Deadly Mirage

Summary

Dateline NBC: Deadly Mirage – A Detailed Summary

Release Date: May 27, 2025

Introduction

In the gripping episode titled "Deadly Mirage," NBC News' Dateline NBC delves into the tragic murder of Rob Limone, a beloved member of the Silver Lakes community. The story unravels the complexities of an open marriage, hidden affairs, and the ensuing investigation that ultimately leads to a courtroom drama fraught with deception and betrayal. This comprehensive summary captures the key points, discussions, insights, and conclusions drawn from the episode.

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1. The Picture-Perfect Life in Silver Lakes

Background on Rob and Sabrina Limone

Rob and Sabrina Limone epitomized the idyllic family life in Silver Lakes, a seemingly serene community nestled in the Mojave Desert. Their home on Strawberry Lane was the heart of the "Wolf Pack," a close-knit group of friends who embraced an open relationship model.

• Host Lester Holt introduces the couple:

  • "Rob and Sabrina Limone were just one of those magical couples." [00:23]

• Friend Kelly Bernatine emphasizes their charm:

  • "She was super nice, friendly, like over the top friendly." [05:00]

Rob's dedication was evident both personally and professionally. Married in 2000, he was a committed family man and a passionate railroad mechanic, always photographing his work to capture moments of joy.

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2. The Night Rob Limone Was Murdered

Circumstances of the Murder

On August 11, 2014, Rob celebrated his 38th birthday with family and friends. A week later, tragedy struck when Rob was found dead from gunshot wounds at his workplace in Tehachapi.

• Sabrina Limone recounts the discovery:
  • "I opened the garage door and there's a light bulb busted out. He's on the ground bleeding out of his head." [07:59]

Detective Randall Meyer leads the investigation, initially suspecting a burglary gone wrong—an unusual motive for such a crime, given the setting and lack of valuables.

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3. Unraveling the Affair

The Affair with Jonathan Hearn

As the investigation progresses, attention shifts to Jonathan Hearn, a 24-year-old firefighter who had been involved in an affair with Sabrina Limone. Their relationship, though initially presented as purely spiritual, reveals deeper connections.

• Jonathan Hearn reveals his feelings:

  • "I have been a bad girl. I feel like the most horrible person in the world." [38:38]

• Sabrina Confesses on the Phone:

  • "I have been a bad girl. I feel like... I love you so much, my girl." [38:38]

Detective Meyer uncovers crucial evidence linking Jonathan to the crime, including security footage and modified motorcycle details matching his own.

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4. The Investigation Tightens

Evidence Against Jonathan

Key pieces of evidence include:

• Security Footage: A motorcyclist matching Jonathan's description was seen near the crime scene on the day of the murder. [35:31]

• Phone Records: Thousands of texts and calls between Jonathan and Sabrina indicate a conspiratorial relationship, especially around the time of the murder. [36:45]

• Modified Motorcycle: Jonathan altered his motorcycle to disguise his activities, suggesting premeditation. [36:25]

Despite initial denials, Jonathan's behavior and the amassed evidence make him the prime suspect.

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5. The Trial of Sabrina Limone

Courtroom Drama Unfolds

In late 2016, the trial culminates with Sabrina Limone taking the stand. Prosecutor Eric Smith presents a compelling case based on the wiretap recordings and Jonathan's testimony, alleging that Sabrina orchestrated the murder to preserve her open marriage and continue her affair.

• Prosecutor Eric Smith states:

  • "They had a plan, and that plan was to get rid of Robert Lamone." [57:12]

• Jonathan Hearn's Testimony:

  • "I fired the first shot from within the bag. He fell, seemingly mortally wounded." [58:45]

Defense's Strategy:

Sabrina's attorney, Richard Terry, focuses on dismantling Jonathan's credibility rather than defending Sabrina's character.

• Defense Argument:
  • "Jonathan wanted to come clean about what he did from very early on. He knows what he did was wrong, and he felt that maintaining a not guilty plea was dishonest." [66:15]

Despite the defense's efforts, the overwhelming circumstantial evidence and Jonathan's confession leave little doubt in the jury's minds.

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6. Verdict and Aftermath

Sabrina Limone Convicted

After less than seven hours of deliberation, the jury finds Sabrina Limone guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and accessories related to the killing of her husband, Rob Limone. However, she is acquitted of attempting to poison Rob with arsenic-laced pudding.

• Kelly Bernatine expresses her vindication:
  • "I always had hope that they would. That they would get her somehow. I didn't know how or when, but, like, I definitely, definitely had that hope." [81:40]

Sentencing and Future Implications

Sabrina is sentenced to 25 years to life. Conversely, Jonathan Hearn accepts a plea deal, reducing his charge to voluntary manslaughter, allowing for potential parole in 2028.

• Jonathan Hearn reflects:
  • "He'll be under the age of 50. He shot a man in. I have a hard time with that." [54:34]

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7. The Impact on the Community

The Disbanded Wolf Pack

The murder and ensuing trial leave indelible marks on the Silver Lakes community. Friends who were once inseparable are now fractured, with trust irrevocably broken.

• Kelly Bernatine mourns:
  • "Things just change. I mean, she broke all of our hearts. Not only were we just so devastated finding out who she really was, but we missed Rob so much." [83:08]

Sabrina and Rob's children struggle with the aftermath, unable to comprehend the betrayal and loss.

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Conclusion

"Deadly Mirage" is a poignant exploration of how hidden affairs and complex relationships can lead to unimaginable tragedies. Dateline NBC meticulously unpacks the layers of deception, faith, and friendship that culminated in Rob Limone's untimely death. The episode serves as a sobering reminder of the fragility of trust and the devastating consequences that can arise when secrets lie beneath the surface of seemingly perfect lives.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Rob and Sabrina’s Happiness:

  • Sabrina Limone: "That was the bombshell of all bombshells. No one could look away. You just couldn't look away." [00:53]

• Discovery of Rob’s Body:

  • Sabrina Limone: "I opened the garage door and there's a light bulb busted out. He's on the ground bleeding out of his head." [07:59]

• Affair Revelation:

  • Jonathan Hearn: "Yes. She loved my brother and I could tell she did." [03:44]

• Confession of Jonathan:

  • Jonathan Hearn: "I fired the first shot from within the bag. He fell, seemingly mortally wounded." [64:32]

• Final Verdict:

  • Kelly Bernatine: "I would do it all again for Rob. He didn't deserve what happened to him." [81:40]

These quotes underscore the emotional and dramatic turning points that drive the narrative forward, providing firsthand insights into the characters' motivations and the unfolding mystery.

Transcript

[Lester Holt]

Tonight on Dateline, the wolf pack is.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Our group of friends in Silver Lakes. They called each other Bear and Pooter.

[Sabrina Limone]

I don't see nothing.

[Lester Holt]

I think you did.

[Jonathan Hearn]

I started thinking, who would want Rob out of the picture?

[Sabrina Limone]

This case had sex, religion. It literally had everything.

[Lester Holt]

The story of an it couple behind Dateline's hit podcast.

[Sabrina Limone]

Sabrina and Rob had invited another married couple into their group for an open relationship.

[Kelly Bernatine]

She couldn't stay away from him.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Good morning, my lover.

[Sabrina Limone]

Well, good morning. They talked about God. God is so good. Yes, God is so good.

[Lester Holt]

Did you and Ms. Limone and her husband and your husband engage in sexual activity together?

[Sabrina Limone]

That was the bombshell of all bombshells. No one could look away. You just couldn't look away.

[Lester Holt]

Was someone doing God's work? Or the devil's? I'm Lester Holt and this is Dateline. Here's Josh Mankiewicz with Deadly Mirage. Trackless, dry and desolate, the Mojave Desert fits almost no one's image of the California lifestyle. Unless that is you. You stumble upon this little oasis, Silver Lakes, a community of 6,000 improbably built in the desert. On the water, the lakes are artificial, of course. The houses look solid enough. Stucco and red tile, along with churches, a golf course and parks for the kids. Wholesome anywhere, Main street, usa. But what if that's a mirage, too? Turns out behind some of these doors, there are secrets about religion, about friendship, about sex, and about murder. Rob and Sabrina Limone were just one of those magical couples.

[Jonathan Hearn]

You wanted to invite them to every barbecue you had and you wanted to make it to every barbecue or every time they were going to go out on a lake. And they attracted people around them like that.

[Lester Holt]

Friends Kelly and Jason Bernatine told me the Limones were irresistible.

[Jonathan Hearn]

They had two beautiful kids and a great family and just always happy.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Aw, that's so sweet.

[Lester Holt]

How do they get along with each other?

[Kelly Bernatine]

Oh, gosh. They never fought. They were like. They called each other Bear and Pooter and hugs and kisses and high fives all the time. Just happy, happy, happy.

[Lester Holt]

Their happiness was all the sweeter because Rob's own parents had split up when he was a child. Rob's older sister, Chris Wilson.

[Sabrina Limone]

Divorce is hard on kids, and it was hard on my brother. Mom worked a lot of nights being a single mom, so I would take care of Robert.

[Lester Holt]

After graduating high school, Rob lived with Chris here in Prescott Arizon. It's where he met Sabrina. Just about everyone called her Breena.

[Sabrina Limone]

He brought her to our home and introduced us. And he Said, I think I'm gonna marry her.

[Lester Holt]

Chris could tell this was serious.

[Sabrina Limone]

She loved my brother and I could tell she did.

