --> 00:22:41,293
 - So he was absolutely         
  in Wisconsin.                 

576
00:22:41,393 --> 00:22:42,260
 - He was in Wisconsin.         

577
00:22:42,361 --> 00:22:43,562
   - Does that kind of          
take the wind out               

578
00:22:43,662 --> 00:22:45,630
  of your investigative sails?  

579
00:22:45,731 --> 00:22:47,666
   - It does, it does.          

580
00:22:47,766 --> 00:22:49,301
But you just keep               
 plugging away,                 

581
00:22:49,401 --> 00:22:51,103
   just following up on leads.  

582
00:22:51,203 --> 00:22:52,437
   - It was a setback.          

583
00:22:52,537 --> 00:22:54,706
But what struck me about        
  Detective John Diebel         

584
00:22:54,806 --> 00:22:56,875
was how quickly he reset.       

585
00:22:56,975 --> 00:22:58,543
 He didn't dwell                
 on frustration                 

586
00:22:58,643 --> 00:23:00,245
or try to force a theory.       

587
00:23:00,345 --> 00:23:02,114
   He simply moved on.          

588
00:23:02,214 --> 00:23:04,483
 The best investigators         
   have determination           

589
00:23:04,583 --> 00:23:07,085
and are able to withstand       
   as many curveballs           

590
00:23:07,185 --> 00:23:08,954
 as the evidence                
   will throw at them.          

591
00:23:09,054 --> 00:23:12,357
And in this case,               
  there would be many.          

592
00:23:12,457 --> 00:23:14,292
  - Over the course of          
   those kinda first few days   

593
00:23:14,393 --> 00:23:16,795
   after the doctor's murder,   

594
00:23:16,895 --> 00:23:18,997
ballpark, how many people       
  would you say                 

595
00:23:19,097 --> 00:23:20,966
  that you interviewed?         

596
00:23:21,066 --> 00:23:22,734
 - We talked to,                
 I don't know, had to be        

597
00:23:22,834 --> 00:23:24,169
   at least 50 people.          

598
00:23:24,269 --> 00:23:25,670
  Co-workers, you know,         

599
00:23:25,771 --> 00:23:28,006
  other family members,         
   neighbors.                   

600
00:23:28,106 --> 00:23:30,275
  - And they talked to          
  Rebecca's other son,          

601
00:23:30,375 --> 00:23:32,144
28-year-old Ben Nichols,        

602
00:23:32,244 --> 00:23:34,813
  who lived in Florida          
near his mom and stepdad.       

603
00:23:34,913 --> 00:23:36,148
- Who would wanna               
 hurt this guy?                 

604
00:23:36,248 --> 00:23:38,049
 - Nobody, man, nobody.         

605
00:23:38,150 --> 00:23:39,117
- He didn't have                
  any enemies?                  

606
00:23:39,217 --> 00:23:41,052
   - This guy, I mean,          
he wouldn't hurt anybody.       

607
00:23:41,153 --> 00:23:42,687
  You know what I mean?         
   He's a good doctor.          

608
00:23:42,788 --> 00:23:45,157
He's a good man,                
  good husband.                 

609
00:23:45,257 --> 00:23:47,526
 - Ben worked on some of        
the Schwartz's properties       

610
00:23:47,626 --> 00:23:49,661
 and had                        
 a landscaping business.        

611
00:23:49,761 --> 00:23:51,396
  But Detective Diebel          
   had learned                  

612
00:23:51,496 --> 00:23:53,398
something else about him.       

613
00:23:53,498 --> 00:23:56,768
- He had actually broken        
into a previous residence       

614
00:23:56,868 --> 00:23:58,970
of Dr. Schwartz.                

615
00:23:59,070 --> 00:24:01,206
   - About five years           
   before the murder,           

616
00:24:01,306 --> 00:24:04,709
  he stole his mother's jewelry 
  and Steven's watches,         

617
00:24:04,810 --> 00:24:06,445
then pawned them.               

618
00:24:06,545 --> 00:24:08,180
   - You orchestrated           
 some kind of a burglary        

619
00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:09,448
  at your mom's house?          

620
00:24:09,548 --> 00:24:12,117
 - Yeah, I was-I was all        
----ed up on pills, man.        

621
00:24:12,217 --> 00:24:13,652
  - So he had actually          
  broke into the house          

622
00:24:13,752 --> 00:24:16,888
  to steal-steal items          
   to support his drug habit.   

623
00:24:16,988 --> 00:24:19,291
 Um, but not for                
 the last couple years.         

624
00:24:19,391 --> 00:24:21,359
 He seemed to be                
  doing better.                 

625
00:24:21,460 --> 00:24:22,494
  - He kind of                  
straightened himself out.       

626
00:24:22,594 --> 00:24:24,763
 - Straightened                 
   himself out, yeah.           

627
00:24:24,863 --> 00:24:25,764
  - Did you get                 
   any time for that,           

628
00:24:25,864 --> 00:24:28,333
   or probation or did          
they do drug court or--?        

629
00:24:28,433 --> 00:24:30,435
 - Oh yeah, man.                
 I, uh, went to a drug program. 

630
00:24:30,535 --> 00:24:32,137
   I was on probation.          

631
00:24:32,237 --> 00:24:35,207
 - And it seemed Steven         
had always embraced him.        

632
00:24:35,307 --> 00:24:36,441
 - I've been in                 
a lot of trouble                

633
00:24:36,541 --> 00:24:37,742
  and the guy has never         
raised his voice                

634
00:24:37,843 --> 00:24:38,844
 at me one time.                

635
00:24:38,944 --> 00:24:41,780
  I've never heard him          
   raise his voice to my mom.   

636
00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:44,149
  I've never heard him          
raise his voice, period.        

637
00:24:44,249 --> 00:24:46,418
- Ben said on the morning       
  of the murder                 

638
00:24:46,518 --> 00:24:48,987
 he was laying flooring         
   in another county.           

639
00:24:49,087 --> 00:24:52,858
 So you were telling me         
that you left your house        

640
00:24:52,958 --> 00:24:55,994
   at approximately, you said,  
between 7:30 and 8:30 AM?       

641
00:24:56,094 --> 00:24:58,196
 - Yeah.                        
 - Okay.                        

642
00:24:58,296 --> 00:25:01,233
  And you were                  
 in Pasco county                

643
00:25:01,333 --> 00:25:06,238
 at your wife's brother's house?
 - Wife's brother's house, yeah.

644
00:25:06,338 --> 00:25:09,608
  - In the afternoon, he worked 
  on his landscaping business.  

645
00:25:09,708 --> 00:25:12,444
  - He was pretty forthright in 
  the information that he gave. 

646
00:25:12,544 --> 00:25:15,013
  He also had a receipt         
   of where he rented           

647
00:25:15,113 --> 00:25:17,449
   some lawn equipment          
  for the day.                  

648
00:25:17,549 --> 00:25:19,417
 - They spoke to people         
   who worked with him          

649
00:25:19,518 --> 00:25:21,086
and confirmed his story.        

650
00:25:21,186 --> 00:25:22,988
 And at the crime scene,        
   his prints                   

651
00:25:23,088 --> 00:25:24,823
were nowhere to be found.       

652
00:25:24,923 --> 00:25:26,391
Did you ever rule him out       
   completely?                  

653
00:25:26,491 --> 00:25:28,793
- No, no, there's               
   always ways around.          

654
00:25:28,894 --> 00:25:31,329
Because we can never tell       

655
00:25:31,429 --> 00:25:32,931
 when the doctor                
 actually died.                 

656
00:25:33,031 --> 00:25:34,432
- So he was still               
 on your radar.                 

657
00:25:34,533 --> 00:25:35,734
- Right.                        

658
00:25:35,834 --> 00:25:38,136
- Police learned                
a lot about Ben and Eric        

659
00:25:38,236 --> 00:25:41,506
 and how close they were        
 to their mom, Rebecca.         

660
00:25:41,606 --> 00:25:44,609
  - I knew Eric and Ben         
 much better than I knew Carter,

661
00:25:44,709 --> 00:25:46,511
  uh, because they were         
in the clinic more often.       

662
00:25:46,611 --> 00:25:47,746
When we would go                
 and, you know,                 

663
00:25:47,846 --> 00:25:49,681
 have happy hour                
 or something like that,        

664
00:25:49,781 --> 00:25:52,150
 Eric and Becky                 
were very close.                

665
00:25:52,250 --> 00:25:53,485
   Very close.                  

666
00:25:53,585 --> 00:25:56,855
  - But Ben's problems          
   often put him on the outs.   

667
00:25:56,955 --> 00:25:58,056
- We'd go through               
  these kind of phases          

668
00:25:58,156 --> 00:25:59,858
  where he was                  
   sort of ostracized.          

669
00:25:59,958 --> 00:26:02,928
 - Mmm!                         
  - And after a period of time, 

670
00:26:03,028 --> 00:26:05,530
you know, he'd be               
  back around.                  

671
00:26:05,630 --> 00:26:09,267
 - But if Rebecca was conflicted
 about her youngest son,        

672
00:26:09,367 --> 00:26:13,104
   the same could not be said   
 about another man in her life. 

673
00:26:13,204 --> 00:26:15,507
A kind of surrogate son.        

674
00:26:15,607 --> 00:26:18,777
 - You became close with        
 the Schwartzes pretty quickly. 

675
00:26:18,877 --> 00:26:20,612
- Yeah, very, very close.       

676
00:26:30,488 --> 00:26:30,522
  -                             

677
00:26:30,522 --> 00:26:30,555
  - Po                          

678
00:26:30,555 --> 00:26:30,589
  - Poli                        

679
00:26:30,589 --> 00:26:30,622
  - Police                      

680
00:26:30,622 --> 00:26:30,655
  - Police w                    

681
00:26:30,655 --> 00:26:30,689
  - Police wer                  

682
00:26:30,689 --> 00:26:30,789
  - Police were                 

683
00:26:30,789 --> 00:26:30,822
  - Police were                 
  co                            

684
00:26:30,822 --> 00:26:30,855
  - Police were                 
  conv                          

685
00:26:30,855 --> 00:26:30,889
  - Police were                 
  convin                        

686
00:26:30,889 --> 00:26:30,922
  - Police were                 
  convince                      

687
00:26:30,922 --> 00:26:30,956
  - Police were                 
  convinced                     

688
00:26:30,956 --> 00:26:30,989
  - Police were                 
  convinced th                  

689
00:26:30,989 --> 00:26:31,022
  - Police were                 
  convinced the                 

690
00:26:31,022 --> 00:26:31,056
  - Police were                 
  convinced the ki              

691
00:26:31,056 --> 00:26:31,089
  - Police were                 
  convinced the kill            

692
00:26:31,089 --> 00:26:31,957
  - Police were                 
  convinced the killer          

693
00:26:32,057 --> 00:26:35,260
was someone close               
 to Steven and Rebecca.         

694
00:26:35,360 --> 00:26:37,128
   They had looked at           
   Rebecca's two sons,          

695
00:26:37,228 --> 00:26:39,331
  and they soon learned         
about another man               

696
00:26:39,431 --> 00:26:40,765
  who was close to her          

697
00:26:40,865 --> 00:26:43,768
   and knew the family          
   and the house well.          

698
00:26:43,868 --> 00:26:45,637
  Leo Stragaj.                  

699
00:26:45,737 --> 00:26:48,440
 How did Leo come to be         
  on your radar                 

700
00:26:48,540 --> 00:26:49,975
 in the sense of                
   someone to talk to?          

701
00:26:50,075 --> 00:26:52,611
 - Well, he had been in         
the house several times.        

702
00:26:52,711 --> 00:26:54,980
Um, he worked with them,        

703
00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:57,282
  um, so he was                 
   well known to both           

704
00:26:57,382 --> 00:26:59,384
   R-Rebecca and Dr. Schwartz.  

705
00:26:59,484 --> 00:27:00,585
 - The handyman.                

706
00:27:00,685 --> 00:27:02,287
 - He didn't like to be         
 called that, but yeah.         

707
00:27:02,387 --> 00:27:04,022
   - What did he like           
  to be called?                 

708
00:27:04,122 --> 00:27:06,825
 - Well, he-- Because we        
  referred to him as handyman,  

709
00:27:06,925 --> 00:27:08,927
  and he would tell me,         
   I'm not a handyman.          

710
00:27:09,027 --> 00:27:10,228
  He does construction.         

711
00:27:10,328 --> 00:27:11,730
  The house that-that,          

712
00:27:11,830 --> 00:27:13,531
uh, Dr. Schwartz                
  and Rebecca lived in,         

713
00:27:13,632 --> 00:27:15,834
 he had helped remodel.         
- Mm-hmm.                       

714
00:27:15,934 --> 00:27:18,169
  - And they had, like,         
   30 other properties          

715
00:27:18,269 --> 00:27:19,671
 that he would maintain         

716
00:27:19,771 --> 00:27:22,073
   and remodel                  
  and-and take care of.         

717
00:27:23,808 --> 00:27:25,143
  - It had been a long journey  

718
00:27:25,243 --> 00:27:27,379
   from Leo's                   
 home country of Albania        

719
00:27:27,479 --> 00:27:29,748
   to Tarpon Springs, Florida.  

720
00:27:29,848 --> 00:27:31,983
   - How did you come           
   to live in Florida?          

721
00:27:32,083 --> 00:27:35,487
- Well, I left my country       
when I was a little kid.        

722
00:27:35,587 --> 00:27:39,024
 I was, uh, 14 years old        
  when I left.                  

723
00:27:39,124 --> 00:27:40,625
I went to Greece.               

724
00:27:40,725 --> 00:27:44,062
  Then I went all over Europe,  
 a little bit in Canada.        

725
00:27:44,162 --> 00:27:47,432
  Then in the beginning         
   of 2000, I was in Detroit.   

726
00:27:48,366 --> 00:27:50,101
- He lived there                
with his cousin.                

727
00:27:50,201 --> 00:27:53,038
  One cold winter day,          
 he decided he was ready        

728
00:27:53,138 --> 00:27:56,241
 to see a warmer                
part of America.                

729
00:27:56,341 --> 00:27:59,978
- I tell him, man, I just       
bought a convertible car.       

730
00:28:00,078 --> 00:28:01,546
 Let's drive to Florida.        

731
00:28:01,646 --> 00:28:06,718
  And soon as I reached         
that bridge in Tampa Bay,       

732
00:28:06,818 --> 00:28:09,954
I told my cousin, listen,       
   I want to live in Florida.   

733
00:28:10,055 --> 00:28:13,191
I'm never, never                
 going back to Michigan.        

734
00:28:13,291 --> 00:28:15,660
 - Leo started working,         
   odd jobs at first,           

735
00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:17,529
 then remodeling houses,        

736
00:28:17,629 --> 00:28:20,265
 and eventually                 
   Rebecca Schwartz hired him   

737
00:28:20,365 --> 00:28:23,234
to help maintain                
their many rental homes.        

738
00:28:23,334 --> 00:28:25,003
  - Tell me your first          
 impressions of Rebecca.        

739
00:28:25,103 --> 00:28:27,072
What did you first think        
of her when you met her?        

740
00:28:27,172 --> 00:28:28,840
  - She's a great lady.         

741
00:28:28,940 --> 00:28:30,842
 Uh, very wild.                 

742
00:28:30,942 --> 00:28:32,877
 - Wild?                        
   - Yeah, very wild.           

743
00:28:32,977 --> 00:28:36,147
 Like, uh, okay,                
   let's do this now.           

744
00:28:36,247 --> 00:28:38,416
   We'll buy 30 houses          
  in one week.                  

745
00:28:38,516 --> 00:28:39,651
 We'll--                        
 - So very spontaneous.         

746
00:28:39,751 --> 00:28:42,854
  - Yes, let's do this.         
Let's grow the business.        

747
00:28:42,954 --> 00:28:45,290
  - Rebecca was also generous.  

748
00:28:45,390 --> 00:28:48,626
   She bought Leo and his wife  
  a house and a truck.          

749
00:28:48,727 --> 00:28:51,296
  - She started                 
calling me son or, like,        

750
00:28:51,396 --> 00:28:53,798
  I would go to                 
  every occasion party          

751
00:28:53,898 --> 00:28:55,934
 or, you know, they had.        

752
00:28:56,034 --> 00:28:57,569
 - So you all--                 
You became close                

753
00:28:57,669 --> 00:28:59,537
   with the Schwartzes          
 pretty quickly?                

754
00:28:59,637 --> 00:29:01,606
- Yeah, very, very close.       

755
00:29:01,706 --> 00:29:02,907
 - Leo's journey sounded        

756
00:29:03,007 --> 00:29:05,810
 like a classic                 
 American success story.        

757
00:29:05,910 --> 00:29:08,747
  Here's an immigrant who came  
 here for a better life.        

758
00:29:08,847 --> 00:29:09,814
 He worked hard,                

759
00:29:09,914 --> 00:29:12,117
 literally built                
a business with his hands       

760
00:29:12,217 --> 00:29:14,419
   and created a life           
 for his family.                

761
00:29:14,519 --> 00:29:16,221
 But it was interesting         
 hearing him talk about         

762
00:29:16,321 --> 00:29:17,856
 his strong relationship        

763
00:29:17,956 --> 00:29:19,924
 with the doctor                
  and Rebecca Schwartz.         

764
00:29:20,024 --> 00:29:23,128
 All the gifts,                 
  all the closeness, the trust. 

765
00:29:23,228 --> 00:29:24,829
 Does it come at a cost?        

766
00:29:24,929 --> 00:29:26,798
  When someone                  
  gives you everything,         

767
00:29:26,898 --> 00:29:28,767
 how hard is it                 
  to escape the feeling         

768
00:29:28,867 --> 00:29:31,402
that you owe them               
  everything in return?         

