claiming wrongful imprisonment and wrongful conviction. he settled the city for 11 point $7 million. in the meantime, brian drips lived free for all those years. at last faced the consequences. in 2021, he pleaded guilty to both rape and murder of angie dodge. and was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years to life. as for carole dodge, the idaho falls police department called her a warrior. adding that over the years, many of their investigators said they were inspired to do more. try harder. and innovate. because of her fierce love for her daughter he. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline". i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. >> she was a person out of a forties film or movie. >> with a life full of mystery to match. >> she was a stunner, physically. she was able to say jump, and

the men would say how high? >> married to a wealthy lawyer. >> he always said, she has this hold over me. >> but there was someone she seemed even closer to. >> they bought matching underwear together. >> they shared everything. >> eating together. sleeping in the same bed together. she's living at her house. >> did they also share a deadly secret? >> it was a love triangle and one of them had to go. >> but was it her idea? >> oh, god, it seemed like a good at the data at the time. but oh, my god. >> or hers? >> i said, oh god, i don't want to do this. she said, get out. >> and who would take the full for evil? >> how deep a hole you dig? >> not deep another, obviously. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> hello. and welcome to "dateline". attorney larry mcnabney had been living fast and loose, but

things were finally slowing down for him. he had a thriving law practice, a wife he adored, and plenty of money. then, a new friend entered the picture. and a love triangle took shape. the murder was a who done it, involving three tangled lives. one of them was hiding a secret identity. but to untangle this mystery police needed to know, who was the mastermind pulling the strings? here is keith morrison with "poison". >> it was september 11th, 2001. just about everybody knows were they were that awful day. like the glamorous trio that was traveling north through california's yosemite national park. even as the rest of the world's attention was focused on new york city, they were intent on their ruin urgent needs. their desires. their fears. there are deadly love triangle.

so, they probably didn't appreciate the passing wonders. the astonishing cliffs. the waterfalls. the giant sequoias. any more than the one in the backseat. through fading eyes. so anything at all. here is one of them. his name was larry mcnabney. and he was a tall, handsome man. a well-known and respected attorney from nevada. a personal injury specialist. made buckets of money. loved the big life. loved being in control. >> there was never a hair out of place. there was in dust on his desk. his plan was always in the same spot. >> larry's daughter, tavia, was crazy about him. in all of his type a personality. his joy of life. his courtroom presence. >> not an ounce of shyness. he commanded the courtroom. >> i've been a trial lawyer for over 20 years -- >> larry's-long time friend,

fred atcheson, -- >> he could open 50 files a month in personal injury litigation. which were made him a rich man. >> but nobody is perfect, of course. and for all of larry's unquestioned talents, the man carried around with him a raft of corresponding demons. >> i know he had a difficult childhood. and that a lot of your personality is shaped when you are a child. >> and as an adult, larry struggled with alcohol. women. he married and divorced several times. >> it was like a void he was trying to fill and he never could fill it. >> in fact, from time to time, larry had gone on benders and just vanished. weeks at a time. everybody worried and wondered. but sure enough, he would show up again. >> i had a teacher meet up once.

yellow, with black letters saying, "where is larry mcnabney? " >> but then, finally, larry well into his forties, seemed to get his act together for real. he set up a new office in las vegas. everything clicked. possibly for unattractive reason, as tavia discovered. >> i went by the office one day and he said, i have someone i want you to meet. he said, " this is elisa. >> elisa, 17 years younger than larry. and he was in love. >> and he said, " she's just fun and vivaciously. she's young. and it's just we have a good time." >> tavia did it stand in the way. she wanted her dad to be happy. >> i welcomed the new person in. it's my dad, so i didn't want anything that would inhibit me from spending time with him. >> and he really cared for this

woman? >> he did. >> larry and elisa thrived, both personally and professionally. they got married. elisa became his office manager. they opened up a firm in sacramento, california. another big success. so, they hired a young, attractive college student named sarah dutra. the outgoing daughter of deeply religious parents. who soon the came a friend as well as a sort of personal and off his assistance. and together, elisa and lowry enjoyed the high life. >> she was into the same things that larry loved. and style. and they went out and bought viper cars together. >> they also shared larry's newest passion, horses. >> but larry would show horses and show himself, which fit in with larry looking good and feeling good. >> larry could do more of what he liked while young sarah pitched in to help elisa run the business end of larry's law

