Transcripts For KNTV Dateline NBC 20170227

Making disturbing calls wit a disguised voice. Its only a matter of time. Suddenly, rachael disappear and a desperate search began. You can see the vastness in all the various places that yo could conceal a body. Months went by, the case stalled, then investigators learned that the plot might be bigger and darker than they ev could have guessed. This is a very tantalizing thread that comes together. Absolutely. Whispers that rachael was t victim of something out of a hitchcock movie, a moment of pure evil. I looked in his face, what described as satan. And just maybe a second woman in the crosshairs. If the stories were true, then you had married a strange exactly. Im lester holt. And this is dateline. Heres Dennis Murphy with secrets of the snake river. Reporter in country so beautiful as the palouse, the wheat and bean fields running and down the bumps and hollows of Eastern Washington as far a the eye can see, its hard to imagine anything bad happening out here. But gaze, and listen closely, and sometimes youll uncover secrets in the shadows. Murder and betrayal as close a the stranger sleeping beside you. Here in the city of clarkston, 40year old single mom was raising her two young sons. She also had two older daughters. Rachael anderson was her name, just 5foot and a bit, and how susie jeppson enjoyed her company. We were just friends from t getgo. She was just spunky and fun. And she just loved to laugh. Reporter her grown were out of the house. Amber she was my everything. She was my hero. She just had a really fun spir about her. Ashley. She raised us, gave us everything we need. Taught us everything we needed to know. Reporter rachael had been married and divorced three tim when by the spring of 2009 a n man had entered the picture. She told me that shed met somebody. Theyd gone out on a date. And that she was very impresse because he wanted to have a blessing over the food that he and she thought that was just wonderful. Reporter a publicly christian man with a notorious gangsters last name, Charles Capone. I asked her out for dinner and we went to dinner and we found each other attractive. What made you laugh about her . How she looked at life, everything is to be absorbed. Everybody should have a good time, nobody should fight. Reporter what was going on in her life . I thought she was a brillia woman. I thought, oh, this womans focused, got direction, awesom reporter rachael told her daughters about charles. How devout, kind and handsome was and successful. He owned a busy auto repair sh up the road a ways in moscow, idaho. He did service on peoples cars for no charge to help, yo know, people who didnt have t money in the community. Reporter the new couple we soon regulars at sunday worshi and charles found himself with new business partner. She started helping me with the shop. She had that office totally changed around and working mor efficiently and saving me mone in just a matter of, you know, two months. Reporter rachael and charl dove headlong into a whirlwind romance. Introduced in may, they eloped in november. The newlyweds made their home rachaels place about 30 miles south of charles auto shop. Rachaels sons 6 year old gavi and 10 year old aiden lived wi them. We took the kids fishing. Theyd never been fishing before. Shed throw on camo and go hunting with the guys. Reporter but the thrill wa gone not more than a month aft the wedding. The couple went their separate ways. A lonely charles moved into hi shop for a while until a frien offered him a place to stay. Separated but their lives remained curiously entwined. Were talking all the time. Were either getting along or were not getting along. We could have one phone call that was, you know, just enjoyable, talking about thing that needed to be taken care o then have one phone call where were just going at each other. Reporter as winter turned spring in 2010 rachael and charles did have something to talk about. Strange, unsettling things wer happening to rachael. She told her friends someone w stalking her. We were talking late at night, and she got real panicked. And she said, i think theres somebody outside. Reporter and then came a rash of disturbing phone calls no caller i. D. , disguised voices. Its funny. You just dont get it. Reporter she gave her frie Jennifer Norberg the low down. What kinds of things were goin on with her . Phone calls. Distorted voices. Reporter creepy movie kind of stuff . Knowing where shes at in h house, which lights were on. Reporter not just i know where you are. You know you are in the bedroom right now . Um i know what time you came home last night and what time you left today. Just watching her every move. Its only a matte before we get your cell phone number. Reporter charles meanwhile told rachael he was getting th same kind of disturbing calls. And in april, it got worse. Rachaels vehicle was vandaliz more than once, tires slashed, windows broken. Charles volunteered to fix her car, even though they were living apart. He gave her a loaner suv to drive. Rachael was pretty sure who wa behind all the scary nonsense, guy shed gone out with a few times and had