Dateline NBC S30E03 Kill Switch H 264

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7 hours ago

Transcript

00:00:09I'm Lester Holt tonight on Dateline a missing man and maybe a missing million left behind a

00:00:17shattered family and questions my phone rang mom and Larry were in some kind of accident on the boat

00:00:26Larry had fallen overboard and they can't find him how was she taking it she was a mess I just

00:00:33held her something's not right they'd never be out there because it was pretty cold is he even in the

00:00:41lake where is he there were a lot of people thinking he had just gone off and was waiting

00:00:48for her to come and bring the bag of money I had no idea of the horror that was to

00:00:55come I went to

00:00:56grab my phone and my mom just said do not answer that when you investigate death a lot of unusual

00:01:02stuff happens when are the lies gonna stop I needed the full story to be told

00:01:19here's Keith Morrison with Killswitch

00:01:40Iowa 1 what's the address your emergency I'm on the way but I don't know where lucky is he

00:01:47or she who finds love happy and lasting and true the love that deepens as it ages

00:01:55love that survives the unknown currents of a long life on the cold deep void

00:02:15but nothing is forever

00:02:27this is about the luck that ran out on the morning of February 13th 2018 in the frigid water of

00:02:35Lake

00:02:35Coeur d'Alene he's in the water bye the desperate woman on the phone was Lori Eisenberg the man in

00:02:47the

00:02:47water her husband and the love of her life Larry she tried to explain that they launched before dawn

00:02:54all bundled up and romantic to watch the sunrise on the water and intended to cruise 16 miles up the

00:03:00lake for a Valentine's breakfast at the big local resort the Coeur d'Alene how far had they gone where

00:03:07was she she didn't know she said hang on one second let me get people going quickly the cell towers

00:03:18triangulated and help went racing toward the spot she was stranded a place called Powderhorn Bay four or

00:03:25five miles from where they started a few minutes later Lori Eisenberg was ashore warming up in a

00:03:34rescue boats cabin when a deputy approached wearing a body cam he said he didn't feel good and he was

00:03:40doing things weird and then he went up to get the motor and the motor wasn't broken it was the

00:03:45other

00:03:45motor okay and then I said why are you doing that and he turned to look at me and his

00:03:50face just looked

00:03:53okay it looked awful and then he just started to fall and I tried to get the door open and

00:04:00get to him and

00:04:03and just like that Lori's long love affair with Larry was over Larry and Lori Eisenberg were in 2018 the

00:04:20elders of a big extended clan that included eight children 15 grandchildren and a great-grandchild

00:04:31they were well off they created their own little mountain paradise called Cougar Gulch and they were

00:04:38respected too in North Idaho Larry a retired timber executive and Lori the head of a local nonprofit that

00:04:48connected the poor with homes of their own and after 14 years of marriage and nearly 30 years after first

00:04:55laying eyes on each other Lori and Larry were by all accounts in love to a degree that was almost

00:05:04nauseating I'm just going to try to ask you some questions so we can kind of figure out where to

00:05:07go

00:05:07from here okay now Larry was gone and deputies found Lori looking like she'd been on the wrong end of

00:05:15a

00:05:15prize fight can you tell me how'd you get the bloody nose you fell down she fell against the door

00:05:24okay

00:05:26all right well we're gonna we got we got the best people out there looking for him right now okay

00:05:31so

00:05:32we're gonna do what we can not that there was much the divers could do and water so cold the

00:05:38body would

00:05:38sink like a stone the lake was a hundred thirty feet deep in Powderhorn Bay before long Lori was taken

00:05:45from

00:05:46the boat to a waiting pickup and then an ambulance and the local hospital and soon word raced around among

00:05:54all six of Lori's daughters this is Amber surprised to get a call from her big sister she says I

00:06:03I just

00:06:04got a call from an ambulance mom and Larry were in some kind of accident on the boat and they

00:06:10can't find

00:06:10Larry what do you mean you can't find him she's like I don't know will you please call the other

00:06:16sisters and tell them what's going on and so Amber did this is Chris Lynn it was my sister Amber

00:06:26telling

00:06:27me that there had been a boating accident and Larry had fallen overboard and they can't find him it was

00:06:38all so confusing said Larry's son Dean my sister called me and said that there's been an accident and

00:06:46she was in tears I couldn't really figure out what had happened hadn't his father texted him this

00:06:51stunning photo of the sunrise just a few hours earlier and he thought those crazy kids it's just

00:07:00like I can't believe they're going out on the water as cold as it is and I went back to

00:07:03sleep did you

00:07:04respond at all nope I don't think I did I mean it was a gorgeous sunrise don't get me wrong

00:07:09but it's

00:07:09just like they weren't they'd never be out out there doing that it was very very odd oh

00:07:16he had no idea a stunning loss for Lori and her family when we return she was a mess I

00:07:28just held her

00:07:29and promised her that we would help her get through this and years earlier a surprising end to a marriage

00:07:39instead of her going to confront him us kids had to go down and confront him and I remember telling

00:07:47him we want you to leave

00:08:01in February 2018 the waters of Lake Coeur d'Alene were holding fast on the Larry Eisenberg

00:08:11Larry and Lori had launched their romantic sunrise cruise here at Sunup Bay and headed for the big

00:08:18resort up the top of the lake 16 miles away but four or five miles in around Powderhorn Bay right

00:08:24about here said Lori Larry went to fix something in the bow and then looked around at her and turned

00:08:31a

00:08:32deathly shade of gray and the initial responders they felt fairly confident that it was another tragedy

00:08:43out on the lake a semi-retired detective named Brad Maskell heard about it of course like everybody in

00:08:51town he was just an observer but he knew a thing or two about the lake he'd lived here most

00:08:58of his life

00:08:59water that cold and that deep around that middle of the lake would you expect his body to sink right

00:09:08down to the bottom yes I can't even think of a case where we had a body go in the

00:09:12in the lake here

00:09:13to that depth and resurface it just doesn't happen in cold deep water at Lori and Larry's homestead in

00:09:23Cougar Gulch just a couple of miles from the lake daughter Chrislyn and her sisters gather their mother in

00:09:28a collective hug how was she taking it she was a mess I just held her and promised her that

00:09:38we would help

00:09:39her get through this get through the end of a love story that all along had refused to be denied

00:09:50they'd both been married to others years and years ago Lori had six daughters with Steve her high school

00:09:57sweetheart Amber born third and Chrislyn the fourth were the middle children we had the perfect little

00:10:03family you know we went to church every Sunday we we were taught to live right make good choices get

00:10:10good grades do your chores you know the whole nine yards dad ran a janitorial service mom was volunteer

00:10:17of the year at the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce it was exciting things to see our mom becoming

00:10:22this

00:10:23successful woman in their community those years Larry Eisenberg was making money in the timber business

00:10:29he was able to pull over a lot of deals and be like the used car salesman of timber for

00:10:34lack of a

00:10:34better or more eloquent term of it he taught his children Dean and Jessica to be straight arrows just

00:10:41like him frugal honest tough with a saying for every situation tired the state of mind don't be lazy you

00:10:51know you only think that you're tired you really haven't done that much today but when he was with his

00:10:56kids when he took Dean hunting I think that was about the happiest I'd ever seen him being with me

00:11:02for

00:11:03my first elk when Larry met Lori it was all perfectly innocent dad ended up hiring hiring her as his

00:11:12secretary when he worked for the timber company Larry was introduced to us as a friend from work

00:11:19and their work trips like this one to the Idaho State Capitol well they were co-workers after all

00:11:26and Lori's daughters were confused when she soon told them that Steve their father simply wasn't good

00:11:33enough and would have to leave and that they the kids would have to tell him my mom started like

00:11:42having some kind of a breakdown she like went into the closet and instead of her going to confront him

00:11:50us kids had to go down and confront him while she stayed in the closet and I remember yelling at

00:11:56him

00:11:56and telling him we want you to leave oh my we don't want you here and he just looked right

00:12:02back at me and

00:12:03he said Amber you don't know what you're talking about my dad knew and not just Larry she had been

00:12:10having affairs for quite a while other men too he wasn't the first so maybe they weren't so straight

00:12:17arrow honest after all Lori got a divorce and then a few years later Larry did too and everybody could

00:12:27see how happy they were when they brought their families together and got married I just decided I've

00:12:34always always loved and respected Larry and I saw my mom happy with him and I was happy for her

00:12:40then

00:12:41they turned Cougar Gulch into their own very special place it was a mountain paradise I absolutely loved

00:12:48it they landscaped the place putting huge gardens and a pond they filled with fish to catch Larry built a

00:12:55working windmill if I could describe my perfect house if that's what it would be that's what they had in

00:13:01Cougar Gulch they traveled to Hawaii Europe they fished the lakes hunted the forests together he always

00:13:13looked at her with eyes of just admiration and he would always just tell us just how amazing she was

00:13:21and we would all kind of just roll our eyes like you two are unbelievable like how do you get

00:13:28a room how

00:13:28do you love each other this much by 2018 Larry was 68 and retired Lori was 64 still working hi

00:13:39I'm

00:13:39Lori Eisenberg executive director of the North Idaho housing coalition Lori ran that nonprofit that helped

00:13:46low-income residents buy houses Larry kept track of their investments and was happy as happy as he'd ever

00:13:57been in January 2018 just over a month before Larry was lost in the lake they gathered with members of

00:14:05their blended family in Florida so every day he would say if anyone wants to come come on the walk

00:14:11with me

00:14:11and that day for the first time really ever I said Larry where did you learn to have such great

00:14:19discipline

00:14:20with your money and he told us that day that he remembers from the time he could count money his

00:14:28parents were

00:14:29teaching him you have to earn every dollar and you have to know and track where you spend every dollar

00:14:36did

00:14:36that have a big effect on you to hear that yeah it empowered me to be a parent that teaches

00:14:42those principles didn't

00:14:43you sit down at the computer at one point and kind of go over everything so yeah we sat right

00:14:48there at

00:14:48the table my mom hanging over Larry looking at their computer of all their stocks when you think about

00:14:54that conversation now anything stay with you it's sad it's so sad to know that my mom knew so hard

00:15:05to

00:15:05believe that she could sit there and do that with us knowing all that she knew something about Larry about

00:15:13the love of her life coming up the mystery of what happened on that boat she has bruises all over

00:15:23her

00:15:23legs and she just said I have no idea what I did on that boat when Dateline continues

