Transcripts For KPNX Dateline NBC 20161106

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i know she pleaded. >> this is like a movie, this chase and this kidnapping. >> oh yeah. >> emotions are just everywhere. >> i can still feel the pain. >> did you find her? is she alive? >> in this southern city linked to this president and first lady, there was another lady making a name for herself in little rock, arkansas. >> she had a billboard on one of the busiest interstates. >> as a top selling realtor, beverly carter had become somewhat of a local celebrity. with her infectious smile he put house hunters at ease, trusted to find the perfect home, she often did. >> beverly was awesome. nobody could do it like beverly could. >> this realtor had a target on her back and she didn't know it. >> for beverly, being a realtor was more than just closing a deal. >> was she in the perfect job for her personality? >> absolutely. >> yes, yes. >> her sons chad and carl, jr., and carl, jr.'s wife kim were always amazed at how much their mom's clients loved her. >> one of her client she is had gone to their wedding and went to a baby shower so she just sold them a house. it was a newer client and i think that spefo >> she had a nice smile. >> a beautiful smile and a laugh that would fill a room. >> and she was hands down the most genuine person you ever met. >> chad, beverly's youngest son, said it was like his mom glowed? >> she was very radient that's what spoke out to people, that confidence. people noticed, obviously she was naturally beautiful. >> it was that natural beauty that caught the eye of her husband carl. they met when they were just >> she was 16, i was 19. >> where did you meet her? >> texas. she was working at a hamburger joint. i said wow, did i know i was going to get a wife when i got up there and got me a hamburger? >> you just knew? >> right there. >> a wedding soon followed, a quick stop at city hall. >> it was a very small wedding but she loved me and i loved we thought it was love, anyway. >> their young love led to three children, all boys, and later six grandchildren. they had their share of marital problems, including money issues and infidelity. but they worked them out. so when their 20th anniversary rolled around, they decided to renew their vows and throw a big party. >> i just asked her, i said how about you -- would you marry me again if i asked you to? i says, okay. >> you know, they wanted to renew their love and show everybody and it was a way for her to get her dream wedding. >> a few years after that she got her real estate license and her best friends, stacy, brenda, and denice say it didn't take long for beverly to build a loyal clientele. did she sell a lot of properties? >> she was the on listing and selling agent in 2013. she did over $12 million which in central arkansas is very well. >> what was it that made her so her. she had such a bubbly personality that it made you fall in love with the house. >> the women worked together in the same office although they say it felt more like play than work. >> we would laugh at anything. you know how it is when you get together with your girlfriends, you talk about things that are personal or that you find funny? we would tell stories. she had this huge goofy laugh that you could hear all the way for each other. their office came up with a secret code, a text that signalled was trouble. >> so red folder was the code. >> do you have to red folder on 123 main street? >> a code they'd hoped they never have to use. as her 50th birthday approached, beverly was determined to get shape. she started running, working her way up to 5k races. >> the reason she started running some of the times was the medals. she had this fascination about the medals and she would show us a picture of it and go "don't you want to go with us? look at this medal." >> she lost nearly 60 pounds and threw herself a big birthday party and she gave herself a present -- cosmetic surgery. >> she'd had the tummy tuck but she also had implants because she'd had a lift and it was kind of a big joke because the implants were a little larger >> we had big laughs and she was going to have them reduced because she was like -- i mean, they hadn't fallen and they were sitting up here. >> but she did look good. >> she looked fabulous. >> being a real estate agent, she felt it was important to look her best. on an unseasonably warm september day in 2014, beverly was easing back into work. brenda remembers beverly telling her she was going to show a house not far from her home. the potential buyers were offering cash. >> she really didn't want to go. she was tired but hoping she'd be able to get a fast close because if it's a cash close you can close it quicker. >> so this is an everyday run-of-the-mill showing? >> a no brainer. >> beverly left the office and headed off the to show the property to a young couple. she told her husband she'd be home for dinner. but you didn't hear from her? >> uh-huh. >> carl says he started to worry. beverly had given him the address so he decided to take a will be there. >> beverly was not in the house? >> no. >> this was panic time for you? >> beverly wouldn't leave unless she was in her car. >> do you call the police? >> yes, instantly. >> that call set off a frantic search for beverly carter. where was she? when we come back, what had >> all of a sudden beverly texted me, bam, bam, bam. >> our phones started beeping at the same time with text and she said "i'm sorry, my phone had been dead." >> was this a simple miscommunication? the mystery was just beginning. >> i still can feel the same pain. pain. you know what, don't worry about it. , i switched to tide pods. they're super concentrated, so i get a better clean. i mean, i give away water for free. i'm not about to pay for it in my detergent. tide. number one rated. it's got to be tide upgrade season's here. i got my new iphone 7 from sprint. sprint? i'm hearing good things about the network. all the networks are great now. we're talking within a 1% difference in reliability of each other. and, sprint saves you 50% on most current oday, would you really pay twice as much? 