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00:00a troubled young couple falls madly in love he completed me maybe we can get married they're
00:10determined to build a life together until obsession tears them apart she was a monster
00:16I'm thinking I married a hot mess the romance becomes a powder keg of drama and mistrust it
00:26was almost like they were in this hole that they couldn't get out of and it's about to explode somebody
00:31was gonna get killed not all fairy tales have happy endings when love goes wrong a woman can
00:44do the unthinkable in a sunny coastal beach town outside San Diego California a nine-year-old girl
00:58is hiding inside a dark closet her name is Jamie Santos and she's terrified as she listens to the
01:05turmoil on the other side of the wall it wasn't a very good living situation I remember arguments
01:25and fights it scared me hearing the yelling but I probably was scared of what else my father was
01:32gonna do the fighting gets so intense that Jamie finds herself escaping to her closet almost every
01:38night I remember doing a lot of self comforting telling myself it would be okay five years later
01:47Jamie's a teenager and she's developed an obsession to suppress the hurt over her broken family it
01:55started with cleaning the house chores overdoing chores repetitive cleaning continuously
02:01dr. Casey Jordan studies criminal behavior when Jamie hears her parents fighting she has this
02:10sense of powerlessness and as a child she can only control what she can control and in this case it manifests
02:17itself through cleaning and organization it is a very addictive coping mechanism Jamie's parents get
02:26divorced her father moves to the east coast to start a new life and Jamie stays with her mother
02:32unfortunately according to Jamie her home life becomes even more of a nightmare she goes from bystander to
02:41victim when they had gotten a divorce my mom became very verbally abusive very controlling I think she had an anger
02:51her father towards my father because of their marriage and what her lifestyle looked like and I believe it was
02:56transferred to me did you ever try to talk to your mom about how this made you feel I wasn't going to question anything she
03:02did she was my mom you're stupid and you're worthless that's why dad left because he didn't love you enough it's the
03:12beginning of high school and Jamie is looking forward to a fresh start when she bumps into Jonathan Rivera the fateful
03:21encounter will change both of their lives forever I've seen you before yeah I'm sure you've seen me before he was sweet he was
03:31thoughtful um he played baseball I'm Jamie nice to meet you Jamie officially nice to meet you officially
03:40like Jamie Jonathan's had a hard childhood my parents divorce affected Jonathan greatly it was unexpected we
03:48woke up one morning and our dad was gone both Jamie and Jonathan come from broken homes both of them crave love
03:57and attention and now destiny has brought them together after just a few weeks Jonathan sweeps Jamie off her feet and
04:06it goes from puppy love to something much deeper Jamie's convinced she's found her soulmate I never had any
04:15boyfriends and here was this boy who bought me gifts and wanted to spend time with me it was nice to have the
04:24affection and the attention of someone anyone because I never had that
04:32For the next year Jonathan and Jamie are glued at the hip and it feels like a match made in heaven
04:44They would take pictures together they would go out all the time she always wanted to be with him that was it she never wanted to go home
04:52it was almost as if they filled each other's void because they knew what they had gone through and that made them closer together
05:00although Jamie's high school romance is blossoming it's a thorny situation back home her mother's embracing single life fully and Jamie's feeling neglected
05:14By this time my mom was either dating we're going to happy hour going to nightclubs she would always say if I didn't like it that I can leave and I thought great I don't like it here so I'll leave
05:26mom I'm leaving I was able to pack in five seconds whatever it was I needed emergency bag I used to call it where did you go Jamie to Jonathan's house
05:36When Jamie's mother tells her that she's worthless and should just get out Jamie calls her out on it and does exactly that she leaves and she does this as a show of strength
05:46You can't control Jamie and if you try she will exercise her autonomy
05:54Before long Jamie is spending nearly every night at Jonathan's and the Rivera's become her new family
06:01Hi
06:03My personal relationship with Jamie was good because I understood the problem that Jamie had. I understood it and she never felt respect for me. She's a good tutor.
06:17I wanted her as if it were my daughter. When Jamie came to the house, I saw that Jamie had a stability. What she needed, what she needed, she found her in the house.
06:23When Jamie came to the house, I saw that Jamie had a stability. What she needed, she found her in the house.
