>> we love you, dar! >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." thank you for watching. >> this is "dateline." >> she was crying and ng.cryi i said, what's wrong? and she says debbie's dead. we all wanted to believe that it was an accident. there's no possible way he could do this on purpose. >> a dark house, a husband with a gun, a wife dead on the floor. >> make sure sha she is still breathing. >> i don't think she is, damn it. >> there is no question who killed her. the mystery was why. >> i hear the door squeaking and

i hear the grumbling and i hear the dog growling. >> how could you not tell it was your wife? >> it was dark. ? he kept saying it was an accident. >> others disagree. >> we never for a second believed that he didn't know who was in front of him. >> was it a tragic mistake or cold-blooded murder? >> the emotions are only done in front of the detective. they're not done when he's alone. a room too dark to see or a story too hard to believe? >> there was nothing accidental about what he did. >> a shot in the dark and doubt in the light of day. >> the love of your life. >> yes. >> the person you loved better than anybody else. >> yes, sir. >> and you can't tell it's her when you pull that trigger.

welcome to "dateline." theirs was a marriage of opposites. she the hard charging businesswoman, he the easy going contractor. and yet somehow debbie kelly made it work or so it seemed until a gunshot ripped through the night leaving debbie dead and a family wracked with doubt. was her case a case of mistaken identity or the bloody end to a marriage gone bad? here's andrea with the silhouette. >> what happened inside this house would destroy eveing the woman who lived there had worked for. she finally had it all. the career, the dream home, the marriage she'd waited so long for. >> there was a brightness in her eye. >> i trusted that she knew her heart. >> they were in love. there was no other way around it. >> her life now complete,

fulfilled, safe. >> we never worried about her. >> but was it all an illusion? >> send an ambulance, please. >> what happened that morning in the predawn hours in the dark? >> right in the freaking chest. the women at this san antonio racket club say you can tell a lot about a person by the way they play tennis. >> i think tennis in general just really brings out your personality. >> tennis brings out either the best or the worst in you. >> as for who had the best character at their club, the answer comes as fast as a serena williams' serve, their friend, debbie kelly. >> debbie for me was kind of the whole package of a person. fair, fun, and a great leader. >> debbie fiercely independent, driven. >> always wanted to be a career woman. >> she climbed the corporate

ladder in health care. her mom and dad jim and ann kelly marvelled at her commitment. >> she spent many, many hours traveling and many hours working overtime. >> but debbie hadn't found as much success in her personal life. she got married in her 20s but it didn't work out. now in her 40s and dedicated to her career, there was little time to look for the right guy. >> is it hard to date? >> it was hard for her to date. >> so in 2008 debbie took a new job that allowed her to focus a little more on her personal life. that's when she got serious about her tennis game. >> she was a little bit of a tiger. >> that's how she met this bunch. betty pace, kelly and ellen mitchell. >> she was not a big person but all of her went up and the hair would fly up and she would smash that ball. >> the ladies clicked off the court too, bonding over post match drinks. >> she had a great laugh.

just her whole body laughs. she had a funny quirky side. >> so i've heard that she was very private. would she talk about dating and guys with you all or -- >> not with me. she just wasn't one to talk about herself, period. but i was always trying to find her somebody. >> how did she receive betty the match maker. >> she'd always be like oh, no. >> debbie was ready to plant some permanent roots. she bought a house in a gated community and began to remodel it on her own. she told her friend all about it. >> was she like an hgtv type of girl? >> yes, oh, my gosh. hey, i'm going to home depot and she's working on the sprinkler system or she's deciding on materials for the floor. >> but the busy executive couldn't do everything herself. so in 2012 she hired a contractor. his name was lars itso.

