and the girl he once loved. nona dirksmeyer, the song bird, the beauty queen, the girl for whom justice is denied. in 2018, gary dunn found himself in handcuffs again, after two incidents that occurred on the same night, both unrelated to nona dirksmeyer. dunn pleaded no contest to attempted kidnapping and indecent exposure. he was sentenced to 15 years. barring new evidence, the state does not plan to file charges against him for a third time in the nona dirksmeyer killing. >> that is all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin, thank you for watching. hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline."becc! craig melvin (voiceover): a fire chief, murdered. his wife, the only witness. hello, i'm craig melvin. and this is dateline.

>> reporter: a fire chief murdered. his wife, the only witness. this detective knew them both. >> she started telling me about a young man coming into their home and shooting keith. >> her job now? solve this crime. and clue number one was a doozy. >> she said that after he shot kieth, he turned to her and said, i'm sorry, ma'am. >> reporter: i'm sorry? a killer who apologized? and that was just the start. a gun, stashed in a drier, a man's glove, but whose dna? a woman with a whole lot to reveal. >> she tossed her top to me. >> she just whipped it off? >> i was shocked! ♪ ♪ ♪ hello, and welcome to dateline. keith bryan was a devoted fire chief who spent his career

helping those in trouble. the local here you had a job of his dreams and a wife he adored. then one night, a gunshot shattered the life they had built and exposed the secrets at the heart of a complicated crime. here's andrea canning with "mystery in mustang." >> reporter: just about 20 miles southwest of downtown oklahoma city sits a town called mustang. once farmers and ranchers dotted the land, it's bigger now, but folks still hold tight to their roots. >> pretty quiet community. >> faith connects community here. and people stay lifelong friends. >> it is a small town feel. very much neighbors helping neighbors. >> reporter: in a place like mustang, neighbors know almost all there is to know about each other, for better or worse.

>> 9-1-1, state your emergency. >> reporter: so when the unthinkable happened. >> my husband is laying there, gasping for air. >> reporter: it would be all the more startling when the secrets came tumbling out. >> i heard a lot of things that shocked me than i ever would've imagined. >> had evil invaded mustang? >> i'm in mustang, america. the -- >> reporter: or come from within? >> it created a lot of fear for a lot of people. >> that was my first real whodunnit. >> reporter: keith bryan was oklahoma to the core. proudly raised in the sooner state. he married his wife, becky, at 19 and they settled in mustang. pam woodard, an old friend of keith's, rolled out the welcome mat for the bryans when they moved to town. >> they became an integral part of our church.

very active, very grounded. >> they had two boys. trent and kent. >> becky was a good mom. from what i could tell. she was a good mom. >> keith worked as a fireman, his dream job. in the well to do, oklahoma city enclave of nichols hills. terry hamilton served alongside keith. and if the fireman who are like brothers, the wives were like sisters, says terry's wife, kim. >> with the fire department, it became all families together. >> keith had a good sense of humor. he was outgoing. and he was really driven to succeed. >> and he did. promoted all the way to fire chief in 1991. but keith never lost his personal collection with the people that he served. >> reporter: he was one of the first responders to the oklahoma city bombing? >> he was. >> that's when he looked on that lady that was trapped underneath the rubble. he wouldn't leave her. >> reporter: was he a hero in your eyes?

>> i think so. i was pretty proud of him as a friend for that. >> reporter: as for becky? she was a force in the community too, working in real estate. her business often seemed more about the people than the money. >> becky had a very selfless side to her too. there were people that i know of, that they were upside down. she even had time was known to take her own money to closing. and helped like that. >> keith was elected city councilman in mustang. becky's business was thriving. and their marriage? an example to others. >> she and keith did some premarital counseling for several years in our church. >> reporter: so they were counseling other couples on how to have a good marriage? >> they were counseling others on how to have a good marriage. >> reporter: so it came as a surprise when in 2010, keith and becky hit a rough patch. the boys were grown, and the empty nesters separated. becky moved out. david reddick, becky's brother, remained close to keith during the separation. >> he said he wanted to know how could he'd change to show that love to her in a greater

