he pleaded not guilty. >> when nicole married the defendant, she thought she had married the man of her dreams. but on january 28th, 2006, that dream would turn into a nightmare. >> kristin richardson and carla carlstrom were the prosecutors handling the case. they promised the jury pieces of a puzzle. pieces they hoped would ultimately reveal a resentful, hateful husband, whose frustrations had boiled over. >> i think it was actually, i hate this phrase, but it truly was a crime of passion. >> at the core of the prosecutors' case, david was a sexist philanderer who viewed his goody-two-shoes wife as a weight around his neck. so he put his hands around hers after argument in their condo free himself of the burden. david they said then turned to nici's problem with pills as his cover-up. >> why kill her? >> it wasn't a plan to murder. if it was something he planned to do, sure, he could divorce her. this was not a plan. this was something that erupted one night in a fit of rage. >> because they thought there