Transcripts For KNTV Dateline NBC 20140817

A trail of sinister clues. There was three wet blood spots in the hallway. There was all sorts of ammunition and guns. Firearms on magnets behind tapestries, firearms in drawers all over this house. He had his arm around a big roll of plastic. And my brain goes, theres a body. Could anyone put it all together and sleuth out the truth . What did that say to you . Well, it says a lot to me. Reporter october 28th, 2009. Routine call, middle of the day. Dispatch sent a squad car to talk to the two ladies whod phoned it in. What was it they said . Two cars where they shouldnt be . Someone moving something bulky from one to the other. Back when it started, the love birds should have known probably that it was too good to be true. Or too good to last anyway. After all, he seemed something of a selfmade mutt and she the purebred heiress type, the goldenhaired daughter of a wealthy alpha male. Whatever. By the time they promised their eternal love, the clock to its end was ticking. Inaudible to them, of course. Like a whistle only a dog can hear. Which, come to think of it, begs the question how did he, of all people, miss it . His name was mark stover. And he discovered quite early that he had some special, eerily mystical connection with dogs. When he talked to them, they listened. He was born with a gift. Reporter stover had become known as seattles dog whisperer. I mean, its not as simple as just giving them treats or clicker training or Something Like that. He spoke to the animals. Reporter with talents that amazed his loyal clients. Starbucks chairman howard schultz, pearl jams eddie vedder, Major League Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki brought him their dogs. You know one of his phrases was, we trained everybody in seattle from nordstrom to nirvana, but he was much more than a dog trainer to the stars. Reporter a longtime employee. Come on, sampson. He trained everyone, you know . It didnt matter to him who they were. It was about the person and the dog and the relationship between the person and the dog, not who they were. Stormy, come. Reporter this woman liked him so much as a client, she went to work for him. He would connect with you. Hed find something that he could talk to you about, and then hed help you train your dog. Reporter and the setting for marks dog whispering business . Incomparable. Oh, its beautiful. Its a wonderful place. Reporter kiket island is what its called. An 84acre teardrop of primeval forest and meadows and beaches plunked a few feet offshore, a 90minute commute north of seattle. The dogs could go swimming in the water there. Theres plenty of trail walks. And it was just really, really outdoorsy and beautiful. Reporter outdoorsy and beautiful are words which also happen to describe the human love of marks life, Linda Opdycke. The willowy blonde daughter of Wally Opdycke, the wealthy investor whod once helped found chateau ste. Michelle winery. Linda seemed a Perfect Match for mark, according to the clients and friends who knew him best. She was mark two. You know, i mean, they were peas in a pod. They had similar hobbies. Theyd hunt and fish, you know, go camp somewhere. That kind of stuff. He just thought she was the most wonderful thing since sliced bread basically. Reporter very protective of his linda was mark, as clients could clearly tell. He just thought she was beautiful, wonderful, smart. Never, never, ever said anything bad about her. Never. Reporter seemed to be in love . He was. He was totally totally crazy about her. Reporter it was lindas father, Wally Opdycke, who owned kiket island. Mark and linda lived there on wallys island and grew their very successful business together. And then in 2002, they made their union permanent. An intimate wedding ceremony in the president ial suite of the las vegas four seasons. Here was Wally Opdycke toasting his new soninlaw. Mark, welcome to the opdycke family. Reporter but maybe nothing is forever. It was just three years later when linda told the employees she was taking an extended vacation. Alone. And that vacation kept extending and extending, and she just never came back. Reporter so separation. There was a brief affair. Linda with one of marks best friends, and then divorce. About as ugly as divorce can be. I was shocked. I really was. Reporter so was mark, apparently. Quite thoroughly devastated, by all accounts. Because now he had lost not just the lub love of his life, but he had to leave kiket island, too. Losing her, losing all this. It was, we hardly need say, a black period for just about here. Some quite disturbing episodes, actually. Well get to those later. Suffice to say for now that, eventually, life went on. It was just divorce, after all. Not death. Not yet anyway. Mark found a new property in nearby anacortes, washington. If it wasnt kiket island, it was not bad. He moved into a new house, new kennels, new start. He had found the place that was gonna be perfect for him, and it was going to be all his, and i think he was very much looking forward. He wasnt looking back. Reporter eventually, there was also her. Her name is teresa. On our third date, though, he let me know that he wanted to marry me. Reporter third date . I was pretty shocked, yeah. Reporter what was it about you that he liked . He liked that i listened and that i was careful with the information that he gave me. Not just information but with his heart. Reporter which had been really badly damaged, and he worried about that. Didnt want it to happen again . He saw a safe harbor in you. I think so. Reporter safe harbor . Well, maybe she was, as they made plans for a life together. But even then, in the fall of 2009, an ill wind was picking up. Marks employees couldnt help but notice it. He was off somehow. He was very different, and he told me that he was very paranoid. Hed actually been locking his doors. Reporter even though, as everyone knew, marks highly trained guard dog, ding, would have protected him from anything. I asked him why he was locking his doors because he had ding. And he said, i dont know. Im just a little weirded out about something. Reporter he didnt say what . No, he didnt say what. And mark, it would take a lot to spook someone like mark. He was always very aware of his surroundings. Reporter mmhmm. Almost doglike. And if there was something there, someone there, he knew it. Reporter and then, october 28th, mark stopped calling teresa. No explanation. So i hadnt heard from him all day and i thought towards the end of the day, it started seeming odd. But then the next day when i hadnt heard it from him by 9 00, i got one of the employees on the phone, and i said, what is going on there . Wheres mark . So they told me, you know, we havent seen mark. We hadnt seen him all day yesterday. And i knew in my heart something terrible had happened. Reporter but what . Well, theres the puzzle. Does anybody know, even now . Strange goingson at mark stovers place. The dogs are restless. And neighbors are about to find out why. It took my breath away. [ computer beeps ] [ male announcer ] finally a paint thats stain resistant and scrubbable. Introducing new valspar reserve. Now the colors you love stay the colors you love. Exclusively at lowes. Put pantene to the test. Healthier hair . Now the colors you love stay the colors you love. When hair loses protein, it splits. Pantene helps stop split ends before they start. So your hair passes the needle test. Get hair so healthy you shine, with pantene. All the goodness of milk, all the deliciousness of hersheys syrup. That new guy is like yeah but youll regret it. What about him . Healthy like this super smoothie. Yeeeeuk the perfect man and the perfect snack, dont exist. You sure . Try dannon oikos greek nonfat yogurt. Perfect cause its healthy with 0 fat and 12 gr. Of protein and so creamy. Mmm. 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Mark stover was a bit like one of his welltrained dogs. He was a creature of habit. Always on time. Never missed an appointment. In bed early. Up with the sun. And every wednesday mark hit the road for the hourandahalf drive south to seattle for sessions with his loyal clients, a schedule which employees amber we used to always joke that he was up, he beat the rooster out of bed. Reporter and beth he was usually on the road by 7 00. Reporter and stephanie he had his breakfast and beat seattle traffic. Reporter knew very well. But on the morning of wednesday, october 28th, 2009, nothing was routine, nothing at all. First, stephanie, whose own house is right next door to the kennels, woke up to a chorus of barking dogs. It was, she thinks, about 6 00 a. M. And the kennel dogs were very, very upset. It was a huge ruckus next door. Reporter occasionally, that sort of thing would happen. Very seldom. Very seldom to that extent. Reporter then, 8 00 a. M. , amber arrived at the kennels. And still the dogs were upset. They would not settle in that morning. Reporter odd. Then someone told her mark was still around. He mustnt have left yet for seattle. And i thought that was strange because he was supposed to be gone over an hour prior. Reporter she walked to the house where mark made a habit of leaving the carport door unlocked so the employees could use the bathroom. And i noticed a little bit of blood in the driveway. I was afraid that his dog had opened her stitches because shed had surgery. Reporter