. she was family. a giant hole was ripped in our hearts. the first thing we want, well the police are going to go get the bad guys, right? >> i was not prepared for what happened. >> reporter: professor, artist, mom. >> she was a phenomenal mother. >> reporter: alone in her home in the dark, murdered. police were quick to question her ex, maybe too quick. >> they focused on it right from the beginning. >> the husband always did it? >> reporter: there was no proof he was even on the scene, but

maybe someone else was. the man in the guest cottage, was he more than a tennant? >> he was a free-spirited surfer dude. >> blood drops, mystery dna, then a secret e-mail. was the wrong man on trial? >> i did not kill carol. >> so much tragedy, so much heart break. >> it was very emotional for me. >> we just kept waiting for them to figure out that they had it wrong. >> reporter: i'm lester holt and this is "dateline." here's keith morrison with "mystery on bridle path." >> narrator: it was early evening in a town called prescott, arizona. it was cooling down, air cooling down to a fine evening warm. here at the town's historic rodeo grounds, refugees from the

summer heat in phoenix, settled into the stands to enjoy the annual exploits of the cowboys. at the very same time on the edge of town, a woman named carol kennedy jogged along the base of the mountain. sometime after 7:00, she turned into her big backyard on a street called bridle path. she arrived at the backdoor of the house she intended to inhabit for the rest of her natural days. but of course, carol kennedy had no idea that that was going to be her last day. and no, it would not be natural at all. >> it's the biggest loss of my life to this day. it's profound. it's piercing. it's constant. >> narrator: carol kennedy was in, as they say, a good place in her life.

this is her friend kathryn morris. >> carol was the epitome of kindness and living a life from a perspective of having an open heart and being loving. >> narrator: before she became a first friend, kathryn morris was a student of carol kennedy at the college. >> her classes were always full, hard to get into. >> what was he like? >> she was magnetic and she was always searching for the truth. and you just sort of gravitated her. >> charisma that pulled her students in, especially maybe you? >> she was soft and inviting. >> my name is carol kennedy, i live in prescott, arizona. >> narrator: we get a sense of her personality in this 2006 interview, in which she was interviewed about her passion, teaching. >> it's like you get to give seeds to this first row here, and then they turn around and

they give it to rows behind them. >> narrator: and in fact she shared those passions with the man who was her husband for 25 years. love of her life, really. steve demock ever. >> they were crazy for each other. >> sharon democker is steve's sister. >> carol was really easy to love. she was kind of a natural fit in the family. she was just immediately a sister to all of us. >> narrator: all of us being the democker family, high achievers, all of them. sharon is a doctor. >> it's an accomplished bunch. as one of my friends said, there's not a weak link in this group. >> narrator: carol and steve got married in her parents backyard in rochester, new york. >> steve was the one that started the adventuring side of things. first there was skiing and hiking and kayaking. >> they moved around as people

do, and wound up in prescott, which seems to be the perfect place to raise their daughters, katie and charlotte. >> it's a testimony to the kind of people that steve and carol with were, that the girls were their first priority. >> steve became the dean of students, carol taught psychology there. steve decided to change careers, left the academic life. >> nobody knows all that what goes on inside a marriage. but i did talk with both of them about it. they both struggled because their lives were moving in different directions. >> narrator: and as much as they still cared for each other, there were infidelities. steve had an affair. they decided to separate. >> carol loved steve fiercely. she fought hard for her marriage until the end.

>> narrator: but in 2008, after more than 25 years of marriage, five living apart. carol filed for divorce. >> she was sobbing and at first when she called me, it was like, oh, oh, no. and then i realized that the sobbing and the wailing on the phone, it was a mixture of things. >> open arms. >> narrator: time for a fresh start. carol had left teaching by that time and was focused on a new passion, painting. >> her art was developing, she was really doing well with that and taking off of that. >> narrator: of course she remained close to her daughters, but she also stayed close to steve. and in fact, just a few days before that july morning, the whole family went to the airport

that morning on a study abroad trip to south africa. charlotte was staying with her dad in prescott. nothing ahead now but the long, easy days of summer. as she jogged the last few yards to her house, carol passed by the rental cottage she arenrent out to help with her expenses. >> it had it's own house and it had a kitchen and bath and shower and rooms. >> narrator: it was comfortable having someone else on the property. the name's name was jim natt, a bit of an odd duck, carol said, but the man didn't cause any trouble. >> jim natt was just a free spirited surfer dude from hawaii who -- hang ten. >> narrator: she took him in as a border? >> it was my understanding that he had been diagnosed with

cancer and i think they sort of co-su supported each other with all of the things that they were experiencing. >> narrator: carol made a salad for dinner, read her e-mail and settled in for an evening at home. she called her mom, ruth, who was now living in tennessee. ruth was 83, the call a nightly ritual and then, at 8:00 p.m., odde esest thing. the line went dead, but not before ruth heard something rather terrifying. ruth tried to call back, nothing. and there she was so far away, and now, worried. so she decided to call the sheriff's department, whose headquarters is here in downtown prescott. >> sheriff's office, how can i help you? >> yes, my name the ruth kennedy

and i'm calling from nashville, tennessee. i was on the phone with my daughter and she screamed and said oh, no and the phone's gone dead. and is there anything you can do? can you go check? >> narrator: oh, no. those two words played back again and again in ruth's worried brain. and so began a mystery, and a story too unbelievable even for some of its most intimate participan participants. so what happened to carol kennedy. that question would take years to answer. not just what happened to carol, but who could have been behind it? >> she didn't have any enemies? >> none. none. >> we were just stunned. ♪

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ruth tried back, couldn't reach carol. then she called the sheriff's department. >> she's out there, she screamed and said oh, no and the phone just dropped and i'm at my wit's

end. >> did you call her or did she call you? >> she called me tonight, she calls me every night, because i'm 83 and she worries about me. and we were having our conversation and all of a sudden she just screamed and said oh, no. and i haven't been able to get her to answer the phone back. i'm afraid something bad's happened. >> okay, ruth. and who does your daughter live with? >> she's recently divorced. she's alone. >> what's your daughter's name? >> carol kennedy. >> narrator: did you notice what she said, recently divorced? certainly the operator heard it. >> do you believe there's any reason she would be concerned if her husband came back? >> i don't think so, i don't think it's that kind of a thing, you know. >> okay. >> friends all knew that even after their divorce, steve and carol still cared deeply for each other, and their two

daughters. that connection between the two of them interests me. >> they took time to nurture their relationship and to spend time together and do think, that they enjoyed doing in bringing up katie and charlotte. >> narrator: but carol wasn't answering her phone and ruth was frantic. >> we'll have someone go out there and check on her and they'll give you a call. >> narrator: you can imagine what that was like for ruth, so far away, waiting for a phone call. she knew carol had a border, that offbeat dude named jim natt. but steve would know what to do. she called him on his cell phone and when he didn't pick up she left him this message. >> this is ruth, on the phone with carol. and she screamed and said oh,

no, and dropped the phone and i can't get her back. maybe you could check on her and let me know something. >> jacob was actually living there while he tried to sort out a few issues with his parents. what was your relationship like with him and what was charlotte's relationship like? charlotte was very close with steve. he offered me to stay with him before, you know, tried to figure something out, just to make my situation with my parents better. so i have a lot of respect for him. definitely looked up to him. >> steve, an avid outdoorsman was out for a mountain bike ride. and it was getting late. really late. >> we usually would have dinner there pretty late. it was normal to have dinner at 9:00, 9:30.

