in this will pay for it. >> when people are desperate, they do desperate things. >> very violent conniving. >> she is into sexuality, and such a calculated way. >> i'm not surprised by anything. it's just crazy twist after crazy twist. it really was internationally choreographed, good old-fashioned sting operation. >> you think it was going to work? >> honestly, i give it a 50/50 chance. >> it wasn't about retribution. it was about justice. >> it was a quiet fall night, close to midnight, the young couple finished dinner and then walked to the dimly lit centuries old cobblestone street of old san juan puerto rico, heading for their car. suddenly, a man armed with a knife and a loose block from the cobblestone streets attacked. the husband adam anhang fell to the ground. >> but the witness remembers hearing was adam screaming, run baby, run. >> fighting back as hard as he could, adam never stood a chance. >> he was stabbed repeatedly. >> it with the brick over the head. >> and, like that, it was over. the attacker melted back into the darkness, leaving adam and his wife aurea lying on the street. and ambulance arrived loaded aurea with injuries on her arms and legs onto a stretcher and with her way to the hospital. but for adam, it was too late. he was 32 years old. >> the coolly police quickly arrived to the -- journalist -- , covered the murder for puerto rico's highest circulation newspaper. it happened in september 2005. >> right, here on these cobblestones -- >> he died right here. >> and, that kind of thing doesn't happen. i mean, old san juan is relatively safe. >> yes. >> especially in this time of, night that time of year. >> in my years of experience, i don't experience a murder of someone. i'm talking about 20 years. so murder of a businessman in puerto rico, is something unheard of in puerto rico. >> unheard of to jose, unfathomable to those who knew adam like lily gracia. >> it was devastating. because adam had so much potential. >> another friend, andy wendell remembers finding out in the middle of the night. >> a professor from business school called me and told me he was dead. he had been murdered. i couldn't believe what happened. >> holds it got a call from the same professor. >> and he said, adam passed away. and i still get chills and i think that up that moment it just was oh well could have just pain and everybody run to see what happened. all i could say was adam died, adam died. in winnipeg, canada. adams, parents barabara and abe learn from their daughter, becky the devastating news left them reeling. it was as if the ground had disappeared beneath our feet. we felt like we were rolling through the universe. could not even register the information. and to hear all it happened, helping close? that >> will tell you, something i wanted it resolved then and there. whoever did this was going to pay for it. and that was what i said to myself, five seconds after i heard. >> that was your mission? >> yes. >> abe anhang, you'll hear more from him later and how his love for his son would lead him on a 13 year quest for justice that would uncover secrets and span continents. but in those first hours and days after the murder, it would be after the old san juan police to find adam's killer. and, in the early 2000s, that was almost herculean task. , because while the tourist, heart of puerto rico, old san juan, was all but free of violent crime. the rest of the island was not. >> during that time, puerto rico was ordering thousands of murders a. here we had a higher murder rate in los angeles, and they're 6 million people in los angeles and less than half puerto rico. >> but, this is a high profile case. adam was a prominent businessman on the island. he was also canadian and therefore considered a terrorist. so, his murder, smack in the middle of all saint laurent became a top priority for law enforcement. >> how much pressure was there on the police, then in the days that followed to make an arrest on the case? >> detective, in charge of the, case they were being very pressured by the higher ups to solve the case. >> the detective didn't have much to go on. robbery didn't seem to be the motive because nothing was taken. >> didn't take his wallet. didn't take his watch. >> didn't take his watch. so, it looks like a senseless murder. >> a senseless murder with multiple witnesses, including adam's wife, aurea who was in the hospital recovering from her injuries. detectives got her statement and found out looking to speak to any others. >> they had eyewitness accounts. >> what was the description of the killer look like? >> the general description from two witnesses who came forth, since the beginning, also -- pushed aurea and then went back to attack adam. >> heavyset, tall, so the police knew what the killer looked like. now, the pressure was on to find him, and answer the most important question, why did he kill adam anhang. >> coming up -- adam had been working on million dollar real estate deals and one of them gone wrong. >> he's doing this all over the world. >> all over the world. >> and, later, marriage and deception. >> he came to realize, immediately, that it was all about the money. >> as a father searches for the truth. >> he didn't stop. >> and the, fbi launches a stand to catch an international fugitive. >> did you think it was going to work? >> i give it a 50/50 chance. >> when dateline, continues. introducing finish ultimate. engineered for the toughest conditions. dry burnt-on stains. old dishwashers. very hard water. new finish ultimate, with cyclesync technology, helps deliver the ultimate clean. ♪ you're probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers for your business. but what if we told you it's possible that comcast business mobile can save you up to 75% a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers? have we piqued your interest? you can get two unlimited lines for just $30 each a month. there are no term contracts or line activation fees. and you can bring your own device. oh, and all on the most reliable 5g mobile network nationwide. ♪ >> adam anhang left his home wireless that works for you. it's not just possible. town ♪ ♪ of winnipeg, canada as a young ♪ ♪ man seeking his fortune and ♪ ♪ determined to make his mark on ♪ ♪ the world. ♪ ♪ he returned for a final time ♪ ♪ in the casket. ♪ ♪ at 32, still a young man. ♪ ♪ but, if the size of his ♪ ♪ funeral was any indication, he ♪ ♪ had succeeded in leaving an ♪ ♪ indelible mark in those around ♪ ♪ him. ♪ ♪ >> there was hundreds of people ♪ ♪, there was zent a empty seat ♪ ♪ inside the service and it was ♪ ♪ just a gloomy day to see a ♪ ♪ fantasy park wouldn't becky and ♪ ♪ to see the pains that haunts me ♪ ♪ still. ♪ ♪ >> the anhang family is jewish ♪ ♪, and part of a traditional ♪ ♪ burial services shoveling dirt ♪ ♪ on the casket. ♪ ♪ >> to watch mr. anhang all you ♪ ♪ could see was this pain, anger ♪ ♪ and sadness with just the way ♪ ♪ that the quiver it was very ♪ ♪ powerful visual for the rest of ♪ ♪ my life this is his dad bearing ♪ ♪ his son. ♪ ♪ >> parents aren't supposed to ♪ ♪ bury their children, and so ♪ ♪ for the anhang's it marked the ♪ ♪ unnatural end to a life that ♪ ♪ began with so much promise. ♪ ♪ i heard you used to walk along ♪ ♪ with a little briefcase, is ♪ ♪ that true? ♪ ♪ >> in the first, day in ♪ ♪ kindergarten, he used to ♪ ♪ briefcase. ♪ ♪ i never thought he was ♪ ♪ a little, boy he was a little ♪ ♪ man. ♪ ♪ he like to do things on his ♪ which is the top business school in the world. the wharton school at the university of pennsylvania, adam was taking graduate level courses at the prestigious business school, even though he was still an undergrad. that's where he found a kindred spirit. >> we happen to sit next to each other in real estate class and we happened to start talking. not very tall, thin person, but had this giant personality. i was so enamored by him. friendship organically ensued from there that, in many ways, became the first time they met. with his friend, and he said can i sit with you? case a, i'm busy here? he had great smile, energy, so he sat down and felt like i wanted. more >> irritated between business topics and ideas, just the kind of things that young kids go through. he was a person that would call at two in the morning that if i wanted to have a business idea, so we had to go to work or go to class. >> it's a recurring theme among adam's friends, the man with a big smile and giant personality was always there when you needed him. >> what was it about his personality that was to