Discover the answer, and they were about to get some help from their mother herself. There was evidence she left for you to find. Yes. A possible clue, hidden in an envelope marked baby pictures. But tucked inside a journal that painted a different picture entirely. I pulled out that envelope, and that was like, wow. Could their mom help them solve her own mystery . We are her voice. We made a promise. We made a promise to our mom. Im lester holt, and this is dateline. Tonight, Keith Morrison with the promise. Here they were again. Two sisters on a holiday in paradise, or so the other vacationers must have assumed here in americas mid pacific garden in the lush resort near honolulu, but they would be wrong. This juny has more to do with a personal hell than any hair dice. That and a long ago promise to their mother. Could you have believed that you would be sitting here in this hotel room talking about this subject in the year 2014 . No. Its pretty crazy. I, i could have never seen this coming. Perhaps it is pretty crazy. But there is apparently no stopping them. These tenacious sisters, tammy and tiffany. Theres no halfway when it comes to a promise. Its either all or nothing. Bizarre story . Oh, yes, it is. At the center of it is a woman dead. Her name was sherlean van gundy. A beautiful girl. A beauty queen. She loved to dance and wear high heels. She was unpredictable and exciting, long before she became the effervescence mother of tammy and tiffany. Our mother was an incredibly beautiful soul. She taught both my sister and i that there was nothing that we couldnt do. Hi. I love you. My earliest memories of her are her singing to me. She loved to sing. She played with me. She was, she was a big kid. What was that like for you . Oh, like i was the only child in the world, like i was her full focus and attention. My mother was a free spirit in many ways and didnt have a lot of rules. I didnt have to do things like normal kids had to do, like brush my teeth all the time. Mmhm. But i liked it that way. So it was often tammy, and not her mother, who took on the responsible role for little sister tiffany, which was or the side of sherleans manic exuberance. She was unstable and had a hard time taking care of herself much less anyone else. Unstable. How . She would have the highs of highs and the lows of lows. Moods. Very dark ones sometimes said the girls. She didnt really want to admit that there was an issue. It was a hot button. And it wasnt something that you wanted to bring up unless you were ready for the fight. When sherlean left the girls father, tammy refused to go with her. I said im not going. I cant leave. I cant leave my dad. What did that feel like . Like my heart was being ripped in two. The girls lived apart for years after that, until their father won custody of tiffany too. And then the girls watched and loved and worried about their mother, mostly from afar. And then late 80s, sherlean finally found real happiness when she met and married a man named ken. She said i never had been with a man who got me. Her life had never been so thoroughly and utterly embraced by somebody who loved her just the way she was. And just because sherlean dreamed of living in hawaii, ken moved her here. He was a very likeable guy. Very much a gentleman. Always opened the door for you. The sisters grew up, made lives of their own. Tiffany and her boyfriend, now husband moved to arizona. Tammy settled in Northern California with a husband and two small children. And for a whole decade, sherlean seemed so happy with ken. When did it change . It seemed to start to change around 1998. Sherlean told the girls that she and ken were fighting. She called the girls very upset. And when they went to hawaii to see what was wrong she said the strangest thing. Asked them to promise her something. She said promise me, anything happens to me, youll investigate. And we said mom, what do you mean if anything happens to you . Just promise me, she said. Sherlean left ken soon after that and moved to the mainland. But seven months later . She said back in hawaii, and im back with ken. Everythings fine. I dont want you to worry. But worry they did. She would call me, and we would talk about things. And then she would call me again an hour later, and she wouldnt remember anything we talked about. It got so that tammy sometimes didnt pick up when her mother called. Of course she had no idea what was about to happen. Least of all on an april night in 2000. My mom started calling my house. And i was letting it go to the voice mail. And all the messages were pretty much the same. That she loved me. She found god. Everything was fine. Tammy waited until morning to call back. It was april 5. Ken answered the phone. And he said i dont know whats prong with your mother. Here, you talk to her. I said hi, mom, its tammy. I said, are you okay . And she said, i love you. Her words were very drawn out and slurred, like id never heard before. What was that like, that conversation for you, at your end . Oh, i was in a