48 Hours - Diary of a Showgirl

Episode Date: September 7, 2023

This classic episode of 48 Hours, which last aired on 7/31/2010, explores the story of Marjorie Orbin, a former Las Vegas showgirl and stripper, who was convicted of murdering Jay Orbin, her husband of 10 years and father of her son, Noah. She is currently serving a life sentence in a Phoenix, Arizona, prison. "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant reports. Watch all-new episodes of “48 Hours” on Saturdays, and stream on demand on Paramount+.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. I've seen some of the best things life has to offer. I was a professional dancer and choreographer. She was a Las Vegas showgirl. She was a stripper.

I danced all over the world. She uses her body, her sex appeal, her blonde hair to get men to do what she wants them to do. I've done things that a lot of people only dream of doing. My name's Marjorie Orban. I've also seen some of the worst things life has to offer. I've spent 1,656 days incarcerated. I've been charged with first-degree murder. I could go to death row for a murder I did not commit.

I am not going to take the blame for something I did not do. I'll keep fighting to save my life, and I'll keep fighting to get back to my son. I think Marjorie Orban deserves the death penalty. My name is Trina Kaye. I am the lead prosecutor in the Marjorie Orban trial. The prosecution has a theory about this case, but I know what happened. She is a woman who was capable of doing anything.

Marjorie Orban is a cold-blooded killer. My name is David Barnes. I am the lead detective on this homicide investigation. I've seen hundreds of murder scenes. This one was the most gruesome I had ever witnessed. gruesome I had ever witnessed. She is a woman who is callous, who is uncaring, and who will go to whatever extreme is necessary for her greed.

Trina Kaye, in her job, stands there and lies about people to try and get them convicted of things that they did not do. Marjorie Orban has lied about everything, and the evidence all points to Marjorie Orban. They don't know who caused his death. I think they do know, but they didn't pursue that person. The only person they pursued was me. Dear God, please help me.

God, please help me. Diary of a Showgirl. Tonight's 48 Hours Mystery. 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. about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with and the bold 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. On October 23, 2004, a man, a transient living in the desert, came across a container wrapped in heavy black plastic. He decides to open the container. He sees the torso of a body. All of the insides, all the internal organs were missing. I thought, who could do this to a human being? Cut off his arms, his legs, his head.

It was the start of a murder mystery that had it all. Sex, lies, greed, a savage crime, and a beautiful showgirl. That showgirl, Marjorie Orban, is now in Phoenix, Arizona's Estrella Jail, charged with the brutal murder of her husband, Jay Orban. Tonight, a 48 Hours exclusive. Six months of video diaries from jail. Hi, this is Marjorie Orban. Unprecedented access. We are on to tape six. 1,742 days.

To a woman facing the possibility of death row. I'm going to be on death row for something I didn't do. Prison stripes are a far cry from the diamonds and furs Marjorie Orban was accustomed to. At 18, I was told that I could not have children. So I made a conscious decision at that point in my life, I would only be responsible for myself. I danced, I traveled, I worked hard, played hard, went through a few marriages. More than a few, seven by the age of 35. I went into every relationship that I had looking for the Prince Charming.

In between Prince Charming's, Marjorie's fairy tale sometimes took an X-rated detour. She became a stripper. I never felt disrespected, and I didn't do anything that I wouldn't be afraid to tell my mother. It was at one of these strip joints that Marjorie got to know one of the regulars, a gregarious, big-hearted 26-year-old named Jay Orban. He did have real good personality and he was funny. He was definitely interested in me and was pursuing me. Marjorie finally agreed to go out with Jay. Went out dancing and had a number of drinks and we're really having a fun time and it was very romantic and he was very, very amorous. Jay fell head over heels, but Marjorie, only 24,

wanted a more glamorous life. He was a good guy and I didn't want to hurt him, but I needed to get out of there. So I left. Marjorie went back home to Florida and reconnected with a man who became her ticket to a life in the fast lane. Sunshine State multimillionaire Michael J. Peters. I'd known him since I was 17, and then when I went back to Florida, I began to work for him. I personally own about 20 of the clubs. Multimillionaire Michael J. Peter created upscale strip clubs around the world. You guys had quite a relationship.

Yes, we traveled all over the world. We did a lot of things together. He made Marjorie his star dancer and choreographer in his clubs and gave her a featured role in his movie No More Dirty Deals. Travis, it's my pleasure. Pleasure is mine.

