do a lot of things to try to figure out how why mm-hmmm. uh, what s going on. reporter: you ve done that kind of notification before, haven t you? a lot. reporter: and they re not pleasant. no. worst thing to do. reporter: was this one different? it it was different in the response that i received. reporter: in fact, there was basically no response, according to reim. just a blank stare. did he cry? was he emotional? not at all. reporter: their conversation, if that s what this was, continued. is your mom s car usually here? yeah. okay. is it not here? no. reporter: that s when igor asked a question that seemed to come totally out of left field is she in one piece? yeah. i mean, i i i don t know exactly. and then that that s what we gotta try to figure out. reporter: is she in one piece? have you ever heard anybody respond like that? never. reporter: to a death notification. never. reporter: but it wouldn t be the only r
at the time we went to talk to her, it was basically a death notification. she was able to answer our questions for us. who didn t like russ douglas? nobody could think of someone who really, truly didn t like him. as winter turned to spring, the detective s investigation seemed to be going nowhere. but a routine check of the numbers in russell douglas cell phone had yielded a tiny clue. there were a few phone calls to a number with a las vegas area code. and we made a phone call to that number. there was no answer. it went to an answering machine. was it cell phone voicemail or a person s voice? it was a cell phone voicemail for a woman named peggy. peggy. that s a name you ll hear again. the detective made a mental note to have that number traced, but within minutes of hanging up, his phone rang. and there was a female who said she had just gotten a phone call from that number. and she identified herself as peggy thomas, explained that she was a friend of brynna and
sprang their trap. right now, we re going to read you your rights. me? reporter: they arrested leon and valerie for solicitation of capital murder. and revealed, there was no murder and no kidnapping. meghan and mack were alive and well. they had no idea. they believed that their issues had been taken care of. they had no more problems. and to immediately go from a death notification, to you re under arrest for solicitation, to capital murder reporter: that s a head-snapper. yeah. that ll get your attention. was valerie mcdaniel a murderous mastermind? or another victim of leon jacob. i couldn t believe this was happening to my sister. what could have driven valerie to do this? she tells her story. and leon tells his when dateline continues.
yes. and so brenna douglas, as the wives of murdered men often do, became a person of interest, the domestic situation seemed unsettled. they were separated. russel was living in an apartment in renton. according to brenna they were trying to work it out and talking about getting back together. in fact, the new widow told the detectives that her husband had spent the holidays with her and the kids. she said the last time she saw him was the morning of december 26th. he left the house somewhere mid-morning and she thought he was going to run some errands. brenna douglas have an alibi? she didn t need an alibi at the time we went to talk to her. it was basically a death notification. she was able to answer our questions for us. who didn t like russel douglas? nobody could think of someone who really truly didn t like him. as winter turned to spring,
very suspicious, yes. the one thing he s not, is an actor. a good actor. reporter: the police got the reaction they were looking for. they had the money paid to the undercover officer, and so they sprang their trap. right now, we re going to read you your rights. me? reporter: they arrested leon and valerie for solicitation of capital murder. and revealed, there was no murder and no kidnapping. meghan and mack were alive and well. they had no idea. they believed that their issues had been taken care of. they had no more problems. and to immediately go from a death notification, to you re under arrest for solicitation, to capital murder reporter: that s a head-snapper. yeah. that ll get your attention. was valerie mcdaniel a murderous mastermind? i couldn t believe this was happening to my sister. what could have driven