>> they're treating me like a suspect. >> under cover plan to solve the mystery. >> who was the real master mind? >> we all stopped breathing for ten seconds. >> i want it to be ron. the american dream. so many of us want it. the loving family. the honest job. the home you can afford. the idea that you can start over here. and in this new country, that better life will be yours. this is a story about that dream. about a family that worked for it. and then what happened with that. this wasn't part of anyone's dream. how could it happen in this safe gated community? in this home they worked so hard to have. and who deserved it less than this woman. >> my mom brung the heart to the family. >> ryan was the baby of the family. spoiled rotten by his mother. >> we couldn't function without her. she was like the chef in the house, counsellor. >> full service mom. >> oh yes, she did it all. she was a sweet lady. >> one of the mothers who showed love through food. her cakes were legendary. making every birthday that much more special. says her older son. >> she made this upside down pineapple cake. i always remember cake and ice cream. >> growing up, he was inseparable from his mom. >> was she like the other moms your friends had? >> no. she was a bit more on conservative side. >> conservative because of where she came from. she was born in egypt. and came to the u.s. when she was 29 years old. her family settled in northern california. she led a comfortable all american life. but culture ties are strong. and in 1980, she was called back so egypt to meet a nice young man. >> my mom went out and met him. she like, she really liked him. >> years later she would reminisce about how the romance blossomed. >> you can't go out on dates and stuff. they went tolgt to the movie theater and when it got dark, my dad reached over and kissed her cheek. >> which was a big teal. >> it sealed the deal. >> she seemed happy. they married just two weeks later in egypt and moved together to california. in 1981, richard was born. five years later, came ryan. richard was delighted to have a brother to play with. and to watch over. >> so you were his protector. big brother. >> keeping an eye on him. >> how'd you and your brother get along? >> like best friends. i looked up to him. >> their dad was the classic hard working immigrant. earning a license to become a respiratory therapist and put in end wills hours to keep a roof over their head and clothes on their back. >> he came from a poor country. he was working hard to build things up and try to establish a life. >> he emphasized education. teaching both his sons math early. he strove and saved to help them out prosper. and they felt he would do anything to keep his family safe. >> he didn't want your family to get pushed around. >> not at all. >> it took many year of hard work. saving and investing. he finally put together enough money to buy this home in a gated community in the city of west minister. a quiet town in orange county california. the family was well on its way to living out the dream they had worked so hard to build. then, on september 29, 2004, all of it came crashing down. ryan then 17 was out with friends. and stayed out later than he was supposed to. >> when did you get home? >> like 1 to 1:30 that night. i slid the back door open and i went upstairs. >> his dad was not home. his brother at work. his mom, asleep. >> i remember i was fixing up my ipod dock. and i fell asleep to music that night. next thing i know i hear a door open. and first instinct was maybe it was my brother. >> his older brother. his best friend and protector coming home. or so he thought. >> it wasn't richard. >> i look back and that's when i felt a hand on my mouth it was a hand with some type of cotton glove. >> can you see who it is? >> a black male. heavy set. i was going for my brother or mom to help me. and i was really scared. >> ryan says he thought the intruder. >> i bit down on the hand and i rolled off the bed and i popped up. and i was shoved into the wall. he's telling me to shut up and calm down. >> the man put duct tape over his mouth and started taping his hands and feet together. >> right after that, a second suspect comes in and he starts making threats to me. like don't get your mom killed. >> don't get your mom killed. that had to be terrifying to hear. >> i was really scared. >> what'd you think was going on? >> i didn't know. i thought it was a robbery or something. >> a terrifying situation about to get worse. >> through the hall way i saw my mom. yelling take anything you want. then after that, i just noticed that the guy was taking my mom. away. like toward her bedroom. >> the attacker dragged him into the closet. then noticed the duct tape was slipping around his hands. >> i heard him taking shoe string off a shoe. >> using the lace, the man tied his hands behind his back. through the closet door. he pleaded with his attacker. >> i started telling him please don't kill me. i started praying. and during that time he was like i know your circumstances. i know what you're going through. i won't kill you. >> i know your circumstances. strange as those words sound, he found them somehow comforting. >> after that i started feeling a little bit of are relief. >> he heard a sound that would come to haunt him. >> i heard like cutting of sheets. >> what was going on. was worse than anything he could have imagined. >> coming up. a panicked call to 911. and another to his brother. >> i was like really freaking out. what's going on. >> what really happened inside that house? >> oh my god. when "dateline" continues. just toss it in the dryer to bounce out wrinkles. we dried these shorts with bounce wrinkle guard, and a pair without. the bounce wrinkle guard shorts have fewer wrinkles and static, and more softness. it's the world's first mega sheet that does the job of three dryer sheets. it also comes in unscented. if you don't love bounce wrinkle guard, we'll give you your money back. when you take align, you have the support of a probiotic and the gastroenterologists who developed it. align naturally helps to soothe your occasional digestive upsets, 24/7. so, where you go, the pro goes. go with align, the pros in digestive health. ryan had just been through a terrifying ordeal. two men breaking into his home in a gate td community in the middle of the night. >> they were both black guys, really huge. it was just like gangster. and thugs. >> you'd never seen them before. >> never ever. >> they tied him up. threw him in the closet. not before he saw one of the men drag his mother into her bedroom. he says he thought he heard the men walk out and heard a car drive away. but for a few moments, he sat in the dark closet. heart thumping. afraid to come out. it was now or never. ryan managed to untie himself and grab his cell phone. >> i went down the hall way. i looked to the right really quickly. i noticed that the door was in like a closed position. >> to your mother's bedroom. >> why didn't you check on her? >> i wanted to get out of the house as fast as possible and come back with help. >> you had to think that's my mother i have to see how she is. >> i thought i needed to get out and get someone. i got over powered by myself. >> he ran outside and called 911. >> he called his dad. he was shocked. and asked two things. if ryan was okay and where his mother was. ryan didn't know. he called his older brother working the night shift at the queen mary hotel. >> what did he say? >> he questioned if i was all right. where's mom and also questioned who do you think it is. is it someone you know. >> why would he think that you might know the people? >> he felt like i was the one that got tied up and they came into my room. so he just was like questioning is it something having to do with you. what's going on. is it personal on you? >> as you'll see that's a question that would come up again. after his call, richard left work and drove to the house. the police tape was already up. and they wouldn't let him through. >> i was freaking out. like what's going on. and asking them where's my mom. >> police took them to the station. the boys were surprised to find themselves split up. and sitting in separate interview rooms. ryan's hands were bagged to preserve evidence. before detectives could ask