position. her jewelry boxes 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 them's dead and the other one is sitting in that chair. >> too much to bear. >> it's just been a hell on earth. >> hello and welcome to "dateline." bill and shirley carter built a comfortable life and raised a family on their sprawling farm in america's heartland. as their golden years approached the couple fell into a routine. daily coffee, working the fields and spending time with the grandkids. but one morning gunshots rang out, leaving shirley dead and planting the seeds of a mystery that would turn one family member against another. here's dennis murphy with "the farm. " >> council bluffs, iowa. in a small courtroom the new and final scene of a four- yearlong drama was playing out. >> count one murder in the first degree. the defendant did with malice and forethought with premeditation kill shirley carter. >> it's a case that ripped the stitches out of a close-knit family. >> he strikes her in the side. it puts a hole through her chest, shattering ribs and perching holes through her long and heart. >> shirley carter shot twice with a deer rifle in the cornfields she shared with her husband of 50 years, bill carter. in pleasantville, iowa, so much of the rhythm of life is set by the seasons. planting the seed and then ringing in the harvet, corn and soy mostly. so that june morning in 2015 dawned with no particular omens. shirley 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 casey's. that was a ritual. >> after coffee, saying hello to neighbors, bill and shirley went back home. bill dropped off shirley at the top of the driveway. >> i let her out of the pickup and she said i think i'll finish my coffee before i chore. and i said, honey, i'll see you between 11:00 and 11:30. >> you never know do you, bill? >> you don't know. >> bill headed off to sell corn at a granary. by 11:00 a. m. he remembers being just a few miles from home when he got a call from his daughter. >> and she said, dad, mom's dead. jason found her. >> jason, bill's son, had called 911. this is what he said. >> my mom -- my mom is laying here on the floor. there's blood everywhere and she's dead and i don't know what happened. >> bill got to the house, ran from his truck, passing son jason on the back deck. >> i went in and there she lay. she looked like she was asleep. >> not long after marion county sheriff jason sandholt arrived at the farmhouse. he grew up in the county and knew the family. did you get into the house itself? >> i did. >> and there you are saying what happened here? >> correct. and who would have a desire to kill a lady in rural iowa? >> the sheriff called for help. >> i got multiple phone calls from my boss. >> agent ludwick works for a division of the state police, the department of criminal investigation, the dci. this was his first case in pleasantville, about an hour away from des moines. >> there were multiple vehicles in the driveway, law enforcement on the scene and the family is gathering around the big tree. >> does any of the arriving officers tell you that's the husband or that's the son? >> i meet with the sherriff and it was apparent to me these are family member and i don't know names yet. >> as soon as he got a search warrant agent ludwick entered the house with crime scene techs. it looks as though someone had ransacked the place but there sitting on a chair -- >> you first see this purse. that's going to be a key item for a burgular. it's untouched. >> money in it? >> money in it, cash in it, credit cards in it, gift cards in it. was not touched. >> some papers were strewn about. >> that's it. her jewelry boxes were untouched. >> and in the kitchen was the unlikely victim. >> shirley's bodies was lying right here on the kitchen floor. we know the gun was in this area and shirley was standing in the middle of the kitchen. >> the first bullet went through shirley's body and pierced the refrigerator. they thought the weapon was a high powered gun, perhaps a rifle. >> held from the hip. we know shirley would have fallen on the kitchen floor and the shooter would have moved up towards and then fired a shot like this. >> a coup-de-grace shot to shirley's chest. how totally odd, the way she'd come to rest. >> she was in a casket like position. her arms were crossed. >> as though the funeral director had posed her for viewing? >> yes, and that's not normal. >> there were still tests to be done, interviews to conduct, but it was coming. coming with the relentless fury of an iowa summer twister. no stopping it. a family was about to be destroyed. >> the investigation starts with a closer look at the family, which didn't make the family very happy. coming up -- >> they are upset that we're wasting time. >> but police had their reasons. the murder weapon may have belonged to someone within the family. >> so the question is where is this 270 remington. >> that's correct. >> when "dateline continues." >> in iowa cornfields a warm sun was beating down on the farmhouse where a murder investigation was under way. shirley carter was lying dead, shot in her kitchen. the sheriff and his team of investigators were trying to figure out what had happened. when your crime scene techs cleared the house, they really didn't have much for you, did they? >> they did not. >> no forensics, no blood, no dna, nobody walked in front of a security camera. >> right. >> so, to understand shirley carter's death, they'd have to learn more about her life, a back story to a murder. turned out she was a local girl. her dad a grocer, her mother an assistant at a law office. in high school she met bill. where'd you go on your first date? >> i took her to the homecoming dance. she was quiet. prettiest thing you'd ever seen. >> as bill tells it, they were kids in love, deeply. maybe carelessly. during her sophomore year shirley got pregnant. >> we were married at a very young age. i was 18 -- had just turned 18 and she was 16. >> soon, daughter jana was born and then came billy. 