utah, resort town, ski mecca, until he got busted on the highway for that fake passport, the new hideout for fugitive duncan martinez, a prime suspect in the murder of his good friend ron baker. park city was just the next convenient place to disappear, until that inconvenient traffic stop followed by his arrest on passport fraud charges. that changed things. so duncan came up with a new plan, -- >> we get a call from duncan martinez's attorney. informing us that duncan was willing to talk to us about what happened on the night of the murder, out of the clear blue sky. >> so, the detectives, and duncan's attorney and the da office agreed on some ground rules, he would tell the story all right, but only in exchange for some sort of limited immunity from prosecution, otherwise no story, no dice. >> we worked out a deal where he could talk to us freely, we couldn't use anything he told us against him. >> there is a term for the deal they made, they call it king for a day. fancy. >> he was in charge that day, our hands were tied as far as what could be used, but it could give us information to move forward to trying further the case. >> but, there was a catch, a big one. if duncan ever let anything slip to anyone else, or if detectives under covered any additional evidence, they could charge him with murder. but on this day, right here he had one free day pass to reveal all, no charge. so what happened that night of the summer solstice 18 months earlier, he explained that he and nathan had lured him to the spooky railroad tunnel to drink beer, meat girls, then as he walked down the tracks, said duncan, nathan tripped. ron made a joke, nathan got mad, and started stabbing him. >> ron was screaming, help me, duncan, and what did i do to deserve this? >> but, it got worse. duncan described graphically ron baker's last moments. >> he is a face looked like it was on fire and i turned to make sure that it was over and -- >> what did he do when -- >> that is when he cut his throw. >> slit his throat. and ron baker, the sweet, gentle astrophysics student was dead. then, said dunklin, he and nathan fled the crime scene and raced to a payphone where again according to duncan nathan insisted that he duncan call ron's father to say it was a kidnapping and demand ransom. duncan said he made the call worried nathan might kill him if he didn't. >> he said no you have to do this, and since you -- just looked at me -- >> then he said they went home, dumped the murder weapon, cleaned up, and went to a party in their apartment building before making a second ransom called the next morning. in short, said duncan, it was pretty all nathan's doing -- >> it mitigated a lot of his involvement in this, it minimized everything he did, at least for the most part with the i didn't think it was ever going to happen. why would you go to the extent to lure him up there if you didn't think it was going to happen? >> good question. duncan had an answer. which meant he lost his temper and snapped, excuse in a whole more dubious night. because, duncan freely admitted, they had discussed doing something beforehand. inspired by the tv show -- >> we were watching a cop show or something, and a kidnapping, and he said yeah, we should do that and definitely in a joking manner. >> or maybe, not a joke. because on the night of the summer solstice duncan admitted he and nathan took their roommate to the -- and there, for reasons he could not or wouldn't explain they killed their friend but here along after the fact he was talking like some spin doctor. >> there is no way in my mind it was possible for nathan to commit that and -- and saw no realization it could -- >> did you hear the blame shifting? not the first time detective jackson had encountered that sort of behavior from people, and in this case he was unconvinced. >> i think it was a joint thing, they were both involved there is the french term folie a deux, which translated means the minister of two. it is a psychological term that two people together get to the point where they do something that normally neither one would do on their own, it is like a one up chip on the next. >> two people acting together? they produce a breweries in this mix? >> yeah. but dunkin', the king for a day, deflected and denied always blaming nathan for killing ron. the detective garcia even tried one more time to maybe illicit some kind of confession -- >> youngkin did you -- >> know i didn't. i did not stab ron in any way. >> you know we can't use this against you? >> i know. >> in fact, everything duncan said that day was off limits, but, as we say, there was some fine print. >> we told him, you cannot talk to other people, because if you talk to other people, those are potential witnesses against you. that was part of the deal. >> sure, said duncan martinez, a deal is a deal. they had no choice but to let him go. but soon, detectives and duncan would connect once more, in ways they couldn't possibly have imagined. coming up. >> we told him, you will help us prove that what you are telling us is the truth. >> investigators or far from done with duncan martinez. >> dude, what are you doing, man? >> he was about to go undercover. >> to him, this is hollywood stuff. >> could he? 