Heartbroken. We are all shells of people. Walking around. The happiness in our life is been taken from us. They were High School Sweethearts. With strapping sons. It was a rowdy house, our parents loved it. Then that terrible night. She has blood everywhere. Everywhere. A mother murdered. But as shock set in, leads poured in. Witnesses reported straightens lurking. A car speeding through the neighborhood. And there were footprints out behind the house. I am putting alarm on every door because someone is out there. But detectives . They decided that the killer was not out there. But inside the house. Now, with one of their own under arrest. The family was furious. You say these people . This is love. This is belief. This human being. Please listen to us. Dead investigators rush to judgment . Do you have any idea, behind your own fevered imagination that that happened . People have a clue . I think i did have a clue. Was the real killer still out there . Hello, and welcome to dateline. An unexplained that can fray even the strongest family ties. But when it struck this Household Grief pulled them even closer. Clues at this crime scene seemed to tell one story. But as investigators dug deeper, they wondered if this loving family had a killer in their midst. Here is Keith Morrison with a killing in cottonwood. On the afternoon of may 4th, 2012, casey walked out onto the field for the start of his very favorite thing. High school baseball. A doubleheader. Spring was in its full glory here in northern california. His senior year was almost done and this was the place that she loved. The game that he loved. People sometimes talk about having premonitions of things. Did you have anything like that at all . It was just another day, another one of the baseball games. It wasnt of course, but no one knew it. As they wound their way through a golden afternoon. Redding, california. With its famous sundial bridge. Its parks, its Middle America feel. It is a whole different place, a different life than the california whose Reputation Blares Technicolor from the botox and Tmz Narcissism miles to the south. Drive a few miles from redding and you are in a ball diamond in a little place called cottonwood, in mount shasta. And ankara, cod set, like people casey knew would be in the stands. Where there . Both of them . Both. Theyre always there . Always there. Never missed a game. His parents, mark and karen. Side by side by the dugout, as always. They were together since they were 17 years old. Practically lived in each others skin . Definitely. His mother had brought a Chocolate Chip Cookies that she passed out to the players after every game. And for which she was justly famous. His father had make sure that he visited working time from the opening pitch. What kind of parents where they . They were the best parents that you can ask for jason. , they would do anything for us and they did. Mark and karen were from big, mormon families. High school sweethearts. That married as teenagers. And watch their own brood quickly expand, all boys, jason, jacob, tyler, troy, and casey. Boys bursting with testosterone. It was a rowdy house, we had Football Games inside the house. We were egged on by our parents and we loved it. Karen was a fulltime mom, and once the boys were old enough, taught parttime at the nearby shasta college. For decades mark got up at two pm, to driver usps. Just because it freed him to coach his sons teams come afternoon. And in the middle of the night disruption, mark slept in a separate bedroom. Had brierre. My dad treated him better than anyone can treat their wife. My mom was the queen. They lived simply, they live paycheck to paycheck, so they never had a lot extra. For them it was all about family . Always. They all stayed as close as any family could be, when jason got married he moved into the house right next door. Helped to celebrate mark and karens Silver Wedding anniversary as they all did. By 2012, they were grandparents many times over and had been married nearly 33 years. One thing i always looked up to and loved about this relationship was that they still dated. Tylers wife, tina. After that long sometimes you can lose that, and i never saw them lose that. But change does come for everyone. And by 2012 in the early 50 mark and karen were making some changes. Karen went back to school, nursing school. This was a plan that they talked about . It was a perfect situation, she got to stay home with the kids, all growing up, and now she was ready to start her career. If you think about, it a pretty good plaid. He worked his whole life and could start his old business while collecting a pension and then she would start her career in nursing. Not so easy, of course. Nursing school is a tough thing. And not just for karen either. Her brother joe, and wife jackie. Its changed. Having graham out there when you need her. Having mom there when you need her. She was going to have to study. And she was struggling with the classes that she felt like she should be doing better. I remember they said, ive just got back from the e. R. And had a chance to work with people finally. So, she was on her way. He was really on her way. And so, that made the fourth, casey joined his parents at home after his ball games. Then, it being friday night, he and the friend went to see a movie. The avengers. It started at 9 15 and i told my parents everything was fine. You remember the last thing that you said to your mom . She handed me a 20dollar bill and i it was late when casey returned, and almost immediately, fell asleep. What do you remember next . It literally felt like i put my head on the pillow, and two seconds later, the door is open. That is at the door. Freaking out. And seconds later . 911, your emergency . The family was about to discover that perfectly ordinary evening had ended in tragedy. Coming up shes got blood everywhere. Everywhere. A dad, devastated. Is one tragedy about to become too . I remember him coming in the door and just collapsing. Falling on the floor. When dateline continues teline continues love can get a little messy. Good thing theres resolve. Love the love. Resolve the mess. Kayaking is my thing. Running is awesome. But her moderate to severe eczema would make her skin so uncomfortable. Now im staying ahead of it. Dupixent helps heal your skin from within. So, they can have clearer skin and less itch. Serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. Dont change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. Ask your doctor about dupixent. Rsv can severely affect the lungs and lower airways. But im protected with arexvy. Arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower Respiratory Disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. 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And you can bring your own device. Oh, and all on the most reliable 5g Mobile Network nationwide. Wireless that works for you. Its not just possible. It was 12 30 a. M. Its happening. Now may 5th, 2012. Casey duenas, home from a movie and late dinner with friends, open the front door, unlocked as usual. And move quietly down the hallway towards his bedroom. Had it not been so late he might have stopped by his mothers room to say goodnight. But the house was dark. Everyone was asleep. So it looked to and exhausted casey, who fell into bed and almost immediately into a deep sleep. Then, 25 minutes later,. That is at the door freaking out. Go next door, go next door, go get jason. Something happened to mom. Go get jason, go get jason. Casey did as he was told, running next door to his brother jasons house. 