door, they could clearly see the [ bleep ] detectives. bright red gash across her are they looking at you? throat. yeah. reporter: detective birdsall how was it possible? was inside a van listening to the whole thing go down. the policemen were just outside and when you finally get something like that, that s her front door and more cops gold. were in alert mode out in the that was the nail in his coffin. reporter: so the instant he offered that $1,000, you knew, i alley, but the only apparent witness to the silent murder of got him. lynn schockner was lynn s little yep. we got him. dog, zoe. he locked himself into it. horrified officers found her reporter: and a couple of days later, detective birdsall lying by lynn s side, her white and his partner paid frank a coat spattered red. back at police headquarters, long beach cops, like undercover visit to snap their trap shut. man kris nelson, heard the chatter. they basically brace him we were sitting in the office. a
scene. but why would he commit a robbery so far away from home? that s one of the flags that immediately came up. reporter: when detective birdsall and his partner first asked him, nick gave them an answer that, frankly, still didn t make sense. we came at him. and you know, his initial story was, oh, i heard this was a good area. reporter: really? there wasn t a good area closer to home? well then nick gave them another answer. he wanted to get out of his area. and he worked at a local gym up there where he s a gym rat and worked out with police officers and did martial arts with police officers. he felt they would recognize him. reporter: when he said that, did it seem plausible? no. it wasn t plausible at all. reporter: and one other thing. remember how, when police arrested him, they found jewelry in his pocket? turned out it was fake. even though lynn had lots of real diamonds right there to be taken along with other valuable items.
lynn s husband of 25 years. i love them so much. reporter: and so in a sad, on the surface, it didn t make strange way, out of unimaginable much sense. evil and loss came love. after all, fred had been cooperative with detectives from day one. a real family. and yes, he had moved out of the family house, but he told them an unexpected blessing. the break was amicable. what s he done for you she was my best friend, he said. personally, having him in your life? and yet, not long after the murder, yuck charlie south out detective birdsall and whispered an awful question. it s like getting another life. did my dad have something to do with this? reporter: charlie remembers what they told him. like somebody opened a door and the detective was very quick said, here s a second chance. to assure me that they have no suspicions of that. reporter: got a reason to get up in the morning these days. they don t think that would be something that was happening. damn straight. and if the
port hewn emmy. reporter: but that s way up the coast. that s up by yeah, by ventura. reporter: in other words, about 70 miles from the crime scene. but why would he commit a robbery so far away from home? that s one of the flags that immediately came up. reporter: when detective birdsall and his partner first asked him, nick gave them an answer that, frankly, still didn t make sense. we came at him. and you know, his initial story was, oh, i heard this was a good area. reporter: really? there wasn t a good area closer to home? well then nick gave them another answer. he wanted to get out of his area. and he worked at a local gym up there where he s a gym rat and worked out with police officers and did martial arts with police officers. he felt they would recognize him. reporter: when he said that, did it seem plausible? no. it wasn t plausible at all. reporter: and one other thing. remember how, when police arrested him, they found jewelry in his pocket? turne
yeah, that s me. that s not an i.s. reporter: an i.s., referring to the less expensive car he said he d be driving. oh, yeah. my wife took the other car this morning. that s sweet. now i know what you spent your money on. reporter: money from fred schockner, is what the cop meant. frank did not take that bait. i gotta get going. reporter: hard to tell from the video, but frank coughs up the money. i got a grand for you right now because they re still monitoring my accounts. who is? [ bleep ] detectives. are they looking at you? yeah. reporter: detective birdsall was inside a van listening to the whole thing go down. and when you finally get something like that, that s