i don't think they knew exactly what had happened other than that he was covered in blood. she was just broken and lost. there is a murderer out there and it is terrifying. >> it was supposed to be an anniversary celebration. 32 years together. >> they were in love even after all those years. they were very happy together. >> suddenly, an intimate moment turned to infinite terror. >> i just heard, help, someone is in trouble. i was scared. i was scared. >> a husband found murdered in a closet. a wife, tied up in another. >> they found her on the ground with her hands behind her back. >> she had bruising on her arms and on her face. >> inconsolable. screaming, crying. >> who could be behind this? >> their only daughter desperate for justice for her dad. be careful what you wish for. >> everybody gasped. nobody could believe it. this terrifies me because this can happen to anybody. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> hello, and welcome to dateline. she was his teenage crush, then, puppy love turned into a lifelong love affair. eventually, high school sweethearts jamie melgar and sandra got together and had a daughter. they celebrated a 32 years together when jamie was brutally murdered. to crack the case, they had to investigate an illusion worthy of the great houdini. here is dennis murphy with "unspeakable". >> the scented candles were lit. the jacuzzi jets turned on high. it was a belated anniversary evening, but not some big blowout. sandra and jaime were just not that kind of couple. >> there were so kind to each other, so respectful. >> it was really the start of a life victory lap for the two. they raised a daughter, did all the usual things that families do, and now the time for jamie was right around the corner -- >> they sat there and talked about the future and what they were looking forward to. >> but the future for these two would last no longer than the flame on that candle. by the next afternoon, there would be blood, lots of it. somehow, someone had turned a cozy celebration into a monstrous crime scene. >> it was just -- it was horrible. >> but in the world have happened in that house? >> i have no idea. >> the story of the two begins as high school me cute. sandra, the new girl from morocco, assigned a seat and her classroom just in front of jamie melgar. their daughter doesn't know how many times she heard that story. >> he used to pull her hair in the middle class. apparently, one time, he invited her eye skating. and he told her that a bunch of friends were going, when she shows up, it was just him and one friend who eventually left. >> so a bit of a scheme going on there? >> yes. but it went well. >> and that was. that sandra and jaime were a done deal. an inseparable couple. sandra studied nursing and jamie juggled a job as a computer programmer while investigating in real estate. >> a happy family? >> definitely. i was a daddy's girl growing up. >> and jamie carried himself as a goofy guy? >> was he an easygoing guy? >> yes very easygoing. he would crack the worst jokes. >> they were so bad that you would just stop and grown and they got known as jim jokes. >> melissa and sarah would roll her eyes and say, oh uncle jim. >> the melgar's life revolved around church too. they joined the jehovah's witnesses early in the relationship. but by the her early twenties, daughter liz left the church. she rushed into a marriage. a bad one. >> true he was involved in heavy drugs? >> yes. >> that was the end of it? >> that was it. i did not want to live that kind of life. >> but her parents marriage just kept going through sickness and health. in fact, in recent years, jaime was looking younger than ever on a vegetarian diet and exercise regiment. >> he just wanted to make sure that he was in good physical shape. >> your mother had a cluster of problems? >> yes. >> lupus, chemotherapy got involved too? >> she also had epilepsy. >> did you ever have seizures? >> yes she did. >> then december 2012 world around. their 32nd anniversary. sandra was ill on the actual day, so they went out to get ten days later, on december 22nd. >> she was finally feeling better to go have dinner. >> the next day, the 23rd, the marissa's family would join them to have a late lunch. >> on the way there i remember texting him. >> texting your uncle? >> yes. >> i didn't get a response. >> was it unusual that he did not text you back? >> yes. >> they got to the house around 4 pm and knocked on the front door. >> nothing. no answer. >> marissa's father, jamie's brother herman, went to the back of the house and no sign of them. >> we thought maybe they left, maybe they want to go that get something. and my dad, said no his truck is up there. and finally you that's when my dad said, okay will go inside. >> herman walked into the garage door and allowed himself into the front door. the visitors huddled in the entrance hall. expecting a greeting from sandra and jamie, but none came. just as they got ready to leave, they heard something that sounded like sandra. >> it was mumbling. >> where was the voice coming from? >> we did not know. my dad, i remember, ran straight into the master bedroom. >> marissa raced after her father. >> i just heard him saying, help, some is in trouble. >> were you scared? >> yes i was scared. >> the voice was coming from inside the walk-in closet attached to the bathroom. herman moved closer, nudged a against the doorknob was a dining chair. he opened the door, and there was sandra, on the floor, tied by her arms and ankles alive. >> he said that she did not look well at all. >> as marissa's mom cut sandra loose. her dad spoke. >> where is your dad, wears your uncle? >> the answer to that. unspeakable. >> what had happened to jamie melgar and