a man i don't know about? >> where would she go? >> she wasn't selling that place. she loved it. >> why would someone new own her slice of paradise? >> i was convinced this guy stole her people and stole her property. >> and he was getting away with it. >> literally getting away with murde murder. >> it's a dream that seemed so out of reach. quit the rat race. move to an exotic land and buy your own private island. >> even when she was young, she wanted to travel, see the world. >> cher hughes had a dream and she made it come true in the most unlikely place. the finy island in panama. >> she would take a picture of the sunset, send it to me. she said, it's like living in a postcard. >> life was beautiful and simple, an escape from the pressures of modern living. who could have in paradise, too, beneath all that beauty was a dark secret. >> it still seemed very unreal. i don't want to believe it. >> this was a really really bad guy. >> it sent chills down my spine. >> but before the nightmare came the dream. boca del toro is the place people come to escape, a group of islands off the coast of panama, way off the beaten path. it's the kind of place where things move more slowly and life is supposed to be easy. cher first visited with her boyfriend if 2000 for the out doorsee cher, it was love at first sight. what's more, it was affordable for the same money cher had been saving up to sail around the world, she bought her little piece of paradise, a rental property. a small house and that tiny round island. >> we saw a lump in the water. that's it. that will be our spot the rest of our lives. >> cher and keith met seven years before that when the vivacious blond walked into a little bar keith owned in florida. >> she came in and those big blue eyes and smile, i was hooked. she was just so beautiful. >> cher grew up in st. louis, where her all american good looks got her into modeling as a teenager. >> she walked in a room, beep, everybody knew she was there. she was always happy. she always had smile for everybody. >> reporter: eventually she moved to st. petersburg, florida, where she became a savvy business woman rung her own neon sign company. >> she made sure she had that income, she was setting herself up for exactly what she wanted to do is retire and travel around the world. >> clear did travel, but mostly in the u.s. then a friend invited her to visit boca del toro, cher jumped at the chance. >> it just hit us that way. the people here just phenomenal. >> we love you. >> cher loves children in panama and lots of kids. >> keith is a carpenter, so he built their dream home a set of buildings on their lush island. cher planted a tropical garden and adopted lots of animals, a pet monkey and brown doberman pincher jack. he adored cher and followed her wherever she went. she loved the local school kids, planned movie nights with popcorn and celebrated the holidays with enthusiasm, even though her friend sean trainer says the kids didn't always get the significance. >> she would do the easter egg hunts, they had no idea what this crazy white woman was doing, coloring eggs, hiding them around on the island. they had never participated in anything like that before. >> reporter: keith and cher's relationship blossomed on the island. in 2005 they married in front of their many friends in the close community of ex-pat. >> it's a small place. you go to the grocery store, you know, 20 people you know. >> reporter: kristen roberts who had moved from norway became a part of cher's group of friends. >> we kind of speak together. treated each other like family and take care of each other. >> and spent spend holidays together. >> make up social events. there is obviously a lot of social events happening. >> reporter: everyone went by their first names or nicknames. keith and cher were known as ken and barbie, the man who owned one of the local watering holes, another american, was known as wild bill. viking hat and all. bill and his wife jane opened a bar on their secluded property accessible only by boat where the ex-pat sometimes gathered for drinks. >> bill had these saturday parties at his place in the bar and restaurant once or twice a month. >> draws everybody? >> there's everybody there. >> reporter: it was cher's tropical dream come true, a beautiful backdrop for family reunions, like the time her aunt mary came to visit. >> her grandmother, my mother and i came down and visited and got the whirlwind tour. they met us at the airport with a big, big bouquet of flowers and it was just wonderful. >> reporter: there was another big trip in the works, cher's sister judy was planning to visit for the very first time. >> she wanted to show you her paradise. >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: the trip would be a good distraction for cher. her life had recently turned upsidedown. her five-year marriage to keith had hit a rough spot. he'd even moved out. >> when keith had moved off the island, she was pretty devastated. but then again i also thought, whose marriage is perfect and hopefully they'll work it out. i knew they still loved each other. >> reporter: the sisters were excited about the trip, plans were in full swing. >> she called me and said, hey, i'm still you know i'm hanging out on the front porch on the island seeing how beautiful it is, i can't wait