Answering her phone. How did love go so wrong . In a Surprising New twist, it would take not one, but two trials to discover the truth. All of a sudden he wasnt convicted of murdering my sister anymore. Heres hoda kotb with fatal attraction. Nantucket, massachusetts, a Beautiful Island off the coast of cape cod. Its simple and elegant in a way that says serious money. The beaches are pristine. The food phenomenal and the shopping, pack your credit cards. As the setting for romance with surf, sunset and sea breezes, nantucket is 50 shades of fabulous. But then the fog rolls in, dense, mysterious and everything changes. Suddenly it seems anything is possible in this moody place. Maybe even sinister things. 911. This line is recorded. State your emergency. My sister is not answering her phone. It was monday, october 25, 2004. A gray day. An officer from the Nantucket Police department was on patrol when the car radio crackled at 1 15 in the afternoon. A call had come in. She was supposed to leave and pick up my son at day care. She wont answer her cell phone. It was a routine matter or so it seemed. The officer was dispatcheded e check it out. He met his partner at 1 hawthorne lane. There were two homes on the property. I said are you elizabeth . She said, no, shes over there and pointed toward the cottage. The officers walked to the cottage and knocked. No answer. It was the first hint of trouble. I moved around to the bay window and i looked in at which time i saw someone laying on the ground. The officer was looking at a crime scene. I turned toward the sergeant and told him we had someone down inside. His partner kicked in the door. The body was on the living room floor. A woman stabbed to death. The officer had never seen anything like it and was hit by a wave of fierce emotions. From shock to awe to frightened is how it went and then Police Training kicked in. Adrenaline surging, the cops pulled their weapons. Our immediate thought was to draw our weapon for our safety so with weapons drawn, we proceed to clear the house. It was all clear. But horrifying. There were signs of a struggle. Blood in a bedroom and in the living room by the body. The officer radioed in. I made the comment just get here. It was his first homicide but if he was a stranger to homicide, so was nantucket. There hadnt been a murder on the island for two decades. It doesnt happen here. It cant happen here. And that was kind of the way it was up until that day. Her name was elizabeth. Everyone called her beth and she was an unlikely victim. She was 44 years old. A successful business woman from new york who sold her company for a tidy profit and moved to this nantucket cottage just months before. Beth had this incredible gift of making people feel comfortable around her. Beths brother, tom. I would be with her. We would go into a store to run an errand and she would chat up the clerk at the counter getting into a conversation and i would be, like, come on, beth. Lets go. What are you doing . Smart, vibrant, adventurist, beth was all that and more but what tom remembers most is her way with people. It sounds like your sister made the other person feel better, bigger, more loved. Thats a gift. She would make everyone feel special. The third of five children, beth was raised in new york about 50 miles north of new york city. My mom stayed home and cared for us. My dad was home at 5 30 for dinner at 6 00. When school was out, the family headed to nantucket where beths father, john, has had a gallery for years and for years if it was summer, beth was on the island. She was game for everything. Leslie met beth more than three decades ago. They were freshmen together at the university of notre dame. The last time she was in california we were going to go out surfing and i said, beth, i think she never surfed before. I said you might have more fun boogie boarding. No. I want to go for it. I want to learn to surf. Off she was always willing and wanting to embrace a new experience with joy. After college, beth settled in new york and started her own company. In this video she talked about those early days. Hard work and work your fingers to the bone. Your nose to the grindstone. Blood, sweat and tears. She chose a tough gig. Helping arkt architecting navigate the scene. That sounds like a hard edged type woman and not the woman youre describing really. You know what . She was enormously successful because she was hard working and she was honest. She shined and people just could trust her. It sounds like there was just one part of her life that was missing. Just love. Finding someone to spend her life with. Did she talk about that . She did want a family. In early september, 2004, that dream suddenly seemed to be within reach. She was thinking this could be the guy, absolutely. It was labor day weekend. A sunny day on nantucket. I said, hi. You know what . I think im looking at your future husband right now. She said really . I said yeah. She said ill be right over. She had only known beth for a few months. Not long but long enough. She told me she had been successful in every part of her life except for love. When tom came to stay at her nantucket home, she introduced him to beth. It was a connection. It was electric the minute she walked in. Whoa. Beth had finally met mr. Right. But people arent always what they seem to be or pretend to be. There was a lot to like about beths new beau but there was also something a little troubling especially after he met beths friends. She said Something Like i thought you were really sophisticated and charming and he said under his breath, boy, i really should have been an actor. [ female announcer ] you wont believe your eyes. With Olay Regenerist eye and lash duo. The serum instantly thickens and defines lashes. The cream smooths and softens the look of lines. So wow another eye opener from olay. But at least i can help keep their underwear clean. With charmin ultra strong. Ill take that. Go get em, buddy [ female announcer ] charmin ultra strong has a duraclean texture and its four times stronger than the leading bargain brand. Enjoy the go with charmin ultra strong. In september 2004, Beth Lochtefeld was a woman in love. Her brother, tom, remembers exuberant phone calls