Transcripts For MSNBCW Dateline Extra 20180107

The moment you realize youre but your oven isnt. At lowes, we have more appliances to choose from. So, you can get the right one, at the right price, right now. Get up to 35 off select appliance special values at lowes. Reporter the story of kay parsons and becky sears had now become a strange and complicated case for investigators. Two best friends, victims. One killed, and the other shot outside the office where they both worked. It was juicy enough to keep this usually sleepy town wide awake for the late news. It was definitely the lead story. Reporter Ashley Campbell is a reporter with nbc affiliate after becky was shot, she was working her contacts. I placed a call to one of the Columbia County investigators and just to find out, you know, what is going on, like, whats the connection here . And he just told me, hold on. I cant tell you anything quite yet, but its about to get a lot more crazy. Reporter the source wasnt kidding. At the hospital after shed been shot, becky revealed shed been having an affair. But she didnt say the other mans name. Then, the very next morning, in what could only be considered a lucky break deputies got a tip from someone close to the family, and learned just who that other man was. How about David Parsons, kays husband . That was a shock. Reporter beckys friend michelle could not believe it. David and she have had an ongoing fling . Uhhuh. Reporter david, the investigators learned, had carried on the affair with his wifes close friend and nextdoor neighbor becky for about six months prior to his wifes death. The revelation of a love triangle would send the investigation into the realm of soap opera. And raise all kinds of new questions. You have these nextdoor neighbors, theyre best friends, theyre going on trips together. And then behind the scenes, youve got love letters being written between, Rebecca Sears and David Parsons. Reporter notes like these. Uncovered later by investigators which showed things were getting pretty steamy on hot springs drive. In one david wrote rebecca, i hope you like the picture frame. I wish i could had given it to you before i went to pa. I love you baby. I miss you so much when we arent together. And in another rebecca, i just wanted to let you know that even when you dont think i am thinking about you i am. I cant wait to see you and becky wrote to david being apart from you is very difficult, but being in love with you and knowing that you love me makes all of the time that we are apart bearable. It was a secret love the two had kept hidden in this small town, where gossip tends to travel at warp speed. It was shocking more than anything. Wouldve never expected it. Did you know anything about david philandering, messing around, infidelity . Not till i heard. A friend of mine called me on the, on my cell phone and asked me, he said, did you hear about david havin an affair with becky . And i said, theres no way. Theres no way. Reporter the news about the affair didnt surface until after kay had been buried. David was still seen then as the grieving husband. If i woulda known about that affair, i dont think there woulda been as much support for david at the funeral or at the hospital. Why would you cheat on someone that loved you so much and was always there for you, to just to have sex basically . Why . It it wasnt worth it. Reporter tamara thought back to davids behavior in those days after kays death, including an odd exchange between them at the memorial service. David went up to me. And again, being very close with kay, he hugs me. And he hugs me really, really tight. And hes boohoo cryin and he tells me, im sorry. I never meant for this to happen. And i didnt know thats kind of a funny thing to say. What do you think he meant . I dont know. I didnt mean for this to happen . I i didnt know what he meant. I just you know, i was thinking, he didnt mean to leave her while he was in california. Or, i didnt mean to have that affair. It coulda meant a lotta things. Reporter tamara also recalled that Early Morning phone call she received from david on the day kay was found beaten. He was asking me if i had talked to kay. And the thing about it is, hes never called me during the day, so it was just very unusual for him to call me and ask me if i had talked to kay. Reporter it seemed strange to tamara then, perhaps even stranger now in light of the new questions about david. People in town whispered and wondered, did david somehow have a hand in kays murder . A way perhaps to avoid and ugly and expensive divorce . She said, well, if i ever found out that david was havin an affair on me, i would be gone. She said, i would take derek, i would get half of what is in his retirement from the military. Yeah. And id get what i could get out of the account. Did the community really turn on him . They did after they found out about the affair. I think theres more to the story. So now youve got a very lethal soap opera in the midst of this thing, huh . Oh yeah. You know, things things start start comin together. Now you gotta wonder whats going on with david, the husband. I definitely do. Is he involved in this . Does he want his wife gone . You know . We gotta look at all those angles. Reporter all predictable questions. But in an investigation that was never less than startling, more twists awaited around the bend. Coming up a tale from jail. He looks at me and he says, i think i know who did it. And i said, really. Tell me. Reporter and this guy wasnt just your ordinary jailhouse snitch. You know whats awesome . Gigspeed internet. You know whats not awesome . When only certain people can get it. Lets fix that. Lets give this guy gig really . And these kids, and these guys, him, ah. Oh hello. That lady, these houses yes, yes and yes. And dont forget about them. Uh huh, sure. Still yes xfinity delivers gig speed to more homes than anyone. Now you can get it, too. Welcome to the party. Reporter by now, Jimmy Edmunds had no shortage of leads to work in the pair of crimes he was trying to solve, the murder of kay parsons, and the shooting of her neighbor becky. And then, another new lead. A big one. I get a phone call from our jail. They have an inmate that is requesting to speak to me. So i pull mr. Jacobs, jerry jacobs, out of his cell and take him to an interview room. Youre jerry, right . Is that what you go by . Yeah. Reporter jerry jacobs was serving time for a misdemeanor parole violation. Whats his story . He was pretty upset. Jerry tells me that as he was in the jail he saw the news and he saw what happened to kay parsons. And at the time he looks at me and he says, i think i know who did it. And i said, really. Tell me. He says, i believe my sister had something to do with it. Reporter and who was jerry jaocbs sister . Well, becky sears. Kays best friend and neighbor. I think my jaw dropped right then. Wasnt expecting that. He dropped a bombshell. Reporter beckys brother said he knew all about the affair between his sister and david. He told the investigator becky had once confided in him that david was trying to end it. Shed come and meet one day or there in the parking lot crying. And i was like, you know, whats wrong . And thats whenever she told me she was having the affair. He then goes on to say that becky was, had been pretty upset, crying because david wont leave kay. He wont leave his wife to be with her. Reporter jacobs then revealed his sister had no intention of giving up on david or letting him stay married to kay. She had asked me if i knew of anyone or if i knew a way that we could do this to kill kay and make it look like an accident, like cut her brake line on her car and make it look like an accident, or do something in that effect. Reporter jacobs said at first he thought becky was joking. Id be like, well becky, thats okay. You know, sometimes we all feel that way about people. You know, shes like, no. Shes like, i really want her dead. She said, she said, can we do this . You say, i mean, she was serious . Yes. Wantin somebody to kill her . Yes. She wanted me to. And i told her i wouldnt. So shes shopping around for someone that can do in kay . Yes. Her romantic rival. Reporter it was a stunning revelation. A real doozy. A love sick woman plotting to kill her best friend and next door neighbor so she could have her friends husband all to herself. Youve got a wild story and a wild theory on your hands. Most definitely. I mean this case has taken so many twists and turns its unbelievable. Forget about the smash and grab and go robbery, thats gone out the window. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Were looking at some premeditation and some planning here. Reporter but edmunds had to consider the source of the story. Of course, jailhouse stories are always troublesome because theyre trying to do themselves some good. Definitely. Reporter one thing the brother said was easy to confirm, he didnt do the hit job. He was in jail at the time of the murder. So if becky was behind it all, who helped her . Jacobs said there was another member of the family investigators should look at, beckys son chris. The young man with his own house. Jerry had been staying there before he was behind bars, and said chris also knew about beckys affair and how desperate she was. Would call christopher almost every night and cry and tell him stuff. And he would get off the phone. And im like, is that your mom . And like, yeah. Whats wrong with her . You know what it is. You know whats wrong. Im like, yeah. I was like, david again . Hes like, yeah, david again. Hes like, she just needs kay out of her life bad. You know . Stuff like that. Reporter now that was a shocker. Investigators had had their eye on beckys other son michael from the getgo. I was surprised to hear it that way. I was surprised to hear that it was michael, really cause, you know, ive been learning so many things about michael and and his past and all of that. You havent had any discussions with michael about like youve had with with christopher . Not like with christopher, no. No. cause me and christopher are a little bit closer than me and michael. Do you know if she ever talked to michael about it . No, i dont. Have a seat right here. Reporter still, edmunds decided it was time to bring in michael for a second round of questioning. And this time, the investigator turned up the heat. Michael, its over, okay . Im not playing games anymore. Reporter at first, michael said he didnt even know that becky and david were having an affair. I know about the affair with your mom and david. My mom and david . Dont play stupid with me. Dont play stupid with me. Im telling you right now. Itll get ugly real quick, okay . This is your one and only chance to get yourself out of a whole load of trouble. It gets pretty hot and heavy in that interview room. Listen to me. Listen to me. I know whats going on, okay. I know your mom wanted kay dead, okay . Do you want to go to prison for the rest of your life . No sir. You need to Start Talking here and now. I didnt know it was david. Bulls. I swear to you. Bulls. Reporter then edmunds moved on to the Million Dollar question did becky ever ask michael to kill kay. She has asked you specifically if you would kill her. No, she has not. I know its your mother and i know you want to protect your mother, alright . Youre 22 years old, right . Yes sir. You might want to look out for number one right now, okay . Shes never come to me and said, would you kill kay for me . Shes never said, would you kill someone for me . Reporter even after a three hour grilling i will burn you. I am telling you. Reporter michael never cracked. Edmunds had to face the fact that michael was in all likelihood telling the truth. By then, theyd come to believe his albi was solid. And theyd figured out that the glass from the crime scene that had so suspiciously turned up on michael shoes, could be easily explained. Michael had gone to look at the smashed in back door with the contractor just before police arrived. Did you have anything to do with that day . If i did, i wouldnt be sitting here. Did your mother ever ask you to kill kay . Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Only thing shes ever done is just like anybody else, you know . Riding in the road, somebody cut em off. Oh, i wish youd drive off the face of that cliff. Thats the only thing id ever heard sayin about harmin anybody. Did you think that your mother could possibly have done the thing that they were accusing her of. No. And i dont think she could do it. Reporter Jimmy Edmunds wasnt so sure. And he still had to wrestle with the vexing problem of beckys shooting. Who was behind that and why . It was time to go talk to the object of beckys affection, david, and find out what he knew. Coming up a guilty man . Or just a worried one . We get up and briefly walk out of the interview and he starts talking to himself, you oh man. Theyre gonna blame me. Reporter when dateline continues. Reporter for investigators in grovetown, georgia, it had been one wild story after another now they were hearing becky orchestrated kays murder, all for the love of kays husband, david. The next question was the logical one what did the husband know . Youve obviously got to talk to the husband. You know, shes havin an affair with the husband. The wifes dead. You know, you gotta look at the husband as well. Reporter reporter Ashley Campbell said the community was thinking the same thing. And david being away in california at the time of kays murder, didnt seem to absolve him. You know, oh, how convenient. Hes in california. And his wife is brutally beaten. Did he hire somebody . We just dont know. Reporter of course, david had been on edmunds radar from the moment investigators first met him outside kays hospital room and thought he was acting strange. I knew there was something there. I just couldnt just couldnt figure out what yet. Reporter but after finding out about his affair with becky and hearing that becky could be behind the murder, edmunds called david in for his first formal interview and got it on tape. What i need you to do is tell me about your relationship with becky. Okay. Reporter david came clean he admitted to being an unfaithful husband to kay and explained how it all began. We had been playin tennis. You know, workin out. The four of us. We would go play it would actually be becky and i against her and tony. One day she she said, you know why i suck so bad at tennis is cause you distract me out there. You know, kind of, you know, a little flirt thing goin on. Reporter a flirty game of mixed doubles that turned into a hot and heavy affair between next door neighbors. You were intimate with her in your home . Two times. Twice. Where would the other locations be . Most of the time in one of our two vehicles. Um, at her moms house. Reporter but david insisted hed decided to end the affair. He told becky it was over. Im like, look, this is getting too close. I dont want kay to find out. Im, you know, im done with it. You know, im done with it. You know, im done with done seein each other. Reporter at least, that is, until his young son derek went off to college. Ive told her multiple times that i did not, you know, want the situation to change at home. Because of derek . Right. Reporter right after david called it quits one month before the murder becky decided to confess to her husband tony sending aftershocks across the lawn to kays house. She told tony everything . Yes. And tony picked up the phone and called kay . Yes. Reporter the secret was out. I know that hurt her so bad and i apologized to her so much. She said shed forgive me and wed work through it together we were just going to move away from that and put it behind us and move on. He said theyre gonna try to make it work. Theyre gonna sell their house. They immediately put a for sale sign in front of the house and theyre gonna move and be away from becky. Reporter david told edmunds an icy chill fell on hot springs drive. Kay quit the job at Healing Hands and quit talking to becky. But that didnt stop david and becky from continuing to communicate. They would still talk and they would still meet for five minutes here and there. Reporter david insisted it was all above board. Nothing physical. Yeah, we did a little bit of email and and talked on the phone, but i was, you know, just checkin to see how she was doin and you know, et cetera. Reporter but as edmunds soon learned, that wasnt entirely true. As the interview continued, david revealed he called becky from california, the night before kay was killed. And it wasnt just to ask how she was doing. Tuesday night we had a long conversation. About . Nothing in particular. We just talked for a little while about what was goin on and then we got involved in, you know, phone sex over the phone. This is the night before kay is killed . The night before kay is killed. Theyre havin phone sex for an hour. Reporter then the next morning right around the time of kays murder david called becky again. This time because he said was worried about kay. Is it weird that the husband should be calling the mistress . Oh, definitely to check on his wife. Asking her to look in on his wife . You know, i whats up with that . Thats what im thinking. I mean, is he calling to say, hey, is it done, you know . You gotta wonder, right . Oh, definitely. Are these two in cahoots . Most definitely. Most definitely. You guys gotta believe me. This is the last thing so far from the last thing i wanted. To take her and all that away from my son. Away from her family and all of her friends. Reporter throughout the interview, david repeatedly denied having any involvement in kays murder, or being a part of some plot to have her killed. Never once has there been any kind of insinuation, not even insinuating, that i would ever want anything to happen to her. Reporter as for those repeated calls from california the morning of the murder, david insisted he was genuinely concerned about kay. Is it normal for you to call her that early in the morning, call kay, you know, 7 00 in the morning . Always. I always call her cause i, like, talked to derek before he went to school. I started gettin worried. I thought maybe she was in an accident or somethin out on columbia road or somethin. Reporter edmunds started thinking david was telling the truth. So he changed course and asked david whether he thought becky had it in her to mastermind kays murder. Deep down inside, do you think she could do this . I thought never. I never thought that she would be like orchestrator or set something up like this. I did not think that. Desperate people do desperate things. How, see, desperate for what . Shes you. You. To hurt my wife . Kill my wife . To have my wife killed . Im not i do not believe that. Reporter edmunds kept pushing. Eventually david revealed that more than once hed wondered just how desperate a housewife becky had become. He told edmunds a month before kays murder, someone sent bizarre texts to her that hinted of the affair. David now suspected those texts came from becky. Did it ever ever run across your mind at that time that maybe the Text Messages were comin in because your time table and beckys time table werent the same . It crossed mind. She was trying to let kay know cause she thought that if she found out that kay would leave. Reporter davids interview went on into the night. We get up and briefly walk out of the interview. And hes still there, still being recorded and then he starts talking to