panic. In a panic, tammy called tiffany to tell her. And still plan particular, tammy then called the Honolulu Police department. It was 6 00 there. She got an ambulance dispatched to the condo. High sister is the hero. Shes saving my mothers life right now. And its the ambulance, like theyre going, theyre the professionals. Theyre going to theyll fix it. Theyll fix it. The paramedics didnt notice much to fix. Their report states patient was conscious but under Emotional Distress pt she appeared calm but didnt acknowledge our appearance. Her spouse indicated she may have taken some aleve and beer. We were also informed by spouse that patient said she was dying. Very unusual indeed. But the emts did not take sherlean to the hospital, left her at home with ken instead. How is it possible . How is it possible . Its horrible. It was horrible. Being so helpless. Tiffany was so far away, on the mainland, in a panic, trying to reach her mother, calling repeatedly. Ken finally answered the phone. Here, ill put you on with her. You can talk to her. She said i love you. And it was so hard for her to say it. The mere effort of moving her lips took so much. Eight long hours passed. And then at 2 00 ken called 911. They rushed her to the emergency room, did what they could. Nothing worked. Ken called tammy from the hospital. Tammy broke the news to tiffany. It went from, you know, just being in this place of such utter desperation and helplessness and despair and uncertainty, like and knowing in my heart that she was gone. Though still barely hanging on with life support. And then thats when the rush began, no idea how long that journey would be. How hard that promise to keep. What had happened to their mom . When we come back, the sisters start their own investigation. Most people would just leave it to the Police Department to do the investigating, not you two. No. And they find a possible clue from their mother herself. She said, if anything ever is to happen to me, i want you to ask for your baby pictures. Remember that, okay . Just remember that. Is coming up. Nny have agreed to. Kid for a night. So we can finally get some sleep. The hotel has to be right. You can get a 4star hotel for up to 60 off, even at the last minute. In the neighborhood where we wanna go . Yes. You just wont the name until after you book. Hmm. Ooh. Definitely. Its all about sleep. Its not all about sleep. Yeah, well, for me it is. Lucky me. But lysol power free cann change the way you clean. H. It cleans even better than bleach without the harshness. A powerful clean, thats Family Friendly thats what we call healthing. Lysol power free. 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Thats why we created degree clinical shower clean. Superior odor protection versus secret clinical. Degree, clinical protection improved. Six anxiety filled hours. On the long plane ride to hawaii, all sisters tammy and tiffany knew was that their mom was on life support. They werent sure why or even exactly what happened to her. But during those six hours they had plenty of time to reflect on what shed said to them nine months earlier. Promise youll investigate if anything happens to me. Youll find out what happened. Theyd promised, of course. Even before they got on the plane for hawaii they called the police to report that they already had their suspicions. And those suspicions, even then, were all about shirlenes husband, ken. I heard from tiffany before i even went to st. Francis west. I was assigned the case by my lieutenant. And he said, before you go, call this girl. Tiffany told detective nick cambron about her preflight conversation with the hospital. I asked the emergency Room Attendant ill never forget this i said wheres ken . And he said he went home to feed the dogs. And i said, so shes there by herself . Well, who does that . By the time detective cambron got to the hospital, hed been told what tammy and tiffany suspected. That shirlene had taken or had been given an overdose of pills. They also heard from medical personnel. They thought kens behavior seemed strange, though no one including the ambulance driver could quite say why. He said the husband was acting suspicious. Did he say how . He said just the way he spoke and the way he acted. Suspicious . Yes. When detective cambron heard that ken was home while his wife as in the icu, was he home covering up a crime scene . And when he checked to see if ken had a criminal record, yes, he did. He had been arrested for abuse. It gave cambron pause. Made him consider what hed already heard from tiffany. That her mom said shed never commit suicide and she was afraid that ken was trying to kill her prior to this incident. Now in hawaii at their mothers bed in the icu, tammy and tiffany vowed to find out exactly what happened to their mother. You know, most people would just leave it to a Police Department to do the investigating. Mmhm. Not you two. No. First target, ken and shirlenes condo. Must be evidence there, they decided. So they made up a story for ken. Told them they