marks dog, ding, wasnt just any pet. She was a highly skilled protection dog. A lot of blood, a little blood . A little blood. Reporter but noticeable. Noticeable. And i proceeded towards the house and tried to go through the back door, and it was locked, which was very, very odd. Reporter then not long after, stephanie arrived and noticed perhaps a hundred yards from where she stood down in the field marks Station Wagon was backed up to the carport area of his house. I was kind of surprised that it was parked where it was parked because it was never parked there. It was really hard to get it into that position to begin with. Reporter anyway, why hadnt he left for seattle . It was then she noticed, must be mark up at the house. Someone who had marks hat on, you know, which i thought was mark, was bringing Something Big into the back of the car. Reporter big, big, big . It looked like to me. So i was thinking he was carrying ding and putting her in the back of the car. Reporter ding, who, remember, was recovering from surgery. And then he went to get into his car. He was wearing marks hat, marks coat. And closed the car door and then proceeded to like scream down the driveway which mark would never have done. Reporter did you call out to him or wave . I waved and i went, ugh, i hope thats mark. Reporter i hope thats mark . Well, of course it must have been, stephanie thought, rushing a bleeding ding to the vet. About 20 minutes later, stephanie walked up to the house to use the bathroom. This time the door was unlocked. About this was weird. Before i even got to the door, there was this immense smell of bleach. Reporter bleach . Yeah, like it took my breath away. Reporter and inside the house . There was three wet, what looked like blood spots in the hallway that had, obviously, been just cleaned, and they were still drying. Reporter perhaps ding had bled on the carpet and mark had cleaned it up . But why would he take the time . He wouldnt stop and spend half an hour cleaning. His main thing would be getting ding to the vet, then getting to his appointments. Reporter but other than those wet spots, Everything Else appeared to be the way mark would have left it. I was looking for bloody towels. I was looking for bloody paper towels. The bathroom was immaculate. There was absolutely nothing in the washing machine. There was nothing in the tub. Reporter stephanie wasnt sure what was going on, but it all felt kind of creepy. My thoughts were, well, that was freaky. And i got out of there, and i didnt go back up to the house the rest of the day. Reporter you went on with the day . Mmhmm. Reporter but a strange day it was. And as the hours ticked by, there was no word from mark. No one could reach him by phone. It was very odd that we had not talked to him. It was very strange. Reporter the following morning, october 29th, still no sign of mark, no word from him at all. Again, stephanie went up toward his house. And i looked up and there stood ding by the back door. And she was obviously hurt. She was growling. And so i started talking to her nicely thinking, oh, my god, what is she doing here and whats going on . And i backed down the driveway. Reporter at about the same time the phone rang in the kennel. It was marks fiancee, teresa. When they told me ding was out, there was blood. Ding is never out, ever. She is either in the house or shes with mark. Shes not just out barking at people. Reporter no mark. Injured dog. Teresa, frantic now, called the Skagit County Sheriffs Department. All of those circumstances were very suspicious. Reporter this is detective dan luvera. Oh, i immediately thought foul play. This is huge. Theres more to the story, and there definitely was. More to the story . Yes, there apparently was. Starting with a secret history, stories of a marriages ugly aftermath. She had been calling key clients and saying really horrible things about him to damage the business. Not that great at yoga. Yeah, but when i slipped a disk he paid my claim in just four days. Ahh four days . Yep. Find out how fast aflac can pay you, at aflac. Com. Are you about to spend that on paper towels . Mom well, i use bounty. Kerri ooo use sparkle®. Its just right for cleaning up everyday little messes without cleaning out your piggy bank. Sparkle®. The bright way to clean. And when your chocolatey cravings begin. Theres special k. Chocolate almond cereal. Treat yourself with our. Chocolatey collection. An unguilty pleasure. What will you gain . Hi can i help you . Im looking for a phone plan. It has to be a great one, and i dont compromise. Ok, how about 10 gigs of data to share, unlimited talk and text, and for a family of four, its 160 a month. Wow, sounds like a great deal. So im getting exactly what i want, then . Appears so. Now, um, im not too sure what to do with my arms right now cause this is when i usually start throwing things. Oh, thats terrifying at ts bestever family pricing. For instance, a family of four gets 10 gigs of data, with unlimited talk text, for 160 dollars a month. It was evening, october 29th, the day after mark stover disappeared. Skagit county sheriffs detective dan luvera, now retired, told us how he stood in the dark and looked at mark stovers big new house and just knew something very bad happened here. But what . There was no signs of a struggle. There was just a little bit of blood here and there. Reporter of course, marks protection dog, ding, was clearly injured. That could explain those bits of blood. Reporter but in here, earlier that day, just inside the carport door, luveras Investigation Team had been knocked back by the overwhelming odor of bleach. And here in the bathroom off the hall, they found clorox bottles. Looked like someone tried to wash away evidence. This had to be more than just an injured dog. Mark stovers employees told about the strange events the previous morning. The barking dogs, the odd business of the locked carport door, the man wearing marks clothes, roaring down the driveway in marks white chevy Station Wagon. Mark never drove that fast. It didnt look good. The policemen poked around, sniffed, measured. And still no mark stover. The evidence, even without a body, seemed clear. This was homicide. So by now, a couple of days after marks disappearance, his employees were shifting from puzzled to shocked to griefstricken. Mark took a role in my life like a surrogate father. And i truly loved mark as a parent and a friend and a family member. Reporter sometimes the clues in a mystery such as this can be very personal, more about relationships than fingerprints or dna, as detective luvera knew full well. And in the days after mark stovers disappearance, the detective repeatedly encountered a disturbing story. These former lovers were afraid of each other. What happened to that marriage, the one on the heavenly island . In fact, there was a record, the detective discovered. And it was more hell than heaven. Well, mark had issues with linda, and linda had issues with mark. Reporter to put it mildly. Heres the story marks fiancee teresa told the detective. The story, she said, mark told her that linda seemed to be doing her level best to destroy marks dog training business. She had been calling key clients and saying really horrible things about him to damage the business. She called and tried to shut the website down and tried to shut his phones down. Reporter which is why again, this is the story teresa said mark told her why he snooped in her garbage one march morning in 2008. This was a threehour drive from his own house. He went there, said, teresa, to look for a paper trail to prove linda wanted to destroy his business. You know, divorce is never pleasant. Reporter right. But theirs just became very visible and fighting involved the business and reporter he is afraid of losing it . Very much so. Reporter after the garbage incident, linda came up with a whole slew of accusations, that mark had been harassing her ever since she left him. A Domestic Violence protection order was issued against mark in april 2008. Mark was later charged with criminal stalking. He swore up and down that many of the allegations were not true, but he was caught going through her garbage. He eventually took whats known as an alffrd plea, which means he agreed to plead guilty conceding a judge or jury would probably convict him. Even though, he claimed he didnt do it. Much of it, anyway. But here was the deal, and this was important, as part of that arrangement, mark was ordered to give up his guns. For most people that might be easy. But for mark . He had dozens of guns. He loved his guns. It was a passion for him. He loved his hunting. Reporter no guns. No contact with linda. And mark agreed. Heres what teresa says mark told her. This will make it all stop. Reporter in other words, he was telling you, im going to let her win . He said that was important that she needed to win. Reporter was he afraid of her . Oh, yes. Reporter still, after that, things seemed to settle down. Marks business thrived in its new location here in anacortes. He continued to service his clients in seattle. And of course, by then, he had found teresa. But then, in the summer of 2009, two strange 911 calls came into the Skagit County sheriffs office. An anonymous male caller claimed mark stover was transporting drugs in his car. Theres a crime that is going to take place in the morning. Reporter police