We had lived together for a number of years and were engaged. The industry is mine. We had lived together for a number of years and were engaged. The industry is very difficult. When someone that you love has girls climbing all over them all the time and offering him everything, it's difficult to take. Michael's wandering eye caused a breakup, and Marjorie took her talents back to Las Vegas. In 1993, a traveling salesman from Phoenix called.

It was Jay Orban. She hadn't seen him in 10 years. He said that he was going through Vegas and saw a billboard across the strip with my picture on it and said, you know, I'm here in town, would you like to meet for a drink? And after we talked for a while, I agreed to come and have a drink with him. We spent the entire night talking and having drinks here and snacks there and talked all night till the sun came up. Jay returned to Phoenix the next day, but their relationship continued. People like to paint us as polar opposites, but really we were not. We had the exact same ideals

on everything important. The most important, having children. The only thing that I ever wanted that I never was able to have was a child. And he wanted a wife and a child more than anything in the world. And he told me, he said, I want you to come here. I'll do anything that you want. Jay, by then the owner of a successful Native American arts business, offered to pay for fertility treatments if Marjorie would marry him and move to Phoenix. But Jay's mother, Joanne Orban, wasn't certain that this was the girl for her son.

I couldn't believe that my son was bringing her into the house and saying he was engaged to her. Were you impressed by her? Not really. Did she look beautiful to you? She was beautiful, yes. Not as beautiful as she thought she was. She was so jealous, so jealous of the way he adored and catered and accommodated me anyway. the way he adored and catered and accommodated me anyway. She was very jealous. If Jay noticed any tension, he didn't seem to care. The seemingly mismatched couple eloped. We got married at the little white wedding chapel

on Las Vegas Boulevard, and it was beautiful. He calls me up and says, hey, Jake. I met the sweetheart, love of my life, and we got married. Jay's big brother, Jake Orban, then living in San Diego, came to visit a few months later. They both loved each other. She was the perfect housewife. Made the meals and cleaned the house. Took care of everything that needed to be done around the house.

But the fertility treatments were taking a toll, often making Marjorie ill. But I was willing to take the bad stuff with, you know, in hopes of having more chance of having a child. And finally, it happened. Marjorie gave birth to what they called

their miracle baby, a boy named Noah. And when you held him for the first time? That was the most important... most important day of my life. It meant everything to you. Yeah. Yeah. Both of us. It meant everything to you? Yeah. Yeah.

Both of us. It meant everything to both of us. They seemed the perfect family. You're the best, Daddy. Noah, family kiss. Mwah! But then, everything changed. I spent 10 years here in Phoenix.

Thank you, Mommy. Being a mom. You're welcome, sweetie. You like it? A wife, a business partner, that all ended in September of 2004. An unforeseen tragic incident that I came upon after the fact caused the death of J. Orban. 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 reached the age of 10 that would still have heard it. It just happens to all of them. 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+.

Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. 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, early and ad-free, with a 48-hour plus subscription on Apple Podcasts. I am not a murderer.

I have sat in jail for four and a half years being considered an animal and a criminal. And my son has been told horrible things about me. The last time I saw my son was December 6, 2004, and I did not kill his father. But Marjorie Orban claims she knows who did. What happened to Jay was an unforeseen, horrific, accidental confrontation between he and someone else i made some mistakes some pretty stupid mistakes along the way but none of those mistakes involve causing someone's death or cutting someone up in her video diary marjorie begins to reveal some of the secrets she has kept for almost five years. He was not supposed to come home that day. Facts she had never made public.

It was a horrible, horrifying situation that took place while I was home with my son. August 26, 2004. Noah's eighth birthday party. Jay Orban didn't know it, but this would be the last time he would ever see his son. Jay's good friend, Marshall Rusin, was there that day. He loved his son as much as I believe any parent could love their child. Shortly after the candles were blown out, Jay hit the road on a sales trip to Florida. It was ill-fated from the start.

Hurricane Francis was tearing through the state. Jay decided to cut his losses and head home, never realizing he was driving into the eye of an even more dangerous storm. Nobody thought it was going to happen. Nobody planned for it to happen. Nobody meant for it to happen. Nobody wanted it to happen.

September 8th. Joanne Orban calls her son Jay to wish him happy birthday, his 45th. He was just driving into Phoenix. How did the call end? He said he would talk to us later, but we never heard from him. A week passed with no word. Were you starting to sense something as a mother? I was getting frantic.

