Bechler transcripts hint at foul play

Greg Risling

NEWPORT BEACH -- Court transcripts of taped conversations between murder

suspect Eric Bechler and his girlfriend reveal explicit new details about

the death of his then-wife, who disappeared during a boating trip three

years ago.

The documents filed by prosecutors last Friday show Bechler, 32, of

Newport Beach, talking openly about his troubled marriage, the mysterious

boating trip in which his wife, Pegye, disappeared, and his future plans

to flee to Las Vegas.

The conversation between Bechler and his girlfriend, Tina New, took place

in a noisy Mexican restaurant the night of his arrest. New wore a wire

after cooperating with authorities when they responded to her Garden

Grove apartment over a dispute with a man believed to be Bechler.

In the transcripts, New repeatedly tries to pump Bechler for information

about his wife’s disappearance and appears to make some headway for

authorities.

“So what, what was it about her that made you want to go to that

extreme?” asks New.

“I felt like I was backed in a corner like she was gonna steal the kids

away and I’d never see them again,” he responds. “I mean, she was just

super controlling of the children.”

Bechler later told New that killing was not part of his personality

profile.

“All I know is that I would never, ever do anything to harm anybody ever

again,” Bechler says.

While Bechler has maintained his innocence since his arrest last October,

the 98-page transcript offers chilling insight into the prosecution’s

case against him.

Prosecutors believe Bechler killed his wife on July 6, 1997, when the

couple rented a powerboat for their fifth wedding anniversary. Bechler

claims he was on a Boogie board behind the vessel when a rogue wave

pitched him under water. When he surfaced, he said, the boat was circling

in the distance and his 38-year-old wife was nowhere to be found.

Authorities searched for the missing woman for several days, but her body

was never found.

Prosecutors contend Bechler killed his wife to garner a $2.5-million life

insurance policy. The couple had reportedly encountered financial

problems in the months before Pegye vanished.

A police report suggests she may have been killed with a dumbbell weight

wielded by Bechler.

During the taped conversation, Bechler claims he dealt with a

manipulating wife who smothered the couple’s three children.

“I mean, I can take way better care of the kids than she did before

anything ...,” Bechler says.

As for the boating trip, New presses Bechler about details and leaving

possible evidence behind.

“Uh, what about the weights? Wouldn’t it be enough?” New questions.

“Oh yeah, I thought it out pretty well,” Bechler replies.

“Was there a lot of blood on the boat?” she asks. “Are you sure she

didn’t feel it?

“Uh-hum,” Bechler says.

New and Bechler reportedly had taken a hallucinogenic drug known as

ecstasy before the meeting at the restaurant, and both were drinking

margaritas during their conversation.

New has changed her mind since cooperating with authorities, now

believing Bechler wasn’t responsible for his wife’s death.

The two argued on the tape about what story New would give police should

they ask about Bechler’s alibi.

“Give me a structured story, one story and I’ll keep that one in my

head,” New pledges.

In the transcript, Bechler also professes his fear of jail, where he

spent a short time on a domestic violence conviction last year.

He tells New he plans to go to Las Vegas because he is worried about

violating his probation for the fracas at her apartment. He worries that

police will hold him over for the minor violation and pin him with his

wife’s murder.

“No, I’m saying once I’m in the system, I’m at their mercy,” he says.

“That means once I’m in jail, they’re gonna f--- with me for years; it’s

not gonna be just six months.

“All they have to do is convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt, and I

go to jail for life. So I’m not even gonna give them the opportunity.”

EXCERPTS OF TRANSCRIPTS

* “I’m gonna head to Vegas, start over” -- Eric Bechler

* “Every time they [police] ask you a question, just say ‘I don’t know’ ”

-- Bechler to Tina New

* “What are you gonna do, put me in a purple bag and kill me?” -- New to

Bechler

* “My life’s situation changed drastically” -- Bechler

* “What are we gonna cheer to? Can it get any worse?” -- New

* “Yeah, I could be in jail” -- Bechler