>> reporter: in other words, he thought it was suicide. so, what happened in that moment after midnight? how would a juror decide? >> upon reaching a verdict, you will inform the bailiff, who will in turn notify me. >> reporter: kusa's dan grossman settled in for a bit of a wait. >> this is almost a three-week trial. there's a lot of evidence. you thought that you were looking at coming back the next day to hear the verdict. >> reporter: but, no. less than four hours later, a verdict. >> "we the jury find the defendant, thomas fallis, not guilty of murder in the second degree and all lesser included offenses, signed by the jury foreperson." >> reporter: not guilty. not murder. after four long years of living under a cloud of suspicion, tom fallis was acquitted of all charges. >> he stayed straight-faced. his defense attorney, iris eytan, was very emotional. but ashley's parents, they -- they left the courtroom fairly