for you to get here. hurry up and get here. >> did you tell her you had a ticket? >> oh, yeah, she knew i had my ticket. my passport, everything lined up. >> then what happened? >> then i don't hear from her. >> one day passed. then another. still nothing. >> what is racing through your mind at this point? >> too much time has gone by without her talking to one of the members of the family. and now i know something's happened. i kept hoping that you know i'd get the phone call and oh sorry, my phone wasn't working, i dropped my laptop in the water or you know there was always that hope. but inside i knew something's wrong. >> judy was worried and cher was gone. >> coming up. >> where is cher? they're going, i don't know. we're mad at her, too. >> maybe her disappearance could be solved? a text message from cher to keith with some bad news. >> she just said i met somebody else. >> she was rung away with that person? >> so maybe she got on a boat with some new friend you didn't know about. she'd be back in a week? >> right. >> so who was this new mystery man and where was cher? 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[wood rolling] alexios, add toilet paper to the shopping list. [chiseling on stone] oh, and camel milk. and a chicken. and moisturizer. alexa: thanks, guys. i'll take it from here. shouldn't you pay less when ynow you can.data? because xfinity mobile gives you more flexible data. you can choose to share data between lines, mix with unlimited, or switch it up at any time. all on the most reliable wireless network. which means you can save money without compromising on coverage. get more flexible data, the most reliable network, and more savings. plus, get $300 off when you buy a new samsung galaxy s20 ultra. that's simple. easy. awesome. call, click or visit a store today. >> reporter: on the exotic coast of panama, cher hughes had been living out the dream of owning her own island. but then last spring, she vanished. >> i imagine you were calling? >> calling. >> leaving messages? >> texting, facebooking. and then i started reading her facebook. and it's, like, "cher, where are you?" people who were in panama, in bocas, "haven't seen you around town, where you at, gimme a call." and we started wondering. >> reporter: when cher's husband keith realized she'd left town, he was surprised. but he thought he might know why. cher had been talking about spending time in panama city. a place where she could blend into the scenery more easily, and wrap her head around their breakup. >> she told me she wanted to have an apartment in panama city and just spend some time in the city and get out of bocas. cause it was such a small community and -- >> she was getting a little tired of it? >> yeah, you just keep bumping into the same people, having to tell the same story. and she was just ready for a little break of bocas. >> it's not unusual for people to come and go around here. after all, the easy-going lifestyle is part of the island's charm. but cher's friends and family said it wouldn't be like her to leave so abruptly. leave her cherished island with all of her belongings still here. >> reporter: cher's aunt mary started phoning cher's friends in panama. >> we immediately started calling her friends and everyone going, "what's going on?" and everyone was saying "you know cher. she might've just gone -- for a week. and you know, lost her phone, and we're like, "well, ok, maybe." >> reporter: mary logged on to cher's facebook page and reached out to those friends. >> "where's cher?" and they're going, "i don't know. but we're mad at her, too. doggone it, we -- she -- she always calls me. she calls me every day. what -- where did she go? how -- why would she not call me?" and we got a little aggravated with her. like, dang it cher, what are you doing? >> reporter: and then some good news. cher's friends received a text message from her -- saying she'd gone sailing. >> she's a free spirit, right? she's-- >> oh. >> adventurous. >> she had an opportunity, she'd-- she'd go. you know. >> so, maybe -- >> but -- >> she just got on a boat with some new friend that you didn't know about and she'd be back in a week. >> right, yeah. >> it wouldn't have surprised me that, "oh mary, i went sailing and then my phone fell off the deck when i dropped my purse." that would be cher -- for three to four days. >> reporter: the messages were reassuring, but not for long. a few days passed, and cher didn't return. then another text message -- this one from cher to keith. >> she just said i met somebody else who's better than you, yeah. >> she said she had met someone else? >> yes. >> and she was running away with that person? >> yeah. >> reporter: a mystery man? keith wanted to get to the bottom of it. >> i called her best friend, and said "did cher meet somebody? does she have a man that i don't know about? is there something going on?" she said "she's never mentioned any guy to me ever. she's waiting for you. there's no man in her life. she didn't run away."' >> reporter: but keith noticed something strange about the messages. they weren't written in cher's usual style. >> instead of small letters, it'd be all capitals. and she'd always write a-r-e, and this would be an r for "are" or "2," the number, would be there rather than t-o. so, it was just -- i said it was just -- it just changed. >> reporter: and then, the text messages simply stopped. cher's aunt mary called the us embassy in panama, and begged for help. . >> i said we have a missing person, cheryl hughes, gave them all the facts. we september the embassy pictures. the embassy was saying we will look through the hospitals and if we find her, we'll notify you. they made a big point of saying people disappear all the time. and if she wants to be found, she will contact you. i wasn't accepting that. this is texas. she calls her dad every sunday. don't tell me she ran away from home. and so i had a hard time shouting into the darkness of the embassy saying "help me, help me." >> reporter: things got worse. cher didn't call her father on his birthday. it was a huge alarm bell. >> i knew how she felt about her dad. and she would never, ever miss his birthday. so something had happened to cher, for sure. in my heart, i knew then. >> reporter: after two months, it was staring everyone in the face -- the unanswered phone calls, the strange messages, the missed birthday -- all the clues pointing to a horrible conclusion. >> did you start to panic? >> yeah. i knew something was wrong. the whole family started to panic. >> reporter: the terrible realization sank in -- cher hadn't gone off sailing, or run away with a mystery man. she wasn't hiding out in she wasn't hiding out in an apartment in panama city. something had happened to her. friends in bocas wracked their brains for answers, and they started thinking about another american from their group who'd also left abruptly. had anyone heard from him? what if cher wasn't the only person missing -- what if there were two? >> i just woke up one morning. just like one of those weird things. and i just knew. coming up, another american who apparently just walked away leaving his home and a lot of questions behind. . >> there were dirty dishes in the simplth it gave me a weird vibe. >> i knew off the bat, hey, whoa, what's going on here? >> i couldn't ignore it anymore. somebody had to do something. >> when "stealing paradise" continues. i'm alphonso, and there's more to me than hiv. there's my career,... my cause,... my choir. i'm a work in progress. so much goes... into who i am. hiv medicine is one part of it. prescription dovato is for adults who are starting hiv-1 treatment and who aren't resistant to either of the medicines dolutegravir or lamivudine. dovato has 2... medicines in... 1 pill to help you reach and then stay undetectable. so your hiv can be controlled with fewer medicines... while taking dovato. you can take dovato anytime of day,... with food... or without. don't take dovato if you're allergic to any of its... ingredients or if you take dofetilide. if you have hepatitis b, it can change during treatment with dovato and become harder to treat. your hepatitis b may get worse or become life-threatening... if you stop taking dovato. so do not stop dovato... without talking to your doctor. serious side effects can occur, including allergic reactions,... liver problems, and liver failure. life-threatening side effects include lactic acid buildup and severe liver problems. if you have a rash and other symptoms of an allergic reaction,... stop taking dovato and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have kidney or liver problems,... including hepatitis b or c. one of the ingredients in dovato may harm your... unborn baby. your doctor may prescribe a different medicine... than dovato. your doctor should do a pregnancy test... before starting... dovato. use effective birth control... while taking dovato. the most common side effects are headache, diarrhea, nausea, trouble sleeping, and tiredness. so much goes into who i am... and hope to be. ask your doctor if starting hiv treatment with dovato is right for you. ask your doctor if starting hiv treatment hi.aria ramirez? mcdonald's is committing 150 million dollars in tuition assistance, education, and career advising programs... maria ramirez. to help more employees achieve their dreams. . in the picture everything isla yefk island of boca dell torah, cher hughes was missing. now her parents wanted to know if her disappearance had anything to do with another american who left the island abruptly, four months before cher. a man named bo icelar. >> bo was quiet. introvert. he was a really great guy. >> bo kept a low profile since moving to bocas from santa fe, new mexico in 2004. the former antique dealer was so quiet that no one even noticed when he took off. >> a lot of people say, let's go to argentina for six weeks. let's get on the boat and go. they don't e-mail everybody and tell them we're leaving. that is easy to be not missed for a while. >> it made more sense when they found out that beau sold his home to wild bill, another american in their group famous for throwing lively parties many of the people attended including cher's friend kristen. >> i knew that they wanted to sell and move somewhere different. and so i assumed they sold and that beau had left. >> still, as keith thought back to the days after beau moved out, an image kept returning to his mind. an image of beau's house right after he left. >> i walked in and looked around. it looked as if beau had gone to the store, not moved out. i went back and told my friends, i can't believe that house. it