WEBVTT 00:00:03.800 --> 00:00:06.594 She had heard them speaking Yugoslavian 00:00:06.636 --> 00:00:09.806 and Jelka said, "You would like my son." 00:00:10.724 --> 00:00:12.058 They kissed on the first date. 00:00:12.100 --> 00:00:13.935 And from that day forward, 00:00:13.977 --> 00:00:15.937 they were pretty much inseparable. 00:00:16.855 --> 00:00:19.190 It was the perfect match. 00:00:19.232 --> 00:00:21.901 They were just totally smitten with each other. 00:00:21.943 --> 00:00:23.862 It was really quite romantic. 00:00:24.279 --> 00:00:26.406 Or so it seemed. 00:00:27.198 --> 00:00:29.701 Often, Alex would call me with, 00:00:29.743 --> 00:00:31.953 "Oh my God, his mom wants me to do this." 00:00:33.037 --> 00:00:35.957 Either Joe stood up to his mom and family, 00:00:35.999 --> 00:00:37.667 or that was it. 00:00:37.751 --> 00:00:40.754 Until an overbearing mother-in-law... 00:00:40.837 --> 00:00:42.130 I wouldn't wish that on any man 00:00:42.172 --> 00:00:44.966 to be stuck between his mother, who he loves, 00:00:45.008 --> 00:00:47.427 and his wife, who he loves. 00:00:48.761 --> 00:00:50.930 It was a bitter custody battle. 00:00:50.972 --> 00:00:54.142 She was to blame for absolutely everything. 00:00:54.559 --> 00:00:57.103 Turned this model marriage 00:00:57.145 --> 00:00:59.898 into a killer relationship. 00:01:00.899 --> 00:01:03.860 I knew she'd been shot 00:01:03.902 --> 00:01:05.528 and I knew that it wasn't good. 00:01:07.030 --> 00:01:08.281 It's so twisted. 00:01:08.323 --> 00:01:11.159 This family is evil. 00:01:12.160 --> 00:01:13.953 Absolute evil. 00:01:21.044 --> 00:01:23.463 If you've ever seen me on Divorce Court, 00:01:23.505 --> 00:01:26.341 you know that I often deal with a recurring theme, 00:01:26.424 --> 00:01:27.550 in-laws. 00:01:27.592 --> 00:01:29.844 They can be a couple's greatest ally, 00:01:29.886 --> 00:01:31.554 or their worst enemy. 00:01:31.554 --> 00:01:35.308 The story of a young Canadian couple in the Vancouver suburb 00:01:35.350 --> 00:01:39.229 of Burnaby, British Columbia is a prime example. 00:01:39.771 --> 00:01:43.066 Alexandra Ignatovic could never have imagined 00:01:43.107 --> 00:01:45.360 that when she married Joe Pesic, 00:01:45.401 --> 00:01:49.072 she'd inherit a true monster-in-law. 00:01:59.582 --> 00:02:03.378 Alex was blonde, beautiful, striking. 00:02:03.419 --> 00:02:05.505 She had a wicked sense of humor. 00:02:05.964 --> 00:02:07.382 All the guys flocked to her. 00:02:07.423 --> 00:02:08.299 She was tall. 00:02:08.341 --> 00:02:09.759 She was beautiful. 00:02:09.801 --> 00:02:12.470 She could charm herself into anything. 00:02:13.554 --> 00:02:15.765 She won the Miss Burnaby Pageant. 00:02:15.807 --> 00:02:17.684 It was 1984, 00:02:17.725 --> 00:02:19.811 the year that we graduated high school, 00:02:19.852 --> 00:02:23.940 which then led to her being part of the Miss Canada Pageant. 00:02:23.982 --> 00:02:25.024 Ladies and gentleman, 00:02:25.066 --> 00:02:26.943 please welcome the 42 contestants 00:02:26.985 --> 00:02:30.822 for the title of Miss Canada, 1985. 00:02:30.863 --> 00:02:33.783 She would kind of laugh about it. 00:02:33.825 --> 00:02:36.411 And she said it just made her feel more confident. 00:02:36.494 --> 00:02:38.037 Good evening, everyone. 00:02:38.079 --> 00:02:41.332 My name is Alexandra Ignatovic and I represent Burnaby, BC. 00:02:42.500 --> 00:02:44.794 The pageants are a fun diversion, 00:02:44.836 --> 00:02:48.089 but as a child of working-class immigrant parents, 00:02:48.131 --> 00:02:50.675 20-year-old Alex is expected to have a job 00:02:50.717 --> 00:02:52.719 and be self-sufficient. 00:02:53.594 --> 00:02:54.971 She does just that, 00:02:55.013 --> 00:02:57.557 working as a dentist assistant during the week 00:02:57.640 --> 00:03:00.852 and spending time with her mom on the weekends. 00:03:04.105 --> 00:03:07.400 So, one thing Alex and her mom, Zdenka, loved to do 00:03:07.442 --> 00:03:10.862 would go to local open houses. 00:03:10.903 --> 00:03:12.697 And this one particular Sunday, 00:03:12.739 --> 00:03:14.574 they went to an open house 00:03:14.615 --> 00:03:19.704 and another person heard them speaking Yugoslavian 00:03:19.746 --> 00:03:21.873 and came up and started chatting with them, 00:03:21.914 --> 00:03:25.168 saying, "Oh, I'm also Yugoslavian. 00:03:25.209 --> 00:03:26.878 I'm Jelka Pesic." 00:03:27.712 --> 00:03:31.007 And they immediately became friends. 00:03:31.048 --> 00:03:33.885 Jelka was explaining that they had a family business. 00:03:33.926 --> 00:03:36.012 It was a car mechanic shop. 00:03:36.053 --> 00:03:38.514 And Alex was like, "Oh, perfect. 00:03:38.556 --> 00:03:40.099 My car needs to be serviced." 00:03:40.141 --> 00:03:42.769 Jelka was, "Oh, you've gotta go bring it to my son. 00:03:42.810 --> 00:03:43.936 You would like my son." 00:03:43.978 --> 00:03:46.481 Right away started playing matchmaking. 00:03:46.564 --> 00:03:50.485 The next week, Alex drops her car off for tune-up 00:03:50.526 --> 00:03:53.780 and meets 27-year-old Joe Pesic. 00:03:53.821 --> 00:03:56.032 Soon after, she had called me to say, 00:03:56.073 --> 00:03:57.116 "We're going on a date. 00:03:57.158 --> 00:03:59.368 Oh my God, he's so cute." 00:04:00.703 --> 00:04:02.205 I remember her telling me 00:04:02.246 --> 00:04:03.998 that they had kissed on the first date 00:04:04.040 --> 00:04:06.209 and he was a really good kisser. 00:04:06.250 --> 00:04:09.504 That she was really falling for him. 00:04:09.545 --> 00:04:13.090 From that day forward, they were pretty much inseparable. 00:04:14.634 --> 00:04:17.637 I think they were just totally smitten with each other. 00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:19.013 It was really quite romantic, 00:04:19.055 --> 00:04:21.224 the way that she had described it. 00:04:21.265 --> 00:04:24.018 He always showed up with flowers, 00:04:24.060 --> 00:04:26.729 took her to the nicest restaurants. 00:04:27.939 --> 00:04:29.690 Joe had a motorcycle, 00:04:29.732 --> 00:04:31.817 so they'd go riding a lot. 00:04:31.859 --> 00:04:34.153 They'd go on little weekend trips. 00:04:34.195 --> 00:04:37.740 Always up to planning the next adventure. 00:04:38.866 --> 00:04:40.535 Alex and Joe are falling hard 00:04:40.576 --> 00:04:42.537 and fast for each other. 00:04:42.578 --> 00:04:45.915 And after one blissful month of romance and excitement, 00:04:45.957 --> 00:04:47.500 Joe proposes. 00:04:47.542 --> 00:04:51.837 It was a dream come true for both Zdenka, Alex's mother, 00:04:51.879 --> 00:04:54.257 and Jelka, Joe's mother. 00:04:54.298 --> 00:04:57.760 I think that Jelka saw Alex as a very good fit 00:04:57.802 --> 00:04:58.970 for her son. 00:04:59.011 --> 00:05:01.430 I think she was very impressed with her. 00:05:01.889 --> 00:05:04.100 Jelka so overjoyed with Alex, 00:05:04.141 --> 00:05:07.520 that she leaps head first into planning the wedding. 00:05:07.562 --> 00:05:09.480 I remember Alex wanted blue dresses, 00:05:09.522 --> 00:05:13.150 but Jelka had envisioned red. 00:05:13.734 --> 00:05:19.615 Alex got her way, but Jelka was a little bit annoyed. 