drive 21 1/2 hours. >> edward ates' lawyer tried to show that his client was not in new jersey at the time of paul dunsac's murder and he wasn't in any physical shape to be killing anyone. but edward ates still had to explain away the rest of the prosecution's case. >> they have nothing. >> and he was willing to do just that in a jailhouse interview with dateline during a break in his trial. for starters, he said that drive he and his wife had taken from florida a week before paul dunsac's death was not a reconnaissance as the prosecution claimed. it was rather an innocent vacation up north with a detour into new jersey to make sure his daughter, stacey, had her children and her former husband paul did not. >> wait a second. your daughter's moved out. >> yeah. >> she's got her own little place with the kids. there's no reason to go to the house at all, right? >> other than to make sure he was really on vacation. we felt guilty. is he really on vacation? >> were you smooping on him? >> no, what would i care about