06:29When Jamie came to the house, she found her in the house, she found her in the house and in the house where I lived.
06:35But this perfect romance starts to fall apart when Jamie senses that her once devoted boyfriend is now pulling away.
06:43And the more she clings, the farther away he slips.
06:47Hang out with the guys. I'll see you later.
06:51But you guys invite me.
06:53I'll see you tonight.
06:54The insecurity kicked in. The thoughts of him talking to other girls kicked in.
07:00So you became the jealous type.
07:03I mean, he's young. He was talking to other girls. And me not knowing how to cope with that. So I became very depressed.
07:12Then one day, Jamie's world comes crashing down when Jonathan makes what she considers an outrageous suggestion.
07:20What? What are you talking about? I don't understand what I'm doing wrong.
07:23We need to see other people.
07:25It was too much for him. He having a living girlfriend at such a young age.
07:30Jamie convinces herself that Jonathan just needs to sow his wild oats and that in time he'll come running back to her.
07:47It was just a need of making him happy or not being a person without him.
07:55With nowhere else to go, Jamie's forced to move back in with her mom.
08:01Two weeks later, she decides to pay Jonathan a surprise visit.
08:06But the surprise turns ugly when she walks in on Jonathan hanging out with another girl.
08:13Jamie instantly sees red.
08:16What the hell is going on here?
08:18What am I doing here?
08:20Seeing Jonathan with someone else triggers a wild reaction that no one could have predicted.
08:27What are you doing?
08:29Get the hell off of me.
08:30We need to see other people.
08:44Sixteen-year-old Jamie Santos is devastated when her boyfriend Jonathan wants to date other people.
08:51I'm sorry.
08:53So when she discovers him with another girl, she flies into a jealous rage.
08:59What am I doing here? Who the hell are you? Who the hell?
09:01Who the hell are you? Who the hell are you? Who the hell are you? Who the hell are you? Who the hell are you?
09:13Jamie pummeled her and pummeled him. That was the first time I saw any violence from Jamie.
09:18Jamie erupts into violence because she has put all her eggs in one basket with Jonathan.
09:24She relies on him completely for all of her emotional needs.
09:28So what should be a normal teenage breakup, in her mind, is complete rejection and abandonment.
09:34The violent outburst shocks Jonathan to the core.
09:38He decides Jamie's way too possessive, and this time he breaks things off for good.
09:44I'm done with this. You're out of your mind. You know that?
09:47Jamie is crushed.
09:49I just remember he saying that he no longer wanted to be with me and just feeling so broken.
09:55I lost my boyfriend, the one who comforted me when my mom would kick me out.
10:00The only comfort I knew.
10:03I no longer want to live.
10:06So, I remember taking a whole bunch of Tylenol.
10:12Then, she makes a desperate call for help.
10:21Did you really want to die, or were you creating a scenario where you would have an excuse to call the man who had just dumped you?
10:27That's exactly what I did.
10:29I called Jonathan.
10:30It was so he could come back into my life and maybe he'll feel bad.
10:35Jonathan was kind of the boy that always came to my rescue.
10:40You have to come here right now.
10:44It was my comfort zone.
10:45I need you.
10:47You have to help me.
10:49I called him, and he said that he needed to bring me to the hospital.
10:56And then they ended up making me drink charcoal.
10:59Once the drugs are out of her system, Jamie is sent to a mental facility for evaluation.
11:05What was the diagnosis at the end of your seven days stay in the psych ward?
11:10I was so manipulative that I didn't get a diagnosis.
11:14It was a really stupid thing to do, and I'm sorry.
11:17I told him I recognized what was wrong, and it wasn't a good thing for me to do.
11:23I don't want to die.
11:25I learned how to play a part of telling people what they want to hear.
11:30Being at home, I'll feel a lot better because I really feel like I have a better support system there.
11:35The suicide attempt is a last-ditch effort to hold on to Jonathan, and it fails miserably.
11:42The fact that Jamie is willing to go to such extremes to hang on to Jonathan ties directly back to her feelings of abandonment when her dad walked out.
11:52But this is more than just a cry for help.
11:55If Jamie is willing to hurt herself, then she could have the potential to hurt others to keep them from leaving her.
12:04Broken-hearted and lonely, Jamie is once again living with her mother.