practice. just about perfect. though larry's friend fred was a bit of a stick in the mud about it. >> the fact that she took control of his business allowed him to engage in big drinking and partying. >> which is not really what larry needed. >> no, he didn't need that. because his appetites would run amok. >> so, when, after nearly seven years of marriage larry suddenly dropped out of sight, close friends were extremely alarmed, at first. after all, had larry gone on drunken benders before. but this time, as days stretched into weeks, it seemed different. extremely odd. ginger miller started working at the law from as a secretary in september, 2001. just about the time larry went missing. >> elisa kept the business going in his absence. but couldn't seem to settle on what the staff should tell people about larry. >> i was told to tell his kids and different people in his family different things.

so, i was told that he was golfing or skiing. someplace they probably couldn't get a hold of him. >> so it was all obvious bs? >> yeah, and then if it was a client i would have to say that he was working on the deposition. he was with another client. had to fly out. >> larry's kids didn't know what to think. >> i said to my brother, this does it sound right. why do the stories keep changing? >> october arrived. still no larry. thanksgiving. and december, he was always with family on his birthday. but still no sign of larry mcnabney. >> i didn't get a good feeling. and what i worried about was, had something gone wrong and dad was scared and he took off? >> had larry offended the wrong person? tavia had a friend in law enforcement who told her -- >> you have to look at it two ways. either if he is in hiding, he's not going to be happy you found him. because obviously, he's hiding for a reason. or, some things happen to him.

>> meanwhile, back at the office, ginger was hearing things. worrisome things. until she just couldn't keep it in anymore. >> i went to the sheriff's department. i wasn't sure what to do. so, i just asked for a piece of paper and i slip it under the window. >> detectives got her no, all right. and figured they should have a chat with elisa mcnabney. but by the time they went looking for her, just like larry, she was gone. >> who exactly was elisa mcnabney? and what did she know about her husband's disappearance? the investigation heats up when police uncover the dark secrets in elisa's past. coming up -- >> she was a person out of a forties film new or movie. she was a stunner, physically. but more importantly, she had a

control over him that just amazed me. >> when "dateline" continues. from air wick. our first fragrances infused with 2x more natural essential oil. it's our most amazing, true-to-nature fragrance experience ever. new vibrant. from air wick. ♪ i gotta good feeling about this, yeah ♪ true-to-nature fragrance experience ever. ♪ i'm with it ♪ ♪ i gotta good feeling about this ♪ ♪ yeah, ♪ ♪ so let's get it ♪ ♪ i'm feeling good vibes ♪ alice loves the scent of gain so much, she wished there was a way to make it last longer. say hello to your fairy godmother, alice. and, long lasting gain scent beads. try gain odor defense.

be gone, smelly everything! your best defense against erosion and cavities is strong enamel- nothing beats it. new pronamel active shield actively shields the enamel to defend against erosion and cavities. i think that this product is a gamechanger for my patients- it really works. >> by the dawn of 2002, while

the rest of us were getting used to a post 9/11 new normal, it seemed pretty clear that something very abnormal massive happened to that successful personal injury attorney larry mcnabney. nobody had seen him in five months. he'd never been on a bender for this long. and now, his wife elisa was

missing two. by this time, ginger had dropped off her no at the sheriff's office and detectives were poking around in the abandon remains of larry's law practice. talking to employees like sarah dutra, the attractive 21 -year-old art student from sacramento state, who worked at the mcnabney law firm as an office secretary. she brought her little dog, ralph, with her to the sheriff 's office. sarah told detectives that she and elisa had become close friends and so, she sarah, certainly noticed how erratic elisa the came after larry went missing. >> things were starting to not seem right. like, you know, elisa wouldn't come to work all the time. you know? >> sara confirmed what ginger miller said. that elisa kept changing her explanations for larry's whereabouts. sara said she signed saw a elisa signing larry's name on checks and day-to-day business transactions. >> i figured it she's keeping