8 years later jason completed the family. with three kids to raise, bill and shirley went into farming. on a small plot of >> when dateline continues. wh but this is my story. 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cool right? amazing. harness the power of xfinity internet and stay connected to the things you love. ah, they'll be like this for hours. hello dad, hello dad, hello da. uh-oh. good bunnies. ahh! dennis murphy (voiceover): in iowa cornfields, a warm sun was beating down on the farmhouse where a murder investigation was underway. shirley carter was lying dead, shot in her kitchen. sheriff jason sandholdt and his team of investigators were trying to figure out what had happened. >> in iowa cornfields a warm sun was beating down on the farmhouse where a murder investigation was under way. eny shirley carter was lying dead, shot in her kitchen. the sheriff and his team of investigators were trying to figure out what had happened. when your crime scene techs cleared the house, they really didn't have much for you, did they? >> they did not. >> no forensics, no blood, no dna, nobody walked in front of a security camera. >> right. >> so, to understand shirley carter's death, they'd have to learn more about her life, a back story to a murder. turned out she was a local girl. her dad a grocer, her mother an assistant at a law office. in high school she met bill. where'd you go on your first date? >> i took her to the homecoming dance. she was quiet. prettiest thing you'd ever seen. >> as bill tells it, they were kids in love, deeply. maybe carelessly. during her sophomore year shirley got pregnant. >> we were married at a very young age. i was 18 -- had just turned 18 and she was 16. >> soon, daughter jana was born and then came billy. 8 years later jason completed the family. with three kids to raise, bill and shirley went into farming. on a small plot of starter land they grew some corn and soy beans. then plowed the profits into more prime iowa acreage. shirley loved farming. >> she did everything. >> she just took to it, huh? >> she was a natural. >> she loved being in the tractors. >> long time friend and neighbor, irene schultz, says shirley brought a little pizzazz to the fields when she climbed into her custom made tractor. >> she always put a little bit of make-up on every morning before she went on. >> up on the john deere she's decked out? >> she had rosy cheeks. she was beautiful inside and out. >> in time, daughter jana 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 shelly lived close by. bill and shirley soon had grandchildren to dote on. a happy family picture suddenly disfigured by the ugly murder of shirley carter. dci mark ludwick 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 sit down interview as soon as we can. >> early on, the most important witnesses were bill, the husband, and jason, the son. ludwick assigned deputies to take the two down to the pleasantville pd. >> and she said do you want a cookie, coffee? >> in an interview room bill told investigators the same story he told us. how he took shirley home then took a load of corn to the granary. and how he raced home tofind his wife still on the floor. >> when i went in and i felt her she was cold. >> jason in turn said his day started pretty much the same. he'd also taken a load of corn to that same granary. >> i went back down the drive and headed down to eddyfield. >> later in the morning, he said he went to his parent's house to help with some chores and then discovered his mother. >> she wasn't alive. it was 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 stayed at jason's place. >> and i didn't 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 they'd confiscated and he noticed one gun was missing. a high powered remington 270 rifle like this one. 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 270 remington and is that a murder weapon? >> that's correct. >> the crime scene investigators had examined the two slugs they collected. and it could be ammo used in a.270 remington. >> it was a.270 round. >> certainly consistent with being rounds fired from that type of weapon. >> that's correct. >> bill stored that rifle unloaded deep in his basement. the killered with have gotten lucky finding the gun or the ammo. or investigators thought maybe the shooter was someone who knew where that gun was, maybe someone in the family. that didn't go over well with the carters. >> we go over to the crime scene and the family is mad. >> 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. that we're 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 -- >> we found out that jason carter is having an affair. >> if jason was hiding an affair, was he hiding anything else? >> i never hurt my mom. if you want to hold those affairs against me that's fine. but i never hurt -- i never hurt my mom. >> when dateline continues. dat emergen-c crystals pop and fizz when you throw them back. and who doesn't love a good throwback? ( ♪♪ ) ( ♪♪ ) emergen-c crystals. ever notice how stiff clothes can feel rough on your skin? for softer clothes that are gentle on your skin, try downy free & gentle. downy will soften your clothes without dyes or perfumes. the towel washed with downy is softer, and gentler on your skin. try downy free & gentle. is softer, and gentler on your skin. welcome back. did someone close to shirley carter want her dead? a rifle missing from her husband bill's gun safe led investigators to believe her killer knew where bill stored his weapons. >> welcome back. did someone close to shirley carter want her dead? a husband's bill's gun safe led investigators to believe her killer knew where bill stored his weapons. shirley's loved one was were under scrutiny, and soon detectives would discover that someone in the carter clan had plenty to hide. continuing