Transcripts For KNTV Dateline NBC 20170430

There were a lot of people who didnt like the victim. Like the people he owed money to and the people he had threatened. He said i will make sure you cannot feed your wife and your baby. Only two people knew the truth. The killer was one. She was the other. You were pretty sure he did this, am i right . Absolutely. She had a secret. And the killer had a proposal. What were you thinking . Money. Love. And mystery. This is where it gets rough. Im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres Keith Morrison with family secrets. Its called the secret. Its an International Best seller which claims to be based on hidden ancient texts so popular it was made into a movie. They think it will lead them to whatever they desire. You know this secret gives you everything you want. Happiness, health and wealth. But as we all know, there are other kinds of secrets that lead to a far darker place. His dad has a gun. He heard gunshots. In northern california, not far from the famous folsom prison, theres a town called roseville, home to a true believer in the secret. His name . Chris northam, 40something, divorced. A father who just guided two sons to adulthood. This is the younger one, cody. Hes an extremely supportive father. Weve always been extremely close. I always knew that my family was the closest family ive ever known. This is codys big brother, Chris Northam, jr. , who brought to the family her. We all just kind of became this group. We all just kind of meshed together really well. Averill easley fell for chris jr. Right away. He enjoyed the things that i enjoyed, which was Action Sports and being outdoors. You must have been a damn good looking couple. Yes. That felt good, too. It was fabulous. We could be anywhere and people would strike up conversations with us. All three of them, averill and the boys, were enthralled with that champion of the secret. Chris northam, sr. Full of energy. He was so charismatic. My dad was extremely innovative. Constantly brainstorming about new ideas. When chris sr. Saw his boys compete in an event called the sacramento skim fest, his biggest new idea was born. He could make a business of this. Extreme water parks for skim boards. He called his new company, skim x. This is one of their marketing videos showcasing an early demonstration model. Starring, not surprisingly, cody and chris jr. Chris sr. , thats him in the lower right of your screen sharing a moment with a competitive skier invited to try out the system. That feels great. Feels like skiing powder. Yes, yes, it does. He thought of a way to flow water over ramps and he patented it. Whats that like . Its fun. Its different. It all the potential in the world. Chris sr. Had big plans to expand skim x into a theme park, club scene, mashup, a place for millennials. He wanted live music, he wanted the light show. He wanted concerts there. He wanted to make it a resort. I saw an entertainment company. He would be enthusiastic about these ideas, huh . He was passionate about it. He could make them happen. He knew how to get your emotions involved and how great his idea was. Oh, my god thats so sick. He was very knowledgeable bookwise. Always read inspirational books. The secret. He made every employee read it. Really . Uhhuh. That was their prerequisite to working there. He believed it would lead him to the gilded gates of success. Turning empty warehouses like in roseville to a skim x resort empire would require cash and lots of it. How did he raise the money for this . Couldnt have been cheap. No, of course it would be a pretty penny. But he had a lot of connections. He just found a way to do it. Friends, neighbors, even a couple of South African investors wanted in. Some people he knew all his life. Others not so well. But what they all had in common was their belief that Chris Northam, sr. , knew the secret to making them rich. Yet, something was wrong said averill. Had to be. Though the man kept quiet about it. But a year after skim x was launched, she overheard part of a phone call, father to son and got a bad feeling. I couldnt hear the talking. All i could hear was crying. Christopher was crying . Christopher was crying. Could you tell what he was crying about . No, i couldnt understand. I was asking, is your dad okay . Kind of whispering it. He just said yeah. Hes having problems with i guess he received an email from one of the investors wanting Bank Statements. Because the investor believed the money was not being allocated the right way, i guess. So what did chris say about that . He just kept saying, yes, dad, okay, dad. Ill get the Bank Statements. Well be fine. Everything is going to be fine. Calming him down . Calming him down. Remember what we said about secrets. Some of them hide in the dark. Whos the one that heard gunshots, you or him . Gunshots and questions about missing money. Was chris sr. Keeping secrets of his own. When we return s. W. A. T. Teams, police and caution tape. A helicopter. It looked like a war zone. Memorial day 2011 was no day off for Chris Northam, jr. He was up before daybreak, said averill. Told her he was going to the office, help his dad with some worried investors. It was really early. It