there. >> are you still intimate with yolanda? >> yes, we are. >> he said that he didn't love her, he loved me. >> and finally a verdict. >> the years of waiting, the years of mourning her, we needed justice. >> i'm lester holt, and this is "dateline." here's dennis murphy with "mystery in south beach." >> if you've spent any time down here, you probably sense there are really two miami beaches. you know this one by reputation anyway. south beach, a pulsating playground with energy that exhausts itself in the all-nightclubs. then there's the old miami beach, the sun-burned streets of squat apartment blocks, where decades past the old people used to sit out in aluminum chairs. that's where wendy and michelle were trying to make a go of it. the rent of the cheap, the window air conditioning, good enough. but if you ever thought beautiful people catch all the breaks, then listen to wendy's story. she may be the most gorgeous, doomed young woman to ever walk these streets. >> she was model pretty. >> i don't think that she thought of herself as anything spectacular. >> didn't become the central part of her personality, i'm a pretty girl. >> it wasn't who she was about. >> her much older siblings never used the qualifier step sister. she was a daddy's girl. her father who died in a crash when she was just six. >> big sister rita helped to raise her. >> i was pretty much there raising here. >> the love of animals was always a part of wendy. >> she was always rescuing some animal. >> and she worked for a vet for a while? >> yes, but allergies would enld her ambitions to be a vet. >> i kept saying, don't give up your passion. >> but wendy did have another passion, fashion and makeovers. >> pretty girl. >> at easter, she would do up her nieces for a living room fashion show. >> and here is the director of the entire operation. >> how nice a kid was this church-going, slightly sheltered girl? >> there was one girl who couldn't afford to go to the prom, and wendy got her the dress, everything. >>. >> she had a flair and you can do very well with that? >> yes, she did. >> at 21, she enrolled in beauty school, and that's where she michel rumble up, a web designer and teacher of computing. but he was looking for a career change, thought he'd try hairstyling, so he enrolled in the same cosmetology school as wendy. >> michel who are fancied himself a sensitive guy, had a string of admiring girlfriends. but wendy, younger by ten years and prettier than almost any other woman, was clearly a prize catch. >> when i met wendy, he was on a motorcycle with her. i told myself, it's a beautiful girl. i don't know what he did to get this girl. >> whatever he did, it worked. the pair had fallen quickly and deeply. >> they were like high school sweethearts. she was totally in love, sparkle in the eye. he said i'm going to buy her a motorcycle. it's going to be great. >> within six months, they were living together on south beach. wendy gave michel a makeover, dyeing his hair blond, perfect for the club scene. they lived for the day and then came unexpected news for these two butterflies. wendy was pregnant. her mother, miriam, had mixed feelings. how did she feel about the fact that her baby was having a baby? >> delighted with the fact of being a grandmother, but not delighted with the circumstances. >> wendy had had the big church wedding for her first marriage. this time around, she and michel got hitched at miami beach city hall. >> you may kiss the bride. congratulations. >> the next day, wendy and michel set out for a brief weekend honeymoon, a drive down to the florida keys to key west where the road ran out. sunset drinks, dinner and a hotel. three days after the wedding, they were back in miami beach, sunday evening. wendy called her mother to say they were going to a movie and dancing later at a club. her mother urged her pregnant daughter not to drink. then in the middle of the night, the wee hours of monday morning, wendy's mother got an unexpected call from her new son-in-law, michel, saying they've had an argument. wendy stormed off, saying she was going to her mother's house. since then, the bridegroom says he repeatedly called wendy without success. right around then, in a bleak warehouse district, miles and miles from the after-hours bars of miami, a sanitation worker was startled to see the body of a young woman in a blue dress slumped between two vehicles. it was the newlywed, wendy. news travels fast. >> i get a call from my stepmother, screaming, crying. wendy's dead. they took her from me. it's on the news. and i went looking, and there's my sweet little sister being put on a gurney. and it's just so surreal. >> desolate warehouse place. >> all i kept thinking about was her being alone there, by herself, praying to god that she didn't suffer. >> the killer, who bludgeoned her to death, also erased the beauty from her young face. a honeymoon weekend for the new bride had ended behind yellow police tape. coming up, who killed wendy and why? was it a kidnapping, a carjacking gone bad, or did it have something to do with miami's wild night life? >> what's been going on with michel in the club scene? >> he did admit to having encounters with other couples there. >> the dark side of life in sunny miami. prove it's the fastest. i'm traveling the country betting anyone and everyone that sprint is faster than their network. and guess who's winning? the guy with a trailer full of your stuff. i bet my space suit for that slightly oversized jacket. come on. come on. sprint wins! that was fast! yeah, sprint's