1 00:00:11,778 --> 00:00:15,515 - My mother was an incredibly beautiful soul. 2 00:00:15,548 --> 00:00:19,886 What she had was charisma. 3 00:00:19,919 --> 00:00:22,422 - She said, "I love you." 4 00:00:22,455 --> 00:00:27,994 In my heart I knew those were her last words. 5 00:00:28,028 --> 00:00:31,131 - Two sisters with a single purpose, 6 00:00:31,164 --> 00:00:33,767 solve the mystery of their mother's death. 7 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,436 - We can't let this go. It's heartbreaking. 8 00:00:36,469 --> 00:00:40,040 - She left for Hawaii, a new life with a new husband, 9 00:00:40,073 --> 00:00:43,643 but the sunny paradise soon grew dark. 10 00:00:43,677 --> 00:00:45,512 - Something is very wrong. 11 00:00:45,545 --> 00:00:48,748 - It was horrible, being so helpless. 12 00:00:48,782 --> 00:00:51,951 - What was behind their mom's strange death? 13 00:00:51,985 --> 00:00:55,221 They set out together to discover the answer, 14 00:00:55,255 --> 00:00:57,323 and they were about to get some help 15 00:00:57,357 --> 00:00:59,492 from their mother herself. 16 00:00:59,526 --> 00:01:02,062 - There was evidence she left for you to find? 17 00:01:02,062 --> 00:01:04,931 - Yes. - A possible clue 18 00:01:04,964 --> 00:01:08,768 hidden in an envelope marked "baby pictures," 19 00:01:08,802 --> 00:01:10,437 but tucked inside, a journal 20 00:01:10,470 --> 00:01:13,907 that painted a different picture entirely. 21 00:01:13,940 --> 00:01:18,678 - I pulled out that envelope and that was like, wow. 22 00:01:18,712 --> 00:01:22,949 - Could their mom help them solve her own mystery? 23 00:01:22,982 --> 00:01:25,418 - We can't quit. We are her voice. 24 00:01:25,452 --> 00:01:27,587 - We made a promise. 25 00:01:27,620 --> 00:01:29,489 We made a promise to our mom. 26 00:01:29,522 --> 00:01:38,098 ** 27 00:01:38,098 --> 00:01:41,601 - Hello and welcome to "Dateline: Secrets Uncovered." 28 00:01:41,634 --> 00:01:46,106 Would you keep a vow to someone after that person dies? 29 00:01:46,106 --> 00:01:50,477 What if keeping the vow came at a great personal cost? 30 00:01:50,510 --> 00:01:53,913 Shirlene Van Gundy's daughters did just that. 31 00:01:53,947 --> 00:01:55,949 Their mom secretly requested 32 00:01:55,982 --> 00:01:59,953 that should anything bad happen to her, they investigate. 33 00:02:00,053 --> 00:02:02,422 And suddenly, she was gone, 34 00:02:02,455 --> 00:02:05,358 and the sisters knew what they had to do. 35 00:02:05,392 --> 00:02:06,960 Here's Keith Morrison with... 36 00:02:11,431 --> 00:02:13,700 - Here they were again, 37 00:02:13,733 --> 00:02:16,703 two sisters on a holiday in paradise, 38 00:02:16,736 --> 00:02:19,639 or so the other vacationers must have assumed 39 00:02:19,673 --> 00:02:22,075 here in America's mid-Pacific Garden 40 00:02:22,108 --> 00:02:24,511 in the lush resort near Honolulu. 41 00:02:24,544 --> 00:02:26,546 But they would be wrong. 42 00:02:26,579 --> 00:02:29,215 This journey has more to do with a personal hell 43 00:02:29,249 --> 00:02:31,851 than any paradise. 44 00:02:31,885 --> 00:02:35,955 That, and a long-ago promise to their mother. 45 00:02:35,989 --> 00:02:38,391 - Could you have believed that you would be sitting here 46 00:02:38,425 --> 00:02:40,760 in this hotel room talking about this subject, 47 00:02:40,794 --> 00:02:44,397 in the year 2014? 48 00:02:44,431 --> 00:02:47,300 - No. It's pretty crazy. 49 00:02:47,334 --> 00:02:51,938 I-I could have never seen this coming. 50 00:02:51,971 --> 00:02:54,708 - Perhaps it is pretty crazy, 51 00:02:54,741 --> 00:02:56,710 but there is apparently no stopping them, 52 00:02:56,743 --> 00:02:58,278 These tenacious sisters, 53 00:02:58,311 --> 00:03:00,313 Tammie Cocard and Tiffany Young. 54 00:03:00,347 --> 00:03:04,284 - There is no halfway when it comes to, 55 00:03:04,317 --> 00:03:06,119 um, to a promise. 56 00:03:06,152 --> 00:03:09,456 It's either all or nothing. 57 00:03:09,489 --> 00:03:12,258 - Bizarre story? Oh, yes, it is. 58 00:03:12,292 --> 00:03:15,962 At the center of it is a woman named Shirlene Van Gundy, 59 00:03:16,062 --> 00:03:19,766 a beauty queen once back in Colorado. 60 00:03:19,799 --> 00:03:22,936 - My mother was an incredibly beautiful soul. 61 00:03:22,969 --> 00:03:26,373 She taught both my sister and I 62 00:03:26,406 --> 00:03:29,075 that there was nothing that we couldn't do. 63 00:03:29,075 --> 00:03:32,645 - Hi! I love you! 64 00:03:32,679 --> 00:03:35,348 - My earliest memories of her 65 00:03:35,382 --> 00:03:38,151 are her singing to me. 66 00:03:38,184 --> 00:03:40,920 She loved to sing, and she played with me. 67 00:03:40,954 --> 00:03:43,356 She was a-- She was a big kid. 68 00:03:43,390 --> 00:03:45,458 - My mother was a free spirit in many ways 69 00:03:45,492 --> 00:03:47,927 and didn't have a lot of rules. 70 00:03:47,961 --> 00:03:50,096 I didn't have to do things like normal kids had to do, 71 00:03:50,096 --> 00:03:51,898 like brush my teeth all the time. 72 00:03:51,931 --> 00:03:54,734 - Mm-hmm. - But I liked it that way. 73 00:03:54,768 --> 00:03:57,303 - And so it was often Tammie and not her mother, 74 00:03:57,337 --> 00:04:01,074 who took on the responsible role with little sister Tiffany, 75 00:04:01,107 --> 00:04:04,844 which was the other side of Shirlene's manic exuberance. 76 00:04:04,878 --> 00:04:06,680 - She was unstable, 77 00:04:06,713 --> 00:04:09,949 and she had a hard time taking care of herself, 78 00:04:10,050 --> 00:04:11,551 much less anyone else. 79 00:04:11,584 --> 00:04:13,787 - Mm-hmm. "Unstable." 80 00:04:13,820 --> 00:04:17,057 Um, how-- 81 00:04:17,057 --> 00:04:18,625 - She would have the highs of highs 82 00:04:18,658 --> 00:04:21,961 and the lows of lows. - Moods. 83 00:04:22,062 --> 00:04:24,431 Very dark ones sometimes, said the girls. 84 00:04:24,464 --> 00:04:27,067 - She didn't want to really admit 85 00:04:27,067 --> 00:04:28,735 that there was an issue. 86 00:04:28,768 --> 00:04:30,203 It was a hot button. - Yeah. 87 00:04:30,236 --> 00:04:32,238 - And it wasn't something that you wanted to bring up 88 00:04:32,272 --> 00:04:34,240 unless you were ready for the fight. 89 00:04:34,274 --> 00:04:35,975 - When Shirlene left the girls' father, 90 00:04:36,076 --> 00:04:38,345 Tammie refused to go with her. 91 00:04:38,378 --> 00:04:41,781 - I said, "I'm not going. I can't leave. 92 00:04:41,815 --> 00:04:46,353 "I can't leave my dad." - What did that feel like? 93 00:04:46,386 --> 00:04:48,988 - Like my heart was being ripped in two. 94 00:04:49,089 --> 00:04:52,359 - The girls lived apart for years after that, 95 00:04:52,392 --> 00:04:55,829 until their father won custody of Tiffany too. 96 00:04:55,862 --> 00:04:58,365 And then the girls watched and loved 97 00:04:58,398 --> 00:05:00,667 and worried about their mother, 98 00:05:00,700 --> 00:05:02,635 mostly from afar. 99 00:05:02,669 --> 00:05:05,372 And then, late '80s, 100 00:05:05,405 --> 00:05:08,041 Shirlene finally found real happiness 101 00:05:08,041 --> 00:05:11,511 when she met and married a man named Ken Wakisaka. 102 00:05:11,544 --> 00:05:12,679 - She was-- "I've never been 103 00:05:12,712 --> 00:05:15,849 "with a man who really got me. He gets me." 104 00:05:15,882 --> 00:05:18,084 She, in her whole life, I think, had never felt so-- 105 00:05:18,118 --> 00:05:20,587 quite thoroughly and utterly embraced 106 00:05:20,620 --> 00:05:22,856 by someone who loved her just the way she was. 107 00:05:22,889 --> 00:05:25,959 - And just because Shirlene had dreamed of living in Hawaii, 108 00:05:26,059 --> 00:05:27,894 Ken got a job here 109 00:05:27,927 --> 00:05:30,130 and moved her to this condominium complex 110 00:05:30,163 --> 00:05:32,632 by a golf course on the Pacific. 111 00:05:32,665 --> 00:05:34,567 - He was a very likable guy. - Sure. 112 00:05:34,601 --> 00:05:36,302 - Very much a gentleman, 113 00:05:36,336 --> 00:05:38,772 always opened the door for you. 114 00:05:38,805 --> 00:05:42,542 - The sisters grew up, made lives of their own. 115 00:05:42,575 --> 00:05:44,377 Tiffany moved to Arizona. 