Talking Dateline: The Ruse

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About this episode

Keith Morrison sits down with Lester Holt and Dateline senior investigative producer Dan Slepian to talk about their episode, “The Ruse.” In August of 2018, Tom Perez Jr. called the Fontana, California, police asking for help finding his father. As police began investigating the case, they started to suspect Tom Jr. was hiding something — possibly involvement in his father’s disappearance. Over the course of 17 hours, investigators interrogated Tom and he eventually confessed to his father’s murder. But then, in an astonishing turn of events, Tom Perez Sr. turned up alive. Tom Jr. had confessed to a murder he didn't commit. Lester and Dan talk about the evidence that led police to believe…