Transcripts For KNTV Dateline NBC 20150215

Doors. Theres nothing more important to me than you and this relationship. Reporter was it love . That was his valentines day present to aina. Or hate . One shot to the head. Reporter what was the motive for a valentines day murder . We had a note that she had written. She was speaking from the grave in a way. That note was powerful. Reporter it happened on the least likely day imaginable a day devoted to love and affection valentines day. And it happened to the last people on earth you would expect a religious family, dedicated to god and making the world a better place. We got a breakin. Is it going on right now . I dont know. The garage door is open. Theres glass from the back door where somebody broke in. My world had just been shattered. Reporter their Perfect World broken by an act so evil, it tore a family apart. The worst day of my life. Reporter and put an entire town on edge. Be extra cautious, lock your doors, lock your windows. Pay attention to strangers in your area. Reporter they devoted their lives to others. Who would ever want to hurt them . This is just absolutely a despicable act. Reporter for a day that ended so tragically, it began in a happy way with flowers and expressions of love. Nathan and Denise Leuthold had met 30 years earlier, back in the 80s when they were both students at a small Baptist School in Central Illinois. Even at that young age, nathan knew there was something to this sparkling little girl. I was in third grade and she was in fourth gade at the time. And i doubt she even knew i existed, but even then i thought she was the cutest girl in the school. What was it that you liked about her so much . It was the curly hair and the bouncy curls and just the happygolucky smile. In junior high i began to see her character and see what kind of person she was that way. Reporter it was in high school that nathan and denise got to know each other better though they didnt date, as most teens do, because they both came from religious families. Our parents didnt really believe in dating, so we were just good friends. And i went to her Church Activities and she came to mine. And saw each other at school and thats how it all started. She was my first girlfriend and my only girlfriend. Reporter norm ulrich jr. Got to know nathan and denise well when his wife taught at their high school. Nathan was a basketball player then, denise a cheerleader. They were inseparable. They would just, you know, goof around with each other, you know just in a loving, you know, maybe puppylovish way. Um, and it just grew into Something Special between the two of them and we knew theyd be together. Reporter whats more, nathan admired denises parents and was inspired by what he saw as a perfect marriage. And i looked at denises mom at the time and i saw what she was as a woman, as a wife, as a mother, and i saw that denise really favored her mother and so i said, thats what i want. Reporter for denises mom, diane newton, the feeling was mutual. Was he over all the time . Yes. Yeah, he practically lived at our house. Reporter when denise went off to college in minnesota, nathan, a year younger, soon followed. To no ones surprise, the couple got engaged a year later. Diane knew it was coming. I wasnt surprised when he was the first one that she dated and they ended up getting married. Reporter that was in july 1995. I was always very happy being a wife and a mother, so i was happy for her that she had found someone to love and to share her life with. Right before we did our vows, denise had prepared a song talking about everything that she wanted was in me. And that our marriage was gonna be the kind that she had always hoped for and had dreamed for as a little child. And um, it was a wonderful day. Reporter after the young couple settled in their home town of peoria, illinois, denise went to work at an Insurance Company while nathan started a career in sales. But he couldnt shake a higher calling. For several years he had dreamed of becoming a baptist missionary. In 1998 he finally seized the opportunity when another young couple at their church began their own missionary work in lithuania. And so i approached the fella and said, what would you think about denise and i coming and helping you guys . He said, thatd be great. They moved in with us for six months, sold all their possessions, tried to save up money. We didnt know any lithuanian at the time, we didnt know the language. We were studying it, trying our best, but it was definitely a shock. Reporter they returned home after a year and soon welcomed a son, seth, and a daughter, julia. In 2002, the family went back to lithuania, which became their second home on and off for the next eight years. Thats a big undertaking to right. I think it was very hard for denise to leave her family, to leave everything shed known and to go over to a strange country, you know, with a toddler and a baby. It was a traumatic experience for her, i think. This is because really nathan wanted to do it . Right. She was supporting him. It wasnt really her calling. I mean, she was basically being a wife and a mother. Reporter but denise also became very devoted to the church there. Denise was very musical and she played the piano for the children and taught em songs and taught the little girls especially, bible stories. Reporter they grew particularly close to some of the children and their families. We had helped women whod been in abusive relationships. We had brought several lithuanians to the United States over the years for cultural reasons, for musical purposes, for sports. Reporter their generosity extended to a young lithuanian they had gotten to know well, Aina Dobilaite, who eventually came to the u. S. As a college student. She even lived with them for a while in peoria. Nathan has a very big heart for people. He just loves to help people out and just wants to do the lords work. Reporter by the fall of 2010, nathan and denise were living back in the states. By then they had a third child, jenelle. Their days were filled with shuttling kids to school and day care, and raising funds for their next overseas mission. Life with three young kids was busy, hectic, normal. But then came valentines day, 2013 when nathan pulled into their driveway midafternoon and discovered something terribly wrong. I can see that the window pane was broken. The glass is on the ground. And at that point i begin to put things together and someone had broken into the home. And at that point i called the police, called 911. 911. Wheres the emergency . Ah, we got a breakin. Reporter a daring burglary in the middle of the day. That would rob this family of everything. There would be no more cards, candy or flowers this valentines day, no one can find denise. She hadnt answered her phone calls. She hadnt answered her Text Messages. What police do find is terrifying. Everything stopped. I just kept looking at my daughter. My world had just been shattered and i had to tell her at some point. These nuggets are good. Really good. You guys, i need some answers. What have you been feeding me my whole life . These dont even need ketchup. Shouldve known when those other nuggets were shaped like dinosaurs. What else havent you told me . Kfc popcorn nuggets. 100 white meat, extra crispy, and made from the worlds best chicken the way a nugget should be. Get them with all this in your next 5 fill up or try them in a go cup. These dont even come with a toy and i dont care. Everyone loves the way dark clothes make them feel. And no one wants that feeling to fade. 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Because we know it takes something amazing, to make something amazing. Get inspired at kraftrecipes. Com after many years of working overseas as missionaries, the leuthold family had returned to peoria, illinois. Denise, nathan and their three kids seth, 12, julia, 10, and jenelle, four were living with denises parents. Nathan says it felt good to be home. We had tremendous friends and family here in the states. And thats always what we missed the most. Reporter being back in the states also gave nathan an opportunity to travel to churches, where he reported on his and denises missionary work and raised more funds so they could soon return to lithuania. In the u. S. They could also celebrate holidays americanstyle as they did on valentines day, 2013. As is our tradition on holidays, whether its easter or christmas or birthdays or valentines, for the children we started off right off the bat first thing in the morning. And so the children had their valentines sacks that denise had prepared sitting there on the table for them. Reporter and for his wife . My gift to her was the roses and the card that i had bought the night before and had placed on the table. Reporter after the Early Morning celebration, the family went back to their usual routine, taking the kids to school shopping, running errands. Denises parents were at work. But that day, something happened that was completely out of character for denise. She failed to pick up julia from school. My parents called me, do you want us to pick her up . And i said, well, denise should be there any minute she must have been late. Reporter turns out no one had been able to reach denise for a while, including nathan. She hadnt answered her phone calls. She hadnt answered her Text Messages. I said, just wait a few more minutes. Let me get jenelle out of day care, and then ill let you know. And when i finally get her out of day care they said, she still hasnt come. I said, well, ill run by the house and see if shes there. And as soon as i got pulled into the driveway the garage door was open. Is that odd . Its very odd. Theres no car in the garage, but the garage doors open. But then as i