too many questions, richard asked one of his own. >> my mom, please. >> we have a murder investigation. >> no, she's not. i didn't hear that. >> ryan says he didn't know what was happening. right then. but could tell it was bad. >> i just hear a scream. and i'm like what just happened. it sound like richard. my brother. and he was screaming the top of his lungs. >> no, she's not. she's not. >> you can't see him, you can hear him. >> he's going hysterical. i never heard him scream like that in my life. >> does my little brother know? >> police told ryan. the same awful news. their mother had been murdered. now the cops started asking questions. that wasn't all they did. >> police took your prints. >> cotton swabs. dna. >> treating you like a suspect or witness? >> treatsing me like a suspect at this point. >> did you check on your mom before you left the house. >> i just ran out of the house. >> passed your moms room? >> i didn't look. i just ran as fast as i can. >> richard was facing questions slightly different but just as skeptical. >> i wish i knew. i don't know. >> cops took your prints? >> yeah. and dna. did you think to yourself their looking at me as a suspect? >> yeah. it was scary. i had never been in that situation with the police. >> the focus seemed to linger on his brother. >> this wouldn't be directed toward him that you know of? >> i don't know. i don't know. first you ask i was like is it one of your friend. did someone break in or something. >> that was your first reaction? >> as police continue their questioning, one question stood out. above all. >> why would these two thugs come into your house, basically not hurt you. and really brutally kill your mother. and leave behind a witness. >> yeah. >> this investigation was about to take a turn that no one expected. coming up. >> two ghosts just walked in. and committed the ultimate crime. >> dna and csi. what will the evidence reveal? when "dateline" continues. works on that too. and lasts 12 hours. 12 hours?! who studies that long?! only mucinex dm relieves wet and dry coughs for 12 hours with 2 medicines in 1 pill. ♪ 'cos i know what it means ♪ to walk along the lonely street of dreams ♪ ♪ here i go again on my--- you realize your vows are a whitesnake song? i do. if you ride, you get it. geico motorcycle. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more. ryan was attacked in his own home and hours later given the worst news imaginable. while he had managed to escape, his mom had not. she was dead. all of which begged a pressing question. >> why would they kill her and leave me? >> police and even his own brother were asking the same thing. >> how many murder to you get in west minister? >> not that many, really. >> a deputy district attorney in orange county, california. the case landed on her desk. >> it's a nightmare. the thing that most people fear to be home, asleep in bed. and have intruders come in. and do the unthinkable. >> police found her body near her bed. she has been stabbed multiple times. that odd tearing sound ryan said he heard. investigators believe it was the sound of the knife ripping through the mattress. as her killers slit her throat. >> was that knife found at the scene? >> it was not. >> a patrol officer at the time of the murder. the details of the crime scene pointed to something other than a home invasion robbery. in part because nothing appeared to have been stolen sfwl this was not a burglary in which she was collateral damage? >> definitely not. >> cash was in plain sight. jewelry too. even his ipod and new dock all untouched. >> the house wasn't even rummaged through. >> what's more. this was a gated community. the killers would have needed a gate code. to get in. >> it starts getting more interesting. as to who could have done it. >> crime scene nvlgt tors collected mounds of evidence and surpriseingly with all that blood, not a single trace of unknown dna. all the dna results match the people in the house. >> the witness for some reason was left alive. >> two guys came into the house, beat up ryan. tie him up and kill his mother in ha brutal way and leave no trace. >> that's what it looked like. two ghosts had walked in. and committed the ultimate crime. >> it seemed improbable. and encouraged detectives to look closely at ryan. he claimed to be a victim. but was he really? police learned the friend he was with the night of the murder had offered ryan a knife for protection. just hours before ryan's mother was brout brutally killed with a knife. a knife that hadn't been found. and ryan smoked marijuana and not just at the occasional party. he smoked every day. and he wiasn't just smoking. police found small amounts of marijuana in his room. along with a bong. bags and tinfoil. and there was more. like the description he had given the detectives about the two suspects. >> both male blacks. large. he said they acted like they were from a gang. that was something that we still didn't know 100% sure. if that was true. >> claiming two black men committed the murder seemed almost too convenient. and more troubling, if ryan had been beaten by gang members much bigger than he was, why didn't he look like it. >> there's no question if he had been in a serious duking it out fight with a couple of guys, he would have been more battered than he was. >> if they wanted to hurt him worse. yes. >> remember, he told police that one suspect said, i know your circumstances. i i'm not going to kill you. is that true? if so, what did it mean? and then there was the issue of ryan claiming to have left the house before he so much as took a peek into his mother's bedroom. >> does that strike anybody as odd? >> i think so. you have to consider why somebody would do that. >> soon detectives found out. ryan had more dark secrets than they realize. coming up. >> he's the only one who survived. practically unharmed. >> new questions for ryan and a new clue. had he received a warning before the attack? >> watch your back. i know where you live. >> when "dateline" continues. great news! the no added hormones in land o' frost premium sliced meats have moms buying in. in bulk. boom! what a beefsteak. gotta love it. land o' frost premium. a slice above. ♪ at progressive park! insurance themed fun ♪ children: yeah! announcer: ride the totally realistic traffic jam. ♪ beep, beep, beep, beep children: traffic jam! announcer: and the world's first never bump bumper cars. children: never bump! announcer: it's a real savings hootenanny with options that fit your budget. that's fun for the whole family. announcer: only at progressive par... maybe an insurance park was a bad idea. yeah. yep. ok girls, there's an elephant in our bathroom. nobody talks about feminine hygiene. summer's eve says, give us one week of showers. ph-balanced freshness you'll never forget. now find your fresh. with new summer's eve fragrance free. they use stamps.com all the services of the post office only cheaper get a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. here's what's happening senator sanders discharged from las vegas hospital friday following surgery for a blocked artery. the 78 year-old taken to the hospital tuesday after experiencing chest discomfort which was a heart attack. "new york times" reporting a second intelligence official could file a formal whistleblower complaint against the president. said to have had more direct information and pressed alarm over trumps dealings with ukraine. that's what's happening. back to "dateline." investigators looking into the savage murder took a hard look at the other person in the house when she died. her 17 year-old son. ryan. >> he's the only one who survived, he's unharmed. he had was selling a small amount of drugs. we had to pursue that. >> police still had a lot of questions about his story. they hadn't yet found any evidence to suggest he killed his mom. for now at least, they had to take him at his word. >> until you can find a reason not to believe that person. you have to go with what they say unless they start lying. >> as far as i knew he wasn't lying. >> the investigation was just starting. police couldn't discount another possibility. that she was killed because of ryan. detectives learn that a year before the murder, ryan confronted another kid at school who had hadn't paid him pr for