00:15:45there's a process when a boating accident takes a life has to be an investigation which is why a few

00:15:51days after the horrible loss of Larry Eisenberg in Lake Coeur d'Alene detectives went to Cougar Gulch

00:15:58to dive deeper that first day Lori had been such a mess and sometimes a day or three later a

00:16:06person

00:16:07has a clearer sense of what happened there was a timeline to consider for context so could they go

00:16:13through that again they asked well yes said Lori they could 6 40 a.m. they took this picture of

00:16:21the

00:16:21sunrise said Lori and sent it by text to Larry's son Dean this was as they prepared to launch their

00:16:28boat at Sunup Bay did you take it or did he take it like the picture oh he did actually

00:16:35right after

00:16:35he took the picture we stood there for a couple minutes once they were out on the water she said

00:16:41Larry took the wheel of the boat as she dozed off in the passenger seat cabin warmed by a space

00:16:48heater

00:16:49then said Lori at some point Larry's hand sort of slipped off the dashboard and not just a little

00:16:56slip certainly got her attention it was so hard did it see the whole ignition thing sort of popped out

00:17:05the kill switch had been knocked out the ignition key bent like this yeah when it started when it

00:17:12started when it started she tried bending the key back and forth so then said Lori Larry went up to

00:17:18the front of the boat to get the electric trolling motor going and then something happened to him

00:17:24look like he was having a stroke or something he just had this sort of blank look on his face

00:17:31and so

00:17:31then I saw him sort of stumbling I jumped up and I couldn't get and I banged my head where

00:17:38did you hit your

00:17:38head at on your face I don't remember but where do you recall the blood coming from my nose and

00:17:46that

00:17:47certainly made sense of what they found in the bow drops and smears of blood right where Lori said she

00:17:53hit her head as she tried to reach him I saw his face and then he just so arms outstress

00:18:00just kind of fell

00:18:01okay okay she panicked then tried to get to him she said all but went into the water herself

00:18:12and then I finally come down to the point where I said what am I doing this isn't helping any

00:18:17couldn't call 9-1-1 she said didn't have her phone I'd left it in the truck because I always

00:18:23forget it

00:18:24and I thought his was in his pocket in the lake in other words and by the time she found

00:18:32Larry's phone

00:18:33under a blanket more than two hours had gone by since he'd fallen in so it was 10 23 a

00:18:39.m before she could

00:18:40place that 911 call he's in the water where was Larry somewhere she said in the four or five miles

00:18:53of water between Sunup Bay where Larry and Lori put in the boat and here in Powderhorn Bay where Lori

00:18:59was

00:18:59rescued the detectives thanked her expressed their sympathy and left today after the incident meanwhile

00:19:09Lori's six daughters gathered around her in grief at Cougar Gulch we were all just standing

00:19:15around making breakfast she came into the kitchen and all of a sudden she just said I was just in

00:19:20the

00:19:21bathroom and I saw my legs and she just pulls down and shows us that she has bruises all over

00:19:27her legs

00:19:28her thighs are just black and blue and she just said I have no idea what I did on that

00:19:35boat I must have

00:19:36just been hitting my legs when I was looking for Larry in the water and none of them imagined as

00:19:44they

00:19:44sympathized with their mother and mourned their lost Larry the certain preparations would soon be

00:19:50underway downtown some unwelcome visitors would be coming to call coming up Laurie arrested but not for what

00:20:03what you might think I had no idea of any of the horror that was to come

00:20:2910 days after the terrible incident in the lake

00:20:36it's generally quite a shock for most anybody to hear policemen with warrants and loud demands at

00:20:42their door Laurie had been in bed resting when they charged in and scooped up her computers and

00:20:49electronics and boxes of records and then took them all away but why why those things

00:20:59don't worry was left to settle whatever astonishment she may have felt and straighten the place up then a few

00:21:05days later daughter Chrislin was visiting and many of the same law officers suddenly appeared on the

00:21:12porch as seen here on police body cam hi Laurie here Chrislin didn't quite get it at first not up

00:21:21to it

00:21:22not up to it but yeah she's just really struggling okay she said can we reschedule or um no okay

00:21:31so then

00:21:32Laurie finally appeared I'm just really drained right now are you arresting me I think I'm going to put you

00:21:40under arrest these guys are going to take you into custody right now it was crazy said Chrislin

00:21:44like Kafka or something in that moment I was I had no idea I was just in shock

00:22:00Chrislin's sweet mother going to jail what was that like to discover that this had happened it was

00:22:07very overwhelming and it was very disappointing and confusing confusing oh yes because Laurie's arrest

00:22:17had nothing whatever to do with what happened out on the lake it didn't charge her with that not with

00:22:25dangerous boating or anything like that not at all as the jailer who booked her made perfectly clear I'm

00:22:33being told to write your booking sheet out for one count of grand theft and 40 counts of forgery

00:22:42grand theft forgery sometimes bad news comes in batches and this just as she was trying to deal

00:22:51with the loss of Larry was another story altogether why do things happen this way anyway here's the story

00:23:00a few weeks before that fatal boating trip just after Larry and Laurie had returned glowing from

00:23:06their Florida family vacation Larry got busy preparing for their next trip which they intended

00:23:12to start pretty much right away and as they did every year they organized meticulously they load up the

00:23:21camper trailer with their canned vegetables and what they raised and grew and cotton and hunted and then

00:23:27they'd they'd spend like two months and like Utah Zion National Park Arizona out in the desert hiking

00:23:34around the California coast well Larry was busy with the camper Laurie drove into downtown Coeur d'Alene to

00:23:41get things sorted out of the office a last pre-trip board meeting at the North Idaho Housing Coalition

00:23:46Laurie ran the place but Carrie Thorison as coalition president was officially her boss Laurie did an excellent job

00:23:57for years when Amy Evans joined the board Laurie had long since proved how much she cared about the

00:24:05mission she was passionate about helping young families obtain their first home which made Laurie's visit to

00:24:15the office that January day in 2018 more than a little awkward the board had found some financial irregularities some

00:24:26budgets that didn't quite add up checks that should have been signed by the board but were signed by Laurie

00:24:32instead without prior approval she apologized and said I just know that all of you are so busy

00:24:42I didn't I didn't want to bother you to come and sign checks so I just signed them well really

00:24:51well it's just being so thoughtful to us at that point we thought we'll put her on administrate paid administrative

00:24:59leave which won't alarm her too much and give us the opportunity to recover our records did you that is

00:25:08what we did

00:25:10coalition board vice president Amy Evans was also in that meeting with Laurie she pled with us two times to

00:25:20just fire her really I mean she she basically copped to it she said yes I made some mistakes so

00:25:28really if she had you figured she'd be coming back once you figured this out right yeah we were hopeful

00:25:34that this was just sloppy bookkeeping

00:25:37though Carrie Thorson kept thinking of a strange little moment as their meeting turned to sensitive things she turned her

00:25:48head to me and looked at me I can still remember just feeling a chill

00:25:57we can't know what Laurie was thinking or feeling on her drive home to Cougar Gulch where Larry was getting

00:26:05ready for their excellent adventure

00:26:07road trip was she distraught did she lean on her man pour out her troubles all we can say with

00:26:15certainty is what happened next Larry and Laurie did indeed hit the road but it was not the trip Larry

00:26:24was planning for

00:26:27coming up what a long strange trip it would be

00:26:32Laurie said honey I want to go back to Florida hadn't they just been there yeah they'd just gotten back

00:26:37when Dateline continues

00:26:52there's often a pivot point in family drama isn't there somebody makes a decision and things suddenly

00:26:59change that was about to happen in Cougar Gulch three weeks before the boating accident Larry was going about

00:27:06his happy-go-lucky retirement as usual dad's idea of retirement was to do what you want when you want

00:27:13whenever you want for as long as you want a bad definition yeah if I want to go do something

00:27:21I'm

00:27:21going to go do something I'll do it till I get sick of it and then I'll come back or

00:27:24I'll go do something

00:27:24else there's something else this time was going to be a trip across the American Southwest with Laurie

00:27:30completely unaware that Laurie had been suspended then fired from her job at the North Idaho housing

00:27:37coalition didn't have any idea what Laurie's board members were digging up in the coalition's books

00:27:44every day it just kept getting worse and worse and so it quickly made sense why she was asking us

00:27:51to fire

00:27:51her the evidence once they knew where to look was clear Laurie had been using her position to steal

00:28:00money for at least three years this was big how much money in total do you think was taken from

00:28:07the organization I think we're probably around nine hundred to a million dollars this is not small

00:28:13change no not at all what was your state of mind those days just complete disbelief that the level of

00:28:22betrayal that Laurie executed was unbelievable granted only a few people were aware of any of

00:28:31that or that Laurie had been fired we really wanted to protect the integrity of the organization protect

00:28:42Laurie's integrity until we knew without a doubt what had happened and well that investigation went on no

00:28:49one knew not her six daughters not her two stepchildren and not Larry so busy planning for

00:28:57their annual trailer trip he was literally loading and stocking the camper and he was in mid-stride with

00:29:04another armful of goods and Laurie stopped and said I said honey I want to go back to Florida hadn't

00:29:11they just been there yeah yeah they'd just gotten back Larry seemed puzzled but all for it if that's

00:29:19what Laurie wanted Larry was kind of like yeah I guess we're going back to Florida so back to Florida

00:29:28they

00:29:28went this photo taken by Larry texted to the kids of Laurie lazing away at their rental home in Melbourne

00:29:36they watched the launch of Elon Musk's falcon heavy rocket sent the kids this photo from the Kennedy space

00:29:42center and after that they went sailing that was a bucket list vacation I mean he always wanted to sail

00:29:51he wanted

00:29:51to see that rocket and he wanted to ride in a fan boat those are like the last three goals

00:29:56that he set out for him in his in his life

00:29:58before he was going to start a new list.

00:30:00It could not have been on his bucket list, however,

00:30:03to feel so punk by the end of that trip.

00:30:06It felt weird, just awful.

00:30:09As he told his doctor in an email when they got home.

00:30:12I had the shakes, terrible equilibrium,

00:30:16and even my brain was foggy.

00:30:18I'm better today by quite a bit.

00:30:21I have every intention of living long enough

00:30:23so that you have to make a house call on Mars.

00:30:27End quote.

00:30:28I was worried that maybe they had gotten the flu

00:30:30while they were traveling.

00:30:33And so I texted with my mom.