to his wife? >> coming up. >> she looked like she had aged ten years overnight. >> broken, and lost. >> sandra melgar, the only possible witness to a terrible night. but what would she remember? when dateline continues. she's been looking for. sotyktu is the first-of-its-kind, once-daily pill for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis... for the chance at clear or almost clear skin. it's like the feeling of finding that outfit psoriasis tried to hide from you. or finding your swimsuit is ready for primetime. dad! once-daily sotyktu is proven to get more people clearer skin than the leading pill. don't take if you're allergic to sotyktu; serious reactions can occur. sotyktu can lower your ability to fight infections including tb. serious infections, cancers including lymphoma, muscle problems, and changes in certain labs have occurred. tell your doctor if you have an infection, liver or kidney problems, high triglycerides, or had a vaccine or plan to. sotyktu is a tyk2 inhibitor. tyk2 is part of the jak family. it's not known if sotyktu has the same risks as jak inhibitors. find what plaque psoriasis has been hiding. ask your dermatologist about sotyktu for clearer skin. so clearly you. sotyktu. after advil. feeling better? on top of the worlddddd!!! before advil. advil targets pain at the source of inflammation. when pain comes for you, come back fast with advil liqui-gels. can we get real clear about life with psoriasis? yeah, i'm ready. is your treatment leaving you with uncontrolled symptoms? like the cover-it-ups and brush-it-offs? enough with good enoughs. don't stay hiding or hurting. when your lotions and creams don't do enough to help treat the inflammation beneath the skin, causing plaques and pain, it's time to get real about psoriasis, so, your dermatologist can help you get clear. make the appointment and ask about real clear skin. travel. there is nothing like it dancing is my passion. but with my moderate-to-severe eczema, it hasn't always been easy. i was constantly itching. whatever i was doing now, i'm staying ahead of my eczema there's a power inside all of us to live our passion. and dupixent works on the inside, to help heal your skin from within. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema. so, adults can have long lasting, clearer skin and fast itch relief serious allergic reactions can occur, that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, including blurred vision, joint aches and pains, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. healing from within is a powerful thing. ask your eczema specialist how dupixent can help heal your skin from within. after advil. feeling better? on top of the worlddddd!!! before advil. advil targets pain at the source of inflammation. when pain comes for you, come back fast with advil liqui-gels. >> marissa, rattled to her core, dennis murphy (voiceover): marissa, rattled to her core, stood in her uncle jamie and aunt sandra's bedroom doorway, waiting for first responders. trying to calculate her family's terrible new math. >> i still didn't know everything that was going on. >> in the bedroom, open drawers, a tossed wallet. had this been a home invasion? and where was her uncle jamie? then she glanced to her side and there, about 20 feet away from the bathroom, next to jaime and sandra's bed. >> i just saw his ankles. >> and this was is in a closet area of the master? so, you just saw his feet? >> yes, i didn't even know what had happened to him. i just know his ankles were tied up. it was horrible. >> there was jaime, naked, covered in blood on the floor. not far from his safe. a red robe encircled his chest. a phone cord looped around his ankles. sandra, now freed of her ties, sprang from her closet captivity. a former nurse, she checked for his pulse and found none. >> your aunt is distraught, she's crying? >> yes, yes. >> marissa, what in the world had happened in that house? >> i have no idea. i'm not sure who could've done something like that to him. to them. >> first responders weren't exactly sure what they had been dispatched to either. >> they told us that there's possibly two victims. and that's all we knew when we got there. emt stephanie robinson was the first responder on the scene. she checked on jaime. he was clearly dead? >> yes, clearly. >> you know gunshot wounds from knife wounds -- >> you couldn't tell. there was so much dry blood. i did notice the gash on his neck. >> next emt robertson far found her way to sandra. by then collapsed on a chair in the bathroom, a family member by her side. >> she was bold up a little bit and she was crying hysterically. >> the emt started to assess sandra, who said her head hurt. but -- >> she said she has no injuries. >> still, sandra seemed disoriented. what time was it? morning or afternoon? then, between gulping sobs, sandra said she simply could not remember what happened the night before. she'd been unconscious. maybe had one of her seizures. >> she said after a seizure that it's not uncommon that she falls asleep for several hours. >> by now, harris county sheriff's investigators had descended on a crime scene that was once just their modest home. jamie, they could see, had suffered multiple stab wounds to the torso. by the looks of it, well over a dozen. the crime scene unit got to work inside. collecting evidence. things like a bloody chair near jaime's body. and a kitchen knife fished out of the bottom of the jacuzzi. sandra, seemingly in shock from her ordeal, declined to go to the hospital. instead, she went to talk with investigators. >> let's start with yesterday. >> sandra told investigators the last thing she remembered was her anniversary night with jaime. >> we went out to eat. >> and what