when he hadn't come home around that time is when we kind of started to get a little worried, that maybe he had crashed or gotten hurt or something. >> what did you do? >> charlotte called his cell phone and -- >> no answer? >> no answer. >> did it go straight to voicemail? >> yes. >> narrator: anyway, hungry for dinner, they went to the store for groceries. >> probably around 10:00, 10:15, and he told us that he had a flat tire and he was at the workout center and he was going to finish his workout there. >> what happened to his phone? >> that it had died. >> while he was out there with the flat tire? >> yes. >> narrator: they made a quick dinner, vegetable stir fry, it was late, but then again, it was a mild summer night, not a care in the world, it seemed, no idea

what was happening at the house on bridle path. >> reporter: coming up -- >> i'm getting worried about you. >> reporter: panic begins, a daughter rushes to the scene, what would she find? >> she started to cry pretty hard. >> reporter: when "dateline" kofblts. benjoy the bacation.s: first class flavors from applewood smoked bacon to big mac special sauce come together for an all-inclusive taste sensation. nothing rules like mcdonald's new bacon clubhouse sandwich.

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>> we were pretty close to being finishe finished. >> narrator: that's when steve told them about a strange phone call from carol's mother. >> how did charlotte react to that? >> she was worried. charlotte said she texted her mom earlier that evening, everything seemed fine then. but now, she called her mother, voicemail.

>> hey, mom, i heard from grandmother that something happened while you were on the phone. now i'm getting worried about you. if you want to text me back and tell me everything's okay. >> narrator: the beginnings of panic bubbled up in charlotte's brain. she and her boyfriend called around to local hospitals but nobody named carol kennedy had been admitted to any of them. >> so this is nighttime, is there any thought of going over there? >> we had talked about it. >> narrator: steve was concer d ed about carol of course, but as her new ex-husband, he had a feeling too. >> they had just gotten the divorce and he didn't feel comfortable invading her privacy, if she was on a date or something like that. so charlotte and i decided we

would go out there and check on her, and see if anything was out of the ordinary. >> narrator: it was after midnight when charlotte -- do you remember what it was like driving over there? >> very quiet. i don't even remember we spoke very much at all on the way there. >> because? >> just nervous. >> a little anxious? 1234r right? >> as soompb as we got to the top of the hill, we could see the sheriff's lights and all the cars and just the worst thoughts are going through my mind at that point. >> it almost hits you here before it hits you here. >> you kind of feel it in your stomach first for sure.

then we got closer to the house and we saw caution tape and all the people running around and everything. we had pulled up and stopped on the side of the road and two sheriffs walked up on either side of the car, we rolled the windows down. >> did this person know who you were? >> i think they thought we were just passing through, and charlotte said no, this is my mom's how. and he said i'm sorry to tell you, but carol passed away. at that point she just immediately broke down, started crying pretty hard. >> narrator: charlotte dropped the phone, fell to pieces. >> were you frightened? >> a little bit. really more to for charlotte. i mean even now i don't think i could figure out how to console someone in that situation. >> narrator: maybe steve would know what to do. >> i picked up the cell phone

and told steve what had happened that he needed to come down and be with charlotte. >> narrator: and steve? >> he was taken aback. it was almost kind of like disbelief, like he didn't really know what to say really. kind of hear him choking back some tears a little bit. and that was hard. >> narrator: right away steve rushed over to carol's house. a detective had a recorder going, you could hear charlotte sobbing and steve talking. >> the last time i saw her was, i don't know, it's been a while. >> narrator: someone else talked to the detectives too, someone who showed up just minutes after police got there. jim natt who had a lot to say about carol. but he didn't stop there. >> reporter: coming up --

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>> narrator: just before 9:00

p.m., july 2, around the time carol kennedy's worried family members were recording phone messages to each other. the sheriff's department was dispatched to carol's home on bridle path. the home was dark. he shined a light through the window. saw a bookcase toppled over, and blood everywhere. that's when mike was pulled into the strangest case of his career. the kind of case he had moved to prescott to avoid. >> it was a quaint little community nestled in the pines and not a whole lot of crime, especially from what i was used to. >> he put in 27 years in the phoenix police department. this job with the county attorney's office was supposed to be an escape from big city crime, and here he was, middle of a july night, looking at one very brutal homicide. what did it look like? >> it was certainly a gruesome

scene, not only a large amount of blood on carol's body, but also on the furniture that was nearby, blood spatter that had been castoff on to the walls and other items as well. >> so that tells you something about how she died. >> she certainly died a violent death. >> narrator: something else, as he surveyed the room, he could see that whoever did this was trying to fool them. how did he know? when he looked past the obvious gore, he couldn't help but notice, things had been moved around after carol was dead. >> there was a ladder that was placed over top of her body. that, along with some of the blood that had splattered on to a bookshelf and then the shelf was knocked over, obviously several minutes after the blood hit it. >> unlikely that it was just tottering and eventually collapsed. >> that could not have happened.

>> so is that's a pretty significant little detail then? >> absolutely. >> narrator: staging, there were even some drops of blood just outside the door. the blood trail led detectives to another discovery. shoe prints outside the house. >> there was a lot of tracks out there. >> narrator: the house was next door to ranch land and lots of people went running and riding there, carol too. >> a lot of people used that area, and there were a lot of tracks. these trackses were unique, they were fresh. >> narrator: they found carol's tracks from her jog that evening, but there were others. >> her track, as it went out, the suspect's tracks then stepped right on one of hers, so she went out and then the suspect came into her house. >> you had sequencing tracks? >> yes. >> narrator: about 15 feet from

the main house, you remember, was a guest cottage which carol had represented out to that tennant. jim natt. of course the detectives asked him, where was he that night? and natt was ready with a story. >> he had been baby sitting one of his boys at his ex-wife's house when this accident actually occurred. >> you would have to pin him down on that, make sure he had proof of it, correct? >> that's correct. >> narrator: another detective turned down the recorder as natt rambled on about his relationship with carol. >> she was committed to coaching. >> narrator: but natt didn't stop there, oh, no. he seemed very eager to tell them about carol's ex-husband, steve democker.