pulled mark over, found a small amount of marijuana and cocaine underneath the car. But he was not arrested. Mark told police he believed he was being set up. Those were not his drugs. Mark wasnt charged with any crime. But he was terrified . He was terrified that someone was trying to set him up to be charged with transportation of these drugs and facing jail time or prison time or both. Reporter not long after that drug incident, mark opened up to a longtime client. Told her, she said, that he was convinced his days were numbered. He totally shocked me by saying how every time he leaves his house in the morning he checks under his car to make sure theres nothing like a bomb. He was a shaken man. Reporter and then about a month later, she said, he called her on the phone, frantic. It was just breaking him. Just totally breaking him. Because he knew that he wasnt going to survive. He knew it. Reporter wow. He knew his life was over. He just knew it. And that there was nothing he could do about it. Reporter as detective luvera talked to friends and dog owning clients, he heard all about marks fears those last few months. He kept on pointing the finger at linda. But again, there was no evidence to prove that or suggest that, i guess. But he was concerned, and he had this feeling that something terrible was going to happen. Reporter what did he tell you about linda . He told me that she will not rest until im dead. Reporter and it wasnt just linda mark fretted about. He told friends he was afraid of her father, too. Why was he afraid of them . What i can say is often he would comment that they always win and they always get the last word. Reporter and so according to his friends, mark stover spent the late summer and early fall of 2009 in a state of mortal fear. Even escaped, secretly, to montana, says teresa. He would only use cash. He would call me from pay phones. He was very worried, and he even called me and said, you know, if things happen, this is what i want you to do. And, i said, mark, how will i know if something happens to you . And he said, youll know. Reporter and now, of course, she did. Now everyone knew something happened to the dog trainer to the stars. And they might never have known more than just that, a mystery unsolved, except for the strange events in a remote parking lot and two sharpeyed women who now had a story to tell. Hes bent over and he has his arms around a big roll of clear plastic and my brain goes, theres a body. Umm. Lets not do that. Here you go. 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Dulcolax, for relief you can count on. Dulcolax, for relief you can count on. Great rates for great rides. Geico motorcycle, see how much you could save. Here i am. Rock you like a hurricane fiber one now makes cookies. Find them in the cookie aisle. Murder investigations are the top of the craft in the police business. Mostly because they can be tortuous. It can take years to pry loose a single useful lead. But on the day mark stover disappeared, two women saw something that didnt belong and called it in. They were a huge part of starting this whole process. Reporter just a few hours after the employees at marks house watched his car drive away i pulled forward and theres two vehicles behind the chain. Reporter tami gilden and her mother, sharon larson, called the Sheriffs Department to complain that someone was trespassing in the locked parking lot of a grange hall just a half mile from marks house. In fact, they said, they saw two cars. One i. D. d by the license number was marks white chevy Station Wagon. Parked back to back, said the ladies, with a black suzuki suv. And they saw someone moving something between the cars. And hes bent over, and he has his arms around a big roll of, you know, clear plastic. And my brain goes, theres a body. Oh tami, no, theres not a body. Youve been reading too many good murder mysteries. Reporter the man transferring the plastic and whatever was in it drove off in his suv, the ladies reported, leaving mark stovers Station Wagon behind. The sheriffs dispatcher sent a deputy to have a look. And sure enough, the deputy found marks car inside the apparently locked parking lot, behind this chain. Except the lot wasnt exactly locked anymore. When the deputy looked closer to the chain link, he discovered that one of the links had been cut and that link was placed and attached to the other links making it appear that it was intact. Reporter and then, this was pure chance, really. The deputy spotted the suv just down the road and pulled it over, peered around the driver into the back of the suv. There was a lot of stuff in the back of his car. It appeared to be camping type stuff or tarps and plastic type stuff. Reporter the man identified himself as Michiel Oakes. Lived a good five hours away. Worked in internet sales, consulting, a bit of writing. Denied ever being behind the grange. His word against the ladies. The deputy let him go. The deputy just gave him a warning, said, dont go back there, you know, go on your way. Reporter it was just a minor trespassing incident, after all. But now, a day later, it didnt seem so minor. Time to find both cars. The dog trainers car was no longer at the grange hall. But an alert detective noticed it here in the parking lot of the Northern Lights casino, three miles from the place where the ladies had seen it. It looked like blood on the back of the car. And when investigators ordered up the casinos surveillance video, she they saw this. 6 21 p. M. October 28th. Perhaps seven hours after the ladies saw the car at the grange. Here was someone marks car onto the casino parking lot. Whoever it was abandoned it. And now, dan luveras investigation was moving very quickly. Immediately started trying to find out who this Michiel Oakes guy was that was seen behind the grange by the two witnesses. Reporter once police had Michiel Oakes i. D. , they discovered he was spending time with Linda Opdycke, marks exwife. So now two officers from the okanagan county Sheriffs Department paid a visit at lindas house, here in winthrop, washington. And sure enough, there was Michiel Oakes suv in her driveway. Once in the house, the officers asked to speak to oakes. He agreed. But then he said he needed to find his pills. He became agitated or frustrated. Kept on asking for his medication. And the chief, not knowing if michiel was having is some sort of medical issue, allowed him to look around for his medication. Reporter and while supposedly hunting for pills michiel then secretly snuck out to the basement area of the house and went to his vehicle. It just so happened that the sergeant was standing on the deck above the driveway and observed Michiel Oakes walking outside to the driveway. Reporter oakes, apparently not aware he was being watched, took a white bag out of his car, said the officer and tossed it over a 20foot embankment outside lindas house. He immediately questioned michiel about what he threw over the embankment. Michiel said it was garbage. Reporter garbage . Garbage. Reporter but they went to retrieve that bag of garbage. What was actually in it . It was a gun. Reporter inside Michiel Oakes garbage was a. 22 caliber browning pistol. Also in the bag, a bloody swatch of carpet and an overwhelming odor of bleach. And then heres what they found inside lindas house. Bizarre. Oh, there was all sorts of ammunition and guns, firearms on magnets behind tapestries, firearms in drawers. Loaded guns all over this house. Reporter including semiautomatic weapons and bigtime stuff . Yes. Bigtime stuff, yeah. Reporter why . Was an explanation provided for this . No. Reporter before police left Linda Opdyckes house here in winthrop, he arrested Michiel Oakes on suspicion of murder. And back in western washington, a local buzz began to grow. If Michiel Oakes did kill mark stover, was someone else involved somehow . Buzz is discouraged, however, in police work in favor of actual evidence, which in this case arrived in a phone call to police from her. Michiel oakes, it turned out, had an exwife who volunteered a remarkable story about disturbing visits and puzzling messages from mr. Oakes. What did that say to you . It says a lot to me. 3 c3 a mi me dice mucho. Both get detectives attention. What did you think . Oh, i thought, wow, huge red flags. [ computer beeps ] [ male announcer ] finally a paint thats stain resistant and scrubbable. Introducing new valspar reserve. Now the colors you love stay the colors you love. Exclusively at lowes. Everybody here got the lunchtime blues they need to be inspired Something Better than the rest. New lipton peach iced tea with that ham and cheese it tastes so sunshiney [ carl ] drink it down and youll believe the taste of peachiosity compared to a dry duster, a can of pledge picks up more dust and cleans 100 of messes. Pledge multi surface. Dusts better. Cleans more. Remind me to tell her happy anniversary. [ cortana ] next time you talk to caroline, ill remind you. [ siri ] oh no, i cannot do that. Oh, and remind me to get roses when im near any flower shop. Sure thing. Remind you when you get to flower shop. I cant do that either. Cortana, its gonna be a great night. [ beep ] oh wow thanks for the traffic alert. I better get going. Now that is a smart phone. Oh, wait its cause you make me smile sometimes the worst thing a person can do is try to influence his own fate. As Michiel Oakes sat in back of a