and that was really his only contact that he could give us with cathy s car. reporter: but he doesn t fold up like a house of cards and say, all right, fine. you got me. you re right. but josh, you ve watched probably thousands of these interviews. and sometimes what people don t say is just as important as what they do say. reporter: what xavier either would not or could not say were these words i did not kill cathy torrez. he says, i don t know who did. that s not what i asked, xavier. did you kill cathy torrez? i don t know who did. and we play that several times to where he d finally say, i didn t do it. you didn t do what, xavier? i didn t do what you say i did. reporter: can t say the words, killed cathy ? correct. then it moved to, did you put cathy s body in the trunk of the car? i don t know who did. finally he sat there and he put his fist in front of his mouth to keep himself from talking. reporter: but xavier had already managed to talk
spoke with sam for 90 minutes before he asked them a single question. and when he finally did. so did you do you guys know how she was killed? uh, yeah, we do. reporter: larry noticed a telling statement. i thought you were never gonna ask. well, i didn t want cause i don t want memories to come back, you know? well, that s an interesting statement, i don t want memories to come back. what memories does he have that he doesn t want to remember? if he s innocent, he has memories of cathy, good times, what they did. people would want those memories to come back. yeah. if he had a memory that he killed her, that certainly is a memory he doesn t want to relive. reporter: after listening to the interviews time and again the evidence whisperer had no doubt sam killed cathy. but could the team prove it beyond a reasonable doubt? ultimately in cold case murders, time becomes of our friends because technology changes. reporter: at the time of the murder d-n-a tests coul
spoke with sam for 90 minutes before he asked them a single question. and when he finally did so did you do you guys know how she was killed? uh, yeah, we do. reporter: larry noticed a telling statement. thought you were never going to ask. well, i didn t want cause i don t want memories to come back, you know? well, that s an interesting statement, i don t want memories to come back. what memories does he have that he doesn t want to remember? if he s innocent, he has memories of cathy, good times, what they did. reporter: people would want those memories to come back. yeah. if he had a memory that he killed her, that certainly is a memory he doesn t want to relive. reporter: after listening to the interviews time and again, the evidence whisperer had no doubt sam killed cathy. but could the team prove it beyond a reasonable doubt? ultimately in cold case murders, time becomes one of our friends, because technology changes.
and they came out and then i left. and that was really his only contact that he could give us with cathy s car. reporter: but he doesn t fold up like a house of cards and say, all right, fine. you got me. you re right. but josh, you ve watched probably thousands of these interviews. and sometimes what people don t say is just as important as what they do say. reporter: what javier either would not or could not say were these words i did not kill cathy torrez. he says, i don t know who did. that s not what i asked, javier. did you kill cathy torrez? i don t know who did. and we play that several times to where he d finally say, i didn t do it. you didn t do what, javier? i didn t do what you say i did. reporter: can t say the words, killed cathy ? correct. then it moved to, did you put cathy s body in the trunk of the car? i don t know who did. finally he sat there and he put his fist in front of his mouth to keep himself from talking. reporter: but
whoever had killed cathy was still out there walking around. yes. still out there. enjoying the sun. reporter: breathing the same air you re breathing? yes. reporter: you think about that a lot? i did. especially if it was a beautiful day. reporter: those sunny days turned dark. months passed. seasons changed. and still the torrez family was left wondering who had killed cathy. something that never changed was mary steadfast in her resolve to get justice for her daughter. early on, a friend gave her some advice. she said, remember, mary, the squeaky wheel gets the oil. don t let anyone tell you different. you keep going. and that s what i did. reporter: mary and her family sought the attention of the media. they marched in rallies, lobbied