Transcripts For MSNBCW Dateline Extra 20200302 : vimarsana.c

A man i dont know about . Where would she go . She wasnt selling that place. She loved it. Why would someone new own her slice of paradise . I was convinced this guy stole her people and stole her property. And he was getting away with it. Literally getting away with murde murder. Its a dream that seemed so out of reach. Quit the rat race. Move to an exotic land and buy your own private island. Even when she was young, she wanted to travel, see the world. Cher hughes had a dream and she made it come true in the most unlikely place. The finy island in panama. She would take a picture of the sunset, send it to me. She said, its like living in a postcard. Life was beautiful and simple, an escape from the pressures of modern living. Who could have in paradise, too, beneath all that beauty was a dark secret. It still seemed very unreal. I dont want to believe it. This was a really really bad guy. It sent chills down my spine. But before the nightmare came the dream. Boca del toro is the place people come to escape, a group of islands off the coast of panama, way off the beaten path. Its the kind of place where things move more slowly and life is supposed to be easy. Cher first visited with her boyfriend if 2000 for the out doorsee cher, it was love at first sight. Whats more, it was affordable for the same money cher had been saving up to sail around the world, she bought her little piece of paradise, a rental property. A small house and that tiny round island. We saw a lump in the water. Thats it. That will be our spot the rest of our lives. Cher and keith met seven years before that when the vivacious blond walked into a little bar keith owned in florida. She came in and those big blue eyes and smile, i was hooked. She was just so beautiful. Cher grew up in st. Louis, where her all american good looks got her into modeling as a teenager. She walked in a room, beep, everybody knew she was there. She was always happy. She always had smile for everybody. Reporter eventually she moved to st. Petersburg, florida, where she became a savvy business woman rung her own neon sign company. She made sure she had that income, she was setting herself up for exactly what she wanted to do is retire and travel around the world. Clear did travel, but mostly in the u. S. Then a friend invited her to visit boca del toro, cher jumped at the chance. It just hit us that way. The people here just phenomenal. We love you. Cher loves children in panama and lots of kids. Keith is a carpenter, so he built their dream home a set of buildings on their lush island. Cher planted a Tropical Garden and adopted lots of animals, a pet monkey and brown doberman pincher jack. He adored cher and followed her wherever she went. She loved the local school kids, planned movie nights with popcorn and celebrated the holidays with enthusiasm, even though her friend sean trainer says the kids didnt always get the significance. She would do the easter egg hunts, they had no idea what this crazy white woman was doing, coloring eggs, hiding them around on the island. They had never participated in anything like that before. Reporter keith and chers relationship blossomed on the island. In 2005 they married in front of their many friends in the Close Community of expat. Its a small place. You go to the grocery store, you know, 20 people you know. Reporter Kristen Roberts who had moved from norway became a part of chers group of friends. We kind of speak together. Treated each other like family and take care of each other. And spent spend holidays together. Make up social events. There is obviously a lot of social events happening. Reporter everyone went by their first names or nicknames. Keith and cher were known as ken and barbie, the man who owned one of the local watering holes, another american, was known as wild bill. Viking hat and all. Bill and his wife jane opened a bar on their secluded property accessible only by boat where the expat sometimes gathered for drinks. Bill had these saturday parties at his place in the bar and restaurant once or twice a month. Draws everybody . Theres everybody there. Reporter it was chers tropical dream come true, a beautiful backdrop for family reunions, like the time her aunt mary came to visit. Her grandmother, my mother and i came down and visited and got the whirlwind tour. They met us at the airport with a big, big bouquet of flowers and it was just wonderful. Reporter there was another big trip in the works, chers sister judy was planning to visit for the very first time. She wanted to show you her paradise. Oh, yeah. Reporter the trip would be a good distraction for cher. Her life had recently turned upsidedown. Her fiveyear marriage to keith had hit a rough spot. Hed even moved out. When keith had moved off the island, she was pretty devastated. But then again i also thought, whose marriage is perfect and hopefully theyll work it out. I knew they still loved each other. Reporter the sisters were excited about the trip, plans were in full swing. She called me and said, hey, im still you know im hanging out on the front porch on the island seeing how beautiful it is, i cant wait for you to get here. Hurry up and get here. Did