>> she loved it. >> why did someone new own her slice of paradise. >> this guy fooled us ul all. >> he fooled everybody. >> he got away with murder? >> egot away with murder. >> hello, welcome to "night line." good times, sunshine, a lifestyle arc place where people didn't ask a lot of questions about their neighbors until some of those neighbors started to disappear. here's kate snow with "stealing paradise." >> it's a dream that seemed out of reach. quit the ras race, move to an exotic land, buy your own private island. >> when she was young, she wanted to travel. she wanted to see the world. >> cher hughes had a dream and made it come true in a tiny far away island in panama. >> she would just take a picture of the sunset and send it to me, she says, it's like living in a postcard. >> life was beautiful and simple, an escape from the pressures of mod were living. >> beneath that beauty it's a secret. >> it's surreal, i don't want to believe it. >> this was a really bad guy. >> it september chills down my spine. >> but before the nightmare came the dream boca del toro is way off the beaten path, it's the kind of place where things move more slowly and life is supposed to be easy. cher first visited the islands in 2000. for the outdoorsy cher, it was love at first sight. what's more, it was affordable for the same money cher had been saving up to sail aren't world, she bought her little piece of asmall house and that tiny round island. >> we saw that lump in the water and we said that's our it. that will be our spot for the rest of our lives. >> cher and keith met seven years before that when the vivacious blonde walked into a little bar keith owned in florida. >> came in and those big blue eyes and big smile. i was hooked. she was just so beautiful. >> cher grew up in st. louis where her all american good looks got her into modelling as a teenager. >> she would walk in a room and, beep, everybody knew she was there. she was always happy. she always had a smile for everybody. >> eventually, cher moved to florida where her sister judy says she became a savvy businesswoman, running her own neon sign company. >> she would always make sure she had that income. she made sure she was setting herself up for what exactly what she wanted to do was retire and travel around the world. >> cher did travel but mostly in the u.s. then a friend invited her to visit exotic boca del toro. . >> good morning and cher jumped at the chance. >> it decided to live there in seven days. the people here were phenomenal. children love panama and kids. >> keith is a carpenter. he built their dream home, a buildings on top of their lush green island. cher planted a tropical garden and adopted lots of animals including a pet monkey and a beautiful brown doberman pincher named jack. he adored cher and followed her wherever she went. she loved the local school kids, planned movie nights with popcorn and celebrated the holidays with enthusiasm even though her friend sean trainer says kids didn't always get the significance. >> she would do the easter egg hunts for all the kids. they had no idea what this crazy white woman was doing. coloring eggs. and then hiding them around on the island. they never participate in anything like that before. >> keith and cher's relationship blossomed on the island. in 2005, they married in front of their many friends in the close community. >> it's a small place. you go to the grocery store and, you know, you run into people you know. >> christen roberts who moved to boca from norway became part of cher's group of friends. . >> we kind of stick together, you know, we treated each other like family. we take care of each other. >> everyone went by their first names or nicknames. keith and cher were known as ken and barbie. the man who owned one of the local watering holes, another american, was known as wild bill, viking hat and all. bill and his wife jane opened a bar on their secluded property pro, accessible only by boat where the people gathered for drinks. >> welcome. >> bill had these saturday parties at his place at the bar and restaurant once or twice a month. >> there is everybody there. >> it was cher's tropical dream come true. a beautiful backdrop for family reunions like the time her aunt mary came to visit. >> her grandmother, my mother, and i came down and visited and got the tour and they met us at the airport with a big bouquet of flowers. and it was just wonderful. >> there was another big trip in the works, cher's sister judy was planning to visit for the very first time. >> she wanted to show you her paradise? >> oh, yeah. >> the trip would be a good distraction for cher. her life had recently turned up side down. her five-year marriage to keith hit a rough spot. he even moved out. >> when keith had moved off the island, she was pretty