Conspiracy to Kill | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] I cover crime murders robberies rapes and I've been covering the Sonia Rio
story for years Sonia the Lomita Black Widow Sonia is from the Philip a petite woman pretty and my brother
fell in love with her Larry loved this country served in the Navy for years Sonia was a Navy
groupy apparently she liked military men their marriage initially was a good marriage as far as we
knew she was a controlling woman just very manipulative after a while he he wanted a divorce she was
angry she spread rumors that he was stealing drugs involved in crime this woman was the closest thing
to evil I've ever seen Sonia was devious she was capable of anything Sonia was not going to let him
walk away from this marriage something bad was going to happen to him my brother was in a
jeep a guy came up to him and shot him in the head and in the stomach Point Blank it was an
assassination I just had this feeling that she was responsible but yet I had no proof well it started off as just a
single murder case and then I received the phone call telling me hey this isn't the first time
this happened I I was in shock she may have had two men killed and she's not in jail you know that scared
me when I walked out my front door I looked around I looked both ways the woman was
crazy I was afraid for my life I was afraid for my father I I'm thinking we're next we're
next conspiracy to kill tonight's 48 Hours mystery [Music] [Applause] [Music] Larry was the clown of the
family he was very well-liked funny he was like a big kid growing up in Washington state
Sherry Jackson was always close to her big brother Larry risken what do he miss most about Larry his um goofy goofy
laugh you know he was a loving son and a real Patriot and you don't see much of that anymore law risken is Larry's
father he enlisted when he was years old Larry followed his Father's Footsteps into the
Navy rising to the rank of Commander so your son was a leader oh yes yeah a man that gave orders yes he
was uhhuh that was until he met Sonia Rios lots and lots of black hair flamboyant very
attractive for Larry it was love at first sight but Sher thought Sonia was trouble it
was very obvious to me that something wasn't right that something wasn't right Sonia was very secretive about her past
all the Riskin knew was a vague story about a previous marriage and a divorce I knew absolutely nothing about her
background there was just always a story within Story Probably is the best description on Sonia Henry Hoskins
a bail bondsman and the head of the local Chamber of Commerce has been friends with Sonia for more than 25
years she had the Corvette that she drove she was very successful she was a very successful business woman Sonia
owned a thriving beauty salon in Lomita California she was a rags to riches person Sonia grew up poor in the
Philippines I think she came up the hard way her home was just down the road from
sangley point A US Naval Base she moved to the states in the 60s and Hoskins says she was always
attracted to servicemen she was very very into the social events of the military of the
Navy she got to go to dress up balls and stuff and parties after a brief Court ship Larry
and Sonia were married in 1990 not once but in three separate ceremonies which of those weddings was
your favorite I wasn't invited to any of the weddings you weren't invited to any
of the weddings nor were my parents Sonia told Larry his family wasn't welcome it was devastating because that
wasn't Larry it created a rift between Larry and his family that would last for years
we were so close and it all changed but Sonia and Larry did travel to the Philippines to spend time with
her family on one trip Larry met Sonia's niece quinsey and nephew jet Mark I call
call him papa papa yeah and tell me about the Larry that you knew he is really a good
man and also a father to me Larry and Sonia decided to adopt the children whose family wanted them to have a
better life in the states Sonia promised to make the adoption [Music] happen after a long career in the Navy
Larry left active duty in 1995 to become a teacher he was a special ed teacher for high school
students the time and love he gave to those children children it was amazing teacher eileene Stevens worked
with Larry at laale high school I was struck with how much he cared about what happened to these students after they
left his classroom and the school Larry's new job was going really well but his marriage was
not for years Larry believed Sonia was working to finalize the adoption of quinsey and jetmar year after year would
go by and Sonia would tell him that there was something wrong with the paperwork and then he found out that she
was sabotaging the whole adoption process he just said I can't believe that she lied to me all these
years fed up with Sonia Larry began seeing his friend eileene he told his wife that he had feelings for me Sonia
flew into a rage Sonia went on the attack didn't she attack's a great word for it she told School personel that her
husband was using drugs she told a parent Larry and I were abusing her son No One Believes Sonia's
wild accusations but Larry had enough he told Sonia their 16-year marriage was over I've never seen him so so happy it
was like this big weight off his shoulder Sonia agreed to the divorce but said they would only separate after
