>> deborah: how frightening would you find it if you opened up a letter and saw these words? "if anything happens to me." >> david: call it a letter from the grave about a murder that happened just before the christmas holidays. "20/20" starts right now. ♪ ♪

it's such a uniquely horrific, vicious, horrible crime. >> mother of two, julie jensen, is found dead in her bed. >> the defendant, mark jensen, is accused of killing his wife, julie, by poisoning her with antifreeze. >> the circumstances surrounding her mysterious death would drag marital secrets into the light. infidelity, porn, and poison. >> i've never had anything like it. this case is incredibly unique. >> the trial for mark jensen gets under way today in kenosha. >> we go inside the trial and inside the home in an unprecedented murder case. >> i was the d.a. back then in 1998. >> district attorney bob jambois is there the day julie jensen's body is found, just weeks before christmas nearly a quarter century ago. >> here we are today, 24 years, 1 month, 28 days after the homicide of julie jensen. >> and now there's a new twist

in the case. >> in 2021, a judge overturning a key piece of evidence. >> jensen has maintained he is innocent and that his wife died by suicide. >> the tragedy of julie jensen -- and there are many -- is she can't escape gaslighting, even in death. >> julie jensen is gone. but will the jury get to hear her last words? >> "if anything happens to me --" >> "20/20" unravels 25 years of twists, turns, and courtroom drama. it's a tale of despair, a tale of diabolical proportions and yet all set in this setting that is so pastoral and really just a lovely place. >> this all begins years ago in pleasant prairie, wisconsin. >> pleasant prairie is a very

small, growing community in southeastern wisconsin, adjacent to kenosha. along the lakefront there is some very lovely and affluent property where people have homes right on lake michigan. fabulous views, beaches, an idyllic setting. this is where the jensens lived. >> when mark and julie met, they were so young. they were students. mark was working at a sears selling suits to pay for his education. julie was studying to be a nurse. >> julie was the type of person that, when she would smile, her smile would light up the room. she just had that kind of aura about her. >> julie was the only girl in a family with four boys. she was second to the oldest in her family. >> my parents were dancers.

they loved to go dance. so on a saturday night they would go out dancing, and so julie would babysit patrick, me, and michael. >> i'm the baby of the family and she was so much older that, in fact, there was times where i looked at her like my second mom, kind of. you know, babysitting, and she would always have my hand. >> julie was the kindest person you'd ever want to meet. anyone who entered her circle left better than when they came. >> julie came from a family that had some -- some problems. her mother had been an alcoholic. according to mark, julie had some issues. she was a little bit depressed. >> they decided to get married. julie never finished her degree, but mark went on to be successful in finance. >> mark is a stockbroker. now he's following in the footsteps of his father,

dan jensen, who's also in finance. >> the jensens are a proud family. dan jensen was very accomplished. he was known in the community. there was even an ad talking about his integrity and how trustworthy he was. >> in 1990 mark and julie welcome their first son. >> five years after david was born, their son douglas was born. >> julie definitely was very close to her boys, and she was just a wonderful mother. >> julie loved her family. she called them my three ds, daddy, david and douglas. >> she actually drove around in her car and had a license plate that said my 3 ds. it was really very much her identity. >> i think what impressed me a lot about julie that i liked was she literally was a hands-on

mom. >> the jensens had a pool, and neighborhood kids would come over to play. their son david jensen remembers it as one of his happiest memories, as he shared in court. >> during the summer we were absolute fish. we were in the pool, just constantly, doug and i. doug with his little floaties. >> she just wanted to enrich people's lives. it just came natural for julie. >> mark did not want her working. he wanted her to stay at home and keep the house and care for the children, and those would be her responsibilities. >> we spoke to julie jensen's friends and family in 2008. >> mark was the provider, but she provided as a good mother, housekeeper. you know, mowing the grass, taking his boat for repairs. >> julie took care of everything from the clothes, the laundry, the house, the meals. and it was even a joke to them

sometimes in the house, that mark didn't know how to cook a box of macaroni and cheese. >> i always knew that she -- she made that family work. and i sensed that she wasn't really kind of connected to mark spiritually. >> julie also makes time for volunteering here at southport elementary school. every wednesday morning, she spends time in her son david's third grade classroom, helping his teacher, therese defazio. >> yes, she wanted to help me out. so i asked her, can you come work in the computer lab with me? because at that time that was a brand-new thing to have computers in the school. and she says, oh, no, i can't do that. >> so is that something that you generally do with room mothers, figure out the ways they can help you? >> right. she said, i can't even turn on a computer. she said, my son david helps me. we got a new ibm at home, she said, and i have to ask david to come and teach me. >> back in 1998, there were no smartphones, no tablets.

most families didn't even have a home computer. but the jensens did. >> there were computers that were in offices, but it was rare to have a computer in the home. >> only about 40% of american homes had computers in them at that time. only about a quarter of them had internet access. >> the jensen home may have had cutting-edge technology, but it also has problems. >> i think a lot of people who saw julie saw this seemingly perfect marriage, attractive couple, beautiful children. she seemed to be living sort of the american dream, but there were a handful of people that julie told her secrets. >> she wasn't sure what was going on. "he's driving me crazy," that's what she said. >> they start finding pornographic photos left around their yard and the deck. >> somebody was really

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♪ mark and julie jensen looked like an all-american family, very middle class and doing well. but things were not so well inside the household.

>> looking back at their early marriage, julie really struggles after the birth of their first son, david. >> she was alone much of the time, taking care of a baby while her husband was away at work. >> shortly after julie had david, she filed for divorce. >> julie shared with us that she had filed for divorce in 1991. she was tired of mark's behavior because he was more interested in drinking and partying and doing guy stuff. >> she'd gone to the doctor and was treated for postpartum depression, was really struggling with the fact that she felt mark resented her affection and attention to their newborn. >> after david is born, julie works part-time at a brokerage firm. >> and one weekend, mark was out of town for work. apparently, he traveled a lot, which meant she was home alone with the baby. >> julie jensen invites a

male co-worker named perry tarica over for dinner on a weekend that mark is out of town. >> he came over for dinner and ended up spending the weekend. so, she cheated on mark. >> julie ended up telling me about the affair. it was really difficult for julie to share that. she was so embarrassed. but i thought, maybe julie's found somebody else. and honestly, the way mark treated her, i wouldn't have seen a problem with that. >> mark finds out about the brief affair. >> i think she would have gotten out of that marriage, but -- >> what she said to me was that mark wouldn't agree to a divorce, and his exact words that she told me were, you'll never see david again. julie stayed, obviously because she didn't want to lose david. with that threat being held over her, there was nothing that she could do but try to compromise somehow, i guess. and that's when julie and mark