you tell her you had a ticket . Oh, yeah, she knew i had my ticket. My passport, everything lined up. Then what happened . Then i dont hear from her. One day passed. Then another. Still nothing. What is racing through your mind at this point . Too much time has gone by without her talking to one of the members of the family. And now i know somethings happened. I kept hoping that you know id get the phone call and oh sorry, my phone wasnt working, i dropped my laptop in the water or you know there was always that hope. But inside i knew somethings wrong. Judy was worried and cher was gone. Coming up. Where is cher . Theyre going, i dont know. Were mad at her, too. Maybe her disappearance could be solved . A text message from cher to keith with some bad news. She just said i met somebody else. She was rung away with that person . So maybe she got on a boat with some new friend you didnt know about. Shed be back in a week . Right. So who was this new mystery man and where was cher . When stealing paradise continues. The good news . Our protection lasts all day. The bad news . So will this recital. Depend® fitflex underwear offers your best comfort and protection guaranteed. Because, perfect or not, lifes better when youre in it. Be there with depend®. Thats unnecessarily complicated. Make ice. Making ice. But youre not because you have e trade which isnt complicated. Their tools make trading quicker and simpler so you can take on the markets with confidence. Dont get mad get e trade. I dont have to worry about mthat, do i . Confidence. Harmful bacteria lurk just below the gum line. 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Call, click or visit a store today. Reporter on the exotic coast of panama, cher hughes had been living out the dream of owning her own island. But then last spring, she vanished. I imagine you were calling . Calling. Leaving messages . Texting, facebooking. And then i started reading her facebook. And its, like, cher, where are you . People who were in panama, in bocas, havent seen you around town, where you at, gimme a call. And we started wondering. Reporter when chers husband keith realized shed left town, he was surprised. But he thought he might know why. Cher had been talking about spending time in panama city. A place where she could blend into the scenery more easily, and wrap her head around their breakup. She told me she wanted to have an apartment in panama city and just spend some time in the city and get out of bocas. Cause it was such a Small Community and she was getting a little tired of it . Yeah, you just keep bumping into the same people, having to tell the same story. And she was just ready for a little break of bocas. Its not unusual for people to come and go around here. After all, the easygoing lifestyle is part of the islands charm. But chers friends and family said it wouldnt be like her to leave so abruptly. Leave her cherished island with all of her belongings still here. Reporter chers aunt mary started phoning chers friends in panama. We immediately started calling her friends and everyone going, whats going on . And everyone was saying you know cher. She mightve just gone for a week. And you know, lost her phone, and were like, well, ok, maybe. Reporter mary logged on to chers Facebook Page and reached out to those friends. Wheres cher . And theyre going, i dont know. But were mad at her, too. Doggone it, we she she always calls me. She calls me every day. What where did she go . How why would she not call me . And we got a little aggravated with her. Like, dang it cher, what are you doing . Reporter and then some good news. Chers friends received a text message from her saying shed gone sailing. Shes a free spirit, right . Shes oh. Adventurous. She had an opportunity, shed shed go. You know. So, maybe but she just got on a boat with some new friend that you didnt know about and shed be back in a week. Right, yeah. It wouldnt have surprised me that, oh mary, i went sailing and then my phone fell off the deck when i dropped my purse. That would be cher for three to four days. Reporter the messages were reassuring, but not for long. A few days passed, and cher didnt return. Then another text message this one from cher to keith. She just said i met somebody else whos better than you, yeah. She said she had met someone else . Yes. And she was running away with that person . Yeah. Reporter a mystery man . Keith wanted to get to the bottom of it. I called her best friend, and said did cher meet somebody . Does she have a man that i dont know about . Is there something going on . She said shes never mentioned any guy to me ever. Shes waiting for you. Theres no man in her life. She didnt run away. reporter but keith noticed something strange about the messages. They werent written in chers usual style. Instead of small letters, itd be all capitals. And shed always write are, and this would be an r for are or 2, the number, would be there rather than to. So, it was just i said it was just it just changed. Reporter and then, the Text Messages simply stopped. Chers aunt mary called the us embassy in panama, and begged for help. I said we have a missing person, cheryl hughes, gave them all the facts. We september the embassy pictures. The