12:08She starts ditching school and hanging with the wrong crowd.
12:13Pretty soon, she finds a way to take her mind off Jonathan.
12:19Shoplifting.
12:26Explain to me what you were stealing and why you were stealing it.
12:28Most of the time it was clothes, shoes.
12:31It was just not caring, not having a conscious of anything I was doing.
12:36Not looking at how destructive it was to me.
12:39I didn't have that monitor that I needed, a parent that I needed.
12:43It was free-brain.
12:45Whatever I wanted to do, free-brain.
12:48The disarray of her life has simply left her feeling lost and lonely.
12:52So this gives her a false sense of power, and it fills the void.
12:56It's really just another example of her compulsive behavior.
13:01Jamie and her partner in crime become expert shoplifters,
13:06stealing hundreds of dollars of merchandise.
13:09I'm here, can you help?
13:10Until one day, their crimes catch up to them.
13:13Ladies, come here.
13:15You had to know that the jig would be up eventually.
13:17I mean, nobody gets away with it forever.
13:19No, I thought I was good at everything.
13:21I was good at manipulating with my words.
13:24I was good with stealing.
13:26When I found out that Jamie was shoplifting, I was shocked.
13:30That's something that I didn't expect of her.
13:33I don't think anybody did.
13:36Jamie ends up getting six months of probation.
13:40I was in the system, so now I had a real monitor,
13:45somebody watching me, making sure I'm going to school,
13:48making sure I'm not drinking, doing drugs.
13:52The punishment doesn't reign in this rebellious teen.
13:55Jamie violates her probation multiple times
13:58by skipping school and missing her curfew.
14:01In that six-month period, getting incarcerated,
14:04maybe about three times.
14:06The judge is fed up with her.
14:08Right before she turns 18,
14:10he orders Jamie to live with her father in Vermont
14:13and start fresh.
14:16Why on earth would the court send you to your father?
14:19I mean, your mother really was incapable of controlling you?
14:23I guess she admitted to that,
14:25and then she agreed to sending me to my father's house.
14:29I heard through her mom that she was getting in trouble.
14:34I didn't know how severe it was.
14:36It wasn't because she wanted something
14:38and didn't have the money for it.
14:40It was more of an attention getter.
14:42It's been more than five years since Jamie has seen her father.
14:46I was a little nervous, but when I got there,
14:51it was the open arms.
14:52He was different at this time.
14:54You like it?
14:55Yeah.
14:56Jamie's father has since gotten remarried.
14:58Hi, Jamie.
14:59Good.
15:00Nice to meet you.
15:01My current wife and I have two boys,
15:03and everything was great.
15:04Things were looking up.
15:05Oh, thank you.
15:06I felt like I needed to take a step back
15:09and deal with the situation because this was Jamie.
15:12It was good.
15:13My daughter.
15:15It was definitely a second chance to be a father, a dad to Jamie,
15:19and I took advantage of it full force.
15:23Just wanted to let you know it's not going to be a free ride.
15:26Jamie's father is determined to give his daughter love,
15:29support, and guidance.
15:31And that includes laying down some ground rules.
15:34There's a couple of things, though.
15:36You want to make sure that you help out around the house
15:39because Betty needs a lot of help with the kids
15:41and taking care of this house.
15:43So talk to me about landing in Vermont
15:45with your new changed father.
15:48I mean, it sounds like a great opportunity
15:50to leave your old self behind.
15:52Yeah.
15:53What happened once you got to Vermont?
15:55Well, I got a job.
15:58To spend more quality time with his daughter,
16:01Jamie's father gets her hired at a catering company
16:03where he works.
16:05I worked for a company where we did banquets
16:08for up to 500 people,
16:10and I thought this could help her out.
16:12Could teach her a little bit of responsibilities
16:14and, you know, learning how to earn money and save it.
16:17She did great.
16:18She was awesome.
16:19She had a great time.
16:20Looks like you're doing a great job here.
16:22Oh, thanks, Dad.
16:23Yeah?
16:24Yeah.
16:25You're my best.
16:26I wanted that father figure, you know,
16:29throughout my teenage years, and I finally had it.
16:31I had my dad in my life.
16:33But it didn't calm you down.
