48 Hours - A Deadly Love Triangle

Episode Date: September 10, 2023

The millionaire, his fiancée, and the NFL player. Troy Roberts reports on a love triangle turned deadly. This episode of 48 Hours originally aired on 10/29/2011.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. Newport Beach has it all. It's got the surfing, it has the yachts. It has beautiful homes, it's got the palm trees.

There's a lot of money in Newport. You're talking multi-million dollar beautiful waterfront properties. Bill McLaughlin was a multi-millionaire. He had a boat, he had a private plane, he had a beautiful Bayside home. He had two beautiful daughters and a handsome young son. His family was everything to him and his kids, especially all three of us. After almost 25 years of marriage, things were getting a little rocky between Bill and his wife. And my mom actually left the relationship,

and that crushed my dad. After his divorce, he eventually would meet somebody new. Nanette Johnston. She's my age, yuck. Dad, you're dating this young chick? It boosted his self-esteem to have this young girl around, working her magic and making him feel good. December 15, 1994, right before Christmas,

Bill McLaughlin came home from Las Vegas, went into the kitchen for some reason, and unbeknownst to him, he was about to die. And at that point, the killer was coming through the pedestrian access gate. He got inside the house. He came around the corner, and there was Bill McLaughlin standing face to face with his murderer.

The killer shot him six times and then fled. Nobody deserves to die the way my dad died. Months went by, and then two years went by, and we kept waiting. They said, we just don't have enough information. Finally, 15 years later, we were able to make an arrest. The shooter was a former NFL linebacker. It was such a shock to all of us.

My name is Eric Naposki. I might wear handcuffs, and I might be locked up, but I'm no criminal. There's a person out there who actually committed a crime. And today, I'm going to tell the world who really did it, and I'm going to prove my innocence. I'm Troy Roberts. Tonight on 48 Hours, murder and the OC. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand,

lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still a virgin. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two years, I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with.

In the Pitcairn Trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets,

the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's

most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. The murder of Bill McLaughlin rattled the quiet gated community of Balboa Cove.

And devastated Bill's daughters, Jenny and Kim. My mom called me and told me. It was too terrible to hear. Somebody had come into our house and shot him in the chest. What? On December 15th, 1994, Newport Beach detectives struggled to piece together the puzzle. Tom Voth was the lead detective on the case.

To have a murder occur here was very uncommon. There were no fingerprints. DNA was very early in its stages. There were no weapons found. So there wasn't much to go on? No, no, sir. But just the night before his murder, Bill McLaughlin had called his brother Patrick. I could tell right away something was wrong.

He was in Las Vegas calling me. He was feeling as though his life was threatened. That's just the way he talked to me. It was like people were out to get him. Detectives began poring over every personal detail of McLaughlin's life. His world of privilege in Newport Beach was a far cry from his humble beginnings on the south side of Chicago. He was always the self-made guy, really.

He was the first in his family to go to college. He wanted to be the kind of a guy that would make a difference. And he did. Bill McLaughlin was the entrepreneur behind the development of a groundbreaking device that separates plasma from blood. It was a huge advance in the healthcare field, and it made him a fortune. How old was he when he made his first million? Probably early 30s. Bill's best friend, Don Kalau, says that was just the beginning. By the time of his death,

McLaughlin was worth an estimated $55 million. You don't amass that kind of fortune without stepping on some toes. There was nobody that I knew that had a vendetta against him. But in the months before his murder, Bill had been embroiled in a bitter lawsuit with this man. Hal Fishel, a former business partner who had invented the plasma device. And this had been a long, difficult lawsuit. Hal Fishel was the adversary in the lawsuits. Fishel lost the suit and had to forfeit $9 million to Bill.

That sounded like a motive. Did you consider Hal Fishel a main suspect in this case? Yes. But Fishel had an alibi, a good one. Eyewitnesses say he was in Santa Barbara, nearly 150 miles north of Newport Beach at the time of the murder. He was quickly eliminated. Fairly quickly, yes.

