tonight on "20/20," how did this beautiful setting turn into the camping trip from hell? this investigator is on the case. >> no accident. she definitely died at someone's hands. >> the daughter who never came back from a weekend outing. high atop a cliff. >> i don't think this was an accident. >> the three friends who were there. >> i don't know. >> pleading the fifth in a civil case. >> why would they want to kill their friend? >> but there's a second mystery. the grown son with everything to live for, caught in a bad romance.

>> i need help! >> an apparent suicide. the girlfriend who was with him. what does she know? >> i believe she was saaiming f the heart. >> this pit bull of a private eye tells the grieving mothers there is more to the case. >> this is kind of crazy. >> tonight, what will win out? a police investigation, or a mother's intuition? >> i believe she is a cold-blooded killer. >> there's no way it's going to end well. >> good evening. i'm david muir. >> and i'm elizabeth vargas. her firm is called without warning, and that's exactly how it was, a complete shock, no

warning, when she first learned about the murder of a friend years ago. she helped break a cold case. >> and now, two women finding out their grown women have died suddenly without warning, but with a lot of unanswered questions. join us tonight for the twists and turns, and weigh in on facebook and twitter. here's debra roberts. >> reporter: she's a suburban mom making time for target practice, but don't be fooled. 54-year-old sheila wysocki is also a hired gun. a secret weapon for desperate families who feel the system has failed them. >> your typical stay at home mom before she helped crack the case of her best friend's murder. >> sheila has made headlines, as a soccer mom who doubles as a no-nonsense private eye. her office is her car.

she's always on the go, now working overtime for two moms whose young adult children died under strange circumstances. now they're pressing wrongful death suits against the people they hold responsible. you look unassuming. people don't look at you necessarily and guess p.i. >> no. >> reporter: but yet, you get in there and you start digging. >> i think i owe that to the family. >> reporter: recently, her job too her here, not the typical too her here, not the typical place for a middle-aged woman. it's a sun and alcohol soaked celebration called wakefest. kind of like cancun with catfish. each year it's filled with partiers.

>> bathing suits, bikinis. i mean, you can't go wrong. >> reporter: july, 2015, lauren agee joins the fun with her longtime childhood friend hannah palmer. lauren posts, "can't wait for wakefest this weekend." lauren's not just joining the party, she's the life of the party.silly and striking. an avid dancer, she's even performed in music videos. with her devoted mom sherry, her biggest fan. >> we were inseparable. >> reporter: you called her mini me. >> mm-hmm. >> reporter: and she called you momma bear. >> momma bear. >> reporter: in her second year at a local college, she's studying criminal science. >> she wanted to solve mysteries. >> reporter: kind of ironic, because you're trying to solve the mystery of what happened to her. >> exactly. >> reporter: what happened to lauren begins that weekend at wakefest. friday, she and hannah slip right into party mode, all smiles on the lake. with them are hannah's boyfriend aaron lilly and his friend chris

stout, whom lauren has just met. both young men clearly adrenaline junkies based on their social media accounts. on land, on the water, in the sky. at night they are at the only bar in town at the marina. that's lauren, waving at the camera. saturday evening, off-duty cop and wakefest security officer chris yarchuk bumps into lauren at the bar. what'd you make of her? >> she was energetic, lively. >> reporter: he sees her leave at around 2:00 a.m., finding her way in the dark, after a night of drinking with hannah, chris and aaron. so they left. >> they left. the last time i saw them, yeah. >> reporter: they're heading to their camping spot, an outcropping across from the houseboats that make up wakefest. there's an impressive 35-foot drop to the lake on one side, a 90-foot drop on the other. hannah and her boyfriend aaron

will crash in a tent. lauren and chris will bunk together in a hammock on the edge of the cliff. incredible anyone would think to sleep so dangerously close to a precipice. samantha arnold, friends with lauren and hannah, was on the cliff with the group the night before lauren died and says it was scary but thrilling too. >> it was very steep, i'm climbing and i'm climbing. and my legs are slipping. >> reporter: chris and aaron would later tell police the wakefest weekend is going well. >> you know, we all drank, had a good old time. eventually we ended up making our way all back to the campsite. >> reporter: the only way to reach the site, by boat, which can be eerie at night. this is lauren's voice, captured on a video she took. >> we're in a canoe on the lake. there's a cliff on both sides. oh, my gosh, this is crazy.