but once work got underway he seemed in no hurry to finish the job. >> she's like i wish this person would finish. >> but lars' siblings says he wasn't dragging things out for the money, he had an ulterior motive. >> he goes yeah, she keeps flirting and talking and we're laughing and having a good time. >> lars liked debbie and he thought it was mutual. >> he goes, can i ask her out? i'm like, yeah, why can't you? >> so began an unlikely courtship between debbie, the petite power house and lars, the 6'2" key man. >> they were cute. they were goofy. >> debbie got a kick out of lars' laid back ways. just a guy into old school board games, restoring muscle cars and drinking texas' home grown soft drink, dr. pepper. >> about a case a day? >> at least a 12 pack, i know. >> i've never heard of someone

drinking that much dr. pepper. >> i thought it would kill him. doesn't drink a lot of alcohol at all. just dr. pepper. >> and when private debbie brought lars out to meet her friends they knew it was serious. >> he arrived with her hand in hand. >> sure. they noticed lars was a different sort of match for their friend. >> he's very quiet. he's got the blond hair that would go with being named lars. he seemed like a surfer big man. >> but to debbie, he was the right man. >> i felt like she was really in love with him. >> i can understand her thinking maybe it's time to try something just different. >> and pretty soon, that something different was official. after a year of dating, debbie and lars were engaged. >> so baby brother finally settled down. >> he did. and he was happy. never seen him that happy.

>> they married soon after at this chapel in arkansas. >> how beautiful did she look on her wedding day. >> the main thing is she looked so happy. that was really important to me. >> debbie and lars embraced the contented rhythms of married life, spending weekends with family, enjoying the outdoors and her dog cody, but after two years together, things started to change. debbie got a coveted promotion to vice president. >> that was going to entail more traveling and a lot more working too. >> big responsibilities, more pay, but less time at home. less time with lars. october 9th, 2015, debbie recently back from a business trip went to bed early for a morning tennis game. debbie's beloved cody slept on the floor beside her. the shades were down. lars joined them a little past midnight. four hour passed and then --

>> san antonio 911. >> oh, just had a gunshot. >> what had happened in that texas home? coming up -- >> i thought there was a burglar in the house. >> danger in the night and the confrontation in the dark. oh, baby. >> when "dateline," continues. and it only takes one mosquito bite to transmit it. that's why you need to protect your dog with heartgard plus. just one real beef chew given once a month, every month, helps keep your dog safe all year long. test dogs for infection prior to use. in rare cases digestive and neurological side effects have been reported. for more information contact your vet. get your dog out of hiding. ask your vet about heartgard plus. the vet's # 1 choice non-drowsy children's claritin allergy relief. the #1 pediatrician recommended non-drowsy brand.

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4:13 a.m., lars itso called 911. >> i'm a male, she's a female. will you send an ambulance, please. >> that female was debbie, shot and gravely wounded. >> i want you to walk over to her and make sure that she is still breathing. >> oh, i don't think she is, damn it. >> the 911 operator guided lars through cpr. >> kneel beside her. >> oh, baby, oh, man. right in the freaking chest. >> police raced up to the house, dash cams rolling. the audio kept recording as they entered the house.

they found lars standing over debbie's body back by the bedroom. >> go ahead and back up, please. >> as an officer tended to debbie lars tried to explain why the shooting happened. >> i thought there were multiple people in the house. i heard voices and i was in bed. >> and where did you hear the voices at? >> up front. >> the front? you heard the voices, what happened? >> i thought my wife was in bed with me. >> okay. >> i grabbed my shotgun. >> as emts took over trying to save debbie lars went with police down to the station. they urgently needed more details. where were the intruders? were they armed? what did lars know? what exactly did he do? sitting in the interview room wrapped in cody's dog blanket lars took them through what happened step by step. he said he was awakened around

4:00 a.m. by strange noises in the house. >> i hear the front door or the door squeaking, and i hear the grumbling and i hear the dog growling. >> he said he'd never heard cody growl before so he was instantly on alert. >> did you think they were male voices or female voices? >> they were male. >> lars says he moved toward the sound that he heard with his shotgun in hand. he reached this tiny hallway where he says he saw a silhouette standing in front of him about 3 feet away. he made the split second decision to fire his gun fearing for his life. all of this happening, he says, in the pitch black darkness. >> how far away were you from them? >> me to you. >> okay. >> but the person lars shot was not an intruder. it was debbie. police quickly determined that the only shot fired in the house came from lars' gun. he said it was an accident. a case of mistake identity.

>> everything happened so fast. >> never theless -- >> any kind of infidelties going on with you and her. >> no, sir, i trusted her completely. >> lars answered each of the investigators' questions. in return, he just wanted to know one thing. >> nobody has told me anything about if she's all right. >> so after two hours of talking, they broke the news. >> i don't know how to tell you this, but your wife didn't make it. >> okay. >> she is deceased. >> just before 10:00 a.m. police let lars go. ken and christie remember their younger brother that morning overwhelmed with grief. >> he was completely hurt. shattered. you know, he -- he was broken.

