Deadly Mirage

27:45The 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 Lamone 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. 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. Jonathan Hearn brought Sabrina flowers. And we're not talking like a little thing of flowers.

28:30I mean, we're talking like a huge bouquet of flowers that just happened to be the flowers that were in her wedding bouquet. Jonathan also wrote a letter to Sabrina. Sabrina read it to Kelly. And it 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. 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? 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. Jonathan had already admitted he'd had an affair with Sabrina a year earlier, but said they'd broken it off.

29:13Their 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. I said, how did that make you feel? The letter. And she said? She said, well, I don't feel like he has any bad intentions. The Bernatines thought otherwise. Jonathan's obsessive interest in the wolf pack, his affair with Sabrina, his weird voicemail. 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. Jason called the sheriff's department. I tell the cops my story.

29:56I 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. And so Jason wondered if maybe he'd misjudge the whole situation. After all, Jonathan was intelligent and had his whole life ahead of him. 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?

30:38He's young. He has a good career as a firefighter paramedic. And he's no murderer. 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 murder. And in this case, even farther than usual. Because Detective Meyer had learned something else about Rob and Sabrina. A few years prior, Sabrina and Rob had invited another married couple into their group for an open relationship between the four of them. And that was something of a way of life with those folks? I'm not sure if it's exactly a way of life, but you could say they had met before and swapped partners for the evening.

31:25So, 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. It 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. I explained to her in detail all the reasons I didn't like Jonathan and the conversations I'd had with him and how he was texting me so much, trying to manipulate me to bring him closer to her.

32:10And at the end of my speech, and 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. What reason would that possibly be? Coming up, Rob Lamone was killed by a large caliber gun. Jonathan Earn had a gun like that registered to him? Yes, he did. Coincidence?

32:50Ever since Sabrina Lamone got the news of Rob's death, her big sister Julie Cordova hardly left her side. Sabrina stayed in her room a lot. She just was crying. Sabrina was trying to cope with the loss of her husband and having to raise their two kids on her own. She's like, I don't know what I'm going to do. She was just in a fog. She couldn't make decisions, think, or anything. That worried Julie. But even more worrisome, she says, was a certain someone who was coming around Sabrina and the kids way too soon. Jonathan Hearn. He would just show up random, you know, at times. and he wouldn't leave.

33:41Julie, unaware of the affair, would see him at Sabrina's house, praying constantly. But she says what really caught her attention was this. He was cooking in the kitchen. And that's what Rob did. It was like he was moving in and was feeling right at home. Was I uncomfortable with it? Yes, because that was Robert's place, you know. And now this guy's taking his place. Yes, and Brina didn't. She didn't like it either. Who was this guy? And what was his reason for coming into Sabrina's life? Sheriff's Detective Meyer wondered the same thing. Jason Bernatine thought the detective had discounted his suspicions about Jonathan Hearn.

34:27But Meyer had not. In fact, he wanted to learn much more about this young firefighter from Hesperia, California. No criminal record that we were able to locate. But this was interesting. The bullet recovered from Rob Lamone's head was tested, and... The results from the lab was somewhere like a.44 caliber to a.45 caliber bullet that killed Rob Lamone. Big bullet, big gun. Yes. Jonathan Earn, have a gun like that registered to him? Yes, he did. And they found something else registered in his name, a Yamaha 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.

35:17And cops pulled video from this gas station at an intersection in the middle of nowhere. What made you look at video from that gas station? That would be the easiest path of travel from Tehachapi to Hesperia, California. Where Jonathan Ernst lived. Yes. 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. It 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.

36:00So at that point in time, we believe same motorcycle, same subject, but with a clothing change. So this person stopped somewhere to change clothes. Yes. 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. Yes, we started looking into phone records. 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.

36:40Can you tell what the text messages were, or you just know that there were text messages between them? Not at the time. They were having some text conversations back and forth, but the content we did not know. 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?