weed. later that kids friends jumped ryan. >> doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would spark a homicide, but, i'm guessing you have seen homicides sparked by less? >> it's typical for gang related homicides to be something just as small as that. >> remember, ryan described his subpoen subpoe suspects as sounding like gang members. and this message weeks before the murder. >> a week ago. >> he brought@to the detectives attention. during his interview. >> watch your back. i know where you live. i didn't pay attention to it. >> ryan told police he chalked it up to a prank. now it seemed like key evidence. except, ryan had not saved the message. no way to tell now who sent it. >> any idea who it was from? >> no. >> aol help you with that? >> no. >> a frustrating dead end. by now police were looking at other possibilities. they dug deeper. into the american dream the family seemed to be living. and interviewed the man of the house. >> how did you feel. >> we lived together for 24 years. she's the mother of my kids. >> he really didn't have any vices. he didn't spend any money on any hobbies of any sort. so he was a guy who went to work and went home. >> their father wasn't just a hard worker. said his sons. he was more like a work a holic. >> my mom felt neglected. he wasn't affectionate. all he would do is work. >> i played sports all my life. he never ever came to watch any sports i played. >> a lot of the childhood. me growing up, i remember my mom. but not a lot about my dad. not because i don't want to. he just wasn't there. he sleeps, get up go to work. >> because the american dream was all about the green. >> he was work work work. >> money money money. >> exactly. >> after a rare outing to the beach one day, ryan says he and his father dropped by mcdonalds. >> i asked him to borrow a dollar. to grab a burger. and not only did he ask for the dollar back. he asked for the tax money on it. >> what kind of father asks his 13 year-old son it reimburse him for a hamburger? >> my father was always trying to hustle someone for some type of money. >> it didn't take prosecutors long to learn about his obsession. >> this is the united states. everybody works and tries to make money and provide. he's different? >> yes. very different. he's in the category of very few people. who have an unhealthy relationship with money. it drives everything they do. >> we're not talking about thrifty. >> no. >> we're talking about squeezing every dollar. >> yes. to the point you have a house paid off but can't run the electricity for more than one room at a time. >> even though you have the money sfwl absolutely. he has food that expires. and he horde it. it's about collecting money. correct. >> his sons describe him as not only obsessed with work and money. also a strict disciplinary. >> did you love him? >> i did. >> were you scared? >> i felt like there was a thin line. and i didn't want to cross anything. >> the brothers say they saw what could happen when they cross that line. one night when he was 14, and came home passed cur few. they say he simply lost it. >> threw me on the floor and started kicking me and my brother had to pull him off. >> he shielded you a bit. >> he did. >> sound like you were closer to your brother than father. >> very much so. >> ryan rebelled. staying out late and smoking weed. richard was dutiful. he too felt his father's wrath. >> a punch. a kick. you name it. depending. i would find the sooner i would cry the sooner it would stop. >> tough lesson to learn from your dad. >> he was a harsh person. which is made it more fortunate to have my mom in my life. she was like the complete opposite. >> as tough as he was on his sons. they say he was just as tough on his wife. >> ryan and richard never saw their father hit their mother. but they say they heard the yelling and they did see the bruises. >> we never called 911. it was like we have the sense of fear. we didn't want to cross the line. >> you were more afraid of what your dad would do to you if you called 911 than what might happen to your mom if you didn't? >> we were scared of my dad. we were like so petrified. >> do you think he was capable of more than hitting people? >> you didn't want to mess with that guy at all. you didn't want to push him to another level. >> the boys stayed quiet. but a storm was brewing. in the end, she would give investigators their best lead. coming up. a transformation. >> i felt like my mom was empower empowered. >> and a confrontation. >> she told him he punched me in the face. that started the whole cascade. >> there's no going back. so the life you had before. >> was never the sachlt -- the same. when "dateline" continues. when you take align, you have the support of a probiotic and the gastroenterologists who developed it. align naturally helps to soothe your occasional digestive upsets, 24/7. so, where you go, the pro goes. go with align, the pros in digestive health. as investigators work the murder. they heard the disturbing information from her sons. most disturbing by far. was what happened seven months before the murder. in february 2004. on the eve of their 24th wedding anniversary. >> she starts talking to him. can we go to dinner. that's what starts this fight. >> doesn't sound like it was a long fight. >> no. he punches her in the face. >> richard remembers a arriving home that evening. and seeing his mom. >> she looked very subdued. her face was swollen. her nose was still bleeding. i went upstairs and i confronted my dad. >> what was his response? >> he told me to stay out of it. >> richard in nursing school at the time, worried his mom could have a concussion. or worse. he rushed her to the emergency room. they kept their family secret for so long. but that was about to change. >> the nurse asked her what happened. >> your mom said. >> she told her that he punched me in the face. that started the whole cascade. >> police went to the home. and arrested him. >> that was really scary. >> that was scary. not thrilling? >> it was terrifying. >> not the moment you have been waiting for. >> no. there was no point of return. somehow i knew. immediately. after that, it was like. >> there's no going back. >> the life you had before. >> was never going to be the same. >> a court issued a protective order and he moved out of the house he worked so hard for. to an apartment he and his brother owned nearby. after more than two decades of marriage. it seemed they were headed for divorce. it was a thought that seemed to terrify her. >> she was scared and had a lot of cold feet. >> about striking out on her own in the world. >> exactly. >> she was totally dependent. she had never written a personal check. didn't even know the mortgage was paid off. >> she said i wish this wouldn't be here and everything could go back to the way it was. >> he too seemed frightened and perhaps -- >> he was trying to get back with my mother. >> did it seem like she was waivering? >> there was a limbo period. she was considering taking him back. >> richard who stepped up during his father's absence as map of the house over heard a strange conversation between his parents. >> he was like i love you. >> had you ever heard him say i love you to your mom? >> i can't really recall that. >> until that conversation when he needed something from her? >> yes. >> what did he need? it turned out he was more worried about himself than anyone else. a domestic violence conviction might cost him his respiratory therapist license. which would cut off his income. and he knew a divorce could force him to split his hard earned money. with her. >> back to the wall. >> yeah. >> so he came up with a plan. a letter. in which she would say she wasn't sure what happened. that her injuries could have resulted from a fall. they weren't speaking at at time. he convinced richard the older son to transcribe the letter and persuade her so sign it. getting her husband off the hook. >> do you feel bad at all trying to get your mom to change the story. something you knew she was telling the truth about. >> back then i felt like like i was trying to help. >> maybe the price of saving your family is convincing your mom to lie about something you know is true. >> he really manipulated me. >> he knew his mother had mixed feelings about the break up of her