Transcripts for MSNBC Dateline 20210221 08:18:15 archive.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from archive.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
photographed a bloody swipe on the handle of the closet safe, just a short distance from jaime s body. the defense told the jury how detectives never ran it for a possible print, nor had it swabbed for dna. isn t that the kind of evidence you d wanna have available to consider? why wouldn t you at least test it? reporter: the defense ticked off more examples of what they regarded as inept detective work, they never brought lizz s ex-husband in for questioning. or that neighbor with a history of petty burglaries, the one fresh out of jail. the police go to his house, knock. he doesn t answer and they leave their card. call us if you get the time ? right. and, and, they never followed up on it. reporter: and, the defense thought they knew just how the investigation got so bungled. look at the man who led it. what kind of murder investigation would you have where you knowingly, intentionally, and willfully don t bring the lead investigator to court? reporter: the defense,
the jury anyway. there was no evidence of infidelity or typical marriage troubles still she suggested that sandra wanted out. but their religion made it impossible to split up the usual way jehovah s witnesses don t allow you to divorce. unless someone s cheating, and it s very clear that jaime was not that guy. if i get divorced, i get ostracized and i can t talk with my friends. but if i kill him, and nobody finds out, i m not ostracized. reporter: but wasn t sandra too frail to commit such a violent, close-quarters, crime? maybe not. the medical examiner s report concluded jaime suffered 31 sharp force wounds but none very deep. so kind of stab, stab, taunting kind of injuries or how i don t how do you read it? or maybe not much force used. or maybe a weaker person. reporter: so how did the attack go down? the prosecutor had a vivid scenario of a lethal seduction. the prosecution thinks that sandra melgar lured jaime to the bedroom under the guise of se
i remember her being like, oh, your uncle. oh. reporter: the melgars life revolved around not just family, but church, too. they d joined the jehovah s witnesses early in their relationship, but by her early 20s, daughter lizz had left the church. newly independent, she rushed into a marriage. a bad one. true that he was involved in heavy drugs? yes. that was the end of it? that was it. i didn t want to live that kind of life. reporter: but her parents marriage just kept going through sickness and health. in fact, in recent years, jaime was looking younger than ever on a vegetarian diet and exercise regimen. he realized he was getting older and he just wanted to make sure he was in the best physical shape. your mom. your poor mom. meanwhile had a constellation of health problems, didn t she? yes. lupus? chemotherapy involved in that? at times, yeah. she also had epilepsy. did she have the seizures? did you ever see her yes. yeah, she did. reporte
infidelity or typical marriage troubles still she suggested that sandra wanted out. but their religion made it impossible to split up the usual way jehovah s witnesses don t allow you to divorce. unless someone s cheating, and it s very clear that jaime was not that guy. if i get divorced, i get ostracized and i can t talk with my friends. but if i kill him, and nobody finds out, i m not ostracized. reporter: but wasn t sandra too frail to commit such a violent, close-quarters, crime? maybe not. the medical examiner s report concluded jaime suffered 31 sharp force wounds but none very deep. so kind of stab, stab, taunting kind of injuries or how i don t how do you read it? or maybe not much force used. or maybe a weaker person. reporter: so how did the attack go down? the prosecutor had a vivid scenario of a lethal seduction. the prosecution thinks that sandra melgar lured jaime to