Family might arc . They seemed so loving, but was there another side. Its a monster that comes out of a closet. Its very ugly. How dark is that side . Murderous. But which one was the killer . Hello and welcome to dateline. He was a man suddenly confronted with something monstrous, evil at the door. This story is a mystery about a father of two young daughters. One night he left to pick up one of them and never came back. The question for investigators wasnt what happened. It was who did it. In the home of a godfearing family in one of the smallest of american towns, the worst of crimes. Please come and help us. Okay. Ill get a hold of the ambulance. All right . Yes. The crime became a mystery, a whodunit . Its a puzzle. Almost a game of three card monte. It made many people in town wonder about one particular family, about what had been going on behind the closed doors of their home. How well do you really know your neighbors . How well do you really know the people that surround you . Get one . Want me to feed it to him . Our story begins with Stephen Watkins who had grown up in tiny chandlerville in rural central illinois, population 700. Hed had the kind of ideal childhood he wanted to recreate on his own. I think that was probably his biggest goal in life, was to have that family that he grew up with. Stephens parents, penny and dale, say even as a kid their boy was always holding his younger sister ashleigh or cousins playing with him, showering them with attention. He loved kids, loved people, and he was going to have kids and be around them. He was patient and kind and had a smile for everyone. You could always see the smile in his eyes. I could just look in him and see the joy of life. Brandy ran Cross Country with stephen back in the 90s. Just a really good guy, genuine, loved his family, not an enemy in the world. Just always looked out for people. In his 20s, stephen joined the military. I think he wanted to get out and see a different part of the world. He was raised in a small town and he felt like the military could offer him adventure. Stephen signed with the coast guard and moved to virginia. But not long before he left, a former girlfriend gave birth to a baby girl named alexandra, alex. It was his baby girl and he immediately jumped in as her father. Stephen right right there. When she was born, he doted over her. He was just excited about every little thing. He would sleep right by alexs bed, holding her little hand. Thats just how he was. The former girlfriend regularly took alex to visit stephen in virginia and the bond between father and daughter grew strong. Alexs mother then realized stephen could offer more stability and a better home life for their daughter than she could, and she gave him full custody of her. That says a lot about him as a dad. Yes. Stephen was responsible, and that says that he was determined to be part of his childrens life. When alex was 2, stephen moved her to virginia to live with him full time. He made sure she was in a good day care. There was always times when he had to make sure he run out and got her at the right time. Did he complain he didnt have freedom . Absolutely not. He was content with that. But stephen also wanted a wife. When his Coast Guard Service ended, he returned home, living in a house behind his parents and got a job with the state. About a year later stephen noticed an attractive woman whose Office Shared a parking lot with his. He was really excited. He felt like i found what ive been looking for in life. That woman was Jennifer Webster who had grown up around the corner from stephens friend brandy. She was very tall and just angelic in so many ways, her smile was contagious as well. Very bright, very modelesque. When she walked into a room i think people turned their heads because she was beautiful. She was a very cute girl, long hair. She can be as sweet as can be. You can take her to any crowd and shell fit in. Jennifers uncle ed skinner remembers hearing about stephen from jennifer before the two started dating in the summer of 2006. From jennifers description, stephen seemed to be infatuated with her from a distance. She said this boy has been watching me in the parking lot at work, watches my every move every time i go to work, hes there sitting in his car, until i get out. My two boys and looked at each other and said stalker stephen. His mother says stephen wasnt stalking her, but had spoken with her a few times before asking her out in that very same parking lot. They became a couple instantly. This happened so quick, i was shocked. She brought him to church two weeks after they had met and introduced him to my fatherinlaw, didnt even know his last name. Ed says this wasnt how things usually went in his and jennifers family which he says was slow to accept outsiders. Were a kind of family that every single night for probably 15 years we met for supper