boaters found steven s body floating in the waters off the southern california coast. it was murder. there was a bullet in the back of steven s head, and soon detectives would uncover a possible motive, 2 million of them, in fact. here s keith morrison. reporter: there had been so much promise in the air that spring of 2006. the second act of a radio man, all that fun on the radio was over, yes, but now he was all set to sail the world, live a dream, and then he winds up floating facedown seven miles off the coast of california s catalina island, a bullet hole in the back of his head. but who wanted him dead, and why? detectives ken clark and robert martindale started by asking his friends. what did you find out about him? the thing i noticed about this case, and i give the credit
and the general manager walks in and he goes i think you need to know something. i go what. well, if you were a boy he would have gone. and he goes he s gay. oh, okay, well, i can accept that then. reporter: and that very day sylvia and stooereven began a w lifelong friendship, many amps spent at this coffee shop and many memorable evenings. what were those dinners like? steven s an amazing cook. reporter:. if you were patient he was good. he was the type of person if he would talk to you, you would have his undivided attention. by the time we would eat it s like everybody s drunk. reporter: and then somewhere in the middle of the 90s, the radio business seemed to tire of steven s huge deep voice and happy style. he got a job in the winery business for a while, then went
to his friends, was he was surrounded by a group of very close friends that knew a lot about him. these are lifelong friends. he was just a great soundingboard, somebody i would call if i was angry, if i was frustrated, if i needed advice. he could talk you down or talk you up? he could do both, usually at the same time. reporter: and recently steven had found a soundingboard of his own, a new friend named harvey morrow. he s just a quiet, easy going guy. he came up to him and said oh, my gosh, i m such a huge fan of steven b. and the hawk. steven became fast friends of harvey and his wife debbie. reporter: what d you think of steven? he was so funny and had such a great love of music, and he loved to cook. i thought this man is going to be perfect to go on a boat with us. reporter: ah, yes, the boat, harvey had a dock at the l.a. yacht club, a 69-foot beauty. harvey and debbie had big plans for that boat. they talked about it ever since
their first date. he says what do you want to do when you retire? and i said i want to sail all over the world. reporter: it was her dream of a lifetime, and now debbie actually found the man who shared it. they married at the dawn of the new millennium right here on the front porch of their new texas home. all that adventure to look forward to, and now harvey had invited steven to go along as chef on their beloved yacht. steven moved aboard, lived with them on the boat, but before they set sail, there was some work to do. reporter: he had bought this old rusty tub, right? yeah, yeah. greg labano helped harvey fix up the old tub. greg fashioned all the stainless steel trim, felt a connection with harvey, too. he was a wall street guy, investment banker rejecting society. reporter: a little bit like you? yeah, an outlaw mentality, that s why we bonded.
steven s money in an offshore bank account in the british virgin islands just like he said he would, but then he secretly brought it back to the u.s. in small increments and used money to refurbish the boat. harvey sucked up all that money? all of it. reporter: steven by his own admission a lousy money man, trusting, vulnerable after the death of his father, was said detectives the perfect mark. steven was no match for this man at all. reporter: nor apparently was his wife debbie. i was really very much in love with harvey. reporter: but as she now began to discover the man she loved had lied. a house in vail, colorado, when he told her he owned outright actually belonged to someone else. the money when she went back to work, vanished. the auto insurance he told her he bought for her didn t exist, and what he said was a $25,000 diamond ring he slipped on her finger when he proposed, a fake.