Something that was not on the menu. A murder. But the police are on the trail and tonight were taking you inside their elaborate sting. Why are we being arrested . The body cam footage of the arrest. I have to go to the bathroom please. What was it like to see your best friend go from wearing doctors scrubs to an orange jumpsuit . His jailhouse interview. I wouldnt hurt a fly. And the biggest shocker of all. Their exes arent dead but someone else will be. Before tonight is over. What im trying to understand is are you dr. Jekyll or are you mr. Hyde . Love at first sting. Good evening im elizabeth var gauze. The incredible story of two people accused of an alleged murder for hire plot. One of them a doctor sitting behind bars as we come on the air for what police was an elaborate plot fueled by revenge and obsession. He says they have got it all wrong. But the other person, his girlfriend a successful veterinarian left her side of the story on tape, an audio diary. Will it just be a love story gone wrong or a confession to a crime . Heres matt gutman. Hey, its valley mcdaniel and its march 15, 2017. Im sitting outside. And i wanted to take time, and tell my story. From the beginning. Try not to judge me. Reporter its been said that only good girls keep diaries. Bad girls dont have time. Well, 48yearold Valerie Mcdaniel took time to confide her most private, innermost thoughts in an audio diary she recorded on her ipad. She talks about her daughter. Shes the most precious thing to me. Reporter her adventures as a new divorcee. A 48yearold woman trying to start to date, not a good thing. Reporter and also in that diary, it sounds as if shes harboring a bonechilling secret. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I hate the idea that everybody thinks im a monster. Reporter a monster . Thats not a word her friends would ever use to describe her. Valerie was an amazing human being. She had a light with within her. I felt honored to have her as my friend. She was so successful and so beautiful and funny and intelligent. Reporter 2017 started on a high note for valerie. She is living in river oaks, the Beverly Hills of houston, where her neighbors are the likes of multimillionaire pastor joel osteen. God controls the universe. There are definitely highprofile, wealthy individuals who live in river oaks. Reporter valerie enjoys the view from the balcony of her spacious two bedroom condo, a perk of her thriving veterinary practice. She just poured her heart and soul into veterinary medicine. Just a really giving, caring individual. Reporter dr. Brittany king worked for valerie. I looked up to her as a mentor and a you know, an inspiration. I would hope to be like her someday. Reporter when she wasnt tending to her furry friends, the affluent animal doctor spent weekends on tiki island near galveston, where she generously hosted friends at her 700,000 beach home. We always karaoked. We could learn to love again it was a lot of fun. We swam. We just enjoyed each others company. She would always prepare these amazing dinners for us. Reporter now, when you guys had these dinners, there was one thing that was always missing, and that is valeries husband. Uhhuh. Correct. Reporter what did she tell you about her marriage . She did not feel loved. Her husband was never around. Reporter valerie complained to those friends that mac, her husband and Business Partner at the pet clinic, was always out doing his own thing, like hunting. But valerie later confided to them she thought he was really out hunting other women. She says a woman called the clinic one day claiming to have proof. She gave me lists of women that he had slept with. She knew that there had been some adultery. I knew that because she talked to me about it. And its hard to watch someone in that much pain. Reporter so much pain she filed for divorce after 17 years, citing conflict of personalities and adultery. It was a bitter split, but they did agree on shared custody of their now nineyear old daughter. She was just unhappy. There was a void that wasnt being filled there. Reporter until, that is, she meets this man. Leon jacob, a brash doctor eight years her junior. Valerie is one of the most amazing human beings that id ever met. She was nice and kind and giving and educated, and a great mother. Reporter they met by happenstance when valerie, still miserable in her marriage, lived next door to leons mother. The sight of leon hardly swept her off her feet. He ran up to me and introduced himself. The cockiest [ bleep ] id ever met in my life. I was completely turned off immediately by his attitude. I was drawn to him, but disgusted at the same time. Reporter so just describe the moment you really noticed being attracted to her. I saw her in a bathing suit. If you want me to be very open about it, thats when i first noticed that she was a knockout and that i was attracted to her. Reporter and eventually, she to him. I got through that exterior, and realized he was a nice person, and that he was actually not all that [ bleep ] that he tried to portray himself as. And i really liked what was underneath it. Reporter underneath was a man raised with privilege. He attended the best private schools. Winter