all the things that are coming out about this case are just mind-boggling. things that you would never believe and you would never do. >> she walks into the house and confronts a monster. >> a young wife dead. >> somebody came out from behind the trees and he shot me. >> what in the world is going on? >> that's what i wanted to know. >> you were intimate with her in your home? >> two times.

>> and as police got closer to the truth -- >> he says, "i think i know who did it." >> the truth got closer to home. >> he just told me, "hold on. it's about to get a lot more crazy." reporter: you won't find mayberry r.f.d. on the map. but if close neighbors, good schools, and just plain, old civility is what you're looking for in a place to call home, you could do worse than settle in grovetown, georgia. tamara baldwin has lived here for 14 years. >> you see the children outside playing, having a good time. just a nice, quiet place that you wanna move and take your family to. >> reporter: the way we think america used to be, and seems to be harder and harder to find, huh? >> yeah. >> the army's ft. gordon is just down the road and a number of the city's 12,000 residents are active or retired military.

crime stats can be measured in stolen bicycles. >> great place to raise a family. >> reporter: here's a veteran investigator for the county. what's your crime rate? >> it's not that high. we don't have too much violent crime. >> reporter: dozens of homicides a year, would you say? >> no, not at all. we might have one a year. >> reporter: one a year? >> yeah. >> reporter: and in march, 2009, they did have one -- a homicide. a bad one that sent neighbors shopping for burglar alarms and maybe fresh ammo. >> you wonder, "what's going on? what's happening?" >> reporter: so many terrible things happened so quickly. so many taboos were broken on an anywhere suburban street that the mind reeled. >> we were so confused. we just kept praying for the families. >> the whole neighborhood was shocked. >> reporter: it began here with two houses, two best friends on a street called hot springs drive in grovetown. kay parsons had moved into the neighborhood in 2005. she was a devoted wife to her husband, david, who worked down at ft. gordon. and an active little league mom cheering on her 12-year-old son

derek. tamara lived just down the street. >> kay was a sweetheart. you never saw her upset, never saw her mad, always smiling, just a joy to be around. >> what kinds of things did she like to do? >> well, mostly anything dealing with her son and her husband. she was very supportive, always being with them. >> reporter: next door to kay lived becky sears. becky had her hands full, too. she and her husband tony had five kids, including two older sons from becky's first marriage. >> she's one of those people who's very outgoing, one of those, "hey, how you doing," type people. >> reporter: tamara got to know both, but says kay and becky really hit it off. >> they were best friends. they were basically inseparable. and they were together 24/7 almost. >> reporter: the two neighbors became peas in a pod. they worked at the same physical therapy center called healing hands. >> they'd go on vacations with each other.

>> reporter: jurgen cowling was their boss. >> when you think of them being around your office, what do you see them doing? >> well, we all get along. and kay and, you know, you knew they were best friends, 'cause they were cutting up on each other. and then they would also tell stories about their sons' baseball, especially during the baseball seasons, 'cause they were best friends, the sons. >> reporter: kay and becky even joined weight watchers together. and the two of them were pretty competitive at the weight watcher thing, huh? >> yes, yes. >> reporter: who's up a pound, who's down a pound? >> yes. every day. >> reporter: and one day in march, 2009, began like any other. kay, the little league mom, got up to take derek to school, and becky, the mother of five, left her house a few minutes later to drop off her kids before her work day began. all very routine. until 8:30 a.m., when contractor mitch cozart showed up to do some maintenance work on kay's back door. you're coming around the corner. you lift up the latch gate. and tell me what you see. when i walked back into the -- into -- where the back door was, it was -- the glass was busted out. and -- i -- i immediately knew they had been broken into. >> reporter: did you put your head inside the house and look around or call --

>> all i did -- >> i just -- i just stuck my head just inside just enough to holler out for her. and i -- i didn't get no response. >> reporter: he tried calling kay's phone. no answer there either. he came back out front and noticed a young man sitting on a rock across the street. his name was michael, the oldest of kay's friend becky's five kids. michael had overheard the contractor talking on the phone. >> i walked up to him. and i said, "hey, did you say something about this house being broken into?" and he was, like, "yeah." and i was, like, "well, mine has been, too." >> reporter: so now two broad daylight break-ins of across the fence neighbors. was the thief still lurking? >> i carry a firearm in my vehicle. so -- and so actually i -- i went out and got one just in case. you know, the -- i mean, the -- somebody could run out or whatever. >> reporter: he called 911. >> yeah, the back door is broke in and the next door neighbor's door is broke in. i'd called the owner, but she's not here. and i don't think -- if she's gone.

