Transcripts For KNTV Dateline NBC 20161022

To her last husband . Shes screaming and shes like bobs dead. It was horrible. We were just like, in disbelief. Whoever did this was very evil. Reporter her son suspected the truth. Would he reveal it . She looked at me with the most hate ive ever seen. It felt like a betrayal. Reporter mother against son. It makes you question everybody. Reporter everythings at stake. Hardest thing youve ever done. It was the hardest thing. Reporter im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres Keith Morrison with secrets in the smoky mountains. Reporter it seems alive somehow, here in the foothills of tennessees appalachians. The creeping tendrils of mountain mist, that snake and swirl like lies. Theres gold in there somewhere, so they say. The sort of place where you could strike it rich. Or maybe get away with murder. Very scary. Shocking and devastating. Reporter so, after that mysterious death here, who could anyone trust . Dearest friends . The word, betrayal, come to mind . Oh, absolutely. Reporter brothers in arms . Its beyond disturbing. Reporter closest family . She looked at me as if she wished i was dead. Reporter maybe no one. We were always looking over our shoulder. Reporter might still be, had it not been for him. Pretty shocking stuff. I dont think ill work anything like this again, just because of the the different twists and turns. Reporter yes, in that toxic swamp of secret identities. Of heroes and villains driven by greed and lust and power. Whoever set this up and whoever did this was very evil. Reporter oh, so many lies. Everything that you were taught as a kid was a lie. Reporter this place, where the story begins, seems created not for lies, but for love. The tranquil waters and soft sunsets of bradenton, florida and though the local Sheriffs Office may seem an unlikely place to find love, heres where it struck a county detective named bob mcclancy. Got anything to say, bobby . I got a lot to say. How many hours do we have left on the tape . Reporter a funny man. Welcome to pasquales kitchen. Reporter and very kind, said his nieces. Not just to people. Wed be so excited to go over there to see, like, what new animal he got or, you know, like, he would be like, oh, i got a new bird, come over and see it. Gimme kiss. He had got us little turtles as kids. He was a real animal guy, wasnt he . He was, yes. Reporter loved his nieces, too. He used to take us out on the boat. He just always took care of us. Reporter just like he took care of his sister kathy when they were kids. It was always like the two of us doing everything, uhhuh. Causing havoc. Reporter as a sheriffs deputy, said his sister kathy, he once faced down a violent gang. They had knocked him to the ground and took his gun and everything and beat him up. As a matter of fact, i believe that they fired a shot, but it missed. So he barely made it through that one. Yeah. Reporter his marriage couldnt take it. Bob mcclancy sought love elsewhere. And then, a Southern Belle at the Sheriffs Department, an aloof secretary known as the office whiz caught his eye. Her name was martha ann. Was he crazy about martha ann . Yes, he was. He was really smitten. Yeah. Reporter martha ann had two sons. Always respected my mom. She was very charming, highly intelligent. Reporter sean was adopted as a baby, met jen as a teenager and she became his wife. Where sean was from was not discussed at home. But then, he had her. The only mother hed ever known. A mother is the the sun and the moon and the stars to a little kid. Did it feel like she was . I was always told since a young age that the only people you can trust completely are your parents. Reporter in the mid 90s, seans mom martha ann was going through a painful divorce, and then fell for the detective bob. Bob was very down to earth. And he taught me a lot of things. Like what . How to be a man. How to be a real person. Sounds like you liked bob. I liked bob a lot. Reporter in 1995, bob and martha ann got married. And on holidays, bobs sister kathy got closer to martha ann. Wed go out shopping, that was our big thanksgiving. You know, bobby would stay home and the girls would just take off and go shopping. Reporter bob and martha ann retired in the late 90s, left florida and bought a big secluded hillside cabin in coker creek, eastern tennessee, in the shadow of the smoky mountains, not far from where martha ann grew up. Place where a man could forget about being a cop and all that violence. By then, sean and jen had their own family and visited from time to time. Bob especially would oh yeah. Treat our kids great. He was fond of them. He liked them. He was the real deal. Reporter martha ann went back to work, accounting job. She loved numbers. And they made time for friends, too, like debi hartman. We met at church. Bob and martha ann just became very dear friends. Reporter in martha ann, debi found her soul mate. She was what i would refer to as the quintessential southern lady. She was like a sister to me. We had the same type of of upbringing, the same type of morals. We had fun together. We enjoyed sharing recipes together. She had two boys, i had two girls. Wed talk about our children. We just were very, very close. Reporter over the years, they shared cookouts, road trips, church events. Just like two peas from the same pod. Reporter and you could just see, said debi, how much bob and martha ann loved each other. Never once did i hear them argue or have a sour word against one another, never. Just very loving. The perfect couple. Reporter and then, may 2006, when martha ann was at work, a family friend stopped by to see bob at home. And, in front of him, well. He called 911. 911, where is your emergency . In coker creek. I cant get a pulse and he appears to be cold to the touch. Reporter martha ann got home, then called for her friend debi. And shes screaming, and shes like, bobs dead. And and im like, bobs dead . Reporter what had happened to bob mcclancy . When we come back i cried for ten hours. I couldnt believe we lost such a great man. Shocking. The two of us just cried our eyes out. The next thing you know, the sheriff comes out. Im like, what in the worlds going on . And shes like, i dont know you get used to sweaty odors in your car, you think it smells fine but your passengers smell this. Eliminate odors youve gone noseblind to for up to 30 days with the febreze car vent clip break out the febreze, and [inhale exhale mnemonic] breathe happy. Well this heres a loadbearing wall. Well go ahead and rip that out. Its going to cause a lot of problems. Totally unnecessary and it triples the budget. Wouldnt it be great if everyone said what they meant . The citi® double cash card does. Earn 1 cash back when you buy, and 1 as you pay. Double means double. More savory. Re. Sfx people oohing and ahhing more sweet. Sfx people gasping in excitement more lovin. 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Reporter it was the 15th of may, 2006 in coker creek, eastern tennessee. 5 00 p. M. 911, where is your emergency . I just walked into the residence. Its the mcclancy residence. The, uhm mr. Mcclancy appears to be, uh, expired. Reporter bob mcclancy, 56 years old, was lying in his favorite recliner. The caller, a family friend, said the body was already cold. Alright, well theyre on their way out there, okay . Thank you, sir. Reporter the friend hung up and waited for first responders. I was a detective. Id been a detective for almost a year. Reporter detective travis jones of the Monroe County Sheriffs Department was one of the first to go into the house. Whatd you see when you got there . I found Robert Mcclancy in a recliner. He had a pistol in one hand, and a empty bottle of pills in the other hand. Have you ever seen such a thing before . No. Reporter the gun hadnt been fired. But there were pills strewn all over bob mcclancys body. A white foam around his mouth pointed to an overdose. And a do not resuscitate order signed by bob mcclancy and left in the kitchen said he wanted to die. Did you see this do not resuscitate order . I did. Reporter it looked like suicide. And martha ann had to spread the dreadful news to bobs sister and nieces in florida. Were just, like, in disbelief. Its like a nightmare. Shocking. I cant imagine when she told me he took an overdose and killed himself. Do you still remember that moment . Yes, i do. You know, it it affected me quite a while. Reporter sean too was grief stricken when he heard about his stepdads death. That must come as a shock. I think i cried for ten hours driving from florida to tennessee. I couldnt believe we lost such a great man. Reporter but shocking as it was to those who knew bob intimately, it was not a complete surprise. Why . Four letters ptsd. Post Traumatic Stress disorder. Back when the vietnam war was sinking into its bloody depths, bob volunteered to go as a marine. It took its toll. As did lifethreatening incidents during his police career. Bob had been on heavy medications, but still suffered flashbacks, nightmares, depression. Martha ann told debi she was very troubled. And she said, im trying. But, you know when im at work, you know, hell get in his pills and she said, bob is abusing it. Reporter bobs sister kathy had also seen warning signs. How did you become aware that p. T. S. D. Was really beginning to become a factor in his life that had to be dealt with . We had been up for thanksgiving, and he had explained to me that right after the holidays that there was a program, and he was going to enter it. Reporter bobs new years resolution for 2006 was to finally beat ptsd. And in january, he set off to nashville for an intensive sixweek program run by the va. Soon after