Transcripts For KNTV Dateline NBC 20160516

There. Are you still intimate with yolanda . Yes, we are. He said that he didnt love her, he loved me. And finally a verdict. The years of waiting, the years of mourning her, we needed justice. Im lester holt, and this is dateline. Heres Dennis Murphy with mystery in south beach. If youve spent any time down here, you probably sense there are really two miami beaches. You know this one by reputation anyway. South beach, a pulsating playground with energy that exhausts itself in the allnightclubs. Then theres the old miami beach, the sunburned streets of squat apartment blocks, where decades past the old people used to sit out in aluminum chairs. Thats where wendy and michelle were trying to make a go of it. The rent of the cheap, the window air conditioning, good enough. But if you ever thought Beautiful People catch all the breaks, then listen to wendys story. She may be the most gorgeous, doomed young woman to ever walk these streets. She was model pretty. I dont think that she thought of herself as anything spectacular. Didnt become the central part of her personality, im a pretty girl. It wasnt who she was about. Her much older siblings never used the qualifier step sister. She was a daddys girl. Her father who died in a crash when she was just six. Big sister rita helped to raise her. I was pretty much there raising here. The love of animals was always a part of wendy. She was always rescuing some animal. And she worked for a vet for a while . Yes, but allergies would enld her ambitions to be a vet. I kept saying, dont give up your passion. But wendy did have another passion, fashion and makeovers. Pretty girl. At easter, she would do up her nieces for a living room fashion show. And here is the director of the entire operation. How nice a kid was this churchgoing, slightly sheltered girl . There was one girl who couldnt afford to go to the prom, and wendy got her the dress, everything. She had a flair and you can do very well with that . Yes, she did. At 21, she enrolled in beauty school, and thats where she michel rumble up, a web designer and teacher of computing. But he was looking for a career change, thought hed try hairstyling, so he enrolled in the same Cosmetology School as wendy. Michel who are fancied himself a sensitive guy, had a string of admiring girlfriends. But wendy, younger by ten years and prettier than almost any other woman, was clearly a prize catch. When i met wendy, he was on a motorcycle with her. I told myself, its a beautiful girl. I dont know what he did to get this girl. Whatever he did, it worked. The pair had fallen quickly and deeply. They were Like High School sweethearts. She was totally in love, sparkle in the eye. He said im going to buy her a motorcycle. Its going to be great. Within six months, they were living together on south beach. Wendy gave michel a makeover, dyeing his hair blond, perfect for the club scene. They lived for the day and then came unexpected news for these two butterflies. Wendy was pregnant. Her mother, miriam, had mixed feelings. How did she feel about the fact that her baby was having a baby . Delighted with the fact of being a grandmother, but not delighted with the circumstances. Wendy had had the Big Church Wedding for her first marriage. This time around, she and michel got hitched at miami beach city hall. You may kiss the bride. Congratulations. The next day, wendy and michel set out for a brief weekend honeymoon, a drive down to the florida keys to key west where the road ran out. Sunset drinks, dinner and a hotel. Three days after the wedding, they were back in miami beach, sunday evening. Wendy called her mother to say they were going to a movie and dancing later at a club. Her mother urged her pregnant daughter not to drink. Then in the middle of the night, the wee hours of monday morning, wendys mother got an unexpected call from her new soninlaw, michel, saying theyve had an argument. Wendy stormed off, saying she was going to her mothers house. Since then, the bridegroom says he repeatedly called wendy without success. Right around then, in a bleak warehouse district, miles and miles from the afterhours bars of miami, a sanitation worker was startled to see the body of a young woman in a blue dress slumped between two vehicles. It was the newlywed, wendy. News travels fast. I get a call from my stepmother, screaming, crying. Wendys dead. They took her from me. Its on the news. And i went looking, and theres my sweet little sister being put on a gurney. And its just so surreal. Desolate warehouse place. All i kept thinking about was her being alone there, by herself, praying to god that she didnt suffer. The killer, who bludgeoned her to death, also erased the beauty from her young face. A honeymoon weekend for the new bride had ended behind Yellow Police tape. Coming up, who killed wendy and why . Was it a kidnapping, a carjacking gone bad, or did it have something to do with miamis wild night life . Whats been going on with michel in the club scene . He did admit to having encounters with other couples there. The dark side of life in sunny miami. Prove its the fastest. Im traveling the country betting anyone and everyone that sprint is faster than their network. And guess whos winning . The guy with a trailer full of your stuff. I bet my space suit for that slightly oversized