needed a rest after their long flight. Could they borrow a bed in the condo . And sure enough he gave them the kids while he stayed at shirr leaps bed side at the hospital. While he was there what did you do . We went to the house. To do what . To see what we could find. Just kind of look in cupboards and under beds and in closets . For what . For things that might help us figure out what happened that day. Because shirlene sounded so strange on the phone, and ken mentioned pills. The hospital was treating it as an overdose. But the sisters did not believe that she would do it deliberately. So they went looking for those pill bottles. We had looked through the house and couldnt find them. And so we were out in the back yard, just looking. And sure enough. In the back yard . Underneath a bush. As if theyd been hidden there or what . Yes. In their minds, only one person could have hidden them. Ken. Later as tiffany and tammy were about to drive away from the condo, suddenly tiffany remembered Something Else her mother told me. She says, tiff, i have to tell you something. If anything ever is to happen to me, i want you to ask ken for your baby pictures. Remember that, okay . Just remember that. Sure enough, that appeared to be what ken had just given them. They tore open the envelope. And inside . Most definitely not baby pictures. Coming up. There was evidence she left for you to find. Yes. What could be a revealing clue from their mom and a revealing chat with ken. What did he say in that sisters tiffany and tammy read transfixed the contents of an envelope prepared by their mother for them, and clearly marked baby pictures. But that is not what was in the envelope. Instead, they found notes, written by ken, apparently an assignment for an anger management class. There was actually a journal about all the different ways that he abused her. I have spit at shirlene, i have yelled at shirlene. I have pushed shirlene. There it was in his own hand. Mmhm. Evidence she left for you to find. Yes. Suddenly, the sisters truly believed their mom was sending secret clues that almost screamed open in case of death. Determined to solve the mystery, they found a willing ally in the detective. One plan they came up with, secretly recording a phone call with ken. Tammy made the phone call from the Police Department. The strategy was for tammy to act friendly, supportive. Hello. Ken . Tammy. He told her he was deeply concerned for shirlene. I miss her very much. But ken also said he was suspicious of tammy and her sister. The feeling im getting, i feel like you are going to plan on ganging up on my. And it sounds like youre going to sue my for man slaughter or something or murder. But still, he spoke with tammy at length about the day. He said shirlene told him she took pills and seemed suicidal. She said she wanted to die . She did Say Something like its not working. Its not working. Its not working . Yeah, for her to die. She said its not working. And then after a pause he volunteered something that shocked them all. I just, i dont want to say it, but she did say choke me so i could die. She said that . Yeah. She said please choke me. Oh, ken, didnt you think at that point that you should call the ambulance . No. I thought she was being dissolutional i was really scared. I havent choked her. There are no choking marks around her neck. I even had the doctors check that out. What a strange thing for him to say. He said a lot of strange things. Now the girls believed they had to move very fast while shirlene was on life support. As long as she was alive, they decided they had the right to rummage through a garage in california that shirlene had kept, looking for evidence against ken. Then think flew to the main land. And thats where they were when ken agreed to take her off life support and she died. I remember thinking all in my head again, i was mortified and devastated i wasnt there. At shirlenes funeral, according to the detective, kens eulogy sounded like a wellprepared criminal defense. He started with shirlene initiated sex the night before. That she was happy that they were together. And then he started, he went on to the next day and how he tried to prevent her from dying. Shirlenes daughters were horrified. Now they were fully determined to keep their promise to their mother. They needed to ensure that ken was charged with her murder. Next to look at the case, the prosecutor who found kens remarks about strangulation very disturbing. And heres why. This was viewed as an overdose. Thats how this case went into the hospital. Thats what tiffany and tammy were thinking. Thats what the Police Department was thinking. And yet, as the prosecutor began to dig deeper, he found that ken talked about strangulation more than once. He brought it up with the medical examiners investigator and was basically telling them this is not strangulation case. In fact, said the prosecutor, ken tried to persuade the examiner not to do an autopsy. But of course there was one. The result took months, but sure