marriage. had told himself he was doing the right thing. >> i was trying to support my mom. and at the same time i felt he was my dad. i felt pulled. >> she agreed to sign the letter. he no doubt breathed a sigh of relief. then came his hearing. in which she did something quite unexpected. she took the witness stand. and she told the truth. >> she felt enough was enough. so she went and she really laid everything out. >> not just about the night he gave her a black eye and bloody nose. about abuse she described as stretching over two decades. >> did your dad feel betrayed? >> he was like i can't believe what she said up there. >> she had finally stood up for herself. it might have been the manifestation of her own american dream. she hired a divorce attorney and began planning a new life. >> i really felt like my mom was like em poured. she wanted to be happy. she felt like there was happiness. >> instead. the next month, she was murdered. and to investigators who heard the story, it now seemed obvious her husband was the prime suspect. >> everything pointed at him. >> except for the fact that phone records prove that he was at his own apartment. when ryan called him that night. and according to the only witness, two black men committed the murder. and there was still the question of why that witness was left alive. and just a few days after his mother was killed, the rebelous son received another anonymous message on his computer. how did you like your gift? lol. >> how did you like your gift. >> yeah. coming up. an a ha moment for police. a new look at that old interrogation of ryan. >> you bit this guy? >> could it lead to the break they need? >> maybe that might have dna on it. >> when "dateline" continues. i wanted to help protect myself. my doctor recommended eliquis. eliquis is proven to treat and help prevent another dvt or pe blood clot. almost 98% of patients on eliquis didn't experience another. and eliquis has significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. if you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling numbness or muscle weakness. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily. and it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planed medical or dental procedures. what's around the corner could be your moment. ask your doctor about eliquis. i see you found the snacks. mmm, delicious! i need this recipe. everyone thinks i made them, but it's actually d-con. what was that? judy? d-con. mice love it to death. sleep number 360 smart bed. numbers fall sale on the can it help keep us asleep? yes, it senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. the queen sleep number 360 c4 smart bed is now only $1,399 plus 0% interest for 24 months. only for a limited time. they use stamps.com all the services of the post office only cheaper get a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. investigators were zeroing in on the prime suspect in the murder of his wife. the two had been going through a domestic violence case. and were divorcing. >> he's an obvious suspect. that doesn't mean he did it. >> no matter how -- maybe he's not the guy you're looking for. >> you have to explore every possibility. >> especially after ryan received a taunting message on his computer. days after the murder. how did you like your gift? >> it didn't make sense to me. >> police looked into it. just as with the threat he received weeks before the murder, they weren't able to track down the sender of the messages. >> it hindsight you wish more work would have been done on that? >> yes. >> older brother came under scrutiny. >> he had sort of stuck up for maybe covered for his father. during the domestic violence investigation. did you think he might be doing that again? >> initially they believed it was a possibility. yes. >> soon after the murder, the brothers left west minister and moved to northern california. and they did so without telling their father. as police continued to dig, richard and ryan say they worried. whoever killed their mom was still at large. and knew ryan was a witness to the crime. >> i have recollections of i have nightmares. i get chills. i don't like top home by myself. i have trouble sleeping. the list goes on. >> ryan and richard say they had a growing suspicion their father was responsible for their mother's murder. they sauid they were too scared to confront him. the investigation seemed to stall. >> seems like you had a lot of leads that kind of hadn't gone anywhere? >> we had a lot of paths that we went down. yes. >> remember, there was no physical evidence linking him to the murder. ryan said it was two black men who broke into the house and killed his mom. police had never found those men or any trace they ever existed. and those threatening messages to ryan? still no idea who sent them. >> was there a point you thought it would never been solved? >> it's hard to think that way. but yes. >> so the years rolled by. richard became a critical care nurse. ryan the self-admitted stoner, says he stopped smoking. and was working towards a bachelors degrees in business and started his own entertainment company. their dad would have been proud if he knew how far they had come. but they never once got a call from him in all those years and they made no effort to contact him. the brothers did call the police department. again and again. urging detectives to investigate their father. and each time they heard the same response. >> we're still looking into it. we don't have any new leads. there's nothing. >> depressing. >> it was. >> they made endless calls. enlisting family and friend to write america's most wanted and raised a $55,000 reward. for information leading to arrest of the suspect. all of it led to nothing. >> how many other cases did you do in those years? >> a lot of murders. >> something about this stuck with you. >> absolutely. >> something about her that made you not want to quit? >> you don't ever want to quit any case. think the fact she came so close to being an independent woman and standing up for herself. sp being the mother she wanted to be to those boys. and did everything right. and she died. it was a terrible feeling. >> it was 2010. nearly six years after the murder. when richard made another of his many phone calls to the police department. >> this time it was james wilson who answered. he had been a patrol officer at the time of the murder. in the intervening years worked his way up to detective. >> i really didn't have very good answers for him. what's going on with my moms case? and i know there's nothing really going on. so i just started looking into it. >> out of guilt? >> obligation. this is one of the reasons you become a police officer to help people like that. >> and as detective wilson pored through the mountain of evidence on the case, he came across that interview detectives had with ryan after the murder. reading through the transcript. he saw a key detail. that no one noticed. >> you bit this guy? >> yeah. on the hand. >> it was through a glove. he had to take off the glove to put on the tape. >> ryan was telling detectives the intruder took his gloves off. beforehand lg the duct tape. and also the shoe lace used to tie him up. >> maybe that might have dna on it. >> detective wilson checked to see if the shoe lace had ever been tested. it had not. so he sent it off to the county crime lab. and sure enough. one afternoon, eight years after the murder. detective wilson's phone rang. >> crime lab called me. and they got a hit. >> no one could have predicted the name police were given. >> it had to be the suspect. >> the name the crime lab gives you for the hit is. >> anthony brigt. >> was that name in any case files? >> no. >> not anybody that had been talked to. >> wasn't even a person contacted by the police. >> yet, the dna proved he was the attacker. who tied up ryan. detective wilson entered his information into a computer. >> who he is? >> a member of the krips. >> the krips. one of the most known and violent gangs in the u.s. and street name little shotgun. was by any standard a professional criminal sglmpbl. coming up. >> he has the resume you expect the intruder to have. >> the kind of guy you hire to commit murder. >> that's right. >> a whole new suspect. >> did you know where he was? >> i knew