>> in those hours after wards, what was he talking about? >> he really wasn't talking. >> he was just in shock. if he opened his mouth he broke down. across town debbie's tennis friends were out on the court waiting for her to start that early morning match. one of their husbands came out to tell them about debbie. >> so he called me over and said that lars had shot her. >> what are you thinking when you hear that? >> it was really surreal. i couldn't comprehend, how could somebody shoot somebody? it didn't make any sense to me. >> in arkansas, jim and ann kelly learned the news from their son. >> that's the worst news that a mother could ever hear. how does your brain process that information? >> i don't think you do. i couldn't process the shooting part i guess, just that she was gone.

and part of me died the day she died. >> just kept saying not debbie, not debbie. not deb. >> debbie's parents flew to san antonio to spend time with lars, to support him in their shared grief. >> he could hardly talk. he seemed extremely remorseful. >> was he saying everything that you would want to hear, like i messed -- i did it, i'm sorry. >> he apologized profusely for it and said it was just an accident. it was dark. >> some people might be really angry, but you didn't go down that road. >> we did not go down that road. we supported him. >> but that support was about to be put to the test. >> coming up -- >> i know that she was frustrated. >> how strong was that marriage? how dark was that night? >> that's your wife. height, weight, shape, how can you not tell that's your wife? >> when "dateline" continues.

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lars itso admitted he fatally shot his wife debbie but said it was a terrible accident. from the very beginning he cooperated with police, answered every question, no lawyer present. then about eight hours after that first conversation about the shooting, lars headed back to the station and sat down for

a polygraph test. >> he volunteered to go do it. he said i'll take a polygraph. >> because he said he didn't do anything wrong. >> but the polygraph indicated lars was deceptive in some of his answers. his brother and sister said it was perfectly understandable. >> well, he's nervous. he's in shock. you know -- >> he couldn't even get his name right, his birth date, where he was born. >> maybe so, but his performance on the polygraph was enough for detectives to grill him re relentle relentlessly. >> how could you not tell that was a woman sf? >> it was dark, sir. >> how could lars fail to recognize debbie three feet away. >> how could you not fell that's your wife? >> it was dark. >> you understand how lame that sounds, lars? >> it's true. >> you're 36 inches from a human being and you can't tell it's your wife?

no room is completely dark. there's going to be a light from every room. there may not be much but there's enough to see a shape. you obviously saw something because you fired the gun. >> i said i see the shape. >> lars insisted he thought there were intruders in the house and he and debbie were in danger. >> i thought there was somebody else in the house going down the hallway the other direction. i thought this was coming at me this way. that's what i think. >> what made you think that because your dog growled? >> yes, sir. he never growls. he barks. >> there was no witness or apparent evidence to contradict him. after an hour of questioning, police once again let lars go. six days later he said his final good-bye to debbie, her parents by his side. >> how was lars at the funeral? >> very composed, very reserved. he stood up with me --

>> what did that say that the family was supporting him? >> that said a lot. it was great. >> debbie's friends weren't nearly as supportive. did you say anything to him? >> no, i did not. >> they were furious at lars for doing something so stupid, so careless. everything he did bothered him. even his taste in flower arrangements that day like the one pictured here. >> there was a wreath at the front that was a huge flower heart and in the middle of it it was broken with these lines. so it was this broken heart and it actually looked like a heart beat and it was in such poor taste. >> she was actually shot in the heart? >> well, it penetrated the lining of her heart, yes. >> as family and friends tried to sort out their feelings, police reviewed the case. looking to see if this was a crime or not since even an accident can warrant criminal

charges. and sure enough. >> reporter: 11 da-- 11 days afe shot debbie he was charged with manslaughter. prosecutors carl alexander and leo gonzales caught the case. >> why did manslaughter fit? >> manslaughter is defined in the texas penal code as causing the death recklessly of an individual. essentially that's what it boils down to. it was somehow, somewhat of an accident. >> lars was released on bail. debbie's parents continued to support him. >> manslaughter still in our understanding would be an accident. okay? and so we go forward from there. >> but as the days without debbie stretched into weeks, something cooled in their relationship. >> he starts changing in my conversations with him and connections with him. and not so forthcoming. if i ask him something he kind of holds back. >> lars' scissioner said his behavior could be explained. he had sunk into a deep

