>> that's all for this edition of "dateline extra." thank you for watching. extra." thank you for watching she hadn't answered her phone call or text messages. i coo see tuld see the window i broken. >> a vaelentine's day that started with roses ended in different shade of red. >> everything stopped. i was in shock. >> we knew there was somebody bad out there doing something. >> she was a wife, a mother, a missionary. >> denise sounds like saint. >> she probably was.

but something had been happening behind closed doors. >> there is nothing more important to me than this and this relationship. >> this was his valentine's day present. >> one shot to the head. >> what was the motive for a valentine's day murder? >> we had a note that she had written. >> she was speaking from the grave in a way. >> i mean that note was powerful. it happened on a day devoted to love and affection. valentine's day and it happened to the last people on earth you would expect.

>> we have a break in. somebody broke in. >> my world had just been shattered. >> their perfect world broken by an act so evil it tore a family apart. >> the worst dave my life. >> and put an entire town on edge. >> be xraushs cautious. lock doors and windows. >> they devoted their lives to others. who would ever want to hurt them? >> this just absolutely despicable act. >> for a day that ended so tragically, it began in a happy way. with flowers and expressions of love. nathan and denise had met 30 years earlier. back in the '08's, when they were both students at a small baptist school in central illinois. even at that young age, nathan knew there was something to this sparkling little girl. >> i was in third grade and she was in fourth grade. i doubt she knew i existed.

even then i thought she was the cutest girl in the school. >> what was it that you liked about her so much? >> the curly hair and the bouncy curls and the happy go lucky smile. junior high, i began to see her character and what kind of person she was that day. >> in high school nathan and denise got to know each other better. they didn't date, as most teens do, because they both came from religious families. >> our parents didn't believe in dating. so we were just good friends and i went to her church activities and she came to mine. we saw each other at school and that's how it started. she was my first girlfriend and my only girlfriend. >> he got to know nathan and denise well when his wife taught at their high school. nathan was a basketball player then, denise, a cheerleader. >> they were inseparatable. they would just, you know, goof around with each other. you know, just in a loving, you know, puppy lovish way. it grew into something special. we knew they'd be together. >> nathan admired denise's

parents and inspired by what he saw as a perfect marriage. >> i looked at denise's mom and say what she was as a woman, wife, mother. i saw that denise really favored her mother. and so i said, thats what i want. >> for denise's mom, dianne newton, the feeling was mutual. >> was he over all the time? >> yes. yeah, he practically lived at our house. >> when denise went off to college in minnesota, nathan, a year younger, soon followed. to no one's surprise, the couple got engaged a year later. dianne knew it was coming. >> i wasn't surprised when he was first one she dated and she ended up getting married. >> that was in july 1995. >> i was always very happy being a wife and mother. so i was happy for her that she found someone to love and to share her life w. >> right before we did our vows, denise had prepared a song talking about everything she wanted was in me. and that our marriage was going

to be the kind she would always hope for and had a dream for as a little child. and we had a wonderful day. >> after the young couple settled in their hometown of tee or yashgs illinois, denise went to work at an insurance company while nathan started a career in sales. but he couldn't shake a higher calling, for several years, he had dreamed of becoming a baptist missionary. in 1998, he finally seized the opportunity when another young couple at their church began their own missionary work in lithuania. >> and so i approached the fellow and said, you know, what would you think about denise and i coming and helping you guys. he said that will be great. >> denise and nathan were like, they came to us and said we just decided we're going to sell everything we have and we're going to go to lithuania for a year. we're like, what? it's like, kind of aa big shock. but we're like, well, you know, whatever you decide to do. they moved in with us for six months, sold all their

possessions. tried to save up money. >> we didn't know any lithuanian at the time. we didn't know the language. we were studying it. trying our best. it was a shock. >> they returned home after a year and soon welcomed a son, seth, and a daughter julia. in 2002, the family went back to lithuania which became their second home on and off for the next eight years. that's a big undertaking to -- >> right. >> it was very hard for denise to leave her family, leave everything she'd known and to go over to a strange country, you know, with a toddler and a baby. it was traumatic experience for her, i think. >> this is because really nathan wanted to do it? >> right. she was supporting him. it wasn't really her calling. i mean, she was basically being a wife and a mother. >> but denise also became very devoted to the church there. >> denise was very musical and she played the piano for the children and taught them songs

and taught the little girls especially bible stories. >> they grew particularly close to some of the children and their families. >> we had helped women who had been in abusive relationships. we had brought several lithuanians to the united states over the years for cultural reasons, for musical purposes, for sports. >> the generosity extended to a young lithuanian that got to know well. she actually came to the u.s. as a college student. she even lived with them for a while in peoria. >> nathan has a very big heart for people. he gist wants do the lord's work. >> enabling an and denise were living back in the states. by then, they had a third their days were filled with shuttling kids to school and daycare and raising funds for their next overseas mission. life with three yuck kids was

busy, hectic, normal. but then came valentine's day 2013. when nathan pulled into their driveway mid afternoon and discovered something terribly wrong. >> i could see the window pain was broken. the glass is on the ground. and at that point i began to put things together and someone had broken into the home. and at that point i called the police, i called 911. >> 911. where is the emergency? >> we had a break in. >> a daring burglary in the middle of the day that would rob this family of everything. >> coming up -- there would be no more cards, candy or flowers this valentine's day. no one can find denise. >> she hadn't answered her phone calls or text messages. >> and what police find is terrifying. >> everything stopped. i just kept looking at my daughter. my world had just been shattered and i had to tell her at some point. ell her at some point.

yes! yes. yes. yeah sure. yes yes. yeah, yeah no problem. yes. yes, yes a thousand times yes! discover. accepted at over 95% of places in the u.s. [thunder]. (mom) were you planning on mowing the lawn today? (son) no. (burke) seen it. covered it. at farmers insurance, we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. so get a quote at farmers-dot-com. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪

no matter how much you clean, does your house still smell stuffy? that's because your home is filled with soft surfaces that trap odors and release them back into the room. so try febreze fabric refresher. febreze finds odors trapped in fabrics and cleans them away as it dries. use febreze every time you tidy up, to keep your whole house smelling fresh air clean. fabric refresher even works for clothes you want to wear another day. make febreze part of your clean routine for full home freshness. la la la la la remember, you have out the hilton app. can the hilton app help us win? hey, hey-we're all winners with the hilton price match guarantee, alright? man, you guys are adorable! alright, let's go find your coach, come on! book with the hilton app. expect better. expect hilton. we all use our phones very differently. we need a great network all the time. (vo) everyone in your family is different. these two are always gaming and this one is always on facetime. (vo) that's why verizon has plans to mix and match starting at just $35. plus, iphone 11 on us when you buy the latest iphone. the network more people rely on, gives you more.

can you help keep these iguys protected online?? easy, connect to the xfi gateway. what about internet speeds that keep up with my gaming? let's hook you up with the fastest internet from xfinity. what about wireless data options for the family? of course, you can customize and save. can you save me from this conversation? that we can't do, but come in and see what we can do. we're here to make life simple. easy. awesome. ask. shop. discover. at your local xfinity store today.

