greed and money. >> very diabolical, isn't it? >> yes. i thought to myself, did we just get ourselves into? >> they are basically murdering anything and anybody they can. outside of game of thrones, it's not what you really expected. how many murders can you have in one family? >> she just had to come here. had to see it. had to feel. what happened in this dark, empty parking lot? so far from home. >> i feel somewhat numb. just so senseless. i'm angry. i'm very angry. >> her name is sherrie jackson. she has been looking, searching. she's come half a world away. to this one moment. [noise] >> well, this is our last hope. >> to finally solve the mystery that has haunted her. what happened to her big brother? what did they do too larry? larry risken? >> he loved life. just being around him and in his presence, you too would feel carefree. >> larry risken with a navy man. joined the service after high school and rose through the ranks to become a commander. a leader of men. went to the gulf war. and back home in olympia, washington, his sister sherrie heard all about it. then sherrie heard about her. >> someone set up this blindly at a barbecue in california somewhere. >> was it like he fell for her right away? >> yes. >> did he have much experience with women? >> no. >> her name was sonia. sonia real's. a very pretty woman from the philippines. who owned a beauty salon in the los angeles suburb of lomita. did he know she was 16 years older than she was? whatever. didn't matter. >> he was now. >> it's not the sort of image you have a mind for a navy commander? >> right. his kindness made him naive. >> larry had always been close to his family. visited whenever he could. but, said sherrie, after sonia came along, larry stopped coming. >> sonia would it be sick. she'd have a headache. she would sabotage every time he had planned to come home. >> a year or so in, larry and sonia got married. they settled into sonia's house in lomita, across the street from nicole and jim thompson. >> she was very pleasant, very generous. very nice. >> she seemed quite normal. it looked like just a normal marriage. >> although there was this odd thing about it, given larry's authority at work. >> although he was a commander in the navy, she was the stronger one of the two. >> for off in olympia, sherrie got the scene in pressure. to her, it seemed almost sinister. >> she had complete control over him. complete control. >> one weekend when larry was away on duty, sherrie and a friend came to l.a. and state with sonia. until she locked them out of the house. and then, blamed sherrie. >> she told larry some story that was not true. and larry never followed up on it. >> was that the final break? >> yes. >> because we didn't speak after that for a while. >> a while? stretched in two years. more than a decade of cold, stony silence. so, sherrie wasn't there when larry retired from the navy. and she heard very little about his new career as a high school special education teacher. >> he loved kids. he loved his job with students. >> hello special ed teacher eileen stevens. >> as you got to know each other, did he talk about his personal life? >> yes, he talked about his family. he hadn't seen them in years. that he was allowed to. >> as eileen and larry grew closer, he shared more and more secrets. >> it was not a good marriage. no sexual relations. she had emasculated him to a point that, honestly, i don't think he would speak much. >> larry did make his feelings known about one thing. he wanted children. but sonia, remember, was way older than larry. well into her 40s when they wear. >> it seems like she hadn't been forthright about her each because she wanted to give the impression she was able to have children. >> but larry had found an alternative. he had gone to the philippines often, to see sonia's relatives, and larry had come to love her brothers two grandchildren. their names were quinzy and jetmark. jetmark still remembers vividly. >> he's a nice man, who loves kids. friendly. >> how did you feel when you are around him? >> i feel safe and secure with him. always happy when i'm with him. >> jetmark and quinzy's parents hoped sonia and larry could provide a better life in the states. so the family supported larry's offer to adopt them. and sonia agreed, as long as she could handle the adoption process. but a year passed, then two. more than three. in the process sonia promised didn't happen. >> he found out that she was sabotaging the adoption for the kids to actually come. so, there would be a date and then that date would come and go and he would finally figured that out. >> it was sort of his last chance to have children at that point? >> yes. he was very upset about that. >> so upset he demanded a divorce and sonia, agreed. but with one stipulation. >> sonia came over and she said, larry is going to go to the philippines and we have a taxi business there. and he's got to get that taken care of. >> which he agreed to do, after all, he wanted to see quinzy and jetmark, and quinzy's 16th birthday was coming up. but, sonia? >> she didn't want to go. >> exactly, i brought that up. it's her family, why does she go? >> and he said why? >> no, i need to go. it was whatever sonia decided. >> but before leaving for manila, larry needed to take one other trip. back home. back to olympia for the first time in 13 years, for a family reunion. >> it was great. he was very happy to start another chapter in his life without her. >> without her, but with, he gushed, the niece and nephew he still hoped to adopt. cherry listened. and worried. >> this was not going to be an easy divorce. larry would say everything's okay. i'm going to go to the philippines and when i get back we're going to go through a process of divorce. he trusted her and when i took him to the airport, i really really thought, i'm never going to see him again. >> coming up -- >> i went, what? oh my god. >> a murder. >> i just said, you had something to do with it. i knew you did. >> then, to. >> it onto the rest of your life. it hurts. >> then, three. >> my mom is laying on the floor. there is blood on the floor. oh my god. >> when "dateline" continues. then break it. every emergen-c gives you a potent blend of nutrients so you can emerge your best with emergen-c. (swords clashing) -had enough? -no... arthritis. here. new aspercreme arthritis. full prescription-strength? reduces inflammation? thank the gods. don't thank them too soon. kick pain in the aspercreme. when you really need to sleep you reach for the really good stuff. don't thank them too soon. 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. >> larry risken landed in my little and headed south to see quinzy and jetmark, those two kids he so desperately hope to adopt. >> say happy birthday, quinzy. >> where he attended a sweet 16 birthday party for quinzy. >> you can have some kick some ice cream. >> during the party, larry notice that jetmark's cousin had an eye infection. >> larry think that he must go to the hospital to have her checked up. >> we go see doctor? >> as the party broke up and larry got everybody to leave, one of the parents called sonia back in the states. >> and he said, we're going to the hospital at that moment. >> so, sonia new? >> new because we were about to bring my cousin to see that doctor. >> so, larry let the girl in a jeep and then he and jetmark and a few family members headed to the hospital. they parked in the back. they went inside. after the girl was treated, everybody left the er and piled back into the jeep. it was just before 7 pm. >> then someone approached us. >> someone approach to how? >> at our side, with a motorcycle. >> and suddenly, the world exploded. one of the two men on the motorcycle started shooting. point blank. into larry's head. into his stomach. shocked then and chaos. the killer sped away. and the confusion and panic, jetmark reached for larry. >> i tried to stand him up from the seat, but i already see the blood coming. i was thinking that he's still alive, and i'm shouting, help. help. help. >> it seemed like forever to get larry back into the emergency room. >> i was just kept praying that he would be a life. that's why i can't forget what happened that night. >> larry risken never