The Stranger Beside Me | Full Episode + Killer Conversation Podcast | Forensic Files

This is a wonderful, bubbly, confident, independent woman and she's missing. Jamie Ley disappeared. Doesn't make any
sense. She's a college graduate from University of Michigan, respected within her community. People of her background
and stature don't just come up missing for 10 weeks and nobody hears from them. How can one of my best friends have been
missing for 10 weeks? How did it come to this? That she could be gone so long and
nobody reported it. I couldn't believe that it had been that long that nobody had noticed. It was absolute craziness.
Well, Phoenix in the metropolitan area is the sixth largest city in the country. It's it's a big valley and it's
surrounded by desert on all four sides. I believe Jaime Lady came to Arizona to establish her own identity. Jaime was a
very private person. She kept to herself. She wasn't close with her family. She just kind of had a don't ask
me about my parents kind of thing. So, the only person that saw her on a daily basis was her living boyfriend Brian
Stewart. Jamie and I dated for nearly 3 years. She's always refused to talk about her past or her family. Every time
that Jaime saw her parents, she was terrified. It was a very different case than just
about everything else that we work. There was no blood. There was no body. There was no evidence
of a crime scene. There's no smoking gun in this case, but there is a lot of burning matchsticks.
Jamie's lost. We don't know where she is and it's really sad. She was a good person and
she didn't deserve this. I believe Jaime was murdered because there's no clear explanation as to where
she is now, what happened to her and why. Jaime Liy is alive. She took $100,000 of daddy's money and she left
the state of Arizona. He's a very convincing liar. Bring it on. I know she's alive.
I'm Aaron Morardi. Tonight on 48 Hours, The Stranger Beside Me. [Music] [Applause]
[Music] When Jaime Leodie disappeared in March of 2010, none of her closest friends
noticed for weeks. The truth is, Jaime had been fading from their lives for nearly 2 years. If your friend stops
making an effort, you kind of stop, too. But I never thought Jamie would have been the one to stop making an effort.
It was completely out of character for the sweet California girl they all met as freshman at the University of
Michigan. She was a good friend that we were a support network for each other. Gwennneth Newman, Sheila Dubes, and
Jennifer Langoot say they quickly formed a lasting bond with Jamie. It's kind of
like we had this rock. We had this family of of friends that we were so connected with. And I remember leaving
Michigan. It was just so reassuring that you were just a phone call away from feeling like you belong somewhere again.
They call themselves the 516 girls, referring to the address of a house they shared in Ann Arbor their senior year
and where they were passionate supporters of Michigan's Big 10 football team. Like we were obsessed with U of M
football. No one was a greater booster than Jamie. I think just I I always picture her in my mind on football
Saturdays, you know, charging out to the stadium. Sheila says that she and Jamie
had a special connection. We were both from immigrant families and both were under heavy pressure to succeed. I think
our fathers were kind of the same. We they put a lot of pressure on us to do really well in school, but I think she
just wanted to make it on her own. Vonyie and Jimmy Lee came to the US from Thailand in search of a better life.
They admit they pushed Jamie to go to medical school. You think that because you were pushing her to go back to
school, she might have pulled away a bit? She said she's a big girl. After graduation, Jaime landed in
Phoenix, Arizona. The Big Valley was booming, the perfect place to blend in and make her own way. She eventually
found a highpaying job selling medical supplies. And while it consumed her time, she managed to maintain her now
longdistance friendships. We emailed each other a lot. Even though we all ended up in different locations, I think
we still looked to each other for support. [Music] The weddings were the big thing that
kind of kept us together. But far away in Arizona, Jaime was lonely. So she joined a local University
of Michigan alum club where she found friends who shared her deep love of Michigan football.
Marina Buffa was the group's president. She was enthusiastic, but still she was reserved and quiet. But when she caught
the eye of a handsome young fellow Michigan fan, Jaime found romance. She was hot. I mean, I don't how else do you
put it? Brian Stewart says the attraction was immediate. She had a really good smile and and really got
enthusiastic about the football games and would jump up and cheer and would sing with the fight song.
[Applause] They started dating in the fall of 2007. About a year later, Brian moved into the
home that Jaime owned in the trendy Phoenix suburb of Chandler. She was the bread winner, making well over $100,000
a year. Brian, a personal trainer, made much less. Did she pay most the bills? Most of the big ones, yeah. But it's not
like I was dependent upon her. Did you love Jamie? I still love Jamie. You know, I just want Jamie to be happy.
It's hard because I don't know if Jaime knows what what it takes to make her happy.
In August 2009, Jaime suffered a crushing setback when the economy took a big downturn, she lost the thing she
valued most, her highpowered job. Her career had been going so well for so long, and I think this was a a pretty
major blow to her. She searched for months in Arizona, Florida, New Jersey, but Jaime couldn't find another job.
When the real estate crash hit Chandler and her property value plunged, Brian says she became despondent and even more
withdrawn. You know, it was like when it rains, it pours. For Jamie, it was pouring.
Brian says all of it took a toll on their relationship. So, he rented an apartment in Scottsdale and planned to
break things off. And on the night of March 17th, he said he was going to tell Jamie he was moving out. Instead, he
says she surprised him. She came in, asked me to take a week off from work, and she's like, "We're going to go to
Denver. We're going to get a house. You know, I I've got a job offer up there. Um, it's it's time to go. I want to go.
I want to get out of this state." Basically, I I told her, "No, I'm not leaving Arizona. I'm not going to marry
you." Brian admits Jaime was upset and that they argued. Still, he says that when they went to bed, things had
settled down. At the crack of dawn the next morning, Brian left for work. She was laying in bed and I gave her a kiss,
told her I loved her, and got in the truck and drove to work. But later that morning, Brian emailed
Marina Buffa and told her a different story and said, "Jamie dumped me. She moved to Colorado." Did that surprise
you at all? No. I thought, "Good for her." Did he seem upset? Um, a little bit. He was more angry that she left him
alone. At any point, did it even cross your mind that something could have happened to Jamie? No, I knew she had
means. If she wants to pick up and leave, good for her. [Music] That day and for weeks to come, no one
realized that Jamie had disappeared. When is the last time you saw Jamie? Physically saw her. 3:15 a.m. March
18th, 2010. [Music] There she is. Jaime Liy had always been fiercely private, but by the summer of
2009, she was practically reclusive, cutting herself off from nearly everyone except her live-in boyfriend, Brian
Stewart. We never had anybody over for dinner. We never had any parties. Nobody came over to watch television or
to just hang out. Why not? So I I one of the great mysteries. I don't know. Even Jaime's parents say she was more
distant than ever. My husband said, "Well, you know, she's a busy girl. Don't bother her."