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on top of the worlddddd!!! before advil. advil targets pain at the source of inflammation. when pain comes for you, come back fast with advil liqui-gels. >> day after day, the trains day after day, whethe trains rolledyou, roll through the dark manson tunnel, parsed these strange graffiti, past the place where ron baker breathed his last. two years went by. duncan martinez returned to the good life in park city, utah, while detectives turn their attention to his old pal nathan. he was not hard to find -- >> nathan, we learned, was arrested for a bank robbery he pulled with somebody he was doing drugs with. >> so now, nathan was locked up in the county jail in riverside california, totally unaware has but he had betrayed him. though duncan story about what happened in that train tunnel wasn't a betrayal, but was it true. you can't charge a man with murder based on blame from an old accomplice. mind you, there was some forensic evidence, a little, traces of blood under ron's fingernails, where blood type a b. duncan was taipei. but what about nathan? >> we got a search warrant for his blood, and that came back ab positive. 4% of the population had it. >> that was good, quite good, but still not enough for a murder charge. detectives needed to place nathan inside the tunnel with the knife in his hands. one possibility, would the guy who had ratted on him help him some more? >> we had established a relationship with duncan, he knew where we were coming from, we wanted to get ron baker's killer, he told us, and we told him, you will help us, and what you are -- eager to help throw nathan under the bus, the recorded phone call was set up through the jail, and nathan and duncan spoke for the first time in almost two years. >> what are you doing? >> everywhere, i ended up in boston for a while. you have been in a lot of trouble. >> it was like old times, as they too caught up, then duncan started spinning his story, to get nathan talking. >> i just got in touch with my mom, and she says they have been over at her house giving serious -- about my blood type and stuff. >> then, without missing a beat, duncan cleverly got nathan inside the tunnel, and tied into the struggle just before ron baker was stabbed to death. >> remember, you got your hand scratched? >> we wrestled and stuff. and -- i don't know if it is -- >> nathan got nervous. but before they wrapped up the call, an unexpected bonus. an ex -- duncan had just duped him, and he invited his old friend to visit him in jail. and four days later, there he was, wearing a wire. >> you have to understand his personality, to him this is hollywood stuff here. i could really pull this off. >> -- screaming my name to help him out, dude i thought i was going to die. >> then, duncan went to work, to try and draw nathan out by claiming he had left behind his blood on the walls of the tunnel. >> on the wall. >> -- >> he played it, downplayed it down. >> -- >> that was good, but detectives in the da's office still wanted a little bit more evidence before indicting him for murder, and duncan, thanks in part to his limited immunity agreement, he remained free as if he had never harmed a hair on his head. him and the baker family was not happy, not at all. >> i did not like it, my parents did not like it, dunkin'walking away, i mean he was friends with ron for a long time. he had been at the, house talked about him at the funeral, at any point he could have said what happened. >> but duncan did not seem to care. he was about to embark on a whole new chapter of his life. at the university of utah, a man who liked to tell stories, now had plans to make movies. coming up -- >> he went by the name -- >> he had a leather jacket, he had a tattoo, he had a little bit of the bad boy thing. >> a whole new role for duncan martinez, and an encore undercover performance. >> i don't know what to, do i don't know what to tell, him what should i tell him? >> yeah, and? >> that you don't know who did. >> when "dateline" continues. >> but duncan did not seem to care. he was about to embark on a whole new chapter of his life. at the university of utah, a man who liked to tell stories, now had plans to make movies. coming up -- >> he went by the name -- >> he had a leather jacket, he had a tattoo, he had a little bit of the bad boy thing. >> a whole new role for duncan martinez, and an encore undercover performance. >> i don't know what to do, and i don't know what to tell him, what should i tell him? >> yeah, and? >> that you don't know who did. >> when "dateline" continues. the power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. -- home of the xfinity 10g network. and his name was duncan martinez. >> he rushed a fraternity at the university, he was