he got there, he called his sister kathy, with hope in his voice. Hed made a new friend, his roommate Charles Kaczmarczyk went by chuck. He had told me that he finally found somebody to talk to that understood what he went through in vietnam, because chuck was there. Yeah, you kinda need somebody whos been through the same thing i guess. Yeah, right, yeah. So, he was happy. Reporter bobs new veteran friend chuck was no average grunt, he was the very model of a war hero, special forces airman, citations for valor earned in the most daring operations. And such a big shot he was invited to the president ial inauguration. Chuck was the sort of tonic bob seemed to need. This relationship continued after the program was over, right . Yes. Reporter after they got out of the program in february, bob spent most of his time with chuck who lived not far away in knoxville as they did handyman jobs at each others homes. Bob had, you know, kinda replaced everybody else with chuck. You know, chuck was everything. Reporter but bobs ptsd persisted. Martha ann did what she could to pick up bobs spirits, though that seemed to backfire when she got a makeover. She had had her hair cut short and blonde. Big change . Big change. And im like, oh, my god, you look beautiful, and she says, well, im certainly glad you like it. She said, because bob doesnt like it all. He had a fit that i had that i cut my hair off. But i said, but then, a lotta men like ladies with long hair. So, you know, give him time, hell come around. Reporter when martha ann was at work, chuck kept an eye on bob. Chuck was right there. Reporter but bob was in a downward spiral. Martha ann complained that bob was abusing his antidepressants and martha ann and chuck found themselves managing one painful scare after another. In one episode they rushed bob to the va hospital more than three hours away, passed out in the car. Out of it. Out of it. I understand they had to stop the car because they thought they were gonna have to do cpr on him. Reporter bob was stabilized, and after he was deemed well enough sent home. Reporter two days later on that monday in may, martha ann got up early and went to work as usual, shed arranged for chuck to check in on bob that afternoon. It was he who found bob, called 911. Reporter debi arrived later to find police cars and ambulances and a frantic martha ann. And so the two of us just sat there and and just hugged each other and bawled. And and you know, just cried our eyes out. It was horrible. Bob was dead. And the next thing you know, the sheriff comes out with chuck in a tshirt and and im like, what in the worlds going on . And shes like, i dont know. They drove off with with chuck. Coming up Reporter Police have some questions for chuck. To come in, find your friend dead. He wasnt rushing around, upset . No. He was calm and that was suspicious in itself. Maybe you got a crime here . Yes. Like to show off their strengths 13 name brands. All backed by our low price tire guarantee. 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You know crying, you know, all night long, just up all night long, just sobbing and and and in disbelief that that bob was gone. To be there for my mom, i left immediately, and drove through the night. Reporter and sean was filled with a flood of sorrow and guilt that he hadnt been there for his stepdad bob, as bob had been there for him. Bob took care of me every day. Reporter thatll make you feel close to a person. It did. Reporter debi tried, in vain, to ease marthas grief. I would bring up, you know, fun things that we had done with bob. Reporter you have a cry about it . It would be like and now were not gonna have that anymore. You know, and then then id start bawling. And, of course, then shed start bawling with me. Reporter and to make it even worse, bobs best friend chuck had been taken away by sheriffs deputies. And so debi watched as martha ann tried to cope with her own sorrow, as she planned her husbands funeral anxious at the same time for her friend that those small town cops had the wrong idea about chuck. I thought, you know, okay, this was bobs best buddy now. You know, youre grieving for bob. And you now youve gotta take care of chuck. Reporter a tough situation for her to be in . A tough situation. Reporter which was about to get tougher, courtesy of that small town sheriffs deputy, travis jones. Something strange here, he thought. He and the other detectives. So they held chuck for questioning. For one thing, why was he so cool . His best buddy was lying there dead. He wasnt kinda rushing around, and all upset, or anything like that . No. Reporter calm . He was calm, which was kinda suspicious in itself. To come in, find your friend dead. And he was calm. Reporter as he had been calm and kind of strange on the 911 call. Mr. Mcclancy appears to be, uh, expired. Reporter the operator suggested chuck might try to revive bob. If you want to try to do some type of cpr on him, i can give you instructions if you want to. Um, im cpr qual we do have a do not resuscitate order on him. Okay. Reporter chuck didnt seem to want to save his own best friend. And to the detective that do not resuscitate order seemed maybe just a little too convenient. Reporter maybe you got a crime here. Yes. Reporter travis jones wasnt alone. Bobs sister kathy had her doubts, too. Kathy knew bob suffered from ptsd and took medication, but she refused to believe her brother would kill himself. I mean, he could have part of his finger hangin off, he would duct tape it up and and keep goin. You know, so reporter thats the kinda guy you saw too . Yeah. Reporter huh. So a pill popping brother didnt make any sense to you no, it did not. No. Reporter suspicions deepened a week later when they traveled to bobs funeral in eastern tennessee. Deep in their grief, they met the friend whod reported bobs death to the police, and who was back in the community as police continued to look into him. His name was chuck kaczmarczyk. How would you describe the guy . He was very creepy. There was just something about him, like, when he looked at you, it was almost like he could just stare through you. Reporter sean and jen saw the same. He seemed like a tough military guy. There was a look about him. The cold stare. Yeah. Reporter then kathy got a copy of the 911 call, and what she heard sounded like the verbal equivalent of a thousand yard stare. Mr. Mcclancy appears to be, uh, expired. And i played the tape. I played it over and over and wrote it word for word what was in the tape. And it didnt make sense, a couple of things. First he said he didnt touch the body, then he told the 911 operator when he asked about cpr he said he didnt need it, he was already gone. Well, if you didnt touch the body, how would you know he was gone . Reporter how do you go on after that when youre full of these doubts and suspicions . You go on. You dont have a choice. You know, but i knew i i would not let it drop. Reporter but in the end, even though chuck was questioned at length, everything he did put under a microscope, the suspicion appeared to be unfounded. The coroner actually ruled it a suicide. Reporter and then in the weeks and months after bobs death, as suspicions dissipated like the mists in the surrounding hills, chuck could once again walk with his head held high. When we did the veterans parade in knoxville, they put him on the top because he was the most highly decorated. Reporter after the awful tragedy of bobs death, chuck got on with his life again, said goodbye to his dear friend, and comforted bobs widow martha ann. Oh, boy. Coming up hes lost his best friend, shes lost her husband. Reporter two grieving friends with growing feelings. It was like somebody had just dropped a bomb on my head. Reporter a cruise ship courtship . I looked at her and i said, are you and chuck together . Im here in bristol, virginia. And now. Im in bristol, tennessee. On this side of the road is virginia. And on this side its tennessee. No matter which state in the country you live in, you could save hundreds on Car Insurance by switching to geico. Look, im in virginia. Im in tennessee. Virginia. Tennessee. And now im in virginessee. See how much you could save on Car Insurance. Or am i in tennaginia . Hmmm. [diggy by spencer ludwig] feel a spark of emotion light up every inch of you. Feel warm inside. Feel our big beautiful candle. Feel glade. Sc johnson. Tthe whitenessmy wasnt there as much, my teeth didnt look as healthy as others. My dentist said that pronamel would help protect my teeth. Pronamel is giving me the confidence to know that im doing the right thing so its nice to know that it was as simple as that. The new olay eyesrise. Fultimate eye cream. For instant results of the number one prestige eye cream, without paying twice the price. Show your amazement, not your age. With new olay eyes. Ageless. [diggy by spencer ludwig] reporter in the wake of bobs death in may 2006, it was only natural, said debi, that martha ann stayed in touch with chuck. They shared a tremendous loss. Hes lost his best friend, shes lost her husband. Reporter theyre commiserating . Theyre commiserating. You know, theyre helping each other through this grief. Reporter and there was Something Else. Chuck said that martha ann was not feeling good. She was having issues with her back. Reporter so, it made sense martha ann would reduce her chores at home. Bob, remember, loved animals but the menagerie was too much for martha ann. So her son sean helped her downsize. Bob had a Animal Rescue that he ran out of his home. He had seven dogs. Reporter wow. They had a couple cats, and chickens, and some goats. And she started to get rid of all these animals as soon as he had