embassy was saying we will look through the hospitals and if we find her, well notify you. They made a big point of saying people disappear all the time. And if she wants to be found, she will contact you. I wasnt accepting that. This is texas. She calls her dad every sunday. Dont tell me she ran away from home. And so i had a hard time shouting into the darkness of the embassy saying help me, help me. Reporter things got worse. Cher didnt call her father on his birthday. It was a huge alarm bell. I knew how she felt about her dad. And she would never, ever miss his birthday. So something had happened to cher, for sure. In my heart, i knew then. Reporter after two months, it was staring everyone in the face the unanswered phone calls, the strange messages, the missed birthday all the clues pointing to a horrible conclusion. Did you start to panic . Yeah. I knew something was wrong. The whole family started to panic. Reporter the terrible realization sank in cher hadnt gone off sailing, or run away with a mystery man. She wasnt hiding out in she wasnt hiding out in an apartment in panama city. Something had happened to her. Friends in bocas wracked their brains for answers, and they started thinking about another american from their group whod also left abruptly. Had anyone heard from him . What if cher wasnt the only person missing what if there were two . I just woke up one morning. Just like one of those weird things. And i just knew. Coming up, another american who apparently just walked away leaving his home and a lot of questions behind. There were dirty dishes in the simplth it gave me a weird vibe. I knew off the bat, hey, whoa, whats going on here . I couldnt ignore it anymore. Somebody had to do something. When stealing paradise continues. Im alphonso, and theres more to me than hiv. Theres my career,. My cause,. My choir. Im a work in progress. So much goes. Into who i am. Hiv medicine is one part of it. Prescription dovato is for adults who are starting hiv1 treatment and who arent resistant to either of the medicines dolutegravir or lamivudine. Dovato has 2. 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Your doctor may prescribe a different medicine. Than dovato. Your doctor should do a pregnancy test. Before starting. Dovato. Use effective birth control. While taking dovato. The most common side effects are headache, diarrhea, nausea, trouble sleeping, and tiredness. So much goes into who i am. And hope to be. Ask your doctor if starting hiv treatment with dovato is right for you. Ask your doctor if starting hiv treatment hi. Aria ramirez . Mcdonalds is committing 150 Million Dollars in tuition assistance, education, and career advising programs. Maria ramirez. To help more employees achieve their dreams. In the picture everything isla yefk island of boca dell torah, cher hughes was missing. Now her parents wanted to know if her disappearance had anything to do with another american who left the island abruptly, four months before cher. A man named bo icelar. Bo was quiet. Introvert. He was a really great guy. Bo kept a low profile since moving to bocas from santa fe, new mexico in 2004. The former antique dealer was so quiet that no one even noticed when he took off. A lot of people say, lets go to argentina for six weeks. Lets get on the boat and go. They dont email everybody and tell them were leaving. That is easy to be not missed for a while. It made more sense when they found out that beau sold his home to wild bill, another american in their group famous for throwing lively parties many of the people attended including chers friend kristen. I knew that they wanted to sell and move somewhere different. And so i assumed they sold and that beau had left. Still, as keith thought back to the days after beau moved out, an image kept returning to his mind. An image of beaus house right after he left. I walked in and looked around. It looked as if beau had gone to the store, not moved out. I went back and told my friends, i cant believe that house. It is really weird. Towels on the back of the chair. Some shoes by the door. His cane is next to the front door. There is dirty dishes in the sink. Its just weird. It gave us a bad vibe that beau would just walk away. Two americans missing. Rumors began to swirl. Could their disappearances be linked . The more you think about Something Like that, you know, it didnt add up. Did it kind of eat at you . Did you keep thinking about it . Yes, i kept thinking about it. Because it wasnt right that cher would leave. I knew this girl would not leave town without saying goodbye and without a party. And beau could leave, but the two of them going together, im just like sending their belongings after the fact doesnt sound right. And then kristin heard something that made the floor drop from under her, beau had abruptly stopped paying his bills, something totally unlike him. I just woke up one morning. Its a weird thing. I just knew. I couldnt ignore it anymore. I just couldnt. Somebody had to do something. Kristen went to the police. Did they immediately investigate . No. They just put it in a file. And they go just yeah, yeah, yeah. White house they say people get lost in panama all the time. Two people missing. No deal. She