Left town. They saw her in line to get on to an airplane. But her prized car turned up with an excon behind the wheel. We thought, oh, my god. It was him. He killed her. Was it that simple . Her personal life was very complicated. A younger boyfriend. The man was very charismatic, dropdead gorgeous. And an estranged husband. He had caught them having sex in room 11. But the case really started to sizzle when someone torched the motel. Somebody was trying to destroy some evidence or something . We just didnt know. This is a murder mystery of epic proportions. Both of us were obsessed with this case. Can this get any more bizarre . Im lester holt, and this is dateline. Heres Keith Morrison with a reporter there is a little island, its own bit of fantasy, off the gulf coast of florida. Its kind of a Little Paradise here. It is paradise. And it just gets better and better, we think. Reporter Anna Maria Island, where high rise condos are banned, is seven miles of unspoiled white sand, unspoiled houses, unspoiled people, too, most of them. When you come across the bridge, its a whole different life. I mean, yeah, you just come across the bridge and its like ah. It is. Reporter and here is where she found her Little Paradise, too. Came all the way from germany for it. Sabine musilbuehler. And whether they called her sabina, or as some did, sabine, they all knew her here on the island. Larger than life person. Absolutely. And the minute you met her, you just were drawn to her. I mean, she was just one of those people that you wanted to get to know better. Looking back on what happened to sabine on the awful mystery. It just doesnt seem possible, not here. I mean, nothing happens on this island. No, i mean, this is a sleepy little town. Its sweet town. We dont have things like that happen here. Reporter no, and certainly not to her. Sabine made good things happen here, crazy things, happy things. Here at the 50s motel she bought and reimagined along with tom buehler, the man she married within two weeks of meeting, her partner at haleys motel. Longtime friends Nancy Ambrose and suzi fox. It had always been her lifelong dream to have her own resort. And haleys came on the market. And at the time it was pretty run down. And we were like, oh, now thats youve got your hands full here. But she needed tom. We knew that tom could do it. I mean, if anybody could do it, the two of them could turn this around. Reporter oh, and they did. The ideas. They invited the whole town to their quirky events, their dressup parties. Hello, welcome to haleys motel. Please join me for a tour. Reporter this is her with jacamo, her everpresent parrot. Sabine was the star of her own promotional videos for the hotel. Well, i hope you like our rooms so far, but with all our activities we offer you you wont spend too much time in there. Reporter neighbor Barbara Hines. Sabine never saw something that had a broken wing that she didnt try to fix. Reporter sabine was a rescuer. People, cats, dogs, turtles. When suzi fox took over the anna maria turtle watch nesting turtles are a very big deal here she asked for help. Tom and sabine were i think my fourth volunteers. And theres nine sections on this island one mile long. And they said theyd take as i watched her with a huge leatherback in the water. Reporter bonner joy owns the local newspaper the islander. Unfortunately, the leatherback was missing a flipper. And he swam in circles. So he kept coming back to the beach. And sabine jumped in the water without a second thought. And she was up to here, talking to the turtles face, like she could tell this 400pound turtle to turn around, you know or will him to. Reporter so you get the idea. She was just amazing. I mean, she just was one of those people that cared about everybody. Reporter like Nancy Ambrose, for example, when she was battling cancer and nobody would give her a job because of her demanding treatment schedule. Until the day she met sabine. You know, i explained what my situation was. Shes like, great. Thats fine. Come on, come on to work. And i was like, really . And i was that was one of the reporter so sabine had passions. Animals, her motel, her white pontiac convertible, and in 2008, a new passion campaigning for barack obama. An uphill battle on this predominantly republican island. So on Election Night, sabine was certainly up for a party. Shed arranged to meet nancy, in fact, in what they hoped would turn into a victory celebration. She was so into the election. She was so excited. She wanted obama to win. Reporter strange then that when nancy arrived she couldnt find sabine. And i thought she had already left because i got there late. Reporter sabines husband tom had been there earlier, too, but without her. Still, nancy didnt worry. Not then anyway. It wasnt until a couple days later that i realized she was missing. Reporter how was it possible . The woman who loved to celebrate didnt. Called no one. The woman