exactly where he was. >> investigators pay a surprise visit. when "dateline" continues. with advil liqui-gels, you have fast-acting power over pain, so the whole world looks different. the unbeatable strength and speed of advil liqui-gels. what pain? . it was 2012. eight years after the murder of ariat gurges when detective wilson got their first break. the detectives submitted that shoe lace to a crime lab hoping for a long shot dna hit. and the results were in, the dna belonged to anthony brigt. >> he had numerous violent conduct, including prior conviction for manslaughter, so this was no novice. >> long violent rap sheet. >> absolutely. >> brigt also had a drug conviction. and ryan gurges admitted he sometimes dealt weed. is that why richard immediately wondered if ryan was the target of the attack. police considered that theory. and dismissed it. in fact, for police, anthony brigt and his gang affiliation confirmed ryan's story. for one, brigt matched ryan's account that the man who tied him up seemed like a gang member. >> he looked like he was one of the guys that just came out of the pen and wanted revenge on someone. >> and two, brigt's prior booking photos matched the sketch ryan had given police and so investigators developed a different theory about brigt's involvement. >> he had the resume that you would expect the intruders who came to kill ariat to have. >> the kind of guy you'd hire to commit murder. >> that's right. >> and they suspected the person who hired him was magde gurges, of course there was no proof of any of that. >> i'm guessing one of the things you did early on was subpoena records looking for that big chunk of money that he took out a few days before his wife was killed. >> you could hope. but. >> but it wasn't there. >> it wasn't there a. >> maybe he's innocent. >> maybe he's just careful. >> careful, perhaps. but in what universe would magde gurges and anthony brigt's paths cross, one way to find out they could ask anthony brigt. >> did you know where he was. >> i knew exactly where he was. >> he was in solidad prison. >> and there you are in a little room. >> yes. >> a table like this one between you. >> yes. >> and you say i want to talk to you. >> and he's a little surprised, right. >> he's a little surprised, yes. >> but anthony brigt was hard to rattle. >> he's been involved in gang related homicides in the past. pretty experienced at the prison system. >> so saying to him hey, the guy that hired you just rolled over on you, that's not going to work. >> right. >> this is not a virgin. >> exactly. >> but they did get something. >> you said to him, i have your dna at a murder scene. >> yes. and he said where? >> he said where? not, i haven't committed any murder. did you ask him whether he knew magde. >> no, we never got that far. >> here's what brigt didn't know, the prosecutor and the detective didn't really care what he said, their target was magde gurges and all they wanted was to prove a connection between him and anthony brigt. >> that's why before they left orange county they set up a wiretap on magde's home. he was back living where his wife was murder. he even had a new girlfriend, and investigators listened to see if brigt would tip off magde. >> i was hoping that at least my visit would inspire him in some way. >> didn't happen? >> no, it didn't. >> so game over? no. it was just starting. coming up, a return to the scene of the crime a dramatic confrontation at magde's house. who were these men, and what did they want? when date line continues. t? when date line continues i've upgraded to mucinex. we still have 12 hours to australia. mucinex lasts 12 hours, so i'm good. now move- kim nooooooo! only mucinex has a patented tablet that lasts 3x longer, for 12 hours. but since they bought their new house... which menu am i looking at here? start with "ta-paz." -oh, it's tapas. -tapas. get out of town. it's like eating dinner with your parents. sandra, are you in school? yes, i'm in art school. oh, wow. so have you thought about how you're gonna make money? at least we're learning some new things. we bundled our home and auto with progressive, saved a bunch. oh, we got a wobbler. progressive can't protect you from becoming your parents, but we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. that's what the extra menu's for. they use stamps.com all the services of the post office only cheaper get a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. where ariet girgis had met her awful death, two men showed up on magdi girgis's lawn. >> let me holler at you for a second. >> and it was all caught on camera. check it out, man, my homey locked up in the pen right now. police approached him about him killing his wife for you in his own house. >> interesting because prosecutor sonia and detective james wilson had just returned from visiting crips gang member anthony brigt in prison. they suspected magdi had hired brigt to kill ariet. and now here apparently were a pair of gangsters on magdi's property. the more talkative of the two was d money, and money is what he wanted from magdi. >> we don't care but the thing is we want to get paid for it. we're not going to say [ bleep ] >> good question, and who better to answer it than d money himself. >> you're a born actor. >> i believe i am. >> he's not a gangster. he's an officer from the long beach police department who was working under cover. which is why we're concealing his identity. >> you a little nervous going in? >> not at all, no. >> the role he played at magdi's home that day was part of a war game sonia and detective wilson had set in motion even before they met anthony brigt. >> tell me about this scheme. >> you call it a scheme, i call it a plan. >> by any name, it was an attempt to trap magdi. >> the only way anthony brigt or somebody like him commits a crime like this is some kind of gain, financial primarily. so you develop that kind of individual and you come up with a way in which they were able to contact magdi and demand more money. >> in other words, these two undercover officers posing as gang members would approach magdi and hit him up for some hush money since investigators knew money was magdi's particular obsession, they hoped they were about to strike a nerve. they had to be careful, if the killers were working for magdi, it wasn't clear if he knew them directly or hired them through a middle man. >> you couldn't have these guys claim they were the actual guys in the house. >> correct. >> because possibly he knew them. >> possibly he knew them. >> so you have them pose as friends of the guy in the house. >> yes. >> and he's now in jail. >> in prison, which as we knew that was true because anthony brigt was in prison. >> and so his friends are, what, trying to leverage that knowledge into some extra money for them. >> correct. >> operations like this are especially tricky. there's usually only one shot to get it right. if the phoney gangsters threaten magdi, the sting wouldn't hold up in court, and magdi could walk free, and at the same time, one thing had to be crystal clear. >> you want to make sure that everybody knows that we're talking about the crime that occurred about his wife being murdered in that particular house. that wouldn't be left ambiguous. >> a risky plan, and no guarantees it would work. >> true that a lot of d a's might not got for an operation like that. >> yes. >> sonia wanted to win. >> she wasn't scared to fail. >> did you think you were going to fail? >> i was very nervous to say the least. >> it had taken nine years to get to this moment, a team of cops watched and video taped as the undercovers approached magdi. >> he's stepping out of the car right now. >> everyone was on edge except for the man cast in the role of d money. >> you had to be going over in your mind like, you know, if he says this, if he does this, i'm going to. >> no, things come out spontaneously. >> really? >> you have to be quick. he say a, i say b, he say c, i say d, you have to have something up there. there's nothing you can rehears, nothing you can write down, either you can do it or you can't. >> still, there was cause for worry, these officers looked the part, they had never done anything like this before. >> were you worried about sort of their acting ability? >> i was concerned. >> too late now. it was on. >> coming up, a surprise snafu. >> his cell phone deals the number of undercover, only he didn't answer the phone. >> an undercover officer misses the call, and that was just the beginning. >> i think we all stopped breathing for about ten seconds. >> when "dateline" continues. did you know that every single flush flings odors onto your soft surfaces? 