48 Hours - The Strange Life of Dr. Schwartz - Encore

Episode Date: July 30, 2017

A wealthy doctor is violently murdered in his Florida mansion.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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In the years to come, you're going to have all kinds of unwanted information and advice. But you're not going to get it from me. At least you're not gonna get it from me. At least you're not gonna get it tonight. Steve was your classic gentle giant. What I do wanna do. A guy who had the heart of a bear. Dad was always a role model to me. What I've always told everyone,

if I could be half the physician he was, that would be a successful life. His patients loved him. He was just a wonderful guy who would be a successful life. His patients loved him. He was just a wonderful guy who would do anything for anyone. When things get rough and they will get rough just remember this, yes dear. I see a couple who really enjoyed being together. Rebecca Schwartz had a wonderful life with her husband. There's a 20-year age difference between the two of them. Was the attraction his wealth? I think Dr. Schwartz made a very nice impression. He was a tall, nice-looking man.

She would wait on him hand and foot. She'd bring him over a glass of club soda, or she'd make his favorite meal. They really seem to enjoy being together. And you can see in the pictures, they're just touching each other. They're embraced with each other. I think they were very affectionate. She had everything with him. They own 38 houses. I build them. I built from scratch. Leo Draga was hired by the Schwartzes, took care of the many properties that they owned. He was a family friend. I became really close with the family. My dad was impressed with his work.

They always seemed to treat each other with respect. Leo seemed to be kind and sincere towards my father. Harvard Springs Police. Police can help you. Hi, somebody, I just walked into my house and somebody robbed my house. It first came in as a burglary call at a Tarpon Springs mansion. Tonight, it's a murder mystery.

Dr. Stephen Schwartz died violently. Strangled, stabbed several times, shot in the neck and in the head, and left in a pool of blood in his own house, dead. Anton Straga, who goes by the name of Leo, has been arrested and charged with murdering the first degree of Dr. Stephen Schwartz. I didn't do it. I didn't kill the man. I was set up.

The question is, is he there alone? When Dr. Schwartz dies, who benefits? The list of people is short. Were you interviewed by police? I was. I said to them, please do not overlook anyone in this family just because they're related. What happened with Steve should be a Hollywood movie. When I found out Steven was murdered,

I wondered, did it have any connection to what occurred over 50 years ago? Steven had a dark side to him, a mystery side. Steven committed a murder here in Hobbs, New Mexico. I know because I was there. When you learned that your beloved father had once been a murderer, what was that like for you. I'm Peter Van Sant.

Tonight on 48 Hours, the strange life of Dr. Schwartz. 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

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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. Everyone seems to universally hold such a high respect for him. Everyone seems to universally hold such a high respect for him. To say Stephen Schwartz's life was extraordinary, as his son Carter does, is an understatement. Carter is a third-year medical student, following in his father's footsteps. He was beloved in many ways, was he not? I would say that's a very accurate statement.

Patients, colleagues, a great career. Absolutely. Dr. Schwartz had a thriving practice as a kidney specialist in Tampa, Florida. His friend and medical partner, Dr. Robert Patton, admired him greatly. He was dedicated to medicine like no physician I've ever known. He was just a wonderful guy who would do anything for anyone. And Schwartz had become very wealthy, worth somewhere between 20 and 30 million dollars. Besides his medical practice, he owned a vast array of rental properties and lived in this expensive waterfront home with his second wife, Becky.

She managed both his medical office and investments. If I had to describe her, very energetic, southern charm, hospitality, come in, welcome. Everything was just over the top with her. But her one-time friends, April and patrick olive who helped her manage the schwartz properties say becky could also be a tough cookie she fired them shortly after the murder and if you cross her then you know you're basically you know gone i mean you're just out of the picture becky and dr schwartz had met in the late 90s through a dating service and were a committed couple. She even changed her name to Schwartz, though they didn't actually marry until

2010. Becky had two sons from her previous marriages, including Ben. Did you get along with her children? Early on, I didn't dislike them, but that faded pretty quickly. Schwartz had Carter and two other children from his previous relationships. We sort of learned to coexist, if you would. But with a blended family came problems. Becky's son Ben had ongoing drug issues, according to Carter. He was found many times on death's door, nearly overdosed, and she disowned him. Basically, if you get better, call me. If not, here's a few bucks a month for your phone bill.

