DATELINE NBC AIRS TWO-HOUR SPECIAL ON CALIFORNIA ENTREPRENEUR MURDER MYSTERY THAT MADE NATIONAL HEADLINES

December 12, 2018 – The family members of murdered California entrepreneur Chris Smith speak out in their first television interview to NBC News’ Keith Morrison in Friday’s all-new two-hour Dateline NBC. Smith’s mother tells Morrison about the emails she received from her son, leading her to believe that he had sold his company, broken up with his girlfriend via text and was traveling the world with a Playboy Playmate, explaining: “As his mom, yes, I was shocked … I think the hard part as a parent and a mom, you know your kids, is thinking this is weird. I mean, why would he ever do that?” She added, “And I remember telling Steve [Chris’ father], ‘this is wacky.’” To watch the exchange, click here. The broadcast airs Friday, December 14 at a special time – 9 p.m. ET/PT, 8 p.m. CT.

Friday’s program also features interviews with: private investigator Joe Dalu, Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Sergeant Don Voght and Sergeant Ray Wert, Smith’s former colleague Christina Gries and prosecutor Matt Murphy. Dateline has reported on this story since 2011.

EXCERPT:

DEBI SMITH: As his mom, yes, I was shocked. And I thought –

KEITH MORRISON: What kind of treatment of a woman was that, just —

STEVE SMITH: Well, it’s not Chris.

DEBI SMITH: It’s not Chris. I think the hard part as a parent and a mom, you know your kids, is thinking this is weird. I mean, why would he ever do that? And this isn’t – we had just seen him two months prior. And he had just asked us to come down again, and stay with him at his new condo. So it threw me. And I remember telling Steve, “this is wacky.” And then the Playboy Playmate, he didn’t ever talk about those kinds of girls. He didn’t talk about those. So that threw me too. I mean, the kind of girls he dated were nothing, not anything like that. So, for me, it was suspicious. And throughout the next few months, everything was suspicious.

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Dateline NBC is the longest-running series in NBC primetime history. Now in its 27th season,Dateline is anchored by Lester Holt and features correspondents Andrea Canning, Josh Mankiewicz, Keith Morrison and Dennis Murphy. Airing Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, the #1 most-watched Friday newsmagazine reaches more than 18 million people every week through its broadcast, and millions more through its social media platforms. David Corvo is the senior executive producer, and Liz Cole is the executive producer. Follow Dateline on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.