Murder for Hire | "48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] all new at 5:00 Dallas Police say that they are very concerned about the city's
murder numbers homicides to say it was a shocking murder would be an understatement broad daylight seven
shots one person killed we see murders all day this one looked different a violent killing in
North Oak Cliff involving an American Airlines manager Jennifer and her husband Jamie were walking their dog
7:30 in the morning at that time someone approached from behind and simply started shooting Jamie Faith was shot
seven times they they sound one after another b b b you knew it was a gunshot yeah you can smell in the air the
gunpowder they they G bow all over we got a phone call from our mutual friend started the conversation with Jam's gone
and I'm like what do you mean Jamie's gone and he's like he's dead what are you talking
about so I started right away digging in trying to figure out give me details give me scenario what happened three
times to the Head three times to the chest and once to the groin and then turns to the wife knocks her down takes
the time to pull out duct tape and wrap her wrists Jennifer says that duct tape is used us to wrap around her hands to
actually grab her and take her rings I went to that house Monday morning I briefly spoke with Jennifer faith I
asked her can you tell me what happened she said it was awful here's a guy from small town
Magano Wisconsin 7:30 in the morning residential area a theft something's not right
somebody would have committed a murder to get a ring that may be worth $3,000 $2,000 does that make sense right this
isn't Kim kardashan downtown Paris coming out of a hotel for a photo shoot with a $5 million watch a stranger
police believe may have killed the American Airlines technology director on that Friday morning the one thing that
entered our mind was because it was during the pandemic we thought maybe it was a disgruntled employee that he had
just laid off the first time I found out about this case I heard it on the news and as soon as I saw it I thought that's
a hit a hit as in like a professional a professional hit because it didn't make any sense I've been practicing criminal
law for almost 30 years and none of it made sense who would want him dead nobody
[Music] [Music] I hear the woman screaming for her life that's terrible it sound like a movie so
I hurry up and call the police saying hurry and come I think my neighbors just got
shot it was October 9th 2020 and residents of Oak Cliffe were still absorbing the shocking murder of Jamie
faith Dallas police detectives began going house to house detectives need any and
all information that might be related to the case Jaime's own front door security
camera captured this haunting photo as he left his house with Jennifer and their dog Maggie it was taken seconds
before jimie was shot to death as heard on this audio other cameras captured images of
the Killer's getaway truck leaving the scene a black Nissan Titan pickup truck and it had something unique on its back
window what was that police initially told us about the te on the back window here in Dallas if you see a te on the
back window it's for the baseball team the Texas Rangers Steve picket a reporter for cbs1
in Dallas Fort Worth noted that the cameras did not pick up the truck's license plate and so the effort begins
to find this truck right that's right absolutely who is driving a black Nissan Titan with that te emblem on the back
window for those who knew Jamie Faith the big question was not only who had committed the murder but
why Jamie by all accounts was a funloving guy Jamie was the sweetest person and I said something just not
right something wasn't right Shimona Jackson and her wife Melissa Gonzalez who lost her hair due
to cancer treatments lived next door to jimie and Jennifer for years but moved when the pandemic hit they needed more
space for their seven adopted children the first time I met them we all introduced ourselves and they were like
do I have kids and I was like yeah we have a lot of kids is it true that the faith house was a really fun fun place
for your kids to go yes Jennifer Faith instantly bonded with Shimona Melissa and their adopted
children at least in part because she was also adopted the face welcomed them like
family inviting them to swim anytime they liked in the Faith's backyard pool oh they love to go swimming that
sometimes they'd spend the night over she would just leave us the code and we'd come in through the back gate swim
give me a sense of what uh Jennifer Faith was like she was actually pretty fun I've never seen her get
mad would you describe them as a loving couple yes yes on the morning of the murder a
cousin of Melissa called her with the Dreadful news they rushed to the Faith home Jaime's lifeless body was still on
the street by the way I noticed a gunshot to the Head but he was laying there just in the
street no covering no nothing it was a heartbreaking um CU you hear somebody tell you that someone's passed but to
see him there lifeless after we had just seen them and uh it was hard to believe two states away in Arizona
Teresa and boss Jensen who had known Jamie for years were floored by the news and the two of us just stared at each
other for a little while like what Teresa Jensen and Jamie Faith hail from the village of mwano Wisconsin and
were classmates through high school and college he later introduced Teresa to her husband Ross a close college friend
16 years later y there we said Jamie literally changed our Liv we never we never would have met
yep jimie may have been a successful Matchmaker but he insisted that serious relationships were not for him he
considered himself a confirmed Bachelor for as long as we knew him he said I'm never getting married get married never
having kids I don't want a part of it but that changed in 2005 and then he met Jennifer the attraction was instant in
terms of the commitment and the relationship and that was there that was there right off the bat they were two
peas in a pod and that notion about not wanting children Jamie bonded with Jennifer's then 8-year-old daughter
Amber from her first marriage and I remember thinking to myself that's interesting for a guy that didn't want
kids how he stepped right in there and he would go to the dance recital and super
supportive the two got married in Las Vegas in 2012 and when Amber turned 18 jimie legally adopted
her he was working for American Airlines in Arizona and Jennifer worked in healthc care administration I
believe all of our friends and mutual friends were very accepting of her Jamie Jennifer and Amber continued living in
Arizona until 2017 when Jamie got promotion and they moved to Dallas he seemed very happy yep
so did she they got along great and I mean that's all you want for your friends you know be happy but the good
times ended in gunfire that October morning it was the day after the couple celebrated the 15th anniversary of their
first date in later news reports Jennifer said she was having a hard time coping with
Jaime's murder I'm not supposed to be widowed at 48 you know Jennifer told cops that the shooter
was wearing a blue mask and a blurry image was captured by that security camera near the back of the faith house
but the best lead was that black Nissan truck with the distinctive white te on the back window
[Music] I have three dogs that I walk three four times a day what seemed like was a completely
random act it could have been any of us Jennifer steelan and Jenna Wilson live in the same oakcliff neighborhood where
Jamie Faith was Gunn down a man they could relate to learned that he was in it at a major airline my husband is in
it at a major airline they were walking their dog a few blocks from us I was just go oh my
gosh this could have been us though many neighbors didn't know the faiths personally they immediately stepped up
to support Jennifer and her daughter Amber we have a really amazing community in Oak Cliff the day after the murder
Jenna reached out to Jennifer and began coordinating a meal train to provide vegan meals as Jennifer requested how
many different families were contributing food would you estimate goodness got to be over 50 oh definitely
if you know what happened I need I need that for closer as Jennifer Faith appealed to the public for information
money was pouring into a GoFundMe account set up by Jennifer fing it came in fast it was shocking to see how much
people were contri contributing how much money was raised for the go over $60,000 father we thank you for the gift
of this amazing man Jennifer held two funerals for Jamie one in Dallas and one in Phoenix each was meticulously planned
they had all of the displays out little matchbooks for people to take cards for people to take
coasters more than anything I've ever seen at any other funeral while she was mourning Jennifer kept pressing the
public for more information about the murder of her husband truck is absolutely critical somebody has got to
know whose truck this is it's a black Nissan Titan extended cab it had a Texas Ranger sticker in the back
window as they do with every homicide investigation detectives looked into Jennifer's background they asked for her
cell phone and found that in April 2020 6 months before the October shooting Jennifer had texted a friend to say she
had gotten back in touch with an ex-boyfriend named Darren law enforcement goes through the phone and
they look in her phone book and they find the name Darren Lopez Jim Holland is a retired Texas Ranger and a CBS News
consultant they're going through and they're finding out every single thing they can about both these people really
discovering them Darren Lopez and Jen Jer had dated in high school and reconnected in early 2020 Lopez had a
family of his own and was a special forces Army veteran who earned a purple heart and suffered a brain injury from a
roadside bomb in Iraq that killed 19 soldiers in his unit he is a military veteran going through a divorce himself
uh living in an isolated part of Tennessee uh raising his daughters [Applause] authorities learned Lopez owned this 20
acre property in Cumberland Furnace Tennessee and there was something else Darren Lopez owns a Nissan Titan
pickup that just so happens to be black in color a Nissan Titan the same make and
model as the gunman's getaway truck in Jamie Faith's murder Texas authorities reached out to
to law enforcement in Tennessee and they actually conducted aerial surveillance of Darren's house Christy Jack is a
prominent Texas defense attorney we asked to review this case and lo and behold there's this truck with the tea
on the back window the white tea the white tea all this time we thought Texas indeed it was for the University of
Tennessee but authorities didn't arrest Lopez after finding his truck they continued to investigate and build their
case digging into his phone records what they find is this enormous amount of communication between Jennifer faith and
Darren Lopez sometimes they're communicating more than 500 times a day but starting the afternoon of
October 8th the day before Jaimie was killed Darren and Jennifer stopped talking for approximately 28
hours that same day Lopez told his daughters he was going out of town on a hunt trip for a few
days according to debit card records he filled up at a gas station near his home
set his GPS for the face house and headed west for the 10-hour drive to Dallas he doesn't realize it but he's
bringing law enforcement along with the ride with all the evidence he's leaving behind he's leaving this Trail in some
