Transcripts For MSNBCW Dateline 20191118

Said did she meet somebody . Where would she go . She wasnt selling that place. She loved it. And why did someone new now own her slice of paradise . This guy fooled us all, he fooled everybody. He got away with murder. He got away with murder. Hello and welcome to dateline. It was a tropical hideaway where a group of americans thought theyd found paradise, a place where people didnt ask a lot of questions about their neighbors until some of those neighbors started to disappear. Heres kate snow with stealing paradise. Its a dream that seems so out of reach. Quit the rat race and buy your very own private island. Even when she was was young she wanted to travel. She had the dream and made it come true in the most unlikely place, the tiny islands of panama. She would just take a picture of the sunset and send it to me and she said its like living in a postcard. Life was beautiful and simple. And an escape from the pressures of modern living. Who could have known that evil could find a place in paradise, too . That beneath all that beauty was a dark secret. It still seems very unreal. I dont want to believe it. This is a really, really bad guy. It just sent chills down my spine. Before the nightmare, came the dream. This is where people come to escape, a group of islands off the coast of panama and way off the beaten path, its the kind of place where things move more slowly and life is supposed to be easy. Cher first visited the islands in 2000. For the outdoorsy cher, it was love at first sight. Whats more, it was affordable for the same money cher had been saving up to sail around the world. She bought her little piece of paradise, a rental property, a small house and that tiny round island. We saw that lump in the water and we said thats it. Thatll be our spot for the rest of our lives. Cher and keith met seven years before that when the vivacious blonde walked into a little bar keith owned in florida. Came in and those big blue eyes and big smile. I was hooked. She was just so beautiful. Cher grew up in st. Louis where her all american good looks got her into modelling as a teenager. She would walk in a room and, beep, everybody knew she was there. She was always happy. She always had a smile for everybody. Eventually, cher moved to florida where her sister judy says she became a savvy businesswoman, running her own neon sign company. She would always make sure she had that income. She made sure she was setting herself up for what exactly what she wanted to do was retire and travel around the world. Cher did travel but mostly in the u. S. Then a friend invited her to visit exotic boca del toro. Good morning. And cher jumped at the chance. We decided to live there for seven days and hit us that hard. The people here were phenomenal. Children love panama and kids. Keith is a carpenter. He built their dream home, a collection of shiny building on top of their lush green island. Cher planted a Tropical Garden and adopted lots of animals including a pet monkey and a beautiful brown doberman pincher named jack. He adored cher and followed her wherever she went. She loved the local school kids, planned movie nights with popcorn and celebrated the holidays with enthusiasm even though her friend sean trainer says kids didnt always get the significance. She would do the Easter Egg Hunt for all the kids. They had no idea what this crazy white woman was doing. Coloring eggs. And then hiding them around on the island. Theyd never participated in anything like that before. Keith and chers relationship blossomed on the island. In 2005, they married in front of their many friends in the Close Community of expats. Its a small place. You go to the Grocery Store and, you run into 20 people you know. Christen roberts who moved to boca from norway became part of chers group of friends. We treated each other like family. We take care of each other. Everyone went by their first names or nicknames. Keith and cher were known as ken and barbie. The man who owned one of the local watering holes, another american, was known as wild bill, viking hat and all. Bill and his wife jane opened a bar on their secluded property accessible only by boat where the expats gathered for drinks. Bill had these saturday parties at his place at the bar and restaurant once or twice a month. There is everybody there. It was chers tropical dream come true. A beautiful backdrop for family reunions like the time her aunt mary came to visit. Her grandmother, my mother, and i came down and visited and got the tour and they met us at the airport with a big bouquet of flowers. And it was just wonderful. There was another big trip in the works. Chers sister judy was planning to visit for the very first time. She wanted to show you her paradise . Oh, yeah. The trip would be a good distraction for cher. Her life had recently turned up side down. Her fiveyear marriage to keith hit a rough spot. He even moved out. When keith had moved off the island, she was pretty devastated. But then again, i also thought whos marriage is perfect and hopefully theyll work it out. I know they still loved each other. The sisters were excited about the trip. Plans were in full swing. And then what happened . Then i dont hear from her. One day passed, then another, and still nothing. Too much time has gone by. And now i know somethings happened. Judy was worried and cher was gone. Coming up theyre going wheres cher and i dont know, too. Maybe this mystery could be solved. She just said i met somebody else who is better than you. And she was running away with that person . Yes. It