depression. >> he kept saying he wanted debbie back. he was sorry. >> investigators looked into the couple's finances. debbie's assets totaled more than a million dollars when she died. her dad was named the beneficiary on both of mher investment accounts solars had little to gain by killing her. still the whispers continued among debbie's friends who told investigators there was another side to the marriage. >> i know she was frustrated. >> even simple things caused tepgs. >> lars the contractor was slow to finish projects around the house. >> she did send a picture of what lars did in the bathroom and the measurements were incorrect and so it ended up making a whole -- she goes, i just want my bathroom fixed. >> she would express frustrations about lars sitting around on the couch all day and

watching tv. >> debbie's friend, ellen mitchell noticed a change in debbie's behavior when she returned home from business trips. >> she would come home from some of these trips and say hey, let's go, you know, get a drink. let's have some dinner. and your expectation would be i want to get home to my husband. she didn't seem to be in any particular hurry anymore. >> looking back now, debbie's parents wondered if the marriage frayed the modern woman wasn't meeting lars' old fashioned expectations. >> she was not the time to stay home and bake cookies or walk in the door and serve you a male because she had worked just as hard too. >> and all these friends, she goes and spends tennis time, does things, maybe you feel like you're getting shortchanged. >> he wanted more of debbie. >> he did want more of debbie. >> all marriages have problems, very few and this badly.

so investigators decided to take an even closer look at the husband who pulled the trigger. >> coming up, lars seemed upset. was he? >> his fits of emotion are only done in front of the detective. they're not done when he's alone. >> when "date looline" continue. treat mucus buildup early with #1 doctor recommended mucinex 12 hour. the bi-layer tablet immediately releases to thin and loosen excess mucus and lasts for 12 hours. learn more at mucinex.com treat excess mucus with mucinex 12 hour and enjoy living well. happiness is powerful flea and tick protection from nexgard. nexgard kills fleas and ticks all month long. and it comes in an easy-to-give tasty chew.

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>> here's what's happening. north korea state media has anoungsed that kim jong un is suspending the nuclear testing in long range missile launches. president trump calls the developmentes very good news for north korea and the world. the president says he's looking forward to the sup upcoming summit with north korea. and in houston today some 1,500 people are expected to attend the funeral for former first lady barbara bush. now back to "dateline."

as 2015 gave way to 2016, investigators weren't so sure debbie kelly had been happy in her marriage to lars itso. and they took a closer look at the circumstances of her death. they pulled all those recorderirecordings from the day of the shooting. even things he didn't do starting with the 911 call. this is lars in the first moments of that call. >> i had a gunshot fired. i thought somebody was in the house. my wife. >> and you did shot somebody? >> yes, ma'am. >> and what is yr name sir? >> my name is lars itso. , man. >> what do you make of this tone from lars? >> he's not really that upset about what he'd just done. >> i thought he was having more of an awe shucks moment as opposed to an oh, my god moment i just shot my wife.

>> but lars became frantic, hyper ventilating, moaning. >> oh, my love. >> the question, was it for real? >> the way he switched up emotions from when he starts doing cpr, it sounded a lot like mouth breathing. it sounded like overacting. >> and investigators also noticed how lars' story evolved over just a few hours. on the 911 call he set the scene this way. >> i don't know what it was. i just -- i seen light, and i heard movement. i thought she was right next to me when i got up out of bed. >> to responding officers he changed the order of events telling him he saw that light after he got out of bed. >> i got to the door, i see a flash of light coming from the front of the house. >> and lars added various new details to his story.

in his interview down at the station, lars revised his story again. that's when he said he woke to the front door squeaking. and offered for the first time this description of how he realized he'd shot debbie. >> i hear this groaning and i knew it was my wife. >> during those interviews lars appeared heart broken, at times falling apart. >> he was described as pacing in the blanket. he was mumbling, he was moaning. >> at various times, yes. >> is that not the -- what a husband should do after something like that? it sounds normal. >> well, that's the thing. it sounds normal but when the detective looks at him and he doesn't see any tears that doesn't jive with everything else. these bits of emotion are only done in front of the detective. they're not done when he's alone. >> what was he doing when officer wrs not watching him. >> sat in this manner, sleeping at moments. >> and sipping his signature drink, dr. pepper.