points it's you know giant markers and signs and others it's little breadcrumbs they can actually document where Darren
Lopez was they've seen security video of him at a convenience or a gas station surveillance photos from an
Arkansas gas station show Lopez wearing a blue mask the same color mask Jennifer
Faith told police the killer War at 2:19 a.m. the next morning GPS data shows he arrived at the Faith home
a security camera captured those grainy images of him at the vacant house next door it would make you wonder a lot of
different things you know the level of patience that someone has to you know be able to Stage 5 hours early and sit
there and wait for this murder to transpire at 7:30 a.m. when the Fai came out to walk their dog
Maggie cops say he ambushed them killed Jamie investigators say he then drove 650 Mi back home to Tennessee law
enforcement has to figure out why did he do it did he do it because of his own motives because of you know his love for
Jennifer Faith or did someone else ask him to do it [Music] in January 2021 3 months after Jamie
Faith was murdered Dallas detectives had discovered evidence including thousands
of texts that suggested Jennifer and Darren Lopez had a profound connection bordering on Obsession despite not
having seen each other for decades you have Jennifer who's you know happily married to Jamie and she's carrying out
this a tremendous amount of communication with her former boyfriend there's no bigger motive for murder than
love or wining to be with someone else and the texts weren't the only evidence against Lopez detectives also had that
cell phone data placing him near the crime scene and GPS coordinates that showed his exact route they could track
him from Tennessee to Dallas and back to Tennessee to the authorities it all added up to a murder charge now new this
morning an arrest made 3 months after an American Airlines employee was gunned down while walking his dog in Dallas
Police say Darren Lopez Sergeant Joseph Calhoun was there when police pulled Lopez over on January 11th 2021 in Dixon
Tennessee not far from his home he appeared to be nervous um but at the same time he was very quiet inside the
vehicle agents say they found a face mask the same color as the one Jennifer had told police the gunman wore she says
that the man had black eyes and was wearing a blue mask as Sergeant Calhoun transported Lopez to the local jail the
investigative team headed for his house their authorities say they found this 45
caliber handgun we know that Jamie was shot with a 45 caliber handgun round authorities say ballistic test
later matched the gun found in Lopez's house to shell casings found at the murder scene even more damning
authorities say that traces of Jaime's blood were found on the gun why the heck would he throw that gun
away you know I don't know if it wasn't some kind of momento some kind of symbol
of his love for her or what he was willing to do to have her and on the day that he is arrested what is he charged
with what he's charged with is a gun crime a federal gun crime and at the state level he's charged with murder he
pleaded not guilty to both charges and was transferred to the Dallas County Jail where he was held on $1 million
bail at this point police had become increasingly suspicious of Jennifer was she involved in the murder plot or
covering up for Lopez after the fact on the day of Lopez's arrest Dallas detectives brought her in for more
questioning is that just a coincidence no law enforcements would have Ed that exactly I mean everything is coordinated
uh to ensure that Jennifer doesn't know that Darren's been arrested detectives say Jennifer denied ever having a sexual
relationship with Darren Lopez but admitted the two communicated every day and the volume was astounding in the six
months leading up to Darren Lopez's arrest cops say the two Tech at each other 116,000 times when did they have time to
sleep when did they have time to eat it was constant they made sure that they communicated with each other all day
long Homeland Security agents dug into Lopez's phone and recovered text messages where Jennifer and Lopez even
discussed deleting texts where they're talking to one another about factory resetting their phone
after Lopez texted Jennifer that he had deleted texts she wrote big smile over here at that Lopez's phone contained a
lot of sexting between the two and many words of Love Darren wrote I love you with all of my heart and Jennifer
responded sleep my angel holding you tight I mean it goes as so far that uh they're both telling each other good
night and talking about you know eating chips and salsa but Jennifer Faith was not arrested from the start she had
played The Grieving Widow remember that TV interview where Jennifer pleaded for help in finding the getaway truck truck
is absolutely critical somebody has got to know who truck this is because investigators now knew that Jennifer
later woke up panicked that the tea was still on Lopez's truck she wrote something is eating away at me telling
me you need to take the sticker out of the back window of the truck at some point he responds to that text message
it says sticker done meaning it's been removed he's taking it off Jennifer was euphoric Oh yay she texted and then
hours later I feel so much better it looks like conspiracy it looks like a connection between those two individuals
who are working together to ensure they cover their tracks my gut was screaming at me I said hey things things aren't
adding out if you're going to kill someone you're going to kill the witness we wondered why Jennifer hadn't gotten
shot we asked her why didn't he shoot you and she said I think he didn't have any more
bullets investigators also learned what Jennifer had been saying to Lopez in December 2020 after she failed to
collect Jaime's $629,000 life insurance policy Jennifer texted Lopez they aren't processing the
claim yet because detective Walton told them I couldn't be ruled out as a suspect so I called him and basically
said what the f she had the audacity the boldness to contact the police and be righteously
indignant as to why she didn't know what was going on with the investigation and
why she had not already been cleared as a suspect Jennifer was nothing if not bold after jimie died she began
showering Lopez who was in financial distress with cash and gifts she got some of that money from the GoFundMe
account set up to help her deal with Jaime's loss she drained that money within two months of people donating
that sum records show that Jennifer paid Lopez cash through a venmo account bought airline tickets for him and his
daughters and allowed Lopez to use her credit cards in an email she wrote please don't hesitate to use them for
whatever you need this email is Jennifer directly to Darren here's both of my major credit
cards MX has no limit and I think the Visa has like $35,000 limit I pay them both off every
month so you never need to worry about them being declined There's No Limit here to do what she wants him to to do
Jennifer seemingly was doing anything she could to keep Lopez in her Corner even after he was arrested she sent a
message to him and she sent through a third party and she was telling him that she would always L him that she would
always be there for him no matter what happened but was it love or loyalty Jennifer was after she wants to make
sure that he does not talk go inside the case at 48 [Music] hours.com in early 2021 Darren Lopez was
behind bars in the Dallas County Jail and authorities felt they had a solid murder case against him but Jennifer
Faith remained free not charged with any Crime After Darren Lopez is arrested does he turn on Jennifer no no in no way
shape or form he's being a good soldier right yeah he's the Knight he has a sense of Duty and this honor towards
her prosecutors went ahead and built their case against Jennifer without Lopez's cooperation and on February 24th
2021 48-year-old Jennifer faith is now facing obstruction of justice charges related to the murder investigation of
her husband Jennifer Faith was arrested but she was not charged with homicide she was charged with obstruction of
justice an in-house camera shows her being booked at the Dallas County Jail the obstruction of justice means if
you're tampering with or you're destroying evidence to prevent its availability in a later trial or to to
prevent it being available at all which is what she was doing in destroying or deleting text messages on her phone or
asking Lopez to take that t- sticker off his truck's window the obstruction charge wasn't enough for Jim's friend
Ross Jensen and I said that wasn't the charge that I was expecting I said well that's it that's what the
charges Jennifer later pleaded not guilty I think the police were being very thorough in their investigation and
they wanted to bring her into custody then she doesn't have another opportunity to destroy any further
evidence and authorities may have been glad they did in Jennifer's house they found computers containing a cache of
emails that took the investigation in a whole different direction you know the emails get absolutely bizarre the
strangest and most disturbing emails came from an account in Jamie Faith's name and on the surface it appeared as
though Jamie sent these messages most of the email s are too explicit to show on
television and they contain explosive claims that Jim was physically and sexually abusing Jennifer and there was
more the emails were addressed to Darren Lopez revealing an apparent connection between the two men in Jennifer's life
it's Jamie Faith sending messages to Darren that he is going to harm his wife he's going to sexually abuse his wife
and he wants Darren Lopez to see it he writes I am finally going to get what I want from her this weekend he was
wanting Darren to believe that he was going to sexually assault her in all sorts of ways the highly charged emails
seem designed to taunt Lopez to challenge him to action enjoy knowing you can't do an effing thing about it he
was provoking him he was provoking him he was goting him him as investigators looked more closely at the emails they
discovered that some were coming from a second email address in the name of one of Jennifer's male friends that friend's
emails corroborated the claims of abuse some even had photos attached supposedly
depicting what jimie had done to Jennifer pictures that showed injuries pictures that showed injuries and
claiming this this is my body this is what he's doing to me right and there were messages from the friend asking
Lopez for help in getting Jennifer away from Jamie Jim Holland now a retired Texas Ranger says the emails clearly
made Lopez fear for Jennifer's safety Lopez wrote to the friend's account I know I won't feel better about her
situation until she is away from him or she lets me put a bullet in Jaime's head
I keep offering and she keeps telling me no laugh out loud it's really pushing daring into this protective mode where
he has to help her he has to be the hero he has to save her Holland says one of Jaime's wounds suggests the emails had
their desired effect on Darren Lopez that gunshot to the groin I would guess that there's some
type of sexual background or connotation to the murder based on the shot to the groin you know we sometimes use the
phrase that you know you couldn't sell this if you were a screenwriter in Hollywood it's like a psychological
Thriller do you agree yeah I mean this is stuff that I don't think anyone could really make up there there's so many
