okay, i'm sorry to tell you ma'am. he's been killed. >> no, there god. no. >> she's like poison candy. attractive on the outside, but deadly on the inside. >> she was pure evil. >> if he fell in love with her. she thought the she was the end all, the all. >> she had everything she wanted. but she longed for one thing more. >> i'm positive. 5000% sure. >> this guy was going to kill. >> then it happened. her new husband, police said, murdered in their town house. >> something happened at her house and she needs to get to the house, fast. >> was this crime all that it seemed? >> she played such a good game and that people didn't know. >> a surprise was coming. >> you don't know what to think. >> and it would arrive from beyond the grief. >> oh, my god. >> there has not been a story like this, ever in palm beach county history. >> is she the villain? is she the victim? who knows? that is what makes her riveting? and she is infamous and probably will be forever. >> hello, and welcome to "dateline." well when dalia and michael first met, it was instant fireworks. an immediate attraction that turned into a fatal attraction. and to crack the case, investigators needed to know was dalia dippolito diabolical, or the winning pawn in a hoax gone wrong? it would take eight years to unwind this true tale of sex, lies and videotape. here's dennis murphy with the sting. >> the mesmerizing story of dalia, with a fittingly preposterous ending, begins in a place where conspicuous consumption and the envy index are as high as the humidity. palm beach, florida. >> it is the winter wonderland of the wealthy. you can drive over the bridge and immediately feel the rarefied air. the mentions, the hedges. >> palm beach post senior editor jan tuckwood, says some mainlanders can't resist the want to be a lot of palm beach. >> most people on the mainland are influenced. that richness is right there. and how can they get a piece to piece of it? >> over the bridge, past the interstate, newlyweds dalia and mike dippolito lived in a quarter million dollar condo in high and dry boynton beach. not exactly the same zip code as palm beach. but perfectly fine for two up and comers. dalia and mike had big dreams like any couple young and in love. aspiration. she had a 20,000 dollar diamond engagement ring. he had a porsche in the garage. their story for public consumption, the g rated version, was love at first sight. michael is an interim internet entrepreneur and dalia dippolito, the business woman he fell head over heels. for three months after the first meeting, marriage was inevitable. there was 18 see problem in their paradise. mike dippolito was married. lawyers jason brodie and josh friedman arranged a quickly divorce so the ballad of mike and dalia dippolito could begin. >> he fell in love with her. he thought she was the end all, the all. he felt as though this was it. i'm going to have a family with her. and we're going to grow altogether. >> he thought she was the real deal? >> they hit it off right away. they had a lot of things in common. they enjoy the same. thinks >> dalia is a real estate agent? >> yes. that's what attracted him tour her. she was successful on her own and didn't need anyone. >> are we talking about sexual attraction or is there more going on here? >> oh, their sexual obstruction. absolutely. >> with a divorce in my can dalia dash to the courthouse to marry. and soon fell into comfortable routines. morning workouts at the gym. steamy date nights at five star hotels. and love notes on the fridge. they seemed he seemed to be mike is dalia's dream guy. and three months into the marriage, according to michael, she told him she was ready. he was thrilled, life was good. but early one morning in august, 2009, it all came to an end for the two, with a finality as certain as crime scene tape strong across the front of a condo. dalia dippolito had been located at her 6 am workout by the boynton beach police. >> this is sergeant frank ramsey? ma'am, i need to talk to. is very urgent. it involves your. husband he's been in an incident. >> she was instructed to get home right away. when she arrived, she saw police cars out front. everything that spells disaster just ahead. it just so happened a camera crew from the tv show "cops" was there filming an episode with boynton beach police, when dalia got the awful. new miss? i'm sergeant ranzie. i'm the one that called you. thanks for. i'm sorry to call you. listen, we had a report of a disturbance at your house. >> the officer was direct with dalia. he said there been an intruder in the house and several shots were fired. >> is your husband michael? okay, i'm sorry to tell you, ma'am. he's been killed. he's been killed, ma'am. >> no, there god. no. i want to see him. >> i can't let you see him, ma'am. we have to do our. job >> michael dippolito her, husband of six months, gunned down in their town house, the cops were telling. her but she would not be allowed to go inside