Horrible, knowing the person that you love is dead and that youre being look at for it. Imagine youre shaken in the dead of night. My ears were ringing. I thought i was dreaming. In bed right next to you, your husband murdered. Hard to get that one out of your head, isnt it . Yeah. And heres the twist youre the suspect. Worst feeling to hear youre being blamed for your husbands death. Could she have been the killer . Or was someone keeping a secret . I said, what do you do . What did you do . I know what to tell you. Just the truth. While they were sleeping. Hello and welcome to dateline extra. Im craig melvin. Ben oxley was a man deeply in love with his second wife, melissa. They were building a life with bens daughter alyssa at the center. Then a gunshot tore through the dark and left ben dead. No one else in the house was hurt, including melissa. Suspicious, police thought. They would uncover more red flags and to uncover what happened in the middle of the night, they would have to look deep into bens past. Heres keith morrisson. It was cold the night the full moon rose, desert cold. February cold in the Desert Valley that spilled down from ro no, nevada. In the moonlight, silver pale, the wind in the dead of the night worried at the gray ends of the winter grass, whipped and cried up the driveway of the house, whistled past the unlocked door. Something evil afoot, something here inside, where the moon peered into the window and into the master bedroom, a little after 3 00 in the morning. Really dead. Whats really bad . My husband. Strange the things that happen to people under a full moon. Good people, not so good people. Under that moon that night it was hard to tell which was which, who was who. This is a case built on lies and deception and cat and mouse. Who knew what it was . But skoir when it began was about love,. But the story when it began in 2005 was about love. Or what certainly felt like it. In fact fair to say it was two kinds of love. There was what happened to ben when he met melissa. As soon as he met melissa, it was something id never seen, just for no reason hed call her and say i love you. She was a change man. Absolutely. He was happy, melissa really made the difference. If anybody would know, his best friends would, cindy and scott graham. I men mean, he was family. Then there was bens other love, brightest thing in his life, the one good thing that came from his first marriage, alyssa. Everybody said that he loved me more than anything and i think its true. Quite true of course. So there was a little jockeying at first two women and one man, even if one of the women was just 3. Our first date alyssa was there, we were eating and i was trying to talk to ben and get to know him, and alyssa was like, dont talk to my dad. I remember meeting her. I didnt really like her. She was talking to my dad. More than talking as it turned out. Ben and melissa moved in just a month later. The sort of thing a 3yearold finds hard to understand. She said i love you, i said dont talk to my dad that way. But as we said, it was a love story. For both of them. Jamie heart as the friend and future brides maid put it he was truly her best friend and he was the best dad. Thats all he cared about with melissa. That was his priority, to take care of her. It was alyssa and ben and melissa. The threesome. They were really like two peas in a pod. One september day in 2006 as the sun was setting into the Sierra Nevada mountains, ben and melissa got married, the ceremony at nearby lake tahoe. Melissa was a glowing bride, alyssa the Little Flower girl. It wasnt just melissa and ben getting married. It was alyssa getting married too. Seriously. They made a ceremony of it. Alyssa, will you promise to share in the love of this family . If so, will you say i will . I will. I got her a little bracelet, had it engraved, letting her know i would always love her as my own. Gave it to her that day. From that moment on, called melissa mom. How did it make you feel . Happy, very happy. What a happy couple they were, a happy family. Just for her to be my wife now is its a blessing. Thats what you wait for all your life. What were your plans . To buy a house and have babies, have a family. They eventually moved here, a threebedroom ranch in the carson valley, looking up toward the Sierra Nevadas. Alyssa spent half time with ben and melissa, other time with her birth mom, bens exwife, dawn. Above all what ben really wanted was to have his little girl permanently. He never thought he could have his daughter. And i was like, yeah, you can. You could. And he did. He won custody. It was him and his daughter, and thats what he had always wanted. And then the little household grew. Melissas teenage brother craig moved in. And then winter came and the wind, and on february 20, 2008, the moon rose full over the carson valley. After dinner, ben, melissa, her teenage brother craig, and little alyssa settled in the den to watch a movie. Melissa remembers falling asleep on the couch waking up with a start. Thinking i was late were work. It was like 2 30 in the morning, and i was like, oh, im not late. So i went and got into bed. Crawled in with ben, she