time was that? >> i'm going to say about 8:00. i mean, i'm just guessing. i don't know. >> sandra told them they stopped for mixers at a cvs on the way home. >> what time did you get home, do you think? >> probably midnight. >> she said they intended to share some late night romance. candles, strawberries. >> we made some drinks. then we went and got in the jacuzzi. >> in your master bathroom? >> right. >> and then what? >> stayed there for about maybe two hours. talking and drinking. >> but the intimate jacuzzi was disrupted by their dogs barking outside in the yard. >> he got out and said he's more was moving the dogs to the office. because they were too loud. we don't want the neighbors to complain. and he just, you know, was taking a while. so, i got out and was going to get dressed -- or change in my closet. >> maybe that's when she had the seizure. >> that's all i remember, until i woke up. >> as they talked, sandra broke down. who could have done this, she wondered? she recalled for the detectives the scary moment on their way home. >> i think when we left cvs, there was a -- car following us, because when we came in our neighborhood, it was still behind us. and he was really close. >> something for the detectives to check out. after sandra was done talking, her cousin diana who had rushed into town to help, met her at a friends house. >> she looked like she had aged ten years overnight. she couldn't stop shaking. so, i didn't want to ask for too many questions. >> liz, remembered now, was an ocean away. living in europe when she finally got her mother on the phone. what did you hear in her voice? >> she was just broken. and lost. she was just devastated. >> at that point you had very fragmentary information? >> i knew my dad was killed in a home invasion and thankfully my mom was still alive. >> that's not any kind of news you should ever hear. >> it's shocking. it really doesn't sink in for a while. you just kind of go into crisis mode. >> liz booked the next flight back to texas. >> i just knew i had to get there. >> had to get back. back to a new reality with a murdered father and a traumatized mother. grieving would have to take a number while the daughter held everyone together. nothing made sense. >> coming up -- >> were you worried about your mother? whoever this person was my come back for her? >> absolutely. she was traumatized. >> tips begin to trickle in. who could have done this? >> you're getting information right a way about a sketchy neighbor. >> that's right. just got out of jail. who was suspicious. >> when "dateline" continues. called td, tardive dyskinesia. td can be caused by some mental health meds. and it's unlikely to improve without treatment. i felt like my movements were in the spotlight. #1-prescribed ingrezza is the only td treatment for adults that's always one pill, once daily. ingrezza 80 mg is proven to reduce td movements in 7 out of 10 people. people taking ingrezza can stay on most mental health meds. ingrezza can cause depression, suicidal thoughts, or actions in patients with huntington's disease. pay close attention to and call your doctor if you become depressed, have sudden changes in mood, behaviors, feelings, or have thoughts of suicide. don't take ingrezza if you're allergic to its ingredients. ingrezza may cause serious side effects, including angioedema, potential heart rhythm problems, and abnormal movements. report fevers, stiff muscles, or problems thinking as these may be life threatening. sleepiness is the most common side effect. it's nice. people focus more on me. ask your doctor about #1 prescribed, once-daily ingrezza. ♪ ingrezza ♪ alright, alright! tiny, branch, poppy... on another musical adventure. ♪ you're all i ever wanted ♪ i can't believe this is really happening. ♪ you're all i ever needed ♪ looks like your band days aren't behind you. grrr. dennis murphy (voiceover): two days >> two days after the bloody after the bloody discovery in her childhood home, discovery of in her childhood home, liz melgar landed in houston. a daddies girl, shaken even more by the face that was missing. >> i think at that time it really hit me that i was not going to see him anymore. he was not going to be there to pick me up from the airport. >> still very rocky sandra came to pick up her daughter. >> we both just broke down at the sight of each other. >> she had been through a terrible ordeal, you don't even know the full story yet? but did you see the injuries on her? >> she had bruising on her arms and on her face. >> did she have a bump on her head? >> she did. she told me her head was hurting and i could feel it back there. >> liz insisted her mom get some rest. so the next day, when detectives came by the house where listen center were staying, the daughter was the one to field their questions. >> and you flew in yesterday? >> that's right okay. >> and lewis thought it prudent to record the conversation. she's just a complete shock and she has retrograde amnesia and she has a hard time remembering things as they are because of the seizures. >> liz had witnessed her mom seizures before. and she theorized that's what's might've kept her alive during the home invasion. >> i think she probably had a seizure and that probably freaked out whoever was there. and maybe they thought they killed her. >> the detectives asked liz to keep them updated on her recovery. >> because if she could ever remember a suspect, that's the best thing for me and him. >> because -- >> right now at this point we have nothing. >> i've been asking. i've been asking her. >> and then the detectives asked liz if she could pay a visit to her parents house? >> anything is missing? because we have to start searching for the eye victims that are