Transcripts For WTVJ Dateline NBC 20160229

Jealousy, raid. Thats wha we have here. Someone pulled the trigger, but was someone else pulling the strings . I believe they think theyre playing a game. But this, was no game. This cant be. Life. Im lester holt, and this is dateline. Heres andrea canning. Memories of family man. Shes a dancing girl a doctor. A lover. A good man. He was the ultimate support system for everybody in his life. Finally, saveroring lifes rewards, until he found himself in the cross hairs of someones there is innuendo, in a small town in west texas. The story on its own is so sensational. It happened in lubbock, a town where texas siz dreams can actually come true. Lubbock texas produces livestock, good schools, great health care. With the right set o skills, little city. As longg as they watch out for dust storms, tornadoes and other dangers that strike out of nowhere. On july 1 2012, a brutal hot spell had loosened its grip on lubbock. A warm afternoon was still cooking away. Dr. Joe, becky sherbet and nathan gilmore, when someone pulled up to the house. It was a girl from dr. s lab and they were concerned that he ha not shown up. Covenant hospal. We rang the doorbell and couldnt get anyone to answer. Certainly dont know his work schedule, but i know him as a person. Would he not be late. A lot of people knew dr. O in. A she admired her big brother. He didnt go halfway with anything. Anything he pursued, he did well. A family presented, who joe treated like a son. Went thrhrgh med school, dirt pool, lived ia tiny roach filled pardon me, had no money, until h was a successful doctor. He was totally selfmade and had a drive. A successful career and a marriage that brought him a beautiful family. Everything was on track. Then, in 2001, he suffered a huge set back. His wife left him for another man. Late 40s, a sin gailgle man and their kids startin their adult lives. Their dad made a change. Before he had been a buttondown doctor whoho had been married to his high schoolgirl friend of 30 years, and the all of a sudden, he has to basically start over. Appreciated him. He bought himself a house, made it nice. Just the way he liked it. He even started dressing more fashionly. Heeas very han some and tall. And he dressed, i mean, he looked great in everything. A bachelor in his late 40s, who had, you know, lets face it arcs i decent amount amount of money. He sounded like a catch. As he reach his 50s, joe seemed to be making up for lost time. How did he do with all the attention he was getting from the ladies . He was very humble. That turned into a passion. Ballroom dancing. It was social, challenging, answered was good at it. His dance card was pretty full. Yes. He really remade he remade his imagine after the divorce. He loved to do every style of dance. Eye rolling. Debra owns d venue in lubbock. Everyone wanted to dance with him. He became a regular. And then one day, in 2011, rochelle walked into the door. She is outgoing, loving, friendly. Extremely bubbly. And everybody that i know that came into contact with her really liked her. Rochelle was 49 years old and a divorced mother of four. They had only been going out for aew months, when joe put her meet my kids date. My dad told us that he had been dating a new woman and wanted to bring her to a barbecue we were and thahas where we met her. I thought she was sophisticated. I thought sheas kind. I thought she was lovely. And our First Impression of her was very good. They dated for close to a year. Until that day, when he didnt show up for work. The landscapers and coworker gave up knocking on the door and decided to look for the doctor out back. And opened the gait, and one whole section of windows had been just laid over in the house. They peered inside. There was a a gatorade bottle, which was a strange thing. You could tell something terrible had happened. So the young lady behind us, thats when nathan found ashella shell casing on the floor and they called 911. Somebody has broken a window in the back and the doctor has did not show up for work today. There is a bullet in it was laying on the ground. Okay, was it an actual bullet or had it already been fired . I dont know. I didnt pick it up. Somebody else walked in. M not here. Im not going in. Nathan and theh woman from the lab continued searching through the home. She starts looking in the rooms, and it seemed like it took forever to go through the home. They searched further, and eventually made their way to the garage, and thats where they found joe spaawled. Crying and she said his name, dr. Sonay. He returned to his coworker, and his face told her everything. Hisp face told her everything. Its not good. Oh, no. God. Maam, maam, whats going on. I dont know. But this much was clear. A man they admired, a doctor, that good man, was lying dead in pool of blood. Coming up, what happened to the doctor. Rochelle rochelle, the doctors girlfriend think she may know. She said i hope this hurts him as much as he hurt us. knocking on door honey . Im dying my hair mom. Hair dye . No, not in my bathroom. Relax mom. Honey, just let me in. No tiffany no its jususpurple. Teenage daughter . Get scrubbing bubbles. Kill 99. 