passed away. Reporter then there were other changes. Weeks after bobs death, martha ann invited debi and her husband to celebrate chucks birthday. Dinner at chucks place. And when we got there, martha anns dining room set was in chucks dining room. Reporter what did you think when you saw that . I said, your furnitures up here . And she said, well, it certainly suits his house a whole lot better than mine. Reporter but theyre just friends . Theyre friends. Theyre friends. Reporter still, how close were they getting . I called her one day and i said, jim and i are going to take a cruise. Reporter debi and her husband had gotten an incredible deal from a friend on a weeklong caribbean cruise. And she said, well, do you think chuck and i could go on that cruise . And it was like somebody had just dropped a bomb on my head. Reporter chuck and i . And i said if theres still Spaces Available im sure shell be glad to accommodate you. Reporter it turned out there was still space. And martha ann and chuck shared a cabin. And so were on this cruise ship. And every event, you know, theyre all dressed matchy, matchy. Reporter and now, at mealtimes, when the waiter took orders chuck spoke for martha ann. Chuck would speak up and say, the lady will have, and then he would order for her. Reporter when guests around the table rolled their eyes, said debi, martha ann stiffened. She said, my mother taught etiquette. And a waiter would never have the nerve to speak to a lady. Reporter ooh, my goodness. And we were just all speechless. We were like, hello . Do you know what century were living in . You heard of womens lib . Were allowed to order for ourselves. I was just absolutely floored that she would make a Statement Like that. You know, a waiter would never have the nerve to speak to a lady. Reporter wow. And i thought, well, number one, that is not chuck. I mean, he wouldnt know what right fork to use, excuse me. Reporter debi at last confronted her good friend and thats when the other shoe dropped. And i looked at her. And i said, are you and chuck together . And she said, yeah. And i said, are you getting married . And she goes, oh, heavens no. Reporter though she was surprised, debi wanted her good friend to be happy. And when the ship docked in cozumel, mexico, the group disembarked, went shopping, and then returned to the liner and compared their treasures. And i said, so, you know, what did you guys get . And martha anns like, youll just have to wait and see. Very, very mysterious. And you know it was kind of fun. Reporter a few weeks after the cruise and months after bobs death martha ann invited debi and her husband to lunch. She said, i have something to show you. And i said to her, is this our cozumel surprise . And she pulls out a ring box that has the most gorgeous wedding set you would ever wanna lay eyes on. It was breathtaking. Reporter rings . And im like, oh, my god. This is ex, i cant believe this. Reporter they werent getting married immediately, but when that time came, martha ann assured debi, she would play the supporting role. And she said, and i want you to be my maid of honor. And im like, oh, yeah. Im excited. Absolutely. I would love to be and im ecstatic for you. And i would be very honored to be your maid of honor. Reporter big deal to be asked . Big deal. Reporter so in spite of the apparent sneaking around, thought debi, there was something almost poetic about the romance between martha ann and chuck. And maybe dear old bob would approve. Im just so happy that the two of you know, have found one another. You know, i know weve lost somebody dear to us, but something good has come out of this. So congratulations. Reporter and, besides romance, there would be so much more to celebrate. Martha ann and chuck were going places. They were about to be transformed from local tennessee romantic partners into a sophisticated washington, dc power couple. Only in america. Coming up she met a man from the fbi and she would be travelling on secret missions. Reporter flying on air force two yeah, with the Vice President. Reporter martha anns secret, sudden change of fortune. When dateline continues. C puppy barks you can do it duck. Hurry up duck you can do it duck. Iams. Helps keep your dog healthy at every stage. So you can always look forward to whats next. My dad gave me you know. Ares, he ran that company. I get it. But you know i think you own too much. Gotta manage your risk. An honest opinion is how edward jones makes sense of investing. Its your tv, take it with you. With directv and at t, watch all your live channels, on your devices, datafree. Switch to directv and lock in your price for 2 years, offer starting at 50 month. Take the zantac it challenge pill works fast . Zantac works in as little as 30 minutes. Nexium can take 24 hours. When heartburn strikes, take zantac for faster relief than nexium or your money back. Take the zantac it challenge. Reporter it was five months or so after bobs death. Late 2006. Martha ann and chuck were about to move up in the world. Martha ann broke the news to bobs sister kathy. She had parlayed her officewizardry into a big new highprofile adventure with the federal government, would be spending time in washington, dc. She told me one day that she met a man from the f. B. I. , and he offered her a job as a secretary. She was getting a security clearance and she would be traveling out of the country on secret missions. Reporter as a secretary . Yeah. Yeah. Reporter wasnt long before martha ann was promoted, as she told kathy. She was transferred to the state department. Very hush hush. She had a limo at her disposal, two passports and with a government pension would never have any money worries again. Her schedule filled up fast. She was apparently moving in the very highest circles. Reporter she was already working for or flying on air force two. Right. Yeah, with the Vice President yeah. Reporter including travel to undisclosed locations. Reporter shes kinda hard to get ahold of. Oh yeah, there was no way of gettin ahold of her. Reporter sean, though he moved to tennessee with jen and the kids, and became a bridge inspector, couldnt reach his mom either. I would call my mom to check in on her, and she would go missing for a month at a time, two months at a time, and you couldnt reach her by cell phone, or home phone. And, as we find out shes out traveling the country. Reporter and though she was clearly very busy, martha ann, along with chuck, carved out time to give back to volunteer. Reporter together, they traveled around the country, visiting military facilities. Reporter they presided over dedications and ceremonies honoring troops and chuck handed flags to war widows at cemeteries. Chuck would go out with all these medals. And hed go to the local high school and to veterans parades. Reporter he also reconnected with the guys hed served with way back when, and they recalled old times. When i first met chuck he had just started his training. He just fit in like all the other guys. He was just one of us. He seemed to be a nice guy. Reporter bill walter and pj cook are combat veterans who, with chuck, were gunners on some of the most powerful gunships in the us arsenal back in vietnam. Reporter then they lost touch. Easy to do in such a sprawling military. Reporter but, decades later, pj ran into chuck at a reunion of his gunship unit called the Spectre Association. And so it was kinda just good to see the guy. cause he was just a guy we rved with. I just assumed that he completed his career like i did and i served 22 years and bill served 30 and we gave our whole life to to this unit. Reporter back in the old days, said bill, chucks nickname was kaz. But now . Kaz had come up in the world from the lowest ranks to the highest. So i go up there and i talk to him and i said, hey, kaz, whatsup, man . How you been doin . He says, oh i i i retired here a couple years ago. Really. Wow. And i said, well, what what was your rank . I retired as a chief. Im like, really. Reporter as the former airmen caught up on more than 25 years, chuck flashed his medals. And chuck says, you guys should check your classified records. The va checked my classified records and i found out i got a whole buncha really high medals from my operations in vietnam. Reporter chuck invited pj to his home in knoxville, tennessee. And, i personally saw these awards on the wall in his house, up in tennessee. Reporter whatd you think when you saw em . Oh, i was floored. And i said, well, thats thats really great. He goes, oh yeah, they finally released these from classification. And here they are. Reporter then chuck had an idea. He figured the Spectre Association could benefit from martha anns high wattage political and business savvy. Wow, hey, anybody that volunteers to help is great. Reporter and as the months went by martha ann carved out time from her schedule to become association secretary. She was our recorder. Yes. She was really good at taking down notes and making paper and so forth. Reporter Association Members were so impressed with the couple that chuck was promoted to the board. He and martha ann travelled internationally, representing spectre, carrying the units mascot. And there was time for fun too. They reveled in their newfound happiness. Enjoyed their new responsibilities of course, but also decided to live a little, splash out. Just outta nowhere they said that, boy, we certainly like to have an rv. And my wife says, well, you know, my boss is selling a beautiful rv. Well, of course they went and looked at the rv and liked it a lot. So they made him an offer. Reporter right next to the rv, chuck noticed a garaged Anniversary Edition corvette. Tempting, even though he already