00:05:19.657 --> 00:05:22.743 Often, Alex would call me with, 00:05:22.785 --> 00:05:25.871 "Oh my God, his mom wants me to do this. 00:05:25.913 --> 00:05:27.206 I don't wanna do that." 00:05:27.248 --> 00:05:28.833 The night before the wedding, 00:05:28.874 --> 00:05:32.545 Alex started doubting if she was making the right decision. 00:05:32.795 --> 00:05:37.300 Despite Alex's doubts, on June 11th, 1988, 00:05:37.341 --> 00:05:38.843 the couple take their vows 00:05:38.884 --> 00:05:42.013 in front of hundreds of friends and family in Vancouver. 00:05:42.054 --> 00:05:43.848 She was absolutely beautiful. 00:05:43.889 --> 00:05:45.016 It was a fantasy wedding. 00:05:45.057 --> 00:05:48.311 And everything went as planned. 00:05:48.352 --> 00:05:50.688 A lovely, lovely day. 00:05:52.064 --> 00:05:54.984 After a sun-soaked week in Hawaii, 00:05:55.026 --> 00:05:56.902 the honeymooners returned to Canada 00:05:56.944 --> 00:05:58.904 and settled into a routine, 00:05:58.946 --> 00:06:00.823 Joe at his parent's garage 00:06:00.865 --> 00:06:03.743 and Alex at the dental practice. 00:06:04.035 --> 00:06:06.620 But Alex quickly discovers her mother-in-law 00:06:06.704 --> 00:06:08.539 also has a routine, 00:06:08.581 --> 00:06:11.709 stopping by the couple's apartment while they're at work 00:06:11.792 --> 00:06:14.295 to drop off groceries and clothing -- 00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:16.714 things they never asked for. 00:06:18.090 --> 00:06:21.260 Jelka wanted control over any decisions that they made, 00:06:21.302 --> 00:06:23.262 anything that Alex was doing, 00:06:23.304 --> 00:06:26.015 what Alex was wearing. 00:06:26.057 --> 00:06:27.600 Alex felt that as a couple, 00:06:27.641 --> 00:06:29.310 they should be making their own decisions 00:06:29.351 --> 00:06:32.563 and leading their life the way that they wanted to lead it. 00:06:32.605 --> 00:06:36.734 I can't imagine that it was easy for Joe either. 00:06:36.734 --> 00:06:38.069 A few months later, 00:06:38.110 --> 00:06:40.362 the generous, but unwanted gifts 00:06:40.404 --> 00:06:43.616 are topped by something way more extravagant, 00:06:43.657 --> 00:06:45.367 when Joe's parents offer the couple, 00:06:45.409 --> 00:06:48.662 a substantial down payment on a new house. 00:06:48.704 --> 00:06:50.664 But there are strings attached. 00:06:51.207 --> 00:06:53.834 It was a little bungalow block and a half away 00:06:53.918 --> 00:06:56.045 from the Pesic family home. 00:06:56.086 --> 00:06:59.840 But neither Joe nor Alex had a say 00:06:59.882 --> 00:07:02.092 in which house it would be. 00:07:03.677 --> 00:07:05.679 This is a bit delicate, right? 00:07:05.721 --> 00:07:07.598 This could be a dream home 00:07:07.640 --> 00:07:10.100 for Alex and Joe to raise a family, 00:07:10.142 --> 00:07:12.353 but would it ever truly be their own, 00:07:12.394 --> 00:07:14.688 free from Jelka's meddling? 00:07:14.730 --> 00:07:16.190 It's a tough decision. 00:07:16.232 --> 00:07:18.108 But after thinking it over carefully, 00:07:18.150 --> 00:07:20.069 the young couple accepts. 00:07:20.110 --> 00:07:23.197 Still, almost as soon as they move in, 00:07:23.239 --> 00:07:24.698 issues arise. 00:07:26.283 --> 00:07:28.994 There was a definite huge fallout 00:07:29.036 --> 00:07:31.705 when it came to the kitchen. 00:07:31.747 --> 00:07:35.209 Alex wanted a strip of a red tile in the back splash 00:07:35.251 --> 00:07:38.712 and Jelka wouldn't have it. 00:07:39.046 --> 00:07:40.798 It's one of many instances 00:07:40.881 --> 00:07:44.385 where Jelka's interference upsets the young couple. 00:07:46.929 --> 00:07:48.847 First year or so, 00:07:48.931 --> 00:07:51.267 Joe would go weeks without talking to his parents 00:07:51.308 --> 00:07:55.396 or with his mother because they had interfered in something 00:07:55.437 --> 00:07:58.691 that Alex was upset about. 00:07:58.732 --> 00:08:00.359 I wouldn't wish that on any man 00:08:00.401 --> 00:08:03.779 to be stuck between his mother, who he loves, 00:08:03.862 --> 00:08:05.864 and his wife, who he loves. 00:08:06.323 --> 00:08:07.992 It's a tricky situation 00:08:08.033 --> 00:08:10.286 for both sides of their relationship, 00:08:10.327 --> 00:08:13.664 but Joe's efforts at maintaining distance from his mother 00:08:13.706 --> 00:08:18.168 go a long way in making Alex feel loved and supported. 00:08:18.210 --> 00:08:21.755 So much so that by the end of 1989, 00:08:21.797 --> 00:08:27.011 they announced that a new addition to the Pesic family is on the way, 00:08:27.052 --> 00:08:28.721 baby Brandon. 00:08:28.762 --> 00:08:30.681 Everybody was jubilant. 00:08:30.723 --> 00:08:34.310 She had a fantastic pregnancy and Joe doted on her. 00:08:34.351 --> 00:08:36.979 They really were thrilled. 00:08:37.521 --> 00:08:40.190 But the bliss surrounding Brandon's arrival 00:08:40.232 --> 00:08:41.650 is short-lived. 00:08:42.359 --> 00:08:44.069 A grandson opens the door 00:08:44.111 --> 00:08:50.284 for Jelka to become even more involved in Alex and Joe's lives. 00:08:50.784 --> 00:08:54.330 Jelka was constantly after Alex 00:08:54.371 --> 00:08:56.206 about whether she was breastfeeding correctly, 00:08:56.248 --> 00:08:59.084 what she should feed him, how often. 00:08:59.126 --> 00:09:02.004 Jelka was doubting her as a mother. 00:09:02.004 --> 00:09:04.673 And that really hurt Alex. 00:09:06.550 --> 00:09:08.093 Like most new parents, 00:09:08.135 --> 00:09:09.970 Joe and Alex barely leave their home 00:09:10.012 --> 00:09:13.098 for the first six months of Brandon's life. 00:09:13.140 --> 00:09:14.933 But in the winter of 1990, 00:09:14.975 --> 00:09:18.020 dad knows just what he and mom need -- 00:09:18.062 --> 00:09:19.813 a little bit of fun. 00:09:19.855 --> 00:09:23.484 Joe wanted to take Alex out on a date night 00:09:23.525 --> 00:09:25.444 and also give an opportunity 00:09:25.486 --> 00:09:28.447 for his mother to take care of Brandon. 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:33.077 Upon dropping Brandon off, 00:09:33.118 --> 00:09:35.370 Jelka began to boast on, 00:09:35.412 --> 00:09:37.748 "Don't worry, he's in good hands 00:09:37.790 --> 00:09:40.125 because I've just made him this tea 00:09:40.167 --> 00:09:42.252 that's gonna really make him sleep." 00:09:43.587 --> 00:09:46.256 And Alex was very adamant 00:09:46.298 --> 00:09:50.886 that she was not to give anything outside of breast milk. 00:09:50.928 --> 00:09:54.264 And Brandon was only maybe five, six months old. 00:09:54.306 --> 00:09:55.224 They go. 00:09:55.265 --> 00:09:56.850 They have a great time. 00:09:56.934 --> 00:09:58.227 They come back, 00:09:58.268 --> 00:10:01.021 Brandon is fast asleep. 00:10:01.063 --> 00:10:05.275 And Alex asked her, "Did you give my son that tea?" 00:10:05.317 --> 00:10:07.986 And she said, "Yes, because I know it's gonna help him. 00:10:08.070 --> 00:10:09.863 Look! Look how good it's working." 00:10:11.573 --> 00:10:15.410 With a sleeping child, you prod them or they'll squirm. 00:10:15.452 --> 00:10:17.955 Alex pinched his skin. 00:10:17.955 --> 00:10:20.874 There was no response to him whatsoever. 00:10:21.625 --> 00:10:23.836 And she could barely feel a pulse. 00:10:23.877 --> 00:10:26.171 She was terrified he wouldn't wake up. 00:10:28.423 --> 00:10:32.177 Alex was in a panic because she couldn't even rouse him. 00:10:32.553 --> 00:10:33.929 She constantly said, 00:10:34.012 --> 00:10:35.556 "I think they're really gonna kill me." 00:10:35.597 --> 00:10:38.308 And that's when I would say, "Are you crazy?" 