In 2011, Ben was arrested and convicted of stealing jewelry from the Schwartz home, and Carter says he often needed money. And he said, let me borrow $300 out of your paycheck. from the Schwartz home, and Carter says he often needed money. And he said, let me borrow $300 out of your paycheck. You know, I've got to pay this guy, I'm really short, and don't tell my mom. That's what brothers do. Carter also struggled with Becky. What was your relationship like with Rebecca? Always uneasy.

Becky lavished luxury on herself and her own sons, paying for their weddings. Carter says she bought them houses, cars, clothing, and jewelry for herself. Her son Eric even got a Verizon store to run in Wisconsin. Would you look out and see all this money is going to Would you look out and see all this money is going to Rebecca and her children and me and my siblings? What kind of being left out here? I think you'd have to be willfully ignorant not to see it. Carter always believed the main reason Becky was with his father was because she wanted to spend his money. It became very apparent early on her motive was financial. Even as a young child, I could see she wasn't there because she loved him.

But all that family turmoil was hidden. And to most who knew him, Dr. Schwartz seemed to have a beautiful life. Until the evening of May 28, 2014. When Becky Schwartz came home. Hi, I just walked into my house, and somebody robbed my house. It was in disarray. She ran outside and called 911.

I walked in the bathroom into the closet. All the doors were open, and I was like, what? Police arrived and quickly began looking for a possible intruder. Instead, they found Dr. Schwartz in a pool of blood. He'd been strangled, shot, and stabbed. One of, if not the worst moment of my life. Carter Schwartz was on the way home after traveling in Japan when he got word of his father's murder. What do you do? Stuck at an airport. It was feeling numb when people describe

it. I think now I can relate to what they mean by that, just a feeling of helplessness. By the time he landed back in the States, Carter called his uncle, certain he knew who killed his father, because it struck him that to Becky, Dr. Schwartz was worth more dead than alive. And the first words out of my mouth on that phone call were, it's Becky, Ben, or a combination thereof.

I don't know how, but I know one of the two of them or both are involved. Police looked at Dr. Schwartz's inner circle. They interviewed Becky and Ben. But they then began to focus their attention on the Schwartz's longtime employee and contractor, Leo Straga. Rebecca hired me to fix her first house. Leo, who is from Albania, was working in the U.S. without proper legal status. But he was very good at his job, paid more than $100,000 a year by Dr. Schwartz. I build, I read plans, I get permits,

I build from scratch. Leo says he worked on all the Schwartz's homes, including the mansion they lived in. Rebecca handles the business and she called me son for four years. Leo also felt close to Stephen Schwartz. He was my doctor, my wife's doctor. He looked out for us. He liked you? Oh, yeah. He loved me. I had nothing against the man. I loved the man, and he provided work for me.

I had no hate for him. I had no revenge or nothing. hate for him. I had no revenge or nothing. After months of testing, investigators made a damning discovery. Leo's DNA was on several parts of Dr. Schwartz's clothing. Leo doesn't deny he was there. He says he discovered the body. I was there. I admit I was there, but I didn't kill Dr. Schwartz. And I'm so sorry I didn't call the police. Here's a guy who's been shot, strangled, blood. Why would you touch him at all to begin with? He's obviously dead. I didn't know. How I knew it was dead? And after he found the body, Leo made what he says was the biggest mistake of his life.

I made a mistake. I didn't call the police that day. I was scared. Scared that he would be deported. Immigration told me any contact with police, we'll send you back. I didn't have the green card or nothing. Leo says he has an alibi and insists he is not the killer who is it rebecca schwartz she asked me to find someone to kill dr schwartz 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 avert it. It just happens to all of them. 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. The scary cult classic was set in the Chicago housing project. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. Candyman. Candyman?

