Speaker 1: Tonight, a loving father and major real estate developer killed when his car explodes.

Speaker 2: A pipe bomb designed to obliterate everything. But could a fresh look at DNA change what we know about the case? An all new 2020 starts right now.

Speaker 3: And they killed Gary, they killed Gary.

Speaker 4: I still can see it when I close my eyes.

Speaker 5: This windshield pops off the car and goes how many feet?

Speaker 6: 400 feet. I'm the killer, I got my gym bag which fits in the country club scenario. Open the door, put it down, close the door, I walk away.

Speaker 7: It is one of the most notorious murders in Tucson history.

Speaker 4: He was a wonderful father, he was a true gentleman and a true kind person.

Speaker 8: They rubbed shoulders with people in high society.

Speaker 6: Everybody thought car bombing has to be a mob hit. Very spectacular, we're sending a message.

Speaker 5: Turns out, according to some, who didn't want him dead? A long list of persons of interest. An ex-girlfriend, an ex-wife, ex-business associates.

Speaker 9: It was pure obsession, his hatred was pure obsession.

Speaker 5: And we're going to reenact the bombing. Everybody's on there? To see how it could have been done.

Speaker 2: Two, one.

Speaker 5: Now we're starting to pick up some heavy components. That you can take what seems like a scene of classic chaos and create any kind of order out of it is remarkable to us. So what specifically did you find as you looked at all that evidence? And it was titled, To Kill.

Speaker 9: And right at the top of the list was Gary Trenum. Gary Trenum.

Speaker 5: Welcome to Tucson, Arizona, or even on a sweet golf course like this one. The triple-digit temperatures and the blue skies above can transform in an instant.

Speaker 8: La Paloma Country Club is nestled in the Tucson foothills, it's absolutely beautiful.

Speaker 10: You can see the city, you can see the mountains, it's Jack Nicklaus golf course.

Speaker 3: Typical Friday, very busy golf day, Wednesdays and Fridays were gambler days, and so about 5.15, 5.20 I was standing at the bar and all of a sudden there was this thunderous boom.

Speaker 10: I heard this huge bang, and I rushed over there, tried to see if there was something I could do.

Speaker 11: Okay, what's going on there? Okay, there was some kind of an explosion in the country club parking lot, I'm not sure we have one of the victims has no pulse, he's got CPR, I guess it's a massive fire, there was some kind of an explosion.

Speaker 3: The building shook. I'd never felt anything like that. I immediately turned, I went out to the parking lot, and there was a car on fire, split open like a sardine can.

Speaker 10: I found a man still sitting in his seat, no pulse, pale, blood's gone out of him, just white.

Speaker 3: Dr. Sam Buttman had come up alongside the car towards me. He looked at me and he said, damn, he's dead.

Speaker 5: Dan Halligan knew who the dead man behind the wheel of the destroyed car was. He was a long time member of the country club named Gary Triano.

Speaker 3: There's a member and he was playing with Gary, and he was sitting on the floor next to his locker and he was just sobbing, they killed Gary, they killed Gary.

Speaker 5: But the question was, who killed Gary? And why would they do it in such a spectacular way? The blast had stopped Gary's gold Movado watch at 5.38 p.m., end of the line for a Wheeler dealer who was unafraid to gamble on the golf course, or for that matter, in the business world. And according to his lawyer, Ron Lehman, a man always ready to bet big on himself.

Speaker 1: Gary was a tall person who would command a room when he walked in. Dark hair, always had a nice suntan, always had a smile. He was larger than life.

Speaker 5: Starting in the 1980s, this former car salesman, he sought to take advantage of the population boom in Tucson by getting into real estate and land development and gaming on a Native American reservation.

Speaker 1: One of Gary's most successful projects was Indian gaming. We're talking about a high volume slot machine operation. Gary's personal take was $1 million a month.

Speaker 5: Gary Triano was not shy about spending that mega money on the finer things in life, you know, limos, Learjets, even a yacht.

Speaker 1: He loved spending $25,000 a week on wine while he was cruising around the Adriatic Sea with his financing partners.

