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00:00:01I'm Craig Melvin, and this is Dateline, Secrets Uncovered.
00:00:08The wolf pack is our group of friends in Silver Lakes.
00:00:12They called each other Bear and Pooter.
00:00:16I see any breathing.
00:00:18No, I don't see nothing. I think he's dead.
00:00:20I started thinking, who would want Rob out of the picture?
00:00:23This case had sex, religion.
00:00:26It literally had everything.
00:00:29The story of an it couple behind Dateline's hit podcast.
00:00:34Sabrina and Rob had invited another married couple into their group for an open relationship.
00:00:40She couldn't stay away from him.
00:00:42Good morning, my mother.
00:00:44Well, good morning.
00:00:46They talked about God.
00:00:47God is so good.
00:00:48Yeah, God is so good.
00:00:50Did you and Ms. Lamone and her husband and your husband engage in sexual activity together?
00:00:58That was the bombshell of all bombshells.
00:01:02No one could look away.
00:01:04You just couldn't look away.
00:01:07And welcome to Dateline Secrets Uncovered.
00:01:18Rob and Sabrina Lamone were a golden couple at the center of their circle of friends.
00:01:24But that circle was broken when Rob was murdered.
00:01:28Detectives struggled to find a motive until they discovered a marriage riddled with secrets and a web of sex, lies, and religion.
00:01:37But the biggest surprises came in the courtroom, where a killer's confession left everyone stunned.
00:01:43Here's Josh Mankiewicz with Deadly Mirage.
00:01:49Trackless, dry, and desolate, the Mojave Desert fits almost no one's image of the California lifestyle.
00:01:57Unless, that is, you stumble upon this little oasis, Silver Lakes, a community of 6,000, improbably built in the desert on the water.
00:02:11The lakes are artificial, of course.
00:02:13The houses look solid enough, stucco and red tile, along with churches, a golf course, and parks for the kids.
00:02:23Wholesome, anywhere, Main Street, USA.
00:02:27But what if that's a mirage, too?
00:02:30Turns out, behind some of these doors, there are secrets about religion, about friendship, about sex, and about murder.
00:02:45Rob and Sabrina Lamone were just one of those magical couples.
00:02:50You wanted to invite them to every barbecue you had, and you wanted to make it to every barbecue or every time they were going to go out on the lake.
00:02:58And they attracted people around them like that.
00:03:01Friends Kelly and Jason Bernatine told me the Lamones were irresistible.
00:03:06They had two beautiful kids and a great family, and just always happy.
00:03:12Aww, that's so sweet.
00:03:15I think I went with each other.
00:03:17Oh, gosh.
00:03:19They never fought.
00:03:21They were like, they called each other bear and pooter and hugs and kisses and high fives all the time.
00:03:28Just happy, happy, happy.
00:03:30Their happiness was all the sweeter, because Rob's own parents had split up when he was a child.
00:03:37Rob's older sister, Chris Wilson.
00:03:39Divorce is hard on kids, and it was hard on my brother.
00:03:43Mom worked a lot of nights, you know, being a single mom, so I would take care of Robert.
00:03:50After graduating high school, Rob lived with Chris here in Prescott, Arizona.
00:03:55It's where he met Sabrina.
00:03:57Just about everyone called her Brina.
00:04:00He brought her to our home and introduced us, and he said, I think I'm going to marry her.
00:04:08Chris could tell this was serious.
00:04:11She loved my brother, and I could tell she did.
00:04:14Rob adored both Sabrina and her family, says Lydia Marrero, another of Rob's sisters.
00:04:20They were very warm and welcoming, and they did things together, and that's what he wanted for himself and his family.
00:04:28Rob and Sabrina married in a beautiful church wedding on August 19, 2000.
00:04:35Rob thought about becoming a firefighter, then landed a job as a mechanic.
00:04:40Rob was a railroad company.
00:04:43He loved his job.
00:04:44Just like everything he did, he put 110% into it.
00:04:48He'd always take pictures of himself at work and see the trains in the background.
00:04:53Robert with his thumb up and, you know, just enjoying life.
00:04:59Sabrina and Rob settled in small-town Hellendale, California, in a community called Silver Lakes.
00:05:08Some people call it the happiest place in the high desert.
00:05:12Their house was on Strawberry Lane.
00:05:14They had two beautiful children, Robby and Leanna, almost three years apart.
00:05:21Kelly was a hairdresser in town.
00:05:24That's how she and Sabrina met.
00:05:26She made an appointment, came in, was super nice, friendly, like over-the-top friendly.
00:05:34I did her hair.
00:05:36She told me about her family.
00:05:38She talked to me the whole time, nonstop.
00:05:41She was hard to resist.
00:05:42Yeah, she was.
00:05:44Kelly was married to Jason, a firefighter.
00:05:47Soon the Lamones invited them over for dinner.
00:05:50You remember that first dinner?
00:05:51Yeah, I remember the first time I met Rob.
00:05:53He's actually kind of a scary dude.
00:05:55He's really big.
00:05:56He's got tattoos all over his arm.
00:05:59And he's got his last name tattooed on the back of his head.
00:06:02So his appearance was not like his personality.
00:06:06It only took a minute to realize he was the nicest guy in the world.
00:06:09Jason and Rob became fast friends.
00:06:12So did Kelly and Sabrina.
00:06:15We used to joke that sunshine was coming out of their butts.
00:06:19They were such happy people.
00:06:21And you just wanted to be around them.
00:06:24The four became inseparable.
00:06:26They would often get together with a handful of other young couples.
00:06:30They all called themselves the Wolf Pack.
00:06:33It's a big group when we all get together.
00:06:35And our little pups running around too.
00:06:39The Wolf Pack spent just about every holiday and birthday together.
00:06:45But one couple was always the center of gravity.
00:06:49Sabrina and Rob Limon.
00:06:51I would look at Rob and I would watch him, you know, with Sabrina.
00:06:55And I'd like, that's the guy that I needed to be like.
00:06:58And all the wives would look at Rob and it was hard to compare to him.
00:07:05Yeah, everybody would be like, why can't you be more like Rob?
00:07:08Yeah, be more like Rob.
00:07:09That's what everybody said.
00:07:11And as a guy here, it's like, I can never be like that.
00:07:15On August 11, 2014, Rob turned 38.
00:07:20He celebrated his birthday with his family and his Wolf Pack friends.
00:07:25And then, just a week later, everything went off the rails.
00:07:32Rob was working the day shift at an isolated railroad office in Tehachapi,
00:07:37about 90 miles from Hellandale.
00:07:40Sabrina worked part-time passing out samples at Costco.
00:07:44And the couple often talked or texted during the day.
00:07:48This day was no exception.
00:07:50Call me, Bear. I'm home now.
00:07:52Getting the kids dinner and ready for school. Yay.
00:07:55But Rob didn't respond.
00:07:57And he didn't call on the way home as he almost always did.
00:08:02Sabrina texted him again.
00:08:04Babe, I'm worried about you.
00:08:06Call me.
00:08:07Leanna wants to say goodnight.
00:08:10That was a little after 8 p.m.
00:08:13Rob Lamone never did call.
00:08:15Instead, this call came in.
00:08:18Tell me exactly what happened.
00:08:20I had opened the garage door and there's a light bulb busted out.
00:08:24He's on the ground bleeding out of his head.
00:08:26Okay.
00:08:27Oh, my God.
00:08:29Frantic call to 911 answers one question, but there are about to be a whole lot more.
00:08:38Coming up.
00:08:39I looked at her sister and I said, is it true?
00:08:42An apparent burglary and a mystery.
00:08:46We didn't know what was going on.
00:08:47It didn't make a lot of sense.
00:08:49When Dateline Secrets Uncovered continues.
00:08:59It didn't take long for bad news to spread in Silver Lakes.
00:09:06Kelly Bernatine got the call in the middle of the night and immediately drove to Sabrina's home.
00:09:11She comes to the door, but she was wearing a railroad jacket and little Leanna was wearing a railroad jacket and holding a picture of her dad.
00:09:20And then she said something like, oh, my Kelly.
00:09:25And she just like reached her arms out and fell on me and cried.
00:09:29And then I looked at her sister and I said, is this, is it true?
00:09:33And she said, yeah.
00:09:34And then I just cried.
00:09:37It was true.
00:09:38Big Rob Lamone, the nicest guy in the world, had been shot to death at work.
00:09:44But I still didn't believe that because Rob was so strong and I couldn't believe it.
00:09:55Sabrina's older sister, Julie Cordova, says they were both stunned.
00:10:00She was crying and just pacing and trying to be strong for the kids all at the same time.
00:10:09So I laid with Brina that night and rubbed her head.
00:10:13There was hardly any information at that point.
00:10:15We didn't know what happened.
00:10:17Nightmare.
00:10:18We didn't know what was going on.
00:10:20It didn't make a lot of sense.
00:10:23Making sense out of Rob's murder was the job of Kern County Sheriff's Detective Randall Meyer.
00:10:29He got the call and headed for the industrial complex in Tehachapi, where Rob was working on the last day of his life.
00:10:36A lot of crime in Tehachapi?
