00:00:05
[music] I want people to know that Rhonda wasn't just beautiful. [music] >> Bye, Daddy.
00:00:14
>> People always are surprised when they hear this. Like, no, you can't be super
00:00:17
beautiful like her and be intelligent at the same time. I'm like, actually, she was wicked smart.
00:00:27
Very in love. We planned on getting married in the summer. That was my timetable.
00:00:31
>> They did look at wedding rings. >> I think she she wanted one that was around 35,000 and uh I was thinking more
00:00:38
15,000 was my range. >> And you and Rhonda, did you like to get outdoors >> all the time? We loved hiking. Uh we
00:00:47
played a lot of frisbee golf, so yeah, we were outdoors most of the time. We woke up early. She opened the drapes
00:00:55
and we saw a beautiful day. Okay. So, we are going to go hiking. One of the things she asked me on the drive over.
00:01:03
She said, "Uh, if anything ever happens to me, do you promise to watch our daughter and take care of her?"
00:01:10
And I go, "What are you talking about?" She goes, "I have dreams all the time that I am dead before 25."
00:01:18
[music] >> Did Rhonda ever tell you that she was sensing something bad was going to
00:01:23
happen to her? She said that he's either going to propose to me or kill me. She wasn't happy. She just fell out of
00:01:34
love with him and they were fighting all the time. She had mentioned wanting to take the baby and and leave. Steve
00:01:44
>> started pouring down rain and thunder came and so she just started bolting down like at a full sprint running down
00:01:52
the trail. and what unfolded before your eyes. >> I don't know how far down it was, but
00:01:58
she went off the trail. >> A man hiking with Rhonda Castow says that she fell off a cliff last night.
00:02:07
[music] >> Did she take a step and her feet went out in front of her? Did she tumble
00:02:11
forward? What did you see? >> Next question. I'm Steve Nichols and in February of
00:02:22
[music] 2015, I was charged and arrested for the murder of Rhonda Casta, my fiance.
00:02:30
We're in Hood River, Oregon. It's been 6 years, 1 month, and 26 days since Rhonda
00:02:35
fell off that trail to her death. And for the first time, Steven Nichols will enter a formal plea.
00:02:47
Accident or murder? >> Murder. Murder. >> And from a mother's heart and mind, you
00:02:54
are certain of that. >> I am 100% certain of that. He's evil. He's totally evil.
00:03:02
>> I think I've just left a path of destruction. I'm a tilla the Han basically going through women.
00:03:11
[screaming] >> [music] [music] [music] >> 48 hours mystery at Eagle Creek. When you have a [music] case where
00:03:50
someone's falsely accused, you can't really separate yourself from work and and home life.
00:03:56
>> For defense attorney Mike Arnold, >> Mr. Nichols is here with his lawyer. Representing Steven Nichols gives new
00:04:04
meaning to the phrase full-time job. >> You know, while I prefer to be coming home doing farm chores and listen to
00:04:10
wildlife, [laughter] >> instead I'll be thinking about my closing argument or what the next step
00:04:14
of the case is. >> We are on the record in Hood River County, state of Oregon versus Steven
00:04:21
Wagner Nichols. >> Nichols was arrested for murder [music] in February 2015. accused of pushing his girlfriend Rhonda
00:04:30
Castow off this trail in Oregon 6 years earlier. >> To that charge, what's your plea?
00:04:38
>> Not guilty. >> Bail was set at $2 million. Nicholls would spend [music] the next 14
00:04:46
months in jail awaiting trial. >> I try to just take it one day at a time. I read a lot. I play chess, but really
00:04:55
when it comes down to it, I miss my daughter. So that's the hardest part. >> But in April 2016, with a trial date
00:05:03
nowhere in sight, Judge John Olsen reduced Nicholls bail to $250,000. Mike Arnold set out on a frantic mission
00:05:14
to gather the 10% needed in cash to free his client. So the farming defense attorney 5 10
00:05:23
>> becomes a personal banker. >> People have taken off work to be there to get him out. So it sounds like a
00:05:30
small price to pay to be there when my client gets to see freedom for the first time in a year. So wish us luck.
00:05:36
>> But Arnold would need more than luck. >> We can't get the client build out until
00:05:40
tomorrow morning. >> He'd need an extra day to arrange for the ankle monitor required for Nicholls
00:05:45
release. >> So hold on tight to this and go get some supper. The next day, it >> was a little unexpected overnight trip
00:05:56
in Hood River. I want recycled clothes. Looking forward to get home to my family. It's my son's first birthday
00:06:02
today. >> Presumption of innocence, ladies and gentlemen. >> Mike feeds the cash into the bail
00:06:08
machine. >> I'm very excited to to see Steve for the for the first time outside in the fresh
00:06:15
air. >> Two more hours. And Arnold gets his wish. >> I want to cry. Actually, I'm so happy.
00:06:27
But it's a bittersweet victory. We will continue to fight until I've proven my innocence.
00:06:33
>> There's still a long fight ahead. But now I've got him out with me so we can work on this as a team. So, this is a
00:06:40
big deal. >> But how exactly did Nicholls and his attorney end up at this moment?
00:06:46
It all started 11 years earlier when a stunning 20-year-old woman knocked on Nicholls bedroom door at his
00:06:55
home just outside Portland, Oregon. And I turn around and I look at her and my tongue pretty much hit the floor. Up
00:07:04
until that point, she's the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. And she's like, "Hi, my name is Rhonda."
00:07:12
In 2005, Nicholls, who is 10 years older than Rhonda and recently divorced, was working as a day trader.
00:07:20
>> I had a three-bedroom condo, and the other two rooms were just empty. >> So, he decided to get a roommate.
00:07:27
>> I first met Steven Nichols through the internet. I was looking for a place, a
00:07:32
room to rent, >> who turned out to be Rhonda's mother, Julia Simmons. He can be very charming
00:07:39
and, you know, somebody that's really nice. >> Rhonda's [music] best friend, Jessica
00:07:45
Coburn, wasn't surprised Steven was instantly attracted to Rhonda, who was an aspiring model.
00:07:52
>> Tell me about this. >> That was part of her modeling portfolio. I just love it because she just looks
00:07:59
amazing in all of those pictures. >> Everything about her was impressive and I just immediately fell in love with
00:08:05
her. And what were you sensing from Rhonda? >> I felt she was into me, too. I could
00:08:10
tell that she valued intelligence, and I've always thought that that's one of my strongest assets.
00:08:16
>> I think she was attracted not so much to his looks, but to his his uh what he
00:08:21
had, his condo, his money, his, you know, his status. >> Soon, Rhonda [music] joined her mother,
00:08:28
Julia, in the condo, not as a roommate, but as Steven's girlfriend. [music] Rhonda's younger sister, Tessa, was just
00:08:36
9 years old at the time. >> When I first met Steve, it was really fun because I was a little girl. He was
00:08:43
he was playful. You know, >> 3 years into their relationship, Rhonda [music] and Nicholls, living together
00:08:49
but not married, became parents. >> You want daddy to help you a little? >> I got this for you.
00:08:56
>> Did you see her face? She's all >> When our daughter was born, >> it meant everything to her. She became
00:09:05
the focus and the center of her life. >> I loved having a niece. I was always over there and she loved playing with
00:09:13
jewelry just like Rhonda did. >> She's just like her mom. She loves jewelry. >> Rhonda loved being a mom but hoped to
00:09:21
restart her modeling career. She had gained quite a bit of weight from having our daughter. She was the heaviest she
00:09:29
had ever been and she felt really disgusting. >> So Steven says the couple came up with
00:09:35
[music] an adventurous plan to lose weight. >> We made it a pact that we would hike 20
00:09:41
or 25 of the top trails in Oregon. We'll just start crossing them off the list. >> But Jessica says Rhonda told her about
00:09:49
only one planned hike. She was so happy that he was finally planning something. And all the years they had been
00:09:56
together, he had never put any effort into planning anything for her, >> including those plans to get married.
00:10:06
>> The proposal never happened. Things were tough after the baby was born. He wasn't
00:10:11
around as much. I think she held on for longer for the sake of the baby. >> Daddy going to open it for you. Jessica
00:10:20
says Rhonda had grown unhappy and that the relationship had taken a dangerous turn.
00:10:27
>> She told me that he had in the recent months been physically abusive to her. >> But Nicholls claims just the opposite
00:10:37
was true. >> We wouldn't argue at all. We were spending a lot of time together. So I
00:10:42
would think that would be the closest we ever were. So, when Steven is telling us
00:10:48
that they were planning their future together and everything was great and it was a loveydovey relationship,
00:10:54
is he lying to me? >> He's absolutely lying to you. I've I've witnessed their fights. I' I
00:11:01
was on the phone a couple of times when they were in a physical fight, actually.
00:11:08
>> And Julia claims Rhonda made a chilling statement to her just before the hike.
00:11:14
She said, "He's either going to give me a ring or he's going to throw me off a cliff."
00:11:23
>> On March 16th, 2009, Rhonda and Steven would set out on that fitness hike, and
00:11:30
Rhonda would not live to see the end of the day. >> There's a smile. Bye, Daddy.
00:11:57
This is probably the most hiked area in the Columbia River Gorge uh for several reasons.
00:12:05
One, the the sheer beauty of the hike. Three months after Steven Nichols arrest in 2015, his attorney, Mike Arnold, took
00:12:14
his own investigative team up the Eagle Creek Trail, where he [music] believes Rhonda Castow slipped
00:12:23
and fell to her death. Inclement weather hits and disaster happens. Between the physical evidence and the
00:12:32
science, there won't be much dispute about this being a tragic accident on a dangerous trail.
00:12:39
>> Steven Nichols says this is how the tragedy unfolded. They are heading down the trail. Rhonda was in a great mood
00:12:46
and jokingly she put a towel around her shoulders and was calling herself Supergirl. She broke into a run. And
00:12:53
according to Nicholls, at this very point, she slipped on the wet path and fell more than 150 ft to her death.
00:13:04
That was his story in 2015. >> I'm not going to comment on that. >> When Nicholls was forbidden by his
00:13:12
attorney from discussing details of Rhonda's deadly fall with 48 hours. Until now, his only account was the one
00:13:20
he gave to police the day of the tragedy. >> Again, something I'm not going to comment on.
00:13:25
>> But in 2017, Steven Nichols broke that silence. >> Either I pushed her, she jumped of her
00:13:33
own accord, or she slipped. >> He sat down and spoke to us about the day Rhonda Castow died. Let's get in
00:13:41
that time machine and go back to March 16th, 2009. We woke up early. >> Steven says [music] Rhonda seemed
00:13:53
focused on the future as they drove to Eagle Creek Trail. >> She says, "I desperately need to lose
00:14:00
weight because they want to use me as the Maria Sherupova lookalike model." And I'm like, "Yeah, you really do look
00:14:07
like her." But then Nicholls claims Rhonda asked him a startling question completely out
00:14:14
of the blue. >> She said, "Uh, if anything ever happens to me, do you promise to watch our
00:14:19
daughter and take care of her?" And I said, "Of course." >> Steven says the question unnerved him,
00:14:26
especially since 3 months earlier, he claims Rhonda had demanded [music] he buy life insurance.
00:14:32
>> She was adamant about it. I said, "Why do you want this life insurance?" and she goes, "Because I want to leave our
00:14:39
daughter something in case I die." >> So both Steven and Rhonda had each taken out [music] a $1 million policy on the
00:14:47
other. >> He planned the whole thing was premeditated. The whole thing. >> Rhonda's mother doesn't believe a word
00:14:56
of Nicholls story, [music] saying the insurance was all his idea and that Nicholls, the day trader, had an
00:15:03
ulterior motive. He had lost a bunch of money the year before. He lost like a quarter of a million dollars cuz
00:15:09
insurance and then four months later she's dead. >> The couple got to the trail head where
00:15:16
Rhonda snapped this photo of Steve later found on her cell phone. >> The weather was excellent actually.
00:15:24
>> But Steven says Rhonda was acting strangely. I asked her, "Are you okay hiking on
00:15:31
this trail?" And she goes, "I used to come up here with a bottle of vodka and a bag of weed." She goes, "I'll be
00:15:41
fine." So I said, "Okay." >> They hiked up a few miles. >> Uh I remember we kissed for a little
00:15:49
bit. Um I remember she wanted to have sex and I said, "No, like I'm very prim and proper. I didn't want to do that."
00:15:59
Then Nicholls says Rhonda once again asked him that unsettling question. >> She asked me if anything ever happened
00:16:06
to her which would I promise to take care of her daughter. >> But Rhonda may have been thinking about
00:16:12
more than their daughter. >> What are you saying, Stephen? >> I mean I think anyone with an ounce of
00:16:20
intelligence can fill in the blanks. Um, you would have to look into how many times in her past she committed suicide.
00:16:29
>> Attempted suicide. [music] >> Yeah, of course. Attempted. I mean, Nichols says Rhonda was depressed and
00:16:35
shockingly that she had tried to take her own life at least three times before he even met her.
00:16:42
>> She's never attempted suicide. Never. He's lying. I But you know what? People
00:16:48
that have to make up lies are, you know, you can obviously tell they're guilty. And there's more. Nicholls claims that
00:16:54
Rhonda had long struggled with a serious drug problem. >> She's never been off drugs since the age
00:17:00
of 12. >> What kind of What kind of drugs? >> Everything. Everything. >> Alcohol, cocaine,
00:17:06
>> all of them. >> Marijuana, >> crystal meth, >> all of them. Heroin. >> But Rhonda's autopsy would show that she
00:17:14
only had traces of marijuana as well as prescription drugs for anxiety and depression in her system. Jessica Coburn
00:17:22
says Rhonda did suffer from postpartum depression. >> She was in therapy and that's why she
00:17:30
was on the prescription medications. >> Nicholls says they didn't linger on the trail for long. And who decides, hey,
00:17:38
let's head back. Uh was decided by the weather. started pouring down rain and thunder came and so she just started
00:17:47
bolting down like at a full sprint running down the trail. >> Now, I've been on that trail. It's a
00:17:53
narrow trail. >> It is very narrow. >> Did you yell at her? Hey, what are you doing? Stop. Walk. We're walking down.
00:18:00
>> Um, I don't think I screamed anything at her. >> Nicholls says the steep trail became
00:18:06
slick. I hugged the right wall pretty much on the way down. This is cascading rain. Like you can actually just see the
00:18:15
water flowing down the trail. >> And so take me to the time of of the fall. What do you remember?
00:18:24
>> M that part I'm not going to take you through because she did fall off and I can say I had
00:18:41
absolutely nothing to do either directly or indirectly with her falling off. >> But what Nicholls seems to be suggesting
00:18:51
to 48 Hours is that Rhonda may have chosen to go off that cliff. >> Did she tumble forward?
00:19:00
What did you see? >> Next question. Was there a large skid mark on the uh on the path where she had
00:19:09
slipped and went off? >> No, it's just a footprint. >> Just a footprint. >> Mhm.
00:19:14
>> Steve, look at me. [laughter] What you're saying is she jumped. She was going down at almost a run pace.
00:19:22
There's a single footprint, you're telling me, at the edge of the cliff >> and she goes over.
00:19:28
>> That's a jump. I've laid everything out there. People can reach whatever conclusion they want.
00:19:51
[music] Well, not saying it in so many words. She did fall off and I can say I had
00:20:05
absolutely nothing to do either directly or indirectly with her falling off. >> Steven Nichols mind games.
00:20:16
>> There's definitely a lot more to the story, but I'm not going to say it. So, >> manage to drop a bombshell.
00:20:24
>> Well, you've led me down a path to believe this was a suicide. And I don't think you can look me in the eye and
00:20:30
say, "Well, Peter, you're wrong." >> Can you? >> No. >> Suggesting that Rhonda Castow [music]
00:20:40
chose to jump to her death from Eagle Creek Trail. What was her point in going up there?
00:20:48
How to say this? I She knew she wasn't living past the age of 25. She knew that for a reason. She just wasn't a happy
00:20:55
person. and she thought that having our daughter would bring her happiness and it didn't.
