Transcripts For KNTV Dateline NBC 20141208 : vimarsana.com

KNTV Dateline NBC December 8, 2014

Tried to get his receiver to make the play. You like that. But you have to be able to see the field. Then the last interception, charles woodson. They needed a play. They needed him to go down. Make plays. And score. Because they were too scores away. At that point. They didnt get it done. Since 2011, when jim harbaugh became the head coach of the 49ers. His team has won more games than any one in the nfl, except bill belichick. And the patriots. Yet, they might not make the playoffs for the first time. They have dropped two straight. Welfare of the players, coaches, the staff. Lastly, what my personal. Professional feature is. Associated press, jim, raiders, owner. Mark davis. Raiders are interested. A more recent report. Maybe there is mutual interest. Did you make anything of the photo. Or just people blowing it up. Theyre going to let me go. Thats what i read night. Your body language. Absolutely. Jim harbaugh will have no shortage of people trying to make him the head coach. Correct. Half the team. Half the league would love to have jim harbaugh. As their coach. He will have his choice. Absolutely. Because are you within of the people that believe it is not going to work out here. This is now, done, or do you still think, are you not believing all of that talk . Well, it just seems like the ownership. The general manager. Do not come out and squash all of the Different Things that are going on. To me, if i was the owner of the 49er, i would say, jim harbaugh is going nowhere. We have one of the best football coaches in the National Football league. And, we intend to keep him. The silence speaks a lot. You have a prediction as to where the coach end up. I certainly hope the raiders have a chance at him. Everywhere he goes. You want a winner as your head coach. But you got to give it also to tony sporano. He kept a group of guys playing hard. You have got to like that in what he has done for the raiders so far. Bill and i just getting started. We didnt forget about sporano and the winning team. Up next, head inside the raiders locker room. To hear from their rookie quarterback after the best performance of his young career. Time for the red zone report. Toyota. Lets go places where the raiders went into the win column for the second time this year. Cashed in on three of four trips. Turnovers always a key. The raiders had zero. And total yard. 330 to 248 for san francisco. For more on the raiders big victory. Down the side line. Crabtree. Intercepted. Brandon raese awe interception set the tone. Wide open eligible. Donald penns touchdown catch summed up the day. Unpredictable, but brilliant. The raiders stun their bay area rival. A lot of raiders fans. This is our super bowl. Our super bowl. I would joke with them. Its ours too. I am happy. You know that we came out. To, came out victorious. You know, the regular fans stick with us through the thick and thin. A big exhale for them. This week, more and more became true raiders. Knowing what the heritage is about. Knowing what a rader is. Knowing what the game was about. Knowing how important it was. Dareic carr torched the defense on the way to 140. 2 passer rating and biggest moment of his rookie season. I thought derek played really well. A lot of people in the box. Didnt want us to run the ball. They wanted us to win to see if we can beat them throwing the football. And daring was able to do that. You have a Bright Future here. You know . Excited what he can do here in the, rader forcing for a long time. Felt like i have grown. Trying to limit the low ones. Despite the win. Raiders were frustrated after the game. Wondering where is my, all season long. Donald penn told me. Last week was so sickening because we know what we are capable of. This game will be something we can build on for the future. V great job. Derek carr, came in. Averaging, 5. 44 yard per pass attempt. Had a great game. Tons of time to give that credit to, the offensive line or credit to him. The way he maneuvered in the pocket. Come buy nation of both. I think at the end of the day. You know a week ago played his worst Football Game against the saint louis rams. Played against a really good defense. The thing that really showed for me. The game looked like it slowed down. If the looked like it was in slow motion. More like in fast forward. It is hard work. Dedication. A good kid. When you hear him speak out for a game. God, you are drawn to the guy. You are like, it is all about the team. All about you know being the best. He is the future of this team right now. Are you optimistic about the raiders . Going forward. Only two, two wins this season. Still ahead they have to play. At kc. They have buffalo are you optimistic for the season, but the raiders will turn it around. Ened of the day. It is great football players. They had a really good draft last year. Guess what they need another really good draft this year. Hope they get the first pick. Some how, some way. Able to deem it to a team that wants the quarterback from oregon. We can pile up. Three, four. Really good picks. Bring in some, really good football players. The raiders need great players. At kc. Buff low at home. Then at denver. All teams. With winning records. Still ahead. The sharks in the great white north. Looking for the fifth straight win. The nfl worth team caught them sleeping. We have ice hockey ahead. After a disapin thing season. Stanford and why you didnt have to travel far to go bowling with the cardinals this year. Eight straight at home. 11 straight overall. Back in goal for the first time. Since november 8th. Look out. Tommy wingles with a huge hit. And from behind the net. Next time keep your head up on a swivel. As a result he got leveled. The save. And, puts the loose puck in the net. He scored. The first goal of the season. Tied at one. A great pass. By marlow. Backhanded vision. Just left it. And, said thanks. Put it away. Third period. Still tied at one. Oilers. Then, david, fires a shot. It goes in the net. Oilers win 21. Sharks snap a fourgame winning streak. Oilers snap an 