Deadly Mirage - Ep. 2: The Man on the Motorcycle

Summary

Deadly Mirage - Ep. 2: The Man on the Motorcycle
Dateline Originals | Release Date: March 13, 2025

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Introduction

In the second episode of Deadly Mirage, titled "The Man on the Motorcycle," host Josh Mankiewicz unravels the perplexing murder of Rob Limone, a dedicated rapid responder for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railway. This episode delves deep into the investigation, uncovering a web of secrets, betrayal, and obsession that ultimately leads to unexpected revelations.

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Background of the Case

Rob Limone, a reliable worker at the Burlington Northern Santa Fe shop east of Tehachapi, California, met an untimely death in August 2014. On that fateful day, Rob was filling in at the Tehachapi loop— a 19th-century engineering marvel known for its steep climb and attracting both train enthusiasts and opportunistic individuals alike. Rob's sudden death raised suspicions among his friends and colleagues, who feared he might have been targeted by a train robber or "tweaker" (Josh Mankiewicz [01:08]).

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Initial Investigation Efforts

Following Rob's murder, BNSF offered a substantial reward of $100,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction (Josh Mankiewicz [03:08]). This generous offer resulted in a flood of tips, with Jason Bernatine estimating over 50 calls. Despite the volume of leads, Detective Randall Meyer found the investigation stalling, with most tips proving unfruitful or based on flimsy evidence (Josh Mankiewicz [03:17]).

One of the more promising leads involved a report from a local gunsmith about a .44 caliber Ruger brought in for repairs. Initially, this seemed significant. However, forensic analysis later revealed that the bullet used in Rob's murder was a .45 caliber, rendering the Ruger irrelevant to the case (Josh Mankiewicz [06:52]).

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Suspected Mistaken Identity

Detective Meyer contemplated the possibility that Rob's murder was a case of mistaken identity. Given that Rob was temporarily filling in, it's plausible that the actual target was someone else entirely. Surveillance footage added to the confusion, capturing a limping motorcyclist at the scene—a man who, upon investigation, had a solid alibi and mismatched motorcycle ownership (Josh Mankiewicz [04:04]).

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Emergence of Jonathan Hearn

The investigation took a pivotal turn when Jason Bernatine, a firefighter and close friend of the Limone family, approached Detective Meyer with crucial information about Jonathan Hearn, another firefighter with a troubled history involving Rob's wife, Sabrina Limone (Jason Bernatine [09:40]; Josh Mankiewicz [10:10]).

Bernatine revealed that Sabrina had been involved in an affair with Hearn—a relationship that had ostensibly ended months before Rob's death. However, Hearn's erratic behavior post-affair, characterized by obsessive text messages and unsettling voicemails, raised red flags about his potential motives (Jason Bernatine [09:40]; Kelly Bernatine [17:14]).

Notable Quote:

"I feel like God has crushed me and he has gotten my attention."
– Jonathan Hearn [13:22]

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Unfolding of the Case

As Detective Meyer delved deeper, it became evident that Hearn's fixation on the Limone family wasn't merely residual feelings from the affair. Incidents of Hearn appearing uninvited, sending persistent messages, and expressing a desperate need to "fix" things suggested a darker intent (Josh Mankiewicz [19:01]).

Key interactions included:

• Sabrina's Encounter at Costco: Hearn was seen with Sabrina, displaying behavior that Sabrina struggled to explain convincingly (Kelly Bernatine [27:00]; Josh Mankiewicz [27:23]).
• Voicemail and Text Messages: Hearn's communications became increasingly disturbing, blending apologies with cryptic pleas for reconciliation (Jonathan Hearn [29:59]; Kelly Bernatine [32:31]).

Notable Quotes:

"I just realized now life is so short and I'm shaky right now, and I'm sorry. I would really like to talk to you."
– Jonathan Hearn [29:59]

"He agreed. He says, okay, I won't."
– Rob Limone's Friend [28:55]

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Critical Breakthroughs

In November 2014, Detective Meyer obtained a wiretap authorization, allowing him to intercept conversations between Hearn and Sabrina (Josh Mankiewicz [34:09]). These recordings provided concrete evidence of the ongoing tension and possible motivations behind Rob's murder.