i mean, i hollered into the door. >> uh-huh. >> and i didn't get no response. >> yeah, i don't want you to go in. >> reporter: the contractor followed instructions, and within minutes, law enforcement responded to the scene ready to investigate two potential burglaries right next door to each other. police taped off the area. now tamara's neighbors were calling her at work, including kay's husband david. he was traveling on business. >> he asked me, "have you spoken to kay?" and i'm, like, "no, not today. i'm at work." and he says, "okay, i'm just trying to get in touch with kay. i'm in california." >> reporter: first responders at the scene alerted investigator jimmy edmunds with the columbia county sheriff's office. >> it's very unusual to have -- have two houses side by side, you know, hit it one time that's, you know, that same way. >> reporter: so are you thinking, "where's this guy gonna go next?" >> correct. i'm definitely thinking, "where's he at?" >> reporter: but as edmunds turned his attention to the break-ins at these two homes, he and his team discovered

something ugly. >> she was in a pool of blood. >> reporter: this wasn't going to be a simple burglary. this was a violent attack with a bloody trail between the homes of two best friends and a female body lying in the garage. >> she was beaten so severely you couldn't even recognize her. >> reporter: what had happened on hot springs drive? and whose sanctuary s about be violated next? >> a badly-injured victim in one house. what was waiting for police next door? the moment you realize you're ready to make dinner

but your oven isn't. at lowe's, we have more appliances to choose from. so, you can get the right one, at the right price, right now. get up to 35% off select appliance special values at lowe's. >> reporter: march 25, 2009. just after 9am. sheriff's deputies had rushed to this quiet residential street in grovetown, georgia to

investigate not one, but two burglaries. worried about her friends and neighbors kay and becky, tamara baldwin left work and headed home to what shockingly had become a crime scene. >> did you see lots of vehicles and uniforms and -- >> a lot of police cars, the entire corner was all taped off with crime tape. now you see two houses that i have to pass to get home, and you wonder what's goin' on. >> reporter: and what the responders found inside these homes would put this neighborhood into full-on panic mode. investigator jimmy edmunds entered the home of kay, the little league mom, through that shattered glass back door, the one the contractor first noticed. then edmunds saw it: a trail of blood. >> immediately, i could start seein' spots of blood on the floor. i could see an empty coffee cup that had spilled right there on the floor from, from mcdonald's. >> there was a mcdonald's bag on -- food bag on the floor and a purse. and i started seein' signs of blood on -- on the sofa in the

living room, on the -- on the carpet. and then you go into the foyer area, where there was a lot of blood on the walls, on the door, on the floor. >> so this is suggesting a moving struggle. >> definitely. it looks like the homeowner came home and surprised a burglar in her house, and a struggle ensued where she was beaten. >> reporter: the bloody path led edmunds further into the house, to a bloody hand print on the door out to the parsons' garage. >> and you can tell there was -- there was more beating goin' on in the garage. there was blood spatter on the walls. so she was already bleeding before she got into the garage. >> reporter: and that's where this apparent struggle had ended. the deputies found 41-year old kay parsons lying there on the floor. >> had you ever seen a scene like that? >> nothing -- nothing that drastic, no. she was beaten so severely in her head, it was pretty bad. >> reporter: but amazingly, kay was alive. emt's hurried her to the hospital, her life hanging by a thread. >> she still had a heartbeat. >> but she was in a very bad way. >> very, very bad way. >> reporter: investigator edmunds made the call to alert kay's husband.

>> he was in los angeles for work. i was able to talk to him on the phone, let him know he needed to come back here as quick as possible. >> so how did he take that news? >> he was -- he was pretty devastated. i tried not to tell him on the phone. i tried to tell him, you know, "i need -- you need to come back. there's been an accident," you know? but he -- he guessed pretty much what was going on. >> reporter: kay's husband david booked a flight home, as investigators turned their attention to the house next door. that's where kay's friend becky the mother with five kids lived. could there be another victim there? >> the point of entry we could see was the backdoor also there, and we found spots of blood on the back door. >> reporter: inside, becky's place was ransacked, but, quick relief, as they looked around there were no new victims. the blood smears they'd noted appeared to be from the crime scene next door. >> that means you have somebody that is brave enough, or just -- or just cruel enough to just -- just beat this woman so severely, and then is gonna go next door and commit another burglary? >> reporter: becky had been at