seth 12shgs julia 10, and janelle 4. they were living with denise's parents. nathan says it felt good to be home. >> we had tremendous friends and family here in the states. and that's always what we missed the most. >> being back in the states also gave nathan an opportunity to travel to churches where he reported on his and denise's missionary work and raised more funds so they could soon return to lithuania. in the u.s., they could also celebrate holidays american

style. for the children we started off right above the at first thing mt morning and so the children had their valentines sean denise prepared sitting there on the table for them. >> and for his wife -- >> my gift to her was the roses and card that i had bought the night before and placed on the table. >> after the early morning celebration, the family was back to their usual routine. ok'ing the kids to school, shopping, running arnts. they were at work. but that day something happened that was completely out of character for denise, she failed to pick up julia from school. >> my parents called me, you want us to pick her up. i said denise should be there any minute. she must have been late. >> turns out, no one was able to reach denise for a while, including nathan. >> she had not answered her phone calls. she didn't answer her text messages. i said wait a few more minutes, i'll get her and then i'll let you know. and i finally got her out of daycare, she still hasn't come,

she hasn't called. i said well i'm right by the house, i'll run by the house and see if she's there. and as soon as i got pulled into the driveway, the garage door was open. >> was that odd? >> very odd. >> will is no car in the garage but the garage door is open. but then as i got about half way into the garage, i can see the window pain was broken. the glass is on the ground. and at that point i began to understand that someone had broken into the home. i'm not a confrontational person and i've never been in a fight in my life, but if i had to defend my family, i would. i wasn't going to stop anybody. what is in the house they can take and the police will get them later. >> with his young daughter in the car, nathan backed into the neighbor's driveway across the street so he could watch the house as he called 911. >> what's the problem? >> we have a break in.

>> it's going on right now? >> i don't know. the garage door is open. there is glass from the back door is broke. >> he waited for his daughter at the neighbor's house, repeatedry calling family members to see if anyone had heard from denise. then the police arrived. detectives jason lee and shawn curry were among the first on the scene. >> by time we got here, officers were starting to rope everything off. securing the inside of the house. >> they didn't find an intruder, instead, they found something far worse. >> while searching the house, they discovered a female down that was obviously deceased. n. the house. >> 39-year-old denise lying in a pool of blood. she had barely made it inside the house. the her coat was still on. >> right on the other side of this door is where we found her laying down. just right in the front door here. >> they quickly determined she had been killed by a single gunshot to the head.

>> she didn't even have time to take her coat off, gloves, anything. so when she entered that door, that shot was immediate. >> and the weapon appeared to be a .40 caliber hand gup. but no sign of the gun. >> did it seem like denise had possibly startled a burglar? >> yeah. when we got there, it looks like she interrupted a burglary. she came home, the house was ran sacked. maybe start willed the burglar when she came in it through the front door. >> investigators combed the crime scene, nathan watched the police activity from the house across the street. >> how did they tell you what they had found? >> the police were not the first people to tell me. and unfortunately, i found out about it from my father. i was calling my dad and he said

i heard on the radio, the local news media put it on the radio that at your house somebody was shot. >> nathan realized it had to be denise. >> when you came to that realization, what's going through your mind? >> everything stopped. i'm looking at my 4-year-old daughter who is the image of her mother, curl qui hair and bouncy step and i just kept looking at my daughter. and i wanted to hug her. and i wanted to -- i wanted to just let out all the pain that was associated with knowing that there she was standing there staring at me. just smiling. my world had had just been shattered. and i had to tell her at some

point. >> denise's mom had no idea what happened. but she rushed home when nathan told her there had been a break in. >> i drove up there and the roads were all roadblocked. >> is that a sick feeling when you see the police and you no he? >> oh, yeah. >> what you are thinking? >> i didn't know what to think. i tried to run up there to go into the house and they were like, no, you can't go in. i'm like, i just want to know. i want to know what happened to my daughter. is she in there? where is she? they eventually took me downtown and then one of the policemen came in and told me she had been shot. the worst day of my life. >> now she had to tell her husband denise's father. fell apart and cried and i guess it's every parent's worst nightmare to have a child taken from them. >> did you just feel in some ways this can't be real? >> yeah. felt like a bad dream. you know --

>> how diddous husba your husba the news him snefl. >> i think he was probably more broken up than i was emotionally. >> as denise's family reeled from their unimaginable loss, this quiet central illinois community was just starting to grapple with the fallout of a murder on valentine's day. >> this is a mom, a missionary's wife, a woman who devoted her life to her family and to the church. >> yeah. >> and people like that don't just get gunned down in their own house. >> it doesn't happen. >> did you feel like we have a mystery on our hands. we have to solve this? >> we knew we had something bad and it was going to take a lot of work to get to the point where we knew who done it. >> coming up, a possible clue. >> i pulled into the driveway. >> her car wasn't there? >> he remembers seeing a suspicious car near his house

not long before the murder. >> this is kind of weird. i pulled in the driveway, i normally go through into the front door. and flip the outside lights on. the car leaves. >> was the killer in that car? ? what'd we decide on the flyers again? uh, "fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance." i think we're gonna swap over to "over seventy-five years of savings and service." what, we're just gonna swap over? yep. pump the breaks on this, swap it over to that. pump the breaks, and, uh, swap over? that's right. instead of all this that i've already-? yeah. what are we gonna do with these? keep it at your desk, and save it for next time. geico. over 75 years of savings and service. wherever, however, whenever. we'll deliver lunch or dinner right to you.

order delivery at panerabread.com. panera. food as it should be. quitting smoking is freaking hard.st, like quitting every monday hard. quitting feels so big. so, try making it smaller. and you'll be surprised at how easily starting small... ...can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette but maybe not for people with rheumatoid arthritis. because there are options. like an "unjection™". xeljanz xr, a once-daily pill for adults with moderate

to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections like tb; don't start xeljanz if you have an infection. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra can increase risk of death. serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. as have tears in the stomach or intestines, serious allergic reactions, and changes in lab results. tell your doctor if you've been somewhere fungal infections are common, or if you've had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. needles. fine for some. but for you, one pill a day may provide symptom relief. ask your doctor about xeljanz xr. an "unjection™".

it was hard to believe that denise had been found shot to death in her home in peoria, illinois. her friend couldn't comprehend the news. >> who could do this to a great young woman, a family of three children and great husband. >> nathan said when he lost denise, he lost his foundation. my wife, my best friend, the mother of the three most important dhirn to me. how i do function now without her? >> with the house now a crime scene, went with detectives to the police station where they asked him if he could think of any reason his family would be targeted? >> do you have any personal

problems with anybody. >> no. >> does your wife? >> no. >> is there anything of extreme value. >> in the house? >> in your room in, that room in particular? >> i had two watches. a couple hundred dollar watches. >> what about money? >> no. >> a laptop, digital camera and jewelry had been stolen. two guns had also been taken including a .40 glock, the same caliber used to kill denise. had the intruder used that weapon to shoot her? >> do you know why anyone would break into that house? >> that's the question i've been asking since i pulled into the driveway. >> he gave them a clue when he said he remembered seeing a suspicious car in the neighborhood late at night. a couple of weeks before the murder.

>> this is kind of weird, pulled in the driveway, i immediately go through into the front door. >> then a few days later, said it happened again. >> similar situation but this time in the neighbor's driveway. >> that time police called police and spoke with an officer. >> when they got there, the officer walked around the home and checked things out, checked the neighborhood. at that point the car was gone. >> what was your gut telling you? >> there were people probably out that night casing the neighborhood. >> people in tee or yashgs illinois, were spooked. could a brazen burglar be willing to kill be on loose? >> it caused a lot of stress in the neighborhoods. the local school in the street, they lockeded it down that day. >> that stuff doesn't happen in the neighborhood. >> the kids are out riding bikes

and people are in the park walking around. it's not a high crime area where there are gun shots all the time. things like that. it was enough to scare everybody. >> it was a big story in town. >> be extra cautious, lock your doors and windows. pay attention to strangers in your area. >> what was the mood of the neighborhood? >> it was very erie. >> he was a reporter for nbc's week tv in peoria. >> a lot of people in the community really wanted to know what happened. i mean, they're going to sleep every night not really sure who killed their neighbor. >> one neighbor says with two small kids at home, she feeling panicked and even a little paranoid. >> tips started coming in right away. dianne parish who lives just a few houses down from nathan and denise remembered seeing a strange man on her street right around the time of the murder. >> so describe the man you saw walking along this road. >> he had a black hoodie sweatshirt on with the hood pulled up and hands were in the

pocket. and i will never forget the look on that man's face. >> what was so odd about the look on his face? >> he was very agitated. i knew immediately something was wrong with him. >> neighbors were anxious. and detectives were puzzled. denise's neighborhood was normally very quiet. not the type of place you'd expect a burglary. even if she had descentally stumbleded upon an intruder, how had it turned so vicious so quickly? >> why would somebody want to come into this particular house? >> it's not tipple ka as far as a durg lary in a results in a murder. >> maybe it wasn't a burglary at all. >> coming up -- if it wasn't a burglary, what was it? was nathan's life also in danger? >> nathan's parents told me that nathan and the three children had been moved to a safe house just to protect them. >> when deadly valentine continues.

snifrment. here's what's happening. the coronavirus outbreak surpassed the death toll from sars 17 years ago. 908 people died in china and 40,000 people infected in the month since the outbreak first reported. the oscar for best feature length documentary has gone to "american factory," the first documentary leased by about a rack and michelle obama's production company. he congratulated the filmmakers about i tweet tonight. now back to "dateline." o "datel. it looked like a burglary gone bad. denise, mother and missionary, brutally shot and killed in her parents home where she and her family had been living. >> typical scenario, robberies happening in peoria. this one just happens to be a

lot worse? >> it's not typical as far as a burglary results in a murder. it doesn't happen very often. >> this was an odd one. detectives needed to know more about denise and began questioning her family. including nathan, her husband of 17 years. >> you talking to us and cooperating with us is the best information that we can get. >> we want to talk to the people closest to her first to figure out what makes her tick, what is her routine like. >> did you start to think that someone may have targeted denise? >> well, you know, we didn't know. you know, nathan, he's going to be our best witness. you know, you're living with this laidy. you've been married for a long time. you know her routine. >> did you think someone had a reason to be in that house? >> we didn't know. we didn't know. but we needed to lock down at that point initially. we just needed to make sure we lock down what she planned on doing that day.

you know, was she going to stay home all day? was she going to go here? run errands? things tlik to try to narrow down when the actual murder took place. >> and they started at the very beginning. >> she woke up at about 6:45 which is normal. >> okay. >> i was already shaving and shourg and what not. >> were the kids already up? >> what time did the kids wake up? >> she gets up at 6:45. >> he took the two older children to schools and went on a series of errands that day including going today spa to buy a gift certificate for denise. >> it was for a massage. >> okay. do zbl do you remember how much you snent. >> $74. >> police learned denise spent the morning at home with the 4-year-old until she drove her today care just afternoon. nathan said denise had her own list of things to do that day. >> she was going to go to the mall and other errands to run. >> going to try to get video of her. maybe we'll see somebody following her. we don't know. that's why we have to figure out where she was at. >> try to place the last time we

can see her then questionnaire row the window down. >> yeah. it's tedious. and we appreciate, you know, you cooperating, believe me. >> by mid afternoon, when denise should are have been done shopp he tried reaching her but couldn't. at first he wasn't concerned. >> so i called, she didn't answer number big deal. she's driving. i sent her a text message. >> but he became worried once you got home and saw her car wasn't in the driveway and it looked like the house had been broken into. >> i don't know what to think. she's not answering my phone calls. she's not answering my mom's phone calls. she didn't go to the school. she didn't call. where is she? if she's late, if she broke down, she had a flat tire? she would have called. i'm going through all the 101 options in my head sfwhchlt they asked him the uncomfortable questions they ask anyone who

has been murdered. >> this is a personal question, take no offense. we have to cover every base. at any time has your wife ever done anything behind your back? have you had any issues? any boyfriends, anything like that? >> number. >> what about you? >> no. >> did he describe a good marriage? >> yeah. i mean he described denise as the backbone of the family. if it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be able to do his work. that she does everything for the kids. >> she's the main one that holds it all together. she did everything that made the kids' lives spin. >> denise sounds like a saint. >> she probably was. >> everyone we talked to had nothing but good things to say about her. >> must have really perked your attention that this woman is considered to be this amazing mom and does they ais religious work. >> nathan said he was doing his best to hold it together.

so he could help them catch the killer. but he was anxious to would be his children. >> we appreciate the cooperation. and, you know, as much information that we can get from you the better. it's going to help us. >> can i get to my kids tonight? >> we hope you will be. >> i can't leave them alone that long. >> nathan finally did leave the police station late that night, hours after his wife had been killed. he went to his sister's home where his children were sound asleep. >> i was exhausted. i was emotionally spent. i spent the next several hours with my mother and my sister. and at some point i fell asleep with my sister just trying to comfort me. >> the next day nathan said he was struggling with the fact that his wife was gone. and now had to explain that to his kids. >> i had been with janelle when i found out. i still had not been with seth

and julia. and at that point i didn't know what they knew, what they had found out, what they had accidentally seen on the news or whatever else. i didn't want them to find out that way that i found out. >> how did you tell the children that their mother had been killed? >> it was friday morning. and i believe the children suspected something. after they had eaten and after i had spent time begging the lord for wisdom and strength to know what to say, we took them upstairs to one of the bedrooms and it was just the oldest two at that point, seth and julia and my sister was there with me. and we sat down on the bed and i said mom went home to be with god. we know that she loves us. we know that we loved her.

and at that point i reached out for them and we just hugged. it was quiet. my tears soaked their faces and their tears soaked my face. and then we prayed. and we thanked god for the most wonderful mother and wife to ever been on this earth. >> later, nathan took the children and went to stay at a church mission house in a nearby town. >> nathan's parents told me that nathan and the three children had been moved to a safe house just to protects them because they didn't know if they were being targeted for anything. >> his friend norm often brought them home cooked meals. >> nathan was very quiet. almost in a state of shock maybe. i had noticed him when him and i were in the living room alone

together. it was just complete silence. it felt a little awkward. but i could just see him just staring into space almost. >> in the meantime, denise's parents made the difficult choice to return to their home, the scene of the crime. and a few days later, they asked nathan and the kids to come over to be with family. >> how was he with you the first time you saw him after denise was killed? >> he seemed very emotional. he originally said he didn't want to come back in the house that the kids were afraid to come in. >> it was a lot to take in. denise was dead. three young children were without a mother, and nathan said he'd lost the love of his life. detectives worked around the clock to solve the crime. p as they dshgs they began to get the idea that not everything was as it seemed. >> coming up, this is strange.

denise had just gotten home when she was killed so why was her car some place else? >> this is the problem. she's been shot in the house. okay? i need to figure out how that car got to the parking lot. >> when "deadly valentine" continues. >> when "deadly valentine" continues. the lexus es. eagerly prepared for the unexpected. lease the 2020 es 350 for $389 a month for 36 months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. lease the 2020 es 350 for $389 (burke) for 36 months. we've seen almost everything,

so we know how to cover almost anything. even a "gold medal grizzly." (sports announcer) what an unlikely field in this final heat. (burke) not exactly a skinny dipper, but we covered it. at farmers, we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. so get a quote at farmers-dot-com. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ ...depend® silhouette™ briefs feature maximum absorbency, with trusted protection for all out confidence... beautiful colors and an improved fit for a sleek design and personal style. life's better when you're in it. be there with depend®.

thouwhich is breast cancer metastthat has spreadcer, to other parts of the body, are living in the moment and taking ibrance. ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor is for postmenopausal women or for men with hr+/her2- metastatic breast cancer, as the first hormonal based therapy. ibrance plus letrozole significantly delayed disease progression versus letrozole, and shrank tumors in over half of patients. patients taking ibrance can develop low white blood cell counts which may cause serious infections that can lead to death. ibrance may cause severe inflammation of the lungs that can lead to death. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including trouble breathing, shortness of breath, cough, or chest pain. before taking ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection, liver or kidney problems, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant. common side effects include low red blood cell and low platelet counts, infections, tiredness, nausea, sore mouth, abnormalities in liver blood tests,

diarrhea, hair thinning or loss, vomiting, rash, and loss of appetite. be in your moment. ask your doctor about ibrance. in the weeks after denise's death, nathan and his children staid at a church mission house. when his friend norm visited, he said nathan seemed quiet, stoic. >> i never seen nathan in an emotional state as far as crying or in panic or anything like that. i just took it as he was just really stressed out and what's happening to my family right now? why did this happen? >> as denise's parents were wondering the same thing, they

also began to ask other questions. >> we kept kind of going over the robbery like how it would have happened and just it didn't really make sense. >> what was suspicious about what was taken? >> i worked at a store that sold high definition tvs. we had a lot of small ones they could have picked up and taken away, you know, electronics, blue ray players, none of those things were touched. and i only had probably three rings that were of any value but those three rings were taken. why would a burglar know that those were the only three that were valuable? >> some things seemed off to police as well. >> the more we started looking at the house, it just didn't seem like a real burglary. there was a junk drawer that was perfectly laying on the floor. why would a burglar go through a junk drawer with pens, scissors and then lay it? >> they also analyzed things nathan told him during the interview at the police station the night of the murder like the

fact that he owned three guns. >> you have a shotgun? >> do you know what a 12 gauge shotgun zblment wh shotgun? >> what else? >> a .22. and then i have a prime arie one which is a glock. >> what mod snl. >> i don't know, it's a .40. >> there were a lot of things about nathan's guns that didn't add up for police. starting with the fact that he happened to own the same type of gun used in denise's murder. >> how did he explain that? >> he couldn't. he just -- i think he was trying to elude to the fact that burglar must have got into it and taken it. yeah. >> nathan told police he kept that gun in a plastic case. >> you kept it lock? >> yeah. >> how hard is it to pry open? >> would you need a crow bar or something? >> no. >> but there was no broken case at the house. that said a lot to the detectives. >> then i asked him what happened to the box? he didn't know. but tried to, you know, insinuate the burglar took it.

they're not going to take a busted lock box. they're gone. they're leaving. >> nathan told them he last fired that gun in oklahoma. >> a couple weeks ago. >> a couple weeks ago. >> i can look at the calendar, yeah, a couple weeks ago. >> nothing lately? >> i shot the .40 when i was there. >> and there is something else troubling police. even though denise was killed in her home, her car was found in a nearby park. the police figured whoever drove it there must have been involved in denise's murder. >> this is the problem i got. she had been shot in the house. okay? i need to figure out how that car got to the park. okay? >> a key to that car was found tangled in denise's hair, under her head. so clearly that key wasn't used to move the car. there had to be another one. >> i'm just trying to figure out how many sets of keys are out there. i'm trying to find a set of keys. >> i know there is one set of keys. when i borrowed -- whenever i drove the car to go get

something fixed, i ask her for the keys or she said they're on the plate. >> none of that made sense to the detectives. there had to be a second key somewhere visible in the house in order for an intruder to easily find it and drive the car to the park. there was no other way, they said. >> did he need interrupted a burglary. and he shoots her. that guy is getting the hell out of town. he's not going to wait to try to find a spare set of keys in the house. he's leaving. >> questions about denise's car led to questions about nathan's car and something he said caught the detectives' attention. >> was your vehicle ever at robinson park today? >> my vehicle was at robinson park today, yes. >> when was this? >> early this morning, not early, but it would have been before -- before i came back to the house. >> what was it down there for? >> i pulled over to take a phone call. >> so it turns out on the day of

the murder, nathan was at the same park where denise's car was later found. and that's when one of the detectives got frustrated with nathan's whole story and confronted him. >> it's not a coincidence that we're missing a .40 glock handgun and there is evidence that leads us to believe that your wife is probably shot with a .40 caliber handgun. okay? and then furthermore to have her car down the street at the park, right, where you failed to tell us you were there prior to going home earlier that day. >> it was a short phone call. i didn't -- >> i know. but the thing, is we're talking about things that once you start piecing things together. we're trying to figure things out. >> i understand. >> okay? >> so if you're at the park, exact same park your wife's car was at, i need to figure out how your wife's car got there. >> okay. >> i don't have the answer. >> you don't have the key either. >> correct. >> it wasn't just that nathan stopped to take a short phone

call, it was who was on thor end of the line that piqued their interest. >> he received a phone call from a lithuanian exchange student. >> that's how she came on your radar? >> yeah. >> she was 20-year-old ina dobalite, the young exchange student close to the family for years. she baby sat for them in lithuania and they were sponsoring her as a student in the u.s. just what was that call about? >> it just kind of kept snow balling from there until we figured we had to go up and track her down. >> coming up -- >> i asked her more than one time. i said aren't you jealous that he's traveling around with this young girl? >> a missionary's unusually close relationship with a young exchange student. >> did you outright ask her, were you having a sexual relationship with nathan. >> she denied it. >> when "deadly valentine" continues. n "deadly valentine" continues. d. like the old "tunic tug". you know it, right?

but i don't have to, with always discreet. i couldn't believe the difference. it's less bulky. and it really protects. watch this. the super absorbent core turns liquid and odor to gel, and locks it away. so i have nothing to hide. always discreet. for bladder leaks. instead of using aloe, or baby wipes, or powders, try the cooling, soothing relief or preparation h, because your derriere deserves expert care. preparation h. get comfortable with it. you've been hearing a lot about 5g. but there's 5g... and then there's verizon 5g. we're building the most powerful 5g experience for america. it's more than 10x faster than some other 5g networks.

and it's rolling out in cities across the country so people can experience speeds that ultra wideband can deliver. 1.7 gigs here in houston. 1.8 gigs here in frigid omaha. almost 2 gigs here in los angeles. that's outrageous! it's like an eight-lane highway compared to a two-lane dirt road. ♪

[ fast-paced drumming ]

police found denise luthold, 39 mother of three, shot to death in her home. at first it looked like a possible burglary gone bad. but after questioning her his, nathan, and combing the crime scene, detectives started to see things differently. >> things just weren't adding up. we aren't accountants but we though when it doesn't add up. >> police now wanted to look more closely at the lithuanian student nathan had spoken to on the day of the murder. he and louise had met her in 1998. >> there was a church there, it was already established. that church really took us in and did their best to communicate with us and helped us out. and there was a particular woman in the church we worked with that was ina's mother. >> ina was a child at the time. as she grew up, her relationship with the family grew as well. >> as a teenager, it was very clear that she had given her life to the lord and wanted to

serve him. she was always the one volunteering. helping a at church right alongside of her mother. she was very gifted in music. then as we started branching out in the ministry, ina was the one that took care of the music. >> when she was 16, she became a babysitter for nathan and denise's three children. >> ina was the one who was always helping us with the children at church, and it was just natural for denise to want to hire her, and we just trusted her 100% with them. and that's how she came to be a part of our family. >> then you ended up bringing her own to america? >> we were her sponsors here in the u.s., yes. she came here for the education. her desire from the very beginning was to go back to help her own country and the churches there, how to use music for the lord. >> reporter:. >> ina came to the u.s. to study at a christian college in florida where nathan would occasionally visit her. what did denise think about that? >> i asked her more than one time, aren't you jealous he's traveling around with this young

girl? she was like, no. she wasn't jealous at all. >> this was a girl that they wanted to help? >> exactly. and she trusted nathan. >> during school vacations, ina would stay in peoria with the whole family. >> she was really good with the kids. she seemed like she was a sweet girl. >> if your daughter liked her? >> she was ra friend of our daughter's and son-in-law's. we accepted her into our home. >> then in december 2011, ina left that florida school. she was so close with the family she moved in with nathan, denise, and denise's parents while she attended a community college in peoria. >> it wasn't the first time we had done that. ina was one of many question had worked with, so it was very natural. she was made to be part of the family. not just by denise and i and the children but by her in-laws as well. >> it sounds like a very giving community, giving family. >> it is, it is. >> tight-knit. >> yes. >> they had sponsored other

lithuanian students before to come here. so it didn't really seem strange to us that that's what they were doing. >> they were really making a difference in this young girl's life. >> yes, uh-huh. they were giving her a chance to come here and get a college education here. >> six months before denise's death, ina had transferred to a christian college in chicago 160 miles from peoria. so police drove there to talk to her. >> was she cooperative? >> no. she wanted to have that appearance of being cooperative. but when we took her to the chicago plooecolice department, had this stone demeanor about her. when we first started the interview, it was a lot of background information. and it was a -- we were coming across a, we're concerned for denise, you lived with them for x amount of years, you've known the family. and she was fine. as we started ramping up the questioning, getting more direct about her relationship with nathan, is -- then all of a sudden, perfectly speaking

english girl started saying, "i don't understand that," or "i'm not going to answer that question." then it turned into a -- more of just a cold stare and no emotion whatsoever. >> you describe it almost like a staring contest. >> yeah. we threw out there crime scene pictures of denise laying dead, autopsy pictures, to get a reaction. she had no emotion. and i called her out on it. i said, these people took you into their home, brought you back from lithuania, you lived with them, that don't bother you? she just looked a the me stone cold and said, "i cried enough over the been." >> then detectives asked her about something they learned as they traced nathan's movements the day of the murder. remember one of the places he said he visited was this day spa where he bought a vind valenti day gift certificate for denise. when they stopped there, they discovered nathan had brought another woman to the spa and it was none other than ina. it happened to often, the owner

said, she thought they were a couple. >> he's taking this woman in her early 20s, an exchange student, to the spa? >> to get massages and to get her waxed up. my stuff would be in the front yard if my wife found out i was waxing up a 20-year-old. it made no sense. i kept on her to explain that. what exactly waxing up? she would glare, i ain't answering that. >> they asked her about the bill, which nathan paid. >> she framed it up as, it's his money, and it's denise's money too, so if he's spending the money, she should be all right with it. >> did you outright ask her, were you having a sexual relationship with nathan? >> yeah. >> what was her response? >> she denied it. >> ina mentioned something that sparked their curiosity. she had studied music her whole life and had gone to florida to pay piano. but she told detectives she left the school because of problems with her hands.

>> withdrawal or something. >> they subpoenaed her records. >> the records we got was her dismissal had something to do with inappropriate relationships with her sponsor, including staying off campus overnight with just them two. >> that sponsor, of course, was nathan. police learned more about their relationship when they pulled nathan and ina's phone records. what did you find on her phone? >> just that they communicated a lot more than nathan let on. it didn't look like a typical sponsor/sponsee relationship. there are multiple texts and calls every day. >> she's denying a sexual relationship. were the text messages suggesting otherwise? >> there was one that mentioned -- i think she was done at the gym, and he asked her if she was wet. i didn't find that appropriate for the relationship they were leading on. the biggest thing was just the sheer volume of contact that they had. you're saying you're just checking on her, making sure she's doing good in school?

it was just -- >> it had the appearance of a dating-type relationship. coming up, more questions for and about nathan. >> my husband just thought, well, he's a missionary, he wouldn't kill anybody. >> when "deadly valentine" continues. ♪you make everything... groovy...♪ done yet? yeah, yeah, sorry, sorry. you sure? hmm.mmm. ♪come on, come on, wild thing. if you ride, you get it. geico motorcycle. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. the best of pressure cooking and air frying now in one pot, and with tendercrisp technology, you can cook foods that are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. the ninja foodi pressure cooker, the pressure cooker that crisps. you have fast-acting power over pain,

so the whole world looks different. the unbeatable strength and speed of advil liqui-gels. what pain? proof i can fight moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. proof i can fight psoriatic arthritis... ...with humira. proof of less joint pain... ...and clearer skin in psa. humira targets and blocks a source of inflammation that contributes to joint pain and irreversible damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection.

humira is proven to help relieve pain, stop further joint damage,... ...and clear skin in psa. want more proof? ask your rheumatologist about humira. how you watch it does too. tv just keeps getting better. this is xfinity x1. featuring the emmy award-winning voice remote. streaming services without changing passwords and input. live sports - with real-time stats and scores. access to the most 4k content. and your movies and shows to go. the best tv experience is the best tv value. xfinity x1. simple. easy. awesome. xfinity. the future of awesome.

