Page 10 - Jack Proctor News Today

Accomplice in the case. >> reporter: a few miles away, michaels mom ellen snyder was ending her workday. >> when i came out from work, his girlfriend came by. she was sitting in her car next to my car, and she says you need to get in the car. >> reporter: she told ellen that michael had called, the police had shown up at his work and they knew the secret. >> so i called my mom and i said i need to come over. and shes like are you okay? and i said no. >> reporter: and with that ellens mother phon...

>> reporter: it was christmas 2001. ellen said the daily fighting in the home escalated. mikes multiple sclerosis had grown progressively work. and with it, so did his anger. >> he would push me around. he hit me. >> reporter: he hit you how many times? one time? >> three or four. >> reporter: ellen now held an executive level position at a large dealership. she was the boss to 30 mechanics and making upwards of $90,000 a year. >> she would put your feet to the fire, make sure you get the job do...

Albuquerque man that vanished eight years ago. >> reporter: an 8-year-old cover-up was over but another story line was just beginning, did mike snyder have it coming? was ellen guilty of anything? and what could be proven after so many years? coming up -- a startling police discovery. >> it appeared to me that michael snyder was laying in his bed when he was shot. >> and something more startling still. >> she can walk away from this. >> she might have committed first degree murder and gotten a...

Lived. >> out in the street it was a zoo. >> reporter: reporters like jeff proctor were staked out for three days while men with jackhammers and backhoes began tearing up the garage floor. >> we continue to follow breaking news right now. >> reporter: if you lived in albuquerque, you would have to wear earplugs not to hear about it. >> we just spoke to the police chief and he is here looking for the remains of michael snyder. >> reporter: a longtime friend of ellens was at work when the news bro...

Waist so the body couldnt be seen. the next day ellen went back to the paper, found a different guy who had a bobcat and hired him to fill in the hole. and you buried the body. >> and i buried the body. >> reporter: and then she came up with her story. you got better at telling that story as time went on? >> yeah, as time went on it became a bigger and bigger story. >> reporter: it was the end of her 2 1/2-hour statement to police and ellen snyder wanted to get one last thing on the record. >> i...

It seemed ellen snyder had actually made a pretty penny off mikes death. th

Returned. they kind of, i think, put the case on back burner, i believe. >> reporter: detective wilson did continue to look for mike snyder but wilson also had to focus on the 20 other cold cases that needed his attention. then one day in 2010 came a phone call that would break this case. a confidential informant who said he knew exactly where mike snyder was. >> where are you two going? out to mike now. >> reporter: you looked in the yard, not found anything. not found mike anywhere. not been a...

>> reporter: why not just gather up the kids and leave? >> it was christmastime. we had a 6-year-old daughter. >> reporter: detective wilson checked for any police reports of domestic abuse or calls to 911. he found none. >> did they have altercations throughout their marriage? i would imagine. most couples do. but i have never seen any violent temper in my brother. >> reporter: you know there are no documented visits of the police to your house? >> i know that. >> reporter: it was a few months ...

Her office and gave a full statement. >> we ask you any question, i want you to understand these are your miranda or constitutional rights. >> reporter: she gave police a 2 1/2 hour confession and her version of events is quite a story. >> woke me up. i was 2:00, 3:00 in the morning. we were arguing. pushing back and forth and i told him, i know all about you and dave simmons. i know that youre day. >> reporter: ellen said she had recently grown more courageous in her dealings with mike and on t...

. >> he said as far as i know, he ran off with a guy and left my mother and sister and i behind, and denied that he knew anything. >> reporter: so hes still telling the story hes been telling for six, seven years. >> yes. seven years >> yes >> reporter: and the detective tells michael its time for him to confess.