911 your emergency . While his father, beside himself, called for an ambulance. Tell me exactly what happened. Shes got blood everywhere. Everywhere, i do not know. I have no idea. You have no idea what happened . Now. You dont know what shes bleeding from . Now. Theres blood everywhere. Are you with her now . Yes. Oh, its in her chest. Theres a gash in her chest. And jason . Woke up with the horror all at once. Fire alarm, brother alarm. I was asleep, of a Volunteer Firefighter i have a pager. I could hear casey coming up the stairs, yelling at me in a panic, there is something wrong with mom and you have to come next door right now. Do you have any sense of what it was . I had no idea what i was going to walk into. What he walked into was a nightmare beyond dreaming. There was his father, in full blown panic, and lying on the floor in a puddle of blood was his mother. And a rookie firefighter, for an instant, to his internal regret, froze. If i knew where to come on that situation now i wouldve immediately started cpr. There was a great deal of blood. So for somebody to live through that, that much blood, i did not think that it could happen and i think i just missed her last couple of breaths. Minutes later, emts arrived and karen duenas, was pronounced dead. Because multiple stab wounds, including a massive gash to her chest. Not long after that, a young detective arrived. A year under his belt as an investigator, but this would be his first big homicide case as big detective. And lo and behold. I did not know what i was walking into. Until i saw a picture on the wall, and realized, whose house i was in. You knew these people . I did. I went to high school with the second oldest son, jacob. And here, he found himself looking at the bloody body of jacobs mother, karen. The lady everyone loved. Who brought cookies to all the games at school. Who couldve done this . The detective took a look around the house. He, and fellow officers, fanned out around the neighborhood. There were some footprints outside the property . There was. There was a wood fence that surrounds that piece of the property. There is a back gate back there. And there is a little trail that led out to a canal area. And the first patrolman on the scene told them that he had seen the car speeding away as he raced towards the duenas house. Neighbors reported seeing two strangers nearby that evening. And here, in this Crime Scene Video taken the next day, the screen on the window in karens window looks suspiciously like it had been cut open. An intruder entered here . Was anything disturbed around the house . Actually, no, the bedroom was pretty much intact. There wasnt drawers opened, like someone had burglarized the place. Also, even though the screen appear to be cut, it did not look like anyone had actually gone in that way. And so, the detective had the questions for the only man known to be in the house all evening. The husband of course. Mark duenas. What was his story . What happened that night . He told us that he had been up with karen, they were watching a movie, and once caroline went to bed they tried to stay up later and watch the giants game. He was falling asleep, so he decided to go to sleep himself. Mark, in his room, karen already down the hall, he said, in hers. The detective took mark to the major crimes unit. Where mark, who had been awake more than 24 hours by now finish the story himself. I was in my room asleep. I hear crazy noise, you hear a cat sound and it wasnt cats, it was, a weird scream. Talking . No, just a weird scream. What did you do after that . I ran, i got up. Because i did not want whatever was going to go on to wake up my wife. And i went to the door by the kitchen, opened it up, and out there, i didnt see any cats. I walked down the hallway, looked there, the lights were on. Open the door. And thats when i found her. The detective questioned mark for more than three hours. So they had him change, and keep his shorts and try protesting. Then sent him home with the children. I remember him coming at the door. Just collapsing. Falling on the floor. We were worried about him because he kept saying, his heart. So we thought maybe he was having a heart attack. And then he was, he was a mess. As the witness family planned a funeral, the big, extended family including karens brother joe, and wife jackie, descended on cottonwood. I have never seen a person more broken. What was your perception of how he took it . He was taking it really hard, he still does. Along with unbearable grief, the family came, with anxiety. I live next door, i am worried for my family. Alarms on every door, because someone is out there. But the police did not seem to think that. In, fact within a day or two, one of the detectives announced that there was no need to worry about some unknown killer stalking the town. Now why would he say that . Coming up investigators were about to hear a strange deal from not only kaavans husband. 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In little cottonwood, california. During the surreal minutes and hours and days after kevin duenas was murdered. The best way i can explain my mom, was she was pure of heart. Is the best way to say it. The whole, big family. Karens family as well as marks, parents, brothers, sisters. Gather to support each other and mourn, and struggle with the question that hung in the air. Who did this . But the word on the street was, there was no question at all. We immediately heard rumors, outlandish rumors. And i dont know why youre getting this. The boys heard them too. Rumors the detectives knew the killer was mark. To which the family said. Its ridiculous. I know there is no way possible he couldve done it. My parents were best friends. From as long as i could remember. But if that was true, then why would detectives be so suspicious of a man married to his High School Sweetheart for almost 33 years . A man without so much as a Traffic Ticket on his record. Let alone a violent act. Well, its true, when wives are murdered. Husbands are frequently implicated. And mark did discover the body. But there was another reason, just minutes after mark sat down to talk to those detectives, he volunteered information that sounded to them like a motive for murder. What was going on in our life. And it scares me when i think about it. It was an odd little story, where they were toward the end of 2010, said mark, a u. P. S. Coworker asked him if he ever had gone on facebook. No, mark said, he had not. Well, said the colleague. He said havent you ever wondered what happened the people used to know . Facebook might tell you. And mark said, there was this girl he used to talk to back in high school. That wasnt a real girlfriend. But he was curious about whatever happened to her. So, sure enough, he found a woman on facebook. And pretty soon she and mark were texting, and talking on the phone. Catching up. We talked, we visited, we got a little testing here in their. Carried away . Well, that