Dateline NBC - Hit List

Episode Date: April 5, 2022

Andrea Canning reports on the case of a former NYC police officer who was accused of an alleged murder-for-hire plot against her husband.

Tonight on Dateline. There was a knock at the door and they said your husband was murdered last night. I have a five year old with him. Is the five year old here? Yeah, it's cool. She's a police officer, a mother of two. She started shaking, crying, never forget it. She's gorgeous.

He is smitten by her. This is the beginning of a love triangle. Yeah, and love triangles just never end well. You don't know of anybody that would want to harm him? Anyone want to hurt your husband? No. There was something very dark going on. Delete your f***ing text.

I do delete my text. You have infidelity, jealousy, money. There's one other thing I would add. Revenge. Run her the f*** over. How about that? Run her over? My head was spinning. An undercover sting and a jaw-dropping surprise.

People lie. People are manipulated. Some people are truly sick. It's the ultimate twist. Never had any clue what was about to happen. Never. Never in a million years. I'm Lester Holtolt and this is Dateline. Here's Andrea Canning with Hit List. It's a poignant and sad journey for any police officer. On a sunny May morning in 2019,

two detectives were in a car headed to a home in Oceanside, New York, a small town on Long Island right outside of New York City. For the officers inside the car, there must have been a building sense of anxiety for the inevitable moment. This knock. How you doing, ma'am? Is your husband Isaiah Cavallo?

Yeah. Okay. Is it okay if we come in for a minute? Yeah. How you doing, sir? Is this family or...? Yeah. Okay. Mind having a seat for me, please? I'm sorry to be the one to tell you that Isaiah was found dead this morning.

Are you f***ing kidding me? I'm sorry to be the one to tell you that Isaiah was found dead this morning. Are you f***ing kidding me? The officer delivered tragic news. Valerie Cincinelli's 32-year-old husband, Isaiah Carvalho, was murdered. Wait, I don't... I know, I'm sorry. I don't even believe you. I'm sorry. I have a five-year-old with him.

Is the five-year-old here? That's cool. While Valerie's son wasn't home, a friend was there. His name, John DeRuba. There was a knock at the door. There was two Suffolk County detectives. And they said, you know, we want to tell you that your husband was murdered last night. What's her reaction?

She started shaking, crying. And I was sitting there in the chair, I'll never forget it, and the officer asked me to get her tissues and water. Yeah. Do you have maybe, like, a box of tissues you can bring for this guy? Do you like some water? Yeah. And I'm just sitting, like, in the corner,

and I was listening to all this, like it was just a movie set. I know this is a very difficult time. The detectives told Valerie they didn't have much information to share yet, like who killed her husband or how it happened. This is a very, very early, ongoing investigation, okay? And as I'm sure you do understand, the more information we can get sooner, it's better for your husband. If anyone understood the urgency of a police investigation, it was Valerie Cincinnati. This just, like, doesn't feel real right now to me.

I'm sorry. Like, I can't really believe this. Like, I'm a cop. Like, I can't believe this. You are a cop? Yes. Where? In the city? Yes.

Valerie was a decorated 12-year veteran of the New York City Police Department. Here she is standing next to her proud husband, Isaiah. I'm trying to help you as, as like a cop, but I just... Valerie, I don't need you to be a cop right now, okay? You can be a wife and a mother, okay? But I do need you to try to answer some of these questions. You don't know of anybody that would want to harm him?

Anyone want to hurt your husband? No. Valerie told the detectives her husband of five years worked with the Caterpillar Equipment Company. But then she hesitated and seemed reluctant to tell them more. Is there any financial problems? No drugs, alcohol, gambling bets, anything like that? I know. The only thing I know is that it's like, I don't want to. Isaiah can't get to like get.

Isaiah can't get in any trouble, okay? Okay. I'm sorry to say it that way, but you can only help us help him and help your family. Valerie then told the detectives Isaiah had a side business selling fireworks, a cash operation. Has he ever mentioned, like, did he screw over a customer? Was someone mad at him because of the fucker? As the questioning continued, Valerie, understandably, seemed to have a hard time accepting that Isaiah was dead.

Like, he's not at the hospital or something? Yes, ma'am. Valerie, you know we wouldn't show up and knock on anybody's door without being 100%, okay? Crime scene's there, the medical examiner's there. The crime scene was 50 miles away in this marina parking lot near Shirley, New York, an isolated spot on the coast of Long Island hugging the Atlantic Ocean. Here, law enforcement took this grim photo of Isaiah. It appeared he'd been shot as he was trying to get out of his car.

Back at Valerie's house, the detective's job was complete. Then they got all information, things like that from her. And they said, all right, we'll be in touch with you. And they left. There was something left behind. Secrets. So many secrets. But they'd all eventually spill out. Don't they always? Coming up.

I was angry as could be, and I felt so many emotions I'd never felt before. A former detective weighs in on the case. Isaiah's stepdad. What would be your first instinct looking at that photo? It looks like somebody was after that person, knew that person. Valerie Cincinelli had just been told her husband was murdered and that it happened in a marina parking lot near Shirley, New York, a quaint beach community on Long Island. It was just a few miles away from where Isaiah's mom and stepdad lived. We've been here about 20 years now.

Isaiah's mom, Marianne, and his stepdad, Patrick Roach, shudder when they think back to that spring day when everything changed. I haven't been to the marina since that happened that day. So the other day, we went over to the marina, and as soon as we pulled in, like my stomach dropped. But what did happen? So much was unknown in the beginning. That was especially hard for Isaiah's stepdad.

Because for 27 years, Patrick had also been an officer with the NYPD. Now retired, he'd worked homicide cases in the past. What would be your first instinct looking at that photo? What do you think as a former detective? If it wasn't my son and another detective showed me the photo, it looks like somebody was after that person, knew that person considering where it was, you know, parked in the middle of kind of nowhere. And ever since that day,

Isaiah's parents say they've been on a roller coaster of emotions. I was angry as could be. I was upset. I mean, I felt so many emotions that I've never felt before. Isaiah was young when his parents divorced. His relationship with his mom became especially tight, and he would share everything with her, sometimes too much. So he is a mama's boy. Oh, yeah. Yeah, like everybody says the umbilical cord was not cut. I've never heard it that way before.

But you secretly like that. Oh my gosh, yeah. Of course, what mother wouldn't? Marianne was raising Isaiah and his sister when she met Patrick. After they married, they had a son together, making it a blended family of five. And as Isaiah got older, he dreamed of the day he would have his own family. He wanted to get married. He wanted to have children. Yes, he did. That's just how I raised them.

Like even the other two will tell you the same thing. They want to have a family. They want the kids. They want the house. By 2010, Isaiah was 24. He hadn't yet started a family, but that was about to change. Isaiah's stepdad was working at the 106 Precinct in Queens when a female colleague walked into his office. She saw a picture on my desk of Isaiah, and she goes, who's that? I said, oh, Mike, that's my son. She goes, oh, is he single?

I said, yeah. And I'm sitting there thinking, okay, you know what? She's obviously taken an immediate... Yeah. She turned around, she goes, oh, she goes, hook a girl up. So I turned around, I just... Wow, bold. Oh, yeah.