police car under arrest on suspicion of the murder of dog whisperer mark stover, he was given an unusual opportunity. He was allowed to make several calls from his cell phone. He decided, for reasons of his own, to place one of them to a woman named Jennifer Thompson, his exwife. Why . Well, we can only speculate that the result of that call may have been the very opposite of what he intended. Heres what happened. Not long after oakes phoned her from the police car, jennifer placed a call of her own to the county jail. She asked to speak to an investigator. And not long after that call, this was the story she told in an audio taped interview. On october 24, 2009, four days before mark stover disappeared, Michiel Oakes stopped in to see her at her place in western washington, not too many miles from the stover kennels and talked to her about a job he was supposed to do. He didnt give me a lot of specifics, he just said he was here on a job, side job. Said there was risks involved, possible injury to himself. That it was fairly dangerous. Reporter at which point he left for a few hour, then contacted her again. He texted me and said job failed. Im okay. No pay, though. Reporter no pay . No pay. Reporter what did that say to you . It says a lot to me. It says that reporter somebodys paying him. Somebody is paying him, somebody has hired him. Reporter does that sound like Michiel Oakes was a hired killer . Well, wait. Theres more. Jennifer told the police that after michiel left on the 24th he told her in an email hed be back in the area later that week. And sure enough, on oct. 28th, not long after that deputy pulled him over to investigate the trespassing incident, oakes called again, said jennifer. Came to meet her. He asked her to drive to a spot near the water, she said, where they could talk. Yeah, because he was just sitting there in a frenzy just stressed out. He just seemed very agitated. And he mentioned that he may be in trouble. Reporter and then another reference to a job, a job gone bad. He said, well, i made an error doing the job. I made an error. And when i realized the error, i tried to get out of there. But when i was getting out of there, two old biddies saw me. I said why is this a problem . And he said well now, when the [ bleep ] hits the fan in the next 24 to 48 hours, they have my name. Theres a 5050 shot of getting questioned. If he gets questioned hes guaranteed a trial and if he gets a trial there is no one thats gonna stick up for him and hes pretty much going to prison and he said looking at felony 10 to 15 years. Reporter so big trouble, he told jennifer. There was evasive action to take, work to be done. He was really concerned about getting pulled over with the things in his vehicle. Um, he wanted to get them home and get them sterilized. And he said if anyone sees this now, im going in right away. Going in, meaning he would be arrested right away he felt . Right. Reporter and if all that wasnt incriminating enough, here was the capper. Jennifer told police the story of how their marriage fell apart. It happened in spring of 2008, said jennifer. Thenhusband michiel told her about a phone call from someone named john. He told me that there was a potential job coming up that he was interested in taking. About a woman and an exspouse that was harassing her. The father of the woman was initiating the job. Reporter a father with a daughter named linda, and it seems there was a plan in store for lindas exhusband. That they would basically use linda as sort of bait to lure the, um, exspouse toward her, and then they would they were to show signs of hurting her, killing her, then they would take him out. Okay. And by taking him out, you meant or you understood that to be they would kill him . Reporter linda and her father . Could that be wally and Linda Opdycke, the police wondered . Mark stovers exfatherinlaw and exwife plotting to kill him . It was a wild story jennifer told and, of course, horrifying, given what seemed to have happened. Jennifer said she told michiel back then, dont do it. Walk away. But he wouldnt listen. And thats when things started going bad. Well, jennifer and michiels marriage started to unravel because michiel had considered taking this job. And jennifer knew that this was a kill for hire, and she didnt want to have any part of it. Reporter and thus didnt want to be married to a guy who was going to do such a thing . Exactly, yeah. Reporter but, remember, awful though it sounded, this was an exwifes story. And all due respect to jennish maybe she just had a vendetta against him because, after all, he was the ex. Didnt she want him back desperately . He wouldnt come back . Yeah, she still had feelings for him. Reporter so maybe she would just want to get him . No. Jennifer was very well spoken, very articulate, very believable. She was a type of woman that you would want to take home to your mom and dad. She was just very sweet. Reporter of course, for dan luvera and his team of investigators, this was all pure gold. Or so youd assume, wouldnt you . But assumptions are not the same thing as evidence and we didnt have any evidence to support that linda or wally were directly involved other than what Jennifer Thompson had told us. Reporter why not just call them in and ask them . They wouldnt talk to us. We got a letter and a phone call from wallys attorney immediately after Michiel Oakes arrest, stating that Wally Opdycke would not talk to us. Reporter well, had you asked him by then . No, we have not even requested to interview wally. We hadnt even called him. Reporter what did you think . Well, i thought, wow, huge red flags. I thought, wow, this guy, we havent even asked to talk to him and he already has an attorney. And the attorney is already contacting us telling us not to contact Wally Opdycke . It was crazy. Same with linda. She hired an attorney right away. Reporter linda invoked her fifth amendment right to remain silent. A judge ultimately ordered her to sit for a deposition. Still didnt say anything. Pretty much every question we asked her she took the fifth on. Reporter so there was one defendant in the murder of mark stover. Michiel oakes. But he certainly didnt look the part of a hired killer. All 56 of him. Soft spoken, understated, articulate. Father of four, grandfather of one. Yeah, he is not your hollywood casting for hitman. Reporter but cast as defense attorney . Seattles colorful and irrepressible John Henry Browne. Hes a really kind, compassionate, loving guy. Reporter could anyone believe what happened next . The accused murderer released on bond . The question, was there even a murder . And the other question, who was the real villain anyway . Turns out there was a very different side to this story. You wanted to provide a little twist, a surprise . Yeah. And boy, would he. E in flext the only prefilled insulin pen with no pushbutton extension. Levemir® lasts 42 days without refrigeration. Thats 50 longer than lantus®, which lasts 28 days. 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In the months after their famous tulips wilted and the summer sun finally favored mt. Vernon, washington, events at became a kind of parlor guessing game. A quiet little man named Michiel Oakes had been charged with killing the dogtraining wizard mark stover even though no one could find marks body. Still, the charge, murder in first degree. But early legal skirmishing seemed sometimes to merely add confusion. Was it murder, oakes a hired gun . Or was it Something Else altogether . And besides that, how intimate was oakes relationship with mark stovers exwife, linda . And who was paying for his famous defense attorney . The opdyckes are behind it. The opdyckes are behind this. And you know, they hired me. Ill tell you, if they hired me, i wouldnt be wearing my timex, okay . You know, thats ridiculous. Reporter John Henry Browne settled into a local hotel and set to work deconstructing the prevailing public view of defendant Michiel Oakes. Here in court, browne sucked up the attention. And i would suggest counsel come to trial, and shell find out. Reporter naturally flamboyant. I dont think i have a dog in this fight. Reporter while the client seemed to disappear into the woodwork behind him. A client who, said John Henry Browne, was not at all the villain the prosecution seemed determined to portray. What we have is a man who has on his own raised, very successfully, four children. Reporter it became, shall we say, a theme. Michiel oakes, single father of four, grandfather of one. Wellspoken, mildmannered. But certainly not any ordinary salesman or consultant. Oakes, browne admitted, is a recognized expert in close quarters combat, knows firearms so well hes written numerous articles for gun magazines, has even Trained Police s. W. A. T. Teams. But has no criminal record and, insisted browne, he isnt a murderer. Still, he must have done something to mark stover. Didnt he . Well, heres where it all began to get tricky. If stover was really dead, said John Henry Browne, and if the prosecution could prove oakes killed him, then, and only then oakes might provide an explanation. Through the legal fog a little hint came popping out. The prosecution had already indicated it would introduce into evidence a bulletproof vest found in Michiel Oakes suv. Now attorney browne seemed to be suggesting that vest would be important to any claim the defense might decide