00:10:38Not typically.
00:10:39A co-worker called 911 after finding Rob's body and seeing the blood inside the shop.
00:10:46Can I see any breathing?
00:10:48No.
00:10:49I don't see nothing.
00:10:50I think he's dead.
00:10:51It appeared that he'd have been shot twice.
00:10:53Once to the upper right chest and again to the left lower chin.
00:10:58Which meant Rob had been facing his killer when he died.
00:11:03Detective Meyer inspected the crime scene.
00:11:05One of the computers from the desk was missing and several drawers were open and there were files that were strewn about the office.
00:11:13It looked like a burglary.
00:11:15An odd place for one because it was a railroad warehouse.
00:11:19No cash normally kept here.
00:11:21There were tools and train parts but not much a thief could easily fence.
00:11:26And what's more...
00:11:28Burglars usually don't kill people.
00:11:30Only in TV do shootouts happen as a result of somebody interrupting a burglary.
00:11:34Usually the burglar runs out of there as quickly as possible.
00:11:37Yeah, that's correct.
00:11:39There was something else that didn't fit the burglary theory.
00:11:43We did not locate any shell cases on the ground.
00:11:45Meaning he was either shot with a revolver or someone was careful enough to pick up the shell casings afterwards.
00:11:53Which would suggest what, if that's the case?
00:11:56Would suggest that they had planned and prepared to commit the murder.
00:12:03Rob's killer did leave behind a critical piece of evidence.
00:12:07A bullet lodged in Rob's head.
00:12:10That went to the crime lab while Meyer rethought the case.
00:12:14After looking at the scene, we thought that somebody was upset with Rob and was looking for him.
00:12:21Soon there was reason to doubt that theory too, after the detective spoke with Rob's co-workers.
00:12:28They told me that Rob Lamone was a very kind, loving person, a good friend.
00:12:34He was somebody who would help anybody out if they needed help at any point in time.
00:12:39Good guy.
00:12:40Good guy.
00:12:41And everybody said that he never had a problem with anyone at work.
00:12:44Which raised yet another possibility.
00:12:48Maybe Rob was not the intended target.
00:12:51A check of the schedule revealed Rob was covering someone else's shift that day.
00:12:57A co-worker named Corey Hamilton.
00:13:00Meyer interviewed Corey, who told him that a couple of nights before Rob was killed, Corey went to a bar with some friends.
00:13:08And got into an argument there.
00:13:11After questioning the patrons at the bar, Meyer decided it was unlikely that argument had led to murder.
00:13:18So far, the investigation was not moving quickly.
00:13:21In fact, it was barely moving at all.
00:13:24The railway company put out a $100,000 reward for more information.
00:13:29And Detective Meyer's phone started blowing up with tips, each of which had to be checked out.
00:13:36Meanwhile, friends were trying to make sense of it all.
00:13:40Was it possible that he could have gotten into something involved with somebody that he shouldn't have been involved with?
00:13:48You worry that you never really know anyone.
00:13:51So that was definitely a worry of ours that we crossed our minds.
00:13:56Of course, they didn't want to believe that about their friend Rob.
00:14:00They just wanted answers.
00:14:02We've actually asked the homicide detective multiple times, like, have you found anything?
00:14:08Another girlfriend, and they haven't found anything.
00:14:11He was who he seemed.
00:14:13He worked hard.
00:14:14He was in Tehachapi that day, working for his family.
00:14:18In those first few days, Meyer questioned Sabrina Lamone about the couple's marriage.
00:14:23She said what everyone else seemed to know.
00:14:26Rob was a good husband and a terrific dad.
00:14:29He was as well-liked in his personal life as he was at work.
00:14:32And their marriage was great.
00:14:35She said that everybody loved Rob.
00:14:37And that seemed to be the whole puzzling story.
00:14:41But then there was this.
00:14:44A security camera captured someone entering the complex.
00:14:49Limping across.
00:14:50Carrying a bag.
00:14:52And then later, look closely at the upper edge of the screen.
00:14:56That same person exiting the scene.
00:14:59Who was this man?
00:15:01And did he kill Rob Lamone?
00:15:05Coming up, a suspect on foot caught again on wheels?
00:15:10When you look at the motorcycle and the rider, are you thinking there's our killer?
00:15:14It was something we needed to definitely look into.
00:15:16When Dateline Secrets Uncovered continues.
00:15:20August 19th, 2014, Rob and Sabrina Lamone should have been celebrating their 14th wedding anniversary.
00:15:37Instead, Sabrina was preparing for her husband's memorial service.
00:15:43Rob's co-workers, friends and family packed the church.
00:15:47His son stood up and spoke.
00:15:50My dad taught me.
00:15:51Wearing my brother's hat.
00:15:53And just sobbing and sobbing of how much he loved his dad and he missed his dad.
00:16:00I'm Kelly Bernatine.
00:16:01Sabrina's best friend, Kelly, spoke on her behalf.
00:16:04I also read a letter that Sabrina had written him like in 2009 that I found in a scrapbook.
00:16:10I wanted to read it to all of you.
00:16:12I figured if she didn't have the strength to talk that I would try to speak for her in some way.
00:16:18So I read that.
00:16:19You have worked so very hard above and beyond what most men do.
00:16:24Sabrina sat in the front row next to her two children.
00:16:28All the friends rallied around Sabrina and the kids and did everything they could to support her.
00:16:33People donated money.
00:16:35People, you know, made sure there was food there every day.
00:16:39Everyone wanted to make sure she was taken care of.
00:16:42Meanwhile, Kern County Sheriff's detectives were busy tracking down leads.
00:16:47The biggest so far?
00:16:49Security video showing a man limping into the complex and then later leaving the crime scene.
00:16:56Finding him wouldn't be easy.
00:16:58And then someone called the tip line.
00:17:01They knew of a subject who was younger, who walked with a limp.
00:17:06And they provided the subject's name.
00:17:10His name was Joshua Weehust.
00:17:12He lived near the complex and would often walk through it to get to and from his home.
00:17:17That was interesting to detectives.
00:17:19So were the shoe prints found in the vicinity of the crime scene.
00:17:24Did this guy have a criminal record?
00:17:26A small criminal record, mostly public intoxication type cases.
00:17:30And that type of stuff.
00:17:32And Mr. Weehust owns several guns.
00:17:35So you bring him in?
00:17:36We did.
00:17:37We had our surveillance team pick him up and bring him into the Tatchby substation so I could speak to him.
00:17:42They checked his shoes.
00:17:44And those matched the shoe prints at the scene.
00:17:47So, the prime suspect?
00:17:49No.
00:17:50He had a solid alibi.
00:17:52He said he was with his parents.
00:17:53And we were able to speak to the parents and said that he was with them at the residence at the time of the murder was cured.
00:17:59So Joshua Weehust was cleared.
00:18:02And then came another tip.
00:18:04Detectives received a call from a local gunsmith.
00:18:07He said that he received a firearm revolver from a gentleman who was having issues with the firearm and asked the gunsmith to change out the firing pin.
00:18:17I'm no gun expert, but how often do people change out the firing pins in their guns?
00:18:22Not very often.
00:18:24Police can sometimes use the mark a firing pin makes on a shell casing to later match that casing to a particular gun.
00:18:33So changing a firing pin could very well be an attempt to throw them off track.
00:18:39It was very suspicious.
00:18:40And the subject also owned a business within that same complex.
00:18:43So I immediately went to Tatchby, seized the firearm, and sent it to our local lab here in Kern County.
00:18:50A firearms analyst compared bullets from that gun to one of the bullets recovered at the scene.
00:18:56And the results were negative.
00:18:58It was not the gun that was used to kill Rob Lamont.
00:19:00Disappointing?
00:19:01It was disappointing at first.
00:19:03Back to the grind.
00:19:05Detectives exhausted lead after lead.
00:19:09Nothing was panning out.
00:19:11They did find more security cameras at a business down the street.
00:19:15The cameras captured vehicles coming and going from the industrial complex on Goodrick Drive.
00:19:21Including this work truck, which detectives believed had to be Rob returning from a call.
00:19:27They made freeze frames of the vehicles.
00:19:30We spoke to all the business owners, went door to door, showing them a packet that I had created of all the vehicles that have traveled east and west.
00:19:37And everybody identifies either their car or somebody else's car, and they all should have been in the area at the time?
00:19:44Yes.
00:19:45Except a motorcycle?
00:19:46Except a motorcycle.
00:19:47There it was.
00:19:50The one vehicle no one was able to identify.
00:19:53The one that seemed to have no business being there.
00:19:56When you look at the motorcycle and the rider, are you thinking there's our killer?
00:20:00It could have been somebody who was driving down the street.
00:20:03It was a Sunday afternoon.
00:20:04They were out for a motorcycle ride.
00:20:06But it was something we needed to definitely look into to try and eliminate.
00:20:09Trouble was, they couldn't eliminate the motorcycle rider.
00:20:13Couldn't find him either.
00:20:15So you're kind of nowhere at that point.
00:20:17Yes.
00:20:18We're looking for anything to lead us in the right direction.
00:20:21And then you get a phone call.