I just kind of laughed it off. It was Officer Valerie Cincinelli. Do you tell Isaiah? Yeah. And he goes, well, what's she look like? I'm like, pretty girl. I'm like, seems nice. I'm like, I've known her a few times.

He's like, oh, he goes, hook me up. We got two hook me up now. Yeah, so I have the two of them going hook me up. And the two of them just kind of, they took that from there. Valerie worked in the domestic violence unit at the 106th, helping people in abusive relationships. And back at home, as Isaiah would quickly learn, there was already someone special in her life.

So what does he tell you after his first date? So he tells me about her and he says that she's a single mom, that she has a little girl that's two years old. He met the little girl and she's adorable. And this was right before Easter. And he turned around and said, would it be okay if I invite them for Easter dinner? After the first date? And I'm like, sure, you know. How did that go? That was amazing. The little girl came in the house, cutest little thing, took to us like as if she knew us for like the longest time. And Isaiah took to both the daughter and Valerie just as fast.

He's like, Mom, I love her. I think, you know, I think this is the one. I really think that this could be it. And I'm like, OK, just, you know, Isaiah, you just got to take it slow, though, because you never know. And he's like, no, no, I really love her. Four years after that sweet setup, they were married. Photos show the beaming couple at their wedding. They had a son together, Sal, finally fulfilling one of Isaiah's dreams. How just elated was Isaiah to have a son? Oh, my goodness.

He was so... He was the happiest person ever. Absolutely. To the moon and back with him a thousand times over and over again. For Isaiah, it was only the beginning of his plans for more kids in the future. Was it smooth sailing once they were husband and wife? Smooth sailing? No.

I mean, there were times where they were very happy, and then there were times where they were at each other's throats. I mean, I guess like any other married couple. Well, as you'll see, not exactly like any other married couple. And that brings us back to John DeRuba. Is this family? Yeah. He was in Valerie's house when the police told her Isaiah was dead.

He was about to become the central figure in a story that would seem like a soap opera if it weren't true. Coming up. She is absolutely the poster child for your modern day female officer. The woman admired for her bravery meets an admirer of a different sort. I started joking around with her, are you single? And she says no, I'm married. And then a partner leaned over and he's like, well, she's not happily married. When Dateline continues. That's near the area where he was found. Valerie Cincinnati was having a hard time grasping what police officers were saying. Her husband was dead.

Like this just like doesn't feel real right now to me. I'm sorry. Like, I can't really believe this. What were your first impressions of this case when you heard about it? The more I dug, the more I saw that it just got worse and bigger and more complicated and outrageous. Journalist Ana Garcia covered the case for her podcast, True Crime Daily.

She says the facts that would eventually come out would be explosive. If you wrote this, someone in Hollywood would say, oh yeah, that's just not believable. That's why this is so outrageous. To understand this case, we need to take you back to when Valerie was a little girl growing up on Long Island. In many ways, Valerie had a very typical upbringing. One of five kids, you know, grew up in a very supportive family. You know, this is a woman who had a goal her whole life to be a cop. She was born into a family of cops. Her father was a decorated cop.

Her brother, an FBI agent. But on that day, when detectives came to her home, she wasn't a woman in blue, but a mom who now had to face her children. Remember, Valerie had two kids who on that day were in school. Her 10-year-old daughter and the 5-year-old son she had with Isaiah. I can't tell Isaiah. There's no way I can tell him. She knew her son would be devastated. Your son is fine. He doesn't know right now. I know, but I was my mom, and I know how bad it is. I can't. Valerie was just 18 when her mom suddenly died in her sleep.

It fundamentally changed her family, and it changed her. She had to change her role. While she continued with school, she kind of had to step into the role of mother to help her brothers and her sister. A hero at home who later became a hero in her community. In 2017, she caught this bank robber red-handed as he tried to flee. She received an award for her bravery involving a bank robbery. In fact, there's video of her. She's pushing this guy around. She's petite, but she's tough. She's

chewing gum really fiercely. I mean, she's such a badass. Valerie could really be the poster child for NYPD recruitment. Oh, you've got a woman who is fit. She's athletic. She is tough as nails. She's attractive, hard-working, a mother. I mean, she is absolutely the poster child for your modern-day female officer. Valerie not only served the people of New York City. In 2016, she was named Soldier of the Year with a volunteer unit that assists the National Guard in emergencies. Looking in from the outside, Valerie seemed to have everything going for her. But as most of us know, what happens behind closed doors can be another story. And one person who knows a lot about that story is John DeRuba.

So tell me about the neighborhood. It's a quiet neighborhood. You know, everybody knows each other. Mostly Italians in here. John lives in Howard Beach, a small community in Queens on Jamaica Bay, right next to JFK Airport. It's also home to the 106 Precinct, where Valerie and Isaiah's stepdad worked. You have sort of an infamous, former, famous neighbor? Yep, John Gotti.

John never personally knew the mobster, but always loved the neighborhood and moved here in 2011 to be near family. It's also where he raised his teenage daughter as a divorced dad. You were out here one day just washing your car like any other day, and what happened? Patrol car pulled up, girl rolled down the window, and it was a police officer. And I said, oh, hi, can I help you? And she's like, oh, no, I just want to stop by, say hello. The patrol officer was Valerie Cincinnati.

It was January 2017, more than two years before those detectives knocked on her door. Now, out there on the street in front of his house, John says there was some friendly small talk with the local cop. Then he decided to ask a bold question. I started joking around with her. Are you single? And she says, no, I'm not, you know, I'm not single. I'm married. And then a partner leaned over and he's like, well, she's not happily married. Wow. This is all happening from one quick encounter while you're washing your car. Within 10 minutes. Oh, it was like your shirt off or something? No. Why was she so instantly? No, she just stopped and said hello. I have no idea,

maybe my bald head, I don't know. What was the age difference between you guys? I was in my early 50s and she was in her early 30s. So about 20 years, that seemed like a lot to you? Not really. I just, you know, age is just a number to me. You know, if you get along with somebody and you're happy and you hit it off, that's all that counts. So despite the fact that she was a married woman, on the spot, John went for it again and asked Valerie for her phone number. She says, I can't, I'm going through a bad divorce. And so I said, do you have Instagram? You know, she said, all right, I'll give you my Instagram account.

And then, you know, she drove off and left for the day. Never had any clue what was about to happen. Never. Never in a million years. Never. Coming up. She would call me day and night, send me pictures, miss you, I love you. This is while she's on vacation with her husband.

On vacation with her husband. A sudden secret affair. Sounds like you fell quickly for her. Yeah. I think it was love at first sight. Love at first sight, really? She just cut. Sorry.

This really hits you. Yes. It was a chance encounter on a Queens, New York street. Right down the block is the ocean. John Daruba, a single dad, was pleasantly surprised when married police officer Valerie Cincinnati said he could contact her on Instagram. But what she said next was more than a little jarring. So then she gave me her Instagram. She says, look me up. It's called Homicidal Hands. So I was like, Homicidal Hands? That's, you know, unusual for a police officer to have as a, you know, an Instagram handle. Well, yeah, kind of for anybody maybe?