wouldnt surprise me i met someone and my phone fell off the deck, that would be cher. But who was this new mystery man and where was cher, whendite line continues. N and where was e line continues lowes has our widest selection ever. With all the trimmings. Hey. Hey. You must be stevens phone. Now you can take control of your home wifi and get a notification the instant someone new joins your network. Only with xfinity xfi. Download the xfi app today. Reporter on the exotic coast of panama, cher hughes had been living out the dream of owning her own island. But then she vanished. I imagine you were calling, leaving messages . Calling, texas, facebooking. And then i started reading her facebook. And its, like, cher, where are you . People who were in panama, in bocas, havent seen you around town, where you at, gimme a call. And we started wondering. Reporter when chers husband keith realized shed left town, he was surprised. But he thought he might know why. Cher had been talking about spending time in panama city. A place where she could blend into the scenery more easily, and wrap her head around their breakup. She told me she wanted to have an apartment in panama city and just spend some time in the city and get out of bocas. Cause it was such a Small Community and she was getting a little tired of it . Yeah, you just keep bumping into the same people, having to tell the same story. And she was just ready for a little break of bocas. Its not unusual for people to come and go around here. After all, the easygoing lifestyle is part of the islands charm. But chers friends and family said it wouldnt be like her to leave so abruptly. Leave her cherished island with all of her belongings still here. Reporter chers aunt mary started phoning chers friends in panama. We immediately started calling her friends and everyone going, whats going on . And everyone was saying you know cher. She mightve just gone for a week. And you know, lost her phone, and were like, well, ok, maybe. Reporter mary logged on to chers Facebook Page and reached out to those friends. Wheres cher . And theyre going, i dont know. But were mad at her, too. Doggone it, we she she always calls me. She calls me every day. What where did she go . How why would she not call me . And we got a little aggravated with her. Like, dang it cher, what are you doing . Reporter and then some good news. Chers friends received a text message from her saying shed gone sailing. Shes a free spirit, right . Shes oh. Adventurous. She had an opportunity, shed shed go. You know. So, maybe but she just got on a boat with some new friend that you didnt know about and shed be back in a week. Right, yeah. It wouldnt have surprised me that, oh mary, i went sailing and then my phone fell off the deck when i dropped my purse. That would be cher for three to four days. Reporter the messages were reassuring, but not for long. A few days passed, and cher didnt return. Then another text message this one from cher to keith. She just said i met somebody else whos better than you, yeah. She said she had met someone else . Yes. And she was running away with that person . Yeah. Reporter a mystery man . Keith wanted to get to the bottom of it. I called her best friend, and said did cher meet somebody . Does she have a man that i dont know about . Is there something going on . She said shes never mentioned any guy to me ever. Shes waiting for you. Theres no man in her life. She didnt run away. reporter but keith noticed something strange about the messages. They werent written in chers usual style. Instead of small letters, itd be all capitals. And shed always write are, and this would be an r for are or 2, the number, would be there rather than to. So, it was just i said it was just it just changed. Reporter and then, the Text Messages simply stopped. Chers aunt mary called the us embassy in panama, and begged for help. The embassy made a big point of saying people disappear all the time. And if she wants to be found, she will contact you. And so i had a hard time shouting into the darkness of the embassy saying help me, help me. Reporter things got worse. Cher didnt call her father on his birthday. It was a huge alarm bell. I knew how she felt about her dad. And she would never, ever miss his birthday. So something had happened to cher, for sure. In my heart, i knew then. Reporter after two months, it was staring everyone in the face the unanswered phone calls, the strange messages, the missed birthday all the clues pointing to a horrible conclusion. Did you start to panic . Yeah. I knew something was wrong. The whole family started to panic. Reporter the terrible realization sank in cher hadnt gone off sailing, or run away with a mystery man. She wasnt hiding out in apartment in panama city. Something had happened to her. Friends in bocas wracked their brains for answers, and they started thinking about another american from their group whod also left abruptly. Had anyone heard from him . What if cher wasnt the only person missing what if there were two . I just woke up one morning. Just like one of those weird things. And i just knew. Coming up, another american who apparently just walked away leaving his home and a lot of questions behind. She was by the door, his cane next to the front door, dirty dishes in the sink. Gave me a really weird vibe. I knew right off the bat whats going on here . I couldnt ignore it anymore. Somebody had to do something. When dateline continues. O dog when dateline continues before nexium 24hr mark could only imagine. A peaceful night sleep without frequent heartburn waking him