Notable Quote:

"You and I have an affair, you know, and it's like, well, of course they're gonna look into that."
– Jonathan Hearn [34:22]

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Conclusion

"The Man on the Motorcycle" masterfully weaves a narrative of betrayal, obsession, and meticulous investigation. Through the collaborative efforts of friends like Jason and Kelly Bernatine, and the relentless pursuit by Detective Meyer, the episode uncovers the chilling truth behind Rob Limone's murder. Jonathan Hearn's transformation from a remorseful individual to a potential suspect underscores the complexities of human emotions and the dire consequences they can precipitate.

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Key Takeaways

• Complex Relationships: The intertwining relationships between Rob, Sabrina, and Jonathan highlight how personal connections can complicate criminal investigations.
• Persistence in Investigation: Detective Meyer's unwavering commitment serves as a testament to thorough investigative work in solving perplexing cases.
• Obsession as a Motive: Jonathan Hearn's obsessive behavior provides a chilling example of how fixation can lead to tragic outcomes.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Rob Limone's Friend: "We thought maybe it was some kind of railroad robbery." [02:35]
• Kelly Bernatine: "After that, I had to get a restraining order." [03:45]
• Jason Bernatine: "Truthful people usually don't get caught in those traps." [03:19]
• Jonathan Hearn: "I feel like God has crushed me and he has gotten my attention." [13:22]
• Jonathan Hearn: "I just realized now life is so short and I'm shaky right now, and I'm sorry. I would really like to talk to you." [29:59]
• Jonathan Hearn: "You and I have an affair, you know, and it's like, well, of course they're gonna look into that." [34:22]

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the intricate details and pivotal moments of the episode, providing listeners with a clear and engaging overview of the investigation into Rob Limone's murder.

Transcript

[Gypsy Rose Blanchard]

Hey everyone. I'm Gypsy Rose Blanchard. So viewers will see in this season of Life After Lockup my struggles and mistakes I made, how I handled myself. I'm excited about motherhood. I get to share with my child the things that I didn't get to experience as a child. Myself and Ken and I grew as a couple. Seeing how we navigate parenthood, seeing how we navigate our relationship, it's going to be great.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Josh Mankiewicz]

Every day they roll through Tehachapi, California by the dozens. Freight trains, some several miles long, are traveling what's called the Tehachapi loop. It's a 19th century engineering marvel, one that enables heavy trains to cross the Tehachapi mountain climbing 77ft in less than a mile. The Loop is essentially a big helix which attracts train buffs from around the world. It also attracts train robbers or tweakers who prey upon any trains that might break down there. Keeping those tracks clear and the trains moving is the job of the rapid responders who work out of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe shop east of town. That was the job Rob Limone was doing on the day he died in August 2014. Remember, this wasn't his normal gig. Rob usually worked 90 miles away at the big train yard in Barstow. He just happened to be filling in that day, doing a favor for a friend. Had Rob been killed by a tweaker, someone who'd wandered into the train shop looking for something to steal? That's what Rob's friends thought.

[Rob Limone's Friend]

We thought maybe it was some kind of railroad robbery.

[Kelly Bernatine]

BNSF put out a reward. You know, if anybody knew of anything. Silent witness, that type of thing.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

The reward was for information leading to an arrest and conviction. 100 grand. And wouldn't you know it, the tip line phones soon started ringing. How many phone calls you got?

[Jason Bernatine]

A lot, I would say in the 50s or more there was a lot of phone calls.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

This is the story of that hunt for a killer and of the twisted trail that led to a conspiracy to hide the truth.

[Jason Bernatine]

Truthful people usually don't get caught in.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Those kind of traps.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

In this episode, you'll hear how the murder of Rob Limone shined a bright light on high times in the high desert. So many salacious details started coming out. They made their choices. They're adults. Unfortunately, sometimes it doesn't work out the way he'd hoped. You'll hear how that murder destroyed close friendships.

[Kelly Bernatine]

After that, I had to get a restraining order.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

And how the investigation revealed some stunning secrets that many were desperately trying to keep hidden.

