if not more responsible than the man that actually shot him. reporter: cindy told detectives she believed hatred wasn t danielle s only motive, that she was also driven by that age-old incentive. i believe it was the money. to divorce him and split half of it is one thing. but to get all of it? i think it was money. i think it was always money. reporter: just over a million dollars, in fact. there was a substantial amount of money that she was going to gain if sam turned up dead. and that s exactly what happened. reporter: we asked danielle dreher to sit down with us for an interview. both she and her attorney declined. but during danielle s interview with the detectives, she emphatically denied having anything to do with sam s murder. i would never kill my husband. i would never kill another human being. reporter: and the man who pulled the trigger supported danielle s claim of innocence, in no uncertain terms. i ve acted on my own. i did. i did this all on my own. you
i did. reporter: what did you say to him? i made him a promise that the people responsible for his murder would pay for it. reporter: the news of sam s passing hit dianne mcknight hard. in my mind i m still thinking maybe there s still some hope that he can survive this, but when i heard that, i knew that i was never going to see him again. reporter: sam s great-niece, aubrey cake, didn t make to it the hospital in time, but she made sure to be at sam s funeral. the bagpipes, i still remember to this day. reporter: did it make you really proud in that moment? yeah. i m still proud of him. reporter: full fire department honors were bestowed upon the admired young lieutenant. it was like the whole community came out to pay their respects. it was very humbling, very, very humbling. reporter: but along with the tears, there was tension. by now, sam s family and friends had learned danielle s lover had shot sam. no one could believe it, that she even had a boyfrien
reporter: to her surprise, sam s family embraced dianne. they all received me well. in fact, they invited me to come up and sit with them. she s truly a lovely person. and i think she made him happy. and he deserved to be happy. reporter: you ve come down pretty hard on danielle for her affair. sam was also having an affair. yes. reporter: do you condemn him for that behavior as well? no. i don t think he intended to meet someone. i don t think he intended to have an affair. he met dianne. he had known her three months. that s a far cry, you know, a world apart from danielle seeking a man on ashley madison and having a long-term affair with him for four years. reporter: in the weeks following the funeral, detectives mcdonald and szalbirak continued their
reporter: michael minor may have shot sam, but prosecutor fraivillig believed danielle manipulated him to do it, and that her motive was more than just money. i think there was a financial motive, certainly. probably, the most overarching motive was just jealousy. despite the fact that she was conducting an affair of her own, i think that she was just completely enraged that sam started stepping out on her as well. reporter: but in order to prove that in court, fraivillig felt she would need something she didn t yet have a statement from michael saying danielle acted as his accomplice. so she waited, thinking time would compel him to come forward and admit danielle was involved. he never did. michael maintained danielle played no role in sam s murder. was this possibly a twisted act of chivalry? i think that certainly one of his motivations, if not his sole motivation, was trying to protect the woman that he loved. reporter: did you say to him, why are you protecting her?
steal anything. the jury didn t agree. she was found guilty as charged and sentenced to four years in prison. this was a very satisfying verdict, to see the woman be punished for her actions. reporter: is the murder of sam dreher an open case or a closed case? no. it s a closed case. reporter: but not for cindy, who continues to mourn the loss of her brother. she keeps his uniform close by for comfort and, with it, a lifetime of memories. he was loving. he was caring. he was the peacemaker. he was always doing for others. he was just sweet. reporter: cindy once felt the same way about her sister-in-law danielle. now there s bad blood between the two. cindy fought danielle in court over benefits from sam s life insurance. they ultimately reached a confidential settlement. cindy also keeps a watchful eye on danielle. according to cindy, danielle was dating another man before she went to prison.