You may kiss the bride. Mystery in south beach. First, another florida mystery. Teenager, romance, and murder. In pain and so hurt and so sad. I would give anything for christian to be here. They were new to college and newly in love. The whole world ahead of them. He gave me this magical kiss. Their secret romance would lead to something shattering when christian vanished. Oh, god. My young life went out the window. It was tense. We were nervous. We were scared. Im starting to believe that there might be more to this than just a missing person. Where was he . Did someone have something to hide . There was blood found in the car. A lovers triangle. A circle of friends. Was one of them a killer . This was planned. This was on purpose. How could you do something so horrific . Im lester holt, and this is dateline. Tonight, two Dennis Murphy mysteries. We begin with circle of friends. Remember going away to college . The tingling of possibility, new friends. It was amazing. Sometimes disappointments when things didnt work out. I thought highway was depr depressed. Didnt take it that seriously. Maybe we should have. For three florida teenagers, the cisions they made at they started campus life had terrifying, lethal consequences. It seemed surreal. When we were told, we thought this cant possibly be happening. The story of our three begins at a high school near miami. Not quite hogwarts, but erica, pedro, and christian were as inseparable as harry, ron, and h hermoine. The trio wrestling together at Doral Academy, a Charter School for highachieving, smart kids. I moved there in 2006, sixth grade. For erica freeman, Doral Academy was a special place. I met people from all over the world, actually, which was really interesting. And they had a lot of opportunities academically that i dont think youd get at an average high school. Reporter erika was smart, upbeat, pretty. She loved everything from skydiving to shakespeare. And in her sophomore year she caught the eye of a cute guy in class, pedro bravo. He was a big clown. He was kind of a funny guy around people. He was always making jokes, or tryin to reporter disruptive, actoutinclass kind of guy . Not really act out in class, but hed act out as soon as class was over. And it was just to, you know, get a crowd laughing, or this or that. Reporter pedro was a fellow rocksolid student with an artistic flair. His journals were full of sketches and doodles that friends thought showed real talent. He could draw anything, anything you wanted. Reporter robert lopez was a friend and classmate. Anything from graphic comics to picture art yeah, very. He was very gifted in that sense. Reporter erika and pedro quickly became an item. Teenage lovers, but with adult dreams. We were in a pretty serious relationship. We were a little bit more mature than the average, i guess. We didnt go out and drink. We were just very focused on school and each other. Reporter another sharply focused classmate in their circle was pedros good buddy, Christian Aguilar. I met him through pedro. He was awesome. He was funny, and he was nice. And we were instantly good friends. Reporter christian was the Soccer Player who hit the books. The son of colombian immigrants became the allamerican boy. Video games, kanye west rap in his ears, and plans to become a doctor. It sounds as though to understand christian, you have to realize how academically motivated he was. Oh yes. He was very driven. And it wasnt like his family was pushing him. It wasnt it was just that he wanted to make them proud. Reporter these three high achieving musketeers christian, erika and pedro all doubled at prom together and posed for this snapshot in the waning days of high school. Did you guys do a limo and the whole thing . We did do a limo. And we all showed up. We took plenty of pictures. It was fun. Reporter for a lot of american kids, it was for these three, graduation from high school is one of those big paths crossing in the woods. A lot of what are you going to do next . Lets stay friends forever, kind of goodbyes. Mr. Christian aguilar. [ applause ] reporter christian, scholar that he was, intent on pursuing premed, got admitted to the Selective University of florida in gainesville. Was christian happy when his acceptance came through . Oh, he was so happy. He was ecstatic. Reporter and though all of Three Friends wanted to be gators, had u of f as a top choice school, oy christian got in. Erika was headed to a Different College in gainesville, santa fe, while pedro planned to take classes near home in miami. And as graduation neared, more life decisions. Erika broke it off with pedro. She didnt want a longdistance relationship. And after all, they were just 18yearsold, and the big wide world was ahead of them both. I wanted him to find someone and fall in love with them, and you know, live a normal life. I just didnt think he was the one for me. Reporter they were barely unpacked, classes just starting, when a sudden change of plans. Pedro didnt want to be left behind in miami after all. As the fall semester started, he showed up in gainesville, as his friend robert remembered. He just visited gainesville, and that was the intention, was just to visit. And he ended up signing a lease and enrolling for classes in the fall at santa fe college. Maybe there was life after hogwarts for pedro, erika and christian . Could the friendship be renewed and survive a five hour move up the interstate from miami . If that was indeed the hope, it was dashed with some awful news on september 21st, 2012. It was tense. We were nervous. We were scared. You know, what could have happened. Reporter christian never showed up at his dorm that night, and wasnt answering his phone. Its not like christian to just