[Rob Limone's Friend]

That's what this story is about. It's peeling apart the layers and you go deeper and deeper into Helendale and Silver Lakes, and things are not as they appear.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

I'm Josh Mankiewicz and this is Deadly Mirage, a podcast from Dateline. Episode 2 the man on the Motorcycle it was late afternoon on the Friday before Labor Day. Detective Randall Meyer rocked back in his office chair, leafing through the Limone murder file. Police reports, witness statements, tip line leads. Two weeks had gone by since Rob Lamone's murder, and as far as Meyer could see, it all added up to a nickel's worth of nothing. He tossed the file back on the desk and stared at it, half hoping a solution would pop out of that pile of paper like a flyball to shallow, right? Well, none did. So he reviewed it all again. The limping man seen on security camera video. Well, investigators found a man living nearby who matched that description. However, he had a solid alibi for the time of the shooting. There was also a theory going around that Rob Limone's killing might have been a case of mistaken identity because Rob had only been filling in that day, and on short notice at that. Some wondered if a killer had come looking for somebody else. That theory even seemed plausible when the guy Rob was covering for told investigators he'd had a run in with someone in a bar the night before Rob was killed.

[Jason Bernatine]

He told me that he and some fellow friends went to a local bar and got into a small argument with some of the patrons inside the bar.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

That's the voice of lead detective Randall Meyer. Argument about what?

[Jason Bernatine]

I believe he said he bumped into somebody and then it caused some confusion. And that's where it occurred.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

The bar security camera seemed to confirm the railroad man's story, except all that unblinking eye saw that night was some alcohol fueled jawing. Did it get to the point of you know, punches being thrown.

[Jason Bernatine]

No, he said quickly, once the argument started. He then left the bar with his friends and they went home.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

On the face of it, it doesn't seem like that big a deal.

[Jason Bernatine]

No, it didn't seem to be a big deal at the time.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Except it was the night before Rob Lamon was killed. Yes, one of the more promising leads in the file had come from the tip line. A gunsmith in Tehachapi called in to say the day after the murder, one of his regulars, a man named Mark, had brought him a.44 caliber Ruger to repair.

[Jason Bernatine]

He said the gentleman, Mark, was having issues with the firearm and asked the gunsmith to change out the firing pin.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

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

[Jason Bernatine]

Not very often. That was very suspicious to us.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Cops went to work tracking down that gun's owner. Turned out Mark was an older guy who owned a business there in the industrial complex. He did not limp and he did not own a motorcycle. At the time, all investigators knew about the murder weapon was that it had been a large caliber weapon. Then the report came back from Firearms Analysis, and it turned out the slug pulled from Rob limone's brain was a.45, not a.44. Meaning the Ruger with the new firing pin was not the gun they were looking for.

[Jason Bernatine]

It was not the gun that was used to kill Rob Lamone.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Disappointing.

[Jason Bernatine]

It was disappointing at first. Back to the.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Back to the grind of the remaining clues. One still nagged at the detective. It was the security camera video of that motorcyclist riding through the industrial park on the afternoon Rob Limone died. The man was wearing a backpack, a helmet, long sleeves and long pants. The timestamps on that video made for a compelling timeline. At 4:15, the rider is seen traveling east toward the railroad shop. The detective knew Rob Limone was not at the shop at that point because the same security camera had recorded him leaving the complex minutes earlier. About an hour later, Rob returns. Now, here's the thing. According to cell phone records, Rob's last text message, his last sign of life, really was at 5:28. And the motorcyclist? Well, at 5:48, the rider is seen headed west out of the complex. Where had that rider been for those 20 minutes? The detective didn't know. He did, though. He needed more facts before he could get beyond a lot of unanswerable questions. It was about then that his phone rang. On the other end of the line was a man's voice said his name was Bernatine. Jason Bernatine. He told the detective he was a firefighter in Hellandale and a close friend of the Limones. He said he knew some things about the Limones he thought the detective should know. Then he said something about a creepy voicemail he'd received that morning from a fellow firefighter.

[Jason Bernatine]

I asked him what was suspicious about the message. He said the message basically was him asking for forgiveness for some stuff he had done in his past, which he thought was very odd.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

The detective told Jason Bernatine he'd meet him on Monday at the firehouse in Hellandale.

