Page 16 - Linking Sam News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> he walked in with his friend. and i just remember thinking that he was cute. >> reporter: tina montelongo was a hostess then. >> so, i offered him some free food. and then we started talking. >> reporter: she felt the spark right away. >> i did think i would marry him when i first saw him. that was, like, the words that came out of my mouth. "i'm going to marry that guy." >> reporter: you were taken with him right away? >> i was. uh-huh. >> reporter: sam and tina started dating. but in a small town like placentia, it wasn't long before tina heard the whispered rumors. >> i found out that my...

>> remember, this interview happened while cathy was still missing. sam seemed to be implying she might have hurt herself or that another boyfriend might be involved. >> i mean, look, she, she's had, i know she's had a lot of problems in the past with boyfriends. >> reporter: then there was the second interview, the day cathy's body was found. detective wyatt studied that tape, too. >> there was one thing that was important that sam didn't display that you would expect to see in a case like this. >> reporter: which is? >> emotion. he showed more emotion over the contents of a coke can. he pick...

Dna, but it was too late for that. cathy's family had sold the car. the case against sam would have to be entirely circumstantial. murphy felt the key to that was somewhere in those interviews sam gave to police. but here, too, there was a problem. >> when you look at the interview, everything that sam lopez said seemed logical at the time. and everything seemed to make sense. >> reporter: picking apart those interviews would be critical. >> this is one of those cases where you have to look at the details. and it's truly one that you have to look at each detail in light of every other detail. ...

>> coming up, sam has a new love interest who soon heard the old rumors. >> you were a little freaked out by that. >> well yeah. a little freaked ot by that. >> well yeah ch. like somehow you wind up getting less. but now that i book at hilton.com, and i get all these great perks. i got to select my room from the floor plan... very nice... i know, i'm good at picking stuff. free wi-fi... laptop by the pool is a bold choice... and the price match guarantee. how do you know all of this? are you like some magical hilton fairy? it's just here on the hilton app. just available to the public, so... ...

Evidence tying him to the murder. and he had a solid alibi on the night cathy was killed. sam was with his cousin, javier. which is why when police took their case to the d.a.'s office, the d.a. refused to file charges against sam. police pursued other leads too, like a possible connection to the attempted suicide of cathy's boyfriend, albert. >> did you think that cathy's disappearance had anything do with albert? >> no. >> reporter: coincidence. >> yeah, just two tragedies happening at the same time. >> reporter: but not connected. >> but not connected, no. >> reporter: even though that coin...