had a chance. he was just 43. moments earlier, jetmark had felt so safe and secure with larry. awaiting a new life with him in california. >> i never felt that again -- when he's gone. >> back in lomita, it was the middle of the night when the nicole and jim thompson got a call from sonia. >> she goes, larry has been shot and he's dead. and i went, what? oh my god. i said, you want me to come over? she said, yes, please. >> and she was shaking. i put my arms around her and she kept rocking back and forth. >> later that morning, sonia had nicole cole sherry in olympia to give her the news. nicole left a voice mail. >> the woman said, i am sonia, lori's neighbor, any due to comey. and i knew. i went into my coworker and i said, i'm going to return a phone call and this person is going to tell me my brother is dead. >> which is exactly what happened. >> and i said hi, sherry, i'm sorry to give you bad news. and she just said, she did it. i know she did it. she did it. >> it was sherry who called the police in lomita. told them to rush over to sonia's place. after they arrived, an officer called sherry back. >> i said, well, put sonia on the phone. and she was just i believe acting. my husband, my husband is dead. and i just said, you had something to do with it. i know you did. >> the thompson's didn't quite believe that. not then. but the very next day, sonia again asked jim to come over. >> she was said can you help me go through these papers. i'm looking for the life insurance policies. and that really stung me. he'd been gone maybe 30 hours tops, and she's looking for insurance papers. i said no, i'm not doing this. >> a former navy commander gunned down in the philippines was front page news in southern california. . and one of his first calls was to the newly widowed sonia risken, hutus utter surprise, was already back at work. >> she told me that she hadn't had a report yet, but that tourists get robbed and that perhaps was what had happened. >> was it? thousands of miles away in the philippines, police detective was just starting an investigation. de anybody see this happen? >> yes, there is witness but they cannot remember the face of the suspects. >> could i identify? >> yes. >> no identify identifiable suspects meant no arrests. but the investigation quickly went nowhere. the murder of larry risken, the execution really, here in a hospital parking lot of all places, was devastating for his family back home in the states. but to add insult to the injury, because his wife sonia had jurisdiction of the body, she elected not to bring it back for burial. and said, had him cremated and ensured his ashes remained here in the philippines with somebody. that news reached larry's family as they were preparing for his funeral. >> when we found out that sonia had him cremated and the remains were not coming back, that was yet another slap in the face. sonia controlling everything. >> the family still held the funeral and left a headstone with a small, empty nation. someday they told themselves, someday they would retrieve larry's ashes and put them here. at home. >> for his remains to be in the philippines is unthinkable. >> how much of this was a middle finger to you and to the family? >> a lot. a big one. >> whatever sherry's suspicions about sonia, there was a much she could do, except hope and pray that that tiny police department halfway around the world would solve that case. but she didn't know. of course, she didn't. that sonia had a history. dive back in time, peel away a decade or two, find another mystery. another man. and another murder. coming up -- >> she had a previous husband who was killed 19 years earlier in the philippines, in a similar manner. >> a dark story of husband number one. >> i he hung up. and he was dead. >> when "dateline" continues. feeling sluggish or weighed down? it could be a sign that your digestive system isn't working at it's best taking metamucil everyday can help. metamucil psyllium fiber, gels to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down. it also helps lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. so you can feel lighter and more energetic metamucil. support your daily digestive health. and try metamucil fiber thins. a great tasting and easy way to start your day. ♪ ♪ 'tis the season to break tradition in a cadillac. don't just put on a light show—be the light show. make your nights anything but silent. and ride in a sleigh that really slays. because in a cadillac, tradition is yours to define. so visit a cadillac showroom, and start celebrating today. ♪ ♪ ♪ when you have nausea, ♪ so visit a cadillac showroom, and start celebrating today. ♪ heartburn, ingestion, upset stomach... ♪ ♪ diarrheaaaa.♪ try pepto bismol with a powerful coating action. for fast and soothing relief. pepto bismol for fast relief when you need it most. i d d so my y quesonons eouout hicacase.y y son, cacalledhehe bars s fi i d d soit was the best call eouout hii could've made. call the barnes firm and find out what your case all could be worth.uld've made. ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪ and find out what your case all when a truck hit my car,ade. ♪the insurance companyed, wasn't fair. eight million ♪ i didid't t kn whahatmy c caswa, so i called the barnes firm. i'm rich barnes. it's hard for people to k how much their accident case is worth.h barnes. t ouour juryry aorneneys hehelpou ♪ i remember when you were here ♪ get t thbestst rult t poiblele. that's mommy! ♪ and all the fun we had last year ♪ watch the full story at www.xfinity.com/sing2 >> larry oldman had no idea that spring morning in 2006, not a clue. as he drove to his office at the paper. yes sure, he broken a story about a murder halfway around the world. of that local teacher, ex navy commander, larry risken. that was three days ago. he'd moved on. but then he got to the office and -- we'll, surprise would be far too mild a word for what he heard about, sonia. >> i had several messages that she had the previous husband who was killed 19 years earlier in the philippines in a similar manner. >> what did you think when you heard that? >> wow. i managed to get the name for the first has been. earl john bourdeau. >> took a minute to sing in. sonia had another husband and he too was shot to death in the philippines? how messed up was this crazy story? and who the heck was earl earl john bourdeau. >> oldman dark through the newspapers archives looking for any old story about the man, or the murder. >> we couldn't find anything. so, i just did a google search and came up with bourdeau in iowa. >> that bourdeau lived in davenport, iowa. along the mississippi river. in their very same house where earl grew up. back then, they called him duck. a handsome, friendly, midwestern kid. this is his brother dennis. >> he was the pride of the family. >> your big brother? >> yeah. [laughs] yeah. i looked up to him a lot. we were kind of each other's protectors. >> duke joined the marines during the now, that was stationed in the philippines. where he met a pretty young filipina named sonia, who sang in a nightclub near the base. and she was worth writing home about. dennis kept the letters. and it wasn't long before he got a call from duke. >> he said that he gotten married. >> holy cow. he fell in love at first sight or something? >> i think he must have. it was almost a big secret. >> a few months later, duke brought his secret right back home to iowa to meet the family. but the bourdeau and sonia never clicked. maybe that's why after duke's time in the marines and it, the newlyweds settled in southern california. a few years later, sonia opened a hair salon. and duke worked at a bakery. what was their relationship like back then at the beginning? >> it looked like it was real good. they were holding hands. >> all lovey dovey? >> yeah, she definitely was the boss. there was no doubt about that. >> sound familiar? sonia ran the show and duke, the ex marine, found himself taking orders all over again. >> he definitely was scared of her. >> scared of what? she was just a pint sized thing? >> that she was going to get mad and blew up and he wouldn't be able to do things. >> but somehow, his strange and secretive marriage survived over