Accident, but here is the thing, accidents just seemed to keep happening, deadly ones. Thoughts kept coming up, intuition something wasnt right. Wife number two had a growing suspicion and she also had a plan. I had actually watched an episode of dateline and i hear a revelation. A dangerous mission. Was her own life at risk . This is a history novel that wont end. You couldnt write this story. Im lester hold. This is dateline. Andrea canning with a tale of deadly deset. Capturing a life that could have been. Now all thats left are the burned out remanence of a life thats gone. Ive seen the destruction to my family. Ive seen my parents fall apart. I didnt think my life was going to turn out like this at all. Had this not come to ahead now, the mystery would have lived on. The Carlson Family would have always wondered what really happen happene happened. The story begins here around the finger lakes, a stunning part of upstate new york. This is where the Carlson Family put down its roots. All right. Carl. And its here that carl carlson brought his bride christina to hemeet his family 1986. His brother took to her right away. Small, tiny girl. Not very tall at all. A very simple sweet heart of a kid. Christina and carl had met in North Carolina where carl was stationed in the air force. When he was discharged, they came to his home to make a life. Was she a good fit to the Carlson Family . She was. She would give it out as well as take it and laugh on the way. Sit there. They were a cute couple, christina the little cheerleader from california, carl the rough and Ready Country boy. Christinas sister collette liked the way carl made chris laugh. They would laugh and joke and this big barrel chested guy and 41 411. He got work and it wouldnt be long before he and christina had three kids, aaron, levee and katy. She would be on the floor, teaching them, instructing them or calling them and it wasnt just her kids, it was all of our kids. Look at those two lovely people over there. Christina seemed happy, but carl wanted more than a life working and christinas father offered a ticket out. A job with a future working in his heating and air conditioning company. I said if you ever need a job, come on out to california and youll have a job. You can work with me. So they moved all the way across the country to murphys. Carl found them a ramshackle house at the top of this road. Christina made it special. She went into home decorator mode. Painting, curtains. I would go wow, this looks good. Thank you. Christina and carl celebrated christmas with the family in 1990 but a week later, their lives would change forever. It was new years day 1991. I come outside and saw the smoke from the house. I could see where the smoke was out there. Carl and christinas house was on fire. Carl said he had been in the garage, but he rushed to the house. He pulled the kids out of their bedroom windows where they were napping, but christina was trapped in the bathroom. Flames raging outside the bathroom door. The window was boarded shut from the inside. By the time art arrived, the paramedics were already on the scene. Got in the ambulance and looked around and said, where is kris . They told me. One of the kids said shes with god or shes the angles take her, Something Like that. Thats when i art could only imagine the terror of her last minutes on earth. He then placed one of the toughest calls hes made. I need to tell you something. There was a fire at kris house, everybody got out by kris. I said are you kidding me . He said no. Back in upstate new york, the Carlson Family got the terrible news so mike and his sisterinlaw fl sisterinlaw flew to california. Ill help how i can. Tell me what to do. And he was just numb. He was more of a zombie. He just said i dont know. Are you thinking how in the world is my brother going to take care of these three little kids . I had no clue. Carl spoke briefly with fire investigators. He said he wasnt sure how the fire started, but he knew why it moved so fast. The pets knocked over a container full of kerosene a day or two before. Carl didnt share many other details with friends and family and mike sensed it was hard for carl to deal with anything important. So after awhile, mike pressed him a bit. What are we doing . If you stay in california, you need to arrange for an apartment. You need to get supplies, get the house settled. The kids need some form of stability here. He said i just want to go home. So four days after the fire, carl packed up his three children and flew back to upstate new york. It was yet another blow for christinas grieving family. My sister and i made a commitment to each other, our kids would grow up knowing each other, and then it was stripped in five days. All christinas father had left of his beloved daughter was this box of charred photos he rescued from the house, reminders of her and the grandchildren he loves. After her death, i was probably more dead than alive. Didnt Pay Attention to a lot of things that i should have, but i just muddled through. I didnt care. Hobbled but grief, he felt maybe a helpless and pointless anger toward his soninlaw and wondered why didnt carl do more to save christina that day. There was a pick laying off the tree. For the children, aaron, katy and levi, art would contain his anger and keep the family peace, but what happened on that little house on the hill would come back to haunt christinas family in the years to come. Another painful loss is about to hit this family, one that none of them expected. When we come back. We just got home, and i dont think hes alive. You dont think hes alive . No. A new tragedy will launch a whole new round of questions. 