this is like a deathtrap. >> reporter: deathtrap, tragically, an apt description. the next afternoon, sunday locals lynn blair and his son dylan are fishing in the lake. it's around 4:00 and they're coasting toward a cove near the cliff. so you were going through this area right through here? >> yes, i looked over and saw something in the water, dropped my anchor. >> reporter: what did you think you were seeing? >> i didn't know. it bothered me. >> reporter: something bright in the water, hot pink shorts, then the stunning realization. it's a body. she's lying face down? >> it was terrifying. >> reporter: what's going through your mind? >> we knew it was a young lady. i'm thinking, she has a mom and a daddy. all those people's lives are going to be different from now on. >> reporter: somebody's life is about to be ruined. >> absolutely. >> reporter: that awful moment about to happen, when the family

gets a visit from the police. >> he says to me i'm sorry to tell you this but your daughter didn't make it. >> reporter: oh, my gosh. >> i said to him, where are the people that she was with? >> reporter: they were being questioned by police. these are recordings taken that week of hannah, chris and aaron. >> we need to know every step that happened. >> everybody was pretty drunk. >> reporter: chris tells police lauren had been talking about leaving the campsite to go see someone. he says when they went to sleep, she was in the hammock with him, but when they woke up, lauren was gone. >> i woke up and i woke him up and i said, "where is lauren?" and he said, "she got up a while ago, but i didn't feel her." i said, have you seen her? and he said he didn't know. >> reporter: hannah says she was worried, especially since lauren's flip-flops, purse and cell phone are still at the campsite. >> she didn't have her shoes. she didn't have her keys, wallet, phone, and she like, would not leave without that stuff, you know? >> did any of these kids call

somebody when they thought she was missing? >> no. they went to wakefest even though their friend is missing. >> reporter: so now you're beginning to smell something funny. >> right. >> i honestly wasn't really worried about it, because i didn't think anything had happened. i didn't think anything would happen. >> we thought maybe someone came and got her. we then went down to the boat dock, and we waited and waited and waited. it almost feels like i'm a suspect right now, but i know you're just doing your job. >> new tonight, family and friends want to know how a 21-year-old hendersonville woman died in center hill lake. she camped this weekend on the edge of a cliff. her body found on sunday in the water below. >> reporter: as for the official investigation, the early read is that lauren, whose blood alcohol level is more than twice the legal limit, accidentally slipped and fell. >> the dekalb county sherriff say her death does not appear to be foul play.

the autopsy results will take a few weeks. >> reporter: not so fast, sherry gets a phone call and goes from to a mom on a mission. >> he said "mrs. smith, i don't think this was an accident." >> reporter: in the photo, they're smiling on a boat. but worse, she says the edited post originally said, best weekend ever. >> we're apalled. >> sheila has no >> reporter: and that pit bull

is taking on a strikingly similar client. so suicide is not crossing your mi >> never crossed my mind, never. >> homicide? >> absolutely. >> reporter: stay with us. ♪ [beeping] ♪ and lane departure alert. see what i mean? with so many safety features like pedestrian detection and lane departure alert, toyota doesn't need us test dummies as much. oh, i get it, man! hey, i gotta get my thrills somehow. the 2017 prius with toyota safety sense standard. toyota. let's go places. he's a nascar champion who's she's a world-class swimmer who's stared down the best in her sport. but for both of them, the most challenging opponent was... pe blood clots in my lung. it was really scary. a dvt in my leg. i had to learn all i could to help protect myself. my doctor and i choose xarelto® xarelto®... to help keep me protected.

xarelto® is a latest-generation blood thinner... ...that's proven to treat and reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots from happening again. in clinical studies, almost 98% of patients on xarelto® did not experience another dvt or pe. here's how xarelto works. xarelto® works differently. warfarin interferes with at least six blood-clotting factors. xarelto® is selective... ...targeting just one critical factor, interacting with less of your body's natural blood-clotting function. don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor as this may increase risk of blood clots. while taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. it may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. if you've had spinal anesthesia, watch for back pain or any nerve or muscle-related signs or symptoms. do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures and before starting xarelto® about any conditions, such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems.

you've got to learn all you can... ...to help protect yourself from dvt and pe blood clots. talk to your doctor about xarelto®. there's more to know. ♪ ♪ ♪ and now we unleash it onwerful your taxes.pecies has created. hello my name is watson. yep. h&r block and ibm watson together. come see us and get your taxes won. ...it shouldn't be whateverfleas and ticks. home... no, no no no no... seresto® kills and repels fleas and ticks for 8 continuous months - for effective protection in an easy-to-use, non-greasy collar. 8-month seresto®. from bayer. save on kitchen essentials kohl's home sale like a farberware cookware set just $49.99 after $30 mail in rebate.

select kitchen aid electrics are $39.99 and a fiestaware 5 piece place setting is only $32.99. plus get kohl's cash too. kohl's.