two decades. dennis urged him, get out. and finally, sonia agreed to a divorce. but, this may sound very familiar, first duke would have to go to the philippines. without her, to sell her little taxi business there. >> he was very, very depressed. he goes, i got to go. she's making me. >> duke kept begging his brother to go with him. but dennis couldn't get a passport in time. so, you went alone. there was a plane change in hawaii. >> and he called me then he called sonia and told her that he didn't want to go any further. and she said, he had to go. >> he had to go or what? >> that's what i told him. i said, don't go. and he said, i'm not you. that was his last words to me. i'm not you. and then he hung up. and he was dead. >> coming up. another murder in the philippines. and the danger travels from. >> i got maybe 200 death threats. >> what would they see on the phone? >> you've had a. watch every step you make. it was almost like they were watching. >> when "dateline" continues. how do i sign up? where do i enroll? when is the deadline? one call to healthmarkets and they do it all. there are thousands of medicare plans which leads to even more questions like: do you know if your plan is still the right fit? call or visit healthmarkets.com to get your free fitscore today. in minutes you can find out if your current plan is the right fit, or if there's another plan that can get you better coverage or save you money. don't miss out on coverage that you deserve. and that's why i love healthmarkets... your insurance marketplace. with healthmarkets' fitscore, you answer a few questions and they search hundreds of plans from leading companies, to find the medicare plan that fits your needs... while helping answer all of your medicare questions like, does your plan have: $0 copays, $0 deductibles, and $0 premiums? healthmarkets has the answer. does your plan offer dental and vision coverage? 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>> yeah. it is. it hurts. you let him down and you let your parents down. >> what happened in their? who killed earl john duke bourdeau. >> john bourdeau was murdered in cold blood. >> bong oteza is a private investigator who once worked for the philippine equivalent of the fbi. >> somebody went inside the house. they thought it's just a burglary or a home invasion, something like that. >> but it didn't make sense. there was no sign of a break in. and duke was the only one shot. pretty much execution style. that police here in the town jumped on the bourdeau case right away and pretty soon they had identified some suspects. brought them in. charged them with murder. three of those people, three of those men, were members of sonia's family. and then two more were picked up, so, five members of sonia's family were charged with murdering duke. here's a criminal complaint. one of sonia's brothers had fresh human blood on his shirt and pants. the evidence police had gathered seemed overwhelming. the case closed. but soon after, said detective -- soon after, there was a little surprise. >> they fled filed a case against the suspects. but it was dismissed. >> why? >> for the reason that sonia risken feel to attend the preliminary hearing. >> did you get that? because sonia liz next of kin, she had to attend the hearing here at the local courthouse to make the charges against her family stick. so, know sonia their, meant no charges. case over. local authority said their hands were tied. that was the official version, anyway. didn't wash, said ex philippine investigator bong oteza. >> i think that there is some magic happened. >> magic? >> you can easily pay people around just too the silent. >> pay to make it go away? >> yes. >> according to bong who's worked in law enforcement over three decades, that magic is not so uncommon. 1000 dollar payoff and proof, it all goes away. so that wouldn't surprise you at all? >> oh, no. that's expected. >> back in iowa, dennis was convinced dukes execution was ordered and financed by sonia. and that she paid off whoever she needed to. >> sonia has so much power. everybody was afraid of her. >> almost like a little godfather or something. >> yeah, if she said something, people moved. >> sonia move fast, too. she scooped up her dead husband's entire six figure estate. >> her attorney told me everything goes to sonia. don't bother her. don't call her. >> dennis called a lawyer in the philippines. spent thousands on his own investigation, he said, hoping he at least put some heat on sonia. but instead, said dennis, he became the target. >> i got maybe 200 death threats, just by phone. >> what would they say on the phone? >> your family has had it. you've had it. watch every step you make. it was almost like they were watching. >> and this happened to you why? who is doing it? >> i believe it's sonia's family because i had done some things that scared sonia. >> like reporting her to the local police and the fbi. dennis said he also showed them death threats he got in the mail. then one day, it was fishy near his home and -- >> all of a sudden, something is sitting beside us. i could see a guy across the lake and then you can see the buzz of flash. >> the mystery shooter missed, said dennis, but that wasn't the end of it. later he said, it happened again. right outside his very own garage. >> they were standing right back almost were you were, for those two bullets there. >> who were these people? >> i don't know. >> but these are -- >> these are the two bullet holes there. there's one here. >> dennis documented everything. said he told the fbi repeatedly that nothing happened. years past. the bourdeau case faded away. far away in the philippines. >> until, well over a decade later, dennis got that called from reporter larry oldman about the murder of larry risken. that was the first you heard she even had another husband. >> yeah. >> did he tell you how he died? >> he told me just how he got shot in the head, too. just >> like her brother? >> yeah. yeah. >> did you immediately think, oh, boy, she's done again? >> yeah. i did. >> maybe now, hoped dennis, all the renewed interest in sonia might finally reignite the investigation into his brother's case. >> i thought, sonia was going to be hung from the highest tree and serve a lifetime behind bars. >> understandable, if naive. coming up -- >> had she been arrested, larry risken would be alive today. >> you looked at the report. >> oh yes, very sensibly. >> what other secrets might sonia be hiding? when "dateline" continues. ld is not just a cold. unlike other cold medicines, coricidin provides powerful cold relief without raising your blood pressure be there for life's best moments with coricidin. now in sugar free liquid. alice loves the scent of gain so much, she wished there was a way to make it last longer. say hello to your fairy godmother alice and long-lasting gain scent beads. try spring daydream, now part of our irresistible scent collection. small businesses like yours make gift-giving possible. now, comcast business has an exclusive gift for you. introducing the gift of savings sale. for a limited time, ask how to get a great deal for your business. and get up to a $500 prepaid card with select bundles when you switch to the network that can deliver gig speeds to the most businesses. or get started with internet and voice for $64.99 per month with a 2-year price guarantee. give your business the gift of savings today. >> two military men. comcast business. powering possibilities. two murders. nearly two decades apart. at the center of it? the woman who is married to both of them. sonia risken. reporter larry oldman knew he had a hell of a story on his hands. and soon quaint a headline grabbing nickname for sonia. >> the black widow of lomita. >> that caught on. >> that did catch on. >> nicole and jim townsend saw the headlines. heard the stories. it was hard to believe this was sweet little sonia, they're nice neighbor they were once so friendly with. not any more. >> for her to send to husbands back to the philippines and both of them get murdered, that change the relationship permanently. >> i'm going to keep my distance. i said, this is way too coincidental. it's just too weird for me. and i don't want to be a part of