this business going for him. so he can go play and do whatever. >> in early january, 2002, said sarah, elisa planned a trip to arizona to attend a horse show. and in the absence of larry, invited sarah to go along. >> i was going to fly down the next day and then she told me, your tickets been paid. >> but when sarah got to the airport, the ticket was not paid for. >> so then you call herself phone number and what did you get? >>. nothing it was, "this number is no longer in use." >> and that was that, said sarah. she hadn't heard from elisa since. >> i actually called ginger and i said, "ginger you know, i'm going to look for a new job. i don't know about you, but elisa's gone." >> thomas testa was the san joaquin county prosecutor. he'd handled a number of

missing persons cases. so when he heard about the case of larry an elisa mcnabney, he gravitated toward it. >> he was an attorney with a case low that just disappeared. this isn't someone who's a homeless person who just vanishes and you think maybe they took a granted went to nevada. >> testa began by taking a good hard look at elisa. >> she was a person out of a forties film nor movie. in that, she was a stunner, physically. everyone said that. but more importantly, she had a control over him that just amaze me. she was able to see jump, and the men would see how high. >> it certainly seemed true larry, so said his old friend fred atcheson. >> she was controlling him to the extent that she was keeping him away from his family and his former friends. >> that include the relationship he had with you? >> no question about it. >> you found yourself shut out? >> yeah. >> so did larry's daughter, tavia.

>> elisa completely cut me out of the picture and i was devastated. >> but why? why was elisa keeping larry away from his family and friends? what did she have to hide? >> he called me up once on the phone and said, fred, i don't know who she is. and i thought he meant well, we don't really ever know who our spouses are deep down. and he said no, i don't even know if this is who she is. if her name is what she says it is or anything. >> by then, said fried, had larry discovered ample reason to stop trusting elisa. >> he couldn't keep his wallet in his pants. >> he told you that? >> yeah. she would steal money out of his wallet. he had to hide his wallet in his own house. >> turned out she was also stealing from the law firm. >> she'd ripped him off. >> for how much? any idea? >> over $100,000. >> larry told fred all about his travel with elisa. and yet, he kept her around.

not like he hadn't divorced women before, but not this one. tavia did it get it. >> i mean, he always said she has this hold over me. and i never understood what that meant. >> and larry's cmments fred about not knowing his wife? well, his suspicions turned out to be true. a little research told detectives that the real woman behind the name elisa mcnabney had a considerable criminal rap sheet. including stolen property, credit card fraud, grand theft. >> she really had a way of ingratiating herself with men and using her female terms. and she was very, very good at it. she was a true, true con artist. >> so was elisa just conning larry? surely, thought fried, she wouldn't have done away with him. would she? >> it wouldn't make any sense, even for a dedicated poll cap to do anything like that because, he was the goose that

laid the golden egg. it wouldn't make any sense, whatsoever. >> it was a farm worker who noticed a flock of vultures or buzzards, drifting above one of these grape fields. saw something. sticking out of the ground. and soon, the missing persons case turned into something much, much worse. and considerably more bizarre. >> "dateline" returns after the break. i go to spin classes with my coworkers. good for you, shingles doesn't care. because no matter how healthy you feel, your risk of shingles sharply increases after age 50. but shingrix protects. proven over 90% effective, shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions

to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. shingles doesn't care but, shingrix protects. shingrix is now zero dollars for almost everyone. ask your doctor about shingrix today. i wish that shaq was my real life big brother. what's up, little bro? turns out, some wishes do come true. and it turns out the general is a quality insurance company that's been saving people money for nearly 60 years. for a great low rate, and nearly 60 years of quality coverage- go with the general. ah, these bills are crazy. she has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or

part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com. if you have diabetes, then getting on the dexcom g6 is the single most important thing you can do. it eliminates painful fingersticks, helps lower a1c, and it's covered by medicare. before dexcom g6, i was frustrated. all of that finger-pricking and all of that pain, my a1c was still stuck. my diabetes was out of control. i was tired. (female announcer) dexcom g6 sends your glucose numbers to your phone or receiver without painful fingersticks. the arrow shows the direction your glucose is heading: up, down, or steady, so you can make better decisions about food and activity in the moment. after using dexcom g6, my a1c has never been lower. i lead line dancing three times a week, i exercise, and i'm just living a great life now.

it's so easy to use. dexcom g6 has given me confidence and control that everything i need is right there on my phone. (female announcer) dexcom g6 is the #1 recommended cgm system by doctors and patients. call now to get started. (bright music) >> it was february, 2002.