way. >> reporter: what advice did you give keith? >> i told him to talk to her about it. that she was sensible. >> reporter: keith worked hard to win becky back with gifts, and dates, and loving notes. becky came home. >> he was telling some people that what he had been through was worth it. because it had made him even that much better of a husband. >> reporter: in the year that followed, keith kept up his campaign of romance. september 20th, 2011, was no different. becky was at a real estate conference in tulsa. keith texted her sweet messages throughout the day. becky arrived home around 8:30 pm. a friend came over to chat. keith, now ever attentive, made them iced tea. after the friend left, becky says she and keith settled down in front of the tv. on the bill that night?

keith's choice, a classic scary movie, "carrie." then came the real horror. >> 9-1-1 state your emergency. >> reporter: it was becky. >> a young man, about 25. >> reporter: and then the phone cut out. what would she say? dispatcher send police to the house. >> headquarters to available mustang units. >> reporter: becky called back. >> i just called 9-1-1 on myself phone. >> yes. >> are you coming my house? >> reporter: she said an intruder shot keep in the head. >> my husband is laying here, bleeding on my couch right now. >> and the intruder was getting away. >> oh my god. he is in a little, itty-bitty pick up. he's going down my street. he is, it's like a dark color. >> reporter: now, the brave fire chief who dedicated his life to saving others was in urgent need of help himself. >> okay, i've got to go. >> no. ma'am stay on the line with me. >> reporter: the police sped to the bryan house. but the questions came just as fast. who was the shooter?

this intruder on the loose, and could he be found? an unfamiliar feeling spread through mustang's streets and homes, fear. >> coming up. >> after his shot. he turned to her and said, i'm sorry ma'am. >> a gunman who apologizes? what kind of intruder was that? >> when dateline continues. dat when you smell the amazing scent of gain flings... time stops. (♪♪) and you realize you're in love... steve? with a laundry detergent. (♪♪) gain flings. seriously good scent. what can you do with sensitive skin? cetaphil moisturizing lotion hydrates for a full 48 hours.

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oh my god. oh my god. i'm in mustang, america.

who would [bleep] do that? >> word went out that a brazen intruder had shot fire chief keith bryan. and within his own home and within minutes first responders swarmed the house, securing it as a crime scene. as keith was rushed to the hospital, his wife becky stayed behind. detectives were on their way as she spoke to her brother david on the phone. >> she was crying and frantic i set settle down it will be okay who is with you? her son was there. >> janet hickman, a good friend of the family and wife of a fire chief herself, rushed over to the bryan's. >> i went over hugged her neck and told around sorry i was god would get us through this. >> keith's deputy chief hamilton reached becky on her cell phone. >> i told her not to worry, he

will do a full investigation and they will figure out who did it. >> reporter: at the house, becky was on the rear patio on the phone with friends and family, repeating the story of the armed intruder. >> we were sitting in open light around the patio, i was fearful that they might come back. >> reporter: you thought right at that moment that this person she described could come back? >> yes, i did. >> we hadn't had anything like that happen before. >> cammy mcneill, a detective with the mustang police department, was dispatched to the brine house that night. and mustang being mustang, the victim and his wife were no strangers to the detective. >> what is your reaction when you hear it is keith? >> it was concerning to me because i knew this family. >> becky seem to really get to see a familiar face. >> she called out my name and asked me to come sit by her on the back porch. and then she started telling me about a young man, possibly 25

years old coming into their home and shooting keith in the head. >> reporter: what did that young man say, according to becky? >> she said after he shot keith he turned to her and said i am sorry ma'am, but he should've [bleep] hired me. >> it seemed like a key detail this apparent apology and explanation, becky had also recounted to 9-1-1 dispatchers. >> he said ma'am, i'm so sorry. he said, but your husband should've hired me. >> reporter: do you have a gut reaction about that story? >> it was concerning to me because we are a small community. my first concern was is there somebody out there? where is he and how are we going to find him? >> reporter: becky described as shooter as a man in his twenties with a big nose and wearing a hoodie. >> i was trying to get as much information out to other law agencies, as well as our officers, so they could start looking for him.