00:21:01
>> She had a 9-month old baby at home that she loved dearly and she loved her family. So, that's just another one of
00:21:08
his lies to take the heat off of himself. >> After Rhonda went off the trail, Steven
00:21:14
says he hiked down the deep ravine. >> What did you do when you got to her? >> Well, I held her.
00:21:21
That's the first thing I did when I got to her. With no cell service to call for
00:21:25
help, Nicholls says he made his way back to the trail head and dialed 911. >> The police never once asked me if it was
00:21:34
a suicide. They never even brought up suicide. I just answered the questions that they asked.
00:21:38
>> Why didn't you tell them back in the day that suicide was something she was contemplating?
00:21:44
>> Would it have made a difference? Do you really think >> Nicholls may have had a million reasons
00:21:50
to keep suicide a secret? >> If [music] it's a suicide, life insurance doesn't pay out.
00:22:00
So, our daughter would have gotten nothing. >> Is Steven being self-sacrificing, having
00:22:07
said nothing about suicide until now, even as he stands charged with murder. you were willing to essentially take a
00:22:15
bullet for that. >> Or is he self-erving? >> I think Steve is just throwing all these
00:22:21
ideas out to throw people off the fact that he pushed her. Oh well, she killed herself because she wanted to make a
00:22:27
better life for her daughter. >> An investigation into Rhonda's death was immediately launched and a memorial was
00:22:34
held. Rhonda's family claims that you were not grieving, that you seemed unmoved by Rhonda's death.
00:22:43
>> The exact opposite. I was crying nonstop. When I'm really, really sad, I just I close down.
00:22:57
That's just the way I deal with pain. >> Shortly afterward, Steven moved across the state with his daughter to live with
00:23:03
family. For about 3 months after Rhonda died, I completely shut down. >> By 2013, four years had gone by and no
00:23:17
charges had been filed against Nicholls. He decided to start a new life in a new
00:23:22
land. >> So, how does a kid [music] from Oregon end up in China? >> I had been there before and I liked
00:23:28
China. >> Steven packed up. >> I was telling my daughter, "This is our new life. let's make it work.
00:23:35
>> And headed here to Wooi about 75 miles from Shanghai. >> I decided when I got to China, this is a
00:23:43
whole fresh start. And I was like, America, all the past. >> Steven got a job teaching English to
00:23:50
Chinese businessmen. >> My daughter was absolutely thriving. A little over two months and she was
00:23:57
fluent in Mandarin. She had dance lessons. She was taking Taekwond do. She was learning to play the piano. [music]
00:24:05
>> And Steven began to thrive, too, falling in love with Landy Yinyan. >> She's [music] beautiful, of course, but
00:24:13
she's the deepest, funniest person I've ever met. >> Steven says, "Landy became like a mother
00:24:19
to his daughter." >> And I can say this with being with so many American women. Chinese women, all
00:24:26
inclusive, are better partners. Sounds so insulting to American women, but they just they make better partners. They
00:24:32
make better wives. >> And so Steven decided to make Landy his wife after a year of dating.
00:24:39
>> I had actually proposed to her right before I came back to America. >> Steven flew back to the US with his
00:24:45
daughter in February 2015 to get married. Landy would follow a few days later. >> We were planning on getting married both
00:24:53
in America and China to make it official. What Steven didn't [music] know is that the entire time he was out
00:25:00
of the country, investigators stayed on Rhonda's case and Julia stayed on theirs.
00:25:08
>> I kept calling and asking why nothing was happening. >> But something did happen. In April 2014,
00:25:16
a secret grand jury heard evidence and [music] indicted Nicholls for the murder of Rhonda Castow. So 10 months later,
00:25:24
when Steven [music] and his daughter arrived in San Francisco, >> they said something was wrong with my
00:25:29
bags, and was like, "That's interesting." >> Instead of catching his connecting flight to Oregon, Steven says
00:25:37
authorities separated him from his daughter. >> I'm like, "What is going on here?
00:25:41
Something's fishy." And then, yeah, that's when they arrested me. And I could hear my daughter in the other room
00:25:46
crying and she goes, "I want to be back with my dad." Steven would be extradited to Oregon and
00:25:51
his daughter would be sent to live [music] with Rhonda's family. >> I was shocked. It's one of those things
00:25:57
where you think you're in a dream and you're going to wake up at any time. I'm like, "Okay, I'm going to wake up in
00:26:01
China." You know, my daughter will be nudging me. It'll be back to normal, but that never happens.
00:26:07
>> Back in Oregon, it was like a dream. 40-year-old Steven Nichols was arrested last
00:26:13
>> one that had come true for Rhonda's [music] loved ones. And I just I was busted out crying. It was amazing. I
00:26:20
couldn't believe it. I was just like after all this time finally. >> We are on the record in state of Oregon
00:26:42
versus Steven Nichols. >> For months following his February 2015 arrest for murder.
00:26:47
>> When you're ready, Mr. Arnold. Steven Nichols faced pre-trial hearings on a slew of issues from evidence to motive.
00:26:55
>> The state is present represented by Carrie Rasmus, >> including whether there should even be a
00:27:00
trial. Since the defense considers Ronda Castow's death an accident, both sides called witnesses.
00:27:07
>> Was this immediately investigated as a murder? >> No. >> And when did it become a homicide
00:27:13
investigation as opposed to an accidental fall? >> Pretty much the next morning.
00:27:19
>> [music] >> I can tell that uh based on the injuries that she has, she she landed
00:27:23
predominantly on her legs and her pelvis. >> Medical examiner [music] and forensic
00:27:28
pathologist Dr. Christopher Young says Rhonda's injuries were mostly below the waist.
00:27:36
>> The pelvis was essentially shattered. The defense argues the location of her injuries indicate Rhonda left the trail
00:27:43
feet first, not tumbling head over heels from a push. It's a theory that could support
00:27:51
Nicholls new suggestion of suicide. When you look at the relationship that the defendant then had with Rhonda Castow
00:28:00
and >> notes from a therapist Rhonda [music] had been seen reveal she was depressed
00:28:05
but not suicidal from her relationship with Steven which she described as loveless.
00:28:12
>> Um what the state has to prove in this case is the defendant did a criminal act. Prosecutors hope the judge will
00:28:18
allow them to tell jurors about some bad acts in Steven Nichols troubled past at
00:28:25
his upcoming murder trial. >> Is something that obviously is is titillating and interesting.
00:28:31
>> The first one a shocking love triangle involving another of Rhonda's younger sisters, Melanie, that may have provided
00:28:40
a motive for murder. >> Do you believe that Steven was in love with Melanie? Yes, I do.
00:28:47
>> Jessica says Rhonda learned that Steven was having sex with Melanie. >> And did Rhonda ever tell you how young
00:28:55
her sister was when she first had sex with Steven? >> She was 15. >> 15 years old.
00:29:01
>> Yes. In fact, just after his arrest for murder, Steven was indicted on two counts of thirdderee rape and three
00:29:09
[music] counts of thirdderee sodomy for allegedly having sexual relations with an underage Melanie back in 2005.
00:29:18
>> He did rape my daughter and I didn't want to believe it. In October 2016, while awaiting his murder trial, you
00:29:27
agreed to plead guilty to two counts of sexual abuse with Melanie Castow. >> Mhm.
00:29:34
>> And you signed your name under this statement. I had sexual intercourse with Melanie Castow twice.
00:29:41
>> Steven insists his admission was false. >> Did you have sex with her? >> No. I'm like, well, can I take a plea
00:29:49
and then just say, obviously it never happened. And I was told later, "Nope. Um, in order to pass the sex offender
00:29:54
treatment, you have to admit that >> even though he'd be a registered sex offender, the law would allow Steven to
00:30:02
still fight and regain custody of his daughter who is in the care of the state. >> I became desperate. I wanted my daughter
00:30:10
back. You'll be amazed at what you're willing to sign to stay out of prison." >> But investigators believe there really
00:30:16
was a relationship between Steven [music] and Melanie. one that continued on and off for four years, right up to
00:30:24
that fateful last hike. Just a few hours before her death, Rhonda, who had learned of the affair, sent this text to
00:30:32
her sister. I don't know what to say besides, "He's a piece of He used to hurt me. I won't let him screw us up
00:30:40
again. When you need me, I am waiting." This Rhonda sounds like somebody that doesn't care much at all about you.
00:30:48
She's angry with you. >> Does sound like she's angry. I have no idea why she sent those.
00:30:53
>> But Julia says she knows why >> she loved her sister and she knew that Steve was trying to drive a wedge
00:31:01
between them and she I guess she figured it all out and realized what he was doing.
00:31:07
>> On the night of Rhonda Casau's death, the defendant didn't run to where his daughter was, didn't run to his parents.
00:31:16
The first person to whom he went was Melanie. Melanie Castow. >> And it's not the only allegation Nichols
00:31:26
has faced involving a minor. Less than 6 months after Rhonda's death, he was [music] charged with five counts of sex
00:31:33
abuse for allegedly touching a 13-year-old girl on the buttocks. He claims that didn't happen, but something
00:31:42
else did. You sent sexually suggestive texts to her and a selfie with your shirt off and you agreed to a plea deal
00:31:50
in this case. >> Yeah, that was definitely I was in the wrong on that one. Um, in
00:31:57
terms of sending the photo, that was >> No kidding. >> Yeah, >> that's terrible. It's disgusting.
00:32:03
>> It is. >> Nicholls pleaded guilty to one count of sexual harassment. I have been
00:32:10
emotionally abusive at times to people, but I've never physically hurt anyone. >> Prosecutors don't agree and want a jury
00:32:19
to see this picture taken by Rhonda showing red marks left from an alleged physical encounter with Nicholls.
00:32:27
>> Right before they went on their hike, they had they had a little scuffle on the stairs and he put some bruises on
00:32:32
her back and she took pictures of them in the mirror. And there are allegations of another physical assault of a woman
00:32:39
with eerie similarities to what Nicholls stands accused of now. Allegations made
00:32:45
by his ex-wife. [music] >> He did try to push his wife over a balcony in China. In November 2003,
00:32:53
Steven was still married to his ex, an American woman and living [music] in China for the first time when his spouse
00:33:00
accused him of trying to suffocate her and throw her over the railing of their eighth floor apartment.
00:33:07
>> We were both holding on to each other's clothing and we were both yelling. Nicholls denies the claim and was not
00:33:15
charged with the crime in China. But Oregon court documents show a witness confirmed Nicholls ex-wife's account.
00:33:27
As Nicholls awaits trial in the death of Rhonda Castow, he has some pleasant distraction.
00:33:33
>> My Chinese fiance Landy is arriving here in about an hour. I'm nervous. I'm excited.
00:33:42
visits from his fiance. >> Hello. >> Today I had my first court appearance. The case was involving my daughter.
00:33:52
>> At our request, Steven Nichols has kept a video diary while out on bail. >> Blue sky, many, many trees,
00:34:01
>> including Landy hiking to that fateful spot on Eagle Creek Trail. >> Very beautiful, but a little dangerous.
00:34:11
And on the eve of his trial, >> we're at the top of Spencer but in Eugene. Love the hike. This is one of
00:34:17
the happiest days of my life. >> A defiant Nicholls is convinced there will be many more happy days ahead.
00:34:25
>> I had nothing to do with Ronda Casau's death. I had nothing to do with Rhonda Caso's
00:34:48
death. >> You didn't push her. >> No. >> What is it? What is it? What is it? >> So, you you're telling us you are
00:34:57
completely innocent of these charges? >> Yes. >> There's a smile. In May 2017, following several hearings
00:35:08
about what evidence could be used against Steven Nichols, which would include his plea to having sex with
00:35:14
Melanie, it looked like his true day in court, was finally on the horizon. >> And then I got a call from Carrie
00:35:22
Rasmmanson, the prosecutor, and she slowly told me the news about him taking a plea. To Julia's shock and horror,
00:35:33
there had been a settlement conference with the prosecution and the defense agreeing to allow Nicholls to plead
00:35:40
guilty to lesser charges. >> I started to cry. I got really upset. I just said, I was screaming on the phone
00:35:46
to Carrie, "No, no, you can't do this. Please don't don't plead out." >> But prosecutors knew their case against
00:35:52
Nicholls could fail. >> For years, the district attorney's office has believed that Mr. Nichols is
00:36:00
responsible for the death of Rhonda Castow. But this case is not about belief. It's about the facts that can be
00:36:07
presented to a jury at trial. >> What is your plea to the charge of criminally negligent homicide?
00:36:14
>> Guilty. >> And to the charge of coercion? >> Guilty. >> People take p for all sorts of reasons.
00:36:21
Most of the time, innocent people plead guilty in order to gain an advantage or meet a goal. In this case, um this is
00:36:28
Mr. Nichols purchasing um insurance. There's now a 0% chance that Steve goes to prison for murder. That a jury gets
00:36:36
it wrong. >> Nicholls was given credit for time served while awaiting trial. He remains
00:36:42
on parole for 3 years. His ankle monitor was removed and his days behind bars are
00:36:50
over. This plea deal, is it justice to you? >> No, it's not justice. I felt like it
00:36:57
happened out of nowhere. I'm still completely blown away by the the decision that was made in this.
00:37:04
>> You destroyed my whole family. >> Still firmly believing [music] Nicholls is a murderer. Rhonda's mother, Julia,
00:37:12
was allowed to address [music] the court. >> I don't see how you could do that. How
00:37:16
you could take a mother away from her child like that by killing her? That's just horrible. Steve, I'll just buy my
00:37:22
time and wait until you screw up or when you die because I know you're going to go to hell for what you did.
00:37:28
>> Nicholls claims he took the deal for just one reason. Time was running out to
00:37:33
regain custody of his daughter. >> If I waited over a year to go to trial, I probably had a 0% chance.
00:37:40
>> There's um some problems with the juvenile uh court system that the longer you wait, the harder it is to get a
00:37:46
child returned to parent. [music] But having now admitted to inappropriate behavior with a 13-year-old girl,
00:37:52
pleading to having sex with Rhonda's underage sister, and playing a role in Rhonda's death, Nicholls chances of
00:38:00
regaining custody of his daughter are in jeopardy. >> I think I've just left a path of
00:38:06
destruction. I'm a Tilla the Han basically going through women. Unable to leave Oregon until his parole expires
00:38:13
[music] in 2020, Steven broke up with his fiance, who had returned to China. >> I'm alone about 99% of the time. I never
00:38:23
go out. I have nobody. >> Then for the second time in our 48 hours interview, Nicholls brings up the topic
00:38:32
of suicide, but this time he's not speaking about Rhonda. If I don't have my daughter, then it's pretty much game
00:38:40
over for me. I'm I'm checking out. So, >> you're saying you'll take your own life?
00:38:45
>> Um, I hate all the suicide questions. Um, I'm not going to answer that, but like I
00:38:52
said, I if I don't get my daughter back, I'm done. I'll just say that. >> Yeah, right. I doubt that. He's too
00:39:01
narcissistic, egotistical, sociopath. There's no way he would take his own life. He's just said that to get
00:39:10
sympathy. >> And if your granddaughter were to be placed back into his custody, what do
00:39:16
you think would happen? >> She would not be a normal child. She would be emotionally and mentally abused
00:39:24
and possibly [music] physical. And then just when we thought this story had come to an end, our interview with
00:39:34
Nicholls took a turn into the surreal. [music] >> I'm trying to think of a way to think of
00:39:41
this. >> For the first time, he talks about what may have happened [music] in Rhonda's
00:39:46
last moments of life that day in 2009, comparing her to a wounded soldier. Let's say you're in a war situation and
00:39:55
you're with your buddy and I don't know, he he takes a landmine or a grenade or something. You're 100% certain this
00:40:03
guy's going to die. >> Remember, [music] Nicholls climbed down 150 ft to where Rhonda's broken body
00:40:10
lay. >> Was she alive when you got to her? >> Now we're [laughter] And that's the part I'm not going into.
