- He was a fun-loving guy.
- You could tell that Jay had a lot of money.
- Everybody knew he was gay.
- He would say, "Oh, man, let me tell you.
It's just really crazy. It's really wild."
He and David were gonna move in together.
- He was just beginning
to have the life that he really wanted.
Then it all came to an end.
- The police find evidence of a struggle,
of a bloody fight.
- He was living two or three different lives.
- He's in an honest relationship.
- Lots of drama and a love triangle
and lies and deception on both sides.
To get stranger and stranger and stranger.
- He's lying about everything. He's lying about lying.
- It was a nightmare
that you could not wake up from.
[pensive instrumental music]
[gentle piano music]
Jay was my cousin.
He would come to California with his mom and dad.
Jay and I became instant buddies.
We just connected right away.
We had so much fun together.
- A lot of his friends called him "Jake,"
but for me, he was always just "Jay."
He was extremely well dressed.
He had very nice clothes.
He would always pick out the most expensive restaurants.
It was just, you know,
part of Jay's personality to spend a lot of money.
He worked in the Houston area in the banking business,
but Jay got most of his income from his family.
- He was caring for his mom and dad.
After they passed away,
he came into a lot of money.
- He had inherited millions of dollars,
and he lived a lavish lifestyle.
- Everybody noticed him walking into a room.
He was noticeable. [laughs]
Very charming man.
Nobody really talked about Jay's sexuality.
It was just given. [laughs]
We knew. Everybody knew that he was gay.
And it just didn't really matter.
- 2013, he told me he met this really, really cool guy
named David Meza.
He was very nice looking.
And I wouldn't say he was smitten,
but he was very happy
that they were seeing each other.
They seemed to have a great relationship.
And he would say, "Oh, man, let me tell you.
It's just really crazy. It's really wild."
- Many of Jake's friends said
that he would kind of show off David like a toy.
- I was surprised. He was very young.
And I thought that this was just kind of a little fling.
I didn't realize or know at that time
the seriousness of his relationship.
- Month after month would go by,
and I would say, "Are you still seeing this guy?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm still seeing him.
"It's really going great.
"I'm going out to Mexico to see him.
"He's coming to Houston to see me.
We've been traveling together."
Jay would mention, "Oh, man, you should see
all the pretty clothes that I bought him."
You know, in those many dinner meetings
that Jay and I had,
there was a little bit of conversation
about the generosity, not a lot.
But I said, "Jay, I just...
"I want to get a little bit personal with you.
I just don't want you to get hurt."
And Jay said, "Don't you worry.
Daddy's got the upper hand."
And I went, "Oh, okay.
Well, there's a little bit of money involved."
And I just let that float by.
I wasn't really gonna get into his business about all that.
But there were many, many times
when Jay would tell me
that David would do very generous things for him,
that he would give him things,
and that he was always available for Jay.
We never got the idea
that David was greedy
or was in it for the money.
- Jay and David began
a more serious relationship in the last two years
before he moved to Mexico.
- Jay told me that he was gonna buy a condo
in Mexico,
and that he and David Meza were gonna move in together.
I said, "Well, wait a minute.
He's gonna move in?"
- When Jake decided to sell his condo in Houston
and move to be closer to David, who lived in San Diego,
I think that's really when his friends and family understood
how serious he was about being with David.
- Two Mexican police officers
were on a routine patrol
of a desolate coastal highway in Mexico
about 30 miles south of San Diego,
between the beach towns of Rosarito and Tijuana.
- [speaking Spanish]
translator: When I saw the vehicle pulled over
on the side of the road, it caught my attention.
It's a place that's very deserted and dark.
We noticed that there was a car there,
and it had the emergency lights on.
We thought it was a person that needed help.
Maybe their vehicle had broken down.
We got out of our car
and started to search the vehicle with our flashlights.
We realized that there were bloodstains
on parts of the vehicle and the ground.
[suspenseful music]
When we began to see the blood,
it really caught our attention.
Maybe someone had been run over.
We saw drag marks toward a nearby canyon.
We followed the drag marks,
and you could see body parts, intestines.
Straight down from where we were standing,
you could see a person that was face up and twisted
and covered in blood.
It was so shocking to see that.
We did a ground search and couldn't find anyone else.
But we figured it had just happened,
because the blood looked very fresh.
We felt like a few minutes earlier,
we would have caught the killer red-handed.
- [speaking Spanish]
translator: The forensics team that was with us
entered the truck.
They found toll receipts in the glove box
from a toll booth that you have to pay
on the way to Rosarito.
When the forensics experts were doing their job,
they found an American passport.
- There was a passport that belonged to someone
that looked like the homicide victim,
Jake Merendino.
- [speaking Spanish]
translator: After recovering the body from the ditch,
we transported it to the coroner's office.