breaks were spent skiing in vail, summers in maine. Im an avid golfer and skier. And i work out a lot. Reporter after college, he went to medical school in the caribbean. Im a very driven, typea, alpha personality male. But i have a heart of gold. Reporter but it wasnt only his pedigree that wooed the woebegone veterinarian. I was lonely. And he kept me company. He listened to me. It was everything i needed. Reporter the nowsingle mom finally finding love again. And this past january, it looked as if theyre both finally free for one another after leon and his girlfriend split up. She knew i was goin through a really bad time. It was funny, cause one night we were laying on our balcony and she looked at me and she goes, do i have you . And i said, yes. She was very much in love with him. I mean, she said it multiple times. Im in im completely in love with him. Reporter but valeries friend maggie had some misgivings about leon. What didnt you like about him . Very arrogant and full of himself. Ive just never seen anything quite like that, and ive got a pretty strong intuition about people, and i did not feel good about it. And i let her know that. Reporter but valerie wouldnt hear it. The dashing doctors with seemingly so much in common. We talked science together, we both loved astronomy, we had a telescope in our apartment, we used to look at the you know, the constellations. Reporter that sounds like 57 days of bliss, right . Isnt that the number you put on it . Yes. Reporter but you know what they say if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Those two months of bliss shockingly end this past march, when Valerie Mcdaniel, who had just found a Second Chance at love, jumps to her death from that seventh floor balcony. Valerie mcdaniel left a note detailing her last wishes before apparently jumping to her death from that condo. It was just as much a shock to me as it was to everybody else around her. Reporter coming up what do friends believe drove Valerie Mcdaniel literally over the edge . I dont forgive him. Ill never forgive him. Reporter and what was that secret she was taking along to her grave . This has been a long, drawn out story thats led to an unbelievable, unbelievable conclusion. Reporter stay with us. Today, were out here with some big news about type 2 diabetes. You have type 2 diabetes, right . Yes. So let me ask you this. How does diabetes affect your heart . It doesnt, does it . Actually, it does. Type 2 diabetes can make you twice as likely to die from a cardiovascular event, like a heart attack or stroke. 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A small new size thats fast, cause its liquid. Woohoo youll ask, what pain . New advil liquigels minis. Reporter the death of dr. Valerie mcdaniel sent shockwaves through the affluent Texas Community of river oaks. Coworkers held a vigil at the veterinarian clinic she so cherished. Yeah, chauncey, by all accounts the montrose Veterinary Clinic was Valerie Mcdaniels life. Those who knew her here are now mourning her death. Valerie was a wonderful person reporter her Close Friends in a state of shock we couldnt believe it. Reporter a boyfriend left to ponder what might have been. Wed shared an apartment, we had an account Bank Accounts together, and we had told people we were getting married. We now know that Valerie Mcdaniel left a note detailing her final wishes. Reporter that wasnt all she left behind. Before her death, Valerie Mcdaniel recorded her final thoughts on an ipad. I fell deeply in love with leon during the whole incident at the end of my marriage. Reporter leon jacob can be charming and disarming. Just ask him. It seems like youre almost some svengali, with this oneflick of the finger, you know, just making this woman fall madly in love with you. Without sounding like a pompous ass i can only describe it as ive always understood women really well and theyve always liked me. Reporter former fbi profiler and abc news consultant brad garrett says guys like leon present well. Leon is somebody that will always be able to get into a relationship, because hes willing to put the energy into it on the front end. Reporter but its the back end of some of leons relationships that have been problematic. Like the one with his first wife, annie. We would fight, fight, fight, and love, love, love, fight, fight, fight, love, love, love. It was just it was one of those relationships that people are like, god, theyre crazy, but theyre their crazy, and we love that. Reporter but after 11 years, annie must have had enough crazy. She filed for divorce and would later press charges for aggravated stalking and intimidation. Court documents say he made calls, sent texts and emails threatening to inflict bodily harm. Attempted cyber harassment is what i plead guilty to. Yes. She went a little overboard with her complaints about me. Reporter leons personal struggles mirror his professional life which has been unraveling for years, says assistant District Attorney samantha knecht. Hes a danger as a physician and hes also a danger out in the community. Reporter heres the notsoillustrious timeline 2005 leon graduates from med school on the island of grenada and enters a Residency Program at the university of texas. Hes let go in 2010 and his physicianintraining certificate is terminated. 