said. Moonlight on the covers. Warmth inside. About an hour later is when i was woke up by the smell and then a loud noise. My ears were ringing. At first i thought i was dreaming. A smell . Yeah, it was the smell of gun po powder. Gun powder smell. Mmhmm. As she told it, looked over to ben, he appeared to have slept through whatever it was. She nudged him. He didnt stir. I thought, okay, ill check it out. I walked halfway down the hallway, realized the front door was open. But you didnt see anybody . No. Halfway down the hall, cold air rushing in, she knew something was very wrong. So she ran back to the bedroom, turned on the light. Went to wake him up and i could see him. Yes. Hard to get that out of your head, isnt it . Yeah. And thus her call to 911, and the detective who rushed over to find out what happened and discovered that he could not tell. You got the wife, youve got a small 6yearold child and youve got a 15yearold boy in the house, and youve got everybody saying they dont know what happened. Or could it be that someone had something to hide . Defense wonders how everyone except ben survived that night without a scratch. Coming up, the investigation begins and melissa is at the very center. Im asking you to help me solve the problem, okay . A Dramatic Police intear gags when while they were sleeping continues. Re sleeping continues. 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Soon enough, defense would launch their investigation and ask her some tough questions. Melissas answers and the lab tests would not take her off their list. Here again is Keith Morrison. I was just confused and shocked because at this point i still felt like i was asleep. On february 21, 20008 at 3 00 in the morning, Melissa Oxley called 911. Okay, theres gun noises like a gunshot . No, i turned on the lights and saw my husband, and hes really, really dead. He certainly was. Ben oxley had been shot point blank in the head. Yet melissa lying in bed right beside him was unharmed. She ran then to alyssas room to check on her and call 911. And of course alyssa, then 6 years old and completely unaware of what happened asked to see her dad. I want to see my dad and i told her you cant see your dad. Ron elgis got the call. Do you remember getting that call . Yeah, because i was sleeping. Woke up fast to a very big problem. The killing just didnt make sense. Appearing like a ghost has done this. No evidence, no weapon. Even in the house said i dont know. A ghost . Yeah. Thats what it feels like because you have no idea. How was it possible melissa hadnt seen the person who shot ben . She had been lying right next to him. Why was she unharmed . Thats a red flag popping up, doesnt seem right. And had craig, melissas teenage brother slept through the whole thing as he claimed . I opened my eyes and right in my face was a bunch of barrels from a machine gun. It was police guns he was looking at. Police who had already discovered shotgun shells on craigs bedroom dresser. Here comes another possibility. Is he faking . Melissa, craig and alyssa were taken to the Sheriffs Department at 4 00 after the shooting. Melissas best friend got a phone call. It was alyssa. Crying. Im at the police station. Come down here. My daddys been shot. Alyssa was being grilled by detectives. He had questions, lots of them. So many things about the murder didnt make sense. Why didnt they take you out . You were right there. Thats what i thought. Another thing i dont understand is somebody shoots him, why didnt you see anything . I dont know. I honestly dont know. Maybe it was a man ben warned her about, ben said, a rough customer who once dated bens exwife and threatened to kill dawn and any man she had been with. Was the story true . The detective sent officers to dawns house where they woke her up, sleepy, but unharmed and discovered the man was hundreds of miles away. When the murder happened. Again the questions for melissa. Sometimes people know more than they want to tell or share. But im telling you, i honestly dont know. Alyssa was 6 by this time, only person who remembered seeing anything unusual and she told the detective right away. I woke up and heard this creak and i saw somebody walking in. And then i just went back and do you know who they were . I dont know who it was. She saw a shadow in her doorway looking at her, and then the shadow left. She went back to sleep and melissa came in, grabbed her and was talking to 911. Did the detective discovered the bullet that killed ben was a number 8 bird shot. Same as in craigs room. So questions for craig. Apologize for doing it but i have to, did you kill ben . I did not. Sure enough when they tested craig for gun residue or blood cast off, he was clean. Could not have fired that gun. And so back to melissa. Doesnt make any sense to me either. Its not necessarily a bad thing. Its the worst feeling thinking that youre blamed for your husbands death. Its so horrible. Understand that im not blaming you. Im asking you to help me solve the problem with the questions im asking, okay . Because there was blood on melissa, gunshot residue. I dont know what to tell you. Just the truth is all im hoping youll