Even mentoring foreign students. Was this just a burglary gone wrong . Why would somebody wanna come into this particular house . Or were there secrets waiting to be revealed . Theres nothing more important to me than you and this relationship. Love . My wife. How die function now without her . Or hate . What was the motive for a valentines day murder . She was speaking from the grave in a way. That note was powerful. Im lester holted. And this is dateline. Heres andrea canning. Reporter it happened on the least likely day imaginable, a day devoted to love and affection valentines day. And it happened to the last people on earth you would expect, a religious family dedicated to god and making the world a better place. We got a breakin. Is it going on right now . I dont know. The garage door is open. Theres glass from the back door where somebody broke in. My world had just been shattered reporter their Perfect World broken by an act so evil it tore a family apart. The worst day of my life. Reporter and put an entire town on edge. Be extra cautious, lock your doors, lock your windows. Pay attention to strangers in your area. Reporter they devoted their lives to others. Who would ever want to hurt them . This is just absolutely a despicable act. Reporter for a day that ended so tragically, it began in a happy way with flowers and expressions of love. Nathan and Denise Leuthold had met 30 years earlier, back in the 80s when they were both students at a small Baptist School in central illinois. Even at that young age, nathan knew there was something to this sparkling little girl. I was in third grade, and she was in fourth grade at the time. And i doubt she even knew i existed, but even then i thought she was the cutest girl in the school. What was it that you liked about her so much . It was the curly hair and the bouncy curls and just the happygolucky smile. In junior high, i began to see her character and see what kind of person she was that way. Reporter it was in high school that nathan and denise got to know each other better, though they didnt date as most teens do because they both came from religious families. Our parents didnt really believe in dating, so we were just good friends. And i went to her Church Activities and she came to mine. And saw each other at school and thats how it all started. She was my first girlfriend and my only girlfriend. Reporter norm ulrich jr. Got to know nathan and denise well when his wife taught at their high school. Nathan was a basketball player then, denise a cheerleader. They were inseparable. They would just, you know, goof around with each other, you know, just in a loving, you know, maybe puppylovish way. And it just grew into Something Special between the two of them, and we knew theyd be together. Reporter whats more, nathan admired denises parents and was inspired by what he saw as a perfect marriage. And i looked at denises mom at the time, and i saw what she was as a woman, as a wife, as a mother, and i saw that denise really favored her mother. And so i said, thats what i want. Reporter for denises mom, diane newton, the feeling was mutual. Was he over all the time . Yes. Yeah, he practically lived at our house. Reporter when denise went off to college in minnesota, nathan a year younger soon followed. To no ones surprise, the couple got engaged a year later. Diane knew it was coming. I wasnt surprised when he was the first one that she dated and they ended up getting married. Reporter that was in july 1995. I was always very happy being a wife and a mother, and so i was happy for her that she had found someone to love and to share her life with. Right before we did our vows, denise had a prepared a song talking about everything that she wanted was in me. And that our marriage was going to be the kind that she had always hoped for and had dreamed for as a little child. And it was a wonderful day. Reporter after the young couple settled in their home town of peoria, illinois, denise went to work at an Insurance Company while nathan started a career in sales. But he couldnt shake a higher calling. For several years he had dreamed of becoming a baptist missionary. In 1998, he finally seized the opportunity when another young couple at their church began their own missionary work in lithuania. And so i approached the fellow and said, what would you think about denise and i coming and helping you guys . He said, that would be great. They moved in with us for six months, sold all their possessions. Tried to save up money. We didnt know any lithuanian at the time. We didnt know the language. We were studying it, trying our best, but it was definitely a shock. Reporter they returned home after a year and soon welcomed a son, seth, and a daughter, julia. In 2002, the family went back to lithuania, which became their second home on and off for the next eight years. Thats a big undertaking to right. I think it was very hard for denise to leave her family, to leave everything shed known and to go over to a strange country, you know, with a toddler and a baby. It was a traumatic experience for her, i think. This is because really nathan wanted to do it . Right. She was supporting him. It wasnt really her calling. I mean, she was basically being a wife and a mother. Reporter but denise also became very devoted to the church there. Denise was very musical, and she played the piano for the children and taught them songs. Taught the little girls, especially, bible stories. Reporter they grew particularly close to some of the children and their families. We had helped women whod been in abusive relationships. We had brought several lithuanians to the United States over the years for cultural reasons, for musical purposes, for sports. Reporter their generosity extended to a young lithuanian they had gotten to know well, aina dobilaite, who eventually came to the u. S. As a college student. She even lived with them for a while in peoria. Nathan has a very big heart for people. He just loves to help people out and just wants to do the lords work. Reporter by the fall of 2010, nathan and denise were living back in the states. By then they had a third child, jenelle. Their days were filled with shuttling kids to school and day care and raising funds for their next overseas mission. Life with three young kids was busy, hectic, normal. But then came valentines day, 2013. When nathan pulled into their driveway midafternoon and discovered something terribly wrong. I can see that the window pane was broken. The glass is on the ground. And at that point i begin to put things together and someone had broken into the home. And at that point i called the police, called 911. 