layers to the onion you know fact is is better than Fiction at times in this in this case for
sure prosecutors weighed the emails along with all the other evidence they were collecting against Jennifer
including her pain ments and gifts to Lopez and in September 2021 7 months after she was charged with
obstruction Jennifer was charged a second time Jennifer faith is now charge with murder for hire a federal offense a
Dallas woman accused of orchestrating her husband's murder could face the death penalty I said that's the right charge
that's what I was waiting for in their indictment prosecutors laid out the murder for hiring case against Jennifer
revealing details of the vile email sent to Darren Lopez and a shocking secret about who sent them it was not Jamie at
all that was sending these messages someone else was someone else posing as Jamie pretending to be Jamie it was
Jennifer all along [Music] when Jennifer Faith was finally charged with murder For Hire prosecutors
delivered that bombshell Jennifer was the one who wrote all those horrible emails to Darren Lopez there is no
question that Jennifer Faith was the puppet master and Darren Lopez was her puppet pulling the strings and
orchestrating her husband Jaime's murder it is mindboggling the wherewithal you have to have to help cultivate fake
people fake emails pretending to be your husband to try to manipulate Darren Lopez I haven't seen anything like that
in a very very long time just my mouth on the ground couldn't believe what she had
done the mystery is why what drove Jennifer to want Jamie dead she seemingly had it all a husband
and daughter who loved her Financial Security and a happy home I think the grass is always greener and there were a
million reasons why on top of it if you combine his life insurance and his 401k that's more than a million dollar she
wanted more people always want more they always want more than what they have they always think having more having
different having a different person having someone exciting is going to be better than what they have and 48 Hours
found that incredibly it wasn't the first time Jennifer went down this path she did the exact same thing to me we
track down this man Rick erob who was married to her in the early 2000s she just the most evil person I've
ever come in contact with he says shortly after they began dating they took a trip to Disneyland
the so-called happiest place on Earth where Jennifer spun an ugly story of how she'd been abused by her first husband
physical mental emotional sexual just it was shocking it definitely came to a point where
I want to kill him and that lasted for a long time but then he says Jennifer changed her mind it was like oh
you can't do this to my daughter's dad there is no evidence of any abuse Rick says Jennifer wouldn't go to the police
we reached out to her first husband but got no response what is it about of her faith that was so irresistible to men do
you think well there's something about her personality that really Drew men in she had a way about her of portraying
herself as a victim of something and Rick admits he fell for it was he just the dry run yeah I think so I think
ultimately where her failure was in Rick is this wasn't a guy who's capable of killing
someone now is there in a person that you would look at and think he's capable of killing someone a US Special Forces
operative for more than 20 years in the military who's been in combat yeah this is a guy you know is going to get the
mission done shortly after the murder for higher charge Holland says self-preservation kicked in and Jennifer
Finally Revealed the details of her intricate manipulative plot to have her husband killed Jennifer Faith decides to
accept a plea agreement she will cooperate with authorities on February 7th 2022 with attorney Toby shook by her
side Jennifer appeared in a Dallas courtroom and pleaded guilty to one count of use of interstate comce in the
commission of murder for hire in exchange for the guilty plea prosecutors agreed to take the death
penalty off the table and recommend a life sentence Jim Holland says even the guilty plea was vintage Jennifer she
can't allow herself to face the death penalty because she's incapable of killing herself because at the end of
the day that's the only person she really loves there was one important detail that authorities insisted be part
of that plea she has to admit to the fact that her husband never abused her physically or sexually and as for those
photos she'd sent showing injuries she sent images that we know are stock images fake images they're not
real Jennifer also came clean about how she'd spent the GoFundMe money her supporters were devastated it's
heartbreaking it's heartbreaking do you feel that you were taken advantage of it's hard not to feel that way do you
feel betrayed it's hard not to feel that way what kind of person would do that a
Monster yeah a monster she may have used the GoFundMe account to pay Darren Lopez but court
records show that Jennifer did not pay for Jaime's funeral expenses and to this day owes
$6,500 what's more court records also show Jennifer has asked that $200,000 from Jaime's estate be put into
her prison commissary account it's a case of greed manipulation it's a tragedy all the way around she robbed
the community of someone that they respected she robbed her daughter of a father it was a very selfish act on so
many levels Jaime's parents and sister did not attend the hearing the family home was sold and Amber moved out of
Texas with their dog Maggie after Jennifer signed her plea deal Lopez also agreed to answer
questions and admitted killing jaim he told investigators he reconnected with Jennifer because he was in a very dark
place and initially never intended to reunite romantically or break up her family it's difficult to say which came
first whether it's the chicken or the egg whether their romance was rekindled at the same time as her realization that
he's the perfect Pawn now when you say romance it's very unusual Romance one in which apparently they physically
were never together they were never physically together at that time but memories are powerful Lopez who hasn't
changed his not- guilty plea also told authorities the murder was Jennifer's idea his attorney has said publicly that
Jennifer took advantage of Lopez who suffered that traumatic brain injury in the Army I almost feel that Jennifer is
more responsible for Jam's death and Darren because Darren was in my opinion was just prayed
upon by her and she manipulated him to do what she wanted [Music] done those who knew and loved Jamie like
former neighbor Melissa Gonzalez are still coping with his death he cared about people it didn't matter what your
race religion he didn't care about any of that he was just an easygoing guy right
he was the guy for our kids that meant a lot the kind of guy that he was you can't just get that anywhere friends
Teresa and Ross Jensen are grieving too he was just all around wonderful guy I was blessed to know him I hope that
Amber carries some of Jamie forward I hope she really does something unique and special with his
[Music] memory who do you think is more responsible for Jamie Faith's death an intruder came into her house
and attacked her stabbing her repeatedly a woman's Iron Will there's no earthly reason why I'm alive none and the thin
line between life and death the amount of strength that goes into that is just unimaginable 48 Hours next on CBS and
streaming on Paramount Plus [Music] ever think in your wildest dreams that someone might want to kill
you I would have never thought that anyone would want to kill me ever in my life ever my dad's a sweet guy I mean
he's very calm he's full of laughter he's full of energy he's like a life of the
party my life was once beautiful wonderful I have three wonderful kids was married to a a beautiful lady hi
guys my name is Lulu my business was booming and I'm R head coach box welcome to wom's boxing and
fitness outside the ring boxers they're very loving they want love from their fans and they want to give it
back they're the nicest people I was a very very a low-key kind of guy that's the farthest thing from my
mind that somebody wanted me dead I remember walking in one night as the gym was in its final hours before it closed
I remember a conversation was taking place about Hitman what was it about this conversation that caught your attention
what caught my attention was whose name came up did they mention Ramon yes now my focus was just on talking to
Ramon I say Mundo you're joking around you know what's going on Ramon was like don't don't play with me like that this
is some serious stuff and then he said I seen that look on people's eye before that want to kill
somebody it's like a screenplay something straight out of Hollywood and it would fit right in with every other
horror flick that we've seen in the past except this is real it is real we're taking you inside the twists
and turns of a complex sting operation and here's what makes it unique the target of the murder For Hire plot
becomes an undercover operative to catch the person who wants him dead so Lieutenant where are we heading
we are heading to what we referred to as the Dig side this is the actual grave where I was supposed to be dead they had
me lay down with my hands behind my back my head turned it was a photographer all I could hear was just
the clicking of the camera that was somebody's choice they told someone this is what I want this is how I want you to
do it and this is where I want you to put him it's horrifying I saw myself in the grave dead
literally I was supposed to be dead I'm the only person alive that has ever walked out of his own grave
[Music] [Music] to this day Ramon Sosa finds it surreal that he was the Target in a murder for
higher plot I would have never believed it I would have I would have thought it was
just something that is you only see in movies or on TV I would have never thought that it
would be happening to me he appeared to have the perfect life from rubbing shoulders with
celebrities like Hugh Hefner to owning a successful boxing gym in Houston and he had found the love of his
life Lulu life was very sweet Beth Blair is a friend of the SAS I saw two fun outgoing love to party
love to get together with people and have barbecues and the more people the marrier Ramon Zess for life started
early he was born with a fighting Spirit originally from Carolina Puerto Rico Ramone grew up boxing with his father I
fell in love with the sport of boxing I saw how the training and and there was a
few world champions that trained there and I just loved it from from the time I I was little after training for more
than 10 years Ramone took a shot at the pro boxing circuit they used to call me uh the
Puerto Rican Express when I turned 17 I turned Pro so did you ever knock anybody
out in the ring oh yeah there was a lot of Knockouts eventually the Puerto Rican
Express ran out of steam Ramone hung up his boxing gloves and decided to pursue the American dream I went back to school
uh got my education and and in start and I still kept training you know always wanted be involved with boxing in some
kind of way Ramone got married young and had three children with his first wife he
eventually settled down in Houston Texas where he opened a boxing gym of his own
where he could continue to teach his passion I think Ramon is a a nice humble guy friendly uh family oriented Raul
Marquez is an Olympic boxer and Showtime commentator he is also Ramon's longtime sparring
buddy anybody that goes in the ring it's got to be tough it's got to be mentally