developed, she thought, an unhealthy thing about her. Rachael went to the county Sheriffs Office and told her story to captain dan hally. She was extremely frightene she believed an individual tha she had dated for a couple wee by the name of William Slemp, was the one stalking and harassing her. Reporter so when rachael left that day, what was the plan . . She was going to essentially put together the information she had and th meet again that friday. Reporter did you see her again, captain . I talked to her on the phone, but i never saw her again. Reporter not long after leaving the Sheriffs Office, rachael applied for a restraining order against William Slemp. It was the weekend, the two bo had visitation with their dads it wasnt until midmorning th following monday that people began to realize that something had gone very wrong. Rachaels daughter amber got a message that her mom hadnt shown up to work as a medical technician. Totally unlike her . Yeah, i knew immediately th it was bad. Reporter amber got word to sister ashley and they raced t their moms home. When there was no answer at th door, they called police. Captain hally dispatched his lead detective Jackie Nichols. There were several people i the front yard. Rachaels daughters, and they were frantic. I searched the house looking f any type of evidence. Reporter nothing, huh . No. The last time i had seen he she said i think this will end in my death. Where was Rachael Anderson . An allout search is about to set off a string of alarm bells. When we return, the first ominous clues. The vehicle was left unlock with her purse in plain sight with the keys sitting in plain sight. What woman leaves her purse behind . It was a bad sign. Or yellow stains on your clothes . Use new degree ultraclear black white. No white marks on black clothes. And no yellow stains on white. So your white clothes stay white. And your black clothes stay black. Choose degree ultraclear black white. It wont let you down. Have you tried the tissue test . Question, are my teeth yellow . Ugh, yellow. What do you use . Crest whitestrips crest 3d whitestrips whiten. 25 times better than a leading whitening toothpaste i passed the tissue test. Oh yeah. Crest whitestrips are the way to whiten you knmegared omega3s. But did you know your eyes, your brain, and your joints really love them too . Introducing megared advanced 4in1. 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Rachael andersons loved ones were filled with dread wh she failed to turn up for her job as a medical technician that monday morning in 2010. She would have never left h children. She would not have left her sons, not for a minute, not fo a day. Reporter investigators had few bear facts to work with. They knew rachael that friday meeting with asoti county sheriffs captain dan hally about the stalking incidents. Detectives c cell phone activity since a voice mail rachael left at 8 09 friday night. That meant rachael had been of the grid nearly three days. I knew there was something very, very wrong. Reporter youd swung into action . I had about a thousand flye printed at staples. Reporter monday afternoon Law Enforcement pinged rachaels cell phone and got a weak echo just across the snake river fr her home. We got a lot of people out into that field that night. Also used a bloodhound to do a live search. We were looking in trash ba and tarps and under bushes. We searched all night. By the time i got home my knee were bloody and my hands. Reporter the search was futile. Early the next day, tuesday, captain hally formed a regiona missing person task force. So whats on your white board . Whats on your agenda . William slemp. Reporter the former boyfriend. Other exboyfriends, exhusbands. Fam there had been a neighbor that lived across the street from rachael that had some suspicious behaviors. Hed ask rachael out on a date and shed turned him down. And then he left town very abruptly. I mean thats certainly suspect. Is he involved . Were c travel information. We checked every bus ticket th was sold that weekend. Reporter an early lead may have come when rachael talked sheriffs captain dan hally th week before. She told him that day she was terrified of the slemp guy messing with her, but the captain had a different stalki suspect in mind after rachael told him she was divorcing charles. So an early stop for investigators was charles sho so whos the guy you met . Easy going, you know, he wa very cordial. Hes being cooperative. I didnt have anything to hide. What was i g here he comes, driving up. Come on in. Reporter charles assured police he had nothing to do wi the stalking or damaging of he car. Youre not vandalizing the vehicle, youre in the scary walking her house . Absolutely not. Reporter did you slash her tires . Absolutely not. Reporter he told the cops was helping rachael get to the bottom of the harassment. He said the estranged couple together went out looking for the obsessed exboyfriend to sort him out. She tells me about him and go driving over to his house because theres a pay phone right near his house thats one of the pay phones that was making phone calls to her. Reporter you thought slemp was