. she told her boss that she had done something bad. >> i think the last statement within her diary said it all. >> we knew he would get here, we just had a lot of hurdles to get over. >> i will never forgive myself never. the life of a police officer, it is full of danger, and stress. they have rough days that worth, and when they end up holding it in, there are first responders, it's hard work. the long call for the next you don't know what you're gonna be up with. >> but our story is about would have been, when the first responder had to face a crisis in his own home. >> baby please wake of. >> a call pleading for help from his fellow men and women in blue. >> tell them tell them accompli seldom terry,. >> in one moment a family is shattered, it was a disbelieve, it was a surreal moment. i lay bare car, it doesn't mix and, it starts here in the village of terror travis grew up in a loving family with her twin brother josh and younger brother aaron. joseph and teresa cordova are the parents. >> she was a girly girl very motherly she was always working with dryness and poetry, always writing. >> melanie gonzales was tara's best friend growing up. >> she was amazing. she was shy i know a lot of times and school people thought that she came off kind of stuck. >> but that was in? her >> not at all >> then one day at summer camp that tsai graham and a handsome boy who would change or life in so many ways -- levi chavez >> how did she talk about? . >> she loved it, didn't take very long before she fell hard for him. he was charming towards her and she thought he was gorgeous. >> tara was quiet inartistic. levi was a guy's guy who love basketball and boxing. their love bloomed in the new mexico desert. terror got pregnant while they were still in high school and they got married just before her graduation. he was happy about it scared as well. just like she was. something that neither one of them. expected it just happen. >> every time you would see them, they were happy. >> michael romero is a bicycle and has a town magistrate he performed the ceremony. >> on that winning day, the family was there. yes our found knows. there it was a jewish silk asian. they are a lovely couple. and together they jumped up a life they had. terror to vail stylish but had bigger goals. she was really wanting to start a business butter on salon. so she approach me. animal forward obviously don't partner. although she did blasphemy. because that did not silence. it was his dream job and levi's world police work was known as the family business. his grandfather from his father side was a police officer and he has four five uncles who are police officers. and i'm an ex police officer myself >> you were a natural police officer by 2007 they were raising two children andrea and little ebi. and it's settled into a new house in those luminous. ball levi's without fighting crime in the big city, tara was finding out that the suburbs wasn't entirely crime free. tara's brother aaron >> she called me and told us, you know i think somebody tried to break into my. house soviet mediately, let's go to the house. we checked the door and it did look like somebody and mess with it a little. but >> whoever did it did not still anything but it put levi inter on alert. he says he suggested she keep one of his old duty guns at home to protect herself. >> did you did leave the entire live in a tough neighborhood. valencia's county, in general, i think they have a high crime rate they tend to have a low lots of break-ins, lots of crime in that area >> and we and tara were about to experience it firsthand. levi had recently bought an expensive new jacket a late one night tara was home alone and heard their dog park, she looked outside in the truck was gone. >> she said hey i guess what the by struck got. stolen and i was like what will happen? are you okay? easily by? when she said no he was worried he was at work last >> night that made not only. worried and it turned out that there was plenty of worry. two weeks later on the sunday the kids were away fervently vice. partly by phantom self pretty quiet weekend patrol but when he stopped to check the tara, he saw that he was in front of him on the police officer found himself on the other end of the extinguishing call to 9-1-1. please please have somebody come. here please please would have been to profit's wife nicholas community relies on the goofing shock it was disturbing enhancement police officer young beautiful wife. a dreadful husband overcome guilt or never forget this never people on earth. oh boy orchestras in the legal sphere they when they knew they yeah like new. new woolite with evercare we did it again. verizon has been named america's most reliable network by rootmetrics. and our customers rated us #1 for network quality in america according to j.d. power. number one in reliability, 16 times in a row. most awarded for network quality, 27 times in a row. proving once again that nobody builds networks like verizon. that's why we're building 5g right, that's why there's only one best network. clerk: hello, how can i? sore throat pain? ♪honey lemon♪ try vicks vapocool drops. in honey lemon chill. for fast-acting sore throat relief. wooo vaporize sore throat pain with vicks vapocool drops. albuquerque police officers and even showers called 9-1-1 from his own home. >> maybe please please makeup please >> he told police he found his wife lying in a hole of blood in their bed. in a panic, levi begged for help. >> okay there on the way. levy is it gonna be easier for you to go to another? room >> i can leave her alone. >> okay okay that's okay >> okra >> aaron jones leisure detective with the sheriff's department and suburban low sooner. >> i received a call from my sided saying that there had been a police officer's wife that had been shot. it was just after 9 pm when joe's got to the scrub this home >> it was disturbing and a young beautiful while, john saw tear lying on the bed with a gunshot wound to her head and found this block 17 by her body. he was the same gun levi said he had given her for protection. there was a service for them >> it was a service weapon >> that he left a hand? >> yes >> and on the bedside at the night stand it was a three letter no i'm sorry levi jones quickly determined that tear hadn't been a victim of crime but had turned the gun on herself. she was only 26. >> we do have a lot of suicides out, there unfortunately valencia county has a high rate of suicides. it's not uncommon the uncommon part was the fact that it was a police officer's wife. >> within minutes member of levi's on police department in neighboring albuquerque came over to the house to offer levi's support, as the news of terrorists that spread, one officer's wife called terry's best friend melanie. >> she just came out and cited >> mel terrace that, and it took me a minute to process. it and i was, like well what do you mean, i don't understand. >> at the scene police saw an inconsolable has been. >> he kept referring to himself as a piece of crack and other things that he should have just been a better husband initiative just been. whether >> i will never forgive myself never got whether go to heaven. >> jones the local detective took a statement from levi the big city, caputo buried his soul. >> did the rest of my life, i'll never be able to move. on >> he told john today blamed himself for theresa side his wife was prone to drama and depression, he said, but at times he didn't take it seriously. now, it was too. >> how old where the kids? ten and six. >> the detective did his best to bring the weaken levi under control. whatever is going on right now take a deep breath. >> you're trying to make this guy feel better -- i am i was concerned that possibly i guess my sympathy and empathy would be gone and he might hurt himself. to >> officers went through this into the bedroom and stumbled something on tara written but kept a journal tucked under a. mattress >> parts of it were very dark, described a young woman that was having some dark times in her life. >> tara had laid their deaths of her despair, writing sometimes i want to just disappear. and i'm depressed. i want to fall off the face of the. or every day i feel my time and work kids and, endlessly trying to make my marriage, work i'm getting nowhere, i never do. that sounds like depression to me. >> classic depression. >> and police found another page of writing that sounded desperate, torn up and buried in the trash can, and leave i showed detective jones something else. >> i've got a text attacks he received from tear earlier that day. it says i'm afraid i'm going to hurt myself, i'm so so so so upset, sad and hurt. open and shut by 2 am police were wrapping up their work at the shop this house and detective jones headed to tariffs presents home to break the news. >> he introduced a deputy and chaplain and they said it's about your daughter so i'm already feeling we. i thought there was a terrible traffic accident. . the i never thought to hear otherwise. >> i asked him what happened. and aaron jones said it's an apparent suicide. >> possibly the most painful news a family could ever hear but the court of voters weren't prepared to accept it, and they felt the deep conviction that no one else outside this family saw coming. >> when you hear suicide would do you think >> no way no, no. >> that girl of those children and i knew right then and there that she would not take her life and leave her children behind. coming up. heartbreak and disbelief >> it's not the tear i knew, i never would've been 1 million years thought that she would ever take her life. >> was tears death definitely a suicide? there's just something about, it just thinking about it, just thinking. when dateline continues. ues. when you really need to sleep you reach for the really good stuff. new zzzquil ultra helps you sleep better and longer when you need it most. it's non habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil. new zzzquil ultra. when you really really need to sleep. the insurance company enwasn't fair.ity y ca i didn't know what my case was worth, so i called the barnes firm. llll theararnes rmrm now the best result possible. ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪ i d d so my y quesonons eouout hicacase.y y son, ♪ call one eight hundred, cacalledhehe bars s fillion ♪ i d d soit was the best call eouout hii could've made. call the barnes firm family and friends a walk to a and find out what your case all could be worth.uld've made. ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪ piercing sadness in this tight new mexico community. tara chavez, the wife of an albuquerque police officer, had committed suicide. >> i laid there in cried. i couldn't believe. it i, mean somebody that i talked to almost every day is gone and i don't know why, you don't understand the. it doesn't make sense. >> when we bites on comical tried to help his nephew that next morning, he says he saw broken man. >> i want him levi and he was in bed i just didn't know what to do. it's just the worst thing that could happen to anybody >> but did leave i say to you that day. they remember? he was too motion i couldn't even speak. but along with the shot tear his best friend was overcome with the sense of disbelief. >> part of me was like no this isn't right, this isn't will happen. the lying it's not true. and that's exactly what apparent tears were telling the police that came to their home. with that terrible. news for one thing they told him that they simply no way terrell will leave her children. >> you would not be the first family or loved one who committed suicide, who did not want to believe that that was possible. >> i don't know about other families, but i knew tear, and utah. >> but what about the depressed person home or just from that diary police found at the scene? tears family pointed out that many of the darker passages or several years old. >> her journal, i think, wasn't olive for her. just events. sometimes >> gina is tara sister-in-law, i mean i'm married i have kids, sometimes i just wanna disappear. and it doesn't mean that i'm going to harm myself anyway. >> and the very last century three months before that, suggest tara was in fact the opposite of the press. tara wrote, goodbye to the person i used to be, welcome your day. happiness. >> i think the last statement within her diary said it all, happiness. >> and her family said that she has lots to be happy about. tara was finally making plans to open that new hair salon she had long dreamed of. >> she was even starting to look at real estate. >> she was so excited to do, it dina says tear had an appointment to look at this location with her dad. scheduled in just two days after her death. >> she was thinking about how she was gonna decorate, and how it was gonna be girly. you know she was just really excited about. it that's the terror her brother and saw all the time. and he says just two days before she died, tara had sent this phony video of the kids. >> they were bouncing around the shop just being goofy, joking around. it was pretty funny. actually >> nothing on that video to suggest that she wasn't a miserable place. there >> was a little second on that video where you see her and she is laughing because her daughter and her little boy are just being goof balls, you know. and >> tara's best friend reality read the last text that terror had center around that same time. and saw nothing frightening. >> it was just simple, she just said hi i haven't talked to all day, how are you doing? >> it doesn't sound like someone in the middle of a terrible depression, not at all. >> could you conceived of her taking her own life? >> it's not the terror i knew. i would never in 1 million years sea or expect or thought that she would take. early >> melody and the courted of say that their instance were telling them that something was wrong in that suicide scene at the house. and they lead detective drone snow. >> i've talked in droves and i don't think he believes you. no i'm sure he didn't. >> it looked like a suicide. today >> that's correct. >> but something you said to him >> or some way you said it >> made him think that he needed to dig a little deeper. >> yes. >> i promised terrorists moment that i would look at. i knew that i couldn't disclose this case without looking at it, and digging into. >> to begin with jones new with experience that that bedroom scene was very unusual. women make up just 10% of gun suicides, and he wondered about that recent breaking attempt, and levi's stolen truck. had someone been casing the neighborhood. maybe targeting the officer's house? >> i wanted to check to make sure that there was any kind of indication, of breaking, or maybe somebody else had done. this >> but nothing seems to be missing from the house, and don't get fined no sign to force and tree, still he went back to the photos from the bedroom, started noticing. things like what appeared typically a swipe of blood on the. ben >> look at that summer blood she indicate? >> it could indicate the fact that she didn't commit suicide, and the fact that the person fired that filled around would have had blood on their hands, >> and the detective remembered something else from that night but now struck him as. on a red substance in the toilet on the other side of the house. was it tears blood? and if so how did it get there? >> you had a situation where