How was Marjorie becoming? Acting like I was silly for being worried. Jay's mother, she was never happy no matter what I did. Marjorie told everyone that Jay had come back from Florida, then headed out on another sales trip. Another week passed. Jay's desperate friends and family finally convinced Marjorie to call police. Detective Jan Butcher of the missing persons unit took the case. I had asked her to provide me information on the license plate of the vehicle Jay was driving. She said she would call me back. She never did, so that was a little bit odd.

Marjorie quickly became a target. On September 28th, Detective Butcher left at least three messages before Marjorie finally called back. The detective recorded the conversation. Then Marjorie surprised Detective Butcher. Then, Marjorie surprised Detective Butcher. Marjorie said they divorced for tax reasons, but were still living together as man and wife. She was doing something, says Detective Butcher, spending Jay's money.

She went through thousands of dollars in a matter of days. Marjorie purchased an almost $12,000 baby grand piano and raided $45,000 from Jay's business account. Why did you buy a grand piano at a time when people would think you would be in such mourning, so devastated, you're out shopping? There were a number of things that I did that may not make sense. I was in a daze. I was in shock. It wasn't only the spending sprees that raised Detective Butcher's suspicions. Can we schedule for a polygraph tomorrow?

He wants me to take a polygraph tomorrow. You're telling a bull**** yourself. Who was that man in the house? The man turned out to be Marjorie's boyfriend, Larry Weisberg. Marjorie was involved in a love triangle with a production manager she met at the gym. I was having an affair. I shouldn't have been doing that. After hearing the obscenity-laced phone call...

Is this house right here? Detective Butcher got a search warrant and asked the SWAT team to deliver it. The police demonstrated how it went down. The sound is from the actual raid. Police, open the door, we have a search warrant. They break the door down. Inside, a man confronts them, ready to fight. The same man heard on that phone recording yelling obscenities, Larry Weisberg, Marjorie's lover. He didn't move, so one SWAT team member

tased him. Weisberg falls to the ground and is smashed in the face. They're doing things with Larry. That wasn't my concern. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. All I was focused on is I see big, huge men with things drawn heading down the hallway towards my son's room. There's a child down the hall.

There's a child down the hall. Don't scare my son. down the hall, don't scare my son. The police don't make any arrests, but their search of the house turns up new clues. What was found inside this house that intrigued you? Numerous credit cards belonging to Jay Orban that he always takes with him on his travels. His business checkbook, which is always in his briefcase. Evidence that Jay came home and never left

on another sales trip. What are you thinking? I'm thinking this is not a missing persons. It's a homicide investigation and we need to find out where Jay's remains are. It's been almost five years since Jay died. Okay, turn around. I've never had a chance to mourn his death. Okay, stand up and away from the door. It was a 10-year bond with someone that gave me my child that was my partner and friend. As we walked up, you could smell the death in the air. Once you smell it, you know what it is for the rest of your life. October 23, 2004.

Six weeks after he went missing, police believe they finally found Jay Orban. What was left of him? Detective David Barnes is called to the scene. It's the first time I'd ever seen anything like that. It's just a piece of a body. A torso, a wad of cash, and a single spent bullet, all neatly packed inside a rubber-made coffin. DNA tests later confirm what Jay's mother already feared. What was that moment like for you?

I was shaken. I could not believe it. It tore us up and it has consumed our life for the last five years. The murder investigation picks up where the missing person's investigation left off, with Marjorie Orban. Everything is pointing towards Marjorie. Everything is pointing towards Marjorie. The money trail. Follow the money. And everything leads right back to Marjorie.

She is so obsessed with getting Jay's money, says Barnes, she dumps his torso just a few miles from her own home. She needs Jay to be found. She needs a body. She needs a death certificate so she could get that estate of Jay Orban. If I was going to put a body where it could be found so that I could get life insurance, I wouldn't put it outside my back door. I'm not that stupid. But Marjorie's brash behavior continues to cause her trouble. I want to talk to you a little bit about this mix-up here with this credit card stuff in Circuit City.

Three weeks after finding Jay's body, police detain Marjorie for forging his signature at a Circuit City store. I did not know I was doing anything wrong. She claims she is just replacing business computers the police had confiscated. I was just trying to get a computer and spent tomorrow getting ready to try and get some orders out so that we could pay some bills. During a break, Marjorie's son Noah is allowed a brief visit. Did he say that you can use any credit card? No. That was probably not a good thing to do because that credit card has Daddy's name on it and not mine. And you're not supposed to really use a credit card unless it has your name on it.