devastated. but then again, i also thought who's marriage is perfect and hopefully they'll work it out. i know they still loved each other. >> the sisters were excited about the trip. plans were in full swing. >> and then what happened? >> then i don't hear from her. >> one day passed, then another, and still nothing. >> too much time has gone by. and now i know something's happened. >> judy was worried and cher was gone. coming up, maybe this solved the mystery, a text message from cher to keith with some bad news. a text image from cher to keith with bad news. >> >> she just said i met somebody else who is better than you. >> and she was running away with that person? >> yes. . >> it wouldn't surprise me, oh, mary, i went sailing, my phone fell off the deck. that would be cher. >> but who was this new mystery man? and where was cher? when "dateline" continues. you might have heard of carvana and that we sell cars online. we believe buying a car should be something that gets you hyped up. and that your new car ought to come with newfound happiness and zero surprises. and all of us will stop at nothing to drive you happy. we'll drive you happy at carvana. one by poise® is our first pad that handles period weeks and bladder leaks. which is just what you need while you handle... ♪ [upbeat music] ♪ stay clean, fresh and dry while you handle it all. find it in the fem care aisle. if you want to stay out of jail, you need to go good. this is a chance to find a better life for you and your friends. help grandma cross the street. yeah. he's gonna blow it. you think i can't do this? ow! >> reporter: on the exotic coast of panama, cher hughes had been living out the dream of owning her own island. but then last spring, she vanished. >> i imagine you were calling? >> calling. >> leaving messages? >> texting, facebooking. and then i started reading her facebook. and it's, like, "cher, where are you?" people who were in panama, in bocas, "haven't seen you around town, where you at, gimme a call." and we started wondering. >> reporter: when cher's husband keith realized she'd left town, he was surprised. but he thought he might know why. cher had been talking about spending time in panama city. a place where she could blend into the scenery more easily, and wrap her head around their breakup. >> she told me she wanted to have an apartment in panama city and just spend some time in the city and get out of bocas. cause it was such a small community and -- >> she was getting a little tired of it? >> yeah, you just keep bumping into the same people, having to tell the same story. and she was just ready for a little break of bocas. >> it's not unusual for people to come and go around here. after all, the easy-going lifestyle is part of the island's charm. but cher's friends and family said it wouldn't be like her to leave so abruptly. leave her cherished island with all of her belongings still here. >> reporter: cher's aunt mary started phoning cher's friends in panama. >> we immediately started calling her friends and everyone going, "what's going on?" and everyone was saying "you know cher. she might've just gone -- for a week. and you know, lost her phone, and we're like, "well, ok, maybe." >> reporter: mary logged on to cher's facebook page and reached out to those friends. >> "where's cher?" and they're going, "i don't know. but we're mad at her, too. doggone it, we -- she -- she always calls me. she calls me every day. what -- where did she go? how -- why would she not call me?" and we got a little aggravated with her. like, dang it cher, what are you doing? >> reporter: and then some good news. cher's friends received a text message from her -- saying she'd gone sailing. >> she's a free spirit, right? she's-- >> oh. >> adventurous. >> she had an opportunity, she'd-- she'd go. you know. >> so, maybe -- >> but -- >> she just got on a boat with some new friend that you didn't know about and she'd be back in a week. >> right, yeah. >> it wouldn't have surprised me that, "oh mary, i went sailing and then my phone fell off the deck when i dropped my purse." that would be cher -- for three to four days. >> reporter: the messages were reassuring, but not for long. a few days passed, and cher didn't return. then another text message -- this one from cher to keith. >> she just said i met somebody else who's better than you, yeah. >> she said she had met someone else? >> yes. >> and she was running away with that person? >> yeah. >> reporter: a mystery man? keith wanted to get to the bottom of it. >> i called her best friend, and said "did cher meet somebody? does she have a man that i don't know about? is there something going on?" she said "she's never mentioned any guy to me ever. she's waiting for you. there's no man in her life. she didn't run away."' >> reporter: but keith noticed