is really weird. towels on the back of the chair. some shoes by the door. his cane is next to the front door. there is dirty dishes in the sink. it's just weird. it gave us a bad vibe that beau would just walk away. >> two americans missing. rumors began to swirl. could their disappearances be linked? >> the more you think about something like that, you know, it didn't add up. . >> did it kind of eat at you? did you keep thinking about it? >> yes, i kept thinking about it. because it wasn't right that cher would leave. i knew this girl would not leave town without saying good-bye and without a party. and beau could leave, but the two of them going together, i'm just like sending their belongings after the fact doesn't sound right. >> and then kristin heard something that made the floor drop from under her, beau had abruptly stopped paying his bills, something totally unlike him. >> i just woke up one morning. it's a weird thing. i just knew. i couldn't ignore it anymore. i just couldn't. somebody had to do something. . >> kristen went to the police. did they immediately investigate? >> no. they just put it in a file. and they go just yeah, yeah, yeah. white house they say people get lost in panama all the time. two people missing. no deal. >> she reached out to someone she thought could help, another ex-pat, don winner, a man that runs a website for foreigners living in panama. >> i was contacted by one of her friends that was concerned that she was missing. and they asked for my help. >> don has lived in panama for 23 years and is our consultant on this story. he came here with u.s. military intelligence back when noriega was in power and never left. now he turns his attention to the two missing americans. >> i knew right off the bat, whoa, hey. what's going on here? and i knew that i had to apply a lot of time to it and a lot of attention to it. and i also knew that i had to get it right. . >> he hopped on a flight from his home in panama city to boca s and tapped into the coconut telegraph. what is the coconut telegraph? >> that's just the rumor mill. they call it the coconut telegraph. when something happens, word spreads quickly. >> and from what don was hearing, things just weren't adding up. he checked to see if bo and cher might have left the country. >> i knew that bo and cher, both of them, their passports had not gone through the airport. if you look at immigration movements, both of them you can track. could they come in and they leave. they come in and leave. they came in, they never left. all right. so they're still in panama somewhere. >> but where? there was one more piece of the puzzle falling into place and that would point a finger of suspicion at someone living right among them. . >> coming up. he was their neighbor who threw outrageous parties and they knew he had quirks, but how well did they know wild bill? >> he's always the loudest voice in the room. he texts everyone, your lord xhansd to you come to my party. >> your lord commands you? >> yeah. >> a a pirate out to make a killing in real estate. >> he wasn't selling that place. she loved it. >> he showed up and said, yep, i bought everything. >> when "stealing paradise" continues. rinvoq a once-daily pill can dramatically improve symptoms... rinvoq helps tame pain, stiffness, swelling. and for some... rinvoq can even significantly reduce ra fatigue. that's rinvoq relief. with ra, your overactive immune system attacks your joints. rinvoq regulates it to help stop the attack. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious infections and blood clots, sometimes fatal, have occurred as have certain cancers, including lymphoma, and tears in the stomach or intestines, and changes in lab results. your doctor should monitor your bloodwork. tell your doctor about any infections and if you are or may become pregnant while taking rinvoq. ready to take on ra? 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>> everything. >> meaning your rental properties, the house you built together, five buildings. >> yeah. >> this beautiful estate. >> exactly. everything that we built together he bought it all. of course, cher would have definitely spoken to me before she sold the island. and that didn't ring true. >> bill said he bought cher's entire estate, even her beautiful island and that cher had simply taken off. >> my dogs were there. my tools were there. belongings were still on the island. where is cher? where is all that stuff? when she gets back, you can deal with that. that's between you and her. >> keith asked bill to bring his dogs and his stuff back. >> he placated he brought me one of my dogs. here's one dog. here is a table and two chairs. and here's a toolbox. i said that's a lot more missing here, bill. >> to keith, the whole story just didn't add up. >> she would have never sold the island. it would have never happened. >> did you have an interest in any of that property? >> we put everything in cher's name. >> she had the right to sell? >> absolutely. without telling me nothing. >> but you don't think she would have done that? >> i don't think so. it was never about the stuff or money. it was our home. we set it up to live there forever. >> it all sounded wrong to aunt mary as well. >> she wasn't selling that place. she loved it. she loved it. >> mary wanted answers. she picked