jacket. Come on. Come on. Sprint wins that was fast yeah, sprints killing it. The sprint lte network is now more reliable than ever. Switch to sprint and save 50 on most verizon, at t or tmobile rate plans. If we dont win you over in 30 days, well refund your money. Hey nithanks. Today. Juicy fruit . Sure ill try a piec. Juicy fruit. So sweet you cant help but chew. Are you powered by protein . I am. Milk has 8 grams of protein to help give me energy to unleash my potential. Start every day with milks protein and milk life. Dogs sure can be messy. But with nexgard, their flea and tick killer doesnt have to be. Nexgard, the vets 1 choice for dogs, is a delicious, beefflavored chew that kills both fleas and ticks. So its easy to give, easy to take. Reported side effects include vomiting, itching, diarrhea, lethargy and lack of appetite. Use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures. Why mess around . For powerful flea and tick protection, ask your vet about nexgard. The 1 choice of vets for their dogs and yours. The yogurt made from your milk, is delicious. Mmmm, yoplait. Miamidade Police Detectives maria medaros and gus tobias had barely clocked in for their monday morning shift when word came down of a homicide in a bleak warehouse district. Its where they found in a parking lot the body of Wendy Trapaga. Lying between a car and a van. We could see the spatter of the blood on the van. Whoever did it to her, did it right there. So this body hadnt been disposed of there. This was the place where she was killed . Correct. Her head had been bashed in. But there was no weapon fob to to be found. What type of a homicide is this . A robbery . A drug deal that went bad . This was a young girl, she doesnt have her shoes on, which was unusual. Why is this young girl in an industrial parking lot . No reason to be in this part of the county . No. Unless she met up with someone. So the detectives headed out to do the part of the job that never gets easier. So youre delivering terrible news . Horrible news. Amid the shock and tears, they piece together from their mother a sense of who the victim was and what her final hours and days had been about. Sunday evening, the phone call, wendy sounded okay, the detectives were told. But the next call at 5 48 a. M. , the one from michel, asking if she was at her moms, was worrisome. A few hours later, he was waiting for her at her work. He met her at her job. Y he was very dischevelled and worried about where she could be. He was about to get an official answer as to where she was. As were talking, the phone rings and its Michel Escoto calling. Again asking his motherinlaw if she had heard from wendy. They head over to where he was. They head over to deliver the news of his girlfriend of eight months, his bride of four days. We walked into his apartment and when he blurted out, is she dead, and we explain were investigating the death of wendy, he started throwing up, doubling over. Doubled over, crying. Police gave him a few minutes to compose himself before asking him to come down to headquarters to answer some more questions. There he recounted the brief honeymoon. Michel told the detectives that wendy had the idea of adding a little more spice before rejoining their workweek lives. Well, we havent had much of a honeymoon this weekend. Lets extend our honeymoon. So as Michel Escoto told it, around midnight they checked into a miami hotel that features fantasy suites with a private pool and jacuzzi. He says they had sex, slept a little and wendy dosed off in the jacuzzi. Around 4 00 a. M. , michel says they checked out and headed home. Thats when, he said, the newlyweds had their first arment. Michel says he walked into the apartment, leaving wendy in the car. Three minutes later, he comes out. He says when he comes out, the car is gone. Wendy is gone. He spoke with detectives for 14 hours. They asked him repeatedly if he could identify anyone with a motive. He said he couldnt. After leaving police headquarters, he saw his friend ramone santa cruz. He was looking depressed. He looked down, maybe tired. Five days after her murder, wendy was laid to rest. And then friends and family gathered at her parents home. Detective bias was there as well and he learned something about the couple that would send the investigation down another path. A thread of this investigation takes you into the swinger lifestyle. Whats been going on with michel and wendy and the club scene . After im informed of this, that wendy was part of a Swingers Club, a place called the miami velvet down here in south miami. The first thing i did was i called michel. He did admit to having encounters with other couples there. Now you got to wonder did somebody with a thing they developed about wendy and is that the killer . It turns out the club is within a mile and a half of the scene. So i wanted to explore that. The Swingers Club was cooperative and detectives took dna samples from a few employees and members. They would have to wait for results. In the meantime the investigation was turning up a new lead, a former girlfriend of his, yolanda sirrio. She had a relationship with michel before he met the victim. According to her, michel left her for wendy. She loved him and was very much in love with him. A single mother, was she also a woman scorned . Michel left her just six months earlier, and to