to make. Just to make things clear, your honor, its not just a vest. Its a bullet that was found in the vest. Reporter indeed it was. Right smack in the center of the vest. A. 22 caliber slug. Was the defense implying that Michiel Oakes had himself been shot . No one really knew where things were headed here in september 2010 as trial began. Even John Henry Browne quite deliberately broke one of his own cardinal rules. He decided not to make an Opening Statement to the jury. I have what i call my famous ten rules of trial, and i think its rule number three is never, never, never, ever waive an Opening Statement. Thats a rule. Good morning, everybody. Reporter but this time . This time the defense would lie in wait while the prosecution made its case that Michiel Oakes was a firstdegree murderer. Heres how their story began. With this video. A Security Camera about 5 30 a. M. , the mt. Vernon walmart. Theres Michiel Oakes. Its the morning mark stover disappeared. Receipts found in oakes car showed hed purchased ankle weights, anchor line, shin guards, camouflage clothes. Also found in his car, that bulletproof vest. Prosecutors argued that oakes arrived at stovers house a little later that morning. Marks employees were called to testify about what they saw and heard. I was awoken by the dogs in the barn next door. Reporter they saw the spots of blood, smelled the bleach, saw marks car racing down the driveway. Both back ends were open to each other. Reporter and then the trespassing incident at the grange hall near mark stovers house as called in by those two concerned women, now witnesses. There was a guy standing between the vehicles, and he had a big huge wad of plastic. A big roll of plastic. Reporter that someone, Michiel Oakes, as identified by his license plate. And that wad of plastic . The suggestion was, of course, that it shrouded mark stovers body. And remember, there was a chain behind the grange that appeared to have been cut that morning. And here were receipts, found in oakes car, showing he bought and later returned a bolt cutter from a Lowes Hardware store the day mark stover disappeared. A state dna expert testified mark stovers blood was found in the back of his car and in the back of defendant oakes suv. Are you aware that mr. Oakes purchased a. 22 caliber pistol at your store . I am. Reporter this former Hardware Store manager testified he sold Michiel Oakes that. 22 caliber browning and that hed been interested in it for a very specific reason. He told me, well, i have a barrel that i can interchange on that that has a threaded end that i can put a suppressor on. Reporter silencer, that is. Then an expert matched bullet casings found outside stovers house to Michael Oakes gun. I was able to identify all three fired cartridges as have been been fired from the browning pistol. Reporter proof that Michiel Oakes gun was fired at mark stovers house where dna showed more of marks blood was found. Blood but no body. To try to answer the question of what Michiel Oakes might have done with marks body, prosecutors presented this surveillance video. Shortly after 12 00 noon, october 28th, the day stover disappeared, an suv looked like Michiel Oakes ap suzuki slowly cruising by the waterfront casino three miles from the grange. Heres dark suv. Reporter detective dan luvera testified that the vehicle spent about 16 minutes back there by the casino out of range of the camera on a road that leads to this channel. Open water. And this dilapidated dock. Later, detectives and divers searched, but didnt find a darn thing. Didnt find a darn thing. Reporter then, of course, one other key witness for the prosecution. Jennifer thompson, Michiel Oakes exwife. Remember, she claimed that Michiel Oakes told her hed been offered a job to take out an exhusband, that hed been asked by the father of someone named linda. That jennifer was convinced that meant this was a killing for hire. But because that alleged conversation took place when jennifer and Michiel Oakes were married, that made it privileged. Couldnt be used in court. The prosecution would have to make do with just part of jennifers story. The judge would not allow her face to be filmed in court as she told the jury about her visit from michiel just days when he talked about a job he was supposed to do. And then there was her meeting with him on the 28th of october not long after that trespassing incident when the Police Officer pulled him over. Jennifer said he looked a little frumpy, and what was that on his jeans . There was a rusty reddish stain on his right knee. To me it looked like blood. I just said, it looks like you have a dirty knee there. And he took his finger and he touched it. And he said, yeah. Reporter but most startling in jennifers testimony, all those things she claims he said, that he was doing a job and something went wrong. That he wanted to sterilize his car and his fears about what would happen if the cops questioned him. And he said, if there is a trial, its not going to be good. Reporter all very methodically, the prosecution appeared to have cornered Michiel Oakes. Seemed to have met a certain burden of proof. And no one had a clue what oakes or his attorney would do or say to respond. Oh, but John Henry Browne knew exactly how hed respond. And it was a bombshell he had in store. We wanted to be the people who brought light into this case. Reporter you wanted to provide a little twist, a turn, a surprise . Yeah. Reporter a very different portrait of the victim emerges. Mark stover was a Domestic Violence terrorist. Reporter and then, the defendant tells his story to dateline even before he does in court. Dont exist. You sure . Try dannon oikos greek nonfat yogurt. Perfect cause its healthy with 0 fat and 12 gr. Of protein and so creamy. Mmm. Could be the perfect. Oh ladies. Snack, john the perfect snack dannon oikos. Possibly the perfect snack. Dannon and were new to the pacific northwest. The rain, the mud babam its there. The outside comes in. Its kinda nasty so you start the towelmop shuffle. Where are you sun . 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Now the colors you love stay the colors you love. This is one way to prevent your kids from watching shows that arent appropriate for their age. But not very practical. Use Parental Controls and the tv parental ratings guidelines to determine what shows to block. The more you know. Good morning. Be seated, ladies and gentlemen. The defense team is reserving their Opening Statement. Reporter experienced observers here in the mt. Vernon courthouse were puzzled. What was the defense attorney John Henry Browne up to . As the prosecution put on its case against Michiel Oakes, rolled out chapter and verse as oakes being the murderer of dog whisperer mark stover, browne said practically nothing . Why . Strategy, says John Henry Browne. We put them to the task of putting on a lot of evidence and it was just kind of boring them, so we wanted to be the people that brought light into this case. Reporter so what was the light in this case . The secret twist . The evidence shows and demonstrates beyond any shadow of doubt for any reasonable person that mark stover was a Domestic Violence terrorist. Reporter terrorist . The villain was not his client, Michiel Oakes, said browne, but the victim, mark stover. Remember, marks friends and clients had nothing but good things to say about him, but now it was clear oakes attorneys would use whatever evidence they could to paint the dog trainer as a threatening, gunloving predator, someone Michiel Oakes would have feared. And here, the real work of the defense began. They focused to a large degree on stovers behavior with his exwife. Linda opdycke, said browne, was stalked and harassed for years after leaving stover. It wasnt just the incident in which her exhusband was caught rummaging through her garbage. He made a habit of showing up at her house uninvited, said browne, exposing himself, appearing in her bathroom as she got out of the shower, pointing a rifle at her through a window, leaving handwritten notes, threatening voice mails. The fact if he goes into lindas house with a. 45 and puts it on the pillow and threatens to kill himself or her. The fact that he breaks into her house, the fact that he steals her journal, the fact a that he steals her garbage. The fact you know, all those things are fact. Reporter and so when it came time for the defense to finally make its case, brownes cocounsel, corbin volluz, did his best to drive the allegations home. When linda said she wanted to be separated from mark in 2005, he did not take it well. Reporter what followed, claimed the defense, were many examples of bad behavior. Mark following her into a beauty salon. Mark stover walks in unannounced. He gives a card to linda saying he will never let her go. Reporter mark, showing up at her place, uninvited. He grabs her by her shoulders and says he cant let her go. Reporter apparently spying on her when linda slept with marks exbest friend. The next morning, linda gets a phone call from mark stover. And then to lindas horror, mark stover begins to describe in graphic detail the intimacy that linda had been sharing the night before. Reporter and sitting in his car outside her home. Shes calling him on the cell phone. Shes following her. Shes pleading with him to stop it and quit following her. Reporter that time, said the defense, linda called the