something strange about the messages. they weren't written in cher's usual style. >> instead of small letters, it'd be all capitals. and she'd always write a-r-e, and this would be an r for "are" or "2," the number, would be there rather than t-o. so, it was just -- i said it was just -- it just changed. >> reporter: and then, the text messages simply stopped. cher's aunt mary called the us embassy in panama, and begged for help. >> the embassy -- made a big point of saying people disappear all the time. and if she wants to be found, she will contact you. and so i had a hard time shouting into the darkness of the embassy saying "help me, help me." >> reporter: things got worse. cher didn't call her father on his birthday. it was a huge alarm bell. >> i knew how she felt about her dad. and she would never, ever miss his birthday. so something had happened to cher, for sure. in my heart, i knew then. >> reporter: after two months, it was staring everyone in the face -- the unanswered phone calls, the strange messages, the missed birthday -- all the clues pointing to a horrible conclusion. >> did you start to panic? >> yeah. i knew something was wrong. the whole family started to panic. >> reporter: the terrible realization sank in -- cher hadn't gone off sailing, or run away with a mystery man. she wasn't hiding out in apartment in panama city. something had happened to her. friends in bocas wracked their brains for answers, and they started thinking about another american from their group who'd also left abruptly. had anyone heard from him? what if cher wasn't the only person missing -- what if there were two? >> i just woke up one morning. just like one of those weird things. and i just knew. coming up, another american who apparently just walked away leaving his home and a lot of questions behind. >> just gave me a really weird vibe. a crisis was brewing. cher hughes was missing for two months. now her family and friends wondered if her disappearance had anything to do with another american who left the island abruptly, four months before cher. a man named bo icelar. . >> when "dateline" continues. a big turkey! wait a minute. wait a minute. there's one going up now! how many of these guys are there? 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>> the more you think about something like that, you know, it didn't add up. >> did it eat at you? >> yes, i kept thinking about it. because it wasn't right that cher would leave. without a party. i knew this girl would not leave town without saying good-bye and without a party. and beau could leave, but the two of them going together, i'm just like sending their belongings after the fact doesn't sound right. >> and then kristin heard something that made the floor drop from under her, beau had abruptly stopped paying his bills, something totally unlike him. >> i just woke up one morning. it's a weird thing. i just knew. i couldn't ignore it anymore. i just couldn't. somebody had to do something. >> she went to the police. did she immediately investigate some. >> no. they just put it in a file. and they go just yeah, yeah, yeah. people get lost in panama all the time. >> she reached out to someone she thought could help, another ex-pat, don winner, a man that runs a website for foreigners living in panama. >> i was contacted by one of her friends that was concerned that she was missing. and they asked for my help. >> don had lived in panama for 23 years and is our consultant on this story. he came here with u.s. military intelligence back when noriega was in power and never left. now he turns his attention to the two missing americans. >> i knew right off the bat, whoa, hey. what's going on here? and i knew that i had to apply a lot of time to it and a lot of attention to it. and i also knew that i had to get it right. . >> he hopped on a flight from his home in panama city to bocas and tapped into the coconut telegraph. what is the coconut telegraph? >> that's just the rumor mill. they call it the coconut telegraph. when something happens, word spreads quickly. >> and from what don was hearing, things just weren't adding up. he checked to see if bo and cher might have left the country. >> i knew that bo and cher, both of them, their passports had not gone through the airport. if you look at immigration movements, both of them you can track. you look at they come in. and they leave. they come in and leave. they came in, they never left. all right. so they're still in panama somewhere. >> but where? there was one more piece of the puzzle falling into place and that would point a finger of suspicion at someone living right among them. . >> coming up. >> he'd text everybody sake your lord commands you, come to my party. a pirate out to make a killing in real estate. >> he wasn't selling that place. she loved