the stalker . I thought he was still involved with her because he h this huge crush on rachael. He tells me he was being a helpful guy and trying to help her figure out who is stalking her. Reporter charles went on t tell investigators he hadnt seen rachael since friday nigh when she stopped by to pick up her car. It wasnt ready. He describe how she was upset because hes working on her car. Reporter cha rachael then left to buy a computer. She couldnt find what she wanted, but returned with a six pack. They drank a o and she left. Whats the picture coming together for you . Im trying to keep all options open. Because i was concerned that s might have been impaired and driven off the road. Reporter a benign explanation to why shes gone missing. Right. Reporter but that theory later was doused when they found her suv at a store that doubled as a bus station not far from her house the vehicle was left unlock with her purse in plain sight with the keys in plain sight. Reporter what woman leaves her purse behind . It was a bad sign. Reporter and the detective had to consider another scenario. Had pretty 54 rachael 120 pounds soaking wet offered an easy target for an abduction b a straepger unknown . While detectives wer their official thing, rachaels loved ones were widening their increasingly desperate search all across the palouse. We were putting up flyers from here to colfax, east, wes north, south, we were out ever available minute. Reporter it was as though the palouse had just swallowed her up. Coming up finally a break, police learn there was somebody else with Charles Capone the night racha disappeared, but something doesnt add up. He provided a timeline for that evening, and it was different than Charles Capone timeline. When dateline continues. Reporter Rachael Anderson, mother of four, had vanished, and it was the job of captain dan hally and the missing Persons Task Force to find out what had happened to her. Rachael has not hopped a bus. No. Reporter shes not in anybodys emergency room . No. Thats correct. Reporter you suspect foul play. Light. Absolutely. Reporter the investigators working their way through a li men who wanted to be in rachaels life. There was the neighbor who tri to take her out and been turne down. He had an alibi. That left the old boyfriend named slemp, the one rachael said she was afraid of, but he could account for his whereabouts when rachael went missing. The former boyfriend was not playing out . Correct, yeah. Reporter you had to follow all those leads . Absolutely. As these threads started, we would follow them as we could, but Charles Capone was the one that never was a dead end. Reporter captain dan hally had been suspicious of charles ever since rachael stopped by make a stalking complaint abou the exboyfriend, but that sam day rachael had also told the captain she was in the midst o divorcing Charles Capone. The grounds . She said he tried to choke her. That was a huge red flag. Captain hally advised her to get a restraining order right away against her estranged husband. Rachael didnt want to hear that. She was agitated because i telling her that your soon to ex charles is doing this, not slemp. Reporter two days later th friday she vanished, the captains phone ra she called me and she told that she was going to see charles that night, she was going out to tell him that the were done. Reporter what did you tell her . I told her dont go. I said hes dangerous. Do not go up there. Reporter charles account that night was looking sketchy. The cops suspicions grew afte charles decided to stop cooperating. They suggest maybe you should downtown. Have a more formal conversation. On the 21st, thats correct. You don i talked to my attorney. He said have them contact me if they have any more questions. You dont havee. Reporter the car mechanic had a secret he knew the polic would uncover. It turned out that the publicl pious, prayoverhispancakes christian had a past that rachael and her family knew nothing about. A back story that included prison time for bank robbery a assault. But the onetime felon had apparently changed. Im going and doing everything that a normal perso does because i always feel lik okay, i paid my debt, let me g and move on and do something good and constructive. Reporter youre paying you taxes, mowing the lawn. Nice to be able to walk around with your head up. Reporter the cops werent sure and were now chasing down his friends, including his goo pal, david stone, a married hi School Baseball coach and employee at the moscow idaho maintenance department. To astonishment david volunteered that hed been hanging out wit charles and rachael at the garage the friday night she we missing. Thats absolutely reporter you got another g somebody with information. Immediately raises the questio why didnt Charles Capone ever mention david stone to me duri the entire time i interviewed him . Reporter three days after rachael was reported missing, the Task Force Detectives sat david stone down and grilled him. He provided a timeline for that evening, and it was different than Charles Capone timeline. Reporter the husbands friend told the cops rachael came by the shop about 