00:20:22Yes.
00:20:23Coming up, strange vibes from one half of the perfect couple.
00:20:30She was like, oh, like a fake surprise look.
00:20:34And I was like, oh, that was weird.
00:20:37When Dateline Secrets Uncovered continues.
00:20:49Welcome back to Dateline Secrets Uncovered.
00:20:52I'm Craig Melvin.
00:20:53Rob Lamone was murdered at work.
00:20:55The only lead investigators had not eliminated was grainy video of an unidentified motorcycle
00:21:01near the scene.
00:21:02Now, police were about to get a big break.
00:21:06Turns out, someone had a secret to share and a conscience to clear.
00:21:12Back to Josh Mankiewicz with Deadly Mirage.
00:21:17Rob and Sabrina Lamone were living a picture-perfect life.
00:21:21Or were they?
00:21:24I feel numb.
00:21:25And you know what?
00:21:26I feel like God has crushed me and he has gotten my attention.
00:21:30Almost two weeks after Rob was shot to death, his best friend Jason received a voicemail message.
00:21:37I am begging you on my knees right now that I could perhaps meet with you and your wife and say sorry for the hurt that I caused you.
00:21:52And it's Jonathan apologizing not only to me but to my wife and he wants to be right with God.
00:22:01Wait, back up a second.
00:22:02Who's this guy Jonathan?
00:22:04I used to work with Jonathan in the fire department and he was an apprentice and he was a paramedic.
00:22:12He was a very good paramedic and a really smart individual.
00:22:16And handsome and young.
00:22:19Jonathan Hearn was only 24.
00:22:21This is his oldest sister Nicole.
00:22:24My brother was the gentlest and the kindest person that I had ever met.
00:22:28One of six siblings.
00:22:30All raised in Hesperia, California.
00:22:33Another desert town 25 miles south of Silver Lakes.
00:22:37Jonathan grew up in a Christian household where the emphasis was on helping those in need.
00:22:44Our faith was always not really a supplement to our life but it was the foundation of our life.
00:22:52Jonathan was homeschooled and later went off to the fire academy.
00:22:57When Jason met him he was in training but soon after Jonathan became a full-fledged firefighter.
00:23:03One of his responsibilities was to buy food and supplies for the fire station.
00:23:08Which made him a frequent customer at Costco.
00:23:11The same Costco where Sabrina Lamone worked.
00:23:15Passing out free samples.
00:23:17Sabrina told us like hey I met one of the guys you used to work with.
00:23:21And I'm like oh that's got to be Jonathan Hearn.
00:23:23Smartest guy.
00:23:24I mean one of the smartest guys I've ever met.
00:23:26That was 2012.
00:23:28Early the following year Jason and Kelly ran into Jonathan at a wolf pack party.
00:23:33And I was like oh you know Sabrina.
00:23:35So I called at her from across the bar and I said hey Brina Jonathan's here.
00:23:40And um now Sabrina's normally like a oh hi like very animated kind of person.
00:23:47And this time she was like oh like a fake surprise look.
00:23:51And you noticed that.
00:23:52And I noticed it and I was like oh that was weird.
00:23:57Just about then Rob came by.
00:24:00And I said hey Rob do you know Jonathan.
00:24:03Sabrina's told me about him at work.
00:24:05She knows him from Costco.
00:24:06And he looked at me like confused and he goes yeah.
00:24:09Yeah Kel.
00:24:10But like he really didn't.
00:24:13Something was up but Kelly couldn't figure out what it was.
00:24:17I had no idea but something wasn't right.
00:24:20Something was not right.
00:24:22Nevertheless the wolf pack partied on.
00:24:25Jonathan hung out with us and started mingling with friends.
00:24:29Talking to him.
00:24:30Then in the days following the party.
00:24:33I started getting text messages from Jonathan.
00:24:36You know you guys are so cool.
00:24:37I would love to come hang out with you guys.
00:24:39And I was like oh okay yeah sure.
00:24:41Someday we could do that Jonathan cool.
00:24:43But then the text messages started coming every couple days.
00:24:48And then to the point where they're coming every day.
00:24:50He's like doing everything he can to become part of your circle of friends.
00:24:53Yes.
00:24:54And it was to the point where it was obsessive.
00:24:56One day Rob was helping the Bernatines remodel their home.
00:25:00Jonathan kept texting Jason.
00:25:02Which by now seemed almost routine.
00:25:05Until Jonathan sent a text that did not seem routine.
00:25:09Jason I really need to talk to your buddy Rob.
00:25:12I need his phone number.
00:25:14I went outside and I called Jonathan.
00:25:16And I asked him like Jonathan what's up man?
00:25:20Why do you want to talk to Rob?
00:25:21That's your radar that's going off.
00:25:23Yeah my radar finally goes off.
00:25:25And he says Jason I'm sorry but I've been living my life wrong.
00:25:28Jonathan spilled it.
00:25:30He wasn't just a would-be wolf packer.
00:25:33This deeply religious man had something to confess.
00:25:37So I go inside the house and I tell Rob I don't know how to tell you this Rob.
00:25:41But I got Jonathan Hearn on my phone.
00:25:43Apparently he's been having an affair with Sabrina.
00:25:46An enormous surprise to Jason.
00:25:49But not it seemed to Rob.
00:25:51Who had already figured out his 33 year old wife.
00:25:55Was having an affair with a 24 year old firefighter.
00:25:59And Rob says I know buddy.
00:26:03I know.
00:26:04I found out the other day.
00:26:07Rob told Jason he'd discovered texts Jonathan had sent Sabrina.
00:26:12And became so angry he broke Sabrina's phone.
00:26:15Then Rob agreed to talk with Jonathan.
00:26:18And walked outside.
00:26:19When he came back in I said what's up Rob do we do we need to go handle this.
00:26:23And he said no.
00:26:24No I got a buddy this is we're good.
00:26:26We're good.
00:26:27He said that you know we're Sabrina's really embarrassed.
00:26:32You know please don't tell anybody.
00:26:34Jason and Kelly promised to tell no one.
00:26:37Not even their wolf pack friends.
00:26:39Nobody wants to be embarrassed particularly in front of your friends who sort of look up to you as the perfect couple.
00:26:45Exactly.
00:26:46We didn't want to like damage their reputation or anything.
00:26:49I mean we loved them.
00:26:51Jonathan's text messages stopped.
00:26:54Life went back to normal.
00:26:56Until about a year later Kelly made a quick stop at the Costco.
00:27:00And spotted Jonathan talking with Sabrina.
00:27:03I was upset.
00:27:04I think she could tell I was upset.
00:27:06Kelly told Jason.
00:27:08I was pissed.
00:27:09Jason called Jonathan.
00:27:11And I said Jonathan what the heck are you doing in Costco talking to Sabrina.
00:27:17He starts saying you know Jason I'm sorry it's not like that.
00:27:21Sabrina and I are just friends now.
00:27:24We have a spiritual relationship.
00:27:25And I told him well Jonathan you've had an affair with this woman.
00:27:28You've caused damage to this family.
00:27:30So in the end I tell him never go into her Costco again.
00:27:35And I'm yelling at him emphatically.
00:27:38And he agrees.
00:27:39He says okay.
00:27:40I won't.
00:27:41A few months later Rob Lamone was shot and killed.
00:27:45By someone who was standing right in front of him.
00:27:49Twelve days after that.
00:27:51Jonathan left his cryptic voicemail.
00:27:54God needs me to have a clear.
00:27:56And I want to fix this with you.
00:27:59Fix what?
00:28:00What exactly was going on?
00:28:04Coming up.
00:28:06More secrets behind bedroom doors.
00:28:09Sabrina and Rob had invited another married couple into their group for an open relationship.
00:28:15When Dateline Secrets Uncovered continues.
00:28:19The sudden loss of a spouse.
00:28:30A life partner.
00:28:31Is devastating.
00:28:32And it always brings up a question.
00:28:35When is it okay to move on.
00:28:38And try to find happiness again.
00:28:40After Rob Lamone was murdered.
00:28:43His wife Sabrina faced that question.
00:28:45And to her best friends Kelly and Jason Bernatine.
00:28:48It seemed that someone was all too willing.
00:28:52To help her answer it.
00:28:54Kelly says well you'll never guess who just came and visited Sabrina last night.
00:28:59And I said please no.
00:29:01She says yes it was Jonathan.
00:29:03This is two weeks to the day.
00:29:05After Rob's murder.
00:29:07Jonathan Hearn brought Sabrina flowers.
00:29:11And we're not talking like a little thing of flowers.
00:29:13I mean we're talking like a huge bouquet of flowers.
00:29:15That just happened to be the flowers that were in her wedding bouquet.
00:29:19Jonathan also wrote a letter to Sabrina.
00:29:22Sabrina read it to Kelly.
00:29:24And it talked about what a wonderful man Rob was.
00:29:27And how he wants to be the kind of person that he was.
00:29:31And all these things.
00:29:32And she's reading you the letter like can you believe this jerk.
00:29:34Or she's reading you the letter like isn't this sweet.
00:29:37Isn't this sweet.
00:29:38Listen to this.