got about halfway into the garage, i can see that the window pane was broken. The glass is on the ground. And at that point i begin to understand that someone had broken into the home. Did you fear that the person could still be in the house . I did. Reporter with his young daughter in the car, nathan backed into the neighbors driveway across the street so he could watch the house as he called 911. Whats the problem . Ah, we got a breakin. Is it going on right now . I dont know. I the garage door is open, theres glass from the back door where somebody broke in. Ive not gone in the house yet. Reporter nathan waited with his daughter at the neighbors house, repeatedly calling family members to see if anyone had heard from denise. Then the police arrived. Detectives jason leigh and shawn curry were among the first on the scene. By the time we got here officers were starting to rope everything off securing the inside of the house. Reporter they didnt find an intruder, instead they found something far worse. While searching the house, they discovered a female down that was obviously deceased in the house. Reporter 39yearold Denise Leuthold lying in a pool of blood had barely made it inside the house. Her coat was still on. Right on the other side of this door is where we found her laying down, just right in the front door here. They quickly determined she had been killed by a single gunshot to the head. She didnt even have time to take her coat off, her gloves, anything. So when she entered that door that shot was immediate. Reporter and the weapon appeared to be a. 40 caliber handgun. But no sign of the gun. Did it seem like denise had possibly startled a burglar . Yeah, it looked like she interrupted a burglary that she came home. The house had been ransacked like somebodyd broken in through the back door, started going through the house and then maybe startled the burglar when she came in through the front door. Reporter while investigators combed the crime scene, nathan anxiously watched the Police Activity from the house across the street. How did they tell you what they had found . The police were not the first people to tell me. Unfortunately, i found out about it from my father. I was calling my dad and dad said, well, im on my way. I just heard on the radio. The local news media just put on the radio that at your house somebody was shot. Reporter nathan realized it had to have been denise. When you came to that realization, whats going through your mind . Everything stopped. Im looking at my 4yearold daughter, who is the image of her mother. Curly hair and bouncy step. And i just kept looking at my daughter. I wanted to hug her and i wanted to i wanted to just let out all the pain that was associated with knowing. But there she was, standing, staring at me, just smiling. My world had just been shattered. And i have to tell her at some point. Reporter denises mom had no idea what happened. But she rushed home when nathan told her thered been a breakin. I drove out there and the roads were all roadblocked. Is that a sick feeling when you see all the police and you know oh, yeah. What were you thinking . I tried to run up there to go into the house. I said i just want to know, what happened to my daughter, is she in there . Where is she . They eventually took me downtown. One of the policemen came in and told me she had been shot. Worst day of my life. Reporter now she had to tell her husband, denises father. I fell apart and cried. I guess its every parents Worst Nightmare to have a child taken from them. Reporter as denises family reeled from their unimaginable loss, this quiet, Central Illinois community was just starting to grapple with the fallout of a murder on valentines day. Did you feel like we have a mystery on our hands. Weve got to solve this. Yeah, we knew we had we knew we had something bad. And we knew that it was gonna take a lot of work to get to the point where we knew who done it. A possible clue . Nathan remembers seeing a suspicious car near his house not long before the murder. This is kind of weird, pulling in the driveway i normally go through in by the front door and turn the outside lights on. Was the killer in that car . It was hard to believe. Denise leuthold, mother of three Young Children had been found shot to death in her home in my wife. My best friend from third grade. The mother of the three most important children in the world to me. How do i function now without her . Reporter with the house now a crime scene, nathan went with detectives to the Police Station, where they asked him if he could think of any reason his family would be targeted. Do you have any personal problems with anybody . No. Does your wife . No. Is there anything of extreme value . In the house . In your room, in that room in particular . I i had two watches, a couple hundred dollar watches, nothing what about money . No. Reporter a laptop, digital camera and jewelry had been stolen. Two guns had also been taken, including a. 40 caliber glock, the same caliber used to kill denise. Had the intruder used that weapon to shoot her . Do you know why anybody would want to break in the house . Ive been trying to ask myself the same question since i first pulled in the driveway. Reporter nathan gave detectives a clue, though, when he said he remembered seeing a suspicious car in the neighborhood late at night, a couple of weeks before the murder. And then it pulled into our driveway without the headlights on. Without what kind of car was it . Headlights . Without headlights on. They were on in the road but when they turned in, they turned them off. And you know, this is kinda weird, pulled in the driveway. I immediately go through the front door and flip the outside lights on. The car leaves. Reporter then a few days before the murder, he said it happened again. Similar situation, but this time into the neighbors driveway. Reporter that time, nathan called police, and spoke with an officer. He said they probably were people that were out his phrase was, casing the neighborhood. Reporter people in peoria, illinois, were spooked. Could a brazen burglar willing to kill be on the loose . It caused a lot of stress in the neighborhoods. I mean the local school down the street they locked it down that day. This is a very quiet neighborhood, this stuff doesnt happen in this neighborhood. If you come down here during the day, the kids are out riding their bikes in the side streets. People were in the park walking around. Its not like a high crime area where theres gunshots all the time, things like that. So you know, it was enough to scare everybody. Reporter it was a big story in town. Be extra cautious, lock your doors, lock your windows. You know, Pay Attention to strangers in your area. What was the mood of the neighborhood . It was very eerie. Reporter beau ebenezer is a reporter with nbcs affiliate, w. E. E. K. Tv in peoria. A lot of the people in the community really wanted to know what happened. I mean, theyre going to sleep every night not really sure who killed their neighbor. One neighbor says with two small kids at home, she is feeling panicked, and even a little paranoid. Reporter tips started coming in right away. Diane parrish who lives just a few houses down from nathan and denise remembered seeing a strange man on her street right around the time of the murder. So describe the man you saw walking along this road. He had a black hoodie sweatshirt on with the hood pulled up. And his hands were in the pocket. And i will never forget the look on that mans face. What was so odd about the look on his face . He was very agitated. I knew immediately something was wrong with him. Reporter neighbors were anxious, and detectives were puzzled. Denises neighborhood was normally very quiet, not the type of place youd expect a burglary. Even if she had accidentally stumbled upon an intruder, how had it turned so vicious so quickly . Why would somebody wanna come into this particular house . Its not typical as far as a burglary that results in a murder. Reporter maybe, it wasnt a burglary at all. If it wasnt a burglary, what was it . Was nathans life also in danger . Nathans parents told me that nathan and the three children had been moved to a safe house just to protect them. My house. Its a full day for me, and i love it. But when i started having back pain my sister had to come help. I dont like asking for help. I took tylenol but i had to take six pills to get through the day. So my daughter brought over some aleve. Its just two pills, all day and now, im back aleve. Two pills. All day strong, all day long. And now introducing aleve pm for a better am. Tomorrow is possibility. And the power to unlock it resides in a box behold the biscuit. Nutrients packed in a dense bundle of farmgrown grain and capped with pure deliciousness. Fiberdense fuel. Morning reward. Tomorrow, you can have it all. Sunll come out, tomorrow ready yourself with kelloggs frosted miniwheats. See you at breakfast™. Camos extra pounds were hard to conceal. So anna switched him to iams indoor weight and hairball care. Now that hes lost the weight, hes a bit of a showoff. 