Speaker 5: Let's have a look at some of these. This one you were just telling us is very special to your heart.

Speaker 4: This picture is because it was on my birthday, 15, 16 days before he died. He was very kind and gracious and generous.

Speaker 5: That too was Gary Triano, a valued role model and mentor for his niece, Melissa Triano. As her uncle and later her employer, he was a figure of warmth and encouragement for her after a childhood full of hardships. What was it like for you after all the experiences you've gone through to really get to know this man and to come to respect the way he went through life?

Speaker 4: It changed my life. He was the only person that really believed in me and made me feel like I could, you know, be successful with anything.

Speaker 5: He'd had two children with his wife, Mary. Gary was a devoted father of his son and daughter, and the couple had become a fixture of Tucson society. That changed after Gary crossed paths with a top-earning real estate go-getter. Her name was Pamela Phillips.

Speaker 8: Pamela Phillips was very elegant. She played the part of a socialite. She always looked very put together.

Speaker 1: Gary told me that, you know, he met the love of his life, and he was really taken aback by this beautiful, intelligent woman.

Speaker 7: And Gary, who is so smitten, the story goes that he calls his wife up, who's on vacation in Europe with their two children, and he just announces, you know, I'm leaving you.

Speaker 5: Pam was a figure of widespread fascination and could be every bit a life-altering sensation. As much of a merger as a marriage, Gary and Pam were officially power-coupled at a black-tie wedding on a yacht in San Diego. Did you hear that the vows they exchanged included the phrase, for richer or for richer, instead of for richer or poorer?

Speaker 4: I think I remember that now that you say that, yeah.

Speaker 5: You did hear that?

Speaker 7: Yeah. Gary bought Pam a beautiful diamond ring, which he claimed was worth $250,000. They had twin dragoirs. They had this beautiful home at the base of the Catalina Mountains.

Speaker 5: Pam and Gary would have two kids of their own, while rubbing shoulders with some powerful peers.

Speaker 12: Pam and Gary knew Donald Trump, Marla Maples. Donald and Marla came to a University of Arizona basketball game with Gary and Pam.

Speaker 3: He invited Donald Trump out to be his partner at the member guest, and of course he had to make sure that everybody in the club knew a month before.

Speaker 5: So on that fateful day of November 1st, 1996, Gary Triano was approaching his 53rd birthday with a note of optimism, unaware of the big surprise that awaited him as he stepped up the 18th green. In fact, this invite had gone out to all of Gary's friends, inviting them to a surprise birthday party that was to begin in just a few hours.

Speaker 3: Around 4.30 Gary was in the bar with a couple of his buddies at a table. One of the members actually walked up to him and actually said happy birthday. I had no idea it was his birthday.

Speaker 7: Gary is walking towards his Lincoln Town car, and he's sliding into the seat, and he sees a blue canvas bag on the passenger seat.

Speaker 5: An early birthday gift left at his unlocked car by a friend, perhaps? Gary leans over to unzip the bag and...

Speaker 7: The impact of the explosion was incredible. The front windshield flew like 200 feet into the air and landed in the swimming pool.

Speaker 6: I'm at home, it's after hours, and I get a call from my sergeant, and basically he says there's been a car explosion at the La Paloma Country Club.

Speaker 7: Detective James Gamber was a newly minted detective with the Tucson Sheriff's Department, and he was brand new to homicide. This was his second case.

Speaker 6: When he arrived on scene, you could see the victim vehicle. It blew the car doors open, tore the roof off the car.

Speaker 5: Gary's body is still in the driver's seat. When Melissa Triano heard there had been some sort of incident with Gary, she immediately rushes over to the country club. So what do you remember feeling as you were running towards the car?

Speaker 4: Just panic, just shock. I didn't think it was real. The whole top of the car was gone. I still can see it when I close my eyes.

Speaker 5: Immediately cops were asking who could have wanted to kill Gary in such a spectacular fashion. They would quickly learn, a lot of people.

Speaker 6: Was it to send the message, don't ever mess with us?