00:30:35I was like, hey, I heard you guys are back.

00:30:36You know, how you doing?

00:30:37I heard Larry's sick.

00:30:38And she's like, yeah, you know, he's doing a little bit better.

00:30:43By Monday, February 12th, back home in Cougar Gulch,

00:30:47Larry seemed fine again.

00:30:49Was back to planning the trailer trip south.

00:30:52But somehow around town, the secret,

00:30:55the one that not even Larry knew,

00:30:58had leaked and was about to be revealed.

00:31:01Got a call from a Coeur d'Alene Press reporter.

00:31:04They said, we're hearing that Laurie Eisenberg

00:31:07has been fired from your organization

00:31:10and that there's an investigation into embezzlement.

00:31:15We knew that a story would appear

00:31:18in the Coeur d'Alene Press morning edition.

00:31:21And I said, I feel so bad for Larry.

00:31:27His life's just never going to be the same.

00:31:29Well, now that was as true as a thing could be.

00:31:36Coming up.

00:31:37One of my younger sisters,

00:31:39she pulled me into a room and said,

00:31:41we have a really big problem.

00:31:43New trouble for Laurie's daughters

00:31:45and a new disturbing rumor about Larry.

00:31:50There were a lot of people thinking

00:31:52that he could have been in collusion with her.

00:32:12As the sun rose over the lake

00:32:14on Tuesday, February 13th, 2018,

00:32:18the Coeur d'Alene Press hit shops and restaurants

00:32:21and computers around town.

00:32:22This was the front page headline.

00:32:25Housing non-profit, leader, part ways.

00:32:30The cause, of course, was that alleged embezzling.

00:32:34Put you in handcuffs here.

00:32:36Complex stuff.

00:32:38And before long, the Coeur d'Alene police

00:32:40turned the case over to the FBI.

00:32:43And it was four months later

00:32:45when Laurie, still in shock after the boating accident,

00:32:48was indicted on federal charges of theft and fraud.

00:32:54The FBI described this scheme of hers

00:32:58as very sophisticated.

00:33:01A very sophisticated financial con.

00:33:06It turned out the money was not simply stolen

00:33:09from the North Idaho Housing Coalition.

00:33:12Oh, no.

00:33:13Her scheme, as alleged,

00:33:15was much more inspired.

00:33:18She didn't take money out of our account.

00:33:22The money she stole

00:33:26was by creating fake companies

00:33:31and then fake invoices.

00:33:35Laurie sent those fake bills

00:33:37to the state and federal governments,

00:33:39which they paid, of course.

00:33:40And then she pocketed the money.

00:33:44She was clever in some ways doing this, huh?

00:33:47She thought she was hiding.

00:33:48I prefer cunning.

00:33:49I think she was very cunning.

00:33:52But what had Laurie done with all that money?

00:33:55She certainly hadn't used it

00:33:56on those vacations with Larry.

00:33:58He kept track of every penny of that.

00:34:01But as was soon revealed,

00:34:03much of the money hadn't gone far at all.

00:34:06I remember she said,

00:34:09I earned every bit of that money.

00:34:11The Coalition was nothing before me.

00:34:14She absolutely felt entitled.

00:34:17To every penny that she took.

00:34:19And her partners in crime?

00:34:21Well, if there ever was a surprise,

00:34:24there's one.

00:34:26I'll never forget the day

00:34:28one of my younger sisters,

00:34:29she pulled me into a room

00:34:30and said,

00:34:31we have a really big problem.

00:34:34Those illegal shell companies

00:34:36Laurie invented

00:34:36were set up in the names

00:34:39of three of her own daughters.

00:34:42Tracy, April, and Jessica.

00:34:47She came to me because

00:34:48she was very, very frightened

00:34:50that she was about to be arrested herself.

00:34:54She was asking if I could help

00:34:56take care of her child.

00:34:58And all of a sudden,

00:34:59I became the sister

00:35:02who had no involvement with it,

00:35:05but that needed to be there for everybody.

00:35:08And there was one more sister involved

00:35:10who was also receiving money from Laurie.

00:35:13Boy, I bet you wish you could have

00:35:16that decision back.

00:35:17Absolutely.

00:35:19As Amber explained it,

00:35:21the genesis of Laurie's scheme

00:35:23could be traced to the differing attitude

00:35:25she and Larry held about money.

00:35:29Larry's two kids knew

00:35:31never to ask for a penny

00:35:33without earning it.

00:35:35But Laurie?

00:35:37Pretty early on in their relationship,

00:35:38she shared with us that, you know,

00:35:41Larry doesn't really like

00:35:42me spending all the money, you know,

00:35:44on all the kids and stuff, you know,

00:35:47but it didn't last very long.

00:35:50It was followed with the caveat

00:35:51of just don't tell Larry.

00:35:53Okay, gotcha.

00:35:54It'll just be between us.

00:35:57In 2017,

00:35:59less than a year before Larry's death,

00:36:01Amber told Laurie

00:36:02that the farm she shared with her husband

00:36:04was in trouble.

00:36:05I was like,

00:36:06I'm going to need to go get a job.

00:36:07And she was like,

00:36:09no, no, no, no.

00:36:10Don't do that.

00:36:11Don't give up on your dream.

00:36:12She said,

00:36:12I can help you.

00:36:14Larry and I are doing so good

00:36:16in the stock market.

00:36:17We're making so much money.

00:36:18So I said,

00:36:19yes, okay.

00:36:21And that is

00:36:24one of the moments

00:36:25that will always be

00:36:26one of my biggest regrets

00:36:28because that's not where

00:36:29the money was going to come from.

00:36:31At the time you were cashing the checks,

00:36:33did you have any clue

00:36:34that it was coming from a place

00:36:35where it wasn't supposed to come,

00:36:36that it was stolen mine?

00:36:39Not at first.

00:36:40How much was she paying you this way?

00:36:42I think the set amount

00:36:43was like $800 a month.

00:36:45And then one day

00:36:46she sent me a text message

00:36:49and it said,

00:36:51they want me to hire an assistant

00:36:53for work that doesn't need to be done.

00:36:55They think that I work too much.

00:36:58So I want to hire you

00:37:02as this assistant,

00:37:04but there really isn't any work

00:37:05for you to do.

00:37:06You'll just get the paycheck for it.

00:37:08Don't even have to come into the office.

00:37:10Right.

00:37:12You get the picture.

00:37:13A no-show job.

00:37:15And now four of Lori's daughters

00:37:17were part of the FBI's investigation.

00:37:21How much did Lori steal?

00:37:24The housing coalition

00:37:25figured it was close to a million dollars.

00:37:27The FBI was able to trace

00:37:32$579,495.75.

00:37:37But investigators traced

00:37:38only about $50,000

00:37:40of that stolen money

00:37:42to Lori's daughters.

00:37:44What she did with the rest

00:37:46and how she spent it?

00:37:47No idea.

00:37:49What did it say to you

00:37:51about this woman

00:37:52that she would involve her daughters

00:37:53in an organized crime ring

00:37:55and, you know,

00:37:57make them liable to go to prison?

00:37:59That's...

00:38:00That one's close to my heart.

00:38:02I cannot even fathom

00:38:05being a criminal,

00:38:07but I can't fathom

00:38:08being a criminal

00:38:09that thinks

00:38:10it's a good idea

00:38:13to make my children criminals.

00:38:16I think there's a special place

00:38:17in hell for Lori

00:38:18for a number of things.

00:38:21That's definitely one of them.

00:38:23We can only guess

00:38:25what Larry might have thought

00:38:27of all that.

00:38:28But the town gossips?

00:38:30Within hours

00:38:32of Larry's disappearance,

00:38:33a story was making

00:38:34its way around town.

00:38:36There were a lot of people

00:38:38in the community

00:38:39thinking that he could have been

00:38:42in collusion with her

00:38:46in this embezzlement

00:38:48and that he had just gone off

00:38:50and he was in Venezuela

00:38:52or whatever,

00:38:53just waiting for her,

00:38:54you know,

00:38:55to come and bring

00:38:55the bag of money.

00:38:57It went around town

00:38:57that he might have been in it.

00:38:59people reading the paper

00:39:01saying,

00:39:01oh, his wife stole

00:39:02a bunch of money,

00:39:03he's probably in on it with her.

00:39:06A little convenient

00:39:07to say he'd fallen

00:39:08into the deepest part

00:39:10of the lake

00:39:10where a body

00:39:11might never be found?

00:39:13That is,

00:39:14if Larry was in the lake

00:39:15at all,

00:39:17so cold

00:39:18and deep

00:39:20like betrayal.

00:39:23coming up,

00:39:25one mystery solved.

00:39:26Her reaction

00:39:27when she learned

00:39:28that his body

00:39:28had been found?

00:39:29She became pretty

00:39:31shut down.

00:39:32She said,

00:39:33I have this plan

00:39:34that I'm going to

00:39:35disappear.

00:39:37When Dateline continues.

00:39:50They took Lori Eisenberg

00:39:52to the Kootenay County Jail

00:39:53after her arrest

00:39:54for theft and fraud.

00:39:56But she wasn't there long.

00:39:58Since Lori's alleged crimes

00:40:00were financial,

00:40:01her assets were frozen,

00:40:02thus she asked Chrislyn

00:40:04to co-sign bail

00:40:06so she could be released

00:40:08from jail.

00:40:09Her bond was

00:40:10for $75,000

00:40:11and then we had

00:40:12to have a 10% deposit

00:40:13at the time

00:40:15to be paid

00:40:16and it was,

00:40:17yeah,

00:40:18it was a very stressful time.

00:40:19Given your whole background,

00:40:21your ethos,

00:40:22your family,

00:40:22your time of life

00:40:23to find yourself

00:40:24sitting in a bail bondsman's office

00:40:26signing papers

00:40:27for a $75,000 bond

00:40:28for your mother.

00:40:30Crazy.

00:40:31Yeah,

00:40:32it was unreal.

00:40:33Chrislyn paid

00:40:34and Lori went home

00:40:36to Cougar Gulch,

00:40:37her next court appearance

00:40:38weeks away.

00:40:39Meanwhile,

00:40:40the police were still

00:40:41searching for Larry

00:40:42out in the lake.

00:40:43They weren't giving up.

00:40:45They'd even brought in

00:40:46some high-tech sonar gear,

00:40:48lowered it down

00:40:49to the depths

00:40:50of Powderhorn Bay,

00:40:51well over a hundred feet down.