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[ music continues ] migraines aren't just bad headaches. they steal moments from my life. that's why i use excedrin. it starts to relieve migraine pain in just 30 minutes. and it works on sensitivity to light, it works fast, and lasts for hours. excedrin specializes in treating migraines. which is why moments lost to migraines are moments gained with excedrin. #1 neurologist recommended. carl carter was worried about his wife beverly. she promised to be home for dinner after showing this house not too far away. but it was dark now, she wasn't answering her phone and at the property for sale, her car was in the driveway but there was no sign of her. carl says he called the police. then, his son. >> he says, it's almost 9:00, he says, son, i haven't heard from your mom. have you heard from her? i'm calling her and i can't get any response. and my first thought was, dad, this is just the nature of the business. >> to reassure his dad and himself, carl jr. and his wife kim drove over to beverly's office hoping she'd be there. >> there was no one there. the place is completely black and about that time dad had let me know that he had made it to the property where mom told him she was going and her car was there but she wasn't. >> carl jr. figure there had as did beverly's friend stacy and brenda. being real estate agents themselves, they thought maybe she had gone with potential buyers to show them other houses. >> we went to the two vacant houses that were beverly's listings and checked the lock boxes and read them to see if anybody had opened them and nobody opened them. >> as the hours ticked by, beverly's friend denice couldn't sleep so she checked her phone. >> there was an e-mail from brenda and i can still see the very heavy heart that i let you know that we can't fine beverly, she went to show a house and she is missing." i still can read that and feel the same pain. >> police and beverly's family gathered at the property, trying to figure out where she was. how was your dad handling everything? >> i felt like he was hard to read. he would sneak away from time to time, collect his thoughts. >> then, around 1:00 a.m. -- >> i all of a sudden bam, bam, i hollered at the officer, i said "come here, beverly texted me." >> word that beverly was texting gave everyone hope. >> i was ecstatic, this is good, her phone has died. >> across town, brenda and stacy got texts of their own. >> our phones started beeping at the same time with texts. >> and it was -- >> like such an eerie feeling. i was just like oh, my gosh. >> what was she saying to you two? it back on." >> it sounded promising but a little off. concerned, brenda used the safety check the office had come up with. she texted beverly the special code. i said can you tell me if you left the red folder on my desk? >> if beverly was in trouble, she would know to text back her location. there was no response. >> the one that i got was "out having drinks with friends." and i was like going, well, >> the texts on beverly's husband's phone were just as deflating. they read "yes, sorry, phone been dead. having drinks now." carl jr. knew his mom would never go out and not tell anyone. >> i can't even tell you. to go from this she's okay, this is all over to the second we saw that screen and saw what those texts said we knew. someone has her phone. >> totally flipped me out. i said she's been took. responded to the call decided they needed backup. detective jeff allison rushed over to the property. >> beverly hadn't been missing for that long so why were you called that quickly? >> patrol division showed up and started speaking with the husband and determined that some of the factors in the case were odd. >> not only was beverly's car parked in the driveway, her purse was locked inside. >> did you have a grim feeling out of the gate that this woman did not disappear voluntarily? >> i was hopeful but i did have a feeling, yes. >> the detectives searched the vacant house. it was pitch black, the electricity was off. >> i got down on the floor and with my flashlight when it's dark you can shine a light at a specific angle, you can see disturbances in dust, there were disturbances but it just looked like somebody had walked through there. >> no signs of a struggle inside, but he did discover a clue outside the front door. >> there was a tire track in the it looked like somebody pulled up next to the front door or into the back door. >> the neighbor across the street had seen something? >> yes, she looked out the window and saw a black vehicle pulled into the driveway and 25 to 30 minutes later looked outside, saw a skinny white male with short hair outside of the house with a vehicle backed to the front door. put two and two together and that's probably where the tire track came from. >> the detective found more to go on in the back of beverly's car. >> i found a notebook she kept with realtnf that showed a listing for that house. >> was there anything in that notebook that was providing you with any clues? >> attached to that listing was an e-mail address