it. >> but up in olympia, washington, sherry jackson hadn't seen larry's story about the black widow. and so, when philippine authorities called her and told her that sonia had a previous has been, and that he was murdered, too -- >> it was a huge shock. when i heard that, i literally dropped to my knees. >> then, sherry called dennis bourdeau. the similarities were eerie. the same circumstance. the same street out executions. after they talked, she felt even more certain sonia had also ordered larry's murder. did she kill larry for his money or was she angry at him? or both? >> she was not going to let him walk away. and she was a woman who needed control and that would certainly jeopardize that. >> not to mention the money. and so, for a second time, sonia was in line to inherit a murdered husband's estate. including a big life insurance payout. but then the insurance company got a little suspicious and hired a private investigator named bill marshall. >> the insurance company called me one day said bill, i got a doozy of a case for you. >> so, marshals contact gave him a name, sonia risken and a little back story. and set him loose. and, oh my. >> this woman had a history of fraud. >> you looked into her path? >> oh, yes. very extensively. she had burned down as her hair salon she own at one point nicolette the shirts. >> she went up collecting the money? >> she did. >> collecting, yes. paying taxes? well, according to martial, sonia did most of her business transactions in cash to avoid paying the irs. and she launch frivolous lawsuits and bogus bankruptcies and stole social security numbers. sonia did get caught, for a couple of her scams though. was ordered to pay restitution. what did she get financially for the murder of larry risken? >> hundreds of thousands of dollars. she own two properties. one in apple valley, which i think is worth about half apple of -- half 1 million. a home in lolita. there were expensive automobiles. >> so these may all have been cool and but now she all of them. >> with them with him out of the picture they all belong to her. >> marshall turned in his report. and the insurance company prevented any payments to sonia. but they didn't stop there. sherrie and her family were so impressed with marshals work, they to hire him to investigate, not many, that murder. and just maybe solve the mystery about what really happened to larry risken and who was responsible. what were you hoping he would accomplish? >> to tell us the final days of what happened with larry in the philippines. and are these that people that killed her first has been? we wanted to get to the bottom of all of that. >> by then, marshall was hooked. for months, he ran an operation from california to the philippine town. he watched sonia's in lomita. her hair salon. even got a haircut from her. here's the receipt. hoping to learn anything more about sonia and her activities. and he also hired investigators in the philippines. including bong oteza. bong ford through old police files. how new witnesses and cultivated conduct confidential sources. pride opened what he believed whether it's the secret true story of the murder of larry risken. and it all led directly to sonia and her family. >> the brothers are the ones that did it. or they hired a killer. but definitely it's within the family circle. and they depended on financial stability on sonia. so, they will do whatever sonia requests. >> marshall believe police in the philippines said much the same information. >> it looked like they gathered very damning evidence against sonia's brothers. so >> they put them on trial, right? >> witnesses suddenly got cold feet and retracted their statements. >> oh. >> an interesting lee, sonia showed no interest in pursuing the investigation. >> almost like a replay of what happened after duke bourdeau was murdered, years earlier. when police charged five members of sonia's the family but then let them go. bong with certain somebody paid to make both murder cases go away. and it didn't buy the line with selling. >> the general police station filed a case. but the court dismissed the case. >> did you think there might have been any corruption in that? anybody get a little money under the table? >> i don't think so. >> payoffs are not, it all led bill martian to a disturbing conclusion, larry risken didn't have to die. it wasn't just the philippine authorities released the suspect, the fbi also knew about sonia. remember? duke bourdeau's brother dennis reported her to them years earlier. >> had she been arrested, larry risken, i believe, would be a life today. >> we asked the fbi for a response, but they declined to comment. back then, sherry turned over marshals findings to the fbi, hoping that this time, they along with investigators in the philippines would finally crack both larry and duke's cases. >> i was under the impression there was now going to be an investigation to where she was responsible for these two murders and that she would have to pay for it. >> but weeks past. then months. nothing changed. it was business as usual at sonia's salon. and she remained free as a bird. then christmas cookie. the first christmas without larry. not a peep from the philippines or the fbi. >> i tried to get information but it's an investigation and there wasn't much anyone was going to tell me. >> but then, just after new years, and email arrived. and then another. and then more emails. sent, apparently, by a secret relative of sonia's. now, what could that mean? >> coming up -- >> mysterious messages with a sinister offer. >> he was offering to kill her. >> wow. >> basically to pay someone to kill sonia. >> soon, there'd be murder number three. >> police and somebody. police. oh, my god. >> did we why did we just get ourselves into? >> when "dateline" continues. hey hun hey, get your own vapors relax with vicks vapobath or with vicks vaposhower. take a soothing vicks vapo moment wherever you chose. [gaming sounds] [gaming sounds] [gaming sounds] just think, he'll be driving for real soon. every new chevy equinox comes standard with chevy safety assist, including automatic emergency braking. find new peace of mind. find new roads. chevrolet. >> the murder of larry risken in this hospital parking lot soon faded into local history. and two decades of life and constant now noisy traffic pretty much erased any member of the killing in this house of a man named duke bourdeau. just two more mysteries, competing for attention in the vast archipelago of humanity. and and around this huge city, manila. ♪ ♪ ♪ this arguably the most densely populated city in the world and some were, here, among all of these people, were the killers of larry risken and duke bourdeau. so, truly a mystery. but to add to the mystery, somewhere here also, where the remains of larry risken. somebody had them. but we're? and who? back in olympia, washington, larry's family still had slim hope they might eventually see sonia caught and convicted. but for now, their priority was bringing larry's ashes home. giving the man a loving sent off. a formal burial. but even that seemed impossible. >> they'll be no closure without my brothers remains back here. and i was just losing hope that anything was ever going to happen. >> it was all just critical -- >> it was all just going to go away. >> sure seemed that way. and yet, here was sonia, still living that southern california good life. driving her corvette. running her salon. >> she never mentioned wanting to find a killer. nothing. >> she never seemed angry at the fact that her husband was murdered. or getting justice. never came up. >> but then, nine months after larry was murdered, as sherry was about to give up, a strange thing happened. or things. emails suddenly popped up in sherry's computer. >> they talked about sonia being responsible for my brothers murdered. and he was offering to get my brothers ashes back. >> he signed them, john bourdeau. but wait, earl john duque bourdeau was long dead, so who was the guy sending that emails? >> i had learned that sonia first husband adopted a child by the name of john bourdeau when they were first married. >> yes, sonia had a secret son. a biological son born in the philippines before sonia married duke. we