Untouched. Did someone have a bigger prize in mind . A Family Farm Worth a fortune. I did not shoot my mom and i would never shoot my mom. Two trials. Every emotion hit. Two verdicts. There were only two people who knew what happened that day. One of thems dead and the other one is sitting in that chair. Too much to bear. Its just been a hell on earth. Hello and welcome to dateline. Bill and Shirley Carter built a comfortable life and raised a family. As their as their golden years approached the couple fell into a routine. Daily coffee, work in the fields and, spending time with the grandkids. But one morning, gunshots rang out, leaving surely dead, and planting the seeds of a mystery that would turn one Family Member against other. Here is Dennis Murphy with, the farm. Council bluffs, iowa. In a small courtroom the new and final scene of a fouryearlong drama was playing out. Count one murder in the first degree the defendant did with malice aforethought with premeditation kill Shirley Carter. Its a case that ripped the stitches out of a closeknit family. Shattering ribs and perching holes through her long and heart. Surely carter, shot twice with a deer rifle in the Little Homestead Corn Fields that she shared with her husband of 50 years, bill carter. In pleasant hill, iowa, so much of the Rhythm Of Life is set by the seasons, turning the acreage, planting the seed, and then ringing in the harvest, corn, and so emotionally. So, that june morning in 2015 dawned with no particular omens. They surely carter and her husband bill started their day as they always did, with coffee at the general store. They went to coffee every morning, to caseys, that was a ritual. After coffee, and saying hello to neighbors, they bounce back down the gravel road to home. Bill dropped off surely at the top of the driveway. I let her out of the pick up, and she said i think all finish my coffee before i chore, and i said honey also between 11 and 11 30. You never know, do you bill . You dont know. Well head it off to silk or not a greatery a mile away, by 11 am he remembers being just a few miles from home when he got a call from his daughter. And she said, dad, moms dead. Jason found her. Jason, bill son had called 911. This is what he said. My mom my mom is laying here on the floor. Theres blood everywhere, and shes dead, and i dont know what happened. Bill got to the house, ran from his truck, passing his son jason on the back deck. I went in, and there she lay, she looked like she was asleep. Not long after, Marion Countys sheriff, jason sandal arrived at the farmhouse. He grew up in Marion County and near the Carter Family. Did you get into the house . Itself i did. And there you are saying whats in the world happened . Correct. And who would have the desire to kill a lady in rural iowa . The sheriff called for help. I had multiple phone calls from my Special Agent mark like works for a division of the state police, the department of criminal investigation, the d. C. I. This was his first case in pleasant hill, about an hour from des moines. There were multiple vehicles in the driveway, Law Enforcement is on the scene, and the family is gathering around the victory. Does any of the iarriving officers tell you that the husband or thats the . Sign it was me in the sheriff, it was apparent to me that these were Family Members and i dont know names yet. As soon as you got a search warrant, agent ludwig entered the house with crime scene text. It looks as though someone had ransacked the place. But there, sitting on a chair. You first see this person, thats the key item for burglar, its untouched. Money in . Money in it. Cash knit. Credit cards and. It gives president. Was not touch. Some papers are strewn about. Thats it. When we made our way into the bedroom, her Jewelry Boxes were untouched. And, in the kitchen, lay the unlikely victim, surely carter, and 68yearold farm wife and mother. Surely was body was lane right here on the Kitchen Floor. What is your best guess for what happened that day . We know the gun was in this area, and surely were standing in the middle of the kitchen. The first bullet went through charlize body, and pierce the refrigerator. They thought their weapon was a high powered, gone perhaps. Rifle how was it . Held from the hip, we know surely would have fallen on the Kitchen Floor and the shooter wouldve moved up towards, and then fire shot like this. I shot to surely chest. How totally odd the way shed come to rest. She was in a casket like position, her arms were crossed. As though the Funeral Director had puzzler viewing. Yes, and thats not normal. There were still tests to be done, interviews to conduct, but it was coming, coming with the relentless fury of an eye would summer twister. No stopping it. A family was about to be destroyed. The investigation starts with a closer look at the family which didnt make the family very happy. Coming up they are upset that we are wasting time. The police have the reasons, the Murder Weapon may have belonged to someone within the family. So, the question is, where is this two 70 reminiscent. Thats correct. WheN Dateline Continues. N dateline continues N Dateline Continues food is her love language. And she really loves her grandson. Like, really loves. Why hide your skin if dupixent has your moderatetosevere eczema or Atopic Dermatitis Under Control . Hide my skin . Not me. By Hitting Eczema where it counts, dupixent helps heal your skin from within, keeping you one step ahead of eczema. And that means longlasting clearer skin. And fast itch relief for adults. Hide my skin . Not me. 