horrible way to go. >> we found a lot of things suspicious. >> there's no video of it happening. there's no witness testimony, there's no fingerprints. >> she was dead before she landed in the water. >> i was approached by the fbi to record my conversations. >> you are interrogating somebody who is a major suspect. >> nothing i would have ever imagined could have prepared me for this. >> this is just phenomenally devious what you described. >> yes, i realized i was being used. >> it is time the truth come out. the call came in the middle of the night it was their friend in a panic. >> he had gone missing off the boat and that is where it started what did you think? >> that was the ticket to the count of three repeat of that let me here on wartime type of thing >> no matter how many times you heard it, it just did not make sense. >> you think of all these things, it rushes through your head. >> except, this was clearly true. >> i just saw disaster happening, in a foreign country. >> you say this can't be, this can't be. >> i knew it. he has to be another explanation. >> there was some other explanation all right, it just was not the one anyone was expecting. >> my instinct said, this is going to go sideways fast, i just did not know which way or how. how we were going to get there. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> maple says a marvelous city, and his beautiful -- >> market wasn't and castigated reporter for the italian newspaper -- >> it is full of life, it is full of colors, and it is a beautiful place to visit, as a tourist. >> one of those tourist was -- an american who arrived in naples in may 2006 on board a cruise ship, the island escape. >> the island escape started from majorca in spain, and then stopped in sicily. >> while he had booked the cruise as a way to rekindle the flame with his longtime love, -- the couple had been married for years, and then divorced. this was a new beginning, a chance to rediscover some love. they spent the day exploring the island of sisterly, they took a bus to see the sites. here is micki by the fountain. after the excursion, they returned to the island escape, and the crucial began its journey to the next stop, naples. less than 24 hours later, and still in open water, the trip took an awful turn. -- was sound asleep back in florida when the phone rang. >> 3:10 in the morning, i was in the bed with my dog, i picked up the phone, and -- concerned, he said i did not have a problem. i said where are you. he says, i'm in italy. >> i said, okay. he says ricky is missing. i said what do you mean she is missing. he said, we cannot find her. >> when did he tell you he had last seen her. >> he said he went about that night, and they had tungsten a club, he couldn't sleep, so he took some ambien, and he woke up the next morning and she was not there. that is when lonnie sounded the alarm? >> yes. apparently he reported her, could not find her. he asked them to look. >> the crew of the island escape started searching the ship, and the captain made an announcement to passengers to be on the lookout for her. then he checked lonnie and micki's cabin, and found nothing amiss. >> he recalled a bottle of wine, and this chair on the balcony and an upright position. >> according to the captain, the mediterranean had been calm. >> there was good weather, and it was a quiet night, and the sea was very quiet. >> the crew showed the photo to the other passengers, then as scheduled. >> the island escaped up in naples, -- >> i kept saying, she has to be there somewhere, something has happened. >> it can just disappear. >> the trust anything about whether it felt the crew is doing enough to look. >> he said they claimed they had been over the ship top and bottom. >> i thought she would turn up maybe she was insured, but maybe she was -- almost 12 hours later, the escape prepared to leave port, and continued on with the cruise. there is no sign of her. he backed up as, things and her this and cut off the island escape. reality was setting in. the woman he loved may have gone overboard. >> he got the coast guard to start searching, such a search is very challenging and very difficult, because when a person disappears in open waters, it is very difficult to find the body. he checked into the hotel, where his room he spoke again with bill. >> he said everything and here is an italian. he said i do not speak the language. he said i'm scared. >> he also spoke with his friend susan, who says she could hear fear in his voice. >> he was claiming that he was being treated unjustly, that no one spoke english, and that everyone was just being mean to him and treating him as if he had done something wrong, and he was out of his element and did not know what to do. >> that is when -- made a decision, that would come back to haunt him. coming up, micki is missing. >> usually bodies are never found when they disappear in open waters. >> and he is desperate. >> he was a disheveled master, and he was acting fearful. it just seemed like he should just go. >> to protect himself? >> yes. >> he says can you get me out of here? >> when dateline continues. you can age on your own terms. retinol overnight means... the smoothing benefits of retinol. are now for your whole body. plus, fast-working crepe corrector diminishes wrinkled skin in just two days. gold bond. champion your skin. we're travelling all across america, talking to people about their hearts. how's the heart? i feel like it's good. how do you know? let me show you something. it looks like a credit card, but it is the kardiamobile card. with kardiamobile card, you can take a medical-grade ekg in just 30 seconds, from anywhere. kardiamobile card is proven to detect atrial fibrillation, one of the leading causes of stroke. get a jump on the holidays. kardiamobile card is now just $89. buy it for yourself or a loved one at kardia.com