someone's died, they certainly didn't get out of bed and going believe in the toilet. jones also focus closely on that, gun and notice the pattern of blood on it. so the detective it looked like whoever had fired, it had to be left-handed. >> the areas of the glam that didn't have blood on them, like a perfect handprint, it looked like a perfect time friend of a human, hand a left hand? >> tara was right hand. >> was it to? side or could it be homicide? >> jones turned all of it over and his, mind he even handle the gun himself. you physically put a block on your hold. >> yeah. >> i'm noted i hope. >> yeah. >> the medical examiner had rolled tears that a suicide the day after she was found, and the lid on this case might have been shipped in there. but jones hesitated, unless i came up with something pretty contradictory to that. that my job was to write it up as a suicide, cloth case. . just couldn't do it. just something about something about it just starting. >> after three weeks of investigation instead of closing the case, generals asked the medical examiner to change the manner of death. from suicide to undetermined. now the hard part is determining what really happened to tear achieve. coming up, tear had a secret. she met another man. >> yeah. was it a motive from her? when dateline continues. when dateline continues. out talking to your doct are you ready to du more with less asthma? 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suggesting that the sting was tampered with. >> so someone uses the counter shooter, the gun recycles and in putting it down the accidentally released a magazine. well that's what i believe yes >> but if tara didn't should herself then which otter? now jones would have the devil into tara's life and relationship and soon joined learned that her had a secret. she added another man? . stone toured from melanie and others but her at her husband had been going apart. three years and three months before she died. tara stepped over a line. his name was in a cooler. like levi he was another handsome police officer in the albuquerque pd. nick would get his hair cut by tear every thursday. and sparks flew. >> what's your tear to the sky? to nick? >> his personality. he treated her grave. another guy that comes in is next to her, and shows attention. and treats again. and you get the reza before an affair. >> but there was a problem. >> tara was my turn levi, and nick. >> he was made to a friend of ours >> of years unfair? >> yes it's a big triangle, a messy triangle. not, that big messi triangle was suddenly part of detective aaron jones's investigation, and utter. given jones and nick wheeler have been friends. >> back in 2005 would work together in the field, he was a very likable guy. but john said you condemn that and we have reinvestigation, he was going to take a long hard look at this friend, and he remembered something that seems suspicious. then i tara was found, nick i called him. digging for information. >> probably within an hour of me getting on the scene i started getting texture calls from her. >> nick wants to know what. >> why wasn't cher first but he was just asking questions about what was going on. and if i knew anything. wasn't concerned about keeping his affair with tear under wraps, or something else. melanie told the detective that tear had broken things off with nick before she died. and told melanie that it had not ended. well she just told him that it's not right. what we're doing. it's not a good thing now jones thought that nick could be a potential suspects. so he and another detective visited nix home, and didn't tell him the conversation and quickly to meet the affair, his wife samantha was here to hear all. of, as a ceo has been? . of what's missing after the fact. how many times did you talk to? live to talk to. but samantha said something that surprised john. she had known all about the affair. because tara had canvassed unapologetic. because i understand where she was coming from. so if you believe, that the two women in the soft triangle henry piece. if you believe that, do you think was possible that you they nick wheeler or his wife pickle tara. let me ask a question, that left one more question about the man that we can tear. drive >> well i'll tell you the main thing he was with me, positive. >> yes but because they were a couple, and i do from extreme face all the and with themselves. the investigation says that he didn't dismiss that widows as potential suspects, but he had no evidence to link them to tears that, so john focusing on angela says that there was money to examine, their whole relationship to seem like it was a rollercoaster. coming up investigative when dateline continues. it even kills the covid-19 virus. science supports these simple facts. there's only one true lysol. lysol. what it takes to protect. ♪♪ come on, get your motor running ♪♪ you just head out on the highway ♪♪ looking for some tchotchkes ♪♪ and whatever comes our way ♪♪ yeah darlin, go make it happen mí amor, take the world in a love embrace ride all of your love at once and explode into space... ♪ born to be wild ♪ start your california road trip if they're travis's death was and visitcalifornia.com homicide, and not suicide. then her husband levi would be a natural suspect. and it didn't take long for detective and john to find out that when they came to the village of the hour kicker he cloud was something about a man in uniform. >> he was a very charming guy. >> you clearly knows how to talk to him in. he clearly does >> but it turns out that the vote was carrying from earth to good snugly white house. leave i have been tuning and how was racking up so much infidelities have been going on since high school, and i wasn't just want to go victor jones twice on the home of the time of tears i was brett number three on his phone, leave i was open with not only because he was married. but in addition to being, made an addition air to be having an affair with the, another government. someone who was more higher up in the harkey. danya and you are okay? >> yeah. >> juggling multiple mistresses was nothing new for the. by unlivable tasking made all possible she noticed a photo near the bed. i put two together, and i testify and he said yeah. mary rose recognize the women in the photograph, because she knew tara. and had just figured out she was sleeping with her hairstylist husband. >> and you say, great honey lockdown. not i have to get out of here this is going to be where. >> it was a little we are not gonna lie. but they seem to be no level of loss between us so. i think. >> rose told detective jones a lot about her affair levi >> but didn't seem to know anything useful to >> sow jones interviewed her but she didn't another cough named the raw that he'd been with another woman knighted on >> what is the first argument you had of seeing [inaudible] when i woke up he came into the bedroom he was on his uniform >> denver confirmed that she was with tv from the time you got a fork that night. until the following evening. >> but for how these they stories are insane. johnson to a camera to record the drones told levy he suspected her had been murdered, do you understand why this whole thing was >> no i really. don't >> [inaudible] i really honestly believe that this is, the matter of the factors at the evidence as. unlike somebody killed arrive. >> i don't know, that was in my. heavier telling my wife and kids that have to be honest or parent is your partner, well that was over, well i'm sorry, if you are middle part. >> no. >> do you trust? >> i'll probably take the. >> i don't know where you want me to tell. you >> i don't know anything. but i have nothing to do. this >> he admits to some of the affairs, amid sipping about has, been but doesn't they to them under. i don't see a quebec's tremendously to >> it was the totality of everything. >> left because the totality of everything for jobs included some startling information he was getting something to his family and friends. coming up, she made a couple of statements to me that if a couple when dateline continues >> >>te smoking just messed up your lungs. i never thought that at only 45 it would give me a heart attack. my tip is; do your heart a favor, and quit now. (announcer) you can quit. call 1-800-quit-now for help getting free medication. in 2016, i was working at the amazon warehouse when my brother passed away. and a couple of years later, my mother passed away. after taking care of them, i knew that i really wanted to become a nurse. amazon helped me with training and tuition. today, i'm a medical assistant and i'm studying to become a registered nurse. in filipino: you'll always be in my heart. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ air wick essential mist transforms fragrance infused with natural essential oils into a mist. with an extra boost of fragrance you can see... smell... and feel. it's air care redefined. air wick essential mist, connect to nature. dayquil severe for you... and daily vicks super c for me. introducing new vicks super c and dayquil severe convenience pack. vicks super c is a daily supplement to help energize and replenish your body with vitamin c and b vitamins. dayquil severe is a max strength medicine for cold and flu relief. someone is feeling better. get your shoes. alright! try the new vicks convenience pack. the family of terror travis never believe she took her own life. and they also didn't buy her husband levi story about how he found. are >> there were a lot of suspicious things, nothing ended up. >> the i think my first thought was she would've loved her kids. she would not have left tickets. detective john to the contrary also told the detectives that the paver of the levi she knew it was much worse than the philandering he had admitted to. for good hand so bad but especially for my dad. >> unlike same doctor go through, dumping the father, and wanting to victory thing. i think it created this curtain of don't let that. >> but in the months before she, die terry did tell both of them that she was getting fed up with eli, i was really tender marriage >> they are going to be getting divorced, and she's going to far but insisting call them distance, but it's outer tuna. you never gonna know know if you're not, and the betting with the mysterious blood swipes also move by a pd cops, tears family couldn't shake the feeling that levi's fellow officers from albuquerque, might have been helping out their friend. and that the local investigators and charge, should have stopped them. >> as extremely angry, with the police and sheriffs department office. he said to myself with them. a good deal the seed to count taken to your jurisdiction and a half the doctor johnson there's a conspiracy of opinion or covered up. and he blames himself or not immediately treating it as a crime. seat because of that he was forced to work backwards to find both evidence and a possible motive. and said he found something interesting. how much would he get in the event of a? so >> 100,000. dog >> one if it was a suicide? . a >> hundred thousand dollars. >> and they told the couple had for divorce, have been having financial problems. but the main reason to make whatever happened to i would just say that if either. the obviously not to snuff and her mom said the field was before he died if anything ever have a say i couldn't tell you why she said that. but she did tell me. the >> terror told her mom not tory. and not to say a word to. >> and it into? >> and then tom. . . >>. ,. . . >>,,. ,. >>. . ,. . ,. ,. . >> maha family in the abase because biden abbas to governments to tournament dignify may shanty were he could people get thank outside to boxcar since thoughts and thank highly egypt accord if you're turning to see many yucatan may you got assistant they nor to on this case jonas when something today rafael destination chenin to a city of already embers a uppercut but east claiming the at all palais vivienne test get was acute fishing expeditions 20 putt with a cotton eating well off coming up cleaver system on and a old-time visit friend tells news a opinion he founded source biden tarash terror thomas's parents were determined to help get their's arrested for their daughter's murder. so for their civil suit, the family's lawyers subpoenaed more than 50 people for depositions. with the hope of learning something new. please stay in him for the record levi travers what's called him to give up video deposition. were you aware that operating with have these in the path, but this time police was under, and the same as a lawyers invoked his fifth amendment right against self incrimination, levi was far less chatty. do you remember receiving an alleged to that's it from carson. we're going to start be the shield something that you never told police, and later told. us >> the night that i had talked, and that it exceeded. my wife i just i don't know russia government only found herded when he returned to check on her. but this story rose said that he told her is quite different. >> you know you're the only person that tells that story? >> yes. >>? you're sure that 27. >> i'm absolutely positive mature. this news story with falling to june because it detective recalls seeing at the crime scene, i would tell. and to get more sheep incivility a but of you tried it with the same way women do with their hairstyles. and it was this double-edged role as prime would to leave. i as attended a confidant and trash know tones. and i was like they didn't have stolen. rosa tara told her the story of the truck being stolen, had been. ally and that she believed her husband the by, the cop, was mixed up in something very illegal. she said that leave i had some friends, take it to clean insurance. joe we had the truck taken. >> so tara was very from with. you she felt like the, that utah if you are going to call the police still if carrie was telling robe she thought her husband was a criminal, what might happen next? >> i believe he was scared because she was gonna tournament. and yet a lot to. use the detective jaws. that's a good reason for the via dam six days before that, the investigators know the call impact the moment number of i feel a sense of responsibility, fritters that. because if i had never said anything about the track to leave the if you are supporting that you're committing fraud. all of the defendant except levi settled their part of that civil. sued denying any liability. but the court of a family got with they really wanted. in april 2011, more than three years after tears that, levi chavez was charged with her murder. coming up, there's no way that he couldn't. this defy travis goes on trial. >> so the perfect homicide, >> so the perfect homicide, equals suicide we're here! they're finally here. this year, "here" means getting back to everything they've missed. here! achoo! ...here! look over here! join lysol here for healthy schools in keeping "here" healthy. when you buy a pack of lysol disinfecting wipes, another pack will be donated to a school in need. so everyone has enough protection to stay here, here, and here. lysol here for healthy schools wow... nobody's here. look at this guy. he's really working hard. you know what he will get? 