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Its not for colds, its not for pain, its just for sleep. Because sleep is a beautiful thing™. Zzzquil. The nonhabit forming sleep aid from the makers of nyquil®. From crest 3d white, new brilliance toothpaste and boost. After brushing, our exclusive boost polishes your smile and whitens with 3x the stain lifting ingredient for a smile that dazzles. New crest 3d white brilliance. The Finger Lakes Region of upstate new york was carl carlsons family home, and now he was back to stay. Here in Seneca County, he would rebuild his life along the farms, the fields, the vineyards and old friends. Does everyone in this area know the Carlson Family . Probably most of Seneca County knows one or all of us. Carls wife was gone, but he still had his three little kids to think about. He went back to work at the stone place for awhile and saw an opportunity at a glass manufacturing plant that opened. Was there concern for carl just having lost his wife . I think everyone realized this poor guy isnt going to do it on his own. So people helped out. Its that kind of place. There is even some hollywood lure. Seneca is said to be the model for bedford falls. Remember where a troubled george bailee discovered after all, he really did have a wonderful life . Please, please. Here in Seneca County, carl carlson was hoping for his own wonderful life. He was surrounded by a big, extended family in a place where the carlson name really meant something and it all seemed to come together for him when he met cindy best in a Line Dancing Party in 1992. He told me he lost his wife in a fire, and he was a single dad raising three kids on his own. Cindy got herself an instant family when she married carl in august of 1993. They bought a farm soon after that, and between the farm and the glass job, carl was busy. Cindy was desperate to have a child of her own, so she and carl went through in vitro fertilization. You were going to have the baby you always wanted . Yeah, happiest time of my life. And the big kids were happy, too, when baby alex was born. As the years went by, alex and his big brother levi developed a special bond. He was always there for me. Always loved to hang out together. Levi, aaron and katys family stayed in california stayed in touch. Their aunt collette got to know the girls and got a kick out of levi. Levi had this corky personality. He was a prankster but had my sisters sweet spirit. But levis life wasnt easy. He had problems in school and him and carl began to butt heads. I think levi bucked the system a bit. He was a typical teenage boy who knew all the answers, but seemed more levis struggle than his world. Carl held him down, hasnt tried to pick him up. In 2002 when levi was 17, he left home but uncle mike watched it happen with a ting of sadness. He dropped out of school, which didnt help things at all. He jumped and didnt look where he was jumping to so he didnt have a job and floated house to house with different family members. Levi met a girl name cassie when disaster struck in november of 2002. Carpal was just coming to bed. He sat upright and kind of looked out the window and said, oh my god, call 911. The barn is on fire. Cindy did call 911 and her brotherinlaw. What did carl say to you when you arrived . He mentioned theorse were still in there. The carlsons had been breeding belgian horses. Their loss and the loss of their old barn were devastating to the family. Levee exploded. He said some terrible things, and he and carl came to blows. Levi got in his truck and carl chased after him. Let him go. Leave him alone. Let him go. But levi was never able to stay away for long. He and cassie included carl and the rest of the family in the wedding in 2003. The young couple soon had two daughters, but it may have been too much too fast, the marriage didnt last. It was just a bad divorce. Neither one of them was nice to each other. But like many kids, levi started to grow up. He got his ged, started working and tried hard to be a good dad and perhaps in being a father, his anger with his own father began to soften. I think he rounded the corner a bit, could see some sort of a path in the direction for his life. Levi had his own place now but would drop by to see the family and help carl with work. On november 20th, 2008 levi came over to work on a truck in cindy and carls new barn. Cindy remembers she and carl had just come home from a funeral. They had been gone for about four hours. Carl told me that he was going to go out and let levi know we were home and check on him. Cindy went into the house. Suddenly carl came rushing out of the barn. He came banging on the window and the door