reached out to someone she thought could help, another expat, don winner, a man that runs a website for foreigners living in panama. I was contacted by one of her friends that was concerned that she was missing. And they asked for my help. Don has lived in panama for 23 years and is our consultant on this story. He came here with u. S. Military intelligence back when noriega was in power and never left. Now he turns his attention to the two missing americans. I knew right off the bat, whoa, hey. Whats going on here . And i knew that i had to apply a lot of time to it and a lot of attention to it. And i also knew that i had to get it right. He hopped on a flight from his home in panama city to boca s and tapped into the coconut telegraph. What is the coconut telegraph . Thats just the rumor mill. They call it the coconut telegraph. When something happens, word spreads quickly. And from what don was hearing, things just werent adding up. He checked to see if bo and cher might have left the country. I knew that bo and cher, both of them, their passports had not gone through the airport. If you look at immigration movements, both of them you can track. Could they come in and they leave. They come in and leave. They came in, they never left. All right. So theyre still in panama somewhere. But where . There was one more piece of the puzzle falling into place and that would point a finger of suspicion at someone living right among them. Coming up. He was their neighbor who threw outrageous parties and they knew he had quirks, but how well did they know wild bill . Hes always the loudest voice in the room. He texts everyone, your lord xhansd to you come to my party. Your lord commands you . Yeah. A a pirate out to make a killing in real estate. He wasnt selling that place. She loved it. He showed up and said, yep, i bought everything. When stealing paradise continues. Rinvoq a oncedaily pill can dramatically improve symptoms. Rinvoq helps tame pain, stiffness, swelling. And for some. Rinvoq can even significantly reduce ra fatigue. Thats rinvoq relief. With ra, your overactive immune system attacks your joints. Rinvoq regulates it to help stop the attack. Rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious infections and blood clots, sometimes fatal, have occurred as have certain cancers, including lymphoma, and tears in the stomach or intestines, and changes in lab results. Your doctor should monitor your bloodwork. Tell your doctor about any infections and if you are or may become pregnant while taking rinvoq. Ready to take on ra . Talk to your rheumatologist about rinvoq relief. Rinvoq. Make it your mission. 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Lewis who was fighting pancreatic cancer, was badly beaten 25 years ago this week. Now, back to dateline. Kwl [ music playing ] two americans vanished and their disappearances were thought to be linked and something terrible happened to both of them. They both disappeared. And neither of them contacted anybody. And the same story, both of them had personal belongings that were going to be sent to them. Oneandone is two. American bo icelar was the first to leave last fall. At the time, no one thought it was unusual, especially when they learned he sold his house to someone else in the community, wild bill. Bill had this persona of ive got buckets of cash, i can pay for it outright. The blogger don winner did some digging. He pulled documents from the public registry and found out that wild bill had actually bought more than just beaus home. Bill cortez had taken over beau icelars company. And the Company Owned the property. So shortly after bo goes missing, bill cortez and his wife are now the president and secretary of this company. They own it. Bill was in a hurry to get beaus house remodelled and flipped to a new owner. He even placed an ad in the local paper trying to sell it. In fact, wild bill seemed to be on a real estate buying and selling spree. He got his First Property in 2007 from a Family Living on an estate close to chers island, the browns, father, mother, and teenage son. Now he acquired bos house as well, but it was bills next purchase that grabbed everyones attention. Bill showed up and said, yep, i bought everything. Everything . Everything. Meaning your rental properties, the house you built together, five buildings. Yeah. This beautiful estate. Exactly. Everything that we built together he bought it all. Of course, cher would have definitely spoken to me before she sold the island. And that didnt ring true. Bill said he bought chers entire estate, even her Beautiful Island and that cher had simply taken off. My dogs were there. My tools were there. Belongings were still on the island. Where is cher . Where is all that stuff . When she gets back, you can deal with that. Thats between you and her. Keith asked bill to bring his dogs and his stuff back. He placated he brought me one of my dogs. Heres one dog. Here is a table and two chairs. And heres a toolbox. I said thats a lot more missing here, bill. To keith, the whole story just didnt add up. She would have never sold the island. It would have never happened. Did you have an interest in any of that property . We put everything in chers name. She had the