Kill his wife a cornerstone of the case was that hotel security video. not only did it show keith gone for enough time to commit the crime, the prosecutor said, it also caught him in a lie. remember in his interview, keith told police he hadn t swapped clothes that night? change clothes? no. but a look at the security footage showed he had. he left wearing one set of clothes. one of his work shirts. he came back dressed in all black. the prosecutor also showed security video captured from a residence near the griffith home. it caught a glimpse of an suv pulling into the subdivision shortly before the fire. it was a little blurry. it was a few seconds long, but it sure looked like keith griffith s car. and another circumstantial bit. who else but keith, the prosecutor said, could have gotten by the griffiths aggressive great dane cleo? certainly not an unknown intruder. the dog and keith were very close. a burglar couldn t have come in. a family member could have.
The dogs perished. i had no idea what could have happened. no enemies. i mean, it made no sense. just who would want to kill her. after keith was released the night of his interview with detectives, he headed straight to his friends, the bradleys. they were floored to hear the line of questioning that he recounted. what was up with his marriage, his alibi, the gun he owned? he had been questioned to the point that he almost felt like they thought he had done this. son aaron also got called down to the station that same evening. and he, too, was questioned about his parents marriage. notice anything lately in their relationship as far as any problems or anything like that? that you re aware of anything? no. nothing. was there any money troubles? was there any relationship, things that we knew of? but to a person in the griffiths circle, the very idea that keith might know something about julie s death was, well, just flat-out crazy.
just gave my dad a big hug and we were both crying. we re like, i can t believe this. you know? what happened? keith s good friend craig bradley was there to lend his support. . what was the he doing? this was the first time you were able to see him eye to eye? i could just tell he was shaken. as if the news couldn t get any worth, their great dane cleo along with a second pet daisy had also perished in the flames. craig and keith walked the property, surveying the damages. we get to the koi pond. got to get those fish out of there. julie would kill me if something happened to those fish. i was like, you know, let s not worry about that right now. overwhelmed by loss, the griffiths were faced with the question, how could this have happened? the first thought was that it was the new heating and air unit. it had just gone in. the unit had been installed just days before the fire adjacent to the master bedroom. that was my very first thought, that somehow the new heati
as police canvassed the neighborhood for leads and witnesses, the investigator also had to consider the perpetrator may have been someone julie knew. you re not ruling anyone out or in. you re simply going through the motions. you re speaking to the immediate family first. working your way out. the sheriff s department did not tell the griffiths julie had been murdered. we were not told anything by the police at that point. but anyone at the scene might have guessed foul play was somehow involved. there was just cops all over the property. you said, why the cops? exactly. yep. naturally the first person detective carter interviewed was julie s husband, keith. first of all, we are sorry for your loss. appreciate that. at first, keith talked about what everyone perceived was the cause of the inferno, an accidental fire set off by a new newly installed heating unit. you had it installed tuesday? it was a whole new system.
That hotel security video. not only did it show keith gone for enough time to commit the crime, the prosecutor said, it also caught him in a lie. remember in his interview, keith told police he hadn t swapped clothes that night? change clothes? no. but a look at the security footage showed he had. he left wearing one set of clothes. one of his work shirts. he came back dressed in all black. the prosecutor also showed security video captured from a residence near the griffith home. it caught a glimpse of an suv pulling into the subdivision shortly before the fire. it was a little blurry. it was a few seconds long, but it sure looked like keith griffith s car. and another circumstantial bit. who else but keith, the prosecutor said, could have gotten by the griffiths aggressive great dane cleo? certainly not an unknown intruder. the dog and keith were very close. a burglar couldn t have come in. a family member could have. as for the why question, how could keith, a m