Chris Daigle was killed by his best friend Richard Mendoza

Chris Daigle and Richard “Ricky” Mendoza were best friends since childhood – they even played on the same Little League and eventually the high school baseball team. And it was 17-year-old Richard Mendoza who last saw Daigle alive on November 7, 2002, before he went missing for nearly a decade.

When Daigle's grandmother first reported his disappearance on November 11, 2002, police assumed it was just a struggling 17-year-old.

“He had a history of leaving. He had a history of drug use. Grandma confirmed this story,” said Saul Luera, a sergeant from Missouri City, Texas Killer relationship with Faith Jenkinsairs Saturdays at 8/7c on Oxygen. “Maybe he's out with his friends, doing drugs and just lost track of time.”

Daigle's best friend told police he went to the mall with him on Nov. 7 and left him there, never to see him again. Despite pursuing hundreds of tips and contacting dozens of friends and family, the missing persons investigation remained fruitless for years until it was revealed that Mendoza was responsible for the murder of his best friend all along.

In October 2003, 11 months after Chris Daigle's disappearance, his family turned to a psychic for answers.

“[The psychic] just starts crying. And she started saying that there were three boys. They wore hats,” said Tracie Gregory, Daigle’s mother Killer relationship with Faith Jenkins. “They were walking along this dirt road along the tree line and it was dark. And there was an argument.”

Jennifer Hayes, Daigle's half-sister, also listened to the psychic. “And she says, “Chris got shot.” ​​In the back of his mind. “With a shotgun,” Jennifer Hayes continued Killer relationship with Faith Jenkins.

The psychic said Daigle's body was near a chain-link fence and offered Daigle's family another piece of information.

“There was a number '34' that was green and white,” Gregory said.

Although he himself pursued and searched for Daigle, his family was no closer to finding him.

“The years passed. “Hope started to die,” Jason Hayes, Daigle’s half-brother, continued Killer relationship with Faith Jenkins. “Because there's no way Chris could last that long without contacting Grandma Wanda.”

RELATED: Man found guilty in divorce court of killing wife who threatened to reveal family secrets

A friend points the finger at Ricky Mendoza as a suspect in Chris Daigle's disappearance

Chris Daigle's mother took a job at a bar in 2007, five years after her son's disappearance, hoping his now-adult high school friends would remember something while they were drinking. She got lucky when 22-year-old Tyler Hall became her client in 2009 and raised Ricky Mendonza and his girlfriend Megan Venable.

“Megan told me that Ricky was jealous of Chris because Megan hung out with Chris a lot,” Ian Cammack, Daigle's cousin, continued Killer relationship with Faith Jenkins.

Shortly before Daigle disappeared, Daigle and Mendoza got into an argument that worried Venable.

“[Mendoza] just started screaming [Venable] and he just physically attacked her,” Daigle's friend Brittany Parker continued Killer relationship with Faith Jenkins. “And not only was it shocking for me, it was shocking for the boys too. Chris wouldn’t tolerate that.”

Hall also shared a bombshell with Daigle's mother: ““She said she knew what happened,” Gregory said. “She was friends with Ricky.” And she said that Ricky killed Chris.

Hall said she didn't reveal that information because she thought Mendoza would lie and brag about murdering his friend.

Police questioned Mendoza, but he denied ever admitting to killing Daigle.

A tip leads to the arrest of Ricky Mendoza seven years after his friend's disappearance

It took another year before a second person blamed Ricky Mendoza for the murder of Chris Daigle. Travis Reznicek, Daigle's half-brother, met a man named José Lopez who claimed that Mendoza killed Daigle.

“I said, 'How do you know?'” Reznicek continued Killer relationship with Faith Jenkins. “And he said, 'He was at my house talking about it.'”

Police tracked down Lopez, who said he never came forward because he wasn't sure what he knew was true. He claimed Ricky Mendoza; Mendoza's cousin, 15-year-old Daniel Rodriguez; and Rodriguez's friend, 14-year-old Joshua Fretz, were all there the night Chris Daigle was murdered.

“They had taken him to a field,” Lopez said during a police interview. “Daniel and Chris were already on their way. With the gun in his hand, Ricky Mendoza pulls the trigger and shoots him in the face. Clearly.”

In July 2011, eight years and eight months after Daigle's disappearance, Fretz finally agreed to talk to police. He claimed Mendoza was angry with Daigle because he believed he saw Daigle kissing his girlfriend in a classroom at the school.

“He would say, 'No, man, that son of a bitch better not try to mess with my girl,'” Fretz said during a police interview. “You know, 'I'm going to beat his ass' or something like that.”

Fretz alleged that on November 7, 2002, Mendoza suggested that he, Rodriguez and Daigle go mushroom picking with him in a field after school.

“I looked and saw Ricky pull the shotgun on Chris and he pulled the trigger,” Fretz said in a police interview. “I saw him shoot him in the back of the head. He died instantly.”

Fretz said the three boys hid Daigle's body in the field. Nine years after his disappearance, Fretz led police to Chris Daigle's buried remains. Mendoza's cousin, Daniel Rodriguez, told police the same story.

“Both had reason to be very afraid of Ricky,” said prosecutor Loretta Owen Killer relationship with Faith Jenkins. “You saw him kill someone. And Ricky He basically said, “You can't tell anyone about this.” You're involved. You too will be prosecuted.'”

Fretz and Rodriguez, who were 14 and 15 at the time of the murder, were never charged. A jury found Ricky Mendoza guilty of murdering his best friend in February 2013 and sentenced him to 50 years in prison.

“He showed no remorse,” Owen said. “There was no justification for what he did.”

Chris Daigle's family said goodbye almost a decade after his disappearance. And his siblings believed that the clairvoyant was right about their half-brother.

“Tracie picked up all the paperwork from the psychic. “Everything she said is true,” Jennifer Hayes said. “Chris was shot in the back of the head. With a shotgun. Three boys were walking along this dirt road along the tree line. Tracie was like, “Do you remember that number? We didn't know what it was? That's Ricky's baseball jersey number.'”

Watch brand new episodes of Killer relationship with Faith Jenkins Saturdays at 8/7c on Oxygen.