who loved her motel suddenly wasnt there. Sabine was gone. When we come back, the first troubling clue, her car with someone else at the wheel. Flags started going off. Who was this mystery driver . She would have driven through a very rough area, and it just came to my mind that maybe she was carjacked. We dont even know the truth. Ba da ba ba ba dont drop your phone, drop your network. Bring your phone to Cricket Wireless. We have more 4g lte coverage nationwide than tmobile or sprint. Cricket wireless. Something to smile about. If you take multiple medications, a dry mouth can be a common side effect. Thats why theres biotene. It comes in oral rinse, spray or gel so theres moisturizing relief for everyone. Biotene, for people who suffer from dry mouth. 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Not with her pets. Not at her motel. She would never, ever leave her animals. She would never, ever not go to haleys to work. I mean, that was her baby. Reporter then, two days later, 2 30 in the morning, a seedy neighborhood across the bridge on the mainland. A patrolman pulled over a white pontiac convertible with a burnedout taillight. As the cop approached the car, the driver ran. There was a wild chase, but they caught him. His name was robert corona. And he had a story, said detectives jeffrey bliss and john kenney of the Manatee County sheriffs office. Mr. Coronas original story is, i was doing crack cocaine with the owner of the car. Reporter did he say he knew who the owner was . Yes, and had permission to have the car. Reporter but when detectives checked the registration, they learned the convertible belonged to sabine. And corona had a record. Hes a known street criminal. I mean, he has a lengthy arrest history. Reporter and they learned from sabines friends that there had to be something very wrong with a story that had her doing drugs and drinking with a felon in a smoky bar in a seedy part of town. She would never be buying drugs. I mean, she would not even allow people to smoke around her. She would not let people smoke at haleys motel property. Reporter really . I mean, not even in the rooms, but on the property. I mean, she was reporter she was kind of a health fanatic. She had a private a personal trainer. I mean, she was very into health. Reporter so they arrested corona, installed him in the county jail and in the morning talk to sabines husband tom. And . Tom said he hadnt seen sabine in a couple of days. He hadnt filed a missing persons report but did after police came around. What was he like . What was your impression of the guy . He was concerned for her wellbeing. She wasnt answering her phone. He couldnt find her. Reporter and something else. According to tom, sabine never let anyone drive her car. Not even him. Now there was a stolen car, a missing woman and a known criminal. Not adding up to a good combination for sabine. Flags started going off. And shortly thereafter, detectives started getting involved as a missing persons case. Reporter but then it got worse. When detectives went over the car, they found blood drops in the back seat. A patch of the rear seat had been cut out. So they sprayed luminol around, found more blood traces on the rear seat. Chris tollette, were horrified. So then we thought, oh, my god, it was him. He killed her. He must have killed her. Reporter so now it was a homicide investigation. Detective jeff bliss decided to pay a visit to corona in jail. I put my Business Card down on the table and slid it across, and we said were homicide detectives. This isnt about an auto theft. We need to know the truth and we need to know now. And hes like, hey, i had nothing to do with any murders. And then he changed his story. Reporter coronas new story . He never met anybody named sabine. He just found her car parked behind a place called the gator lounge, a not exactly upscale wine bar. In a jailhouse interview, corona opportunity. You didnt see anybody, though, did you . I didnt see nobody inside so thats why i decided to take the car. Okay. You know . So i go inside, then i see the keys. So im like oh [ bleep ]. Mmhmm. And joy ride, you know . So the vehicle was left, like, somebody wanted it stolen. So he just took the liberty of stealing that car. Reporter was the second story any more true than the first . The local paper jumped on all this, of course. And bonner joy heard a lot of stories. There were a number of people who speculated that sabine might have gone to town to go to an obama celebration that was being held downtown. The area that she wouldve driven through to go to that party is a very rough area and that just came to my mind that maybe shed been carjacked. Reporter certainly, something very bad must have happened. Something maybe that happened in her car. So was corona their killer . Or was he finally telling the truth that he stole her car outside that bar . But if that was true, how did it get there . And where was sabine . Coming up could it be sabine had plans no one knew about . Had this free spirit simply there were two women who were at the sarasota airport. And they were sure that they saw her up ahead in line, you know, to get on to an airplane. Doctors have been prescribing humira for more than ten years. Humira works for many adults. It targets and helps to block inflammation that humira can lower your ability to fight infections, serious, sometimes fatal including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment get tested for tb. 