up. Now that dream is a reality. Nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for allday, allnight protection. Can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn . So, you bought those good enough paper towels . [daughter laughs] not such a bargain. Theres only one quicker picker upper. Bounty, the quicker picker upper. They have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps. Com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the Amazing Services of the post office only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps. Com tv and never go to the post office again in the picturesque islands of panama a crisis was brewing. Cher hughes was missing for two months. Now her family and friends wondered if her disappearance had anything to do with another american who left the island abruptly, four months before cher. A man named bo icelar. Bo was quiet. Introvert. He was a really great guy. Bo kept a low profile since moving to bocas from santa fe, new mexico in 2004. The former antique dealer was so quiet that no one even noticed when he took off. A lot of people say, lets go to argentina for six weeks. They dont email everybody and tell them were leaving. Its pretty easy to be not missed for a while. It made more sense when they found out that beau sold his home to wild bill, another american in their group famous for throwing lively parties many of the expats attended including chers friend kristen. I knew that they wanted to sell and move somewhere different. And so i assumed they sold and that beau had left. Still, as keith thought back to the days after beau moved out, an image kept returning to his mind. An image of beaus house right after he left. I walked in and looked around. It looked as if beau had gone to the store, not moved out. I went back and told my friends, i cant believe that house. It is really weird. Towels on the back of the chair. Some shoes by the door. His cane is next to the front door. Theres dirty dish said in the sink. It just gave me a really weird vibe. Beau would just walk away. Two americans missing. Rumors began to swirl. Could their disappearances be linked . The more you think about Something Like that, you know, it didnt add up. Did it eat at you . Yes, i kept thinking about it. Because it wasnt right that cher would leave. I knew this girl would not leave town without saying goodbye and without a party. And beau could leave, but the two of them going together and sending their belongings after the fact just didnt sound right. And then christian heard something that made the floor drop from under her, beau had abruptly stopped paying his bills, something totally unlike him. I just woke up one morning. Its a weird thing. I just knew. I couldnt ignore it anymore. I just couldnt. Somebody had to do something. She went to the police. Did she immediately investigate some. No. They just put it in a file. And they go just yeah, yeah, yeah. People get lost in panama all the time. She reached out to someone she thought could help, another expat, don winner, a man that runs a website for foreigners living in panama. I was contacted by one of her friends that was concerned that she was missing. And they asked for my help. Don has lived in panama for decades and acted as a consultant on this story. He had originally come here with u. S. Military intelligence. The case of two missing americans caught his attention. I knew right off the bat, whoa, hey. Whats going on here . And i knew that i had to apply a lot of time to it and a lot of attention to it. And i also knew that i had to get it right. He hopped on a flight and tapped into the coconut tell graph. Whats the coconut telegraph . When something happens word spreads quickly. And from what don was hearing, things just werent adding up. He checked to see if bo and cher might have left the country. I knew that bo and cher, both of them, their passports had not gone through the airport. If you look at immigration movements, both of them you can track. Could they come in and they leave. They come in and leave. They came in, they never left. All right. So theyre still in panama somewhere. But where . There was one more piece of the puzzle falling into place and that would point a finger of suspicion at someone living right among them. Coming up he was always the loudest voice in the room. Hed text everybody and say your lord commands you to come to my party. A pirate out to make a killing in real estate. She wasnt selling that place. She loved it. Bill showed up and said, yep, i bought everything. When dateline continues. I bought everything. When dateline continues have noslip wings and are 5x drier. So you can stay you and stay amazing. Poise®. The number one brand for light bladder leaks. Pets. [ gasps ] they see everything we do. Whoo [ screaming ] and they never say a thing. [ sighs ] well, i feel better. Thats why progressive covers them in your auto policy at no extra charge. [ crying ] he only needed a spare. Keeping you and your secret keepers safe. Im dara brown with the hours top stories. Breaking news out of fresno, california, where at least ten people were shot at a Football Watch Party in the backyard of a home. At least four people are dead, another six wounded. Officers say as of now no one is in custody. And public impeachment hearings are back this week. Eight witnesses will testify before the Intelligence Committee including Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman who was on trumps call with the ukrainian president. Now back to dateline. Welcome back to dateline. Im natalie morales. Cher hughes and beau