[Lester Holt]

Rob adored both Sabrina and her family, says Lydia Morero, another of Rob's sisters.

[Kelly Bernatine]

They were very warm and welcoming and.

[Sabrina Limone]

They did things together and that's what.

[Kelly Bernatine]

He wanted for himself and his family.

[Lester Holt]

Rob and Sabrina married in a beautiful church wedding on August 19, 2000. Rob thought about becoming a firefighter, then landed a job as a mechanic for a railroad company.

[Sabrina Limone]

He loved his job, just like everything he did, he put 110% into it. He'd always take pictures of himself at.

[Lester Holt]

Work and see the trains in the background.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Robert with his thumb up and.

[Lester Holt]

Just enjoying life. Sabrina and Rob settled in small town Helendale, California, in a community called Silver Lakes. Some people call it the happiest place in the high desert. Their house was on Strawberry Lane. They had two beautiful children, Robbie and Leanna, almost three years apart. Kelly was a hairdresser in town. That's how she and Sabrina met.

[Kelly Bernatine]

She made an appointment, came in, was super nice, friendly, like over the top friendly. I did her hair, she told me about her family. She talked to me the whole time, nonstop.

[Lester Holt]

She was hard to resist.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Yeah, she was.

[Lester Holt]

Kelly was married to Jason, a firefighter. Soon the Limones invited them over for dinner. You remember that first dinner?

[Jonathan Hearn]

Yeah, I remember the first time I met Rob. He's actually kind of a scary dude. He's really big. He's got tattoos all over his arm and he's got his last name tattooed on the back of his head. So his appearance was not like his personality. It only took a minute to realize he was the nicest guy in the world.

[Lester Holt]

Jason and Rob became fast friends. So did Kelly and Sabrina.

[Jonathan Hearn]

We used to joke that sunshine was coming out of their butts. They were such happy people and you just wanted to be around them.

[Lester Holt]

The four became inseparable. They would often get together with a handful of other young couples. They all called themselves the Wolf Pack.

[Kelly Bernatine]

It's a big group when we all get together and our little pups running around.

[Lester Holt]

The Wolf Pack spent just about every holiday and birthday together. But one couple was always the center of gravity. Sabrina and Rob Limone.

[Jonathan Hearn]

I would look at Rob and I would watch him with Sabrina and I'd be like, that's the guy that I need to be like, you know? And all the wives would look at Robin and it was hard to compare it to him.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Yeah, everybody would be like, why can't you be more like Rob?

[Jonathan Hearn]

Be more like Rob. That's what everybody said. And as a guy, you're just like, I could never be like that.

[Lester Holt]

On August 11, 2014, Rob turned 38. He celebrated his birthday with his family and his wolf pack friends. And then just a week later, everything went off the rails. Rob was working the day shift at an isolated railroad office in Tehachapi, about 90 miles from Hellendale. Sabrina worked part time passing out samples at Costco, and the couple often talked or texted during the day. This day was no exception. Call me, Bear. I'm home now, getting the kids dinner and ready for school. Yay. But Rob didn't respond and he didn't call. On the way home, as he almost always did, Sabrina texted him again. Babe, I'm worried about you. Call me. Leanna wants to say goodnight. That was a little after 8pm Rob Lamone never did call. Instead, this call came in, coming back to what happened. I opened the garage door and there's a light bulb busted out. He's on the ground bleeding out of his head.

[Sabrina Limone]

Okay.

[Lester Holt]

Oh, my God. What had happened?

[Jonathan Hearn]

When we returned, I looked at her.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Sister and I said, is this. Is it true?

[Lester Holt]

An apparent burglary and a mystery.

[Jonathan Hearn]

We didn't know what was going on. It didn't make a lot of sense.

[Lester Holt]

It didn't take long for bad news to spread in Silver Lakes. Kelly Bernatine got the call in the middle of the night and immediately drove to Sabrina's home.

[Kelly Bernatine]

She comes to the door, but she was wearing a railroad jacket and little Leanna was wearing a railroad jacket and holding a picture of her dad. And then she said something like, oh, my Kelly. And she just, like, reached her arms out and fell on me and cried.

[Sabrina Limone]

And.

[Kelly Bernatine]

And then I looked at her sister and I said, is it true? And she said, yeah. And then I just cried.

[Lester Holt]

It was true. Big Rob Limone, the nicest guy in the world, had been shot to death at work.

[Sabrina Limone]

But I still didn't believe that because Rob was so strong and I couldn't believe it.

[Lester Holt]

Sabrina's older sister, Julie Cordova, says they were both stunned.

[Sabrina Limone]

She was crying and just pacing and trying to be strong for the kids all at the same time. So I laid with Brena that night and rubbed her head.

[Kelly Bernatine]

There was hardly any information at that point. We didn't know what happened.

[Lester Holt]

Nightmare.

[Jonathan Hearn]

We didn't know what was going on. It didn't make a lot of sense.

[Lester Holt]

Making sense out of Rob's murder was the job of Kern County Sheriff's Detective Randall Meyer. He got the call and headed for the industrial complex in Tehachapi where Rob was working on the last day of his life. Clyde, crime in Tehachapi?

[Sabrina Limone]

Not typically.

[Lester Holt]

A co worker called 911 after finding Rob's body and seeing the blood inside the shop. See any breathing?

[Sabrina Limone]

No, I don't see nothing. I think he's dead. It appeared that he'd been shot twice.

[Lester Holt]

Once to the upper right chest and again to the left lower chin. Which meant Rob had been facing his killer when he died. Detective Meyer inspected the crime scene.

[Sabrina Limone]

One of the computers from the desk was missing, and several drawers were open. And there were files that were strewn about the office.

[Lester Holt]

It looked like a burglary. An odd place for one because it was a railroad warehouse. No cash normally kept here. There were tools and train parts, but not much a thief could easily fence.

[Sabrina Limone]

And what's more, burglars usually don't kill people.

[Lester Holt]

Only in TV do shootouts happen as the result of somebody interrupting a burglary. Usually the burglar runs out of there as quickly as possible.

[Sabrina Limone]

Yeah, that's correct.

[Lester Holt]

There was something else that didn't fit the burglary theory.

[Sabrina Limone]

We did not locate any shell cases on the ground.

[Lester Holt]

Meaning he was either shot with a revolver or someone was careful enough to pick up the shell casings afterwards. Which would suggest what if that's the case?

[Sabrina Limone]

Would suggest that they had planned and prepared to commit the murder.

[Lester Holt]

Rob's killer did leave behind a critical piece of evidence. A bullet lodged in Rob's head. That went to the crime lab. While Meyer rethought the case.

[Sabrina Limone]

After looking at the scene, we thought that somebody was upset with Rob and was looking for him.

[Lester Holt]

Soon there was reason to doubt that theory, too. After the detectives spoke with Rob's co.

[Sabrina Limone]

Workers, they told me that Rob Limone was a very kind, loving person, a good friend. He was somebody who would help anybody out if they needed help at any point in time.

[Lester Holt]

Good guy.

[Sabrina Limone]

Good guy. And everybody said that he never had a problem with anyone at work.

[Lester Holt]

Which raised yet another possibility. Maybe Rob was not the intended target. A check of the schedule revealed Rob was covering someone else's shift that day. A co worker named Corey Hamilton Meyer interviewed Corey, who told him that a couple of nights before Rob was killed, Corey went to a bar with some friends and got into an argument there. After questioning the patrons at the bar, Meyer decided it was unlikely that argument had led to murder. So far, the investigation was not moving quickly. In fact, it was barely moving at all. The railway company put out a $100,000 reward for more information. And Detective Meyer's phone started blowing up with tips, each of which had to be checked out. Meanwhile, friends were trying to make sense of it all. Was it possible that he could have gotten into something involved with somebody that he shouldn't have been involved with?

[Jonathan Hearn]

You worry that you never really know anyone. So that was definitely a worry of ours that we crossed our minds.

[Lester Holt]

Of course, they didn't want to believe that about their friend Rob. They just wanted answers.

[Jonathan Hearn]

We've actually asked the homicide detective multiple times, like, have you found anything? Another girlfriend? And they haven't found anything.

[Lester Holt]

He was who he seemed.

[Jonathan Hearn]

He worked hard. He was in Tehachapi that day working for his family.

[Lester Holt]

In those first few days, Meyer questioned Sabrina Lamone about the couple's marriage. She said what everyone else seemed to know. Rob was a good husband and a terrific dad. He was as well liked in his personal life as he was at work, and their marriage was great.

[Sabrina Limone]

She said that everybody loved Rob, and.

[Lester Holt]

That seemed to be the whole puzzling story. But then there was this. A security camera captured someone entering the complex, limping across, carrying a bag, and then later looked closely at the upper edge of the screen, that same person exiting the scene. Who was this man? And did he kill Rob Lamond? Coming up, a suspect on foot caught again on wheels. When you look at the motorcycle and the rider, are you thinking, there's our killer?

[Sabrina Limone]

It was something we needed to definitely look into.

[Lester Holt]

When Dateline continues. August 19, 2014. Rob and Sabrina Limone should have been celebrating their 14th wedding anniversary. Instead, Sabrina was preparing for her husband's memorial service. Rob's co workers, friends, and family packed.

[Sabrina Limone]

His son stood up and spoke, wearing my brother's hat and just sobbing and sobbing of how much he loved his dad and he missed his dad.

[Lester Holt]

Sabrina's best friend, Kelly, spoke on her behalf.