>> reporter: was it possible keith knew the man? keith was in no condition to help investigators. but at the hospital hopeful news, he was clinging to life. >> i told her i said he is going into surgery, and she said really? >> reporter: keith made it to surgery, still in terrible shape, but alive in the icu. when becky arrived, the halls of the hospitals were filled with friends, loved ones, and keith's firefighter brothers. it seemed have the town of mustang was they're praying for keith. >> how hard was it for you to see keith in that condition? >> it was very, very hard. you know, i would tell myself, you never know, have heard so many stories of people having head injuries, and i know prayer is so powerful and i know he had so many people praying. >> reporter: first thing that happens when you see becky in the hospital? >> we come up and hug each

other. she is crying. she started crying immediately when i grabbed her, she said what am i going to do? what are we going to do? >> reporter: by morning it was clear, keith would not pull through, those closest to him sensed it was time to say their goodbyes. what did you say to him? >> just -- i said you didn't deserve this and i love you. goodbye. that was it. >> at keith's bedside, becky, keith's wife of 33 years, wept and as keith slipped away along with the sorrow was lost hope that he could shed any light on who had done this to him. no one believed chief brian had an enemy in the world so as the search for the apologetic intruder got underway, one clue

was as simple as the victim's name. >> coming up. >> there was theory out there that perhaps this intruder was looking for a different fireman. >> when dateline continues. annnd doo-do-do-doooo-do! one mississippi. two mississippi. -can we go!? -yeah! faster! oh, no sirree. you see, i get discounts for my safe driving with snapshot from progressive. you should see my savings -- they're nuts. you told us he was a skilled wheelman. no, i'm a wheelman. it's a family name on my mother's side. -what? -irish. wanna know how i get this glow?! i get ready with new olay indulgent moisture body wash. it smells amazing and gives my skin over the top moisture! from dull to visibly glowing in 14 days! ♪♪ see the difference with olay.

andrea canning (voiceover): fire chief keith bryan, ♪♪ so tough, so brave, spent his career running toward danger. now his life had been cut short inside the safety of his own home. fire chief keith bryan, so tough, so brave spent his career running towards danger. now his life had been cut short inside the safety of his own

home. he left behind two dear sons, and the wife to whom he had been so devoted. >> i think it was just such a shock and a huge event and such a tragedy on so many levels. >> at the firehouse keith lead in nichols hills near mustang, roger, a captain back there could barely believe it. >> you just have the gut wrenching feeling that it is exploding now and you don't know what happened. >> must be a weird thing to hear. >> it was. over the five service here you learn to hide your feelings. but when it hits close to home you ask why? >> detective camie mcneil was no rookie but this was the first case of its kind she had ever seen in mustang. >> that was my first real whodunnit homicide case. >> reporter: what significance does that have for you?

>> it was very significant. i was nervous, i wanted to of course do a good job and make sure that the right person went to jail for that crime. >> reporter: to find that person, detectives needed to comb through every detail of becky's eyewitness account. mcneil and an agent from the oklahoma state bureau of investigation interviewed her again at the hospital the night of the shooting. >> the time is 1:23 am in the morning -- what's your first name? >> becky bryan. >> reporter: becky talked about how close she and keith were especially after they made it through that rough patch. >> we were quite in love. i didn't even know he loved me until i filed for divorce. but he really came to the plate. >> reporter: and investigators went over step by step how the shooting went down. >> reporter: what are you looking down when you go into that conference room to interview becky? >> how does this person know keith? can she describe him better? things like that.