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>> yes. >> akot knows a suicide is they're convinced that it is a suicide. it's close. it's over. it's done. there is no investigation. mackay thought leave i didn't count on the determination of tears love. one who took the stand to make their own passionate case. that terror would've never killed herself. there is no way that terror would've done this. no way. she had said that she was done, she's done putting up with him and his cheating. she's ready to move on with their. live >> prosecutors thought a big part of their case would be levi's alleged involvement in a stolen truck skin, osama came to court to testify about what she heard. >> i had asked herb out the track situation and she told me that, levi had headed stolen from insurance. >> prosecutors told the jury that they would prove this was levi's motive for murder. >> telling people that he is involved with some kind of a fraud. that's bad news. >> but the state couldn't really deliver on that suppose motive, levi always maintained the truck really was stolen and farm charges will never felt against. i'm so the judge wouldn't allow any testimony in the trial, that would back up rose a story. the jury also never landfills or but terribly by my herder, perhaps over the trial, all of that with hearsay. >> still mechanics co-counsel and, believe they had much more evidence against the. by and made his infidelity the centerpiece of their case. >> they said leave a grown tired of tara. >> how would you describe? no >> levi chavez was, is me centered person take the stand, when you went to the residence, did you have a sexual encounter? . yes >> i did >> and one mistrust, his alibi changes a story. >> is there anything for you to know what time he actually got there? >> i do not know. >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues they have in this aisle? kim, did you just change blades back there? -ah. -this is perfect. jackpot. variety pack. remember, it's a football game, not a play date. roger that. one more slice. it can be a lot. oh, good, the manager. uh, brian in produce -- very helpful. progressive can't save you from becoming your parents, but we can save you money when you bundle home and auto with us. -pulls to the left a little bit. -nope. start your day with crest 3d white and from mochaccinos to merlot, your smile will always be brilliant. crest 3d white brilliance. 100% stain removal, 24 hour stain resistance to lock in your whitest smile. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. healthy habits come in all sizes. like little walks. and, getting screened for colon cancer. that's big because when caught in early stages, it's more treatable. hey, cologuard! hi. i'm noninvasive and i detect altered dna in your stool to find 92% of colon cancers, even in early stages. early stages! yep, it's for people 45 plus at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider if cologuard is right for you. count me in! me too! hello i'm dara brown here's what's happening. gaby petito's family invited the public in the feud on a long ally new york, mourners included the family and friends as well as people following her case through headlines. meanwhile authorities continues to search for a fiancée brian laundrie, who is a person of interest in her death. investigators are looking into the cause of an and track train that killed three and left seven hospitalized in montana. the train was on route from seattle to when eight of the ten cars derailed. now back to dateline. >> prosecutors in the levi chavez murder trial were dealt two major blows. first the judge supporting the theory that levi was involved in an insurance can. second, he blocked statement from friends and family who allege terror felt threatened by her husband. but the state had another card to play. it was time to put the cheating husbands love life on full display. among the mistresses who arrived in course was katrina gargling the verizon store clerk levi met shortly before terrace death. they began in affair with day they met >> and a few weeks later they were in bed together again. in the same home or tara had died. >> when you went to the residents did you have a sexual encounter? >> yes i did. >> did you know if the children were? there >> he said they were but i did not see. them >> next up a fellow apd officer with gina sanchez, tara had called her when she learned regina had been sleeping with levi. >> the nature of the phone call was to pretty much just get mad at me ask what was going on. >> was he upset? >> yes very. >> an investigator showed that not long after the phone call someone had typed in a web search on the levi's computer. how to kill somebody. >> after the how to kill somebody surge there was a web page that was visited and that's on how to kill someone. the states implication that levi thought murder might be easier than divorce, the prosecution said levi had grown tired of tara >> that computer shows you that something is going on. he tells terror he's holding him back. called him a hopeless piece of skin. >> and the prosecution suggests that leave i have a plan to get rid of tara for new girlfriend heather hindi. she was the other cop who got to know levi in the weeks before terrace death. >> you have indicated that you didn't start a sexual relationship until the end of november of 2007 63 days after tara died, the man who wants tearfully told aaron jones that he would never get over his wife suicide, give heather a diamond ring. >> and when did you get married? we >> july 5th 2008. >> the official story is that heather and levi met just a couple of weeks before terrace that but things didn't evolve until long after tears death. >> knowing what we know about levi, do you know believe that? >> no i think she was the ultimate. gold >> and the state had something else, deborah the mistress who had been levi's alibi. now took the stand to testify for the prosecution. >> i actually think he called me -- >> romero told investigators that levi was with her right after her schiff ended, during the period when it's believe was when terry was killed. now years later he testified that she couldn't be sure when he arrived at her house. >> is there any way for you to actually know when you got there? we i >> do not know. >> according to the prosecution leave i got off at midnight and it's something that his cell phone record did was highly unusual. >> he shut off his phone for 15 hours. >> on october 21st 2007 the lieutenant turned his phone off. we for a longer period of time and it's been off for a very long -- time >> yes that was a huge piece of evidence because of the timing i mean really that's the only time this big break and it happens to be when your wife? school >> prosecutors then did exactly what they believe happened that night. they said leave i got to the house and walked inside to the bedroom when they found this life asleep. sounds like an in and pulls the trigger instantly killing tire travis. then he pulls a gun out and he turns it over and he leads it down. >> and then? >> and then at that point in time is when you hops in the shower case the gunshots are, nothing, nobody is responding, pow, that's when he sends a text -- >> prosecutor says it was levi who sent that text from tears phone i'm afraid i'm going to hurt myself. i'm so upset said and heard. it was the tex levi would later show investigators. but detective jones took the stand to describe what he believed was levi's one mistake. >> did you push the magazine release in this case? >> no. >> detective aaron jones testified how he had found a gun at the scene with the magazine already released. the state called experts to the stand to say that if terrell had shot herself she wouldn't have been able to have release -- and prosecutors believe that the person who did release the magazine, was levi, because. they said