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And our Techno Wizardry calculates your cars value and gives you a real offer in seconds. When youre ready, well come to you, pay you on the spot and pick up your car, thats it. So ditch the old way of selling your car, and say hello to the new way at carvana. Find your rhythm. Your happy place. Find your breaking point. Then break it. Every emergenc gives you a potent blend of nutrients so you can emerge your best with emergenc. In iowa cornfields a warm sun was beating down on the farmhouse where a Murder Investigation was under way. Shirley carter surely carter is lined dead, shot in her kitchen. The sheriff and his team of instigators were trying to figure out what had happened. When your Crime Scene Techs clear the house, they didnt really have much did you, today . They did not. No forensic, where is no blood, no teeny, nobody walks in front of a security camera. Right. So to understand charlie carters death, they have to learn more about her life. Back story to her murder. Turned out, she was a local girl, her dad a grocer, her mother as an assistant a law office. In high school, she met bill. Would you go on your first day it, to remember . We went to the homecoming dance, she was quiet, produced thing youd ever seen. As bill tells it, they were kids in love, deeply, maybe carelessly. During her sophomore year, surely got pregnant. We were married, at a very young age. I was 18, i had just turned 18 and she was 16. Sun, Daughter Gianna was born, and then came billy, eight years later jason completed the family. With three kids to raise, bill and surely went into farming on a small plot of starter land they gruesome corn and soybeans, then plowed the profits into a more prime iowa acreage. Surely loved farming. She did everything. She just took to it, have . She was natural. She loved, loved, being in the tractors. Longtime friend and neighbor irene schultz, says surely brought a little pizzazz to the feels when she climbed into her custommade tractor. She always put a little bit of makeup on every morning before she went out. Up on the john deere, shes jacked out . She had rosy cheeks, she was beautiful inside and out. In time, Daughter Gianna married and moved away to a job in des moines. Son billy went into the heating and air conditioning business, but jason, the youngest child, took to the land. I really enjoyed working with him, i was teaching him, he is a good farmer. Jason would carry on the Farming Tradition for another generation. And best of all, he and his wife shelley live close by. Bill and surely soon had grandchildrens to do it on. Happy Family Picture suddenly disfigured by the ugly murder of Shirley Carter. D. C. I agent marc ludwig took the lead for the investigation. First of all we want to identify all witnesses, we want to separate them, and we want to conduct a face to face sitdown interview, as soon as we can. Early on, the most important witnesses were bill, the husband, and jason, the sun. Ludwig assigned us beauties to take the two down to the pleasant bill, pd. And she said you want to cookie, coffee . In an interview room, bill told investigators the same story he told us. How he dropped shortly off at home, and then ran a load of corn to the greenery. Then he raced home to find his wife still on the floor. When i went in and looked over, she was cold. Jason intern said his day started pretty much the same, hed also taken a load of corn to that same greenery. I went back down the drive, and headed down to any fields. Later in the morning, he said he went to his parents house to help with some showers, and then discovered his mother. She wasnt alive, it was a terrible. With their accounts on the record, deputies sent bill and jason home that night. The farmhouse was still taped off as a crime scene, so bill stated jasons place. And i didnt sleep that night. I smoked cigarettes, and i walked that deck. In the meantime, crime techs had finished with the scene, and deputies had seized half a dozen guns they found in the house. Jason took a look at the inventory of weapons that confiscated, and noticed one was missing, a high powered ramming to 70 rifle, how did the weapon come to . You my oldest son bought it for me in 2005 for christmas. Bill kept the rifle in a gun safe in his basement. So the question is, where is this two 70 running ten, and is that a murder up when men . The Crime Scene Investigator the Crime Scene Investigators had examined the two slugs they collected. And it could be ammo used in a. 270 remington. Certainly consistent with being rounds fired from that type of weapon. Thats correct. Bill stored that rifle unloaded deep in his basement. The killer would have to have gone lucky finding the gun and the ammo. Or investigator sought maybe the shooter was someone who knew where that gun was, maybe someone in the family. That didnt go over well with the carters. We go over to the crime scene and the family is matd. Jason, his wife shelly, bill and daughtera jana all gathered in the living room. And jana and bill let us have it. They are upset that we are wasting time on this