had a mercedes convertible. He said, well, i like corvettes, too. Show me that. Next thing you know, they bought the corvette too. Reporter and pretty soon they were parading their new toys for their old friend debi. I hear a knock on the front door. And i open the door. And sitting in front of my house is this gorgeous, like, 350,000 motor home bus. Reporter wow. And it was to die for. This is what the wealthy of the wealthiest drive. It had been custom made. Reporter to debi and others, martha ann and chuck had made it. Theyd put bobs painful death behind them and were now a highpowered couple doing good things and living well. Sort of success a person wants to share. In early 2008, chuck relished the opportunity to share with a group of young people stories about his many combat exploits. And what do you know. When he made his speech, there was a reporter in room writing it all down for the local paper. Oops. Reporter coming up. She said. Oh, theres more to this story reporter new lives that seemed like a dream. But chuck and martha ann were in for a very rude awakening. The b. S. Alarms are going off in my head like you wouldnt believe. Before i had the shooting, burning, pinsandneedles of diabetic nerve pain, these feet played shortstop in high school, learned the horn from my dad and played gigs from new york to miami. But i couldnt bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. So i talked to my doctor and he prescribed lyrica. Nerve damage from diabetes causes diabetic nerve pain. Lyrica is fda approved to treat this pain, from moderate to even severe diabetic nerve pain. Lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. 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And youve got the it card, so we wont hike up your apr for paying late. Thats great it is great thank you. simultaneously nhl fans, show your team pride at discover. Com nhlcard. In our house, imagination runs wild. But at my table, i keep the food real. Like country crocks recipe made with real simple ingredients. And no artificial flavors or preservatives. Real Country Fresh taste from real ingredients. Welcome to crock country. Glad forceflex. Extra strong to avoid rips and tears. Be happy, its glad. Reporter amazing, isnt it, how life can change on a dime . In the spring of 2006, martha ann was burying her husband and great love bob mcclancy. But, by the end of the year, she had rebuilt her life and had a new partner. Chuck. In the meantime bobs sister kathy had questions for martha ann about chuck, but couldnt reach her what with that state Department Travel schedule and air force two duties. I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, but at that time when i told my oldest sister what was going on she said, oh, theres more to this story. Reporter kathy still wanted answers about her brothers death, but you know how people can start to sound like broken records. I think my family, friends, probably everybody was tired of listening to me saying, this isnt right, i know something had to, you know, had to have happened. Reporter when martha ann found the time to respond to kathy, she told her she was imagining things. Did she accuse you of meddling . Yeah, she said, your brother always said that you always had to get in peoples business, you could never just let things let things lie. And i guess that was true. I dont stop till i find out. Reporter then, she said. Martha ann got even more snippy. She literally told me that i needed psychiatric help. I needed to get over the fact that my brother killed himself. And i said, i will never i will never believe that. Reporter but kathy wasnt the only one getting the brush off from martha ann. Remember how martha ann promised that when she eventually got married, her best friend debi would be maid of honor . At the monthly meeting of the Corvette Club in knoxville, debi got a surprise when the chairperson asked new members to stand. And all of a sudden i hear this, hi, my names chuck kaczmarczyk and this is my wife, martha ann. And weve bought an Anniversary Edition corvette. Reporter hang on just a second. When he got up at the back of the room that day and said, im chuck and this is my wife, this is the first you knew they were married . This is how i found out. Reporter you must have been asleep that day when i reporter you were a maid of honor . I guess i must have been. So, i said, chuck, you know, i was actually i was kind of hurt. Reporter well, im not surprised. And i said, you know, when did yall get married . Oh, we went on a cruise and we got married on the beach down on some island. And i said, wow, you know, im happy for you. Im still hurt, but im happy for you. Reporter rude awakening. But nothing compared to the morning early in 2008, soon after chuck gave his speech to a group of students eager to hear about his many and heroic combat exploits. And a story about chucks talk appeared in the newspaper. Vets who read it reacted with outrage and at the same time bill walter was hearing about chuck from another veterans group. He was telling all of his war stories to them. And these guys were like, we never even heard about you before. Weve had these reunions for 30some odd years and this is the first one . Your name isnt anywhere on here. Reporter special forces guys like bill and pj didnt brag about their service. And im like, eh, its just some guy spouting off. Talking trash. Trying to impress his buddies. Reporter people want to aggrandize their service, right . Yeah, some guys do. But its very rare around our people to do that, especially when theyre doing it in front of our own people. Reporter the veterans called chuck out. Well, chuck went home all mad because they challenged him. Doggonit, they cannot challenge me. Reporter no, and chuck sent the group his official military records just to prove he was telling the truth. He also told them due to an emergency hed be dropping out of circulation for a while wouldnt be able to attend any more reunions anytime soon. And the b. S. Alarms are going off in my head like you wouldnt believe. Reporter bill and others informed the air force. And then the air force contacted the veterans administration. Asked them to check this guy out. The job fell to former marine and va investigator in nashville special agent Nate Landkammer. This is definitely the case of a career. I dont think ill work anything like this again just because of the different twists and turns. Reporter twists and turns that would end up leading to a chilling conclusion. And right away, heres what nate heard. The people who had served with him were very emphatic that he had not participated in these missions. He specifically talked about the iran hostage rescue, being a part of that being at the fall of saigon and vietnam. Reporter he said he was there for all the big stuff . Yes. Reporter naturally, nates first step was to check chucks service records. So he went back to the air force and was surprised by what he found in chucks file. Not what he expected. His records did contain items substantiating significant combat service in vietnam and after vietnam. Reporter did he have a silver star purple hearts and the distinguished flying cross. Some very, very. Reporter this is big deal stuff. High. Very high awards and they were substantiated by names and socials and names of missions and dates that these missions took place. Reporter so as far as the air force knew, he was on the up and up . Yes. Reporter but, nate was unsatisfied. Something was wrong here. He kept digging. Because down deep where it gets really mucky evil lives and quite possibly evidence of an unimaginable crime. Coming up Nate Landkammer launches a special operation to uncover the truth. We started doing surveillance on charles and martha ann. Reporter when dateline continues. Many sleepaids have Pain Medicine but zzzquil is different because why would you take a Pain Medicine when all you want is good sleep . Zzzquil a nonhabit forming sleepaid thats not for pain, just for sleep. At cricket wireless, we believe in smarter phones for all. Switch to cricket and choose between the free alcatel streak. And the free zte sonata 3. Ask not what you can do for your network. Ask what our great, big network can do for you. Rty. Ricsot tonight one of a vuntary party ban cal sorories and fraterniti after reports ofwo sexual aaults. Weve beenalking arou campus and youllever believwhat we found. Tr 11 o us, new lds in the srch r 3 home vasion robby suspects. The unique clue on o of t suspects that may le to aarrest vo a, the msive attackn the internet. Bigger. Expertsay itswarmup f 11pm close tonight at1. Continuing our story. His wife and best friend moved on as a glamorous military couple. Were they glamorizing a secret. The b. S. Alarms are going off in my head like you wouldnt believe. What were investigators about to uncover. An elaborate plot with an evil twist. I had to know the truth. It makes you question everybody. Here again, Keith Morrison. Reporter chuck kaczmarczyk didnt know it but he was under investigation. While his military record engraved him into the pages of American History borne out by a chestfull of ribbons the combat veterans who knew him were saying this guy was a fake. Which presented a dilemma for va investigator Nate Landkammer. So youve got really good looking documents. But youre sitting in somebodys living room and hes saying to you, thats all bs . Yes. From the air force Service Members that i talked to that served with him, every one of em was emphatic that he did not participate in any combat. At all . At all. Reporter so, nate went back to the airforce and asked them to double check. The air force really started poring over these documents and the