>> and the door opened and we were watching a loud movie, "carrie, " and this young kid, about 25 years old, walks into the house and comes over to the carpet. and my husband didn't even have time to turn around. i looked just in time to see. and then he came up from here and he shot him in the head right here. >> point blank? >> point blank, right here. >> reporter: it was then, becky said, that the shooter turned and spoke. >> it was unbelievably hideous. but the guy -- this is what he said, i knew he wasn't going to hurt me. cause he said i'm sorry, ma'am. but he should've [bleep] hired me. >> so a polite shooter? >> yes, she did describe him that way. yes. >> reporter: there it was again, that odd but clearly important detail. along with his polite apology, the shooter seem to give away a motive. was he someone vying for a job

at keith's fire department? keith's deputy terry hamilton didn't think so. >> i never was concerned about that. >> why not? >> for one thing, it would've been four years since we had hired anybody. so nobody is going to sit and stew for four years and then all of a sudden get mad and go shoot the guy that didn't hire him. >> but if the shooter wasn't angry over a job in keith's fire department, there was another possibility, one that neighbors of the bryan's worried about. keith often did projects on the house. was the killer someone who had wanted a construction job and didn't get it? one neighbor told police that a few weeks earlier a stranger had been driving around asking for work as a handyman. he said the man had a funny face and drove an old pickup truck. he also remembered seeing a similar truck the night of the shooting. >> reporter: are you interviewing neighbors? are you asking people if they

saw anyone suspicious in the neighborhood, if they saw a truck in the neighborhood? >> yes, all of that was going on. >> reporter: were they yielding anything? >> very little. very little. >> then among the firefighters and their wives, a third and entirely different idea was bandied about. no one is sure who said it first, but soon some were wondering out loud if keith hadn't been the intended target at all. >> there was a theory out there that perhaps this intruder was looking for a different fireman. >> reporter: and why would anyone think that? not far from the bryan's home in mustang lived the oklahoma city chief, his name? keith bryant. bryan with the t at the end. >> reporter: the whole keith bryant theory that maybe they got the wrong fire chief? >> you know, that did not occur to me until i got to the

hospital. and that was the first time someone had brought up a mistaken identity. >> the buzz reached roger at the firehouse. >> that story did come out, that maybe someone got the wrong chief. it could've been anyone's theory as to what had happened. >> reporter: surely the oklahoma city chief hired and fired many more people than keith did. had the shooter been angry with him? a friend reached him by phone, he was safe and sound at a conference on the east coast the night of the shooting. but there were problems with the mistaken identity theory. the two chiefs didn't look much alike, and the more keith's fireman brother thought it over, the less likely it seemed. >> i still didn't think that story made sense. >> reporter: too farfetched? >> yes. it's real competitive to get hired on as a firefighter. i can't see somebody not getting hired and then killing the fire chief. and the oklahoma fire

department, i don't think the fire chief even has anything to do with the hiring department. >> reporter: around mustang the questions were many, the answers few. people were watchful, certainly less at ease. >> i found myself wanting to close blinds early. >> reporter: did you have a moment of panic? >> a little bit. yes. it was a little eerie, not knowing what was going on. >> reporter: and while those around mustang wondered who and when this invader was, investigators had found something at the crime scene. it would turn the fear and suspicion right around. >> the investigation heats up when police questioned a witness who has a whole lot to reveal. >> coming up. >> no, no, don't take it off. >> she tossed her top to me. >> she just whipped it off? >> i was shocked. >> when dateline continues. >> when dateline continues. i already got a pneumonia vaccine, ...but i'm asking about the added protection of prevnar 20®. if you're 19 or older with certain chronic conditions... ...like asthma, diabetes, copd, or heart disease,...

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i'm jessica layton with a look at the top stories. ahead of unanticipated ground

offensive, israel conducted preliminary airstrikes in the south gaza city of rafah. hamas is threatening to withdraw from hostage negotiations if israel pushes into the city on the ground. and defense secretary lloyd austin has been hospitalized for a bladder issue. he transferred duties to deputy defense secretary kathleen hicks. the white house, joint chiefs, and congress have been notified. now, let's get back to dateline. now, let's get back to dateline. to at least one fellow fireman, that theory did not make sense. welcome back to dateline. i'm craig melville. word was spreading that keith bryan's killer might have mistaken him for another fire chief with a similar name. to at least one fellow firefighter that theory didn't make sense. it was days after the shooting and something else was becoming the top of the town, the strange behavior keith's wife,

