out and they're free. [applause] >> free men, who know none of it would've happened without family and friends, and that dream team of lawyers. an investigator. and of course, facebook. what would you like to say to those people who helped you along the way? >> thank you from the bottom of our hearts for believing and understanding, and taking the time that most people don't do. it's like a dream come few through for us, because it's what we've always been hoping for. >> yeah, somebody to help us. that's why we just want to live and move forward. you know? it's gone, it's the past. move on to better days. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. . thank you for watching. and this is "dateline." d co. we had the bad cop and the polygraph. it felt like "law and order." craig melvin: the fire broke out before dawn. >> we had the good cop, with that cup. and the polygraph.

it felt like law and order. >> the fire broke out before dawn. in the daylight, they found this mother of two young children dead. >> she lived a very courageous life. she was very bold. i think she did. >> after the smoke cleared, a mystery lingered. >> we knew she didn't die in that fire, she died before the fire. >> who do you look to as a suspect? >> obviously, the spouse is the first person t?we look to. >> but her husband had a clear alibi and he passed allied attack to test. eventually, the case grew cold until this witness came forward with a tale of love and lust gone wrong. >> he took the sweatshirt and wrapped haround her neck. >> but could she be believed? >> i was sleeping around. i think i slept with half the town. >> was she out for justice or rubbage? >> in a perfect world? no. will she get hurt? yes. when she dies. >> what was the lie? what was the truth?

>> how can you miss? he wasn't there! >> hello. welcome to dateline. paul and catherine novak wanted to escape the hustle and bustle of the big city. they felt peace and quiet when they moved into -- the big red house. soon, a burn fire ravaged the couple's home. when the flames subsided, one of them would be dead. leaving investigators wonder if the avblaze was a tragic accide or something more sinister. here is andrea canning with secrets and lies. >> on a frigid december 20th 2008, in a tiny picturesque town along the banks of the delaware, a tragedy unfolded. >> 9-1-1, what is emergency? >> my whole houses on fire. >> a deadly blaze burned a

small country house to the ground. at left behind in the ashes were secrets, love gone wrong, illicit affairs, friends ci turning against each other. it would take years to unravel the mystery of that fire, haunting this town, and those who love the couple who once lived in that house, paul and catherine no back. but no backs had both grown-up as city kids. paul was at new york city paramedic, a job that say the perfect fit. >> i wanted to be that person that would show up, that would help wmy parents. that would help my sister issue mr. carson. something like that. >> he also saw the dark side of city life. a little too close to home. >> shootings and stabbings two blocks away from my apartment and i was but myself that i could not raise a child in this area. >> in 2002, paul and his wife, catherine, went house hunting in nuremburg, new york. a small hamlet tucked between

the catskill and pocono mountains. they didn't need to look for long. >> it was the big red house, as she called. she will talk about the big red house all of the time. >> cat l other, michael, it's astronaut, joanne, l,said she worked hard jto make the big, red house a home. >> going up, we lifted apartments. this was a space of her own. >> yeah, she was thrilled to have five acres or ten acres of property. >> yes. >> and she loved it there. >> the perfect place for the perfectly matched couple. they seemed meant for each other right from the start. >> i liked her from the first moment i met her. she was very effervescent and funny and very opinionated and i really like that in her. >> so, you really saw into the future the first time you saw yo her. >> yes. we ended up getting married seven months later. >> two years after that, their first child, natalie, was born. >> it was very special. >> catherine's mom, christina, was ever the proud grandmother. >> natalie looks so much like

her mom. so much like her mom. >> what was it like the first time you lay eyes on your daughter? >> natalie, well, it was like falling in love 1000 times more than g you ever have, with any other person. she's a part of me. >> four years later, along came necklace. >> she was in her glory that. tampa boy and girl, which was good. >> things are all coming together. >> yes. >> she got directly engaged in the community, in the church. she taught sunday school. she became a girl scout later, in the school board, she did, many thanks. >> she did almost all of it by herself. paul pistol reggie as a paramedic in new york city, more than 100 miles away. >> that's a big commitment. this is pretty far from the city. >> isyeah, it's a two hour driv i was making into new york city but living up here. the sacrifice was that i couldn't be at home every night. >> that, they soon discovered, can be tough on marriage. >> we went to counseling for about a year.

