Page 17 - Eric Bechler News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Re-interviewing eric and asking him about his relationship with pegye. >> he said his marriage was good, there was no problems with it. >> reporter: you didn't take his word for it? >> no. in our game we don't take anyone's word for anything. we look into it. that's what we did. >> reporter: they met with the improbably named kobe laker. eric's best friend. and kobe backed up eric. >> they had a terrific marriage and there was no problems whatsoever. >> reporter: but if the marriage seemed solid, there were questions about pegye. at least according to linda bechler, eric's mother. linda says p...

Of 2000, eric bechler went on trial. the star witness, tina, a witness was, to be fair, compromised, not just by her waffling by eric's guilt and her own checkered past but the one detail and story tina says eric told her something the defense attorney says is critical. >> you'd expect, if pegye's head was caved in by 35 pound dumb bells, there'd be blood. >> quite a lot of it. >> everywhere. and there wasn't. >> on the stand, tina tried to defend herself. >> i'm a horrible witness when it comes to looking at me on paper? do you think anybody would believe you? >> no. i knew that i told exactl...

>> male, kind of distraught, said that his wife fell overboard. >> reporter: it was a boating accident, said eric, and the coast guard agreed. something they see all too often. but soon, secrets emerged that would make some people wonder. what really happened to pegye bechler? >> coming up -- >> i absolutely thought they would find her. >> reporter: maybe alive? >> i did. she was a fabulous swimmer. >> where was pegye? and what had gone wrong on that boat? >> he had been crying and his face was red. he looked upset. d upset. and if you get lost, just hit me on the old horn. man: tom's my best ...

But that turned out to be the peak of her career. soon, tina found herself slipping into the darker side of show biz. she started doing drugs and lost custody of her two young children because of it. and fell for a succession of guys who did not treat her kindly. >> i had an ex-boyfriend put a gun to my head, play russian roulette between me and him. i was held over the balcony by my neck. >> reporter: tina, who was broke and near rock bottom, was desperate. >> i got down on my knees literally begging and i said i'll do whatever you want, lord, just help me. i can't do this anymore. i need tou...

He goes how did you know that? >> reporter: the fact is, she hadn't known. call it intuition or the effects of the drug or a random guess. but it was an opening and tina barreled through. >> i said you need to tell me the truth. he's calmly talking to me and he says i'm going to tell you the truth. he goes we had this huge party so everybody could see how happy we were together. >> reporter: all their friends were there, witnesses to the happy marriage. then a couple of days later, she says, eric told her he took pegye out to sea on that rented boat and although pegye didn't know it, he took a...