Page 2 - Tom Toolan News Today

Relationship the four seasons test to see how things stood in a year but it was becoming clear that tom toolan was not inclined to let one season pass let alone four. >> coming up, a troubled relationship becomes a terrifying one. >> why she depth leave that next day im not exactly sure. >> when "dateline" continues. tis

>> that same day, saturday, october 23rd, beth stopped by the nantucket police department to ask about filing a restraining order. for her to get to the point of stopping at the police department, that probably tells you all you need to know about what was going on inside of her. >> yeah, yeah, i would think so. i think she had very well-founded fears especially after the incident in new york where he held her captive. >> beth did not file the paperwork. she spent that night and the next at her ...

>> his whole body exuded the smell of alcohol. >> the defense believed that established toolans state in the days before the murder. now for the day itself. when toolan was picked up in rhode island hours after the murder, he had been drinking. sobriety tests later put him at twice the legal limit. >> multiply that by six. >> a forensic toxicologist doing some complicated calculations, estimated his blood alcohol level was .30. >> where does that fit in? >> that fits in the next level above conf...

Act was just that. redding ton declared, an act. because tom toolan was a mess plagued not just by alcohol abuse but drug addiction too. >> his drink of choice would be absolute vodka right out of the bottle. drink a fifth a day. he had prescriptions legally, he was taking them illegal less i. illegally. >> when beth broke up with him, redington told the court toolan snapped. drinking and drugging and even deeper troubles all of them combined to push him over the edge. >> the evidence will show ...

In october, 2004, beth lochtefeld went to new york to be with her boyfriend, tom toolan. by then, the two had been dating for six weeks but the relationship was fraying. beth was beginning to see a troubling side of this new guy and she had started to give him ultimatums. >> he would start drinking and he would get really ugly. she would say youre a good guy but when youre drinking, youre an idiot and you need to decide between alcohol and me. he would apologize and say i choose you and i want y...

This is not a where, when, how, case. this is a why case. >> robert sheketoff he opened with an admission that toolan did kill beth lochtefeld. what the jury had to decide was why. >> its a difficult issue to look into somebodys mind and figure out what was going on in that mind. was he a common criminal or was he not? thats the issue. >> it was the insanity defense all over again. dressed up a little differently presented in court by an attorney who was keenly aware he had an uphill battle on h...

Hair sort of combed back and a double breasted blue blazer on. very pompous. he seemed fake to me. >> that night over dinner, beths brother kept asking tom toolan what he did for a living. >> and he couldnt really tell me to my satisfaction what he did. >> what was he saying? >> oh, im an investor. what do you invest in? he couldnt really give me an answer. >> beths brother said toolan was drinking during dinner but not to excess. afterwards toolan and beth headed back to his apartment and on th...

Car with him. his bloody clothes in a bag on the back seat. the rhode island state police videotaped his arrest and recorded his voice in the cruiser. toolan was held without bail and arraigned a month later. bernadette was in the courtroom. she could barely contain herself. >> it was the reality hitting me. sitting there. this happened. this really happened. he walked in and it was like they were bringing in king kong like a monster. i felt like it was my fault and shes gone. >> toolan was char...

Trial took five hours to reach a verdict. >> do you get butterflies every time? >> yes, you do. >> as family members and jurors returned to their seats, the courtroom suddenly seemed too small for a big drama. >> you can hear a pin drop in the courtroom. emotion is palpable. obviously its high stakes. >> high stakes with subtle hints. >> you can tell if the court officer surround the defendant, you figure things arent going that well. >> is the defendant guilty or not guilty? >> guilty. >> guilt...

>> the prosecutors job was to blow that argument away and to argue that tom toolan knew exactly what he was doing and when i murdered beth lochtefeld. that he was so enraged by the break up that he planned and carried out a cold calculated killing. >> the commonwealth will present to you a time line. >> as evidence of premeditation, the prosecutor told the court that on the night before the murder, security guards at new yorks laguardia airport stopped toolan from boarding a plane to nantucket b...