started doing marriage counseling. >> ultimately, julie withdraws her petition for divorce. >> after julie told mark about her weekend fling with perry tarica, weird things started happening. >> there was this parade of vile pornographic images popping up everywhere. >> these are photos that are sexually explicit, and they're close-ups of genitalia. >> they were on printer paper, and they were posted either on their door, their shed, on mark's windshield, in their house. >> there were not only photos, but there were prank phone calls. >> somebody was really tormenting her and not letting her forget what she had done. >> julie jensen reports the

harassment to the pleasant prairie police department. her husband mark tells them he thinks her ex-lover is stalking her. but he's since moved to another state, and police rule him out as a suspect. and yet the pornographic photos and harassing phone calls continue for another six years. >> the police told her to keep a log of all these incidents. >> ultimately, when they weren't able to resolve the mystery of who was planting this stuff, with the help of the police they decided they needed to take this into their own hands. they hired a private investigator. >> my initial thought was that they were either taken from the internet and printed, or they were photocopied out of a pornographic magazine. but what struck me about the photos that was odd was that julie felt fairly strongly that they were of her. i knew 100% when i saw them, they were not julie. >> so whoever put together these photos tried to make them look enough like her to convince her?

>> yes. someone was obviously attempting to cause some humiliation, and i was thinking about who would have the motive to do something like that. my suspicion at that point was, it's mark. >> why would mark jensen spend years tormenting his wife with pornographic images? >> well, i think he couldn't get over the fact that his wife was with another man. >> how did you break the news to julie jensen that it could have been her husband behind this harassment? >> well, i just came straight out and asked her. she said, well, i don't want to think that. >> it was your sense she didn't want to believe it? >> no. no, not at all. >> julie has a close-knit group of friends in a neighborhood book club. >> julie hosted the november book club at her house.

>> she had made snacks like we always did. it was getting closer to the holidays, so we talked about holiday plans. >> we read "a simple plan," and that's the book that julie picked. >> they made a movie out of it. i remember seeing the movie too. >> it's a story of lies, betrayal, and murder. >> that night the weather wasn't very good and it was very windy outside. the cover from the spa at their home had blown off and snapped one of their trees. she was very concerned about what was going to happen when mark got home and how she was going to explain what happened. i thought that slightly odd, because it was truly an accident. >> we all got the impression that she was definitely worried

that mark was going to create an issue for her. i mean, that was very apparent and it was uncomfortable for all of us to witness. >> their next door neighbors recounted a number of conversations with julie, that she was afraid of mark, that he was very controlling. >> she was sitting there. she was with her head dropped down between her leg and she was just crying there. >> i said something about divorce, and julie said, mark would kill me first before he divorced me. [ambient sounds] oh! ♪ ♪ ♪ happy monday! ♪

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♪ it's december 1998 and pleasant prairie, wisconsin, is filled with christmas cheer. but there's little joy for julie jensen. >> mark told friends that julie was really depressed, overwrought. >> on the first day of december in 1998, julie jensen went to see dr. richard borman, the family physician for the jensens. dr. borman recommends counseling

for her depression, and he gives her some samples of paxil, an anti-depressant. >> julie's doctor said she had lost eight pounds between september and december and she weighed 115, which is quite thin. >> on wednesday, david goes to school, and that's the day that julie jensen would go and assist in his third grade class. but on this wednesday his teacher says,"well, where's your mother?" and he says," well, she's home, she's not feeling well, she's sick." >> on the second day that julie is not feeling well, mark jensen goes back to dr. richard borman and says she's having difficulty resting. dr. borman prescribes exactly 10 tablets of ambien, gives those to mark so he can take those home to julie. >> mark said he gave her benadryl.

she was taking ambien and then the anti-depressant. you know, she's taking highly depressive substances, so she's really knocked out. >> i was in the kitchen and i saw mark leaving. and just as he left, julie's calling me. her voice, it was different. she sounded drunk. and she said, i took this medicine, and i didn't know it's gonna have such a effect on me." i'm like, are you okay? do you need any help? >> she said, no, no. she said, mark is taking care of me, and she keeps saying, mark is being good to me, which was very strange.

that was the last time i spoke to her. >> on the morning of thursday, december 3, 1998, julie wakes up and she's not breathing well. she felt kind of drunk. she had already three doses of ambien and the antidepressant paxil. her 8-year-old son david noticed her breathing was -- was not good. >> her breathing was raspy that morning, but she still gave us a hug and told us she loved us before we left. >> he asked his dad, can't we take her to the hospital? can we get her help? mark didn't take her to the hospital. he didn't do anything. >> she was at home very ill, and yet her husband let her lie there for two days and didn't get help.

>> the boys go to daycare and to school, but mark's co-workers say he doesn't show up for work that day. >> i saw mark jensen just driving by himself at around 9:30 in the morning. i just said, that's really odd. it was just very odd, very unusual to see that. >> hours later, mark goes to pick up the boys. >> when they get home, mark tells the boys to wait in the living room while he checks on julie. >> when mark comes back into the living room, mark tells the boys julie is dead. [ sirens ] >> i heard multiple sirens go by my home. and we walked around the corner, and they were all at julie's home. it was ambulance.

it was police, fire trucks. and so i approach one of the officers and said, i'm julie's friend. i'm her neighbor. and he looked at me, and he said, i'm sorry. she didn't make it. it was a moment that i -- i -- i would like to try to erase from my memory because it was so painful. what happened? >> i was the d.a. back then in 1998. i was at the kenosha heart ball. my pager went off and then they sent me to the jensen residence. so i was wearing a tuxedo when i responded to the crime scene. >> when bob jambois gets on the scene, he connects with detectives. he tells them to treat this house like a crime scene. >> we were called this afternoon for a death investigation. >> detective paul ratzburg pulls out a camcorder and starts

recording everything inside of the jensen home. >> here's the garage area. >> he takes video of what's in the garage and the bedroom where julie jensen's body was found. >> going down the hallway to the room. >> i knew it was gonna be a difficult case. standing at the foot of julie's bed i didn't see any obvious things that caused her death. there were no stab wounds. there was no bruising. there was no battery wounds. there was no gunshot wounds. here was an apparently a healthy woman lying dead in her bed. >> and compounding the mystery, julie's body is lying in a strange position with her arm twisted beneath her. >> we don't know how she died. there's no obvious cause of injury. every suspicious death is to be treated as a homicide and investigated as a homicide until homicide is ruled out.

so what we need to do is get consent to search. i went and spoke with mark jensen. he gave us consent to search. >> now entering the children's room. going over towards the den. >> i point out, you know, we are going to be taking that computer. it was rare to have a computer in a home. there were computers that were in offices. it was the first time we had ever taken a computer out of a private residence. >> julie jensen's neighbors were shocked to find out that julie had died. >> later that night i was across the street. i made eye contact with mark and he came over and talked to me. and his mannerisms, how he spoke, there was no sadness. there was no devastation.

