then he, you know, comes toward me and i just, you know, i just close my eyes and just pulled the freaking trigger. and i was so sorry. reporter: with all the things he s telling you, he s in a relationship with danielle. do you start to think, we need to talk to danielle dreher? yes. so the next step was let s find out, let s hear danielle s story. reporter: so detective szalbirak left michael and headed to the hospital where danielle had been waiting for updates on sam s condition. all danielle had been told was that sam had been shot. no one told her by whom. when i got over there, she was crying. she was very upset. reporter: detectives recorded the interview. we re trying to piece together what, what all happened. okay, let me get calm here. reporter: at first, detective szalbirak didn t reveal that he knew about danielle s lover michael minor, or that it was michael who shot sam. instead, he started by asking danielle about her marriage to sam. danielle candidly
firefighter didn t disappoint. he had hired a sand sculptor to build a rather large sand sculpture of a treasure chest. and then he had placed the engagement ring in the box. so there was some real pirate booty in there? right, right. he pulled the ring out, got down on one knee and proposed to her. sam s a romantic. he is, isn t he? reporter: the lucky in love newlyweds would become equally successful at work. sam quickly climbed the fire department ladder, rising to the rank of lieutenant at the young age of 33. he loved the fire services. absolutely loved it. loved being a paramedic. reporter: danielle was just as ambitious, finding her stride in the administrative office of a local hospital. she became the regional marketing director for the whole hospital corporation. reporter: sam and danielle didn t have children, but they had the next best thing sam s great niece, aubrey cake. you re like the daughter we never had. they always told me that.
danielle never asked michael to steal anything. the jury didn t agree. she was found guilty as charged and sentenced to four years in prison. this was a very satisfying verdict. to see the woman be punished for her actions. reporter: is the murder of sam dreher an open case or a closed case? no. it s a closed case. reporter: but not for cindy, who continues to mourn the loss of her brother. she keeps his uniform close by for comfort, and with it a lifetime of memories. he was loving. he was caring. he was the peacemaker. he was always doing for others. he was just sweet. reporter: cindy once felt the same way about her sister-in-law danielle. now there s bad blood between the two. cindy fought danielle in court over benefits from sam s life insurance. they ultimately reached a confidential settlement. cindy also keeps a watchful eye on danielle. according to cindy, danielle was dating another man before she went to prison.
reporter: 24 hours after sam dreher had been shot, his condition began to deteriorate rapidly. sam s sister, cindy, was there when the family decided to take him off life support. i hated it. i thought of him like he was one of my children. i loved him that much. were you able to be with sam? were you able to hold his hand and say goodbye? i did. what did you say to him? i made him a promise that the people responsible for his murder would would pay for it. reporter: the news of sam s passing hit dianne mcknight hard. in my mind i m still thinking, maybe there s still some hope that he can survive this. but when i heard that, i knew that i was never going to see him again. reporter: sam s great niece, aubrey cake, didn t make it to
firefighter didn t disappoint. he had hired a sand sculptor to build a rather large sand sculpture of a treasure chest and then he it placed the engagement ring in the box. so there was some real pirate booty in there? right. he pulled the ring out, got down and proposed toler. sam is a romantic. isn t he. the newlyweds would become equally successful at work. sam rose to the rank of lieutenant at the young age of 33. he loved the fire services. absolutely loved it. loved being a paramedic. danielle was just as ambitious, finding her stride in the administrative office of a local office. she became the regional marketing director for the whole hospital corporation. sam and danielle didn t have children but they had the next best thing, sam s great niece aubrey cake. you re like the daughter we never had. they always told me that. aubrey who attended college