it. >> he showed up and said, yep, i bought everything. . >> when "dateline" continues. what if you could let in the lyte? discover caplyta. caplyta is a once-daily pill, proven to deliver significant relief from bipolar depression. unlike some medicines that only treat bipolar i, caplyta treats both bipolar i and bipolar ii depression. and, in clinical trials, feelings of inner restlessness and weight gain were not common. caplyta can cause serious side effects. call your doctor about sudden mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts right away. antidepressants may increase these risks in young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report fever, stiff muscles, or confusion, which may be life-threatening, or uncontrollable muscle movements, which may be permanent. these aren't all the serious side effects. in the darkness of bipolar i and ii depression, caplyta can help you let in the lyte. ask your doctor about caplyta, from intra-cellular therapies. ask your doctor about caplyta, you said you'd never get a dog. you said you'd never do a lot of things. but you never knew all the things a dog could do for you. and with resolve you never have to worry about the mess. love the love, resolve the mess. . hello, i'm darragh brown. here's what's happening. russia officials warned unpredictable consequence if nato allies continue to arm ukraine. and billionaire elon musk says he is considering bringing if partners in a hostile takeover attempt to acquire twitter. musk who opens roughly 9% of the internet giant opposes the efforts to counter misinformation and violent rhetoric. now back to "dateline." ♪♪♪ >> welcome back to "dateline." i'm natalie morales. cher hughes and bo icelar each seem to have mysteriously vanished. a check of their passports confirmed neither had left the country. their disappearances seemed oddly similar. it seems there was something else they shared, raising each more concern. here is kate snow with "stealing paradise." two americans vanished and their disappearances were thought to be linked and something terrible happened to both of them. >> they both disappeared. and neither of them contacted anybody. and the same story, both of them had personal belongings that were going to be sent to them. one-and-one is two. >> american bo icelar was the first to leave last fall. at the time, no one thought it was unusual, especially when they learned he sold his house to someone else in the community, wild bill. >> bill had this persona of i've got buckets of cash, i can pay for it outright. >> the blogger don winner did some digging. he pulled documents from the public registry and found out that wild bill had actually bought more than just beau's home. >> bill cortez had taken over beau icelar's company. and the company owned the property. so shortly after bo goes missing, bill cortez and his wife are now the president and secretary of this company. they own it. >> bill was in a hurry to get beau's house remodelled and flipped to a new owner. he even placed an ad in the local paper trying to sell it. in fact, wild bill seemed to be on a real estate buying and selling spree. he got his first property in 2007 from a family living on an estate close to cher's island, the browns, a father, mother, and teenage son. now he acquired bo's house as well, but it was bill's next purchase that grabbed everyone's attention. >> bill showed up and said, yep, i bought everything. >> everything? >> everything. >> meaning your rental properties, the house you built together, five buildings. >> yeah. >> this beautiful estate. >> exactly. >> bill said he bought cher's entire estate, even her beautiful island and that cher had simply taken off. >> my dogs were there. my tools were there. belongings were still on the island. where is cher? where is all that stuff? when she gets back, you can deal with that. that's between you and her. >> keith asked bill to bring his dogs and his stuff back. >> he placated he brought me one of my dogs. here's one dog. here is a table and two chairs. and here's a toolbox. i said that's a lot more missing here, bill. >> to keith, the whole story just didn't add up. >> she would have never sold the island. >> did you have an interest in any of that property? >> we put everything in cher's name. >> she had the right to sell? >> absolutely. >> but you don't think she would have done that? >> i don't think so. it was never about the stuff or money. it was our home. we set it up to live there forever. >> it all sounded wrong to aunt mary as well. >> she wasn't selling that place. she loved it. she loved it. >> mary wanted answers. she picked you up the phone and called wild bill. and he told me, yeah, i got a great deal on cher's property. i bought everything at 50 cents on the dollar. i said i'd like to see that