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Killed her. i killed her. i've killed her. >> reporter: erwin said he came back the next evening and put dee dee's body in the car and using a spare key he had for the mercedes, he started driving and headed for mexico. but he wondered how he would get back across the border so he left the car on a street in san diego and hired an off-duty taxi to take him back to l.a. erwin admitted to the murder he talked about it in a way that made it seem almost accidental? >> yes. he was willing to accept responsibility for the rage and the anger. he was not willing to accept responsibility that the murde...

Hindsight had not handled things as best she could have in terms of terminating that relationship. >> reporter: erwin howard was granted parole in february 2019. dee dee's friends and family, their sorrow tinged with regret, now honor dee dee by urging other women not to ignore the warning signs of domestic violence. >> we want dee dee's life to count for something so i just hope people will reach out for help and get support. >> reporter: i know you don't blame dee dee for this, but i know that you also wish that she had been more forthright with the two of you because you would have acted ev...

You live, pretty ordinary stuff. then, all of a sudden, he says, did did you have anything to do with your mom's disappearance? >> ty this was more did you kill your mother. >> reporter: and you're startled or angry? >> it was a horrible question but i can understand why it needed to be asked. >> reporter: detectives asked similar questions of julie. next in attempting to rule out as suspects those closest to dee dee, detectives turned their taepgs to her ex-husband erwin howard. it turned out even though the two had been divorced more than a year at the time of her disappearance, friends told...

I just knew and i just said, michael, call the police. i'm on my way. >> reporter: where was dee dee keller? not only was there no water left outside for dee dee's beloved dogs, but detectives noticed lots of other things wrong inside the house. her purse was there but her wallet was missing. and this was a woman with money, a lot of it. was dee dee's hefty bank account the factor in her disappearance? investigators follow the money trail. coming up. >> who got that money in the benefit of her death? >> the beneficiaries were her two children. >> reporter: the detectives wondered where is her ...

Dogs. that request apparently been misinterpreted by erwin. we know. he started wearing his wedding ring again. erwin wanted her back into his life and seemed to me on some level she sort of appreciated that part of him that adored her and wanted to take care of her, even if it's somebody you're not going to be with any more? >> yes. >> right. >> reporter: do you think she made that point clear enough to him? >> no. >> reporter: she was too nice? >> always too nice and very trusting. >> reporter: and that maybe why investigators thought erwin seemed surprised when just two weeks before dee dee...