"20/20" continues. >> my trench coat. >> reporter: private eye sheila wysocki is living out of a suitcase, splitting time between lauren agee's mother, sherry smith in tennessee and another family, 700 miles away in coppell, texas. pam and john crews have hired the dogged detective to unpack the mystery surrounding the sudden death of their son jonathan. >> there's no way to make sense of something like this. it's just unthinkable, it should have never happened. this is jonathan's room. >> reporter: still in shock, pam has kept her son's old bedroom intact. is it hard to come in here now? >> it gives me peace. still has a little of his smell. >> reporter: life as she knew it came crashing down when this 911 call came in.

>> oh, my god, oh, my god, someone killed himself. >> ma'am, i need you to tell me where you are. >> i don't know, he shot himself in the heart and he's dying right now. >> reporter: it's jonathan's distraught girlfriend on the phone saying he shot himself. a notion jonathan's family finds incomprehensible. >> and i said, he did not do this. first of all, he would not have ever shot himself. >> reporter: so suicide is not crossing your mind at all? >> never crossed my mind, never. >> he had a good job. he had plans for the future. a brand new car, apartment. he's going to go furniture shopping. well, if you're going to kill yourself, you really don't need that furniture. >> he was just exuberant all the time. he was, he woke up in the morning with a, like, what are we going to do today attitude, every day. >> open this one first. >> reporter: he delighted in showering his younger sister dani with presents. >> anything he could do to make somebody happy he would do.

>> reporter: that includes his new girlfriend, 26-year-old brenda lazaro. athletic, shy and pretty. she's a kung fu instructor. he a black belt in tae kwon do. they bond over martial arts. she's also best friends with his sister dani. >> she and i were paired to choreograph a fight scene together. that's how we became friends. >> reporter: here's video of the two on the demo team. how did you feel about brenda? >> i liked her. she doesn't say much at all. >> reporter: was he falling for her? was she falling for him? >> it seemed like they were. he was a very touchy-feely affectionate person. he always like had a hand on her shoulder. >> reporter: the romance moves quickly. after three months together, jonathan and brenda are already talking marriage, even children. taking happy selfies together. then everything changes on super bowl sunday, 2014. at 11:30 p.m. and that 911 call. >> did he use a gun or what happened?

>> yes, he used a gun. >> did he mean to do it? did he do it on purpose? >> no, yeah, he did it on purpose. >> reporter: that's brenda on the line saying her boyfriend just shot himself in bed. >> hold on, listen to me, listen to me. we got to be able to find you. so i need you to find somebody to tell me what the address is. >> reporter: frantic, it takes her minutes to finally give the exact location of jonathan's new apartment. strange, since she helped him pick it out. >> she kept saying i don't know and all these hesitant stalling tactics. it was like pulling teeth to get her to say anything. >> he said he was going to prove that he loved me. >> okay. >> reporter: out of the blue, a

gunshot. >> generally, she's kind of explaining things a little too early. >> reporter: her boyfriend had apparently ended his life with a single shot to the chest. >> i remember, there's a picture of him sitting in his boy scout uniform. thinking i could hug it. >> reporter: days later, the short but full life of 27-year-old jonathan crews -- >> he was kind, loving, big and bold. >> reporter: -- is celebrated by his family in a series of photographs. the ball boy, the boy scout, the boyfriend, but missing from his funeral, his girlfriend, the last person to see him alive. his girlfriend didn't show up at the funeral? >> no. >> or the viewing.

>> or the viewing. >> she told me that she couldn't do it. she couldn't -- she was too upset. >> reporter: hours after the funeral, jonathan's sister says she gets her first indication something's off with brenda. >> she went crazy on me. she was complaining that she wasn't involved enough. >> none of you thought for a second to acknowledge our love during his funeral. >> i was just mad. like, how dare you say these crazy things? how dare you make demands. >> reporter: when we come back, we go to jonathan's apartment. what can we learn from a dummy? >> his left hand had zero gun powder. >> reporter: and how she believes he died. >> i believe that's exactly where she was saming. >> reporter: next. wondering, what if?