tough you know I think he's physically and mentally tough but like I always say he wasn't tough enough to beat me you
know beat my butt you know Ramon's first marriage ended in 2000 by 2007 Ramone then 40 was ready to
get back in the ring but this time he was looking for a different kind of knockout and a friend of mine said hey
man there's a place where they play live music and I heard there's a lot of beautiful ladies out there Latina
ladies Ramone decided to go and see this place for himself and as soon as he arrived someone special caught his eye
place was packed and I noticed her are you thinking man I'm fighting out of my weight class here yeah yeah she was very
very attractive you know she looked very nice and she danced very very well so I
just kep my ass on her the woman he noticed was Lulu Dantes next thing I know she walks by me and she steps on my
toe now do you think she might have stepped on your foot on purpose oh she sure did she she even admitted later
on rone and Lulu had an instant connection and that was it I mean as soon as we started dancing we didn't get
out the dance floor for the whole night Ramone still remembers the very first song they danc to a popular Latin tune
that the salsa band played that night it would become their [Music] songia is a song by Grand Puerto Rico
and it means what witchcraft Witchcraft and forgive the pun but you were under her spell right basically yes I was
under her spell Spellbound after dancing the night away Ramon went home with Lulu
and the rest was history she doed on him she was great Beth had a ringside seat to their
relationship she'd bring him coffee and get up every morning with him and make his breakfast and I always just thought
it was really neat their relationship you know they got along really well after less than a year of dating
Ramone dropped to one knee I proposed to her it was around Christmas time I remember proposing to her she
started crying she cried and cried and cried you know and she was happy you know and but she
couldn't wait to get married Lulu dures became Lulu Sosa on March 15th 2009 she treated me well she treated me like a
king Lulu originally from Mexico came to the United States with her son and daughter what brought her to Houston you
know to have a new life a better life for her children to you know to start again because she
was divorced in Mexico and then she come here Natalia Flores is a hair stylist and one of Lulu's closest friends she
met Lulu back in 2007 she was a nice friend a good mom a good worker a hard worker in 2010 Ramon opened a second
gym this time Lulu was by his side she kept the books and became a personal trainer we offer boxing kickboxing and
Fitness training come check us out how big of operation was the gym was about 5,000 ft and we average about 200 and
some members a month everything was great little did Ramone know he would soon be in the fight of his life
[Music] what was it like growing up Sosa oh my gosh it was like being a superstar
almost because everyone knows my dad everyone knows who my dad is for Ramon's daughter Mia a former model and beauty
pageant contestant and her two brothers growing up around a local boxing celebrity had its perks it was just fun
our dad was a jokester so every time we were around it was tons of laughs and smiles and all things like that lots of
Blended families experience Growing Pains but Mia says life after Lulu arrived hi my name is Ramos SAA I am
Lulu SAA was not as harmonious as those gym ads made it seem she didn't want anything anything
to do with us we were like nothing to hurt Mia found Lulu's coldness not just mean but ominous it wasn't like she was
trying to become a stepmom she knew that at some point we weren't really going to
be in her picture what's more the spell Lulu seemed to cast Over Ramone started to eat away at his relationship with his
own children she didn't like him spending money on his kids and seeing up we're not hanging out as much and I know
we're not doing it because he's got someone else that he's paying his attention to and it's like why I'm your
daughter don't where are you going Ramon says there was so much animosity between
Lulu and his children they weren't there for a major event in his life my kids didn't go to my wedding that's one thing
that hurt me that day that we found out that he had got married it was heartbreaking heart
heartbreaking Ramon and his new bride focused on growing their gym into a Powerhouse for world class training and
fitness how much money were you guys making a month or a year that was probably about over 18 20,000 a month
$18 $20,000 a month in profit yeah but after 6 years of marriage the Sosa spell began to break Lulu started
confiding in her friends she told me that he doesn't want to work too much and he stay more at home and she's
working hard and hard and hard death and accusations of Ramon's laziness were just the
beginning and she said on an occasion or two that he was physical with her that he had come in drinking and was physical
with her what did she mean by physical like grabbing her or pushing her because he's a strong guy he came
and forced to do things that she doesn't want in that moment like sex uh-huh did she ever tell you that Ramone
would force himself upon her and force her to have sex with him when she did not want to yes she did she had said
that on occasion Lulu claims that you have raped her yeah she's tried everything to ruin my life from rape
being abusive to being a drunk and all these acclaims now one of them not one have have I been uh charged for and and
I tell you sir that these hands have never HD a woman in my in their lives these have always been for fighting in
the ring not even in the streets not even in the streets for her to say something like that that was really
hurtful around the same time that Lulu was complaining to her girlfriends Ramone says another problem problem
suspiciously appeared missing money after we started having problems at home with the marriage there was
issues with the gym I'm working people out a lot more and I seen you faces all the
time but when I see the bottom line here it's not adding up are you worried that
she's skimming money I I was worried and I was wondering what she was doing with
the money Ramon soon learned where some of that money may have gone in March 2015
Lulu hired divorce attorney Julio hlar Lulu was in fear for her safety hlar says he was shocked by what Lulu brought
with her to his office she was able to take pictures of scratches that he left on her arms legs
shoulders he shared the photos with 48 Hours according to Lulu this was caused by Ramon at one time when wanted to
force himself to her and there was a altercation and Ramon grabbed her and can I see scratched her
yeah that is evident that he was using Force to push her legs out there's scratches on her upper arm and she
claims there's a bruise on her leg that you inflicted on her those are all fabricated I I can tell you those are
all fabricated this is but there was one photo that even Ramon says was not made
up as you can see in this picture uh Ramon punched that door and that can give you an idea of the strength of this
man that admit to that punch she was accusing me of stuff and that's one thing I did I took my frustrations
out but as far as putting a hint on her never ever despite allegations of physical
abuse Ramon and Lulu remained in the same house even after she filed for divorce they lived on different floors
and was Lulu afraid of Ramon afraid that he may seriously hurt her yet she was afraid of that and it was at that time
in June 2015 that this man who asked we not show his face was working out at the
gym he said to call him Mund ramosa he's a friend he's a very good Mentor to me Mundo had grown up on the
tough streets of East Houston and he had a very very rough background gangs and and drugs and fighting in the streets
and he wanted a new life and he became like like a son to me Mundo says he was friends with Lulu as well she was there
talking to her 16-year-old daughter when he overheard them a conversation was taking place about a
customer that was there that supposedly was claiming to be a big shot that he had connections of a Hitman or or just
people that could inflict harm what CAU my attention was towards the end U of the conversation whose name
came up did they mention Ron yes stunned Mundo said nothing he came back here the next day and confronted
Lulu who told him that Ramone was physically abusing her then she said something
else she's like I'm tired you know I'm tired of him it's already too much you know I wish he'll disappear I wish
something you know and I'm like disappear what do you mean disappear like what disappear and I did the pistol sign
[Music] [Music] Mundo was certain that Lulu had murder on her mind and that his friend Ramon
was in danger and what was it about the way she was talking to you that made you
think this was something more than just Idle Words her eyes just her eyes I've seen that look before just
people that are serious about what they're saying knowing Lulu was dead serious Mundo had to think fast he came up with
a plan to stop her Mundo offered to get involved and hire the Hitman himself I gave Lulu the impression that I was
going to reach out to a Hitman that I have the guys already ready Mundo convinced Lulu he believed her claims of
abuse and would help her but it was actually all aoy to protect his friend Ramone who he called as soon as he left
the gym and he tells me Lulu wants to kill you as shocking as the news was Ramon says he instantly knew
why if I died after the divorce was finalized she was not going to get the money that I have for my retirement the
value of the gym the value of home she had everything already figured out Ramone immediately contacted police but
was told nothing could be done based only on conversations with an angry wife as threatening as they sounded the
sheriff's department needed more they need more evidence so the two old boxing buddies came up with a plan they would
launch their own sting operation tape recorder I'm going use using his street smarts Mundo would pretend to hire a
hitman he'd send texts to this fictitious killer with details about the hit details he'd share with Lulu she
needs to see that I'm going back and forth with somebody Ramon and Mundo bought two disposable cell phones little
did Lulu know that the target her own husband was holding that second phone and the phone he's going to use to play
his own Hitman play his own Hitman yes sir I started stressing because cuz you know here we are me and Mundo doing this
amateur investigation or undercover investigation I don't know what I'm doing but Mundo
did he started recording his daily conversations with Lulu [Music] as the days passed both men worried Lulu
might have another Hitman waiting in the wings my thing was what if her patience
runs up the raon ends up dead or what if her patient runs out and I end up dead Ramon told no one about what he and
Mundo were up to and living in fear over what Lulu might be up to took its toll he started carrying a gun I'd be at a
stoplight and and you know I would put the gun in between my legs you know looking left and right the whole time at
a light Ramone could not even Escape his fear at night and you're in bed where's
the gun uh used under there underneath my pillow loaded so Mundo kept the pretend
negotiations on track we use that phone acting as the middleman between the fake
hit man and Lulu she's like well tell them I'm offering the white truck tell them I'm offering them jewelry tell them
