and then your being looked at for it. imagine, your shaken in the dead of night. my ears were ringing. i thought i was dreaming. in bed, right next to you. your husband, murdered. hearty wrap around your head, is it? yes. and here s the twist. you are the suspect. it s the worst feeling, thinking you re gonna be blamed for your husband s death. could she have been the killer? or, with someone keeping a secret? he said, what did you do. what did you do? i don t know what to tell you. just of the truth. hello, and welcome to dateline . it s the stuff of nightmares. and a traitor creeps into your bedroom in the middle of the night and opens fire. but for melissa oxley, the bad dream was all too real. she told investigators she d been startled from her sleep to find her husband, ben, dead from a gunshot blast. it seems streams, they thought, that no one else in the house was hurt. including melissa, who was sleeping by his side. stranger still, was
love is dead. and then your being looked at for it. imagine, your shaken in the dead of night. my ears were ringing. i thought i was dreaming. in bed, right next to you. your husband, murdered. hearty wrap around your head, is it? yes. and here s the twist. you are the suspect. it s the worst feeling, thinking you re gonna be blamed for your husband s death. could she have been the killer? or, with someone keeping a secret? i said, what did you do. what did you do? i don t know what to tell you. just of the truth. hello, and welcome to dateline . it s the stuff of nightmares. and a traitor creeps into your bedroom in the middle of the night and opens fire. but for melissa oxley, the bad dream was all too real. she told investigators she d been startled from her sleep to find her husband, ben, dead from a gunshot blast. it seems strange, they thought, that no one else in the house was hurt. including melissa, who was sleeping by his side. stranger stil
guilty to murder, james was matlean being prepared for being sentenced. is there a redemption for person like you? i don t know. i don t expect anybody that i ve harmed or heard to forgive me for would have done. he looked in the lenses you said that. you re talking to them, right? basically talking to melissa. i m sorry. an exchange for his guilty plea, the da agreed to recommend that james could be eligible for parole after serving 24 years. all rise final decision, up to the judge. defense attorney stover made the argument. then melissa took the stand. emotionally the damage you have cost me is almost unbearable.
basically talking to melissa. i m sorry. reporter: in exchange for his guilty plea the d.a. agreed to recommend that james could be eligible for parole after serving 24 years. all rise. reporter: the final decision up to the judge. defense attorney stover made the argument. and then melissa took the stand. emotionally the damage you have caused me is almost unbearable. for alyssa, you crumbled her foundation and everything she knew to be right and true. and as hard as this is to do or believe, i also want you to know i have found it in my heart to forgive you. reporter: and then james
sorry. in exchange for his guilty plea, the d.a. agreed to recommend that james could be eligible for parole after serving 24 years. final decision up to the judge. defense attorney stover made the argument. and then melissa took the stand. emotionally the damage you have caused me is almost unbearable. for alyssa, you crumbled her foundation and everything she knew to be right and true. and as hard as this is to do or believe, i also want you to know that i have found it in my heart to forgive you. then james got his sentence. the murder charge, you re sentence today life in prison. life without parole ever.