Page 2 - Learning Danielle News Today

Going to gain if that turned out bad and thats exactly what happened. >> we asked danielle to sit down with us for an interview. both she and her attorney declined. but during danielles interview with the detectives, she emphatically denied having anything to do with sams murder. >> i would never kill my husband. i would never kill another human being. and the man that pulled the trigger supported her claim of innocence in no uncertain terms. >> i acted on my own. i did. i did this all on my own...

And sentenced to four years in prison. >> this was a very satisfying verdict, to see the woman be punished for her actions. >> reporter: is the murder of sam dreher an open case or a closed case? >> no. its a closed case. >> reporter: but not for cindy, who continues to mourn the loss of her brother. she keeps his uniform close by for comfort and, with it, a lifetime of memories. >> he was loving. he was caring. he was the peacemaker. he was always doing for others. he was just sweet. >> reporte...

This elaborate spying escalated into a murder plot. instead, she said it was simply preparation for her pending divorce. >> i told the attorney about it and the attorney said whoa, youre good because he said thats good evidence. >> she wanted to be able to have leverage and to be able to embarrass him. >> danielle told the detectives another reason was plain old curiosity. >> i had to see for myself that there was a girl. it broke my heart. i dont know why. >> thats the big question, right? you ...

Espionage. >> its exactly like that. they were playing spy games. >> now it was up to mcdonald to find out if all of those spy games somehow developed into a conspiracy to commit murder. >> i think its very suspicious that she had this. >> detectives sat down with danielle and reported interviews with her on three separate occasions. from the very first interview, danielle willingly acknowledged that she and michael had been tracking sam and diane. >> where did you put the tracker in the vehicle...

After all, michael shot sam not once but four times. one of the shots was to the back of sams head. >> so sam is laying here and michael is right on top of him basically giving him the final shot. >> he would have had to have been. thats the evidence in the case. >> one shot is an accident. not the three or four shots he fired. >> but detectives wanted to know if this wasnt an accident, why then did michael shoot sam? >> got all of these pieces and tried to fit them all together. >> thats when m...

Turned. >> michael claimed he was in fear and closed his eyes and just fired his gun. >> he came toward me and i just pulled the trigger and im so sorry. >> with all the things he is telling you, hes in a relationship with danielle, do you start to think we need to talk to danielle? >> yes. so the next step was lets hear danielles story. >> so the detective left michael and headed to the hospital where danielle had been waiting for updates on sams condition. all danielle had been told was that s...

>> sams great niece didnt make it to the hospital in time but she made sure to be at his funeral. the bagpipes i still remember to this day. >> did it make you really proud in that moment? >> yeah. im still proud of him. >> full fire department honors were bestowed upon the lieutenant. >> people came out to pay their respects. >> along with the tears there was tension. by now sams family and friends learned danielles lover shot sam. >> no one could believe she even had a boyfriend or that it was...

>> in the weeks following the funeral the detectives continued their investigation. they had a shooter but they also have lingering questions about whether danielle may have somehow been involved. >> obviously she has to have something to do with it. >> and as they sifted through the evidence, they became more confident they were on the right track. what they discovered stunned even these two seasoned investigators. for over a month, danielle had been spying on both sam and diane. >> danielle wa...

Danielle about her marriage to sam. danielle candidly described it as troubled. >> we have been not getting along. >> danielle also explained she knew sam was having an affair despite sams best efforts to conceal it. >> did you know? >> im sure he went to his girlfriends, yes. he always goes to her house. >> danielle then admitted that she too was unfaithful. >> she was pretty straightforward. told me about the affair. >> little by little, the detectives led danielle to believe they were focussi...

Now they were learning danielle had also been cheating on sam. >> everybody here was involved with somebody else. it was interesting to say the least. >> and challenging for detectives that now had to contend with a second affair. >> michael myer, the plumber, 13 years younger than danielle told them the two had met on ashley madison, a website for husbands and wives looking to cheat. the websites slogan, life is short, have an affair. >> this is someone looking to have an affair. >> they both w...