becky. here again is andrea canning with mystery in mustang. >> reporter: in the tight-knit community of mustang, folks who knew each other so well for so long began to swap stories. memories of their friend keith, the hero, the dad, the loyal husband and friend. but also stories about his wife and then night keith was killed. gianna hickman, who had rushed to the bryan's home that night, was outside with becky and remembered hearing this not long after the crime. >> i heard her just say something about it would be hard to sell the house because he had died in the house. >> reporter: did that sound callous to you? >> being a realtor, i could see her thinking about that. it was a little odd, i thought. >> reporter: at the hospital, some friends noticed that becky was agitated one minute, eerily calm the next. >> she wasn't emotional, she was pretty calm, talking to different people. >> whenever we met her, she was

very calm. >> reporter: too calm? >> i anticipated her needing comfort, and i went to hug her and she just held her arms down straight and didn't seem to need that type of consoling. >> reporter: and instead of sticking close to keith's bedside in his last hours, they thought it was strange that becky was often outside. >> she was sitting with her legs crossed up on the bench, out with her friends, smoking and very casual. it was completely bizarre. >> reporter: becky's brother david said he knows his sister best, and what the friends saw was just how becky was coping. in your eyes, was becky acting exactly the way a wife would act after a random senseless shooting? >> becky acted just like becky would act if someone came in and shot her husband and she was there. she was panicking, she didn't

know what to do. she was doing anything she could to get control of her emotions. >> reporter: was becky known for sometime saying inappropriate thing? >> stupid things. yes. >> reporter: that was who she was? >> becky wanted to control -- she did not want to cry. she didn't want to be out of control for herself. >> reporter: but becky's friends weren't the only people who found her demeanor all that night. detective mcneil says their taped interviews with becky was full of jarring moments. for example, after telling police how much she loved keith, she had this to say about her fatally injured husband. >> i bought a condo, moved out, and he was a [bleep] for 31 years. >> she described keith to us in a way that i thought was inappropriate. >> reporter: in a matter of routine they had tested becky's hands at the crime scene for gunshot residue.

in the interview, they asked her what she was wearing at the time of the shooting. >> so you are wearing the shirt and panties? >> yes. yes. >> a tube top and panties that she still had on under new clothes. and that, said the detective, is when the interview took a revealing turn. >> wait, wait, wait. >> no. >> don't take your clothes off now. >> i'm gonna put my shirt. >> okay. >> i should've clarified -- just -- wait till we finish. >> she grabbed the bottom of the top she was wearing, pulled it over her head, exposing her breasts, and she tossed her top to me. >> was she wearing a bra? >> no. >> you didn't even ask her for the top, she just whipped it off? >> that's right. >> reporter: what are you thinking when she -- >> i was shocked. >> reporter: to investigators, becky's behavior was more than odd, it was suspicious. so you walked into this interview still giving becky the benefit of the doubt? >> absolutely. >> reporter: and you walked out

of the interview thinking that there is a possibility she is going to become an official suspect? >> at that time there was definitely a possibility, yes. >> reporter: when the interview ended, detective mcneil and the other investigator went back to the house, and that is when he made a key discovery, in the utility room, in the clothes dryer, a gun. that must of been kind of a bingo moment. >> that was a big moment for all of us, because not only was the gun in the dryer, but the gun was wrapped in a blanket. a shell casing was in there as well, and also a glove. >> reporter: did you immediately think about the logistics of becky's story as far as where this man came in, where he exited? >> she had told us that he came into the home, shot keith, and walked directly back out the same way that he had come in. she made no mention of this man

going into her laundry room, placing anything in the drier. >> reporter: could there have been any explanation for why the gun was found in a dryer, a different route she had described? >> if there was, i didn't know what that was. >> reporter: investigators now suspected becky of lying about details big and small. but they wanted more. as they analyzed evidence from the scene, a call came in from someone in becky's phone contacts nicknamed becky's prodigy. in fact, they noticed the unusual name when they looked at her phone the night of the shooting. >> becky prodigy lives in hugo, oklahoma. >> so she's a customer? >> yes. she's a realtor broker. >> reporter: actually, becky's prodigy was a man named mark holbrooke. when he learned of keith's murder, he called up investigators. he wanted them to know he and becky had had an affair. when it ended, 19 months before the shooting, he apologized to