116 00:05:44,411 --> 00:05:47,480 Tammie settled in Northern California, 117 00:05:47,514 --> 00:05:48,715 and for a whole decade, 118 00:05:48,748 --> 00:05:52,652 Shirlene seemed so happy with Ken. 119 00:05:52,686 --> 00:05:54,621 - When did it change? 120 00:05:54,654 --> 00:05:58,992 - It seemed to start to change in 1998. 121 00:05:59,092 --> 00:06:02,028 - Shirlene told the girls that she and Ken were fighting. 122 00:06:02,028 --> 00:06:04,898 Mid-1999, she called them, very upset, 123 00:06:04,931 --> 00:06:07,634 and when they went to Hawaii to see what was wrong, 124 00:06:07,667 --> 00:06:10,036 she said the strangest thing, 125 00:06:10,070 --> 00:06:12,739 asked them to promise her something. 126 00:06:12,772 --> 00:06:17,043 - And she said, "Promise me. If anything ever happens to me, 127 00:06:17,043 --> 00:06:18,445 "you will investigate". And we said, 128 00:06:18,478 --> 00:06:19,946 "Mom, what are you talking about, 129 00:06:20,046 --> 00:06:21,414 "if anything happens to you?" 130 00:06:21,448 --> 00:06:23,750 "Just promise me", she said. 131 00:06:23,783 --> 00:06:26,753 - Shirlene left Ken soon after that, 132 00:06:26,786 --> 00:06:28,321 moved to the mainland. 133 00:06:28,355 --> 00:06:30,123 The girls thought the break was permanent, 134 00:06:30,156 --> 00:06:31,758 were relieved, actually. 135 00:06:31,791 --> 00:06:35,528 But seven months later... - She said, "I'm back in Hawaii, 136 00:06:35,562 --> 00:06:38,431 "and I'm back living with Ken, and everything's fine. 137 00:06:38,465 --> 00:06:41,835 "I don't want you to worry." - But worry they did. 138 00:06:41,868 --> 00:06:46,339 - She would call me, and we would talk about things, 139 00:06:46,373 --> 00:06:49,142 and then she would call me again an hour later, 140 00:06:49,175 --> 00:06:51,945 and she wouldn't remember anything we talked about. 141 00:06:51,978 --> 00:06:54,280 - It got so that Tammie sometimes didn't pick up 142 00:06:54,314 --> 00:06:56,282 when her mother called. 143 00:06:56,316 --> 00:07:00,086 But of course, she had no idea what was about to happen, 144 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:03,323 least of all on April night in 2000. 145 00:07:03,356 --> 00:07:06,092 - My mom had started calling my house, 146 00:07:06,126 --> 00:07:08,795 and I was letting it go to the voicemail, 147 00:07:08,828 --> 00:07:10,930 and all the messages were pretty much the same, 148 00:07:11,031 --> 00:07:12,632 that she loved me. - Mm-hmm. 149 00:07:12,665 --> 00:07:16,269 - She found God. Everything was fine. 150 00:07:16,302 --> 00:07:19,272 - Tammie waited until morning to call back. 151 00:07:19,305 --> 00:07:21,541 It was April 5th. 152 00:07:21,574 --> 00:07:23,109 - And Ken answered the phone. 153 00:07:23,143 --> 00:07:24,678 And he said, "I don't know what's wrong with your mother. 154 00:07:24,711 --> 00:07:26,279 "Here. You talk to her." 155 00:07:26,312 --> 00:07:28,081 I said, "Hi, Mom. It's Tammie." 156 00:07:28,114 --> 00:07:29,683 I said, "Are you okay?" 157 00:07:29,716 --> 00:07:33,586 And she said, "I love you." 158 00:07:33,620 --> 00:07:36,690 Her words were very drawn out and slurred, 159 00:07:36,723 --> 00:07:38,658 like I'd never heard before. 160 00:07:38,692 --> 00:07:40,427 - What was that like, that conversation? 161 00:07:40,460 --> 00:07:42,162 For you at your end? 162 00:07:42,195 --> 00:07:45,498 - Oh, I was in a panic. 163 00:07:45,532 --> 00:07:48,301 - In a panic, Tammie called Tiffany to tell her. 164 00:07:48,335 --> 00:07:49,469 And still frantic, 165 00:07:49,502 --> 00:07:52,105 Tammie then called the Honolulu Police Department. 166 00:07:52,138 --> 00:07:53,640 It was 6 a.m. there. 167 00:07:53,673 --> 00:07:56,943 She got an ambulance dispatched to the condo. 168 00:07:56,976 --> 00:07:58,545 - My sister is the hero. - Yeah, right. 169 00:07:58,578 --> 00:08:00,647 - She's saving my mother's life right now. 170 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:03,350 And it's the ambulance. Like, they're gonna-- 171 00:08:03,383 --> 00:08:04,818 They're the professionals. They're going to-- 172 00:08:04,851 --> 00:08:07,287 - Sure. They'll fix it. - They're gonna fix it. 173 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:10,623 - But the paramedics didn't notice much to fix. 174 00:08:10,657 --> 00:08:12,092 The report states... 175 00:08:23,603 --> 00:08:24,904 The report continues... 176 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:36,249 Very unusual indeed, 177 00:08:36,282 --> 00:08:39,252 But the EMTs did not take Shirlene to the hospital, 178 00:08:39,285 --> 00:08:41,521 left her at home with Ken instead. 179 00:08:41,554 --> 00:08:44,124 - How is it possible? How is it possible? 180 00:08:44,157 --> 00:08:47,060 This was horrible. 181 00:08:47,060 --> 00:08:50,563 It was horrible, being so helpless. 182 00:08:50,597 --> 00:08:53,700 - Tiffany was so far away on the mainland in a panic, 183 00:08:53,733 --> 00:08:56,536 trying to reach her mother, calling repeatedly. 184 00:08:56,569 --> 00:08:59,606 Ken finally answered the phone. 185 00:08:59,639 --> 00:09:01,408 - "Here, I'll put you on with her. 186 00:09:01,441 --> 00:09:05,645 "You can talk to her." She said, "I love you," and-- 187 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:08,114 and it was so hard for her to say it, 188 00:09:08,148 --> 00:09:12,018 because the mere effort of moving her lips 189 00:09:12,018 --> 00:09:15,221 took so much. 190 00:09:15,255 --> 00:09:17,257 - Eight long hours passed. 191 00:09:17,290 --> 00:09:21,027 And then at 2 p.m., Ken called 911. 192 00:09:21,061 --> 00:09:23,530 They rushed her to the emergency room, 193 00:09:23,563 --> 00:09:25,565 did what they could. Nothing worked. 194 00:09:25,598 --> 00:09:28,068 Ken called Tammie from the hospital. 195 00:09:28,101 --> 00:09:30,503 Tammie broke the news to Tiffany. 196 00:09:30,537 --> 00:09:33,740 - It went from, you know, just being in this place 197 00:09:33,773 --> 00:09:37,711 of such utter desperation, and helplessness, and despair 198 00:09:37,744 --> 00:09:41,514 and-and uncertainty, like, 199 00:09:41,548 --> 00:09:44,751 and knowing in my heart that she was-- she was gone. 200 00:09:44,784 --> 00:09:47,821 - Though, still barely hanging on, on life support. 201 00:09:47,854 --> 00:09:51,057 And that's when it began, with that first rush 202 00:09:51,057 --> 00:09:53,827 to their respective airports for flights to Honolulu, 203 00:09:53,860 --> 00:09:57,530 no idea how long that journey would be, 204 00:09:57,564 --> 00:10:01,401 how hard that promise to keep. 205 00:10:02,869 --> 00:10:05,672 - What is happening to Tammie and Tiffany's mom? 206 00:10:05,705 --> 00:10:08,441 The sisters go on a quest for answers. 207 00:10:10,677 --> 00:10:14,147 - A possible clue from their mother herself. 208 00:10:14,180 --> 00:10:17,017 - She said, "If anything ever is to happen to me, 209 00:10:17,050 --> 00:10:18,918 "I want you to ask for your baby pictures. 210 00:10:18,952 --> 00:10:20,153 "Remember that, okay? 211 00:10:20,186 --> 00:10:21,554 "Just remember that." 212 00:10:28,061 --> 00:10:34,100 ** 213 00:10:34,701 --> 00:10:37,170 - Six anxiety-filled hours. 214 00:10:37,203 --> 00:10:39,272 On the long plane ride to Hawaii, 215 00:10:39,305 --> 00:10:41,207 all sisters Tammie and Tiffany knew 216 00:10:41,241 --> 00:10:44,077 was that their mom was on life support. 217 00:10:44,110 --> 00:10:46,012 They weren't sure why 218 00:10:46,046 --> 00:10:48,248 or even exactly what happened to her, 219 00:10:48,281 --> 00:10:49,883 but during those six hours, 220 00:10:49,916 --> 00:10:52,752 they had plenty of time to reflect on what she said to them 221 00:10:52,786 --> 00:10:54,487 nine months earlier. 222 00:10:54,521 --> 00:10:56,022 - "Promise me you'll investigate. 223 00:10:56,056 --> 00:11:00,827 "If anything happens to me, you'll find out what happened." 224 00:11:01,661 --> 00:11:03,129 - They'd promised, of course. 225 00:11:03,163 --> 00:11:06,633 So even before they got on the plane for Hawaii, 226 00:11:06,666 --> 00:11:07,801 they called the police 227 00:11:07,834 --> 00:11:11,171 to report that they already had their suspicions, 228 00:11:11,204 --> 00:11:14,074 and those suspicions, even then, were all about 229 00:11:14,074 --> 00:11:17,077 Shirlene's husband, Ken Wakisaka. 