>> the guy comes off to me as a very manipulative man. >> narrator: so by the time detecti steve arrived, detectives were already suspicious. so he told them he was doing what he told his daughter he was doing, riding his mountain bike. >> i do some on and off, mostly i go trail running, so i don't have a routine. >> narrator: he drew them a map of the trail he followed. >> the trail goes up and peters out. >> narrator: at one point the trail got to within a mile of carol's house. the detective's ears perked up. but steve insisted, he never went to carol's house. >> i'm happy to give you blood, saliva, i'm happy to give you whatever you need? >> theso there's nothing that we

going to find that. >> -- >> if you need some food, we'll get you some, just tell us what you want. i'm just asking that you be a little bit patient with us and help us clear this matter. >> i wasn't there, so i assume that will be good for me. >> that is true. if it is like you say, then once we do our lob work and -- >> i'm just, i'm cold and i'm tired. >> narrator: steve asked them, what were they thinking about him? was he a suspect? >> i don't know what looking suspicious looks like. >> no, and like, here's the whole thing with it. there's certain things in, in what's going on, just like i said, we have got a suspicious death and right now, we don't have any other person -- >> than me.

>> well, we have no other person right now. >> narrator: so it was a long night in that interrogation room. the detective gave steve a blanket. asked him again about that trail. >> the proximity of the trail that you were riding? >> i wish i had chosen a different trail. of course if i had done it, i probably wouldn't have chosen to be right near the scene of what sounds like may be a crime. >> narrator: maybe to, but whatever he was, he picked up something the detectives simply couldn't ignore. >> very fresh, multiple scratches. >> narrator: on his arms and legs. steve said he got those riding a rough mountain trail on his bike. detectives photographed them before letting him go home. meanwhile, overnight other detectives searched steve's office, his home and his garage. and they took pictures, lots of

pictures. after the autopsy the next afternoon, the medical examiner reported that carol died from blows to the head, administered by some blunt object, seven times her killer hit her. with what? the medical examiner offered an opinion, looked like it might have been a golf club. and one more thing, carol herself might already be telling them who killed her. >> reporter: coming up -- >> it's one of those moments that you go, oh, my goodness. >> reporter: the clue that police almost missed, will it help them crack the case? when "dateline" continues. the . [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection. and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote.

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>> narrator: there is as captain morris can tell you, no good way to find out your close friend has been murdered, especially a friend as incandescent as carol kennedy. >> it's the most profound loss in my life today, it's profound, it's piercing, it's constant.

>> she didn't have any enemies? >> none. none. >> narrator: catherine who at this time lived in atlanta, flew across country. >> i needed to see it. i needed to be in her home where she last was. >> narrator: she joined other members of carol's familiedy at bridle path. the mess of what happened everywhere in that room. >> you can't imagine, it was painful. >> did it help? >> it helped greatly to put it into perspective. of the absolute horrendous brutality, animalistic violence. >> evidence of that was still in the room? >> oh, yes. >> narrator: steve wiz there, too.

and she members him saying something that didn't make much sense. >> he put his arm around me and said, you just want to think it was an accident, don't you? i said, no, what i'm looking at is not an didn't. >> narrator: so soon after the murder, steve was the only real suspect under investigation. and in the following weeks, as friends and family mourned, detectives peeled back the layers of steve and carol's relationship. and soon found evidence that their recent divorce was, well no divorce is pleasant, but -- >> we looked at e-mails and we learned that carol was very unhappy with the outcome of the divorce. they argued heavily back and forth, up until the day of her murder. >> narrator: steve made good money as a financial advisor, and agreed to pay $6,000 a month in spousal support. >> when you say somebody makes over $500,000, you would assume

that a $6,000 monthly payment is not a big deal. but he was spending way more than he was making. he was having to borrow money from his parents almost monthly. >> when he's making half a million a year? >> that's correct. and the $6,000, he was going to be unable to sustain his lifestyle. >> narrator: mind you, those numbers were for 2008, a year when, like a lot of people, hemorrhaged money because of the financial crisis. still to the detective, that $6,000 a month sounded like -- which might explain why it -- >> that payment started june 1. the second payment was due july 1. she was murdered july 2nd and that payment was never made. >> i wasn't there. i wouldn't do that. >> narrator: again and again, he denied killing his ex-wife, said he was out mountain biking the evening she died.

but look at this, along with shoe prints near carol's house after the murder, police also found tire tracks. bike tires. >> we then were able to see that the bike had been stashed and then the individual walked right to the back of her house. >> narrator: they did not take direct impressions of those shoe and tire tracks as investigators frequently do. but they did take pictures of the tracks, looked a lot like the treads on steve's tires, they felt. and while no matching shoes turned up, they found out that steve once bought a pair that might match. then there was the curious business of the murder weapon, or possible murder weapon. remember the coroner's report suggesting that carol may have been hit with a golf club? when investigators learned that, something clicked in their memories from their first search through steve's house. >> there were golf clubs in his garage. >> so let's go back and seize them, right?

>> yeah, seize them and examine them to see if we can determine if these golf clubs were used as the murder weapon. >> it sounds like kind of an ah-ha moment. >> it's one of those moments that you go, oh, my goodness, we may have overlooked something. >> narrator: so they returned to steve's condo, seized the golf clubs in the garage and tested them, but could find no evidence that any of them was the murder weapon. but there was something else. in the first search of the condo, a detective remembered seeing a golf club cover or golf sock on a shelf. they looked at the photos, there it was. but when they searched the garage a second time, it was gone. >> and the shelf itself had been sort of rearranged. >> narrator: was it possible that now missing golf sock belonged to a different golf club, one that was no longer around, one used to kill carol

kennedy? did steve knowing he was a suspect get rid of that golf sock because it was incriminating evidence? it seems like every investigative trail they followed led back to the same person they had suspected all along. carol's friend catherine knew who that was. >> i didn't believe that steve did it, but i couldn't think of anyone else that would possibly do any harm to carol. >> narrator: and so, three months after carol was killed, they arrested steve democker on a charge of first-degree murder. steve's sister, sharon. >> i'm trying to imagine what it was like for the family this, amazing, accomplished, interesting, intelligence family when the leader child was charged with murdering his wife, a woman who you all loved? >> it was a total shock. going, they don't understand. if they knew him, they would see how wrong and impossible this was.