Larry's long planned trip to visit the kids in the Philippines he would go alone she knew that divorce was never
going to happen Sher was terrified her brother was walking into a trap he called my dad and I before he
left was very excited to go very excited to see the kids I just had a horrible feeling something bad was going to
happen to him [Music] I told him that something was going to happen and I'm saying Larry don't go to
the Philippines something inside is telling me that my brother is going to be harmed when Larry risken arrived in the
Philippines he qu quickly organized a sweet 16 birthday party for quinsey the girl he had hoped to adopt birthday
girl that's Larry right there it was April 18th 2006 the last day of his life in a few short hours he would be
murdered at the party Larry was worried about quin's cousin April who had a serious eye infection April you like
doll he decided to take her to the hospital it was the kind of thing Larry did for
Sonia's family when he visited the Philippines but before he left for the hospital Larry got a phone call from the
states it was his wife so my mama Sonia called Sonia called Larry y they talked on the phone before
we before we leave the house before you left the house and Larry told Sonia that
he was going to the hospital yep as night fell Larry along with members of Sonia's family waited it out
in the hospital when April was released they piled into a Jeep but never got out
of the parking lot there were two people on a motorcycle and the person on the back of
the motorcycle went to my brother's side of the car a man with a gun took aim at Larry
jet Mark was in the back seat we just hear a gunshot two gunshot did you see the shooter no cuz
it was really dark the gunman then ran back to the waiting motorcycle and took off Larry
was shot in the head and stomach and even though they were at a hospital doctors were unable to save Larry's
life so your brother never had a chance never 14-year-old jet Mark who had just witnessed the murder of the only Father
Figure he ever knew called Sonia to give her what he thought would be devastating
news she told told me jet don't worry every Everything is Everything is under control nothing to worry about
everything's under control how would she know everything's under control I don't
know Sonia then called Sherry she said my husband my husband is dead my husband my husband is
dead and what was the moment life for you when you learn that your brother Larry is
gone I just kept thinking [Music] that I had to go tell my dad that mean it was a real shocker you
know I there's like a punch in the belly and I'm just thinking oh my God uh you know how how much more of this stuff can
we take as a family after the initial shock of Larry's murder Sherry wanted Justice despite
months of investigating the murder Philippine police were unable to find Larry's Killers why haven't there been
any arrests anyone brought to Justice in the Philippines for your brother's murder I wish I knew the answer to
that I I really do the risk and looking for answers hired private investigator bong OTA this
this is the main the uh exact spot where Larry risken was shot he says the shooting was a
well-planned hit you believe this shooter was a Hired Gun he was a hired killer yes he was a
hired killer because he knows he knows his trade he knows what to do bong says nothing was stolen The Hired gunman was
only after Larry it's not a robbery it's an assassination it's an assassination it's a murder
case bong learned that Larry had several life insurance policies but only one beneficiary Sonia Rios how much money
did Sonia stand to make from your brother's death at the time it was we were estimating it was over a million
dollars while Sherry was still grieving still trying to learn who had killed her
brother she got a call it was stunning news that Sonia's first husband Earl Bordeaux was assassinated in the
Philippines in the presence of Sonia's family I was shocked I just remember my knees
buckling the extent of her evilness it just it was that this woman definitely had my brother killed that
everything I thought about her was [Music] true you know I cover murders virtually every
day and the first day was just a simple man gets shot story nothing Sinister when veteran
crime reporter Larry Alman began to cover Larry riskin's murder in the spring of 2006 he thought it was nothing
more than a routine homicide the story ran on a Saturday and when I returned to work on Monday I had
a couple of emails telling me hey this isn't the first time this happened the information was
stunning Sonia's first husband had also been murdered in the Philippines I got pretty excited and
like wow you know I got to start looking into this one email revealed the dead man's
name Earl John Bordeaux so I just did a little internet search ran that name and
and came up with his brother his name is Dennis bordeau my brother was lying on a
couch and they shot my brother in the head Sonia had set my brother up evil just
evil Dennis Boro tries to stay focused on Earl's life before Sonia when the two brothers were growing
up in Davenport Iowa we played baseball and he' always helped me Pitch balls to me everything a
big brother does with a little brother you know Earl enlisted in the Marines right