islar, two america americans seemed to have vanged. Their disappearances seemed oddly similar. It turns out there was Something Else they shared that raised even more concern. Two americans had vanished and now after months of searching their friends and family were convinced that their disappearances were linked and that something terrible had happened to boegth of them. At the time no one thought it was unusual. Bill had this persona of ive got buckets of cash. The blogger don winner did some digging. He pulled documents from the public registry and found out that wild bill had actually bought more than just beaus home. Bill cortez had taken over beau icelars company. And the Company Owned the property. So shortly after bo goes missing, bill cortez and his wife are now the president and secretary of this company. They own it. Bill was in a hurry to get beaus house remodelled and flipped to a new owner. He even placed an ad in the local paper trying to sell it. In fact, wild bill seemed to be on a real estate buying and selling spree. He got his First Property in 2007 from a Family Living on an estate close to chers island, the browns, father, mother, and teenage son. Now he acquired bos house as well, but it was bills next purchase that grabbed everyone emphasis attention. Bill showed up and said, yep, i bought everything. Everything . Everything. Meaning your rental properties, the house you built together, five buildings. Yeah. This beautiful estate. Exactly. Bill said he bought chers entire estate, even her Beautiful Island and that cher had simply taken off. My dogs were there. My tools were there. Belongings were still on the island. Where is cher . Where is all that stuff . When she gets back, you can deal with that. Thats between you and her. Keith asked bill to bring his dogs and his stuff back. He placated he brought me one of my dogs. Heres one dog. Here is a table and two chairs. And heres a toolbox. I said thats a lot more missing here, bill. To keith, the whole story just didnt add up. She would have never sold the island. Did you have an interest in any of that property . We put everything in chers name. She had the right to sell . Absolutely. But you dont think she would have done that . I dont think so. It was never about the stuff or money. It was our home. We set it up to live there forever. It all sounded wrong to aunt mary as well. She wasnt selling that place. She loved it. She loved it. Mary wanted answers. She picked you up the phone and called wild bill. And he told me, yeah, i got a great deal on chers property. I bought everything at 50 cents on the dollar. I said id like to see that receipt. Well, i signed a confidentiality statement. I said well ill take a look at that. Where did he tell you she had gone . He said i heard she got an apartment in panama city. I said so where is her stuff and everything . He goes, oh, yeah, she got there and had me send her some jewelry and money air cargo. I said id like to see the receipt on that. This girl is not going to have you looking through her drawers and her jewelry. And another curious thing was happening over at bills place. No one could figure out why chers devoted dog jack kept leaping off chers island and swimming to bills house over and over again. They kept going back to your old home and swim over. He would swim right back and stay right there. But for bill, it was business as usual. He even threw one of his famous parties at chers place with all her things still there. It all seemed a little odd to her friend shawn trainer who stopped by that night. It wasnt very well attended. Why didnt people go . I just think that everybody had the same thing. It was kind of like really weird it was at chers house. Bill even made a toast at the party to friendship. And bill gave a speech . Yeah. This really was something about having good friends. Just like a heres to good friends . Yeah, just like that. Wild bill was about an hours boat ride from the main island. A big guy with a big personality. He was known for throwing parties at his place. And even in a place that is full of colorful characters, wild bill stood out. He was always the loudest voice in the room. He would text everybody and say, you know, your lord commands you to come to my party. Your lord commands you . Yeah. He always talked to himself in the third party and a royal sense of some sort. You know, everyone took it as one of bills quirks. Another quirk . A pirate club bill created called the jolly roger social club. Bill joked that only 90 of the members survive. Welcome to the jolly club. By now, an uneasy feeling about wild bill was spreading and the rowdy party guy was suddenly lying low. Every time i saw him, he was in a hurry. He was trying to get it done and get out of there. He didnt want to answer a lot of questions. He was nervous. And with good reason. They tapped into the coconut telegraph, the more he became convinced that wild bill was the key to finding beau and cher. This was the common denominator between the two of them that this guy had apparent supposedly bought their property for cash and then both people disappear. Flares went off in my head. He dealt with both these people and now theyre missing. You remember that moment . It came over me like oh, my god, he could have done something to these people. Could the brash real estate bartender be hiding a deadly secret . Coming up, the dark side of paradise. Execute a search warrant on his house, find the ak47, get him in custody. The police went up shovels and came down about two hours later and said we need you to come up and take a