>> narrator: even worse, prosecutors filed for the death penalty. any chance for bail for steve given the charge was remote. still, the whole democker family gatt ev gathered in court for the hearing, which coincidence had been scheduled for christmas eve 2008. then it was delayed. >> it was this crushing blow, seeing the wheels turn painfully slowly in this process. so we left and we're standing out in the corridor, then they were just starting to bring steve out. and we said, you know what? let's just sing him a christmas carol. so we started singing, "we wish you a merry christmas" and we could see that there were tears streaming down steve's face. >> narrator: steve's family went too, they believed he was innocence, that someone else

killed carol and their belief only grew stronger after -- >> 911 what is your emergency? >> narrator: a 911 call, this time to the prescott police department. >> the doors opened, it looked like a gunshot hole in the window and there's a shell casing inside and the bedroom door is closed. . >> reporter: coming up -- >> the husband always does it, right? >> they focused in on one person right from the very beginning. >> reporter: a thumbprint, a smear of blood, and here's the bombshell, neither one belonged to steve democker. >> there were a lot of red flags. rs... you know who you are... you've become deaf to the sound of your own sniffling. your purse is starting to look more like a tissue box... you can clear a table without lifting a finger... well muddlers, muddle no more. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin. because zyrtec® starts working at hour 1 on the first day you take it. claritin doesn't start working until hour 3.

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. >> narrator: steve democker was in jail, charged with first-degree murder for his ex-wife carol kennedy's violent death. he pleaded not guilty. private investigator rich robertson joined steve's defense team and right away saw what he believed was an elemental mistake by detectives. >> they put together their story, their version of events, almost immediately. >> the husband always does it, right? >> they focused in on one person and they had a stooir, and

that's what they worked on. they zeroed in on steve democker right from the very beginning. >> narrator: the man who lived at the guest house and showed up at the crime scene within minutes of the officers and was the first person to point the finger at steve. >> the fact that law enforcement viewed him in a different way than they viewed steve democker. that they saw jim knapp as a friendly witness and they see steve democker as a suspect, frames the way they investigate. so anything having to do with jim knapp becomes excusable, explained, it's just not something you have to worry about because he's not our guy. >> narrator: and yet, look for example at these crime scene photos at carol's kitchen counter, the magazine was sitting on it. and slipped inside between the

pages were some financial documents that were printed the very day carol was murdered. >> that became really important because his thumbprint is on those financial documents. >> narrator: what was jim knapp doing with these documents? and something else, perhaps very significant. >> there was blood on the doorknob of the door that led from the main house to the backyard garage. >> so whose dna was mixed with carol's blood? jim knapp's dna. >> just like the thumbprint, the question becomes when did jim knapp's dna get put on that door handle? >> narrator: robertson clearly

had his suspicions. >> so you think jim knapp should have been investigated and was not? >> narrator: he told police he was nowhere near his house when the murder took place. >> what the son said was, yeah, they had gotten the video and the son was watching it. he doesn't know where dad was. >> dad wasn't sitting beside him in the room? >> no, dad was not watching with him. so he doesn't know where dad was. the son got bored watching this movie. and i believe he went and got on his computer. so there's a period of time that we don't really know. he might have been in the house. but nobody saw him. >> so maybe knapp's solid alibi wasn't. and remember how he told everyone he had cancer? sharon, a doctor, discovered something about that. >> i have seen the medical records. >> and?

>> he had a superficial type of skin cancer at one point and it had been removed. so no, he didn't. >> steve's family even recorded this video, after the murder, in which jim knapp said things about carol they found deeply disturbing. >> carol and i lived our life like an old married couple. >> he was actually rather obsessed with carol. i have e-mails that he's written about how, what he and carol share is more than anyone could picture that no one will understand the bond that they have and how close they are to each other. he referred to some people as his girlfriend. but she never had any romantic interest in him and no one has ever -- >> he had a tremendous romantic interest in her? >> very much so. >> thus in your mind, a reason to be angry at one another? >> certainly. >> narrator: was it possible

that carol rebuffed him, that he got angry? the detective didn't ask those questions, and then it was too late. six months after carol's murder, a 911 call from a condo where jim knapp moved to live after carol's murder. >> the doors open, it looks like a gunshot, holes in the window and there's a shell casing inside and the bedroom door's closed. >> who are you doing the welfare check on? >> jim knapp. >> jim knapp was dead. gunshot wound. the medical examiner ruled it a suicide. >> i was stunned. it was one of those moments where it just sort of took my breath away. and then when i found out there was no note, and as i learned about the details of what the scene looked like, it's still a baffling death.

>> narrator: baffling because it simply did not look like a suicide. >> there was multiple gunshots, there was furniture in disarray, there was drawers pulled u out. >> narrator: just as investigators believe someone staged carol's murder. it could. have been steve, he was in jail. and then the questions multiply. in june 2009, almost a year after carol's death, steve's attorney received an e-mail, the sender anonymous. the e-mail read, i can tell you what really happened the night kennedy was killed. the e-mail said jim knapp was running his mouth to kennedy about a prescription drug deal he was in. it said the murder was meant to look like home invasion roche

gone mad. steve replied with a startling story. he had heard the same thing. just a month earlier, in jail. >> steve said that somebody was communicating to him through the ventilation system in the jail. and told him a story about how a drug ring out of phoenix had been trying to collect money or seek some retribution against jim knapp for involvement in a prescription drug ring. >> narrator: the attorneys arranged for a meeting, an opportunity for steve to tell law enforcement what he heard so they could investigate it. they showed him the mysterious e-mail. listen to his reaction. >> i'm sorry. >> i hate to ask you this, but can you explain why you're getting emotional here today? >> because i spent a year not

knowing what happened. to carol. and being accused of it. that's what's happening right now. >> narrator: there was more than the e-mail to go on. remember the dna the medical examiner found under carol's fingernails? turned out, it wasn't steve's. or jim knapp's. police called the dna evidence item 603. but to investigator rich robinson, it meant much more. >> evidence item 603, became mr. 603. it was a male dna that was found mixed in with carol's blood, under the fingernails of her left hand. this wasn't a small amount of dna. a reasonable person would think that this probably could have gotten there during an attack. >> the anonymous e-mail,

evidence item 603. steve thought investigators should focus more on all of these things. but it seemed to them, prosecutors had already made up their minds and steve would go on trial for murder. >> reporter: coming up, a daughter called to the stand -- >> did you ask him about those scratches? >> i did. >> reporter: and a girlfriend gets a call too. was he keeping a secret? >> we were pretty convinced that she knew more than she was telling us. >> reporter: when "dateline" continues. ♪ i love a rainy night ♪ i love to hear the thunder ♪ watch the lightning when it lights up the sky ♪ ♪ ♪ you know it makes me feel good ♪ rarrh! [ laughs ] ♪ 'cause i love a rainy night [ female announcer ] yoplait. with flavors the whole family will love. it is so good for a night in. with flavors the whole family will love. it's flying beggin'!