work that morning with her 19-year old son christopher. the two of them raced home to the scene and met up with her older son michael. >> they're both there, so your mother and christopher are there? >> yeah, they pulled up together at the same time, with columbia county officer. we all walk around back to kay's house, and my mom, she sounds very distraught. she's -- she's screamin' kay's name. >> she shows up at her house while you were all in the backyard there? >> right. they show up on scene and -- and they're, wondering what's going on, and they're -- they're pretty -- pretty shaken up. >> reporter: everyone else in becky's family was accounted for, her husband tony, a long haul trucker, was away on the road, her three younger children were fine at school and day care. the investigator said becky's focus then turned to kay. >> understandably she was upset. you know, she didn't know what happened to her neighbor. she just knew her neighbor had -- had left in an ambulance. >> reporter: and in fact, edmunds says, becky was less concerned about that burglary in her own home and more anxious to

get to see her neighbor. michelle amerson is a longtime friend of becky who also lived nearby. her sister drove becky to the hospital. >> she got to the hospital, you know, she was demanding to get to see her friend. >> she go to bedside for kay, huh? >> yeah, she wanted to get there. >> i said, "what hospital did they go to?" >> reporter: news of the attack quickly spread to another close friend of kay's, suzanne frazier. >> i hung up the phone and i was shakin', and so, i called my boss and i said, "i gotta go, i gotta go." and i left. >> broke some -- broke some laws, huh? >> i ran red lights, i flew. i mean, i just went. >> reporter: tamara rushed to the hospital too. >> did you get to her bedside or -- >> no. >> --be able to take -- >> --a look in? >> i did not. i -- i just stayed in the waiting room. there were a whole lotta other people in the waiting room. >> but the prognosis was very bad, wasn't it? machines were -- >> yeah. >> --keeping her alive at that point even, huh? >> yes. >> reporter: the friends all kept an edgy vigil for news about kay's condition, waiting

for her husband to get to her bedside. lives all changed in an instant. a home invasion and burglary in broad daylight. a woman fighting for her life. and now a perpetrator on the loose. >> you don't know whether you have a guy on the move who could be ready to bust into another house along here, right? >> exactly, exactly. we don't know if we had a mad man on the loose here, you know? >> you settin' up security on these streets? >> on every one of these streets, we're goin' to every one of these houses. we're stoppin' anything that comes in or comes out of this whole neighborhood, we're talking to everybody. >> it's your neighborhood. and -- >> yeah. >> there's somebody out there who's apparently a very violent person. >> yes. >> you gotta be terribly scared. >> i was. i'm thinking that there's someone who's walkin' around the neighborhood watching and seeing when people are leavin' and basically attacking or -- >> reporter: on hot springs drive, the investigators knew they had a serious crime on their hands, but as they learned more from that bloody scene, the shockwaves only kept rolling. coming up --

>> he said, "oh god. no, no, kay." >> reporter: a husband returns home to tragedy and suspicion. >> i just got a weird feeling. something wasn't right. >> reporter: when dateline continues.

>> reporter: friends and family gathered at the hospital keeping a vigil for kay parsons, a suburban mom who'd been brutally beaten that morning in a home invasion. and while her next-door neighbor becky's home had been burglarized too, becky didn't seem to care as much about that. good friend tamara says that for becky, it was all about getting to see kay. >> she continues to ask if "well, can we go in and see her? can we go in and see her?" they tell us no. >> reporter: eventually, one of kay's closest friends suzanne frazier did get back to her bedside. >> could you recognize her if you didn't know that it was her? >> not really, not really. >> all puffed up? >> very -- very -- face was very full. head wrapped. so i asked the nurse, said, "is she brain dead?" and she didn't answer me. >> reporter: kay was just clinging to life, some wrenching decisions had to be made. and doctors were waiting for guidance from her husband david,

who arrived back from a business trip in california. >> how did david seem, the husband? >> he seemed very distraught. he seemed very upset. >> you could hear him screamin' through the double doors. and he said, "oh, god, no, no, kay." >> reporter: investigator edmunds saw david too. and law enforcement tends to see things a little differently, especially with husbands. >> at the hospital, you meet him in person, you see him? >> right. his wife's on life support, you know. and he's pretty distraught. but i just, still, i just got a weird feeling. something wasn't right. i couldn't tell if it was, overboard or if it was just -- i couldn't put my finger on it but there was something that was bothering me. >> reporter: so even though the husband had an alibi, that out of state business trip. >> he's on your radar and you both know that? >> yes. so i'm watching him pretty, pretty close.

