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[Music] I cover crime murders robberies rapes and I've been covering the Sonia Rio
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story for years Sonia the Lomita Black Widow Sonia is from the Philip a petite woman pretty and my brother
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fell in love with her Larry loved this country served in the Navy for years Sonia was a Navy
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groupy apparently she liked military men their marriage initially was a good marriage as far as we
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knew she was a controlling woman just very manipulative after a while he he wanted a divorce she was
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angry she spread rumors that he was stealing drugs involved in crime this woman was the closest thing
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to evil I've ever seen Sonia was devious she was capable of anything Sonia was not going to let him
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walk away from this marriage something bad was going to happen to him my brother was in a
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jeep a guy came up to him and shot him in the head and in the stomach Point Blank it was an
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assassination I just had this feeling that she was responsible but yet I had no proof well it started off as just a
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single murder case and then I received the phone call telling me hey this isn't the first time
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this happened I I was in shock she may have had two men killed and she's not in jail you know that scared
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me when I walked out my front door I looked around I looked both ways the woman was
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crazy I was afraid for my life I was afraid for my father I I'm thinking we're next we're
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next conspiracy to kill tonight's 48 Hours mystery [Music] [Applause] [Music] Larry was the clown of the
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family he was very well-liked funny he was like a big kid growing up in Washington state
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Sherry Jackson was always close to her big brother Larry risken what do he miss most about Larry his um goofy goofy
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laugh you know he was a loving son and a real Patriot and you don't see much of that anymore law risken is Larry's
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father he enlisted when he was years old Larry followed his Father's Footsteps into the
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Navy rising to the rank of Commander so your son was a leader oh yes yeah a man that gave orders yes he
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was uhhuh that was until he met Sonia Rios lots and lots of black hair flamboyant very
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attractive for Larry it was love at first sight but Sher thought Sonia was trouble it
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was very obvious to me that something wasn't right that something wasn't right Sonia was very secretive about her past
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all the Riskin knew was a vague story about a previous marriage and a divorce I knew absolutely nothing about her
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background there was just always a story within Story Probably is the best description on Sonia Henry Hoskins
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a bail bondsman and the head of the local Chamber of Commerce has been friends with Sonia for more than 25
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years she had the Corvette that she drove she was very successful she was a very successful business woman Sonia
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owned a thriving beauty salon in Lomita California she was a rags to riches person Sonia grew up poor in the
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Philippines I think she came up the hard way her home was just down the road from
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sangley point A US Naval Base she moved to the states in the 60s and Hoskins says she was always
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attracted to servicemen she was very very into the social events of the military of the
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Navy she got to go to dress up balls and stuff and parties after a brief Court ship Larry
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and Sonia were married in 1990 not once but in three separate ceremonies which of those weddings was
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your favorite I wasn't invited to any of the weddings you weren't invited to any
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of the weddings nor were my parents Sonia told Larry his family wasn't welcome it was devastating because that
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wasn't Larry it created a rift between Larry and his family that would last for years
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we were so close and it all changed but Sonia and Larry did travel to the Philippines to spend time with
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her family on one trip Larry met Sonia's niece quinsey and nephew jet Mark I call
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call him papa papa yeah and tell me about the Larry that you knew he is really a good
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man and also a father to me Larry and Sonia decided to adopt the children whose family wanted them to have a
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better life in the states Sonia promised to make the adoption [Music] happen after a long career in the Navy
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Larry left active duty in 1995 to become a teacher he was a special ed teacher for high school
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students the time and love he gave to those children children it was amazing teacher eileene Stevens worked
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with Larry at laale high school I was struck with how much he cared about what happened to these students after they
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left his classroom and the school Larry's new job was going really well but his marriage was
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not for years Larry believed Sonia was working to finalize the adoption of quinsey and jetmar year after year would
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go by and Sonia would tell him that there was something wrong with the paperwork and then he found out that she
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was sabotaging the whole adoption process he just said I can't believe that she lied to me all these