[Kelly Bernatine]

I also read a letter that Sabrina had written him, like in 2009 that I found in a scrapbook. I wanted to read it to all of you. I figured if she didn't have the strength to talk, that I would try to speak for her in some way. So I read that you have worked so very hard above and beyond what most men do.

[Lester Holt]

Sabrina sat in the front row next to her two children.

[Jonathan Hearn]

All the friends rallied around Sabrina and the kids and did everything they could to support her. You know, people donated money. People, you know, made sure there was food there every day. Everyone wanted to make sure she was taken care of.

[Lester Holt]

Meanwhile, Kerd County Sheriff's detectives were busy tracking down leads. The biggest so far, security video showing a man limping into the complex and then later leaving the crime scene. Finding him wouldn't be easy. And then someone called the tip line.

[Sabrina Limone]

They knew of a subject who was younger, who walked with the limp. And they provided the subject's name.

[Lester Holt]

His name was Joshua Wehust. He lived near the complex and would often walk through it to get to and from his home. That was interesting to detectives. So were the shoe prints found in the vicinity of the crime scene. Did this guy have a criminal record?

[Sabrina Limone]

A small criminal record. Mostly public intoxication type cases and that type of stuff.

[Lester Holt]

And Mr. Weehust owns several guns. So you bring them in?

[Sabrina Limone]

We did. We had our surveillance team pick him up and bring him into the attached resub station so I could speak to him.

[Lester Holt]

They checked his shoes, and those matched the shoe prints at the scene. So the prime suspect? No, he had a solid alibi.

[Sabrina Limone]

He said he was with his parents. And we were able to speak to the parents and said that he was with him at the residence at the time the murder was occurred.

[Lester Holt]

So Joshua Weehust was cleared. And then came another tip. Detectives received a call from a local gunsmith.

[Sabrina Limone]

He'd said that he received a firearm revolver from a gentleman who was having issues with the firearm and asked the gunsmith to change out the firing pin.

[Lester Holt]

I'm no gun expert, but how often do people change out the firing pins in their guns?

[Sabrina Limone]

Not very often.

[Lester Holt]

Police can sometimes use the mark of firing pin makes on a shell casing to later match that casing to a particular gun. So changing a firing pin could very well be an attempt to throw them off track.

[Sabrina Limone]

It was very suspicious. And the subject also owned a business within that same complex. So I immediately went up to Tachby, seized the firearm, and sent it to our local lab here in Kern county.

[Lester Holt]

A firearms analyst compared bullets from that gun to one of the bullets recovered.

[Sabrina Limone]

At the scene, and the results were negative. It was not the gun that was used to kill Rob Lamone.

[Lester Holt]

Disappointing.

[Sabrina Limone]

It was disappointing at first. Back to the grind.

[Lester Holt]

Detectives exhausted lead after lead. Nothing was panning out. They did find more security cameras at a business down the street. The cameras captured vehicles coming and going from the industrial complex on Goodrick Drive, including this work truck, which detectives believed had to be Rob returning from a call. They made freeze frames of the vehicles.

[Sabrina Limone]

We spoke to all the business owners, went door to door, showing them a packet that I had created of all the vehicles that traveled east and west.

[Lester Holt]

Everybody identifies either their car or somebody else's. Car. And they all should have been in the area at the time.

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes. Yep.

[Lester Holt]

Except the motorcycle.

[Sabrina Limone]

Except the motorcycle.

[Lester Holt]

There it was. The one vehicle no one was able to identify, the one that seemed to have no business being there. When you look at the motorcycle and the rider, are you thinking, there's our killer?

[Sabrina Limone]

It could have been somebody who was driving down the street. It was a Sunday afternoon. They were out for a motorcycle. But it was something we needed to definitely look into to try and eliminate.

[Lester Holt]

Trouble was, they couldn't eliminate the motorcycle rider. Couldn't find him either. So you're kind of nowhere at that point.

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes, we're looking for anything to lead us in the right direction.

[Lester Holt]

And then you get a phone call.

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes.

[Lester Holt]

Coming up. Strange vibes from one half of the perfect couple.

[Kelly Bernatine]

She was like, oh, like a fake surprise look. And I was like, oh, that was weird.

[Lester Holt]

Had someone been keeping secrets?

[Jonathan Hearn]

Rob says, I know, buddy. I know. I found out the other day.

[Lester Holt]

Rob and Sabrina Limone were living a picture perfect life. Or were they?

[Sabrina Limone]

I feel numb. And you know what? I feel like God has crushed me and he has gotten my attention.

[Lester Holt]

Almost two weeks after Rob was shot to death, his best friend Jason received a voicemail message.

[Sabrina Limone]

I am begging you on my knees right now that I could perhaps meet with you and your wife and say sorry for the hurt that I caused you.

[Jonathan Hearn]

And it's Jonathan apologizing not only to me, but to my wife. And he wants to be right with God.

[Lester Holt]

Wait, back up a second. Who's this guy? Jonathan.

[Jonathan Hearn]

I used to work with Jonathan in the fire department, and he was an apprentice and he was a paramedic. He was a very good paramedic and a really smart individual and handsome and young.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan Hearn was only 24. This is his oldest sister, Nicole.

[Sabrina Limone]

My brother was the gentlest and the kindest person that I had ever met.

[Lester Holt]

One of six siblings all raised in Hesperia, California, another desert town 25 miles south of Silver Lakes, Jonathan grew up in a Christian household where the emphasis was on helping those in need.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Our faith was always not really a.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Supplement to our life, but it was.

[Sabrina Limone]

The foundation of our life.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan was home schooled and later went off to the fire academy. When Jason met him, he was in training. But soon after, Jonathan became a full fledged firefighter. One of his responsibilities was to buy food and supplies for the fire station, which made him a frequent customer at Costco, the same Costco where Sabrina Limone worked, passing out free samples.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Sabrina told us, like, hey, I met one of the guys you used to work with. And I'm like, oh, that's gotta be Jonathan Hearn. Smartest guy, one of the smartest guys I ever met.

[Lester Holt]

That was 2012. Early the following year, Jason and Kelly ran into Jonathan at a wolf pack party.

[Kelly Bernatine]

And I was like, oh, you know Sabrina. So I called at her from across the bar and I said, hey, Brina, Jonathan's here. And now Sabrina is normally like a, oh, hi, like, very animated kind of person. And this time she was like, oh, like a fake surprise look.

[Lester Holt]

And you noticed that?

[Kelly Bernatine]

And I noticed it. And I was like, oh, that was weird.

[Lester Holt]

Just about then, Rob came by and.

[Kelly Bernatine]

I said, hey, Rob, do you know Jonathan? Sabrina's told me about him at work. She knows him from Costco. And he looked at me like, confused. And he goes, yeah, yeah, Kel. But like, he really didn't.

[Lester Holt]

Something was up. But Kelly couldn't figure out what it was.

[Kelly Bernatine]

I had no idea. But something wasn't right. Something was not right.

[Lester Holt]

Nevertheless, the wolf pack partied on Jonathan.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Hung out with us and started mingling with friends, talking to him.

[Lester Holt]

Then in the days following the party.

[Jonathan Hearn]

I started getting text messages from Jonathan. You know, you guys are so cool. I would love to come hang out with you guys. And I was like, oh, okay, yeah, sure, someday we could do that, Jonathan. Cool. But then the text messages started coming every couple days, and then to the point where they're coming every day.

[Lester Holt]

He's like doing everything he can to become part of your circle of friends.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Yes. And it was the point where it was obsessive.

[Lester Holt]

One day, Rob was helping the Bernatines remodel their home. Jonathan kept texting Jason, which by now seemed almost routine. Until Jonathan sent a text that did not seem routine.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Jason, I really need to talk to your buddy Rob. I need his phone number. I went outside and I called Jonathan and I asked him like, jonathan, what's up, man? Why do you want to talk to Rob?

[Lester Holt]

No, it's your radar that's going off.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Yeah, my radar finally goes off. And he says, jason, I'm sorry, but I've been living my life wrong.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan spilled it. He wasn't just a would be wolf packer. This deeply religious man had something to confess.

[Jonathan Hearn]

So I go inside the house and I tell Rob, I don't know how to tell you this, Rob, but I got Jonathan heard on my phone. Apparently he's been having an affair with Sabrina.

[Lester Holt]

An enormous surprise to Jason, but not, it seemed, to Rob, who had already figured out his 33 year old wife was having an affair with a 24 year old firefighter.

[Jonathan Hearn]

And Rob says, I know, buddy, I know. I found out.

[Lester Holt]

The other day, Rob told Jason he discovered texts Jonathan had sent Sabrina and became so angry, he broke Sabrina's phone. Then Rob agreed to talk with Jonathan and walked outside.

[Jonathan Hearn]

When he came back in, I said, what's up, Rob? Do we, do we need to go handle this? And he said, no, no, I got it, buddy. This is. We're good, we're good.

[Kelly Bernatine]

He said that, you know, we're. Sabrina's really embarrassed, you know, please, please don't tell anybody.

[Lester Holt]

Jason and Kelly promised to tell no one, not even their wolf pack friends. Nobody wants to be embarrassed, particularly in front of your friends who sort of look up to you as the perfect couple.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Exactly. We didn't want to, like, damage their reputation or anything. I mean, we loved them.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan's text messages stopped. Life went back to normal. Until about a year later, Kelly made a quick stop at the Costco and spotted Jonathan talking with Sabrina.