you that was the signature adam? >> he had the biggest hard of anybody i've ever met, whether you needed the friendship, you needed the advice. whatever you, needed he was giving and he was. there >> -- >> he was, to an extreme fault, he was, trusting and he was trusting of everybody and he believed that the kindness that he gave, not everybody had. , and that was always the conversation that we had, i would say, not everybody is like you. >> after graduated from college, adam dove headfirst into the business world where he possessed an innate ability to spot a good deal. >> i'd always tell, you're the smartest person i know. because he could think outside the box and he saw when nobody else saw. >> he was building the buildings hotels in markets that had no hotels, live to some of. them >> and he's doing this all over the world. then >> all over the world. my name is adam anhang and i'm class of wharton school of business 96. >> they brought him back to the wharton school of business in 1996. >> how many women have to ask? [laughter] >> the nature of being an entrepreneur is that you're constantly putting some ideas -- >> as adams business grow, so that his reputation as a problem solver. that reputation is what first brought him to puerto rico in 2002. >> carlos was working for real estate developer, who wanted adams help in finalizing a hotel deal. >> and what was your impression about? i'm >> young, innocent, really nice kid and he came here and he fell in love with the area. >> ♪ ♪ ♪ >> puerto rico [speaking non-english] the enchanted island, as it's called, and with its pristine beaches, crystal blue water and historic old old san juan, it's easy to understand why. but, adam was enchanted by something else he saw on the islands. opportunity. >> i thought, what is this a look at going to come up? with i mean, what can he do, this is a child. >> lili gross gamut out of their's business partner. so we didn't think that there was that much potential have five minutes, and you realize that there's something there. >> in fact, adam helped open the first major hotel. the small puerto rican island once used by the u.s. navy, as a bombing range, but now it hurst micah. >> was there a lot of hope in what he was planning? >> absolutely. he had a lot on the table. >> but, to lily, there was much more to her friend adam than just her forward thinking business savvy. >> for me, i love this with. he had that, bright sarcastic humor. and yet, he was very kind. he was in pretension. he was just adorable. sweet, sweet, adam. >> sweet adam had found a new blazed go home. a new place to pursue his dreams. and it wasn't long before he found him self pursued. by a beautiful young woman. did she catch is i right away? >> i don't think it is right away because he had other girls around him, to. it wasn't her, but she was the most persistent. >> coming up, >> >> we are at the restaurant and aria had parked the car. >> adams last hours alive. >> we parked on the street where they were minute on the assailant who killed adam on this cross action. here >> and detectives make our interest. >> he had no criminal record. >> did you think, a sense of relief, finally? >> sure. >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues wh-who wants to talk about their heart! 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[crying] addams family put up a 25,000 dollar reward. asking for information that would lead to the arrest of adam keller. eyewitnesses describe the killer, as a tall, heavy set mellen who fled the scene on foot. towards a neighborhood called -- a depressed area of old san juan. but there were discrepancies in the various eyewitness accounts. including the one that aurea gave in the hospital. detectives wanted to clear them up. so one of them went to talk to aurea at a restaurant, two and a half weeks after the murder. she was not there, but somebody else caught his attention. >> so he went directly to the pink skirt. and he finds a kid who looks like it's the first time who has seen someone with the description of the assailant. >> when the man refused to answer the detectives questions, he was arrested on the spot for suspicion of murder. his name was jonathan roman. and he lived in law perla. >> he had no criminal record. >> he denied killing or even knowing adam, but when he was picked up by one of the witnesses, who was a lawyer. it was enough for the authorities. he was charged with adam anhang murder. >> when you heard he had been arrested, did you think sense of relief? finally? they caught a guy? >> sure. >> he pleaded not guilty. and was released on bond. >> translator: i am not a murderer. >> he spoke with dateline in 2007, as he awaited trial. >> >> translator: i don't have anything to hide. i am innocent. >> he said he had been at home, sleeping on the night that adam was murdered. but did not have anyone to backup his alibi. >> they saw someone, but they did not see me. >> in september of 2007, two years after adam's murder, romance trial began. and of course abe was there. the case hinged almost exclusively on the testimony of that lawyer who identified roman as adams killer. >> that lawyer was adamant in his statement, and he would say basically, i sleep well every night. >> the jury believe him. jonathan roman was convicted of killing adam. and sentenced to 105 years in prison. but romance conviction did not bring the anhang family the closure one might expect. >> today part of the truth came out. >> you told them when he was convicted, today part of the truth came out, but there are others involved. >> that's exactly right. >> what did that mean? >> i thought there was something crazy going on, that didn't make any sense. >> the suspicions were fueled by a theory that the prosecution said raise that trial. that adam's murder that had not been random at all. roman had targeted him. and somebody had put him up to it. for adams friendly and friends, it was clear who that somebody was. >> in spite of the pain and the agony, we all corrected the dots. very quickly. there was no doubt in my mind and in those of us that knew that she had something to do with it. >> coming up! >> it was total gave. she wasn't even attracted to him. >> a very smart guy, fooled by the oldest pick in the book. >> she tricked him into marrying him? >> she tricked him into marrying him. >> she is the ultimate con. and she is very, very skilled at what she does. >> when dateline continues! copd isn't pretty. 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stories. families of responders reeling from last week's mass murder of 18 people in maine. he urged americans to work together regardless of politics to protect the freedom to go to public places without being shot dead. the cream court will weigh in on whether a bump stocks is lawful. that device was used in the 2017 las vegas shooting spree that killed nearly 60 people and injured more than 500 others. next week the justices will hear a case on whether domestic violence abusers have a right to own guns. now back to dateline. dateline it's not because we don't-- >> almost from the moment they narrator: almost from the moment learned that adam had been killed, his friends believed one person was behind the murder. his wife aurea. you all pretty quickly came to the conclusion it sounds like that she was connected in some ways to his death. >> absolutely. >> look at and the others were convinced adam's killing had been a setup. >> we knew it wasn't a robbery, we knew it wasn't random. we knew it was her. >> adams family also felt aurea was somehow involved. when did you start thinking aurea is somehow implicated in this? >> well i had suspected her earlier of course. >> as abe and barber heard more about abe and aurea's relationship they came to an alarming relationship. >> she is the ultimate con. and she is very, very skilled at what she does. >> what she did, says adam's friend, lily, was used adam for his money and the social circle he brought her into. >> it was a total game, she wasn't even attracted to him, you could tell. she was mean to him, she was nice to us. she wanted to belong, so she needed him as a ticket to fit in. >> adam seemed to have his own doubts about the relationship, because when they got married he tried to keep it a secret. >> he didn't tell any of us, none of us were invited, none of his friends, business partners -- >> you did know he was married at all? >> nobody knew. >> how did you found out that he had gotten married, do you remember when he told you? >> it was a month after he