9 of germs and destroy dirt and gme. You only need scrubbing bubbles disinfectant cleaners for 100 problem solved. We work hard so you dont have to. Sc johnson a family company. Shoulders dont just carry pads. Ey carry your fans passions, hopes, and dreams and maybe, a chance at greatness. In our house, imagination runs wild. But at my table, i keep the food real. Like country crocks recipe made with real simple ingredieies. And no artificial flavors or preservatives. Real Country Fresh tasas from real ingredients. Welcome to crock country. Check this out, bro. Whats that, broheim . I switched to geico and got more. More savings on Car Insurance . Yeah brofessor, and more. Like renters insurance. More ways to save. Nice, brotato chip. Thats not all, brotein shake. Geico has motorcycle and rv insurance, too. Oh, thats a lot more. Oh yeah, im all about more, teddy brosevelt. Geico. Expect great savings and a whole lot more. Lets get these dayquil liquid gels and go. But these liquid gelu are new. Mucinex fastmax. Its the same difference. This one is max rength and fights mucus. Mucinex fastmax. The only branded cold and flu liquid gel that is maxstrength and fights mucus. They say when mr. Clean saw all the Different Things his new art phone does. It reminded him of his magic eraser. Its not just for mas on walls. Its tough on kitchen grease. And bathroom grime too. Hes your. All aroundtoughcleaner, mr. Clean. Degree motionsense is the worlds first deodorant activated by movement. As you move, fragrance capsules burst to release extra freshness all day. Motionsense. Protection to keep you moving. Dr. Joe sonay was handsome, well liked and successful. But his showcase home in lubbock, texas was a crime scene. His body riddled with bullets and stab wounds, found on his garage floor. Weve got the chief pathologist murdered in his own home. Why . Thats my first question. Why is this man dead . How did you all get the terrible news of what had happened . They said your father was found killed in his home. Know, and would you please come to lubbock. We need to sit down with you and the family members and talk. The news was devastating enough, but even more tragic, the second murder in this family. The worstart was, my mother was killed two years, almlmt to murdered. Their mother had been killed by her second husband. Looking back on it, the phone calls from the two Police Departments for each of their deaths was so similar, that i felt like it could have been the same phone call repeated twice. When detective johnson showed up, the garage door was closed. But graphic evidence of joes killing was apparent to anyone who got close enough. The blood had actually traveled from underneath this body all the way underath the garage door. What happened . The first guest guess was an easy one. It could have been a botched your first instinct is somebody broke into the house, take things of great value and surprised by the homeowner. But notng was missing. The crime seemed to center on joe so innay. How many times was he shot . Five. Stabbed . 11. The detective moved through the house, trying to imagine what happened. I just walked up and visualized the point of entry. And from where i was at, i could see that the window was pushed in. There was no broken glass, which is very curious to me. Investigators also noticed something about that gatorade bottle on the floor. A projective traveled through it. I made the determination it was possibly a silencer. We had blet casings in the immediate area. The people close to joe were girlfriend, who rushed to the house when she heard the news. Hat was her demeanor. How was she acting. Distract. No makeup. You know, clcthed, like she had been doghouseing housework, got in her car and flew to where we were. He asked her to come to the place station. How would you desibe your relationship with him . Hes the lovee of my life. I cant imagine who would want do this to him. Hes the kindest man. Rochelle wasnt the only person who thought he was a keeper. She told police that the doctor left a number of broken hearts relationship he ended just before he met rochelle. They had an on again off again relationship. She wasnt happy about it. So the women in rochelles eyes were maybe looking for revenge. She felt she had been shorted out by dr. Sonay. Another woman couldnt get over her break upith the doctor, so upset, she continually left ssages, sometimes full of vulgarities on joes phone. She had called and called and called. To the point where he had to hang it up, or had to turn off the ringer. Joseph would get these horrible Text Messages, you know, calling him [ bleeping ]. You know, youre such a [ bleeping ], whatever. The next day, it was like hi, do you miss me . Do you know when the last time he received any communication