>> reporter: by that point edmunds was trying to determine exactly what had happened on hot springs drive. he had his team take pictures of kay, collecting any physical evidence from that confrontation in the house. and they came up with something, a bit of human hair found under kay's fingernails. it just might be from her attacker. >> she had defense wounds to her -- to her arms, to her hands. she was -- you know, bruises everywhere, all over her body. >> reporter: all indicating something else, kay had fought back. and whoever assaulted her had been on the prowl for something. deputies shot video of the upstairs bedroom. it had been looted, with jewelry and other valuables missing. and they found what seemed like a similar m.o. in becky's house next door. >> the master bedroom in that residence had been ransacked. >> so both houses had been tossed. >> both houses. >> reporter: becky's most valuable necklace and rings, gone. and as edmunds kept examining that grisly scene in the parsons' garage, he determined

how the burglar had assaulted kay, with a hammer, found underneath the car, and a baseball bat. >> so the way the weapons the appeared just describe a horrendous attack? >> yes, it appeared that this -- this hammer, you know, was used in - - in, there was so much blood, it -- it slipped outta the attacker's hand. and, you know, the baseball bat, which we were able to determine belonged at that house, was -- was a weapon of opportunity after he lost the first weapon. >> reporter: it looked like the little league mom was beaten with her own son derek's baseball bat. >> it really touched my soul knowing how much derek loved baseball. and i'm, like, "how in the world could someone take a baseball bat and, you know, beat her?" >> reporter: an old-fashioned dragnet remained drawn around the subdivision. >> you got a crazy guy on your hands. >> yeah, yeah. i mean, he -- he -- he beat that woman severely, and we need to find who it was and where he was and -- and get him off the street. >> reporter: some residents mentioned a mysterious figure they had seen recently.

>> we heard about a guy that -- that -- supposedly a homeless guy that was livin' in the woods around there somewhere. >> reporter: so the investigator dispatched some deputies to check out the area just a few hundred feet from kay's house. >> we checked the woods. we didn't see any signs of anybody livin' there, anything of that nature. and we really couldn't prove or disprove there was anybody that was livin' in the woods there. >> reporter: so a potential lead, dashed. but investigators had another. unlikely as it may seem, tiny grovetown, georgia has a few 'usual suspects,' including a young man who lived just around the corner from kay parsons' home. >> we look at our neighborhood and see who's livin' around there. and we, you know, we had a frequent flyer in there that -- >> a who? >> a frequent flyer, you know. that -- that's somebody that we deal with all the time. you know, that -- that commit the same type of crimes, you know. we knew this guy. we -- we've arrested him several times for burglaries. and he lives close by in the area. >> so if a computer's missing or a piece of jewelry's gone astray? >> if there's cars broken into -- >> you go to your frequent flyer and ask him what he knows about it, huh? >> if he's close by, we -- we definitely talk to him. >> so in this case, on that day, you do that, huh?

>> we do. but we were -- we were able to quickly rule him out. he -- he had an alibi. there was no way he could be there. >> reporter: then from the hospital, the news everyone feared and expected. doctors determined kay's injuries were too severe for her to make it. the family decided to take her off life support. kay parsons, devoted wife to david, loving mother to derek, was gone. >> and so then they let me know that she had passed away. >> you lost your friend, kay. yes. yep. >> a beating death, a break-in. >> yes. >> how horrible is this for you, suzanne? >> one of the worst days of my life. i didn't expect it. 41 years old. i mean, you can see somebody dying of cancer or, you know, in a car wreck or something like that, but to be beaten beyond anything. >> did you go back? >> yeah. yeah.

>> you said goodbye to kay? >> as much as i could. >> reporter: now the stakes quickly became much higher for this investigation. kay parsons had been murdered. and edmunds started thinking this killer might just be someone who knew both women, becky and kay. someone who had been right there at the scene of the crime. coming up -- police take a closer look at becky's son michael. >> he discovers his mother's house broken into. he's on the scene when we get there. he's, you know, had a lotta problems in the past, so that raised a lotta red flags. >> reporter: but why would michael murder his mother's best friend?

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>> reporter: investigators in grovetown, georgia now had a murder case on their hands. kay parsons had been assaulted and killed in a home invasion. and the house of her good friend becky next door had been ransacked too. is your door to door, your canvassing, coming up with anything? >> no. nobody -- nobody's seen anybody, you know, out of the ordinary in the neighborhood. >> reporter: so they turned to the first person in the neighborhood to notice something was wrong -- the contractor who'd alerted 911 -- first man on the scene. investigators had to wonder why he was really there. >> at this point -- everybody's a suspect, you know?