not answer. Its not like him not to just disappear. There was something wrong. Reporter Christian Aguilar had vanished. What could be behind christians sudden disappearance . When we come back retracing his last steps. A rough neighborhood and a curious stranger. He tells me at one point they stop to pick up a hitchhiker. He said, i want to get out. Christian said, i want to get out of the car, too. A living i take pride in them. So when my moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis was also on display, id had it. I finally had a serious talk with my dermatologist. This time, he prescribed humiraadalimumab. Humira helps to clear the surface of my skin by actually working inside my body. In clinical trials, most adults with moderate to Severe Plaque Psoriasis saw 75 skin clearance. And the majority of people were clear or almost clear in just 4 months. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. 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[ male announcer ] hurry in for labor day deals. It can bring out the worst in people. But the mclass scans for danger, corrects for lane drifting, and if necessary, it will even brake all by itself. It is a luxury suv engineered to get you there and back safely. For tomorrow is another fight. The 2015 mclass. See your authorized dealer for exceptional offers through mercedesbenz financial services. Okayyy you know how you have been teaching your son to share . Well, he must have listened. Because he is about to take that awkward photo from freshman year and share it with the entire company. Woah. Woah. Woah. Umm. Lets not do that. Here you go. [sighs] introducting kids mode on the familyfriendly Samsung Galaxy s5. Double your tradein to get up to 200 on any working smartphone. Reporter three teenagers, all College Freshman in comenzando en la universidad, gainesville, florida, longtime friends. But fwhoun of them now one of them, christian, was a noshow for meeting with his circle of friends. Didnt pick up the phone. Not so much as a text. And it got later and later. And i started calling our friends. And im like, hey, i just wanted to make sure like, have you seen christian . Whether youre not getting texts back, when do you start to go from worried to really getting freaked out . Well, honestly, all that night i couldnt really sleep. I had passed by his dorm room to see if possibly, you know, his phone died, and he couldnt answer. His phone got wet. I was thinking of all these different scenarios. And he wasnt in his dorm. Where was he all night . Where was he staying . Where was he sleeping . Where where is he . Reporter the next morning still nothing from christian. He hadnt come back to his dorm room. So, erika and pedro, her exboyfriend, together went to the gainesville police. So, we go to the window and we start explaining our situation. And the lady pretty much, like, laughs at me. So, theyre blowin you off. Yeah. And i was just there, like you know, this lady better hope theres nothing wrong here. I was so upset at that point cause i just wanted someone to Pay Attention and you know this is a serious thing. Reporter but after all, christian wouldnt be the first College Freshman to go off the grid for a bit. Maybe taking a break from his studies, crashing at another dorm. But his friends were worried and the cops told them to go see if the Campus Police could help. The big thing that i wanna find out is has anybody been in contact and when was the last time they contacted him. Where was the last time anybody was on contact with em . Reporter officer tim peck talked to the concerned pair. Found out that pedro was the last friend to see christian the previous day. And he kinda walks me through the the day, you know, once he meets christian. They go to the infirmary cause christian needs to get a flu shot. Then, they go back to pedros car which is parked on campus. And then at that point they go to best buy. Reporter pretty routine afternoon until, pedro told him, they decided to do something a little impulsive. Then, he tells me at one point they stop to pick up a hitchhiker. Reporter pedro told officer peck and erika they drove around town for a bit. Eventually, the hitchhiker was like, i wanna get outta the car. And then shortly after, christian said, you know, i wanna get outta the car, too. You know, just pull over. I wanna get out. Reporter and that was where the friends parted, near this auto body shop, a few miles offcampus. That neighborhood around the body shop raised alarm bells for officer peck. It had some rough spots. Some of the area is known to be a high drug area, have some Gang Activity as well. So, that kinda concerned me. Were they up there specifically for that reason or in the process of christian gettin dropped off, did he he run into something or or wander into a bad area . I knew there was a large Homeless Community in gainesville. And there there still is. So, i was a little concerned about that. If he was in the woods somewhere, and he stumbled into a campground of homeless people, and, you know, they decided to do something to him, you know, that was one of the options i had thought of. Reporter a gang area . Homeless camps and a mysterious hitchhiker . There seemed reason enough to be worried. Erika called christians parents, carlos and Claudia Aguilar down in miami and told them christian was missing. What did you think . I know that something was wrong. So, it was that worrying for you that uhhuh. Yes. This behavior was not at all like christian, huh . Not at all. That was not christian. Reporter along with christians younger brother, alex, they jumped in the car to make that long drive up to gainesville. I can say that car ride was the most silent car ride ive ever had. We