00:29:39Listen to how sweet Jonathan is.
00:29:41So I'm trying not to throw up.
00:29:43I'm trying not to scream.
00:29:45I'm just like freaking out.
00:29:48Jonathan had already admitted he'd had an affair with Sabrina a year earlier.
00:29:53But said they'd broken it off.
00:29:56Their relationship now.
00:29:57Purely spiritual.
00:29:59The Bernatines thought it was tasteless at best.
00:30:02For him to be hanging around Sabrina.
00:30:05Just days after Rob was murdered.
00:30:07I said how did that make you feel.
00:30:09The letter.
00:30:10And she said.
00:30:11And she said.
00:30:12Well I don't feel like he has any bad intentions.
00:30:15The Bernatines thought otherwise.
00:30:18Jonathan's obsessive interest in the wolf pack.
00:30:21His affair with Sabrina.
00:30:23His weird voicemail.
00:30:25I started thinking.
00:30:26Who would want Rob dead.
00:30:28Who wanted Rob out of the picture.
00:30:29And the only person that popped into my mind.
00:30:32Was Jonathan Hearn.
00:30:34Jason called the sheriff's department.
00:30:37I told the cops my story.
00:30:38I let them listen to the voicemail.
00:30:40They're concerned.
00:30:42But at the end of everything.
00:30:43They're like.
00:30:44Well you know.
00:30:45Sounds like they had an affair.
00:30:46That's pretty far from murder.
00:30:49Maybe this guy.
00:30:50Is just trying to move in on.
00:30:52On your.
00:30:53Your dead friend's wife.
00:30:55Definitely doesn't mean he killed.
00:30:57Your.
00:30:58Your best friend.
00:30:59And.
00:31:00This might be a guy.
00:31:01You have to learn to live with.
00:31:03And so Jason wondered.
00:31:04If maybe he'd misjudged the whole situation.
00:31:07After all.
00:31:08Jonathan was intelligent.
00:31:10And had his whole life ahead of him.
00:31:12Why would he murder.
00:31:14For Sabrina.
00:31:15Why would he.
00:31:16Why would he throw away his life.
00:31:17Why would he risk that.
00:31:18For a married woman.
00:31:19With two kids.
00:31:20He's young.
00:31:21He has.
00:31:22A.
00:31:23Good career.
00:31:24As a firefighter paramedic.
00:31:25And he's no murderer.
00:31:26And he's not a murderer.
00:31:28I've known him.
00:31:29For a long time.
00:31:30He.
00:31:31He did some bad stuff.
00:31:32But an affair is.
00:31:33Very far from murder.
00:31:34And in this case.
00:31:36Even farther than usual.
00:31:38In this case.
00:31:39Because.
00:31:40Detective Meyer.
00:31:41Had learned something else.
00:31:42About Rob.
00:31:43And Sabrina.
00:31:44A few years prior.
00:31:45Sabrina and Rob.
00:31:46Had invited.
00:31:47Another.
00:31:48Married couple.
00:31:49Into their.
00:31:50Group.
00:31:51For.
00:31:52An open relationship.
00:31:54Between the four of them.
00:31:56And the.
00:31:57That was something.
00:31:58Of a way of life.
00:31:59With those folks.
00:32:00Not sure if exactly.
00:32:01A way of life.
00:32:02But it.
00:32:03You could say.
00:32:04They had met before.
00:32:05And.
00:32:06Swap partners.
00:32:07For the evening.
00:32:08So.
00:32:09If Rob.
00:32:10And Sabrina.
00:32:11Already had.
00:32:12An open relationship.
00:32:13Maybe Sabrina's affair.
00:32:14With Jonathan.
00:32:15Was no big deal.
00:32:16Maybe Jason.
00:32:17And Kelly.
00:32:18Just needed.
00:32:19To get over it.
00:32:20I mean.
00:32:21Look.
00:32:22Okay.
00:32:23The guy's presumptuous.
00:32:24Okay.
00:32:25He's a snake.
00:32:26Okay.
00:32:27He wants you.
00:32:28To sort of.
00:32:29Absolve him.
00:32:30Of this.
00:32:31Burden of guilt.
00:32:32For having had the affair.
00:32:33But none of this.
00:32:34Is that.
00:32:35That's.
00:32:36That's.
00:32:37That's.
00:32:38That's.
00:32:39That's.
00:32:40That's.
00:32:41That's.
00:32:42That's.
00:32:43That's.
00:32:44That's.
00:32:45Absolutely.
00:32:46Still.
00:32:47Jason felt.
00:32:48He had to talk.
00:32:49With Sabrina.
00:32:50About the situation.
00:32:51I explained to her.
00:32:52In detail.
00:32:53All the reasons.
00:32:54I didn't like.
00:32:55Jonathan.
00:32:56And.
00:32:57The conversations.
00:32:58I had.
00:32:59With him.
00:33:00And.
00:33:01How he was texting me.
00:33:02So much.
00:33:03Trying to manipulate me.
00:33:04Of my life.
00:33:05For a reason.
00:33:06What reason.
00:33:07Would that.
00:33:08Possibly be.
00:33:09Coming up.
00:33:11Rob Lamone.
00:33:13Was killed.
00:33:14By a large caliber gun.
00:33:16Jonathan.
00:33:17Had a gun like that.
00:33:18Registered to him.
00:33:19Yes he did.
00:33:20Coincidence.
00:33:21Beyond the indifferent combos.
00:33:22Of the date line.
00:33:23Secrets uncovered.
00:33:24Tateline.
00:33:26Secrets uncovered.
00:33:29Continues.
00:33:33Ever.
00:33:34Since Sabrina.
00:33:35Limoe.
00:33:36Got the news.
00:33:37Rob's.
00:33:38Death.
00:33:39Her big sister.
00:33:40Julie Cordova.
00:33:41Hardly.
00:33:42Left her side.
00:33:43Savannah stayed in her room.
00:33:44A lot.
00:33:45was in crying sabrina was trying to cope with the loss of her husband and having to raise their two
00:33:52kids on her own she's like i don't i don't know what i'm gonna do she was just in a fog she couldn't
00:34:02make decisions think or anything that worried julie but even more worrisome she says was a
00:34:10certain someone who was coming around sabrina and the kids way too soon jonathan hearn he would just
00:34:18show up random you know at times and he wouldn't leave julie unaware of the affair would see him at
00:34:27sabrina's house praying constantly but she says what really caught her attention was this he was
00:34:34cooking in the kitchen and that's what rob did it was like he was moving in and was feeling right at
00:34:43home was i uncomfortable with it yes because that was robert's place you know and now this guy's
00:34:49taking his place yes and brena didn't she didn't like it either who was this guy and what was his
00:34:59reason for coming into sabrina's life sheriff's detective meyer wondered the same thing jason
00:35:05burrentine thought the detective had discounted his suspicions about jonathan hearn but meyer had not
00:35:12in fact he wanted to learn much more about this young firefighter from hesperia california no criminal
00:35:18record that we were able to locate but this was interesting the bullet recovered from rob lamone's head
00:35:25was tested and the results from the lab was somewhere like a 44 caliber to a 45 caliber
00:35:32bullet that killed rob lamone big bullet big gun yes jonathan hearn have a gun like that registered to
00:35:38him yes he did and they found something else registered in his name a yamaha motorcycle we went to the yamaha
00:35:47website checked out some other motorcycles similar in the same year and was able to look at those
00:35:53motorcycles compared to the video that we captured from goodrick road and they were very similar and
00:36:00cops pulled video from this gas station at an intersection in the middle of nowhere what made
00:36:05you look at video from that gas station that would be the easiest path of travel from tachapi to
00:36:12hesperia california we're done with an urn left yes the video showed a motorcyclist pulling up to the gas pump
00:36:19and then walking inside the store this was on the same day rob was killed the time stamp was about
00:36:25an hour after a similar motorcycle was picked up on security footage near the crime scene
00:36:31compared to the same motorcycle with a clothing change same stature knees very high on the gas tank
00:36:38wearing a backpack which the subject was wearing a backpack on goodrick road so at that point in time
00:36:43we believe same motorcycle same subject but with a clothing change so this person stopped somewhere to
00:36:48change clothes yes once inside still wearing a helmet the biker grabbed a drink then appeared to notice
00:36:56the security cameras and looked down detectives by now thought that man had to be jonathan hearn
00:37:05i'm sort of hearing the word search warrant here yes we started looking into phone records when they did
00:37:11they found thousands of calls and texts between jonathan hearn and sabrina limon no surprise since
00:37:20detectives already knew the two had had an affair can you tell what the text messages were or you just
00:37:25know that there were text messages between them not at the time they were having some text conversations
00:37:29back and forth but the content we did not know the communications seemed to stop four months before rob's
00:37:36death but this was interesting jonathan's phone didn't ping anywhere near rob shop the day of the murder
00:37:43and registered zero activity at the time of the murder but in the days before and after there were
00:37:50thousands of texts and calls to and from a number that detectives did not recognize when you run that
00:37:57number who's it come back to it came back to no subscriber information found meaning it's a pay-as-you-go phone
00:38:02a burner possibly yes detectives decided to keep a close eye on jonathan and when they tailed him
00:38:09they watched jonathan throw something away he had driven to a target and dropped some motorcycle pipes
00:38:17off into the dumpster meyer thought perhaps jonathan had changed out his exhaust pipes
00:38:23to make his bike look and sound different it sounds like you're becoming more and more certain that not
00:38:27only did jonathan hearn kill rob lamone but that he used that motorcycle to get to and from the murder yes
00:38:34and now he's trying to cover his tracks yes cover those tracks kelly and jason never did tell
00:38:40sabrina that they talked with detective meyer about jonathan and meyer asked them to please not say
00:38:47anything to anyone it was extremely hard it was it was hell it was absolute hell detective meyer
