She hadnt answered her phone call, she had answered her Text Messages. Valentines day the started with roses entered in a different shade of red. Everything stopped. I was in shock. She was a wife, mother, missionary. Denise sounds like a saint, but something had been happening behind closed doors. There is nothing more important to me than you in this relationship. Was it love . Or hate . One shot to the head. What was the motive for valentines day murder . We had a note that she had written. She was speaking from the grave and away . That note was powerful. It happened on the least likely day imaginable, a day devoted to love and affection. Valentines day, and it happened to the last people on earth you would expect, a religious family dedicated to god and making the world a better place. Is it going on right now . My world had just been shattered. There Perfect World broken by an act so evil, it tore a family apart. The worst day of my life. And, put an entire town on edge. Be extra
i m telling you he she is dead. prosecutors played the interview for the jurors hoping they would see what they saw. when the police gave us the case, watched his video statement, and five minutes and i knew he was guilty. his demeanor and attitude. he tried to take over the conversation. not a single tear was shed. they presented evidence the shell casing was from a glock 40. the kind of gun nathan owned. the only firearm that can generate those marks would be a glock. are you able to say that within a reasonable degree of scientific? has. police never did find the murder weapon. did you worry that was a factor? it was a concern. in a murder case if you don t have the weapon, it s an uphill battle. the jury once the smoking gun and we did not have it.
Interview for the jurors, hoping they would see what they saw. when the police force gave us the case, i watched his videotape statement, finance into it i knew he did it. i news guilty. his demeanor, his attitude, he tried to take over the conversation. not a single tier woodshed. they presented evidence that the bullet casing found at the scene, was from a glock 40. the kind of gun nathan owned. the only firearm that can generate those marks, it s a glock. and, are you able to say that within a reasonable degree of scientific certainty? yes. but police never did find the murder weapon. did you worry that you are able to find the gun, was that a factor? yes that was a concern. i think anytime in a murder case where you don t have a handgun or the weapon or whatever it was. it s an uphill battle. that s with the jury wants. they want the smoking gun. and we did not have it. still, prosecutors thought they had more than enough evidence to prove their case. remember d
To go over to a strange country, you know, with a toddler and a baby. it was a traumatic experience for her, i think. this is because really nathan wanted to do it? right. she was supporting him. it wasn t really her calling. i mean, she was basically being a wife and a mother. reporter: but denise also became very devoted to the church there. denise was very musical and she played the piano for the children and taught em songs and taught the little girls especially, bible stories. reporter: they grew particularly close to some of the children and their families. we had helped women who d been in abusive relationships. we had brought several lithuanians to the united states over the years for cultural reasons, for musical purposes, for sports. reporter: their generosity extended to a young lithuanian they had gotten to know well, aina dobilaite, who eventually came to the u.s. as a college student.
Diane newton, the feeling was mutual. was he over all the time? yes. yeah, he practically lived at our house. reporter: when denise went off to college in minnesota, nathan, a year younger, soon followed. to no one s surprise, the couple got engaged a year later. diane knew it was coming. i wasn t surprised when he was the first one that she dated and they ended up getting married. reporter: that was in july 1995. i was always very happy being a wife and a mother, so i was happy for her that she had found someone to love and to share her life with. right before we did our vows, denise had prepared a song talking about everything that she wanted was in me. and that our marriage was gonna be the kind that she had always hoped for and had dreamed for as a little child. and um, it was a wonderful day. reporter: after the young couple settled in their home town of peoria, illinois, denise went to work at an insurance company while nathan started a career in sales.