Left stunned. But it was nothing compared to what happened next. He looks like hes been shot. He said someone broke in last night. A deadly attack in the dark of the night. Her mother murdered. I realized that last conversation i had with her, that was it. His father bruised and bewildered. I dont remember anything else, other than waking up in the morning. Was it a robbery . The televisions on. Was it revenge . You were 11 years old when your mother disappeared. A missing woman, a murdered woman, and a lie. I didnt get through more than a page and a half, and i threw it. I could barely stomach to finish it. Welcome to dateline extra. Aaron candelario and Shannon Palmer were young and in love and engaged to be married. But their family was rocked by scandal. Then murder. Aarons father was found at the crime scene dazed and confused. But his confusing story had Police Questioning his version of events. Heres Keith Morrison with tangled. You cant put words to that. It was very surreal. 911. Where is your emergency . Its true, the old saying, when you marry someone, you marry their family, too. We need an ambulance. He looks like hes been shot. He said someone broke in last night. Him and his wife both. Not a bad thing to turn to mom or dad for advice and counsel. Its hard. Sometimes you think maybe it didnt happen. But yet it really did. Its with their help and support, after all, that true love could deepen and grow, and last. I watched the crime scene shows on tv. I never, ever thought, its going to be my life. Yes, it really is all about family. The high desert opens up near pueblo, colorado, about 100 miles or so south of denver. Among the highest of the nations deserts, a little closer to heaven perhaps . This is where Shannon Palmers mom and dad set out to create a good, safe, and holy life for their daughters. Far from the risks and temptations of the city. It was awesome. Got to grow up with horses and dogs everywhere and chickens and 40 acres to run around on. Shannon and her sister kelsey went to school right at home. Their mother, pam, devoutly jehovahs witness, was their teacher. I loved it. I dont think that i missed out on any aspect of my education. There were strict guidelines, of course, about beliefs, family, marriage, sex. There were no birthday or holiday celebrations, and they learned that members who commit adultery or who divorce can be cast out, shunned. Shannon and kelseys dad, jerry, didnt share the faith, but he respected pam. Though he was never a real fan of home schooling. He wanted them to go to public school, but pam wouldnt have it. She always wanted us to be this tall and be her little girls. You know, she very genuinely loved us, and we were her world. You were her reason to be. Yes, oh, yeah. But finally, when it was time for high school, pam relented. I think she realized that you cant control an environment for a child forever, though. What was it like to make the transition . It was a culture shock. It was different. I was there maybe a week and my new friends are like, lets educate you on the ways of the world. I was like, oh, my gosh. Which, of course, included boys. Two of my girlfriends are like, theres this guy, and you need to meet him, and i think you two are really going to get along. I thought, aw, great. The guy was Aaron Candelario and before long i was in love. Yes. I was very much in love. You know, we had such a connection. No kidding. Both jehovahs witnesses, both home schooled by their mothers. Or at least aaron was home schooled until his parents marriage broke up. We were so drawn to each other, that two people were so driven, and so optimistic, and just wanted to do big things in life. So after high school, they got engaged, and full of excitement, planned a wedding. Then one night shannons mother, pam, sent the girls off to bible study and told their father, jerry, they needed to talk. She looked up and says, i dont want to be married to you anymore. I dont want to be here. Everything was fine, fine, fine, then we seemed to be getting along. Everything was fine. She said, this is it, im done. What did that feel like . It was a crush. You were crushed. What happened . No one knew. Except that now these two had one more thing in common. Both products of broken homes. The wedding day approached, just a few days to go, when shannons mother, pam, and aarons dad, ralph, invited the bride and groomtobe for dinner and a talk. Ralph was every bit a devout a believer as pam. So some premarital guidance perhaps . Oh, no. Nothing like that. They told us, we ran off, we eloped and got married. Wait, what . Your mother and aarons father . Yes. Who does that . I dont know. But i cant tell you how much it felt like i got hit by a bus. Do you know what that meant . It meant that by the time you got married, you were marrying your stepbrother. Right. I didnt say much. I was just like, well, were leaving. And suddenly jerry realized how blind hed