receipt. well, i signed a confidentiality statement. i said well i'll take a look at that. >> where did he tell you she had gone? >> he said i heard she got an apartment in panama city. >> i said so where is her stuff and everything? he goes, oh, yeah, she got there and had me send her some jewelry and money air cargo. i said i'd like to see the receipt on that. this girl is not going to have you looking through her drawers and her jewelry. >> and another curious thing was happening over at bill's place. no one could figure out why cher's devoted dog jack kept leaping off cher's island and swimming to bill's house over and over again. >> they kept going back to your old home and swim over. >> he would swim right back and stay right there. >> but for bill, it was business as usual. he even threw one of his famous parties at cher's place with all her things still there. it all seemed a little odd to her friend shawn trainer who stopped by that night. >> it wasn't very well attended. >> why didn't people go? >> i just think that everybody had the same thing. it was kind of like really weird it was at cher's house. and he was doing it. >> bill even made a toast at the party to friendship. >> and bill gave a speech? >> yeah. this really was something about having good friends. >> just like a heres to good friends? >> yeah, just like that. >> wild bill was about an hour's boat ride from the main island. a big guy with a big personality. he was known for throwing parties at his place. and even in a place that is full of colorful characters, wild bill stood out. >> he was always the loudest voice in the room. he would text everybody and say, you know, your lord commands you to come to my party. >> your lord commands you? >> yeah. he always talked to himself in the third party and a royal sense of some sort. you know, everyone took it as one of bill's quirks. >> another quirk? a pirate club bill created called the jolly roger social club. bill joked that only 90% of the members survive. by now, an uneasy feeling about wild bill was spreading and the rowdy party guy was suddenly lying low. >> every time i saw him, he was in a hurry. he was trying to get it done and get out of. there he didn't want to answer a lot of questions. he was nervous. >> and with good reason. they tapped into the coconut telegraph, the more he became convinced that wild bill was the key to finding beau and cher. >> this was the common denominator between the two of them that this guy had apparent -- supposedly bought their property for cash and then both people disappear. >> flares went off in my head. they're missing. >> you remember that moment? . >> oh, yeah. dread came over me. like oh, my god, he could have done something to these people. could the bartender be holding a deadly secret? >> coming up, the dark side of paradise. >> police went up with shovels and then they came down about two hours later and said we need you to come up and take a look. >> when "dateline" continues. "ds michael: my tip is, the worst lies are the lies you tell yourself, like smoking isn't that dangerous. announcer: you can quit. call 1-800-quit now for help getting free medication. my name is ami and when i financed my car with carvana they had questions about my documents. call 1-800-quit now but i was at work. in a mine. so carvana worked with my shift manager to get it all worked out. i was over the moon, even though i was underground. we'll drive you happy at carvana. (cto) ♪ i want the world ♪ (production manager) ♪ i want the whole world ♪ (supervisor) ♪ i want to lock it all up in my pocket. ♪ (ceo) ♪ i want today. ♪ ♪ i want tomorrow. ♪ (warehouse worker) ♪ presents and prizes and sweets and surprises... ♪ (driver) ♪ of all shapes and sizes. ♪ (dispatch) ♪ i want it noooooow! ♪ (vo) t-mobile for business has 5g that's ready right now. my mental health was much better. my mind was in a good place. but my body was telling a different story. i felt all people saw were my uncontrolled movements. some mental health meds can cause tardive dyskinesia, or td, and it's unlikely to improve without treatment. ingrezza is a prescription medicine to treat adults with td movements in the face and body. it's the only treatment for td that's one pill, once-daily, with or without food. ingrezza 80 mg is proven to reduce td movements in 7 out of 10 people. people taking ingrezza can stay on their current dose of most mental health meds. don't take ingrezza if you're allergic to any of its ingredients. ingrezza may cause serious side effects, including sleepiness. don't drive, operate heavy machinery, or do other dangerous activities until you know how ingrezza affects you. other serious side effects include potential heart rhythm problems and abnormal movements. it's nice people focus more on me. ask your doctor about