That's why it took nearly 3 months for anyone to notice that Jamie was missing. I think people were just respecting her
privacy in her space and that was unfortunate. Then on May 28th, Marina got a call from
Brian. He said, "You know, I'm starting to get worried about Jamie." Marina was also worried. So, she and another member
of the Michigan Alum Club called a private investigator, Burke Files. Files did a background check on Brian and
found nothing suspicious. Although one thing did stand out about 10 years earlier at two different addresses in
Michigan, Brian had lived with a man named Rick Wayne Valentini. It could be a roommate. It could be a close friend.
It could be a relative. And then Burke Files went on to trace Jaime's credit to see where she was now
living and working. He came up empty and nothing. There was no activity at all. Nothing. Jaime had disappeared into
thin air. So files sounded the alarm. Marina urged Brian to call Jaime's parents who then
called the police. I immediately thought something was wrong. People of her background and stature don't just come
up missing for 10 weeks and nobody hears from them. That afternoon, Chandler police got a warrant to search Jaime's
home and started calling Brian, but he seemed to be ignoring them. To me, that was alarming. It just showed a lack of
concern. Later that same night, when detectives were searching for Jaime's missing Ford
Escape, they found it in Scottsdale with Brian behind the wheel. The detective said, "Well, I'm here in regards to your
girlfriend." and the first thing he did was say, "My ex-girlfriend." The detective felt that Brian was being
evasive and seemed nervous. When Brian asked to use the bathroom in his own apartment, the answer was no. We didn't
want to risk losing any evidence if there was some in there. As luck would have it, uh, he had a warrant for his
arrest for driving on a suspended license for a traffic offense. So the detective used that warrant to
take Brian into custody. Brian. Yes. Hey, I'm Nate Moffet. How are you, man? It's B R Y A N, right?
Yes. Last name is Stewart. Detective Moffett interrogated Brian. How long have you and Jamie been dating? Give or
take 3 years. Okay. When did you guys move in together? Honestly, I don't know. Okay.
Were you cheating on Jamie at all before? No. While Detective Spielman searched Jaime's home for clues.
Walk me through what happened around March. It was simple really. Um, she hated everything about the state.
She wanted out. Now, she'd been up there for interviews. I suspected that she would get the
Denver offer. So, you know, he's saying she went to Colorado, yet all of her suitcases are there and her passports
there. All these things that she would need to travel are there at the house. But Jaime's wallet and driver's license
were missing. I was concerned, but the possibility did exist that, you know, she just left and she doesn't want to be
found. But at Chandler PD, Moffett smelled a rat and started pressing Brian. Did you hurt Jamie? Okay. Did you have
anything to do with her disappearance? Mm- You have nothing to hide. No. But things just didn't add up for
Moffett. There were just too many inconsistencies. Brian gave a birth date to the arresting
officer which didn't match the date on his Arizona ID. I have no freaking clue who's sitting in front of me and it's
extremely uneasy for me as I'm investigating a case of this magnitude. Moffett had no idea how right he was
until the next day when Brian was in a jail cell and detectives were searching his apartment. Well, we were searching
his new residence. We located a Manila envelope with a Michigan driver's license in the name of Rick Wayne
Valentini. And that picture was Brian Stewart. You're not really Brian Stewart at all, are you?
On the night of May 29th, 2010, as he interrogated Brian Stewart about his missing girlfriend, Jamie Leody,
Detective Moffett knew that Brian wasn't telling the truth. I mean, you're talking a woman who's who's been gone
for two months now. Um, and I have a person in front of me that has different social security numbers, a couple
different dates of birth. You're not really Brian Stewart at all, are you? To me, I am, but not legally, are you?
Well, legally, I'm not anything. Actually, legally, Brian is Rick Wayne Valentini.
Remember the roommate that private investigator Burke Files noticed in Brian Stewart's credit history? Well,
there was no roommate, just this guy, Rick Valentini, who was preparing to change his identity. In our modern world
with the databases, you just can't turn on a new name, a new taxpayer ID number,
a social security number. You have to age it. You have to season it. In October 2001, when the name Brian
Stewart had enough of a credit history, Rick Valentini disappeared from Michigan. Days later, a man named Brian
became a resident of Phoenix. Driving from Michigan to Arizona, that's all I did. Brian Stewart, Brian Stewart,
Brian Stewart, Brian Stewart. I was always saying, listening for Brian Stewart, Brian Stewart, because it's a
new name. A new name and a new man. According to Rick, the kind of man he always wanted to be. and he insists that
whether legal or not, he is now Brian Stewart and would only agree to an interview if we would use that name. And
if you don't want to accept that, I don't want you around. I don't want you in my life. Why not change your name
legally? Why go to the trouble of forging a birth certificate? Well, it it was my understanding that to to change
your name legally would take years. Brian claims he wasn't running from the law, just leaving behind what he
describes as a tragic childhood. Everybody takes their name for granted. Your your name is the very core essence
of who you are, of what you are. And you find out it that it's all a lie. And then you find out that your own father
doesn't even know you exist because your own mother didn't bother to tell him. His mother was 18 when he was born. His
real father reportedly walked away. He just wasn't loved. Just didn't have love. That's why he loved us cuz we
loved him. His aunt Donna says she believes he was physically and emotionally abused. I think the other
children were too, but not like him. He always knew there was something different about him and he didn't know
what. Do you think that he created this different name, different persona because he just didn't want to be who he
was? Exactly. Exactly. But when detectives started looking into Rick Valentini's background, this is
what else they found. Three ex-wives and two daughters. Hello. Hi. Is this Cynthia? This is Hi,
Cynthia. Detective Dave Selvage from Chandler Police Department. One of his exes told Chandler Police she thinks
Rick is just a deadbeat dad on the run. He owed, from what I understand, quite a
bit of back child support from Wendy, his first wife. His oldest daughter, Amy, was a baby when he left. He never
called, never talked to me, never contacted me. When your mom finally told you about your dad, what did she say
about him? What kind of guy he was? A really bad guy, a liar. He always she told him that he always lied all the
time. He lied about lots of things. In Phoenix, his whole life was a lie. He told everyone, including Jaime, that
his parents were killed by a drunk driver. He pretended to be eight years younger than he is and boasted a hero's
military record that was complete fiction. When you talked to Detective Mafia, when
he sat you down, he asked you about your military record and you said you'd been
to Iraq and Afghanistan. You hadn't had you. Mm-m. No, you lied. I was You lied.
Yeah. Rick Valentini aka Brian Stewart was an enlisted man, but he was dishonorably
discharged after going awall and stabbing two military officers in the hand and leg. He served two years in a
military prison. He never mentioned that to anyone either. Freeze it. You tell a
lot of stories though, don't you? I have a lot of stories to tell. But you tell a lot of lies. Um,
lies mixed in with the truth. Like the lie that ultimately made Jaime Lee trust Brian with her life.
