Transcripts For MSNBCW Dateline Extra 20201220

Reporter a stunning twist in a familys desperate search for justice. Nothing has turned out right. Reporter a wife and mother, murdered. She was in a casketlike position. Her arms were crossed. Who would a motive to kill a lady in rural iowa . You see this purse, untouched. Her jewelry boxes, untouched. Reporter did someone have a bigger prize in mind . A family farm, worth a fortune. I did not shoot my mom, and i would never shoot my mom. Two trials. Every emotion hit. Two verdicts. There are only two people who knew what heaped thappened that. One of thems dead. And the other ones sitting in that chair. Reporter too much to bear. Its just been hell on earth. Council bluffs, iowa. In a small courtroom, the final scene of a fouryearlong drama was playing out. Count one, murder in the first degree, did the defendant, having ma having malice aforethought, and with premeditation, kill shirley dean carter . Its a case that ripped the stitches out of a closeknit family. The bullet strikes her in the side and carves a path threw her chest. Shattering ribs, and punching holes in her lung and heart. Reporter Shirley Carter, shot twice with a deer rifle in the little home set in corn fields that she shared with her husband of 50 years, bill carter. In pleasantville, iowa, so much of the rhythm of life is set by the seasons. Planting the seed. Then, bringing in the harvest. Corn and soy, mostly. So, that june morning, in 2015, dawned with no particular omens. Shirley carter and her husband bill started their day, as they always did, with coffee at the general store. We went to coffee, every morning, at milo, to caseys. That was a ritual. Reporter after coffee, saying hello to neighbors, they bounce back down the gravel road to home. Bill dropped off shirley at the top of the driveway. I let her out of the pickup, and she said i think ill finish my coffee before i chore. And i said, honey, ill see ya between 11 00 and 11 30. You never know, do you, bill . You dont. Reporter bill headed off to sell a load of corn at the grainery, about an hour away. By 11 00 a. M. , he remembers being just a few miles from home when he got a call from his daughter. And she said, dad, moms dead. Jason found her. Reporter jason, bills son, had called 911. This is what he said. My mom. My mom is laying here on the floor, blood theres blood everywhere and shes dead and i dont know what happened. Reporter bill got to the house, ran from his truck, passing son jason on the back deck. I went in and there she lay, with her feet up against the bread bread drawer. And she looked like she was asleep. And i went, immediately, and checked her carotid artery. And i couldnt get a pulse, and i kissed her forehead and it was cold. And i knew she was dead. Reporter not long after, Marion County sheriff, Jason Sandhold, arrived at the farm house. He grew up in Marion County and knew the Carter Family. There you are, in the kitchen, saying what in the world happened here . Correct. And who would have a motive . I mean, who would have the desire to to kill a lady, in rural iowa . Reporter the sheriff called for help. Multiple phone calls from my boss. Reporter special agent, mark ludwig, works for a division of the state police, the department of criminal investigation, the dci. This was his first case in pleasantville, about an hour from des moines. So, i get here to the driveway. Got multiple vehicles in the drive way. Law enforcements on the scene and the familys gathering around the big tree. Do any arriving officers tell you thats the husband or thats the son . I meet with the sheriff and apparent to me this these are family members, and i dont know names, yet. As soon as he got a search warrant, agent ludwig entered the house with crimescene techs. It looked as though someone had ransacked the place. But there, sitting on a chair. You first see this purse. Thats going to be a key item for a burglar. Its untouched. Money in it . Money in it. Cash in it. Credit cards in it. Gift cards in it. Was not touched. Some papers were strewn about. That was it. Thrown about. That they werent going through drawers looking for things. They werent going through the china hutch looking for the expensive silver. When we made our way into the bedroom, her jewelry boxes were untouched. Reporter and in the kitchen lay the unlikely victim, Shirley Carter, a 68yearold farm wife and mother. Shirleys body was laying right here, on the kitchen floor. Whats your best guess as to what happened that day . We know the gun was in this area, and was shirley was standing in the middle of the kitchen. Because of her injuries . Because of her injuries and the path of the bullet. Reporter the first bullet went through shirleys body, and pierced the refrigerator. They thought the weapon was a highpowered gun, perhaps a rifle. Held like this. Held held from the hip. We know shirley