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Are headache, diarrhea and dizziness. woman all my life, hes protected me. Now i am giving back. Ask their doctor about adding. Oncedaily namenda xr. We all want to leave our mark on the world. Why not make yours in the classroom . Teachers open young minds and inspire future leaders. If you truly want to be great, be a great teacher, the more you know. It looked like a burglary gone bad. Denise leuthold, mother and missionary, brutally shot and killed in her parents home where she and her family had been living. Typical scenario . Robberies happening in peoria . This one just happens to be a lot worse . Its not typical as far as a burglary that results in a murder. That doesnt happen very often. Reporter this was an odd one. Detectives needed to know more about denise and began questioning her family, including nathan, her husband of 17 years. You talking to us and cooperating with us is the best information that we can get. We want to talk to the people closest to her first to try to figure out what makes her tick, whats her routine like. Did you start to think that someone may have targeted denise . Well, you know, we didnt know. I mean you know, nathan hes gonna be our best witness. You know, youre livin with this lady and youve been married for a long time. You know her routine. Did you think maybe someone had a reason to be in that house, outside of just a random burglary . We didnt know. Yeah. We didnt know. But we needed to lock down at that point, initially, we just needed to make sure we locked down what she planned on doing that day. Reporter and they started at the very beginning. She woke up about 6 45, which is normal. Okay. I was already shaving and showering and all that. Were the kids already up . What time do the kids wake up . She gets them up at 6 45. Reporter nathan told police he took the two older children to school and went on a series of errands that day including going to a day spa to buy a Gift Certificate for denise. Was that for massage. Massage. Okay, you remember how much you spent . 74. Reporter police learned denise spent the morning at home with 4yearold jenelle until she drove her to day care just after noon. Nathan said denise had her own list of things to do that day. She told me she was going to the mall and she had some other errands to run. Were going to try to get video of her, maybe well see somebody following her. We dont know. You know what i mean . Thats why we have to figure out where she was at and weve got to try to place the last time we can see her because then we can narrow the window down. Yeah. And its tedious. And we appreciate, you know, you cooperating, believe me. Reporter by midafternoon, when denise should have been done shopping and on her way to pick up julia, nathan said he tried reaching her but couldnt. At first, he wasnt concerned. So, i called, she didnt answer, no big deal. Shes driving. So, i sent her a text message, shell get it when she gets there. Reporter but he became worried once he got home and saw denises car wasnt in the driveway and it looked like the house had been broken into. I dont know what to think. Shes not answering my phone calls, shes not answering my moms phone calls. She didnt go to the school, she didnt call. Where shes at . If shes late, if she broke down, if she had a flat tire, she would have called from her cell phone, im going through all these options in my head. Reporter detectives then asked nathan the uncomfortable questions they ask anyone whose spouse has been murdered. This is kind of a personal question. And take no offense cause we have to cover every base. At any time, has your wife ever done anything behind your back . Have you had any issues . Any boyfriends, anything like that . No. Okay. What about you . No. Did he describe a good marriage . Yeah. I mean, he described denise as the backbone of the family. If it wasnt for her, he wouldnt be able to do his work. That she does everything for the kids. Shes the main one that holds it all together. She did everything that made the kids lives spin. Denise sounds like a saint. She probably was. Everyone we talked to had nothing but good things to say about her. Mustve really perked your attention that this woman is considered to be this amazing mom and does this religious work and why would she have any enemies . Yeah. I mean, nothing was coming to the forefront. Reporter nathan said he was doing his best to hold it together so he could help them catch the killer. But he was anxious to be with his children. We appreciate the cooperation. And, you know, as much information that we can get from you, the better that its gonna help us. Help me get back to my kids tonight. And we hope you will be. I cant leave them all night long. Reporter nathan finally did leave the Police Station late that night, hours after his wife had been killed. He went to his sisters home, where his children were sound asleep. I was exhausted. I was emotionally spent. I spent the next several hours with my mother and my sister. And at some point i fell asleep with my sister just trying to comfort me. Reporter the next day, nathan said he was struggling with the fact that his wife was gone and now had to explain that to his kids. How did you tell the children that their mother had been killed . Mom went home to be with god. We know that she loves us. And we know that we loved her. And at that point i reached out for them and we just hugged. And it was quiet. My tears soaked their faces and their tears soaked my face. And then we prayed. And we thanked god for the most wonderful mother and wife to ever have been on this earth. Reporter later nathan took the children and went to stay at a Church Mission house in a nearby town. Nathans parents told me that nathan and the three children had been moved to a safe house just to protect them because they didnt know if they were being targeted for anything. Reporter his friend, norm, often brought them homecooked meals. Nathan was very quiet, almost in a state of shock maybe. I had noticed him when him and i were in the living room, alone together. And it was just complete silence. It felt a little awkward, but i could just see him just staring into space almost. Reporter in the meantime, denises parents made the difficult choice to return to their home, the scene of the crime. And a few days later, they asked nathan and the kids to come over to be with family. How was he with you the first time you saw him after denise was killed . He seemed very emotional. He originally said that he didnt wanna come back in the house, that the kids were afraid to come in. Reporter it was a lot to take in. Denise was dead. Three Young Children were without a mother and nathan said hed lost the love of his life. Detectives worked around the clock to solve the crime, and as they did, they began to get the idea that not everything was as it seemed. This is strange. Denise had just gotten home when she was killed but why was her car some place else . This is the problem ive got. Shes been shot in the house. Okay . I need to figure out how that car got to Robinson Park. Feel unusually tired have loss of appetite, upper belly pain, dark urine or yellowing of skin or eyes. These could be signs of serious side effects. Im down with crestor make your move. Ask your doctor about crestor. [coughing] dave, im sorry to interrupt. I gotta take a sick day tomorrow. Dads dont take sick days, dads take nyquil. 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And we kept kind of going over the robbery, like, how it would have happened. And just it didnt really make sense. Reporter what was suspicious about what was taken . I worked at a store that sold highdef tvs and we had a lot of small ones that they could have just picked up, taken away, you know. Electronics, bluray players, none of those things were touched. And i only had probably three rings that were of any value, but those three rings were taken. Well, why would a burglar know that those were the only three that were valuable . Reporter some things seemed off to police, as well. The more we started looking at the house, it just didnt seem like a real burglary. There was a junk drawer that was perfectly laying on the floor. Why would a burlgar even do through a junk drawer with pens, things like that. Scissors. Scissors, and then lay it . Reporter they also analyzed thing nathan had told them at the Police Station the night of the murder, like the fact that he owned three guns. I got a shotgun. Well, do you know what. 12 gauge. Okay, what else you got . I have a. 22 silver with pearl handle, little. And then i have my primary one, which is a glock. What model . Model . I know its a. 40. Reporter there were a lot of things about nathans guns that didnt add up for police. Starting with the fact that he happened to own the same type of gun used in denises murder. How did he explain that . He couldnt. I think he was trying to allude to the fact that the burglar must have got into it and taken it. Yeah. Reporter nathan also told police he kept that gun in a plastic case. And you kept it locked . Yeah. How hard would it be for somebody to pry it open . Would you need like a crow bar or something . No. Reporter but, there was no broken case at the house. That said a lot to the detectives. And then i asked him, where is the box . He said he didnt know. He insinuated that the burglar took it. Well, burglars not gonna take a busted lockbox with him after he kills somebody. Theyre going to leave it. Reporter there was Something Else troubling police. Even though denise had been killed in her home, her car was found in a nearby park. The police figured whoever drove it there must have been involved in denises murder. This is the problem ive got. Shes been shot in the house. Okay . I need to figure out how that car got to Robinson Park. Okay . Reporter a key to that car was found tangled in denises hair under her head. So clearly that key wasnt used to move the car. There had to be another one. Im trying to figure out how many sets of keys are out there. Im trying to find a set of keys. Theres one set of keys. When i drive the car to get the oil changed or something fixed, what not, i ask her for the keys and she gaveives me the key. Reporter none of that made sense to the detectives. There had to be another key visible in the house in order for an intruder to drive the car to a park. I say denise