16:35Mm-mm.
16:36No.
16:37Jamie starts sneaking out of the house
16:40and into a lifestyle of partying and drugs.
16:43I partied a lot with older people, you know, 18 years old,
16:47and I have friends who are in their 30s,
16:49taking me to clubs and bars.
16:52My father knew I was out and about doing bad things,
16:56and he would go search the streets for me.
16:59I felt bad a little bit, but it was such an embedded behavior
17:04that it was about me and what I wanted to do.
17:08I knew that I had these behaviors,
17:11but I didn't know how to change them.
17:13Jamie's father finally reaches his breaking point.
17:19I didn't hear anything from her.
17:22She knew that she had to call me at a certain time.
17:24She did.
17:25And she comes walking in that particular morning,
17:28like at 6.30, as if nothing had happened.
17:31So in a very compassionate, very strict way,
17:36I made her aware that that was never going to happen again.
17:40That's it.
17:41You've heard what I've had to say.
17:42You know the rules.
17:43Come on, Dad.
17:44You're being unreasonable.
17:45Zero tolerance.
17:46I'm done.
17:47All Jamie hears is someone trying to control her,
17:49and this wild teen's not about to be tamed.
17:53I was missing home.
17:54It was becoming too much for me, the lifestyle.
17:56I just started getting tired.
17:58Jamie's left with only one option.
18:03She calls her mother for help.
18:05Her mother agrees to buy Jamie a ticket back to California.
18:09Dad is driving me crazy.
18:11Jamie heads home, hoping to turn her life around.
18:15She moves back in with her mom,
18:18but she's haunted by memories of her ex-boyfriend, Jonathan.
18:22He still has my heart, and I still love him.
18:25He just had a part of me.
18:27It's been a year since Jamie last saw Jonathan,
18:30and she's nervous about seeing him again.
18:33Hey.
18:34Yeah?
18:35You felt incomplete without Jonathan.
18:37He completed me.
18:39Once they lay eyes on each other,
18:41it's clear the spark still burns bright.
18:47But will it ignite a fire they can't control?
18:5019-year-old Jamie Santos is overjoyed about reuniting with her high school boyfriend.
19:00The troubled teen is finally getting her life on track.
19:03When you saw him, was it like, from across a crowded room, shhh, like you knew this was the guy?
19:13Um, it was, actually.
19:14I mean, mutually.
19:15It was like, okay, we're done running around and living our lives, and now we're together again.
19:19It's almost like nothing's changed.
19:20Just two weeks after getting back together, Jamie officially moves back in with Jonathan and his family.
19:26Jamie wants to change, and she's craving stability.
19:29She knows that when left to her own devices, she gets in over her head.
19:34By moving back in with Jonathan and his family, she's trying to re-establish that life she once knew,
19:41but this time, with a more adult perspective.
19:44It's almost like nothing's changed.
19:47Just two weeks after getting back together, Jamie officially moves back in with Jonathan and his family.
19:52Jamie wants to change, and she's craving stability.
19:55She knows that when left to her own devices, she gets in over her head.
19:58By moving back in with Jonathan and his family, she's trying to re-establish that life she once knew,
20:03and she's trying to re-establish that life.
20:06A year goes by, and things are going well for the young couple.
20:10Jamie continues to hold a steady job, while Jonathan finally decides to pursue his dream of joining the Army Reserves.
20:18He always wanted to be in the Army.
20:20I think that Jonathan was attracted to the discipline of the Army and what he can gain from it.
20:26Before he heads off to boot camp, Jonathan and Jamie seal their fate.
20:30I love you so much, you know?
20:32I love you so much, too.
20:34Maybe we can get married.
20:36I mean, think about it.
20:38You really want?
20:39Are you serious?
20:40I was excited, the fact that we can actually be together and be married, and that it wouldn't end.
20:47Jamie can't wait to be a military wife.
20:50The young couple throws an informal ceremony the following month.
20:54It's the happiest day of Jamie's life.
20:57I remember the wedding of Jonathan and Jamie.
21:02They were happy that day.
21:04They were happy.
21:06We went to church.
21:08Then we went to a restaurant for food.
21:10Go for food.
21:11They are happy.
21:13Then several weeks later, Jamie finds out she's pregnant.
