could someone else be the real killer? i m wondering what was this man capable of? so much tragedy and so much heartbreak. it was very emotional for me. we just kept waiting for them to figure out they had it wrong. reporter: it was the second of july, 2008, early evening in a fine old town called prescott, arizona. sun going down, air cooling down to a fine evening warm. here at the town s historic rodeo grounds, refugees from the summer heat in phoenix, 2 hours and 25 degrees away settled into the stands to enjoy the annual exploits of the cowboys. at the very same time, a few miles away on the edge of town, a woman named carol kennedy
reporter: before she became a close friend, katherine morris was carol s student at prescott carol s friend. she was very well-respected and admired, her classes were always full, very difficult to get into. what was she like? she was magnetic. and she was always sort of searching for the truth. and you just were gravitated to her. charisma that kinda pulled her students in, especially maybe you. uh-huh, uh-huh. she was soft and inviting. i m carol kennedy. i live in prescott, arizona. reporter: you get a sense of her personality in this 2006 interview, in which she was asked about her passion for teaching. it s such a gift to feel like you get to give seeds to this first row here and then they turn around and give it to rows behind them. reporter: and in fact she shared those passions with the man who was her husband for 25 years. love of her life, really, steve democker. they were crazy for each other.
uh-huh. strangers are gonna decide. uh-huh. who don t know your brother? uh-huh. reporter: this family of highly educated professionals knew the case for and against steve as intimately as any attorney. on the third day of deliberations, there was nothing for them to do but sit together. watch their phones. and then, as they prepared to leave a coffee shop in prescott news. the jury had reached a verdict. but it was 4:00 in the afternoon. apparently quitting time. and the judge decided they d all have to wait until morning to hear what the verdict was. katie and charlotte, comforted by steve s parents, his siblings, had another night to wait and wonder, what did the jury decide? it was rough on everybody. it is. and it s just horrible. with that nervous energy then is to the you can t sleep. we were thinking, well, are they just stretching this out? was it torture? well, sure, i mean, we we just want them to go ahead and let him go now. reporter: then, t
democker at the scene of the crime, but they cannot. reporter: anybody paying attention to the bizarre murder case playing out in fits and starts here in prescott. was apt to be a little suspicious of steve democker s behavior after the killing. getaway bag? fake email? defense attorneys craig williams and greg parzych could see that as well as anyone. but was he guilty of murder? no, they said. rather, he was the victim of some detectives tunnel vision, beginning with a sloppy investigation. there was kind of cavalcade of people roaming through this scene that they didn t lock down, tromping through footprints and tromping through the house. and they didn t seal it off correctly. to me, when somebody shows up on the scene and immediately points the finger at the ex-husband, and then that s all they ever did. it s always boom, right on him? it was always on him.
she was sobbing. and at first when she called me i was like, oh, oh no. and then i realized that the that the sobbing and the wailing on the phone was it was a mixture of it was cathartic. yeah. yeah. it absolutely. reporter: time for a fresh start. carol had left teaching by that time, was focused on a new passion, painting. her art was developing. she was really doing well with that and taking off with that. reporter: of course she remained close to her daughters, but she also stayed close to steve. and in fact, just a few days before that july morning, the whole family went to the airport together, to see katie off on a study abroad trip to south africa. charlotte was staying with her dad in prescott. nothing ahead now but the long, easy, days of summer. as she jogged the last few yards to her house, carol passed by the guest cottage she d rented