00:40:24
Is Steven Nichols about to admit something? >> Did you put Rhonda out of misery that
00:40:30
day? >> Let me ask you, if you shoot your war buddy because you see how much pain he's in,
00:40:38
is that murder? [snorts] >> What do you say? >> I say no. Of course not. So to me that's
00:40:46
a justified I don't want to say homicide but I mean technically it is homicide but it's justified as of that point. You
00:40:53
are putting someone out of their misery that essentially has zero chance of survival.
00:41:00
>> And is that what you did? >> That's of course that's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying well you brought
00:41:06
[music] this up. You brought up this whole >> it seems a dangerous word game. Nicholls
00:41:12
stood on the cliff's edge, then took a step back. A final twist in a tragedy where only Nicholls knows [music] the
00:41:21
real ending. >> It's all hypothetical cuz I'm telling people, you know, think think outside
00:41:31
the box. Like there's always other options there. [music] Heat. [music] [music] Hey, Heat. [music]
00:42:06
Heat. Heat. [music] [music] It was a very stressful situation, very emotional at times
00:42:50
and an emotional trial from start to finish. He's a very prominent businessman, very
00:42:57
successful. >> Generally to get in that kind of a position, you you have a pretty big ego.
00:43:10
>> We had a camera. We started taking photos. She took a few of me. I took some of her.
00:43:20
>> Leslie Müller took a fall and drowned. How that happened? No one knows except Fred Müller.
00:43:35
You cannot fall that far without serious serious injuries. >> It's like it's just happened in slow
00:43:47
motion in front of me. She falls like she just dove. Fred had a great story. >> I'm screaming her name. I'm hollering.
00:43:57
She's moving with the current. I can't really see where I can get to her. >> I mean, he had details and drama and
00:44:03
action. [snorts] >> The defendant has asked people to believe what is impossible.
00:44:13
>> I mean, there are so many inconsistencies in his story. I don't [music] know if they just
00:44:19
thought that we were going to be a bunch of ignorant Hicks. >> There's no proof. Someone's going to
00:44:26
murder somebody. They're going to have a reason. >> We don't know these 12 people. They
00:44:31
don't know us. They don't know my dad. He would have never hurt my mother in any way.
00:44:38
>> During jury selection, we kind of heard that, oh, you know, he's got a new wife.
00:44:43
And it's like, oh, aha. She basically rescued me from the pits of despair after Leslie died.
00:44:51
>> I will tell you why I fell in love with Fred. His honesty, his integrity, his
00:44:56
trustworthiness. [music] There are 12 people in a room somewhere deciding my husband's fate.
00:45:07
[music] >> It was uh incredibly stressful. >> It's tough. They were there. They stared
00:45:14
at us, you know, day after day. >> I think it was a lie. I think Fred [music] Mueller is a master of
00:45:22
deception. >> When I saw that photograph of Fred's face moments before the accident,
00:45:30
I told myself he didn't kill her. >> Just because you don't find something doesn't mean it's not there.
00:46:00
Amid the majestic mountains of Colorado and the landscape surrounding the family
00:46:05
vacation house, Lesie Muller found her sanctuary. It was a beautiful house with some beautiful land around it.
00:46:17
>> Bob Burton knew the Mullers. He's the former under sheriff here in Hinsdale County.
00:46:23
>> The people in town would talk about her and how excited she was when she was up
00:46:28
here and how exuberant and she'd love to take advantage of everything that was up
00:46:31
here. Lesie came here to the town of Lake City each summer to ride horses and at Christmas to ski with Fred, her
00:46:40
husband of 27 years, and their three children, Alex entering the naval academy, Ariel working for a Dallas
00:46:48
bank, and Amanda, who works in the oil and gas industry. Fred and Lesie had married young. He was 19 and she was 20.
00:46:58
A deeply religious woman, she became a pioneering doctor in their hometown of San Angelo, Texas, the first female
00:47:06
OBGYn in the area. >> They were very, very affectionate to each other. They were the type of couple
00:47:12
that you kind of feel uncomfortable cuz they're all over each other. >> Even on the rare occasions they didn't
00:47:17
see eye to eye, the disagreements didn't last, says daughter Ariel. And that's why they had such a great marriage
00:47:23
because they never harbored any grudges against each other. >> The Mullers seem to have it all. Three
00:47:31
successful children, a big home in San Angelo, Texas, filled with a lifetime of family memories. And Fred owns a
00:47:39
thriving metals business in town. They are a proud family going back generations in the community.
00:47:49
But what happened here in the deep mountain woods on May 3rd, 2008 in this creek filled with rushing water
00:47:59
changed their lives forever. That Saturday started out happily. It >> was a wonderful day. We basically spent
00:48:07
the whole day, us three, together. >> They went to church. Afterwards, Fred and Alex did some work
00:48:14
around the house. And then Fred and Lesie decided to go for a hike. >> They were urging me to come along with
00:48:21
them. >> Your dad, too. >> Yes, both. And they were even pressing me saying, "Well, come on. We It'll be
00:48:26
fun. We'll see the waterfall." And at that point, I was pretty wore out. Um cuz I mean, I I worked all morning and
00:48:30
so they decided to just make it a date. >> That date would soon take a tragic turn.
00:48:39
Burton was one of the first law enforcement officers on the scene, and Müller described to him what had
00:48:45
happened. You can hear the creek in the distance. We're getting closer and closer. Fred
00:48:51
led us right down to the edge of Cottonwood Creek. Beautiful waterfall down here. And said he was coming down
00:48:57
here with his wife to start taking pictures. Just to this ledge. Little treacherous here, isn't it? The
00:49:07
waterfall in the background was really the point of interest they had in terms of the picture taking that day. And this
00:49:13
particular area would have still had some snow on it and potentially ice. This is one of the last photos taken of
00:49:22
Leslie Mohler before Fred says a bizarre turn of events was set in motion. >> He had her kneel just about where you
00:49:30
are. She was holding the dog. Now, this is where Fred tells me that as he took the picture, a bird flew by, the
00:49:38
bluebird appeared to startle the dog and that as she was getting up, she suddenly started going backwards.
00:49:47
Fred described it himself to police the next day when they interviewed him on audio tape. It's like it just happened
00:49:54
in slow motion in front of me where she falls just like she just dove and [snorts]
00:50:03
it lands on the rocks right by the water. >> The one he pointed to was that one.
00:50:09
There's a little bit of water coming over the top. >> Right. Pretty big size rock.
00:50:13
>> Pretty big size rock. >> She just did a swan dive. just like head and shoulders and just
00:50:20
slides like mush into the channel. I'm screaming her name. I'm hollering. I don't know what I'm doing. And next
00:50:27
thing I know, she's out of sight, man. I can't really see where I can get to her.
00:50:32
She's just face down in the water, head first going downstream. >> Leslie's body was found wedged under
00:50:37
that tree that you can see behind me that goes across the creek. It's just 50 yards downstream from where Fred said
00:50:45
she fell in. Fred says he ran down the mountain trail for help and rescuers tked up the river, eventually finding
00:50:54
Leslie's body here. It appeared to be a terrible, tragic accident. I know she's in a better place and I
00:51:09
know that Jesus is with our family. And so I had to keep it together for for my dad, for for my mom still.
00:51:18
>> But the family has had a big problem putting it all behind them because as police scrutinized Fred's story of what
00:51:26
happened, they weren't at all sure that it was true. >> Fred Mueller says all that occurred here
00:51:34
was one horrific accident. >> I say it was not an accident. I say it was a cold-blooded murder.
00:51:58
When Lesie Muller's drowned body was found wedged beneath this log in Cottonwood Creek, investigators took
00:52:05
Fred Muller at his word. Initially, we have every reason to believe it was an accident.
00:52:10
>> But it wasn't long before Fred's eyewitness account of what happened raised some troubling questions.
00:52:16
>> Each time we would talk to him, the red flags kept being waved. >> According to Fred, Lesie fell from that
00:52:25
cliff about 20 ft, but somehow didn't land in this rocky area that's about 6t wide. Instead, she somehow landed out on
00:52:34
this boulder and was swept away. He said, "I saw her hit with a sickening thud. She was motionless, hitting head
00:52:49
first, body first, shoulder, and head." Based on Fred's description, investigators expected to see major
00:53:00
injuries to Leslie's body, but her autopsy only added to the mystery. There was a significant absence of any
00:53:10
visible injury to any part of the body who would expect to see broken bones. Which beg the question, had Lesie really
00:53:20
fallen from that cliff, Burton says the more Fred spoke. >> I didn't do anything and and I'm not at
00:53:28
all afraid of the truth. >> The more his story sounded rehearsed. He hit me as if he was uh reading from a
00:53:36
recited script. >> He spontaneously said, "You know, I don't have any reason to kill my wife. I
00:53:42
don't have any motive. I don't have a girlfriend. We love each other very much. In fact, uh he told me they even
00:53:49
had sex that day." >> He was answering a question that hadn't even been asked. >> Hadn't been asked in advance of that. He
00:53:54
just blurted that out. >> Burton says Fred could suddenly become defensive. like when he started talking
00:54:01
about family insurance policies. >> We had a a big insurance policy on the two of us. It was strictly for
00:54:08
inheritance. So what in the world would it have been a benefit to me for? The reality is there was no reason for my
00:54:16
wife to die that benefited me. No monetary benefit. >> There are moments, Burton says, when
00:54:23
Fred did sound like a man coping with the death of his wife. I've [clears throat] already had the the
00:54:29
worst thing I could think of in the world happen to me and I just want to go home.
00:54:34
>> But it was what Burton saw on Fred's face, these scratches that added to his growing belief that a crime had taken
00:54:43
place. >> His explanation was that there were some bushes that probably scratched him.
00:54:48
First of all, there weren't a lot of bushes there, and the type of scratches you normally get from bushes are totally
00:54:55
inconsistent with the the marks on his face. Burton wondered, could Lesie have scratched Fred's face? [music]
00:55:03
And then this clue, these glasses that turned out to be Fred's found just 15 ft from where Lesie had reportedly fallen.
00:55:12
>> I at this point had no idea whose glasses they were. >> They were broken. And when an officer
00:55:18
asked if he was missing his glasses, Fred turned defensive once again. >> That's bull.
00:55:25
You know, you're asking me how many times a day did I have sex, but you won't tell me if you found any damn
00:55:32
glasses. >> Well, we did find some glasses. We don't know that they're yours. >> It's that kind of crap that makes me
00:55:37
think that you're not believing a word I'm telling you. Just I'm just sticking my head in a noose. I didn't do
00:55:43
anything. >> It got so combative. At one point on the record, he said, "If you didn't have a badge and
00:55:51
gun, I'd beat the out of you." That kind of shocked me. And he at that point raised maybe he should be getting an
00:55:58
attorney. And what did that suggest to you? Well, >> at that moment, I felt that we had a
00:56:03
criminal homicide. >> Burden developed a theory of what happened on May 3rd, 2008. The scenario
00:56:09
that I put together is that when the picture was being taken, what was allegedly the last picture before she
00:56:17
fell in, he had gone forward towards her and tried to push her in. >> According to Burton's theory, Lesley was
00:56:24
fighting for her life. >> I'm thinking at that point the scuffle continued in which the glasses were
00:56:29
ripped off and left pretty much where that rock is. >> This is when Burden believes Lesie
00:56:35
scratched Fred. I believe at that moment she was able to break away, gain one, two seconds maybe. She fled down a path
00:56:43
that paralleled the creek. >> Burton speculates that Fred chased after her. >> He was probably 1 to two seconds behind
00:56:50
her and she ended up jumping into here and just right behind her was the husband. He jumps in too and drowns her
00:56:59
in this pool area right below us and takes her body and just lodges it under that tree where the body was found.
00:57:08
>> What motive would Fred possibly have had to kill his wife? >> In in many cases, the motive is not as
00:57:16
clear as one would hope. What I believe in this case is that he was tired of her. I just I don't think he hated her.
00:57:24
Uh, I just believe he was tired of her. >> Not a very strong motive for murder. And
00:57:30
that was one big problem for police trying to prove their suspicions. Fred's family says there's no motive because
00:57:38
there's no murder. >> There's not a doubt in my mind that he did not kill my mother. It was an
00:57:44
accident. >> And police didn't have enough evidence to charge him with a crime. So, they let
00:57:50
Fred resume his life. for a while. [music] I >> always tell him that I love him and that
00:58:09
things are going to be okay and that we're going to be here for him no matter what.
00:58:13
Fred Müller returned to his Texas home to be with his three children just days after his wife Lesie drowned in this
00:58:21
Colorado creek. >> He may be a big guy, but he's very emotional and very soft-hearted. And
00:58:28
>> Fred's daughter, Ariel, >> he's a big teddy bear. He would have never hurt my mom. He would do anything
00:58:34
to make her happy. He would do anything to make us happy. >> A year passed. Then Fred reconnected
00:58:40
with a longtime family friend, Wendy Walker. The two began dating and were married in 2010. [music]
00:58:48
>> There are a number of photographs of Leslie and the kids uh as they're growing up. She was a lovely person. He
00:58:54
loved her very much. He lost her um too soon. And that's very, very sad. And um it was very hard on him. I saw him in
00:59:05
the middle of all of that grief. This is Fred and Wendy's San Angelo home. Nearly
00:59:10
four years had passed since Leslie's death. Then on February 6th, 2012, family members started getting phone
00:59:19
calls. >> I was still in high school at the time and I was pulled out of class from my
00:59:23
principal. >> I'm not going to say it's the it was the worst phone call I'd ever had cuz the
00:59:27
worst was on May 4th, 2008. It was the second worst phone call I've ever had. The children were stunned to
00:59:35
learn Colorado authorities had arrested their father for the murder of their mom. Fred Muller was to spend the next
00:59:43
year of his life in a Colorado jail awaiting trial. >> Have any of you ever had a moment of
00:59:50
doubt? >> I've not >> never >> never >> not for a moment. >> No. >> If if you knew my dad, you wouldn't you
00:59:58
wouldn't doubt either. >> You wouldn't lie for him. In other words, in a situation that
01:00:02
>> my dad wouldn't lie for himself. He's an honest man and he if there was if something else had happened that day, he
01:00:09
would have said so. >> Also, you have to understand that I mean, as much as he's nonviolent, he's
01:00:15
also, you know, I mean, his probably his second biggest trait is the fact that he
01:00:19
doesn't have a nefarious bone in his body. Like, he's not the type to spin plots and cover things up. In January
01:00:26
2013, Fred's murder trial got underway in Gunnison, Colorado. Best known for having the lowest average temperature in
01:00:34
the continental US. >> Thank you. >> Prosecutor Matthew Durkin. >> Injuries are going to tell you a story
01:00:41
that Leslie Muller was drowned by her husband. >> Fred's lead defense attorney, Mike
01:00:49
Darren. Don't be tricked into the situation where the prosecution says, "We really don't know how it happened."
01:00:58
You can't guess somebody into the penitentiary in the United States. You can't speculate. You're not to come up
01:01:06
with a theory. Guard against that. >> For four weeks, the family, including Leslie's parents who support Fred, sat
01:01:15
and listened to prosecution witnesses. Somebody swear or affirm. >> As did jurors Betty Haggard, an interior
01:01:22
designer, Janine Meline, a park service supervisor, Brian Turner, another park service employee, and Drew Zimmerman, an
01:01:31
electrical engineer. >> It was one of the toughest things I've ever been involved in.
01:01:36
>> Prosecutors call experts who present a series of video recreations. I've dragged the mannequin back up and we're
01:01:44
going to drop it again in that downrushing waters >> to test whether it was possible for
01:01:50
Leslie's body to have traveled down this winding creek to where she was found underneath this fallen tree.
01:01:58
>> I'm going to test how far we can advance that mannequin or if the mannequin will
01:02:03
flush. We obtained the mannequin in the summer of ' 09. Investigator Jack Haynes
01:02:10
used a mannequin that was the exact height and weight of Lesie Muller. >> Each time he would drop it, the
01:02:16
mannequin would sink. It didn't go anywhere. >> The mannequin ever float downstream?