[Kelly Bernatine]

I was upset. I think she could tell I was upset.

[Lester Holt]

Kelly told Jason I was pissed.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Jason called Jonathan and I said, jonathan, what the heck are you doing in Costco talking to Sabrina. He starts saying, you know, Jason, I'm sorry. It's not like that. Sabrina and I are just friends now. We have a spiritual relationship. And I told him, well, Jonathan, you've had an affair with this woman. You've caused damage to this family. So in the end, I tell him, never go into her Costco again. And I'm yelling at him emphatically. And he agrees. He says, okay, I won't.

[Lester Holt]

A few months later, Rob Limone was shot and killed by someone who was standing right in front of him. Twelve days after that, Jonathan left his cryptic voicemail.

[Sabrina Limone]

God needs me to have a clear and I want to fix this with you.

[Lester Holt]

Fix what? What exactly was going on? Coming up, a surprise visitor at Sabrina's door.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Kelly says, well, you'll never guess who just came and visited Sabrina last night.

[Lester Holt]

And more secrets behind bedroom doors.

[Sabrina Limone]

Sabrina and Rob had invited another married couple into their group for an open relationship.

[Lester Holt]

When Dateline continues. The sudden loss of a spouse, a life partner, is devastating. And it always brings up a question. When is it okay to move on and try to find happiness again? After Rob Limone was murdered, his wife Sabrina faced that question. And to her best friends, Kelly and Jason Bernatine, it seemed that someone was all too willing to help her answer it.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Kelly says, well, you'll never guess who just came and visited Sabrina last night. And I Said, please, no. She says, yes, it was Jonathan. This is two weeks to the day after Rob's murder.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan Hearn brought Sabrina flowers.

[Kelly Bernatine]

And we're not talking like a little thing of flowers. I mean, we're talking like a huge bouquet of flowers that just happened to be the flowers that were in her wedding bouquet.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan also wrote a letter to Sabrina. Sabrina read it to Kelly, and it.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Talked about what a wonderful man Rob was and how he wants to be the kind of person that he was and all these things.

[Lester Holt]

And she's reading you the letter like, can you believe this jerk? Or she's reading you the letter like, isn't this sweet?

[Kelly Bernatine]

Isn't this sweet? Listen to this. Listen to how sweet Jonathan is. So I'm trying not to throw up. I'm trying not to scream. I'm just, like, freaking out.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan had already admitted he'd had an affair with Sabrina a year earlier, but said they'd broken it off. Their relationship now purely spiritual. The Bernatines thought it was tasteless at best for him to be hanging around Sabrina just days after Rob was murdered.

[Kelly Bernatine]

I said, how did that make you feel? The letter?

[Lester Holt]

And she said.

[Kelly Bernatine]

She said, well, I don't feel like he has any bad intentions.

[Lester Holt]

The Bernatines thought otherwise. Jonathan's obsessive interest in the wolf pack, his affair with Sabrina, his weird voicemail.

[Jonathan Hearn]

I started thinking, who would want Rob dead? Who wanted Rob out of the picture? And the only person that popped into my mind was Jonathan Hearn.

[Lester Holt]

Jason called the sheriff's department.

[Jonathan Hearn]

I tell the cops my story. I let them listen to the voicemail. They're concerned. But at the end of everything, they're like, well, you know, sounds like they had an affair. That's pretty far from murder. Maybe this guy is just trying to move in on your dead friend's wife. Definitely doesn't mean he killed your best friend. And this might be a guy you have to learn to live with.

[Lester Holt]

And so Jason wondered if maybe he'd misjudged the whole situation. After all, Jonathan was intelligent and had his whole life ahead of him.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Why would he murder for Sabrina? Why would he throw away his life? Why would he risk that for a married woman with two kids? He's young. He has a good career as a firefighter, paramedic.

[Lester Holt]

And he's no murderer.

[Jonathan Hearn]

And he's not a murderer. I've known him for a long time. He did some bad stuff. But an affair is very far from.

[Lester Holt]

Murder, and in this case, even farther than usual, because Detective Meyer had learned something else About Rob and Sabrina.

[Sabrina Limone]

A few years prior, Sabrina and Rob had invited another married couple into their group for an open relationship between the four of them.

[Lester Holt]

And that was something of a way of life with those folks.

[Sabrina Limone]

Not sure if it's exactly a way of life, but you could say they had met before and swap partners for the evening.

[Lester Holt]

So if Rob and Sabrina already had an open relationship, maybe Sabrina's affair with Jonathan was no big deal. Maybe Jason and Kelly just needed to get over it. I mean, look, okay, the guy's presumptuous, okay? He's a snake, okay? He wants you to sort of absolve him of this burden of guilt for having had the affair. But none of this makes him a killer. Just makes him a kind of a guy you'd rather stay away from. Absolutely still, Jason felt he had to talk with Sabrina about the situation.

[Jonathan Hearn]

I explained to her in detail all the reasons I didn't like Jonathan and the conversations I had had with him and how he was texting me so much, trying to manipulate me to bring him closer to her. And at the end of my speech, I thought it was a pretty good speech. She says, well, Jason, you know, I get that guy. You don't have to worry about him. I feel like everybody was brought into my life for a reason.

[Lester Holt]

What reason would that possibly be? Coming up. Rob Limone was killed by a large caliber gun. Jonathan Ern have a gun like that registered to him?

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes, he did.

[Lester Holt]

Coincidence. Ever since Sabrina Limone got the news of Rob's death, her big sister, Julie Cordova, hardly left her side.

[Sabrina Limone]

Rena stayed in her room a lot. She just was in crying.

[Lester Holt]

Sabrina was trying to cope with the loss of her husband and having to raise their two kids on her own.

[Sabrina Limone]

She's like, I don't. I don't know what I'm gonna do. She was just in a fog. She couldn't make decisions, think, or anything.

[Lester Holt]

That worried Julie. But even more worrisome, she says, was a certain someone who was coming around sobriety, Sabrina and the kids way too soon. Jonathan Hearn.

[Sabrina Limone]

He would just show up, random, you know, at times, and he wouldn't leave.

[Lester Holt]

Julie, unaware of the affair, would see him at Sabrina's house, praying constantly. But she says what really caught her attention was this.

[Sabrina Limone]

He was cooking in the kitchen, and that's what Rob did.

[Lester Holt]

It was like he was moving in and was feeling right at home.

[Sabrina Limone]

Was I uncomfortable with it? Yes, because that was Robert's place, you.

[Lester Holt]

Know, and now this guy's taking his place.

[Sabrina Limone]

Mm. Yes. And Breena Didn't. She didn't like it either.

[Lester Holt]

Who was this guy? And what was his reason for coming into Sabrina's life? Sheriff Detective Meyer wondered the same thing. Jason Bernatine thought the detective had discounted his suspicions about Jonathan Hearn, but Meyer had not. In fact, he wanted to learn much more about this young firefighter from Hesperia, California.

[Sabrina Limone]

No criminal record that we were able.

[Lester Holt]

To locate, but this was interesting. The bullet recovered from Rob Limone's head.

[Sabrina Limone]

Was tested, and the results from the lab was somewhere like a.44 caliber to a 4.45 caliber bullet that killed Rob Lemon.

[Lester Holt]

Big bullet, big gun?

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan Hearn have a gun like that registered to him?

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes, he did.

[Lester Holt]

And they found something else registered in his name. A Yamaha motorcycle.

[Sabrina Limone]

We went to the Yamaha website, checked out some other motorcycles similar in the same year, and was able to look at those motorcycles compared to the video that we captured from Goodrick Road. And they were very similar.

[Lester Holt]

And cops pulled video from this gas station at an intersection in the middle of nowhere. What made you look at video from.

[Sabrina Limone]

That gas station that would be the easiest path of travel from Tehachapi to Hesperia, California.

[Lester Holt]

Where Jonathan Hearn lived?

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes.

[Lester Holt]

The video showed a motorcyclist pulling up to the gas pump and then walking inside the store. This was on the same day Rob was killed. The timestamp was about an hour after a similar motorcycle was picked up on security footage near the crime scene.

[Sabrina Limone]

Appeared to be the same motorcycle with a clothing change, same stature, knees very high on the gas tank, wearing a backpack, which the subject was wearing a backpack on Goodrick Road. So at that point in time, we believe same motorcycle, same subject, but with a clothing change.

[Lester Holt]

So this person stopped somewhere to change clothes.

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes.

[Lester Holt]

Once inside, still wearing a helmet, the biker grabbed a drink, then appeared to notice the security cameras and looked down. Detectives by now thought that man had to be Jonathan Hearn. I'm sort of hearing the word search warrant here.

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes. We started looking into photo records.

[Lester Holt]

When they did, they found thousands of calls and texts between Jonathan Hearn and Sabrina Lamone. No surprise, since detectives already knew the two had had an affair. Can you tell what the text messages were? Or you just know that there were text messages between them?

[Sabrina Limone]

Not at the time. They were having some text conversations back and forth, but the content we did not know.

[Lester Holt]

The communications seemed to stop four months before Rob's death. But this was interesting. Jonathan's phone didn't ping anywhere near Rob's shop the day of the murder and registered zero activity. At the time of the murder. But in the days before and after, there were thousands of texts and calls to and from a number that detectives did not recognize. When you run that number, who's it come back to?

[Sabrina Limone]

It came back to no subscriber information found.