11game losing streak. The final four is set. In the inaugural College Football playoffs. Sorry if you are a horn frog or friend of a horn frog. You are out. There is no tcu. A look at new years day match up. Top four. Alabama will face ohio state in the sugar bowl. Crimson tide should have location advantage with new orleans. Proximity to tuscaloosa. Rose bowl, oregon florida state. Winners will meet for the National Championship game. On january 12th. Meanwhile, stanford take on maryland terrapins. December 30th. And stanford make sixth consecutive bowl appearance. First in the fosters farm bowl. Which had been for 11 years held at at t park. A week in the nfl. Recap all the action and count down the top plays from week 14. We are coming back right after this. At kaiser permanente, everything you need is under one roof. Another way care and coverage together makes life easier. Okay, a little easier. Become a member of kaiser permanente. Because together, we thrive. You are locked in on sports sunday. Plays of the day. Tied in overtime. Bridgewater. Wright does everything right. 87yard. Walkoff touchdown. For the vikings. Matthew staffords pass tipped. Catches it. Runs it in for the score. Lions are winners. Rams of washington. And back to take the punt. Working to his right. Weaves through stom defense. And he has got to see hip. And goodbye. Rams shut out washington. 240. Those are the plays of the day. And we talk about the nfc. Talk about the afc. Andrew luck was great. Led the kelts to a come back. Denver very good. Are there any teams here bill that are not now in the hunt. See the ravens getting in. Do you look who the top seed are there. Anything, you got a dark horse you like . Yeah, wucht for san diego. Phillip rivers. What they did tonight. They almost beat them. Didnt get it. Tell you what. If theyve win out and get home field advantage. They will be tough in the cold weather in new england. Whos best. If new england comes out of the afc. You have a favorite in the nfc . Going to be either green bay or seattle. Okay. Yeah, seattle gets to go home in the playoffs youve look their chances more than if they have to go on the road. Lost one time at home the whole year. All right. Thank you, bill, always fun. You got is. Fur time, supour time super champion. Thank you for watching sports sunday. Then there was the husband himself. They kept going back to their notes from their 14hour interview with him. At times it had been pulling teeth. Once we asked him over and over again, is there anybody with a motive . Anything . Anything at all . Anything you can tell us . I bring up the point, dont you have a Life Insurance policy . And he says, yeah, we do. A hefty one, it would seem, for a healthy 21yearold woman he wasnt even married to at the time of purchase. I asked him, how much is the Life Insurance policy . And he said, a Million Dollars. I said, a Million Dollars . And you dont think thats a motive . You dont think thats important to tell us . And he said, no, i dont, because i have a Million Dollar Life Insurance policy on myself, too. I said, well thats not in question, because youre here. Youre alive. One thing escoto did reveal, wendy was not pregnant. He said that was the cause of their argument that night. He said wendy had lied to him about the whole thing. As the detectives questions got sharper that day, michel shut down. Would you take a polygraph . No. Can we photograph those bruises on your arm . No. Take a dna swab . Again, no. He didnt talk himself off your list . He did not. He did not. The working theory of the crime was as simple as it was brutal. He bashed in her skull with a Million Dollar insurance payout, a tire iron was missing from her car, a likely weapon, but nowhere to be found. So you two go to the prosecutor, state attorney say weve got it. Lets go. Grand jury. No. Were done . No. Why not . You got to prove it. You got to prove it. So the police let their person of interest go. In the meantime, wendys family had huge suspicions about michel. Sister rita wasnt crazy about him from the moment she first met him. Call it bad energy. I shook that mans hand and i was wiping my hand right after i let it go. Its just it was eerie. This guy definitely did not pass the sniff test . No. The revelation that he bought a Million Dollar Life Insurance policy on wendy only confirmed their belief that he killed her. Two months after wendys death, michel filed for his beneficiary payout. The insurer, metlife, fought, saying the case was an unsolved homicide. And her murder would remain unsolved for a long time. Wed be frustrated. You know, the family of the victim and were sitting there waiting and waiting. Then michel did something bold. He actually sued the Insurance Company to pay him his Million Dollars. Would a guilty man be so brazen as to try that . Absolutely, the family said. And by then theyd had enough. The family got a lawyer, jorge barone, and together they went after Michel Escoto. We believed he was the killer. Two years after the murder, the family filed a wrongful death suit against michel. Metlife put the insurance money in escrow, and waited on the sidelines, as michel and wendys family fought it out in civil court. But if michel wanted to see so much as one cent of that money, he would have to do something he hadnt done before. He has to testify. He cannot plead the fifth. Especially since hes pursuing the request. So he has to testify. At this point police and prosecutors were happy to help the familys attorney prepare his case. Sharing those statements michel had made to detectives after wendys death. They call you and say take a look at what weve got, is that right . We ask if we would be allowed to look at the statements he had given them. We were. Michel escoto was videotaped as he gave a sworn deposition. We took his deposition and his story just kept changing. So the story about a fight and she takes a hike it doesnt add up. For instance, he testified that wendy had it was her idea, all of a sudden, that night to go to the miami executive hotel. However, back in 2002, yolanda, the exgirlfriend, told Police Michel had asked her to make