investigation. We were screwing up the investigation because we were looking at Family Members. Bill and his daughter were right about one thing, they were now focusing on the family. Coming up i think we found out that jason carter is having an affair. If jason was hiding an affair, was he hiding Anything Else . I never heard my mom. If you want to hold those affairs against me, thats fine, but i would never hurt my mom. WheN Dateline Continues. WheN Dateline Continues welcome back. Did someone close to Shirley Carter want her dead . A rifle missing from her husbands bills gun safe led investigators to believe her killer knew where bill stored his weapons. Surely as loved ones were under scrutiny, and soon detectives would discover that the carter clan had plenty to hide. Continuing with our story, here is Dennis Murphy with, the farm. Surely, the farm wife and mother have been gunned down in her own kitchen, and there was no obvious explanation for the crime. As investigators began digging into the Carter Family background, though, they came across a detail that became the focus of invest attention. And include the son jason, the one who found the mothers body. We found out jason carter was having an affair. A friend of his during an interview. Jason never mentioned any problem with so whose girlfriend . We located her, we bring her in and we determined that there is another phone in play. Another . Phone iphone they just had. The lovers had. But they call a burner phone, off the book. Burner phones, we called the 16 phone. He kept his stashed away, hidden under the hood of his pick up truck, jason not only didnt mention the affair in his first interview, he also never told investigators about that secret phone. Does it change him where he stands in your . Suspects absolutely. He gets elevated at that point. If jason had tried to hide the affair, agent ludwig wondered if jason was hiding Anything Else about his mother s murder. The investigator called jason and told him he knew about the affair and the phone. So he says i will meet you at the sheriffs office. Hes there, and he hands the cellphone over. We say here you go, knock yourself, out . Ha yep. Then surprised, jason wanted to talk some more. Comes in, on his own freewill, no attorney. In this video, investigators went over his story again, in detail, the timeline of that morning. How long from the 911 phone call, until your dad got. There 11 minutes. Jason was bent on letting them know he had nothing to hide, no matter how long it took. Bring on your questions. And he sits in a chair and, he perceives to sit in this chair for over ten hours. Lets do this. Lets step out. Were gonna give you a minute. Im fine. Doesnt shift, doesnt move, doesnt stand up. No bathroom breaks, no nothing . We begged him to take bathroom breaks, we begged him to bring in food. We need Anything Else . We whats that about . Hes going to stay here until we believe him. He admitted to being unfaithful, but said it was ludicrous to think he killed his mother. I never heard my mont. If you want to hold those affairs against me, thats fine, but i never heard my mom. I walked in and found my mom the way she was. This is about surely being killed. I know that, and youre not doing anything about it, because whoever did kill her is still out there. He headed home, but a cloud of suspicion hung over the cloud family, not only over jason, but bill to. Bill newly a. G. Ludwig was looking at him, since he was the last person known to have seen surely alive. And he said, you know you could have done this when you brought her back from coffee. Then, four weeks, nothing happened. We have no leads. Nothing is going on in this infatuation. So the Shirley Carter murder case was happening to the cold case file . It was headed that way, yes. But bill carter wasnt going to let that happen. He hired his own detective. Nick web is a crime scene analyst, and a former Homicide Detective from texas. Bill instructed him to dig into the case with an open mind. If its the good, the bad, and the ugly, its all going to be in your final report . We are only advocates for the. Truth, to aid his investigation, web purchased a rifle similar to the one missing from bills basement. At least one of those shots, would have flown out as the killer rocked another round in the chamber to shoot surely twice. It was never found. So someone had the presence of mind to gather it up. Thats correct. And since webb promised a look at every possibility, examine bills movements the day of the killing. Phone records show surely making a call from 8 45 am, after bill had dropped off. By 9 am, bill was spotted at the greenery, 50 miles from the house. Web said bills only opportunity to kill her was after that. Well have to leave the greenery, has to get home, kill his wife, surely, and then leave before jason can get their. As it impossible for bill to do all this to an inflowing in the time allowed . It would certainly be a tight timeline. Squeaking to get it done, have . Certainly. Then the private analysts looked at jasons timeline. He already puts himself there, so jason simply house to commit the murder instead of doing the other task you said he did. Is it your belief jason shot his mother . Yes. Painful as it was, bill had been suspicious of his son early on, and remembers a moment when it all became clear. Not long after