The questioning resumes and goes from fraud to murder. What do you think happened to Jay? What would be your best guess right now? I have no idea. None whatsoever. Detective Barnes takes over the questioning. We were just going to go over some of the items. And has a surprise for Marjorie. He confronts her with a photo she's never seen before.

Jay's butchered torso. We'd like to know where the rest of Jay is. Oh, God. Okay. No. And I think you know. No. And I think you know. No. I don't believe you just did that.

I don't believe you just did that. You're going to go to jail tonight for credit card fraud, Marjorie. What? Oh. It's all been a dream. Marjorie is released later that night, but the evidence continues to mount. Investigators find receipts for mops and cleaning products

purchased just one day after Jay goes missing. She acid washes the garage floor, and then she epoxy coats the floor. It completely erased any traces of blood that we could find. But out of all the evidence, this is the most damning. On September 10th, two days after Jay goes missing, Marjorie is caught on surveillance tape at a Lowe's hardware store. There she is on the video buying two containers with Jay Orban's American Express card.

Buying the container we find Jay in. It was close to the smoking gun as we were going to get at that point. It looks like case closed. But Marjorie insists the smoking gun is pointed at the wrong person. I trusted someone that I should not have. And I aided and I trusted someone that I should not have.

And I aided and abetted someone that I should not have. I'm paying a price, and that person is not. In fact, there was another person of interest. Did Larry Weisberg become a suspect in this case? Yes. You remember Weisberg. You're telling a little s*** of interest. Did Larry Weisberg become a suspect in this case? Yes. You remember Weisberg. You're telling a little shop. He's the man who swore at Detective Butcher

on the phone and confronted the SWAT team. Police find some of his clothing in Jay Orban's house. What were you thinking? We were thinking he's living in the house. Who is he? What's his involvement? You know, when the SWAT team comes into the house, why is he trying to take on the SWAT team? Did Larry and Marjorie fall in love?

I believe so. Couldn't that be a motive for murder? Yes. It usually is a motive for murder. Jealousy, love. Police eventually search Weisberg's home and vehicle and make an intriguing discovery. He had access to Jay Orban's garage. He had a remote in his vehicle that would access the garage and let him in and out.

So Jay Orban comes home. He goes into the garage. Weisberg follows right behind. He kills Jay. Could have happened that way. We just, that's one thing we don't know. What we do know is Marjorie was involved. All the evidence was against Marjorie. On December 6th,

six weeks after her husband's dismembered body was discovered, police arrest Marjorie Orban. They handcuffed me in my foyer in front of my child. And charge her with Jay's murder. Noah is sent to live with Jay's brother, Jake. The prosecution eventually offers Larry Weisberg what's called use immunity, which means

what he says can't be used against him in court. Marjorie's attorney, Robin Varco, says that's outrageous. Here they had somebody who was a viable suspect and they just wanted to focus in on Marjorie Orbin

and totally disregard all these other cues that he was sending to them. But Marjorie says she didn't speak up, didn't tell the cops about Weisberg for one terrifying reason. I've been threatened. My son has been threatened. The message was, if you tell the police that I committed this crime. My son has been threatened. The message was if you tell the police that I committed this crime I will kill your son. I've been through hell and back. A good person has unnecessarily lost his life. And a coward-ass piece of s*** is willing to let me take the fall for something that he caused.

Who is the person responsible for Jay Orban's death? Larry Weisberg. Larry Weisberg. For almost five years, Marjorie Orban says she has been harboring a secret. A secret she is now ready to reveal. That Larry Weisberg shot Jay, then threatened her son's life to silence her. My son was crying and screaming, and he said, it's just that easy to snap his scrawny neck if you don't do what you're told. Meaning stick by the story. Keep my mouth shut, go along with the story.

Marjorie says she then helped Larry Weisberg cover up the murder. I made a lot of mistakes in this situation, but I didn't cause Jay's death. Marjorie Orban knows she is in for the fight of her life. Have you wrapped your brain around the possibility that you could be sentenced to death? Yeah. Yeah. Marjorie's attorneys ask her if she'll let them seek a plea bargain. I will never let my son hear me say that I did this to his father. I'll let them kill me first.