was still dark. I think he had printed the Bank Statements out and was going to take them to his dad. And a couple of hours later i got a phone call from him saying they had just lift mimis calf say and they were heading back to the office but that he had to run because they were still working. But that he would be home soon. It was a holiday, remember. And on top of that, averill and chris, now engaged, were supposed to spend the day doing a final walkthrough of their wedding venue. So by mid afternoon i was mad. Because it was supposed to be the one day that he gets off, which was very, very rare. And kind of important. It was very important. And then the phone rang. And this is where it gets rough. Chris was screaming on the phone, crying, screaming. I couldnt understand a word he was saying. I kept saying calm youre screaming at me. Whats going on . I cant hear you. But i got from it that shots had been fired. What she pieced together through jr. s panic was he dropped his dad off at the skim x building and was driving home when his dad called him, said he was worried, said someone had broken into the building. Next thing junior heard was gunshots. I immediately said oh, my god, im calling 911. And i hung up. Whos the one that heard gunshots, you or him . Chris did. As he was driving away he heard the gunshots. Chris said he was too afraid to go back to the building alone. Averill agreed to meet him partway and she was still on the phone with 911 when they rendezvoused a few minutes later. I need you to calm down. Did he shoot himself, do you know . Do you think your dad did it or someone else . I dont know. He doesnt know. He said he called his his dad called as he was driving away and said someone broke into the building. Im going to pull over if youre going to throw up. It was horrible. And he said to me, call my dad. Try to call my dad. Okay. So i called his dad twice. It went to voice mail. And chris kind of collapsed in front of the car on the side of the road. And he was kind of dryheaving. A few minutes later, a Patrol Officer met them at the roadside and escorted them back to the skim x office. When i pulled up, it looked like a war zone. It was like a movie. S. W. A. T. Teams suiting up, police and caution tape and a helicopter. And i saw an ambulance drive away without their lights on. And averill turned to the cop. And i asked him if he was dead. And he says, you know, i cant tell you, but im sure you can figure it out. I just froze. Police found chris sr. On the floor of the skim x shop. He had been shot twice. He had one round that had gone through the left cheek. Then detective Kurt Leatherman had a look around and this was weird. The body was laying on the ground. The keys were next to it and absolutely no other evidence anywhere. Really . No shell casings, no weapons, no footprints. Just a body. This is more like a sniper got him . At that point we had no idea. Meanwhile, averill and chris jr. Went to the Roseville Police department. The whole family was there. Chris whole family. They must have been everyone was just it was chaos. Months later, chris jr. s little brother cody still had a hard time talking about that day. Its got to be the toughest part. Theres a lot of tough parts. Ill never know anyone or meet anyone like him. Very first time. Imagine what well be able to go from here. Who wanted him dead and why . I mean, stuff like this happens, we have to eliminate people basically. Everyone in the family was questioned. Pick up the boyfriend yeah. So was every employee at skim x. Joey got fired. Averill and chris jr. Told police that in the days just before the murder chris jr. Got an ugly text from a former employee who had recently been canned. Hes messing with the wrong person he told my dad. The other part of the next was, i know people. What did you think . I was blown away. Who fired those shots . Disgruntled employee . Angry investor . Maybe the woman police learned about, the married woman chris sr. Had been seeing . There are a whole list of potential suspects. This was a whodunit from the very beginning. Coming up so who did it . Whatever was on his mind, he would tell you. There were some people who maybe had a little trouble with that, you think . I think a lot of people. When dateline continues. Well its a perfect nespresso morning here, george. Hold on a second. Mmm. [mel torme sings comin home baby] hey there. Want a lift . Where are we going . No dont tell me. Let me guess. Have a nice ride. How far would you go for coffee thats a cup above . I brought you nespresso. Nespresso. What else . Very first time. Imagine what well be able to go from here. Chris northam sr. Was a can of red bull made live. A man who had the power to bend investors at his will. If some people didnt like what he said, tough. Whatever was on his mind, he would tell you. There were some people who maybe had a little trouble with that, you think . I think a lot of people. Did he make some enemies . You know, of course, we all have enemies, but when it came to enemies, chris sr. Seemed to have more than most. Prosecutor David Tellman saw it wasnt going to be quick or easy. This was a whodunit from the very beginning. It could have been a disgruntled