free on bail, lars understood he was still under the microscope. >> it was difficult. he didn't sleep much. >> watching lars suffer was torture for ken and christie. they knew how much their brother loved debbie and how dark and confusing that house could be at night. >> you felt it was important that we come to the house now. >> yes, i did. >> why? >> because no one realizes how dark it was. >> we're here, it's around 4:00 in the morning. >> yes, it is. >> this was lars and debbie's bedroom. >> the bed was on this wall. ken walked us through the story lars told him countless times. >> he wasn't sure what he was seeing. he thought it was an intruder, maybe two. >> there's the thought of well, debbie's only 5'3". she's blond. she was wearing a light t-shirt. how could he not see his own wife? >> at 4:00 in the morning you don't see anything. it's dark and i don't think size, weight or complexion matters at 4:00 in the morning

when you're awakened by a noise and your dog is growling. >> ken wanted us to experience it with the lights off. >> let's do it. >> so let's shut the light off. at first it was pitch black. but as my eyes adjusted, i could make out something. i can see a little bit of a silhouette, but i cannot see your face. i'm going to turn the light back on. i believe i was standing about where lars was standing. you were standing about where debbie was standing. i will say he would be able to see the height of the person if he has similar eyes to me. >> and that depiction means absolutely nothing at 4:00 in the morning. >> what's your reaction to that? does that change anything? >> by her size alone he should have known it was her. a silhouette, i mean, 3 feet away, he should have known that that was his wife. >> prosecutors believed it simply was not as dark that morning as lars claimed and said photos from inside the house proved it.

>> this is the big picture windows. the drapes were never pulled back. >> and just circle where the shooting happened. >> it would have been over here. >> these are the windows the prosecution made such a big deal about. even the curtains are exactly the way they were the morning of the incident. they believed ambient light would have had to have seeped through these windows from neighborhood streets, from homes, even the night sky. >> prosecutors believed that ambient light was enough for lars to see debbie's silhouette. they factored in his inconsistent behavior. his shifting story. >> when you put it all together there was nothing accidental about what he did. >> five months of debbie's death the state made its move. >> had you all kind of thought maybe this was going to go away since so much time had passed? >> i was kind of hoping it would. >> instead on march 3rd, 2016, lars itso was rearrested. the charge this time, murder.

>> coming up, a very thirsty suspect. >> i enjoy dr. pepper now and again but i don't want to drink dr. pepper when my hands are covered in my wife's blood. >> but does that make lars a murderer? when "dateline" continues. advil pm gives tossing and turning a rest and silences aches and pains. fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer with advil pm. hi dad. no. edon't try to get up. hi, i'm julie, a right at home caregiver. and if i'd been caring for tom's dad, i would have noticed some dizziness that could lead to balance issues.

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was larss itso a loving husband who made a deadly

mistake or a killer trying to cover his tracks? that was the central question as the people versus larss itso began in december 2016. the stakes were high. if lars was convicted of murder he could face up to 99 years in prison. if he was convicted of manslaughter as few as 2. >> we never for a second believed that he didn't know who that was standing in front of hem. >> but the prosecutors knew proving intentional murder wouldn't be easy. >> especially in this case though where you have someone saying i did it, i confess, but it was an accident. i loved my wife. >> yeah, we were aware of that and we were willing to accept that challenge. >> lars' attorneys believed their client. and thought the jury would too. >> this was simply a terrible accident. >> when i first met lars, i could see his remorse and after speaking with him, i said, this man didn't do anything on

purpose. >> your honor, at this time i'd offer into evidence -- >> the plos cushirosecution sta in dramatic fashion. they played the 911 call in front of the jury. as the tape rolled lars shook with emotion. and the prosecutors wondered is it really remorse? >> i've seen that face and it usually involves just before a dirty diaper. >> he had that expression of bearing down and you never saw a tear. >> the first officer on the scene that night. he testified that lars didn't look like a man who had been doing cpr on his wife. >> he was clean. >> what do you mean by clean? >> he didn't have blood on his body. once they saw him doing some cpr he had blood on his hands. >> the sobbing noises, you know,

