Deadly Mirage - Ep. 3: Tickling the Wire

Summary

Dateline Originals: Deadly Mirage - Ep. 3: Tickling the Wire

Introduction to the Fateful Encounter

In the third episode of Deadly Mirage titled "Tickling the Wire," hosted by Josh Mankiewicz from NBC News' Dateline Originals, listeners are taken deep into a web of deceit, hidden affairs, and a murder that shook a close-knit community. The story revolves around the seemingly ordinary meeting between Sabrina Limone and Jonathan Hearn in a bustling Costco grocery aisle, an encounter that would irrevocably alter their lives and those around them.

“Their eyes met in a busy grocery aisle at Costco. She was handing out tasty samples... That fleeting moment in the grocery aisle and the events that followed had lifelong ramifications for both of them and for everyone who knew them.” — Josh Mankiewicz [00:03]

The Illusion of a Happy Marriage

Sabrina Limone and her husband, Rob Limone, appeared to lead a quintessential suburban life. Married in August 2000, the couple moved to California’s Silver Lake section of Hellandale to be closer to Sabrina’s parents. Their home was filled with the laughter of their two children, Robbie and Leanna, and the couple was well-regarded by friends and family alike.

“Robert, he doted on her. He did mostly everything that needed to be done. And he loved her.” — Kelly Bernatine [05:59]

However, beneath the surface, cracks began to appear in their marriage. In 2008, Sabrina and Rob decided to open their marriage, engaging in a polyamorous relationship with another couple. This decision introduced complexities and tensions that were not immediately visible to outsiders.

“If that's what a couple agrees with in their marriage, then that's their business.” — Kelly Bernatine [07:12]

Jonathan Hearn: The Young Firefighter

Jonathan Hearn emerged as a central figure in this intricate narrative. At 18 years old in 2008, Jonathan was an ambitious young firefighter involved in the San Bernardino Youth Fire Explorer program. Described by friends as thoughtful and well-spoken, Jonathan aspired to become a paramedic or an arson investigator. His dedication to his career was evident, though his personal life remained largely private.

“Everyone else saw that in him, and he would. He would just say, oh, you know, no, this is what I've always wanted to do.” — Nicole Hearn [09:58]

Despite being focused on his studies and job, Jonathan began an affair with Sabrina Limone, Rob’s wife. Their secrecy was maintained through frequent communication, often facilitated by a burner phone, hinting at the clandestine nature of their relationship.

“Have you ever hear anybody use a story out of the Bible to justify having an affair and killing the other person's spouse?” — Detective Randall Meyer [34:01]

The Murder of Rob Limone

The tranquility of the Limone family was shattered when Rob Limone was found dead on a shop floor in Tehachapi in September 2014. The murder sent shockwaves through the community, prompting Detective Randall Meyer to investigate the circumstances surrounding Rob's death. Initial evidence pointed towards a complex interplay of personal relationships and hidden motives.

“Sabrina Limone had been having an affair with a young firefighter named Jonathan Hearn.” — Josh Mankiewicz [02:31]

Detective Randall Meyer's Investigation

Detective Meyer’s investigation revealed critical details about the Limone family's dynamics. Phone records indicated an extensive affair between Sabrina and Jonathan, which ceased abruptly three months before Rob’s murder. This suspicious halt led Meyer to delve deeper into their communications, uncovering over seven thousand interactions between Jonathan and an unidentified burner phone number.

“They had multiple conversations via telephone calls and text messages.” — Detective Randall Meyer [18:35]

Evidence Mounts Against Jonathan Hearn

Further scrutiny revealed that Jonathan owned a motorcycle similar to one seen near the murder scene and possessed firearms matching the caliber used to kill Rob. These pieces of evidence strengthened the case against Jonathan as the prime suspect.