911. Where is the emergency . Ah, we got a breakin. Reporter a daring burglary in the middle of the day that would rob this family of everything. 3 c3 que tenian. She hadnt answered her phone calls, her text messages. What police do find is terrifying. Everything stopped. I just kept looking at my daughter. My world had just been shattered. And i have to tell her at some point. Kill up to 99 percent of germs. And prevent plaque, early gum disease and bad breath. Complete the job with listerine®. Power to your mouth™. Also try listerine® floss. Its advanced Technology Removes more plaque. New allyoucaneat be the fcrosscut ribspplebees and discover their tender bonein flavor. Just dont be the last to try them and their three irresistible sauces. Im serious. Do not be the last person. New crosscut ribs are now allyoucaneat for a limited time. 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Reporter after many years of working overseas as missionaries, the leuthold family had returned to peoria, illinois. Denise, nathan and their 3 kids seth, 12, julia, 10, and jenelle, 4 were living with denises parents. Nathan says it felt good to be home. We had tremendous friends and family here in the states. And thats always what we missed the most. Reporter being back in the states also gave nathan an opportunity to travel to churches where he reported on his and denises missionary work and raised more funds so they could soon return to lithuania. In the u. S. They could also celebrate holidays americanstyle as they did on valentines day, 2013. As is our tradition on holidays, whether its easter or christmas or birthdays or valentines, for the children we started off right off the bat first thing in the morning. And so the children had their valentines sacks that denise had prepared sitting there on the table for them. Reporter and for his wife . My gift to her was the roses and the card that i had bought the night before and had placed on the table. Reporter after the Early Morning celebration, the family was back to their usual routine taking the kids to school, shopping, running errands. Denises parents were at work. But that day something happened that was completely out of character for denise. She failed to pick julia up from school. My parents called me, do you want us to pick her up . And i said, well, denise should been there any minute. She must have been late. Reporter turns out no one had been able to reach denise for a while, including nathan. She hadnt answered her phone calls. She hadnt answered her text messages. I said, just wait a few more minutes. Let me get jenelle out of day care, and then ill let you know. And when i finally get her out of day care they said, she still hasnt come. She hasnt called. I said, well, ill run by the house, ill run by the house and see if shes there. As soon as i got pulled into the driveway, the garage door was open. Is that odd . Its very odd. Theres no car in the garage, but the garage doors open. But then as i got about halfway into the garage, i can see that the window pane was broken, the glass is on the ground. At that point i begin to understand that someone had broken into the home. Did you fear that the person could still be in the house . I did. Reporter ith his young daughter in the car, nathan backed into the neighbors driveway across the street so he could watch the house as he called 911. Whats the problem . We got a breakin. Is it going on right now . I dont know. Ithe garage door is open. Theres glass from the back door where somebody broke in. I have not gone in the house yet. Reporter nathan waited with his daughter at the neighbors house, repeatedly calling family members to see if anyone had heard from denise. Then the police arrived. Detectives jason leigh and shawn curry were among the first on the scene. By the time we got here officers were starting to rope everything off, securing the inside of the house. Reporter they didnt find an intruder. Instead they found something far worse. While searching the house, they discovered a female down that was obviously deceased in the house. Reporter 39yearold Denise Leuthold lying in a pool of blood had barely made it inside the house. Her coat was still on. Right on the other side of this door is where we found her laying down. Just right in the front door here. Reporter they quickly determined she had been killed by a single gunshot wound to the head. She didnt even have time to take her coat off, her gloves, anything. So when she entered that door that shot was immediate. Reporter and the weapon appeared to be a. 40 caliber handgun, but no sign of the gun. Did it seem like denise had possibly startled a burglar . Yeah. When we got there it looked like she interrupted a burglary. That she came home, the house had been ransacked like somebody had broken in through the back door, started going through the house and then maybe startled the burglar when she came in through the front door. Reporter while investigators combed the crime scene, nathan anxiously watched the Police Activity from the house across the street. How did they tell you what they had found . The police were not the first people to tell me. Unfortunately, i found out about it from my father. I was calling my dad, and dad said, well, im on my way. I just heard on the radio. The local news media