just -- >> ever see a tear? >> no. >> they played that video of lars at the police station to show how he seemed to keep adding details to his story of the shooting. >> i don't know if i felt her or not. i just reached out and -- >> and how in the midst of tragedy lars still had the presence of mind to ask for his favorite bench. >> i enjoy dr. pepper every now and again but i don't want to drink a dr. pepper when my hands are covered in my wife's blood. he doesn't even seem to take notice of that. there was one point in the video where he actually sees it and kind of wipes it off on the blanket. no big deal. whatever. little debbie. it's cool. >> the prosecution's case revolved around this question, around 4:00 a.m. in a dark house, could lars see well enough to know who he was shooting? liz, a frequent house guest of debbie and lars testified she

could easily see at night in their home. >> there was enough light coming through the big windows that i could find my way. >> and debbie was only three feet away when lars shot her. prosecutor carl alexander wanted to show the jury just how close that is. >> that close? >> what was the experience? >> terrifying. i'm a gun owner. one of the absolute cardinal rules of using a firearm is you do not point the barrel at anything you do not intend to destroy, ever. i knew it was unloaded but in that moment, my pulse skyrocketed. >> he wanted the jury to think hard. no matter how dark it was, wouldn't you recognize your own spouse? >> he knows her scent, he knows her sound, he knows her shape. and he knew who that was in front of him. >> after laying out how lars killed debbie, the prosecution thought the jury would want to know why. what was the motive? the couple, they said, had hit a

breaking point. liz testified that her hard charging multitasking friend debbie found larss a little too laid back. >> there was always a project and it was taking a long time. >> who was doing the project? >> lars. >> so would it be fair to say she was frustrate with lars? >> yes, sir. >> the prosecutors told the jury this marriage of opposites became too lopsided for lars to handle. >> she took time to play tennis, work was very important, she took time out to go have dinner with friends and family. he wasn't a factor. >> basically she didn't consider him enough to be a part of her normal everyday life. >> they said lars wants more from debbie and when he didn't get it he got rid of her instead. >> this is a new one for me, one of the possible motives that was brought up, that lars was old school and was upset that debbie

did not take his last name. >> she was a professional woman and she was very driven and i think that's part of why she didn't take his name. she kept everything separate. >> including her bank accounts. she never put lars' name on them. >> this was not about money. >> no, it wasn't. i think it really has to do with he loved her more than she loved him. >> when its turn came the defense said of course lars lov loved debbie which is exactly why he did not murder her. >> lars accidentally shot and killed the love of his life. what he is guilty of is making the most horrific mistake of his entire life. >> and they called a reluctant surprise witness, debbie's own mother who's early support for lars had wayned. she did not want to testify on his behalf. >> i didn't take it well. i actually started screaming at

the attorney. >> but ann took the stand. lars' attorney showed her a check she once wrote to debbie. debbie itso. proof that independent debbie sometimes went by her married name. they called lars' friends to say the couple's marriage was solid. >> how would you describe his relationship with debbie? >> perfect. it was very good. >> you ever notice any sense of conflict? >> no. >> christy itso explained how her normally stoic brother was overcome with profound grief. >> he was crying, he was curled up in a ball. he grabbed me. we cried for like 20 minutes. and all they wanted was debbie back. >> but the defense knew their case hinged on one thing, lars' state of mind the moment he pulled the trigger.

>> i need you to raise your right hand. >> and there was only one person who could tell that to the jury. coming up, a grieving husband or a lying one? >> the love of your life? >> yes. >> the person you know better than anybody else. >> yes, sir. >> yes. >> and you can't tell this jury you pulled that trigger. >> when "dateline" continues. thou hast the patchy beard of a pre-pubescent squire! thy armor was forged by a feeble-fingered peasant woman... your mom! as long as hecklers love to heckle, you can count on geico saving folks money. boring! fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. from potentially deadly heartworm disease.de threat ierywhere and it only takes one mosquito bite to transmit it. that's why you need to protect your dog with heartgard plus.