01:02:22
>> Never floated, never flushed anywhere. It it it just would stay at the bottom.
01:02:27
>> Then a woman investigator attempted the same journey. Water rescue expert Andrea
01:02:34
Zaferis testified to the result. It's not possible for the water to have gotten the body there or to kept the
01:02:41
body in that position. A human being had to physically put a body in that position.
01:02:46
>> You can observe the water elevation. >> But the defense presents an expert who
01:02:50
says the tests are meaningless because the water levels had changed between the time of the tests and when Lesie died in
01:02:59
May. opinions that the the stream flow of Cottonwood Creek on September 9th 08 were uh strikingly smaller uh by quite a
01:03:07
bit than they were on May 3rd, 2008. >> Another question raised by prosecutors, Fred's motive. They brought in Amy
01:03:16
Hyoffski. >> Give me a moment cuz I'm nervous. Hyoffski, a former friend, testifies that the subject of
01:03:26
divorce came up once in conversation with Fred. >> He he said he wouldn't go through a
01:03:32
divorce. He wouldn't allow a woman to dictate when he could or could not see his children.
01:03:40
>> What you want to do is you want to be able to say that's not true. You want to
01:03:43
be able to defend him. And you basically have to just sit there and watch him be
01:03:47
attacked. He wished he'd met Leslie later in life so that he had got to sew his oaths.
01:03:54
>> Jurors weren't sure what to make of that. >> She was very, very Catholic and probably
01:03:59
would not grant a divorce or not even agree to it. So, there could have been some type of motive in that.
01:04:06
>> I wasn't presented a motive other than, oh, he was tired of being married when
01:04:10
he had neighbors saying they'd see him walk hand in hand. No motive was huge for me.
01:04:15
>> Dr. Dr. Jeff Kina. >> In their case, the defense brings in Dr. Jeff Kina, a veteran emergency room
01:04:22
physician. >> His task to explain why after a 20ft fall, Leslie's body had no major
01:04:30
injuries. Kina testified that he treated even more serious accident victims, >> but they got propelled out of the car
01:04:38
window uh and uh yet may not have any significant injury based on how they landed or whatnot. Uh that's very rare.
01:04:47
I've seen it. >> So swear. >> The defense also calls Wernner Spitz, a nationally known coroner who has studied
01:04:56
Leslie's autopsy report. What's your opinion as to the manner of death for Dr. Mohler?
01:05:03
>> Accident? Yes, I believe it was an accident. Homicide? I do not believe it was a
01:05:09
homic. >> Janine, what do you think of Fred's story? >> As soon as the trial ended, I was
01:05:16
pretty firmly convinced that he had some involvement in her death. As the case goes to the jury, the
01:05:25
Mullers are struggling to grasp that it's all come to this. After one tragedy with their mother, they [music] could
01:05:32
face a second one with their father. >> 5 years ago, it was a tragedy. Leslie passed away. The tragedy now, the
01:05:40
tragedy today is ruthlessly coming after an innocent man. And what that's doing not only to him, but to the rest of the
01:05:49
family. This has become a second tragedy. [music] [music] As the jury deliberates, the Muller
01:06:10
family retreats into the snowy countryside to the house where they have lived for the past 5 weeks.
01:06:18
We drove out to see them in the midst of a storm. >> It's been very hard to wait. The minutes
01:06:25
go by very slow. >> Is this like a gilded cave in some ways? This is not where you want to be is in
01:06:30
this house, no matter how nice it is, no matter how beautiful the setting. >> Yes, we're all anxious to have a
01:06:36
decision made. and to be able to go home with Fred. >> As the first day turns into the second
01:06:46
and then a third with no word, tensions are high. >> It's hard not to start thinking about
01:06:52
the worst. >> It was more difficult than I had ever anticipated it would be. >> The jurors were struggling, too. I
01:07:00
wavered back and forth knowing that there was somebody's life in the balance, but yet there was a victim and
01:07:07
and wanting to make sure that if we felt the evidence supported it, making sure that she got
01:07:13
justice. >> Obviously, there was a debate going on with this jury cuz we're into day four
01:07:19
and there's must be factions on either side and one faction must be trying to convince the other. Are you thinking the
01:07:26
same thing? Um, it's it's not very productive to speculate. Um, it kind of just drives you crazy, but it seems like
01:07:33
that. >> I think that we [music] have some very strong people that see that Fred is
01:07:41
innocent. I don't think they're going to let an innocent man go to jail for something that he didn't do. [music]
01:07:51
>> Hello. Suddenly, Judge Steven Patrick calls everyone back to court. >> I have another note from the jury.
01:08:02
>> You could feel the tension. >> They use both the words impass and adamant. [music]
01:08:06
>> The jury has hit a wall in its deliberations. >> There was a great deal of arguing and
01:08:11
frustration >> and there were a couple of times when tempers did flare. >> Please rise for the jury.
01:08:18
>> The judge calls them into the courtroom. You may be seated. urging they give it
01:08:22
one more try. >> Ladies and gentlemen, I understand what you are saying. I'm going to give you
01:08:27
one more instruction. Reflect on that and then let us know whether you want to further deliberate or not.
01:08:36
>> It's a weighty decision. >> We were all over the place. >> It went from being a stressful situation
01:08:45
to an extremely stressful situation. And just a few minutes later, we are deadlocked. I will formally declare a
01:08:55
mistrial. >> It's over. A hung jury. >> I was a guilty vote up until about the last hour. And I changed my vote
01:09:04
basically in the last 15 minutes. >> I want to thank you for your very hard work.
01:09:10
>> What hung up the jury? The lack of a clear explanation of how Fred might have
01:09:15
killed Lesie. I would rather let a guilty man go free than sentence an innocent man. Prosecution did nothing
01:09:23
but poke holes in his story. They didn't give us an alternate story. That's where
01:09:28
I came up with my not-uilty vote. >> I was pretty firmly convinced that he had some
01:09:37
involvement in her death, but I didn't feel I had the evidence in the trial to vote guilty. the bail of
01:09:42
>> in the end the vote was 11 to1 for a quiddle. >> Drew Zimmerman was the lone hold out for
01:09:49
guilty. >> I think it was a lie. I think it was all a big lie because none of the evidence
01:09:55
supported his statement that and that's why I voted the way I did. >> An outsider looking at this would go,
01:10:02
"Wait a second, Drew. 11 people were wrong and you were right." >> I guess I'm not easily swayed. My mind
01:10:10
was made up, you know, in my my heart, my mind, and my soul. I felt that that he was guilty.
01:10:17
>> Bond will be set at $150,000 cash assurity. >> For the Müller family, it's not a
01:10:24
victory, [music] but it is a big sigh of relief. >> I wish that they could have come to a
01:10:31
unanimous decision. It would have been more satisfying. I haven't been able to um talk to him in person. I've gotten to
01:10:39
talk to him through a glass this last three days and that was the closest I've been to him being able to talk to him
01:10:45
but while being recorded and knowing that I'm always watched. So, it'll be overwhelming. It's overwhelming to think
01:10:51
about it. Um I I can't wait to be able to finally give him a hug after over a year.
01:10:59
I have uh Fred's wedding that that I've been wearing around my neck and I'm waiting for him to come out
01:11:04
so we can put it back on his finger. >> Soon Fred Mueller will be set free for the first time in a year.
01:11:16
[laughter] >> I love you guys. >> A joyous reunion for the Mullers, but the case is not closed. I asked Muller's
01:11:29
lawyer, Mike Degarren, about the possibility of another trial. >> Should there be a second trial?
01:11:35
>> Thank you. >> I'm going to give the prosecutor room to decide that on his own.
01:11:43
>> Once we catch the body, >> Fred returns to San Angelo finally. >> It's very difficult. Never been in
01:11:51
captivity before, but we'll survive. It's going to make us stronger. I think it already has.
01:12:01
>> The Mullers will need every bit of that strength. 10 days after the first trial ended,
01:12:08
prosecutors decide they will retry Fred Mueller. And 8 months after the first [music]
01:12:17
trial in a new venue, the Denver suburb of Broomfield, the prosecution to call our first witness. [music]
01:12:23
The second trial of Fred Mueller begins. >> [laughter] >> Eight months after a jury could not
01:12:40
reach a verdict, Fred Mueller is back in court once again. [music] Accused of drowning his wife Lesie 5 and
01:12:48
1/2 years ago. >> The man in court, the defendant, put her head under the water under a log and
01:12:57
left her there to die. The prosecution will not bring to you any evidence of why he would do such a
01:13:06
thing or how such a thing would be accomplished. >> Fred's new attorney, >> the evidence in this case,
01:13:13
>> Pamela Mackey, is best known for successfully defending NBA star Kobe Bryant in his 2003 sexual assault trial.
01:13:22
>> The whole truth and nothing but the truth. >> Yes, sir. But the prosecution comes out
01:13:26
swinging with witness Justin Sparks. After Fred had unsuccessfully tried to find Lesie in the creek, he ran to
01:13:35
Spark's house for help. Sparks discovered Leslie's lifeless body under this log.
01:13:41
>> He would act kind of frantic one second and then the next second he would he was
01:13:47
talking to me very nonchalant and normal. It almost felt like he was acting more than being um sincere. I
01:13:56
just started getting a a kind of a bad feeling about the whole situation. >> Mr. Burton, I'm handing you what's been
01:14:02
marked. >> But then for the defense, Mackey cross-examines other prosecution witnesses vigorously.
01:14:09
>> Did you take a GPS measurement of where it was? >> No. >> Including former under sheriff Bob
01:14:15
Burton. Mackey attacks Burden's investigation, portraying it as a shoddy, mistakefilled mess.
01:14:23
>> Mr. Burden, would you please answer my question? Did anyone take a yard stick
01:14:29
and place it in the river to measure the level? >> If you're asking me, then I can say no.
01:14:36
As to what other people did that I did or did not observe, I cannot testify to that. In an attempt to suggest a motive
01:14:43
that Fred had a wandering eye, the prosecution calls up Jeannie Barnes, Fred's former assistant. She testifies
01:14:51
that Fred was coming on to her. >> Do you remember these texts from the defendant and phone calls from the
01:14:58
defendant caused a strain in your marriage? >> Yes. >> But under pointed cross-examination,
01:15:04
Barnes takes on a very reluctant tone. Did you ever have an affair with [clears throat] Fred Mueller?
01:15:10
>> No, I did not. >> Did he ever ask you for any sexual favors? >> No, he did not.
01:15:15
>> Did he ever approach you in a sexual way at any time? >> No, he did not. >> Fair to say, Miss Barnes, the
01:15:24
investigators that you've talked to have tried to make you into the other woman in Fred's life.
01:15:30
>> I feel that. >> But you weren't the other woman in his life, were you? >> No. Water weighs the same whether it's
01:15:38
in your body or out of the body. So, >> and as she did in the first trial, water
01:15:43
rescue expert Andrea Zaparious testifies that Lesie Müller's drowning was no accident.
01:15:50
>> Dr. Muller could not have gotten from the alleged fall site to the log site. >> So, Mackey aggressively rebukes her.
01:15:58
>> I can't imagine how she got in the water in the first place from that that cliff.
01:16:02
>> Oh, there you go again. volunteering information to help the prosecution. Mr.
01:16:06
Ferris, excuse me. >> Excuse me. Please answer my question. >> So, I do not know where he
01:16:13
>> Mr. Durkin will be happy to get up here and let you talk all you want, but for
01:16:18
right now, the rules are I ask the questions, you give me the answers. >> Okay? >> You know that what the defendant said
01:16:26
happened on May 3rd is unreliable. After a 7-day trial, testimony from more than 30 witnesses, closing arguments
01:16:37
begin. >> You know, what he said is impossible. >> Prosecutor Matt Durkens says the proof
01:16:45
of Fred's lies can be found on Lesie Müller's body. and he can't sell to you that she went through a gauntlet of 130
01:16:54
ft of cottonwood creek and was found in what has been described as a pristine condition.
01:17:02
>> And as for those scratches on Fred's face, >> the defendant can't tell you what
01:17:08
happened to his face. He gives you three different explanations. He says he wrestled with a
01:17:13
bush. He then says that it was perhaps when he was climbing out of the creek and then guesses in March of 2009.
01:17:23
Well, maybe, just maybe, I self mutilated myself again. Impossible, right? >> And finally, Durkin argues Fred's
01:17:35
behavior that day points to guilt. >> As everyone ran to save Dr. Muller's life. As everyone ran to save a woman
01:17:44
they had never even met or known, the defendant was running away because he knew she was dead. The defendant
01:17:53
didn't run away from an accident. The defendant ran away from a murder. We ask you to find the defendant guilty.
01:18:04
>> Then it's Pamela Mackey's turn. What the prosecution has done is to take the statement of a man who has just
01:18:14
experienced the most horrific event of his life, seeing his wife fall and being swept
01:18:23
downstream. And for the next five years, they have put that statement under a microscope and picked it apart.
01:18:34
Mackey suggests it's the prosecution story that shouldn't be believed. >> What evidence, hard physical evidence,
01:18:41
do they bring to you of how Fred Mueller supposedly caused the death of his wife?
01:18:51
What evidence have they brought to you that he drowned her? Not theory, not speculation, but hard evidence.
01:19:00
Certainly no evidence that he went from this to a homicidal maniac. What's the story?
01:19:09
They they haven't told you one. >> And if Leslie had fought for her life, wouldn't her body have shown evidence of
01:19:16
a struggle? >> There are no injuries consistent with a murder caused by drowning. There's no
01:19:22
injuries to her neck, her shoulders, her back indicating that she was held down.
01:19:28
Now, what the prosecution relies on is a is a dissection of Mr. Mueller's description of the events. Is that fair?
01:19:37
Is that the quantum of proof upon which to convict a man of murder? >> Mackey says there is a reason why some
01:19:44
of Fred's story is confusing. >> That the human brain, the human memory doesn't work like a video camera,
01:19:50
particularly in situations that are traumatic and stressful. And so I ask you at long last, after five long
01:20:00
years, to lift the pain and anguish from Fred Mueller, from his family. I ask you to return the only just
01:20:11
verdict in this case, a verdict of not guilty. After the jury deliberates 12 hours over
01:20:22
two days, the judge comes back with a stunning announcement. >> Ladies and gentlemen, you have sent me a
01:20:28
u uh what I will will consider to be a final note indicating that you are um essentially hopelessly deadlocked and do
01:20:36
not believe that you can reach a verdict. Mr. Fourperson, is that correct? >> That is correct.
01:20:41
>> Okay, >> Fred can't believe what he just heard. instruction. >> Okay, I'll declare the jury deadlocked.
01:20:47
We'll declare a mistrial in the case. >> It's happened again. >> A hung jury. >> He tries to control his emotions,
01:20:58
>> but is overwhelmed. >> No, we'll do that. We're going to set a date fairly quickly.
01:21:02
>> Okay. >> The news seems to knock the wind out of Wendy. >> Um, when do you want to get
01:21:08
>> the jury split? Eight guilty, four not guilty. But Fred Muller's recurring nightmare
01:21:16
wasn't over. Now he could face a third trial for the murder of his wife, Lesie. Just 2 months later, a stunning
01:21:28
announcement from the prosecution. With no new evidence to present, they felt that a unanimous verdict [music] was
01:21:36
unlikely. So there would be no third trial. No chance for a conviction, but no chance for vindication either. The
01:21:45
Mullers told us they were sorely disappointed Fred didn't get the full acquitt deserves,
01:21:57
but they're grateful the case has been dismissed so they can resume their lives.
01:22:08
>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> What's address the emergency? >> Hello, my name is Harold Horn. I'm in
01:22:48
the Rocky Mountain National Park. >> My wife has fallen from a rock on the north summit of Deer Mountain.
01:23:04
And I have [music] a series of texts from my brother-in-law Harold Henthornne regarding my sister Tony Henthornne.