Now we all know chanting a name won't make a killer magically appear. 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. We're going to talk to the people who were there, and we're also going to uncover the larger story. My architect was shocked when he saw how this was created. Literally shocked. And we'll look at what the story tells us about injustice in America. If you really believed in tough on crime,

then you wouldn't make it easy to crawl into medicine cabinets and kill our women. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, early and ad-free, with a 48-hour plus subscription on Apple Podcasts. podcasts. Leo Straga adamantly denies he killed Dr. Schwartz. I love Dr. Schwartz. He says he had every reason to keep Stephen Schwartz alive. He was my doctor. He provided food for my family. Leo says his DNA must have gotten on Schwartz's clothing when he checked the body. I see Dr. Schwartz when he was facing the wall.

I know I went down and grabbed him and said, hey, Dr. Schwartz, are you okay? And he says the only reason he was in the house that morning was because Becky sent him there. She said she had left the house that morning without her handbag. She said, I had a little fight with Dr. Schwartz. Can you go and grab my bag, please? I forgot my bag. From the house? From the house. And I go grab it, I found dead body. I think she murdered him.

And then staged the scene to look like a burglary? Yes, sir. She staged it, she set me up. She planned it for a long time. Leo says he immediately knew Becky was behind the killing because, he claims, six months earlier, she asked if he could arrange to have her husband killed. She asked me to find somebody. You are telling me that Rebecca Schwartz asked you to find someone to murder her husband? Yes, sir. And why in the world would she want her husband dead? I don't know.

Was there money involved in this? There's speculation that she wanted her husband dead so she could collect on his many millions. I don't know for sure. Leo says when he picked up the handbag, he saw a knife inside. He took the bag back to Becky that morning and confronted her. I said, what did you do right away? I said, what the hell did you do? He took the bag back to Becky that morning and confronted her. I said, what did you do right away? I said, what the hell did you do?

And she said, you know why I did it. Leo says that confrontation was more than 10 hours before Becky called police to the house that night to report an alleged burglary. He also claims she threatened him. If you say anything, you're never going to see a house and you're never going to see a penny. He says Becky threatened to withhold $75,000 he had invested in real estate with her. We're not ruling out anything else. Ten months after the murder, Leo Straga was arrested. But police kept looking for evidence. This is still an active criminal investigation. While this homicide investigation document listed Becky Schwartz as a suspect,

she has never been charged with anything related to her husband's murder. But friends and colleagues of Dr. Schwartz have always suspected Becky was involved. It all points to her. She probably wasn't the one who pulled the trigger, but she was behind it all. Her motive? What is the most important thing to Becky Schwartz? Money, money. She is into money like you and I are into breathing air. And greedy, just greedy to the point of it being absurd almost. But absurd took on a new meaning with Becky after a tragic car accident 30 years ago that killed her two-year-old son, Christopher. This is a woman whose son was killed by a drunk driver. She went to work

for MAD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving. She has a felony conviction for embezzling money from MAD. That's right. She was convicted of embezzling from Mothers Against Drunk Driving. More than $12,000 she used to buy a car and a boat for herself. Now you tell me, what kind of person does that? Becky got five years probation and had to pay back the money she stole. That's like stealing money out of the donation tray at church. And there were bizarre behaviors after Dr. Schwartz's death that fed speculation about Becky's involvement. Patrick and April Olive say that around 9 o'clock in the morning, Becky unexpectedly showed up at their house.

I heard the door open. She grabs a beer and comes, sits on the couch and drinks a beer. Drinking the beer at 9 a.m., definitely not something that we've ever seen. drinks a beer. Drinking the beer at 9 a.m., definitely not something that we've ever seen. I don't recall there being a lot of conversation, but I did notice her being somewhat of a stressed type of thing, you know, putting her hands on her knees and she was rubbing her hair and, you know, and then I think she was gone after she drank the beer. And strangely, Becky never wanted a memorial service. But when Schwartz's colleagues planned one... It turned out Rebecca had canceled any services, any ceremonies, any remembrances

for my father. Only later did I find out she held a private funeral or service, if you would, at the house to which I was not invited. She is clearly a sociopath, without a doubt. If evil is to the left, good is to the right, she's about five standard deviations off the left side. According to Leo Straga, Becky even wanted Carter out of the picture. Leo claims there was a conversation at this bar, along with Becky's son Ben, a year before Dr. Schwartz was murdered. She goes, I want you to find somebody to kill Carter Schwartz, Dr. Schwartz's son.

