Page 16 - Linking Sam News Today

"we think that you can really provide some great information for us. would you mind coming down with us and talking." >> reporter: they brought him down to the station and listened patiently as he distanced himself from cathy torrez. >> hed never been shopping with her, never changed a tire on her car, never carried groceries. we went through the whole litany of things that -- >> reporter: and hes all, "oh no, no, thats --" >> would -- >> reporter: thats all true. "im a million miles away from h...

And sam was also moving on with his life. in may 1994, just months after cathys murder, sam walked into a local restaurant. >> he walked in with his friend. and i just remember thinking that he was cute. >> reporter: tina montelongo was a hostess then. >> so, i offered him some free food. and then we started talking. >> reporter: she felt the spark right away. >> i did think i would marry him when i first saw him. that was, like, the words that came out of my mouth. "im going to marry that guy."...

>> okay. >> reporter: tell number one, how sam talked about his relationship with cathy. >> see, i was going out with somebody. and then she would call me up. and we would just, like -- calling each other, going out to eat, places like that. nothing serious at the time. >> sam definitely was trying to limit his connection with cathy, give the impression that its not that big of a deal. >> reporter: remember cathys sister tina had told detectives sam had proposed to cathy just days before she dis...

There was arterial spurt on the sidewall of the trunk panel. >> reporter: meaning only one thing -- cathy was still alive when she was placed in the trunk of the car. so, if javier put her there, he could be charged with murder. why not grab javier up that day and say, "okay, your dna and fingerprints were at the scene. we didnt know that until just now. youre going away for murder unless you start talking"? >> well, lets say that we did that and we bring him in and he says, well, yes, my finger...

If its small. its not that big of a deal, its not horrendous. he doesnt want it to be horrendous because he did it. >> reporter: tell number three. and then larry caught something else in the interview sam did before cathys body was found. listen carefully. >> so you went out with her the saturday before the thursday? >> right. >> okay on, and where did you go? >> in other words a week before she was -- she disappeared. >> reporter: did you hear that? >> a week before she was -- she disappeared....

She was at work when her sister called her and told her police had once again come for sam. >> whatd you think when you heard sam was arrested? >> the same that i always had. like, here we go again. >> nothing to it, and hell be out soon. >> yeah. >> reporter: after all, theyd detained sam once before and had to release him. but as daron wyatt now explained to sam lopez, this time was different. >> "ive told you before that we wouldnt give up until -- until we were able to bring resolution to th...

>> i think it was a guess sweatshirt. >> reporter: sam readily gave those clothes to the police. he let them search his house too. and he willingly gave samples of his hair and blood. but something about sams behavior the week cathy was missing bothered her family. mary said shed repeatedly paged sam looking for cathy, but he was slow to respond. he call you back? >> not at first. >> reporter: but eventually he did? >> eventually, yes. >> reporter: and he said what, he hadnt seen her? >> he hadn...

And just months before that trial began, matt murphy learned that sam had a new defense attorney. someone matt knew very well. >> he so is good. and i would be lying if i said my heart was not in my throat. >> reporter: sams defense attorney lew rosenblum was the former assistant d.a. who supervised the homicide unit. in fact, he was the original prosecutor who back in 1994 didnt think there was enough evidence to charge sam. not only that, lew was the man who brought matt into the homicide unit...

>> larry montgomery is the real deal. i mean, the guy is -- the evidence whisperer. another nickname for him is st. larry. >> reporter: larry sees things other people dont see? >> larry sees things that many people dont see, yeah. and he looks at it from a different perspective. >> reporter: they both felt the key to the case lay in sam lopezs own words, his taped interviews with the original detectives. and they thought the perfect man to listen to those interviews was the evidence whisperer. g...

Spatter. but in the years since, analysis became possible for touch-dna, the microscopic calling cards many of us leave behind just by putting our hands on something. if sam and javier did place cathys body in the cars trunk, maybe, thought larry, there would be touch-dna on her clothes. >> search for dna in the areas that might be grabbed. especially areas that might be grabbed that dont have blood on them, from cathy. >> so you looked, what, on the ankles and under her arms? >> ankles, arms, i...