Lots of secrets too. It just kind of sent chills up my back. Something was tearing a family apart. I dont even know where to start. Or was it someone . The most coldblooded, evil person. A family feud, and an innocent man, caught in the middle. You know these shows you watch that people see the ghosts of their loved ones . I wanted that so bad, so bad. Im lester holt, and this is dateline. Heres Keith Morrison with the root of all evil. Reporter the hunting is good here in the arkansas delta. Twice a year, a horde of migrating mallards descends on flooded rice fields. Deer stare out through thickets of hardwood. You have to be quiet, surefooted, your aim true. Thats what marc despains dad taught him. Thats what marc taught his own son. Before hatred wormed its way in. Sometimes its overwhelming that anger, isnt it . It is. It is. Reporter the anger that pitted father against son. It almost got physical. It just it breaks my heart. Reporter and husband against wife. I just wanted to go into protective mode and protect us all. Reporter and brought the hunting to town on a deathly quiet summer afternoon. Can you please hurry . Okay. Im going to get them out there. Please send an ambulance. Reporter what could be left but the bitter taste of recrimination. He is evil. He is not the kind person that hes got the public convinced that he is. Reporter jonesboro is both a college town and a farm town. Tends to the needs of young minds and rice farmers on the vast plain of sticky, fertile clay west of the mississippi river. Its where marc despain breezed through school with his easy charm. Tana is his mother. He was the only freshman that we know of that was chosen by a senior to go to the senior prom. Reporter marc became a High School Football star and his sister jacque watched him bring his trophies home to lay at the feet of his father, jack. He really did look up to dad. And he you know, he always wanted to, you know, impress him and stuff. Reporter and then well, its an old story, really. When i was 18 and he was 19, we just bumped into each other. Reporter pretty michelle. She was sitting on top of a car when marc spotted her one night. Tiny, doeeyed, and, before long, pregnant. The way i was brought up, you know, if you got a girl pregnant, you married her. Thats just that was just what you did. Reporter so there was a shotgun wedding. Two families thrown together, marc and his parents, jack and tana. Michelle and her long divorced parents, her mom kathy and her dad carl. Michelle also brought along a baby from an earlier relationship. And he never treated her like she was not his. Never. Reporter together they had two boys. He loved his kids. I mean, just anything they ever dreamed of, he would do his damndest to get it. Anything. Reporter the Little Family moved into a trailer marcs parents bought them. And marc studied hard to become a real estate appraiser, like his mom, and went into business with his parents, which, said michelle, is about when things began to go wrong. Marc didnt like to be pushed around by his dad. He was an independent person. Reporter the growing tension spilled over at the kitchen table. Marc demanded a bigger share of the money. They argued. And then michelle chimed in. Oh boy. Oh my goodness, when she opened her mouth, dad just flipped off the handle. And, of course, marc just, i dont know, stepped in as a husband, like a husband should do. Reporter thats how it began, the trouble between father and son. The trouble that was going to get so much worse. Marc split away from the family business. Michelle helped with the bookkeeping. I was just amazed at what they were able to accomplish. Reporter and they were a good team, said michelles mom, kathy. They both just had the ability to Work Together to and make money. Reporter marc got into real estate investment. His first, a trailer park no one else would touch. I couldnt believe he bought that. I was just, what are you thinking . Have you lost your mind . He flipped it. Made him about 100,000 profit. Reporter and so having done it once, he figured hed do it again. Absolutely. Reporter and again and again. Absolutely. Reporter and the money seemed to roll in. Marc moved his family to an upscale neighborhood in the southern part of town. Adrift from his own parents, he spent more and more time with michelles, taking them on family trips. Even hired michelles dad, carl, to be his rent collector. I remember a lot of times walking in and carl would be sitting at the dining room table. And must be 50s, 100s, 20s. He was counting them like a drug dealer. Reporter just piles of money . Piles of money. Reporter and then, one august afternoon, michelle came home from work early. When i walked in, there werent any lights on. Everything was knocked onto the floor. Reporter and then she got to the kitchen. And there he was. And hes laying in the floor, and there was blood coming all out from behind him. And i shook his leg and said his name. And i looked around, and there was stuff in the floor everywhere. And i got scared. Reporter she ran outside, terrified, and called 911. 911, whats your emergency . My my my husband. I just came home maam, i need you to take a deep breath. Okay . And tell me whats going on. I dont know. Reporter michelle ran across the street to a neighbors house, desperate to hide. Shes not answering the door, okay . Do you want me to stay on the phone with you . No. I need to call my mom. Okay. Call your mom. Im going to get them en route. It was a voice that scared me. You know you pick up the phone. You hear one of your kids on the phone, and you hear crying. Reporter kathy raced over there, found michelle sobbing on the curb. And shes i got to get to him. I got to get to him. I just kind of grabbed my daughter by the shoulder. And im like, michelle, hes gone. Hes gone. Reporter so he was. Dead on his own kitchen floor. A young wife is now a widow and the horror of what she witnessed is unforgettable. Reporter is it a sight that lives in your mind a lot . A lot. Her familys good life suddenly gone or maybe it hadnt been so good. He was kind of embarrassed to have to come and get money from me. Money, is that a clue . Ure thg cough vaccination is up to date. Understand the danger your new grandchild faces. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about you and your family getting a whooping cough vaccination today. Im why . Because its red lobsters crabfest. And theres so much crab, so many ways. And with dishes like this luscious crab lovers dream or savory snow crab bake. Im just Getting Started so hurry in and get crackin yeah, its a samsung is thatwith activewash. Achine . Its got a builtin sink to pretreat and help get stains out. How about this . The samsung washing machine with activewash. Get 10 off select major appliances 396 and above. At lowes. Just about anywhere you can use splenda®. No calorie sweetener. Splenda® lets you experience. The joy of sugar. Without all the calories. Think sugar, say splenda® mum. Just tap it. I did Yo Gabba Gabba reporter they are burned into Michelle Despains brain. The images of that awful afternoon. Shadows in the hallway. Her husband. His blood. Him laying on the floor. Reporter is it a sight that lives in your mind a lot . A lot. Oh yeah. Reporter outside, a crowd of police, and friends and family, and curious neighbors, gathered on the street below marcs house. Among them, in an awful state, was marcs sister jacque. You know, everything was wrapped in tape. And police officers, you cant cross here. You cant do this, you cant do that. I dont know. I just wanted to hold his hand or something. Reporter detective vic brooks was on the other side of that police tape. When i first walked in, i noticed that were some papers that appeared to be knocked on the ground. And there was some broken glass and stuff like that on the floor. Reporter investigators snapped photos of the chaos. Drawers pulled out in a bedroom. Clothes thrown into the bathtub. A jewelry case toppled over. Like somebody was looking for something . Possibly. Reporter they asked around the neighborhood, did anyone see any strangers that afternoon . And yes, someone did, investigators told prosecutor, scott ellington. An African American was seen in the neighborhood wearing a certain colored shirt. Reporter it wasnt just that. Later somebody said they saw an aging and beat up blue mercedes circling the neighborhood. So, thieves casing the house . Maybe. And yet, as detective brooks looked around the house, he could see this just didnt have the hallmarks of a robbery. The valuable stuff tv sets, guns, computers were untouched. And look at this photo. Sitting next to marcs keys and a cell phone on the kitchen island, is a container of ice cream. It appeared that he had just walked in and set these items down, and then was caught totally off guard. Reporter all of that seemed to shriek of a planned ambush dressed up a little to look like robbery. The way investigators pieced it together, somebody was waiting for marc to get home, then crept up from behind, shot him twice. He had suffered two gunshot wounds, one that appeared to have entered on his left side, and then another shot that he had sustained to his face. Reporter that was a kind of what is a kill shot or something . Yes, sir. Reporter somebody making sure. It appeared so, yes. Reporter why would someone want to kill marc despain . I was so confused. I just i didnt think marc had any enemies. And i didnt know why anybody would want to kill him. Reporter detective brooks soon discovered a possible reason. Even though theyd been living lavishly, marc had serious money trouble. He was kind of embarrassed to have to come and get money from me. Reporter it was a couple of months before the murder, said michelles mother kathy. Marc asked her for cash to help pay for michelles birthday present. You know, thats very unusual. Because usually they just go out and buy whatever they want. Reporter not anymore. That summer, 2011, jonesboro real estate was far from recovered. Many of marcs rental properties were underwater. The bank was closing in. Tenants were being forced out of their homes. So you know, was anybody upset with marc . Was this any of his tenants . Could this have been somebody like that . Reporter and then, an ugly little surprise crawled out of marcs own troubled family. Marc and his parents were lobbing lawsuits at each other over some shared property. The prosecutor heard that marcs dad, jack, was a hothead. Jack was very, very angry at marc for mishandling this property that they coowned together. Reporter yes. But it went deeper than that, went to a very dark place, as you will see. And because of it, marc hadnt spoken to his parents in years. So when jack showed up at the crime scene, the suspicion was, well, audible. Michelles dad, carl, started yelling at him. Cursing very loudly. Calling him all kinds of names. Reporter but what was he saying . Theres that son of a bitch, jack despain. Reporter did you think jack was somehow responsible . Oh, yeah. Marc had told multiple people, if anything ever happens to me, yall look at my dad. Reporter so, of course, detective brooks invited jack down to the Police Station. Just maybe this mystery would have a quick, if very disturbing, solution. Coming up a young girl makes a troubling accusation that defines a family oh my god. Could this have possibly happened . But was that the motive for murder . Was it even true . When dateline continues. 