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>> the problem is my boy is locked down in the pen like i told you yesterday. we don't know what's going on, and my boy, you know, took care of a little business, so we just trying to get paid just to keep it hush, you know what i mean. >> you got paid everything. >> once he told me, hey, i thought i paid you guys everything, home run. >> it's one of those feelings where you've known this all along, and you actually hear it from him. and so i think it was overwhelming feeling of confirmation. >> and then, just as quickly, it all threatened to blow up in their faces, listen carefully. >> what? >> who was the middle man? >> middle man, the undercover had no idea, magdi had just asked a question that one of the investigators could answer. >> when magdi says tell me who the middleman is so i know i can trust you, that was something the undercover officers i think weren't ready for. >> no, i think we all stopped breathing for about 10 seconds. >> investigators had considered the possibility that magdi might have hired the killers through some third party, and now this conversation seemed like confirmation that he had but who was it. it seems to me that the middleman for this would have to be somebody that magdi really trusted, somebody he knew well. >> he would have had to have trusted this person, yes. >> somebody who would stick up for him? >> yes. >> any thoughts on who that might be. >> i do. i do. >> there was no way to tell the undercover that, so d money just stayed in character. >> you know everybody know who the middleman was. i ain't worried about that. people are talking. >> how can i trust you? >> because i got the information that i got, player, i can go to the police, but i'm not. i'm just trying to get my money so i can go. >> so the conversation about hush money continued. magdi true to form haggled over the price. >> 5,000 ain't that much, man. you know. >> i don't have it, that's the problem. not the whole amount. >> it just goes to show the true character of this man. i mean, here's a guy who will negotiate with thugs ten years later because he feels like he already paid. i mean, it's just, that's what i mean, he's not in a normal range of thrifty. >> what's that? >> just ten hundred, i have on me. >> police probably had enough to arrest magdi right then and there, but they waited. >> now you want to do the actual exchange of money. >> got to get the money. >> that meant a second meeting but would magdi even show up, and if he did, would he come with a plan of his own? >> coming up, nerve racking. >> and nail biting, one more hidden camera moment. >> did you bring me a check? >> no. >> when "dateline" continues. >> when "dateline" continues hydration collection. exfoliate nourish naturally enhance your lips. chapstick. put your lips first. magdi girgis had just been caught on tape, apparently admitting to hiring thugs to kill his wife. >> you got paid everything. >> he seemed willing to pay even more to keep things quiet. and made a date to do it. >> what's that? >> ten hundred i have on me. >> the next day, officers secretly trailed magdi leeaving his home, driving on the freeway and pulling into this home depot parking lot, the meeting point chosen by magdi. >> everybody is out of sight. >> everybody is out of sight, plain clothes, unmarked vehicles, except us, the two of us. >> i'm the police officer, but this is starting to sound like fun. >> it's definitely fun. it's a rush. i would do it all over again. >> prosecutor sonia was nearby watching it all unfold. >> tell me what that was like. >> nerve racking. it's exhilarating. >> could you see magdi? >> not at first. >> but soon enough he came into view. the undercovers approached his car. >> what's up, what's going on. >> what's happening. >> did you bring me a check? >> no. >> cash. >> 15. >> yes. >> so i took the envelope, basically snatched it from him, and counted the money right there and put it in the envelope. >> that was what, $15,100 bills. >> you ain't going to see us no more. >> all right, my friend. >> everything good. >> so this was not some sort of frightened little mouse who was doing what he was told by you guys. this was a guy who was poised and kind of in control of the situation. >> i'm going to get it done, and this is going to be it. and it will be over. >> but before it was, the undercover dropped one more line to see if magdi would bite. >> what did your wife do so much bad to you to make you want to kill her. [ bleep ] >> he didn't take the bait. >> he almost did. >> magdi probably thought he was home free but as he drove away, officers swarmed in. >> you arrest him, and you guys are all feeling like wya wyawyatt earp. >> we were feeling pretty good. >> ryan girgis had no idea any of this was happening. he had moved back to southern california and was completely unprepared for the call he had received from detective wilson. >> you come to the station, the cops bring you in, and they say. >> your father has been arrested, and i couldn't be more happier. i really felt like my dreams and my prayers had been answered. >> richard, once their dad's loyal and trusted confidant was not as thrilled. >> i was happy that the arrest was made but then on the other end of it, i mean, i was sad in a way, too, because even though i knew in my heart he had something to do with it. >> it's still your dad. >> it's still my dad, and i always had some deeply wedged fantasy that maybe one day the cops would arrest someone else completely and end up actually telling us, like, you know what, your dad ended up not having anything to do with it. >> you wanted to be wrong. >> i wanted to be wrong on that. i really wanted to be wrong. >> have a seat over there for me, magdi. >> sure. >> i'm detective wilson. >> detective wilson brought magdi to the station and sat him down in the interview room. his tactic was an old one in small rooms like this. play dumb, and see where magdi took him. >> basically what i need to know is what was going on in long beach there by the home depot center, looked like there was a money transaction there or something going on. can you explain that? >> on wednesday around 12:30 i was coming from costco, i find two guys approaching me and i never saw them in my life and they are black guys. >> but his account differed in key ways from what detective wilson already had on tape. >> they told me your lady get killed in this house, and you have to pay us 5 grand, otherwise we're going to hurt you and hurt your kids. >> that's lie in your opinion one. there a -- lie number one. there are no threats on the tape. >> how did you get to be with him today. >> they throw telephone number on the lawn. >> like on a piece of paper. >> a small piece of paper. >> they threw it on the line. >> on the lawn. >> lie number two. the tape clearly shows magdi taking the number. then detective wilson asked magdi the million dollar question. >> why didn't you call us, you had a phone number. >> because i was worried about my kids and myself. >> are you scared of the police, is that why, or i mean, i don't understand. >> it's not scared but my wife problem is not solved yet, and they consider the husband as a suspect. >> those tears had no effect on wilson who now had magdi on tape paying hush money. >> and we know you paid them. okay. >> yes. wils wilson bored in. >> i'm here to find out one thing, what kind of person are you because right now we don't know. is magdi the type of guy that's a hard, cold, calculated murderer that paid someone to kill his wife. what kind of person are you? >> i'm just innocent person, just simple person, believe me. >> magdi pleaded for sympathy. detective wilson was not sympathetic. >> i lost my wife. >> but it's your fault, you hired somebody. >> i did not hire anybody. >> we recorded it. we recorded the conversations with these guys. i'm not lying. >> i need a lawyer. >> you want me to tell