Usual, the husband. But this one had a rocksolid alibi. It would have been very difficult for him to have committed this murder. Did this soldier have enemies off the battlefield . Her brotherinlaw had a grudge. Rodney was going around calling her names, vulgar names. Her husband had a girlfriend. Roger was sitting with a young lady. And they were cuddled up. We found out that she was pregnant. Who killed the commander . In a place where loyalty is prized above all, one clue that palm print was a key part of the case. Would reveal a breathtaking betrayal. I dont even have the words. What a monster. Im lester holt, and this is dateline. Her own in the company of men. A captain and a commander whose devotion never wavered. She inspired people. And thats maybe why she made such a great commander. She inspired her troops. She inspired those that worked for her to want to do well. Reporter she was captain Lynn Armstrong reister. Army veteran debbie moore was one of her best friends. Lynn was very intelligent. She knew how to bring out the best in people. I just loved her. She was someone to be inspired by. She inspired people. Reporter so she had a big role in the military. Very big role, yeah. Reporter she was in charge of the air Defense Artillery in saudi arabia. When they were in saudi and we had the patriot missiles, she would be the one that would make that decision on what was coming in, if it needed to be taken out of the sky. Reporter captain reister earned medals and promotions and the loyalty of the men and women un der her command. That loyalty cut both ways, according to her assistant megan ayers. Did she take good care of her absolutely. She did welfare checks where you would, you know, she would visit with families. She would meet with the different wives and things like that. Reporter was she the perfect candidate for the army . She was, in my opinion. She didnt let stress get to her too much. I think that she was probably one of the best commanders ive ever worked under. Reporter lynn grew up with a brother and two younger sisters in the military town of pensacola, florida. While she was away at school, she sent her sister some advice on tape for her 16th birthday. Dont argue. Avoid arguments. Just be happy. Dont let anyone spoil that for you, and youll be happy and youll find it in your heart. Anyway, i hope that helps. Reporter she graduated with an Officers Commission from Norwich University in vermont, one of the oldest military colleges in the country, and then began the globetrotting life of a soldier. I met lynn over in germany. Reporter debbie and lynn they met at a Birthday Party through mutual friends. I snapped a picture of the four of them sitting there at the table. Reporter young women serving their country, savoring life overseas. And being surrounded by guys in uniform, sometimes love entered the picture. That is an army club. Its in ansbach. And we would go there on saturday nights because on saturday nights they had country music. Reporter Sergeant Roger reister and lynn hit it off at once, and the romance blossomed. Lynn was a wonderful person. She had a smile that just lit up the room. Reporter as a military wife, when i heard that roger was enlisted and lynn was an officer, thats a nono in the military. Yeah. Back then it wasnt as critical as it became a couple years later. He was a charmer and she [ laughter ] she fell in love. Reporter and they got married. Was an elvis fan. And i was, like, amazed. I was like, really . Youre into elvis presley, too . I was kind of surprised by that, yeah. So, yeah. He was a lot of fun. Yeah. Reporter roger admired lynns devotion to her country and her strength. You have to be mentally strong. With the military, especially with the women in the military, you have to be, you know, mentally strong. Be able to go toetotoe with some of the men. Reporter lynn and roger had chosen a soldiers life, and that meant a marriage full of separations. Roger even missed the birth of his son triston. It was unbelievable. As soon as i came back, i stepped off the bus and she held him and she said, this is your son. And that was a really it was really a great moment. It really was. And i just held her and held him at the same time. Reporter was he a good dad . He was. He would bring him up to visit. D, you know, they would play. And he seemed very happy being a dad. The family was stationed at ft. Bliss in el paso, texas. And it was lynn who got called lynn found out she had to deploy to saudi arabia. Mmhmm. Her . Yes, maam. That . I mean, she had to leave triston behind. Without him, correct . To the best of my knowledge, yes. I remember her telling us that it was hard, that she was having a hard time with it. She was sad, and that she just kept telling him that shed come home. It wont be that long. Reporter and it was how long was the deployment . It was about six months. Reporter and then she did get home. But her old life was about to change. About four months after she got back, roger convinced lynn to let his 24yearold brother rodney come live with