>> she told me that mr. democker had informed them during one of their in-person visits at the jail to bring some pencil and paper. there was a glass between them. mr. democker had brought a document with him that he placed on the glass, so that they could view it. >> reporter: according to renee, steve himself wrote that document. then asked his daughter charlotte, just 17 at the time, to copy it down. >> mr. democker then asked them to send that document which became known as the anonymous e-mail to mr. sears and to the prosecutor's office. >> reporter: "mr. sears" was john sears. one of steve's defense attorneys. steve's reasoning, according to steve's sister sharon, he'd heard that story from an inmate in that air-vent conversation and desperately wanted to get the story out, and investigated. >> the death penalty was still on the table. so, steve was