i let go of all those feelings. because i am cured with harvoni. harvoni is a revolutionary treatment for the most common type of chronic hepatitis c. it's been prescribed to more than a quarter million people. and is proven to cure up to 99% of patients who have had no prior treatment with 12 weeks. certain patients can be cured with just 8 weeks of harvoni. before starting harvoni, your doctor will test to see if you've ever had hepatitis b, which may flare up and cause serious liver problems during and after harvoni treatment. tell your doctor if you've ever had hepatitis b, a liver transplant, other liver or kidney problems, hiv or any other medical conditions and about all the medicines you take including herbal supplements. taking amiodarone with harvoni can cause a serious slowing of your heart rate. common side effects of harvoni include tiredness, headache and weakness. ready to let go of hep c? ask your hep c specialist about harvoni. ito treat your toughy nasal allergies... ...listen up.

unlike pills that don't treat congestion, clarispray covers 100 percent of your nasal allergy symptoms. clarispray. from the makers of claritin. customer service!d. ma'am. this isn't a computer... wait. you're real? with discover card, you can talk to a real person in the u.s., like me, anytime. wow. this is a recording. really? no, i'm kidding. 100% u.s.-based customer service. here to help, not to sell. ♪ that's life. you diet. you exercise. and if you still need help lowering your blood sugar... ...this is jardiance. along with diet and exercise... jardiance lowers blood sugar and a1c in adults with type 2 diabetes. jardiance is also the only type 2 diabetes treatment with heart- proven to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death in adults with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. jardiance can cause serious side effects, including dehydration.

this may cause you to feel dizzy, faint, or lightheaded, or weak upon standing. ketoacidosis is a serious side effect that may be fatal. symptoms include nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, tiredness, and trouble breathing. stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of ketoacidosis or an allergic reaction. symptoms of an allergic reaction include rash, swelling, and difficulty breathing or swallowing. do not take jardiance if you are on dialysis or have severe kidney problems. other side effects are sudden kidney problems, genital yeast infections, increased bad cholesterol, and urinary tract infections, which may be serious. taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you have any medical conditions. so talk to your doctor about jardiance- the one and only type 2 diabetes treatment with heart. visit jardiance.com for a free consultation with a certified diabetes educator if you qualify.

pam cruz wants justice for her son. sheila has been investigating for 18 months, gathering evidence for a wrongful death suit. >> this is jonathan's exact apartment. >> reporter: the bedroom is back

here? we go back to jonathan's apartment. >> this is where he was found. and he was positioned at the edge of the bed. >> reporter: in the bed, we place a dummy and prop gun. >> he was right-handed. there was gun powder on the top of his hand, not on his palm. his left hand had zero gun powder. >> reporter: when you think about it, a guy who knows guns well, lying in bed, shoots himself in the torso? >> you did the easiest hand to shoot in the torso. the left hand. and he didn't use that one. >> if you're going to kill yourself, generally you shoot in the mouth. you shoot upward, you don't lay

down getting ready for bed and shoot yourself. >> reporter: but if jonathan didn't shoot himself, who did? sheila says critical information came from emily and jacob ramsay. jonathan's dearest friends. they had gone out to dinner with jonathan and brenda. >> i walked in and gave him a big hug. jacob gave him an hug, and then we set down at the table and just proceeded to try and get to know brenda at that time. >> reporter: what did you think, jacob, when you met her? >> most of the girlfriends he's had in the past were very vivacious, very alive. brenda was completely -- >> opposite. >> she was just kind of shut off. >> reporter: the double-date is a dud. brenda makes a dismal impression and apparently becoming jealous of the hello hug between jonathan and emily. >> he hugged emily, which put brenda over the edge. she wanted to isolate jonathan. >> reporter: she later ups the ante with her new love, forcing him to unfriend women from his facebook page. were you worried about him and brenda? >> in my head, i just thought

here's another crazy girl that he's dating. >> reporter: but it seems that after two months, brenda is still fuming over that platonic hug. jonathan's concerned that he must now choose between emily and brenda. >> the things that she was trying to make him do, and they were deal breakers for him. >> reporter: texting his sister -- >> choices are, a, fight it and try to make it better. b, choose brenda. c, refuse to give up either and see if brenda ends it. d, end it with brenda now. >> later that same day, he told me d was his final choice. >> reporter: so there was no doubt in your mind that he aimed to break up with brenda? >> mm-hmm. >> jonathan knew the relationship with brenda was becoming toxic and he needed to get out. >> reporter: the next day, that fateful super bowl sunday. he meets up with emily and jacob at this mexican restaurant, telling them that brenda is threatened by his friendship