[Gypsy Rose Blanchard]

Hey everyone, I'm Gypsy Rose Blanchard. So viewers will see in this season of Life After Lockup my struggles and mistakes I made, how I handled myself. I'm excited about motherhood. I get to to share with my child the things that I didn't get to experience as a child. Myself and Ken and I grew as a couple. Seeing how we navigate parenthood, seeing how we navigate our relationship. It's gonna be great.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Gypsy Rose Life After Lockup New episode Monday at 9 only on Lifetime.

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[Josh Mankiewicz]

It was a little after 5 when Detective Meyer arrived at San Bernardino county fire station number four in Helendale. It was Labor Day 2014. Soon after he walked in the door, he recognized Jason Bernatine. Meyer had met Jason and his wife Kelly a week earlier.

[Jason Bernatine]

I had met the Bernatines at Serena Lamone's house when I did my first interview with her in person.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

But that was just happenstance because they haven't be there consoling her.

[Jason Bernatine]

Yes, it was just briefly.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

At 36, Jason Bernatine looked like an Eagle Scout, clean cut and wide eyed, as wholesome as a tall glass of milk. After shaking hands and finding a quiet place to talk, Jason got straight to the point.

[Jason Bernatine]

Jason told me that he knew of a prior affair.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

A prior affair with Sabrina Lamont?

[Kelly Bernatine]

Yes.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Who had told you there were no problems in her marriage?

[Jason Bernatine]

Yes.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

According to Jason Bernatine, the affair started a couple of years earlier when Sabrina got involved with a firefighter Jason used to work with, a guy named Jonathan Hearn. Jason told Detective Meyer that he'd thought the affair had ended. But then, days earlier, he'd gotten some texts and an odd voicemail from Jonathan Hearn that made him think maybe he was wrong.

[Jason Bernatine]

Jason actually told me that he wasn't going to say anything to law enforcement at all about it. However, with a text message and then another text message and a voicemail, he thought it was very suspicious.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Jason Bernatine played the message for Detective Meyer.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Hello, Jason, this is Jonathan Hearn. I. I'd really like to talk to you sometime soon. I. I just got back from San Diego and went into Costco and heard about Rob.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

So at that point, had you even heard the name Jonathan Hearn?

[Jason Bernatine]

No, not at all.

[Jonathan Hearn]

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.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

To the detective, the voicemail sounded like the anguished cry of a guilty conscience. There was a lot of talk about contrition and forgiveness and the Almighty.

[Jonathan Hearn]

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

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Detective Meyer's attention was now laser focused on Jonathan Hearn. He wanted to know more of the backstory. So he listened intently to what Jason Bernatine and later his wife Kelly had to say about Jonathan Hearn and their good friend Sabrina Limone. According to the Bernatines, it all started back in the fall of 2012. That's when Sabrina Limone got a part time job handing out free food samples at the Costco in Victorville, a town about 15 miles south of Helendale. It was there that she met a young fireman who was doing the shopping for his firehouse. Soon after, Sabrina mentioned meeting the fireman to Jason and his wife Kelly.

[Rob Limone's Friend]

Sabrina told us, like, hey, I met one of the guys you used to work with.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

That's Jason Bernithine.

[Rob Limone's Friend]

And I was like, oh, what's his name? She says, sean. And I know a lot of John's from the fire department. So I said, well, find out what department he works for next time you see him, and then maybe I can figure it out. So next time I saw her, she said that he worked for Redlands. And I'm like, oh, that's got to be Jonathan Hearn. One of the smartest guys I ever met. I said a lot of good things about him.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

How long did you work with him?

[Rob Limone's Friend]

He wasn't actually assigned to my station, so I would work what we call overtime. I would go work at his station sometimes. I can't really recall.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

And that was all there was to it, or so it seemed at the time.

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So it's Christmas 2012 at Brooks House.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

That year, the Silver Lakes Wolf pack celebrated Christmas and New Year's together as they always did.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Happy New Year's.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Sabrina, wearing a black blouse and hot pink pants, lifted her window and toasted the camera with a smile and an air smooch.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Happy New Year.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

The alcohol flowed freely that night while love and laughter filled the room. Though none of her friends knew it at the time, Sabrina Limone's life had already taken a turn. According to the Bernatines, the first sign something was going on with her came a few months later, in March 2013, at another wolf pack gathering. Since five members of the wolf pack had birthdays in March, the group typically celebrated those birthdays with a big night on the town. They called this annual outing March Madness. This particular year, the wolf pack caravan to a bar called Beef O'Brady's in Hesperia, a town about 20 miles south of Silver Lakes. Kelly Bernatine remembers the evening this way.