2010 enters an ohio Residency Program, but a supervisor says he lied about patient care following a surgery and overall had a lack of medical knowledge. He was kicked out, because he wasnt being truthful with the people that were supervising him. Reporter those supervisors later find leon to be an immediate threat to Patient Safety and hes fired. Leon sues but a judge rules against him, writing the likelihood of harm to the hospitals patients is significant if dr. Jacob is restored to his previous employment. Its not in the publics interest to return dr. Jacob to the Residency Program. I i understand that by reason of his deficiencies and apparent inability to acknowledge or correct these deficiencies. You know, these are statements some people that wanted me out wanted me out pretty badly. Thats leon jacob. Its always somebody elses fault. Reporter then in 2012, it goes from cautionary to downright criminal in ohio. Leon jacob is charged with burglary at the home of a hospital administrator. He eventually pleads guilty to criminal trespass. He for some reason continued to believe that he was being wronged by the system. Reporter by 2016, leon has fallen on hard times and files for bankruptcy. When i hear, he has a medical degree, i immediately think, oh, well, where is he practicing medicine . Nowhere. Reporter by this time, leon had met a woman named meghan. They had been dating until a big fight back this past january. One that brought cops to meghans apartment. According to the police report, you busted her lip okay. When you put thats true . I never put any hand on her. We were fighting, i shouldnt have put my hand anywhere near her face. I didnt touch her in any way. I was simply trying to calm, but she bit my hand, and in that time, she bit her own lip. And subsequently, that charge has been dropped because there was no evidence. Reporter charges dropped, yes. But leon wont let meghan drop off his radar. But you kept on pursuing her, despite the fact that she told you not to . I kept on pursuing her for a little bit, yeah. But cops do charge leon with stalking. The exgirlfriend says that he hides in the bushes and waits outside her work place. Reporter heres the 911 call from a concerned coworker. The person is stalking my boss so when we came out of work just now he tried to duck down and then got in his car and tried to leave. Reporter but on that 911 call, it sounds like leon jacob is not done. He doubles back for another look. He circled back around. Thats what im saying, like, since the previous time that we called over 20 minutes ago ,hes actually managed to come back by the property. You know youve been spotted. You know youre doing a bad thing and you keep doing it. He plays by his rules. Youre charge with stalking and with they caught you in the bushes outside her office there are building no bushes out there are no bushes outside her office building. They caught you loitering outside her office. She she says that. People can claim a lot of things, right . You can say you know, superman came down and took me into kryptonite you know, krypton for the weekend. It doesnt make it true. Reporter another romance in tatters. And leon is once again free to pursue a new love, and thats how he winds up with the vet, Valerie Mcdaniel. As for meghan . Shes gone but not forgotten. When we come back Authorities Say leon has a devious plan to tie up loose ends with his ex. Hes got a problem. A legal problem. And according to prosecutors the way that hes going to eliminate that problem is by eliminating her. Reporter stay with us. Atinu, including those with an abnormal alk or egfr gene whove tried an fdaapproved targeted therapy, heres a question who wouldnt want a chance for another. . Whod say no to a. . Who wouldnt want. A chance to live longer. Opdivo nivolumab . Opdivo demonstrated longer life versus chemotherapy. Over 40,000 of these patients have been prescribed opdivo. Opdivo works with your immune system. 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The perfect backdrop for leon jacob, a wannabe surgeon whose linkedin page would have you believe hes transplanting hearts by day, all while capturing hearts by night. Reporter you know how to talk to women. Yeah, i do. I respect them very much. And most men dont treat them that way. Reporter by now, hes in the loving arms of a new woman, successful single mom Valerie Mcdaniel. Although hes happy to be in a new relationship, he privately stews over why his exgirlfriend meghan has dumped him. Im not 100 sure to this day why she ran away like she did. Reporter megans gone, but her stalking charge against him lingers. Hes got a problem, a legal problem, a criminal legal problem. Reporter also a problem because leon still doesnt have a license to practice medicine. And a felony conviction may certainly keep him from ever getting one. Reporter and according to prosecutors the way that hes goin to eliminate that problem is by eliminating her. Thats right, the man who took an oath to do no harm is allegedly trying to doin his exgirlfriend meghan reporter investigators say thats what leads leon to