>> julie's family and friends are grieving. but mark jensen appears to be moving on. >> it's like he wanted to erase her from his life, from the house. all evidence of her, gone. >> and when police look at the jensens' computer, they think they find clues to mark's unusual behavior. ♪ herbal essences is a force of nature. our shampoos and conditioners are made with supercharged botanicals. ♪ these sulfate-free formulas deeply penetrate and replenish nutrients. ♪ to boost hair health in just one wash. ♪ all without the salon naturals price tag. ♪ ♪ it's supercharged herbal essences. ♪ ♪

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♪ just days after 40-year-old julie jensen is found mysteriously dead in her bedroom, her loved ones prepare to say their good-byes at her funeral. >> the funeral and the wake -- in fact, it's a blur to me. >> i still can't believe that she's not here. >> i had so many questions running through my head about what happened. how did this happen? how could this have happened? here is someone that's very close to our age and here she was gone suddenly. >> at the wake, friends and family notice newly widowed mark jensen acting strangely. >> i went to the wake, and i was watching mark. and mark was standing maybe five feet from her casket, and he had a group of men around him.

he was laughing, joking, and it just was so odd. i'm waiting to see any sign of grief, any sign of the devastation of losing his wife, the mother of his children, and i saw nothing. >> i'm just looking at him and thinking, if that were me, if all of a sudden, my support system fell out, i'd be devastated, you know. and i just couldn't help but stare at him and think, something doesn't fit here. >> all people grieve differently. i understand that. but something haunted me about the whole situation that i could not look at mark without suspicion. >> after julie's funeral, her brothers describe going back to her pleasant prairie home where mark is clearing out julie's belongings. >> he didn't want to keep anything of julie's.

>> the day after the funeral, we were at his house making thank you cards. he's giving away kitchen items, offering to my wife pieces of julie's jewelry, sentimental pieces. he was just wanting to get rid of things right away. >> i looked at mark's house and there was, i want to say, 12, 15, possibly even 20 of the huge hefty garbage bags just at the curb. you could see julie's clothing randomly laying on top of some of those garbage bags, and i'm like, what the heck? it's like he wanted to erase her. he's erasing her from his life, from the house. >> why would mark seem to be erasing his wife? well, it turns out in the months

before julie's death mark met a new co-worker at his brokerage firm, kelly labonte. >> kelly worked for the big boss. she was his assistant. >> she was a professional woman in the office. she was young and good looking and confident. >> kelly labonte worked for the same company but in a different office. in fact, she was based in st. louis while mark was based in racine. >> mark jensen had started working down there, was traveling down there regularly. >> they had begun to instant message. instant messaging was sort of a precursor to texting. it was something that occurred over the internet, but at that time it was sort of fresh and new and exciting. >> the emails between mark and kelly really heated up in intensity in about august, september of 1998.

>> and ultimately, he and she hooked up and became an item, unbeknownst to julie. >> we pretty much knew right from the very beginning that mark and kelly were in a relationship. >> what made you believe that they were more than just friends? >> what's the old saying? nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors. the doors were closed, and they really didn't need to be closed. >> so there was this open attraction, this open secret? >> yes. >> it was obvious that they were having an affair because they were so close together all the time in where they were sitting and kind of huddled up together. and wherever he was she was and vice versa. >> there's chemistry. you know, it's the way somebody looks at somebody. >> kelly was engaged to another man and she started seeing mark.

>> mark and kelly, both of them have baggage. he's got a wife. she's got this guy she's about to marry and then she eventually marries. she follows through on the wedding but continues her interest in mark. and she says things like, it makes me sick when my husband tells me he loves me. or mark says, i'm thinking of you when i'm with julie. >> there is a really telling email exchange between kelly and mark in mid-october of 1998. he said, hi, would you like to run off somewhere? she's, of course, thinking about divorcing her husband. kelly read that very email aloud in court. >> you asked me if i wanted to run off with you somewhere. i'd love to, but there are issues we have to deal with. i'm not sure how i'll deal with my issue. thus the deadlines and agreements for any backing out that might be necessary. do you know how you'll deal with your issues, details, whatever? >> and so at this point in time,

mid-october of 1998, you were not yet sure that you wanted to divorce your husband? >> right. >> okay. and so that's why you don't want to make a firm commitment at this time? >> right. >> and you set a deadline for yourself and for the defendant of the end of the year? >> right. >> i think she was open to divorce. i don't know that he ever said, i will divorce julie. >> around this time, julie began to suspect that her husband is having an affair with all that extra time he's spending on the road. >> it looks like it, yes. i agreed with her 100% because i told her, nobody goes 45 minutes to an hour from their house. >> mark jensen is a narcissist, and he cares only about himself, but he did want to be with kelly. and he did not want to involve julie in any part of his life once he was done with her.

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♪ it's just weeks after julie's death and it appears mark has moved on.

his now girlfriend kelly labonte has moved in with mark and his two young sons. >> really shortly after julie died we have neighbors saying that a woman showed up and just didn't leave. that woman was kelly labonte. >> as police gather evidence in the case, they become increasingly suspicious that there's more to julie's death than meets the eye. >> there was discussion of her depression, that she wasn't happy, that she hadn't been herself. and so, suicide was certainly a question. >> a 40-year-old woman to die suddenly is rather unusual. when they did the autopsy, they found nothing anatomic to cause the death. so it was a mystery. >> investigators waited several months before they questioned mark jensen because they wanted to watch his movements after his wife's death. >> during the investigation, a forensic review of mark jensen's

home computer was done. >> and as the authorities were going through the jensen family computer, they're finding lots and lots of questions. >> several emails were found between mark jensen and kelly labonte that were of a sexual and romantic nature. >> kelly is not a suspect in julie's death, but her relationship with mark shines a light for police on his potential motive. >> by april 1999, mark is at the pleasant prairie police station talking with detectives. he's going to go in and just straighten this up because julie killed herself. and what more is there to say? >> so just wanted to make sure, as i'm going through everything here, see if we can get this all cleared up. >> not your typical criminal defendant. his hair is beautifully coiffed. he's -- probably just came from work.