You never actually went to the University of Michigan, did you? No. Mm- But you let people think you did. Sure.
Why? It was just uh a tiein to my home state and it was just part of the the pride that I had. I've been a Michigan
fan since I was a little boy. He was right in there and boy, he was a Michigan man. And it wasn't just that
fanaticism that conned the alumni group in Phoenix for 4 years. Brian also had a fake diploma. He's
fooled all of us. We're talking hundreds of people here and 20 or so board members, many of them attorneys and
judges. News of Jaime's boyfriend's double life went viral and made her disappearance even more
alarming. This doesn't happen to your friends. No, this does not happen to the people you went to college with that you
call your sister. This doesn't happen to your family. You don't have friends who
meet people who have double identities. Did you begin to think that maybe Jamie was dead? Yes. And did you think he
might have killed her? Mhm. Did you kill Jamie? No. I've never killed anybody in
my life. Not ever. Did you two fight that night? Were you angry with her? No. She had told me that uh she was going to
be leaving the next day. And where was she going? It was my impression Denver. But detectives who had already
discovered several suitcases in Jaime's home couldn't find any evidence of Jaime
ever leaving for or arriving in Denver. Brian says that's because Jaime didn't want to be found. I taught Jamie how to
create a whole new life for herself. That included a new identification, a whole new persona, a whole new way of
looking at things. Are you saying that you helped Jamie change her identity? Yeah. I showed her how to do it. The
only thing that she ever lived for was to be free of her family. She wanted to be on her own. He's too smart. Why would
he have stayed there for 10 weeks? If he killed her, why wouldn't he have just left? He'd done it before. Why wouldn't
he do it again? Isn't it possible that Jaime's doing the same thing that that Brian did? Just vanished the same way
and and no one's been able to track her down. Are you asking me today if I believe that's possible? Absolutely not.
I wholeheartedly believe Brian Stewart, Rick Valentini, whoever you want to call him, murdered Jaime Ley
on the night of March 17th. But a year and a half after Jaime disappeared, there is still no body. No blood, no
sign of a struggle, no physical evidence of a murder. We just didn't have what you would consider a traditional crime
scene. So, we went with more of a virtual crime scene. They started investigating the digital record of
Jaime's life. And this little white envelope contained several pieces of the puzzle. Prosecutor Juan Martinez says it
was enough to convince him that Brian Stewart should be charged with murder. This is a really telling piece of
evidence. Oh my gosh. in this many pieces. In June 2010, Brian Stewart was charged
with fraud for forging a new birth certificate and changing his name illegally. If you think using the name Brian
Stewart is fraudulent, hey, we're going to fight it out in court. But while detectives suspected he
was responsible for the disappearance and death of his girlfriend, Jaime Leody, they couldn't charge him with her
murder. What do the two of you think happened that night? I think they had a fight. But wouldn't there be some sign
of that in her home? Not necessarily. I mean, strangulation or suffocation or or anything like that, there's going to
be virtually no blood. With no physical evidence, they would have to build a strong circumstantial case to prove that
Jaime was dead and Brian was the one who killed her. We literally dissected all of Jaime's financial affairs, all of her
accounts, all of the transactions, his email, her email. What they saw was a very responsible woman. I mean, she was
a person that stayed up on her emails, she returned phone calls, she paid all of her bills on time until March 17th.
Then she didn't do any of those things. For the next three months, detectives realized that the only person who
appeared to be using Jaime's credit cards was Brian Stewart. The only transactions on one of Jaime's accounts
were internet purchases and dating websites. He used her cards to meet other women. That's right. Basically, he
said the same thing. He was a graduate of the University of Michigan. Never been married. Didn't know if he wanted
kids or not. That's nervy, isn't it? Yeah, it's pretty nerdy and pretty insensitive too, isn't it? Um, yeah,
you know, a little because Well, let me let me explain. You used her credit cards to go on dating sites to meet
other women. Well, you know what? Look, Jamie Jamie was leaving. But nothing alarmed prosecutor Martinez more than
what detectives found when they searched Brian's apartment in Scottsdale. Her wallet was laying on his desk. There was
a number of her credit cards there on the desk. And then on the back filing cabinet was her personal telephone that
he said she had with her. So was this small white envelope. And when police got a warrant to open it,
they found pieces of cut up ID and credit cards. When they put them together, they had Jamie Lead's driver's
license, her Michigan University alum card, and several credit cards. Why did you cut up her driver's license? I
didn't cut them up. Brian claims it was Jamie who cut up the cards after she changed her identity and ran away. But
when Chandler police tested the envelope to see who sealed it, the DNA belonged to Brian.
Even when you had that envelope, it still took a year before you brought murder charges against him. We were
tying up all the loose ends. Uh when you don't have a body, you have to be very careful because you only get one chance.
That chance came when an inmate at the jail where Brian was being held agreed to testify that Brian had confessed to
killing Jamie. He went to this particular individual and said, "Do you think that they can
charge me if they can't find the body?" On March 24th, 2011, a grand jury indicted Brian on charges of
seconddegree murder of his girlfriend, Jaime Leody. He was also charged with fraud for using Jaime's credit cards
without her permission. Who is technically legally on trial here? an individual by the name of Rick
Valentini, also known as Brian Stewart. But isn't this a little odd because even
through the trial, you're calling him Brian Stewart. That's the name that he preferred. I'll use whatever name he
wants to convict him. In October of 2011, Rick Wayne Valentini, aka Brian Stewart, went on
trial. State's first witness. The first witness to testify for the state was Andrea Ardsma. What does your husband do
for a living? He is a professional baseball player. Back in 2010, she and her husband David, then ace pitcher for
the Seattle Mariners, were in Scottsdale during the off season. Andrea worked out
at Gold's Gym 5 days a week, and her personal trainer was Brian. And did he tell you whether or not he had a
girlfriend? Yes, he had a girlfriend. And did he tell you her name? Jamie. As a result of Andrea testified that for
months before Jaime disappeared, Brian had complained about his souring relationship and what he really thought
of his girlfriend. Whiny, naggy, [ __ ] uh, sugar mama. Um, nothing nothing positive at all.
I don't know if he just thought I was a good listener or if he really did think that I was stupid and that he could tell
me all these things and nothing would come of it. In one of the trials most disturbing moments, Andrea stood up and
reenacted Brian sharing his nickname for Jamie. Jamie the gut. Jamie the gut. I'm
like, man, like if you hate her so much, just just break up with her. The jury also heard from Jaime's parents.