really liked by most of the fraternity members, he was living a pretty good life. >> yes he was, 22-year-old duncan martinez once a big time murder suspect was now a big man on campus. >> he went by the name doofus o'reilly, that is what he liked to tell his friends to call him. he was a center of attraction. >> charming, charismatic, life of the party, doofus, aka duncan, was a long way from that murder in the tunnel. and here he soon caught the eye of sorority sister melissa, the two started dating. >> i hung out at a particular fraternity house and he was pledging the fraternity, so we got to know each other and he was quick, witty and i liked that. he had a leather jacket, he had a tattoo, he had a bit of the bad boy thing. it was as if guy fieri had rolled into the college with the hair and look, and the big stories. >> melissa said it was like he dropped in from another planet, but he instantly fit in. >> i think people naturally followed him, i think they're very much like tim, do not conclude, identify with -- anyone that they were into. he had a lot of capacity for dazzling people. >> when you compared him to the other young men around the fraternity, aren't the college, what was he like compared to them? >> flamboyant. >> like it wasn't an about-face or something? >> he wasn't. he told the stories of another place, of something else. >> what was your tendency then? when you listen to these stories and go on, or would you -- >> i sort of thought, okay, sure, and sort of went along with it. i think everybody did. i mean, we were 21, 22. >> back in l. a., the detectives are still investigating and he run baker murder. they wanted to put duncan's dazzling, but devious skill set to use one time. and get one more blockbuster piece of evidence. they found duncan on college, and persuaded him to make it another call to his buddy, who is still behind bars. maybe this time, duncan could spark something incriminating out of nathan, to seal their case and charge it. >> we flew to utah, and from a marriott hotel they talked about a half hour, and little by little it started coming out. >> naturally, the call was recorded. >> hello, hello, talk to me. >> he did talk as usual, spinning another -- for his arrest, and he feared taking the rap for ron's murder. >> all i know is that when we left, i don't know what to do. i don't know what i will tell him if i go down. what should i tell him? >> yeah, and. >> that he did nothing. >> he kept trying to get anything to say the, words to take the blame directly for stabbing ron. for cutting his throat. >> this is some -- that is why i wanted to talk to you about it. >> you -- how can you ask for forgiveness for something. >> i don't understand. so that makes it better? >> it doesn't make a. better doesn't make it worse. it makes it -- do what i have to do. >> then, duncan played, it sounds like you have it tucked away like it never happened, and i can see how you could do that. >> i have to live my, life i have to go on. >> it happened, it was a mistake. not quite a confession, but close enough. now, two years after's murder, nathan was -- but duncan martinez, he would resume college life, film studies, frat parties, and freedom. after he wrapped up this undercover call with nathan, detectives drove him back to campus, and dropped him off. >> as he was getting out of the car, it is really too bad that we had to meet under the circumstances, because i thought you would be a lot of fun to hang out with you guys. >> was duncan martinez literally getting away with murder? maybe. he was too smart to screw that up. wasn't he? coming up. >> he told me he had witnessed a murder. >> duncan's secret. >> i remember thinking this has to be something he made up, surely this would be something that would have caught up with him. >> was it about two? >> it is almost as if he knew his facade might have been slipping. >> when "dateline" continues. >> he told me he had witnessed a murder. >> duncan's secret. >> i remember thinking this has to be something he made up, surely this would be something that would have caught up with him. >> was it about two? >> it is almost as if he knew his facade might have been slipping. >> when "dateline" continues. rsv can severely affect the lungs and lower airways. but i'm protected with arexvy. arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. rsv can be serious for those over 60, including those with asthma, diabetes, copd, and certain other conditions. but i'm protected. arexvy is proven to be over 82% effective in preventing lower respiratory disease from rsv and over 94% effective in those with these health conditions. 