Whatsoever. danielle definitely had control over michael minor. she did manipulate him. did she manipulate him to the point of killing sam? i don t know. reporter: detectives mcdonald and szalbirak realized they needed to pay danielle dreher another visit. we re going back to find out what is your intent? what is your involvement with this? coming up did someone have a million reasons to commit murder? there was a substantial amount of money that she was going to gain if sam turned up dead. when dateline continues. for adventure. your home. for romance. your home for big savings. [ laughs ] hey, mom, have you seen m ew. because when you bundle home and auto with progressive, your home is a savings paradise.
Danielle s lover michael minor or that it was michael who shot sam. instead he started by asking danielle about her marriage to sam. danielle candidly described it as troubled. we had been not getting along for many months. danielle also explained that she knew sam was having an affair despite sam s best efforts to conceal it. do you know where he went today? today? i m sure he went to his girlfriend s, yeah. but he always goes to her house. i m not surprised by that. danielle then admitted she too was unfaithful. she was pretty straightforward, told me about the affair. it was wrong. i shouldn t have done it. nobody should cheat. little by little, the detectives led danielle to believe they were focusing their investigation on her lover michael. so it would kind of shock you if michael went and confronted him? yeah. that s what happened. really? and we have michael. do you?
The hospital in time, but she made sure to be at sam s funeral. the bagpipes, i still remember to this day. reporter: did it make you really proud in that moment? yeah. i m still proud of him. reporter: full fire department honors were bestowed upon the admired young lieutenant. it was like the whole community came out to pay their respects. it was very humbling, very, very humbling. reporter: but along with the tears, there was tension. by now, sam s family and friends had learned danielle s lover had shot sam. no one could believe it, that she even had a boyfriend, or that it was her boyfriend that killed him. people didn t even want her at the funeral. reporter: but the drama didn t end there. sitting not far from danielle was the other woman. was that awkward with danielle being at the funeral, the wife and the mistress? yes, it was. but i felt it was more important
Motive, certainly. probably, the most overarching motive was just jealousy. despite the fact that she was conducting an affair of her own, i think that she was just completely enraged that sam started stepping out on her as well. reporter: but in order to prove that in court, fraivillig felt she would need something she didn t yet have a statement from michael saying danielle acted as his accomplice. so she waited, thinking time would compel him to come forward and admit danielle was involved. he never did. michael maintained danielle played no role in sam s murder. was this possibly a twisted act of chivalry? i think that certainly one of his motivations, if not his sole motivation, was trying to protect the woman that he loved. reporter: did you say to him, why are you protecting her? yes. and he said, i m not. he said, i m not protecting her. we were hoping he would contact us through his lawyers
Is not enough unless i can show that there was a conspiracy. michael minor never gave me that information. reporter: what is your gut telling you, that danielle was indirectly involved, directly involved or she wasn t involved. reporter: had no part in this whatsoever? she wasn t involved in that homicide. reporter: news of the decision not to prosecute danielle for sam s murder made sam s sister, cindy, furious. do i think it s a tough case? yes, absolutely. but you know what? their job is not to prosecute cases that are easy. their job is to prosecute criminals. reporter: but just when everyone thought danielle was free and clear, prosecutor fraivillig said not so fast. remember michael minor s videotaped break-in of dianne mcknight s apartment? the prosecutor believed danielle not only helped plan the break-in, but she also instructed michael to steal some of dianne s possessions. danielle was charged with burglary and theft.