I'm offering them you know this much money all this time Ramon and Lulu were still living under the same roof on June
9th 2015 before Mundo overheard Lulu's threat police had been called to the Sosa house please don't take my sir
Lulu's attorney says there was an argument between Lulu's son and Ramon over a truck which Lulu's son recorded
on his whose vehicle is this this is my vehicle I have legal documents on the right which I need today please don't
take my vehicle Ramon went to take the vehicle away from Lulu's son and when Lulu's son basically told him no you're
not going to take my vehicle please step out of my car Ramon punch him on his face remot please step out of my car
Ramone was issued a citation for assault but he says his hand only made contact with the phone I'm an ex- professional
fighter if I would have hit that kid believe me he would not be standing up right now rone please step out of my
car I didn't put my hand on that kid on June 30th Ramon and Lulu faced off in court Lulu wanted a restraining order
against him her attorney wrote up the ORD that I was abusive that I hit her son that they fear for their lives you
know living with me staying in my house Ramon was ordered to move out of their home and stay away from the Woodland's
gym but he also got an order restraining Lulu from the first gym he owned the one
he'd opened before meeting her Ramon says he kept his eye on the bigger prize exposing Lulu's plot against
him you know she thought she had me on the ropes about to knock me out in box me that's called an a count I took an a
count I got Ked out my own house but the boxer was about to make a comeback 10 days after launching their
sting Ramon posing as Paco the fake Hitman tchs Mundo he's gotten a 9mm gun costing
$200 when Mundo received the down payment for the gun to have me kill from Lulu that's when I said you know what I
think we have enough let's take this to the police now I got a call on a Sunday Lieutenant Mike Atkins works for the
Precinct 3 Constable's office in Montgomery County Texas we had a individual claiming that uh there was a
murder For Hire against him how unusual was that it's extremely unusual it's uh the first one of my career impressed
with the amateur Sting the professionals were now ready to take over but they needed a StreetWise rookie in their
Corner Mundo I was afraid sir that they might get that person to actually do the
job they might go with they might it was important that we not change the investigation we not change and move
Mundo out of the situation because that might bring alarms Mundo kept stringing Lulu along
assuring her he was trying to get things done as soon as possible finally he let
her know everything is a go for a meeting on July 20th with the Hitman who was really an undercover agent he looked
like he can be a bad guy in a movie I said hey this is the man that's supposed to kill you lulu agreed to a night
meeting in this parking lot not far from the gym she brought several watches and
some jewelry as a down payment Lulu then went to an ATM machine and withdrew $500 which she brought back here to seal
the deal when someone in a murder For Hire case actually pays is some money have they crossed a threshold they have
it shows the uh the level of intent it shows the fact that they are serious and it's come to a point where you can't
turn back police had enough to arrest Lulu right there and then but they had concerns namely Lulu's claims of Ramon's
abuse Lulu has never had any problems with the law she's a beautiful lady mother you we don't want to go to a dur
trial and had one of the jurors f s for her and so police told Ramon what they needed to do next we're planning to take
a picture of you uh dead see more of Ramon and Mundo handing over their amateur investigation to
police at 48 hours.com [Music] [Music] for Ramon the police sting to bring down Lulu seem to be taking a queue from
witchcraft the first song they ever dance [Music] to one of the lyrics you want to send me
to my cold tomb yeah going to take a picture of you dead you know like in a grave and we're going to show it to her
to show proof that the Hitman did the job he was kind of dumb struck but then as it was explained to him he was well
on board in order to get Ramone camera ready it is a bullet wound police first had to consult some experts being a a
bunch of middle-aged men we don't you know we're not exactly versed on applying makeup
so naturally we went to YouTube and learned how to apply makeup from uh from teenage girls but they also had some
deadly examples to follow luckily we had no shortage of crime scene photos to to
use as references the assistant day was there and he brought out some pictures of actual dead
people people with bullet holes to the Head they picked up the one that they thought that was going to be the best
one and I looked at and they showed you that picture I was horrified next they had to find Ramone a
grave we're heading to to what we refer to as the Dig side luckily for us the county owned a
rideway that would give us the Privacy we needed what was going through your mind well I really didn't know what the
what it was going to look like I was at this point already I mean I already had the uh the makeup they already started
with the with the Bullet Hole the the Final Touch fake blood and they told me once we got to
the uh site they were going to put more blood on me this is it Mo's final resting place so where
were you lying in this grave my head was there in that corner right there and and
I was right over there yeah it looked like I had my hands tied behind my back they even threw dirt on my on my
head it looked like a movie scene honestly was it emotional for you to be in here yeah it's very emotional it was
hot it was uh scary it was it was just a feeling of of thoughts of you know I can't believe this what I'm doing I
cannot believe what I'm doing this is what Lulu wanted right here this is what she
wanted now it's time to show Lulu that this is done and it's uh it's time to get paid so a second meeting was
arranged between Lulu and the Hitman in the same parking lot but this time it was all caught on
camera it's July 22nd [Music] 2015 Lulu then pays him um Lulu is shown the photo of Ramon dead
in a [Music] grave she starts laughing no shock at all no shock what does that tell you
about Lulu she's a pretty cold character the undercover detective and Lulu discussed the remaining payment all told
$3,000 in cash watches and jewelry and Ramon's white pickup then Lulu is given more details of her husband's final
moments Lulu maintains she was the victim here the reality of Ramon's death continues to sink in and Lulu's mood
appears to lift she was happy she even made a comment to the Hitman she asked him if he was dead if I
was not going to get up like a joke yeah she wanted to make sure that I was dead
she made gestures with her hand like you know racing the roof little did Lulu know that her roof was about to come
crashing down the next morning police come to the gym and it's not for a workout we want
to come and and say you know hey we're inquiring about your husband that's been missing and we want to get her reaction
wearing body cameras hey okay detective Martinez with the's office police make it seem like they're
stopping in to do a wellness check on Ramone is there someone we can talk in private sure apparently Mr s hasn't been
at work today Lulu claims she has no idea where Ramon might be I haven't seen him I haven't talked to him we're going
for a divorce when's the last time you you saw Mr we saw him on Wednesday he the last day
the L seems pretty relaxed she does she knows that sooner or later the police are going to come either to say he's
missing or they found his body remember the night before she had seen this picture she was all happy she was all
giggles and happy that see me dead and now she was acting concerned in front of the cops so he hasn't contacted you in
the last 24 hours no no she police let Lulu's performance go on a few minutes longer then lower the boom okay missa
stand up please you're under arrest you're under arrest why prior to her interview Lulu is read
her rights and refuses to speak without a lawyer Lulu is charged with solicitation
of capital murder it's an injustice says her divorce lawyer Julio hlar I think that Ramon SAA is someone
that was very violent to his wife and I think that the constant hammering the constant violence the constant Behavior
towards his wife made his wife fear Him I believe that that's what forced her at the end
to make a decision that otherwise she would have never made the question now will a jury
believe Lulu's claims of abuse here lies Ramon Sosa right yes sir this is like a scene from a movie where
where they kill these guys and just you know and just dig up a hole anywhere and put them away
very scary for 3 Days Ramon had to play the part of a dead man and nobody knew where I
was even my family everybody was looking for me I was very very upset rage and sadness all the emotions
came through me okay Mr s St you're under arrest you're under arrest why following
Lulu's arrest on July 23rd 2015 Ramone faced the unimaginable task of telling his children that their
stepmother had tried to kill him I had just got off of a shift from working at a comedy club and it was late
you know I didn't expect my brother to be sitting on my bed you can just feel something was wrong
Mia's brother handed her the phone her father was on the line and he says very low Mia I'm okay and I said what what
are you talking about and he says I'm okay I'm somewhere safe but Lulu tried to have someone kill
me that's okay and at this point I mean you don't don't hear anything I didn't know what
to do with myself except cry I remember sliding on the back of the wall down to the ground and huddled
into my knees crying my eyes out now Ramone had a new fight on his hands defending his
reputation that was was hurting me so much she had so many people believe all this stuff that I had put my hands on
her that I was an alcoholic that I hate her [Music] son that's how psycho this person was
still would Lulu use these allegations as part of her own defense give me a sense how strong now is your case
against Lulu Sosa we think it was a very strong case we had our video we had a down
payment we had a confirmation to her that the murder had taken place so you've got
her we got her as Lulu awaited trial that assault charge against Ramon Ramon please step
out of my car was dismissed and Lulu agreed to a divorce settlement that handed Ramone the gym
and the house she gave it all up after 15 months in jail awaiting trial on the murder for higher charges
Lulu gave up the fight in October 2016 as Ramone looked on she pleaded guilty to A reduced charge of second deegree
solicitation of murder avoiding trial and a possible life sentence she came here with an American
Dream and she got her American Dream quick and to lose everything that way she did is sad
Lulu was given 20 years in prison is 20 years enough I don't think so but I'm happy that is over with I'll take
it I was just shocked that trying to hire somebody to kill her husband that that's really all she got was 20 years
personally because that's my father I want you away forever I don't want you to come out not everyone agrees was that
Justice in your opinion my opinion no Lulu's divorce ER Julio hogar because because nobody got to hear her
sight many times I saw her crying and I felt her desperation Ramon says the ordeal has
left scars are you haunted by this I'll never be the same person ever again I call my