interrupts a burglar and he shoots her, that guy is getting the hell out of town. Hes not finding a spare set of keys in the house. Hes leaving. Reporter this led to questions about nathans car and something he said caught the detectives attention. Was your vehicle ever at Robinson Park today . My vehicle was at Robinson Park today, yes. For what when was this . Early this morning not early, but it would have been before before i came back to the house. What was it down there for . I pulled over i pulled over to take a phone call. Reporter so it turns out on the day of the murder, nathan was at the same park where denises car was later found. And thats when one of the detectives got frustrated with nathans whole story, and confronted him. Its not a coincidence that were missing a. 40 caliber glock handgun, and theres evidence that leads us to believe that your wife was probably shot with a. 40 caliber handgun. Okay . Furthermore, to have her car down the street at the park, right, where you failed to tell us that you were there prior to going home earlier that day. It was a short phone call. I didnt think it was i know, but i mean but the thing is, were talking about things that, once you start piecing things together, were trying to figure things out. I understand. Okay, so if you were at the park, the exact same park your wifes car was at, i need to figure out how your wifes car got there. Okay, i i dontt have the answer. You dont have the key either. Correct. Reporter it wasnt just that nathan stopped to take a short phone call, it was who was on the other end of the line that piqued their interest. He said he received a phone call from a lithuanian exchange student. Reporter thats how she came on your radar . Yes. Reporter she was 20yearold Aina Dobilaite, the Young Exchange student who had been close to the family for years. She babysat for them in lithuania and they were sponsoring her as a student in the u. S. Just what was that call about . And it just kind of kept snowballing from there till we figured we had to go up and track her down. A missionarys unusually close relationship with a Young Exchange student. Did you ask him . Actions while taking or after stopping chantix. Some people had seizures while taking chantix. If you have any of these stop chantix and call your doctor right away. Tell your doctor about any history of Mental Health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix or history of seizures. Dont take chantix if youve had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. If you develop these stop chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be lifethreatening. Tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood vessel Problems Develop new or worse symptoms. Get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. Decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. Use caution when driving or operating machinery. Common side effects include nausea trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. Im not worried about smoking my next cigarette. To me that feels great. Ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. Everything in separate bins, people. Computers, shoes. You cant put two in one. At intel, they make technology that lets a device be a laptop and a tablet, so you can put two in one. No, you cant. Can. Cant can intel. This is where it all changes. See, its like two things in one. Like a mermaid, or one of the horseguy people. You mean like a centaur . See, you can these nuggets are good. Really good. You guys, i need some answers. What have you been feeding me my whole life . These dont even need ketchup. Shouldve known when those other nuggets were shaped like dinosaurs. What else havent you told me . Kfc popcorn nuggets. 100 white meat, extra crispy, and made from the worlds best chicken the way a nugget should be. Get them with all this in your next 5 fill up or try them in a go cup. These dont even come with a toy and i dont care. I want more you more me i want more yes more please i want more fun more style i want more love more smiles i want more play more time i want more sun more shine i want more fun more style i want more love more smiles i want more. Jello police found Denise Leuthold, 39yearold mother of three, shot to death at first it looked like a possible burglary gone bad, but after questioning her husband, nathan, and combing the crime scene, detectives started to see things differently. Things just werent adding up. I mean, were not accountants, but we know when it doesnt add up. Reporter police now wanted to look more closely at the lithuanian student nathan had spoken to on the phone the day of the murder. He and denise had met her on their first missionary trip in 1998. There was a church that was there that was already established and that church really took us in and did their best to communicate with us and helped us out. And there was a particular woman in the church we worked with and that was ainas mother. Reporter Aina Dobilaite was just a child at the time, and as she grew up, her relationship with the family grew as well. As a teenager it was very clear that she had given her life to the lord and wanted to serve him, she was always the one volunteering helping at church right alongside of her mother. And she was very gifted in music. And then as we started branching out in the ministry, aina was the one that took care of the music. Reporter when she was 16, she became a babysitter for nathan and denises three children. Aina was the one that was always helping us with the children at church and it was just natural for denise to want to hire her. 100 with them. Thats how she came to be a part of our family. And then you ended up bringing her over to america . We were her sponsors here in the u. S. Yes. She came here for the education. Her desire from the very beginning was to go back to help her own country and the churches there, how to use music for the lord. Reporter that sponsorship started in the fall of 2010, when aina came to the u. S. To study at a Christian College in florida, where nathan would occasionally visit her. What did denise think about that . I asked her more than one time, i said, well, arent you jealous that hes traveling around with this young girl . And she was like, no, she wasnt jealous at all. This is a girl that theyd wanted to help. Exactly. And she trusted nathan. Reporter during school vacations, aina would stay in peoria with the whole family. Did you start to get to know aina at all . She seemed very shy, very, uh she kinda kept to herself. Did you like aina . Yes. She was really good with the kids. She seemed like she was a sweet girl. And if your daughter liked her if she was a friend of our daughters and soninlaws, i mean, we accepted her into our home. Reporter then, in december 2011, aina left that florida school. She was so close with the leuthold family, she moved in with nathan, denise, and denises parents while she attended a Community College in peoria. It wasnt the first time we had done that. So aina was one of many that we had worked with, so it was very natural. They had sponsored other, um, lithuanian students before to come here, so it didnt really seem strange to us that thats what they were doing. They were really making a difference in this young girls life. Yes, uhhuh. They were giving her a chance to come here and get her College Education here. Reporter six months before denises death, aina had transferred to a Christian College in chicago, 160 miles from peoria. So police drove there to talk to her. When we first started the interview, it was just a lotta background information. And it was we were coming across as were concerned for denise. You lived with them for x amount of years. Youve known the family. She was fine. As we started ramping up the questioning, getting more direct about her relationship with nathan is, then, all of a sudden, perfectly speaking english girl starts saying, i have i may i dont understand. Or im not going to answer that. And then it turned into more of just a cold stare and no emotion whatsoever. You describe it almost like a staring contest. Yeah. We threw out there crime scene pictures of denise laying dead autopsy pictures to get a reaction. And she had no emotion. And i called her out on it. I said, these people took you into your home, brought you back from lithuania, you lived with them. That doesnt bother you . And she just looked at me, stone cold, and said, i cried enough over the weekend. Reporter but then detectives asked her about something they learned as they traced nathans movements the day of the murder. Remember, one of the places he said he visited was this day spa, where he bought a valentines day Gift Certificate for denise. But when detectives stopped there, they discovered that nathan had been bringing another woman to the spa, and it was none other than aina. It had happened so often, the owner said, she thought they were a couple. Hes taking this woman in her early 20s, an exchange student, to the spa . Yeah, to get massages and to get her waxed up. My stuff would be in the front yard if my wife found out that i was waxing up a 20yearold. It just didnt make no sense. And i just kept on her, explain that. And then i even asked her, what exactly is he waxing up . And she just would glare, i aint answering that. Reporter they also asked her about the bill, which nathan paid. She framed it up as, hey, its his money and its denises money, too. So if hes spending the money, she should be all right with it. Did you outright ask her, were you having a sexual relationship yeah. With nathan . Yeah. And what was his response . She denied it. Reporter then, aina mentioned something that sparked their curiosity. She had studied music her whole life. And had gone to college in