my heart breaks. casinos, charisma, connections. he was mr. big. he was very dark flamboyant. extremely charming. his murder was big to. a car explosion at a posh resort, somebody wanted to make a statement. who would want him dead? or who wouldn t? a string of angry investors, even whispers about the mob. everybody went, oh, this is mob connected. so why would police focus on her, a beautiful socialite, ex-wife number two? she was very intoxicating. i think she was cold and calculating. maybe her former husband was worth more dead than alive. it s easy to blame the rich, beautiful woman. she s the person everyone loves to hate. but she is completely innocent. or maybe it was someone else entirely. he is obsessed with gary triano, obsessed with him. it s a case we investigated for more than five years. now a stunning new end. we are going back up under a rollercoaster. spend a little time in tucson, arizona and here, in the shadows of the majes
Made her rise to the level of a suspect. and ron young was still somewhere in the wind. so safe to say this goes cold? yes. in january of 1997, pam phillips received her life insurance payment. $2 million. plus interest. did that insurance money give panda lifestyle back that she had lost? for a short while, yes. $2 million does not go far in aspen. pam bought herself a house, a million dollar fixer upper. and with her exquisite taste, she turned it into a beautiful house. in fact, her deck was featured in the glossy aspen sojourner magazine. she was dabbling in real estate and trying to make starbabies. com a success. to help with the website, she invited gary s daughter, heather triano to come live with her in aspen.
Stepmother gary s oldest kids had grown to love, a woman who had been their friend. they each made an emotional statement. my father s death was sudden, and violent. his life was taken as the result of greed, hate, and malice. heather spoke about the woman she had once defended. to think i had actually stood up for this woman, and suggested she might have been involved in the murder, i told her to keep her head held high because she had nothing to do with this murder theft. boy was i wrong. and then, pam phillips had the floor. she turned towards the gallery, and spoke out for the first time. i just want everybody to know that i am innocent, i am innocent, i am innocent. okay. and i m truly sorry, so sorry this is a nightmare. this is a nightmare. and, gary was my husband, okay,
Kept that secret, until one evening and 2011 while dining at a local restaurant, she saw gary s daughter heather. something told her, it was time. i said, heather, i think there is something that i need to tell you. i told her what pam had shared with me that night at her house. and the very next day, laura shared her story with detective keith st. john. what made you decide to come forward? seeing heather, and knowing how much she loved her father. knowing that what i knew could possibly help them convict the person who was responsible for his murder. on the stand, the defense attacked laura, saying she was not have been remembering things clearly, because of a brain tumor she had been
Ever see pam phillips returned to the united states to face charges? because, by then, detective james gamber had learned pam was no longer in switzerland. and it s like i told heather, i said pam has disappeared. we don t know where she is anymore she could be anywhere in the world. and i said the sheriff told me to find her. and i said, they are asking me to pull a rabbit out of my hat, i don t think i have any more updates. you are feeling defeated? yes. and what did you think, you are never going to see pam phillips again? yes. coming up. i think she was cold and calculated. so calculating she could allude the cops. the worldwide hunt for the socialite suspect is on. she had thought that she had gotten away with this. when dateline continues.