missing. >> i can't imagine you going to the house repairs at happy times and then it's a crime scene. >> absolutely, it is the one place you are supposed to be safe and it has just been -- it's been tainted. >> she went through the house room by room. cataloguing what she thought was missing. a tv set, jewelry, cash, and medication. last stop, the garage. the garage was full of things that could easily be stolen and pawned. >> yeah. >> there, liz finds something back to her eyes, was out of place. her middle school backpack sticking out of it, an xbox consul. could this have been the killers loop, dropped in a panic as he ran from the scene? this calls investigators, they return to the house, snapped even more photos, and collected the backpack as potential evidence. they later find beneath that xbox some of sandra's jewelry. and liz realized she had an idea for detectives, too. a possible suspect. >> is it true that is that you told your investigators to take a look at your ex? >> yes, i tried to give them as much in formation as i could. >> during the last years of his rocky marriage to liz the melgar's suspected that -- they never reported their suspicions to authorities, but now this told to tactics, talk to the ex. by now, the murder break-in story was all over the news. >> deputies tell the melgar don't remember who tied her up. >> the neighbors were starting to offer crime stopping tips. number one, check out for the guy caught outside lurking outside the house. kprc tv cover the mel g. a. r. murder. you have information about a sketcy neighbour. and he's up the block and maybe at the scene that night? >> that's right, a neighbor who had just gotten out of jail, he was suspicious. >> liz thought add him to the list of potential suspects. >> did you have ideas for them? >> i did. >> she also suggested they talk to one of her parents tenants. someone who had disputes with her dad. and it was a coworker of jamie she got a bad vibe from. and, again, liz says she urged detectives to look at her ex. he had a record of drug arrests. if not him, what if people in his circle? months dragged by without a word on the investigation. you believe someone is out there who got away with killing your father? >> absolutely. it was hard to sleep at night. every little noise was -- it had me on edge. >> were you worried about your mother? >> oh yeah. >> that whoever this person was would come back for her? >> i was constantly worried. >> and how is her health at that time? >> she had started having seizures and we, you know, she was traumatized, she had post-traumatic stress, she had anxiety, she had depression. she was a mess. >> this climb clung to the hope that one of the detectives would pan out. for the moment, it looked as though law enforcement was playing their cards close to the best. according to colleen barnett, from the district attorney's office, that was because they made some early observations about the crime scene. >> officers had investigated burglaries and robberies for many years before they get into homicide. -- they were open a little bit but nothing was tossed. >> but what about those items that were lost detectives took careful notes of those notes. >> cameras, the bicycle, there was some painting equipment that were easy to take that were not taken. and the stuff that was taken and put in a backpack was left in the garage. did make sense. >> the home, to investigators, should no sign of forced entry. the garage door was the only way in for the intruder. but it looked as though it could've been staged. now to investigators, this didn't look like a burglary gone bad, but more like a targeted killing. and they theorize their suspect. it was somebody who is already inside the house. >> coming up. >> my memory is so bad. >> how murky was her memory, really? investigators are about to listen very carefully to sandra's story. when dateline continues. the lungs and lower airways. but i'm protected with arexvy. arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. rsv can be serious for those over 60, including those with asthma, diabetes, copd, and certain other conditions. but i'm protected. arexvy is proven to be over 82% effective in preventing lower respiratory disease from rsv and over 94% effective in those with these health conditions. (♪♪) arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. i chose arexvy. rsv? make it arexvy. (♪♪) >> i'm katie phang with the hours top stories. the u.n. says more than 800 people have been killed on a multi day attack in darfur, sudan. is the latest attack in an ongoing war between the sudanese military and the rsf, a paramilitary group. the war has killed 9000 and displaced 6 million people. and a second child has died at the nursery at the al-shifa hospital in gaza city, according to a spokesman for the palestinian ministry of health. he says the hospitals generator stopped working, in the icu and pediatric units. the hospital is now considered out of service amid heavy bun barman. now back to dateline. >> welcome back to "dateline." i'm craig melvin. an anniversary celebration that began with candles and strawberries, ended in murder. sandra melgar told investigators she had no memory of the killer who stabbed her husband jaime, and left her tied up in a closet. sandra's daughter liz offered several potential suspects. her ex husband, a former tenant, maybe a coworker. but investigators had a theory of their own. here again is dennis murphy with "unspeakable". >> december 23rd, 2013. the day before christmas eve. also the first anniversary of jamie melgar's death, was impossibly hard for his family. >> that's all we really think about. >> should be holiday season, but it's an awful memory. >> yes, yes. >> so