All language subtitles for Deadly.Waters.with.Captain.Lee.S01E03.1080p.WEBRip.x264-BAE[EZTVx.to]_[English] (SUBRIP)

- Singer island, florida,
in the 1990s was very low-key.

- It was more like
a bahamian beach town,

And people were friendly.

They were kind.

They were neighborly.

- You never thought twice
about anything happening.

It was unheard of.

- The husband and wife
were due to go

To a dinner with neighbors,
and they never showed up.

[suspenseful music]

A friend said that they went on
a friend's boat to the bahamas,

And that they'll be back.

- It was just bizarre.

They weren't like that.

They weren't
spontaneous people.

- The family, they were
putting flyers up everywhere.

They started doing
a lot of searches.

- Two people went out
on the boat that morning,

But only one came back.

- The gulf stream
is so strong there

That it's going to take them
out into the atlantic ocean.

A week later, they were
going to close up the house.

When they pulled out
the freezer,

They opened it up,
and realized it was a body.

- Something like that happens
and changes the way

People see their community.

They lose the sense
of security.

- Just all-out fear.

- That's just
a cold-blooded murder.

- What could they have done
to upset somebody so bad

To make them do this?

[upbeat reggae music]

♪ ♪

- Just a short drive
across the causeway

From west palm beach, florida,

Singer island is a small,
tight-knit community

With the easygoing lifestyle
of a caribbean island.

But even in the clear blue
waters of singer island,

Darkness can surface
from the deep.

[ominous music]

♪ ♪

- The riviera beach police
department received a report

That christopher benedetto
and janette piro

Were missing for five days.

On November 11, 1998,
they were due to go

To a dinner with neighbors,

And they never showed up.

That's on a Wednesday.
November 12 comes, nothing.

November 13 comes on a Friday,
nothing.

Over the weekend, the
newspapers started piling up,

The mail was in the mailbox,

And it was
extremely uncharacteristic.

- The neighbors, they had keys
to each other's houses

So they could check on things
if they were traveling

Or anything like that.

They wanted to see
if chris and janette

Had taken their suitcases.

And their suitcases
were still there

And so were chris' wallet
and a cell phone.

- All of chris' medications
were in the refrigerator,

Things that, if they had gone
on a trip,

He would have taken with them.

- The neighbors were upset
because this is not normal.

Also, the neighbors said

That chris drove a toyota
4runner suv-type vehicle,

And it was missing.

So the police
department detectives

Were brought in on the case.

And they put out a bolo for
this 4runner on a news report,

Thinking that,
well, if it shows up,

Then we're going
to find chris and janette.

The neighbor knew
janette's sister, regina,

Up in new jersey,
so they called her.

And she said, "no,
I don't know where they are.

They haven't called."

Regina's husband,
michael koblan,

Then called chris' brother
saying,

"hey, the neighbors are saying
chris and janette are missing.

"I'm going to go down there.
Don't worry.

I'll call you back
and tell you where they are."

So on that following Monday,

Michael flies down
from new jersey.

He meets with the neighbors.

And basically, they're like,
"we don't know where they are."

He's like,
"I'm going to go look.

Don't worry. I'll find them."

Michael had gone
to a lot of the marinas.

And he had spoken to somebody
who said that chris and janette

Went on a friend's boat
to the bahamas

And that they'll be back.

- Singer island is one
of several easy gateways

To the bahamas,
only 70 miles away.

On a calm summer day,
you can be on the beach

Sipping a rum punch
in a little over three hours.

However, in late November,
winds and currents can come up

At a moment's notice,
making the crossing unpleasant

At best and deadly at worst.

- There's no clothes really,
no suitcases missing.

And if chris and janette
had gone to the bahamas,

When did they leave?

Did they leave that night

When they were supposed to
go to dinner?

Was it the next day?

It just doesn't make sense.

- When I heard chris
and janette were missing,

It was just bizarre.

They wouldn't leave
without telling anybody.

They weren't like that.

They weren't
spontaneous people.

We lived on the water
on bimini lane.

Chris and janette lived
on the road over,

Called dolphin lane.

They had a love for fishing,
so they bought a boat,

And they had nowhere
to keep it.