been. You didnt understand, but then afterwards it all all the pieces fell into place. You were never suspicious . I trusted her. Dont we do that . In a relationship . No trust now. Shannon and aaron were furious, told the elopers, interlopers more like, stay away from the wedding. But they couldnt pretend it hadnt happened. And when they hit the little bumps most young marriages encounter, it colored everything. Did your father and her mothers relationship have anything to do with what happened to you and shannon . You know, we were pretty determined not to let their relationship have an effect, but, you know, its always something thats in the back of your head. After a year and a half, shannon and aaron divorced. Pam and ralphs marriage, on the other hand, thrived. They moved into a big house on a corn lot in the walsenburg, an owed coal mining town about 50 miles south of pueblo. They opened up an antiques mall in the center of town. Then bought a Vacation Home in oregon. That was the happiest i ever remember seeing her. For nearly three years, shannon still hurt, rarely spoke to her mom. But then one day pam asked her to lunch. She was so focused on wanting me to know that we had a future together, her and i. Wow. So finally she was coming around on her own accord. It felt like it, yeah. You know, when i told her, i said, i cant handle you being my mother and being doing what you did, i said, but i want to be your friend and i want to try this. So this is a breakthrough lunch. It seemed like it at the time. It was a breakthrough lunch, yeah. Or a beginning at least. And then just a few days later i was at work. And i see aarons name come up on my phone. Right. Hes like, you know what . Something as a happened in walsenburg. My dads being returned to the hospital and they cant find your mom. But i think someones dead. Coming up, who was dead . And was the killer on the loose in a small town . Unwanted odors lingering too long in your car . Try febreze car vent clips just snap the clip and insert in the vent to eliminate lingering odors for up to 30 days. Try febreze car vent clips, available in a range of light to bold scents. Protect your pet with the 1 name in flea and tick protection. Frontline plus. Trusted by vets for nearly 20 years. The house, kids, theyre living the dream and here comes the wacky new maid maid . Uh, im not the. Is she an alien, is she a spy . Shes always here, someone tell us why why, oh, why shes not the maid we wanted because im not the maid but shes the maid we got again, im not the maid. I protect your home and auto. Hey, campbells. Whos your new maid . Iyou wont find relief here. Congestion and pressure . Go to the pharmacy counter for powerful claritind. While the leading allergy spray only relieves 6 symptoms, claritind relieves 8, including sinus congestion and pressure. Claritind relieves more. Walgreens. Battle beautifully 7 00 a. M. , january 16th, 2014. A cold morning in walsenburg, colorado. 911. Where is your emergency . Ralph and pam candelarios neighbor had been on her way to work. We need an ambulance. Ver va had never encountered anything like this before. I looked over and he was saying, help me, help me. Ralph was on the ground, in front of his house, hurt. I got to him and asked him if he needed help. And he seemed to be kind of out of it. Finally ralph managed to get the words out. He and his wife had been attacked and robbed. Very afraid the attackers might still be in the house, called 911. He looks like he had been shot. He said somebody broke in last night. How are they doing . Hes not good. Crying. He told me to go help her. Shes in the kitchen. Im going to get my neighbor to help me here. Ralph, were getting help for you, ralph. Okay . The police arrived. Went into the house with guns drawn. And there at the entrance to the kitchen, still in her nightgown, lay pam candelario. Her head covered in blood. I knew she was dead when the ambulance showed up, because they didnt go into the house. They just stayed, and were working on ralph. Ralph wasnt shot, but he was hurt. And he was air lifted to the nearest trauma hospital. Walsenburg, as local reporter eric mullens knew, was not equipped to handle an investigation of this magnitude. You have small town departments, five, six, seven people. You dont have murder cops on staff. You dont have forensic professionals on staff. So by the time shannon arrived at the hospital looking for her mother, an agent of the Colorado Bureau of investigation was there to meet her. Along with aaron. How did she take it . About as well as you expect anybody to get hit by a sledgehammer or whatever. First youre just kind of shocked, then a little bit of denial. Suddenly i realized that that last conversation i had with her was that was it. No fresh start now. Her mother was dead. And then shannon saw ralph. And he lost it. He just turned into a sobbing, shaking maniac. Ralphs face was banged up. He had