himself, you know, about what have i done . Oh, man. Theyre gonna blame me. This cannot be real. Reporter but davids interview wasnt over yet. He had more to share including a clue that would bring edmunds and his team of investigators one step closer to the truth. Reporter after almost three and a half hours of questioning about his wifes murder, David Parsons sat alone and wept. So sorry, derek. Reporter it wasnt the first time edmunds heard tears coming from his interview room. But to this veteran cop, davids emotions seemed real. And in the end, edmunds had no reason to believe that david played any role in a plot to kill kay. We had no evidence whatsoever to prove that he knew or was involved in any of this. I really dont wanna come have to come back, you know . Come back to you with somethin else that comes out that you havent told me. You know what im saying . Oh, well, you can ask me anything. I dont know what else you need to hear from me. Im not tryin to keep anything from you guys. I promise. Reporter before edmunds turned off his recorder, david did share one tidbit. Something that linked up with what beckys brother had told edmunds earlier. It was the name of the other person becky had confided in about her affair with david. Beckys son, chris. I asked her who knew. You know, who else knew. And she did tell me that christopher knew that she was with somebody else. I dont know if that means anything or not. Reporter sheriffs deputies spent a lot of their investigation looking at the relationships in beckys life. First her son michael. Then david. But it was beckys relationship to her other son chris that would prove to be the most intriguing. It was a real, real strange mother son relationship. When his mother called, he would drop everything and go to mom. Whatever she wanted, he was there. Reporter becky, investigators discovered, doted on chris and showered him with extravagant gifts money, a motorcycle, a car. Nothing was too expensive for chris. Not even the house he lived in. It was a house purchased by his mother. Eighteen year old kid with his own house . Correct. Thats kinda strange, you know. Was he a mamas boy . Well, i mean, i guess he was a mamas boy, you know. Anything he needed, he got. Reporter but according to michael, beckys overthetop generosity always seemed to come with strings attached. It was that, hey, im gonna need something from you. Heres the keys to your new car. Hey, im gonna need something from you. Heres your house. Hey, im gonna need something from you. Heres an envelope full of money. Reporter and whatever becky asked for, chris would eagerly deliver. He said, it may be very hard for you to understand, but i would do anything in this world for my for our mother. Reporter could anything have included killing his mothers romantic rival . Michelle amerson, who knew the family well, says over the last several years chris had grown distant. She worried he was heading down a dark path. He had changed a lot. So we were we werent around him a lot. When you say, he changed a lot, michelle, what are you thinkin about . I hate to say, but you know, he just appeared to be in a different type of crowd than we were hangin with. So you know, he mightve had some issues goin on. Reporter remember, investigators did interview chris right after the attack. They were looking for dirt on his brother michael. Do you think your brother did this . Or do you think somebody absolutely not. But something about chris struck them as odd. Right from the get go, we sit down with christopher and he is trembling. Youre sittin here shakin like a dog tryin to crap out persimmon seeds. Okay . I understand its traumatic, but youre extremely over nervous. Immediately we ask him, we said, whats wrong . Why are you shaking that bad . Honest to god, i think i have parkinsons. Ive always shake like this. Parkinsons disease . I was like, christopher, youre 19 years old. That makes no sense. Reporter it was a bizarre little detail they tucked away while they focused on other suspects. And when they went back over that interview, something jumped out the only alibi chris had for the time of the murder, was becky. You and your mom are at her work, which is Healing Hands . Healing hands therapy. Christopher says that he didnt go to work at his regular job that morning, he was supposed to go to his mothers work. She picked him up. Reporter so a conspiracy that morning between becky and chris seemed plausible even if it didnt explain the later shooting at Healing Hands. Now edmunds looked for a way to link chris to the murder scene. And he got another helpful call from beckys brother jerry jacobs in jail. They had shown jerry photos of the murder weapon before. Does that look familiar to you . No. I mean its brand new. Reporter then in a follow up interview jacobs came back and told investigators he recognized the hammer. He said it came from beckys garage, a place chris often went to borrow tools. Ive seen the hammer in the toolbox in the garage. Hat toolbox . Where are we talkin about . In my sisters garage. Reporter sheriffs deputies found chris in front of the home becky had bought for him packing his truck for a weekend getaway. Did he ask what was going on . No. Didnt really say anything. Put him in the car, we take him up to our office, and put him in the interview room. Everythings not happened the way you said it happened, so i want you to really think long and hard and tell me youre a young man, right now. Basically you just called me a liar. Reporter chris, no longer shaking, defiantly asked for a lawyer. I want to speak to a lawyer right now. As soon as we read him his rights, he clammed up. So hes lawyered up, chris. Hes lawyered up. Reporter for investigator edmunds, the puzzle pieces had finally fallen into place becky had the motive to kill kay and chris, with his devotion to his mother and access to the murder weapon was her means go ahead and, uh, stand up. Place your hands behind your back. Youre under arrest for murder. Chris would do anything for his mom and she knew it. Including kill the lady next door. And he did. Reporter and the woman behind it all . They arrested her and charged her with murder as well. Where do you take down becky . She was staying at a hotel, at a holiday inn. We took her down in the hotel room. Reporter Tamara Baldwin could not begin to comprehend the news of their arrests. The becky with the murderous plot and the becky you knew from sports games and on your cruise and backyard gettogethers, how do you put those two halves of becky together . You cant put em together. Its like a square and a circle tryin to fit together. I didnt see the square. All i saw was the circle. Reporter it didnt make sense to tamara and it didnt make sense to becky and chriss Defense Attorneys either. As they saw it, the states case was riddled with reasonable doubt. What was the weakest part about it . The weakest part about it was the lack of physical evidence connecting them to the crime. Putting them in that house. Right. Reporter and they were just itching to get into the courtroom to try to tear apart the states case. Coming up if as prosecutors allege becky plotted to kill kay then who shot becky . He was the guy in the bushes he was the guy in the bushes with the gun. Reporter when dateline continues. 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Their prov formula is like a multivitamin. Making your hair 2x stronger see the difference when you add 3 minute miracle daily conditioner. From godaddy in fact, 68 of people who have built their. Website using gocentral, did it in under an hour, and you can too. Build a better website in under an hour. With gocentral from godaddy. Reporter becky sears and her son chris had been charged with the murder of beckys neighbor and romantic rival kay parsons. And theyd hired a pair of veteran attorneys to prepare a vigorous defense. It was a tough situation. Reporter brothers vic and jacque hawk saw a prosecution case full of titillating soapy drama. But when they started looking at the actual evidence, they were unimpressed no forensics linked their clients to the murder. When you think about it, there were, they did all kinds of, um, csi type of testing within the house. Nothing connected either becky sears or chris to the offense. Reporter no dna, no fingerprints, no eyewitnesses. And that one hair recovered from under kays fingernails didnt match either one. The crime, they said, looked like a botched burglary, not a premeditated plot. You think about it. If youre gonna go, commit a murder, you know, what are you gonna pick. Youre gonna pick a gun, youre gonna pick a knife. Youre gonna pick some sort of weapon that you can dispense with somebody fairly quickly. Okay, what are we gonna do this murder with . Lets get a hammer and a bat. That seems crazy. How did you feel about your case, jacque . Oh i felt great. I felt like this was a very winnable case. Reporter they did what lawyers do. They went through the case file, pestered the state to turn over evidence, and then they saw it. And it was devastating. It made it much more difficult, yes. Reporter the piece of evidence in the case file was a recorded interview with becky. A surprise to the defense. I mean, i was floored. Because, i was under the impression that she hadnt made a statement. And then, we find out not only was it a statement, it was a fivehour statement, and with every kind of detail that that messed the case up. Reporter right after her arrest, becky had spoken, and what a story she had to tell. She began by insisting her relationship with kays husband was over. David was gonna make his marriage work and i was gonna make my marriage work. I dont love him any more. I love my husband and my husband and i are trying to make