look. Later and said we need you to come up and take a look. At our lowest prices of the year. Welcome back. Wild bill cortez ran the jolly rogers social club, but he seemed just as interested in acquiring some of the local real estate. Just how far did bill go to get his hands on these properties . Local police were about to find out. Continuing with stealing paradise here is kate snow. Reporter in the tiny Expat Community of Bocas Del Toro, all eyes were on one of their own wild bill cortez. In four months time, hed snapped up the homes of two people whod mysteriously vanished bo icelar and cher hughes. Now chers husband keith was telling anyone whod listen that the disappearances and property transfers were no coincidence. I right away thought that bill has done something. I was telling people in bocas, obviously, of the suspicions. And, in a Small Community, were all saying the same thing. Reporter and bills still living nearby. And bills still in the area. And he told people he was going to come and shut me up. Reporter he told people that . He told three or four people that. I moved out of my house and moved into a hotel that had security. Reporter keith wasnt the only one who was nervous. I got to the point where i became convinced that this guy cortez killed these people in order to steal their property. Thats when i said im going to the authorities. He encouraged keith to do the same. He said you need to come to panama city and get to it prosecutor and doj and turn up the heat. Keith went to panama city and laid out the case against wild bill to the dij the panamanian fbi. From that point on, kudos to the panamanian police, they just stepped it up. But for all the suspicion, there was still no hard evidence of a crime. Thats when don winner got an idea. Hed heard a lot of stories about wild bill and his ak47 how hed even fire it off sometimes to impress his friends. But in panama, its illegal for a civilian to own that type of weapon. So don made a suggestion to police. Execute a search warrant on his house, find the ak47, get him in custody. Reporter get him on possession of firearms . Find the gun, lock him down. Reporter and then, figure out what role, if any, he might have had in the disappearance of two people. Police drew up the warrant. On a steamy day in july, authorities descended on wild bills home. Bill and jane were nowhere to be found. Police began the search. So police are looking around. Theyre here. They have a search warrant on this property looking for a gun. Yeah. Theyre executing a search warrant for an ak47. And when they got here, they encountered chers dog. Jack, the doberman who adored cher, was already at bills place. No one knew exactly how he got there, but the dog was anxious, pacing nervously. Jackie was really animated and agitated, and just kept circling and running up into the jungle. And the dog would come down and like bark at the people that were doing the search, and run up the hill follow me, guys and the dog led them up there reporter this hill right here . Right here. And went up into the back of the property. Reporter jack bounded up and down the hill, until police followed him. And there they found something shocking. A mound of disturbed dirt. They began to dig. Chers husband keith waited at the bottom of the hill. The police went up with shovels, and then they came down, about two hours later, and said, we need you to come up and take a look. Reporter in a shallow grave hidden under a mound of garbage, the police made a horrible discovery the body of cher hughes. She had been shot once in the back of the head. I imagine that was one of the hardest days of your life. Yeah. It sure is. I mean, no no one should ever see someone they cared about look like that. Reporter now, keith finally understood why jack kept swimming to bills place. Hed swim that mile back and just stay right there. He was staying true to mommy. But the horror wasnt over. As police continued searching bills property they discovered another mound of disturbed dirt, another shallow grave. And there beneath the rubble was the body of beau icelar. When they found the bodies, thats when they realized that its not just people with suspicions and making accusations. Its all its really happening. Reporter keith watched as authorities raided bills home. He says they found evidence of the ghastly crimes bos id, chers passport, her purse, and her cell phone, from which shed allegedly sent those Text Messages, saying shed simply gone for a sail. And there was more nazi memorabilia, strange satanic signs, jewelry that may have belonged to the victims. And the most gruesome discovery about a dozen gold teeth. He lived with these things. He lived with the corpses and peoples personal effects around him. Reporter the expats in bocas were in turmoil. Two of their friends were dead their bodies found in the backyard of a man they once trusted wild bill cortez. To know that he lived next to me for two and a half years, and i had him in my home. I invited him to dinner. We did the social neighbor thing with him. He shot my wife. Its just inconceivable. Reporter authorities launched a search for bill and his wife, who they also suspected was involved. But it was too late. They had already fled. This is now a major manhunt. Right. I knew he was probably out of the country already. That he was on the fly. So, the most important thing at that point was to get his picture out there on every television screen. On every newspaper cover. On every computer monitor, its gotta get out there in a big way to get him caught. Reporter by then, wild bill and his