missions and the order numbers and rather quickly determined that these were all forged documents. They were not legitimate. Reporter yes, chuck had been in the air force. But no acts of heroism. Chuck had doctored old mission records, inserting his name and some official looking stamps, all of it convincing enough that he was able to get the forged documents entered into his own air force record. So, hed gone to an awful lotta trouble to lie about his service . Yes, he did. Reporter and that was no joke to nate the former marine. Its very offensive. Very offensive to me. Personally . Yes. Wasnt he like, appearing at Arlington Cemetery to give flags to widows and so on . He was appearing at funerals, wearing his purple heart and comforting widows of servicemen who had died in combat. Reporter oh but it got worse as nate kept digging, he discovered something about martha ann. Martha ann, whod never donned a military uniform in her life, showed up at a veterans retreat. And claimed that she too had rank and medals and combat experience. She showed off a purple heart. Several of the attendees at this retreat specifically remember her talking all about working at the pentagon, being at the pentagon during the 9 11 attacks. And charles was also telling people that, yeah, she shes a full bird colonel in the marine corps, retired. And nobody questioned her then . No. They they believed her. Reporter but nate discovered that military glory that big time government career didnt exist, any of it. There was no highprofile state Department Job in washington, dc. No travel aboard air force ii with the Vice President. No secret undisclosed locations. They were all the fantastic stories of two sophisticated con artists. A con that wasnt just about social prestige either it was about cash. Reporter chuck and his documents . I knew we had a very substantial fraud case because those documents in particular were used to get benefit money from the va and Social Security as as source documents that gave legitimacy to his claim. Reporter chuck was claiming thousands of dollars a month in disability payments. And then look at this, it looked like martha ann was helping chuck. For example, on statements she signed supporting chucks claim for 100 disability. She claimed that he was homebound and he could not take care of himself. He wouldnt he would not be able to feed himself. He wouldnt bathe, he would just be wandering around the house aimlessly. Guys in bad shape. Really bad shape. He should be getting more money from the va than what theyre paying him. Reporter looked to nate like hed uncovered a major scam and, if chuck was scamming the va, what was martha ann up to . Nate ran her name and what do you know martha ann was getting Social Security disability payments herself. Because of . She claimed to have back issues where she couldnt walk, she was wheelchair bound. Reporter and he found out that while martha ann was entitled to some of her dead husbands benefits, she was claiming a lot more. Together martha ann and chuck were bilking the government for about 10,000 a month. Reporter nate wanted martha ann and chuck or charles as his name appeared in the records to be charged with fraud. But first he needed proof they were lying about being disabled. We started doin surveillance on on charles and martha ann. Reporter nate and fellow investigators got into the back of a surveillance van with their video camera and they waited. We had several agents all participating in in surveillance. Reporter and it wasnt long before martha ann and chuck appeared outside their home. Here they are, supposedly disabled people but by the look of it, perfectly fit. Wed observe them doing hours and hours of yard work outside their home. We would strenuous stuff . Yes, very strenuous stuff for hours at a time at their knoxville house. Watch them Pressure Washing their driveway and their house and clearing brush. Reporter bending over, no sign of back trouble lifting heavy objects. But look at this, here they are arriving at the va for one of chucks regular assessments. You assumed that their demeanor was gonna change anyway. Yeah. Well, we quickly found out that that was the case. Reporter martha ann lifts a heavy wheelchair out of the car. Chuck gets in, she wheels him into the va center a picture that might wring pity from even the hardest hearts. Reporter sometimes when they followed martha ann. She was movin out pretty good, to where you would almost break a sweat tryin to keep up with her. Reporter and when martha ann had her appointments, she and chuck would switch positions. It actually got to be kinda humorous. Reporter but the couple had only one wheelchair, so nate got to thinking. Heres how dr. Seuss would write it. And then nate got an idea. A wonderful, devious idea. But its true, in a way, isnt it . Yes. Reporter what if nate arranged the schedules so that martha ann and chuck had their appointments at the very same time . Who would get in the wheelchair then, he wondered . What happened . Coming up cone knifing couple caught in a trap. Sean is about to launch an investigation of his own. I had to know the truth. What is this . its kfcs spicy, smoky, crispy Nashville Hot chicken tenders. Theyre back and i love them Nashville Hot is chicken blasphemy no, its not, daddy im young and i need to try new things. You should too. Oh. Noooooo try a kfc Nashville Hot basket. Its Finger Lickin good. We asked real people to use on their bums. Why do you think the ripples make a difference . It gets it all clean. They give me a very happy feeling bum. Cleanripple texture is designed to clean better. Go cottonelle, go commando. chuckle come on, dad. they tell me im wrong to want to stand alongside my, my love whoa, talkin bout my love talkin bout my, my love you ready, dad . Whoaooh oohoohoohoohooh, oohooh reporter va investigator Nate Landkammer had set a trap. He knew martha ann and chuck had just one wheelchair as they faked disability, so he set up appointments for them at the Social Security facility at the same time. So they arrived at the facility, and then as we suspected, they only had one wheelchair. So charles, instead of using a wheelchair, he had a walker and a cane. A walker and a cane . A walker and a cane both. Reporter and a knee brace. On a stilt leg . Stilt legged. And then he was toting an oxygen tank as well. Reporter as chuck fumbled his way inside, nate and his agents were waiting. Busted. I interviewed charles. We pulled him into an office. And then martha ann was being questioned by another va oig agent and a Social Security administration oig agent. Reporter martha ann and chuck kaczmarczyk had been found out. Chuck was no decorated hero, had never once seen combat. No silver stars, no purple hearts. Those ribbons, all fake. And martha ann had never walked the hallways of the pentagon as a marine colonel, much less been in the 9 11 attack or flown on air force two. Confronted with the evidence, they confessed to perpetuating a complex and massive fraud in fake disability claims. Had you or your partners in the investigation ever encountered people who were so complexly fraudulent . I dont think ill work a case like this again in my career. Reporter but the really sinister stuff was yet to unfold, because family and friends were only just finding out about the fraud. In the summer of 2012, over Early Morning coffee, martha anns best friend debi hartman was reading her newspaper. And im thinking to myself, this cant be true. This cant be true. So i start yelling at the top of my lungs, jim, get up. Youve got to come see this. Reporter debis husband jim is marine veteran. Neither he nor debi could believe what they were reading. Fooled the federal government. Stole money from our veterans. Is it the money that mattered or the oh, no. It was the fact that they took it out of veterans pockets that need it. Thats that just sticks in my craw. That hurts. It must be quite something to know that this woman, who was your best friend, hid herself from you and it hurts. Conned you all these years . Absolutely. Took me for a complete sucker. Reporter chuck too. He would go and and present the flags to a widow of a veteran that lost his life. Thats thats cruel. The people that he took in under that dont deserve that. Reporter and it wasnt long before sean and jen were reading online, in disbelief about seans own mother, martha ann, caught in an outrageous fraud with chuck. And we found out that they were arrested on eight federal indictments. Thats how you found out that is how we found out. We had no idea. It made your heart stop. It was heartwrenching. Very overwhelming. Reporter martha ann stole her dead husbands valor. My mom never served a single day in any Armed Services unit. She assumed bobs purple heart. Yeah, she did. And told these veterans groups that that was her purple heart that she received in the 9 11 pentagon attack. Reporter by early 2013, martha ann and chuck were sentenced. Charles got 30 months federal and then martha ann got 20. Reporter theyd spent most of their illgotten gains, of course. So, before she began her prison sentence, martha ann prepared to sell the house for restitution. She started, you know, boxing up all of her belongings and selling things and closing up the house. Reporter but martha ann was a notorious packrat. She had kept everything. Trunks full of clothes, thousands of pages of receipts, contracts, documents. So what did she do . She gave them to her son sean and his wife jen for safekeeping. If she asks me to do something, i will do it. Well, and in a way i suppose if she gave things to you, then the feds or the other investigative agencies maybe wouldnt have access to them. Well, yes. Right. Reporter but when those boxes of records arrived, sean and jen dived in ravenously to see what they could uncover. Who keeps all those documents . 