add insult to injury, asked her to take care of his dog while he was on his honeymoon with wendy. As a woman, thats very strange to me. Does yolanda become a suspect . A woman who feels she was fired because of a younger woman and nobody gets away with that. And im gonna kill you. Theres a lot to yolanda. A lot of bad if you ask ramon santa cruz. I didnt like her from the beginning. She was very evasive. The apartment was always dirty. She was never a good person to begin with. Detectives met with yolanda who freely admitted that she was devastated when michel dumped her. But said she had no idea who beat his wife to death. She said she didnt know anything about it. But the detectives noted Something Else about yolanda. She lived just a few minutes from the parking lot where she found wendy. When you started adding up things together, her proximity to the crime scene, im very interested in yolanda. No one knew what yolanda was hiding and so would the revelation of a motive that would seem to explain every violent little thing. Coming up, a million reasons why someone wanted wendy dead. I asked him, how much is the Life Insurance policy and he said 1 million. When dateline continues. An, but she just cant see it. So excedrin worked with me to show my mom what i experience during a migraine. Excedrin relieves my pain and symptoms. But their dedication to migraine sufferers doesnt stop there. Oh my god. Im so sorry, honey, that you go through this. Now i finally feel understood. Experience more stories at excedrin. Com dmade with the perfect balance of raspberry ice cream, luscious raspberry sauce, and belgian chocolate. Discover magnum chocolate pleasure. New layers to our famous lasagna. With three new irresistible dishes like chicken parmigiana lasagna. 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Side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. If your pill isnt giving you the control you need ask your doctor about noninsulin victoza®. Its covered by most health plans. Who would want to murder pretty Wendy Trapaga . Did the killer meet her at the sexual swapping club that her boyfriend took her to . The cops ran down those leads, Swingers Club theory went nowhere. What about yolanda, the husbands exgirlfriend, enraged perhaps for being traded in for wendy, the younger model. The detectives guts told them that yolanda knew way more than she was saying. But if so, how to crack her. Then there was the husband himself. They kept going back over their notes from the 14hour interview with him. At times it had been pulling teeth. We asked him over and over again, is there anybody with a motive, anything at all, anything you can tell us . I bring up a point, dont you have a Life Insurance policy . He says, yeah, we do. A hefty one, it would seem, for a healthy 21yearold woman he wasnt even married to at the time of purchase. I asked him, how much is the Life Insurance policy . And he said a Million Dollars and i said a Million Dollars . And you dont think thats a motive. You dont think thats important to tell us . And he said no, i dont, because i have a Million Dollar Life Insurance policy on myself, too. I said thats not in question because youre here. Youre alive. One thing he did reveal, wendy was not pregnant. He said that was the cause of their argument that night. He said wendy had lied to him about the whole thing. As the detectives questions got sharper that day, michel shut down. Would you take a polygraph . No. Can we photograph those bruises on your arm . No. Take a dna swab . Again, no. He didnt talk himself off your list . He did not. He did not. The working theory of the crime was as simple as it was brutal. He bashed in her skull for a Million Dollar insurance payout. A tire iron was missing from her car, a likely weapon, but nowhere to be found. So you two go to the prosecutor, state attorney say weve got it. Lets go. Grand jury. No. Were done . No. Why not . You have to prove it. So police let the person of interest go. In the meantime, wendys family had huge suspicions about michel. Sister rita wasnt crazy about him from the moment she first met him. Call it bad energy. I shook that mans hand and i was wiping my hand right after i let it go. It was eerie. This guy definitely did not pass the sniff test . No. The revelation that he bought a 1 million Life Insurance policy on wendy did not help. Two months after wendys death, michel filed for his beneficiary payout. The insurer, metlife, fought, saying the case was an unsolved homicide and her murder would remain unsolved for a long time. We would be frustrated, the family of the victim. Were sitting there, waiting and waiting. Then michel actually sued the Insurance Company to pay him his Million Dollars. Would a guilty man be so brazen as to try that . Absolutely, the family said. And by then, they had had enough. The family got a lawyer, jorge barone, and together they went after Michel Escoto. We believed he was the killer. Two years after the murder, the family filed a wrongful death suit against michel. Metlife put the insurance money in escrow and waited on the sidelines as michel and wendys family fought it out in civil court. But in michel wanted to see one cent of that money, he would have to do something he hadnt done before. He would have to testify, he could not plead the fifth. Especially since hes pursuing the