Hello and welcome to dateline extra. When police got word someone had fallen off a cliff, they werent surprised. The place was known to be dangerous. Even they couldnt guess it would take almost 20 years to find out what really happened to a woman out on an evening hike with her husband. Reporter every couple has it. A shared song, a favorite movie, or maybe a special place. Steven says for him and his wife jody, this was it. Two rocks forming a lovers chair on the edge of a cliff. That was our spot. We would bring a couple of lawn chairs, a cooler and she would bring her work from graduate school. Reporter they had been escaping to this place for years, ever since they were newlyweds in a starter apartment in new jersey. Up here, the air was fresh and the views seemed limitless. It framed by trees. You could look down and to the right and see the view of the George Washington bridge. Reporter what they couldnt see from here, of course, was the future. Had they caught even a glimpse of what was to come, surely, they would have abandoned this place forever. Steven and jody met in the late 70s in georgia. He was in the army. A book worm who loved the civil war. She taught history. Theirs was a meeting first of minds, then hearts. How would you sort of describe those early years . Were they loving . Were they excitie ingxciting . Yes. They were we were in love. Reporter from there, marriage. A house. A son jonathan in 1983. How would you describe jody as a mom . She was really devoted. Reporter life was good. Even as the years went by, even with the demands of work and family, steven says he and jody still made time for each other. Like that last summer sunday in september of 1992. Steven says it was supposed to be a date night. No idea that that would be the most critical day in our life in our marriage. Reporter it was a day like any other day . Yes. Reporter husband and wife would drive into manhattan and go to a comedy club. A light hearted night on the town. They made a detour here to their spot. Steven remembers pulling up to the scenic lookout, sitting in the car with jody. Sharing a wine cooler. There were other people there sitting in their cars. We looked over the spot where the binoculars were and walked up to the sort of open view. Reporter he says they then turned and took a narrow well worn path to those rocks. They sat there as the night fell around them. He with his back against the rock, holding her as she sat directly in front of him. At some point something goes terribly wrong. Yes. Reporter he says he stood up intending to go back to the car to get wine and a blanket. For whatever reason, jody stood up, too. The edge of the rock was at her feet. What was your last glimpse of your wife . Just standing up and and stumbling forward. Reporter jody had gone off the cliff. I didnt know how bad things were. But i was stunned. Reporter what did you do . I got down on my stomach. I stuck my head over i just yelled. Jody. Jody. Talk to me. I just yelled down there. Reporter no response. He grabbed a flashlight and flagged down a motorist who came here to the Police Station. Lieutenant seary was on duty. It was a very quiet night. All hell broke loose. Reporter the frantic man was telling them a woman had fallen from the lookout above. That her husband was waiting for help. The Police Called in michael, an experienced climber. I was there as a rescue mission. I thought she was alive. Reporter he began to lower himself off the side of the cliff where the womans husband said she had fallen. About ten feet down. He caught site of a length. The minute i got to the length, i observed the purse. I think it was two credit cards. Reporter on a length ten feet down . Right. Reporter it was what he didnt see that confused him. There was no sign that the womans body had hit that length or any part of the cliffs. Nothing. No blood. No hair. No clothing, no fibers, no skin. Reporter by that point, officer walter seary had arrived at the lookout. Since there was nothing the husband could do to help in the rescue, seary was told to get him out of the way and drove him back down to police headquarters. On the way, steven recounted the awful moment when his wife disappeared. We were walking. She said to go back to the car and get the blanket. She slipped. I didnt see her anymore. Reporter as they arrived at the station, rescuer had made it to the base of the cliff, more than 100 feet below the top. He expected to find a wounded woman there. But he didnt. Im saying, shes not here. The first point i said, maybe this is a hoax. Maybe she never went off the cliff. Reporter he and another rescuer began to walk along the base, pointing their flashlights north. Finally, about 30 feet away, the beams landed on something white. It was jody, lying motionless next to a tree. There was a lot of blood on that tree. The blood was actually draining down the tree. Thats where severe impact took. Thats where she really reporter jody had not survived. It was clear she had slammed into that tree. As they began to move the body, he noticed something else. She had an odor of an alcoholic beverage that emanated from her body. Reporter when you smelled that, did you think, well maybe she had had too much to drink and fell . That entered my mind, yes. Reporter at that moment, steven was sitting in a room at the Police Station waiting for someone to tell him what had happened to his wife. Do you remember whats going through your mind at this point . How badly is she hurt . Where is he had . Why isnt she calling back to me . Reporter thats when an officer walked into the room and broke the news to steven. Jody was gone. I dont remember who came in and told me. Reporter what was your reaction . Denial. How could this happen . Reporter that question would haunt him and many others. It would take years for the answers to finally come. Coming up he was rubbing his eyes to make it look like he was crying. Reporter you thought he was faking tears . Absolutely. Curious behavior puts a husband under the microscope. When over the edge continues. I saw the change in rich when we moved into the new house. But having his parents over was enlightening. You dont