21:19The new bride is excited and terrified.
21:22I knew if I was going to have a child that I had to change in some sort of way.
21:32And I think it was more fear that I wouldn't be able to, that I wouldn't be able to raise
21:40my child in a living home.
21:43I didn't want my child to grow up with the things that I grew up with.
21:49Jamie is now married to the man of her dreams, and you'd think that she would be so excited
21:54about starting a new family.
21:56But she still has all of that childhood trauma, and it's left her deeply insecure, so she needs
22:02constant reassurance from Jonathan that not only is she a good mother, but that he is
22:07in it for the long run.
22:09What's up?
22:12I'm pregnant.
22:17That's great.
22:18Luckily, Jonathan is thrilled.
22:23He always wanted to be a father.
22:24He wanted to give his kids what he didn't have growing up, whether it was love, attention,
22:30affection, whatever it is.
22:31He wanted to be the father that he always wanted as a child.
22:39And his excitement is contagious.
22:42After Jamie's first sonogram, she catches the bug.
22:44My doctor told me, as a boy, I see everything, his head, his stomach, everything.
22:53I'm bringing somebody into this world that I'm going to have an impact on.
22:58And I can choose to allow him to go through what I went through, or I can make it different.
23:04For once in her life, Jamie's got direction and purpose.
23:09So it's kind of an ideal situation.
23:11I'm pregnant with my husband who's in the military.
23:14I'm living with his family.
23:16I'm good friends with his mom.
23:18I'm not drinking.
23:19I'm not stealing.
23:24Jamie and Jonathan get their own apartment next door to his family.
23:28And on February 19, 2000, they welcome a beautiful boy named Aiden.
23:33But as Jonathan and Jamie navigate the challenges of parenthood, they struggle to stay afloat financially.
23:57It puts a strain on their marriage.
24:00The Army Reserve's checks cover just a fraction of their bills.
24:05I've been thinking about, I know the job, right?
24:07Yes, you do.
24:09It was consistent money coming in, but it wasn't a reliable source.
24:13No, we are way behind.
24:15We missed another payment again.
24:18I did receive financial aid for the things like the formula.
24:23Jonathan is set on working full time, so his goal is to look for a job and me stay home with a baby.
24:30Jonathan finally lands a job working the graveyard shift as a mall security guard.
24:40It helps ease the burden, but for Jamie, it's not enough.
24:44This isn't what she signed up for.
24:47I can't believe I married a security guard.
24:51It's sounding to me like you are doing to him what your mother did to you, withholding love and using tear-down tactics to humiliate him and to make him feel insufficient, unworthy of your love until he proves himself.
25:06You're exactly right, and I turned into my mother.
25:10Go ahead, drink up Father of the Year.
25:12I feel that a lot of my behaviors have impacted people, especially him.
25:17You know, that he drank a lot more because of me.
25:20I was putting out stress.
25:22I was demeaning.
25:23I was hurting him.
25:25Then, according to Jamie, Jonathan comes up with a scheme to score some extra cash.
25:31So I have access to the front office, and there's gift cards there.
25:39I know how to put money on them and activate them.
25:43Being a security guard, you have access to the business office and the mall.
25:46And he had seen a stack of gift cards and instructions on how to activate them.
25:52And so he ended up activating them and putting thousands of dollars on them.
25:58But Jonathan's family claims that both of them came up with the scheme together.
26:03Jonathan and Jamie had planned it out because they were struggling and they wanted to buy diapers,
26:08and some things that they needed for aid.
26:11It was really unlike his character to do something like this.
26:14You should get a bunch right now.
26:16We need this.
26:17We need to take care of our baby.
26:20Regardless of whose idea it was, Jamie goes out and happily shops like a proper housewife.
26:27But this risky plan could land both of them in jail and shatter their family forever.
26:38After their baby boy is born, Jonathan and Jamie Rivera are like any young couple adjusting to parenthood.
26:50Go ahead, drink up Father of the Year.
26:52Except that this couple is using stolen gift cards to pay the bills.
26:56And they're about to suffer the consequences.
27:03I get a knock on the door at 2 in the morning from police officers.
27:12The first thing they told me was, we have Jonathan in custody.