01:23:11
This says Barry urgent [music] Tony is injured fall from rock. She has been in a
01:23:18
critical accident falls off of a ledge 140 ft and she does die there on the mountain
01:23:28
[music] that night. being the big brother and supposed to take care of your sister, you can't do
01:23:36
it. It's a bad feeling. >> I need to be there for my sister and I couldn't. >> Tony Hanthorne died in Rocky Mountain
01:23:45
National Park in 2012 in a fall. [music] >> It's not that unusual at all that people
01:23:52
die in falls in the Rocky Mountains. [music] I'm now at 9,354T and counting. Take a look at this. Talk
01:24:02
about rugged terrain. This is crazy. [music] >> Since we first brought you this story,
01:24:09
new evidence, some right here on the mountain. [music] And that's just the beginning.
01:24:15
>> What's unusual is that in this case, it happened with a guy whose first wife died in such a freak accident 17 years
01:24:24
earlier. >> Her name is Lynn Hanthorne. >> A closeup. I thought Harold was a great
01:24:30
guy, very charming. I thought, "This is good. My sister needs a good man like this."
01:24:40
Lynn and Harold, they had been on a drive late at night. They had stopped to fix [music] a soft tire, not even a flat
01:24:48
tire. >> And what were you told? How had your sister died? >> That she'd been crushed under a car
01:24:54
changing a tire. We all were shocked at the bizarness, but the police ruled it an accident.
01:25:03
>> There are so many similarities in these two deaths. Both occurred in very remote locations
01:25:10
in Colorado. In both cases, Harold Henthornne is the only witness. >> [music] >> This is either the unluckiest guy in the
01:25:20
world whose two wives have died under freakish unusual circumstances or it could be murder.
01:25:39
[music] Rocky Mountain National Park is a place known for its soaring beauty, majestic wildlife,
01:26:09
and inspiring serenity. But in September of 2012, it was a sight [music] of heartbreak.
01:26:23
We've hiked up to the 10,000 ft level in the Rocky Mountain National Park to a place where either a tragic accident
01:26:30
occurred or did Harold Henthorne [music] push his wife to her death. The story of how love might have gone
01:26:44
murderously wrong [music] begins with a joyful time. >> I was extraordinarily happy for my
01:26:51
sister. It appeared that she found her true love. And if she was happy, I was happy.
01:26:57
>> Tony, a sophisticated southern bell, met Harold in 1999. Tony's brother, Barry, was pleased his
01:27:05
37year-old sister [laughter] had found the kind of man she was looking for. >> She experimented with Christian
01:27:13
matchmakers and she met this guy named Harold Henthornne. Her comments were that he was very kind. He was very
01:27:21
romantic. He was very smart. >> Both had lost their first spouse under dramatically different circumstances.
01:27:29
Tony's [music] marriage had ended in divorce while Harold's first wife died in a tragic
01:27:35
incident. What did you know about Harold's first wife, Lynn? >> When we had asked Harold about that, the
01:27:44
only response that we had was that she died in a car accident. >> Barry's wife Paula, not wanting to upset
01:27:51
Harold, didn't want to pry. >> I thought it was just a bad car wreck and she died. Well, so we, you know,
01:27:57
didn't want to ask him to elaborate. We just took it for face value. >> He seemed like a good match for Tony.
01:28:03
Tony's parents, Bob and Ivonne, had a good feeling when they first met Harold. >> He said, "I was just smitten by Tony."
01:28:13
>> It was easy to be taken with Tony. She was attractive [music] and successful. A prominent eye doctor
01:28:20
and surgeon in Jackson, Mississippi. >> That looks very pretty on you. >> Nice job.
01:28:25
>> Oh, thank you. >> Mostly though, Tony was known for her caring nature. She loved people and if she could make
01:28:34
somebody feel better, she would. And this started early in her life. The middle child with two brothers, Tony
01:28:43
[music] was a standout in school. >> Did you compete academically? >> Oh, yeah. And she smoked me. [laughter]
01:28:49
>> She did. >> She's probably the smartest lady I've ever met. >> No small praise coming from Barry
01:28:55
himself, a prominent cardiologist. And Harold seemed accomplished as well. >> Really nice,
01:29:03
>> describing himself as a fundraising consultant with his own company. >> I work with nonprofits, whether it be
01:29:09
churches, schools, or hospitals. >> I thought that was a interesting but an odd business in at that time, too.
01:29:16
>> A year after [music] meeting, the couple got married in Mississippi. They soon moved to the Denver, Colorado
01:29:25
area where Harold previously lived and said he had business contacts. Tony joined a local opthalmology practice,
01:29:35
but Tony's strong family ties. >> There's Tony and Harold >> would often bring the loving couple.
01:29:41
>> It's always good to come back home. >> Back to Mississippi for holidays. >> It's an exciting year. We love you all
01:29:47
and we want you to come out and visit us in Denver. One thing was missing from their life, a
01:29:53
child. And in 2005, Tony and Harold celebrated the birth of their daughter, Haley.
01:29:59
>> I have daddy and mommy trained very well. He had his daughter. He had his wife. He had his nice life.
01:30:07
>> Daniel Jarvis was a longtime family friend of Heralds. >> He seemed like a good husband. It seemed
01:30:13
like he provided. He's a very good father. When Daniel decided to move to Colorado, Harold and Tony let him stay
01:30:21
with them for several months. And what was it like inside the Henthornne household?
01:30:27
>> Tony went to work in the, you know, most mornings. Harold, he worked down in his
01:30:31
basement. He would say that he was meeting with a client going to lunch or he was traveling.
01:30:37
Christmas newsletters painted a picture of a happy family with successful careers for both Tony and [music]
01:30:44
Harold. But in 2006, their lives took a terrifying turn. While Barry was demonstrating his new CAT scan machine,
01:30:54
he discovered that Harold's arteries were dangerously clogged. >> Harold was in the throws of the
01:31:01
beginnings of a heart attack. >> Harold was rushed into surgery. >> Do you believe that you saved Harold's
01:31:07
life? >> I know that I did, and Harold would confirm that. >> Tony had her own brush with death in
01:31:13
2011. She was injured in an unusual accident [music] at their mountain cabin when a heavy wooden beam fell on her.
01:31:22
>> She said, "I saw something on the floor and if I had not picked it up, it would
01:31:28
have killed me instantly, but it hit the back of my neck and fractured a vertea."
01:31:34
>> And with that, she did lose some sensation in her hands. When I would call Harold, it was like, "Oh, it's no
01:31:41
big deal." I didn't learn about this until much later. And I said, "Why didn't somebody call me?" And she said,
01:31:48
"Harold didn't call you." And I said, "No." >> By this time, Tony's family says Harold
01:31:54
had become a demanding [music] and controlling husband. Even talking with Tony on the phone seemed impossible.
01:32:02
>> Harold would always answer. See, he had the house phone hooked to his cell phone. The only one-on-one conversation
01:32:11
I ever had was with Harold. If I tried to talk to Tony or a Haley, it was always on speaker phone. Why do you
01:32:19
think he did this? >> I think that he likes to control everything. >> That was also the impression of workers
01:32:27
in Tony's eye practice. Christy Drews noticed Harold wanted to be involved in everything.
01:32:34
>> When our doctors would have meetings, Harold had to be part of it. He had to know everything she was doing.
01:32:40
>> While the staff adored Tony, office manager Tammy Abuscato says their feelings for Harold were quite
01:32:48
different. >> He made us uncomfortable. He was kind of um kind of there was something creepy
01:32:56
about him. She was not able to schedule anything outside of her normal schedule without first consulting with Harold.
01:33:04
So, it was a pleasant surprise when in September of 2012, Harold asked Tammy to help plan [music] a 12th wedding
01:33:12
anniversary surprise trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. She gladly obliged, secretly clearing Tony's
01:33:20
schedule so she could leave early. >> The guy was creepy to me, but she was married to him and if he was going to do
01:33:26
something nice was kind of exciting. You know, maybe for just a moment I thought,
01:33:31
"Huh, that's kind of cool. Maybe he's not so bad." >> The entire office got involved. Christy
01:33:38
took out her cell phone to record the surprise. >> Hi. >> It's the last image. It's the last time
01:33:44
anybody who was close to her saw her alive. On September 29th, 2012, on a beautiful
01:34:05
day like this, Harold and Tony set out on this trail in the Rocky Mountain National Park on their anniversary hike.
01:34:13
About 2 miles up, Harold led them off trail into rough terrain. She had bad [music] knees, so she was
01:34:23
not a well person to go hiking, particularly in a rugged terrain. These photos were taken on that
01:34:34
anniversary hike. A hike that went terribly wrong, as Barry learned through those text messages from Harold.
01:34:43
>> It says Barry, urgent. Tony is injured. critical requested flight for life and
01:34:51
then he texts me back saying that she's gone. >> Tony had fallen nearly 140 ft to her
01:34:58
death. Barry had to break the news to his parents that his 50year-old sister [music] had died.
01:35:06
>> And Barry said, "She's gone. It's the worst two words I've ever heard in my life."
01:35:16
It was like, "No, this didn't happen." >> And for [music] Tony's family, what happened here wasn't adding up. From
01:35:26
Tony with her bad knees [music] taking a strenuous hike to Harold texting Barry during the accident to the multiple
01:35:34
explanations Harold gave about how Tony died. The story is is that he notices that she
01:35:42
was lagging behind and he can't find her. So he starts looking over edges and and then he sees that she's down at the
01:35:50
bottom. >> Then says Barry, that story quickly changed. >> And he tells me then that he got a text
01:35:58
message. And so he has his head down looking at that phone text and he sees there's like a little flash
01:36:06
and then Tony's not there. And does that story change? >> That story changes by the next day. Tony
01:36:14
now is taking a picture of Harold and Tony has presumably while setting up a shot of him fallen backwards
01:36:23
off of a cliff. And so here are three stories in basically less than 48 hours. >> And what are you thinking?
01:36:32
>> Warning buzzers are gone off. What about the notion that maybe he was suffering post-traumatic stress and
01:36:40
those crazy versions of stories was all a result of shock? >> I think that you got to take all of that
01:36:46
in context. If he does have this irrational emotional behavior, how does he have it together so well to plan her
01:36:54
funeral? Not even 48 hours after his wife has died, he's got a video made. He's got
01:37:01
the songs picked out. He's already contacted the people that are going to sing the songs. It's too well planned.
01:37:11
>> 5 days after [music] Tony's death, hundreds gathered at a memorial service. >> Our purpose today is to honor and to
01:37:18
remember Tony Henthornne. By then, Harold had already cremated Tony, a decision which added to the list of red
01:37:27
flags for the Bertolays. >> We did not want Tony cremated. And um Harold insisted we wanted to
01:37:37
bring her home and burial. >> I think he was trying to hide evidence. I think that Harold Henthorne pushed my
01:37:44
sister off the mountain. Here you are grieving her death, which you now believe may have been a murder. And
01:37:58
if that's the case, the murderer is sitting right next to you, right? >> Yes. Correct.
01:38:02
>> Law enforcement, as it does with all deadly falls, was immediately investigating and discovered something
01:38:09
that raised suspicions. They found this map inside Harold's Jeep with a handdrawn X on the spot where Tony fell.
01:38:19
>> After the service, he came up to me and his first thing was, "They found a map.
01:38:23
They found a map." >> He didn't come up and give you a hug and say, "What a tragedy. I'm so glad you're
01:38:27
here." The first words out of his mouth is, "They found a map." >> Yeah. >> Did you have any idea what he was
01:38:33
talking about? >> No clue. No idea. But a few weeks later, Harold brought it up again, explaining
01:38:40
to Daniel the map was meant for him to highlight a nice trail. Harold also told Daniel he could never hurt Tony.
01:38:50
>> He's saying, "You lived with us. You know that there was nothing wrong in our
01:38:54
marriage. You know that I could never do this." >> And what did you say? >> I said, "Yes, I agree. I don't believe
01:39:01
you could ever do this." The Harold that you knew, was he capable of murder? >> Not the Harold I knew.
01:39:09
>> I knew he did it. >> Co-workers and close friends kind of privately were talking and saying, you
01:39:15
know, I I really feel bad to say this, but I think that Harold did this. >> In [music] fact, many tips were coming
01:39:23
into law enforcement. 16 calls and letters, all requesting Tony's death be further investigated, with fingers
01:39:31
pointing at Harold. And then there was a tip received by Brian Moss, Denver's CBS4 investigative
01:39:40
reporter and 48 Hours consultant. It changed everything. >> And it just said his first wife died in
01:39:50
a freak accident as well. So it was right up about up here. Brian began investigating both deaths and was
01:39:57
shocked by what he found. >> In both cases, the accidents are freakish or bizarre, extremely unusual.
01:40:06
He tells lots of different stories. Both wives had a lot of insurance money on them. He was the one who was going to
01:40:14
benefit from that. [music] Tony, you say something? >> Tony Hanthorne had a lot of friends. She
01:40:31
had a lot of people who loved her and right from the start wanted to see justice.
01:40:39
They didn't feel good about what happened. With questions being raised about how
01:40:44
Tony Hanthorne fell to her death in Rocky Mountain National Park, investigators seen here were retracing
01:40:52
her last steps. Now focusing on the only witness, her husband Harold. Remember, his first wife, Lynn, had also died in
01:41:02
unusual circumstances in 1995, crushed under their jeep. >> She was a great woman.
01:41:12
She was awesome in heart and soul. >> While we have a chance to close, >> it's so hard to convey the beauty of
01:41:21
anyone's spirit, but Lynn was >> truly >> she was the real thing. >> Lynn's siblings, Kevin, Lisson, and Eric
01:41:30
were delighted when their loving sister, a social worker, found Harold to share her life with.
01:41:37
>> He was charming. He was a a fun guy to be around. She adored him. >> Grace Relle, Lynn's sister-in-law,
01:41:46
remembers how happy Lynn seemed [music] during her 12-year marriage to Harold. >> She looked at him with very loving,
01:41:53
adoring eyes. >> It was a feeling Grace could understand. >> He began to be like this wonderful big
01:42:03
brother to me. >> Would you say a loving personality? >> Oh, incredibly. There were a lot of
01:42:08
times as my family began to grow of watching Harold relate to my girls and how engaging he was with them. He and
01:42:16
Lynn never forgot a birthday Christmas. You just you couldn't ask for, you know,
01:42:22
more loving family. But on May 6th, 1995, tragedy struck. >> We got a call from a paramedic
01:42:34
letting us know that there had been an accident. and and she was gone and it just it was
01:42:45
horrible pain. It was horrible. We all came as quick as we could to be there and to comfort Harold.
01:43:00
>> And what did you know about the circumstances of Lynn's death? What were you told?
01:43:06
It was just a freak accident. >> Harold told law enforcement he and Lynn had gone out for dinner and a drive in
01:43:17
this remote area called Sadelia. While driving, Harold thought he was getting a flat tire.
01:43:26
He pulled off the highway here onto the shoulder you see right behind me in the dark to change the tire. Linny said was
01:43:35
helping out, holding the tires lug nuts as he removed them. Harold says she dropped one and it went under the
01:43:41
vehicle. And at the same time that Lynn went under to retrieve it, Harold says he threw the flat tire in the back,
01:43:48
knocking the Jeep off of its jack and onto Lynn. The Lynn that you knew so well, was she the kind of woman who
01:43:58
would crawl under a car? Was that her nature? >> No. No, it wasn't at all. That's why it
01:44:04
it did seem odd. >> Lynn's siblings also thought the accident bizarre, but they too couldn't
01:44:12
imagine Harold was involved. >> This was a man that we [snorts] vacationed with and spent hundreds of
01:44:19
hours with and um we just didn't allow ourselves to go there. There she is. >> The Douglas County Sheriff's Department
01:44:32
responded to the accident and started investigating. And just like in Tony Hanthorne's case
01:44:41
17 years later, Harold told a number of conflicting stories. Reports say Harold told one deputy they were driving back
01:44:50
from dinner, told another they were going to dinner. According to one report, Harold said Lynn called out his
01:44:57
name after the jeep fell on her. But he told another investigator that Lynn said, "I think something's on me."