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(♪♪) you deserve better than that. i'm hungry, i'm in a hurry, i don't have time to make anything healthy. you could if you had a blendjet. blendjet? it's the portable blender that makes the healthy choice the most convenient choice. i don't know. it seems like a hassle. hahaha! wrong. just pour in some milk, add some frozen fruit, and bam! you've got a nutritious and delicious smoothie. mmm! that is good. you're welcome, sad office guy. get yours today at blendjet.com are we in in an ad? we sure are. >> i'm richard louis with the hours tough stories. second child has died in the nursery at the hospital in gaza city. according to a spokesperson. the palestinian ministry of health. he says the generator stopped working in the icu and pediatric units. the hospital is now considered out of service due to heavy bombardment. president biden marked veteran days in a cemetery, he spoke after a ceremony and said america's veterans are quote the steel spine of the station. now, back to dateline. back to dateline. >> he was the charismatic guy if duncan martinez was the charismatic pied piper of his university, melissa was, well let her describe it. >> i was president of my sorority i was going to be chief justice of the judiciary, i was exceptionally capable and kind of nerdy and boring, i drove all vote was basically of all for who i was the phone call search. the unconcealed to love impressing melissa, is that what he told her a story that was more disturbing than impressive. >> he told me he had witnessed a murder -- >> he's walking up to the edge of something -- >> he never got into details but told me he was helping the police with it. >> dunkin'fun loving film student and party animal. doofus o'reilly tangled up in murder? but for once duncan seem serious, that lee serious. >> he said that he and a roommate had talked about going after a college friend, and that there had been an intentional plan. >> that he was a part of. >> that it appeared he had been a part of. yes. i remember thinking it was something he made up. >> another one of his many stories? >> he's trying to be a bigger person than he really, is because surely this would be something that would have caught up with him. >> but, was it true? melissa's happy campus life felt trouble, and so she confided in a couple of trusted friends, and she didn't intend for the story to spread, but it did. >> so kind of me being big mouth about what duncan said to me, to a couple of guys, went to my brother, went to the alum of the fraternity at the university, the police, the lapd, and being asked to leave this fraternity. >> then, duncan found, oh it was melissa who leaked his story. >> he was pretty angry, and pretty aggressive, and told me i needed to keep my mouth shut. there was a restraint amount of violence in him. >> were you frightened? >> i remember being afraid of him. it was almost as if he knew his facade and the way he had slipped in might have been slipping. >> maybe it was a mistake to bring it up in the first place? >> maybe it was the loose lips are sinking ship. >> in la, meanwhile, detective circular and jackson were focused on dealing him. he had been sent to prison for that bank robbery, but that is where they were to see him, hoping to coax a confession which they could use to finally indict him. >> when nathan saws he said hey guys, what is up. and we said nothing. we want to come sit down and talk to you see if we are missing something here. >> you want to tell us what you remember? >> at this point in time it's getting hazier and hazier. it is something that i don't sit and dwell upon. >> he reiterated his whole original story. he dropped them off at the bus stop, we drank, came back, went to a party. >> at which point, the detectives bring a little surprised they brought with them. the audio tapes of duncan exposing his good friend nathan. >> what if we told you that someone is telling us that you killed him? >> i'm telling that they're lying. >> okay. and that's what we're confronted with. nathan. somebody is telling us that you killed him. >> well, once again, i'm telling you they are lying. >> i'm saying would you be curious to hear who is saying this about you? he said yes, i would love to hear. and i said i have a tape of the conversation. and i hit the button. >> i mean, it sounds like you've got it tucked away like it never happened. and i can't see how you could do that. >> because i have to live my life, i have to go on. >> as soon as he hears his head went like this -- i mean, it's like we had him so bad. >> it happened. it was a mistake. and it's, you know -- but i still have to -- i cannot live with three years. >> he's losing faith on his ability to hold on and not tell us what happened. and i believe i'm the one who said. >> how many times did you stab him? >> twice. >> twice? that you remember? >> yes. >> and that was the break right there. his confession. >> two and a half years after ronna baker was stabbed to death detectives finally had what they needed. a few months later, nathan was indicted for first degree murder. fair or not? nathan would have to take the entire rap for killing ron baker. as for duncan martinez, worst thing that happened to him was being booted from his fraternity. did you make peace with the idea that duncan would just live the rest of his life? >> i