give me. Melissas friend jamie was there when she came out of the interrogation room. Melissa just dropped to the floor when she saw me. And she had a little bit of blood on her. She just said, i didnt do this. And we i know you didnt do it. But jamie knew there were others, and not just the police, who were very suspicious of melissa. Shes the kind of suspect, shes the wife. She was laying in bed with him. It doesnt make sense that she wasnt shot. Did melissa do it . Well, jeez, i hope not, but she could have. Why wasnt she shot . I thought if she did commit the murder. Hes going make a mistake. You can only live this lie so long. Soon investigators could discover a possible motive for murder. Coming up a 200,000 Life Insurance policy. She had the motivation to want this to happen. When while they were sleeping continues. Re sleeping continues. But now a friend. Still an electric car. Just more electrifying. Still a night out. But everything fits in. Still hard work. Just a little easier. Still a legend. Just more legendary. Chevrolet. 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Her 36yearold husband, ben, shot dead while he slept in bed right next to her. As far as she could tell, said melissa, the shooter managed to break into the house, walk right into the master bedroom, shoot ben without harming her and leave not a trace of evidence behind. The case boggled the detective ron elgis mind. Is there somebody who doesnt like him . Is it a murder for hire pay . What could this be . Melissas closest friend believed her when she insisted she had nothing to do with it, in fact, she lost the love of her life. And that now she and those around her were probably in terrible danger. Because you dont know who did it. You dont know if theyre going to come back for melissa. If melissa was supposed to be in that. Melissa meanwhile tried to be a source of comfort for her 6yearold stepdaughter alyssa. The little girls father had been her world, leaving her now in a world of chaos. And with her home and love nest now a crime scene, melissa and alyssa moved in with the woman who had been the bridesmaid, at the wedding, jamie, and it was at night when the curtains were drawn that jamie watched melissa reeling the pain. Many nights of crying in the middle of the night. Ic hear her. I went and laid in bed with her. I didnt sleep, couldnt sleep. Just getting into a bed after that happened i didnt want to. So where would you sleep . On the floor. And if the pain and suffering of losing her husband wasnt hard enough, melissa was a lead suspect, and not just in the eyes of the police. Because nobody, including the public, including the families, had any idea why this would happen. Theyre all grasping at straws to try to figure out this possibility, that possibility. Bens sister was certain that melissa arranged bens murder and wasnt afraid to make it known around town. She had quite a little following of all these people. Because its always the wife, you know . So did that mean little alyssa, just 6 years old, so vulnerable was living with a murderer . Alyssa began to spend more time at her mother dawns house, and one day while she was there, bens sister warned her about the stepmom she had come to love. She told me that she thought my stepmom killed my dad that night. Must have been pretty weird to hear that. Yeah. I didnt believe it. You didnt believe it at all . But if alyssa didnt believe it, others did. And before long, they had more ammunition because of Something Else detective elgis discovered. A 400,000 Life Insurance policy. It sounds a lot like she had the motivation to want this to happen. And once again, melissa found herself answering difficult questions. I didnt even know of an insurance policy. I guess i was sort of naive. We were looking at it for retirement. But while the investigation went on, the Insurance Company held back any payments while the whispers went around. It was shocking really. Ben had been dead just a few months . And melissa was dating already. It was soon sort of, but it was like if i didnt do it then, you almost would get stuck in this rut of never doing it. I would have just hung up the towel and been done. Put on a black dress and be a widow the rest of your life. Yeah. Detective elgis of course was keeping track and trying not to be judgmental. She has to do what she needs to do to heal. It doesnt mean i wasnt paying attention to what was going on. But as months passed and elgis scratched away at the few paltry leads that went anywhere at all, a certain clarity began to emerge. Despite his own early suspicions and those of others, hard evidence against melissa just didnt materialize. In fact, he said, he couldnt help thinking she probably didnt do it. She was so startled she went into a fight or flight response and just jumped out of bed. And then went to a normal reaction, which is, whats going on . And thats when she discovered that he thats when she discovered he has been shot. But there was another reason melissa dropped down the detectives list of suspects, and that reason was a certain someone else, who it became clear, did not like that love story we told you about. Not one bit. I said, what did you do . What did you do . And she said, what do you mean what did i do . Youve known me all these years, and you would think that i would do Something Like that . And i said, absolutely. Coming up, a whole new theory of the crime. With a whole new list of suspects eager to share secrets. I didnt know. I didnt know. No, no, no, no, no. When while they were sleeping continues. Continues. Discover whats good pantene nutrient blends groans hmph. food grunting menacingly when the food you love doesnt love you back, stay smooth and fight heartburn fast with tums smoothies. Tum tumtum tum tums wsteaming up lingering odors. 