with emily. when unexpectedly the martial arts master makes a menacing phone call. >> she just started yelling at me and telling me that i was a disrespectful little girl. >> reporter: so she's verbally attacking you. >> you hug my man, that's so rude. you stay off of my man and i said "well, he's my really good friend." we have never dated each other. we've never kissed. it's never been anything like that. >> rage. this girl had rage. irrational, unstable rage. >> reporter: during their good-byes, jonathan tells his friends he's breaking-up with brenda that night. later that night, after the super bowl's ended, emily gets a peculiar text from jonathan's number. >> i want to die. >> period. >> reporter: had you ever gotten anything like that from him before? >> oh, no. i was just kind of like, what is going on? that's so weird. >> reporter: despite her multiple phone calls, radio silence from jonathan until the

next morning. >> my phone rang and it was jonathan's brother. he just said it, like, jon's dead. i just kind of, i immediately broke down. you know, it was something that i had never experienced before. >> 11:37. jacob called me hysterical. just, i mean, just sobbing, saying he's dead, like, he was shot. he's dead. >> reporter: she then remembers that weird text message. >> it was all coming in like, something is wrong, she texted me. that was not him. he would have never texted me that. >> reporter: you're thinking brenda texted you? >> yes. >> reporter: later emily calls police and also tells jonathan's mom pam of her suspicions of brenda. >> my mother's heart was like okay, i, i -- this makes sense now. i knew right then.

i knew. >> reporter: what did you know? >> that she had done it. >> reporter: why would she do it? >> what sounds like pathological jealousy problem going on. that's a story you hear every day, you know? people kill for that reason all the time. >> reporter: pam's convinced that her son didn't commit suicide, that he was killed. so how do you think it might have happened? >> i believe she walked up and shot him, and then he rolled over. >> reporter: jonathan was shot on the left side of the chest. the bullet passed through his body and lodged in the mattress. for sheila, the bullet trajectory is key. >> for him to have done it himself, he would have had to shoot himself downward? >> yes. >> reporter: but if, as sheila believes, brenda fired the gun standing over him -- >> it's an exact shot, and what's interesting is in the 911 call. brenda says he was shot in the heart. i believe that's exactly where she was aiming. he broke her heart that night by breaking up with her.

>> reporter: and then she shoots him possibly in the heart, you think. >> i believe she was aiming for the heart. >> reporter: and speaking of that 911 call, sheila says there is a lot of information to be gleaned from it. take a second listen. >> did he mean to do it? did he do it on purpose? >> no, yeah, he did it on purpose. >> i think she answered it honestly, and then said no. a freudian slip. >> reporter: how frustrating was it for you that police just didn't seem to turn anything up? >> there have been other police officers who looked at this and are scratching their heads as to why there has not been an arrest, and so we scratch our heads right along with them. >> reporter: next, the mommy pi makes waves in the lauren agee case, reeling in lauren's wakefest companion. >> you understand that we're recording?

>> reporter: plus an intriguing test. watch what happens next. getting food to hungry older amerand it won't.stop hey, these are our parents and grandparents out there. let's start talking about how we can really get to the route of the problem. hey, we hear you. fighting hunger doesn't stop here. i'm working with aarp foundation's drive to end hunger team to change the national conversation around hunger, bring experts together, and make programs better than ever. if you don't think "we're in this together" when you think aarp,

then you don't know "aarp." learn more at aarp.org/possibilities. a body without proper footd needssupport can mean pain. the dr. scholl's kiosk maps your feet and recommends our custom fit orthotic to stabilize your foundation and relieve foot, knee, or lower-back pain from being on your feet. dr. scholl's. at red lobster's lobsterfestime. any of these 9 lobster dishes could be yours. so don't resist delicious new lobster mix and match or lobsterfest surf and turf because you won't have this chance for long.

- grocery outlet - grocery outlet is the home of 'wow' savings. wow means you save 50% or more. there are three stages of wow. denial... - is this price right? - acceptance... and boooyah! wait for it. boooyah has three o's. ♪ grocery outlet bargain market ♪ - right now get a bone-in spiral half ham for just $1.49 a pound. "20/20" continues.