wife jane were in costa rica. Someone recognized them there, and contacted the police. As the search intensified, bill and jane made a desperate attempt to cross into nicaragua by boat, but they were stopped by soldiers at a checkpoint. They got the drop on him with machine guns and basically said, halt or die. And he stopped. He gave himself up. Reporter the end of the line. That was the first time he had ever had handcuffs on in his life. Reporter it was also the first time anyone on the island heard wild bills real name my name is William Dathan Holbert. Reporter fun loving Bocas Del Toro bartender wild bill cortez was in fact, William Dathan Holbert a 30yearold whod been on the run from american authorities since 2006. As the islanders absorbed the headlines of a killer among them, they discovered that wild bill had a long and notorious past that stretched nearly 2,000 miles. From the white sand beaches of Bocas Del Toro all the way to the blue Ridge Mountains of north carolina. Thats where he grew up, going by his middle name dathan. He played high school football. Married his sweetheart, had three kids, and worked as a landscaper. His old boss at a gym, kevin hoover, liked dathan until dathan had an affair with one of his employees and hoover says, embezzled 25,000 from the gyms accounts. He had told me he had thought that was part of his his pay, his package. And i said, no, dathan, its not part of your package. Reporter and that was just the beginning. Dathan left the job and his wife. He ran off with Laura Michele reese, whod later be known as jane cortez in bocas. In 2005, police say dathan started in on his real estate scams. He sold a home that wasnt his for 200,000. Police charged him with obtaining property under false pretenses. By the time the owner realized what had happened, dathan was on the run. That landed him on the Television Program americas most wanted. Reporter somewhere along the line, police say dathan sold a stolen car in montana, and when cops pulled him over for speeding in wyoming, he took off, leading them on a high speed chase before escaping. It seems it was only after he moved to panama that dathans scams took a sinister turn. The change was he killed people to get the documentation in order to take over the property. And not only did he steal the property, he would steal everything in the house. Cars, boats, right down to the toothbrush and their underwear and their dogs. He took over their entire lives. Yeah, right down to the change in their pocket. Reporter four years after fleeing from the states, wild bill was finally in police custody, charged with heinous crimes the murders of bo icelar and cher hughes. There are dozens, if not a hundred people in this town, in bocas, that all knew cher, that all knew bo, and theyre all thinking, wow, man, this guy fooled us all. He fooled everybody. Reporter he got away with murder. He got away with it for awhile. Yeah. Reporter little did everyone know that wild bill had actually gotten away with a lot more. After authorities nabbed wild bill in costa rica, what else would they discover when he was brought back to panama. Coming up theres a guard in this jail that brings me a cellphone and gives me Death Threats. I never tried to participate myself as a good guy. Im getting what i deserve. When dateline continues. I de when dateline continues get released, and are then circulated by your ac system. To stop the cycle of odors try febreze car vent clips. Febreze stops the circulation of musty air by trapping and eliminating lingering odor molecules for up to 30 days of fresh, clean air. Plus, they come in a range of scents including extra light. 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Finish dishwasher cleaner clean dishwasher. Clean dishes. Welcome back. They were arrested for not only stealing the Island Properties of two american but also allegedly murdering them in cold blood. Now bill was talking to the police, but they couldnt have been prepared for his stunning confession. Here is kate snow with the conclusion of stealing paradise dates. The search for beau hughes and icelar had ended tragically. After being caught wild bill and his wife emerged from the jungle in shackles charged with the murders. Bills wife was subdued and denied any involvement. Bill, however, appeared surprisingly cheerful saying she was happy to be back in panama. Im happy to be in panama. I love panama. Reporter those first days when bill was brought back to panama, what was he like . He was making jokes, and he was laughing on it and he was really he wanted to people to see him. He was really trying to show off. Reporter National Director of police Gustavo Perez interrogated wild bill and says he talked openly about the killings. Bill admitted to shooting bo icelar on his boat. For cher, it started with a friendly dinner at bills place. Afterwards, bill took her outside to see some animals behind his house. When she turned to look at them, he shot her. Did bill tell you why he murdered the people that he confessed to murdering . Say money. He say, i want to i wanted to have their things. Reporter but even the most hardened cops were shocked to hear what else bill had done. Wild bill drew a map of his home with xs marking where the bodies were buried. Only there were more than 2 xs on bills map. There were five. Five victims. Not just bo and cher, but three more people whod died at the hands of wild bill. This time, it was a father, mother and their teenaged son the brown family. They were the original owners of bills property, chers neighbors. After the bodies were discovered