from her . It wasnt that long ago. Him, no one can. Correct. She also told police about a strange letter she received in the mail. In it, a woman named tina claimed she had a sexual relationship with the doctor, and he had broken his promises to her. Rochelle described the letter. She met joseph on the internet, and that they had sex for money basically. And she and her daughter lived in this place, and joseph hasnt been paying, andhes going to lose her place. She said i hope this hurts him as much as he has hurt us. Rochelle said that she and joe thought the letter was a prank. Still, it was another possible lead for police. Youve got all these lights going off in your head. And so youre just trying to balance out how these people are involved. Rochelle was also concerned about a strange incident a few months before the doctors she thought a burly stranger was watching her. a creepy looking guy. He was looking for someone or watching someone. Not long after that, Something Else happened one night at joes house. And so while theyre standing in the kitchen talking, they see a flash. Which they believed to be a flash on a camera. Investigators checked out those weird incidents, and the exgirlfriends, but they also had to look at rochelle herself. At this point, rochelle i not a suspect. Shes more of an involved person. However, i dont have that luxury of not looking at her as a possible suspect. Detective johnson learned the family felt rochelle was pushing joe hard for a marriage proposal. I just dont believe that she let her foot off the throttle very often. Shes putting the clamps on him to get married. So he wasnt digging that . Rochelle said she and joe talked about having a longterm comnitted relationship, but never discussed marriage. Still, it raised a red flag for police. Until they got a tip that the killer might be someone the doctor had never even met. Cong up, a growing list of suspects. Is one linked to rochelle. Ill be honest, i love, love, i r rlly rochelle seemed lost, exhausted, as she talked to police about the man she loved, and about who might have killed him. She told them about women in joes past. She said some of them were angry. But joe wasnt the only one with past relationships. And one in particular came to mind. Dr. Thos michael dixon. Boyfriend. Well to do and wellknown plastic surgeon, with a beautiful home, thriving practice, at at one time, h own local talk show. I get the patients who come in and say i want to look like j low or beyonce. He had three kids when he first met her at a spa he owned. When his wife foundnd out, she divorced him. Mike and rochelle dated for about a yearand a half, but she says it wasnt always easy. It was volatile. It was up and down, and he would, i believe, that he was seeing other women and he denied it. But the final straw, was a birtbday gift that fell flat. He signed me up for tea of the month, and he had it mailed to me. You know, you couldnt hand me something. You had it mailed to me. By all accounts, she bro[e dr. Dixons heart when she dumped him. She says that he begged her to come back, even after she started dating dr. Sonnier. She went to his house the night after the murder. What was his face like when he opened the door . He was a little surprised to see us. He invited them in. They recorded the meeting. Im shocked. Believe me, youre on a list of like eight, nine people. This is a huge, a huge who done it for sure. Well, i didnt. He was calm, even chatty. Ver met joe, their only connection, rochelle if he carried a torch for her, it was over. Ill be honest, i really loved, loved, loved her. Made a lot of life changes for her, but just wouldnt have it just wasntoing to work. In fact, he already moved on to a younger girlfriend, who was with him the night he was questioned. Momo of all, he had a solid alibi. Yeah, we didnt think he was involved. We had checked him out as far as the informbtion, we had solid. Surgery, this is where i was, so on and so forth. They continued their search for the killer. It was just a few days later that police got the break they needed. They got a call from a man with a crazy story that would launch a murder mystery into the headlines. Hes been relating stories ababt this things that he did. His name was paul reynolds, a veteran studying to be a nurse and still in his scrubs. He lived in arillo, about two hours away. An old friend from high school, hean be very bombastic, pompous, ar grant, obnoxious. According to reynolds, this guy was a blow heart, could barely hold a job and a talked a big game. But reynolds was concerned his latest story mht be more than talk. His friend was telling him that he killed a doctor in lubbock. Just got up, he had this gun and shot the guy. And then he said s sething about pushing in a window. Did he say that the window was broke . It is that theshattered. It didnt break. That got his attention. This detail matched what happened at joe sonniers. Nobody knew that. We didnt release that information. Thats