said could have been ann s. but it was what cara did with the rags that prosecutors wanted to talk about. that s her vehicle on surveillance video leaving mcdonald s. she decides to get out of her truck in a pouring rainstorm, walk over to the farthest-most trash receptacle at mcdonald s, dispose of three cleaning rags, and drive away. reporter: they also highlighted cara s odd behavior after she saw ann s feet at the bottom of the stairs. cara s a paramedic. this is her wife. what does she do? does she rush down there, oh, my god, ann! are you okay? no. reporter: she raced to the neighbors, prosecutors told jurors. then ran back home with one more job to do. before the paramedics and the police arrive, she makes one final desperate attempt at covering up. she picks up that container of paint. she pours that paint. reporter: but instead of masking the evidence, the prosecutors said, that paint pointed to cara s guilt.
well, you know, you ve got to have some proof of that. and they don t. and i ll tell you why. you can look at these texts, and, once again, cara is the calm one. ann is the one who goes from zero to 60 in about three seconds. reporter: and by the next morning, the defense attorney said, ann was going her breezy way, promising her buddy mark that big kiss in a text. not a word about fighting with cara. not a word even like, gee, things aren t too good around here right now. cara and i had a big fight. nothing like that. reporter: then to that afternoon of errands. and from cara s side, app trash can at mcdonald s. because that s what they did. they had to pay for their trash bags in granby. so they were dumping their trash
tip that paint over. reporter: other things spoke to the trooper. items on the basement floor with blood under them. the trooper took out a pencil and gingerly lifted a laundry basket. there was blood beneath it. what d that tell you? it tells me that, you know, things in this crime scene were moved before we got here. reporter: police videoed the scene. that night, a shattered cara rintala called family members, breaking the dreadful news. and then she went to the granby police department for an interview. it was almost midnight when detective lieutenant robin whitney hit record, turning the clock back to 8:30 that same morning when ann got home from her overnight shift. we were talking. she made me coffee. reporter: playtime with a noisy brianna followed. then lunch. and after, a request from ann, a paramedic, remember, who was trying to nap before another overnight shift. she s like, can you just go to the mall or whatever. reporter: cara and brianna left the house abo
now back to dateline. . welcome back to dateline. i m craig melvin. as prosecutors ready for trial, they had little physical evidence to support their case. could they convince a jury that this doting mother was also a killer. here again is dennis murphy with at the bottom of the stairs. reporter: prosecutors knew when cara rintala was arrested in late 2011 for murder, they had a mighty challenge on their hands. and so it proved. the trial opened in early 2013. and it ended, three weeks later, with a hung jury. breaking news, a northampton jury has failed to come to a unanimous verdict. reporter: a year later, in 2014, trial number two. same thing happened, incredible as it seems. another hung jury.
out of this thing? we thought there s no harm in giving this jury yet another option of a verdict of guilty. reporter: cara s family and friends didn t buy that. we had asked for manslaughter in the first trial and they said, absolutely not. no, no way. well, all of a sudden, you turn the tables? because they want this to end. and cara s take on that was, i don t want that because that means i did it. and i didn t. reporter: deliberations began on a tuesday morning. day one passed in silence. no questions from the jury. day two, the same. day three. again. some began to speculate about another hung jury. t.j. donahue and mary petrone. did you think this was going to go down in flames again? i did. absolutely. you know, what can be different this time? reporter: team cara tried to keep her spirits up. there was a double rainbow and i took a picture of it and i sent it to cara. and i said, good sign, cara. there s a double rainbow tonight. reporter: finally on day