So we rented our dock to them.

They were
very friendly people.

And we were happy
to have them.

- Chris and janette owned
a 28-foot center console

Ocean runner fishing boat,
a serious, no-frills vessel

With twin yamaha motors that
they used for deep-sea fishing

In the atlantic ocean.

- They went fishing
mostly every day

Because that's what
they loved to do.

- So when chris and janette
didn't show up at my house

For days, I started calling.

And I didn't get an answer.

We were very concerned.

Where could they be?

- The evening of November 16--

Chris and janette
have now been missing

For at least five days--

We got a call from the singer
island's embassy suites.

The valet was watching
and the news reports

Were to look out
for this 4runner

And had reported that,
you know,

He had noticed a 4runner parked
in the lot

In the back corner
of the motel,

So he notified the police.

And when the police got there,

They ran the tag, and it was
chris benedetto's 4runner.

Police think maybe, you know,

They parked
their vehicle there.

They met their friends
at the embassy suites,

And they went out on a trip
on a friend's boat.

The next day, chris and janette
have been missing for six days.

And chris' brothers, who--

Two of 'em were in law
enforcement in new york city--

Now are concerned that,
look, they're still not back.

So they decided
to come down to help look.

[dark music]

♪ ♪

Chris' brothers and michael
koblan stayed in the house.

They were putting flyers up
everywhere.

And they're going
door to door.

There was now great fear
with the brothers

That something terrible
has happened to them.

And then a week later,
Monday, November 23rd,

Chris benedetto's
brothers decided

That they were going
to close up the house.

They just start
unplugging things

That didn't need to be on.

Well, one of the things
that didn't need to be on

Was the bait freezer
that was in the garage

Under a workbench.

When they pulled out
the freezer, they opened it up,

And they saw something
really strange

And at first couldn't
figure out what it was.

And then to the shock
of the brothers,

They realized it was a body
that was in there frozen.

[dramatic music]

[siren wails]

- The first thing
through your mind is,

"oh, my god, what have I done?

"have I washed down evidence?
Have I contaminated evidence?"

- I told the detectives
that the anchor was missing.

This doesn't make sense.

- We did a subpoena
for the phone line

That went to that boat.

That was the aha moment.

[unsettling music]

♪ ♪

- Chris benedetto
and his wife, janette piro,

Have been missing for 12 days.

While closing up
the couple's home,

Chris' brothers make
a grisly discovery--

A body that's stuffed
into a bait freezer.

And they can't tell who it is.

- I just can't even imagine.

I mean, you know, you're
opening up the bait freezer

Thinking you're going
to see frozen fish,

But it's a body.

And then the horror
of not knowing even who it is

Because the body
was upside down

And the head and everything
was stuffed into the bottom

Of the freezer.

And then chris' brothers
really looked.

And to their shock,
they realized who it was...

Their sister-in-law,
janette piro.

♪ ♪

- Janette's case is
the only case I ever had

Where a body was
literally stuffed

Into a bait freezer and left.

How degrading to a person.

What could she have done
to upset somebody so bad

To make them do this?

- The brothers dialed 911.

And now the police are
scurrying to get there

Because you've got
a crime scene.

But the problem is,
is you've had brothers,

The brother-in-law,
michael koblan,

The neighbors that were
all through the house.

So it was really difficult for
the local police to process

And investigate
that type of crime scene.

- I can't fathom how the
benedetto brothers would feel

With their experience
as police officers.

The first thing through
your mind is, "oh, my god,

"what have I done?

"you know, have I
washed out evidence?

Have I contaminated evidence?"

- Any of these people
had been in the house before.

So even if there's
fingerprints, it's justified.

[tense music]

- I remember walking up
and seeing the garage area.

By the time that I'd arrived,

I think the medical examiner
was already present.

So we allowed them
to do their investigation.

- Normally,
the medical examiner

Takes his pictures and put
the body into a bag.

But with janette,
you have a bait freezer

That she's frozen in,
so they elected,

Let's just take
the whole bait freezer

To the medical examiner's
office.

- It was all over the news,

Devastating that they found her

In a small freezer
in the garage.