like my lasagna . No, its good. Hmm. Oh. Huh. [ both laugh ] here, blow. Blow on it. You see it, right . Is there a draft in here . Im telling you, its so easy to get Home Insurance on progressive. Com. Progressive cant save you from becoming your parents. But we can save you money when you bundle home and auto. My bladder leakage was making me feel like i couldnt spend time with my grandson. Now depend fitflex has their fastest absorbing material inside, so it keeps me dry and protected. Go to depend. Com get a coupon and try them for yourself. Go to depend. Com whfight back fastts, with tums smoothies. It starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue. And neutralizes stomach acid at the source. Tum tum tum tum smoothies only from tums jimmys gotten used to his whole yup, hes gone noseblind. Odors. He thinks it smells fine, but his mom smells this. Luckily for all your hardtowash fabrics. Theres febreze fabric refresher. Febreze doesnt just mask, it eliminates odors youve. Gone noseblind to. And try Febreze Unstopables for fabric. With up to twice the fresh scent power, youll want to try it. Again and again and maybe just one more time. Indulge in irresistible freshness. Febreze unstopables. Breathe happy. Throughout history, the one meal when we come together, break bread, share our day and connect as a family. [ bloop, clicking ] and connect, as a family. Just, uh one second voice guy. [ bloop ] huh . Hey . I paused it. Bam, family time. So how is everyone . Find your awesome with xfinity xfi and change the way you wifi. Welcome back to dateline extra. It started out as a romantic date. It ended in tragedy. Jody and steve hiked to a favorite spot along the cliffs to take in the view. A short while later, jody fell over the edge and questions about what really happened that night began to mount. Reporter it was the worst night of his life. Now steven, in the Early Morning hours of september 21, 1992, had to tell his 10yearold son jonathan his mother was dead. I said, come on, jonathan, we need to take a walk. I told him. He immediately burst into tears and i cried. I cried like a baby. I wasnt ashamed. Reporter he remembers his distraught sons reaction. But little else from those dark hours. Were you sleeping . Were you eating . Drinking. Reporter you were drinking . I lost my wife. My son lost his mom. Reporter there was plenty of sympathy among family and friends to be sure. For the man newly widowed with a small child to raise on his own. His wife had died in a freak accident, off a cliff of all places. How could that happen . And thats exactly what police who were there the night of jodys death wanted to know, too. Right away i got a feeling that there was something wrong. Reporter it nagged at the rescuer. Why was her purse on a leng led feet below . Part of her should be here. Reporter thats what came to you . She should be here or the pocketbook should be with her. It wasnt fitting. Reporter another thought dawned on him. If jody had tumbled, why hadnt she hit the side of the cliff . There was no blood or hair anywhere on the rocks. The location of jodys body seemed off to him. Way off. She was like 30 to 40 feet away to the north. A person falls off the cliff, theyre going to go south or they will go right down. Should have been right down where i got off the ropes. Thats why she should have been. Reporter someone else was scratching his head for different reasons. It had to do with stevens behavior while the search was under way. Officer seary was surprised steven was willing to leave the lookout as rescuers were still looking for jody. Did he give any indication, i dont want to leave, my wife could still be alive down there . Not at all. Reporter he said he couldnt believe how willingly steven got into his patrol car. I tell you, if it was my wife, girlfriend, whoever, they would have had to pry me away if i was at the top of the cliffs. Reporter he got into your patrol car . Without a word said. Reporter stranger still was how calm the husband seemed. When the officer heard steven describe how his wife had fallen, he made a mental note. There was no emotion. No emotion at all. Like he was reading a script. Reporter did it occur to you, maybe he is in shock . No. Ive seen people who lost loved ones and ive never seen anybody act that way. Reporter it was a particular moment later inside the station that really caught the officers attention. He asked if he could get a drink. He was looking over his shoulder at me and splashing water up into his face and rubbing his eyes to make it look like he was crying. Reporter you thought he was faking tears . Absolutely. Absolutely. Reporter a death scene where the pieces didnt connect. A husband who appeared nonchalant. From a cops point of view, things were adding up and not in stevens favor. Not just one thing. It was the totality of the circumstances. Everything every little thing was clicking in my mind. Im saying to myself, you know, this isnt right. Something is wrong here. Reporter gut instinct is one thing. But evidence is quite another. People handle terrible events in different ways. The police are paid to be suspicious. Maybe their view of steven was too jaundiced. There really was nothing to indicate that jodys fall was anything but an accident. A few months later, the ruling was in. The medical examiner concluded the manner of jodys death could not be determined. An accident was as likely as anything else. Case closed. Or was it . Coming up reporter you didnt think this was a horrible accident . No. Suspicions grow. Was there a weapon at this romantic rendezvous . Wine, cheese, crackers, claw hammer. Red flares are going up. They reach the top of the pole at that point. When over the edge continues. When heartburn hits, fight back fast with tums smoothies. It starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue. And neutralizes stomach acid at the source. Tum tum tum tum smoothies only from tums were on a mission to show drip coffee drinkers, its time to wake up to keurig. Wakey wakey rise and shine oh my gosh how are you . Well watch this. I pop that in there. Press brew. Thats it. So rich. I love it. Thats why you should be a keurig