>> as much as the state says, dave watson, dave watson, dave watson. you're going to see it going in another avenue. of people, and circumstance. >> other avenues? such a suicide. whether linda's. >> with the drinking, the ex-boyfriend testifying against her, losing her job. >> or even rene's. the defense said that marilyn's friend had once discuss suicide. and they suggested that she may have chosen an unusual method. >> we all know that insurance won't pay if you commit suicide. >> is your theory, or at least you're willing to consider that rene, the friend, has somehow commissioned her own murder? >> that was something that we had thrown out in theory. >> natasha, what movie or you seeing? >> there is some crazy people out there. >> then there was this idea
thing, if she lost her daughter, she would shoot herself. >> so jr said. linda's mom shared her doubts with her sister pat. >> what did maryland think about this guy, jr? the boyfriend is in and out of the picture? >> she didn't like him. she said that he is very controlling. >> which is why, when marilyn couldn't find linda. her mind immediately jumped to jr. that very first day, she told her suspicions to the 9-1-1 operator. >> she's been threatened by this guy that she broke it off with. i called him, and i said that's my daughter. >> investigators learned that after marilyn called jr to ask about linda. jr called linda's attorney from her custody case. and left this message. >> she's probably out on the drunken bench, and her mom is blowing this all out of proportion. you know, i had nothing to do with anything. and, i don't know what to do. i was hoping maybe you know where she is. >> he phoned someone else as
automatic handgun. >> handing over everything was the question. who would've wanted marilyn dead? detectives knew from the moment linda disappeared, they had accused the ex-boyfriend, jr, from harming linda. it became a nasty feud. they even tried to get restraining orders against one another. but the judge denied their request. which was when, maryland's attention, seemed to shift. >> after about january 2001, when jr and her had no more contact with each other. and she totally focused on dave. >> detectives knew that the whole time knew, that she had been feuding with dave and rosemary over visitation with jordan. pat said the reason that marilyn asked her friend renee with her to drop jordan off. is that she filled a confrontation with dave. >> she felt there was safety in number. >> she recalls an earlier issue when she was on the phone with marilyn, and dave showed up unannounced at her house. >> she let him in the house. which just blew me away. but she wanted him to feel better. having jordan over there. so he could say, this is nice.
ruling. marilyn sent linda's friend an email with the news. >> and in big bold letters, she wrote, i've got jordy. >> after a two-year legal battle. marilyn won the right to have supervised visits with jordan. >> i always thought that linda must be, must have given her a little bit of peace to know that jordan was with her mom. >> rosemary and dave were not happy. rosemary spoke to nbc affiliate, k v eight o tv about the ruling. >> not the states place to decide where my children stay. they're turning parents into babysitters. >> at first, maryland said, the watson's resisted the order. >> she attempted to have her visitation, but dave watson made it difficult by not answering the phone. by not being available.
tactical wear. they asked me to step out. they reach my gravel driveway. i said, i think you guys have the wrong person. >> i told him, you're under arrest for the murders of linda watson, raleigh cox and marilyn. >> now. i told you before. and into this. you know, i told him, i didn't do this stuff. i'm innocent. i told you. i said, you guys never think about me. you guys can check me out. you asked me questions. because it didn't think. i don't believe tampa. i'm always here. i've nothing to hide. >> linda watson's friend saw the news on tv. >> we arrested david dwayne watson for three counts of first degree murder. >> all the sudden, i just can't breathe. i said, oh my gosh, this is it. i started trying to call her aunt, patty. she said, this is it. i was like, are you sure? we sure? i just remember screaming and crying. she said, they just arrested
person who had motive to kill marilyn too. >> motive outweighed everything in this case. we have two women who took him to court over his daughter. he got what he wanted as a result of these homicides. >> enough to go forward? maybe. but this wasn't the only high-profile cold case being rescued from a vault at the time. dateline covered the case of david triana who was killed when his car exploded in a parking lot of an upscale tucson country club in 1996. >> they had new leads on that one, thanks to fellow and do right now. >> another four years past. that other case was solved. and then, in 2015 -- >> bam, bam, bam. on my front door. i thought they were gonna break in. and there's cops out there in
>> how was linda as a mother? >> she love that little girl. that baby was her whole world. >> bobby and pat were linda's aunts. >> she's very attentive, that little girl. loved her to pieces. >> with jordan's arrival, dave and linda got another visitor to high. >> they came out to be the nanny because they both worked. >> marilyn was linda's mother. >> was that an sos that went out from linda marilyn? mom come. i need some help here. . >> yeah. exactly. >> not an unusual request from a new mother. but maryland's response was unusual. >> she sold her house, and drove her car, and headed out. >> she did all that for her girl and her grandkids? >> she did that for the family. yeah. >> where would living? >> dave built a little guesthouse out in the back. for, specifically for maryland. >> not every young husband likes to have the mother in law, round let's face it. >> it's funny that all the guys that work said that's a big mistake.
jordan? >> just a stop at the house and see her and see jordan. and then possibly, go with her to take jordynn home. >> but by the time martinelli made it over to the house on curtis road. >> i, drove into the driveway at seven. about 7:45. and it was dark. nobody was there. >> marnell must of just missed marilyn, who was supposed to have jordynn back at even rosemary's home back at 8:30. that's when marnell remembered something. a tv apartment. >> i thought, if i go now i can still catch the bachelor. >> just a short time after she left, calls started pouring into pima county dispatch. >> dispatch? >> there's two people on the ground. >> yes. someone around way. >> in a black sweater with a hat on? >> maryland's sister pat was getting ready to turn in. when the tv caught her attention. >> it was a 10:00 news, and
>> yeah. >> i had a union meeting. i came home. i got home about a 15. 8:10, avian. jordan came home about a 30. >> the investigator asked if they had any contact with maryland? >> did you ever make any contact with her at all? >> she pulled up. and i was in the restroom. >> so dave said, rosemary came to the door. >> what did she make of what's going on? >> same as me. just, kind of speechless. just taking it all in. trying to process it all. >> the investigators never told dave and rosemary exactly what happened that night. gabe said it wasn't until the next day that he saw the news, and learned that marilyn had been murdered. >> did you feel bad about marilyn? >> heck yeah. i mean yeah. how could i not? this is jordan's grandmother. >> there was someone else that detectives needed to talk to.
>> what does a paramedic do? responds to bloody scenes. they remain calm in certain circumstances and this was david watson's key attribute. >> that, along with a mountain of other circumstantial evidence. the money clip. the nine millimeter shell casings, dave statements to his friends. the horse ride near silver bell mine in 2007. all pointed to a guilty man, according to the state. >> you prove this case by 1000 cuts. 1000 little cuts. and there is not going to be the one aha moment that comes down that solves this case. >> wrong, said the defense. there wasn't an aha moment because dave did not do it. representing dave watson, husband and wife legal team, michael story and natasha ray. much like their prosecution counterparts, not one to shy away from the challenge. >> this was the most monstrous undertaking that we've ever had in our careers together. >> according to the defense, there were any number of reasons why linda, marilyn, and renee died. reasons that had nothing to do with dave watson.