he's in a suit and a tie. >> mark jensen's 1999 interrogation video, what impact did that have? >> i think mark jensen's dishonesty and evasiveness and the sneakiness came through in that interview, particularly when he was asked about kelly labonte. >> who's kelly? that's you emailing her, i'm assuming. >> yeah. >> who's kelly? >> police now were armed with the emails exchanged between kelly labonte and mark jensen. >> and then she was with my -- she's my boss' assistant. >> okay. and -- and -- and i guess what -- you know, this is all work-related here? it didn't seem work-related, mark, to be honest with you. i just -- >> oh, it's -- >> they're flirtatious, and -- and mark is like, yeah, no, we're just friends. >> this one here. i'm curious, on friday, september 4th don't want to work. i just want to beat on my drums all day. hope it doesn't come to that. i'm going to have to go home and try to fix my high-maintenance woman. >> they both kind of disparage their spouses. kelly questions whether she made the right decision.

mark says that julie isn't any fun. >> now this is a message from you to kelly -- if i stopped and got "titanic" on the way home, wonder if i could get her to sit next to me on the couch. low expectations. was -- was kelly a girlfriend of yours or -- >> no. just a friend. >> what i remember that struck me was how determined he was to deny that he had any relationship with kelly labonte. >> we're friends, friendly. >> he danced around it. then, "oh, well, okay, i do know here, we work together, but not that much." >> mark lied about kelly. he lied to police about kelly. he said that, oh, no, we weren't having an affair. >> you know, the police knew it was a lie. they had those emails. those aren't emails between friends.

>> on the witness stand, kelly labonte confirmed their sexual relationship began prior to julie's death. >> this email that we're looking at from you to the defendant, it says, thanks again for yesterday. what a wonderful idea you had and a wonderful time we had. >> the following line begins with the letter letters i-d-l-y. >> oh, right. >> what do those letters stand for? >> i do love you. >> that line would be, i do love you even more now. but, no surprise, you are too wonderful for words? >> yes. >> police also confront mark with the pornographic photographs that they say he was harassing his wife with for years. >> there was nobody else that would have a motive to do that. >> mm-hmm. >> with the exception of you, okay, because you were pissed off about the affair, so forth and so on. so, i mean, we have all this, and for you to sit here today and tell me, it wasn't me, i find very hard to believe, mark,

i'll be honest with you. >> i was expecting him to lie to me, because previous he was denying any of the pornographic photos being left around the house. >> there were times i threw them away. there were times i -- there was a time i put some in the shed. i was sticking them back in the shed. >> so for the most part, you left the photos around the house for -- for her to find or for you to find when you, in fact, got them at work, but you said you found them in the work shed? >> exactly. >> mark admits that he would sometimes get those photographs that he says someone else planted and he would wait a while before leaving them around the house for julie to find. >> police would never be able to prove that mark jensen was the person behind all that harassment julie endured. >> the police brought up that campaign of harassment because they felt that it was connected to this crime, that this could show that mark jensen was

capable of not only tormenting his wife, but ultimately taking her life. >> julie's affair and the years of harassment that followed matter, because it shows how the defendant felt about his wife. he hated her. >> did you have anything to do with her death? >> so the detective did save the smoking gun for last. >> all of a sudden, the detective hands mark a piece of paper. >> read this. this is a letter your wife left me and officer ron kosman. >> mark had never seen it before. and they leave him with the letter, and you see him just looking down and staring at it. >> i can see the expression on his face change. >> it's her handwriting, right? >> a letter written by julie jensen before she died. a total bombshell that blew this case wide open.

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it seemed like a man who killed his wife. she was found dead in their bed, he was having an affair. was this suicide or a murder? >> and did she lay it all out in a secret letter that would keep this case in court for two decades? >> it's the letter from the grave, the voice from the grave.

i mean, it's julie jensen speaks. >> it's a smoking gun, right? if i die, he did it. >> what if, as the defense suggested, she wanted out of her marriage and she wanted to destroy mark's life in the process? >> pin it on mark? could she have been so angry, and so vindictive, that she plotted this? >> you had to do something to cause her death, mark. you're the only person that was there, and you're the only person that could have done anything. >> when did the conversation take a dark turn? >> he was talking about how to -- howtokillyourwife.com. >> that was a website? >> that's what he said. >> he looked at it? >> he looked. >> it was bombshell stuff. >> am i gonna call the police and accuse my boss of killing somebody? >> but, ed, a woman died. you know, a woman died. >> what happens when somebody's unavailable to be cross examined because you killed them?

♪ ♪ >> it's december 1998 along lake michigan in wisconsin, and we've got an unexplained death, an unfaithful husband, and an uproar in the peaceful village of pleasant prairie. >> people were kind of freaked out. this doesn't happen in pleasant prairie. there's a reason it's called pleasant prairie. >> not the kind of place you would expect to have tawdry, depraved, diabolical scheming and homicide occurring. >> pleasant prairie police department, i took this picture and am writing this on saturday, november 21st, 1998, at 7:00 a.m. >> a day after the unexplained

death of julie jensen here in pleasant prairie, wisconsin, detectives receive what some say is one of the most incriminating documents in the history of murder cases, a handwritten letter from the victim. >> the police opened it and read it, and that changed everything. >> i pray i'm wrong and nothing happens. >> towards the end of november 1998, julie jensen writes a letter. she describes how she fears for her life, that she has a suspicion that her husband wants her dead. >> if anything happens to me, he would be my first suspect. >> in this letter written about two weeks before her death julie jensen tells police her husband should be their first suspect.