“The firearms that were registered to Jonathan matched the same or similar caliber bullet that killed Rob Lemon.” — Detective Randall Meyer [15:34]

Wiretapping and the Strategy of "Tickling the Wire"

To gather concrete evidence, Detective Meyer obtained a wiretap on Sabrina and Jonathan’s phones. This invasive technique, known as "tickling the wire," aimed to provoke incriminating conversations by feeding misleading information to the suspects.

“Inside law enforcement, provoking conversations between people you're surveilling is known as tickling the wire.” — Josh Mankiewicz [25:06]

The wiretap quickly yielded results, revealing the depth of Sabrina and Jonathan’s affair. Their conversations were filled with declarations of love and prayers for guidance, masking the darker undercurrents of their relationship.

“We were on our knees for a reason. God, we have been dirtbags. We've been sinners.” — Nicole Hearn [22:52]

Detective Meyer skillfully used deceptive updates about the investigation to elicit conversations that could potentially tie Sabrina and Jonathan to the murder plot. These interactions exposed their attempts to conceal the affair and avoid detection.

“Some exciting news. Crime lab just sent me an email and said they got a good DNA sample from what they believe was a sweat drop.” — Nicole Hearn [28:39]

Escalating Tensions and Strategic Delays

As the investigation intensified, Sabrina and Jonathan became increasingly aware of the police's surveillance. Jonathan suspected that Detective Meyer was attempting to trick Sabrina into revealing incriminating information, leading them to strategize delays and further conceal their activities.

“You know, officers are allowed to use ruse... It's probably a ruse to get you to like, relax and like, open up.” — Jonathan Hearn [31:10]

Their mutual deceit and attempts to manipulate the investigation highlighted the lengths they would go to protect their interests, setting the stage for further confrontations with law enforcement.

Conclusion and Ongoing Investigation

As the episode concludes, Detective Meyer remains steadfast in his pursuit of the truth, utilizing every available tool to unravel the mystery behind Rob Limone’s murder. The intricate dance of deception, love, and betrayal continues to unfold, leaving listeners eager for the next installment of this gripping true crime saga.

“We've been selfish. We've sinned. God, but you are a savior.” — Nicole Hearn [22:52]

Notable Quotes

• “Their eyes met in a busy grocery aisle at Costco... That fleeting moment in the grocery aisle and the events that followed had lifelong ramifications for both of them and for everyone who knew them.” — Josh Mankiewicz [00:03]

• “They have a purpose and I know that God knows our hearts.” — Nicole Hearn [24:29]

• “It’s like bringing you out of your comfort zone and into his comfort zone.” — Nicole Hearn [31:33]

Final Thoughts

"Tickling the Wire" masterfully weaves together personal narratives, investigative techniques, and suspenseful storytelling to present a comprehensive look into the murder of Rob Limone. Through detailed interviews and compelling narration, Deadly Mirage offers an engrossing exploration of the complexities of human relationships and the relentless quest for justice.

Transcript

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Their eyes met in a busy grocery aisle at Costco. She was handing out tasty samples, maybe some crackers with a new savory spread. She did not know when he approached that this stranger wearing a firefighter's T shirt was also walking into her private life. And he. Well, he never suspected the oversized role she would soon be playing in his. It was a routine encounter, like thousands of others, unremarkable in every way except for this. That fleeting moment in the grocery aisle and the events that followed had lifelong ramifications for both of them and for everyone who knew them.

[Kelly Bernatine]

It was devastating. Absolutely devastating. I don't know. I couldn't. Couldn't believe it.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

So was this fixed or fated? Ordered and ordained. If she'd been off that day, if he'd turned down a different aisle, would any of this have happened? That is unknowable. What is known is that the lives they led leading up to that moment gave no hint of what would come after it.

[Kelly Bernatine]

I'm fascinated in relationships that end in the ultimate, worst possible way.

[Nicole Hearn]

And I'm also fascinated by the secrets that lurk underneath.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

In this episode, you'll hear about the lives of that misaligned pair in the Costco aisle from those who knew them best and loved them most.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Brina is such a positive, amazing person. Jonathan was always so thoughtful. We were best friends.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

You'll hear the bedroom secrets of a bedroom community on the high desert.

