Face of the earth. A baffling disappearance. Where was he . My dad is not a missing person. He has three sons, he has a wife. I was wor thinked that something was terribly wrong. I was scared. A missing mercedes, a hand print in blood and a Musical Chairs of multiple affairs. Theres more lovers and more women involved in this whole thing. Was this beauty hiding something deadly . I wanted to get away. How would this hollywood story end . I just feared for my family. Im too young to lose my dad. Like, who are these people . Hello and welcome to dateline. Gaven smith was a larger than life kind of guy who lived life to the fullest m he was not the type of guy who slipped silently into the night. Gavins sister wondered why his wife lisa wasnt doing more to find him. It would force lisa to reveal and uncover painful secrets about her husband and their marriage. Heres Keith Morrison with dark valley. Theres a kind of peace here, the vast pacific for company. How else to live with whats impossible to understand or forget . What began that sunny afternoon, far away in Southern California san fernando valley, early may, 2012. Something was really wrong but a lot more wrong than i could imagine. Snoop it was the boy who knew it first, knew something was wrong. His dad was supposed to take him to school that morning, but after school i was to go to the school and pick him up after practice. He said daddy didnt pick me up this morning and i said what . He said daddy didnt show up this morning. It can happy. Busy families, people forget. He called a friend from around the corner. Or sometimes things fall apart. The situation sounded too crazy. Love affairs, love triangles, drug dealers, it sounded too outlandish. Once those stable loving pieces have flown apart how do they come together again. Somebodys going to walk away from this. Exactly. How do people sleep at night . How do they live with themselves . But that afternoon lisa smith knew instantly something must be wrong. Her husband gavin was a dedicated father. Nothing would keep him from picking up his kid ever. Because he was so good at these things that his sister, he was so impressive, so tall. You both got the tall gene. We did. Whole family. Gavin was the tallest. He was a magnet. He played basketball for legendary coach john wooden, ucla 1975. He was a forward. It was woodens final championship team. Just to be on that team was pretty fantastic. It was a once in a lifetime. And then he drifted a bit, worked as a golf caddie and this being los angeles and he a good looking towering athlete, people noticed him. Movie people. They gave him a couple of roles. And he got the bug. The acting bug, first as a body double back on the Basketball Court in the movie inside moves then as a bartender in cob. When he met lisa he was ae acting but also waiting tables. I was thrilled that he asked me for my number. They married, had three sons together and gavin gave up acting and took a job on the business side of 20th century fox eventually as a Film Distribution executive. He loved it. It was film. First place lisa called when gavin failed to pick up their son, was he at work that day . They told me he just hadnt shown up to work. He had never ever not shown up to work. So then lisa, very worried now, went to the lost hills sheriff station to report gavin missing and waited and waited. Days later gavins family went on nbc 4 in los angeles to plead for help. Im not going to stop until i find him so please help me find him. If you guys want to pick one of these streets. Im in panic mode. Weve got to do something. What did that feel like being in that spot . It was surreal. They put together a reward for any information leading to gavins where abouts. Nothing turned up. I would think with every hour that went by, it would be more and more dire, darker for you. Right . Its very dark. Its very, very dark. It wasnt just the family having dark thoughts. They dont normally call a couple of seasoned homicide detectives to look into a missing person. They do when theres suspicious circumstances. They called in sheriffs detectives. His phone was missing. There was no use of it. We checked his bank accounts. From the time he was missing, we checked his medical insurance to see if he had checked himself into a hospital. That never showed any activity. He was completely dropped off the face of the earth. Then out of nowhere, a sighting, hundreds of miles north of los angeles a businessman visiting californias Central Coast said he saw gavin smith and a beautiful woman at a cash only taco restaurant in morro bay. I happened to click on the link, saw the photo and i said, oh, boy. The waitress corroborated the story. He was sitting here. She was sitting right here. His sister raced up to coast to the restaurant. I said, heres my brothers picture, did you see him . And . No. That was truly heart breaking to me. It was all a big mistake, but it wasnt the last of the sightings. People seemed to see gavin smith everywhere. Because he kind of