Besides, investigators were becoming more convinced the killer was part of McLaughlin's inner circle. The clues kept leading them closer to home, in fact, directly to his front doorstep. When we arrived at the homicide scene in 1994, there were two keys located. Found a key in this door. In addition, they also found a key laying on the ground here. And the key that fits this lock right here at that time also fit the front door of the residence.

What does that say? In all of our minds, that narrows the field of suspects down to those that have access to keys. The police took a closer look at McLaughlin's family, beginning with McLaughlin's son, who was upstairs in the house when he says he heard the shots that killed his father, Orange County Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy. They put paper bags over Kevin's hands, and they did a forensic analysis of his hands, showing that Kevin did not fire a firearm that night. That left McLaughlin's two daughters and his ex-wife, all who had airtight alibis and no motive.

And then there was Nanette, Bill McLaughlin's much younger fiancé, who he met through a magazine ad she placed looking for a wealthy, older man. I know how to take care of a man if he can take care of me. That's what she said. He was at a vulnerable time, and so here she comes along and, you know, made everything a little better. In return, McLaughlin provided Nanette with a generous allowance and a lavish lifestyle she immediately stepped into a lifestyle that most people would only dream of she lived in a beautiful home they went to Europe they went on cruises they went on exotic ski vacations, jewelry, everything.

Within months, Nanette brought her two young children to live with Bill. His daughters, Kim and Jenny, became increasingly worried. I said, Dad, I don't really like her. I think she's with you for your money. She knew how much she was worth. Yes, definitely. In spite of the warnings, after about a year of dating, McLaughlin proposed. He even wrote her into his will. He wanted to make sure that if anything happened, her and her kids would be taken care of.

He had a million-dollar life insurance policy with her as the beneficiary. On December 15, 1994, Bill McLaughlin came home and found a note from Nanette. She had gone to her son's soccer game and would be home late. When she pulled up to the house around 10 p.m., her fiancé was dead. What was Nanette's alibi? That she was at the soccer game. And directly after that, she went shopping. She couldn't possibly have been involved in the murder

because she had these receipts. Did her alibi check out? No, not completely. Nanette had been at the soccer game, but with another man, someone. McLaughlin's family knew nothing about. They said, do you know who Eric Naposki is? And we said, absolutely not. Who's that?

They said, this is Nanette's boyfriend. And we were like, really? We thought our dad was Nanette's boyfriend. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by

an actual murder? I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, wherever you get your podcasts. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge? Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly? Introducing the best idea yet, a brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with and the bolder risk takers who brought them to life. Like, did you know that Super Mario, the best-selling video game character of all time, only exists because

Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala? From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans, discover the surprising stories of the most viral products. Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're going to dominate your next dinner party. So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just the best idea yet. Bill McLaughlin's fiancée, Nanette Johnston, had a secret. A big one. Eric Naposki with the sack. Six foot two and weighing more than 250 pounds. Eric Naposki, professional football player for the NFL.

There was the blitz, Eric Naposki. Linebacker for the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts, among others, was certain in December of 1994 that Nanette was his girlfriend. You wanted to marry Nanette. I did. Do you think she really loved you? She appeared to back then. She seemed madly in love with him. Eric's sister, Angela.

I liked her. She had two small children that were wonderful children. We fell in love with them instantly. We really thought she was the one for Eric because she was strong and she was intelligent and we thought it was a good match. He was excited. Dave Matthews couldn't believe his high school buddy was smitten.

Eric back then, he's a good looking, charming, funny guy with great energy. He's a tough one to fall in love because he dates a lot. But with Nanette, things were different. This wasn't just a regular girl. She was a bombshell, and she was very attractive. It was hard to miss her. Eric's former roommates, Rob Frias and Leonard Jomsky. She's beautiful. I mean, without a doubt, she was a really, really pretty girl. But to Eric, there was much more to Nanette than her beauty. She graduated college early.