would have fallen down to the kitchen floor. And the shooter wouldve moved up towards, and then fired a shot like this. Reporter a coup de grace shot to shirleys chest. How totally odd, the way she had come to rest. She was in a casketlike position. Her arms were crossed. As though the funeral director had posed her for viewing, huh . Yes. And thats not normal. What does that tell you, agent . That tells me the body was moved. And that person, who who moved her, more than likely the person that shot her, cared and loved for her and had remorse, immediately following. Reporter there were still tests to be done, interviews to conduct. But it was coming. Coming, with a relentless fury of an iowasummer twister. No stopping it. A family was about to be destroyed. Coming up. The investigation starts with a closer look at the family. Which didnt make the family very happy. They are upset that were wasting time. But police had their reasons. The murder weapon may have belonged to someone within the family. 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Sheriff Jason Sandhold and his team of investigators were trying to figure out what had happened. When your crimescene techs cleared the house, they really didnt have much for you, did they . They did not. No forensics, dna, nothing useful, nobody walked in front of a Security Camera . Right. So, to understand Shirley Carters death, theyd have to learn more about her life. The backstory to a murder. Turned out, she was a local girl. Her dad, a grocer. Her mother, an assistant at a law office. In high school, she met bill. Whered you go on your first date . Do you remember . Took her to the homecoming dance. Yep. I played football. Then, i went out after the game and picked her up. Took her to the dance. Yeah. Had an old, 51 chevy. Rusted out. Beat up. She didnt care. She was quiet. Prettiest thing you ever seen. Reporter as bill tells it, they were kids in love, deeply. Maybe, carelessly. During her sophomore year, shirley got pregnant. We were married, at a very young age. I was 18. Had just turned 18 and she was 16. I went right to work, working in a locker. Meat processor . I did the cutting and wrapping of the beef and pork in the afternoons and evenings. And went to school in in the mornings. And finished my senior year, that way. Reporter soon, daughter, jana, was born. Then, came billy. Later, jason came. Bill and shirley went into farming. On a small plot of starter land, they grew some corn and soybeans. Then, more prime, iowa acreage. Shirley loved farming. She did everything. She just took to it, huh . She was a natural. She loved, loved being in the tractors. Reporter longtime friend and neighbor, irene schultz, said shirley brought a little pizzazz to the fields when she climbed into her custommade tractor. She always put a little bit of makeup on, every morning, before she went out. In the john deere . She is decked out . She was. She had rosy cheeks. Shirley would come, you know, bopping in, you know, just to say hi. You know, pulling in the driveway, going by. Whats her personality, irene . Goodness. Big heart. Loved her family. She and bill were always together. You always saw them together. She was beautiful, inside and out. Reporter in time, daughter jana moved away and married. Son, billy, went into the heating and air conditioning business. But jason, the youngest child, took to the land. I really enjoyed working with him. I was teaching him. He is a good farmer. Reporter jason would carry on the farming tradition for another generation. And best of all, he and his wife, shelly, lived close by. Bill and shirley, soon, had grandchildren to dote on. A happyfamily picture, suddenly, disfigured by the ugly murder of Shirley Carter. Dci agent, mark ludwig, took the lead in the investigation. First, we want to identify all witnesses. We want to separate em. And we want to conduct a facetoface, sitdown interview, as soon as we can. Reporter early on, the most important witnesses were bill, the husband, and jason, the son. Ludwig assigned deputies to take the two down to the pleasantville pd. And she said do you want to go get a coffee . Reporter in an interview room, bill told investigators the same story he told us. How he dropped shirley off at home, and then ran a load of corn to the grainery. And then, he raced home, to find his wife, still, on the floor. And when i went in and i felt her, she was cold. Reporter jason, in turn, said his day started, pretty much, the same. He had also taken a load of corn to that same grainery. I went back down the drive and headed down to edyville. Later in the morning, he went to his parents house to help with some chores, and then discovered his mother. It was terrible reporter with their accounts on the record, deputies sent bill and jason home that night. The farmhouse was still taped off as a crime scene, so bill stayed at jasons place. And i didnt sleep that night. I smoked cigarettes and i walked that deck. Reporter in the meantime, crime scene techs finished with the scene and seized half a dozen guns they found in the house. Jason took a look at the inventory of weapons they had confiscated and he noticed one gun was missing. A highpowered, remington. 