and told me to call 911. What is going on . The truck fell on my stepson. Coming up. The truck was jacked in a very dangerous scenario. Yet, another deadly accident . How could that be . These spots kept coming up just like intuition that something just was not right. A private investigator was about to enter the picture when datelin shes already pafaked her death to elude me and now shes back. Okay. Are you with your son right now . Hes not alive. Is he breathing . No. He is not breathing . No. Okay. Another catastrophe had struck the carlsons. Levee was trapped under a truck in the barn. His chest is crossed. Hes probably been under there for hours. Carls brother mike rushed over. They were just bringing levi out on the stretcher and putting him in the ambulance when i got there. Levi was taken to the hospital but the family knew it was hopeless. 17 years after his mothers terrible death, levi carlson had died at the age of 23. Cindy says carl came unhinged. He was actually like throwing himself up against the wall and on the ground. So many tears and so many questions, how could levi have been so careless . We went into the barn. The truck was jacked in a very dangerous scenario. No blocks under it. Flimsy little jack holding it up. Were you thinking levi knows better than this . He knows his way around . Absolutely. Once again, carl carlson had to pull himself out of the of the depths of the tragedy. It would take awhile but this time, he seemed to be a changed man. Carl got fired up by a new plan to start a gourmet duck farm and begin raising thousands of ducks to sell to new york restaurants. He and cindy even found themselves starring in an episode of a food network series. I love my ducks. They are pampered. They are bathed. With this food network show, carls moment has come. I think he had these visions, he would be this famous person, rich and famous. Cindy watched her husbands ego swell with all the attention, and she worried, it had been less than three years since levi died yet, carl seemed to be having the time of his life. Was that normal . Just like an intuition that something was not right. She kept thinking about the day levi died. Turns out, mike was uneasy about it, too. What did carl say after the death . Not a lot. I went to the hospital, and i was in the room with levi, and carl came in the room, and i dont know what i wanted him to say, but he says how do i explain this . What did he mean by that . I have no idea. Mike didnt share his misgivings about carl with cindy, but she had plenty of her own. She thought about them for awhile until one day she had to admit to herself. Oh, my god, i think he did it, but then i would also talk myself out of it. I would tell myself youre crazy. We werent even home at the time. Officials called it an accident, and yet. I got these thoughts coming up, kept thinking more into a depression and eventually ended up using alcohol as a way to cope. Cindy confided in a couple friends. They dismissed her fear but someone did suggest she call a private investigator. Thats how she met steve brown. She walked in the door, and she looked very frail, physically, emotionally, just sickly weak. Cindy told the private investigator about her crazy fear that her husband had killed his own son. Cindy proceeded to tell me what happened that day in 2008. And she remembered something, before she and carl left for the funeral, he went to the barn to see levi and for a few minutes was alone with his son. Carl wanted to check on levi before they left, and carl had came back to the vehicle and they drove off to the funeral, and, you know, carl seemed fine the entire time, normal behavior. But when they came home from the funeral, cindy noticed something else. We got out of the car, and the first thing that i heard was the radio in the barn, and it was very loud, and it was set on country music, and anybody that knew levi, he wouldnt be caught dead listening to country music. Whoever turned the music on, it wasnt levi. Could it be carl . The private investigator was concerned. I was quiet the rest of the night, just dissecting how could that be . How could somebody do Something Like that . Cindy had thought no one would believe her, but now private investigator steve brown did. He set out to examine phone records and insurance policies, but he also wanted to meet carl carlson, so he and cindy came up with a plan. But it would require her to take a big risk. Coming up. I had actually watched an episode of dateline, and i like had this revelation. Could dateline somehow help in this case . Exactly what was she planning . [ male announcer ] its surprising what your mouth goes through in a day. But whats even more surprising is that brushing alone isnt enough to keep it clean. Fortunately, youve got listerine®. Unlike brushing which misses 75 of your mouth, listerine® cleans virtually your entire mouth. So what are you waiting for . Its time to take your mouth to a whole new level of health. Listerine®. Power to your mouth™. And take the listerine® 21 day challenge. Feel the difference, or your money back. Feel the difference, or your money back. See whats new atrence, oprojectluna. Comck. Hit the