couldn't find any adoption papers, but the boy assumed duke's last name. considered him his stepfather. >> i never knew that until after my brother passed away. >> and you never heard a thing about it? >> no. >> larry risken apparently didn't know sonia how tyson, either. so, sherry, a little suspicious about these uninvited emails right back. all chummy as if she and john bourdeau were online buddies. >> michael was to try to get my brother's ashes back. so, i was just kind of stringing him along. >> but the more sherry corresponded with this john bourdeau guy, the more she worried about what sort of person he was. >> there were quite a few emails asking for money. >> a lot of money. $35,000 to recover larry's ashes. >> it was very, very unsettling to receive emails. it was so outlandish that it was hard to make sense of. >> outlandish? the unsolicited emails were about to get downright frightening. and soon, and sherry detectives had a new mystery on their hands. coming up -- another cold blooded killing. >> shot execution style. >> with a bullet in the back of the head? >> yes. >> they walked in, fired the shot, walked out again. >> that's what it seems to be. >> and another dark tale about to unfold. >> how many murders can you have in one family? >> when "dateline" continuous. every emergen-c gives you a potent blend of nutrients so you can emerge your best with emergen-c. 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>> i few the person that killed her had something to do with these e-mails. >> they are basically murdering anybody they can. >> sherri jackson's inbox was flooded with e-mails from a john bordeaux, aufrlg what she wanted the return of her brother's remains in the philippines. the offer became an exorbitant one that she wasn't willing to play. so he had to be a con artist, maybe worse. then another e-mail, he was worse. hewa offered to add an extra little surface.d it had to do with larry's widow, sonia. he was offering to kill her. >> wow. >> basically to pay someone to kill sonia. >> first extortion. now murder. did you feel in jeopardy, yourself? >> i did. because at this point anything could happen. >> oh, and sure enough, something was happening. but it wasn't pretty. >> sheriffs deputies, may i help you? >> she's spreaded on the floor. >> is she breathing? >> i'm not sure. >> reporter: something had happened, something big in lomita. >> we're on the way, sir. >> jeesh, oh my dod. >> reporter larry altman was at work, got a call from a local, said -- >> we have a murder out here. it's that woman with the two dead husbands. i shouted in the phone, are you kidding me? sonia risken has been murdered. >> reporter: the body b of a 60-year-old filipino hairstylist was found here in her home. the black widow of local, the woman expected of arranging the murders of not one but two husbands and med the same fate. mike rodriguez was on his way home when his commander called. he says,de can you call this reporter, larry altman? >> as you are going down to the murder scene? >> i'm thinking to myself, it's ought protocol. he ousays, there is a tremendou back story to your victim. i called mr. altman. he provided us with a tremendous back story. i just thought to myself, what did we get ourselves into in. >> reporter: detective rodriguez drove through traffic getting into thee most convoluted casef his career. what had been done to her? >>ee it looked like she had bee shot execution style. >> like a bullet to the the back of the head in. >> not like they ransacked and robbed her. her house was very neat very orderly, it was aea house that u could tell not many people enter that house just by what we learned by theby nature of heir personality. she was very guarded, very suspicious of others. whoever did this, didn't break down any doors. >> they walked in, fired a shot and walked out again? >> that's what it seemed to me. >>reporter: sonia was ambushed, shot in the head, just like her two dead husbands. rodriguez took a look around the house. sonia's purse was still there. $1,700 in cash in it. aroundn the neighborhood, nobo saw a thing. jim and nicole thompson were out ofn town. got word from jim's dad and mom. >> she said, sonia's been killed. we were like,on what? i was shocked. i couldn't believe it. first of't all, you don't thinkf ayo murder in your neighborhood. >> the media was spinning it like,pi justice has finally bee done. the black widow is now gone, fate got her. >> some ofot sonia's relatives also showed is up of what was now a full blown crime scene. >> one was literally waving his hand at the crime scene tape and couldn't wait to tell us what we thought had happened? >> who was that? >> her nephew, eric dela cruz. >> eric dela cruz, a part of her family.er obviously, he was sonia's favorite. >> they treated each other like grandson and 2k3wr7bd mother. >> she talked great of him. she wast proud of him. >> reporter: proud because he was a sailor aboard the uss ronal reagan. he arrived back after tour in asia. the woman he called grandmother had beenia murdered. he told detectives he just knew. >> h he told us that john bordeaux, sonia's son, was a bad guy and b if something happenedo sonia, he was the one. >> he was the one. >> that did it. >> john bordeaux wasn't hard to find. he was the guy who discovered sonia's body and called the cops. bordeaux was at the crime scene when they arrived. rodriguez immediately noticed a subtle but significant clue about this mother/son relationship. >> there wasn't ar/ single picte of her son john bordeaux. it was as if he didn't exist to her. of those were concerns to us right away. >> reporter: so police took their own pictures of bordeaux when they brought him in for questioning. was he in an emotional state? >> more of opening sight.ng to me it's like is this guy telling us the truth? and we were really trying to figure out, is he really the biological son? >> reporter: bordeaux said he was born in the philippines, sonia was just a teenager then. rodriguez got the distinctive impression this mother/son relationship was complicated. >> it's kind of like an outcast of hisli family. he was brought over from the philippines as a young boy. >> reporter: that's when he took onwh duke's last name. but john bordeaux swore he hardly knew his mother's ex-husband larry risken. it was, he says, a topic strictly off limits with her. >> you ask about the nature. she was arguing about that question? >> yes, ma'am. >> reporter: bordeaux's behavior and story seemed suspicious. though, just days later, they brought him back again. this time for a polygraph test. >> were you involved in the shooting ofin sonia? >> no i would never hurt my mom. that was my mom. >> reporter: what was the business you had against her for a long time? >> not giving me love. >> and though bordeaux said he and his mum sometimes didn't communicate, things haddi gotte better. but they kept pushing. >> did you shoot her in. >> i will change my answer. i didn't shoot my mom. i did not kill my mom. i have no involvement to my mom's death. >> who is it that you think is responsible for t this? >> the number one person that keeps coming to mind is her husband's sister, sherri johnson. >> wait a minute, jerry jackson. really? then nobody seemed to hate sonia more than sherri hated sonia. nobody except maybe dennis bordeaux. >> coming up. >> yeah, if you had the opportunity to kill her? i said, in a heart beat. >> who else might want sonia dead? the list was long. she certainly had a motive. >> yes, her and about 100 other people. >> when "dateline" continues. digestive system isn't working s best taking metamucil everyday can help. metamucil psyllium fiber, gels to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down. it also helps lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. so you can feel lighter and more energetic metamucil. support your daily digestive health. and try metamucil fiber thins. a great tasting and easy way to start your day. i've been telling everyone... the secret to great teeth is having healthy gums. crest advanced gum restore. detoxifies below the gumline... and restores by helping heal gums in as little as 7 days. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. it's time for the ultimate sleep number event on the sleep number 360 smart bed. what if i sleep hot? or cold? no problem, the sleep number 360 smart bed is temperature balancing so you both sleep just right. and it senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. so, you can really promise better sleep? yes! you'll know exactly how well you slept, night after night. we take care of the science. all you have to do is sleep. don't miss our black friday sale. save 50% on the new sleep number 360 limited edition smart bed. plus, 0% interest for 60 months. ends cyber monday . >> secrets. so many secrets. sonia risken had taken them to her grave. at the top of that dismal list, what did she do to those two husbands of hers? and who killed her? why? a few days after sonia's death, several fbi agents showed up at dennis bordeaux's house. >> i came home from work and there's cars parked at the end of the alley and one by my garage. i pulled my truck in and i thought, what's going on? they asked me if i knew sonia risken? and i said, no. >> sonio who? rican? >> yeah, do you know sonia bordeaux? and i go, yeah. he said, if you had the opportunity to kill her, would you? i said, in a heart beat. >> probably not the wisest thing to the fbi. it made him an instant suspect. they covered dennis, covered the bases and he had an alibi. they cleared him. remember, up in lopia, walk, sherri jackson had despised sonia for years, believe she ordered her brother's death. so detective rodriguez searched her computers, questioned her. also discussed those e-mails that offered sherri a way to murder sonia. >> when we reviewed the e-mails from the john bordeaux account, you have e-mails that basically solicit sonia's death. >> so that would be sherri taking revenge through john bordeaux. >> yes, on that john bordeaux account. >> well, she certainly had a motive, didn't she? >> yes, her and 100 other people. >> just like dennis, sherri was killed, and quickly. >> sher i have a law-abiding citizen. other than she had no love for sonia. she never entertained having sonia killed. she did the right thing. she forwarded this to the authorities, the fbi. >> reporter: in fact, jerry forwarded those john bordeaux e-mails to the if ib if ib, the moment she seen them. >> c'mon, we don't need three dead people. it needs to stop. >> reporter: as always, the fbi kept a lid on their investigation, which was frustrating to sherri. >> we weren't kept apprised of what's going on. i tried to get information. it wasn't something that was discussed with us. >> pretty frustrating for you? >> very frustrating. >> even more frustrating for sherri is what happened to sonia. despite all her hatred of the woman, sherri was not happy that sonia was murdered. not at all. >> because i wanted her to pay for what she did. now she's dead. so there is no satisfaction in that for me. >> did you really care whether or not they figured out who killed her in. >> yes. because i just knew the person that killed her had something to do with these e-mails. it was just a big web. >> but maybe john bordeaux was untangled? remember, detectives had given him a polygraph test shortly after his mother was murdered. his answers didn't sound believable. >> i didn't shoot my mom. >> he didn't do very well. >> so rodriguez met with him again, in front of his house this time he grilled him. >> listen to me, i want to tell you something, if you had anything to do with it, now is the time to tell me. >> you don't believe many e? i don't expect you to believe me. okay. that's my mom. you can arrest me, i will still tell you, i didn't do it. >> but bordeaux didn't break. he stuck to his story, that somebody else must've murdered his mother. >> i have nothing to hide. >> but you have to admit, there are some things that are very suspicious about the way you act. he didn't exactly pass the polygraph. he has an e-mail account bearing his name. >> it didn't look good for him? >> correct. >> especially when sonia's own relatives lined up to accuse her h. leading the charge the one who cared for mer more than her own son, the great nephew who kept insisting. >> john bordeaux did it. he had to have done it. he's a bad guy. he's a drug guy. he did it. >> eric was determined to get justice for his beloved grandmother, sonia. he even paid a visit to her neighbors. >> he was distraught. he had liketaries in his eyes, a quivering voice, his voice was like, do you know anyone, do you know who killed my grandma? >> the more eric dug, he said, the more certain he was that sonia's very own son john was the killer. and he called and met with detectives often, sharing his insight. >> my grandma died. >> do you think he'll ever admit to us? >> no, sir. he's going to act like he's not guilty? >> maybe eric was right about john bordeaux. he kept insisting, no one else had the motive, the means, the opportunity to kill sonia, other than her very own son. why didn't you arrest john bordeaux? he's the guy who discovers the body. he's the guy with the beef against this woman that should have been loving towards him and wasn't. >> there wasn't one thing that jumped out that kind of crossed that bridge that we would arrest him. sometimes it's better to take your time, to be in communication with folks, to maybe let them let their opening sight level go down a little bit. to kind of lay until weeds so to speak. >> yes. >> so you can do your investigation and you can confirm things. >> something told rodriguez to hold off, not now. wait. sure enough, there was another big fat clue. courtesy of the black widow, herself. coming up, an individual shows up to her shop. she can see him on the parking lot on the phone asking for a haircut. she becomes suspicious, because this guy has short hair. >> a mystery man stalking sonia. could he be the killer? >> she said i wrote the number down, here it is. >> we seemed to have the records linked up and having communication with our most likely suspect. >> bordeaux? 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-no... arthritis. here. new aspercreme arthritis. full prescription-strength? reduces inflammation? thank the gods. don't thank them too soon. kick pain in the aspercreme. when you really need to sleep you reach for the really good stuff. don't thank them too soon. 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. . hello, i'm stephen roma. they are suspended travel from several countries all because of a new mutation. the new omicron could pose a risk of re-infection that comes as covid cases here again are on the rise ahead of the holiday season. despite the reported uptick in bargain shopping this black friday, a record number of americans say they won't be buying holiday gifts at all because of consumer prices which are still on the rise. now, back to "dateline." the black widow of lomita was dead. but her body was hardly cold when police found a curious piece of evidence left behind by sonia, herself a. few days before her death, sonia had called police to report two strange incidents at her salon. the first one. >> an individual shows up no her shop. she can see him in the 35rking lot on the phone, she's on the phone with him asking for a haircut. she becomes suspicious because she says, this guy has short hair like a military haircut. >> he didn't need a haircut. >> she tells him, i only give haircuts to my usual clients. you're not one of them and she shoes him away. >> this is when we begin to hear from deputy district attorney john lewin about the second incident at sonia's salon. >> two days later, that same guy comes back and according to sonia, who calls the police, he shoots at her. >> he came and put a gun to my head. >> did he rob you? >> no, come in and stun me. >> when the police come, she says, i don't know the guy. it's the same guy that came two days ago. he called me, it was on the phone, i wrote down the number. here it is. >> and this is it. the actual note sonia made of the guy's cell phone number. >> and they end up identifying that as longing to fernando romero. >> fernando romero. who is he? >> other than the phone number, we didn't really know who this person actually was. >> neither did sonia. but she was determined to protect herself. >> the next day, she said