enough, cause of death, said the medical examiner, brain damage due to ligature strangulation. When an arrest warrant was issued, the detective served it personally. Police arrested kenneth this morning saying he strangled his wife last april. How did he react . He said you know i didnt kill my wife. I didnt kill my wife. In 2002, two years after their mothers death, tammy and tiffany came back to hawaii. This time to the courthouse where ken went on trial for murder. He took the life of another human being. And that human being was our mother. This was a murder by strangulation. It was Domestic Violence at its ultimate. In his opening statement, the prosecutor quoted from kens own statements to accuse him of murder. Can you tell if a person has been strangled during autopsy . These are the words of the defendant to an investigator from the medical examiners office. In court, the medical examiner repeated her opinion that shirlene was strangled. Said she found ligature marks on her neck. And in court, the prosecutor played a tape of that recorded phone call with tammy in which, sure enough, ken brought up the idea himself. I just, i dont want to say it, but she did say, choke me so i could die. I really believe this was kens sub conscious talking out. No one, not a soul was thinking this was a strangulation case. Until he opened his mouth and until he brings this up. That made everybody suspicious. Every witness who testified as to having some contact with ken spoke about his unusual behavior. His focus was not on his wife. It was on other things. But theres always a but. Kens defense attorney accused the police and prosecutors of jumping to the wrong conclusions, rushing to judgment against ken. That ligature mark . Must have been made by the tube that lay on her neck while she was on life support. This wasnt a strangulation, he argued. Wasnt a murder at all, as ken had said all along. Shirlene took an overdose. Shirlene, because of her various mental disorders or defects, committed suicide. The trial lasted two weeks. The jury heard detectives, doctors, and her daughters. Ken chose not to take the stand. How did it seem to be going . It seemed to be going well. As their promise would be kept. But life, as everybody knows, is full of surprises. Coming up. The verdict would be swift. But the real stunner was what came after. Nobody stood up and said i object. Its amazing. It haunts me. I tell you right now it haunts me. Nscleaning with bleach. But lysol power free can change the way you clean. It cleans even better than bleach with its Hydrogen Peroxide formula, and it kills 99. 9 of germs without the harshness. A powerful clean, thats Family Friendly thats what we call healthing. Lysol power free. Start healthing. For healthy floors, try lysol clean fresh. The only cleaner approved to kill germs, even when diluted. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. Yeah. Everybody knows that. Did you know there is an oldest trick in the book . What . Trick number one. Lookest over there. Ha ha. Madeest thou look. So endeth the trick. Hey. Yes. Geico. Fifteen minutes could save you. Well, you know. That little guy cleans, brightens and fights stains. So now i can focus on more pressing matters. Wow isnt it beautiful . Your sweet peppers arent next to your hot peppers. [ gasps ] [ sarah ] thats my tide. Whats yours . [ gasps ] the mustard seed that makes frenchs yellow mustard. 100 natural from me to you. With 40 more free, theres more to love. Frenchs. Naturally amazing. Two tenacious daughters made a promise to their mother and were hoping to keep it. But now it was up to 12 other people, a jury. Were you in the court when the verdict was read . Yes. Tell me about that. What a huge relief to hear those words. We the jury find ken wakisaka guilty of murder in the second degree. It was amazing. Ken was, well, surprised would be an understatement. I didnt expect this at all. But these two . I was a really happy girl. You know, im like, the system worked. You know. It worked. Ken, who still maintained his innocence was sentenced to life in prison. And that would be it, end of story, except coincidence is such a strange and powerful thing, isnt it . Its a curious story the way you encountered this case. Yes, i was visiting another client who had been charged with murder. Defense attorney john edmunds doesnt normally find new cases in prison. But something seemed very credible about this particular client referral. He turned to me and said my cellmate whos out in the rec. Yard right now doesnt belong here. Theres something really odd about his case. Would you look at it. So he had a look at the file, transcripts, hundreds of pages. And late one night he was sitting up in bed, ra eading beside his wife, and suddenly there it was, eureka. The prosecutor makes a direct comment on mr. Wakisakas failure to take the witness stand. This is what edmunds read, who was alone with her . He was alone with her. He was there. He would know. If he doesnt tell us, we can only look to shirlene and see