00:40:53Again and again,

00:40:55they scoured the bottom.

00:40:57No Larry.

00:40:59But as they searched,

00:41:00said Chrislyn,

00:41:01her mother Lori

00:41:02began to worry

00:41:03that somebody

00:41:04would try to make it

00:41:05look like she

00:41:06was somehow

00:41:07responsible

00:41:08for Larry's accident.

00:41:09Her anxiety

00:41:10and fear

00:41:11of being framed

00:41:12and being arrested

00:41:13again

00:41:14was so heightened.

00:41:16Something was very wrong

00:41:18with all of this,

00:41:19Lori told her daughters.

00:41:21Somebody,

00:41:21for some reason,

00:41:22was obviously

00:41:23trying to frame her.

00:41:25It got to the point

00:41:26where she said,

00:41:28I cannot be here anymore.

00:41:29I cannot be

00:41:30in this house anymore.

00:41:31They are going

00:41:32to come and get me.

00:41:33I'm worried every moment

00:41:34they're going to come

00:41:35and arrest me.

00:41:36So she wanted to get out.

00:41:37What did you do?

00:41:38So, yeah,

00:41:39that day we started

00:41:41packing the house.

00:41:42She said she never

00:41:42wanted to come back again.

00:41:44And we booked a hotel,

00:41:48you know,

00:41:49in Spokane.

00:41:50But just as Lori

00:41:52and Chrislyn

00:41:52drove away from the house,

00:41:54the phone rang.

00:41:56It was a detective.

00:41:58By that time,

00:41:59they'd stopped

00:41:59looking for Larry,

00:42:01had packed away

00:42:02the sonar machine.

00:42:04So what could it be?

00:42:06And I was

00:42:07really excited.

00:42:09And I went

00:42:10to grab my phone

00:42:10and answer it.

00:42:12And my mom just said,

00:42:13do not answer that.

00:42:14They've probably

00:42:15found his body

00:42:16and I don't want it.

00:42:16I don't want it.

00:42:17They're going to get me.

00:42:18They're going to get me.

00:42:19Hello, Chris.

00:42:19I'm the detective

00:42:20with Kootenau County

00:42:21that's handling

00:42:21your father's case.

00:42:23And I'm trying

00:42:23to get in touch

00:42:24with Lori.

00:42:25It's kind of important.

00:42:30Early that same afternoon,

00:42:31March 1st,

00:42:32two and a half weeks

00:42:33after Larry's disappearance.

00:42:34What was that

00:42:36in the water?

00:42:37A local resident

00:42:38called it in.

00:42:39Something just below

00:42:41the lakefront houses

00:42:42on the shoreline.

00:42:44A team was dispatched.

00:42:45A team that could

00:42:47see right away.

00:42:48It was a body.

00:42:49A human body.

00:42:51And upon inspection

00:42:53that it was

00:42:53quite unmistakably

00:42:5568-year-old

00:42:56Larry Eisenberg.

00:42:58Deepwater sonar

00:42:59had failed to find him.

00:43:01But the lake

00:43:02had given him up anyway.

00:43:05That was the important news

00:43:07the detective

00:43:07was calling about.

00:43:08Her reaction

00:43:09when she learned

00:43:10that it was,

00:43:11that his body

00:43:11had been found,

00:43:13how did she handle it?

00:43:15She became

00:43:16pretty shut down.

00:43:18By the time

00:43:19we got to the hotel,

00:43:20she was not talking.

00:43:23It was very confusing.

00:43:25Did Lori ask

00:43:26to turn around

00:43:27and head back

00:43:28to the lake

00:43:29or the sheriff's office

00:43:30to learn more?

00:43:32No, she did not.

00:43:33It was all about

00:43:34her worries

00:43:35and her comfort

00:43:36and her problems.

00:43:38Within a day

00:43:39an autopsy

00:43:39had been done.

00:43:41And sure enough

00:43:41the medical examiner

00:43:42found no water

00:43:44in Larry's lungs.

00:43:45So, something,

00:43:47a heart attack,

00:43:48stroke,

00:43:48as Lori suggested,

00:43:49something else

00:43:50must have killed him

00:43:52before he hit the water.

00:43:54Classification of death

00:43:55undetermined.

00:43:56More tests were ordered.

00:43:58It's safe to say

00:43:59that Lori's reputation

00:44:00sullied by the federal

00:44:02charges of fraud

00:44:03and theft

00:44:03had taken a hit

00:44:04around town.

00:44:05And so,

00:44:06slivers of doubt

00:44:07about Larry's

00:44:08supposed accident

00:44:09grew

00:44:11into giant sequoias

00:44:12of suspicion.

00:44:13Every day

00:44:14that Larry was missing,

00:44:15I would say,

00:44:16come on, Larry.

00:44:17Come on.

00:44:18Because if his body

00:44:19was never found,

00:44:20she could get away

00:44:22with murder.

00:44:23And so,

00:44:23come on, Larry.

00:44:24Come on.

00:44:25Come on.

00:44:26Get away with murder.

00:44:28But nothing,

00:44:29not a bit of evidence

00:44:30had surfaced

00:44:31to contradict

00:44:32Lori's explanations

00:44:33of what happened.

00:44:35Suspicion does have

00:44:37a funny way

00:44:37of feeding on itself,

00:44:39but facts are

00:44:40what matter.

00:44:41And as days

00:44:42and weeks

00:44:43and months passed,

00:44:45there were no more

00:44:46charges against Lori

00:44:47of any kind.

00:44:49Beyond the allegations

00:44:50of embezzlement,

00:44:51that is.

00:44:52And while they waited,

00:44:53the extended,

00:44:54blended family

00:44:55tried to make sense

00:44:56of one particular puzzle.

00:44:58Why in the world

00:44:59would Lori want

00:45:00or need to steal money?

00:45:02Larry had never been shy

00:45:04about showing them

00:45:05how well he was doing.

00:45:07I was blown away.

00:45:10Just dumbfounded.

00:45:12Dad had all of us

00:45:13convinced of how well

00:45:13they were doing

00:45:14and just absolutely

00:45:15owning the stock market

00:45:16and how hard he'd worked

00:45:18and the fruits

00:45:18of his labors.

00:45:19There was absolutely

00:45:20no reason

00:45:22for her to be

00:45:22stealing the money.

00:45:23There was none.

00:45:24Is that something

00:45:25you would ever have

00:45:26ascribed to Lori

00:45:26in the first place?

00:45:27I wouldn't have

00:45:28put it past her.

00:45:30Wouldn't put it past her?

00:45:32What did he mean

00:45:32by that?

00:45:34Well,

00:45:36Lori's curious quirk.

00:45:38The kids knew

00:45:39all about it.

00:45:39So did Larry.

00:45:40And he found it

00:45:41more amusing

00:45:42than anything.

00:45:43Like the time

00:45:44he told his kids

00:45:45what Lori did

00:45:46when she lost a job once

00:45:47and wasn't allowed

00:45:48to take away

00:45:48the materials

00:45:49she had been working on.

00:45:51So she devised a plan

00:45:53to sneak into the building

00:45:55in the middle of the night,

00:45:57break into the building

00:45:58in the middle of the night.

00:45:59Wow.

00:45:59I mean,

00:46:00the way he told it,

00:46:01it sounded like

00:46:01a Mission Impossible story.

00:46:03You know,

00:46:03she dressed all in black

00:46:04and she was crawling

00:46:05through the hallways

00:46:06and she got what was hers.

00:46:08She made it back out

00:46:09undetected.

00:46:11I mean,

00:46:12my jaw was just like

00:46:13on the floor

00:46:14and Larry was just glowing

00:46:16and he was just laughing

00:46:18and he was,

00:46:19yep,

00:46:20that's my Lori.

00:46:21If the rules were stupid,

00:46:23she could get around

00:46:23those rules

00:46:24and he admired that.

00:46:25Yes,

00:46:26absolutely.

00:46:26And everybody would laugh

00:46:28and you know,

00:46:28that's just mom.

00:46:30Um,

00:46:31you know,

00:46:31stupid rules.

00:46:32And yeah,

00:46:34he,

00:46:35he found it charming.

00:46:37A month after Larry's body

00:46:39washed up on shore,

00:46:41Lori's hatred of stupid rules

00:46:43again became clear.

00:46:46She like looped her arm in mine

00:46:47and she said,

00:46:50the police are going to say

00:46:52terrible things about me.

00:46:55They believe that I killed Larry

00:46:57and they're going to say

00:46:58anything they want

00:46:59to make it look that way.

00:47:01Like,

00:47:02she feels like her only two options

00:47:03are to go to prison forever

00:47:06or to kill herself.

00:47:08And she said,

00:47:10but then I got to thinking about it

00:47:12and I realized

00:47:12I don't really have to die.

00:47:14I can just make everybody

00:47:15believe that I died.

00:47:17So I have this plan

00:47:19that I'm going to disappear

00:47:22and I'm going to stage a suicide

00:47:26and nobody will ever find a body.

00:47:28She told me that

00:47:29that's probably the last time

00:47:30I've ever,

00:47:31I'm ever going to see her.

00:47:32So she was saying goodbye?

00:47:33It was at that moment.

00:47:34Mm-hmm.

00:47:35You're faced with that moment of,

00:47:38you know,

00:47:39this,

00:47:39this is the last time

00:47:40I'm going to see my mom.

00:47:42I'm never going to know

00:47:43if she's alive

00:47:44or if she's dead.

00:47:46But Laurie didn't leave right away,

00:47:48still planning apparently,

00:47:50when a month later,

00:47:52Kristalyn got a call

00:47:53from an unidentified number.

00:47:55That happened to be my mom

00:47:56and she told me

00:47:59that she needed to leave

00:48:02and that we may never see her again.

00:48:04I just said,

00:48:06Mom,

00:48:07I will fight for you.

00:48:09I believe that truth will win

00:48:13and I will fight for you.

00:48:16Don't do this.

00:48:17Don't quit.

00:48:18And she said,

00:48:19I'm so sorry.

00:48:20I have to do this.

00:48:21And I said,

00:48:23okay,

00:48:24but you're on a bail

00:48:26and I'm responsible for you.

00:48:28And she said,

00:48:29it's okay.

00:48:30We have it all taken care of.

00:48:33She said,

00:48:34we've changed the bail

00:48:35over to your aunt.

00:48:38Everything will be fine.