just put it on the radio that at your house mb was shot. Reporter nathan realized it had to have been denise. When you came to that realization, whats going through your mind . Everything stopped. Im looking at my 4yearold daughter who is the image of her mother. Curly hair and the bouncy step. And i just kept looking at my daughter. And i wanted to hug her. And i wanted to i wanted to just let out all the pain that was associated with knowing. But there she was standing staring at me just smiling. My world had just been shattered. And i have to tell her at some point. Reporter denises mom had no idea what happened. But she rushed home when nathan told her thered been a breakin. I drove out there, and the roads were all road blocked. Reporter is that a sick feeling when you see all those police and you know that oh, yeah. Reporter what are you thinking . I didnt know what to think. I tried to run up there and go into the house. And they were like no, you cant go in. Well, i just want to know what happened to my daughter. Is she in there . Where is she . And they eventually took me downtown and then one of the policemen came in and told me that shed been shot. The worst day of my life. Reporter now she had to tell her husband, denises father. I fell apart and cried. And i guess its e first pulled in the driveway. Reporter nathan gave detectives a clue, though, when he said he remembered seeing a suspicious car in the neighborhood late at night a couple of weeks before the murder. And then it pulled into our driveway without the headlights on. Without headlights . Without headlights on. They were on in the road but when they turned in, they turned them off. And you know, this is kinda weird, pulled in the driveway. I immediately go through the front door and flip the outside lights on. The car leaves. Reporter then a few days before the murder, he said it happened again. Similar situation, but this time into the neighbors driveway. Reporter that time nathan called police and spoke with an officer. He said they probably were people that that were out his phrase was casing the neighborhood. Reporter people in peoria, illinois, were spooked. Could a brazen burglar willing to kill be on the loose . It caused a lot of stress in the neighborhoods. I mean the local school down the street, they locked it down that day. This is a very quiet this stuff doesnt happen whats her routine lik reporter did you start to think that someone may have targeted denise . We didnt know. Nathan, hes going to be our best witness. Youre living with this lady. Youve been married for a long time. You know her routine. Reporter did you think that maybe someone had a reason to be in that house outside of just a random burglar . We didnt know. We didnt know. But we needed to lock down at that point, initially, we just needed to make sure we locked down what she planned on doing that day. Reporter and they started at the very beginning. She woke up about 6 45, which is normal. Okay. I was already shaving and showering and all that. Were the kids already up . She gets them up at 6 45. Reporter nathan told police he took the two older children to school and went on a series of errands that day including going to a day spa to buy a Gift Certificate for denise. Was that for massage. Massage. Okay, you remember how much you spent . 74. Reporter police learned denise spent the morning at home withea nathans whole story a confronted him. Its not a coincidence that were missing a 40 caliber glock handgun and theres evidence that leads us to believe that your wife was probably shot with a. 40 caliber handgun. Okay . Then furthermore, to have her car down the street at the park, right, where you failed to tell us you were there prior to going home that day. It was a short phone call. I know, but i mean the thing is were talking about things that once you start piecing things together, were trying to figure things out. I understand. Okay . So if youre at the park, the exact same park your wifes cars at, i need to figure out how your wifes car got there. I dont have the answer. You dont have the key either. Correct. Reporter it wasnt just that nathan stopped to take a short phone call, it was who was on the other end of the line that picked their interest. He said that he received a phone call from a lithuanian exchange student. Reporter thats how she came on y from peoria. So police drove there to talk to her. When we first started the interview it was just a lot of background information. We were coming across as were concerned for denise. You lived with emthis for x amount of years. Youve known the family. And she was fine. As we started ramping up the questioning, getting more direct about her relationship with nathan, then all of a sudden perfectly speaking english girl starts saying, i may not i dont understand that, or im not going to answer that question. Then it turned into a more of just a cold stare. And no emotion whatsoever. Reporter you describe it almost like a staring contest . Yeah. We threw out there crime scene pictures of denise laying dead. Autopsy pictures to get a reaction. And she had no emotion. I called her out on it. These people took you into their they even traced the route they thought nathan might have taken that day from the starbucks to the park, a quick walk to his house, then back to the starbucks to see if he could have done it in time. 6 minutes 55 seconds. Reporter not only possible, they said but probable. More likely, they figured, than a stranger breaking into the house during the roughly 20 minutes denise was out. Its inconceivable to think that somebody breaks into the house the exact same time, runs through the house, finds a lock, pries it open, loads it up, hides behind the door, to execute her. That just cant happen. Reporter Something Else that didnt make sense, they said, was that denises car was not in her driveway. After the murder they found her silver ford here in this nearby park. Nathan had told police he only knew of one key, the key that was found at the crime scene. But now police had a second key that they found in this trash can in the park. Theres no way that i could ever fathom nathan doing this to his wife. Coming up hard to imagine anyone doing something this evil if its true. This was his valentines day present to aina and that is despicable. Because with 20 piece chicken mcnuggets for 5 bucks. [ sports announcer ] and hes intercepted [ male announcer ]. Interceptions are encouraged. And good sportsmanship is easy. [ sports announcer ] 10. 