to see the body. >> i need you to go with these detectives, okay? do you have enemies? who would want to hurt him? if you want to help your husband, you need to go to the station with these gentlemen. until everything you know about who he knows, who he's connected to. >> the investigation was only minutes old when the officers told dalia dippolito they need her cooperation and understanding what had happened. >> we're going to do everything we can, okay? so, we need your help. we need to get your husband's killer, ma'am. >> let's dalia whisked off to the police station where she'd soon find out the detectives thought they knew much more about the details of the crime than they were letting on. this case was about to get very complicated. oh, yes. >> coming -- up the questions began. it seems that undercover agents had their eyes and hidden cameras trained on dalia dippolito. and when "dateline" continues. >> dalia dippolito has been called home from the gym to be told play police out front that any truth or had murdered her husband michael. >> is your husband michael? >> okay, i'm sorry to tell you ma'am, he's been killed. he's been killed, man. >> no, dear god. >> dalia was rushed to the boynton beach police department for the start of interviews. she began by telling the detectives that michael, her deceased husband, was it a sack lease week equally. >> he's been trying to get off probation. and it's just been nothing but problems the whole time he's been trying to get off. >> mike dippolito, she said, was a convicted felon. a swindler who built thousands of dollars from gullible investors by selling them phony currency securities. >> it was for taking money. it was like -- he explained it like "boiler room" kind of. where they would take money from people. >> in other words, her murdered husband was a guy with enemies. when he was released from prison after seven months, he was still looking at more than 25 years of probation. he'd been ordered to make restitution to the victims he had fleeced. an outstanding iou of $191,000. >> people weren't happy that he was getting off probation, because it's a lot of money he's got payback. >> find out who he owed, suggested dalia, and you'll find the killer. the cops listened, but changed a focused of their questioning to the couple themselves. dalia and michael, the newlyweds of six months. >> we're fine. there's nothing -- >> there is no problem between you guys? no financial problems? no -- i mean with your family? you and him? >> no, there is nothing. i mean we're going through -- his business has slowed down with, like anything, you know? >> but the cops were toying with dalia. holding back their best cards. they thought they knew so much more about the newlyweds. did they ever? let's freeze the action in the interview room for a second, and rolled everything back a few days. that's when a man walked into the boynton beach pd with a lurid story to tell. his married lover, he said, was shopping for a hit man. detective alex moreno didn't know what to make of this walk-in. >> at first, when he's giving you this information, you don't know what to. thank you know? here's a guy who is claiming that he sleeping with a guy's wife, and now she's trying to get somebody to kill him. >> quite a juicy story? >> exactly. >> detective moreno had the tipster run his story down from the top. the man was name it mohamed, and he said he was a part-time actor who worked at a convenience store. as he told it, he had been friends with benefits with a woman for years. they had met for the occasional casual sex. then, she asked him for help in finding a but hitman to ki her husband. >> he says, you know what? i'm sleeping with this guy's wife. but, at the same time idle this guy to be killed. and that was his concern. he couldn't sleep with that whole idea that this guy was going to get killed. >> the detective wondered if he was being sold a conquerable story. since this mohamed guy didn't even seem to know very much about the woman he claimed to be sleeping with. the detective challenged him. >> all the information he had was her first name. he didn't know where she lived. he didn't even know who her husband was. >> while they debated whether or not the tipsters story was credible, they knew that a life may be on the line. so, the detectives took it to the next level. they enlisted mohamed as a confidential informant and gave him a story to tell his part-time lover. that he had found her a hitman who could pull off the job. >> two things could have happened. either this guy was lying to us, or he was true. we had invalidated the information yet. until he actually makes contact. >> but mohamed, the tipster, set up a meeting with a win for the very next day. a car that he drove to the gas station meeting point had been rigged by police technicians for pictures and sound. undercover agents nearby would be watching the whole time to find out who this woman was, where she