We didn't know what happened.

It was a big mystery.

I mean, how could you do that
to somebody?

- Something like that happens
and changes the way

People see their community.

They lose
the sense of security.

Somebody has come in
and violated everything

That makes that community
what it is.

- The medical examiner said
that her body was preserved

By freezing it.

So the rigor mortis
didn't have a chance

To kick in and start
causing the deterioration

And things like that.

There was no puncture wounds.
There was no gunshots.

But she had ligature markings
around her neck.

Whoever did it had tied
this 3/8-inch braided rope

Around her neck twice and then
basically strangled her.

Using a rope, next
to using your hands,

Is the most personal thing.

You think,
as in law enforcement, like,

"okay, wife found dead,

"husband's vehicle's
found abandoned,

And where's the husband now?"

My first gut feeling was,
"oh, the husband did it."

- We still have no idea
where chris is.

We don't know if he's dead,
alive, he's taken off.

- What goes on behind closed
doors, nobody really knows.

Maybe there's something more
to this couple

That we just don't know about.

We need to go talk
to the family,

The friends, the neighbors.

We learned that chris and
janette were set up on a date,

They met at a restaurant,

And that janette
was an interior designer.

She loved her job,
loved designing things,

Very outgoing too.

I mean, she loved company
and loved entertaining

And very adventurous type
of person.

[melancholic music]

- Janette, she did have
an eye for beautiful things.

But janette's beauty came
from inside her

More than the outside because
of just the person she was.

She was a beautiful,
wonderful person.

Chris enjoyed life.

He loved fishing.

His love for the ocean just--

You could see it
in his face every day.

- We learned chris was born
and raised in new york.

He worked in construction,

But then he had suffered
a fairly significant injury

While he was working up there.

[siren wails]

- He fell off a scaffolding

At a relatively young age,
broke his back.

[machine beeping]

- It was a very severe,
significant back injury

Requiring multiple surgeries.

- And he would always
wear a back brace

When he went fishing.

- Chris had four steel rods
in his back

Just to basically
keep him upright.

So chris had a lot of pain
medication that he was on.

He got
a very large settlement.

It was $1.2 million,
which, at the time,

Seemed like
it was a lot of money.

But he needed this money
to last for him and janette

Because he knows
he never could work again.

At this point,
we had a missing person.

Maybe chris and janette
could have got

Into an argument and fought.

Did chris do this?

Was he capable of doing this?

You know, he could have fled
and gone somewhere else.

- Chris would have been the
last one seen with janette.

So you have to say,
"is he potentially a suspect?"

- Is he really a fugitive,
technically,

From killing his wife,
or is he missing or what?

Was chris dead or alive?

[suspenseful music]

Ense music]

- With chris benedetto's
whereabouts still unknown,

Authorities wonder if he was
involved in janette's murder.

- You have the husband
who's missing.

But it's not like today where

You can track
people's cell phones.

So the detectives
started doing subpoenas

For chris' credit card records
and bank accounts

To see if he had movement.

He could have fled
and gone somewhere.

But they determined

That he didn't empty
the bank accounts.

He didn't use his credit cards,

That these accounts
were just inactive.

So it was sort of a dead end.

- As authorities continue
looking for chris,

Family and close friends
worry that his disappearance

Means he could have met
a similar fate to janette.

[somber music]

- Chris and janette
would catch fish.

They would always leave them
in the cooler for me.

They were very down-to-earth,
easy to talk to.

So me and my wife
were very uneasy

Because these were people
that were here every day,

And all of a sudden
they're not.

Being an ocean lifeguard,
I was trained and taught

To see things
out of the ordinary.

And then it hits me
that I was probably

The last person to hear chris.

So I called the riviera beach
police department.

I wanted to give the
authorities any information

That would help to find chris.

I told the detective
that now I remember

I heard chris go fishing
the last day

That he was seen
on November 11th.

I told them it was around
8:00 in the morning.

[foreboding music]

I heard chris' voice say,
"grab the rods"

To someone else.

Then I heard the boat start.

[engine hums]
then they left, like normal.

So a couple hours later,
chris' boat came back.

It parked just the way
it always parked.