someplace, either at their house, my house or at a local restaurant. We was just a closeknit family. The skinners in are a religious family, seventh day adventists, in the last several years multiple generations lived together in a large home, one of the biggest in the neighborhood. They stuck together, kept to themselves, to the point where some people say they seemed almost clannish. Brandy says not only were they tightknit, but family successful as well, the result of a Family Business. They always had nicer things. I remember one summer they had a garage sale and it was like a gold mine. Jennifer was beautiful, well off, came from a close family like stephen had and yearned for a family as stephen did. What could be better . In the end, the real question what could be worse . He didnt know what he was getting into. Coming up, stephens family starts to wonder exactly what kind of woman hes gotten involved with. It was a disgrace that she would even do Something Like that. When dateline continues. Stop dancing around the pain that keeps you up again, and again. Advil pm silences pain, and you sleep the whole night. Advil pm [ text notification now that you have] new dr. Scholls massaging gel advanced insoles with softer, bouncier gel waves, youll move over 10 more than before. Dr. Scholls. Born to move. But allstate actually helps you drive safely. With drivewise. It lets you know when you go too fast. And brake too hard. With feedback to help you drive safer. Giving you the power to actually lower your cost. Unfortunately, it cant do anything about that. Now that you know the truth. Are you in good hands . Most of us dont know how much data we use, but we all know were paying too much for it. Enter xfinity mobile. Americas best lte with the most wifi hotspots, combined for the first time. When youre near an xfinity hotspot, youre connected to wifi, saving on data. When youre not, you pay for data by the gig. Use a little, pay a little. Use a lot, just switch to unlimited. Get 400 back when you buy the new lg g8. Call, visit or click today. Welcome back to dateline. Stephen and jennifer seemed to have a lot in common, both came from close families, and they were both interested in growing a family. The budding relationship appeared so simple at first. But how well did they really know each other . They couldnt know it yet, but the couple was in for rockier times ahead. We continue with the mystery on horseshoe drive. Thats it. Theres your horse. There he is. In the heart of an illinois farm belt, a new relationship was growing very fast. It seemed stephen and jennifer began dating one day and became a committed couple the next. Making it a happy threesome, stephens daughter from a previous relationship, alex. Stephen often captured Family Moments with photos and family video. His family says he thought jennifer would make the perfect wife and mother. He felt like she wants to cook with us, she loves alex. She treats alex like shes her mother. The woman to complete his life. Yes. The family he was looking for. Yes. If stephen was happy, his mother had her doubts about the girl from that tightknit family. I didnt feel like she really wanted to be part of our family, and that was from the very beginning i felt that way. Stephens dad took a more positive view. I just thought it was going to be a good fit for him. I thought jennifer would be real good for both of them. They presented a pretty good picture. Was your son in love . Yes. Stephen began spending much of his time with alex, jennifer and her family. He was thrilled that the family seemed to embrace him and his daughter, as his sister ashleigh remembers. That was number one. He wanted to make sure they enjoyed kids and would get along with alex, too. Not only was she nice and interacting with him and alex and basically the perfect mother, but their family was accepting alex and welcoming both of them with open arms. It was crucial to stephen to have this family accept alex. Exactly. Within weeks of meeting, stephen and jennifer got married in august 2006. Stephens family remembers how happy everyone seemed the day of the wedding, especially stephen. He was ecstatic, had a big old smile, eyes shining. It was an outdoors wedding. It was really a nice wedding. They threw petals on the sidewalk. She was smiling ear to ear. Her family made several comments about how they were happy they had such a wonderful soninlaw and he was going to be part of their family. The whole family raved about stephen and alex. The whole family, that is, except jennifers uncle ed. He says he didnt approve of the whirlwind romance. He didnt like that Stalker Steve became the one so quickly. He did not attend the wedding. I was told within a month after they started dating they was going to get married. And thats just not the way that our family ever did it. You get to know somebody, you did them a long time before