right to sell . Absolutely. Without telling me nothing. But you dont think she would have done that . I dont think so. It was never about the stuff or money. It was our home. We set it up to live there forever. It all sounded wrong to aunt mary as well. She wasnt selling that place. She loved it. She loved it. Mary wanted answers. She picked you up the phone and called wild bill. And he told me, yeah, i got a great deal on chers property. I bought everything at 50 cents on the dollar. I said id like to see that receipt. Well, i signed a confidentiality statement. I said well ill take a look at that. Oh well, come on down. Ill help you look for cher, but shes really not here. You can stay at her property, if you like. Where did he tell you she had gone . He said i heard she got an apartment in panama city. I said so where is her stuff and everything . He goes, oh, yeah, she got there and had me send her some jewelry and money air cargo. I said id like to see the receipt on that. Because this girl is not going to have you looking through her drawers finding her jewelry. His didnt make any sense . It made no sense and his arrogance came through the phone. Id never met him. Its like, doo do i believe what you know or im telling you . I believe what i know. And another curious thing was happening over at bills place. No one could figure out why chers devoted dog jack kept leaping off chers island and swimming to bills house over and over again. They kept going back to your old home and swim over. He would swim right back and stay right there. But for bill, it was business as usual. He even threw one of his famous parties at chers place with all her things still there. It all seemed a little odd to her friend shawn trainer who stopped by that night. It wasnt very well attended. Why didnt people go . I just think that everybody had the same thing. It was kind of like really weird it was at chers house. And doing it. Bill even made a toast at the party to friendship. And bill gave a speech . Yeah. This really was something about having good friends. Just like a heres to good friends . Yeah, just like that. Wild bill was about an hours boat ride from the main island. A big guy with a big personality. He was known for throwing parties at his place. And even in a place that is full of colorful characters, wild bill stood out. He was always the loudest voice in the room. He would text everybody and say, you know, your lord commands you to come to my party. Your lord commands you . Yeah. He always talked to himself in the third party and a royal sense of some sort. You know, everyone took it as one of bills quirks. Another quirk . A pirate club bill created called the jolly roger social club. Bill joked that only 90 of the members survive. By now an uneasy feeling about wild i wild bill was spreading around bocas, a normally party guy was spreading low. The more don winter tapped into the island coconut telegraph, the more he became convinced that wild bill was the key to finding bo and cher. There was the common denominator this guy supposedly bought their property for cash and both people disappeared. The flaers went off, he bought both properties and theyre missing . Do you remember that moment . Dread came over me. Oh my god, he could have really done something to these people. Coming up, the dark south island of paradise. Find the ak47 get them in custody. The police went up in shovels and came down about two hours later, said, we need to you come up and take a look. I imagine thats one of the hardist days of your life . Inconceivable. When stealing paradise continues. Along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. With chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting. Chantix reduces the urge so when the day arrives, youll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. When you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions, seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking, or lifethreatening allergic and skin reactions. 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Mcdonalds is committing 150 Million Dollars in tuition assistance, education, and career advising programs. Maria ramirez. To help more employees achieve their dreams. Reporter in the tiny Expat Community of Bocas Del Toro, all eyes were on one of their own wild bill cortez. In four months time, hed snapped up the homes of two people whod mysteriously vanished bo icelar and cher hughes. Now chers husband keith was telling anyone whod listen that the disappearances and property transfers were no coincidence. I right away thought that bill has done something. To these people. I was telling people in bocas, obviously, of the suspicions. And, in a Small Community, were all saying the same thing. Reporter and bills still living nearby. And bills still in the area. And he told people he was going to come and shut me up. Reporter he told people that . He told three or four people that. I moved out of my house and moved into a hotel that had security. I was up on the 3rd floor. I was afraid of my family anybody i cared about that hed come and kill me. Reporter keith wasnt the only one who was nervous. I got to the point where i became convinced that this guy cortez killed these