Have you received any emails from her? No. Has she shown up at your house? No. And have you been hiding her just so
that Mr. Stewart won't find her? No. But some of the most significant testimony revealed that Jaime had found
a new job and not in Denver, but right here in Phoenix. She's very excited about her new job and we're looking
forward to working together on March 18th. David Bochamp, a lawyer and friend, testified that he helped Jaime negotiate
the contract for that job. What's more, he saw Jaime two days before she disappeared and testified that he saw
bruises. She was exhibiting many, many of the characteristics of a battered woman and she absolutely broke down. All
right. On day seven of the state's case, thank you. Please be seated. The jailhouse snitch took the stand. The
whole truth. You know nothing about the truth. So I hope you got it. I do. Thank
you. At his request, the judge ordered us not to reveal his identity. He also got a deal for testifying. A 2-year
sentence for fraud was reduced to one. He was very agitated talking about how uh the police know that that I killed
her, that uh he he needed to get it off his chest. By the time the state rested,
prosecutor Martinez and Detective Nate Moffett were sure they would get a conviction on the fraudulent schemes
charge. But had they convinced the jury that Brian had committed murder, I think
a lot of people would have a hard time convicting with nobody. We really had to be careful and listen to both sides.
Knowing his life was on the line, Brian was about to do something that would shock the entire courtroom. Were you
expecting the defendant to take the stand? I wasn't. Absolutely not. But I was glad that he did.
[Music] pieces of a driver's license and credit cards, a closet filled with shoes and
purses. The evidence at trial is a daily reminder of what Jamie Lead's parents have lost.
So hard every time they mention her name, it's hurt me so much that I'm thinking that I'm not going to see her
anymore then. And as the defense begins, Jaime's mother has one wish. The whole time I've been praying that I hope he
take this stand. Why? Because then they can see through him. Her prayer is granted despite his fifth amendment
right to remain silent and very much against his lawyer and most any lawyer's advice. Stand up. Raise your right hand.
Brian Stewart boldly and defiantly takes the stand. I do. I am the only human being who knows what happened. I'm the
only human being who knows why things happened, when they happened. What was your
relationship like? It was, I would say, 95% great. Did you Did you argue? No, not really. He appears confident and
relaxed. But after all, it is his lawyer asking the questions. Did you kill Jaime
to use her credit cards? Absolutely not. Did you have general permission to use her credit
cards? Yes. Brian insists he didn't need to steal from Jamie. Why do you Why do you feel that you had permission to use
the cards? Even from our first date, it was literally an instruction to use them. And then he
drops a bombshell, claiming that long after Jaime disappeared, she was still in Phoenix and would visit the house
they shared and his new condo when Brian wasn't around. because I would get back to my condo and
things would be moved around or things would be left behind. Okay. Now, how did she get into your into your apartment?
She had a key. But that's not all. He also claims he continued to communicate with Jamie long after that morning in
March 2010 when she vanished. How did she communicate with you? Email and telephone. Okay. You have told people
that if you had a computer, you could find her. I've got a computer here. You want to try?
Got my iPad here. How would you find her? I I would have to look on mine. Um I mean, if I got this whole thing set up,
could you? I mean, if you No, because I need to get into my computer because there's a special email
site that we were working through. You you must know, Brian, that that sounds a little crazy that you would have given
this information to your attorneys and they wouldn't go looking for the one person who could save you from going to
prison for life. You know, I I I told them that and I never heard anything. Did you murder Jamie Ley? No. Jamie Liy
is alive. She would just let you go on trial for murder, go to prison for the rest of your life. I don't know. I don't
think that I don't think either one of us ever expected it to get this far. Would you be at all surprised if I told
you that she was about to walk through that door? No, I believe this. But prosecutor Juan
Martinez wasn't buying any of it. You didn't actually talk to her in that conduct, did you? No. You have not seen
her at any time and she hasn't walked in now. Right. Right. And she won't walk in
because you killed her. Right. Wrong. I don't have anything else. Thank you. One day before Thanksgiving 2011, more
than a year and a half after Jaime Leody disappeared, the prosecution and defense
rested after presenting two very different stories. It was now up to the jury to decide, and
foreman Leon Le was worried. As we were moving to deliberation, I wondered how difficult of a decision
this is going to be for uh the 12 of us knowing that there's no body. But just 4
hours later, the jury returned with a verdict. Did any of you look at him when you walked in? No, I did not. No.
Thank you. Please be seated. Brian Stewart was reassured by deputy sheriff's guarding him. Oh, yeah.
They're like, "Yeah, you're you're good." Anytime a jury comes back that quick. And I was like, "Okay. Well, wow.
All right. That's pretty good. We, the jury, duly impanled and sworn in the above entitled action upon our oaths
as to count one, seconddegree murder, do find the defendant guilty. Fraudulent guilty. Do you find Jaime's
parents were overcome? Are these your true verdicts? So say you won. Guilty. That's all I heard. And I just I lost
it. I was so happy. Panel. And then there was more. As you count two, fraudulent schemes and
artififices do find the defendant guilty. Signed for person. Brian Stewart couldn't believe his ears.
I just sat there. Like to me, my life was over with. I just couldn't understand.
Well, you know, I mean, if I would have killed her, I would have admitted to it.
Do you think Brian Stewart/Rick Valentini is a dangerous man? Yes. Yes. Yes. Absolutely. No question in your
mind. None. None at all. The first 10 minutes of his testimony, any doubt I had that he was
solely responsible for the murder of Jamie had been sealed at that moment in time. You've told so many stories, it's
hard to believe you. Let's look at the army. Okay. No, let's look at what happened to Jamie. That's what really
matters. Jamie took $100,000 and she left the state of Arizona. I've said it for 18 months. I say it now and
I'm going to say it for the next 18 years. But investigators say there was no money and his story is just another
lie. And for her friends and family, I just feel so bad that we weren't there. The one remaining question may
never be answered. Is it hard because you don't really know where she is? You've never been able to
bury her. That's right. That's right. I still have um what they call the receiving blankets of Jamie from the
hospital and I I carried it with me all the time. And I intend to use that blanket to
carry her home if we find her. [Music] [Music] Did you kill Jamie? No. Did you two
fight that night? Were you angry with her? No. I've never killed anybody in my life. Not ever.
Meet Brian Stewart, also known as Rick Valentini. He was my first killer. What do I mean by that? Well, my name is Judy
Ryback and I'm a longtime 48 Hours producer. Back in 2011, my very first assignment for 48 Hours was to convince
the man with two names to do an interview with Aaron Morardi. He agreed under one condition that we only call
him Brian. You're not really Brian Stewart at all, are you? To me, I am. But not legally,
are you? Well, legally, I'm not anything. That's the problem. You're Rick Valentini.