exemployee. It could have been a disgruntled investors, a breakin in progress that was interrupted. Then detective leatherman began hearing before he was a secret inspired businessman, he may have been something very, very different. I dont know if he ever specifically told people he was a s. E. A. L. He goes overseas for mission. Sure enough, police found a navy s. E. A. L. Manual on his bedroom floor and heard story after story about chris sr. s obsession with security. He even kept an ar15 type assault lively. He would actually do training exercises in front of other employees. With junior how theyre holding rifles, how they would clear a building and stuff along that line. So was this secret to his death buried in a Top Secret Military past . Or maybe chris sr. Was murdered over money. The quick books said the business had 545,000 in the accounts. And they actually had less than 40,000. Which could only mean that somebody covered up the sudden disappearance of more than half a Million Dollars. What was going on at skim x . We did some sleuthing and discovered that whatever chris sr. Had in confidence he lacked in competence. He lost his house to foreclosure. He had to declare personal bankruptcy. He owed money all over. 80,000 in means and mortgages. The day he was murdered, he was worth absolutely nothing. He rented the little house he lived in, in this neighborhood but didnt even have furniture. He slept on a mattress on the floor. But chris sr. Worked hard to prevent investors from hearing about those secrets. He was a pretty good salesman. Because he was able to sell this vision of a company that seems a bit preposterous to people. Where did chris sr. Get his money for skim x . Chris sr. Got a large sum of money from South African investors. Must have been a good salesman, huh . Must have been because they invested with not even seeing on site the project. They just believed in chris sr. And his vision. And he was able to sell that to them. Then there was that eternal motive, love. Or love gone wrong. Which led the detective to that married woman chris sr. Was seeing. Could she have been the shooter . Leatherman pulled cell phone records, towers may reveal where she was at the time of the shooting. Sure enough, she or her phone at least was within 250 yards of the skim x office. We contacted the girlfriend, asked for an interview. No way she said and hung up. Then there was the South African investors who claimed he was bilked out of 800,000. A lot of money. As we all know murders have been committed for a lot less than that. The investor agreed to sit on camera and tell us the story. A couple of hours later he sent us a text backing out. His reason . Didnt want to put the family through any more pain. But there was someone else on the detectives list of possible suspects. An exemployee who knew where to find the victim. Where he could get a clean shot. The man who was, everybody knew, very angry at Chris Northam, sr. This man. Did you threaten him . I did. I said i will kill you. Coming up did an angry meeting end in murder . I said you might be very careful about the next thing that comes out of your mouth. Or was the killer much closer to home . I didnt want to be the one to point the finger. Words. Sot we will not fail. We will never fail. Runs 04 cont vo mister trump. Fires up supporters. How experts are grading him. Take vo plus the president pulled a no show at the correspondents dinner. But journalists still stood up to him. And comedians still took jabs at him. We ll show you. Take vo plus netflix hit by hackers. And it could jeopardize a popular show. 11pm close tonight at 11 on nbc bay area news within a matter of weeks, the Chris Northam sr. Murder investigation had more potential suspects than a game of clue. Several swindled investors, the married girlfriend. Pretty soon detectives seemed to zero in on that guy, a man who recently had a bitter falling out with chris who made a direct threat on his life. His name was ron khan. He admitted he was no fan of northam. We had s. O. P. S and we had Situational Awareness and we had all these military terms being thrown at us left and right. Why was that . Without coming out and saying he was a navy s. E. A. L. , he said he was involved in special operations for the government and couldnt talk about these things. Hes a licensed contractor. Chris sr. Hired him to build skim xs complicated ramps and jumps. When we actually were supposed to Start Building the park, it was at that time that i realized he had no idea what he was doing constructionwise, businesswise. Out of his depth . Far, far out of his depth. I told him it may be best that we part ways. It was at that point that he said im going after your contractors license and i will make sure you cannot feed your wife and your baby. What did you say to him . I said you might want to be very careful about the next thing that comes out of your mouth. If you threaten my wife and child again, i will kill you. And he did attempt to go after my contractors license. Is that when you sent him threatening texts . I didnt do the threatening texts. I sent him an email that told him i was going to expose him. He found out the truth about one of chris sr. s most