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Shes a darling on major flash point issues, including guns, reproductivity rights and health care. Now back to dateline. Welcome back to dateline extra. Im craig melvin. The cloud of suspicion over Melissa Oxley was lifted. She was no long for prim suspect in her husbands shooting death. Now defense were focused on another woman in bens life, someone they believe held a grudge, and what she was about to tell them could send the case in a stunning new direction. Here again is Keith Morrison. If you knew ben, theres no way that you would want him dead. I couldnt think of anybody that would want him dead, you know, besides dawn. Dawn, dawn oxley, ben oxleys exwife, alyssas mother. Even as more than a few gossipers pointed fingers at melissa, bens best friends told each other everything in me said that dawn had something to do with that. Of course, just a few years back that sort of thinking would have been unimaginable to dawn and bens best friends scott and cindy graham. Not dawn. Dawn, the force of nature, the center of any room she was in. I dont know if its manipulating or what, but everybody agreed with dawn. As long as dawn was happy, then we were all happy. But after five years of marriage, neither ben nor dawn was happy. And the marriage went up in flames. Ben had cheated on dawn. I could see that. This probably wasnt going to be something that she was ever going to get over. Dawn changed after that, said cindy, didnt seem to want to act like a parent anymore. She met a guy and she would stay the night at his house. I mean, when her kids are calling us up saying, we dont have any food in the house, can you come and bring us food . Theres a problem. And so when dawn and ben went to court to fight for custody of alyssa, cindy had to tell the truth. I told the judge that dawn wasnt taking care of her kids anymore. They werent a priority. They werent even number five. When ben won custody of alyssa and more than 200 a month in child support, dawn was devastated. This is her mother sherry rosten, a retired deputy sheriff. She would sit in the garage and just bawl about not about not getting her day in court. This was eating her alive. Yeah. It was really taking its toll on her. Dawn started drinking heavily. Her teenage son devin watched his mother fall apart. She started to lose jobs. Its like all hell broke loose in her head. But murder . Remember, the police went to see dawn just a couple hours after ben was killed, found her fast asleep. What time did you think you went to sleep . Oh, god. I watched a movie, the departed and descent. I dont know, about 4 00 . In fact, she happened to be sharing her bedroom with a 21yearold family friend named James Matlean. We watched a movie and went to bed. Yeah, thats her story. Thats it. Not exactly a convincing alibi. Any more than the obvious fiction that james, a new man in her life, was just a friend. Even less convincing, when detective ron elgis learned about a trip to a 7eleven store, middle of the night, about an hour and a half before the murder. Why are they hiding little pieces thats seem insignificant to what is going on . Then we started to do surveillance on them. Now theyre starting to get worried because they think were watching them. Surveillance photos show dawn with james and her two daughters, brandy, her 13yearold daughter from a previous marriage, and alyssa, 7 by this time. Thats right a year into the investigation, little alyssa was back with her biological mom. With ben dead, the courts had slowly weaned her back there permanently. So there you are still trying to grieve the loss of ben at the same time as alyssa is being pulled back toward dawn. Yeah, i lost both of them truly. And while the police were watching dawn, dawn was telling her children including brandy that the real suspect was melissa. She confidently told you it was melissa that committed this murder . Yes. Brandy was hearing that from her mother, dawn, who she could see was drinking too much, getting duis, spending more than a few nights in jail. They started getting arrested dawn and james both. We were finding reasons to take them to jail. And while they had james, they asked him point blank about the murder of ben oxley. Did i kill ben . No. Do i know who killed ben . No. Did dawn kill ben . No. Do i know anything about the murder . No. Were you and dawn involved in any way in the planning of the death of ben . No. Im looking you in your eyes. I did not kill him. But that was it. Lots of denials. No