them. Rodney had gotten into some trouble while his brother s serving his country. Maybe roger and lynn could set him straight. He was on probation in to leave the state, she had to write this letter, you know, saying how she would take on that responsibility. Roger asked her to do that, and so she did. Reporter right about the same time, lynn found out she was pregnant again. The tug of motherhood was getting stronger, so this globetrotting army captain made a decision. She put in for a transfer to teach rotc in minnesota. Good for her career. Good for her family. And no travel. Was she doing it at all to be with triston more . Was that part of it . Yeah. That would be part of it. Yes. She wanted to its more relaxing. She was going to be a teacher. It was something that she was really looking forward to. Reporter just days before moving time, lynn was saying goodbye to ft. Bliss. Lynn was having a Going Away Party . Any time a commander resigns a command, the unit will put together and buy her a going away gift. Usually a plaque or something to commemorate the accomplishments of the unit. Her husband did. My husband came home. And i asked how it went. You know, did she like the gift . And he said, you know, she never showed. And that was very odd. Reporter Something Else was odd. Roger had been calling lynn at home throughout the day. No answer. Late that afternoon, he came home from work with triston, and it was all too clear why lynn hadnt answered the phone. 911. Oh, oh. I just got home. My wife is dead. Reporter Lynn Armstrong reister, mother, soldier, beloved commander, was in her bedroom, lying dead in a pool of blood. When we return my first instinct was to grab triston and run out of the house. It almost made me sick. I was on the floor. Where will investigators start . It could be a neighbor. It could be a lover. It could be anybody. Loose. Yes. Buy one take one is back at olive garden because theres nothing like a great meal with the family except maybe another great meal with the family buy one take one choose one delicious entr\e at our place and another for yours starting at 12. 99 may all your tomorrows be as delicious as today roger reister and his little boy triston had just come home at dinnertime to something no child should ever have to see. Im the one that found her. Whenever i walked into the had triston with me, and we walked in. It was tough. It was tough seeing that. Reporter lynn, six months pregnant, had been stabbed to death, her throat slashed. My first instinct was to grab triston and run out of the and then i knew i was screaming and yelling. I probably looked like a madman out there. But it was i didnt know what to think. Shes pregnant. You need to send somebody there. I cant even take her pulse. He immediately called 911 and brought triston out. Triston in his statement says my daddy took me out fast, and, you know, those kind of things. Reporter gonzolo chavarilla was the lead detective. Did you think about this poor womans last moments in this house . I did, looking at the scene and trying to imagine her maybe fighting for her life or pleading for her life or how scared she might have been. Reporter any signs of robbery . Or things taken . No, we we actually did a scan. We could see valuables. There was no signs that this was a burglary or a robbery, but looked at and with the help of roger because he was explaining what he d seen when he went in. Reporter with police and neighbors converging on the scene, the news got out quickly. Lynns friend debbie moore couldnt believe it. My husband and i were watching tv, and he was flipping through the channels over the remote control. And the channel flipped by. And it was her house. And i yelled and i said, you know, wait, wait, wait. What is that . Isnt that lynns house . And so he flipped it back. And about that time it came up that a woman had been found murdered in her home. Reporter did you know right away . I knew it was lynn. Yeah, because i knew the house. Then they said it was military. And i remember it almost made me sick. I was on the floor. And then i kind of got myself there. I have to go over there. Reporter roger was already talking to detectives and clearly shaken. Police were sympathetic, but they knew he had to be carefully scrutinized. Whats your First Impression of roger reister . He was grasping his son, wouldnt let go of him. And i thought that maybe i saw some fear. He was scared about what had occurred, it seemed to me at the time. Reporter are you looking for anything in roger reisters eyes or his mannerisms or what hes saying . Are you immediately sizing him up . Absolutely. Reporter just to see if maybe he did this. Absolutely. It actually took a while for me to calm down at the very beginning because my minds all over the place. And then once i wrap my mind around, okay, let me just go ahead and give them this. Get this knocked out of the way, then they can actually get on with the investigation. Reporter detectives wanted to know where he was all day. Roge had a good alibi. He had a solid alibi. Yes. His son was with him all the time. And stopped Convenience Store where he saw friends and talked to them. And then when he got to work, obviously, his coworkers, his supervisors saw him. Rogers alibi was his brother rodney. He told detectives he helped roger jump start his truck early that morning and watched him an triston leave. Detective steve munoz. To crank up the truck, get it going. And as he pulled away, he says that he did see roger also pull off from the driveway. Reporter later rodney visited roger at the base. He told police his older brother looked worried when he called lynn and got no answer. Thursday, 9 58 a. M. Hey, you there . 