closely held secrets. He never was a navy s. E. A. L. He had never even been in the military. Was never a special ops contractor. His stories, his image, his militarized security drills, nothing more than fantasy. I was going to expose him to a gentleman who was a navy s. E. A. L. And who exposed frauds. People who were being frauds. Then weeks after that confrontation, somebody fired two highpowered bullets into Chris Northam sr. The type of bullets you would use in an ar15, which just happened to be the kind of rifle owned by chris sr. Except his was missing. Did the Police Search your house . Yes. And search your car . Yes. And search your phone . Yes. Search everything you owned . Computer, everything. How many times did they question you . Three times. What were you afraid of most . Having something pinned on me that i had nothing to do with and losing my family. And then finally, after months, he was cleared. His fatherinlaw, his wife, several members of the family, they all said he had been at the barbecue when this incident would have happened. So ron couldnt have done it. But what about chris sr. s married female friend, the one whose cell phone pinged near skim x around the time of the murder . Her phone was the only one close to the scene. But at the same time, her phone continued traveling to her residence and was never activating that cell tower for more than 30 seconds to a minute. And within a minute, just didnt seem possible to me. Not enough time to commit a murder and clean up the crime scene. So it couldnt have been the woman. Then, what about the South African investors . Did you consider the possibility that maybe one of those people arranged for the killing . We did look into that. But there was a couple problems with that. Number one, is a lack of motive. They want their money back and if they kill the head of this company, they most likely wouldnt get their money back. Fbi was able to confirm that neither their passports had been entered in the United States during this time. The investigation dragged on for months while Police Worked one false lead after the other. And the family whats your gut feeling about what happened here . My gut feeling has been the same since it happened. Would it be fair for me to say you believe he was targeted . Absolutely. In september, four months after the murder, detective leatherman phoned chris jr. Yet again, just trying to help him remember something he might have missed. Averill overheard part of the conversation. I couldnt hear it all. But i could hear some of the questions. Like a question about chris sr. s missing ar15. Chris said he opened the gun case that morning and pulled out his dads gun and was had touched the gun. Which seemed very strange indeed to averill. Because on the day of the murder, just minutes after the shooting, chris told her his dad no longer owned a gun. Sure enough, heres where he says that during the 911 call. Is your fiance armed with a weapon . No his dad does have one, though. He was in the business . Yes. A gun. He got rid of it. How do you know that . He told me he got rid of it. So when averill heard crystal a detective he had handled his dads gun the day of the murder it was confirming for me right then, that day. Confirming . Yes, she said. Because the awful suspicion had been growing for a while. Chris had let things slip, she said. Things about the murder that didnt add up. Chris must have killed his own father. So did she rush to share her suspicion with detective leatherman . No, she did not. Because i didnt want to be the one to point the finger. But you wanted the finger pointed . I thought justice was taking you wanted to stay out of the way and let it happen without getting hurt in the process . Uhhuh. Which perhaps made a kind of sense to averill. But what she did next made no sense at all. I dont get it. Id like you to explain it to me. How could you get back with him and like marry him . Coming up married to a man shes convinced is a killer. I didnt know which way was up or down. Shes about to reveal the biggest secret of all. All these months i blocked that phone call out. When dateline continues. As parents, we worry about our kids being on devices too much, but it turns out theyre just as worried about us. 28 of teens feel their parents are addicted to their mobile devices. Now thats a direct message. We first heard about the murder of Chris Northam sr. When an odd letter came in the mail. Four pages, singlespaced from someone who said she needed to talk to us about the northams, about skim x, about the investigation. But most of all, about averill. I think she just caught up in something that she did not know how to get out of. This is the author of that letter. Felicia lund. Averill easleys mother. She had this life that was promised to her, this marriage. She wanted it. And she definitely wanted it. As felicia saw it, averill had fallen under chris jr. s spell. How i can describe this, this is going to sound is brainwashed. Because if you knew chris jr. , hes very charming, hes very believable. Which may explain averills faith in chris early on but doesnt explain why five months after the murder when she suspected chris of killing his father, she went ahead