cops. And he responded, according to her, by sending her a form canceling her Health Insurance which was still in his name. Controlling, threatening, suggested oakes lawyer. Mark stover has scrawled across the front, next time, do not call the cops on the guy that controls your health care. Reporter and then the defense attorney showed the jury this video from lindas surveillance cameras. In the middle of the night, heres a man the defense claimed is mark stover creeping around lindas house. What you see is mark stover walking up the driveway and under her house out of view of the camera. Reporter but that wasnt all. There was a series of odd and threatening voicemail messages, said the defense, many with a similar theme. Mark seemed strangely obsessed with getting his wedding photos back from linda. Just one of many transcripts of these calls the attorney read from. Send those dang pictures of the wedding. I know youre into the wedding. You dont give a damn about me. I dont want anything showing that we were married or anything else. Reporter the defense told the jury that lindas attorney told mark to stop contacting her directly, only go through his office. But, of course, he keeps contacting her and contacting her and contacting her because mark stover is dogged in the pursuit of his prey. Reporter prey . An interesting word very deliberately picked by the defense. Because now they would argue that Michiel Oakes also became prey for mark stover. Would claim that a terrified oakes believed something unspeakable would happen if he didnt try to appease lindas ex. I mean, the fact of the matter is you talk about Domestic Violence terrorist. The person whos dead here is mark stover. Yeah. Reporter he is the one against whom the violence was committed. Here is something that we have learned in this country, havent we . You dont negotiate with terrorists. Michiel didnt know that, michiel felt he could negotiate with a terrorist. Linda felt she could negotiate with a terrorist. The reality is you cant negotiate with a terrorist, and mark stover was a Domestic Violence terrorist. Reporter marks friends and clients had by now gathered around the courthouse here in mt. Vernon determined to tell the world, anybody who would listen, that those claims were both unfair and untrue. Most of all these reports that we hear are filed by her alone and by her eyewitness alone and absolutely no one elses. So you got to weigh that in at some point, too, that it doesnt have that much meat to it. I just knew that wasnt true about him. There was nothing in him that was malicious or vindictive. Reporter and perhaps to answer them . A surprising and extremely unusual strategy. In midtrial, John Henry Browne brought his client to see us, here on the outskirts of little mt. Vernon. Michiel oakes, before even talking to the jury, would make his case here. Preparation for his own testimony . Yes, probably. But also a wild bombshell of a story, an audacious claim. I went, and i got shot. And i won. Have breakfast for breakfast. The freshmade, from our kitchen. The egg white delight. Only from mcdonalds. So what are you having for breakfast . Compared to a dry duster, a can of pledge picks up more dust and cleans 100 of messes. Pledge multi surface. Dusts better. Cleans more. 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I cook three meals a day for my kids, i bring them to dance, i bring them to school. This has been my life. Reporter and in case we didnt get it. The lens i look at the world through is really that of a single dad. Im a nurturer, im a father, a very peaceable person. I just happen to be a single dad. In a very unfortunate limelight right now. Reporter well, yes, charged with first degree murder. So how did he get to this place . The story began, he said, when someone asked him to contact a frightened woman he did not know. Thats how he made that first call to Linda Opdycke. She said im dealing with a very frightening stalking situation. Reporter michiel remember was a security expert. He trained s. W. A. T. Teams in close quarters combat. He offered to help. She put in my hands this very thick file including video recordings, audio recordings, police reports, page after page, threatening voice mails. Reporter linda told him shed been stalked for years by her exhusband. Get out of the shower and there he is standing in the bathroom with a gun in his hand. And she thought her house was locked. How many of those occasions does it take before you go any room im in, any moment, i have to be ready . And thats the scenario that linda lived in for at least two years. Reporter and then, as he worked out a Protection Plan for linda, he said, something unexpected happened. It really resonated. We really worked well together and connected on a very heart and soul level all right. Reporter it was a romance . Yeah, it definitely became a romance. Reporter and so michiel, the single dad and security expert and linda, the beautiful goldenhaired daughter of privilege embarked on a life together along with his kids. And then one day in late may, 2009, said oakes, he was getting into his car in a costco parking lot in a town called kenniwick washington when he was confronted by lindas ex, mark stover. I was approached by mark stover out of the clear blue. I had never met the gentleman prior to that, never spoken to him before. He did not introduce himself and he reporter take your time. I got up every morning, you know, and took my kids to school. Reporter right. I had my son in grade school. And my daughter in middle school. Reporter yeah. And reporter it was a long pause while oakes composed himself. Sorry. He said he needed me to do something, and he told me what my daughters were wearing that morning to school. And he had to have been there when my kids got out of the car to their two schools. And he said that there was no other choice for me but to do what he wanted or something bad was going to happen to my kids. And he said that he was in a very tight relationship with the cops. And if i if as soon as i called, he would know. And he said i was going to do what he wanted. Reporter which was what . He told me i had to get wedding photos, believe it or not, wedding albums, photos, and i had to get them to him or else. Reporter what did you say . You know, i was my head was spinning. I was so much in shock, i didnt say much. I listened to him. I think i nod several times. I dont remember saying anything. Reporter but Michiel Oakes, the security weapons and handtohand combat expert, the trainer of police s. W. A. T. Teams did feel something, he said. For six months of 2009 i lived in a perpetual state of fear. Reporter too afraid even to call the police. I didnt have video proof. I didnt have audio proof. I didnt even have a witness. Reporter and so, according to michiel, he tried to appease mark stover and looked for the wedding photos. I just found the romantic relationship that i had been seeking my whole life, just putting it together, and in the middle of this im supposed to say, hey, i would really love to look at your wedding pictures of your ex who is stalking you and driving you crazy. Where would you have those . I would like to look at those. Reporter wait a minute. You didnt tell her that he confronted you and asked you for those wedding photos . Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no. Reporter instead, he says, he armed his own daughter, trained her, if anyone comes into the house, keep firing until they stop. My very first responsibility over and above anything or anyone, anyone, is the safety of my children. Reporter and then he claimed he agreed to mark stovers demand to meet supposedly to talk about wedding pictures at marks house october 28th. Went there armed with deadly force and wearing a bulletproof vest and did it, he claimed, only to protect his children from an out of control madman. Really . Any rational person would know you dont protect your children by taking a gun to somebodys house to meet with them when you think that maybe there will be gunplay. You dont do that if youre a dad. Dads dont do that. No, keith, you know what would happen if it was you and you were in this situation based upon that comment . You would be standing right now on the edge of two graves. And you would be looking at it, and all your friends would tell you, its okay, keith, theres nothing you could have done. Well [ bleep ] that. Because there was something i could do, and i had to play pattycake with this guy for six [ bleep ] months to keep my kids ahive. Reporter and then you went and shot him . I went and i got shot. And i won. So because i won the gunfight, i know that i will not be standing on the side of my childrens graves and people arent going to be patting me on the back and saying, theres nothing you could have done. I did. Reporter oakes claimed mark stover shot first. Thus the claim he now made. It was selfdefense. Even though no evidence ever surfaced to suggest stover was in possession of any firearm at all or that stover had ever arranged any meeting with oakes. And as for the story that he was a hired gun for the opdyckes, just not true, said Michiel Oakes. A great many people believe that one or both of the opdyckes are involved. Were they involved . Not at all. Reporter but of course it was all michiels story. About a crazed dog whisperer, threats to his children, all of that fear. I mean, who else says that besides you and what evidence is it that he ever said such a thing . Said such a thing as reporter that he was threatening your kids. Well, keith, its been the problem. I survived that day in october. I was still alive. My life continued on, and we have yet to see if the state is going to finish the job for him or not. And i understand im in a bit of a fix. Do you solemnly affirm to the truth the whole truth reporter now hell tell his story to the jury. Would they believe it . The story comes complete with dramatic reenactments. Great. Thank you, dad oh honey bowl my next frame. Ill be back in 10. But were winning. The boys need me see, i told you hed pick up. We have a great dad. I have a great dad. 