got married. >> abe says the marriage happened so quickly because aurea told adam she was pregnant. >> the mother said basically you have to preserve the daughters honor and name and you have to marry her. >> he married her because that is the kind of stand a person that he was. that's the kind of individual he was. so he did what he believed was the right thing to do. >> knowing full well the kind of kid he was and the background he came from. that was probably the strategy that was worked out and it was unfortunately successful. >> friends like mike waller say the marriage was rocky from the start. what kind of problems did he tell you he was having with our? >> he just shared that he had gotten married and it happened quickly and he came to realize immediately that it was all about the money and about the prestige of being with him. and that he realized he needed to get out of the situation. adam's a fixer so in the prior relationships where one of us would point out the shortcomings of a relationship, adam could fix it. but he had quickly realized that this was all about the money and he was being used. >> adamant oreo lived in the house in the upscale ocean park neighborhood of san juan, but they weren't alone. aurea brought along her sister marcia, mother carmen and her two brothers. >> it was like the whole family was there, living off of adam. taking advantage of him very blatantly, it wasn't subtle, it was obvious. adam would tell us. i feel like a stranger in this home. the mothers there they speak spanish, i know they're talking about me and they are making fun of me. i know it, he wasn't comfortable there, he couldn't be there. >> and it got worse, soon it became obvious that aurea was not pregnant, never had been, she had faked it. adam was devastated. >> here is the smartest person in the world falling for the older stricken the book. >> he became really angry about that. >> she tricked him into meriame him? >> she tricked him into marrying him. >> just months after marrying aurea, adam moved into an apartment and began to plan for a divorce. >> the divorce were for her would've meant an end to her being able to move up in the world, so she was desperate and when people are desperate, they do desperate things. i guess. >> adam be game afraid of what aurea might do. he turned to his friend carlos, and hired him to be his bodyguard. you went with him everywhere? >> i went with him everywhere, i picked him up in the morning. i dropped him off in the evening. >> but fearful as he was, adam did not cut off all contact with aurea, they went to couples there and in a last ditch effort to save the marriage. by late september 2005, just six months after they had gotten married, adam decided to move ahead with the divorce. he planned to discuss it with aurea that night he died. to keep the peace, he told carlos, to take the night off. >> he thought she didn't like me, and he thought that without me there he had a plan that he could convince her to take the divorce i went home and i was hoping that by the next day we would here that it was over. >> to this day, carlos carries the weight of knowing he wasn't there that night to help his friend. >> the guy that i am supposed to protect his life, my friend -- this kid was everything i would like to have in the sun. gone on my watch. it wasn't easy for a while. it doesn't go away, it's easier to live with it. you know. >> the grief carlos and so many of adam's friends and family feel over his death is still apparent. a grief, they say, aurea and her family never shared. in fact aurea didn't attend adams funeral in winnipeg. abe says she never offered any condolences to his family. >> she's not grieving adam? >> grieving she is not, she is not grieving him at all no, greeting him -- >> she's thinking about the money. >> yes greed, she's not thinking about him. >> when she recovered from her injuries she made a claim to what she said was her share of adams a state, $8 million, and carlos says she and her family were gathering up as many of adam's possessions as they could. >> they all went out to collect the material things that they had from him, they got the bmw -- >> she was cleaning his house? >> she was cleaning his house. >> as adams family and friends stop back to what they saw as the calculated way aurea inserted herself into his life, how she deceived him for her own personal gain, and how she acted after his death. they became convinced she had a hand in his murder. but something else was nagging at a. he was beginning to wonder if jonathan riman was not adam's killer after all. >> when we interviewed you back then for our first dateline piece -- >> i had no idea. >> that was the beginning,. >> it yes it was. >> it seems like the ending? >> 80% of what has happened has happened since then. >> abel was on a crusade to uncover the truth about his son 's death. and he was about to take a drastic step. >> to no abe's to know that justice, as we know it on this earth, what's going to be served. >> coming up -- >> i just had a feeling that it didn't fit together. >> so what did fit together? >> of said he felt like his son was targeted, right? >> yes. >> that it was a hijab? >> correct. agents came back and said a lot of the stuff that abe is telling us is checking out so we think there is more to the story than meets the eye. >> when dateline continues. just between us, you know what's better than mopping? anything! ugh. well, i switched to swiffer wetjet, and it's awesome. it's an all-in-one, that absorbs dirt and grime deep inside. and it helps prevent streaks and haze. wetjet is so worth it. love it, or your money back. 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>> there was a lot of condemnation, during the trial that during the party they were involved and didn't say why are you prosecuting him. it has nothing to do with this. >> reporters weren't the only ones who had begun to question whether riman was the actual killer, eight and hang also had doubt, >> it wasn't until after the trial and i sat through for eight weeks, i just had a fear that it didn't fit, together you see. >> they found him self troubled by the seeming lack of hard evidence implicated riman in the murder, it was very skimpy, it was a description, eyewitness, a single witness. >> but, it wasn't just what he was hearing in the courtroom that gave him pause, he was out talking to people, bars. you get more information in the bar whether it's alcohol or coffee then what you get in a courtroom. people talk. and what people were saying was that jonathan roman had not killed his son. the joke lies that everybody in the street knew about the police. abe was unsettled by the prospect that adam's real killer might still be out there. so, he set off on a decade long odyssey to uncover the truth about what happened that september night. abe's first step, not 24 hours after roman had been convicted was to take his doubts to the fbi. >> aid took it upon himself to honor the crusade to open her eyes up. >> carlos case is a retired fbi assistant director, he served 17 years in the same one field office. the of, them as the special agent in charge, he says that the fbi, which operates in puerto rico because it is a u. s. territory, typically leaves homicide cases to local authorities. as they had with adam's murder. >> it's sad to say but it was just one more homicide among the hundreds that occurred here every year. so, the fbi had no use to look into them. >> until eight and hang walked into your offices. >> correct. >> he was able to sit down with an aging, he wanted the fbi to investigate his son's murder, the circumstances surrounding the murder. and, basically figure out why he was killed. and he fell that jonathan riman had nothing to do with the homicide and had been arrested, charged, and convicted for something that he did not do. >> abe said he felt like his son was targeted, right? >> yes. >> it was a hit job? >> correct. >> he said he found the person who he thought had ordered the hit. they suspected that area had something to do in the murder of the son. >> but abe had no real evidence to back him up and no idea if the fbi would be willing to help. >> at the time, yeah, they said they're going to open the, found my fall is going to be minute -- one of many false. did you think that they're gonna be as adamant about the justice as you are? >> oh my gosh, i had no idea how much. i mean, first of all, i was canadian. i have no real right to demand things that an american citizen might demand. i realize that. why would they take an interest? where we are in the priority for them. so, i had to really rely on the goodwill of these men, almost all men to do the right thing. that was all i had. >> the right thing, in the fbi 's mind was to take a closer look at what ade was telling them. and, the fbi agreed to look at the case why? >> we agreed to look at the case because of the notoriety of the case at the time and the launch mechanism of the crowds in the caribbean and it was a very high profile, very public case. >> the fbi can step in if it believes a conspiracy has taken place, so if a hit had been ordered on adam, then the fbi would have jurisdiction over the case. agents were assigned to investigate abe's suspicions. and, lo and behold, the agency came back and they said a lot of the stuff that abe is telling us they were checking out because we think there's more to the story than meets the eye. >> coming up-- >> he said, yeah, i killed him. i beat him in the head. i stopped, him and then that just left in there to die. >> a new suspect and a jaw-dropping confections. >> they propped, him up and they said it's a sensational story. >> or, maybe two new suspects? 