claim. He has to testify. Police and prosecutors were happy to help the familys attorney prepare his case. Sharing those statements michel had made to detectives after wendys death. They call you and say take a look at what weve got, is that right . We ask if we would be allowed to look at the statements he had given them. We were. Michel was videotaped as he gave a sworn deposition. We took his deposition and his story kept changing. So the story about a fight and she takes a hike it doesnt add up. He testified that wendy was it was her idea all of a sudden that night to go to the miami executive hotel. However, back in 2002, yolanda, the exgirlfriend, told Police Michel asked her to make the hotel reservation. It wasnt wendys idea at all. A factual discrepancy also known as a lie. During the deposition, michel also admitted that yolanda was no longer his ex. He had moved back in with her not long after wendys death. Are you still intimate with yolanda . Yes, we are. Do you have any plans of marrying yolanda . Plans of such, no. There had been one question about michel and yolanda that had nagged detectives since 2002. They learned through phone records that on the night of the murder, michel paged yolanda at three in the morning. But why . Both michel and yolanda told police at the time he wanted to check on her sick daughter. He claims that he beeps her because he thought her daughter, yolandas daughter, was sick. We later find out that her daughter is not sick. So theres no reason for a middle of the night communication . No reason whatsoever. When the civil case finally went to trial, escoto got so roughed up that on the second day he was a noshow in court. Wendys mother got the insurance money and prosecutors got to hear first hand about his constantly shifting stories. The state attorney sat in the courtroom and was taking notes. Did you have a little chitchat in the hallway outside . We did. What did you say . This is your case. You have all the evidence right now. Of course, we gave them the deposition testimony and everything. We had everything outlined. Michel escoto was arrested three days after his court no show and was charged with the murder of his bride, Wendy Trapaga. Police still thought they needed more and fixed their eyes on the girlfriend, yolanda sirrio. I knew eventually as time goes by that that relationship would deteriorate. Why did you think that . If they have that secret amongst each other, that was going to be a friction point in their relationship. Too corrosive a secret . Yes, yes. How do you reel her in . Time. Time. Time changes relationships. And it did. In 2006, one year after michel was arrested, yolanda and her attorney went to prosecutors and said, lets make a deal. She got full immunity in exchange for telling how she helped michel that night. She came into the state Attorneys Office and explained that she did take him away from the crime scene. So thats a great story to tell a jury. Yes. Thats it. Police may not have had a murder weapon or helpful forensic clues but now they had yolanda, who was about to give her version of that night. It was cold hearted and calculating. Coming up, an arrest, and a witness who was there. Its not the end of the story but the beginning of a whole new drama that would play out in court. Every story has two sides, especially when its a lovers triangle. I dont put it past her as being a person who would have committed this crime. And should a spurned lover be believed anyway . He said calm down. It was all a plan, that he didnt love her. He loved me. Things were heating up. Kale, kale kale. Carrots mm. Beta carotene. Yes, i like it. Listo. Mmmm. Mmmm. Mmmm. I feel healthier already. Me too. Fitness in real life. Now thats the good stuff. Alwhen your symptoms start. Distracting you . Doctors recommend taking. Nondrowsy claritin every day of your allergy season. Claritin provides powerful, nondrowsy 24 hour relief. 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Prosecutors offered the most chilling detail of the case, he actually picked wendy to be his bride just so he could insure her life and kill her. He would prey on this unsuspecting 21yearold girl and marry her. Four days, four days after that marriage, this defendant bludgeoned and strangled Wendy Trapaga to death. Among the first witnesses, wendys heartbroken mother, miriam bonitas. Speaking through an interpreter, the mother said she was shocked when she learned the couple had taken Life Insurance policies out on one another just before their marriage. Translator i did not feel good. I expressed to her, why insurance, theyre not even married, they didnt have children. Why insurance . On the stand, detective maria medero said she zeroed in on that insurance policy when she questioned escoto a day after the murder. I told him if he couldnt muster up a tear for his wife of four days to muster up a tear for the Million Dollars he was never going to see. What was his reaction . That lack of emotion was an indifference to wendy or a disregard for women in general. Detectives say escoto was a man with a history of mooching off girlfriends. This former lover testified she supported escoto for years. How much money did you give him a month . Approximately 1,500. Go figure, the state said. For whatever reason, women threw gifts at escoto. One bought him the motorcycle, another a