really didnt talk. It was really quiet. We didnt know what to say to one another. What did that word missing mean to you . Missing, at first i guess i maybe me tryin to be positive, was maybe he went out to the party. Maybe he got injured. Maybe he got into a car accident. We couldnt really tell cause we dont know who he hangs out with. Reporter and once they got there, police had questions for alex and his parents, too. They bring us into this small, little room. And we have an officer who gave us a few questions, asking what it was, what type of person is christian . Would he is he normally like this . Would he usually go out . Does he drink . Does he do any drugs . What were you seeing in christians parents in this period . Confused, pain. There was just pain in their eyes. Reporter but erika says they were all about to channel that pain into determination with more friends heading up from miami. I had a whole group of individuals who were now just as concerned as i was just as focused as i was, just as driven to find christian. I didnt feel so alone once they got there. I felt, you know, were gonna find him. We can do this. Reporter christians family and friends were hopeful hed turn up and soon. And for officer peck, the case of the missing student got more baffling when he caught wind of a secret christian had been trying to hide something. Was his secret the key to finding him . Theres Something Else going on here that im not aware of, great rates for great rides. Geico motorcycle, see how much you could save. Levemir® is now available in flextouch® the only prefilled insulin pen with no pushbutton extension. Levemir® lasts 42 days without refrigeration. Thats 50 longer than lantus®, which lasts 28 days. Today, im asking about levemir® flextouch. female announcer levemir® is a longacting insulin, used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes and is not recommended to treat diabetic ketoacidosis. Do not use levemir® if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. The most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause symptoms such as sweating, shakiness, confusion, and headache. Severe low blood sugar can be serious and lifethreatening. Ask your doctor about alcohol use, operating machinery, or driving. Other possible side effects include injection site reactions. Tell your doctor about all medicines you take and all of your medical conditions. Check your blood sugar levels. Your insulin dose should not be changed without asking your doctor. That one thing was huge. Like in the scuffle with chris, it wasnt really an argument. I made the comment about his girl he had the crush on. He got angry at that. And then he came back with, maybe you should just maybe you should [ bleep ] kill yourself. Thats when i turned around and punched him straight in the face. A fist fight. This was a new detail hed never mentioned. Pedro was now admitting to leaving his buddy by the side of the road bleeding from a sock in the nose. Now im starting to believe that there might be something more to this than just a missing person. But what . While investigators tried to figure it out, they decided they couldnt let pedro go home. They charged him with depriving a victim of medical care. For bloodying christians nose and then leaving him on the side of the road. I had a suspicion that, you know, the meeting took a wrong turn, and that they got into an argument. What could have happened . What exactly is pedro capable of . Then he drove to a car wash. So at 1 00 in the morning, we have pedro bravo pulling up to a car wash and washing his vehicle for 12 minutes. It tells me that hes trying to get rid of evidence. Reporter when he got home, pedro washed his clothes, and crawled in bed in time to get erikas 4am phone call asking of christians whereabouts. Who duct taped him . Pedro bravo. Who put him in the grave . Pedro bravo. Who killed him . Pedro bravo. After calling nearly 50 witnesses to the stand, the prosecution rested its case. The defense, though, thought it needed only one witness in response pedro bravo was about to take the stand. Coming up he would have a dramatically different story to tell. Did you drink the concoction that was in the gatorade bottle . Yes, drank the concoction that was in the gatorade bottle. Could the evidence presented against him actually help clear him . Iness. And energy. Happiness is the most attractive form of beauty. The one that comes from deep within. [ male announcer ] discover renergie lift multiaction, he even brought along the shovel as part of his plan. At the beginning, i was going dig myself my grave. So the jury had to decide who is pedro bravo a killer without a conscience or a selfdestructive lovesick boy . But then came some of the weirder evidence ever to come from a jailhouse snitch. State your name he had cut a deal in exchange for leniency in his own case was a cellmate of bravo. Slipped a note under my door. The note asked the cellmate to find someone on the outside to commit a series of murders similar to christians killing, suggesting that the real murderer was still at large, and he, pedro, was innocent. He wrote, to threeur people unfortunately must die. They are random individuals but up on his fire engine red ducati motorcyle. Michel was a selftaught web designer and sometime teacher of computing, but by his early 30s he was looking for a career change. He thought hed try hair styling so he enrolled, as fate would have it, in the same Cosmetology School as wendy. Michel, who fancied himself a sensitive guy poet, had a string of admiring girlfriends. But wendy, younger by ten years, and prettier than most any other woman in his orbit, was clearly a prize catch. When i met wendy he was on a motorcycle