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Water, it was moving at only 15 miles per hour. nick's glasses were found in the car. and investigators wanted to know if nick had been wearing them when the crash occurred. so they created a styrofoam facsimile of nick's head. >> i weighted the styrofoam head so that it was approximately the same weight as nick's head would have been in that same situation.
Proof. >> we examined the carburetor. i found an oil bottle cap holding the throttle open, which was remarkable by its uniqueness. 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, investig...
This loose piece of -- it was an application for change of beneficiary. it was an ncr copy. you could see where it had been crumpled and it had been folded at one time. it had ralph marcus' name on it. and i was a little shocked. >> 37-year-old ralph marcus was an unemployed laborer who had a strained relationship with the howard family. he also had a police record. >> well, we did a little checking on mr. ralph marcus. in addition to his gambling and his flashy lifestyle, he never really had the ability to hold a job for very long. >> he was kind of creepy. he just never went away. he wasn't ...
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 se...
He was starting to get a little bit lackadaisical about that. >> nick was a night person and often stayed out late with friends. on a february night in 1997, nick stopped by a local restaurant to pick up his driver's license he had left there earlier. but the restaurant was closed so he left a note for the owner. >> it was in his handwriting. we knew that he had gone down there. >> later, he called his parents' answering machine and left a message. >> i'm on my way home. i had a little bit of car trouble and so i'll be home in about a half hour or so. i'm wiped out. >> but nick never made it h...