Correct. It was actually homicide hands. Regardless, soon after, the two started chatting online. I asked her, I said, would you want to go out and stuff? She says, well, we have to keep it on the down low because I work with my husband's stepfather. He's a detective at the 106th Precinct. So I really can't be seen out with you

at this point because he'll find out and tell my husband. Any part of you thinking, maybe I should head in the other direction from this woman? Maybe some red flags? No, I said to myself, you know what, let's see where it goes. You know, how bad can she be? She's a police officer, a mother of two. They started to see each other, but kept it secret. Within weeks, John says they dialed up the heat with secret hotel trysts and lots of sex. We're talking every day. We're talking at night. You know, it was a little rough at night and stuff because her husband was home. She'd have to sneak around and call from different rooms. Oh, wow. She was still living with him.

She was still living with him at the house at the time. Living with him, but according to her, also living in fear. John says the domestic violence officer told him she was a victim herself, at the hands of her husband. What exactly did she say he was doing? He was abusive. He would verbally abuse her. Was always watching video games, not paying attention to the kids, his son. And he's not a nice person.

John thought he could not only save Valerie from her husband, but also find the kind of love he'd longed for. After his 12-year marriage failed, he had several short-term relationships. Now he was gushing to friends about the new woman in his life. I have not seen him fall head over heels like this for someone probably ever since I've known him. Mark Gus Scott has known John for 30 years. Now living in Phoenix, he often spoke with his friend back in New York. For John to exhibit these symptoms of being in love as a disease, it was amazing. Mark met John while touring the world with the hit 90s glam rock band Trickster.

Mark was the band's drummer. John was in charge of the band's security. He's also a man who's worn many different hats. He's flipped houses, owned a bakery, and at one time ran a tattoo parlor out of an old bank. But security was his main job, including back in the 80s, protecting the late comedian Sam Kinison. Was John DeRuba the kind of guy you wanted doing security? 100%. He certainly had a temperament about what he did. The idea was not to create a situation, but to avoid a situation. He had the brains enough to at least know the difference.

Now, all these years later, John told Mark he'd finally found the one. Was this the happiest maybe you'd ever seen him? Probably so, yes. Particularly to talk about one young lady that dominated his focus. I think that was a telltale sign that there was something cooking here that was really amazing. John believed Valerie was falling hard for him, too. As proof, he points to the time she went away on a beach vacation with her husband. So on the trip, she would call me day and night, send me pictures. I'm here. He's sleeping in the other

room. Don't worry about it. I miss you. I love you. She would even send pictures of her name, Valerie Daruba, using my last name in the sand. Wow. And then she would write Valerie and John in the sand. This is while she's on vacation with her husband. On vacation with her husband. What Valerie's husband also didn't know was that John had met her two children. And to keep that a secret, John says Valerie came up with a unique plan. I met her children. That went pretty well until they asked me what my name was, and then Valerie turned around and said his name was Mary.

So it was kind of strange. Okay, well, yeah, for a number of reasons. So I said, yeah, my name is Mary after Valerie said it. I spoke to Valerie privately. I said, Valerie, why are you telling them my name is Mary after Valerie said it. You know, I spoke to Valerie privately. I said, Valerie, why are you telling them my name is Mary? Well, they're going to come home and tell my husband. So she wanted to make it look like she was out with a friend named Mary. Valerie also met John's daughter, who was 14, and living with him full time.

What is your relationship like with your daughter at this time when you meet Valerie? My daughter was a little excited. She says, Dad, you need to meet somebody. So I said, okay, you know, and then time went by and I did meet Valerie. Everything was falling into place. John saw a future with the working mom who was an upstanding officer. He'd fallen madly in love. It became less about the sex and more about the connection.

Yeah, it wasn't ever about the sex. It wasn't about the uniform. It was about the person she was. You know, maybe I could have a family down the road. Sounds like you fell quickly for her. Yeah, I think it was love at first sight. Love at first sight, really? Let's just cut.

I'm sorry. This really hits you. Yes. But as the old saying goes, love is blind. And John was about to discover just how dark things could get. Coming up. Two police cars pull up, and then I see him come out with handcuffs on. Valerie's husband, Isaiah, suddenly under arrest.

Was that scary to you? Definitely. She betrayed him as a bad father, a bad guy, a bad husband. You know, maybe it's more to the story. When Dateline continues. An extramarital affair can be like a game of cat and mouse. The sneaking around, the secret rendezvous, all the while trying not to get caught. We used to meet up in parking lots, Dunkin' Donuts, McDonald's. And Valerie and John were trying not to get caught by her husband Isaiah. Was this kind of like your secret spot? We couldn't go to my house. We couldn't go to her house. So we had to meet somewhere.

Was there some hanky-panky going on in the car? Sometimes. Sometimes. But six months into their relationship, all that sneaking around eventually caught up with John and Valerie. It happened right after they pulled into this Long Island parking lot. We started kissing and hanging out in the car. And before I know it, I looked up and I noticed it was her husband. Oh my gosh, did your heart just start beating really fast?

I said, Val, your husband is right there. She says, where? I said, right there. He's standing there. Valerie's husband, Isaiah, was on foot about 200 feet away, darting about the street, anxiously looking for his wife. Were you kind of scared, not knowing what he was capable of and he's this hot on your trail? Absolutely. So then she realized she left her tracker on her phone on, find my iPhone, and that's how he found her location where she was.

But Isaiah never spotted his wife and John in the dark parking lot. Eventually, he got back in his car and left. Did you feel guilty at all when you saw Isaiah here? No, I didn't feel guilty

because she portrayed him as a bad father, a bad guy, a bad husband, abusive. Still, after that close call, something clicked with John. He started to question his relationship with Valerie. Did you feel like you're playing with fire at this point when he gets that close? Yeah, I just didn't understand because she says, you know, he wanted a divorce. So then I started saying to myself, why would a guy come out looking for his wife if he didn't really care? So that's what started me thinking, you know, maybe it's more to the story. And then something else happened.

Something John says he found terribly troubling. One day, he says Valerie invited him over to her house, but when he pulled up, he could see Isaiah was there. So I called her up and I said, listen, you know, your husband's car's in the driveway. She goes, just park at the end of the block and wait a few minutes. And she hangs up on me. John says he waited a half hour in his car,

then called Valerie again. She says, just sit there and watch the show. So I said, watch the show? I said, what are you doing? And she hung up. So like ten minutes later, two police cars pull up, and I see them go in the house, and then I see him come out with handcuffs on. Isaiah was arrested. John says he then asked Valerie what was going on. I was kind of confused. I said, you're calling the police now? And then she says, oh, shut up.

She says, well, this is one way to get him out of the house because he wouldn't leave to go to his mother's and stay there because I didn't want him here. John's friend Mark could tell his friend was conflicted, deeply in love with Valerie, while also questioning the kind of person she was. If anybody who I knew was in control, he was starting to lose control. He was starting to feel very unsteady. His personality

was changing. As for Isaiah's arrest, Valerie claimed in a police report he smacked her hand, which caused her phone to fall to the ground, cracking her screen protector. Under New York domestic violence laws, that's enough for an arrest. But Isaiah's mom and stepdad told us they believe their son was set up. Was that scary to you, your belief that she used her knowledge of domestic violence with law enforcement to her advantage? Definitely. I was pissed. And I wanted to say something to her, but she's a colleague.