a remote vineyard up in the northern end of california's central valley. a farm worker checking the outer reaches of a giant field of grapes, couldn't help but see the big birds circling around and around. something out there. >> vultures were circling. he spotted the vultures and said he went out to see what they were circling. >> investigator javier ramos and lieutenant robert bookwalter, worked with the san joaquin county sheriff's department at the time. they were among the first on the scene. must be a dead animal or something. >> the lady said that. that's what he figured he would find. just some dead animal out there. >> but it wasn't a dead animal.

the leg that was sticking out of the ground was decidedly human. and soon, larry's daughter tavia heard the news. >> i got a call from the sheriff's department. i felt myself get really hot and nauseous. and she said that the body they found, the dental records, it was him. and i remember i never swear and i yelled out those cuss words. and i slim down the phone and i just started shaking. it was a moment in time that i've never felt such anguish. >> still wrong even now. >> it is because i thought i don't know, i thought, i guess i was hoping he was in hiding. >> very fortunate that the body was discovered. and now we can move on and investigate it as a homicide. >> tavia's hopes crushed.

police had ample proof now, five months after he vanished, that larry had been murdered and left to rot out here in the middle of nowhere. >> there were any stab wounds or any bullet holes. >> there were no obvious signs of larry's cause of death. so, they looked further and found something very unusual. >> the medical examiner was able to find out that the cause of death was poisoning with a horse tranquilizer. >> horse tranquilizer? >> yes. >> now that was strange. but get this -- >> he depended for an extended period of time. however, the body had not decomposed consistent with the timeframe we were looking at. >> meaning? >> meaning that it was preserved. kept cold. >> one of the first things i thought is, where would the person that killed larry, where would they have access to a walk in refrigerator large enough to hold a human body? >> detectives wanted answers. and so did larry's daughter

tavia, who sometimes believed she could hear her father in her sleep. >> when i would go to sleep at night i would wake up and i would hear him calling for me to help him. and i didn't know what to do. i didn't understand what was going on. >> sometimes people get a sense of knowing either what or who is responsible. did you? >> i knew elisa had done something. >> larry's much younger wife, elisa. she vanished a few months after he did and now that larry was dead, she was the prime suspect in his murder. sheriff's deputies and the fbi finally tracked her down in march, 2002, in florida. >> she cut her hair short. and it changed her name. >> elisa was now going by the name of shane ivaroni. and was working as a paralegal at a florida law firm. >> elisa was a very smart person.

she had i believe 140 iq. >> she could talk anybody into anything. >> right. >> but now that she was finally exposed for the con artists she was and was in custody, elisa decided to tell her story. starting, at long last, with her legal name. >> my whole name is laren. l-a-r-e-n. my middle name is renee. r-e-n-e-e. my maiden name was sims. s-i-m-s. >> and where did elisa come from? a change or you just wanted a different name? >> no, i left florida. you know, i mean i was a fugitive from florida. >> elisa or laren, was from massachusetts and was a mother of two. she was wanted in florida for violating probation on a burglary and theft charge. and had been on the run for nine years, she said. she eventually settled in las vegas where she met larry and by this time had changed her name to elisa.

she told the police that she was at the horse show in arizona when she found out police wanted to talk to her about larry. and so, she took off in her jaguar. drove from state to state. >> where were you headed at this point? >> just away. don't know where. >> so, with the preliminaries out of the way, now came the big question. what happened to larry mcnabney? elisa, without hesitation, and without even being asked, spilled the beans. >> and did i kill my husband? yes, i killed my husband. >> there it was. no apology. no evasion. she simply confessed to killing her husband, larry mcnabney. but, and this was a with a capital "b", that wasn't the whole story. not even close. >> coming up -- did elisa have help?