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years fed up with Sonia Larry began seeing his friend eileene he told his wife that he had feelings for me Sonia
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flew into a rage Sonia went on the attack didn't she attack's a great word for it she told School personel that her
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husband was using drugs she told a parent Larry and I were abusing her son No One Believes Sonia's
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wild accusations but Larry had enough he told Sonia their 16-year marriage was over I've never seen him so so happy it
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was like this big weight off his shoulder Sonia agreed to the divorce but said they would only separate after
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Larry's long planned trip to visit the kids in the Philippines he would go alone she knew that divorce was never
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going to happen Sher was terrified her brother was walking into a trap he called my dad and I before he
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left was very excited to go very excited to see the kids I just had a horrible feeling something bad was going to
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happen to him [Music] I told him that something was going to happen and I'm saying Larry don't go to
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the Philippines something inside is telling me that my brother is going to be harmed when Larry risken arrived in the
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Philippines he qu quickly organized a sweet 16 birthday party for quinsey the girl he had hoped to adopt birthday
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girl that's Larry right there it was April 18th 2006 the last day of his life in a few short hours he would be
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murdered at the party Larry was worried about quin's cousin April who had a serious eye infection April you like
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doll he decided to take her to the hospital it was the kind of thing Larry did for
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Sonia's family when he visited the Philippines but before he left for the hospital Larry got a phone call from the
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states it was his wife so my mama Sonia called Sonia called Larry y they talked on the phone before
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we before we leave the house before you left the house and Larry told Sonia that
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he was going to the hospital yep as night fell Larry along with members of Sonia's family waited it out
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in the hospital when April was released they piled into a Jeep but never got out
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of the parking lot there were two people on a motorcycle and the person on the back of
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the motorcycle went to my brother's side of the car a man with a gun took aim at Larry
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jet Mark was in the back seat we just hear a gunshot two gunshot did you see the shooter no cuz
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it was really dark the gunman then ran back to the waiting motorcycle and took off Larry
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was shot in the head and stomach and even though they were at a hospital doctors were unable to save Larry's
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life so your brother never had a chance never 14-year-old jet Mark who had just witnessed the murder of the only Father
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Figure he ever knew called Sonia to give her what he thought would be devastating
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news she told told me jet don't worry every Everything is Everything is under control nothing to worry about
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everything's under control how would she know everything's under control I don't
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know Sonia then called Sherry she said my husband my husband is dead my husband my husband is
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dead and what was the moment life for you when you learn that your brother Larry is
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gone I just kept thinking [Music] that I had to go tell my dad that mean it was a real shocker you
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know I there's like a punch in the belly and I'm just thinking oh my God uh you know how how much more of this stuff can
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we take as a family after the initial shock of Larry's murder Sherry wanted Justice despite
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months of investigating the murder Philippine police were unable to find Larry's Killers why haven't there been
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any arrests anyone brought to Justice in the Philippines for your brother's murder I wish I knew the answer to
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that I I really do the risk and looking for answers hired private investigator bong OTA this
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this is the main the uh exact spot where Larry risken was shot he says the shooting was a
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well-planned hit you believe this shooter was a Hired Gun he was a hired killer yes he was a
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hired killer because he knows he knows his trade he knows what to do bong says nothing was stolen The Hired gunman was
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only after Larry it's not a robbery it's an assassination it's an assassination it's a murder
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case bong learned that Larry had several life insurance policies but only one beneficiary Sonia Rios how much money
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did Sonia stand to make from your brother's death at the time it was we were estimating it was over a million
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dollars while Sherry was still grieving still trying to learn who had killed her
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brother she got a call it was stunning news that Sonia's first husband Earl Bordeaux was assassinated in the
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Philippines in the presence of Sonia's family I was shocked I just remember my knees
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buckling the extent of her evilness it just it was that this woman definitely had my brother killed that
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everything I thought about her was [Music] true you know I cover murders virtually every
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day and the first day was just a simple man gets shot story nothing Sinister when veteran