00:38:55was looking hard at jonathan hearn there was that unfamiliar number that showed up in jonathan's
00:39:02phone records meyer requested the location of that phone and he got it and he didn't stop there
00:39:10i was able to get a wiretap authorized and so we were able to go up on the phones and listen to their
00:39:17conversations when they finally listened their suspicions were confirmed
00:39:22well jonathan was on one end of the call and on the other sabrina lamone hey hey what are you
00:39:31asking no it's okay it was immediately obvious the two were lovers i love you so much my girl
00:39:40i love you i love you so much how many hours of conversations do you think you listen to between
00:39:48sabrina lamone and jonathan her hundreds jonathan often spoke with sabrina from the fire station
00:39:56what are they talking about for most of that time they talked about their future together they talked
00:40:00about god a lot about god's plan for them they also talked about detective meyer i just got a text
00:40:10message from detective meyer and he asked me to call him so i'm going to okay okay okay i just wanted
00:40:22you to be praying i'm going to pray and um god please help us god please help us to be wise help
00:40:33sabrina to have the right words a couple of minutes later sabrina called meyer she asked about the
00:40:39investigation of her husband's murder so there's no there's no information at all honestly i don't have
00:40:47anything and i wish i did but i think we're kind of getting into a dead end which was not true
00:40:54minutes later sabrina called jonathan everything's fine he asked you any questions no questions at all
00:41:02meyer was tickling the wire it's an expression police use giving wiretapped suspects something to
00:41:08talk about while the cops are listening meyer often found himself in the mood to tickle
00:41:16like when he told sabrina police had found dna at the crime scene the best news you've gotten so far
00:41:23really oh gosh that's great that was not true that was a ruse we were using and what happens as a result
00:41:32of that another immediate phone call to jonathan to talk about the possible dna sabrina and jonathan
00:41:40did not exactly rejoice over this apparent break in the case instead it sounded as if they suspected
00:41:46meyer was playing them jonathan even knew the right terminology officers are allowed to use ruse meaning
00:41:54they're allowed to if you want to get information you're allowed to lie to get information you know
00:41:59no no no i mean i yeah that's kind of that's kind of what i feel like it didn't appear that that would be
00:42:05a normal conversation you would have uh in hopes that the suspect would be caught no it wasn't and
00:42:13it was nothing compared to what they'd say next coming up lovers feeling guilty about something
00:42:22i have been a bad girl i feel like i feel the most horrible person in the world
00:42:26i do too when dateline secrets uncovered continues
00:42:31welcome back to dateline secrets uncovered i'm craig melvin a secret wiretap confirmed what
00:42:45investigators had long suspected sabrina limone and jonathan hearn were having an affair with
00:42:52detectives monitoring their every call sabrina and her man left little doubt they were sinful lovers
00:42:59of biblical proportions but did that relationship have anything to do with rob limone's murder
00:43:07back to josh mankowitz with deadly mirage detective randall meyer told sabrina limone there had been a
00:43:15big break in the case dna had been recovered from the scene of her husband's murder of course that
00:43:22wasn't true he just wanted to see how she and her lover jonathan might react sabrina called him
00:43:29immediately but as investigators listened in jonathan seemed to suspect they were being played
00:43:37still the calls continued good morning my lover well good morning
00:43:46they talked about the bible there's a lot of good stuff in there god is so good yeah god is so good
00:43:54including the old testament story of david and bathsheba david yes is a lot like you and i sabrina
00:44:03it's the story of king david and the affair he had with bathsheba who was married to another man
00:44:09after bathsheba became pregnant david tried to cover up the affair but failed and then he even went on to
00:44:15kill the guy like send him into battle and pretty much had him killed off in the bible david and bathsheba
00:44:23eventually married david suffered the consequences of his sin but repented and god forgave him he was
00:44:30someone who committed adultery who had an affair and so he went way out of his way to cover in sin
00:44:38sin was a recurring theme for jonathan and sabrina i have been a bad girl i feel like i feel like the
00:44:45most horrible person in the world i do too i i do too i feel like i see all of my sins and who i've been i
00:44:54see it all laid out in front of me exactly what sins were they talking about by now detectives had
00:45:02shared with kelly and jason some details of the investigation so they knew jonathan hearn was the
00:45:09prime suspect and detectives suspected sabrina as well it was something jason couldn't imagine when he
00:45:17first spoke with police and i told them i bet my life she's not involved absolutely not no way
00:45:26no way if jonathan did this he did it on his own you know sabrina better than he does would you have
00:45:31bet your life that she wasn't involved probably not my life i did not want her to be involved at all
00:45:38i prayed she wasn't but would i bet my life on it no meanwhile detective meyer continued to tickle the
00:45:46wire and while listening to the lovers talk in real time he texted sabrina a photo and she read the text
00:45:55to jonathan sabrina we think this is our guy you recognize this person on the motorcycle jonathan heard
00:46:04that and prayed you were playing sabrina and jonathan like a couple of violins yes that's what we were
00:46:24doing i'm surprised you didn't have sheet music jonathan seemed to realize police were closing in
00:46:31yet was trying to convince himself they were not all they have his dead husband yes
00:46:41sabrina seemed to suspect her phone was being tapped there's a clicking on the phone do you hear it
00:46:47when the lovers said goodbye that night it sounded as if they thought it might be for the last time
00:47:01that night it was the last time we were watching it that night and i think that was an interesting
00:47:09two days after that phone call three months after rob lamone's murder sabrina and jonathan were placed
00:47:17under arrest detective meyer called jason and kelly we got them everything looks good the evidence looks
00:47:26good. And you think, well, this is finally over. That's what we thought. Well, you couldn't have
00:47:31been more wrong. No. Coming up. I know, okay, I know it doesn't look good. No, there's a difference
00:47:41between doesn't look good and absolutely is not good. This is absolutely not good. Sabrina Lamont
00:47:46in the hot seat. Do you plan to kill Rob? No. Oh my God, no. But not for long. Detective Beyer
00:47:54called me and said that he's got some really bad news. When Dateline Secrets Uncovered continues.
00:48:09In late November 2014, Jonathan Hearn pleaded not guilty to the murder of his married lover,
00:48:16Sabrina Lamont's husband, Rob. Sabrina had been arrested too. By now, her friends Jason and
00:48:23Kelly were convinced she belonged behind bars. It was by Sabrina's own actions. She let him
00:48:30into her life, into her house. And then, on the day Sabrina was scheduled to be arraigned.
00:48:36Detective Beyer called me and said that he's got some really bad news, that they're going
00:48:45to release Sabrina. The DA decided there was not enough evidence to charge her. Good case
00:48:51against Jonathan, not as good a case against Sabrina. Yes. How did that feel? Like, that's
00:48:58literally like defeat from the jaws of victory. I mean, you think you got it, and then she's
00:49:03turned loose. That was a tough feeling, obviously. There was circumstantial evidence against Jonathan,
00:49:10like the security video showing a motorcycle that looked like his. But the best evidence against
00:49:16Sabrina came from the wiretap. And in all those hours of conversation, she never once said that
00:49:22she conspired with Jonathan, or even thought he might be the killer. And in hours of intense
00:49:29questioning by detectives, Sabrina never budged. Did you know that he had planned to murder your
00:49:36husband? No. No. You didn't know that? No. I did not know that he planned on murdering Robert.
00:49:46Because he did. I can't. It's like, I want it to just be a lie. You know, like, there's no way.
00:49:54Did you plan to kill his brother? No. Oh my God, no. When did Jonathan tell you he did it?
00:50:00He never told, he never came out. Yes, he did. Yes, he did. Yes, he did. You guys are doing nothing
00:50:05but hiding this thing the whole time. Yes, he did. No. Well, what are you trying to hide?
00:50:13I know. Okay, I know it doesn't look good. No. There's a difference between doesn't look good
00:50:18and absolutely is not good. This is absolutely not good. I understand that. Kelly and Jason were
00:50:25devastated when the DA turned Sabrina loose. We first spoke with them three months.
00:50:30After her release. You think right now, what, she's getting away with murder? Yes. She's getting
00:50:35away with murder right now. The next time we sat down with the Bernatines,
00:50:39they told us their tight circle of friends had all turned on Sabrina. After she was released,
00:50:47what was the effect on the wolf pack? What did the other wolves think?