you know, and logically he's the first one. >> reporter: edmunds brought him down to the substation for questioning, and they went through the story he had told at the scene. >> it was an -- and i walked down to the hall and i said, "hey, is anybody in there?" and -- anyway -- i didn't hear nothin'. >> reporter: but you also have to ask him if that's really what happened. >> yes. >> reporter: i mean, he's the guy who discovers this violent criminal act, and you wonder if he knows more than he's saying. >> oh, definitely. >> reporter: they pressed him to find out more about just what work he was to do there, and whether he had worked for kay parsons before. >> did you have the key -- have the door open to the house? to do the work? >> well, we -- we -- was mostly outside. the loneliest time that we was really on the inside is when she called me up and said, i need a little bit fixed on the inside. >> reporter: you had the bad luck of bein' the person to find this. >> yeah. yeah. yeah. >> reporter: so, that put you on the list also, mitch, of -- >> sure. sure, yeah -- >> reporter: people they wanna get a full story from. >> exactly. >> reporter: maybe with some sharp questions, huh? >> yeah, exactly. i -- i knew better to walk in

that house, you know? because i did not want anything -- my fingerprints anywhere in that house. because -- i just, you know, watched enough tv to know better. >> reporter: what'd you -- what'd you see in him in terms of demeanor? >> he seemed pretty genuine to me. he was pretty shaken up. >> reporter: so investigators knocked the contractor off their list but in his interview he helped point them to someone else that boy on the rock. >> then i seen that boy sittin' the next-door neighbor sittin' down on a rock across the street. and -- that made me kinda suspicious right there, 'cause i be -- i said -- i said, "i wonder if this guy's a lookout." right? i mean, he might be still -- you know, somethin' is goin' on here. >> reporter: michael, becky's 22 year old son from next door. remember, he was also on the scene that morning when deputies arrived. a neighbor and familiar face to kay, the victim. that got edmunds thinking. >> i thought, you know, if she came home and surprised this burglar and she knew who this burglar was, he couldn't let her get away. >> reporter: you can almost see that little movie play out, the motivation, what happened. >> exactly, exactly. so we started lookin' at michael pretty hard.

>> reporter: michael told them he'd gotten there around 8;30 that morning only to find his house had been burglarized and he'd promptly called his mom. but he hadn't called the police, which seemed a bit strange to investigators. what's more -- >> there was no forced entry to that residence. >> reporter: there wasn't? >> there was no forced entry. >> reporter: that was odd too, and they were about to learn a lot more about michael. he was becky's oldest son. he and his brother chris were from a prior marriage. and michael came with a history of trouble, mostly drugs. so, that's gotta make your nose twitch a little bit. >> most definitely. he's on the scene when we get there. he's had a lotta problems in the past with -- with -- with drugs. so that raised a lotta red flags. >> reporter: opportunity to get quick cash? >> most definitely. >> drug habit? make a buy? >> you know, they gotta get money. and the best way to do that is -- is burglaries, you know? get the quick cash. >> reporter: did you have trouble with drugs at the time? >> i won't say trouble, but it was -- >> reporter: you were a regular customer, huh? >> i mean, it was a social thing.

we'd be -- being dumb and young, that's all. >> reporter: smokin' weed, or harder stuff, michael? >> ah, smokin' weed and a little harder stuff, pills, things like that. >> reporter: this is methadone? >> yeah. uh-huh. yes, sir. >> reporter: with michael's presence on the scene, and drugs now in the equation, edmunds' team brought him down to their substation for questioning. >> now, i'm gonna be point-blank with ya, if you knew anything about this you would tell me right? >> absolutely. >> when was the last time you took some methadone? >> today. >> today? >> uh-huh. >> reporter: so michael had used methadone on the morning of kay parsons' murder. now investigators wanted to know more about where exactly he was when the assault happened. michael said his mom becky had dropped him off at a jobsite just before 7am to do some house painting. >> when did ya tell your mom you had this paint job? when did you tell her you were -- >> told her a little while ago. this mornin'. >> reporter: but here's the thing. he didn't do any house painting that day. and he initially lied to his mom and investigators about working. >> and the whole reason you lied

to us was because you didn't want your mom to find out that you didn't really have a job? >> yes, sir. >> that just that blows my mind. >> reporter: and there was something else that really troubled investigators. if michael was the attacker, he had cleaned himself up before deputies got there. he had no blood on his clothes or visible wounds. but he did have something else. >> i asked him to let me see the bottom of his shoes. and as he lifted his shoes up, i saw small pieces of glass stuck in the bottom of his tennis shoes. and that glass was the same type of glass from the back door at kay parsons' house. >> reporter: in the interrogation room michael couldn't explain how the glass from the murder scene got there. >> as far as glass that was found in your shoes, how can you explain that? >> glass in my shoes? >> uh-huh. >> i guess -- i don't know. maybe -- i guess i don't know. i really don't know. >> reporter: so, what's he doin' with that glass under foot, huh? >> that's what i want to know.