florida to play the piano. But, she told detectives, shed left the school because of problems with her hands. I think it was officially titled, like academic withdrawal or something. Reporter so they subpoenaed ainas school records. The records we got said her dismissal had some stuff to do with inappropriate relationships with her sponsor, including staying off campus overnight. Hotels. With just them two. That sponsor, of course, was nathan. Police learned more about their relationship when they pulled nathan and ainas phone records. What did you find on her phone . Just that they communicated a lot more than nathan let on. It didnt look like a typical sponsor sponsee relationship. There was multiple texts and calls every day. Shes denying a sexual relationship. Were the Text Messages suggesting otherwise . There was one that mentioned i think she was done at the gym. And he asked her if she was wet and i didnt find that appropriate for the relationship they were leading on. The biggest thing was just the sheer volume of contact that they had for youre saying youre just checking on her and making sure shes doing good in school, it was just it had the appearance of a datingtype relationship. More questions, for and about nathan. My husband thought, hes a missionary, he wouldnt kill anybody. A hundred years later, the Dodge Brothers spirit lives on. Had Denise Leuthold been killed by an intruder, part of a burglary gone wrong or had someone close to her been involved . Daughter had been killed by a stranger, until their minister we both answered, no. But as soon as i said, no, im like, well, wait a minute. You know, then i, of course, started having suspicions. My husband was kind of shocked, because he just thought, well hes a missionary, he wouldnt kill anybody. Reporter but investigators werent so sure. They began to take a hard look at nathans whereabouts that day. They collected Surveillance Video from the places he said hed been. And while he was at those places, chase bank, starbucks, the day spa, a car wash, there was a problem. We were able to account for him up to about 11 30 in the morning and then there was a gap between him leaving a starbucks around 11 30 and then he shows back up at the same starbucks around 12 45 p. M. And in between there we could not account for him anywhere. Reporter that gap was crucial. Because it was during that time frame that Police Believed the murder happened. The detectives even traced a route they thought nathan might have taken that day from the starbucks, to the park, a quick walk to his house, then back to the starbucks, to see if he could have done it in time. 6 minutes, 55 seconds. Reporter not only possible they said, but probable. More likely, they figured, than a stranger breaking into the house during the roughly 20 minutes denise was out. Its unconceivable to think somebody breaks into the house at that exact same time, rummages through the house, finds a glock, pries it open, loads it up, hides behind the door to execute her. It just cant happen. Reporter Something Else that didnt make sense, they said, was that denises car was not in her driveway. After the murder, they found her silver ford here in this nearby park. Nathan had told police he only knew of one key, the key that was found at the crime scene. But now police had a second key that they found in this trash can in the park. They believe nathan was lying to them and that he had used that key to move the car. Another suspicious finding, a black hooded sweatshirt on the floor of nathan and denises bedroom. Investigators said it seemed to match the one a strange man was seen wearing in the neighborhood that day. It appeared to us that somebody was in a hurry, took it off, threw it down. Reporter but there was Something Else that was even more troubling. Police had ordered an extensive analysis of nathans laptop, and a couple weeks after the murder, they received a report. The computer expert explained that his browser was set to delete anything he looked up. But as we found out, just because you delete something doesnt mean its gone. Reporter and what they found floored them. And it ranged from how to silence a. 40 caliber handgun. Glock, specifically, which is the gun he owns. He owned and she was shot with. How to silence that. How to overdose somebody on insulin. Reporter bathtub. Drowning. Bathtub electrocution. In the bathtub, things like that. So this goes back, you know, several months before the murder. Reporter so hes potentially thinking up all these different ways to kill yeah. Reporter his wife . I think, i honestly think he he planned it out. Reporter did you straightup ask him, did you have anything to do with your wifes death . Yeah. Reporter and . He denied it. He said no. Reporter not only did he deny killing his wife, nathan told us there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for all those internet searches police uncovered. Reporter electrocution in the bathtub, how to silence a gun. We had a started a foundation, overseas, called hope for tomorrow to combat suicide. And we were doing research and looking at blog sites where young people, where desperate people, were giving information about what they were thinking. Reporter still, it was obvious from nathans interview video that detectives had questions about his story early on. I would love to think that youre a godfearing man and you would never do that. But but you have a preconceived idea in your head. No, no, no, no. I dont, no. Trust me, i dont have a preconceived idea in my head. But when im painting the picture, and im trying to put the pieces together, okay, as a homicide investigator, i have to either rule you in or rule you out. And you want to rule me in based upon no, no, no, no, no, no. Id rather rule you out so i can move on. I dont the last thing i youre saying you want to rule me out, based upon what . Rule you out . I want to rule you out because i hope you didnt do it. Reporter between learning about aina and all the evidence theyd collected, police had enough to arrest nathan. Three weeks after denise had been killed, they pulled her husband over. He just dropped his kids off at school. There were officers with all kinds of weapons pointed at me. At the point when i was there on the ground on my knees, my hands behind my head and they were checking my pockets, down the road coming towards me was my sister bringing her children to school that day. And there i am in the middle of the street and they handcuff me and they put me in their car. And at that point i didnt know where we were going. And finally i asked them, i said where are we going . Whats going on . Were taking you to jail for the murder of your wife. He seemed scared. He seemed surprised. I think it was disbelief. That he was being arrested. Reporter it was a shock. Nathan leuthold, missionary and father of three, a native son of peoria, was now on his way to jail to await trial for the murder of his wife. His friend, norm ulrich, who had known the couple for decades, was stunned. Theres no doubt in my mind that nathan was arrest eded because they needed somebody in jail. Theres no way that i could ever fathom nathan doing this to his wife. 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And to think he could actually, you know, just shoot her in the head and this is a man whos devoted his life to being a good person . Right. Exactly. Reporter but by the time nathan went on trial, she had changed her mind. He had been leading a double life. Reporter is this the bad dream that wouldnt end. It kept going on and on and on. This just wont end until nathan is exactly. Convicted. Here at the Peoria County courthouse reporter the trial was big news in town. After all, the defendant was a missionary accused of killing his wife in their home in an upscale neighborhood. Things like that just dont happen in peoria. Nathan pleaded not guilty. He insisted he would have never done anything to harm his beloved wife. Ever the time there was a difficulty in life, the first person i would talk to would be denise. And there were several times within the first few days after her death, trying to figure out what to do with the children next, i wanted to just grab the phone and call her. She was my support. Reporter but denise was not there to support nathan because, the state argued, he killed her. You will have eyewitness identification, dna, gunshot residue, motive, and they all point to one person, and hes sitting right across from you. Reporter nathans trial began on july 14, exactly 17 months after the murder. Reporter beau ebenezer covered the trial for nbcs w. E. E. K. Tv in peoria. Were a lot of people anxious for this trial to start . I think a lot of people were anxious, especially the family. The family wanted to find out what really happened. Reporter what happened, said prosecutors jodi hoos and jerry brady, was a coldblooded execution. Ladies and gentlemen, burglars commit burglaries, killers execute in the style consistent with what the defendant did, hiding in that cubicle to kill her the moment she walked through the door. Reporter the states theory nathan put his plan into action when denise left the house to take their daughter to day care. First he drove his car to the park down the street. Parked his car in Robinson Park, you know, somewhere close to 12 15 to 12 20. Walked up to the house. Went into the house. The burglary probably was already staged. If not, he went ahead. And then he knew that denise would be coming back. Stood in the doorway, and as soon as the door opened, denise tried to take her coat off and he shot her in the back of the head. Reporter nathan then drove denises car to that same park, prosecutors said, and hopped back in his own car and drove to starbucks, arriving at 12 45. 