the time of the murder was now spotless. >> what did you find this time? >> nothing. there was nothing to find. >> no signs of blood. no evidence of any struggle. nor, in fact, was there any sign that stephanie had ever lived there. >> there wasn't a single photograph of her. every trace of her had been scrubbed from the house. >> it also seemed suspicious, said the detective, that dale changed his story a bit. first time he called the police, he said they had an argument before she left to go out walking. later he said there was no argument. >> was there an argument of any kind? >> no, we never had an argument. there was no argument. it was just the facts were on the table. >> what were you talking about that she needed to clear her head? >> we were just talking about us. >> within a few weeks of stephanie's murder, the state ramped up the pressure on dale. social services sent the bruner children to live with stephanie's brother in california. >> i'm in a fight with mike tyson with no gloves. and they're taking my kids away, too. >> dale wasn't completely alone,