beach in florida. And a reunion in seattle. We can afford to take more trips this year. [man] when hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them. [woman] so we got our 4star hotels. For half price. Hotwire hotwire. Com save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. Ould yep, Everybody Knows that. Well, did you know the ancient pyramids were actually a mistake . Uhoh. Geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. Crest 3d White Whitestrips vs. A whitening pen. I feel like my lips are going to, like, wash it off. These fit nicely. [ female announcer ] crest 3d White Whitestrips keep the whitening ingredient in place, guaranteeing professional level results. Crest whitestrips. The way to whiten. Its not for colds, its not for pain, its just for sleep. Because sleep is a beautiful thing™. Zzzquil. The nonhabit forming sleep aid from the makers of nyquil®. Questions are mounting, suspicions growing for Cindy Carlson. Two fatal accidents in the same family. Could they be something more than a deadly coincidence . Could her husband be hiding something . Now, shes got a plan to get answers and just maybe justice. Here again is andrea canning. In november 2011 private investigator steve brown decided it was time to meet carl carlson so he and cindy came up with a plan. I said what if i kind of go undercover and befriend carl, if you will, as a marketer, a promoter for your duck business . It was a giant step for cindy and risky. What if carl found out who steve really was . No clue this was a private investigator . Correct, right. And when he came to the house, i had to pretend like i was just meeting him for the first time. I just said, you know, where are you now . Where do you want to be in a couple years . And carl started telling his vision, his dream for the duck business, if you will. After that, steve said he and carl would drive around the area talking business mostly, but one moment stood out when carl was talking about killing farm animals. He said i like the Old Fashioned way and came up behind me and lifted my neck up and went like this with his hand. He said messy, very physical, and i said carl, were talking about ducks and chickens, arent we . Steve didnt want to contact the police until he had more evidence, but in february of 2012, the decision was taken out of his hands when cindy confided in her cousin. I told her my suspicions, but i asked her not to say anything. Despite that, the cousin promptly phoned the sheriffs office. Detective john clear who took the call waisted in time in phoning Cindy Carlson. How did that go . Fist thing she said was thank god you called. Thank god you called. I was so relieved. Detective clear met with Cindy Carlson and steve brown and paid particular attention when they told him that levi never had much money, had taken out an enormous Life Insurance policy. The most useful piece of information was about a 700,000 plus insurance policy that was paid out on levi carlson. Detective clear learned that on november 3rd, 2008, carl helped levi sign up for the policy, beneficiary, barrel himself. He actually takes him to see an insurance agent, and takes out approximately a 400,000 Life Insurance policy with a 300,000 accident rider. 17 days later, the fatal accident happens. The money was supposed to go to levis two daughters, but detective clear learned the girls never got a dime. There was money spent on a lot. Home improvement. Carl spent a lot of money on the duck business. There was huge pay outs on that. As he dug deeper, detective clear found out carl carlson cashed in on many insurance policy. His Dodge Charger caught fire and he collected 10,000. The fire that killed the horses and took down the barn paid out nearly 115,000. Clear also learned that carlson had taken out policies on levis two little girls, carl had no idea he was being investigated but cindy still wanted to get away from him, so she moved out of the house. After she did, carl sent a text and he said he found she was snooping around. It was a threatening text. I dont remember exactly what it said, but it was enough to make me feel like i just couldnt do it anymore. She immediately called her son alex, then 16 and told him they had to leave town. She came and got me, and i came out to the car, and i saw that she had packed all of our suitcases and our dogs were in the car, and she had told me that there was an investigation going on because they thought my dad killed my brother. They started living in hotels. Cindy dodged carls calls and so did alex, but after a few months of that, cindy decided to do something a little more proactive, and she had an inspiration. I had actually watched an episode of dateline where this woman was recording her mother, and i like had this revelation and i said, you know, im going to Start Recording conversations with carl. I thought if i could just get him to confess about the barn fire, that that would show his character. Cindy knew carl wanted to see her, maybe get back together. So she went to meet him at a local restaurant with a small voice recorder tucked under her bra. I just started telling him that i was considering getting back together with