you what they said. >> you guys are going to trap me and stuff, no, no. >> magdi had said the magic word, lawyer. he was done talking. there would be no confession. >> you didn't expect that he was going to admit it? >> no, the lies were good enough for me. >> good enough to make the case. >> but wilson thought he'd try one more time to crack magdi. this time, by making him face his own son. ryan wasn't so sure at first. >> i called my brother as i normally do as the younger one and i told him what do you think. he was like, do you feel like you want to talk to him. i was like, yeah, i want some questions answered. so he walked into that little room and saw his father for the first time in more than eight years. >> what's wrong with you? you forgot dad? >> you don't even look the same. >> and ryan had a lot to say. >> you had a choice not to hurt me and richard. you had a choice not to hurt your wife. why did you do that. >> i didn't hurt anybody. >> look at me, like at yourself. >> i'm looking at you. >> i can't believe you, man. >> my son. >> don't call me your son. i don't want to hear that. you're a horrible person for what you did. i just want to let you know that you're a horrible person. >> i didn't do anything. >> yes, you did. >> i did not. >> was it hard to tell your dad that you thought he was involved in your mom's murder. >> yeah, it was definitely very very hard. >> it's hard for you to talk about it now. >> yes, it is. it is. and the person that i had nightmares over was right in front of me, and i was scared. >> and soon, ryan would face his father again, this time in court. coming up. >> the killing of ariet girgis was because she interrupted a robbery or a drug transaction between ryan and these two suspects. >> a father/son show down, but exactly who's on trial. >> the evidence suggested he was involved with people that were dealing hard core drugs. >> when "dateline" continues. dr. >> when "dateline" continues hide-n-stink protection. lysol spray kills 99.9% of odor causing bacteria at the source unlike air fresheners. lysol. what it takes to protect.® so chantix can help you quit slow turkey.rkey. along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. with chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting so when the day arrives, you'll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions, seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking, or life-threatening allergic and skin reactions. decrease alcohol use. use caution driving or operating machinery. tell your doctor if you've had mental health problems. the most common side effect is nausea. talk to your doctor about chantix. march 2014, magdi girgis had been sitting in jail for about a year after an undercover sting led to his arrest for the murder of his wife ariet. it was a case prosecutor sonia balleste couldn't wait to try. nearly a decade in the making and as it turned out, it would be her last. sonia had been promoted to management. >> it was my swan song, yes. >> so you wanted to go out with win. >> prosecutors don't like to lose. >> yeah, i've noticed that. >> despite what you've seen, the case still wasn't a slam dunk. there was no proof magdi knew the alleged killer anthony bridget, no evidence he had paid bridget any money, and while detectives had suspicions about the involvement of a middleman, they still couldn't prove it, and as you'll see, even that undercover tape could be seen through a different lens. on the eve of the trial, richard and ryan got ready for the big day. their suits were pressed. they reviewed their prior statements. and they weighed the consequences of what this moment meant. >> i'm happy that we will get closure but then it's just sad. it's like we lost our mom, and then in the same light it's like we lost our dad too. >> their only surviving parent, the one they'd lived in fear of for years, would be the one they had to face in court. >> part of me is scared of him but also part of me wants to stand up and let my voice be heard after all of these years, so i want to be strong. >> and so the brothers walked into court together, that first day of opening statements. standing strong, united in their quest for justice for their mom. >> magdi girgis conspired to have his wife murdered. she was an inconvenient woman to him. and people are disposable to this defendant. >> our cameras were not allowed to record witness testimony inside the courtroom where sonia stacked up her evidence against magdi. she showed the jury how in the months leading up to the murder, magdi slowly drained his joint accounts with ariet. leaving her with almost nothing. and sonia said, the crime scene evidence showed this wasn't just some random murder. >> it was about silencing somebody who defied him. >> but then on the witness stand, richard, who had once helped his father persuade ariet to back off her story now defied magdi just as ariet had done. richard testified about the abuse his mom had suffered at his father's hands. he testified about coming home and finding his mother battered and bruised. richard recounted the story to the jury, but it seemed he was really speaking his father. we caught up with richard after court. >> it was really a good experience for me just to be able to finally face him face to face, and be able to look him in the eyes and actually, like, be able to confront him for what he has done. >> but magdi faced a tougher confrontation from the wrorords from his now dead wife, ariet's testimony from the preliminary hearing in the domestic violence case had been saved and now the prosecution read it into the court record. how important was ariet's testimony from the previous case? >> it was huge. it was as if for an afternoon she came back to life and took the stand. >> ryan would need to channel that same strength of his mother's for what came next. he took the stand with magdi just feet away, a father's eyes bored into his son. >> i really felt like if he had me one on one, he would beat me down. he just wanted to, anything to get me to shut up. >> this time, ryan refused to keep quiet. telling the jury and his father about that terrible september night when two men broke into his home, beat him up, and repeatedly stabbed his mother in the next room. then ryan faced cross-examination, and defense attorney rudy lowenstein had already told the jury he planned to put ryan on trial. >> the killing of ariet girgis was because she interrupted a robbery or a drug transaction or a collection of a debt of some kind between ryan and these two suspects. >> the defense argument, ariet's murder was tied directly to ryan's criminal activity. >> i think that the evidence suggests that he was involved with people that were dealing hard core drugs. >> ryan admitted that he smoked and sold weed. but lohenstein told the jury ryan was doing much more than that, he pointed to the drug paraphernalia police found in ryan's room, tinfoil and what lohenstein said was a pipe with white residue, which he said was consistent with heroin and methamphetamine use, evidence that police had failed to test. the defense said it showed ryan's drug dealing was bigger than he led on. then the defense directed jurors to those threats ryan had received on his computer just weeks before the murder. you better watch your back. i know where you live. and the taunting message that came after the murder. how did you like your gift, lollol. >> did anybody follow up, not really, no, they just said, oh, well, we know who did it, magdi did it. they focused on magdi, they never left magdi. >> could the threats be the reason ryan's friend offered him a knife. >> the fact that he was offered a knife for his protection by his drug dealing friend just minutes or at the latest, hours before the murder of his mother by someone using a knife suggests to me that there was some reason for him to be afraid for his own safety, in his own home. >> the defense also attacked ryan's credibility. remember what ryan told us, that one of the intruders said. >> i know your circumstances, i know what you're going through. i'm not going to kill you. >> it turns out ryan did not tell that to the 911 operator. why? the defense argued because those words were never spoken. and said ryan made them up later to deflect suspicion from himself and his