Page 2 - Jessee Case News Today

Designed to provoke exactly the reaction the sisters felt. >> hatred. more than i had before. >> reporter: sandra seemed to be telling them shed beaten them, got away with it, won the game. >> we just said, are we cursed? is there something with this case thats just not going to be solved? >> its frustrating for him putting all this work in. to think these people might get away, literally get away with murder. >> oh, isnt that the -- >> reporter: patty is toms wife, been together since high scho...

Sandra announced she had now helped as much as she could. she was done. >> i was referred to her attorney and she refused to meet with us again. >> reporter: same thing happened with sandras kids, jacks stepchildren. while jacks blood relations practically begged to help solve the case. so what happened to that big happy family in the video? a mirage, perhaps? in fact, living with sandra, said jacks daughter cheree and cheryl, was a fairy tale, the kind britain by the brothers grimm. >> she was ...

And tom dove says to me, listen, buddy, nobody likes me in my department. he says, im not going nowhere. he says, i got five years to put in your brothers case. he says, i retire and im out of here. he said, but ill give it my all. i will give everything to this case that i have. i looked over at him, i said, youre the man. >> reporter: what david didnt know but clearly sensed was that detective tom dove was the real deal, a legendary law man who seemed to have stepped out of his own primetime d...

Liked to talk. puzzle which had become more difficult with each passing year. >> after i reviewed the case, i had no feeling for the family, no feeling for jack jessee. >> reporter: so to get his hand in the game, dove met with the people closest to jack. like his brother david. >> and when i met with david, he inspired me. his determination not to let the love for his brother go was a big motivating factor. >> reporter: but david also had some provocative information. something jack told him af...

>> reporter: after two years of relentless police work, tom doves investigation of the murder of jack jessee had generated enough evidence to fill this mail cart. all apparently for naught. the suspect and his key to cracking the case had skipped the state, and detective doves jurisdiction. >> we were so close. >> reporter: the jessee family sensed dove had been beaten and sandra jessee had won. had gotten away with murder. >> i put his pictures away. i couldnt -- its tough. because he was so --...

>> and the first words out of my mouth were, hi, mike, im here about brett. and his face went completely flush. and he said, i knew you were going to find me sooner or later. >> what story did he tell you? >> that schrauben, for whatever reason, had confided in him and told him specific details of the murder of jack jessee, including his involvement. that was a huge, huge quantum leap for us in putting this case to rest. >> reporter: now the time had come to spring the trap. brett schrauben was ...

To some people? >> maybe to some people. >> reporter: so murray and dove cobbled together a legal long shot. they flew to phoenix, presented their evidence to a state attorney general, pleaded for an arizona wiretap warrant. and they got it. the game was back on. if they could make it work. >> we were going to try to set a trap for three people and keep track of those three people, and i wasnt sure if it was going to work or not. >> if it didnt? >> in the back of my mind, i gave it probably a 30...

Mamas boy jack raised as his own. under the direction of the mastermind herself, jacks wife, sandra. so with that new perspective on the case, dove revisited sandras old interview. the hours of mostly useless chatter. >> how many times did you listen to that interview? >> at least ten times. >> reporter: and then it jumped out at him. right about here on the tape. sandra is going through slips of paper in her day planner. she looks at one and says -- >> this is my sons friend. >> reporter: liste...

>> i hope that she rots in hell. i just really do. im glad it wasnt the death penalty. i want her to stay there and suffer with all the other miserable people that go to prison. >> whats it feel like to get justice finally? >> oh, it feels good. it feels good, but not complete. not complete. lost a guy. the nicest guy i ever met. >> and for tom dove, hes now retired from the sheriffs department, and at his going away party, his fellow detectives gave him this. it honors his commitment to the jes...

Takes a toll on them physically and mentally. >> thats what you worry about? >> uh-huh, exactly what i worry about. >> reporter: because she knew if he didnt solve the jessee case, he might die trying. >> hes like a dog with a bone. hes going to take it and hes going to do it until it gets done. >> reporter: dove was not alone, mind you. there was a prosecutor too who shared his dogged conviction. a man named michael purchaseky who wanted sandra jessee and her group just as badly as dove. >> thi...