she just felt she never got a a break, you know, from being a full-time mom. >> but they were both committed to making their marriage work. on their tenth wedding anniversary, valentine's day, paul surprised catherine with a ceremony to urrenew their vows. >> i'm not a churchgoing type, so, for me to do that is a big thing. i planned a couple of day get away and she was really taken by surprise by that. expected for a couple of months after that. >> it wasn't enough. the glow of that getaway faded. life became routine again. soon, paul's eyes wander too much younger woman, someone from work. they had an affair and paul p moved out, leading catherine and the kids alone in the house. >> she was beside herself. she was absolutely hysterical. >> catherine's good friend and neighbor, so mueller, remembered month a marriage and. >> she couldn't even get the breath. she was sobbing so hard. >> but catherine's family, who

considered heard the eternal optimist, watched her move on with her life, pouring all her love and attention into her children. >> onshe was very focused on them. very engaged in their lives. did everything with them. >> sounds like that's what was important in her life anyway. >> yes, absolutely. >> she was working at her children school, had been on a e few days. catherine was creating life without paul. then, in december 2008, sometime in the early morning hours, somewhere in her house, a fire started. >> a house is totally on fire. there's fire. >> when firefighters arrived, the big, red house was a wall of flames. they had no idea if anyone was still inside. >> someone inside? >> yes, yes, sthe kids. >> are they out of the house? >> i don't know. >> the ineighbors knew paul wasn't there. he was living in an apartment en three hours away with his new girlfriend. that morning, he got a call from catherine's pastor. >> pick it up, it's pastor

phyllis. she says, where are the kids, where? because i said, they are with ph me. she goes, the houses on fire. >> firefighters worked for hours, doesn't have lives. what catherine's friend, sue mueller arrived, the fire was still raging. she stood vigil for hours, waiting to hear news of her front. >> all of a sudden, the fireman were concentrated in one area, looking down into the basement. and the local funeral homes me were there with a body bag. i saw them bring the body bag down in the basement. >> in the destruction and muck of the basement, under massive pieces of what had been the house, firefighters found the remains of the family dog and, to their horror, the body of 41- year-old catherine novak. >> i thought, oh, no. oh, no. it can't be. i think it takes a while to

grasp that death is forever. >> what did you think when you heard that? the news? >> i was blank. a complete blank. what a north american to tell these children? how my going to tell them? she was a great mom. i didn't know how going to be even try to fill that void. >> the autopsy report said she was killed one heavy debris fell on her. catherine's death was officially ruled accidental. >> she lived a very courageous life. she knew she wanted. she went after. and she was very bold in the thinks she did. >> a tragic end to a life that held so much promise. but, as you've probably guessed, the story didn't and they are. for investigators, it was just the beginning. not everyone believed this was an accident. >> if it was not an accident, was it murder? certainly did not look that way until a second autopsy report came back. coming up -- >> she did not die in that

fire. she died before the fire. >> when dateline continues. the >> when dateline continues. ♪) but this is a not flash. (♪♪) for moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms due to menopause... veozah is the first and only prescription treatment that directly blocks a source of hot flashes and night sweats. with 100% hormone—free veozah... you can have fewer hot flashes and more not flashes. veozah reduces the number and severity of hot flashes day and night. for some women, it can start working in as early as one week. don't use veozah if you have cirrhosis, severe kidney problems, kidney failure, or take cyp1a2 inhibitors. increased liver blood test values may occur. your doctor will check them before and during treatment. most common side effects include stomach pain, diarrhea, difficulty sleeping, and back pain. (♪♪) ask your doctor about hormone—free veozah... and enjoy more not flashes.