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[ laughs ] [ laughs ] [ chef ] this is bertollis chicken florentine farfalle. Bow tie pasta, grilled chicken, spinach, a little bit of white wine of course. Its really good. [ male announcer ] enjoy authentic italian at home. Bertolli, italy is served. And also try bertolli meals for one. My name is Michiel Oakes. Reporter the task, as Michiel Oakes took the witness stand, was not going to be easy, and he seemed to know it. He had to admit he did in fact kill dog whisperer mark stover but somehow persuade the jury that it was only in selfdefense. You heard what he told us, his allegations that stover confronted him threatened his children. He told the jury about what he claimed was stovers weird determination to get those wedding photos. Oakes version of the deadly events . After a series of meetings with stover about those photos, he demanded that oakes come to his house october 28th. And he obeyed. Drove in the middle of the night across the state to stovers house. And admitted buying all those smis at the walmart early in the morning on his way. I was very, very concerned about possibly needing to make some sort of onfoot escape in the woods from him and his dogs. Reporter he bought the anchor line and weights, he claimed to help him scale up a nearby water tower. And those shin guards, they werent armor to depend off a watchdog but just a gift for jennifers young son. At 7 00 a. M. , michiel testified that he knocked on mark stovers door. Mark ordered him stand in his hallway bathroom and oakes simply obeyed. And then when he told mark he couldnt find any wedding pictures he got more and more animated and got very close to me and was very angry and very loud. Reporter and then he came around the corner with a gun in his hand. We tangled, and i got shot. Reporter John Henry Browne had his client put on the bulletproof vest and show the jury what he claimed happened next. Courtroom show and tell. Mr. Stover pulled the gun out. He fired at you. Mmhmm. What do you do . That was amazingly fast. Is that the way you did that . Thats how i was trained. Mr. Stover was shot with his own gun . Yes, he was. Reporter so now mark stover was dead in the hallway of his home. And soon after, said oakes, he went outside and was confronted by marks dog ding. I shot a couple times until it stopped coming at me. Reporter so why didnt he call the police . He had said he owned the cops and seemed like there was some evidence that that might be true. I just didnt think they would believe me at all. Reporter then michiel said he wanted to see his kids before, as he said he assumed, hed be arrested. He tucked marks gun into his vest pocket, carried the body into the Station Wagon, got in the drivers seat, put his hat on and drove down the driveway. I drove around a while, sat there and thinking about how can i get to my kids . Reporter he thought maybe hed leave marks body in the car behind the grange hall. But it was locked chain. He returned to the grange and those ladies saw him transferring his body to his own car and called the cops. When that Police Officer pulled you over, was mr. Stover in the back of your suzuki . He was. Reporter he went to visit exwife jennifer, he said, because he wanted to see her two sons, though he never did. Nor did he drive to see his own children who he said were in battleground, washington, a fourhour drive away. I realized that i couldnt drive to battleground with mr. Stover in the back of my rig. Reporter so instead he said he ditched marks car at that casino, looked around for a place to dump his body. Theres a dilapidated looking dock thing. And i got my car as close to that as possible and muscled him out and dropped him in the water. Reporter an area investigators had searched but never found anything. Then he said he drove across the state not to his kids but to lindas house. Though, he insists he did not tell her any of what just happened. Didnt tell her what hed done. I just said i had had a really bad day. Reporter when Police Showed up the next night, he admitted, he did try to throw out some evidence. What was your intent . I needed one more day. I was trying to not get arrested just yet. Reporter but of course he was arrested and charged. And now it was prthe prosecutor turn to challenge his story. About, for example, that morning at mark stovers house. Did you hear the gun go off . I dont recall anything really. Who pulled the trigger . I believe i did. Was his fingers still on the trigger . You know, i do not know. Where were you when you pulled the trigger . I dont know. Where was the bullet hole . I dont know. You werent curious enough to look . I was very disturbed. Reporter and despite all of those people who testified they were knocked back by the overwhelming smell of bleach i dont recall smelling any bleach. Did you use any bleach . I did not. Did you attempt to clean up anything . No. Reporter didnt try to erase evidence, he claimed. And as for those odd supplies he bought at the walmart so why did you need camouflage . If i was going to make my escape through the woods to the water tower, camouflage is quite useful for that. You would have the camouflage in your backpack that you would quickly change into as you ran through the woods . No. I would change into quickly and then run through the woods. But would this this is assuming that mr. Stover is taking the time not to chase you . Im very fast. Reporter and finally, the prosecutor asked, if he was so afraid of mark stover, why not tell someone . Why go over to his house . You never took one step to enlist anyones aid . That is correct. And you walked into mr. Stovers house on october 28th . I did. And he tried to kill you . That is correct. And you did nothing beforehand to try to avoid that . I think i did a lot to try to avoid it. Reporter what the jury made of this story no one knew. But wait. The defense wasnt quite done. There was one more person. Very important to all of this. Who until midtrial had refused to say one word in public. The woman at the center of it all, Linda Opdycke would you raise your right hand. Reporter whose long silence was about to end. And end it would, with a bang. With stories of who she said was the real mark stover. He had a pistol in his hand and laid it on the pillow next to my head. For no extra charge. Really . It comes with amazon prime . Yeah, theres so much to watch. Ive been on this earth nine years, ive never seen anything like it. The new amazon fire phone, with a full year of prime included. Exclusively on at t. Thlook what i got. P. Oh my froot loops [sniffs] lets do this . Get up get up get up get up loop me bring back the awesome. Yeah yeah yeah with the great taste of Kelloggs Froot loops. Follow your nose for months and months, since the murder of mark stover, his exwife lipd da opdycke had maintained absolute public silence. In the face of questions from police and prosecutors she invoked her fifth amendment right. So this at the end of Michiel Oakes mur trial was quite a surprise. Linda opdycke, defense witness. I felt this was an important part of the story that i could tell about a dangerous stalking situation, and if theres any information that i could offer up, i wanted to do so. Reporter as she began, it was clear she was here to join the defenses campaign against victim mark stovers character. Would you agree that mark stover was dogged in pursuit of his prey . Yes, i would. Reporter the defense claimed Michiel Oakes knew linda updiope had been stalked by her exhusband and that went to his state of mind when he acted in defense. So now she heard some stories that she earlier had told oakes. Her claim, for example, that mark appeared in her bedroom one night. And he had a pistol in his hand and laid it on the pillow next to my head and was very disturbed. Reporter and another time, she said, when she looked out her bathroom window. I see mark on a hillside behind my house. He is looking through the scope pointing the rifle at me. Reporter and once, said linda, long after she left him, after mark agreed to plead guilty to the stalking charge, she visited their abandoned paradise kiket island to retrieve some personal things. She found in the cubbyhole in the master bedroom a wedding candle shes thrown away during the divorce. I found the wedding candles in there with a. 22 bullet casing and a picture of me along with that in the cubby hole. Reporter was it a message . A threat . In her crossexamination, it was pretty clear that prosecutor rosemar kaholokula was deeply skept igal about the allegations. No proof at all for the claims and linda had not seen or heard a word from stover in the year and a half before