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>> narrator: professor, artist and mom, carol kennedy has been crime scene. there are plenty of questions about the tennant in the guest house. and there was mysterious dna found under carol's fingernails that does not belong to her ex-husband. here again, keith morrison. >> narrator: summer, 2010, two years after carol kennedy's murder, american flags were once

again draped around the town square, in anticipation of the annual rodeo, and inside the courthouse, county attorney joe butner kicked off off the trial of steve democker. attorney butner told the jury, the case was no less condemning. >> i will ask you to find the defendant guilty of the first-degree premeditated murder. >> narrator: first he said, steve had motives and not just that $6,000 a month in alimony. no. carol said the prosecutor was worth a lot of money dead. >> the evidence will show that at the time of her death, that steven democker was the owner and beneficiary of two life

insurance policies, the total value of those life insurance policies was $750,000. >> narrator: steve and carol's daughters katie and charlotte were in court, and sitting behind their father. attorney rich robinson. >> to have your father accused of murder and for them not to believe it, you can't imagine what that must have done to how they view things. that's got to be a horrible experience. >> narrator: defense attorney john seer was quick to address that life insurance money. >> their father told them early, this is your money from your mother, not mine. he disclaimed any money offered to the girls. >> narrator: the prosecutors called the first witness, charlotte democker, steve and carol's elder daughter. >> did she have a habit of what she did when she came home from work. >> she did.

she typically went for a run probably four days a week out in the back land. >> and to your knowledge, would she leave the door unlocked when she did that? >> narrator: on the stand, carol's mother ruth kennedy had to relive that very last phone call with her daughter, how exactly did it ending so abruptly? she told the sheriff's department operator that carol had screamed, oh, no. >> you just said that oh, no, in a certain way with certain emphasis, is that the way she said it to your recollection. >> she said oh, no, basically that's the way it came out. >> did she scream? >> it really was not a scream. i'm sure it was because i was so rattled myself, she just said, oh, no. that's all she said. and basically in that tone of voice.

like it was more dismay. >> narrator: this was very difficult for ruth, as you can imagine. >> she was everything a mother would want in a daughter. she was a good mother. >> narrator: charlotte, the younger democker daughter was living with steve that summer, she was at steve's highways the night of the murder when he was unreachable for five hours and said his cell phone was dead. >> did your father normally have spare batteries with him? >> sometimes in his car. >> did he carry them in his car and also in his briefcase? >> it's possible, i don't know. >> normally he was reachable by way of his cell phone, is that right? >> yes. >> narrator: and when he got home that night, those scratches, suspicious, according to the prosecution. >> did you ask about those scratches? >> yes. >> what did he say? >> he said they were from branchs from riding his bike.

>> and then there was the weird golf cover. it was in the garage the night of the murder, but was gone when detectives returned with another search warrant. the implication was that the cover fit the club never found that killed carol. jacob said that after the detectives left, he talked to steve. >> what was that conversation? >> the golf head sock cover was found after they left. >> he said he had found it? >> yes. >> did he say what he was going to do with it? >> he didn't know whether or not to turn it into the police or give it to his lawyer. >> implying to the prosecution, that steve knew the golf sock could incriminate him, and didn't know what to do with it. but just as the case seemed to be building momentum, two week into the trial, judges thomas lindhberg left the bench at lunch break, and suddenly collapsed. it was a brain tumor. and everybody waited for five weeks until a brand-new judge

was appointed so they could pick up with testimony right where they left off. and that's when the jurors finally got to hear what became of the missing golf cover. detective teresa kennedy showed it to the jurors. and the judge explained a stipulation made by the attorneys. turns out days after the murder, steve gave the golf sock to his lawyer who kept it in his office until his arrest. that's when sears turned it over to investigators. a bit of confusion, an investigative dead end. prosecutors weren't done, mind you, they next tried to tie steve to the crime scene. didn't find any of steve's dna or fingerprints at carol's house. but they did see those tire tracks, the criminalists compared them with the tires on steve's bike.

>> the tread on this tire is similar to the tread of this tire track. >> and did you find any discernible differences between them? >> no, i did not. >> and those shoe prints, they brought in an expert from the fbi. >> did you find any shoes that schemed to be comparable to the impressions that you observed in these photos from the crime scene? >> yes, i found one shoe that could have made those impress n impressions. >> narrator: records showed that steve bought a pair of those shoes a year before. prosecutors knew they had a big problem, that anonymous e-mail linking the murder, not to steve, but to jim knapp and illegal drugs. so even as the trial went on. the investigator was interviewing and reinterviewing

witnesses. >> it was obvious to me that she was very protective of mr. democker. >> steve began dating-they were together during steve's divorce, carol's murder, renee had always stood by steve and his family. but lachey had a feeling. >> we were pretty convinced she knew more than she was telling us. >> narrator: lachey knew something else too. during the trial, renee broke up with steve. so on the eve of her testimony, lachey interviewed renee again about that anonymous e-mail. what did he discover? explosive is not too big a word. >> reporter: coming up -- >> steve was terrified, we were terrified. >> reporter: the evidence trail, the money trail, was about to change this case. >> that was a doozy of a mistake? >> uh-huh.