huge. He also used a gatorade bottle as a silencing device on the gun. Once again, we hadnt released that information either. Shepherd, and that rang a bell. Police remembered that when they interviewed dr. Mike dixon, he said he knew a guy named Dave Shepherd. Detectives learned they were best buddies and business partners. Dont know how they met, but they were just good friends. D d he go into any other details about his contact with mike . Why did he doo this . Right, right. Paul reynolds sai dave might have something about a triangle. Possibly a l ve triangle. But something happened between these two that made davav think that heeeded to avenge. Apparently dixon was not only going along with it, but he was police put aside any suspicions, and focused on this unlikely pair, this doctor and super sized wing man, big Dave Shepherd. Coming up, a doctor in denial. I had no idea what is going on here. Thanks to dave, police do. In the bag is a gun, a knife and a belt. Stand how much they movov. And created degree with motionsense. The worlds first antiperspirant activated by movement, it has unique microcapsules that break with friction to release bursts of freshness all day. Keeping you fresher with every move. Motionsense. Protection to keep you moving. Dont use windex to make windows spotless and clear go see my big fat greek wedding 2 and learn how to use windex the right way on weird stuff not on windows whos got tickets . I do im okay enough pressure in here for ya . Im gonna take mucinex sinusmax. Too late, were about to take off. These dissolve fast. Theyre new liquid gels. And youre coming with me. You realize i have gold status . Mucinex sinusmax liquid gels. Dissolves fast to unleash max strength medicine. Lets end this. The decision to ride on and save money. He decided to save money by switching his motorcycle insurance to geico. Theres no shame in saving money. Ride on, ride proud. Geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. They say when mr. Clean saw all the differenthings his new smart phone does. It reminded him of his magic eraser. Its not just for marks on walls. Its tough on kitchen grease. And bathroom grime too. Hes your. After dr. Joe sonniers brutal murd, his family was inundated with sympathy. Waiters att restaurants were coming up to us, knowing who they were and expressing their deep condolences, and when myl dad used to eat there, and how by now, police had their big break. A tipster implicated rochelles ex. It was enough to charge them with murder. Mike dixon seemed surprised. I have no idea whats going on here. But andrew dixon, mikes son was dumbfounded. He was somebody that valued the human life. But neither mike nor dave were talking. Dave cut a deal with the d. A. The Death Penalty was off the table if he told his storyn him. I would like for you to tell me how it is that you ended up meeting up with dr. Dixon, michael dixon. We were at a smoke shop maybe four years ago and we connected it was an unlikely friendship. Dave shepherd, the likeable loser, always chasing the next t thing. And dr. Dixon, prominent plastic surgeon, wealthy,y, they were the odd couple. Thepe quick women, smartass and we hit it off. Both men were getting divorced in 2010, and mike was involved with rochelle. She was around 49, 50 years old. Smoking hot. I thought she was just lovely. I thought she was a sweetheart. Mike was cries aeazy about her, according to dave. When rochelle took up with another man, another doctor named joe sonnier, mike didnt like it one bit. The two buddies tossed around some things to he told dr. Dixon, if you to order him some gay porn magazines and you have to send it to his office. That wld destroy him. And immature. Immature. Did they do it . No, they dont do that. Dr. Dixon is like no, i dont want do that. Another scheme to embarrass him, hiring a woman he knewrom a Gentlemens Club named shina. He has a proposal for you. He said a friend, dr. Dixon, had been dating a woman, and that she was now dating a doctor in lubbock and he wanted me to call the exgirlfriend and lie to her, say that i was having sex with her boyfriend as well for money. Shina said no, but mike wasnt giving up. He sent dave to lubbock repeatedly to spy on them. Full on stalking. Going to do this. And so david pretty much commits that im going to go ahead and do this for you. But then, dave said, mikes evil intentions towards joe sonnier escalated, all the way to murder. Tell me how he told you or how you all discussed killing dr. Sonnier . Initially he wanted somebody to break in his house to make it look like, you know, just a Home Invasion or robbery. There had been some in lubbock. This is go time. Were not turning back. Daves like, oh, my god. He wants this man dead. Dave told the detectives it became clear that he would be the killer. Acting for mike. Mike would supply the weapon, dave said. It was a little beat up 25 automatic, i could barely put my finger in it. It was tiny. On july 10, 2012, dave said he got to