The man was very charismatic, dropdead gorgeous. And an estranged husband. He had caught them having sex in room 11. But the case really started to sizzle when someone torched the motel. Somebody was trying to destroy somevidence or something . We just didnt know. This is a murder mystery of epic prorortions. Both of us were obsessed with this case. Can this get any more bizarre . Im lester holt, and this is dateline. Res Keith Morrison with a place on the sd. Reporter there is a little island, its own bit of fantasy, off the gulf coast of florida. Its kind of a Little Paradise here. It is paradise. And it just gets b bter and better, we think. Reporter Anna Maria Island, where high rise condos are unspoiled white sand, unspoiled houses, unspoiled people, to most of them. When you come across the bridge, its a whole different life. I mean, yeah, you just come across the bridge and its like ah. It is. Reporter and here is where she found her Little Paradise, too. Came all the way from germany for it. Sabine musilbuehler. And whether they called her sabina, or as some did, sabine, they all knew her here on the island. Larger than life person. Absolutely. And the minute you met her, you just were drawn to her. I mean, she was just one of the people that you wanted to get to know w tter. Reporter and even now, looking back on what happened to sabine on the awful mystery. It just doesnt seem possible, not here. I mean, nothing happens on this island. No, i mean, this is a sleepy little town. Its sweet town. We dont have things like that happen here. Reporter no, and certainly not to her. Sabine made good things happen ththgs. Here at the 50s motel she bought and reimagined along with tom buehler, the man she married within two weeks of meeting, her partner at haleys motel. Longtime friends Nancy Ambrose and suzi fox. It had always been her lifelong dream to have her own resort. And haleys came on the market. And at the time it was pretty run down. And we were like, oh, now thats youve got your hands full here. But she needed tom. We knew that tom could do it. I meme, if anybody could d dit, the two of them could turn this around. Reporter oh, and they did. Tom did the fixing, sabine had the ideas. They invited the whole town to their quirky events, their dressup parties. Hello, welcome to haleys motel. Please join me for a tour. Reporter this is her with promotional videos for the hotel. Well, i hope you like our rooms so far, but with all our activities we offer you you wont spend too much time in there. Reporter neighbor barbara hines. Sabine never saw something that had a broken wing that she didnt try to fix. Reporter sabine was a rescuer. People, cats, dogs, turtles. When suzi fox took over the anna maria turtle watch nesting turtles are a very big deal here she asked for help. Tom and sabine were i think my fourth volunteers. And theres nine sections on this island one mile long. And they said theyd take as many as i needed to give them. I watched her with a huge leatherback in the water. Reporter bonner joy owns the local newspaper the islander. Unfortunately, the leatherback was missing a flipper. And he swam in circles. So he kept coming back to the beach. And sabine jumped in the water without a second thought. To the turtles face, like she could tell this 400pound turtle to turn around, you know or will him to. Reporter so you get the idea. She was just amazing. I mean, she just was one of those people that cared about everybody. Reporter like Nancy Ambrose, for example, when she was battling c ccer and nobody would give her a job because of her demanding treatment schedule. Until the day she met sabine. You know, i explained what my situation was. Shes like, great. Thats fine. Come on, come on to work. And i was like, really . And i was that was one of the happiest days of my life because here she was giving me a chance. Reporter so sabine had passions. Animals, her motel, her white pontiac convertible, and in 2008, a new passion campaigning for barack obama. An uphill battle on this predominantly republican island. Certainly up for a party. Shed arranged to meet nancy, in fact, in what they hoped would turn into a victory celebratatn. Sheheas so into the electctn. She was so excited. She wanted obama to win. Reporter strange then that when nancy arrived she couldnt find sabine. And i thought she had already left because i got there late. Reporter sabines husband tom had been there earlier, too, but without her. Still, nancy didnt worry. Not then anyy. It wasnt until a couple days later that i realized she was missing. Reporter how was it possible . The woman who loved to celebrate didnt. The woman who loved to talk called no one. The woman who loved her motel suddenly wasnt there. Sabine was gone. When we come back, the first someone else at the wheel. Flags started going off. Who was this mystery driver . 