fate in its hands. and that s when things got deja vu all over again. the judge read a note from the foreman. we re not going to reach a verdict. what s next? todd, it s happening again. yep. and i m thinking, this is two months worth of trials and we re right back to the beginning. but the judge wasn t ready to give up. he told the jurors to keep trying. emotions in the open courtroom were raw, especially on the caldwell side. the jury couldn t help but hear it. presley and i were crying. we weren t crying uncontrollably or anything. but you could hear us sniffling a little. as the jury filed out, defense attorney steve gardner rose, to scold the spectators. stop the over-the-top outbursts, he said, or he d demand a mistrial in fairness to his client. i do not desire this jury to be influenced by the public. now, it was the prosecutors turn to seethe. the defense is making a speech about the caldwell family trying to somehow influence the jury, which we thought was
was a kind of starter home to save money for the future. the only apparent cloud in the picture was an escalating feud with an across the fence neighbor here. there was bad blood. it happened at 5:00 in the morning. a sudden, horrifying sound that shattered two young lives. 9-1-1. what s your emergency? saturday, may 26th, 2012. memorial day weekend. she s not breathing. does she have any medical problems? she s been shot. a shotgun blast that ended all the plans of mr. and mrs. seth techel. coming up i have a report of after lady not breathing. be advised a lady has been shot. deputies raced to the scene, where the shooter could be lurking anywhere. you didn t know if somebody could ve winged a shot at you? yeah, that was possible the whole time. when dateline continues.
hometown ottumwa. ready for the jury, gentlemen? february 2013, can you see yourself going into the courthouse? yeah, i remember. what do you say to one another? we gotta stay strong. the caldwells never wanted to believe seth killed lisa. but, heading into trial, they were all now convinced that he did, even presley, once his staunchest supporter. there s really no other explanation for what has happened. when you left the techel residence, who was there? two prominent families, the caldwells and techels, once close in-laws, were now fiercely divided, camped on opposite sides of the courtroom. seth had pleaded not guilty. i was like, just look at me, like, i wanna see kind of in your eyes, how you re doing, but he doesn t look at you. she was like my best friend. prosecutors called to the stand their emotional trump card. todd caldwell remembered his lisa. everyone would tell me how much lisa and i are alike, and i would just tell everybody
the guy with the puppy. and this person had told him a story about a girl named rachel. but agent thomas held his fire at this point, in part because his information was still limited. seth, however, likely could see the agent reading a text. the husband father-to-be, who had answered an emphatic no to the question about an affair, then made an admission, perhaps a preemptive strike. there was a female from work that i was texting. he said her name was rachel mcfarland, but seth immediately downplayed her importance. he said even lisa knew about her. but it wasn t seeing her. it wasn t anything. it was just hey, how was your day type of thing. would it be considered sexting? no, no. none of that. what are you wearing? no, there wasn t any of that. lisa found out. everything was kosher. i stopped talking, you know, we got over it. we have to be honest about her, okay? is there anything
didn t promise to be any better. lisa s funeral was held at the first lutheran church in ottumwa. seven months earlier, todd caldwell was at the very same church, walking his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day. now, he d return to lay her to rest. lisa was buried in her jailer s uniform. a special detail of officers served as pallbearers. law enforcement had come out to honor one of its own. lisa woulda thought, you know, this is all for me? i was so proud. i should ve been able to be there and and watch her become a mom. she was just a joy. mothers shouldn t bury daughters? never. never. after the funeral, the caldwell and techel families turned their attention to the upcoming murder trial of seth techel. lawyers started to plot strategy, with the neighbor, brian tate, expected to be right in the thick of it. tate s sister cheri says he never could shake the feeling that the authorities would come after him.