this guy. A former Army Sergeant and purple heart recipient who calls himself zach. These days, zach is bringing new meaning to the term soldier of fortune. Cop says zach promises to take care of leons problem for a price. A price that includes 5,000 cash, two cartier watches and a laptop as a down payment for the job. But heres the thing the prosecutor said that zach is much more of a conman than a hitman. Reporter according to investigators, zach takes the money and runs, without ever firing a single shot. That was zachs story. He said he was never going to go through with the murder. Reporter feeling swindled, cops say leon tries to hunt down zach and begins his search with a guy who has seen his share of shady characters. Reporter how does a nice fella like you get involved in Something Like this . Well, i bonded somebody out of jail. And his name happened to be leon jacob. Reporter meet bail bondsman michael kubosh. He not only bonded out leon on the stalking charge, he once put up bond for zach too he didnt offer to shake my hand. He said, im im leon jacob. And i want zachs number. And i said, well, why do you need zach . And he said, ive paid him a lot of money to take care of this matter. And i said, to take care of what . He said, i want her out of the picture. Reporter now kubosh says hes beginning to get the picture and its not pretty. And the way he talked to me, i felt like was i was talkin to satan himself. Reporter kubosh does his civic duty and calls the police who quickly Contact Meghan and put her in a safe house, under police protection. Next, they haul in zach, the wouldbe hitman in the alleged plot. Zach talks, and talks, and talks. According to prosecutor nathan moss. So zach tells us that mr. Jacob has hired him to kill the victim in this case. Reporter but now zach is working with the cops and thats a gamechanger. Prosecutors say that with police secretly listening in, zach calls and informs leon hes outsourced the job. They have zach call leon and say, hey, i got a guy. Hes gonna do the hit for us. Reporter but that new guy is actually an undercover cop named javier. Weve been asked to not show his face. Once i am involved in the murder plot that we are able to control the situation. Reporter javier says as the call continues, all is going according to plan. Until leon poses a jawdropping question. Nathan moss, when theyre talking on the phone, leon says, are they gonna take care of both issues . Reporter both issues . So hpd is learning, oh, theres a second person theyre trying to take care of. Upon hearing that i was shocked, that leon wanted two people killed. And that his girlfriend valerie would also be involved. Reporter his girlfriend valerie. The vet and new love in his life. Cops say they learn shes also in on the plot. And that second person they allegedly want whacked . Her exhusband, mack. Leon did tell me that he also wanted to have valeries exhusband removed from the picture. And at that point, they decide to meet at the olive garden. Reporter the olive garden, with its familyfriendly ambiance, not really the kind of place youd expect a murderforhire strategy session to go down. It was very obvious to me during that first meeting that leon was serious about killing megan and mack. Reporter so they were sitting at this table . Yes. Reporter at this very table, somewhere between the breadsticks and the bolognese, sits one strange quartet. The vet Valerie Mcdaniel, beau leon jacob, zach and undercover officer javier posing as a contract killer. What did they look like when they came in here . So valerie had actually come in from work, so she was literally wearing scrubs from the vet clinic along with doctor mcdaniel monogrammed on on the scrub jacket. Reporter wow. So, again, not trying to hide her identity . No, not trying to hide her identity at all. Reporter cops say leon has made his target clear. He told me on more than one occasion, that his survival is more important than hers that he was a lot more important than her. Reporter as leon and zach take a cigarette break cops say the undercover javier and valerie are left alone to discuss intended target number two, valeries ex mack. And i asked her are you sure you want to do this. And she said i have no other choice. Hes going to take my baby from me. Reporter she was worried about him taking full custody of the girl. And he finally gets her to say that she does, in fact, want him to be killed. And thats when he said, well, if you want that done, its gonna be another 10,000. And valerie said, okay, i have to pay you out in installments of it, but ill pay you 10,000. Reporter money is tight for valerie, thanks to that divorce settlement. She agreed to pay her ex over a million bucks for his share of the vet clinic. She had just gotten divorced and taken a loan out of 1. 2 million to pay Mack Mcdaniel as part of that divorce. So liquidity may have been an issue for them. Reporter so she had to pay 1. 