5 00 p. And waited for charles to finish her car. David stone says he then left get some food at an a w and when he got back to the garage around 8 00, rachael was gone. Stone said he drove charles to local bar, swung by his home for a while, then went out lat to pick up many of the investigators knew david stone and his wife alisa. She worked in Moscow City Hall as a grants writer. Who was your dave, personality, charact . Someone that was very carin was a really good stepdad, wa on the volunteer fire department. Reporter Charles Capone, were they friends . Yes. Reporter did you know rachael . I now her only from church. Repor husband was at the garage that friday night and said nothing seemed amiss. What did he say was going on . He dropped charles off at mingles and there had been som interaction with rachael that wasnt happy and charles said wanted to have a drink and he dropped him off and he was goi to go back and pick him up and hed be home. Reporter intriguing perhap but the two friends mismatche stories did nothing to advance the cops case. With rachael still missing, there was no evidence an actua crime had even occurred. All they had were their suspicions about david stone and Charles Capone. So now you got two different versions. Two different versions. They were supposedly together but theyre telling two different stories. Reporter tangled somewhere in the differing accounts, the cops thought, there must be a buried clue about what had happened to rachael. Meantime, her heartbroken daughters did what they could fill the awful hours. Organizing searches, building web page and pressuring the police. We searched ditches, we searched, gosh, abandoned buildings, we searched yeah we put flyers in towns so that somebody would see her passing through. Their mom meant so much to them. And they did not want this to just become another cold case. Reporter the investigation was heading that way until the detectives revisited an early lead. A nefarious scheme, if true, hard to believe that something as evil as that could happen i the palouse. This is a very tantalizing thread that comes together. This is stuff of the movies . Absolutely. Coming up the case is about to go in an unthinkable direction. With the clock ticking, police realize another woman may also be a target. We wanted her to know that she was potentially in danger herself. Mom, i just saved a lot of money on my Car Insurance by switching to geico. I should take a closer look at geico. You know, geico can help you save money on your Homeowners Insurance too . 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But the investigation had stalled and was at an apparent dead end. No secret what the biggest obstacle was for lead investigators captain dan hall and detective Jackie Nichols. Its an axiom in Law Enforcement, no body, no crime. Its a challenge. At this point, we dont eve know for sure that we have a death. We believe that in our gut. Reporter as the cops dug deeper into the background of the husbands friend david stone, the case suddenly became way more complex. A mind blowing theory. Maybe this wasnt just about o wife, rachael. Maybe it was about two. The investigation had led them to the city maintenance yard where stone worked. A fellow employee there had related a conversation hed ha with david stone a while back. It surfaces that there had been some conversations betwee david stone and this individua about a plan to kill stones wife for 10,000. Reporter then stone, the story went, came back sometime later and told the maintenance yard guy to forget theyd talked. Hed arranged a plan b for murder. And later, that deal was canceled because stone had reached an agreement with Charles Capone that they would kill each others wives. Reporter ill kill your wi if youll kill mine. This is the stuff of the movie right. It is. Absolutely. Lets say that that youd like to get rid of your wife. Reporter to be specific, a 1950 Alfred Hitchcock thriller titled strangers on a train. In the movie two strangers eac agree to commit a murder for t other. They swap murders. Reporter did capone and stone each agree to do in the others wife . Could that be . Do you believe it . I think there was something to it. Because the plsz mrs. Stone is alive and well and among us. Did you talk to her . Yeah, there was. She is. Yes we did. Reporter boy, what a table conversation, huh . We wanted her to know th she was potentially in danger herself. Reporter you get some devastating news, but you continued to share a house wit him . I did. I remember many times when i would question david and say somethings not right. Reporter david stone was able to convince alisa that th cops had dreamed up the murder plot story as a way to put pressure on him to turn him against his friend. And putting pressure on that friend, Charles Capone, is wha happened next. Hed been found in possession a gun, a big nono for a forme felon. Capone was placed in the county jail while awaiting federal charges on a firearm violation. In a cell, the visiting detectives had his full attention. And i get this interesting visit from dan hally and Jackie Nichols. I essentially opened it up with