with our story, here's dennis murphy with "the farm. " >> shirley, the farm wife and mother, had 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 investigation. it concerned the son jason. the one who'd found his mother's body. >> we found out jason carter was having an affair. >> how had you find that out? >> a friend during the interviews. >> so who's this girlfriend? >> we locate her, we bring her in and we determine there's another phone in play. >> another phone? >> a phone that they just had. >> the lovers had, what they call burner phones, off the book. >> burner phones, we call it the sexting phone. >> jason kept it stashed away hidden under the hood of his pickup truck. jason not only didn't 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 ludwick 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 sheriff's office. he's there and he hands the cellphone over. >> says here you go, knock yourself out, huh? >> yep. >> then surprise. jason wanted to talk some more. >> he comes in on his own free will, no attorney. >> in this video investigators went over his story again, in detail, the time line of that morning. >> how long from 911 phone call till your dad got there? >> 9 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 proceeds to sit in this chair for over 10 hours. >> let's do this. let's step out. we're going to give you a minute. >> i'm fine. >> doesn't shift. doesn't move. doesn't stand up. >> no bathroom breaks, no nothing? >> we begged him to take bathroom breaks. we begged him to bring him food. >> brought you that. don't know if you want it or not. >> you need anything else? >> what's that about? >> he's 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 hurt my mom. if you want to hold those affairs against me that's fine, but i never -- >> this isn't about the affair. >> i never hurt my mom. i walked in and found my mom the way she was. >> this is about shirley being killed. >> i know that and you're 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 carter family. not only over jason but bill, too. bill knew agent ludwick was looking at him since he was the last person known to have seen shirley alive. >> and he said, you know, you could have done this when you brought her back from coffee. >> then for weeks, nothing happened. >> we have no leads. nothing's going on in the investigation. >> so, the shirley carter murder case was heading to the cold case file? >> it was headed that way, yes. >> but bill carter wasn't going to let that happen. he hired his own detective. nick webb 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 it's the good, the bad and the ugly, it's all going to be in your final report? >> we are only advocates for the truth. >> to aide in his investigation he purchased a rifle similar to the one missing from bill's basement. the remington rifle emits at least one of those shots would have flown out as the killer racked another round in the chamber to shoot shirley twice. >> it was never found. >> so someone had the presence of mind to gather it up. >> that's correct. >> and since webb had to look at every possibility, he examined bill's day the day of the killing. phone records showed shirley making a call at 8:45 am. by 9:00 a. m. bill was spotted at the granary 50 miles from the house. webb said bill's only opportunity to kill her was after that. >> bill has to leave the granary, has to get home, kill his wife, shirley, and then leave before jason can get there. >> is it impossible for bill to do all this to-ing and fro-ing in the time allowed. >> it would certainly be a tight time line. >> squeaky to get it done, huh? >> certainly. >> then the private analyst looked at jason's time line. >> he already puts himself there. so, jason simply has to commit the murder instead of doing the other tasks that he 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 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 see your lawyer about? and i said, i just need to get some things straightened out. there's some things that don't add up, and that's when he slammed his fist on the counter top and he said, "my life is over." >> his life, jason's life. >> his life is over. i knew then he had done it. >> it was a shocking realization. >> you're telling me your boy became a monster. >> he did. he did. i'm ashamed. >> you shouldn't be ashamed. you did everything you could for the boy. >> i didn't do something right. shirley and i did something wrong. >> bill carter tired of waiting for the prosecutor. he the father, would 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. >> bill was about to sue his son for shirley's death. if the jury ruled for the father, jason wouldn't face prison, but something like financial ruin. >> coming up -- >> plaintiffs call jason carter. >> father against son. >> you became a practiced, skilled and chronic liar. >> son against father. >> the killer of shirley carter is in this room, but it's not jason carter. >> when dateline continues. dat andrea canning (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. marlo thomas: my father founded saint jude children's research hospital because he believed no child should die in the dawn of life. in 1984, a patient named stacy arrived, and it began her family's touching story that is still going on today. vicki: childhood cancer, it's just hard. stacey passed on christmas day of 1986. there is no pain like losing a child, but saint jude gave us more years to love on her each day. marlo thomas: you can join the battle to save lives. for just $19 a month, you'll help us continue the lifesaving research and treatment these kids need now and in the future. jessica: i remember as a child, walking the halls of saint jude, and watching my sister fight for her life. we never imagined that we would come back. and then my son charlie was diagnosed with ewing's sarcoma. vicki: i'm thinking, we already had a catastrophic