>> someone hated him so much they shot through his window. >> they came in and shot him some more. >> angry colleagues at work. >> people complained about how he spoke to them. >> he was like let's go, get the job done. >> angry exes, too. >> he dated a number of women. >> who was the killer? >> someone full of hatred. >> we wanted answers. >> there needs to be justice. >> people are no good at getting away with murder. >> tell low and welcome to "dateline. " a woman found nick gunned down in his own home. the happy couple were engaged to be married when suddenly her world crumbled. she found nick gunned down in his hone home. investigators would wade through a deep pool of potential suspects, from spurned lovers to office enemies before a boost from nick's brother helped reveal the true killer. here is josh mankiewicz with stone cold. >> put people together in a workplace and things can develop. friendships, rivalries, sometimes even love. most of the time it is not a problem, but in this case it was deadly. >> 9-1-1 you have an emergency? >> he is laying here on the floor with a bullet in his head. >> this is a stone cold assassination. >> it was like our house was turned into a shooting gallery. >> one man's militant style of doing business that left a trail of bruised egos in his a professional life. >> you hear about doing what your job requires, he's going to have. it >> had a trail of broken hearts in his personal life. >> at work architect he was probably a pretty good womanizer. >> by the end of it the investigators would discover a world of grudges and a hotbed of affairs and messy love triangles. and it all began with this man, nicolas morales. >> we constantly were teasing and messing with each other. >> john morales and his brother nick grew up outside of tucson, arizona. what was he like as little brother? >> he was a prankster, he was either going to get in trouble or do something that was gonna get in trouble. >> forget you in trouble? >> absolutely. >> just 18 months apart, john and nick were close. partners in crime. brothers who had each other's backs. and, just like his brother, nick served in the military. at 18 he enlisted in the marines. in 1990, he fought in operation desert storm. >> he came back a changed person. very motivated, very dedicated. >> maybe he was a little less of a jokester and more of a straight arrow? >> very much so. definitely more serious. >> after the war, nick returned to tucson and settled down. he married and had a son, nicolas junior. and, while nick loved being a father, the marriage didn't last. >> it really hurt him for many years. he told me that he would never get married again. >> actually, he did, but that marriage didn't work out either. and nick focused on work. starting as an aircraft mechanic, he quickly rose to director of maintenance at what was then moreno aerospace. >> that is the fastest i've seen anybody move up through the ranks. >> bob wells was a client who brought aircraft to moreno for service. >> he was not a, per se, people person. >> within the laws of moreno aerospace, nick was tougher than an irs audit and every bit as unforgiving. but, at the same time, he wasn't devious or sneaky. nick murillo's would stab you in the front. >> he didn't know how to approach people and just have a conversation about, maybe you should do it this way rather than this way. >> it was you are doing it wrong, start doing it right. >> and if you don't do it this way, go home. >> john, a lieutenant colonel in the army, worked at the same airpark as nick. >> what would people say about him? >> he was tough. excuse the language, he was a hard as. very vocal, intimidating to some. >> there is one area where nikkhah seemed quite popular, with women. and, conveniently, moreno aerospace employee to some. >> you have any idea women at rhino he dated? how many of his coworkers? >> he only admitted to two. he told me have to. >> and one of them changed everything. in 2016, knit met christy. >> i liked that he was such a hard worker and he was so smart. >> no immediate fireworks, but as christy and nick got to know each other, they realized that they both loved books, dogs, and plants. >> he was the tough guy at work and hear e is tending to his delicate plants. he talked about how much he loved his dog. >> his dog smoky, an american pit bull terrier. >> look at smoky and, oh my goodness and it's a big scary dog. and this is the most gentle dog you will ever know in your life. >> christine fell, not just for smoky, but for nick to. and hard. >> you sound kind of swept off your feet. >> i was. absolutely. i never knew a man like that in my life. he was my superman. you as always my protector. >> you could see it in his eyes. he was happy, his heart was full. he spoke to my parents about things like i never thought he would talk about. >> like? watch >> like marriage. >> a serial monogamist finally settling down? >> yes. >> nick and christine finally came to an agreement that the past was the past. he did a lot of that women in that same company, a lot of your coworkers. did that give you any pause at all? >> absolutely. my outlook was that we both have a history, you are single, he's allowed today to he wanted to. >> nick and christie got engaged. by july 2016 they were making plans to move in together. >> he just looks right at me and he just said, i want you to know, how much i love you and appreciate everything you do for me. i just remember walking into the kitchen and thinking, god, i am so lucky. i am so lucky. >> 24 hours after that moment came this call. >> my fiancée -- i think he's been killed. i think he's been shot. >> coming up, what had happened to nick? >> i zeroed in on him and -- he was just laying there. >> curious clues in the garage. >> immediately i noticed a bucket full of water and some carpet fibers. >> and blood in the bedroom. >> the floor was very sticky and it smelled very heavily of mouthwash. we felt that whoever did those tried to clean up whatever trucks they left. >> this was the man i was supposed to marry. this was just not possible. >> when dateline continues. was life. now, powerwash gives me the power of an overnight soak in minutes. i'm sorry, minutes? 