>> reporter: private eye sheila wysocki has been working the lauren agee case on land and lake. back in smithville, tennessee, where lauren's body was discovered after camping on a cliff with her friend hannah, hannah's boyfriend aaron, and his friend chris. to sherry smith's dismay, dekalb county police have closed the case, finding no evidence of foul play. finding that she fell from a cliff, landed on rocks, and rolled into the lake. sheila has her own opinions. and begins locating witnesses and assembling the evidence filed later in sherry's wrongful death lawsuit. >> when you start looking at the autopsy and the crime scene photos, and you look at her injuries, they weren't adding up. >> reporter: sheila points out hemorrhaging in lauren's neck. she sees a possible sign of strangulation. >> somebody either held her down, or choked her. >> reporter: and she's following a lead.

this police officer, who called sherry smith. >> i basically just wanted her to know that i strongly felt that it was not an accident. >> reporter: ryan melanson was working for a neighboring police department on the day lauren's body was found and spent time with chris and aaron at the scene. >> they were extremely nervous. >> reporter: in a rare step, melanson questions the findings of his brothers in blue. saying aaron and chris expressed no sympathy or concern for lauren. >> just, their body language and demeanor toward the incident told me that there was something wrong with the picture. people don't act like that unless they have something to hide. >> reporter: could he be right? sheila tracks down another skeptical police officer from outside dekalb county. remember chris yarchuk? he worked security at wakefest and met lauren the night before she died. he too suspects something's off. your radar kind of was raised right away. >> absolutely.

>> reporter: he leads us up to the campsite. a snake infested, rocky area. we took the same route as lauren as her friends, with the steep incline. even with a rope, it's no small task. it is not easy getting up here. okay. so, this is the spot. wow, that's quite a trek. >> great view, though. >> reporter: the terrain is treacherous. even in daylight. it's hard to believe that they came up here in the middle of the night. and they're intoxicated, too. this area here is where lauren and the others set up their campsite. do you believe she slipped down this hill and fell to her death? >> i do not. >> reporter: yarchuk's main question, how did lauren's body end up in a cove, hundreds of feet away from the cliff? if she fell off the steep side, her body would have had to travel around a large bend.

and if she fell off the other side with the more gradual incline, he wonders, would she have ended up in the water? if she slipped and fell down here -- >> mm-hmm. >> reporter: could she have made it in to the water? >> there's too many trees here, there's too many rocks. you could maybe make it to half way down, where it flattens out. >> reporter: in an unscientific demonstration he shows us his theory, with a mannequin. >> similar size and weight. 105-pound dummy. i'll just drop it. going forward. >> reporter: it was caught in the branches. didn't even make it down to the bottom. >> correct. it's not even halfway down. >> reporter: yarchuk alleges police skipped fundamental steps in their investigation. including properly securing the scene, and collecting a rape kit. at the lake, sheila checks the

water currents. >> i think she would stay here based on the current. >> reporter: and interviews the boaters that found the body. but she really wants to talk to the friends. she takes a trip to the sunshine state. >> i flew to florida. >> reporter: to talk to hannah. >> to talk to hannah. >> reporter: when sheila arrives for a chat, hannah is willing. >> you understand that we're recording? >> yes. >> reporter: she repeats her story that lauren was simply missing when she woke up. >> from the time i went to sleep to the time i went away -- there's nothing. there's nothing. it's just a void of like, "what was she doing? she peeing? was she with somebody else?"

i don't know. >> reporter: as for chris, who hannah and lauren met that weekend -- >> he was asleep. i didn't know him well, but when people ask me, "do you think he could have done it?" no. i don't think he would have been physically capable, without me hearing. >> reporter: hannah explains why she didn't call lauren's parents and authorities that morning when lauren was gone. >> everybody's like, you know, "don't worry." you know, "lauren's the kind that's -- make friends with anyone." i searched as much as i co without having to go to every single boat. i figured she would find us. >> reporter: midconversation, sheila says there's a telling moment. and she is immediately suspicious. >> hannah's phone starts ringing. it's aaron on the phone. what we were able to hear was, "stick to the story." >> reporter: aaron said, "stick to the story"? >> yep. >> reporter: next -- is that the clue she needs in the lauren agee case? and, a crucial find in the jonathan crews case. the mommy p.i. tracks down brenda's ex. and he's ready to kiss and tell. >> she almost ruined my life.

