a mother. and now her body lay at the bottom of the basement stairs. >> it was devastating. >> reporter: if ever there was a woman who took life in big gulps, it was annamarie cochrane rintala. even as a little girl growing up amidst a big irish-italian family in springfield, mass, she'd loved the limelight. pasquale martin is her uncle. >> the first time i had seen her take the stage and sing "mambo italiano," it just knocked me out. >> reporter: not afraid of the spotlight, huh? >> nah, she loved it. >> reporter: she could belt it out to the rafters but was she any good? her friends t.j. donahue and mary petrone are diplomatic. >> she thought so. >> she was -- oh. no, i -- she could carry a tune. but she thought she was much better than she actually was. >> it didn't really matter because she -- >> it didn't. >>head the charia --