you up the phone and called wild bill. and he told me, yeah, i got a great deal on cher's property. i bought everything at 50 cents on the dollar. i said i'd like to see that receipt. well, i signed a confidentiality statement. i said well i'll take a look at that. oh well, come on down. i'll help you look for cher, but she's really not here. you can stay at her property, if you like. >> >> where did he tell you she had gone? >> he said i heard she got an apartment in panama city. >> i said so where is her stuff and everything? he goes, oh, yeah, she got there and had me send her some jewelry and money air cargo. i said i'd like to see the receipt on that. because this girl is not going to have you looking through her drawers finding her jewelry. >> his didn't make any sense? >> it made no sense and his arrogance came through the phone. i'd never met him. it's like, doo do i believe what you know or i'm telling you? i believe what i know. >> and another curious thing was happening over at bill's place. no one could figure out why cher's devoted dog jack kept leaping off cher's island and swimming to bill's house over and over again. >> they kept going back to your old home and swim over. >> he would swim right back and stay right there. >> but for bill, it was business as usual. he even threw one of his famous parties at cher's place with all her things still there. it all seemed a little odd to her friend shawn trainer who stopped by that night. >> it wasn't very well attended. >> why didn't people go? >> i just think that everybody had the same thing. it was kind of like really weird it was at cher's house. and doing it. >> bill even made a toast at the party to friendship. >> and bill gave a speech? >> yeah. this really was something about having good friends. >> just like a heres to good friends? >> yeah, just like that. >> wild bill was about an hour's boat ride from the main island. a big guy with a big personality. he was known for throwing parties at his place. and even in a place that is full of colorful characters, wild bill stood out. >> he was always the loudest voice in the room. he would text everybody and say, you know, your lord commands you to come to my party. >> your lord commands you? >> yeah. he always talked to himself in the third party and a royal sense of some sort. you know, everyone took it as one of bill's quirks. >> another quirk? a pirate club bill created called the jolly roger social club. bill joked that only 90% of the members survive. by now an uneasy feeling about wild i wild bill was spreading around bocas, a normally party guy was spreading low. >> the more don winter tapped into the island coconut telegraph, the more he became convinced that wild bill was the key to finding bo and cher. >> there was the common denominator this guy supposedly bought their property for cash and both people disappeared. >> the flaers went off, he bought both properties and they're missing? >> do you remember that moment? >> dread came over me. oh my god, he could have really done something to these people. >> coming up, the dark south island of paradise. >> find the ak-47 get them in custody. >> the police went up in shovels and came down about two hours later, said, we need to you come up and take a look. >> i imagine that's one of the hardist days of your life? >> inconceivable. >> when "stealing paradise" continues. along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. with chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting. chantix reduces the urge 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. quit smoking slow turkey. talk to your doctor about chantix. if you're living with hiv, and ask your doctor about biktarvy. biktarvy is a complete, one-pill, once-a-day treatment used for hiv in certain adults. it's not a cure, but with one small pill, biktarvy fights hiv to help you get to and stay undetectable. that's when the amount of virus is so low it can't be measured by a lab test. research shows people who take hiv treatment every day and get to and stay undetectabe can no longer transmit hiv through sex. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a buildup of lactic acid and liver problems. do not take biktarvy if you take dofetilide or rifampin. tell your doctor about all the medicines and supplements you take, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. if you have hepatitis b, do not stop taking biktarvy without talking to your doctor. common side effects were diarrhea, nausea, and headache. if you're living with hiv, keep loving who you are. and ask your doctor if biktarvy is right for you. they work together doing important stuff. the hitch? 