[Lester Holt]

Meaning it's a pay as you go phone. A burner?

[Sabrina Limone]

Possibly, yes.

[Lester Holt]

Detectives decided to keep a close eye on Jonathan. And when they tailed him, they watched Jonathan throw something away.

[Sabrina Limone]

He had driven to a target and dropped some motorcycle pipes off into the dumpster.

[Lester Holt]

Meyer thought perhaps Jonathan had changed out his exhaust pipes to make his bike look and sound different. It sounds like you're becoming more and more certain that not only did Jonathan Hearn killer Rob Lamone, but that he used that motorcycle to get to and from the murder.

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes.

[Lester Holt]

And now he's trying to cover his tracks.

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes. Cover those tracks.

[Lester Holt]

Kelly and Jason never did tell Sabrina that they talked with Detective Meyer about Jonathan. And Meyer asked them to please not say anything to anyone.

[Kelly Bernatine]

It was extremely hard. It was. It was hell. It was absolute hell.

[Lester Holt]

Detectives. Detective Meyer was looking hard at Jonathan Hearn. There was that unfamiliar number that showed up in Jonathan's phone records. Meyer requested the location of that phone, and he got it. And that's when the secrets of Silver Lakes really started to emerge. Coming up, the lovers caught on tape.

[Sabrina Limone]

Well, good morning.

[Lester Holt]

And feeling guilty about something.

[Sabrina Limone]

I have been a bad girl. I feel like.

[Jonathan Hearn]

I feel like the most horrible person in the world.

[Sabrina Limone]

You do, too.

[Lester Holt]

When Dateline continues. Weeks had passed since Rob Lemon's life was violently cut short. Detective Randall Meyer and his team were zeroing in on Jonathan Hearn as a possible suspect. And now in Jonathan's phone records, they found a lot of calls and texts to and from a burner phone, the kind of phone that somebody would use if they were either committing a crime or having an extramarital affair.

[Sabrina Limone]

Trying to definitely avoid law enforcement detection.

[Lester Holt]

Well, or. Or husband detection.

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes. Yes. I was able to get a wiretap authorized, and so we were able to go up on the phones and listen to their conversations.

[Lester Holt]

When they finally listened, their suspicions were confirmed. Jonathan was on one end of the call, and on the other, Sabrina Lamone.

[Sabrina Limone]

Hey.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Hey.

[Sabrina Limone]

Were you rushing? No, it's okay.

[Lester Holt]

It was immediately obvious the two were lovers.

[Sabrina Limone]

I love you so much, my girl. I love you. I love you so much.

[Lester Holt]

How many hours of conversations do you think you listened to between Sabrina Lamone and Jonathan Hearn?

[Sabrina Limone]

Hundreds.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan often spoke with Sabrina from the fire station. What are they talking about? For most of that time.

[Sabrina Limone]

They talked about their future together. They talked about God a lot, about God's plan for them.

[Lester Holt]

They also talked about Detective Meyer.

[Sabrina Limone]

I just got a text message from Detective Meyer, and he asked me to call him, so I'm going to. Okay, okay. Okay. I just wanted you to Ukraine pray. And God, please help us. God, please help us to be wise. Help Sabrina to have the right words.

[Lester Holt]

A couple of minutes later, Sabrina called Meyer. She asked about the investigation of her husband's murder.

[Sabrina Limone]

So there's no. There's no information at all? Honestly, I don't have anything, and I wish I did, but I think we're kind of getting into a dead end.

[Lester Holt]

Which was not true. Minutes later, Sabrina called Jonathan.

[Sabrina Limone]

Everything's fine. He asked you any questions? No questions at all.

[Lester Holt]

Meyer was tickling the wire. It's an expression police use, giving wiretapped suspects something to talk about while the cops are listening. Meyer often found himself in the mood to tickle, like when he told Sabrina police had found DNA at the crime scene.

[Sabrina Limone]

The best news you've gotten so far. Really? Oh, gosh, that's great. That was not true. That was a ruse we were using.

[Lester Holt]

And what happens as a result of that?

[Sabrina Limone]

Another immediate phone call to Jonathan to talk about the possible DNA.

[Lester Holt]

Sabrina and Jonathan did not exactly rejoice over this apparent break in the case. Instead, it sounded as if they suspected Meyer was playing them. Jonathan even knew the right terminology.

[Sabrina Limone]

Officers are allowed to use ruse, meaning they're allowed to. If you want to get information, you're allowed to lie to get information, you know? No, I mean, I. Yeah, that's kind of what I feel like. It didn't appear that that would be a normal conversation you would have in hopes that the suspect would be caught.

[Lester Holt]

The calls continued.

[Sabrina Limone]

Good morning, my lover. Well, good morning.

[Lester Holt]

They talked about the Bible.

[Sabrina Limone]

There's a lot of good stuff in there. God is so good. Yeah, God is so good.

[Lester Holt]

Including the Old Testament story of David and Bathsheba.

[Sabrina Limone]

David is a lot like you and I, Sabrina.

[Lester Holt]

It's the story of King David and the affair he had with Bathsheba, who was married to another man. After Bathsheba became pregnant, David tried to cover up the affair, but failed.

[Sabrina Limone]

And then he even went on to kill the guy, like, sent him into battle and pretty much had him killed off.

[Lester Holt]

In the Bible, David and Bathsheba eventually married. David suffered the consequences of his sin, but repented, and God forgave him.

[Sabrina Limone]

He was someone who committed adultery who had an affair. And so he went way out of his Way to cover his sin.

[Lester Holt]

Sin was a recurring theme for Jonathan and Sabrina.

[Sabrina Limone]

I have been a bad girl. I feel like the most horrible person in the world. I do, too. I do, too. I feel like I see all of my sins and who I've been. I see it all laid out in front of me.

[Lester Holt]

Exactly what sins were they talking about? By now, detectives had shared with Kelly and Jason some details of the investigation, so they knew Jonathan Hearn was the prime suspect. And detectives suspected Sabrina as well. It was something Jason couldn't imagine when he first spoke with police.

[Jonathan Hearn]

And I told him, I bet my life she's not involved. Absolutely not. No way. No way. If Jonathan did this, he did it on his own.

[Lester Holt]

You know Sabrina better than he does. Would you have bet your life that she wasn't involved?

[Kelly Bernatine]

Probably not. My life. I did not want her to be involved at all. I prayed she wasn't. But would I bet my life on it? No.

[Lester Holt]

Meanwhile, Detective Meyer continues to tickle the wire. And while listening to the lovers talk in real time, he texted Sabrina a photo. And she read the text to Jonathan.

[Sabrina Limone]

Sabrina, we think this is our guy. You recognize this person on the motorcycle?

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan heard that and prayed.

[Sabrina Limone]

No, baby, I. I hate that. I don't like it either.

[Lester Holt]

You were playing Sabrina and Jonathan like a couple of violins.

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes, that's what we were doing.

[Lester Holt]

I'm surprised you didn't have sheet music. Jonathan seemed to realize police were closing in, yet was trying to convince himself they were not.

[Sabrina Limone]

All they have could dead husband. And I got him.

[Lester Holt]

Sabrina seemed to suspect her phone was being tapped.

[Sabrina Limone]

There's a clicking on the phone. Do you hear it?

[Lester Holt]

When the lovers said goodbye that night, it sounded as if they thought it might be for the last time.

[Sabrina Limone]

I love you, sir. I love you, too, Jonathan. So much. I'll try to get in touch with you on. I love you so much.

[Lester Holt]

Two days after that phone call, three months after Rob Limone's murder, Sabrina and Jonathan were placed under arrest. Detective Meyer called Jason and Kelly.

[Jonathan Hearn]

We got him. Everything looks good, the evidence looks good.

[Lester Holt]

And you think, well, this is finally over.

[Kelly Bernatine]

That's what we thought.

[Lester Holt]

Well, you couldn't have been more wrong.

[Kelly Bernatine]

No.

[Lester Holt]

Coming up, Sabrina Limone in the hot seat.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Did you plan to kill brother?

[Sabrina Limone]

No. Oh, my God, no.

[Lester Holt]

But not for long.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Detective Meyer called me and said that he's got some really bad News.

[Lester Holt]

In late November 2014, Jonathan Hearn pleaded not guilty to the murder of his married lover, Sabrina Limone's husband, Rob. Sabrina had been arrested, too. By now, her friends, Jason and Kelly, were convinced she belonged behind bars.

[Jonathan Hearn]

It was by Sabrina's own actions she led him into her life, into her house.

[Lester Holt]

And then on the day Sabrina was.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Scheduled to be arraigned, Detective Byer called me and said that he's got some really bad news that they're going to release Sabrina.

[Lester Holt]

The DA Decided there was not enough evidence to charge her. Good case against Jonathan. Not as good a case against Sabrina.

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes.

[Lester Holt]

How did that feel? Like, that's literally like defeat from the jaws of victory. I mean, you think you got it, and then she's turned loose.

[Sabrina Limone]

That was a tough feeling.

[Lester Holt]

Obviously, there was circumstantial evidence against Jonathan, like the security video showing a motorcycle that looked like his. But the best evidence against Sabrina came from the wiretap. And in all those hours of conversation, she never once said that she conspired with Jonathan or even thought he might be the killer. And in hours of intense questioning by detectives, Sabrina never budged.

[Sabrina Limone]

Did you know that he had planned to murder your husband? No. No. You didn't know that? No, he did not know that he planned murdering Robert. Cause he did. I. I can't. It's like I want it to just be a lie, you know? Like there's no way.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Did you plan to kill Rob?