12 45 to 12 50. Five minutes only, but long enough to be on that camera. Reporter and long enough they said, for nathan to wash his hands, to get the gunshot residue off, then leave to start his afternoon errands before picking up jenelle from day care. About 3 00 the defendant returns home, wants you to believe that he sees the door open and glass. Thats the extent of his knowledge, but with that he calls the police. He knew full well what when he called the police, what they were gonna find. From our perspective, thats what makes this case so disturbing, the cold, calculated manner in which he did this. Reporter one of the first officers to testify for the state described the scene at the house just after nathan called 911 that day. I observed some Kitchen Cabinets open and some kitchen drawers on the floor. In my experience as a Police Officer and investigator, when a burglary occurs, the kitchen is not a common place that a burglar would look for items. And in a burglary also, items are scattered about, drawers dumped on the floor. I felt that this was not an ordinary burglary and i expressed that to my partner. Reporter while he found the crime scene odd for a burglary, it was nathans behavior that struck the officer even more. Describe his demeanor. As im speaking to him, he never showed any sort of emotion or asked any questions of me as to what was going on. Reporter prosecutors said nathan also showed no emotion during his police interview, even when a detective told him denise was dead. You cant tell me things about her. And im not faulting you. You cant tell me things about her. I can tell you shes dead. He told me that. Okay. In the elevator. Reporter prosecutors played the interview for the jurors, hoping they would see what they saw. When the police first gave us the case, i watched his videotaped statement. Five minutes into it, i knew he did it. I knew he was guilty. His demeanor, his attitude. He tried to take over the conversation. Not a single tear was shed. Reporter they presented evidence that the bullet casing found at the scene was from a glock. 40, the kind of gun nathan owned. The only firearm that could generate those marks would be a glock. And are you able to say that with a reasonable degree of scientific certainty . Yes. Reporter but police never did find the murder weapon. Did you worry that you werent able to find the gun . Was that a factor . Obviously it was a concern. I think anytime in a murder case when you dont have the handgun or the weapon, whatever it was, its an uphill battle because thats what the jury wants. They want the smoking gun. And we didnt have it. Reporter still, prosecutors thought they had more than enough evidence to prove their case. Remember diane parrish, who said she saw a man in a black hooded sweatshirt walking towards denises house on the day of the murder . She was the closest thing police had to an eyewitness. The whole thing struck me as wrong. I thought i told my husband to slow down. I wanted to get a good look at him and i was worried that he saw us pulling out of our driveway and if he knew we were gone, that hed rob us. Reporter she didnt recognize the man that day, but later when she looked at a police photo lineup, she quickly pointed to this man. And it turned out to be Nathan Leuthold. Did you think it was possible when youre looking at this photo lineup maybe youd seen nathan in the neighborhood and subconsciously you were choosing that photo because youd already seen him before . No. Why were you so sure . Because of the look on his face. I knew i didnt make a mistake. And i was very careful when i looked at the photos so i would not make a mistake. When she testified, you could hear a pin drop in that courtroom. I mean, everybody was glued to her testimony. I dont think theres a person in that courtroom that disbelieved what she was saying. Reporter prosecutors said it must have been nathan the neighbor saw that day, because police found a black hooded sweatshirt on his bedroom floor whats more, an expert testified it had gunshot residue on the right cuff. Whats more, an expert testified it had gunshot residue on the right cuff. Nathan said that he had been at the gun range. Is that feasible, that if he was a no. Shooting off his gun that there would be residue . Whats important about that, too, is he said that it was in oklahoma, two weeks prior. Theres no way there wouldve been gunshot residue on that sweatshirt still. Reporter on the stand, another neighbor, who did not want to be videotaped, testified she heard a gunshot that day between 12 30 and 12 40, in the time frame detectives thought denise was killed. Prosecutors said that gave nathan the opportunity to kill denise. Now, they had to explain why he did it. So they called this man to the stand, who said he could answer that precise question, because nathan told him everything. Would you state your name . David d. Smith. Reporter david smith was a fellow inmate of nathans at the county jail. He said nathan told him he researched ways to kill denise on his laptop. Did he talk about how he was planning to kill his wife denise . Well, at first he told me that he was thinking about some poisoning, with some type of insulin, or potassium, Something Like that. Reporter according to the inmate, nathan said he ran a lot of errands on the day of the murder to create an alibi and he told me he had presented some gifts, some valentines day gifts and stuff, to his wife, and so that everything would look fine. How important was david smith, the jailhouse snitch . David smith said that nathan was worried that a lady might have seen him while he was walking. Well, obviously nobody knows that except nathan. And its consistent with our evidence. Reporter whats more, the inmate also testified why nathan wanted denise out of his life. Well, he said that uh, he said that she was overbearing, and he had got to the point where he had wanted to move on with his life and he had met someone else and stuff like that. Did he tell you the name of that someone else. Somebody, some student named ana, or lana, Something Like that. Reporter but it was what the inmate told prosecutors about the timing of the murder that they found particularly chilling. Smith testified that nathan told him he planned the murder specifically for valentines day. It was supposed to be some type of present to this other chick. To the i think you referreded to her as anna . Yeah, yeah. Reporter and there it was nathans motive. Prosecutors said he killed his wife so he could be with his true love, aina. Do you believe that this was some kind of sick and twisted valentines day gift to aina, this murder . Oh, absolutely. I dont know what else it would have been. This was his valentines day present to aina and that is despicable. Reporter aina, who prosecutors said was nathans motive for the murder, was about to take the take stand the star witness at the biggest trial in town. Please state your name. Aina dobilaite. Nathans note to aina. Theres nothing more important to me than you in this relationship. And a note to him from the woman hes accused of murdering. She was speaking from a grave in a way. That note was powerful. To 30 off kenmore appliances. And 10 off other top brands. Plus, use your sears card and get an extra 5 off all appliances or free delivery on all appliances over 399. Start your search at sears. Camos extra pounds were hard to conceal. So anna switched him to iams indoor weight and hairball care. Now that hes lost the weight, hes a bit of a showoff. Just one of many iams formulas to keep love strong. Busy week . Oh yeah. Ive got a pile of work. Presentation tomorrow. Daily workout. Inlaws on sunday. Make time everyday for berocca. It supports mental sharpness and physical energy. Beroccaaaaaaaaaaa some cool things to pass onto your kids your super heroes. Your fashion sense. Your love of reading. Your uncanny ability to find parking spots. Your fear of people who are different . Not so much, the more you know. Nathan leuthold was on trial for murdering his wife on valentines day, 2013. A scenario impossible to have predicted for a man devoted to god, who appeared to have been happily married to his High School Sweetheart for 17 years. What would make him commit such a crime . The state argued, he was in love with another woman. The motive . His real valentine. Their 20yearold lithuanian sponsor student. Reporter Aina Dobilaite his motive for murder. I think aina was a big bombshell. Reporter aina testified in both english and in lithuanian through a translator. Nathan leuthold visited you in hotels off campus on at least 5 occasions. Correct . Translator i cant remember how many times. And during those visits, you went to a hotel with nathan, and just the two of you were present part of the time, correct . Translator im not sure if every time we were at the hotel we were together alone. Did you spend the night with mr. Leuthold . No. Reporter aina was called as a witness for the prosecution, which granted her immunity to encourage her to talk. But her testimony made it clear she was not eager to help the state. When mr. Leuthold visited you in chicago in 2012, did he buy you presents . Translator im not really sure what presents means. Reporter despite having studied in the states for four years, aina seemed incapable of understanding english at times, which frustrated the prosecutors. And, in fact, you are proficient in both written and spoken english, isnt that correct . Translator yes. Reporter still, the prosecution thought she was an important witness. I think it was significant for the jury to see aina. We could get in the Text Messages, we could get in the emails, we could get in the phone calls. And the jurys going to hear all of that. Reporter the state showed the jury texts