lubbock around 4 00 in he schmuck into dr. Sonniers backyard and waited for the doctor t t come up. I hadnt been there long. My glasses, shorts, i had my bag. The bag was a gun, a knife and a belt. Three and a half hours went by. Nothing. And then, dave said, a wrapping on the window. Joe sonnier was inside his house, looking right at him. I wave at dr. Sonnier and get up. Walked to the window and he lowered the window about this far from the top down. What happens when you walk up to the window . I pulled the gun out of the bag, i point the weapon, disarge it several times. After three or four discharges, hes backing away, trips on his feet. Falls to the ground. Hes running across to the i believe the garage. So he runs down that hallway, he is out of sight from you . Yes, sir. What do you do next . I pushed the window in. I dont know if hes going for a gun. I dont know if i ever hit him. I dont know whats happeneng. So i push in the window, crawl in. Soou were in, and you have an empty gun. Yes, sir. And you go in there, what happens . I pretty much run around the corner as fast as i can so i can intercept him if he has a weapon and hes going oh come after me. As i turn around, down the hallway, right into the garage, hes laying on the floor. Not moving . Not breathing, nothing. I check his pulse in his neck. Hes dead. I pulled the knife out of my bag, and i stabbed him in his vital organs two or three, four times. A full confession. He watched live from another room. You must have been hanging on every word he was saying. Yeah, we certainly were curious as to everything that had taken place. There is no doubt in my mound he was telling the truth. At least most of it. Dave also said mike paid him in three silver bars, and detectives learned, dave did cash in those bars. As for the murder weapon, he led them to a lake in amarillo, where he tossed. He remembered everything. He did. He said i remember coming over here, and i had that gun, and i just under hand ssed. These two trees. Correct. Right into this area here. A year later, in august 2013, to two counts of capital murder in exchange for a life sentence without parole. But mikes dixon w going to trial. Their attorneys said their client had nothing to do with their plot. From day one, he made it very clear that he did not pay, he did not plan, and he did not participate in the killing of Joseph Sonnier. Never wanted it to happen. But what happened in couou during the trial would be unbelievable. Coming up, a star witness with a startling new story to tell. 20 cent meettersmeters, i had never been involved in Something Like that. When dateline continues. Do you know where the waterfall is . No, me tarzan, king of jungle. Why dont you want to just ask somebody . If youre a couple, you fight over directions. Its what you do. If you want to save fifteen percent or m me on Car Insurance, you switch to geico. Oh ohhhhh its what you do. Ohhhhhh do you have to do th right in my ear . In our house, imagination runs wild. But at my table, i keep the food real. Like country crocks recipe made with real simple ingredients. And no artificial flavors or preservatives. Real Country Fresh taste from real ingredients. Welcome to crock country. Theres moving. And theres moving with move free ultra. It has tripleaction support fofoyour joints, cartilage and bones. And unlike the big osteobi flex pills, its all in one tiny pill. Move free ultra. Dont use windex to make windows spotless and clear go see my big fat greek wedding 2 and learn how to use windex the right way on weird stuff not on windows whos got tickets . I do im okay degree motionsense. The worlds first antiperspirant with unique microcapsules activated by movement, that release bursts of freshness all day. Motionsense. Protection to keep you moving. Take one of those pillows and take a big smell. They smell rlly fresh what if we told you we washed these sheets 7 days ago. Really . No way downy . Downy fabric conditioner gi us a week, and well change your bed forever. Want more freshness . Add new downy fresh protect. cell phone rings where are you . Well the squirrels are back in the attic. Mom . Your dad wont call an exterminator. Can i call you back,om . He says its personal this time. If youre a mom, you call at the worst time. Its what you do. If you want to save fteen percent or more on Car Insurance, you switch to geico. Its what you do. Where are you . Its very loud there. Lubbock, texas was transfixed on this love triangle gone bad. For chelle, it was an unimagine able situation to be in. D. A. Matt powell. Our theory was, an obsession with rochelle. This is vengeance, pride, jealousy. He spent months and months she was in. So i dont know if it was just a vengeance for him, or if some part in the back of his mind said you know, i may get her back. But dr. Dixons aorney said he was an innocent man who had poor taste in friends. What is mike dixon guilty of . Here do we start . Capital stupidity of the highest degree. And trusting