>> she was going to dig a hole. >> yeah. and i was freaking out. >> when "dateline" continues. here goes nothing. but for a young homeowner becoming their parents, it's a learning opportunity. come on in. [ chuckles ] the more, the merrier. paris, huh? bonjour! we got any out-of-towners in the elevator? tom. it is not easy. 10th floor, huh? must be a heck of a view. okay, see how everyone else is facing this way? progressive can't save you from becoming your parents, but we can save you money when you bundle home and auto with us. okay, that was terrible. okay, let's hang back. we're gonna try that again. my mental health was much better, but i struggled with uncontrollable movements called td, tardive dyskinesia. td can be caused by some mental health meds. and it's unlikely to improve without treatment. i felt like my movements were in the spotlight. ingrezza is a prescription medicine to treat adults with td movements. ingrezza is different. it's the simple, once-daily treatment proven to reduce td that's #1 prescribed.

people taking ingrezza can stay on their current dose of most mental health meds. ingrezza 80 mg is proven to reduce td movements in 7 out of 10 people. don't take ingrezza if you're allergic to any of its ingredients. ingrezza may cause serious side effects, including sleepiness. don't drive, operate heavy machinery, or do other dangerous activities until you know how ingrezza affects you. other serious side effects include potential heart rhythm problems and abnormal movements. it's nice people focus more on me. ask your doctor about #1 prescribed, once-daily ingrezza. learn how you could pay as little as zero dollars at ingrezza.com ♪ ingrezza ♪ >> hi i'm jessica layton and

here is what is happening. german chancellor, olaf scholz, sat down with president biden yesterday during his statement to the white house. the leader is vowing to continue pressuring russia with economic, and political sanctions. one here into the ukraine war. and in southern california, residents there are trapped in their homes. as road crews are slowly clearing away a feet of snow that has fallen in recent days. local lawmakers requested that president biden issue a federal disaster declaration. to speed up those recovery efforts. i'm jessica layton, now back to dateline! dateline

>> welcome back to "dateline". i'm craig melvin. laren mcnabney's wife had confessed to murdering her husband and burying his body in a california vineyard. it would have seemed like a straightforward case, if not for what she told investigators next. elisa was mcnabney a killer, all right, but did she act alone? here again is keith morrison with "poison". >> there is a purity to confession. a real cleansing of the soul. and now after months on the lamp, elisa mcnabney, aka renee sims, etc, etc, was finally in custody and unloading the secrets of a lifetime. didn't hold back. yes, she killed her husband of nearly seven years. but it was in her idea. >> i said, "i don't know what i'm going to do." and she said, "we have to kill

him." and i said, "we can't kill him." >> she said? who was this other woman who pushed elisa to commit murder? turned out detectives had already talked with her. remember sarah dutra? the young secretary elisa's friend, who came in with her little dogs and was so helpful to the detectives after larry and elisa disappeared? now was elisa saying killing larry was sarah's idea. >> i never would have thought that upon my own. >> elisa told the story this way. larry was a heavy drinker and drug user. she was abusive, she claimed. and she feared for her life. one day, she said, she confided in her young friend sarah. sara said there was just one thing to do. kill larry mcnabney. now, in this three hour long interview, elisa went into detail after gruesome detail of how she and sarah did it. elisa larry we're at a lahore

show in los angeles, she said, and sarah flew down to meet them. or rather to meet elisa, since larry didn't like sarah said elisa. >> and what did you guys decide to do with him? >> we said if we kill him, nobody's gonna miss him. >> were you going to do it that day? or were you going to do it sometime in the future? when were you guys planning on doing it? >> right then. >> yeah. >> that was september 9th, 2001. according to elisa their had already larry had already passed out after inviting a little horse tranquilizer on his own, for fun. so, sara decided, according to

elisa, to just to give him more. and no one would ever find out. >> oh, god, a seemed like a good at that idea at the time. but oh, my god, it's so horrible to think of taking someone's life. >> well, larry said slept said elisa, she and sarah score to drops of horse tranquilizer into his mouth. but larry didn't die. instead, the next day on september 10th, larry got up. showed his horse. and then went right back to bed. >> next morning he's lying there. and i thought he was dead.

and so i weakens it syrup and i say, i think he said. and she pushes him. and she said, no he's not dead. >> but he was so heavily drunk he couldn't walk. >> so we went down the street and rented a wheelchair. and i got him dress and put him in the wheelchair. and we rolled him out to the truck. and put him in the back seat of the truck. and we drove. >> this by the way was september 11th, 2001. everyone else in the known world preoccupied elsewhere. while elisa and sarah drove north through california with larry slowly dying in the back seat of the trunk.