00:10:38.600 --> 00:10:39.685 She'd been out with friends 00:10:39.726 --> 00:10:42.563 and she heard footsteps behind her. 00:10:42.604 --> 00:10:44.481 And he chased her to the front door. 00:10:49.111 --> 00:10:51.780 It always amazes me how often I see couples 00:10:51.822 --> 00:10:56.326 in Divorce Court whose marriages are impacted negatively 00:10:56.368 --> 00:10:58.453 by overbearing in-laws. 00:10:59.037 --> 00:11:01.540 For 21-year-old, Alex Pesic, 00:11:01.582 --> 00:11:04.543 a controlling mother-in-law is ruining 00:11:04.585 --> 00:11:07.045 what is otherwise a perfect marriage. 00:11:07.129 --> 00:11:09.673 Though it's not as often as Alex would like, 00:11:09.715 --> 00:11:12.092 Joe frequently takes his wife's side 00:11:12.134 --> 00:11:14.636 and keeps the peace in their home. 00:11:15.512 --> 00:11:17.889 But that peace turns into pandemonium 00:11:17.931 --> 00:11:20.892 when Grandma Jelka is babysitting 00:11:20.934 --> 00:11:22.811 and Alex and Joe come home 00:11:22.853 --> 00:11:25.439 to find their six-month-old Brandon 00:11:25.480 --> 00:11:27.024 unresponsive. 00:11:28.525 --> 00:11:31.903 Alex was in a panic because she couldn't even rouse him. 00:11:31.945 --> 00:11:34.615 And she rushed him to the hospital. 00:11:36.950 --> 00:11:38.910 Brandon finally woke at the hospital, 00:11:38.952 --> 00:11:40.579 but Alex wouldn't quite figure out 00:11:40.621 --> 00:11:43.498 what Jelka had given the child. 00:11:43.874 --> 00:11:45.709 Alex told that in her mind, that was it. 00:11:45.751 --> 00:11:49.838 She just no longer trusted Brandon with Jelka. 00:11:50.881 --> 00:11:53.717 That was the straw that broke the camel's back for Alex. 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:56.011 A big fight ensued. 00:11:56.094 --> 00:11:57.471 That night, she took the baby 00:11:57.512 --> 00:11:58.847 and went and stayed with her mother. 00:11:59.765 --> 00:12:04.603 Alex clearly outlined that she was not gonna live like this 00:12:04.645 --> 00:12:08.607 and that either Joe stood up to his mom and family, 00:12:08.648 --> 00:12:09.941 or that was it. 00:12:09.983 --> 00:12:11.693 She had hit her end. 00:12:11.735 --> 00:12:14.738 I think she was disappointed because at some point, 00:12:14.780 --> 00:12:19.034 a young man has to cut the apron strings from his mother. 00:12:19.743 --> 00:12:21.953 I know that Joe really loved Alex, 00:12:21.995 --> 00:12:23.747 but he was torn in the middle. 00:12:23.789 --> 00:12:26.666 And we saw that Joe was not manning up. 00:12:28.210 --> 00:12:31.630 Caught once again between two women in his life, 00:12:31.671 --> 00:12:32.964 his wife and his mother, 00:12:33.006 --> 00:12:35.759 Joe was finally forced to pick a side. 00:12:36.051 --> 00:12:39.513 There was pressure from the family business side. 00:12:39.554 --> 00:12:41.181 They held the purse strings. 00:12:41.223 --> 00:12:43.183 If he wasn't talking to his family, 00:12:43.225 --> 00:12:45.977 he didn't get that part of his pay. 00:12:46.019 --> 00:12:48.897 So, at some point, he had no more fight in him. 00:12:49.773 --> 00:12:51.066 She was very disappointed 00:12:51.108 --> 00:12:54.903 that Joe did not put her first before his parents. 00:12:54.945 --> 00:12:57.739 Their decisions held more sway with him 00:12:57.781 --> 00:13:00.200 than she did as his wife. 00:13:00.242 --> 00:13:02.994 She could not continue living like that. 00:13:03.036 --> 00:13:04.788 And she didn't wanna raise a child 00:13:04.830 --> 00:13:08.500 in that kind of stressful environment. 00:13:09.751 --> 00:13:13.672 In the spring of 1989, just two years into their marriage, 00:13:13.713 --> 00:13:15.799 Alex files for divorce. 00:13:15.841 --> 00:13:21.930 Joe and his traditional parents are appalled 00:13:21.930 --> 00:13:23.682 by what they see as Alex's betrayal of sacred marital vows. 00:13:23.807 --> 00:13:26.184 And they view her, resentfully, 00:13:26.226 --> 00:13:29.688 as the reason the family is ultimately torn apart. 00:13:29.729 --> 00:13:32.649 In court, the claws come out. 00:13:32.858 --> 00:13:35.694 It's a story I've seen countless times. 00:13:35.735 --> 00:13:40.031 When couples get too caught up in revenge, everyone loses, 00:13:40.073 --> 00:13:43.076 especially when children are involved. 00:13:43.994 --> 00:13:46.580 Once they had officially separated, 00:13:46.621 --> 00:13:48.582 he did not put Brandon first. 00:13:48.623 --> 00:13:51.710 He was more caught up in his rights 00:13:51.751 --> 00:13:53.837 than in really being a dad. 00:13:53.879 --> 00:13:57.048 I started to lose a lot of respect for him. 00:13:57.090 --> 00:14:00.927 Joe and his parents fought at every turn over money, 00:14:00.969 --> 00:14:03.972 over custody, over visitation, 00:14:04.014 --> 00:14:07.225 over who was gonna control Brandon's life. 00:14:07.309 --> 00:14:08.977 It was a mess. 00:14:09.019 --> 00:14:10.854 They wanted the house 00:14:10.896 --> 00:14:13.106 and they wanted custody of Brandon. 00:14:13.732 --> 00:14:15.859 His parents had put the down payment on the house, 00:14:15.901 --> 00:14:17.485 the matrimonial home, 00:14:17.527 --> 00:14:20.864 and they had helped buy some of the appliances and things. 00:14:20.906 --> 00:14:22.699 So, his parents took the position 00:14:22.741 --> 00:14:25.869 that those were all their possessions 00:14:25.911 --> 00:14:28.496 and they didn't want her to get anything. 00:14:31.666 --> 00:14:33.627 The one lawyer that finally took her case 00:14:33.668 --> 00:14:36.254 told her that she had the most contentious divorce 00:14:36.254 --> 00:14:39.841 that he had ever encountered in 20 years. 00:14:41.092 --> 00:14:43.219 Although it was a hard fought battle, 00:14:43.303 --> 00:14:44.888 when the dust settles, 00:14:44.929 --> 00:14:47.849 Alex wins full custody of Brandon 00:14:47.891 --> 00:14:49.643 and is awarded child support 00:14:49.684 --> 00:14:53.229 as well as possession of the home the Pesics helped purchase 00:14:53.313 --> 00:14:55.023 for her and Joe. 00:14:55.065 --> 00:14:58.109 The Pesics really saw this as a slap in the face. 00:14:58.151 --> 00:15:02.697 They saw it as, "How dare you live in our house." 00:15:03.198 --> 00:15:04.324 The grandparents were ordered 00:15:04.324 --> 00:15:06.743 not to have anything to do with them 00:15:06.785 --> 00:15:11.581 because they didn't seem to be very good influences on the child. 00:15:11.623 --> 00:15:12.499 They were shocked. 00:15:12.540 --> 00:15:14.125 I think that it made them angry. 00:15:14.167 --> 00:15:17.045 I think it made them just dig in their heels 00:15:17.087 --> 00:15:18.922 and direct all of their anger at her. 00:15:18.963 --> 00:15:22.217 That she was to blame for absolutely everything. 00:15:23.176 --> 00:15:24.886 Joe was ordered to pay child support. 00:15:24.928 --> 00:15:26.137 He failed to do that. 00:15:26.179 --> 00:15:28.056 He was in arrears. 00:15:28.098 --> 00:15:30.850 Had to be in another court appearance to explain why, 00:15:30.892 --> 00:15:32.686 and he said he was unemployed, 00:15:32.727 --> 00:15:36.564 which was kind of odd because he worked for his father. 