[Kelly Bernatine]

So when we go to this bar for our March Madness birthday party, we'd already all been kind of drinking before we left, and we were ready to go have some more drinks, and Jason had gone in before me, and I went in with some of the girls and I saw him talking to his captain at the bar and a couple other guys were around him. And so I walked up to say hi to his captain, and he said, hey, honey, you remember Jonathan Hearn? And I more remembered for him from what Sabrina told me than when Jason had worked with him. And I was like, oh, hi. Hi, Jonathan. Nice to see you.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Small world, isn't it? Jonathan Hearn was a tall, handsome guy, clean cut, a thick thatch of brown on his head, conservatively cut, blue gray eyes, bright as high beams. Hearn said he lived there in Hesperia. He looked younger than the wolf pack crowd, and he was just 22 that evening. Even so, Kelly Says he seemed to mingle easily with the older men at the bar.

[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.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

And you noticed that?

[Kelly Bernatine]

And I noticed it. And I was like, oh, that was weird. So she comes over and says, hi, and he mentions this is, like, the first time he saw her without a hair net on. And I was like, okay.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

You noticing any of this at the time?

[Rob Limone's Friend]

No. No, because you're a guy. I'm a guy.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

You, on the other hand, are decoding the signals.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Yeah. And Rob was on the right of me and Jason. And 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. So she had mentioned him to me earlier, but I don't think she ever mentioned him to Rob.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

If Rob Limone was upset by the way his wife looked at this young stranger, the way she stood so close to him, as the night wore on, he said nothing. At least not there. Rob had plenty to say to Sabrina once they got home.

[Kelly Bernatine]

The next day, she calls me and said, rob. Rob asked me what was going on with Jonathan. Why was he there that last night? And I asked her, I said, is there something going on? Did you tell Jonathan to come last night? And she said, no. And I said, are you sure there's nothing going on between you guys? And she said, well, no, he's just my friend.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

The Bernatines say they might have accepted that explanation at face value if not for the fact that soon after that night at the bar, Jonathan began texting Jason.

[Rob Limone's Friend]

He had my phone number saying, you know, hey, I had a really good time with you and your friends last night. You know, you guys are so cool. I would love to come hang out with you guys and go to some barbecues or go hang out on the lake with you guys. And at the time, I was like, oh, okay, yeah, sure. Someday we could do that, Jonathan. Cool. But then the text messages started coming every couple days.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

And this guy was not a really close friend of yours?

[Rob Limone's Friend]

No, no. It was to the point where it was obsessive to where I was getting multiple. And I started showing Kelly, like, hey, look, it's. It's Jonathan again.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Like, we thought he was hitting on him.

[Rob Limone's Friend]

I thought Jonathan was hitting on me.

[Kelly Bernatine]

And it became a joke.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

The Bernatines told Detective Meyer that a few weeks later, Rob was over at their house helping with some remodeling work. It just so happened that while Rob was there, Jason received another text message from Jonathan.

[Rob Limone's Friend]

One of the text messages said, jason, I really need to talk to your. Your buddy Rob. I need his phone number. I thought this was suspicious. I went outside and I called Jonathan, and I asked him, like, jonathan, what's up, man? Why. Why do you want to talk to Rob? Are you having an affair with. With Sabrina? Something going on?

[Josh Mankiewicz]

No. It's your radar that's going off.

[Rob Limone's Friend]

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

[Josh Mankiewicz]

He says that particular phrase, I've been.

[Rob Limone's Friend]

Living my life wrong, and I need to get right with God. And I really need to talk to Rob. I just really need to talk to Rob.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Suddenly, this thing with Jonathan seemed as serious as a heart attack. Jason knew where this was going, and he didn't like it, not one bit.