David Shepherd. In court, prosecutors argued that mike dixon was the master mind. This crazy plan. Yeah, you know, it just amazing. Still amazing to me today that appearance had a lot to lose, would just throw it away in something so callus as this. Been convicted. When you met with him before the trial, everything was on track. Yeah, i mean all on the same page. He pled guilty. Dave shepherd had one job to do for the prosecution. Get up on the stand and repeat what he told detectives. That he murdered joe sonnier in exchange for three silver bars from dr. Mike dixon. Youre in the courtroom, he is on the stand, all is well. It wasnt all wellery quickly. Thats because dave shepher pulled a fast one. When he got on the stand, he told the court he had lied about dixons role in the murder. His confession was a complete fabrication. Dave said he acted alone, and that dr. Dixon had nothing to do with the murder. Am i shocked that he acted the wayy he did . Am i shocked he acted like a con man, no. To do the things he did, no, i didnt see that coming. You had to think on your feet. Yeah, it was something when 20 something years of doing this job, i hadever ive never been part of something quite like that before. Court capturing the drama, but there was one in jail. Weeks later, when dave confided in his daughter rachel. It was a caress accident. Nobody is responsible except meme you need to understand that. It was not intended. I wasnt paid do that. Why would you make a statement that mike paid to you do it if he didnt pay you to do . Because my attorneys, what theyey told me when i did that statement to the police, my attorneys told me i needed to sell it. Ave shepherds about face was pure gold for Defense Attorneys. Were you surprised when he did that . Thats what he consistently told me. No, mike did not pay. He did not want anybody harmed. That was all me. Mike didnt have anything to do with that. So i was prepared for w wt he had to say. We didnt disclose it to the prosecution, and i think they learned w wn he testified for to recant his first story. For the sqnnier family, watching the proceedings from their side of a deeply divided courtroom, difficult shepherds 180 was a big blow. The, well call the it the circuit created by the froud length testimony, through everything into a tailspin what is going on in the minds of the jors after seeing davehepherd come in and spin that awful tail. Joes son was right to worry. As it turned out, the jury was hung. A mistrial was declared. The family was distraught. He walked in, and without missing a beat, looked us straight in the face and said to us, guy, im so sorry this happened but were going to turn going to get him the secd time. Mike dixons son wasnt it was andrew dixon who didnt. One of the hashedist things just to watch his name just get, you know, drug through the mud, and you know, youre just think, were going to get to say something, and let everybody know who my dad is and that he cant be capable of what h is accused for. But would mike dixon prevail the Second Time Around . Maybe. Maybe not. Coming up, the tail of the text. There is no way that you would think that these are texts about a murder. The evidence was very strong that he was a active, willing participant in this. A new trial. And on october 26, 2015, it was dajuvu. Charged with the murr of dr. Joe sonnier, for the sonnier family, it was time to put on a game face. I decided before the second trial that we should be confident as a family and support the d. A. And really push this thing forward. Pushing it forward was exactly what prosecutor matt powell had in mind. That meant the prosecution would not put Dave Shepherd on the stand this time. Although the jury would hear about his confession. Its a largely sircircumstantial case. Would he want to kill a total strainer . I didnt think it would be a tough sell at all. The evidence was strong that he participant in this. Prosecutors had discovered hundreds of Text Messages tween dave and mike. Both men deleted their texts after the murder, but Forensic Experts were able to retrieve out half of them. A series of urgent texts between shep perherd in the middle of june. Got to happen tomorrow. I know. I need him to show. Not trying to second because were get down to the wire. Why is there a time limit . Why is it important for him to show . Why is it important if he shows up, its over. What they were doing, prosecutor powell argued, was planning a murder. But no evidence of murder, either, in the Text Messages. Are you going to put evidence in a tex message that says go kill the guy. Obviously youre not going to do that. Instead of saying killing somebody, put it on him. Cant wait for him to get home. I need an opportunity. The prosecution pointed to 38 texts and four calls between dave and mike on the day of the murder. When dave called mike that night, the call hit a cell tower near dr. Sonniers house. The day after, there were 21 texts, including the one mike fired off to dave