00:15:37.899 --> 00:15:40.902 The proceedings are contentious to the bitter end, 00:15:40.944 --> 00:15:44.364 but six months later, in November, 1991, 00:15:44.364 --> 00:15:46.699 the divorce is finalized. 00:15:46.741 --> 00:15:48.827 With full custody of Brandon, 00:15:48.868 --> 00:15:51.788 Alex moves back in with her mom, Zdenka. 00:15:51.830 --> 00:15:54.958 And feeling supported, begins to find a rhythm again, 00:15:54.999 --> 00:15:57.710 balancing work, life, and motherhood. 00:15:58.753 --> 00:16:00.171 Eight months after the divorce, 00:16:00.213 --> 00:16:02.090 it's a bright and warm evening 00:16:02.132 --> 00:16:04.342 when Alex and her friend, Bernice, 00:16:04.384 --> 00:16:07.720 make their way to Alex's car across the parking lot 00:16:07.762 --> 00:16:10.723 at the dentist office where they both work. 00:16:10.765 --> 00:16:12.392 We were kind of laughing and talking 00:16:12.434 --> 00:16:14.894 as we went to the car. 00:16:15.812 --> 00:16:19.107 She got into her side and I'd walked around the other. 00:16:19.149 --> 00:16:22.777 I was stuffing my gym bag between my feet... 00:16:23.486 --> 00:16:26.197 and that's when I heard the first bullet. 00:16:30.785 --> 00:16:32.120 I knew she'd been shot. 00:16:34.247 --> 00:16:36.666 And I knew that it wasn't good. 00:16:41.421 --> 00:16:43.882 As a trial attorney and prosecutor, 00:16:43.923 --> 00:16:47.177 I've often been amazed and deeply moved 00:16:47.218 --> 00:16:48.720 by hearing people relive 00:16:48.761 --> 00:16:51.848 the absolute worst moments of their lives 00:16:51.890 --> 00:16:54.601 while remaining calm and collected. 00:16:54.642 --> 00:16:56.436 People like Bernice Courson, 00:16:56.519 --> 00:17:01.191 whose coworker and friend, 25-year-old Alex Pesic, 00:17:01.232 --> 00:17:05.904 has just been shot from close range while sitting in her car 00:17:05.945 --> 00:17:09.282 with Bernice right beside her. 00:17:12.493 --> 00:17:15.163 Her shoulder and her head hit my back. 00:17:15.205 --> 00:17:18.499 And as soon as I felt like the bullets had stopped, 00:17:18.541 --> 00:17:21.628 I could hear wheels of a car pulling away. 00:17:25.798 --> 00:17:28.927 And I looked at her really quickly 00:17:28.968 --> 00:17:30.929 and I jumped out of the car 00:17:30.970 --> 00:17:32.347 and I ran to the office 00:17:32.388 --> 00:17:35.433 to get the doctor that we worked for. 00:17:39.395 --> 00:17:41.147 It was a nightmare. 00:17:42.231 --> 00:17:44.233 Alerted by passersby, 00:17:44.275 --> 00:17:47.403 paramedics and police quickly arrive on the scene. 00:17:47.779 --> 00:17:51.366 Alex is rushed to the nearest hospital. 00:17:51.407 --> 00:17:54.285 But she never regains consciousness 00:17:54.327 --> 00:17:57.455 and is pronounced dead a short time later. 00:18:03.544 --> 00:18:05.964 It was scary, it was surreal, 00:18:06.005 --> 00:18:07.423 it was numbing. 00:18:07.465 --> 00:18:09.801 It was just, 00:18:10.885 --> 00:18:13.221 there were no, I can't, I can't even explain it. 00:18:13.262 --> 00:18:14.472 I can't. 00:18:14.514 --> 00:18:16.391 It's horrific. 00:18:20.728 --> 00:18:24.273 Alex's death just destroyed her mother. 00:18:24.315 --> 00:18:25.650 She loved her daughter. 00:18:25.692 --> 00:18:28.236 Her daughter was the light of her life. 00:18:32.824 --> 00:18:34.492 Minutes after the shooting, 00:18:34.534 --> 00:18:36.703 police arrive on scene. 00:18:37.370 --> 00:18:39.288 People were rushing around. 00:18:39.330 --> 00:18:41.416 It was a bit chaotic, of course. 00:18:41.457 --> 00:18:44.836 The first priorities were to secure the vehicle. 00:18:44.877 --> 00:18:47.296 There were four bullet recovered from the fender 00:18:47.338 --> 00:18:49.006 and the door. 00:18:49.048 --> 00:18:51.384 There were two in Alexandra. 00:18:51.426 --> 00:18:53.344 They were a .380 caliber. 00:18:54.554 --> 00:18:56.848 The first question police want answered 00:18:56.889 --> 00:18:59.267 is who could have committed such a brutal crime 00:18:59.308 --> 00:19:00.977 in such a public area? 00:19:01.811 --> 00:19:03.729 And why was Bernice spared? 00:19:03.771 --> 00:19:06.441 Was Alex the intended target? 00:19:08.401 --> 00:19:10.611 One thing that was significant 00:19:10.653 --> 00:19:12.572 aside from the bullet holes in the car, 00:19:12.613 --> 00:19:15.408 there was a telephone bill laying in the console 00:19:15.450 --> 00:19:17.535 that had a license plate number written on it. 00:19:18.411 --> 00:19:20.329 Corporal Goodall collects the bullets 00:19:20.371 --> 00:19:22.832 and the slip of paper with the license plate number 00:19:22.874 --> 00:19:26.836 and wonders why would Alex have written down this number 00:19:26.878 --> 00:19:29.297 and whose vehicle might it belong to? 00:19:29.964 --> 00:19:31.632 With the crime scene secured, 00:19:31.674 --> 00:19:34.844 investigators question the numerous witnesses. 00:19:36.929 --> 00:19:40.349 It was very unusual. 00:19:40.391 --> 00:19:42.977 This was a brazen daylight shooting 00:19:43.019 --> 00:19:46.397 of a beautiful young woman in a residential neighborhood. 00:19:47.064 --> 00:19:48.357 Where were you at the time? 00:19:48.399 --> 00:19:50.067 I was right over on that corner over there. 00:19:52.361 --> 00:19:54.071 People saw two characters sitting down the street 00:19:54.113 --> 00:19:55.615 in this red vehicle. 00:19:55.698 --> 00:19:58.910 They had face coverings, sunglasses, ball caps. 00:19:58.951 --> 00:20:01.746 They kind of stood out on a warm summer day. 00:20:01.787 --> 00:20:04.081 In fact, more than 30 people 00:20:04.123 --> 00:20:06.876 noticed a flashy red car parked nearby 00:20:06.918 --> 00:20:09.545 in the neighborhood earlier that day, 00:20:09.587 --> 00:20:11.756 three hours before the murder. 00:20:11.964 --> 00:20:13.257 They were young men, 00:20:13.299 --> 00:20:18.012 two Caucasian men with dark hair in a red car. 00:20:19.013 --> 00:20:22.350 And the police officer and myself held towels 00:20:22.391 --> 00:20:23.392 one on each side of her head. 00:20:23.434 --> 00:20:24.769 She had two holes in her head. 00:20:24.810 --> 00:20:26.103 How are you feeling right now? 00:20:26.145 --> 00:20:27.939 Shaken up a little bit. 00:20:27.980 --> 00:20:29.398 Yeah. - Yeah. 00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:31.359 One man in particular saw a fellow 00:20:31.400 --> 00:20:33.819 lean out of this red vehicle. 00:20:33.861 --> 00:20:36.364 A red Camaro came straight down here, 00:20:36.405 --> 00:20:38.950 slowed down or either stopped right beside her. 00:20:38.991 --> 00:20:40.910 He'd actually counted six shots. 00:20:40.952 --> 00:20:42.536 Then it sped away. 00:20:43.871 --> 00:20:46.415 And he saw the license plate number. 00:20:47.833 --> 00:20:49.418 Investigators wonder 00:20:49.460 --> 00:20:52.129 if the plate number reported by the eyewitness 00:20:52.171 --> 00:20:55.841 could be a match to the one found in Alex's car. 00:20:55.883 --> 00:20:57.843 Unfortunately, it's not. 00:20:58.803 --> 00:21:02.974 But when they run the plate from the red Camaro through their database, 00:21:03.015 --> 00:21:05.977 they immediately get a hit. 00:21:06.018 --> 00:21:07.812 There was a report that the red vehicle 00:21:07.853 --> 00:21:11.941 had been stolen a few days before from the Burnaby area, 00:21:11.983 --> 00:21:13.734 not all that far away. 00:21:15.027 --> 00:21:17.863 The flashy stolen car is puzzling, 00:21:17.905 --> 00:21:20.950 but investigators know one thing for certain. 