details. that was the worst day of my life that i found out about my mom. a loving couple. a romantic hike. a secluded spot. she was turning to look at the bird. it s like her feet just went out from under her. all of a sudden i hear yelling coming from downstream. there was mrs. muller floating face up. a wife falling to her death. her husband falling apart. he was panicking and shaking. crying. the evidence at the scene makes you believe something entirely different happened. he told me she fell 20 feet. where were the injuries? why did i not see what i expected to see? a search for truth in the woods and water. if your theory is right, it is. loo like she was being hunted. almost like a hare and a wolf. two chilling accounts of what happened to the mom they adored. one seemingly unsolve able mystery. you either believe crazy story a or crazy story b. both stories are crazy. which one do you want to go with? winding down a mountain in southwest col
after a contentious five week long trial, the murder case against fred mueller finally went to the jury. what was it like waiting for that so important verdict? butterflies. yeah, we were all kind of nervous, but i think we were all pretty confident. in our gut, there s no way he would not be acquitted. day one of deliberations came and went without a verdict. as the waiting spilled into they two, the defense and prosecution agreed on one thing . that is the toughest time of the trial, is the waiting. you are literally in this holding pattern . that is the toughest part of any trial just not knowing what the results will be . sheriff bruce was back in his lake city office, waiting by that photo of leslie. i had no concerns.
reporter: but sheriff bruce says fred mueller might have underestimated the hensdale county sheriff s department. that s what he thought. he was going to get a bumbling buffoon to show up and he was going to walk away on this. what do you say to someone who says you are a small town sheriff with tunnel vision who focused on this rich outsider and just like a dog with a bone would not let go? i would say they are wrong. i have thick skin. we did the right thing. reporter: they kept working and testing and poking around. not sure if it would ever amount to anything. as the years moved on, investigators were continuing to build a case against fred. though his children were one aware their father was under such intense suspicion. they were trying hard to remember the happy moments with their mother and put the colorado tragedy behind them. what became of the cabin
reporter: but were these tests enough to make a full- fledged criminal case? the first person they would have to convince was the local district attorney. he was quickly brought on board as to what we were investigating. reporter: it turned out to be a hard sell. for whatever reason, we could never pique his interest. he never said no. but i didn t find the enthusiasm. reporter: even after those tasks, the da wasn t ready to press charges. months went by. then a year. leslie s picture was still there right behind sheriff bruce s desk. the investigators were not about to shelve their case. were the wheeling turning? there were things yet to be done. but the months did run on. reporter: all this time, fred was a free man in texas. his business ventures were moving on. at home, we were all saying fred mueller believes he got away with murder.
in shock. he was very disheveled. had been crying a lot. and he gave me a big hug. and that was how it broke. i can t imagine getting that news when you just thought your parents were going for a quick hike. disbelief really. the whole thing seemed so surreal. reporter: then father and son were shuttled to the sheriff s department where fred could file a report about the accident. i remember them saying you take fred and i ll take alex. reporter: sheriff bruce was at the station to meet them. my initial reaction to fred was he was a victim. a grieving husband. reporter: fred gave a brief handwritten statement. we want to make sure we have dotted the is and crossed the ts . we are dealing with the death of a woman. reporter: then fred and alex headed back to the empty cabin and the home that had been full of such happy memories. they endured the longest night of their lives. we stayed together in the same night. did your dad sleep? it was a long night.