and a phone number. >> did you call it right away. >> i do not call it right away, no. >> he didn't pick up the phone for a good reason -- the detective had a theory. >> i felt that beverly, wherever she was, she was being held against her will. >> if this was a kidnapping, he knew they had to tread lightly with any possible suspects. like the couple she'd met at the if they were involved, the last thing he wanted to do was tip them off. and the detective says there was someone else he had his eye on. coming up -- >> people were saying, oh, the husband must have had something to do with it. >> they were asking questions like, okay, you're the husband and you just completely contaminated our crime scene. why did you do that? >> i knew that i was a suspect. >> when "dateline" c ain brands. so you get more "life" per roll. bounty. the long-lasting quicker picker upper. try...duo fusion 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believe that everything you need should be within reach. that anything that matches your taste can match your budget. that green living doesn't have to cost much green. we believe that you should always have room for the little things. and that your dream kitchen should work as hard as you do. as the sun rose the next morning, there was still no sign of beverly carter. her family and friends were out searching. >> we had beautiful 8 x 10 color flyers that we were posting everywhere. >> she had just had new head shots done. >> we had hundreds. >> and hundreds of people joined search parties all over the area. >> her family, her office family, came together and we had realtors from all over the state helping us. an assignment. >> many realtors felt this was personal. one of their own, while out doing her job, had gone missing. and agents were already on alert. in recent years, there'd been a rise in crimes against real estate brokers across the country. brutal assaults and even murder. how often do you talk about safety? >> i mean, we always talked about it but a lot of times if somebody would call and ask us to go show a house it was out of instinct sometimes you would jump up an. >> but this was not a last-minute showing for beverly. brenda said she'd been in contact with the clients for a few days. >> she did have some concerns initially because it was a man who contacted her. she wanted to make sure the wife was going to be there also. she wanted to show them both at the same time. >> the deal was made both parties would be there? >> i think it made her feel more comfortable the wife would be with him and the wife got on the telephone and told her yes, she would be there. beverly knew well. she felt very comfortable in this area? >> that was her stomping ground. >> she had sold several houses on that street so she was very familiar with that area. >> her pastor lived on that street. >> and that street was now a crime scene. news stations helped get the word out. >> an arkansas real estate agent remains missing this evening. >> did this become immediately the lead story on every newscast? >> every newscast, all kinds of feedback from viewers. biggest story on facebook. viewers immediately latched on to it. >> shannon miller covered the story for nbc affiliate kark. a local obsession. people were saying the husband had something to do with it. we all watch a lot of date line. karl junior, so worried about his mom. now feared his dad could become a suspect. >> they were asking questions like, okay, you're the husband and you just went into this home and to search for her, got up in the attic. your fingerprints are everywhere. you just completely con tam nalted crime scene. why did you do that. so you could just see the wheels turning and just like oh, no. he was priegt to worry. he brought karl senior in for questioning. >> put him in the an interview room and treated him like in is someone we need to >> you are down in the detective office in an interview room and i'm giving an interview. did you know why you were considered somebody they needed to talk to. >> well, if i got in there and i talked quickly, then i knew that i was a suspect. as detecti a carl: discovered cell skeletons. >> they were having financial issues. >> how much money did beverly have in her checking county. >> not much. >> $126. >> sounds about right. >> was there a life insurance policy. >> yes. i don't remember the exact dollar amount. >> the detective also learned about other that was troubling. carl says he got with beverly when she tried to stop him from driving drunk. >> i even hit her one time. that's when she got out of the truck. i said stay here then. i just drove off. just straight into a ditch. >> did you regret it. >> oh, yeah. i so doid you worry how that would look. >> no, i didn't worry a bit. wanted to find beverly. one thing. i wanted to find beverly. said, you know, i hit her. this one time out of 34 years one slap up side the head, that is bad. >> he said that was many years ago and against him. >> she forgave me right then. she knew i wasn't mean. >> he wasn't ready to cross carl off his list. more work to do. e-mail and prospective buyers were fake. he had a new clue to follow. a cell carrier retrieved eerie foefts from her phone taken inside the house just befo what had happened inside that house. an all-out manhunt. >> it's like a movie. it's a chase and i didn't really know anything about my family history. went to ancestry, i put in the names of my grandparents first. i got a leaf right away. a leaf is a hint that is connected to each person in your family tree. i learned that my ten times great grandmother is george washington's aunt. within a few days i went from knowing almost nothing to holy crow, this is my cousin george. discover your story. start searching for free now at ancestry.com ? ? ? this is the time ? ? the time for harmony ? ? let love be the song ? ? that everybody sings ? s.c. johnson. 