769
00:29:32,704 --> 00:29:33,938
   Whatever the label,          

770
00:29:34,038 --> 00:29:36,741
  handyman, contractor,         
 surrogate son.                 

771
00:29:36,841 --> 00:29:38,643
- Yeah, just have               
   a seat right there.          

772
00:29:38,743 --> 00:29:41,246
 - About two weeks after        
  the murder, Detective Diebel  

773
00:29:41,346 --> 00:29:43,715
asked Leo to come               
 in for a chat.                 

774
00:29:43,815 --> 00:29:46,684
- How long have you known       
   the-the Schwartzes?          

775
00:29:49,254 --> 00:29:50,955
  - Four years?                 
   All right.                   

776
00:29:54,292 --> 00:29:56,127
 - How'd you get                
to-to know them?                

777
00:29:58,663 --> 00:30:00,598
  - Leo said he wanted          
 to help police                 

778
00:30:00,698 --> 00:30:02,033
any way he could.               

779
00:30:02,133 --> 00:30:04,869
 - He was very friendly,        
very cooperative,               

780
00:30:04,969 --> 00:30:06,704
  wouldn't hold anything back.  

781
00:30:06,805 --> 00:30:09,641
   - Who do you think           
  is involved?                  

782
00:30:09,741 --> 00:30:11,176
Who do you think did it?        

783
00:30:20,285 --> 00:30:22,787
 - Like the detectives,         
Leo thought it had to be        

784
00:30:22,887 --> 00:30:25,056
  someone close                 
to Dr. Schwartz.                

785
00:30:33,164 --> 00:30:35,433
 - And whoever did this         
  needs to be arrested          

786
00:30:35,533 --> 00:30:37,635
   and put in jail for          
 the rest of their life.        

787
00:30:37,735 --> 00:30:39,003
  Wouldn't you say so?          

788
00:30:43,608 --> 00:30:45,476
 - Yeah.                        

789
00:30:49,647 --> 00:30:51,416
  - No.                         

790
00:30:53,117 --> 00:30:55,353
- Right.                        

791
00:30:55,453 --> 00:30:58,189
 - And Leo said he would        
 never harm the doctor.         

792
00:30:58,289 --> 00:30:59,991
   - And I heard that           
   he really liked you a lot.   

793
00:31:00,091 --> 00:31:01,459
 He goes, he liked you,         
  respected you                 

794
00:31:01,559 --> 00:31:02,861
because you were                
 a hard worker.                 

795
00:31:05,997 --> 00:31:07,699
- Mm-hmm.                       

796
00:31:10,501 --> 00:31:12,303
- Mm-hmm.                       

797
00:31:17,408 --> 00:31:19,611
  - Yeah, he was a very giving  
and-and kind guy.               

798
00:31:29,420 --> 00:31:30,955
- They asked Leo                
the same question               

799
00:31:31,055 --> 00:31:32,590
 they'd asked everyone.         

800
00:31:32,690 --> 00:31:34,859
 Where was he on the day        
 of the murder?                 

801
00:31:34,959 --> 00:31:38,630
   At home, Leo said,           
  then at a work site.          

802
00:31:38,730 --> 00:31:40,465
 - And what time did you        
   get there that day?          

803
00:31:46,037 --> 00:31:47,505
- And so he said                
   that he was working          

804
00:31:47,605 --> 00:31:49,173
   on a house all day.          
- Right.                        

805
00:31:49,274 --> 00:31:50,308
 - And was nowhere near         

806
00:31:50,408 --> 00:31:51,910
   the Schwartz home.           
- Right.                        

807
00:31:52,010 --> 00:31:54,345
- And that night                
 he was the birthday boy        

808
00:31:54,445 --> 00:31:57,048
  at that party                 
 Rebecca hosted for him.        

809
00:31:57,148 --> 00:31:58,783
  He turned 37.                 

810
00:31:58,883 --> 00:32:00,685
   - They got                   
 a little birthday cake,        

811
00:32:00,785 --> 00:32:02,620
uh, they brought                
   some gifts.                  

812
00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:04,722
- Just your basic               
birthday dinner.                

813
00:32:04,822 --> 00:32:06,858
  - Yeah, just simple.          

814
00:32:06,958 --> 00:32:08,192
- And now just, you know?       

815
00:32:08,293 --> 00:32:10,628
   - Police were able           
  to verify his story.          

816
00:32:10,728 --> 00:32:14,032
  Leo answered their questions  
 and gave a DNA sample.         

817
00:32:14,132 --> 00:32:15,433
  As you talked to him,         

818
00:32:15,533 --> 00:32:17,769
  did he seem to wonder         
why he was there?               

819
00:32:17,869 --> 00:32:19,237
   - No, no, he just--          
he goes,                        

820
00:32:19,337 --> 00:32:20,872
 just know that                 
  we're doing our job,          

821
00:32:20,972 --> 00:32:23,574
   talking to                   
 everybody in-involved.         

822
00:32:23,675 --> 00:32:25,810
  - Investigators were          
 hitting a wall.                

823
00:32:25,910 --> 00:32:29,414
 Months went by                 
with few answers.               

824
00:32:29,514 --> 00:32:32,750
  Then, new information         
came out.                       

825
00:32:32,850 --> 00:32:35,820
   It would change everything   
 they thought they knew         

826
00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:37,221
about the doctor.               

827
00:32:37,322 --> 00:32:41,192
 - What he did,                 
 it-it-it was horrific.         

828
00:32:41,292 --> 00:32:44,262
   - Was Dr. Schwartz's murder  
  payback for something         

829
00:32:44,362 --> 00:32:46,597
  that happened                 
 decades before?                

830
00:32:46,698 --> 00:32:49,267
  - There was a very big secret 
   that your dad had.           

831
00:32:49,367 --> 00:32:50,802
 - Yes.                         

832
00:33:02,780 --> 00:33:02,814
 -                              

833
00:33:02,814 --> 00:33:02,847
 - Se                           

834
00:33:02,847 --> 00:33:02,880
 - Seve                         

835
00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:02,914
 - Seven                        

836
00:33:02,914 --> 00:33:02,947
 - Seven mo                     

837
00:33:02,947 --> 00:33:02,981
 - Seven mont                   

838
00:33:02,981 --> 00:33:03,047
 - Seven months                 

839
00:33:03,047 --> 00:33:03,081
 - Seven months                 
af                              

840
00:33:03,081 --> 00:33:03,114
 - Seven months                 
afte                            

841
00:33:03,114 --> 00:33:03,147
 - Seven months                 
after                           

842
00:33:03,147 --> 00:33:03,181
 - Seven months                 
after th                        

843
00:33:03,181 --> 00:33:03,214
 - Seven months                 
after the                       

844
00:33:03,214 --> 00:33:03,247
 - Seven months                 
after the mu                    

845
00:33:03,247 --> 00:33:03,281
 - Seven months                 
after the murd                  

846
00:33:03,281 --> 00:33:03,314
 - Seven months                 
after the murder                

847
00:33:03,314 --> 00:33:04,148
 - Seven months                 
after the murder,               

848
00:33:04,248 --> 00:33:06,451
 Helen Como was reading         
  the newspaper                 

849
00:33:06,551 --> 00:33:08,886
  when she saw                  
 a jaw-dropping headline        

850
00:33:08,987 --> 00:33:11,956
  about her boss, Dr. Schwartz. 

851
00:33:12,056 --> 00:33:16,894
- After he was murdered,        
   a story broke in the papers  

852
00:33:16,995 --> 00:33:19,097
that totally stunned me.        

853
00:33:19,197 --> 00:33:23,334
 - Shocking doesn't even        
  begin to describe it.         

854
00:33:25,403 --> 00:33:27,739
  - The article focused         
 on a different murder,         

855
00:33:27,839 --> 00:33:30,775
50 years earlier                
  in Hobbs, New Mexico.         

856
00:33:34,112 --> 00:33:36,314
 Home to                        
 a remarkable sculpture         

857
00:33:36,414 --> 00:33:39,283
   dedicated to people          
   who served in the military.  

858
00:33:39,384 --> 00:33:41,819
People like Victor Cook,        
 a local dentist                

859
00:33:41,919 --> 00:33:44,956
 who served in the army         
in World War II.                

860
00:33:45,056 --> 00:33:46,991
   James Cecil knew him well.   

861
00:33:47,091 --> 00:33:49,727
   - In your 93 years,          
   Mr. Cecil,                   

862
00:33:49,827 --> 00:33:51,429
   you've seen                  
a lot of things.                

863
00:33:51,529 --> 00:33:53,031
- I've seen a whole lot.        

864
00:33:53,131 --> 00:33:54,899
   - But what happened          
  to Dr. Cook,                  

865
00:33:54,999 --> 00:33:56,200
   will you ever forget that?   

866
00:33:56,300 --> 00:33:57,735
- Oh, no,                       
  I'll never forget it.         

867
00:33:57,835 --> 00:34:01,372
   It's-it's just been          
sort of part of my life.        

868
00:34:01,472 --> 00:34:02,974
  - He went to Baylor.          

869
00:34:03,074 --> 00:34:05,810
   - Susan Nutting is           
Dr. Cook's niece.               

870
00:34:05,910 --> 00:34:07,612
   - This is his dental class?  
 - Yes.                         

871
00:34:07,712 --> 00:34:10,348
 - Yes, he's right here.        
   - Oh, my goodness.           

872
00:34:10,448 --> 00:34:12,550
 Uncle Doc, right there.        
 - Yeah.                        

873
00:34:12,650 --> 00:34:15,620
 - Susan says her uncle         
   was a generous man           

874
00:34:15,720 --> 00:34:18,656
   and known to carry           
 a lot of cash.                 

875
00:34:18,756 --> 00:34:20,458
   - If someone needed          
   some money,                  

876
00:34:20,558 --> 00:34:21,893
  he'd give it to him.          

877
00:34:21,993 --> 00:34:23,995
But he'd pull out               
   this money.                  

878
00:34:24,095 --> 00:34:25,897
 - He would pull it out         

879
00:34:25,997 --> 00:34:27,298
   and anyone who was           
 standing around                

880
00:34:27,398 --> 00:34:29,167
 could see it's a lot of        
  money he's got there.         

881
00:34:29,267 --> 00:34:31,169
- Mm-hmm.                       

882
00:34:31,269 --> 00:34:33,871
- Someone had their eyes        
 on that money.                 

883
00:34:33,971 --> 00:34:37,442
   It was November 21st, 1961.  

884
00:34:37,542 --> 00:34:40,711
In the middle of the day,       
  a 21 year old college student 

885
00:34:40,812 --> 00:34:43,114
   walked into                  
  the doctor's office.          

886
00:34:43,214 --> 00:34:47,085
 He was carrying                
 a .25 caliber Beretta.         

887
00:34:47,185 --> 00:34:49,620
- And that's when               
 Uncle Doc turned around        

888
00:34:49,720 --> 00:34:51,456
   and he saw                   
this gun on him.                

889
00:34:51,556 --> 00:34:54,792
And he told him,                
put that thing away and go home.

890
00:34:54,892 --> 00:34:57,995
- Cook told him, he says,       
  I'm not giving you my money.  

891
00:34:58,096 --> 00:35:00,198
   He pushed him back           
 and said, turn around.         

892
00:35:00,298 --> 00:35:03,000
  He said, no,                  
 I'm not turning around.        

893
00:35:03,101 --> 00:35:05,369
 - And my uncle                 
   evidently told him,          

894
00:35:05,470 --> 00:35:07,872
  He said, no, I wanna          
  be facing you                 

895
00:35:07,972 --> 00:35:09,340
   when you shoot me.           

896
00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:10,508
 - And they got                 
  in a scuffle,                 

897
00:35:10,608 --> 00:35:12,577
  and the gun went off,         
 and it hit him.                

898
00:35:12,677 --> 00:35:14,645
The blood was coming out        
  of his head.                  

899
00:35:16,447 --> 00:35:18,249
- Uncle Doc fell.               

900
00:35:18,349 --> 00:35:21,953
 The shooter pushed him         
 under his desk.                

901
00:35:22,053 --> 00:35:23,287
   - And then he took           
  his billfold                  

902
00:35:23,387 --> 00:35:26,357
and left                        
   out the back door.           

903
00:35:26,457 --> 00:35:31,362
  - Dr. Cook was dead,          
 robbed of $400.                

904
00:35:31,462 --> 00:35:33,898
  Who killed Dr. Cook?          
   What was his name?           

905
00:35:33,998 --> 00:35:35,766
   - Steven Schwartz.           

906
00:35:35,867 --> 00:35:38,903
  - We found out it was         
  a man named Steven Schwartz.  

907
00:35:40,938 --> 00:35:43,307
- Steven Schwartz               
 was a murderer.                

908
00:35:43,407 --> 00:35:46,077
That was a twist                
   I never saw coming.          

909
00:35:46,177 --> 00:35:49,247
 Here's a man known for         
  literally giving money away,  

910
00:35:49,347 --> 00:35:50,648
  yet decades earlier,          

911
00:35:50,748 --> 00:35:53,885
   he'd ended a person's life   
   for a few dollars.           

912
00:35:53,985 --> 00:35:55,786
  He confessed,                 
 but it was never clear         

913
00:35:55,887 --> 00:35:57,922
why he needed that money.       

914
00:35:58,022 --> 00:36:00,124
It made me think                
 a lot about redemption.        

915
00:36:00,224 --> 00:36:01,859
  Who deserves                  
a second chance?                

916
00:36:01,959 --> 00:36:04,028
   It's certainly not           
   universal.                   

917
00:36:04,128 --> 00:36:06,264
   Dr. Schwartz turned          
his life around,                

918
00:36:06,364 --> 00:36:08,933
 and I wondered                 
   if, given the opportunity,   

919
00:36:09,033 --> 00:36:12,170
would more people               
 make a similar change?         

920
00:36:12,270 --> 00:36:15,673
- He's sentenced                
   to life in prison,           

921
00:36:15,773 --> 00:36:19,243
but a decade later, 1971,       

922
00:36:19,343 --> 00:36:20,745
he's released on parole.        

923
00:36:20,845 --> 00:36:23,748
  - What did you think?         
   - Well, how could this be?   

924
00:36:23,848 --> 00:36:26,350
  How could he                  
 already be out?                

925
00:36:26,450 --> 00:36:30,021
Who came up with                
  this idea, you know?          

926
00:36:30,121 --> 00:36:33,191
 - For reasons unknown,         
   the governor of New Mexico   

927
00:36:33,291 --> 00:36:36,260
 granted Steven Schwartz        
 a full pardon.                 

928
00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:39,297
   He moved to Italy,           
   earned his medical degree,   

929
00:36:39,397 --> 00:36:43,100
   then came back to the U.S.   
 to start his practice.         

930
00:36:43,201 --> 00:36:46,971
 Helen Como had always wondered 
 about that career path.        

931
00:36:47,071 --> 00:36:51,242
   - I would read the degrees   
  that were on his office wall, 

932
00:36:51,342 --> 00:36:54,278
and I was kind of               
  curious as to                 

933
00:36:54,378 --> 00:36:58,849
 why he became a doctor         
so late in life.                

934
00:36:58,950 --> 00:37:01,819
 - He even kept                 
his own son in the dark.        

935
00:37:01,919 --> 00:37:04,322
  - There was a very big secret 
   that your dad had.           

936
00:37:04,422 --> 00:37:05,356
 - Yes.                         

937
00:37:05,456 --> 00:37:07,124
 - And now you're faced         
   with learning this.          

938
00:37:07,225 --> 00:37:08,960
 - I am.                        
   I remember the phone call.   

939
00:37:09,060 --> 00:37:10,361
   My mother told me about it.  

940
00:37:10,461 --> 00:37:12,496
   And it's going to come out,  
  and you're going to find out. 

941
00:37:12,597 --> 00:37:14,865
  Y-y-you know, he did          
  what he did.                  

942
00:37:14,966 --> 00:37:16,067
 He never talked                
 to me about it.                

943
00:37:16,167 --> 00:37:17,368
   - This is your dad,          

944
00:37:17,468 --> 00:37:20,471
loving, generous,               
   loving you.                  

945
00:37:20,571 --> 00:37:24,175
 But on the other hand,         
he's a murderer.                

946
00:37:24,275 --> 00:37:26,377
 How do you wrap                
your mind around                

947
00:37:26,477 --> 00:37:28,279
those two things                
as a son?                       

948
00:37:28,379 --> 00:37:31,015
 [sighs]                        
  - Uh, it's difficult.         

949
00:37:31,115 --> 00:37:32,750
 It's something                 
   that I wish                  

950
00:37:32,850 --> 00:37:34,285
  him and I could have          
  talked about,                 

951
00:37:34,385 --> 00:37:36,153
but I don't think               
  it was in his nature.         

952
00:37:37,154 --> 00:37:38,990
 - When news of                 
  Dr. Schwartz's murder         

953
00:37:39,090 --> 00:37:41,459
made its way back               
to Susan Nutting,               

954
00:37:41,559 --> 00:37:43,594
   she didn't know how          
 to feel about the fact         

955
00:37:43,694 --> 00:37:47,365
 that her uncle's killer        
   met the same fate.           

956
00:37:47,465 --> 00:37:49,533
   - Talk about karma.          

957
00:37:49,634 --> 00:37:53,337
  I hope he had                 
  become a good person.         

958
00:37:53,437 --> 00:37:56,507
 So I don't want                
   to say, uh,                  

959
00:37:56,607 --> 00:37:58,676
I'm glad he was murdered.       

960
00:37:58,776 --> 00:38:00,378
I don't want to say that.       

961
00:38:00,478 --> 00:38:02,179
   I don't-I don't feel that.   