that's what i wanna know. >> reporter: investigators talked to michael's brother chris the son who'd arrived at the scene later with their mother becky. chris seemed to have his life together in a way that michael didn't he had a job even his own house. that morning he was helping his mom at the therapy center where she worked. >> your mom picks you up about what time? >> i got up at 7:00, brushed my teeth. she -- she pulled up 7:10. >> then you go to work with her? >> yes. >> reporter: then they asked him about michael. chris said he knew his brother took drugs but he said michael wouldn't have killed anyone. >> do you think your brother did this? or do you think somebody? >> absolutely not. i don't think my brother has it in his heart. >> i just want to make sure that -- that -- that at this point, brotherly love is not outweighin' common sense. >> well -- >> because i just saw some stuff in your brother just talkin' to him for about 20 minutes. and i'm sittin' there goin', "what?" people get on methadone. they don't have any money. and they not workin'. >> well -- >> how they gonna get money? >> i -- i -- i agree on that.

>> well, out of everybody that your brother hangs around with -- >> who would be the most likely to do somethin' -- >> yes, uh-huh. yeah, yeah. >> like that? you might need to get a bigger piece of paper. because of those drugs, man. >> i'd go for seventeen hours. >> reporter: so michael's brother confirmed the troubled young man ran with a shady crowd. investigators were all ears. >> reporter: does his association with the house, his back story, make him a person of interest to you? >> he's definitely a person of interest. >> reporter: the deputies kept michael at the station for nearly three hours but they didn't hold him that day. he gave them a number for his alibi witness that friend he'd gone to see that morning. would he vouch for michael? coming up another mystery. >> we had some blank checks in one of our offices that disappeared.

and a new theory of the crime. when "dateline" continues.

>> reporter: sheriff's deputies were now zeroing in on michael bowers as a person of interest in the murder of kay parsons, his mother's best friend. >> with the glass in his shoe, him being the one showing up at the house, finding the burglary and his past history of drugs.

and you know, drugs and burglaries go hand in hand. >> reporter: investigators believed that kay was beaten at her home in a narrow window of time between 7:10am and 7:20am that morning. but michael said he didn't arrive at the scene until 8:30. and said he had an alibi for the time before that. he'd been hanging out, he said, with a friend named anthony. >> reporter: what's the story he tells you about that day? >> we pull -- we pull anthony in and we -- we interview him and -- and anthony's, he's a character. he -- he's pretty lively. he's very talkative. >> he hadn't had time to talk to michael. we knew michael hadn't talked to him. >> reporter: so you got two unvarnished stories, this might work out. they haven't had a chance to compare notes. >> exactly. >> what time michael get to your house? >> roughly. >> you awake, sleep, what? >> i was up. i was up. well, i was laying back down. i was laid down on the couch, getting ready to go back to sleep. i didn't expect him that early. but -- >> but you were expecting him? >> yeah. he said he was gonna come over. >> how long was he there? >> till -- from when he got there, which was roughly 6:45 till 8:27 on the dot. >> they were pretty consistent.

you know, anthony was -- his -- his time was pretty consistent with -- with michael's. but we still, you know, we -- we didn't know if they were in this together or -- or what. >> angel was on. that's what i watch in the morning. and some -- >> you watch -- you watch the episode of angel wednesday morning? that hour? tell me what you -- >> no, actually, i talked to michael for pretty much the entire hour. but angel was on the boob tube. >> reporter: as he sat in the interview room, investigators didn't know what to make of this talkative character. so they hooked anthony up to a polygraph machine. and asked him again where he and michael were that morning. >> you didn't even come close to passing that polygraph. >> i'm sorry. but i'm not lying about it. i told him i'd take another one. i mean i'm, if i was lying, why the hell would i have said i'd take it? >> well, stranger things have happened. >> i'm sure. >> yeah. >> well, i'm telling the truth. so it is what it is. i mean i -- i don't know what to tell you, sir. but you can -- i'll give you whatever you want, you know, blood. they already took my mouth, so -- >> yeah. >> but i didn't do any of this, man. >> reporter: anthony repeated

over and over that he had nothing to do with kay parsons' murder. didn't even know her. >> dude, i'm trying to be as straight up with you guys as possible. i mean -- >> well, and that -- and that's what i want. that's what i want. >> yes, sir. i'm -- i'm not gonna lie about it. i want you to catch the guy. i just -- i don't want you looking at me like i did the [ bleep ]. 'cause i ain't -- dude, i ain't real cool with you. i don't think it's a really -- you know, if you or me or -- or some guy got hurt, that's one thing. you know? but not a lady. you know? not somebody's mom. >> reporter: and he started to put the finger more on michael. >> he knows something. well, i don't but i don't rightly know. >> what do you mean? what does he know? >> i don't know what he knows. dude, look, you're not catching me up in something. he knows something. >> what does he -- >> he saw something, he did something, one of the above. >> i would assume if michael or any of his people had sumpin' to do with it it's for dope. they're gonna have enough sense to [ bleep ] be able to beat, what, an entire team of investigators? i doubt it, dude. i doubt it. i figure, by the time everybody's d.n.a. comes back, 'cause i know i'm not the only swab you got, somebody'll get caught up.