But the person
in the boat wasn't chris.

- Ben said he was standing
there doing some work,

And he heard steps come up.

And the man walks
to chris' truck.

He started it up.
He drove off.

So all these little pieces
together is starting to be

Indication that chris
isn't coming back either.

- It was somebody
I'd never seen before.

- Ben gave a description
of the man as heavyset,

Round face, maybe in his 40s
or 50s, graying hair.

Well, that's about the same
build of chris' brothers.

- Two people went out
on the boat that morning.

I'm sure of that.

But only one came back.

Then the detective said,
"well, ben,

"if we bring someone over
to the house,

Could you identify them?"

And I said, "absolutely."

- While detectives round up
potential suspects

For ben to id, authorities
execute a search warrant

On the boat.

- The police officers came back
and processed the boat.

I was sitting on my dock
watching them.

I noticed the second anchor
was missing.

They didn't know that yet.

I told the detectives how
the anchor was tied to a chain

And also a nylon rope.

And I knew that it was
on the boat at all times.

- Sometimes boat owners
want two anchors

Because it makes
them feel safer

To have redundant systems.

However, second anchors
are rarely, if ever, used.

So investigators wonder why
the second anchor is missing

From chris' boat
and whether this is a clue

As to his whereabouts.

- The riviera beach
police department

Took possession of the boat.

They took it out of the water.

They had crime scene
go through it.

They found 3/8-inch
braided rope,

Which is the same size
of the ligature markings

Around janette's neck.

But basically,
the boat was clean.

They even commented
that they didn't even find

Any fish blood on the boat.

They also processed
the 4runner.

Nothing was found
in any of these vehicles.

- You think this should be
a gold mine of evidence,

But they weren't.

And it was frustrating.

- Later that day,
ben is in front of his house,

And up pulls an entourage
of detectives' cars.

Getting out were
the lead detectives,

The brother-in-law,
michael koblan,

And chris' brothers.

- Right away, one person,
he looked straight at me.

[dramatic musical sting]

It was eerie. It was... Evil.

It just puts shivers
down my spine.

That was the man that was
on the boat that day.

When chris and he went out
that morning,

He's the only one
that came back.

[tense music]

- It's been 12 days
since anyone has seen

Or heard from chris benedetto.

Police no longer
view him as a suspect

But instead fear chris
was a victim himself.

Now his friend
ben demonstranti comes

Face to face with the man
he saw driving chris' boat

On the day chris disappeared.

- Right away,
I told the detectives,

"that's the person I saw."

And they go, "oh, well,
that's the brother-in-law,

Michael koblan."

- Ben said he felt like
there was daggers coming out

Of his eyes because he was
just as shocked to see this guy

As this guy was as shocked
to see him.

You know, the police are kinda
shocked, and what's going on?

Michael koblan was
just a family member.

He was searching
for chris and janette.

They had no reason to believe

He had anything
to do with this.

- Hearing that michael koblan
has been identified

As the last person seen coming
off the boat without chris

After the boat came back
on November 11th,

Michael koblan became a person
of interest in the case.

- Police isolate michael
koblan and interview him,

Asking him if he was the person

That got off the boat
on November 11th.

- During the week,
Wednesday, November 11th,

You're not sure or you were
not down in florida?

- I wasn't down there.

- You were not down there?
- No.

- Okay.

- Michael totally denied it.

He said that he did fish
on the boat with chris before,

But he wasn't here
on November 11th,

That he was back up
in new jersey.

And his wife
confirms the alibi.

After the detectives
interviewed him,

He flew back to new jersey.

- The detective told me,

"michael says he wasn't
in town that day."

And I said,
"this doesn't make sense.

I saw him."

But then, at that time,
I was very nervous.

So I could have been mistaken.

- Chris' wife, janette, is
michael koblan's wife's sister.

So there was a bond there.

He and chris were very close.

Even when chris' brothers
found out

That michael was seen
getting off the boat,

They were like,
"there's no way."

You know,
"he wouldn't have done this.

It's got to be
a mistaken identity."

We interviewed everybody
at the marina.

And we found out
that when koblan came down here

To look for chris and janette,
he stayed on a friend's boat.