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[ cheers ] yeah! woho! running up and down that field looks tough. it's a pitch. get way more into what you're into when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. well this bench, adam and i well, this bench, adam and i used to sit here. used to sit here. >> when adam was a kid, it said the two of them to walk to this nearby park to sit and watch the airplanes fly overhead. adam would memorize the flight schedule for the local airport. >> he would then tell, me where they were, from where they were going and we would talk about what those people were likely talking about and what they were coming to winnipeg for and where they were going. >>abe says these moments helped i don't understand and appreciate the larger world beyond winnipeg. >> and here was a way that we could relate to the world by a simple act of sitting here on a saturday afternoon. it is bittersweet, now, for abe knowing that the big plans adam jumped up on this bench would ultimately lead him to puerto rico. and, his murder. a murder that the fbi now is looking into. >> and, we see discrepancies and we see that there is a description of an individual that is inconsistent with the individual that was at local trial and convicted. >> special, agents devin and scott patterson would join the team that worked the case, they say one of the first things the fbi did was re-interview the witnesses. >> unfortunately, for puerto rico, and maybe law enforcement got to the community and it might be story when the fbi goes out in the community for story b, generally story b is a little bit more accurate. and, story was leading the fbi to a different suspect. not jonathan ramaud, who had been convicted of killing adam but someone named alex pabon colon. known on the street as, "el loco", the crazy one. >> this also happened that he had -- >> turns out it was a name authorities had heard before, in, factoring jonathan re-monstrous, all it defense witness testified that she saw the murder and recognize the killer. she said that it was not raimondo but a man named alex, the jury evidently disregarded the testimony, the fbi agents did not. >> and they were went to la perla and they started conducting interviews, looking for him. >> remember, la perla is the neighborhood where they said the killer fled after the murder, it is nestled between the ocean and a cliff that --, old san juan just block somewhere out of, died and while it occupies a beautiful piece of real estate, it has a reputation for harboring criminals. >> so, here is -- jonathan rim on the. >> jonathan riman lived here. >> and so did alex pabon colon. >> alex's, friend was born and raised in old san juan, you said the reputation is well deserved. >> there are families that have been here for generations. , then there's also the drug kingpins that they discovered that can hide in here and work out. here, so they don't allow any robberies. they don't allow anything going on here that's not supposed to go on. >> they protect voters. >> they protect the tourist, they protect themselves. they keep the tourism going in the island and avoid the cops coming in after them. >> that criminal element was not happy with the heat alex pabon had brought into la perla. >> obviously i was no longer welcomed there and they had told him to leave oral speed find a way to kill them themselves for allowing an innocent man to be charged with a crime that he committed. so, he was pretty much in hiding. >>pabon had left la perla but not san juan.. one, in april 2008, the fbi tracked him down. >> what story did alex tell them? >> initially, he denied it, but then he started cooperating. >> he didn't just cooperate, alex confessed, he said yes, i killed, them i beat them in the head and stabbed him and then just left him there. >> he kept talking, he said that he didn't act alone, that adam's murder was part in a conspiracy. >> what did he say was part of the ring? >> so, he basically said that he had been hired aurea vazquez rijos. >> aurea, just as adam's family and friends suspected. >> he basically said that they offered her the thousand dollars to kill him. >> alex pabon's confession and the implication of aurea was a major breakthrough in the case. but, agents couldn't based aurea solely on the words of a killer. >> he cooperated, and said it's a sensational story. >> a sensational story, but, was it true? >> coming up -- >> she makes multiple phone calls to adam's work in attempt to speak with him, to arrange a dinner later that evening. >> did aurea lead adam to his death? >> she is having dinner at the dragon fly. and that is one he goes into action. , and, later aurea's new plan. >> he figured i don't want anything to do with this dilemma getaway. you have to give her credit, she's a very smart woman. very conniving. >> when dateline continues. narrator: back to our story. back to our story -- an alleged killer is behind bars, but a mystery remains. >> an alleged killer is behind bars, but a mystery remains. >> abe said he felt like his son was targeted, right? >> right. >> it was a hit job. >> right. >> the fbi is trying to prove it's adam's estranged wife who ordered the hit. >> she is one of the very few people that i would, say are very evil and conniving. >> she was crafting a new life for herself. >> adam's father had been fighting to get justice. it was about to get much harder. >> the fbi did an incredible job, but they don't have jurisdiction in italy. >> so, abe decides to take matters into his own hands. >> it wasn't about retribution, it was about justice. he didn't stop. >> some of the biggest discoveries are still to come. >> she used her sexuality. >> it's just a crazy twist after crazy twist. >> by the spring of 2008, two and a half years after adam's death, the fbi had tracked down the man believed to be his real killer. alex "el loco" pabon, he did not only confessed but also said the adams, wife aria, had offered him $3 million to kill her husband. but aurea isn't the only person he implicated in the conspiracy. according to fbi special agent, devin, -- >> he had a series of meetings with, area her sister, marcia her sister then boyfriend jose in the lead up to the murder. >> aurea, her sister, her sister's boyfriend, all allegedly in on the plot to kill adam. >> pabon colon, an admitted drug dealers, said he often did business at peak scared -- the -- pabon said it was there were the true first approached him. >> they had met before to discuss beating adam up. >> throughout the investigation, the fbi worked with the united states attorney's offices who said that santiago and jennifer hernandez vega our assistant you --. >> two days before the murder, they decide that adam has to be killed. >> pabon colon also gave investigators his version of how the murder went down. >> he articulated being called the morning of the crime, november 22nd 2005 and had been hastily instructed to find some kind of weapon. get a knife in order to commit the attack and detailed the choreography that existed between him and jose on the day of the murder to be in a certain location and to expect that aurea and adam would be walking in that direction. >> pabon was instructed to hurt aurea enough during the attack to not appear that they had targeted. adam they believe that aurea had set the plan in motion insisting that adam have dinner