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Boom oh samsung pay is here and it was a disturbing time on Anna Maria Island. What happened to sabine . When they found her car there was blood in it. And the felon whod stolen it kept changing his story. So the logical conclusion was dark indeed. Still, she could have just gone back to germany to see her family or something, right . Right, and there was extensive leads and investigation to determine that. Reporter in fact, apparently, sabine had been seen airport. Her friend Chris Tollette heard the story. There were two women who were at the sarasota airport, and they were sure that they saw her up ahead in line, you know, to get on to an airplane. Reporter but when detectives checked out the tip . Her passport wasnt used. That checking surveillance cameras at sarasota bradenton airport, Tampa Airport to make sure that she did not leave the country or fly out. Reporter a couple of weeks went by that way. Lots of tips. No verifiable sightings. And then finally they got the dna back on that blood in the car. We were able to get her toothbrush and some other personal items for a dna comparison. Reporter yeah. And we were able to match that up that that was, nkt, her blood. Reporter her husband tom told a local News Reporter he was prepared for the worst from that first morning when he was told about her car. Police told me that they found her car without her in it and with the keys in the car, i knew sabine was no longer with us. I knew something had happened to her immediately. Reporter so, looked like this guy corona might be on the hook for murder. But beyond the blood . Well, evidence didnt exactly jump out at them. But who else . Had sabine made an enemy . When detectives started looking at her life, they had to cast a wide net for people she associated with. After all, sabine was like a magnet. Everybody wanted to go to her lavish parties. There was a waiting list to get on her party list. Exactly, exactly. Reporter she could even get a little racy for sleepy little Anna Maria Island. One of the more unusual things, she hired some people that she knew from germany who came here to do nude body painting. And that, that blew up. That nude body painting on anna marie island . You cant do that here. Had to be done. It can be a tough business running and promoting a little old motel. Debts are fat, margins thin. And with the economy began to tank in 2008, what once was sunny and light was gray with worry. Sabine and tom were in trouble. Neighbor Barbara Hines the Real Estate Market had folded. I know from sabine, not from tom, that they were highly, highly, highly leveraged. Please call me for your reservation. Reporter and while sabine used her marketing skills to try to keep the motel afloat, she and tom couldnt do the same for their marriage. After more than a decade as husband and wife, they were that in name only. But what they did not do was divorce or divide up the business. They were always still good friends, very good friends. I mean they worked well together. Marriage part seemed to what . The romance part kind of maybe romance changed. Reporter it certainly did. As the detectives couldnt help but discover, tom and sabine had taken up with other people, both of them. He with a woman hed known quite a while. She with a local artist who once worked at the motel as a handyman. And then there was the matter of the Life Insurance. How much did he take out on sabines life, the cops asked. 100,000 said tom. Despite what was apparently an amicable breakup, people on Anna Maria Island couldnt help but wonder about tom. More than a few, said sabines friend caryn hodge. A lot of people whispering and suspecting him in a way just because they didnt know. Reporter photographer jack elka did promotional stills for the motel and became good friends with tom and sabine. There was no evidence found. There was no nothing. Who did it . Its a who did it. This is a murder mystery of epic proportions. Reporter so it was. Then 12 days after sabine vanished from the face of the earth somebody set fire to haleys motel. Im sure my mouth was hanging open just going can this get any more bizarre . Reporter what was this all about . We just didnt know. Reporter dead or alive, where was sabine . Coming up sabines husband, that 100,000 policy wasnt the whole story. It came up later it was 300,000. Money, a motive or just maybe jealousy . Softens your carpet with every use. Its resolve, so you know it cleans and freshens. But it also softens. Resolve. A carpet that welcomes you. And to clean pet messes, try resolve pet expert. Hello my love the flame is out. Ugh. Today the flame is out, tomorrow my attitude. Your mother. Antonio. Antonio. Que . The stove. Its not working. Campbells microwaveable soups. Around here, a buckeye in your pocket is lucky. 