you just commit to something in life. I felt she jumped out of the skillet into the frying pan. Did you feel stephen was jumping out of the skillet and into the frying pan . Yeah. He didnt know what he was getting into. Their life together unfolded like a storybook marriage. Not long after the wedding they bought a home on horseshoe drive, just down the block from where her parents and grandparents lived in ashland, about a half hour from stephens family. Then, not long after that stephen called his mom with more big news. Jennifer was pregnant. I was excited for him. I kept thinking, you know, maybe i was wrong and being thankful that i had not said anything, imposed my feelings on him. Im thinking theyre going to have a baby, theyre doing good as a family. But soon after the announcement things seemed to change for stephen and alex. His mother says jennifers family suddenly wanted nothing to do with stephens daughter. He said jennifers family told alex that shes not really part of their family. I dont understand how they can love her and make her a special part and treat her like blood and then all of a sudden just turn and go the other way. She says alex was very upset by the rejection. Stephen was as well. Soon with the spring thaw, about six months after stephen and jennifers wedding, their relationship grew ice cold. Now it was stephen himself who was also feeling rejected, kicked out of that family circle. Stephen was hurt and discouraged. I dont know if he thought that was just a stage that she would go through while she was pregnant, a hormonal thing. Somehow he could make things better and get them back on track. It didnt get better. Instead the relationship flu off the rails after the baby was born in june 2007, a girl named sydney. It was like jennifer wanted her family and her to be part of sydneys life, but didnt want anybody else to be part of it. Stephen said, i barely even get to see sydney. When i get home, jennifer goes down to her moms house with grandma shirley and auld of them. He said she even bathes sydney down there and everything, brings her home at 9 30, 10 00 and time to go to bed and gets up the next morning and starts the routine over again. Stephen told his parents jennifer thought the arrangement made for the perfect marriage, but stephen thought just the opposite. To him it was no marriage at all, and worse, he wasnt able to see his new baby. His mom says he was running out of patience and options. He said, mom, the only way im ever going to get to know sydney or to get time with sydney without jennifer being attached to her is if i file for divorce and get visitation. He needs to divorce his wife to see his daughter . Yes. It was a very hard decision for him to make. He also filed for custody of sydney, and that set off a move from Jennifer Stephen never expected. She fired back a bombshell. The day that she found out that he filed for divorce and custody of sydney, the day she found out, she called dcfs and accused him of molesting sydney and alex. Molesting sydney and alex. Yes. Did your son molest his daughters . Absolutely not. I thought it was a disgrace that she would even do Something Like that. Not only did she hurt him and her alex, she hurt the whole family. As the state investigated, stephen was allowed visits with sydney. But his family said jennifer continued to keep sydney from him. Knowing the skinner family, they were so tightknit, they would let nothing come in between them and their grandchild. The allegations of sexual abuse didnt stick. The department of children and Family Services said they were unfounded, but jennifer still wouldnt allow stephen to see sydney. To force her to share the baby with stephen, the judge in their divorce case ordered that stephen get regular visits with sydney. That court order helped and stephen was able to see sydney for a few visits. He sometimes invited jennifer to come along as they did to pick pumpkins in october 2008, because despite all that had happened, his family says stephen was still hoping he could show jennifer how good life could be with the four of them together as a family. His efforts were in vain, though. Far more often than not, jennifer and her family denied stephen visits with her family, frequently saying sydney was sick. Once stephen called a Police Officer to the family to help him. The family still said no. Stephen was becoming more and more frustrated. Then one evening in late november 2008, the whole situation exploded. 