10 25 a. M. Hey, lynn, this is roger. Give me a call as soon as you get in. Im going to need to come pick up triston. So we knew that it would have been very difficult for him to have committed this murder. Reporter so who did it . As the investigation got underway, detective chavarilla thought the possibilities were endless. It could be anybody. It could be a neighbor. It could be a lover. She was a captain. She was a supervisor. And we thought about her troops and her subordinates. And maybe somebody that she might have disciplined or sex offenders in the area. Reporter you had a wide net you needed to throw out. It was a wide investigation at the time. Yes. Reporter you had a killer on the loose. Yes. And the neighbors were very scared. Whos out there . Who did this . Reporter in those first few hours the leads would pour in, and police had to move fast. Lynn reister had inspired loyalty in her life. Now in death, the detectives could not let her down. Coming up murdered was unheard of. On base, a giant military faotmily is hit hard by murder. But in lynns own family, had there been signs of trouble . Rodney was going around calling her names, vulgar names. He had a little bit of animosity towards lynn. Isnt easy as pie, but finding someone to enjoy it with. Sure is. Marie callenders. Its time to savor. And now theres even more to in our house, imagination runs wild. But at my table, i keep the food real. Like country crocks recipe made with real simple ingredients. And no artificial flavors or preservatives. Real Country Fresh taste from real ingredients. Welcome to crock country. dog mmm, beneful healthy weight is so good. And lowcalorie. Keeps me looking good. 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With two ways to earn, the news of lynn reisters murder spread through el paso, and it was devastating to those who served with her at the army base. Did this crime send shock waves through ft. Bliss . It certainly did. It was heartbreaking. It was harrowing when it first happened. We had no idea and scary. Reporter the ft. Bliss community packed the Memorial Service to say goodbye to the carrying who never got a chance. Tell us about the funeral. The wake was extremely difficult. She was buried in her army dress uniform. And in order to do the open casket, they had to cover the throat. So they used her air Defense Artillery ascot to you know, it connects on the back and so that they would be able to do the open casket. Lynns mother asked me to go and buy a baby blanket. It was a little boy. And so i went and bought a little baby blanket. And so for the memorial when they laid lynn out in her uniform. The point was there that not just one person had died in this attack, that two had died. Reporter 4yearold triston was there with his family and his mothers friends barely comprehending the tragic rupture do you remember how you felt towards him . I do. Felt sorrow. I wanted so bad to fix it for him. And i understood that this little 4 1 2yearold boy will never know how great his mom was, how much she loved him. Reporter did your heart just go out to this little boy . Yes. Absolutely. And still does. Reporter but the detectives had to put emotion aside and drill down to the facts. Roger wasnt home at the time of the murder, and neighbors werent reporting any suspicious activity. So detectives wanted to know if anyone held a grudge against lynn. They quickly learned that at least one person may have, rogers brother rodney. Things started to go south with rodney pretty quickly after he moved in . Yes. There was times where he would just lay around all day long. Reporter rodney idolized his big brother, but he was something of a disappointment to well, he just wasnt he wasnt working. He was, basically, you know, just living off of us, stuff like that. She would go took get milk out of the refrigerator for triston, and the milk would be gone because rodney had drank it all and didnt bother to replace it. And yeah, it was ecoming not a very good relationship. Reporter lynn didnt want him to stay . I think lynn was ready to have her house back. You know, its very difficult when you have another adult living in the home. I think they talked and they ended up roger ended up telling rodney it was time to go, that you needed to leave. Youve been here long enough. Weve tried to help you. You know, youre not really helping yourself, so you need to go. Lynn and i came to that