Live Breaking News & Updates on First melissa

Stay informed with the latest breaking news from First melissa on our comprehensive webpage. Get up-to-the-minute updates on local events, politics, business, entertainment, and more. Our dedicated team of journalists delivers timely and reliable news, ensuring you're always in the know. Discover firsthand accounts, expert analysis, and exclusive interviews, all in one convenient destination. Don't miss a beat — visit our webpage for real-time breaking news in First melissa and stay connected to the pulse of your community

Dateline

unhappy investors had gone to the fbi. one month later, he was back in florida, but not under arrest. what no one knew was that scott had cut a deal with the fbi to act as an informant. >> this is scott rothstein, november 16th, monday, 1:43 p.m. >> reporter: he wore a wire and helped convict 26 people involved in his ponzi scheme. and despite his cooperation, in 2010, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison. but one big question emerged, speculation about that woman in the firm who'd been killed. >> whether melissa knew about the ponzi scheme is one of those great mysteries. >> reporter: scott had started his ponzi scheme three years before melissa was murdered. >> is it time to take a fresh look at the whole melissa lewis murder? is there something more sinister? >> reporter: detective brian kendall now had a whole new problem with his fairly straightforward case against tony, the jealous train engineer.

Scott-rothstein , One , Boss-scott , Investors , Arrest , Florida , Fbi , Informant , Deal , Reporter , People , Ponzi-scheme

Dateline

for twenty years, he'd worked for florida east coast railways hauling freight. >> you know, he basically drove a train for a living. >> reporter: police checked him out on their computer. has he any priors? >> none. no priors. >> reporter: detectives went to talk to tony and recorded the conversation. >> how well did you -- do you know this -- your -- debra's -- debra's friend? >> melissa. i know her from her. i've seen her a few times. >> you guys ever have any problems, maybe? something like that? >> never. never. i don't think i ever spoke to her more than two words. >> do you know if she's had anything to do with what you're going through right now with debra and the divorce? >> i don't know. and i really don't -- don't care. i mean i just -- >> that wouldn't bother you if she did? >> oh no. the thing is that i just want to get away from my wife. i just wanna be at peace. >> reporter: then they asked him the question. >> did you have anything to do with -- with melissa's death? >> no. >> reporter: but what tony didn't know is that before detectives spoke to him, they had obtained a copy of the train route he drove the day after the murder. and guess what? it matched the route traveled by

Reporter , Police , Friend , Train , Priors , Computer , Living , None , Florida-east-coast , Railways-hauling-freight , Twenty , First-melissa

Dateline

spray evidence was weak, and that both phone records and dna results could be manipulated. >> the pieces of the puzzle do not fall into place, because reasonable doubt prevents them from falling into place. >> reporter: the jury now had the case. outside the courtroom debra villegas saw melissa's family for the first time in eight years. >> all these years later and it just washed over me like -- like it had just happened. you know, that -- that i had caused these people a kind of pain that's unimaginable. >> reporter: later that afternoon, the jury sent out a note. "verdict." as the verdict was read, debra sat with melissa's family, consoling her niece. >> tony villegas is guilty of murder in the first degree. >> reporter: tony's face was blank. before sentencing, melissa's aunt, lynn haberl, addressed the court and said directly to tony. >> we forgive you because we must and release you into god's hands for all eternity. >> reporter: sentencing was immediate. >> sentenced to spend the rest

Reporter , Tony-didn-t , Buttoned-up-case , Place , Phone-records , Puzzle , Dna-results , Pieces , Pepper-spray-evidence , Doubt , Family , Debra-villegas

Dateline

on the first day of work. >> she was smart, capable. she was everything you would want in an associate attorney. >> she was also one of the nicest people debra say she ever met. the two became fast friends. >> we were like sisters. she knew all my faults and flaws, and she loved me anyways. >> deborah and melissa saw the first grow ten-fold ipjust a few years. their gregarious boss scott was the front man. he hob knobbed where the who's who of big deal names in sports, politics, and business. fund raisers, scott was the your man. >> once your name gets out there you truly cannot imagine how many people knock on your door. >> and the door scott knocked on was melissa's. >> melissa was the one he knew she could handle it, she

People , Work , Everything , Associate-attorney , Capable , One , Friends , Deborah , Two , Sisters , Faults , Flaws

