Karl. In 91 he lost his wife and his home and everything they owned. How unlucky is this guy . Christina was trapped inside that bedroom with the fire raging just outside the door. It wasnt an accident. I heard my mother screaming. My father had said, mommys gone to heaven. It seems like every couple years something was burning. A lot of people said, when this guy needed money, a Family Member would die. Definitely a pattern there. First wife dies in this tragedy. Levi dies in this next . Was she convinced there was a iheowho . Theres erin. Wheres katie . Katie, look at grandma. Whats grandma arlene doing . Hi, katie my name is erin deroche, my name is katie reynolds. And karl karlsen is my father. It does seem surreal sometimes that this is my life. Does this much bad stuff happen to normal people . He lies, and hes able to manipulate people very easy. Thats who hes always been, so for me, i saw the monster more than the man. This is a story that has really taken years to unfold. I began covering it seven years ago in upstate new york, but really no one could have imagined, no one could have predicted how this would end up. So, were headed where, right now . The karlsen and the family is connected in the community, right . Theyre a well known family. Theyve been here for generations. My grandfather settled right here. Were a large family. Karl is my brother. Karl had five brothers and a sister, almost all of whom remain in the area. His father was a highway official in that county for almost 50 years. His brother was a town counselor. Definitely a family that has a lot of connections. The karlsen family name has always been a very reputable name in Seneca County. Seneca county, sits between two of the beautiful finger lakes, seneca and cayuga. Pretty much smack dab in the middle of the Finger Lakes Region of upstate new york. Were between the cities of rochester and syracuse. The village of seneca falls is known for its a wonderful life. The current belief is that seneca falls was the model of the village of bedford falls in its a wonderful life. Yay hello bedford when i met karl in november of 1992, he was a single dad to his three children. Karlsens first wife, christina was 30 years old when she died in a tragic fire just years before he would meet his second wife, Cindy Karlsen. He seemed like he was a handson dad. The youngest, katie, adored her father. Erin and levi seemed like they had a special bond. Levi was amazing. He was so creative. He was very smart, but he had a learning disability, so when it came to bringing home good grades, he couldnt because of the disability. Levi had a difficult life growing up. Levis life was everything that you wouldnt want your kid to grow up with. He went through a rebellious time in his teenage years. And, um, him and his father seemed to clash. As he got older, he got into more of the metal music, and he kind of changed his appearance a little bit, but deep down, he was always still that same goofy kid. He married early. Had two young daughters. The marriage didnt pan out. Levi kind of pulled his life together. He was a good young man. He wanted to make better of his life. On november 20, 2008, 911 received a frantic call from Cindy Karlsen. 911. Whats the location of your emergency . Yes, i live at 885 yale farm road. Okay. I think i need an ambulance. Levi had come to the home of cindy and karl karlsen at the request of karl. Karl told me that levi was going to come out to work on an old farm truck that we had that day. Our plan was that we needed to attend by aunts funeral. While levi is in the garage working under that farm truck, karl and creeteady and dressed to go to a funeral. I went and got in the passenger seat of the car, and karl had told me that, im just going to go out and let levi know that were leaving. It was just a minute or two. And then karl came and got in the car. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He and cindy leave to go to a funeral down in penn yan, new york. We were gone for, um, four hours. They return home. Cindy first notices levis car still parked in their driveway. Shes kind of concerned. I went in the house and karl came up to the window in the door and started banging and saying, call 911. Levi is dead. Maam . Whats going on . The truck fell on my stepson. The truck fell on your stepson . We just got home, and i dont think hes alive. You dont think hes alive . No. My husbands lifting up the truck. Cindys basically taking information she got from her husband karl and is relaying it to the 911 dispatcher. They want to start cpr. Do you know cpr . His chest is crushed his chest is crushed. His chest is crushed . Theres no hes probably been under there for hours. Oh, my god. This is awful. Karl had pulled levi out from underneath the truck, and you could see the indentation on his, um, chest. The truck was jacked up by a single Railroad Type jack. This is the kind of jack that police found . Thats similar. Similar. Its a railroad jack. And you make for a very weak foundation. The higher it gets the weaker it gets. Ill never forget the team, we all went to this local junkyard to try to find a similar old farm truck, the weight of it, just to see what it would be like propped up on a single railroad jack. Could you go under this pickup . I would never go under a truck. I dont like going underneath trucks when theyre sitting all four tires on the ground. So youve got it jacked up here with a railroad jack. Look at that wobbling. Its just moving. Thats crazy. It really is. Time to get clear of that you wouldnt stand a chance. Youre gone. I mean, youre gone. The ambulance was there. They were just pulling levi out of the barn and putting him into the ambulance. When police arrive, what were the parents like . Very distraught, very upset. Crying. You know, grief stricken. I remember the sheriffs trying to console karl because he was so distraught. Levi was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Levis 23 years old at the time of his death. At first it would appear to be anything out of the ordinary. No, it appeared to be an accident. I get a call from my niece t. I knew as soon as i