27:17Sir, what's going on? Is everything okay?
27:19Well, Jonathan's in a little bit of trouble.
27:21Santos, do you mind if we just come in and we can talk about it?
27:25Based on the time the gift cards were activated, officers were able to pin the blame on the only security guard on duty that night, Jonathan.
27:34He took the rap. He said he was fully responsible.
27:41Jonathan is charged with grand larceny and is immediately fired from his job.
27:49But he ends up getting a lucky break.
27:52The mall takes pity on him and doesn't press charges.
27:55It was his first time getting arrested, so it was just a slap on the hand.
28:00Jonathan's also allowed to stay in the military and receives just six months probation.
28:06What are you thinking through all of this?
28:08I'm thinking I married a hot mess who decided he wanted to steal and ruin his chance with the military.
28:17So I thought I married someone who was going to be better than I was.
28:22Do you think Jonathan was thinking I married a hot mess?
28:25Oh, yeah. I'm sure. The feelings were mutual.
28:29Jamie gets a full-time retail job and Jonathan gets hired as a cab driver, but tensions still run high.
28:38Jamie slips back into old habits and turns away from her husband when the marriage begins to crumble.
28:45Where are you going?
28:46I'm going out.
28:47What do you mean you're going out?
28:49I'm going out with my girlfriend.
28:51I partied a lot and he ended up becoming a babysitter.
28:54And the arguments of you can't go out, you're a mom.
28:58You can't go out and spend your money at clubs or drinking and me saying, yes, I can.
29:04I'm not going to spend your money. I have other people who can pay for my drinks.
29:08Oh, really?
29:09And I'm going to do it and watch me do it.
29:12And when he tried to control me, I felt like I was back at home with my mom again.
29:18And I didn't like the way that felt.
29:21You can't leave, Jamie. We have a child.
29:24This isn't surprising at all.
29:26Jamie is simply modeling the behavior of her mother that she witnessed growing up.
29:31And remember, she's still very young and she had to grow up fast once that baby arrived.
29:36So now you see her trying to exert her independence and reclaim that lost freedom.
29:42While Jamie's out partying, her husband is apparently finding his own ways to amuse himself.
29:48According to Jamie, she discovers that Jonathan's been trolling pornographic websites.
29:54I think that's an open door for cheating. It eventually does not become enough.
29:59Jamie is horrified and demands an explanation.
30:02Jonathan! Jonathan, get your ass in here right now! Hurry up!
30:07Baby's sleeping. What's wrong with you?
30:09I would have been okay if he admitted it, maybe. But he wouldn't admit it. He would hide it.
30:14You've been looking at porn all day? Is that what you do?
30:18Which didn't paint a good picture of this person that I thought really loved me.
30:22Because if you could lie to me about small things, you could lie to me about big things.
30:27Then the fight turns physical.
30:42Jonathan's family decides to intervene.
30:45I would come over sometimes, and Jonathan would have scratches, or Jamie would have scratches, or the TV would be on the floor.
30:53And it's like, you started to notice that something was going on.
30:58They loved each other, but they were unhappy.
31:00They loved each other, but they needed to fight.
31:02They loved Aiden, but they couldn't change.
31:05I felt bad for Jonathan because I knew he was going to stick it out because he wanted to be there for his son.
31:10You guys cannot keep doing this to each other. This is like...
31:13I told Jonathan the fighting had gotten so out of control that eventually somebody was going to get killed.
31:18And Jonathan was, I got under control. I got under control. And what can you do?
31:25It's fine. This is not fine.
31:28You could tell them both over and over again. Sit them both down. Talk to them. Let them know that they're heading the wrong way.
31:34And you're not going to get nowhere.
31:37It just seems like she was a monster. I don't know why. Because that wasn't the Jamie that I knew.
31:44To deal with the awful truth that her marriage is collapsing, Jamie reverts to her childhood behavior, obsessively cleaning the apartment.
31:55But no matter how hard she scrubs, she can't wipe away her rage and resentment.
32:01This time I'm now depressed. I'm coming up with these stories in my mind of he being on these websites or he meeting different people.
32:11She can't shake the feeling that Jonathan is having an affair.
32:16I was obsessed. I would check the computer daily. It was just constant.
32:24Was leaving ever an option? No.