And I'm thinking, "well,
if michael koblan flew here,

Then he maybe used
a credit card."

We found
that michael koblan had

An american express account,
and on that american express

Account was a third party
that could use the card.

And the name was michael kerry.

Well, this is unusual,
because someone booked

A flight on
continental airlines

And flew down from
newark, new jersey,

To west palm beach
on November 10

And then flew back to new
jersey on November 12.

Now I'm thinking,
we've got a suspect here.

Maybe michael kerry is a
lookalike of michael koblan.

Maybe ben's wrong.

He didn't see michael koblan.

Did this michael kerry
come down here and kill

Chris and janette, and why?

♪ ♪

I remember doing request
searches for new jersey

And florida for all
driver's licenses

In the name of michael kerry.

We did a database credit
search for michael kerry.

There was, like,
16 or something

In the whole country
with a date of birth

Range in the '40s or '50s.

I remember thinking, just
catch him, and it'll be it.

♪ ♪

But it had been months

And months
and months of searching.

And of course,
we got nothing back.

Nobody was named michael kerry
matching the description.

Nobody was in florida.

Nobody knows michael koblan,
and they don't

Have an american express card.

We knew from the
investigation that the suspect

At the time,
michael koblan, was back up

In new jersey with his wife.

Now you're thinking,
well, maybe his alibi

Was a false statement.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

Now I wanted to see what he

And his wife's
phone records were.

And back in the '90s when you
subpoenaed the phone records,

It's not like
nowadays where they

Send it all to your email
and it's on a nice spreadsheet.

These were 4-by-7 cards
that had the printouts

Of phone numbers on it.

There had
to be 30 or 40 cards.

And I have no idea whose
phone number these are.

But I would call to
find out who it was.

- John is going
through the tolls, step

By step, phone number
by phone number.

- And I remember,
literally, it was, like,

The second or third card left.

And I looked down, and I
see November 11, 2:14 p.M.,

The same day that
ben heard chris

Going on a boat with somebody.

The phone call was
from a florida number

To regina koblan's cell phone.

♪ ♪

I didn't know what
the other number was.

So I called it, and it was a
payphone from the rutledge inn,

A hotel literally
within walking distance

Of chris benedetto's house and
walking distance to chris'

Boat at ben's house.

Who made the call?

- We're in the parking lot
here near the rutledge.

- We went to the rutledge inn.

And I remember giving
the guy a subpoena

For the hotel room records.

And we went to the
very first room.

He goes, here you go.

These are our records.

And there
was boxes everywhere.

♪ ♪

You have all these
hotel rooms registration

Cards, all handwritten.

Half of them you
can't even understand.

And there's hundreds
of them in each box.

There's no dates on the boxes.

It was horrible.

I was in that room
for about three hours.

And lo and behold, I pull
this card up and it says,

Michael kerry.

- The registration
card is handwritten.

Everything is in the
name of mike kerry.

But it says brick
township, new jersey,

With michael koblan's address.

♪ ♪

[tense music]

- Seven months
into the investigation

Of janette piro's murder

And chris benedetto's
disappearance, investigators

Have made a huge, huge
break in the case.

♪ ♪

- I'm sitting
in the hotel room

Going through the records,

And I pulled out a hotel
room registration card.

And it says michael kerry.

♪ ♪

But it was so
strange because it

Has michael koblan's address in
brick, new jersey, underneath.

But why would michael kerry put
michael koblan's address down?

That doesn't make any sense,
unless michael

Koblan must be michael kerry.

♪ ♪

- John then reaches out to the
resources in the fbi and says,

I need a handwriting expert.

- We subpoenaed michael koblan
to come in to the brick,

New jersey, office to give
handwriting exemplars.

♪ ♪

And we're telling him
to write michael koblan,

Michael koblan, michael koblan.

And then we're like, now you
need to write michael kerry.

I remember koblan
saying--he's like, well,

Who's michael kerry?
Why am I writing michael kerry?

He's like, oh, just write it.

So we sent it to quantico,
which is our lab.

And I'll never forget
her calling me back.

And she said,
I'm telling you 100%

That michael koblan wrote
that registration card.