She's got her MBA. She was a real hardworking person. She wrote business plans for a living. Being in medical sales. She had this, like, prototype design for a device. It separates plasma from blood. It's really cool. Nanette told them she took her invention to her boss, Bill McLaughlin.

They end up selling it and making tens of millions. Not only did she take credit for Bill McLaughlin's work, but she claimed his money was her own. From the very beginning, she told me exactly what she was doing with Bill McLaughlin, as far as a mentor and as far as a business relationship. And it sounded really good. You never suspected that she and Bill McLaughlin shared an intimate relationship? I never once suspected. Bill was an investor,

and Nanette also took part in his investments. She would tell everyone the same stories. Nanette told them she and her business partner were investors in high-end real estate. She owned a $5 million beach house in Newport. He says Nanette told him she also shared another million-dollar home with her colleague Bill where they had separate bedrooms. To Eric, she was clearly a self-made success story, something he desperately wanted to

be. But his football career was in jeopardy. In Giants Stadium, I'm making a sack and my foot twisted and I popped the arch in my foot. Years of playing professional football was taking a toll. In the early 90s, Eric Naposki was trying to figure out what to do next. Started programs at the gym, working with kids, started a security company. And then just two weeks before Bill McLaughlin's murder, Eric got another job, running security at the Thunderbird nightclub, less than 200 yards from Bill McLaughlin's home

where he was killed. How did you learn that Bill McLaughlin was murdered? Nanette told me. She was shaken up. She was absolutely shaken up. But within a week, Eric says, he learned he was a suspect. I noticed there's a car following me. It was the police.

Then they brought me to an interview room and started throwing questions at me. Like what? Like, what's your relationship with Nanette? What is your involvement or relationship? Nanette's a pretty good friend of mine. He was very evasive. Detective Voth remembers Eric wouldn't give them a straight answer.

Would you describe it as a dating relationship, a boyfriend-girlfriend? Yeah, I wouldn't say a solo, total, like, I have girlfriends, you know. You danced around the truth. If you're an innocent man, why would you do that? I'm an innocent man now.

Why? Because there's no manual or there's no handbook when you're being looked at as a suspect in a murder case. Eric was not forthcoming about Nanette and evasive about other things. It took him a while to admit he had once had a 9mm gun. What were you thinking when you heard he had owned the 9mm? I knew that a 9mm was used in the crime. But he refused to tell investigators

where the gun was. Where is your 9mm? I have no idea. You have no idea? That's my statement. Why weren't you truthful about the 9mm with police? I think I was just scared, because I didn't buy that 9mm for myself.

That was Nanette's 9mm Beretta. I was scared to start throwing around, that's Nanette's gun, you know, go look at Nanette. You know, that would have been really like just pointing a finger. Eric says Nanette likes shooting at the range and months earlier asked him to get her a 9mm. But he didn't tell police that. Because at the time, Eric says, he didn't know what to believe about his girlfriend and Bill McLaughlin.

They're telling me, well, there's this relationship going on that you don't know about. And then she's telling me there's no relationship that you don't know about. So I'm getting hit from both sides. Eric called home. He was hysterical crying. And he said, they think I killed this guy.

They think I killed him. I guarantee you, looking straight in the face, Troy, Eric Naposki did not murder Bill McLaughlin any way you slice it. Eric Naposki had an alibi, and he was sure back in 1995 that after authorities heard everything, he'd be exonerated. I couldn't have done it. The alibi allows me no time to commit any crime. Eric's evening began with Nanette at her son's soccer game. It was a good game. It was a championship game,

and it ended pretty late. Nanette, he says, then drove him to the town of Tustin, where he lived. She drops me at my truck. I say, good night. She says, she's gonna go do some shopping. Eric says he got into his truck

and headed to his job at the Thunderbird nightclub in Newport Beach. But before he could get very far, his beeper went off. My page is from my boss, one of the managers at the Thunderbird nightclub in Newport Beach. But before he could get very far, his beeper went off. My page is from my boss, one of the managers at the Thunderbird. So I continue over the 55 freeway, and I pull into the Denny's. I walk to one of the two phone booths in the back, and I use my calling card to call the Thunderbird.