with that night. >> she meets multiple calls to adam's work in attempt to speak with him touring to dinner later that evening. >> adam agreed, and remembered, since he thought that they would be finalizing their divorce terms, made the fateful decision to give his bodyguard carlos the night off. carlos believes aurea knew adam would come alone if she played nice. so, already picked adam up at his office, drove them into old saint juan, pabon told investigators what happened next. >> he received a call from jose, indicating that they were ready or it was about to happen. at that time, he is having dinner at the dragon fly and that is where it goes into action. >> the security footage, from that, night captured adam walking with aria unaware that these were the last few moments of his life. pabon told investigators that it was our yet that took adam from the restaurant to pink skirt after they had dinner, knowing pabon was waiting nearby. it was aurea who gave pabonthe signal to follow them. and it was aurea who led adam up to the streets into the hands of pabon colon. he followed up the street, an all-time saying that aurea. and at the, time he approaches her, and attacks adam. >>witnesses said, aurea just, they're watching as adam was killed. she didn't call for help. she didn't try to save her husband. she didn't even run. those witnesses, also reported a brief conversation between aurea and the attacker before he punched her to the ground. it wasn't just aurea's behavior that raised a red flag, so did her injuries from that night. >> adam had been brutally murdered with a knife and cobblestone and bled to death on the street. and, she had a little nick on her head. and, forgot to scream. and, forgot to run. >> and there was something else that the agents found incriminating. the couple's prenuptial agreement. >> in terms of their prenuptial agreement, they had significantly more lucrative if he died versus a divorce. roughly, she would receive $3500 a month for three years if they divorced. if he died, she was going to take home eight or $24 million. >> it was a math equation. >> it was motive, eight months after abe walked into the fbi's offices, announce them to look into his son's murder. the fbi felt confident there was enough evidence against aurea to arrest her. and, so on june 4th, 2000, eight aria was indicted on charges of hiring a hitman to kill adam. >> jonathan riman was released from prison, and exonerated. but any vindication, adam's family and friends felt was short lived. because aurea was not behind bars. in fact, she wasn't even in puerto rico. >> gotta give her credit, she's a very smart woman. very conniving. >> coming up -- >> she was crafting a new life herself. >> aurea has a new country and in your family, giving the fbi in your problem. >> she had children there, so, i believe it was a means to justify her presence there. >> when dateline continues. rsv is in for a surprise. meet arexvy. 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( ♪♪ ) arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. rsv can be serious. talk to your doctor or pharmacist about arexvy today. rsv? make it arexvy. the fbi in san juan had spent eight months investigating adam anhang's murder, combination with the wife. but aurea was not in jail, because by the summer of 2008, she had long since left puerto rico. where was aurea at this point? >> so aurea had left in 2006. , so i guess she, figured i don't want to be -- i don't want anything to do with this would get away. >> nine months after adam's death, aurea had moved to florence on a student visa. supposedly, to study filmmaking. she made trips back to puerto rico but by the time of her indictment in 2008, it was clear that she's moved to italy as permanent. >> it's not as if this lady knew what she had done. she knew. she was crafting a new thing for herself. >> but, she was doing so without any money from the prenuptial agreement. abe, as executor of adam's estate, had refused to pay oriented all investigations into the son's death had been concluded. >> in italy, aurea now a brunette, was going by the name beatrice domenici. bebe for short. she started a relationship with the local man and in august 2008, she gave birth to twin girls. >> i better work. then we became friends. >> ivana alma, met her when they both worked a tourism office in florence. >> she was a professional, she spoke at least three foreign languages, english, spanish and she was speaking quite good italian. she was very kind, very friendly, very gentle. >> and ivana says that aurea was devoted to her children. maybe also a good mother, she was very caring with them, she was very patient. as a mother, should be. >> not long after the twins were born, aria agreed to an interview with journalist, josé santos who traveled to florence to meter. she told us that the reason she went to florence was because she wanted to be a target. and she loved florence. >> aurea maintained her innocence but josé was skeptical. >> we had long interviews with her, spent a couple of hours with her. >>but she seemed oblivious to undeniable facts on the case. >> like, for instance, the circumstances surrounding adam 's murder, aurea maintain the attack was a robbery not a hit. >> by then it was obvious that this was not a robbery. but, she always said that for me, this was an armed robbery. >> aurea the night long the killer alex el loco pabon colon, but she said she sought the fbi's help shortly after adam was killed. the interview made for a sensational story back in puerto rico. they cost quite a stir because the evidence showed how aurea was openly announcing reality. she was holding on to her side of the story. >> why couldn't you guys just go to italy, given the information and arrest aurea at that point? >> the fbi does not have jurisdiction or see. so, we rely on our partnerships with our foreign law enforcement partners. but the fbi can't throw on our rain jackets and walk into a sovereign nation and execute an arrest warrant. >> the fbi would have to request that the italian authorities arrest and extradite aurea. something agent kowalski said wasn't going to happen. >> the crime for which he was charged, federally, as a death penalty eligible charge. and the country of italy does not extradite, for any crimes that carry out the potential sentence. >>agent kowalski believes that aryana's move to italy was a calculated maneuver. was that the fbi's working theory though that she was living in italy because she knew that was a place that she knew that she could be safe from extradition? >> yes, she selected that place purposefully. >> he also says that, having those twins was part of the ploy. >> she had children there. i believe it was a means to justify her citizenship in order to stay there. >> it appeared as though aurea had outsmarted the federal authorities and was perhaps even thumbing her nose at adam 's family and friends. >> i can honestly tell you she is one of the very few people i ran into, almost 27 years in the fbi, that we would say is really evil and conniving, calculating. >> but for all of her alleged planning to allude the fbi, there was something or rather, someone aria had overlooked. abe anhang. and here's an older gentlemen who is smaller in stature but what was your impression of him? >> adam's dad was just such a brave man. >> it may be a small man but he is a, powerful smart man and able to modulate his emotions, strategic. >> do you think aurea even knew what was coming her way? >> absolutely not. >> abe was not a lull to give up his pursue. >> she couldn't run off to europe and start a new life all over again while we buried our friend and abe buried his son. it wasn't about retribution, it was about justice. and, he didn't stop. >> coming up, abe tracks aria on his own. and he shares what he learned with the fbi. >> she lied about her life the minute she showed up in italy. when dateline continues. 