killing it. the sprint lte network is now more reliable than ever. switch to sprint and save 50% on most verizon, at&t or t-mobile rate plans. if we don't win you over in 30 days, we'll refund your money. hey nithanks. today. juicy fruit? sure i'll try a piec.... juicy fruit. so sweet you can't help but chew. are you powered by protein? i am. milk has 8 grams of protein to help give me energy to unleash my potential. start every day with milk's protein and milk life. dogs - sure can be messy. but with nexgard, their flea and tick killer doesn't have to be. nexgard, the vet's #1 choice for dogs, is a delicious, beef-flavored chew that kills both fleas and ticks. so it's easy to give, easy to take. reported side effects include vomiting, itching, diarrhea, lethargy and lack of appetite. use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures. why mess around? for powerful flea and tick protection, ask your vet about nexgard. the #1 choice of vets for their dogs and yours. the yogurt made from your milk, is delicious. mmmm, yoplait. miami-dade police detectives maria medaros and gus tobias had barely clocked in for their monday morning shift when word came down of a homicide in a bleak warehouse district. it's where they found in a parking lot the body of wendy trapaga. lying between a car and a van. >> we could see the spatter of the blood on the van. whoever did it to her, did it right there. >> so this body hadn't been disposed of there. this was the place where she was killed? >> correct. >> her head had been bashed in. but there was no weapon fob to -- to be found. >> what type of a homicide is this? a robbery? a drug deal that went bad? >> this was a young girl, she doesn't have her shoes on, which was unusual. why is this young girl in an industrial parking lot? >> no reason to be in this part of the county? >> no. unless she met up with someone. >> so the detectives headed out to do the part of the job that never gets easier. >> so you're delivering terrible news? >> horrible news. >> amid the shock and tears, they piece together from their mother a sense of who the victim was and what her final hours and days had been about. sunday evening, the phone call, wendy sounded okay, the detectives were told. but the next call at 5:48 a.m., the one from michel, asking if she was at her mom's, was worrisome. a few hours later, he was waiting for her at her work. >> he met her at her job. y he was very dischevelled and worried about where she could be. >> he was about to get an official answer as to where she was. >> as we're talking, the phone rings and it's michel escoto calling. >> again asking his mother-in-law if she had heard from wendy. they head over to where he was. they head over to deliver the news of his girlfriend of eight months, his bride of four days. >> we walked into his apartment and when he blurted out, is she dead, and we explain we're investigating the death of wendy, he started throwing up, doubling over. >> doubled over, crying. police gave him a few minutes to compose himself before asking him to come down to headquarters to answer some more questions. there he recounted the brief honeymoon. michel told the detectives that wendy had the idea of adding a little more spice before rejoining their workweek lives. >> well, we haven't had much of a honeymoon this weekend. let's extend our honeymoon. >> so as michel escoto told it, around midnight they checked into a miami hotel that features fantasy suites with a private pool and jacuzzi. he says they had sex, slept a little and wendy dosed off in the jacuzzi. around 4:00 a.m., michel says they checked out and headed home. that's when, he said, the newlyweds had their first arment. michel says he walked into the apartment, leaving wendy in the car. >> three minutes later, he comes out. he says when he comes out, the car is gone. wendy is gone. >> he spoke with detectives for 14 hours. they asked him repeatedly if he could identify anyone with a motive. he said he couldn't. after leaving police headquarters, he saw his friend ramone santa cruz. >> he was looking depressed. he looked down, maybe tired. >> five days after her murder, wendy was laid to rest. and then friends and family gathered at her parents' home. detective bias was there as well and he learned something about the couple that would send the investigation down another path. a thread of this investigation takes you into the swinger lifestyle. what's been going on with michel and wendy and the club scene? >> after i'm informed of this, that wendy was part of a swingers club, a place called the miami velvet down here in south miami. the first thing i did was i called michel. he did admit to having encounters with other couples there. >> now you got to wonder did somebody with a thing they developed about wendy and is that the killer? >> it turns out the club is within a mile and a half of the scene. so i wanted to explore that. >> the swingers club was cooperative and detectives took dna samples from a few employees and members. they would have to wait for results. in the meantime the investigation was turning up a new lead, a former girlfriend of his, yolanda sirrio. >> she had a relationship with michel before he met the victim. according to her, michel left her for wendy. she loved him and was very much in love with him. >> a single mother, was she also a woman scorned? michel left her just six months earlier, and to add insult to injury, asked her to take care of his dog while he was on his honeymoon with wendy. >> as a woman, that's very strange to