911, whats your emergency . My, my, my grandmother needs help. My husband came to pick up my child because were getting a divorce, and he come after her and tried to come after the baby and i. Coming up, jennifer was calling for her grandmother, but it was stephen who needed help. Looked like somebody decided to shoot him in the back of the head. When dateline continues. With this one little nexgard chew 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. I want it that way. I cant believe it. That karl brought his karaoke machine . Aint nothing but a heartache. No, i cant believe how easy it was to save hundreds of dollars on my Car Insurance with geico. I never wanna hear you say. No, kevin. No, kevin believe it geico could save you fifteen percent or more on Car Insurance. Were on the move. Hey rick, all good . Oh yeah, were good. Were good. Terminix. Defenders of home. Welcome back to dateline. Stephen watkins became increasingly frustrated his estranged wife jennifer was keeping their daughter away from him. They had been battling in court, but things were about to turn violent. We continue with the mystery on horseshoe drive. Its not just corn that grows quickly in rural illinois. So did the family of stephen and jennifer. They met, married and had a baby in about a years time. And just as quickly, their relationship fell apart. They were fighting over baby sydney when stephen went to jennifers one november each to pick up the child. Within minutes, jennifer was on the phone with 911, hysterical. 911, whats your emergency . My, my, my grandmother needs help. My husband came to pick up my child because were getting a divorce, and he come after her and tried to come after the baby and i, hes on the floor shot. Is she shot . No, hes shot. I need an ambulance for my grandmother. It was a confusing 911 call. Jennifer wanted an ambulance for her grandmother Shirley Skinner. As for her estranged husband stephen, jennifer implied to the dispatcher he had been shot to protect her family. He come after her and pushed her out of the way and then he tried to come after sydney and i. Oh, god. What happened to your grandmother . I think she might shes having heart trouble. Please come and held us. Whats your name . Jennifer watkins. Okay. Ill get a hold of the ambulance, all right . Yes. Ashland police chief jim birdsell was called to the scene. About 9 50 i got a phone call from 911 advising me there had been a domestic in town at 11 horseshoe drive, saying the husband came to pick up the daughter for visitation, forced into the horse, knocked the elderly woman down and shes having medical problems. When he arrived, he found this was no routine domestic. I walk up, open the door and walk in the house. Directly in front of me was an elderly lady sitting in the chair which turned out to be Shirley Skinner and a person kneeling beside her holding her hand. Then a First Responder motioned over to the other side of the room. I saw the body laying down there. Any sign of life . No. It was Stephen Watkins, dead on the floor. A 9 millimeter glock handgun on a box several feet away. Trying to get in my mind what happened, the ems personnel told me shirley made a statement to them that she had shot him. They reported to the chief that shirley had said a couple times is he dead . I shot him. He shouldnt have come back here. A stunning story, but this was secondhand information. From First Responders quoting an elderly woman in the midst of a medical and family crisis. Were her statements reliable . Had she really said that . Chief birdsell asked jenner what happened. He said stephen forced his way in the house and knocked her grandmother down and then he was coming after her and the baby and the grandmother shot him. It all seemed hard to believe. Chief birdsell wanted to ask shirley what happened but never got a chance. About the time i was getting ready to, her attorney was on the phone and said he didnt want me talking to her . She was already lawyered up . Shortly after jennifer also hired an attorney and stopped talking as well. Jennifers grandfather who was in the house at the time stephen was killed wasnt talking either. So what had happened in the skinner home . Had Stephen Watkins finally gotten so frustrated over the child custody battle that he completely lost it and barged into the house on a rampage . With shirley, jennifer and grandpa silent, the evidence would have to tell the tale. Did you see signs of a breakin . The door didnt have any damage. Any signs of a struggle. Not on the door. There was supposedly something on the wall that was broke, it was hanging down. A sconce on the wall of the house. On the wall of the house. Theres no indication the sconce was broken that way and there was no skin tissue or blood found on the sconce. Had Shirley Skinner really been pushed down by stephen . Did you see any injuries consistent with her being knocked to the ground . No, sir. Any black eyes or broken bones . No, sir, didnt see anything like that. Did she seem like her clothes were out of place . No, sir. Didnt look disheveled . No. Whats more, stephen had been shot once in the back of the head and he did not have a gun or any other weapon on him. The chief didnt think it was selfdefense. So what does it look like to you . Looks like somebody decided