[Kelly Bernatine]

You know, if that's what a couple agrees with in their marriage, and that's their business. He'd shown pictures, naked pictures of the women out in Silver Lakes on his phone.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

And you will hear that couple's earnest prayers for God's guidance as investigators listened in on their private phone calls.

[Nicole Hearn]

Help to be hand out about the right words. Please give her calmness and clarity of thought to not give too much information.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

I'm Josh Mankiewicz, and this is Deadly Mirage, a podcast from Dateline. Episode 3 Tickling the Wire for weeks after the murder of Rob Lamone, Detective Randall Meyer had chased shadows. Then, thanks to a tip from the murdered man's friend, Jason Bernatine, Detective Meyer now knew several things he had not known before. He knew that Rob Lamone's wife, Sabrina, had had been having an affair with a young firefighter named Jonathan Hearn. He knew the murder victim had had words with Hearn, and he knew that Sabrina Lamone had lied to him about all of that.

[Detective Randall Meyer]

They'd obviously caused some suspicion for me.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

She had an affair. Her husband found out about it. It caused some sounds like Some significant stress in that marriage, yes. The detective did not know how those lives collided or why Rob Limone wound up dead on a shop floor in Tehachapi. In the months to come, the friends and family of all three filled in the blanks. The backstory on Rob and Sabrina began in the late 90s when Sabrina met Rob at a backyard barbecue in Prescott, Arizona. Rob would have been 21 back then. Sabrina, just 18. Old photographs show them the way they were. Rob, a thick shouldered construction worker with a shaved head. Sabrina, willowy and blonde with an incandescent smile. Rob liked dirt bikes. And Sabrina, well, she liked whatever Rob liked. There's a photo of them from those days. Rob is sitting astride a motorbike, his bald head gleaming in the sun. Sabrina sitting right behind him, grinning from ear to ear. It was after one of those days spent careening across the sage dotted desert outside Prescott that Rob's family met Sabrina. He brought Sabrina home and introduced us to all of us. Lydia Marrero, one of Rob's four older sisters, they just got back from riding dirt bikes and so she was kind of embarrassed.

[Kelly Bernatine]

No, it wasn't a real formal meeting. He was very friendly. He brought her to our home because, you know, he, he was living with us and introduced us.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

And that's the voice of Chris Wilson.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Another sister, nice girl. And he said, I think I'm gonna marry her.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

He said, I think I'm gonna marry her. And you thought great or mistake?

[Kelly Bernatine]

I thought great. She was nice. She loved my brother. And I could. I could tell. She did.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

A cursory review of the biographical details would have told the detective that Sybrina and Rob were married in August of 2000. Soon after, they moved to California, where Rob had gotten a job at the sprawling Burlington Northern and Santa Fe rail yard in Barstow. The happy couple settled in the Silver Lake section of Hellandale to be near her parents.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Robert, he doted on her. He did mostly everything that needed to be done. And he loved her. I could just see by the way he treated her.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

In 2003, the limone's added a baby boy to their family. They named him Robbie. Three years later, they welcomed a daughter. They named her Leanna.

[Kelly Bernatine]

She was just such an amazing mom. And Robbie and Leanna always came first to her. Always. That's all she cares about.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Those were the years when the Limone home on Strawberry Lane was filled with the sounds of kids and cartoons, a clack and clatter of plastic toys. Situation normal. Then in 2008, something unseen and undetectable to others occurred in the Limone home. How it happened is a mystery. Only Rob and Sabrina know why it happened. It was then that Rob and Sabrina decided to open their marriage and to enter into a sexual relationship with another couple.

[Kelly Bernatine]

I didn't know Sabrina and Robert's life in depth.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

And Helen Dell, that's Rob's sister Chris.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Again, nobody called me. And when I had heard that, I thought, you know, if that's what a couple agrees with in their marriage, then that's their business. Just something that she told me about, I guess.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Kelly Bernatine says she heard about the Limone's open marriage from Sabrina.