270 rifle, like this one. My oldest son bought it for me, in 2005, for christmas. Reporter bill kept the rifle in a gun safe in his basement. So the question is where is this. 270 remington . And is that her murder weapon . Thats correct. It could be ammo used in a. 270 remington . It was. Couldnt say absolutely, positively, but certainly consistent with rounds fired from that type of weapon. Thats correct. Bill stored that rifle, unloaded, deep in his basement. The killer would have to have gotten lucky, finding the gun and the ammo. Or investigators thought maybe the shooter was someone who knew where that gun was. Maybe, someone in the family. That didnt go over well with the carters. We go back on tot of the crime scene and jason is mad. Jason, bill, and daughter, jay th jana, all gather in the living room. Were wasting time on this investigation. That we are screwing up this investigation because we are looking at family members. Reporter right about at least one thing, they were now focusing on the family. Coming up. We had found out that jason carter was having an affair. Reporter if jason was hiding an affair, was he hiding anything else . I never hurt my mom. If you want to hold those affairness again affairs against me, thats fine. But i never i never hurt my mom. When the farm continues. Mom. When the farm continues but new preparation h soothing relief is the 21st century way to do all three. Everyday. Preparation h. Get comfortable with it. And im still going for my best. Even though i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib not caused by a heart valve problem. So if theres a better treatment than warfarin, im on top of that. Eliquis. 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Save 50 when you pay per mile with allstate. Pay less when you drive less. Youve never been in better hands. Allstate. Click or call for a quote today. Youve never been in better hands. Stnarrow it to all thes ikarate moms. In desperate need of brown sugar. Meaning, you. Youre the one we made mywalgreens for. With pickup in as little as 30 minutes. Hiya get 30minute pickup at walgreens. Com reporter shirley, the farm wife and mother, had been gunned down in her own kitchen and there was no obvious explanation for the crime. As investigators began digging into the Carter Family background, though, they came across a detail that focused their attention. It concerned the son, jason, the won who had found his mothers body. We had found out that jason carter was having an affair. Howd you find that out . A friend of his during one of the interviews. Jason never mentioned any problem with his marriage when investigators first asked him about that. Who is his girlfriend . We locate her, we bring her in, and we determine there is another phone in play. Another phone . A phone that they just had. The lovers had. What they call burner phones . Burner phone. Jason kept the phone stashed away, hidden under the hood of his pickup truck. Jason not only didnt mention the affair in his first interview. He, also, never told investigators about that secret phone. Does it change him, where he stands in your suspects . Absolutely. He gets elevated, at that point. Reporter if jason had tried to hide the affair, agent ludwig wondered if jason was hiding anything else about his mothers murder. The investigator called jason, and told him he knew about the affair and the phone. So, he says, i will meet you at the sheriffs office. Hes there, and he hands the cell phone over. So, here you go. Knock yourself out, huh . Yep. Reporter then, surprise. Jason wanted to talk some more. Comes in, on his own free will. No attorney. Reporter in this video, investigators went over his story again, in detail. The timeline of that morning. How long, from 911 phone call, till your dad got there . Five minutes. Reporter jason was bent on letting them know he had nothing to hide. No matter how long it took, bring on your questions. And he sits in the chair, and he proceeds to sit in this chair for over ten hours. Lets do this. Lets step out. Were going to give you a minute. Im fine. Doesnt shift. Doesnt move. Doesnt stand up. No bathroom breaks, nothing . We begged him to take bathroom breaks. We begged him to bring him food. Brought you that. I dont know if you want it, or not. You need anything else, jason . Whats that about . Hes going to stay here, until we believe him. Reporter he admitted to being unfaithful. But said it was ludicrous to think hed killed his mother. I never hurt my mom. If you want to hold those affairs against me, that is as but i never