car. But still another former lover who also supported him for years would be the prosecutions star witness. Yolanda serrio. The prosecution argued she was the girlfriend with intimate knowledge of how escoto carried out this brutal crime. She had been given immunity in exchange for her testimony here. Wiping away tears she recounted how it all started, how she fell hard for the defendant she thought to be a charmer. Have you ever had a man you could share your life with . I thought it was michel. Only to realize he was dumping her for the younger, more attractive wendy. Yolanda then said she confronted escoto in this restaurant parking lot and heard for the first time that his impending marriage to wendy was all a sham. That in the end he would come back to yolanda with pockets full of cash. He said to calm down. It was all a plan. That he didnt love her. He loved me. He was going to marry her. They were going to have an insurance policy and she was going to die. All right. So he told you he had a plan . Yes. The plan was murder. It was during that conversation, yolanda told jurors, that she became a coconspirator, not only helping escoto cover up his crime but also help him carry it out. This was the plan. On his wedding night, yolanda said he would drug and drown wendy. To make sure he got it right, yolanda admitted she took part in a grim dress rehearsal of what was meant to look like an accidental death. We filled up my tub and i got in the water. And he pushed me down with his hand. You let him push you under the water . Yes. What did you say once he let you up . I told him that wouldnt work. Why . Because the force of him holding her down in the water would leave bruises. What did you suggest . I suggested he used a towel to hold her down. Yolanda said she even helped him whip up a drug laced concoction to knock wendy out. He came over and he brought some percocet pills. And he and i started squishing them and in, i think its a morter and pestle type thing. What was he going to do with the percocet pill that is you that you and he ground . He was going to give it to her so she would be drugged. And then drowned, said yolanda. The plan to kill wendy hit an unexpected snag. At the honeymoon hotel, wendy balked at the taste of the drugged cocktail. This time she drank the cocktail but for some reason he couldnt manage to drown her. Yolanda recalled that escoto showed up at her place in the middle of the night with a dazed wendy in the front seat of the car. Did you see anything in the passenger seat . I saw a movement. Somebody inside the car. Wendy was still alive. Yolanda said escoto ordered her to follow him in her car. Then what happened . He got out of the car, walked over to my car and he told me, drive around. Give me 20, 25 minutes. Eventually, yolanda said she spotted escoto again, walking down the street, splashed now in blood and carrying a tire iron. She said she drove him to the bay in downtown miami where he got out of the car with the weapon. And he threw the thing in the water. After dropping him off his apartment, she said, she took his bloody clothes and threw them in a dumpster. Happy with yourself . No. Worse. Thats how i feel right now. Is this about you . No, its not. Its about a mother who loves her daughter and i have something to do with it. Yolandas time on the witness stand would get tougher still. Two old lovers were about to face off in court. One defending himself and the other testifying against him. A roiling, boiling drama in real time. Coming up, Michel Escoto acts as his own lawyer. This is harder than i thought it would be. And on the stand, his exlover, now the star witness against him in wendys murder. Did you wish she was dead . I wish it would go away. When dateline continues. I have asthma. One of many pieces in my life. So when my asthma symptoms kept coming back on my longterm control medicine. I talked to my doctor and found a missing piece in my asthma treatment with breo. Oncedaily breo prevents asthma symptoms. Breo is for adults with asthma not well controlled on a longterm asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. Breo wont replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. Breo opens up airways to help improve breathing for a full 24 hours. Breo contains a type of medicine that increases the risk of death from asthma problems and may increase the risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. 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So go, family. Watch. Freedom. Seize the data get unlimited data when you have at t wireless and directv. Switch and get up to 650 credits, per line. Flip your way through your last 9 shows with the tap of a button. Change the way you experience tv. Xfinity x1. The state of florida had succeeded in painting Michel Escoto as a man who used women for money, a cad. Then again, a cad is a far cry from a killer. I dont think hes a killer. I think theres problems with this evidence. Youre not just saying that . Im not just saying that. Attorney terry lemonin stood as his counsel. He said, despite the teary theatrics, the states case was weak from start to finish. There was no murder weapon, no blood, no dna linking the defendant to the crime, which is w maybe why michel, who already pled not guilty to the charges, did what many men facing a life in prison sentence would never dream