>> she went on to explain that she felt that he had never forgiven her for the affair that she had had and that no one should think she would commit suicide because she would never leave her boys. >> i would never take my life because of my kids. they are everything to me. >> she also included a photo of a post-it note that had, seemingly, a shopping list on it of things that were very suspicious. >> listed on that post-it note -- drug supply, razor blades, and syringe. could this be a kill list? >> this list was in my husband's business daily planner, not meant for me to see. i don't know what it means. >> she folds it up and she puts it in an envelope and she seals the envelope and she gives it to her neighbors. >> she came to me and she actually just had this envelope and put it in my pocket. she said, if anything happened,

just, you know, give it to the police. >> and she did that a week and a half before she died. >> i am suspicious of mark's suspicious behaviors and fear for my early demise. >> it's the letter from the grave. the voice from the grave. i mean, it is julie jensen speaks. it became all of those things. bob jambois, the prosecutor, said, this is julie speaking to you. >> it was difficult reading that letter for the first time, but at the same time it confirmed everything i was feeling. >> i viewed it as julie's last will and testament. you know, i felt that this was her testamentary request. that, if something were to happen to her, she wants people to know i would never commit suicide. my boys are everything to me. and my husband would be my first suspect. >> months after julie's death

they interrogate mark in a little interrogation room in the pleasant prairie police department. >> you had to do something to cause her death, mark. you're the only person that was there and you're the only person that could've done anything. >> all of a sudden the detective hands mark a piece of paper. >> this is a letter your wife left me and officer ron kosman. it's her handwriting, right? right? >> the detective says that, i need to go get a snack and he left mark alone with julie's letter. >> and it appears that that was the first time mark ever heard about this letter. and he sat there for minutes, no movement, presumably reading. that had to have rattled his world. >> i do believe profanity was running through his mind, and he was thinking, oh crap, oh crap. i can't believe she wrote this

letter. what am i going to do now? >> here we have julie jensen telling me that if she dies, you're the person that did it, okay? >> i did not do anything to hurt her. i did not. there was a question between myself and the kids that morning whether or not to call an ambulance, take her to the hospital. her breathing was funny. she could hardly get out of bed. i mean, it was a god awful situation. >> we do know that she pretty much voiced what she put in the letter to a number of people. >> she told her neighbor, ted wojt, that she thought her husband might be either planning to kill her, or doing these things to make it look like he was going to kill her to cause her to do something so that he could then make her look like she's crazy and take her children away.

>> julie also revealed her concerns about her husband to one of her son's teachers. >> david jensen's former third grade teacher, therese defazio, will testify in 2023 that julie told her she was afraid. >> she was worried that he was going to try and kill her with an overdose of some kind of drug. >> did she ever say to you that she was concerned that he would make it look like a suicide? >> she thought for sure he was trying to get her to drink some kind of drug or poison that would kill her. >> what julie was really terrified of -- i mean, she was afraid of being murdered, but she was even more terrified of mark divorcing her and taking her children away from her. >> she's talking to a teacher, a neighbor, and certainly could be viewed as she had a profound fear of her husband killing her. at the same time it could be viewed as she's telling all these people to set up the idea that it was a murder when, in fact, she may have been trying to plan to kill herself.

>> julie was not a spiteful, vengeful person. for one thing, she never would have taken her own life. for another thing, it's the most ridiculous thing to say that she was framing mark. i don't know how anyone could believe that, anyone. >> this is the den area at the jensen home. >> the jensen home computer ended up being incredibly important to this case. >> that computer motherlode in many ways. there was so much in there. gift yourself some savings and visit your local kia dealer today. look out for these stickers to find great deals on vehicles backed by a 10-year, 100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty so you can start new traditions for years to come. get 1.9% apr for up to 60 months,

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(vo) ask your doctor about once-weekly mounjaro. ♪ right here, you can see in this picture, in the back here, that's the home computer. a picture of the jensen home computer, in their home, in 1998. >> their suspicion inflamed by julie jensen's poison pen letter

accusing her husband mark from the grave, pleasant prairie detectives then turned their attention to the jensen family home computer. >> this is the den area at the jensen home. >> the jensen home computer ended up being incredibly important to this case. >> that computer was the mother lode, in many ways. there was so much in there. >> the computer was sent to the crime lab the next day, but we didn't get the analysis done until months later. >> inside the 10 gig drive of the jensens' dell dimension, the digital equivalent of a bloody fingerprint. >> someone's internet search history, double deleted. but like a guilty conscience, it never really goes away. >> mark jensen had spent well over a month to two months planning his wife's murder. >> it was a treasure trove of evidence. this long and extensive search history that they had to dig for, they had to recreate

because it had been wiped off. >> do you swear the testimony in this matter will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god? >> i do. >> thank you. >> going to this particular search that's happening, is that for poisoning? >> that is for poisoning. >> he thought he deleted everything off this computer, not realizing that when you delete things, they don't actually go away. >> this one for pipe bomb? >> that is correct, yes. >> they're still there on the hard drive of the computer, which we were able to recover. he didn't know that was going to happen. >> he's looking for a way to kill her in such a way that he can get away with it. >> among the searches that the police find on mark jensen's computer in his deleted history are searches for ethylene glycol, antifreeze. >> this one is labeled antifreeze? >> yes. >> ethylene glycol is the main component in antifreeze. it doesn't take a whole lot to kill someone. about 100 milliliters, which is

about a third of a can of coke. that is thought to have the potential to kill just about anyone. >> it's a horrible, horrible, horrible way to die. you start to have difficulty breathing. you're very sick and nauseous. your kidneys shut down. >> how it works, whether it's detected at autopsy, how long does it take to die from ethylene glycol? >> respiratory rate, rapid. rapid breathing. >> he's essentially tracking her symptoms, waiting to see when she's going to die. >> we believe that he was panicking because she wasn't dead yet. and so, he does what a modern person does all the time now. you look it up on the internet. what stage is she in? why isn't she dead yet? >> one of the big issues ultimately became, who had the expertise in their family to have done these web searches? who had the motive?

did julie plot her own, as she liked to call it, demise? did she decide to commit suicide with ethylene glycol and pin it on mark? and did she have the skills to do that on their computer? >> the evidence will show that both mr. jensen and mrs. jensen used this computer. >> it wasn't a family computer. it was mark jensen's computer. it was mark jensen's computer in mark jensen's den. >> for nearly 25 years, mark jensen and his defense attorneys have been arguing that julie jensen died by suicide and framed him for murder. >> could she have been so angry and so vindictive that she plotted this? >> what if, as the defense suggested, julie's death was a suicide carefully orchestrated

to frame the man that she had, at one point, wanted to divorce? >> what brings us here today is julie jensen's suicide. >> so those searches about ethylene glycol, julie did those searches. >> the suicide of a woman who was in declining mental health, who was seeing her family doctor for prescriptions for her mental illness, for her depression. >> so, she took her own life and made sure that all the pieces pointed to the fact that she was murdered. >> if this were a suicide with the goal of vengeance, wow, this was really a brilliant plan. >> no one who knew julie knew her as someone who was at risk for suicide and particularly, not just suicide, but the most

extraordinarily manipulative behavior that would be needed if she had killed herself in this manner. the person who is the manipulator here is mark jensen. >> ethylene glycol isn't something that they looked for at the initial autopsy. >> tipped off by those stunning internet searches, prosecutor bob jambois asks the laboratory to test julie's remains specifically for ethylene glycol. >> and they tested for it and ultimately found ethylene glycol. >> she had a very small amount in her blood, a very small amount in her stomach. >> now it's time to get to mark jensen's mistake, and that person is ed klug. >> affairs. antifreeze. a letter from the grave. just when you think this case can't get any stranger, a surprise witness shows up. >> i call ed klug. what he told me was just shocking. it was a major, major turn in the case.