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>> he told three or four people that. i moved out of my house and moved into a hotel that had security. i was up on the 3rd floor. i was afraid of my family anybody i cared about that he'd come and kill me. >> reporter: keith wasn't the only one who was nervous. >> i got to the point where i became convinced that this guy cortez killed these people in order to steal their property. that's when i said i'm going to the authorities. >> he encouraged keith to do the same. >> he said you need to get to the prosecutor and really turn up the heat. >> keith went to panama city and laid out the case against wild bill to the dij -- the panamanian fbi. >> from that point on, kudos to the panamanian police, they just stepped it up. but for all the suspicion, there was still no hard evidence of a crime. that's when don winner got an idea. he'd heard a lot of stories about wild bill and his ak-47 -- how he'd even fire it off sometimes to impress his friends. but in panama, it's illegal for a civilian to own that type of weapon. so don made a suggestion to police. >> execute a search warrant on his house, find the ak-47, get him in custody. >> reporter: get him on possession of firearms? >> find the gun, lock him down. >> reporter: and then, figure out what role, if any, he might have had in the disappearance of two people. police drew up the warrant. on a steamy day in july, authorities descended on wild bill's home. bill and jane were nowhere to be found. police began the search. so police are looking around. they're here. they have a search warrant on this property looking for a gun." >> yeah. they're executing a search warrant for an ak-47. and when they got here, they encountered cher's dog. jack, the doberman who adored cher, was already at bill's place. no one knew exactly how he got there, but the dog was anxious, pacing nervously. >> jackie was really animated and agitated, and just kept circling and running up into the jungle. >> and the dog would come down and like bark at the people that were doing the search, and run up the hill -- "follow me, guys" and the dog led them up there -- >> reporter: this hill right here?" >> right here. and went up into the back of the property. >> reporter: jack bounded up and down the hill, until police followed him. and there -- they found something shocking. a mound of disturbed dirt. they began to dig. cher's husband keith waited at the bottom of the hill. >> the police went up with shovels, and then they came down, about two hours later, and said, "we need you to come up and take a look. >> reporter: in a shallow grave -- hidden under a mound of garbage, the police made a horrible discovery -- the body of cher hughes. she had been shot once in the back of the head. i imagine that was one of the hardest days of your life. >> yeah. it sure is. i mean, no -- no one should ever see someone they cared about look like that. >> reporter: now, keith finally understood why jack kept swimming to bill's place. >> he'd swim that mile back and just stay right there. he was staying true to mommy. . >> but the horror wasn't over, as police were searching bill's property, they discovered another shall lie glav i grave, there under body of bo icelar. >> it's not people with suspicion and making accusations, it's all really happening. >> keith watched as authorities raided bill's home. they say they found evidence, bo's i.d., cher's passport, her purse and cell phone used to send the text messages saying cher had gone for a sail and nazi memorabilia, strange say thannic signs, jewelry that may have belonged to the victims. the most gruesome discovery, about a dozen gold teeth. >> he lived with these things with corpses and people's personal effects around him. >> souvenirs? >> could be. >> i don't know, or was it more functional? because he was using the cell phone to create misdirection on cher. >> gold teeth? >> you see he had this whole thing of you know always on the run and so if he had gold, he could use that in any country to buy his way out of anything. >> so financial. he had it for value? >> listen, who know what is he was thick or doing. let's leave that to the shrivers. >> the ex-pats in bocas were in turmoil, two of their friends dead, their bodies found in the back yard of a man wild bill cortez. >> to know i had him in my home. we dade social neighbor thing with him. he shot my wife. it's just inconceivable. >> authorities launched a search for bill and his wife, who they also suspected was involved. it was too late. they had fled. >> this is a major manhunt. >> i knew he was probably out of the country on the fly. the most important thing tant is to get his picture out there on every television screen, computer monitor. it's got to fet out there in a 'big way to get him caught. that's what happened. eventually the press coverage caught up with him. >> by then wild bill and his wife japan were in costa rica, someone recognized them. bill and jane made a desperate attempt to enter nicaragua. they were stopped at a checkpoint. >> he sees the checkpoint, the boat driver is going to stop. head stands up, grabs the boat driving, throws him in the river, takes control of the tiller himself, goes flipping down the river, the san one river, which is between nicaragua and costa rick ka. there was a nicaraguan boat patrol. they got the drop on him with machine guns and basically said halt or die. he stopped, gave himself up. >> the end of the line. >> that was the first time he ever had handcuffs on in his life. >> it was the first time anyone heard wild bill's real name, fun lovering bocas del toro wild bill cortez was in fact william jason hol better. a 30-year-old who had been on the republican from american authorities since 2006. as the islanders absorbed the headlines of a killer among them, they discovered wild bill had a long notorious past that stretched 2,000 miles on the white sand beaches all the way to the blue ridge mountains of north