230 00:11:17,077 --> 00:11:18,678 - I heard from Tiffany, 231 00:11:18,712 --> 00:11:21,948 before I even went to Saint Francis West. 232 00:11:21,981 --> 00:11:24,417 I was assigned the case by my lieutenant, 233 00:11:24,451 --> 00:11:28,321 and he said, "Before you go, call this girl." 234 00:11:28,355 --> 00:11:30,924 - Tiffany told Detective Nick Cambra 235 00:11:30,957 --> 00:11:34,160 about her pre-flight conversation with the hospital. 236 00:11:34,194 --> 00:11:36,696 - I asked the emergency room attendant. 237 00:11:36,730 --> 00:11:38,498 I'll never forget this. 238 00:11:38,531 --> 00:11:41,101 I said, "Where's Ken?" 239 00:11:41,101 --> 00:11:45,672 And he said, 240 00:11:45,705 --> 00:11:47,974 "He went home to feed the dogs." 241 00:11:48,008 --> 00:11:49,976 I said, "So she's there by herself?" 242 00:11:50,010 --> 00:11:53,780 Well, who does that? 243 00:11:53,813 --> 00:11:56,916 - By the time Detective Cambra got to the hospital, 244 00:11:56,950 --> 00:11:59,619 he'd been told what Tammie and Tiffany suspected, 245 00:11:59,652 --> 00:12:02,055 that Shirlene had taken, or had been given, 246 00:12:02,055 --> 00:12:04,257 an overdose of pills. 247 00:12:04,290 --> 00:12:06,092 He also heard from medical personnel. 248 00:12:06,126 --> 00:12:09,629 They thought Ken's behavior seemed strange, 249 00:12:09,662 --> 00:12:11,297 though no one, including the ambulance driver, 250 00:12:11,331 --> 00:12:13,933 could quite say why. 251 00:12:13,967 --> 00:12:17,837 - He also related that the husband was acting suspicious. 252 00:12:17,871 --> 00:12:19,506 - Did he say how? 253 00:12:19,539 --> 00:12:23,276 - He said just the way he spoke in the way he acted. 254 00:12:23,309 --> 00:12:25,078 - Suspicious? - Yes. 255 00:12:25,078 --> 00:12:28,214 - When Detective Cambra heard that Ken left the hospital 256 00:12:28,248 --> 00:12:30,850 while his wife was lying in a coma in the ICU, 257 00:12:30,884 --> 00:12:34,721 he wondered, was Ken going home to cover up a crime scene? 258 00:12:34,754 --> 00:12:37,891 And when Cambra checked to see if Ken had a record of any kind, 259 00:12:37,924 --> 00:12:40,560 he discovered, yes, he did. 260 00:12:40,593 --> 00:12:43,563 - I did pull police reports of Ken. 261 00:12:43,596 --> 00:12:47,167 Ken had been arrested for abuse. 262 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:49,202 - It gave Cambra pause, 263 00:12:49,235 --> 00:12:52,706 made him consider what he'd already heard from Tiffany. 264 00:12:52,739 --> 00:12:55,375 - That her mom had said she would never commit suicide 265 00:12:55,408 --> 00:12:58,478 and that she was afraid that Ken was trying to kill her 266 00:12:58,511 --> 00:13:01,081 prior to this incident. 267 00:13:01,114 --> 00:13:04,150 - Now in Hawaii, at their mother's bed in the ICU, 268 00:13:04,184 --> 00:13:06,086 Tammie and Tiffany vowed to find out 269 00:13:06,119 --> 00:13:08,521 exactly what happened to their mother. 270 00:13:08,555 --> 00:13:11,291 - You know, most people would just leave it 271 00:13:11,324 --> 00:13:14,160 to a police department to do the investigating. 272 00:13:14,194 --> 00:13:15,829 - Mm-hmm. - Not you two? 273 00:13:15,862 --> 00:13:18,732 - No. - First target? 274 00:13:18,765 --> 00:13:20,333 Ken and Shirlene's condo. 275 00:13:20,367 --> 00:13:22,535 Must be evidence there, they decided. 276 00:13:22,569 --> 00:13:24,537 So they made up a story for Ken, 277 00:13:24,571 --> 00:13:27,507 told him they needed a rest after their long flight. 278 00:13:27,540 --> 00:13:29,376 Could they borrow a bed in the condo? 279 00:13:29,409 --> 00:13:32,145 And sure enough, he gave them the keys 280 00:13:32,178 --> 00:13:35,382 while he stayed at Shirlene's bedside in the hospital. 281 00:13:35,415 --> 00:13:37,484 - When he was there, what did you guys do? 282 00:13:37,517 --> 00:13:41,755 - We went to the house in Ko Olina. 283 00:13:41,788 --> 00:13:45,158 - To do what? - To see what we could find. 284 00:13:45,191 --> 00:13:47,394 - Just kind of look in cupboards and under beds 285 00:13:47,427 --> 00:13:49,529 and in closets. For what kind of stuff? 286 00:13:49,562 --> 00:13:53,333 - For things that we thought that might help us figure out 287 00:13:53,366 --> 00:13:55,702 what happened that day. 288 00:13:55,735 --> 00:13:58,405 - Because Shirlene sounded so out of it on the phone 289 00:13:58,438 --> 00:14:01,207 and Ken mentioned pills to the EMTs, 290 00:14:01,241 --> 00:14:02,676 Tammie wondered if her mother took pills. 291 00:14:02,709 --> 00:14:05,378 In fact, the hospital was treating it as an overdose. 292 00:14:05,412 --> 00:14:09,749 But the sisters did not believe she would do it deliberately, 293 00:14:09,783 --> 00:14:13,053 so they went looking for those pill bottles. 294 00:14:13,053 --> 00:14:14,521 - We had looked through the house 295 00:14:14,554 --> 00:14:16,356 and couldn't find them, 296 00:14:16,389 --> 00:14:20,660 and so we were out in the backyard just looking, 297 00:14:20,694 --> 00:14:24,130 and sure enough. - In the backyard? 298 00:14:24,164 --> 00:14:25,899 - Underneath a bush. 299 00:14:25,932 --> 00:14:27,567 - As if they'd been hidden there or what? 300 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:29,169 - Yes. 301 00:14:29,202 --> 00:14:30,970 - In their minds, only one person 302 00:14:31,071 --> 00:14:33,873 could have hidden them, Ken. 303 00:14:33,907 --> 00:14:36,309 Later, as Tiffany and Tammie were about to drive away 304 00:14:36,343 --> 00:14:37,544 from the condo, 305 00:14:37,577 --> 00:14:39,879 having thrown in the backseat a sealed envelope 306 00:14:39,913 --> 00:14:42,615 Ken had left out for them, suddenly, Tiffany remembered 307 00:14:42,649 --> 00:14:44,951 something else her mother told her. 308 00:14:44,984 --> 00:14:47,954 - She says, "Tiff, um, I have to tell you something, 309 00:14:47,987 --> 00:14:49,089 "and it's important". 310 00:14:49,122 --> 00:14:51,991 And she said, "If anything ever is to happen to me, 311 00:14:52,092 --> 00:14:56,629 "I want you to ask Ken for your baby pictures. 312 00:14:56,663 --> 00:14:59,733 "Remember that, okay? Just remember that." 313 00:14:59,766 --> 00:15:01,067 - And sure enough, 314 00:15:01,101 --> 00:15:05,205 that appeared to be what Ken had just given them. 315 00:15:05,238 --> 00:15:08,842 They tore open the envelope, and inside, 316 00:15:08,875 --> 00:15:12,178 most definitely not baby pictures. 317 00:15:16,249 --> 00:15:17,150 - There it was. - Mm-hmm. 318 00:15:17,183 --> 00:15:18,818 - Evidence she left for you to find. 319 00:15:18,852 --> 00:15:20,220 - Yes. 320 00:15:20,253 --> 00:15:24,290 - What could be a revealing clue from their mom 321 00:15:31,064 --> 00:15:35,135 ** 322 00:15:36,069 --> 00:15:39,472 - Sisters Tiffany and Tammie read, transfixed, 323 00:15:39,506 --> 00:15:41,174 the contents of an envelope 324 00:15:41,207 --> 00:15:43,076 prepared by their mother for them 325 00:15:43,076 --> 00:15:46,613 and clearly marked "baby pictures," 326 00:15:46,646 --> 00:15:50,116 But that is not what was in the envelope. 327 00:15:50,150 --> 00:15:54,821 Instead, they found notes written by Ken, 328 00:15:54,854 --> 00:15:58,291 apparently an assignment for an anger management class. 329 00:15:58,324 --> 00:16:00,527 - It was actually a journal about all the different ways 330 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:02,262 that he had abused her. 331 00:16:02,295 --> 00:16:05,165 - "I have spit at Shirlene. I have yelled at Shirlene. 332 00:16:05,198 --> 00:16:07,300 "I have pushed Shirlene." 333 00:16:07,334 --> 00:16:10,403 There it was, in his own hand. - Mm-hmm. 334 00:16:10,437 --> 00:16:12,605 - Evidence she left for you to find. 335 00:16:12,639 --> 00:16:15,208 - Yes. - And suddenly, 336 00:16:15,241 --> 00:16:16,843 the sisters truly believed 337 00:16:16,876 --> 00:16:19,346 their mom was sending secret clues 338 00:16:19,379 --> 00:16:23,883 that almost screamed "open in case of death." 339 00:16:23,917 --> 00:16:25,218 Attempting to solve the mystery, 340 00:16:25,251 --> 00:16:28,088 they found a willing ally in Detective Cambra. 