00:21:20.992 --> 00:21:22.243 Well, you've got these two characters 00:21:22.284 --> 00:21:24.829 sitting down the street in a stolen vehicle 00:21:24.870 --> 00:21:27.748 in the middle of the day and then they just roll up 00:21:27.790 --> 00:21:30.001 when Alexander comes out of work 00:21:30.042 --> 00:21:32.003 and lean out the window and shoot at her 00:21:32.044 --> 00:21:34.046 and then drive away. 00:21:35.506 --> 00:21:36.882 There wasn't much doubt in my mind 00:21:36.924 --> 00:21:39.009 that it was a targeted shooting. 00:21:42.972 --> 00:21:45.850 But who would target a 25-year-old mother 00:21:45.891 --> 00:21:47.852 and former beauty queen? 00:21:47.893 --> 00:21:51.897 To find an answer, investigators attempt to question Bernice 00:21:51.939 --> 00:21:55.067 who was seated beside Alex when she was shot. 00:21:55.568 --> 00:21:56.986 The police just came in. 00:21:57.027 --> 00:21:59.572 I remember just sitting on the floor of the office 00:21:59.613 --> 00:22:01.782 and I wasn't crying. 00:22:01.824 --> 00:22:03.868 I was in so much shock that I just, 00:22:03.909 --> 00:22:05.745 I couldn't respond to anything. 00:22:06.579 --> 00:22:08.122 With Bernice too traumatized 00:22:08.164 --> 00:22:10.207 to talk right after the murder, 00:22:10.249 --> 00:22:12.543 Alex's grief-stricken employer, 00:22:12.585 --> 00:22:13.753 the dentist, 00:22:13.794 --> 00:22:16.505 points his finger squarely at a suspect. 00:22:16.547 --> 00:22:19.508 He said she'd had a long ongoing marital dispute 00:22:19.550 --> 00:22:22.928 with her ex-husband, Joe Pesic. 00:22:22.970 --> 00:22:26.724 And he felt he would have some responsibility 00:22:26.724 --> 00:22:28.559 somewhere in the mix of it. 00:22:30.811 --> 00:22:32.688 There was this bitter custody battle. 00:22:32.771 --> 00:22:36.484 Alexandra had been awarded full custody by the court. 00:22:36.525 --> 00:22:37.902 She had been awarded alimony. 00:22:37.943 --> 00:22:41.197 She got most of the matrimonial home. 00:22:41.238 --> 00:22:43.073 So, there was reason to believe 00:22:43.115 --> 00:22:46.118 that Joe was angry and upset. 00:22:46.744 --> 00:22:48.496 He clearly had motive. 00:22:51.290 --> 00:22:54.543 And so the next day, the police went to find him 00:22:54.585 --> 00:22:55.794 and to interview him 00:22:55.878 --> 00:22:58.506 to see where he was and what he was doing. 00:22:59.298 --> 00:23:00.841 When they arrive, 00:23:00.883 --> 00:23:05.804 investigators quickly realize Joe was young, in his 20s, 00:23:05.888 --> 00:23:08.724 Caucasian, and has dark hair, 00:23:08.724 --> 00:23:10.726 the same description witnesses gave 00:23:10.809 --> 00:23:13.604 of the men in the red vehicle. 00:23:15.606 --> 00:23:19.109 The interviewer described his emotional state 00:23:19.151 --> 00:23:21.237 as unemotional and not overly upset 00:23:21.278 --> 00:23:24.573 about the death of the mother of his child. 00:23:25.658 --> 00:23:28.577 But in this case, Joe had an alibi. 00:23:29.328 --> 00:23:33.207 He was at a swimming pool, a number of miles away. 00:23:33.249 --> 00:23:38.545 And he produced a receipt of his admission to the pool 00:23:38.587 --> 00:23:39.880 with a time on it. 00:23:41.048 --> 00:23:43.968 He had it and ready to show the police right away. 00:23:44.009 --> 00:23:46.303 And that was actually a suspicious thing 00:23:46.345 --> 00:23:48.889 because who keeps receipts from a pool? 00:23:48.931 --> 00:23:51.684 Nobody would do that ordinarily. 00:23:52.351 --> 00:23:55.854 It was like he might have known exactly what was going to happen. 00:23:55.938 --> 00:23:58.816 And that's why he had come up with this convenient alibi. 00:24:05.739 --> 00:24:08.075 Just days afte 00:24:08.117 --> 00:24:11.078 of former beauty queen, Alexandra Pesic, 00:24:11.120 --> 00:24:15.165 friends and family gather on the outskirts of Vancouver, Canada 00:24:15.207 --> 00:24:18.252 for a sad and untimely farewell. 00:24:21.714 --> 00:24:23.590 We were standing graveside. 00:24:24.633 --> 00:24:26.635 It was an open casket funeral. 00:24:28.262 --> 00:24:30.097 I could not look at her 00:24:30.139 --> 00:24:34.226 because I don't want to remember her being in that casket. 00:24:34.268 --> 00:24:36.228 I just wanna remember the girl that I knew. 00:24:39.064 --> 00:24:42.109 You could see her mother's grief. 00:24:42.651 --> 00:24:46.030 Oh, it was, it was heartbreaking. 00:24:49.700 --> 00:24:51.201 It was horrible. 00:24:51.243 --> 00:24:53.120 We were so upset. 00:24:53.162 --> 00:24:57.332 It was really, for me, it was 00:24:58.292 --> 00:24:59.626 heart-wrenching. 00:25:01.128 --> 00:25:04.631 They were going to lower her casket into the ground. 00:25:04.673 --> 00:25:08.510 And at the top of the hill was somebody on a motorcycle 00:25:08.552 --> 00:25:10.387 just watching the funeral. 00:25:10.429 --> 00:25:11.722 It was a hot day 00:25:11.764 --> 00:25:14.391 and this person was in full black leather gear 00:25:14.433 --> 00:25:16.602 and a helmet that they didn't take off. 00:25:16.643 --> 00:25:19.646 And then I realized that it was Joe... 00:25:20.689 --> 00:25:23.400 watching Alex be buried. 00:25:24.693 --> 00:25:26.278 It really shook me. 00:25:29.281 --> 00:25:30.657 Bernice isn't the only one 00:25:30.699 --> 00:25:33.702 who finds Joe's actions bizarre. 00:25:33.744 --> 00:25:36.747 His claim of being with his son at a pool 00:25:36.789 --> 00:25:39.708 during the time of his ex-wife's murder 00:25:39.750 --> 00:25:43.212 and the unusual fact that he kept the receipt, 00:25:43.253 --> 00:25:45.172 makes police suspicious. 00:25:45.422 --> 00:25:47.549 Was Joe an occupant in the red Camaro 00:25:47.591 --> 00:25:49.718 that was spotted firing the weapon? 00:25:49.760 --> 00:25:53.430 Or if he wasn't, did he put a hit out on his ex-wife 00:25:53.472 --> 00:25:56.600 out of spite after the nasty divorce? 00:25:58.811 --> 00:26:00.521 The alibi that Joe provided 00:26:00.562 --> 00:26:04.691 was just a little too convenient from everybody's thoughts. 00:26:04.733 --> 00:26:08.153 So, they continued their investigation to see if, 00:26:08.195 --> 00:26:09.655 whether it was a false alibi 00:26:09.696 --> 00:26:12.741 or whether, in fact, he was there at the swimming pool 00:26:12.783 --> 00:26:14.701 as he said he was. 00:26:19.748 --> 00:26:22.584 As investigators hunt down the shooter's car, 00:26:22.626 --> 00:26:24.211 the red Camaro, 00:26:24.253 --> 00:26:26.588 they turned to Alex's best friends. 00:26:26.630 --> 00:26:28.715 They want to know more about the divorce 00:26:28.757 --> 00:26:30.676 and its aftermath. 00:26:30.717 --> 00:26:34.680 And what they learn is an extraordinary story. 00:26:35.597 --> 00:26:36.848 From the minute it happened, 00:26:36.890 --> 00:26:40.852 this was 100%, no doubt in our minds, 00:26:40.894 --> 00:26:42.604 from the hands of the Pesic family. 00:26:43.897 --> 00:26:45.816 Angie provides more insight 00:26:45.857 --> 00:26:47.734 about the failed marriage 00:26:47.776 --> 00:26:53.615 and tells investigators about Alex's overbearing mother-in-law, Jelka. 