today, charles, youre going to tell me you killed rachael and where her body is. His response was, well, you on got one of those right. I didnt kill her. Reporter if charles didnt kill her, who did . The investigators landed hard david stone, the only other person known to have been with rachael that night. And we confront him with, stone we know you got blood on your hands. His response was he just sat back and he said, i need a dri of water. Never denied it. But thats when then he wanted his attorney after that. Reporter with no reason to hold him, david stone was free to go home to wife alisa, the woman cops fear he wanted dead. But not charles. He was about to be put on ice. Five months after rachael disappeared, he pleaded guilty to the federal firearms charge and was sentenced to almost three years. So capone wasnt going anywher but still the Task Force Investigation focused on him a stone appeared to be at a dead end. The missing womans daughters were in limbo, too. It just went on for years. Years of one nightmare. Reporter as happens, racha became old news and the case receded from the headlines. Fresh cases demanded the attention of detective Jackie Nichols. No problem. She took to looking for rachae on her days off. As you look around here you can see the vastness of the countryside here and all the various places that you could conceal a body. Reporter and going up in t mountains, coulees and gorges. Mountains, ravines. We even did some searches base on psychic visions and dreams. Reporter oh really . Rachaels family at as much of dead end as the cops also turned desperately to the supernatura we did some pretty extreme things to find her. I even got hypnotized once to try to communicate with my mom not alive to have her tell was. I did everything i could possibly do. Reporter the hunt for the slightest trace of rachael continued for years. Meanwhile, david stone was on the street and by 2013 his fellow suspect buddy Charles Capone was about to be release from jail. We said, now is the time. We have to charge these guys. We have to charge them both. We know, we know that they did this crime. This case wasnt going to g any better. Reporter the idaho latah county prosecutor agreed and o may day 2013, three years afte rachael vanished, david stone and Charles Capone were charge with her murder. They pleaded not guilty. This case is all about smok and mirrors and convincing people from day one that i murdered my wife. Everyone please rise. Reporter in the preliminar hearing prosecutors laid out their theory of the crime, producing that maintenance yard worker who told the story about charles and davids alleged youll kil my wife, ill kill yours plan. Stones wife alisa hung on eve word. Frightening connections were being made in her head, and wi that came the sudden awful awareness that the Sheriffs Officers may have been right after all. Her husband did want her dead. She immediately filed for divorce. The pieces all came togethe for me. Reporter and theres this account of him going to a coworker and saying, ill giv you 10,000 bucks if youll kil my wife. You. What do you think of that stor that he was soliciting someone to kill you . Yeah, ill never know. Reporter this is beyond marital deceit. Oh yeah. Reporter if the stories we true, then you had married a stranger . Exactly. Reporter whos dave stone . Its a mystery to me at thi point. Some of the things that cam up in that preliminary hearing i looked like a monster. And im not. Coming up david stone tells a chilling tale of what he says happened the night rachael disappeared. I said what the [ bleep ] a you doing . And he looked at me and i look in his face and i describe as satan. When dateline continues. Your true self is never lost. Breathe deeply. You dont have to find yourself. Just let yourself in. The new atmosphere collection. Fine Home Fragrance by glade. Sc johnson, a family company. I. Prilosec otc 7 years ago,my doctor recommended. 5 years ago, last week. Just 1 pill each morning, 24 hours and zero heartburn. Its been the number 1 doctor recommended brand for 10. 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Reporter as the trial opened, the states case had zigzagged another unpredicted turn. The maintenance yard worker ha backpedaled on his murderforhire story and wouldnt testify to it. So now the jurors wouldnt hea of the juicy you kill my wife, ill kill yours plot. But rather, a straightforward and nonetheless terrifying sto of a lousy marriage turned fatal. County prosecuting attorney Bill Thompson and deputy prosecuting attorney mia vowel knew they had their work cut o for them. Our approach was convince t jury through the evidence not only that rachael was dead, bu theres only one person in thi world who could have been responsible for it, and thats Charles Capone. Reporter what was the biggest hill to climb in this . Because we didnt have a body, it was mostly a circumstantial case. Reporter mia vowels took t lead and called a parade of witnesses to convince the jury that rachael was indeed dead. A good mother. Had a good attitude toward family. Reporter her exhusband Dennis Plunkett had missed a call from her at 8 09 that friday