Page 5 - Eric Bechler News Today

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 mean, 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. >> tina, who was broke and near rock bottom, was desperate. >> i got down on my knees, literally begging. and i said, "ill do whatever you want, lord. just help me. i cant do t...

And i was pretty shocked and i didnt know what to say. he told me subsequently that he was thinking of taking her out to the ocean and dumping her into a barrel. >> he said that when he saw that there was a boating accident and erics wife was missing, he knew right then and there, he saw it on tv, he knew that hed killed his wife. and he lied to us, he said, because he panicked. and he was afraid. and he didnt know what to do. >> detectives convinced kobi to wear a wire and to meet eric at a res...

You think shes dead? >> i dont think she faked her death. no, i do not think that. >> you think she died accidentally -- >> thats -- >> -- and her body still hasnt been found? >> thats right. >> prosecutor debbie lloyd argued pegyes death was erics doing. >> he basically had 3.5 million reasons to kill her. and thats about what he stood to gain if he had gotten away with it. >> and, said the prosecutor, the circumstantial evidence was compelling. eric had a weight tree back at home that appeared...

Successful at both. detectives had 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, whod worn a wire and helped police nail eric, now said maybe he didnt kill pegye. >> i knew that the kids had lost their mom, and now theyre gonna probably lose their dad for a very long time. and so i felt guilty. >> guilty that shed helped jail a man she once thought shed marry. >> and i remember he called m...

You never said anything about anything. >> i have so. do i have to say it every week? >> kobi tried again. >> i protected you. i basically made you look like a saint in the interview i had with the detectives. >> i am. >> 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? >> yeah, it moved it all the way over. so we knew we had a homicide. >> but knowing it and pro...

Sometimes do pretty crazy things when they realize that might happen to them. >> i believe that, but not pegye. >> glenda did tell the detectives that pegye and eric were having some issues, like how pegye was busy with work and kids while eric seemed occupied on the volleyball court. >> she just confided in me that they were having some financial troubles because, you know, they had a pretty high lifestyle to keep up with. >> glenda said eric and pegye seemed determined to work everything out. ...

Got worse. the news report did not match the story eric had told her about pegyes disappearance. >> and he told me there was three to four foot waves. it was really choppy out there. >> but on the report they said on 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. you know, and he was just really quiet. >> hes sitting right next to you. >> sitting right next to me. >> how does eric look at that point? >> ...

To stay optimistic. >> absolutely thought theyd find her. >> maybe alive. >> uh-huh. i did because she was a fabulous swimmer. >> glenda went to the bechler house to see eric. >> how did he look? >> hysterical, a little bit. you know, hed been crying and, you know, his face is red and, you know, all of those things. he looked upset, as you should be, one would expect. >> the best. the best person. >> this video from local news shows a devastated eric. it was now day two of the search >> the best...

Drove away from her old life. >> in the end you got enough? >> oh, absolutely, yeah. >> you understand youre under arrest? >> eric was arrested and charged with pegyes murder. >> well, what was it like to get the call that eric had been arrested? >> well, i just trembled all over. i couldnt really-- couldnt really believe it. >> but two weeks after erics arrest made headlines, tina made some headlines of her own. that put the whole case in jeopardy. coming up -- >> i did not commit this crime! >...

>> 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, too. >> you think anybody would believe you? >> no. >> without that statement they dont have anything th...