with her. I told myself its a beautiful girl. I dont know what he did to get this girl. Reporter whatever he did it worked. The pair falling quickly and deeply. They were in like, high school sweethearts. She was totally in love, sparkle in the eye. He said, im gonna buy her her own motorcycle. And its with detectives for 14 hours. They asked him repeatedly if he could identify anyone with a motive. He said he couldnt. After leaving police headquarters, he saw his friend ramon santa cruz. He was looking depressed. He looked down, maybe tired. Reporter five days after her murder, wendy was laid to rest, and then friends and family gathered at her parents home. Detective bayas was there as well, and he learned something about the couple that would send the investigation down another path. A thread of this investigation takes you into the swinger lifestyle. Whats been going on with michel and wendy in this club scene . After im informed of this, that wendy was part of a swingers club, a place called the miami velvet down here in south miami, the first thing i did was i called michel. He did admit to having encounters with other couples there. So, you two go to the prosecutor, the state attorney and say, we got it. Lets go. Grand jury. No, its not that easy. A wrap, were done. Why why isnt it its not you that easy . You gotta prove it. Gotta prove it. Reporter so, the police let their person of interest go. In the meantime, wendys family had huge suspicions about michel. Sister rita wasnt crazy about him from the moment she first met him. Call it bad energy. I shook that mans hand and i was wiping my hand right after i let it go. Its just it was eerie. This guy definitely did not pass the sniff test for you. No. Reporter the revelation that hed bought a Million DollarLife Insurance policy on wendy only confirmed their belief that hed killed her. Two months after wendys death, michel filed for his beneficiary payout. The insurer, met life, balked saying the case was an unsolved homicide. And her murder would remain unsolved for a long time. Wed be frustrated, you know, the family of the victim. He said to calm down, that it was all a plan, that he didnt love her, he loved me. He was gonna marry her, they were gonna have an insurance policy and she was gonna die. All right. So, he told you he had a plan . Yes. Reporter the plan was murder. It was during that conversation, yolanda told jurors, that she became a coconspirator not only helping escoto cover up his crime, but also helping him carry it out. This was the plan on his wedding night, yolanda said escoto would drug and drown wendy. To make sure he got it right, yolanda admitted she took part in a grim dress rehearsal of what was meant to look like an accidental death. We filled up my tub and i got in the water. And he pushed me down with his hands. You let him push you under the water . Yes. What did you say once he let you up . I told him that wouldnt work. Why . Because the force of him holding her down in the water would leave bruises. Then again, a cad is a far cry from killer. I dont think hes a killer. I think there is problems with this evidence. Youre not just sayin that . Im not just saying that. Theres problems with this evidence. Reporter attorney Terry Lenamon served as escotos standby counsel. He says that despite the teary theatrics the states case against Michel Escoto was weak from start to finish. There was, he pointed out, no murder weapon, no blood, no dna linking the defendant to the crime. Which is maybe why Michel Escoto, who had already pleaded not guilty to the charges, did what so many men facing a life in prison sentence would never dream of doing. He defended himself in court. I believe the evidence will show that only an imbicile and an imbecile whos in love with money, would kill somebody four an imbecile whos in love with money, w male announcer dy four its happening. Today, more and more people with type 2 diabetes are learning about longacting levemir®, an injectable insulin that can give you blood sugar control for up to 24 hours. And levemir® helps lower your a1c. Levemir® is now available in flextouch® the only prefilled insulin pen with no pushbutton extension. Levemir® lasts 42 days without refrigeration. Thats 50 longer than lantus®, which lasts 28 days. Today, im asking about levemir® flextouch. female announcer levemir® is a longacting insulin, used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes and is not recommended to treat diabetic ketoacidosis. Do not use levemir® if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. The most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause symptoms such as sweating, shakiness, confusion, and headache. Severe low blood sugar can be serious and lifethreatening. Ask your doctor about alcohol use, she gave us the additional thing that we needed to charge and keep and bring Michel Escoto to justice in this case. So he gets a life sentence, and she gets, have a nice day. Thats how it appears. But in lieu of not having anybody held accountable for this, ill take that. Reporter but the family wasnt going to let yolanda off so easily. They sued her for the wrongful death of wendy and were awarded a 44million judgement. Though they have no expectations of ever seeing that kind of money. If she has to pay one cent a week, its well worth it as a reminder for the rest of her life how she assisted that monster. Reporter two weeks after his conviction, Michel Escoto was sentenced for the murder of his new bride. At the hearing, he proclaimed his innocence to wendys family. No matter how much satisfaction this verdict has given any of you, an innocent person was convicted in this case. Reporter finally, the family had an opportunity to address