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>> she wasn't in poverty. she was able to make some money and somehow have a good life. >> abe put the information gleaned by his private investigator is, what amounted to argue his daily routine to the fbi. former fbi assistant director carlos -- >> we knew that they were not gonna extradite her. that's why we gave her all the credit in the world, because he took it upon himself to essentially track her for us and tell us what she was doing, who she was associated with, and what her movements were. >> we're never asking mr. anhang for any information. >> the fbi agents made it clear that the information from abe's investigators was not solicited and not automatically taken at face value. so, it was helpful, but it was also information that you had to, then, work on your own, and to corroborate. >> it was extremely helpful information, you know, very much appreciated this information that we would take, and we have to figure out what was factual and what was not. >> the agent thought that aryana's boyfriend and father of her twins had found out through media reports about the accusations against her. not long after, aurea moved out of the house with the girls. >> the papers started to reveal that she was -- and that she sought refuge in the jewish community. >> in florence's jewish quarter, aurea passed herself off as a jewish widow, whose husband has died in an accident. in fact, when she married adam, aurea agreed to convert to judaism, but never did. >> she lied about her life, you know, the minute she showed up in italy. in puerto rico, we call it the "ay bendito" factor. >> [speaking non-english] >> exactly, this poor mother of two, like how she could be in charge of this crime. telling people she was jewish. >> for me, look at me, they're accusing me. i'm just a widow. i'm just a jewish girl, trying to get help. and my husband was killed. and for the jewish community in florence, they felt they need to help her. i mean, it was part of, you have to help a widow. it's an obligation to help a window, and she knew that. so, she was playing that card. >> she played all of them too. >> all of them. >> assistant u.s. attorney where we santiago says aurea used false birth certificates to perpetuate her roots. >> that was done with the intention that she obtained a certification from the jewish community of florence claiming that she was a jew, and her daughter is born in italy was jewish, so stick then we look at from italy to israel. perhaps, planning her next escape, aurea never moved to israel, but over the next few years, the fbi continued to keep tabs on her, largely through information provided by abe's investigators. and one piece of information in particular was game changing. >> she did a fair bit of traveling. she loved to travel. >> she was not confined to italy then? >> no she, went to spain, she went to england, she was in gibraltar, she -- we tracked her. >> all those trips she was taking gave the fbi a new opportunity to break the case because a number of european countries had a different policy regarding extradition. so, if she wasn't arrested outside of italy, there would be a good chance of getting her back to puerto rico. had the fbi try to capture her and arrest her in any of those points in her travels? >>we did. >> but by the time the agents would get hint of where aurea was and found the paperwork with the local authorities, it was too late. she was already back in italy. >> how close did you get? >> we had officers in one of those countries where -- the steps in the process they need to go through was such fast you, know, changing information, it was really tough. >> how frustrating is that, though, for the fbi agents, knowing that she's there, but she's untouchable? there's nothing we can do to get her. >> it's very frustrating, nathalie, but we don't get bogged down in frustration. we find a way to get it done. >> the game of cat and mouse between aurea and the fbi continued for years. but by 2013, five years after her indictment, the fbi decided to stop playing defense. it was time to go on offense. it was time for a hail mary. did you think it was gonna work? >> honestly, i gave it a 50/50 chance. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> coming up -- the fbi said sets a trap. >> what are her vulnerabilities? what are motivations? let's develop a strategy to exploit those. >> will it work? >> you were in shock? >> i was in shock. >> when dateline continues. ♪ ♪ ♪ inez, let me ask you, you're using head and shoulders, right? only when i see flakes. then i switch back to my regular shampoo. you should use it every wash, otherwise the flakes will come back. tiny troy: he's right, you know. is that tiny troy? the ingredients in head and shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. microbes, really? they're always on your scalp... little rascals... but good news, there's no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here! i love tiny troy. and his tiny gorgeous hair. he's the best. - make every wash count! - little help please. we're traveling all across america, talking to people about their hearts. how's the heart? - good. - you sure? - i think so. - how do you know? let me show you something. put two fingers right on those pads. look at that! that's your heart! that is pretty awesome. with kardiamobile, you can take a medical-grade ekg in just 30 seconds, from anywhere. kardiamobile is proven to detect atrial fibrillation, one of the leading causes of stroke. kardiamobile is now available for just $79. order at kardia.com or amazon. lowe's knows black friday savings kardiamobile is now available for just $79. should be more than just one day. that's why we're giving you black friday deals every day. where you can find the best value all november long. buy now, pay later with lowe's pay. new emergen-c crystals pop and fizz when you throw them back. and who doesn't love a good throwback? 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[ cheers ] yeah! woho! running up and down that field looks tough. it's a pitch. get way more into what you're into president biden visited when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. lewiston, maine, on friday when he spoke in front of one of the site of last week's horrific mass shootings. which left 18 dead. biden has been calling on congress to pass a new assault weapons ban and strengthened red flag laws, both of which republicans oppose. meanwhile, federal appeals court on friday temporarily lifted the gag order on former president trump in his federal election interference case. this means there are no direct court penalties should trump publicly target court personnel, potential witnesses, or prosecutors. now back to dateline. now back to dateline ♪ ♪ ♪ narrator: by 2013, as urea continued to evade us law >> by 2013, as aurea continued to evade u.s. law enforcement, the frustration felt by the agents pursuing her was palpable. >> we were in a defensive posture because she'd been an elusive person for so long. >> we knew we could not arrest her in italy. the italians would not extradite her if we had her arrested in italy. >> even though aurea would leave italy and travel throughout europe, the agents never had enough lead time to coordinator arrest with the local authorities. so, they decided they needed a new strategy. they would set a trap. carlos cases was a special agent in charge of the san juan field office in 2013. >> the agents came to me, one day, and said, boss, we have this plan that we are developing because we believe that we have the ability to get aurea to travel from italy to spain. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the agents felt confidence spain would arrest aurea, and extradite her to puerto rico. >> we developed this strategy to exploit what she was doing in her daily life, and she was a tour guide. and she was traveling all over europe and elsewhere, and she would provide tours for travelers in groups. >> the strategy was simple. present aurea with a business opportunity, come to spain to meet a group of american tourists, and guide them as they travel through europe. >> i told my agents, all right, we're getting all the approvals. we're doing this. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the agents set up a fake tour group that was heading to europe, and in need of an experienced guide like aurea. so, you conducted a good all fashion sting operation. >> a good old-fashioned sting operation, in which we needed to design something that's plausible for her to be able to bite into. it's not all bells and whistles. there are no drones. there's not, you know, wires. it's none of that stuff. hey, let's use what we know about aurea vazquez rijos. what are her weaknesses? what are her vulnerabilities? let's develop coast to get to a place where an arrest can be executed with a little bit less a risk. >> her weakness, they decided was money, and soon they plan to dangle the job offer too good to pass up. >> it had to be very meticulous, natalie, because we could not run the risk of her to get suspicious and then backing out and not traveling. >> this was a well choreographed in very thoughtful operation, in which there was a manifest. there was gonna be a multi stop tour to multiple countries. and there were down to confirming what's on the agenda for each day, whether she would be responsible for by providing these groups, restaurants, kosher restaurants should have to go to to take the travelers to those locations. it was not bulletproof, but it was strong. >> but was it enough to convince aurea. the fbi agents contacted her through intermediaries she'd worked with before. so, she trusted these people? >> she had trust. >> through those intermediaries, that investigators negotiated with aurea for two months. finally, she took the bait, and she agreed to fly to spain to act as a guide for what she thought was a group of jewish american tourists. did you have confidence in the planet that point, when you all saw this on paper, and you saw that email exchanges going back and forth, did you think we're only gonna get her this time? >> i was pretty confident. >> i was worried that she wasn't gonna get on the plane. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> but when the day arrived, the agents got word. aurea had boarded the plane, and was on route to spain. >> she's traveling to spain, arrives there thinking she is gonna meet a bunch of travelers. what happens? >> authorities from spanish national police are there plain sight waiting for her at the gate, taking her to custody. >> the sting operation worked. on june 30th, 2013, after five years on the run, almost eight years after adams murder, aurea vazquez rijos was finally in custody. and what was that moment like for you? >> i was ecstatic. i never thought we were gonna be able to get her. >> aurea's arrest triggered phase two of the operation. >> as soon as i received confirmation that she was in custody, then we executed arrest warrants on marcia and jose in san juan. >> agents swarmed the home of aurea's alleged coconspirators, her sister marcia, and marcia's boyfriend, jose. >> so it really was and it's internationally choreographed, simultaneous arrest. good day for the fbi. tremendous day for the victim's family. >> carlos cases delivered at the good news to abe and his family. >> i was so surprised, i did even say thank you to him. i dusted him off, which was not right. >> you were in shock? >> i was in shock, yeah. >> i mean, it's been years of pursuing her, and finally, they had her. >> they had her. >> what's it like to hear those words, we have her, she is in custody? >> oh, well -- >> finally. >> almost, the opposite of the other one, you know, your son's dead. ♪ ♪ ♪ aurea vazquez rijos was in a spanish jail cell. her sister and her sister's boyfriend, locked up in san juan, all face conspiracy charges connected to the murder of adam anhang. but if you thought that this was the end of the saga, you haven't been paying attention. >> by this point in this investigation, like i'm not surprised by anything, because it is just a crazy twist after a crazy twist. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> coming up -- >> she used her sexuality. >> aurea's little surprise. >> how does that happen? >> well, i don't know, because i've never been to that prison in spain. >> -- when dateline continues. ♪ ♪ ♪ ns, like, "what is your glucose?" and "can you have more carbs?" before you decide... with the freestyle libre 2 system know your glucose level and where it's headed. no fingersticks needed. manage your diabetes with more confidence. and lower your a1c. the number one doctor prescribed cgm. freestyle libre 2. try it for free at freestylelibre.us ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the fbi's meticulously planned sting operation had worked. aurea vazquez rijos had been arrested by spanish authorities, after five years on the run. but as barabara anhang had learned in the years since her son's death, that aurea was nothing if not candy. >> barbara, did you think, okay, the end is insight? >> no, i did not. her behavior is extremely mischievous and slippery. >> so, you are already expecting something else? >> yes, but i couldn't tell you what it was. but i knew something would happen. >> call it a mother's intuition, because while aurea was in a spanish jail, fighting her extradition to puerto rico -- >> aurea went back to her playbook, the one that she used, and ended up getting pregnant while in prison. >> how does that happen? >> well, i don't know, because i've never been to that prison in spain. but what i do know is, as she got pregnant by another inmate that was there. >> and is it the fbi's belief that she had this child, again, as some way to try to delay the process against her? >> yes, she did that in italy, previously by having twins. it's our assessment that she did it again, to have some legitimate reason why she shouldn't be removed to the united states. >> master manipulator? >> master manipulator. >> the pregnancy meant that aurea's extradition, if it happened, would have to wait at least until after the baby was born. so, when you heard she managed to get pregnant in prison in spain -- >> i smelled that one so quick. >> you knew it was coming? >> oh, i knew it was coming. >> she used her sexuality, you know, in such a calculated way. it goes to show the sick, evil individual that really was only thinking about herself, and how to spare herself. >> the baby, a girl, was born in the summer of 2015. just weeks later, agent kowalski got the word. >> all of a sudden, the spanish forces said, we're done. she's being extradited. and we were told in past experiences, unless you act, immediately, there's potential that their removal evaporates. >> but the fbi was ready. >> i don't want to risk transporting her on a commercial flight back to the u.s., particularly with a small child, because my concern was that she was gonna call the scene while boarding the airplane, and the captain was gonna say, you know, get out. i don't want this on my flight, too risky. >> any delay in the extradition could give aurea another chance to stave it off, and remain in europe. >> i called fbi headquarters and requested to use the fbi director's plane to fly to madrid, pick her up, and then, bring her back, straight to san juan. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> headquarters approved the request, so agent kowalski jumped on the directors plane and flew to spain to pick up aurea and her baby. finally, they were bringing her home. he was tightlipped about what aurea said on that flight. >> i'm not able to discuss the specifics on the conversations. but she presented as someone that was in disbelief that she was actually apprehended. and she presented as someone that, in her opinion, did not believe that she was guilty for the crimes that she was charged. >> what satisfaction did you feel on that flight back, though, knowing she sitting right there next to you, and in custody? >> i felt very fortunate to, honestly, sitting there, thinking about it, when we land, abe anhang finally has, not closure, but has some sense of justice, that he came to the fbi in 2007, and said i need your help. and we conduct with investigation over several years. and you know, we're taking the director's plain over spain and bringing her back. >> and the fact that you are flying in the directors blame, i think, conveys how important an operation this was to the fbi. >> extremely. >> carlos cases met the plane on the tarmac, when it landed in san juan. >> and so, i went up into the plane. i thought i was gonna see a contrite and a sad aurea with a somber mood, far from it, she was smiling. >> years of hard investigative work and culminated in this moment. the fbi had their woman. agent kowalski says aurea was given the chance to spend some time with her infant daughter, before they would be separated, perhaps, forever. >> and then, she requested that she use that time to make herself up, because she was fully aware that there would be a tremendous amount of media coverage and cameras upon her arrival. >> so, she was more concerned about making sure she looked good then about spending their last moments with her child? >> yes. >> did that surprise you at all? >> it did not surprise me. >> she's the queen of selfish. >> yeah. >> it was september 24th, 2015. almost ten years, to the day, since adams brutal murder. for the anhang family, abe's relentless pursuit of aurea had come to this moment, aurea in shackles, brought back to finally face the charges against her, and face abe, himself, in court. >> when they finally brought her back, somebody said to me what words do you have for her. i said, welcome back from your european vacation. >> but aurea was not about to go down without a fight, and without trying to do what she did best, exploiting people for her own personal gain. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> would the jury the next? >> coming up -- >> she thought that she would win the jury over. and get away with it. >> aurea on the stand -- when dateline continues. ♪ ♪ ♪ is it possible my network could take my business to the next level? it is with comcast business. powering all your devices with gig-speed wifi. and you get fast downloads and uploads. pick it up! pick it up! oh we got this! because it's powered by the next generation 10g network. more speed for your business? it's not just possible. it's happening. get started for $59.99 a month for 12 months. plus, ask how to get an $800 prepaid card with a qualifying internet bundle. comcast business, powering possibilities. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> aurea vazquez rijos was accused of hiring alex alex el loco pabon to kill her husband adam anhang. she pleaded not guilty, as did her two alleged coconspirators, her sister marcia, and josé. aurea did not want to talk to dateline, but her mother has been an outspoken defender of her daughters. >> translator: to me, my children are innocent. >> she insists her daughters are victims of a corrupt legal system. >> translator: there's justice here for people with a lot of money, but not for others. modest people on the street have no chance. >> after three years of procedural delays, and an active god named maria, the trial for aurea and her codefendants finally began in august 2018, 13 years after adam anhang was murdered. >> for me, the case was about agreed. >> assistant u.s. attorney jennifer hernandez, jose ruiz santiago, prosecuted the case. >> it was important for the jury to understand why would this have occurred. the fact that at the time, they were about to get a divorce when the murder happens, it's all about her wanting to have more. >> the trial was held in a federal courthouse, just blocks from where adam was murdered. >> was abe in the trial the whole time and his wife? >> he was, in the first throw. >> abe says it was unnerving, sitting so close to aurea and her defense table. >> she was only 15 to 20 feet away, that's how close it is. and we made eye contact a few time. >> aurea for her part, appeared to be playing a part. >> she played a character, and every day, she would come very well dressed with are all her makeup on. >> aurea, it seemed wanted the jury to see her as adam's glamorous, yet grieving widow. >> she came in with her hair blow dried. she was something else, trying to have the "ay bendito" work for her, you know, poor thing. >> with no physical evidence tying aurea to adam's murder, the prosecution's case was circumstantial. and with aurea sitting at the defense table, it was by no means a slam dunk. but after a ten-year investigation, the case was voluminous in scope, from testimony about the troubled nature of adam and aurea's relationship, to the numerous phone calls aurea made to adam to convince him to have dinner with him that fateful evening. to the prenuptial agreement, granting or $8 million, should adam die. the prosecutors also presented something else, they believed, pointed to a conspiracy. a handwritten letter by alex pabon. >> and this letter was addressed to marcia. >> and the point of this letter is saying that he had this part of the plan, and now, it was their turn to pay him for what he had done. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> of course, their star witness was alex pabon himself, who had already pleaded guilty to participating in the conspiracy to kill adam. you told the jury how aurea and her codefendants hired him to do it. although he said they never paid him as promised, he was one of the last prosecution witnesses to testify. >> we believe that by putting alex at the end, and showing all the motive that aurea had, and all the steps that she took to have adam murdered, before sitting down alex, it would be easy for the jury to comprehend, yes, this was actually happening. >> but the defense tried to convince the jury that something else happened. >> i believe the defense strategy was to paint him like he was so crazy, that he did this, like it was a random killer. >> the defense said alex el loco, the crazy one, was just that, crazy. and had acted alone in killing adam. and they dismissed that letter which had never been delivered, as the ramblings of an unstable killer. in fact, they insisted there was no evidence of any communication between pabon and the three codefendants. but the biggest moment of the trial came with aurea herself, when she took the stand. she'd spent more than a decade, claiming to be adam anhang's grieving widow. now was her chance to convince the jury. >> she felt secure that if she had the opportunity to talk to those jurors, that she would make them believe that she, in fact, was in love with adam anhang, and she hadn't participated in these events. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> aurea testified that she had never even met alex pabon, let alone hired him to color husband. and while she admitted that she and adam had married martial issues, aurea insisted they were devoted to one another, and we're working things out. aurea also testified that she had not fled to italy to elude authorities, but rather, to pursue her dreams. adams friends weren't buying that. >> and how would you describe her on the stand? >> she was the narcissist that we knew she was. she thought that she would win the jury over, she would get away with it. >> but what would the jury believe? >> you always worry about the jury, because one person could just, for whatever reason, decide to go the other way. i always worry about that. absolutely. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> after two days of deliberations, the jury reached the verdict, guilty. >> and then, nearly 15 years after the death of your son, finally, those words, guilty. which was the emotion in that courtroom? >> it was quite a moment, yeah, it was. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the sentencing was held a few months later, after the victim impact statements, as abe was walking past aurea, she spoke to him. >> she says to me, are you happy now? she has the audacity -- well, i knew what she was trying to do. she was trying to provoke me, right? >> what did you say? >> i just said, shut up. now, in retrospect, there are a lot of things that i could've said. yeah, looking for a symbolic moment, sort of sums it up, it's right there. yeah. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> aurea was sentenced to life in prison, as a were marcia and josé, although they had been convicted of a lesser charge, all three are appealing. >> i don't hate aurea. but i sure hate what she did to us and our family, and what's she done to her family. i mean, look which is done. >> think about the children she left behind. >> right, i mean who is going to look after those kids, she had no regard for the kids she was bringing into this world, other than it would help her run away. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> aurea's twins are with their father in italy. her daughter, born in spain, lives in puerto rico with aurea 's mother. for abe and his family, the convictions marked the end of a journey filled with pain and loss, but also, with determination, determination to fulfill a vow abe made the day he learned his son had died. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> we could say now, there's justice for adam. but will that bring peace at all for abe? >> i think, yeah, it brings relief. some level of closure. but, no, i don't think it will ever bring him or becky or barbara back to feeling at peace. >> i have a picture of him on my desk, i see it as a joyful and his optimism, and how beautiful person he was. it reminds me what we lost. and what he could've been today. >> to know abe is to know that he'll start writing the next chapter now. and whereas the last chapter was about seeking justice, for adam, i'm certain this next chapter will be about living adam's legacy. ♪ ♪ ♪ i'm craig melvin. hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline." >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." what evidence doesn't lie? it actually tells a story. >> you're there at the crime scene.