what her body tells us. The fifth amendment the privilege against selfincrimination is a right that can be rendered meaningless if the prosecution gets to comment on it. And nobody stood up and said i object. Its amazing. The trial lawyer said nothing. The judge said nothing. Those five words if he doesnt tell us would be the basis for edmunds appeal. Were supposed to be professional, and were not supposed to make those kinds of mistakes. Did you write your Closing Argument . I write an outline. I commit it to memory. So how did that line come out . The prosecutor said it was a mere slip of the tongue. What i was trying to do with that statement was actually transition from, if he doesnt know, then we need to look at her body. We need to look at the rest of the evidence to tell us the story. None of this seemed like such a big deal to shirlenes daughters. People file appeals all the time. I understand that. But i wasnt paying attention anymore because it was done. Oh, but it wasnt done. In 2003 after the trial and three years after her death, the Hawaii Supreme Court handed down its decision. I got a call from dan, the prosecutor, and he said the verdicts been overturned. Overturned. The guilty verdict the daughters so desperately wanted pulled out from under them, just like that. It wasnt the evidence on the case. It was on fifth amendment. It was prosecutorial miss conduct. It was my fault. So he took responsibility for it. Oh, instantly, instantly. The pain, because he worked so hard. It haunts me, i tell you right now. It haunts me that i did this. I have apologized many times to the girls. The ruling didnt mean ken was innocent, far from it. Even though the verdict was overturned, it was overturned on technicalities and not on any evidentiary issues. And they found a small silver lining. The Supreme Court said ken could be retried. So that left the door open for us to bring it back to trial, and we just needed to try again. And so they took it upon themselves to pick up right where they left off. After all, a promise is a promise. I just remember thinking, okay. So we need to keep pushing. You cant quit, because there is no other option, because you can make a difference. Ken got out on bail but was still under indictment for murder. And they all waited for the new trial. Then once again john edmunds put on his reading glasses. And what i found again stunned me. Coming up. I went over to talk to the emt. A possible new witness. With a very different story to tell. I couldnt believe it. I still dont believe it. When dateline continues. So what im saying is, people like options. When you take geico, you can call them anytime you feel like saving money. It dont matter, day or night. Use your computer, your smartphone, your tablet, whatever. The point is, you have options. Oh, how convenient. Hey. Crab cakes, what are you looking at . Geico. 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Ken wakisaka, convicted of killing his wife shirlene was out on bail. Guilty verdict overturned thanks to an error discovered by kens new defense attorney, john edmunds. But edmunds wasnt finished digging. And pretty soon he found another error, a big one, that occurred even before the trial. There was a witness that the grand jury asked to be called whom the prosecution didnt call. Thing is, iss an ironclad rule. If a grand jury asks to hear from a witness, the prosecution must comply. Didnt in this case. It wasnt a minor witness in this case, either, said edmunds, but someone in a position to know a great deal about shirlene. The wakisakas had a room they rented out to a guy. And he had been there and heard a lot of what had gone on that day. Though the grand jury didnt hear from him, detective cambron did. We have an excerpt of the witness interview. She was asking ken to come here, you know, be by my side. She did say she wanted to die in peace. Testimony that seemed very much in kens favor. Testimony the grand jury that indicted him never heard. Defense attorney edmunds again went to court, and again, he won. Tell me from a practical point of view. What did those victories mean for ken . Well, from a practical point of view, that meant that indictment got dismissed. Dismissed as if hed never been charged in the first place. Ken was no longer free on bail. He was simply free. Now were back to a point as though the case never was brought in the first place. And, and thats frustrating. How do you get your head around it . How do you process all of it . How do you move forward every day . And how would they make the case against ken and persuade the state to start from scratch . Kens story had never changed. That shirlene had killed herself accidently or on purpose with an overdose of pills. Of course the state still had evidence like that pill bottle the girls had found in the back yard, as if ken had fed the pills to shirlene and hid the bottle. But edmunds said he didnt try to hide anything. In fact he took paramedics to a medicine cabinet himself. They counted down pills to see how many