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andrea canning: the remains of that old country of 7 moisturizers and 3 vitamins. house were still smoldering as investigators dug through the debris looking for clues. they wanted to know what caused the fire and exactly how catherine novak died there. mothe remains of that count house were still smoldering as investigators duck through the debris, looking for clothes. they wanted to know what caused the fire and exactly how catherine novak died there. others question was more

simple. >> the big thing for me was, why didn't she get out? that was what kept going over my mind. why didn't you get out? >> even her strange husband, paul, said he was puzzled. >> i didn't know what to think about it. i've been surrounded by death and violence mcintyre life and now it hits home. >> the pathologist ruled caverns death an accident. but investigators weren't so sure. return to district attorney steve bludgeoned to take a closer look. >> you were contacted despite this talk about them season accident. >> yes, we had fire. we had a death. the question of how the two of those items were coming together would not play out for a couple of days later, actually years later. >> a place, as they often do, began by interviewing catherine's soon to be ex- husband, paul novak. >> what happened in the interview as far as the way they treated you? the questions they ask you? >> they were nice. they just asked me, you know, about kathy's last whereabouts.

if i knew she had any boyfriend at the time, who may have been in the house. and utilities in the house that may have had a problem. something like that. >> digit was all very routine, but the investigation at the scene was not. byron specters couldn't figure out what ignited the blaze. they checked the wiring, the appliances, the pellet stove, the propane tanks. nothing conclusive. then, things changed. the dea brought in a specialist, a forensic pathologist, to do a second autopsy a few days later. and the result this time told a different story. >> when she did not die in that fire. she died before the fire. >> the second pathologist discovered there was no carbon monoxide and catherine's blood or so in her lungs, which meant kathryn had stopped breathing before the fire started. she changed the manner of death from accidental to pending investigation. >> the question is, what else

can we gain or learn before we can start to classify this as a homicide. >> who do you look to as a suspect? >> just a place has done some initial interviews, obviously, the spouses of first-person view look to. this bus had a clear alibi. >> paul and his new girlfriend, michelle france, said they were far from catherine's beloved red house when the fire broke out. a three hour drive away in their apartment on long island. still, investigators didn't just take the couples word for it. they made a request. >> he goes, we want you to take a polygraph test. >> did you feel you are in a tv show this fight? >> yes, it felt like lawton order. a really bad episode of it. >> when did you get the result? >> it came back 15 minutes later. saying, okay, well done, you pass. >> he was driving home from the interrogation and he was hysterical. >> paul's sister, loner, had never heard him so emotional. >> he was crying and saying, they asked me if i killed her. he just found it so

unbelievable that, you know, he was being asked these questions. >> so, if it wasn't paul, investigators needed to look for other suspects. >> the state police didn't complete canvassed the area. anybody who had any connection to catherine novak, the state police reviewed, found, interviewed. >> after many months and no leads, investigators hit a dead end. the case turned cold. none of that mattered much to catherine's mom. >> i still miss my daughter. the same. i miss her, no matter what happened to her. i miss her. >> seven months after catherine's death, paul and his girlfriend packed up the kids and their apartment on long island and moved the thousand miles south to florida. >> i figured with my experience, it would be easy for me to get a job somewhere. >> a fresh start? >> a fresh start, i thought it would be good for the kids. a great school. nice neighborhood.

>> but paul said not long after their move, thanks with michel started to sour. when they first met, she was a paramedic in training. he was her teacher, her friend. she had confided in him about her history of mental illness, long bouts of depression and alcohol abuse. now, he says, her problems were beginning to take a toll on their relationship. his young daughter, a sore spot. >> she was very jealous of natalee and her mental issues definitely became more apparent as time went on. and one point, she actually threatened to commit suicide inside my own house. >> this was no surprise to alonna and her mom, loved catherine, but never approved of michelle. >> what are your first impressions of michelle. >> we didn't like her. >> why? >> she walked into my mother's house and she immediately wanted catherine's pictures turned around because she felt like catherine was looking at her. >> paul said it took him a bit longer than his family to realize he and mitchell are not