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As the cop approached the car, the driver ran. There was a wild chase, but they caught him. His name was robert corona. And he had a story, said detectives jeffrey bliss and john kenney of the Manatee County sheriffs office. Mr. Coronas original story is, i was doing crack cocaine with the owner of the car. And it wasnt reported stolen. Reporter did he say he knew who the owner was . Yes, and had permission to have the car. Reporter but when detectives checked the registration, they learned the convertible belonged to sabine. And corona had a record. Hes a known street criminal. I mean, he has a lengthy arrest reporter and they learned from sabines friends that there had to be something very wrong with a story that had her doing drugs and drinking with a felon in a smoky bar in a seedy part of town. She would never be buying drugs. I mean, she would not even allow people to smoke around her. She would not let people smoke at haleys motel property. Reporter really . I mean, not even in the rooms, but on the property. I mean, she was reporter she was kind of a she had a private a i mean, she was very into health. Reporter so they arrested corona, installed him in the county jail and in the morning drove over to haleys motel to talk to sabines husband tom. And . Tom said he hadnt seen sabine in a couple of days. He hadnt filed a missing persons report but did after police came around. What was he like . What was your impression of the guy . He was concerned for her she wasnt answering her phone. He couldnt find her. Reporter and something else. According to tom, sabine never let anyone drive her car. Not even him. Now there was a stolen car, a missing woman and a known criminal. Not adding up to a good combination for sabine. Flags started going off. And shortly thereafter, detectives started getting involved as a missing persons case. Reporter but then it got worse. When detectives went over the car, they found blood drops in the back seat. A patch of the rear seat had been cut out. So they sprayed luminol around, found more blood traces on the rear seat. Now, sabines friends, like Chris Tollette, were horrified. So then we thought, oh, my god, it was him. He killed her. He must have killed her. Reporter so now it was a homicide investigation. Detective jeff bliss decided to pay a visit to corona in jail. I put my Business Card down on the table and slid it across, and we said were homicide this isnt about an auto theft. We need to know the truth and we need to know now. And hes like, heyi had nothing to do with any murders. And then he changed his story. Reporter coronas new story . He never met anybody named sabine. He just found her car parked behind a place called the gator lounge, a not exactly upscale wine bar. In a jailhouse interview, corona claimed it was just a crime of opportunity. You didnt see anybody, though, did you . I didnt see nobody inside the car or around the car. So thats why i decided to take the car. Okay. You know . So i go inside, then i see the keys. So im like oh [ bleep ]. You know what i mean . Mmhmm. And joy ride, you know . So the vehicle was left, like, somebody wanted it stolen. So he just took the liberty of stealing that car. Reporter was the second story any more true than the first . The local paper jumped on all this, of course. And bonner joy heard a lot of stories. There were a number of people who speculated that sabine might obama celebration that was being held downtown. The area that she wouldve driven through to go to that party is a very rough area and that just came to my mind that reporter certainly, something very bad must have happened. Something maybe that happened in her car. So was corona their killer . Or was he finally telling the truth that he stole her car outside that bar . But if that was true, how did it get there . And where was sabine . Coming up could it be sabine had plans no one knew about . 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And the felon whod stolen it kept changing his story. So the logical conclusion was dark indeed. Still, she could have just gone back to germany to see her family or something, right . Right, and there was extensive leads and investigation to determine that. Reporter in fact, apparently, sabine had been seen alive and well at the local airport. Her friend Chris Tollette heard the story. There were two women who were at the sarasota airport, and they were sure that they saw her up ahead in line, you know, to get on to an airplane. Checked out the tip . Her passport wasnt used. That checking surveillance cameras at sarasota bradenton airport, Tampa Airport to make sure that she did not leave the country or fly out. Reporter a couple of weeks went by that way. Lots of tips. No verifiable sightings. And then finally they got the dna back on that blood in the car. We were able to get her toothbrush and some other personal items for a dna comparison. Reporter yeah. And we were able to match that up that that was, nkt, her blood. Reporter her husband tom told a local News Reporter he was prepared for the worst from that first morning when he was told about her car. The second i knew when the police told me that they found her car without her in it and with the keys in the car, i knew sabine was no longer with us. I knew