people in order to steal their property. Thats when i said im going to the authorities. He encouraged keith to do the same. He said you need to get to the prosecutor and really turn up the heat. Keith went to panama city and laid out the case against wild bill to the dij the panamanian fbi. From that point on, kudos to the panamanian police, they just stepped it up. But for all the suspicion, there was still no hard evidence of a crime. Thats when don winner got an idea. Hed heard a lot of stories about wild bill and his ak47 how hed even fire it off sometimes to impress his friends. But in panama, its illegal for a civilian to own that type of weapon. So don made a suggestion to police. Execute a search warrant on his house, find the ak47, get him in custody. Reporter get him on possession of firearms . Find the gun, lock him down. Reporter and then, figure out what role, if any, he might have had in the disappearance of two people. Police drew up the warrant. On a steamy day in july, authorities descended on wild bills home. Bill and jane were nowhere to be found. Police began the search. So police are looking around. Theyre here. They have a search warrant on this property looking for a gun. Yeah. Theyre executing a search warrant for an ak47. And when they got here, they encountered chers dog. Jack, the doberman who adored cher, was already at bills place. No one knew exactly how he got there, but the dog was anxious, pacing nervously. Jackie was really animated and agitated, and just kept circling and running up into the jungle. And the dog would come down and like bark at the people that were doing the search, and run up the hill follow me, guys and the dog led them up there reporter this hill right here . Right here. And went up into the back of the property. Reporter jack bounded up and down the hill, until police followed him. And there they found something shocking. A mound of disturbed dirt. They began to dig. Chers husband keith waited at the bottom of the hill. The police went up with shovels, and then they came down, about two hours later, and said, we need you to come up and take a look. Reporter in a shallow grave hidden under a mound of garbage, the police made a horrible discovery the body of cher hughes. She had been shot once in the back of the head. I imagine that was one of the hardest days of your life. Yeah. It sure is. I mean, no no one should ever see someone they cared about look like that. Reporter now, keith finally understood why jack kept swimming to bills place. Hed swim that mile back and just stay right there. He was staying true to mommy. But the horror wasnt over, as police were searching bills property, they discovered another shall lie glav i grave, there under body of bo icelar. Its not people with suspicion and making accusations, its all really happening. Keith watched as authorities raided bills home. They say they found evidence, bos i. D. , chers passport, her purse and cell phone used to send the Text Messages saying cher had gone for a sail and nazi memorabilia, strange say thannic signs, jewelry that may have belonged to the victims. The most gruesome discovery, about a dozen gold teeth. He lived with these things with corpses and peoples personal effects around him. Souvenirs . Could be. I dont know, or was it more functional . Because he was using the cell phone to create misdirection on cher. Gold teeth . You see he had this whole thing of you know always on the run and so if he had gold, he could use that in any country to buy his way out of anything. So financial. He had it for value . Listen, who know what is he was thick or doing. Lets leave that to the shrivers. The expats in bocas were in turmoil, two of their friends dead, their bodies found in the back yard of a man wild bill cortez. To know i had him in my home. We dade social neighbor thing with him. He shot my wife. Its just inconceivable. Authorities launched a search for bill and his wife, who they also suspected was involved. It was too late. They had fled. This is a major manhunt. I knew he was probably out of the country on the fly. The most important thing tant is to get his picture out there on every television screen, computer monitor. Its got to fet out there in a big way to get him caught. Thats what happened. Eventually the press coverage caught up with him. By then wild bill and his wife japan were in costa rica, someone recognized them. Bill and jane made a desperate attempt to enter nicaragua. They were stopped at a checkpoint. He sees the checkpoint, the boat driver is going to stop. Head stands up, grabs the boat driving, throws him in the river, takes control of the tiller himself, goes flipping down the river, the san one river, which is between nicaragua and costa rick ka. There was a nicaraguan boat patrol. They got the drop on him with machine guns and basically said halt or die. He stopped, gave himself up. The end of the line. That was the first time he ever had handcuffs on in his life. It was the first time anyone heard wild bills real name, fun lovering Bocas Del Toro wild bill cortez was in fact William Jason hol better. A 30yearold who had been on the republican from american authorities since 2006. As the islanders absorbed the headlines of