carolina. that's where he grew up, going by his middle name dade married his sweetheart, had three kids, worked as a landscapeer. his old bass boss liked him ne he had an affair with one of his employees and he says embezled $25,000 from the gym's accounts. >> he told me that was part of his pay, his package. i said, no, david, it's not a part of your package. >> and that was just the beginning. he left the job and his wife. he ran off with laura michelle reese who would later be known as jane cortez in bocas. in 2005, they say he started in on real estate scams. he sold a home that wasn't hess for $200 think. police charged him with obtaining property under false pretences. by the time the owner realize what happened had happened, he was open the run. that landed him on the television program "america's most wanted." somewhere along the line, police say he sold a stolen car in montana and when comes pulled him over for speeding in wyoming, he took off. >> stop, right now. >> leaving them on a high speed chase before escaping. it seems it was only after he moved to panama that his scams took a sinister turn. >> the change was he killed people to get the documentation in order to take over the property and not only did he steal the property, he would steal everything in the house, cars, boats, right down to the toothbrush and underwear and their dogs. >> he took on their entire lives. >> right down to the change in their pocket. >> reporter: four years after fleeing the states, wild bill was in police custody, charged with heinous crimes. the murders of bo icelar and cher hughes. >> there are dozens if not 100 people in this town that all new cher and bo and they're all thinking, wow, man, this guy pulled this off. he fooled everybody. >> he got away with murder. >> he got away with murder, for a while. >> little did everyone know that wild bill had actually gotten away with a lot more. coming up, an alleged killer trades his island hideaway for a pan manion jail cell and finds his own life may be in danger. >> there was a guard that gives me death threats on my life's life. >> an interview with wild bill. >> i never try to paint myself as a good guy. i'm a bad guy. i'm getting what i deserve. >> when "stealing paradise" continues. with pizza hut's new mozzarella poppers pizza you can switch between 16 fried mozzarella bites and a large pizza. pizza, then app. app, then pizza. it's your world. we're just making pizza in it. hurry and try it before it's gone. no one outpizzas the hut. shouldn't you pay less when ynow you can.data? because xfinity mobile gives you more flexible data. you can choose to share data between lines, mix with unlimited, or switch it up at any time. all on the most reliable wireless network. which means you can save money without compromising on coverage. get more flexible data, the most reliable network, and more savings. plus, get $300 off when you buy a new samsung galaxy s20 ultra. that's simple. easy. awesome. call, click or visit a store today. the search for cher hughes and beau islar had ended tragically. both were found dead, shot in the back of the head, and buried in shallow graves. after being caught at the nicaraguan border, wild bill and his wife emerged from the jungle in shackles, charged with the murders. bill's wife was subdued and denied any involvement. bill, however, appeared surprisingly cheerful, saying he was happy to be back in panama. >> reporter: those first days when bill was brought back to panama, what was he like? >> he was making jokes, and he was laughing on it and he was really -- he wanted to -- people to see him. he was really trying to show off. >> reporter: national director of police gustavo perez interrogated wild bill and says he talked openly about the killings. bill admitted to shooting bo icelar on his boat. for cher, it started with a friendly dinner at bill's place. afterwards, bill took her outside to see some animals behind his house. when she turned to look at them, he shot her. did bill tell you why he murdered the people that he confessed to murdering? >> money. he say, "i want to -- i wanted to have their things." >> reporter: but even the most hardened cops were shocked to hear what else bill had done. wild bill drew a map of his home -- with x's marking where the bodies were buried. only there were more than two x's on bill's map. there were five. five victims. not just bo and cher, but three more people who'd died at the hands of wild bill. this time, it was a father, mother and their teenaged son -- the brown family. they were the original owners of bill's property, cher's neighbors. >> beautiful view, look at that. >> yeah, that's the thing. they built the house on the hill for the view, you know. >> then sometime around christmas 2007? >> right. i believe that's when bill killed the brown family, took over this property, then moved in as his own. >> there's the sign. >> hacienda cortez. >> skull and cross bones. >> the skull and cross bones, the whole thing about the pirates and skulls, that was his whole gig. >> it's chilling. after the bodies were discovered, wild bill was seen as a monster in panama, a killer who kept his victims' personal things right in his house. we wanted to speak to him and reached out to his attorney. we got a return call. it was his daughter wilawyer wil on the