[Rob Limone's Friend]

So I told him, well, if you're not going to tell me everything that's going on, you need to tell Rob. And then you disappear like, this is over. This is done. And he said, okay, thank you, Jason.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

And you're thinking, oh, God, this is the last thing I wanted to hear.

[Rob Limone's Friend]

I'm pretty upset because I realized that all these text messages he sent me, he's been trying to get close to Sabrina.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

It was then that Jason walked back to the house and handed his phone to Rob.

[Rob Limone's Friend]

So I go inside the house and I tell Rob, I don't know how to tell you this, Rob, but I got Jonathan Hearn on. On my phone, and he wants to talk to you. Apparently, he's been having an affair with Sabrina. And Rob says, I know, buddy. I know. I found out the other day.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Rob told the Bernatines that shortly after the March Madness outing, he and Sabrina had gone to a wedding and Sabrina had too much to drink. On the drive home, she evidently sent out a group text that included Jonathan Hearn. Rob told them Hearn had responded to that text with a flurry of text messages of his own.

[Kelly Bernatine]

And her phone kept shooting off with all these messages that she was getting. So he's driving, he picks up her phone to see what the heck's going on. And I still remember his face like he rolled his eyes back in his head. He was like, pages and pages of this, like poems and I love yous and you're so beautiful and all this. And. And so he said he called him right then on her phone. He called him and said, this is Rob Limone. What are you talking to my wife for? And hangs up, breaks her phone. They fight.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Rob told the Bernatines he and Sabrina made up the next day and that he'd bought her a new phone. Rob had hoped that would be the end of it. But now here was Hearn again on the phone.

[Kelly Bernatine]

I was kind of right there in our kitchen. Rob takes the phone and he goes into our backyard. And I look at him out there. He's just sitting there holding the phone, shaking his head like this. Uh huh. It's almost like he didn't even talk.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Then Rob comes back and what?

[Kelly Bernatine]

And tells us that Sabrina's really embarrassed. We're okay. We're working it out. It's over. We got it handled. You know, please don't tell anybody. And we just were like, okay, Rob, we promise, like, we won't say anything to anybody.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

The Bernatines were as good as their word. For more than a year, they kept the Limone family secret from the rest of the wolf pack. As far as they could tell, everything in the Limone household was back to normal. They assumed Sabrina's affair was a thing of the past. They were wrong.

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[Josh Mankiewicz]

Kelly Bernatine was in a hurry that day in February 2014 when she decided to quickly dash into the Costco in Victorville to pick up a few groceries. Normally, she would have texted Sabrina to ask if she was working that day so Kelly could say hi. On that day, she did not.

[Kelly Bernatine]

I walked by an aisle and I saw her and Jonathan together talking. And I wave to her and say hi, and she has a big smile, runs over to me, and she's like, oh, what's in your cart? What are you doing here? And I'm like, looking over at him, like, I see him right there. And she pretends like he's not there at all.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

And you don't say, because you're being such a good friend, isn't that the guy you were just having an affair with, who you said you weren't gonna see anymore?

[Kelly Bernatine]

Yeah, no, I didn't say that. I just was like, I'm gonna go check out. So I was upset. I think she could tell I was upset.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Naturally, when Kelly told Jason about that encounter, he hit the roof.

[Rob Limone's Friend]

I called him and I said, jonathan, what the heck are you doing in Costco? Talking to Sabrina. And at this point, Jonathan 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. You don't need to be talking to her. You stay away from that family.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

I'm guessing you were maybe a little bit more emphatic than you were right now.

[Rob Limone's Friend]

Yeah, I said. I said a lot of words. I probably can't say here, but there was a lot of yelling. And at one point in time, he tells me, so what am I supposed to do? Do just not see her anymore?

[Josh Mankiewicz]

And you're like, yeah, now you've got it.

[Rob Limone's Friend]

Yeah. I started to get a really bad feeling. Like, he believes he has a right to see her. He doesn't see this as an out of bounds for him to be talking to a woman he's had an affair with. So in the end, I tell him to never go into her Costco again. And I'm yelling at him emphatically, and he agrees. He says, okay, I won't.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Six months after that, Rob Lamone was dead. Jason told Detective Meyer how, at first he did not think Rob's murder and Sabrina's affair could possibly be connected because he couldn't imagine a straight arrow guy like Jonathan Hearn having anything to do with murder. Then Jonathan left him that voicemail.