962
00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:03,881
  - But still,                  
you look at that.               

963
00:38:03,981 --> 00:38:04,849
 - Yeah.                        

964
00:38:04,949 --> 00:38:06,250
 - And you feel                 
   that that's karma.           

965
00:38:06,350 --> 00:38:07,385
- Yeah, they say                

966
00:38:07,485 --> 00:38:09,387
what goes around                
 comes around sometimes.        

967
00:38:09,487 --> 00:38:10,821
   [chuckles]                   

968
00:38:12,223 --> 00:38:14,091
   - Now people began           
   to wonder,                   

969
00:38:14,191 --> 00:38:16,994
was Dr. Schwartz's murder       
an act of revenge               

970
00:38:17,094 --> 00:38:19,397
for a decades old crime?        

971
00:38:19,497 --> 00:38:20,631
- There had been                
 something floated that,        

972
00:38:20,731 --> 00:38:23,734
  oh, this is-this is connected 
 to his New Mexico thing        

973
00:38:23,834 --> 00:38:25,536
from when he was                
  a young man.                  

974
00:38:25,636 --> 00:38:27,738
   - As soon as I heard that,   

975
00:38:27,838 --> 00:38:30,308
  it's like all                 
   the bells went off.          

976
00:38:30,408 --> 00:38:32,643
 It was like that is it.        

977
00:38:32,743 --> 00:38:35,212
 - It was-it was                
rather shocking.                

978
00:38:35,313 --> 00:38:37,214
- Mmm...                        
- Because to know               

979
00:38:37,315 --> 00:38:38,849
that he committed               
   a-a murder,                  

980
00:38:38,949 --> 00:38:41,585
   did not seem to be           
in his character.               

981
00:38:41,686 --> 00:38:43,921
- You know, with                
   your investigative hat on,   

982
00:38:44,021 --> 00:38:47,325
 you hear this, that he         
  committed a murder years ago. 

983
00:38:47,425 --> 00:38:50,294
Are you thinking                
  maybe this is                 

984
00:38:50,394 --> 00:38:51,696
 in some way connected?         

985
00:38:51,796 --> 00:38:53,698
Maybe it's someone coming       
back to seek retribution.       

986
00:38:53,798 --> 00:38:55,299
- Right.                        

987
00:38:55,399 --> 00:38:58,235
   I pretty much ruled          
  that out right away.          

988
00:38:58,336 --> 00:39:00,304
   What, had it been,           
   like, 50 years ago?          

989
00:39:00,404 --> 00:39:02,373
 So it had been                 
a long time ago.                

990
00:39:02,473 --> 00:39:05,409
His character now               
was unapproached.               

991
00:39:05,509 --> 00:39:07,078
You know, it was                
   impeccable.                  

992
00:39:07,178 --> 00:39:08,813
 - Almost like this was         
   a completely different man   

993
00:39:08,913 --> 00:39:09,880
 from back then.                
 - Yeah.                        

994
00:39:09,980 --> 00:39:12,683
   Definitely somebody          
turned their life around.       

995
00:39:12,783 --> 00:39:15,786
 - Once investigators were sure 
 there was no connection        

996
00:39:15,886 --> 00:39:17,955
   to that decades old crime,   

997
00:39:18,055 --> 00:39:20,825
 the search for                 
   a killer continued.          

998
00:39:20,925 --> 00:39:22,593
They interviewed                
dozens of people                

999
00:39:22,693 --> 00:39:24,261
   and were eventually          
  able to clear                 

1000
00:39:24,362 --> 00:39:26,430
   Rebecca's son Ben.           

1001
00:39:26,530 --> 00:39:28,566
And fortunately,                
   they had taken DNA           

1002
00:39:28,666 --> 00:39:31,035
  from everyone                 
  they could think of.          

1003
00:39:31,135 --> 00:39:33,904
Fortunate because               
   a lab tech spotted           

1004
00:39:34,004 --> 00:39:36,073
  something in                  
   a crime scene photo          

1005
00:39:36,173 --> 00:39:39,443
  that seemed at first          
   kind of innocuous.           

1006
00:39:39,543 --> 00:39:42,913
   - Well, he noticed           
 that the doctor's shirt        

1007
00:39:43,013 --> 00:39:46,217
 he was wearing,                
   that was crumpled around...  

1008
00:39:46,317 --> 00:39:48,452
- Mmm...                        
- Around the chest area.        

1009
00:39:48,552 --> 00:39:50,755
 - As if someone                
 had grabbed it.                

1010
00:39:50,855 --> 00:39:52,690
He goes, let's do               
 some touch DNA in there        

1011
00:39:52,790 --> 00:39:54,325
  and see what                  
we come up with.                

1012
00:39:54,425 --> 00:39:56,727
   - They also swabbed          
his pants pocket                

1013
00:39:56,827 --> 00:40:00,030
  where Steven usually          
 carried a wad of cash.         

1014
00:40:00,131 --> 00:40:01,899
  Almost a year                 
after the murder,               

1015
00:40:01,999 --> 00:40:04,402
those DNA results               
   came back.                   

1016
00:40:04,502 --> 00:40:06,036
They got a match.               

1017
00:40:06,137 --> 00:40:07,338
   It wasn't perfect,           

1018
00:40:07,438 --> 00:40:10,775
   but it was awfully           
  close to one person.          

1019
00:40:10,875 --> 00:40:13,978
 That person was                
  Leo Stragaj.                  

1020
00:40:14,078 --> 00:40:15,813
   - His touch DNA was          
  on the shirt                  

1021
00:40:15,913 --> 00:40:17,782
and on that right pocket.       

1022
00:40:17,882 --> 00:40:20,017
 - Leo.                         
   - Sorry, it's-it's           
   come to this, Leo.           

1023
00:40:20,117 --> 00:40:22,453
  - They arrested Leo,          
  and he swore,                 

1024
00:40:22,553 --> 00:40:24,655
insisted he was innocent.       

1025
00:40:24,755 --> 00:40:26,824
   - I've been ----ing framed.  

1026
00:40:26,924 --> 00:40:29,593
Somehow I've been framed.       
I don't know how.               

1027
00:40:29,693 --> 00:40:31,395
  You guys are supposed         
to figure it out.               

1028
00:40:31,495 --> 00:40:34,198
   - Mm-hmm, well, we believe   
  we did figure it out.         

1029
00:40:34,298 --> 00:40:37,034
  - We found your DNA.          
 - Okay.                        

1030
00:40:37,134 --> 00:40:41,539
  - On part of the crime scene  
that you had to be there        

1031
00:40:41,639 --> 00:40:43,274
   and touch that area          

1032
00:40:43,374 --> 00:40:46,477
 and have been involved         
with this doctor's death.       

1033
00:40:46,577 --> 00:40:48,345
   Okay, Leo?                   
- There's no freaking way       

1034
00:40:48,446 --> 00:40:50,948
it's my DNA in his body.        

1035
00:40:51,048 --> 00:40:54,218
 There is no way in hell        
   my DNA will be in his body.  

1036
00:40:54,318 --> 00:40:56,987
   - This went on for           
   an hour and a half.          

1037
00:40:57,087 --> 00:40:59,290
They took a break               
and when they came back,        

1038
00:40:59,390 --> 00:41:02,026
 Leo had                        
  a new story to tell.          

1039
00:41:02,126 --> 00:41:06,330
   And the star of that story   
  was his dear friend Rebecca.  

1040
00:41:06,430 --> 00:41:09,433
- She came to my house that day,
  early in the morning.         

1041
00:41:09,533 --> 00:41:11,902
- Leo said it was               
 the day of the murder.         

1042
00:41:12,002 --> 00:41:13,604
  - What time?                  
Do you remember?                

1043
00:41:13,704 --> 00:41:17,441
  - Well, I don't know.         
   It was 6:30, 7:00.           

1044
00:41:17,541 --> 00:41:19,443
  I don't know.                 
   It was very early.           

1045
00:41:19,543 --> 00:41:22,546
  She said, uh, I need          
  you to do me a favor.         

1046
00:41:22,646 --> 00:41:23,948
 - She said, I need you         
to do me a favor?               

1047
00:41:24,048 --> 00:41:28,018
   - Yes, she said, uh, I had   
an argument with Steven,        

1048
00:41:28,118 --> 00:41:30,120
and I left my bag               
   over there.                  

1049
00:41:30,221 --> 00:41:33,224
 I need to go to pick up        
 my bag, please.                

1050
00:41:33,324 --> 00:41:35,426
- Leo said he did               
as he was asked,                

1051
00:41:35,526 --> 00:41:36,894
 but when he got                
  to the house,                 

1052
00:41:36,994 --> 00:41:41,065
  he found Dr. Schwartz         
lying in a pool of blood.       

1053
00:41:41,165 --> 00:41:43,400
 - When I see his face,         
   I saw blood                  

1054
00:41:43,501 --> 00:41:45,202
   and grabbed                  
  and shaked him, okay?         

1055
00:41:45,302 --> 00:41:47,905
 I saw more blood and...        

1056
00:41:48,005 --> 00:41:49,940
  - Why did you grab onto him?  

1057
00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:51,509
  - Just to see                 
  if he's okay.                 

1058
00:41:51,609 --> 00:41:53,811
  I mean, Jesus Christ.         

1059
00:41:53,911 --> 00:41:55,112
   He's Dr. Schwartz,           

1060
00:41:55,212 --> 00:41:57,715
   he was my doctor for years   
  and years and years,          

1061
00:41:57,815 --> 00:42:00,618
   and he was                   
  the best man I know.          

1062
00:42:00,718 --> 00:42:02,319
 He was                         
  the best man I know.          

1063
00:42:02,419 --> 00:42:06,490
   - You didn't go, uh, touch   
  anything else on his person,  

1064
00:42:06,590 --> 00:42:08,592
 go into any of                 
his pockets or anything?        

1065
00:42:08,692 --> 00:42:10,294
   - No, no, hell, no,          

1066
00:42:10,394 --> 00:42:12,196
  I wouldn't go                 
into his pockets.               

1067
00:42:12,296 --> 00:42:14,164
 - Then Leo said he saw         
  a leather bag                 

1068
00:42:14,265 --> 00:42:16,867
 on the kitchen counter,        
and what he found inside        

1069
00:42:16,967 --> 00:42:19,470
   brought everything           
   into focus.                  

1070
00:42:19,570 --> 00:42:21,472
 - I just pulled in and started 
  screaming right away,         

1071
00:42:21,572 --> 00:42:24,041
  cussing out,                  
what the hell did you do?       

1072
00:42:24,141 --> 00:42:27,144
  Why-why did you kill          
  Dr. Schwartz?                 

1073
00:42:37,588 --> 00:42:37,621
-                               

1074
00:42:37,621 --> 00:42:37,655
- Le                            

1075
00:42:37,655 --> 00:42:37,688
- Leo                           

1076
00:42:37,688 --> 00:42:37,721
- Leo St                        

1077
00:42:37,721 --> 00:42:37,755
- Leo Stra                      

1078
00:42:37,755 --> 00:42:37,788
- Leo Straga                    

1079
00:42:37,788 --> 00:42:37,821
- Leo Stragaj                   

1080
00:42:37,821 --> 00:42:37,855
- Leo Stragaj to                

1081
00:42:37,855 --> 00:42:37,888
- Leo Stragaj told              

1082
00:42:37,888 --> 00:42:37,922
- Leo Stragaj told p            

1083
00:42:37,922 --> 00:42:37,955
- Leo Stragaj told pol          

1084
00:42:37,955 --> 00:42:37,988
- Leo Stragaj told polic        

1085
00:42:37,988 --> 00:42:38,889
- Leo Stragaj told police       

1086
00:42:38,989 --> 00:42:40,925
 he found Dr. Schwartz's        
bloody body lying               

1087
00:42:41,025 --> 00:42:42,993
  at the bottom                 
 of the stairs.                 

1088
00:42:43,093 --> 00:42:44,695
He tried                        
   to shake him awake.          

1089
00:42:44,795 --> 00:42:46,263
  Soon after, Leo said,         

1090
00:42:46,363 --> 00:42:48,666
he spotted Rebecca's bag        
 in the kitchen.                

1091
00:42:48,766 --> 00:42:50,000
  - Open it up.                 

1092
00:42:50,100 --> 00:42:53,337
 See some jewelry boxes         
in the end, and a knife.        

1093
00:42:53,437 --> 00:42:56,540
- Knife?                        
  - Yeah, was a knife in there? 

1094
00:42:56,640 --> 00:42:57,841
 - At that time,                
  did you think Rebecca         

1095
00:42:57,942 --> 00:42:59,176
   was involved in something?   

1096
00:42:59,276 --> 00:43:00,811
  - Of course.                  
- Why did you think that?       

1097
00:43:00,911 --> 00:43:02,513
  - Because she                 
   sent me purposely.           

1098
00:43:02,613 --> 00:43:04,882
- Mm-hmm.                       
   - She sent me right there.   

1099
00:43:04,982 --> 00:43:08,819
  - He said he grabbed the bag  
and sped back to Rebecca.       

1100
00:43:08,919 --> 00:43:10,821
 - I just pulled in and started 
  screaming right away,         

1101
00:43:10,921 --> 00:43:13,157
  cussing out.                  
  Why did you do this?          

1102
00:43:13,257 --> 00:43:16,360
  Why you put me through this?  
What the hell did you do?       

1103
00:43:16,460 --> 00:43:19,630
  Why-why did you kill          
  Dr. Schwartz?                 

1104
00:43:19,730 --> 00:43:22,066
  - What is she saying?         
   Is she just looking at you?  

1105
00:43:22,166 --> 00:43:25,436
   - At first, saying nothing,  
   and then she started like,   

1106
00:43:25,536 --> 00:43:27,438
"You know why I did it,"        
you know,                       

1107
00:43:27,538 --> 00:43:28,772
 and started screaming,         
and I'm--                       

1108
00:43:28,872 --> 00:43:29,940
   - She said,                  
"You know why I did it?"        

1109
00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:32,109
- Yeah, "You know               
 why I did it."                 

1110
00:43:32,209 --> 00:43:34,044
  - Leo said he didn't          
 call the police                

1111
00:43:34,144 --> 00:43:36,880
  because he was afraid         
   of being deported.           

1112
00:43:36,981 --> 00:43:40,417
 Plus, Rebecca owed him         
  tens of thousands of dollars  

1113
00:43:40,517 --> 00:43:42,553
   from an investment           
  they'd made together.         

1114
00:43:42,653 --> 00:43:44,555
 - And she said,                
   "If you say a word,          

1115
00:43:44,655 --> 00:43:47,458
 "you're never gonna see        
   house, money, or nothing."   

1116
00:43:47,558 --> 00:43:50,160
   I'm thinking also,           
  immigration told me,          

1117
00:43:50,260 --> 00:43:52,863
 any involvement                
with the police,                

1118
00:43:52,963 --> 00:43:54,698
 we're gonna deport you         
   right away.                  

1119
00:43:54,798 --> 00:43:57,901
  - This interview was a chance 
  not only to hear Leo's story, 

1120
00:43:58,002 --> 00:44:00,704
but also to get a glimpse       
into his mindset.               

1121
00:44:00,804 --> 00:44:04,174
 And as he explained why        
 he didn't call 9-1-1 that day, 

1122
00:44:04,274 --> 00:44:07,911
 I realized fear of deportation 
and losing his livelihood       

1123
00:44:08,012 --> 00:44:10,914
   could certainly be           
  powerful motivators.          

1124
00:44:11,015 --> 00:44:12,983
  But as a journalist,          
   any time I sit down          

1125
00:44:13,083 --> 00:44:15,953
 with someone accused of        
   being involved in a murder,  

1126
00:44:16,053 --> 00:44:17,855
 I come prepared                
  with tough questions,         

1127
00:44:17,955 --> 00:44:20,891
  ready to press them,          
 not take answers at face value.

1128
00:44:22,059 --> 00:44:23,961
  - The biggest mistake         
   all my life                  

1129
00:44:24,061 --> 00:44:27,598
 is not calling                 
  the police that day.          

1130
00:44:27,698 --> 00:44:28,599
 - Did you go to any other parts
  of the house?                 

1131
00:44:28,699 --> 00:44:32,369
   - No. I didn't, no.          
Not-not one step.               

1132
00:44:32,469 --> 00:44:35,406
   - Leo said his day           
 got even worse,                

1133
00:44:35,506 --> 00:44:37,641
  ending at that birthday party 
   that night,                  

1134
00:44:37,741 --> 00:44:39,943
   hosted by Rebecca.           

1135
00:44:40,044 --> 00:44:41,879
 You were sitting there         
 at that dinner,                

1136
00:44:41,979 --> 00:44:44,948
and you knew that               
a person that you loved,        

1137
00:44:45,049 --> 00:44:48,052
   that had given you           
 and your family an opportunity,

1138
00:44:48,152 --> 00:44:52,556
 was lying dead                 
at the bottom of stairs,        

1139
00:44:52,656 --> 00:44:55,459
  and you still pushed          
through that celebration.       

1140
00:44:55,559 --> 00:44:57,828
  How did you sit through that? 
   - It was--                   

1141
00:44:57,928 --> 00:45:00,464
- How could you--               
 - Yeah, it was painful.        

1142
00:45:00,564 --> 00:45:03,867
 It was really painful.         
- How was she acting that night?

1143
00:45:03,967 --> 00:45:07,705
- She was tipsy.                
   She was loose, like always.  

1144
00:45:07,805 --> 00:45:11,208
 - Did she seem stressed, upset?
  - Not at all.                 

1145
00:45:11,308 --> 00:45:14,244
 And this-this is the last time 
  I ever saw her again.         