[Kelly Bernatine]

It was a couple that they had done that with. It wasn't like they had this big group.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Kelly says Sabrina told her their relationship with the other couple only lasted a few months and ended when the other couple split up. However, Sabrina's sister Julie Cordova says she suspected that little foursome was not a one off.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Rob would even tell my husband things like he'd show him pictures, naked pictures of the women out in Silver Lakes on his phone.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

That certainly could suggest that he wasn't ashamed of it. Here's what we're doing. Almost like they're showing you vacation pictures.

[Kelly Bernatine]

Yes, yes, yes. You know, I just thought about this. There was a close friend of theirs that came out to visit. She knew what was going on or saw what was going on. She went to Robert and she said, this needs to stop now. And he said, oh, we're just having fun.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

The detective did not know much about Jonathan Hunt, the third player in this particular love triangle. But a little back of the envelope math revealed Hearn had been young, just 18 years old in 2008. That was the year Sabrina and Rob Limone opened their marriage. According to Rob Limone's friend, Jason Bernatine, Hearn had been a smooth cheeked kid who liked to hang out at firehouses. He'd been one of several junior volunteers in the San Bernardino Youth Fire Explorer program back then. Despite that, Bernadine told the detective that seasoned firefighters could tell Jonathan was a cut above. He was thoughtful, well spoken, and already taking college classes. He said he wanted to be a paramedic when he got older, maybe even an arson investigator. And as anyone in the firehouse who'd spent 10 minutes talking with the kid could tell, Jonathan Hearn had the brains to be whatever he wanted.

[Nicole Hearn]

So I used to always tell Jonathan, like, you're kind of wasting your, your life becoming a fireman.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

You could become much more.

[Nicole Hearn]

You could be a doctor. Lawyer.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

That's Kelly Bernatine's husband, Jason, a San Bernardino county fireman and a close friend of Rob Lemone's.

[Nicole Hearn]

Everyone else saw that in him, and he would. He would just say, oh, you know, no, this is what I've always wanted to do.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Jason is a little fuzzy on when he first met Jonathan Hearn, but he does remember working a couple of dozen shifts with him at different firehouses over the years. Jason says he was proud of the way the kid's career had taken shape.

[Nicole Hearn]

He was an explorer, and then he became a paramedic and then the apprentice, and then he eventually got hired with Redlands Fire Department.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Jonathan Hearn had clearly been a young man in a hurry, and the more the detective learned about him, the clearer that picture became. Born the second of six children, Hearn had been raised in a devoutly religious home where church attendance and Bible study were mandatory. Like his siblings, he had been homeschooled.

[Kelly Bernatine]

My brother Jonathan was homeschooled until the time when he was about 12, and then he was concurrently enrolled in college, and he graduated with a double associates in high school around the same time.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

That's Nicole Hearn, Jonathan's older sister. When I spoke with her years later, she told me her brother had been so busy with school and work in those days that he never seemed to have time for girls.

[Kelly Bernatine]

He flirted around with girls and he went on dates with them, but I was never privy to anything serious with him. I had never heard of him having a girlfriend, a steady girlfriend.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

No. As far as anyone could tell, Jonathan Hearn's first steady girlfriend had been Sabrina Lamo, a A married woman more than 10 years his senior. He'd been 22 that summer day in 2012 when he went to the Costco in Victorville to pick up some supplies for his firehouse. At some point while he was wandering through the cavernous store, he rounded a corner and saw a pretty blonde woman handing out samples. Their eyes met as he pushed the shopping cart in her direction, and an invitingly brilliant smile flashed across her face. Jonathan Hearn stopped to chat. Almost two years to the day after that fateful meeting in Costco, the Silver Lakes Wolf Pack gathered to celebrate the 38th birthday of one of its most beloved members, Rob Limone. There was a big cake with candles and a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday, Happy birthday to you, and many more. As usual, Kelly Bernatine was there to videotape the occasion for posterity. You look at that video, what do you see?