341 00:16:28,121 --> 00:16:30,223 One plan they came up with together? 342 00:16:30,256 --> 00:16:33,893 Secretly recording a phone call with Ken. 343 00:16:33,927 --> 00:16:36,096 Tammie made the call from the police department. 344 00:16:36,129 --> 00:16:38,164 [ringing] 345 00:16:38,198 --> 00:16:41,434 The strategy was for Tammie to act friendly, supportive. 346 00:16:44,404 --> 00:16:47,507 Ken told Tammie he was deeply concerned for Shirlene. 347 00:16:51,611 --> 00:16:54,280 But Ken also said he was suspicious 348 00:16:54,314 --> 00:16:56,683 of Tammie and her sister. 349 00:17:07,227 --> 00:17:10,597 Still, he spoke with Tammie at length about the day. 350 00:17:10,630 --> 00:17:13,566 He said Shirlene told him she took pills 351 00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:15,301 and seemed suicidal. 352 00:17:26,446 --> 00:17:28,448 And then, after a pause, 353 00:17:28,481 --> 00:17:31,317 he volunteered something that shocked them all. 354 00:17:48,802 --> 00:17:51,237 But then he returned to the point he made before. 355 00:17:58,378 --> 00:18:01,147 What a strange thing for him to say. 356 00:18:01,181 --> 00:18:03,650 - Oh, he said a lot of strange things. 357 00:18:03,683 --> 00:18:06,019 - Now the girls believed they had to move very fast 358 00:18:06,052 --> 00:18:08,521 while Shirlene was on life support. 359 00:18:08,555 --> 00:18:11,191 As long as she was alive, they decided, 360 00:18:11,224 --> 00:18:13,626 they had the legal right to rummage through a garage 361 00:18:13,660 --> 00:18:16,329 in a house in California Shirlene had kept, 362 00:18:16,363 --> 00:18:19,499 looking for evidence to use against Ken. 363 00:18:19,532 --> 00:18:22,068 So they flew to the mainland, 364 00:18:22,102 --> 00:18:23,570 and that's where they were 365 00:18:23,603 --> 00:18:26,706 when Ken gave consent to take Shirlene off life support, 366 00:18:26,740 --> 00:18:29,609 and she died. 367 00:18:29,642 --> 00:18:30,510 - I remember thinking, 368 00:18:30,543 --> 00:18:32,278 I'm just bawling my head off again, 369 00:18:32,312 --> 00:18:36,049 so I was mortified, and I was devastated again 370 00:18:36,049 --> 00:18:38,852 that I wasn't there. - At Shirlene's funeral, 371 00:18:38,885 --> 00:18:40,920 according to Detective Nick Cambra, 372 00:18:40,954 --> 00:18:45,792 Ken's eulogy sounded like a well-prepared criminal defense. 373 00:18:45,825 --> 00:18:49,596 - It started with that Shirlene initiated sex 374 00:18:49,629 --> 00:18:51,798 the night before, 375 00:18:51,831 --> 00:18:56,169 um, that she was happy that they were together. 376 00:18:56,202 --> 00:18:58,538 And then he started-- He went on to the next day 377 00:18:58,571 --> 00:19:01,908 and how he tried to prevent her from dying. 378 00:19:02,008 --> 00:19:04,010 - Shirlene's daughters were horrified. 379 00:19:04,044 --> 00:19:05,445 Now they were fully determined 380 00:19:05,478 --> 00:19:07,280 to keep their promise to their mother. 381 00:19:07,313 --> 00:19:11,451 They'd need to ensure that Ken was charged with her murder. 382 00:19:11,484 --> 00:19:15,555 Next to look at the case, prosecutor Dan Oyasato, 383 00:19:15,588 --> 00:19:17,657 who found Ken's remarks about strangulation 384 00:19:17,691 --> 00:19:22,028 very disturbing and here's why. 385 00:19:22,062 --> 00:19:24,164 - This was viewed as an overdose. 386 00:19:24,197 --> 00:19:26,599 That's how this case went to the hospital. 387 00:19:26,633 --> 00:19:29,669 That's what Tiffany and Tammie were thinking. 388 00:19:29,703 --> 00:19:32,138 That's what the police department was thinking. 389 00:19:32,172 --> 00:19:35,575 - And yet, as Oyasato began to dig deeper, 390 00:19:35,608 --> 00:19:40,180 he found that Ken talked about strangulation more than once. 391 00:19:40,213 --> 00:19:44,084 - He brought it up with the medical examiner's investigator, 392 00:19:44,117 --> 00:19:47,487 and-and was-was basically telling them, 393 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:50,824 this is not a strangulation case. 394 00:19:50,857 --> 00:19:52,792 - In fact, said the prosecutor, 395 00:19:52,826 --> 00:19:55,061 Ken tried to persuade the examiner 396 00:19:55,061 --> 00:19:57,564 not to do an autopsy. 397 00:19:57,597 --> 00:19:59,199 But, of course, there was one. 398 00:19:59,232 --> 00:20:02,869 The result took months, but sure enough, 399 00:20:02,902 --> 00:20:04,871 cause of death, said the medical examiner, 400 00:20:04,904 --> 00:20:09,242 brain damage due to ligature strangulation. 401 00:20:09,275 --> 00:20:10,677 When an arrest warrant was issued, 402 00:20:10,710 --> 00:20:13,179 Detective Cambra served it personally. 403 00:20:13,213 --> 00:20:15,181 - How'd he react? - He said, "Nick, you know 404 00:20:15,215 --> 00:20:17,217 "I didn't kill my wife. I didn't kill my wife." 405 00:20:17,250 --> 00:20:20,053 - In 2002, two years after their mother's death, 406 00:20:20,086 --> 00:20:22,856 Tammy and Tiffany came back to Hawaii, 407 00:20:22,889 --> 00:20:24,724 this time to the courthouse 408 00:20:24,758 --> 00:20:27,894 where Ken Wakisaka went on trial for murder. 409 00:20:27,927 --> 00:20:29,696 - You took the life of another human being, 410 00:20:29,729 --> 00:20:31,564 and that human being was our mother. 411 00:20:31,598 --> 00:20:34,234 - This was a murder by strangulation. 412 00:20:34,267 --> 00:20:36,569 It was domestic violence at its ultimate. 413 00:20:36,603 --> 00:20:37,804 - In his opening statement, 414 00:20:37,837 --> 00:20:41,074 prosecutor Dan Oyasato quoted from Ken's own statements 415 00:20:41,107 --> 00:20:42,809 to accuse him of murder. 416 00:20:42,842 --> 00:20:45,445 - "Can you tell if a person has been strangled 417 00:20:45,478 --> 00:20:48,515 "during autopsy?" 418 00:20:48,548 --> 00:20:52,652 These are the words of the defendant to an investigator 419 00:20:52,686 --> 00:20:55,021 from the medical examiner's office. 420 00:20:55,055 --> 00:20:57,991 - In court, the medical examiner repeated her opinion 421 00:20:58,024 --> 00:20:59,693 that Shirlene was strangled, 422 00:20:59,726 --> 00:21:02,796 said she found ligature marks on her neck. 423 00:21:02,829 --> 00:21:05,231 And in court, the prosecutor played a tape 424 00:21:05,265 --> 00:21:07,734 of that recorded phone call with Tammie in which, 425 00:21:07,767 --> 00:21:11,504 sure enough, Ken brought up the idea himself. 426 00:21:17,610 --> 00:21:22,315 - I really believe this was Ken's subconscious 427 00:21:22,349 --> 00:21:24,084 talking out. 428 00:21:24,084 --> 00:21:26,853 No one, not a soul, 429 00:21:26,886 --> 00:21:29,456 was thinking this was a strangulation case. 430 00:21:29,489 --> 00:21:30,223 - Until he opened his mouth and-- 431 00:21:30,256 --> 00:21:32,759 - Until he brings this up. 432 00:21:32,792 --> 00:21:35,729 - That made everybody suspicious. 433 00:21:35,762 --> 00:21:40,133 - Every witness who testified as to having some contact 434 00:21:40,166 --> 00:21:45,572 with Ken spoke about his unusual behavior. 435 00:21:45,605 --> 00:21:48,141 His focus was not on his wife. 436 00:21:48,174 --> 00:21:50,310 It was on other things. 437 00:21:50,343 --> 00:21:53,013 - But-- There is always a "but"-- 438 00:21:53,113 --> 00:21:54,647 Ken's defense attorney, Mal Gillin, 439 00:21:54,681 --> 00:21:56,116 accused the police and prosecutors 440 00:21:56,149 --> 00:21:58,418 of jumping to the wrong conclusions, 441 00:21:58,451 --> 00:22:00,453 rushing to judgment against Ken. 442 00:22:00,487 --> 00:22:01,821 That ligature mark 443 00:22:01,855 --> 00:22:05,058 must have been made by the tube that lay on her neck 444 00:22:05,058 --> 00:22:07,093 while she was on life support. 445 00:22:07,127 --> 00:22:09,896 This wasn't a strangulation, he argued, 446 00:22:09,929 --> 00:22:11,297 wasn't a murder at all. 447 00:22:11,331 --> 00:22:16,269 As Ken had said all along, Shirlene took an overdose. 448 00:22:16,302 --> 00:22:21,808 - Mrs. Wakisaka, because of her various mental disorders 449 00:22:21,841 --> 00:22:26,346 or defects, committed suicide. 450 00:22:26,379 --> 00:22:28,314 - The trial lasted two weeks. 