♪ ♪

So now we can prove
that michael kerry

Was michael koblan.

- So now we've got that piece
that makes the puzzle fall

Into place, that definitely
put michael koblan here

On singer island
November 11, 1998,

Based on the
scientific evidence.

- But we still don't
know what the motive is.

So again, we start
looking at chris

Benedetto's financial records.

We determined that chris
lent michael $160,000.

- $160,000 is no
small chunk of change.

And if chris benedetto came
knocking for that money

And koblan didn't have it,
things may have turned ugly.

♪ ♪

- We're zeroing in
on michael koblan.

♪ ♪

Now it was trying to prove
that michael did it.

And it was hard because there
was no crime scene and no body.

♪ ♪

It's just pretty
circumstantial.

And the point of
then putting koblan

At the house
committing the murder

Or on a boat committing
a murder, I didn't have.

♪ ♪

So the assistant u.S.
Attorney said to me, well,

Look, if the state prosecutors
won't take the case,

I'm going to close it.

I didn't want to
close the case.

I knew there was more
that we could do.

So I wrote a closing summary.

I wrote 35 pages
of what happened.

That's how it made me feel.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

- I read his closeout memo.

And I called macveigh, and
we talked about the case.

- John kasternakes is like,
why is this guy not in jail?

Let's do this.

- And I and macveigh
and waites collaborated

On all the investigative steps
that we thought we should take.

- We subpoenaed
michael koblan to talk to him.

But he just didn't
honor the subpoenas.

We started going back.

And I did a subpoena
for the records

For the phone line
that went to the boat

That michael koblan
stayed on after chris

And janette went missing.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

I noticed that michael koblan
had called a jewelry store

In new york while he was here.

Why would you be
calling a jewelry store?

And then I realized that
janette's engagement ring,

Diamond earrings, and some
of the watches that she owned

Were missing.

Because in July of '98,
janette took

A video of the whole house

For insurance reasons--

- --That we found during
the search of the house.

- And we never found those.
They were missing.

♪ ♪

And in chris' safe deposit
box was the certification

From the jewelry store.

My belief was that michael
possibly stole the rings

And then took them back
to this jeweler to fence.

[ominous music]

♪ ♪

So we flew up to interview
the jeweler in new york.

And he said that michael came
to him and gave him the ring

And that he wanted
me to sell it.

The problem is
there's no receipts.

- I was talking to him.

Hey, look, it's your
word against his.

I need something
to prove that you're

Telling me the truth
about michael koblan

Coming in with the ring.

- And he said, well,
mike's actually

Coming in in a couple
of weeks for some piece

For his daughter.

- It was important
to get koblan on tape

Discussing the ring to be
able to indict michael koblan.

- That was our one shot to
prove that michael did it,

That he was the one that
committed janette's murder

And possibly committing
chris' murder too.

♪ ♪

- I was talking
to the jeweler.

We're going to go
ahead and wire you up.

And say to him, hey, look,
the fbi has come to see me.

What do I say about the ring?

- You hear mike go, oh, really?

And he's got this
arrogant voice about him.

- This is a
tremendous response.

What are you talking about?
What ring, right?

That's what the
innocent person says.

- That was the aha moment.

The only way to take the ring
would have been in the house

With janette.

So koblan's the one that
committed the murders.

[tense music]

- After getting michael koblan
on tape confessing to selling

Janette's engagement ring,
federal prosecutors

Now feel they have enough
evidence to make an arrest.

♪ ♪

- June 27, 2003, we're
ready to effect the arrest.

We've got the team set up.

We set up the
surveillance on him.

- Michael koblan drives
into the parking lot.

You know, your heart is racing.

What's he going to do?
Is he armed?

What's going to happen?

We pull up and get out.

- John asked him,
mike, do you remember me?

We met in florida.
I'm john macveigh with the fbi.

And I've got a warrant
for your arrest

For what happened
to chris and janette.

♪ ♪

- We brought him back
to the police station

And wanted to see if we
can get a confession.

But he really wasn't
going to talk to us.

There's no way he's
going to confess to this.

♪ ♪

[somber music]

♪ ♪

- After I found out
mr. Koblan was arrested,

I was so relieved.

