Inside Nick News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Stranger to insurance fraud. >> it was said that ralph marcus decided pretty early on in his life that only fools worked for a living, and rather than get a job, he supported himself gambling and insurance scams. supposedly, he had burned down his own house to receive the insurance proceeds. and then another time had arranged for the theft of a car and a boat to make money off that as well. >> with no forensic evidence linking marcus to the crash, investigators had one last idea. they noticed a lot number on the oil bottle found in the trunk of nick's car. armed with a warrant, investigators s...

Had it not been for accident reconstruction, forensic testing and a bottle of motor oil, he might have gotten away with it. >> he was motivated to kill nicholas howard to prevent any other witnesses, prevent having to share the insurance proceeds, and because he had a long vendetta against the mother as a scorned lover. >> i don't know if nick planned a scam with ralph. it makes absolutely no sense to me because you can't get insurance money if you're alive. and because i know how nick loved me and loved our family. >> nick had told people, i'm going to be a millionaire before i'm 30. nick had...

Never seen it before or have never seen it since. >> the cap was marked with a "v." it was the top to the valvoline motor oil bottle in the trunk. >> the bottle cap was a big indicator right off the bat. the car had been rigged. something wasn't right. >> the bottle cap would be put in there in lieu of a person to hold the gas pedal in position so the vehicle could be operated without a driver. >> to see what effect the bottle cap would have on nick's car, investigators put an identical cap in the carburetor of another car. for safety purposes, a test driver sat behind the wheel to stop the ca...

Drowning that caused the end. >> the manner of nick's death was ruled a homicide. investigators were now looking for a killer. mom has always been one of those people who needs to keep busy. if she's not working in her garden, she's probably on one of her long walks with bailey. she was recently diagnosed with a heart condition. i know she's okay, but it concerned me she's alone so often. so i encouraged her to get a medical alert button. philips lifeline offers the best options to keep her doing the things she loves in the home she loves. if she ever falls, or needs help, i know we can get to...

>> it was clear the change of beneficiary forms were in nick howard's handwriting and were not forgeries. it appeared that nick and ralph marcus planned to defraud the insurance company. >> they had hatched a plan to fake nick's death, collect the insurance proceeds, and take the money down to south america or some location to live off of it. >> but this was all speculation. investigators had no proof of the scam or that marcus killed nick howard and crashed his car into the river. >> it was a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle, and we had 999 pieces. >> all they needed was that one final piece. do ...