And her son goes, Mom, are you crazy? What are you saying? Is this a drink talk? And I got to, what was that? And she said, no, I'll say it when I'm sober. And I said, listen, I'm your man for construction, but I don't know what you're looking for. I mean, that's crazy. Through a family friend, Ben confirmed in that conversation he told his mother it was a crazy idea

and that she shouldn't even joke about it. And why would she want you dead? My guess is because I was finding this information out that she had kept hidden for years. That hidden information, Carter says, is that Becky was moving money from their joint bank accounts. And siphoned to where? Where did it go? Other accounts in only her name.

She had credit cards that were only in her name. Anything basically my dad couldn't get a hold of. And when you present this information, is this jaw-dropping to your dad? I've never seen him move so quickly. And he was a man who, he could have the biggest argument in the world with you, but he was very professional. He said, I'm going home, I'm going to take care of this. But Schwartz never did take care of it. And that became a problem for Carter, because unbeknownst to him, his father had already changed his estate plan a year earlier, leaving his entire fortune to Becky and nothing

for his own children. Why would he do that? Anything I tell you would be speculation. I'm not sure why. I wasn't there when he did it, but I can't imagine why having sober judgment anyone would do that. That's one of many unanswered questions, but a shocking incident long in Dr. Schwartz's past may provide a clue. There was a darkness in Stephen's life. There was a darkness in Steven's life. It happened right here. I know because I was there. A year after Dr. Stephen Schwartz was found shot, stabbed, and strangled in his waterfront mansion, Leo Straga sits in jail.

But could a shocking incident deep in Dr. Schwartz's past have played a role in his murder? 55 years ago in Hobbs, New Mexico, Schwartz himself was involved in another murder case. It happened the day before Thanksgiving in 1961, November. Back then, Philip Dyer was 20 years old, a former high school football star and a buddy of Stephen Schwartz. Maybe in a small little cell. Today, Dyer is an adjunct professor of criminal justice at Youngstown State University in Ohio.

That changed my whole life right there in that point in time. in Ohio. That changed my whole life right there in that point in time. We brought him back to New Mexico to tell the story of that day in 1961 with Schwartz, who was 21 and a college dropout. Schwartz was a tall, handsome kid from New York, the son of a doctor. I liked Stephen. I really did. I mean, he was intelligent, he was bright, he was sharp. He just had this kind of dark side to him. You couldn't quite put your finger on it. And on that fall day, the dark side came out.

Schwartz decided to rob a local dentist, Dr. Victor Cook. I'd see him on the street from time to time, and he always asked me, how you doing, how's your teeth doing? James Cecil, a local auctioneer in Hobbs for decades, was a patient of Dr. Cook back then. He was just a good dentist, a good, become a good friend. In this small town where everybody knew everybody, Dr. Cook was known to carry large amounts of cash. I imagine he had maybe $1,000 or more at that time on him. I figure that's why Schwartz went there to rob him.

Schwartz, Dyer says, may have had some gambling debts to pay off. It was well known that he liked to gamble quite a bit. A desperate kid looking for a way to bail himself out. I don't think he was a badass kid at all. I mean, I don't think any of us were, really. Schwartz had recruited Dyer to drive him to and from the dentist's office. We would have pulled up exactly like this, but we would have parked a little closer right in this area.

The dentist's office used to stand where this playground now sits. Dyer wasn't even sure Schwartz was really going to go through with it until he pulled out this gun. And I told him, I said, I want nothing to do with this. I'm leaving. While Dyer walked away from his car, Schwartz went ahead with his plan. But the robbery of Dr. Cook went terribly wrong. As I read these stories, you know, that he didn't want to give me his money. He said, no, you'll have to shoot me. I'm like, you're not going to get my money. Minutes later, Schwartz, driving the car, pulled up to Dyer on the street.