about the new man in her life. Of course she was over the top. I met this guy. Friend of a friend. And of course i had learned after many of those phone calls to try not to get too excited for her. At 37, tom toolan was a walking, talking swoon machine. Tall, broad shouldered, preppie and beth had a lot in common with him. He liked literature and music and he was good looking and came from a catholic family whose parents were still married 30 years later. That was a big attraction for beth. She saw someone who she thought was like minded. In many ways, yes. Tom toolans childhood friend bernadet bernadette, had introduced them. He was four years younger and same age as my brother. He always felt like a little brother to me. We were i cant even tell you how close we were. Tom went to private school and then columbia university. After college, he sold cars for a while and then landed a job as a broker at smith barney. Other jobs in finance followed including a stint as a Bank Executive on wall street. He seemed to have it all with charm to spare. She would call me from the corner of manhattan, im just waiting for him here. I want to thank you. This is unbelievable. Were having so much fun. Tom was smitten too from day one. Shes a great gal. An amazing gal. Tom lived in new york and beth in nantucket, they started seeing each other regularly. Beth had 44 was eager for marriage and a family. Very soon there was talk of rings although beths brother says it was mainly tom doing the talking. As a matter of fact, its my understanding that first day he said im going to marry you. And she was, like, yeah, right. Beth may have hesitated as she learned more about her new man. He told her he had drinking problems. But for bernadette, the drinking hardly seemed like a deal breaker. I knew he had a drinking problem. I know a Million People with drinking problems. Other friends had misgivings, louis taught beth martial arts on nantucket and she confided in him. She said i met somebody. I said thats great and she smokes and drinks. I said, beth, that doesnt sound like a good mix for you. She said, well, hes a little crazy and she said im a little crazy too. If she was making excuses for him, she had her reasons. She said she felt so good in his arms. He was so protective. She told me this is theirst time in 15 years im with a man that wants to be with me. Besides, beth was a fixer. When she would date guys, a lot of times she would say to herself, well, he would be really great except for this but i think we can work on that. No surprise then that beth decided to work on toms drinking problem with him. I believe, yes, she was trying to help him dry out and he told her he wanted to stop and wanted to dry out. Two weeks after they met, beth and tom flew to california together. Tom, who was now working as an Investment Consultant had meetings there and beth decided to tag along. It was their first extended trip together and for beth, it was an eye opener. Now she saw things she could not dismiss. Hes a mess. She said. He couldnt get on the plane. They missed the plane. I said what was he doing . She said i stood back and watched him and he was walking in circles in the hotel room smoking cigarettes, not packed. Just a mess. Beth wanted to introduce tom to her friends on the west coast. Tom of the list was leslie costello, beths College Friend it leslie lives in san diego and was eager to meet beths new beau but she was less than impressed. He was very informal. I didnt understand him. The trip ended badly. They were in a taxi and he had a temper tantrum and i guess she said let us off here. Whatever she said. He turned and yelled at her and she said it was a little bit scary. And he was drinking. She said he had eight beers by the time they got to the airport and got on the plane. Bernadette said on the way home tom asked beth what her friends thought of him. He said something chilling during the exchange that followed. Something that troubled her so much she told bernadette about it right away. He said what did they say about me . She said Something Like they thought you were really sophisticated and charming and this and that and he said under his breath, boy, i really should have been an actor. And she said that just went into her gut. It was at that point perhaps that she began asking who was the real tom toolan . She told family and friends that she was going to give the relationship the four seasons test to see how things stood in a year but it was becoming clear that tom toolan was not inclined to let one season pass let alone four. Coming up, a troubled relationship becomes a terrifying one. My guess is that she was just probably in a state of shock. Why she didnt leave that next day, im not exactly sure. When dateline continues. In october, 2004, Beth Lochtefeld went to new york to be with her boyfriend, tom toolan. By then, the two had been dating for six weeks but the relationship was fraying. Beth was beginning to see a troubling side of this new guy and she had started to give him ultimatums. He would start drinking and he would get really ugly. She would say youre a good guy but when youre drinking, youre an idiot and you need to decide between alcohol and me. He would apologize and say i choose you and i want you. I dont want the alcohol. That week beth invited her brother to meet her boyfriend. Perhaps she wanted his take on tom. First impression, you see him walk in. Well, he had longish blond hair combed back and a double breasted blue blazer on. Very pompous. He seemed fake to me. That night over dinner, beths brother kept asking tom toolan what he did for a living. And he couldnt really tell me to my satisfaction what he did. Im an investor. What do you invest in . He couldnt really give me an answer. Beths brother said toolan was drinking during dinner but not to excess. Afterwards toolan and beth headed back to his apartment and on the way home beth told friends something shocking happened. She had seen him drunk. She had seen him angry. But she had never seen her new boyfriend like this. He had put her into a headlock and was walking down the street saying i want to beat your head in. She shared with me, i went back to his apartment to just get my palm pilot and cell phone