>> so you -- you -- you're completely confident your d.n.a. is not in that house anywhere? >> i know it's not. i know it's not. >> he -- he keeps saying, you know, "i -- i didn't do anything so i don't have anything to worry about." >> reporter: but was he in fact on your list at that point? >> oh, he -- he was, you know. he was, he put himself with michael. >> well, i think you know a little bit more than you're telling me. >> sir, i don't. i -- i -- i've -- i'm giving you pearls, man. i'm giving you all i got. i -- i've told you guys everything i know. i know that he came over. i know exactly when he left. i know i was at my house. that's all i know. >> reporter: for all his questions, investigator edmunds ultimately had nothing on anthony. a failed polygraph isn't evidence, and nothing connected him to the crime. but they were still looking at michael, and there was the inevitable question of motive. sure, michael was open about his drug use, but that didn't entirely explain why he would savagely beat his mom's best friend. >> my bookkeeper came to me and said "we've got some issues here."

>> reporter: jurgen cowling has a story to tell about michael. becky and kay both worked for him at healing hands physical therapy center, and sometimes michael would do odd jobs at the office too. >> michael would come in and do some more, we had some flooring that'd be put in, some carpet. and then he would come in and assist. >> reporter: but after a while people in the office started to notice something. >> we had some blank checks in -- in one of our offices that disappeared. >> reporter: becky and kay's boss says the checks went missing while michael had been doing some cleaning in the office. >> so i -- i pull -- becky in. she said she sat down with michael and talked about it. and, of course, michael said, "yes, it was me." >> reporter: how much money was stolen in that incident? >> about 800 bucks. >> reporter: 800 bucks? >> yeah, three or four checks, about 800 bucks. >> reporter: and it was all michael. and he 'fessed up to it, huh? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: so becky must have been, what, em -- embarrassed? >> you could tell she was really distraught. >> reporter: the healing hands boss agreed with becky that he wouldn't report the incident to police, as long as michael never came back there. but had becky's friend and co-worker kay found out about

the stolen check funny-business? could that have led to a conflict between michael and kay? but, here's the thing, the authorities wouldn't even learn about the "healing hands" theft for months to come. even without that story about the theft, michael was shaping up to be a prime suspect in the murder. >> it wasn't looking real good for him. things started -- started piling up. >> reporter: then something happened that would stand the investigation on its head more violence, more mayhem, with another sudden attack. looking to save even more money on your medicare part d prescriptions? at walgreens, we'll help you save more with copays as low as $0

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>> reporter: two neighbors. two break-ins. a gruesome murder and one son under the white hot spotlight of suspicion. but there was at least one person who stood squarely behind michael. becky's good friend, michelle amerson, knew all about michael's struggle with drugs. still, she wouldn't accept that he had anything to do with kay's murder. >> did you wonder, "well, i wonder what's going on? is there something about this boy i didn't know? " >> no, i didn't really. because, knowing michael i didn't -- i knew that, you know, he wasn't --wouldn't do anything like that. >> reporter: then just 36 hours into the murder investigation another attack. this time a shooting. just ten miles from the crime scene on hot springs drive. >> 911 . >> somebody came out from behind the trees and he shot me. >> reporter: sergeant steven douglas was dispatched to the scene. >> my partner and i received a phone call from the road patrol division in reference to a woman who had apparently been the

victim of an armed robbery as she was leaving work that evening. and had apparently been shot in the process. >> do you know where you're hit at? >> my legs. >> reporter: the location of the shooting sounded familiar. >> what's the name of your office? >> it's healing hands physical therapy. >> reporter: so did the name of the victim. >> what's your name? >> becky sears. >> reporter: becky sears, the best friend and co-worker of murder victim kay parsons. >> that is kind of a holy cow moment. this is the same woman next door to this house where there'd been a vicious beating. >> yes. it seemed an odd set of coincidences. >> so this is the back door of healing hands? >> this is the back door of the business that we got called to. >> reporter: as the sergeant pulled up to the scene, he learned becky had been working late on the company payroll. she was heading to her car when she was jumped. >> apparently when she had turned around, an unknown male subject wearing dark clothes and a white baseball cap rushed out of the bushes at her, with a