or amazon. you know that feeling of having to rewash dishes that didn't get clean? i don't. cascade platinum plus... with double the dawn grease fighting power and double the scrubbing power. for a no rewash clean... and a cabinet ready shine. upgrade to cascade platinum plus. dare to dish differently. you want to be able to provide your child upgrade to cascade platinum plus. with the tools or resources they need. with reliable internet at home, through the internet essentials program, the world opened up. fellas, fellas. that's how my son was able to find the hidden genius project. we wanted to give y'all the necessary skills to compete with the future. kevin's now part of this next generation of young people who feel they can thrive. ♪ ♪ when the cruise ship island escape docked in naples, >> when the cruise ship island italy during the early morning hours of may 26, 2006, escape docked in naples italy in the early hours of may 26 2006, american tourist micki was no longer among its passengers. soon, her brother got a call from the state department. >> you are the brother of micki? yes. well, she is missing off the cruise. missing? what do you mean missing. go find her. >> micki's ex husband, and boyfriend was in a naples hotel, he was waiting to hear from the italian coast guard which was searching the mediterranean for micki. according to his friend, he sounded frantic. >> he was a mess. he was acting fearful. he was acting very fearful and irrational. >> -- he was a pretty spectacular fireable of an attorney. >> he graduated from law school with honest in 1992 and he -- >> he knew right away when he saw her, he would ask her out, so forth. >> he really pursued her, didn't he? >> yes he. did >> make you a smart, beautiful, had a great sense of humor. >> -- >> -- was also a secretary who the guy is phenomenal. not just hardworking, but smart. extremely. and out of that, a friendship grew. >> out of thought of yes. friendship grows? >> yes he was a brother that i never had. like i could count on him. >> especially when bill needed major heart surgery and felt he wasn't receiving the care he needed from hospital staff. >> i'm in a call to him, he was there. that hospital change their whole tune. i mean, legally he was ready to take all of them on. >> that's a good friend. >> a very good friend. >> bill recovered he and susan spend time with lonnie. along with a secretary at the law firm named nikki. >> he saw her get off the elevator went and said she was beautiful she had this beautiful black shiny hair. he knew right away when he saw her he was gonna ask her out. >> he really pursued her, didn't he? >> yes he did. >> she was smart, beautiful. , had a great sense of humor. >> -- was also a secretary who worked side by side with nikki for several years. >> he worked for a high fired partner in the firm, she had to know what she was doing. >> -- wanda carter also worked with micki at the law firm. >> when there was a deadline and sometimes i was pressed for time, she would offer, she would just come up and say what should i do? she would step up. >> then he will start working with lana, she started working overtime, and apparently that is when she started to work for -- in the evenings nobody us around, or few people are around. >> i don't something blossomed. they kept that alive at work? >> they definitely did. >> he was charming. she definitely thought that. >> her niece was in college than. >> what did you like about? him >> i think she liked that he had similar interests, that he was a hard, worker and she appreciated that. >> micki and lonnie brought this home in california, they married in 1995. that bliss did not last. that mueller that he initially, had that initial attraction disappeared with time. >> it did not take long for the two to crumble like a jungle game, when the pieces started to come out and it all toppled over. it did not take long for him to start complaining. >> what was she telling? you >> a lot of it had to do with control. control of money. he was spending a lot of money. then, certain things she wanted, she had to run it by him first. >> even though they were both making money, they were both contributing to the marriage, but i'm in charge, i make the financial decisions here? >> he is in control. guys like to be in control. >> i have noticed that. >> it is kind of a shame. >> so the wall came tumbling down. >> like many relationships, this one was complicated. after six years of marriage, the couple divorced. he got an apartment in downtown l. a. near his office. you still spent time at the home he and she owned together in orange county. somehow, that seemed to work better. they were still close. maybe, they would work things out after all. in early 2006, she booked them both on a romantic cruise. >> it was my understanding, he was trying to repair their marriage, repair their relationship, and go on a cruise together. >> he left her in the corner? >> it sounded like a really big step for him. >> in fact, he had booked two cabins on board the island escape. >> he says we will take a cruise, micki and i, and we want you and susan to join us. >> then, susan's mother needed an operation, and she and bill had to council at the last minute. now, just two days into that cruise, micki was missing. if she had in fact fallen overboard, what were the odds of finding her? according to italian journalist marco, not could. >> usually, bodies are never found when they are disappeared in open waters. >> he spoke with both bill and susan several times while he was in naples, they worried what might happen to him in a foreign country with an unfamiliar legal system. >> what he was describing was a hostile environment, and we have seen or heard of people in other countries being arrested and unjust-less or unfairly accused of something at a time being restrained. it seemed like he needed to come back. entrees for a limited time. ♪ lowe's knows black friday savings should be more than just one day. that's why we're giving you black friday deals every day. where you can find the best value all november long. shop now and save big, in-store or online. with nurtec odt, i can treat a migraine when it strikes and prevent migraine attacks, all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. ask about nurtec odt. even the most chill of parents know when it's time to go into protect mode. nothing kills more viruses on more surfaces than lysol disinfectant spray. ♪ we planned well for retirement, but i wish we had more cash. you think those two have any idea? 