me. >> does yolanda become a suspect? a woman who feels she was fired because of a younger woman and nobody gets away with that. and i'm gonna kill you. >> there's a lot to yolanda. >> a lot of bad if you ask ramon santa cruz. >> i didn't like her from the beginning. she was very evasive. the apartment was always dirty. she was never a good person to begin with. >> detectives met with yolanda who freely admitted that she was devastated when michel dumped her. but said she had no idea who beat his wife to death. >> she said she didn't know anything about it. >> but the detectives noted something else about yolanda. she lived just a few minutes from the parking lot where she found wendy. >> when you started adding up things together, her proximity to the crime scene, i'm very interested in yolanda. >> no one knew what yolanda was hiding and so would the revelation of a motive that would seem to explain every violent little thing. >> coming up, a million reasons why someone wanted wendy dead. >> i asked him, how much is the life insurance policy and he said $1 million. >> when "dateline" continues. an, but she just can't see it. so excedrin worked with me to show my mom what i experience during a migraine. excedrin relieves my pain and symptoms. but their dedication to migraine sufferers doesn't stop there. oh my god... i'm so sorry, honey, that you go through this. now i finally feel understood. experience more stories at excedrin.com dmade with the perfect balance of raspberry ice cream, luscious raspberry sauce, and belgian chocolate. discover magnum chocolate pleasure. new layers to our famous lasagna. with three new irresistible dishes like chicken parmigiana lasagna. and seafood lovers lasagna. all with our unlimited salad and breadsticks. and all starting at $11.99. olive garden. people are taking charge of their type 2 diabetes with non-insulin victoza®. for a while, i took a pill to lower my blood sugar. but it didn't get me to my goal. so i asked my doctor about victoza®. he said victoza® works differently than pills. and comes in a pen. victoza® is proven to lower blood sugar and a1c. it's taken once a day, any time. victoza® is not for weight loss, but it may help you lose some weight. victoza® works with your body to lower blood sugar in 3 ways: in the stomach, the liver, and the pancreas. vo: victoza® is an injectable prescription medicine that may improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. it is not recommended as the first medication to treat diabetes and should not be used in people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. victoza® has not been studied with mealtime insulin. victoza® is not insulin. do not take victoza® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to victoza® or any of its ingredients. symptoms of a serious allergic reaction may include itching, rash, or difficulty breathing. tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck. serious side effects may happen in people who take victoza®, including inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis). stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you have signs of pancreatitis such as severe pain that will not go away in your abdomen or from your abdomen to your back, with or without vomiting. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you have any medical conditions. taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. the most common side effects are headache, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. if your pill isn't giving you the control you need ask your doctor about non-insulin victoza®. it's covered by most health plans. who would want to murder pretty wendy trapaga? did the killer meet her at the sexual swapping club that her boyfriend took her to? the cops ran down those leads, swingers club theory went nowhere. what about yolanda, the husband's ex-girlfriend, enraged perhaps for being traded in for wendy, the younger model. the detectives' guts told them that yolanda knew way more than she was saying. but if so, how to crack her. then there was the husband himself. they kept going back over their notes from the 14-hour interview with him. at times it had been pulling teeth. >> we asked him over and over again, is there anybody with a motive, anything at all, anything you can tell us? i bring up a point, don't you have a life insurance policy? he says, yeah, we do. >> a hefty one, it would seem, for a healthy 21-year-old woman he wasn't even married to at the time of purchase. >> i asked him, how much is the life insurance policy? and he said a million dollars and i said a million dollars? and you don't think that's a motive. you don't think that's important to tell us? and he said no, i don't, because i have a million dollar life insurance policy on myself, too. i said that's not in question because you're here. you're alive. >> one thing he did reveal, wendy was not pregnant. he said that was the cause of their argument that night. he said wendy had lied to him about the whole thing. as the detective's questions got sharper that day, michel shut down. would you take a polygraph? no. can we photograph those bruises on your arm? no. take a dna swab? again, no. >> he didn't talk himself off your list? >> he did not. he did not. >> the working theory of the crime was as simple as it was brutal. he bashed in her skull for a million dollar insurance pay-out. a tire iron was missing from her car, a likely weapon, but nowhere to be found. >> so you two go to the prosecutor, state attorney say we've got it. let's go. grand