00:26:53.907 --> 00:26:56.868 She also shares details of the disturbing events 00:26:56.910 --> 00:27:00.747 of Alex's last few weeks, which started 00:27:00.789 --> 00:27:04.835 when Alex received an anonymous package in the mail, 00:27:04.876 --> 00:27:06.628 a paperback book. 00:27:09.256 --> 00:27:13.260 It was a book about a woman being hogtied and tortured. 00:27:13.302 --> 00:27:16.513 And they highlighted inserts. 00:27:20.851 --> 00:27:24.229 My book, it was about a psychiatric nurse 00:27:24.271 --> 00:27:26.648 who was found dead. 00:27:27.983 --> 00:27:31.653 There had been a number of incidents over eight years. 00:27:31.695 --> 00:27:36.825 Harassing phone calls and there were some bush set on fire in front of her house. 00:27:36.867 --> 00:27:39.911 And she was being terrorized before she was killed. 00:27:43.457 --> 00:27:45.917 A few days after she receives the book, 00:27:45.959 --> 00:27:49.421 Alex and Angie are sitting in Alex's living room 00:27:49.463 --> 00:27:51.673 when they hear a strange noise. 00:27:52.424 --> 00:27:54.301 I was just feeding Brandon a bottle. 00:27:54.342 --> 00:27:57.637 And Alex said, "Did you hear crackling in the front yard?" 00:27:57.679 --> 00:27:59.347 I'm like, "What was that?" 00:27:59.389 --> 00:28:00.515 And we look out 00:28:00.557 --> 00:28:03.310 and the front yard is in flames. 00:28:05.604 --> 00:28:07.689 She got really freaked out. 00:28:07.731 --> 00:28:09.816 And she goes, "This is in the book." 00:28:11.985 --> 00:28:15.822 Everything that had happened to that woman 00:28:15.864 --> 00:28:17.824 that was underlined in the book, 00:28:17.866 --> 00:28:20.786 was systematically happening to her. 00:28:23.872 --> 00:28:25.582 It's so twisted. 00:28:25.624 --> 00:28:27.542 As time went on, 00:28:27.584 --> 00:28:31.338 she started to notice a car that kept following her. 00:28:31.713 --> 00:28:34.466 We were talking about it over lunch one day 00:28:34.508 --> 00:28:36.593 and she said, "The next thing that they're going to do 00:28:36.635 --> 00:28:38.887 is they're going to arrange to have me shot. 00:28:39.304 --> 00:28:41.598 They, being the Pesic family, 00:28:41.640 --> 00:28:43.850 that's the only thing that they haven't done to me 00:28:43.892 --> 00:28:45.477 and that's what's coming." 00:28:47.896 --> 00:28:49.481 So, at that point, I said, 00:28:49.523 --> 00:28:53.235 "Well, would you be open to hiring like somebody privately?" 00:28:54.402 --> 00:28:56.404 Bernice suggests a family friend 00:28:56.446 --> 00:28:59.616 and private investigator named Ozzie Kaban. 00:29:00.367 --> 00:29:01.827 Two weeks before her murder, 00:29:01.868 --> 00:29:04.579 Alex meets with Kaban and hires him, 00:29:04.621 --> 00:29:08.583 hoping his team will find out exactly who is tormenting her. 00:29:08.625 --> 00:29:11.628 Alex also provides Kaban with the license plate number 00:29:11.670 --> 00:29:14.381 of the car that had been following her. 00:29:14.422 --> 00:29:17.759 Ozzie Kaban started to watch her ex-husband 00:29:17.801 --> 00:29:21.930 because of the very bitter series of events between them. 00:29:22.556 --> 00:29:25.892 Two weeks later on August 5th, 1992, 00:29:25.934 --> 00:29:29.020 Alex is murdered in broad daylight. 00:29:29.104 --> 00:29:30.647 And the following evening, 00:29:30.689 --> 00:29:33.358 Ozzie Kaban reaches out to law enforcement 00:29:33.400 --> 00:29:35.944 to share the information he and his team gathered 00:29:35.986 --> 00:29:37.904 before Alex's death. 00:29:37.946 --> 00:29:41.783 What he has to say surprises the investigators. 00:29:42.409 --> 00:29:45.996 Ozzie Kaban told me that that day on August 5th, 00:29:46.037 --> 00:29:49.457 he had a surveillance team following Joe Pesic. 00:29:49.499 --> 00:29:52.085 They were able to tell me that Joe picked up the child 00:29:52.085 --> 00:29:54.546 at 5:00 PM or thereabouts 00:29:54.588 --> 00:29:57.799 and went to a swimming pool in Burnaby. 00:29:58.967 --> 00:30:01.553 The PI also provides an alibi 00:30:01.595 --> 00:30:04.681 for Joe's domineering mother, Jelka. 00:30:05.765 --> 00:30:08.685 Ozzie Kaban's crew had noticed the parents 00:30:08.727 --> 00:30:11.771 outside their repair shop at the time of the shooting. 00:30:11.813 --> 00:30:14.024 So, it was quite apparent that they weren't actually 00:30:14.065 --> 00:30:16.067 the ones pulling the trigger. 00:30:17.861 --> 00:30:20.989 While the PI's evidence corroborates Joe's alibi, 00:30:21.031 --> 00:30:24.951 it proves neither he or his mother fired the weapon, 00:30:24.993 --> 00:30:27.912 investigators believe Joe still may have had a hand 00:30:27.954 --> 00:30:30.707 in orchestrating his ex-wife's murder. 00:30:31.541 --> 00:30:33.710 Their next stop is to the Pesics, 00:30:33.752 --> 00:30:36.838 where they interview Jelka and her husband, Sam. 00:30:37.881 --> 00:30:39.591 Jelka played it pretty low key. 00:30:39.632 --> 00:30:42.802 They didn't know anything about it and thought the divorce, 00:30:42.844 --> 00:30:44.971 they said that was all Joe's thing. 00:30:45.013 --> 00:30:47.098 And they didn't really know too much about it. 00:30:47.140 --> 00:30:49.726 And didn't think that Joel was too upset by it. 00:30:50.101 --> 00:30:55.106 Jelka's description of her son's divorce is 100% at odds 00:30:55.148 --> 00:30:58.401 with the descriptions given by Alex's friends. 00:30:58.443 --> 00:31:00.111 So, with their suspicions raised, 00:31:00.195 --> 00:31:03.990 the investigators put a surveillance team on the Pesics. 00:31:05.533 --> 00:31:07.869 Meanwhile, police urgently scoured 00:31:07.911 --> 00:31:10.872 Vancouver and its suburbs for the red vehicle 00:31:10.914 --> 00:31:13.666 and lean heavily into the trove of information 00:31:13.708 --> 00:31:16.503 Alex's PI is providing. 00:31:17.253 --> 00:31:19.631 One of Ozzie Kaban's employees 00:31:19.672 --> 00:31:23.593 was sitting outside of Brandon's daycare, 00:31:23.635 --> 00:31:25.386 keeping an eye on him. 00:31:25.929 --> 00:31:29.599 There was a white vehicle that was sitting there 00:31:29.641 --> 00:31:31.142 with a young man in it. 00:31:31.184 --> 00:31:34.145 And he noticed that this young man was wearing sunglasses 00:31:34.187 --> 00:31:36.022 and it was a cloudy day. 00:31:36.064 --> 00:31:38.525 He also didn't appear to be going anywhere. 00:31:38.566 --> 00:31:40.735 And he thought that was suspicious. 00:31:41.694 --> 00:31:43.446 So, he happened to make a note 00:31:43.488 --> 00:31:47.534 of the description of the car, the person, 00:31:47.575 --> 00:31:49.536 and wrote down the license plate number. 00:31:50.537 --> 00:31:52.205 The careful work by the PI 00:31:52.205 --> 00:31:55.500 turns out to be a critical lead in the case, 00:31:55.542 --> 00:31:58.002 when just days after Alex's murder, 00:31:58.044 --> 00:32:01.464 a red IROC Camaro is finally spotted, 00:32:01.506 --> 00:32:03.800 abandoned in a McDonald's parking lot. 00:32:03.842 --> 00:32:08.179 It has the same license plate witnesses jotted down at the crime scene. 00:32:08.263 --> 00:32:09.681 A palm print was recovered 00:32:09.722 --> 00:32:11.891 from the gear shift of the vehicle, 00:32:11.933 --> 00:32:14.894 a fingerprint from the license plate. 