between nathan and aina, from the day of the murder. They started at 7 36 a. M. With mutual hellos. At 8 37am, nathan texted aina, i know there is a lot to do today. I pray that there is enough time to do everything. Have good lectures and meeting. Take care of yourself. Then, after nathan arrived home midafternoon, aina texted him and he replied, i cant now, police checked. It looks like the house was robbed. Aina responded, interesting, followed by a smiley face. You would respond with, oh my, what happened . Concern for the family. So i suspect that based on that response, that in all likelihood she had some knowledge as to what was maybe gonna take place. Reporter prosecutors accused nathan of coaching aina during jailhose phone calls, on how to cover up their relationship those calls were in lithuanian. For the trial, english translations of what nathan said were read aloud. I am your spiritual advisor, or your clergy here in america. Because there is nobody else who speaks lithuanian. This may be important in the future because just as all your communication with the attorney is private, communication with your clergy is also private. Reporter but, prosecutors said, there was no covering up letters nathan had sent aina, including this one, read by an interpreter during a deposition. I love you because you understand me better than anybody else, because im a better person with you next to me. My life has a deeper meaning and purpose, because you are my world and my everything and that will never change. Reporter with words like that, prosecutors didnt believe ainas denials of an affair with nathan. They made her read out loud another effusive note that nathan sent her just a month before the murder. I let you down and im sorry. Im not going to make excuses that would not be fair to you. You deserve someone who respects you and puts their relationship first and from now i want to do all i can to be that person. Theres nothing more important to me than you and this relationship. Im so blessed to have you in my life and i know it. I think she presented herself for what she was. She was in a relationship with nathan and i think she tried to minimize the relationship. Reporter nathan and aina were making eye contact quite a bit throughout the trial. Sometimes when she would answer a question or she said something he didnt like, he kind of laughed and threw his hands up in the air in disappointment. Reporter and prosecutors had another piece of evidence they said proved an affair, a secret that shook the courtroom. It challenged the very core of nathans defense, that denise was at the center of his life and he would never hurt her. It was a gutwrenching note written by denise discovered tucked in her day planner. In a murder case you dont have the victim. You never get to hear the victims story. That persons dead. And here we had a note that she had written that laid the whole thing out. Reporter the highly personal, very painful note was obviously aimed at nathan. A Police Investigator read the note in court. I have tried to please you for 17 years, and never succeeded. Ive never been good enough, never done enough. I know that you want me dead. Im not stupid. Reporter denise seemed to confirm that she believed her husband was having an affair. While she didnt name aina, she mentioned a much younger woman. You want to humiliate me by running around with a 20yearold . Fine. I wont grovel. If i havent pleased you in 17 years, nothing i do now will please you. How long are you going to do this to me . Oh yeah, until i break. Thats what you said, isnt it . Well, happy waiting. It was very devastating. I was shocked that it had gone that far. So she really was jealous even though she said she wasnt. Reporter she was speaking from the grave in a way . Absolutely. Absolutely. To the jury. To everybody, her story. I mean, that note was powerful, powerful. Reporter powerful, but not proof, said nathans attorney. In fact, he argued that there was no evidence that nathan had done anything wrong at all. Its your premature judgment that this all happened because he was having an affair. And i would submit, as i started off with you, that theres not a scintilla of evidence that that was the case. Was there less to this relationship than what meets the eye . He was the only person with whom i could talk lithuanian. He was a friend. Were you and nathan ever lovers . No. If the prosecution couldnt prove that, could it prove nathan murdered his wife . Just stop by. And leave all the legwork to us. Switch your prescriptions to walgreens where you could save even more on Medicare Part d with copays as low as zero dollars. At the corner of happy and healthy. Nathan leuthold had spent a week listening to prosecutors paint him as a monster who had planned the execution of his now it was time for the defense hearing from anyone. And to say that i had an affair is absurd. I think nathan was being tested by god, about his faith. I just thought, you know, nathan, you gotta be strong, man. Well get through this. Reporter nathans lawyer was hugh toner, a former prosecutor turned defense attorney, who argued that the investigation was faulty. There were certain preconceived notions of who did it, for lack of a better term, that never went anywhere. And for that reason im going to ask you to find nathan not guilty. Reporter toner insisted the cops zeroed in on nathan right from the start and never pursued any other leads. This was an incomplete investigation. That while the spouse, nathan, in this case, would have been the logical place to start, the problem with that is that if you follow that gut feeling, thats going to cause you very likely to miss other things. And in this case, simply not look for them at all. Reporter for instance, what about those cars nathan said he had seen in the neighborhood, which he thought were suspicious not too long before the murder . His attorney called a neighbor to the stand whod also seen strange activity. I observed a vehicle parked with its headlights on for some extended period of time, five, ten minutes at least, which i considered to be somewhat unusual. And i felt that with the direction of the headlights, that whoever was in the vehicle could probably see me and my residence, and it made me a little bit uncomfortable. Reporter and when he crossexamined diane parrish, who identified nathan as the man in the sweatshirt the day of the murder, she admitted her husband had a different recollection. You and your husband had had a discussion about the race of the person who was walking alongside of the road. Thats correct. And your husband, dr. Parrish, thought that it was a black man. Thats correct. Reporter another problem with the investigation, the defense pointed out, was that while the state made a big deal about the gunshot residue on nathans sweatshirt, they never tested his hands for the substance. Why not cut to the chase and take a test from nathan . Reporter toner said theres also an issue with the states timeline. Based on Court Testimony the murder occurred at around 12 30 p. M. After that, prosecutors said nathan would have had to drive denises car to the park, get in his own car, and then drive to starbucks, where he was seen on Surveillance Video at 12 45 p. M. And he would have had to have done all that without leaving any blood smears, getting any blood on him. Reporter it was all coming down to that crucial 15minute window. We decided to see for ourselves how long that drive would take. We retraced what investigators said were nathans steps that day. Ive just left denise and nathans house, heading to Robinson Park, which is just a few blocks away. I am now arriving at Robinson Park. It took me 1 minute and 15 seconds. This is where police say the cars were switched. So now were going to switch cars, take another drive. In the second car were going to drive to starbucks. Lets see how long that takes. Red light is going to add on a little bit of time. Were now at 4 1 2 minutes. Going just about the speed limit, right on, which is 45 miles per hour. Im pulling into the starbucks parking lot. We are looking at a travel time of 7 minutes and 55 seconds. Reporter in all it added up to 9 minutes and 10 seconds of driving. That would have left him just under 6 minutes to ransack the house and shoot denise. His lawyer hugh toner says that would have been nearly impossible. You know, the timing just really gets to the point where its almost not realistic. Reporter and what about the states witness who claimed that nathan had confessed the whole crime to him . The defense argued david smith was a jailhouse snitch, a convicted felon, who had gotten a deal for his testimony. He was not even worth crossexamining. Do you really believe that david smith is the type of person that nathan is going to confide in and then seek counsel from . Reporter but according to the defense, the main weakness with the states case was motive, an affair with aina. Toner argued there was absolutely no evidence to support the theory that nathan killed his wife so that he could be with the 20yearold. No matter who asked her, aina insisted her relationship with nathan was platonic. Whats the relationship between you and nathan . Hes my sponsor. I worked for him. I did a lot of translating work and helping with organizing christian conferences in lithuania. And he is also was kind of like my mentor, and here in america, he was the only person with whom i could talk in lithuanian. So it was a friend. Reporter the defense attorney said the state was making more of those spa visits than was really there. Would mr. Leuthold be there with you when you were having the waxing . He was there to drive me and to pay for it. But he wasnt there when the procedure was being done. No. Were you and nathan ever lovers . No. Thats been asked of you many times, correct . Police asked you about that, correct . Thats correct. And that answer has never changed, has it . Thats correct. Reporter his bottom line was this. The state never even came close to proving a sexual relationship, not even with the hundreds of hours of taped phone calls nathan made from jail over his 16 months there. 