It is domestic. Keep your mouth shut. You don't want to get yourself in trouble. Isaiah eventually pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct violation, which is less than a misdemeanor. He moved out of the house he shared with Valerie. By then, he'd also come to the conclusion Valerie wasn't faithful. Isaiah had kind of suspected at this point. I was just going to say that he suspected that she was.

Valerie might be cheating. Yes. While it appeared Valerie was over her marriage, Isaiah wasn't. We said to him numerous times, listen, get a divorce. We'll help you out. We'll do what you got to do. And he turned around to us like, you know, I don't want my son growing up with divorced parents like I did. Isaiah's stepdad had no idea he was about to get further involved with his son's marriage. But he would. After he got a mysterious text message, he ended up in one of the most unusual meetings of his life. Coming up, John says he sees a frightening side of Valerie. She pulls out her gun, and she points it right to my face,

and she says to me, if you ever lie to me again, I'll blow your head off. And husband meets boyfriend, an unusual rendezvous. The Visual Rendezvous John DeRuba suddenly found himself questioning his relationship with his lover, Valerie Cincinnati, the married New York City police officer. For one thing, John says he was going broke because he was spending a lot of his money on Valerie. What kind of things are you buying her? New tires for her car, new brakes, jewelry, clothing, clothing for the kids, helping her pay her mortgage. I was paying a lot of things. And in the meantime, I wasn't paying my bills at my home

in Howard Beach. Because you were spending all your money on her. Spending all the money on her. Whatever the money issues were, John says he started to see that Valerie had a mean, jealous streak, especially when it came to one person, someone surprising, his 14-year-old daughter. She wanted to be more to herself. She wanted to be more with her kids instead of my daughter. You know, she would say things like,

why are you going to the mall with your daughter buying her things and not buying me and my kids things? So, you know, I was just like, you know, I didn't know how to take it at the time. Well, did you tell her, like, she's my only child and I'm raising her? I told her she's my daughter. I said, I raised her since she's one. And, you know, and then she would just, like, make faces and just started being mad about it.

John's friend Mark felt his buddy was addicted to Valerie and wouldn't leave her. I think all of us have been put in a situation where your heartstrings are tied onto something. To keep that emotional something going, because that means so much to you inside. And I think John was so far under that spell that he couldn't imagine himself walking away. Valerie was like a drug? I think that's a very good way to put it. Yeah, it was like a drug. But then came the final straw. John says one day, 11 months into their relationship, Valerie was taking a shower when his daughter, the person she was jealous of, sent him a message.

When Valerie came out of the bathroom, she wanted to know who he was texting. She looks at me and goes, who texted you? I said, I don't know, I think it was just an email because I didn't want to start an argument. She goes, oh really? So she turns around, reaches down in her duffel bag and she pulls out her gun. And she points it right to my face, and she says to me, if you ever lie to me again, I'll blow your head off. She goes, don't you ever lie to me again, that's it. Shaken and unnerved, John made a decisive call to the NYPD's Internal Affairs Office. He turned in the woman he loved.

Well, why did you make that call? Because I was afraid for myself, my life at the time. You know, she was really shaken and I was really worried. You know, here I got a cop that's shaking a loaded gun in my face. The NYPD took away Valerie's gun and she was put on modified duty while they investigated the allegation. For John, the relationship was over. Valerie was always on a roller coaster.

When Valerie was good, she was unbelievable. But then the next day, she'd be somebody you didn't know. Someone else who reached a painful decision was Isaiah. In late 2017, after he'd been arrested for smacking Valerie's hand, he contacted divorce attorney Erica Sakel. He had just been finished being accused of something that he said he didn't do and talking about how Valerie set him up and everything he had gone through.

So, you know, at that point, he just wanted to be finished. While Valerie had seemed ready for a divorce for some time, Isaiah finally came to the conclusion that he was also ready to end their marriage. What did you think of her as you're hearing Isaiah's story? You know, I was kind of in shock that one woman could be so manipulative, could have almost like a Bengali-like relationship with men, that they would stay and take her abuse and keep coming back for more

until Isaiah finally reached his breaking point with her. But just as things seemed to be wrapping up, everything started to unravel. Around the same time Isaiah started his divorce proceedings, his stepdad Patrick got an unusual message on his phone. A stranger wanted to pass along the number of someone who could help with Isaiah's divorce. The seasoned detective knew a good lead when he saw one. And soon after, he ended up in Queens, sitting at a kitchen table,

facing a man he'd never met before. I mean, this is kind of bizarre. Oh, it's totally bizarre because I have no idea where this is really going. And he turns around and he goes, I just want to be honest with you. He goes, I've been dating Valerie. And I'm like, I'm in the kitchen table. And I'm like, wait a minute, what? The Valerie that's married to my son?

Yeah, exactly. And he goes, yeah. He goes, but let me explain myself. The mystery man was John DeRuba. He told Isaiah's stepdad that he did some snooping on Valerie's phone and saw text messages that totally changed his opinion of Valerie's husband. He goes, I found the text messages from Isaiah saying, I want to stay with the family.

We should be together for our son. He goes, and I'm looking messages from Isaiah saying, I want to stay with the family. We should be together for our son. He goes, and I'm looking at this going, wait a minute. This isn't the monster she's telling me about. This is a guy that wants his family back. John said he'd been lied to. He felt horrible. And then he made this request. He goes, if it's possible, he goes, I'd really like to meet your son.

So I said to him, I said, I don't think that would be a good idea. He goes, I just want to apologize. I'm going to go, let me talk to my wife, let me talk to him, and that's going to be up to them. Believe it or not, Isaiah eventually agreed. The two men, the husband and the paramour, met at a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant. This is unorthodox. What does Isaiah tell you? Uh, it was kind of sad. Excuse me. It was kind of sad. You know, he wanted to keep his family. He loved his son. He wanted to be with his son. And he didn't want to get divorced.

Did you feel guilty? Yeah. I just, you know, men do it all the time to people, you know, cheat on them with somebody else's wife and don't even think about it. But here I am sensitive. I have a daughter and I'm like, wow. I'm like, what do I say? I said to him, listen, I apologize.

I don't know what to say. The guy was crying himself, listen, I apologize. I don't, you know, I don't know what to say. You know, the guy was crying himself, you know, pouring his heart out. Did you feel like after meeting face to face that maybe he wasn't the monster she was portraying? Absolutely. Absolutely. He wasn't a monster. He was a great guy. Isaiah may have been a great guy, but that wouldn't be enough to keep Valerie and John apart. Coming up. I was so in love with her that anything she wanted me to do, I would do. Anything for love? How about murder?

She says, we got to get rid of him. Something's got to happen. Maybe you know somebody could do you a favor and get rid of him. When Dateline continues. By March 2018, John thought he was over Valerie, but it seemed Valerie wasn't over him. After he says she pointed a gun at his head, John broke up with her. Still, he says she kept calling him, so he filed a restraining order. She violated the restraining order by coming in contact with him? Correct. Correct. She wasn't supposed to come near me or my daughter or contact me at the time. John turned her in again, and police arrested Valerie. She now faced criminal charges.