decision together. But it was just one of those things that just had to be done. He held that against her. Mine and his relationship continued on. But i could tell he had a little bit of animosity, you know, towards lynn, even after that. Reporter a closer look at rodney showed a young man with a dodgy past. Crimes like petty theft, forgery, grand theft auto. Nothing violent. But still, he was no fan of lynns. And then i remember lynn telling me that roger had told her that rodney was going around calling her names, you know. Calling her vulgar names that shes the reason that he got kicked out, that shes the reason that all these things happened and stuff. Reporter did you s. E that as a motive . I never thought that that in itself would have been a motive to kill her or that he would have been that angry just because of that to kill her. Reporter why in the world would rodney want lynn dead . I dont think rodney wanted lynn dead. Here was a person that was willing to help us in the investigation. And he was very cooperative initially and throughout. Reporter the search for suspects continued. Lynns neighborhood turned up nothing. Same with ft. Bliss. Lynn had no enemies there. Couldve happened. It seemed unreal. An Army Commander being murdered was unheard of. Reporter but then one name cropped up. Roheey mentioned it to police. We asked him who else would have wanted to do this to lynn. Did she have any enemies . Rodney tells us that theres this one girl. Her name is april. And this girl has a crush on my brother. And so he mentions her. And thats important. Coming up crush . This was way more than that. I was kind of playing detective for her. A bold confrontation with the other woman. We knock on the door. She ops it. I ssaid my understanding is one day. Have you seen your garden . Itll blossom. Find low prices on the things that make easter fun and delicious. Walmart continuously neutralize them with glad with febreze. The only bag with the it was a lead that would take the lynn reister Murder Investigation in a new direction. Roger reisters brother had mentioned a young woman who had a crush on roger. Des tectives quickly learned this crush was an open secret around town. We went to the village inn, and i walked in the door and there was roger. Reporter it was about nine months before the murder. Lynns assistant megan had just gotten back from saudi arabia. Lynn was still there, with a week and a half to go. Roger was sitting in a booth with several other people. I didnt know any of them. As well as a young lady. And they were cuddled up. And roger had a look of sheer terror on his face when he saw me walk in and realized who i was, because, you know, we knew each other. He stopped, and he gave me a hug, and, i didnt know you were back. Reporter the young womans they look like a couple . They did. Reporter megan decided it wasnt her place to tell lynn. But over in saudi arabia, lynn knew something was up. Roger never seemed to answer the phone. Hey, roger. Its lynn again. I dont know where youre at. Ive been trying to get ahold of you for over 24 hours. Reporter and word had traveled halfway around the world that roger had been having parties at their home, drinking with people as young as 18, acting like a teenager himself. Lynn left him this voice mail before she got her flight home to texas. Hey rog, its lynn. I need to be sure that i have a ride when i get home. Our marriage cannot withstand another deployment like this, period. Youre not single anymore, roger. You need to stop hanging out with those guys. Ive never let you down on a ive always been there. Rep. Ter lynn rarely gave up on people she loved. When she got home from saudi arabia, she wanted to patch things up with roger. Youre talking about somebody who was in a marriage that she wanted to keep together, and she fought hard to keep it together. Reporter one night lynn s prise him at his favorite country bar. But the surprise was on her. Roger was there, surrounded by his new gang of edyoung friends. She came over to me and started talking to me and asking me questions about roger, if i saw him over there and if id seen him before. And i had told her that yeah, i had seen him there one other time. And she goes, well, do you know who these people are . Reporter and april was in the bar that night . Yes. Reporter how was he acting around april . They were out dancing on the floor doing flips and turns and, yeah, things that he never danced with lynn. Reporter but hes doing in in front of lynn . Oh, yes. Oh, yes. And what it made was he was so disrespectful. I mean, she was trying to talk to him and he just every time shed start walking towards him, hed walk away. Reporter it sounds like lynn was trying to be the grownup and roger had reverted a little bit oh, yeah. Reporter back to the sort of good old days . Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Reporter detectives learned that night at the country bar ended badly. A messy, drunken argument broke out between roger and lynn. And roger moved into the barracks. After that lynn asked debbie for some help. I was, kind of, playing detective for her. So i went up there, and i remember sitting and watching outside the barracks. And april ended up coming up there and hanging out at the barracks. Reporter this wasnt just a crush. This was fullon affair. And then it got worse. Lynn heard a rumor that april was pregnant with rogers baby. And so i told her, i said, you know, i know where april lives. I said, lynn, why dont we go over there . I said, why dont we just go talk with april . Yeah. Well, we were older. We were and you know, i knew lynn would be lynn wasnt going to lose it. I mean, lynn, she was a commander. Reporter so whats it like when you knock on the door . Well, we knock on the door. She opens it. Shes a little bit surprised, and lynn, like i said, lynn was very nice. We sat down and we started talking to her about her relationship. And she tried to say that, yes, that she had, but it was over now. That lynn was back. And i finally said, but my understanding is youre pregnant. Reporter april denied she was pregnant, insisting the affair was over. So you both left aprils not really knowing for sure if she was or wasnt pregnant . Yeah. But then, of course, later we found out that she was actually pregnant. Reporter and telling people the father was roger. A lot of women would have cashed in the marriage at this point. But not lynn. She let roger come home. Does lynn still want to make things work with roger despite she does. Reporter why . Ba think probably because of triston. I think that it was important to lynn that her family Stay Together and that triston be raised with, you know, a mother and father, and that she would work it out. Reporter and they were working on things. She was, yes. Reporter marriage counseling . They did try marriage counseling, yes. Reporter they had moved back in together . Yes. Reporter police heard that after roger reconciled with lynn, her car was vandalized. April was never charged, but at the time lynn and roger told police they thought she did it. So this is very complex. Very. Sh reporter this april situation. Police had to put this woman scorned on the list of possible suspects. Roger had pushed april aside to a point where he was telling everybody, oh, thats not you know, denying that was his baby that april was carrying. Reporter you want the get a woman angry yeah. Good way to do it. Absolutely. Reporter but as detectives were sorting through this tangled love triangle, they got news of a break in the case. The forensic lab came back with something. A trace of the killer on lynn reisters arm. Coming up this is the smoking gun. It is. A telltale palm print. Whose could it be . Who was behind this killing . Yes. Introducing the jeep renegade, dawn of justice special edition. 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Roger gave his palm print. Yes. Reporter was he a match . He was not a match. Reporter did april give her palm print . Yes. Reporter was she a match . She was not a match. Reporter and then they checked the prints of someone else. Someone lynn reister had once tried to help. Her brotherinlaw, rodney. And hes a match. Those prints belong to him. And theyre in blood on lynns arm. Reporter this is the smoking gun. It is. Reporter rodney was brought back to Police Headquarters by detective steve munoz. He was still a person, like, here i am. Whatever you want from me, you want to talk to me, ill give you whatever you need. Reporter when rodney sat down with detective chavarilla, he was confronted with the print evidence. And he denied everything. At he had, in fact, killed lynn. Reporter case closed . Not even close. We had to answer the question of why did rodney kill her. Why did rodney get involved in something so heinous and so horrible, so violent . Reporter detectives continued to press. They never thought the spat between rodney and lynn was a good motive for murder. There had to be Something Else. Rodney finally broke down. He admitted there was. He did it because roger asked reporter he said big Brother Roger was behind it all. Does everyones jaws drop . Yes. Reporter at this statement . Absolutely. Reporter roger was arrested and charged with murder. There was such this big shock with his friends and their mutual friends because they thought, no, no. Because he looked like this perfect husband, perfect father. Reporter according to rodney, roger suggested, then begged, then bullied him into killing lynn. He offered money. Hed pay off rodneys bills and then some. But mostly he offered love. Reporter and then rogers feeding all these things into his head about she wants to move, she wants to take me away from my friends here, you. I love you. She wants to separate us. Reporter rodney told police his brother had no shortage of reasons for wanting lynn dead. Prosecutor john gibson. Insurance policy. He wanted custody of his young son. He knew that if his affair with april became apparent, that hed face consequences in the military to include prosecution and military jail. He didnt want to move to follow lynn in her