our marriage work out. Reporter but she admitted she did talk with david on the night before kays murder. Whatd you talk about . We talked about ballgames, the kids, and sex over the phone. Which is somethin that, i mean, we had never done that before, and i dont even know how it ended up that way. But but you basically had phone sex . I guess thats what youd call it. Did you ask her bluntly, did you kill kay, or did you cause her death . We did. She denied it. Reporter but other details came spilling out when investigators challenged her. You have asked people, more than one person, on more than one occasion, to kill her. I have never asked anybody to kill her. The only thing i have ever done is say i well, i take that back. I did say to my brother one time, i wish that she was just gone. So she admits to wanting to have kay gone. She does. But she she does but she doesnt say that shes the no. She says she shes the person who does it. Right. Reporter and as she kept talking, she admitted she wasnt quite so vague about her wishing ill on kay. Her story started changing slightly. Maybe she did talk to her brother about hiring a hit man. I was upset one day and my brother came over to my office and i was like, you dont know anybody thatll take anybody and i didnt even say kay. I just said, you dont know anybody thatll take anybody out, do ya . But you were talkin about kay. I was. Reporter then came another revelation, this one about her son. She starts tellin us that uh she knew that whatever she was sayin, that that she wanted kay gone and and that would make her happy, that christopher was listening. And that she knew what he wanted to do was make her happy. Reporter becky began pinning it all on chris. Turning on her boy. Her own son. Reporter she admitted that on the morning of the murder she picked up chris and drove him to her house on hot springs drive. She just hedged a bit on the reason. The implied reason was he was going to go next door. To kays house, to do what . We didnt talk about it. It was an implied reason, he was gonna to kays house. To to because he was going, in his mind, to do whatever it took to make me happy. And and that would be to get rid of kay. So shes the puppeteer, putting all of these things in place for him to be tempted and act on it. Shes pullin all the strings. Im not saying do this, but you and i both know what youre supposed to do here. Yes. Reporter in her interview becky continued to insist she didnt know what happened in kays house, that is, not until chris called her later that morning and asked for another ride. When he got in the vehicle, could you see blood on his clothes and stuff . I didnt see any blood on his clothes, but he had blood on his i think he had blood on his face. And i asked him, what did you do . I said, oh my god, what did you do . And thats when he said he beat the [ bleep ] out of her. And i said, christopher, please tell me that she is okay. Please tell me that you did not do this. And what did he say . He said, i beat the [ bleep ] out of her. Shes giving up her son as a killer here. Shes shes throwin him under the bus. This is extraordinary. It is. Do you realize how extraordinary it is as youre takin the story down . Oh yes. Shes groomed him as her little killer. Most definitely. He was he was her little monster. I messed up because i made christopher think that i wanted him to do somethin that was horrible, when i didnt want him to hurt anybody and i made him think that i did. Becky, becky, becky. And he was convinced that he was helpin me. Reporter becky told investigators that chris got rid of his bloody clothes, stuffed them in his backpack. And she drove him back to her office. And then they later showed up together at the crime scene, pretending to know nothing, but alarmed that kay was still clinging to life. The next conversation that christopher and i had was at the hospital. When i talked to him and i was cryin and he said not to worry about it, that everything was gonna be okay. And i told him i didnt know what to do to help him. He said i didnt need to do anything, that he was gonna take care of everything. And i told him i was scared. Reporter after that, becky said she and chris worked together to throw investigators off the trail. Which meant that shooting at Healing Hands was a total setup. It was christopher. He was the guy in the bushes. He was the guy in the bushes with the gun. Reporter chris had shot his own mother. A ruse to throw off the cops. And a bumbling one at that. Becky said their plan was for chris to shoot and miss. He didnt mean to shoot me. He was just gonna shoot at me to scare me, for me to say that somebody chased after me wantin money. Your own son shot you. He didnt mean to. Reporter becky sears had told investigators quite a story in a version that showed her slightly less culpable than chris. The legal fight now had shifted to mother against son. And becky had one more card left to play. Coming up its the question everyone was asking. Who is this woman . Evil. Hi, im the internet yu know whats difficult . Armless bowling. Ahhhhhhhh you know whats easy . Building your website with godaddy. Get your domain today and get a free trial of gocentral. Build a better website in under an hour. From godaddy in fact, 68 of people who have built their. Website using gocentral, did it in under an hour, and you can too. Build a better website in under an hour. With gocentral from godaddy. Reporter becky sears and her son chris were both facing the Death Penalty for conspiring to murder kay parsons. But their attorneys vic and jacque hawk suddenly had a colossal problem on their hands. I didnt want him to hurt anybody. Reporter beckys allbuta confession on tape. Vic represented becky, and jacque represented chris. Facing this tough new set of facts, the brothers decided to sever their cases. Mother would now be pitted against son in two separate trials. I didnt have any question in my mind that his mom would testify against him if it benefited his mom. And chris is gonna go to trial first here . Yes. Does that make a difference in the scheme of things . Well, i think it puts pressure on her. Because then that gives him some reason to maybe, if he is hit with a significant sentence, Death Penalty, whatever, a good bit of impetus to come and testify against his momma. Reporter the state still didnt have any physical evidence against chris, but that was about to change. I get a message that that a box of bloody clothes and shoes had been turned over. Reporter becky had an 11th hour reveal she told authorities where to find the clothes chris wore during the murder. Shed stashed them in her mothers attic. Turning them over was a play to get herself a better deal. So she can do herself some good and get the Death Penalty off the table . I think thats the obvious. Whatd you see when you opened it . I saw the backpack, black backpack just like she described. We found the jewelry taken from the parsons home. We found the jewelry taken from the sears home. It was all there. Signed, sealed, and delivered. That was it. There was nothin else they could do. Say goodnight, there was nothin else to do. No, not at all. Reporter there would be no trial now. Instead, a plea agreement, in may 2012. Becky sears and her son chris bowers pleaded guilty to murdering kay parsons. They were spared the Death Penalty, but in the end, becky didnt get a better deal than chris. The judge sentenced them both to life in prison without parole. Becky appeared in court that day looking hardly like the wellputtogether suburban mom from days past. Do you remember seeing becky on the news when she came to court . I did. What did ya think . I was, like, wow, i understand why she was goin to weight watchers. Um, she had gained so much weight. And, you know, really no remorse either. Reporter even her defense attorney, who withdrew from the case before that plea deal, said he could not fathom the taboos broken in this case, the families ripped apart. Shes turned the motherson relationship upside down. No mother would do what shes done. No real mother. And to have turned on her own son, that says more than anything else about becky sears. Reporter and even as she headed off to prison this saga wasnt over yet. Her old boss at Healing Hands says that while she was working for him, becky had her hands in the till. How much money, jurgen . About 250,000. Was stolen by becky from your Healing Hands account . Yeah. So nice, friendly, gregarious becky out front has been stealing from you with both hands. Im guessing she was your best paid employee and you had no idea. And you would guess right. Thats before you even get to the whole other thing of the business with kay. So who is this woman . Evil. Reporter becky was never charged with the theft. The da says they had the evidence, but with her guilty plea and life sentence it all became a moot issue. And remember how michael was blamed for stealing checks from Healing Hands . He told us what really happened. It wasnt me. That was my mother. She blamed you and you took the heat, huh . Well, yeah. She basically told me, hey, if i didnt do that for her, all the money she was making, she wouldnt she couldnt make no more. But you had nothin to do with it . Nope. Sure didnt. Reporter its been years since he spent all that time in the Interrogation Room taking the heat for his mother and brothers crimes. Michael told us he still has nightmares about it all. Im torn up inside. Youre still part of the wreckage of this whole deal . Yeah. Have you talked to or seen your mother since . No. I sure havent. Sure havent. Do you want to . Do you have questions for her . I do. I sure do. Shes sittin here. What do you ask her . What do i ask her . I would like to ask her what happened, you