hurt i never hurt my mom. I walked in and found my mom the way she was. This is about shirley being killed. I know that. And youre not doing anything about it because, whoever did kill her is still out there. Reporter he headed home. But a cloud of suspicion hung over the Carter Family. Not only over jason, but bill, too. Bill knew agent ludwig was looking at him since he was the last person known to have seen shirley alive. And he said, you know, you could have done this when you brought her back from coffee. Reporter then, for weeks, nothing happened. We have no leads. Nothings going on in the investigation. So, the shirleycarter murder case was heading to the coldcase file. It was heading that way, yes. But bill carter wasnt going to let that happen. He hired his own detective. Nick webb is a crimescene analyst and a former homicide detective from texas. Bill strugt bill instructed him to dig into the case with an open mind. Is it all going to be in your final report . The great thing about doing what we do is that we have the easiest job that there is. We are only advocates for the truth. So but you got somebody paying the bills, right . Do you owe him anything . Absolutely nothing but the truth. Once we find out what the truth is, then the people with that have the hard jobs have to take it from there. Reporter to aid his investigation, webb purchased a rifle similar to the one missing from bills basement. The remington rifle ejects a shell casing between shots. At least one of those would have flown out, as the killer racked another round in the chamber to shoot twice. It was never found. So, someone had the presence of mind to gather it up. Thats correct. Reporter and since webb promised to look at every possibility, he examined bills movements the day of the killing. Phone records show shirley making a call from the house phone at 8 45 a. M. , after bill had dropped her off. And by 9 00 a. M. , bill was spotted at the grainery, 50 miles from the house. Webb said bills only opportunity to kill her was after that. Bill has to leave the grainery. Has to get home, kill his wife shirley, and then leave before jason can get there. Is it impossible for bill to do all this to and froing in the time allowed . He already puts himself there. So, jason, simply has to commit the murder, instead of doing the other task that he said he did. Is it your belief that jason shot his mother . Yes. Reporter painful as it was, bill had been suspicious of his son, early on. And remembers a moment when it all became clear. Not long after the murder, bill says, jason found out he was going to visit his lawyer. He came barging through the door, and he said what are you going to go see your lawyer about . And i said, i just need to get some things straightened out. Theres some things that dont add up. And thats when he slammed his fist on the countertop, and he said my life is over. His life, jasons life, is over . His life is over. Connect the dots for me, bill. What he whats going on . I wanted to say, your mothers life is over. Thats what i wanted to say but i didnt. Do you think he incriminated himself with that . Yes. I knew, then, there was no reason to say that. I knew then, he had done it. Reporter it was a shocking realization. Youre telling me, your boy became a monster. He did. He did. Im ashamed. You shouldnt be ashamed. You did everything you could for the boy. I didnt do something right. Shirley and i did something wrong. Reporter bill carter tired of waiting for the prosecutor. He, the father, would take the almostunprecedented step of bringing his son before a civil jury. My attorney said, you know, we can file a wrongful death suit. And that will force the county attorney to make a move. Reporter bill was about to sue his son for shirleys death. If the jury ruled for the father, jason wouldnt face prison, but Something Like financial ruin. Coming up. Father against son. You became a practiced, skilled, and chronic liar. Reporter son, against father. Killer of Shirley Carter is in this room. And its not jason carter. Reporter when the farm continues. Reporter when th continues. You can get the perfect gift up until the last minute. Lets end the year nailing it. Lets end the year nailing it. Gillette proglide and proglide gel. Five blades and a pivoting flexball designed to get virtually every hair on the first stroke, while washing away dirt and oil. So youre ready for the day with a clean shave and a clean face. Stnarrow it to all thes ikarate moms. In desperate need of brown sugar. Meaning, you. Youre the one we made mywalgreens for. With pickup in as little as 30 minutes. Hiya get 30minute pickup at walgreens. Com your lips have a unique print. And unique needs. Your lips are like no others and need a lip routine thats just right for you. Chapstick® has you covered. Chapstick®. Put your lips first®. But with walmarts low prices, you still know how