career to minnesota. He wanted to stay and he wanted to party back here in el paso. Reporter and rodney said roger didnt just talk about why he wanted his wife killed. He says roger talked about how and when. He describes roger preparing the weapon, preparing extra clothes for rodney to change. Reporter rodney said the plan was for roger to call him that morning to say his battery was dead. Was that the signal . That was the signal. And thats what rodney tell us. When i went to the house i knew that was the day i was going to have to kill lynn. Reporter the prosecutor threw the book at both brothers. So a decision was made to go ahead and pursue capital murder charges against both roger and rodney reister. The Death Penalty . It could mean the Death Penalty. Reporter but as the day of rogers trial got closer, rodneys misguided loyalty got the better of him. He refused to testify against his older brother. I think rodney had a degree of loyalty and love for his brother such that, you know, he couldnt get up on the stand and testify against him. Reporter so a jury would not hear from the younger brother or see his confession. The prosecution was forced to drop the murder charge against roger, but that was not the end of the case. Remember that pack of young people roger was running with . Many of them were High School Kids in that area. And many of the people were junior in rank, other soldiers at the base. So roger surrounded himself with people he knew would look up to him. Reporter but they turned on him after lynn was killed. One by one, six members of rogers circle told police they knew roger wanted his wife dead about it. Two of them even told police roger had tried to hire them for the murder. You know, roger reister basically told anybody who would listen that he wanted his wife dead. Reporter so the prosecutor charged roger with solicitation for murder, and put him on trial for that. One of rogers minions, a young soldier named patrick mueller, was a key witness. He was granted immunity and gave a statement explaining that he, too, had in fact been solicited by roger to kill lynn reister. Then he asked me if i would kill captain reister, maam. What did you tell him . Yes, i would. Where were you supposed to stab her . In the throat so she could not scream. Reporter mueller said he went to the house one night but chickened out when he spotted a neighbor. Another young man testified how roger had tried to hire him. Pretty much killed for amount of dollars, and i said, well, i dont know. Reporter rogers former mistress, april, now cleared of any suspicion, testified that roger talked to her about tampering with lynns brakes. Lynns friend debbie doesnt understand why one of these young people didnt blow the whistle before lynn was killed. I was so angry because i thought why didnt one of them mention it to me . Why wouldnt that comment not been told to me . Because i think if one of them had told me that and i would have went back to lynn with that right away. Reporter with all those witnesses, the prosecution thought they had a strong case, but roger reister had plenty to say about those witnesses and about his brother rodney. Did you ask your brother rodney to kill lynn . Coming up i love my wife. We were trying to build a future roger tells his story. Will a jury believe it . And his son has a story to tell, too. Triston, lynns living legacy, now at lenscrafters, you can get 50 off lenses with purchase of frames. 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And you can upgrade to the newest galaxy every year with galaxy forever. Well even cover your costs to switch up to 650 per line. To take your wife, the mother of your child and the fact that she was carrying his unborn child. I dont even have the words of how sick what a monster. Reporter roger reister didnt look like a monster when he went on trial for criminal solicitation. But lots of witnesses said he anyone who would listen. Well, now 12 jurors were listening. And it took them all of three hours to find him guilty. When you hear guilty my legs went out from underneath me. My lawyers actually had my arms. Reporter roger was sentenced to life in prison. He spoke to us from behind glass at a texas state prison. The prosecutor said in his closing statements, who is he crying for . Referring to you. He said, hes crying for himself. No. I was crying for my wife and my unborn child is what i was crying for. It had nothing to do with me. Reporter why should we believe you . Because i didnt do it. Because i loved my wife. Reporter he told us he may have been a terrible husband, but he never wanted lynn dead. Was life easier without her in the picture . No. Absolutely not. Thats why we actually got back together. We separated. I was like, okay, well, ill move back into the barracks. But thats why we got back together. Because life wasnt easier life was better with her. Always has. Reporter but remember, the prosecution said there was a long it doesnt make much sense, because lynn was making more money than i was. So, you know, 250,000, all soldiers