25 million in the divorce . She had to take a loan out. Reporter it may not have been on the menu, but the cops say, two murders were ordered here. Reporter coming up cops make a house call as cameras roll. We have some bad news. The elaborate charade by police to smoke out the alleged conspirators, is caught on tape. Why are we being arrested . Next. I no longer live with the uncertainties of hep c. Wondering, what if . I let go of all those feelings. Because i am cured with harvoni. Harvoni is a revolutionary treatment for the most common type of chronic hepatitis c. Its been prescribed to more than a quarter million people. And is proven to cure up to 99 of patients who have had no prior treatment with 12 weeks. 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Prilosec otc 7 years ago,my doctor recommended. 5 years ago, last week. Just 1 pill each morning, 24 hours and zero heartburn. Its been the number 1 doctor recommended brand for 10. Straight years, and its still recommended today. Use as directed. Aaetna. You dont join us,up of joe tas ithey grandpa. T to us, hey, kid. Really good to see you. You too. You tell grandma you were going fishing again . Maybe. vo the best things in life keep going. Thats why i got a subaru, too. Introducing the allnew crosstrek. Love is out there. Find it in a subaru crosstrek. Reporter its time for the check at this olive garden restaurant. And picking up the tab for that delicious, affordable, and allegedly conspiratorial lunch is dr. Leon jacob and his girlfriend, dr. Valerie mcdaniel. I believe leon and valerie paid for the bill. That was very nice of them. Reporter now remember, the cops say leon and val thought theyd been dining with a hitman, but javier was really an undercover cop. So Police Spring into action, immediately reaching out to valeries ex husband mac to tip him off. And what they get mac to do next is right out of a john grisham novel weve recreated the scene to show how the cops enlisted mac to stage his own death. They do a series of pictures of him dead. Reporter he agrees to pose for photos like these, complete with a bullet wound in his head. We wanted to make it look like he had been killed in a robbery. We took a series of them, one slumped over the Steering Wheel and shot in the head and the other one laying on the ground, shot in the head. Reporter cops have also gotten to leons ex, meghan. Does she express any surprise that leon jacob, the man who loved her so much and then stalked her, allegedly, would want this to happen to her . She is in no way surprised that this happened. She knew that he had a temper. He would explode, and now that she was denying him access to herself, like, he became obsessed with her. Reporter meghan also agrees to post for photos like these staging her own set of pictures to make it look like shes been kidnapped. Leon kept using the word disappear. Or he would say, i want her gone. I want her to go away forever. And i took that to understand that he wanted her dead. Reporter but javier says, in the middle of depicting the harrowing scene, its suddenly all a little too real for meghan. And she breaks down. Meghan became hysterical. She was very scared for her life. And she actually began to cry and she began to tremble. Reporter the doomsday photo shoots are done and the cops are ready to take their next step in their elaborate sting operation, informing leon and valerie that mac has been killed. Still posing as that hitman, javier says he breaks the news in person at the condo. I begin to tell valerie and leon that mac was gone that it was done. I then asked leon if he wanted to see a picture. And he told me that he did not want to see anything. If this was a mistake, if, they werent supposed to go kill the person, kidnap the person, the response would be, oh my goodness. What have you done . Reporter instead, cops say, leon produces the blood money. Leon gives me the cash and i count out 1,800. Reporter according to cops, in leon and valeries minds, with mac dead, meghan is next. And later that same day, javier says, he informs leon, that job too is done, meghan is now a memory. I told leon during a recorded conversation, hey megan is dead now. And he said okay, ill talk to you later. So at that point, weve closed both cases. But we decided we wanted to go an extra step. And so that extra step was the death notice. Reporter a death notice. Now, thats what cops call it when they have to notify a Family Member or next of kin that a loved one has passed. So now its these Police Officers who have to give a performance. Just days after that olive garden meeting , Sergeant Frank quinn and other officers show up at that apartment to break what should be shocking, tragic news for valerie. Yeah, come in. Whats going on . Reporter now remember, its all a ruse to get valeries reaction. And its all being recorded as potential evidence on police body cameras. Im afraid we have some bad news. Your exhusband, found, it looks like it turns out to be a fatality. Looks like it mightve been a robbery gone wrong, sorry to have to tell you. Have you heard from him recently . I heard from him last night. You heard from him last night . I was at the house last night. Reporter valeries response doesnt seem particularly appropriate , according to sergeant quinn. It was not what you would expect. In reality youd wanna know, how do you know this . Youd definitely have a lot of questions, and a lot of grief, in the video, valerie sits quietly, putting