leave us perfect crime wasn't perfect after all. this is not a suicide, the defendant killed tara chavez. >> but the defense was ready to tell a very different story, one of a love sick woman in a spiral of despair. coming up, the case for the defense starting with a cross examination of the lead detective. >> this guy is a world-class cop maybe could form a clairvoyant as. well >> i'm working on. it >> i know you are, i bet you are, i have no doubt of. that >> turns out he had a troubled past. >> basically found you mentally unfit to be a police officer, right? >> that's what the ultimately said. >> when dateline continues. that's been saving people money for nearly 60 years. for a great low rate, and nearly 60 years of quality coverage, go with the general. feeling stressed in your skin? and nearly 60 years of quality coverage, not with olay retinol body wash. which improves skin 3x better. from dry and stressed, to bright and smooth. so, i can feel my best in my skin. olay body. fearless in my skin. >> it seemed all of albuquerque was transfixed by the sex drench narrative that was the levi travis file. a former police officer killed his wife and staged it to look like a suicide. now it is the defense's turn. their first argument, the reason the investigators originally forgot terral took her life was because she did. the defense attorney was concerned. >> it was called a suicide, because their own investigators, whose job it is to go and see what kind of death it is called it a suicide. >> assuming what he knew the jury must have been thinking they admitted that levi was a failure of a husband, but they said they did not make him a murderer. >> he was completely unfaithful to her. >> in just about every way, every opportunity? >> absolutely! but, you know, he talks about tara being his partner. she was his partner because they had gone through so much, had children together. >> all along, levi's family for the investigation into tara's death was flawed and futile, by a successful detective. >> one theory came out, it did not pan out, then he had another theory. i think the police were looking for evidence. you have to have something that you could hold on to. >> in a series of testy exchanges, the defense tried to describe tara jones on the stand. >> as a low class cop, i thought maybe you are a clairvoyant as well? >> i am working on it. >> i bet you are, no doubt about that! >> he grilled jones about his work history. turns out, he had been fired twice, and formally reprimanded for his handling of cases, including one that caused jones to be written up as unfit for duty. >> the doctor basically found you in a ... blank page, [inaudible] . >> that is what he ultimately said, yes. >> jones was later found fit to serve, and left law enforcement momentarily. the defense argued his troubled record cast a cloud over all of his police work. >> how important was it to chip away at aaron jones? >> oh, it was absolutely necessary. absolutely necessary that the jury saw aaron jones for what he is. >> remember jones's theory that the blood path showed that the shooter was left-handed, while tara was right-handed? that theory never made it into court, because it could not be backed up with forensics. and that insurance policy covering a suicide that jones found suspicious? the defense showed it was an old policy, that had been in place for years, through levi's military service. >> my client never changed the amounts for coverage, clauses or everything in this insurance policy, right? >> i did not know that then. >> and to cast more doubt on jones the's investigation, the defense says he never took a serious look at tera's lover, and former body, nick wheeler. >> they never took your dna. do they take fingerprints, anything from your? >> no, sir. >> in the end, the sheriff's department concluded there was no evidence that nick wheeler or his wife had anything to do with tera's death. as for row salama? >> you had an itch and he scratched? it >> she argued that rose cannot be trusted. in fact, she was facing felony charges of her own. >> you were arrested for fraud, over $2, 500, right? >> yes sir. and forgery over $2,500 right? >> yes, sir. >> the defense suggested rose made up the levi story hoping for leniency with her own legal problems, which she says all stemmed from a messy divorce. she was later playlists are charges to where off probation. but rose slama swears her testimony was the truth. >> i got no deal. i testified because it was the right thing to do. >> and the rest of the mistresses? the defense argued those women only bolstered levi's case, proving he was a lousy husband in a crumbling marriage, which gave tera ample reason to be depressed, even suicidal. >> he was not a good husband, he was not good to tera, and did not respond when she made these cries for help. and he feels horrible. >> the defense's suicide expert doctor alan berman testified all of the evidence pointed to tera taking her own life. >> she had a number of post chronic and acute factors for suicide. >> and the i am sorry no left on levi's that side table? >> doctor bourbon said that note was too ambiguous for him to call it a suicide note. that ripped up page found buried in the garbage, the experts say that had the hallmarks of a real suicide note. >> the line, i hope you will be happy now is something that we sometimes see in suicide notes. >> originally, the state suspected both notes were forgeries, but their own handwriting expert confirmed that tera wrote both of them. >> so you came back with an opinion, that tera wrote both of these so-called suicide notes? >> i do not know what kind of notes they are, sir. that but they are those notes, yes. >> one thing to keep in mind, no expert on either side could say when those notes were written. that day that tera died, years earlier? there was no way to tell. but the weekend that tera died, the defense said there was more evidence of her spiraling out of control. he called levi 315 times. and that is the reason that levi shut off his phone. not to escape detection, but to escape his wife. >> he does not want to have his wife bugging him, bugging him, bugging him when he is hanging out with his mistresses. >> or he does not want her to know where he is. >> we'll look at this, the thing is that he knew about all of these cell phone tower pings? well, he did not know anything about that at all! >> who in america does not know about that? >> well, he does not know that there is going to be ... a ... trail of where he is, at every moment. i have to tell, you he is not a criminal mastermind. >> that still left the question of how tera could have shot herself. and then, partially release the gun magazine. the defense hired a crime scene expert to man this video, demonstrating how they believed it could be done. >> well, the magazine is released. >> but when he came to court to do the same demonstration in person, he failed. >> all right, the gun is covered, you pull the trigger, and you get around to release the magazine. sometimes i can, and sometimes i can. sometimes, you can get the magazine release, but when i fire again -- today, i can't. >> there were smiles on your faces when that happened. >> yes, there were. >> did you think that was a pivotal moment in the trial? >> i did, because i handled the scene. my daughter had very small hands. i have big hands. and i cannot release the magazine with one hand, it just does not happen. it is not a tap of the button. you have to press and release it. and when that did not happen, yes, i felt pretty good. >> it was a high five moment for the prosecution. >> did you think when that was happening, that this was like the greatest thing? >> absolutely. and the fact that he gets up there to show how his theory would work and is unable to do it? well, once again we absolutely went to what we were saying, she could not kill herself. i never know what we are going to get. did i think that this was very crucial, key evidence? absolutely. but i have been doing this too long. 12 people sit there and have to come to a unanimous decision. i gave up trying to guess what they wanted to do years ago. >> would that one mistake caused levi his freedom? the defense attorney did not think so because he had another strategy, a surprising and risky move. >> the defense is calling levi travis. >> coming up, levi travis takes the stand, and tells his story. >> there was that little late on from the tv? >> when dateline continues. when dateline continues i don't just play someone brainy on tv - i'm an actual neuroscientist. and i love the science behind neuriva plus. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brain performance? 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(announcer) you can quit. call 1-800-quit-now for help getting free medication. we're eating and drinking foods and beverages that are very acidic. it can soften the enamel. pronamel repair, what it's doing is driving more minerals deep into the enamel surface, that's going to help actively repair. pronamel is taking it to another level. >> teresa cordova says the woman that levi's defense attorney described at a trial, was not her daughter. >> tera was a very needy person, she was a desperate wife. >> i walked out of their, numb. it was horrible. >> the attorney says that tera chavez was a sad, needy woman, desperate for mail attention. and the break up with nick wheeler center over the edge. >> that was a double whammy. she now thought she found someone else to match her start to, and she said no to her as. well >> we'll, talk about, you know, making her feel happy and not cheated on? >> that is fine, okay. >> there is little to suggest that tera was latching her start to anybody. >> yes, she wanted someone to treat her life. >> the defense calls levi travis. >> now, the man who everyone agreed had treated her so wrong was going to take the stand himself. >> how do you spell your last name? levi chavez. >> he says her and tera have been living on the edge of divorce for years, and she had become lonely, and depressed. >> did she ever express, thoughts to you like, she just wanted to disappear off the face of the earth? >> all the time. >> he says on the weekend that she died, he did ignore the 350 phone calls that his wife place to him. >> she was calling, i will hit the end button. did >> not want to be bothered? >> levi says he were to midnight on saturday and then went directly to his girlfriend's house. >> debra was nice, she was a nice person, i liked her and i did not want to take my phone there and just leave it off the hook and have to explain it is my ex, i am sorry. i don't want to do with. it >> the attorney took levi through his account of the next day, sunday. the kids were out of town, at his dads. levi said he had gone from debra's house, to his mom's house. she was watching, desperate housewives. his mom said she could not reach tera and was concerned. >> when i was talking to my mom, you know, everything came together in my head, like the threats. >> what do you mean by threats? >> like, she did not come home? >> threats to herself? >> yes. so, i had that information, and then it just stopped. stopped corresponding completely, and mom said she called in sick, and we were working on sunday. and we were afraid. >> he says fear made him go to the house to check on tera. >> i walked in, the house was dark. and ... -- >> do you need a break to collect yourself? >> so i walked in, and our bedroom was to the left. , with a little light on, from the tv? i could not believe what i was seeing. >> he says, he instantly knew what had happened, and that he was to blame. >> i felt, i was telling myself this is your fault, right here. it is your fault. because i answered the phone, and i needed a second. >> what moments were you feeling? >> guilt, that guilt as you described it. like, she was gone, and i was by myself for the first time. and they were telling me, this is all your fault. this is all your fault. >> after his emotional account of finding tera, his attorney gave levi a chance to explain away other prosecution points. that computer search for how to kill? levi told the jury, but all came from his passion for martial arts. >> i remember looking up how to rip someone's throat out, because i wanted to find a martial art. >> and rose slama? yes, they had an affair. but levi testified the rest of her story was a lie. >> well, rose slama told you, everyone seems to think that your truck was not really stolen. did rose slama ever say such a thing to you? >> no, she never told me nothing like that. i do not even know for sure if tera cut her hair. >> and remember how tera's things were poorly packed up? levi says his family did, that all on their own. >> did you know anything about family members of yours boxing stuff up? >> no, i did not have anything, all i remember was the bed was gone. >> too close, the defense lawyer had two more questions for his final witness. >> did you kill your wife, the mother of your children? >> absolutely not. >> did you temper with any evidence to make her death look like a suicide when it was really a murder? >> no, i did not. >> on cross examination, the prosecutor tried to rattle levi, really him about that text that the state believed levi had faith from tera's phone, and shown investigators. >> you thought that was an important text, didn't you? >> of course i. did >> the prosecutor thought it was suspicious that levi had deleted all of tera's other texts that weekend. >> you deleted every text except that one? >> i do not know, how my supposed to know which ones i deleted? >> he led on to needle levi as a lying philanderer. the answer? that was the old levi, and he was now a changed man. >> it is impossible for any person to change in one day. it is a process. >> and levi was not afraid to interrupt to make his points. >> it's a process, like can i speak to my jury, please? >> referring to the jury has, my jury. >> early october -- >> may i speak to my jury, please? >> your honor? >> no, you need to answer the question. >> in nearly six hours of testimony, levi chavez tried to show he had nothing to hide. and in the end, that he did not kill his wife. >> turns out, levi did not do, it no one else did, it tera wrote the suicide notes, and they are suicide notes. >> but would his jury agree? >> coming up. >> as they begin deliberations, the jurors were unanimous, on at least one point. >> someone made the comment, can we all agree that levi chavez is a dirt bag? >> but will that influence their verdict? when dateline continues. dateline continues. - i can't believe you got me this! - yes, verizon is giving one to everyone when they trade in their old or damaged phone. - oh! so like every sister can get this? - yeah. - every aluminum siding installer? - why not? - every doula? - they would have to! every customer, new and old, can get iphone 13 pro on us. because everyone deserves better. - everyone! - horse trainers! - manicurists! - you get the new iphone! - we're alone. - i know. - what're we doing? - i don't know. you have always loved vicks vapors. and now you'll really love new vicks' vapostick. it goes on clear and dries quickly. no mess. just the soothing vicks' vapor for the whole family. introducing new vicks vapostick. every day in business brings something new. so get the flexibility of the new mobile service designed for your small business. introducing comcast business