Eric says according to his calling card bill, it was 8.52. Phone records put me in Tustin, which is 20 minutes outside Newport Beach, minutes before the 911 call. I hate to burst your bubble, fellas, but I wasn't in Newport at 9 o'clock. It's impossible, he told police, for him to have had a phone conversation at 8.52,

then drive about 12 miles to Newport Beach, sneak into Bill's house, shoot him, and then flee before Bill's son discovers his father's body shortly after 9 p.m. You can't make it, Troy. That's why they didn't arrest me back then. If you could make that drive, they would have arrested me in 95. I could have not committed this murder, period and end.

But it wasn't the end. About a month after the murder, Kim McLaughlin was looking over her father's financial records and got the surprise of her life. When December bank statements came in, I noticed a very big amount of money missing. How much? $250,000.

$250,000. Someone had written a check for a quarter of a million dollars, and it was dated December 14th, just one day before the murder. And I thought, this is strange. We alerted the banks that we needed to get copies of the check. On the check, their father's signature was forged. The net Johnston, it turned out, had cashed it. I was in shock. And then I continued

to look further. Altogether, how much money did she embezzle from your father? Gosh, probably close to half a million dollars. Half a million dollars. Money is a really strong motive for her. It was clear to Kim and Jenny that Nanette had to end their father's life before he found out that she was stealing from him. Stealing for a future worth Eric Naposki. They called the police. We felt very strongly that both Eric Naposki and Nanette Johnson were responsible for Mr. McLaughlin's murder. Retired Detective Dave Byington remembers being frustrated when the district attorney refused to charge Eric and Nanette with murder. The decision was made. There wasn't enough evidence to file,

but our guts told us that they were good for it. The DA would only charge Nanette with forgery and theft. They've accused her of stealing money. Of course, she has a pretty good excuse for all of it, being signers on accounts and co-business partners. Eric says he wanted to believe Nanette that the money was hers. But then newspaper articles were referring to her as Bill McLaughlin's fiancée. So I look at her and I go, what the hell is this?

Fiancée stuff. She blamed it on a misquote. Well, they don't know what they're talking about. I'm not engaged to Bill. I've never been engaged to him. That's ridiculous. How did she explain her deceit? She never did.

And you didn't demand answers? I demanded them, and that's which led to our breakup. But that was months later, right? With a lot of in-betweens. Eric finally left Southern California, and in March of 1996, Nanette pled guilty to forgery and theft and served 180 days. After Nanette was released from jail, she quickly began dating again. Nanette did what she always does.

She went looking for a new sugar daddy, someone else to support her. Nanette married the very wealthy businessman. She went looking for a new sugar daddy, someone else to support her. Nanette married the very wealthy businessman John Packard and had another child. She was a manhunter, and she used that sexuality as her main tool to grab these guys. That marriage ended in divorce, but Nanette quickly moved on, marrying entrepreneur Bill McNeil and having yet another child. She was so aggressive that it wouldn't surprise her that she had a trapeze set up in her bedroom. You needed a playbook to keep track of the marriages. Back on the East Coast, Eric Naposki had moved on with his life.

He fathered two children. Eric's my 11-year-old, and Susanna is my 8-year-old. There you go. Go, Eric, go. Eric's a miniature me. Plays football, basketball, soccer. Eric's a miniature me. Plays football, basketball, soccer. Hi. He's a great kid. And my daughter is the light of my life.

Just always smiling, always happy. Eric picked up work as a personal trainer and promoted workout products. And he even tried his hand at acting, going back to Orange County to film a pitch reel for a potential TV series called Newport 40. Kind of a male version of the Real Housewives of Orange County. By 2009, Eric Naposki was finally settling down in quiet Greenwich, Connecticut. But one spring morning, his world turned upside down.