bruises in several places. He was confused. Like a man coming out of a concussion. Just exhausted. My head still just hurts. And then as soon as he was able, and still in his hospital clothes, ralph talked to agents of the cbi. Sorry to hear about your loss. Its been a horrible day. The best he could remember, said ralph, he got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. Then decided to go downstairs to make sure the woodburning stove was still lit. But on his way to the bottom of the steps, he said, somebody hit him from behind. And then again from the side. And i put my arm up, and, boom, i mean, it just hit me like a ton of bricks. It hit me hard, you know. And so i went backwards. The ringing i couldnt see no more. Ralph was knocked unconscious. I mean, i dont remember anything else, other than waking up in the morning. Then, said ralph, still disoriented, he tried to sit up. I looked down the hallway. I could see pam, her legs. She was there. Revealed by the first rays of a warm morning sun. Her head there was just blood all over. And there was blood on the floor. And i touched her cheek. And she was cold, cold, cold. And i ran out of the house. And that, said ralph, is when he saw his neighbor and yelled for help. But who did it . Robbers . Or someone else . Normally, said Walsenburg Police captain vince suarez you always look at the closest people to the victim. Except in this case, Ralph Candelario was also a victim, and clearly wanted to help find the killer or killers. Cbi agent jody wright he was very cooperative, absolutely. So investigators turned their attention to the spurned exhusband, jerry palmer. Actually, the next day was when the investigators called me. It was no secret jerry and pam did not get along after the divorce. A divorce which, by the way, she asked him to file. Since as a jehovahs witness, she wasnt allowed to. So then you filed for divorce. I filed for divorce. Accommodating to the end. To the end. And now, the police were calling. And i told them id be more than happy to talk to them. If they come up to nebraska. I said if youve got about six hours, you can be here to talk to me. Nebraska . Jerry had moved far away. Which cleared him for sure. Of course, they would need to look at shannon and aaron, too, given their falling out with pam and ralph. But they were cleared almost immediately, because they were nowhere around . Yeah, they were not involved. Deadend. The crime scene people did find some things, mind you, including a bloody fireplace poker that turned out to be the murder weapon. The marking on her head was the exact replica of the shape of the fire poker, the end of the poker. They cataloged everything they found. Broken glass in the backdoor. They even took the knobs off drawers and sent them to the lab hoping the intruders left dna or fingerprints on them. And then quite unexpected. Then, quite unexpected, something remarkable turned up. And right through the front door of the local newspaper so what did you think when you first read that document . I felt i had my own little version of the pentagon papers in a way. Coming up, a letter that had everyone in town talking. I remember reading it and putting it down thinking, no, it didnt say that. You know reliable support when you have it, and that dependability is what we want to give our customers. At comcast, its my job to constantly monitor our network. Prevent problems, and to help provide the most Reliable Service possible. My name is tanya, i work in the Network Operations center for comcast. We are working to make things simple, easy and awesome. Its a grand name perhaps for a weekly paper in an out of the way little town, the World Journal. But then walsenberg was a thriving coal mines offered endless promise. Now antique stores like pam and ralphs filled the gaps left behind by departing commerce. I think in all small towns, you see, maybe a degree of selling the heritage because theres nothing else left to sell. So no surprise said eric mullens of the World Journal. Invasion and killing at the candelario place was a big deal for the weekly paper and for the whole town. We didnt know who was out there. People like their neighbors, dina and mark. I was afraid. I didnt even want to go to my paint class that i do in the evening because i was afraid to be out. A lot of people got guns. A lot of neighbors told me. I went out and got a gun. You know . I want to protect myself. Everybody knew the candelarios had a nice house, filled with vintage treasures. Theres a Little Jewelry that pam kept. This is her dresser. Some of which were missing as ralph told the police during a videotaped tour. The televisions gone. Okay. The candelarios had been about to leave on vacation. So maybe the intruders thought they were gone and were surprised to find them at home. But who . A citizens tip supplied a possible lead. She brought up individual names that he believed were involved in this