you can t just take any job. reporter: meghan had to support both herself and leon. it really just seemed like frustrations within a normal relationship. reporter: but one night, everything changed. meghan expressed her frustration in front of leon s high-achieving family. like, i don t understand why he s not working. and he was like, we re gonna talk about this when we get home. and he just tore up my entire closet and just threw all of my stuff on the balcony. reporter: what did you say back to him? i was, like, shocked. and i didn t know what to say. and i didn t know what to do. like, here i am, i live with this person. reporter: that night started a downward spiral. according to meghan, soon, every day leon seemed to find a new reason to get angry. eventually, she says, his anger turned into abuse. it was always something, almost like clockwork. he used to chew tobacco. i don t know what i did or what happened. he took the thing of spit and threw it across the
i had pulled out of my work. and he was right behind me. reporter: meghan said she sped through downtown, but she couldn t shake her ex. then, leon cut her off with his car. he jumped in front of my vehicle, telling me i m making a huge mistake and that he loves me. reporter: meghan says she managed to swerve around leon and escape. but he kept showing up at the hotel where she worked, asking to see her. his demeanor was very calm but very persistent. that s actually scarier because you don t know what s going on in the back of their head. reporter: the hotel banned leon from the property, but co-workers still saw him lurking. we walk outside and see him
yeah. and he s just didn t think it was a big deal, even though he would call me these horrible names and just demeaning and awful. reporter: then, she said, he would beg forgiveness. i m sorry. you know, i love you. i have so much other things going on. i need you in my world. you re the only thing that keeps me happy. reporter: would you forgive him when he would say sorry? of course. reporter: she says leon always promised to change, but never did. and did you ask yourself, how did i i don t know how i ended up there. reporter: get under this man s spell? exactly. no one expects to be in in a relationship like that. reporter: then came january 12, 2017. meghan got home late, after a long day at work. he started throwing stuff out of the dishwasher. he s throwing it and throwing. and then, he, like, threw a glass of wine on me. reporter: meghan had to get out. and i was like, i m done. i m leaving. reporter: she rushed to pack a bag. he put his
deadly attack on the pensacola florida navy base was an act of terrorism. he killed three people friday before he was killed by a sheriff s deputy. and house judiciary committee will hold its second impeachment hearing today. chairman jerry nadler says he expects his committee to be presented with articles of impeachment some time this week. now back to dateline. welcome back to dateline. meghan had been attracted to ex-boyfriend leon jacob in part because as a doctor he saved lives. now, police officers were telling her he was trying to hire a hitman to potentially take hers. and there was more. she wasn t the only target. but the police were putting the wheels in motion on a plan of their own. here s andrea canning with twisted in texas. reporter: after some anxious days in pittsburgh, meghan verikas got a call from investigators to come back to houston. soon after she arrived, they
apartment. leon moved in. that to me was really scary. i m very independent. and he s like, i opened a bank account and i put your name on it. reporter: that s quick? but i was like, oh, he really cares. like okay. reporter: leon s family welcomed meghan like one of their own. did you start to envision the possibility of marriage with leon? yeah. at 30 years old, you don t spend time with somebody that you don t wanna be serious with. that s not who i am. reporter: meghan settled in. she got a dog and made a new friend through work, arial washington. we really clicked over just being from out of town. both transitioning into houston, and we re both steelers fans. reporter: leon s selfies showed a loving couple. but there was one trouble spot in meghan s new life. leon didn t have a texas medical license yet. why don t you go work as a surgical assistant? he was like, you don t understand what it s like to be a doctor.