His legal name was Rick, but we all agreed to call him Brian because he had just been convicted of the secondderee
murder of his 32-year-old girlfriend, Jaime Ley, and we wanted to hear his story even though we knew it was mostly
fiction. Actually, he had run away from a life in Michigan. He changed his name illegally, tricked Jaime into believing
him, and killed her. Our front row seat to this con man's relationship with the truth taught us so much about how the
criminal mind works. Things you don't learn in books. I'm excited to be producing and hosting
48 hours killer conversation. And even more excited that Aaron Morardi is here to talk about her masterclass of an
interview with my first killer, but definitely not hers, Brian Stewart. Welcome, Erin. Thank you so much for
being here today. I so appreciate it. You are the hardest working woman in television, and I know you're taking
this time out to to be with us is is a real gift. But it's great, Judy, that you're doing killer conversations. So,
tell me how you prepare for these interviews because I know you want to get at the truth, but that's not easy,
right? No. has realized that the defendant in this case probably knows the case better than anybody if they
were there or not there but they know the facts of the case. Uh so you have to go in so prepared. So I think my goal I
think your goal too when you talk to someone is to talk with them after really at the end of the process after
we've read every court document spoken to everybody involved with the case. That's ideal. Uh because otherwise you
you can't you don't know whether that person's telling you the truth or not. Right. Right. And we do really do our
homework going into these things. You have to. Yeah. So you asked Brian Rick, whatever his name is, uh why he
agreed to sit down with you, and this is what he had to say. Why are you talking
to us today? Um, I guess to put out the truth, you know. I mean, it it really sounds
I don't know how it sounds, but frankly speaking, from 2007 until now, I am the only human being who knows what
happened. I'm the only human being who knows why things happened, when they happened.
Well, he's he's telling the truth on one thing. He's the only living person, right, who knows what happened. Uh
because sadly at the time we were doing this interview, um Jamie was still missing. Uh and so there was no one to
contradict what he said. Right. Right. He had a a blank canvas to tell his story. Right. So, let's talk about the
backstory of this case. Um, in 2010, uh, Jamie was 32 years old. She went missing
from her home in Chandler, Arizona. Police couldn't find her or her body. Some people thought she might have
picked up and and just disappeared, taken off. But once police got involved, almost everyone believed that she was
dead. Right. Right. And one of the sad parts of this story is Jamie was a very private person. She didn't share a lot
even with her close friends. Um so when she first disappeared, nobody really thought that much about it. Um but then
after a few weeks, then they started getting worried. Um and once it was clear that she was missing, the most
obvious person of interest was of course Brian. Um when the police caught up with
him, he was driving her car. He had her IDs. And at trial, the 42year-old got 54 years behind bars for murder and
for fraud, right? It's it's really remarkable. Um, so you do work on a lot of wrongful convictions. How do you know
when someone is lying to you? Well, some people are obvious. Uh, they really are.
Um, I just interviewed a an individual last year who when he talked to me, he contradicted the evidence. I mean, you
know, and he knew it. He didn't even seem to be bothered. But there are other people. Remember, these individuals who
are accused of a crime know the case better than anyone. Uh know the details better than anyone and sometimes can
twist it and make you believe. Right. Although in this case it was pretty obvious. Yes. Yes, it was. But also
because he contradicted the the evidence as well. So Right. Right. the circumstantial evidence was
really strong. Um, you yourself, you know, I wasn't the only one. I talked to him after you had talked to him, you
spent hours on the phone with him and in person. Um, did you at first think he was telling the truth or was there a
time when you realized this guy's lying? So, I went into this having already read, you know, everything that was
available to me and and I had spoken to the cops and the prosecutor. So, I kind of knew what the story was, but um yeah,
I sent him a letter and cuz that's what we have to do. We have to send them a letter, set up an account for them to
call us. and he slowly started calling me and uh you know at first it was very cir you know surface conversation and
then we started digging into his case a little bit more and I spent so many hours he I think he called me every day
for a while because he was bored right he was bored and and uh he was testing me and then I went to Phoenix to sit
through his entire trial and I would visit him once a week you know Arpaio Sheriff Arpaio would let me um visit him
once a week. And um I remember the first time I went to visit him, they left me in a room with him. I mean, he was
shackled and and there was someone in the room with us. But I was in there for 4 hours with him and he just told his
whole story. And I remember thinking, "Oh, I I I have to go back to the hotel and make notes so I don't forget
anything." But then every week I heard the same thing over and over and over again. So, at some point, I mean,
without actually rolling my eyes back in my head, my eyes were rolling back in my
head. Kind of sad that someone that smart um and who could have had a decent life would run cons the way he did. He
was a very, very troubled person. Yeah. Yeah. So, let's talk about, you know, who he was before this. Well, we know
now that he had, this was actually a surprising detail, that he had had three ex-wives, I believe, because he was he
seemed pretty young to me. I, you know, in his 40s. Turned out he was a little older than what he said he was, but um
three ex-wives. And uh and what one of his ex-wives said was that he was just running away from paying the debt he had
uh for child for child uh support. Support. Yeah, but what I think is I mean he was really running not just from
the fact he owed money but from his life because I interviewed uh one of his daughters and um and it was a very sad
conversation. She never heard from him. He had no interest in her life. Uh so he
was running away from everything in Michigan. Uh debt and the people that had been in his life in Michigan, right?
He wanted to start over. Um, so it wasn't easy for Rick to change his name to Brian illegally. He literally had to
make up a whole new person. Um, but he makes it sound like it was no big deal. How long does it take to change your
identity? Um, takes a while, doesn't it? Year and a half. Yeah. So, I mean, it it it it
depends. But why not? Why not change your name legally? Just do it legally. Why go to the trouble of forging a birth
certificate? Well, it it was my understanding that to to change your name legally would take years. That's
actually not true. It It's not easy, but it doesn't take years. In Michigan and Arizona, it would have only taken four
to 6 months. So, what he did was much harder. So, he changed his identity post 911 when authorities were really trying
to clamp down on fake IDs. Um, and they were really worried about air airport security.
