Texas Confidential

Who Killed The Bookie's Wife?

(CBS) 
Lyn McClellan, the prosecutor who lost the state's case against Bob in 1998, is still convinced Bob Angleton is a guilty man.

"I'd love to get him. Yeah, I'd love to have another shot at trying him again," McClellan says.

Asked why he didn't just move on, McClellan says, "Because I didn’t think the verdict was correct. You shouldn't get away with murder."

Three and a half years after being acquitted of murder by the state of Texas, Bob was arrested again for his wife's murder, now facing a federal murder charge.

Angleton’s attorney Mike Ramsey said the new charges amounted to "double jeopardy," being tried for the same crime twice, which is unconstitutional.

"We shouldn't have two trials just because there's an acquittal and some sore DAs for getting beat," Ramsey said at a press conference.

But McClellan denies it's double jeopardy. "Well, it’s not double jeopardy when the feds try you for a state case. So, if they have a federal case that they can make, then they have a right to make that."

Bob's only consolation this time was that he got out on bail. And as his second trial approached, Bob prepared for the worst, facing the possibility of a conviction.

He went to visit his daughters, who had started college that fall, to say what he feared could be his final goodbye.

Asked what he said to his girls, Bob said, "I may go away to jail for the rest of my life. That means when you need something, you can’t call me for advice. That means I don’t exist."

"Some people might ask why you don’t just get up and leave?" Schlesinger asked.

"I'm not allowed to," Bob replied. "I'm not in a situation where I can make plans. The only plans I have right now are in case I am found guilty. Because, the minute that I am found guilty, I will have no time to make any plans."

When Angleton told 48 Hours that back in 2003, he was being somewhat less than honest.

In fact, Bob did have a plan, one he had been setting up for more than a year. Just four days before the start of his second trial, he followed that plan and walked out of his Houston home for the very last time.

At first his attorney feared the worst, wondering if Bob might have killed himself.

But the choice Bob made didn't involve leaving this world, it involved just leaving the country. Armed with a fake passport, a fake driver's license, and a fake Social Security card, Bob had decided to become a fugitive.

Angleton wrote about what he did next in a journal, which his daughters have read.

"Going to jail for life is for sure a dead end. So this is the only choice," Niki read from the journal. "Saying goodbye to life and leaving with one small suitcase and one carry on. Imagine trying to repair your life with the possibility that you'll never - you'll never hold or hug your children, your friends every again," Niki read on.

Bob ended up far from home and had become very difficult for 48 Hours to reach but he was still eager to talk, even if it couldn’t be face-to-face.

Speaking by phone, he said he decided to flee for the sake of his daughters.

"I figured their best peace of mind would occur if I was safe and that was the only idea I could come up with was to flee," he explained.