451 00:22:28,348 --> 00:22:30,216 The jury heard detectives, doctors, 452 00:22:30,250 --> 00:22:32,385 Shirlene's daughters, of course. 453 00:22:32,419 --> 00:22:35,321 Ken himself chose not to take the stand. 454 00:22:35,355 --> 00:22:36,990 - How'd it seem to be going? 455 00:22:37,090 --> 00:22:38,491 - It seemed to be going well. 456 00:22:38,525 --> 00:22:42,362 - As if here, their promise would be kept. 457 00:22:42,395 --> 00:22:45,765 But life, as everybody knows, 458 00:22:45,799 --> 00:22:47,801 is full of surprises. 459 00:22:50,770 --> 00:22:52,872 - The verdict would be swift, 460 00:22:52,906 --> 00:22:56,509 but the real stunner was what came after. 461 00:22:56,543 --> 00:22:57,744 - Nobody stood up and said, "I object"? 462 00:22:57,777 --> 00:22:58,845 - It's amazing. 463 00:23:05,085 --> 00:23:09,189 ** 464 00:23:10,156 --> 00:23:12,292 Welcome back to "Dateline: Secrets Uncovered". 465 00:23:12,325 --> 00:23:13,526 I'm Craig Melvin. 466 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:17,063 How exactly did Shirlene Van Gundy die? 467 00:23:17,063 --> 00:23:18,431 Her two daughters believe 468 00:23:18,465 --> 00:23:20,934 that their mother's husband murdered her. 469 00:23:20,967 --> 00:23:23,136 At trial, prosecutors said 470 00:23:23,169 --> 00:23:25,572 that Ken Wakisaka strangled Shirlene, 471 00:23:25,605 --> 00:23:28,675 while the defense countered that she overdosed. 472 00:23:28,708 --> 00:23:31,244 Ken was about to learn his fate, 473 00:23:31,277 --> 00:23:33,413 but a chance meeting 474 00:23:33,446 --> 00:23:36,249 would turn this case upside down. 475 00:23:36,282 --> 00:23:42,088 Back to Keith Morrison with "The Vow." 476 00:23:42,088 --> 00:23:44,924 - Two tenacious daughters made a promise to their mother 477 00:23:44,958 --> 00:23:46,393 and were hoping to keep it. 478 00:23:46,426 --> 00:23:50,363 But now it was up to 12 other people, a jury. 479 00:23:50,397 --> 00:23:53,400 - Were you in the court when the verdict was read? 480 00:23:53,433 --> 00:23:57,003 - Yes. - Tell me about that. 481 00:23:57,103 --> 00:23:59,873 - What a huge relief to hear those words. 482 00:23:59,906 --> 00:24:03,710 "We, the jury find Ken Wakisaka guilty of murder 483 00:24:03,743 --> 00:24:05,078 "in the second degree." 484 00:24:05,111 --> 00:24:08,915 It was... It was amazing. 485 00:24:08,948 --> 00:24:12,952 - Ken was, well, surprised would be an understatement. 486 00:24:13,053 --> 00:24:16,189 - I didn't expect this at all. 487 00:24:16,222 --> 00:24:18,825 - But these two? - I was a really happy girl. 488 00:24:18,858 --> 00:24:21,761 You know, I'm like, the system worked. 489 00:24:21,795 --> 00:24:23,296 You know, it worked. 490 00:24:23,329 --> 00:24:24,931 - Ken, who still maintained his innocence, 491 00:24:24,964 --> 00:24:27,067 was sentenced to life in prison. 492 00:24:27,067 --> 00:24:29,069 And that would be it. 493 00:24:29,102 --> 00:24:30,904 End of story. 494 00:24:30,937 --> 00:24:33,740 Except, coincidence is such a strange 495 00:24:33,773 --> 00:24:36,509 and powerful thing, isn't it? 496 00:24:36,543 --> 00:24:37,510 - It's a curious story, 497 00:24:37,544 --> 00:24:39,079 the way you encountered this case, huh? 498 00:24:39,079 --> 00:24:41,748 - Yes. I was visiting another client 499 00:24:41,781 --> 00:24:44,351 who had been charged with murder. 500 00:24:44,384 --> 00:24:45,985 - Defense attorney John Edmunds 501 00:24:46,086 --> 00:24:49,089 doesn't normally find new cases in prison, 502 00:24:49,089 --> 00:24:51,324 but something seemed very credible about 503 00:24:51,358 --> 00:24:53,560 this particular client referral. 504 00:24:53,593 --> 00:24:55,395 - He turned to me and he said, "You know, my cellmate, 505 00:24:55,428 --> 00:24:57,330 "who's out in the rec yard right now, 506 00:24:57,364 --> 00:24:58,631 "doesn't belong here. 507 00:24:58,665 --> 00:25:02,035 "There's something really odd about his case. 508 00:25:02,035 --> 00:25:04,838 "Would you look at it and see what you think?" 509 00:25:04,871 --> 00:25:06,906 - So Edmunds agreed to at least have a look 510 00:25:06,940 --> 00:25:09,175 at the record, a thick file of transcripts, 511 00:25:09,209 --> 00:25:10,610 hundreds of pages. 512 00:25:10,643 --> 00:25:12,912 And late one night, he was sitting up in bed 513 00:25:12,946 --> 00:25:15,648 beside his wife, reading every word said 514 00:25:15,682 --> 00:25:17,050 at Ken's trial. 515 00:25:17,050 --> 00:25:21,154 And suddenly there it was, eureka. 516 00:25:21,187 --> 00:25:22,422 - And I get to the final argument, 517 00:25:22,455 --> 00:25:25,258 and the prosecutor makes a direct comment 518 00:25:25,291 --> 00:25:30,063 on Mr. Wakisaka's failure to take the witness stand. 519 00:25:30,096 --> 00:25:31,631 - This is what Edmunds read. 520 00:25:31,664 --> 00:25:34,567 It's in prosecutor Daniel Oyasato's final argument, 521 00:25:34,601 --> 00:25:36,202 his own words. 522 00:25:47,247 --> 00:25:50,283 - The Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination 523 00:25:50,316 --> 00:25:53,186 is a constitutional right that can be rendered meaningless 524 00:25:53,219 --> 00:25:55,155 if the prosecution gets to comment on it. 525 00:25:55,188 --> 00:25:56,923 - And nobody stood up and said, "I object, You Honor"? 526 00:25:56,956 --> 00:25:58,124 - It's amazing. 527 00:25:58,158 --> 00:26:00,126 The trial lawyer said nothing. 528 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:02,395 The judge said nothing. 529 00:26:02,429 --> 00:26:06,032 - Those five words, "If he doesn't tell us", 530 00:26:06,066 --> 00:26:08,401 would be the basis for Edmunds' appeal. 531 00:26:08,435 --> 00:26:11,204 - The most serious offense is commenting on the failure 532 00:26:11,237 --> 00:26:12,605 to take the witness down. 533 00:26:12,639 --> 00:26:13,940 But we're supposed to be professionals, 534 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:15,709 and we're not supposed to make those kinds of mistakes. 535 00:26:15,742 --> 00:26:20,280 - Did you write your closing argument? 536 00:26:20,313 --> 00:26:24,517 - I write an outline, I commit it to memory. 537 00:26:24,551 --> 00:26:28,054 - So how did that line come out? 538 00:26:28,054 --> 00:26:30,357 - Prosecutor Dan Oyasato 539 00:26:30,390 --> 00:26:32,292 said it was a mere slip of the tongue. 540 00:26:32,325 --> 00:26:34,060 - What I was trying to do with that statement 541 00:26:34,094 --> 00:26:37,664 was actually transition from if he doesn't know, 542 00:26:37,697 --> 00:26:40,467 then we need to look at her body. 543 00:26:40,500 --> 00:26:42,168 We need to look at the rest of the evidence 544 00:26:42,202 --> 00:26:43,870 to tell us the story. 545 00:26:43,903 --> 00:26:45,839 - None of this seemed like such a big deal 546 00:26:45,872 --> 00:26:47,440 to Shirlene's daughter. 547 00:26:47,474 --> 00:26:48,875 - People file appeals all the time. 548 00:26:48,908 --> 00:26:49,843 I understand that. 549 00:26:49,876 --> 00:26:51,244 But I wasn't paying attention anymore, 550 00:26:51,277 --> 00:26:52,879 'cause it was done. 551 00:26:52,912 --> 00:26:54,714 - But it wasn't done. 552 00:26:54,748 --> 00:26:57,517 In 2003, a year after the trial and three years 553 00:26:57,550 --> 00:27:00,186 since Shirlene's death, Hawaii's Supreme Court 554 00:27:00,220 --> 00:27:02,589 handed down its decision. 555 00:27:02,622 --> 00:27:06,159 - I got the call from Dan Oyasato, the prosecutor, 556 00:27:06,192 --> 00:27:08,495 and he said, "The verdict's been overturned". 557 00:27:08,528 --> 00:27:10,330 - Overturned. 558 00:27:10,363 --> 00:27:13,033 The guilty verdict the daughters so desperately wanted 559 00:27:13,066 --> 00:27:16,703 pulled out from under them just like that. 560 00:27:16,736 --> 00:27:18,905 - He goes, "It wasn't the evidence of the case, 561 00:27:18,938 --> 00:27:22,742 "it was on the Fifth Amendment. It was prosecutorial misconduct. 562 00:27:22,776 --> 00:27:23,843 "That's my fault." 563 00:27:23,877 --> 00:27:24,744 - So he took responsibility for it right away? 564 00:27:24,778 --> 00:27:26,146 - Oh, instantly. Instantly. 