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Nobody was hurt, happily. But there were questions. Was it personal . An attempt to destroy evidence or what . Wondered if tom had something to do with it. Others dismissed that as just plain nonsense. Photographer jack elka covered the fire for the islander newspaper. Thats when the mystery really started to, wow, another element of this puzzle that reporter yeah. Why would somebody do that . Kind of bizarre. Reporter surely, it had to have something to do with whatever happened to sabine. Why would that place burn down . Somebody was trying to destroy some evidence or something . It was a theory. We werent sure if something buried somewhere. We just didnt know. Reporter months went by without a decent lead. Though it was not for lack of trying to find one. Especially where their instincts were telling them sabine might be buried. The beach. Well, whenever we would have a break, we into to this very spot. We would stand here and review the case and brainstorm the case. Reporter detective Sergeant John kenney and his partner jeff bliss kept organizing searches on the beach. Looking for any area where the ground or the White Sand Beach looked disturbed. We took cadaver dogs, walked them up and down the beach. We used groundpenetrating radar, checked various spots on the beach just trying to find skeletal remains. Reporter to no avail. And in november 2009, the First Anniversary of whatever it was sabine loved they had a little memorial. Husband tom tossed a flower wreath into the surf. There was no hope. We knew. She was gone. She was no longer alive. Reporter but apparently the Life Insurance company wasnt so sure. And right around the time of that Memorial Service at the beach, tom went to court to take the first step to get that money. Wasnt it tom who petitioned the court to declare her dead . Yes. Reporter if shes declared dead, he gets a lot of insurance money. Correct. Reporter he gets the ownership outright of the motel. Correct. Reporter yes, that. Funny, tom had told the detectives before hed held a 100,000 policy on sabine. But when he filed papers to declare her dead, it turned out there was a second larger Life Insurance policy that he forgot to mention. It came up later it was 300,000. Reporter the revelation made attorneys for the Insurance Company argued that under florida law sabine had to be missing at least five years before she could be declared dead and any insurance money paid out. Alt the hearing reporters noticed an Unusual Group of observers listening to the proceedings. The whole back row of seats was taken up by sheriffs deputies. And if they werent interested in what tom had to say to the Insurance Company, why were they there . Reporter but tom was not successful. They denied a death certificate. And tom was denied the insurance. And i could see reporter and thats a big story. How they into deny a death certificate. There was no body. Reporter by then the police knew corona didnt kill sabine. A barmaid at the gator lounge was able to confirm the essentials of his story. So he was convicted of car theft, not murder. And detective kenney, who as an island cop had known sabine and tom for years, decided to have he asked tom for any detail, no matter how small, that might take the investigation beyond the conjecture and whispers of suspicion that floated on the island breeze. And he went into a whole background of their courtship, their marriage, and how it disintegrate disintegrated. Reporter how did it disintegrate . He told me that they just slowly, you know, like grew apart and that they stayed together because they were very good friends and they owned the business together. Reporter but and this seemed unusual while they stayed married, they moved in with other people. Remember, in the year before sabine went missing, tom started dating a new woman and sabine took up with a handsome younger man who once worked at the motel. His name was bill. Bill cumber. The man was very charismatic, dropdead gorgeous. Reporter ten years younger, in fact. Bill was 39 and very different from tom. Tom, meanwhile, was still sabines business partner. And thats where things got a little dicey. One day tom found sabine in a room in their motel with her new lover, bill. He had caught them having sex in room 11 at haleys motel. But he said it wasnt a jealousy thing. It was a lack of respect that, you know, having sex with his wife in the hotel room. Reporter not jealous . Maybe. Still, the detectives knew that sort