a killer among them, they discovered wild bill had a long notorious past that stretched 2,000 miles on the white sand beaches all the way to the blue Ridge Mountains of north carolina. Thats where he grew up, going by his middle name dade married his sweetheart, had three kids, worked as a landscapeer. His old bass boss liked him ne he had an affair with one of his employees and he says embezled 25,000 from the gyms accounts. He told me that was part of his pay, his package. I said, no, david, its not a part of your package. And that was just the beginning. He left the job and his wife. He ran off with Laura Michelle reese who would later be known as jane cortez in bocas. In 2005, they say he started in on real estate scams. He sold a home that wasnt hess for 200 think. Police charged him with obtaining property under false pretences. By the time the owner realize what happened had happened, he was open the run. That landed him on the Television Program americas most wanted. Somewhere along the line, police say he sold a stolen car in montana and when comes pulled him over for speeding in wyoming, he took off. Stop, right now. Leaving them on a high speed chase before escaping. It seems it was only after he moved to panama that his scams took a sinister turn. The change was he killed people to get the documentation in order to take over the property and not only did he steal the property, he would steal everything in the house, cars, boats, right down to the toothbrush and underwear and their dogs. He took on their entire lives. Right down to the change in their pocket. Reporter four years after fleeing the states, wild bill was in police custody, charged with heinous crimes. The murders of bo icelar and cher hughes. There are dozens if not 100 people in this town that all new cher and bo and theyre all thinking, wow, man, this guy pulled this off. He fooled everybody. He got away with murder. He got away with murder, for a while. Little did everyone know that wild bill had actually gotten away with a lot more. Coming up, an alleged killer trades his island hideaway for a pan manion jail cell and finds his own life may be in danger. There was a guard that gives me Death Threats on my lifes life. An interview with wild bill. I never try to paint myself as a good guy. Im a bad guy. Im getting what i deserve. When stealing paradise continues. With pizza huts new mozzarella poppers pizza you can switch between 16 fried Mozzarella Bites and a large pizza. Pizza, then app. App, then pizza. Its your world. Were just making pizza in it. Hurry and try it before its gone. No one outpizzas the hut. Shouldnt you pay less when ynow you can. Data . Because Xfinity Mobile gives you more flexible data. You can choose to share data between lines, mix with unlimited, or switch it up at any time. All on the most reliable wireless network. Which means you can save money without compromising on coverage. Get more flexible data, the most reliable network, and more savings. Plus, get 300 off when you buy a new Samsung Galaxy s20 ultra. Thats simple. Easy. Awesome. Call, click or visit a store today. The search for cher hughes and beau islar had ended tragically. Both were found dead, shot in the back of the head, and buried in shallow graves. After being caught at the nicaraguan border, wild bill and his wife emerged from the jungle in shackles, charged with the murders. Bills wife was subdued and denied any involvement. Bill, however, appeared surprisingly cheerful, saying he was happy to be back in panama. Reporter those first days when bill was brought back to panama, what was he like . He was making jokes, and he was laughing on it and he was really he wanted to people to see him. He was really trying to show off. Reporter National Director of police Gustavo Perez interrogated wild bill and says he talked openly about the killings. Bill admitted to shooting bo icelar on his boat. For cher, it started with a friendly dinner at bills place. Afterwards, bill took her outside to see some animals behind his house. When she turned to look at them, he shot her. Did bill tell you why he murdered the people that he confessed to murdering . Money. He say, i want to i wanted to have their things. Reporter but even the most hardened cops were shocked to hear what else bill had done. Wild bill drew a map of his home with xs marking where the bodies were buried. Only there were more than two xs on bills map. There were five. Five victims. Not just bo and cher, but three more people whod died at the hands of wild bill. This time, it was a father, mother and their teenaged son the brown family. They were the original owners of bills property, chers neighbors. Beautiful view, look at that. Yeah, thats the thing. They built the house on the hill for the view, you know. Then sometime around christmas 2007 . Right. I believe thats when bill killed the brown family, took over this property, then moved in as his own. Theres the sign. Hacienda cortez. Skull and cross bones. The skull and cross bones, the whole thing about the pirates and skulls, that was his whole gig. Its chilling. After the bodies were discovered, wild bill was seen as a monster in panama, a killer who kept his victims personal things right in his house. We