out of high school in 1963 and on his first overseas Tour of Duty in the Philippines he met Sonia
Rios my brother was head over heels in love with her did you know about this before
they got married no we never knew anything until he brought her home and said that um he was married and this is
his wife The Newlywed settled in Lomita a suburb of Los Angeles where Sonia began
her career as a beautician my brother worked two jobs to keep her and what she wanted
the story of Earl and Sonia's marriage is eily similar to that of Larry and Sonia's sometimes she was real nice to
him and other times she always seemed to be angry at him to me they weren't really married I
she went off and did what she wanted to do I knew some of her boyfriends Henry Hoskins Sonia's good friend knew Earl
and knew secrets about Sonia that Earl didn't she was dating uh professional people but she would cheat on Earl uh
she told me she was dating a doctor after a stormy 21-year marriage Earl wanted out but before she would Grant him a
divorce Sonia demanded that Earl go by himself to the Philippines to sell a family taxi business he didn't want to
go and he told me that he go I don't want to go and I told him then don't go and he says Sony is making
me on August 15th 1987 Earl was asleep in the front room of this house when he was shot in the head at
Point Blank Range next thing I know my brother was dead was like dying yourself just killed my Mom and Dad it
was just like the end of the world he was resting in the uh living room of the relatives no and um he was
Gann down while sleeping investigator bong OTA says Earl was staying with Sonia's brothers and that family members
told police police Earl was shot during a Breakin uh there is no sign of any force entry to the
house if there is a force entry that happened the first one to know is Earl bero it would have awakened him oh yeah
police didn't buy the break-in story and focused in on one of Sonia's Brothers after they found blood on one of his
shirts within weeks of bordeaux's murder police solved the case five people were arrested and charged
with murder including two of Sonia rios's Brothers then everything stopped do you believe that someone may have
been paid off to stop this investigation yes to stop the investigation just to drop the charges against the five family
members incredibly bong says it takes as little as $1,000 to stop a criminal investigation and he thinks he knows who
paid to stop this one person that wanted Earl berue on dead is someone that will
benefit and that is sonz it's a murder for higher insurance fraud case so she would get the
insurance money Earl is murdered for his life insurance money yes according to my
brother they had a lot of insurance and in fact Sonia did cash in after Earl's death collecting tens of
thousands of dollars 19 years later she tried it again she was planning on receiving life insurance
money but after Larry's murder Sonia didn't make out as well an angry Sher Jackson alerted the insurance companies
saying that Sonia was responsible for her brother's murder and the insurance payouts were
frozen Sonia used the Philippines as Killing Grounds and two murders and no one has been
brought to justice but that's not the end of the story close to the one-year anniversary
of Larry riskin's murder someone made an unexpected visit to Sonia at her Salon somebody runs in there and fires a
shot at her misses and yells I'll be back [Music] this is my brother's graduation and
that's my dad my mom there this is the last picture I got from him before he was killed what happened to your
brother's body he's still in the Philippines Dennis borau is convinced so Rios arranged to have his brother's body
secretly buried in the Philippines so investigators could never take a second look at the body Dennis
called Sonia and confronted her I said I know the whole thing Sonia I said I know
you had my brother killed alls I want is my brother back here and you'll never hear another word
from me I won't bother you but if if you don't I'm going to haunt you until hell
freeze is over she wouldn't even allow the family to have the remains of their loved ones
after she had them murdered now you're very quiet huh I believe it was a cover up I believe Sonia did not want his
remains brought back to the United States like Dennis Bordeaux Sher had tried to get her brother's body back to
the United States but Sonia made that impossible she had Larry cremated I was devastated I couldn't
believe that that was allowed Cherry didn't even know where Larry's ashes were but 9 months after Larry's murder
she received a bizarre email with an offer it said that they would help my family get my brother's ashes back
the mysterious emailer told Sherry her brother's ashes could be retrieved from the Philippines for a mere
$35,000 every time I went out of the house I would look around I I was I was afraid for my life reporter Larry Alman
was also frightened he had broken the story linking Sonia who he now called the black widow
of Lomita to the murders of her two husbands shortly afterwards he started receiving disturbing phone calls I was
in a dead sleep phone rings and I hear all this static and then I hear the word Philippines and then what I made out was
you are going to get it but Alman wasn't intimidated he repeatedly called Sonia who finally agreed to meet him face to