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everything on her phone and there was one thing that caught investigator's attention, these bury and dark pictures she took of the house she was trying to sell. not exactly showcase material. and when her daughter-in-law had a chance to see them -- you have a theory about why they're badly taken photos? >> you can just tell that it was, like, quick, just quick. i knew she knew something was wrong. >> she thinks beverly was scared of the buyers and was in a rush. it was all bad news, beverly carter had been missing for three days. >> i'd never felt that kind of loss of control. you feel utterly hopeless. >> and helpless. >> yes. you can't do anything. >> yes. >> what they didn't know was the team kept investigating. >> they were able to take the e-mail address and sending out search warrants and obtain subscriber information to those e-mail and phone number. >> did names pop up? >> yes. >> their real names? arron lewis and his wife crystal lowery. police rushed over to put the house under surveillance. this was a delicate operation. >> yes, we were working with the expectation and hope she was still aliv wasn't sure if the couple was even involved. he first wanted to see what arron lewis looked like. remember, their eyewitness had seen a skinny white man with short brown hair the night beverly disappeared. they hadn't been sitting there long when suddenly a man matching that description walked out the door. but they didn't approach him. were you hoping he might lead you to beverly? >> yes. we felt like if we made contact with him too early, if he was >> lewis got into his car and that's when the detective says the plan quickly fell apart. >> he saw us sitting there so that's when he started speeding off. >> he knew you were following him? >> oh, yeah, yeah. he went around a 90-degree corner and wrecked and was out of the vehicle by the time we went around the corner and saw him. >> lewis was injured. police photographed him and rushed him to the hospital. >> we're not allowed to go back with them while they're getting is sitting out waiting for the treatment and when they take arron back to get mri or c.a.t. scan or whatever they're doing, he decides to leave the hospital. >> arron doesn't come back? >> he doesn't come back. >> arron lewis bolted from the hospital. what seemed the closest link to beverly carter had slipped through their fingers. police launched a city-wide manhunt. was that one of the first things you did, get his photo out to the news media? >> yes. >> everybody knows you have to stake. >> right. >> reporter shannon miller remembers her station cut into programming with the breaking news. >> authorities are searching far man wanted for kidnapping beverly carter, a realtor. >> was the whole city glued to their tv sets as the hunt for this individual was on? >> absolutely. so many people knew this picture, knew this face. >> and everyone was on the lookout. ben boyette and conan waters, managers at a mortgagepa who knew beverly from real estate deals were discussing the case in their office. >> as we're standing inside this room looking out with the window open arron lewis walks in front of the window. >> ben immediately called 911. >> 911? >> i'm sitting over here, they're looking for a guy here that was involved in the realtor being kidnapped? and this guy looks like he is nervous and he's out here at a bus stop. lewis. >> i approached him and he was a little standoffish so i made quick conversation about the bus routes and the times which put him at ease and i thanked him for his time and i walked away and went back inside and told my colleagues absolutely that is arron lewis without a doubt. >> they spotted lewis ducking into a subway sandwich shop. he's caught on a security camera. and when lewis left. >> someone from a distance outside had made the comment "hey, i think that's him." >> lewis took off across the street towards this apartment complex. >> maybe five people chasing him. we knew we were in different areas. we were confident where he was and luckily for us as soon as we turned the corner we saw the police coming in. >> when the police get there, arron takes off running into an apartment. and jumps out of a second-story window before he's taken into custody. >> seems like a movie -- chase and kidnapping. did it feel like that? >> oh, yeah. >> the cops finally had a suspect and what he revealed would send detectives on a hair-rising drive to find the missing real estate agent. coming up, a haunting recording. >> i want to let you know i'm okay. i haven't been hurt. >> could beverly still be alive? >> i had hope. you have to, it's what keeps you going. >> when "dateline" continues. the easiest decision you'll make all week is to shop kohl's this weekend because kohl's will give you tax break savings with an extra 10 percent off and an extra 10 dollars off your purchase of 25 dollars or more! police had a suspect in custody, his name was driver who'd been convicted of petty crimes in several states. i can remember the feeling when he was captured. just like where is she. where are you. we're ready to find you. investigators focused on aron suspect. >> biggest task was to find out where beverly is. >> biggest concern at the time. >> where was beverly. >> said he kidnapped beverly because of money. found her on the internet. searched