ingrezza, #1 prescribed for td. learn how you could pay as little as zero dollars at ingrezza.com. . >> welcome back. wild bill cortez ran the jolly rogers social club where a group on a panamanian island liked to gather. he seemed interested in gathering local real estate. how far did bill go to get these local properties? local police were about to find out. continuing with "stealing paradise," here is kate snow. >> reporter: in the tiny ex-pat community of bocas del toro, all eyes were on one of their own -- wild bill cortez. in four month's time, he'd snapped up the homes of two people who'd mysteriously vanished -- bo icelar and cher hughes. now cher's husband keith was telling anyone who'd listen that the disappearances and property transfers were no coincidence. >> i right away thought that bill has done something. to these people. i was telling people in bocas, obviously, of the suspicions. and, in a small community, we're all saying the same thing. >> reporter: and bill's still living nearby. >> and bill's still in the area. and he told people he was going to come and shut me up. >> reporter: he told people that? >> he told three or four people that. i moved out of my house and moved into a hotel that had security. >> reporter: keith wasn't the only one who was nervous. >> i just got to the point where i became convinced that this guy cortez killed these people in order to steal their property. that's when i said i'm going to the authorities. >> he encouraged keith to do the same. esaid you need to come to panama city. >> he said you need to get to the prosecutor and really turn up the heat. >> keith went to panama city and laid out the case against wild bill to the dij -- the panamanian fbi. >> from that point on, kudos to the panamanian police, they just stepped it up. but for all the suspicion, there was still no hard evidence of a crime. that's when don winner got an idea. he'd heard a lot of stories about wild bill and his ak-47 -- how he'd even fire it off sometimes to impress his friends. but in panama, it's illegal for a civilian to own that type of weapon. so don made a suggestion to police. >> execute a search warrant on his house, find the ak-47, get him in custody. >> reporter: get him on possession of firearms? >> find the gun, lock him down. >> reporter: and then, figure out what role, if any, he might have had in the disappearance of two people. police drew up the warrant. on a steamy day in july, authorities descended on wild bill's home. bill and jane were nowhere to be found. police began the search. so police are looking around. they're here. they have a search warrant on this property looking for a gun." >> yeah. they're executing a search warrant for an ak-47. and when they got here, they encountered cher's dog. jack, the doberman who adored cher, was already at bill's place. no one knew exactly how he got there, but the dog was anxious, pacing nervously. >> jackie was really animated and agitated, and just kept circling and running up into the jungle. >> and the dog would come down and like bark at the people that were doing the search, and run up the hill -- "follow me, guys" and the dog led them up there -- >> reporter: this hill right here?" >> right here. and went up into the back of the property. >> reporter: jack bounded up and down the hill, until police followed him. and there -- they found something shocking. a mound of disturbed dirt. they began to dig. cher's husband keith waited at the bottom of the hill. >> the police went up with shovels, and then they came down, about two hours later, and said, "we need you to come up and take a look. >> reporter: in a shallow grave -- hidden under a mound of garbage, the police made a horrible discovery -- the body of cher hughes. she had been shot once in the back of the head. i imagine that was one of the hardest days of your life. >> yeah. it sure is. i mean, no -- no one should ever see someone they cared about look like that. >> reporter: now, keith finally understood why jack kept swimming to bill's place. >> he'd swim that mile back and just stay right there. he was staying true to mommy. . >> but the horror wasn't over. they discovered another shallow greater bay and there buried beneat more rubble, the body of bo icelar, the other american. >> when they found the bodies, they realized, it's not people with suspicions and accusations, it's all really happening. >> reporter: keith watched. he says they found evidence of the ghastly crime, bo's i.d. cher's passport, purse and cell phone used to send those text messages saying cher had simply gone for a sail. there was more, nazi memorabilia, strange say thanic signs, jewelry that may have belonged to the crimes. and a dozen gold teeth. >> he lived with these things, corpses and people's personnel effects around them. >> two of