of doing. He defended himself in court. I believe the evidence will show that only an imbecile and an imbecile in love with money would kill somebody four days after they were married to that person. What was lincolns advice about a fool as a client . Those who represent themselves . Well see. Wearing glasses, khakis, a sweater, and speaking in a soft voice, he seemed less like a killer and more like a geek. A hopeless novice, getting pummeled by the execution. Judge, im telling him he was being sandbagged one time the newbie seemed near tears, another overwhelmed. Wow, this is harder than i thought it was going to be. Was this clutsy moment all about winning sympathy for the jury, the time he stumbled . Sorry, twisted my ankle, judge. One particularly winceworthy moment came when jorge barone, his nemesis from the failed insurance trial took the stand. Under crossexamination by escoto, he explained just why it was he suspected escoto of killing his wife, wendy. You had been married her three days before you killed her, to get the Life Insurance. To me, that was very clear. Judge, give me a second. I want to Say Something that i shouldnt. E. Escoto lost it. Objection. See all those guys. Had mr. Nerd inadvertently shown the jury the lava boiling within . That threat won a contempt of court citation from the judge. Be quiet what appeared to be near disaster for the defendant could be spun as a play to his advantage. I think one of the important advantages that he has here is that Human Connection that hes getting, standing up there. With every witness who says youre a murderer, youre this, youre that, him not backing down. He has never backed down. Escoto, the hapless underdog, still needed to convince jurors he was not violent. Especially when it came to women, wendy in particular. Im going to be as gentle as i can, judge. He carefully questioned his former motherinlaw. He may have won points when he got her to admit that wendy had once confided this to a friend. She told her friend that she was content, that she loved you, mr. Escoto. So did i. Likewise, this former girlfriend and selfconfessed sugar mama had to admit that he was never a violent bully. Did i ever throw anything at you . No. Did i ever punch you . No, no. Did i ever slap you . No. Did i ever throw you on the ground . No. More important, he wanted to show that the states theory of the crime was a fairytale, starting with the idea that he drugged wendy. A pharmacologist testified that wendy had only small amounts of prescription narcotics in her blood when the autopsy was performed. The toxicology reports are consistent with normal doses that you would take of any of these medications. She wasnt heavily drugged as the state argued. She wasnt as incapacitated as you were led to believe . Absolutely. That highly disputed. There was another problem with the states theory. It had to do with how wendy died. If the assailant was lefthanded began to strike her a medical examiner for the defense believed that extensive injuries indicated two killers, both righthanded. There are several impacts on the right side, which in an altercation suggests to me that the assailant is righthanded. And his Michel Escoto is lefthanded, the implication for the jury is clear. He couldnt be the killer. Whats more, a dna expert said she expected to find his dna on the victims clothes. After all, they were husband and wife. But she found something more. There were several markers where his dna is not represented. Dna traces for two different males, and get this, traces for a female. To standby lawyer terry, that could mean only one person. Yolanda, who said she was with him before and after. Whos got the goldplated immunity . First thing to know about yolanda is that shes a liar. First, she knew nothing about the crime. Then she said she did but only after the fact. The final story put yolanda front and center in planning the murder. Lo and behold we have a story that comes about, about the drowning and the drugging and all this drama that i believe is rubbish. So what did make sense . A killer, he said, who hated wendy enough to pummel her so badly she was unrecognizable. And who fit that bill . I felt destroyed because she took you from me, yes. In a beyond weird courtroom exchange, escoto in crossexamination took on his former lover, yolanda. Who mtded her poisonous resentment of wendy. I hated what she stood for. I didnt know who she was. I didnt i hated the whole situation. I hated that you left. And you wished she was dead . I wished she would go away. So, you see yolandas hand in this directly . Shes lying because she feels thats in her best interest. I dont put it past her as being a person who would have committed this crime. But would jurors see it that way . Here is the critical moment of the trial, a chance for each side to sum up its case. And this potential tipping point, even Michel Escoto seemed to agree was no time for amateurs. Coming up, the verdict. The years of waiting. The years of mourning her. We needed justice. If theres a hung jury, we may have to start over again. Gs. But with nexgard, their flea and tick killer doesnt have to be. Nexgard, the vets 1 choice for dogs, is a delicious, beefflavored chew that kills both fleas and ticks. So its easy to give, easy to take. Reported side effects include vomiting, itching, diarrhea, lethargy and lack of appetite. Use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures. Why mess around . For powerful flea and tick protection, ask your vet about nexgard. The 1 choice of vets for their dogs and yours. This yeardespicable,y amazing, wizarding second of your vacation count by staying where the adventure never ends. Come with me now. Two theme parks. Spectacular resort hotels. 