Page 2 - Inside Nick News Today

He was the best friend to anybody that he ever met. he was very easy-going, very happy-go-lucky. just kind of a cool kind of kid. >> since there was no motor oil on nicks body, and oil was throughout the passenger compartment of his car, this was further proof that he wasnt inside when it crashed. at the autopsy, the pathologist found evidence that nick had been beaten. >> there were internal injuries. specifically, bleeding inside the neck muscles, also called strap muscle hemorrhage. that alon...

Howard was not in his car when it crashed into the sacramento river. and nick had been strangled and dumped in the river at another time. in a search for suspects, investigators first questioned who would benefit from nicks death and learned that nick had several large life insurance policies. >> we found a life insurance policy that had an accidental death benefit rider on there, making the life insurance policy worth $850,000. now, an 18-year-old kid having an $850,000 life insurance policy is...

>> you never know whats going to be important at a scene, so you collect everything. sometimes its the smallest thing that you didnt think would be involved is what breaks your case open. >> prosecutors believe ralph marcus was angry with nicks mother for the years of rejection going all the way back to high school. >> ralph marcus believed that he and patty should have been star-crossed lovers. she had turned him down from the outset. and toward the time when nick howard was killed, hed actuall...

At one time. it had ralph marcus name on it. and i was a little shocked. >> 37-year-old ralph marcus was an unemployed laborer who had a strained relationship with the howard family. he also had a police record. >> well, we did a little checking on mr. ralph marcus. in addition to his gambling and his flashy lifestyle, he never really had the ability to hold a job for very long. >> he was kind of creepy. he just never went away. he wasnt around like 24/7, but he would always show up. >> nicks mo...

On the night of the murder, prosecutors believe marcus and nick met on the dock to plan the car crash. either nick tried to back out or marcus had planned to kill him all along. at some point, marcus strangled him until he was unconscious, then threw him into the river where he drowned. he kept nicks glasses, bent them in half, and threw them on the floor of nicks car to make it appear nick was in the car when it crashed. marcus opened the windows, used the cap from his motor oil bottle, placed ...

He was welcome to stay at home, but he had to work or go to school. he had to be doing something with his life. he was starting to get a little bit lackadaisical about that. >> nick was a night person and often stayed out late with friends. on a february night in 1997, nick stopped by a local restaurant to pick up his drivers license he had left there earlier. but the restaurant was closed so he left a note for the owner. >> it was in his handwriting. so we knew that he had gone down there. >> l...

Largely circumstantial, but the photogrammetry helped convince the jury. >> photogrammetry was the key element, and it was used to solve the case. without photogrammetry, this case would have gone unsolved. a car runs off the highway into a river. yet the driver is nowhere to be found. for answers, investigators recreated the crash, and the evidence revealed a plan almost 20 years in the making. the result of a deadly obsession that ended in tragedy. nick howard was just 18 years old, fresh ...

>> it was clear the change of beneficiary forms were in nick howards handwriting and were not forgeries. it appeared that nick and ralph marcus planned to defraud the insurance company. >> they had hatched a plan to fake nicks death, collect the insurance proceeds, and take the money down to south america or some location to live off of it. >> but this was all speculation. investigators had no proof of the scam or that marcus killed nick howard and crashed his car into the river. >> it was a tho...

Ultimately, though, it was drowning that caused the end. >> the manner of nicks death was ruled a homicide. investigators were now looking for a killer. ♪ if you want a paint thats more than just easy to scrub. if you want a paint that actually repels dirt and grime. if you want a paint that stands up to lifes wear and tear... only this can. regal select from benjamin moore. paint like no other.

It had ralph marcus name on it. and i was a little shocked. >> 37-year-old ralph marcus was an unemployed laborer who had a strained relationship with the howard family. he also had a police record. >> well, we did a little checking on mr. ralph marcus. in addition to his gambling and his flashy lifestyle, he never really had the ability to hold a job for very long. >> he was kind of creepy. he just never went away. he wasnt around like 24/7, but he would always show up. >> nicks mother patty fi...