him, that i couldnt even consider it unless he started telling me the truth of things that he did, and he said to me, it sounds like you want me to say that i had something to do with levis death. Well, at that moment, i knew that we skipped right over the barn fire. I might be able to get him to confess about levi. I had asked him, so did you push the truck or was it hard to push . And he said no, it wasnt. Was that a confession . Cindy felt like it was. She rushed the recording over to the police, but it wasnt audible and therefore useless. Still, detective clear believed her enough to ask her to do it again. At that request, she agreed to be wired up to do a second interview under controlled circumstances. She was working with police to take down her own husband. She got away with it once. Would carl catch on the next time around . Coming up. Part of me feels like im walking into a booby trap. Part of you would feel that way. I had to convince him it wasnt a trap. Could she . One intense interrogation leads to another. Go ahead and have a seat. When dateline continues. Could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. S Everybody Knows that. Well, did you know that when a tree falls in the forest and no ones around, it does make a sound . Ohhh. Ugh. Geic little help here. I needthats my geico Digital Insurance id card gots all my pertinents on it and such. Works for me. Turn to the camera. Ah, actually i think my eyes might ha. Next Digital Insurance id cards. Just a tap away on the geico app. From crest 3d white, new brilliance toothpaste and boost. After brushing, our exclusive boost polishes your smile and whitens with 3x the stain lifting ingredient for a smile that dazzles. New crest 3d white brilliance. For a smile that dazzles. [ male announcer ] cant take a sick day tomorrow. [ coughs ] [ male announcer ] so he cant let a cold keep him up tonight. Vicks nyquil. Powerful nighttime 6 symptom cold and flu relief. I cthis year aloneore places offi hit new york. Ist. And texas see, hotwire checks the competitions rates every day. So they can guarantee their low hotel prices. Hotwire hotwire. Com those spots are actually leftover food and detergent residue that can redeposit on your dishware during the rinse cycle. Gross. Jetdry rinse agent helps wash them away so the only thing left behind is the shine. Jetdry rinses away residues for a sparkling shine. Which is why hes investing in his heart health by eating kelloggs raisin bran®. Not only is kelloggs raisin bran® heart healthy its a delicious source of potassium. Mom make you eat that . I happen to like raisins. [ male announcer ] invest in your heart health. Now thats what im talkin about. With kelloggs raisin bran®. [ female announcer ] now with kelloggs family rewards you can get even more from the products you love. Join today at kfr. Com. Cindy carlson was willing to play the sympathetic wife with the man she had come to fear and hate. Thats how badly she wanted her husband out of her life and locked away. So when she was asked to wear a wire and meet for lunch again, she jumped at the chance. I was actually calm, because i knew that carl believed my story of wanting to get back together. Abigails restaurant near seneca falls would be the meeting place. It was mid november, 2012. You had undercover officers in the restaurant. Four in there. Were they diners, waiters . Diners. There was very little evidence against carl carlson so the detectives desperately needed cindy to get him to repeat what she claimed was his confession to levis murder but obviously, carl was suspicious. Part of me feels like im walking into a booby trap. Yeah, i can imagine you would feel that way. I had to convince him that, you know, it wasnt a trap. I offered for him to check my purse. And then she got him back on the subject of that day in 2008. I asked you if you pushed the truck and you said yes. I didnt push the truck i said. No, i said i had nothing to do with it, but i said i took control of the situation once it happened. Carl, you told me that you didnt set it up that way, but when you were in there, you saw the opportunity. After it happened, then i panicked and saw the opportunity. Detective clear was struck by that exchange. How could a father call his sons death an opportunity . At that moment, i felt i understood him to a degree. This is someone who doesnt think like we do. That said, this exchange with cindy was no confession and the evidence so far was circumstantial. The insurance, the radio, carls visit to the barn. Still, dedetectives believed they had enough to bring him in for questioning. Go ahead and have a seat, carl. It was the moment of truth. If carlson refused to speak or called in a lawyer, i case could evaporate but carlson count resist talking about himself. I mean, i work multiple p jobs and stuff like that and i mean, i did. I worked my butt off. We were talking about his favorite subject, him. Carl said he found levi dead after returning home, just like he told the police in 2008. Went out there, and found him. And that, you know, then we went to the hospital what do you mean you found him . I found him dead. The truck was on him. Carlson insisted