homicide. Ramon bear rose and jose nino, known drug users, both had rap sheets, a history of breaking and entering and assault. They were trying to sell jewelry the day after the murders. You have a responsibility to check into that . Yeah. Pams daughter shannon found her blaming ralph for not preventing what happened. I was angry at him. In my mind i was like, why didnt you protect my mother. Thats your role as her husband. And right about then the biggest scoop of eric mullens career landed right in the lap of the huerfano World Journal. Ive been in news since i was 15 years old. Ive seen a lot of things walk in the newsroom. I had never seen anything like this. In through the front door marched Ralph Candelario with an open letter to the whole town. It was him explaining what he can remember after he had been treated up in pueblo for his injury, and interviewed by the cbi. This is my story. This is my story, this is what happened to me. To whom it may concern, he began. And were including his typos exactly as they appeared in his letter. His memory was coming back. He wanted to explain, and maybe shannon was right, he felt guilty. I am angry at myself for not finding a way to do more, or just getting myself killed, too. Now, he wrote, he had an image of who his attackers were. I got a glimpse of that person, a tall dark man with yellow glasses, short, curly hair, wide nose, large lips and marks on the sides of his face. The tall guy was talking on the phone in spanish, he said. One of the two fellows the tipster called about . Hard to know. But one of them knocked him out, he wrote, and when he came to, there was pam. But not dead, as he first told the police. It says here she was still alive. She started to convulse. And i held her hand for just a couple minutes. And she just went quiet. I yelled at her again. I just started crying. And then the two men returned. I just broke down. I was crying, and i was cold, and i was freaked out. Pam was there with me, just a few feet away. Things took a turn for the worst, he wrote. Then he pointed his gun at me and fired. It just clicked. I cant fully say what happened to me at that point. In fact, he was so scared, he said, he soiled his pajamas. He wrote that his ordeal began after he and pam went to bed on tuesday night, not wednesday, as he originally thought. And it lasted nearly two days. He woke up on thursday morning. I thought my nightmare was over. But i looked down the hall, and i could see pams legs in the kitchen. Thats when he ran out of the house and found his neighbor who called 911. Of course, the World Journal printed all that though the police werent too happy about it. And eric mullens . I remember taking it home and reading it and putting it down and thinking, no, it didnt say that. And picking it back up again. But remarkable as ralphs letter was, it still wasnt the whole story. A few weeks after the murder, he mustered up the courage and told the police while he was held captive, he had asked to go to the restroom and he was sexually assaulted in the bathroom. Why didnt he say anything about that before . His explanation was, that he was embarrassed. It might be a little bit difficult to talk about, but the smallest details could be very important, so keep that in mind. Ralph agreed to show the investigators exactly what happened, and where. He grabbed me with the other hand on my hip right here. And he proceeded to assault me. So that was the whole awful story. But if ralph thought that sharing his new more detailed recollections would clear the air, he was wrong. What did you think when you saw it . I was pretty blown away by what was written. Coming up, back at home with detectives, ralph gets his own surprise. He was very upset that they were missing. Protect your pet with the 1 name in flea and tick protection. Frontline plus. Trusted by vets for nearly 20 years. Starting a business means i have to be well rested, every night of the month. Always overnight pads have up to a 2x larger back for up to 10 hours of protection. It catches leaks, so you can catch zzzzs. Because my morning starts before morning starts. Always i heard there guwere fleas out here. R . And ttttticks and mosquitoooooooooooes listen up, scaredy cats. We all have k9 advantix ii to protect us. It kills and repels fleas, ticks and mosquitoes, too. Audible members know listening has the power to change us make us better parents, better leaders, better people. And theres no better place to listen than audible. With audible you get a credit good for any audiobook and exclusive fitness and wellness programs. And now, youll also get two Audible Originals titles exclusively produced for audible. Automatically roll your credits over to the next month if you dont use them, and if you dont like a book just swap it for free. Enjoy 100 ad free listening in the car, on your phone or any connected device. And when you switch a device pick up right where you