real evidence. A year and a half had gone by since the murder. It was the summer of 2009. On toward cold case territory. Getting there. Then one afternoon as detective elgis was recovering from a night on the graveyard shift, his cell phone rang. It was dawn oxley. She said she couldnt take it anymore. And she wanted to talk. What were you thinking on the way to see her . Its about time. The detective drove over to dawns house. She was inebriated. Im hurting. But she had quite a story to tell about james, about how he offered to murder ben. The night ben died, he said, now or never. And i said no. I said, not today. Dont do it, no. I said no. I said no. No, no, no, no. Hours later, she said, james woke her up from a sound sleep and told her ben was dead. But that, she said, is all he told her. All she knew. So youre confident that james had something to do with it . I dont know. But was that really all she knew . Dawn, remember, had a 16yearold son named devin, who defense learned was at home and listening in the hours before ben oxley was murdered. So if anyone could confirm dawns version of events, surely it would be devin. But he wasnt talking. Not yet anyway. Coming up, prosecutors were about to make a deal to get the evidence they need. You want to talk about this case . 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Common side effects include low red blood cell and low platelet counts, infections, tiredness, nausea, sore mouth, abnormalities in liver blood tests, diarrhea, hair thinning or loss, vomiting, rash, and loss of appetite. Be in your moment. Ask your doctor about ibrance. Welcome back. Dawn oxley had just told detectives the new man in her life offered to murder ex husband ben, an offer dawn said she refused. But investigators had a hunch dawn knew more than she was saying. In a case with few leads and plenty of dead ens, investigators were about to here several versions of what happened the night ben was shot dead. Once again, Keith Morrison. Finally, the story of ben oxleys murder, bit by bit, was leaking out. But could dawns version be believed that she had nothing to do with it . Heres what dawns mother sherry thought. I can see her sitting there, saying, god, i wish he was dead. Yeah. And i can see james going you want me to go kill him for you . Her going, whatever. It was more of a disbelief than an affirmation. Thats the story dawn told, too, that she did not want James Matlean to kill her exhusband. Do you want to talk about this case . You know i do. Okay. It was now the fall of 2009. Dawn was in jail for a dui and agreed to talk in more detail about the night of ben oxleys murder. And he said do you want me to go do that . Im sitting there going, are you serious . Are you kidding me . All i know is hes on the phone. Hes asking me if i wanted him to go take care of ben, and i was saying no. And then she went to sleep, she said. And the next thing she knew, james was back. He woke me up and he said its done. I was totally drunk. And then turned around and now im waking up out of a dead sleep. Im like, what the hell are you talking about . He said the cops are going to be here. Seriously right now youre telling me the cops are going to show up at my house because my exhusband is dead . And she did not take part, she swore, not at all. Based on what i didnt drive. I was not i didnt. I did not go anywhere. I did not plan this. I did not want ben dead. So truth or fiction . There was no solid evidence either way, nor that James Matlean killed ben oxley, only dawns story, at which point the assistant District Attorney tom gregory decided he needed her help. You love to get everybody involved in the case, but theres a reality in many cases that sometimes you need the help of one of the people involved to get the main person. And so dawn oxley was offered a limited immunity agreement. Cooperate with the prosecution, testify truthfully against James Matlean, and you wont be prosecuted. A sort of get out of jail free card. Why go ahead and make that deal with her so soon . You had her statement. Why not hold off for a while and be patient and then get them both . Lets say we dont do the deal with her and we go out and arrest him. Whats our evidence . Dawn signed the agreement, and James Matlean was charged with firstdegree murder. But the end of the story oh, no, not even close. The truth had been hiding, but it was itching to come out. Young devin, remember him . Dawns son . Devin finally decided it was time to reveal what he overheard the night of the murder. My mom was like, i want ben to die. I just want him dead. Yad da yad da and james said, ill go out and kill him right now. You just say the word ill kill him. She was like a broken record. She was like, i want him dead, i want him dead. Sound like a woman who was shocked when the murder happened . But there was more. It was after that when James Matlean told his attorney it was time to tell the whole story. I could tell he was telling the truth. Over the course of 15 months, hes always told the same story. So, now comes another story, james story. Not a love story this time. Nobody could believe that i did what i did. I had never been