night. And that was the last conta i ever had with her. Reporter rachaels two son testified theyd never seen their mother again after that friday. Have you seen your mom since . No. Reporter to show jurors ju how nasty charles and rachael divorce was, they played back some of those eerie stalking phone calls. Its funny. You just dont get it. Very concerned for her safety and wellbeing. Reporter captain dan hally testified that the defendant h been behind those headgame calls all along. Capone even admitted as much t him. He told me that he had been involved in the stalking and harassment. Yeah, i know she was afraid. Reporter ashley and amber, the daughters, recounted the terror of their moms ordeal. She had the feeling like he life was going to end, a dreadful feeling. Reporter the prosecutors zeroed in on charles characte Jennifer Norberg recalled what her friends neck looked like after charles allegedly attack rachael four months before she disappeared. I observed that she had som red, darkcolored marks on her neck. Reporter then prosecutors produced a business neighbor, actual eyewitness, who saw charles arguing with a woman outside his auto shop that fat night. She jumped out of the car, flailing her arms right up int his face. Raise your right hand to be sworn, please. Reporter so far the testimony was all appetizers before the prosecutors main course. Their headsnapping all or nothing star witness, none oth than charles good buddy, davi stone. No longer a codefendant for murder. Now the man pointing the accusing finger. Stone. Reporter stones journey t the witness stand began a year earlier during that preliminar hearing when capone whispered something to him. Charles leaned over to me a said, you shouldnt even be here. And i thought, how right you are, you son of a bitch. Reporter a shaken stone listened to the states mounti case against him and decided h wasnt going to take the fall for charles. The prosecution did a real good job in making me out to b a monster, and im not. Reporter they told you something like, we know there blood on your hands here. That was one of the things they said. Reporter in cop talk, they flipped you. They flipped you against him. They were going to give you consideration in exchange for your story. The cops had nothing to do with me telling the story. Reporter stone says there was no deal with the cops, rather his pastor convinced hi to come clean. Throughout numerous visits prayed in closing prayer that the truth would set me free. Reporter maybe so, but the prosecution counted on his testimony to put away his form friend away for a long, long time. Do you know the defendant, Charles Capone . I do. Hes sitting next to mr. Monso reporter once on the stand stone set off on his tale abou the events of friday, april 16 2010. I was inside the shop, and i id heard a noise. What kind of noise . Like a thud outside or a ba or something kind of loud. Reporter when he looked outside, a struggle. When i came around closer toward the back side of rachaels car, rachael was on her back, and charles he was o top of her strangling her. Was rachael moving . Very little. What did you say . I said what the [ bleep ] a you doing . And he turned around and he looked at me. Had a look in his face i had described as satan. And he told me shut the [ bleep ] up. Get hold of myself. Youre in this with me now. I know where your familys at. Why didnt you intervene at this point . Fear . What were you afraid of . Im watching somebody kill his wife. I dont know what hes going t do to me. Reporter the two men moved rachaels body into the shop. David stone testified they ditched the loaner vehicle rachael was driving at the Convenience Store bus depot ne her home and then returned to stones garage. After that stone said he went his job site and rounded up so old truck tire snow chains, li these. They wrapped up rachaels body. Once we placed rachael acro the chain, then we rolled her into the chain. Reporter then, he said, th two put rachaels trussedup, weighteddown body into his su with david stone at the wheel, they drove south and onto the red wolf bridge over the snake river. He just said stop i put the durango in park. Got out. Opened the hatch. We pulled rachael out. Went to the side of the bridge and threw her over the side. Reporter prosecutors interrupted stones narrative play for jurors a recording ma at the bridge. He was pulling the package out, and i assisted him, and w proceeded to the side of the wall here and threw the packag over the side. And what was in the package the body of rachael anderso reporter into the fast moving river, never to be seen again. What would the jury make of th man giving them such Critical Evidence . The playbyplay of the crime itself . You know theyre going to hate this guy. Thats the reality of the case. Reporter did it matter whether the jury sat in moral judgment of your star witness, mia . No. They wont like that he didnt intervene and that he helped dispose of her body, but that doesnt change the fact that h witnessed what he did. Reporter as the state rested, it looked, ironically, as though its star witness wou prove to be the best thing the defense had