heard that levi was gone, that he had done it. I knew with every fiber of my being. I said, i have no idea what he stands to gain from this. But it begs the question, could a father kill his own son . Its good to know. A lot hasnt changed, at all. A lot hasnt changed, at all. Heres a razor that works differently. The Gillette Skinguard it has a guard between the blades that helps protect skin. The Gillette Skinguard. I heard there guwere fleas out here. R . And ttttticks and mosquitoooooooooooes listen up, scaredy cats. We all have k9 advantix ii to protect us. It kills and repels fleas, ticks and mosquitoes, too. I discovered my great aunt ruth signed up as a nursing cadet for world war ii. She was only 17. Find an honor your ancestors who served in world war ii. Their stories live on at ancestry. Than Rheumatoid Arthritis or Psoriatic Arthritis. When considering another treatment, ask about xeljanz xr, a oncedaily pill for adults with moderate to severe Rheumatoid Arthritis or active Psoriatic Arthritis for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. It can reduce pain, swelling, and significantly improve physical function. Xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections like tb; dont start xeljanz if you have an infection. Taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra can increase risk of death. Serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. As have tears in the stomach or intestines, serious allergic reactions, and changes in lab results. Tell your doctor if youve been somewhere fungal infections are common, or if youve had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. Dont let another morning go by without asking your doctor about xeljanz xr. I first met karl at a linedancing club. He told me that he could line dance. I was looking for a linedancing partner. Come to find out he really had no clue about line dancing. When cindy met karl, she sees this physically strong, good looking, successful in her mind guy that hes, unfortunately, dealt with the tragedy of his wife. In a house fire in 1991. What he had told me about the fire was that he was able to pull the children out. By then, the house was engulfed. It had been almost two years. He was heartbroken. He loved her. I felt extremely sorry for him. I think she was yearning for the family package. He came with a package. It was pretty quick. He brought her over to the house and introduced us. And initially it was a nice change of pace. For me it was, im going to have a mom like all the other little kids my age have. She did initially fill that void. Cindy now is kind of the instant mother or the mother figure in their life. We were married in 1993. It turns out it wasnt so happily ever after for the karlsen kids. Their life with karl, as they describe it, was filled with work, chores, discipline. We did the sweeping and the mopping, dusting every day. Vacuuming. We cooked. Dad would get home and cindy would go right to him right away. And erin did this or levi did this, and you need to take care of it right now. And he did. There were times when, if the kids really misbehaved, i would tell him he needed to talk to them, and sometimes i felt like he was overly strict with them. Karl was ruling them with such a tight fist, they couldnt be kids. You always had chores to do. There was always work to do. He used physical labor as a form of punishment pretty consistently. One time, i dont even know what id done, but he wanted me to carry 10 gallon buckets full to the brim of water back and forth from the house to the barn, and he would just watch and wait for my body to physically give out. When it was levi, he would take him outside. My father told me that levi was a man, so he could take it. As far as physical abuse, i did not see that. He hid it well. Levi moved out when he was 16. It became an escape for him. He needed to get out of the house. Pretty soon thereafter, he had met cassie. Levi was 18 when he had his first daughter, and then the second one came two years later. He got married at a young age, and their marriage did not work out. She was really one of the only people in his entire life that had loved him and accepted him for who he was. And losing that was traumatic for him. Prior to levis death, his life was on an upswing. You know, he was coming back to the farm more often. He was able to get a job with one of the factories that was in geneva. They had insurance and stuff that he needed as a father trying to support his children. After levis death, the investigation was very cursory. General reports were filed. The doctor signed of on it. There was no autopsy. It gave every appearance of being an unfortunate accident. It was shortly after levi died that karl had told me that levi had had a Life Insurance policy. The Life Insurance policy thats taken out on levi, its beyond bizarre. Karl drives levi, his 23yearold son to an Insurance Office and introduced levi to an Insurance Agent. They wanted to get an insurance policy on levi, who had two young girls, worked in a Glass Factory and felt there were job hazards and they felt accidental death was a possibility. Karl convinces levi to take on a Life Insurance policy worth 700,000. I didnt realize karl actually paid the first premium. I did not know that. And he paid cash. When this Life Insurance policys taken out, and the first payment is made, theres provisional coverage, but its providing that the subject pass a medical exam. Karl and levi did not tell the agent that levi had a serious swallowing disorder that made it difficult to ingest food. And that he had been treated for that disorder several years before. The likelihood is that new york life would have suspended or dropped the policy or had to rewrite it once levis medical conditions were brought to their attention. Levi karlsens medical exam was scheduled for the day after he died. Even though levi didnt make it to that medical exam, the Insurance Company still paid out to karl. Dad also made a point to tell me was that levi had left a will. This was a handwritten note . Yes. Saying what . That his father was going to be the sole executer of his ta. He