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>> narcissistic? that's what it seemed like to the detectives. also seemed to him like steve's girlfriend renee girard was protecting him. that she knew something and was protecting him. remember the anonymous e-mail that claimed carol's murder was linked to an illegal drug ring? oh, boy. >> she told me that mr. democker had informed them during one of

their in person visits at the jail to bring some pencil and paper, there was a glass between them. mr. democker had brought a document with him that he placed on the glass so that they could view it. >> narrator: according to renee, steve himself wrote that document, then asked his daughter charlotte, just 17 at the time to copy it down. >> mr. democker then asked them to send that document, which became known as the anonymous e-mail to mr. sears and to the prosecutor's office. >> narrator: mr. sears was john sears, one of steve's defense attorneys. steve's reasoning, according to steve's sister, he heard that story from an inmate in that air vent conversation and desperately wanted to get the story out and investigated. >> the death penalty was still

on the table so steve was terrified, we were terrified. i can appreciate when you're terrified, maybe you do some stupid things. >> it was a mistake and that was a doozy of a mistake. >> narrator: investigating that fraud led investigators to an even bigger one. remember carol's life insurance money? $750,000 worth? steve's defense attorney talked about it during his opening statement. >> he disclaimed, he signed over any interest to the girls. >> narrator: that statement caught investigator mike lachey by surprise. >> we had made contact with the life insurance company several times throughout the investigation and we had been informed that the life insurance had not been paid out to anyone. >> narrator: so, had the insurance paid out? or hadn't it? lachey took another look. a much harder rook look at the

trail. >> not only was the insurance paid out, but it was paid to the two daughters, who then transferred it to several accounts, including wire transfers to mr. democker's parents account in new york, who then wire transferred it back to mr. democker's defense team. >> narrator: remember, steve democker was a highly paid financial advisor. the prosecutors now believe he was using that expertise to try to get away with murder. >> here's a person that murdered his ex-wife, then collected her life insurance of over $750,000 and is using that life insurance to pay his defense team in the murder prosecution. >> narrator: then prosecutors added fraud to the charges steve was facing. but fraud is certainly not what it was, said investigator rich

robinsonson. >> these girls on their own, believing in their father's innocence, dedicated money they inherited to defend him. >> how can that be possible? >> the girls decided to use that money for their dad's defense. there was no fraud. or the insurance company would have been the first one to say, hey, we got a problem here. >> so is that just piling on on the part of the prosecutors? >> yes. >> narrator: the much bigger issue of the defense was that phony e-mail, an e-mail the attorne attorneys presented in court because they said they were duped by steve. >> suddenly the attorneys were in a legal-ethical kind of posture in relation to their client. out created an untenable situation for the first team. >> narrator: so untenable for

these highly respected defense attorneys, they withdrew from the case. so seven months in, the judge was forced to declare a mistrial. >> we thought we were sprinting to the finish line. we thought he was going to be home for thanksgiving. then the finish line just disappeared off into the horizon. >> so emotional. not even a roller coaster, just the intensity of the emotion. >> narrator: they had to start all over again. the money the girls received from their mother's insurance was gone now, gone to pay for the first team of attorneys. so since steve was pretty much destitute, a court appointed attorney stepped in. right away the new attorneys were impressed by how steve's family supported him. >> it's a very large family, very educated, very tight knit

group. >> how uniformly did they support steve through this process? >> i would say very uniformly. >> they're all behind him? >> yes. >> narrator: but one thing after another, as steve's second trial approached, there was another huge surprise. the source of the dna found under carol's fingernails was finally identified. that would be mr. 603. >> reporter: coming up -- the mysterious mr. 603, not who anyone expected. when "dateline" continues. t ang. it's how i look at life. especially now that i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. i was taking warfarin but wondered, could i focus on something better? my doctor told me about eliquis for three important reasons. one, in a clinical trial

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. >> narrator: it had always been an issue in the case against steve democker, that one fascinating clue that could break the case wide open, who was mr. 603? that's what people were calling the mysterious dna found under carol's fingernails after he was murdered. one thing for sure, it was not steve's. >> we exhausted so many man hours and looked at any and all alternatives. >> narrator: and then, it was during the long months of waiting for a new trial to begin. the prosecution had an idea. what if that 603 sample was a simple mistake? what if something just got mixed up in the lab? so investigator mike lachey looked up the autopsy zone just before carol's and submitted a sample from that for retesting. and nearly three years after carol's murder, a call from the

crime lab. >> the sample dna that we sent had matched the dna under carol kennedy's fingernails. we finally were able to discover and verify who mr. 603 is. >> narrator: mr. 603, it turns out, was another dead soul, the man lying on the autopsy table before carol got there. it was his dna. maybe on one of the coroner's instruments that ended up under carol's fingernails. mystery solved. one more doubt removed, said the prosecution. but for steve's defense team, it was further proof of a shoddy investigation. >> the come bntamination, not o potential contamination, there was dwactual contamination in ts case. >> narrator: the case against steve had an even bigger flaw.

>> you cannot put steve democker in that house where there was a horrific murder a bloody murder, you can't put him in the house. >> no dna, no blood? >> you don't find any dna on him of carols anywhere. you don't find his dna anywhere in the house. >> narrator: but a full five years after carol's death, steve was still in jail, and the case finally went to trial again. new defense attorney, a new prosecution team. who, it soon became clear, had during the long delay spent some call time honing their argument against steve. >> carol kennedy had no enemies. this was not a burglary or a robbery. no valuables are missing, no overwhelming evidence in this case points to the defendant. and at the close of that evidence, we will ask you to returning verdicts of guilty on all charges and especially first-degree murder.

>> and now the prosecution had more evidence, like steve's google searches during the month before carol's death. damaging, to say the least. >> there is some information to determine how to kill and make it look like suicide and there was some information on the term how to make a homicide appear as a suicide. >> narrator: those e-mails and text messages, carol and steve arguing in the days before her death, read to the jury. crime scene analyst claims that the blood spatter indicated the killer was left-handed. >> with the position that i think is the most comfortable position, i would think that they're swinging from the left. >> narrator: and steve was left-handed. remember the golf sock in the garage? it was made, said the prosecution, for a now missing left-handed club. so here at last, was the state's theory about how steve killed his ex-wife. days before the murder, said the state, he dropped off that club at carol's house, supposedly for

her to sell in an upcoming garage sale. but left the golf sock in his garage. and then night of the murder, he sneaked into her house and used that club to kill her. though such a club was never found, the golf sock was evidence it existed, said the prosecution, and the shape of carol's wounds confirmed it. then to bolster an alibi, as his ex-girlfriend renee girard testified for the prosecution, steve allowed his cell phone battery to die, something he never normally did. >> in general, there was usually a battery in his phone and an extra battery either charged or being charged. >> did you ever know him to be -- to not have a phone at the ready if he needed to use it? >> i didn't. >> narrator: renee also revealed that after the murder, steve revealed something that in

hindsight seemed very significant. >> we took a walk on the golf course and he picked up a bag on the way out the door one evening and as we were walking, he told me about the bag and what he was going to do with it. >> narrator: a get away bag, which she said he buried on a golf course. and sure enough, with renee's help, detectives found the bag on the golf course. inside were cash and clothing and a cell phone and a pen light. also after steve was arrested, they conducted more searches. in a storage building a book on how to cover your tracks and live as a fugitive. in a parking garage, yuma, arizona, there was something in the parking garage. >> they believed that he had recently purchased it. >> narrator: and inside these locked cases, they later learn

that steve had maps, clothing, hair dye, makeup and $15,000 in cash. charlotte who still believed her father was innocent reluctant y ily testified for the prosecution, she had to testify she knew he was thinking of running, and she had to at mitt that she wrote the anonymous e-mail. >> at one point, your dad held up a piece of paper to that glass window and wanted you to write down what was on that paper? >> yes. >> and you did? >> yes. >> what were you supposed to do with that piece of paper? >> i was supposed to write an e-mail with the things that i had copied down, i believe. in the hopes that it would be investigated further. >> what did that mean to u you? i mean did you believe it?

