and he followed her and said, they got to the metropolitan, and she said, i was standing there, in front of this painting, this dark painting, saying that this painting reminds me of tom toolan. reporter: that was the moment, beth later told leslie, that tom toolan i picked to propose to her. he chose a gallery in this world famous museum, the metropolitan museum of art. he proposed to beth before but never like this. he pulls this run out, gets on his knees, proposes to her again. and she says, i was not she didn t feel safe enough to say no. she knew she was in a dangerous situation. so she said to him, i need more time. she was so upset. because he said, it s now or never. and her response to him was? then it has to be never. and these are words right out of best mouth. reporter: beth rushed out of
s apartment when she got their, beth stayed. and leslie says that beth later told her that things went from bad to terrible. he got very violent with her that night. he sexually assaulted her. and i think that beth was probably, sort of in a state of it s a confusing thing when it is somebody that you are supposedly close to. who violates you. my guess is that she was probably just in the state of shock. and why she didn t leave that next day, i m not exactly sure. reporter: by friday, october 22nd, two days after the dinner with her brother, beth decided to leave new york. friends and family say it was clear that she intended to call it quits with toolan, and she had even left her weather a message, saying she was coming to spend the night. but by now, something else was becoming clear. tom toolan was not going to let death go. he wouldn t leave her.
smith barney. other jobs in finance followed, including a stint as a bank executive on wall street. he seemed to have it all. he called me on some corner in manhattan. and he said, she s unbelievable, we re having so much fun. reporter: tom whitman as well, from day one. he said, whoa, she s an amazing gal. a great gal. reporter: even though they lived apart, they started i m seeing each other regularly. beth was eager for marriage and family. soon there was talk of rings. although, beth s brother said, it was mainly tom doing the talking. it s my understanding that that first day, he said, i m going to marry you. and she is like, yeah, right. reporter: beth hesitated as she learned more about her new man. he told her he had drinking problems. but for burnett fognini,
be the guy, absolutely. it reporter: was labor day weekend, a sunny day on nantucket. burnett called her friend beth. i said, hi, i think i m looking at your future husband right now. and she said, really? and i said, yeah. and she said, i ll be right over. reporter: bernie death had only known bat for a few months. not long but long enough. she told me that she had been successful in all parts of her life except love. reporter: so in burnett s old friend tom toolan came, she introduced him to beth. it was electric, the minute she walked in, it was like, whoa. reporter: beth had finally met mr. wright. but people aren t always what they seem to be. or pretend to be. there was a lot to like about beth s new boyfriend. but there was also something a little troubling. especially after he met beth s friends. reporter: coming up
beth lochtefeld went to new york to be with her boyfriend, tom toolan. by then, the two had been dating for six weeks. but the relationship was fraying. beth was beginning to see a troubling side of this new guy. and she started to give him ultimatums. he would start drinking and then he would get really ugly. she would say, you are a good guy but when you are drinking you are an idiot. and you need to decide between alcohol and me. and he would apologize and say, i choose you and i want you. i don t want the alcohol. reporter: that week, beth invited her brother to meet her boyfriend. perhaps, she wanted his take on. tom first impression? you see him walk in. he had long-ish, blond hair, sort of combed back in a double