the murder, bill says, jason found out he was going to visit his lawyer. He came barging through the door, and he said what are you going to go to your lawyer about . And i said, i just need to get something straightened out. There are some things that dont add up, and thats when he slammed his fist on the counter top, and he said my life is over. His life, jasons. Life his life is over. I knew then he had done it. It was a shocking realization. Youre telling me your boy became a monster. He did, he did. Im ashamed. You shouldnt be a shame, you did everything you could for the boy. I didnt do something right. Surely and i did something wrong. We will carter tired of waiting for the prosecutor. He, the father, we take the almost unprecedented step, of bringing his son before a civil jury. My attorney said, you know, we can file a wrongful death suit, and that will force the County Attorney to make a move we. Bill was about to sue his son for surely step. If the jury ruled for the father, jason wouldnt praise prison, but Something Like financial ruin. Coming up plaintiffs call jason carter. Father against. Son you became a practiced, skilled, and chronic liar. Sun against father. The killer, surely carter, is not in this room, but its not jason carter. WheN Dateline Continues. We hi susan honey . Yeah . I respect that. But that cough looks pretty bad. Try this robitussin honey. The real honey you love. Plus the powerful cough relief you need. Mind if i root through your trash . Now get powerful relief with robitussin elderberry. Dog barks youre right bunker, the medicare enrollment deadline is almost here. If youre on medicare and you want to explore your options, the deadline to enroll is december 7th. So, you should act now. Were do i find the right medicare plan . At healthmarkets, they search many of the nations most recognized carriers so they can help you find the right plan, at the right price thats the right fit for you. 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The Barnes Firm Injury Attorneys call one eight hundred, Eight Million heres whats happening. In a 6 to 3, the Supreme Court decided not to block the Vaccine Mandate on the Health Care Workers in maine. Which took effect friday. Those who filed suit to block the mandate had done so seeking religious exemption. Vice president Kamala Harris received her Return Booster Shot today. Now shes urging Everyone Else whos eligible to do the same. She said its what needs to be done to quote, get through and beyond this pandemic. Now back to dateline. W ba welcome back to dateline. Im natalie morales. 68yearold Shirley Carter was shot dead in her kitchen, and her husband bill, lets convince their youngest son jason was the trigger man. Desperate for justice, bill readieds civil lawsuit against his own flesh and blood. At trial, jasons cheating would take center stage. And a jury would decide if its discovery drove him to kill. Once again, heres Dennis Murphy with the farm. On a december day in 2017, two and a half years after Shirley Carter carters murder, in this courthouse in knoxville, iowa. Father faced off against an. Bill carter had spent almost A Billion Dollars to get to this courtroom and to this moment. Theres not a more important courtroom anywhere in this state and this courtroom today, right now. Bill carters lawyer, mark opened by telling the jury only one person wanted surely dead. The killer is sitting a few feet from here. Thats the killer right there. Jason carter. It started like a murder case, but remember, this was a civil trial. A wrongful death lawsuit. The father, the plaintiff. His son, the defendant. The burden of proof is much lower than it would be in a criminal trial. The plaintiff only has to prove the defendant liable by a preponderance of the evidence. In other words, 51 likely that you are right. Bill carters lawyer plead jasons 911 call. He argued, jasons stated something about the time of death he couldnt possibly have known. It looks like shes been laying here for two hours. You hear him say that his mother has been dead for two hours. Which medically, is absolutely not the fact, they simply what we know about the condition of the body. But also, why would he be seeing that other than to already start to create the narrative, hey, it wasnt me . Then bills lawyer attacked jasons character. To show the jury he wasnt a devoted family man. Do you solemnly swear i do. Jasons other moment took the stand. Her name, tara hogan. She was questioned by another of bills attorneys. You could hear a pin drop in that courtroom. Tara recounted her 15 month affair with the married jason carter. How frequently were you guys having sex . On average, it would be several times a week. Did you ever tell mr. Carter that you left him . I did. Did he ever reciprocate and tell you that he loved you . He did. And bills lawyer said that on the morning of the murder, jason and tara exchange more than 100 text on that secret phone. Some of them steamy. Do you recall what your last text message from mr. Carter was . It was something sexual. The lawyer said the conversation ended only when jason stop texting as he pulled up to his parents house. Text, text, text, text, text until 10 50 am. At which point, the text traffic goes dark. Quiet for 13 minutes, until jason made a phone call to his sister, telling her their mother was dead. The