conceding under defense questioning that the print could have been planted. i had my reservations about it. it made me second guess it. if it s forged, does the case fall apart? that would be the one that the defense was knocked out of the park. and here is this very well-credentialed expert telling you, i don t know. i ve got reservations about it. that would have been strong evidence that he was not in florida. reporter: after seven weeks of trial, serrano s very life hung in the balance. the jurors, still unsure themselves at the end of testimony what side they d come down on. a show of hands question. when the defense sat down in their closing argument to you, how many of you were right on the line and didn t know where you were going to vote? show of hands. this was innocent until proven guilty still until that moment? yes. when we return, the tension in the courtroom as the jury hands in its verdict. all rise, please. when unfinished business when unfinis
the detective s superiors told him to forget about it. so their answer to you was close but no cigar? forget about this one. get on another case. when somebody tells you forget about a case, is that an order that sticks? not really, especially in this case. reporter: but orders were orders and ray got new ones. a re-assignment to miami. but luck followed the detective to miami where a chance meeting with an ecuadorian colonel soon changed everything. ray asked the colonel to convince his government to extradite serrano, and told him why he wanted him back so badly. after he saw the violence and, you know, what nelson serrano had committed, he said, we ll work it out. we ll get him out of ecuador. we ll get him out of ecuador. reporter: and that s just what tommy ray did, with the full cooperation of ecuadorian authorities. when officials there discovered serrano had actually been a u.s. citizen for years, they deported him to america in the custody of detective ray.
and when the fingerprint expert at the state crime lab started processing that 3-year-old parking receipt, a wondrous thing happened for tommy ray s blossoming theory of the case. lynn called up and said, tommy, i ve got some fantastic news. the fantastic news was that we had prints of nelson serrano. reporter: the fingerprint proves that serrano was in florida on december 3rd, 1997, just an hour and a half drive away from erie manufacturing. not in a hotel room in atlanta nursing a migraine. i knew at that point, that was more than enough for an arrest and an indictment against nelson serrano. reporter: and in may 2002, almost 4 1/2 years after the murders, tommy ray finally got his indictment, four counts of first-degree murder against nelson serrano. but there s a problem. you can t arrest him, right? nelson fled to ecuador. reporter: federal officials said the chances of extraditing serrano, an ecuadorian national, would be slim to none.
rage. when we come back, was there enough time for nelson serrano to commit four murders? the defense says no. i challenge anybody to show me. i ll pay them a million dollars if they can do it. if they can do that in the time allotted? can t happen, didn t happen. when unfinished business continues. five chicken breasts individually wrapped, so you can use what you want and put the rest in the refrigerator. and the best part is it only takes 10 minutes. it s my go-to meal. matter which position i am in i wake up feeling good. it fits you so perfectly. it fits you. you wake up and you re revived and rejuvenated. it s just like wow! tempur-pedic the most highly recommended bed in america. tempur-pedic is rated #1 in comfort. sleep satisfaction. and back support. it fits the curvature of your body but you don t sink in and it is firm.
reporter: serrano never flinched. the families gasps were silent but the relief was visible. in the end, jurors say they didn t buy the defense argument that serrano couldn t have had enough time to travel and commit the crime all inside ten hours. there was plenty of time to do what he wanted to do. reporter: the other thing critical to their conviction, serrano s fingerprint. his alibi was shot with that fingerprint on the parking ticket. reporter: outside the courtroom, it was as though the families were finally able to have the wake they had been denied all these years. the dossos, who lost their son, frank, and their daughter, diane. now he s suffering for what what he did to my kids. he took everything away from me. reporter: the patissos, who lost their son, george. nine years but we got him. reporter: and the grieving widow of the partner in the business, george gonsalves. and then there was maria and her three girls. they lost their father on, of all days, t