her out. saw that she was a broker and felt like she had money. lewis described in detail what he claimed happened. he said when he contacted beverly about the house showing. she told him she didn't feel comfortable meeting just him so he got his wife crystal on phone to say she would be there too. aaron shows up and makes an excuse as to why crystal didn't come. aron tells me he had her take photographs with the phone. that's why the photos were dark and blurry. asked her to send them to crystal since she couldn't be there. stairs and pulled out a flashlight taser is and told her she was about to have a bad day. she asked, what are you talking about he said you're being kidnapped. >> beverly must have been terrified. >> no doubt. >> lewis claimed he had an accomplice. not his wife. it was someone else. >> if anything happened to beverly, trevor done it. >> who is trevor. >> trevor is a guy he lived with >> did this give you hope there was an accomplice here and he did have beverly. >> i had hoped we were going to find beverly alive. you have to. that's what keeps you going. lewis said the last time he saw beverly she was with trevor. then offered evidence that she might still be alive. lewis play add recording from his phone. it was chilling. >> carl, it's beverly. just do what he says. please don't call the police. if you call the police it could be bad. i love you very much. >> it was encouraging, but only proved beverly was alive at the time of the recording. the detective told lewis he needed more. >> he said i'll take you to the last place she was. >> this is a big moment now. >> yes. >> in this whole case. >> yes. >> in is it. >> yes. >> that's when we load him up and start going to arkansas. >> beverly's family prayed the nightmare was about to end. >> yes, we knew that after we had him and were interrogating him. >> that was a big boost of energy. it was so uplifting. we're like okay we're about to get her back. that's great. >> is everyone just sitting by the phone waiting for the call. we got her. biting road trip 30 miles out of town to the last place he claimed to to have seen beverly alive. a shed on the side of the road. >> what are you thinking as your approach tlg shed. there's a really good chance she could be here or not so sure. >> i'm hoping like hell she's in there. we go in there. she wasn't in there. she never had been in there. >> that's such a letdown. >> tell me about it. it was bad. bad, but lewis wasn't done. he had a captain ichiro audience and knew it. he took the police to a new location. a house 35 miles away. >> he said well this is where i initially took her after i duct abducted her. >> walked in. there was nothing. >> another letdown. >> yes. >> are you feeling like this guy is taking us on a wild goose chase. >> yes. i was so mad i couldn't drive detective. >> woman's life could be at stake and he's messing with the police. >> playing games. >> while lewis was leading detectives on a wild goose chase, another cop tracked down trevor. the man lewis claimed was an accomplice. figured out he was in the military. signed at the little rock air force base. did make contact with him. interviewed him. interrogate interrogated trevor for several hours. >> he had an iron plaid all by. >> absolutely. confirmed through his job through the air force base with the office of special investigation that we was on base that day. >> lies after lies. there was no accomplice. neither location turned up anything. police were running out of options and then detective alison thought of one more possibility. i point-blank asked him if beverlily was at argos. when i said that he looked up and had a stupid look on his face. i figured right then that's where she was at. police raced over to the factory hoping to find beverly alive. another game from aaron lewis. >> i was so mad. i thought how dare you try to tarnish or sweet beverly's reputation and at last an answer for beverly's family. >> said we found beverly. r wee? they realized then, it's not the label that flatters, 100% cleaning power of tide. ??why get your eyes checked the old fashioned way, when lenscrafters can digitally map them for you. introducing clarifye, no other eye-exam is more precise. you live a portable life. new dannon oikos nonfat yogurt drink fits right in it. with 10 grams of protein... and zero added sugar, zero artificial sweeteners, zero fat. just what you need to help keep you going. new oikos yogurt drink. be unstoppably you. ?? don't let the food you eat during the day haunt you at night. nexium 24hr... shuts down your stomach's active 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find her. we just tried to do right and it wasn't enough. >> i know she pleaded. i know she pleaded for her life and to be sent to come back to us and for her grand babies and i had to comfort them. >> arron was charged with murder and kidnapping and his wiefl crystal lowery charged as his accomplice. they pleaded not guilty. his words to shannon miller outside those of the sheriff's office didn't sound like an innocent man. >> why beverly? >> she was a rich broker. >> it was just as chilling in person as it was on tv and he gets into the car and you're >> two weeks later, shannon interviewed lewis in jail and he told a vastly different story from the one he told detectives. was he willing to cop to anything? >> no. >> i didn't kill her. i didn't murder her. and anything that did occur was an accident. >> then he tried to say beverly played a role in her own death. he implied she willingly met him at the house for a sexual hookup that went wrong. with her showing the home. just a