And changed everything. This this bizarre story, the strangest thing of all was the truth. He planned for any scenario except for the one that happened to him. Im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres keith morrison. There are people on this glorious sun kissed planet of ours who get up early every morning happy to be alive and worry. Some people worry a very great deal indeed and do try to be prepared for whatever. One of those prepared people was a brilliant retired University Professor named Kay Mortenson whose sister was a woman need fern. What would happen if im not prepared or im hungry or my kids are hungry, can i come to your house . He said ill probably just shoot you. He wouldnt have but he was definitely willing to protect what he had. Yes. He certainly was. And sure enough, one night 911. What the address of your emergency. Were getting ahead of ourselves. What happened that night was a long time coming. It was long before that when kay became a survivalist with attitude. You knew exactly what he thought about everything and even though he knew what he was saying would be outrageous and not accepted, he would say it any way. He had a black belt in karate. He owned scores of firearms and kept guns in just about every room of the house and in all of his cars. A fully stocked concrete bunker outside his home in utah. He had food. He had everything there. Water. Way to go to the bathroom. Magazines. Books to read. Kay was very clear about it with his wife, darla. He would say this is where you and are going to end up because thereses going to be nuclear war. He was a true patriot. He worried about things and wanted to be prepared for the civil war that was going to erupt and so he was a little over the top. Darla wasnt thrilled about it but she accepted him and his radical views. After all, they were still kind of in their honeymoon phase. It was all kind of surreal. We both felt like we were back being teenagers again. We both hadnt really had love for quite a few years. They found each other late in life after both had raised families. Kay had three Adult Children by then. One of whom his eldest, roger, stayed close. He was my best friend. We did everything together. Mind you roger was not at all like kay. For one thing, he suffered a brain injury in an accident years ago so unlike kay he couldnt work much. Lived on disability. He liked to hang out with his dad. We lived less than a mile apart because we did enjoy spending so much time together. If i ever needed help, he would be there in a minute to help me. Although, said rogers wife, pam, it wasnt always easy. Thats just the way kay was wired. Rogers dad was a very strong willed person. It was his way or the highway. So roger learned early to shy away from confrontation with his father. If he said something that roger maybe disagreed or wanted to do a different way, roger would leave. He would come back and everything would be good again. Not at all how it was with his new love, darla. When she was around, they said, kays tough hide melted. We knew then that he really loved her and was willing to compromise and do some things so he could make her happy also. Did it seem to soften him up a little bit . It did. A lot. So kay and darla got married. Married couple. And they were as happy as either one of them had ever been. He would say what else do we need to do . We are retired. We have plenty of money. Well just have fun. Kay was a rich man. Made most of his money buying gold at 250 an ounce said darla. He had the foresight. He was the dollar bill that wont be worth anything. He put his money into a trust so that loroger and other childn would inherit everything once he was gone. Heaven knows he wasnt spending it. Worth millions but he was very frugal. Very frugal. I just used to say to him, you know i said, when is it youre going to spend your money . What are you waiting for . So kay promised darla he would travel with her. See the world. But he made sure his bunker was stocked and he kept his guns close to hand. Just in case. And then it was november 16th, 2009. Darla was away watching her granddaughters. Kay was alone at his house. 911, whats the address of your emergency . It was evening when the call came in. I have help on the way. I need to get information. Are you sure that hes dead . Darla was on her way home. Her cell phone chirped. It was a neighbor. He said something terrible has happened. He says i think its at your house. Darlas mind flashed to kay and his guns. I thought, oh my gosh. He probably shot an invader or something. She phoned a family friend. She said something is going on. Im alone. Can you come bodown and meet wi me. Police blocked off the road to led to kay and darlas house and now darla and chris thought exactly the same thing. Kay probably shot someone. Turned out kay never got the chance. Are you sure your dead is cold to the touch . His son makes an agonizing discovery and stumbles right into a murder scene. They said youre at the wrong place, wrong time. [ male announcer ] nobody knows where or when the next powerful storm is going to hit. But it will. Thats why theres a new duracell battery. Introducing duracell quantum. With its high density core, its a quantum leap in battery power. The next storm is out there. But so are the heroes. So were giving a million duracell quantum to First Responders everywhere. Power. In the hands of the most powerful. Duracell. Trusted everywhere. Every day you stain it. So every day, use crest 3d White Toothpaste to remove up to 90 of surface stains in just 5 days. No wonder the number one whitening brand is crest 3d white. For Digestive Health . Yes and did you know that trubiotics is a daily probiotic that helps in two ways . It supports digestive and immune health by working in your gut where 70 of your immune system lives. 