There was four vehicles. Machine guns pointed at me. Over loudspeaker, they were telling me to get out of the vehicle. They put me on the ground. I said, am I under arrest? And they said, yes, for murder. There's no way. I couldn't even believe it. And almost 3,000 miles away in Orange County, California...

A real-life Orange County housewife and mother of four is behind bars tonight. ...Nanette Johnston Packard McNeil was also under arrest for murder. Anything to say, Nanette? You're innocent. All of a sudden, 15 years later, out of the blue to have a phone call from the detectives, we just made two arrests. Nanette and Eric are in jail. We were overjoyed. It's hard to get a fair trial 15 years later.

Am I innocent? Absolutely 100%. Can I prove it? I hope so. It's hard to get a fair trial 15 years later. Am I innocent? Absolutely 100%. Can I prove it? I hope so. Can they prove I'm guilty? I don't think that's possible because I didn't do it. 15 years after Bill McLaughlin was gunned down in his Balboa Cove's home,

Eric Naposki is facing trial for a murder he says he did not commit. I've never been in that house. Never, ever. I don't see any DNA. I don't see any fingerprints. I don't see any big footprints from a size 14 boot. I don't see anything from that night. And if I was never in the house, ever, how did I commit a crime? There's no doubt in any of our minds that Eric Naposki pulled the trigger and murdered Bill McLaughlin. Prosecutor Matt Murphy is confident he can do what prosecutors before him didn't. Prove that Eric was the shooter and Annette Johnston got him to pull the trigger.

Her gift is the manipulation of men. She told Eric Naposki in the months beforehand that Bill McLaughlin was sexually assaulting her. There's no reason for her to tell him that lie unless her plan is to manipulate him into actually committing the murder. Murphy's case revolves around this star witness, Suzanne Coger. In 1994, she lived next door to Eric Naposki and says he confided in her. Eric Naposki came to her and said, Bill McLaughlin keeps coming into Nanette's room at night, and he was furious about it. And she said that he was really, really upset. So upset that he said he wanted to blow up Bill McLaughlin's plane.

Eric says he was just letting off steam. I did tell her that I wanted to blow up his plane. I didn't say I wanted to kill Bill or that I wanted to shoot Bill or I want Bill blown away. His plane didn't blow up, did it? But there was a second conversation with Koger just three weeks after the murder, where Murphy says Eric implicates himself even further. And she goes, oh my God, Eric, I don't even want to know if you had anything to do with it.

And he smiled and he said, maybe I did, maybe I didn't. He said, maybe I had somebody do it. I said I didn't first. And then when she kept badgering me about it, it was more of a laughing conversation at that point. But to me, it's just an off-the-cuff comment. But there's more to what Eric told Koger. He said, the killer used the same kind of gun that I used to have, so the police think I did it. The only people on the planet Earth that knew a 9mm was used in the murder were about a half dozen detectives at Newport Beach Police Department and the killer. And I believe him when he tells me he's not the shooter. Defense attorney John

Popolardo grew up with Eric Naposki in Westchester, New York. I met him through Little League Baseball. He teams his most experienced attorney from New York, Angelo McDonald, with well-respected Orange County defense attorney Gary Polson. Matt Murphy, as you know, has never lost a murder case. Does it worry you? It worries me, but he doesn't get to make up the evidence. But just before Eric's scheduled trial, new forensic tests tie the shell casings from the gun that killed McLaughlin to the exact make and model of the gun Eric once owned, a 9mm Beretta.

If convicted, Eric and Nanette face life behind bars. Eric will stand trial first. Mr. Naposki lied about his relationship with Nanette. Murphy immediately hones in on Eric's history of lying to the police. And, of course, we know he lied about his 9mm. You just don't do that if you're innocent. And the defense will show...