with the wedding. I dont get it. Id like you to explain it to me. How could you get back with him and, like, marry him . You were pretty sure he did this, am i right . Absolutely. So i ask you again, what were you thinking . Terrified. Of what . I was terrified of being judged. By whom . Everyone. Explain this to me. I just dont understand. It was just i was being flooded. I just didnt know which way was up, which way was down. So there was averill, sharing a house, a life with a man she believed to be a killer. That must have been pretty weird. How do you manage that . I would just go to bed earlier than him. What would you talk about . We didnt talk. The marriage lasted about six weeks. But because of averills suspicion or because the money ran out she got a call from their landlord one day and she said, rent hasnt been paid for four or five months and were going to lock you out of the house tomorrow. And she had no idea whatsoever that this was happening. So i got in my car and i drove to her house and she opened the door and she immediately started crying and we started hugging. And thats when we got that letter from felicia, about eight months after chris sr. s murder. A murder that at the time we taped these interviews was still unsolved. So what now . Well, i dont know. Chris is still out there. I know. Scared of him . Yes. Yes. We look over our shoulders. And it was during this visit averill told us that long suppressed memories were just beginning to surface, like what chris jr. Said on the phone the day of the murder. I blocked it out. All these months, ive blocked that phone call out. I had a breakdown one night, and it all came flooding. And when it came flooding back, what did you remember particularly . I shot my dad. Thats right. Sitting here eight months after the murder, averill told us she now remembered that chris confessed to her moments after his dad was shot. I blocked it all out. I blocked it all out. Well now, if thats true, it meant she blocked out that confession instantly. Because she made no mention of it when she called 911. Instead, she told a very different story. As my fiance was driving away, he heard gunshots. And averill repeated that same different story a minute later when she spoke to a second 911 dispatcher. Who is the one that heard gunshots, you or him . Chris did. So your fiance was at the business and heard gunshots. As he was driving away. As he was driving, he heard the gunshots. Averill . Averill. Im detective harlan its the same story she told police later that day. He said i heard gun go off on the phone. Seven months would pass after the money was gone and the relationship with chris jr. Was over. Hi. Before averill with her mom by her side told police about chris jr. s alleged confession. What did he tell you . He was in a panic. And he said they had been fighting and i shot my dad. Okay. As you look back now, how upsetting is it to you when you look at yourself over those months ago, when you didnt tell them what you knew . I regret every moment of it. Every moment. I wish i would have been stronger, i guess. Sitting here now, averill told us she just would like to put chris sr. s murder behind her. Negative thoughts as the secret teaches, are bad for the psyche. I have to move on with my life. Even though this is horrible. I still have to continue to live. And better myself. Not fall apart. Moving on with her life, though, was going to be tough. One week after we taped the interview with averill, chris jr. Was arrested and charged with murdering his dad. And then the police made another arrest. A person they had come to believe was chris jr. s accessory. Averill easley. Coming up investigators say there might have been more than one motive for this killing. He was flirtatious towards averill. He made some inappropriate comments in the past about dating him instead of his son. In office with a fiery rally. Take vo plus hackers hold a popular tv show for ransom. How netflix is responding. Vo and a body washes ashore near a quiet east bay neighborhood. The investigation. Into the suspicious death. Next close next on nbc bay area news roseville, california, reacted with Something Like horrified fascination to the arrest of Christopher Northam jr. , charged with the first degree murder of his own father. The same day Averill Easley walked out of her morning exercise class and a very serious looking man. They said are you Averill Easley. I said yes. He said turn around, Averill Easley, youre under arrest. Everyone i knew at the gym was there. They all watched as she was carted off to be booked for being an accessory after the fact to murder. Then they put her in jail. Its filthy. Its somewhat unhumane. It was freezing cold. There was nowhere to sit. Averill spoke with us a few days after her arrest. She was out on bail. I dont want to go back because i told the truth. Im now in trouble. No bail for chris jr. , though. So his brother cody volunteered to speak for him. My brother is not a murderer. I mean, how do you even argue an innocent persons innocence. How do you do that . What else can you say other than theyre not that kind of person . Theyre not that person. Anyway, why would chris do it . Well, very interesting