something had happened to her immediately. Reporter so, looked like this guy corona might be on the hook for murder. But beyond the blood . Well, evidence didnt exactly but who else . Had sabine made an enemy . When detectives started looking at her life, they had to cast a wide net for people she associated with. After all, sabine was like a magnet. Everybody wanted to go to her lavish parties. There was a waiting list to get on her party list. Exactly, exactly. Reporter she could even get a little racy for sleepy little Anna Maria Island. One of the more unusual things, she hired some people that she knew from germany who came here to do nude body painting. And that, that blew up. That nude body painting on anna marie island . You cant do that here. Reporter but sabine did what had to be done. It can be a tough business running and promoting a little old motel. Debts are fat, margins thin. And with the economy began to tank in 2008, what once was sunny and light was gray with worry. Sabine and tom were in trouble. The Real Estate Market had folded. I know from sabine, not from tom, that they were highly, highly, highly leveraged. Please call me for your reservation. Reporter and while sabine used her marketing skills to try to keep the motel afloat, she and tom couldnt do the same for their marriage. After more than a decade as husband and wife, they were that in name only. But what they did not do was divorce or divide up the business. They were always still good friends, very good friends. I mean they worked well together. Reporter romance part, the marriage part seemed to what . The romance part kind of maybe romance changed. Reporter it certainly did. As the detectives couldnt help but discover, tom and sabine had taken up with other people, both of them. He with a woman hed known quite a while. She with a local artist who once worked at the motel as a and then there was the matter of the Life Insurance. How much did he take out on sabines life, the cops asked. 100,000 said tom. Despite what was apparently an amicable breakup, people on Anna Maria Island couldnt help but wonder about tom. More than a few, said sabines friend caryn hodge. A lot of people whispering and suspecting him in a way just because they didnt know. Reporter photographer jack elka did promotional stills for the motel and became good friends with tom and sabine. There was no evidence found. There was no nothing. So everything was speculative. Who did it . Its a who did it. This is a murder mystery of epic proportions. Reporter so it was. Then 12 days after sabine vanished from the face of the earth somebody set fire to haleys motel. Open just going can this get any more bizarre . Reporter what was this all about . We just didnt know. Reporter dead or alive, where was sabine . Coming up sabines husband, that 100,000 policy wasnt the whole story. It came up later it was 300,000. Money, a motive or just maybe jealousy . He had caught them having sex in room 11 at haleys motel. Softens your carpet with every use. Its resolve, so you know it cleans and freshens. But it also softens. Resolve. A carpet that welcomes you. And to clean pet messes, try resolve pet expert. Ugh. Today the flame is out, tomorrow my attitude. Your mother. Antonio. Antonio. Que . The stove. Its not working. Campbells microwaveable soups. The torching of haleys motel here in to be as intractable a mystery as the disappearance of sabine. What they did know was it was no accident. This was arson. And it started in a building beside the main hotel structure, a building that once served as tom and sabines living quarters. Nobody was hurt, happily. Was it personal . An attempt to destroy evidence or what . Around town some people wondered if tom had something to do with it. Others dismissed that as just plain nonsense. Photographer jack elka covered the fire for the islander newspaper. Thats when the mystery really started to, wow, another element of this puzzle that reporter yeah. Why would somebody do that . Kind of bizarre. Reporter surely, it had to have something to do with whatever happened to sabine. Why would that place burn down . Somebody was trying to destroy some evidence or something . It was a theory. We werent sure if something happened there and then she was buried somewhere. We just didnt know. Reporter months went by without a decent lead. Though it was not for lack of trying to find one. Especially where their instincts were telling them sabine might be buried. Well, whenever we would have a break, we intowould come out here to this very spot. We would stand here and review the case and brainstorm the case. Reporter detective Sergeant John kenney and his partner jeff bliss kept organizing searches on the beach. Looking for any area where the ground or the White Sand Beach looked disturbed. We took cadaver dogs, walked them up and down the beach. We used groundpenetrating radar, checked various spots on the beach just trying to find skeletal remains. Reporter to no avail. And in november 2009, the First Anniversary of whatever it was that happened, on the beach sabine loved they had a