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So try the activia challenge enjoying activia twice a day for 4 weeks may help reduce the frequency of bloating, gas, discomfort or rumbling. It works or its free iand sometimes, an even longer night. Helping with homework before doing your own. And you may think no one notices. But she does. She sees more than mom, she sees determination. We do too. For nearly 40 years, weve designed an education for people just like you. Learn more at phoenix. Edu. Reporter its an unpleasant thing to think about. Parents murdering their own children. But it happens. Is an old story, frankly. Some awful glitch, perhaps, in the human recipe. Had it happened here, in jonesboro . Suspicion fell quickly on marcs dad, jack despain. Michelles mom heard about it when she called to tell a relative that marc was dead. Somebodys murdered marc. And he was like, oh my god. He said, have they found jack despain . Reporter he thought right away it was jack. Uhhuh. Reporter because anyone close to jack and his family knew, a poison far more potent than money had come between father and son. I never saw it coming. I dont think marc ever saw it coming. Reporter it began, said michelle, when her 13yearold daughter told them an ugly story, that her grandpa jack asked her to take nude photos of herself on his phone. Marc called a family meeting. Marc told his dad, theres a problem. We want to help you. You know, were not here to point fingers at you or judge you. Reporter jack swore he did nothing wrong. Marc called in the police. Tana, jacks wife of more than 30 years, left him. Moved in with marc and michelle. Well, how do you prepare for a thing like that . You dont. You dont prepare reporter well, what is that like . You just your mind is is in overdrive, you know, trying to think, you know, oh my god, could this have possibly happened . Reporter but after the police interviewed the girl, and then jack, and then the girl again, and heard her story change, become more elaborate, the investigation was dropped. And tana, driven with guilt for ever suspecting jack abused his granddaughter, went back to him and begged forgiveness. The man ive been married to for over 30 years and went to high school with, and then doubting him, and knowing i shouldnt have. Reporter but marc and michelle, believing the girl, never spoke to his mom or dad again. Cut them off from their grandkids. Disowned marcs sister when she took jacks side. I believe dad 100 . I dont believe he had anything to do with it. Reporter so that was the ugly backdrop to the murder investigation. And detective brooks would have to figure out if this yearsold unproven allegation had so eaten away at marcs dad that it pushed him over the edge. Time to meet potential suspect number one. Im going to close that door, mr. Despain. Reporter detective brooks sat down with jack in an Interrogation Room and watched the man fall apart. I cant. Reporter was this true grief the detective was witnessing . Or regret . Or guilt over something jack had done . Or hadnt done. I was too late. Reporter too late. What did he mean . Jack didnt shy away from discussing those abuse allegations. Heres how it happened, he said. She had taken some nude photos of herself and sent them to her boyfriends. Reporter jack said he found out the girl was sexting, confronted her, said he was going to tell her parents. But she got to them before he did, jack said, and invented the story to get out of trouble. So they took her side, i guess. They took her side and said i was the bad person. Reporter jack told us the same story, eager, he said, to finally set the record straight. You didnt ever ask her to take pictures of herself and give them to you . No, no. Reporter but the accusation, said jack, almost destroyed him. I was at home. I could have opened up my own whiskey store, i think, with how much whiskey i drunk for two months. And typically i dont drink. But that was just to kill the pain. Reporter because everybody assumed that you were abusing your own granddaughter. Yes, yes, yes. Reporter the detective wondered, did jacks pain drive him to seek revenge on his own son . No, said jack, no. He wanted to reconcile with marc, not kill him. I know i aint talked to my son in four, five years but i loved him dearly. Reporter anyway, when marc was murdered, said jack, he was miles away at his own house. I was on the roof trying to put some shingles on. Reporter that alibi would have to be checked out, of course. But even before detective brooks had a chance to do that, other members of the family came down to the Police Station and told him, dont be fooled by jacks tears. He was an angry, possibly violent man. He said, i will ruin you and your family. He said, for you all accusing me of this. He said, i will see you ruined. Reporter this is michelles dad, carl. The man whod been cursing jack out on the street right there at the murder scene. If i was going to point a finger at anybody, if thats what youre asking, id point it at jack despain. Reporter detective brooks could plainly see this was a family with a troubling history. So he made a decision to attend marc despains visitation, take a look around, see what his gut would tell him. I saw a note where you, in your case file, you wrote, this has to be one of the strangest visitations i have ever attended . Yes. It was just a cold feeling. It just did not feel right. Reporter was the killer sitting among the mourners, planning a next move . Coming up a family feud at the funeral. She calls the police on us. And somebody else calls the police with a tip that could crack the case. Reporter thats a nice little gift. It was. Cause these kids willw up with windows 10. Get started today. Windows 10. A more human way to do. 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That fight has gotten so ugly that even his funeral is about to be turned into a batt