kids as much as possible might be the last day I say that I love him Ramon's near-death experience has changed him
they love our family Mia is now back in Texas having patched up their relationship after Lulu drove them apart
it's been a really good outcome for me and for him you're going to get knocked out sometimes you're going to get up
take the loss and you're going to try harder and get a win now Ramone is a sought after speaker
telling his incredible Story of Survival he shared that journey to appreciative audience in London thank you thank you
London I'm alive the man who Lulu thought would help kill her husband is now an author
Mundo has written a book about his experience if Lulu is watching this broadcast is there anything you would
want to say to her redeem yourself you don't have to be what everybody tells you you are you
know everybody's tell me I was something else prove everybody wrong so you could do
the same today Ramone wears a precious reminder of how his time on earth almost ran out tell me about the watch that's
on your left wrist there she told Mundo that when to kill me to make sure to take my watch that's what I wear all the
time now I think she ended up picking the wrong man to victimize don't you yeah it's the last minute of the last
round she had me on the ropes and she had no idea that the whole time I had a plan
[Music] too Lulu Sosa comes up for parole once a year her next hearing is scheduled for
later this month Ramon Sosa published his story in a book called I walked on my own grave Lulu's arrest captured on
police body cameras now online on Facebook at 48 Hours crime suspense suspicion a second
night of 48 hours Wednesday Joe Exotic is this wild cartoonish large animal owner his sworn enemy this carol the Big
Cat Rescue Carol's second husband Don Lewis disappeared and he just vanished for the first time on TV a new witness
you guys had a large freezer that had a padlock on it 48 Hours suspicion Wednesday at 109 Central on CBS
[Music] the one thing I've learned in this job is that anything is possible people will do
anything and if you have $80,000 to throw around you can absolutely Ely find someone in Los Angeles County to kill
your wife this story is definitely ripe for a made for TV movie where you have the
ex-model turned housewife with the millionaire husband who is cheating on his wife and tries to hire a hitman
because he's not winning his divorce Monica olssen used to be a model and she ran her own skincare company
Dino gelly was a successful businessman in Los Angeles he was the lead singer of a rock band
but he would pay to have the rock band play at the House of Blues and he would tell his employees that they were
required to go to his shows Monica and Dino they were married for about 7 years and it looked to be a
pretty happy marriage they had two really beautiful children what Monica didn't know was that there wasn't a time
that he wasn't cheating on her she was in love with this man yeah and had no clue no what was going on behind her
back Dino wanted too much he wanted the hot model wife and his kids but then he also wanted
everything on the side and I think he wanted Monica to be a certain person or to just follow
whatever he said and do whatever he wanted her to do and control her but he couldn't do
[Music] that someone like Mr gly Melly when they don't get their way will do whatever
they need to do legal or illegal to get their way and ultimately he decided that
he wanted to end it not through the legal proceedings but he wanted to kill his wife and he wasn't going to do it
himself he was going to get somebody else to do it he wanted her dead he didn't care how it was done beat her up
cut her head off put her in a ditch my name is Richard Ferman and Dino gamelli hired me to murder his
wife I'm Troy Roberts tonight on 48 Hours the millionaire the model and the Hitman
[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] tonight's 48 Hours appropriately said in Los Angeles is a twisted tale of greed
and murder that at times may seem like a Hollywood Blockbuster like any good thriller it's one part romance two parts
Hitchcock but in the end it's all true it wasn't a joke to him it was very serious get it over with be bloody be
bad about it and end it meet Rick Ferman in 20 2 millionaire Dino gamelli asked him to kill the
mother of his children did you ever say how would the children feel if they lost
their mother more than once and what did he say he would say they'll be much better off without her I will find them
a good mother and I'll even have you check her out first and make sure she's great and make get your
approval just 9 years earlier this Horror Story was a love story Monica Olen a smalltown girl from Canada made
it big as a new New York fashion model and then moved to Los Angeles to try her hand at acting Monica was working very
hard towards it being successful in modeling and acting Monica's close friend Olia banar she was beautiful I
mean she's very photogenic if this whole thing would have happened we would see her on the big screens by now
definitely Olia says Monica wasn't in Los Angeles for very long before she was swept off her feet by Dino a Charming
Farm Boy from a big family in Wala Wala Washington we all grew up in the same house where my parents live
currently amelo gugo melli says his brother Dino's First Love was [Music] music he's always been a musician very
very interested in music Dino dropped out of college and moved to Los Angeles to be a rock
star but that's not how he would make his fortune living in the land of health and
fitness Dino saw a need and capitalized on it he started making and distributing
vitamins and other dietary supplements there's nobody in the world doesn't want to live longer and uh so he parlayed
that into a great business Dina would eventually build the hugely successful multi-level supplement and skin care
company Creations Garden Dino was a young successful men with a lot of money and a lot of power and when he met
Monica he wanted her and he knew how to get her 6 months after they met Dina flew Monica to Italy and proposed sounds
like a fairy tale in the beginning because he proposed to her in Venice I mean there was a lot of First Sight you
don't hear those stories happened the couple was married just 3 months later and Dino's brother Gino gamelli attended
the lavish wedding it was pretty fancy for me the whole thing thing Gino says Dina's model wife seemed to complete his
baby brother's transformation from Farm Boy to MoGo he had a successful business
he had nice cars I think that just added to the image what were your impressions
of Monica I didn't care for her I thought she was a gold digger and had other motives I don't know what it was
something about her I didn't really care for she wanted her lifestyle that wasn't
sitting at home you know her lifestyle was go to Hollywood and whatever they do in Hollywood they had nannies people
with the girls you know all day long so he he probably spent more time with him because when he'd come home from work
sometimes he wouldn't come back until later in the evening I think she was a great wife and
from what I saw uh of their life I mean they were perfect together but Gino lived with his brother
and Monica for 6 months early on in their marriage and says he saw trouble from the start just two people with the
same kind of eagles and I think she really wanted to have a career and I think he wanted her to be a mom Olia
says Monica was a great wife and mother but when she wanted more their relationship changed and so did Dino
Monica was at home taking care of kids for a couple years and it was time for her to be more independent I think Dino
was scared of losing control of Monica start him being more aggressive more controlling towards
her by the time Rick Ferman came into the picture the marriage was in its final act I knew that he was dating all
sorts of girls because he liked to brag about it Rick and Dena were in business together supplying vitamins and
supplements to the military Rick had served as an listed man years earlier and had contacts and says that impressed
Dino you two became friends close and the closer they got the more dino confided in Rick Dino told me that
Monica was a very bad mother always gone all the time and slept around with men women drank too much did drugs Dino
filed for divorce and Rick says he became consumed with the thought of losing half his assets and custody of
his children Dino is uh for lack of a better word a complete control freak and a game player he had to be one step
ahead of everybody he had to win at the end of the day Rick says when Dina was ordered to pay a whopping
$55,000 a month in alimony he hatched a plan to have his Canadian born wife arrested and deported and he turned to
Rick for help with my military background Dino thought I was perfect he would like me
to plant drugs in her car follow her around and call the police when she's driving erratically to see if she can
get pulled over I had Monica's house keys Monica's car keys Monica's credit card statements showing me everything
that she's done every place that she's been Dino filed papers showing his company was in trouble and the alimony
was reduced to 25,000 but Rick says it was still too much too late what was the final straw for him he got an email from
his own attorney to him stating that he was just better off to give her the $25,000 a month and the credit card and
just leave it alone and that to him that he just lost his own attorney he said dude you
just you you lost give it up just just pay it's like asking him to stop breathing he he can't do that so what
were his instructions to you this has got to end she's got to go get it get it done if I wasn't going to do it he was
going to find somebody to do it rick told Dino he would take care of Monica and he did
just not the way Dino wanted why are you still alive you know I I think Rick had did the noble thing
Monica Olen remarkable and Deputy district attorney Emily Cole Monica is really lucky that
Mr googly Melly picked the wrong guy otherwise she'd be dead [Music] I remember the first time I saw him he
was smiling at me when Monica Olsen married Dino gugy she was sure he was her happily ever after he was persistent
he was Charming she never dreamt their story would end so tragically you don't think that the person that you've
created a life with can want to harm you and make you suffer Monica is very intelligent and
has a master's degree in international finance but she says that like a lot of women she was blinded by Dino's charm
and The Spoils of his riches we went out on a date and he said you know I have two plane tickets and I want to take you
to Paris throughout our marriage he spoiled me but Monica says things began to change
in 2008 when she decided she wanted to go back to work and asked Dino to help her create a skincare line called Skin
by Monica that was kind of my baby but Dino took charge everything was kind of under his control and I was kept
out of the loop don't ask too many questions Monica says the more questions she asked the angrier Dino becames
so she worked on reigniting her modeling career but that just made Dino Furious there was a change in his
personality huge he went dark I mean it was it was as if he was possessed Monica
says she was never the one sleeping around and doing drugs Dina was and at the Hun of that madness he
created his heavy metal rock band I want to find out Dino dyed his hair and Polished his
nails black and told Monica it was all for show but she says she became terrified of him and started documenting