shed taken, which is what she said shed done. There was a potential defense witness who knew shirlene well, didnt like her at all, in fact. And she has her own strange theory about what happened to shirlene. You get to know the people who are living in your building. You have to. She managed the condominium kplix where shirlene and ken lived. She considered shirlene the dominant, even abusive force in the marriage. She used to tell me that ken was the complete opposite of her. That he was very quiet, and he would never argue with her or get into a fight with her. Hed leave the building. Hed just go for a walk. How did she feel about that . She didnt like it. Marjorie was on the scene april 5, 2000 after tammy called 911, urging emts to check on her mother. I went over to talk to the emt, and he said, well, shes awake and coherent enough to tell us that shes not coming with us. And i said oh, okay. Remember, in the official emt report, it was ken who said shirlene didnt need to go to the hospital. But marjorie insisted an emt told her it was shirlene who refused to go. So your memorys pretty clear . Im positive. When you heard that ken was accused of strangling her i was absolutely shocked. I couldnt believe it. I still dont believe it. But what does she believe about how shirlene died . Well, just her speculation of course. Its based on an incident that began, she said, when shirlene was making a fuss in the condo office. And she was being very pushy, and i went to shut the door just to get her to go home because i wasnt even open yet. And the door hit her arm. And she spilled her cup of coffee. Next thing marjorie knew, a Police Officer was threatening to arrest her. And i said, for what . And he said for abuse. I said, excuse me . And i looked at shirlene, and from her thigh, mid thigh all the way down to her feet was burned. Youre kidding. Severely burned. More burned than you get laying out in the sun all day. Was it from that coffee . Thats what she said it was. But the Police Officer told me one cup of coffee wont burn both of those legs like that. Both legs were like that . Yeah. She burned her own legs. In that case, marjorie believed that shirlene was willing to hurt herself just to frame marjorie. So when shirlene died . What i thought honestly, was that it was another ploy. And she had tried to make it look as if he was trying to kill her, and she went too far and actually killed herself. I think thats marjories perspective. Do i think that shes correct in her opinion . No. Absolutely not. To shirlenes daughters, there was still no doubt about what really happened and what to do about it. I think your mother had a word, didnt she, that she liked . What was that word . Tenacity. I just had to keep going. And heres thing about keeping going. By doing something in the process, i was honoring her. Tiffany fill add suitcase with documents that some prosecutor might find useful. Hauled it back and forth to prosecution meetings, pushing for action for years. I kept going to hawaii for sure. Im like, pardon, hi, its me again. My mom, whats going on with my moms case . By this time, dan no longer worked at the Honolulu County Prosecutors Office, and the prosecutor who took over the case seemed reluctant to go forward. But that wasnt going to stop shirlenes daughters, not for one minute. We had a guilty verdict. We need to move forward. We need to recharge. We need to reindict. We need to go back to trial. But it turned out, a big surprise was coming. This time from the prosecution. Coming up, a whole new theory of the case. A change for prosecutors, a challenge for that promise. How long are you prepared to keep going with this . As long as it takes. We made its never been easier to find a dentist. Watch. Dentist. [ popping ] now you have to figure out which one takes your insurance. [ sighs ] okay. Now, a dentist you trust and feel comfortable going to. Hrmm. I know. At 1800dentist, weve helped over 8 Million People find that right dentist, and we can do the same for you. [ chuckles ] so dont put it off. Call 1800dentist today. April 2014. Tiffany and tammy return to hawaii where they marked a painful anniversary. 14 years since their mother shirlene died. Its heartbreaking. Why do you say heartbreaking . Weve spent all these years trying to get justice. We made the promise to my mother that we would investigate. Therefore it has to be. Therefore you cant quit. The daughters thought theyd made good on their promise to find justice for their mother if anything happened to her when shirlenes husband was convicted in 2002 of murder by strangulation. But that verdict was overthrown in 2003 and then the indictment was thrown out two years later. You thought in a few years you would be back in court . Not in a few months. I thought in a few years. And its been almost a decade. Kept has moved on, though he is still in the same condo. He is happily married, is employed. Works for a Construction Company as a Quality Control manager. But tammy and tiffany said they cant move on and they