[Sabrina Limone]

No. Oh, my God, no. When did Jonathan tell you he did it? He never told. He never came out. Yes, he did. Yes, he did.

[Jonathan Hearn]

You guys are doing nothing but hiding.

[Sabrina Limone]

This thing the whole time.

[Lester Holt]

Yes, he did.

[Sabrina Limone]

No. Well, what are you trying to hide? I know, okay? I know it doesn't look good.

[Jonathan Hearn]

No, there's a difference between does it.

[Lester Holt]

Look good and absolutely is not good.

[Jonathan Hearn]

This is absolutely not good.

[Lester Holt]

I understand that Kelly and Jason were devastated when the DA Turned Sabrina loose. We first spoke with them three months after her release. You think right now, what, she's getting away with murder?

[Kelly Bernatine]

Yes, she's getting away with murder right now.

[Lester Holt]

The next time we sat down with the Bernatines, they told us their tight circle of friends had all turned on Sabrina after she was released. What was the effect on the wolf pack? What did the other wolves think?

[Kelly Bernatine]

You know, nothing's been the same.

[Lester Holt]

Were there people in the pack who supported Sabrina who thought that she wasn't guilty of anything?

[Kelly Bernatine]

No.

[Lester Holt]

So really, there was, like, sort of unanimity among your friends?

[Sabrina Limone]

Yeah.

[Lester Holt]

Sabrina told her sister Julie that the wolf pack was mistaken, and so were detectives about her and about Jonathan, too. She thought Jonathan Hearn couldn't be involved.

[Sabrina Limone]

Mm. She just couldn't believe it. Could not Believe it.

[Lester Holt]

Her pack gone. Julie says life grew miserable for her sister.

[Sabrina Limone]

The people out in Silver Lakes were so cruel, and Brina and the kids couldn't go anywhere. She had to homeschool them because the.

[Lester Holt]

Other kids were talking about it.

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes. The other kids would say things. The parents were brutal.

[Lester Holt]

And she was what, sort of a pariah in that community?

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes, she was.

[Lester Holt]

Sabrina took her children and relocated more than 100 miles away. @ the same time, Jonathan Hearn was preparing to face trial on charges he'd murdered Sabrina's husband, Rob. Months went by and then years. Kelly and Jason never wavered from their belief that Sabrina Limone had been involved in her husband's murder.

[Kelly Bernatine]

I always had hope that they would. That they would get her somehow. I didn't know how or when, but, like, I definitely, definitely had that hope.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Jonathan still hadn't been tried. He was still awaiting trial. We always knew that there was a chance that he might decide to tell the truth and hoped for that day. And it finally came.

[Lester Holt]

More than two years after Rob's murder and just weeks before his own trial was about to start. Jonathan Hearn, who referred to himself as David from the biblical story, told investigators he was ready to talk about Sabrina, his modern day Bathsheba coming up.

[Jonathan Hearn]

From that moment, we knew that this was real.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan's story, eagerly awaited by almost everyone except Sabrina, must have felt like vindication for the two of you.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Definitely.

[Lester Holt]

When dateline continues. Late 2016, firefighter Jonathan Hearn was just weeks away from trial when Detective Randall Meyer heard some unexpected news.

[Sabrina Limone]

Jonathan's attorney approached the district attorney and said that Jonathan could provide information that would lead to the possible prosecution of Sabrina Lamon.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan made a startling confession. Yes, he had fired the gun that killed Rob Lamone, but he hadn't acted alone. Sabrina, he said, wasn't there when the murder occurred. But he said she'd helped him plan it every step of the way. He gave her up.

[Sabrina Limone]

He did.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan said Sabrina wanted Rob out of the picture so she could be with Jonathan. And he said she did not consider divorce to be an option.

[Sabrina Limone]

She was concerned about the perception of the community that she lived in.

[Lester Holt]

So murder is better than the stigma of divorce?

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan had no hard evidence to prove Sabrina's involvement. Remember, those wiretap recordings certainly proved an un affair. But there was no explicit mention of a murder plot. This would be Jonathan's word against Sabrina's. The district attorney offered Jonathan a plea agreement in exchange for testifying against Sabrina in court. His murder charge would be reduced to voluntary Manslaughter. Jonathan took the deal. His sister Nicole said the family believed Jonathan was innocent and had no idea he planned to confess until they got a call from his attorney.

[Sabrina Limone]

I felt like it was so surreal when I heard it. I was shaken to my core.

[Lester Holt]

Sabrina and Rob's former best friends, Kelly and Jason Bernatine, were in the courtroom when Jonathan pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

[Jonathan Hearn]

From that moment, we knew that this was real, that he just pled guilty and was going to implicate Sabrina. It was a relief and sickening all at once.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan had faced a possible sentence of life without parole. Under the terms of his plea deal, he could be out after less than 25 years.

[Jonathan Hearn]

He'll be under the age of 50. He shot a man in. I have a hard time with that.

[Kelly Bernatine]

It's hard because if that's what we needed to get her and we knew that she was behind this, then what do you do? What do you do?

[Lester Holt]

Detective Meyer drove more than 100 miles to Sabrina's new home to arrest her for the second time.

[Sabrina Limone]

She was confused because she was scheduled to testify in the trial of Jonathan Hearn.

[Lester Holt]

Instead, she was a defendant charged with murder. Now we're at the point where our story strays a bit from the biblical tale of David and Bathsheba because there was never any suggestion that Bathsheba played any role in the plot to murder her husband. And in the Bible, David does not roll on Bathsheba in return for a reduced sentence. What was it like to see her in court in shackles?

[Kelly Bernatine]

It was awesome.

[Lester Holt]

Must have felt like vindication for the two of you.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Definitely. She was always very into, like, her hair and makeup and her clothes and superficial things like that. So knowing that it was probably killing her to be in that state in front of people and cameras was very satisfying. Also very satisfying.

[Lester Holt]

Sabrina's sister Julie believed she belonged anywhere but but jail. Is it conceivable to you that Sabrina played any role in her husband's murder?

[Sabrina Limone]

No.

[Lester Holt]

She couldn't be talked into it.

[Sabrina Limone]

No.

[Lester Holt]

She couldn't be persuaded to do it. She couldn't be manipulated to do it?

[Sabrina Limone]

No. For what? There is no way she would want that for her husband.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Good morning, everyone.

[Lester Holt]

Good morning.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Nice to see you all back.

[Lester Holt]

Sybrina's trial began in September 2017.

[Sabrina Limone]

It had everything. It had sex, religion, the seemingly perfect.

[Lester Holt]

Beautiful family that had all these secrets.

[Sabrina Limone]

It was tense and emotional.

[Lester Holt]

Olivia Lavoise covered the trial for NBC station KGET in Bakersfield. Her station made a last minute decision to stream the trial live on its website.

[Sabrina Limone]

We were blown away by literally thousands of people during the day. All day were just glued to it. People who were typically watching soap operas now were watching this trial.

[Lester Holt]

So Bakersfield probably took a big hit in productivity during this trial.

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Throughout this trial, you will hear from the mouth of Sabrina Lamont and Jonathan Hearn that they had a purpose.

[Lester Holt]

Prosecutor Eric Smith laid out his case for the jury.

[Jonathan Hearn]

They had a plan, and that plan was to get rid of Robert Lamox.

[Lester Holt]

Why?

[Jonathan Hearn]

So they could be together.

[Lester Holt]

The State presented mountains of evidence of Sabrina and Jonathan's communications before and after the murder.

[Jonathan Hearn]

My Jonathan, I love you.

[Lester Holt]

Including letters.

[Jonathan Hearn]

I love you for the hopes and faith in our future together. I love you for giving me a new perspective on life.

[Lester Holt]

Text messages.

[Jonathan Hearn]

I am in love with you deeply. A love that I've never felt before.

[Lester Holt]

And of course, those wiretapped phone calls, which often centered around God, please help us.

[Sabrina Limone]

Please help us to be wise, Help Sabrina to have the right words. It appeared that they were justifying all of their actions through religion, through prayer, and through this promise that they were going to live for God and that God had a purpose for them that they were going to fulfill.

[Lester Holt]

According to the State, Sabrina and Jonathan's purpose was to eliminate Rob Lamone so they could embark on a new life together. Of course, there was no smoking gun. The State's case centered on the testimony of an admitted killer who was about to tell the jury everything. Or so he said. Was he making a true confession or spinning a tale to save himself?

[Sabrina Limone]

It was the moment everyone was waiting for.

[Kelly Bernatine]

And the testimony you shall give in this matter shall be the truth, the.

[Sabrina Limone]

Whole truth, and nothing but the truth of help be God. I do.

[Lester Holt]

Coming up.

[Sabrina Limone]

I fired the first shot from within the bag. He fell, seemingly mortally wounded.

[Lester Holt]

Would Jonathan Hearn really turn on the woman he said he loved? It's not every murder trial where the prosecutor asks the jury to believe the words of the the admitted killer. But here he was, the star witness for the State, Jonathan Hearn, who would spend the better part of seven days testifying against his former lover, Sabrina Lamone.

[Sabrina Limone]

She seemed very friendly, very, very nice.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan talked about meeting Sabrina at Costco and asking for her number. He told the jury he didn't learn she was married until later, a fact he said mesh easily with his conservative Christian upbringing.