32:27I was so codependent and didn't have the confidence to leave, even in that circumstance.
32:35Like, he could lie to me and I would have stayed there. I did stay.
32:40One afternoon, Jamie finally finds out what she's been dreading.
32:46This time I discovered conversations with other women.
32:51I read one of them and it said that he could meet her on a Wednesday night because I was going to go out to a club.
32:58And then that he missed kissing her. And then that's when it became real to me.
33:04I knew in my heart that he was always doing something.
33:07Why do you think Jonathan was cheating?
33:10Probably to get the love that he wasn't getting from me.
33:13No matter how much Jamie says that she doesn't want to be like this mother that she disliked so much growing up,
33:20the truth is that it's like a tape inside of her that plays when she's under stress.
33:25She imitates her mother. But now, with Jonathan, she has to pay the consequences.
33:31Jamie's fury goes full tilt.
33:34I pushed him and told him, you need to wake up now. We need to talk.
33:38And I told him I went on the computer.
33:40Who have you been seeing behind my back?
33:42I'm starting to yell and just yelling and ranting and raving. And he got himself a drink.
33:49And I'm still yelling. I can't believe this. I'm in shock.
33:53Jonathan says nothing, which enrages Jamie even more.
33:59I was angry. I was hurt.
34:02You cheat on me. I'm your wife. I have provided a son for you and this is what you give me.
34:08I felt betrayed, that I gave my life to this person, that he promised something to me and he lied to me.
34:19I did feel like a victim, but I didn't realize how much I created that situation.
34:27Finally, Jonathan snaps. This time, he doesn't deny anything, nor does he apologize.
34:36You're never here. I never see you.
34:39He's arguing back, talking about all the years he has given to me, and how long he's stayed.
34:47I'm telling him I want to leave, and he's telling me I can't leave, and I don't want to leave.
34:53And that was always something that he used to say, and which made me feel controlled, like that cornered cat.
35:01Jamie is determined to get her power back.
35:04You're going to live with your mom, your crazy-ass mom, just like you? Huh? Where are you going to go?
35:09Call me crazy.
35:10Well, that's what you are. Look at you.
35:12You make me crazy.
35:13This will be the last fight they'll ever have.
35:16Months of physical fights between Jamie Santos and her husband Jonathan have reached a dangerous edge.
35:37Jamie's just discovered that Jonathan's been cheating on her.
35:41Now she's determined to teach him a lesson.
35:44And I end up grabbing a knife.
35:49Do not touch me!
35:51Do not touch me!
35:52What are you going to do, huh?
35:53Jonathan's mother and sister have been listening to the couple's heated argument in their apartment next door.
35:59What do you hear?
36:00I don't know why they were arguing, but we could clearly hear it through the walls.
36:06You have no money!
36:07You have no car!
36:08You have nothing!
36:09You have nothing!
36:10Initially, I thought I meant to scare him.
36:12I wanted to leave.
36:13I was so emotionally tied to him that I felt like I couldn't breathe or move.
36:19Yes, I did!
36:21Yes, I did!
36:22Yes, I did!
36:23And I stabbed him in the leg.
36:26You're literally cutting the tie that binds?
36:29Yeah.
36:30Which was eventually going to happen.
36:33When I realized it was in his leg, I pulled it out and I dropped it.
36:40And I was, all I could say was like, oh my God, what did I just do?
36:47He gets up, he yells, tells me to call the ambulance, and I'm telling him I'm sorry.
36:56Charlie, what was it?
36:58And he walks to the bathroom.
37:03When he walked into the bathroom, he fell into the tub.
37:09Whenever Jamie is challenged, she always reacts with defiance.
37:13So when Jonathan says, you won't leave, you can't leave, this only makes her more determined
37:19to prove him wrong.
37:21She wants to exert control, so she gets a knife.
37:25Maybe now he will listen.
37:28And we heard this big thud, which just made us just automatically run over there.
37:36We dropped everything.
37:38My stomach was in my throat.
37:41I was like pounding the door, open the door, open the door, open the door.
37:45Where is he?
37:57So I walk towards the bathroom and Jonathan is in the tub, unresponsive, barely breathing.
38:04The blood was seeping in his clothes.