>> we stopped in yosemite, somewhere in yosemite. and sara got out and started digging a hole. while he was a life. okay? and i freaked out. >> that was the morning of september 12th. >> and sarah says, well, we can't leave him lying here. so, you know, we take him in the sheet that he was lying on and we wrapped it around him. and then we took duct tape and wrapped it around him. and he was in a crouched position. and then, in my garage he had this rough route wine refrigerator, like a regular refrigerator. but he ordinarily kept wine in. so we took the wind out of it. and we took the rocks out of it. and we put him in it. >> and stuffed larry's body in her refrigerator while they decided what to do with him. >> we talked about bearing him in the backyard. we talked about burying him over at my trainers. we talked about taking him in the desert and burning the body. >> but they couldn't quite decide. and so, they kept larry's body in the refrigerator for three months. and then they decided to take it to las vegas. find someplace there to bury it. >> how much does he? >> he weighed about --

a lot. >> i have a hard time seeing you to picking up him. >> but we lay the trailer tire down in front of the refrigerator. open the refrigerator door, lay the trailer door down. slide him out, put him on the trailer. and then back their jack up really close to the trailer. and then it was only like that much difference. so then we just pushed. >> off of the tire into the trunk? >> exactly. and he was shaped like this, you know? so then we put him in the trump. and he was like this. and we close the trunk. and we went to las vegas. >> on route to las vegas, with their two dogs in the back seat, is larry in the trunk, along with two shovels. once there, is sarah hung out at the hotel with the dogs. elisa went out looking for a

burial place for larry. but when she started digging, she said, the ground was too hard. >> and so i went back to the hotel and i told her, i can't do it. and all this time he's in the trunk. you know? and the valets parking us. it's not good, you know? >> so, elisa said, they drove back to california. and the next morning, at 4:00, she drove out to a vineyard. dug a hole and buried him. >> how deep ahold they do dig? >> not deep enough, obviously. >> that was elisa's story. in just a few hours after she finished telling it, california detectives holden sarah dutra, the alleged driver of the whole plot. and her story? well, it was a little different. >> coming up -- is sarah dutra a cold blooded killer? or an innocent who is just trying to survive? >> god, i didn't want to end up like him. >> when "dateline" continues. yeah. i respect that. but that cough looks pretty bad.

try this robitussin honey. the real honey you love, plus the powerful cough relief you need. mind if i root through your trash? robitussin. the only brand with real honeyand elderberry. ♪♪ for skin as alive as you are... don't settle for silver. harness the power of 7 moisturizers & 3 vitamins to smooth, heal, and moisturize your dry skin. gold bond. champion your skin. my husband and i have never been more active. to smooth, heal, and mo shingles doesn't care. i go to spin classes with my coworkers. good for you, shingles doesn't care. because no matter how healthy you feel, your risk of shingles sharply increases after age 50. but shingrix protects. proven over 90% effective, shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix.

fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. shingles doesn't care but, shingrix protects. shingrix is now zero dollars for almost everyone. ask your doctor about shingrix today. >> i'm here tonight to

encourage you to let the chips fall where the chips fall. do not protect elisa anymore. don't protect yourself either. just tell the truth. >> but is she, like, incriminating me somehow? >> sarah dutra appeared confused. her close friend elisa had confessed to murdering her husband larry and playing sarah just 21 years old at the time, not only helped with the murder, but was actually the driving force behind it. >> what do you think elisa doing right now? >> she's really lying about what really happened. >> are you a cold blooded killer?

>> or are you somebody that got caught up in some stuff and made some mistakes? >> they confronted her with elisa's written confession. >> basically, it says, i, learned -- to overdose larry mcnabney, with horse tranquilizer. >> no i'm not denying. i mean -- but i never thought that she would have carried it out and taking me along with her, unknowingly. she's evil and she's trying to do this to pull me down with her. because she's been jealous of me. i know she has. >> explain that to me then. why is she doing this? make me believe it, sarah. >> because she's an evil person. anyone who could kill their husband is evil. >> sara dutra broke down until detectives her side of the story. and in this version, it was

elisa not sarah who was a cold blooded killer. but elisa ordered sarah to bury him before he was dead. >> she said, get out and grab the shovel and dig a hole. and i said oh god i don't want to do this, she said get out. i was -- i want you to know that i was so afraid to not do which want to me to. >> the elisa who was eerily calm and very finely did expire -- >> and he was lying on the ground. what is he lying on the ground? for you know why is he not lying in bed? and she said, he's dead. and i thought, what? oh my god, he's dead? what do you mean he's dead? >> that was the morning of september 12th after the long