lawyer argued that was more than enough time to kill his mother and stage a robbery. The plaintiffs call jason carter. Mr. Carter if you would come up then came the moment so many had been waiting for. Jason, the favorite son in his own words, telling the jury about seeing his mother dead. I couldnt believe what i found her. The lawyer confronted jason about the affair. You today any friends residents in cars, even in your own house. Correct. You became a practiced, skilled and chronic liar . Correct. Now bills lawyer tried to prove motive. It was, he argued, at the money. The jury was told jason was a spendthrift. He put some money into motorcycles and nice cars and trips and vacations. At that same time, jason was expanding his farm operation. Where did all that leave him . More than half 1 Million Dollars in debt. Jason was as broke as hed ever been. He had 40 in his personal bank account. 80 in his Business Bank account. The glor said jason saw only one way out. Getting control of his parents Farmland Worth millions. Jason knew that he stood to inherit all of it. My dad said that shelley and i and our kids will inherit the greenery. And that your sister and brother will inherit everything above ground. The lawyer mapped out his theory. Had shirley found out about jasons affair. And if shirley new, then bill sun would know, to. Jason worried hubie disinherited. He had to stop his mother before she disclosed his illicit romance. I want you to look at the jury and tell them the truth. You shot your mother to death. Absolutely not. The jury listened for seven days to the plaintiffs case. Then came the defense. Jason had a loving, close relationship with his mother. Jason carters lawyers, steve, challenged the accusation that jason in his 911 call, was trying to push back that time of shirleys death to morning hours, when hed been accounted for on video at the greenery. It looks like shes been laying here for two hours. This is all happening within the matter of minutes. Jason was simply so distraught. And to see, you know, you shouldve done this and you should have done this and that, i think its just ridiculous. As for jasons affair, the lawyer told the jury it was irrelevant. A salacious destruction. And of course, jason lied about it to preserve his family. If you want to characterize him as a bad guy for carrying on an affair, fine. But that doesnt make a man a killer. Jasons wife, shelley, told the jury despite everything, she still supported her husband. Every day, i work on forgiving. But never forgetting. I love my husband. And we have reconciled. As for the motive, the lawyer argued jason didnt have one. Shelley conceded that at one point, the old the bank more than half 1 Million Dollars on their loan. But she said, that was Business As Usual for farmers. Repeat that off, just like repeat it off every year, so we could renew our line and start again. And then Steve Bullock offered the alternative to theory of the case. Steve is right. The killer of Shirley Carter is in this room. And its not jason carter. Its him, the accuser. Bill carter, he said, was the likely killer. Shirley, he argued, complained about him all the time. She had to get permission for everything. Jasons wife testified that shirley told her, bill was to controlling. Whether it be to go get her here, make a hair appointment, or to help with the kids. Whatever it was, she had to get his permission before she could do that. Steve said it almost came to a head on that june morning. Something happened on that friday that made him snap. And he is the one that killed his wife. After two weeks of trial and mutual accusations, that battle between father and son went to the jury. The court will now read the verdict. It took a little over two hours to answer the question. Did jason carter cause the death of his mother . Did the defendant, jason carter, after Shirley Carter, causing damages to plaintiffs . Answer, yes. Jason had been found liable for the death of his mother. The jury cleared build. It had to come sooner or later. It had to come. Since this was a civil case, jason wouldnt get in any prison time. What amount of punitive damages, if any, do you award the estate of Shirley Carter . Answer, 10 million. 10 million. Bill and his lawyer never expected to see a dime. The more important thing for bill was simply to have eight people from that County Hearing all the evidence and saying, jason did it. Meanwhile, the County District attorney, eta bull, sitting in the back of the courtroom, had been watching closely. What would he do now . Coming up the feats were not quite through with the Carter Family. I got right into his face. I said, why did you kill your mother . There would soon be an act to. What is the biggest thing you have going in your favor at this thing . There really was no scenic of significant evidence against jason carter. WheN Dateline Continues. Nd part of that evolution means choosing the right medicare plan for you. Humana can help. With original medicare, youre covered for hospital stays and Doctor Office visits but youll have to pay a deductible for each. 