jury. >> no. >> we're done? >> no. >> why not? >> you have to prove it. >> so police let the person of interest go. in the meantime, wendy's family had huge suspicions about michel. sister rita wasn't crazy about him from the moment she first met him. >> call it bad energy. i shook that man's hand and i was wiping my hand right after i let it go. it was eerie. >> this guy definitely did not pass the sniff test? >> no. >> the revelation that he bought a $1 million life insurance policy on wendy did not help. >> two months after wendy's death, michel filed for his beneficiary payout. the insurer, metlife, fought, saying the case was an unsolved homicide and her murder would remain unsolved for a long time. >> we would be frustrated, the family of the victim. we're sitting there, waiting and waiting. >> then michel actually sued the insurance company to pay him his million dollars. would a guilty man be so brazen as to try that? absolutely, the family said. and by then, they had had enough. the family got a lawyer, jorge barone, and together they went after michel escoto. >> we believed he was the killer. >> two years after the murder, the family filed a wrongful death suit against michel. metlife put the insurance money in escrow and waited on the sidelines as michel and wendy's family fought it out in civil court. but in michel wanted to see one cent of that money, he would have to do something he hadn't done before. >> he would have to testify, he could not plead the fifth. especially since he's pursuing the claim. he has to testify. >> police and prosecutors were happy to help the family's attorney prepare his case. sharing those statements michel had made to detectives after wendy's death. >> they call you and say take a look at what we've got, is that right? >> we ask if we would be allowed to look at the statements he had given them. we were. >> michel was videotaped as he gave a sworn deposition. >> we took his deposition and his story kept changing. >> so the story about a fight and she takes a hike -- >> it doesn't add up. he testified that wendy was -- it was her idea all of a sudden that night to go to the miami executive hotel. >> however, back in 2002, yolanda, the ex-girlfriend, told police michel asked her to make the hotel reservation. it wasn't wendy's idea at all. a factual discrepancy also known as a lie. during the deposition, michel also admitted that yolanda was no longer his ex. he had moved back in with her not long after wendy's death. >> are you still intimate with yolanda? >> yes, we are. >> do you have any plans of marrying yolanda? >> plans of such, no. >> there had been one question about michel and yolanda that had nagged detectives since 2002. they learned through phone records that on the night of the murder, michel paged yolanda at three in the morning. but why? both michel and yolanda told police at the time he wanted to check on her sick daughter. >> he claims that he beeps her because he thought her daughter, yolanda's daughter, was sick. we later find out that her daughter is not sick. >> so there's no reason for a middle of the night communication? >> no reason whatsoever. >> when the civil case finally went to trial, escoto got so roughed up that on the second day he was a no-show in court. wendy's mother got the insurance money and prosecutors got to hear first hand about his constantly shifting stories. >> the state attorney sat in the courtroom and was taking notes. >> did you have a little chit-chat in the hallway outside? >> we did. >> what did you say? >> this is your case. you have all the evidence right now. of course, we gave them the deposition testimony and everything. we had everything outlined. >> michel escoto was arrested three days after his court no show and was charged with the murder of his bride, wendy trapaga. police still thought they needed more and fixed their eyes on the girlfriend, yolanda sirrio. >> i knew eventually as time goes by that that relationship would deteriorate. >> why did you think that? >> if they have that secret amongst each other, that was going to be a friction point in their relationship. >> too corrosive a secret? >> yes, yes. >> how do you reel her in? >> time. time. time changes relationships. >> and it did. in 2006, one year after michel was arrested, yolanda and her attorney went to prosecutors and said, let's make a deal. she got full immunity in exchange for telling how she helped michel that night. >> she came into the state attorney's office and explained that she did take him away from the crime scene. >> so that's a great story to tell a jury. >> yes. that's it. >> police may not have had a murder weapon or helpful forensic clues but now they had yolanda, who was about to give her version of that night. it was cold hearted and calculating. >> coming up, an arrest, and a witness who was there. it's not the end of the story but the beginning of a whole new drama that would play out in court. every story has two sides, especially when it's a lover's triangle. >> i don't put it past her as being a person who would have committed this crime. >> and should a spurned lover be believed anyway? >> he said calm down. it was all a plan, that he didn't love her. he loved me. >> things were heating up. kale, kale kale. carrots mm... beta carotene. yes, i like it. listo. mmmm. mmmm. mmmm. i feel healthier already. me too. fitness in real life. now that's the good stuff. alwhen your symptoms start... distracting you? doctors recommend taking ...non-drowsy claritin every day of your allergy season. claritin