30,000. 30,000 documents. That must have been some job going through all of this stuff, huh . It was overwhelming. It was. I did feel conflicted about digging into my moms affairs, but i had to know the truth. Reporter then sean turned on one of the computers his mom had sent for safekeeping. He intended their kids to use it, so he wanted to be sure it was clean. He checked the trash bin and couldnt believe what he saw. And there were photos of my stepdad bob, deceased. Dead. Dead. There were many photos in there. Reporter they were photos of bob mcclancy, lying dead in his recliner in 2006. What was it like to see those pictures . Disturbing. Reporter here were pictures that told an entirely different story to what sean and jen knew. In one picture, bob would have a pistol in one hand and a bottle of pills in the other. In another picture, bob would just have a bottle of pills and nothing in the other hand. And it was odd the way he was in the chair. The way his leg was placed looking back at that i think you could tell that was body manipulation. Reporter the pictures didnt appear to be Police Photos because they were all apparently taken before any Police Arrived on the scene. So you called the cops. Right away. Reporter sean, conflicted, was suddenly faced with the prospect he may be implicating his own mom. And, so, torn, he called nate the va investigator, and began to tell him all about bob mcclancys death in 2006. He said i just want to talk to you guys about this and get it off my chest cause its really been bothering me. And if theres nothing to it, great. But if there is, i think it needs to be investigated. Its like pulling a string, isnt it . Yes. Reporter and now the string led back in time, six years back to that dismal afternoon in the tennessee hills, when chuck called 911 to report a suicide. It was just part of a very complex, evil scheme. You know, that was the sense that i got when i first saw the photographs. Reporter so maybe this wasnt after all just a fraud case. Maybe he thought someone had gotten away with murder. Coming up did you suspect he had killed his friend bob . That was a possibility. Reporter old suspicions. What had happened to the case against chuck all those years ago . It was devastating. I felt guilty about it. Like youd blown it . Yes. Reporter when dateline continues. When coughing keeps your family awake. Breathe easier with vicks vaporub. Soothing cough relief that starts working instantly. Should be shared withnows friends and family. Idays except dennys allnew holiday pancakes. You wont want to share those with anybody. Dennys new fluffier, tastier, better pancakes now in holiday flavors. But eek row h a much morsubdude. A adership oup has susnded all grerties after a recent ike in xual reveal ports. Condors are er three endangere being treated for ld psoning the wild. Well see you at 11. Reporter va special agent Nate Landkammer had Martha Ann Mcclancy and chuck kaczmarczyk for fraud. But his investigation was about to take a sudden turn to evil. He had learned about the suspicious photos sean and jen found in the computer martha ann had given them pictures of bob lying dead. Sean contacted the u. S. Attorney and said, i have some information that you might want to know that may be helpful to the investigation. There were a lot of phone conversations between sean and nate and nate and i. Reporter nate learned there had been an investigation into bob mcclancys death six years earlier in 2006. Remember, detective travis jones had been called to the house after a 911 call placed by chuck. I just walked into the residence. Its the mcclancy residence. Mr. Mcclancy appears to be expired. Back then, the detective thought chuck was acting way too calm, was avoiding cpr on his best friend, and was staging that perhaps too convenient do not resuscitate order. And it turned out the detective had good reason to want to question chuck after he discovered a digital camera inside a backpack. Reporter who found the camera . I did. Reporter did you, like, assume anything about its ownership . No, i just assumed it belonged to the residents there, mr. Mcclancy. Reporter did you think as you were opening it up, hey, wait a minute. Maybe i shouldnt be doing this . No, it never crossed my mind at the time because that was standard practice. Reporter on the assumption that what, that theres no need to get a search warrant for a dead guys camera . Right. Reporter on the camera were pictures of the deceased bob mcclancy his body positioned differently than the way the police found him. They were the same pictures sean would later find on the computer some showing bob mcclancy holding a revolver, others the revolver and the pill bottle. What did you think when you saw that . That we had a staged scene for sure. Reporter maybe a staged scene. Maybe you got a crime here. Yes. Reporter thats when the detective decided to question chuck. We took him down to the Sheriffs Office. Reporter at the Sheriffs Office, confronted with the photo evidence, chucks story changed dramatically. His first statement to the police had been he arrived at the house after bob died and called 911. Now he was telling them that when he arrived, bob wasnt quite dead, but was taking his last gasps. He had come home, found mr. Mcclancy, said he was still alive and he was barely breathing. Reporter chuck said he was the one who staged the scene and took the photos because, he didnt know bob was going to die. And hoped that photos of his friend suffering might help bob leverage more benefits from the va. Did you suspect that he killed his friend bob . That was a possibility. Reporter at the time, detective jones believed he had at least a case of negligence. His negligence caused his death. That was the evidence we had at the time. Reporter if he had moved quicker, or called 911 sooner, or tried to do cpr, or something his friend would still be alive . He let him die before he called 911. Reporter chuck was charged with tampering with evidence and criminal negligence. So it must have seemed like you kind of had him on that. Thats what we thought. Reporter but thats not what happened. Before the case could go to trial, a judge ruled the photos taken by chuck were not admissible in a court of law. Why . The camera belonged to chuck not bob and detective jones had gathered the photos without a search warrant. In the courtroom that was it. The case against chuck kaczmarczyk collapsed. Go back to that time when you got that ruling, and it was basically thrown out, and you werent going to get the case at all. What was that like for you . It was devastating. Reporter do you feel did you feel as if you were responsible i did. I felt guilty about it. Reporter like youd blown it . Yes. Reporter six years later, in 2012, chuck was a convicted conman and investigator Nate Landkammer was looking at the very same images on the computer. I knew that the local Sheriffs Department had some suspicions that chuck had done something, but really werent able to substantiate anything through, you know, charges being able to stick. But to nate, maybe chuck was up to his lying eyeballs in bob mcclancys death. It just really, really gave you the sense of, you know, whoever set this up and whoever did this and whoever took these pictures was very evil. Reporter chuck had taken the pictures, but what were they doing on the computer sean got from his mother martha ann . Then nate and the state investigators whod joined him, came up with a plan. Theyd put sean and jen on the spot. Theyd get sean to spy on his mom. Sean was about to become an undercover agent. Coming up whats it like to phone your mother knowing that youre going to be putting her on tape. It had to be done. I asked her why the pictures were there. And she said, pictures of bob . 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With humira, control is possible. So i thought it thanks might be times, dad. To talk about a financial strategy. You mean pay him back . So lets Start Talking about your long term goals. Knowing your future is about more than just you. Its how edward jones makes sense of investing. Its your tv, take it with you. With directv and at t, watch all your live channels, on your devices, datafree. Switch to directv and lock in your price for 2 years, offer starting at 50 month. A leading consumer testing the top laundry detergents. The winner persil 2 in 1, didnt only beat tide. It beat every single detergent tested. Boom. Switch to Persil Proclean 2 in 1. 