Defense attorney Robin Varco gets right to the point. Larry Weisberg is the one who committed this crime. There is nothing in this finger-pointing defense that ties Larry Weisberg to the murder of Jay Orban. Prosecutor Trina Kaye says it's just another one of Marjorie Orban's lies. All of the forensic evidence points to Marjorie Orban. Larry Weisberg was just another boy toy, another person to manipulate that Marjorie Orban. Larry Weisberg was just another boy toy, another person to manipulate that Marjorie Orban used. I don't think he's at all involved. Doreena Kay is a piece of work the way she just paints the most tawdry picture of things.

Kay paints Marjorie as a stripper, desperate for a child. She didn't want to go back to working in a gentleman's club. And when Marjorie got what she wanted, Kay says... Bye-bye, honey. Time for night-night. ...she blew him away. Jay Orban was someone she hated. What does the owl say?

She found him disgusting and she wanted him dead and she wanted his money. And that's all the owls. She got his gun. She took it out of his briefcase. And she killed him. Killed him in the garage, Kay theorizes, while their son slept inside the house.

And then used two jigsaw blades from this package to cut him into pieces. The cuts through Jay's tibias and the vertebrae were consistent with being made by a jigsaw. Investigators never found the saw or the gun, but Kay does have that chilling surveillance video from Lowe's. This is a woman that's shopping for the Rubbermaid coffin for her husband. The state puts on one of its most damning witnesses, Sophia Johnson, Marjorie's former cellmate. She started going off about him, how he's fat, he's disgusting.

There were some things about Jay that were disgusting. There were. His table manners were horrible. Then she starts talking about how, I did it. I did it. Those words have never come out of my mouth, not to anyone. She said he was shot, frozen, de-thawed. She's a liar, she's a liar, she's a liar. And his arms, legs, and head was cut off. Thank you.

The defense dismisses Johnson as just another jailhouse snitch. But the prosecution insists she didn't get any deal for testifying. Prosecutors now call on the man they granted partial immunity, Larry Weisberg. He looked at me and was shaking his head and grimacing at me. He looked menacing, absolutely menacing. It is the first time the ex-lovers have come face to face in nearly five years. He was trying to non-verbally communicate with me to keep my mouth shut. He was trying to threaten and intimidate me. Weisberg paints Marjorie as a seductress. She grabbed my hand.

Why don't we go into your bedroom? That's baloney. The whole thing, he said, was baloney. And says Marjorie was increasingly desperate after Jay's body was found. She said, I'm scared. I'm real scared. I want to run away.

I want you to come with me. And I said, what? He sat on that stand and lied his ass off saying that he didn't know anything about any of this. And that is not true. Do you know anything about what happened to Jay Orban? Absolutely not. Did you have any involvement whatsoever in the murder of Jay Orban? God, no. On cross, defense attorney Herman Alcantar tries to discredit the man he says framed Marjorie Orban. You're a truthful man, right?

To a point. So that means sometimes you will be truthful and other times you will not be truthful. Is that correct? Yes. Then Alcantar portrays Weisberg as a man crazy enough to confront a SWAT team. You took a defensive position? Yes. Angry enough to swear at a police detective.

You're telling me to go f*** himself. That was your voice. In the background, yes. Yes. Yes. And strong enough to dispose of a 280-pound man. This is awkward. Incredibly, even the lead detective now has questions.

He says evidence that may have implicated Weisberg was never tested by the Phoenix crime lab. Where did they drop the ball? With some hairs. Hairs that were found on the tub of Jay Orman's remains. Well, what if that's Larry Weisberg's hair? What if it's Marjorie's hair? It'd be nice to know. I tried

to get the hair tested. The crime lab said no. If Larry Weisberg is being falsely accused, these hairs could exonerate him for the rest of his life. Or it could put him in prison the rest of his life. I know for a fact Marjorie was involved. I don't know for a fact that Larry was involved. Is it possible? I think it is possible. But everything that we looked at and everything that we were allowed to test eliminated Larry. Two hairs tested did not match Marjorie or Weisberg.

Several other hairs weren't tested. But Kay is confident in the investigation. There was an incredible amount of forensic testing done in this case. We were able to exclude anything recovered from Larry Weisberg's home as having any ties to the murder. Three months into the trial, Detective Barnes was placed on leave

for what Phoenix police call harassment. Barnes believes it is because of his criticism of the crime lab in this and several other cases. The defense calls Michael J. Peter. Right up here, sir. Only one person speaks up for Marjorie. Remember her old flame, multimillionaire Michael J. Peter? She wouldn't let you kill a spider.