He used somebody else's social security number, forged a new birth certificate, made himself eight years younger. I wish
I could do the same thing, right? Yes. Uh, he took in a roommate. I hope people can see I'm using quotation marks, those
air quotation marks. Brian Stewart. And about a year later, Brian Stewart, who shared the same address as Rick had a
credit score, a birth certificate, an other ID, and credit cards. And so it wasn't too tough for Rick Valentini to
slip into the persona of Brian. Right. So in October 2001, Rick Valentini disappeared from Michigan and headed to
Arizona. When I left Michigan, driving from Michigan to Arizona, that's all I did. Brian Stewart, Brian
Stewart, Brian Stewart, Brian Stewart. I was always saying, listening for Brian Stewart, Brian Stewart, because it's a
new name. The whole point of coming to Arizona was not to be a burden. I wanted to be my own person. I wanted to be
free. I wanted to at some point to go back to my family on my terms to say it doesn't matter what happened in the
past. It doesn't matter m the mistakes that were made or all this. Look, I'm successful and I've done
it and I'm happy and and I've found love and joy in my life and I've I've I actually help people and
you know and I love doing what I do. So, the scary thing is is that anyone who did a background check on Brian
Stewart found nothing. He was clean, right? So, he actually got a job. Yeah. He was a personal trainer at
Gold's Gym in Scottsdale. And I guess that's what he meant when he says that he was helping people and that he loved
it and he was doing well. Right. Right. And and again, the sad thing is, okay, so you're starting over again and he
still couldn't get it right. Right. He still messed it up and then he got really cocky and he decided to pretend
to be a graduate of the University of Michigan. Yeah, but that fits in. remember when he said that he could be
really successful going to the University of Michigan. Now remember I went to Ohio State so this is very hard
for me to say but that going to the University of Michigan shows that you are a smart person. It's hard to get in
there. It's a great school. So having that pretending to be a graduate of University of Michigan burnished his
image made him look like this smart accomplished guy and he was from Michigan and and growing up he he loved
University of Michigan and so it wasn't hard to pull that off, right? Cuz he's mixing truth and lies together, right?
Well, that's what all good liars do. There's always and we find that all the time. What do you think Jamie saw in
Brian Stewart? Well, you know, if we're going to be impartial, I think there's a
quirkiness, a kind of a charming personality in a quirky way with with Brian. Um, I think that she was lonely.
Uh, she didn't have family or friends in Arizona. And so he provided companionship
and and he you know he's kind of fun to be with. Um she had a uh a tough relationship with her parents. Uh they
wanted her to be a doctor and she didn't live up to that. So I think she felt she
disappointed them. So she wasn't as close with her parents. So here she is on her own. Um, and you know, you've got
this guy who went to University of Michigan. They have that's what he says. So, she thinks she has something in
common and you know, they're cheering together during all the games. It makes me sad to even think about it. So sad.
Yeah. We called this hour the stranger beside me and it really was. He was the stranger beside her. So, by the time
Jaime disappeared, she and Brian were so isolated from just about everyone that it took months for anyone to even notice
that she was gone. [Music] [Music] Brian and Jamie dated for a little over 2 years. And Brian says that sometime in
the summer of 2008, Jaime let him move into her house. In an email, Jaime described you as her
trophy boyfriend and and you know, she was the one who was spending all the money. Did that bother you? No, cuz I I
never knew that she said that. Did she pay most of the bills? Most of the big ones? Yeah. She bought
two cars, right? And the other car you drove, right? She bought a truck, an SUV, so she made a lot more money than
you did. Sure. So, was that hard? You were pretty dependent on her financially. Um, was that tough? No, I didn't I
didn't really feel that way. I just felt like um it was it was definitely easier to to
live with her. And it was easier that way because um we still looked upon our future as uh as
being together. We were going to get married. Do you think they were going to get
married? No. No. When he said it was easier living with her, that's what he meant. You know, he was having all his
bills paid and he could do whatever he wanted. Um, so in in August 2009, Jaime lost her
job. Uh, the real estate market crashed. The financial crisis hit her hard. What
do you think was going on in that relationship at that point? Well, we don't know, but we know that she was
supporting him. Um, I doubt if he was emotionally supportive for her um, going through something like this. and her her
joblessness went on for a while, which must have been very difficult for a woman who was used to succeeding and
making a lot of money and doing well. She didn't tell her friends, you know, much about how she felt about what was
going on. And she was actually out of work for months. uh she was applying for jobs all over the country, New Jersey,
Florida, Denver, Colorado, and eventually she did get a job in Arizona in again in medical sales. But on March
17th, 2010, it was her third day on the job. Brian claims that he was at Jaime's
house when she got home from work. I just remember that um she'd come home She was in scrubs, threw her hands up in
the air, totally exasperated. And uh so it's like, you know, you seem aggravated. What's going on? You know,
and she's just like, I can't take I'm not going back there. This it was absolutely crazy. And she's
talking about her new job. Yeah. And it and I'm like, "Wow, okay. Well, what happened? What's going on and she's
like, "Well, you know, it was, you know, I get there and and uh you know, she's like, I I just kind of sort of had a bad
feeling." That totally contradicts the friend who helped her get that job, uh, who
reported she was excited about the job. She finally had a job. Um, you know, Brian, Rick, whatever you want to call
him, also said something like, "Well, there was a creepy guy at the job and she wanted to get away from him." I
don't believe either one of those. So, he was talking in circles and you kept trying to bring him back to exactly what
happened that night. Tell me what happened that night. And I love this next moment because you were starting to
get so frustrated with him. who accidentally or not called him by his real name. Well, remember that was one
of the conditions that I had to call him Brian. So, he got a little annoyed. Let's listen to this. What happened that
night, Rick? Brian. Um, what happened that night? That was when she came in and uh asked me to take a week off from
work and uh I was like, "Well, when?" And she's like, "Well, in the next day or two, you know, next
couple days." I can't do that. Um what are you what are you talking about? What's going on? and she's like,
"We need to we're going to go to Denver. We're gonna get a house. You know, I I've got a job offer up there. Um it,
you know, it's it's time to go. I want to go. I want to get out of this state." Well, okay. This is awfully short
notice, you know. And then it was I want to go to Denver. We need to go. We need to find a house. Uh and and
we're going to get married. Well, now wait a second. Now you and I know the rules here. Okay, I'm not
getting married to you until I find out what the heck's going on between you and
your dad. This is where it really gets crazy. So, he's taking two truths and using them to
lie to you to your face, right? So, um, as we mentioned, she did have a complicated relationship with her
parents. And so and and Rick Brian Brian uh clearly knew about it and wanted to use that and and then of course he used
a truth um when she was as I had mentioned earlier she was looking for jobs. She was looking in Denver,
Colorado for a job and and had hoped to get one but she did not get that job. I just can't get over how he just calmly
sits there and makes up these stories to your face. I mean, he had already done it on the witness stand, too. Right. So,
Right. But also, it was his entire life. He had lied his entire life. That was the one thing we always heard about him.
He's a liar. And um and sometimes people like they think, "Oh, particularly women, oh, she'll believe me." And um so
yeah, he yeah, his face never changed whether he was telling the truth or not. His face is the same. Well, that that's
a good point because I felt like he was looking at me as a woman, like a dumb woman every time. And so I just kind of
let him believe that about me. You know, I was a very good listener. He never asked me a single question whenever I
talked to him. It was always him running his stories by me. And I just listened.