And I'm thinking, he couldn't have done anything. It's too, it hasn't been long enough to do anything. So I run and get in the car, and when I look inside, get a look at his face, when I get in, I turn around and look at him, and his eyes are just bloodshot. And what he described to me, he said, I shot the man between the eyes, and he did this. It was a horrific incident. this. It was a horrific incident, and to this day, Cecil has the gun Schwartz used to murder Dr. Cook. I always thought a lot of him, and I want that gun, and so I bought it at the auction.

I think most of us that were involved, that it was a horrendous, despicable, and deplorable act. Dyer, the accomplice, went to prison for a year. Schwartz, the shooter, spent nine years in prison. Both sentences were eventually commuted, and both men later went to college. Schwartz moved to Italy, where he earned a medical degree. The two former criminals pledged to spend the rest of their lives atoning for their terrible act. I think he had that drive to somehow make up for the wrong

and the pain and the suffering that he caused to Dr. Cook's family, to others in this community. And I had that same drive as well. When you heard the news that your father had killed a man, how shocking was that for you? Very. I didn't even know about it until after his death. But could that murder 55 years ago, which had been a closely guarded secret, have somehow played a role in the murder of Dr. Schwartz?

The only one that can really answer that question is Dr. Schwartz himself. Will Florin and Tom Robig are top civil attorneys in Florida, representing Carter and his family in a wrongful death lawsuit. The person that benefited was Becky Schwartz and the people that she deems worthy of giving away Dr. Schwartz's money to. And we've alleged that Leo and Becky conspired to murder him. Ben is not named in the lawsuit and there have been no criminal charges filed against him in the murder. But as for Dr. Schwartz's dark past... There's some folks that think that that his past was being used against him. Used, Florin theorizes, by Becky to blackmail her own

husband for millions. But is this suggestion the possibility that Rebecca Schwartz may have said to him, if you don't transfer everything in the estate over to me, I'll make this deep, dark secret public. I'll ruin your reputation. Your own children will learn that you were a murderer. That's one possibility. In fact, according to a police document, one of Schwartz's office workers called police to say Rebecca was blackmailing Dr. Schwartz by withholding information that could ruin his career. If she knew, which I have every reason to believe she did, that's entirely possible that was something used against him. But Becky is not saying anything. I reassert my rights under Article 1, Section 9 of the Florida Constitution.

She's in a new state, starting a new life with a new man. Becky Schwartz has basically stolen my entire family. A grieving widow is standing on the doorstep of the police department every morning saying, have you made any progress finding out who violently shot, strangled, and stabbed my husband? After her husband was murdered, Becky sold the medical practice and decided to start a new life. Moving from sunny Florida. Good morning in Winneconny on the valley. To the tiny snowbound town of Winneconny, Wisconsin, near where her son Eric was running his Verizon store. I think she's been trying to find a purpose. She's just trying to lay low and find a path. Kim Rivellini and Dennis DeVlaming are Becky's criminal attorneys, hired to defend her against any possible future charges. And in

Wisconsin, does she just live a quiet life now? Yes. Quiet is not a word this Wisconsin woman named Meredith would use to describe her former best friend, Becky. I think I was preyed on by the most calculated, malicious, vindictive, pathological liar of a woman I have ever met in my entire life. Meredith, who asked we not use her last name, says she and her husband took Becky in as one of their own After a chance meeting at a charity event I thought truly we had found a great friend She fit into our lives so perfectly Every single night, seven days a week week we were together. Becky and the family did everything from vacations in Florida to sports events to lavish parties, all paid for by Becky.

She even took them on her boat in Florida, and one thing stuck in Meredith's mind. Her boat name was Exit Strategy. And I looked at that, and I looked at my husband, and I said, isn't that weird? Her boat's name is Exit Strategy. I never saw Becky grieving for her husband or her loss. And as time went on, Meredith felt Becky was becoming a little too close to her own husband.