1146
00:45:14,344 --> 00:45:17,347
  - During your interrogation,  
   police asked you if you had  

1147
00:45:17,448 --> 00:45:19,616
  any knowledge of the murder,  
 if you had been there.         

1148
00:45:19,717 --> 00:45:21,351
And you swore on                
   your mother's life           

1149
00:45:21,452 --> 00:45:22,720
you weren't at the house.       

1150
00:45:22,820 --> 00:45:25,656
 You swore on your child's life 
 that you knew nothing about it,

1151
00:45:25,756 --> 00:45:29,059
 and that was not true.         
 That was a lie.                

1152
00:45:29,159 --> 00:45:30,461
  - Well, I know that.          

1153
00:45:30,561 --> 00:45:32,129
  - Are you telling me          
  the truth right now?          

1154
00:45:32,229 --> 00:45:34,565
 - I am.                        
 I am telling the truth.        

1155
00:45:34,665 --> 00:45:36,834
  Now, I have no reason         
to lie about it.                

1156
00:45:36,934 --> 00:45:39,403
   You didn't force me          
 to give this interview.        

1157
00:45:39,503 --> 00:45:41,138
Nobody forced me.               

1158
00:45:41,238 --> 00:45:43,340
   - I want to ask you          
 directly, Leo.                 

1159
00:45:43,440 --> 00:45:47,010
  Did you kill                  
  Dr. Steven Schwartz?          

1160
00:45:47,111 --> 00:45:50,547
 - Actually, no.                

1161
00:45:50,647 --> 00:45:52,149
 - Did you have                 
   anything to do with          

1162
00:45:52,249 --> 00:45:53,951
   trying to cover up           
   his murder?                  

1163
00:45:54,051 --> 00:45:56,220
  - No. The only thing,         
  like I said,                  

1164
00:45:56,320 --> 00:46:00,324
grabbed that bag                
   and didn't call the police.  

1165
00:46:00,424 --> 00:46:04,328
 That was the only thing        
  I had to do with that murder. 

1166
00:46:04,428 --> 00:46:08,098
 - Police still didn't think Leo
  was telling them everything.  

1167
00:46:08,198 --> 00:46:10,667
  Maybe Rebecca                 
  had shot her husband,         

1168
00:46:10,768 --> 00:46:12,703
but they believed               
he was involved,                

1169
00:46:12,803 --> 00:46:14,738
   that he had staged           
  the burglary                  

1170
00:46:14,838 --> 00:46:19,009
 because Rebecca had threatened 
   to cut him off financially.  

1171
00:46:19,109 --> 00:46:20,177
- Wasn't worried                
about the doctor                

1172
00:46:20,277 --> 00:46:21,678
   he supposedly loved          
 and cared for.                 

1173
00:46:21,779 --> 00:46:23,247
  He was worried about          
   getting his money.           

1174
00:46:23,347 --> 00:46:24,381
  - And you think that          
   was his motivation?          

1175
00:46:24,481 --> 00:46:25,549
 - That's his motivation        

1176
00:46:25,649 --> 00:46:27,284
 for the actual                 
 committing the murder.         

1177
00:46:27,384 --> 00:46:28,619
 I think                        
 he went there thinking         

1178
00:46:28,719 --> 00:46:30,320
 that the doctor                
was already dead.               

1179
00:46:30,420 --> 00:46:33,357
 But when he got there,         
 the doctor did see him.        

1180
00:46:33,457 --> 00:46:35,926
 Now he's got to                
cover his tracks.               

1181
00:46:36,026 --> 00:46:38,395
  He can't let the doctor live. 

1182
00:46:38,495 --> 00:46:40,831
- Diebel also thought Leo       
was the one who delivered       

1183
00:46:40,931 --> 00:46:43,934
that fatal slash                
  to the doctor's neck.         

1184
00:46:44,034 --> 00:46:46,670
They charged him                
with first degree murder.       

1185
00:46:46,770 --> 00:46:48,572
 After they were                
 done with Leo,                 

1186
00:46:48,672 --> 00:46:50,941
   police let his wife          
   come into the room.          

1187
00:46:51,041 --> 00:46:53,410
  - Okay, you need right now--  
  - I didn't kill him.          

1188
00:46:53,510 --> 00:46:55,579
  - Right now--                 
   I know you didn't kill him.  

1189
00:46:55,679 --> 00:46:58,549
  I know you did not kill him.  
  That I know.                  

1190
00:47:00,384 --> 00:47:02,619
  [indistinct sobbing]          

1191
00:47:03,654 --> 00:47:07,891
   Did they made you clean up?  
  Did she had something on you? 

1192
00:47:07,991 --> 00:47:10,894
Tell me the truth, honey.       

1193
00:47:10,994 --> 00:47:12,930
 Honey.                         
 Honey, tell me.                

1194
00:47:13,030 --> 00:47:15,632
Did she made you                
 clean up or something?         

1195
00:47:15,732 --> 00:47:17,701
You need                        
  to tell me the truth.         

1196
00:47:21,805 --> 00:47:24,908
  - She, of course, is Rebecca. 

1197
00:47:25,008 --> 00:47:27,845
  And as it turned out,         
since the very beginning,       

1198
00:47:27,945 --> 00:47:29,346
   Rebecca had been at the top  

1199
00:47:29,446 --> 00:47:32,783
  of nearly everyone's          
  suspect list.                 

1200
00:47:32,883 --> 00:47:35,586
  - I think that she's the one  
   with means, motive,          

1201
00:47:35,686 --> 00:47:37,654
 and opportunity                
   to have done this.           

1202
00:47:43,126 --> 00:47:43,193
   ♪                            

1203
00:47:43,193 --> 00:47:52,769
   ♪♪                           

1204
00:47:52,870 --> 00:47:54,037
 - For Carter Schwartz,         

1205
00:47:54,137 --> 00:47:56,540
 it's impossible to look        
 at this stunning house         

1206
00:47:56,640 --> 00:47:59,343
and feel anything               
  but sadness.                  

1207
00:47:59,443 --> 00:48:01,645
 - You know, obviously,         
   knowing what happened there  

1208
00:48:01,745 --> 00:48:04,281
   makes it difficult           
  to come back.                 

1209
00:48:04,381 --> 00:48:07,150
 - On the Anclote River,        
 in front of his dad's old home,

1210
00:48:07,251 --> 00:48:09,553
   Carter talked about          
   his father's murder          

1211
00:48:09,653 --> 00:48:13,390
   and the man accused          
  of killing him, Leo Stragaj.  

1212
00:48:13,490 --> 00:48:16,627
 You said that you believe that 
 police partially got it right. 

1213
00:48:16,727 --> 00:48:18,629
- In that he was                
   involved somewhat.           

1214
00:48:18,729 --> 00:48:22,165
  I'm not saying he was         
  without blame                 

1215
00:48:22,266 --> 00:48:23,567
 in any of this.                
- Mm-hmm.                       

1216
00:48:23,667 --> 00:48:25,102
 - But certainly                
the lion's share of blame       

1217
00:48:25,202 --> 00:48:29,206
and the actual act itself       
   of taking my father's life,  

1218
00:48:29,306 --> 00:48:31,241
   I don't think rests          
   on Leo's shoulders.          

1219
00:48:32,843 --> 00:48:35,679
 - Carter believes someone else 
 either killed his dad,         

1220
00:48:35,779 --> 00:48:39,216
orchestrated the murder,        
or both.                        

1221
00:48:39,316 --> 00:48:44,054
  That person, he says,         
  was his stepmother, Rebecca.  

1222
00:48:44,154 --> 00:48:46,790
  - I think that she's the one  
   with means, motive,          

1223
00:48:46,890 --> 00:48:49,326
 and opportunity                
   to have done this.           

1224
00:48:49,426 --> 00:48:53,230
- In Carter's mind, it came down
  to one reason: money.         

1225
00:48:53,330 --> 00:48:55,899
 Rebecca knew she would         
   inherit every dime           

1226
00:48:55,999 --> 00:48:58,335
   of her husband's millions.   

1227
00:48:58,435 --> 00:49:02,306
   - She got so greedy          
 and so sure of herself         

1228
00:49:02,406 --> 00:49:05,409
   that she was taking          
   just immense sums of money.  

1229
00:49:05,509 --> 00:49:08,211
  And I think my father         
 had finally gotten wise to it. 

1230
00:49:08,312 --> 00:49:12,516
 I think that he                
   was finally fed up           

1231
00:49:12,616 --> 00:49:15,152
with being played               
  for the fool.                 

1232
00:49:15,252 --> 00:49:17,988
  - He says Rebecca was         
   secretly spending a fortune  

1233
00:49:18,088 --> 00:49:20,457
on her two sons,                
  Ben and Eric,                 

1234
00:49:20,557 --> 00:49:23,293
paying for their lavish weddings
  and buying them homes         

1235
00:49:23,393 --> 00:49:26,163
 worth hundreds                 
of thousands of dollars.        

1236
00:49:26,263 --> 00:49:28,398
  - She was telling my father,  
"Oh, they got a mortgage.       

1237
00:49:28,498 --> 00:49:30,567
   "They got all this.          
 They got this."                

1238
00:49:30,667 --> 00:49:32,502
 And I remember                 
my father's comment was,        

1239
00:49:32,602 --> 00:49:33,603
 "They couldn't                 
have a mortgage.                

1240
00:49:33,704 --> 00:49:35,572
  "They don't have two nickels  
to rub together."               

1241
00:49:35,672 --> 00:49:38,075
- So about a year               
 before his dad's death,        

1242
00:49:38,175 --> 00:49:41,812
   Carter and his wife          
  did their own investigation.  

1243
00:49:41,912 --> 00:49:45,949
   - We had gone to the online  
   property appraiser,          

1244
00:49:46,049 --> 00:49:49,086
   which is all public record,  
 and we typed in the addresses, 

1245
00:49:49,186 --> 00:49:51,355
   and sure enough, they were   
 in her children's name         

1246
00:49:51,455 --> 00:49:54,925
with no mortgage                
   and free and clear titles.   

1247
00:49:55,025 --> 00:49:57,127
 And I--                        
 we showed my dad that.         

1248
00:49:57,227 --> 00:49:59,730
  - You've got literal receipts 
showing him this?               

1249
00:49:59,830 --> 00:50:03,266
 - Yes. And then that's         
  when he says,                 

1250
00:50:03,367 --> 00:50:04,801
"I have business                
to take care of at home."       

1251
00:50:04,901 --> 00:50:05,869
   Never told me what           
he did about it.                

1252
00:50:05,969 --> 00:50:07,437
 Never told me anything.        

1253
00:50:07,537 --> 00:50:10,907
  - Carter pleaded with his dad 
to get a financial expert       

1254
00:50:11,008 --> 00:50:13,343
 and figure out                 
   what was going on.           

1255
00:50:13,443 --> 00:50:15,278
   He refused to hire           
 a forensic accountant.         

1256
00:50:15,379 --> 00:50:17,547
   He said, "I'm not throwing   
 good money after bad."         

1257
00:50:17,647 --> 00:50:19,683
- So he said, why waste the time
trying to chase it down?        

1258
00:50:19,783 --> 00:50:21,284
   - Right. And at this point,  
 it's very clear                

1259
00:50:21,385 --> 00:50:23,353
   he knows something           
  is going on.                  

1260
00:50:23,453 --> 00:50:26,423
   I told him, I said,          
 "Dad, you gotta leave."        

1261
00:50:26,523 --> 00:50:28,458
   He didn't give me an answer  
   one way or another.          

1262
00:50:28,558 --> 00:50:30,360
   - So you told him,           
  you gotta divorce this woman? 

1263
00:50:30,460 --> 00:50:31,595
 - Yeah.                        

1264
00:50:31,695 --> 00:50:33,163
   - Detective Diebel           
discovered that,                

1265
00:50:33,263 --> 00:50:35,198
along with buying               
 her sons' homes                

1266
00:50:35,298 --> 00:50:38,368
 and paying for their weddings, 
   Rebecca had given her sons   

1267
00:50:38,468 --> 00:50:40,871
  hundreds of thousands         
 of dollars more                

1268
00:50:40,971 --> 00:50:42,906
 to start their                 
 own businesses.                

1269
00:50:43,006 --> 00:50:47,778
   - There was a lot of moving  
of money around of the doctor's.

1270
00:50:47,878 --> 00:50:52,082
 Not to Carter, to the--        
   Rebecca's two sons.          

1271
00:50:52,182 --> 00:50:54,718
  - When you say moving money,  
what do you mean?               

1272
00:50:54,818 --> 00:50:57,687
   - Kind of under the radar.   
 Without the doctor's knowledge.

1273
00:50:57,788 --> 00:51:01,091
  She funded a Verizon          
 cell phone shop                

1274
00:51:01,191 --> 00:51:04,327
 in Portage, Wisconsin,         
   for her first son,           

1275
00:51:04,428 --> 00:51:07,030
   a brewery for Ben,           

1276
00:51:07,130 --> 00:51:09,499
and some other businesses       
that had failed.                

1277
00:51:10,400 --> 00:51:12,936
- It was a stark contrast       
   to how Carter says           

1278
00:51:13,036 --> 00:51:15,939
   Rebecca treated him          
 over the years.                

1279
00:51:16,039 --> 00:51:20,043
 Between the two of you,        
 there was never                

1280
00:51:20,143 --> 00:51:23,280
loving stepmother vibes.        
  - No. Never.                  

1281
00:51:23,380 --> 00:51:24,848
  - After his father's murder,  

1282
00:51:24,948 --> 00:51:28,085
   Carter says Rebecca          
cut him off financially.        

1283
00:51:28,185 --> 00:51:31,221
Like when he asked for some help
 to pay for med school.         

1284
00:51:31,321 --> 00:51:32,622
 - I had gotten                 
  the acceptance letter         

1285
00:51:32,722 --> 00:51:34,658
  to med school                 
the day he died.                

1286
00:51:34,758 --> 00:51:36,860
  And you have whatever it was, 
 10 days, two weeks, something, 

1287
00:51:36,960 --> 00:51:38,962
to go down and give them a check
   to hold your spot.           

1288
00:51:39,062 --> 00:51:40,197
 $1,500.                        

1289
00:51:40,297 --> 00:51:43,100
 I sent her a text, and I said, 
 "Hey, I need a deposit.        

1290
00:51:43,200 --> 00:51:44,835
   "Can you help me?"           

1291
00:51:44,935 --> 00:51:47,604
 And the reply back was,        
 "You need to get a job.        

1292
00:51:47,704 --> 00:51:48,939
  "I don't know                 
   what we're doing."           

1293
00:51:49,039 --> 00:51:50,640
- So she refused                
 to give you the money?         

1294
00:51:50,740 --> 00:51:53,443
Refused to give me $1,500       
 to hold my spot at med school. 

1295
00:51:53,543 --> 00:51:56,146
   - This is terrible,          
but she'd always refer to Carter

1296
00:51:56,246 --> 00:51:58,381
 as the bastard,                
and she'd come--                

1297
00:51:58,482 --> 00:52:00,884
 - The bastard?                 
 - The bastard.                 

1298
00:52:00,984 --> 00:52:02,686
   - There was a time           
when Kyle Smithee               

1299
00:52:02,786 --> 00:52:04,354
 liked Rebecca Schwartz.        

1300
00:52:04,454 --> 00:52:07,357
But as the years went by,       
   his opinion changed          

1301
00:52:07,457 --> 00:52:10,694
   as he watched her verbally   
   attack Steven's son          

1302
00:52:10,794 --> 00:52:14,331
 and then Steven himself        
   in the worst possible way.   

1303
00:52:14,431 --> 00:52:17,167
   One of her kind of           
 go to lines was always,        

1304
00:52:17,267 --> 00:52:19,769
 "I could just kill him.        
 I could just kill him."        

1305
00:52:19,870 --> 00:52:20,904
- What was she mad about?       

1306
00:52:21,004 --> 00:52:22,506
  It could be anything          
 from, you know,                

1307
00:52:22,606 --> 00:52:25,809
having handed out               
money to patients               

1308
00:52:25,909 --> 00:52:28,778
  to, you know,                 
 having written                 

1309
00:52:28,879 --> 00:52:31,314
a small check to Carter.        

1310
00:52:31,414 --> 00:52:34,618
 - That's why on the very night 
the doctor was murdered,        

1311
00:52:34,718 --> 00:52:37,587
  Kyle believed                 
  Rebecca was involved.         

1312
00:52:37,687 --> 00:52:42,826
- I call and she answers,       
  and she sounds tired.         

1313
00:52:42,926 --> 00:52:46,696
I said, "Becky, what's--        
what's going on?"               

1314
00:52:46,796 --> 00:52:50,066
  And she says, "Well,          
  they can't confirm it's him.  

1315
00:52:50,167 --> 00:52:51,902
   "They won't let me           
  in the house.                 

1316
00:52:52,002 --> 00:52:54,070
 "But we know it's him."        

1317
00:52:54,171 --> 00:52:56,940
 - Kyle had an immediate        
sinking feeling.                

1318
00:52:57,040 --> 00:52:59,109
  - She finally did it.         

1319
00:52:59,209 --> 00:53:01,845
  - Helen Como                  
 also wasn't surprised.         

1320
00:53:01,945 --> 00:53:05,682
 She thought, at times,         
 Rebecca could be evil.         

1321
00:53:05,782 --> 00:53:08,552
 - I didn't even                
so much as think,               

1322
00:53:08,652 --> 00:53:11,655
   gosh, did a burglar          
break in?                       

1323
00:53:11,755 --> 00:53:16,493
Nothing else came to mind       
other than Becky.               

1324
00:53:16,593 --> 00:53:18,261
- It's something                
 Detective Diebel heard         

1325
00:53:18,361 --> 00:53:20,630
  over and over again.          