going for it. David stone. Would the jury believe a word said . Coming up and what about the other man a the center of this case . Though he wont take the stand Charles Capone takes the tough questions from us. This whole thread of this thin ill kill your wife if youll kill mine, did that happen . Make the most of a few minutes with instant moisture from ky ultragel. You may find yourselves in quandary about what actually happened. Reporter Charles Capones defense team had to convince t jury that their client hadnt strangled his estranged wife, rachael, and tossed her body into the snake river with the help of his friend david stone. Charles had maintained his innocence. This is this just cant whats going on in life right now. I cant be at this point right now sitting here with with guy from dateline and the guy from dateline is here because of what is believed to have happened by t authorities on that friday night. His attorneys strategy was threefold discredit the buddys damning eyewitness testimony, sow reasonable doubt about the states evidence and offer alternate suspects. Right off the bat they suggest to the jury that there was another person who just might have had a hand in rachaels disappearance. Maybe that infatuated onetime boyfriend, William Slemp. Slemp died before the case cam to trial so the defense attorn asked daughter amber what she knew about him. Did you also, in your conversation with your mother, consider another person as bei the suspect . Yes. And was that William Slemp . Yes. Reporter and was the boyfriend perceived as a menac the defense produced a request for a restraining order agains slemp that rachael had filled out. During crossexamination the defense got detective Jackie Nichols to concede another connection between rachael and slemp. I recall seeing letters fro William Slemp. Reporter after seeding the thought with jurors that maybe someone other than capone did it, the defense team turned it sights on the cops. All the things they hadnt fou in their investigation. For starters, there was no physical evidence recovered at charles garage. You didnt see any signs of struggle outside . Thats correct. Reporter and when cops recovered rachaels vehicle, there were fingerprints, but n capones. They didnt match anybody that was in the system. Reporter but attacking the evidence wouldnt be enough. Just as for the prosecution, t defense case lived or died on the credibility of david stone. During a grueling, daylong cross examination, charles lawyer attacked david stones veracity and his motives. David claimed he helped dispos of rachaels body, and then ke quiet all those years because was in fear of his life from charles, and yet they continued to pal around. Why did you keep that conta every day . Well, i kind of like to kno where someones at if im concerned about my safety. Reporter capones lawyer suggested that david stone was only out to save his own neck. And were you hoping for some leniency . And still am. Reporter hour after hour t lawyer hammered away at david, whod easily admitted to lying his way through any number of police interviews. Did you feel that your word might not be real good . I mean, based on the fact that i had been lying for 3 1 years . Wouldnt you . Reporter in the defense close, it came back again to a central question. Could the jury believe david stone . At the end of the day, what stone is telling you, it cant be true. There is no physical evidence any foul play anywhere at or near that shop. Reporter Charles Capone declined to testify in his own defense. And you feel comfortable in that decision . Yes, sir, i do. Reporter prosecutor Bill Thompson had the final word fo the state. Rachaels gone forever. He insured that her body, her physical essence, is also gone forever. But we cant let that allow hi to escape responsibility. Reporter after seven days testimony, the case went to th jury. Let me ask you that cut to the chase question. On friday that night at the garage, did you get her down o the ground, did you throttle your wife and kill her . I can tell you honestly, no. Its a lie. Its been portrayed as stuff that absolutely didnt take place. Ive done many things, you kno that im not proud of, you kno paid my dues, moved on, you know . Tried to be a better person. Reporter this whole thread of this thing, ill kill your wife if youll kill mine, did that happen . I cant answer that for you right now. Reporter you cant . I cant. Reporter capone says hes made mistakes along the way, but did not kill rachael. I dont have that in me. I dont have that i wanna care about people. I want to love on people. I dont want to take somebody life. You know, one officer, she say im a sociopath and i have no heart and i dont care. I havent suffered from this. Yeah, okay. Are you a sociopath . No, i dont believe so. Ive seen my share of psychologists and stuff like that and i think im pretty normal. I mean im just like most men, just make poor decisions. Charles was on top of racha strangling her. Reporter does why he tell the story in court that he doe because he sinks you. Because hes going to get charged with solicitation of murder. How much time was he gonna do for trying