to do it up. And keep costs down. Lets end the year enjoying more. You are all i need baby baby to get by reporter on a december day, in 2017, two and a half years after Shirley Carters murder, in this courthouse in knoxville, iowa, father faced off against son. Bill carter had spent almost a Million Dollars to get to this courtroom and to this moment. There is not a more important courtroom, anywhere in this state, than this courtroom today, right now. Reporter bill carters lawyer, mark, opened by telling the jury only one person wanted shirley dead. The killer is sitting a few feet from you. Thats the killer, right there. Jason carter. Reporter it started like a murder case. But remember, this was a civil trial, a wrongfuldeath lawsuit. The father, the plaintiff. His son, the defendant. The burden of proof is much lower than it would be in a criminal trial. The plaintiff only has to prove the defendant liable by a preponderance of the evidence. In other words, 51 likely that youre right. Reporter bill carters lawyer played jasons 911 call. He argued jason stated something about the time of death he couldnt possibly have known. And you hear him say that his mother has been dead for two hours which, medically, is absolutely not the fact, based upon what we know about the condition of the body. But also, why would he be saying that, other than to already start to create the narrative, hey, it wasnt me . Reporter then, bills lawyer attacked jasons character to show the jury he wasnt a devoted, family man. Jasons other woman took the stand. Her name, tara. She was questioned by another of bills attorneys. You could hear a pin drop in that courtroom. Reporter tara recounted her 15month affair with a married, jason carter. How frequently were you guys having sex . On average, it would be several times a week. Did you ever tell mr. Carter that you loved him . I did. Did he ever reciprocate and tell you that he loved you . He did. Reporter and bills lawyer said that, on the morning of the murder, jason and tara exchanged more than a hundred texts on that secret phone. Some of them, steamy. Do you recall what your last text message from mr. Carter was . It was something sexual. Winehardt said the conversation ended only as he pulled up to his parents house. Text, text, text, text, until 10 50 a. M. , at which point the text traffic goes dark. Reporter quiet, for 13 minutes, until jason made a phone call to his sister telling her their mother was dead. Argued that was more than enough time to kill his mother and stage a robbery. Plaintiffs call jason carter. Reporter then, came the moment so many had been waiting for. Jason, the favorite son, in his own words, telling the jury about seeing his mother dead. I couldnt believe what i found. Reporter winehardt confronted jason about the affair. You did it in friends residence, cars, even your own house . Correct. You became a practiced and skilled, chronic liar. Correct. Reporter it was, he argued, about money. The jury was told jason was a spendthrift. He puts money into motorcycles and nice cars and trips and vacations. Reporter at the same time, jason was expanding his farm operation. Where did all that leave him . More than half a Million Dollars in debt. Jason was as broke as he had ever been. He had 40 in his personal bank account and 80 in his Business Bank account. Reporter jason saw only one way out. Getting control of his parents farmland, worth millions. Jason knew that he stood to inherit all of it. My dad said that shelly and i and our kids will inherit the ground. And that, your sister and brother will inherit everything above ground. Reporter the lawyer mapped out his theory. Shirley had found out about jasons affair. And if shirley knew, then bill, soon, would know, too. Jason worried hed be disinherited. He had to stop his mother before she disclosed his illicit romance. I want you to look at the jury and tell them the truth. You shot your mother to death. Absolutely not. Reporter the jury listened for seven days to the plaintiffs case. And then, came the defense. Jason had a loving, close relationship with his mother. Reporter jason carters lawyer, steve wandrow, challenged the accusation that jason, in his 911 call, was trying to push back the time of shirleys death to Morning Hours when he had been accounted for on video at the grainery. This is all happening within a matter of minutes. Jason was simply, so distraught. And to say, you know, you should have done this and you should have done that, this and that, i think is just ridiculous. Reporter as for jasons affair, wandrow told the jury it was irrelevant. A salacious distraction and, of course, jason lied about it to preserve his family. If you want to characterize him as a bad guy for carrying on an affair, fine. But that doesnt make the man a killer. Reporter jasons wife, shelly, told the jury, despite everything, she still supported