know . What happened to the mother i had, you know . Reporter but michael is and his family friend Michelle Amerson says shes looking out for him. Youre still kind of a second mom for michael . Yes. Hows he doin, in your opinion, michelle . Michaels doin better. You know, we have had a lotta heartache over his loss and, you know, what hes been through. But hes a trooper, and he has a lotta people standin behind him. Reporter becky sears and her husband tony are now divorced. And kays husband david . Hes remarried, still living in the house where it all happened. Derek, just 12 years old when he lost his mom, is now serving in the marine corps. What were your last words to her . And you know theyre never gonna be the last words, but they were. I said im sorry. I said, you know i love you, girl. And she says, i know, i know. And i said, ill talk to ya later. And that was it. Reporter today grovetown quietly bustles along, with few traces of the tragedy that happened on hot springs drive. But tamara says that for her, kays spirit is still there, right down the street. Do you offer up a little prayer to kay when you drive by your place . Of course. And also also to derek. It has to be hard on him. And so i always i always pray to make sure that he knows that even though his mothers not there, she loved him more than anything. It was to the right of the mattresses that we found the remains of julie. Shocking as the blaze was, it was nothing compared to what investigators found in the embers. Its a bullet . Yes. So this womans been shot to death . Yes. The obvious suspects, neighborhood thieves. There were half a dozen house burglaries unsolved. Investigators also dug into a favorite theory. The husband did it. I was angry. I felt that the detectives were on a manhunt and they were after my dad. And then, up popped a text that might just be a clue. You could say, maybe shes driving events here . Thats correct. The truth beyond twisted. Leaving behind smoking ashes and burning questions. I physically started shaking and i started crying. I want the know why. Welcome to dateline extra. Im tamron hall. Julie griffith was a loving wife and a doting mother. When a blaze ripped through her home, it took her life and robbed her family of their was it an accident, a burglary gone wrong or Something Else entirely . Heres Dennis Murphy with consumed. The Canterbury Hills subdivision in paducah, kentucky, is a good place to raise kids. Tidy homes kept by neighbors living ordered lives. So as the front porch lights winked out on just another day, what happened one cold january night in the wee hours was especially alarming. Orange flames were licking the tree tops. A roaring, allconsuming fire was devouring one of the nice homes. It was awful. Half of the house was gone. What would rise from those ashes was far more than a fire marshals investigation into cause. There would be a probe into the deepest roots of a treachery beyond most peoples comprehension. Its not true. No way. What had they all missed . A monster. A liar. A cheater. Hes destroyed my entire family. Before it became charred rubble, the house was home to a longtime paducah couple, keith and Julie Griffith, church going, golf playing, high school sweethearts, 36 years into a marriage that had produced two sons. Aaron the older. They were very supportive parents. They were loving. They loved my kids. Aaron took after his dad, athletic, easy going, level headed. Younger brother zach was more of a firecracker like his mom. There was the time, for instance, in the sixth grade zach grabbed a shovel and started digging a hole for a koi pond in the backyard. My parents come home. Theyre like, what are you doing . Im like, were going to have a pond. Were they okay with it . Yeah, they were fine. They were kind of like, well, this is going to be a nightmare. When aaron and zach flew the nest, the griffiths lives seemed to only get busier. They joined a motorcycle class through their church, frequently were golf foursome with friends, craig and temple bradley. Everybody that knew keith loved him. Great guy. Did he become your best friend . Yeah. Definitely. One of my very best friends. Temple felt that way about julie, too. She had a heart of gold. Shed do anything for you. But she also wasnt afraid to tell you exactly how it was, either. Did she get peoples feathers ruffled . Oh yeah, yeah. Yeah but everybody loved her. After early retirement from the water company, keith found a second career as a traveling lawnmower salesman, which left julie to spend a lot of nights home alone in the house. But keith never worried for her wellbeing in a safe neighborhood. Their own door watched over by their beloved great dane cleo. Aarons wife ali. I know for a long time they didnt lock the door. They would leave and go to dinner or go to town and leave the door unlocked. Because cleo was the guard dog. Fulfilled as the griffiths lives seemed to be, keith and julie were transformed when aaron and ali brought into the world their first daughter, aria. A first child, it was a greatest day of her life i think. Julie lived for my little girl. She wanted to be a part of everything that she did. And julie was there for ali when she went into labor for their second daughter analiese. Her white knuckled dash to the hospital earned julie the affectionate nickname nascar nana. The flashers were going and honking the horn. What is she saying to you . Talking to you. Dont have a baby in my car. Keep your legs crossed. Dont have the baby in the car. Everything seemed to be going great for the griffiths in 2013. Keith had weight loss surgery and dropped more than 100 pounds. Julie was over the moon with two granddaughters. But also that year came the rift. Zach disclosed to his very religious conservative parents he is gay. Was definitely hard. We went from my mom was my best friend and going from talking to her multiple times a day to just being completely just completely shut off. Julie visited zach that fall. They tiptoed around the elephant in the room but the time together gave zach hope. Was that the step as you look back to patching things up between you and your mom . Yeah, yeah. There was a way forward . There was definitely a way forward. We just needed more time. But then came that cold night in january. 911, where is your emergency . There is a house on fire in canterbury, and theres not a fire truck here. A deputy drove toward the griffith home, his dash cam recorder catching this quick glimpse of the blaze. Then the fire trucks arrived. Mccracken county sheriffs detective matt carter received a call in the middle of the night. Its a bad fire . Very hot. That whole left end of the house was just completely consumed with fire. It took about an hour for firefighters to knock down the flames. Hours more for them to make their way through the blackened wreckage of the house to what seemed to be the heart of the fire. The master bedroom. Ghastly what they would discover. Coming up what they found in the embers would rattle the neighborhood and shatter the family. The moment you realize youre ready to make dinner but your oven isnt. At lowes, we have more appliances to choose from. So, you can get the right one, at the right price, right now. Get up to 35 off select appliance special values at lowes. Or a little internet machine . It makes you wonder shouldnt we get our phones and internet from the same company . Thats why Xfinity Mobile comes with your internet. You get up to 5 lines of talk and text at no extra cost. So all you pay for is data. See how much you can save. Choose by the gig or unlimited. Xfinity mobile. A new kind of network designed to save you money. Call, visit, or go to xfinitymobile. Com. Daybreak revealed the grim aftermath of the blaze at 307 tudor boulevard. Wisps of smoke rose from was once the griffith home. Detective matt carter. This entire structure had crumbled. It was a pile of ashes that was on the ground. We didnt even know if anyone was home or not. We knew that they were in and out of town a lot. As firefighters carefully walked through, what appeared to be the fires epicenter, the master bedroom, their worst fears were confirmed. Julie had, in fact, been home that night. It was to the right of the box mattresses that we found the remains of julie. They were unsure initially that it was human remains. We knew that there was even with all their experience . Yes. Everything was just consumed by fire to the point that things were unrecognizable. As for keith, he was away calling on customers in indiana. Word of julies death spread almost as fast as the fire had raced through the house. Im getting ready for work, have the tv on in the background. Were live in the Canterbury Hills subdivision on tudor boulevard. Then temple bradleys phone rang. It was a friend who also knew julie. She said, you know theres a fire. I said, yeah, i saw it on tv. She said, yeah, it was keith and julies house. And i just sat there. Did she know at that point that julie, in fact, was gone . She knew. So she told me. Temples husband immediately tracked down keith as he was making the threehour drive home from indiana. He said, im on my way. Im probably, you know, two hours away. I said, are you all right . He goes, yeah, yeah. I could tell he was in shock. The news hit Zach Griffith particularly hard. Since coming out to his mother, his relationship with her had been strained. And now this. I guess youre just beating yourself up something terrible that you had been sideways with her. Yeah. And i know that if we were just given more time, that we would have been close again. That we would have been, you know, that mom and son duo that we were. But we just we didnt have the time. It was ripped away from us. And we never get it back. Aaron, the