and harrowing drive home from the horseshow in los angeles. and through her tears, she told the detectives how larry's body ended up in the refrigerator. >> and so she put him in a sheet. oh my god, -- i i've never seen anything like this, okay? and she said, okay grab the sheet. and then we carried him downstairs and i'm like, what are you doing? i -- we have to call the police. this is not right. she said, we are not calling the police. if you call the police you'll be so sorry you did. >> this was the heart of sara's version, she went along with a whole awful, crazy thing for one reason. she said, she was definitely afraid of elissa. wow >> i didn't want to end up like him. >> was it possible? an innocent young woman in the thrall of a con artist and killer? sarah dutra seems so frightened,

so emotional. and yet, that the detectives -- >> i thought a little bit over the top? >> she was a little over the top. >> yes. >> wow [inaudible] >> you mean she was acting? putting it on? >> i believe so. >> after more than nine hours of questioning, sarah dutra was arrested and charged with larry's murder. it was a classic crime story. two killers, mutual finger-pointing. and prosecutors knew they could use each woman's testimony against the other, an easy checkmate. that is until alicia took herself off the board. a few days after her arrest, a jailer found her hanging by the

neck in her cell. a suicide. >> i have 1 million questions for elisa. and now, that door has been slammed shut. >> and now, sara left holding the bag. but facing murder charges alone. >> coming up, you can try only one defendant, it's very easy as it was for sarah dutra to point the finger at the one who was not there. >> when dateline continues. td can be caused by some mental health meds. and it's unlikely to improve without treatment. i felt like my movements were in the spotlight. ingrezza is a prescription medicine to treat adults with td movements. ingrezza is different. it's the simple, once-daily treatment proven to reduce td that's #1 prescribed. people taking ingrezza can stay on their current dose of most mental health meds. ingrezza 80 mg is proven to reduce td movements in 7 out of 10 people. don't take ingrezza if you're allergic to any of its ingredients. ingrezza may cause serious side effects, including sleepiness. don't drive, operate heavy machinery, or do other dangerous activities until you know how

ingrezza affects you. other serious side effects include potential heart rhythm problems and abnormal movements. it's nice people focus more on me. ask your doctor about #1 prescribed, once-daily ingrezza. learn how you could pay as little as zero dollars at ingrezza.com ♪ ingrezza ♪ nexgard is the flea and tick protection that's #1 with vets. your vet trusts it for her patients... ...and her own dog. plus, its delicious beef flavor is #1 with dogs. use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures or neurologic disorders. ask your vet about nexgard. ♪ i gotta good feeling about this, yeah ♪ with a history of seizures or n♪ i'm with it ♪ders. ♪ i gotta good feeling about this ♪ ♪ yeah, ♪ ♪ so let's get it ♪ ♪ i'm feeling good vibes ♪ i've never been healthier. shingles doesn't care. but shingrix protects. proven over 90% effective, shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions

to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingrix today. why are 93% of sleep number sleepers very satisfied with their bed? maybe it's because you can gently raise your partner's head to help relieve snoring. so you can both stay comfortable all night >> welcome back. save $1,200 on the sleep number 360 i10 smart bed. only for a limited time.

sarah dutra was behind bars charged with the murder of

laren larry mcnabney. the larry's wife elisa told the detectives they killed the attorney together. but insisted it was sarah's idea. then elisa committed suicide, leaving sarah to face trial alone. sarah's defense claimed she was the pawn forced to commit that horrendous act and it was elisa who was the real mastermind. which story would the jury believe? hairs keith morrison with the conclusion of "poison". >> it was the winter of 2003. more than a year after larry mcnabney was poisoned with horse tranquilizer. his admitted killer, his wife elisa mcnabney, chose her own destiny. and her alleged accomplice, sarah dutra, a lone, faced the possibility of spending the rest of her life behind bars. >> you attended the trial every day? >> yes, 11 and a half weeks. >> why? why? >> our dea had talked to us

about the importance of our family being represented. that my dad not being forgotten. >> tavia believe that her father died at both the hands of elisa and sarah. and while sarah admitted to being there one larry died, and in the days and months that followed, she adamantly claimed she never went to the police because she was so afraid of elisa. island of ending up just like larry. a theory that even prosecutor thomas testa found, well, believable. >> when i first got this case, people in my office will tell you that's exactly what i was saying. walking up and down the hall. >> for sara, she's the victim. >> she's just an aider and abettor. but as i got deeper in the case i totally turned around on this.