mobile. you get the most reliable network with nationwide 5g included. and you can get unlimited data for just $30 per line per month when you get four lines or mix and match data options. available now for comcast business internet customers with no line-activation fees or term contract required. see if you can save by switching today. comcast business. >> the trial of levi chavez was powering possibilities. drawing to a close, and the judge charged the jury to deliberate. >> -- selective or person. >> was tera chavez's death a suicide or murder? >> if these deaths are connected? life in prison yes. >> or, he walks free? >> yes. >> behind closed doors, after five weeks of testimony, the jury could finally discuss the evidence. >> it is mentally, emotionally draining. >> we spoke to six of the people that leave i called, my jury. >> what we think of him continually referring to, my jury? >> oh, that was a little disturbing. >> personally, i did not have an issue with it. there was no doubt it was about him, so i did not take it personally, but some jury members were offended by that. >> i think what's offended some people is that, you say that you are my injury, like you are my friends, or something. >> kind of taking for granted that you are on his side? >> it almost implied that there was a level of collaboration, that he did not get. >> in the end, the deliberating, took the quick vote, and they realized they were far from unanimous. but, they did agree on some things. >> all of you know someone who has had an affair? >> yes. . yes, yes. >> any of you know someone who has had as many affairs as levi chavez? >> no. someone made the comment, can we all agree that levi chavez is a dirt bag? >> and apparently, they could agree on that, while simultaneously setting it aside, concentrating on the evidence and not his bad behavior. >> but, we all felt we could not judge him on his character. it was not our judge to judge him on the facts, there are presented to. us >> the state says levi needs statements about his wife, that they could not get over. >> he called her a useless piece of skin. to me that meant, i am done with her. so that is what made me think that he killed her. >> they thought long and hard about how tera was found, with the gun that killed. are they asked that the glock be brought into the jury room. >> we played with the gun took the magazine in and out, compared it to the photos. >> after a day of examining the evidence, they could not agree. >> my question was, what happens if we can't make a decision? i thought for sure, there was no way, we are too far apart. >> the jurors went home for the night. when they came back the next day, they took a vote. they were now unanimous. the court summoned the cordova and chavez families. >> i am shaking. i was not quite prepared for that moment. >> how did levi look? >> he looked very, very good. >> before i call the jury to find out what the verdict is, i've been of informed with the jury throughout the trial, there's a lot of animosity with this court, the tension could be cut with a knife. >> the judge ordered order in the court, and asked the families leave separate after the verdict was issued. >> as the jury reached a verdict? can you have it ready for us? levi chavez, please rise. we find the defendant levi chavez, not guilty. not guilty of first degree murder. >> not guilty. levi chavez was about to walk free. >> were you looking at levi at that moment? >> yes, all of us were hugging. we said a prayer after. it was just like, it is over. >> the other family in court listened in agony, and quickly left. >> justice has not been served. >> i immediately put my arm around theresa and got her out of there, we went home. >> i was shocked. disappointed. disgusted with our system. >> so, how did the jury reached that verdict? prosecutors, they say, had simply failed to make their case. several say they were baffled at how little evidence was presented. >> when the prosecution rested i was like ... honestly? i was expecting much more from them. >> i would have really hoped that they would have taken out some of the mistresses, put something else that would give us more hard evidence, but they did not. >> they told us, they specifically did not believe one of those mistresses. >> rose slama? >> no. >> did not trust her? >> not at all. >> what did you say? >> i would not trust her with a ten foot pole. >> aaron jones, the police officer? >> definitely not. >> jones testified the magazine had been released. when the jury looked at the photos, they were not so sure. >> for me, no one proved to me that magazine was unseated. >> so the fact that the defense expert try to show how it could be done and could not do it, that was not some huge fail for the defense? >> no, no. >> remember, the jurors never heard the comments attributed to tera from her family and friends. if something happened to her, that levi did it. in the, and all of the jurors we spoke with say it came down to reasonable doubt. one is upset that they were not able to convict. >> and it was not a decision that i wanted to give. but i had to, because of the reasonable doubt. >> so you think you let levi get away with murder? >> unfortunately, i do. >> the jurors i spoke to said they were stunned when the prosecution rested. they thought to themselves, this is it? there is no more? did you guys screw this up? >> no, i gave them the evidence that one, we were allowed to give, and number two, it was out there. we do not get to create the evidence. >> my question was, is it worth it? >> yes. >> yes. >> even though you did not get the results you wanted? >> yes. >> yes, we know the truth. >> we know the truth, and tera's words, even though they were not heard in that courtroom, they will be heard today. >> i am innocent. >> after the acquittal, levi charged out of court, and went threat to the press corps he felt have been harassing him for years. >> i knew i will be acquitted, i did nothing wrong, i am not surprised at all. >> you are the only member of levi's family who is willing to talk to us. how come no one else wants to talk? >> i feel that the media has really, i do not think they gave him a fair chance. my family has never said anything bad about the court, but we are all victims. i really do feel sorry for him, i really do. they can take this apology from my family. but you know what? levi -- >> when we last spoke, his attorney said levi had no plans to return to law enforcement, and hoped to go to law schools some day. after the trial, he remained in the albuquerque area with his wife heather, his young son, and two kids he had with tera. >> levi has been an excellent husband and father. >> the court -- cordova's later decided to drop their lawsuit against their former son in law. >> we are all here to remember tera. >> a few weeks after the trial, family and friends came together to remember tera chavez on what would have been her 32nd birthday, for all of those who loved her, tera is never really that far away. >> i will be in good company, if something were to ever happen to me now, josh. i have my baby. my angel. this sunday, the biden agenda at risk. progressive democrats holding firm on spending bills. >> we're not leaving one part of the agenda behind and giving up on the idea of child care, paid leave, community college, health care. >> moderate democrats hoping to trim the cost. >> i understand people are concerned about the top line dollar amount. >> republicans vowing to stand in the way. >> this is government-run socialism. everyone of us is opposed to it. >> will democrats reach an agreement or fail and risk sinking the president's agenda? my guest, democratic senator cory booker of new jersey.