37:16It came back to no subscriber information found. Meaning it's a pay-as-you-go phone, a burner? Possibly, yes. Detectives decided to keep a close eye on Jonathan, and when they tailed him, they watched Jonathan throw something away. He had driven to a target and dropped some motorcycle pipes off into the dumpster. 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 kill Rob Lamone, but that he used that motorcycle to get to and from the murder. Yes. And now he's trying to cover his tracks.

37:53Yes, cover those tracks. Kelly and Jason never did tell Sabrina that they'd talked with Detective Meyer about Jonathan. And Meyer asked them to please not say anything to anyone. It was extremely hard. It was hell. It was absolute hell. 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. Good morning, my lover. Well, good morning. And feeling guilty about something.

38:42I have been a bad girl. I feel like the most horrible person in the world. I do too. When Dateline continues.

39:02Weeks had passed since Rob Lamone'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. Trying to definitely avoid law enforcement detection. Well, or husband detection. 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. When they finally listened, their suspicions were confirmed.

39:46Jonathan was on one end of the call, and on the other, Sabrina Lamone.

39:57It was immediately obvious the two were lovers. I love you so much, my girl. I love you. I love you so much. How many hours of conversations do you think you listened to between Sabrina Lamone and Jonathan Hearn? Hundreds. Jonathan often spoke with Sabrina from the fire station. What are they talking about for most of that time? They talked about their future together. They talked about God a lot, about God's plan for them. They also talked about Detective Meyer. I just got a text message from Detective Meyer and he asked me to call him. So I'm going to. Okay. And all pray. Okay. Okay, I just wanted you to be praying.

40:46And I'm going to pray and pray. God, please help us. God, please help us to be wise. Help Sabrina to have the right words. A couple of minutes later, Sabrina called Meyer. She asked about the investigation of her husband's murder. 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. Which was not true. Minutes later, Sabrina called Jonathan. Everything's fine. Did he ask you any questions? No questions at all. Meyer was tickling the wire. It's an expression police use, giving wiretapped suspects something to talk about while the cops are listening.

41:35Meyer often found himself in the mood to tickle. Like when he told Sabrina police had found DNA at the crime scene. 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. And what happens as a result of that? Another immediate phone call to Jonathan to talk about the possible DNA. 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. Officers are allowed to use rudes, meaning they're allowed to, if you want to get information, you're allowed to lie to get information.

42:22I don't 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. The calls continued. Good morning, my lover. Well, good morning. They talked about the Bible. There's a lot of good stuff in there. God is so good. Yeah, God is so good. Including the Old Testament story. of David and Bathsheba. David is a lot like you and I, Sabrina. 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.

43:10And then he even went on to kill the guy, like, sent him into battle, and pretty much had him killed off. In the Bible, David and Bathsheba eventually married. David suffered the consequences of his sin, but repented, and God forgave him. He was someone who committed adultery, who had an affair. And so he went way out of his way to cover his sin. Sin was a recurring theme for Jonathan and Sabrina. 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. Exactly what sins were they talking about?

43:57By 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. 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. You know Sabrina better than he does. Would you have bet your life that she wasn't involved? 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. Meanwhile, Detective Meyer continued to tickle the wire.

44:43And while listening to the lover's talk in real time, he texted Sabrina a photo. And she read the text to Jonathan. Sabrina, we think this is our guy. You recognize this person on the motorcycle. Jonathan heard that and prayed. Help me. Help me. Please, God.

45:14You were playing Sabrina and Jonathan like a couple of violins. Yes, that's what we were doing. 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.

45:37Sabrina seemed to suspect her phone was being tapped. There's a clicking on the phone. Do you hear it? When the lover said goodbye that night, it sounded as if they thought it might be for the last time. I love you, Sabrina. I love you too, Jonathan. So much. I'll try to get in touch with you. I'll leave you in contact next time. I love you too. I love you so much. I love you so much. Two days after that phone call, three months after Rob Lamone's murder, Sabrina and Jonathan were placed under arrest. Detective Meyer called Jason and Kelly. We got them. Everything looks good. The evidence looks good.