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crime reporter Larry Alman began to cover Larry riskin's murder in the spring of 2006 he thought it was nothing
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more than a routine homicide the story ran on a Saturday and when I returned to work on Monday I had
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a couple of emails telling me hey this isn't the first time this happened the information was
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stunning Sonia's first husband had also been murdered in the Philippines I got pretty excited and
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like wow you know I got to start looking into this one email revealed the dead man's
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name Earl John Bordeaux so I just did a little internet search ran that name and
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and came up with his brother his name is Dennis bordeau my brother was lying on a
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couch and they shot my brother in the head Sonia had set my brother up evil just
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evil Dennis Boro tries to stay focused on Earl's life before Sonia when the two brothers were growing
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up in Davenport Iowa we played baseball and he' always helped me Pitch balls to me everything a
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big brother does with a little brother you know Earl enlisted in the Marines right
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out of high school in 1963 and on his first overseas Tour of Duty in the Philippines he met Sonia
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Rios my brother was head over heels in love with her did you know about this before
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they got married no we never knew anything until he brought her home and said that um he was married and this is
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his wife The Newlywed settled in Lomita a suburb of Los Angeles where Sonia began
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her career as a beautician my brother worked two jobs to keep her and what she wanted
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the story of Earl and Sonia's marriage is eily similar to that of Larry and Sonia's sometimes she was real nice to
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him and other times she always seemed to be angry at him to me they weren't really married I
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she went off and did what she wanted to do I knew some of her boyfriends Henry Hoskins Sonia's good friend knew Earl
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and knew secrets about Sonia that Earl didn't she was dating uh professional people but she would cheat on Earl uh
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she told me she was dating a doctor after a stormy 21-year marriage Earl wanted out but before she would Grant him a
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divorce Sonia demanded that Earl go by himself to the Philippines to sell a family taxi business he didn't want to
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go and he told me that he go I don't want to go and I told him then don't go and he says Sony is making
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me on August 15th 1987 Earl was asleep in the front room of this house when he was shot in the head at
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Point Blank Range next thing I know my brother was dead was like dying yourself just killed my Mom and Dad it
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was just like the end of the world he was resting in the uh living room of the relatives no and um he was
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Gann down while sleeping investigator bong OTA says Earl was staying with Sonia's brothers and that family members
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told police police Earl was shot during a Breakin uh there is no sign of any force entry to the
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house if there is a force entry that happened the first one to know is Earl bero it would have awakened him oh yeah
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police didn't buy the break-in story and focused in on one of Sonia's Brothers after they found blood on one of his
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shirts within weeks of bordeaux's murder police solved the case five people were arrested and charged
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with murder including two of Sonia rios's Brothers then everything stopped do you believe that someone may have
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been paid off to stop this investigation yes to stop the investigation just to drop the charges against the five family
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members incredibly bong says it takes as little as $1,000 to stop a criminal investigation and he thinks he knows who
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paid to stop this one person that wanted Earl berue on dead is someone that will
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benefit and that is sonz it's a murder for higher insurance fraud case so she would get the
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insurance money Earl is murdered for his life insurance money yes according to my
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brother they had a lot of insurance and in fact Sonia did cash in after Earl's death collecting tens of
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thousands of dollars 19 years later she tried it again she was planning on receiving life insurance
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money but after Larry's murder Sonia didn't make out as well an angry Sher Jackson alerted the insurance companies
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saying that Sonia was responsible for her brother's murder and the insurance payouts were
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frozen Sonia used the Philippines as Killing Grounds and two murders and no one has been
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brought to justice but that's not the end of the story close to the one-year anniversary
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of Larry riskin's murder someone made an unexpected visit to Sonia at her Salon somebody runs in there and fires a
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shot at her misses and yells I'll be back [Music] this is my brother's graduation and
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that's my dad my mom there this is the last picture I got from him before he was killed what happened to your
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brother's body he's still in the Philippines Dennis borau is convinced so Rios arranged to have his brother's body