1 rated. Reporter it should be noted that seans relationship with his mother, martha ann, was never particularly warm. Martha ann wasnt exactly the cuddly, protective type. I think i was more scared of my mom, looking back. Reporter remember, sean had been adopted as an infant by martha ann and her first husband in florida. He said his mom was strict and quick to punish if sean crossed her red lines. You knew that was it. Your life was not going to be as pleasant for a period of time. Reporter what did you think when you saw her treating sean that way . It made me angry. Reporter even so, sean tried to stay loyal to his mom. But now he was about to go against her in a way he never could have imagined. Hed seen the photos of bobs dead body, contacted the investigator Nate Landkammer, and now he and jen were turning up more evidence for nates investigation. We were coming across all of these what we would call crazy, crazy documents. We couldnt wrap our brain around em. Reporter and one of those mindboggling documents was bob mcclancys will. Reporter bob had been married before he met martha ann and had a daughter. The daughter hadnt seen bob in years and she was cut out of bobs will. He wanted nothing to do with her and, i dont want you to know about i dont want you to know about my death. And, im leaving you 1 of of my estate. Reporter the wording seemed especially harsh. I didnt know bob mcclancy. Most fathers would not write something this cruel to their only daughter. I just realized that this is just not adding up. And it just was very, very suspicious. Reporter bobs sister kathy thought it was fishy, too. I knew this wasnt bobbys will. I even said that to my daughters, uncle bobby would have never put this in here. No. Never. Reporter nate concluded that martha ann, the sole beneficiary, had forged the will. Reporter came from martha ann, not from came from reporter not from bob. Came from martha ann. And the will in particular ended up being a major part of the investigation. Reporter and then nate discovered a curious date, or dates, martha anns wedding to chuck. If you wait until after you turn 57 and remarry then, you can keep the benefits for the rest of your life. And she ended up marrying chuck in las vegas, nevada one day after her fifty seventh birthday, which allowed her to keep the the va benefits associated with bob for the rest of her life. Reporter martha ann used the same formula to claim her husbands Social Security disability benefits. There was a stipulation under her Social Security benefits that she could not remarry prior to her sixtieth birthday. So, of course reporter a little dancing had to be done there. Yeah. So, they then got married again three years to the date after their first marriage. So yeah, they had essentially two marriage dates. Reporter with so much compelling evidence against martha ann and chuck, nate figured it was more than a coincidence that martha ann had married the man who was last known to be with her husband bob. Reporter if chuck had murdered bob, then martha ann whod married chuck just five months after bobs death must have known something. We really never believed that she could be capable of killing bob. Reporter just who would do such a thing, right . Well, and we knew that chuck was the last person with bob. So we really didnt think martha was the one that had killed bob. I think we both believed that it was chuck. Reporter but they wanted to be sure. If there was a murder conspiracy maybe a son could find out from his mother. They decided to recruit sean, get him to wear a wire and place a call to his mom martha ann and ask her what she knew about the photos. Sean agreed. So he was willin to make the phone call. And we gave him a, you know, recording device. Reporter whats it like to phone your mother knowing that youre going to be putting her on the spot that way on tape with somebody listening . Well, it had to be done. Reporter you nervous . I was nervous. But at the same time reporter you gotta know. You have to know. Reporter nate and seans wife jen were listening as the call began. We talked for about 45 minutes to an hour. He was, like, hey, mom. The kids were on the computer over the weekend and when i got in the trash, i found, like, over 100 photographs in there of bob dead. I asked her why the pictures were there. And she said, photos of bob . She started saying, i think those are Police Photos, sean. And he was, like, mom, these photographs are not Police Photos. And then he said he has a pill bottle and a pistol and then he doesnt. And hes hes dead. Why are these pictures in here . Her spontaneous reaction to this being posed to her was, for gods sake, sean, delete those photographs, you know . And that was kinda what we were lookin for. Reporter what did you think when you got off that phone call . Did you think, this woman was part of it . I really started thinking that shes guilty. She has more of a role in bobs death than she put on. Reporter nate agreed. With the suspicious will, the wedding dates and the photos of bobs death scene, nate and his investigators believed they were dealing with a murder conspiracy. That bob had not killed himself with an overdose of antidepressants but had been deliberately poisoned. And as they confronted their two suspects, one of them was about to sing like a canary. Reporter coming up. The lovers start pointing fingers it was chucks idea and he did it. She maintained her innocence. Reporter a dramatic courtroom showdown chuck vs. Martha ann. Did you kill your husband . No sir, i did not reporter when dateline continues. Ainties of hep c. Or wonder whetherep c. I should seek treatment. I am ready. Because today theres harvoni. A revolutionary treatment for the most common type of chronic hepatitis c. Harvoni is proven to cure up to 99 of patients. Whove had no prior treatment. It transformed treatment as the first cure thats. One pill, once a day for 12 weeks. Certain patients. 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That was kind of like the culmination of everything, knowing that what we had suspected was correct. Reporter nate understood full well, the stage was set for an epic he said she said battle between two majorleague con artists. He couldnt know whose story would win. But nate was pretty sure the one finally telling the truth was chuck. We didnt suspect it anymore, now we know. Reporter in november last year, in madisonville tennessee, Martha Ann Mcclancy went on trial. She was charged with first degree premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder. Reporter attorney Matthew Rogers was appointed to defend martha ann, accused of poisoning bob with his ptsd medications and conspiring with her lover, chuck, to make bobs death look like a suicide, and then stealing bobs assets and benefits. Reporter a guilty verdict could mean the death penalty. But martha ann was fully ready to defend herself with an absolute blanket denial. She maintained her innocence from the very beginning. She made it very clear that she wanted to speak with the jury and tell her side of the story. Reporter there were no cameras in the courtroom, but microphones were allowed. Bob was the love of my life. I, i couldnt have imagined losing him, and i didnt want to lose him. I didnt want to be without him. Reporter and besides, she testified, she didnt need to kill her husband. Theres these allegations that you and chuck were in this for some sort of financial reason or something, too. What do you say about that . No, sir, absolutely not. I i had my own money. I had my own funds. To this day would you be better off had bob mcclancy remained alive . Oh, absolutely. Martha ann did not benefit from the death of bob mcclancy. She wouldve received benefits through the government for his military service whether he had remained alive or whether he had passed. Reporter chuck was the villain, said attorney rogers. Chuck played martha ann like a fiddle. Mrs. Mcclancy was snowed by mr. Kaczymarczyks cons and and manipulations, just as the government had been on numerous occasions in the past. Mrs. Mcclancy was another victim of mr. Kaczymarczyk. He had never, ever indicated to me in any way that he had lied about what he had done in the military, about what he had received. Um, i thought that he had all these awards. Reporter lying chuck, said attorney rogers, would say anything to avoid the blame. What did chuck not lie about . Hes a habitual liar and thats proven and documented. I i was in a position to attack his credibility, and that wasnt very hard. Reporter it was chuck who forged bobs will, said martha ann. And she went along with it only because the content of the will was what bob wanted. And that was initially chucks idea . It was chucks idea and he did it. And you acknowledge today that you went along with that. I, i did go along with it. Reporter she had no idea, she said, that chuck was planning to take those awful pictures. And when questioned about the flashy government job shed told bobs sister kathy about in washington, d. C. , martha ann simply scoffed that it was a joke. I mean, it was just a hoax. Thats all in the world it was, was a hoax to more or less get her to stop bugging me. Attorney rogers took martha ann back to the day bob died. A normal day, she said. You went to work that day . Yes, sir, i went to work that day. Reporter and she didnt have a clue that anything was wrong, she testified, until she arrived home after 6 00 p. M. A young detective came out and took hold of my hands and he said, this is going to be the most difficult thing that you ever hear. And he said, your husband has passed away. Reporter conspiracy with chuck . Of course not, she said. Did you and chuck ever have a conversation about getting rid of your husband . No, no, we did not. I dont know where he has come up with this. Reporter first time she heard about a murder conspiracy, she said, was after she told chuck she wanted to divorce him in 2012. I didnt know about it until much later on, when this wild concocted story of my having murdered my husband was told for the first time, and it was told by chuck kaczmarczyk. Did you kill your husband . No, sir, i did not. I did not kill bob mcclancy. I did not have anything to do with killing bob mcclancy. I cannot tell you anything more than what i know, that he died of a drug overdose. Reporter and that was martha anns story. Every word of it was true, she swore. If martha ann believes that her husband, bob mcclancy, was murdered, she would say that it was chuck kaczymarczyk. He was there with bob mcclancy when he died, by admission. He was the one that supposedly found him dead. He was the one that took photographs of mr. Mcclancy and manipulated the scene of the death, whether it was a crime scene or not. Reporter but, the battle of the con artists was just getting started. And the prosecutors believed they had a strong case. What was the most important piece of evidence in your view . The most important piece of evidence, of course, was the mirandized confession taken from chuck kaczmarczyk. Reporter and what a dark and devious story of murder chuck was about to tell. Coming up make it look as natural as possible. Powerful testimony from a star witness and from a reluctant son. She looked at me as if she wished i was dead. Seat to the t. Thats why she takes the time to season her turkey to perfection, and roast it until its just right. And she makes stuffing from scratch, topping it with a healthy helping of delicious gravy. Marie callender spends time on the little things, so that you can spend time on what really matters. Marie callenders. Its time to savor. Sure, you could buy this. But why miss out on this . Its baking season. Warm up with pillsbury. I got my new iphone 7 from. 