imagine the family is waiting for an arrest to be made in this thing. >> yes. we were anxiously waiting for that day to come. that doesn't matter if it's tomorrow, for ten years from now, but we would like some answers. >> but law enforcement wasn't exactly forthcoming with the melgar family. might have been a reason. they doubted jamie's murder was a burglar or even someone else in the sandra and jamie's remote orbit. >> there's always a first suspicion of family members, if there is nothing that really makes sense. >> and that suspicion had narrowed down to the person inside the house with jamie. sandra. her account of a blacked out 14 hours after their anniversary celebration -- >> i wish i could recall. >> to investigators, was just too weird to be believed. >> my memory is so bad. >> it seemed implausible to them that sandra really heard nothing the entire night. >> this is happening in a very small space. the husband is stabbed to death and found in one closet. she's been tied up in another. >> that's right. >> the investigators constantly studied that interview they conducted with sandra. they found her more indifferent than distraught. >> do you know what has happened today? >> my husband was murdered. >> how? >> i don't know. >> and when sandra broke down crying, though detectives couldn't recall seeing any tears. detectives believe sandra's story morphed overtime. for instance, the part about how long she waited to get out of the tub after jaime left to fetch the dogs. at first, she was vague. >> and he just, you know, was taking a while, so i got out. >> then, more specific. >> about 15 minutes, 20 minutes. >> later, another revision. >> maybe about five minutes. >> and detectives were perplexed by what sandra claimed she did and did not hear that night. >> hear anybody scream? >> no. >> hear the dogs? well you could hear the dog barking? >> yeah, because they were right outside the window. >> but after almost two hours, as investigators pushed her, sandra seemed to tweak this key element of her story. >> actually, i don't even remember hearing the dogs. my husband was the one that says -- he's got better hearing than i. >> of course, the changes in sandra story could be attributed to shock. but as the detectives unit, sandra was being deliberately evasive. enhancing her story to align with a conjured up crime scene. a sounds like a bloody event. was it? >> it was bloody in the area that he was in. there was blood in the carpet. there was blood on a chair. he, himself was very bloody. and the closet, but nowhere and else in the house was there any blood. >> to investigators we are thinking, home invaders would've dragged at least a trace of blood on their way out of the house. but crime scene techs did not find any. when the rest of the forensics came back, the findings had limitations. reporter, amanda orr. >> although you have the murder weapon, it's been washed and in water for several hours. >> kitchen knife? >> kitchen knife. a large kitchen knife. was found in the bathtub. so, any dna that could have been on it from the murderer, was gone. it was washed away. >> what's more, no blood was detected on sandra. in fact, no dna or fingerprints linked sandra to jamie's body. or jamie to sandra's. and while detectives had a hunch about sandra, the evidence did seen didn't seem quite there yet for an indictment. as more time went by, it became clear to members of sandra's family, like her cousin diana, that law enforcement was eyeing her. >> okay, it's okay for you to think that. investigate her and then you'll see that there is nothing there and move on. >> but, as the investigation dragged into july of 2014, their worst fears were realized. liz and her mom found out in a most unusual way. >> i went to the mailbox and it had been absolutely filled with flyers from lawyers, trying to get our business for a pending case. >> did you know what that was about? >> i had no idea what that was about. so, i got on to the harris county website and i entered my mom's name, and i saw that she had been charged with my father's murder. >> a few days earlier, a grand jury had quietly voted to indict her. she turned herself in and posted bond. and then she hired veteran attorney mac secrest to defend her. >> quite frankly, i can smell bs from across the room. and when i sat down and spoke with her, her story was plausible. i didn't hear anything that rang kind of a false note. >> allison secrest, mac needs, served as counsel. >> she's a sweet person. she doesn't have a temper. and it was really apparent to us that she had a good relationship with her husband. >> they couldn't fathom how sandra was under suspicion for a crime that defied physical possibilities. after all, she was found tied up, barricaded in her closet. >> she believed she's had a seizure. or maybe, she was actually hit in the head and was knocked unconscious. >> to these attorneys, the case seemed suspiciously thin. >> where is the beef? where's the crime? i guess more importantly, where's the investigation? >> it had taken more than a year and a half to indict sandra. so, what were the detectives doing all that time? well, that's an involved story. investigated by nbc affiliate kprc tv. the lead detective on the case, ruben had become the center of a scandal. >> a controversy is going tonight over a document falsified by a harris county detective now working for the district attorney's office. >> the detective got himself into serious trouble for falsifying a search warrant in a case not connected to sandra 's. and that cast a shadow on his other investigations. >> that became a really big issue for the prosecution. and something that the defense would be able to definitely use against them. >> after the story broke, the detective left the sheriff's department. would a and the case against sandra, to? did your lawyers tell you this thing may never go to chart a trial? this thing has got so many holes in it? >> that's what we believed. absolutely. >> by the summer of 2017, it had been three years since sanders arrest. she had a right to a speedy trial. it was put up or shut up time for the da's office. when you read all your stuff you, step back, you said, what do i have here? what was the biggest problem? >> the biggest problem was that i didn't have that many affirmative acts from her standpoint. >> what do you mean? >> i couldn't put the knife in her hand. i didn't have any eyewitnesses that she killed him. she didn't confess. >> what did you have going for you? >> first story. it was ridiculous. >> so, the prosecution made the call. the people versus sandra melgar would proceed to trial. >> coming up -- a deadly seduction? >> the prosecution thinks that sandra melgar lowered jaime to the bedroom under the guise of six play. >> she's massaging his neck. and then she makes a strike straight up. >> but where was the proof? >> this case out to scare the hell out of all of you. >> when "dateline" continues. such as stroke, heart attack, or d in adults also with known heart disease. i'm lowering my risk. adults lost up to 14 pounds. i lost some weight. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. living with type 2 diabetes? ask about the power of 3 with ozempic®. huh. how long have you been tracking our car's value with carvana? just, like, 7 months. should we sell it? we hold... hold... silver vans are going for more right now, should we... hold... our low mileage is paying off. you think we should... hold... depreciation is really heating up you think... hoooold!!! hooold! hooold. hold! we just dipped 2.5%! hooooooold!!! now!!!! i'm on it. i'm, on it. already sold to carvana. go to carvana and track your car's value today. ♪ you're the one that i want! ♪ your dog is the one you wanted. you want what's best for them. ♪ ohh, ohh, ohh! ♪ so ask your vet about new nexgard plus. it's one-and-done monthly protection from fleas and ticks, plus heartworm disease, roundworms, and hookworms... all in a delicious, beef-flavored, soft chew. use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures or neurologic disorders. from the maker of #1 vet-recommended heartgard plus. nexgard plus: the one you want for one-and-done protection. dupixent helps you du more with less asthma. and can help you breathe better in as little as two weeks. dupixent is an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma that's not for sudden breathing problems. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. get help right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. ask your specialist about dupixent. can we get real clear about life with psoriasis? yeah, i'm ready. is your treatment leaving you with uncontrolled symptoms? like the cover-it-ups and brush-it-offs? enough with good enoughs. don't stay hiding or hurting. when your lotions and creams don't do enough to help treat the inflammation beneath the skin, causing plaques and pain, it's time to get real about psoriasis, so, your dermatologist can help you get clear. make the appointment and ask about real clear skin. dennis murphy (voiceover): august 2017, more than 4 and 1/2 years after jamie melgar >> august 2017, more than four was murdered in what seemed at the time and a half years after jayme melgar was murdered in what's seemed at the time as a brutal home invasion. but now his wife of 32 years was on trial for jayme's murder, she pleaded not guilty. it put daughter liz in a painful judicial paradox. they're bringing you, the family victim justice in their mind and justice is putting your mother away? >> correct. and i lost my father, and here i am in a way losing my mother. this is supposed to be the justice system that -- is just completely broken. >> prosecutor the colleen barnett's message for the jury was simple, sandra, and only sandra could've done this. >> there is zero evidence -- >> we no evidence that anyone else did this. >> prosecutor set out to dismantle the idea that jayme's death resulted from a botched robbery. first responder, emt told the jury that to hurt the crime scene looked off. >> it was disarrayed, the draw has rippled out, nothing appeared to be missing. >> and to the the prosecutor used sandra's own words against her. the jury heard the interview, where the defendant looks so indifferent. >> do you knoow what has happened today? >> my husband was murdered. >> and sometimes her story to the detectives didn't seem to follow the facts. >> she was telling a tale so she could go on with her life so she would not have to go to prison? >> for instance, her story of jamie going out to quiet the barking dogs. >> there is a neighbor who lived next to the melgar's who constantly complained about the dogs barking. she didn't hear the dogs that night, she slept wonderfully. >> but of course, the was -- we home invaders were slashing your husband to death, just feet away from you, and you remember nothing? really? >> nobody running? nobody saying anything? shouting? >> no. nothing. >> sandra's explanation was that she had suffered from seizures and memory loss for years. reporter amanda we went into sandra's medical history, refuting that. >> she did go to the doctor's office that she wasn't having seizures, that her medication was controlling it very well. >> so if sandra was lying and -- >> she had a lifetime to get rid of the clothes. to wash yourself up. to get ready for the one big finale. >> though not required to prove a motive, the prosecutor offered one up to the jury