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>> when you first hear that she is dead, i mean, what do you think? >> i had no clue how in the heck she would end up overboard. she was not a strong swimmer, so i don't think she would purposefully go near somewhere where she could accidentally fall in. >> the news hit her friends hard. >> i was very sad. you know, i couldn't believe it, i could not believe it at all. it is like, how does this happen? >> i could not believe my ears. devastating. >> he broke the news to his friend bill, -- >> he said he was glad they found the body, and that he can't imagine what happened. >> he was calling long distance, although bill had booked the flight from italy to tampa, he did not go there. he changed his ticket, and flew to california. >> he said i just wanted to go home. >> i said okay. if you are okay, that is fine with me. >> at the same time, in valencia, an italian prosecutor named alfredo is assigned to his case. he knew what his investigation needed to address. >> [speaking non-english] >> he soon discovered there were no obvious answers to those questions. a search of the island escape had not turned up any clues. >> [speaking non-english] >> her death could have been an accident, or suicide, or murder. everyone had questions for him, especially julie. >> nothing i would have ever happened could have prepared me for this. >> coming up, another woman enters the picture. >> his wife missing off a cruise ship, he flies to the home of the other woman. i mean, it is like putting a target on you, and say, please investigate me. >> absolutely. the first thing out of my mouth was, do you know how this looks? >> the initial impression was, the guy is not quite right. >> when dateline continues. >> i'm richard louis with her arms top stories. they are -- after the company ceo and endorsed an antisemitic post. the parent company of the network all are among those pulling ads. elon musk has been under scrutiny for months for boosting similar antisemitic content. a settlement has been reached between sean didi combs and his former girlfriend cassie ventura, one day after she filed a lawsuit accusing him of rape and physical abuse. the terms of settlement were not disclosed. now, back to dateline. ack to dateline. >> when an american citizen when an american citizen dies mysteriously overseas, dies mysteriously overseas, the case falls under the jurisdiction of the fbi. an ancient arrived at his home in orange county california, within hours of the discovery of the body. he called his friend to tell him the bureau was on the case. >> he said, what do i do know, i said what do you mean what do you do, the fbi is there, talk to them. i said, they are on it. this is good. i'm all happy about this. >> here is something bill was not happy about, learning right then that when he flew from italy to southern california, it wasn't to sleep in his own bed, it was to visit a woman he had been dating, until he decided to patch things up with micki. >> his wife missing off a cruise ship, he flies home, not to visit his friend, but to the home of the other woman, i mean, if you are lonnie, and it's like putting a target on you, and saying please investigate me. >> absolutely. the first thing out of my mouth was, do you know how this looks? you said i need to consult. i said, it is like i'm talking to a moron. >> as sharp in attorney as he was, he seemed tone deaf to how his actions would play. >> the initial impression was, the guy is not quite right. >> the fbi said he seemed almost too eager to show agents he had no marks on his body. >> he volunteered to disrobe for, them to try and convince the agents that you know, he was not involved in any physical struggle. >> he is answering questions he has not been asked? >> exactly. yes. >> he repeated the story he told his pal bill, they were in the room, had wine, micki had left to go herbal tea. he took ambien and fell asleep. >> he woke up, 4:30 in the morning, and her light was, on but she was not there, and he was alarmed, so he went looking for her. >> what is this demeanor during this interview. is this a guy frantic out losing the love of his life? >> no. they did not have that impression. >> did the fbi find a suspicious he left italy before her body was found? >> yes. we found a lot of things suspicious, he was in a hurry to get out of there obviously. >> you would have thought that he would stick around till he would have an answer, till he knew what would happen? >> yes. you would want to know what happened to her. right? but, he was just in a hurry to get home. >> micki's niece julia spoke with the fbi as well, she spoke about her aunts relationship with him, in the months before the cruise. >> he said he was going to change, who would work less, and things were going to be better, she was just so happy. >> happy and excited about her luxury tell in cruise. >> she had said that he is planning everything, and this was such a surprise and they are reconciling, she could not wait to go. >> now, just days after that conversation, her aunt micki was dead, and actually believed he knew more than he was saying. she soon found out, the feds believed