her husband. Every day, i work on forgiving but never forgetting. I love my husband, and we have reconciled. Reporter as for the motive . Wandrow argued jason didnt have one. Shelly conceded that, at one point, they owed the bank more than half a Million Dollars on their loan. But she said that was business as usual for farmers. We paid that off, just like we paid it off every year so we could renew our line and start again. Reporter and then, wandrow, boldly, offered the alternative theory of the case. Mr. Winehardt is right. The killer of Shirley Carter is in this room. And its not jason carter. Its him. The accuser. Reporter bill carter, he said, was the likely killer. Shirley, he argued, complained about him all the time. She had to get permission for everything. Reporter jasons wife testified that shirley told her bill was too controlling. Whether it be to go get her hair make a hair appointment or to help with the kids. Whatever it was, she had to get his permission before she could do that. Reporter wandrow said it all must have come to a head on that june morning. And something happened on that friday that made him snap. And he is the one that killed his wife. Reporter after two weeks of trial and mutual accusations, the battle between father and son went to the jury. The court will now read the verdict. Reporter it took a little over two hours to answer the question. Did jason carter cause the death of his mother . Did defendant, jason carter, batter Shirley Carter, causing damages to plaintiffs . Answer, yes. Reporter jason had been found liable for the death of his mother. The jury cleared bill. You had been hoping and thought you were going to get this verdict. But when it actually came, bill, how did it feel to you . I see my son lay his head down on the table in front of him, as soon as the verdict was read. I seen that. I was watching him. But it had to come. Sooner or later, it had to come. Reporter since this was a civil case, jason wasnt getting any prison time. What amount of punitive damages, if any, do you award the estate of Shirley Carter . Answer, 10 million. Reporter 10 million. Bill and his lawyer never expected to see a dime. The more important thing for bill was simply to have eight people from that county hearing all the evidence. And saying jason did it. Reporter meanwhile, the County District attorney sitting in the back of the courtroom, had been watching closely. What would he do now . Coming up. Not quite through with the Carter Family. I got right into his face and i said why did you kill your mother . Reporter there would, soon, be an act two. What is the big ebtd thigestu have going in your favor in this thing . There really was no significant evidence against jason carter. Reporter when the farm continues. Carter reporter when the farm continues. 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Reporter jason carter would be brought back into court. This time, accused of firstdegree murder. Agent ludwig had been convinced of jasons guilt ever since that initial interrogation, a few days after the murder. Im telling you the godawful truth. I am telling you the truth. You are not telling me the truth, jason. Yes, i am. That day, jason agreed to take a polygraph exam. Regarding the death of your mom, do you intend to answer each question truthfully . Yes. Did you physically hurt your mom, last friday . He failed. By a big margin . Huge margin. He totally failed the polygraph. Not evidence but guidance for you, right . Strong guidance, yes. In march, 2013, the curtain came up on the criminal trial. It was firstdegree murder, and jason carter pleaded not guilty. As much as he wanted his son to face justice, bill carter knew there would be no winners. I knew there wouldnt be a good outcome. Why do you say that . If my sons guilty of firstdegree murder, thats not a good outcome. So, thats a bad choice. Youll hear prosecutors talk about motive, means, and opportunity. Well, means. 270 was in the home. There was ammunition. Opportunity. 13minute gap in his timeline. So, lets talk about motive. Reporter District Attorney, ed bole, was telling a jury in council bluffs, iowa, jason was stressed over his finances the day he killed his mother. This case isnt about money, its about pressure. Its about, am i going to be able to be a fulltime farmer . Reporter this time around, the burden of proof would be higher, beyond a reasonable doubt. And thats a prosecutors challenge, without that rocksolid, csistyle evidence the juries love. I want three things in a homicide case. I want forensics, i want a confession, and i want an eyewitness. In this case, i had none of those things. Reporter ed bole would pretty much follow the map of the civil trial but the jury wasnt allowed to know about the civil case or its outcome. And boles hands would also be tied by the judges ruling the jury wouldnt be allowed to hear about jasons affair