Slipped inside a magazine sitting on carol s kitchen counter? and how did knapp s dna get mixed with carol s blood in a sample taken from a doorknob, leaving the house? that was evidence item #805. they called a dna expert. so you can see that all the way across that top line the numbers are the same as james knapp and there are many points of difference with steve democker. your point was that on each of these analyses, james knapp matches each one of these, and steve democker doesn t. that s right. reporter: in fact, neither steve democker s dna, nor his fingerprints, were ever found at the crime scene. so, had police focused on the wrong man all along? and because steve democker knew that, did he make a foolish mistake like a frightened man would? the anonymous e-mail, the voice in the vent, all of that occurs once he s placed in custody, loses hope and becomes desperate. that should not, in our opinion, should not have been introduced in this trial.
Examiner found under carol s fingernails? turned out it wasn t steve s. or jim knapp s. police called the dna, evidence item 603. but to defense investigator rich robertson, it represented much more. evidence item 603 became mr. 603. it was a male s dna that was found mixed in with carol s blood under the fingernails of her left hand. and this wasn t a small amount of dna. a reasonable person i think would think, this probably could have gotten there during an attack. reporter: jim knapp. the anonymous e-mail. mr. 603. steve s family and attorneys thought investigators should focus more on all of those things. instead, it seemed to them, prosecutors had already made up their minds, and steve would go on trial for murder. summer 2010. two years after carol kennedy s
And the court. the case looked strong, the prosecution rested. your honor, the state would rest. reporter: now it was time to hear from the defense. and, no surprise, it had a quite different theory about carol kennedy s murder. a theory that had nothing whatsoever to do with steve democker. coming up that man in the guest cottage. it wasn t a little bit of evidence that we had on mr. knapp. it was a mountain of evidence. he got to the point where he was lying about having active cancer and asking people for financial help. i m wondering what was this man capable of? was he going to hurt me or hurt my family? i was scared. when dateline continues. ws
Prescription drug ring. the attorneys arranged for a meeting. an opportunity for steve to tell law enforcement what he heard so they could investigate it. they showed him the mysterious email. listen to his reaction i m sorry. i almost hate to ask you this, but can you explain why you re so emotional today? i spent a year not knowing what happened to carol and being accused of it. that s what s happening right now. there was more than the email to go on. remember the dna the medical examiner found under carol s fingernails? turned out it wasn t steve s or jim knapp s. police called the dna evidence item 603, but to defense investigator rich robinson, it represented more.
Been trying to collect money or seek some retribution against jim knapp for involvement in a prescription drug ring. reporter: the attorneys arranged for a meeting. an opportunity for steve to tell law enforcement what he heard so they could investigate it. they showed him the mysterious e-mail. listen to his reaction. i m sorry. well, i almost hate to ask you this, but can you explain why you re emotional here today? because i spent a year not knowing what happened to carol and being accused of it. that s what s happened right now. reporter: there was more than the e-mail to go on. remember the dna the medical examiner found under carol s fingernails? or jim knapp s. police called the dna, evidence