00:48:39You're not responsible

00:48:40for anything.

00:48:42But maybe that whole bail thing

00:48:44was just another stupid rule

00:48:46because on May 25th,

00:48:48surrounded by the stately oaks

00:48:50and the grounds

00:48:50of the nearly 100-year-old

00:48:52Kootenay County Courthouse,

00:48:54when the judge called Laurie's name,

00:48:56she was not there.

00:49:00She'd skipped her bail.

00:49:04Coming up,

00:49:05Laurie didn't know

00:49:07that Dog the Bounty Hunter

00:49:08would soon be asking

00:49:10to track her down.

00:49:12I had Dog's contract in hand.

00:49:29Laurie Eisenberg's daughter,

00:49:31Chrislyn,

00:49:31was occupied

00:49:32that last week of May 2018,

00:49:36two kids to care for

00:49:37and just weeks

00:49:38from giving birth

00:49:39to a third.

00:49:41And so,

00:49:42in that busy swirl

00:49:43of beginnings,

00:49:44she missed the call

00:49:46that went straight

00:49:47to voicemail.

00:49:49Hi, Chris,

00:49:49this is Chris.

00:49:50We're at Chrisly's Bail Bonds.

00:49:52She was puzzled

00:49:53when she played it back,

00:49:55then called

00:49:56the bail bondsman.

00:49:57And he said,

00:49:58where's your mother?

00:49:59And I said,

00:50:00what are you talking about?

00:50:02And he said,

00:50:02she didn't show up

00:50:03to court today.

00:50:05And I said,

00:50:07well,

00:50:07she also told me

00:50:08I'm not responsible

00:50:09for her anymore.

00:50:11It's all been taken care of.

00:50:13And he said,

00:50:14so sorry,

00:50:15you are responsible

00:50:16for your mom.

00:50:19Responsible for what exactly?

00:50:21Altogether,

00:50:22a bundle,

00:50:24$75,000 cash.

00:50:26And just to start,

00:50:28another $17,000

00:50:30in fees and costs

00:50:31to find Laurie

00:50:32and bring her in.

00:50:34Around that time,

00:50:35I think Chrisly began

00:50:36to realize

00:50:36is just what her mom

00:50:38had done.

00:50:38This is Chris Skinner,

00:50:40the bail bondsman.

00:50:42As Agatha Christie

00:50:43would put it,

00:50:44the scales fell

00:50:45from her eyes

00:50:46and she saw

00:50:48her mother

00:50:49in a different light.

00:50:50Yeah.

00:50:52I realized

00:50:53I had just completely,

00:50:55completely been manipulated

00:50:57by my mother.

00:50:58Again.

00:50:59And she didn't care.

00:51:01Didn't care?

00:51:03That's why,

00:51:04with Laurie on the lam,

00:51:06her former boss,

00:51:07Carrie Thorison,

00:51:08felt this

00:51:10scary little itch

00:51:11in her back.

00:51:13I felt very

00:51:16exposed

00:51:16if somebody wanted

00:51:18to blame the fact

00:51:19that Laurie was

00:51:20in trouble

00:51:21on someone,

00:51:22they could blame it

00:51:23on me.

00:51:24Sure.

00:51:25It was a frightening time.

00:51:28Yeah.

00:51:28You never know

00:51:29who's coming for you.

00:51:29Yeah,

00:51:30because I didn't know

00:51:31who helped her.

00:51:32And I didn't know

00:51:33where she was.

00:51:35So finding

00:51:35where Laurie was

00:51:37was now up

00:51:37to Chris Skinner.

00:51:39You're the bail bondsman.

00:51:40You don't do

00:51:41the actual looking

00:51:42if somebody

00:51:43doesn't survive.

00:51:44We hire people

00:51:45to do that.

00:51:45I had a local

00:51:46recovery agent.

00:51:47They like to be called

00:51:48recovery agents

00:51:48instead of bounty hunters.

00:51:49It does sound

00:51:50more sophisticated,

00:51:51doesn't it?

00:51:51Kind of,

00:51:52we're civilized.

00:51:53I'm a recovery agent.

00:51:54Exactly.

00:51:54That's the goal

00:51:55is to make it

00:51:55so it's not so wild west.

00:51:57Where to start?

00:51:59Well,

00:51:59as a condition of bail,

00:52:01Laurie had provided

00:52:02a contact phone number.

00:52:05But?

00:52:06We would call the number

00:52:07and it wasn't Laurie's number.

00:52:08It was another person entirely.

00:52:11And that person claimed

00:52:13not to know Laurie.

00:52:14Skinner said his people

00:52:15traced the number

00:52:16to Seattle,

00:52:17five hours away

00:52:18from Coeur d'Alene.

00:52:20Laurie was as clever

00:52:21on the lam

00:52:22as she'd been

00:52:23with the company books.

00:52:24It turned out

00:52:25that Laurie had been

00:52:28moving around Seattle area

00:52:29and this was a number

00:52:30for a taxi cab.

00:52:31And she'd been using

00:52:33the taxi cab driver's phone

00:52:36to call in

00:52:37and do various business,

00:52:38including calling us

00:52:39and checking in.

00:52:40So I'm going to let you know

00:52:41I am video recording

00:52:42and audio recording.

00:52:43It's part of the law.

00:52:44So agents pinged

00:52:45the location of that phone

00:52:47to this home in Seattle,

00:52:49assumed this is

00:52:50where Laurie was.

00:52:52You're seeing the location

00:52:53of ping as of right here?

00:52:54Yes.

00:52:55As of right now?

00:52:56As of right now.

00:52:57Within 15 minutes

00:52:58before I knocked on the door.

00:52:59After a thorough search

00:53:00of the house,

00:53:01the agents found

00:53:02no sign of Laurie.

00:53:06But then,

00:53:07they found another number

00:53:09linked to Laurie

00:53:09and that one led them

00:53:11way down to Southern California.

00:53:14Here, to Temecula.

00:53:16Home, as it turned out,

00:53:18to Laurie's closest sister,

00:53:20Jamie.

00:53:20But though they kept

00:53:22a careful watch,

00:53:23they didn't see

00:53:24any sign of Laurie.

00:53:26Nothing.

00:53:27Then, about six weeks

00:53:29after Laurie vanished,

00:53:30Chris Skinner got a call

00:53:32that would, as they say,

00:53:35up the ante.

00:53:37Dog actually contacted

00:53:38our office,

00:53:39looking to get involved

00:53:41in finding Laurie.

00:53:43That's dog as in

00:53:44dog the bounty hunter.

00:53:46No need for niceties

00:53:48like recovery agent

00:53:49in the case of

00:53:50the reality TV star.

00:53:53His fee starts

00:53:54at $10,000.

00:53:56Billed to,

00:53:57you'll remember,

00:53:58Laurie's daughter,

00:53:59Chrislyn,

00:54:00who was days away

00:54:01from giving birth,

00:54:03betrayed by her own mother.

00:54:05All the fees for him

00:54:07were going to be on me

00:54:08and my husband

00:54:09on top of the bail.

00:54:10What was that like?

00:54:11It was awful.

00:54:12You know,

00:54:13when you put yourself

00:54:14out there for somebody else

00:54:16just to find out

00:54:18that they don't care

00:54:19if they hurt you

00:54:20or turn on you,

00:54:22it's very painful.

00:54:23So I had Dog's contract

00:54:24in hand.

00:54:25The story had already

00:54:26started getting

00:54:26national attention,

00:54:28and so there was a chance

00:54:29that we'd get a little more

00:54:30notoriety about it

00:54:31and maybe get her

00:54:32picked up that way.

00:54:34Music.

00:54:37But just as Chris Skinner

00:54:38prepared to hire Dog,

00:54:40he got a call

00:54:41from a Coeur d'Alene attorney

00:54:43with a surprise.

00:54:45He called me directly

00:54:46and said,

00:54:46Laurie is in my office

00:54:48and she's going to turn in.

00:54:51And, you know,

00:54:52I didn't ask her

00:54:52very many questions.

00:54:53I just said,

00:54:53okay,

00:54:54and I called one of my guys

00:54:56and had them go down

00:54:57to the office.

00:54:58Because you didn't believe it,

00:54:59necessarily.

00:55:01Until she was in custody,

00:55:02I didn't necessarily believe it

00:55:03because she'd been, you know,

00:55:04slippery and calculated.

00:55:06Skinner's agent

00:55:07shot the video

00:55:08you're seeing now,

00:55:09and there they are.

00:55:11Sister Jamie,

00:55:12the lawyer,

00:55:13and the elusive

00:55:14Laurie Eisenberg.

00:55:17After a short drive

00:55:18to the Kootenai County Jail,

00:55:20Laurie,

00:55:21tanned,

00:55:21rested,

00:55:22and apparently ready

00:55:23to face the music,

00:55:25turned herself in.

00:55:27Why?

00:55:29I think she was hoping

00:55:31that she would just

00:55:31do her time

00:55:32for the financial end

00:55:33of things

00:55:33and be done with it.

00:55:35And why not?

00:55:36For all the talk

00:55:38and suspicion,

00:55:39for all the locals

00:55:40who looked at that

00:55:41former paragon

00:55:42of civic duty

00:55:43with a new,

00:55:44more jaundiced eye,

00:55:46the investigation

00:55:47into Larry's death

00:55:49had gone pretty much

00:55:50nowhere.

00:55:52Though Larry himself

00:55:53might have something

00:55:55to say about that.

00:55:58coming up,

00:56:00message in a bottle.

00:56:02Eureka.

00:56:03Yeah,

00:56:03it was just one

00:56:04of those eureka moments.

00:56:06When Dateline continues.

00:56:20Hi, Laurie.

00:56:21Hello, Laurie.

00:56:22How are you doing?

00:56:22I don't know if you remember me.

00:56:23Ken.

00:56:24Here was Laurie Eisenberg,

00:56:26back behind bars.

00:56:29I'm just trying to go over

00:56:30the version that I have

00:56:31and ensure that it's correct,

00:56:33so...

00:56:33But as the probe

00:56:34into Larry's death

00:56:34hadn't entirely gone away,

00:56:37local detectives

00:56:37looked at this

00:56:38as an opportunity

00:56:39to ask Laurie

00:56:40a few more questions.

00:56:41Not about stealing money.

00:56:43About Larry.

00:56:45Or, as it turned out,

00:56:47not.