or the steamy texts on his phone or that jason had lied about all of that. Tara took the stand but only to testify to the gap in jasons timeline, and the adrubrupt end their conversation. Was your conversation that morning, without telling us any of the details, such that you expected it was at a logical stopping point . No. As to motive, in his opening, the da mentioned the financial pressure on jason. But in the end, he found it hard to explain why jason would have shot shirley, in kcold blood. There is absolutely nothing i can tell you that would make sense of why it is a son shoots and kills his mother. Reporter now, it was time for the defense. Jason carters attorney, christine branstadt, a shoddy investigation focused on jason early and there were plenty of people to question. There were very significant parts of this investigation simply werent completed, werent followed, werent done. So, war christine, what is the biggest thing you have going in your favor in this thing . There really was no significant evidence against jason carter. Witnesses, no damning photo, nothing like that, huh . Nothing. And from our perspective, jasons statements had been consistent, throughout the civil litigation as well. And we didnt see the evidence as mounting against jason. Reporter as in the civil case, the defense attorney argued jason had a loving relationship with his mother. And that, his allegedly inkrit nighting how did he know that statements were taken out of context. And by the way, he wasnt in any, financial trouble. There was a 3,000 check deposited, that day. And another check for 3,000 in the mail. And 175,000 worth of grain in the bins. Reporter and as to the abrupt ending to jasons texting on the day of the murder. The defense attorney asked the girl on the stand. Did you perceive, in any way, that jason carter was troubled on the morning of june 19th . No. Then, there was the timeline of that morning to deal with. All along, based on statements of First Responders and crimescene techs, it was estimated shirley had been murdered sometime just before 11 00 a. M. , when jason admits he was at the farmhouse. To counter the time of death, one of the nations most famous pathologists for hire took the stand. Wecht has been involved in several cases, from the Jfk Assassination to oj simpson. Were you able to do that, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty . Yes. Wecht told the jury shirley may have been killed two hours earlier than anyone had thought possible. If he was correct, then shirley was murdered around 9 00 a. M. , when jason was seen on video, clearly still at the grainery. He could not have killed his mother. So, when the state says to you, all clues point to one conclusion, its all the clues that the tunnelvisioned Law Enforcement, and one investigator in particular, went after. The defense attorney said it was special agent mark ludwig. Now, he reluctantly became the star witness, rattling off the names of people during the investigation. Ludwig fumbled. You were not very aware of callie shins involvement. Thats correct. Yes. Not aware of Jeremy Morris . I did become aware of jason morris. Im not sure, at what point, that was. That would be Jeremy Morris . Is that who i think you just said jason. Yeah. Thats my mistake. It took some prompting. It took a lot of reminding and getting through that information, and that was a big part of the point we were trying to make to the jury. That had this information been taken seriously, i wouldnt have to remind Law Enforcement of who key players were, in this case. Reporter while jasons lawyer argued the investigation hadnt been thorough, agent ludwig told us none of the names the defense raised were viable suspects. And they had followed every lead. Even ones deemed not credible. No credible information. Reporter would the jury see reasonable doubt . Or would jason carter be spending the rest of his life in prison . The attorneys would have one more chance to make their case. Coming up. The verdict. I ask you to return a verdict of not guilty. There are only two people who knew what happened that day. One of thems dead, and the other ones sitting in that chair. Reporter when the farm continues. Reporter when the farm continues. Are you tired of clean clothes that just dont smell clean . What if your clothes could stay fresh for weeks . Now they can downy unstopables inwash scent boosters keep your laundry smelling fresh way longer than detergent alone. Pour a cap of downy unstopables into your washing machine before each load and enjoy fresher smelling laundry. With 6 times the freshness ingredients, downy unstopables gives you more of what you love. If you want laundry to smell fresh for weeks make sure you have downy unstopables inwash scent boosters. Stnarrow it to all thes ikarate moms. In desperate need of brown sugar. Meaning, you. Youre the one we made mywalgreens