the Hotel Reservation for him. It wasnt wendys idea at all. A factual discrepancy, also known as a lie. During the deposition, michel also admitted that yolanda was no longer his ex. He had moved back in with her not long after wendys death. Are you still intimate with yolanda . Yes, we are. Do you have any plans of marrying yolanda . Plans of such, no. There had been one question about michel and yolanda that had nagged detectives since 2002. They learned through phone records that on the night of the murder, michel paged yolanda at 3 00 in the morning. But why . Both michel and yo ran do told police at the time he wanted to check on her sick daughter. He claims, of course, that he beeps her because he thought her daughter, yolandas daughter, was sick. We later find out that yolandas daughter was not sick. So theres no reason for a middle of the night communication . No reason whatsoever. When the civil case finally went to trial, escoto got so roughed up that on the second day he was a noshow in court. Wendys mother got the insurance money and prosecutors got to hear firsthand about his constantly shifting stories. The state attorney sat in the courtroom and was taking notes. Did you have a little chitchat in the hallway outside . We did. What did you say . This is your case. You have all the evidence right now. And, of course, we gave them the deposition testimony and everything. We had everything outlined. Michel escoto was arrested three days after his court no show and was charged with the murder of his bride, Wendy Trapaga. Police still thought they needed more, so they fixed their eyes on the girlfriend, yolanda cerrillo. I knew that eventually, as time goes by, that relationship would deteriorate. Why did you think that . Because if they had that secret amongst each other, that was going to be a friction point in their relationship. Too corrosive a secret . Yes, yes. How do you reel her in . Time. Time. Time changes relationships. And it did. In 2006, one year after michel was arrested, yolanda and her attorney went to prosecutors and said, lets make a deal. She got full immunity in exchange for telling how she helped michel that night. She came into the state Attorneys Office and explained that she did take him away from the crime scene. So thats a great story to tell a jury. Yes. Thats it. Police may not have had a murder weapon or helpful forensic clues but now they had yolanda, who was about to give her version of that night. It was coldhearted and calculating. Coming up, an arrest, and a witness who was there. Its not the end of the story but the beginning of a whole new drama that would play out in court. Every story has two sides, especially when its a lovers triangle. I dont put it past her as being a person who would have committed this crime. And should a spurned lover be believed anyway . He said to calm down. It was all a plan, that he didnt love her. He loved me. Things were heating up. Nearly 12 years after the murder of Wendy Trapaga, her husband Michel Escoto was finally on trial for her murder. He pleaded not guilty to first degree charges. Money is the root of this defendants evil. Prosecutors offered the most chilling details of the case. That escoto actually picked wendy to be his bride just so he could insure her life and kill her. He would prey on this unsuspecting 21yearold girl and marry her. Four days four days after that marriage, this defendant bludgeoned and strangled Wendy Trapaga to death. Among the first witnesses, wendys heartbroken mother, myriam bon itous. Speaking through an interpreter, the mother said she was shocked when she learned the couple had taken Life Insurance policies out on one another just before their marriage. Translator i did not feel good. I expressed to her, why insurance, theyre not even married, they didnt have children. Why insurance . On the stand, detective maria medaros said she zeroed in on that insurance policy when she questioned escoto a day after the murder. I told him if he couldnt muster up a tear for his wife of four days to muster up a tear for the Million Dollars he was never going to see. What was his reaction . That lack of emotion was an indifference to wendy or a disregard for women in general. Detectives say escoto was a man with a history of mooching off girlfriends. This former lover testified she supported escoto for years. How much money did you give him a month . Approximately maybe 1,500. Go figure, the state said. For whatever reason, women threw gifts at escoto. One bought him the ducati motorcycle, another a car. But still another former lover who also supported him for years would be the prosecutions star witness. Yolanda cerrillo. Yolanda cerrillo. The prosecution argued she was the girlfriend with intimate knowledge of how escoto carried out this brutal crime. She had been given immunity in exchange for her testimony here. Wiping away tears she recounted how it all started, how she fell hard for the defendant she thought to be a charmer. Have you ever had a man you could share your life with . I thought it was michel. Only to realize he was dumping her for the younger, and more attractive, wendy. Yolanda said she then confronted escoto in this restaurant parking lot, and heard for the first time, she said, that his impending marriage to wendy was all a sham. That in the end he would come back to yolanda with pockets full of cash. He said to calm down. That it was all a plan. That he didnt love her. He loved me. He was going to marry her. They were going to have an insurance policy and she was going to die. All right. So he told you he had a plan . Yes. The plan was murder. It was during that conversation, yolanda told jurors, that she became a coconspirator, not only helping escoto cover up his crime but also help him carry it out. This was the plan. On his wedding night, yolanda said escoto would drug and drown wendy. To make sure he got it right, yolanda admitted that she took part in a grim dress rehearsal of what was meant to look like an accidental death. We filled up my tub and i got in the water. And he pushed me down with his hand. You let him push you unde

© 2025 Vimarsana