>> reporter: don't go away. (de♪p breath) (phone ringing) they'll call back. no one knows your ford better than ford and ford service. right now, during the big tire event, get a $140 rebate by mail, on four select tires. ♪

mastering the enchantment the lindt master chocolatier is stirring up our finest chocolate... and bringing back our dearest friend... the lindt gold bunny. make the magic of easter come alive. bring home the lindt gold bunny. for my constipation, i switch laxatives.ed stimulant laxatives make your body go by forcefully stimulating the nerves in your colon. miralax is different. it works with the water in your body to hydrate and soften. unblocking your system naturally. miralax.

live-streat the airport.e sport, binge dvr'd shows, while painting your toes. on demand laughs, during long bubble baths. tv on every screen is awesome. the all-new xfinity stream app.

all your tv at home. the most on demand, your entire dvr, top networks, and live sports on the go. included with xfinity tv. xfinity the future of awesome.

hi. nice to meet you. >> reporter: two moms, and until this very moment, two strangers. >> this was her audition picture. >> reporter: sherri smith and pam crews, members of a sad sorority. you're both a part of this horrible club that nobody wants to be a part of. >> a sisterhood that we didn't choose to be part of. but we are. >> reporter: both fueled by gut instinct and united by understanding. >> why are they not here with us anymore? >> i know. it's just so unfair. you don't know, you don't know that this is what i'm going to have left. >> reporter: and both believing the authorities have dropped the ball. >> the police won't listen to anything i have to say. >> reporter: on this day, a third mom, that pit bull private eye joins them to discuss their cases.

>> we are going to work on your 911 call. >> reporter: armed with information, the moms taking justice into their own hands, filing wrongful death lawsuits against the friends who were among the last to see their beloved children alive. what do you hope to accomplish with a civil lawsuit? >> finding the truth. >> that all the lies will be uncovered, all the truth will be uncovered. >> reporter: uncovered, they say, because in a civil suit, defendants are required to testify under oath. meaning that, perhaps for the first time, brenda lazaro may be directly asked the question, did you shoot your boyfriend jonathan crews? >> during her deposition, we asked that question, did you shoot jonathan? and she took the fifth amendment. >> reporter: pleading the fifth, the right not to answer because she may incriminate herself. >> if you have nothing to hide, why not just tell what happened? just tell. >> reporter: brenda won't talk. but in their depositions some of the people closest to her do.

friends, family members, kung fu teammates. some saying they don't think brenda would kill. she is too sweet. >> i don't think she's capable of murder. she's a very bright and bubbly person. >> reporter: others recounting conflicting stories of what brenda told them. >> he put a gun to his heart. >> she said that he shot himself in the head. >> they were not even having an argument. >> she went to the bathroom and when she came out, he was already shot. >> reporter: who among those depositions stood out for you? >> what made me think we had a case was matthew kirk. he gave us a good profile of what brenda was like to date. >> reporter: matthew kirk, brenda's ex-boyfriend. >> she almost ruined my life. >> reporter: they met in college and were together for five years. >> she was jealous of any woman i talked to. she'd always say things such as, "you like her?" she just got crazy whenever i went around any girl. >> how did she go crazy? >> she cut herself. >> reporter: he says brenda harmed herself regularly. more than 100 times.

>> his talking about her history and how she isolated him, she did similar things with jonathan, even though, remember, they only dated a few months. >> reporter: matthew says brenda was possessive, yet never violent. well, except for maybe once. >> she threatened to kill my mom one time. she just held some scissors in her hands and said, "i'm going to go see your mom." that was one time. and that's the time that i called the police on her. >> brenda is jealous, creates drama, plays the victim. i believe she is a cold-blooded killer. >> reporter: brenda lazaro has denied all the allegations against her. >> if this is so clear to you, why isn't brenda lazaro under arrest? >> a great question for the coppell police department. i do not understand it. >> reporter: in a statement, the coppell police department says it does not have enough evidence to present to a grand jury.

we tracked down brenda lazaro, still working at the kung fu school, just minutes away from the crews home. she's now married with a baby. both brenda and her attorneys declined to comment on the lawsuit. you've lost your brother and she is living her life. >> i think it's hideous. >> reporter: what do you want her to know? >> i want her to know that she is not fooling everyone. that there are people out there who know exactly who she is. >> reporter: as for lauren agee, her cliffside friends are also moving on, for better or worse. according to facebook, hannah and aaron are now engaged. while chris stout is currently in jail for an unrelated dui charge. and like brenda, all pleaded the fifth in the wrongful death lawsuit filed against them. hannah, chris, and aaron deny they had anything to do with lauren's death. hannah palmer declined to speak with us but her friend samantha

arnold did. >> knowing the connection they had with each other, the entire lawsuit is bogus. >> reporter: you look like people that want to blame kids for the death of your daughter. >> so be it. we are grieving parents, but we just want the truth. >> reporter: next, sherri smith finally gets