Just listened. He probably was trying to figure out what seemed to stick and what
didn't. Definitely. Yes. What would work? What what seemed to really uh resonate with you? Yeah. Yeah. Can I
take a minute to tell you I don't know if you remember the story, but I was with him once um on one of our visits
and um I had said to them, "Please don't leave me in the room with him for 4 hours again." I said, "Just give me two
hours and then come knock on the door." And I always had to have a guard with me, right? So this guard kept like le he
was so bored listening to this guy go on and on. He kept leaning out the door to
see if they were coming to save us. And at one point he stepped out and the door
smacked shut behind him. And without missing a beat, Brian Rick Brian says, "Quick, take off your clothes and get on
the table." And I laughed and I said, "Oh, come on." But like that's how he was treating me. That is the creepiest.
I remember this now, but that is one of the creepiest stories. That's what you don't want to happen, right? It was so
bizarre. Anyway, after a little over two years, he says it was a dramafree breakup. I mean, come on. She was
leaving and he was taking his things and going. And he says they even slept in the same bed and he left the next
morning for work. Jamie was missing for nearly 2 and 1/2 months and no one even noticed.
I think um her friend said the same thing that it did take a while but then people started noticing that she was not
posting or emailing anybody. So, you know, it's a little bit like telephone. Has anybody heard from Jamie? Has
anybody heard from Jamie? And so, he's realizing that people are going to start looking at at him as well. So he wants
to look like another concerned person. Where's Jamie? And so he calls someone and and says, "Look, you know,
uh, I'm worried about her." And the other thing I think really plays a part in this. This is so sad. We heard this
over and over again from her friends. You don't know somebody who's going to disappear like this. So, it was hard for
people to believe that her boyfriend would do away with her. They just didn't believe it. That
doesn't happen to people, you know, is what we hear all the time on 48 hours. And we really heard it with this case.
That's so true. Yeah. Well, it's interesting that as soon as the police, you know, they started looking because
people reported him missing. her her parents reported her missing and and they do track him down and he's driving
her car and even they thought he was a little odd. So that's the reason why they wanted to check him out.
Police arrested him on a warrant for driving on a suspended license and took him in for questioning and they held him
on charges of forgery and identity theft until they could make a case for murder.
When they asked him where Jamie was, this is what he told detectives. So, Thursday morning, I'm up at 2:30,
take my shower, eat breakfast, and I'm out the door by 3:45. That's the last I saw her. Okay. Um, I
got home around noon. There were two of the big suitcases missing. There was a carry-on missing. Um, and she was gone.
Uh, detectives searched Jaime's home and her suitcases were still there. The car
that she drove was also there and so was her passport, but her wallet and credit
cards and driver's license were missing. Then, with Brian in custody, they got a
warrant to search his apartment and found some really alarming evidence. What I probably will never forget the
rest of my life because it's so disturbing is when they went to the apartment, he had he had rented right
before quote unquote uh you know she disappeared. Um they found her wallet and several several of her credit cards
were on the desk and what was saddest to me was in an envelope they found all these little cut up pieces of what
turned out to be her driver's license. Right. And you know, her cell phone was also at his apartment. But as usual, you
know, Brian is not phased by this very damaging evidence. And he had an explanation for all of this. And I don't
think anyone listening is going to believe it. But this is what he claimed. She's still alive. So this all this
hubbhub is is a lot of horse crap. What do you mean she's still alive? You're saying Jamie is still alive. She's still
alive. How do you know? Because until I'm proven differently, I know what her plans were. I know what she
wanted to do. I know what she wanted to accomplish, which was leave Arizona and get away from her dad.
Are you saying that you helped Jamie change her identity? Yeah, I showed her how to do it. So, are you saying that
you made up the idea that she had a job in Denver? No. Uh-uh. He's now totally changing his story.
First, he's telling you Jamie went to Denver, and now she didn't go to Denver. She just got up and disappeared to get
away from her dad, who, as we mentioned before, she did have a complicated relationship with. What is he trying to
say? He's now saying that she was so tired of her own life that she asked him how he did it. And what's so hard about
that is this was again this very accomplished woman and very buttoned down and would she do something like
that? Right. Do you think she knew that he had changed his identity? Do you think she found out? No. Well, she might
have found out, right? Something happened that night. So maybe she did find out. Maybe during that time off she
was looking into him without a job. When I say time off, when she wasn't working,
she looked into him. Something happened on March 17th. So um Okay. So he's changing his story now. Did she go to
Denver? Did she disappear? This is what you asked him. So did she have that job?
Did she take a job in Denver or not? I don't know. So what is she? What name is she operating? Oh, I don't know that.
So, what do you mean? If you helped her, wouldn't you know it now? Well, you have
to understand, I I helped her from a general standpoint. I showed her how I did it. Okay. Now,
um there were books. Okay. Uh she read the books. She knew they were there. She she had all of that. Plus, she had me.
And that was the thing that I told her this is that the real key is you got to have money. You got to have cash. Okay.
She didn't have any cash. Oh, she had Well, she didn't have any cash, Brian. All her money. She left behind all her
credit cards. She left behind all her accounts. Sure. you know, I I mean, he wasn't expecting
that I would know that that she had money still sitting in her account. She simply disappeared. And I think what's
really important to know is that she didn't have a reason to disappear, right? She didn't have a reason. She had
a brand new job. She wasn't running from things. She didn't have ex-husbands or children she didn't want to pay child
support for. There was no reason for her to want to change. This next exchange kept me from dating online for many,
many years, for a decade. You used your credit cards to go on dating sites. Mhm.
That's nervy, isn't it? Yeah, it's pretty nerdy. And pretty insensitive, too, isn't it? Um, yeah.
You know, a little because Well, let me let me explain. You used her credit cards to go on dating sites to meet
other women. Well, you know what? Look, Jamie Jaime was leaving. Jaime had her own life to live. And so, use your own
money. Why did you use hers? Well, I did. Okay. That was the whole point. When you asked him what gave him the
right to use Jaime's credit cards, he said he was doing it for her. Can you explain that rationale, please? Well, I
can't really explain it. I could tell you what his thoughts were. Um, I mean, I was so offended by that. Um, as a
reporter and a woman, the idea that he would claim to me, here she disappeared. She left behind the credit cards. Um,
and that he used those credit cards uh to meet other people was so offensive. But what he claimed was she was still
alive. I I know nobody will believe me, but this is what he said. That she was still
alive and he was giving her cash and leaving it at her house where she would come in, I guess in the middle of the
night, pick it up, um, and then disappear again. I mean, who's going to believe that? But he said it to me just
like that was the most normal thing to say. Yeah, it's super crazy. So, this next exchange feels to me like
the final car chase in a movie. It seems to me that when you're preparing for trial, if you could have
found her, you would have found her with your lawyers. That's all you would have
needed and you wouldn't have gone on trial at all. Well, now, okay, just because I could have sent her an email,
just because I could have called a number doesn't mean that she wouldn't have switched it out at that point.