i started with a very mindset. >> as testa review the evidence in preparation for trial, he became convinced that sarah dutra was in fact, the woman in charge. >> did sarah not like larry. she always is accused him of being full of himself. talking about himself all the time. self-centered. she didn't like him. so larry did it was zero around. sarah did not like larry. >> you know? this sounds to me like to people who both love elisa and what the other out of the way. >> that's it. that's exactly eight. it was a love triangle and one of them had to go. >> sarah, state prosecutor testa, was enjoying a very fancy life with elisa. and larry was simply in the way. if your theory is right, these

are two good time girls who've got this great relationship and they're living off the proceeds of larry. why get rid of him? they have no motive? >> larry was elisa's golden goose. but elisa was sarah's golden goose. and sarah was about to be cut off this whole triangle. >> larry had told her two days before he was killed that he wanted her gone. he wanted her fired. >> so, said testa, it was sarah who had the motive to kill larry. sarah's lawyer, of course, saw differently. >> it seems like a classic instance of evil wrapping around a sweet, young, little baby. >> that the trial, defense

attorney portrayed elisa as a black window. a sophisticated con otters who wanted her husband. and sarah was her innocent and terrified pawn. >> this is the most horrible thing that i've ever had anything to do with, but not because i wanted to. not because i wanted to do that. not because i wanted to. >> really? now prosecutor testa introduced ginger miller. remember her? the other secretary who worked alongside sarah and elisa? she said, in the days and weeks after larry vanished, elisa and sarah seemed to feel anything but remorse. >> they're laughing together. you are shopping together. they're eating together. they're sleeping in the same bed together. she's living out her house. >> so, they were not really working, were they? >> they would go maybe two hours during the day. >> what they do the rest of the time? just party? >> shop, hang out, sleep. go flirt with boys. >> all the while, spending the firms money. larry's money. a lot of money. >> elisa got a red jaguar. sara got a red bmw.

>> such close friends. or maybe more than friends. >> they bought matching underwear together. >> come on? >> no, my first week, they're like, look what we bought. they pulled out and showed they were both wearing matching underwear. they were best friends. >> they were blowing through money so fast they fell behind in rent payments for the law office. got evicted. so, they moved the office into elisa and larry's home. which according to ginger, now seemed more like elisa and sarah's home. >> up in the room, they had no clothes of larry's. the closet was cleand out. they made the sinks hers and hers instead of his and hers. >> like they knew he wasn't coming back? >> well, she said, they're pretty much moving him out. >> well, not quite. because all this time, remember, larry's body was still in the garage. still in the refrigerator. and as for the idea that sarah was an instant child, elisa's pop it, that was nonsense, said ginger. >> everybody knows that she was

in terrified of her. sarah had as much say as elisa had in the whole situation. >> back at her trial, sarah, the daughter of those devout christian, sat quietly at the defense table. wide-eyed and innocent. elisa was it around to be cross-examined, so her videotaped confession didn't get played for the jury. and with no dna, no prince, no trace evidence, no living eyewitnesses, the case against sarah was entirely circumstantial. first degree murder. >> first degree murder, yeah. >> but would the jury see it the way he did? after four days of deliberations the jury found sarah dutra guilty of voluntary manslaughter. and accessory to murder. not first degree murder. >> had she not been a young, attractive, tall blonde, whose parents were clutching bibles, crying in the first row, one wonders if this would verdict would have been the same. >> sarah was dutra sentenced to 11 years, served eight. and in the summer of 2011, at age 31, she was released. >> it's painful to know that such little time was given for such a horrific crime. and one that seemed so premeditated, to me. and so thought out. and so callous to the end. >> sarah dutra did not respond to our interview request.

and tavia? she told us she'd forgiven sarah, as much as for her own sake as anything. >> will i ever forget what she's done? never. but i don't want to have my whole life the their cruelty and the things they chose to do to him. i would rather remember the loving times we had together. they're not going to take that away from me. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline". i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." what evidence doesn't lie? it actually tells a story.