keith and promised never to see becky again. but he wanted cops to know she had been in touch with him recently, and a lot. >> she still loved him and that she would be moving so she could be near him, whether he wanted to be with her or not. >> reporter: the affair had been a reason behind becky and keith's brief split. now investigators and the ex lover hatched a plan, record a conversation between becky and her so-called prodigy. maybe becky would give something up to him. three days after keith was shot, becky's ex dialed her up. >> becky, how are you doing? >> thank you for calling me. >> reporter: becky seemed concerned about covering up the affair. >> if you could say that he knew -- that you knew a realtor by that name that you want to broker school with it. >> reporter: while she stuck to her story about the intruder

who shot keith, she said she had news about him. >> and the guy that shot keith, he killed himself yesterday near the city. so he's no longer in danger. >> oh, that's good, that's good news. >> i know. so everything is good. >> we didn't have any information like that. law enforcement had not given her any information like that. >> reporter: the call rang all kinds of alarm bells for investigators, but didn't yield a lot in the way of hard evidence. cops thought they had the goods on becky in another way. by now they had examined that weapon found in the dryer and concluded it belonged to becky. on september 23rd, the day before keith's funeral, becky was arrested and charged with his murder. what was her reaction? >> she seemed shocked, she was yelling things at us. >> reporter: and open and shut case? becky's brother said far from it. >> law enforcement here let us all down. because what i want is the truth.

>> in court, evidence would be examined. and the truth? it will turn out to be more bizarre than anyone could've guessed. >> coming up. >> the secret life of the fire chief's wife. >> she just openly told me i had sex with a 29-year-old client this morning and i have a picture on my phone. >> when dateline continues. dat

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her tight circle of friends drifted away. but not everyone in town believed she was a killer. becky bryan, the once well liked wife of fire chief andei city councilman keith bryan, stood accused of a vicious crime. her tight circle of friends drifted away, but not everyone in town believed she was a killer. >> i don't believe that becky bryan shot keith bryan. >> reporter: gary james is a friend of a friend of the bryans and a prominent oklahoma defense attorney. he said the case against his client becky didn't add up. you believe an innocent women is sitting behind bars? >> sure. she had a lot of bad circumstances, but i do believe somebody shot keith and ran from that house. >> reporter: her attorney said there was a rush to judgment against becky, and as a result, the state just didn't have the proof to back up the charge. >> i do believe that law enforcement agencies in this day and age have the ability to

do a lot of things and were not done in this case. i don't believe they ever looked for anyone, which was a huge part of our defense. >> he's in the little itty bitty pick up. okay? he's going down my street. >> reporter: you know becky probably better than anybody else. when you listen to the 9-1-1 call, you truly believe becky is being truthful? >> yes. i really do. and it is because she was a very detailed person. she is not being panicky, she is trying to describe. she is trying to think through the process, very analytical. >> reporter: in early may 2013, 19 long months after that awful night, becky's trial began. if half the town had rushed to pray for keith when he was shot , just as many flocked to court. >> it has been a tough year and a half, very tough. >> reporter: no cameras were allowed inside the courtroom, as the prosecution came armed with a simple, powerful narrative. becky bryan wanted out of her

marriage, so she shot her husband and invented the tale of an intruder. >> somebody shot my husband in the head. >> reporter: the case against becky began with a slew of secrets from her personal life. they called to court two men who received explicit text and pictures from becky days before the shooting. and this man, former client of becky's, came to the stand and testified they had sex the day of the crime. pam woodard said becky told her about it in the hospital after the shooting. >> she just openly told me, she said i had sex with a 29-year- old client this morning. and i have a picture of his private area on my phone. that is not the word she used. and she said, i feel bad because when i got home keith had made me a tea. >> reporter: did you have alarm bells going off?