wild bill was seen as a monster in panama, a serial killer who kept his victims personal things right in his own house. We wanted to speak with bill so we reached out to his attorneys we did get a return call. It was his lawyer with wild bill calling from his jail cell in panama. Hed already confessed to the murders but he said he wanted to explain himself. Im not denying criminal activity. Im only saying that whats been portrayed in the media as this crazy serial killer thing is completely untrue. Im telling you that i am not a serial killer. I have never taken pleasure in harming another human being. The things i have done has caused me nightmares like you wouldnt believe and im left down here to die in a panamanian jail. You also have to understand that the victims of these crimes, their families are they say you had parties at their homes. How can you possibly defend that action . Defend it . Im not trying to defend my actions. Im a criminal. Im a bad guy. Im your worst nightmare. But what im also saying is that i didnt wake up one morning and decide to kill my neighbors. Shortly after our call a very different looking bill holbert gave an interview to a local tv station from his jail cell. His wild blond hair replaced by a brown buzz care. I did it. Im guilty of it. Im going to be punished for it. In cold and chilling detail, he recounts how he murdered the brown family. I separated them. This is gruesome and i understand its very but youre asking me and ill answer your question, sir. I separated them. I asked mike brown to show me a well he dug in the back of the property. I took him there. And without him knowing what happened, i shot him from behind and killed him. Holbert also admits to another victim, number six. American expat jeffrey kline. Hole bert claims he died when the two got on a fight on a boat. Too afraid to go to authorities, holbert came up with his own solution to get rid of the body. So i just panicked, took it home and buried and in the next couple of days i built a picnic area over it. Its horrible and stupid. But i never had been in that situation before. I didnt know what to do. I never tried to paint myself as a good guy. I am sorry, but i can do nothing to bring those people back especially cher hughes who was a good person. He does shed tears but not for the victims, for his wife laura who he says was innocent. If she was sitting here, i would tell her im sorry she met me. Because she didnt deserve this. If i could give my life to set her free, i would. Thats it. And the man who said he killed six people, now has time to sit in a cell and think about his own death. Holbert and his wife have received threats in prison. Theres a guard in this jail that brings me a cell phone and gives me Death Threats from these people. Im a dead man. I dont even care. That is not even important. But my wife doesnt deserve this. Have you talked to authorities about this . What are the options they have . Options . What options . Excuse me. Give me a second. This is really, really bad guy. Hes just like the worst of the worst. Do you think the trail of bodies is longer than well ever know . I have no doubt. Exactly how many people did this guy kill . Nobody knows. The panama prosecutor on the case said he reached out to other countries to see if any of their missing persons may have crossed paths with wild bill. Once they verify and confirm any persons who had contact with him and disappeared, they will take measures to verify where they are. If there are other victims out there, they may be hard to find. Wild bill mostly targeted loaners, peoples whoos disappearance might not be noticed. It wasnt until bill killed cher, the woman who had a smile for everyone that he was caught. His mistake of targeting cher is what was his down fall. He couldnt have picked a girl more loved. He picked someone that absolutely stood out everywhere she went and would be missed and loved. Someone the family cared so much about, that they would start calling immediately. This is our girl. How dare you mess with our girl and think were not coming for her . It would take seven long years for the wheels of justice to turn in panama. During that time holberts wife divorced him while they both sat in separate panamanian jails. But chers family finally got the news they had long waited for. In august 2017 William Dathan Holbert was found guilty of the robbery and homicide of five people. According to a tweet from the Panama Ministry of justice. He was sentenced to 47 years in prison. And the woman once known as jane cortez, she say sentenced to 26 years for her role in the crimes. For chers sister judy, there are only good memories and appreciation for the big sister who followed her adventurous spirit all the way to paradise. She was never bitter that she ever went to panama. Im happy that she went because i know what it meant to her. The peace in her heart of being able to live there. I wouldnt have wanted her to miss that. And thats all for this edition of dateline. Im natalie morales. Thanks for watching. It is going to be another busy week in the impeachment probe with several key witnesses set to testify about how President Trump pressured ukraine to investigate joe biden and his family. Plus President Trump is facing accusations of witness intimidation after attacking former ambassador Marie Yovanovitch on twitter as she was testifying on friday. And President Trump makes an announced vuzt to center. The white house says it was nothing out of the ordinary even though it wasnt on his public schedule. Good morning, everyone, it is monday, november