01:45:04
Harold told one deputy he pulled Lynn out from underneath that Jeep. He later said that people who stopped to help
01:45:12
pulled her out. The sheriff's office investigated Lynn's death for 6 days, then [music] closed
01:45:19
the case, calling it an accident, as did the coroner at the time. In the following
01:45:27
years, investigators say Harold continued telling various versions of what happened the day Lynn died. One
01:45:36
bewildering contradiction after another. the CPR people or the people do the EMTs didn't know what they
01:45:43
were doing and they actually crushed her. That um she was killed in an automobile
01:45:50
accident. A head >> a head-on automobile accident. >> Not under the car. >> No. >> No.
01:45:55
>> There were lots of conflicts. >> Laura Thomas became the Douglas County Coroner in 2011, 16 years after Lynn's
01:46:05
death. A Colorado State Trooper for decades, she hadn't known about Lynn's accident
01:46:11
until she heard about Tony's tragic fall and learned both women had been married
01:46:18
to the same man. And you hear this story. What are you thinking? >> Well, I'm thinking that I need to go
01:46:25
into investigator mode. There were lots of things in this story that don't make any sense to me at all. If Lynn
01:46:32
Henthornne's accident had been properly investigated, could Tony Henthornne be alive today?
01:46:46
>> You know, Peter, you ask a question that I have asked myself for over two years.
01:46:53
[screaming] >> [music] >> So, if I let the air out. What really happened in 1995, the night
01:47:14
Lynn Henthornne, Harold's first wife, was crushed under their jeep. We asked Arnold Wheat, a nationally
01:47:23
recognized accident reconstruction specialist, to review Lynn's case. >> That's right. Uh 15 to 16 pounds right
01:47:31
there. [music] >> Using a similar make and model as the Henthornne's Jeep Cherokee, wheat, a 48
01:47:39
hours consultant, deflated the tire to the pressure that Harold claimed forced him to pull over on that remote,
01:47:46
darkened highway. >> This doesn't look flat. >> No. Is this undrivable in your opinion?
01:47:52
>> No. In most people's mind, a flat tire is flat with the rim on the ground. >> I've driven on a rim. This isn't
01:47:59
anywhere close to being on the rim. >> No, it's not. [music] >> Then there's an unusual kind of jack
01:48:09
that Weep thinks was similar to this that Harold in one report told investigators he used to change the
01:48:16
tire. Is this a bit precarious to be putting up a 4,000lb Jeep Cherokee? >> Absolutely.
01:48:24
>> Harold told investigators he had to use an unconventional jack because the one
01:48:29
that came with the Jeep didn't work. A claim wheat finds suspicious. How often have you heard a jack like this failing?
01:48:38
Never. Never. Never. What's worse, says coroner Laura Thomas, is it seems investigators just took
01:48:49
Harold's word that the jack was defective. >> There's no indication that the sheriff's
01:48:54
department tested that jack. >> They never tested it. >> Not in the information that I've read.
01:49:00
[music] >> Another issue, one of the tires lug nuts. >> This is a lug nut. It has flat surfaces.
01:49:09
Harold says Lynn dropped a lug nut that somehow rolled all the way under the Jeep, causing Lynn to go retrieve it.
01:49:17
>> They're on a gravel surface. Lug nuts don't move very far when you drop them on a gravel surface. How that lug nut
01:49:24
got underneath there just doesn't make sense. >> That certainly is suspicious to me. Do
01:49:36
you believe as you sit across from me right now that Harold Hanthorne has gotten away with murder in Lynn's case?
01:49:44
>> I think there is a very good chance that he has. >> In December 2014, shortly before her
01:49:53
term as coroner ended, Laura's suspicions led her to make a dramatic decision. >> I don't believe that Lynn Hanthorne got
01:50:02
justice. She changed the manner of death in Lynn Hanthorne's case from accident to undetermined.
01:50:15
The Douglas County Sheriff's Department also reopened Lynn's case, but has not charged Harold Heenthorne with any
01:50:23
crime. >> You say something into the camera. Um, he goes, [laughter] >> Meanwhile, federal investigators looking
01:50:32
into the 2012 fatal fall of Harold's second wife, Tony, were zeroing in on him. They interviewed Daniel Jarvis, the
01:50:41
friend who briefly lived in the Henthornne house. >> She asked me what Harold had told me
01:50:47
about his job, and I gave her the details of he said he was a fundraising consultant for nonprofits. The
01:50:54
investigator listened to Daniel's story and then presented some jaw-dropping news.
01:51:00
>> She said, "Let me go ahead and tell you something. Harold has not worked in 20
01:51:05
years." And it's kind of like a bomb exploded. Federal investigators have come out and
01:51:14
proven he had no income at all, that he wasn't raising any money, but he was telling everybody that he was this
01:51:20
incredibly successful entrepreneur and businessman who is raising all this money for various organizations.
01:51:26
>> Harold reportedly told others that Tony knew he wasn't working. A claim Tony's
01:51:32
family says is untrue, as Harold controlled the finances. Law enforcement also thinks the time
01:51:40
when Tony was accidentally struck in the head at the family's cabin may have actually been the first time Harold
01:51:49
tried to kill her. Everyone wanted answers from Harold. >> Is Mr. Henthornne here? Is he here?
01:51:57
>> And he wasn't talking. >> Is there a time when we could get together with you? I want to give you
01:52:02
another opportunity to explain what's going on. I just want to give you a chance to
01:52:05
>> my attorney. I really don't appreciate being my property like this. >> Federal authorities do not believe that
01:52:10
Harold Hanthorne is any kind of a hard luck husband who's just the victim of circumstance. They think he is a killer.
01:52:18
A killer they believe with a motive and a bizarre business model collecting life
01:52:25
insurance proceeds worth millions. Nearly $645,000 on Lynn and potentially millions on
01:52:34
Tony. Do authorities believe that Harold had basically started up a cottage industry here, marry someone, get life
01:52:42
insurance, and off the wife? They've connected the dots that way. And Grace Relle, [music]
01:52:55
Harold's exister-in-law, thinks she could have been part of that industry. something she learned when the FBI told
01:53:03
her about a secret $400,000 life insurance policy Harold had taken out on her. Grace says Harold forged her
01:53:13
signature, making himself the sole beneficiary. >> That was his doing. I did not authorize
01:53:21
that policy. >> You die, he profits. >> He profits. >> What do you think he was up to?
01:53:29
I think it's logical to conclude that he was planning on taking my life at some point.
01:53:34
>> You potentially were going to be victim number three. >> He's a dangerous man. He needs to be
01:53:41
behind bars. >> Did you kill both of your wives? >> Finally, in November of 2014,
01:53:49
>> how did Tony die? Harold Hanthorne was arrested and charged by federal authorities with the firstdegree murder
01:53:57
of Tony. And justice for Tony could bring justice for Lynn Henthornne. >> She didn't deserve to be crushed under a
01:54:06
jeep out here. >> As a judge ruled, the circumstances surrounding Lynn's death can be
01:54:11
presented at his trial for Tony's murder. It will strengthen the case enormously for Tony to have Lynn's case
01:54:20
added in. >> And in September 2015, 3 years after Tony's death, [music] Harold Henthornne's trial for her murder began.
01:54:31
>> Going into this trial, I'm really thinking this is a tossup. You have no eyewitnesses. There's no confession. So,
01:54:37
you're wondering if there's one hold out juror, if one person doesn't buy circumstantial evidence, can the
01:54:45
government really sell this case? [music] I'm going to step off here, show you the
01:55:02
scene in front of the federal courthouse right now. national and local media gathering. They are waiting for the
01:55:07
families. There's a lot of interest in Denver and frankly around the world in [music] this trial. They're interested
01:55:13
in justice because the circumstances are so unusual. A husband whose two wives die in these freak accidents.
01:55:22
>> The federal judge in the case told prospective jurors this trial quote will be a doozy.
01:55:27
>> Did you kill both of your wives? The murder trial of Harold Heenthorne, where
01:55:31
cameras were not allowed, begins with the prosecution laying out its circumstantial case. They portray Harold
01:55:39
Heenthorne as an abject liar who's lied about everything in his life. They say that he stood to make about
01:55:48
$4.7 million in life insurance if Tony Henthorne died. So, your mom's doing okay,
01:55:55
>> precious Molly. [laughter] Hanthorne's defense attorney stands up and says, "My client's a very unusual,
01:56:03
quirky guy, and he has lied, but that doesn't necessarily make him a killer." >> I just remember the defense attorney
01:56:11
saying, "I don't have to prove anything." >> Juror Don Roberts. >> This is up to them to prove. The
01:56:18
prosecution set out to do just that using drone footage. Video and photographs [music]
01:56:25
documenting the couple's ascent along the mountain trail they believe became a murder scene.
01:56:32
>> And they were able to establish a pattern of him visiting that same area because his phone when he would text or
01:56:37
call was hitting the same exact tower. Juror Marcy Miller Zan says the FBI presented evidence using Henthornne's
01:56:45
cell phone records to show he made repeated scouting trips. >> And how many times did he visit that
01:56:52
area? >> Nine times. >> And what does that tell you? >> It tells me he's planning.
01:56:59
>> Also compelling to jurors was that 911 call. Give two more regular breaths and then pump 30 more times.
01:57:10
>> That's exactly what I've been doing. >> And how evidence didn't seem to support
01:57:14
the efforts Harold claims he made after climbing down the mountain to revive Tony, including mouthto-mouth
01:57:23
resuscitation. >> And her lipstick was still on, so you'd know that would be impossible.
01:57:29
And there was the testimony of Barry Bertolay, Tony's brother, who is a doctor, about the texts he received from
01:57:37
Harold. >> At one point she's slow heart rate, at another point she's fast heart rate.
01:57:44
Well, which is it? >> There was also this powerful piece of evidence, that map taken from Harold's
01:57:51
Jeep, where he had drawn an X at the very spot where Tony had fallen to her death.
01:58:00
Longtime friend [music] Daniel Jarvis testified how Harold told him at Tony's funeral that the map had been made for
01:58:09
him. >> It wasn't made for me. I believe it was made for that time. >> And he put an X on there. So
01:58:18
>> So what do you think this all adds up to? I think he planned to go out there and
01:58:26
have nobody around >> and do what? >> And push Tony off a cliff. >> It was like, okay, um, he's trying to
01:58:35
hide something. >> Juror Jerry Tabota >> and trying to get Mr. Jarvis to be on his side of the story.
01:58:44
Another point of [music] drama came when the prosecution presented evidence that
01:58:49
Harold may have stolen a precious item from his dead wife's body. >> After Tony Henthornne's fall, they find
01:59:00
her wedding ring on her finger. Her hand not severely damaged, but the diamond is
01:59:07
missing from the wedding ring. And it's worth about $30,000 according to Harold.
01:59:13
>> And that area was scoured, right? >> Scoured. Investigators combed through that area. And so it was a real mystery.
01:59:21
Where did the diamond go? >> But 8 months later, an investigator returning to the scene, suddenly found
01:59:29
the diamond suspiciously sitting on the ground in plain sight. During the investigation, Harold Henthornne got a
01:59:37
lot of pressure from the FBI about that diamond and it got to him. The prosecution believes Harold Henthorne
01:59:45
put the diamond back and there was that information allowed about the unusual way Harold's first wife, Lynn, died
01:59:54
crushed under that jeep. Once we learned more about Lynn's death and the circumstances of her death, then it
02:00:01
started coming together for me that there were very many similarities in the two cases.
02:00:06
>> Pattern of behavior. >> Pattern of behavior. >> There was only one person these jurors
02:00:11
now wanted to hear from, someone they felt had some explaining to do. >> I wanted to hear from Harold. I would
02:00:19
have loved to see him get on the stand and give another account to the jury of what happened that night.
02:00:25
>> Yeah. and it didn't happen. >> In fact, [music] Harold's defense attorney rested his case without calling
02:00:33
a single witness, confident jurors would see Tony's death as an accident. Tony's
02:00:40
brother, Barry, looked over at Harold. >> Yes. >> What did you see on his face? >> It was a defiant look and it was like,
02:00:48
you know, one of these come and get me and I hope we did. The jury began its deliberation.
02:00:56
>> We're all somewhat anxious and waiting the decision if there's a hung jury. >> Gathered together for the wait is not
02:01:04
just Tony's family, but Lynn's as well. >> We hope to be able to have a celebratory
02:01:09
dinner tonight together. So, we're just praying that the jury will come back and
02:01:16
uh get a quick verdict. After 10 hours of deliberation, the jury took a vote. >> Our four [music] person said, "Who's for
02:01:25
guilty?" And every hand in the room went up. >> Every hand. >> Every hand quickly.
02:01:33
>> Harold Hanthorne was [music] convicted of firstdegree murder. >> After the trial officially ended, you
02:01:41
know, all the years I've been doing this, I've never seen that before. What happens? I went and hugged Ivonne,
02:01:49
>> the mother of Tony, and just whispered in ear, "No mom should ever go through
02:01:53
what you've gone through." She just said, "As one mom to another, I feel your pain."
02:02:04
>> While the verdict means justice for the Bertolays, Barry's mind still wanders
02:02:09
back to that time he saved Harold from a certain heart attack. The man he now knows went on to kill his sister.
02:02:19
>> You know, I think as a physician, you know, you have this oath and this obligation
02:02:27
to do that, but I'd like to have my sister back. Barry is not alone in regrets. Lynn's
02:02:42
family has its [music] own. >> We grieve for the burlades. >> Because had we come forward at that time with
02:02:53
with more suspicions, then maybe Tony would be alive today. [music] >> One tragic connection they share is the
02:03:01
fact that Harold spread Tony [music] and Lynn's ashes 17 years apart at the same
02:03:08
spot. You know, I'm glad that we're here with you, little girl. >> Oh, no. >> Now, young Haley Henthornne is the focus
02:03:16
of attention. She is slowly learning details about her mother's death. >> Your mama was about my height, wasn't
02:03:24
she? >> Yeah, she was about 5'4. People in Mississippi don't get to see mountains
02:03:28
that much. >> Barry and Paula worked through the [music] courts to bring Haley as their
02:03:33
ward to Mississippi, the place her mother considered home. Where might she end up?
02:03:42
>> Hopefully right there. [clears throat] [snorts] >> Hopefully right there. >> You'd like to adopt her?
02:03:52
>> Absolutely. >> We're excited about you coming. There's actually >> in that she can be in a place where
02:03:58
she's loved by family and grow up in an environment where everybody knew her mom
02:04:06
as intelligent, smart, [music] is a hero. I want her to know who her mom really was.
02:04:16
>> Wow, that's awesome. Good job. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> She was my best friend.
02:05:24
Sometimes she was my only [music] friend. I wish every single day of my life that
02:05:30
I could have my mom back. My mom died when I was 11. [music] Some people think it was an
02:05:38
accident. Some people think it was a suicide. But I know [music] it was a murder.
02:05:46
My stepdad [music] murdered my mom. Failen is a good person. I have never hurt anybody in my life ever
02:05:59
emergency. I just got a distress call from a friend of mine. He said that his wife is unconscious.
02:06:06
>> Doug called me very frantic. He just said that he found her in the tub and that she was not responding to him.
02:06:14
>> She's not responding. This wasn't working. >> I had my hand on the door handle to her
02:06:25
bedroom as it was happening. Your mom drowned in her own bathtub. >> I've been working on this story for a
02:06:36
number of years. By all accounts, Failen Grant is a wonderful woman, [music] very, very close to her family and
02:06:44
especially close to her church. >> This is something my mom wrote in her journal. I love my family and don't want
02:06:51
to [music] leave them, but it is Heavenly Father's will that I leave this mortal sphere to fulfill a mission on
02:06:58
the other side of the veil. She also [music] wrote, "I must have faith in Doug's vision. He dreams it every night
02:07:05
now that I will get to go to the [music] celestial kingdom. >> Douglas Grant used organized religion in
02:07:13
killing Failen Grant. The motive in this case is a married man wanting to be with
02:07:19
a younger woman. >> I'm the lucky one. Think what you want to think. That's fine.
