but she had quite a story to tell about james. about how he offered to murder ben. the night ben died, he said now or never. and i said no. i said not today. don t do it. no. i said no. i said no. no, no, no, no. reporter: hours later, she said, james woke her up from a sound sleep and told her ben was dead. but that, she said, is all he told her. all she knew. so you re confident that james had something to do with it? i don t know. reporter: but was that really all she knew? dawn, remember, had a 16-year-old son named devin, who detectives learned was at home and listening in the hours before ben oxley was murdered. so if anyone could confirm dawn s version of events, surely it would be devin. but he wasn t talking.
yada, yada, and james said, i ll go out and kill him right now. you just say the word i ll kill him. she was like a broken record. i want him dead. i want him dead. sound like a woman who was shocked when the murder happened? but there was more. it was after that when james matlean told his attorney ken stover it was time to tell the whole story. i could tell he was telling the truth. over the course of 15 months he s always told the same story. reporter: so now comes another story. james s story. not a love story this time. nobody could believe that i would do what i did. i had never been a violent person. reporter: james matlean did not have an easy start in life. by the time he was a teenager, he was drinking, doing drugs, stealing things. i had pretty much given up any hope on continuing successfully in life. reporter: dawn, after her marriage to ben, befriended james.
that sometimes you need the help of one of the people involved to get the main person. reporter: and so dawn oxley was offered a limited immunity agreement, cooperate with the prosecution, testify truthfully against james and you won t be prosecuted. a sort of get out of jail free card. why go ahead and make that deal with her so soon? you had her statement. why not hold off for a while and be patient and then get them both? let s say we don t do the deal with her and we go out and arrest him. what s our evidence? reporter: dawn signed the agreement and james matlean was charged with first-degree murder. but the end of the story? oh, no, not even close. the truth had been hiding but it was itching to come out. young devin, remember him? dawn s son? devin finally decided it was time to reveal what he overheard the night of the murder. my mom was like, i want ben to die. i just want him dead.
to sleep, she said. and the next thing she knew, james was back. he woke me up and he said, it s done. i was totally drunk. and then turned around and now i m waking up out of a dead sleep. i m like what the hell are you talking about? he said, the cops are going to be here. seriously right now you re telling me my ex-husband is dead? reporter: and she did not take part, she swore, not at all. i didn t drive. i was not i didn t. i did not go anywhere. i did not plan this. i did not want ben dead. reporter: so truth or fiction? there was no solid evidence either way or that james matlean killed ben oxley, only dawn s story, at which point tom gregory-o who was the assistant district attorney, decided he needed her help. you love to get everybody involved in the case, but there s a reality in many cases
melissa oxley and james matlean s attorney kent stover firmly agreed, only half a measure of justice since dawn is protected by that immunity agreement she signed with the d.a. james is not the type of boy who s going to go out and commit a murder in the hopes that dawn will find it acceptable. he didn t do this as a surprise gift. reporter: dawn herself declined our request for an interview. but her mom, the retired deputy sheriff, has remained in her corner. i know that a lot of people believe that. that it was a blatant conspiracy on her part. but i don t think dawn really wanted ben dead. i don t think dawn was there. reporter: you re trying to hold it all together. all the way along and even now. you have to understand.