46:22And you think, well, this is finally over. That's what we thought. Well, you couldn't have been more wrong. No. Coming up, Sabrina Lamone in the hot seat. Did you plan to kill his brother? No. Oh, my God, no. But not for long. Detective Meyer called me and said that he's got some really bad news.

46:56In late November 2014, Jonathan Hearn pleaded not guilty to the murder of his married lover Sabrina Lamone's husband, Rob. Sabrina had been arrested too. By now, her friends Jason and Kelly were convinced she belonged behind bars. It was by Sabrina's own actions. She let him into her life, into her house. And then, on the day Sabrina was scheduled to be arraigned... Detective Meyer called me and said that he's got some really bad news, that they're going to release Sabrina. The DA decided there was not enough evidence to charge her. Good case against Jonathan, not as good a case against Sabrina.

47:42Yes. 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. That was a tough feeling, 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. Did you know that he had planned to murder your husband?

48:24No. No. You didn't know that? No, I did not know that he planned murdering Robert. Because he did. I can't. It's like I want it to just be a lie. You know, like there's no way. Did you plan to kill Rob? No. Oh my God, no. When did Jonathan tell you he did it? He never came out. Yes, he did. Yes, he did. You guys are doing nothing but hiding this thing the whole time. Yes, he did. No. Well, what are you trying to hide? I know, okay, I know it doesn't look good. No. There's a difference between does it look good and absolutely it's not good. This is absolutely not good. I understand that. Kelly and Jason were devastated when the DA turned Sabrina loose.

49:15We first spoke with them three months after her release. You think right now, what, she's getting away with murder? Yes, she's getting away with murder right now. 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?

49:42Uh, you know, nothing's been the same. Were there people in the pack who supported Sabrina, who thought that she wasn't guilty of anything? No. So really there was like sort of unanimity among your friends? Yeah. Sabrina told her sister Julie that the wolf pack was mistaken, and so were detectives. About her, and about Jonathan too. She thought Jonathan couldn't be involved. Mm-hmm. She just couldn't believe it. I could not believe it. Her pack gone, Julie says life grew miserable for her sister. The people out in Silver Lakes were so cruel, and Sabrina and the kids couldn't go anywhere. She had to homeschool them.

50:25Because the other kids were talking about it. Yes, the other kids would say things. The parents were brutal. And she was, what, sort of a pariah in that community. Yes, she was. Sabrina took her children and relocated more than 100 miles away. At 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 Lamone had been involved in her husband's murder. I always had hope that they would get her somehow. how. I didn't know how or when, but I definitely had that hope.

51:07Jonathan 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. 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. From that moment, we knew that this was real. Jonathan's story eagerly awaited by almost everyone except Sabrina. Must have felt like vindication for the two of you.

51:54Definitely. When Dateline continues.

52:07Late 2016, firefighter Jonathan Hearn was just weeks away from trial when Detective Randall Meyer heard some unexpected news. Jonathan's attorney approached the district attorney and said that Jonathan could provide information that would lead to the possible prosecution of Sabrina Lamont. 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. He did. Jonathan said Sabrina wanted Rob out of the picture so she could be with Jonathan.

52:52And he said she did not consider divorce to be an option. She was concerned about the perception of the community that she lived in. So murder is better than the stigma of divorce? Yes. Jonathan had no hard evidence to prove Sabrina's involvement. Remember, those wiretap recordings certainly proved an affair. I love you, baby. I love you. I love you, baby. 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.

53:40Jonathan 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. I felt like it was so surreal when I heard it. I was shaken to my core. Sabrina and Rob's former best friends, Kelly and Jason Bernatine, were in the courtroom when Jonathan pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. 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. 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.

54:29He'll be under the age of 50. He shot a man in the face. I have a hard time with that. 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? Detective Meyer drove more than 100 miles to Sabrina's new home to arrest her for the second time. She was confused because she was scheduled to testify in the trial of Jonathan Hearn. 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.