elder son, had more of a takecharge reaction. Got to take care of my brother, i got take care of my dad. Youve got logistics. Before the grief that you can absorb. Yeah, for me, its just kind of the way my brain is wired i guess. Within hours, the griffiths would head from all directions toward what used to be an anchor in their lives, the family home. Just gave my dad a big hug and we were both crying. Were like, i cant believe this. You know . What happened . Keiths good friend Craig Bradley was there to lend his support. This is the first time you were able to see him eye to eye. I could just tell he was shaken. As if the news couldnt get any worth, their great dane cleo along with a second pet daisy had also perished in the flames. Craig and keith walked the property, surveying the damages. We get to the koi pond. Got to get those fish out of there. Julie would kill me if something happened to those fish. I was like, you know, lets not worry about that right now. Overwhelmed by loss, the griffiths were faced with the question, how could this have happened . The first thought was that it was the new heating and air unit. It had just gone in. The unit had been installed just days before the fire adjacent to the master bedroom. That was my very first thought, that somehow the new heating and air unit wasnt put in properly. Faulty installation . Yeah. As for the cause of julies death, that was left to the county coroners office. Deputy coroner ben bradley. What were you working with . A very charred body. I could not very well identify it being a person. The cause of death seemed obvious. But just to be sure, julies remains were sent on to the medical examiner for an autopsy. What he discovered was as deeply troubling as it was unexpected. He had recovered a projectile in the remains. A bullet . Yes. Suddenly what was thought to have been death by smoke inhalation was now a homicide. Closer examination revealed three bullet holes in all in julies torso. The deputy coroner immediately called the sheriffs office. I said, we need to get some people back to that house because this is going to be a homicide. What did you think . Wow . Absolutely. Lady in a nice neighborhood, good house. Right. Now shes got three bullet wounds. Thats right. On a whodidit crime. Back on 307 tudor boulevard, Fire Equipment pulled out as sheriffs cruisers pulled in. Would the charred wreckage of the home once filled with joy and laughter, now hold clues pointing to a killer . And then, this detective spies what could be a critical clue on someones phone. Ping, up comes a text message . Thats correct. When dateline extra continues. The theory that julie died by accidental fire had collapsed as suddenly as the griffiths house itself. For detective matt carter, a. 45 caliber slug recovered from Julie Griffiths torso turned the charred rubble into the scene of a homicide. Im guessing your day changed a whole lot, detective. It changed a lot. Despite more than a decade on the job, the detective had his work cut out for him. No hair fiber, bloody footprints, none of that stuff. Right. Youve got an arson that destroyed any chance of obtaining any of that from the scene. For detective carter, the most obvious theory, this homicide was the work of a home intruder. A burglary gone bad. Somebodys looking for the laptop or whatever, jewelry, and thing goes down. Right. We had had some burglaries within a few miles of this area. Within weeks or months . Within weeks. Within weeks. As police canvassed the neighborhood for leads and witnesses, the investigator also had to consider the perpetrator may have been someone julie knew. Youre not ruling anyone out or in. Youre simply going through the motions. Youre speaking to the immediate family first. Working your way out. The Sheriffs Department did not tell the Griffiths Julie had been murdered. We were not told anything by the police at that point. But anyone at the scene might have guessed foul play was somehow involved. There was just cops all over the property. You said, why the cops . Exactly. Yep. Naturally the first person detective carter interviewed was julies husband, keith. First of all, we are sorry for your loss. Appreciate that. At first, keith talked about what everyone perceived was the cause of the inferno, an accidental fire set off by a new newly installed heating unit. You had it installed tuesday . It was a whole new system. Keith explained the contractor was a friend of his who had done the work just a few days earlier. They put a rush on it. I mean, you know, thats kind of what friends do for each other. Okay. And i hope to god that this problem is not his. But eventually without giving details, the detective revealed julies death was no accident. The investigation shows that foul play is involved. I do not believe at this point in time that this was any kind of an accident. I want to ask your cooperation on several things. Okay . Okay. One of the first things detective carter asked about was how keith and julie were getting along. Any problems at all that you all had . Anything like that whatsoever . Shes my best friend. I mean, i know it. That woman loved everybody. The investigator also asked keith for details about his business trip to indiana. What hotel . Comfort suites. Comfort suites, okay. Didnt leave the hotel . I did leave the hotel about about 11 00 i went and got something to drink. And i left again about 4 00 and just went and got a doughnut and a coke. Like i say, i get up pretty early. And what about weapons . Did keith have a gun . I have a. 45 acp in my work ruck that i just got. And i left again about 4 00 and just went and got a doughnut and a coke. Like i say, i get up pretty early. And what about weapons . Did keith have a gun . I have a. 45 acp in my work truck that i just got. Its never had any its never been loaded. As part of standard protocol, the detective asked for keiths clothes. They would be tested for gunshot residue. What youre wearing now, is that was that fresh clothes from this morning, whenever you this is what i wore yesterday. Before wrapping up the interview, the detective took a look at keiths cell phone. While im reviewing his phone, i see that he obtains a text message, an incoming text message, from a lady by the name of deanna james. Ping, up comes a text message . Thats correct. The message read, did you make it home okay . Keith was quick to point out his relationship with deanna was completely platonic. Shes more like a guy friend. No big deal . Nothing sexual. No big deal. Thats right. After that, keith was released to go and grieve with his family. Detective carter, meanwhile, set out to verify keiths story. He had a receipt where hed stayed. So that puts him three hours away from this house fire. Correct. And the death of his wife. Right. It showed his checkin time and checkout time. A quick check of keiths gun showed he was telling the truth about it, as well. The gun looked as though it had never been fired. So maybe hes not the guy . He may not be. So then, who was . Coming up, the detective sits down with deanna. Was she really like a guy friend to keith . You could say, what, maybe shes driving events here . Maybe she wants to get rid of the wife . Thats correct. When dateline extra continues. When i received the diagnosis, i knew at that exact moment, whatever it takes, wherever i have to go. Im beating this. My main focus was to find a team of doctors that work together. When a patient comes to ctca, theyre meeting a team of physicians that specialize in the management of cancer. Breast Cancer Treatment is continuing to evolve. And i would say that ctca is definitely on the cusp of those changes. Patients can be overwhelmed. We really focus on taking the time with each individual patient so they can choose the treatment appropriate for them. The care that ctca brings is the kind of care ive wanted for my patients. Being able to spend time with them, have a whole team to look after them is fantastic. I empower women with choices. Its not just picking a surgeon. Its picking the care team, and feeling secure where you are. Surround yourself with the team of Breast Cancer experts at Cancer Treatment centers of america. Visit cancercenter. Com breast Julie Griffiths family had hardly had time to absorb the horrific news of her death and in a house fire when disturbing rumors started reaching them that investigators thought her death was foul play. The Sheriffs Department kept details of the murder quiet for days. I could not believe it. Daughterinlaw ali. I couldnt imagine anyone would ever want to hurt her. Much less set the house on fire. The dogs perished. I had no idea what could have happened. No enemies. I mean, it made no sense. Just who would want to kill her. After keith was released the night of his interview with detectives, he headed straight to his friends, the bradleys. They were floored to hear the line of questioning that he recounted. What was up with his marriage, his alibi, the gun he owned . He had been questioned to the point that he almost felt like they thought he had done this. Son aaron also got called down to the station that same evening. And he, too, was questioned about his parents marriage. Notice anything lately in their relationship as far as any problems or anything like that . That youre aware of anything . No. Nothing. Was there any money troubles . Was there any relationship, things that we knew of . But to a person in the griffiths circle, the very idea that keith might know something about julies death was, well, just flatout crazy. I knew he didnt do it. There wasnt any way that keith was involved in this. I remember sitting there, and looking over at keith, just watching him for a while. And finally i just said, you cant even grieve, can