steven b. friday morning with the bird and the bee. reporter: a d.j. with a distinctive voice and personality that had made him famous in the 1980s as part of the hit denver-based radio show stooer steven b. and the hawk. reporter: doug johnson and stooerch were friends for more than 30 years. they were the guys that really pioneered two-man morning radio. they were funny. they were great writers, great comedians. he s lovable. everybody loved steven b. reporter: young sill ylvia n had a big crush on steven. i went in and asked him if he d be my date for the beach boys concert, and he turned me down and i was just like devastated, you know, and so i was sitting in my little sales cubicle. reporter: what s the matter with me?
to his friends, was he was surrounded by a group of very close friends that knew a lot about him. these are lifelong friends. he was just a great soundingboard, somebody i would call if i was angry, if i was frustrated, if i needed advice. he could talk you down or talk you up? he could do both, usually at the same time. reporter: and recently steven had found a soundingboard of his own, a new friend named harvey morrow. he s just a quiet, easy going guy. he came up to him and said oh, my gosh, i m such a huge fan of steven b. and the hawk. steven became fast friends of harvey and his wife debbie. reporter: what d you think of steven? he was so funny and had such a great love of music, and he loved to cook. i thought this man is going to be perfect to go on a boat with us. reporter: ah, yes, the boat, harvey had a dock at the l.a. yacht club, a 69-foot beauty. harvey and debbie had big plans for that boat. they talked about it ever since
i don t remember. do you remember how much money you got from steven in total? no. you don t? he was very vague. i believe he talked to us thinking he was going to outsmart us in that interview. reporter: was he trying to prevent you from getting him on the record, pinning him down in a way you could use later? i felt that. they re asking questions that harvey, you re a banker, man. you should know the answer to these questions. i don t want to talk about anymore. you re done? yeah. i mean, you re not telling me anything. we re not finished. i told you i ve got a lot to tell you, and i do. i will tell you. tell it to my lawyer. what? tell it to my lawyer. reporter: he was going to need one. harvey was extradited to california, charged with first degree murder. but for all the evidence that harvey conned and stole from steven b., evidence of murder was pretty thin, at least without another stroke of luck. and that s exactly what they got, a missing
the far side of catalina island, after which steven vanished and harvey told conflicting stories about when where he supposedly i think the most damning evidence in this regard was the fact that despite having a history of calling mr. williams on the telephone over the years that they knew each other, he never called his phone one time after the day the victim went missing. reporter: that didn t mean harvey killed steven, the defense said. steven b. was so depressed about losing his career, his father, getting older that he killed himself, and the medical examiner testified it was possible steven could have shot himself. reporter: what was your opinion at the idea he might have committed suicide? i think it was incredulous, i don t think he would have done it. still, it was another explanation, and the jury would have to consider it, so now the
reporter: she told the detectives, of course, and they took a good look at harvey s boat and soon learned something that probably should have been obvious all along. that fancy dolled up tub with its pricey power winches, its expensive electronics, its polished washer dryer fireplace, was paid for practically every dollar by the unwitting steven b. that answer turned up in meticulous detail in harvey s own ship s ledger. he put according to his own ledger 1.7 million into that yacht, so almost the whole amount he took from steven went right back into that yacht. reporter: no wonder said steven s friend sylvia. no wonder the last time they went out to lunch she had to pick up the check. she was so embarrassed and i said how can this be. you re a multimillionaire and you don t have any money? and he said, well, harvey s got it all tied up in these offshore accounts. reporter: the detectives discovered harvey morrow had put