55:15And 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? It was awesome. Must have felt like vindication for the two of you. Definitely. She was always very into 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 in cameras was very satisfying also. Very satisfying. Sabrina's sister Julie believed she belonged anywhere but jail. Is it conceivable to you that Sabrina played any role in her husband's murder? No. She couldn't be talked into it?

55:58No. She couldn't be persuaded to do it? She couldn't be manipulated to do it? No. For what? there is no way she would want that for her husband. Good morning, everyone. Good morning. Sabrina's trial began in September 2017. It had everything. It had sex, religion, the seemingly perfect, beautiful family that had all these secrets. It was tense and emotional. Olivia LaVoice covered the trial for NBC station KGET in Bakersfield. Her station made a last-minute decision to stream the trial live on its website. We were blown away by literally thousands of people during the day, all day, were just glued to it.

56:46People who were typically watching soap operas now were watching this trial. So Bakersfield probably took a big hit in productivity during this trial. Yes. Throughout this trial, you will hear from the mouth of Sabrina Lamont and Jonathan Hearn that they had a purpose. Prosecutor Eric Smith laid out his case for the jury. They had a plan, and that plan was to get rid of Robert Lamont. Why? So they could be together. The state presented mountains of evidence of Sabrina and Jonathan's communications before and after the murder. My Jonathan, I love you. including letters. I love you for the hopes and faith in our future together.

57:30I love you for giving me a new perspective on life. Text messages. I am in love with you deeply. A love that I've never felt before. And of course, those wiretapped phone calls, which often centered around God. God, please help us. God, 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. According to the state, Sabrina and Jonathan's purpose was to eliminate Rob Lamone so they could embark on a new life together.

58:17Of 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? It was the moment everyone was waiting for. The testimony you shall give in this matter shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God. I do. Coming up. I fired the first shot from within the bag. He felt seemingly mortally wounded. Would Jonathan Hearn really turn on the woman he said he loved?

59:09It's not every murder trial where the prosecutor asks the jury to believe the words of 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. She seemed very friendly, very nice. 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 didn't mesh easily with his conservative Christian upbringing. I enjoyed spending time with her, but then there was also the guilt of recognizing that I was doing something immoral.

59:53He said there was just something irresistible about this older married woman. 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. In time, he said, Sabrina revealed to him a deep unhappiness in her open marriage to Rob. 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. Jonathan listened, absorbed, and he said his disgust for Rob Limon grew. Her frustrations with Rob became my frustrations.

1:00:45Her demons became my demons. Jonathan told the jury they spoke about how much easier life would be without Rob. You know, I distinctly remember it coming up in conversation as a joke at first. A joke that quickly took a dark turn. That progressed from humor towards what? Towards an actual plot to kill her husband. What was the plan for your relationship once he was gone? To, in time, marry and continue to live our lives together. Jonathan said Sabrina did not want to simply divorce Rob and marry him. She expressed that he would honestly rather be dead than divorced, and losing her would essentially kill him.

1:01:36He said 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. I made a pretty large batch of banana pudding with Nilla wafers. He said he put a small portion into a plastic container. and stirred in the arsenic into the pudding. 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. 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.

1:02:30By 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 too. Which included using some adhesive flashing to change the color of the tank, the exhaust pipes, and the rear fender. 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.

1:03:19But, he said, once he saw Rob opening the shop's garage door, Jonathan said he felt conflicted about becoming a killer. Obviously, there's some apprehension in the thought of senselessly taking someone's life. Jonathan said he paused before entering so he could pray. There'd been sort of an ongoing narrative of Sabrina and I and seeking purpose in our lives. If a murder could have a catchphrase, said Jonathan, seeking purpose. would be it. It was a tagline that essentially we gave to ultimately seeing this relationship through and living the lifestyle that we wanted. After praying, Jonathan said he entered the shop.

1:04:08I fired the first shot. He fell seemingly mortally wounded. 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 didn't want to leave him if he wasn't entirely dead. So he fired a second shot into Rob's head. Jonathan said he returned home and called Sabrina to tell her. I had done it and that everything was about to change. Jonathan told the jury, he knew from the start the affair would be found out, and he would become a suspect. Did you trust Sabrina to speak appropriately with law enforcement?

