Thatt Eric News Today

>> kind of a glamour shot. >> it never occurred to him that they did more than business together. >> if you looked at annette and took into account her age and you looked and bill and took into account his age why would you think -- >> orange county, california? hello. >> i guess im a rookie to orange county. >> but when it comes to murder and relationships sometimes twos company, threes a motive. if eric found out that bill was money more than just annettes mentor, was it a motive for murder? s...

You found this stuff? >> absolutely. >> annette denied it was her. but soon enough she had moved out and up and in with bill mclaughlin. it was clear to detectives that annette jonston was greedy and would stop at nothing for money. it was clear to him that shed been cheating on bill. it was also clear to him hed been cheating on bill with eric. he even knew that her key to the community pedestrian gate was missing and remember, there was one found. could have been it on the mat at the murder sc...

Heard from annette before the murder that she was about to have lots of money to invest. and they found a neighbor of erics from that melrose place type building, a woman who had been too afraid to come forward at the time of the murder. >> susanne was very important because susanne gave the best comprehensive understanding of the way a net manipulated eric into committing the murder. >> how they would chat by the pool, how one day eric was angry, said his girlfriends boss, meaning bill mclaughl...

>> guilty, guilty of the crime of felony. >> then after conviction the oddest thing happened. an epilogue if you like. eric called up pat murphy from jail and said he was finally ready to tell the truth. of course he told us, too. >> the first thing i wanted to do was clear up with matt that i didnt do the crime. but i also wanted to share some other information with him that i hadnt showed anybody in 17 years. >> eric had a new story. >> if anette wanted bill mclaughlin dead. then bill mclaughl...

Wonderful neighbor. >> across the country in connecticut police picked up eric and accused him of murder too. eric was also defiant. >> it wasnt eric who shot bill mclaughlin. this is a fact. and matt murphy is wrong. ill tell you right now on my children, hes just straight wrong. >> did eric kill bill mclaughlin? did he conspire with annette or was matt murphy in over his head? up to a jury soon. >> coming up, first they had to face trial where annettes lawyer had an unusual defense. >> in cour...

That i signed for him on many things. >> uh-huh. >> with his permission. >> he gave you permission to sign his name? >> excuse me? >> he gave you permission to sign his name? >> oh, yeah, on many things. >> annette was sure he had signed that particular check and they found more money missing from bills accounts. nearly half a million dollars and also discovered that annette wasnt exactly the person she had portrayed herself to be. detective learned shed grown up in phoenix. you can barely recog...

Expensive watch and she was a little snobby. >> at least she was at first, but -- >> so what made you friends. >> proximity. she was a fun girl. we worked out together. id say we probably worked out together more than we did anything else together. >> he was impressed by her intelligence, by what she told him about herself, that she had a business degree for example. >> she graduated early from high school and college. >> by february 1994, ten months before bill mclaughlin was killed annettes af...

>> i just knew -- i knew of him. i knew of him and his, you know, his partnership with annette as far as business goes and stuff like that. >> eric told us annette said she invented things, medical equipment, blood separators. sound familiar? and bill, she told eric, guided her through the process. >> that was her mentor. that was her business partner and she could work out all morning. grab lunch, go pick up the kids and take them to practice and be the team mom. >> pretty nice job. eric and an...

So what did mat murphy think of erics new story? >> it doesnt make any sense. heres the problem with eric poposky. his first story, i didnt have anything to do with it. it gets to trial and nannettes not innocent, but im innocent. and i had nothing to do with it. and we interview him after and it changes to something radically different again. >> michael hill didnt buy it, either. >> have you ever heard of hiring a hit man goes yeah ill take the job, but i dont have a gun, could you loan me your...