of thing could very well drive a person to do terrible things. So tom and bill did one of them harm sabine . They interviewed bill the first time back when sabines stolen car was found. Learned that in 2008 they started dating and eventually they moved into an apartment together. Hit the jackpot with bill. Friends like joyce lathrop. She even had his picture in her wallet. And she was so proud that he was so handsome, and i can see where she was head over heels. Maybe this was going to be the love of her life. They were going to have a wonderful future together. Reporter the last time sabines friend photographer jack elka saw her she was with bill. Jack had never met him before. She came over to me and gave me a big kiss and hug and, you know, how are you . And she introduced this man to me. And he shook my hand. Hey, jack. How you doing, man . Long time, no see. And im looking at this guy, thinking like i dont really know this guy. Reporter the question was, did anybody know bill . Coming up missing somebody special. Emotion from bill, and a surprise from a stranger. He said, you have no idea what youve just done. Was he about to blow the case wide open . Pills. 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A few days after that, bill told his story again to a local tv reporter. I think its a tragedy. I think the worlds missed somebody somebody special. Reporter he told the reporter he blamed himself, in a way, because sabine left after they argued about his smoking. Now i feel responsible for as far as what happened after that, i have no idea. Reporter the detectives were busy looking at records and discovered that bill once spent some time behind bars. That was after, and unrelated to, his stint as a handyman at the motel. And tom and sabine went to see him in prison, sent him money, wrote to him and he wrote back. And you know, tom, i think, was just throwing them away. But she started writing him back and trying to help him. Reporter as sabine and toms romance cooled, her letters to bill heated up. When bill was released on probation in 2008, sabine was waiting for him. Sabines friends, however, did not share her enthusiasm for bill. They didnt want him to be around her. They pretty much said, if youre going to come, dont bring that guy. Reporter but it was just they saw something off about yes. That, you know, she did not. Reporter no. Sabine saw a young, fit, artistic man who just needed a break. Bill was something of an amateur artist, though his sketches didnt seem to amount to much. But sabine was determined to help bill jumpstart his career, to get his artwork sold and maybe start up a woodworking business. She had set him up in a woodshop, bought all his tools. Reporter and around town, they certainly looked like lovebirds. Still, two weeks after sabine vanished, the detectives asked bill to come in for another interview, and thats when he told them about the argument. We got in a verbal dispute and went she left. I mean i dont honestly i had no control over where she goes or what she does. Right. But you guys were not in a physical altercation . No. We never had a physical him . Did they challenge him . Yes, they did. Where did you dump her at . This woman you love so much. She left. I dont what do you mean dump her . I dont so you dumped her. I dont got nothing to do with what you beat her to a pulp. Happened that night. No. You had nothing to do with what happened to her after she left . No. Reporter but, try as they might, bill cumber did not crack. So they sent him home. But kept an eye on him. What made you think that he was the guy who would have killed her . I mean, they were going out together. We knew that they had an argument day at least one. Reporter was there any other evidence that pointed toward him besides that . Not until he vacated his apartment. Reporter without sabine to pay the rent, bill was evicted. And the detectives got per mission to get in there tut sweet. The first time i entered the apartment, it was a heavy, heavy scent on bleach. Reporter wait a minute, how long after . Four or five weeks. Of bleach was still strong at that point . Yes. We went in and searched it. And we found additional blood evidence with dna. Reporter what did all of that say to you . Something bad happened right there. Reporter but bill told the detectives that was innocent blood. Sabine once cut herself here. And then they found bills dna on the drivers seat of sabines car, but he told detectives she let him drive it. We knew that no one, even her husband was not allowed to drive her car. Reporter but then they looked at bills hand. He had an injury on his hand that was consistent with a friction burn that i myself had gotten when we were out here digging test holes. Reporter just from the shovel . Getting it on the palm of your hands . Yeah. Just from shoveling. Reporter bill said he fell off his bike. And the more detectives looked at bill cumber, the worse it looked