her head in her hands. Javier is there too. You cant see him on camera but valerie does and realized her hitman is actually a cop. I had my Houston PoliceDepartment Badge around my neck and her, her facial expressions said a million words. She knew she had been caught. Did your husband know of anybody who might want to harm him . Now your boyfriend, is he awake . You might want to let him know whats going on and im sorry. Reporter soon enough, leon emerges from the bedroom. Her exhusbands been found. Oh my god. Looks like a mightve been a robberygonewrong holy [ bleep ]. Reporter now, listen carefully to what leon says next, because cops say its sounding like hes establishing his whereabouts. Are you okay, baby . Weve been here all night. We were here all day with their daughter and we were watching movies. I never met him except for once. My name is leon jacob. Im her boyfriend. What he wants to do is establish an alibi, let ya know right away its not him. You know, and then feigning that surprise, its it was all rehearsed, in my opinion. Was he worried about anything . I dont know. I met him once a long time ago. That was it. Is it strange for a man who hasnt been yet accused of anything to immediately offer an alibi, unsolicited . Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I think right there, thats great evidence for us. Reporter more than enough, police now believe, to end the masquerade. Alright, well, ill tell you well need you to come with us, and oh, so i guess ill stay okay, what right now were gonna read you your rights. Me . cause both of you are being arrested. For what . For solicitation of capital murder. Why . Solicitation of murder. Why are we being arrested . Just put your palms together. Reporter oh, and theres yet another surprise for valerie in store. As shes being hauled off to jail, someones waiting outside her front door. Its her exhusband mac back from the dead waiting to take custody of their young daughter. He stands at the threshold of the apartment. They allow her to go get her daughter. She brings the daughter to the threshold and then hands the daughter off to mack. And that was the last time that she saw her daughter . It was. Reporter i wonder what was going through her mind at that moment that she handed her over to the man she tried to murder . Knowing that it was all over. Her child, her career, her freedom are slipping away but valeries love for leon endures for one final kiss. When we come back, valerie takes her own life before her trial. But not before making that haunting audio diary. It wasnt like bam, bam, bam, a progression. Things just gradually happened. Reporter a voice from the grave, but will it contain a full confession . And, will it point the finger at leon . Are you a person whos capable of murder . No. I really wouldnt hurt a fly. If i didnt have to. Thats quite a qualifier. Reporter our jailhouse interview, still ahead. 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Both of you are being arrested. Reporter the suspects went as far as to plan out how they wanted their exes to be, quote, taken care of. Ordinarily, doctors wear scrubs, but not these two. At least not today. Led into court wearing orange jumpsuits, charged with allegedly hiring a hit man to kill both their exes. Four days after the arrest, valerie was released on a 50,000 bond. After a couple days in the cooler, she says, she needs to chill out and goes to see her friends. Why would you want your husband killed . She really did not talk about it at all. I think she knew that it was an uncomfortable situation for everyone. We were all trying to be upbeat and positive and, like, its going to be fine. We can work through this. We, you know, well well help you out. Well support you. But she seemed a little resigned. Maybe little defeated. There was a look in her eyes that i hadnt quite ever seen before there. She knew we werent going to pry, and ask her a lot of questions about what happened. In hindsight, after she had died, i immediately realized she came there to say goodbye. Reporter and in one final, loving gesture to her friend maggie, she pens this letter just before jumping to her death. Can you read it . Dear maggie, im so very sorry for what i have done, but i am just not Strong Enough to fight all the battles ahead. Im tired and so scared and so weak. Be well and stay safe. All my love, valerie. The death of a murder for hire suspect who jumped from her own condo balcony today. People fell to their knees, crying. It it was completely just completely shocking. I dont want i got a call, and i didnt want to believe it. Losing her career, and her reputation, and i just think she wasnt going to she just didnt want to live like that anymore. Mostly losing her daughter. Absolutely. That was the biggest thing. Reporter and that audio diary she recorded, apparently a suicide note all along, and is now in the hands of the police. I didnt wake up one day, and just say, hey, i wanna kill my exhusband. Things just gradually happened. Reporter but prosecutors say she did want to do it, and actually confessed after her arrest out in the hallway outside her apartment. They keep telling to having to tell her to speak up. And she