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welcome back to "dateline." on trial for the murder of his wife, lars was about to take the witness stand. what could he is to let jurors know he simply didn't know that threatening shadow was candy? >> at that time, with i knew it was my wife. >> lars itso, up on the stand in his own murder trial to tell the story of what he described as the perfect relationship. >> it was bliss. the best thing that ever happened to me. >> then, what everyone in the courtroom was waiting for, details about the morning debbie was killed. >> i heard a grumbling. and as i woke up, i got up to see what that was. it was pitch dark. >> lars stuck to his story that he couldn't see what he was shooting at. he thought their lives were in

danger. >> i had seen the the movement in front of me and i had pulled the trigger at that time. >> he said he was a good man who made a horrible mistake. >> do you in any way -- >> no. she was the love of my life. >> a mistake, he said, he would regret forever. >> it still hurts. every second of the day. >> okay. >> she was sent to me from god. if i could have made a list, she would have checked every box. >> on cross-examination, prosecutor carl alexander challenged lars' key claim. that in the dark, he simply couldn't television debbie from an intreeder. >> you know debbie's shape. >> i know her shape, yes, sir. >> she's the love of your life. >> yes, sir. >> a person you know better than anybody else. >> yes, sir. >> and you can't tell it's her when you pull that trigger. >> no, sir. >> lars testified for 2 1/2

hours. but would it be enough to convince the jury he was innocent? they now faced a decision between murder, man slaughter or not guilty. >> please stand. >> after more than six hours, a verdict. on count one, the murder charge -- >> we tell jury find the defendant not guilty. >> but before anyone in the courtroom had time to react, another verdict. >> guilty of man slaughter as charged -- >> the verdict pleased almost no one. >> no. this can't be. >> for so many on debbie's side, it was as if the jury just let lars off. >> disbelief, anger, beyond words. >> but lars' family believed prosecutors had it all wrong. >> it was about them winning. it had nothing to do with justice or the truth. >> that came sentencing. in texas, the jury decides. it soon became clear they wanted

to hold lars account ble. >> for a term of 15 years. >> 15 years, just a few years shy of the maximum sentence. i spoke with lars at the state pen tent rather in beeville, texas, where he says he carries a photo of debbie in his pocket of his prison uniform. i asked him to describe once again what happens the morning he shot debbie. >> i was awaken in the middle of the night. >> the story sounded familiar at first. but then -- >> and i seen the door closing have been we have been slowly. >> he had seen the door closing slowly. as he had before, lars added a new detail to his story. moments later, he seemed to add another. >> believing there were people in my house reaching for me. >> reaching for you? >> well, i just seen movement. >> so i asked lars about his inconsistencies. >> why was your story changing?

>> i don't believe it was. i don't have the script in front of me that i'm reading. this is exactly what happened. it's step by step by step. >> but isn't the truth the truth? >> absolutely. but to have an exact answer every single time, that's he not me. i will have an answer that is the truth that is going to be said differently each time. >> then we talked about the key question, what really did he see before he fired the gun? >> i was in the house. >> yes, ma'am. >> and it was very dark. but i could make out your brother's silhouette. would you not clue in that that could be debbie, maybe i shouldn't pull the trigger? >> i know assailants come in various forms. i didn't recognize that it was my wife. if it was, i would have never pulled the trigger. >> did you see her silhouette?

>> no, ma'am. i seen movement. that was all i seen was like a shadow moving. the first thing in my mind was to protect -- >> did you stage in this death? >> absolutely not. >> did you murder debbie.? >> no, ma'am. my wife was everything. she was great in every sense of the word. >> that offers the kellys little comfort. >> no, a real satisfaction would be to have your daughter come back in the door and that's never going to happen. >> what do you want people to walk away from watching about her and her life? >> i think debbie was an inspiration. she will always be a part of me. and still is. >> so many ambitious, so hard working, so close to rling he dreams. debbie's tennis friends say they miss her every day. >> i think debbie is all around us. and supporting us and we find

hints of of that constantly in our lives. she was a wonderful present. and we're blessed to have known her as a friend. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. hey there, good morning, everyone. i'm alex witt here at msnbc headquarters. 7:00 a.m. in the east, 4:00 a.m. out west. nuclear no more. new developments out of north korea where kim jong un plans to shut nuclear test sites. is this a sign that diplomatic approaches are working? if he goes, i go. a new report says jeff sessions told the white house if the deputy attorney general is fired, he is leaving. why this could be the last straw for the embattled ag. and will he flip? the president's private