As we performed the autopsy, we found that the body had
about 20 wounds produced by a sharp object.
Each one was examined individually.
With the evidence found on the scene
and the interpretation of the blood stains,
it led us to believe that Mr. Merendino was assaulted
as he was standing on the outside of the vehicle
by the driver's side door.
- I think that when Jake Merendino
was thrown into the ditch, he was probably still alive.
- When I got the phone call,
I knew something might be wrong.
"Jay has been murdered."
And, um...
that was a... a very sad day.
- Jay had been stabbed multiple times,
and his body had been found in a ravine.
And it... it was just all so unreal,
just so unreal.
He couldn't wait to begin this new life in Mexico
on the beach with David.
And then it all...
came to an end.
- What's Jake doing out
that somebody could follow him
at 1:00 in the morning?
- All of these things beginning to untangle.
I thought, "This was planned all along.
This was premeditated."
- Well, who did it?
- Jay couldn't wait
to begin this new life in Mexico
on the beach with his boyfriend, David.
And then Jay was murdered.
[suspenseful music]
- And so the police find the SUV
on the side of the road during routine patrol.
They find that there's evidence of a struggle,
of a fight, a bloody fight.
There's entrails pointing the way
to what is gonna be Jake
at the bottom of this ravine.
- My thoughts about the homicide
began to change.
We found personal objects,
and the vehicle itself was still at the scene,
so we knew it wasn't a robbery.
Something else had to have been the motive for this crime.
It was a very bloody scene, and that gave us the idea
that this homicide was very personal.
After the homicide, we searched a large area on foot,
looking for the knife, but nothing was found.
After we looked at the crime scene,
we investigated the hotel
where Mr. Merendino was staying.
The manager at the hotel told us
that on the day Mr. Merendino was murdered,
a young man named David Meza,
who had been staying with Mr. Merendino,
came to collect his belongings.
- Mr. David Meza came to ask about his friend,
who he'd been told had died.
He appeared to be very anguished.
He was worried about trying to get something out of the place
where he had been staying.
At that moment, I did begin to think about some things,
but I did not have a motive or reason to keep him.
- David Meza left and returned to the hotel.
He told the manager had had authorization from the police.
The manager then allowed him to get his things.
- After Jay's murder,
a family member needed to go down to Rosarito Beach
to identify Jay's body.
I wanted to do that for the family.
I felt it was important to do that.
And it was very scary
because of the horrific murder.
It was so ugly.
And I understand
that his head was almost decapitated.
That stayed with me for a very, very, very long time.
Very difficult.
- Well, who did it?
Of course, that was my first question.
The first thing that came to my mind was,
"Oh, he was walking down the street,
leaving a bar late at night."
You could always tell that Jay had a lot of money.
And somebody probably saw him on the side of the street
with his Rolex watch
and, you know, was gonna rob him
or hijacked his car or something.
- Jay was never involved
in anything illegal or dangerous.
Absolutely not.
He... there would be no reason for him to be out
on the middle of the road at 2:00 in the morning.
- I wouldn't be armed on the side of a road
with a bazooka in Rosarito at night
by myself.
There's a reason why you have the hotel,
and there's guards and gates and everything else
to protect you.
What's Jake doing out
that somebody could follow him
at 1:00 in the morning?
- He was staying at a hotel at the time,
and Jay dropped everything he was doing.
He told the desk manager, "I'll be right back.
"A friend of mine is broken down
on the side of the road,
and I'm gonna go help him out."
[suspenseful music]
- He just called him up and said he needed help,
that he broke down on the side of the road.
Jake's gonna go to help him.
The only reason Jake was at
that location where he would be murdered
was because David called him there.
Is there anybody else in the world
Jake would have left his hotel room for
but David?
- I really did not know the motive.
I mean, I can't imagine why.
What motive would David have for killing Jay?
I just couldn't imagine it.
Of course, then I didn't know about the will.
[dramatic music]
- After Jake's body was recovered from a ravine,
an attorney in Texas received a package,
a handwritten will on hotel stationery.
- "I leave everything to David Meza."
It was a piece of paper; it wasn't even a will.
- Everybody tried to figure out
what would make Jay write a note like that.
Maybe it was a joke.
I mean, I don't know.
- If you ask me, that will is worthless,
capital "W."
- A lawyer friend of Jake's
wanted the FBI to get involved
to figure out where this will came from.
They call a lead to San Diego
and say, "Hey, will you please look into this?"
So that's how I got involved.
So at this point,
crime scene's already been processed.
The car's already been impounded.
The body's already been moved.
Photographs have already been taken.
The evidence has already been collected.
After that, you're playing catch-up.
One of the things we thought at the beginning is,
"This will's got to be fraudulent,"
that he made up the will and he sent it
to another state.