left off. With our commitment free guarantee, theres never been a better time to start listening to audible. The most inspiring minds, the most compelling stories, the best place to listen. To start your free 30day trial, text listen27 to 500500 today. What if you had fewer headaches and migraines a month . Botox® prevents headaches and migraines before they even start. Botox® is for adults with chronic migraine, 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting 4 hours or more. Botox® injections take about 15 mins. In your Doctors Office and are covered by most insurance. Effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. Alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be signs of a lifethreatening condition. Side effects may include allergic reactions, neck and injection site pain, fatigue, and headache. Dont receive botox® if theres a skin infection. Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, and medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. With the botox® savings program, most people with commercial insurance pay nothing out of pocket. Talk to your doctor and visit botoxchronicmigraine. Com to enroll. Welcome back to dateline extra. When Ralph Candelarios account of the Home Invasion was published, it became the talk of the town. Everyone wondered, could this story be true . Ralph said yes. And police wondered if the truth was in there, somewhere. Returning to tangled, heres Keith Morrison. Ralph candelario appeared to believe that his 3,300word letter about the murder of his wife would be the accepted true account of that terrible event. But heres what pams daughter, shannon, thought. It felt overly dramatic and really just glamorous that he was the victim of this. And that wasnt that made me sick. And angry obviously. Yeah. Her sister kelseys interpretation . I thought it was very strange. I thought that he had some work to do on a story because it sounded really phony. Entitled to their opinions, of course. But then so were the cops. Recovered memory . No, said the cbis jody wright. More like a coverup. Nothing in his statement matched anything that i knew to be at the crime scene. It just didnt make sense. None of it. It wasnt really that ralph changed his story in his World Journal manifesto, not exactly. More like he kept adding to it. So he watches very carefully what youre doing and tailors his story to match what he thinks youre finding. Exactly. Ralph kept explaining, kept offering not less, but more details. About, for example, the drawer pulls in his house, the ones investigators removed to test for fingerprints. In the event that one of the invasion persons touched them. Now heres ralph with the police at his house just after pam was murdered. Noticing the missing knobs. What happened to all the knobs . He was very upset that they were missing. I dont understand why the knobs are gone. And he would know youre looking for fingerprints of these home invaders. Well, yes. But what if they didnt find any fingerprints besides his and pams . Well, in his letter written a few days later, ralph provided a new detail that accounted for that possibility. All of a sudden, now his attackers, he remembered that they wore gloves with l. E. D. Lights on them. Which would explain why no one elses prints would be on the knobs of the drawers. Have you ever heard of gloves with l. E. D. Lights . We researched it, because i had never heard of that. They do exist. In the letter, ralph also changed the time of pams death, backed it up by more than 24 hours. Why . Could that perhaps have been a response to this investigators challenge . She didnt die at 3 00 in the morning. It had to be earlier than that. Well know after today. Well know that. Okay. And thats going to come back to you. Okay. But thats when ralph reported the invaders were in his house just a few hours. Now in his letter, he remembered the ordeal lasting nearly two days. And do you remember we mentioned it a while back that broken glass in the back door . The thing was, the glass fell out the door, not in, as you would expect it would do if somebody was breaking into the house. The police, of course, brought that up with ralph. And what did he write in his letter . I went out the back, and the rear door glass was broken. Some pieces fell out when i opened the door. Ralph even had answers to questions he wasnt asked, like, why was the fireplace poker exactly where it belonged by the fireplace . Normally if you used a weapon, youre going to find it somewhere around where your victim is. And it looked like the poker had been put back in its original place. Heres what ralph wrote. I picked up the poker to stir up the fire. I saw blood on the end of it and put it down. So investigators studied ralphs manifesto for clues. And thanks to the huerfano World Journal, so did everybody else in town. Neighbors, mike and dina it sounded like a novel to me. A bizarre one at that. Shannon who