for him. Prison, for example . He was convicted of arson. He was jealous of his girlfriend, paramour. And they had a argument and he tried to burn the house down with her and the kids in it. Reporter it turned out the haleys motel fire was intentionally started with accelerants. Bills shoes were tested later and had traces of accelerants too, but that wasnt enough to make a case. So did they arrest bill, charge him with murdering sabine . No, they did not. A nobody case would be very tough, said the prosecutors. Theres no proof the woman was even dead. So the detectives turned up the heat. So theres always somebody knocking at the door, i want to talk to you. I want to talk to you. We had a legitimate safety concern for other residents, especially if he, you know, wound up getting with another female. Reporter and bill couldnt take it. He left Anna Maria Island, left the county. A probation violation. So before long, bill was in jail while the detectives kept looking for sabine everywhere. No trace. Then in 2011, three years after she disappeared, a man named ed moss was clearing brush in front of his house on the island right next to the beach. And underneath a log there was a kind of a small purse. Reporter looked stolen, said ed. So he showed it to a deputy. And his eyes got really big and he looked at me, he said, you have no idea what youve just done. Reporter it was sabines purse. Her drivers license confirmed it. We had this lead as far as the purse being recovered. It was only two blocks to the north where they actually live. Reporter so detectives kenney and bliss brought an army of police and equipment and her remains. But again after weeks of digging through the sand and bush, nothing. Both of us were obsessed with this case. And you know, we know he did it. Reporter another thing kenney knew was that tom didnt do it. Remember, some people on the island had been suspicious of tom, but privately detectives had long since cleared him. I could tell that he didnt do it. But we went through the steps and we alibied him and did, you know, everything that needed to be done to make sure. Reporter apparently, his attempt to cash out the insurance policies so quickly was just a matter of financial survival. I would never thought that tom had anything to do with this. Thats why i felt so brokenhearted. Reporter so with tom in the clear, detectives consulted with other jurisdictions on how they handled nobody cases. And lined up all the forensic finally the prosecutor told them they were ready. In 2012, four years after sabine vanished, bill cumber was indicted for Second Degree murder, but it was not going to be an easy case. Obviously, evidence that goes with the body, you know, cause of death, manner of death, and we didnt have that. Reporter and what would it take for a jury to believe handsome bill was a killer . Coming up a final clue leads detectives back to the beach and puts a trial on hold. Hed been crying quite a bit. That was the first time that ive ever seen him emotional. And xifaxan works differently. 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Both had moved on to other cases, but they still made time to press bill to come clean. We traveled four or five times up to where he was in prison and tried to interview him. Reporter what would he say . Say he had nothing to do with it or didnt want to talk to us. Reporter of course, they didnt believe that. And they had an offer he couldnt refuse. We got the blessing of the state attorney to offer him a deal. Reporter the deal . Tell detectives where to find the body in exchange for a lesser sentence. He makes a statement, ill take my chances with a jury. The hair on my neck stands up because thats a very telling statement. An innocent man will say i didnt do it. Reporter bill will be taking his chances soon. His trial was just a month away. So detectives approached the one person who maybe could persuade bill to take the deal. Detective bliss actually took the defense attorney into our Property Office and viewed all the evidence. Reporter there was sabines blood on the couch, couch bers hands with those blisters detectives believed came from burying her. And the evidence in her car, the cut upholstery with her blood and bills dna. I think they went to cumber and said, you know, were going to have a tough time with this. Prosecutor art brown got a call. I received a feeler from mr. Cumbers defense attorney he might be interested in an off, 20 years in prison if he told us the location of sabine. Reporter what do you know . Bill bit. On october 15th, 2015, a bearded bill cumber pleaded no contest to Second Degree murder. Then he sat down to answer questions with a tape recorder rolling. What was that interview like . Chilling. Reporter according to bill, the argument about smoking was just part of it. The bad part started, he said, when sabine told him they were done. So sabine thinks she cant go on with this anymore. What