Hank Jacinto was now in custody. But the John Elwin case was far from over. He was, after all, still missing.

Where had he gone? What had happened to John Elwin?

There seemed to be no question that Elwin's trail came to a frustrating end in the Philippines.

On May 11, 2006, three days before he disappeared, Elwin sent an e-mail saying he was in Manila with his "friend Hank."

The next day, May 12, Elwin made a withdrawal from an ATM at the bank next door to the high-rise that's listed as the headquarters for Jacinto's business and charity.

And just across the street, Elwin placed a charge on his credit card at a health spa.

Had Elwin also paid a visit to Jacinto's office?

Among the scores of employees said to work for Jacinto, wouldn't somebody in the office remember if they saw John Elwin that day? Well, there was only one way to find out: go up and ask.

But there's nothing there. The little room has an abandoned fish tank in it. Two or three chairs. Was the HQ for no fewer than three companies, 60-some employees, with $60 or 70 million in income just one little room? And it's locked.

Was there ever a legitimate business here?

We found the cyber-cafe closed, as well.

We then drove cross town to another one of the businesses Jacinto claimed to own, a restoration house for British luxury cars.

And? Not a car around. Not a soul around.

But if Jacinto's Philippine operations were also, just like those in Hawaii, merely a front, that still didn't explain the disappearance of John Elwin.

By now the Philippine national police had taken up the case.

And before they long contacted Elwin's family and friends back in Hawaii with a strange request.

A murder victim, found months earlier, remained unidentified.

Keith Morrison: No wallet?
Detective: No wallet.
Keith Morrison: No money?
Detective: No money.
Keith Morrison: It must have looked like somebody robbed him.
Detective: The investigator on the case has no idea what was the motive behind the killing of that unidentified foreign national.

In fact, you've heard about this body before. It was the same body police had found back in May, the one they believed had been a Norwegian. The poor soul had been shot in the head, making it nearly impossible to match this photo with that of a living human being.

But the victim had a distinctive watch.

Detective: Seiko diver watch...

…and that got detectives wondering: Would it be possible that one of Elwin's friends had a photo of his watch?

They did. And they matched.

Elwin's dental records were then sent.

Dr. Dindo Herrera: The dental records will show us everything. These are the complete records of John Elwin ... it's the complete set of teeth of John Elwin.

Before he could see if they were a match, Dr. Dindo Herrera had to have the murder victim's body exhumed.

Dr. Herrera: We could definitely say we have an exact match.
Keith Morrison: And you went thru this tooth by tooth by tooth?
Dr. Herrera: Yes sir.
Keith Morrison: And every single one matches?
Herrera: Yes sir.

So there could be no doubt that the tall, fair-skinned foreigner in the grave by the side of the road was John Elwin and the dreadful story of how he died could be told.

Elwin had been shot along a depressing stretch of road a day's drive north of Manila.

Detective: The body was dragged over there because of the blood stain.
Keith Morrison: Oh, you could see the blood on the highway?
Detective: Yeah, the blood stain.

A woman who lives nearby heard men yelling.

Witness: It was early morning between 3 and 4 o'clock in the morning.

The morning of May 14. The day all contact with Elwin ended.

Keith Morrison: Did you hear people say, "Hurry, hurry, let's go, let's go?"
Witness: Yes.

The next morning when she went to investigate, she found Elwin's body, face down, on the edge of this turnout.

If they dragged him about 10 more feet and dumped him over the edge, the body might not ever have been found.

It was as if the awful scene had played back almost verbatim in Luis Soltren's dream far away in Hawaii.

Near the edge of the road, police found .45 caliber shell casings from 3 different pistols. Three different shooters.

Dr. Reynaldo Dave: There are five shots, actually. We recovered five empty shells from the crime scene.

Dr. Reynaldo Dave (dah-veh) performed the initial autopsy. He found Elwin had been hit by three of the five shots -- two to the body, and one to the head.

Keith Morrison: Would that have killed him right away?
Dr. Dave: Yeah.
Keith Morrison: Would have killed him like that (snaps fingers)?
Dr. Dave: Yeah, instantaneous.
Keith Morrison: It was an execution style killing.
Dr. Dave: And he knows what he is doing, I mean, the killer.
Keith Morrison: Whoever it was.
Dr. Dave: Whoever it was.

And so now Elwin's family and friends knew the worst. Not just that he was dead, but that he had been taken away to a lonely place and summarily murdered.

While they certainly had their suspicions, what they didn't know was the who – or if any jurisdiction anywhere could bring the murderer to justice.

MORE FROM CRIME STORIES

Crime stories Section Front

The black widow: A cheating wife's deadly web E-mail victim's sister The mystery of Meredith's murder Who's who: Student murdered in Italy Evidence in the murder of an American in Italy Justice halted: The murdered prosecutor Hard lessons: Teacher-student love turns lethal Bullies caught on tape: Aggressors, or victims? Clark Rockefeller: Famous name, infamous life How the phony French 'Rockefeller' conned Americans Crime stories Section Front   Add Crime stories headlines to your news reader: