this is "dateline." >> i learned that he was arrested. i was shocked. i was so confused. i didn't think it was real. >> in the rarefied world of the ivy league, he was a total package. star student, gifted athlete, wildly popular. >> he is one of the nicest guys ever. >> so one could understand how a weekend visit to his parents' house -- >> you have -- >> yes. >> ended in gunfire.

>> who's already dead? >> charlie told the officers outside he was going to kill my mom. >> yes. >> a brave son protecting his mom. a harrowing story. but was it true? >> he is seated behind a desk. >> yeah. defenseless really. >> this seems to be an execution. >> was this campus hero actually a cold-hearted killer. >> the defendant sends an e-mail to his fraternity brothers called showtime. >> or was the truth something completely different? >> one of the things that was always a question was was charlie covering up for someone else? >> a trial where nothing went by the book. >> three of the jurors were crying really hard. >> turning around in their seats. they were emotional. they see what's coming. >> he was coming unhinged. welcome to "dateline."

charlie tan was an ivy leaguer with a bright future, but then charlie's dad was killed and everything changed. police were being told one story, but the evidence was telling them another. there were also three 911 calls. could one of them hold the clue that would unlock what really happened on that night? here is dennis murphy with house of secrets. ♪ >> cayuga in ithaca, new york, and it's where you'll find one of the most competitive, most prestigious universities in the nation. cornell, the ivy league big red. ♪ >> more than 15,000 undergrads here working towards degrees.

there's no doubt a cornell education can be a gold plated entrance to adult life, and only the best need apply. students like charlie tan. he was so kind his high school classmates featured him in a video giving gifts to perfect strangers, random acts of kindness. >> not just a great kid but the greatest of great kids. >> he was the son of chinese immigrants who became mr. were everybody in his high school. scholar, athlete, class president. the guy with the cool friends. and anna valentine opened up her parents' lake house to charlie and other guys. >> he was always energetic. >> the guy who comes in a room and tells jokes. >> he is the one that everybody knows him. walk in and the room lights up. he starts telling funny stories. >> so you would think charlie tan was another ivy league over achiever poised for takeoff and great things to come, but that's not the story. this is about the charlie tan,

keeper of secrets, quite possibly something much worse. but before all that, charlie was as deserving a kid as ever got an ivy league acceptance. >> he was really excited when he got admitted. that was awesome. >> ivy league. >> yeah, he was so excited. he was super happy. >> so in the fall of 2013 charlie tan left his parents' home near rochester, new york, and drove the few hours to cornell. his exciting new chapter in a life already filled with early achievements. he pledged a frat. he wasn't big enough for cornell's varsity football team, so at 165 pounds he was directed towards what they called sprint football. >> i met charlie first day freshman year. i had just gotten my locker, and charlie was one of the first people i met. >> quarterback rob panola. >> he is a leader on the team, both by example and through his words. >> rob and charlie became great

frepts e frien friends. >> he was one of the most generous and selfless people i had ever met. >> he impressed his teammates and his coach. >> terry cullen coaches the light weight players. >> he was always quiet, never late, always has a smile, hard worker, good kid. >> go back to the handsome house in rochester surkz where charlie grew up in his teenage years. it's a place called pittsford, new york. john hamm knows it well. >> it's a very nice community. picturesque community. >> big lawns, nice cars in the lawn. >> lots of executives from kodak and xerox and lawyers. >> charlie was the younger of two boys. his parents, jim and gene, born in china, lived in canada before moving charlie and his brother to upstate new york. his dad ran a tech business that thrived. a home just raid ated upper middle class comfort. >> i went over to his house. i didn't know his parents very

well. i talked on his mom a couple of times, but i didn't have much conversation with them while we were there. >> little was known about his parents. charlie didn't offer any details. if he had secrets, sorrows, they weren't for the outside world to know about. >> he is very good at, like, keeping his emotions in. >> i had no idea what his home situation was like. i didn't know before. i don't know now. >> other than a new 911 dispa h dispatche dispatchers, the wider community, friends of charlie tan, certainly knew nothing about the whispers of domestic violence on classic coachside lane. >> he is a very stoic individual. it's a tough part of his life. >> the record is still sealed, but it's safe to say the tan how was known to authorities. go back to cornell. it's the winter of 2015, and charlie is now a sophomore. on a chilly thursday morning he stopped unexpectedly to visit his football coach. there is a softer side to this coach than drills and x's and

o's, and his kids know he will always be there. >> if you have a problem, come in, we'll close the door. if you need someone to talk to, we're here. >> now it was charlie that needed a shoulder. >> i said how are you doing? good, but i can't make weightlifting on friday. i said what's the problem? he said i have to go home. >> charlie seemed emotional. clearly something was eating at the student. >> i asked if there was anything he wanted to talk about, and he declined. he just said he had to get home. >> it wasn't spring break. classes were in session. charlie got in his car and started the drive to pittsford 100 miles away. the coach didn't know it, but charlie tan's life as a student at cornell would soon be over. >> charlie is a very squared away, knows what he is doing. >> only, charlie tan wasn't at all okay. it snowed then. a muffling blanket, covering the home where something awful was

about to happen. >> why did charlie need to rush home? the first sign of trouble came from a friend's mom who called 911. coming up -- >> he didn't give us a lot of details. i'm just worried that he might do something at his house. >> when "dateline" continues. f , willingham shoots... goooooooaaaaaaaallllllll! that...was...magic. willingham tucks it in and puts the championship to bed. sweet dreams, nighty night. as long as soccer players celebrate with a slide, you can count on geico saving folks money. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. pressure, what pressure? the players on the... pressure, what pressure? ♪ protect your pet with the #1 name in flea and tick protection. frontline plus. trusted by vets for nearly 20 years.

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i'm in a meeting. -janice, look. -[ chuckles ] -look, look. -i'm looking. it's easy. you just answer some simple questions online, and you get coverage options to choose from. you're ruining my workout. cycling is my passion. . when charlie tan left for cornell and made the 100 mile trip home on a thursday winter morning, his football coach knew

he had been upset. >> i asked him to call me when he got home just soy knew he was okay. >> and that very evening back in pittsford, new york, charlie spent time at an old friend's house where he seemed to his pal deeply derespondent, sad, possibly depressed. after charlie left, the friend and his mother were so concerned they called 911. was charlie suicidal. >> he didn't give us a lot of details. i am just worried that he might do something at his house. i don't know if anything is going to happen, but i just can't take a chance. >> all right. i'm going to have to go to the house and check on him. >> and a deputy did just that. detective steve peglo of the monroe county slev's office. >> charlie told the deputy that he was upset over some things. he had come home to talk to people and that he was just working out some things and he would be okay. >> it was now late thursday night, almost the weekend.

charlie didn't go back to school friday morning. come monday, he wasn't at practice. >> wasn't really much i could do anyway other than text him, and he didn't respond. >> and then it was monday night. something awful. >> 911, what is the address of your emergency? >> yes. hi. >> the call was so distraught, confused the dispatcher. >> my name is jane tan. i had an argument with my son -- talked to -- >> ma'am, i can't understand anything you're saying. do you need an ambulance? >> it was gene tan, charlie's mother. >> you heard a shot? >> yes. >> does somebody in the house have a gun? >> the garbled story was coming into focus. the husband, the man of the house, was already dead. >> who's already there. >> who? >> are you in a safe spot? >> yes i am.

>> we need you to wait ougd of the house. >> the detective was soon on coachside lane. he still had only a garbled account from the 91 1 call. who had shot who? >> your son was trying to protect you? >> yes. >> it looked like it was what we would call a domestic murder. it was something that just occurred. >> on arrival the first deputies on the scene saw a young man who would turn out to be 19-year-old charlie tan, standing in the driveway with his mother. >> they're outside the house. >> outside of the house. it's a safety thing for the deputies. no reason to go in so those people come out. they asked who was in the house? >> in the next moments the deputies heard the son tell a story that sounded like self-defense. he had to shoot, he said, to save his mother. he used a shotgun. >> charlie said my dad is in there. he is dead. i had to do it. he was going to hurt my mom. >> father was shot because the boy feels his mother is in

jeopardy. >> yes. >> it was getting late on a frigid february night. the deputies put the son and the mother in a patrol car. >> they asked where the shotgun was. there was mention of it still being in the garage. >> after securing the weapon the deputies made their way on to the home. in the home office they found the victim. >> the husband, the father, is behind the desk. >> spent shotgun shells are all right there in that doorway. >> the detective would quickly learn more about jim tan, father, husband, and businessman. >> the owned his own company. they had lived in canada and then moved to the united states some years earlier. >> successful executive? >> by all accounts, yes. >> but was this successful businessman also an abusive husband? detective peglo looked around the household as crime scene techs processed a shotgun killing upstairs. they came upon an appointment card for gene tan to appear at domestic violence court. so the working theory, justifiable homicide made some

sense, but detective peglo was no rookie. his investigation into charlie tan and what happened inside that home was just getting started. >> one of the investigators found what appeared to be newly taken photos along with a list of prominent local defense attorneys. >> that's interesting. >> yes, sir. >> the story is i had to do it, but you're not taking me at face value? >> correct. >> coming up, a discovery of jim tan's computer triggers suspicions about his time of death. >> so how many days prior is the last e-mail? >> four. sfloo >> that was really a big thing for me. >> when "dateline" continues. no. with claim rateguard your rates won't go up just beacuase of a claim. i totally could've... (wife) nope! switching to allstate is worth it. with tripadvisor, finding your perfect hotel at the lowest price... is as easy as dates, deals, done!

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>> deputies canvassed the neighborhood, but no one had heard the gunshot blast that killed jim tan. then this homicide wasn't -- the son had admitted moments after deputies arrived he had been the shooter. he had to do it to protect his mom. >> if that's what happened, then we'll ferret that out. we want to speak to him to determine that. >> that same night charlie and his mother were taken down to the station to tell their stories. >> were you able to get a statement from the son, charlie? >> we were not. his lawyer would not allow us to speak to him. >> his lawyer is already on the scene? >> his lawyer was on scene a few minutes after. >> without the cooperation of the admitted participants, the

mother and son, the detectives were on their own. it turns out a very large piece of evidence was waiting to be found right there in their very office. a report from the house on coachside lane. >> what's the address of the emergency? >> just two weeks before the shooting the police records showed the wife placed another 911 call. >> my name is gene tan, and my mus just beats me up, and i need your protection. >> are you injured? >> yes. he choked me, and i'm so scared. please -- >> do you want an ambulance? >> oh, he is coming. no. no. please, come. please come. >> the dispatcher heard what sounded like an ongoing fight between husband and wife. >> hello? >> sorry. yes. >> no, no. >> yes, sorry about that. my wife is upset at me. >> help me! >> no, no.

>> a deputy was sent to the house and noticed gene tan, the wife was clearly rattled. reporter john hand e hamm of the chronicle newspaper. >> they found that gene was still upset. she had some red marks on her neck, but there wasn't enough there to charge jim tan with a crime. >> so incident over? >> that night. >> he tried to kill it, and nothing results as far as charges or paperwork. >> right. >> a history of abuse, it appeared. if that were the case, charlie had told no one in his circle at cornell university. on campus coach cullen hadn't heard from charlie in days, and now his phone rings. >> campus police called me up and asked me to come to his frat ernlt house, which i did. they wanted me to know that charlie's father had been killed. it was rugged. we have a bunch of players in the fraternity, and everybody

was obviously very unceltssettl. >> charlie tan admitted he shot his father to death. >> i think it was probably disbelief more than anything and shock that this occurred. >> we had a team meeting about it, but immediately after there was so much support for him, and everyone was amazed by the support. >> from the get go there was no debate. the entire frat and team had charlie's back. >> not just the football team, but everybody at cornell was showing support for him. everyone was always trying to help him and ask if there's anything we could do for him. >> to his friends at home, there was shock, of course, there too. yet, the heart breaking story of charlie tan protecting his mom by any means necessary made some kind of weird sense. it was, after all, the kid who was always trying hard to help. >> empooh talk about him being selfless. >> yeah. >> lives to help other people. >> yeah, he would do anything.

>> close friend anna had a hard time wrapping her head around charlie doing anything violent. charlie she knew was a thoughtful kid who did things no ordinary teenager did. >> my mom went through cancer, and he was always there. he brought her, like, gifts and stuff. he was always there supporting anybody. >> so anna, too, would be there supporting charlie through this difficult time. a friend to the end. neither she nor anyone else could have guessed where the investigation was going next. the detective who examined the scene that night was wondering if there was more to the story. it was all obvious right away that something was off with the working theory of the crime. a heat of passion self-defense homicide. >> we were there for hours, obviously, searching every bit. one of the things that was noticed by one of the investigators is just the dried blood that was all over. >> dried blood. the timeline of the whole story demanded a closer look. >> it's certainly one of the things that starts to get your

attention that, hang on, there might be more, but let's make sure we're on the right path. >> there were other observations that set their timeline back. on jim tan's desk computer he had apparently been working when he was killed, there were unopened emails going back before the weekend. >> jim is trading emails with an employee, and then at some point after that he clearly stops using his computer. he had no longer sent emails or no longer opened emails. >> as detectives poked around that office monday night. >> how many days prior is the last e-mail? >> four. >> four days. >> that was really a big thing for me. this was a guy that ran his own company. you know, with employees and with activity. >> going back four days. that put the shooting back to that thursday night charlie came home from cornell and a four-day-old crime scene would also explain what had been plainly obvious to the seasoned detecti detective's nose. >> the odor of decomposition was very strong. >> the detective now believed

that emotional 911 call was bogus. a charade. >> you heard a shot? >> yes. >> his mother was -- she had to shoot the husband. now it might have been days earlier. what's going on, right? >> correct. that first inference from the 911 call and from what charlie had said to the deputies seemed to be in confrontation with what we were starting to see inside. >> down at the sheriff's office gene tan, the mother, was released from ksdy. not charlie. the 1-year-old ivy leaguer was charged with second degree murder. >> what did you think? >> i was shocked and confugsd. i didn't think it was real. i didn't think it was possible. >> charlie tan, the nice boy, the great kid was facing 25 years to life in prison if convicted. >> coming up, store video shows the gun that killed charlie's father made a purchase, but i not charlie buying it.

>> new name altogether. >> correct. >> and then, the strange thing charlie did just before his mom placed the 911 call. >> the defendant sends an e-mail to his fraternity brothers called showtime. >> when "dateline" continues. protect your pet with the #1 name in flea and tick protection. frontline plus. trusted by vets for nearly 20 years. the world is full of different hair. that's why pantene has the perfect conditioners for everyone. from air-light foam, to nourishing 3 minute miracle, to the moisture-infusing gold series. we give more women great hair days - every day. pantene. they work togetherf doing important stuff.

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>> i'm dara brown. president trump continued to talk tough on illegal imgragts on saturday. speaking of the nevada gop convention, the president said we have to be very strong on the border or the country will be overrun by illegal immigrants. meanwhile, the trump administration is still trying to figure out how to implement the president's executive order aimed at ending the separation of families. immigration authorities on friday signal they may seek up to 15,000 beds to detain families together. now back to "dateline." >> welcome back. i'll craig melvin.

charlie tan told police he shot his father to save his mother, but investigators were finding flaws in that story. the ivy league student had been arrested and was facing second degree murder charges. was this an intentional killing, or justifiable homicide? here, again, is dennis murphy with "house of secrets." aern anna was in a state of disbelief when she learned charlie tan had been arrested where. >> did you have a chance to talk to charlie himself? >> he called me on the phone, actually, from jail. i talked to him a couple of times. >> anna didn't sit around. she was going to do whatever she could to defend her friend because she knew there was no way charlie did anything wrong. >> you did something remarkable, anna, and that is you pulled together a whole community behind charlie. >> yeah. >> anna started a defense fund support page for charlie. >> it just, like, spread like crazy. i had no clue what was going to happen. >> you just threw it out there. >> i put up the page and people

i hadn't even heard of were supporting him. people from the community. >> how much money did you raise? >> around $50,000. >> why did people come out of the wood work to support charlie? >> he has just been like one of the nicest guys ever, and i think everybody knew that and was just wanting to do anything they could to give back to him. charlie would give everything to other people. if somebody needed anything, he would be the one to give it to them. >> reporter john hamm was working nonstop on one of the most talked about stories the county had seen in years. >> so now it's an investigation and for you a news story. great ivy league kid blows away his father in his nice neighborhood. what is going on in terms of response? >> we were astonished. it's not very often you have a murder suspect who a bunch of people from pittsford are rallying around. >> the case encaptured the hearts and minds of a community that couldn't imagine that exceptional young man in prison. >> political -- these are big powerful people in new york state who are behind this kid. >> yeah.

>> we wished that didn't happen, but the kid deserves a break. is there some of that going around? >> the community felt that very strongly. >> so when the trial began less than a year after the shooting, the sworn representative of the people found herself in an odd spot. >> the biggest problem was the defendant himself because he did appear to be, you know, an upstanding, nice young man. >> monroe county district attorney sandra dorly. >> you know, from the very beginning people were disappointed that, you know, an indictment was filed against charlie tan and that we were taking this to court, but, you know what, we have to prosecute people who violate the laws of our state. >> assistant d.a. bill gardener prosecuted the case in court. he told the jury that, yes, charlie tan was a high achiever, a bright young man who always went the extra mile for his friends. >> perhaps he wanted to succeed as charlie tan and solve all of the problems that were occurring on coachside lane.

>> helping his mother? >> helping his mother. >> by killing his father? that was a solution? >> that was our theory, yes. the gun is found at the murder scene. his fingerprints are on the ammo. his mother, again, a mother saying my son did it, and charlie saying he had to do it. >> but did he have to do it? that was the key question. the prosecution said no. this was no justifiable homicide. this was an execution. in fact, the weapon a .12 gauge remmington shotgun had been purchased just before the killing said the prosecutor. deputies found it leaning against a garbage can in the tan's garage. when they traced it, they discovered it had just been bought from a wall mart. >> we sent investigators down there, and as they began to look into that, they found that the gun was purchased by a young man named whitney knickerbacher. >> newly purchased. new name altogether.

>> correct. >> the salesman remembered the purchase, and even better, the store had surveillance video of charlie's friend and fellow fraternity brother buying the shotgun. video which was shown to the jury. >> whitney knickerbacher, the frat brother, was never accused of having anything to do with the killing. charlie, apparently convinced him to help buy it. >> friends say that whitney was told by charlie that he was going to go on a hunting trip, so he asked whitney to help him. >> of course, the prosecution says there was no hunting trip. charlie was planning a murder. in fact, before he got the friend to buy the weapon, surveillance footage showed just how intent he was on getting the gun. hours earlier there was charlie. >> charlie tan is on video going into the wal-mart attempting to purchase the shotgun. he is unable to. >> why is he turned down? why can't he? >> he is a canadian citizen. >> which meant there would be a waiting period. time the prosecutor says charlie tan didn't have. >> so he gets a friend to come

in and make a purchase. >> that was our theory, yes. >> it's hard to put together a heat of passion scenario. mom is in jeopardy. if you have purchased the weapon in advance. >> correct. >> and the prosecutor told the jury there was no evidence of a fight that evening. >> if you look at the exact moment of the killing, jim tan is just sitting at his desk -- >> answering e-mail. >> answering emails, working to, you know, provide a living and a pretty good living for his family. >> in fact, the medical examiner testified that as jim tan sat behind his desk in his home office, he was shot three times about the chest and face. the last shot killed him. >> medical examiner still believed jim tan was alive when that was inflicted right to his face. >> the prosecutor believes that was thursday night. the same night when charlie's friend sent a deputy to the tan home to check on charlie's well being. it's possible that when the boy

answered the door and said he was fine, his dad was already dead inside. but no one from the tan home called 911 that night. charlie and his mom grabbed their passports and fled the country. >> gene tan and charlie tan left the country, went to canada and came back on that monday before the 911 call was placed. >> so why come back and tell a lie? the prosecution didn't know. someone had to run jim tan's business, and this last thing. before that four days late 911 call was placed, charlie took the time to, of course, send a warning e-mail to his college buddies. they would soon hear things in the news. >> the defendant sends an e-mail to his fraternity brothers called "showtime." >> you're going to be hear from law enforcement. >> yes. yes. you will be surprised. showtime. >> this was no crime of passion.

it was a planned murder. >> so this is an assassination. >> yes. >> he walks in and blows dad away. >> exactly. >> the prosecution rested. the defense team was up next and they were about to lay out a head-spinning theory of the crime from seemingly another universe. >> no one saw it coming. >> coming up, the defense drops a bombshell. >> one of the things that was always in question was was charlie covering up for someone else? >> when "dateline" continues. ♪ protect your pet with the #1 name in flea and tick protection. frontline plus. trusted by vets for nearly 20 years.

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it was an upside down world in this courthouse where you routinely expect lots of supporters for the victim, but there were none. >> there was no one who was -- the victim's assistance from the district attorney's office sat there with the whole trial because she had nothing to do. >> some people think this vicious father, the victim, deserved, got what was coming to him. >> people that normally wouldn't advocate homicide who say if he did it, then he did it, and his father deserved it. >> but the accused? his girlfriend and friends gathered outside the courtroom every morning surrounding him protectively as he walked into court. he had all but a cheering section. >> i think having all the support made him feel so much better, so much stronger. i think he knew we were all there for him no matter what. >> his friend anna was on the witness list, so she wasn't

allowed to sit inside the courtroom until the very end. >> as much as i could i went between classes for the rest of it. >> how did he seem? how was he putting up with it sf. >> some days were harder than others. some days he seemed good. >> the evidence seemed to support domestic violence. play that tape of gene tan calling the cops two weeks before the shooting. >> hi, my name is gene tan, and my husband beats me up, and i need your protection. >> are you injured? >> yes. he choke me, and i'm so scared. >> defense attorney james noland thought the 911 recording spoke volumes about that house. >> it was almost as if we were put in the hell that charlie lived in for a brief moment and the hell that gene lived in for a brief moment. >> and they kept piling on. jim tan, continued the defense, wasn't just a bully at home. his employees testified about the abuse they, too, enkoushtcod

in the workplace. >> every other person who worked with jim tan says he was miserable and behaved like a child, he would bully people, said he was nasty at work. >> so a son defending his abugsd mother was a defense no-brainer strategy that seemed to require little assembly. the other defense lawyer, ryan decarlos. >> i think most people that looked at this case said the only defense is self-defense or some hybrid of, you know, a battered child syndrome. >> but as the trial progressed that wasn't the tack charlie's defense team planned. >> our strategy was to keep our strategic defense in our back pocket hidden from the defense as long as we possibly could. >> what was the secret defense? they were going to agree with the prosecution on one point. that when gene called 91 1 to report her husband dead, the murder was days old. >> shots. i heard it.

>> that call is 100% fake. there's no question about it. >> not only was the mom lying to 911 about when the murder occurred, but no, argued the defense, she was lying about something much bigger. who the true killer was. the defense attorney saved his surprise for closing arguments. >> it was an unusual moment. certainly i knew there were many supporters of gene tan in the courtroom, and i was going to basically suggest to the jurors that she had pulled the trigger. >> gene tan, the mom, the wife, the true killer. the defense said the shotgun was in her hand. she pulled the trigger. she solved her own problem. not her son. that was the story the defense say will be 11th hour. >> not an easy thing to do in a packed courtroom where. >> according to the defense, it was gene tan who had the motive, the moetive to get rid of her bully husband, get the house, the business, the money. >> frankly it put motive in gene's hands, category more so

than charlie. >> whatever little forensic evidence was at the scene was, according to the defense, inconclusive. >> it was a fingerprint on one of the shell casings. on a box of ammunition. what that means at some point in time charlie could have loaded the gun, but it doesn't make him pull the trigger. >>s athe defense saw it, the mom did it theory even explained that odd e-mail that charlie sent his frat brothers before.911 call. the e-mail called showtime. the e-mail implied that the story to come might not be the real one. it went on to say this. >> the real truth will come out one day. you're going to know what really happened. one of the things that was always in question and always a concern of ours was was charlie covering up for someone else? >> in court assistant prosecutor bill guardman appeared caught off guard and stressed when he rose to make his closing argument. >> he addressed charlie directly. he said something to the effect of, charlie, your lawyer is calling your mother a killer. he moved quickly across the room. he kind of approached the jury very closely with the gun, and

he was trying to make a point, very passionate point. >> brandishing the murder weapon as a prop didn't sit well with the judge who told the prosecutor to calm down. >> frankly, we knew that that the point we had done exactly what we wanted to do. we had totally taken him by surprise. >> after a week of testimony, the case went to the jury. out in the hallway tv cameras dogged charlie's every move. he had been out on bond the entire time, but his freedom could be coming to an abrupt end. >> he knows his life is hanging in the balance. that's a tough thing for anybody to go through. >> but he had the unwavering support of team charlie. they all waited with charlie as the deliberations began and then spilled over into a second day. then another. >> every day we would show up to court. oh, is it going to happen today? everyone was just super nervous, like on the edge of our seat the whole time. >> because if it goes in an adverse way for charlie, he is going to be let off, and you won't see him for a long time.

>> it was hard to imagine that. >> jennifer was a juror sitting on the case. she walked us through the arguments as they deliberated. >> i'm not sure anybody felt bad for jim tan. he made a lot of enemies, but everybody did recognize that that way he died was still a crime. >> boythe the prosecution and the defense had agreed that charlie's fingerprints were on the ammo. >> did he actually pull the trigger, or did he load the gun and give it to his mom and say here you go. that was the biggest point of contention. >> she was ready to vote guilty. p the vote was far from unanimous. >> eight people guilty. four people not guilty. >> a stalemate. an impasse seemed to be at hand. still, they talked. >> three of the jurors were crying really hard because they didn't want to think that he was guilty, but they couldn't ignore it at that point. >> local media asked prosecutor bill guardman for updates. >> we don't have experience with

the jury out this long. nor do my peers. >> after 50 hours of deliberations, the jurors told the judge this were hopelessly deadlocked. the judge declared a mistrial. >> that didn't mean it was over, by any stretch. >> no, it didn't mean it was over. it just meant that there was a long road ahead. >> a long dates, another jury to go through the same set of facts, unless that wasn't what was going to happen at all. coming up -- as charlie tana waits his fate, the proceedings threaten to spin out of control. >> he was coming you hinged. >> when "dateline" continues. [ drum roll ] ...emily lapier from ames, iowa. this is emily's third nomination and first win. um...so, just...wow! um, first of all, to my fellow nominees, it is an honor sharing the road with you. and of course, to the progressive snapshot app

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welcome back. more than eight months after jim tan was shot to death inside his home, the trial for his son charlie was met with a hung jury. there was a new trial. but there was another stunner in store. here with the con clungs of house of secrets is dennis murphy. >> the judge declares a mistrial. >> the charlie tan murder trial was big news in rochester. everyone was talking to the media. including the judge, who was running for state supreme court, would you be presiding as judge again? >> i believe i would, because the case has been assigned to me.

that's the normal protocol. >> the lawyers on both sides shared thought the about doing it all over again. >> it's a murder charge, not a petty larceny charge. with a hung jury where you walk away from it. we understand that the d.a.'s office is not going to walk away from a homicide. >> how will it look differently? >> better for me. that's how it will look differently. >> unfortunately for charlie's attorneys, they'd already played their surprise defense, mom really did it. there would be no shock value in a second trial. >> frankly, we've got to face this like a brand-new case starting today. hung juries are a case in which you have to reinvent the wheel. >> in november of 2015, weeks after the trial ended, both sides were back in the same court, before the same judge, who two days earlier had won the state supreme court seat. it was a routine hearing to talk retrial logistics. >> you were expecting to set a calendar date. >> we were figuring a january trial date. >> the reporter, john hand, who had been there for the entire trial was in attendance too. >> there were a number of

charlie's friends there. myself and roughly four or five other reporters who had covered the trial. the gang's all here. and the judge said we have to address the motion for dismissal by the defense, it's still pending. >> that's a common motion made by most defense attorneys when they ask a judge to throw out a case, especially due to a lack of evidence. >> you always do did. it's frankly malpractice not to. >> everyone thought this would be an order of business, quickly dispatched. >> then he talks about the lack of evidence regarding the gun, the lack evidence with the fingerprints were found on the shells upstairs, but that didn't indicate that he'd ever shot it. i looked at another reporter who i know and i said what's going on here? >> charlie's lawyers had a glimmer about where this was going. >> i leaned into charlie's ear, and i told him something good is about to happen. >> the assembled press couldn't believe where the judge was heading.

>> you're holding your breath, and you're going, he's about to dismiss this case, the biggest case we've had in years and years and years, a case that jurors deliberated on for 50 hours. second degree murder case. >> the assistant prosecutor saw the train wreck ahead and wasn't at all pleased. he grabbed the mic. >> can i speak? and the judge very quickly said no, you may not. bill guarderen continued to speak. the judge said i'll put you in handcuffs. >> to the district attorney. >> never seen that before. and a court deputy walks up behind bill garderen, the prosecutor, not the defendant. >> he was interrupting. he was becoming unhinged. >> after the dramatic with the prosecutor, the judge finisheder ishd his thought. he threw out the entire case against charlie tan. a judicial ruling that meant that the case couldn't be re-prosecuted or retried. >> it was a big win for charlie tan. he was ecstatic. >> outside the courtroom, the media was waiting for charlie, the former defendant who hadn't

yet spoken to reporters. >> now you'll talk to us, right? >> back up, back up, please, please. >> and before we got a chance to talk to him, his defense lawyer ushered him out down the hallway. >> what did you think? did you take it all in? i'm not sure he took it all in. >> i'm not sure i took it all in at first. >> that this is over. >> it was super exciting. everyone was so happy. everyone was in tears. >> not quite everyone. assistant d.a. bill gargen was fuming. >> were you willing to get arrested over this. >> i was more than willing to have handcuffs placed on me to argue my point. i didn't cross any lines. >> what recourse do you have? >> there's no appeal. that i know of. >> so charlie tan is free. >> that's it. there is no appeal as of from this trial order of dismissal, because there has not been a verdict by the jury. >> the event didn't happen. >> correct. >> so, in the people versus charlie tan, you had to cynically wonder whether the defendant's vocal supporters

carried the day from outside the courtroom. >> some think the golden ivy league boy was able to kill his father and get away with it. strange story, the whole thing. >> yeah. >> charlie's mother, according to the district attorney, will not be prosecuted. because there's no evidence to show she was responsible for the murder. >> could it have been the mother? >> i look at a 12-gauge shotgun. she was a small woman. i don't know if she was capable of even being able to discharge that kind of weapon. >> so the only two people who know what happened in that house, charlie and his mother, have stayed mum. neither was ever interviewed by police. neither has spoken publicly about a case now closed but far from resolved. >> people will say this is a kid who killed his father and got off. and people will also say, no it isn't, they couldn't prove it. you've got two groups of people back there who said i don't care what happened. i'm never sending this 19-year-old cornell student to

prison. >> the mom and brother are running the company jim tan started. as for charlie. is he okay? >> he's very positive. >> a great kid, a very popular kid who's done well and succeeded in all things he's been in. and it's time to move on. we welcome him back with open arms. >> but that didn't happen. the university let charlie know if he attempted to return to cornell, it was prepared to discipline him for violating the school's code of conduct. so charlie withdrew, and with that action lost the cornell version of the gold-plated ticket entrance to adult life. his former coach thinks charlie will find a way to succeed. >> if he can get over the turmoil he came out of, i think he'll do fine. he's got everything going for him. >> in his young life, he'd pleased everybody. his coaches, teachers, devoted friends. outwardly happy. inwardly, who really knew? all one can say with any certainty are the known facts of

a murky case. he got a friend to buy him a shotgun. said good-bye to the ivy league, and on a winter's day, drove home. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thanks for watching. >> i'm craig melvin. >> i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." >> oh, please, god. why? >> it is the case that stunned parents everywhere, the dad whose young son died in the car. >> apparently, he forgot the child was in the car seat in the back and went to work. >> i know you didn't, baby. i know you didn't. >> i think any parent can put themselves in that situation. >> full denial, that it wasn't happening. >> then came the jaw-dropping news. police said it was murder.