to shoot him in the back of the head. But who was the somebody who shot him . Members of the skinner family obviously knew who did it, but none of them were talking, complicating matters, chief birdsell had never handled a murder before. Most of his Law Enforcement career had been spent on vehicle code violations. He thought he would be able to handle the case on his own but he couldnt. The case dragged on for months. People all over the community are saying why hasnt there been an arrest. Yes. I was hearing that a lot. As the case dragged on, the whodunit became the talk of the town. People are very, very aware of the killing in this community. Bruce rushton covered the case for the springfield register. Any time we write about this in the newspaper, its the most clicked on thing, or close to the most clicked on thing. Its a puzzle her. Its almost a game of three card monte. Rushton said no one thought stephen instigated the violence. Everyone the reporter spoke to had only good things to say about stephen including two teachers who taught his daughter alex. Both agreed they had never in their teaching careers seen a father so devoted to his children. When i talked to his coworkers, they all knew alex and sydney had a pretend bake session. He had Animal Crackers he was putting in the toy of and playing with his kids. How many fathers do that . Everyone thought stephen was such a great guy, such a great dad. Who would kill him . Ultimately mike vujovich, then with the state attorneys Appellate Prosecutors Office and Sergeant Kelly walter, now a colonel with the Illinois State police took over the investigation. They focused on a key question, who pulled the trigger. The forensic evidence was no help. Was the weapon tested for dna . It was. Was anything found . Nothing. No fingerprints on it at all . No fingerprints on it. Were gun residue tests performed on the people inside that house at the time of the shooting . They were not. No blood spatter was found on any of the familys clothing. Investigators had no physical evidence proving any one person had murdered Stephen Watkins, even though he was clearly shot to death inside the skinner home. All they had was statements from First Responders claiming Shirley Skinner, an elderly woman very upset and agitated at the time said she shot stephen. Did she really mean to say that . Did they really hear her right . Who was the shooter . To solve that mystery they would look into the inner workings of the tightknit skinner family, and they say what they found there helped them finally get to the bottom of who pulled the trigger and why. Coming up, investigators have questions about the golden girl who held sway over the entire clan. Its a monster that comes out of a closet. Its very, very ugly, very ugly. When dateline continues. With every meal, theres a dish. But what happens to all that grease . It flows into your dishwasher, gumming up its performance. Add finish dishwasher cleaner with your detergent to help dissolve this grease so youre ready for your next meal. Finish dishwasher cleaner clean dishwasher. Clean dishes. That i won the best of i casweepstakes it. And i get to be in this geico commercial . Lets do the eyebrows first, just tease it a little. Slather it all over, dont hold back. Well, the squirrels followed me all the way out to california and theres a very strange badger staring at me. No, i cant believe how easy it was to save hundreds of dollars on my Car Insurance with geico. Uhhuh, wheres the camel . Mr. Big shots got his own trailer. Wheeeeeee believe it geico could save you 15 or more on Car Insurance. Repair the enamel on a daily basis. With the new pronamel repair toothpaste we can help actively repair enamel in its weakened state. Its innovative. My goto toothpaste is going to be pronamel repair. Hello, im dara brown. President trump just wrapped up a News Conference after the g20 summit in japan. He may meet with north koreas leader kim jongun in the dnc. The u. S. Will restart negotiations with china, by the tariffs will not be lifted. The president held talks with chinas president earlier today. Now back to dateline. Welcome back to dateline. Im craig melvin. Investigators had more questions than answers in the murder of Stephen Watkins. But one thing they knew for sure, the shooting took place inside the skinner household. How would they finally find out who pulled the trigger . We continue with the mystery on horseshoe drive. We all lost our lives that night. You know, its not something you ever get over. On the tuesday evening before thanksgiving 2008, penny watkins son stephen had gone to pick up his baby daughter sydney for a courtordered visit when she was shot to death. Stephens wife jennifer told police he barged into her home, knocked over her grandmother and was heading for her and the baby when her grandmother shot him. But had it really gone down that