it really threw him for a loop when he found out that my mom had met somebody else. police had a suspect and a case that was about to take an unbelievable turn. one of the most shocking things i have ever seen in a courtroom. hello and welcome to dateline. deede keller had made a comfortable life for herself. a successful realtor in southern california, she lived in a charming neighborhood where she was surrounded by family and friends. then suddenly, deede disappeared. as her loved ones launched a frantic search, investigators would follow the trail of clues to a suspect with a dark obsession. but the final twist in this case would leave the courtroom stunned. here s josh mankiewicz with betrayal of trust. southern california s south bay. a singularly stunning strand of shoreline with familiar names like hermosa, redondo and manhattan. we call it the sandbox. no one thinks that this part of los angeles exists, but it does. this seaside playground is lined w
or was it something more or someone else. it really threw him for a loop when he found out that my mom had met somebody else. police had a suspect and a case that was about to take an unbelievable turn. one of the most shocking things i have ever seen in a courtroom. hello and welcome to dateline. deede keller had made a comfortable life for herself. a successful realtor in southern california, she lived in a charming neighborhood where she was surrounded by family and friends. then suddenly, deede disappeared. as her loved ones launched a frantic search, investigators would follow the trail of clues to a suspect with a dark obsession. but the final twist in this case would leave the courtroom stunned. here s josh mankiewicz with betrayal of trust. southern california s south bay. a singularly stunning strand of shoreline with familiar names like hermosa, redondo and manhattan. we call it the sandbox. no one thinks that this part of los angeles exists, but i
correct. defensive tierney walked into the courtroom and made a statement that caused mouths to fall open. the defense attorney gets up and says, you re gonna see something that you will never see in a court ever and he says my client killed with deede keller, but he didn t murder her. what does that mean? they were trying to see if they could have a manslaughter out of it. deputy lewin asked to speak with him behind closed doors and made an offer. plead guilty to second degree murder and be eligible for parole in 15 years. my memory is that as i was saying this, he is nodding. this wasn t just about erwin admitting to you, he had to admitted to everybody in court. yes. and erwin howard did just that. the surprising a courtroom filled with deede s friends and families.
it would take three years for the case against erwin howard to come to trial. cameras were not present in the courtroom that day when trial began in the fall of 2008. john lewin laid out his case in a devastatingly thorough, two and a half hour long power point presentation to the jury. opening statements are like a check, i m writing a check, jury hears it, and if i do my job right after opening? all they re waiting to see is if there are funds in the bank. in other words, if you deliver during your case, what you say you re going to deliver in the opening statements, you re gonna get what you need. that is my hope. but never in this prosecutor s wildest dreams did he believe his opening statement would have the effect it did on erwin howard and his defense attorney, andrew fryer.