little memorial. Husband tom tossed a flower wreath into the surf. There was no hope. We knew. She was gone. She was no longer alive. Reporter but apparently the Life Insurance company wasnt so sure. And right around the time of that Memorial Service at the the first step to get that money. Wasnt it tom who petitioned the court to declare her dead . Yes. Reporter if shes declared dead, he gets a lot of insurance money. Correct. Reporter he gets the ownership outright of the motel. Correct. Reporter yes, that. Funny, tom had told the detectives before hed held a 100,000 policy on sabine. But when he filed papers to declare her dead, it turned out there was a second larger Life Insurance policy that he forgot to mention. It came up later it was 300,000. Reporter the revelation made the newspapers. Attorneys for the Insurance Company argued that under florida law sabine had to be missing at least five years before she could be declared dead and any insurance money paid out. Alt the hearing reporters noticed an Unusual Group of observers listening to the proceedings. The whole back row of seats and if they werent interested in what tom had to say to the Insurance Company, why were they there . Reporter but tom was not successful. They denied a death certificate. And tom was denied the insurance. And i could see reporter and thats a big story. How they into deny a death certificate. There was no body. Reporter by then the police knew corona didnt kill sabine. A barmaid at the gator lounge was able to confirm the essentials of his story. So he was convicted of car theft, not murder. And detective kenney, who as an island cop had known sabine and tom for years, decided to have another try much closer to home. He asked tom for any detail, no matter how small, that might take the investigation beyond the conjecture and whispers of suspicion that floated on the island breeze. And he went into a whole background of their courtship, their marriage, and how it reporter how did it disintegrate . He told me that they just slowly, you know, like grew apart and that they stayed together because they were very good friends and they owned the business together. Reporter but and this seemed unusual while they stayed married, they moved in with other people. Remember, in the year before sabine went missing, tom started dating a new woman and sabine took up with a handsome younger man who once worked at the motel. His name was bill. Bill cumber. The man was very charismatic, dropdead gorgeous. Reporter ten years younger, in fact. Sabine was 49. Bill was 39 and very different from tom. Tom, meanwhile, was still sabines business partner. And thats where things got a little dicey. One day tom found sabine in a room in their motel with her new lover, bill. In room 11 at haleys motel. But he said it wasnt a jealousy thing. It was a lack of respect that, you know, having sex with his wife in the hotel room. Reporter not jealous . Maybe. Still, the detectives knew that sort of thing could very well drive a person to do terrible things. So tom and bill did one of them harm sabine . They interviewed bill the first time back when sabines stolen car was found. Learned that in 2008 they started dating and eventually they moved into an apartment together. Sabine told her friends shed hit the jackpot with bill. Friends like joyce lathrop. She even had his picture in her wallet. And she was so proud that he was so handsome, and i can see where she was head over heels. Maybe this was going to be the love of her life. Wonderful future together. Reporter the last time sabines friend photographer jack elka saw her she was with bill. Jack had never met him before. She came over to me and gave me a big kiss and hug and, you know, how are you . And she introduced this man to me. And he shook my hand. Hey, jack. How you doing, man . Long time, no see. And im looking at this guy, thinking like i dont really know this guy. Reporter the question was, did anybody know bill . Coming up i think that the worlds missing somebody special. Emotion from bill, and a surprise from a stranger. He said, you have no idea what youve just done. Wide open . Pills. And comes in a pen. Victoza is proven to lower blood sugar and a1c. Its taken once a day, any time. Victoza is not for weight loss, but it may help you lose some weight. Victoza works with your body to lower blood sugar in 3 ways in the stomach, the liver, and the pancreas. Vo victoza is an injectable prescription medicine that may improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. It is not recommended as the first medication to treat diabetes and should not be used in people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. Victoza has not been studied with mealtime insulin. Victoza is not insulin. 