guess i have to. >> some people through guile or look managed to avoid paying the price justice demands. but it's also true that in the fraternity of the convicted, few behaviors are considered as low as despicable as the riding out of a friend. and, though no one knew it, faith had other things in mind. and maybe, the sense of humor in the form, this time, of a living, breathing rat. coming up -- >> i witnessed my best friend kill my best friend. i didn't know to do. >> was he emotional when he was telling you this? >> not at all. >> really? >> kind of cold and calculated. >> mike the man who talked himself out of jail, talk him self right back in? when dateline continues. when dateline continues. ♪ ♪ i got the power of 3. i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. i'm under 7. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. i'm lowering my risk. adults lost up to 14 pounds. i lost some weight. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. living with type 2 diabetes? 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yeah, i'm ready. is your treatment leaving you with uncontrolled symptoms? like the cover-it-ups and brush-it-offs? enough with good enoughs. don't stay hiding or hurting. when your lotions and creams don't do enough to help treat the inflammation beneath the skin, causing plaques and pain, it's time to get real about psoriasis, so, your dermatologist can help you get clear. make the appointment and ask about real clear skin. alright, alright! so, your dermatologist c tiny, branch, poppy... on another musical adventure. ♪ you're all i ever wanted ♪ i can't believe this is really happening. ♪ you're all i ever needed ♪ looks like your band days aren't behind you. grrr. >> christmas time in salt lake christmastime in salt lake city, utah, a sporting goods store, an alarm went off, cops arrived, city, utah, a sporting goods store, an alarm went off. cops arrive. detective jim's prior was called to the police station to interview the burglar suspect caught red-handed. >> it seemed like a likable enough kid, he committed a petty crime, got caught, confessed his part in the crime. >> it seemed personable enough. >> he did, not adversarial at all. >> chatty, cordial, cooperative, sound familiar? well of course. the thief was duncan martinez. >> did he come off as a criminal? or as a regular guy? >> no, my initial impression was maybe a smart alec college kid who could talk his way out of anything. >> but duncan could not talk his way out of this one. he was headed to jail, for a two bit burglary. >> after he was interviewed and processed, we wanted to confirm his identity. he said we can go to my, house i have my i. d. there. >> so they went to his apartment, found his i. d., and while there, duncan asked for a small favor. >> he said, hey, can you feed my pet rat. >> feed my pet rat? >> yeah, the other officer that was with me, we look at one another, and said did he really say that? the kid was accommodating, so he wanted to feed his pet rat because he was expected to be in jail, did not want his creature to suffer. >> so the detective walked over the cage, fed the rat. and if he hadn't done that, he probably wouldn't have spotted duncan's day planner, lying right there. and like any good detective, he took a peek inside. >> and found a business card, it was detective rick jackson lapd robbery homicide unit. >> robbery homicide in l. a., that is a big deal. >> i guess that is the tip of the spear, if you will. and, it made me interested. >> so interested, he called detective jackson, -- >> he says you know a guy named duncan martinez? >> i said yes i know a guy called duncan martinez. >> i said is there anything i can help you with? >> i immediately went to, we can use this, we need to get it on tape. >> use this? this was the excuse duncan had given the police for the burglary. >> he said, i only did this because somebody is extorting me as i witnessed somebody get murdered in los angeles, and this person that i know told me if i didn't do this burglary for him, then he was going to tell the police that he knew about my involvement in this l. a. thing. >> wow. >> everything is done, we can't use what he told us initially against him. >> what is against the rules? >> bingo, all duncan's blabbing just might be his undoing. remember, under the conditions of his king for a deal, dunkin'couldn't talk to anybody about the case. >> he was specifically and emphatically told by us, you cannot discuss this with anyone except your attorney. he was told that on more than one occasion. i was even telling him, duncan you cannot talk about this. >> so jackson called prior with an idea. >> you need to call him, back to him the story is a long story -- exactly what have, been in a tape record him. >> but this time he had wanted out of joe's back home. so detective pryor called him, left a message. >> lo and behold, he calls me back. >> -- hey, duncan martinez -- >> he started talking about his situation, giving, i don't