money he said it was funeral expenses for levi. 700,000, that would be paying for a heck of a funeral. It turns out nobody in karls life knew about that Life Insurance money other than his wife, cindy. When i questioned karl, why were you beneficiary . He had told me that because levi was going through this nasty divorce. Karl made it out to be that levi didnt trust his exwife, that levi wanted his daughters taken care of and he trusted his dad. I didnt think it was odd because levi had worked his way back into the house a little bit more, and him and dad seemed to be getting along pretty good. I just trusted my husband. There was no reason for me to question anything. Reporter the note says all of the assets go to the father to be handed out. Yes. Reporter and when was the letter notarized . The day of his death. At the time Law Enforcement didnt know about any of this. So, once it was ruled an accident, it seemed like it was case closed. It wasnt until four years later that the investigation was reporter with everything that you discovered here, what then did you make of what happened to his first wife . Suspicious. I went to the house the next day, and could not, for the life of me understand why somebody didnt try to get her out. It wasnt an accident. Back off youre not welcome here get out of my face hpv can cause certain cancers when your child grows up. Get in its way. Hpv can affect males and females. And theres no way to predict who will or wont clear the virus. But you can help protect your child by taking a first step. The cdc recommends hpv vaccination at age 11 or 12 to help protect against certain cancers. Hey cancer not. My. Child. Dont wait. Talk to your childs doctor about hpv vaccination today. Frto baking fails. Inters. Dont wait. To sweat sessions. Even life inside can bring on things like sweat and oil. But its nothing a deep clean cant fix. Love, neutrogena®. We have rolled out teams across. Our network, and we went from essentially no televisits to approaching 5,000 visits a day. These visits are surprisingly intimate. I can actually share my screen and show the xrays. We really moved some mountains in our network, and teams has been a huge part of that. This is going to be a game changer for medicine. Managingaudreys on it. S . Eating right. And staying active . On it audrey thinks shes doing all she can to manage her type 2 diabetes and heart disease, but is her treatment doing enough to lower her heart risk . Maybe not. Jardiance can reduce the risk of cardiovascular death for adults who also have known heart disease. So it could help save your life from a heart attack or stroke. And it lowers a1c. Jardiance can cause serious side effects including dehydration, genital yeast or urinary tract infections, and sudden kidney problems. Ketoacidosis is a serious side effect that may be fatal. A rare, but lifethreatening bacterial infection. In the skin of thpe stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this bacterial infection,. Ketoacidosis, or an allergic reaction and dont take it if youre on dialysis or have severe kidney problems. Taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Lower a1c and lower risk of a fatal heart attack . On it with jardiance. Ask your doctor about jardiance. Lookentertainmentour experience, xfinity x1. Its the easiest way to watch live tv and all your favorite streaming apps. And now x1 also comes with peacock. Ooh la la. This rare bird lets you stream tons of movies, shows, news, sports and more. With x1, its all at your beck and call. Show me parks and rec. See . The best really did get better magnificent. Xfinity x1 just got even better with peacock premium included for no additional cost. No strings attached. Reporter years before levi karlsen would die underneath that truck, karl karlsen would experience loss when levi died, im sure, i assume it was some sort of a deja vu moment for karl, that hed been there before in 91. He had lost his wife and lost his home and everything they owned. Theres beautiful mommy over there. Y moms name was christina. But everybody who was really e s sie homemar, and er chris. That was chris. The other one was a little sports jock. And that was collette. She was three years older than me. Everybody knew i was her little sister. She didnt see bad in anyone. Even though somebody could have done something horrific, she would find a way to find something positive about them. Karl met his first wife, christina, when he was in the air force. She had told me shed met a nice guy, and so i asked some questions about him. She seemed very, very excited about this particular person. And then when she told me they were getting married, you know, i wished her the best and as soon as i could get out there to see her, i got out there. Karl worked at stone quarry in Seneca County. Ultimately, karl moved to california to take a job. He got laid off. I said, come here to california. Ways have a job out here. I made him partner in my company. So karl, out of the blue, just packed everybody up and he took off for california to strike it rich and famous. And that was a typical karl adventure. Of course im excited because that means my sister and her kids are coming home, so im very excited. The karlsen family lived in the town of murphys. Murphys is a gold rush era town that was settled by pioneers, miners. And its existed here since the mid to earlylate 1800s. Its northern california. Its quite a hike from sacramento, an hour or two. Its quiet backcountry roads. We loved murphys. My mom would actually take us on walks and we would collect leaves and acorns and we would go on picnics. Pennsylvania gulch road, where the karlsen family settled, was off the highway down a rural road. Where karl and christina and their three children lived was on old mining shack, converted into a house. But it was a difficult environment. It was very dilapidated. But i remember when we moved in, gosh, my mom put in a lot of effort to get the house clean. She painted it, she decorated it, she sewed curtains, she was a phenomenal seamstress. It was amazing when my father wasnt home, but when he was home it was very tense. He