stands out in the photo, you know, big white smile, tan face, tall guy, pretty much every tall, tan blond haired man was being spotted as gavin smith. Weeks, months passed. No sign of gavin. And lisa was forced to reveal something publicly, something painful and maybe crucial. Coming up, what had happened to gavin smith . It didnt make sense to me. We said i think this is a suicide and then we go, i think this is a murder and our gut instincts are going different ways. You wonder if she had something to do with this. It crossed our minds all the time. Somehow, it kept playing back, why wont you search . When dateline continues. Seh when dateline continues nutrition can seem overwhelmin. Even if you try to eat well, you might fall short in key nutrients. Get more by adding one a day. Its the 1 multivitamin uniquely designed for men and women. One serving, once a day. One a day. And done. Safe drivers shouldnt have to pay as much for insurance. As not safe drivers thats why esurance has drivesense. ® the safer you drive, the more you save. Although im not really driving right now that would be unsafe. When insurance is affordable, its surprisingly painless. Safe drivers shouldnt have to pay as much for insurance. As not safe drivers thats why esurance has drivesense. ® the safer you drive, the more you save. Although im not really driving right now that would be unsafe. When insurance is affordable, its surprisingly painless. Gavin smith as just about anybody could see, was his familys golden boy. His sister tara, grew up in his aura, idolized him. He of all people should not just up and vanish. It didnt make sense to me. And so i just kept, no, it cant be. It cant be. I just kept hoping. I did everything i could. But even as she ran down leads herself, it seemed to tara that lisa, her sisterinlaw, gavps wife wasnt searching. You couldnt give up on the possibility he was out there somewhere and lisa could and i wonder whether there were dark nights of your soul when you wondered if she had something to do with this. It crossed our minds all the time. It just did. Did i think she could ever be the one responsible, the physical no. But somehow it kept playing back, why wont you search . Why . The only way somebody doesnt look for you is if you already know definitively theyre no longer living. And you must have a reason for knowing that. Thats what i would assume. And it turned out lisa did know something, just not what tara suspected. There were secrets, which lisa and gavin kept hidden. I was the love of gavins life. He adored me. Our family was exactly what he wanted to have, he just got lost. Lost. It all started in the early 80s even before she met gavin when he was a stunt man on recommendington steel. He would get pain bills for his pack. When that didnt work anymore he was prescribed oxycontin. And he was addicted to it. He went to a Drug Rehab Center called the matrix institute. He clearly stopped using. He was feeling healthier than he had felt in years. But when detective john obrien learned about gavins addiction, they had to consider a raft of new possibilities. He disappeared. Maybe he overdosed. We didnt exactly have all of those answers. Driving all over the valley, we would have moments in the car of where we looked at each other and said, i think this is a suicide and wed interview somebody and something would happen and wed go, i think this is a murder. Its got to be pretty unusual. It was very confusing. Confusing for lisa too. Because here was another secret. The smiths were underwater on their mortgage, on the verge of losing their home. We were in horrible position financially. Lisa discovered that before he disappeared, gavin had been taking money from his retirement account and recklessly blowing through his six figure salary and there were other signs of strains in the family. In april 2012, a month before gavin disappeared, his son evan wrote this message on twitter. Thoughts and prayers out to my amazing mom and brothers, please. My dad decided to leave the family last night. Real family sticks together. Sister tara spoke with gavin at the time. He was struggling with losing what he had come to know and love for so many years. And that was his family unit. And he didnt want to hurt those boys. And thats what he kept saying. I dont want to be without them. But as much as he loved his boys, detectives learned, gavin add been unfaithful to his wife, had been seeing a woman named melanie and now that gavin had disappeared without a trace we went to talk to her and to see if she had any information. Did she . No. Their relationship had ended and she had not talked to him and she had no idea where he was at. But though melanie was the reason why gaichb moved out of he house a month before he van shed she was not his first affair. There was also a woman named chandy. Phone records showed gavin called her on may 1st, the day before he disappeared. Skops tracked her down too. What did she tell you. She acknowledged the prior affair and she said