want to say fatherly advice. >> then, prior east into the ali murder thing, duncan had mentioned. >> i witnessed my best friend, you're my best friend, and i didn't know what to do. >> you witnessed your best friend killed your best friend? >> yes it was my two best friends. >> at that point, he started to open up a bit, and started telling his story. >> the whole story. how he and nathan saw a tv show about a kidnapping, and decided they could do better. how they picked the unsuspecting ron baker as their victim, wanted him to the tunnel, and supposedly nathan tripped and ron made a joke and all hell broke loose. >> nathan jumped him, landed back onto the -- open no what to do. >> what was it like to hear him spit out that story. >> i had interviewed and taking confessions for many people over the years, confessed to serious crimes, robberies, homicides, sexual assault, but hearing him say that, for some reason i knew it was not -- bs. he was really telling the truth. and it caused me to step back, and say, did i really just hear that? >> was he emotional when he was telling you this. >> not at all. kind of, cold and calculating. he did not seem remorseful at all. >> even as he recounted ron's last desperate effort to survive. and his own instruction to nathan. >> i told nathan, you've got to finish him off or something, something like that because -- >> when he told nothing to cut his throat. >> for sure. and thinking about, it getting shivers. >> even now? >> yes, after 27 years. >> soon after, at the la police station, rick jackson received that precious audiotape. >> it is like an early christmas, gift and i was thrilled. >> my heart just sank. >> all these years later. >> to deal with another heartache at the hands of duncan, my pants are not around to see this. >> when "dateline" continues. skechers slip-ins. i just step in and go. sitting? doesn't matter. i don't even have to touch them. ooo, gangsta. in a hurry? there's not a faster, easier way to put on shoes. they know a 10 when they see it. after advil. feeling better? on top of the worlddddd!!! before advil. advil targets pain at the source of inflammation. when pain comes for you, come back fast with advil liqui-gels. she found it. the feeling of finding the psoriasis treatment she's been looking for. sotyktu is the first-of-its-kind, once-daily pill for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis... for the chance at clear or almost clear skin. it's like the feeling of finding that outfit psoriasis tried to hide from you. or finding your swimsuit is ready for primetime. dad! once-daily sotyktu is proven to get more people clearer skin than the leading pill. don't take if you're allergic to sotyktu; serious reactions can occur. sotyktu can lower your ability to fight infections including tb. serious infections, cancers including lymphoma, muscle problems, and changes in certain labs have occurred. tell your doctor if you have an infection, liver or kidney problems, high triglycerides, or had a vaccine or plan to. sotyktu is a tyk2 inhibitor. tyk2 is part of the jak family. it's not known if sotyktu has the same risks as jak inhibitors. find what plaque psoriasis has been hiding. ask your dermatologist about sotyktu for clearer skin. so clearly you. sotyktu. narrator: ron baker could have been starting his career ask your dermatologist about sotyktu for clearer skin. >> ron baker could've been as an astrophysicist at the time his roommates went starting his career as an astrophysicist, by the time his roommates went on trial for first degree murder, a crime so senseless that even as a jury was seated, ron's family and the detectives were still struggling to understand. >> they were separate trials, nathan had the first trial. >> it was march 1996, nathan's didn't take long, and neither did the verdict. >> they came back guilty, -- >> no surprise, and the court showed no mercy. he was sentenced to life without parole. >> now, duncan, but before his trial began, because he helped the cops duncan was offered a deal, a good one, plead guilty to second degree murder, and just maybe walk after around 12 years. but, it was not to be. >> basically gave us the middle finger, said no, i want less. i want a better deal. i want to go on probation, or 7, years or whatever that wasn't in the cards. >> so duncan put on his best behavior, and took his shot in court. the defense made the arguments of a man who had had the confidence to turn down a deal, and insisted duncan did not kill ron, that was nathan. without duncan's help, they said, the cops would never have cracked the case. except, remember that story about watching dragnet and actually planning the crime, and how in that dark tunnel, while their victims struggle to survive, it was duncan who gave the order to finish him off. which the jury could not ignore. >> it was less than it took for nathan story to come back, and he was convicted for the same thing. guilty, first degree murder, sentenced to life without parole. he had made his