had been angry at ralph for not protecting her mother, read the letter and began to have thoughts that were much more disturbing. I didnt get through more than a page and a half and i threw it, and i said, this is bull [ bleep ]. I said, this is the worst i could barely stomach to finish it. And aaron, shannons exhusband, ralphs son . Aaron went to a very dark place indeed. Oh, you have no idea. You were 11 years old when your mother disappeared. Yes. Coming up, secrets in the basement. I had been going through some of my dads stuff in the basement and found a box of stuff that supposedly she had taken with her. When dateline extra continues. Who goes against the grain, then with it. Who never cuts corners, unless corners need to be cut. At lowes, we do it right, too. With all the right plants for your region. And big savings on top lawn and garden brands. So, you stay a step ahead of spring all season long. Childrens claritin feallergy relief. Of nondrowsy the 1 pediatrician recommended nondrowsy brand. Because to a kid a grassy hill is irresistible. Childrens claritin. Feel the clarity and live claritin clear. 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So lets just enjoy ourselves out here. I wasnt really that scared. Ahhh get it off get it off its a leaf. K9 advantix ii kills and repels fleas, ticks and mosquitoes, too. They have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps. Com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the Amazing Services of the post office only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps. Com tv and never go to the post office again the year was 2004, and Aaron Candelario was 11 years old. His parents has recently separated were sharing custody. One day after a weekend at his dads house, aaron went home to find there was just a note on the coffee table that was in kind of sketchy handwriting, but nevertheless said, i love you, my boys, and im taking off. His mother, dina, was simply gone. Aaron was devastated. What did your father suggest may have happened to her . That she possibly had moved to missouri. A guy that she had been talking to online for quite some time, you know, maybe she ran away to be with him. A missing persons case was opened, but nothing came of it. Aaron and his brother moved in with ralph fulltime. But aaron couldnt move on. She had to have left some trail somewhere. Barely a teenager, he taught himself every web search engine, looked for years. But found no sign of his mom online. And a terrible suspicion took hold of him, hardened into Something Like certainty. His mother must be dead. His father must have done it. And after that, it became more of, okay, where would he put her body . He was maybe 13 or 14 when he thought about those old coal mines around walsenburg. You actually went and looked . Oh, yeah, i went through a lot of those mines myself. Alone . Mmhmm. Youre looking for the remains of your own mother. I mean, i cant imagine what that i cant explain it. Its always been a fire that just drives you to do something. And then one day i had been going through some of my dads stuff in the basement. I found a box of stuff that she had supposedly taking with her. A denim jacket her mother had given her, passport was there. What was that like. That was kind of the final straw. Naturally if she was gone, she would have taken those things with her. That was my final piece of the puzzle. He left it there. Left the box in the basement and emerged a changed person. Shannon told us, aaron wouldnt talk much about his mother when they were married. But i would find him up at night just, over her stuff, just over papers. I mean, just emotional. Going through her papers. Just going through her stuff. Whatever little bit and pieces he had left of his mother he couldnt even handle. Just it wrecked him. And when aaron heard pam was dead my First Response was, how did he do it. And then he told the cops about his mother. Now, you may have a serial killer on your hands. Serial killer of spouses. Something like that. That was the thought. Two wives, one missing, the other dead. And the one thing they had in common was Ralph Candelario. But suspicion alone wasnt enough. It wasnt proof. So the investigation continued . Yes. In an effort to shake him, or maybe even get a confession, they sought help from the one person whose presence back at the hospital made ralph break down and cry. Shannon. Cbi had me call him, bugged my phone and tried to get him to tell me what happened. She must have been so scared. She was terrified. It was probably one of the hardest things shes ever had to do. Ralph . Hey, this is shannon. But shannon did it. Ive been waking up having panic attacks. I cant deal with this. I want to know what happened. Can you tell me anything . Yeah. The only thing, you know, that i know is that a lot of stuff was stolen from the house. Okay. Ralph stuck to his story. A deadly Home Invasion. And then i