place to meet >> in your opinion, how far-fetched was this news story about the sexual encounter? >> it was 100% made up so it was completely far-fetched. >> assistant district attorney john johnson was assigned the case. he believed it was a kidnapping gone wrong but needed help proving it in court. he turned to lewis' wife, crystal lowery. >> i thought from the very important for the case for her to testify. >> he made a deal with crystal. she agreed to testify against her husband and plead guilty to murder in kidnapping in exchange for a reduced sentence of 30 years. >> it's good for the jury to be able to hear the back story of what went on and the why of what went on. >> in january arron lewis went on trial. the prosecution's star witness, details. she claimed it was all about money not sex. >> she said he came up with the idea of kidnapping someone but she went so far as to suggest real estate agents. >> she testified she was in class at nursing school when lewis abducted beverly. >> she got a text from arron lewis saying "look at this" or something like that. and it was a picture of miss carter bound in the trunk of the car. the house. >> she told the jury when she got home beverly was locked in their bathroom and what she said next showed how little thought went into this plan. lewis had forgotten beverly's purse with her atm card at the property so he went back to get it. crystal says when he got close to the house cops where everywhere, one even pulled him over. >> this particular officer just stopped a car that was coming in to say, hey, have you seen -- and just asked questions and to >> the officer couldn't have known that arron lewis was the man they were looking for. >> miss carter was still alive and he just didn't know it. >> when lewis returned home crystal told the jury that's when the couple ran out of options. >> she was in the bathroom with crystal's medication and she knew crystal's name. >> beverly had seen too much. they agreed she had to die. out to the cement plant. >> that's when prosecutors believe lewis did something horrific. he wrapped beverly's face in duct tape and let her suffocate. >> he came home and told crystal she was dead. >> and then the heart of the prosecution's case, that recording of beverly pleading to her husband. they played it for the jury. >> do what he says and please don't call the police. if you call the police, it could >> prosecutors argued the recording proved beverly had been kidnapped and contradicted lewis' claim of a hookup. so how would the defense explain that tape? attorney bill james chose to ignore it. >> i was unable to come up with any plausible explanation for that recording that helped us. >> so was this one of your biggest obstacles then? this recording. >> everything came back to the recording. >> instead, he led jurors in a different direction. secret lives. what did you mean by that? >> in order for the defense to be correct she would have to be living a life that was basically secret or at least doing something other people didn't know about. >> here's where lewis' story got even stranger. he was no longer implying that he had sex with beverly. he claims he was out of the house at the time. >> that's what he said, yes. >> lewis said the tryst was he said beverly accidentally died during rough sex. >> she died while with his wife and he was only just protecting his wife and trying to cover up for her. >> to further bolster this story, james suggested to the jury that beverly had been prone to poor judgment. he pointed out she was broke but driving a brand new cadillac and getting expensive plastic surgery. >> i'm just saying she made bad decisions, maybe she made >> finally, arron lewis took the stand and told the jury the story about the alleged rendezvous with beverly and his wife. during cross-examination, prosecutors pounced. they questioned him about every detail including that one piece of evidence that seemed to contradict his entire story. beverly's voice on that tape, telling her husband she'd been kidnapped? >> what he ultimately told the jury was that he had done it himself, he had synthesized her >> you'll forgive me if that sounds maybe a little silly. >> well, you'll forgive me if i remind you that i didn't say it happened, i'm just telling you what the evidence was. i'm just telling you what happened at trial. >> to beverly's friends and family lewis' story was not only preposterous, it was painful to listen to. >> we've been victimized over and over again by him. i was angry that not only that he was able to do it but that he thought how dare you try to tarnish our sweet beverly's reputation. >> the verdict was back in less than an hour. >> we hear footsteps running and they're like "the verdict's in." what? it was very quick. >> good sign? >> yes. great sign. >> great sign. >> arron lewis was found guilty on all counts and given two life sentences. >> i felt relief. i instantly -- relief that we got him. >> and beverly's family is working to make sure this doesn't happen to someone else's family. they started the beverly carter foundation, her son travels the country training real estate agents about safety. >> it's a blessing for me because i get to not only raise awareness, talk about safety, best practices, but then i also of keep her alive. . [ cheers and applause ] >> oh, hello. i was just reading my conscience a bedtime story. now, some of you may have already seen me in tonight's republican debate in new hampshire. and if you missed it, here's a quick recap. i won. i also won the iowa caucus, thanks to endorsements from

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