a boy she d played with as a child, and was now interested in romantically. were they boyfriend and girlfriend? she said that they were, you know, seeing each other, but it wasn t anything serious or formal that i knew of. that s how she explained it to me, you know, he was a nice guy. reporter: cathy s plate was full that february of 1994. she was an honors student at cal state fullerton, holding down two jobs one at the local drugstore and another as a teacher s aide all to pay for college. and now she was also seeing a new guy. just a few days before february 14th, cathy told sister tina what she wanted for valentine s day. she said, tina, i would just like it if somebody gave me a dozen red roses for valentine s day. and i said, yeah, that s all you want? she said i would just like a dozen red roses. reporter: she had never received a dozen roses from anyone, but that year she was
there was younger brother marty and the baby, debbie. tina was the eldest. she watched as cathy excelled in school. cathy was exceptional. cathy made her own way. she didn t follow a role model. reporter: nobody guiding her and nobody pushing her. exactly. she had her own drive. she used to tell her younger sister that she had to leave her mark. you had to leave your mark in this world so that people would remember you when you moved on. reporter: you have to leave your mark on the world. did you teach her that? no, that was just her. reporter: seems like an admirable thing for a kid to come up with. well, cathy was different. reporter: beautiful, smart and social. and popular. you knew more about her dating life than maybe your mom and dad did. yes, i believe to some extent, yes. reporter: cathy dated a few guys in high school, but no one she was terribly stuck on. and then in 1994, out of high school and a young woman of 20, cathy started to see a boy named albe
she didn t follow a role model. reporter: nobody guiding her and nobody pushing her. exactly. she had her own drive. she used to tell her younger sister that she had to leave her mark. you had to leave your mark in this world so that people would remember you when you moved on. reporter: you have to leave your mark on the world. did you teach her that? no, that was just her. reporter: seems like an admirable thing for a kid to come up with. well, cathy was different. reporter: beautiful, smart and social. and popular. you knew more about her dating life than maybe your mom and dad did. yes, i believe to some extent, yes. reporter: cathy dated a few guys in high school, but no one she was terribly stuck on. and then in 1994, out of high school and a young woman of 20, cathy started to see a boy named albert. a boy she d played with as a child, and was now interested in romantically. were they boyfriend and
you had to leave your mark in this world so that people would remember you when you moved on. reporter: you have to leave your mark on the world. did you teach her that? no, that was just her. reporter: seems like an admirable thing for a kid to come up with. well, cathy was different. reporter: beautiful, smart and social. and popular. you knew more about her dating life than maybe your mom and dad did. yes, i believe to some extent, yes. reporter: cathy dated a few guys in high school, but no one she was terribly stuck on. and then in 1994, out of high school and a young woman of 20, cathy started to see a boy named albert. a boy she d played with as a child, and was now interested in romantically. reporter: were they boyfriend or girlfriend? she said that they were, you know, seeing each other, but it wasn t anything serious or formal that i knew of. that s how she explained it to me, you know, he was a nice guy. reporter: cathy s plate was full that february of
school and a young woman of 20, cathy started to see a boy named albert. a boy she d played with as a child, and was now interested in romantically. were they boyfriend and girlfriend? she said that they were, you know, seeing each other, but it wasn t anything serious or formal that i knew of. that s how she explained it to me, you know, he was a nice guy. reporter: cathy s plate was full that february of 1994. she was an honors student at cal state fullerton, holding down two jobs one at the local drugstore and another as a teacher s aide all to pay for college. and now she was also seeing a new guy. just a few days before february 14th, cathy told sister tina what she wanted for valentine s day. she said, tina, i would just like it if somebody gave me a dozen red roses for valentine s day. and i said, yeah, that s all you want? she said i would just like a dozen red roses.