1:04:58I did. Why? Frankly, this was the culmination of something we had essentially planned together, and so perhaps my weakness, my trust was pretty strong in her. 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 poisoned pudding in her refrigerator. Potentially putting her children in danger of eating that pudding, right? If you actually delivered it to her and she knew about it, right? No, sir. You don't know who's going to get into it or who's going to have access to it, right?

1:05:45If you'd actually given her anything like that, right? Yeah, I was not overseeing the status of her refrigerator. 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. Now, under the plea agreement you've entered into, you're only getting 25 years and a few months, Right? Yes, sir. Means you'd probably be out before you were even 50 years old then, sir, after having murdered a man in cold blood. Is that right?

1:06:26That was definitely cold-blooded, sir. My question was, is you would be out before you were 50 years old. Is that right? That was part of your question, yes, sir. Jonathan's attorney, Clayton Campbell, sat next to him during his testimony. And Campbell insisted to us. Jonathan's confession was genuine. 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. Challenging Jonathan's credibility was just the start. The defense had its own case to present. And wait until you hear it. That was the bombshell of all bombshells.

1:07:14Coming up, who exactly was on trial here? Did you and Ms. Lamont and her husband and your husband engage in sexual activity together? When Dateline continues.

1:07:39Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. When it came time for the defense to present its case, Sabrina Lamone'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 rob. 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.

1:08:14This 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 Lamont. and he decided he knew Sabrina was never going to divorce Robert, but he had to have her. She had to be his.

1:08:43And 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. He was very smart and just seemed way older than he was. Jennifer Lentz testified she met Jonathan Hearn online. They chatted by text and on the phone. And it was kind of flattering to have someone who was focusing so much attention on you. 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.

1:09:38The 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. Because she'd already lied to me once. On the witness stand, Kelly was forced to admit she didn't just know about the Lamones' open marriage. She and her husband Jason participated. Some of her testimony was for mature audiences only. Did you and Ms. Lamone and her husband and your husband engage in sexual activity together?

1:10:27Yes, we did. 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 Sabrina? Yes. But you never had sex with Sabrina and you were never with Rob? No. What am I missing here? Without going into any more detail, that's about as much as we'll tell you. Kelly cleared things up a bit on the witness stand. It was usually Sabrina and I, and then we would go have sex with our husbands. Quite the seething cauldron of passion out there. What else are you going to do in the desert? At trial, the defense attorney suggested Kelly had a grudge against Sabrina because Kelly was in love with Rob Lamone.

1:11:17You pointed a finger at your best friend and believe that she's a killer. I do. It's a horrible thing. As far as you know, Sabrina may not have known anything about Jonathan's killing her husband, right? No, I know she knew. I know she knew by her behavior. And because of that feeling, you want to get Sabrina, right? I believe she should pay for his murder. Because you believe she was involved. Yes. And that's because you cared about her husband so deeply, right? I believe I cared about him more than she did. How did Sabrina really feel about Rob and Jonathan? There was only one way to find out.

1:11:59Calling 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 Lamone was. My name's Sabrina Lamone. Sabrina told the jury what had attracted her to Jonathan Hearn. He was like nobody I'd ever met before. He was very, very intelligent. I felt like I was with the human dictionary. 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.

1:12:45Jonathan, she said, offered something different, something appealing. He would pray with me and be very caring and spiritually focused. Jonathan used religion, Sabrina said, to give himself power over her. Jonathan controlled me through carrying his Bible with him everywhere that he went and using that to guilt me, but also make me feel safe and secure. She admitted it was true that she dreamt about a future with Jonathan. I definitely fantasized with him a lot. Were you in love with Jonathan Hearn? Yes. Did you still love your husband? Yes, I did. Were you wanting to give up your life with Rob to be with Jonathan?