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♪ i was the d.a. back then in 1998. i responded to that crime scene. over the next two or three years i would take this case to prosecutor's conferences with me. i'd lay out the facts and the overwhelming response i got was that there's not enough to charge this case out. >> in the four years after julie's death, mark was living his life as a free and carefree man. he moved kelly labonte from st. louis to kenosha. she was a part of his life. she was a part of his children's life. >> it's a couple of years after julie jensen's death before she and mark get engaged. >> i read in the newspaper that mark jensen was marrying kelly labonte. and i said, you know, this case isn't gonna get any better, and that could be victim number two. we've got to charge this case out. >> you were worried that mark jensen would kill again? >> yes, could kill. i mean, i thought he would kill again.

>> in march of 2002 mark is charged with first-degree intentional homicide. >> bond was originally set at $500,000. he posted that bond and he was released from jail. mark remained out of custody, resuming his life as before for several years, while this case wound its way through the system. >> kelly labonte moves in with him, marries him. they have another child and they're raising julie and mark's two boys as well. >> his trial's coming up. in 2007 there's a hearing in anticipation of it. >> prosecutors are preparing for a pretrial hearing, interviewing co-workers of mark jensen. one of them just happens to ask, have you talked to ed klug? >> we've been covering this case for 10 years, never heard of any guy named ed klug. >> i call ed klug and i say, we

hear that you have some information, that you perhaps know something about julie jensen's death and mark's involvement in it. what can you tell me about this? >> so i got to know mark jensen about two weeks before i joined the brokerage firm. he had been with the company for a few months. i didn't know anybody else there. >> ed klug was a co-worker of mark jensen. in the fall of 1998 they were at a convention out of town in st. louis, and one night, over drinks, they were sort of commiserating about their unhappy marriages. >> when did the conversation take a dark turn? >> he talked about how he hated his wife. then he mentioned websites alluding to ways to get rid of a spouse. then he talked about poisons. they're undetectable in a normal autopsy. >> as the jensen case winds its

way through various hearings and trials over the decades, ed klug becomes a fixture on the witness stand, testifying most recently in 2023. >> you recall him mentioning then ethylene glycol? >> yes, i remember ethylene glycol. >> and then you learned that that's antifreeze? >> yes. he was talking about howtokillyourwife.com and -- >> that was a website? >> that's what he said. >> he looked at it? >> he looked at it. and the research on the internet, and all the effects of what the chemicals could do to your body to crystallize you from the inside out and not be detectable. you know, he kept talking about that. >> mark jensen had told him in november of 1998 how to kill your wife. you'd feed her benadryl and you'd mix it with another drug that would crystallize you from the inside out, which is what antifreeze does. >> did you believe that he was going to, that he was serious about this? >> you know, looking back, you know, i wish i would've taken him seriously. >> did it ever occur to you to pick up the phone and call julie

and to warn her? >> you know, i didn't know julie. but how would she have perceived a call from a stranger that she she,never knew, hey, julie, i was in st. louis drinking with your husband, and he wants you dead. but that -- >> the story just sounded too crazy to be true? >> yeah. >> he was looking at ways that he would, you know, put somebody to sleep. he said you could put it in drinks. have them drink it. >> so, a month goes by and then what happens to julie jensen? >> so we get a call, mark's wife passed away. and you know and i'm thinking back to all the things he told me, and i'm thinking, oh, my gosh, i know everything that happened. >> you thought he killed her? >> yes. >> ed klug went 10 years before telling police about this. >> i chose not to get involved. i just kind of like put it out

of my mind. >> ed, this is where viewers are going to say, how do you not go to the police? you're believing this man is a killer and yet you didn't call the police. you didn't call 911. why? >> yeah, and that -- and that's something that i regret. i should've picked up the phone and made the call, but, you know, i've been at the company for, at that time, like two months. you know, am i gonna call the police and -- and accuse my boss of killing somebody? you know, what evidence do i have? >> but ed, a woman died. >> yeah. i should've gotten involved. that's something that i'll probably regret the rest of my life. thinking back, you know, if maybe i had said that, you know, maybe he would've gotten rid of me. i was his loose end. i was his problem. >> you were afraid of him? >> i was afraid of him, yes. >> what did you think he would do to you? >> i don't know. i mean, if he's capable of killing his wife, you know, he could -- he could kill me and my children or my wife.

>> your honor, the state calls ed klug to the stand. >> out of the blue the prosecution calls ed klug, and he kind of ambles up to the stand and gets on. >> he started talking about different web sites that he had been going to, talking about poisoning his wife. >> and we're all kind of like, well, where have you been? it was bombshell stuff. >> it was explosive because the only other voice, really, implicating mark until that point had been julie's. so here you have this living, breathing person pointing a finger, and suddenly it's a game changer. >> once the judge heard that, the judge said, i need to revisit the issue of bail. >> i have to say i wish to address the subject of the bond, given what i would say was a dramatic development. i've got the evidence in front of me -- sworn testimony, that

if it had been in the original complaint, would have been positively devastating. >> once judge schroeder heard ed klug's testimony, he increased mark jensen's bond to $1 million and had him taken into custody right then and there. >> david was in court sitting behind his dad, and he hugged his dad before they took his dad off for the first time, and for good, in handcuffs. >> it was so galling to us that mark jensen had been free since 1998. and so to see him taken into custody at that hearing and see the deputies handcuff him was just -- it was truly a special moment. >> mark jensen may be in handcuffs, but there's another problem. the case is getting jammed up by that very piece of evidence prosecutors find so damning -- that letter julie jensen wrote

right before, as she put it, her demise. >> that letter was so critical to the case that the defense fought tooth and nail to keep it out, and the prosecution fought tooth and nail to keep it in. >> the letter isn't the only message for detectives. down at the pleasant prairie police department, the lead detective says he gets an urgent call. >> after julie died, detective ratzburg did get a call. >> what did this person say in the phone call? >> something to the effect, i think my brother killed my best friend. '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 doesn't protect everyone and isn't for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. tell your healthcare provider if you're pregnant or breastfeeding. increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can happen so take precautions. most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling where injected, muscle pain, tiredness,