But on the day John sat in a courtroom, ready to testify against his ex-girlfriend, he suddenly felt overwhelmed by her mere presence. She was staring at me from across the room, and the feeling started, the fireworks from across the room, I felt. Wow, while you're at a hearing over a restraining order, you're having fireworks, the good kind. Yep, she was giving me eyes, looking at me, staring at me, so I felt that feeling again. Wow, nothing like a restraining order hearing to get the fires burning again. Correct. So that's where it led from there on. As those emotional fireworks were popping, something else stuck in his mind.

John says Valerie's dad approached him that same day and asked him to reconsider. He says, she's a police officer. She might lose her job over this. Could you help us out? Could you just drop the restraining order so we can move on? Despite everything that had happened between them, John says he didn't want Valerie to lose her job. And I just told him, I said, listen, you know, it didn't happen this way.

So I told him I'd made the whole thing up. In court? In court. So you're now admitting to lying in court? Correct. Once again, love conquered all. The judge dropped the charges. John and Valerie left court, and then, believe it or not, they got back together.

Did you think maybe this time we'll stay together? Well, she said to me, I'll never forget it, she said to me, you know what, we got things right now. Let's put all this behind us and move forward. So I'm saying, oh my God, maybe everything's behind us, let's just give it one more shot. And for the rest of 2018, things went well for the couple, for the most part. John moved in with Valerie and formed a special bond with her

son, Sal. Here I got Valerie where I want her, her two kids, everything's perfect. We're like a family, which I always wanted. Well, not exactly perfect. Valerie refused to let John's daughter live with them. So John persuaded her to go live with some friends nearby, all because of Valerie. I was so in love with her that anything she said, I would believe. Anything she wanted me to do, I would do. She would say, jump, I would say, how high? Then something happened to Valerie. She was badly injured on the job. An inmate she was transporting physically attacked and attempted to sexually assault her. Her shoulder was almost broken and she had surgery. She was in bed for like three weeks. I had to take sexually assault her. Her shoulder was almost broken and she had surgery.

She was in bed for like three weeks. I had to take care of her. She started taking medications, Xanax, Zoloft, painkillers. She was losing weight. On top of her injury, John says Valerie's divorce from Isaiah started to get ugly. She seemed even more on edge than before, especially when she learned Isaiah would likely

get some of her police pension. With that, John says something snapped. So this is when it all started, when she said to me, court's coming up in another month and a half. He's got to go. I said, where's he going? No. Her husband? Her husband. He's got to go. Got to go, meaning like down the road? That's what I said. I said, where's he going, on vacation? Or got to go 12 feet under?

He's got to go. You know, he can't be around no more. So I'm saying, oh, my God, this girl's taking medication. She's talking crazy now. John thought maybe Valerie was having some side effects from those pain meds, and the talk about murdering her husband would stop. He says it didn't. She says, we got to get rid of him. Something's got to happen. Maybe you know somebody could do you a favor and get rid of him. So she's talking, again, like the...

About murdering him, so she can keep the house and keep her pension and move on. Do you think she's serious when she says murder? At the beginning, I didn't think so. But then it got worse. Then it started in every day. Did you find somebody? Did you see somebody? And I said, no. I said, I didn't think so. But then it got worse. Then it started in every day. Did you find somebody? Did you see somebody? And I said, no. I said, I don't know. At the same time she was asking for someone to kill her husband,

John says Valerie had become even more fixated on his daughter and the attention he was giving her. Podcaster Anna Garcia. Valerie's jealousy, I mean, was out of control. She was constantly searching on social media where his daughter was, what she was doing, what she was saying. Why was Valerie so obsessed? So obsessed, John says, that she even asked him to cover up a tattoo

of his daughter's name on his arm. Valerie just didn't want that tattoo on my arm anymore. And she says, if you want to be with me and my kids, you got to cover that name up. And I was confused. You have to cover up the name of your own daughter for Valerie. Correct. And John did it. This now blacked out areas where his daughter's name used to be. I was living under her roof with her. I have to listen to her orders what to do. Otherwise, she would lock me out of the house. She'd make me sleep in my car, which I did. John's friend Mark says he couldn't believe the extremes John was willing to go to for Valerie.

At a certain point, I got angry at John. I said, you're telling me she said that about your daughter and you're sticking around? It's like, if this is really happening, John, you've got to draw the line and get the hell out of there. It's ridiculous. It's non-negotiable. What did he say? He didn't want to leave. John was staying in the relationship, but Valerie's strange obsession with his daughter was about to take a very dangerous turn. Coming up, a second murder plot? She's like, you know what, if your daughter was

dead too, we would be together and be happy with my two children. This is your daughter. I said, I don't understand what, you know, you're talking about my daughter. Sean says his relationship with Valerie had veered into crazy territory. But then he says it all got even scarier as Valerie became more obsessed with his daughter. He says she added another person to her hit list. She's like, you know what, if your daughter was dead too, we would have our family together. Zay would be gone, your daughter would be gone, we would be together and be happy with my two children. She's your daughter. I said, she's like losing her rocker now.

Like, I don't understand what, you know, you're talking about my daughter. Were you entertaining the thought at all of helping her kill her husband? Absolutely not. Are you entertaining the thought at all of having your daughter killed? No, not at all. It's the love of my life. Well, you know what it is? It sounds almost like too hard to believe.

You're in love with somebody, and you hear everything crazy things that they did, and now this is just like one more crazy story, and you're like, oh, my God, here we go again. Wouldn't this be the point where you would walk out the door and say, I'm never going to see this woman again? I know tomorrow's going to be a better day with the better Valerie, the good Valerie, and this is going to blow over. But it didn't blow over. It got so bad at one point where I had to lie to Valerie and tell her that my daughter was living with her mother down the Jersey Shore, that I don't see her no more, to keep her out of the picture. His daughter was actually still nearby, in Queens. At this point, John says he made a decision not to

go to the police, but to continue making stuff up, hoping Valerie's talk of killing Isaiah would end. So John says he told Valerie he knew someone who could do the hit for $7,000. And Valerie's going to go get cash, but you say... I told her the number, and I said to myself, maybe she'll say, forget about it. But, you know, we were in the car that day. She told me to pull over. She ran into TD Bank, and she got the money out. And then again, I'm back on the wheel going, what am I going to do now? So she took out the $7,000. She took out the $7,000.

And you tried to get her again to put on the brakes. Actually, right in the car. At that moment, John says he decided to make another excuse to try and stall Valerie. Listen, you know what? The guy doesn't want the money after she got it out. I said, I just spoke to him. He wants gold coins. And she got on the phone to find gold coins, which she did.

In your mind, are you thinking, wow, she is desperate to carry out these murders? Correct. It's getting to a point where it's getting, like, really bad. It seemed John was in way over his head. This is the 106 precinct here, so she used to work around the corner. So we used to meet in the parking lot and come here to eat. And now he worried Valerie,

an experienced investigator, might get frustrated waiting around and find her own hitman, someone who would actually kill Isaiah and John's daughter. I was at my wit's end. You know, I had my daughter hiding. You know, my daughter was upset.