565 00:27:26,179 --> 00:27:28,915 The pain-- the pain that he felt. 566 00:27:28,948 --> 00:27:31,351 Because he-he worked so hard. 567 00:27:31,384 --> 00:27:32,786 - It haunts me. I'll tell you right now. 568 00:27:32,819 --> 00:27:35,422 It haunts me, you know, that-that-that I-- 569 00:27:35,455 --> 00:27:36,523 that I did this. 570 00:27:36,556 --> 00:27:39,059 I have apologized, I don't know how many times, 571 00:27:39,092 --> 00:27:41,761 to the girls because of my error. 572 00:27:41,795 --> 00:27:43,530 - Still, said the sisters, 573 00:27:43,563 --> 00:27:46,066 the ruling didn't mean Ken was innocent. 574 00:27:46,099 --> 00:27:47,600 Far from it. 575 00:27:47,634 --> 00:27:50,937 - Even though the verdict was overturned, 576 00:27:50,970 --> 00:27:53,206 it was overturned on technicalities 577 00:27:53,239 --> 00:27:56,476 and not on any evidentiary issues. 578 00:27:56,509 --> 00:27:58,578 - And they found a small silver lining. 579 00:27:58,611 --> 00:28:02,315 The Supreme Court said Ken could be retried. 580 00:28:02,349 --> 00:28:04,484 - And so that left the door open for us 581 00:28:04,517 --> 00:28:07,087 to bring it back to trial. 582 00:28:07,120 --> 00:28:10,357 And we just needed to try again. 583 00:28:10,390 --> 00:28:11,424 - And so they took it upon themselves 584 00:28:11,458 --> 00:28:14,094 to pick up right where they left off. 585 00:28:14,127 --> 00:28:16,663 After all, a promise is a promise. 586 00:28:16,696 --> 00:28:20,333 - I just remember thinking, um, okay, 587 00:28:20,367 --> 00:28:23,269 so we need to keep pushing. 588 00:28:23,303 --> 00:28:25,405 - You can't quit, because there is no other option, 589 00:28:25,438 --> 00:28:28,074 because you can make a difference. 590 00:28:28,108 --> 00:28:29,109 - Ken got out on bail 591 00:28:29,142 --> 00:28:31,311 but was still under indictment for murder. 592 00:28:31,344 --> 00:28:33,947 And they all waited for the new trial. 593 00:28:34,047 --> 00:28:35,915 And then, once again, 594 00:28:35,949 --> 00:28:39,185 John Edmunds put on his reading glasses. 595 00:28:39,219 --> 00:28:42,288 - And what I found again stunned me. 596 00:28:42,322 --> 00:28:46,159 - Coming up, a possible new witness. 597 00:28:46,192 --> 00:28:48,862 - I couldn't believe it. I still don't believe it. 598 00:28:55,068 --> 00:29:00,206 ** 599 00:29:01,174 --> 00:29:03,810 - Ken Wakisaka, convicted of killing his wife, 600 00:29:03,843 --> 00:29:06,012 Shirlene, was out on bail. 601 00:29:06,012 --> 00:29:09,549 Guilty verdict overturned thanks to an error discovered 602 00:29:09,582 --> 00:29:12,619 by Ken's new defense attorney, John Edmunds. 603 00:29:12,652 --> 00:29:15,255 But Edmunds wasn't finished digging. 604 00:29:15,288 --> 00:29:17,791 And pretty soon he found another error, 605 00:29:17,824 --> 00:29:21,928 a big one that occurred even before the trial. 606 00:29:22,028 --> 00:29:24,464 - There was a witness that the grand jury 607 00:29:24,497 --> 00:29:27,600 had asked to be called whom the prosecution didn't call. 608 00:29:27,634 --> 00:29:29,336 - The thing is, it's an ironclad rule. 609 00:29:29,369 --> 00:29:31,604 If a grand jury asks to hear from a witness, 610 00:29:31,638 --> 00:29:34,941 the prosecution must comply, didn't in this case. 611 00:29:35,041 --> 00:29:37,344 It wasn't a minor witness either, said Edmunds, 612 00:29:37,377 --> 00:29:40,313 but someone in a position to know a great deal 613 00:29:40,347 --> 00:29:42,682 about what really happened to Shirlene. 614 00:29:42,716 --> 00:29:45,518 - The Wakisakas had a-an upstairs room 615 00:29:45,552 --> 00:29:47,887 that they rented out to a guy, and he had been there 616 00:29:47,921 --> 00:29:51,424 and seen a lot of what went on that morning. 617 00:29:51,458 --> 00:29:54,127 - Though the grand jury didn't hear from the roommate, 618 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:56,463 Detective Nick Cambra did. 619 00:29:56,496 --> 00:29:59,065 Cambra asked him, what did Shirlene say 620 00:29:59,065 --> 00:30:01,968 to Ken on the day she died? 621 00:30:02,002 --> 00:30:03,770 The defense provided us with an excerpt 622 00:30:03,803 --> 00:30:07,107 of Detective Cambra's interview with the witness. 623 00:30:16,349 --> 00:30:19,185 Testimony that seemed very much in Ken's favor. 624 00:30:19,219 --> 00:30:22,989 Testimony to the grand jury that indicted him never heard. 625 00:30:23,723 --> 00:30:25,959 Defense Attorney Edmunds again went to court. 626 00:30:25,992 --> 00:30:28,595 And again, he won. 627 00:30:28,628 --> 00:30:31,097 - So tell me, from a practical point of view, 628 00:30:31,131 --> 00:30:34,334 what did those victories mean for Ken? 629 00:30:34,367 --> 00:30:35,402 - Well, from a practical point of view, 630 00:30:35,435 --> 00:30:37,103 it meant that indictment got dismissed. 631 00:30:37,137 --> 00:30:41,274 - Dismissed as if he'd never been charged in the first place. 632 00:30:41,307 --> 00:30:45,945 Ken was no longer free on bail, he was simply free. 633 00:30:45,979 --> 00:30:48,348 - And now we're back to a point as though the case 634 00:30:48,381 --> 00:30:51,151 never was brought in the first place. 635 00:30:51,184 --> 00:30:54,854 And-and that's frustrating. 636 00:30:55,889 --> 00:30:57,490 - How do you get your head around it? 637 00:30:57,524 --> 00:30:59,426 How do you process all of it? 638 00:30:59,459 --> 00:31:01,061 How do you move forward every day? 639 00:31:01,061 --> 00:31:02,595 - And how would they make the case against Ken 640 00:31:02,629 --> 00:31:05,665 and persuade the state to start from scratch? 641 00:31:05,699 --> 00:31:08,735 Ken's story had never changed, that Shirlene killed herself 642 00:31:08,768 --> 00:31:12,172 accidentally or on purpose with an overdose of pills. 643 00:31:12,205 --> 00:31:14,541 Of course, the state still had evidence 644 00:31:14,574 --> 00:31:16,176 like that pill bottle the sisters 645 00:31:16,209 --> 00:31:18,912 said they found stashed in the backyard of the condo, 646 00:31:18,945 --> 00:31:21,247 as if Ken fed the pills to Shirlene and then tried 647 00:31:21,281 --> 00:31:23,283 to hide the bottle from the police. 648 00:31:23,316 --> 00:31:26,486 But defense attorney Edmunds could show Ken didn't try 649 00:31:26,519 --> 00:31:28,655 to hide anything, that in fact, 650 00:31:28,688 --> 00:31:32,492 he took paramedics to the medicine cabinet himself. 651 00:31:32,525 --> 00:31:34,961 - They counted down tablets in a bottle of pills 652 00:31:34,994 --> 00:31:36,129 to see how many were left and how many-- 653 00:31:36,162 --> 00:31:38,098 tried to figure how many she'd taken, 654 00:31:38,098 --> 00:31:40,100 which is what she said she had done. 655 00:31:40,100 --> 00:31:42,602 - And there was a potential new defense witness 656 00:31:42,635 --> 00:31:45,905 who knew Shirlene well, didn't like her at all, in fact. 657 00:31:45,939 --> 00:31:48,675 And she has her own strange theory 658 00:31:48,708 --> 00:31:50,877 about what happened to Shirlene. 659 00:31:50,910 --> 00:31:53,513 - You get to know the people who are living in your building. 660 00:31:53,546 --> 00:31:54,681 - You have to. - Yeah. 661 00:31:54,714 --> 00:31:57,217 - Marjorie Collier managed the condominium complex 662 00:31:57,250 --> 00:31:59,019 where Shirlene and Kent lived. 663 00:31:59,119 --> 00:32:00,353 Unlike the daughters, 664 00:32:00,387 --> 00:32:03,390 Marjorie considered Shirlene the dominant, 665 00:32:03,423 --> 00:32:06,593 even abusive force in the marriage. 666 00:32:06,626 --> 00:32:11,131 - She used to tell me that Ken was the complete opposite of her, 667 00:32:11,164 --> 00:32:15,368 that he was very quiet and he would never argue with her 668 00:32:15,402 --> 00:32:18,138 or get into a fight with her, he'd leave the building. 669 00:32:18,171 --> 00:32:19,806 He'd just go for a walk. 670 00:32:19,839 --> 00:32:21,775 - How'd she feel about that? 671 00:32:21,808 --> 00:32:23,109 - She didn't like it. 672 00:32:23,143 --> 00:32:25,578 - Marjorie was on the scene April 5th, 2000, 673 00:32:25,612 --> 00:32:27,313 after Tammie called 911, 674 00:32:27,347 --> 00:32:29,816 urging EMTs to check on her mother. 675 00:32:29,849 --> 00:32:33,086 - I went over to talk to the EMT and he said, 676 00:32:33,086 --> 00:32:35,722 "Well, she's awake and she's coherent enough 677 00:32:35,755 --> 00:32:39,325 "to tell us that she's not coming with us". 