she had not been in contact with them for some time but they started communicating via email. And that would explain why he called her on the phone. Yes. But she hadnt heard from him since. A colleague saw him driving his black mercedes. We felt that the vehicle was still out there somewhere. So find the car and maybe find out what happened to gavin. And nine months after gavin vanished, they finally got the break they were looking for. I said, im here to talk to you about your daughter and he started crying and he said, she saw everything. Coming up she was very nervous, startled. A new witness and a game changer of a clue. I kissed my partner on the cheek. It was pretty exciting. It was a big piece of evidence. Huge moment. You think you cant be shocked but you can be. When dateline continues. N s [ ding ] [ duck noises ] hey ryan. Hey greg. Listen umm, its becoming a little bit of a problem. Uhhh that you arent using your real arms. Huh. Everybody knows youre using the fake arms so you can keep playing toon blast. What are you talking about . If you will excuse me, my burrito is getting cold. Yeah, no eat. Ohhh, im so hungry. Alright. Go go go go go go go. Leave it. Lea. [ splat ] emreplenished,d, fortified. Emerge everyday with emergenc. Packed with b vitamins, electrolytes, antioxidants, plus more vitamin c than 10 oranges. Why not feel this good every day . Emerge and see. With licensed agents available 24 7. Its not just easy. Its havingawalrusingoal easy roooaaaar its a walrus ridiculous yes nice save, big guy good job duncan way to go [chanting] its not just easy. Its geico easy. Oh, duncan. Stay up. No sleepies. Were on the move. Hey rick, all good . Oh yeah, were good. Were good. Terminix. Defenders of home. Like it or not, its a fact, an element of human nature. Some people have affairs. Some of them just flings, others a lot more. And as detective poked through gavins life, one name kept popping up. Chandy. Her full name, shed already told detectives that she and gavin had an affair years earlier and that he called her right before he vanished but now, nine months after gavin disappeared the detectives got a tip. Her father knew more. Her dad started taling a tale about something his daughter may have seen and he was distraught and wanted to talk about it. He said well, you know, rayna, i go, yeah, i know the name. She took care of chandys grandmother. He goes, i think she knows where the car is. The elusive mercedes. They drove out to see rayna. We waited till she showed up and we surprised her. Thats what you guys do. Sometimes it works bettser that way. She was nervous and startled but she provided us with the paperwork for the stores locker. The storage locker, it was a big one. 10 feet by 20. We pulled the door up and the only thing was a black Mercedes Benz with no license plate on it. Huge moment. Wow, a black mercedes sedan. Had to be gavin smiths. I kissed my partner on the cheek. That was a big piece of evidence and when we got together and saw our entire crime scene was inside that car. Crime scene, yes. Suddenly all other theories seemed to fall away. The passenger seat was completely covered in blood. And at one point it was very eerie where you looked at the blood and you could see the hand mark of gavin smith as he died in that seat. Soon the news reached gavins family. Tara was devastated. Theres no going back from that. Theres no going back. You accepted it . You know, youre forced. You know, trauma happens to people all the time. You dont think its going to happen to you, but it does. You know, when you already expect the worst you think that you cant be shocked, but you can be. Thats all i can say about that. But if gavin was dead and certainly it looked that way, where was his body . How did his car wind up in the storage locker and above all, who would have wanted him dead . Rayna certainly seemed an unlikely suspect. She told them she had rented the storage unit for someone else. Meanwhile detectives looked furtder into the affair and discovered the two had met in rehab and in december 2010 less than two years before gavin disappeared, lisa found out about it. I was heart broken. So she took an extreme step to save her family. She and two of her sons then 14 and 20 went to the house to keep to them family to family. I was really upset when we were driving there. So i let my sons go in the house. But they didnt meet chandy in there. They met her husband. His name was john, john kreech, not pleasant. When they came out they were both crying. They told their mom kreech threatened to kill gavin if he didnt stay away from chandy. So 17 months later he vanishes after calling chandy. Lisa had a very bad feeling. Everything changed right then for me. Detectives were suspicious too. Chand told them she didnt see gavin that night but there was evidence to the contrary. Gavins phone and hers was in the same place that night. We thought this is the likely spot. A likely spot for a trist, that is. This is a pretty lonely spot. It is. So