disease in our family. not my grandson too. marlo thomas: st. jude has helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% when it opened to 80% today. join with your credit or debit card for only $19 a month, and we'll send you this saint jude t-shirt that you can proudly wear to show your support. jessica: for anybody that would give, the money is going towards research, and you are the reason my child is here today. charlie: i was declared-- this will be two years cancer free. but there's thousands and thousands of kids who need help. saint jude, how many lives they do save is just so many. marlo thomas: charlie's progress warms my heart, but memories of little angels like stacy are why we need your help. please become a saint jude partner in hope right now. [music playing] what do i see in peter dixon? i see my husband... the father of our girls. i see a public servant. a man who served under secretary clinton in the state department... where he took on the epidemic of violence against women in the congo. i see a fighter, a tenacious problem-solver... who will go to congress and protect abortion rights and our democracy. because he sees a better future for all of us. i'm peter dixon and i this election is about who shares your values. approved this message. let me share mine. i'm the only candidate with a record of taking on maga republicans, and winning. when they overturned roe, i secured abortion rights in our state constitution. when trump attacked our lgbtq and asian neighbors, i strengthened our hate crime laws. i fought for all of us struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living. i'm evan low, and i approve this message for all of our shared values. -- this echoes the biden administration stands of a six- week stop and fighting to allow the release of hostages. and the supreme court is expected to issue a number of rulings monday, when decisions could include whether colorado can remove former president trump from the ballot. it comes following a ruling by the state own supreme court. now back to dateline. >> welcome back to "dateline." 68-year-old shirley carter was shot dead in her kitchen, and her husband bill, let's convince their youngest son jason was the trigger man. desperate for justice, bill readied's civil lawsuit against his own flesh and blood. at trial, jason's cheating would take center stage. and a jury would decide if its discovery drove him to kill. once again, here's dennis murphy with the farm. >> on a december day in 2017, two and a half years after shirley carter's 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. >> there's not a more important courtroom anywhere in this state and this courtroom today, right now. >> bill carter's lawyer, mark opened by telling the jury only one person wanted surely dead. >> the killer is sitting a few feet from here. that's 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 carter's lawyer plead jason's 9-1-1 call. he argued, jason's stated something about the time of death he couldn't possibly have known. >> it looks like she's 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 wasn't me? >> then bill's lawyer attacked jason's character. to show the jury he wasn't a devoted family man. >> do you solemnly swear -- >> i do. >> jason's other moment took the stand. her name, tara hogan. she was questioned by another of bill's 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 bill's 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 couldn't 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 bill's 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 he'd 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 granary. and that your sister and brother will inherit everything above ground. >> the lawyer mapped out his theory. had shirley found out about jason's affair. and if shirley new, then bill son 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 carter's lawyers, steve, challenged the accusation that jason in his 9- 1-1 call, was trying to push back that time of shirley's death to morning hours, when he'd been accounted for on video at the granary. >> it looks like she's 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 should've done this and you should have done this and that, i think it's just ridiculous. >> as for jason's 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 doesn't make a man a killer. >> jason's 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 didn't 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 it's not jason carter. it's 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. >> jason's 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 wouldn't 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 significant evidence against jason carter. >> when "dateline" continues. >> when "dateline" continues. there they are! everybody get their banking done? let's go! drive! we got to go! someone's in a hurry. annnd doo-do-do-doooo-do! one mississippi. two mississippi. -can we go!? -yeah! faster! oh, no sirree. you see, i get discounts for my safe driving with snapshot from progressive. you should see my savings -- they're nuts. you told us he was a skilled wheelman. no, i'm a wheelman. it's a family name on my mother's side. -what? -irish. perhaps you know me as, "the dragon warrior." it's a family name on my mother's side. po. master shifu. that's much worse. i will become the world's greatest villain by destroying the world's greatest hero. what is it you're holding? a cookie. ah! one last dragon warrior smackdown. oh come on! i'm gonna lead you right to her front door. shhh. achoo! [ passing wind ] judge: the court will now read the verdict. dennis murphy (voiceover): with the civil case decided >> the court will now er, read verdict -- >> with the civil case decided against jason carter, finding him liable for the death of his mother, the district attorney decided it was time to act. 