face I thought what am I doing what am I walking into I'm a crime reporter but I
also don't do things that are stupid you cover it you don't want to be in it correct Alman came here expecting an
interview but Sonia had set a trap I looked through the window and uh this uh very tall man who
was sitting on the couch in the waiting area stood [Music] up and he Towers over me and and says
step outside my heart was pounding but he says there's going to be no interview strangely he puts his hand out and it's
got his card in it and he says I'm Henry Hoskins I was only there as a friend and
a private investigator she said she was getting a lot of harassing phone calls she was
convinced that the news story stories were putting her in danger Sonia's paranoia was justified close to the
one-year anniversary of Larry riskin's murder someone burst into Sonia's beauty salon here in lomina California and took
a shot at her the bullet missed but the shooter promised to return police believe that promise was kept 9 days
later when someone entered Sonia's home I help you yes uh yes I send somebody what's going on there oh gosh
there's blood on the floor it was a Friday afternoon Larry ultman was working on
another story when he got a call from a tipster hey Larry there's a murderer out
here in Lomita and it's that woman with the two dead husbands and I said are you
kidding me and we switched to breaking news in Lita around 2:30 this afternoon Sheriff say
that the body of an Asian woman was found in this home dead of gunshot wounds LA County Sheriff Detective Mike
Rodriguez got to the crime scene just after patrolman had arrived they had found a woman shot inside her residence
the Black Widow of Lomita 60-year-old son Rios lay in a pool of blood dead ironically from a g unshot
[Music] wound to the head I was blown away by this it looked like somebody had came in and executed
her they came in to do a job and they did the job Rodriguez believes Sonia likely knew her
killer her home was Secure with a steel gate and a security camera at the front door it didn't look like she had
struggled I believe that she probably saw who her killer was after the incident at her Salon Sonia
had told police Sherry Jackson had motive to harm her armed with that information detective Rodriguez flew to
Olympia Washington to question Sherry face to face did you have anything to do with Sonia rios's murder absolutely not
but it'd be accurate to say that if you had the opportunity you might dance on her grave yes or buy a drink for the
person who killed her [Music] Sherry's father isn't grieving either if I could I'd dig her up and shoot her
again police quickly ruled out the risken family as suspects but detective Rodriguez was intrigued by the
mysterious emails that Sherry Jackson had received after her brother had been killed everybody knows that Sonia
murdered your brother I can get someone to kill Sonia Rios risken and these emails are coming from who the person is
signing John Bordeaux on the emails we had spoken with John Bordeaux he was the one that found Sona
Ros this is John Bordeaux detective Rodriguez discovered that John Bordeaux was Sonia
rios's secret son he had been born 44 years earlier in the Philippines before her first
marriage and then reportedly adopted by Earl Bordeaux Sonia rarely talked about her
son he refused to talk to us we did not find one photo not one letter card you know indicating that she
even had a son those emails offering to kill Sonia plus the fact that John Bordeaux was the
sole heir to her estate convinced detective Rodriguez that he was a prime suspect but in the son Rios murder case
not everything is what it seems when police traced the emails they were stunned to learn they were sent by
someone who was trying to frame John Bordeaux I can sit here and say today that John Bordeaux did not send those
emails who did send those emails who killed Sonia Rios he's on foot our investigation says this man may have the
answers so let's get ahead of him and we'll hop out okay you guys [Music] ready this man may know secrets to
solving Sonia rios's murder and the murders of her two husbands his name Eric De La Cruz it's
my understanding that Eric De La Cruz is a great nephew of Sonia Sherry Jackson first heard Eric's
name about one year after her brother's murder when out of the blue he sent the Riskin this box of Larry's belongings
Navy and Marine Corps achievement metal picture of Larry on the antium we felt like we received a part of Larry so that
was very kind of Eric to do that it was very kind and you're thinking this is a pretty nice kid
yes Eric is Filipino but grew up in the states and was very close to Sonia and Larry he even called them Grandma and
Grandpa he said he loved my brother and that my brother was a mentor after Eric sent the memorabilia he and
Sher struck up an email friendship in the beginning he was telling me how wonderful my brother was
but then Eric shocked Sher once again she was told she could pay to get Larry's ashes back but this time the
price was astronomical all I needed to do was give him $250,000 and we could you know get my
brother's ashes $250,000 bucks for your brother's ashes police first questioned Eric after
he showed up at Sonia's house the day her body was discovered he drew even more police
attention after he went to Sonia's lawyer hoping to collect money from her estate what is HE capable of in your