it seemed that on the night he disappeared, gavin smith met chandf for sex or comfort or just to talk or something. Quite a lot to learn from those phone records, but there was more. A third phone, john kreechs phone, in the same spot on the same night and this was eerie. Kreechs phone seemed to be moving in sync with gavins. They paralleled each other. Together together . Sometimes hitting off the exact same towers or parallel towers. Wow. What was that like . That was an eye opening moment. But when they interviewed john kreech he denied ever meeting gavin smith. He said he knew who he was, that he was having an affair with his wife in the past. So despite their suspicions there was not much police could do because one thing we didnt have was gavin smith. And that is, they had no body. No way to prove who killed gavin or that there was a murder at all. That is, until a dog named buddy went for a walk. A real life doggy detective who makes a deadly discovery on a deserted trail. Coming up. I go, buddy, stop. And its like wow, what is that looks pretty strange. And a young woman suddenly finds herself in the middle of this mystery. I discovered he had scrapes on his hands and on his arms. When dateline continues. When dateline continues outg a new house. Is it that obvious . Yes it is. You know, maybe youd worry less if you got geico to help with your homeowners insurance. I didnt know geico could helps with homeowners insurance. Yep, theyve been doing it for years. What are you doing . Big steve . Thanks, man. There he is. Get to know geico and see how much you could save on homeowners and renters insurance. Childrens claritin feallergy relief. Of nondrowsy the 1 pediatrician recommended nondrowsy brand. Because to a kid a grassy hill is irresistible. Childrens claritin. Feel the clarity and live claritin clear. [ chuckles ] so, what are some Key Takeaways from this commercial . Did any of you hear the bundle your home and auto part . I like that, just not when it comes out of her mouth. Yeah, as a mother, i wouldnt want my kids to see that. Good mom. To see wait. Im sorry. What . Dont kids see enough violence as it is . Ive seen violence. Maybe we turn the word bundle into a character, like mr. Bundles. Top o the bundle to you. [ laughter ] bundle, bundle, bundle. My kids would love that. Yeah. Bundle, bundle, bundle. Audible members know listening has the power to change us make us better parents, better leaders, better people. And theres no better place to listen than audible. With audible you get a credit good for any audiobook and exclusive fitness and wellness programs. And now, youll also get two Audible Originals titles exclusively produced for audible. Automatically roll your credits over to the next month if you dont use them, and if you dont like a book just swap it for free. Enjoy 100 ad free listening in the car, on your phone or any connected device. And when you switch a device pick up right where you left off. With our commitment free guarantee, theres never been a better time to start listening to audible. The most inspiring minds, the most compelling stories, the best place to listen. To start your free 30day trial, text listen5 to 500500 today. Missouris republican governor has pledged to sign legislation banning abortion at eight weeks of pregnancy. Lawmakers passed the bill with no exemptions for rape or incest. Some have been challenged in court and struck down. And President Trump announced an agreement to lift import taxes on canadian and mexican steel and aluminum. In return, the two nations would scrap tariffs they imposed on u. S. Goods. Now back to dateline. Welcome back to dateline. It had been over two years since gavin smith, a charismatic entertainment executive and family man had vanished. Detectives had a major break in the case when they discovered gavins missing mercedes and his bloody hand print on the passenger seat. There was also a person of interest. The jealous husband of the woman gavp was having an affair with. There was still no body until an inquisitive dog bounded on to the scene. Heres keith morris son with dark valley. He liked to drive his truck up to the outskirts of the National Forest, a place where people tend to toss things like old tvs, maybe some furniture. Rocky liked to poke around here, always with his dog buddy by his side. Hed be mad if i didnt take him. In october 2014, they were just five minutes into their hike when something curious happened. We were walking up this little area right here and he runs to a bush. And i go, buddy, stop. And he just looking at the bush, he wont leave it or anything, so we go up there and were looking and its like, wow, what that looks pretty strange. Buddy had made a grim discovery, a human skull. You know, i was just totally amazed. I was without words, you know. I didnt know what to think. When Police Arrived they found a shallow grave nearby. Thats when they found him. Him, the coroner soon confirmed it. After two and a half years, here was the body of gavin