678 00:32:39,359 --> 00:32:40,627 And I said, "Oh, okay". 679 00:32:40,660 --> 00:32:42,896 - Remember, in the official EMT report, 680 00:32:42,929 --> 00:32:45,098 it was Ken who said Shirlene didn't need 681 00:32:45,098 --> 00:32:47,967 to go to the hospital, but Marjorie insisted 682 00:32:48,001 --> 00:32:51,137 an EMT told her it was Shirlene 683 00:32:51,171 --> 00:32:52,906 who refused to go. 684 00:32:52,939 --> 00:32:54,407 - So your memory of that's pretty clear? 685 00:32:54,441 --> 00:32:56,109 - I'm positive. 686 00:32:56,142 --> 00:33:01,448 - When you heard that Ken was accused of strangling her? 687 00:33:01,481 --> 00:33:03,350 - I was absolutely shocked. 688 00:33:03,383 --> 00:33:04,617 I couldn't believe it. 689 00:33:04,651 --> 00:33:06,219 I still don't believe it. 690 00:33:06,252 --> 00:33:08,922 - But what does she believe about how Shirlene died? 691 00:33:08,955 --> 00:33:12,058 Well, just her speculation, of course, 692 00:33:12,092 --> 00:33:14,327 it was based on an incident that began, 693 00:33:14,361 --> 00:33:16,863 she said, when Shirlene was making a fuss 694 00:33:16,896 --> 00:33:18,631 in the condo office. 695 00:33:18,665 --> 00:33:21,935 - And she was being very pushy, and I went to shut the door 696 00:33:21,968 --> 00:33:24,704 just to get her to go home, because I wasn't even open yet, 697 00:33:24,738 --> 00:33:27,807 and the door hit her arm 698 00:33:27,841 --> 00:33:30,677 and she spilled her cup of coffee. 699 00:33:30,710 --> 00:33:33,179 - Next thing Marjorie knew, a police officer 700 00:33:33,213 --> 00:33:34,948 was threatening to arrest her. 701 00:33:34,981 --> 00:33:36,816 - And I said, "For what?" 702 00:33:36,850 --> 00:33:39,252 And he says, "For abuse". 703 00:33:39,285 --> 00:33:42,088 I said, "Excuse me?" 704 00:33:42,122 --> 00:33:46,426 And I looked at Shirlene, and from her thigh, mid-thigh, 705 00:33:46,459 --> 00:33:49,796 all the way down to her feet was burned. 706 00:33:51,197 --> 00:33:52,298 - You're kidding. - Severely burned. 707 00:33:52,332 --> 00:33:54,968 More burned than you get laying out in the sun all day. 708 00:33:55,001 --> 00:33:57,103 - Was it from that coffee? 709 00:33:57,103 --> 00:33:58,338 - That's what she said it was. 710 00:33:58,371 --> 00:34:01,341 But the police officer told me one cup of coffee won't burn 711 00:34:01,374 --> 00:34:03,143 both those legs like that. 712 00:34:03,176 --> 00:34:05,378 - Both legs are burned? - Yeah. 713 00:34:05,412 --> 00:34:07,080 But she burned her own legs. 714 00:34:07,113 --> 00:34:09,115 - In that case, Marjorie believed, 715 00:34:09,149 --> 00:34:11,051 Shirlene was willing to hurt herself 716 00:34:11,051 --> 00:34:13,253 just to frame Marjorie. 717 00:34:13,286 --> 00:34:16,289 So when Shirlene died... 718 00:34:16,322 --> 00:34:17,891 - What I thought, honestly, 719 00:34:17,924 --> 00:34:21,194 was that it was another ploy. 720 00:34:21,227 --> 00:34:24,864 And she had tried to make it look 721 00:34:24,898 --> 00:34:26,966 as if he was trying to kill her, 722 00:34:27,067 --> 00:34:30,070 and she went too far and accidentally killed herself. 723 00:34:30,070 --> 00:34:32,172 - I think that that's Marjorie's perspective. 724 00:34:32,205 --> 00:34:33,373 - Yeah. 725 00:34:33,406 --> 00:34:36,876 - Do I think that she is correct in her-in her opinion? 726 00:34:36,910 --> 00:34:40,513 No, absolutely not. 727 00:34:40,547 --> 00:34:43,350 - To Shirlene daughters, there was still no doubt 728 00:34:43,383 --> 00:34:46,553 about what really happened, and what to do about it. 729 00:34:46,586 --> 00:34:49,289 - I think your mother had a word, didn't she, 730 00:34:49,322 --> 00:34:50,256 that she liked. 731 00:34:50,290 --> 00:34:51,491 What was that word? 732 00:34:51,524 --> 00:34:52,826 - Tenacity. 733 00:34:52,859 --> 00:34:53,827 - I just had to keep going. 734 00:34:53,860 --> 00:34:55,662 And here's the thing about keeping going, 735 00:34:55,695 --> 00:34:58,665 by doing something in the process, 736 00:34:58,698 --> 00:35:00,400 I was honoring her. 737 00:35:00,433 --> 00:35:02,402 - Tiffany filled a suitcase with documents 738 00:35:02,435 --> 00:35:05,739 that some prosecutor might find useful, 739 00:35:05,772 --> 00:35:08,108 hauled it back and forth to the prosecution meeting, 740 00:35:08,141 --> 00:35:11,277 pushing for action for years. 741 00:35:11,311 --> 00:35:13,113 - Well, I kept going to Hawaii for sure. 742 00:35:13,146 --> 00:35:16,649 I'm like, "Pardon, hi, it's me again. 743 00:35:16,683 --> 00:35:20,053 Uh, my mom, what's going with my mom's case?" 744 00:35:20,053 --> 00:35:22,589 - By this time, Dan Oyasato no longer worked 745 00:35:22,622 --> 00:35:25,091 at the Honolulu County Prosecutor's Office. 746 00:35:25,125 --> 00:35:27,527 And the prosecutor who took over the case 747 00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:30,663 seemed reluctant to go forward. 748 00:35:30,697 --> 00:35:33,800 But that wasn't going to stop Shirlene's daughters. 749 00:35:33,833 --> 00:35:36,069 Not for one minute. 750 00:35:36,069 --> 00:35:37,737 - We had a guilty verdict. 751 00:35:37,771 --> 00:35:39,339 We need to move forward. 752 00:35:39,372 --> 00:35:41,608 We need to recharge. We need to reindict. 753 00:35:41,641 --> 00:35:43,243 We need to go back to trial. 754 00:35:43,276 --> 00:35:47,147 - But, it turned out a big surprise was coming, 755 00:35:47,180 --> 00:35:52,886 this time from the prosecution. 756 00:35:52,919 --> 00:35:55,455 - An unusual theory of how Shirlene died 757 00:35:55,488 --> 00:35:58,591 presents a challenge for the sisters. 758 00:35:58,625 --> 00:36:01,294 Could they still keep their vow? 759 00:36:01,327 --> 00:36:02,762 - Coming up... 760 00:36:02,796 --> 00:36:04,698 - How long are you prepared to keep going with this? 761 00:36:04,731 --> 00:36:07,634 - As long as it takes. We made a promise. 762 00:36:15,041 --> 00:36:20,914 ** 763 00:36:22,048 --> 00:36:25,352 - April 2014, Tiffany and Tammie returned to Hawaii, 764 00:36:25,385 --> 00:36:27,754 where they marked a painful anniversary, 765 00:36:27,787 --> 00:36:30,523 fourteen years since their mother, Shirlene, died. 766 00:36:30,557 --> 00:36:32,959 - It's heartbreaking. 767 00:36:33,059 --> 00:36:34,327 - Why do you say heartbreaking? 768 00:36:34,361 --> 00:36:37,497 - We've spent all these years trying to get justice. 769 00:36:37,530 --> 00:36:39,699 - We made the promise to my mother 770 00:36:39,733 --> 00:36:41,334 that we would investigate. 771 00:36:41,368 --> 00:36:43,169 Therefore, it has to be. 772 00:36:43,203 --> 00:36:45,305 Therefore, you can't quit. 773 00:36:45,338 --> 00:36:47,674 - The daughters thought they'd made good on their promise 774 00:36:47,707 --> 00:36:50,076 to find justice for their mother if anything happened to her 775 00:36:50,110 --> 00:36:53,079 when Shirlene's husband was convicted in 2002 776 00:36:53,079 --> 00:36:55,482 of murder by strangulation. 777 00:36:55,515 --> 00:36:58,518 But that verdict was overturned in 2003, 778 00:36:58,551 --> 00:37:01,187 and then Ken's original indictment was thrown out 779 00:37:01,221 --> 00:37:02,922 two years later. 780 00:37:03,023 --> 00:37:05,158 - You thought maybe a few months it'd be back in court? 781 00:37:05,191 --> 00:37:06,026 - Not a few months. 782 00:37:06,059 --> 00:37:07,660 I thought within a few years. 783 00:37:07,694 --> 00:37:10,697 - But the years just kept passing. 784 00:37:10,730 --> 00:37:13,767 Ken moved on, though he still lived in the same condo. 785 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:18,371 But Tammie and Tiffany said they couldn't move on, 786 00:37:18,405 --> 00:37:22,208 and they acknowledged it's been hard on them. 787 00:37:22,242 --> 00:37:24,144 - I feel really bad for my family, 788 00:37:24,177 --> 00:37:25,845 because it's not their mother, 789 00:37:25,879 --> 00:37:27,547 they didn't make the promise I did. 790 00:37:27,580 --> 00:37:30,116 It's because every time I'm not there, 791 00:37:30,150 --> 00:37:32,452 someone else has to cover all the things 792 00:37:32,485 --> 00:37:33,853 that I normally do. 793 00:37:33,887 --> 00:37:36,723 - Tiffany especially made the trip to Hawaii repeatedly, 794 00:37:36,756 --> 00:37:40,326 and Kids and husband knew they were on their own 795 00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:41,828 whenever she rolled out the suitcase 796 00:37:41,861 --> 00:37:43,763 stuffed with case papers. 