acknowledge its been hard on their husbands and children. I feel really badly for my family. Its not their mother and didnt make the promise i d because every time im not there, someone else has to cover all the things i normally do. Tiffany especially makes the trip to hawaii repeatedly. And kids and husband know theyre on their own when she rolls out the suitcase filled with case papers. Thats the signal. Theres not room in those moments for much of anything else. Still, they push on. We will get a conviction. And i will do everything i can to make that happen. The case has dogged the detective, too. Hes retired now. But he counts the years and wonders. Do you perceive enthusiasm in the Prosecutors Office to go after this case . Not at all. But they would do so reluctantly. But why . They got a conviction once. Why not go again . Provide the evidence was not suppressed and still available, there is more than ample evidence to prove his guilt. Anticipating a new trial, defense attorney edmunds hired renowned forensic pathologist michael bauden. I asked him was it strangulation or not . He said absolutely not. The prosecutors hired their open expert. They said they had one or two Forensic Pathologists who agreed with dr. Bauden. They agreed that shirlene wasnt strangled. These are prosecution experts. Did that surprise you . It did. I dont think they provided all the information that the expert needed in order to make that determination. The prosecution announced in court in 2010 it was abandoning the strangulation theory. The very theory that got ken convicted in the first place. What did you think when they just dropped that theory . I was shocked. Honestly, i was shocked. The current prosecutor declined to talk with us or share any information about the case. But in an email to the daughters from january 2014 he said his boss, the chief prosecuting attorney here, referred to here by his initials, kmk, gave the green light to go forward. Go forward with what . A whole new theory, called murder by omission. Whats your understanding of what murder by omission is . My understanding is that its a duty of a spouse or a parent to get medical help tor someone who cant get help for themselves. And if they die because of that then youve effectively committed murder. The email the prosecutor told the girls he just needed one or more experts to give the opinion that wakisakas failure to perform his duty to provide timely medical care for shirlene caused her death. Despite abandoning the strangulation theory four years ago, the prosecutor in his email now said he might actually bring it back. Along with murder by omission for a possible new trial. Do you really think they will . Have they . Have they . No. They have not. Theyve done nothing. So . What stage are you at . Believe it when you see. Absolutely. Prove me wrong. Show me that youre going to do something. Quit leading us on to believe that youre going to move forward with a case that weve been hanging onto for ten years. Defense person to edmunds said he would knock down the prosecutions new omission theory by pointing out that ken did try to get help for shirlene by calling 911. So far there has been no move to charge ken. And its not clear when or if there will be. I dont think you can fault these two women for how they feel about the loss of their mother. They have been tenacious. Tenacious. Youd agree with that. Yes. Doesnt mean theyre right. For 14 year, the last nine as a free man, ken, who has maintained his innocence throughout, has been the target of shirlenes daughters quest. Its taken its toll. Hes very troubled by it. Is he living under a cloud now . He feels he is. Hell never really be at peace. Now more people recognize him on the street. Thats embarrassing. I miss her so much, tammy. I do too. Call it a promise, a quest, an obsession. 14 years after shirlenes death, her daughters journey isnt over. How long are you prepared to keep going with this . As long as it takes. I mean, you could be sitting here an old lady and years and years from now and nothing will have happened. We made a promise. We made a promise to our mom. It is with such purpose and such passion and such love that i do this. It is an honor of my mother. And i dont care if its obsession or crazy. Im doing this because i love her. And she deserves it. Thats all for now. Im lester holt. Thanks for joining us. Next on meet the press, iraq on the brink of collapse. Will baghdad fall and how will the u. S. Prevent a terror state from emerging . With the politic of iraq raging again, we will hear exclusively from 2012 president ial nominee, mitt romney, and other key voices from the house and senate. Plus, political earthquake, romney will also weigh in on the biggest political upset of the year, which saw the tea party claim its biggest prize yet, house leader, eric cantor. And a very special moment this fathers day. Luke russert is here to remember his father on the tenth anniversary of his book big russ and me, why this holiday was tim russerts favorite