his behavior everything that's going on she's recording on cell phone which is fine she can do that she has every when
Dina started behaving really badly uh Monica would record him on on her cell phone come on let's go let's get your
backpack showing these videos to everyone saying look I don't know what happened to him this is this is really
crazy he's behaving like a lunatic in this incident Dino fired a nanny who his children loved you don't understand you
can't be here because she was too loyal to Monica you can't do that look it's not a
choice after Dino filed for divorce he had refused to move out what Monica didn't know is that while Dino was
living in the guest house he was already planning to get rid of her by paying his
friend Rick Ferman to do it how did he want Monica killed that would depended on the
day Rick says he tried to keep Dino happy and stall him through the divorce hoping it would all end when there was
an agreement but things just kept escalating she was definitely putting him through the
ringer and he wanted her to suffer so I came up with this idea of letting him know that she was infected with AIDS
and then just a matter of time you know it'll all be over don't worry about it and that worked for months how did he
react when you told him that you infected Monica with HIV virus how big can you smile it's not a joke I mean
literally how big can you smile cuz this was pretty big Rick made it clear he never actually infected Monica with the
virus it was just a lie to stalino but meanwhile things at the Google Melly home were about to spiral
at of control it was the night of January 16th 2012 he was getting in my face right
then and there in front of the kids my first thing was to get the kids removed Monica says she rushed the
children into her room and lock the door but before she could dial 911 Dino once
again beat her to it and accused her of assaulting him he said that she wrapped her hands around his neck and it caused
scratches and that she hit him Monica was arrested and Emily Cole was assigned to the case the story was
corroborated somewhat by their daughters so the case was filed as a misdemeanor domestic violence case so
there was evidence that she had struck him there were pictures he showed me a picture that his daughter or one of his
friends took or something of this EDB a little cut and I basically said man up I've cut myself worth
shaving still Dina was able to get a restraining order against Monica and was granted full custody of their
daughters I'm being given a restraining order to stay away from my kids to stay away from the house to stay away from my
business it all sounds too familiar to this woman do you see parallels between your story and Monica's it's the same
story almost Lea Divine Dino's ex-wife at any given moment he would do anything to make me lose my kids that was his
goal Lea says during their divorce Dino accused her of doing drugs and being abusive and then took everything their
daughter their home and the business they started together creation's Garden the dino I married was a caring and
compassionate guy the guy I divorced was callous mean calculating the the best way to describe
it is jacalon Hyde looking back in hindsight this is exactly what he did to his second wife
he brought up domestic violence charges and he was able to get custody of their child then and that's exactly what it
looks like he was doing with Monica I'll do the pink fairy you do Monica lost custody of her girls for 13 months and
then charges were finally dropped for lack of evidence but that's when Dino pushed Rick Ferman to execute the plan
the pressure was on to kill 3 5 7 10 times a week phone calls at 4:00 a.m. in the morning when's this
going to end are you sure you can get it done there's always problems even in normal divorces with couples that fight
over certain things but you somehow make it work for the benefit of your children
there is no such a concept in his mind it's all or nothing it's the Hunger Games it's kill or be killed Monica was
about to find out how right she was Rick Ferman couldn't stall Dino any longer and says he's no killer so he decided to
visit Monica's divorce attorney and spill the beans we had quite a detailed discussion and you told
him you told him everything that Dino wanted Monica dead absolutely how did your husband want you
killed I mean in a horrific way he wanted to make it look like a drug killing like I had been kidnapped in
Mexico and he wanted me raped and he wanted my head cut off it's pretty horrific Monica's lawyer took Rick
furman's information to the district attorney's office and the case of attempted murder was assigned to none
other than Emily Cole I didn't automatically recognize the googly Melly name it was his daughter's names that I
recognized from the domestic violence case that's what clicked in my head that I'd met this guy before but before Cole
could make an arrest her investigators needed solid evidence the detective said would you be willing to wear a wire and
I said sure on October 1st 2013 he did just that you're positive that what you want her dead
oh 100% why wouldn't I why wouldn't you good [Music] question on the afternoon of October 1st
2013 Rick Ferman and Dino goler Melly did something they' done many times they were just going to have lunch and uh
this is where they usually went spicy mint chicken let's do the pen and Curry Beef but prosecutor Emily Cole made sure
that this time the tables were turned the detectives in this case from the sheriff's department Major Crimes they
were sitting here watching Dino and Ferman have their lunch was it nerve-wracking having that
lunch yeah I was pissed I was very angry I literally just wanted just grab him from off the you know other side of the
table and just rack his brain a little bit and go do you understand that you've got everything you've got the fraking
American dream and you're just an idiot instead Ferman set about catching a killer on
tape there's no going back when we get up out of the seat so what did fman have to get out of
Dino well first of all he needed to give him an opportunity to say no to back out
at all times um but he needed for Dino to understand that at the end of this conversation by the time they walked out
that door that there was no way that Dino was going to be able to stop what he would put in motion how he happy when
it's all over that's we did exactly the same routine as we've done for a year it was the same
conversation nothing was changed nothing was embellished nothing was made up in a moment Rick calls typical Dino
is heard justifying his desire to have Monica killed because she lied during a deposition in the domestic violence case
against her she went into her deposition and lied and said that I scratched myself to set her
up and that she never touched me and that all those scratches came from me going into the bathroom scratching
myself and she looking straight in the eyes and said that's when I hear that I [Music]
that I could never ever trust her anything anything came out of M I knew she would do anything to hurt this is a
clip from the recording that was made that day at this restaurant between Dino and Mr Ferman I I ask you a simple
question you're positive the what you want her dead a 100% are you sure the girls are they're
fine they're totally fine is your dad is their dead so this is significant because it
was this was a clear declaration that he wanted his wife dead no matter the consequences he wants her dead
regardless of who it's going to hurt it's like a dream come serious she's tried so hard H for
so long and done so much you know evil things for your four times I gave him the way out are you
sure you want her dead when I get up out of this seat it's done it's over I think his words were
it's been a long time but why wouldn't I why wouldn't I why wouldn't you good question but what are the kids going to
do for a mother don't worry about it I'll find a good one by the time we're out of lunch it's
already done you just need to figure out how to pay me oh I'll pay how much you already told me how
much 80,000 that's what you told me Rick says that in earlier conversations about
killing Monica Dino made it clear he wanted it done while she was traveling abroad so Rick told Dino that while they
were at lunch Monica was away on vacation in Mexico where she would die that day
are you telling me it's going to be young today are you serious yes want to leave this room Rick convinced Dino that
a hired assassin in Mexico would kill Monica before they had time to digest their lunch I don't want to know
anything there you go I'm not going to say anything that I'll read about it in paper yes you
will mexic paper maybe painfully aware of the stting operation Monica was hiding out in a
hotel room in Beverly Hills that night Dino went home to his daughters presumably thinking their mother was
dead the following day the recording was brought to me we listened to it and and
then I filed the case Dino gamelli was arrested at his home in valenia California in front of his daughters and
charged with attempted murder they saw him being arrested the girls were taken into protective custody and Monica had
to pick them up at the jail what I don't understand is why the hate the deep-seated anger and hatred
towards you you know um that's a question for him one I would eventually get to ask
him over the phone you have a prepaid call from an inmate in corpin California [Music]
[Music] [Music] hello Dino hi TR I just want to remind you that you are you are being recorded
Dino the only way I could ask Dino goog Melly why he wanted his wife Monica killed was via telephone my first
question to you is what mistakes did you make what are you guilty of Dino is being held in this facility in corkran
California which doesn't allow cameras well I would say I'm probably uh I could say that I'm guilty of allowing
myself to to be betrayed and manipulated I'm guilty of working too hard I'm guilty of trusting
Dino says he is the victim here he calls Rick Ferman and master conman who convinced him they could make millions
selling vitamins and supplements to the military when that con started to unravel Dino says Rick set him up for
attempted murder you're not taking any responsibility for this no no mman why did he do it after two
years in a manipulation on a military and all this stuff why did he do that he didn't have to I wasn't going out trying
to find somebody to knock off my wife he had a conversation prosecutor Emily Cole
confirms that Rick did indeed cond Dino into thinking there was a big contract coming his way Rick forged Department of
Defense documents to lead Mr googly Melly to believe that there was some big business deal and Mr Ferman explains
that he did did that in order to keep Mr googly Melly happy because a happy Dino
doesn't want to kill his wife is there a military contract there's military contracts given every day um I
particularly am seeking one for supplements um and I'm still working on it today and that's really all I'll say
with that our investigation brought forward the information that Mr Ferman only spent a year in the military he had
a very basic military background was honorably discharged on injury Rick Ferman is a chameleon because he'll be
whatever you want him to be and just like Emily Cole we found Richard Ferman hard to pin down are you a
Hitman no have you ever killed somebody um not on us soil that's it move on but you have killed someone
move on he'll say and do what he thinks you want him to do I think Dino and Mr Ferman were very
