the walmart. dawn waited in the car while james did the shopping. shotgun sales, gloves, a flashlight. she was very happy about it. i mean, like imagine a kid going to disneyland. you know? but there was a problem. they forgotten to bring the diagram of ben s house with them. the plan was it for don to go into the house. the plan was for me to go in the house. and i didn t know how to get in the house. or where the bedroom was. so, dawn had to go inside. the front door was locked. so dawn took him around back, he said. we re a sliding glass door was unlocked. and the east their way in and walked down the hall. then, said james, dawn pointed him towards the master bedroom. and i turned around and she was going into alyssa s room going into the room? yeah, half of her body was in the room. she said she was going to take alyssa with her. i said, you can t take alyssa.
being pulled back to don. yes the loss of both of them, truly. and while the police were watching, don was telling her children, including brandi, that the real suspect was melissa. she was telling you that melissa committed this murder? brandi was hearing that from her mother, don, who she could see was drinking too much, getting duis, spending a few nights in jail. they started getting arrested, don and james both. , we are finding reasons to be taken to jail. and while they had james, they asked him point blank about the murder of ben. you think i called jet ben? no. did don kill? ben. no. do i know anything about the murder? no. were you involved in the plotting or murder of ben? no. i m looking you in the eyes. i did not kill him. that was it. lots of denials, no real evidence.
will you please say i will? i got her a little bracelet and had a engraved letting her know that i will always love her as my own. i gave it to her that day. i m from that moment on, alyssa called melissa, mom. how did it make you feel? happy. very happy. awe, what a happy couple they were. a happy family. being my wife now, it s just a blessing. that s what you wait for all your life. what were your plans? to buy a house and to have babies. have a family. they eventually moved here. a three bedroom ranch in the carson valley, looking up towards the sierra nevada s. alyssa spent half her time with ben and melissa. the other time with her birth month, then s ex-wife dawn. but above all, what ben really
james matlean was. they watched a movie and went to bed? that s the story. that s. it. not a convincing alibi, anymore than the obvious fiction that james, a new man in her life, was just friend. even less convincing, when detective we ron found out about a trip to a 7:11 store. middle of the night, about an hour and a half before the murder. why are they hiding little pieces that are in significant to what is going on? then we started to do. surveillance on them. we were stuck there were starting to get worried because we were watching. them. surveillance photos showed john with james, her daughter alyssa, seven at this. time a year into this investigation, alyssa was back at home. with ben dead, the courts had slowly weaned her back there permanently. there you are still trying to grieve the loss of ben at the same time as alyssa is
melissa came in and grabbed her and was talking to 9-1-1. the detective discovered the bullet that killed ben was a number eight bird shot. same ammunition they discovered in craig s room. so, the question quick. i apologize for doing that, if i have to, you know. did you kill ben? no, i did not. sure enough, when they tested craig for gunshot ready to do our blood cast off, he was clean. could not have fired that gun. and so, back to melissa. i know it doesn t make sense to you, but it is any sense to me either. it s not necessarily a huge, bad thing. but it s stuff it s the worst feeling, thinking that you re gonna be blame for your husband s death. melissa, understand that i m not blaming you. i m asking you to help me solve the problems with the questions i have, okay? because there was blood on melissa and gunshot residue. i don t know what to tell you.