their friends were dead, the bodies found in the back yard of a man they once tested. wild bill cortez. >> to know he lived next to me, inviting him to dinner. we did the social neighbor thing with him. he shot my wife. it's just inconceivable. >> reporter: authorities launched a search for bill and his wife. who they also suspected was involved. but it was too late. they had already fled. >> this is now a major manhunt. >> i knew he was probably out of the country already. he was on the fly. so the most important thing at that point is to get his picture out there on every television screen. on every newspaper confirm on every computer monitor. it's got to get out there in a big way to get him caught. >> by then, wild bill and his wife jane were in costa rica. someone recognized him and contacted police. bill and jane made a desperate attempt to cross into inaugural nicaraguaia by boat. >> they got the machine guns on and said halt or die. >> end of the line. >> that was the first time he had handcuffs on in his life. >> it was the first time people heard wild bill's real name. fun loving bocabell del toro bar tender was william jason holbart, a 30-year-old on the run from american since 2006. as the islanders absorbed the headlines of a killer among them. they decided wild bill had a notorious past, all the way to the blue ridge mountains of north carolina. that's where he grew up, going by his insidele name, nathan, married his sweet heater, had three kids and worked as a landscaper. his old boss liked him until he had an affair with one of his blow eyes and embezled $25,000 from the account. >> he told me that was a part of his pay, his package. i said, no, it's not a part of your package. >> that was just the beginning. he left the job and his wife. he ran off with laura michelle reese, who would later be known as jane cortez in bocas. in 2005, he started in on real estate scams. he sold a home that wasn't his for $200,000. police charged him with obtaining property under false pretences the. by the time the owner realized what had happened, he was on the run. that landed him on the television program america's most wanted. somewhere along the line he sold a stolen car in montana and when cops pulled him over for speeding in wyoming, he took off. >> stop, right now! >> leading them on a high speed chase before escaping. it seems it was only after hemoed to panama na his scams took a sinister turn. >> the change was he killed people to get the documentation to take over the property and not only did he steal the property, he would steal everything in the house, cars, boats, down to the toothbrush and underwear and their dogs. >> took on their entire lives. >> right down to the change in their pictures. >> four years later, he was charged with heinous crimes, the murders of bo icelar and cher hughes. >> there are 100 people that all new cher and all new bo. they're all thinking, wow, pan this guy fooled us all. he fooled everybody. >> he got away with murder. >> for a while. >> little did everyone know that wild bill had actually gotten away with a lot more. after authorities nabbed wild bill in costa rica, what else would they discover? >> there is a jail giving me threats and my wife's life. >> energy with wild bill. >> i never put myself as a good guy, i'm a bad guy. >> when can the "dateline" continues. 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>> he was making jokes and laughing and he was really, he wanted people to see him, he was really trying to show off. >> national director of police, gustavo perez interrogated wild bill and says he talked openly about the killings. bill admitted to shooting bo isler on his boat, for cher, it started with a friendly dinner at bill's place, afterwards, bill took her outside to see some animals behind his house, and when she turned to look at them, he shot her. >> did bill tell you why he murdered the people that he murdered? >> money. >> he said money? >> he said i wanted to have good things. but even the most hardened cops were shocked to hear what else bill had done. wild bill drew a map of his home, with x's marks where the bodies were buried. only there were more than two xs on bill's map. there were five. five victims. not just bo and cher, but three more people who died at the hands of wild bill. this time, it was a father, mother, and their teenaged son, the brown family, they were the original owners of bill's property. cher's neighbors. after the bodies were discovered, wild bill was seen as a monster in man pa, a serial killer, who kept his victims personal things right in his own house. we wanted to speak with bill, so we reached out to his attorney. we did get a return call. twa the lawyer with wild -- it was the lawyer with wild bill himself on the phone calling from his jail cell in panama. he