[Sabrina Limone]

I enjoyed spending time with her, but then there was also the guilt of recognizing that I was doing something immoral.

[Lester Holt]

He said there was just something irresistible about this older married woman.

[Sabrina Limone]

I know in Most affairs, you would assume it's a sexual draw or something along those lines. And with her, while we were engaged in that, there was a lot more than that.

[Lester Holt]

In time, he said, Sabrina revealed to him a deep unhappiness in her open marriage to Rob.

[Sabrina Limone]

She expressed to me that he was pretty exploitative and objectifying her. He was willing to pretty much pass her off to any other guy and not really leave the doors of their marriage closed.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan listened, absorbed, and he said his disgust for Rob Limone grew.

[Sabrina Limone]

Her frustrations with Rob became my frustrations. Her demons became my demons, Jonathan told the jury.

[Lester Holt]

They spoke about how much easier life would be without Rob.

[Sabrina Limone]

You know, I distinctly remember it coming up in conversation as a joke at.

[Lester Holt]

First, a joke that quickly took a.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Dark turn that progressed from humor towards what?

[Sabrina Limone]

Towards an actually plot to kill her husband.

[Jonathan Hearn]

What was the plan for your relationship once he was gone?

[Sabrina Limone]

To in time marry and continue to live our lives together.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan said Sabrina did not want to simply divorce Rob and marry him.

[Sabrina Limone]

She expressed that he would honestly rather be dead than divorced and losing her would essentially kill him, he said.

[Lester Holt]

They discussed several ways to get rid of Rob and at first settled on poisoning. The proof, Jonathan told the jury was in the pudding. Banana pudding, to be precise, laced with arsenic he'd purchased. It happened in April of 2014.

[Sabrina Limone]

I made a pretty large batch of banana pudding with Nilla wafers, he said.

[Lester Holt]

He put a small portion into a.

[Sabrina Limone]

Plastic container and stirred in the arsenic into the pudding.

[Lester Holt]

He said Sabrina kept the poisoned pudding in her refrigerator. The plan, he said, was for her to put it in Rob's lunch. But Jonathan testified they lost their nerve.

[Sabrina Limone]

She had told him to not eat the pudding because I think she said that she told him the bananas had gone bad in it.

[Lester Holt]

By August 2014, he said they had a new plan. Jonathan said Sabrina told him the location of Rob's workplace at the rail yard. He even did a drive by one day to check it out. Sabrina, he said, told him Rob would be at work on August 17th. Jonathan testified he packed a mask to disguise his face and modified his motorcycle.

[Sabrina Limone]

Too, which included using some adhesive flashing to change the color of the tank, the exhaust pipes, and the rear fender.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan said he rode his disguised motorcycle out to Tehachapi. That was him on the security camera video. He said he told investigators he faked a limp to throw them off. But he said once he saw Rob opening the shop's garage door, Jonathan said he felt conflicted about becoming a killer.

[Sabrina Limone]

Obviously, there's some apprehension in the thought of senselessly taking someone's life.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan said he paused before entering so he could pray.

[Sabrina Limone]

There'd been sort of an ongoing narrative of Sabrina and I and seeking purpose in our lives.

[Lester Holt]

If a murder could have a catchphrase, said Jonathan, seeking purpose would be was.

[Sabrina Limone]

A tagline that essentially we gave to ultimately seeing this relationship through and living the lifestyle that we wanted to.

[Lester Holt]

After praying, Jonathan said, he entered the shop.

[Sabrina Limone]

I fired the first shot. He fell, seemingly mortally wounded.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan said he then tried to make it look as if there'd been a robbery, opening cabinet drawers, pulling out papers and stealing a laptop computer. And then before he left, I really.

[Sabrina Limone]

Didn'T want to leave him if he wasn't entirely dead.

[Lester Holt]

So he fired a second shot into Rob's head. Jonathan said he returned home and called Sabrina to tell her I had done.

[Sabrina Limone]

It and that everything was about to change.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan told the jury he knew from the start the affair would be found out and he would become a suspect.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Did you trust Sabrina to speak appropriately with law enforcement?

[Sabrina Limone]

I did.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Why?

[Sabrina Limone]

Frankly, this was the culmination of something we had essentially planned together. And so perhaps my weakness, my trust was pretty strong in her.

[Lester Holt]

The defense had its own cross examination of Jonathan. And right off the bat, Sabrina's attorney, Richard Terry, questioned Jonathan's credibility. Like the claim she'd held the police poisoned pudding in her refrigerator, potentially putting.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Her children in danger of eating that pudding.

[Lester Holt]

Right. If you actually delivered it to her and she knew about it, right?

[Sabrina Limone]

No, sir.

[Lester Holt]

You don't know who's going to get into it or who's going to have access to it. Right. If you'd actually given her anything like that. Right?

[Sabrina Limone]

Yeah. I was not overseeing the status of her refrigerator.

[Lester Holt]

The defense attorney reminded the jury no one benefited more from blaming Sabrina than Jonathan Hearn, who could have received life in prison without parole.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Now, under the plea agreement you've entered.

[Lester Holt]

Into, you're only getting 25 years in a few months, right?

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes, sir.

[Lester Holt]

Means you'd probably be out before you were even 50 years old then, Surfer, after having murdered a man in cold blood, is that right?

[Sabrina Limone]

That was definitely cold blooded, sir.

[Jonathan Hearn]

My question was, is you would be.

[Lester Holt]

Out before you were 50 years old, is that right?

[Sabrina Limone]

That was part of your question? Yes, sir.

[Lester Holt]

And Jonathan's attorney, Clayton Campbell, sat next to him during his testimony. And Campbell insisted to us Jonathan's confession was genuine.

[Sabrina Limone]

Jonathan wanted to come clean about what he did from very early on. He knows what he did was wrong, and he felt that maintaining a not guilty plea was dishonest.

[Lester Holt]

Challenging Jonathan's credibility was just the start. The defense had its own case to present. And wait until you hear it.

[Sabrina Limone]

That was the bombshell of all bombshells.

[Lester Holt]

Coming up, who exactly was on trial here? Did you and Ms. Limone and her husband and your husband engage in sexual activity together? When Dateline continues. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. When it came time for the defense to present its case, Sabrina Limone's attorney, Richard Terry, didn't even try to convince the jury that his client was as wholesome as apple pie. You weren't claiming that Sabrina had been the perfect wife to her. You weren't claiming that she had never cheated? Nope. You weren't claiming that there had never been an affair with Jonathan Hearn? Nope. You weren't even claiming that Jonathan Hearn hadn't killed Rob Lamont. You were just claiming she didn't have any part in it. Right. Because beyond Jonathan Hearn, there was nothing else that said that she was. This case said attorney Terry was really all about Jonathan Hearn. What he said, what he did, and why. He was highly intelligent and he manipulated Sabrina Lamone. And he decided he knew Sabrina was.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Never gonna divorce Robert, but he had to have her.

[Lester Holt]

She had to be his. And in his mind, the only way to get that, to have her was to get rid of Robert. And perhaps Terry told the jury, Sabrina wasn't the only older married woman to catch Jonathan's eye.

[Kelly Bernatine]

He was very smart and just seemed way older than he was.

[Lester Holt]

Jennifer Lentz testified she met Jonathan Hearn online. They chatted by text and on the phone. And it was kind of flattering to.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Have someone who was focusing so much attention on you.

[Lester Holt]

Of course, attention Jonathan continued to lavish on Jennifer even after he started sleeping with Sabrina. Even during the time that he's supposedly so madly in love with Sabrina, he's still constantly texting her, sending her pictures, communicating with her. The defense argued Jonathan Hearn was a slick, bible quoting predator. Sabrina, his innocent victim. You said that she and Rob, the real head snapper, came when the defense argued Sabrina was also a victim of her own supposed best friend, Kelly Bernatine. Remember, she'd suspected Sabrina before almost anyone.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Because she'd already lied to me once.

[Lester Holt]

On the witness stand, Kelly was forced to admit she didn't just know about the Lamont open marriage. She and her husband Jason participated. Some of her testimony was for mature audiences only. Did you and Ms. Limone and her husband and your husband engage in sexual activity together?

[Kelly Bernatine]

Yes, we did.

[Lester Holt]

I'll admit, when I approached this issue with the Bernatines. I was in uncharted territory. You said the two of you had a sexual relationship with Rob and Sybrina.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Yes.

[Lester Holt]

But you never had sex with Sybrina, and you were never with Rob?

[Jonathan Hearn]

No.

[Lester Holt]

What am I missing here?

[Jonathan Hearn]

Without going into any more detail, that's about as much as we'll tell you.

[Lester Holt]

Kelly cleared things up a bit on the witness stand.

[Kelly Bernatine]

It was usually Sabrina and I, and then we would go have sex with our husbands.

[Lester Holt]

Quite the seething cauldron of passion out there. What else are you going to do in the desert? Rob had brought you gifts. At trial, the defense attorney suggested Kelly had a grudge against Sabrina because Kelly was in love with Rob Lamone. You pointed a finger at your best friend and believe that she's a killer.

[Kelly Bernatine]

I do. It's a horrible thing.

[Jonathan Hearn]

As far as you know, Sabrina may.

[Lester Holt]

Not have known anything about Jonathan's killing her husband, right?

[Kelly Bernatine]

No, I know she do. I know she knew by her behavior.

[Lester Holt]

And because of that feeling you want.

[Kelly Bernatine]

To get Sabrina, I believe she should pay for his murder.

