Page 6 - Ralph Marcus News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> and ralph marcus was no 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 ...

Be able to find him. you can look at that a couple of different ways. yeah, that leads to believe that perhaps there's some involvement. the family would like to think otherwise. it's difficult to say. and i'm not sure we will ever know. >> ralph marcus was tried and convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. >> i was amazed at the team, the california highway patrol team, the way they put things back together. it was very interesting in court, even though it was very hard. the scientific findings, the way they reconstruct the accident. ...

And to, in fact, ask her to be his wife. >> but patty said no. married someone else. had two children and tried to distance herself from marcus. but marcus continued to pursue her. >> ralph came to me and wanted to buy my ovum for $50,000. he wanted to hire a surrogate to carry the child. just before the end of the meeting, he put his hand on me and he said, "i would rather you carry the child, but i know that's not possible." >> that was the last straw. >> i saw how much it hurt my husband. and i just completely decided that there would be no friendship with ralph marcus at this point. he had...

>> i believe that marcus befriended nick to, first of all, stay close and to find out things about me. but i think even early on, he had a plan to hurt nick. >> they went to lake tahoe. they went to reno. ralph fancied himself the great baccarat player. he got fancy hotel rooms. he had women come by. >> when questioned, ralph marcus said he knew nothing about nick howard's murder and claimed he had an alibi for the night of the crash. >> and he had his dying mother state that he was at home with her during that evening. >> but in marcus' home, investigators found evidence that marcus was someh...

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 around like 24/7, but he would always show up. >> nick's mother patty first met marcus when they were both in high school 20...