- There was a handwriting analysis,
and they declared that it was, in fact, Jay's handwriting.
And me personally,
I think that Jay had probably been drinking.
I think
that David Meza said,
"Well, I'm not sure if you really love me or not."
And Jay said, "Well, of course I love you."
And I think that David Meza said, "Well, if you do,
why don't you put it in writing?"
And after a couple of drinks,
Jay probably said, "Well, okay.
Get me a piece of paper."
- They're both keeping each other on the hook.
And Jake, if he did write the will,
that's just to keep David on the hook.
- For me, that was just preposterous.
We never dreamed
that Jay was willing to give his whole fortune up to David.
- I looked up
"David Enrique Meza" right away online.
I Googled him.
And that's when I saw all the information
about David and his stage name,
Mario Romo.
- My name is Mario Romo.
I'm 21 years old, and I'm from San Diego.
- David, a.k.a. Mario Romo,
had participated in pornography.
- And that was really surprising.
- First thing we did was look into the background
of David Meza.
So my robbery team is watching David
early in the morning to see what his routine is,
see where he lives,
confirm that that's where he does live...
That's where his vehicle is,
that's where his motorcycle is, that's where he is.
At that point, we're just gathering intel.
What's he look like? What's he driving?
What his routine is, who's living there.
It may have been only a few days until I realize
David has two lives that he's living.
- David clearly was in a relationship with Jake,
but they also found
that David was engaged to a woman
named Taylor Langston.
- David had a long-term relationship
with Taylor,
so much so that they, at this point,
were pregnant with their first child.
- The story just continued
to get stranger and stranger and stranger...
All of these things beginning to untangle, you know,
and come to light.
- I can promise you that Jay had not the faintest notion
that David Meza had a double life.
None of us knew that.
- David has had this relationship with Taylor
for some time.
But he also has this other life
where he develops a relationship with Jake.
So now he definitely has two lives.
We went out there, and we saw them on tape,
David and Taylor sending this package.
And here's pregnant Taylor walking in there
and sending this package.
And when you look at it, naturally, at that point,
you're thinking, "In order to cash in on that will,
"Jake needs to be dead, right,
"for him to cash in on this will?
Well, David probably killed Jake."
- When I saw the video
of David and Taylor
going to the post office
so soon after the death of my cousin,
I thought, "They... This was planned all along.
This was premeditated."
- The FBI asked me to do the interview on David.
You start doing your homework before,
and you learn as much as you can about details.
I learned about what Rosarito PD did
or what they didn't do.
But you also have to understand they're dealing with
a whole lot more murders down there
than we are up here.
I looked at what evidence they gathered:
the photographs, the autopsy photographs,
the scene photographs.
And then we formatted a plan
of what we were gonna do going forward in the interview.
[radio chatter]
Sometimes you have all the evidence in the world
and it's just nice to get a confession from the suspect.
Then other times, like this one,
there is no smoking gun,
so we need this interview to go well.
We need him to reveal some things
that only he is going to know,
which is the murderer.
This interview's being conducted
in a Toyota Camry.
And it's hot. The windows are rolled up.
I have a tape recorder.
Eric, the case agent, is sitting in the back seat,
taking notes, but he's sitting in the middle,
so I could see him in the rearview mirror.
- Well, everybody knew who killed who in this incidence.
But it's not what you know; it's what you can prove.
[intense music crescendos]
- It became even more clear
that David's two lives were about two collide
in a big way.
- This is a job for David, keeping Jake on the hook.
- I thought David did it
for Jay's money.
And then we come to find out
about Taylor and the baby,
and it became even more clear
that David's two lives were about to collide
in a big way.
And so that became, obviously, the other motive
for David to murder Jay.
He couldn't keep up this second life anymore.
- So an interview is basically
getting to know the person,
the honeymoon stage of the relationship,
because there is a relationship between the two of you.
And your subject is doing most of the talking.
The interrogation comes
after you have gathered all the facts from this person
and you've got them locked into a story.
- It probably took me 35 minutes
to get David to admit that he was actually...
bi or homosexual.
And that was actually a pivotal moment
in our relationship, David's and mine.
- He's dealing with male pornography.
He's actually making money as a male escort.
And he finally finds Jake
and develops a relationship with Jake.
- Jake would shower David with gifts,
extravagant gifts.
- He paid for all kinds of things for David,
spending over 100 grand on him.
$45,000 sports car.
He bought him a motorcycle.
He even paid for some dental work for David.
- Trips... you know, Vegas.
Parties he would go to.
Plus Jake would give him about $1,000 or $1,500 a month.
So this is a job for David,
and keeping Jay on the hook paid the bills.
Good-looking kid, works out.
Jake...
Middle-aged, overweight white guy, right?
Is that an honest relationship?
Probably not.
Infatuation goes to "Oh, my God,
maybe this kid really does love me."