Dateline

supermarket? >> she actually called my daughter -- that night. she was the last one to speak to her. and she said, "i'm going into publix." >> reporter: detective kendall checked store surveillance video. there was melissa in the cosmetics aisle reaching for something on the shelf. later the cameras showed her leaving, documenting the start of her pathway to doom. you got a timeline and you know what she's wearing, huh? >> now we have a time stamp on when we believe she arrived home, based on the distance to the publix, the distance of her -- her house. >> reporter: it was probably around 8:30. from the pepper spray on the walls and floor, it appeared melissa came home and was attacked inside the garage. detectives also found a small button on the garage floor, perhaps ripped from that pantsuit. then one detective had an idea: use the gps and security system in melissa's vehicle to locate it. >> it's a cadillac. cadillac has onstar. they're able to activate the onstar, tell us the location of the vehicle through gps, and

Reporter , Supermarket , Daughter , Surveillance-video , Detective-kendall , Publix , One , Something , House , Home , Distance , Timeline

Dateline

charged with killing her. >> people thought, "debra's psycho ex-husband has murdered melissa." you know, i was just overwhelmed with guilt and shame. >> reporter: melissa's murder weighed heavily on debra's mind, as well as the mind of her boss scott rothstein. but scott seemed to be rattled by something more than just melissa's murder. for some reason after tony's arrest, rothstein beefed up his own security. who was he afraid of? >> obviously that he was next. >> reporter: but if melissa's murder had been solved, why was scott still worried? debra knew because she was privy to a secret that threatened to send even more people to prison, and to destroy scott rothstein's reputation as a high-profile mover and shaker. >> he could pick up the phone and call and make things happen. >> reporter: a walk through his office left no doubt. his hero wall was plastered with pictures of him with politicians, business moguls, and movie stars. the governor was on speed dial.

Reporter , First-melissa , Scott-rothstein , Tony-didn-t , Friend-debra , People , Murder , Mind , Debra-s-psycho-ex-husband , Shame , Guilt , Boss

Dateline

looking good for rising attorney melissa lewis. >> coming up -- >> where's melissa? >> that's the million dollar question at this point. >> the answer comes all too soon. when "dateline" continues. comes soon when "dateline" continues. knocks out symptoms from over 200 allergens without knocking you out. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. live claritin clear. frustrated by skin tags? dr. scholl's has the breakthrough you've been waiting for. the first fda-cleared at-home skin tag remover clinically proven to remove skin tags safely in as little as one treatment. after advil. let's dive in. but, what about your back? it's fine. before advil. advil, dual action bites, pain, two ways. advil targets pain at the source. acetaminophen blocks, pain signals, advil, dual action. my a1c was up here; now, it's down with rybelsus®. acetaminophen blocks, pain signals, his a1c? it's down with rybelsus®.

First-melissa , Dateline , Point , Dollar-question , Symptoms , Answer , Coming-up , All , Allergens , Knocks , 200 , Make

Dateline

Police investigate whether the murder of a South Florida attorney is connected to a web of fraud, betrayal and more than $1 billion in missing money.

Reporter , First-melissa , Friend-debra , Friends , Debra-villegas , World , Best-friend , Husband ,

Dateline

melissa's phone. detectives confronted him with the evidence. >> her phone, after it was stolen, drove to the area of your house and stayed there overnight. and came to work with you the next day. and traveled north with the train, because the train has gps on it, doesn't it? >> uh-huh. >> it was on the train. okay? unless someone else here knows melissa, lives in your house, comes to work with you, you had the phone. okay? listen, this -- i'll be honest with you. this doesn't look very good for you. >> but i don't even know her. >> reporter: detectives searched tony's house, his car and his train, but never did find melissa's phone. and there was still a missing motivational piece to this puzzle. why in the world would tony kill someone he barely knew? and yet, tony said something during his interview that opened

First-melissa , Detectives , Phone , House , Evidence , Area , It , Someone , Train , Gps , Doesn-t , Uh-huh

Dateline

tiny drop of melissa's blood in her car and on a tile in her house. but there were no fingerprints other than melissa's in either place. dna testing would take longer. now the question is, where's melissa? >> that's the million dollar question at this point. >> reporter: two days after she went missing, a worker made a gruesome discovery as he was clearing debris from a water pump at a nearby canal. poking around with his rake, huh? >> guess the first thing that comes to his mind is, "ah, it's just a mannequin." then he realizes it's actually a body. >> reporter: it was 38-year-old melissa lewis. the missing persons case was now a murder investigation. >> still a whodunit. we have no idea. >> workers discover lewis' body floating in this -- >> reporter: the news media quickly picked up on the story. >> my husband told me. he saw it on the news. >> reporter: how did -- how did he tell you? what was the -- >> he came to my work and told me. and i just broke down. i couldn't believe it. >> reporter: police called the victim's best friend, debra. >> when they told me that they had found her body, i just collapsed to the ground.

First-melissa , Melissa , House , Place , Dollar-question , Question , Car , Drop , Dna-testing , Blood , Tile , Fingerprints