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Detectives his story of what happened the night she disappeared. Sabine left their place around 10 00 p. M. , he said, intending to go to that obama victory party. And the next thing he knew, detectives were at his door telling him theyd found her car and there was blood inside. A few days after that, bill told his story again to a local tv reporter. I think its a tragedy. I think the worlds missed somebody somebody special. Reporter he told the reporter he blamed himself, in a way, because sabine left after they argued about his smoking. Now i feel responsible for her leaving, leaving here. As far as what happened after that, i have no idea. Reporter the detectives were busy looking at records and discovered that bill once spent some time behind bars. That was after, and unrelated to, his stint as a handyman at and tom and sabine went to see him in prison, sent him money, wrote to him and he wrote back. And you know, tom, i think, was just throwing them away. But she started writing him back and trying to help him. Reporter as sabine and toms romance cooled, her letters to bill heated up. When bill was released on probation in 2008, sabine was waiting for him. Sabines friends, however, did not share her enthusiasm for bill. They didnt want him to be around her. They pretty much said, if youre going to come, dont bring that guy. Reporter but it was just they saw something off about him . Yes. That, you know, she did not. Reporter no. Sabine saw a young, fit, artistic man who just needed a break. Bill was something of an amateur artist, though his sketches didnt seem to amount to much. But sabine was determined to to get his artwork sold and maybe start up a woodworking business. She had set him up in a woodshop, bought all his tools. Reporter and around town, they certainly looked like lovebirds. Still, two weeks after sabine vanished, the detectives asked bill to come in for another interview, and thats when he told them about the argument. We got in a verbal dispute and went she left. I mean i dont honestly i had no control over where she goes or what she does. Right. But you guys were not in a physical altercation . No. We never had a physical altercation. Reporter but did they push him . Did they challenge him . Yes, they did. Where did you dump her at . This woman you love so much. She left. I dont what do you mean dump her . I dont so you dumped her. I dont got nothing to do with what you beat her to a pulp. Happened that night. No. What happened to her after she left . No. Reporter but, try as they might, bill cumber did not crack. So they sent him home. But kept an eye on him. What made you think that he was the guy who would have killed her . I mean, they were going out together. We knew that they had an argument day at least one. Reporter was there any other evidence that pointed toward him besides that . Not until he vacated his apartment. Reporter without sabine to pay the rent, bill was evicted. And the detectives got per mission to get in there tut sweet. The first time i entered the apartment, it was a heavy, heavy scent on bleach. Reporter wait a minute, how long after . Four or five weeks. Reporter and yet the smell of bleach was still strong at that point . Yes. We went in and searched it. And we found additional blood evidence with dna. Reporter what did all of that say to you . Something bad happened right there. Reporter but bill told the detectives that was innocent blood. And then they found bills dna on the drivers seat of sabines car, but he told detectives she let him drive it. We knew that no one, even her husband was not allowed to drive her car. Reporter but then they looked at bills hand. He had an injury on his hand that was consistent with a friction burn that i myself had gotten when we were out here digging test holes. Reporter just from the shovel . Getting it on the palm of your hands . Yeah. Just from shoveling. Reporter bill said he fell off his bike. And the more detectives looked at bill cumber, the worse it looked for him. The reason he did time in prison, for example . He was convicted of arson. He was jealous of his girlfriend, paramour. And they had a argument and he tried to burn the house down with her and the kids in it. Reporter it turned out the haleys motel fire was intentionally started with accelerants. Bills shoes were tested later too, but that wasnt enough to make a case. So did they arrest bill, charge him with murdering sabine . No, they did not. A nobody case would be very tough, said the prosecutors. Theres no proof the woman was even dead. So the detectives turned up the heat. So theres always somebody knocking at the door, i want to talk to you. I want to talk to you. We had a legitimate safety concern for other residents, especially if he, you know, wound up getting with another female. Reporter and bill couldnt take it. He left Anna Maria Island, left the county. Unfortunately for him, that was a probation violation. So before long, bill was in jail while the detectives kept looking for sabine everywhere. No trace. Then in 2011, three years after she disappeared, a man named ed moss was clearing brush in front next to the beach. And underneath a log there was a kind of a small purse. Reporter looked stolen, said ed. So he showed it to a deputy. And his eyes got really big and he looked at me, he said, you have no idea what youve just done. Reporter it was sabines