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Dont forget im having brunch with meghan tomorrow. Who . Meghan, my coworker. Who . Seriously . Youve met her like three times. Who . sighs geico. Fifteen minutes could save you. Well, you know. Everyone knew that Kay Mortenson was always prepared surrounded himself with a variety arsenal of firearms. Just a tough old bird that could defend himself against just about anything. He would always say if anyone tries to break in here, ill kill them. Life, no matter how well we prepare, is full of rude surprises as it was for Kay Mortenson. It was november 16th, 2009, just before thanksgiving. Hi. We have police on the way to help you there. Are you sure your dad is cold to the touch . Kay did not shoot some intruder as he long promised he was prepared to do. No. Somebody killed him without firing a shot. The man on the phone reporting the crime, roger mortenson, kays eldest son. Sliced his throat . Yes. It wasnt long before kays wife, darla, had made it to the mouth of the canyon and was led to the command post that had been set up just down the hill from their home. Thats where they gave her the news. Your life just comes tumbling down. You have it all planned out. You think you know what it will be and then everything is gone. Kay caught off guard, not kay, thought darla. Impossible. But that seemed to be just what happened. At least thats what roger and pam told the police and later us. In a very strange story it was. It began, they said, when pam received a pie at work as a gift. We knew how much he loved that pecan pie and we decided as soon as she got home from work to take him that pie. So they said they went to his house intending to drop off the pie and then leave. But when they got there, they said, there was an unfamiliar car in the driveway. Pam said she knocked on the door and a young man answered. I said is key here. He said he is. Hes upstairs. I said were just here to drop off a pie. They said go ahead in. I got to about the landing when i was asked to come back down. I heard the door shut. When i turned around, thats when i saw the gun. What was it like to see that . It was a shock. As soon as we turned around and saw the gun, another guy started walking down the stairs also. He had in his hand a wad of zip ties. They turned to us and said youre here at the wrong place, wrong time. Hold out your hands. The intruders zip tied their wrists and forced them down on the living room floor and zip tied their ankles. After we were tied up, they said im sorry but you have seen our faces. Were going to have to kill you now. Pam quaking in terror looked up at a picture of jesus hanging on the living room wall. I kept think, heavenly father, if you really love me and care for me, please make us get through this. It calmed me to keep looking at that picture of christ and to be able to help roger stay calm. That really had an impact on you . It did. Why . It just brought me comfort. It brought me peace to know that even if they killed you . To know that my heavenly father loves me and that he would do the right thing for me. Both men left the room, they said, and then roger began praying aloud. He was in mid sentence when the men walked back in and something quite amazing happened. My wife nudged me and said be quiet. Theyre back. One said, no, thats okay. Keep praying. Go ahead. They both folded their arms in front of them and bowed their heads and listened to me as i continued this entire prayer. How weird is that . When i got done with the prayer, we both sat down and their demeanor changed at that point. One of them looked at us and says, well, we decided were not going to kill you. We decided that were going to tell you a story that you need to relay to the police. What was that story the intruders told them to stay . The three black men with ski masks invaded the house. Three, not two as they actually were. Black, not white, as they actually were and then said roger, they took his drivers license and said they would know if he or pam told the truth and if that happened, they would hunt him down and they would kill him. And then the two men left. Roger and pam waited a while. Got out of the zip ties and roger ran upstairs while pam dialed 911. She was on the phone with the operator when roger found his father in the upstairs bathroom. I saw my father kneeling over the bathtub. His feet were tied and his head was down in the bathtub. Inconceivable. Tough, resilient, armed to the teeth kay murdered with his own kitchen knife. What a story. Sergeant eric knutson was assigned to the case. The first officer talking to pam and roger called him. He said something wasnt right here. It seems that some things were staged or just not what he would think would be normal for a crime as heinous or as vicious as this. Something about that bizarre story didnt sit right. He just couldnt put his finger on it. Not yet any way. Coming up, problem was that bizarre story got weirder by the minute. They had purple gloves on. They had blue fuzzy gloves. Really . The death of Kay Mortenson was horrific, humiliating, helpless to defend himself inside his own sacred fortress. The killer had bent him over his own bathtub, slashed his throat several times, stabbed his neck, with all those guns and not a single one fired. It seemed so personal. Sergeant eric knutson got a briefing from the first officer at the scene who turned on his audio recorder when he met kays son, roger, and rogers wife, pam. Roger had found the body and was already suggesting possible killers. He told me he had an appointment for lunch at noon with a guy name mike kipp discussing 25,000 worth of guns. Mike kipp . Mike was kays former student. Roger and pam identified