happened at that point . I lose control, and i hit her in the head with my fist. This is a disgusting situation, man. Whats her reaction to being struck . She gets scared and she covers her face with her hands. Okay. And what do you do at that point . Throat and started choking her. Reporter he choked her till she stopped moving, he said. She never fought back. Did he seem remorseful . Somewhat. I mean, he wasnt tearyeyed. He was just kind of getting it off his chest. I couldnt believe what i did. I stared down at her and all things all kinds of things were running through my mind. I couldnt believe what i had done. Reporter he said he took a sheet off the bed and rolled her up in it, waited about an hour, dragged her out to the car. He put her in the backseat where she bled on the place he cut out the upholstery. And then he drove to the beach to bury her. Did you bring a shovel with you . Yes. Reporter on the way to bury her, he stole a shovel from haleys motel. And then after he buried her, he said, he drove to the gator lounge, left the keys in the car hoping somebody would steal it. Then he took a bus back to the island and a trolley back home. I thought he minimized involvement in the murder. Reporter minimized what . He says that it was just a split second moment of insanity. I think there was a little bit more calculation than that. Reporter after the interview, detective bliss put bill in his car and drove to the beach. Then, in handcuffs and leg irons, he shuffled down a long path to a place on the sand where hed often sat with sabine. This is where he brought her body. A spot they used to sit out all the time, right down the road from haleys motel, and that he buried her on the beach there. Reporter right here, where he and sabine came to watch the sunset. Right here . Which way did you put her in . Her head was here. Reporter detective bliss mapped the area out with tiny yellow flags. How deep was the hole . About four feet, four or five feet. Reporter and then the detective gave bill an it or not. Want to take a minute . Go ahead. I told him if he wanted to say a prayer, he could. And thats when he got tearyeyed and emotional, and he apologized to her. I walked him back to the car. And he just asked me to let her family know that she was a very good woman and she didnt deserve to die. And he was very sorry for what he had done. And he was very emotional and crying quite a bit. That was the first time in my dealings with him that ive ever seen him emotional about what he had done. Reporter once he left, a team of detectives and the medical examiner dug slowly, carefully. And by the end of the day they had found what was left of sabine. All those years of trying to find something and failing . We were elated. Me and my partners. Its a sense of relief. Closure. Reporter bill cumber was returned to jail and is now serving his 20year sentence in state prison. A lot of people probably arent happy with the 20 years he got, but you know, theyre not part of the family that has to deal with it. Should he have gotten life . Absolutely. Reporter detective Sergeant Kenney is retired now and detective bliss is still doing homicide cases. Tom buehler, who lost both a woman he loved and, for years, his good reputation, has tried to move on. Hes remarried now and is still running his beloved and restored haleys motel. Its a busy place this time of year. And in place of sabines little promotional videos, heres tom. If youre coming to Anna Maria Island and if you want to drive around and look at it or you can stay here at haleys motel and experience it. Reporter and up and down the streets of Anna Maria Island, sabines friends remember. Im so blessed that she was in my life even for that amount of time because she touched my life deeply. Appreciate each and every day even more because it can be cut short. Reporter even here in this little remnant of paradise. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Well see you tomorrow at 8 00, 7 00 central for the dateline saturday night mystery, then again sunday at 7 00, 6 00 central. Im lester holt. For all of us at nbc news, good night. Dogs are fine. Tonight the close calls and the clean up. Dramatic new video of a police chase. A violent wreck with an ambulance and a suspect facing plenty of charges. Still breezy but winds are calming down tonight after some gusts. More than 50 miles an hour a little earlier today. Good evening to you. Thanks for joining us on this friday night. Strong wind knocking over trees, power, and phone lines across greater cincinnati. Wlwt news 5s emily wood reports from clair month county where the cleanup is already taking shape. Its almost too dark to see but a blue tarp now covers the roof of this family garage here in miami township. Luckily no one was inside when the tree fell this afternoon. It did prompt almost immediate cleanup. Workers for earls tree company happened to be in the right place at the right time