So I knew this was a serious situation,, I have my daughter hiding. You know, my daughter was upset. So I knew this was a serious situation, so I had to do something. That's when he finally made the decision to call the authorities, in this case, the FBI. How do they corroborate your story, you know, deciding if they should take you seriously? Well, they want to see for themselves. You know, the FBI always wants to make sure everything's fine, and they wanted to see for themselves if the story was legit or I was a disgruntled boyfriend. To hear for themselves, the FBI agents asked him to take a huge step, carry a recording device and tape his conversations with Valerie. He agreed, but was nervous. Here I am walking in the house with a wire and I was scared at the same time.

You know, she's still a police officer and I just had to worry. He says he continued to play the role of the faithful boyfriend, even pretending he was okay with having his own daughter killed. You really have to keep up this ruse. I could have got an Academy Award for this.

It was just like unbelievable where I had to live with her and let her keep talking and show the FBI that this is what she wanted to have done. To prove his commitment, John agreed to get matching tattoos with Valerie that read, till death. He was in deep. Did you feel like you were sleeping with the enemy? That's what I really was doing. You know, I was sleeping with a woman that I was in love with that wanted to harm my daughter, and here I am taking care of her children.

It's just like, it was rough. John started recording Valerie on May 8th, 2019. What do you want to talk about, John? What do you want to talk about? In this curse-filled exchange, John tells Valerie he just got a message from the hitman. The murders were set to happen. I don just got a message from the hitman. The murders were set to happen. Okay, good? Valerie seemed happy the hits were happening that coming weekend.

But he told her the plan made him nervous. Okay, so take care of yours. And then wait a month. John told Valerie he was worried that someone would connect the murders back to them. John said the hitman was making progress, doing surveillance on his daughter and separately on Isaiah. Isaiah was, and he was looking for them. That's what he did. Like, what do you want me to do? I don't give a f***. Do whatever you want. But then another week went by, and the deeds still weren't done. John assured Valerie it was going to happen.

Their oddly casual conversations about a double murder were turning more and more ghoulish. Who do you want to go first? Isaiah or her? Why are you asking me? were turning more and more ghoulish. Valerie then had another thought. Maybe the hitman could make Isaiah's murder look like a robbery, possibly connected to that fireworks business she said he ran. The robbery gone bad explanation might have worked for Isaiah's death. But what about John's daughter?

What Valerie said next must have been hard for a father to hear. She would say, well, then run her the F over. Kill her at the school, run her over, make it look like an accident. So when I was hearing all these things, you know, my head was spinning. You know, here I am in love with a girl. What am I doing? The recording seemed so damning, so explosive. Still, the FBI decided they needed someone else to help them. It's not very often that someone is able to return to the scene of where they were murdered.

This is Special Agent D with FBI. The date is May 17th, 2019. May 17th. Something major was happening. First thing that morning, John got a call from the FBI. They said, can you meet with us? I said, sure. They said, okay. Could you wear this jacket for us?

It had cameras on it. He's going to be conducting a consensually monitored conversation between himself and Valerie Cincinnati. The agents now wanted John to wear this jacket in which they'd hidden a camera. He wasn't told why. They would only say he should go about his normal day. John agreed. Come on, 904, time to get you in the car, time to get you over there.

So he went back to Valerie's house, picked up her son Sal, and drove him to school. You crying? No. I'm not. I'm just happy. Good morning. But he had a feeling this would be the last time he saw the young boy he'd grown so close to.

I love you. And I'll never forget the day I took her son to school. And he said to me, I want to go see a movie after school. Please don't be late picking me up. But you knew. I knew I'd never see him again. I had to walk away from him. You didn't want to leave him?

No. Soon after, John left a message for his daughter. He had already sat her down a few weeks earlier and told her everything. Daddy loves you. I'll be coming for you soon. We'll be together forever. I love you and I'm sorry. You should be careful and be safe.

Watch your surroundings, please. I love you. Around that same time, on that same morning, a man 50 miles away was getting ready to start his day. My name is Isaiah Carvalho. Yes, Valerie's husband is very much alive. And on that day, he could never have imagined what was about to happen. I walk out of the house, out of the corner of my eye, I see a car creeping down the block. So I was startled and scared at first. Then the car sped up and stopped right in front of the driveway. Two guys in suits got out of the car and came over to me and said, we're from the FBI. Isaiah, who by then had moved into his mom and stepdad's house, told the FBI agents to come inside.

I sit at the table and they go, we don't know how to tell you this, but your wife put a hit out on you. I mean, how do you even, what's going through your mind in that moment? I immediately asked where my son was. I was worried about him. Did they know? They told me that he was safe, and there was an FBI agent with him, and I would get him later on that day. Isaiah's mom sat in disbelief as she heard the agents tell her son Valerie wanted him killed. Are you in just complete shock at this point?

I am shocked and hysterically crying because when he first said she wanted him dead, it kind of really, I didn't grasp it. I don't know, it was like, what? Hit man. Like, what are you talking about? I said, this is like, is this real? And they're like, yeah.

They're like, this is, she wanted to have you killed. This is Valerie, an NYPD officer. How do you comprehend that? She's law enforcement. I didn't think she would go that far. But the FBI wasn't just there to tell Isaiah his wife wanted him dead. They also wanted his help. They brought me in, and they had me park my car along right over here. With the FBI. They also wanted his help.

The agents and Isaiah drove to that marina parking lot near his home and then launched the next phase of their plan. They opened the door. So they're setting the stage for your murder. Yeah. For photos. Absolutely. Then they proceeded to tell me to sit back into the car, and they took glass and threw it all over me and told me to hunch over into the passenger seat to make it look like I was dead. You're sitting in the... I just had to slump over like that and keep my eyes closed.

And they just kept snapping pictures from all angles. Back at Valerie's house, John was wearing that FBI-supplied jacket with a hidden camera, recording everything. Did the guys call you back yesterday from the phones? Including this moment of Valerie searching his daughter's social media accounts. Tonight's Friday. That's when she leaves, Every Friday. You go to Queens every Friday. Yeah, so how do you know where she is? How do you know? That's how I f***ing know. I post it all over the f***ing

internet. That's how I know. Then, moments later, it came. That knock at the door where we began our story. Who's that? Landscaper? How you doing? I'm Detective Finnegan, Suffolk County Police Department.

This is my partner, Detective Fandry. Hi. Mind having a seat for me, please? I'm sorry to be the one to tell you that Isaiah was found dead this morning. Are you f***ing kidding me? The two local detectives who were working with the FBI played their own roles. They sympathetically questioned Valerie while both their hidden cameras rolled. Oh my God.

Anyone want to hurt your husband? No. Then Valerie gave them that made-up motive she'd discussed with John, that someone might want to kill Isaiah over the fireworks business. And I mean like big time fireworks. And I know Isaiah sells it for him. Or like delivers it for him or whatever. Has he ever mentioned, like did he screw over a customer or was someone mad at him because of the fireworks?

One of the detectives left his card and said they'd be back shortly. It's a difficult trying time. Do you understand that? I feel like this isn't even real. I don't really know. It's very real. Unfortunately, we wouldn't be here if it wasn't real.