...it shouldn't be whateverfleas and ticks. home... no, no no no no... seresto® kills and repels fleas and ticks for 8 continuous months - for effective protection in an easy-to-use, non-greasy collar. 8-month seresto®. from bayer. ♪ predictable. the comfort in knowing where things are headed. because as we live longer... and markets continue to rise and fall... predictable is one thing you need in retirement to help protect what you've earned and ensure it lasts. introducing brighthouse financial.

a new company established by metlife to specialize in annuities & life insurance. talk to your advisor about a brighter financial future. (bark) at petsmart we love all pets. like this little guy, sam. he eats blue wilderness, it's protein rich, grain-free and made with more meat, to satisfy the wolf spirit that lives in every dog. right now save on large bags of blue wilderness dog food and get a free wild roll with purchase. because every dog still has a little wolf in them. (howling) and now, when you buy any bag of dog or cat food, we give a meal to a pet in need. it's that simple. ♪ we are not here to observe, to sit idly by, or watch from the stands. we are here...for one reason. to leave...a mark.

lexus high performance. with 5.0-liter v8s and sport direct-shift transmissions. experience a shift in the natural order. experience amazing. with the deduction findingombine superpower of ibm watson? ah! you get more money. that's what you could get. h&r block with watson. get your taxes won. get play proof kid's gearhl's built for springtime fun like jumping beans dresses for only $12 $7 mix and match tops and bottoms and carter's sandals $19.99. you'll get kohl's cash too. play proof guarantee only at kohl's. ♪ ♪ ♪

>> reporter: while brenda lazaro, jonathan crews' ex-girlfriend, continues honing her martial skills, pam crews awaits her day in court against her. and sherry smith finally has her day of reckoning, nearly two years after losing her daughter. a judge is about to decide if her wrongful death lawsuit against hannah palmer can proceed. >> i'm not nervous, i'm just -- yeah, i'm nervous. >> reporter: first, a blow to sherry's hopes. the judge dismisses nearly all the observations of witnesses like police officers chris yarchuk and ryan melanson and the conclusions of private investigator sheila wysocki. >> their opinions were not based on any relevant scientific methods, processes, and data, and seemed to be just pulled out of the thin air. >> reporter: in fact, we spoke to dr. jonathan arden, a forensic pathologist. >> to me, the evidence is highly consistent with a fall off a cliff. >> reporter: as for the police investigation, the dekalb county

sheriff's department defends its detective work, saying "there is simply no evidence in this tragic case that will support lauren's death being considered homicide or foul play." and the judge agrees, ruling there will be no trial against hannah palmer. >> the court finds that the plaintiff has not produced any shred of evidence that anyone intentionally harmed ms. agee. >> reporter: it's a disappointing setback for sherry. her lawyer alex little says they will appeal. >> it's just another day in court. we'll proceed on, and we expect to prevail. >> reporter: sheila says this about the judge's findings. >> was i offended by what the judge said? no. because i deal with it every day and i'm prepared for it and i love that people underestimate me. keep it coming. >> reporter: sherry's lawsuit against aaron lilly and chris stout is still pending. they have not responded to a request for comment. >> i am going to go and get a large glass of wine.

>> reporter: no matter what happens, this grieving mom says nothing will lessen the pain of losing lauren. an agony she does not need to explain to pam crews. to stay close to jonathan, she wears a special necklace. >> this necklace has a little bit of jonathan's ashes inside. get to carry a little of him every day. he was such a good boy. >> reporter: after meeting, the two moms vow to stay in touch. >> i feel like i've known you for so long. >> i know, i feel like i've known you, too. >> reporter: united in their love for their children, their loss, and the woman in whom they've placed so much faith. you get emotional with some of these cases, don't you? >> with all of them. pam wants to be heard. she wants jonathan to be heard. same with lauren and sherry, and i hear them. >> reporter: and sherry hopes lauren can hear what is in her heart. >> so we are sending these to heaven, guys.

all right. >> all right, lauren. >> on the count of three. one. two. three. >> we love you. >> we love you. >> in a statement to "20/20," hannah palmer wrote, the court's decision allows me to look to my future. i would like to express my deepest simpdee deepest sympathies to lauren's family. >> and the crews' case is scheduled for september. we'll stay on it. that's our program tonight. i'm david muir. >> and i'm elizabeth vargas. from all of us, good night.