Okay. Because But you didn't even try. How am I supposed to try? She's gone. No one sees her again. March 18th.
Jamie's dead, isn't she? It's not hard to get new ID. You said it takes time. You yourself said that, Brian. I said it
takes time. She didn't have that time. I said it takes time to create a new persona. To get the ID is nothing,
right? She didn't have the time to create the new persona. Yes, she did. Jamie took $100,000
and what could be three different identifications and she left the state of Arizona.
Do you remember how you felt in that moment? Well, it it's just like where do you go with that? This is a man I mean
what was really sad. I mean what I was trying to make a point there. He's saying she's still alive and he's on
trial for her murder. And if she was still alive, he would have reached out to her and said, "Save me. Prove please
that I didn't kill you." I mean, what's what you have to be thinking as you're sitting there when you're talking is he
killed her. And he has the nerve to sit there and say, "She's still alive." Um, it's not only old, it's just incredibly
sad and uh aggravating. Yes. very um he was called to the stand, the witness stand as Rick Wayne Valentini,
aka Brian Stewart, but his lawyer called him Brian. I mean, so crazy. She walked
him through his name change and the rest of his story gently and then the prosecutor, Juan Martinez, uh took over
and pounded him. I mean, I remember the judge basically outside of the view of the jury saying, "We get it. We get it."
You know, um, so just after he was convicted and prior to his sentencing, he agreed to an interview with you. Um,
what do you recall about that day? Well, actually, you made me remember all of this. You know, we had amazing access.
I've never had that kind of access inside a prison. Um the day that we were with him, his lawyer came to see him and
was shocked to hear that we were there because he had not told her he was talking to the press. That is a
nightmare for a defense attorney. I mean, he lied to everyone, including his own lawyer.
All along you've told a lot of different stories. Sure. And they're contradictory
stories. Sure. I mean, you admit you've lied about things. Sure. Why should somebody believe you now?
I'm not I'm not asking for people to believe me. I'm not, you know, I to me I don't really care what people think.
I think he does care. But so have you heard it all from him? No. which is, you know, oddly upsetting that they go away
and they never call me again. But the last conversation I had with him, I was at the airport on my way home after all
of you know after the the interview and um he asked me he started asking me questions which he had never done like
what's your last name and oh are you Jewish and it was so bizarre like uh all of a sudden he's interested in me which
was sort of creepy right and I remember calling my best friend at the time and saying you know I actually feel bad for
this knucklehead like he just, you know, he just doesn't get it. He can't get out
of his own way. And she said to me, "Save that for someone who deserves it." I agree with her. So I Yeah, I do think
that because you spent so much time with him that you saw him more um as this guy
who could have had a great future and threw it away. He was he hurt himself. I saw him as I couldn't get past. He was a
con man who killed this young woman who did have a great future and was just looking for
how she could succeed and impress her parents and he took that all away from all of them. Um her parents were uh
wonderful sweet people who um you know blamed themselves in part. They felt they might have been too tough on her
and they never got to a chance to say that to her. Yeah, they were very sweet and I remember her mother saying she
carries her receiving blanket with her for the day that they find her. It was so sad. And that turned out to be very
important years later. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, I don't know 6 and 1/2 years later, I was in Italy on vacation
and my phone rang and it was one of the detectives and when a detective calls me, I always answer. And he said,
"You're not going to believe this, but they found Jaime's body." And they did. Um, it it still makes me sad because we
did, you and I both talked to him um afterwards and what struck me was how moved they were and happy that they were
able to finally bring her home to her parents. And so, um, you know, their parents will continue grieving, but at
least it there's like a a a bit of closure to that. They know they know he murdered her. They know where he put her
and they could bury her themselves. Yeah. And that's always so important to these families, right? They just want
their they want their people home. They want to know where they are, right? They
want to be able to grieve properly because sometimes when you don't know and I've done too many of these stories
where the person has not been found. That's that really kind of gets in the way of the parents grieving properly
because there's so much guilt. I should be looking for I didn't do enough to look for. And so finally these parents
can say she's at rest and we can mourn her properly. So Erin, ultimately what's the lesson of
this of this case? What should our audience take away from this? Well, sadly, I think it is that I keep
thinking of our friends of this doesn't happen to us and yet it does. uh time and time again, sadly at 48 hours. Um if
you're worried of you're seeing signs of a problem in a relationship, you tell your friend or your sister or your, you
know, whoever you know. And um and you when someone doesn't respond, disappear for a while, you you know, you don't let
that go. You don't just assume they're fine. This is a reminder to all of us to stay in touch with the people we care
about. It's so true. It's so true. Well, thank you again for joining me for this
podcast. You know, again, it was my first hour for 48 hours and now my first podcast for 48 hours. And it's such a
pleasure having you. But you know what? There'll be plenty of conversations with
killers. On the next episode of Killer Conversation, Peter Vans joins me again. this time to discuss two infamous
teenage killers who made headlines around the world but only granted interviews to Peter for 48 hours.
Did you and Sebastian Burns meticulously plan the murder of your family? Absolutely not.
48 hours killer conversation is hosted and produced by me, Judy Ryback. Our story editor is Mora Walls. Alan Pang
oversees recording, mixing, and sound design, factchecking, and additional production support from Rebecca Laflam.
And special thanks to 48 hours executive producer Judy Tyiggard and Paramount Podcast Vice President Megan Marcus.
Follow and listen to Killer Conversation on the free Odyssey app or wherever you
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Who was Rick Valentini, aka Bryan Stewart? He was a man who forged a new identity for himself before dating and murdering his then-girlfriend Jamie Laiaddee in 2010. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty and producer Judy Rybak discuss what it was like to interview a con man with a warped sense of the truth.

What’s it like to sit across from a killer and ask the questions no one else can? "48 Hours" producer Judy Rybak sits down with correspondents Erin Moriarty and Peter Van Sant for revealing conversations about how the criminal mind works.

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "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

Jaime Ley disappeared in 2010; her boyfriend Brian Stewart was later convicted of her murder amid a web of lies.

Key points

The Search for Answers. Friends and family struggle to understand how Jamie could vanish without anyone noticing.
Unraveling the Truth. Detectives uncover Brian Stewart's hidden identity and questionable past during the investigation.
The Shocking Confession. An inmate testifies that Brian confessed to killing Jaime, turning the case on its head.
Brian Stewart's Trial Begins. In October 2011, Brian Stewart, also known as Rick Valentini, goes on trial for murder.
The Jury's Verdict. After deliberation, the jury finds Brian Stewart guilty of second-degree murder and fraud.
The Identity Change. Rick Valentini changed his name to Brian Stewart, creating a new life in Arizona.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

It's absolute craziness.

Expressing disbelief at the situation.

0:39WatchJun 18, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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