I kept telling him, I said, it's like you've checked out of our marriage, and I don't understand. I don't understand what's changed, what's happened. Nor did she understand what she learned about Becky from a Google search. In one of the articles, it said she got married in 2010. I said, that's impossible. I said, that's a misprint because she met her husband in med school in New York 35 years ago, and that's impossible. And there were other lies. Becky has lied about her children. She didn't have five children. Meredith says Becky's line was soon followed by betrayal. My life pretty much changed on January 2nd. My husband got out of the shower and said he was leaving me and he said I'm moving in

to Becky's. Not only her husband who is 16 years younger than Becky but her 13 year old daughter moved in with Becky as well after Becky lavished her with attention and gifts Meredith said. It would be so nice. And Becky seduced her new boyfriend with expensive gifts too. The boyfriend has had a plane bought for him. Becky took his extended family on an Alaskan cruise that lasted a couple of weeks with Dr. Schwartz's money. Ultimately, I think Becky's motive was to buy into our family. Money was her way of connecting. Being betrayed by her husband and her best friend was just too much. And I

quickly grew more depressed and decided that I was going to end my life, that I couldn't stand the pain anymore. As Meredith lay recovering in the hospital from her suicide attempt with prescription drugs, she had a surprise visitor, Becky. And according to this video deposition conducted by attorneys Florin and Robig in the wrongful death lawsuit, Becky allegedly came to deliver a cruel message. She walked over to Meredith and leaned down and whispered in her ear, quote, I wish you would have died. Yes. That's Becky's daughter-in-law, Dana Nichols, married to her son Ben. In an extraordinary moment, Dana, who had remained silent publicly for two years, turns on her own mother-in-law.

Reading a text message she sent a friend not long after Dr. Schwartz's murder. It's crazy how so much of what Becky did all adds up now. I'm sure she planned it for a long time. What did you mean to say she planned for a long time? The murder? Yes. Dana says she and others believe Becky had to be involved in Dr. Schwartz's murder. The only thing I can think is that she shot him first and then did the rest in a crazy violent rage unless Leo helped her finish the job but still I can't see Leo hurting Dr. Schwartz. Somebody robbed my house.

And remember, Becky claimed her Florida house had been burglarized. Questioned by Florin, Dana suggests Becky staged the burglary to implicate her son Ben. When did you first start, this is her own son, that you're concerned, your husband, that his mother is setting him up for the murder? Immediately. What gave you that concern? Just me knowing her and things that she's done before.

I wouldn't put anything past her. Dana says Ben has gotten past his drug problems, and the two of them have settled down with their daughter, Kendall. But they live in fear, as she told her friend in another text. I said, I am scared to talk to the detectives and police. I would hope if Becky came after me or sent someone after me, she wouldn't hurt Kendall.

But sadly, I don't think anyone matters to her but herself. Can you tell us your name, please? Rebecca Schwartz. Becky was also deposed in that wrongful death suit. I reassert my rights under Article 1, Section 9 of the Florida Constitution. But refused to answer any questions from attorneys Robig and Flora. You were present, were you not, in the home at the time of Dr. Schwartz's murder and took part in the murder of Dr. Schwartz, did you not?

I reassert my rights under Article 1, Section 9 of the Florida Constitution. She's got something to hide, and that something is her involvement in the murder. Rebecca Schwartz is a victim, just like her husband. She had nothing to do with the murder itself. Becky Schwartz wouldn't speak with us, but her attorneys make the case that she is innocent, and Leo Straga had a strong motive to kill Dr. Schwartz alone. Leo is the killer, and now he's going to pay for it.