a violent person. James matlean did not have an easy start in life. By the time he was a teenager, he was drinking, doing drugs, stealing things. I had pretty much given up any hope on continuing successfully in life. Dawn, after her marriage to ben, befriended james. Made him feel rescued. Gave him a place to live. He had just been paroled from prison after doing time for stealing a truck. Kind of gave me a sense of hope. There was somebody out there besides my mom who cared. At dawns house, james discovered what others had, he said, as long as dawn was happy, everybody was happy. And if she wasnt well, then james could not be happy either. She was very, very upset at the fact she lost alyssa. And she went on rants, he said about, ben oxley, a man james didnt know, had never met. But he listened. Kind of felt like you were in love with her . Yeah, for a little while. It gave me a sense of feeling wanted. And then he realized, he said, she would never be happy unless he fixed what was upsetting her. I just wanted to make dawn happy. So, what happened . Dawn and james stories begin the same way. February 20, 2008, night of heavy drinking at dawns house, a heated conversation about ben oxley. James asking dawn if she wants to have him killed. But thats where the stories diverge. Dawn, remember, says she told james, no, dont do it and fell asleep on the couch. But thats not James Matleans story. She was ecstatic about what was happening. She was happy i was going to kill somebody. You know . It was after midnight. Dawn drew him a diagram of bens house so he could find his way to the bedroom. Then he went to the 7eleven, drew 40 out of the atm with dawns bank card. Then they went to the walmart. Dawn waited in the car while james did the shopping shotgun shells, gloves, a flashlight. She was just very happy about it, like you would imagine a kid going to disneyland, you know . But there was a problem. Theyd forgotten to bring the diagram of bens house with them. The plan wasnt for dawn to go in the house. The plan was just for me to go in the house. And i didnt know how the get in. Or where the bedroom was. Or where the bedroom was, so dawn had to go inside. The front door was locked, so dawn took him around back where a sliding glass door was unlocked and they eased their way in and walked down the hall. Then said james, dawn pointed him toward the master bedroom. And i turned around, and she was going into alyssas room. Going into the room . Yeah. She was about half her body was into the room. She said she was going to take alyssa with her. I said you cant take alyssa. Is this true . Remember, alyssa, just 6 years old at the time, told police she remembered seeing someone in her doorway. I just looked out and i saw somebody walking in. And then, said james, he walked into the master bedroom, saw ben and melissa sleeping in the moonlight. And i raised the gun. Thats where everything in my mind that should have happened three or four hours ago happened. I started thinking, why am i here . Something i heard to my left a sudden noise . Yeah. And as i turned and jerked to see what it was, i pulled the trigger. He ran then, he said, left the front door wide open. Caught up to dawn at the truck. Who drove . She did. I started yelling at her when we got in the truck. The truth, said James Matlean, all of it. Dawn knows the truth and i know the truth. And thats all that matters. I take full responsibility for what i did. Dawn needs to take full responsibility for what she did. Coming up, was ben the only one who was in danger that night . What was it like to hear that . Unreal. One more revelation still to come. When while they were sleeping continues. Continues. Turbocharged, right . Yes it is. Jim, could you, uh, kick the tires . Oh yes. Can you change the color inside the car . Oh sure. How about blue . Thats more cyan, but. Jump in the back seat, jim. Act like my kids. How much longer . Thats exactly how they sound. Its got massaging seats too, right . Oh yeahhhhh. Oh yeahhhhh. Shop from home or inperson to learn more about the mercedesbenz sedan family. Lease the c 300 sedan for just 449 a month at your local mercedesbenz dealer. Sprinting past every leak in our softest, smoothest fabric. Shes confident, protected, her strength respected. Depend. The only thing stronger than us, is you. groans hmph. food grunting menacingly when the food you love doesnt love you back, stay smooth and fight heartburn fast with tums smoothies. Tum tumtum tum tums with tums smoothies. Unlike ordinary memory wansupplements. Ter . Neuriva has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. Memory. Focus. Accuracy. Learning and concentration. Try it today with our moneyback guarantee keeping your oysters growing while keeping your business growing has you swamped. you need to hire i need indeed indeed you do. The moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a shortlist of quality candidates from a resume data base so you can start hiring right away. Claim your seventyfivedollar credit when you post your first job at indeed. Com promo welcome back. Dawn oxley agreed to testify that James Matlean killed her exhusband ben. In