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julie jensen dies in 1998. mark jensen doesn't come to trial for another ten years, in large part because of this, a single-page handwritten letter. julie jensen's last words. >> was it admissible that julie jensen put it down in writing that he should be a suspect if anything happens to me? that is a smoking gun. but, was it admissible? >> according to the sixth amendment, you have a right to confront your accuser. and in this case, julie was the accuser by writing this letter and making these statements. >> the question is, of course, what happens when somebody's unavailable to be cross-examined

because you killed them? should they get off? >> in some ways it's a better case without the letter. it's a cleaner case without the letter. but i said, you know, one of the reasons i want to put this letter in is because this is julie's voice, and i think this victim deserves to be heard. >> by the time mark jensen comes to trial in 2008, the courts have decided julie jensen's voice will be heard. >> julie jensen's letter in the 2008 trial was probably the key piece of evidence from opening statements to closing arguments. i mean, these jurors had that letter just like jammed into their brains. >> it took about three days for the jury to come back with a verdict. >> my stomach is in knots and my hands are shaking and hoping and praying that the jury comes back with the right verdict.

>> we the jury find the defendant, mark d. jensen, guilty of intentional homicide of the first degree as charged in the information. >> the jury, many of them, focused on the letter. they believed that it was a message from julie to them and they were really convinced that she was asking for justice. >> knowing that mark jensen in all his arrogance just did not beat the system, that he did not get away with murdering his wife. it was just the best feeling in the world at that moment. >> all i'll say is, i'm devastated. i'm convinced that the jury reached the wrong decision. i'm hopeful that mark will get a new trial.

>> nearly 15 years after his conviction, mark jensen is back on trial in 2023 right here in the kenosha county courthouse. his previous conviction thrown out. the courts decided the jury in 2008 should never have known about julie jensen's letter. in this trial, there will be no mention of it. >> it's pretty significant that this letter is not a part of the 2023 trial. it is a smoking gun, right? i mean it's like, if i die, he did it. so the prosecution has to live with the rest of their evidence. >> bob jambois has said on many occasions in court and on television, that without the letter from the grave this would be a very, very difficult case. >> this is julie jensen. she didn't kill herself. she didn't frame her husband to make it look like a homicide.

she didn't abandon her kids and try to take away their father too. she lived for her kids and she died because the defendant murdered her. >> at the very end of this trial you're going to be asked to answer one question. did the state prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt that mr. jensen caused julie's death? or did they prove to you that mark jensen wasn't a great husband and was kind of a jerk? >> aside from the missing letter, the new trial is nearly a replay of the 2008 case. >> fascinatingly, many of the same people are still involved in the case. bob jambois is still there with the same fire in his belly as he had back in 2002 when he charged the case. >> i know the evidence in this case, because it wasn't just detective ratzburg that responded on december 3, 1998. i was there too.

>> most of them look older. mark jensen, surprisingly, looks really good for a guy who just spent the last 15 years in prison. >> julie jensen had told her sister-in-law, laura koster, that she was afraid of mark. >> now, did you ever have a conversation with julie where she said that she thought mark might be trying to kill her? >> yes. we were at her house outside in the front with the kids playing. and she did mention that she thought that mark might be trying to kill her. and i looked at her because i was -- i was stunned. she looked back at me and said, you don't see it. i said, i don't. >> after julie died, detective ratzburg did get a call from laura koster.

>> shortly after julie jensen's death, did you receive a phone call from a person who identified herself as laura koster? >> yes, i did. >> and what did this person say in the phone call? >> something to the effect, i think my brother killed my best friend. >> laura denies that she ever spoke to ratzburg about her belief that her brother murdered julie jensen. >> you're denying that you had any conversation with detective ratzburg by phone during that time period? >> i do. >> isn't it true that you did speak to detective ratzburg? >> no. >> isn't it true that you told detective ratzburg that you were concerned, that you were worried that your brother killed your best friend? >> no, i didn't know detective ratzburg. >> among the familiar faces parading through this second trial, two men mark jensen met behind bars, and they have damning stories to tell about mark and antifreeze.

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testimonies continue in the trial of a milwaukee man accused of killing his wife with antifreeze and sleeping pills. >> this courthouse was packed with media from across the nation interested in what would

happen to mark jensen this time around. >> one of the key prosecution witnesses is aaron dillard, a career con man who was briefly jailed with mark jensen and then snitched on him. dillard first spoke to "20/20" back in 2008. >> he was abused in there. >> what was happening? >> well, he's getting beat up. people picking on him, things like that, bullying up on him, trying to get money from him. >> why would a man who's being charged with murder want to talk about that to you? >> i don't know. i mean, everybody talks in jail. i mean, if you were ever in jail, people just mouth off about the stupidest things sometimes. >> aaron dillard took the stand in the 2008 trial to tell his story -- >> you solemnly swear the testimony -- >> and now in 2023, he's ready to testify again. >> he said, i really screwed up when i told edward klug that i wanted to kill my wife. >> did he ultimately tell you that he did, in fact, kill his wife? >> yes. i thought he was crazy telling me everything that he was doing. then he had told me about how he

would have her buy all his medications so it showed that she was doing it and he was kind of trying to make it look like she was trying to commit suicide. >> did he tell you anything else about this? >> yes. he told me that that he gave her juice with antifreeze in it. the next day he said that she was breathing really raspy in the morning, and he said that if she's not feeling better when you get home from school, we'll call an ambulance for her. >> did he tell you what happened after he told that to the children? >> yeah, he took them to school and then he went back home and julie was breathing better. so at that point he felt nervous and figured he had to do something on his own. he sat on her back and then pressed her face into the pillow. >> did he tell what happened when he sat on her and with her face pushed into the pillow? >> yeah, she passed away. >> she wasn't dying quickly enough, because he'd promised the children that he would take mommy to the hospital. he had to make sure she was dead

before the kids got home. >> the defense picked apart aaron dillard on the stand because he had a lengthy rap sheet. >> and they noted dillard benefited from testifying. prosecutor jambois had written a letter about his cooperation, and that could help him with the charges pending against him. >> and remember ed klug. what do you think he would do to you? >> if he's capable of killing his wife, you know, he could -- he could kill me and my children. >> well, prosecutors say he had good reason to be afraid. >> david thompson was another snitch who had spent some time in a cell block with mark jensen. >> he said, well, you know, this guy, mr. klug is testifying against me. he said that ed was a thorn in his side. >> thorn in his side, those were his words? >> yeah, those were his words. then he mentioned, i wish i could just get rid of him. >> make him disappear. >> make him disappear. i'm thinking dollar signs now.