Meredith shares more details of her relationship with Becky Schwartz at 48hours.com. Three years have passed since Dr. Schwartz's murder, and Becky splits her time between Florida and Wisconsin. All these things that we're talking about would never come to light if it wasn't for money, and big money, and millions of dollars worth of money. Dennis DeVlaming says this case is about greed, but it's the greed of the Schwartz children in trying to pin the murder on Becky so they can get their father's money instead of her. They've got to trash her. They've got to show her as somebody that would participate in the murder

because that's the only way they're going to profit in this case. DeVlaming says all the evidence points to Leo. What does the DNA evidence tell you? That Leo Straga was there at the time of the murder, that that's how his DNA got there, that's when his DNA got there, and that he was the killer. Why in the world would Leo Straga murder Dr. Stephen Schwartz when Schwartz was providing him his entire livelihood? My theory is that Dr. Schwartz was going to retire. He was in his 70s. I think that Leo Straga believed that his time with the Schwartzes was limited and he was going to be

replaced with somebody far less expensive. And if Dr. Schwartz was out of the picture, that perhaps Rebecca Schwartz would keep him on. Furthermore, de Vlaming says, Leo's story of being in the house to retrieve Becky's purse makes no sense. You go grab the bag. I seen, like, jewelry boxes and one knife on the back. A knife? A knife. Kitchen knife.

A kitchen knife. A large kitchen knife? Yeah, a large kitchen knife. Was there blood on the knife? No, not as I recall, no. It's hogwash. And the reason it's hogwash is Leo says that he looks in the bag and he sees a butcher knife. What individual would tell somebody that could turn them in to go pick up the murder weapon

that could be turned into the police to get your DNA, your fingerprints, it's absolutely laughably ridiculous. And DeVlaming points out, even Leo's alibi was shot down by police, who checked his cell phone records. Here's another quote from the report. Analysis of cell phone activity failed to support his alibi, your alibi. Locations and associated times given by you did not match cell phone tower. I told you I don't.

I know what I did. I was with people with alibi all day, and I made a few runs because I'm on a construction site job, a $125,000 job. So I had to go and buy materials or dump a trailer. This looks really bad, though. This looks bad. I know it looks bad. I know it looks bad. And DeVlaming says Leo is a large man, capable of physical force, unlike Becky. My client is 5'3", Dr. Schwartz is 6'3". There's no way in the world that she could have shot, stabbed, and strangled somebody that big.

DeVlaming denies Leo's claims that Becky ever asked him to kill Schwartz or his son Carter. All of those are false. All those statements are false. But Leo insists he didn't do it, that Becky was the culprit. I'm so sorry I didn't call the police. I mean, I regret it all my life, but one thing, I didn't kill their father. I didn't kill their father. I'm not the man. Your DNA is on the victim. You didn't call 911. And when you were interviewed by investigators, you lied to them. You add all that up, and you've got yourself a murder suspect.

I know. That's why I'm in here. He lied to the police. The police talked to Leo Straga. The police took his statement. He never mentioned anything, anything in his statement to the police about Rebecca Schwartz being in any way responsible for the death of her husband. Leo admits he never implicated Becky until the day he was arrested. I believe that both Leo Straga and Rebecca Schwartz were involved in his murder

and caused his death on that date. So who killed Dr. Schwartz? There was a potential eyewitness of sorts, the elaborate security camera system in the mansion, something only Leo, Becky, and family members knew about. But the hard drive had been removed. Did you remove the hard drive from that security camera system? No, I didn't remove the hard drive.

Who do you think did? Who else besides you would know that that hard drive was there? Her. And if she had somebody else helping her. Leo awaits trial, the only person charged. But Becky's attorneys are uncertain what the future will hold for her. Police aren't talking because the case is still open. Is she still a person of interest in this case?

We understand that she is. And is there still a possibility there could be an arrest? There's always that possibility. Is she worried or afraid that she'll be arrested for the murder of her husband? I think that that cloud is always there, that they may arrest her. What I want more than anything is for justice to be served. I want the people responsible for this to be held both criminally and civilly liable. Carter wants justice for a father whose life started and ended so badly,

but who lived the long middle dedicated to others. He never lost sight of paying back his debt to society. I think he turned it into a positive. I think he did everything he could to pay back society. Quite a life. Yeah. Can't make this stuff up, can you? Certainly cannot. The gun and the knife used to kill Dr. Schwartz

have never been found. No date has been set for Leo Strage's murder trial. Meredith and her husband are divorcing.