way . Why would an elderly religious woman shoot the father of her great granddaughter. As investigators focused on grandma shirley, they began to look more closely at jennifer. For one thing, they learned she had been married before. Jennifers uncle ed skinner says that relationship was a sign of things to come. That didnt last long. She just had to have her way all the time. There was never his way, so he didnt stick around. He divorced her . Yes, sir. Did you blame him . No, sir, not at all. State police say when they talked to jennifers first husband, he described an usagainstthem mentality in jennifers insular family. They did everything together. You were either a part of their family or you werent. Stephen watkins was clearly no longer part of the family, after the divorce filing, accusations of Child Molesting and the custody dispute. Now jennifer was losing that dispute. Abuse allegations had been found baseless. A Court Hearing about increased visitation for stephen had been scheduled. How concerned is the skinner family about this visitation ruling . Very concerned, very concerned. In their view sydney was their property. They were not going to share their property with anyone outside that skinner family, even steven watkins. The skinner family was circling the wagons for themselves, and he was the enemy. Jennifer and her family feared stephen would be successful in getting overnight visitation at that hearing. He was also continuing his quest for sole custody of sydney. But he never made it to the courthouse. He was killed the night before at his estranged wifes home. According to investigators, the skinner family had been so concerned about the hearing, jennifers mother hired a private investigator to witness stephen picking up the baby the evening he was killed, perhaps to observe something that could be used against him at the hearing the following day. Perhaps some dirt, if she was cries when dad picked her up or maybe he wasnt putting her in the baby car seat. State police learned jennifers mother told the private i not to show up, not long before stephen was to arrived. Less than two hours later Stephen Watkins is laying dead on the floor. Suddenly the child custody issue that posed such a problem for jennifer was solved forever. According to ed, his family catered to her. Shes a spoiled rotten brat. We didnt do anything if jennifer didnt want to do it. Ed says shirley doted on jennifer, the firstborn grandchild. They was very, very close. There was nothing jennifer could ask for that she didnt get. She lived as a princess, treated as a princess. When she went to church, she looked like a little doll stepped out of a magazine, dressed fit to kill. As she grew up, he says jennifer could be sweet, but her dark side was something else. Its a monster that comes out of a closet. Its very, very ugly, very ugly. She just thinks she can control anybody that she comes along with. When jennifer doesnt get her way, what happens . She throws a fit and life is miserable for everybody around. Do you believe jennifer was just using stephen to get a child. Now she had what she wanted, she had to get out . I think at the time she was probably hoping that it would work, hoping he would knuckle under and obey her, but i think later on she saw that that wasnt going to work. She knew she had her child and thats what she really wanted. And ed believed jennifer would do anything to keep sydney from stephen. She just said he couldnt have it. Even going so far as pulling the trigger herself, ed says. After all, the murder weapon was not shirleys. It was jennifers. Jennifer has every motive to do it. He says even if his mother was the one who killed stephen, she was probably driven to it by jennifer. So my mom and dad was around jennifer and her mouth 24 hours a day. And she is very annoying when it comes to something that she believes in. And she believed in not giving stephen the daughter. And she talked about it constantly. This goes beyond annoyance. Oh yes, yes. Its not just ed who thinks jennifer might have killed stephen and shirley was trying to take the fall to protect her granddaughter, the young mom. Reporter Bruce Rushton went to a vigil for steven nine months after he was killed which included a walk to the skinner family home. People there were split over whether it was shirley or jennifer who killed stephen. Its a headscratcher. Whats the grandmothers motive here . Compare that to Jennifer Watkins motives . Did these folks truly believe sydney was being abused . You cant help but ask yourself. The jury will be asking. You would imagine. The jury would soon get its chance. More than ten months after Stephen Watkins was shot to death, an arrest in florida where shirley and jennifer had gone to live with baby sydney. Chief birdsell was there. When she saw me there, she appeared to be very surprised. I was happy to be there. But which