well, how can i trick this guy out of some money? so, i asked him, i said, well, you know, i probably can make that happen for you for the right price. >> what did mr. jensen say to you, ask you or say to you? >> oh, well, how much? >> i just gave him a roundabout answer. i said, well, man, $1,000, you know, just to see what he would say. he said, "that's kind of low, but i can do that." >> so, he was excited about it? >> yeah. i could not believe for the life of me that he bit into this. so i -- i took him. i took him on a full ride. i told him i could have someone kidnap him and sit on him until all court days were over with. >> and what was plan "b"? >> plan "b" was totally get him out of the picture, just get rid of him. >> just kill ed klug? >> yeah. >> you were going to -- you're going to kill somebody for $1,000? >> i was -- i was locked up. how was i going to do anything to anyone? it was all it was all fictitious. it never was going to happen. i just wanted the money. i called my girlfriend at the time and i told her, i said, i'm going to have mark call you. and when you get on the phone, i want you to tell him that everything is as planned. >> hello. >> hello. >> hi.

>> hey, everything is planned. >> okay. >> okay. >> sounds good. this is kim? >> yeah. >> hi, kim. sounds good. >> alrighty. >> okay, i appreciate it. >> she really had no clue what was -- what was going on. she's just going along with what i tell her. >> and then mark, you know, giving the sketchiest phone call for money. and he didn't want to discuss what it was for. he was trying to be cryptic. >> so something i think i want to have my folks take care of. >> uh-huh? >> i might have you give them some money. just a little bit. and i'll explain that to you. >> okay. >> okay? not right now. >> how much? >> i feel like 500. >> okay. >> maybe twice. and that would be it. >> mark jensen's words proved that he was gonna try to facilitate this. >> jensen was never charged in that alleged plot. >> what was mark jensen's reaction? >> he walked around the cell block with a -- with his head held up high like his -- all his problems were about to melt away. >> the defense noted that no

money was ever paid to thompson and claimed that the alleged plot was all his idea. they argued that a positive letter written by prosecutors after thompson testified may have gotten him a lesser sentence in another case. >> one of the most anticipated witnesses in this trial was the son of julie jensen and mark jensen. >> we had never heard from david jensen before. >> he told us to wait in the living room while he went down the hallway to the bedroom to check on her, to check on our mom. >> he came out crying, not terribly long after he went down. >> he was sobbing and went to told us to stay there. >> david, when you saw your dad coming down that hallway sobbing or crying, had you ever seen him that way before? >> that was the first time i'd seen him cry. >> i can only imagine that the defense called him because they wanted to just show that the sons were supporting their dad.

>> his wave to his father on the way out, that said it all in terms of where he stood. >> the prosecution's closing by carly mcneil spoke to believing julie jensen. >> she didn't want to be labeled as crazy, and she didn't want to lose her kids. with her death, julie jensen lost david and douglas. and in death now, nearly 25 years later, she's labeled as crazy. >> defense attorney jeremy perri urged this jury to hold prosecutors to their burden, to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt. >> we heard from witnesses that julie jensen was a lovely human being. but you can be lovely, and you can be devoted to your kids, and you can be mentally ill. and julie jensen was mentally ill. she had a major depressive disorder and was at high risk of suicide.

>> as deliberations begin, there is concern that the jury was never able to see that letter julie jensen wrote, pointing the finger at her own husband mark for her murder. >> i worried that he might not be found guilty without the letter. it was really unknown as to what was going to happen. or chronic kidney disease, farxiga can help you keep living life, because there are places you'd like to be. (♪) serious side effects include increased ketones in blood or urine and bacterial infection between the anus and genitals, both which may be fatal, severe allergic reactions, dehydration, urinary tract or genital yeast infections, and low blood sugar.

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all eyes on you. skin esteem is a beautiful thing. ♪ oh... stuffed up again? so congested! you need sinex saline from vicks. just sinex, breathe, ahhhh! what is — wow! sinex. breathe. ahhhhhh! its been about 2 hours and 25 minutes that they deliberated today, the jury out there in wisconsin. >> we are waiting for that verdict to come back from these jurors. >> as that wait continued, julie jensen's brother, larry griffin, took time to speak to the courthouse media. >> people who did not know you

will never experience what a kind, gentle-natured person you were. >> he also showed family photos of julie and talked about getting help for victims of domestic abuse. and finally, he sang the beatles song "in my life" as a tribute. ♪ in my life i've loved you more ♪ >> mark jensen's retrial lasted three weeks, and now after just over six hours of deliberation, the jury is ready with their verdict. >> i sat there and waited with, again, knots in my stomach, and my hands were shaking and my heart was racing. >> state of wisconsin versus mark d. jen. we, the jury, find the defendant, mark d. jensen, guilty of intentional homicide of the first degree.

>> when he heard guilty, no expression at all. >> it was just as emotional as it was the first time. >> anything else from the state? >> in a statement to abc news, mark jensen's attorneys say they're very disappointed in the jury's verdict, adding that mark jensen is innocent and they hope that one day that truth will be realized. >> prosecutor carly mcneil reflected on the years that her co-counsel bob jambois pursued justice for julie jensen. >> he did it because he cares so much about what happened to julie jensen. >> so just to be clear, do you think mark jensen will get another trial? >> no, he will not. but if he does, i'll be back and will try the son of a [ bleep ] again. >> as for kelly labonte, who married mark jensen after julie died, she divorced him in 2009

after his first trial and conviction. >> kelly continued to raise julie's children after mark jensen went to prison. and in recent years, julie's brother says her son douglas, now an adult, reached out to him. >> douglas wanted to know more about his mom, and so i was able to meet with him and tell him that julie loved him more than anything in the world and she never would've left him. >> as a mother, your whole goal in life is to protect and nurture your children and to see them through their childhood, so that they would always know every day of their life how much she loved them. he murdered her so that she couldn't do that. now his kids will know the truth. >> david: mark jensen was sentenced to life in price son without parole. the judge calling the crime unspeakably cruel. >> deborah: he's planning to appeal his conviction, but jensen declined "20/20's"

request for an interview. that's our program for tonight. thanks so much for watching. i'm deborah roberts. >> david: i'm david muir. from all of us here at "20/20" and abc news, good night. is through symptoms. >> a new warning tonight about the spread of bird flu. what's happened with the virus that is alarming health officials. the heated debate over h1-b visas that involve some of the biggest names in tech. and someone is $1.2 billion richer. tonight, we'll tell you where the jackpot winning mega millions ticket was sold. spoiler alert it's in california. >> always live. abc seven news starts right now. >> and good evening.