you know i've got a gun but it's locked up. do you think you know jim could get some bolt cutters and cut the lock? >> i open it up and it was a 44 magnum, it was the dirty harry gun. i said sonia, that's an awfully big gun for you, it's a cannon. her attitude was, i'm going to show this guy. she wanted something big and showy and powerful. after being shot at. she didn't seem shook up. middle east people would be shaky and scared. she was angry about it. >> reporter: even sonia's 44 magnum couldn't save her. just a week later, she was dead. so was the mistious fernando romero the killer or john bordeaux? was it possible they were both involved somehow? this time romero, whoever he was had vanished, but never would have found him except cell phones. such handy little crime-fighting tools. aren't they? all detectives needed was a warrant and pretty soon they were looking at romero's call history. >> we fully expected to see this person's phone records linked up as having communication with our most likely suspect. >> john borrow. >> john bordeaux. >> what did you find? >> we were really frustrated. because you are obviously looking at a lot of numbers are you not familiar with. you probably haven't slept much in that week chasing a lot of different lead and dock a lot of different things. we didn't see john bordeaux's number on those records. >> this was going to be their big break, finally connecting the dots directly to bordeaux. not anymore. but then -- it was moments later. >> just by chance, i get a phone call on my cell phone and the caller i.d. on the phone number pops up. i see that phone number on those record. i couldn't have scripted it any bet zpler who was it? >> sonia's loving nephew, eric dela cruz. >> eric dela cruz? really? why was he talking to fernando romero, of all people? not just once but often, especially in the hours just before and after sonia's murder. a week later, the fbi picked up, they had been dog deep dive into all those e-mails sherri was supposedly getting from john bordeaux and had isolated their ip or internet protocol addresses, a complicated code of numbers to track where the e-mails originated. >> some of these ip addresses were from ports in asia hong kong, korea, he's ip addresses are navy ip addresses. >> they knew eric dela cruz was a sailor on uss ronald reagan. so rodriguez enlisted the navy's investigative unit, the ncis to check out eric. before long, they got a call back go the ncis just by chance asked us had we ever heard of an individual by the name of fernando romero? i did like three cartwheels and said, yes, we have a phone number that comes back to an individual named romero that we can't seem to identify. >> foreman ncia act roamy christensen was a part of the investigation. imagine this. >> romero was assigned in the same department of de la cruz. >> so they would have seen each other? >> they lived in the same units and actually hung out together. >> is it possible those were were plotting a murder from a ship at sea? >> so we basically looked at where the ship was at the time those e-mails were sent. >> digging through all the data would take the ncis some time. well, detective rodriguez waited for the results, he kept stringing eric along, did not give him a hint that he, not john bordeaux, is now the prime suspect. it was almost like we were chan championing a cause together, he was on our team. >> you just do what you are doing today. >> the ncis figured out exactly where eric was when those e-mails supposedly from john bordeaux pinked in sherri's inbox. >> he was in port in japan and hong kong and south korea at the exact times these e-mails were september to sherri jackson and her family. so who would have had access to a navy network? who would have been in japan, hong kong and korea during that time frame? and that person was eric dela cruz. >> sending extortion e-mails was one thing. why would eric hatch a murder plot to execute the woman that seemed to care for him more than her very own son? families, they can be so interesting. can't they? especially hers. >> coming up. a chilling motive for a murder in the family. sonia was killed late friday night. on monday morning, guess who shows up at sonia's lawyer's office before he even opens? >> eareic dem la cruz. >> guess what he wants to know from the lawyer? how much am i getting in the will? >> sonia would have one last card to play from beyond the grave. when "dateline" continues. . >> it was starting to look like a murder plot that spanned the globe. much of it orchestrated long in advance aboard a navy ship thousands of miles from that little house in lomita, where the black widow took a bull tote her brain. fbi john lewin believed the man behind it was eric dela cruz, motive? simple thought lewin, the same as the woman he called his grandmother. money. >> sonia was killed late friday night. on monday morning, guess who shows up at sonia's lawyers office before he even opens? >> eric dela cruz. >> eric dela cruz, guess what he wants to know from the lawyer. how much am i getting? how much am i getting in the will? >> just like that. there were no other questions he wanted to ask? >> that was it. the lawyer said in his long career, he never had anything remotely close to that. >> but to eric's other surprise, he got nothing. sonia left the money and her property to her son, john bordeaux. >> he wanted to make sure that john bordeaux didn't get anything and what better way to remove him from the problems, what, having him sit in jamie for a crime he didn't commit. >> then eric got another nasty surprise. as he played innocent with the detectives. >> and my partner pulls out a picture of fernando romero. and eric completely goes off the rails to the point where he can't even speak. he is so spun up. >> do you think this person may be involved? >> no. >> do you know that guy? who is that guy? >> he isn't me. fernando, romero, fernando. >> pretty shocked? >> he's very shocked. at that point he blurts out, he's my friend. he didn't do anything to my aunt. i did my own investigation and i cleared him. and mr. dela cruz gave us a bunch of denials of why fernando romero couldn't have done this. because i think he knows now, that's a link to him. >> they let him go then. let him stew. as they gathered just a little more evidence. then they tracked eric down another a five base in virginia and had another little talk. time to play the e-mail card. those extortion e-mails he sent to sherri. >> so now we know without a shadow of a doubt you were sending the john bordeaux e-mails. they trace i'd it when you were in japan. eric, this is undisputable, son. >> no oh my gosh. >> eric, you are no dummy, but this is the most important day of your life. >> they knew that the arrest was coming, instead they tracked his cell phone as he drove from that navy base in virginia back to his home in california and there in eric's driveway, they slapped on the happened cuffs and rodriguez had one more chat with his former investigative partner. >> and i walked up to him. i told him, you're under arrest. >> how'd he take it? >> he kept kind of mumbling to me, that i had the wrong person. >> surprise travels fast to the thompsons in lomita. >> if you said, give me a list of who is the very bottom of your list, that's eric. no, you don't understand, that boy came in my house and was quivering and tearing up about his grandmother. it cannot be him. finding out that they arrested him, completely shocked. it can't be him. he loves his grandma, destroyed over her being murdered. he's the actual murderer. no way? but truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. >> that same day fernando romero was also arrested and both he and eric were charged with first degree murder. prosecutor john lewin theorized eric dela cruz arranged the hit and fernando romero did the dirty work. >> fernando is the one that pulled the trigger. my guess would be dela cruz let him in the house and he shot her in the back of the head. >> she wrestled with a unique person was herself suspected of killing two husbands for money. >> i've never had a victim like sonia rios two cold bloodedly have murdered both of her husbands. i don't, how do you even contemplate that? she was