All right, thank you. Again, you have our condolences. But that wasn't the end of the FBI's elaborate plan. They were sending another surprise for Valerie, and it was about to arrive.

Coming up... I was never a monster. I never mistreated her. I never wanted anything bad to happen to her. An emotional plea from Isaiah. And at Valerie's, a telltale text.

Why would he do that? I don't know. I'm going to erase it quick. May 17th started off in such a crazy, head-spinning flash. And then it came to an abrupt stop, at least for Valerie's husband Isaiah. Right after this photo was taken, an FBI agent told Isaiah they'd all now have to sit and wait in the marina parking lot.

Do you have time to ask any questions? Like where? Why? I didn't even know what to ask. They wouldn't tell me anything. I couldn't use my phone. I didn't even know what to ask. They wouldn't tell me anything. I couldn't use my phone. I couldn't talk to anybody. Nothing. So they told you, basically, you need to go off the grid right now.

And we're going to help you. As the hours started to tick by, Isaiah had a lot of time to think about what was unfolding in front of him and how he ended up in such a situation. He said things were so different when he and Valerie first met. And I met her daughter. I fell in love with her daughter. I was like, this little girl's amazing. She took right to me right away.

This is really cool. You know, this is exactly what I want. And she made it seem like she was so into me and so like I was the greatest person in the world. And I fell into the trap. He wants us to know that he feels Valerie made up lots of things about him, big and small, like the idea that he sold fireworks on the side. He says he never did.

And more importantly, he wants to make clear that he never abused his wife. I was never a monster. I never mistreated her. I never wanted anything bad to happen to her. I just wanted to keep my family together. I just wanted my family to be good. You wanted a home for your son that would not end in divorce, that would stay together as family. Yeah, I just wanted to have that happy ending. And she wanted no part of it. Isaiah had resigned himself to the fact that his marriage was over, and he thought everything had been moving forward in divorce court.

But as he now looked back, he felt Valerie didn't want to split any of her money with him. I believe once the judge got the financials from the divorce and everything came into light of how much I was actually entitled to, I think that really hit her in a place where she felt threatened. And to be honest, the only way that Valerie ever felt threatened was financially. You feel like a switch was flipped in that moment. Yeah, I feel like she completely lost it. Knowing that she had to give me even a dollar was just gut-wrenching to her.

She wanted no part of it, and she didn't want me to have anything of hers. While the mood was solemn in that parking lot, it was a completely different scene back at Valerie's house. All right, thank you. Again, you have our condolences. After the detectives left and the door was shut, John kept playing his role,

saying the hitman must have killed his daughter too. Oh, my God. Well, I guess they're both gone. Nobody's in touch with me. She's gone. Now what? What do we do now? I don't f***ing know.

Valerie worried about what she would tell Sal, the son she and Isaiah had together. I don't know what to do. Valerie worried about what she would tell Sal, the son she and Isaiah had together. The two started talking about their alibis. I don't know. I know he's f***ing sorry. They're all going to f***ing blame me. How are they going to blame you? You have an alibi. We're home. What the f***? And about any evidence that could implicate them. Delete your f***ing text. I do delete my text. For me. Oh my God.

What? Then suddenly a new text popped up on John's phone with a photo. He said it was from the hitman. He just texted me. And I looked at it and it was Isaiah laying in his car with glass over him. Of course, the photo came from the FBI. So I showed Valerie like this and she went crazy. Oh my God. Look at the glass. Why would he text you that? I showed Valerie like this, and she went crazy. Oh, my God. Who the f*** was?

Why would he text you that? I don't know. I'm going to erase it quick. It doesn't matter. Are you f***ing dumb? As a seasoned investigator herself, she knew detectives could get a hold of phone records. I'm just going to erase everything. I'm going to throw the phone away.

It'll show that he sent you this. Are you kidding me? I said 10 days they could subpoena messages. Then, there was another knock at the door. The detectives were back. Put your hands up. Up, up, up. Up, up, up. And in a matter of seconds, FBI agents swarmed in to place Valerie under arrest.

What was her reaction to that? She was stunned. She was so scared. They handcuffed her. They said, you're under arrest. And they handcuffed me. They brought me out the back door. They handcuffed you for show?

Yeah, for show. Valerie eventually learned that she was the target of an FBI sting operation, that her boyfriend was the one who turned her in, and that her husband was alive. She was booked into a Brooklyn federal detention center. Okay, so take care of yours, and then wait a month. And with all those recordings, you might think this was an open-and-shut case. But you'd be wrong.

Coming up, the part of this undercover sting you haven't seen. When the detectives leave, she is just crying hysterically. I didn't believe you. I never believed you. I never believed you. You believe there's so much more to this story. I know that there's so much more to this story. I know that there's so much more to this story. When Dateline continues. Valerie, do you have anything to say?

I'll be acquitted because I did not do this. When Officer Valerie Cincinelli was arrested, her case was plastered all over local media. Valerie Cincinelli held her head in her hand. Female officer is behind bars. She remains in jail being held. There, for all the world to see, was that till-death tattoo she got with John. The NYPD suspended her without pay. She was charged with two counts of murder for hire and one count of obstruction. She pleaded not guilty. You believe there's so much more to this story. No, I know't live a 34-year life as a decorated police

officer, a college graduate, a good daughter in every way, shape, or form, and then just all of a sudden wake up in the morning and flip a switch and become unhinged. And he says despite what is on those recordings, Valerie never wanted her husband Isaiah or John's daughter killed. I have consistently said that she is clearly playing out this fantasy during these conversations that she never believed would come to fruition. She said some terrible, terrible things about his daughter.

She said in a recording, run her the F over. There's no question, and we have said from the inception of this case, that many of Valerie's statements and words on those tapes are horrible. He says Valerie was only venting, and her words can be explained, in part, because of that attack and injury she suffered at work. It was the beginning of a downward spiral where she lost 30 pounds, all the while taking a lot of medications. She was medicated after her shoulder surgery.

She was clearly beside herself. She was clearly beside herself. She was clearly not herself and became entirely unhinged. The attorney told us most people have the rest of the facts in this case wrong, too, and says Valerie defends her decision to have her husband arrested and denies texting John to watch the show. And while she admits she made mistakes in her relationship with John, she says she never pulled a gun on him, and adds, when they first met on that street,

John approached her, not the other way around. In fact, the defense claims John DeRuba is the real villain here. Pushing Valerie to say such awful things on those recordings. He's creating this dialogue.

He's constantly talking about it. But what is John DeRuba's motivation to want his own daughter killed? You know, Andrea, people lie. People are manipulative. Some people are truly sick. I think he's a bad guy. I think he's a manipulative individual. It is our position has always been that he's using her. And when... For what? For her money and everything that he can get from her. He says John is a man who had many different faces. Someone who got into his own legal trouble four months before he started recording Valerie in 2019.

So John DeRuba is arrested during this time for stealing a diamond. So what is that story and how does it fit into everything or does it? I don't know whether it actually fits into anything relative to this case. All I know is that it doesn't surprise me. John said he never stole a diamond but had a money dispute with a jeweler. The case was discharged after John agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct. The files have since been sealed. Do you feel that this just speaks to John DeRuba's character? It all speaks to John DeRuba's character. The defense also points to a major hole in the prosecution's case. They didn't have any evidence proving Valerie actually gave money to John to have two people killed. They could never establish that she paid him to hire a hitman.