In order to find him not guilty, the jury must believe Eric's story, that at 8.52 p.m., just minutes before Bill McLaughlin's murder, Eric was about 12 miles away on a payphone at the Denny's restaurant. Ladies and gentlemen, the defense will prove that he possesses a solid, simple, logical, reasonable, and compelling alibi. He simply could not have done it. It will be hard to convince the jury, though, without evidence of Eric's phone call. Eric says he no longer has copies of his bill, and the phone company no

longer has the records. We had the phone record. It might be open and shut case, right? Murphy doubts the call even happened, but if it did, he says, it's hardly an alibi. As opposed to being an alibi, the timing of that actually fits perfectly. He sent his investigator, Larry Montgomery, to time the drive from the Denny's to Bill McLaughlin's home. Larry Montgomery to time the drive from the Denny's to Bill McLaughlin's home. I did at least 15 time trials. All of our tests show that he should have been able to arrive at the location in order to do the killing. But Eric's defense lawyers have timed the drive too. I do not believe it's physically possible he could have made it in the required time.

How critical is a matter of minutes to your defense? Seconds could decide this case. Not unexpectedly, Angelo McDonald suggests to the jury a more likely killer. Nanette Johnson is an accomplished liar, cheat, thief, manipulator, con woman, and selfish, promiscuous gold digger. There's more evidence here that

Nanette Johnson did this murder than Eric Naposki. So you know what? Let's us play prosecutor. Let's put her on trial. Let's show the jury that she could have done this. She had the motive. She had the means. And you know what? She's got the cold blooded heart, the sociopathic personality to do it. Murphy has no problem letting the defense prosecute Nanette. I could not agree more. If diabolical behavior was an Olympic sport, she'd be a gold medalist every year.

She is a manipulator and an evil manipulator. But says Eric was a willing participant. He and Nanette were thick as thieves. Several months before the murder, they're shopping for million-dollar homes. Eric Naposki was in debt and Nanette had no money. The only way that they could ever afford that house that they were looking at is if Bill McLaughlin died. I've heard that the reason that Mr. McLaughlin was murdered is so I can buy a house. It's ridiculous. But maybe the hardest thing for the defense to explain is that Eric had Bill McLaughlin's license plate number

written down on a notebook found in his car right after the murder. And that that was a clue that he forgot to get rid of. That license plate number cannot be explained. That license plate number has nothing to do with the murder at all. Eric told 48 Hours that he wrote down that license plate number months before the murder after he caught Nanette in a series of lies. So I called a buddy of mine. I wanted her followed to see what she was doing.

Eric says his friend Todd Calder went by Nanette's house, told Eric there was a car there, and gave him the plate number. Turns out the car belonged to McLaughlin, but Murphy says the story just isn't true. We interviewed Todd Calder, and he said, I have no idea what you're talking about. He never asked me to do that. I absolutely never did that. Whatever happened, Eric's attorneys say, with no DNA or fingerprints, there's nothing to tie Eric to the murder scene. Please, as much as I've ever wanted anything in my life,

I want you to find him not guilty, because this man is not guilty. This is an innocent man. But the plea falls on deaf ears. After a month-long trial, it takes only seven hours. We, the jury, in the above-entitled action, find the defendant, Eric Andrew Naposki, guilty of the crime of felony to wit.

The jury finds Eric Naposki guilty of Bill McLaughlin's murder. Murder as charged in count one of the information. Six months later, a very different-looking Nanette Johnston, after spending a year and a half in jail, waiting for trial, is about to have her day in court. She is a killer. That woman is responsible for the murder of Bill McLaughlin. Murphy argues at trial that Nanette killed Bill so he wouldn't discover her infidelity or her rampant stealing.

She steals $48,200 in the month of October alone. $20,000 in November. $68,200 in seven weeks. Now, how is she gonna get away with that if Bill McLaughlin lives? She's not a nice person. Nanette's attorney, McHill, doesn't sugarcoat it. Hate her as much as you want for being a thief, a liar, a cheat, a slut, whatever you want to call her.