00:56:48I think if you're gonna

00:56:49start asking me

00:56:50questions like that,

00:56:51I should have

00:56:52no attorney here.

00:56:53Okay.

00:56:54That went nowhere.

00:56:56As apparently did

00:56:57any sustained investigation

00:56:59of what happened to Larry.

00:57:03And then...

00:57:05Remember this guy?

00:57:06Brad Maskell?

00:57:08He mostly retired

00:57:10from the force,

00:57:11but was available

00:57:12if needed.

00:57:14He was.

00:57:15They put him in charge.

00:57:18So what was his first thought

00:57:19when he heard about

00:57:20the misadventure on the lake?

00:57:22I think, like everybody else

00:57:24in the area,

00:57:25you know,

00:57:25everybody's reaction would be,

00:57:27what the heck are they doing

00:57:28going out on the lake

00:57:30in 20-degree weather

00:57:32in February.

00:57:33And why at 6.40 that morning?

00:57:36That was when,

00:57:38as Laurie told the police,

00:57:40her husband Larry

00:57:41took this sunrise photo

00:57:43and sent it to the kids.

00:57:46Did you take it

00:57:47or did he take it?

00:57:47What?

00:57:48The picture.

00:57:49Oh, he did.

00:57:50Okay.

00:57:51Quite definitive about that.

00:57:53Larry took the picture.

00:57:55But there are ways

00:57:57of checking,

00:57:58of course.

00:57:59And...

00:58:00The metadata

00:58:01on the image

00:58:02connects it

00:58:04to Laurie's phone.

00:58:05That image

00:58:07was airdropped

00:58:08or transferred

00:58:09onto Larry's phone

00:58:10to look like

00:58:11Larry was sending

00:58:12that image.

00:58:13And if she was lying

00:58:15about that,

00:58:15which clearly she was,

00:58:17then

00:58:17Detective Maskell

00:58:18needed to know.

00:58:19What else

00:58:20was she lying about?

00:58:22And to whom?

00:58:25Revelations.

00:58:26Laurie, it turned out,

00:58:28lied quite a lot.

00:58:29Like the day

00:58:30her boss

00:58:31wanted to meet

00:58:32about awkward

00:58:33financial matters.

00:58:35She had said

00:58:37that she was sorry

00:58:40for being so frazzled,

00:58:42but she had to go

00:58:43to Utah

00:58:44and be with her grandchild

00:58:47who was terminally ill.

00:58:50And so,

00:58:51it's like,

00:58:52oh my gosh,

00:58:53yes, go.

00:58:53Who do we appreciate?

00:58:57Grandma!

00:58:59In fact,

00:59:00Laurie even lied

00:59:01to her own family

00:59:02during that first

00:59:03family trip to Florida,

00:59:04the one in which

00:59:05Chrislyn had learned

00:59:06so much about

00:59:07Larry's financial

00:59:08planning skills.

00:59:10By this time,

00:59:11she knew

00:59:12the walls

00:59:13were closing in on her.

00:59:15She knew

00:59:16of all of her lies.

00:59:17She also knew

00:59:18that she was

00:59:19being caught.

00:59:21You have to wonder

00:59:22what was going on

00:59:23inside of her.

00:59:24Oh, yes.

00:59:26It keeps me up

00:59:27at night.

00:59:28It was soon

00:59:29after that trip

00:59:30that Laurie was fired,

00:59:31but still,

00:59:32she kept the secret

00:59:34from Larry.

00:59:35And that's when,

00:59:37remember,

00:59:38Laurie suddenly decided

00:59:39they were going back

00:59:39to Florida

00:59:40to watch that rocket launch.

00:59:43It was for Larry,

00:59:45she lied,

00:59:46because it was

00:59:47on his bucket list.

00:59:49But Detective Maskell

00:59:51suspected that

00:59:52a deep dive

00:59:53into Laurie's

00:59:54pre-trip Google searches

00:59:55might offer

00:59:56a more honest motivation.

00:59:58And,

01:00:00my, my.

01:00:02Laurie begins

01:00:03to search

01:00:05for information

01:00:06specific to drownings

01:00:08in the Florida area

01:00:09and the water currents

01:00:12and the depths

01:00:13in the area

01:00:15and also

01:00:16for information

01:00:17as to

01:00:19where

01:00:20the deepest water

01:00:22was

01:00:23just offshore

01:00:24from where they were at.

01:00:25This is very,

01:00:26very specific information.

01:00:28Right.

01:00:28The sort of thing

01:00:29that some tourist

01:00:30is not going to ask for.

01:00:32Right.

01:00:32You know,

01:00:32she wasn't

01:00:34Googling

01:00:35what a ticket's cost

01:00:36at Disney World

01:00:37in Orlando.

01:00:39All of which

01:00:40brought to mind

01:00:40that curious email

01:00:42Larry sent his doctor

01:00:43during that very trip.

01:00:45The one on which

01:00:46he described

01:00:46feeling awful,

01:00:48quite fluish.

01:00:49The shakes,

01:00:50terrible equilibrium,

01:00:51foggy brain.

01:00:53There's a possibility

01:00:55that that lightheadedness

01:00:57may have been something

01:00:58other than the flu.

01:00:59Now,

01:01:00why would he say that?

01:01:02Well,

01:01:03as he dug through photos

01:01:05taken the day

01:01:05Larry went overboard,

01:01:06Maskell found this,

01:01:08a bottle

01:01:09in Larry's truck console.

01:01:12And we were able

01:01:13to identify that bottle

01:01:14clearly

01:01:15as Kirkland brand

01:01:17Benadryl.

01:01:19And it was only

01:01:20because I'm familiar

01:01:21with that particular brand,

01:01:23because I see it

01:01:25in my own medicine cabinet

01:01:26from time to time,

01:01:27that I immediately

01:01:29recognized that

01:01:30as a Benadryl bottle.

01:01:31And clearly,

01:01:31that's what it was,

01:01:32was Benadryl.

01:01:34And...

01:01:34Eureka.

01:01:35Yeah.

01:01:35It was just one of those

01:01:36Eureka moments.

01:01:38Yes, but what did that

01:01:39Eureka mean?

01:01:41Had Larry taken

01:01:41one too many Benadryl?

01:01:44Which, if you don't know,

01:01:45isn't antihistamine

01:01:46known to make you drowsy.

01:01:48Did it make him

01:01:49so dizzy

01:01:50he toppled over,

01:01:51fell out of the boat?

01:01:52And then,

01:01:53as those questions

01:01:54were banging around

01:01:55in Maskell's brain,

01:01:57he saw the toxicology report.

01:02:00And?

01:02:02Oh, there was diphenhydramine,

01:02:04or Benadryl,

01:02:05in Larry's system,

01:02:06all right.

01:02:06But Larry didn't take

01:02:08one too many Benadryl.

01:02:10The lab found

01:02:11a level of the drug

01:02:12that was,

01:02:13according to a forensic

01:02:14toxicologist we asked,

01:02:16consistent with

01:02:17a large overdose.

01:02:20So a person

01:02:21with that kind of

01:02:22drug in,

01:02:24and that much of it

01:02:25in his system,

01:02:27what sort of state

01:02:28would he be in?

01:02:29Stumbling,

01:02:30dizzy,

01:02:32foggy-headed.

01:02:34Basically,

01:02:35it's a delirium

01:02:36that you go into.

01:02:38When Larry's son

01:02:39Dean found out?

01:02:41Oh, boy.

01:02:43I know I was yelling

01:02:44and just blind rage

01:02:46inside my pickup,

01:02:48just screaming

01:02:49for all I was worth.

01:02:50Just, you know,

01:02:51it's official.

01:02:53There's no hiding it.

01:02:54He was 100% poisoned.

01:02:55She killed him.

01:02:57Why haven't the police

01:02:58brought charges yet?

01:02:59It's like,

01:03:00why don't they charge her?

01:03:02Why don't they charge her?

01:03:03Good questions.

01:03:06The detective thought

01:03:07he just might have

01:03:08some answers.

01:03:12Coming up,

01:03:13a motive for murder?

01:03:15If Larry had found out

01:03:17that your mother

01:03:18had been embezzling,

01:03:20he would have tossed her

01:03:20out on her ass.

01:03:35The medical examiner

01:03:36was unequivocal.

01:03:38Larry Eisenberg's body

01:03:40sank to the bottom

01:03:41of Lake Coeur d'Alene

01:03:42on a frigid morning

01:03:43in February.

01:03:44It was chock-a-block

01:03:45with diphenhydramine,

01:03:47commonly known

01:03:48as Benadryl.

01:03:50But an expert

01:03:51in forensic toxicology

01:03:52we consulted said

01:03:53it wasn't the Benadryl

01:03:54that killed Larry.

01:03:56Rather,

01:03:56the drug at that level

01:03:57would have induced

01:03:58a kind of delirium,

01:04:00which would have rendered

01:04:01Larry dizzy,

01:04:03foggy-headed,

01:04:04utterly compliant,

01:04:05and unable to function

01:04:07properly at all.

01:04:09In a defenseless state

01:04:11like that,

01:04:11would Laurie have had

01:04:12a reason to do

01:04:13something to Larry?

01:04:15Detective Brad Maskell

01:04:16certainly thought so.

01:04:19Because on that very same

01:04:21cold February morning,

01:04:22the headline in the

01:04:23Coeur d'Alene press

01:04:24was going to give

01:04:25the game away.

01:04:27Laurie was fired,

01:04:28a disgraced embezzler.

01:04:30I mean,

01:04:32is it just a coincidence

01:04:33that suddenly

01:04:35the secret

01:04:35that she was keeping

01:04:36from Larry

01:04:37was going to be revealed

01:04:38on the very day

01:04:40that she convinces him

01:04:43to take her out

01:04:44on the lake

01:04:44in February

01:04:45in 17-degree weather?

01:04:48Probably not.

01:04:50Because the detective

01:04:51found that

01:04:52on that one issue,

01:04:54there was no disagreement.

01:04:56If Larry had found out

01:04:59that your mother

01:05:00had been embezzling

01:05:01from this organization,

01:05:03what would he have done?

01:05:04It's hard to believe

01:05:05that he would have

01:05:06stayed with her.

01:05:07He would have left her.

01:05:09He would have tossed

01:05:10her out on her ass.

01:05:11You think he would have

01:05:12tossed her out on her butt?

01:05:14I 100% believe it.

01:05:15She cheated like that.

01:05:16Yeah.