>> it was the oddest conversation. >> reporter: but pam and some of becky's other girlfriends were brought to court just to talk about that dalliance. what was the purpose of you taking the stance? what was that experience like? >> i did not want to take the stand, i was made to take the stand i was subpoenaed. by the prosecution. >> reporter: but pam and some the prosecution wanted pam to testify about becky's obsession with her ex lover, mark holbrook, aka becky's prodigy. becky had confided her feelings for him months earlier, when becky and keith appear to be happier than ever. >> i said, becky, you and keith seem to be very committed to making this work and she said to me, i'm a great faker. once i've made my mind about something, i am a great faker

and my heart sank. >> reporter: but pam and some the prosecution argued this was becky's motive for murder, she was fixated on her ex lover and elaborately scheming to get him back. >> she proceeded to tell me that she was going to tell the ex lover that she was pregnant. >> reporter: but pam and some so she is saying she is pregnant with his baby? >> yes, i said, becky, you're 50 plus years old and she said 50 year old people get pregnant all the time. i said, who? where? [laughs] how does this happen? i've never heard of that. her reasoning had gone out the window at that point. >> reporter: but pam and some how far had she gone with the baby story? >> she wanted somebody that could provide her with positive pregnancy tests. she wanted to have a birth announcement. >> reporter: birth announcement? >> birth announcement. >> reporter: did she have a name picked out? >> she had a name picked out. >> reporter: the object of becky's obsession also testified, adding this potentially incriminating detail. he said that on the day keith was shot becky left him a voice

mail saying she planned to buy a house near him because she was about to inherit some money. too many in court the implication was that becky had been expecting a life insurance payout. back in keith's grown sons kept their feelings about their mother's guilt or innocence to themselves. both testified briefly for the prosecution, as did a parade of investigators and forensics expert that laid out the physical evidence. there were two microscopic components of gunshot residue detected on becky's hands. and in that dryer with a gun that belonged to becky, a blanket with holes in it, a shell casing, and a glove. the forensic biologist testified that the glove had becky's dna on it. >> i try to be as open minded as i could and wait to hear all the evidence. but as it went on, i was convinced that she was guilty. >> the state argued it was premeditated murder by a woman who had been living a double life. but becky's brother and chief supporter wasn't buying it.

>> reporter: do you feel like the evidence was overwhelming against becky? >> if you wanted to convict her of being a greedy yes. not a murderer. >> coming up. >> questions about the evidence. >> they didn't fingerprint the dryer, they didn't fingerprint the gun, how do you not fingerprint a gun? >> when dateline continues. n? >> when dateline continues. l. that's nice, but shingles doesn't care! 99% of adults 50 years or older already have the virus that causes shingles inside them, and it can reactivate at any time. a perfect day for a family outing! guess what? shingles doesn't care. but shingrix protects. only shingrix is proven over 90% effective. shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness,

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deandrea canning (voiceover): the becky bryan who sat accused of murder no longer resembled the woman she once was, the popular and perfectly groomed wife of a community leader. the becky bryan who sat bu

accused of murder no longer resembled the woman she once was, the popular and perfectly groomed wife of a community leader. but if her looks had changed, her story had not. she was innocent. >> keith and becky had grown apart over time. can you condone affairs? no. but it happens and it does not make one a killer. >> reporter: were you disappointed in your sister? >> lord, no. i don't like some of the things that i heard, but she is my sister. i love her. >> reporter: becky's attorney did not try to rehabilitate her reputation in court. the evidence of her affairs was overwhelming. but when it came to the crime, the defense told the jury the proof was lacking. >> can you break down for us the biggest errors you feel law enforcement made in this case? >> i thnk tunnel vision, i

think that dictated this case from the night it happened. they did no other fingerprinting on any other door. they did not fingerprint the dryer. they did not fingerprint the gun. i mean, how do you not fingerprint the gun? >> reporter: the defense had an explanation for how an intruder could've easily used becky's gun to commit a crime. becky usually left it in her purse, which investigators found in her car in the garage. >> do you believe that the perpetrator that she spoke of came to the garage, found the gun in the car, and went in and shot keith? >> that's really what i thought happened. perpetrator came in, got the gun out of the vehicle. >> reporter: what's more, that glove with becky's dna on it also had someone else's dna. but the csi's could not narrow it down, not to keith or to anyone else. >> it was actually a very large man's work glove. >> reporter: was there gunshot residue on the glove? >> yes, there was gunshot residue on the glove.