1326
00:53:20,730 --> 00:53:23,400
 - Just confirmed my suspicions 
  all the more.                 

1327
00:53:23,500 --> 00:53:26,670
 She's involved in this murder. 
She murdered him.               

1328
00:53:26,770 --> 00:53:29,773
- But suspicions                
are not evidence.               

1329
00:53:29,873 --> 00:53:31,575
   - Tried everything           
  that I could.                 

1330
00:53:31,675 --> 00:53:35,412
Had more witnesses come forward,
 but nothing was enough.        

1331
00:53:35,512 --> 00:53:37,447
It was a lot of hearsay,        

1332
00:53:37,547 --> 00:53:38,748
  nothing that                  
I could bring it forward        

1333
00:53:38,848 --> 00:53:40,717
  to the state attorney         
for prosecution.                

1334
00:53:40,817 --> 00:53:43,153
  - The biggest issue was Leo.  

1335
00:53:43,253 --> 00:53:45,422
   Even though he had           
   implicated Rebecca,          

1336
00:53:45,522 --> 00:53:48,725
   police didn't think          
  he would be a strong witness. 

1337
00:53:48,825 --> 00:53:49,893
  - He's not credible.          

1338
00:53:49,993 --> 00:53:51,995
   He's not a credible witness  
because he lied so much.        

1339
00:53:52,095 --> 00:53:54,197
 - Carter and his family        
 were convinced                 

1340
00:53:54,297 --> 00:53:56,533
Rebecca was getting away        
  with murder.                  

1341
00:53:56,633 --> 00:53:59,603
   So they took the only step   
  they felt they could          

1342
00:53:59,703 --> 00:54:03,540
and filed a civil wrongful death
  lawsuit against her.          

1343
00:54:03,640 --> 00:54:06,610
 Have you ever worked on        
 a case quite like this?        

1344
00:54:06,710 --> 00:54:09,179
 - Uh, this one takes the cake. 

1345
00:54:09,279 --> 00:54:11,948
   - In 2015, the year          
after the murder,               

1346
00:54:12,048 --> 00:54:16,019
  Will Florin and Tommy Roebig  
 agreed to represent the family.

1347
00:54:16,119 --> 00:54:18,088
  Police had investigated this  
and said                        

1348
00:54:18,188 --> 00:54:21,825
   there's not enough to bring  
  criminal charges against her. 

1349
00:54:21,925 --> 00:54:24,928
   What made you think          
   that you could win           

1350
00:54:25,028 --> 00:54:26,396
   in a court of law?           

1351
00:54:26,496 --> 00:54:27,897
  - We worked hard on the case. 

1352
00:54:27,998 --> 00:54:29,332
  We worked the details         
  of the case.                  

1353
00:54:29,432 --> 00:54:31,401
   I think we came to           
 the conclusion she murdered him

1354
00:54:31,501 --> 00:54:32,869
 and we could prove it.         

1355
00:54:32,969 --> 00:54:35,171
 - How does she,                
in your telling,                

1356
00:54:35,272 --> 00:54:37,140
 become someone                 
 who kills her husband?         

1357
00:54:37,240 --> 00:54:40,143
  - Greed, selfishness,         
   narcissism.                  

1358
00:54:41,778 --> 00:54:43,780
   That's how.                  

1359
00:54:43,880 --> 00:54:47,317
- They would spend years        
building a case against Rebecca.

1360
00:54:47,417 --> 00:54:50,120
   Meanwhile, she had           
built a new life                

1361
00:54:50,220 --> 00:54:53,523
with new friends                
  and a new profession.         

1362
00:54:53,623 --> 00:54:55,558
   What kind of doctor          
did she tell you she was?       

1363
00:54:55,659 --> 00:54:57,394
 - Nephrologist.                

1364
00:55:07,837 --> 00:55:07,871
   -                            

1365
00:55:07,871 --> 00:55:07,904
   - Wh                         

1366
00:55:07,904 --> 00:55:07,937
   - Whil                       

1367
00:55:07,937 --> 00:55:07,971
   - While                      

1368
00:55:07,971 --> 00:55:08,004
   - While Le                   

1369
00:55:08,004 --> 00:55:08,038
   - While Leo                  

1370
00:55:08,038 --> 00:55:08,071
   - While Leo St               

1371
00:55:08,071 --> 00:55:08,104
   - While Leo Stra             

1372
00:55:08,104 --> 00:55:08,138
   - While Leo Straga           

1373
00:55:08,138 --> 00:55:08,238
   - While Leo Stragaj          

1374
00:55:08,238 --> 00:55:08,271
   - While Leo Stragaj          
  sa                            

1375
00:55:08,271 --> 00:55:08,305
   - While Leo Stragaj          
  sat                           

1376
00:55:08,305 --> 00:55:08,338
   - While Leo Stragaj          
  sat in                        

1377
00:55:08,338 --> 00:55:08,371
   - While Leo Stragaj          
  sat in j                      

1378
00:55:08,371 --> 00:55:08,405
   - While Leo Stragaj          
  sat in jai                    

1379
00:55:08,405 --> 00:55:09,973
   - While Leo Stragaj          
  sat in jail,                  

1380
00:55:10,073 --> 00:55:12,309
Rebecca Schwartz                
had already left Florida        

1381
00:55:12,409 --> 00:55:16,579
for a fresh start               
   in Lodi, Wisconsin.          

1382
00:55:16,680 --> 00:55:20,483
  A small town flanked by farms 
 and picturesque fields.        

1383
00:55:20,583 --> 00:55:24,154
   A great choice if you need   
to just get away.               

1384
00:55:24,254 --> 00:55:26,323
Maybe that's what Rebecca       
was thinking when               

1385
00:55:26,423 --> 00:55:29,659
  she moved there a few months  
after the murder.               

1386
00:55:29,759 --> 00:55:31,194
  What was her                  
personality like?               

1387
00:55:31,294 --> 00:55:32,662
- She seemed very bubbly,       

1388
00:55:32,762 --> 00:55:36,032
   and she seemed, um,          
 genuine and concerned.         

1389
00:55:36,132 --> 00:55:37,901
  You know, thoughtful.         

1390
00:55:38,001 --> 00:55:40,970
 - Sue Mashak first met Rebecca 
   at her son's home.           

1391
00:55:41,071 --> 00:55:43,373
She said, "Well,                
  I had to get out of Florida." 

1392
00:55:43,473 --> 00:55:46,309
She said, "After                
my husband was murdered,        

1393
00:55:46,409 --> 00:55:49,779
  "all the docs were asking me  
  to cover their shifts         

1394
00:55:49,879 --> 00:55:52,816
  "at the hospital, and I just  
   couldn't take it anymore."   

1395
00:55:52,916 --> 00:55:56,319
  - Rebecca told her and others 
she was a doctor,               

1396
00:55:56,419 --> 00:55:58,221
  had been for decades.         

1397
00:55:58,321 --> 00:56:00,557
So she says this,               
 and you know nothing about her,

1398
00:56:00,657 --> 00:56:01,891
  nothing about her background? 

1399
00:56:01,991 --> 00:56:03,793
  - No, and I believed          
 what I was being told.         

1400
00:56:03,893 --> 00:56:05,495
You know,                       
  that's what she said.         

1401
00:56:05,595 --> 00:56:07,364
  - What kind of doctor         
did she tell you she was?       

1402
00:56:07,464 --> 00:56:09,332
 - Nephrologist.                

1403
00:56:09,432 --> 00:56:12,068
   - A kidney doctor,           
just like Steven.               

1404
00:56:12,168 --> 00:56:13,436
 She wasn't, of course,         

1405
00:56:13,536 --> 00:56:15,905
  but Sue believed her          
   and was impressed.           

1406
00:56:16,005 --> 00:56:18,174
  It wasn't long before         
  Rebecca became close          

1407
00:56:18,274 --> 00:56:20,243
  to her entire family,         

1408
00:56:20,343 --> 00:56:22,612
including her son               
  and daughter in law.          

1409
00:56:22,712 --> 00:56:24,981
 You're around your son,        
 his family for a while.        

1410
00:56:25,081 --> 00:56:27,650
   Did you think that she was   
   getting too close too fast   

1411
00:56:27,751 --> 00:56:29,152
   to your son and his family?  

1412
00:56:29,252 --> 00:56:31,921
   - Yes, I did after a while.  
  Yes.                          

1413
00:56:32,021 --> 00:56:34,557
 - All her fears                
 came to a head one day         

1414
00:56:34,657 --> 00:56:37,060
at her grandson's               
 football game.                 

1415
00:56:37,160 --> 00:56:40,864
   She spotted Rebecca          
 and her son Aron alone.        

1416
00:56:40,964 --> 00:56:43,133
- I turned around               
to say something,               

1417
00:56:43,233 --> 00:56:45,635
   and she was consoling him,   
holding his hand                

1418
00:56:45,735 --> 00:56:48,505
 and looking up at him,         
   and just...                  

1419
00:56:48,605 --> 00:56:51,908
  it was something that I knew  
was kind of over the top.       

1420
00:56:52,008 --> 00:56:53,176
 - You see them                 
  together at the game.         

1421
00:56:53,276 --> 00:56:54,878
You're thinking,                
that's not right.               

1422
00:56:54,978 --> 00:56:57,781
  Your mama's radar was         
going off about Rebecca.        

1423
00:56:57,881 --> 00:56:59,382
- Right.                        
 - Did that just make it        

1424
00:56:59,482 --> 00:57:02,852
   sound even louder?           
  - Oh, yes, for sure.          

1425
00:57:02,952 --> 00:57:06,089
   - And this mama's intuition  
  was spot on.                  

1426
00:57:06,189 --> 00:57:08,358
Ten months later,               
Aron told his mom               

1427
00:57:08,458 --> 00:57:11,094
   he was divorcing his wife.   

1428
00:57:11,194 --> 00:57:13,329
   And it wasn't long           
  before Aron revealed          

1429
00:57:13,430 --> 00:57:16,299
 he was in love                 
  with Rebecca.                 

1430
00:57:16,399 --> 00:57:19,035
   Rebecca is 15 years          
older than Aron.                

1431
00:57:19,135 --> 00:57:22,138
As a mom, how did               
  that age gap hit you?         

1432
00:57:22,238 --> 00:57:25,408
  - Oh, I didn't think it would 
 be a-a good thing by any means.

1433
00:57:26,943 --> 00:57:29,913
- Then came 2018,               
two years later.                

1434
00:57:30,013 --> 00:57:31,581
   The couple invited           
 Aron's parents                 

1435
00:57:31,681 --> 00:57:35,018
to a Cinco de Mayo party,       
   supposedly.                  

1436
00:57:35,118 --> 00:57:38,588
- They came walking out, and she
 had a very fancy full dress on 

1437
00:57:38,688 --> 00:57:40,924
and he had, like,               
 a tux suit on.                 

1438
00:57:41,024 --> 00:57:42,826
   I thought,                   
 wait a minute,                 

1439
00:57:42,926 --> 00:57:45,428
  this is not a Cinco de Mayo,  
you know?                       

1440
00:57:45,528 --> 00:57:47,030
  And they got married.         

1441
00:57:47,130 --> 00:57:49,432
  - A new tag!                  

1442
00:57:49,532 --> 00:57:52,435
 - Here are the happy newlyweds.

1443
00:57:52,535 --> 00:57:54,037
 - It's perfect.                

1444
00:57:54,137 --> 00:57:56,005
 - You like it?                 
  - I love it.                  

1445
00:57:56,105 --> 00:57:58,408
   - And the surprises          
  kept coming.                  

1446
00:57:58,508 --> 00:58:01,511
  The family initially thought  
  Rebecca had only been married 

1447
00:58:01,611 --> 00:58:04,214
   once before                  
to Dr. Schwartz.                

1448
00:58:04,314 --> 00:58:06,816
 Aron later told his mom        
  he found out Rebecca          

1449
00:58:06,916 --> 00:58:10,753
had actually had                
three previous husbands.        

1450
00:58:10,854 --> 00:58:12,822
 - And she said, "Well,         
   I was just so embarrassed.   

1451
00:58:12,922 --> 00:58:15,625
"I didn't want to               
 have to tell you that."        

1452
00:58:15,725 --> 00:58:18,294
 - Life was good                
 for the couple.                

1453
00:58:18,394 --> 00:58:19,796
  With the help                 
   of Rebecca's money,          

1454
00:58:19,896 --> 00:58:23,099
 they lived in a beautiful home 
   on Lake Wisconsin,           

1455
00:58:23,199 --> 00:58:26,936
  bought a small plane,         
  and went on exotic vacations, 

1456
00:58:27,036 --> 00:58:31,307
 like a trip the entire family, 
 including Sue, took to Alaska. 

1457
00:58:31,407 --> 00:58:33,176
 First class, of course.        

1458
00:58:33,276 --> 00:58:35,912
   - We're in the air           
 and they're announcing         

1459
00:58:36,012 --> 00:58:38,114
 that they need a nurse         
  or a doctor.                  

1460
00:58:38,214 --> 00:58:40,083
Could they please               
   come back to coach?          

1461
00:58:40,183 --> 00:58:42,118
- There was a medical emergency.
 - A medical emergency.         

1462
00:58:42,218 --> 00:58:44,420
And I looked over at her,       

1463
00:58:44,521 --> 00:58:46,256
and she just kept               
sitting there, you know?        

1464
00:58:46,356 --> 00:58:48,691
   After about the third time   
  that I'm looking over at her, 

1465
00:58:48,791 --> 00:58:50,493
   she gets up                  
  and goes to the back,         

1466
00:58:50,593 --> 00:58:53,363
   and she's treating           
  somebody back there.          

1467
00:58:53,463 --> 00:58:56,165
   - Treating someone?          
   - Treating someone.          

1468
00:58:56,266 --> 00:58:57,600
- The passenger was fine.       

1469
00:58:57,700 --> 00:59:00,370
   It wasn't a medical          
  emergency after all.          

1470
00:59:00,470 --> 00:59:04,207
  Eventually, though, the truth 
 caught up with Rebecca.        

1471
00:59:04,307 --> 00:59:09,512
- I had a friend who was        
 considering going into dialysis

1472
00:59:09,612 --> 00:59:11,781
 because he was                 
   in kidney failure.           

1473
00:59:11,881 --> 00:59:15,919
 - So Sue asked Rebecca to give 
   that friend medical advice.  

1474
00:59:16,019 --> 00:59:17,921
 - And after about five minutes,
  I discovered                  

1475
00:59:18,021 --> 00:59:20,456
I knew more about kidneys       
  than she did.                 

1476
00:59:20,557 --> 00:59:22,992
  - It became apparent          
  very quickly that she did not 

1477
00:59:23,092 --> 00:59:25,862
  have a medical degree         
   or a specialty in kidneys.   

1478
00:59:25,962 --> 00:59:28,364
- Her son is the one that       
finally let that out of the bag.

1479
00:59:28,464 --> 00:59:30,433
   He said, "Mom's no doctor,"  
you know?                       

1480
00:59:30,533 --> 00:59:32,402
 And I thought,                 
  "Oh, really?"                 

1481
00:59:32,502 --> 00:59:36,606
 Even after learning the truth, 
   Aron said stayed with her.   

1482
00:59:36,706 --> 00:59:40,009
That is, until the letter       
 was delivered.                 

1483
00:59:40,109 --> 00:59:42,645
How did you hear                
about the letter?               

1484
00:59:42,745 --> 00:59:44,380
[laughs]                        
   - All my neighbors.          

1485
00:59:44,480 --> 00:59:46,883
   People were coming           
  and, uh, telling us.          

1486
00:59:46,983 --> 00:59:49,652
   - I'm just curious, how did  
 they even describe the letter? 

1487
00:59:49,752 --> 00:59:50,720
 - Frightening.                 
  The one says,                 

1488
00:59:50,820 --> 00:59:52,388
"I don't know if I should       
  read it or burn it."          

1489
00:59:52,488 --> 00:59:55,091
 She said, "I don't know        
  what to do with this thing."  

1490
00:59:55,191 --> 00:59:57,126
About five years                
  into their marriage,          

1491
00:59:57,226 --> 00:59:59,662
the couple's relationship       
blew up.                        

1492
00:59:59,762 --> 01:00:02,432
 Rebecca caught                 
 Aron cheating.                 

1493
01:00:02,532 --> 01:00:05,268
  That's when she wrote         
  a blistering two page letter, 

1494
01:00:05,368 --> 01:00:07,604
 seemingly to everyone.         

1495
01:00:07,704 --> 01:00:09,305
   - She went to the neighbors  

1496
01:00:09,405 --> 01:00:12,275
and taped it onto               
  their garage doors and such.  

1497
01:00:12,375 --> 01:00:14,177
All the neighbors               
 in their neighborhood.         

1498
01:00:14,277 --> 01:00:17,246
- Included in the packet:       
her petition for divorce,       

1499
01:00:17,347 --> 01:00:19,315
 graphic sexual details,        

1500
01:00:19,415 --> 01:00:22,485
and a picture of                
  her husband's alleged lover.  

1501
01:00:22,585 --> 01:00:26,356
 Plus plenty of                 
unkind words like these.        

1502
01:00:41,704 --> 01:00:45,742
 So this letter just took things
   to a whole different level.  

1503
01:00:45,842 --> 01:00:48,645
  First, it was unlike          
anything I've ever seen,        

1504
01:00:48,745 --> 01:00:51,047
 and it was very vulgar.        

1505
01:00:51,147 --> 01:00:54,117
  In fact, my producer,         
  Rob Buchanan, and I struggled 

1506
01:00:54,217 --> 01:00:57,186
 to find a section that         
we could even put on TV.        