exchange, dawn received limited immunity and james was charged with firstdegree murder. In court, there would be a couple of surprises, including a terrifying detail about the night ben was killed. Turns out, ben was not the only one in danger. Heres Keith Morrison with the conclusion of our story. Its a rare thing to sit in a jailhouse room such as this while a murderer confesses chapter and verse, denial of the more common language here. I pulled the trigger. But James Matlean did not shrink from it. He murdered ben oxley in his sleep and must live with what he did for the rest of his days. Im afraid to deal with what i actually did. In december 2011, he told his story in court. It was after the d. A. Took the Death Penalty off the table and james decided to plead guilty. And thats when melissa, sitting in the courtroom, heard for the first time about Something Else james was supposed to do, kill her, too. Dawn asked me if i would kill melissa. I just automatically just said yeah. There was a bullet there for you. What was it like to hear that . Unreal. Do you believe that she was in the house that night . I do. Which makes me sick. I have a harder time with dawn than i do james, because if it wasnt for her, none of it would happen. And thats where Melissa Oxley and James Matlean attorney agreed, only half a measure of justice since dawn is protected by that immunity agreement she signed with the d. A. James is not the type of boy whos going to go out and commit a murder in the hopes that dawn will find it acceptable. He didnt do this as a surprise gift. Dawn herself declined our request for an interview. Though her mom, the retired deputy sheriff, has remained in her corner. I know that a lot of people believe that. That it was a blatant conspiracy on her part. But i dont think dawn really wanted ben dead. I dont think dawn was there. Youre trying to hold it all together. All the way along and even now. You got to understand ben was a good guy. They had their problems. Everybody loved him. He didnt deserve to die. So for the time being, its a he said she said story. And the d. A. s deal with dawn, to the dismay of james attorney, means she may never face a murder charge. The prosecutor made a deal with the devil. Now we just need to show him how far in hell she is. Deal with the devil . Well, the d. A. Said without dawns testimony at the preliminary hearing the murder charge against james would never have stuck, but dawn wasnt totally off the hook, because there was one possibility still if the d. A. Could find hard evidence dawn lied when she was given that get out of free jail deal when implicating james its still open case, if somebody comes in with credible evidence that she did go, we could prosecute her. In 2011 dawn was sent to prison on another offense. She pleaded guilty to using her teenage daughter brandy to sell prescription drugs. Was she employing you as her assistant in that business . I was driving, yes. Dawn was released from prison in march of 2014, but not to be the mother of alyssa. The judge terminated her parental rights. Both alyssa and brandy went to live with melissa, who offered them a family life they didnt know with their biological mom. It is a family and thats what i need. In 2011, after pleading guilty for murder, James Matlean waited to be sentenced. Is there redemption for a person like you . I dont know. I dont expect anybody that ive harmed for hurt to forgive me for what ive done. You looked in the lens as you said that. Youre talking to them, right . I guess im talking to melissa. Im sorry. In exchange for his guilty plea, the d. A. Agreed to recommend that james could be eligible for parole after serving 24 years. All rise. The final decision was up to the judge. Defense attorney stover made the argument. Life with hope, judge. And then melissa took the stand. Emotionally the damage you have caused me is almost unbearable. For alyssa, you crumbled her foundation and everything she knew to be right and true. And as hard as this is to do or believe, i also want to you know i have found it in my heart to forgive you. And then james got his sentence. The murder charge, youre sentenced to life in prison. Life without parole, ever. Afterwards the little girl in the middle of the family drama turned to melissa with a remarkable request. Alyssa asked to meet with james and was ushered in to see him before he was whisked away. I told him that i decided to forgive him and that i wanted him to have hope. And she wept then, tears of forgiveness, the lingering grief for her father. As for melissa, after the trial she told us she was ready to move on. Where will you keep ben . Always be in my heart, will never be forgotten, but we do have to go on. If hes looking down and watching you, what would he think about his daughter . I think he still loves me an think about his daughter . I think he still loves me, and that im doing much better than i was at my other house. You miss him . Yeah, i miss him, a lot. Youre a pretty strong kid, arent you . Yeah. Thats all for this edition of dateline extra. Im craig melvin. Thank you for watching. Im craig melvin. And im natalie morales. And this is dateline