lived, who her husband was, and just what the heck was going on. >> she came down the street. came into the gas station. we picked up the car. and not only are we watching her, we're also hearing what's going on in the informants car. life. >> hey, what's up. >> i love you. >> i love you too. >> running down the license plates and registration yielded the name of a 26-year-old woman, dalia dippolito. the same woman who would later be seen on that videotape as the grieving widow. police officers didn't have to wait long before the informants story was confirmed. this woman in the car really appeared to be in the market for a trigger man. >> less than a minute or so, she begins talking about hiring somebody to kill her husband. >> i'm prompted? he's not doing anything to get the story out of her? >> what shocked us -- >> honestly, you think it's worth -- you know. killing over that much money? >> it's not even about the (bleep) money. it's not about the (bleep) money. well you know you'll splendid like a blink of an eye. >> the meeting seems to be all business. dalia produced photos of her husband for mohamed two hand over to the hitman. >> i brought pictures. >> just give me one picture of him. i don't want too much paper to carry. >> dalia brought something else hitman had requested. cash to buy the gun that would be used. >> i brought $1200. he's asking for $1200? >> yeah. >> where are you going to give him the money? >> today. he's coming to the store. >> she turns to money over? >> yes. >> is that a crime, detective, at that moment? >> it's not enough yet. we wanted to go a little bit further with this case. >> the police were about to test to dalia see if she was determined to have her new husband killed. coming up -- >> undercover agent tells or hey, i'm going to put two shots to the head. and it is an even face her. no remorse. >> you definitely want to do this? >> i'm positive. like 5000% sure. >> another undercover sting and a plan is set a motion for a deadly house call. when "dateline" continues. >> with the help of a confidential informant, the boynton beach police department had a fair apparently confirmed that a woman named dalia dippolito wanted to hire a hitman to kill her husband. and it all seemed to be caught on tape. >> you are sure that this -- (bleep) >> yo, this guy is a professional. it's not (bleep) he gets it done. that's it. >> all right, good. >> so, the police instructed their informant, a man named mohamed, to help set up another meeting with dalia. this time, it would be with the hitman, who would be of course, an undercover police officer. an agent. same drill again. meeting place outside a store. and a car wired for video and audio. >> a. >> we're staying in here, right? >> all right, yeah. >> okay. >> yeah. >> man, you look good. >> thank you. >> in that meeting, they begin making plans. she also tells our hitman where they live. she provides a schedule where her husband goes. comes and goes in the morning. where he's going to be the next day. she shows an intent. and the fact that she's here she is meeting with a complete stranger who she believes is a hitman. she actually goes as far saying, hey, i'd rather if it happened here. >> how are we going to do it successfully? if we go ahead and do it like, at the house, how do we, how soon could you do it? >> she just wants it done. and the sooner the better. >> does your agent give her a door out at this point? >> yes. he asked her more than once if she was sure if this is it was what she wanted done. she laughs about it and says, yeah, once i set my mind to do something, i do it. >> you definitely want to do this? >> and positive. like 5000% sure. >> the pretend hitman told her he'd use a gun. give him a tap, tap. >> he gets to in the head. that's it, you know? >> our undercover agent tells her hey, i'm going to put two in his head. meaning two shots to the head. and it doesn't even face. her no remorse. >> dalia and the hitman who is really an undercover cop, seemed to agree that he would kill her husband in two days time. he told her to be prepared to go to the gym early that morning. >> by the time you get back from the gym, you're going to find two. thanks his dead body in the house, all? right or nothing. >> all right. >> the day before, he called dalia with further instructions. >> tomorrow morning, you gotta be out by six. >> okay. >> does it hesitate. doesn't change your mind. none of that. she just says, okay. and that's it. >> the next morning, everything was going according to plan. left dalia for the gym. undercover cops telling her. >> one of our sergeants makes a phone call. while she's at the gym. and they inform her something happened at her house and she needs to get to the house, fast. >> she doesn't know the details, she just know something has happened, get home quickly? >> yes. and as she shows up at the house and once again, she makes contact with our sergeant. and she's inform of her husband's death, that