smith. The clothing was still intact and he had been wrapped in his own blanket that he had in the trunk of his car. The coroner also found the cause of death and it was grim. Blunt cranial facial trauma. That is multiple blows to his face. He was beaten to death. It was repeated hitting in order to do that much damage. Very violent. There were also fractures to the right forearm possibly defensive wounds. Gavin had tried to fight but clearly he was no match for his killer. Whoever did this was strong. Very strong. Power house gym was very gossipy, so your secret would be all over the gym. Lauren, just 18 years old back then asked us not to use her last name. Not after she found herself in the middle of a homicide investigation. When police came across her while doing surveillance on john kreech. Lauren used to work at the pro shop of the power house gym in california. And thats where she first met kreech. He was beautiful. He was tall and he was muscular and a lot of women especially wanted to date him, a lot of men wanted to be him. Lauren fell for him. He told her he was separated from his wife chandy, but that didnt stop her from calling lauren. She texted and called me and was very belligerent and rude. Angry perhaps that her husband, then 39 was dating a high schoolgirl. In fact, sheer coincidence, lauren went to high school with gan smiths sons. So she knew when he disappeared in may 2012, but made no connection between that and something she noticed about her boyfriend, john kreech. I discovered he had scrapes on his hands and on his arms. She didnt think he had anything to do with the disappearance. But when detective obrien heard about kreechs scrapes he immediately thought of gavin smiths wounds. He needed to talk to john kreech again and he found him in jail serving eight years on a cocaine charge. His second conviction for dealing drugs. Not exactly an upstanding citizen, but could they prove he murdered gavin smith . We didnt ask him any questions, just put a picture in front of him of the shallow grave with the body. How did he react to that . Very wide yeahed and the first phone call he made was to his attorney. Thats not surprising. But other calls were surprising. John kreech was on the phone a lot. He was calling multiple people, very intensely. So like three or four or five calls to the same person. Exactly. Some of those calls were to kreechs buddies from the power house gym. We did a multilocation search warrant and we hit everybody that we believed might have helped on that evening. One by one, they turned. They told detectives how he persuaded one fwrend to get rid of gavrns cell phone. Got another friend to hide gavrns car and body in his garage. And another told she saw chandy and kreech burning their clothes in the fireplace. You dont normally find a body two years later after somebodys killed. You dont normally have key witnesses who dont come forward until years later. In january, 2015, nearly three years after gavrn smith disappeared. Kreemp was charged with first degree murder. He pleaded not guilty. And chandy, well we didnt know if she set it up or if she had something to do with it. Coming up, an undercover sting and chandy is the target. I was like screaming my head off. Then a stunning moment in the courtroom. I wanted to get away. I was scared. I was afraid of what i would see. When dateline continues. N s [coughing] lysol max cover kills 99. 9 of bacteria, even on soft surfaces. One more way youve got what it takes to protect. Check your free Credit Scores at creditkarma. Heres to progress. Hey, who are you . Oh, hey jeff, im a car thief. What . im here to steal your car because, well, thats my job. What . What . . What . laughing what . . What . what . [crash] what . haha, it happens. And if youve got cutrate car insurance, paying for this could feel like getting robbed twice. So get allstate. And be better protected from mayhem. Like me. Were on the move. Hey rick, all good . Oh yeah, were good. Were good. Terminix. Defenders of home. Detectives john obrien and ty had a problem. An important witness who wouldnt talk. She had clammed up. But theres more than one way to get a story. They found an associate of john kreechs, someone who knew chandy and convinced him to wear a wire and meet with him. Do you want to know the whole story . Yes. Once she felt safe she spilled it. All of it. How she and gavin met in secret at that secluded culdesac, got close in gavins car. And then all of a sudden the door opens and john just goes like and i just like, i pushed myself out this way, got out the drivers side. Kreech burst in like a machine, she said. Started slugging, wouldnt quit. And i was like stop it, youre going to kill him. I was like screaming my head off and then he comes out of the car and hes like youre next and then i drove off. She was terrified, she said. Afraid he would kill her too or tell the cops she set the whole thing up. Did she . I believe 100 that she did not know that was going to happen and she did not set it