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>> yes. >> as detective garcia went up the stairs and she saw bullet holes in the wall. at the top, the master bedroom door was ajar. >> i immediately saw a bloody foot of nick murillo's. i opened the door and saw his naked body laying there, riddled with bullets. >> a lot of people will tell you that when their time comes, they want to die at home. very few will say they want to go the way that nick morelos did, in his bedroom, alone with his killer, in a hail of bullets. nick had been shot eight times, including once in the middle of his forehead. >> they shot through his window and assassinated him. >> then came in through the window and shot him some more? >> yes, until he was finally dead. >> detective garcia believed the killer climbed onto the roof outside of nick's bedroom. that is where she found blood on broken panes of glass and on the stucco. so maybe the killer cut him or herself coming in through that window? >> yes. >> there was blood throughout nick's bedroom, in his closet, and on a mouthwash cap in his bathroom. >> the floor was very sticky and it just smelled very heavily of mouthwash. so we felt, at the time, that whoever did this tried to clean up whatever tracks they left. >> in the bedroom, more evidence the killer tried to clean up. >> it appeared that the rug under the bed was cut, like half of the rug was gone. >> detective garcia believed the killer bled so heavily on the rug that he or she cut the rug and took it right out of nick's house. there was also evidence the killer failed to get rid of. garcia's team recovered 11 shell casings, each with a unique five star stamp. and, this was odd. 11 shots, yet none of the neighbors called 9-1-1. >> very early on the detectives and i were working with who have done in previous homicides, they believed that a silencer was used. >> one neighbor said she heard a noise around four a.m., but wasn't sure what it was. investigators thought that good will be nick's time of death. while detective garcia worked the scene, two other detectives went to john morelos office to tell him what happened. then, john had to break the news to his mother. >> a difficult conversation to have? >> most definitely. it's probably one the most toughest things i've done in my life. >> kristie also wrestled with her new reality. a life without nick. >> i went from this amazing life too, just being traumatized and complete disbelief. >> while nick's family faced the loss of a man they loved, investigators began to learn what nick's coworkers and axes already knew. he was not beloved by everyone. not by a long shot. >> coming up, angry colleagues on the job. >> people complained of out nick talked to them. >> except the way nick talked to them was kind of what nick was being paid for. >> correct. >> which was, let's go. >> were any angry enough to kill? >> it seems to me like there are maybe a lot of people that you ought to be talking to at the office? >> yes, the list was very long. >> when dateline continues. ne continues you want what's best for them. ♪ ohh, ohh, ohh! ♪ so ask your vet about new nexgard plus. it's one-and-done monthly protection from fleas and ticks, plus heartworm disease, roundworms, and hookworms... all in a delicious, beef-flavored, soft chew. use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures or neurologic disorders. from the maker of #1 vet-recommended heartgard plus. nexgard plus: the one you want for one-and-done protection. lowe's knows that fall's shorter days... call for bigger deals. vet-recommended heartgard plus. get the most out of your fall projects... by getting the most out of our deals now. and with lowe's pay, it's never been easier to shop at lowe's. labor day savings are here. in-store and online. a mystery! jessie loves playing detective. but the real mystery was her irritated skin. so, we switched to tide pods free & gentle. it cleans better, and doesn't leave behind irritating residues. and it's gentle on her skin tide free & gentle is epa safer choice certified. it's got to be tide i'm jayson. i'm living with hiv and i'm on cabenuva. it helps keep me undetectable. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete, long-acting hiv treatment you can get every other month. cabenuva is two injections, given by my healthcare provider, every other month. it's really nice not to have to rush home and take a daily hiv pill. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients or if you taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. serious side effects include allergic reactions post-injection reactions, liver problems, and depression. if you have a rash and other allergic reaction symptoms, stop cabenuva and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have liver problems or mental health concerns, and if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering pregnancy. some of the most common side effects include injection-site reactions, fever, and tiredness. if you switch to cabenuva, attend all treatment appointments. ready to treat your hiv in a different way? ask your doctor about every-other-month cabenuva. every other month, and i'm good to go. every other month, josh mankiewicz: often at "dateline," we tell you the stories of murder victims on a date line we tell you the who lit up a room or who didn't stories of murder victims who lit up a room or didn't have an enemy in the world. well, not so much with nick morelos. he definitely knew how delight of a room, but depending on which room it was, they might have been people in it who actively wished him ill. that was true in his personal life and it was true here at work. the question for investigators, which side of next life had caught up with him? detective garcia quickly began to find out how much knicks leather neck exterior had robbed people the wrong way. jeff johnson was hr director at miranda aerospace. >> i did have some exit interviews that people complained of out nick talked to them. >> except, the way nick talked to them was kind of what nick was being paid for. >> correct. >> which was let's go. >> get the job done and get it done on time and on budget. >> he was brought in as kind of being a hammer. >> exactly right. >> but, when you are hired to be a hammer, sometimes everything and everyone starts looking like a nail. >> it seems to me like maybe there are a lot of people that you wouldn't be talking to out of the office. >> yes, the list was very long. >> a lot of them had petty grievances like a safety inspector named james will pan. >> it's just, we never got along. >> we'll pandas to gators that nick had given him a hard time for parking his car in a restricted area and then accused him of using a personal tablet computer during working hours. >> anybody you know that wants to kick his ask? >> kick his pass? >> no. >> maybe not over a parking spot, but then, detective garcia started learning for herself about the other part of nick's life. >> he is got to have made a lot of women angry? >> yes. >> his second ex-wife once threatened to kill him, but an ex girlfriend slipped into his house and nick woke up to find her watching him and a new girlfriend while they slept. and, then there were knicks romantic entanglements at work. >> we did not have a fraternization policy. >> and nick took advantage of that? >> i think so. from what i heard. anytime i questioned nick on it he would deny it to me, for good reason i am sure. >> because you are the hr director, i'm thinking that might be the reason. >> correct. >> long before nick met christy, he was involved in a relationship that, now, caught detective garcia's attention. >> he was really, really, really hard worker. >> claudia banks worked in administration at marana aerospace. he and nick dated for six months. >> he was awesome. he really was. >> claudia told detective garcia that she had had a good relationship with nick. however, that came at the expense of someone else. her ex boyfriend, justin skinner. >> claudia moved in with nick and broke up with justin almost in the same breath. >> yes, that is right. >> >> claudia told detective garcia that she tried to cut off all contact with justin. >> and, shortly after the break up, it was reported that he had followed claudia while she was driving her vehicle and nick was in the vehicle. >> claudia also said that justin unexpectedly came by her home a couple of times. then, the day next body was discovered, claudia said she went out with her mom. >> me and her went to circle s. >> the circle as saloon, the proverbial bar on the outskirts of town, where she saw justin. >> did he have any marks on him at all? >> i saw him, and pretty much walked -- just walked right by. >> the next day claudia said justin left a note on her front gate about her ex boyfriend, nick. >> saying, i, i heard what happened, i am really story. if you need anything, let me know. >> then, claudia directed detective garcia's attention to yet another ex girlfriend from nick's past. >> before me, he was dating a girl. jessica, i don't know if you have spoken to her yet. >> just get stillwell, another of next goal friends from marana aerospace. she and nick dated for about six months, even lived together for a while. >> she seemed nice, never saw them argue, always happy and giggling together. >> detective garcia learned that that didn't last. nick abruptly kicked just get out of his house and his life and moved claudia into both. and then garcia heard about something that happened shortly after claudia and nick started dating. >> claudia was at his house and jessica showed up seeing her vehicle in the driveway area and was very upset. banging on the door, saying i know she is in there, let me in. >> nick had told his brother, john, about the dustup with jessica. and he thought that was, what, i'm using? alarming? >> man, it is going to be drama, i can already tell. >> and then, a day after nixon murder, john's kids snapped these pictures of a woman poking around nick's house. >> my children were adamant that it was just gonna. >> does that seem at all significant to you that nick was murdered like, almost exactly a year from the time of his breakup with jessica? >> i found it very odd. >> or very coincidental? >> correct. >> the number of scorned lovers in nick's past was enough to warrant a scorecard. investigators weren't even done counting. there were more answers to be discovered in the place where so much of nick's social life was centered, marana aerospace. >> that mystery woman at nick's house. was it an angry ex? coming up -- >> some of the family identifies you as being the -- >> it wasn't me. >> a lover's a triangle and a tight-knit circle of suspects. when dateline continues. when dateline continues. el) copd is harder on the folks around you