38:06It was just all over the bathroom.
38:08Jonathan's sister finally calls 911.
38:11So here I am shaking.
38:13And my mother is just, I don't know what came over her.
38:16She was just frozen.
38:17She sat on the couch and she was just yelling his name.
38:20Then, in the midst of all the chaos, Jamie decides to leave.
38:36Instantly in my mind, I already knew the cops were going to come.
38:40And they were probably going to draw guns on me.
38:42And the only thing that I could think of was my son.
38:48She takes her son Aiden to a relative's house down the street.
38:53My plan was to get him somewhere safe.
38:58That's it.
38:59And I remember stooping down and hugging my son and telling them that I loved him and that I had to go.
39:07I love him.
39:08I love him.
39:13Please take good care of him.
39:15You better go.
39:16Jamie.
39:17Jamie.
39:22But rather than run away, Jamie goes back to the scene of the crime.
39:26Why not run?
39:28Because something terrible was done by my hands.
39:34It was time to stop.
39:44I said, I'm Jamie.
39:46And I just stabbed my husband.
39:49Come on.
39:50Come on.
39:51Come on.
39:52Come on.
39:53Jamie then learns the shocking truth.
39:55The stab wound was fatal.
39:56Jamie ended up striking a main artery in the thigh, which caused Jonathan to bleed to death.
40:04What am I doing?
40:05Were you expecting that?
40:06No.
40:07I remember telling the officer that he was lying.
40:11That he was lying to me.
40:12I was scared.
40:13I was guilty.
40:14And this person that I loved so much died at my hands.
40:20Lost my brother in the worst way.
40:21Lost my brother in the murder.
40:22Basically.
40:23Basically.
40:24You're not.
40:25You're not.
40:26You're not.
40:27You're not.
40:28You're not.
40:29You're not.
40:30You're not.
40:31You're not.
40:32You're not.
40:33You're not.
40:34You're not.
40:35You're not.
40:36You're not.
40:37You're not.
40:38You're not.
40:39You're not.
40:40You're not.
40:41You're not.
40:42You're not.
40:43You're not.
40:44You're not.
40:45You're not.
40:46You're not.
40:47You're not.
40:48You're not.
40:49You're not.
40:50You're not.
40:51You're not.
40:52You're not.
40:53You're not.
40:54You're not.
40:55You're not.
40:56You're not.
40:57You're not.
40:58You're not.
40:59I couldn't believe it.
41:03Jamie is charged with first degree murder.
41:07Jamie, did you ever think you would see your son again?
41:10No, I didn't think I would ever see him again.
41:13I knew in some sort of way that I was going to do life in prison.
41:17And I was OK with that.
41:20And the reason why is because I killed my husband,
41:25somebody that I loved, and I deserved it.
41:33But in an unexpected twist, Jonathan's family
41:36makes an incredibly difficult decision.
41:39They talk to the prosecutor about reducing the charge
41:42from first degree murder to voluntary manslaughter.
41:55We were all in the mode of thinking of Aiden.
42:14Nothing was going to bring Jonathan back,
42:16even though we were all hurting.
42:18But what's going to happen to Aiden if he loses both parents?
42:22And that's where we were coming from.
42:25Jamie serves just three and a half years behind bars.
42:29And how did you use your time while you were incarcerated?
42:32I started really examining my heart
42:35and examining what it was that brought me to prison.
42:39It was almost like the scales were removed from my eyes
42:42that I'm doing something that's affecting people,
42:45and that's harming myself and harming people.
42:47Today, Jonathan's family has no contact with Jamie or her son.
42:52But they hold out hope that one day,
42:54Aiden will reach out to them.
42:56It's very important to see Aiden.
42:58He reminds us of Jonathan a lot.
42:59He knows we all love him.
43:01He knows we're a phone call away.
43:03He knows all that.
43:05And as for Jamie, she's remarried
43:08and has regained custody of Aiden.
43:10She started a new life in Massachusetts,
43:12where her father lives.
43:14Right now, my focus is really just learning
43:17how to be a good wife.
43:19It was never a focus for me,
43:20learning how to be a good mom to my son.
43:22Jamie, do you think you're capable of doing this ever again?
43:25No.
43:27.
43:32.
43:35.
43:38.
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