00:50:51Uh, you know, nothing, nothing's been the same. Were there people in the pack who
00:51:00supported Sabrina who thought that she wasn't guilty of anything? No. So really there was like
00:51:06sort of unanimity among your friends? Yeah. Sabrina told her sister Julie that the wolf pack
00:51:12was mistaken and so were detectives. About her and about Jonathan too. She thought Jonathan
00:51:19couldn't be involved. Mm-hmm. She just couldn't believe it. Could not believe it.
00:51:25Her pack gone. Julie says life grew miserable for her sister. The people out in Silverlakes were so cruel,
00:51:33and Sabrina and the kids couldn't go anywhere. She had to homeschool them. Because the other kids
00:51:38were talking about it. Yes. The other kids would say things. The parents were brutal. And she was,
00:51:44what, sort of a pariah in that community. Yes, she was. Sabrina took her children and relocated
00:51:52more than a hundred miles away. At the same time, Jonathan Hearn was preparing to face trial
00:51:58on charges he'd murdered Sabrina's husband, Rob. Months went by and then years. Kelly and Jason never
00:52:07wavered from their belief that Sabrina Lamone had been involved in her husband's murder.
00:52:12I always had hope that they would, that they would get her somehow. I didn't know how or when,
00:52:17but like I definitely had that hope. Jonathan still hadn't been tried. He was still awaiting trial. We
00:52:24always knew that there was a chance that he might decide to tell the truth and hopes for that day. And
00:52:31it finally came. More than two years after Rob's murder, and just weeks before his own trial was
00:52:39about to start, Jonathan Hearn, who referred to himself as David from the biblical story,
00:52:45told investigators he was ready to talk about Sabrina, his modern-day Bathsheba.
00:52:52Jonathan's story, eagerly awaited by everyone except Sabrina. Coming up. It was a relief and
00:53:03sickening all at once. Must have felt like vindication for the two of you. Definitely.
00:53:08When Dateline Secrets Uncovered continues.
00:53:11Late 2016, firefighter Jonathan Hearn was just weeks away from trial when Detective Randall Meyer
00:53:27heard some unexpected news. Jonathan's attorney approached the district attorney and said that
00:53:33Jonathan could provide information that would lead to the possible prosecution of Sabrina Lamone.
00:53:39Jonathan made a startling confession. Yes, he had fired the gun that killed Rob Lamone. But he
00:53:47hadn't acted alone. Sabrina, he said, wasn't there when the murder occurred. But he said she'd helped
00:53:54him plan it every step of the way. He gave her up. He did. Jonathan said Sabrina wanted Rob out of the
00:54:02picture so she could be with Jonathan. And he said she did not consider divorce to be an option.
00:54:11She was concerned about the perception of the community that she lived in.
00:54:15So murder is better than the stigma of divorce. Yes. Jonathan had no hard evidence to prove Sabrina's
00:54:23involvement. Remember, those wiretap recordings certainly proved an affair.
00:54:28I love you, baby. But there was no explicit mention of a murder plot. This would be Jonathan's word
00:54:39against Sabrina's. The district attorney offered Jonathan a plea agreement in exchange for testifying
00:54:47against Sabrina in court. His murder charge would be reduced to voluntary manslaughter. Jonathan took the
00:54:54deal. His sister, Nicole, said the family believed Jonathan was innocent and had no idea he planned
00:55:00to confess until they got a call from his attorney. I felt like it was so surreal when I heard it. I was
00:55:09shaken to my core. Sabrina and Rob's former best friends, Kelly and Jason Bernatine, were in the
00:55:17courtroom when Jonathan pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. From that moment, we knew that this
00:55:23was real that he just pled guilty and was going to implicate Sabrina. It was a relief and sickening
00:55:30all at once. Jonathan had faced a possible sentence of life without parole. Under the terms of his plea deal,
00:55:38he could be out after less than 25 years. He'll be under the age of 50. He shot a man in the face. I have a hard
00:55:46time with that. It's hard because if that's what we needed to get her and we knew that she was
00:55:52behind this, then what do you do? What do you do? Detective Meyer drove more than a hundred miles
00:56:00to Sabrina's new home to arrest her for the second time. She was confused because she was scheduled to
00:56:07testify in the trial of Jonathan Hearn. Instead, she was a defendant charged with murder. Now we're at the
00:56:16point where our story strays a bit from the biblical tale of David and Bathsheba because there was never
00:56:22any suggestion that Bathsheba played any role in the plot to murder her husband. And in the Bible,
00:56:30David does not roll on Bathsheba in return for a reduced sentence. What was it like to see her in court
00:56:37in shackles? It was awesome. Must have felt like vindication for the two of you. Definitely.
00:56:43She was always very into like her hair and makeup and her clothes and superficial things like that.
00:56:49So knowing that it was probably killing her to be in that state in front of people and cameras
00:56:55was very satisfying also. Very satisfying. Sabrina's sister, Julie, believed she belonged anywhere
00:57:02but jail. Is it conceivable to you that Sabrina played any role in her husband's murder? No.
00:57:08No. She couldn't be talked into it? No. She couldn't be persuaded to do it? She
00:57:12couldn't be manipulated to do it? No. For what? There is no way she would want that for her husband.
00:57:21Good morning everyone. Good morning. Sabrina's trial began in September 2017.
00:57:27It had everything. It had sex, religion, the seemingly perfect beautiful family that had all
00:57:35these secrets. It was tense and emotional. Olivia LaVoice covered
00:57:40the trial for NBC station KGET in Bakersfield. Her station made a last minute decision to stream
00:57:47the trial live on its website. We were blown away by literally thousands
00:57:53of people during the day, all day, were just glued to it. People who were typically watching soap operas
00:58:02now were watching this trial. So Bakersfield probably took a big hit in productivity during
00:58:07this trial. Yes. Throughout this trial you will hear from the mouth of Sabrina Lamont and Jonathan
00:58:13Hearn that they had a purpose. Prosecutor Eric Smith laid out his case for the jury.
00:58:19They had a plan and that plan was to get rid of Robert Lamont. Why? So they could be together.
00:58:27The state presented mountains of evidence of Sabrina and Jonathan's communications before
00:58:33and after the murder. My Jonathan, I love you. Including letters. I love you for the hopes and
00:58:40faith in our future together. I love you for giving me a new perspective on life. Text messages. I am in
00:58:48love with you deeply. A love that I've never felt before. And of course those wiretapped phone calls
00:58:55which often centered around God. God please help us. God please help us to be wise. Help
00:59:03Sabrina to have the right words. It appeared that they were justifying all of their actions through
00:59:09through religion, through prayer and through this promise that they were going to live for God and
00:59:17that God had a purpose for them that they were going to fulfill. According to the state, Sabrina and
00:59:23Jonathan's purpose was to eliminate Rob Lamont so they could embark on a new life together. Of course,
00:59:30there was no smoking gun. The state's case centered on the testimony of an admitted killer who was
00:59:37about to tell the jury everything or so he said. Was he making a true confession or spinning a tale to
00:59:46save himself? It was the moment everyone was waiting for. The testimony you shall give in this
00:59:51matter shall be the truth. The whole truth and nothing but the truth. So help me God? I do. Coming up...
00:59:58I fired the first shot from within the bag. He fell seemingly mortally wounded. Would Jonathan
01:00:05Hearn really turn on the woman he said he loved? When Dateline Secrets Uncovered continues.
01:00:12Sabrina Lamont was on trial for her husband Rob's murder. Testifying against her was the man who
01:00:27pulled the trigger, her former lover, Jonathan Hearn. And his confession was just the start. He had a lot
01:00:35of secrets to spill. According to Jonathan, Rob's life was in danger long before the day he was killed.
01:00:43Back to Josh Minkowitz with Deadly Mirage.
01:00:49It's not every murder trial where the prosecutor asks the jury to believe the words of the admitted
01:00:56killer. But here he was, the star witness for the state, Jonathan Hearn, who would spend the better
01:01:03part of seven days testifying against his former lover, Sabrina Lamont. She seemed very friendly,
01:01:10very nice. Jonathan talked about meeting Sabrina at Costco and asking for her number. He told the jury
01:01:18he didn't learn she was married until later. A fact he said didn't mesh easily with his conservative
01:01:24Christian upbringing. I enjoyed spending time with her, but then there was also the
01:01:30guilt of recognizing that I was doing something immoral. He said there was just something irresistible
01:01:36about this older married woman. I know in most affairs you would assume it's a sexual draw
01:01:45or something along those lines. And with her, while we were engaged in that, there was a lot more than
01:01:52that. In time, he said, Sabrina revealed to him a deep unhappiness in her open marriage to Rob.
01:01:59She expressed to me that he was pretty exploitative and objectifying her. He was willing to pretty
01:02:07much pass her off to any other guy and not really leave the doors of their marriage closed.