5. Touchdown [ male announcer ] thats a victory for your mouth. [ male announcer ] thats a victory for your mouth. Show em the curve. Its beautiful. Its more than that. Its perfect. Introducing curved Ultra High Definition Television the burglary probably was already staged. If not, he went ahead. And then he knew that denise would be coming back. Stood in the doorway, and as soon as the door opened, denise tried to take her coat off and he shot her in the back of the head. Reporter nathan then drove denises car to that same park, prosecutors said, and hopped back in his own car and drove to starbucks, arriving at 12 45. 12 45 to 12 50. Five minutes only, but long enough to be on that camera. Reporter and long enough they said, for nathan to wash his hands to get the gunshot residue off, then leave to start his afternoon errands before picking up jenelle from day care. About 3 00 the defendant returns home. Wants you to believe that he sees the door open and glass. Thats the extent of his knowledge, but with that he calls the police. He knew full well when he called the police what they were going e find. Important to me than you and this relationship. And a note to him from the woman hes accused of murdering. Reporter she was speaking from the grave in a way. Absolutely. And that note was powerful. Clinically proven. Skin healed in just 5 days. Thats the healing power of vaseline. [ clicking ] wow. Impress your guests. Ellenbee 24inch vanity, now just 119. So im trying hellmanns with olive oil. Through a translator. Nathan leuthold visited you in hotels off campus on at least five occasions, correct . Translator i cant remember how many times. And during those visits, you went to a hotel with nathan, and just the two of you were present part of the time, correct . Translator im not sure if every time we were at the hotel we were together alone. Did you spend the night with mr. Leuthold . No. Reporter aina was called as a witness for the prosecution, which granted her immunity to encourage her to talk. But her testimony made it clear she was not eager to help the state. When mr. Leuthold visited you in chicago in 2012, did he buy you presents . Coming up was there less to this relationship than meets the eye . He was the only person with whom i could talk in lithuanian. So it was a friend. Were you and nathan ever lovers . No. If the prosecution couldnt prove that, could it prove nathan murdered his wife . Could i come up with something better. My doctor told me about eliquis. For three important reasons. One, in a clinical trial, eliquis was proven to reduce the risk of stroke better than warfarin. Two, eliquis had less major bleeding than warfarin. And three, unlike warfarin, theres no routine blood testing. Dont stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. Argued that the investigation was faulty. There were certain preconceived notions of who did it, for lack of a better term, that never went anywhere. And for that reason, im going to ask you to find nathan not guilty. Reporter toner insisted the cops zeroed in on nathan right from the start and never pursued any other leads. This was an incomplete investigation. That while the spouse, nathan in this case, would have been the logical place to start, the problem with that is that if you follow that gut feeling, thats going to cause you very likely to miss other things. And in this case, simply not look for them at all. Reporter for instance, what about those cars nathan said he had seen in the neighborhood, which he thought were suspicious not too long before the murder . His attorney called a neighbor to the stand whod also seen i worked for him. I did a lot of translating work and helping with organizing christian conferences in lithuania. And he was also kind of like my mentor. And here in america, he was the only person with whom i could talk in lithuanian. So it was a friend. Reporter the defense attorney said the state was making more of those spa visits than was really there. Would mr leuthold be there with you when you were having the waxing . He was there to drive me and to pay for it. But he wasnt there when the procedure was being done . No. Were you and nathan ever lovers . No. Thats been asked of you many times, correct . Police asked you about that, correct . Thats correct. And that answer has never changed, has it . Thats correct. Reporter his bottom line was reporter nathan leutholds murder trial was nearing its end, when he had to decide whether to testify. At the last minute he chose not to. You understand that thats not something that youll be able to take back . Reporter why did you decide not to take the stand during the trial . I had chosen to testify prior to trial, but as the state continued to take things out of context and continued to throw as much mud as they could on the wall hoping that some of it groom aina as your new wife. That is the accusation. That is the accusation by those who from day one wanted to portray something that fits modern society. Fits the culture we live in. Fits the cheaters lifestyle, the Jerry Springer show mindset. It fits those things of making things look salacious. Reporter the jurors, of course, never heard any of that because nathan never took the stand. How nervous were you when the jury went to deliberate . From a purely selfish perspective, its my life, my future, my freedom. It means that i could go back to being the father to the children. The children would be robbed of