levis death was an accident. It couldnt have been anything else. You dont kill your son. You dont kill anybody for money. Detective clear decided to change tactics. There is not a conscious of play to. There is not empathy to play to . Does he have . An ego and its a big one, so thats the stragty that we shifted to. I gave him a lot of sympathy and attention. It seemed to work. As the hours ticked by, carlsons story began to change and then he dropped a bombshell. Version two came out where he admitted that he that levi was already dead before they left to go to the funeral. I made the decision to walk out on my son and not get him up from underneath the truck. Why . At that point, there is no doubt in my mind what happened here. Detectives continued to push and as the interrogation stretched into its eight hour, carlson finally broke. He admitted he didnt just find levi under the truck, he saw the truck fall and he made have even caused it to fall. It was a trap door because i had to get inside for the [ bleep ] truck. And when i did, it tipped and it just [ bleep ] all over. And then clear pushed a little more and thats when carl admitted he left his son to die. The real truth is you did kill him . Whether whatever your intent was, the action you took caused the truck to fall on him yes, youre right. And the inaction of leaving him there right, sure, whatever. Yeah. So he wasnt painting himself as a cold calculate killer. No, he seemed to think it was a better picture to say i accidently caused this thing to fall and walked away and left him to die on the floor. Come with me. Youre under arrest. I think you knew that was coming. Carl carlson was charged with seconddegree murder. Not long after that, he got a lawyer and when they came to court, carl used a walker claiming old injuries were getting the best of him. His attorney said police cohorsed carl and the judge denied the defense notion to suppress and the trial was set for november 6th, 2013. All these years, mike carlson had misgivings about carls behavior but after watching the interrogation video, his worst fear was cemented, his own brother was a killer and now, he had a new fear. As the trial approached, did you think that the evidence was overwhelming and that it was pretty clear carl was going to go away . I was probably more scared as the trial approached that it wasnt a slam dunk. Coming up, a surprise inside and outside the courtroom. Weve been waiting just about 24 years now for some closure. Now, a haunting new question. Had carl carlson killed before . Telling me about the fire with your first wife. In the winter of 2012 as the Seneca County District Attorney was preparing to prosecute carl carlson for the murder of his son levi, new york investigators had become deeply interested in the long ago california fire that killed levis mother christina. They were suspicious about carlsons behavior that day. Christinas family was more than suspicious, they were certain carl killed christina and now, new york state investigator jeff arnold thought so, too. Why did you take such an interest in christinas death when youre here in new york state, that case is in california . It became personal. Shes just a great human being who had everything to look forward to in life. Investigator arnold was asked to help out early in the carlson investigation, and he took a particular interest in christina and the fire that killed her. Just imagine yourself, youre in this bathroom taking a bath and you smell smoke, and its coming through your door, and there is this inferno outside the door, and you turn to the only window in the bathroom and its covered with a sheet of fly wood. Investigator arnold says that pretty much everything carl carlson has ever said about the fire is a lie. Beginning with the kerosene that fueled it. He says that the kerosene got spilled in the house on sunday. That was a few days before the fire. But a california arson investigator found carpet stains that showed a second kerosene spill happened moments before the fire started. Investigator arnold said that could only mean one thing. Carl poured the kerosene all over the cloths and floor and ignited it. Within seconds after pouring it. Back in 1991 carlson told Law Enforcement it could have been a drier, a heater or a utility light that touched off the blaze. None of these happened. Arnold learned the arson investigator could find no accidental ignition source. The conclusion, the fire was deliberately set and the coroners report said christina died of smoke inhalation as opposed to burns, didnt carlson have time to save his wife. Shes standing on the porch within a foot or two within this play wood covered window where christina is in dire need of his help. He doesnt even reach for one tool. Arnold knew that christinas family had always wondered about that window and about some other things that happened after she died. Collette told Police Something christinas little daughter erin said after the fire. She said i heard mommy calling for daddy but daddy just drove away, so within an hour, im hearing my niece tell me, mom was alive when he drove away. Just four days after the fire, carl carlson abruptly