you . And he said, no, theyve taken it all away. The friends working theory was a botched breakin. They had heard about the neighborhoods recent rash of burglaries. Maybe thats what happened to julie. They come in, and they startled cleo. The dog started to bark. Go for them . Caused julie to wake up and got scared and shot her. It made perfect sense. But for detective carter, the burglary theory of the crime wasnt panning out. Even as they sorted through the rubble, detectives at the scene found untouched valuables, two safes, a cache of guns and julies purse sitting in plain sight. You would think an intruder would have grabbed it. You would think so. So carter set out to follow the most promising lead he had. Who was this woman deanna, the text messenger, who wondered if keith had made it home okay. He had described her as a guy friend. There was just something about that text message that seemed to stick out, and it seemed to create that question of, you know, whats missing here. Carter had called ahead to the authorities in the indiana town where deanna lived. Theyd arranged to bring the woman down to an interview room. She was waiting. My names matt carter. Deanna was about to tell the detective a story that would dramatically reshape his investigation. Is she a guy friend . No. It was more than that. Deanna shared the same story with us. He wanted me to love him. Deanna said she and keith first met years earlier at a vendor fair. She was the cfo of an i. T. Company, keith the road warrior lawnmower salesman had a booth there. Keith was sitting there. I guess i caught his attention right away. You noticed he was eyeing you . I noticed he was staring at me. So i kind of, you know, just smiled. She says he asked her to dinner. They quickly discovered how much they had in common. He talked about both his sons and being a grandpa. So i just really connected, because i had grandkids, too. After several dates, deanna says, keith expressed interest in a relationship. But she wanted to keep it just friends. They stayed in touch but didnt see each other for a while. Then just a few months back, he sent her a flirty text message. The text just said, did you cast a spell on me . And im like, i looked down at my phone, im like, what . He said i was in a Party Last Night and this woman was chatting me up. He goes, and all i could think about was you. Deanna who was in the throes of a traumatic romantic breakup agreed to start seeing him again for dinners. And she says, he seemed excited to show off the new postsurgery keith. He goes, youre not going to recognize me. And he goes, ive lost over 100 pounds. I said, you have . Did he look okay . He looked fine. I mean, he felt i think he was more confident, as well. Deanna says keith now began aggressively courting her, showering her with gifts, flowers, notes of affection. It was all, she said, a bit much. He kept pushing for more. And i kept telling him, you need to back off, you need to slow down because im just not there. Deanna said she couldnt put her finger on it, but there was something about keith that was holding her back. Maybe it was the fact that he still seemed unusually bound to a woman he called his exwife. From the very beginning, deanna says, keith told her that he was divorced. Very first conversation. Im a divorced guy. Right. By the time she was sitting across from detective carter in that interview room, deanna says she and keith had never been intimate, but they were dating. And keith was talking longterm. Househunting for them. He said, i dont want to scare you, but i want you to know that im looking for properties here in morrisville to buy, so for us to be together. For the detective, deannas we were all frantic. We had no idea how it could have happened. When dateline extra continues. Welcome back. Here once again is Dennis Murphy with consumed. Six days after the coldblooded murder of Julie Griffith, family and friends gathered at her church to say goodbye. Between the visitation and the memorial service, son zach was overwhelmed. Just showed, like, what an amazing woman that my mom was to have that many people come out just to say that, you know, they just wanted to give their condolences. To Close Friends craig and temple bradley, julies husband keith was more emotional that day than theyd ever seen him. Tears, sadness. Id never seen him cry, you know, in my life. But even as the Griffith Family mourned, zach and his brother were feeling uneasy about the investigation which seemed to be focused exclusively on their father. I was angry. I felt that the detectives, the Sheriffs Department were on a manhunt, and they were after my dad. Because the husbands always do it . Yep, the husbands always do it. And they just seemed they zeroed in on him and were going at it 110 miles an hour. And were not respectful to my brother and i about any of the developments or anything going on. But detective matt carter had an ongoing investigation, and he felt there was ample reason to pursue their dad. After his interview with deanna, he had driven to the hotel that was keiths alibi. There he uncovered a bombshell. Remember keith saying to the detective he had been at the hotel the entire night, ducking out just twice to get a drink and a snack . Well, unhappily for keiths alibi, when the detective hit play on the Hotel Security video, it told a vastly different story. Keith is seen leaving as he claimed around 11 00 p. M. But i think within 15 to 30 minutes hes going to be returning. That never happened. Youre scrolling through the tape. Going through, going through. And then when did your bingo moment come up . He finally arrived back at the hotel six hours and 34 minutes after he left initially. Gone for more than 6 1 2 hours. Was that enough time for keith to drive all the way back to his house in kentucky, commit the crime, and return . So what did you and your partner find when you put a clock to it . Driving the speed limit to and from, it would have allowed approximately 20 minutes, at least, to have committed the crime. Is that enough time for him to do this lethal act, kill his wife and torch the house . I believe it was ample time. 15, 20minute window . Yes. Keith griffith was arrested and charged with arson and murder. You care to answer the allegations, sir . He could face the Death Penalty. He pleaded not guilty. We were all frantic. We had no idea what was happening, how it could have happened. Because at that point we knew that there was no way that he had anything to do with it. This is nightmare country . Yes. But again, we thought it would all be explained. They would do their job, they would take him, and the truth would come out. I was 100 convinced that he was innocent. And they were taking the wrong person in. Meanwhile, the person who actually did it was getting away. Family and friends were for sure distressed to learn that keith had another woman on the road. But the revelation wasnt enough to shake their support for him. It was a shock. But it was something that we accepted as a mistake. But that did not mean that he killed julie. Theres no way he did it. Not to julie, his wife. Yeah. Kids mother. No way keith did it. But when Keith Griffith went to trial in february 2015. All rise prosecutor Raymond Mcginty laid out a formidable circumstantial case. On january 17th, 2014, Keith Griffith decided that he could kill his wife a cornerstone of the case was that Hotel Security video. Not only did it show keith gone for enough time to commit the crime, the prosecutor said, it also caught him in a lie. Remember in his interview, keith told police he hadnt swapped clothes that night . Change clothes . No. But a look at the security footage showed he had. He left wearing one set of clothes. One of his work shirts. He came back dressed in all black. The prosecutor also showed security video captured from a residence near the griffith home. It caught a glimpse of an suv pulling into the subdivision shortly before the fire. It was a little blurry. It was a few seconds long, but it sure looked like Keith Griffiths car. And another circumstantial bit. Who else but keith, the prosecutor said, could have gotten by the griffiths aggressive great dane cleo . Certainly not an unknown intruder. The dog and keith were very close. A burglar couldnt have come in. A Family Member could have. As for the why question, how could keith, a man who by all accounts loved his wife, actually do it . The prosecutor turned to two ageold motives. Almost every case involving a husband and a wife, its lust and greed. One or the other. This one had both. The lust part of the equation, he said, was deanna. Raise your right hand. She took the stand and told the jury that not only was keith househunting for them, he was also making plans to bring her down to paducah for a concert and introduce her to his family. I would love for you to come for the weekend, stay for the weekend. Well go to the concert. And i would really like for you to meet my dad. As for the greed part, that was Life Insurance money. Two policies on julies life worth 250,000. One of them, the prosecutor said, had taken effect just eight days before julie died. Keith griffith got to the point in his life he just wanted to start something new, and he didnt want to give Julie Griffith what she would have needed in a divorce and would have been entitled to. Keiths daughterinlaw ali griffith, listened to the entirety of the prosecutions case. All she heard were theories. They spun a story. And they told a story how they wanted it to go. And they had facts that supported their story. But did not prove it. And thats what keiths defense attorney, mark bryant, hammered home for the jury. What does no evidence mean . They didnt have dna. They didnt have any kind