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? >> didn't 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 carter's guilt ever since that initial interrogation a few days after the murder. >> i'm telling you the truth. the god awful truth. i'm telling you the truth. >> you're 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 failed -- >> by a big margin? >> huge margin. >> so, he totally blew with the polygraph. ? >> 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 wouldn't be a good outcome. >> why do you say that? >> if my son is guilty of first degree murder, that's not a good outcome. >> that's a bad choice? >> you'll 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, let's 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 isn't about money, it's about pressure. it's about am i going to be able to be a full-time farmer? >> this time around, the burden of proof would be higher. beyond a reasonable doubt. and that's 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 it's outcome, ed bull's hansen would also be tied by the judges ruling that the jury wouldn't be allowed to hear jason's 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 jason's 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. >> there's 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 carter's 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 weren't completed. weren't followed. we're 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 wasn't 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 jason's 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 nation's most famous pathologist for hire, cyril wecht, 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, it's 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 cali's involvement. >> that's right, yes. >> not aware of jeremy morris. >> i did become aware of jason morris. i'm 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 jason's lawyer argued the investigation hadn't 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. everybody wants super straight, super white teeth. they want that hollywood white smile. new sensodyne clinical white provides 2 shades whiter teeth and 24/7 sensitivity protection. i think it's a great product. it's going to help a lot of patients. wowwww... this new charmin ultra soft smooth tear is soooo soft and soo smooth, i'm starting to get tearied away! ahhh, thank you mr. smooth bear. designed with smooth tear edges, new charmin ultra soft smooth tear has wavy perforations that tear so much better for a smooth more enjoyable go. mmmmm. huh? mom, you ok in there? i'm tear-ific! enjoy the go with charmin. [♪♪] your skin is ever-changing, take care of it with gold bond's healing formulations of 7 moisturizers and 3 vitamins. for all your skins, gold bond. this election is about who shares your values. formulations of 7 moisturizers let me share mine. i'm the only candidate with a record of taking on maga republicans, and winning. when they overturned roe, i secured abortion rights in our state constitution. when trump attacked our lgbtq and asian neighbors, i strengthened our hate crime laws. i fought for all of us struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living. i'm evan low, and i approve this message for all of our shared values. what do i see in peter dixon? i see my husband... the father of our girls. i see a public servant. a man who served under secretary clinton in the state department... where he took on the epidemic of violence against women in the congo. i see a fighter, a tenacious problem-solver... who will go to congress and protect abortion rights and our democracy. because he sees a better future for all of us. i'm peter dixon and i approved this message. welcome back. >> welcome back. at jason carter's 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 mom's death and a tr with the criminal case now wrapping up, the stakes were raised for father and son. here's 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. >> there's so many holes in this investigation. there's so much that isn't even explored. >> jason's defense attorney made one last plea. >> and in reality, the forensic evidence says jason carter couldn't 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 mother's death. so, that lead investigator felt good about things. >> we felt this is it. and i had that feeling and emotion of, he's 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. it's been a long time coming. >> jason was a free man. that district attorney says he gave his best shot. >> so, you're giving the jury this argument of a moment of rage, but you can't really play that movie for them egg explain what it was. it's not a very satisfying thing to see, something happen, he went downstairs, got the rifle, killed his mom. >> i don't disagree with you. i wish that there was a better story i could tell, but i'm limited based on what the facts are that i can prove to a jury. and that's the best i had. >> but that wasn't 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. >> that's 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 he'd always known. as a farmer with cycles that don't stop. it's planting season, i imagine seeds are going in the ground? >> that's 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 it's 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 it's a matter of father versus son. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm natalie morales. thank you for watching. for wat i'm andrea canning. thank you for watching. >> this is dateline. >> he wasn't my biological child, but my heart, you can't tell that to my heart. i love that boy. it's not fair thought he was taken from his children or from his family. >> jessie fell for vince, a man in uniform holding the fort during his long deployments. >> my hat goes off to all military wives. it's not sy

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