And...
if you start thinking it's love,
you're definitely gonna start making some silly decisions.
Probably feels real, doesn't it,
when it's happening, when you're involved in it?
You're starting to make decisions
that are changing your life.
He makes an excuse,
and he's got to go back into the States.
- I look up in the mirror, and Eric's eyes are huge.
Like, "Holy sh..., did you hear that?"
"Yes, I heard it."
- He omits one of the crossings.
You didn't go back to Mexico later on in the afternoon.
You went before that.
The hardest things to remember are the lies.
I saw an opening, and I jumped through it.
He's lying about everything. He's lying about lying.
- There's cameras everywhere nowadays:
crossing the border going south,
crossing the border coming north.
They're also very good at gathering intel
on where your phone was
and what towers they're pinging off of.
Those pings on David's phone
put David in Mexico at the time of the murder.
- It's your job
to be pretty much in their face with the truth.
I saw an opening, and I jumped through it.
The hardest things to remember are the lies.
You can't prove that the lie actually happened,
so you have to change it,
and sometimes you don't remember
what you lied about.
I finally got David to admit
that there was this in-between crossing,
the one that he omitted earlier.
I now call him out
and ask him why he lies about it.
"Well, the reason I omitted it was,
"I was gonna rip him off.
I was gonna rip off Jake."
- He says he went back to the hotel
to get the key from Jake to the condo
so that he could rip him off later on.
- Hello.
- Why you gonna leave your pregnant girlfriend in Tijuana?
Why doesn't she just go with you to Rosarito?
That doesn't make sense.
Tijuana, of all places?
In a nice SUV?
Why is Taylor down there?
It doesn't sit well with me.
Why is she going down there?
Agents were speaking with Taylor
at the same time I'm talking with David
in another vehicle.
I want to know what's going on,
so I left the car, left Eric alone with David,
and I walk across the street
to figure out what's going on over there.
And she is clamming up.
She's giving just enough,
and she's not talking like David is.
- When David and Taylor were interviewed by investigators,
they both had the same alibi
for where they were when Jake was killed.
They said that they were at their friend Jos
But he said that he hadn't seen the couple
in over two years.
- So this is where we're going slowly
from interview to interrogation.
When I told him we were gonna go down
the darkest place he's ever been before,
he knew.
And I knew he knew.
- The FBI found a birthday card
from David to Jake
in the SUV.
- "I love you, baby.
"You mean so much to me.
I can't wait to see you."
And early on,
we all believed that.
- David has two lives that he's living:
one with Jake...
and one with Taylor.
- I think his fianc
I think that's what did him in.
When you've got a baby coming,
what are you gonna tell Jay?
"Oh, I can't come visit you anymore"?
"Our relationship is over"?
And the money was gonna stop then, obviously.
I showed him the autopsy pictures
and the crime scene photos
of the Mexican authorities recovering Jake's body.
- He's lying about everything. He's lying about lying.
- He wanted the money.
He wanted all of Jake's things.
Just killing him. "I need him dead."
It's as simple as that, black and white.
David lied about a friend that he called,
a friend asking for an alibi.
He lied about the crossing, of course.
Lies about ripping off Jake.
- He had a motive,
and then he was at the scene of the crime.
And there was a statement that he made:
"But I had just planned to rob him,
"and then I decided that I wasn't gonna rob him,
and I drove home."
That just doesn't hold water.
- I don't know if Taylor knew
that they were romantically involved,
because he was definitely giving him money.
For what? Why's he giving him money?
Why is he buying him things?
Well, she's also riding the wave,
so she's probably gonna let it go.
- Because they lied about their whereabouts,
that's why Taylor was charged with obstruction of justice.
I don't think Taylor ever knew the extent
of his romantic relationship with Jake.
The judge called it
"not a run-of-the-mill murder case."
It involved lots of drama and a love triangle
and lies and deception on both sides.
- I believe that he targeted Jay as an older man.
And he could weasel himself
into a nice situation with Jay.
I think Jay thought
he was in a loving relationship with David.
He knew nothing about Taylor.
I think David did
an incredible job keeping that from Jay.
- We were all on pins and needles
about the outcome of this verdict.
- A 12-person jury deliberated for a week
before they convicted David Meza
of first-degree murder and obstruction of justice.
- Do I think the sentence was harsh?
He's still alive, right?
Is Jake alive?
- There are people like David out there,
and yoso kind-hearted as
that it lead to his demise.
It is a positive thing
to be able to remember
Jay's smile,
his laughter.
He had a really good spirit.
I think that's it.
And you recognize that about some people,
and that was Jay.
That was Jay.
- The biggest lie that David told was to Jake,
and it was that he loved him.
That was ultimately the lie that lead to Jake's death.
[soft piano music]
- For more information, go to Oxygen.com.