provides powerful, non-drowsy 24 hour relief... for fewer interruptions from the amazing things you do every day. live claritin clear. i to the acidity in any foods.ht never thought about the coffee i was drinking having acids. it never dawned on me that it could hurt your teeth. he told me to use pronamel. it's going to help protect the enamel in your teeth. it allows me to continue to drink my coffee, and it was a real easy switch to make. sleep number beds with sleepiq technology give you the knowledge to adjust for the best sleep ever. it's the semi-annual sale! save $500 on the memorial day special edition mattress with sleepiq technology. only at a sleep number store. (music plays from one way or another )♪♪ ♪ i'm gonna find y♪ i'm gonna getcha ♪ ♪ getcha getcha getcha ♪ one way or another ♪ ♪ i'm gonna win ya ♪ i'm gonna getcha ♪ ♪ getcha getcha getcha ♪ one way or another ♪ ♪ i'm gonna see ya ♪ (inhales cigarette) >> nearly 12 years after the he pled not guilty to the first-degree charges. >> money is the root of this evil. >> prosecutors offered the most chilling detail of the case, he actually picked wendy to be his bride just so he could insure her life and kill her. >> he would prey on this unsuspecting 21-year-old girl and marry her. four days, four days after that marriage, this defendant bludgeoned and strangled wendy trapaga to death. >> among the first witnesses, wendy's heartbroken mother, miriam bonitas. speaking through an interpreter, the mother said she was shocked when she learned the couple had taken life insurance policies out on one another just before their marriage. >> translator: i did not feel good. i expressed to her, why insurance, they're not even married, they didn't have children. why insurance? >> on the stand, detective maria medero said she zeroed in on that insurance policy when she questioned escoto a day after the murder. >> i told him if he couldn't muster up a tear for his wife of four days to muster up a tear for the million dollars he was never going to see. >> what was his reaction? >> that lack of emotion was an indifference to wendy or a disregard for women in general. detectives say escoto was a man with a history of mooching off girlfriends. this former lover testified she supported escoto for years. >> how much money did you give him a month? >> approximately $1,500. >> go figure, the state said. for whatever reason, women threw gifts at escoto. one bought him the motorcycle, another a car. but still another former lover who also supported him for years would be the prosecution's star witness. >> yolanda serrio. >> the prosecution argued she was the girlfriend with intimate knowledge of how escoto carried out this brutal crime. she had been given immunity in exchange for her testimony here. wiping away tears she recounted how it all started, how she fell hard for the defendant she thought to be a charmer. >> have you ever had a man you could share your life with? >> i thought it was michel. >> only to realize he was dumping her for the younger, more attractive wendy. yolanda then said she confronted escoto in this restaurant parking lot and heard for the first time that his impending marriage to wendy was all a sham. that in the end he would come back to yolanda with pockets full of cash. >> he said to calm down. it was all a plan. that he didn't love her. he loved me. he was going to marry her. they were going to have an insurance policy and she was going to die. >> all right. so he told you he had a plan? >> yes. >> the plan was murder. it was during that conversation, yolanda told jurors, that she became a co-conspirator, not only helping escoto cover up his crime but also help him carry it out. this was the plan. on his wedding night, yolanda said he would drug and drown wendy. to make sure he got it right, yolanda admitted she took part in a grim dress rehearsal of what was meant to look like an accidental death. >> we filled up my tub and i got in the water. and he pushed me down with his hand. >> you let him push you under the water? >> yes. >> what did you say once he let you up? >> i told him that wouldn't work. >> why? >> because the force of him holding her down in the water would leave bruises. >> what did you suggest? >> i suggested he used a towel to hold her down. >> yolanda said she even helped him whip up a drug laced concoction to knock wendy out. >> he came over and he brought some percocet pills. and he and i started squishing them and -- in, i think it's a morter and pestle type thing. >> what was he going to do with the percocet pill that is you -- that you and he ground? >> he was going to give it to her so she would be drugged. >> and then drowned, said yolanda. the plan to kill wendy hit an unexpected snag. at the honeymoon hotel, wendy balked at the taste of the drugged cocktail. this time she drank the cocktail but for some reason he couldn't manage to drown her. yolanda recalled that escoto showed up at her place in the middle of the night with a dazed wendy in the front seat of the car. >> did you see anything in the passenger seat? >> i saw a movement. somebody inside the car. >> wendy was still alive. yolanda said escoto ordered her to follow him in her car. >> then what happened? >> he got out of the car, walked over to my car and he told me, drive around. give me 20, 25 minutes. >> eventually, yolanda said she spotted escoto again, walking down the street, splashed now in blood and carrying a tire iron. she said she drove him to the bay in downtown miami where he got out of the car with the weapon. >> and he