He describes a completely different Marjorie to the jury, one who could never have killed Jay for money. And you would have provided for them? Absolutely. Peter says he offered to support Marjorie and Noah if she would come back to him. And her answer to me was, there's nothing in the world I'd rather do than be with you again, Michael, but Jay's a good man. I would never take the father from the child or the child from the father. He knew me well enough to know that I could not have done that.

knew me well enough to know that I could not have done that. It is now time for the showgirl to give the performance of her life. But shockingly, her lawyers stop her. They, at this point, are advising me not to take the stand, telling me that I don't have to. With no eyewitness, no murder weapon, and no definitive forensic evidence, Marjorie's attorneys believe they'll win. I was told the prosecution hadn't proven the case

beyond reasonable doubt. Marjorie takes their advice and never gets out of her chair. All rise. God, I hope the truth comes out. This jury, this jury has got to see. Thank you, Dad. Thank you, Dad, for the alimony.

That they don't know how Jay died, when he died, where he died, the prosecution, the detectives, nobody knows. I did not do this. I'm waiting for the jury to come back. All rise for the jury, please. I feel I've been deceived and made the poor decision not to take the stand. After an eight-month-long trial, the jury deliberates for only seven hours. Be seated, thank you.

The day Jay's family and friends have waited for is finally here. Have you reached a verdict on all counts? Yeah. Could you announce the verdicts please? We the jury do unanimously find the defendant guilty, signed by the foreperson, juror number 15.

We got justice today for Jay. We knew she did it. If she gets life in prison, I don't care, as long as we got her guilty. I started crying because it was just like, I knew from day one that she was guilty. Couldn't be any better. Finally, it could be over.

But for Marjorie, it wasn't over. She asked 48 Hours to return to Phoenix so she could tell us what she regrets not telling the jury about Larry Weisberg. How did he kill Jay Orban? In a confrontation, unforeseen, horrific confrontation between he and Jay. Where? In the garage of our home. Why'd they have a confrontation? Jay came home unexpectedly, saw Larry entering the home. Moments later, Marjorie says, shots rang out.

Jay Orban was dead. And you never saw the body? Never saw Jay's body. Marjorie claims Weisberg disposed of Jay's body and that she didn't have anything to do with his dismemberment. You'd have to put me in a rubber room if I saw a person's body cut up. But much of her story seemed impossible to believe, like the fact she didn't call for help. But at this point

why not call the police? I could have. You could have done the right thing and you didn't. I was afraid to. I was scared. Scared of what? For one, I was scared for Larry. I didn't want him to get in trouble. You had a dead body in your garage. Right, exactly. Now, if the prosecutor was sitting here, you understand what she would say. Why didn't I pick up that phone? Well, not only why did you pick it up, but you didn't pick it up because you had fired that gun. You did the killing. They can say that all they want. Is there anything that puts Larry Weisberg at the Orban house on September 8, 2004? Absolutely not.

In your opinion, he's a completely innocent man. I believe he is. And Detective Barnes isn't buying Marjorie's claim that Weisberg threatened her son. You have any evidence of that? No, none. She's never told you this? No, never. Why not? I think why not because that's not the way it happened. That's absolutely what I would think Marjorie would claim. She uses Noah as her shield when she needs to. It's the innocent child. Of course you're going to be like, oh, I had to do it for him.

We went to Larry Weisberg's home to talk to him about Marjorie's allegations. Hi, Ms. Weisberg. Yes, sir. I'm Peter Van Sant with CBS News. But he declined. Okay. Two weeks after her guilty verdict,

the jury is about to sentence Marjorie Orban. We, the jury, duly impaneled and sworn... To life or death. That the defendant shall be sentenced to life. This is my nephew's mother. We never did want to put her to the death penalty. Family's happy. Guilty was what we were after. I'll keep fighting to save my life, and I'll keep fighting to get back to my son.

Jay's friends and family still celebrate his birthday every year. We all miss him, and I'm gonna cut this cake in his honor. He would have turned 50 on September 8th, the five-year anniversary of his murder. How do you want your son to be remembered? That he was a loving father, son, a good brother,

that he cared for other people, that he had a precious life that someone has taken from him, and we wish we could get him back. He's in a better place. If you like this 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.