one was arrested for the murder of Stephen Watkins . Shirley, the matriarch, or jennifer, the mom embroiled in a custody battle . Coming up, it turns out one of them had strange marks on her hand the night of the murder. Two lines . Two lines. Consistent with firing that type of weapon. Consistent with firing this type of weapon. When dateline continues. [ ] check your free Credit Scores at creditkarma. Heres to progress. Hey, who are you . Oh, hey jeff, im a car thief. What . im here to steal your car because, well, thats my job. What . What . . What . laughing what . . What . what . [crash] what . haha, it happens. And if youve got cutrate Car Insurance, paying for this could feel like getting robbed twice. So get allstate. And be better protected from mayhem. Like me. Were on the move. Hey rick, all good . Oh yeah, were good. Were good. Terminix. Defenders of home. Cancer is the ugliest disease mankind has ever faced. We got the idea that if we took two dimensional patient imaging and put it in holographic displays, we could dissect around the tumor so we can safely remove it. When we first started, we felt like this might just not be possible but verizon 5g ultra wideband will give us the ability to do this. In october 2009, more than ten months after Stephen Watkins was shot to death, his parents finally received the call from police they had been long waiting for. What did they say . We just wanted to let you know weve picked Shirley Skinner up in florida for the murder of stephen. Shirley skinner, the religious might arc of a closeknit family. Despite what shirleys son ed says and the rumors around town that jennifer might have pulled the trigger, it was the grandmother who was charged. Though jennifer implied her grandmother shot stephen in defense of her and baby sydney, investigators believe the older woman had executed him in cold blood. What do you think happened . Stephen was coming over to pick up sydney for his courtordered visitation, came to the door and once again was told that the baby was sick. Perhaps he was frustrated once again by being told that, maybe he said something to the effect of, oh, bs, and may have been lured in, come in and see for yourself. Then hes inside the house and its a distance of approximately 30 feet from the main entry door to sydneys bedroom. And weve got to believe that jennifer was holding the baby. As hes walking down the length of that dining room, hes passing shirley, as he walks past her, its our belief that she then shot him. Had he been turned over as though somebody was trying to be cpr . No. He lay where he fell. Shot in the back of the head and fell forward. Pool of blood around his head, his baseball cap underneath him. He died right there where he was shot. Why had shirley been the one charged . Though the forensic evidence collected at the scene was not useful, authorities did have important eyewitness evidence, something First Responders and chief birdsell said they had seen that night, two parallel scrapes on Shirley Skinners hand. She has two marks across the webbing of her hand. Whats significant about that . The significance, as you can see, the slide part of the weapon is coming back over the webbing of my hand. If shes holding it wrong, something that could catch it would be the hand and the marks could be made from that slide coming back across the hand. Two lines. Two lines consistent with firing this type of weapon. To investigators, those marks conclusively put the gun in shirleys hand. Once more, they learned shirley had been planning stephens murder for a while, by trying to find somebody to kill him. About a month or so before stephens execution, shirley approached two of her employees and offered them 10,000 to cap this guy who they identified as being steve watkins. Cap this guy. This little old grandmother . Yes. The one employee said he thought she was joking. At which point she said no, im serious, im serious. How did an elderly religious woman who once owned a Daycare Center become someone the state was accusing of premeditated murder. To her fellow parishioners, shes a fine gracious christian woman who loves children. Thats one side of shirley. The grandmother who loves kids. Is there another side. Proficient in the use of guns which in and of itself doesnt mean anything. But that put together with the cultish form of that family, where everything is done for the family, within the family, to the exclusion of anybody on the outside, and we will take whatever measures necessary to protect that family unit, that is the other side of the contradiction. How dark is that side . Murderous. That went to the heart of the states theory, that shirley had fired a fatal shot to rid the family of a soninlaw they no longer welcome and didnt want in baby sydneys life. Are you convinced Shirley Skinner acted alone . I believe Shirley Skinner pulled the trigger. Do i think