had denise luthell been killed by an intruder? part of a burglary gone wrong? or had someone close to her been involved? denise's parents believed their daughter had been killed by a stranger until their minister came to visit one day. >> he asked us, well, do you have any suspicions that your son-in-law was involved? >> wow. >> we both answered no, but as soon as i said no i'm like, well, wait a minute -- you know. then i of course started having suspicions. my husband was kind of shocked that -- because he just thought, well, he's a missionary, he wouldn't kill anybody. >> but investigators weren't so

sure. they began to take a hard look at nathan's whereabouts that day. they collected surveillance video from the places he said he'd been. and while he was at those places, chase bank, starbucks, the day spa, a car bash, there was a problem. >> we were able to account for him up until about 11:30 in the morning. then there was a gap between him leaving a starbucks around 11:30, then he shows back up at the same starbucks around 12:45 p.m. and in between there we could not account for him anywhere. >> that gap was crucial. because it was during that time frame that police believe the murder happened. the detectives even traced a rout they thought nathan might have taken that day. from the starbucks to the park, a quick walk to his house, then back to the starbucks to see if he could have done it in time. >> 6:55. >> not only possible, they said, but probable.

more likely, they figured, than a stranger breaking into the house during the roughly 20 minutes denise was out. >> it's inconceivable to think somebody breaks into the house that exact same time, runs through the house, finds a glock, pries it open, loads it up, hides behind the door, to execute her. it just can't happen. >> something else that didn't make sense, they said, was that denise's car was not in her driveway. after the murder they found her silver ford here in this nearby park. nathan had told police he only knew of one key, the key that was found at the crime scene. but now police had a second key that they found in this trash can in the park. they believe nathan was lying to them and that he had used that key to move the car. another suspicious finding, a black hooded sweatshirt on the floor of nathan and denise's bedroom. investigators said it seemed to match the one a strange man was seen wearing in the neighborhood that day. >> it appeared to us that

somebody was in a hurry, took it off, threw it down. >> but there was something else that was even more troubling. police had ordered an extensive analysis of nathan's laptop. and a couple of weeks after the murder, they received a report. >> the computer expert explained that his browser was set to delete anything he looked up. but as we found out, just because you delete something doesn't mean it's gone. >> and what they found floored them. >> and it ranged from, how to silence a .40-caliber handgun -- >> glock specifically, which is the gun he owns. >> he owned and she was shot with, how to silence that. how to overdose somebody on insulin. >> bathtub? >> drowning in the bathtub. >> electrocution. >> thing likes that. this goes back several months before the murder. >> he's potentially thinking up several ways to kill his wife. >> i think -- i honestly think he planned it out. >> did you straight-up ask him did you have anything to do with your wife's death? >> yeah. >> and? >> denied it.

>> he said no. >> not only did he deny killing his wife, nathan told us there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for all those internet searches police uncovered. >> electrocution in the bathtub, how to silence a gun? >> we had a start of a foundation overseas called hope for tomorrow to combat suicide. and we were doing research and looking at blog sites where young people or desperate people were getting information, about what they were thinking. i attempted this method, and here's what i was thinking. or, i used this method because this is how i felt. we wanted to take the methods being used and associate those with the emotions of the feelings people were going through. while we can't stop the methods, we might have been able to combat things people were feeling or facing and therefore combat suicide that way. >> still, it was obvious from nathan's interview video that detectives had questions about his story early on.

>> i -- i would love to think that you're a god-fearing man and you would never do that. but -- >> but you have a preconceived idea in your head. >> no, no, trust me, i do not have a preconceived idea. but when i'm painting a picture and i'm trying to put the pieces together, okay, as a homicide investigator, i have to either rule you in or rule you out. >> and you want to rule me in based upon -- >> no, no, no, no. i'd rather rule you out so i can move on. >> rule me out based upon what? >> rule you out? i want to rule you out because i hope you didn't do it. >> between learning about ina and all the evidence they collected, police had enough to arrest nathan. three weeks after denise had been killed, they pulled her husband over. he'd just dropped his kids off at school. >> they handcuffed me. they put me in their car. at that point i didn't know where we were going. and finally i asked them.

i said, where are we going? what's going on? we're taking you to jail for the murder of your wife. >> was this a bombshell for you? or were you expecting this? >> i understood their intent. they made their intent very clear. but if you're asking did i see it coming? was i looking over my shoulder every day for the police to come up roaring with the lights and guns drawn or even to ever question me again? no. >> he seemed scared. >> he seemed surprised. >> i think it was disbelief. that he was being arrested. >> it was a shock. nathan luthold, missionary and father of three, a native son of peoria, was now on his way to jail. to await trial for the murder of his wife. his friend norm alrick, who had known the couple for decades, was stunned. >> new year's no doubt in my mind that nathan was arrest ed

because they needed somebody in jail. there's no way that i could ever fathom nathan doing this to his wife. coming up -- hard to imagine anyone doing something this evil. if it's true -- >> this was his valentine's day present to ina, and that is despicable. >> when "deadly valentine" continues. due to afib not caused by a heart valve problem. so if there's a better treatment than warfarin, i'll go for that. eliquis. eliquis is proven to reduce stroke risk better than warfarin. plus has significantly less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. what's next? sharing my roots. don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding.

while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. eliquis, the number one cardiologist-prescribed blood thinner. ask your doctor if eliquis is what's next for you. instead of using aloe, or baby wipes, or powders, try the cooling, soothing relief or preparation h,

because your derriere deserves expert care. preparation h. get comfortable with it. americans come to lendingtree.com to compare and save on loans, credit cards and more! but with the new lending tree app you can see your full financial health, monitor your credit score, see your cash flow and find out how you can cut your monthly bills. download it now to see how much you can save. (sensei) when i started cobra kai, the lack of control over my business made me a little intense. but now quickbooks helps me get paid, manage cash flow, and run payroll. and now i'm back on top... with koala kai. (vo) save over 40 hours a month with intuit quickbooks. robinwithout the commission fees. so, you can start investing today wherever you are - even hanging with your dog. so, what are you waiting for? download now and get your first stock on us. robinhood.

. three weeks after denise luthold was shot to death, her husband nathan was arrested for her murder. at first denise's mother couldn't quite grasp it. >> he was part of our family for 17 years. you know, he was like a son to us. to think that he could actually shoot her in the head. >> this is a man who's devoted his life to -- >> right. >> -- being a good person. >> exactly. >> but by the time nathan went on trial, she had changed her life. >> he'd been leading a double

life. >> was in the bad dream that didn't end? >> right, it was just going on and on and on. >> this just won't end until -- >> exactly. >> -- nathan is convicted. >> exactly. >> here at peoria county courthouse -- >> the trial was big news in town. after all, the defendant was a missionary accused of killing his wife in their home in an upscale neighborhood. things like that just don't happen in peoria. nathan pleaded not guilty. he insisted he would have never done anything to harm his beloved wife. >> every time there's a difficulty in life, the first person i would talk to would be denise. and there were several times wince the first few days after her death, trying to figure out what to do with the children next, i wanted to just grab the phone and call her. she was my support. >> but denise was not there to support nathan because, the state argued, he killed her. >> you will have eyewitness identification, dna, gunshot

residue, motive, and they all point to one person who's sitting right across from you. >> nathan's trial began on july 14th, exactly 17 months after the murder. reporter beau ebenezer covered the trial for nbc's week tv in peoria. were a lot of people anxious for this trial to start? >> i think a lot of people were anxious, especially the family. the family wanted to find out what had really happened. >> jody huid and jerry brady were the prosecutors who tried the case. they said what really happened was a cold-blooded execution. >> ladies and gentlemen, burglars commit burglaries. killers execute in a style consistent with what the defendant did. hiding in that cubicle to kill her the moment she walked through the door. >> the state's theory? nathan put his plan into action when denise left the house to take their daughter to day care.