left california with his three kids. Erin, katy and levi. Sources in california told us that once carlson was back in new york, investigators begged their bosses to let them follow him there for questioning, but they say they were told no, the county couldnt afford it. Investigators wanted to go to new york. They wouldnt let them spend the money. Just weeks after they left, collette learned that carl had taken out a 200,000 insurance policy on christinas life and the policy paid off. Collette came to believe that investigator arnold agrees that carlson killed christina for the same reason he killed levi, money. Hey. Two decades after christinas death, as carl carlson dualed with detectives in that Seneca County interrogation room, he suddenly had to face questions about that longago fire from a wellprepared jeff arnold. Telling me about the fire with your first wife that concerned them. Arnold was looking for inconsistencies, lies, he asked carlson about the window. So what is it, you brought it up months, months before. Months before. Months before. We have a witness that shows up at the house on the 31st of december, one day prior to the fire and that window was not boarded up. Carlson also told arnold he suffered awful injuries as he rescued his children, and that the fire was so intense, he couldnt save christina. What happened is when i broke the window, i got hit with a fire ball. It took me right in the face. Blew me off the front porch and burnt my eyelids together. Burnt the skin off my face. Burned my mustache, any whiskers i had, hair. Were you taken to the hospital . Oh, yeah. What happened in the e. R. . I dont even know. Arnold had evidence that carlson escaped the fire with only a small burn so now, after he listened to carl talk about the fire, the window, and the rescue of his children, he fired back. Your wife is in a boarded up little room and you hear her calling your room no, it wasnt calling. It was screaming. Screaming your name and yet, you arent able to get off the porch, open your eyes, your son is ininjured. You can grab your ininjured son without a mark on him, take him out of the house, runaround, save your two daughters and let your wife and and let your wife parish in this fire with no attempt to rip the board off the house and get in the booth room. By that time the fire was all the way around. What was i going to do . Carl insisted the first wife was a tragic accident. Thats the same thing he was saying about levis death but on november 6th, 2013 the very day his trial in levis case was supposed to begin, he surprised nearly everyone and took a plea. Carl carlson pled guilty to murder in the Second Degree in Seneca County court. Taken responsibility for the death of his son levi. Called deprave indifference murder. Seneca county d. A. Said carlson would be given the minimum sentence, 15 years to life. At the same news conference, levis sisters, erin and katy thanked the Investigation Team but then erin turned to the tragedy that shattered her childhood and changed her family forever. Weve been waiting just about 24 years now for some closure for things that transpired in california, you know, things that i will never be able to forget. Things that my family will never be able to overcome. Erin and collette believe the county failed her sister and family. She wants carlson prosecuted for the murder of her sister, and shes keeping the pressure on in part with this Facebook Page devoted to christina and levi. I think the county needs to right the wrong. And someone may be listening. The county d. A. Barbara yuk wouldnt speak on camera but told us her office is investigating christinas death with a homicide. She said she could not comment on the evidence, but they are committed to pursuing justice for christina, if at all possible. The new york state investigators say they hope thats true and are ready to help. You dont get a free pass because you commit a second murder, and you dont get a free pass because 20 years passed. Its time that carl carlson is held accountable for what he did to Christina Carlson in 1991. How do you want people to remember her . If you go on facebook and read comments about her, they talk about how she had this incredible laugh. Thats how people remember chris. Thats the person that we will never forget, what a wonderful sweet person chris was. Lester holt. Thanks for joining us. From nbc news in washington, the worlds longest running television program, this is meet the press with david gregory. And good sunday morning. One week later, the good will from the Olympic Games has been replaced by an International Crisis as russia flexes its military might. How should president obama respond to a crucial test of his leadership after russia sent troops into the cry meania peninsula, which is part of the ukraine . Secretary of state john kerry calls it an invasion and ukraine has mobilized its army now. It is our top issue this morning. President obama spoking with president putin of russia on saturday after warning there will be costs should russia intervene. Im joined this morning by the secretary of state john kerry, and exclusively by republican senator marco rubio of fl