martin got four years, gypsy 21 months into a any more charges gypsy promise that she would terrify against martin in any future legal issues. it was a victory for alexis . well it s me all by myself. like the wedge that it drove between sisters, and their brother damien. it put a strain on your relationship? it did. once my dad was sentenced. he didn t want any thing to do with us. and then he killed himself. damian mcneill died by suicide, january 2010. he was such a wonderful guy. but, the murder investigation continued. picked up steam in fact. the two investigators debriefed
the evidence in the case, and find the defendant, as to count one, murder, guilty. that woman, the michele s family couldn t hide the relief. after years of fighting they had gotten what they wanted. what they demanded. but until that moment, martin s defence attorneys believed more than martin himself that he would be acquitted. i think martin took it better than we did. the he s like, i m okay. and i was thinking, i m not okay. and then, according to the defendant, randy spencer, martin said something quite remarkable. this may seem strange but he even respects what s his daughter s did. not because he killed his wife, but because if they really believe that he killed his wife, he would expect them to advocate for her. so he understands.
he did. yeah. i m just so happy he can t hurt anyone else. we miss our mom, we ll never get her back. but that courtroom was full of so many people and who loved my mom. you found your family got justice? there s justice for my mom today. martin mcneill was sentenced to 17 years to life. but he would not serve his time in full. in april 2017, martin died of suicide. a dark ending for the story of a family that began with so much hope. that is all for this edition of dateline. i m craig melvin, thank you for watching!
yet. and then? that one little detail. jumped out and said, look at me! the time that came to me is when we heard from the hospices and emt to guys when she threw up water. if michelle threw up water when the emts did cpr, that meant that martin, the doctor, had not done it properly. if at all. okay, do you know how to do cpr? i m doing it. and with that, all of the circumstantial bits seemed to line up and support the idea of a planned murder. a plot that began after martin took up with pepsi. his wife finds concrete evidence that he is doing it. he is trapped. why do i do? i can t lose my good name, because i m gonna lose my job, i m gonna lose my reputation, and lose everything else. so what is it here?
rachel, the oldest, shared her father s love of books. i remember when i was little, just, holding on to my father s hand. and, just to walk with him, be daddy s little girl. and their mother? michelle? she was an amazing, beautiful person on the inside and out. when and so it went for nearly 30 years. as he built a career, and they together raise their big family. and then, here is how martin reacted to middle age. around the time he turned 50, he lost a lot of weight. started tanning. hello? yeah. it was very out of the ordinary. very abnormal for him. and that s when, her mother michelle, confronted that question. the one about looking younger. getting something of the past back. the facelift question. she s like, you know, i