firearm, demanding his money or next time it was going to be her face. >> reporter: that's when the assailant shot becky in the legs. >> the subject apparently didn't rob her, didn't take anything from her, but turned around and ran back into the bushes the way that he came. >> she's not known for doing the night deposits with cash. there's no cash here. >> exactly. not at this time of night. >> what's the target, what are you going to get? has to be personal. >> i would think so. >> reporter: emts transported becky to the local hospital. it didn't take long for the troubling news to reach becky's friend michelle. >> did you talk to becky on the phone after she'd been shot? >> i did. i just asked her, was she ok? and she said "i am." she said, "you know, just tryin' to get thru this." >> she's your friend, you're worried, huh? >> yes, worried about her. >> reporter: so was tamara baldwin. first kay now becky? >> it just, it did not make sense to me. >> what in the world was goin' on? >> that's what i wanted to know. >> reporter: sheriff's deputies immediately canvassed the neighborhood, looking for anyone matching becky's description of the shooter. >> so you have a gunman on the

ground on the loose. >> right. >> what are you doing on that score? >> we had started sending units out to see if anybody had seen anything, see if anybody heard any gunshots. see if anybody saw anybody matching the description of the suspect. and we were not able to find anything. >> reporter: the only forensic evidence douglas could find in the parking lot was the .25 caliber slug that grazed becky's legs. >> her shoes were still laying there. >> we found a spent shell casing, and then we had also found the actual projectile itself, right on the edge of the sidewalk. >> and you didn't find a tossed weapon in the vicinity? >> no, no weapons. >> reporter: the shooter had vanished without a trace. >> but you had more questions, didn't you? >> we did indeed. >> reporter: but those questions would be left for jimmy edmunds, whose investigation into kay parsons's murder had suddenly become a lot more complex. >> here i've got two neighbors, you know, one has been beaten to death and the other one has just gotten shot. and they both worked at healing hands. >> do you believe that the gunman who has wounded becky is

also the person who's broken in and fatally beaten miss parsons? >> of course that comes to mind. i mean, of course it does. it's just too much of a coincidence. >> reporter: and nothing about this shooting took the heat off becky's son michael. >> what's the working theory? >> the working theory still is, michael's still pretty high up on the list. somebody's looking for some money. somebody owes somebody some money. >> reporter: edmunds had some tough, personal questions for becky about her son michael. thankfully the wounds to becky's legs were superficial. so edmunds grabbed his note pad, and his tape recorder, and headed to the hospital. >> becky, she's in the hospital bed. >> right. >> not too badly injured. >> not too badly injured. when i'm talkin' to her, she's, you know, she's really hurting. >> reporter: the investigator then asked becky for details about shooting. >> what did he say to you? >> who? >> the guy that shot you? >> he wanted his money or next time it would be my face. >> what money is he talking about? >> i have no idea. we did not owe anybody any money.

>> does michael? >> not that i know of. >> i don't want you dead next. >> i don't think michael knows. unless he owes money from the past, i don't think he owes any money now. >> reporter: to edmunds, becky sounded like a mom unwilling or unable to wrap her head around the possibility of her son's involvement in a murder. >> i think he's trying to stay away from all of that to get out -- to better himself. >> reporter: edmunds spun through the possibilities -- was becky in denial? was she covering up for her son? or was he heading down the wrong path with michael altogether. he decided to cast a wider net. >> is there some -- any relationships you're not telling us about? >> like? >> you haven't had any problems with anybody? >> no, nobody. >> family problems? >> reporter: that's when becky revealed an intimate detail from her recent past. she and her husband tony had gone through a rough patch in

their marriage. >> i mean my husband and i were having some problems, which we were thankfully working out. >> do you have any relationships on the side? >> i did. >> how long has that been? >> how long has it been over? >> yeah. >> three months. >> reporter: suddenly, added to the mix of a brutal murder and a bizarre shooting was this admission of an extra marital romance. >> i mean it wasn't like it was a long lasting thing. it was just a couple of months long. >> reporter: edmunds didn't press becky any further about the affair. a hospital room immediately following a shooting was neither the time nor the place. but the investigator was intrigued. he left becky wondering who the "other man" was. >> i knew there was somethin' there. i just couldn't -- just couldn't figure out what yet. >> turned out there was? >> there was. yeah, there was. there was some secrets. >> reporter: coming up -- in a love triangle, someone always ends up hurt -- or worse.

>> reporter: when dateline continues.