first he drove his car to the park down the street. >> parked his car in robinson park. you know, somewhere close to 12:15 to 12:20. walked up to the house, went into the house. the burglary probably was already staged. if not, he went ahead. and then he knew that denise would be coming back. stood in the doorway ask, as soon as the door opened, denise tried to take her coat off and he shot her in the back of the head. >> nathan then drove denise's car to that same park, prosecutors said, and hopped back in his own car and drove to starbucks, arriving at 12:45. >> 12:45 to 12:50, five minutes only, but long enough to be on that camera. >> and long enough, they said, for nathan to wash his hands to get the gunshot residue off, then leave to start his afternoon errands before picking up yeah they will from day care. >> about 3:00 the defendant returns home. wants you to believe that he sees the door open and glass.

that's the extent of his knowledge. but with that he calls the police. >> he knew full well what -- when he called the police, what they were going to find. >> from our perspective, that's what makes this case so disturbing. the cold, calculated manner in which he did this. he planned this for months. and then stood behind the front door to his mother and father-in-law's home waiting for his wife to come in and execute her. he leaves, and then just goes about his day. like no big deal. >> one of the first officers to testify for the state described the scene at the house just after nathan called 911 that day. >> i observed some kitchen cabinets open and some kitchen drawers on the floor. in my experience as a police officer and investigator, when a burglary occurs, the kitchen is not a commonplace that place th burglar would look for items.

in a burglary also, items are scattered about. drawers dumped on the floor? i felt this was not an ordinary burglary, and i expressed that to my partner. >> while he found the crime scene odd for a burglary, it was nathan's behavior that struck the officer even more. >> describe his demeanor. >> as i'm speaking to him, the -- he -- he never showed any sort of emotion or asked any questions of me as to what was going on. >> prosecutors said nathan also showed no emotion during his police interview, even when a detective told him denise was dead. >> you can't tell me things about her, i'm not at alling you, you can't tell me things about you -- >> i can tell you she's dead. >> you told that. >> okay. >> in the elevator. >> prosecutors played the interview for the jurors, hoping they would see what they saw. >> when the police first gave us the case, i watched his videotape statement. five minutes into it, i knew he did it, i knew he was guilty. his demeanor, his attitude, he

tried to take over the conversation, not a single tear was shed. >> they presented evidence the bullet casing found atted the scene was a glock .40, the firearm nathan owned. >> a glock. >> can you say that within a reasonable degree of scientific certainty? >> yes. >> police never did find the murder weapon. did you worry you weren't able to find the gun? was that a factor? >> obviously that was a concern. >> any time in a murder case when you don't have the handgun, the weapon, whatever it was, it's an uphill battle, because that's what the jury wants. they want the smoking gun and we didn't have it. >> still, prosecutors thought they had more than enough evidence to prove their case. remember diane parrish who said she saw a man in a block hooded sweatshirt walking towards denise's house on the day of the murder? she was the closest thing police had to an eyewitness. >> the whole thing struck me as wrong. i thought -- i told my husband

to slow down. i wanted to get a good look at him. and i was worried that he saw us pulling out of our driveway, and if he knew we were gone that he'd rob us. >> she didn't recognize the man that day, but later, when she looked at a police photo lineup, she quickly pointed to this man. and it turned out to be nathan luthold. did you think it was possible when you're looking at this photo lineup, maybe you'd seen nathan in the neighborhood and subconsciously you were choosing that photo because you'd already seen him before? >> no. >> why were you so sure? >> because of the look on his face. i knew. i didn't make a mistake. and i was very careful when i looked at the photos so i would not make a mistake. same man that was walking on the side of the road was in that photo array, and i picked the one person that i saw. i didn't know he lived here, i'd never met them.

i don't think there's any chance of that. >> when she testified, you could hear a pin drop in that courtroom. i mean, everybody was glued to her testimony. i don't think there's a person in that courtroom that disbelieved what she was saying. >> prosecutors said it must have been nathan the neighbors saw that day, because police found a block hooded sweatshirt on his bedroom floor. what's more, an expert testified it had gunshot residue on the right cuff. nathan said he'd been at the gun range. is that feasible, fa if he was -- >> no. what's important about that too is he said it was in oklahoma, two weeks prior. there's no way there would have been gunshot residue on that sweatshirt still. >> on the stand, another neighbor who did not want to be videotape testified she heard a gunshot that day between 12:30 and 12:40. prosecutors said that gave nathan the opportunity to kill denise.

now they had to explain why he did it. so they called this man to the stand. who said he could answer that precise question. because nathan told him everything. >> would you state your name? >> david d. smith. >> david smith was a fellow inmade of nathan's at the county jail. he said nathan told him he researched ways to kill denise on his laptop. >> did he talk about how he was planning to kill his wife denise? >> well -- at first he told me that he was think about some poisoning. with some type of insulin or potassium, something like that. >> according to the inmate, nathan said he ran a lot of errands on the day of the murder to create an alibi. and -- >> he told me that he had presented some gifts, some valentine's day gifts and stuff to his wife, so that everything would look fine. >> how important was david smith, the jailhouse snitch? >> david smith said that nathan was worried that a lady might

have seen him while he was walking. well, obviously nobody knows that except nathan. and it's consistent with our evidence. >> what's more, the inmate also testified why nathan wanted denise out of his life. >> well, he said that -- he said that she was overbearing and that he had got to the point where he had wanted to move on with his life, and he had met someone else, and stuff like that. >> did he tell you the name of that someone else? >> somebody -- some student named anna, lana, something like that. >> but it was what the inmate told prosecutors about the timing of the murder that they found particularly chilling. smith testified that nathan told him he planned the murder specifically for valentine's day. >> it was supposed to be some type of present to this other chick. >> to the -- i think you referred to her as anna? >> yeah, yeah. >> and there it was, nathan's

motive. prosecutors said he killed his wife so he could be with his "true love" ina. >> this was his valentine's day present to ina. and that -- that is despicable. >> ina, who prosecutors said was nathan's motive for murder, was about to take the stand, the star witness at the biggest trial in town. >> please state your name. >> ina dolelita. >> there's nothing more important to me than this relationship. >> and a note to him from the woman she's accused of murdering. >> she was speaking from the grave in a way. >> absolutely. that note was powerful. >> when "deadly valentine" continues. (sports announcer) what an unlikely field in this final heat.