00:32:14.936 --> 00:32:18.064 And there was some hair on the passenger seat. 00:32:18.773 --> 00:32:21.150 But that's not all detectives discover 00:32:21.192 --> 00:32:24.028 when they question employees at the McDonald's. 00:32:26.155 --> 00:32:30.910 Within two or three minutes of Alexandra being murdered, 00:32:30.952 --> 00:32:32.829 the witness who was working at McDonald's 00:32:32.871 --> 00:32:37.500 saw a car come flying up and two young men bail out of it 00:32:37.542 --> 00:32:40.962 and get into a white car that she then saw leave. 00:32:42.130 --> 00:32:44.465 Well, we had the getaway car. 00:32:47.677 --> 00:32:49.512 He stepped out of his vehicle, 00:32:49.554 --> 00:32:50.972 a bunch of money falls out of his shorts, 00:32:51.014 --> 00:32:53.766 turned out to be $30,000 -- $100 bills. 00:32:59.147 --> 00:33:01.065 Law enforcement in Vancouver 00:33:01.107 --> 00:33:03.735 has just found the red IROC Camaro 00:33:03.776 --> 00:33:07.572 identified in the drive-by shooting of Alex Pesic. 00:33:07.614 --> 00:33:11.576 What's more, employees at the McDonald's where it is found 00:33:11.618 --> 00:33:14.579 witnessed two men get out of the red car 00:33:14.621 --> 00:33:18.458 and into a white one on the day of Alex's murder. 00:33:18.499 --> 00:33:22.587 Police suspect the white vehicle is the same one spotted 00:33:22.629 --> 00:33:26.591 by both Alex and the private investigator she hired, 00:33:26.633 --> 00:33:28.134 Ozzie Kaban. 00:33:29.594 --> 00:33:30.970 Yes, the license plate number 00:33:31.012 --> 00:33:34.182 that Ozzie Kaban surveillance team member provided 00:33:34.223 --> 00:33:35.433 was very similar to the one 00:33:35.475 --> 00:33:38.186 that Alexandra had supplied to Ozzie. 00:33:38.227 --> 00:33:40.480 And the other thing that connected with that 00:33:40.521 --> 00:33:43.232 is the telephone bill I mentioned earlier 00:33:43.274 --> 00:33:46.611 on the console of Alexandra's car when she was shot, 00:33:46.653 --> 00:33:50.490 it had transposed license plate number written on it. 00:33:51.866 --> 00:33:54.702 We found out the registered owner of that license plate 00:33:54.744 --> 00:33:57.038 was named Milan Nenadic. 00:33:57.580 --> 00:33:59.415 Milan Nenadic was an auto mechanic 00:33:59.499 --> 00:34:02.126 and he did have one conviction, 00:34:02.168 --> 00:34:04.045 but it was some years before. 00:34:04.087 --> 00:34:06.464 So, he wasn't somebody who appeared to be 00:34:06.547 --> 00:34:09.509 deep in the criminal world. 00:34:09.550 --> 00:34:12.136 Nenadic's fingerprints are in the system, 00:34:12.178 --> 00:34:14.138 but it turns out, they're not a match 00:34:14.180 --> 00:34:17.225 for the ones found on the red Camaro. 00:34:17.266 --> 00:34:18.810 When police run those, 00:34:18.851 --> 00:34:21.771 they discover they belong to a different man. 00:34:22.355 --> 00:34:25.817 They identified the palm print and fingerprint 00:34:25.858 --> 00:34:29.278 on the red IROC as belonging to Lawrence Delorme. 00:34:29.695 --> 00:34:32.156 Lawrence Delorme was often stealing cars 00:34:32.198 --> 00:34:34.534 or breaking into places, that sort of thing. 00:34:34.575 --> 00:34:37.703 So, his fingerprints were on record. 00:34:38.204 --> 00:34:40.665 We decided that we should be watching these guys 00:34:40.706 --> 00:34:42.542 and put a surveillance team on them. 00:34:43.709 --> 00:34:46.838 With Nenadic and Delorme being watched around the clock, 00:34:46.879 --> 00:34:48.673 it's now a waiting game, 00:34:48.714 --> 00:34:50.675 until five days after the murder, 00:34:50.716 --> 00:34:53.094 when the surveillance team watching Nenadic 00:34:53.136 --> 00:34:56.514 crosses paths with the surveillance team at the Pesics. 00:34:58.683 --> 00:35:03.855 August 10th, mid-afternoon, he goes to the Pesic house 00:35:03.896 --> 00:35:06.858 and then Jelka Pesic leaves in her vehicle. 00:35:06.899 --> 00:35:10.111 And goes over to the shopping mall in Burnaby, 00:35:10.153 --> 00:35:11.779 not all that far away. 00:35:11.821 --> 00:35:15.158 And Jelka drives into the underground parking lot. 00:35:15.867 --> 00:35:17.702 And Milan sits up in the back seat. 00:35:17.743 --> 00:35:20.204 Had been laying down in the back seat. 00:35:20.496 --> 00:35:23.666 So, then thinking what the heck's going on here? 00:35:24.250 --> 00:35:25.418 And they go into the mall, 00:35:25.501 --> 00:35:27.545 but they'd walk separately from each other. 00:35:27.545 --> 00:35:29.755 And then when they leave, same thing. 00:35:30.715 --> 00:35:32.300 They got back in the car. 00:35:32.341 --> 00:35:35.303 Milan once again, got on the floor of the car. 00:35:35.344 --> 00:35:38.097 And stays there all the way back to her house. 00:35:39.348 --> 00:35:40.892 He got out of the vehicle. 00:35:40.933 --> 00:35:43.728 And when he got out of the vehicle, he was wearing shorts. 00:35:43.769 --> 00:35:45.146 It was summertime. 00:35:45.187 --> 00:35:49.483 And he had a very big bulge in his pants. 00:35:49.734 --> 00:35:52.612 So, they followed Milan who got in the car 00:35:52.653 --> 00:35:54.447 and had to make a decision 00:35:54.488 --> 00:35:57.700 about whether they had reasonable and probable grounds 00:35:57.742 --> 00:36:00.494 to pull him over and arrest him or not. 00:36:00.494 --> 00:36:03.289 And they decided to take a chance. 00:36:03.956 --> 00:36:06.292 He stepped out of his vehicle. 00:36:06.334 --> 00:36:08.336 A bunch of money falls out of his shorts, 00:36:08.377 --> 00:36:11.213 turned out to be $30,000 -- $100 bills. 00:36:12.465 --> 00:36:15.301 The implication was that that was the pay 00:36:15.343 --> 00:36:18.638 for planning the murder of Alex. 00:36:20.014 --> 00:36:24.352 And the more stunning implication is that Jelka Pesic, 00:36:24.393 --> 00:36:26.771 a grandmother and former mother-in-law 00:36:26.812 --> 00:36:30.399 is likely the mastermind behind Alex's murder. 00:36:30.441 --> 00:36:32.276 It's the belief that's driven home 00:36:32.318 --> 00:36:34.612 when a family friend is able to confirm 00:36:34.654 --> 00:36:37.281 some incriminating details. 00:36:39.533 --> 00:36:42.620 We got a call from a woman named Helen Katona, 00:36:42.662 --> 00:36:44.914 who was a friend of Jelka Pesic's. 00:36:44.955 --> 00:36:47.958 Helen was over at the Pesic house for dinner one night 00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:50.920 and Jelka suggested they go for a walk. 00:36:51.837 --> 00:36:55.424 They walked by Alexandra's home. 00:36:55.466 --> 00:37:00.221 And Helen was present when Jelka set fire 00:37:00.262 --> 00:37:03.349 to the tree on Alexandra's front lawn. 00:37:03.557 --> 00:37:07.520 I then asked why Jelka just lit this tree on fire. 00:37:08.479 --> 00:37:10.690 Helen had seen a copy of the book, 00:37:10.731 --> 00:37:13.693 the Cindy James story in the Pesic household. 00:37:14.860 --> 00:37:17.363 According to Helen Katona, 00:37:17.405 --> 00:37:19.698 Jelka Pesic was obsessed with this book. 00:37:19.740 --> 00:37:21.992 And that book was sent to Alexander 00:37:22.034 --> 00:37:23.994 with those words underlined. 00:37:29.917 --> 00:37:32.962 Helen Katona was also able to provide a connection 00:37:33.003 --> 00:37:35.548 between Milan Nenadic and the Pesics. 00:37:35.631 --> 00:37:37.299 She was at Jelka Pesic's house 00:37:37.341 --> 00:37:38.592 when Milan came over there. 