anyway. there was no evidence of infidelity or typical marriage troubles. still, she suggested that sandra wanted out, but there religion made it impossible to split up the usual way. >> jehovah witnesses do not allow you to get divorced. unless someone starts cheating, which he wasn't. we so wasn't -- >> sandra too frail to commit a close quarters crime? maybe not. the medical -- 37 shot wounds. so stab, stab, 20 injuries? >> maybe not forced used, maybe a weaker person. >> so how did the attack go down? the prosecutor had a vivid scenario of a lethal seduction. >> the prosecution thinks that sandra melgar lured jamie to the bedroom under the guise of sex play. >> so she gets jamie to sit down on a chair, and maybe she's massaging his neck. and then she pulls it out and while he isn't looking she makes a strike, straight up, all the way up to his neck. >> it was a traumatic show and tell, for sure. then it was showtime for the defense. the prosecution's case was all invented nonsense, they said. very strong, the and yet -- >> this case, oughta scare the hell outta all of you. >> secrest said that sandra was the victim of a myopic bumbling investigation. >> this lady falsely accused. >> and the defendant said that sandra attacked herself. >> she's been tied up. she's been left in the closet for 14, 16, 17 hours. >> they show these photos in court and said we -- sent her to a doctor and confirmed her injuries. >> when sandra went to the doctor, they -- >> the blinkers detectives thought sandra was guilty from the get-go. >> would you want us to find the killer? >> of course. >> i don't think you do. >> and they said in the most trying of circumstances, sandra remained consistent and composed. >> i had a seizure and, usually i can't move anyway. >> another point, a forensic one, the defense told the jury of dna evidence that have been collected, but not presented by the prosecution. >> there is unknown male dna in various drawer pulls in the master bedroom, and the door handles, and also on that backpack. so it's huge. because it points to a possible other suspect. >> and the csi's had photographed a bloody swipe from the safe in the closet. the defense told the jury how detectives never went for possible printed nor headed swabbed for dna. >> isn't that the kind of evidence you want to have available to consider? why won't you at least test it? >> the defense ticked off more examples as what they regarded as inept detective work. they never brought liz ex-husband for questioning, or that neighbor with this history of petty burglaries. >> the police are approach, knock, and he doesn't answer. and they leave. and they never followed up on it. >> and the defense thought they knew just how the investigation got so bungled. look at the man who led it. >> what kind of murder investigation would you have where you knowingly, intentionally, and will fully, don't bring the lead investigator to court? >> the defense, not the prosecution, called the one time lead detective. they weren't allowed to tell the jury of the scandal involving that other case. but they asked him to account for a litany of proceed fumbles in this investigation. case in, point a pair of centrist socks found not in the evidence room, but instead in her filing cabinet, long after he had left the job. >> it's a really horrible investigation, it's inept. >> there's no physical evidence in this case that points to her at all. >> but there was another key element to this prosecutor's case. she knew the jury had one big question, was sandra a houdini -level escape artist? >> coming up. >> how do you tie yourself up with? >> all you have to do is -- >> a lucky clever bag of tricks? could sandra melgar really pull something like this off? the jurors will have a stunner of an answer. when dateline continues. i don't even have to touch them. ooo, gangsta. in a hurry? there's not a faster, easier way to put on shoes. they know a 10 when they see it. after advil. feeling better? on top of the worlddddd!!! before advil. advil targets pain at the source of inflammation. when pain comes for you, come back fast with advil liqui-gels. she found it. the feeling of finding the psoriasis treatment she's been looking for. sotyktu is the first-of-its-kind, once-daily pill for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis... for the chance at clear or almost clear skin. it's like the feeling of finding that outfit psoriasis tried to hide from you. or finding your swimsuit is ready for primetime. dad! once-daily sotyktu is proven to get more people clearer skin than the leading pill. don't take if you're allergic to sotyktu; serious reactions can occur. sotyktu can lower your ability to fight infections including tb. serious infections, cancers including lymphoma, muscle problems, and changes in certain labs have occurred. tell your doctor if you have an infection, liver or kidney problems, high triglycerides, or had a vaccine or plan to. sotyktu is a tyk2 inhibitor. tyk2 is part of the jak family. it's not known if sotyktu has the same risks as jak inhibitors. find what plaque psoriasis has been hiding. ask your dermatologist about sotyktu for clearer skin. so clearly you. sotyktu. (carolers) ♪ iphone 15 pro for your husband! iphone 15 pro — ♪ ask your dermatologist about s(wife) for clearer skin. carolers! to tell me you want a new iphone? a better plan is verizon. (husband) no way they'd take this wreck. (carolers) ♪ yes, they will, and you'll get iphone 15 pro, ♪ ♪ aaannnnnddddd apple tv 4k, and apple one - ♪ ♪ all three on them! ♪ (wife) do that. (carolers) ♪ we tried to tell him but he paid us a lot... ♪ (husband) it was a lot... ♪ mhmmm ♪ (vo) this holiday turn any iphone, in any condition, into a new iphone 15 pro