him real quick. Hes involved. He owes my dad money. Hes the one who did this. Roger told detectives that kay was holding a collection of mikes weapons, about 30 of them, mostly pistols and rifles and some shotguns. Kay put the guns in his bunker. Roger thought there might be a grudge involved. When detectives went to look for the guns, they were gone. So we pull in michael kipp that night too. We interview him and get his alibi. Its quick. Nothing suspicion about it. Mike had not a thing to do with kays murder. He simply needed money and kay agreed to buy his guns. By now tips were coming in. This female said, its the baker boys. She said the baker boys did this. The baker boys were brothers who fairly or not had developed a reputation as the towns trouble makers. Detectives found them. They had solid alibis and then the next day another tip. A woman who implicated her own husband. He came home last night the time frame before the homicide and grabbed stuff including a knife and hes been looking for guns. So i know hes involved. The womans husband was eventually eliminated as a suspect. Detectives hope maybe the stolen guns would lead them to kays killer. We recovered a lot of firearms that were stolen but none linked. That highlighted another aspect of the mystery. Kay, remember collected firearms. Had close to 100 valuable guns locked up at his house but the thieves just stole the cheaper ones at the bunker. Bizarre to take those guns and not the valuable collection that kay had. Agreed. In fact, the inside of kays house was pristine, untouched, no sign anyone had stolen anything. If this was a home invasion, it was an odd one. But by then truth be told, detectives were already honing in on the two people who admitted they were there the whole time. Kays son, roger, and his wife, pam. Are you sure that hes dead . Starting with that 911 call they made. Something odd about it. Didnt sound how i would think a phone call should be made to 911 after discovering your father had just been killed with the throat cut and zip tied in the bathroom. Roger and pam, said detectives, appeared to be unemotional, uncaring. Even callus. Even though they claimed the gunman stood over them and kept them hostage for almost two hours. At first, pam couldnt seem to describe the men. The guy that had the gun, what did he look like . White guy, black guy . Hispanic . Maam, i dont know. She seemed uncertain even about the number of gunmen. How many were there . How many guys were there . There could have been three. Listen to what happened next. Roger took the phone and changed the story. Were they white, black, hispanic . They were white. Three white males. Two white males. Roger explained the reason for the apparent confusion that if they ever revealed what their captors looked like, they would be hunted down and killed. Did you buy that . I didnt. They didnt appear fearful. They were saying it but they werent really acting fearful. Why would vicious killers not have killed them too . The night of the murder knutson interviewed them. My name is eric knutson by the way. Did they seem nervous . Not nervous or agitated. Just not emotional. He was a dangerous old fart. As they told their stories, detectives started noticing subtle differences. They had blue fuzzy gloves that looked like womens Winter Driving gloves or something. Fuzzy kind. They had purple gloves on. Purple medical gloves. Lots of details on which they didnt agree. So Sergeant Knutson decided to employ a well known police technique. I think this story is crap that you and roger have come up with. Okay. Sorry, you dont believe me. Im trying to. It sounds too rehearsed. I want them to say i had nothing to do with this. Detective, youre crazy. I had nothing to do with this. Thats what i wanted to hear. It never came out. Listen to what did come out. Is your husband capable of killing somebody . I wouldnt hope. I mean, i wouldnt think he is. I wouldnt think hes capable of killing his own father. Detectives found collection notices and unsent mortgage coupons suggesting at least that they were behind in their house payments. I know were in a lot of debt but we i personally would not have my father in law killed for his money. And yet as roger told the detective i get a big share of my dads millions. Within days of the murder, pam and roger agree to go back to the house with detectives for a videotaped retelling of their intruder story. At the front door my wife was holding the pie right here. Did that provide you any useful information . It provided useful information from our standpoint in terms of more circumstantial evidence that theyre not being 100 truthful. Once again, detectives heard foggy memories. She knocked on the door or rang the doorbell. I believe she knocked on the door. They heard dialogue that sounded like a bad crime movie. He pointed at us and said youre here at the wrong time. Put out your hands. But then there was that same strange lack of emotion when roger described what should have been the worst moment of his life. I came back downstairs and my wife was talking at the time to 911 dispatch. And i said hes dead. Roger and pam took a polygraph test and what do you know . Roger was found to be deceptive and pam was jumpy. The operator couldnt complete the test. But still roger and pam swore up and down they had nothing to do with it. They were victims themselves. Truth be told, the Police Needed real evidence and out of the blue something arrived. And that new evidence, Something Else that was strange. Someone saw the killing in a dream. I have a photo lineup drawn up and she puts her finger right on rogers face. If youre seeing spots before your eyes. Its time. For aveeno® positively radiant face moisturizer. 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