[Kelly Bernatine]

I just hear a saying after Singing Happy Birthday and many more. You always add that on to the. To the song.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

It seems ironic now, of course. How could any of them have known that Rob Lamone was celebrating his final birthday? Thank you, everybody.

[Detective Randall Meyer]

I love you guys.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

We love you, Rob.

[Kelly Bernatine]

There ain't no other Rob Lamone. We just look at him now and he says, I love you guys. Like he always. He always says, love you guys.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Three days later, Rob Limone was dead. And the detective found himself relying on those friends to catch his killer. It was on a September morning in 2014, a month after Rob Limone's murder, when Kelly Bernatine noticed a strange motorcycle parked in the driveway at the Limone house. The bike had the word forgiven stenciled on the gas tank alongside a cross. Kelly did not know who the bike belonged to, but she had her suspicions. She wrote down the license number and gave it to Detective Meyer. Turns out it was registered to Jonathan Hearn, the man the detective suspected of killing Rob Lemone.

[Detective Randall Meyer]

Detective Meyer, after checking Jonathan's registration for that motorcycle, 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.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Encouraging. Yes. The detective had now identified a man who'd been sleeping with the murder victim's wife, who owned a motorcycle similar to the one caught on camera near the scene of the crime. And that wasn't all he knew. Jonathan Hearn also owned guns.

[Detective Randall Meyer]

The firearms that were registered to Jonathan matched the same or similar caliber bullet that killed Rob Lemon.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Big bullet, big gun?

[Detective Randall Meyer]

Yes. He had a couple.45 caliber firearms that were registered to him.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

The detective was now certain Jonathan Hearn was the killer he had been looking for. If the man on the motorcycle was Jonathan Hearn, then he was a long way from home. And at some point, the detective figured he'd have had to stop for gas.

[Detective Randall Meyer]

Highway 58 and Highway 395. There's a couple of gas stations located on that corner there.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

How far from the scene of the murder?

[Detective Randall Meyer]

About an hour's drive.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Since that would have been the quickest and most direct route to Jonathan Hearn's home, Detective Meyer asked a fellow investigator to visit those gas stations and look for security camera footage of a man on a motorcycle. Since the motorcyclist in Tehachapi was last seen leaving the industrial park at 5:48, the detective guessed the rider would have likely stopped for gassing Cramer Junction around 6. 48 or so, it didn't take long for the other investigator to report back. Bingo. Security footage from a Kramer Junction gas station called the Pilot Travel center showed a motorcyclist wearing a black helmet and backpack pulling up to a pump at 6:51.

[Detective Randall Meyer]

Same stature, knees low, 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.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

So this person stopped somewhere to change clothes.

[Detective Randall Meyer]

Yes.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Once again, the security camera was unable to provide a clear picture of the motorcycle's license plate. It did record the rider walking into the gas station's mini mart, entered inside.

[Detective Randall Meyer]

The business to purchase some water and Gatorade with helmet on, sunglasses.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

That sounds like somebody who knows that that whole transaction is being recorded on video and wants to make sure that you can't identify him.

[Detective Randall Meyer]

Yes, that was very suspicious.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

After prepaying with cash at the register, the rider goes outside and without ever taking off his helmet, refills his tank and rides away. I'm sort of hearing the word search warrant here.

[Detective Randall Meyer]

Yes, definitely. From the information we gathered, we started looking into phone records.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Up until then, the detective had found a lot of probable but not much cause. The phone records of Sabrina Limone and Jonathan Hearn changed all that. Using an Excel spreadsheet, investigators were able to chart all of the calls and texts between the two since the day they first met in that aisle at Costco two years earlier. There were thousands of contacts.

[Detective Randall Meyer]

They had multiple conversations via telephone calls and text messages.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Clear evidence of an affair, to be sure. But now the detective wondered if those phone records might also be evidence of a murder plot. As the detective studied two years worth of calls and contacts, he noticed a sudden break in the pattern that looked suspicious. In the spring of 2014, just three months before Rob Limone's murder, those communications between Jonathan and Sabrina abruptly stopped.

