and put her in the backf the car and drove her out to the cement plant. andrea canning: that s when prosecutors believe lewis did something horrific. he wrapped beverly s face in duct tape and let her suffocate. he came home and told crystal that she was dead. andrea canning: and then the heart of the prosecution s case that recording of beverly pleading to her husband. they played it for the jury. beverly: just do what he says, and please don t call the police. if you call the police, it could be bad. andrea canning: prosecutors argued the recording proved beverly had been kidnapped and contradicted lewis s claim of a hookup. so how would the defense explain that tape? attorney bill james chose to ignore it. i was unable to come up with any plausible explanation for that recording that helped us. so was this one of your biggest obstacles then? this recording? i mean everything came back to the recording. andrea canning: instead, he led jurors in a different direction
denise: her family, her office family came together, and we had realtors from all over the state helping us. and by that afternoon, we had the search set up, and everybody had an assignment. andrea canning: many realtors felt this was personal. one of their, own while out doing her job, had gone missing. and agents were already on alert. in recent years, there had been a rise in crimes against real estate brokers across the country, brutal assaults, and even murder. how often did you talk about safety? i mean we always talked about it, but a lot of times, if somebody would call and ask us to go show a house, it was just kind of, out of instinct sometimes, you would jump up and go. andrea canning: but this was not a last minute showing for beverly. brenda said she d been in contact with the clients for a few days. she did have some concerns initially, because it was a man who had contacted her. she wanted to make sure that the wife was going to be there also. she wanted to show them bot
and obtaining subscriber information to those email and that phone number. did names pop up? yes. andrea canning: their real names aaron lewis and his wife, crystal lowery. police raced over to put the couple s house under surveillance. this was a very delicate operation. yes. we were working with the expectation and the hope that she was still alive. andrea canning: detective allison says he wasn t sure if the couple was even involved. he first wanted to see what aaron lewis looked like. remember, their eyewitness had seen a skinny white man with short brown hair the night beverly disappeared. they hadn t been sitting there long when suddenly, a man matching that description walked out the door. but they didn t approach him. were you hoping he might lead you to beverly? detective allison: yes. - was that the idea? yes. we felt that if we made contact with him too early, then if he was the one we were looking for, then everything s shot. andrea canning: lewis got into his car, and tha
i was so mad, because i thought, how dare you try to tarnish our sweet beverly s reputation? andrea canning: the verdict was back in less than an hour. kim: we hear footsteps running, and they re like, the verdict s in. what? it was very quick. - good sign? - yes. great sign. great sign. andrea canning: aaron lewis was found guilty on all counts and given two life sentences. i felt relief instantly, relief that we got him. andrea canning: and beverly s family is working to make sure this doesn t happen to someone else s family. they started the beverly carter foundation. her son travels the country training real estate agents about safety. it s a blessing for me, because i get to not only raise awareness, talk about safety, best practices, but then i also use that as an opportunity for me to kind of slide in some great stories about my mom
craig melvin: coming up beverly: carl, it s beverly. craig melvin: a haunting recording. beverly: i just wanted to let you know i m ok. i haven t been hurt. craig melvin: could beverly still be alive? detective allison: i had hope. you have to. it s what keeps you going. craig melvin: when dateline continues. theseare heading back home.y oil thanks to dawn, rescue workers only trust dawn, because it s tough on grease yet gentle. i am home, i am home, i am home whstuff happens. old shut down cold symptoms fast with maximum strength alka seltzer plus liquid gels. hi, i m the internet! you know what s dtj! get a job!ting. hi, guys. i m back. time to slay! heals, heals, heals!