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Nine days after the fire at Ari Squire's garage, the day after his suicide, investigators told Denise for the second time she was a widow. They also told her they were searching her house and seizing their computers. That's when Denise Squire suddenly had something she needed to say. And Deputy Chief Godlewski says it was a bombshell.
David Godlewski: She offers up the fact that she has been speaking with Ari via emails.
Rob Stafford: She's been talking to Ari Squire?
David Godlewski: Yes, since the 24th of February.
Rob Stafford: The day after he died. Supposedly.
David Godlewski: Yeah.
Why did Denise respond to emails from a husband she thought was dead? And why didn't she call investigators to say she'd received them?
David Godlewski: "I thought I'd get into trouble," was her response. She initially explains that she thought it was a scheduled or automated email that was sent from the server or Ari's computer.
Rob Stafford: And what do you say to that?
David Godlewski: It's impossible. She was communicating with a live person.
Here's some of what investigators say Ari wrote: "Did an accident happen?" Denise answered: "Yes." "When will my ashes be returned to you?" Ari asked. She replied: "Body has not been released." The final question: "Is there anything you need?" Denise wrote back: "A new life." Sheriff Curran says those three words say a lot.
Sheriff Curran: I think it gives us a window into what was going on in terms of Denise Squire - financially strapped. Ari Squire, the burdens of their bills and not being able to meet them and that somehow a new day was gonna be born for them. And that would be the day that they got the check in the mail from the insurance company. Denise and Ari hook up at some point, and the two of them ride off into the sunset with all that money.
Four million dollars would be their take. A long-time friend of Ari's, who was never a suspect, was to get a million. But before any checks could be sent out, someone had to die. But who? Who was crushed under that diesel truck and burned beyond recognition? The results of a DNA test finally provided the sad truth - and proof - it was murder.
A week and a half after Justin went missing, his brother, Frank, got a call at work.
Frank Testa: The detective had called me earlier that morning and said that he needed to speak with me. And he just had a strange tone in his voice that he hadn't had before when he left the voicemail. And I called him back and he said he would come later in my shift to speak with me.
That afternoon an unmarked sheriff's car arrived.
Frank Testa: I noticed that a vehicle pulled up and they sat out in the parking lot for like two hours waiting for another vehicle. And it was kind of weird 'cause there were four of them sitting one car and they weren't coming in.
Rob Stafford: You didn't go out - why not?
Frank Testa: I didn't wanna know what they were about to tell me. I had a really bad gut feeling about that. And I was right because when they came in, the coroner was with them. He said, you know, "We have some pretty disturbing news. [crying] That body in the garage was your brother." [deep breath] And I had prepared myself for - for bad news when I saw their car sitting there for so long, but when he spoke those words, just everything - I just froze. And I immediately thought of, "How - how am I gonna tell my mom?"
Donna FioRito: I think the coroner's the one that told me. He goes, "I just wanna let you know - that my deepest sympathy is with you, but that was your son Justin underneath the truck." I felt it. I knew it. It's the worst day of my life. When you have kids, you know, and you're just used to bein' so close with 'em and you bond with 'em and you lose one, it's just like your whole world's gone. It's destroyed."
Destroyed for 4 million in life insurance, authorities say, from a 9-year-old policy Denise Squire said she knew nothing about a policy with a premium that was about to jump from just under $2500 to almost $12,000 a year. It appears Ari was in a hurry to find a body double to kill and cash in before the price went up.
Perhaps that's why he was luring both Justin Newman and Sandy Lively - to increase the odds of success. Although half Ari's age, Justin was close to his size. Sandy, a bit taller and heavier, but just two years older than Ari... And take a look at this. That's Ari on the left, Sandy on the right.
Rob Stafford: When you look at the photograph, what goes through your mind?
Sandy Lively: Holy cow! I just never realized that he looked like me. And it's amazing that he grew a beard the same time I grew a beard. I mean with the beard we look -- we look identical almost.
Sandy spends a lot of time thinking about how close he came to being Ari Squire's dead ringer under a truck in that garage. He suffers survivor's guilt, and endures terrifying nightmares.
Sandy Lively: I dreamt that I was under the truck and the thing was on top of me and I wasn't - I wasn't dead. And I could watch him, and I was watching him light the fire, but I couldn't do anything about it.
Sandy says perhaps if he'd shown up that day, he could've foiled Ari's plan and saved Justin's life. But investigators say this was a carefully planned murder. Ari may have been armed that day in the garage, and he was motivated and ready to do whatever was needed to pull off his scheme. Still, sandy's long nights continue, and sometimes his wife, Lora, hears him talking in his sleep.
Lora: He said that Justin was good, that he was fine, that he was with God and all his angels and he was [voice breaking] happy.
Rob Stafford: What's the hardest part of that?
Lora: Just knowing Justin being so young, and whether he knew it or not, he laid his life down for my husband. [voice breaking]. He took his place.
Justin's family finds some solace in that, but they are also looking for justice, they've filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Denise Squire.
Donna FioRito: I think she knew what was gonna go on at that house because she need-- she wanted a new life. There's no way I'm gonna go quietly with my son at 20 years old got killed over that-- he got murdered and I'm not letting it go. I'm never gonna let it go.
David Godlewski: Ari underestimated the love and devotion of a mother and son.
Denise Squire has not been charged with any crime. She declined to speak with Dateline. But her lawyer says she's cooperated fully with the sheriff's office, passed a lie detector test and has done nothing wrong. And she is fighting the civil suit. As for the millions in life insurance, almost all policies have suicide clauses, which expire two years after purchase. So the timing of Ari's gunshot to his head allowed Denise to file for all that money, which the sheriff says she did several months ago. So far the company hasn't paid, and the sheriff hopes it never does.
Mark Curran: It's blood money. It's - it's not right.
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As Denise continues to live where Justin Newman died, the sheriff continues his investigation. He says he's waiting for an FBI analysis of the Squires' computers. At this point, the sheriff suspects Denise of insurance fraud. In addition to filing for the life insurance, she put in a claim on her homeowner's policy after the garage fire, which covered more than $14,000 in clean-up expenses.
But so far, the sheriff has no evidence tying Denise directly to Justin Newman's homicide. But, he says, that could change.
Mark Curran: It is more than a reasonable inference and a reasonable argument to think that she knew about the murder plot. Clearly, she knew that Ari Squire had not died and that there was a dead body underneath the car. Whether or not she knew it was Justin Newman or not, we can't say at this point, but she knew that a murder had transpired.
During questioning under oath in the civil case, Denise repeatedly asserted the fifth when asked about the young man's death. Her lawyer said that's standard procedure when there's also an ongoing criminal investigation, and added Denise has nothing to hide - and is herself a victim of her husband's deception.
Donna FioRito: If you were an innocent person, you would want people to know that you were innocent. So, I think pleading the Fifth just sh-- it-- it's just gonna show people that she's sneaky, and she's lyin'.
As the case makes its way through the justice system, Donna struggles through life, haunted by the death of her young son, his life snuffed out in such a violent way for purely selfish reasons.
Donna FioRito: I've never heard of anything happenin' like this to anybody in my life - ever. It's inexcusable for anybody - anybody to do that to another human being. He had to be some kind of monster. Very heinous. And it's all about money. I'm never gonna be over it. I'm gonna live every day of my life thinking about Justin.
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