[Detective Randall Meyer]

Sometime in April. About the 25th of April of 2014, those phone calls stopped and a new phone showed up on Jonathan Hearn's phone records.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

When you run that number, who's it come back to?

[Detective Randall Meyer]

It came back to no subscriber information found.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

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

[Detective Randall Meyer]

Possibly, yes.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

The kind of phone that somebody would use if they were either committing a crime or having an extramarital affair?

[Detective Randall Meyer]

Yes. Yes.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

The number of calls and texts from Jonathan Hearn's phone to and from that new number was overwhelming. Seven thousand of them. From April through October of 2014.

[Detective Randall Meyer]

There's conversations daily via either phone or Text message. Every once in a while, you'd have a day that there was nothing. But most of the dates, there was some sort of conversation going on.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

In the weeks leading up to Rob Lamone's murder, those phone logs showed nearly 2,000 text messages between the two numbers. The detective suspected Sabrina Limone was the person using the burner phone to communicate with Jonathan Hearn. But there seemed to be only one way to know for sure. The investigators asked a judge for permission to wiretap those phones. Difficult to get that warrant.

[Detective Randall Meyer]

Very difficult. Courts take that very seriously, and so it does take a substantial amount of effort to get that warrant.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

In addition to showing a judge there was reason to believe Jonathan Hearn had conspired with Sabrina Limone to kill her husband, they also argued that a conspiracy to cover up that crime was at that very moment ongoing.

[Detective Randall Meyer]

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.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Monitoring those phones 247 would be a huge job, too big for the eight officers who made up the Kern County Robbery Homicide Unit. So they enlisted the aid of other departments and agencies and borrowed the DEA's wire room in downtown Bakersfield. I'm guessing your bosses at some point said to you, you're killing us here.

[Detective Randall Meyer]

It is very expensive to conduct operation like that. There's lots of manpower.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

You start actual surveillance on Jonathan?

[Detective Randall Meyer]

Yes. Just prior to the wiretap, we had surveillance out there, and they were typically on them while they were moving during the day. Once the wire tap was initiated, the surveillance is 24 hours a day.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

The guys in the wire room did not have to wait long for their monitoring screens to light up. Just as expected, that call was Sabrina Limone's burner phone to Jonathan Hearn's cell.

[Nicole Hearn]

Hey, baby.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Hey, are you busy?

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Two things were immediately clear from that very first wiretapped call. Sabrina Limone and Jonathan Hearn were as in love as moonstruck teenagers.

[Nicole Hearn]

I love you. I love you. I love you to the end of the world. I love you.

[Jonathan Hearn]

I love you, doc.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

And in the weeks after Rob Lamone met his maker, his wife and her lover were spending a lot of time praying for guidance and forgiveness.

[Nicole Hearn]

Hi, God. We were on our knees for a reason. God, we have been dirtbags. We've been sinners. We've been selfish. We've sinned. We continue and continue and continue to sin. God, but you are a savior. God, you've given us a gift, not only of salvation, but you've given Sabrina and I a purpose.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

In practical terms, their purpose seemed to include spending as much time as possible together. Just weeks after her husband's death, Sabrina was including Jonathan in outings with the kids. When 8 year old Leanna and 11 year old Robbie were in school and work schedules allowed, they'd get together at Jonathan's place for sex. When the kids were in bed asleep, Jonathan dropped by for sleepovers. And when they could not physically be together, they were on the phone. At times, Jonathan and Sabrina seemed to suspect their calls were being monitored.

[Jonathan Hearn]

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

[Josh Mankiewicz]

However, they did not do anything about it. They didn't get new numbers, nor did they stop using that burner phone. No, they talked and talked about mundane things. Kids, work, family. Mostly they talked about God and the importance of keeping their affair a secret.