I knew the jury weren't going to like her, but that doesn't mean she's a murderer either. When you're motivated by money, when you're living with the golden goose, you are not going to get rid of him. In the end, Hill says, Nanette never would have left Bill McLaughlin for someone poor like Eric Naposki. Remember, Bill had just won a $9 million settlement from his ex-business partner, Hal Fishel, and he was about to get millions of dollars richer. Eric, Hill says, acted alone. Someone who is fully capable of getting alone. Someone who is fully capable of getting jealous,

someone who's fully capable of being violent, someone who's fully capable of killing his girlfriend's lover. But it took the jury just three hours to find Nanette guilty of Bill McLaughlin's murder. We really miss him,

and we're so glad that justice has been served on his behalf. For Bill's daughters, Kim and Jenny, this painful journey would finally be over. Except that now, Eric Naposki says he'll reveal a secret he's kept for almost 20 years. The identity of the man who really killed their father. You know, there are people who believe that this is a desperate ploy to gain release. What else are they going to say? Whoops, we messed up?

Eric Naposki says he's always known who really murdered Bill McLaughlin, only he didn't tell police. He didn't think they would believe him. I think some people watching this will say to themselves, if I was in his shoes, I would be screaming to the mountaintops that I know who the true killer is. And you sat on that information. There was no real benefit for me to come forward with no proof. Eight months after his conviction for murder,

Eric Naposki's legal team contacted 48 Hours, asking us to come back to prison to speak with Eric. He wanted to reveal the name of McLaughlin's killer, and he said he now had evidence to prove what he says he's known for nearly 20 years. Nanette paid for the killing. She hired somebody. A hitman. And Eric says he knows who she contacted to arrange it. It all began, Eric claims, three months before the murder, when Nanette told him McLaughlin sexually assaulted her.

A furious Eric confided in a business acquaintance. He said to me, I have people that take care of things like this. You know, I have people who don't like rapists. But Eric says he didn't take the acquaintance seriously. You know, a lot of people talk about a lot of stuff in this town, what connections they have and this and that, and you kind of take it with a grain of salt. Eric was more interested, he says, in the connections his friend said he had in Hollywood.

He got me an extra part in a movie. They were talking about starting a film production company, and Eric thought Nanette could write up a business plan. That was her spiel. That's what she did. She put together business plans. She got funding, things like that. So he set up another meeting to introduce Nanette. And that's when Eric says the acquaintance turned to Nanette and repeated his offer to help her get revenge on Bill McLaughlin.

It almost looked like a sales pitch. I know what's going on. I can help you. This is what I can do for you. Nanette Naposki says, liked the idea. She was definitely more interested in what he was talking about than I would figure she would be. Naposki says he calmed her down, but then later he saw the acquaintance again.

What did he say to you? I've started the ball rolling or something like that on what Nanette wants to do. And what did you take that to mean? That he was going to form some kind of retaliation for her. And that's when I said, well, wait a second. You know, stay out of it. It's not your business.

He said he thought that she wanted him to go forward. And I said, I don't think that was the case. So did you confront Nanette? Yeah, I told Nanette that it wasn't going to happen. She's upset with me. But Eric believed that it wasn't going to happen. She's upset with me. But Eric believed Nanette wasn't going to do anything.

It was squashed. It was over. The discussion was had. Nothing happened in September. Nothing happens in October. Nothing happens in November. But by early December, Naposki says he knew

the 9mm Beretta he usually kept in his car was missing. It's her gun. I asked her, I said, did you take it from the car? Within days, Bill McLaughlin was shot to death. Did you ask Nanette the question directly, did you have Bill McLaughlin killed? Yes.

And she answered? Absolutely. She has no remorse about killing Bill McLaughlin. Eric then went to confront the Hollywood producer. And what did he tell you? He told me that it was what it was. You know, he did what she wanted him to do. And that there's nothing I could do or say about it.

