a hidden gun inside the house. so it wasn t long before investigators shifted their focus, from unknown prowler, to the woman who reported one. jane laut. remember those clothes they found in the laundry room? when they tested them, they found gunshot residue. so, did jane sheet dave? and then change into her pajamas before she called 9-1-1? and remember, jane specifically mentioned a red flashlight. so police bagged it, tested it, and found gunshot residue, as though she was holding the flashlight while shooting her husband. and if jen was the killer, this was about as cold blooded as it gets. investigator said that dave had been shot six times. we came up with a fairly logical explanation of how it was done.
wounds to his back, into the back of his head. james was a mess. she told investigators she had no idea who would do this. is there anyone would want to harm him at all? no. son michael, ten at the time, slept through it all and jane s brother took charge of him while jane went down to the oxnard police station to offer more hoops complete statement. it s been a perfectly normal evening, she said. they were in bed by ten, dave in the master bedroom, she in michaels room where she often slept because david about back, and then it was about an hour later, she said about 11:00. who was? dave came down the hall she said, worried about the dog.
but the very idea that jane was an abused spouse, that she killed dave in self-defense? absolutely ludicrous said the lauts, and an outrageous allegation. about dave. i know my brother, he s just a good man. he d give you the shirt office back. that was just the way he was. can you see him losing his temper at the woman he s losing married to, abusing, or adding or? never. no, no. no said the lauts. no said the police. besides they said, maybe jane had quite another motive for killing dale out. a financial one. coming up. borrowed money. many thousands of dollars and even more money dave. sometimes she would say things like, i d be better off with dave wasn t around. when dateline continues.
jane asked her for a lot of money, give or different excuses why she needed money. to pay mortgages or something like that? mortgages, doctor bills. schools, tuitions, school supplies. how much money talking about? thousands of dollars. it was a lot. and when they found out that dave had three life insurance policies? i think we total it all up and it came up to 300, $350, 000, somewhere in that neighborhood. she was likely to see if a prowler had done this. was there any indication that she was capable of violent acts? or a stern person who could be violent? she said some things to me. and i dismissed them because i maybe didn t want to believe that she was capable, but sometimes she would say things like, i d be better off if dave wasn t around. meanwhile, justice crawled.
i noticed on her face it looked swollen and she would never comment how it happened. there were several times i saw bruising on her. one time on her face, her arms, her legs, several places. he was a monster, just a monster. ron pamier is john s defense attorney, and according to him dave loud as far from the hometown hero so many people believed him to be. the real truth about dave laut, he said, for nearly three decades, he subjected his wife to horrific abuse. like of all abuse, its power and control.