purse. Her drivers license confirmed it. We had this lead as far as the purse being recovered. It was only two blocks to the north where they actually live. Reporter so detectives kenney and bliss brought an army of police and equipment and started searching the area for her remains. But again after weeks of digging through the sand and bush, nothing. Both of us were obsessed with this case. And you know, we know he did it. Reporter another thing kenney knew was that tom didnt do it. Remember, some people on the tom, but privately detectives had long since cleared him. I could tell that he didnt do it. But we went through the steps and we alibied him and did, you know, everything that needed to be done to make sure. Reporter apparently, his attempt to cash out the insurance policies so quickly was just a matter of financial survival. I would never thought that tom had anything to do with this. Thats why i felt so brokenhearted. Reporter so with tom in the clear, detectives consulted with other jurisdictions on how they handled nobody cases. And lined up all the forensic and circumstantial evidence and finally the prosecutor told them they were ready. In 2012, four years after sabine vanished, bill cumber was indicted for Second Degree murder, but it was not going to be an easy case. Obviously, evidence that goes with the body, you know, cause we didnt have that. Reporter and what would it take for a jury to believe handsome bill was a killer . Coming up a final clue leads detectives back to the beach and puts a trial on hold. Hed been crying quite a bit. That was the first time that ive ever seen him emotional. And xifaxan works differently. Its a prescription antibiotic that acts mainly in the digestive tract. Do not use xifaxan if you have a history of sensitivity to rifaximin, rifamycin antibiotic agents, or any components of xifaxan. Tell your doctor right away if your diarrhea worsens while taking xifaxan, as this may be a sign of a serious or even fatal condition. 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Aaaaaaaand were back at Cricket Wireless switch and get a brand new lg risio for 19. 99, or take a spin with the Samsung Galaxy grand prime for 29. 99 Cricket Wireless. Something to smile about. Good morning sunset. Good morning night. Good morning neon, shining bright. Good morning hunger. Good morning stars. Good morning people who just left bars. Good morning gamers. Good morning moon. Good morning morning. The days slid by rather more slowly for bill cumber. Back in prison on a parole violation and under indictment for murder. But he did have visitors. Detectives kennek and bliss. Both had moved on to other cases, but they still made time to press bill to come clean. We traveled four or five times up to where he was in prison and tried to interview him. Reporter what would he say . Say he had nothing to do with it or didnt want to talk to us. Reporter of course, they didnt believe that. The detectives were sure bill had killed sabine. And they had an offer he couldnt refuse. We got the blessing of the state attorney to offer him a deal. Reporter the deal . Tell detectives where to find the body in exchange for a lesser sentence. He makes a statement, ill take my chances with a jury. The hair on my neck stands up statement. An innocent man will say i didnt do it. Reporter bill will be taking his chances soon. His trial was just a month away. So detectives approached the one person who maybe could persuade bill to take the deal. Detective bliss actually took the defense attorney into our Property Office and viewed all the evidence. Reporter there was sabines blood on the couch, couch bers hands with those blisters detectives believed came from burying her. And the evidence in her car, the cut upholstery with her blood and bills dna. I think they went to cumber and said, you know, were going to have a tough time with this. Reporter pretty soon prosecutor art brown got a call. I received a feeler from mr. Cumbers defense attorney he might be interested in an off, 20 years in prison if he told us the location of sabine. Reporter what do you know . Bill bit. On october 15th, 2015, a bearded bill cumber pleaded no contest then he sat down to answer questions with a tape recorder rolling. What was that interview like . Chilling. Reporter according to bill, the argument about smoking was just part of it. The bad part started, he said, when sabine told him they were done. So sabine thinks she cant go on with this anymore. What happened at that point . I lose control, and i hit her in the head with my fist. This is a disgusting situation, man. Whats her reaction to being struck . She gets scared and she covers her face with her hands. Okay. And what do you do at that point . I reached and grabbed her throat and started choking her. Reporter he choked her till she stopped moving, he said. She never fought back. Did he seem remorseful . Somewhat. I mean, he wasnt tearyeyed. He was just kind of getting it off his chest. I couldnt believe what i did. I stared down at her and all i couldnt believe what i had done. Reporter he said he