the best match. they had been together for three years when he found out she was cheating on him with a married man. >> he didn't want to stand for that. so, he had to ask her to leave. he did it very nicely and she didn't want to go. >> in what paul described as a bitter breakup, he forced michel to move out and told her it was over. >> by that time, it had been more than two years sense cat catherine's death. investigators back in new york had moved on to other cases. that airs for taking by with no new leads. but the d a was a patient man. >> way never put the file away. it was always a matter of when something was going to come forward, we will be ready to go forward. we never accepted an accidental cause of death, ever. >> his patients would be reported. a break in this cold case was coming. it would surprise everyone. >> coming up -- a surprise

knock at paul novak's door. >> there are two plays detectives and they want to talk about your carving involved in the hit and run. >> it ultimately wanted? when dateline continues. ultima? when dateline continues.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

andrea canning: years had passed since catherine novak's body had been discovered among the blackened ruins of her big red house. but the passage of time didn't make it any easier for her mother. years had ypassed since kathryn novak's body had been discovered along the blackened

ruins of her big, red house. the passage of time didn't make it any easier for her mother. >> it is a thing that never happens to you. it always happens to someone else. it doesn't happen to you. you don't lose a child like that. it's such a horrible way, a fire. >> kathy's brother, michael, and his brother, joanne, had stopped asking questions. choosing instead to never know what really happened to her. >> to take cabins perspective, you know, she would look for the positive side, the good things. she would want us to move on. you know, that's what we try to do. we made our peace with it. we went on living. >> but as time went by, in the little town of nirenberg, dark suspicions were whisper front neighbor to neighbor. one name kept coming up. catherine's estranged husband, paul novak. her close friend, suit mueller

-- >> i was angry as time went on. i thought more more about it. i thought that paul had somehow been involved. >> as she looked back, she was particularly haunted by the way paul acted the day of catherine's memorial service. >> the whole congregation was sobbing so loud. the pastor couldn't finish her sermon. i would have to him and hugged him. i was struck by how he showed no emotion. after 11 years of marriage, she might have meant a little bit more than that. he might shed a tear, but i didn't see any. >> but there was no evidence that paul had anything to do with catherine's death. no dna or fingerprints at the crime scene. no witnesses. he had even passed a polygraph test. he had an alibi for the morning of the fire. he was three hours away for this conference, the shell, in their apartment on long island. paul continue to enjoy his new life in florida with his two

children. working, again, as a paramedic and getting a new woman he'd fallen for quickly on match.com, catch delrosso. >> i started text and, we made a date. we went on the date. really. >> was it instant? >> instant. instant. >> what was the traction? >> i don't know. it's hard to put your finger on. we seem to have an immediate connection. there was zero stress, talking. no one comfortableness. >> their romance blossomed. she eventually moved in with paul and his kids. >> do they look up to him? >> they were shipped him. they completely warship him. he's always up with them, checking homework. we do a lot of things as a family. >> is that a nice life? >> we were really happy. really, really happy. >> then, you get a knock at the door? >> yeah. yeah, that was a tough day. >> it was an early morning in

september 2012, four years after catherine's death. >> i was asleep. i just got off of work. i worked 12 hours at the hospital and i remember my girlfriend consent. she goes, there's something fishy going on inside. there's two police detectives outside. fay want to talk to you about your car being wrapped in a hit and run. >> when he arrived at the police station, he saw a familiar face and realize that had nothing to do with a car accident. >> this is investigator kelly from new york. >> i'm like, okay. so, he sits down, and a foot away from me. then, i remember him. he's like a background. with the one who got my face. >> how are you feeling? gosh, these people are back in my life, four years later. >> at that point, they still didn't know what they wanted from. i did this guy was yelling at me. i'd like to him and said, i would like to speak to a lawyer. >> paul had already been interviewed by police several times. he thought this was all behind him. >> he knew it had to be about catherine. >> yeah, obviously, it had to

do something with that. >> later that day, the police went back to paul's house. >> i went outside in the driver with them and said, we're sorry to have to bring this to, but paul novak is under arrest. i said, for what? they said, it's for involvement and his wife's murder four years ago. >> what cat fan paul didn't know is that a witness had come forward telling please evil tail. in that story, paul was the villain. >> they arrested you? did they put you in jail right there? >> yes. >> the story the witness told was chilling. >> have a seat there. >> revealing dark secrets. but was it true? >> coming up -- >> paul's alibi becomes his accuser. >> he was going to chloroform her and leave her and then burn the house down around her. she's going to die in the fire. >> when dateline continues. fir >> when dateline continues. and could reactivate. shingles strikes as a painful,