So there was no documentation of a text or one of the wires he was wearing, video cameras, nothing was ever showing that this money exchanged hands for a hitman. Never. Never. She never even gives the hint during these tapes that she paid him money to hire a hitman, ever. But what about that $7,000 John said was to pay for the hitman? The attorney says it was actually a loan that Valerie gave him to invest in gold. He wouldn't be texting her constantly telling her, I owe you the money. I'm going to pay you back. While John admits he sometimes borrowed money from Valerie, her attorney says John was so broke that Valerie let him live with her until she got fed up and kicked him out more than once.

If they're having difficult times in their relationship and she wants him out of the house, why is she so willingly giving him $7,000 for gold? Because every time she kicks him out, he would launch another investigation against her. Remember, John turned Valerie into authorities twice. The defense says this case was not about John being afraid of Valerie, but her being afraid of him. Every time she kicked him out, every time she rebuffed his pleading to get back in her life, he filed a false allegation against her. And there's something else the defense thinks didn't make any sense. If Valerie took out $7,000 to pay a hitman, why would John wait three months before going to the FBI?

She pays him in February of 2019. He doesn't go to the feds until May of 2019. Let's just think about this. You're John Daruba. She pays you money to kill your daughter, and you don't go to the feds until May? That's ridiculous. He says that the reason he didn't go sooner

is because he was in love with her. Yeah, it's all ridiculous. Okay, so Valerie, let's go get you therapy. Let's get you some help. You're losing it. You know, really? Is that the way you treat the woman you love? But here's where Valerie's attorney says their side of the case becomes clear.

Those FBI tapes actually help his client. Unfortunately, we wouldn't be here if it wasn't real. When the detectives leave, and this to me is the most critical aspect of these tapes, now she's alone with the man the government initially asserted, she so callously conspired to kill two people. And she can't stop crying. You think I'm not freaking out? My f***ing son. She is just crying hysterically. And he looks at her and says, what are you crying about?

You knew this was going to happen. What do you want me to do? No, I didn't believe you. I never believe you. All you do is lie to me. So was Valerie the cold-blooded conspirator or the victim of a lying, conniving boyfriend? As her day in court approached, one final twist lay ahead. Coming up... What would you say to anyone who thinks that you wanted revenge on her? It was Valerie's own words to put her in jail. She could have stopped this at any time.

A stirring defense from John and a stunning turn in Valerie's case. I was blown away. It's outrageous. September 2019. For four months, Valerie Cincinelli sat in a Brooklyn detention center. I'll be acquitted because I did not do this. The judge refused to give her bail as she awaited trial. And there was more bad news. Valerie's brother, the one who was an FBI agent, had died by suicide two months earlier. As for John DeRuba, he insists he wasn't the one

behind the murder-for-hire plot. What would you say to anyone who thinks that, you know, you wanted revenge on her? That this was your way of getting back? You know what? It was Valerie's own words to put her in jail. It's her own voice, what she wanted to do. She could have stopped this at any time. If you're a police officer that upholds the law, you should say, John, what are you talking about? Are you crazy? That should be the only thing that should have been on tape. Why would I gain out of killing my own daughter?

And when it came to that daughter, prosecutors say Valerie cyberstalked her. In court documents, they revealed that over a four-month period before her arrest, Valerie did 130 internet searches on the teen. Still, John had to admit a sad truth. During his mad, frenzied love affair with Valerie, he put his daughter second. You know, she still has up and down. She's still scared. She's still worried. Have you apologized to your daughter? Yes. I know it she still has ups and downs. She's still scared. She's still worried. Have you apologized to your daughter? Yes. I know it's not all your fault, but you are somewhat responsible for this too. Absolutely. Absolutely. I apologize to her every day and I try and make things better for her. You know, but I still have my ups and downs with what I did to her.

In the end, he says he tried to do the right thing, protect his daughter and Isaiah. What is your opinion of John? You know, he went to the FBI. What category do you put him in? I'm thankful that he went to the FBI. If he didn't go, who knows if I would even be here today. Meanwhile, Isaiah's stepdad says he feels guilt-ridden over making that first introduction between his son and Valerie. I feel like I put him into this, you know, and I shouldn't have.

Just the guilt over... It's understandable that you would have that feeling, even though you had nothing to do with it. I mean, even now it's hard. As the calendar turned over to 2021, Isaiah waited for the slow wheels of justice to turn. Then, in April of that year, prosecutors announced stunning news that surprised many people. They made a plea deal with Valerie.

Despite what seemed like solid recorded evidence, prosecutors dismissed the two murder-for-hire charges. I was blown away. I was so angry and upset because they swore up and down to me, we have a solid case. We're the government. We don't offer any deals. They're going to get these f***ing texts, you dumbass. They can subpoena these photos. Valerie did plead guilty to one charge of obstruction of justice for trying to delete that photo and text messages sent to John's phone. They were like, just basically didn't care. They were like, this is the offer and this is what it's going to be. We asked the U.S. Attorney's Office why they dropped the charges, but they had no comment.

Both prosecutors and the FBI turned down our requests for interviews. Valerie's attorney thinks he knows why those charges were dropped. A lack of proof that Valerie ever paid John to hire a hitman. In federal court, the statute for murder for hire requires that you actually pay somebody to commit murder. And I do believe that that was a principal part of the government's decision. If anything lends credibility to what I'm saying, it's the fact that the government dismissed those charges, which I commend them for. And I will tell you this, Andrea, it was based on the evidence. It wasn't based on compassion or sympathy. Valerie resigned from the NYPD. At her sentencing in October 2021, the 37-year-old told the court,

I'm apologizing from the bottom of my heart. I can't believe that I allowed myself to get to that place, that dark place. The judge sentenced her to four years. Isaiah says the decision felt like a gut punch. Why did you think that wasn't long enough? I didn't think it was long enough based upon everything that she intended to do. Not only did she want to have me taken out, but she also wanted to have a 14-year-old girl, a child. And for somebody to even consider the act of doing that to a child should not have got four years. It's outrageous. She has destroyed my life.

The day that she gets out is going to be the first day of, you know, my mental prison sentence forever. Since our report first aired, Valerie was released from prison. Her attorney says she's home and doing well. She has regained full custody of her daughter and hopes to regain custody of her son. For now, she has limited visits with him. Isaiah, who has custody of that son, tells us they are both living with his parents. It's horrible that he has to go through this.

And it's like me is one thing. I'll get by it. I'll get through. He doesn't even know. How will you ever explain that to your son when he's old enough to know what happened? I dread that day. I don't even know how I'm going to tell him. Isaiah says he and Sal are moving forward with their lives and his son is flourishing. He takes comfort in his renewed life with his little boy. This is the silver lining, that you got your son.

Yeah, that is the best thing that could ever happen. I cherish everything. Because it could have been completely different. I could have not been here. That's all for this edition of Dateline. We'll see you again Sunday at 9, 8 central. And of course, I'll see you each weeknight for NBC Nightly News. I'm Lester Holt. For all of us at NBC News, good night.