up. But they wondered, did she help cover it up . Its a Serious Business covering for a crime that awful but chandy had a card to play. She agreed to testify. Members of the jury and john kreech went on trial. On the face of it it looked like a solid case, the phone evidence, the coverup, the truly appalling crime scene in gavins car, but did it add up to first degree murder . Gavin smith had been dead five years. He was killed in his Mercedes Benz in an act of almost stunning brutality by the defendant, john kreech whos sitting here in the courtroom. This became gavin smiths tomb. But it wasnt an outburst of rage. No, he said. Kreech had been plotting for two years ever since he found out about chandy and gavin. Back to december 2010 when at their mothers request gavins sons met with john kreech at his house. We wanted to make sure that my dad was not in harms way. Were you sobbing and crying . Yes. And what were you saying to the defendant . I was just begging him not to harm my family. But they testified kreech told them they did the right thing. He ended up saying that we saved his life by coming that day. But there were rules. Thats what chandy now divorced from john kreech said when she finally took the witness stand. As long as their father stayed away from me and had no communication whatsoever, their father would be fine. Did he say what would happen if they didnt . That he would kill gavin smith. The affair ended but the threat remained. He did not want me to see gavin ever. Still, attraction is a powerful thing, isnt it . Early in 2012, john and chandy were separated but still living together and gavin and lisa were separated too and that old magnetic force, gavin met chandy on that road. Did the two of you become romantic. Yes. Did that include kissing . Yes. And while you were kissing gavin did something happen that caught your attention . Yeah. What happened . Just something just popped up, like appeared. Was that something the defendant john kreech . Yes. Gavin didnt have a chance, she said. He repeatedly punched him in the face. So then she ran back to her carter car terrified. I wanted to get away. But she looked back. He had gavin pinned down. A block and a half away, she refused to go closer and dropped kreech off. Why didnt you take him all the way back to the scene . Because i was afraid of what i would see. Gavin was dead by then. And the prosecutor told the jury kreech wasnt going to any hospital. He was setting out to recruit help for his coverup. So the first person he calls is jorge. He was the first of a series of friends who told an incredible tale. Did you ask any of these people that central question, what were you thinking . They all ultimately said they were trying to help johnny. Because hes such a nice man. Because he was a nice guy. Nice . When kreech showed up at jorges house that night he was driving gavins black mercedes and jorge saw something in the passenger seat. It was a body and it was stiff. Like a long stick. And you said it was wrapped up. Yes. That very night kreech called a friend from the power house py garage. Is the body still in it at that point . Yes, he allows kreech to keep the body in the car at his house for five or six days. Really . Yes. And thats when they turned to the nurse who took care of chandys grandmother. And then he news the van to drive up to the National Forest and he finds a secluded area to bury gavin smiths body. Where buddy, the dog, later found it. But the Mercedes Benz was still in stans garage. And did that upset you . Very much so. So weeks later two men arrived with a trailer. And did you watch them take the mercedes out of your garage . Yes, i did. That, said prosecutors is when they moved the mercedes into the storage locker. I was looking at the license plate and i see that its not there. There should be a california license plate, its not youd kind of think. Its gone. And i also see that theres one screw missing and one screw screwed back in halfway and that screw came back positive dna to john kreech. Bingo, the link to pull together all that evidence, phone records, chandys testimony, the friends, the dna and it all condemned john kreech. But a surprise was coming for everyone. Coming up. I was scared for my life. A dramatic tale from the stand. Pe hurricane jean he punched me. Who attacked who and who would the jury believe . My skin was just crawling. When dateline continues. N s the way you triumph over adversity. And live your lives. 