for. With pickup in as little as 30 minutes. Hiya get 30minute pickup at walgreens. Com the we have to find just nosomething else. It. Good luck what does that mean . We are doomed. [laughter] thats it. I figured it out were going to give togetherness. That sounds dumb. Were going to take all those Family Moments and package them. Hmm. [laughing] that works. The case of the state of iowa, versus jason carter, was about to go to the jury. There are so many holes in this investigation. Theres so much that isnt even explored. Reporter jasons defense attorney made one, last plea. And in reality, the forensic evidence says jason carter couldnt possibly be guilty. I ask you to return a verdict of not guilty. Reporter now, the county prosecutor argued all the viable leads were followed. And the defense was just so much smoke and mirrors. If you believe this is a staged burglary, then all of the names and stuff theyve put up on the board is irrelevant. Reporter bole told the jury jason just snapped that morning and, in a fit of rage, had killed his mother. There are only two people who knew what happened, that day. One of thems dead, and the other ones sitting in that chair. Find him guilty, as charged. Reporter it took the jury less than two hours to reach a verdict. About the same duration, as the civil jurys deliberation. And remember, that jury had found jason liable for his mothers death. So, the lead investigator felt good about things. We felt, this is it. And i had that feeling and emotion of hes going to be found guilty. Reporter ludwig assembled a team to take jason into custody, after the verdict. Ladies and gentlemen, have you reached a verdict . Yes, we have. Reporter jason knew a conviction could send him to prison for life. We, the jury, find jason carter not guilty. Is that your verdict, ladies and gentlemen . Yes, it is. Reporter not guilty. Jason had gotten his life back. I just want to go home and see my kids. Its been a long time coming. Reporter jason was a free man. The District Attorney says he gave it his best shot. So, youre giving the the jury this argument of a moment of rage. But you cant really play that movie for them, and explain what it was. Its not a very satisfying thing to Say Something happened, he went downstairs, he got the rifle, and killed his mom. I dont disagree with ya. I wish that there was a better story that i could tell. But im limited, based on what the facts are that i can prove to a jury. And thats the best i had. Reporter but, that wasnt good enough for bill carter. The worst thing i was afraid of was that shirley would never get justice. And that happened. Is this case closed . Yes. We believe that we held the right person accountable. But if new information comes forward, we will continue to investigate this. Reporter thats just what jason carter said he wanted. Find the killer. He declined an interview with dateline, but his attorney said, he realizes some people will still believe that he shot his mother to death. Jason knows that, until someone is conclusively proven to be the murderer, some people will still suspect him. And he has to reconcile himself to that. One of the things jason has talked about is that he has a lot more understanding of everyones predisposition to judge, and he feels that hes become less judgmental since hes been in this position. But hes asked for continued investigation, mostly to find out who killed his mother, and to help deal with any judgment that is upon him from the public. Reporter the 10 million civil judgment against jason remains in place. Hes appealed that verdict. But for now, jason is what hes always been. A farmer. And the cycles dont stop. Its planting season. I imagine, seeds are going in the ground, huh . Thats exactly it. I know that he was planting, on easter day. And jason saw his father out, planting, at the same time. What did he think . He said, his thought was it just seems wrong. This shouldve been the time where we were both planting. We both quit. And we went in for easter dinner together. And its hard for him to understand how his family ended up split up, like this. Reporter and on his side of that field, bill carter watched the son he loves so much, work the land, just as he had taught him. I have to farm right across the fence from him. And you see him . I was from here to that wall from him, yesterday. Reporter a few feet, but an unbridgeable divide when its a matter of father, versus son. Im craig melvin. And im natalie morales. And this is dateline. Hes a monster. Hes evil. Hes pure evil. He is that character in those horror movies. He hid in the shadows. A killer in a mask. Hes clearly a brilliant individual, a brilliantly scary individual. His target a doting young mom. She was a gorgeous strawberry blond who loved her son more than anything in the whole world. She was so scared. Ar he struck once. Would he kill again . And would she be next