>> i did. i believed that that was what he had been told by someone in the jail and that, you know, it was very emotional for me. and i wanted it to be investigated. >> how did you get the information out? >> i sent an anonymous e-mail. >> narrator: anonymous, so that it could not be traced back to her or her father. her oldest sister katie wasn't aware the e-mail had come from charlotte, but she was at the center of the story about life insurance. steve had signed a disclaimer saying he would not benefit from the proceeds of carol's life insurance. but katie was forced to testify that wasn't true. >> my father was asking me for various things related to that money. >> narrator: once carol's life insurance paid out, katie

transferred her share to her grand parents. >> you knew your grand parents were going to use that for attorneys fees? >> yes, that was my understanding. >> narrator: a man who plotted to kill his wife, plotted his escape and used his own children to fund his defense and even hoodwink his lawyers in court. the case looked strong, the prosecution rested. >> your honor, the state has rested. >> narrator: now it was time to hear from the defense. and no surprise, it had a quite different theory about carol kennedy's murder, a theory that had nothing whatsoever to do with steve democker. >> reporter: coming up, that man in the guest cottage. >> it wasn't a little bit of evidence that we had on mr. knapp, it was a mountain of evidence. >> i'm wondering what was this man capable of? was he going to hurt me? or hurt my family? i was scared. my hygienist told me that less tartar means less scraping.

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five years. the state has had five years to put steve democker at the scene of the crime. but they cannot. >> narrator: anybody paying

attention to the bizarre murder case playing out in prescott, that could be a little suspicious of steve democker's behavior after the killing. a get away bag? but was he guilty of murder? no, they said. rather he was the victim of some detectives' tunnel vision, beginning with a sloppy investigation. >> it was kind of a cavalcade of people roaming through this scene, that they didn't lock down, tromping through the footprints and tromping through the house. they didn't seal it off correctly. to me when somebody shows up on the scene and immediately points the finger on the ex-husband, then it's boom right on him. >> it was always on him? >> narrator: this is the interview with steve and the detectives the night carol was killed.

>> we have got a suspicious death and we have no other person right now. >> in which you could hear the suspicion, said the defense. and steve, said the attorneys felt a cold fear overcoming him. >> he's afraid of what's happening, that the investigation is all on him, they're not focusing on anything else, anybody else, they focus on him and he's wondering why no one will believe it. >> narrator: that's the reason for the get away bag, he said. it wasn't because of guilt, it was because of terror. >> you don't have know evidence that mr. democker tried to use the bag to three? >> i believe that's precisely what he said. we found it before he could flee. >> you're using a terms of art there, my question is very direct. he did not flee, did he? >> no, he was not able to, no.

>> another terms of art. here's a very simple question. did mr. democker flee or not, that's a yes or no question. >> no, he did not flee. >> narrator: and steve's sister sharon had a simple explanation for these coincidences the night of the murder, the circumstantial evidence, like his dead cell phone battery. >> i think most of us can with cell phones can appreciate that later in the day, it's not uncommon for the battery to go. >> but his ears perked up when part of it was less than a mile of bridle path. >> he lived out there for years and so that was his favorite trail. >> also the tracks they found on his property, the shoe prints must have been his, the tire tracks must have been his. >> nobody knows whose those are. he did buy a pair at one point. he doesn't know if he kept them.

he said he didnnever kept shoes six months. that bicycle tire is the tire that's on 80% of all the mountain bikes in the u.s. it's the most common tire. so there's nothing very distinctive about that. they wanted to be able to tell the jury that it was a match. they were not allowed to do that, because as the expert said, we have no idea if it's a match or not. >> narrator: the defense called its own forensic pathologist to ask if the medical examiner is correct in his conclusion that the murder weapon was a golf club. >> in regards to saying specifically this weapon, i can't. >> i think the golf club as alfred hitchcock used to say, it's the mcguffin. it's the magic device torques tie it to democker, the golfer, the elitist, the rich guy who's -- >> but isn't there scientific evidence to say that that's a golf club head that hitter?

>> i r not a single person could say that that was a golf club. they all said it could have been a golf club. but they also said it could have been other weapons. >> narrator: the defense argued, the investigation should have looked into others as well, for instance jim knapp who arrived at the scene almost immediately after deputies. it's like the guy who starts a fire who comes back to watch it burn. that's our feeling about mr. knapp, because it wasn't a little bit of evidence on mr. knapp, it was a mountain of evidence. >> narrator: knapp says defense attorneys was in serious financial trouble and cooked up lies to get friends to lend him money. >> he got to the point where he was lying about active cancer and asking people for financial help so he could take care of

his cancer which he actually didn't have. >> narrator: they said knapp wanted to buy a franchise business, a smoothy store with carol's divorce money. at one point, even introducing carol as his business partner. so was he obsessed with carol? his behavior with his former girlfriend when she tried to break up with him certainly seemed obsessive to her, she said. he wouldn't leave her along, kept sending her e-mails. >> i kept wondering what was this man capable of? was he going to stalk? was he going to hurt me? my family? i felt threatened and i felt scared. >> narrator: one more question, how did jim knapp's fingerprints wind up on those financial documents that were printed the day of the murder and found slipped inside a magazine sitting on carol's kitchen counter.