wanted to speak to him and reached out to his attorney. We got a return call. It was his daughter wilawyer wil on the phone. He said he wanted to explain himself. I am not denying criminal activity, im only saying that whats been portrayed in the media as this crazy serial killer thing completely untrue. I am telling you i am not a serial pleasure, i have never taken pleasure in harming a human being, and the things ive done in my life haunt me. You have to understand the victims of these crimes, their families are incensed, their families say you have parties at their homes. How can you possibly defend that action . Defend it . I dont defend my actions, im a criminal, im a bad guy, your worst nightmare. What im also saying is i didnt wake up one morning da, side to kill my neighbors. Shortly after our call a very different looking bill gave an interview to a local panamanian tv station from his jail cell. His wild blond hair replaced by a brown buzz care. I did it. Im guilty of it. Im going to be punished for it. In cold and chilling detail, he recounts how he murdered the brown family. I separated them. This is gruesome and i understand its very but youre asking me and ill answer your question, sir. I separated them. I asked mike brown to show me a well he dug in the back of the property. I took him there. And without him knowing what was happening, i shot him from behind, killed him. Holbert also admits to another victim, number six. American expat jeffrey kline. Holbert claims he died when the two got in a fight on a boat. Too afraid to go to authorities, holbert came up with his own solution to get rid of the body. I took it home and buried it. And then i built a picnic area over it. I know its horrible and stupid. It was definitely the wrong thing to do. But i never had been in that situation before, didnt know what to do. I never tried to payable myself as a good guy, im a bad guy, im getting what i deserve. There is nothing i can say i am sorry. But theres nothing i can do to bring these people back, especially cheryl. He says he is sorry for what hes done and does he shed tears. But not for the victims, for his wife, laura who he says is innocent. If she was sitting here, i would tell her im sorry she ever met me. Because she didnt deserve this. If i could give my life to set her free, i would. Thats it. And the man who said he killed six people had time to sit in a cell and think about his own death. William h ocholbert and his wif apparently received threats in prison. Theres a guard in this jail that brings me a cell phone and gives me Death Threats from these people. Im a dead man. I dont even care. That is not even important. But my wife doesnt deserve this. Have you talked to your lawyers about this . What are the options they have . Options . What options . Excuse me. Give me a second. This is a really, really bad guy. It doesnt get any worse than this kind of guy. He is like the worst of the worst. Do you think the trail of bodies is longer than we even know . I have no doubt. Exactly how many people did this guy kill . Nobody knows. Angel calderon, panamas auxiliary prosecutor on the case, said he reached out to other countries to see if any of their missing persons may have crossed paths with wild bill. Translator once they verify and confirm any persons that had contact with him and have disappeared, theyll take measures to verify where they are. If there are other victims out there, they may be hard to find. Wild bill mostly targeted loners, people whose disappearance might not be noticed. It wasnt until bill killed cher, the woman who had a smile for everyone, that he was caught. His mistake of targeting cher is what was his downfall. He couldnt have picked a girl more loved. He picked someone that absolutely stood out everywhere she went and would be missed and loved. Someone the family cared so much about, that they would start calling immediately. This is our girl, how dare you mess with our girl and think were not coming for her . It would take seven long years for the wheels of justice to turn in panama. During that time holberts wife divorced him while she sat in separate panamanian jails. In august 2017, wild bill cortez was found guilty of the robbery and homicide of five people. According to a tweet from the Panama Ministry of justice. He was sentenced to 47 years in prison, and the woman once known as jane cortez, she was sentenced to 26 years for her role in the crimes. For chers sister judy, there are only good memories and appreciation for the big sister who followed her adventurous spirit all the way to paradise. So youre not bitter that she ever went to panama . Im happy that she went, because i know what it meant to her. The peace in her heart of being able to live there. I wouldnt have wanted her to miss that. This is an msnbc special series. How great that is . This is a special night for me. Im in portland, oregon, with some of the best chefs in the country. May any. Please. They have three things in common. One, they are supremely talented. Its pretty rock star. Two, their passion for food is boundress. This is [ bleep ] amazing. And three i want you to know dinner is being prepared for you by alcoholics tonight. One out of two families