he was killed. So what was she and oakes so frightened about . The last time that you ever saw mr. Stover or heard from mr. Stover was at the protection order hearing in april of 08, correct . That is correct. Reporter but she certainly saw a lot of Michiel Oakes. You continued to have romantic feelings, intimate feelings towards mr. Oakes and vice versa . Yes. And in fact, i think you said that in our interview last week is that you loved him, correct . I dont recall if i said that or not, but i do, yes. Reporter and hadnt her new lover done her a favor, asked the prosecutor, by getting rid of the exhusband she accused of causing her so much trouble . The fact is that in this case, you dont have to worry about mr. Stover now, do you . It appears to be that case. And in that sense, the defendant helped you out, correct . No. Reporter the prosecutor kaholokula also asked opdycke about her refusal to answer certain questions in the case. Now, its correct, isnt it, that throughout the investigation of this case youve been concerned about your own potential legal liability in this case . Yes. And you refused to speak with my office, correct . Under a legal counsel, yes. Reporter this testimony now, in court, suggested the prosecutor, sounded like a woman with an obvious and selfish motive to support Michiel Oakes claim of selfdefense. Isnt it true that if this is a case of selfdefense, it gets you off the hook, too . What do you mean by that . You indicated you were concerned about your own potential liability in this case. If a jury were to find that this was selfdefense, you wouldnt have any more liability either, would you . I have no liability in this case. Nothing further. Reporter and the witness left the stand. Dateline wanted to talk to Linda Opdycke, but she did not respond to our interview requests. And as for her father Wally Opdycke, his lawyer emailed this statement. Wallace opdycke had absolutely no involvement or prior knowledge of Michiel Oakes murder of mark stover. Rumors to the contrary are baseless and unfair. Mark stover was a Domestic Violence terrorist. Reporter John Henry Browne closed with a powerful recitation of his theme, that mark stover was the bad guy. But even so, he said, oakes didnt want or plan to kill him. You dont premeditate up just to the point of shooting somebody. You premeditate the entire scenario. And what happened after this tragic event is absurd. He had absolutely no plan. None. And if theres no plan afterwards, i think it leads you to the conclusion that there was no plan beforehand. Reporter really . Here was the prosecutors closing. I will say this, the more charitable view of motive would be that ms. Opdycke and mr. Oakes, perhaps they really did fear for their safety for some reason, but the evidence doesnt support it. Now, the Less Charitable view is that the defendant set out on a path of cold, calculated execution. Was it because there was some feelings of revenge after this incredibly contentious divorce . Was it to prove himself to ms. Opdycke for some reason . The fact is well never know because the defendant has taken all steps necessary to obscure the truth. And the deceit needs to stop now. Thank you. Reporter up to the jury then, and as the hours became a day and then two and then three, it seemed perhaps they were having trouble making up their minds. Mark stovers loyal friends and clients kept vigil, hoping for conviction, eager to tell whoever would listen that mark was never the abusive villain the defense contended. Michiel oakes, his children and extended family were joined by Linda Opdycke. They waited in a rented waterfront house. And of course, neither they nor anyone knew what drama was coming with the reading of the verdict. I understand the jury has reached a verdict. Yes, we have, your honor. Emotions boil over. Kids are fed . [ dad ] kids are fed. Homework is done. Baths are taken. Im impressed. Looks like you got everything under control. We got it all under control here, were all good, right guys . Yeah. Yeah, were all good here. Yeah. Yep. Love you guys. [ dad kids ] love you bye. [ computer beeps ] [ male announcer ] finally a paint thats stain resistant and scrubbable. Introducing new valspar reserve. Now the colors you love stay the colors you love. Exclusively at lowes. Now the colors you love stay the colors you love. Of all the things that happen you hon your counters. L aura. Dad . Namaste. Disinfecting should be one of them. Clorox disinfecting wipes. The School Supply list included 150 cats eye marbles. If this bag breaks. A Great School Year could quickly slip away. Thats not happening. [zippppp] life needs ziploc. Sc johnson. We use fillers in our onew spicy pulled pork. Its called. More pork. Introducing our new spicy pulled pork pizza. Its pulled pork, barbeque sauce, pepper jack, mozzarella, and crushed red pepper. A large for only 12 dollars. Better ingredients, better pizza papa johns ed a lift . Covergirl and olay invented facelift effect firming makeup. Luxurious coverage plus the firming power of a night cream to plump skin with moisture. New facelift effect makeup from olay and easy, breezy, beautiful, covergirl. Theres nothing like leaving home feeling attractive. Challenge but too many times i feel bloated, gassy, uncomfortable with gurgling. Nothing seems to feel right and yet another pile of clothes on my bed. So im taking the activia challenge. Eating activia twice a day for four weeks may help reduce the frequency of minor digestive issues like bloating, gas, discomfort and rumbling. When your tummy smiles, things just feel right join me and take the activia challenge. It works or its free. Dannon after mark stover disappeared, the moment had come, the verdict. The courtroom was packed. On one side marks supporters, on the other Michiel Oakes. His children, his grandchild and his love Linda Opdycke. All waiting to hear oakes fate. We, the jury, find Michiel Oakes guilty. Reporter guilty. Not selfdefense. Murder. The oakes children, the ones michiel claimed that he had been trying to protect when he killed mark stover cried, screamed, fell apart. As they watched their father taken away in handcuffs. All rise, please. Reporter and then the next month in a more ordered courtroom, the convicted killer stood before the judge to be sentenced. Though first, Michiel Oakes had a thing or two to say. I wish to express the sincere and heartfelt remorse that i carry due to my actions and aapologize all that ive harmed in my poor judgment. First, i would like to apologize to members of mr. Stovers family and all those friends and clients who clearly cared so much for him. I also wish to apologize to members of my own family who have cared for me all of my life and who have now sacrificed everything for my legal representation and to enable my bail pending trial. Reporter but oakes did not withdraw his claim of selfdefense. He stuck to his story. And the judge just didnt buy it. I believe were still a long ways from the truth as to what actually happened on october 28th, 2009. Reporter truth, as the judge told the court, seems elusive still in the stories of Michiel Oakes. Large parts of your story i just flat do not believe and never will. If it was selfdefense, why not provide the gun and the body that matches the story and matches the bullet in the vest . Because with those simple things, Law Enforcement would have done an investigation and that probably would have been the end of this story. Reporter so why did oakes shoot and then kill his lovers exhusba exhusband . The judge floated his own theory. How does the knight win the hand of the princess . He goes out and slays the dragon thats hunting the princess. At the starting point here mr. Oakes believed he could free ms. Opdycke from the past, whatever dragons were chasing her and perhaps by doing so would win her hand. Reporter the judge gave Michiel Oakes the maximum 26 1 2 years in prison. He is appealing his conviction. Imagine how things been different if those two women, the biddies, oakes called them, not happened by the grange that morning in october. I guess we ended up being the main, you know, characters in this whole drama, i guess. Reporter two ladies who thought oakes was where he shouldnt be and looked suspicious. Theyid what anyone would have done, they said, when they called police. Now that theyve been thinking about it some to be honest, i look at it this way. God put us where he wanted us, we saw what he wanted us to see, he protected us from what could have happened. Reporter but of course a lot did happen. Eadful things. Paradise lost. Life taken. Reputation besmirched by a murderer intent on blaming his victim. He was, said his friends, smart, funny, generous, unfailingly loyal, ever reliable. He could tame wild beasts with his whisper. Male narrator in the criminal justice system, sexuallybased offenses are considered especially heinous. In new york city, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the special victims unit. These are their stories. Night, all. Its a little early, isnt it . You got plans . Yeah, im going to niagara falls. Its a long way away, so i want to get a head start. Check out the canadian side. They got some wild clubs. Yeah, its more of a nature trip. Going by yourself . No, frannie. Its gonna be real romantic. Well, you know you need papers to take a dog across the border, right . Yeah. I got it taken care of, dad