man fullbodied. Are you sure youre describing the coffee and not me . Welcome back to dateline extra. Police began to question stev stevens behavior after his wife fell from the edge of a cliff. To them, he just didnt seem like a grieving husband. But did their suspicions amount to anything more than a hunch . Reporter jodys death had been a horrible accident. Her husband said so. The medical examiner wasnt arguing with him. Detectives have a kind of sixth sense about cases. It was telling james something sinister had just happened. You didnt think this was a horrible accident . No. Reporter there wasnt any smoking gun really. Just something dark he thought he could read between the lines in the police notes he reviewed the day after jodys death. He did not react like somebody should have reacted. Reporter the detective moved his investigation from the physical evidence to the less tangible clues. He quickly learned from jodys friends that this was a couple not in love but in crisis. The subject wasnt wine and roses on those cliffs. It was divorce. She was going to go through with it, yes. Absolutely. Reporter jodys longtime friend marion told detectives that skro that jody had been determined to take her son and leave her husband. She was convinced steven had been cheating on her. She couldnt prove anything. But women called the house. Sometimes they would call and hang up on her. Reporter in fact, they learned jody served divorce papers on september 8, 1992. Less than two weeks later, she was dead. The timing made him more eager. Reporter two days after his wifes death, steven was freely answering questions. Yes, he told them. He and his wife were talking divorce. As they had sometimes done during their marriage. It was true, there were other women. He told us they had an open marriage. They were seeing different people. He said he had been with 50 to 60 women. Reporter she was okay with it . According to him. Reporter he told detectives they had become unhappy with their free love lifestyle. So they came to this romantic, if treacherous spot, to recommit to each other. To kiss and make up. The spot where they went was not a spot you would go to reconcile with anybody. Reporter detectives werent buying the story for another reason. They had found something suspicious inside the car. A bag filled with items you would expect for a romantic pick anymore and one you would not. A hammer. Wine, cheese, crackers, opener, claw hammer. Red flares reach the top of the pole. Reporter did you think that might be a murder weapon . That might have been plan a. He didnt use it. He went to plan b. Reporter which he believed was to push or throw jody off that cliff. Detectives asked steven the obvious. What was a hammer doing in that picnic bag . He told us he fixed a drawer in his kitchen with the hammer. And he just forgot to put it back in the garage. He put it in the bag with the picnic items. It was convenient. It was a convenient excuse for having that hammer. Reporter detectives asked if they would check out the drawer and the rest of stevens house that night. He agreed. As it turned out, something potentially far more telling was happening away from the action. I said, look, im your local police department. Reporter he was a local officer told to keep an eye on steven that night as detectives combed through his house. The officer says he began talking to steven about what had happened to jody when steven interrupted him. He looks at me and he goes, you dont believe me. Reporter then the officer says he said something that almost knocked him off his feet. I said, i believe an accident occurred. I said, was it an accident . And he put his head down and he said, no. Reporter he believed that was a stunning confession. He ran to tell the other detectives, including lynum. But they had spent hours grilling the man. We werent getting that feeling. Reporter the detectives still believed they could find solid evidence to implicate steven. But they didnt. We took it as far as we could go. There hadnt been the cause of death at that time was listed as undetermined. So officially, it wasnt a homicide. Reporter in time, the detectives moved on to other cases. Steven moved on, too. 14 years after his wifes death, he remarried. Tina says he has been a loving, ideal husband. It was like we were two puzzle pieces that were made for each other. We just each of us completed the other person. Reporter even in this happy new life he says, he has never forgotten about jody. He might have been surprised to learn that someone else was thinking of her, too, after all these years. They had a new prosecutor and he was eager to revisit old case files. Among them an unexplained death here on the cliffs so many years ago. The death of jody. There was this renewed push since 2002 to look into the cold cases. Reporter he covered the trial for the repocord in new jersey. On one hand it didnt seem they had any reason to pursue it. In terms of hard evidence, it had nothing new. Reporter the prosecutor did have someone new. A famous name to join the investigation into jodys death. Dr. Michael bodden, a world renounced forensic pathologist who investigated the death of john f. Kennedy and testified at the trial of o. J. Simpson. He was about to turn up the heat on a very cold case. The doctor has reviewed the evidence and has determined that this could not have been an accidental fall. Reporter in december of 2008, detectives paid one more visit to steven. They wouldnt tell me what it was for. I had no idea what this was about. It didnt make sense. Reporter 16 years after that fatal night on the cliff, police were back. Steven was in for a shock. After all these years, you thought it was done. Not until they reached behind and hand me this thing this arrest warrant. Coming up, the case heads into court with a surprise from the stand. For my mother. Their only son has some dark secrets to share. Did you see that abuse . I did. When over the edge continues. 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He will return to work on monday. Four women have accused him of sexual misconduct. Now back to dateline. Welcome back to dateline extra. Years afte