like his life was -- was falling apart. >> reporter: hardly what garcia's parents had envisioned for their son when he was growing up in southern california. anthony garcia's father fred worked for the postal service. his mother estella, a nurse, had been born in mexico. it was a proud moment, they told reporters, when in 1999 the eldest of their three children graduated from medical school. >> there's a great, poignant moment where frederick garcia and anthony pile his belongings, what little he has, in a rattley old van and drive across the country from california to upper state new york to start his medical career. how proud he must have been at that moment. >> reporter: what started as the american dream was turning into something unthinkable. if convicted of murdering four people, dr. anthony garcia, now 40 years old, faced the death penalty.