drug connections. one thing was irrefutable and hard to explain, the defense told the jury, ryan did not check on ariet before he fled the house. >> how does a young man whose mother has come to save him not look in and check to see whether or not he could save his mother before running out of the house. what does that say about his character? >> after two days of brutal cross-examination, ryan says he felt dejected and betrayed. >> i feel like i'm getting back stabbed by my own father, that he's claiming that his son is such a troubled use. >> of course the defense also had a huge problem, those video tapes of magdi taking the phone number from the undercover. >> hit me up tomorrow. >> calling them the next day. >> you got paid everything. >> and then showing up with $1,500. all of it made magdi look very very guilty. >> i would like him to get up there on the stand and try to explain what he meant when he said i already paid everything off. >> it turns out the defense did have an explanation and documents, too. which might prove magdi's innocence. >> coming up, would that undercover tape convict him or clear him? a defense surprise. >> he's playing along with them in order to be able to apprehend them. >> and the verdict, would that be a surprise, too. >> this is it. >> i didn't want to let those boys down. >> when "dateline" continues. ow. >> when "dateline" continues in spite of the damming testimony against magdi by his own sons, defense attorney rudy lowenstein, he tried to show jurors he did everything to provide a better life for them and his wife ariet. >> his life was dedicated to his family and making the american dream work for him. he was an immigrant who came with nothing and made something of himself. >> magdi had his flaws and he had done some bad things, the defense said, but he did not have ariet killed, but then what to make of those undercover tapes and magdi's apparent admission. >> you got paid everything. >> would magdi take the stand to explain what he meant on those tapes? no, apparently he felt he'd done enough talking. instead, the defense attorney showed the jury evidence which he said proved magdi was not guilty. magdi had written down the serial numbers of the 15, $100 bills he had given the undercover officers and he tried to write down the license plate of their vehicle, which says the defense cast that undercover video in a new light. >> he's playing along with them in order to be able to apprehend them. >> and so when he says to them, just tell me the name of the middleman so i know you can trust me, he's bluffing, he doesn't know the name of the middleman, he's trying to get that information out of them. >> absolutely. >> lowenstein said the only thing magdi was guilty of was trying to play detective. >> remember, he's been a suspect for ten years, the police have never left their vision of him as being the suspect, and because of that he's got to essentially solve the case on his own. >> what would the jury think? on the day of closing arguments, richard and ryan walked to court together. they had brought something for prosecutors sonia balleste, a religious tile belonging to ariet. >> sonia wanted me to bring an item from our mom and stuff that she could hold on to. >> they learned the evidence driven prosecutor had a superstitious side, she wanted to have something of ariel's to touch during her last closing argument to channel ariet's spirit and courage. >> she took the witness stand in a preliminary hearing and faced evil. and for the first time in her life, stood up to him. she knew exactly what he would do to her for it. >> he's done some bad things in his life, but he didn't hire anybody to murder ariet girgis. he's innocent. >> there was nothing left to do now but wait. after nearly a decade, these final moments were perhaps the most excruciating. >> i mean, this has been like. >> it's a lot of anxiety built up right now. just wondering when the verdict is going to come in. it's going to be like any moment. >> sonia, already at her new job waited for the phone to ring. she had played the waiting game numerous times. it wasn't any easier this last time. >> i didn't want to let those boys down, so yes, i was probably a little bit more nervous than usual. >> it was definitely agonizing, every time we heard a ring or a buzzer, it really got us like, okay, did they get a verdict. >> after two days, they finally heard it, three buzzes. the jury had reached a verdict. >> were you worried there was going to be a not guilty verdict? >> the only thing that had worried me was all it takes was one person to not see things the way that everyone else sees it. >> you never know what a jury is going to do. >> never know what a jury is going to do. >> and when they filed back into the crowded courtroom, ryan didn't look at his dad. instead, he held on to his brother. >> i was just embracing the moment, this is it. this is all riding on this. >> we the jury in the above entitled action find the defendant magdi girgis guilty of the crime of felony, conspiracy to commit a murder. >> oh, it hit us. this is what we have been waiting for for nine and a half years. >> in the gallery, the brothers cried, and as the hearing continued, richard's sobs grew louder and louder until he couldn't contain himself any longer. >> why papa, why. >> i couldn't hold myself back. i was trying not to, like, say anything, but it just was pouring out. i told him in arabic, i said why, dad, why dad, why dad, why, i just, i still can't fathom the reason of why he would do such a thing, why he would throw away our family, why he would throw everything away. >> what was magdi trying to tell his son, we'll never know. magdi's thoughts at his sentencing were somewhat clearer. >> i have nothing to do with the killing of my wife. i did to my best ability to work hard, secure a future and advise my kids not to get involved with all of this gang activity or anything. i'm not a bad father. maybe i'm strict, but i love them they are my kids. >> magdi girgis was sentenced to life in prison without parole. >> if magdi had not taken the bait, if he had gotten the phone number from your two undercover officers and thrown it away and just said i don't know who you are, i don't know what you're talking about, and if you call me again i'm going to call the police, would he be in custody today? >> probably not. >> so he ended up giving you your whole case? >> his greed gave me my whole case. >> magdi girgis had worked tirelessly to build the dream, and then by his own hand destroyed it. well, perhaps not all of it, these two brothers may have lost both their parents, but they still had each other. >> that's my little bro. >> yeah. >> in april 2018, accused hitman anthony bridget was found guilty on several charges, including the murder of ariet girgis. he was sentenced to life and is appealing the verdict. the second intruder has never been identified and despite investigators' suspicions, neither has the mysterious middleman. >> you never found out who that was. >> not yet. >> it's been ten years. >> that's true, took me nine to get magdi, you have to be patient in this line of work. >> there's still a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the remaining suspects, richard and ryan hope someone will come forward. in the meantime, they are keeping their heads down and working hard, just as their father always taught them to do. when we last interviewed ryan, he said he planned to do some things differently. >> do you picture yourself as a dad someday? >> i do. >> what kind of dad are you going to be? >> i'm going to be the opposite of my father. i'm going to be there when my kids need me. >> and that's the beauty of the american dream, there's always a new beginning no matter where you came from. rebe i'm crying melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline". oh, my god! >> a fire chief murdered. his wife the only witness. this detective knew them both. >> she started telling me about a young man coming into their home and shooting keith. >> her job now, solve this crime. clue number one was a doozie. >> after he shot keith she said he turned to her and said, i'm sorry, ma'am. >> i'm sorry? a killer who apologized? that was just the start. a gun

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