have that same amount on them. So reporter you wanted sole custody of triston. No. Lynn and i would have definitely been joint custody. Reporter he says he still doesnt understand why all his old friends turned on him, but he doesnt have a good would have lied. You had a lot of people saying that you wanted to have your wife killed. And you would think id have come up with a really good reason for it, for all those people. And i havent. Obviously, you know, maybe some of them had their individual motive. Reporter but six peopl i know. Reporter thats a lot of people all lying and ganging up on you. I dont know what their reasons are. But youd be surprised what people will say. Reporter the year after rogers trial, his brother rodney was convicted of murder and sentenced to life. Roger still says rodney acted alone. One of the things thats hard to wrap your head around is that rodney had this love for you. He looked up to you. And for rodney to turn on you and say that my brother asked me to kill his wife and i did it out of love for him, why in the world would he make that up . Maybe to save his own life. I heard that they were trying to and the only thing that he could have done to even save his own life was to Say Something like that. Maybe get a little bit of sympathy as far as why. Reporter but this is a man who loved you. Well, if he loved me, he wouldnt have killed my wife. Reporter you do seem though like youre playing the part of victim a little bit by saying, this person made this up. This person made this up. Poor me. All these people are lying. Well, im an innocent man sitting in jail, so yeah. I do kind of feel like a victim, yes. Reporter he says that hes the victim in this. That all these people lied and now hes behind bars because of the lies. All these people lied . Hmm. I dont even know what to say to that. Reporter debbie says lynns profound loyalty may have been her undoing, and that lynn would want other people to learn from that. Sometimes you dont keep fighting to keep that marriage together. Its better just to say, you know, its over and walk away. Reporter even now, this case can bring detective chavarilla to tears. Can you explain it . Why you have this emotion . Can you put it into words . Its hard. Its hard. She was pregnant. And of course, you have triston. And triston lost everything. Reporter what hits you the hardest . She was trying to keep her family together. And i dont think she knew what kind of man she was married to. Reporter do you think about your wifes last moments and your unborn childs last moments . How horrific they were . No. I try not to think about that at all. Its not how you really want to do your time in here. Reporter lynn stated in her will that triston should go to roger agreed to send triston to one of lynns sisters instead. I know hes with a good home. Thats probably one of the good things that i did before i got locked up was make sure that he went to that family in particular. He doesnt know anything about me. Reporter triston is now 19 years old. Hes getting himself through college. Hes got a good group of friends, but its been a lonely and difficult road. He very clearly doesnt know anything ive gone through. And he obviously doesnt understand that most of what ive gone through is because of his decision. Reporter yeah. He keeps saying that you had this great upbringing and, you know, that that gives him peace essentially. But your life was not so easy. It wasnt. It was a very difficult place to grow up in. Just in general, the very fact that i lost my parents is one then to go live with my aunt who is, in effect, a stranger to me as a kid is it was a lot. Reporter still, his difficult life has pointed him in an interesting direction. You want to be a crime scene investigator. Yes, i do. Reporter and is this 100 from your own experience or is there Something Else . Believe it or not, ive always been really interested in like anatomy and how things work. But ive also wanted to have a bunch of questions answered about my own life about, you know, the situation with my parents mainly. And that curiosity kind of bled over into other situations. Me and my mom. Reporter triston treasures the baby book his mother made for him. I get bigger and better. Reporter and he loves listening to that audiotape she made for her sisters 16th birthday. Its cool hearing her. I remember when i was 16. Life. And believe it or not, it will probably be one of the most exciting times of your life, too. I sometimes wonder if she would be happy with how my life is going or my decisions. Or if shed be proud of me or whatnot. Reporter youve overcome the odds. Youre in college. Youre making something of your life. Its not over yet. Ive got a long way to go. Reporter how could she not be proud of that . Im sure she is. I just i just wish i knew for sure. I miss you so much. I miss all of you. I hope you guys miss me a little bit. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Well see you tomorrow at 8 00, 7 00 central for the dateline saturday night mystery. Im lester holt