he's been killed. >> i'm sorry to tell you, ma'am. he's been killed. he's been killed, ma'am. >> no, there god. no. >> if you look at that video, she begins to react before she's even told the whole story. according to that surgeon, who was actually making contact, we didn't see any tiers. >> when they brought her to the police station, investigators were curious to see how far dalia would push for scenario, blaming the murder of one of her husband's former clients. the detectives were clearly watching her interview on a tv monitor in a nearby room. >> people who aren't happy that he was getting off probation, because it's a lot of money has to pay back. >> he she mentions how he had enemies. he was on probation. she didn't even bother to ask how it happened. >> to their experienced eyes and ears, dalia who's making a few mistakes in how she was telling her theory of the crime. but they wanted to push her some more. see if they could get her to confess to the suspected murder plot, then and there. would she be obviously rattled when they landed a familiar's face? the person she believed to be the hitman. >> look at this guy right here. >> get over here. get over here. you know who this guy is? >> no. >> you've never seen before? >> no, i've never seen it before. ever. >> the man before her, actually the undercover police officer, was presented to dalia hear as someone they just snapped it for the killing of her husband. >> do you know her? put your head up and look at. her put your head up. >> i've never seen him. >> the detectives finally put their cards on the table. they told dalia that they knew this was the supposed hitman. and that the meeting where they planned to kill her husband all recorded on tape. >> that's an undercover police officer. we filmed everything that you did. recorded everything that you did. you're going to jail solicitation of first degree murder on your husband. >> i didn't do anything. >> did you hear what i just said? >> i heard what you said -- >> everything you -- listen to me. everything has been recorded. you are photographed in the comfortable when you sat in the car in front of the cvs. what do you want to do? >> oh, my god. >> rock steady to all appearances, dalia swore up and down she had nothing to do with the death of her husband. but the police had another surprise for her. truly a humdinger. they were about to walk a ghost into the doorway of the interview room. >> coming up -- >> oh, my god. >> he's alive. >> someone is back from the grave. when "dateline" continues. hello i'm philip manner and this is what's happening. the world health organization said it lost communication with al-shifa hospital. the largest in gaza. the ministry said multiple babies and icu patients have died in the hospitals, amid heavy bombardment. senator tim scott announced on sunday night he will be ending his 2024 presidential campaign. south carolina senator entered the race in may, but failed to make a major impact in the polls. scott has yet to endorse any of his rivals. now, back to dateline. >> imagine for a minute you're dalia dippolito. homicide effectives in the police interrogation room are accusing you of plotting your husband's murder. dalia didn't know it then, but her husband, mike dippolito, was still very much a life. and was about to come face to face with his wife of six months, who seemed to want him dead. >> i'm thinking in my head, i'm lucky, i'm lucky. i am like, i'm so screwed right now. the worst day in the world. >> before waking up that day, michael dippolito was clueless police thought his wife of six months had hired-y hitman to kill him. instead, he believed he and dalia had begun a loving new chapter together. they were about to start a family. she told him she was pregnant. was dalia at the gym when those tv cameras for the reality show "cops" captured the moment police knocked on my front door. >> police department. open your door. i'm sorry. and with the police department. can i talk to you? >> yes, for sure. >> we say hey, listen, this is what we're doing. were conducted in and investigation. >> he says, your wife is gonna have you killed today. you have to come with us. i just looked at him and i'm like -- i mean, it hit me. >> you don't hear those words every day? >> no. >> the officers told michael he had to come with them right away to the boynton beach police station, before his wife got back from the gym. getting the grab your stuff, get in the car, rather here. >> yes. >> meanwhile, outside his town house, the police were starting to stage dress a phony murder scene. all to trick dalia into thinking the hitman heat apparently hired, had successfully completed the job. boynton beach police recorded those moment as did the crew from the "cops" tv show. but the murky involvement with of a tv show would later complicate accusations against dalia. at the station, the detectives cued up their own surveillance videos. showing mike, the husband, dali