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My name is tanya, i work in the Network Operations center for comcast. We are working to make things simple, easy and awesome. Welcome back. The case against john kreech at his murder trial was steamy. There was dna evidence, cell phone records and witness testimony all tying him to the bloody scene of the crime. The prosecution argued john had been plotting the rage filled killing for years to seek revenge on gavin smith for having an affair with his wife. But the defense was about to present a very different story. Heres Keith Morrison with the conclusion of dark valley. How did a defendant, a man like john kreech, well said the defense attorney said kreech never intended to kill gavin. It was selfdefense. He was an intruder, an intruder into his marriage. And she said only one person could tell that story. Who is your first witness youll call on behalf of the defense my client, john kreech. His attorney began about asking him about that meeting. At any point did you tell them you would kill their father . No. And two years later he and chandy were separated. He still worried about her. Thought she might be drinking and driving. So he installed an app on his phone that allowed him to track her phone and followed her only because he was worried he said. Then he saw her car parked near gavins and thought it best to talk to them. But he didnt sneaking up on them, he said. I knock on the hood of the car. Was chandy sitting on the lap of this guy . She was sitting on his lap. I walked over to the passenger side door. What did they do . Chandy opened the door. He started to argue with chandy. Gavin then joined in. I walked around the door and i leaned down and told him to mind his own business. When i leaned down thats when he punched me. Pulled me by my sweater. It was gavin who threw that first punch he said so, of course, he fought back. Do you recall how many times you hit him . Four or five. When you were doing that, what were you thinking . I was thinking [ bleep ] how did i get in this situation. Then gavin got out of the mercedes said kreech and this was something in his hand. Lick this 10 to 12inch steel thing that i thought was a knife. We fell to the ground. At some point did you get that weapon . I kept punching until he let go of it. What did you do with the weapon . I threw it over the back wall of my property. Such a weapon was never recovered. Kreech insisted there was one. It was gavin who provoked the fight. I think he lied about everything. On crossexamination, the prosecutor went straight for that socalled multipurpose tool. So the tell us why in the world would you get rid of this weapon that gavin smith had used to attack you with. Why would you get rid of that . I didnt get rid of it. I threw it behind my house where i knew it would be all right. Why didnt you leave it where was. I could play arm chair quarterback all day about thing but at the time it seemed the right decision. He admitted he made some wrong decisions like getting rid of the car, phone, and the body. I take full accountability for everything after the fact. You never took full accountability because you never came forward to the police, did you . Not on advice of counsel, no. Lisa smith was in the courtroom to hear kreechs testimony. She knew that the soft spoken man on the stand was a known criminal, a convicted drug dealer. My skin was just crawling. It was hard. Really hard. A cruel man. Jury deliberations stretched across two days. Then the verdict. We the jury in the above entitled action find the defendant john kreech not guilty of the crime of first degree murder of gavin smith. Not guilty of first degree murder. But the jury wasnt done. Guilty of the crime of vroman slaughter. The verdict, guilty of vroman slaughter. They believed john kreech killed gavin in a moment of rage. Im devastated by the verdict. He did absolutely plan to murder my husband and thought about it for years and did it. What about kreechs friends who helped kreech cover up the killing . They both had significant criminal liability. Why werent they charged because we needed them to tell the story about how this man of killed and what happened to him. Though they both got immunity. Same thing with chandy who helped burn bloody clothing and never called the police. Everybody got deals and got off. And forgot about a victim who was murdered. John kreech was sentenced to maximum for manslaughter. 11 years in prison. The d. A. In detroit, michigan indicted mr. Kreech on federal Drug Trafficking charges. If convicted his exposure was anywhere from five 240 years in prison. Kreech pleaded not guilty to the new charges. And lisa smith has done her best to restart life. She and the boys are in hawaii now. Far from the wreckage of that california life that never of quite as perfect as it looked. Its painful to remain there. So its starting fresh. Like sanctuary. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Im natalie morales. Thanks for watching. A very good morning everyone. Im alex witt here in next at msnbc headquarters. 6 00 a. M. Here in the east. 3 00 a. M. Out west. William barr rushing to the president s defense. How hes down playing the special counsel probe and why it could have lasting effects. On edge as tensions with iran escalate. U. S. Diplomats have a work about passenger planes flying over the persian gulf. No dice. Why both republicans and democrats have a problem with the president s new immigration plan. And pro choice advocates vowing to fight alabamas abortion