[Nicole Hearn]

We have a purpose. We have a purpose and I know that God knows our hearts. I. I just pray, and that's my continual prayer to him, is that our purpose is not ruined by, you know, people hearing of our, of our wrongdoing, of our affair.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

The one thing they didn't talk about was Rob Limone's killing. At least not on the phone.

[Jonathan Hearn]

It's so crazy and, you know, I.

[Nicole Hearn]

I mean, we talking in person.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

In an effort to get them talking about the case, Detective Meyer began providing Sabrina with little updates on how the investigation was going. Sometimes the things he told her were true. More often, they were not. Inside law enforcement, provoking conversations between people you're surveilling is known as tickling the wire. Over the next week, the detective would become very adept at tickling. The first attempt came came on a Sunday morning, November 9th. The detective sent Sabrina a text asking her to give him a call. It worked like a charm. Almost immediately after he sent that text, one of the monitoring screens in the wire room lit up.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Hey, I just got a text message from Detective Meyer and he asked me to call him, so I'm going to.

[Nicole Hearn]

Okay.

[Jonathan Hearn]

And.

[Nicole Hearn]

Oh.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Okay, okay. I just wanted you to be praying. I'm gonna pray and.

[Nicole Hearn]

God, please help us. God, please help us to be wise. Help Sabrina to have the right words.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Their prayer was briefly interrupted when Sabrina's daughter Leanna walked into the room where her mother was on the phone.

[Jonathan Hearn]

You're gonna have to give me a couple minutes. Okay then.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Okay.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Good job. Good girl.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Once the little girl had been sent away to watch tv, Jonathan resumed praying.

[Nicole Hearn]

God, please help her. Please give us wisdom in Jesus's name. Amen.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Amen.

[Nicole Hearn]

I Love you.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Okay. I love you. Tv.

[Nicole Hearn]

Bye, baby.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Then Sabrina picked up her home phone and called the detective.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Oh, hi. Good morning, Detective Meyer.

[Nicole Hearn]

Hey, Sabrina. How are you?

[Jonathan Hearn]

Oh, I'm okay.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

The detective told Sabrina that although his investigation had hit a dead end, he was going to re release the security camera video of the man on the motorcycle to the local media in hopes of generating new calls to the tip line.

[Nicole Hearn]

I know you guys probably don't get our news channels there, but I just wanted to give you a warning just in case you see it on the news.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Okay.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Was it true? It wasn't. No matter. The ploy had the desired effect. After hanging up with the detective, Sabrina immediately called Jonathan as investigators listened in.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Hey, everything fine? I guess that he just said that, you know, they don't have anything and that they're re releasing the same video.

[Nicole Hearn]

Ask you any questions?

[Jonathan Hearn]

No, no questions at all. He just said they're at a dead end.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

The next day, Monday, November 10, the detective decided to give the old wire another coochie coo nudge. He sent Sabrina another text that said, call me.

[Nicole Hearn]

Detective Meyer.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Hi, Detective Meyer, it's Sabrina Limone.

[Nicole Hearn]

Sabrina, how's it going?

[Jonathan Hearn]

Oh, what's up?

[Nicole Hearn]

Some exciting news.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Okay, tell me.

[Nicole Hearn]

Crime lab just sent me an email and said they got a good DNA sample from what they believe was a sweat drop. The best news you've gotten so far.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Really? Oh, gosh, that's great.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Good news. If that were true. Except it was not. Then the detective asked Sabrina if she would be available to come to Bakersfield for another in person interview.

[Nicole Hearn]

So I'm wondering if maybe you'd be available maybe Wednesday and I can get you to come over here and we can get the interview knocked out.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Come to Bakersfield?

[Nicole Hearn]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Okay.

[Nicole Hearn]

It'll be free Wednesday. Sure.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Sabrina clearly found the whole thing a little unsettling. After months of hearing very little from the detective, she was suddenly hearing from him every day. What did it all mean? Jonathan Hearn had his hands full when Sabrina called that Monday night to ask him about was dinner time at the firehouse and Jonathan was on kitchen duty.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Hi, Dee.

[Nicole Hearn]

Hi, my beautiful. I'm so sorry. We're just still getting dinner for the other guys.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Oh, I'm. I know. Your day's been so crazy. I'm sorry.

[Nicole Hearn]

No, don't. Don't feel bad. I. I miss you so much.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Sabrina told Jonathan she talked with Detective Meyer and he wanted her to come to Bakersfield on Wednesday for another face to face. Jonathan didn't like the sound of that. Any more than Sabrina did.

[Nicole Hearn]

Yes. I want to probably talk in person. It almost seems like suspecting, like you or something, or like us, you know. So I started to think like, they might even be, you know, tapping into phone calls.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

This development definitely called for a meeting in person. The problem was Jonathan was on the clock and couldn't break away for an in person chat with Sabrina before her Wednesday meeting with the detective.

[Nicole Hearn]

Gosh, I'm so bummed that I'm on overtime today and then I'm so bummed that I'm working tomorrow.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Bummed? Oh, yes. Jonathan knew enough about police work from his arson investigation classes that he was certain the detective intended to bamboozle Sabrina into saying something incriminating.

[Nicole Hearn]

You know, 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. So it seemed like the whole thing of like, hey, I need you to call me, I'm putting in the paper again, I have nothing. Was like, probably a ruse to get you to like, relax and like, open up, you know?

[Jonathan Hearn]

No, no.

[Nicole Hearn]

I mean, I. Yeah, like, honestly, I feel like that's kind of what he's doing is like he's bringing you out of your comfort zone and into his comfort zone and so you're like in his, in his domain.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Like, oh, yeah, he was really nice.

[Nicole Hearn]

Right now, obviously it's like, okay, you're driving to Bakersfield to give final statements. Why didn't you guys get all the final statements before? You know.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Jonathan assumed the detective had been looking at their phone records and knew about the affair. It was those records he told Sabrina that had captured the detective's attention.

[Nicole Hearn]

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

[Josh Mankiewicz]

This next meeting with the detective was going to be high stakes and Sabrina needed to be prepped. The only solution, Jonathan thought, was delay.

[Nicole Hearn]

Tomorrow, just call him and say, hey, you know what? Nothing's come up. Family and nature issues and stuff. I'm not going to be able to make Wednesday. Can we reschedule for like Friday, you know, and just kind of like see, feel him out, like if he met. Is he, is he jerking you around? Because he hasn't been straightforward, it doesn't seem like.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

The next day, Sabrina called the detective and postponed the interview. Later, when Jonathan and Sabrina finally met face to face to prepare, Jonathan quite possibly reminded her of something he'd said earlier on the phone.

[Nicole Hearn]

They need a lot of information is what this is telling me. Is they have big holes that they need to fill.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Yes. Jonathan suspected the detective would be fishing for something he did not have. So with Sabrina still on the line, he appealed to heaven for help in keeping it that way.

[Nicole Hearn]

Helping man out of all the right words. Please give her calmness and clarity at thought to not give too much information.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Coming up next on Deadly Mirage.

[Jonathan Hearn]

I've been reading Psalms 51.

[Nicole Hearn]

The Psalms are so good. The Psalms are so good because David is a lot like you and I.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Sabrina, do you ever hear anybody use a story out of the Bible to justify having an affair and killing the other person's spouse?

[Detective Randall Meyer]

That was the first. So do you guys have an open relationship? No. I just heard some rumors out there.

[Jonathan Hearn]

Yeah, I mean it.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

I know how rumors go. Sure.

[Kelly Bernatine]

And I know that that's probably how we were viewed by maybe some.

[Josh Mankiewicz]

Deadly Mirage is a production of Dateline and NBC News. Tim Beacham is the producer. Brian Drew, Kelly Lawdean and Marshall Housefeld are audio editors. Carson Cummins is associate producer, Adam Gorfin 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.