02:07:26
>> Have there been other women in his life? Yes. But he's not a murderer. I know that my brother Doug is innocent.
02:07:36
I mean, if you saw the volumes of letters that she wrote, her journals, it's bizarre.
02:07:43
>> Here is a woman who has talked to God. God has told her that she's going to die.
02:07:49
>> She did not want to die, but it was Mr. Grant's vision [music] that she would
02:07:55
accepted the death sentence that was meed out by her husband. >> I didn't kill my wife.
02:08:01
than never in a million years. [music] >> This one is a classic. It's got this epic sweep of sex, drugs, and religion,
02:08:11
homicide, suicide, or accident. Was there even a murder here? Deadly prophecy. Things I want to have in a spouse.
02:08:53
Loves the beauty of the earth. Sunrise. Sunset. >> [music] >> I will be with you always.
02:09:03
Failing. It sounds very poetic. Watching sunsets. It just made all the difference in the
02:09:12
world. >> But 8 years after Failen Grant's death, >> rejection relevance. >> Her husband Doug Grant is fighting for
02:09:22
his future. >> Sir, is that a yes or a no? >> On trial for her murder. You had visions
02:09:28
in church, right? >> No. >> So, she's a liar. >> Isn't it true that you were there to
02:09:32
snoop? >> No. Absolutely not. >> You knew he was another woman's husband. >> Yes, I did.
02:09:40
>> She wanted these letters to be rid of, right? >> Objection. Ask and answered.
02:09:43
>> Sorry, I'm confused. >> Sorry. Confused. And he swears not guilty. >> I was just yelling Failen. Failen.
02:09:53
>> Objection. Relevance. This has nothing to do with Failen. He just wants to tell
02:09:56
a story. >> Indeed, he does want to tell his story. A story that begins in 1993,
02:10:11
the second he laid eyes on a striking 27-year-old single mother named Failen Eaves at his [music] gym near Phoenix.
02:10:20
>> She's a great person. Loved life. Loved her family. Doug Grant. >> Just another day at the office for Doug
02:10:28
Grant. Doug is uniquely qualified. >> At the time, Doug Grant was a 27-year-old divorce, [music] single dad.
02:10:36
>> There's a lot of confusion in the market >> and a rising star in the world of
02:10:40
nutrition. >> Doug, what's the difference of real food and drunk food? >> The carrot is the real food, right?
02:10:47
with a growing list of celebrity clients. >> Barkley the assist >> like Charles Barkley and Danny A of the
02:10:53
Phoenix Suns. >> Doug gives good counsel to the players. But what we're trying to do is just
02:10:57
focus in on their immune system. >> He remembered Failen from high school. She'd recently divorced and had two
02:11:05
kids, Austin and Jenna. >> My mom is the type of lady you meet and you're like, "Wow, I want to be friends
02:11:12
with her." I came home one day and I had a new CD and it was that song Ain't No Mountain
02:11:19
High. I grabbed [music] the shampoo bottle. She had like the telephone and we're
02:11:26
jumping up and down on the couch playing the song over and over again and just singing. [music] That's my mom.
02:11:32
>> Oh, there's Doug and Baileen. >> At first, Doug's sister Tammy Fuentes says it seemed a perfect match. Filen is
02:11:40
a lot like Doug, >> especially since they were both Mormons. >> She also loved nutrition and helping
02:11:47
others. >> They married just 4 months after their first date. >> She's a good person and brought out the
02:11:54
good in Doug. >> However, Jenna worried Doug wasn't bringing out the good in her mother.
02:12:02
>> He's the man of the house and she listens to what he says. >> So, there was never any question who was
02:12:06
ruling the roost here. >> It was always dead. >> [music] >> Doug needed to guide Failene, says
02:12:13
Tammy, who was becoming alarmed by her new sister-in-law's mood swings. >> She was either really up, really happy,
02:12:21
or she was really, really sad or depressed, but would never admit she needed help.
02:12:29
I would go to their house and she would be in her bedroom with the door locked and the children would just be there and
02:12:36
I would want to see her and they would say, "No, no, don't bother her." She says Failen spent much time alone
02:12:45
writing in her journal, not uncommon in the Mormon faith, or praying at [music] the temple, sometimes for hours.
02:12:55
I do feel it was fanatical >> to the point Tammy says that by the late 90s Failene had lost touch with reality.
02:13:06
>> She said, "I've been to the temple and God has told me that I need to divorce Doug."
02:13:16
>> Tammy remembers Failen even said God had told her why Doug had a girlfriend. Failen had no proof of an affair, but
02:13:26
God's word was enough. She filed for divorce. >> He was devastated. He is truly a family man.
02:13:36
>> She thought you were having an affair. >> Yes. >> Was that true? >> Not at the time.
02:13:43
>> Maybe not right then, but Doug had had affairs, including one with a Louisiana beauty
02:13:51
queen. And then in 2000, in the midst of his divorce, along came more temptation.
02:14:01
>> Vibrant, bubbly, great person for the job. >> And a great person to later feature in
02:14:08
his promotional materials. >> Real yogurts are a fun and healthy snack. >> A new receptionist [music] and fellow
02:14:15
Mormon, Hillary Dwit, age 19. Doug Grant fell hard. I became romantically involved with
02:14:25
Hillary right at the divorce of Failen. >> Not before. >> Oh, no. >> In fact, after his divorce from Failen,
02:14:33
Doug says he had [music] cleaned up his act, gone through church counseling, and
02:14:38
planned to marry Hillary. >> I don't know that I can express my love, my devotion. I'm in awe of him, to be
02:14:46
honest. In August of 2001 though, those plans hit a snag. A big snag. Balen had had revelation in the temple
02:15:00
from God that she needed to put her family back together. >> For the children's sake, God now was
02:15:08
telling Failen [music] to marry Doug all over again. Doug claims nobody was more
02:15:14
surprised than he was. But the divorce hadn't been his idea after all. And he [music] says he wanted to believe.
02:15:22
>> I knew I had to give it a shot. >> You certainly did a 180 on this, didn't you? You ended up not only marrying
02:15:32
again, but marrying the person that you had divorced. >> I have the chance to be able to try to
02:15:37
make things right and get back with her. Absolutely. To celebrate their new beginning, the
02:15:45
Grants vacationed here in the Tipponogus National Park in Utah. And Doug says they were hiking on September 24th,
02:15:53
2001. According to him, when Failene reached roughly this spot, she had some sort of vision. She saw something off in
02:16:01
the distance. So, what did she do? Incredibly, she climbed over this rock wall down to that tiny ledge to get a
02:16:09
better view. According to Doug, this picture was taken just seconds before disaster
02:16:16
struck. >> She looked up and she could kind of see the image of Jesus in the clouds and
02:16:23
said, "Come out here." So I start going over that wall to go out there and she fell.
02:16:31
>> It was a 60foot drop. >> Doug Grant says he was sure his wife was dead. >> I yelled. I screamed.
02:16:42
And she said, "Shut up." I mean, that was her exact words, "Shut up." >> So, you knew she was okay?
02:16:48
>> I knew she was alive. >> Doug took Failen to a nearby hospital. Very [music] banged up, but alive.
02:16:58
Given how far she supposedly fell, that makes no sense at all to Chief Ranger Michael Gossi. the height of that fall,
02:17:07
the jaggedness of the rocks below. A fall of that serious nature, a person would have some severe injuries from.
02:17:17
>> She definitely thought she was going to die young, but it was an accident. It
02:17:21
was an accident. >> But as Doug's sister Tammy was about to discover, it may have been no accident
02:17:30
at all. You have [music] no idea that you're going to find what you find. >> No.
02:17:44
[music] [bell] [music] I got a phone call from Doug from the hospital and he told me that Failen had
02:17:57
fallen. When she heard about Failen's close call in Utah, Tammy Fuentes immediately went
02:18:03
to the Grant's home to get it ready for their return. >> You have no idea that you're going to
02:18:09
find what you find. >> No. >> She got the shock of her life. >> She had prepared her house as if she was
02:18:17
not coming home. Tammy says Failen had left notes of Mormon scripture everywhere, plus bags of personal items,
02:18:26
clothing, pictures with instructions to give them all away. Failen's fall now made perfect sense to her.
02:18:34
>> She thought that she was going to die on that mountain. She tried to kill herself. I know she
02:18:40
did. And I knew then that I wanted to confront Failen about it. And I was going to confront her about it.
02:18:48
But when Failen came home two days later, it didn't seem like the time. >> Failen [music] was real sore. She had
02:18:56
been injured, you know, in the fall. >> She was hurt. She was hurting pretty bad.
02:19:01
>> Doug had asked his friend, physician's assistant Chad White, to examine Failen
02:19:06
at home. >> She seemed happy to me regardless of all of her injuries. >> She had no broken bones, but still she
02:19:13
was in pain and couldn't sleep. So, White prescribed a muscle relaxant and the sleep aid ambient, recording in his
02:19:21
notes that he specifically told Doug [music] not to fill the ambient prescription without calling him first.
02:19:28
>> I just simply didn't want her taking the two together. >> White next heard from Doug just after
02:19:34
7:30 the following morning. >> He was very alarmed, very panicked. He told me that she had gone in to take a
02:19:42
bath, that he was laying on the [music] bed and had fallen asleep. >> When he woke up, Doug said he found
02:19:48
Failen unconscious in the tub, her head underwater. What did you do when you found her?
02:19:56
>> Cut her out, put her on the bed, started CPR. >> You knew CPR? >> I know CPR.
02:20:06
>> I asked if he'd call 911. >> What did he say? He informed me that he had not called 911. I asked him why and
02:20:13
he he relayed to me that he was afraid. >> White jumped in the car and called 911
02:20:19
himself. >> 911 emergency. >> Yes. I just got a distress call from um a friend of mine.
02:20:24
>> Meanwhile, at the house, Failen's daughter, Jenna, says her stepfather [music]
02:20:29
was freaking out. >> I hear Doug and he's screaming. He's panting and he's having a hard time. It
02:20:34
looks like he's bracing himself. And then he told me to take my little brothers to the next door.
02:20:40
>> She ran to the home of Andrea Rogers who raced to the Grants to see if she could
02:20:44
help. >> Doug came flying to the door so upset. My whole body just reacted to the terror
02:20:50
in his eyes. Chad White showed up minutes later and took over. >> He had obviously pulled her from the tub
02:20:57
and she was laying there unresponsive. She did not have any vital [music] signs. With Doug looking on, White tried
02:21:05
CPR until the paramedics arrived. >> He was crying. He was balling. He was yelling out, "Please help her. Please
02:21:13
help her." >> The paramedics got her heart going again and rushed her to the hospital where
02:21:18
Jenna remembers a bizarre scene. As my mom is laying in a bed unconscious with tubes running through her nose in her
02:21:28
arms, Doug takes me out into the hallway and he tells me, "If your mom wakes up,
02:21:32
she might say weird things." [music] >> Jenna says Doug seemed too eager to accept the possibility that Failen might
02:21:40
not wake up. [music] >> Do not tell me my mom is going to die. >> But as she watched her mother's heart
02:21:45
rate on the monitor, she knew Failen wasn't coming back. And I kept looking at the screen and it just kept going
02:21:52
down and down from 100 75 50 and then I realized what was happening. She was dying.
02:22:04
Soon doctors said brain activity had ceased and Doug authorized taking her off life support. At 4:37 p.m. on
02:22:13
September 27th, 2001, [music] Failen Grant was pronounced dead. Official cause drowning. But tests showed a
02:22:22
whopping 50 milligrams of ambient in her system. Clearly Doug had ignored Chad White's orders.
02:22:30
You didn't call him when you chose to fill the prescription. >> I didn't feel I needed to call to fill
02:22:36
the prescription. >> Still, investigators seemed unconcerned. In this bathroom and out here in
02:22:42
Failen's bedroom, they shot just five photos. In coming days, they would fail to
02:22:51
interview key witnesses. They even lost evidence, including the pill bottles. Then again, they had ruled this death an
02:22:59
accident the very day Failene was found. Failen's family was upset. It took months of pressure from them before
02:23:09
police started taking a closer look at Doug Grant. And that's when detective Sai Ray got
02:23:19
the case. >> I felt there was a lot of unanswered questions. So I primarily focused on
02:23:26
just trying to answer some of the real basic questions. The first thing we looked at that helped us do that was the
02:23:31
phone records. Ray found a slew of calls from the months before Failen died between Doug's
02:23:37
phones [music] and Hillary Ditz. >> Prosecutor Juan Martinez says authorities became even more intrigued
02:23:45
at reports that Doug and Hillary had met in a park only hours after Failen's death.
02:23:52
>> When he saw her, he [music] grabbed her around the hip area, pulled her towards
02:23:57
him, and said, "I miss these." That scenario is chilling. >> Well, it is chilling and it isn't a
02:24:03
scenario. It's something that happened. >> Hillary admitted meeting Doug in the park, but she wasn't sure when. And she
02:24:10
adamantly denied any conversation about her hips. But nobody denies what happened a few weeks later.
02:24:17
>> We got married soon. >> You got married really soon. >> Absolutely. >> In fact, less than a month after
02:24:23
Failen's death, Doug and Hillary became man and wife. I know how people feel about us getting
02:24:31
married so quick. I don't care what people perceive about me. I am who I am and that's my life.
02:24:40
>> Doug and Hillary had started a new life, but Syra had no intention of moving on.
02:24:46
>> I had a lot of concerns about the way he reported things happening. Just some
02:24:50
real common sense things that I felt just didn't quite fit in. Chief among them, Ray says he just
02:24:57
couldn't get over that Doug never had called 911. >> I know with every fiber of my being that
02:25:03
I called them. >> You called? >> I called 911. >> Phoenix area records show no such call.
02:25:09
Still, Ry didn't have enough for an arrest until the sudden appearance of a new witness. A reluctant witness.
02:25:17
>> I didn't want to get involved because I knew what was going to happen once my
02:25:21
name hit the papers. caught on tape with a story about what Doug Grant told him really happened the day Failen died.
02:25:30
It's the missing piece of evidence that we're looking for. >> After Failen's death, Jenna and her
02:25:45
brother Austin went to live with their biological father. [snorts] While Doug >> that good
02:25:51
>> and his new wife Hillary [laughter] settled into life with a blended family, four children from various marriages,
02:26:01
including [music] a daughter of their own. >> Na, try to land your front flip. >> Nivea.
02:26:06
>> There you go. >> That's heaven spelled backwards. >> Oh, look at that one. Despite such
02:26:14
wholesome appearances, Detective Syra remained convinced Doug Grant was a killer, but
02:26:22
>> nothing really jumped out and said, "This is what happened. >> She's right here."
02:26:27
>> Failen's sisters always suspected it was Doug. >> He didn't call 911. >> He didn't call 911.
02:26:33
>> He married Hillary 3 weeks later. >> Three years passed. Then one day, Failen's sister, Charlene, called Rey
02:26:43
with explosive news. An old friend of Doug's was claiming Doug had confessed to killing Failene.
02:26:52
The friend's name was Jim Mier. >> He told me that she was ready to go to heaven.
02:27:01
He said, "I put her in the bathtub until she was underwater. But there was a problem with Jim Mier's
02:27:11
story. Before he'd tell it to the cops, he wanted money from Failen's family. And
02:27:18
how much money does he want? >> He's asking for $10,000. >> $10,000. >> He's very clear that it's a loan.
02:27:25
>> You buy this. >> I have a hard time buying a lot of things that Jim said, but at that point,
02:27:31
we were obligated to see it through to see what this information is and see if there's any validity to it.
02:27:37
This unit is available. >> So Sai Ray set Mier up. He told Charlene to arrange a meeting in a Walmart
02:27:44
parking lot. Hi Jim. >> Hi. How we doing? >> With hidden cameras rolling. You >> all right back there, Jim?
02:27:52
>> Yeah. I'm fine. >> When the money changed hands. >> Here you go. [screaming] >> Ray moved in and told Mier he could
02:28:02
charge him with extortion. Instead, he got Mier to agree to help get a confession out of Doug on tape.
02:28:12
>> The plan at that point is to bring Jim and have him confront Doug on this information while wearing a wire.
02:28:18
>> Mier did just that. Later that day, wired for sound. >> Got a minute? >> He met Doug and told him police were
02:28:26
asking him questions. They're threatening to arrest me because they think I have information.
02:28:31
>> And he needed to know exactly what happened to Failen. >> I don't know what you want me to say.
02:28:37
>> I believe his initial response was, "I did help her into the bathtub." >> She fell asleep in the tub. She hadn't
02:28:44
had so much of those painkillers and stuff. >> Doug admitted nothing directly, but when
02:28:52
Mier tried to leave, >> he kept saying, "Tell me what you're going to say." What are you going to
02:28:57
say? >> Saying how damaging it sounded. >> If they have anybody says that Doug Grant put her in the tub and put her to
02:29:03
sleep, then it's over. >> Trying to get me to reward it. >> If it was me, I would say, "Yeah, we
02:29:09
were good friends and you're there to console me and you don't remember. It's been years ago."
02:29:13
>> It was hardly a full confession. >> End of story. Get out of my face. >> But to Syra, it was more than enough.
02:29:22
So in the summer of 2005, police arrested Doug Grant for the murder of his wife Failene.
02:29:31
Doug immediately made bail and soon returned home. >> He is not guilty. There was no crime.
02:29:40
>> Doug's lawyer, Mel McDonald, says there's no evidence Doug even wanted Failen to die. Just the opposite. When
02:29:48
you look at Doug's [music] efforts after her fall, crying [snorts] for help, running to her rescue, taking her to a
02:29:55
hospital, leaving her alone with people, that is hardly the evidence of a murder.
02:30:00
>> Doug had been here. >> As far as detective Sai Ray is concerned, though, it was all part of an
02:30:06
act. >> Their version of the story is just nonsense. I think something happened to
02:30:11
her while they were here. I don't know what. >> So, what do you do when there's no
02:30:15
evidence? Let's throw in the infidelity. Let's throw in the younger woman. It's got nothing to do with the question of
02:30:22
homicide, but let's just throw the dirt on the wall. Maybe it will stick. >> What the defense wants to stick is
02:30:29
[music] that Failen Grant's death was not a murder, but rather an accident or a suicide.
02:30:37
If you doubt it, they say, >> "I can't tell you how devastated I [music] feel." >> Just listen to Failen's own words from
02:30:43
those astonishing journals. I am choosing to give up the life I have. >> Jenna still reads them today.
02:30:50
>> I can't tell you how devastated I feel and that I'm suicidal and that I think
02:30:56
of crazy things to do to myself. >> It's right there in the writings, [music] repeated references to her
02:31:04
upcoming death. I felt like I should just drive off a cliff and quit wasting space and air on
02:31:11
this planet. But daughter Jenna can't seem to reconcile the words in those letters and
02:31:17
journals with the mother she knew. >> She would have never committed suicide. If you only read a small portion of
02:31:24
something taken out of context, it's not going to be what the writer intended. My
02:31:29
mom didn't want to die. She was a happy lady. She was a [music] great mom, a great wife. I don't think that points to
02:31:36
someone that's suicidal. And if the writing suggests otherwise, [music] she says it can only be because Doug
02:31:46
planted the idea. >> Her husband, who obviously she trusted, who she remarried, is telling her she's
02:31:53
going to die. >> I never encouraged it, nor did I ever dream it, nor did ever say it.
02:32:00
>> Just as hard to fathom is Failen's relationship with Hillary, a rival whom you'd think she might hate. Far from it.
02:32:08
Remarkably, Failen's journals show that the two became fast friends. >> Failen, she filled voids in my life at a
02:32:17
time period where I needed it and she's part of this family. >> I'm so thankful Hillary is able to share
02:32:27
her feelings with me [music] and me with her. I want so much for her to know of my love and respect for her.
02:32:34
>> So much does she love her that Failen names Hillary the perfect new [music] wife for Doug
02:32:40
Grant. >> This desire for you to be married immediately and to see you sitting together as husband and wife at my
02:32:47
funeral has been so strong >> and even the perfect new mother for her children. >> I have asked Hillary to sit at the table
02:32:55
as your mother while I'm away. Treat Hillary with the utmost love and respect and you will always make me very happy.
02:33:05
>> I think Failen was right. These kids needed a mom. >> So, just what was Failen really saying?
02:33:14
What do these bewildering entries tell us about her, about how she died? >> All rise for the jury.
02:33:23
>> As the trial begins, how the jury answers those questions may well determine Doug [music] Grant's fate.
02:33:31
>> What role did you have in Failen's death? Everybody asked that. Is that a yes or a
02:33:37
no, sir? [music] >> All rise for the jury. >> On day one of Doug Grant's trial for
02:34:00
first-degree murder, >> please be seated everyone. Prosecutor Juan Martinez highlights what he says
02:34:06
was Doug's heartless manipulation of his wife. >> He's telling her that he's had visions
02:34:12
that she's going to die. >> He will try to convince the jury that Doug's obsessive communications with
02:34:18
Hillary. >> Then at 1213, a 16-minute call, then a 1250, a 12minute call. and his failure
02:34:25
to make the call that counted most. >> Doesn't call 911 >> reveal a plot to kill the woman he'd
02:34:32
married twice so he could marry the woman he really loved. >> He had told Hillary that they were going
02:34:39
to be together and that they were going to be married. >> But defense lawyer Mel McDonald argues
02:34:46
however Failen died, Doug didn't kill her. She writes, "I am choosing to give up the life I have [music] that is
02:34:56
perfectly the way I want it." She is choosing, ladies and gentlemen, to give up her life.
02:35:05
>> I concede under one theory that Doug did just what Juan Martinez accused him of
02:35:10
doing. >> After years covering the Grant case, reporter Paul Rubin says no one theory
02:35:16
fully explains what happened to Failen. I also can see it being a terrible, tragic accident. And I also can see
02:35:23
suicide. >> But if this was murder, what was the motive? Money. Well, Failen did have a
02:35:30
hefty new life insurance policy, but it hadn't kicked in yet. If Doug were after
02:35:34
the money, why wouldn't he wait? As for love, even if Doug desperately wanted to
02:35:41
marry Hillary, he didn't have to kill Failen to do it. They could have simply divorced. After all, they'd already done
02:35:48
it once. Mr. >> Martinez's statement calls first witness. >> Prosecutor Martinez ignores the motive
02:35:56
question for now, beginning with his star witness, Failen's daughter, Jenna, who remembers being unable to get into
02:36:03
the bedroom that horrible morning. >> I grabbed the door handle, jiggled it, and it was locked.
02:36:10
The bedroom door was locked, says prosecutor Martinez, because a killer was at work on the other side. The
02:36:17
locked door is a crucial point. And curiously, something Jenna never once mentioned in two interviews with police.
02:36:25
>> I didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want to think about it, but it's part of
02:36:30
the story. >> She was 11 at the time. >> She was. That doesn't mean she doesn't remember exactly what happened.
02:36:35
[clears throat] >> Step right up here. We'll have you. >> I was definitely still in love with
02:36:39
Doug. Absolutely. >> Later, Martinez [music] tries to get Hillary to admit she knows more than
02:36:44
she's letting on. >> You knew that if she died, there would be a chance for you and the man that you
02:36:50
loved, right, >> Mr. Martinez? That is >> Yes or no? >> No. >> Your case certainly wasn't hurt by being
02:36:56
able to paint this guy as a really sleazy womanizer. >> I didn't paint the defendant as a sleazy
02:37:03
womanizer. That's what the facts showed. Exhibit A, he says, are the phone records. Hundreds of calls from Doug's
02:37:12
phones to Hillary's. But [music] Doug's lawyer claims that many of them weren't made by Doug at all.
02:37:18
>> It was Failen that was making the calls. >> Remember, the defense says the two women
02:37:23
were friends. >> The contacts that were going on during this period of time was Failen preparing
02:37:29
Hillary to take her place. >> Stay closely. Doug's case gets another boost when prosecutor Juan Martinez calls the
02:37:40
medical examiner. >> I have no evidence to support this being a homicide. >> Just as the defense has claimed all
02:37:49
along, there was no crime. Also helping the defense, >> raise your right hand. >> Sai Ray, who spearheaded the case
02:37:57
against Doug Grant, has to admit that on many important points, there's also no evidence.
02:38:03
>> Where's the sheets? We do not have the sheets. But >> where were the pill containers found?
02:38:08
>> We don't know. >> Where's her underclo? >> I don't know, >> detective. The evidence at the scene is
02:38:14
gone, isn't it? >> No, not all of the evidence at the scene is gone. >> As for the ambient, when, how, and how
02:38:22
much Failen took, a toxicologist says the evidence is totally inconclusive. >> We just don't know. As the months drag
02:38:32
on and the defense picks up steam. >> Which is your home? >> It's coming. >> Prosecutor Martinez voices objections.
02:38:39
>> Objection nonresponsive. >> Over. >> Objection leading. Speculative. >> And over.
02:38:44
>> Objection leading and hearing. >> And over. >> Objection leading. >> Sustain.
02:38:49
>> You objected by our count more than a hundred times one day. >> Objection. Leading.
02:38:56
>> Sustain. Non-leading questions, please, Mr. McDonald. I assume that's part of
02:38:59
the tactic. >> No, it was not a tactic to throw him off his game. >> 100 times in a day,
02:39:05
>> 200 if necessary. >> In closing arguments, Martinez outdoes himself with another carefully
02:39:12
calculated move, finally spelling out exactly what the state thinks Doug Grant did to Failen. It's a stunner. What he
02:39:21
did is he dragged her over there and then he placed her head inside the tub and began to hold her down.
02:39:29
>> Failen never was actually in the bathtub. He says her injuries and water stains at the scene prove it.
02:39:37
>> There is no doubt that Douglas Grant killed Failen Grant. But just in case the jurors don't buy that, Martinez
02:39:46
reminds them they still can punish Doug without convicting him of firstdegree murder. There are lesser included
02:39:53
offenses, seconddegree murder and manslaughter. [music] >> Doug Grant doesn't testify and his
02:39:59
lawyer bids the jury a fond if unorthodox farewell. >> Thank you so much for your commitment
02:40:07
and your time and may God bless you with this family. May God bless you. It's not
02:40:12
pandering. >> I will be devastated if this is not unequal. >> And he is not the only one.
02:40:22
>> Every time the phone rings, you know, wondering if it's the last time you're going to see your family, you know, in
02:40:27
person. And uh it's real tough. >> This is our [music] life. And I believe with every fiber of my being, Doug will
02:40:33
continue it with us. >> This is a case [music] that took on a life of its own. It's an unlikely arrest
02:40:40
followed by an unlikely prosecution [music] followed by We'll see. [music] >> While the jury is out, Doug Grant
02:40:55
retreats to his home in Puma, Arizona. >> There's only a few things that keep you
02:41:00
sane. You know, out doing yard work with the family brings a little bit of normaly to life. savoring whatever time
02:41:06
he has left with Hillary [music] and his kids. >> Oh, look at that one. The thought of
02:41:11
Doug being taken away and having to go to jail for something that [music] he didn't do is crippling.
02:41:19
I don't wish that upon anybody. >> Faced with months of evidence, jury deliberations drag on for [music] three
02:41:29
agonizing weeks. >> While we're waiting, it's it's tough. You just don't know where they're going
02:41:34
to go with it. >> Very few people could [music] go through what he's had to go through.
02:41:40
>> Okay, come here. Brave. >> It's tough from 9 to 4 while the jury's deliberating. Pins and needles, you
02:41:44
know. >> And then finally, a verdict. >> We the jury do find the defendant Douglas D. Grant as to count one,
02:42:00
firstdegree murder, unable to agree on the [music] lesser included offense of secondderee murder. Unable to agree
02:42:13
on the lesser included offense of manslaughter, guilty. >> Guilty, but only of manslaughter. The
02:42:22
least serious charge Doug faced. Doug Grant was taken out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
02:42:29
>> It's a hollow victory for the state and for Failen's family. >> I'm glad it's over and that we can go
02:42:34
on. >> A crushing blow for Doug and the defense. >> Probably the most devastating [music]
02:42:41
result in any case I've ever tried. >> Jurors say though they thought Doug did something, they just couldn't agree that
02:42:48
it was murder. >> Nothing was proven, but it was just a gut feeling. So they compromised.
02:42:54
>> Manslaughter was a fallback. >> Despite their strong feelings about the man on trial,
02:42:59
>> we thought he was a pretty much a scumbag. >> How have you managed to hold it together
02:43:04
all this time? Hillary, >> it's easy when you know he's innocent. >> Doug's supporters aren't giving up.
02:43:12
Manslaughter means he could face up to 12 and a half years in prison. Or he could get no time at all, just
02:43:19
probation. There's a community that will suffer a great loss if he is in for very
02:43:24
long at all because he is a good man. [music] >> It may have been too risky to put Grant
02:43:32
on the stand before the verdict, but as the court considers sentencing a few days later.
02:43:38
>> Call that Grant. >> Doug's lawyer bets that an emotional plea from his client now just might
02:43:43
[music] work. >> Would you please state your name for the record? >> Doug Dewey Grant. And Doug is on the
02:43:49
edge. After his first weekend behind bars, he's on suicide watch. >> He looked like Jack Nicholson in The
02:43:56
Shining. I was yelling, "Fail! Failen!" >> He did cry. Well, it looked like he attempted to
02:44:05
cry. Does he turn the tears on and off? >> It appears that he does, doesn't it? >> Failen was
02:44:12
someone that always made me feel larger than life. Failen's family takes the stand to argue
02:44:19
for the longest sentence possible. >> All that I have left is memories because he took her from me.
02:44:28
>> The usually stoic Hillary [music] now pleads with the judge not to take Doug from her.
02:44:34
>> If Doug received probation, he would still be allowed to pay a debt to society and continue to provide for us
02:44:40
as his family. Doug and Failen's own sons, Marley, 12. >> I'm here because I know my dad has since
02:44:48
been sick. I want my dad back home. >> And Braven, 11. >> I [snorts] miss my mom.
02:44:55
>> Tell the judge that losing one parent is enough. >> But taking my dad away isn't going to
02:45:00
bring her back. >> The appeals seem to hit home. >> A judgment sentence of the court to
02:45:07
defendant be in prison for the presumptive term of 5 years. Five years with good behavior, Doug
02:45:13
Grant will be out in three. The prosecutor puts on a brave face. [music] >> Justice, I believe, was served. It took
02:45:21
a while, but we finally got there. >> Where do you go from here? What do you do?
02:45:25
>> On with my family. >> Hillary is loyal to the end, saying it's just what her dear friend Failen would
02:45:33
have wanted. >> They're always going to mourn the death of their mother. Always. This is what
02:45:38
she would want. I mean, that's just how I feel. >> Jenna has [music] trouble accepting the
02:45:45
verdict, let alone the sentence. >> A man took [music] away someone else's life and he is going to be in prison
02:45:53
half a decade. You're telling me that's justice? >> But she vows not to let the past destroy
02:46:01
her future. >> I'm going to be okay. I've been okay the past seven or eight years. And she takes
02:46:08
comfort [music] in Failen's journals. >> This will be such a blessing as I go into the next world.
02:46:13
>> In those haunting reflections, [music] not just about dying, but also about living life with zest every day, which
02:46:22
is how she [music] wants to remember her mother. >> Love means never having to say goodbye.
02:46:29
I will be with you always. I love you, [music] Failen. >> [music] [music] [music]
02:47:11
[music]