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And she came in here and she filled in the details. She gave you the answers to questions that you have. When it was the defenses turn, escoto and his backup attorney surprised the courtroom. You want him to take over as your counsel at this time . I would like to let him take over, judge. Thank you, judge, im ready to proceed. For the first time in this trial, seasoned defense attorney would take over and urge the jurors to find reasonable doubt in the states case. He jumped, attacking what he called the prosecutors overselling of a mostly circumstantial case. This is a court of law. And no matter how much i scream as an advocate, no matter how much i wave my hands or say villain, villain, villain, bad, villain, it doesnt make it so. His strategy was to plant a seed of doubt in just one jurors mind. If theres a hung jury, we may have to start over again. Then the case went to the jury. Wendys family, as they had done throughout the trial, gathered together once again and prayed. Her mother hugged prosecutor gail levine, who pursued escoto so ferociously. She is my hero, without a doubt she is my hero. Two and a half hours after the jury went out, cell phones started buzzing in the courthouse. So many years after wendys murder. Now, in moments, her family would know. The years of waiting. The years of mourning her, all of a sudden were told the verdict is in. Before i got to the courtroom i was already crying. I was shaking. Wendys family members held their breath. Escoto appeared to do the same as the judge instructed the clerk to read the verdict. We the jury this 22nd day of april 2014 find the defendant Michel Escoto guilty of firstdegree premeditated murder. Michel sat stonefaced in his chair, his lips turned down in a grimace. For the family there were more tears but of a different kind. Now sorrow, mixed with relief and satisfaction. Wendys mother dropped to her knees and gave thanks. For the detective, a 12yearold case was now officially stamped closed. Hell never do this to another woman again. His lies and his charming and planning and evil plan will not affect another person. But there was someone the family felt had gotten away with murder, his girlfriend yolanda. Her immunity deal meant she would never spend a day in jail. Theyre both monsters and psychopaths. I dont care at all how desperate, how insecure, how lacking in self respect you have. Youre a mother. And you went ahead and planned out the death of another mothers daughter. But investigators said without yolanda, things might have turned out differently. People are going to be throwing their shoes at the tv screen at this point, detective. She gave us the additional thing that we needed to charge and keep and bring Michel Escoto to justice in this case. He gets a life sentence and she gets have a nice day. Thats how it appears. In lieu of not having anybody held accountable for this, ill take that. The family wasnt going to let yolanda off so easily. They sued her for the wrongful death of wendy and were awarded a 44 million judgment. Though they had no expectations of ever seeing that kind of money. If she has to pay one cent a week, its well worth it. As a reminder for the rest of her life, how she assisted that monster. Just a few days ago, Michel Escoto was sentenced for the murder of his new bride. At the hearing he proclaimed his innocence to wendys family. No matter how satisfaction this verdict has given any of you, an innocent person was convicted in this case. Finally the family had a opportunity to address the man to killed wendy. Justice is served. Off to hell with you and good riddance. When wendys mother spoke through a translator, there wasnt a dry eye in the courtroom. Translator some days many of you have daughters or sons. And you will receive a kiss from them. I have to go to the cemetery to put flowers on my daughters tomb. Judge Marisa Mendez gave escoto the mandatory sentence. Life in prison without the possibility of parole. The only way he leaves prison is in a pine box. On the day escoto is found guilty, the family went to the sem ter cemetery to visit wendy. They sat on her grave and talked to her. I kind of just sat back and felt that i could breathe for the first time in so long and felt she was finally at peace. She can rest now. Rest for wendy, the kind, young woman who loved animals and enjoyed playing dressup and who fatally married a stranger,e right. Dozens of firefighters are at the scene of a large fire that threatened an apartment complex. Breaking news in san jose as dozens of firefighters are at the scene of a fire that threatens an apartment complex. That fire ripped through a san Jose Auto Repair shop. The flames so big firefighters evacuated a neighboring Apartment Building as a precaution. Firefighters were forced to keep a distance from the shop because the old brick building was in danger of chanollapsing complet. Also in danger was a power line in danger of