an absolutely horrific individual and it created an issue for me with the trial. >> because she is your victim at the same time? >> the villainous victim. >> a victim might make sonia's accused killers seem very sympathetic. especially to a jury. coming up, sonia's treacherous family son. >> they are basically murdering anything and anybody they can. how many murders can you have in one family? >> what would a injur jury do h. >> i did not try to present her as anything other than she was. >> when "dateline" continues. continues >> no, he's not in his room. ♪♪ ♪♪ dad, why didn't you answer your phone? ♪♪ your mother loved this park. ♪♪ she did. ♪♪ . february 2011. the black widow case went to court. eric dela cruz along with his navy pal and accused partner in crime were tried together for the murder of sonia risken. but the case presented a predicament for prosecutor john lewin because sonia, too, was an alleged killer and equally devious having apparently ordered the murders of two husbands. >> so i did not try to present her as anything other than who she was. as a killer. if you look at poetic justice, she got what was coming to her. >> now lewin was determined to see her killers, what was coming to them, too, the extortion, killing and the evil plan to blame john bordeaux for everything. the defense argued there was no murder weapon, to dna, no eyewitnesses putting them at the scene. the jury didn't find that. they deliberated less than a day and found them guilty. >> it's ironic that sonia murdered two good men who were nothing but good to her. eric murdered somebody who was nothing but good to him. so in the end, sonia really reaped what she sowed. >> fernando romero, the presumed shooter was sent away for 26 years to life. so was eric dela cruz, who masterminded the murder of the woman he called grandmother. for her money which in the end he never got. >> he went to such extremes for money, this not only was the person that killed sonia. he is also the person that was trying to extort money from my brother's remains. >> the trail apparently runs deep in their family? >> very deep. >> they are basically murdering anything and anybody they can to enhance their financial well being. sonia and her family murder bordeaux, sonia and her family murdered larry rican and eric dela cruz ends up murdering his beloved great aunt. so how many murders can you have in one family? >> but for one member of sonia's family, the investigator meant vindication. john bordeaux, sonia's once estranged son who might have been charged with murdering his own mother had cleared his name. >> did you talk to him after the trial? >> yes. he obviously was still petrified of myself and law enforcement. i told him that i was sorry that i did what i felt was best for the case and that hopefully he understood that. he said that he did. but how do you not still be affected or kind of traumatized by that? because he was like within that family, public enemy number one for a while. >> but the verdict offered little consolation for sherri jackson or dennis bordeaux. no justice for their brothers and with sonia dead, there probably never will be. dennis can only imagine now what's lost is lost. >> i go out every couple weeks and i put flowers on the grave i just wish he was here. >> but an empty place in the family plot was all sherri could see. if she could only find her brother's remains, give him a proper bur yam, she could feel, she thought, something like peace. >> is it worth going to the philippines and trying to find him? >> yes, because i believe they are still there. >> but she worried, too, because maybe the people who pulled the trigger in that parking lot killing larry might come after her, if she came snooping around. >> it must be scared. >> oh, yes, knowing what happened over there with two people being murdered. >> it's very important to you? >> very important that he be brought back here. >> then in june of 2019, sherri jackson left for the country that had haunted her for so long. she began the most daunting quest of her life. >> coming up. >> i feel somewhat numb that i'm actually standing where he was murdered. >> an emotional meeting an impossible mission. >> well, this is our last hope. >> yeah. >> we all know what's in there. but i say let's find out. >> can she bring her brother home? when "dateline" continues. zplmplts " continues. zplmplts ing sore throat relief. wooo vaporize sore throat pain with vicks vapocool drops. . >> very jackson sealed the herself as the big jet sank into the philippine summer. manila. the city that drew her like a nightmare to the place her brother died, as if walking in his last footsteps would bring him close. help heal what have long felt unhealable e.. >> when i got off the plane, i got very emotional. because i realized that was larry's last walk. when he came here, he had no idea what was going to happen to him. >> we were coming here anyways, so we brought sherri along, no turning back now. until now, she had only imagined the place where her brother larry died. but here on the ground, it was suddenly real. >> a lot of anxiety, yeah, a lot of anxiety. >> she had arranged to kind of buffer for that on this first anxious day. a slightly odd founded reunion with people she'd never met. a family that never was. >> the two kid larry wanted to make his own in limitless america were adults now, with children of their own. >> oh. hi him they opened presents. >> there is more stuff to go look in here. >> and shared memories of larry. >> that was the last time i saw him. >> she toll them how she longed to find what was left of larry. his remains, his ashes. and bring him home. so do you think we'll actually find them? >> he said he's heard the ashes had been passed around her relatives on orders of the man that orchestrated her murder, eric dela cruz. >> he said to give the ash to my aunty susan. >> aunty susan? where was she? he didn't know. in a city of cemeteries and 20 million haystacks, larry's ashes could be anywhere. her dream of finding them an impossible errand. so she looked for another way. she came to the place he was last alive. the hospital parking lot where on sonia's orders, somebody execute her brother. >> i feel somewhat numb that i'm actually standing where he was murdered. >> you never thought you'd be? >> right. just so senseless. i'm rangry, very angry. >> but the dark, empty parking lot did not speak. there was nothing here. then a couple of days before departure, a tip. he got an address for that aunty susan woman, the last relative known to have larry's ashes. shy lived an hour's drive from the hospital parking lot. and here it was, the biggest house on the block. >> well, this is our last hope. >> yeah. >> we don't know what's in there. but i say, let's find out. >> we knocked, waited. and waited. but we could see no one had been here for a long time. >> i'll never know. >> yeah. >> i'll never know. >> so what do you do about that? i mean, if you can't get it. >> i have to let it go. yeah. >> and then as if on queue, the day darkened and the rain came. so is there a thing called closure that much overused word? on the last day in the philippines, sherri got a wreath of flowers, boarded a boat and took her grief out onto the bay. her own personal memorial. >> i'm not meaning that his ashes, so it was just something i felt to memorialize him in that way. since he is still here. . >> she hopes he'd be proud of her, his little sister. but she doubts he'd be surprised. she had been searching for whatever bit of dust is left of him. though he'd probably tell her, if such a fantasy were possible, that he's lived all along in her heart. i'm craig melvin. >> i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." in the pit of my stomach i just knew something's not right here. i just felt something bad had happened. >> he must have been so, so scared. >> they were so happy at first. >> kevin just felt morgan was very, very charming. >> but when the marriage went bad, he went missing. >> he just disappeared. >> was this a husband who didn't want to be found? was this a wife who had something to hide? >> they're getting in the truck. they're leaving.

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