found her. Yeah. And thats, you know yeah. I tried to deal with that. Shannon pressed ralph for details. The one guy that hit me that i saw from the front was taller than me. Okay. And he had a dark complexion. You know, he had marks on his face. And then something that didnt sound quite right. And i dont know. And thats and it felt like a split second. A split second . Remember, in his letter, ralph said his cap tors held him and abused him for nearly two days. In my mind, if youre not going to tell me what happened, and youre going to dance around the issue and tell me different stories, what are you hiding . Investigators wondering the same thing, tried to find answers in the evidence. On a laptop they found hits for, match. Com, just days before the murder. Somebody had been visiting the site at least. That would have been our suspicion. Its going to be either pam or ralph. Right. And then they found ralphs real life mistress. Yes, he had one. And she said they carried on for most of the time he was married to pam. But now shannon thought back to the last time she saw her mother. Because i asked her if she was happy. What did she say . She realized that she had given up her family, because she had destroyed this relationship with me and kelsey, and shes gotten into this new marriage, telling me that she just wasnt as happy as she should have been. Lots of circumstantial evidence, almost enough. Not quite. And then the antique rugs. I was searching the kitchen area and found in the washing machine two small size rugs. And the rugs were still very wet. And they were balled up to one side. But when ralph saw the rugs during a walkthrough with the police, he didnt seem to recognize them. I mean, ive never seen these rugs. The minute we heard he had never seen them, we knew the russian had importance. We just didnt know how. They sent the rugs to the lab. And months later they heard back. What did you find when you tested them . Pams blood was found on the rugs. They had caught ralph in an obvious lie. He must have put those rugs into the machine himself, hoping to wash away the evidence. Finally they had enough. Almost nine months after pams death, officers went to the antique store with an arrest warrant. Thats when we learned that he decided to go on vacation. Ralph candelario was gone. Coming up, a manhunt for a suspected killer by cell phone. I initiated some phone calls with ralph so we could try to track him down. But would he answer . When dateline extra continues. W comes power, confidence, reassurance youre doing whats right to protect your dog from fleas and ticks for a full month. This one little nexgard chew is the 1 vet recommended protection. And its the only chew fda approved to prevent infections that cause lyme disease. Plus, its safe for puppies. Theres a lot of power in this one little nexgard chew. Nexgard. What one little chew can do. Nexgard. Theres brushing. And theres oralb power brushing. Oralb just cleans better. Even my hygienist said going electric could lead to way cleaner teeth. And unlike sonicare, oralb is the First Electric toothbrush brand accepted by the ada. Oralb. Brush like a pro. Bills back needed a afvacation from his vacation. An amusement park. So he stepped on the dr. Scholls kiosk. It recommends our best custom fit orthotic to relieve foot, knee, or lower back pain. So you can move more. Dr. Scholls. Born to move. It took nine months of painstaking police work before investigators finally had enough evidence to arrest Ralph Candelario for the murder of his wife pam, but theyd have to find him first. Ralph was on vacation or maybe on the run. I initiated some phone calls with ralph so that we could try to track him down. They tracked his cell phone and caught up with him. Driver, get your hands in the air. In northern california. Walk back to the sound of my voice. Back to me. You all right . Yeah. Charged him with first degree murder. Pams daughters were relieved when they got the news. All i could think to myself was finally. What was that like . It was like yea, then it was like this is reality all over again. Its starting. Meaning, of course, reliving the crime at the trial. Im antsy. Im eager. You want to go and testify . Yeah. I want this to be over. And i know that i need to cope with whatever answer comes. Your opening. Yes, your honor. Then here it was, february 25th, 2016. Already ralph had managed a victory, had tied prosecutor ryan brackleys hands, in one way, anyway. Well, we tried to tell the entire story about Ralph Candelario and Ralph Candelarios life. In other words, the very suspicious disappearance of dena, the first wife, whose body has never been found. But ultimately, the judge denied that motion, and we went to trial without that piece. Youve already heard about the prosecutions evidence. Ralphs open letter to the huerfano World Journal which, said prosecutor matt durkin, had been exposed as an elaborate lie. That letter