took a sheet off the bed and rolled her up in it, waited about an hour, dragged her out to the car. He put her in the backseat where she bled on the place he cut out the upholstery. And then he drove to the beach to bury her. Did you bring a shovel with you . Yes. Reporter on the way to bury her, he stole a shovel from haleys motel. And then after he buried her, he said, he drove to the gator lounge, left the keys in the car hoping somebody would steal it. Then he took a bus back to the island and a trolley back home. I thought he minimized certain aspects of his involvement in the murder. Reporter minimized what . He says that it was just a split second moment of insanity. I think there was a little bit more calculation than that. Reporter after the interview, detective bliss put bill in his car and drove to the then, in handcuffs and leg irons, he shuffled down a long path to a place on the sand where hed often sat with sabine. This is where he brought her body. A spot they used to sit out all the time, right down the road from haleys motel, and that he buried her on the beach there. Reporter right here, where he and sabine came to watch the sunset. Right here . Which way did you put her in . Her head was here. Reporter detective bliss mapped the area out with tiny yellow flags. How deep was the hole . About four feet, four or five feet. Reporter and then the detective gave bill an opportunity, whether he deserved it or not. Want to take a minute . Go ahead. I told him if he wanted to say a prayer, he could. Tearyeyed and emotional, and he apologized to her. I walked him back to the car. And he just asked me to let her family know that she was a very good woman and she didnt deserve to die. And he was very sorry for what he had done. And he was very emotional and crying quite a bit. That was the first time in my dealings with him that ive ever seen him emotional about what he had done. Reporter once he left, a team of detectives and the medical examiner dug slowly, carefully. And by the end of the day they had found what was left of sabine. What was that like for you after all those years of trying to find something and failing . We were elated. Me and my partners. Its a sense of relief. Closure. Reporter bill cumber was returned to jail and is now serving his 20year sentence in state prison. Arent happy with the 20 years he got, but you know, theyre not part of the family that has to deal with it. Should he have gotten life . Absolutely. Reporter detective Sergeant Kenney is retired now and detective bliss is still doing homicide cases. Tom buehler, who lost both a woman he loved and, for years, his good reputation, has tried to move on. Hes remarried now and is still running his beloved and restored haleys motel. Its a busy place this time of year. And in place of sabines little promotional videos, heres tom. If youre coming to Anna Maria Island and if you want to see old florida, you can either drive around and look at it or you can stay here at haleys motel and experience it. Reporter and up and down the streets of Anna Maria Island, sabines friends remember. Im so blessed that she was in my life even for that amount of time because she touched my and i think it makes me really appreciate each and every day even more because it can be cut short. Reporter even here in this little remnant of paradise. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Well see you tomorrow at 8 00, 7 00 central for the dateline saturday night mystery, then again sunday at 7 00, 6 00 im lester holt. For all of us at nbc news, good night. Multiple semis tipping over today due to some very strong winds throughout the area. Plus. An Area Police Department hoping to bring in an independent researcher to study possible Racial Disparities in traffic stops and. Local fish frys taking place on this friday night giving people a chance to come together with their community during youre watching kwwl, weve got you covered. This is the news at ten. Good evening everyone, im and im ron steele, thanks for joining us. Some very strong winds in the area today causing a lot of accidents. Take a look at this semi tipped over along interstate 380 in linn county. The accident slowing traffic as the trailer blocking one lane and fire rescue crews blocking the other. Another similar accident here on highway 61 near the dubuque regional airport. This semi blocking the road completely shutting down traffic for an hour and a halfthe driver treated for minor injuries. That wind dying down a bit tonight lets go to storm track seven chief meteorologist Mark Schnackenberg now for your weekend outlook. Information. Here is additional forecast information from the kwwl stormtrack 7 weather team breezy conditions sw 1020 mph continue overnight and into early saturday morning. The sky is clear tonight and remains that way saturday to enjoy and 50s. Clouds increase saturday night and linger intoo sunday with a stray rain shower possible. Breezy conditions sw 1020 mph continue overnight and into early saturday morning. The sky is clear tonight and remains that way saturday to enjoy plenty of