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hi, i'm richard louis with the msnbc news room. pennsylvania judge, sonnet mcknight, was charged with shooting her ex-boyfriend after allegedly trying to convince him that he did it himself. police say the victim tried to and his relationship with mcknight and went to bed before waking up with a gunshot wound to the temple. in denver, a woman's corpse and 30 cremated remains have been found at the home of an ex- funeral home owner. recovery remains appear to be associated with individuals who passed away between 2012 and 2021. now, back to dateline. and 2021. now, back to dateline. after the mysterious death of his wife catherine, paul novak was trying to move on. he relocated to florida, and had a new girlfriend. welcome back to dateline. i'm craig melvin, after the mysterious death of his wife, catherine, paul novak was trying to move on. he relocated to florida and had a new girlfriend. then came that knock on the door and detectives placed paul under arrest. so, he with that some was claiming they had disturbing

new details about that night of the fire. halls world was about to turn upside down. once again, here's andrea canning with secrets and lies. >> kathryn novak's death had been a cold case for more than three years went out of nowhere a witness came forward, pointing a finger at catherine's estranged husband, paul. so, who was this mystery witness? the woman from pulse past, his ex-girlfriend, michelle. >> michelle france, who was the defendants alibi in 2008, has now come forward and said, paul was not home. whole went it narrows and paul killed catherine. >> what was that phone call light? >> it was now time to get to work. >> jim farrell was now the district attorney. he teamed up with a former d.a., steve bludgeon. >> didn't feel good that you had a break? >> it's a break.

but, again, i needed more information. >> investigators sat law france down to hear her story. >> let's start back in the beginning. >> okay. >> during a six hour interview, michelle laid out what she claimed was the true story of how paul kill catherine. she said he started plotting weeks before the murder. >> he was researching things on the internet. he was going to chloroform her and leave, her and then for the house down around her and she was going to die in the fire. >> michelle says one week before the fire, she and paul 20 caverns helped to move his things out. paul unlocked the basement doors. >> so that he can get the next time he had the kids, which would be a week later, and that way he can sneak into the house and she wouldn't know. >> according to michelle, paul wasn't with her on the night of the murder. that alibi was a lie. instead, she said, he was with a fellow paramedic name scott sure what, who drove paul to narrows. >> as far as i know, scott was

left in the car, and paul walked down to the house. >> michelle said paul told her he went inside, set off the basement smoke alarm, hid behind the stairs, and when kathryn came down to investigate, he tried to knock her out with chloroform. >> this was supposed to be quick and painless and, you know, she was supposed to be passed out before she knew what happened. >> but i guess he put it over her mouth and it didn't work. and she was screaming, begging for her life. >> through her tears, michelle spilled out gruesome details of what paul said where catherine's final words. she big ten to think of their children. >> and he told me that the only thing he said to her the entire time he was fighting with her was, i'm doing this for the kids. and he said she had been wearing a sweatshirt that was headed and he took the sweatshirt and wrapped it around her neck and held it until she stopped breathing.