01:05:16It's like,

01:05:17get out of my life.

01:05:19You're an embarrassment.

01:05:20She knew that

01:05:21there was no way

01:05:23he would be able

01:05:24to stomach

01:05:25what she had been doing.

01:05:26And she was left

01:05:28with no choice

01:05:29but to eliminate him.

01:05:31So the question's then,

01:05:34how did Larry ingest

01:05:35so much of that drug?

01:05:37And when?

01:05:38The detective wondered,

01:05:40had she somehow

01:05:41poisoned Larry

01:05:42before he arrived

01:05:43at the lake?

01:05:44Was Larry dead on arrival?

01:05:47No.

01:05:48He found proof

01:05:49that Larry was alive

01:05:51when the boat was launched

01:05:52because when Laurie

01:05:53took that photo

01:05:54at Sunup Bay,

01:05:55the iPhone's live feature,

01:05:57which animates stills

01:05:59for three seconds,

01:06:00captured this

01:06:01in the background.

01:06:02All the way

01:06:03at the back end

01:06:03of the silver boat.

01:06:04That's Larry's voice,

01:06:06his friends and family

01:06:07confirmed.

01:06:08So then the question was,

01:06:11how did Laurie get Larry

01:06:13to ingest so much Benadryl

01:06:15well out on the boat?

01:06:17Truly a puzzle.

01:06:19Until Detective Maskell

01:06:21looked again

01:06:21at a photo responding

01:06:23cops took

01:06:24of the inside

01:06:25of Laurie's purse.

01:06:27See that bottle

01:06:28buried down there?

01:06:30Naked juice.

01:06:32So after they launched

01:06:33the boat,

01:06:35I believe they were

01:06:36probably cruising

01:06:38along the shoreline.

01:06:39Larry consumed

01:06:40some of the drink

01:06:42from the bottle

01:06:42that Laurie had,

01:06:43the bottle that was loaded

01:06:45with the Benadryl.

01:06:46And I know from my experience

01:06:48that that takes effect

01:06:49very quickly.

01:06:51Some detectives

01:06:52read the research.

01:06:55Maskell experimented

01:06:56with the drug

01:06:56on himself.

01:06:59Now why the hell

01:07:00would you do that?

01:07:02I know a lot of people

01:07:03would think I'm nuts,

01:07:04but what I found was

01:07:05within about 10 minutes

01:07:07I was able to

01:07:08completely dissolve

01:07:09those pills

01:07:11into that solution.

01:07:12So what I wanted to know

01:07:14at that point is,

01:07:15well, what did it taste like?

01:07:17There was the kind

01:07:18of this sweetness

01:07:20and then you would begin

01:07:22to detect the medicine flavor.

01:07:24And so what I kind

01:07:25of surmised from that,

01:07:27a lot of guys

01:07:28when they're handed

01:07:29a drink, you know,

01:07:30they'll glug down

01:07:31a few glugs of that stuff,

01:07:32you bet.

01:07:33And if Larry did that,

01:07:35the detective theorized.

01:07:36He may have stumbled

01:07:38and possibly fallen

01:07:40against that ignition key

01:07:41knocking that kill switch

01:07:43out of there

01:07:44in his delirium

01:07:45or possibly the two

01:07:48of them may have had

01:07:49some sort of a struggle.

01:07:52Something caused her

01:07:53to bang her face,

01:07:55get the bloody nose,

01:07:56the bloodstains are

01:07:57in the boat,

01:07:58and then ultimately

01:07:59he goes overboard.

01:08:02But murder,

01:08:03if that's what it was,

01:08:04rarely runs smooth.

01:08:06I believe it's possible

01:08:10that the intent

01:08:11Laurie may have had

01:08:12was to get Larry

01:08:13further out into the lake

01:08:15where there's deeper water.

01:08:16However,

01:08:18I believe he came

01:08:19under the effect

01:08:20of that medication

01:08:20possibly a little earlier

01:08:22than what she might

01:08:23have expected,

01:08:24ultimately leading him

01:08:26to fall into the lake

01:08:27or be pushed into the lake

01:08:29and submerge in water

01:08:30that's not nearly as deep

01:08:31as where the main channel is.

01:08:38The boat's dead in the water.

01:08:40It's dead in the water

01:08:41because the key

01:08:42had been damaged,

01:08:43the kill switch

01:08:43had been pulled

01:08:44from the console.

01:08:45The only option Laurie had

01:08:47was to utilize

01:08:48the trolling motor

01:08:48on the front of the boat.

01:08:49She did that.

01:08:50She utilized

01:08:51that trolling motor,

01:08:52used it to drive the boat

01:08:53out into the main lake channel,

01:08:55turned the boat

01:08:55towards the north,

01:08:57and got as far away

01:08:58as she could get.

01:09:00Three hours later,

01:09:01the theory went,

01:09:02the boat was dead

01:09:03in the water again

01:09:04when the trolling motor

01:09:06ran out of juice.

01:09:07Here we are

01:09:08at the mouth

01:09:09of Powderhorn Bay.

01:09:10This is where

01:09:11Laurie placed

01:09:12her 911 call from.

01:09:13The problem is,

01:09:15it's over four miles

01:09:16from where we believe

01:09:17Larry entered the water.

01:09:19And that's why

01:09:20the detective thought

01:09:21they couldn't find Larry.

01:09:23Laurie had led searchers

01:09:25miles in the wrong direction

01:09:27and against the lake's current.

01:09:29The divers had no shot

01:09:30out of finding his body.

01:09:32But if that was her plan,

01:09:35it was undone

01:09:36when Larry fell

01:09:37into shallower water

01:09:39and thus washed up on shore.

01:09:42This is Kootenay County

01:09:44prosecuting attorney

01:09:45Barry McHugh.

01:09:46The investigators

01:09:47did some great work

01:09:48to disprove

01:09:51her version

01:09:53of where she was

01:09:55when Larry Eisenberg

01:09:57went into the lake

01:09:58versus where

01:09:59he was actually found.

01:10:00Even though she tried

01:10:02pretty hard

01:10:02to lead them astray.

01:10:03Correct.

01:10:05And as for Larry's

01:10:07cause of death,

01:10:08well, in the opinions

01:10:09of both the coroner

01:10:10and ME,

01:10:11diphenhydramine toxicity

01:10:12was the cause.

01:10:14The medical examiner's report

01:10:16didn't exclude

01:10:17the possibility

01:10:18that he did drown.

01:10:20And so we were working

01:10:23under the presumption

01:10:23that he may have been alive

01:10:25when he went into the lake

01:10:27and then was unable

01:10:29to help himself

01:10:30and drown.

01:10:33But what about

01:10:34the lack of water

01:10:35in Larry's lungs?

01:10:37I've been involved

01:10:39in death investigation

01:10:40a lot of years

01:10:41and, you know,

01:10:42I've kind of grown

01:10:43to understand

01:10:44that a lot of times

01:10:45things don't happen

01:10:46exactly the way

01:10:47you would expect

01:10:48them to happen.

01:10:50So sometimes

01:10:51there'll be a lot

01:10:52of water ingestion

01:10:53and sometimes

01:10:54there's almost none.

01:10:57Sometimes people

01:10:58in this business

01:10:59would call it

01:11:00a dry drowning.

01:11:01A lot of unusual

01:11:03stuff happens

01:11:04when you investigate death.

01:11:06In February 2020,

01:11:09two years after

01:11:10Larry's death,

01:11:11the prosecuting

01:11:12attorney's office

01:11:13charged Laurie

01:11:14with second-degree murder.

01:11:15And then Coeur d'Alene

01:11:17waited for a trial

01:11:19and the story

01:11:20it might tell.

01:11:22But that isn't

01:11:23what happened at all.

01:11:25Though there certainly

01:11:27was a story.

01:11:29Courtesy of the woman

01:11:30who liked to laugh

01:11:31in the face

01:11:32of stupid rules.

01:11:36Coming up...

01:11:37Anything you want

01:11:38to say to anybody?

01:11:40Laurie's day in court

01:11:42and her family's.

01:11:43I wanted her to know

01:11:45and the world to know

01:11:46we loved Larry too.

01:11:49When Dateline continues.

01:12:04Here it was,

01:12:06Laurie Eisenberg's

01:12:07day in court

01:12:08at 67 years old

01:12:10facing the music

01:12:12for murder.

01:12:14Anything you want

01:12:15to say, Laurie?

01:12:17Anything you want

01:12:18to say to anybody?

01:12:20But she did not

01:12:22arrive for a trial.

01:12:24No.

01:12:25Because

01:12:26prosecutor Barry McHugh

01:12:28had offered

01:12:29and she had accepted

01:12:30a deal.

01:12:32Laurie was taking

01:12:33an Alford plea,

01:12:35meaning she would

01:12:36plead guilty

01:12:37but retain the right

01:12:38to say she didn't

01:12:39do it.

01:12:40Well, I mean,

01:12:42why an Alford plea?

01:12:44I almost prefer

01:12:45an Alford plea

01:12:46from the perspective

01:12:47that it shows

01:12:49a lack of accountability,

01:12:51not taking responsibility

01:12:53for their own conduct,

01:12:56and it can really

01:12:57come back

01:12:58to bite them

01:12:59at sentencing.

01:13:00So that's what this was,

01:13:02a sentencing hearing.

01:13:04inside,

01:13:06all socially

01:13:06distanced and waiting,

01:13:08Laurie's former bosses

01:13:09at the non-profit,

01:13:10her two stepchildren,

01:13:12Larry's daughter

01:13:13and son,

01:13:14and just two

01:13:16of her six daughters

01:13:18present for the final

01:13:19act in this

01:13:20family tragedy.

01:13:23I went to her

01:13:24sentencing

01:13:27because I didn't want

01:13:29to live

01:13:29with any more regret.

01:13:32I regret

01:13:34not saying more

01:13:36in the beginning.

01:13:37I regret

01:13:38not talking

01:13:39to the investigators.

01:13:39I regret

01:13:40not standing up

01:13:42for Larry.

01:13:43And I wanted her

01:13:44to know

01:13:45and the world

01:13:45to know,

01:13:46no,

01:13:47we loved Larry too.

01:13:49And she took him

01:13:51from us too.

01:13:52And we do not

01:13:54support her.

01:13:55We do not

01:13:56stand by her.

01:13:58How extraordinary

01:13:59the scene.

