together, we re building a better california. welcome back. jane laut was facing 50 years to life for the murder of her husband. but when prosecutors offered a deal, a sentence of six years if she pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, she said no, she wanted to face a jury.
dramatic turn. back now, keith morrison, with the hometown hero, and the homecoming queen. jane laut told the police a harrowing story, of a backyard prowler, and gunshots right outside her door. and now her husband, olympic bronze medalist, dave laut, was dead. but some things seemed a little off. for example, said the investigator, when police were still questioning jane at the house, she stepped into the laundry room. she actually tried to keep one of the police officers out of the laundry room. she tried to close the door, with her in the laundry room and him out. why? well, jane was wearing pajamas when police arrived. but in the laundry room they found her jeans rolled up in a towel tucked between the washer and dryer. it looked like they had been removed quickly, stashed away. when an officer tried to administer a gunshot residue kit to jane s hands, standard procedure in a shooting investigation
i believe that. i sincerely believe her. i don t say that about many people. i sincerely believe her. do you usually get this personally invested in a case? i am always invested in my cases, yes. but do i care as much about clients like i do about jane laut? no, i would be lying if i say i didn t. could he persuade a jury to believe in jane, too? coming up, jane takes the stand. i get a not guilty, which is what we re shooting for. she has to testify. a gun takes center stage. pull back the hammer, fire. each and every time. and the verdict. we, the jury, find the defendant when dateline extra continues. hey, is this our turn? honey.our turn? yeah, we go left right here. (woman vo) great adventures are still out there. we ll find them in our subaru outback.
i think that was a stress on the marriage. the stress was pretty clear, said rebecca. for a while, every time she would call me, it seemed like it was to vent about something she didn t like about what dave was doing. so evidence was carefully sifted for months. and then in february 2010, jane laut was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, and the story, said investigators, was chillingly clear. this was an execution. she had lured him out, shot him from behind, and then egressed on him, shot him a second and third time, stepped back and shot him a fourth time, came up super close, and shot him two more times, one to the back of
i was just like i was stunned. i said, jane, i kept saying, do you understand it? she said i understand fully. this is my decision. and she was crying. and she says, i have to fight for this. mind you, by then jane had some powerful moral support from her old friend, helen. she rose that night. she didn t fall, she rose that night. and, you know, became the a very strong, powerful woman. and defended the life of her son. and then at last in january 2016, jane laut went on trial for murder. her friend, helen, sitting right behind her. do you think she ll go to jail? i don t. really? i don t. i absolutely do not. you believe the jury will believe her story? i do. and see it as a case of self-defense? i do. i believe that.