1507
01:00:57,286 --> 01:00:59,355
 But it was also                
 a very telling glimpse         

1508
01:00:59,455 --> 01:01:02,792
   into Rebecca's personality,  
her willingness to expose       

1509
01:01:02,892 --> 01:01:05,828
  and humiliate                 
her husband so publicly.        

1510
01:01:05,928 --> 01:01:08,097
   It raised questions          
  about control                 

1511
01:01:08,197 --> 01:01:10,833
   and how far Rebecca          
was willing to retaliate        

1512
01:01:10,933 --> 01:01:13,236
   to destroy                   
  another person's reputation.  

1513
01:01:16,372 --> 01:01:19,642
 The letter landed in mailboxes 
 all over town.                 

1514
01:01:19,742 --> 01:01:22,211
- We counted here               
 at least 60-some people        

1515
01:01:22,311 --> 01:01:23,980
  that she sent that letter to. 

1516
01:01:24,080 --> 01:01:26,382
  - What did you think          
   when you read that?          

1517
01:01:26,482 --> 01:01:30,253
  - I thought,                  
  she's flipping crazy.         

1518
01:01:30,353 --> 01:01:31,988
 - Aron told us                 
   Rebecca closed him           

1519
01:01:32,088 --> 01:01:33,856
   out of their joint           
 bank accounts,                 

1520
01:01:33,956 --> 01:01:36,893
 transferred ownership of their 
   multiple homes to her sons,  

1521
01:01:36,993 --> 01:01:38,761
and then locked him out.        

1522
01:01:38,861 --> 01:01:41,798
   When we spoke, Aron          
   was living with his mother.  

1523
01:01:41,898 --> 01:01:44,801
  - I want people to know that  

1524
01:01:44,901 --> 01:01:46,836
there are people like her       
 in this world.                 

1525
01:01:46,936 --> 01:01:48,538
   I would have never,          
 ever in my life                

1526
01:01:48,638 --> 01:01:50,373
  thought I'd run into somebody 
  that could be                 

1527
01:01:50,473 --> 01:01:53,109
this devastating                
 to the family.                 

1528
01:01:54,844 --> 01:01:57,547
  It wasn't long after          
 those divorce papers were filed

1529
01:01:57,647 --> 01:02:00,583
   that the phone rang          
  at Florin and Roebig.         

1530
01:02:00,683 --> 01:02:03,486
  You get a phone call          
   completely out of the blue.  

1531
01:02:03,586 --> 01:02:05,888
  - Unexpected.                 
Out of the blue.                

1532
01:02:05,988 --> 01:02:08,624
  - Who was it?                 
 - Aron Mashak.                 

1533
01:02:08,725 --> 01:02:11,861
- Rebecca's husband said        
 he was ready to turn the tables

1534
01:02:11,961 --> 01:02:14,063
   on his soon to be ex wife,   

1535
01:02:14,163 --> 01:02:17,467
  and he was willing to testify 
  against her at trial.         

1536
01:02:17,567 --> 01:02:19,302
   But before                   
   that could happen,           

1537
01:02:19,402 --> 01:02:22,638
   Rebecca would find herself   
in the hot seat.                

1538
01:02:22,739 --> 01:02:24,874
 - Ms. Schwartz, will you please
 raise your right hand?         

1539
01:02:36,452 --> 01:02:36,486
  -                             

1540
01:02:36,486 --> 01:02:36,519
  - Lo                          

1541
01:02:36,519 --> 01:02:36,552
  - Long                        

1542
01:02:36,552 --> 01:02:36,586
  - Long b                      

1543
01:02:36,586 --> 01:02:36,619
  - Long bef                    

1544
01:02:36,619 --> 01:02:36,652
  - Long befor                  

1545
01:02:36,652 --> 01:02:36,719
  - Long before                 

1546
01:02:36,719 --> 01:02:36,753
  - Long before                 
Re                              

1547
01:02:36,753 --> 01:02:36,786
  - Long before                 
Rebe                            

1548
01:02:36,786 --> 01:02:36,819
  - Long before                 
Rebecc                          

1549
01:02:36,819 --> 01:02:36,853
  - Long before                 
Rebecca'                        

1550
01:02:36,853 --> 01:02:36,886
  - Long before                 
Rebecca's                       

1551
01:02:36,886 --> 01:02:36,919
  - Long before                 
Rebecca's cu                    

1552
01:02:36,919 --> 01:02:36,953
  - Long before                 
Rebecca's cush                  

1553
01:02:36,953 --> 01:02:36,986
  - Long before                 
Rebecca's cushy                 

1554
01:02:36,986 --> 01:02:37,019
  - Long before                 
Rebecca's cushy ne              

1555
01:02:37,019 --> 01:02:37,053
  - Long before                 
Rebecca's cushy new             

1556
01:02:37,053 --> 01:02:37,086
  - Long before                 
Rebecca's cushy new li          

1557
01:02:37,086 --> 01:02:38,521
  - Long before                 
Rebecca's cushy new life        

1558
01:02:38,621 --> 01:02:41,924
with her younger husband        
 went up in flames in Wisconsin,

1559
01:02:42,024 --> 01:02:44,994
 something was happening        
   in Florida.                  

1560
01:02:45,094 --> 01:02:47,263
  Attorneys Will Florin         
and Tommy Roebig                

1561
01:02:47,363 --> 01:02:50,233
had been building               
   a case against her.          

1562
01:02:50,333 --> 01:02:53,035
 A legal battle                 
 that would take years.         

1563
01:02:53,136 --> 01:02:55,605
   Their goal?                  
 Claw back every dollar         

1564
01:02:55,705 --> 01:02:59,475
   of the doctor's vast wealth  
  that Rebecca now controlled.  

1565
01:02:59,575 --> 01:03:02,044
 What was his net worth         
 after he died?                 

1566
01:03:02,145 --> 01:03:04,514
 - North of $30 million.        

1567
01:03:04,614 --> 01:03:05,648
 - Madam Court Reporter,        

1568
01:03:05,748 --> 01:03:07,283
   if you could please          
 swear in the deponent.         

1569
01:03:07,383 --> 01:03:08,351
- Raise your right hand.        

1570
01:03:08,451 --> 01:03:09,919
   - Because this was           
  a civil case,                 

1571
01:03:10,019 --> 01:03:12,255
   Rebecca had to sit           
for a deposition.               

1572
01:03:12,355 --> 01:03:15,191
  - Tell us your name, please.  
   - Rebecca Schwartz.          

1573
01:03:15,291 --> 01:03:17,593
  - So in 2016,                 
   for the first time,          

1574
01:03:17,693 --> 01:03:20,396
  she faced the                 
   Schwartz family attorneys.   

1575
01:03:20,496 --> 01:03:23,466
   - You were present,          
were you not, in the home       

1576
01:03:23,566 --> 01:03:26,402
   at the time                  
of Dr. Schwartz's murder        

1577
01:03:26,502 --> 01:03:29,705
   and took part in the murder  
of Dr. Schwartz?                

1578
01:03:29,806 --> 01:03:32,475
  Did you not?                  

1579
01:03:32,575 --> 01:03:34,710
 - I reassert my rights         
   under Article 1, Section 9   

1580
01:03:34,811 --> 01:03:37,346
  of the Florida Constitution.  

1581
01:03:37,446 --> 01:03:41,317
- Only she didn't answer        
 any of their questions.        

1582
01:03:41,417 --> 01:03:44,887
 She just took the 5th.         
 - Over and over and over again.

1583
01:03:44,987 --> 01:03:49,158
- Even so, it gave Florin       
 the chance to ask Rebecca this.

1584
01:03:49,258 --> 01:03:54,096
 - You have been                
   convicted, um, of a felony,  

1585
01:03:54,197 --> 01:03:55,531
  have you not?                 

1586
01:03:55,631 --> 01:03:57,767
 - I reassert my rights         
   under Article 1, Section 9   

1587
01:03:57,867 --> 01:03:59,769
  of the Florida Constitution.  

1588
01:03:59,869 --> 01:04:02,371
  - Rebecca was                 
   a convicted felon.           

1589
01:04:02,471 --> 01:04:04,307
  - In the early '90s,          
she went to work                

1590
01:04:04,407 --> 01:04:06,742
   for Mothers Against          
  Drunk Driving                 

1591
01:04:06,843 --> 01:04:08,678
  up in North Florida.          

1592
01:04:08,778 --> 01:04:12,348
And the reason is because       
   she lost a two year old son  

1593
01:04:12,448 --> 01:04:14,817
  to-to a drunk driver.         

1594
01:04:14,917 --> 01:04:17,687
   - After becoming president   
   of that local MADD chapter,  

1595
01:04:17,787 --> 01:04:22,225
   Rebecca embezzled more than  
$7,000 from the charity.        

1596
01:04:22,325 --> 01:04:24,794
   - She was arrested,          
  pled guilty,                  

1597
01:04:24,894 --> 01:04:29,298
  was put on probation          
   for four counts of stealing  

1598
01:04:29,398 --> 01:04:31,467
  from Mothers Against          
 Drunk Driving.                 

1599
01:04:31,567 --> 01:04:34,136
  - What type of person         
  steals money                  

1600
01:04:34,237 --> 01:04:35,872
  from Mothers Against          
 Drunk Driving?                 

1601
01:04:35,972 --> 01:04:39,108
   - Exactly.                   
   Someone without conscience,  

1602
01:04:39,208 --> 01:04:41,911
   that doesn't care,           
  that's narcissistic,          

1603
01:04:42,011 --> 01:04:45,615
  and wants whatever they want  
  at all costs.                 

1604
01:04:45,715 --> 01:04:48,351
  - As they prepared for trial, 
 attorney Shaun Cummings        

1605
01:04:48,451 --> 01:04:52,588
   spent many hours trying to   
  track down Rebecca's fortune, 

1606
01:04:52,688 --> 01:04:55,391
 money the firm believed        
 she was hiding.                

1607
01:04:55,491 --> 01:04:57,827
  - We always suspected         
 that she was moving the assets 

1608
01:04:57,927 --> 01:05:00,463
to keep us off the trail.       

1609
01:05:00,563 --> 01:05:03,366
- She created a number of       
  limited liability companies,  

1610
01:05:03,466 --> 01:05:05,101
or LLCs,                        

1611
01:05:05,201 --> 01:05:09,138
   normally one way to protect  
  assets from lawsuits.         

1612
01:05:09,238 --> 01:05:13,075
  By 2024, seven years          
   after her last deposition,   

1613
01:05:13,175 --> 01:05:15,077
the attorneys got               
 a judge's order                

1614
01:05:15,177 --> 01:05:17,179
   compelling her to testify.   

1615
01:05:17,280 --> 01:05:20,249
 - It allowed us                
to force Rebecca Schwartz       

1616
01:05:20,349 --> 01:05:23,552
  to provide testimony          
   about her finances.          

1617
01:05:23,653 --> 01:05:26,222
- This time, she couldn't       
 claim the 5th.                 

1618
01:05:26,322 --> 01:05:28,224
 - Ms. Schwartz, will you please
 raise your right hand?         

1619
01:05:28,324 --> 01:05:32,194
  - Under oath, Rebecca painted 
 a surprising financial picture.

1620
01:05:32,295 --> 01:05:34,630
 - What do you estimate         
   your current total           

1621
01:05:34,730 --> 01:05:38,467
net worth to be?                

1622
01:05:38,567 --> 01:05:42,571
- Well, let's see, uh...        

1623
01:05:42,672 --> 01:05:45,174
 About $10,000.                 

1624
01:05:45,274 --> 01:05:47,076
   - $10,000?                   

1625
01:05:47,176 --> 01:05:49,445
 She later added                
   she also had some furniture  

1626
01:05:49,545 --> 01:05:52,581
 and a car worth                
 an additional $15,000.         

1627
01:05:52,682 --> 01:05:55,751
   - When she told me           
her assets were $10,000,        

1628
01:05:55,851 --> 01:05:57,853
   I mean, I just knew          
 it wasn't true.                

1629
01:05:57,954 --> 01:06:01,691
   I knew that she had          
  millions in property          

1630
01:06:01,791 --> 01:06:05,962
  and boats and condos          
 and businesses.                

1631
01:06:06,062 --> 01:06:07,763
   - Rebecca testified          
 she transferred                

1632
01:06:07,863 --> 01:06:10,466
almost everything               
  she owned into trusts         

1633
01:06:10,566 --> 01:06:14,170
that were now controlled        
 by her two sons, Ben and Eric. 

1634
01:06:14,270 --> 01:06:17,974
 She said they gave her         
  an allowance to live.         

1635
01:06:18,074 --> 01:06:20,376
  - They give me $500 a month.  

1636
01:06:20,476 --> 01:06:22,611
 - How do they give you         
   that $500 a month?           

1637
01:06:22,712 --> 01:06:25,681
- Benjamin hands me $500.       

1638
01:06:25,781 --> 01:06:29,118
  - Her sons were also          
   brought in for depositions.  

1639
01:06:29,218 --> 01:06:31,187
  - This begins                 
video number one                

1640
01:06:31,287 --> 01:06:34,657
in the deposition               
  of Benjamin Nichols.          

1641
01:06:34,757 --> 01:06:36,792
 - But when asked about         
   the different LLCs           

1642
01:06:36,892 --> 01:06:40,730
 under his control, Ben         
   often gave the same answer.  

1643
01:06:40,830 --> 01:06:42,898
 He didn't know                 
much about them.                

1644
01:06:42,999 --> 01:06:45,768
 - You know, I-I trust you guys,
  lawyers and stuff like that,  

1645
01:06:45,868 --> 01:06:48,504
  so if you guys put something  
 in front of me, I just sign it.

1646
01:06:48,604 --> 01:06:50,373
 So I don't know exactly        
   what it is that I'm signing  

1647
01:06:50,473 --> 01:06:51,874
   or why I'm signing.          
I just--                        

1648
01:06:51,974 --> 01:06:56,245
 - But there was one LLC        
Ben did seem more familiar with.

1649
01:06:56,345 --> 01:07:00,549
 It was titled GFYCS&AM.        

1650
01:07:00,649 --> 01:07:03,352
  - Who came up with that name  
  for that LLC?                 

1651
01:07:03,452 --> 01:07:05,488
  - Uh, my wife and I.          
 - Okay.                        

1652
01:07:05,588 --> 01:07:07,323
 And when the two of you        
came up with it,                

1653
01:07:07,423 --> 01:07:11,727
 did you discuss                
what GFYCS&AM stands for?       

1654
01:07:11,827 --> 01:07:13,262
   [chuckles]                   

1655
01:07:13,362 --> 01:07:15,097
   - Yeah, you want me          
  to say it on record?          

1656
01:07:15,197 --> 01:07:18,034
 - I do.                        
 - No, I'm not going to.        

1657
01:07:18,134 --> 01:07:20,302
  - Does it stand for--         
does it stand for               

1658
01:07:20,403 --> 01:07:23,172
   Go (BLEEP) yourself          
Carter Schwartz and Aron Mashak?

1659
01:07:23,272 --> 01:07:24,940
 - Yes, it does.                

1660
01:07:25,041 --> 01:07:28,077
- Go F yourself,                
Carter Schwartz--               

1661
01:07:28,177 --> 01:07:31,147
   - And Aron Mashak, which is  
   the soon to be ex-husband.   

1662
01:07:31,247 --> 01:07:33,582
  Wonders never cease.          
   And at this point,           

1663
01:07:33,682 --> 01:07:36,852
  there's nothing that would be 
   surprising of this family.   

1664
01:07:36,952 --> 01:07:40,256
  - Just the name of that LLC.  
  Are there some pieces of this 

1665
01:07:40,356 --> 01:07:43,726
 that just seem                 
so beyond belief to you?        

1666
01:07:43,826 --> 01:07:47,496
- I think there's               
a level of invincibility        

1667
01:07:47,596 --> 01:07:49,932
 and-and hubris                 

1668
01:07:50,032 --> 01:07:54,503
that just exceeds               
any rational explanation.       

1669
01:07:54,603 --> 01:07:58,007
- And Rebecca's other son, Eric,
  said he also didn't know much 

1670
01:07:58,107 --> 01:08:00,609
about the assets                
   under his control.           

1671
01:08:00,709 --> 01:08:03,612
- Do you have any               
 documentation or lists         

1672
01:08:03,712 --> 01:08:06,215
or anything that you keep       
so that you know                

1673
01:08:06,315 --> 01:08:10,086
   what assets                  
   that you own or don't own?   

1674
01:08:10,186 --> 01:08:11,854
  - No.                         

1675
01:08:11,954 --> 01:08:14,623
 - I think the purpose of taking
   assets out of your own name  

1676
01:08:14,723 --> 01:08:16,158
  and moving it                 
   to someone else is,          

1677
01:08:16,258 --> 01:08:18,894
it would make it more difficult,
 in her mind, at least,         

1678
01:08:18,994 --> 01:08:20,696
for us to try to                
  get those assets back         

1679
01:08:20,796 --> 01:08:21,931
  and put them                  
   where they belong,           

1680
01:08:22,031 --> 01:08:24,800
  which would was with          
Dr. Schwartz's children.        

1681
01:08:24,900 --> 01:08:27,436
 - While Rebecca's sons         
 supported their mother,        

1682
01:08:27,536 --> 01:08:31,073
  her daughter in law would be  
 a very different story.        

1683
01:08:31,173 --> 01:08:32,708
  - Would it be                 
 a fair statement then,         

1684
01:08:32,808 --> 01:08:34,076
that you've come                
to the conclusion               

1685
01:08:34,176 --> 01:08:36,345
that your mother-in-law,        
 Becky, is evil?                

1686
01:08:38,614 --> 01:08:39,849
 - Yes.                         