of forensics. They didnt have a confession. They had nothing. They had circumstantial evidence. In their haste to arrest keith, the defense argued the police had gotten it wildly wrong. Yes, he conceded keith wasnt the husband of the year. But he said deannas story that keith was pursuing her for a longterm commitment was nonsense. Rather what he wanted was a port in every storm. As for the Life Insurance, 250,000 was far from a financial windfall, he said. Even the bradleys knew that the reason keith and julie bought that new policy was because of a friends recent tragedy. She had been nagging him about getting making sure they had plenty of Life Insurance. And he argued the footage of the suv pulling into the subdivision was far too blurry to i. D. It as keiths ford expedition. Besides if a guy is going to go to this much trouble to kill his wife, why would he drive an expedition that Everybody Knows he has . But the big question still remained, if keith hadnt driven back to paducah to kill julie, where had he gone the night of the murder . The only person who could answer that was keith himself. He was very adamant about taking the stand. He wanted to talk to the jury . He did. What would he say . And would the jury believe him . It was roll the dice time. Coming up, keiths eyebrowraising alibi. I was embarrassed and ashamed of what i was doing the night my wife died. And then what keith revealed to us. Thats what ive told everybody, when they hear the story, theyre not going to believe it. Why even a jury couldnt end this case. When dateline extra continues. Looking to save even more money on your Medicare Part d prescriptions . 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Making your hair 2x stronger see the difference when you add 3 minute miracle daily conditioner. Welcome back. The prosecutor laid out his case against Keith Griffith that he had the means and the motive. Now the accused murderer was insisting on taking the stand in his own defense. And he had a bombshell to reveal. Heres Dennis Murphy with the conclusion of consumed. Keith griffith was about to take the stand and explain the most damning piece of evidence against him. Hotel security footage put him off the grid for more than 6 1 2 hours the night his wife julie was murdered. But if he wasnt perpetrating the crime during that time, then where was he . Tell us your name, please, sir. Keith wayne griffith. Keiths explanation came with an embarrassing secret. His lawyer argued that ever since becoming a traveling salesman, keith had struggled with an addiction to sex. Keith, until you got out on the road several years ago, did you have this kind of a sexual addiction . No, sir. And the night julie was murdered, he said he spent those hours out prowling for women. After he left the hotel, he changed out of work clothes into his man out looking duds. I didnt like people to put my job with my carousing. With your carousing . Mmhmm. He said he went to a massage parlor, a bar and couple of strip clubs. But try as he might he never found a hookup. I was trying to pick somebody up. Wasnt anybody available or interested or whatever, however you want to put it. After last call he said he went down to the river to watch the boats before returning to the hotel to catch some shuteye. As for why he lied to the police i was embarrassed and ashamed what i was doing the night my wife died. Did you kill your wife . No, sir, i did not. I loved my wife. Did you burn the house down . No. Did you kill those dogs . No, i loved those dogs. When the case went to the jury, keiths friend Craig Bradley didnt know which way the jury would fall. I didnt know if he would get acquitted. But i didnt think hed get convicted. I mean, i really felt like it would be a hung jury. Turns out he was right. After six hours of deliberation, the jury was deadlocked. Im going to declare a mistrial at this time. Keith would sit in jail for another year as he awaited a second trial. A long time for his family to process the story he told on the stand. He left to go to a bar, to go cruising, or something . And then he goes and sits on the riverfront . Like, he has never done that before in his entire life. So when he stepped down, you thought . Your father did this . Yeah. Yeah. I mean, i definitely wasnt saying it out loud. And i wasnt ready to accept it. But i definitely was moving in the direction of the only thing that makes sense at this point is that he committed the crime. After months of wrestling with his thoughts, zach decided it was time to send his dad a letter. I put in the letter, my opinion was you did it. You know, you took away the last chance that i had of rebuilding a relationship with my mom. Youre no longer allowed to contact me. And i dont want you to ask about me to anyone. Wow. Dear dad, you are dead to me. Exactly. His brothers wife, ali, had started to feel that way about keith, too. It seemed like he was fabricating everything that came out of his mouth. But there was a split in the family. Despite doubts of his own, her husband aaron, the one closest to his father, was still a supporter. Whatever issues my mom and dad would have had, i just could not believe that my dad would take my kids away from their nana. Then a few months before keiths retrial, detective carters phone rang. There was news from the jail. An inmate had some information about keith. And it was as eerie as it was chilling. The detective in the bullseye. Keith had come forward to him wanting to have me killed. Put a hit on you . Put a hit on me. Orchestrating your death . Yes. Hed drawn a map of what he believed to be my residence. Suggested the caliber of weapon to use to kill me. The informant specifically asked him what if my family was present, and his response was one word, and that was tragedy. Wow. That does make the hair on your neck stand up. It does. That wouldnt look good to a jury. The development brought aaron to a tipping point. Were you no longer wavering at this point, aaron . Had you come down on the side of, oh my god, my father killed my mother . Yeah. Yeah. Now aaron, too, wrote his dad a letter. If he was guilty its time. Its time to man up and do what you should have done two years ago. Keiths Defense Attorneys went to the prosecutor to hammer out a plea deal. They agreed on 30 years in prison for the murder and for soliciting the hit. Moments later, keith was standing in a paducah courtroom speaking the words his family and friends never in a million years thought theyd hear him say. Yes, he murdered julie. Theres no excuse for what i did. And i cant take it back. And she was my best friend. And i dont know what happened to me. But i did it. Theres nothing i can do about it. Temple bradley who works near the courthouse was there. My heart was breaking. That the person that i have that wholeheartedly i put my trust in for two years had lied to my face. I just cant believe weve been deceived in that way. We were there for him the whole time. For keiths family and friends, there are so many questions. But one seems to tower above all the others. I want to know why. And i want to know how you go from a loving husband and father and grandfather to driving all that way, killing your wife, then covering it up, and then lying to your family for so long . Knowing that we had everybody doubting us, that we still defended him. Disgusting. Hes a monster. All i can tell you is that i had a lot of bad thoughts, wrong thoughts, mistakes. We sat down with keith hoping for answers. But as many times as we asked him why this all happened why did you do it . I really cant tell you. I dont know. I mean, just a bad decision. We never did get a satisfying response. So this isnt some kind of delayed midlife crisis here . No. Where youre trying to be with deanna or someone like her to have a final happy chapter in your life . No. New house julie and i were happy. You see how perplexing it is to hear this. I know. Its absolutely confounding. Thats what i tell everybody when they hear the story, theyre not going to believe it. I have a hard time believing i did what i did. One thing he didnt do how about a divorce . Never crossed my mind. Keith now says the remorse began the moment he pulled out of his driveway. Trying to get out of the subdivision, crying before i ever get out. Regretting what id done. I probably drove 100 miles an hour all the way back, hoping to get caught. As for the future, keith says he is prepared to die in prison. I dont have anything to live for. Except maybe forgiveness. From who . From my boys. Thats why youre talking to me today . Exactly. Yes. Well, its between you and them. Ill tell you, my take on it is youve got some distance to make up. I know i do. Ive got a lot to make up. Of the countless things keith stole from his family, resilience was not among them. Aaron and zach are closer than theyve been in years. And now that they know what happened to their mother, they say they can finally mourn her passing. And focus on keeping her spirit alive for those two little granddaughters who were the center of her universe. My oldest daughter will remember. Like i said, she talks about her almost every day. We have pictures of her up in her room. As my youngest gets older, well tell her the nascar nana story about when she was born. Just never let her memory die. Thats all for this edition of dateline thanks for watching. Im craig melvin. Im natalie morales. And this is dateline. I learned that he was arrested. I was shocked. I was just so confused. I didnt think it was real. In the rarefied world of the ivy league, he was the package. Star student, gifted athlete, wildly popular. He is one of the nicest guys ever. No one could understand how a weekend visit to his parents house ended in gunfire. Whos already dead