the guy who loved to party, that guy was long gone. prosecutor becky holt opened for the state. defendant had a plan. his plan was to murder his wife, his plan was to get away with it. reporter: with no murder weapon found, the prosecution s case was built on that partial shoe print. they knew now that jason once owned a pair of hushpuppies like these that matched the print. they were now missing. they also told jurors about the early morning visit to the gas station. and suspicious activity at the hotel. but the thrust of their case was this. jason young was trying in the most violent possible way to get out of a troubled marriage. were you aware of tensions in that marriage? yeah. i was well aware. reporter: meredith fisher, michelle s sister lived near the couple. and for a period was cassidy s nanny. as the young s fights intensified she took on the role of marriage counselor too. what would you say were the
that s not from a stranger. that is a mad, mad domestic abuser. reporter: soon that jury was behind closed doors. in the wake county superior court. after two days, they were back. with a verdict. the jury by unanimous verdict find jason lynn young to be guilty of first degree murder. reporter: guilty. first degree murder. jason young didn t flinch. behind him his mother was equally stoic. on the other side of the court, michelle young s bereaved mother and sister wept. fiona at home got the news from a friend. they said he s guilty. i was like, what? what? reporter: jason young received a life sentence. chose not to address the court. even as the bailiffs led him awe he remained expressionless.
something to the effect if i am going to make such a terrible husband then give me my ring back. did you give it to the defendant? no. he began trying to pull the ring off. it wouldn t come off. he was throwing me from one bed to the other. and jumping on me with all of his weight. and pinning my arms both of them behind me. prosecutors hoped to convince the jury it added up to motive for murder. so how would the defense counterattack? with a witness who could refute every charge. coming up jason young finally breaks his silence as he takes the stand to testify. did you kill your wife, michelle? no, sir. were you there when it happened? no, sir. our thinnest longest lasting blades on the market. precision machinery and high-quality materials from around the world. nobody else even comes close. it s about delivering a more comfortable shave every time. invented in boston, made and sold around the world.
describe why not? i think we both knew it was wrong. i don t think either one dreamed that it would ever be found out. pushing me around. as for the violent episode with his ex-fiancee, jason had an explanation for it. did you throw her around on the bed like she said? no, sir. what i did was wrong i did pin her down and i took the ring. okay. what was your level of intoxication at that time? i was very intoxicated. but i don t feel like that is an excuse for what i did. reporter: they questioned him about the most important woman in his life. did you want to stay married to michelle? yes, i did. i wanted to have have another baby and i wanted the family to grow. reporter: he also explained why he gave up custody of his daughter without a fight. were you able to afford a lawyer for a full blown custody
reporter: and prosecutors told the jury about civil lawsuits against jason brought by michelle s mother and sister. one was a wrongful death case filed in 2008, a year before he was charged with murder. over the defense s objection, the court clerk laura freeman testified about the lawsuit. there is an alleged paragraph. reading verbatim t in the early morning hours of november 3, 2006, jason young brutally murdered michelle young at their residence. freeman went on to testify that jason never responded to the allegations. and that led to a default judgment against him. that judgment said jason killed his wife. a default judgment does not mean the facts alleged in the civil complaint are true. it does not mean he is guilty. and the judge at the criminal trial told the jury that in his instructions. however, when you hear the statement, jason young brutally