797 00:37:43,797 --> 00:37:45,865 Still, they pushed on. 798 00:37:45,899 --> 00:37:47,901 - We will get a conviction. 799 00:37:47,934 --> 00:37:50,103 And I will do everything I can possibly do 800 00:37:50,136 --> 00:37:52,272 in order to make that happen. 801 00:37:52,305 --> 00:37:54,808 - The case has dogged Detective Nick Cambra, too. 802 00:37:54,841 --> 00:37:56,176 He's retired now, 803 00:37:56,209 --> 00:37:59,079 but he counts the years and wonders. 804 00:37:59,079 --> 00:38:02,015 - Do you perceive enthusiasm in the prosecutor's office 805 00:38:02,048 --> 00:38:04,184 to-to go after this? - Not at all. Not at all. 806 00:38:04,217 --> 00:38:06,319 - They would do so reluctantly? 807 00:38:06,353 --> 00:38:08,121 - Yes. - But why? 808 00:38:08,154 --> 00:38:10,557 If prosecutors won a conviction once, 809 00:38:10,590 --> 00:38:12,425 why not just do it again? 810 00:38:12,459 --> 00:38:14,561 - At this point, it's not my decision. 811 00:38:14,594 --> 00:38:18,198 But what I can say is provided the evidence was not suppressed 812 00:38:18,231 --> 00:38:19,866 and is still available, 813 00:38:19,899 --> 00:38:23,837 there is more than ample evidence to prove his guilt. 814 00:38:23,870 --> 00:38:27,040 - Anticipating a new trial, defense attorney Edmunds hired 815 00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:30,610 renowned forensic pathologist Michael Baden. 816 00:38:30,643 --> 00:38:32,245 - And asked him, "What is your opinion? 817 00:38:32,278 --> 00:38:33,480 "Was there strangulation or not?" 818 00:38:33,513 --> 00:38:35,749 He said, "absolutely not. This is just wrong." 819 00:38:35,782 --> 00:38:39,819 - So the new prosecution hired its own experts 820 00:38:39,853 --> 00:38:43,790 and, well, didn't go as planned. 821 00:38:43,823 --> 00:38:47,627 - The new prosecutor on the case said that they had one 822 00:38:47,660 --> 00:38:50,630 or two forensic pathologists who agreed with Dr. Baden. 823 00:38:50,663 --> 00:38:54,367 - They agreed that Shirlene wasn't strangled. 824 00:38:54,401 --> 00:38:55,935 - These are prosecution experts. 825 00:38:55,969 --> 00:38:57,270 Did that surprise you? 826 00:38:57,303 --> 00:38:58,705 - It did. - Yeah. 827 00:38:58,738 --> 00:39:01,074 - I don't think that they provided all the information 828 00:39:01,107 --> 00:39:05,045 that the expert needed in order to make that determination. 829 00:39:05,078 --> 00:39:08,214 - The prosecution announced in court in 2010 830 00:39:08,248 --> 00:39:11,251 it was abandoning the strangulation theory, 831 00:39:11,284 --> 00:39:14,120 the very theory that got Ken convicted 832 00:39:14,154 --> 00:39:15,889 in the first place. 833 00:39:15,922 --> 00:39:18,291 - What did you think when they just dropped that theory? 834 00:39:18,324 --> 00:39:21,027 - I was shocked. 835 00:39:21,061 --> 00:39:23,496 Honestly, I-I was shocked. 836 00:39:23,530 --> 00:39:25,699 - The prosecutor declined to talk to us 837 00:39:25,732 --> 00:39:28,034 or share any information about the case. 838 00:39:28,034 --> 00:39:31,738 But in an email to the daughters from January 2014, 839 00:39:31,771 --> 00:39:34,507 he said his boss, the chief prosecuting attorney, 840 00:39:34,541 --> 00:39:38,378 referred to here by his initials KMK, 841 00:39:38,411 --> 00:39:40,747 "Gave the green light to go forward". 842 00:39:40,780 --> 00:39:43,116 But go forward with what? 843 00:39:43,149 --> 00:39:46,820 A whole new theory they called murder by omission. 844 00:39:46,853 --> 00:39:50,623 - What's your understanding of what murder by omission is? 845 00:39:50,657 --> 00:39:54,461 - My understanding is that it's a duty of a spouse 846 00:39:54,494 --> 00:39:59,766 or a parent to get medical help for someone 847 00:39:59,799 --> 00:40:02,969 who can't get help for themselves. 848 00:40:03,003 --> 00:40:06,406 And if they die because of that, 849 00:40:06,439 --> 00:40:10,744 then you've effectively committed murder. 850 00:40:10,777 --> 00:40:14,014 - In the email, the prosecutor told the girls he just needed 851 00:40:14,047 --> 00:40:15,882 one or more experts to give the opinion 852 00:40:15,915 --> 00:40:18,585 that Wakisaka's failure to perform his duty 853 00:40:18,618 --> 00:40:21,921 to provide timely medical care for Shirlene caused her death. 854 00:40:24,157 --> 00:40:26,693 Despite abandoning the strangulation theory, 855 00:40:26,726 --> 00:40:30,230 the prosecutor in his email now said he might 856 00:40:30,263 --> 00:40:33,867 actually bring it back, along with murder by omission, 857 00:40:33,900 --> 00:40:35,735 for a possible new trial. 858 00:40:35,769 --> 00:40:37,804 - Do you really think they will? 859 00:40:37,837 --> 00:40:39,305 - Have they? 860 00:40:39,339 --> 00:40:42,042 - Have they? - No, they have not. 861 00:40:42,075 --> 00:40:43,276 They've done nothing. 862 00:40:43,309 --> 00:40:46,046 - So what stage have you got to? 863 00:40:46,079 --> 00:40:47,480 Believe it when you see it? 864 00:40:47,514 --> 00:40:48,948 - Absolutely. 865 00:40:48,982 --> 00:40:50,016 Prove me wrong. 866 00:40:50,050 --> 00:40:52,085 Show me that you're going to do something. 867 00:40:52,118 --> 00:40:54,821 Quit leading us on to believe that you're going 868 00:40:54,854 --> 00:40:59,159 to move forward with a case that we've been hanging on to 869 00:40:59,192 --> 00:41:01,361 for ten years. 870 00:41:01,394 --> 00:41:04,164 - Defense attorney Edmunds said he would knock down 871 00:41:04,197 --> 00:41:07,434 the prosecution's new omission theory by pointing out 872 00:41:07,467 --> 00:41:12,505 that Ken did try to get help for Shirlene by calling 911. 873 00:41:12,539 --> 00:41:15,608 So far, there has been no move to charge Ken, 874 00:41:15,642 --> 00:41:19,112 and it's not clear when or if there will be. 875 00:41:19,145 --> 00:41:23,249 By 2021, the Wakisaka case file had been assigned 876 00:41:23,283 --> 00:41:26,086 to the Maui County Prosecutor's Office. 877 00:41:26,119 --> 00:41:31,257 Ken has maintained his innocence all these years, even as 878 00:41:31,291 --> 00:41:35,929 Shirlene's daughters' quest to prove him guilty goes on. 879 00:41:35,962 --> 00:41:38,531 - He's very troubled by it. 880 00:41:38,565 --> 00:41:40,934 - Is he living under a cloud now? 881 00:41:40,967 --> 00:41:42,469 - He feels he is. 882 00:41:42,502 --> 00:41:44,704 He'll never really be at peace. 883 00:41:44,738 --> 00:41:46,306 Now more people recognize him on the street, 884 00:41:46,339 --> 00:41:49,275 that's embarrassing. 885 00:41:50,110 --> 00:41:52,746 - I miss her so much, Tammie. 886 00:41:52,779 --> 00:41:54,614 - Me too. 887 00:41:54,647 --> 00:41:58,318 - Call it a promise, a quest, an obsession. 888 00:42:02,422 --> 00:42:06,126 Her daughters' journey isn't over. 889 00:42:06,159 --> 00:42:08,361 - How long are you prepared to keep going with this? 890 00:42:08,395 --> 00:42:10,497 - As long as it takes. 891 00:42:10,530 --> 00:42:11,965 - I mean, you could be sitting here an old lady 892 00:42:12,065 --> 00:42:15,735 and years and years from now, and nothing will have happened. 893 00:42:15,769 --> 00:42:18,338 - We made a promise. 894 00:42:18,371 --> 00:42:21,908 We made a promise to our mom. 895 00:42:21,941 --> 00:42:24,678 - It is with such purpose and such passion 896 00:42:24,711 --> 00:42:27,180 and such love that I do this. 897 00:42:27,213 --> 00:42:28,948 It is an honor of my mother. 898 00:42:28,982 --> 00:42:31,418 And I don't care if it's labeled obsession or crazy, 899 00:42:31,451 --> 00:42:34,621 I'm doing this because I love her 900 00:42:34,654 --> 00:42:38,091 and she deserves it. 901 00:42:40,460 --> 00:42:43,697 - That's all for this edition of "Dateline: Secrets Uncovered". 902 00:42:43,730 --> 00:42:45,198 I'm Craig Melvin. 903 00:42:45,231 --> 00:42:46,933 Thank you for watching.