opinion I think he's capable of anything I think he is a clone of Sonia we've tracked Eric De La Cruz to a house
at the end of this block in Carson California if it comes out we hope to pop a few
questions st stop st stop stop stop stop st he's coming out Eric Del La Cruz I'm Peter Van Sant with CBS News I
want to ask you a couple of questions did you kill Sonia Rios did you kill Sonia Rios that's
Grandma sir I know it's your grandma did you kill her no sir no I wasn't there you know where Larry riskin's ashes are
why don't you give them back to the family I don't sir I don't I love I love I love my grandpa sir I love I love him
you loved him so much you wanted to sell his Ashes to his family I want not come
on talk to me with Eric no longer talking and Sonia dead the investigation into the murders
hit a wall the risken family has little hope of Ever Getting Larry's ashes back Sonia
made sure that his remains stayed in the Philippines they belong at home with the
family the Riskin have nothing more than a grave marker to commemorate Larry I want people to remember him as
he was which was a very special caring trusting person like the Riskin Dennis Bordeaux also has
nothing but an empty grave to visit my mom and dad just idolized my brother I promised them I would do whatever I
could to get him back here I'm not going to stop until I get him back somehow someway
half a world away somewhere in the Philippines are the hidden remains of Earl Bordeaux during the 48 Hours
investigation into his murder a tip led us to this small public Cemetery outside
of Manila we were told Earl's remains might be inomed behind this Crypt wall well we're looking for Mr Earl John
bordo we hired the best forensic pathologist in the Philippines Dr Raquel forun to help
us what do you see in there doctor right there's a coffin and I see a sack an unmarked sack could our tip be
true inside Dr fortun discovers what she thinks is a male skeleton how long it's
been there very hard to pinpoint exactly how many years could this be Earl Bordeaux small for a meal Caucasian all
right so right now it doesn't look like it's him not discouraged Dr fortun brought
the sack back to her laboratory inside were not just bones but perhaps another clue a pair of heavy socks something an
American might wear this is a tropical country it's hot so you wouldn't really wear socks at
all what is this device the bone board bone with the help of a colleague Dr fortun took measurements and compared
medical and dental records to the bones this thing is more common among caucasions then in a real CSI moment she
pieced the skull together and made a startling Discovery and these two pieces fit and you're seeing now a hole there's
a hole right here based on putting this skull puzzle back together again and you're saying that hole could be an
entry point for a bullet that is an entry ENT rather than an exit and this hole is on the side of the skull where
Earl was shot this is based on the autopsy report the entry site is somewhere here after a complete
examination of the remains this Dr fortun offered her expert opinion there are many points here that
indicate that these could be the remains of Mr bero to be absolutely certain 48 Hours
sent a bone sample to a lab in Fairfield Ohio to compare against his brother's DNA two months later with the lab
results in hand we travel to Dennis's home to give him the news he's waited 21 years to hear we found your brother
great we found Earl it's good this means everything to have all my old family back again and kind of
like being reborn you know after all these years actually go to the grave site be able to see him just be a whole
new feeling you [Music] know 48 Hours transported Earl's remains back to Davenport Iowa the town he had
left more than 45 years ago to find Adventure in the Philippines it was always just a empty feeling not
being able to go see a body or a grave or even be a part of the funeral I can't believe these
here a long time so good to have you back brother so good sorry it took so long [Music]
[Music] he [Music]

Two military men who loved the same woman are murdered ... and now she's dead. "48 Hours Mystery" correspondent Peter Van Sant reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

The episode reveals Sonia Rios's suspected involvement in the murders of her two husbands, Larry Risken and Earl Bordeaux.

Key points

The Dark Side of Sonia Rios. Sonia's manipulative nature and her connection to multiple murders are revealed.
Larry's Murder. Larry is shot in a planned assassination, raising suspicions about Sonia.
The Shocking Truth. Sherry learns about Sonia's first husband's murder, linking her to a pattern of violence.
Mysterious Emails. Detective Rodriguez investigates emails linked to Sherry Jackson's brother's murder.
Eric De La Cruz's Shocking Offer. Eric offers to return Larry's ashes for an astronomical price.
Discovery of Earl Bordeaux's Remains. Forensic pathologist uncovers potential remains of Earl Bordeaux in the Philippines.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This woman was the closest thing to evil I've ever seen.

Describing Sonia's manipulative nature.

1:14WatchOct 8, 2024

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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