Page 25 - Eric Bechler News Today

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 tn one da 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? and i said, well, im going to go down and watch dave play some volleyball on the beach. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dave was glendas husband. i asked pegye if she wanted to come down with me, and she said, a...

Josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detectives convinced kobi to wear a wire and to meet eric at a restaurant in orange county. eric had no idea the police were listening in. even so, he stuck to his story that pegyes death was a terrible accident. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): kobi tried again. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): a dead end. but detectives were now convinced that eric killed his wife. even though it didnt lead to anything, that conversation with kobi, that got you from suspicion to knowing. y...

She could not imagine that a man who had killed his wife would want to see her face everywhere. eric was really the answer to all your problems for a while, wasnt he? yeah, he was. so you werent too anxious to question him. no, i believed him. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and after about six months-- he says, will you marry me? yes. and you say? i said yes. you dont say no a lot. yeah, i mean, he treated me so good. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): she also admits she knew eric was due to collect mo...

Detectives knew theyd need more than herord against erics, so they asked tina-- josh mankiewicz: will you wear a wire? would you be willing to wear a wire? and i said, yes, thats the only way youre going to get him. why would you turn in a guy who had basically taken you from a terrible life and given you a great life? because i couldnt live with myself. no way. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): police planted microphones in her car, in her purse, and on her body, and tina arranged a meeting. she tol...

Josh mankiewicz (voiceover): now tina tried to get eric out of the car. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): eric pulled over and got out, and tina hopped in the drivers seat. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and just like that, tina new drove away from her old life. in the end, you got enough. oh, absolutely, yeah. you understand youre under arrest. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): eric was arrested and charged with pegyes murder. what was it like to get the call that eric had been arrested? well, i just tremb...

Maybe alive. mm-hmm, i did, because she was a fabulous swimmer. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): glenda went to the bechler house to see eric. howd he look? hysterical a little bit. hed been crying, and his face is red and all of those things. he looked-- he looked upset. as he should be, one would expect. (crying) she was the best-- she was the best person. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): this video from local news shows a devastated eric. it was now day two of the search for pegye. still nothing. the...

Josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but that turned out to be the peak of her career. soon, tina found herself slipping into the darker side of showbiz. 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. we played russian roulette between me and him. i was held over the balcony by my neck. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): tina, who was broke and near rock bottom, was de...

Josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and eric reassured tina-- she was good. she was really good. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but the drama wasnt over. tina left the restaurant with eric, still wired up. this is where it gets really scary. so were walking out of the car, and he says to me, let me drive. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): that was not part of the plan. we lose sight of them. now in a movie, this is where you hear the sound of gunshots. [laugh] that would not have been good. josh mankiewicz (v...

He said i hit her over the head with a weight. >> reporter: she said he told her there was blood everywhere. then tina says eric bechler told her how he got rid of his wife. >> he just did her wrists and ankles together so she was completely bent in half. he said he took two trash bags he had, put her body in it and then he put the weights and tied it down to the rope and threw her in. >> reporter: two years after pegye vanished, a stunning confession. then you go to sleep next to a man that you...

Even so, he stuck to his story that pegyes death was a terrible accident. >> i was there. i know what happened. i tried so hard to understand that people can think anything else. >> you never said hey, look, man, i dont know what the [ bleep ] you guys are talking about. im innocent. you never said anything about anything. >> i have so. do i have to say it every week? >> reporter: kobe tried again. >> i protected you. i basically made you look like a saint in the interview i had with the detecti...