had already confessed to the murders but he said he wanted to explain himself. >> i am not denying criminal activity. i'm only saying that what's been portrayed in the media as this crazy serial killer thing is, is completely untrue. >> i'm telling you that i'm not a serial killer. i have not taken pleasure in killing others and the things i've done in my life caused me knit marries like you wouldn't believe and caused me to die basically in this jail. >> you have to understand the victims of these crimes, their families are incensed, you had parties at their homes, how can you defend your actions? >> i am not defending my actions. and i'm your worst nightmare. >> a very different looking bill hullburt gave an interview from a panama tv station from his jail cell, his wild hair replaced by a buzz cut. >> i'm guilty. >> he recounts how he murdered the brown family. >> i separated them. this is gruesome and i understand it's very, but i mean you're asking me and i'll answer your question, sir. i separated them, and i asked him to show me a well that he dug in the back of the property and i took him there, and without him knowing what was happening i shot him from behind and killed him. >> he admits to another victim number six. american ex pat jeffery klein, hullburt claims he died when he got into a fight on the boat and too afraid to go to authorities he came up with his solution for disposing of the body. >> there was a picnic area. i'm not as smart as, it was definitely the wrong thing to do and was not in that situation before and i didn't know what to do. i am a bad guy. i can't myself differently. but i am sorry and there is nothing i can do to bring those people back. >> hullburt said he repeatedly he is sorry for what he has done, but he does shed tears not for the victims but his wife who he says is innocent. >> i'm sorry. >> she didn't deserve it. if i could do anything, it is for her. >> the man who said he killed six people had time to sit in a cell, and think about his own death. wum hulburt and his wife laura, apparently referred threats in prison. >> there isn't a guard in this jail who doesn't give me a cell phone and gives me death threats from these people. i'm a dead man. i don't even care. that's not even important. but my wife doesn't deserve this. >> did you talk to your lawyers about this and what other option does you have? >> options? what options? give me a second to compose myself. >> this is a really, really bad guy. it doesn't get worse than this kind of the guy, the worst of the worst. >> do you think they know? >> i have no doubt, exactly how many people did this guy kill? nobody knows. >> panama's auxiliary prosecutor on the case said he reached out to other countries, to see if any of their missing persons may crossed paths with wild bill. >> translator: once they verify and confirm any persons who have had contact with him, and have disappeared, they will take measures to verify where they are. >> if there are other victims out there, they may be hard to find. wild bill mostly targeted loaners, people whose disappearance might not be noticed. it wasn't until bill killed cher, the woman who had a smile for everyone, and who was caught. >> his mistake of targeting cher is what was somebody who stood out everywhere she went and was missed. >> how dare you mess with our girl and think we are not coming for her. >> it would take years for the justice, the wheels of justice, and his wife divorced him while they sat in different panama jails but cher's family finally got the news they had long awaited for. in august, 2017, william hulburt the man people knew as wild bill cortez was found guilty of the robbery and homicide of five people. according to a tweet from the panama ministry of justice. he was sentenced to 47 years in prison. and the woman once known as jane cortez, she was sentenced to 26 years for her role in the crimes. >> for cher's sister judy, there are only good memories and appreciation for the big sister who followed her adventurous spirit all the way to paradise. >> she's not bitter that she ever went to panama. >> i'm happy that she went, because i know what it meant to her. the peace in her heart being able to live there. i wouldn't have wanted her to miss that. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm natalie morales. thanks for watching. welcome to the show. i'm zerlina maxwell. we have a packed show for you coming up. there are new developments regarding key figures in the house investigation into the january 6th insurrection. plus, the implications of the rnc's decision to abandon 35 years of precedent, and withdraw from the u.s. commission on presidential debates. we will also talk new insights into the state of black america. that may worry the biden administration. but we begin tonight with