>> then, michelle claims, paul took a blowtorch from the garage and set the curtain kitchens on fire. >> he waited for it to catch fire and i don't know along he -- i don't think he ever told me helping he sat and watched. >> michelle's story was a stunning betrayal of her former boyfriend. if it was true, paul had committed a vicious and calculated crime. michelle said paul told her he did it because catherine was a monster. >> he had me convince that catherine was the bad guy and he was the good parent and these kids were abused and -- we need to save the kids. >> hall sister, alana, didn't believe overdub it from the moment she heard a witness had come forward, she was convinced her brother was being set up. >> i, said this is michelle. you got rid of her, now what happened? >> this is payback? >> i believe that's what it is. >> plus girlfriend, cat, who

got engaged to him in jail, also believe michelle story was suspicious. >> he's innocent. absolutely, positively. >> why are you so sure? >> he's just not that kind of a person. he's a caretaker. you know? it's like his job as a paramedic, it to find him. >> bob paul had a squeaky clean record, michelle, his accuser, when issues. a history of depression and alcohol abuse and she waited years to come forward. >> michelle love francis been described as a scorned ex- girlfriend. i woman looking for revenge. did all of that go through your mind? >> no. i don't believe that it did because after she leaves paul, in january or february of 2011, it's 14 months before she gets up the courage to come forward to the police to tell the police what she knows, fully

expecting she's going to be arrested. >> do i need a lawyer? >> as paul waited for his trial to start, he told us he wasn't worried. >> there's really nothing that puts you at that crime? there's no eyewitnesses. do you think that's going to work in your favor? >> i think it's going to go rather well for me. >> coming up -- the prosecution is feeling confident to. did somebody leave digital tracks? >> they did a search for the toll records of that vehicle. we had a hit at 6:39. >> but what, if anything, does that prove? when dateline continues. at pro when dateline continues. the pow. i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. i'm under 7. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. i'm lowering my risk. adults lost up to 14 pounds. i lost some weight. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles.

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andrea canning: as paul novak prepared ask your eczema specialist to stand trial for the murder of his wife, he insisted he was innocent. are you the evil murderer that some people think you are? as paul novak prepared to stand trial for the murder of his wife, he insisted he was innocent. >> are you the evil murderer that some people think you are? >> now. not at all. >> any reason to kill your wife? >> now. no, absolutely not. i mean, when i left catherine, i probably wasn't in love with her anymore, but i respected her. she's the mother of my children. >> for catherine brother, michael, the upcoming trial belt like opening an old wound. >> part of me, which i didn't get that phone call, because i knew how traumatic it would be to the family and especially how traumatic it would be to natalie and nicolas. >> catherine's mom also noah travel will be more heartache for her grandchildren. >> i don't imagine -- losing a

child, i can't imagine how they would feel with the lost both parents. >> all rise -- come accord is now in session. >> on august 12th, 2013, the trial of paul novak began at the sullivan county courthouse. just attorney open that case. >> the evidence will show that as catherine begged, fought for her life, the defendant and undid her life. murdering her in the basement of her own home. >> prosecutor set out to prove that paul orchestrated this murder down to the last detail. >> he was planning this for a period of weeks. maybe more in his won't mind. had rid himself of catharine. >> as a murder, he's a sociopath. he planned, executed and he killed catherine no back in

cold blood. >> their star witness was pulse ex lover, michelle reference. the jury heard every minute of those police interrogation tapes of michelle describing that details of how he killed his wife. >> you told me they were fighting and that they were rolling around on the basement stare, the floor, for like 45 minutes. that's why he was so late. and she was screaming and begging for her life. >> and the jury didn't have to just take herbert for it. prosecutors called scott sherwood, paul's partner from work, to the stand. they told the jury he had been interrogated by police and show them the take. >> let's go from the beginning. paul, we meet paul, where? >> i met paul and is how and glen cove. >> jurors told and tell his version of what happened that night of the murder. >> he gets a new reckless. or is driving? you or have? >> i was trafficked. with driving up towards where his residence was. we're and step.