choice, no deal, and he paid the price. >> i was not surprised at all, the fact he turned down a second degree murder, he would have been out by now. >> so he made has bet, he just had to lie in it now. >> that's the way i feel. >> but he would kill his best friend for a thrill? >> it happens. there is no explanation for. it and maybe this back to the madness of two. together, they created this, and that is what the jury felt based on the evidence that was put forward to them to do something like this to a friend. in this case, that is exactly what happened, and he did not stop, it and he could have. >> i told myself, had it not been for martinez, baker would have never been dead. when you put the two personalities together, you got the dynamite, and the fuse. >> duncan and nathan or both assent away, destined to die in prison. and nearly 25 years went by, young men to hard-core lifers. ron's parents died, sister patty had two children, jackson and marie tina retired. and then, one june evening in 2020, right around the summer solstice, i'm sitting, scrolling through facebook, and somebody posted an article about the governor pardoning and -- which sure enough i see duncan martinez, age 50, and you know, my heart just sank. >> your heart sank because his sentence had been commuted, making him eligible for parole. nobody had notified paddy. later, she saw the letter from the governor, which said mr. martinez has dedicated himself to his rehabilitation, and becoming a productive citizen. and merits the opportunity to make his case to the board of parole hearings. >> i know there is a pressure to release inmates, but there are a lot more types of inmates that could be released and people who have committed murders. >> he has been a model prisoner, he has obeyed the rules, schmoozed if you people along the way, when he is not done anything bad. and had he made a deal, it would have been or a long time ago. >> right. >> so why not? >> and it comes back to the victim. the nice kid, wouldn't hurtt a fly, kind of person, he never got a chance to be a good, productive citizen. >> nevertheless, december 8th 2020, rick jackson and patty baker met, to watch and participate via live stream, in the formal parole hearing. >> he looks old, doesn't he? >> yeah. >> the parole board would not let us record the proceedings, but they did provide a few pictures of the man who came before them. duncan is 50 now, his hair is turned gray he has gained a few pounds, patty tried to stay calm, as she prepared to watch. >> well, my anxiety is pretty high, there is no doubt in the back of my mind what if. >> it is a wildcard, and who knows what duncan will say today, he can be a charming, guy he's engaging, he is always used it for his benefit and to manipulate others. >> duncan, talkative as always addressed the board said he was deeply remorseful that he took responsibility for what happened, that he was a terrible person back then, but now it was a changed man. low risk of, violence said the president report. he spoke up as, well they implored the keeping duncan a master manipulator locked up forever, just as the jury ruled he should be all those years ago. >> it is not life with parole, it is life without parole. >> then, as duncan waited patiently inside the prison, the panel spoke privately to discuss his fate. keep him where he is, locked up, or release him. >> it took less than 30 minutes, and then, three little words, suitable for parole. >> it is a gut punch mostly, because it is the worst gut punch to patty. >> i'm disappointed in our system, and glad that my parents are not around to see this. to deal with another heartache at the hands of duncan. duncan told us he could not comment just now, but his attorney gave us this statement, saying martinez takes responsibility for his actions, is remorseful, has done all he can to rehabilitate himself in prison, and earn the right to be released. but we wondered, why did duncan get a shot at parole, and not nathan. well, for one thing, nathan did not apply back in 2017 when duncan did, so his case was not considered. though he has applied now, and it has gone to the governor's office, which has not releasing details. we asked nathan if he had some sort of comment to make, and he wrote back this letter. which we showed to patty. >> what started as an accident and nightmare for so many, i cannot asked the baker family for forgiveness, it is up to them to determine if i will ever earn that right. >> i am glad he took accountability for his actions. it still does not bring my brother, back still does not change what either of them did. >> what they did. the madness of two. nathan is still serving his life sentence, no indication of when or if he will ever get out. but, duncan martinez is out, has been out of prison since april of 2021. in plenty of time, of course, for the summer solstice. >> i'm craig melvin. >> and this is dateline. >> i am being followed, there are threats on my life. i know we're in danger, i know we are.