1687
01:08:39,949 --> 01:08:42,051
 - So as all this is happening, 
  I mean, you're digesting this 

1688
01:08:42,151 --> 01:08:43,886
  live in this deposition room. 

1689
01:08:43,986 --> 01:08:46,689
 What are you thinking?         
   - There's my star witness.   

1690
01:08:58,067 --> 01:08:58,100
  -                             

1691
01:08:58,100 --> 01:08:58,134
  - On                          

1692
01:08:58,134 --> 01:08:58,167
  - Only                        

1693
01:08:58,167 --> 01:08:58,200
  - Only o                      

1694
01:08:58,200 --> 01:08:58,234
  - Only one                    

1695
01:08:58,234 --> 01:08:58,267
  - Only one p                  

1696
01:08:58,267 --> 01:08:58,300
  - Only one per                

1697
01:08:58,300 --> 01:08:58,334
  - Only one perso              

1698
01:08:58,334 --> 01:08:58,367
  - Only one person             

1699
01:08:58,367 --> 01:08:58,400
  - Only one person wa          

1700
01:08:58,400 --> 01:08:58,501
  - Only one person was         

1701
01:08:58,501 --> 01:08:58,534
  - Only one person was         
 ev                             

1702
01:08:58,534 --> 01:08:58,567
  - Only one person was         
 ever                           

1703
01:08:58,567 --> 01:08:58,601
  - Only one person was         
 ever c                         

1704
01:08:58,601 --> 01:08:58,634
  - Only one person was         
 ever cri                       

1705
01:08:58,634 --> 01:08:58,667
  - Only one person was         
 ever crimi                     

1706
01:08:58,667 --> 01:08:58,701
  - Only one person was         
 ever crimina                   

1707
01:08:58,701 --> 01:08:58,734
  - Only one person was         
 ever criminall                 

1708
01:08:58,734 --> 01:08:58,767
  - Only one person was         
 ever criminally                

1709
01:08:58,767 --> 01:08:58,801
  - Only one person was         
 ever criminally ch             

1710
01:08:58,801 --> 01:08:58,834
  - Only one person was         
 ever criminally char           

1711
01:08:58,834 --> 01:08:58,868
  - Only one person was         
 ever criminally charge         

1712
01:08:58,868 --> 01:09:00,236
  - Only one person was         
 ever criminally charged        

1713
01:09:00,336 --> 01:09:04,373
  in Steven Schwartz's murder,  
  Leo Stragaj.                  

1714
01:09:04,473 --> 01:09:08,277
   Six years after his arrest,  
 prosecutors offered him a deal.

1715
01:09:08,377 --> 01:09:12,081
He pleaded guilty               
  to accessory after the fact.  

1716
01:09:12,181 --> 01:09:15,618
  - They seen all the evidence  
and they seen everything.       

1717
01:09:16,452 --> 01:09:21,457
   They knew I was not the guy  
who killed Dr. Schwartz.        

1718
01:09:21,557 --> 01:09:24,093
- In 2022, he was               
  released from prison          

1719
01:09:24,193 --> 01:09:27,163
and deported back               
   to his homeland of Albania.  

1720
01:09:27,263 --> 01:09:30,599
   Did you ever think that you  
  would end up here in Albania  

1721
01:09:30,699 --> 01:09:33,002
because of what happened        
   in Florida?                  

1722
01:09:33,102 --> 01:09:34,637
 - Yeah.                        
I knew I would come back.       

1723
01:09:34,737 --> 01:09:37,106
 I knew I would                 
   come back one day.           

1724
01:09:37,206 --> 01:09:40,476
  - This case was unforgettable 
  for so many reasons.          

1725
01:09:40,576 --> 01:09:43,479
   The victim, his backstory,   
the people I met,               

1726
01:09:43,579 --> 01:09:47,316
and also the fact that it       
 took me all the way to Albania.

1727
01:09:47,416 --> 01:09:48,784
   It was a fascinating place   

1728
01:09:48,884 --> 01:09:51,754
  that I never imagined         
 I'd visit for a story.         

1729
01:09:51,854 --> 01:09:54,690
 I believe that sitting         
   face to face with Leo there  

1730
01:09:54,790 --> 01:09:58,060
   in his home country          
 gave me more insight into him, 

1731
01:09:58,160 --> 01:09:59,628
  and what was striking to me,  

1732
01:09:59,728 --> 01:10:02,865
  even though he was thousands  
   of miles away from Florida,  

1733
01:10:02,965 --> 01:10:06,335
it was very clear that his anger
  over what had happened there  

1734
01:10:06,435 --> 01:10:08,137
   had not gone away.           

1735
01:10:08,237 --> 01:10:10,573
 How would you describe         
 Rebecca Schwartz today?        

1736
01:10:10,673 --> 01:10:13,275
  - Evil. Evil.                 

1737
01:10:13,375 --> 01:10:16,478
   I'll take her life           
 in a heartbeat,                

1738
01:10:16,579 --> 01:10:18,113
 and I won't regret it.         

1739
01:10:18,214 --> 01:10:19,582
 - You say that.                
You'd admit that?               

1740
01:10:19,682 --> 01:10:21,016
  - She took everything I had.  

1741
01:10:21,116 --> 01:10:22,551
   - If you were face to face   
with her today--                

1742
01:10:22,651 --> 01:10:24,153
  - I'll take her life          
 in a heartbeat.                

1743
01:10:24,253 --> 01:10:27,022
  I'll say it anywhere.         

1744
01:10:27,122 --> 01:10:29,225
 I'm not afraid.                

1745
01:10:29,325 --> 01:10:30,793
She destroyed me.               

1746
01:10:30,893 --> 01:10:33,529
- Whether or not                
   Leo's threat is believable,  

1747
01:10:33,629 --> 01:10:37,466
   he's not allowed to return   
  to the US until 2032.         

1748
01:10:39,635 --> 01:10:42,204
  Back in Florida, the wrongful 
   death civil lawsuit          

1749
01:10:42,304 --> 01:10:46,208
 against Rebecca                
 began in February 2025.        

1750
01:10:46,308 --> 01:10:48,711
  - For me and for our family,  
 this isn't about money.        

1751
01:10:48,811 --> 01:10:51,747
 This is about justice.         
   And unfortunately,           

1752
01:10:51,847 --> 01:10:54,216
   the civil trial was          
   the avenue available to us   

1753
01:10:54,316 --> 01:10:56,619
despite what we may want.       

1754
01:10:56,719 --> 01:10:59,755
  The trial started off         
   with a win for the defense.  

1755
01:10:59,855 --> 01:11:03,392
 The judge ruled jurors wouldn't
  hear that Rebecca stole money 

1756
01:11:03,492 --> 01:11:06,095
  from Mothers Against          
 Drunk Driving.                 

1757
01:11:06,195 --> 01:11:08,430
 Rohom Khonsari                 
is her attorney.                

1758
01:11:08,530 --> 01:11:10,799
- We did have to litigate       
  that issue at length,         

1759
01:11:10,899 --> 01:11:13,269
 but we were successful         
   in keeping it out.           

1760
01:11:13,369 --> 01:11:16,405
  - The plaintiffs knew         
  they faced other challenges.  

1761
01:11:16,505 --> 01:11:18,974
What do you need                
  to prove to the jury          

1762
01:11:19,074 --> 01:11:20,409
 to win this civil case?        

1763
01:11:20,509 --> 01:11:22,778
   - Well, obviously,           
   we need to prove that she--  

1764
01:11:22,878 --> 01:11:25,914
  she caused the death          
 of Dr. Steven Schwartz.        

1765
01:11:26,015 --> 01:11:29,451
- Prove she participated        
 or killed him herself.         

1766
01:11:29,551 --> 01:11:32,621
 If they won, they could        
 seek monetary damages,         

1767
01:11:32,721 --> 01:11:36,492
  potentially stripping Rebecca 
of everything she owned.        

1768
01:11:36,592 --> 01:11:37,793
   - If you are the murderer,   

1769
01:11:37,893 --> 01:11:40,229
you cannot profit               
by that behavior.               

1770
01:11:40,329 --> 01:11:42,998
- The plaintiff's theory?       
   Rebecca killed her husband   

1771
01:11:43,098 --> 01:11:45,701
  because he was about          
  to end their marriage         

1772
01:11:45,801 --> 01:11:47,903
 and cut her off                
 from his money.                

1773
01:11:48,003 --> 01:11:50,306
 - Dr. Schwartz                 
had made it known               

1774
01:11:50,406 --> 01:11:52,341
that he was going               
 to divorce her,                

1775
01:11:52,441 --> 01:11:56,145
 and had that happened,         
 she would be destitute.        

1776
01:11:56,245 --> 01:11:58,447
 - One of the witnesses         
called to testify               

1777
01:11:58,547 --> 01:12:00,115
 was a neighbor                 
   of the Schwartz's.           

1778
01:12:00,215 --> 01:12:01,784
  - I was to the left of them.  

1779
01:12:01,884 --> 01:12:04,787
  - April Cox told jurors about 
an argument she witnessed       

1780
01:12:04,887 --> 01:12:06,889
   a few weeks                  
   before the murder.           

1781
01:12:06,989 --> 01:12:09,058
This is the audio               
  from her deposition.          

1782
01:12:27,443 --> 01:12:29,578
   - Rebecca had given          
   her son Eric money           

1783
01:12:29,678 --> 01:12:31,647
   to open that Verizon store.  

1784
01:12:31,747 --> 01:12:34,450
  The plaintiffs argued         
it may have been the final straw

1785
01:12:34,550 --> 01:12:35,951
for her husband.                

1786
01:12:36,051 --> 01:12:38,253
- Don't tell him                
about the Verizon store.        

1787
01:12:38,354 --> 01:12:41,623
  And so conversations          
   must be happening,           

1788
01:12:41,724 --> 01:12:44,927
  obviously behind the scenes,  
  where he is unhappy.          

1789
01:12:45,027 --> 01:12:46,695
 And this is escalating,        

1790
01:12:46,795 --> 01:12:48,964
  and it's a drumbeat,          
and it's coming,                

1791
01:12:49,064 --> 01:12:51,767
and then it ends                
 at the bottom of those stairs. 

1792
01:12:51,867 --> 01:12:53,369
   - And while                  
   the murder weapons,          

1793
01:12:53,469 --> 01:12:55,738
a knife and gun,                
were never found,               

1794
01:12:55,838 --> 01:12:58,607
Kyle Smithee's deposition       
  was played in court.          

1795
01:12:58,707 --> 01:13:01,377
And he testified                
 about Rebecca bragging         

1796
01:13:01,477 --> 01:13:03,645
   about knowing how to shoot.  

1797
01:13:03,746 --> 01:13:05,147
   Did she own a gun?           

1798
01:13:05,247 --> 01:13:09,051
- She told me repeatedly        
  that she owned a gun.         

1799
01:13:09,151 --> 01:13:12,254
   - Did you ever see her gun?  
 - I never saw her gun.         

1800
01:13:12,354 --> 01:13:14,256
  Uh, she specifically          
 referenced that it was         

1801
01:13:14,356 --> 01:13:17,259
a Saturday night special.       

1802
01:13:17,359 --> 01:13:21,196
   - A Saturday night special,  
 or a small caliber gun,        

1803
01:13:21,296 --> 01:13:24,767
like the one used               
  to kill Dr. Schwartz.         

1804
01:13:24,867 --> 01:13:28,404
 - We know she had a .22 because
she's shown it to people.       

1805
01:13:28,504 --> 01:13:33,041
 She carried it.                
  She bragged about having it.  

1806
01:13:33,142 --> 01:13:35,577
- They also showed jurors       
Leo's deposition,               

1807
01:13:35,677 --> 01:13:37,746
   taken while he was in jail.  

1808
01:13:37,846 --> 01:13:40,883
  He stuck to his story         
  that Rebecca had set him up.  

1809
01:13:46,855 --> 01:13:50,559
 - Then came bombshell testimony
 from Rebecca's fourth husband, 

1810
01:13:50,659 --> 01:13:52,161
  Aron Mashak.                  

1811
01:13:52,261 --> 01:13:55,731
 After Rebecca filed for divorce
  and sent that letter around,  

1812
01:13:55,831 --> 01:13:58,767
  he offered to testify         
   for the plaintiffs.          

1813
01:13:58,867 --> 01:14:00,669
 - One of the statements        
that she made to me was--       

1814
01:14:00,769 --> 01:14:03,372
- During his deposition,        
which jurors saw,               

1815
01:14:03,472 --> 01:14:07,075
 he admitted that he and Rebecca
 purposely moved assets         

1816
01:14:07,176 --> 01:14:11,046
 to protect them in case        
 she lost this lawsuit.         

1817
01:14:11,146 --> 01:14:15,417
  - What was the purpose behind 
 setting up those LLCs?         

1818
01:14:15,517 --> 01:14:20,389
- Rebecca wanted to hide,       
 uh, any assets                 

1819
01:14:20,489 --> 01:14:21,723
  from the civil case.          

1820
01:14:21,824 --> 01:14:25,394
  - Has Rebecca Mashak,         
   formerly known as Schwartz,  

1821
01:14:25,494 --> 01:14:29,164
   made any statement           
  to you ever regarding         

1822
01:14:29,264 --> 01:14:33,902
her potential involvement       
  in the death of Dr. Schwartz  

1823
01:14:34,002 --> 01:14:37,339
   and having gotten away with  
her involvement in that?        

1824
01:14:37,439 --> 01:14:38,740
 - Yes.                         

1825
01:14:38,841 --> 01:14:41,543
 - And what did she say         
 to you in that regard?         

1826
01:14:41,643 --> 01:14:43,145
   - She said a couple          
  of different things.          

1827
01:14:43,245 --> 01:14:45,013
I've gotten away                
with this before.               

1828
01:14:45,113 --> 01:14:46,715
  I can get away with it again. 

1829
01:14:46,815 --> 01:14:50,552
Um, that was, I believe,        
 in reference to                

1830
01:14:50,652 --> 01:14:55,023
 the, uh, murder                
  of her prior husband.         

1831
01:14:55,123 --> 01:14:57,159
- He also said that might       
  have been a reference         

1832
01:14:57,259 --> 01:14:59,962
to moving assets                
 to keep them from him.         

1833
01:15:01,630 --> 01:15:04,099
   But perhaps                  
  the most surprising testimony 

1834
01:15:04,199 --> 01:15:07,135
   came from Rebecca's          
 daughter in law, Dana Nichols, 

1835
01:15:07,236 --> 01:15:09,171
 Ben's wife at the time.        

1836
01:15:09,271 --> 01:15:12,241
  - When Dana testified         
  at the trial                  

1837
01:15:12,341 --> 01:15:15,244
   in the courtroom that day,   
it was electric.                

1838
01:15:15,344 --> 01:15:16,745
   - Her testimony was similar  

1839
01:15:16,845 --> 01:15:19,181
to what she said                
   in this deposition.          

1840
01:15:19,281 --> 01:15:21,016
   She and Ben                  
   worked for Rebecca           

1841
01:15:21,116 --> 01:15:23,185
  and lived in a house          
  she bought for them.          

1842
01:15:23,285 --> 01:15:26,722
 But Dana said her mother-in-law
  could be vindictive.          

1843
01:15:26,822 --> 01:15:29,625
   Like the time Dana invited   
the wrong person                

1844
01:15:29,725 --> 01:15:31,827
 to her own baby shower.        

1845
01:15:31,927 --> 01:15:36,498
  - She got mad                 
at my baby shower               

1846
01:15:36,598 --> 01:15:38,634
because I invited               
 my other mother-in-law,        

1847
01:15:38,734 --> 01:15:43,705
 Ben's stepmom,                 
and she doesn't like her.       

1848
01:15:43,805 --> 01:15:47,976
   And so she fired us          

1849
01:15:48,076 --> 01:15:51,446
 and threatened                 
 to take away our house         

1850
01:15:51,547 --> 01:15:56,184
  and our health insurance when 
  I was eight months pregnant.  

1851
01:15:56,285 --> 01:15:58,387
  - The couple                  
   were later rehired,          

1852
01:15:58,487 --> 01:16:01,290
   but Dana said that           
  and other experiences         

1853
01:16:01,390 --> 01:16:04,560
  convinced her Rebecca         
   could be ruthless.           

1854
01:16:04,660 --> 01:16:06,895
She had no doubt                
her mother-in-law               

1855
01:16:06,995 --> 01:16:09,398
  had something                 
 to do with the killing.        

1856
01:16:09,498 --> 01:16:12,134
 - When was it that you         
  first suspected that she was  

1857
01:16:12,234 --> 01:16:14,636
 involved in the murder         
of Dr. Schwartz?                

1858
01:16:19,775 --> 01:16:22,511
  - The night that it happened. 

1859
01:16:22,611 --> 01:16:24,846
 - Were you able to talk        
  to anybody that night         

1860
01:16:24,947 --> 01:16:26,882
   about the concerns?          

1861
01:16:26,982 --> 01:16:28,884
   - No, because I was scared.  

1862
01:16:28,984 --> 01:16:31,320
- In fact, you told your        
 friends, at least one of them, 

1863
01:16:31,420 --> 01:16:33,088
   that you're afraid           
of Becky Schwartz               

1864
01:16:33,188 --> 01:16:36,325
because you fear                
   for your daughter,           

1865
01:16:36,425 --> 01:16:39,094
   for your daughter's safety.  
 - Yes.                         

1866
01:16:39,194 --> 01:16:40,929
 - Yes?                         
 - Yes.                         

1867
01:16:41,029 --> 01:16:44,333
   - What is it about           
 Becky Schwartz                 

1868
01:16:44,433 --> 01:16:49,137
 that-that makes                
   a nice young lady like you   

1869
01:16:49,237 --> 01:16:52,441
  afraid for the safety         
of her daughter?                