>> sherwood said paul told him to park about a mile away from catherine's house and wait in the car. >> but how long as he gone for? >> over an hour. >> what does he say when he gets back? >> he said, it's done. he had said that the chloroform didn't work. i had to strangle her. something about hitting the gas line. >> so you knew the houses on fire? >> yes. >> as scott sure was story played out in the courtroom, the prosecutors pointed out how remarkably similar it was too michelle francis. >> did he say where he strangled her? where? >> in the basement. >> prosecutors felt these matching stories were powerful, but didn't think they would be enough to get a conviction. they wanted physical evidence to prove michelle and scott were telling the truth. they began with a shirt with a count of the drive to narrows. sherwood had told investigators that paul asked him to stop at a walmart. >> when you get into the

middleton area, you said you stopped where? >> at a walmart. >> he went inside? >> he went inside. >> you waited outside? >> i waited outside. >> then he came out with a bag? >> yes. >> you know what people? >> i believe duck tape. >> prosecutors showed jurors what investigators found when they visited that walmart. >> the state police found a receipt, only one receipt out of 30 registries have three things on. duck taped, ahead, gloves. scott sherwood tells us that the defendant's tape to tape up his scrubs, he had a hat and gloves on when he went and came back the house. >> there was more physical evidence to back up sherwood's count. he told police that he and paul across the georgia washington park on the way back to paul's plays that morning of the murder. >> atoll you guys went there? >> i would assume so. we went through, i guess, the lower level. there is no both. there was no attendant. >> no attendance of them pass.

but detectives wondered, could digitalize help place the car at the toll booth? >> stay plays did a search passport easy path, toll records. but that vehicle. we had a hit at 6:39. that vehicle coming across the george washington post lower level. >> that's huge. >> it was. >> it was a highly cooperative incidents for scott sherman. >> what's more, there was a photo snapped of the license plate. it was evidence that almost didn't exist. prosecutors say paul had planned to pay cash that night, but construction at the toll booth forced him to drive through the easy pass lane. >> he made some mistakes. he couldn't have anticipated the bridge was going to be under construction. >> and then, prosecutors presented what they thought would remove any smudge of doubt from their case. a third person who linked paul to the murder. elise hamblin, scott sherman's wife. on the stand, she recalled a conversation with paul, where he told her he committed the

murder band that he did it alone. >> scott had nothing to do with it. scott's not getting into trouble. scott had nothing to do with it. >> he told her, i want to appear, thin he drove. i want, and i did everything. three people, three different rooms, telling us the same thing. you may not be able to say fingerprint, but we have data, but that's pretty damning evidence. >> the last piece of evidence the prosecution needed was motive. why would paul want to kill his wife catherine? simple, they said, money. what catherine died, paul cashed and on her life insurance policy and homeowners insurance. that all totaled around $700,000. >> the defendant said he would kill catherine and burn up the evidence. and he did just that. >> now, it was the defense's turn to attack. jurors will hear more about the checkered past of the witnesses at the very heart of the case.

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andrea canning: it was the defense's turn. choose acid prevention. paul novak would not take the stand to proclaim his innocence. it's my decision not to testify. andrea canning: instead, his defense attorney it was the defense's turn. paul novak would not take the stand to proclaim his innocence. >> it's my decision not to

testify. >> instead, his defense attorney, gary greenwald, did the talking. >> i'm going to tell you you're going to have reasonable doubt. >> his argument, jump lever thing you hear, consider the source. consider the mental states of the key witnesses. consider their possible motives. he started by attacking pulse ex-girlfriend, michelle of france. the woman paul had thrown out of his house. >> she's a liar. she was manipulative. willing to take whatever steps necessary to hurt paul. >> the defense tried to portray her as unstable. offering evidence from everything from suicide attempts to up azar drunken incidents involving police. >> we check six officers to take me down. and i had to be handcuffed to a tree, topless. from fighting, from fighting the tree. >> the defense attacked her credibility and used her own forts type portray her as a liar who carried on a string of

affairs with married men. >> i was slipping around and mata tech. i think i slept with half of the town. >> he's probably one of the most promiscuous people i've ever seen testified in open court. >> and the defense also argued scott sherwood suffered from serious mental health issues. >> scott was -- being treated for major psychiatric problems. one of the crucial pieces evidence was his psychologist who testified that when he was put into a conflict situation, would save whatever was necessary to get out. >> i think what some people are going to have a hard time wrapping their head around is why three separate people what all lie. >> the reality is, i take a lisa out of the picture because she lied to support her husband. scott had a psychiatric problem and he was manipulated, and my pinion, fire shell. for selfless a woman scorned. >> and the defense argued that their stories were tainted because michel had been given

