Dateline: Secrets Uncovered: What happened to Pegye Bechler?

In July 1997, Pegye Jann Bechler was killed under mysterious circumstances while she was at a beach in Southern California, celebrating her 38th birthday and her fifth wedding anniversary.

Even though the murder was staged as an accident, it was later discovered that Pegye's husband, Eric Bechler, was the man behind the crime. He plotted her murder in order to get his hands on a $2 million life insurance policy. Three months after his wife's death, he moved in with his girlfriend, Tina New.

Pegye's body was never recovered, but Eric later confessed that he had beaten her with two dumbells and then thrown her into the sea.

The chilling murder story will be detailed in Oxygen's true-crime series Dateline: Secrets Uncovered, scheduled to air on February 1. The official synopsis for the episode reads:

"A California couple's romantic getaway on a boat turns tragic when the young wife and mother is lost at sea; the case goes cold for years until a model with a checkered past goes undercover to find the truth."

Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of murder. Discretion is advised.

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What led to Pegye Bechler's death? Horrific details about the crime explored

Who was Pegye Bechler?

Bechler was born in New Mexico to Glenn and June Marshall. She was their fourth kid and was also a child prodigy. Even though she was diagnosed with scoliosis at a very young age, she excelled in swimming and became an expert swimmer. She was good at other sports as well.

As a child, she would have to wear a back brace all the time to help herself with scoliosis.

In 1991, while attending a volleyball game with her friend, Pegye met Eric Bechler and the two hit off immediately.

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The family seemed to be picture-perfect

Pegye moved to California after completing her schooling and started her own business in physical therapy - something she took an interest in, owing to her experience with scoliosis.

She married Eric a year after meeting him. The couple had three children together.

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Eric planned Pegye's murder ahead of the celebration

Eric had initially staged the death of Pegye as an accident. He told police that Pegye fell out of a speedboat when a rogue wave hit the two of them.

The husband stated that both of them fell inside the water and after he managed to swim back to safety, he realized that Pegye was nowhere to be seen.

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Investigators suspected foul play

Even though Eric's version of the story was clear as a crystal, investigators smelled foul play, as they did not believe that Pegye could have fallen into the water from the boat in the way that Eric had described. However, due to lack of any solid evidence, they were not able to pin down Eric as the perpetrator.

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Tina's confession

Eric met Tina a few months after he killed Pegye. The investigators sensed that Tina could be of help in the investigation. They asked her if she knew anything.

It was at this time that she confessed that Eric did narrate his whole plan to her, saying that he was the one who killed his wife. Eric confessed that it was all part of his plan to rent a boat and put her to sleep while the boat was away from the shore. He also admitted to hitting his wife with two dumbbells, stuffing her inside a bag, and throwing her in the sea.

In February 2001, Eric was convicted of first-degree murder in connection with Pegye Bechler's murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment without any possibility of parole.