>> reporter: it was the theme of the defense's case. csi investigators from the state had been so quick to zero in on becky as the suspect they committed crime scene malpractice. >> they didn't do any contact dna on the gun, and that's a very simple process. they did no gunshot residue testing on her clothes. they did not do gunshot residue test on her face, which would've been very, very telling. they are just things that would've given us reasonable doubt. >> reporter: the defense told the jury that investigators all but ignored any evidence that pointed to an intruder. becky's neighbor came to court with that story about the suspicious handyman he had seen in the neighborhood and the truck spotted speeding around the night keith was shot. >> it was something that we felt maybe the perpetrator had been canvassing the area or spying about what was going on in the neighborhood. >> reporter: and another witness testified that he told police

at the time he saw a truck matching the one that becky described driving near the bryans the night of the shooting. >> that was the key to the case. he had a person in a matching truck speeding, driving erratically. that had come up on him and almost hit a vehicle, all within blocks. >> reporter: but the statement that witness gave investigators only surfaced a few weeks before trial. >> they didn't follow up on it. there were cameras at two different businesses right there at that intersection. >> reporter: and one additional detail that contradicted the prosecution's case. becky's brother, david, testified that there was an innocent explanation for that inheritance she mentioned to her ex lover. she wasn't talking about life insurance. becky was about to inherit a diamond ring. >> it was my aunt's ring. >> wa it an expensive ring? >> very expensive.

two full carats of diamonds. appraisal on it was $19, 000, and that was some years earlier. so obviously, it had to have more value. >> more than enough reasonable doubt, said the defense. but would a jury agree? the wait for a verdict began. >> i was so nervous waiting for it, my hands were shaking. >> i was holding out hope that the jury would recognize the mistakes that were made and understands that because of those mistakes, we may not know who really did it. >> reporter: afternoon turned to evening and then the news, the jury was back. >> very nervous, very anxious. my thoughts were with keith's family. >> reporter: the verdict? guilty of first degree murder. >> and then when he read guilty, i really didn't feel a whole lot. but i didn't feel happy. >> reporter: how was your first meeting with becky after her conviction? >> she cried.

said she couldn't believe it. >> reporter: what has becky told you? >> that she didn't do it. but i still don't know the truth. there are either one or two people on the face of this earth that knows the truth. if becky did it, she's the only one that knows. if somebody else did it then she knows it and that person knows it. if one of those two people come forward and say i did it, they will know the truth. other than that? >> reporter: on july 9th, 2013, becky was sentenced as the jury had recommended for life in prison without parole. for keith's friends, the trial and its conclusion were only one sort of an ending. tangible reminders of their friend and hero live on, especially in the fire department that keith lead for so many years. >> reporter: what is life like now without your friend, without your chief, without keith?

>> we still talk about him. some of the funny things that he did. he's a part of our history here now. and he always will be. and we miss him. >> reporter: and if keith was listening, what would you say to keith? >> that i know he's in a great place. and keith would tell us to forgive becky. not to say that she doesn't have to be held accountable and that she doesn't have to suffer consequences, because that's a given and that's the right thing. but keith would actually want us to forgive becky. and i know that. and i would just tell keith, well done, your time on earth here was well done. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin, thank you for watching. for watching. ♪♪ ♪♪ this sunday, document this sunday, document defense. president biden forcefully defends his handling of classified documents after the special counsel declines to bring charges. >> i did not break the law. >> but is the president facing a bigger political risk after the

special counsel raised questions about his age and memory? >> my memory is fine.