Over the Edge — Michael Fleeman

A Wealthy Couple's Idyllic Marriage Ends in a Deadly Plunge

On a May evening in 1998, the picture-perfect marriage of affluent Lake Tahoe couple Peter and Rinette Bergna came to a tragic end when their truck careened 800 feet down a Sierra-Nevada mountainside. Peter survived the crash, but Rinette, still strapped in her seat, was killed on impact. As time passed, the grieving widower found solace in a new relationship, seemingly putting the heartbreaking past behind him. However, two-and-a-half years later, his life took a shocking turn...

Bergna, a respected art appraiser and son of a prominent California attorney, found himself indicted for the murder of his wife. Investigators questioned whether Rinette's death was truly an accident or a deliberate act of homicide, freeing a controlling killer from a financially and emotionally burdensome marriage. The twists and turns of the case led to a hung jury in the first trial, but the second would yield even more surprises as the community remained divided, awaiting the final stunning verdict in the Over the Edge murder case.