she acted alone . No. Its been a family conspiracy, family plan. They were not going to allow him any further contact with that little baby. Yet, no fingerprints, no dna, no gunshot residue, no blood spatter, no recorded statements from either shirley, jennifer or anyone else in the family and those supposedly incriminating marks on shirleys hands, it turns out they had never been photographed. A jury would never see them for themselves. Would any jury be able to sort out this case, an alleged family conspiracy, two women at the crime scene, one who appeared to have clear motive. The other, 75 years old, neither with criminal records. It seemed such a confused slim case, ed says, he and the family believed shirley would never be found guilty. When she was offered a plea deal, she turned it down and chose to go to trial. I was convinced she didnt do it. Coming up, jurors have their doubts, too. Does Shirley Skinner look like someone who can commit this kind of crime . Honestly no. Can when i first walked in there, i thought she was one of the attorneys. I had no idea she was actually the one on trial. When dateline continues. When dateline continues wh . Advil is. Relief thats fast. Strength that lasts. Youll ask. What pain . With advil liquigels. Howl whimper yap yap yap yip licking, scratching, scooting, and rubbing. 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In americas heartland, Shirley Skinner went on trial for the first degree murder of her son inlaw and allegedly asking two workers at the Family Business if they knew anyone who would cap somebody for 10,000. Kind of went in large measure to her deep contempt and the hatred she had for the father of her great grand baby to kill him. The trial lasted four days. The state alleged she killed him to eliminate the family problem. No physical evidence, no dna, no gun shot res due, no photo of her hands. Only description that shirley told them she shot steven. Now to make the case. Lawyers for shirley emphasize the fact there was no physical evidence linking her to the weapon and argue shirleys statements to the First Responder, is he dead . I shot him. Made during a medical emergency. Pointed at jennifer through inu end owe and implication with her ugly divorce and custody battle. They didnt directly argue jennifer pulled the trigger, only there was no hard evidence. What did jennifer say . Nothing. She didnt even attend the trial. What did jurors think of the case . We spoke with three. Does Shirley Skinner look like someone who could commit this crime . Honestly, no. When i walked in there, i thought she was one of the attorneys. I had no idea she was the one that was on trial. What did you think of the Police Investigation . Left something to be desired. A lot of holes. I would have like to have seen pictures of the scrapes on her hand. When it came down to the final vote, how difficult was it . Difficult when deciding someones fate. It didnt take long. The jury was out a total of 90 minutes including lunch before finding Shirley Skinner guilty of murdered err. The Stevens Family was elated. I was convinced my mom would get off. Shirley serving the 55year sentence. If she had taken the plea deal, she would be out in nine. What is it like to see your mother behind bars . Horrible. Absolutely horrible. Although ed skinner split from his family publicly blaming jennifer, he still struck a note us against him. I feel jennifer made this bed, she needs to sleep in it. She knew what she was getting into the rest of the family. When you say these people. Nothing bad. Just a little different than we are used to. We dont believe in drinking or smoking. And you have guns in your house. Somebody in your family did it. Pretty hard for you to be sitting here judging someone else. Exactly. Leaving the skinner family in tact. Very, very poorly planned out scheme. Ruined the watkins family, ruined the skinner family. I dont think they planned it out as good as they should have if they were going to do Something Like that. Despite the accusations. Neither jennifer nor anyone else was charged with any crime related to the shooting. No one in the family agreed to speak with dateline but ed. The Stevens Family has been raising their daughter. In 2016, the judge determined sydney was neglected. She went to live with her paternal aunt. Her mom has supervised visitation rights. From my view, he gave his life for her. Thats all on this edition of dateline. Thanks for watching. Good morning. Im joling kent. Here is what is happening right now. President trumps overnight News Conference. What he said about north korea, russia and the democratic debates. Tomorrow, we are going to the dmz. I said im there. If you watch the debates, if you call them debates. Whatever they were. I think they want open borders. We had a great discussion president putin and myself. I dont really care about offending people