to hire somebody to kill his wife, you know . Wouldnt you have tried to get out of that . Reporter it took the juror nine hours to decide whether they believed david stones story. There was a verdict. Rachaels family and friends were called back to the courthouse. When the jury came in and w stood there it seemed like for an eternity. Madam clerk if you would re the verdict of the jury. You know, our hearts were pounding. The defendant charles antho capone guilty or not guilty of murder in first degree reporter the clerk read th jurys verdict. Guilty. It was like this weight just was lifted from everyone. Reporter rachaels daughte had waited 4 1 2 years for thi day. So you hear the words, huh . Its just bittersweet. Reporter youre not gettin your mom back at the end of this. No, uhuh. All this is protecting other women and children from being harmed by him. Reporter Charles Capone wi was sentenced to life without parole in february, 2015. David stone, who ultim pleaded guilty solely to failu to notify authorities of a dea was sentenced in october to three to seven years. I want to apologize to rachaels family. Reporter when we spoke with stone, he expressed remorse for what he had done . Its a day that i think about every day. And i will the rest of my life. If i could change it, sure would. Reporter why didnt you go get your phone and call 911 . You knew you had just witnesse a murder. I froze. And all the way up to that point, i thought he was my friend. Hit on your wife . Never. Reporter did you want her dead in those days . No. Reporter so where does thi story come from . Thats a good question. Reporter david stones former wife alisa still doesn know for sure if he wanted her dead. I bet there are very few people on earth that could put themselves in your shoes and even understand what youve be through, alisa. You know, ive been through lot but nothing compared to wh rachaels familys been throug i dont think my pain is comparable to what her daughte and sons have been through. At all. Reporter ever since the da in november 2013 when david stone gave his horrific tale t the cops there have been intensive searches made of the snake river below the red wolf bridge. Captain dan hally enlisted multiple agencies including th coast guard and volunteers wit specialized sonar to help. But the depths of the swiftmoving snake have yet to surrender rachaels body. Is she gone forever . I know were not going to give up. Hopefully we might still fi her remains. Reporter for the justice system, its case closed. But for those rachael left behind you know, theres no true justice. Doesnt bring her back. Reporter is there a new chapter opening up for you . Its just begun because whe i found out my mom was missing i fought tooth and nail, so di ashley, thats what we did. And so at this point, it feels like the fight is over. The grieving process for me ju begun because theres nothing left to fight for. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Im lester holt. Thanks for joining us. And the russia connection. President trump thrills supporters with his attacks on the press. A few days ago i called the fake news the enemy of the people and they are. They are the enemy of the people. But could his media attacks be designed to distract attention from those disturbing russia stories that just wont go away . Ill ask republican tom carton of arkansas who sits on the Senate Intelligence committee. Also, those angry town halls. Can republicans afford to ignore the growing opposition to repealing and replacing obamacare . Plus, meet the new boss. Former labor secretary tom perez elected the head of the democratic party. Where were you in 2017 when we had the worst president in the history of the United States . But the partys growing progressive wing is not happy. Ill talk to tom perez about healing a divided party, and our brand new nbc news wall street journal poll. The bad news for president trump, an Approval Rating at a historic low. The good news, his supporters are as enthusiastic as ever. Joining me for insight and analysis are Jerry Gerry Saa ebb of the wall street journal, Helene Cooper of the new york times, and Eliana Johnson of politico. Welcome to sunday. Its meet the press qwest qwest. From nbc news in washington, the longestrunning show in television history, celebrating its 70th year this is meet the press press with chuck todd. Good sunday morning. The president s Approval Rating stands at 44 with 48 disapproving. That is the lowest rating ever recorded in our poll at this early stage of a presidency. It took president obama 32 months to fall into negative territory and george bush 42 months to fall under rocky water. Mr. Trumps Approval Rating suggests a durable floor of support for him. That support comes almost entirely from republicans who approve of the president by 86 and democrats disapprove by exactly 86 to 9. It is independences that put him under water. They disapprove by a ninepoint margin, 38 to 47. One issue that doesnt seem to hurt the president right now at least in the eyes of his supporters are the reported ties he and his aides may or may not have with russia. Whenever stories break on tha