full immunity when she agreed to testify against paul. sure would made a plea deal for a reduced charge and a sentence of 3 to 12 years in prison. next, the defense went after the evidence that seem to support sherwood story. specifically, that photo of sure was license plate taken that morning of the murder. >> one piece of evidence that seem pretty damning was the easy pass record that showed scotts, suvs crossing the washington bridge at the right time for this crime. >> the answer to that is very simple -- if nothing. there's a picture of the license plate. there's no picture of who's in the vehicle. how do you know, as we're sitting here, now that scott or michele were not in that vehicle. the answers, you don't. >> greenwald dismiss that receipt from the walmart in middletown. >> is it just coincidence that someone went to walmart around 1:30 in the morning, the morning of catherine's death, and bought a hatch, gloves and duck tape, all the things that

were supposedly used and her murder? >> okay, first of all, mr. sherbet admitted under oath to me that he got to middletown at 12:00. he never could have been there at 1:30 or so because he was out by 12:15. >> still, there was an age-old motive, money, to explain away. in our interview, pull himself had an answer for that. >> are you having any financial issues at this point? >> actually, that point, i was a much better financial situations that i've been previously because i had ended up getting a second job near queens, which was very high paying. >> then, greenwald called what he said was his most crucial witness, the landlord. the defense wanted to use him to undermine a key part of the prosecution's case. remember, scott sherwood said that after the murder, he and paul drove home to paul's house. >> did you go straight to paul's house when you come back? >> yes. >> but on the stand, paul's

landlord disputed that. he said he'd been outside setting up for a photo shoot, starting at the early morning. didn't lay eyes on either of them. >> how could the man be out there and he never sees scott sherwood or paul? there's only one way. it didn't happen! >> the landlords testimony was proof, the lawyer argued, that scott sherwood had made up his story. the defense closed its case claiming the prosecution had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that paul was a killer. >> call novak is not guilty. we ask you to find him. >> after seven weeks, the jury finally began to deliberate. going into the trial, paul was certain they would find him not guilty. >> your life is on the line. >> yes, my life is on the line. but i think the truth will come out. in the end. hopefully, hopefully those 12 people will know the true story. >> his fiancie, cat, told us before the verdict that she

will stay by him no matter what. >> i believe in him. >> have you thought about your wedding and where it will be? when it will happen? >> actually bought my dress. >> cats future and so many others would be determined by what the jury decided. for catherine's family, but waiting was the hardest part. >> truthfully, i did not know what it was going to be, no matter how much way to find, it was emotional. there's no winners. >> almost five years after kathryn novak's murder, so many secrets, lies and be trails had been revealed. so many questions raised. what the jury believe paul's ex lover and his ex partner? was paul or ruthless killer? had he been set up? it took the jury to full days of deliberations. on the third day, they had made a decision. the verdict was in. >> and the case in the state of

new york versus paul novak, murder in the first degree? >> guilty. >> guilty, convicted of first degree murder. paul showed only a slight had shaky as he was convicted of all charges against him, including insurance fraud, grand larceny and arson. >> hurry feeling right now? >> not very good. >> paul was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 20 to 60 years. michelle, who knew about that murder plan from the beginning, walked away a free woman. >> a lot of people will be angry and think, this woman knew about a murder that was going to happen and didn't do anything. >> is it a perfect world? no. will she get hurt? yes. when she dies. >> asper cat delegate also, she continued to stand be hind paul. the couple married in 2018. the future for the children will be decided by the people who love them most.

paul and catherine's families. >> we will work together for those kids what catherine wanted for them. >> up interest, through no backs beloved red house once stood, the trees glow orange and gold. autumn's have come and gone. her mother still mourns the daughter she lost, but remembers the life she lived. >> what do you miss most about her? >> her smile and her hugs. she was a lot of fun, catherine. she enjoyed life a lot. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline."ach, i just knew something's not right here. hello, i'm craig melvin. and this is dateline. >> in the pit of my stomach, i just knew something is not