any of them was the murder weapon. still there was something else. in the first search of the condo, a detective remembered seeing a golf club cover, or golf sock on a shelf. they looked at the photos. there it was. but when they searched the garage a second time, it was and the shelf itself had apparently been sort of rearranged. reporter: was it possible that now missing golf sock belonged to a different golf club. one that was no longer around. one used to kill carol kennedy. did steve, knowing he was a suspect, get rid of that golf sock because it was incriminating evidence? seemed like every investigative trail they followed led right back to the same person they had suspected all along. carol s friend katherine knew who that was. i didn t believe that steve did it. but i couldn t think of anyone else that would possibly do any harm to carol. and so three months after carol was killed, they arrested steve
reporter: but is he innocent? investigator mike sechez. i believe in my heart and soul that steve democker killed carol kennedy. reporter: he thinks often, he said, about the daughters about the impact on them. while my heart goes out to them, you know, you have to recognize that this is all because of one man s actions. reporter: carol s friend, katherine. i never wanted to believe that steve was capable of doing this. and the jury has made their decision. i accept their decision. i agree with their decision. i m so glad it s over. i m so relieved. because so many of us have been dragged through it for the last five and a half years. reporter: katie and charlotte were back in court at their father s sentencing. and in spite of everything, the state s case against steve, how steve used charlotte to create that phony e-mail evidence and then paid for his defense with life insurance money carol intended for her daughters. in spite of all that, at their
reporter: gut wrenching said carol s friend katherine. it was so emotional of, not even a roller coaster. just the intensity of of the emotion. reporter: they d have to start all over again. the money the girls received from their mother s insurance was gone now. gone to pay for the first team of attorneys. so, since steve was pretty much destitute, court appointed attorneys stepped in. and right away craig williams and greg parzych were impressed by how steve s family supported him. it s a large family. very educated, very tight-knit group. how uniformly did they support steve through this process? i d say very uniformly. they re all behind him? yes. reporter: but one thing after another. as steve s second trial approached. there was another, huge, surprise. the source of the dna found under carol s fingernails was
in the first search of the condo, a detective remembered seeing a golf club cover, or golf sock on a shelf. they looked at the photos. there it was. but when they searched the garage a second time, it was and the shelf itself had apparently been sort of rearranged. reporter: was it possible that now missing golf sock belonged to a different golf club. one that was no longer around. one used to kill carol kennedy. did steve, knowing he was a suspect, get rid of that golf sock because it was incriminating evidence? seemed like every investigative trail they followed led right back to the same person they had suspected all along. carol s friend katherine knew who that was. i didn t believe that steve did it. but i couldn t think of anyone else that would possibly do any harm to carol. and so three months after carol was killed, they arrested steve
may have overlooked something. reporter: so, they returned to steve s condo, seized the golf clubs from the garage. and tested them. but could find no evidence that any of them was the murder weapon. still there was something else. in the first search of the condo, a detective remembered seeing a golf club cover, or golf sock on a shelf. they looked at the photos. there it was. but when they searched the garage a second time, it was and the shelf itself had apparently been sort of rearranged. reporter: was it possible that now missing golf sock belonged to a different golf club. one that was no longer around. one used to kill carol kennedy. did steve, knowing he was a suspect, get rid of that golf sock because it was incriminating evidence? seemed like every investigative trail they followed led right back to the same person they had suspected all along. carol s friend katherine knew who that was. i didn t believe that steve did it. but i couldn t think of anyone else that wo