says things like, you know, so you wanted your husband killed . You know, you cant nod. You have to say yes, and shed be like, yes, thats what i wanted. No matter how educated she was or brilliant or loving she was, seemingly fell under the spell of leon jacob. Vals friends blame leon too. Do you think hes responsible for her death . Yeah. She wouldnt be where she is now if it wasnt for him. How does valerie get from wellrespected vet, to hiring a hitman, to suicide . I think that youre going to find the lynchpin of that is leon jacob. I do want people to understand that this was not something that she wanted to happen. Its something that happened to her. I truly believe that. This was not something that she would have ever done. Reporter maggie points out, in the short 8 week period leon and valerie were together, she saw her friend only once. She wouldnt hang out with her friends anymore, which is all classic stalker method of operation. You cut them off from their friends. You seclude them. Reporter leon denies keeping valerie from her friends. You know when youre first in a new relationship you kind of isolate yourselves with your you know, with each other. Reporter but despite everything thats happened, valerie never turns on leon. I know its going to upset a lot of people, but i love him, but when we come back, is leon about to turn on valerie . It seems his Defense Strategy here is gonna be, it was her fault. She got me into this, and which leon jacob will a jury get to meet . What im trying to understand is are you dr. Jekyll or are you mr. Hyde . nothing comes before coffee. fighting briefly resumes thats why were introducing a whole new line of espresso drinks from mccafe. Cafequality from beans to espresso machines. fighting unintelligible my bladder leakage was making me feel like i couldnt spend time with my grandson. Now depend fitflex has their fastest absorbing material inside, so it keeps me dry and protected. Go to depend. Com get a coupon and try them for yourself. That weve made even more irresistible. Om our cocoa creme soft caramels. Its the werthers youve been waiting for. Ill take a sick day tomorrow. Sleep with this cold. On our daughters birthday . Moms dont take sick days. Moms take nyquil severe. Stock up on nyquil severe, so you dont lose a moment to. Sick days. Reporter valeries former lover, leon jacob has been sitting in the Harris County jail for almost 7 months, hes awaiting trial on charges of stalking and solicitation of murder. When i sat down with him he wouldnt talk about the details of his case but denied any wrongdoing. I am innocent of these charges. I still maintain that throughout. I find them to be atrocious in manner because im not some monster that wanted my exgirlfriend killed and her exhusband. Im a healer by nature. Did you hold yourself responsible for her suicide . No. That was a decision she made on her own. So you never thought for a minute that maybe youd put her in a position that she just couldnt handle and that it drove her to commit suicide . No. She had so much pressure on her, and i wasnt there to help support her. Reporter leon asked the judge to allow him to attend valeries funeral but his request was denied. His request to be released on bond was also denied. His bond will remain at zero bond. All right. Thank you. Prominent defense attorney George Parnham is representing leon. Do you know of any recordings reporter he gave us a preview of any Defense Strategy accusing the police of entrapment. Oh my god they were active players in this whole solicitation of capital murder. Leons in this pickle, according to parhnam because of valerie. Valerie was extremely instrumental in the facts situation that lands my client in jail behind bars. If it werent for valerie, do you think that leon would be facing this charge of murder for hire . No, i i i dont. Its awfully convenient, because shes no longer here to defend herself. I wish she were here so that i could subject her to crossexamination. Youre a guy with some of the best pedigree around. You went to the best schools around in the nation. How does a guy like you end up in a place like this . Thats a really good question. I dont necessarily have an answer for you, and the only thing that i can say about that is, you know, ive been knocked down a bunch in my life, and i always got back up. Let me explain something about valerie. I feel still today privileged to have been able to know her so intimately. And i did love her. I still do very very much very deeply i cant tell you how much i i cared for that woman. Both leon jacobs exgirlfriend and Valerie Mcdaniels exhusband mack declined our request for interviews. His trial is scheduled to begin this december. That is our program for tonight. Im i lez beth vargas. For all of ous here at abc news. Thanks for watching. Have a good evening. Good night. Coming up on action news, new information about todays shooting of a suburban housewife at her front door, and the rush to evacuate as a puerto rican dam is about to break. Thats next. Action news, delaware value valleys leading news program, with jim gardner. This is long meadow drive in limerick Montgomery County where a woman was shot twice when she hop