phone. he said he wanted to explain himself. >> i am not denying criminal activity, i'm only saying that what's been portrayed in the media as this crazy serial killer thing completely untrue. i am telling you i am not a serial pleasure, i have never taken pleasure in harming a human being, and the things i've done in my life haunt me. >> you have to understand the victims of these crimes, their families are incensed, their families say you have parties at their homes. how can you possibly defend that action? >> defend it? i don't defend my actions, i'm a criminal, i'm a bad guy, your worst nightmare. what i'm also saying is i didn't wake up one morning da, side to kill my neighbors. >> shortly after our call a very different looking bill gave an interview to a local panamanian tv station from his jail cell. his wild blond hair replaced by a brown buzz care. >> i did it. i'm guilty of it. i'm going to be punished for it. >> in cold and chilling detail, he recounts how he murdered the brown family. >> i separated them. this is gruesome and i understand it's very -- but you're asking me and i'll answer your question, sir. i separated them. i asked mike brown to show me a well he dug in the back of the property. i took him there. and without him knowing what was happening, i shot him from behind, killed him. >> holbert also admits to another victim, number six. american expat jeffrey kline. holbert claims he died when the two got in a fight on a boat. too afraid to go to authorities, holbert came up with his own solution to get rid of the body. >> i took it home and buried it. and then i built a picnic area over it. i know it's horrible and stupid. it was definitely the wrong thing to do. but i never had been in that situation before, didn't know what to do. i never tried to payable myself as a good guy, i'm a bad guy, i'm getting what i deserve. there is nothing i can say -- i am sorry. but there's nothing i can do to bring these people back, especially cheryl. >> he says he is sorry for what he's done and does he shed tears. but not for the victims, for his wife, laura who he says is innocent. >> if she was sitting here, i would tell her i'm sorry she ever met me. because she didn't deserve this. if i could give my life to set her free, i would. that's it. >> and the man who said he killed six people had time to sit in a cell and think about his own death. william h ocholbert and his wif apparently received threats in prison. >> there's a guard in this jail that brings me a cell phone and gives me death threats from these people. i'm a dead man. i don't even care. that is not even important. but my wife doesn't deserve this. >> have you talked to your lawyers about this? what are the options they have? >> options? what options? excuse me. give me a second. >> this is a really, really bad guy. it doesn't get any worse than this kind of guy. he is like the worst of the worst. >> do you think the trail of bodies is longer than we even know? >> i have no doubt. exactly how many people did this guy kill? nobody knows. >> angel calderon, panama's auxiliary prosecutor on the case, said he reached out to other countries to see if any of their missing persons may have crossed paths with wild bill. >> translator: once they verify and confirm any persons that had contact with him and have disappeared, they'll take measures to verify where they are. >> if there are other victims out there, they may be hard to find. wild bill mostly targeted loners, people whose disappearance might not be noticed. it wasn't until bill killed cher, the woman who had a smile for everyone, that he was caught. >> his mistake of targeting cher is what was his downfall. he couldn't have picked a girl more loved. he picked someone that absolutely stood out everywhere she went and would be missed and loved. >> someone the family cared so much about, that they would start calling immediately. >> this is our girl, how dare you mess with our girl and think we're not coming for her? >> it would take seven long years for the wheels of justice to turn in panama. during that time holbert's wife divorced him while she sat in separate panamanian jails. in august 2017, wild bill cortez was found guilty of the robbery and homicide of five people. according to a tweet from the panama ministry of justice. he was sentenced to 47 years in prison, and the woman once known as jane cortez, she was sentenced to 26 years for her role in the crimes. for cher's sister judy, there are only good memories and appreciation for the big sister who followed her adventurous spirit all the way to paradise. >> so you're not bitter that she ever went to panama? >> i'm happy that she went, because i know what it meant to her. the peace in her heart of being able to live there. i wouldn't have wanted her to miss that. this is an msnbc special series. >> how great that is? >> this is a special night for me. i'm in portland, oregon, with some of the best chefs in the country. >> may any. >> please. >> they have three things in common. one, they are supremely talented. >> it's pretty rock star. >> two, their passion for food is boundress. >> this is [ bleep ] amazing. >> and three -- >> i want you to know dinner is being prepared for you by alcoholics tonight. >> one out of two families

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