Page 33 - Eric Bechler News Today

Arrest came this head line in the local paper. witness in murder case doubts suspects guilt. tina, who had worn a wire and helped police nail eric now said maybe he didnt kill her. >> knew the kids had lost their mom and now going to probably lose their dad for a very long time. so i felt guilty. >> guilty that she had helped jail man she once thought shed marry. >> he called me from the jail and told me he had tried to hang himself with his sheet. >> it was erics frantic behavior from the lock-...

He was also eight years younger. >> was that a problem for either one of them? >> it was not a problem for either one of them. peggy, you know, when she sets her sight on something, shes going to make it happen and it developed really quickly, really, really quickly. >> within a year they were married. within four years they had three beautiful kids. peggy and eric went into business together. she opened up her own physical therapy business and eric, a computer whiz, managed the technical side o...

Nobody. the children now have no mother and no father. so there is no winner. >> the jury did not believe eric killed pegye for the money. he was found not guilty of murder for financial gain. at his sentencing, eric bechler addressed the judge, once again denied he killed pegye. >> the accident was a horrible tragedy for both of our families as much as the marshals are hurting, my family is also hurting because i did not commit this crime. >> the judge sentenced him to life without the possibil...

Im richard lui with the hours top stories. the death toll is up to 30 from the fire that destroyed an unpermitted warehouse in oakland, california, described as a makeshift artist colony. in north dakota, the u.s. army corps of engineers is refusing to allow continued construction of a pipeline that has been the subject of a growing protest led by members of the standing rock sioux tribe. they argued it threatened a water source and cultural sites there. now back to "dateline extra." welcome...

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 believe is a killer? >> no, actually then we had sex. i felt like i had to d...

Glenda tried to stay optimistic. >> i absolutely thought they would find her. >> reporter: maybe alive? >> i did. because she was a fabulous swimmer. >> reporter: glenda went to the bechler house to see eric. how did he look? >> hysterical. a little bit. he had been crying and his face was red and you know, all of those things. he looked upset. as he should be. one would expect. >> she was the best. she was the best person. >> reporter: this video from local news shows a devastated eric. it was ...

Children. >> until that summer day in 1997 when the unimaginable happened. >> male kind of distraught, said that his wife fell overboard. >> it was a boating accident, said eric, and the coast guard agreed, something they see all too often. but soon, secrets emerged that would make some people wonder what really happened to peggy bechler? coming up -- >> i absolutely thought theyd find her. >> maybe alive. >> mm-hmm. i did. she was a fabulous swimmer. >> where was peggy and what had gone wrong...

>> we had a couple bags. we wanted to see if we could see catalina. but it was so hazy. i told pegye it was too hazy. sholdnt go too far out. >> 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 margaritas pegye had made and later in the day they decided to try the body board again,...

Eric, still wired up. >> this is where it gets really scary. were walking out to the car and he says to me let me drive. >> reporter: that was not part of the plan. >> we lose sight of them. >> reporter: in a movie this is where you hear the sound of a gunshot. >> that would not have been good. >> reporter: in the car, with eric now behind the wheel, tina cranked up her acting skills and the tension. >> reporter: now tina tried to get eric out of the car. >> pull my car over now. i dont trust yo...

>> 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 moved by erics story. >> he said to me that his wife died in a tragic...