[Rob Limone's Friend]

So 12 days after Rob's murder, my phone rings. I look down at it. It's Jonathan Hearn. I was in a doctor's office with my son. I wanted to take my phone and smash it against the wall because he is the one person I did not want to hear from. And I didn't answer it. I let it go to voicemail. A few minutes later, I started getting texts from him saying he needs to talk to me.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Jason was curious enough as to what all of this was about that he pressed play.

[Jonathan Hearn]

I just realized now life is so short and I'm shaky right now, and I'm sorry. I would really like to talk to you.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Was this about the affair? As far as Jason, Jason knew Jonathan's affair with Sabrina had ended months earlier. Now he wondered if perhaps Hearn's tone was hinting at something else.

[Jonathan Hearn]

I did talk to Rob, and I was able to apologize to him. And that was something that was very meaningful to me.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

When he forgave me, Jason listened to all of it. Then he listened to all of it again.

[Jonathan Hearn]

I want to fix this with you, so if you could give me a call back, I would really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

[Kelly Bernatine]

He came home from the doctor's office, and he asked me if there was one person that would want Rob out of the picture, who would it be? And I said, jonathan. And then he said he called me. So we went in the backyard, and we didn't want our kids to hear the message or anything. And he played the message for me, and immediately I got goosebumps all over. And I was just sickened because the message was so disturbing. It was like he was forcing himself to breathe heavy and be upset and.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Oh, you don't think that's genuine?

[Kelly Bernatine]

No, definitely not. It was. It was creepy. It was like, oh, my gosh, this guy is crazy. And this is possible. He could have. He could have killed Rob.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

That was on a Friday morning. It was later that afternoon when Jason Bernatine dug out Detective Meyer's business card and first gave him a call. The following Monday was Labor Day, the day Jason agreed to meet with Detective Meyer. And even before that meeting took place, Kelly was able to add a new piece of information to the puzzle. This one came from Sabrina herself.

[Kelly Bernatine]

She told me that Monday morning that he had come over the night before with his sister and brought flowers. And. And we're not talking like a little thing of flowers. I mean, we're talking like a huge bouquet of flowers.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

I mean, look, okay, the guy's presumptuous, okay? None of this makes him a killer. Just makes him a kind of a guy you'd rather stay away from.

[Rob Limone's Friend]

Absolutely.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Along with the flowers, Sabrina told Kelly how Jonathan had written her a sympathy note that read, in part, quote, all the things that I have read in the paper and on Facebook about Robert was that he was such an amazing man. I'm going to try to live my life like him, unquote.

[Kelly Bernatine]

She's reading me this letter, and here I've already heard this voicemail. I'm already freaked out by him.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

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, so I just listened.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

As far as the rest of the wolf pack was concerned, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. Sabrina filled the role of grieving widow just the way everyone expected she would. She posted a glowing tribute to Rob on Facebook. She sent out thank you cards to funeral guests. She was somber and emotional when speaking of her late husband. None of the other members of the the wolf pack knew anything about Sabrina's relationship with Jonathan Hearn. Well, except, of course, for the Bernatines. In the weeks after Rob's murder, they say their feelings for Sabrina began to change from sympathy to suspicion. Coming up next on Deadly Mirage.

[Kelly Bernatine]

You know, if that's what a couple agrees with in their marriage, then that's their business.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

She went to Robert and she said, this needs to stop now. And he said, oh, we're just having fun. Hi, Julie.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Hi, my beautiful.

[Jason Bernatine]

Early November 2014. I was able to get a wiretap authorized. And so we were able to go up on the phones and listen to their conversations.

[Jonathan Hearn]

You and I have an affair, you know, and it's like, well, of course they're gonna look into that.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Deadly Mirage is a production of Dateline and NBC News. Tim Beacham is the producer, Brian Drew, Kelly Lawdeen and Marshall Housefeld are audio editors, Carson Cummins is associate producer, Adam Gorfayn is co executive producer, Paul Ryan is executive producer and Liz Cole is senior executive producer from NBC News. Audio Sound mixing by Katie Lau Bryson Barnes is head of audio production.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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