and get out of there and i wonder if i shouldnt have just left that stuff behind and left at that moment. Little did beth know that toolan had apparently been aggressive with at least one other woman after he had a few drinks. I thought, wow, flowers. How nice. I thought hes such a gentleman. Becky was working as a bartender dating toolan once. We had dinner plans. A nice date. It didnt turn out that way. Dinner was pleasant and then came drinks. Thats when he accused me of flirting with the bartender. She said toolan tried to grope her. When she reached her street, she didnt wait around. I ran across the street. Four years later, Beth Lochtefeld was in a frightening situation with the same man. Instead of grabbing her stuff from toolans apartment when she got there, beth stayed and later said that things went from bad to terrible. He got very violent with her that night and he sexually assaulted her. I think that beth was probably sort of in a state of its a confusing thing when it is somebody that youre supposedly close to violates you. My guess is that she was just probably in a state of shock and why she didnt leave that next day, im not exactly sure. By friday, october 22nd, two days after the dinner with her brother, beth decided to leave new york. Friends and family say it was clear that she intended to call it quits with toolan. She even left a message at her brothers connecticut home saying she was coming to spend the night. But by now Something Else was becoming clear. Tom toolan was not going to let beth go. He wouldnt leave her. He followed her and she said we ended up in the metropolitan and she said i was standing there in front of this painting and it was an incredibly dark painting thinking this painting reminds me of tom toolan. That was the moment that tom toolan picked to propose to her. He chose the most public place possible. A gallery in this world famous museum, the metropolitan museum of art. He proposed to beth before but never like this. He pulls this ring outs a an gets on his knee and proposes to her again. She said i was not she didnt feel safe enough to say no. She knew she was in a dangerous situation so she said to him, i need more time. She was, like, so upset because he said, you know, its now or never. And her response to him was . It has to be never. These are words right out of beths mouth. Beth rushed out of the museum. Toolan pursued her. Im going to go get drunk with my friends. At the last minute he hopped in the cab with her and they ended up back at his apartment. At some point that night, beth called her brother. In retrospect he says, she sounded terrified. Her words were very measured. She was talking very slowly and enunciating very clearly. Unlike her. She kept saying im here with tom in the city and were trying to work things out. And i didnt even think to ask her are you okay . Or cough twice if youre in trouble or Something Like that. He had no idea his sister was in danger. I was sort of tired. I didnt want to deal with the breaking up, making up kind of thing. Later from family and friends he would learn the horrifying details of beths ordeal that night. It is my understandi ining hs holding her at gunpoint. He has no proof of what went on that night but hes pieced together a story from various accounts. He held her captive. She tried to get away. He was either drunk or tired and he ended up she was laying down in led. He laid on her legs and then going to sleep or passing out himself. To prevent her from leaving. At which point she slipped out and slipped away. I understand that she didnt even want to use the elevator because she was afraid the ding might wake him up so she ended up taking the stairs. It was around 4 00 a. M. When beth managed to escape from the apartment. Where was she going to go . She was going straight to laguardia to get the next flight to nantucket and get away and get back to her home. It was now saturday, october 23rd. At 8 00 a. M. , beth called her brother. It would be the last time the two spoke. She mentioned she had broken up with him and he had called her about 50 times since on her cell phone and the guy wouldnt stop calling her. Did that raise any alarm bells with you . Just a guy whos heartbroken . I was thinking she would go to nantucket and it will be over and it will be fine. Except that was not going to happen. Tragedy was two short days away. Coming up, a surprise visitor and a panicked phone call. I told him that i think its bests boyfriend and he just said to me, barbara, lock your door. Dont go out. Im calling the police. Crisp, fall Rocky Mountain air makes an epic journey through pines, wildflowers, and aspens. And is matched only by our journey to capture its scent. Crafted by expert perfumers for your home, air wick mountain woodlands and crisp air is part of our limited Edition National park collection. Airwick. The craft of fragrance. Oh. [ female announcer ] stress sweat smells the worst. And secret clinical strength gives you four times the protection against it. Secret clinical strength. Its not for colds, its not for pain, its just for sleep. Because sleep is a beautiful thing™. Zzzquil. The nonhabit forming sleepaid from the makers of nyquil®. Part of a lineup of unstoppable skincare start fresh and finish sparkling with swipe out wet cloths. Vavavivid for a 400 better clean. From new olay fresh effects. With hotwires low prices, we can afford to take more trips this year. Hit the beach in florida. And a reunion in seattle. When hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them. So we got our fourstar hotels for half price men hotwire, hotwire. Com. [ male announcer ] pearls. Hairbands. And now hot pink toes. Seems tough for a tough dog like duke. But when it has to do with gwen, hes putty in her hands. For a love this strong, dukes family only feeds him iams. Compared to other leading brands, it has 50 more animal protein. To help keep his body as strong as a love that can endure any fashion trend. Iams. Keep love strong. Now you can keep love fun with new shakeables meaty treats. After a terrifying night when she was held captive in tom toolans new york apartment, Beth Lochtefeld had managed to escape and get home to nantucket, her island refuge. She called h