and how did carol's dna get -- that was evidence number 805, they called a dna expert. >> you can see that all the way across that line, it's the same as jim knapp and different with steve democker. >> on your analysis, james matches each one of these and steve democker doesn't? >> that's right. >> narrator: in fact neither steve democker's dna nor his fingerprints were ever found at the crime scene. were the police focused on democker all along and did he make a mistake like a frightened manage would. >> once he's placed in custody and loses hope. that should not have been introduced in this trial. that's a whole separate trial, a whole separate issue. >> narrator: the defense tried

to keep that out of the trial, did not succeed. >> because it makes him look like a bad, evil guy who used his daughters to help pay for his attorneys. that's a low, scummy thing to do. but none of that put him in the house, none of that put any dna on him, in his house, car, person, anything along those lines. >> judge at this time t defense rests. >> narrator: all along, steve's family remained rock solid in his corner. his sister sharon said -- >> i want to think the best of my brother. the other part of it is, that no one showed me anything that changes my mind. there is no evidence to say, well, you know, you're not thinking about this. show me something. >> but do you see your own kind of understandable family bias? >> uh-huh. >> affecting your judgment about these things? >> if you can prove to me that this is what happens, then that's different. but i'm missing the big evidence

that says that he was there. >> narrator: and now, five years after the brutal murder on bridle path, a jury could finally get to decide, and steve would finally get his say. >> reporter: coming up -- >> it was rough on everybody. >> you really are on pins and needless. >> the wait for a verdict and a long-awaited interview with steve democker, when "dateline" continues. ;k0/pw@/l [ giggles ] again! [ mom ] when we're having this much fun, why quit? and new bounty has no quit in it either. it's 2x more absorbent than the leading ordinary brand, and then stays strong, so you can use less. watch how one sheet of new bounty keeps working, while their two sheets just quit. [ bubbles, baby giggling ] again! [ mom ] why use more, when you can use less. new bounty. the no-quit picker-upper.

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. >> narrator: there may be to the agonizing days and weeks el resultado del veredicto que >> as anyone who's watched the tv show, i can tell you, unfortunately the reality is really similar, you really are on pins and needless waiting for that verdict that you don't know what it is. >> and you have no control over it. strangers are going to decide? >> uh-huh. >> who don't know your brother? >> uh-huh. >> narrator: this family of highly educated professionals knew the case for and against steve as intimately as any attorney. on the third day of deliberations, there was nothing to do but sit together, watch their phone and then as they prepared to leave a coffee shop

in prescott, news that the jury had reached a verdict. but it was 4:00 in the afternoon. apparently quitting time. but the judge decided they would all have to wait until morning to hear what the verdict was. katie and charlotte, comforted by steve's parents, his siblings, had another night to wait and wonder, what did the jury decide? >> it was rough on everybody. and that nervous energy then, you can't sleep. >> we were thinking, well are they just stretching this out? >> was it ftorture? >> i mean, sure, we want them to go ahead and let him go now. >> narrator: then the next morning, the clock strikes 9:00, it was time. >> when they came back in the room could you tell? >> yes. its never good when the jury comes in and they wouldn't look at the jury.

>> the jury finds steve democker guilty. >> narrator: guilty on all counts. >> how did it feel? >> we were just stunned. it wasn't the right verdict. the law didn't support that verdict. >> narrator: defense investigator rich robinson didn't think so either. >> the biggest shock to me is that they came back anonymous, and came back unanimous fairly quickly. >> how did steve react? >> he wanted to continue to fight and prove his innocence, that's what his mission is now. >> narrator: but is he innocent? investigator mike lachey. >> i believe in my heart and soul that steve democker killed carol kennedy. >> narrator: he thinks often about the daughters, about the impact on them. >> while my heart goes out to them, you have to recognize that this is all because of one man's

actions. >> narrator: carol's friend catherine. >> i never wanted to believe that steve was capable of doing this and the jury has made their decision, i accept their decision, i agree with their decision. i'm so glad it's over. i'm so relieved. because so many of us have been dragged through it for the last 5 1/2 years. >> narrator: katie and charlotte were back in court at their father's sentencing, and in spite of everything, the state's case against steve, how steve used charlotte to create that phony e-mail evidence and paid for his defense with life insurance money carol intended for her daughters, in spite of all that, at their father's sentencing, they asked the judge for leniency. >> i asked because i would like the turnopportunity to someday again with my father, freely and outside, speak openly and hon t honestly with him and find ways to heal the pain of this prolonged nightmare. i believe in healing and forgiveness because that was the way that i was raised.

as for me, i can promise that i will never forget the memory of my mother. she lives in me every day and will for the rest of my life. >> the additional pain of the reality that we now face is very difficult for me to grasp. the knowledge that like my mother, my father may never attend my wedding, or see my children born or even watch me graduate. it feels like losing a parent all over again. this excruciating punishment is almost as difficult for me as i know it must be for him. >> narrator: steve professed his innocence. >> i did not kill carol. we loved each other for more than 20 years, our marriage was over, but not our affection for each other. i would no more have harmed her than i would harm my daughters by taking her from them. >> narrator: leniency was not

forthcoming. the judge sentenced steve democker to natural life plus 20 years. no parole ever, no hope of a life outside prison walls. all along we have been asking for an interview with steve, he was willing, but the sheriff wasn't. but we were allowed a brief telephone interview from prison. >> to amplify to exaggerate the evidence to even misrepresent it, that was the only way they were able to achieve this conviction and it's just wrong. >> well-- >> it's wrong. >> you're looking ahead here to an appeal process that will take quite some time at the minimum, appeals are hard to win, you could be in fact in prison for the rest of your life. are you prepared for that? >> i'm as prepared as anyone can be. but it's really hard, you become nothing but a burden so i guess if i wind up hire for the rest

of my life, i will try to find some way to be of use in the world. >> narrator: interesting thing about steve democker, he's an extremely articulate man, can he possibly be sincere too? all we can know with certainty is that carol will never again have the chance to be useful. although scratch that, maybe she will. >> the one thing that she always would have said to us, as long as i'm living in this world, i am always here for you and with you. and i think she should have rephrased that to no matter if i'm here living or in heaven, i'm always with you, because i feel her in my heart, i feel her when i'm doing certain things, and her presence certainly lives on. >> reporter: that's all for this edition of "dateline," we'll see

you again next friday at 8:00, 7:00 central, and i'll see you tomorrow on "today." i'm le . - previously on hannibal... - who stitched him into the mural? - you have an idea who that might be? - i do. - he consults me with cases if i keep investigating murders he's accused of. - good. it seems you have an admirer. - you think someone sent me in here because they admire me? - this killer wrote you a poem. - this is of course freddie lounds, who you know. she will be assisting me today, or assisting you-- - what have you taken, bella? - my morphine. - have you seen jack? - no. there was some sort of emergency with his wife. - if hannibal's the ripper, what's he doing with his trophies? - stay away from hannibal lecter. (gunshot) ♪