with titanium, apple tv 4k, and six months of apple one. all three on us. it's holiday everyday with verizon. welcome back. prosecutors in the sandra melgar murder trial >> welcome back. claimed she lured her husband jamie into their bedroom prosecutors in the sandra melgar murder trial claim she had lured her husband jamie into their bedroom then stabbed him 31 times. the defense countered that there was no evidence linking sandra to the crime. in fact, she was tied up in the closet at the time. but was she? the prosecution was about to unveil a stunning theory. how sandra pulled off an elaborate and deadly hoax. here's dennis murphy with the conclusion of "unspeakable". >> sandra melgar's defense attorneys had try to portray the murder investigation as seriously flawed. but, perhaps their most persuasive argument was sandra herself. she didn't testify. but "houston chronicle" reporter brian rogers said her muted appearance spoke volumes. >> there's an old adage in defense law if you can make your client look like a school mom, do it. and she kind of come so cross that. we >> kind of? frail >> small. you have a hard time believing she could even yell. much less stab anyone. >> and how could that seem petite women have managed, as the prosecution contended, to which nature beneath the doorknob of the closet that she was already inside? and beyond that, find her own hands and feet? the prosecution had an answer for those houdini-like skills. >> she definitely prepared for this. i'm sure she practiced the chair behind the door. >> the prosecutor said sandra had come up with an ingenious way to wedge that you're under the doorknob from the inside. by sliding a pillow sham along the floor. how is that, you ask? well, she played the jury this video of investigators recreating the process. >> the detectives videotaped themselves putting the chair on the pillow sham and pulling the pillow sham underneath the door, so you can pull it close. from the inside. >> so you can pull it from inside the closet? >> that's right. >> prosecutor barnett said it wouldn't be all that hard for sanders to tie her own hands behind her backs. she showed us what she showed the jury. >> so, how do you tie yourself up in that figure eight pattern? >> it's pretty simple. all you do is just put it on your tie, turn in the back, and you just mess around with it. any kind of way. the point is, that it looks legitimate. not that it is legitimate, but it looks legitimate. >> the prosecutor argued sandra did this, just minutes before the family discovered her. which explained what the emt said she did not see on sandra 's wrist. >> she had no bruises. no ligature marks. nothing. >> but the very thought that sandra could have come up with these elaborate tricks and executed them, that's sheer speculation, said the defense. >> that's a theory, folks. there is no evidence of that. >> a theory that the defense said investigators who didn't even try to cooperate with the eye witnesses who had found sandra. doctor liz said after that night, investigators never came back to ask the family what they saw. >> they never really spoke to your family again, is that right? >> yes, they never reached out to anybody. they could have asked them about the theory of the chair and the mat under that chair. you know? they could have asked them about the surroundings. >> and they would've heard how the family said they needed scissors to cut sandra free. her wrist so tightly bound. >> i have a big problem where they are not following through. they're talking to witnesses who had personal knowledge. >> the prosecution said it investigators followed the evidence and did a thorough job. it was now up to a harris county jury to decide sandra's fate. the first day of deliberations ended with no decision. the jury said you have to go back to your office and how to go back and protect work? >> you can't work. you try to do other stuff, but you really can't. >> finally, on day two, there was a verdict. >> we were all saying is going to be fine. this is a joke. no worries. >> surely the jury will see it the way we the family see it? >> exactly. >> sandra melgar stood to learn her fate. >> we the jury find the defendant sandra jean melgar, guilty as charged with the indictment. >> sandra collapse into her chair, sobbing. liz, beyond devastated, grasped for her mother as she was led away. >> it sucked the life out of me. i just felt the room spin. and i just felt like my world was collapsing. >> we just could not believe it. could not believe it was happening to her. >> to prosecutor barnett, this was justice. both for the state and for jamie melgar. >> she's committed a crime and they found her guilty. i'm glad. i've done my job. and justice has been served. >> the jury sentence sandra to 27 years in prison. her lawyers have begun the years long appeal process. from behind bars, sandra wrote us this letter saying she's at peace because she knows she's innocent. her family supports her, so, she's not giving up. and liz? well, she and her kids do their best to carry on without jamie or sandra. >> my daughter just loved her her nana so much. and it was too heartbreaking to tell her that nana wasn't coming home. >> when do you miss about your dad the most? >> every day when i look at my kids, because i know what a wonderful grandfather he would have been. the jokes and the games. probably the toys he would have made for them. >> they never got a chance to roll their eyes at a jim joke? >> yeah, yeah. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline". i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. >> we begin this hour on capitol hill with yet another countdown to a costly government shutdown. congress has until the en