he kept wanting to retire, and it would get pushed back. and this wasn t because he was living hand to mouth, he had no money. it was because he loved it. he loved it. he liked being the best at it. reporter: so on that saturday in may when vern missed his meeting with terra, she and andrew simply dismissed it as vern being vern until terra got a phone call that night from chad. he s like, have you heard from vern, something s wrong. he s in the hospital or something you gotta go check. then i like, instantly, i m worried. reporter: terra is a physician s assistant and knew memorial hospital well. she was pointed to the e.r. where a nurse delivered the devastating news. she proceeded to tell me that he had been beaten and that his throat was slashed and that they were getting ready to airlift him to harborview in seattle. reporter: and it happened, she soon learned, at that house vern had been showing to clients.
the ripples and eddies would hold some disturbing secrets about family, about friends and about who will betray you and who won t. just a little more than two hours from soggy seattle sits yakima in a valley where orchards and vineyards flourish in the abundant sunshine of southcentral washington. and it was just outside yakima on a saturday in may 2013, that terra rockenfield was meeting her father-in-law. i d sent him some messages early in the morning, asking if i could borrow his truck, cause i wanted to go to a nursery and he s like, well i m gonna be out there anyway showing a house so i can just meet you there. reporter: terra s father-in-law, vern holbrook, was one of the best-known and best-selling realtors in this
reporter: in a seattle hospital, vern holbrook hovered in that gray area between life and death in the week after he was savagely beaten, his throat slit, during a routine real estate showing in may of 2013, detectives had quickly made 2 arrests. charged with attempted murder 38-year old luis gomez-monges, who denied any part in the attack. and his 23 year old girlfriend adriana mendez. who admitted luring vern to the meeting at luis s request and then witnessing luis assault vern. she said she had no idea why luis would do that. you believe that? no. reporter: and why did perrault not believe adriana? because in that same interview, she had also unwittingly dropped a bombshell when asked how of all the dozens of realtors in yakima, she just happened to call vern s company, aspen real
for vern holbrook s family, in an all night vigil at this trauma center in seattle. they d gathered quickly at vern s bedside after hearing he d been badly beaten. his throat slashed apparently, at a house he was showing to real estate clients. what were you told about his condition and his prognosis? they were worried about how much air he was getting to his brain. the vern that we all loved died that day. reporter: vern s former daughter-in-law jill remembers hearing of the attack and how it frightened the entire family. my son texted me that grandpa was attacked and that he was scared and he wanted me to come pick him up. reporter: and the task of quieting the family s fears and finding out who had attacked vern was now in the hands of this man. yakima county sheriff s detective sam perrault. did you know vern holbrook? i knew of him.