story behind that said prosecutor dave tellman. Averill was a woman who liked to be wellkept. She was a woman who liked fine things. Good food. Nice clothes. They lived in a nice place. And chris was the individual to provide her those things. To keep averill in a lifestyle to which she had grown accustomed said detective leatherman, chris jr. Took to embezzling money from the company. An average of 13,000 a month out of the business. For at least a year. Is wasnt hard. Chris jr. Was in charge of the corporate account. As he bled the business dry, his dad was none the wiser. On the day of the homicide they had less than 40,000. The only money left millions of dollars in chris sr. s Life Insurance policy designated should he die for his sons. By eliminating dad, he was going to get a Million Dollar Life Insurance policy, another million for the company, be ceo. Or could there have been another kind of motive altogether . Chris sr. Was what, 43, 44 . 44. Youre 34. Chris jr. Is like 24, 25. 24, 25 at the time, yeah. You could just as easily had a relationship with senior because that would be more the regular way things usually are. Yeah. Remember the contractor who was once a suspect, he wasnt blind he said. He saw the way senior looked at averill. He was very flirtatious towards averill. He had made some inappropriate comments towards averill in the past about dating him instead of his son. A real man . Exactly. Yeah. All the while, said ron, senior treated jr. Like a pathetic little boy, a loser. Chris jr. Was there and was given tasks and when his father wasnt happy with those tasks, he would belittle him and make him write reports on why he did this wrong. Belittle him in front of other people . In front of everybody, yeah. The irony, said ron, averill didnt appear to be attracted to either father or son. There were comments made by her about wanting the money and that she was with chris for the money. The only reason she was with a young man over ten years younger than her was for the money. Do you want to tell me what you think of her . What i think of her . Yeah. I do. But i dont think i can. Oh, okay. For their part, the extended northam family seemed to regard chris jr. As a victim, siding with him over the actual murder victim, chris sr. , which put the prosecutor in a strange bind. Its a difficult dynamic when the victims family is firmly behind your suspect and asking that you not only give your suspect a break but let him go. Anyway, circumstantial evidence on a true whodunit with no forensic evidence is tough. Then there was the issue of averill. Do you think she knew more than she was saying . I think she knew more than what she was saying. Yes. How hard did you try to turn averill to get her to reveal all . The problem was when someone tells you a number of stories and tells you one more. You might like it the most but do you know its the truth. After four years of back and forth, prosecutor tellman agreed to let chris jr. Plead out. In the end he pled guilty to manslaughter and using a firearm and he received 13 years in state prison. Fair . I truly believe he did much more than what he pled to. But it doesnt matter what i feel. I have to be objective and say whats best for the system, whats best for the county and whats best for the victims family. And averill . There was never any concrete evidence. There was a lot of suspicion that she knew about it beforehand, but there was no hard evidence. The most we could prove was that she knew what happened afterwards and had intentionally told lies to the police to try to protect chris jr. Averill also reached a plea deal for being an accessory after the fact. But as a misdemeanor, not a felony. 60 days suspended sentence. After nearly five years, her case was finally behind her. Its all over. I know. Its all over. Despite the fact, official admission said felicia shes definitely not guilty and she did a plea or else we were going to go to trial. Of course, trials are scary. You never know what a jury is going to do. So her attorney advised her to take a plea. Im so sorry. We wanted to talk to averill again, get her take on the affair . Averill, is this it for you . Yeah. Can we talk to you briefly . Not right now. But she was in a hurry. Had a new boyfriend. Had plans to get married. This was the last we saw of her. Do you think youve really ever heard the truth from her . No. Not at all. Gosh, has she paid her debt to society then or what . In my opinion, no. Two men, one woman. Yes, there were secrets all right. Which might never be revealed. Thats all for now. Im lester holt. Thanks for joining us. In office take vo next at 11 President Trump marks 1007 days in office with a fiery rally. Plus hackers on the popular tv for ran some how netflix is responding. The investigation into a suspicious death next. In just onedays. We have taken historic steps to secure our border. Right now at 11 00 President Donald Trump filing up supporters as he sets his sites onthe First One Hundred days in the white house. The news at 11 00 starts right now good evening everyone thank you for joining us much peggy bunker President Trump may not have parented the the dinner tonight but he had a lot to say about journalists