threw the thing in the water. >> after dropping him off his apartment, she said, she took his bloody clothes and threw them in a dumpster. >> happy with yourself? >> no. worse. that's how i feel right now. >> is this about you? >> no, it's not. it's about a mother who loves her daughter and i have something to do with it. >> yolanda's time on the witness stand would get tougher still. two old lovers were about to face off in court. one defending himself and the other testifying against him. a roiling, boiling drama in real time. coming up, michel escoto acts as his own lawyer. >> this is harder than i thought it would be. >> and on the stand, his ex-lover, now the star witness against him in wendy's murder. >> did you wish she was dead? >> i wish it would go away. >> when "dateline" continues. i have asthma... ...one of many pieces in my life. so when my asthma symptoms kept coming back on my long-term control medicine. i talked to my doctor and found a missing piece in my asthma treatment with breo. once-daily breo prevents asthma symptoms. breo is for adults with asthma not well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. breo won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. breo opens up airways to help improve breathing for a full 24 hours. breo contains a type of medicine that increases the risk of death from asthma problems and may increase the risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. breo is not for people whose asthma is well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. once your asthma is well controlled, your doctor will decide if you can stop breo and prescribe a different asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. do not take breo more than prescribed. see your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. ask your doctor if 24-hour breo could be a missing piece for you. see if you're eligible for 12 months free at mybreo.com. we invited women to a spa to dish soap. body wash. you may not feel it, but some body washes can contain cleansers found in dish soap. dove body wash is different. it has only the gentlest cleansers. it just made me feel good. this is dove. what is freedom? yes, it's riding a horse across fields and stuff but it's mostly getting to watch your directv with unlimited data from at&t. we're setting families free. so they can stream away - and not squabble over who's using how much. so go, family. watch. freedom. seize the data! get unlimited data when you have at&t wireless and directv. switch and get up to $650 credits, per line. flip your way through your last 9 shows with the tap of a button. change the way you experience tv. xfinity x1. the state of florida had succeeded in painting michel escoto as a man who used women for money, a cad. then again, a cad is a far cry from a killer. >> i don't think he's a killer. i think there's problems with this evidence. >> you're not just saying that? >> i'm not just saying that. >> attorney terry lemonin stood as his counsel. he said, despite the teary theatrics, the state's case was weak from start to finish. there was no murder weapon, no blood, no dna linking the defendant to the crime, which is w maybe why michel, who already pled not guilty to the charges, did what many men facing a life in prison sentence would never dream of doing. he defended himself in court. >> i believe the evidence will show that only an imbecile and an imbecile in love with money would kill somebody four days after they were married to that person. >> what was lincoln's advice about a fool as a client? those who represent themselves? >> we'll see. >> wearing glasses, khakis, a sweater, and speaking in a soft voice, he seemed less like a killer and more like a geek. a hopeless novice, getting pummeled by the execution. >> judge, i'm telling him he was being sandbagged -- >> one time the newbie seemed near tears, another overwhelmed. >> wow, this is harder than i thought it was going to be. >> was this clutsy moment all about winning sympathy for the jury, the time he stumbled? >> sorry, twisted my ankle, judge. >> one particularly wince-worthy moment came when jorge barone, his nemesis from the failed insurance trial took the stand. under cross-examination by escoto, he explained just why it was he suspected escoto of killing his wife, wendy. >> you had been married her three days before you killed her, to get the life insurance. to me, that was very clear. >> judge, give me a second. i want to say something that i shouldn't. e. >> escoto lost it. >> objection. >> see all those guys. >> had mr. nerd inadvertently shown the jury the lava boiling within? that threat won a contempt of court citation from the judge. >> be quiet! >> what appeared to be near disaster for the defendant could be spun as a play to his advantage. >> i think one of the important advantages that he has here is that human connection that he's getting, standing up there. with every witness who says you're a murderer, you're this, you're that, him not backing down. he has never backed down. >> escoto, the hapless underdog, still needed to convince jurors he was not violent. especially when it came to women, wendy in particular. >> i'm going to be as gentle as i can, judge. >> he carefully questioned his former mother-in-law. he may have won points when he got her to admit that wendy had once confided this to a friend. >> she told her friend that she was content, that she loved you, mr. escoto. >> so did i. >> likewise, this former girlfriend and self-confessed sugar mama had to admit that he was never