1:13:46No. 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. After Rob's death, she said Jonathan was there for her, someone to lean on. He was like my, he felt like my rock at that moment in time. So then why, asked her attorney, did she conceal her affair with Jonathan from investigators? Because I was embarrassed. I didn't, that's something that Robert and I didn't want exposed. 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.

1:14:33Would you allow someone who had killed your husband around your children? No, absolutely not. Had you ever discussed any time from the time you began being involved with Jonathan until the day Robert was killed and after Robert was killed, discussed with him killing your husband? No, I did not. Any time did you discuss about wanting Robert to be gone or dead? No, I never said dead or gone. No, I did not want Robert gone. Kelly and Jason did not buy Sabrina's defense. And as to Rob and Sabrina's open marriage? As far as I know, it was Sabrina's idea, not Rob's. I think Sabrina was using that as an excuse, and she used it against Jonathan to manipulate him.

1:15:29The prosecutor was equally skeptical. Good afternoon, Ms. Lamont. And now it was his turn to cross-examine Sabrina. Coming up, was Sabrina Lamone just a cheating wife? It's a lifestyle that I don't expect people to understand. Or a calculating killer? This is not a case of he said, she said. This is a case of he said, she lied.

1:16:07Sabrina Lamone 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-examine her. 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. I added it up. 223 minutes, three hours and 45 minutes, you talked with Jonathan Hearn prior to him leaving to go kill your husband. I did not know he was leaving to go kill my husband.

1:16:53Remember, Sabrina claimed she never wanted her husband gone. She said she had the best of both worlds, a good husband and a younger lover. I guess I didn't want to give up either one of them. 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. So, 25 days after your husband was killed, you felt super blessed? No, I didn't. Okay. Well, what you wrote at the time, you felt super blessed. Well, I wasn't. And another text on that same day. I got something practical for you today in town.

1:17:43It will one day be something we share in our home. I don't remember what that was or why I wrote that. Wouldn't it make sense that you wrote that because you bought something to share in your home with Jonathan? That's what it sounds like there. According to the prosecutor, there was only one explanation for those texts. From all the texts we've just gone through recently, you had replaced Robert in essence. No, there's no replacing Robert ever. The prosecutor asked why, considering the relaxed rules of their marriage, she'd have to lie about her affair with Jonathan. Silver Lakes is a small community, is it not?

1:18:29Yes, it is. Everybody knows everybody's business, do they not? Yes, everybody's. 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? Well, they weren't in the bedroom with us. Okay. We didn't invite all of Silver Lakes over. In her corner of Silver Lakes, she said, marriages may have been open, but affairs needed prior approval. I didn't have permission to go astray from our group. Friends. So now it's your testimony that you had to be given permission to sleep around. Yes. Who had to give you that permission?

1:19:19Robert. He controlled you. He was my husband. But he did not control me. it's a lifestyle that I don't expect people to understand. Well, your testimony is that everybody else decides everything that you do. Is that your testimony now? No. Okay, Jonathan Hearn controlled you. That was your testimony yesterday. No, Jonathan Hearn was controlling. Okay. Now your husband controls you. That's your testimony today. No, my husband was my husband. Okay. Do you make decisions on your own at any point? Um, yes, I sure do. Apparently many bad ones. Was Sabrina Lamone guilty of nothing more than colossally poor judgment?

1:20:07Or 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. 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.

1:20:56It took the jury less than seven hours to decide Sabrina's fate. We, the jury, and panel to try the above entitled case, find the defendant, Sabrina LeMond, guilty of a felony to wit, murder of Robert LeMond. 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. I would do it all again for Rob. He didn't deserve what happened to him.

1:21:45Rob would have done the same for us. Yeah. We know he would. 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? They don't believe it, that Brina had anything to do with it. they know more than we wish they did. Exactly. Yes. Kelly and Jason are now divorced. The wolf pack still exists, still hangs out, and still gathers to remember Rob Lamone.

1:22:32The lake remains their little oasis, but it's no longer the happiest place in the high desert. 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.

1:22:53And, you know, 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.

1:23:07That'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.