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County jail cell, his wife of seven years sat in a hotel room during a work trip, watching a lifetime movie about an abusive, controlling husband. >> seeing that made me fully realize the fact that it's a pattern that's going to continue to get worse. and if he had not been arrested, this would probably be a direction in which my life would be going. >> it took months, but eventually serena found the courage to pick up the phone. >> she calls and says, i've got a new story to tell. >> pima county chief trial counsel jonathan mosher. >> we bring her in for an interview with recorders running. >...

>> now detective garcia had someone knew she wanted to talk with, james lapan's wife, serena. >> i know he's been, um -- fell off the marital bandwagon so to speak. >> serena said james had told her about the affair weeks earlier. they were going through counseling, she said, and working on the marriage. and when detective garcia asked her about the night of nick's murder -- >> her statement was exactly the same as james'. >> they hung out together during the day. they went to bed together. they woke up together. >> yes. >> so she alibis him. >> yes. >> you wouldn't try to be covering up for h...

Frightening. serena recalled a disagreement in which she wanted to step away from him to check on their children. >> he was physically holding onto my biceps at that point in time. he was just like, we're going to finish this discussion. immediately following that, he said, the children are replaceable. we can make more. i'm not. and at that, i'm like, oh, you're replaceable, but not like i -- it's not like i can say it, you know, because at that point -- >> and if you had said it, what would have happened? >> i don't want to know. so i don't know want to know what would have happened. so then...

He'd come sliding up again, and he's like, so, when do i get to throw my name in the hat? and i'm like, maybe never, you know? there's the door. go away. >> but he wouldn't go away? >> no. >> serena, a sergeant first class in the army and a self-described alpha female, was happy to have met a man who wasn't a pushover. >> with james and his strong personality and my strong personality, we were on the same page, and we got -- things were going amazing. >> in 2010 at james'request, they entered into a covenant marriage. what's a covenant marriage? >> covenant marriage is recognized before god an...

>> she broke it off pretty quickly because she did not want to be the other person, and he didn't want to leave his family. >> now detective garcia had someone knew she wanted to talk with, james lapan's wife, serena. >> i know he's been, um -- fell off the marital bandwagon so to speak. >> serena said james had told her about the affair weeks earlier. they were going through counseling, she said, and working on the marriage. and when detective garcia asked her about the night of nick's murder -- >> her statement was exactly the same as james'. >> they hung out together during the day. they we...