was in itself a very sensational story, but it was inconsistent with all of the physical evidence in the investigation that had occurred to that point. Which the prosecution listed in detail for the jury to hear. But theres always more than one side to a story. Defense attorney dariel weaver told the jury that when she read carefully through all the prosecution material, heres what jumped right out at her. When you take a good hard look at their evidence, when you see that theyve interpreted the evidence to fit the conclusion that they drew in the first 12 hours of this case, you see that all it is is assumptions and suppositions and cut corners. Reporter but, said the defense, if the jury looked at facts and not assumptions, theyd see ralphs story about what happened to pam had to be true. Remember those two men fingered as possible killers . They had records, drug offenses, burglaries. She walks in on a burglary. Burglaries arent uncommon in walsenburg especially with all the drugs around. Reporter then, said the defense, one of the bad guys saw pam and he hits pam in the head hard. Hes standing there in the kitchen, fire poker in his hand, wondering what to do. Reporter the robbers must have thought pam and ralph had already left on vacation. This family was supposed to be gone. That was the talk around town. Reporter so, for the jury it came down to whose story to believe. Prosecutors said the police cleared those suspects right back at the beginning. But nothing could clear ralph. And nothing could soften a truly shocking allegation ralph murdered pam because divorce would get him disfellowshipped, cast out, from his church. Pam wasnt leaving. And so he had only one option left. Reporter if he became a widower, hed be free to marry again. It was, said the prosecutors, one of the more disturbing motives for murder theyd ever heard. So his religious beliefs were more important than somebody elses life . Ralph candelarios life was more important than anyone elses life. Reporter so the jury got the case. And they worked till the end of the day and then through a second and then a third. Tick tock. Whether they convict him or they dont is going to be a different set of emotions. Reporter and then in the middle of the third day we the jury find the defendant, ralph leroy candelario, guilty of count number one of first degree murder. Reporter guilty. But the end of ralphs story . Oh, no. On the day set aside for his sentencing ralph decided the plot needed one more twist. The jail issued him a safety razor to clean up for court. Ralph used it to slash his wrists and throat. His own son was not sympathetic. Well, you know, the sucker would rather go out than actually face his destiny that way. Reporter suicide attempt, delaying tactic, whatever it was it didnt work. A day later the judge ordered ralph back to court. Reporter and ralph, bandagee spotlight. Your honor, i have maintained that i have been innocent through this whole process. Reporter and then a keen observer might almost have heard the jaws drop around the courtroom. Pam will be resurrected. We will be able to see her again. We will be able to watch her laugh and sing and do all the things that made her such a special person. And in that regard, i put my hope in that future. But until then, i am going to file an appeal for this particular motion. Reporter for now his future is life without the possibility of parole. I had never had a weight so heavy lifted. It was exactly. It was wonderful. Reporter i got to say, by the way, dont want to embarrass you, but i have found that investigators of homicides are the biggest softies on the planet. Were not supposed to let that out, but once in a while it happens. Reporter youre not supposed to care as much as you do, but you really do. You do. Oh, absolutely. You become very attached. Those girls are special. Pam had a part in that, and theyre hopefully theyll be able to live on her legacy. Reporter and ralphs legacy . Because of him, aaron will go on searching, hoping to learn what happened to his mother. Yeah. I will be looking. Probably in oh, in some way my entire life ill always be asking questions. Reporter and shannon he needs to realize this isnt over. He didnt just murder someone and have nothing afterwards. He left behind family. He left behind a disaster. And if im the only thing to remind him of that, then thats what im there for. Thats all for this edition of dateline extra. As he weighs a possible 20 president ial run former Vice President joe biden is addressing an allegation of unwanted touching. A former nevada legislator accuses him of touching her and kissing her without her consents. William barr says special counsels Robert Muellers long awaited report on russian interference in 2016 will be released to the public by midapril if not sooner. President trump is threatening to close the u. S. Southern border this week and white house Officials Say he isnt bluffing