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Less than 48 hours after that civil verdict, Agent Ludwick and sheriffs deputies arrested jason carter for the murder of his mother. I got right into his face. I said, why did you kill your mother . Did you get anything . Didnt get anything. Stonefaced, cold. Jason carter would be brought back into court. This time, accused of first degree murder. If convicted, he could face life in prison. Agent mark ludwick had been convinced of jason carters guilt ever since that initial interrogation a few days after the murder. Im telling you the truth. The god awful truth. Im telling you the truth. Youre not telling me the truth, jason. Yes, i am. That day, jason agreed to take a polygraph exam. Regarding the death of your mom, do you intend to answer each question truthfully . Yes. Did you physically hurt your mom last friday . No. He fell by a big margin . Huge margin. So, he totally blew with the quality growth. . He totally failed a polygraph. Not evidence, but guidance. Strong guidance, yes. In march 2019, the curtain came up on the criminal trial. It was first degree murder and jason carter pleaded not guilty. As much as he wanted his son to face justice, bill carter knew there would be no winners. I knew there wouldnt be a good outcome. Why do you say that . If my son is guilty of first degree murder, thats not a good outcome. Thats a bad choice . Youll hear prosecutors talk about motive, means and opportunity. Well, means. The two 70 was in the home with ammunition. Opportunity, 13 minute gap in his timing. So, lets talk about motive. District attorney, ed bull, was telling a jury in council bluffs, iowa, jason was stressed over his finances that day he killed his mother. This case isnt about money, its about pressure. Its about am i going to be able to be a fulltime farmer . This time around, the burden of proof would be higher. Beyond a reasonable doubt. And thats a prosecutors challenge without that rock, solid csi style evidence that juries love. I want three things in a homicide case. I want forensics. I want a confession. And i want an eyewitness. In this case, i had none of those things. Would ed bull pretty much follow the map of the civil trial. While the jury was it allowed to know about the civil case or its outcome, ed bulls hansen would also be tied by the judges ruling that the jury wouldnt be allowed to hear jasons affairs. Or the steam is text on his secret phone. And that jason had lied about all of that at first. Tara hope, the girlfriend took the stand, but only to testify to the gap in jasons timeline and to the abrupt end to their conversation. Was your conversation that morning without telling us any of the details, such that you expected it was at a logical stopping point . No. As to motive, in his opening, the da had mentioned the financial pressure on jason. But in the end, he found it hard to explain why jason would have shot and shirley cold blood. Theres absolutely nothing i can tell you that would make sense of why it is a sun shoots and kills his mother. Now, it was time for the defense. Jason carters attorney, christine, had a clear message for the jury. A shoddy investigation, focused on jason early, and never looked anywhere else. And there were plenty of people to question. Very significant parts of this investigation simply werent completed. Werent followed. Were down. So, war room, christine . What is the biggest thing you have going in your favor in this thing . There really was no significant evidence against jason carter. As in the civil case, the Defense Attorney argued jason had a loving relationship with his mother. And that his allegedly incriminating, how did he know the statements were taking out of context . And by the way, he wasnt in any financial trouble. There was 3000 deposited that day. And another check for 3,000 in the mail. And 175,000 worth of green in the farm. And as to the erupt ending to jasons texting with his lover on the day of the murder, the Defense Attorney asked the girlfriend on the stand did you perceive in any way that jason carter was troubled on the morning of june june 19th . No. Then there was the timeline of that morning to deal with. All along, based on statements of First Responders and Crime Scene Techs, it was estimated shirley had been murdered sometime just before 11 am. When jason admits he was at the farmhouse. To counter the time of death, one of the nations most famous pathologist for hire took the stand. Cyril has been involved in thousands of cases from the Jfk Assassination to o. J. Simpson. You are at asked attempt to determine approximate time of death for Shirley Carter . Is that correct . Yes. Were you able to do that to medical certainty . Yes. He told surely that may shirley have been killed two hours earlier than anyone thought possible. If you ask wreck, then shirley was murdered around 9 am, when jason was seen on video, clearly still at the greenery. He could not have killed his mother. So, when the state says to you, all clues point to one conclusion, its all the clues that the Tunnel Vision of Law Enforcement and one investigator in particular went after. The Defense Attorney said the tunnel fish and investigator with Special Agent mark ludwick. Now he reluctantly became her star witness. With Christine Rattling off the names of victims who had come during the investigation. You were not very aware of calis involvement. Thats right, yes. Not aware of jeremy morris. I did become aware of jeremy morris. Im not sure at what point. And that would be jeremy morris. I think you said jason. Yes, my mistake. And that was