Page 17 - Eric Bechler News Today

Coolers. we wanted to see if he could see catalina, but it was so hazy. i told pegye, you know, it was too hazy. >> eric told the coast guard he tried the body board on the way out, and said there was a pretty good swim in the ocean. >> as high as the side of the boat probably. big enough to notice. >> eric said they stopped out here on the water to enjoy some margaritas pegye had made. and then later in the day they decided to try the body board again, this time on their way back to the harbor....

Would he go to get proof. here again is josh mankiewicz with "troubled waters." >> to detective sean murphy, it sounded more than suspicious. eric bechler taking up with a gorgeous redhead just three months after his wife was lost at sea. but murphy didnt have much more than a gnawing in his gut until his phone rang. >> we got a call from kobis lawyer, said he wanted to arrange an interview again with kobi. >> kobi laker, erics best friend and volleyball buddy. he told sheriffs detectives the be...

And i said what you mean you cant find her? where is she? what are you trying to tell me? >> eric told june that pegye was driving the boat, towing him on a body board when all of a sudden a wave wiped him out. when he came up from under the weather, he said, he could no longer see pegye inside the boat. >> we thought they should be finding her because we really thought she would swim out of it. >> you see, pegye was quite at home in the water. growing up, it was the only time she didnt have to ...

The last of fourth of july weekend. some lucky tourists aboard an eight-passenger boat called "the green machine" were marveling at a school of dolphins playing in the water when they came across the unexpected. >> weve got a loose boat out here about five miles out of newport beach. >> the captain radioed the coast guard that a small speed boat was circling out of control in the water, and nearby was a man holding on to a body board. >> the husband apparently fell off the boat and the wife appa...

Were walking out to the car and he says to me, let me drive. >> that was not part of the plan. >> we lose sight of them. >> in a movie, this is where you hear the sound of gunshot. >> that would not have been good. >> in the car, with eric now behind the wheel, tina cranked up her acting skills and the tension. >> just tell em i havent talked about it for over a year and half and you dont remember the details. >> im not making you do anything. turn me in if you want to. turn me [ bleep ] in. i d...

Degree? >> its no confession, but its not a denial either. >> are you thinking to yourself at that point, thats it. i got him. >> i honestly thought that was good but i still thought that wasnt enough. >> you do know there was a reason? was it for the money? >> remember, pegye had a life insurance policy worth more than $2 million. >> its partly about the money. partly about the kids. >> again, she tried to get him to give her a reason. >> what was it about her that made you want to go to that e...

Driven to establish herself as a successful physical therapist. she had almost everything she wanted. >> she did want to find a guy. >> and the clock was ticking a little bit. >> it was. >> and then one day on the beach, you found somebody for her. >> we did. so, one afternoon, on a weekend, pegye called me and said, what are you doing? i said, im going to go watch dave play volleyball on the beach. >> dave was glendas husband. >> i asked her if she wanted to come down with me. and she said abso...

Determine whether it was human blood. it could have come from a fish. not enough evidence to arrest eric for murder, or even prove that a murder occurred. pegyes close friend, glenda, didnt believe eric was a killer. >> theres no way that eric would have done that. i mean, theres just absolutely no way. it was infathomable to me. >> tina new felt the same way. >> i felt like the police were just trying to frame an innocent man. the way he treats me, theres no way he could have hurt his wife. >> ...

Murder for profit is played only by adults. and its for keeps. prosecutors believe eric was trying to be successful at both. detectives put him in jail, but then, two weeks after erics arrest came this headline in the local paper. witness in murder case, doubts suspects guilt. tina new wore a wire and helped police said maybe he didnt kill peggy. >> the kids lost their mom and are probably going to lose their dad for a very long time. i felt guilty. >> reporter: guilty to help jail a man she onc...

Top stories, a rescue operation is under way right now in thailand to save 12 boys and a soccer coach who have been trapped under ground in a kaf for more than two weeks. it is expected to make many hours and perhaps even days before all those trapped are brought to the surface. north korean official is calling u.s. efforts to denuclearize the country deeply regretly after a two day visit by secretary of state mike pompeo who referred to the talks as productive. now, back to "dateline." ♪ ...