1,700 hours of recorded telephone conversations involving Nathan Leuthold. Do the math. At 40 hours a week, youre approaching darn close to almost an entire work year, listening to telephone conversations involving nathan. Where in any one of those things, do you have any indication at all that nathan and aina were lovers . Reporter in fact, for all the searches through nathans and ainas cell phones, toner discovered something he says is especially telling. How many people, particularly young people, are going to have a relationship with a significant other and not have a picture of their significant other . Did they find any photos . Anything where it would indicate that nathan and aina were involved in that way . No. Reporter without a motive and without hard evidence that nathan pulled the trigger, toner said all the prosecution had were lies, misinterpretations and omissions. Not guilty. Thats what nathan is. And i would suggest to you respectfully, thats what id ask the verdict that you return. Reporter though Nathan Leuthold did not take the stand, he would have plenty to say about the evidence and his innocence. Particularly that chilling note left behind by his wife. She essentially spoke from the grave saying that you wanted to kill her, that you were humiliating her with a 20yearold. Nathans answer and the jurys verdict. I was like 99 sure that they had to come back with a guilty verdict. Theres that 1 . To saving for college. Our commitment to current and former military members and their families is without equal. Start investing with as little as fifty dollars. Kraft natural cheese starts with fresh milk carefully selected from only us dairy farms. Because we know it takes something amazing, to make something amazing. Get inspired at kraftrecipes. Com urn your old glasses into new glasses . Now at lenscrafters. The tradein event. Tradein your old glasses and get up to 50 off lenses with frame purchase. Lenscrafters loves eyes. Welcome to Cricket Wireless. Where what we say is what you pay. Like 5 lines for 100 bucks a month. Thats taxes and fees included. Switch now and get 5 for 100. All in. Cricket. Something to smile about. Fact. 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Get them with all this in your next 5 fill up or try them in a go cup. These dont even come with a toy and i dont care. Nathan leutholds murder trial was nearing its end, when he had to decide whether to testify. At the last minute he chose not to. You understand that thats not something that youll be able to take back. Reporter why did you decide not to take the stand during the trial . I had chosen to testify, prior to trial, but as the state continued to take things out of context and continuted to throw as much mud as they could on the wall, hoping that some of it would stick, they had moved beyond what i felt were the facts of the case. I wasnt gonna give them any more fuel or any more fodder to use or to misconstrue. Reporter but he wanted to set the record straight with us, insisting, hes innocent. He also wanted to say that the police never looked past him to catch the real intruder in what was a real burglary. The Police Believe it was staged. That it just looked too kind of perfect the way that everything was placed and what was taken. But things were stolen. Insurance claims verified they were stolen and paid the claim on those items. It was a burglary. Did it look like a normal burglary . Im not sure what a normal burglary looks like. Reporter whats more, a fingerprint had been found on a jewelry box from which those the three rings had been stolen. Police could not identify that fingerprint. Thats not my motherinlaws, not my fatherinlaws, not my wifes, not my daughters who cleaned that jewelry box every single week for their grandma. Not my fingerprint. Reporter but what really upset nathan was how the state depicted his relationship with aina, someone he had known since she was a little girl, someone he had mentored. Reporter you can see how it would look bad going to the spa, getting aina waxing treatments. The Text Messages that went back and forth. It seems like there was something going on. Aina had no drivers license at the time. She had no way of getting around. I was a translator. Take her for waxing treatments. Its not as if im in there watching or or whatever else. So you check the records, the waxing treatment was the same day im getting a haircut at the same place. Take things out of context, you can make em say whatever you wanna make em say. Reporter like ainas text the day of the murder. Why did aina say, after the robbery, interesting, smiley face . Youre asking me what somebody else meant. I just assumed aina hit the wrong prompt. Reporter one of the harshest accusations that has come out of all of this is that you killed your wife and it was a valentines day gift for aina. The harshest statement has been that i killed my wife. It doesnt matter what day it was. I intentionally did it on valentines day as a gift . Im not sure what takes a sicker person. The person to actually do that or the person to suggest that. Reporter and what about those haunting words written by denise in that note found in her day planner clearly aimed at nathan . How would he answer that . She essentially spoke from the grave saying that you wanted to kill her, that you were humiliating her with a 20yearold. The part youre referring to says, i know you want me dead. Im not stupid. Now, to say that that implies that she felt in danger, seems to go against the facts. She never shared that with her best friend, her superclose sister, her mother, her father. She never called police. She never called a counseling hotline. She never did any domestic battery, any restraining order, any anything, because there was nothing. Reporter did you want her dead . No. Why would i want her dead . Reporter to be with aina. To groom aina as your new wife. That is the accusation. That is the accusation by those who, from day one, wanted to portray something that fits modern society. Fits the culture we live in. Fits the cheaters lifestyle, the Jerry Springer show mindset. It fits those things of making things look salacious. Reporter the jurors, of course, never heard any of that because nathan never took the stand. Reporter how nervous were you when the jury went to deliberate . From a purely selfish perspective, its my life, my future, my freedom. It means that i could go back to being the father to the children. The children would be robbed of just one parent, not of both. One was stolen away by someone who was seeking gain. And a guilty verdict would steal from the children their other parent. Reporter for denises family, that was exactly what they were hoping for. For the man theyd known since he was a young boy, who lived with them, and now they believe lied to them. When they went into deliberations, i was, like, 99 sure that they had to come back with a guilty verdict. But theres that 1 . Youre thinking, oh, no. What if someone you know. I really wasnt sure what the jury was going to come back with. There was a lot of evidence provided by the prosecution. I think they did a great job. But at the same time, it was a lot of circumstancial evidence. There was no evidence that actually pointed to somebody seeing nathan do the crime. So i think it was very hard to tell what the jury was going to do. Reporter it was a highly circumstantial case no hard proof nathan killed denise and no clearcut evidence nathan and aina were lovers. But whatever it was jurors heard and saw in that courtroom, it was enough. In a mere 90 minutes, they reached a verdict. We find Nathan Leuthold guilty of murder. Reporter what went through your mind when you heard that one word, guilty . It was very close to the same feeling i had when i heard that my wife had been shot. I just remember, hearing that the loss just got that much greater. Reporter the judge sentenced nathan to 80 years in prison, saying how shameful it was that nathan had killed denise in her own home. You picked this happy place for such an ugly finality, and it seems only appropriate that you will likely end your life in a very different type of place too. The cold and grey isolated illinois penitentiary. Reporter nathan has filed an appeal. For the state, it was a satisfying ending to a case they had to painstakingly stitch together. I think he tried to portray this image of this wonderful person when in reality, you know, he was nothing more than a coldblooded killer. Reporter as for denises parents, theyre still hurting from such a sudden loss. But at least they have her children close as they are now raising them. Reporter how did you tell them that their father killed their mother . They knew that that he had been on trial for murdering their mother. And that a jury had convicted him. And right away the older boy said, well, everybody makes mistakes. And my husband said, no, your dad made bad choices. Everyone has choices in life. And he made some really bad choices. Reporter bad choices, that left denises parents coming to terms with the notion that everything they knew to be true wasnt. I felt bad for my husband cause he told someone that he always thought that we had the perfect family, the perfect life. And you just really dont expect Something Like that to happen to you, but in reality, you know, bad things happen to good people all the time. [ sweeping orchestral music playing ]