Gary Showered News Today

Welcome back to "dateline extra." here again is keith morrison. >> reporter: it was a mean christmas for gary the year his father was murdered. the spring of 86 brought no solace. the summer surf lost its appeal. >> the whole thing didnt make sense to me. >> reporter: because no matter how thoroughly gary wished otherwise, yanos was as free as a bird. >> kind of made me question the whole system. >> reporter: the cops were sure yanos killed archie. gary was doubly sure. >> he still is hoofing ar...

>> when i first found out, all ties were cut. i wrote her a letter. dropped it in her mail slot. as far as im concerned, our relationship is over. >> reporter: mary ann accused yanos of murder the day it happened. confronted him in jail. now here she was back with him. they didnt actually move in together. they were certainly a couple, passion apparently undimmed. >> i just believe that in her own mind, that it was okay to go back with him because there was really no proof that he did it. >> rep...

Gary got married, started his own family. but the loss of his father still haunted him. >> he never got to see me be successful in my career. never got to see me get married. never got to be the grandfather. >> reporter: 17 years went by. 17 awkward christmass. the detective retired. remember that fresh set of eyes he was hoping for? it was 2002 and an aggressive deputy d.a. read about archie mcfarland. >> as soon as i looked at it, i said, this guy is good for this murder. >> reporter: just wha...

First to gary, who waited 25 years. >> completely happy. after so much time goes by you think its a fore gone conclusion, its over. everyone moves on with life. >> including, of course, mary ann who moved on with janos. didnt go to him for a little while. in fact, spent 20-plus years, the same man she accused of killing her husband. but he was the only man in her life since archie was murdered. >> she loves janos and does not want to believe hes a killer. >> the case against janos kulcsar finall...

Cold. not much more the detective could do. >> you put it away and then let some fresh eyes look at it later on down the line and see if theres something you missed. >> reporter: and then a very strange development. not a police issue. but for gary, it was awful. it was a few years after the murder, gary was paying his moms phone bill. he noticed several calls back and forth to long beach. he dialed the number. and on the other end was yanos. would it be fair to say, it was a bit of a surprise? ...

Men in two very different ways. >> he was the first, the husband. handsome, athletic, adventurous, a surfer. the real deal. his name was archie mcfarland. everybody loved him. laid back, kind, reliable. ten years older than mary ann but crazy about her. she brought a daughter with her when they married in the early 60s. together, they had a son, gary. they settled down near the ocean, an l.a. suburb. >> we had a great typical nuclear family. dad went off to work. my mom stayed at home. and did t...

That son of a -- >> there was one thing no one could know. the strange twist still to come. >> it was a bit of a surprise. kind of a shock when you found out she was seeing him again. >> yes. >> a lovers triangle always leads to trouble. >> how could you do such a horrible thing? you destroyed me. >> did this lead to murder? >> what was it like watching him walk out of jail? >> he beat the system. >> deadly triangle. hello and welcome to "dateline extra." im craig melvin. how long does it take a...

And then there he was, yanos. she met him at a local club. he was just 32, 25 years younger than archie. >> he was everything archie wasnt. he satisfied everything that archie couldnt satisfy for her. she told archie she was dating this man. he was passive about it. she told him, if he didnt like it, he could live. >> reporter: he accepted it, hoping his marriage would somehow survive. gary was just 18 then. didnt know for sure about the affair. but suspected his mom was seeing someone, especial...

Was sure stabbed his father, her husband, and left him to die in the driveway? >> when i first found out, all ties were cut. i wrote her a letter. dropped it in her mail slot. as far as im concerned, our relationship is over. >> reporter: mary ann accused yanos of murder the day it happened. confronted him in jail. now here she was back with him. they didnt actually move in together. they were certainly a couple, passion apparently undimmed. >> i just believe that in her own mind, that it was ok...

It to beaver. >> reporter: you will see when gary talks about his dad how close they were. and it wasnt just because archie introduced him to surfing. >> i always looked up to my dad. my dad was a really soft spoken, easy going yet affable guy. >> reporter: here they were to the outside world anold-fashion family. inside, secretly, something seething. it was almost christmas 1985. 5:30 a.m. archie started work early. so did gary, who was just 20 years old then. >> he had come into my room and he...