a big part of the point we were trying to make to the jury. While jasons lawyer argued the investigation hadnt been thorough, Agent Ludwick told us none of the names the defense race or viable suspects. And they had followed everything. Even once deemed not criminal. No credible information. Would the jury see reasonable doubt or would jason carter be spending the rest of his life in prison . The attorneys would have one more chance to make their case. Coming up the verdict. I ask you to return the verdict of not guilty. There are only two people who knew what happened that day. One of them is dead and the other one is sitting in that chair. WheN Dateline Continues. Etes, there can be some notsopretty stuff going on inside. Its true, with diabetic retinopathy, excess sugar can damage blood vessels, causing vision loss or even blindness. So remember this now is the time to get your eyes checked. Eye care is important to your longterm diabetes management. 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Only Comcast Business secure Network Solutions give you the power of sdwan and advanced security integrated on our Activecore Platform so you can control your network from anywhere, anytime. Its Network Management redefined. Every day in business is a big day. Well keep you ready for whats next. Welcome back. Comcast business powering possibilities. At jason carters murder trial, prosecutors knew that without forensic evidence, a confession or any eyewitnesses, the feast an uphill battle. The defense made their case that police had Tunnel Vision and watch the investigation. The jury was unaware jason had been found liable for his moms death and a civil trial. With the criminal case now wrapping up, the stakes were raised for father and son. Heres Dennis Murphy with the conclusion of, the farm. The case of the state of iowa versus jason carter was about to go to the jury. Theres so many holes in this investigation. Theres so much that isnt even explored. Jasons Defense Attorney made one last plea. And in reality, the forensic evidence says jason carter couldnt possibly be guilty. I ask you to return a verdict of not guilty. Now, the county prosecutor argued, all the viable leads were followed and the defense was just so much smoke and mirrors. If you believe this is staged a burglary, then all of the names and stuff they put up on the board is irrelevant. Ed bull tell the jury jason just snapped that morning and in a fit of rage, had killed his mother. There are only two people who know what happened that day. One of them is dead and the other one is sitting in that chair. Find him guilty as charged. It took the jury less than two hours to reach a verdict. About the same duration as the civil juries deliberation. And remember, that jury had found jason liable for his mothers death. So, that lead investigator felt good about things. We felt this is it. And i had that feeling and emotion of, hes going to be found guilty. Ludwick assembled a team to take jason into custody after the verdict. Ladies and gentlemen, do you have a verdict . Yes, we have. Jason knew a conviction could send him to prison for life. We the jury find jason carter, not guilty. Is that for your verdict, Ladies And Gentlemen . Yes, it is. Not guilty. Jason had gotten his life back. It can go home and see my kids. Its been a long time coming. Jason was a free man. That District Attorney says he gave his best shot. So, youre giving the jury this argument of a moment of rage, but you cant really play that movie for them egg explain what it was. Its not a very satisfying thing to see, something happen, he went downstairs, got the rifle, killed his mom. I dont disagree with you. I wish that there was a better story i could tell, but im limited based on what the facts are that i can prove to a jury. And thats the best i had. But that wasnt good enough for bill carter. The worst thing i was afraid of was that shirley would never get justice. And that happened. Is this case closed . Yes. We believe that we held the right person accountable, but new if new information comes forward, we will continue to investigate this. Thats just what jason carter said he wanted. Find the killer. He declined an interview with dateline but, his attorney said he realizes some people will still believe that he shot his mother to death. Jason knows that until someone is conclusively proven to be a murderer, some people will still suspect him. The 10 Million Dollar civil judgment against jason remains in place. After the trial, jason returned to the life hed always known. As a farmer with cycles that dont stop. Its planting season, i imagine seeds are going in the ground . Thats exactly it. I know that he was planting on easter day. And jason saw his father out planting at the same time. What did he think . He said, his thought was, it just seems wrong. They should have been the time where we are both planting. And we went in for easter dinner together. And its hard for him to understand how his family ended up split up like this. And on his side of that field, bill carter watched the son he love so much work the land. Just as he taught him. I have to farm right across the fence from him. And you see him . From here to that wall, from yesterday. A few feet but an unbreakable divide. But its a matter of father versus son. Thats all for this edition ofr this edition of