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secretly buried in the Philippines so investigators could never take a second look at the body Dennis
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called Sonia and confronted her I said I know the whole thing Sonia I said I know
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you had my brother killed alls I want is my brother back here and you'll never hear another word
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from me I won't bother you but if if you don't I'm going to haunt you until hell
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freeze is over she wouldn't even allow the family to have the remains of their loved ones
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after she had them murdered now you're very quiet huh I believe it was a cover up I believe Sonia did not want his
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remains brought back to the United States like Dennis Bordeaux Sher had tried to get her brother's body back to
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the United States but Sonia made that impossible she had Larry cremated I was devastated I couldn't
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believe that that was allowed Cherry didn't even know where Larry's ashes were but 9 months after Larry's murder
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she received a bizarre email with an offer it said that they would help my family get my brother's ashes back
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the mysterious emailer told Sherry her brother's ashes could be retrieved from the Philippines for a mere
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$35,000 every time I went out of the house I would look around I I was I was afraid for my life reporter Larry Alman
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was also frightened he had broken the story linking Sonia who he now called the black widow
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of Lomita to the murders of her two husbands shortly afterwards he started receiving disturbing phone calls I was
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in a dead sleep phone rings and I hear all this static and then I hear the word Philippines and then what I made out was
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you are going to get it but Alman wasn't intimidated he repeatedly called Sonia who finally agreed to meet him face to
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face I thought what am I doing what am I walking into I'm a crime reporter but I
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also don't do things that are stupid you cover it you don't want to be in it correct Alman came here expecting an
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interview but Sonia had set a trap I looked through the window and uh this uh very tall man who
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was sitting on the couch in the waiting area stood [Music] up and he Towers over me and and says
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step outside my heart was pounding but he says there's going to be no interview strangely he puts his hand out and it's
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got his card in it and he says I'm Henry Hoskins I was only there as a friend and
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a private investigator she said she was getting a lot of harassing phone calls she was
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convinced that the news story stories were putting her in danger Sonia's paranoia was justified close to the
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one-year anniversary of Larry riskin's murder someone burst into Sonia's beauty salon here in lomina California and took
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a shot at her the bullet missed but the shooter promised to return police believe that promise was kept 9 days
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later when someone entered Sonia's home I help you yes uh yes I send somebody what's going on there oh gosh
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there's blood on the floor it was a Friday afternoon Larry ultman was working on
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another story when he got a call from a tipster hey Larry there's a murderer out
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here in Lomita and it's that woman with the two dead husbands and I said are you
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kidding me and we switched to breaking news in Lita around 2:30 this afternoon Sheriff say
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that the body of an Asian woman was found in this home dead of gunshot wounds LA County Sheriff Detective Mike
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Rodriguez got to the crime scene just after patrolman had arrived they had found a woman shot inside her residence
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the Black Widow of Lomita 60-year-old son Rios lay in a pool of blood dead ironically from a g unshot
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[Music] wound to the head I was blown away by this it looked like somebody had came in and executed
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her they came in to do a job and they did the job Rodriguez believes Sonia likely knew her
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killer her home was Secure with a steel gate and a security camera at the front door it didn't look like she had
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struggled I believe that she probably saw who her killer was after the incident at her Salon Sonia
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had told police Sherry Jackson had motive to harm her armed with that information detective Rodriguez flew to
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Olympia Washington to question Sherry face to face did you have anything to do with Sonia rios's murder absolutely not
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but it'd be accurate to say that if you had the opportunity you might dance on her grave yes or buy a drink for the
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person who killed her [Music] Sherry's father isn't grieving either if I could I'd dig her up and shoot her
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again police quickly ruled out the risken family as suspects but detective Rodriguez was intrigued by the
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mysterious emails that Sherry Jackson had received after her brother had been killed everybody knows that Sonia
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murdered your brother I can get someone to kill Sonia Rios risken and these emails are coming from who the person is
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signing John Bordeaux on the emails we had spoken with John Bordeaux he was the one that found Sona
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Ros this is John Bordeaux detective Rodriguez discovered that John Bordeaux was Sonia