once detectives left his house. Just had a visit from lubbock pd. Cigars. Stay calm. Lay low. Hard to misconstrue that one. Police there and all of a sudden, youre texting the murderer to lay low. The Defense Attorneys said none of the evidence pointed to murder for hire. A lot was made between the Text Messages. They dont look great. They l lk horrible. Something clearly was being planned. But you dont believe that it shows that murder was being plan there is no way that you would think that this these are texts about a murder. And that is what mike dixon said when he took the stand in his own defense. The volley of texts, they were all about trying to get photos to make joe sonnier look bad in rochelles eyes. He acknowledged that he was trying his hardest to get proofof of Joseph Sonnier being with other women and not being litted to rochelle. He acknowledges being inpnpient. He acknowledges pushing David Shepherd to do that. But he absolutely does not, and did not, ever want David Shepherd to harm jeph sonnier physically. But if mike wasnt guilty of murder, why did he delete all his Text Messages, even going so far as to submerge his phone in a pool. I think this is a problem people watching will have. I wouldnt do that. If i had nothing to hide, i wouldnt start destroyoyg all this evidence, and jumping into they could say they wouldnt do it. Until they were in thatame situation. Hes being wrapped up in a murder that he had nothing to do with. And in the sense that he never wanted dr. Sonnier dead. Andrew dixon, mikes son. Naive, almost a sense of people. Studying all the time, working hard and i think those things left him nve to the way people are sometimes in the real world. But would jurors buy that. On november 18th, after delib rating for two hours, they returned with a verdict. They kept saying guilty, guilty, guilty. Yes, i found him guilty, and i i was like a bad dream. Guilty of two counts of capital murder. Rochelle was not in court for the verdict. But she sent us a statement, saying in part, she couldnt express the depth of her despair and grieve. She said she saw no red flags, dixon and Dave Shepherd and herself for having been involved with a man she now considers a sews sews sosiopath. The idea of mike dixon for not being in prison is so horrifying, you cant wrap your mind around it. There is the concept floating out there until its finalized and it was. Now joe sonniers family focused on his legacy, a doctor, a father, a passionate dancer. Is he dancing up there in heaven. He may be. He may be. Thats all for now. Im lester holt. Thanks for joining us. This sunday, hillary carolina has hererooking towards november. Tomorrow this Campaign Goes national. While Bernie Sanders vows to fight on. It would make me so happy to run against donald trump. Bernie sanders joins me this morning. Plus, what a week on the republican side. First, rubio thumps trump. [ ovlapping speakers ] then trump thumps rubio with a surprise endorsement. Theres no one better prepared to provide america with the strong leadership that it needs. As donald trump collects endorsements, the republican establishment approaches panic. Is it too late to stop trump now . Donald trump and senator ted cruz are with me this morning. And when you look at moments like this. A con artist. Youre a choker. Hair force one. Total lightweight. Biggest ears ive ever seen. Is it time to ask whether the gop is on the brink of coming apart . My party s gone bat [ bleep ] crazy. Joining me for insjght and analysis are charlie cook of the cook political report, heather mcghee, Andrea Mitchell of nbc news and erick erickson. Founder of the conservative website, the resurgence. Trump, cruz, sanders. Welcome to sunday. And a spspial super tuesday edition of meet the press. From nbc news in washington, this is meet the press with chuck todd. Good sunday morning. Just 48 hours until super tuesday. We have so much to get to so lets get started right away. Hillary clinton had nothing less than a blowout win last night in south carolina. Clinton beat Bernie Sanders 74 to 26, 3to1 margin. She swept virtually every africanamericans whom she won by a margin of 6to1 and also won every single county in the state. Despite what you hear, we dont need to make America Great again. America has never stopped being great. But we do need to make america whole again. Look whos pivoting to the general. Super tuesday voters in 12 states go to polol and the single biggest day of the primary season for both parties. And our brand new polls in three key super tuesday states have even more good news for hillary clinton. Big leads for clinton in georgia, tennessee and texas. Look at that sitting around the 60 mark in all three. Pretty good indication that clinton is set to have a super, super tuesday. But lets turn to the wild republican race. And well go state by state in that one. In georgia donald trump has a sevenpoint lead over uz and rubio, 30 trump, cruz and rubio tied. In tennessee trumps lead more