similar in that respect and I think that's why they got along so well but while it was obvious that Rick
Ferman was a phony The Conspiracy to kill Monica was very real by the time we're out of lunch it's already done you
just need to figure out how to pay me oh I'll pay how much you already told me how much 80,000
that's what you told me [Music] I've listened to the tape and it's very clear on the tape you wanted your wife
killed and you were willing to pay $8,000 to make it happen well the whole money aspect come up numerous times
about him wanting money and needing money and I've been paying him money for a long time I don't know how much money
I paid him I think I've in total i' I paid him probably $50,000 to secure the military contract
and it was always how you going to get me the money and where's the money going to come from I was question all the time
by the time the hour and a half lunch was up and he asked me those questions I wasn't you know was it about killing
somebody I really didn't think anybody was gonna be dead I'm just answering the question I know what the tape appears to
be like but I didn't take any of it seriously I really didn't Dino claims it was Rick Ferman
who wanted to get rid of Monica because she was trying to sabotage his military contract he can vinces me that Monica is
calling them and trying to kill the contract so he's like you know I want to get her out of the country I want
anything I can do to get rid of her I'm like Richard don't talk like that just we'll just pay her when the contract
happens no no no we're not going to get the contract do you understand what she's doing she's sending letters to
them are you saying to me Dino that Rick Ferman was the one who proposed killing
Monica all the time yeah and you and you never said that no you never said The more I
pressed Dino about what he said on the tape the more he blamed Rick Ferman and the less his story made sense well on
the tape it's very clear that you understood that once the lunch with Rick was over there was no turning back that
he was going to kill Monica he said that to me many times there's no turning back
once this happens he he would say there's no turning back we don't pay the people in the military contract they're
going to kill both of us I mean these were things that he used to say all the time I didn't take any of it
seriously I mean it's it was normal protocol for him to keep talk like that I don't think it's my place to go into
detail because but we listened to the whole tape and there is no mistaking what Dino and Rick were discussing even
Dino's brother agrees did you hear the recordings yes between your brother and Rick Ferman yes what is your make of
it um the recordings kind of speak for themsel that they had a conversation about uh killing
Monica Dan know made it clear more than once that he wanted her done yes and he was willing to pay $80,000 to have it
done yes yes he did does that surprise you yes it does surprise me and uh I truly believe though the whole whole
situation snowballed out of control I believe in my heart there may be you know how guys talk everybody gets mad
you say things and whatever he could say I wish he was gone somebody say I can get rid of her for you if you want the
guy was a real blo hard and I could see the situation where he said I can take care of that no problem I can do that
for you sure go ahead Richard told me the whole time I don't know Monica but I hate her guts what she's done to you and
those children she should be deported she should be this she should be that I mean to the depth of the deception here
I'm not lying I'm telling you the truth yeah I fell into a military contract where I was blinded by that I just kind
of ignored it because that was my focus and that was wrong it does show a weakness in me being greedy I should
have recognized what was going on and I'll never forgive myself for that but to Emily Cole this wasn't about
a phony military contract or Rick Ferman this was a clear-cut case of murder For
Hire by Dino are you sure the girls are they're fine they're totally fine all they need is their dad all they all they
need is their dad there was just one problem Cole's star witness was was an alleged con man
were you concerned about putting Rick Ferman on the stand to an extent why he had his own credibility issues
and that was brought forward in the preliminary hearing there were a lot of things that the defense attorney brought
up that didn't make him look great the defense portrayed Ferman as a fraud who manipulated Dino with a
fictional multi-million dollar military contract for supplements Cole knew that would happen again if Ferman was called
as a witness in front of a jurry but the case wasn't Mr Ferman it was the tape but would the tape be enough to convince
the [Music] [Music] jurry you're positive the what you want her dead 9 months after Dino gamelli was
caught on tape and charged with attempted murder for trying to have his wife killed Emily Cole Was preparing for
trial the evidence from the tape had the potential to send Dino away for life when Mr Ferman tells him that when he
leaves this room he can't change the fact that Monica is going to be killed and Mr googly Elli agrees to that that
is Mr googly Melly pointing the proverbial gun at Monica and there's no way for them to like come
track it back to me right cuz no that's why I asked you about the money Cole had solid evidence on that
tape but she also had a big problem Rick Ferman himself just before trial she decided she wasn't going to take any
chances and made a stunning decision she offered Dino a deal plead guilty to attempt to murder in the second degree
and serve only 9 years in prison he had never spent a day in jail previous to this incident he didn't have a record Mr
googly Melly didn't commit violence on anyone either and I think this was a fair sentence I think my life is worth
more than that to me the intent shows the Criminal Mind the intention so if I try to kill you and the bullet misses
you by half an inch am I less of a criminal because I don't have a good aim is he less of a criminal
because Richard came forward did you want this to go to trial yes absolutely I was
shocked I remember calling asking them why are you offering him a plea um what I got back was don't worry
about it he'll never take it don't worry about it he's going away for life why did you take
the I didn't want to did you know I went all the way to the last second before I
took the deal with my mom M um my my whole family pleaded with me to take the deal I wasn't going to I thought the
Wonder I chance was really worth taking the risk and I told him all that um I didn't think a jury was going
to find me guilty um but after my mom said please just take the deal I took the deal Dino is serving his time here at
this state prison in corkran California he will be eligible for parole in 2021 he will get out
angry he will get out vengeful and he will get out thinking that the game still needs to be
won despite suspicions that Rick Ferman is a con man he has not been charged with any crime his biggest fear is when
Dino is released that's what's scary for me there isn't any doubt in my mind that
my life would be in danger and Monica fears for her safety as well I know that my husband's very
resourceful he may have asked Rick but he could ask many other people too he had a lot more than 880,000 at his
disposal to have me killed so do you believe money will be waiting for him when he's released if he has control
over it from prison then absolutely he will have access to um several Millions Dino's brother Gino insists there is no
money left she claims that there's $4.5 million overseas okay go find it his second wife oh
there's $20 million overseas go find it how come nobody's finding it seriously where is
it honestly the guy is in prison can't somebody go get it do you have any sympathy for
Monica no I think she I think she much brings on all of her Misfortune herself but I didn't like her before so
I'm certainly not going to like her now what if your brother was actually associating with a real
Hitman Monica could be dead today I guess by the tape it's probably true but I believe that my brother in
his business World probably knew more capable people if you wanted something like that done than Richard Ferman
that's why I think it was just a something said between two guys that spired out of control does Monica have
any reason to fear for her safety after you are released from prison of course not I just want my I want to take care
of my kids I want to pay child support I want to be a good providing Citizen and
a good providing father but Dino might have a hard time with that Monica is perceived meeting with divorce fighting
for the house whatever money is left and she has full custody of their daughters
how do you explain something like this and how do you make them adjust to a new life knowing that their father's alive
knowing that their father you know is in prison do they know why he's in prison yes they saw him being arrested so they
were they were very present that morning vandela my my youngest she said um she said you know Mommy God gave daddy a
time out but Dino still claims he is the victim I've been criminalized TR which is just destroyed my
life and I don't get it I don't understand why everyone wants to attack me and this guy set me
up Monica is lucky because in the end Rick Ferman is not a killer he's someone that might bend the truth
or omit the truth but he's not a killer and that's what saved Monica Monica's main concern now is her
children I know his intention is to reunite himself with the kids and take those children away from me I know that
that's is that one of your greatest fears do I think about it yes am I going to live in fear every day no I'm not
going to allow this man to do this to me no I intend on really making something of my experience and not shying away
from what happened um because I think that if somebody can look at my life and what I've been through and learn from
it then I've done something right anything else you want to say you have 30 seconds
remaining um you know it's 15 minutes of fame has turned into 30 seconds of Fame
[Music] [Music] m [Music]

"48 Hours" brings you stories involving murder-for-hire plots in this mini-marathon.

00:00 The Plot to Kill Jamie Faith 41:26 Dead Ringer 1:23:26 The Millionaire, the Model & the Hit Man

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 details the murder of Jamie Faith and the involvement of his wife Jennifer and her ex-boyfriend Darren Lopez in the crime.

Key points

The Haunting Aftermath. Residents react to the murder of Jamie Faith, a beloved community member.
A Profound Connection. Evidence reveals a deep connection between Jennifer Faith and ex-boyfriend Darren Lopez.
Jennifer Faith's Arrest. Jennifer Faith faces obstruction of justice charges related to her husband's murder investigation.
Plea Agreement. Jennifer accepts a plea deal, admitting to manipulating evidence and avoiding the death penalty.
The Fight of His Life. Ramon faces unexpected challenges in his personal life, leading to a dramatic turn of events.
A Dark Conversation. Mundo overhears Lulu discussing a potential hit on Ramon, raising alarms about her intentions.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I'm not supposed to be widowed at 48.

Jennifer Faith reflecting on her husband's murder.

9:58WatchMay 4, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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