01:02:13Jonathan listened, absorbed, and he said his disgust for Rob Lamont grew. Her frustrations with Rob
01:02:23became my frustrations. Her demons became my demons. Jonathan told the jury they spoke about
01:02:29how much easier life would be without Rob. You know, I distinctly remember it coming up in
01:02:36conversation as a joke at first. A joke that quickly took a dark turn. That progressed from humor
01:02:45towards what? Towards an actually a plot to kill her husband. What was the plan for your relationship
01:02:52once he was gone? To in time marry and continue to live our lives together. Jonathan said Sabrina did
01:03:03not want to simply divorce Rob and marry him. She expressed that he would honestly rather be dead
01:03:11than divorced and losing her would essentially kill him. He said they discussed several ways to get rid of
01:03:18Rob and at first settled on poisoning. The proof, Jonathan told the jury, was in the pudding. Banana
01:03:26pudding, to be precise, laced with arsenic he'd purchased. It happened in April of 2014. I made a
01:03:35pretty large batch of banana pudding with Nilla wafers. He said he put a small portion into a plastic
01:03:43container. And stirred in the the arsenic into the pudding. He said Sabrina kept the poisoned pudding in
01:03:51her refrigerator. The plan, he said, was for her to put it in Rob's lunch. But, Jonathan testified, they lost
01:03:59their nerve. She had told him to not eat the pudding because I think she said that she told him the bananas
01:04:08had gone bad in it. By August 2014, he said they had a new plan. Jonathan said Sabrina told him the location
01:04:17of Rob's workplace at the rail yard. He even did a drive-by one day to check it out. Sabrina, he said,
01:04:25told him Rob would be at work on August 17th. Jonathan testified he packed a mask to disguise his face and
01:04:34modified his motorcycle too. Which included using some adhesive flashing to change the color of
01:04:41the tank, the exhaust pipes, and the rear fender. Jonathan said he rode his disguised motorcycle out
01:04:50to Tehachapi. That was him on the security camera video, he said. He told investigators he faked a limp
01:04:57to throw them off. But, he said, once he saw Rob opening the shop's garage door, Jonathan said he felt
01:05:05conflicted about becoming a killer. Obviously, there's some apprehension in the thought of
01:05:12senselessly taking someone's life. Jonathan said he paused before entering so he could pray. There'd been
01:05:20sort of an ongoing narrative of Sabrina and I and seeking purpose in our lives. If a murder could
01:05:29have a catchphrase, said Jonathan, seeking purpose would be it. It was a tagline that essentially we gave
01:05:37to ultimately seeing this relationship through and living the lifestyle that we wanted. After praying,
01:05:45Jonathan said he entered the shop. I fired the first shot. He fell seemingly mortally wounded.
01:05:52Jonathan said he then tried to make it look as if there'd been a robbery, opening cabinet drawers,
01:05:59pulling out papers, and stealing a laptop computer. And then, before he left. I really didn't want to
01:06:06leave him if he wasn't entirely dead. So, he fired a second shot into Rob's head. Jonathan said he
01:06:16returned home and called Sabrina to tell her. I had done it and that everything was about to change.
01:06:25Jonathan told the jury he knew from the start the affair would be found out and he would become a
01:06:31suspect. Did you trust Sabrina to speak appropriately with law enforcement? I did. Why? Frankly, this was
01:06:39the culmination of something we had essentially planned together. And so, perhaps my weakness, my trust,
01:06:47was pretty strong in her. The defense had its own cross-examination of Jonathan. And right off the bat,
01:06:54Sabrina's attorney, Richard Terry, questioned Jonathan's credibility. Like the claim she'd held
01:07:01the poisoned pudding in her refrigerator. Potentially putting her children in danger of eating that pudding,
01:07:10right? If you actually delivered it to her and she knew about it, right? Uh, no, sir. You don't know
01:07:19who's going to get into it or who's going to have access to it, right? If you'd actually given her
01:07:26anything like that, right? Uh, yeah, I was not overseeing the status of her refrigerator.
01:07:33The defense attorney reminded the jury no one benefited more from blaming Sabrina than Jonathan
01:07:39Hearn, who could have received life in prison without parole. Now, under the plea agreement you've
01:07:47entered into, you're only getting 25 years and a few months, right? Uh, yes, sir. Means you'd probably
01:07:55be out before you were even 50 years old then, sir, for after having murdered a man in cold blood. Is that
01:08:01right? Uh, that was definitely cold-blooded, sir. My question was, is you would be out before you were 50
01:08:11years old? Is that right? Uh, that was part of your question, yes, sir. And Jonathan's attorney,
01:08:18Clayton Campbell, sat next to him during his testimony. And Campbell insisted to us, Jonathan's
01:08:25confession was genuine. Jonathan wanted to come clean about what he did from very early on. He
01:08:33knows what he did was wrong. And he felt that maintaining a not guilty plea was dishonest.
01:08:41Challenging Jonathan's credibility was just the start. The defense had its own case to present.
01:08:47And wait until you hear it. That was the bombshell of all bombshells. Coming up,
01:08:54who exactly was on trial here? Did you and Ms. LeMond and her husband and your husband engage in
01:09:03sexual activity together? When Dateline Secrets Uncovered continues.
01:09:09Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. When it came time for the defense to present its case,
01:09:24Sabrina Lamone's attorney, Richard Terry, didn't even try to convince the jury that his client was as
01:09:30wholesome as apple pie. You weren't claiming that Sabrina had been the perfect wife to rob.
01:09:36You weren't claiming that she had never cheated. Nope. You weren't claiming that there had never
01:09:40been an affair with Jonathan Hearn. Nope. You weren't even claiming that Jonathan Hearn hadn't
01:09:45killed Rob Lamone. You were just claiming she didn't have any part in it. Right. Because beyond
01:09:50Jonathan Hearn, there was nothing else that said that she was. This case, said attorney Terry,
01:09:55was really all about Jonathan Hearn. What he said. What he did. And why. He was highly intelligent.
01:10:03And he manipulated Sabrina Lamone. And he decided he knew Sabrina was never going to divorce Robert.
01:10:13But he had to have her. She had to be his.
01:10:18And in his mind, the only way to get that, to have her, was to get rid of Robert.
01:10:29And perhaps, Terry told the jury, Sabrina wasn't the only older married woman to catch Jonathan's eye.
01:10:37He was very smart and just seemed way older than he was.
01:10:43Jennifer Lentz testified she met Jonathan Hearn online. They chatted by text and on the phone.
01:10:51And it was kind of flattering to have someone who was focusing so much attention on you,
01:10:57would that be right? Of course.
01:10:59Attention Jonathan continued to lavish on Jennifer, even after he started sleeping with Sabrina.
01:11:07Even during the time that he's supposedly so madly in love with Sabrina,
01:11:11he's still constantly texting her, sending her pictures, communicating with her.
01:11:18The defense argued Jonathan Hearn was a slick, Bible-quoting predator. Sabrina, his innocent victim.
01:11:24You said that she and Rob...
01:11:27The real head snapper came when the defense argued Sabrina was also a victim of her own supposed best
01:11:33friend, Kelly Bernatine. Remember, she'd suspected Sabrina before almost anyone.
01:11:41Because she'd already lied to me once.
01:11:43On the witness stand, Kelly was forced to admit she didn't just know about the Lamones' open marriage.
01:11:50She and her husband, Jason, participated.
01:11:52Some of her testimony was for mature audiences only.
01:11:57Did you and Ms. Lamone and her husband and your husband engage in sexual activity together?
01:12:06Yes, we did.
01:12:06I'll admit, when I approached this issue with the Bernatines, I was in uncharted territory.
01:12:13You said the two of you had a sexual relationship with Rob and Sabrina?
01:12:17Yes.
01:12:18Yes.
01:12:19But you never had sex with Sabrina and you were never with Rob?
01:12:24No.
01:12:24What am I missing here?
01:12:25Without going into any more detail, that's about as much as I'll tell you.
01:12:30Kelly cleared things up a bit on the witness stand.
01:12:33It was usually Sabrina and I, and then we would go have sex with our husbands.
01:12:39Quite the seething cauldron of passion out there.
01:12:42What else are you going to do in the desert?
01:12:43Rob, I brought you gifts.
01:12:46At trial, the defense attorney suggested Kelly had a grudge against Sabrina.
01:12:52Because Kelly was in love with Rob Lamone.
01:12:55You pointed a finger at your best friend and believe that she's a killer.
01:12:59I do.
01:12:59It's a horrible thing.
01:13:01As far as you know, Sabrina may not have known anything about Jonathan's killing her husband,
01:13:07right?
01:13:08No, I know she knew.
01:13:09I know she knew by her behavior.
01:13:11And because of that feeling, you want to get Sabrina, right?
01:13:15I believe she should pay for his murder.
01:13:19Because you believe she was involved?
01:13:21Yes.
01:13:21And that's because you cared about her husband so deeply, right?
01:13:28I believe I cared about him more than she did.
01:13:31How did Sabrina really feel about Rob and Jonathan?
01:13:36There was only one way to find out.
01:13:38Calling a defendant to testify is always a risk.
01:13:42Sabrina's attorney felt it was one worth taking.
01:13:45She's not slick like Hearn is.
01:13:48She's not articulate like Hearn is.
01:13:51The jury needed to get a better picture of who Sabrina Lamone was.
01:13:54My name's Sabrina Lamone.
01:13:56Sabrina told the jury what had attracted her to Jonathan Hearn.
01:14:00He was like nobody I'd ever met before.
