Page 21 - Eric Bechler News Today

>> reporter: there was some serious chemistry from the beginning? >> yes. we went out that night, actually. he asked me out that night. i moved in the next day. really fast. >> reporter: you dont wait, do you? >> no. not then. >> reporter: eric lived in a giant house and drove a porsche, and he was a gentleman in her life after a long string of men who were not gentle. >> i had never been spoiled like that. i remember thinking i was like julia roberts in "pretty woman." >> reporter: tina was mov...

She hit play and it just got worse. the news report did not match the story eric had told her about pegyes disappearance. >> he told me there was three to four foot waves, it was really choppy out there. >> reporter: on the report the day pegye went missing, there were only two foot waves and the weather was described as ideal. >> he lied. he lied all this time to me. he was just really quiet. >> reporter: hes sitting right next to you. how does eric look at that point? >> flushed and stressed. ...

And tina arranged a meeting. she told eric that after the domestic violence call, sheriffs homicide detectives came in to ask questions about eric. this dinner date, tina told eric, was to get their stories straight in case the cops questioned her again. tina, wired up, picked up eric from his home and drove to a restaurant called el torito. were you worried about this? >> not really. i was more worried that i wasnt going to get him to confess again. i have two stories in my head. i dont want to...

The tv show "baywatch nights." but that turned out to be the peak of her career. soon, tina found herself slipping into the darker side of show biz. she started doing drugs and lost custody of her two young children because of it. and fell for a succession of guys who did not treat her kindly. >> i had an ex-boyfriend put a gun to my head, play russian roulette between me and him. i was held over the balcony by my neck. >> reporter: tina, who was broke and near rock bottom, was desperate. >> i g...

Pegye. >> he said his marriage was good, there was no problems with it. >> reporter: you didnt take his word for it? >> no. in our game we dont take anyones word for anything. we look into it. thats what we did. >> reporter: they met with the improbably named kobe laker. erics best friend. and kobe backed up eric. >> they had a terrific marriage and there was no problems whatsoever. >> reporter: but if the marriage seemed solid, there were questions about pegye. at least according to linda bechl...

>> what did you take with you? >> we had a couple bags. we wanted to see if we could see catalina. it was so hazy. i told pegye it was too hazy. >> reporter: eric told the coast guard he tried to body board on the way out and said there was a pretty good swell in the ocean. >> was it as high as the side of the boat? >> big enough to notice. >> reporter: eric said they stopped out here on the water to enjoy some margueritas pegye had made and later in the day they decided to try the body board ag...

>> eric asked me about what he thought -- what i thought of the idea of him killing his wife. and i was pretty much shocked. i didnt know what to say. he told me that he was thinking of taking her out to the ocean and dumping her in a barrel. >> he said when he saw there was a boating accident and erics wife was missing, he knew right then and there, he saw it on tv, he knew that he had killed his wife. and he lied to us. he said because he panicked and was afraid and he didnt know what to do. >...

Parents -- >> there was a lot of animosity towards me. i understood why. >> reporter: all they saw was this hot young woman who had been brought in to replace their missing daughter. >> right. right. exactly three months to the day. i cant even imagine what they were thinking. >> reporter: pegyes family wasnt alone. detective sean murphy had also noticed the new woman in eric bechlers life. she was just a hot number as they say. she was cohabitating with him right after this horrible boating acc...

Just like that, tina new drove away from her old life. in the end, you got enough. >> absolutely, yeah. >> reporter: eric was arrested and charged with pegyes murder. what was it like to get the call that eric had been arrested? >> well, i just trembled all over. i couldnt really believe it. >> reporter: but two weeks after erics arrest made headlines, tina made some headlines of her own. that put the whole case in jeopardy. >> coming up, eric bechler on trial and tinas credibility is on trial, ...

>> reporter: its no confession but its not a denial, either. are you thinking to yourself at thats it, i got him? >> i thought it was good but i didnt think it was enough. >> reporter: remember, pegye had a life insurance policy worth more than $2 million. again, she tried to get him to give her a reason. >> what made you want to go -- >> she was going to steal the kids away and i was never going to see them again. >> reporter: eric reassured tina. >> all i know i would never, ever do anything t...