Support. this is 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 heating and air unit wasn t put in properly. faulty installation? yeah. as for the cause of julie s death, that was left to the county coroner s office. deputy coroner ben bradley.
They would leave and go to dinner or go to town and leave the door unlocked. because cleo was the guard dog. fulfilled as the griffiths lives seemed to be, keith and julie were transformed when aaron and ali brought into the world their first daughter, aria. a first child, it was a greatest day of her life i think. julie lived for my little girl. she wanted to be a part of everything that she did. and julie was there for ali when she went into labor for their second daughter analiese. her white knuckled dash to the hospital earned julie the affectionate nickname nascar nana. the flashers were going and honking the horn. what is she saying to you? talking to you. don t have a baby in my car. keep your legs crossed. don t have the baby in the car. everything seemed to be going great for the griffiths in 2013. keith had weight loss surgery and dropped more than 100 pounds. julie was over the moon with two granddaughters. but also that year came the rift. zach disclosed to
He goes, yeah, yeah. i could tell he was in shock. reporter: the news hit zach griffith particularly hard. since coming out to his mother, his relationship with her had been strained, and now this i guess you re just beating yourself up something terrible, that you d been sideways with her yeah. and i know that if we were just given more time, that we would ve been close again, that we would ve been, you know that mom and son duo that we were. but we just we didn t have the time. it was ripped away from us and never get it back. reporter: aaron, the elder son, had more of a take charge reaction. i gotta take care of my brother. i gotta take care of my dad. reporter: you got logistics before grief? yeah. reporter: the news didn t even get absorbed? yeah. yeah. for me that s just kind of the way my brain is wired, i guess. reporter: within hours, the griffiths would head from all directions toward what used to be an anchor in their lives the family home.
This. what happened? reporter: keith s good friend craig bradley was there to lend his support. and how was he doing? this is the first time you have a chance to see him eye to eye? i could just tell he was shaken. reporter: as if the news couldn t get any worse, the griffith s great dane cleo, along with the second pet daisy, had also perished in the flames. craig and keith walked the property surveying the damages. we get to the koi pond and he s like, gotta get gotta get those fish outta there. julie would kill me if something happened to those fish. i was like, you know, let s not worry about that right now. reporter: 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. reporter: 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 heating and ai
Within weeks. reporter: 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 immediate family and first. and workin your way out. reporter: the sheriff s department did not tell the griffiths julie had been murdered. we were not told anything by the police at that point. reporter: but anyone at the scene might have guessed foul play was somehow involved. there was just cops all over the property. reporter: so you said, why are the cops here? exactly. yep. reporter: naturally, the first person detective carter interviewed was julie s husband keith. first of all, we are, are sorry for your loss. i appreciate that. reporter: at first, keith talked about what everyone