01:14:04He was very, very intelligent.
01:14:07I felt like I was with the human dictionary.
01:14:10Sabrina said at the time she met Jonathan, her husband had been inattentive.
01:14:15She said he was hooked on watching porn and overly fixated on sex.
01:14:20And she said she felt some guilt about their lifestyle.
01:14:24Jonathan, she said, offered something different, something appealing.
01:14:28He would pray with me and be very caring and spiritually focused.
01:14:37Jonathan used religion, Sabrina said, to give himself power over her.
01:14:45Jonathan controlled me through carrying his Bible with him everywhere that he went
01:14:50and using that to guilt me, but also make me feel safe and secure.
01:14:58She admitted it was true that she dreamt about a future with Jonathan.
01:15:03I definitely fantasized with him a lot.
01:15:08Were you in love with Jonathan Hearn?
01:15:13Yes.
01:15:13Did you still love your husband?
01:15:16Yes, I did.
01:15:18Were you wanting to give up your life with Rob to be with Jonathan?
01:15:25No.
01:15:27I had the best of both worlds right there.
01:15:30I didn't, I guess I didn't want to give up either one of them.
01:15:35After Rob's death, she said Jonathan was there for her, someone to lean on.
01:15:39He was like my, he felt like my rock at that moment in time.
01:15:45So then why, asked her attorney, did she conceal her affair with Jonathan from investigators?
01:15:51Because I was embarrassed.
01:15:53I didn't, um, that's something that
01:15:57Robert and I didn't want exposed.
01:16:00Sabrina insisted she never planned to poison her husband with arsenic-laced banana pudding.
01:16:06And when Rob died, she said she had absolutely no idea Jonathan was the killer.
01:16:12Would you allow someone who had killed your husband around your children?
01:16:17No, absolutely not.
01:16:20Had you ever discussed any time from the time you began being involved with Jonathan
01:16:27until the day Robert was killed and after Robert was killed,
01:16:31discussed with him killing your husband?
01:16:35No, I did not.
01:16:36At any time did you discuss about wanting Robert to be gone or dead?
01:16:42No, I never said dead or gone. No, I did not want Robert gone.
01:16:50Kelly and Jason did not buy Sabrina's defense.
01:16:55And as to Rob and Sabrina's open marriage?
01:16:58As far as I know, it was Sabrina's idea, not Rob's.
01:17:01I think Sabrina was using that as an excuse.
01:17:04And she used it against Jonathan to manipulate him.
01:17:09The prosecutor was equally skeptical.
01:17:11Good afternoon, Ms. Lamone.
01:17:12And now it was his turn to cross-examine Sabrina.
01:17:17Coming up.
01:17:18I didn't have permission to go astray from our group.
01:17:25Friends.
01:17:27Was Sabrina Lamone just a cheating wife?
01:17:30It's a lifestyle that I don't expect people to understand.
01:17:33Or a calculating killer?
01:17:36This is not a case of he said, she said.
01:17:40This is a case of he said, she lied.
01:17:42Sabrina Lamone told the jury she'd had no knowledge of or involvement in her husband Rob's murder.
01:18:04Now it was prosecutor Eric Smith's turn to cross-examine her.
01:18:07He used the huge trove of phone records, wiretapped calls, and texts to find plenty of evidence which he said undermined Sabrina's story.
01:18:18Including all the time she spent on the phone with her lover Jonathan Hearn.
01:18:23On the very day he murdered her husband.
01:18:26I added it up. 223 minutes. Three hours and 45 minutes you talked with Jonathan Hearn prior to him leaving to go kill your husband.
01:18:38I did not know he was leaving to go kill my husband.
01:18:41Remember, Sabrina claimed she never wanted her husband gone.
01:18:46She said she had the best of both worlds. A good husband and a younger lover.
01:18:52I guess I didn't want to give up either one of them.
01:18:54Okay, but then why, in her texts, did she seem so happy to embark on a new life with Jonathan?
01:19:02Just after Rob's murder. Like when she wrote to him, I feel super blessed.
01:19:09So, 25 days after your husband was killed, you felt super blessed?
01:19:15No, I didn't.
01:19:17Okay. Well, what you wrote at the time, you felt super blessed.
01:19:22Well, I wasn't.
01:19:24And another text on that same day.
01:19:28I got something practical for you today in town.
01:19:32It will one day be something we share in our home.
01:19:37I don't remember what that was or why I wrote that.
01:19:42Well, wouldn't it make sense that you wrote that because you bought something
01:19:46to share in your home with Jonathan?
01:19:49That's what it sounds like there.
01:19:51According to the prosecutor, there was only one explanation for those texts.
01:19:57From all the texts we've just gone through recently, you had replaced Robert in essence.
01:20:01No, there's no replacing Robert ever.
01:20:03The prosecutor asked why, considering the relaxed rules of their marriage, she'd have to lie about
01:20:12her affair with Jonathan.
01:20:14Silver Lakes is a small community, is it not?
01:20:18Yes, it is.
01:20:19Everybody knows everybody's business, do they not?
01:20:22Um, yes, everybody's, uh.
01:20:25Um, so this concept that somehow you were concerned that other people would find out about it,
01:20:31everybody already knew about your lifestyle in Silver Lakes, did they not?
01:20:35Well, they weren't in the bedroom with us.
01:20:37Okay.
01:20:39We didn't invite all of Silver Lakes over.
01:20:41In her corner of Silver Lakes, she said, marriages may have been open, but affairs
01:20:48needed prior approval.
01:20:50I didn't have permission to go astray from our group.
01:20:59Friends.
01:20:59So now it's your testimony that you had to be given permission to sleep around?
01:21:04Yes.
01:21:06Who had to give you that permission?
01:21:08Robert.
01:21:10He controlled you.
01:21:12He was my husband.
01:21:14But he did not control me.
01:21:17It's a lifestyle that I don't expect people to understand.
01:21:21Well, your testimony is that everybody else decides everything that you do.
01:21:25Is that your testimony now?
01:21:26No.
01:21:28Okay.
01:21:28Jonathan Hearn controlled you.
01:21:29That was your testimony yesterday.
01:21:31No, Jonathan Hearn was controlling.
01:21:34Okay.
01:21:35Now your husband controls you.
01:21:36That's your testimony today.
01:21:38No, my husband was my husband.
01:21:39Okay.
01:21:40Do you make decisions on your own at any point?
01:21:43Um, yes, I sure do.
01:21:47Apparently many bad ones.
01:21:50Was Sabrina Lamone guilty of nothing more than colossally poor judgment?
01:21:55Or of something much more sinister?
01:21:59Each side made its closing arguments.
01:22:01Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
01:22:03Defense attorney Richard Terry reminded the jury the DA didn't have enough to charge Sabrina with
01:22:08anything until Jonathan Hearn pointed the finger at her.
01:22:12And that's when they made their deal with that devil.
01:22:15He, to save his own hide, came in and spun his story.
01:22:22Prosecutor Eric Smith begged to differ.
01:22:25This is not a case of he said, she said.
01:22:29This is a case of he said, she lied.
01:22:32That's what I'm calling it.
01:22:34She needs to be held accountable for what she did with Jonathan Hearn.
01:22:39She needs to be held accountable for letting her husband suffer.
01:22:43It took the jury less than seven hours to decide Sabrina's fate.
01:22:50We, the jury, and panel to try the above entitled case, find the defendant, Sabrina Lamone,
01:22:55guilty of a felony to wit, murder of Robert Lamone.
01:22:58Guilty of first-degree murder and a litany of other charges, conspiracy, accessory, and solicitation to commit murder.
01:23:09Her only break, the jury found Sabrina not guilty of attempting to murder Rob with arsenic-laced banana pudding.
01:23:19Sabrina's former best friends, Kelly and Jason,
01:23:22say they felt satisfaction after a long fight to prove Sabrina's guilt.
01:23:28I would do it all again for Rob. He, he didn't deserve what happened to him.
01:23:34Rob would have done the same for us.
01:23:35Yeah.
01:23:36We, we know he would.
01:23:38Sabrina was sentenced to 25 years to life.
01:23:42In 2022, an appellate court upheld her conviction.
01:23:45The Supreme Court has also denied her petition for review of the case.
01:23:50Her former lover, Jonathan, could be back on the street very soon.
01:23:54He is eligible for parole in November, 2028.
01:23:58What do Sabrina and Robert's children say about this?
01:24:00They don't believe it, that Brina had anything to do with it.
01:24:05They know more than we...
01:24:06Wish they did.
01:24:08Kelly and Jason are now divorced.
01:24:14The wolf pack still exists, still hangs out, and still gathers to remember Rob Lamone.
01:24:21The lake remains their little oasis, but it's no longer the happiest place in the high desert.
01:24:28I look back at pictures and I see, like, we're just such a fun, loving group of people.
01:24:35After this, it's like, you can barely trust anyone.
01:24:38And, you know, things, things just change.
01:24:44I mean, she, she broke all of our hearts.
01:24:46Not only were we just so devastated finding out who she really was, but we missed Rob so much.
01:24:56For this edition of Dateline Secrets Uncovered, I'm Craig Melvin.
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