i did not do this. she felt like history was repeating itself. he wanted to have women and his wife was getting in his way. reporter: were the police just plain wrong? it s like this twilight zone where lies become truth and the truth becomes lies. reporter: maybe the real killer was still out there. you have lied to the police about this case? yes, sir. so devastating. we knew that that was probably the key to solving this. thirteen years. thirteen years of hell! reporter: such an awful crime. the wife. the little boy and girl. shot at point blank range. i was just dumbfounded. i was shocked, what i saw. reporter: how to comprehend it? i said, what? what are you, what are you talking about? what are you saying? reporter: the husband had an alibi. could he have slipped away for say ten minutes? he could ve done anything. but he didn t. reporter: 13 years. three trials, appeals, reversals. and changing stories. the big picture here
i did not do this! reporter: the evidence, a palm print, a sweatshirt, a t-shirt with drops of blood. would it convict him or clear him? i have tried a lot of cases. i have never tried anything like this. reporter: it was a mystery so tangled, there would be not one, not two, but three trials. which jury would get it right? it s like this twilight zone. lies become truth and the truth becomes lies. you have lied to the police about this case? yes. reporter: was the real killer still out there? we knew this was probably the key to solving this. reporter: i m lester holt and this is dateline with mystery on lockhart road . narrator: such an awful crime. the wife, the little boy and girl. shot at point blank range. i was dumbfounded, i was shocked at what i saw. narrator: the husband had an alibi. could he have slipped away for say 10 minutes? he could have done anything. narrator: 13 years, appeals, trials, reversals and changing stories. th
he wanted to have women and his wife was getting in the way. were police just plain wrong? it s like this twilight zone where lies become truth and the truth becomes lies. reporter: maybe the real killer was still out there. you have lied to the police about this case. yes, sir. so devastating. we knew that that was probably the key to solving this. thirteen years. thirteen years of hell! reporter: such an awful crime. the wife. the little boy and girl. my kids are dead. reporter: shot at point blank range. i was just dumbfounded. i was shocked, what i saw. reporter: how to comprehend it? i said, what? what are you, what are you talking about? what are you saying? reporter: the husband had an alibi. could he have slipped away for, say, ten minutes? he could ve done anything. but he didn t. reporter: 13 years. three trials, appeals, reversals. and changing stories. the big picture here, charles, for a lot of people is it sounds like
he wanted to have women and his wife was getting in the way. reporter: were police just plain wrong? it s like this twilight zone where lies become truth and the truth becomes lies. reporter: maybe the real killer was still out there. you have lied to the police about this case. yes, sir. so devastating. we knew that that was probably the key to solving this. thirteen years. thirteen years of hell! reporter: such an awful crime. the wife. the little boy and girl. my kids are dead. reporter: shot at point blank range. i was just dumbfounded. i was shocked, what i saw. reporter: how to comprehend it? i said, what? what are you, what are you talking about? what are you saying? reporter: the husband had an alibi. could he have slipped away for, say, ten minutes? he could ve done anything. but he didn t. reporter: 13 years. three trials, appeals, reversals. and changing stories. the big picture here, charles, for a lot of people is i
it s like this twilight zone where lies become truth and the truth becomes lies. reporter: maybe the real killer was still out there. you have lied to the police about this case. yes, sir. so devastating. we knew that that was probably the key to solving this. thirteen years. thirteen years of hell! reporter: such an awful crime. the wife. the little boy and girl. my kids are dead. reporter: shot at point blank range. i was just dumbfounded. i was shocked, what i saw. reporter: how to comprehend it? i said, what? what are you, what are you talking about? what are you saying? reporter: the husband had an alibi. could he have slipped away for, say, ten minutes? he could ve done anything. but he didn t. reporter: 13 years. three trials, appeals, reversals. and changing stories. the big picture here, charles, for a lot of people is it sounds like a crock. it doesn t pass the sniff test. there s a lot of things about this case that doesn