they were so happy at first, sharing a lovers perched high atop a cliff. but romance turned to danger, she fell from the edge. i would call this an accidental death. but whas it? she said that if anything happens to me, you ll know who did it. a mystery of nearly 20 years heads into court and the husband is on the precipice. did you kill your wife, jody? i did not. what happened on the cliffs edge? hello and welcome to dateline. when police got word that someone had fallen off a cliff, they weren t surprised. the place was known to be dangerous. but even they could not guess that it would take almost 20 years to find out what really happened to a woman out on an evening hike with her husband. here s chris jansen. every couple has it. a shared song, a favorite movie, or maybe a special place. stephen scharf says that for his wife and him jody, this was it. two rocks forming a lover s chair on the edge of a cliff. that was our spot. we would br
atop a cliff. but romance turned to danger. she fell from the edge. i would call this an accidental death. but whas it? she said that if anything happens to me, you ll know who did it. a mystery of nearly 20 years heads into court and the husband is on the precipice. did you kill your wife, jody? i did not. what happened on the cliffs edge? hello and welcome to dateline. when police got word that someone had fallen off a cliff, they weren t surprised. the place was known to be dangerous. but even they could not guess that it would take almost 20 years to find out what really happened to a woman out on an evening hike with her husband. here s chris jansen. every couple has it. a shared song, a favorite movie, or maybe a special place. stephen scharf says that for his wife and him jody, this was it. two rocks forming a lover s chair on the edge of a cliff. that was our spot. we would bring a couple of long chairs, a cooler, and she would bring her work
Hello and welcome to dateline extra. When police got word that someone had fallen off a cliff, they werent surprised. The place was known to be dangerous but even they couldnt guess that it would take almost 20 years to find out what really happened to a woman out on an evening hike with her husband. Heres Chris Jansing. Every couple has it, a shared song, a Favorite Movie or maybe a special place. Steven sharp says for him and his wife jody, this was it. Two rocks forming a lovers chair on the edge of a cliff. That was our spot. We would bring a hibachi, a couple of lawn chair, a cooler. And shed bring her work from graduate school. Reporter theyd been escaping to this magical place for years, ever since they were newlyweds in a starter apartment in new jersey. Up here the air was fresh and the views seemed limits. It sort of framed by trees but you could look down to the right and see the view of the George Washington bridge. Reporter what they couldnt see from here, of course, was t
saw it that way. the head and chest injuries are not consistent with someone that tumbles down the cliff face. doctor marianne clayton was the bergen county medical examiner who first ruled the circumstances of jody s death could not be determined. now on second look, she said, the victims wounds, or lack of them told her something different. something vital. if jody had tumbled innocently down the palisades, she would have had broken bones everywhere. she did not. there were no visible injuries on the back of mrs. scharf s body. but why would stephen have killed his wife? the biggest reason, the prosecutor argued, was that stephen did not want to divorce. he did not want to custody fight. and he didn t want to split assets with jody. and there was yet another motive for stephen, said the prosecutor. a potential payout. usa a life insurance company. an insurance representative
they would have abandoned this place forever. stephen and jody met in the late seventies in georgia. he was in the army, a bookworm who loved the civil war. she taught history. there is was a meeting first of minds. then hearts. how would you sort of describe those early years? with a loving? where they exciting? yes. they were. you know, we were in love. we were just ecstatic. from there, marriage. a house.