What's more, the acquaintance confirmed the gun used to murder Bill was Eric's. He was now forever tied to the murder of Bill McLaughlin. It's kept me quiet for 17 years. But no longer. Eric Naposki called for a meeting with you. Right, right. He changed his story substantially. Eric Naposki says he spent every day of his incarceration

reading through the documents and evidence police collected on the murder and on the net, including bank statements and phone bills. The first time I saw all her phone calls was after the trial. So there was a lot of things I didn't have access to that I should have had access to, but I didn't know existed. Eric showed CBS News what he had presented to the police and prosecutors in the spring of 2012, the acquaintance's telephone number on Nanette's cell phone bill just days leading up to the murder. Why is this number eight times called in one week, never called

beforehand? But Murphy says the man's number on Nanette's cell phone bill isn't enough, because Eric could just as easily use Nanette's phone. The problem there is that we know that Eric Naposki had access to that phone, so as far as being able to say Nanette made that phone call versus Eric Naposki, we just can't do that. We just don't know. And Murphy says police have now thoroughly investigated the man Eric accuses of setting up the murder, and he's an unlikely suspect. What I can tell you is he was completely cooperative in every way. He's never been arrested before.

He's legitimate in every way as far as his business dealings go. When police spoke to him, he denied even knowing Nanette. Eric provided CBS with bank statements, cash withdrawals Nanette made right before and right after the murder. A total of $50,000. Naposki is certain the money went to pay for the hit. One of the cash withdrawals Nanette made actually happens the very same day the man's number appears on her phone bill. You're telling me that a businessman with no criminal history

carried out this murder for, what, $50,000? I could only assume that that's the amount of money that's missing from her cash withdrawals. It's kind of hard to digest, Eric. Troy, is it easier to digest that I did it for nothing? But Murphy's so certain the businessman had nothing to do with the murder, CBS News has decided not to broadcast his identity. Everything

that comes out of Eric Naposki's mouth is a lie. Virtually every single thing from the first time the police contacted him all the way to the point that we've interviewed him recently. Eric Naposki went into that kitchen that night and he murdered Bill McLaughlin and we have proven it. And everything that he does since then

is about pointing fingers someplace else. Both Eric and Nanette were supposed to be sentenced for Bill McLaughlin's murder in May of 2012, but only Nanette came into the courtroom. Bill's daughter confronted her. Your trial revealed what an abomination But only Nanette came into the courtroom. Bill's daughter confronted her. Your trial revealed what an abomination you and your life have been. We are appalled and repulsed.

The judge then sentenced Nanette to life without the possibility of parole. Meanwhile, Naposki's attorneys continue to fight to have his conviction dismissed, arguing that in the 16 years since the murder, too much evidence had been lost to get a fair trial. They also tried to make a case for a new trial based on Naposki's claim that he can identify the real killer. But the judge was not swayed. In August, Naposki was back in court. The circumstantial evidence is overwhelming, and I don't believe there is any juror who would not find that Mr. Naposki killed Mr. McLaughlin. So I'm going to deny the motion for new trial.

But Naposki continued to protest his innocence. I'm innocent, and that will never change. No matter what the 12 people did, I said they made a mistake, they made a mistake. Bill's daughter couldn't get through her victim impact statement without Naposki interrupting. Yes, you say that you've never set foot in Balboa Cove or in our house.

That's a lie, Eric. It's not a lie. Your father knows you are full of lies that's not a lie somehow during your lifetime you have learned that you can get away with these lies and these lies can get you where you want

well look where it's gotten you now. The defendant has been convicted of violating Penal Code Section 187A. At last, the judge read his sentence. His only sentence option is life without possibility of parole.

Life in prison without the possibility of parole. Eric Naposki remained defiant to the end. You blew it. You f***ing blew it. Bye-bye. Yep. See you again. podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.