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rios's secret son he had been born 44 years earlier in the Philippines before her first
00:31:01
marriage and then reportedly adopted by Earl Bordeaux Sonia rarely talked about her
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son he refused to talk to us we did not find one photo not one letter card you know indicating that she
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even had a son those emails offering to kill Sonia plus the fact that John Bordeaux was the
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sole heir to her estate convinced detective Rodriguez that he was a prime suspect but in the son Rios murder case
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not everything is what it seems when police traced the emails they were stunned to learn they were sent by
00:31:44
someone who was trying to frame John Bordeaux I can sit here and say today that John Bordeaux did not send those
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emails who did send those emails who killed Sonia Rios he's on foot our investigation says this man may have the
00:32:02
answers so let's get ahead of him and we'll hop out okay you guys [Music] ready this man may know secrets to
00:32:28
solving Sonia rios's murder and the murders of her two husbands his name Eric De La Cruz it's
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my understanding that Eric De La Cruz is a great nephew of Sonia Sherry Jackson first heard Eric's
00:32:46
name about one year after her brother's murder when out of the blue he sent the Riskin this box of Larry's belongings
00:32:56
Navy and Marine Corps achievement metal picture of Larry on the antium we felt like we received a part of Larry so that
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was very kind of Eric to do that it was very kind and you're thinking this is a pretty nice kid
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yes Eric is Filipino but grew up in the states and was very close to Sonia and Larry he even called them Grandma and
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Grandpa he said he loved my brother and that my brother was a mentor after Eric sent the memorabilia he and
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Sher struck up an email friendship in the beginning he was telling me how wonderful my brother was
00:33:38
but then Eric shocked Sher once again she was told she could pay to get Larry's ashes back but this time the
00:33:49
price was astronomical all I needed to do was give him $250,000 and we could you know get my
00:33:55
brother's ashes $250,000 bucks for your brother's ashes police first questioned Eric after
00:34:05
he showed up at Sonia's house the day her body was discovered he drew even more police
00:34:12
attention after he went to Sonia's lawyer hoping to collect money from her estate what is HE capable of in your
00:34:20
opinion I think he's capable of anything I think he is a clone of Sonia we've tracked Eric De La Cruz to a house
00:34:33
at the end of this block in Carson California if it comes out we hope to pop a few
00:34:40
questions st stop st stop stop stop stop st he's coming out Eric Del La Cruz I'm Peter Van Sant with CBS News I
00:34:50
want to ask you a couple of questions did you kill Sonia Rios did you kill Sonia Rios that's
00:34:57
Grandma sir I know it's your grandma did you kill her no sir no I wasn't there you know where Larry riskin's ashes are
00:35:05
why don't you give them back to the family I don't sir I don't I love I love I love my grandpa sir I love I love him
00:35:11
you loved him so much you wanted to sell his Ashes to his family I want not come
00:35:17
on talk to me with Eric no longer talking and Sonia dead the investigation into the murders
00:35:27
hit a wall the risken family has little hope of Ever Getting Larry's ashes back Sonia
00:35:34
made sure that his remains stayed in the Philippines they belong at home with the
00:35:41
family the Riskin have nothing more than a grave marker to commemorate Larry I want people to remember him as
00:35:52
he was which was a very special caring trusting person like the Riskin Dennis Bordeaux also has
00:36:12
nothing but an empty grave to visit my mom and dad just idolized my brother I promised them I would do whatever I
00:36:21
could to get him back here I'm not going to stop until I get him back somehow someway
00:36:30
half a world away somewhere in the Philippines are the hidden remains of Earl Bordeaux during the 48 Hours
00:36:38
investigation into his murder a tip led us to this small public Cemetery outside
00:36:44
of Manila we were told Earl's remains might be inomed behind this Crypt wall well we're looking for Mr Earl John
00:36:55
bordo we hired the best forensic pathologist in the Philippines Dr Raquel forun to help
00:37:06
us what do you see in there doctor right there's a coffin and I see a sack an unmarked sack could our tip be
00:37:17
true inside Dr fortun discovers what she thinks is a male skeleton how long it's
00:37:24
been there very hard to pinpoint exactly how many years could this be Earl Bordeaux small for a meal Caucasian all
00:37:34
right so right now it doesn't look like it's him not discouraged Dr fortun brought
00:37:48
the sack back to her laboratory inside were not just bones but perhaps another clue a pair of heavy socks something an
00:37:58
American might wear this is a tropical country it's hot so you wouldn't really wear socks at
00:38:08
all what is this device the bone board bone with the help of a colleague Dr fortun took measurements and compared
00:38:16
medical and dental records to the bones this thing is more common among caucasions then in a real CSI moment she
00:38:26
pieced the skull together and made a startling Discovery and these two pieces fit and you're seeing now a hole there's
00:38:36
a hole right here based on putting this skull puzzle back together again and you're saying that hole could be an
00:38:44
entry point for a bullet that is an entry ENT rather than an exit and this hole is on the side of the skull where
00:38:53
Earl was shot this is based on the autopsy report the entry site is somewhere here after a complete
00:39:01
examination of the remains this Dr fortun offered her expert opinion there are many points here that
00:39:11
indicate that these could be the remains of Mr bero to be absolutely certain 48 Hours
00:39:22
sent a bone sample to a lab in Fairfield Ohio to compare against his brother's DNA two months later with the lab
00:39:33
results in hand we travel to Dennis's home to give him the news he's waited 21 years to hear we found your brother
00:39:43
great we found Earl it's good this means everything to have all my old family back again and kind of
00:39:58
like being reborn you know after all these years actually go to the grave site be able to see him just be a whole
00:40:07
new feeling you [Music] know 48 Hours transported Earl's remains back to Davenport Iowa the town he had
00:40:18
left more than 45 years ago to find Adventure in the Philippines it was always just a empty feeling not
00:40:31
being able to go see a body or a grave or even be a part of the funeral I can't believe these
00:40:48
here a long time so good to have you back brother so good sorry it took so long [Music]
00:41:34
[Music] he [Music]