[Lester Holt]

Because you believe she was involved?

[Kelly Bernatine]

Yes.

[Lester Holt]

And that's because you care about her husband so deeply, right?

[Kelly Bernatine]

I believe I cared about him more than she did.

[Lester Holt]

How did Sybrina really feel about Rob and Jonathan? There was only one way to find out. Calling a defendant to testify is always a risk. Sabrina's attorney felt it was one worth taking. She's not slick like Hearn is. She's not articulate like Hearn is. The jury needed to get a better picture of who Sabrina Limone was.

[Sabrina Limone]

My name's Sabrina Limone.

[Lester Holt]

Sabrina told the jury what had attracted her to Jonathan Hearn.

[Sabrina Limone]

He was like nobody I ever met before. He was very, very intelligent. I felt like I was with the human dictionary.

[Lester Holt]

Sabrina said at the time she met Jonathan, her husband had been inattentive. She said he was hooked on watching porn and overly fixated on sex. And she said she felt some guilt about their lifestyle. Jonathan, she said, offered something different, something appealing.

[Sabrina Limone]

He would pray with me and be very caring and spiritually focused.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan used religion, Sabrina said, to give himself power over her.

[Sabrina Limone]

Jonathan controlled me through carrying his Bible with him everywhere that he went and using that to. To guilt me, but also make me feel safe and secure.

[Lester Holt]

She admitted it was true that she dreamt about a future with Jonathan.

[Sabrina Limone]

I definitely fantasized with him a lot.

[Lester Holt]

Were you in love with Jonathan Hearn?

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes.

[Lester Holt]

Did you still love your husband?

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes, I did.

[Lester Holt]

Were you wanting to give up your life with Rob to Be with Jonathan?

[Sabrina Limone]

No. I had the best of both worlds right there. I didn't. I guess I didn't want to give up either one of them.

[Lester Holt]

After Rob's death, she said Jonathan was there for her, someone to lean on.

[Sabrina Limone]

He was like my. He felt like my rock at that moment in time.

[Lester Holt]

So then why, asked her attorney, did she conceal her affair with Jonathan from investigators?

[Sabrina Limone]

Because I was embarrassed. I didn't. That's something that Robert and I didn't want exposed.

[Lester Holt]

Sabrina insisted she never planned to poison her husband with arsenic laced banana pudding. And when Rob died, she said she had absolutely no idea Jonathan was the killer. Would you allow someone who had killed.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Your husband around your children?

[Sabrina Limone]

No. Absolutely not.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Had you ever discussed any time from the time you began being involved with.

[Lester Holt]

Jonathan until the day Robert was killed, and after Robert was killed, discussed with him killing your husband?

[Sabrina Limone]

No, I didn't.

[Lester Holt]

At any time did you discuss about wanting Robert to be gone or dead?

[Sabrina Limone]

No, I never said dead or gone. No, I did not want Robert gone.

[Lester Holt]

Kelly and Jason did not buy Sabrina's defense. And as to Rob and Sabrina's open.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Marriage, as far as I know, it was Sabrina's idea, not Rob's.

[Jonathan Hearn]

I think Sabrina was using that as an excuse, and she used it against Jonathan to manipulate him.

[Lester Holt]

The prosecutor was equally skeptical.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Good afternoon, Ms. Limone.

[Lester Holt]

And now it was his turn to cross examine Sabrina. Coming up, was Sabrina Limone just a cheating wife?

[Sabrina Limone]

It's a lifestyle that I don't expect people to understand.

[Lester Holt]

Or a calculating killer.

[Jonathan Hearn]

This is not a case of he said, she said. This is a case of he said she lied.

[Lester Holt]

Sabrina Limone told the jury she'd had no knowledge of or involvement in her husband Rob's murder. Now it was prosecutor Eric Smith's turn to cross examiner. He used the huge trove of phone records, wiretapped calls and texts to find plenty of evidence which he said undermined Sabrina's story. Including all the time she spent on the phone with her lover, Jonathan Hearn, on the very day he murdered her husband.

[Jonathan Hearn]

I added it up. 203 hours and 45 minutes. You talked with Jonathan Hearn prior to him leaving to go kill your husband?

[Sabrina Limone]

I did not know he was leaving to go kill my husband.

[Lester Holt]

Remember, Sabrina claimed she never wanted her husband gone. She said she had the best of both worlds. A good husband, had a younger lover.

[Sabrina Limone]

I guess I didn't want to give up either one of them.

[Lester Holt]

Okay, but then why in her texts, did she seem so happy to embark on a new life with Jonathan? Just after Rob's murder. Like when she wrote to him, I feel super blessed.

[Jonathan Hearn]

So 25 days after your husband was killed, you felt super blessed?

[Sabrina Limone]

No, I didn't.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Okay, well, what you wrote at the time, you felt super blessed.

[Sabrina Limone]

Well, I wasn't.

[Lester Holt]

And another text on that same day.

[Jonathan Hearn]

I got something practical for you today in town. It will one day be something we share in our home.

[Sabrina Limone]

I don't remember what that was or why I wrote that.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Well, wouldn't it make sense that you wrote that because you bought something, Something to share in your home with Jonathan?

[Sabrina Limone]

That's what it sounds like. There.

[Lester Holt]

According to the prosecutor, there was only one explanation for those texts.

[Jonathan Hearn]

From all the texts we've just gone through recently, you had replaced Robert. In essence, no.

[Sabrina Limone]

There's no replacing Robert. Ever.

[Lester Holt]

The prosecutor asked why, considering the relaxed rules of their marriage, she'd have to lie about her affair with Jonathan.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Silver Lakes is a small community, is it not?

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes, it is.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Everybody knows everybody's business, do they not?

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes, everybody's.

[Jonathan Hearn]

So this concept that somehow you were concerned that other people would find out about it. Everybody already knew about your lifestyle in Silver Lakes, did they not?

[Sabrina Limone]

Well, they weren't in the bedroom with us. Okay. We didn't invite all of Silver Lakes over.

[Lester Holt]

In her corner of Silver Lakes, she said marriages may have been open, but affairs needed prior approval.

[Sabrina Limone]

I didn't have permission to go astray from our group friends.

[Jonathan Hearn]

So now it's your testimony that you had to be given permission to sleep around?

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Who had to give you that permission?

[Sabrina Limone]

Robert.

[Jonathan Hearn]

He controlled you.

[Sabrina Limone]

He was my husband, but he did not control me. It's a lifestyle that I don't expect people to understand.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Well, your testimony is that everybody else decides everything that you do. Is that your testimony now?

[Sabrina Limone]

No. Okay, Just.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Jonathan Hearn controlled you. That was your testimony yesterday.

[Sabrina Limone]

No. Jonathan Hearn was controlling.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Okay.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Now your husband controls you. That's your testimony today?

[Sabrina Limone]

No, my husband was my husband. Okay.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Do you make decisions on your own at any point?

[Sabrina Limone]

Yes, I sure do. Apparently, many bad ones.

[Lester Holt]

Was Sabrina Limone guilty of nothing more than collaboration, poor judgment, or of something much more sinister? Each side made its closing arguments. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Defense attorney Richard Terry reminded the jury the DA didn't have enough to charge Sabrina with anything until Jonathan Hearn pointed the finger at her. And that's when they made their deal with that devil. He, to save his own hide, came in and spun his story. Prosecutor Eric Smith begged to differ.

[Jonathan Hearn]

This is not a case of he said, she said this is a case of he said she lied. That's what I'm calling it. She needs to be held accountable for what she did with Jonathan Hearn. She needs to be held accountable for letting her husband suffer.

[Lester Holt]

It took the jury less than seven hours to decide Sybrina's fate. We the jury am panel to try.

[Sabrina Limone]

The above entitled case. Find the defendant Sabrina Lemon guilty of a felony, to wit, murder of Robert.

[Lester Holt]

Lemon, guilty of first degree murder and a litany of other charges, conspiracy, accessory and solicitation to commit murder. Her only break. The jury found Sabrina not guilty of attempting to murder Rob with arsenic laced banana pudding. Sabrina's former best friends Kelly and Jason say they felt satisfaction after a long fight to prove Sabrina's guilt.

[Kelly Bernatine]

I would do it all again for Rob. He didn't deserve what happened to him.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Rob would have done the same for us. Yeah, we know he would.

[Lester Holt]

Sabrina was sentenced to 25 years to life in 2022. An appellate court upheld her conviction. The Supreme Court has also denied her petition for review of the case. Her former lover Jonathan could be back on the street very soon. He is eligible for parole in November 2028. What do Sabrina and Robert's children say about this?

[Sabrina Limone]

They don't believe it. That Prena had anything to do with it. They know more than we wish they did. Exactly. Yes.

[Lester Holt]

Kelly and Jason are now divorced. The wolf pack still exists, still hangs out and still gathers to remember Rob Limone. The lake remains their little oasis, but it's no longer the happiest place in the high desert.

[Kelly Bernatine]

I look back at pictures and I see like, we're just such a fun, loving group of people after this. It's like you can barely trust anyone. And, you know, things. Things just change. I mean, she. She broke all of our hearts. Not only were we just so devastated finding out who she really was, but we missed Rob so much.

[Lester Holt]

That's all for this edition of Dateline. Be sure to check out Josh's original six episode hit podcast based on tonight's story, Deadly Mirage, available to binge now wherever you listen. I'm Lester Holt. For all of us at NBC News, good night.