01:14:00Family once

01:14:01so close,

01:14:03now sitting

01:14:04just feet away

01:14:05to take their

01:14:06turns at her.

01:14:07This is never

01:14:08something I wanted

01:14:09to do.

01:14:10What was it like

01:14:11doing that?

01:14:11I mean,

01:14:11you were how many

01:14:12feet away from her?

01:14:13Two feet.

01:14:14There was

01:14:15plexiglass between us.

01:14:18She turned

01:14:19into the mother

01:14:19that,

01:14:21you know,

01:14:21she put her

01:14:23shoulders back

01:14:24and looked at me

01:14:25as I was speaking

01:14:26like she was

01:14:27a proud mom.

01:14:28And there were

01:14:29moments where

01:14:30I would make

01:14:30eye contact

01:14:31with her

01:14:31and she would

01:14:32be sad

01:14:32and remorseful.

01:14:35It was very weird

01:14:36though.

01:14:37It was very hard.

01:14:39Today we hope

01:14:40and we hope

01:14:41for justice

01:14:42for Larry,

01:14:44the woman I loved,

01:14:45admired,

01:14:46and respected

01:14:47has shown me

01:14:49and everyone

01:14:49affected

01:14:50that she doesn't

01:14:51have an ounce

01:14:52of care

01:14:52for any of us.

01:14:55Larry dedicated

01:14:56his life to Lori.

01:14:58He loved her,

01:14:59he trusted her,

01:15:00and she killed him.

01:15:03See if we can

01:15:04get through this.

01:15:05There certainly

01:15:05was no ambivalence

01:15:06when Larry's son,

01:15:07Dean,

01:15:08faced her down.

01:15:12It felt like

01:15:13my head was

01:15:13going to pop.

01:15:14I cannot begin

01:15:15to fathom

01:15:15the reasoning

01:15:16Lori had for doing

01:15:17what she did

01:15:17to my dad,

01:15:18nor do I want

01:15:19to understand

01:15:20the workings

01:15:20of her mind.

01:15:21I was glad

01:15:22that she was

01:15:22sitting like

01:15:23two feet away

01:15:24from me

01:15:25to say it.

01:15:27I know I speak

01:15:28like dad.

01:15:29I know I articulate

01:15:30like him.

01:15:31So it would be

01:15:32like she was

01:15:33getting chewed

01:15:35out by dad,

01:15:36the person she

01:15:37supposedly loved

01:15:38more than anything

01:15:39in the world

01:15:39to have him

01:15:43standing up there

01:15:44and saying those

01:15:45things about her.

01:15:46There's also

01:15:46no amount of

01:15:47justice that can

01:15:48be done to make

01:15:48up for the years

01:15:49I'll continue

01:15:50to suffer in the

01:15:50future without

01:15:51my best friend

01:15:52and my dad.

01:15:53I was glad

01:15:53I got to do it

01:15:54and it took a

01:15:55huge weight

01:15:55off of my chest

01:15:57for things that

01:15:58I've been wanting

01:15:58to say for three

01:15:59years.

01:16:00But remember,

01:16:01Lori took an

01:16:02Alfred plea.

01:16:03Is there anything

01:16:04that you would like

01:16:05to say on your

01:16:06own behalf?

01:16:06So what would

01:16:08she finally claim

01:16:09happened that cold

01:16:11winter's day

01:16:12on the lake?

01:16:14Oh, she had a story

01:16:15to tell all right.

01:16:17Couldn't help

01:16:18but wonder what

01:16:19Larry might have

01:16:20thought about the

01:16:22punchline.

01:16:24Coming up,

01:16:26Lori says it's

01:16:27finally time to

01:16:29tell the truth.

01:16:30But was it the

01:16:31truth?

01:16:32Well, that's

01:16:33when I'm like,

01:16:33okay, that's a lie.

01:16:49I'm very happy

01:16:50to finally be able

01:16:51to tell the

01:16:54families what

01:17:01would happen.

01:17:02When the moment

01:17:03finally arrived

01:17:04for Lori Eisenberg

01:17:05to deliver on

01:17:06her promise.

01:17:08Well, let's just

01:17:09say it certainly

01:17:10didn't go as

01:17:11anyone in the

01:17:11gallery had hoped

01:17:12it would.

01:17:13Or expected.

01:17:15I want to state

01:17:16emphatically that I

01:17:17am responsible for

01:17:18Larry's death.

01:17:19Absolutely.

01:17:21I'm so sorry for

01:17:23everything I did.

01:17:26Starting with the

01:17:27embezzlement that

01:17:27resulted in the

01:17:28lies, deceit, and

01:17:29ultimate betrayal of

01:17:32the love and the

01:17:33trust of the people

01:17:34I love, especially

01:17:35Larry.

01:17:36So was a full

01:17:37confession coming?

01:17:39Nope.

01:17:40Not at all.

01:17:42I know that Larry

01:17:43would still be alive

01:17:46if it was not for

01:17:48me.

01:17:51Fixing a drink

01:17:53with Benadryl in it

01:17:54so that I would be able

01:18:01to selfishly and

01:18:03cowardly take my

01:18:04life.

01:18:06If I wouldn't have

01:18:07had that bottle in

01:18:09there, he would not

01:18:11have accidentally

01:18:12drank it.

01:18:13There you have it.

01:18:15Lori fixed the drink

01:18:17to kill herself.

01:18:19But Larry drank it

01:18:21before she could.

01:18:22It was really just

01:18:24an accident.

01:18:26Well, you know,

01:18:28that's when I'm like,

01:18:29okay, that's a lie.

01:18:32You know, because,

01:18:33again, you're looking at

01:18:35all the Google searches

01:18:37that she had been doing,

01:18:38all the things that

01:18:39clearly shows what she

01:18:42was up to.

01:18:45I've had to wear some

01:18:47high-water pants around

01:18:48certain individuals

01:18:49because of the bull crap

01:18:49floating around.

01:18:51At that sentencing, I

01:18:53wish I would have had

01:18:53chest waders and water

01:18:55wings and a snorkel so

01:18:56we didn't all drown in

01:18:57it.

01:18:58After Larry's death,

01:18:5950 minutes, she went

01:19:01on and on and on, all

01:19:06prepared in advance, page

01:19:07after page, as if to

01:19:09drown all murmurs of

01:19:11disbelief and a flood

01:19:12of words.

01:19:14I don't know what

01:19:15more I can say.

01:19:16I'm guilty.

01:19:18I'm sorry.

01:19:20The judge was quicker.

01:19:22Here will be the court

01:19:23sentence.

01:19:24Got right to the point.

01:19:26I will impose a life

01:19:27sentence.

01:19:2830 years fixed.

01:19:30Up to life in prison.

01:19:3330 years without parole,

01:19:35plus the five years she

01:19:36received after pleading

01:19:37guilty to fraud and theft

01:19:39for her financial crimes.

01:19:40Even with credit for time

01:19:42already served, it's

01:19:44unlikely Lori Eisenberg

01:19:45will ever live to see

01:19:47another day out of prison.

01:19:48And by the way, she did

01:19:50not respond to our

01:19:51repeated interview

01:19:52requests.

01:19:54Yeah, she gets to sit and

01:19:55think about it.

01:19:58I think it's a fine use of

01:20:01my tax dollars to help pay

01:20:02for her to sit and think

01:20:03about it.

01:20:05It's not justice.

01:20:07Justice would be I get to

01:20:08have dad back.

01:20:13But it's as close to a

01:20:15second as I can come up

01:20:16with.

01:20:17As for Lori's daughters,

01:20:19Amber and three of her

01:20:20sisters pleaded guilty to

01:20:22conspiracy to commit federal

01:20:24program theft, received three

01:20:27years probation, and were

01:20:28ordered to pay the money

01:20:29back.

01:20:30In Amber's case, about

01:20:31$16,000.

01:20:33But the cost is much higher

01:20:35than that.

01:20:36You have a record.

01:20:37I have a felony for life.

01:20:40How does that affect your

01:20:41life?

01:20:43It's really hard to be

01:20:44labeled something that

01:20:49isn't a true reflection of

01:20:51who you are.

01:20:52It's been really hard to get

01:20:55jobs.

01:20:56Nobody even wants to talk to

01:20:57you when you're a felon.

01:21:00So why did Lori do it?

01:21:03Was theft simply a compulsion?

01:21:06Honesty only for rubes?

01:21:08Was it her straight-arrow

01:21:10husband's stupid rules she

01:21:11felt compelled to break?

01:21:13Or could she simply not

01:21:14permit him to know who she

01:21:16really was?

01:21:17In the end, of course,

01:21:19everyone knew.

01:21:23Larry's money, an estate his

01:21:24family estimated at $2 to $3

01:21:26million, has gone to repay

01:21:28the non-profit, plus the

01:21:30damages imposed by the

01:21:32court, Cougar Gulch has

01:21:34been sold.

01:21:36Children are learning to live

01:21:37without their grandparents.

01:21:39A shattered family is

01:21:41feeling its way.

01:21:44You know, they,

01:21:45unfortunately, it's become a

01:21:48little bit more divided.

01:21:50I can't have relationships that

01:21:52aren't honest and truthful,

01:21:56and there are some of our

01:21:58family members who want to

01:22:00stay in that place with our

01:22:02mom.

01:22:02Live in denial.

01:22:03Yeah.

01:22:05To deny the things that they

01:22:07know happened and that we need

01:22:09to deal with.

01:22:10I've extended love to them, but

01:22:13they know where I stand.

01:22:15And Larry, his image lives on

01:22:19among his children, his

01:22:21stepchildren, his

01:22:22grandchildren.

01:22:24I just remember him as the

01:22:25immortal Larry Eisenberg that he

01:22:27always was.

01:22:28I don't have to have the memory of

01:22:29him getting sick and frail and

01:22:31slowly slipping away helpless in a

01:22:33hospital bed.

01:22:34I get to have nothing but the good

01:22:36memories of him.

01:22:38Larry Eisenberg, that honest man

01:22:41whose fatal flaw was to love the

01:22:44woman who couldn't be.

01:22:49That's all for this edition of

01:22:51Dateline.

01:22:52We'll see you again next Friday at

01:22:539, 8 central.

01:22:55And of course, I'll see you each

01:22:56weeknight for NBC Nightly News.

01:22:59I'm Lester Holt for all of us at

01:23:01NBC News.

01:23:02Good night.

Dateline NBC S30E03 Kill Switch H 264

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