a violent bully. >> did i ever throw anything at you? >> no. >> did i ever punch you? >> no, no. >> did i ever slap you? >> no. >> did i ever throw you on the ground? >> no. >> more important, he wanted to show that the state's theory of the crime was a fairytale, starting with the idea that he drugged wendy. a pharmacologist testified that wendy had only small amounts of prescription narcotics in her blood when the autopsy was performed. >> the toxicology reports are consistent with normal doses that you would take of any of these medications. >> she wasn't heavily drugged as the state argued. >> she wasn't as incapacitated as you were led to believe? >> absolutely. that highly disputed. >> there was another problem with the state's theory. it had to do with how wendy died. >> if the assailant was left-handed began to strike her -- >> a medical examiner for the defense believed that extensive injuries indicated two killers, both right-handed. >> there are several impacts on the right side, which in an altercation suggests to me that the assailant is right-handed. >> and his michel escoto is left-handed, the implication for the jury is clear. he couldn't be the killer. what's more, a dna expert said she expected to find his dna on the victim's clothes. after all, they were husband and wife. but she found something more. >> there were several markers where his dna is not represented. >> dna traces for two different males, and get this, traces for a female. to standby lawyer terry, that could mean only one person. yolanda, who said she was with him before and after. >> who's got the gold-plated immunity? >> first thing to know about yolanda is that she's a liar. first, she knew nothing about the crime. then she said she did but only after the fact. the final story put yolanda front and center in planning the murder. >> lo and behold we have a story that comes about, about the drowning and the drugging and all this drama that i believe is rubbish. >> so what did make sense? a killer, he said, who hated wendy enough to pummel her so badly she was unrecognizable. and who fit that bill? >> i felt destroyed because she took you from me, yes. >> in a beyond weird courtroom exchange, escoto in cross-examination took on his former lover, yolanda. who mtded her poisonous resentment of wendy. >> i hated what she stood for. i didn't know who she was. i didn't -- i hated the whole situation. i hated that you left. >> and you wished she was dead? >> i wished she would go away. >> so, you see yolanda's hand in this directly? >> she's lying because she feels that's in her best interest. i don't put it past her as being a person who would have committed this crime. >> but would jurors see it that way? here is the critical moment of the trial, a chance for each side to sum up its case. and this potential tipping point, even michel escoto seemed to agree was no time for amateurs. coming up, the verdict. >> the years of waiting. the years of mourning her. we needed justice. >> if there's a hung jury, we may have to start over again. gs. but with nexgard, their flea and tick killer doesn't have to be. nexgard, the vet's #1 choice for dogs, is a delicious, beef-flavored chew that kills both fleas and ticks. so it's easy to give, easy to take. reported side effects include vomiting, itching, diarrhea, lethargy and lack of appetite. use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures. why mess around? for powerful flea and tick protection, ask your vet about nexgard. the #1 choice of vets for their dogs and yours. this yeardespicable,y amazing, wizarding second of your vacation count by staying where the adventure never ends. ♪ come with me now... two theme parks. spectacular resort hotels. more epic than ever. don't just vacation... ♪ whoa go with me now vacation like you mean it. universal orlando resort. go big with on-site hotel rates starting at just $120 per night. not yet. not yet! pull the peach! mmmm, yoplait. the labrador retriever and the golden retriever are very different. they eat, digest, and process energy differently. at royal canin, we developed over 200 precise formulas to transform every cat and dog into a magnificient animal. royal canin. all there's dancing and music in the dark. people are younger and better looking in the dark. see? people wear their most stylish and glamorous clothes in the dark. in the dark, people gain an irrational sense of invincibility. bowling is less sad, and making out is much more likely. so if all this good stuff happens in the dark, wouldn't you want a camera that can capture things... ...in the dark? the new galaxy s7 edge with low-light camera. ♪ unless you have allergies. then your eyes may see it differently. flonase is the first and only nasal spray approved to relieve both itchy, watery eyes and congestion. no other nasal allergy spray can say that. when we breathe in allergens our bodies react by over producing six key inflammatory substances that cause our symptoms. most allergy pills only control one substance. flonase controls six. and six is greater than one. more complete allergy relief. flonase. 