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The years of fraud, the money murder, faced the death penalty. A lot of work went into this case 12,000 pages of documents. Reporter assistant district attorneys Cindy Schemel and mac mccoin took on the hugely difficult task of boiling down a story every bit as convoluted as it was devious. And to be able to tell it in such a simple story so 12 people off the street understand it thats really complicated to do. Thats the hard thing. Reporter they would prosecute what was clearly a complex case using a welltested strategy. The old kiss method. Kiss . Keep it simple stupid. Reporter they presented evidence of bob mcclancys forged will and the wedding dates but not chucks photos which had collapsed the case in 2006. Instead, they showed the jury Police Photos while sean described the photos he found. All as he faced his own mother. She looked at me as if she wished i was dead. She looked at me with the most hate ive ever seen from anyone reporter when bobs sister kathy testified. I wanted to jump over the bench and choke her, but i thought, well, that wont get me anyplace, but she just sat there. She showed no emotion, just cold. Coldhearted person. Reporter at last, martha anns fate rested in the hands of the states star witness her lying husband, chuck, now on the stand. Reporter chuck began at the beginning, when he met bob at that ptsd clinic in 2006. Did he ever express any suicidal thoughts to you . No. Reporter then bob introduced him to martha ann, said chuck, they began an affair and she began scheming to do away with bob. She had mentioned on several occasions that shed like to get rid of him and if he went away that we could be together. Reporter she made all the decisions, said chuck. Investigator nate landakmmer agreed. The investigation clearly showed that she was the mastermind. And who was in charge of his medication . Martha. Turns out, before he died, that martha ann was put in charge of all of his meds. That bob was not to have any access to his own medications whatsoever wow. Reporter for days before bob died, said chuck, martha ann ground up the pills into something she called magic dust. She had fixed his favorite meal for him and then afterwards remarked that she had used magic dust on him. Reporter the doses got bigger, and bob more disoriented. It was martha anns idea, said chuck, to rush bob to the va hospital suffering apparent overdoses to reinforce the impression that bob was suicidal. Reporter and then two days after his last trip to the va hospital i was pretty sure that she was going to give him a lethal dose of the drugs because she was so specific about me being there at a certain period of the day on that date. She told him specifically, im gonna load him up with some magic dust, you know before i leave for work. She said, you come over. And find him. He should be dead by then. Ill be at work. Ill have an alibi. That if i found him dead, just to make it simple, keep it simple to make it look as natural as possible or to make it look like a suicide. Reporter then, chuck confessed, he staged the scene. I um took some photos. There was also um a bottle of pills that i put in his hand and also a gun. Reporter those photos . Intended as leverage to try to squeeze more money out of the va. And the gun . Chuck claimed it was to honor the wishes of a former detective to die with a gun in his hand. You thought that was an honorable thing to do for bob while you were killing him and sleeping with his wife . I wasnt killing him. You werent killing him, while you were letting him be killed and sleeping with his wife . Yes. I think they were evil, but i think the root of their evil was their greed. Reporter there it was. Martha ann poisoned bob and chuck was her willing servant. A match made in hell quite frankly. Reporter the motive chuck and martha ann wanted to be together and they wanted money. How much money all together . Id say close to a 1 million. Close to a 1 million. Reporter the prosecution rested with a scathing indictment of martha ann. To have your husband die in stages thinking hes losing his mind because you keep overdosing him with these drugs until you get that to fatal dose, its hard to comprehend how some people can be that evil. Reporter but how would the jury judge martha ann . The jury was out for quite a while, wasnt it . Yes. It scared us badly. We didnt know whether wed won or lost. Reporter sean and debi and kathy were all in court, nervous hearts racing. I waited ten years. I was just trying to hold myself together, you know . Reporter and then it came. We, the jury, find the defendant, Martha Ann Mcclancy a. K. A. Martha ann kaczmarczyk, not guilty of the offense of first degree murder. Reporter not guilty a wave of disappointment washed through the room. I wish she wouldve gotten the death penalty. Both her and chuck. Reporter but the jury wasnt finished. We, the jury reporter martha ann was found guilty of attempted murder and consipracy to commit murder. It wasnt really a happy feeling. Im glad justice was served, but i still thought, why did you have to kill him . Do you think they got it right, that she was the one primarily responsible . Yes, she was a real conniver, yeah. Reporter chuck had already made his deal, hed already pleaded guilty to murder conspiracy and got 25 years in prison. Does chucks sentence make sense to you . He did conspire and assist her in this. He was necessary to be able to prove the case against her. So when you look at that, it makes sense. Reporter in june this year, when it was martha anns turn to receive her sentence she clung to a walker. Faking disability again . Thats what the prosecutors believed. And then the judge tore into her. The slow poisoning and slipping of life from an individual is exceptionally heinous. Reporter he gave her the maximum and aged 67 she got 50 years in prison. And thats where she is now. Im a Firm Believer that karma will get you. And i think its got her. Reporter exbest friend debi, was relieved. Absolutely the epitome of evil. She was the meanest, cruelest and she didnt get away with it. And that made me feel a little bit better about it. Reporter and for the detective who believed nearly ten years earlier that chuck was guilty it was vindication. The fact of the matter is if you had not looked at that camera, if you had not opened up those photographs. We wouldnt be sittin here talkin today. No. And justice woulda never got served for the mcclancy family. So it came out all right after all. It did. Took a while, but it did. Reporter yes it did. No small thanks to martha anns son. Sean. No child should ever have to testify against their parent. That was the hardest thing you ever did. That was the hardest thing. Reporter and he hasnt been the same since finding out about his moms monstrous crimes. I think he had a lot of trouble wrapping his head around it and believing that she was capable of this. Bob was a man of right. He was a detective, he was a marine. And he would fight for justice for strangers. And there was no way that he was gonna go down like that and be silenced that way. Reporter but there is one more piece of unfinished business. Sean, remember, was adopted i had always been told that i would never find out where i was actually from or who my birth parents would be. Reporter and then what do you know all those boxes of documents and records his mother dumped on him contained tantalizing clues about his past who he is. Does that question get bigger in your life . It does as a result of all this . Very much so. Reporter sean mcgavic, son of woman convicted of attempted murder, has a whole new life to discover, a life all his own. The way that i raise my children, and the type of person that i am, theyve all kind of changed. My whole thought process has changed. Thats all for this edition of dateline, see you again next friday at 9 00, 8 00 central and ill see you each night for nbc nightly news. Im lester holt. For all of us at nbc news, good night. Next at 11 a promisnoto what promptesororities d fraternities t cal to ta the usual actn and were ey able to flth. A promise not to party. What prompted them to take action and would they be able to follow through. Plus, the warning of another wave of cyberattacks. The news starts in 30 seconds. Fraternity and sorities arnot p it is not a normal friday night at uc berkeley. Fraternities and sororities are not partying tonight. The move is a response to a rash of sex assaults on campus. The news at 11 00 starts right now. Good friday evening and thanks for joining us. Im janelle wang. It is game night at cal. The bears taking on the oregon ducks. Its rowdy at the stadium. Just along greek row, a much more subdued