00:37:38.634 --> 00:37:40.177 She knew who he was. 00:37:40.219 --> 00:37:43.264 She knew that the Nenadic family and the Pesics were friends 00:37:43.305 --> 00:37:46.350 and Jelka went and talked to him 00:37:46.392 --> 00:37:49.854 in an area where Helen could not hear what was being said. 00:37:49.895 --> 00:37:53.941 Milan then left and Jelka said, 00:37:53.983 --> 00:37:55.443 "Well, that's good then. 00:37:55.484 --> 00:37:57.945 It'll soon be over." 00:37:59.071 --> 00:38:00.531 With Helen's story, 00:38:00.614 --> 00:38:03.033 police had enough circumstantial evidence 00:38:03.075 --> 00:38:06.704 to arrest Alex's mother-in-law, Jelka Pesic, 00:38:06.787 --> 00:38:08.247 for her murder. 00:38:09.540 --> 00:38:12.585 And when they searched both Delorme's and Nenadic's homes, 00:38:12.626 --> 00:38:15.754 most of the puzzle snaps into place. 00:38:16.422 --> 00:38:18.048 One thing that came out of Delorme's house, 00:38:18.090 --> 00:38:20.759 there was a note recovered from his residence 00:38:20.801 --> 00:38:24.054 that had Milan's name, phone number, and address. 00:38:24.096 --> 00:38:26.348 So, it connected them. 00:38:28.893 --> 00:38:31.478 At the Nenadic's house, 00:38:31.520 --> 00:38:34.899 the search ensues and a .380 caliber handgun 00:38:34.940 --> 00:38:37.943 is the most significant thing that came out of that house. 00:38:38.861 --> 00:38:42.072 It was in a Crown Royal whiskey bag 00:38:42.114 --> 00:38:44.408 with a box of shells 00:38:44.450 --> 00:38:47.494 and six bullets were missing out of that box of shells. 00:38:53.083 --> 00:38:56.170 Law enforcement initially suspected Joe Pesic 00:38:56.212 --> 00:39:00.299 orchestrated the incredible daylight execution of his wife, 00:39:00.341 --> 00:39:03.344 25-year-old Alex Pesic. 00:39:03.385 --> 00:39:05.346 It turns out he didn't. 00:39:05.387 --> 00:39:08.182 Instead, a twisted murder-for-hire scheme 00:39:08.223 --> 00:39:10.893 was paid for by his own mother, 00:39:10.935 --> 00:39:14.271 Alex's mother-in-law, Jelka Pesic. 00:39:15.981 --> 00:39:17.858 Alex was enamored by the fact 00:39:17.900 --> 00:39:19.526 that they shared this culture 00:39:19.568 --> 00:39:22.029 and had the same family values. 00:39:22.071 --> 00:39:25.366 So, it really is ironic that it's that family unity 00:39:25.407 --> 00:39:27.159 that ultimately killed her. 00:39:28.827 --> 00:39:32.373 So, if Jelka Pesic was the instigator of this plot, 00:39:32.414 --> 00:39:34.500 Milan Nenadic supplied the murder weapon 00:39:34.541 --> 00:39:36.043 and the getaway car, 00:39:36.085 --> 00:39:38.379 and Lawrence Delorme was the driver, 00:39:38.420 --> 00:39:40.756 who was the second man in the red Camaro? 00:39:40.839 --> 00:39:43.926 The man who fired the six shots that killed Alex? 00:39:44.176 --> 00:39:46.387 With the three suspects in custody, 00:39:46.428 --> 00:39:48.263 the answer comes quickly. 00:39:49.056 --> 00:39:50.975 At Lawrence Delorme's home, 00:39:51.016 --> 00:39:54.478 they found a note with Milan and his number 00:39:54.520 --> 00:39:58.273 and a piece of paper with a partial address 00:39:58.315 --> 00:40:00.025 and a name on it. 00:40:01.568 --> 00:40:03.153 It was David Segoviano. 00:40:05.447 --> 00:40:08.867 Segoviano is a new name for investigators, 00:40:08.909 --> 00:40:11.245 and they get a warrant to search his home. 00:40:11.954 --> 00:40:13.580 He lived with two or three other people. 00:40:13.622 --> 00:40:15.082 A fellow who lived in the house, he says, 00:40:15.124 --> 00:40:17.251 "He came home one day and he cut his hair off. 00:40:17.292 --> 00:40:19.545 And he said it's still in that garbage can in the bathroom." 00:40:19.586 --> 00:40:21.422 So, we seized that hair back 00:40:21.463 --> 00:40:25.801 and it's compared to the hair in the red Camaro. 00:40:27.302 --> 00:40:28.470 That's the same hair. 00:40:30.431 --> 00:40:34.059 And David Segoviano had an address book 00:40:34.101 --> 00:40:37.604 that had Milan Nenadic's telephone number in it 00:40:37.646 --> 00:40:39.481 as well as Lawrence Delorme's. 00:40:40.107 --> 00:40:41.316 But that's not all police get 00:40:41.358 --> 00:40:42.901 from their search. 00:40:42.943 --> 00:40:47.448 Segoviano's girlfriend who was at home when law enforcement arrived 00:40:47.489 --> 00:40:51.118 tells police that Dave has been acting suspiciously. 00:40:51.660 --> 00:40:53.203 Her name was Faye Bremner. 00:40:53.245 --> 00:40:57.541 And she agreed to have a wiretap put into her home. 00:40:57.583 --> 00:41:00.794 And she got Segoviano speaking about what he had done, 00:41:02.171 --> 00:41:05.966 including confessing being the killer of Alexandra Pesic. 00:41:08.385 --> 00:41:09.595 In the course of that, 00:41:09.636 --> 00:41:12.097 he also spoke about what everybody else did. 00:41:13.515 --> 00:41:16.477 In late 1993, the trial begins 00:41:16.518 --> 00:41:18.437 of Alex Pesic's murder. 00:41:20.105 --> 00:41:23.567 All four of the defendants received the maximum time 00:41:23.609 --> 00:41:27.988 for first-degree murder in Canada, 25 years. 00:41:32.993 --> 00:41:34.453 People go through divorces all the time. 00:41:34.495 --> 00:41:37.247 People lose custody battles all the time. 00:41:37.289 --> 00:41:39.124 They don't go about killing people. 00:41:39.166 --> 00:41:41.126 But in this particular case, 00:41:41.168 --> 00:41:45.005 that generated an incredible hatred in Jelka. 00:41:45.047 --> 00:41:48.884 And interestingly, there was never enough evidence gathered 00:41:48.967 --> 00:41:51.595 to lay any charges against Joe Pesic. 00:41:53.305 --> 00:41:54.556 I think Jelka was jealous 00:41:54.598 --> 00:41:57.226 that Alex was the person that she wanted to be, 00:41:57.267 --> 00:41:59.144 but never was. 00:41:59.186 --> 00:42:02.522 And so, her jealousy and rage with Alex, 00:42:02.564 --> 00:42:04.024 it was overwhelming 00:42:04.066 --> 00:42:07.486 and she just could not and would not let it go. 00:42:10.197 --> 00:42:15.202 I lost my best friend, sister, maid of honor. 00:42:19.581 --> 00:42:23.168 Thirty years and it still happens. 00:42:24.253 --> 00:42:27.631 We all have really beautiful memories of her as a person. 00:42:29.591 --> 00:42:31.551 And I wish she was still here. 00:42:34.763 --> 00:42:36.640 Alex Pesic thought that marrying 00:42:36.682 --> 00:42:41.061 within her Yugoslavian culture would be the perfect pathway 00:42:41.103 --> 00:42:44.189 towards a long fruitful relationship. 00:42:44.231 --> 00:42:48.276 Never could she have imagined that Joe's mother, Jelka, 00:42:48.318 --> 00:42:51.071 the woman who brought the couple together 00:42:51.113 --> 00:42:52.572 would turn out to be the one 00:42:52.614 --> 00:42:55.450 who ripped apart their marriage 00:42:55.492 --> 00:42:59.329 and ordered the execution of her son's wife. 00:42:59.371 --> 00:43:03.458 I've seen some bitter fights between couples and their in-laws. 00:43:03.500 --> 00:43:06.044 And sometimes those disagreements end badly 00:43:06.086 --> 00:43:08.422 for all parties involved, 00:43:08.463 --> 00:43:10.966 but I've never seen a case like this one, 00:43:11.049 --> 00:43:13.593 where a true monster-in-law 00:43:13.635 --> 00:43:15.762 turned her son's marriage 00:43:15.804 --> 00:43:17.681 into a killer relationship.