sprang their trap. right now, we re going to read you your rights. me? reporter: they arrested leon and valerie for solicitation of capital murder. and revealed, there was no murder and no kidnapping. meghan and mack were alive and well. they had no idea. they believed that their issues had been taken care of. they had no more problems. and to immediately go from a death notification, to you re under arrest for solicitation, to capital murder reporter: that s a head-snapper. yeah. that ll get your attention. was valerie mcdaniel a murderous mastermind or another victim of leon jacob? coming up i couldn t believe this was happening to my sister. what could have driven valerie to do this? she tells her story. and leon tells his when dateline continues. e continus
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it was just nonstop. e-mails, phone calls. reporter: all from leon. erratic messages, from an account called, leonlovesmeghan. he s like, i love you. here s this wedding ring i was gonna buy you. then the next e-mail would be, oh, you re so done. i want nothing to do with you. reporter: meghan texted leon to leave her alone. they were over. but there was more to come and it was infuriating. meghan found out that leon had withdrawn most of the money from their joint bank account. and when she went to her apartment to get her belongings, she was shocked by what she saw. i had no furniture left. nothing. he luckily i had gotten there in time before he he took my clothes. reporter: meghan went to the police and swore out a complaint against leon. and i just sat in this filthy office, just crying and and writing down everything i could remember. reporter: she told police leon had assaulted her. she applied for a protective order. but it didn t come through immedi
bondsman, michael kubosh, who told the jury he had no doubt leon wanted to hire a hitman to kill meghan. i felt like i was talking to the devil himself. reporter: the state then called the supposed hitman turned informant, taz, who testified that he too, knew exactly what leon wanted done. i asked him to bring $2,500 to see how serious he is. and he brought that money? yes. reporter: prosecutors played the tape where leon discussed in detail how he, as a doctor might get rid of meghan give her an injection of potassium chloride to stop her heart, untraceable. i d prefer not to do that. but my survival is more important. he might not have said murder, he might not have said kill, but he knew what he was asking for reporter: one of the star witnesses was the man who played dead. mack mcdaniel alive and well told the jury that he didn t want leon, a man accused of stalking and assault, anywhere near his daughter.
a few days later 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 standing there behind a bush, like you re invisible. i just remember the first words coming out of my mouth were, do you know we can see you? reporter: furious, aerial said she ran across the street yelling. go away. get away from us. leave her alone. reporter: police arrested leon for assault