1870
01:16:52,541 --> 01:16:55,677
- Because she only cares        
  about herself                 

1871
01:16:55,777 --> 01:16:59,381
  and she doesn't care          
  who-who she will hurt         

1872
01:16:59,481 --> 01:17:03,685
   or has hurt                  
   to protect herself.          

1873
01:17:06,188 --> 01:17:10,025
 - In her deposition, Dana read 
  an email she sent to a friend 

1874
01:17:10,125 --> 01:17:12,794
   and gave similar testimony   
at trial.                       

1875
01:17:12,894 --> 01:17:14,496
- I want justice                
for Dr. Schwartz                

1876
01:17:14,596 --> 01:17:16,031
and Becky to pay                
for all the wrong               

1877
01:17:16,131 --> 01:17:17,833
 and evil things                
  she has done.                 

1878
01:17:17,933 --> 01:17:21,036
She doesn't deserve to be       
 living it up and enjoying life.

1879
01:17:21,136 --> 01:17:22,471
  - Would it be                 
  a fair statement then         

1880
01:17:22,571 --> 01:17:23,839
that you've come                
to the conclusion               

1881
01:17:23,939 --> 01:17:25,974
that your mother-in-law,        
 Becky, is evil?                

1882
01:17:29,111 --> 01:17:30,879
 - Yes.                         

1883
01:17:30,979 --> 01:17:32,381
 - It's pretty striking.        
 - Yeah.                        

1884
01:17:32,481 --> 01:17:35,250
 - From your own family.        
 - From your own family.        

1885
01:17:35,350 --> 01:17:37,753
 - It was devastating testimony,

1886
01:17:37,853 --> 01:17:41,623
but the defense was about       
   to reframe the entire case,  

1887
01:17:41,723 --> 01:17:45,193
 arguing the real killer        
had already been caught.        

1888
01:17:45,293 --> 01:17:47,629
   The only physical evidence   
 that was there                 

1889
01:17:47,729 --> 01:17:49,865
 showed that Leo Stragaj        
  was involved.                 

1890
01:18:00,142 --> 01:18:00,175
-                               

1891
01:18:00,175 --> 01:18:00,208
- Fo                            

1892
01:18:00,208 --> 01:18:00,242
- For                           

1893
01:18:00,242 --> 01:18:00,275
- For mo                        

1894
01:18:00,275 --> 01:18:00,308
- For more                      

1895
01:18:00,308 --> 01:18:00,342
- For more t                    

1896
01:18:00,342 --> 01:18:00,375
- For more tha                  

1897
01:18:00,375 --> 01:18:00,409
- For more than                 

1898
01:18:00,409 --> 01:18:00,442
- For more than a               

1899
01:18:00,442 --> 01:18:00,475
- For more than a de            

1900
01:18:00,475 --> 01:18:00,509
- For more than a deca          

1901
01:18:00,509 --> 01:18:00,542
- For more than a decade        

1902
01:18:00,542 --> 01:18:01,410
- For more than a decade,       

1903
01:18:01,510 --> 01:18:03,512
 Rebecca had been dogged        
 by allegations                 

1904
01:18:03,612 --> 01:18:06,314
   she was responsible          
for her husband's death,        

1905
01:18:06,415 --> 01:18:09,818
even though she was never       
   criminally charged.          

1906
01:18:09,918 --> 01:18:12,087
 Now, as part of                
  a civil suit,                 

1907
01:18:12,187 --> 01:18:15,424
  her defense insisted          
she was innocent.               

1908
01:18:15,524 --> 01:18:18,326
   Rebecca's attorney,          
 Rohom Khonsari.                

1909
01:18:18,427 --> 01:18:20,495
  Where were some of the holes  
in the plaintiff's case?        

1910
01:18:20,595 --> 01:18:21,830
  - The lack of                 
   physical evidence.           

1911
01:18:21,930 --> 01:18:25,333
  They had no physical evidence 
 tying my client to the murder. 

1912
01:18:25,434 --> 01:18:28,570
   There was no murder weapon   
   that was retrieved.          

1913
01:18:28,670 --> 01:18:29,938
 - What's more, he said,        

1914
01:18:30,038 --> 01:18:33,208
someone else had already        
   admitted to playing a role.  

1915
01:18:33,308 --> 01:18:35,544
  - The only physical evidence  
 that was there                 

1916
01:18:35,644 --> 01:18:38,113
 showed that Leo Strgaj         
  was involved.                 

1917
01:18:38,213 --> 01:18:41,983
 - Not only was Leo's DNA found 
   on Dr. Schwartz's clothing,  

1918
01:18:42,084 --> 01:18:45,854
   he also admitted he didn't   
 tell police the truth.         

1919
01:18:45,954 --> 01:18:49,458
 - No, I swear. I swear.        
I swear. I swear.               

1920
01:18:49,558 --> 01:18:51,560
 No, I wasn't involved.         

1921
01:18:51,660 --> 01:18:53,462
   - He initially lied          
   to law enforcement           

1922
01:18:53,562 --> 01:18:55,397
about being in the house        
   altogether,                  

1923
01:18:55,497 --> 01:18:57,432
and then later when they        
 confronted him with it,        

1924
01:18:57,532 --> 01:18:59,201
he was ultimately               
  charged with murder.          

1925
01:18:59,301 --> 01:19:02,404
  - The plaintiffs in this case 
  have said Leo had no motive,  

1926
01:19:02,504 --> 01:19:04,873
   that he was working          
for Dr. Schwartz,               

1927
01:19:04,973 --> 01:19:08,276
  he was making a good living,  
  and that essentially his life 

1928
01:19:08,376 --> 01:19:11,813
 stood to get worse with        
Dr. Schwartz not in the picture.

1929
01:19:11,913 --> 01:19:15,050
  So why would he want          
  to kill Dr. Schwartz?         

1930
01:19:15,150 --> 01:19:17,419
   - I don't necessarily know   
  what his motive was,          

1931
01:19:17,519 --> 01:19:20,255
   but I do know that           
   the only physical evidence   

1932
01:19:20,355 --> 01:19:23,658
  that was on the scene         
 tied him to being there        

1933
01:19:23,759 --> 01:19:27,362
  and having his hands          
or any other DNA                

1934
01:19:27,462 --> 01:19:29,264
  in his pants pockets.         

1935
01:19:29,364 --> 01:19:31,533
   - As for Rebecca's           
 alleged motive,                

1936
01:19:31,633 --> 01:19:33,502
her attorney said               
  there was no evidence         

1937
01:19:33,602 --> 01:19:36,505
   to show her husband          
   was planning to leave her.   

1938
01:19:36,605 --> 01:19:38,774
You think their marriage        
was going to keep going?        

1939
01:19:38,874 --> 01:19:40,375
- I'm not saying                
it wasn't rocky,                

1940
01:19:40,475 --> 01:19:42,144
but to just jump                
to the conclusion               

1941
01:19:42,244 --> 01:19:44,446
 that it was on the cusp        
  of a divorce                  

1942
01:19:44,546 --> 01:19:47,482
   and that's what led          
 to this murder,                

1943
01:19:47,582 --> 01:19:49,918
 I think is a big jump.         

1944
01:19:50,018 --> 01:19:53,188
 - Khonsari also said there was 
a reasonable explanation        

1945
01:19:53,288 --> 01:19:56,057
for Rebecca and her sons        
  moving assets around          

1946
01:19:56,158 --> 01:19:57,793
after the doctor's death.       

1947
01:19:57,893 --> 01:20:00,295
It was to keep them away        
from her fourth husband,        

1948
01:20:00,395 --> 01:20:02,097
  Aron Mashak.                  

1949
01:20:02,197 --> 01:20:04,666
 - After Aron got caught        
   cheating on my mom           

1950
01:20:04,766 --> 01:20:08,069
 is when, uh, you know,         
  we decided that we--          

1951
01:20:08,170 --> 01:20:10,105
   you know, my brother and I,  
   you know, we all sat down,   

1952
01:20:10,205 --> 01:20:12,607
 decided that we should         
  probably protect her.         

1953
01:20:12,707 --> 01:20:15,443
  - You moved all those assets  
   out of your control          

1954
01:20:15,544 --> 01:20:17,979
   into someone else's control  
  to prevent Mr. Mashak         

1955
01:20:18,079 --> 01:20:19,581
   from getting them.           

1956
01:20:19,681 --> 01:20:23,218
- Prevent for him laying        
claim to them, yes, sir.        

1957
01:20:23,318 --> 01:20:25,987
  - The defense called          
only one witness,               

1958
01:20:26,087 --> 01:20:29,658
  a medical salesperson         
who visited the doctor's office.

1959
01:20:29,758 --> 01:20:32,661
  She testified she saw         
  a loving relationship         

1960
01:20:32,761 --> 01:20:35,230
 between Rebecca                
and her husband.                

1961
01:20:35,330 --> 01:20:36,498
  The one witness you did call, 

1962
01:20:36,598 --> 01:20:38,900
 why did you feel that testimony
 was important?                 

1963
01:20:39,000 --> 01:20:41,002
 - I felt that the jury         
 needed to hear                 

1964
01:20:41,102 --> 01:20:43,004
 that there was                 
   somebody out there           

1965
01:20:43,104 --> 01:20:44,606
 that felt that she was         
  a good person                 

1966
01:20:44,706 --> 01:20:46,274
 and that she is                
 a good person.                 

1967
01:20:46,374 --> 01:20:48,109
 - If there were                
   multiple witnesses           

1968
01:20:48,210 --> 01:20:49,611
 on the plaintiff's side        

1969
01:20:49,711 --> 01:20:52,747
who said terrible things        
   about Rebecca's character,   

1970
01:20:52,848 --> 01:20:55,350
   why should the jury          
   believe one person           

1971
01:20:55,450 --> 01:20:57,285
who says positive things        
about her                       

1972
01:20:57,385 --> 01:20:59,588
  versus the many who lined up  

1973
01:20:59,688 --> 01:21:01,857
 to say negative things         
   about her?                   

1974
01:21:01,957 --> 01:21:03,225
- Well, the focus               
  should be on whether          

1975
01:21:03,325 --> 01:21:05,861
  she committed                 
   the murder or not.           

1976
01:21:05,961 --> 01:21:10,232
 I went to great lengths to say,
   you don't have to like her.  

1977
01:21:10,332 --> 01:21:11,833
  Just because she said         
all these things                

1978
01:21:11,933 --> 01:21:14,202
   and potentially did          
  all these bad things          

1979
01:21:14,302 --> 01:21:16,771
  doesn't mean that she         
   killed her husband.          

1980
01:21:16,872 --> 01:21:19,374
- He also reminded jurors       
  that she was on trial         

1981
01:21:19,474 --> 01:21:21,076
   for her husband's killing,   

1982
01:21:21,176 --> 01:21:24,379
 not for alleged                
  financial misconduct.         

1983
01:21:24,479 --> 01:21:27,549
   Finally, it was in           
the jury's hands.               

1984
01:21:27,649 --> 01:21:30,685
 Unlike a criminal case,        
in a civil trial,               

1985
01:21:30,785 --> 01:21:35,323
   the bar is lower for jurors  
 to find against the defendant. 

1986
01:21:35,423 --> 01:21:38,093
   Now the jury has the case.   
  How are you feeling?          

1987
01:21:38,193 --> 01:21:40,862
 - Strong. Good.                
Yeah, we proved our case.       

1988
01:21:42,697 --> 01:21:45,567
  - After two and a half hours  
of deliberations,               

1989
01:21:45,667 --> 01:21:47,969
 they reached a verdict.        

1990
01:21:48,069 --> 01:21:49,504
 - She was found liable         

1991
01:21:49,604 --> 01:21:52,574
for likely being                
 involved in the murder,        

1992
01:21:52,674 --> 01:21:56,912
   and the family was awarded   
   quite a large sum.           

1993
01:21:57,012 --> 01:21:59,414
- The jury found                
 Rebecca Schwartz liable        

1994
01:21:59,514 --> 01:22:02,217
for intentionally killing       
or participating                

1995
01:22:02,317 --> 01:22:04,052
 in her husband's death.        

1996
01:22:05,787 --> 01:22:08,757
  - The court system guarantees 
you a chance at justice.        

1997
01:22:08,857 --> 01:22:10,292
  It doesn't guarantee          
  you justice.                  

1998
01:22:10,392 --> 01:22:11,927
  Doesn't happen all the time.  

1999
01:22:12,027 --> 01:22:15,931
When it happens,                
   it's, um, glorious.          

2000
01:22:18,700 --> 01:22:21,136
  - As for the amount of money  
 jurors awarded                 

2001
01:22:21,236 --> 01:22:23,171
Carter and his family...        

2002
01:22:23,271 --> 01:22:26,975
   - In total, it was just shy  
of $200 million.                

2003
01:22:27,075 --> 01:22:30,245
 - $200 million.                

2004
01:22:30,345 --> 01:22:32,447
   - It's hitting her           
   in the pocketbook.           

2005
01:22:32,547 --> 01:22:34,549
And that has got                
to be devastating               

2006
01:22:34,649 --> 01:22:38,486
   for someone                  
   that is so greedy.           

2007
01:22:38,586 --> 01:22:41,189
 - You hear the verdict,        
   you hear the dollar amount.  

2008
01:22:41,289 --> 01:22:42,424
   What did you think?          

2009
01:22:42,524 --> 01:22:45,994
 - They were sure of themselves.
- We're gonna go get it.        

2010
01:22:46,094 --> 01:22:48,063
   - And they're well           
  on their way.                 

2011
01:22:48,163 --> 01:22:52,200
The attorneys know they'll never
 collect the full $200 million. 

2012
01:22:52,300 --> 01:22:54,035
But so far, Florin says,        

2013
01:22:54,135 --> 01:22:56,604
  they've frozen about          
$6 to $10 million               

2014
01:22:56,705 --> 01:23:00,241
  in Rebecca's assets,          
  and they're looking for more, 

2015
01:23:00,342 --> 01:23:03,311
  including money from a yacht  
  that Aron Mashak sold         

2016
01:23:03,411 --> 01:23:05,613
  in violation                  
   of a judge's order.          

2017
01:23:07,782 --> 01:23:09,851
  Rebecca moved                 
back to Florida.                

2018
01:23:09,951 --> 01:23:11,519
  Following the advice          
 of her lawyer,                 

2019
01:23:11,619 --> 01:23:13,888
she declined our request        
for an interview.               

2020
01:23:15,857 --> 01:23:18,393
 For more than a decade,        
   the criminal investigation   

2021
01:23:18,493 --> 01:23:23,198
  into Steven Schwartz's murder 
   remained open and unsolved.  

2022
01:23:23,298 --> 01:23:27,302
 But in May of 2025, two months 
after the civil verdict,        

2023
01:23:27,402 --> 01:23:29,237
Detective Diebel retired        

2024
01:23:29,337 --> 01:23:33,541
  and the Tarpon Springs police 
   officially closed its case.  

2025
01:23:33,641 --> 01:23:36,177
  The police chief says         
  it could be reopened          

2026
01:23:36,277 --> 01:23:38,880
 if new evidence                
 is discovered.                 

2027
01:23:38,980 --> 01:23:42,951
This story stays with me because
   it ends with no conviction.  

2028
01:23:43,051 --> 01:23:46,321
   No one was ever charged for  
  Dr. Schwartz's actual murder. 

2029
01:23:46,421 --> 01:23:48,356
  No trial, no verdict.         

2030
01:23:48,456 --> 01:23:52,694
 Only the belief of a detective 
and a family that never wavered.

2031
01:23:52,794 --> 01:23:54,496
 While the civil verdict        
 against Rebecca                

2032
01:23:54,596 --> 01:23:56,898
  did offer some sense          
  of reckoning,                 

2033
01:23:56,998 --> 01:23:59,534
 for loved ones,                
   it's only a start.           

2034
01:23:59,634 --> 01:24:03,538
 When justice feels incomplete, 
it leaves behind a heavy burden,

2035
01:24:03,638 --> 01:24:07,342
one investigators and the people
  who cared about Dr. Schwartz  

2036
01:24:07,442 --> 01:24:10,111
  will carry long after         
   the case is closed.          

2037
01:24:11,312 --> 01:24:14,682
You've looked at Rebecca        
  any number of possible ways.  

2038
01:24:14,783 --> 01:24:17,519
   She's never been arrested,   
   never been charged.          

2039
01:24:17,619 --> 01:24:20,588
   Could it be because          
 she's innocent,                

2040
01:24:20,688 --> 01:24:22,390
that she didn't do this?        

2041
01:24:22,490 --> 01:24:25,960
   - I don't-I don't think so.  
   I know so. She's involved.   

2042
01:24:28,029 --> 01:24:30,799
 As for Carter,                 
 he's now Dr. Schwartz,         

2043
01:24:30,899 --> 01:24:34,102
 a nephrologist,                
   just like his dad.           

2044
01:24:34,202 --> 01:24:36,404
   He says while their family   
   is grateful                  

2045
01:24:36,504 --> 01:24:38,039
 for the civil judgment,        

2046
01:24:38,139 --> 01:24:41,609
   money, any amount,           
only goes so far.               

2047
01:24:41,709 --> 01:24:45,313
   - Finally,                   
 the latest development         

2048
01:24:45,413 --> 01:24:47,248
 in getting this verdict        
  at this trial                 

2049
01:24:47,348 --> 01:24:50,085
   is a step towards justice.   
 - Yeah.                        

2050
01:24:50,185 --> 01:24:51,686
   - But she is still           
 walking around.                

2051
01:24:51,786 --> 01:24:53,221
   She is still free.           

2052
01:24:53,321 --> 01:24:58,359
  And I would trade every dime  
   to see true justice served.