decision since recordings of tate didn t make him look like a dangerous killer, they would not show tapes of him to the jury, and they d roll the dice hoping the prosecutors wouldn t either. the caldwells and techels had been put through the wringer for more than two years. their once close relationship had frayed, and now the third trial was pushing everyone to the brink. it was an impossible situation, but somehow todd caldwell and doug techel managed to find a moment of grace. i went over to him and just said, doug, i want you to know that i think you re a great guy. i think you re a good person. reporter: did you really? no matter how this turns out, i want you to know that. he said, i think the same thing with you, todd, and i went to shake his hand and heap just hugged me, and we both just hugged. reporter: the two fathers returned to pot side of a murder opposite sides of a murder trial. for the third time the state of i what versus seth techel.
on the jury and said one holdout in particular was responsible for the stalemate. he started pounding on the door saying he wanted out of there. we were in tears, a lot of us, because we knew that we were up against a wall, that nothing else could be done with this person. after weeks of testimony and three full days of deliberations, the seth techel murder trial came to a sudden the judge declared a hung jury. punch to the gut? i never had one in 30 years. reporter: prosecutors immediately decided to retry the case. it had been 10-2 for conviction. of course we re disappointed. reporter: the caldwells had lost a daughter and sister, and now they couldn t even get the closure they desperately wanted. and they d have to do it all over again. hard to know that you re going to have to endure another
changed. mistrial is declared. reporter: unbelievable. veteran prosecutors who never had a hung jury before were now o-2. again the state didn t hesitate. seth techel would go on trial for a third time. our intent is to retry it. that was an easy decision to make. reporter: even though the jury s vote was again in favor of conviction, this time 9-3, lisa s family was starting to have its doubts. is there something i m overlooking? did he not do it? is there something they see and they re like he s not guilty? reporter: but just when they thought they couldn t suffer anymore heartbreak, the caldwells would be devastated by new findings by a brand-new defense team. i heard it about a week before the trial. it was like somebody hit me in the stomach. reporter: coming up, the defense comes out swinging. we close to focus on the
the caldwells gathered near lisa s coffin. the techels stayed in the back of the room. seth was there. his sister-in-law was never forget what happened next. he actually came up to me kind of in the middle of it, gave me a big old hug, and he said, you will always be my little sister, and i love you. i was like, i love you back. reporter: when the last visitor was gone, only the two families remained. still at opposite ends of the room. i saw the two dci agents come and sit down been me. a couple rows behind seth and i. i said, is this a personal visit or a professional reporter: or something les? he said, it s professional. reporter: marty wonderlin was there. we asked seth to come outside. we did it quietly i thought. reporter: when they were outside, the deputy carried out his orders. he arrested his friend, seth techel. a fellow deputy put the cuffs on him. they were lisa s cuffs, the ones
in the hometown otumwa. february, 2013, can you see yourself going into the courthouse? yeah. i remember. reporter: what do you two say to one another? we got to stay strong. reporter: the caldwells never wanted to believe seth killed lisa, but heading into trial, they were all now convinced that he did. even presley, once his staunchest supporter. there s really no other explanation for what has happened. when you left the techel residence, who was there? reporter: two prominent families, the caldwells and techels, once close in-laws, were now fiercely divided, camped on opposite sides of the courtroom. seth had pleaded not guilty. i was like just look at me, like i want to see in your eyes how you re doing. but he doesn t look at you. she was like my best friend. reporter: prosecutors called to the stand their emotional trump card. todd caldwell remembered his lisa. like everyone would tell me how much lisa and i are alike, and i would just tell everybody