When Rob Limon is murdered, the investigation uncovers secrets about sex, friendship, and religion. Josh Mankiewicz explores the twisted case featured in Dateline’s #1 podcast, Deadly Mirage. Listen to the 6-part original series on Apple: https://apple.co/44RBkSrListen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/65S0Rf8pYQwVJzAeWDEkry Josh Mankiewicz and Blayne Alexander go behind the scenes of the making of this episode in ‘Talking Dateline’ Listen on Apple: https://apple.co/4dOIXLYListen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6nDLsYj1LwZIeDTz91WuRV?si=awB4e_qVTeiOIbxMJT12-g
Chapter 1: What is the main topic of this episode?
Tonight on Dateline.
The Wolf Pack is our group of friends in Silver Lakes. They called each other Bear and Pooter.
Chapter 2: Who were the key players in Rob Lamone's life?
I started thinking, who would want Rob out of the picture?
This case had sex, religion. It literally had everything.
The story of an it couple behind Dateline's hit podcast. Sabrina and Rob had invited another married couple into their group for an open relationship.
She couldn't stay away from him.
Good morning, my lover. Well, good morning.
They talked about God. God is so good.
Yeah, God is so good.
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Chapter 3: What secrets were uncovered after Rob's murder?
Did you and Ms. Lamone and her husband and your husband engage in sexual activity together?
That was the bombshell of all bombshells. No one could look away.
You just couldn't look away.
Was someone doing God's work or the devil's? I'm Lester Holt, and this is Dateline. Here's Josh Mankiewicz with Deadly Mirage.
Trackless, dry, and desolate, the Mojave Desert fits almost no one's image of the California lifestyle. Unless, that is, you stumble upon this little oasis, Silver Lakes, a community of 6,000, improbably built in the desert, on the water. The lakes are artificial, of course. The houses look solid enough, stucco and red tile, along with churches, a golf course, and parks for the kids.
Wholesome Anywhere Main Street, USA. But what if that's a mirage, too? Turns out, behind some of these doors, there are secrets about religion, about friendship, about sex, and about murder. Rob and Sabrina Limon were just one of those magical couples.
You wanted to invite them to every barbecue you had and you wanted to make it to every barbecue or every time they were going to go out on the lake. And they attracted people around them like that.
Friends Kelly and Jason Bernatine told me the Limons were irresistible.
They had two beautiful kids and a great family, and just always happy.
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Chapter 4: How did the investigation into Rob's murder begin?
The four became inseparable. They would often get together with a handful of other young couples. They all called themselves the Wolf Pack.
It's a big group when we all get together. And our little pups running around too.
The Wolf Pack spent just about every holiday and birthday together. But one couple was always the center of gravity, Sabrina and Rob Limon.
I would look at Rob, and I would watch him with Sabrina, and I'd be like, that's the guy that I need to be like. And all the wives would look at Rob and say, It was hard to compare to him.
Yeah, everybody would be like, why can't you be more like Rob?
Yeah, be more like Rob. That's what everybody said. And as a guy, you're just like, I can never be like that.
On August 11th, 2014, Rob turned 38. He celebrated his birthday with his family and his Wolfpack friends. And then, just a week later, everything went off the rails. Rob was working the day shift at an isolated railroad office in Tehachapi, about 90 miles from Hellandale. Sabrina worked part-time passing out samples at Costco, and the couple often talked or texted during the day.
This day was no exception. Call me, Bear. I'm home now. Getting the kids dinner and ready for school. Yay! But Rob didn't respond. And he didn't call on the way home, as he almost always did. Sabrina texted him again. Babe, I'm worried about you. Call me. Leanna wants to say goodnight. That was a little after 8 p.m. Rob Lamone never did call. Instead, this call came in.
Tell me exactly what happened. I had opened the garage door and there's a light bulb busted out. He's on the ground bleeding out of his head. Okay. Oh my God!
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Chapter 5: What evidence pointed to Jonathan Hearn?
Chapter 6: What role did Sabrina play in the events following Rob's death?
And she's reading you the letter like, can you believe this jerk? Or she's reading you the letter like, isn't this sweet?
Isn't this sweet? Listen to this. Listen to how sweet Jonathan is. So I'm trying not to throw up. I'm trying not to scream. I'm just like freaking out.
Jonathan had already admitted he'd had an affair with Sabrina a year earlier. but said they'd broken it off. Their relationship now, purely spiritual. The Bernatines thought it was tasteless at best for him to be hanging around Sabrina just days after Rob was murdered.
I said, how did that make you feel? The letter.
And she said?
She said, well, I don't feel like he has any bad intentions.
the Bernatines thought otherwise. Jonathan's obsessive interest in the wolf pack, his affair with Sabrina, his weird voicemail.
I started thinking, who would want Rob dead? Who wanted Rob out of the picture? And the only person that bought into my mind was Jonathan Hearn.
Jason called the sheriff's department.
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Chapter 7: How did Jonathan's actions raise suspicion during the investigation?
I have been a bad girl. I feel like the most horrible person in the world.
I do too. When Dateline continues...
Weeks had passed since Rob Limone's life was violently cut short. Detective Randall Meyer and his team were zeroing in on Jonathan Hearn as a possible suspect. And now, in Jonathan's phone records, they found a lot of calls and texts to and from a burner phone. The kind of phone that somebody would use if they were either committing a crime or having an extramarital affair.
Trying to definitely avoid law enforcement detection. Well, or husband detection. Yes, yes. I was able to get a wiretap authorized, and so we were able to go up on the phones and listen to their conversations.
When they finally listened, their suspicions were confirmed. Jonathan was on one end of the call, and on the other, Sabrina Lamont. It was immediately obvious the two were lovers. How many hours of conversations do you think you listened to between Sabrina Limon and Jonathan Herr? Hundreds. Jonathan often spoke with Sabrina from the fire station.
What were they talking about for most of that time? They talked about their future together. They talked about God a lot, about God's plan for them. They also talked about Detective Meyer.
I just got a text message from Detective Meyer, and he asked me to call him. So I'm going to.
Okay. And I'll pray. Okay.
Okay. Okay, I just wanted you to pray. I'm going to pray and pray.
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Chapter 8: What was revealed in the wiretapped conversations?
So there's no information at all? Honestly, I don't have anything, and I wish I did.
but I think we're kind of getting into a dead end.
Which was not true. Minutes later, Sabrina called Jonathan.
Everything's fine.
He asked you only questions?
No questions at all.
Meyer was tickling the wire. It's an expression police use, giving wiretapped suspects something to talk about while the cops are listening. Meyer often found himself in the mood to tickle. Like when he told Sabrina police had found DNA at the crime scene.
That was not true. That was a ruse we were using. And what happens as a result of that? Another immediate phone call to Jonathan to talk about the possible DNA.
Sabrina and Jonathan did not exactly rejoice over this apparent break in the case. Instead, it sounded as if they suspected Meyer was playing them. Jonathan even knew the right terminology.
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