6>1 changes everything. ===vo=== then: isis recruits.. from the bay area. an exclusive investigation. ==vo== --and the new plan to keep east bay drivers safe... after a rash of freeway shootings. ===close=== next on nbc bay area news. after a seven-week trial and testimony from almost 40 witnesses, the prosecutor and the defense attorney, in this case, michel escoto himself would get one last chance to talk to the jurors in closing arguments. the prosecutor acknowledged that they had to hold their nose in order to get his girlfriend yolanda to testify. >> i can't charge her. i would love to. but i can't. and she came in here and she filled in the details. she gave you the answers to questions that you have. >> when it was the defense's turn, escoto and his back-up attorney surprised the courtroom. >> you want him to take over as your counsel at this time? >> i would like to let him take over, judge. >> thank you, judge, i'm ready to proceed. >> for the first time in this trial, seasoned defense attorney would take over and urge the jurors to find reasonable doubt in the state's case. he jumped, attacking what he called the prosecutor's overselling of a mostly circumstantial case. >> this is a court of law. and no matter how much i scream as an advocate, no matter how much i wave my hands or say villain, villain, villain, bad, villain, it doesn't make it so. >> his strategy was to plant a seed of doubt in just one juror's mind. >> if there's a hung jury, we may have to start over again. >> then the case went to the jury. wendy's family, as they had done throughout the trial, gathered together once again and prayed. her mother hugged prosecutor gail levine, who pursued escoto so ferociously. >> she is my hero, without a doubt she is my hero. >> two and a half hours after the jury went out, cell phones started buzzing in the courthouse. so many years after wendy's murder. now, in moments, her family would know. >> the years of waiting. the years of mourning her, all of a sudden we're told the verdict is in. before i got to the courtroom i was already crying. i was shaking. >> wendy's family members held their breath. escoto appeared to do the same as the judge instructed the clerk to read the verdict. >> we the jury this 22nd day of april 2014 find the defendant michel escoto guilty of first-degree premeditated murder. >> michel sat stone-faced in his chair, his lips turned down in a grimace. for the family there were more tears but of a different kind. now sorrow, mixed with relief and satisfaction. wendy's mother dropped to her knees and gave thanks. for the detective, a 12-year-old case was now officially stamped closed. >> he'll never do this to another woman again. his lies and his charming and planning and evil plan will not affect another person. >> but there was someone the family felt had gotten away with murder, his girlfriend yolanda. her immunity deal meant she would never spend a day in jail. >> they're both monsters and psychopaths. >> i don't care at all how desperate, how insecure, how lacking in self respect you have. you're a mother. and you went ahead and planned out the death of another mother's daughter. >> but investigators said without yolanda, things might have turned out differently. >> people are going to be throwing their shoes at the tv screen at this point, detective. >> she gave us the additional thing that we needed to charge and keep and bring michel escoto to justice in this case. >> he gets a life sentence and she gets have a nice day. >> that's how it appears. in lieu of not having anybody held accountable for this, i'll take that. >> the family wasn't going to let yolanda off so easily. they sued her for the wrongful death of wendy and were awarded a $44 million judgment. though they had no expectations of ever seeing that kind of money. >> if she has to pay one cent a week, it's well worth it. as a reminder for the rest of her life, how she assisted that monster. >> just a few days ago, michel escoto was sentenced for the murder of his new bride. at the hearing he proclaimed his innocence to wendy's family. >> no matter how satisfaction this verdict has given any of you, an innocent person was convicted in this case. >> finally the family had a opportunity to address the man to killed wendy. >> justice is served. off to hell with you and good riddance. >> when wendy's mother spoke through a translator, there wasn't a dry eye in the courtroom. >> translator: some days many of you have daughters or sons. and you will receive a kiss from them. i have to go to the cemetery to put flowers on my daughter's tomb. >> judge marisa mendez gave escoto the mandatory sentence. >> life in prison without the possibility of parole. >> the only way he leaves prison is in a pine box. on the day escoto is found guilty, the family went to the sem ter -- cemetery to visit wendy. they sat on her grave and talked to her. >> i kind of just sat back and felt that i could breathe for the first time in so long and felt she was finally at peace. she can rest now. >> rest for wendy, the kind, young woman who loved animals and enjoyed playing dress-up and who fatally married a stranger,e right... dozens of firefighters are at the scene of a large fire that threatened an apartment complex. breaking news in san jose as dozens of firefighters are at the scene of a fire that threatens an apartment complex. >> that fire ripped through a san jose auto repair shop. the flames so big firefighters evacuated a neighboring apartment building as a precaution. firefighters were forced to keep a distance from the shop because the old brick building was in danger of chanollapsing complet. also in danger was a power line in danger of

Related Keywords

Miami , Florida , United States , South Beach , Miami Beach , South Miami , Florida Keys , Belgium , Orlando , Miami Beach City Hall , America , Belgian , Lester Holt , Gail Levine , Jorge Barone , Marisa Mendez , Michel Escoto , Ramone Santa Cruz , Gus Tobias , Dennis Murphy , Ramon Santa Cruz ,