It was like the sun
was shining brighter

That day because--

[exhales sharply]

--Just to give them justice.

♪ ♪

- We have all these
little slivers of evidence

To put together and
build a strong case

Against michael koblan.

You're not going to get
a conviction without it.

[tense music]

During the
investigation, we noticed

That the anchor on
chris' boat was missing

And there was a line cut.

So trying to surmise
what happened

Is that they went out,

And there was probably heated
discussion over the 160 grand.

- I believe that chris
wanted the money back.

Mike koblan had
run out of excuses

For not giving the money back.

- And our theory is michael
koblan incapacitated him.

♪ ♪

And then koblan wrapped chris
up in the anchor and chain--

♪ ♪

--And threw chris
overboard, knowing

That once chris is in the
water, he's going to sink.

And the gulf stream
is so strong there

That it's going to take him
out in the atlantic ocean.

♪ ♪

- The gulf stream is
like a swift-moving

Underwater river
in the atlantic

That's always headed north.

Its current moves 24 hours
a day, 365 days a year

At a steady clip
of 5 to 7 knots.

Even a body with
an anchor attached

Can be carried away
by this force of nature.

And if investigators'
theory is correct,

Odds are it will
never be found.

- I believe that koblan
went and he killed janette

With the rope that was
missing from the boat

Because janette
knew he was here

And that him and chris
had been out that day.

This is premeditated.

This is planned.

It's just a
cold-blooded murder.

♪ ♪

- We went back to the
state attorney's office.

And they go, well, we're still
not going to do the case,

Even with the ring evidence.

But we all knew he was guilty.

Macveigh, me, waites, we knew
it based on all the evidence

That we had.

And so come hell
or high water, we

Were going to put
a case together

And come up with the statutes
that would cover us federally.

♪ ♪

- For chris, it was
crime on the high seas

Because the federal government
has jurisdiction there.

And we believed that chris
was murdered on the high seas.

And then the dilemma we
had then was that janette

Was murdered in her house.

Well, that's not
a federal crime.

It's a state crime.

♪ ♪

- Because janette piro
was killed on land,

Federal prosecutors had
to find a workaround.

Janette would have
been a witness,

Having seen koblan and chris
leave together for a fishing

Trip that morning.

So for janette's
murder, prosecutors

Charged koblan with interstate
stalking and tampering

With a witness
resulting in death,

Which are both federal crimes.

- The koblan trial
started in fort

Lauderdale united
states district court

On February 16, 2005.

- When I came into
the courtroom,

I pointed at
mr. Koblan and said,

I'm sure that that's the person
I saw on the boat that day.

♪ ♪

- In trial, we're all
confident in the case.

But until you hear
it read, you still

Leave a little bit
of doubt in there

That things just won't go
the way you hope they will.

♪ ♪

- When the jury came back,
and I had my hand back up

On the railing,
and chris' sisters

Both reached up
and grabbed my hand.

♪ ♪

I heard the first guilty.

I didn't hear anything else
after because I started crying,

And tears just started
pouring down my face.

And I remember looking
across at koblan,

And I just saw empty,
hollow eyes.

We got the right person.

♪ ♪

- In the end, friend and
fishing buddy ben demonstranti

Gave invaluable
testimony that unraveled

Koblan's lies and ultimately
led to his demise.

In may of 2005, koblan
was sentenced to life

In prison, where he ironically
died of a heart attack

Two years later.

Michael koblan almost
got away with murder.

Sinking chris'
body to be carried

Away by the
fast-moving gulf stream

May have been a good plan.

And even to this day,
it's never been recovered.

But the cold-blooded
killer didn't

Account for how close
a seaside community

Like singer island can be.

♪ ♪

[soft music]

♪ ♪

- About a year after the
trial, me and my wife

Talked about doing something
nice for chris and janette.

We put their names on a bench.

And it couldn't have
been a better spot.

♪ ♪

Every time I'm over there,

I'll talk to either
one of them.

It's just I have a little
conversation with them.

♪ ♪

I would love to give them
a big hug--

♪ ♪

Tell them I love them.

And it was an honor
to know them.

♪ ♪