(burke) not exactly a skinny dipper, but we covered it. at farmers, we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. so get a quote at farmers-dot-com. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ applebee's new irresist-a-bowls now starting at $7.99. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood.

americans come to lendingtree.com to compare and save on loans, credit cards and more! but with the new lending tree app you can see your full financial health, monitor your credit score, see your cash flow and find out how you can cut your monthly bills. download it now to see how much you can save. [ indistinct talking ] a new kind of investor is changing things up. with an app that's changing the way we do money. download robinhood now.

hello, i'm dara brown. we now know the names of the u.s. servicemen killed in a green on blue attack in afghanistan. a gunman in an afghan military

uniform took the lives of sergeant first class javier gutierrez and sergeant first class antonio rey rodriguez. the iowa democratic party has given delegates. nbc news is not projecting a winner. now back to "dateline." nathan luthold was on trial for murdering his wife on valentine's day 2013, a scenario impossible to have predicted for a man devoted to god who appeared to have been happily married to his high school sweetheart for 17 years. what would make him commit such a crime? the state argued he was in love with another woman. >> the motive? his real valentine, a 20-year-old lithuanian sponsor

student. >> ina dobelite, his motive for murder. >> i think ina was a big bombshell. >> ina testified in both english and lithuanian through a translator. >> nathan luthold visited you in hotels off campus on at least five occasions, correct? [ speaking foreign language ] >> translator: i can't remember how many times. >> during those visits you went to a hotel with nathan, and just the two of you were present part of the time, correct? [ speaking foreign language ] >> translator: i'm not sure if every time we were at the hotel we were together alone. >> did you spend the night with mr. luthold? >> no. >> ina was called as a witness for the prosecution, which granted her immunity to encourage her to talk. but her testimony made it clear she was not eager to help the state. >> when mr. luthold visited you

in chicago in 2012, did he buy you presents? >> no -- [ speaking foreign language ] >> translator: i'm not really sure what presents means. >> despite having studied in the states for four years, ina seemed incapable of understanding english at times, which frustrated the prosecutors. >> and in fact, you are proficient in both written and spoken english, isn't that correct? [ speaking foreign language ] >> translator: yes. >> still, the prosecution thought she was an important witness. >> i think it was significant for the jury to see ina. we could get in the text messages, we could get in the emails, we could get in the phone calls and the jury is going to hear all that. >> the state showed the jury texts between nathan and ina from the day of the murder. they started at 7:36 a.m. with mutual hellos. at 8:37 a.m., nathan texted aina. i know there is a lot to do today, i pray that there is enough time to do everything.

have good lectures and meeting. take care of yourself. then after nathan arrived home midafternoon, aina texted him and he replies, i can't now, police checked, it looks like the house was robbed. aina responded, interesting. followed by a smiley face. >> you would respond with, oh, my, what happened? concern for the family. so i suspect that based on that response that in all likelihood she had some knowledge as to maybe what was going to take place. >> prosecutors accuse nathan of coaching aina during jailhouse phone calls on how to cover up their relationship. those calls were in lithuanian. for the trial, english translations of what nathan said were read aloud. >> i am your spiritual adviser or your clergy here in america because there is nobody else who speaks lithuanian. this may be important in the future because just as all your communication with the attorney is private, communication with your clergy is also private.

>> but, prosecutors said, there was no covering up letters nathan had sent aina, including this one read by an interpreter during a deposition. >> i love you because you understand me better than anybody else, and because i am a better person with you next to me. my life has a deeper meaning and purpose because you are my world and my everything, and that will never change. >> with words like that, prosecutors didn't believe aina's denials of an affair with nathan. they made her read aloud another effusive note that nathan sent her a month before the murder. >> i let you down and i am sorry, i'm not going to make excuses, that would not be fair to you, you deserve someone who respects you and puts their relationship first and from now on i want to do all that i can to be that person, there's nothing more important to me than you in this relationship, i'm so blessed to have you in my life and i know it. >> i think she presented for herself for what she was, she was in a relationship with nathan. i think she tried to minimize

the relationship. >> nathan and aina were making eye contact quite a bit throughout the trial. sometimes when she wouldn't answer owe question or she said something he didn't like, he kind of laughed and threw his hands up in the air in disappointment. >> prosecutors had another piece of evidence they said proved an affair, a secret that shook the courtroom. it challenged the very core of nathan's defense, that denise was at the center of his life and he would never hurt her. it was a gut-wrenching note written by denise discovered tucked in her day planner. >> in a murder case, you don't have the victim. you never get to hear the victim's story. that person is dead. and here we had a note that she had written that laid the whole thing out. >> the highly personal, very painful note was obviously aimed at nathan. the police investigator read the note in court. >> i have tried to please you for 17 years and never succeeded. i've never been good enough, never done enough. i know that you want me dead. i'm not stupid.

>> denise seemed to confirm that she believed her husband was having an affair. while she didn't name aina, she mentioned a much young woman. you want to humiliate me by running around with a 20-year-old, fine. i won't grovel. if i haven't pleased you in 17 years, nothing i do now will please you. how long are you going to do this to me? oh yeah, until i break. that's what you said, isn't it? well, happy waiting. >> it was very devastating. i was -- i was shocked that it had gone that far. so she really was jealous, even though she said that she wasn't. >> she was speaking from the grave, in a way. >> absolutely. absolutely. to the jury. to everybody. her story. i mean, that note was powerful. powerful. >> powerful, but not proof, said nathan's attorney. in fact, he argued that there was no evidence that nathan had done anything wrong at all. >> it's premature judgment that this all happened because he was

having an affair, and i would submit as i started off with you, there's not a scintilla of evidence that that was the case. coming up -- nathan and aina insisted there was nothing unholy about their alliance. was the relationship more innocent than it looked? >> he was the only person with whom i could talk lithuanian who was a friend. >> were you and nathan ever lovers? >> no. >> the prosecution couldn't prove that. could it prove nathan murdered his wife? when "deadly valentine" continues. it's the next one. you always drive this slow? how did you make someone i love? that must be why you're always so late. i do not speed. and that's saving me cash with drivewise. my son, he did say that you were the safe option. and that's the nicest thing you ever said to me. so get allstate. stop bossing. where good drivers save 40% for avoiding mayhem, like me. this is my son's favorite color, you should try it.

[mayhem] you always drive like an old lady? [tina] you're an old lady. instead of using aloe, or baby wipes, or powders, try the cooling, soothing relief or preparation h, because your derriere deserves expert care. preparation h. get comfortable with it. thouwhich is breast cancer metastthat has spreadcer, to other parts of the body, are living in the moment and taking ibrance. ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor is for postmenopausal women or for men with hr+/her2- metastatic breast cancer, as the first hormonal based therapy. ibrance plus letrozole significantly delayed disease progression versus letrozole, and shrank tumors in over half of patients. patients taking ibrance can develop low white blood cell counts which may cause serious infections that can lead to death. ibrance may cause severe inflammation of the lungs that can lead to death. tell your doctor right away

if you have new or worsening symptoms, including trouble breathing, shortness of breath, cough, or chest pain. before taking ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection, liver or kidney problems, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant. common side effects include low red blood cell and low platelet counts, infections, tiredness, nausea, sore mouth, abnormalities in liver blood tests, diarrhea, hair thinning or loss, vomiting, rash, and loss of appetite. be in your moment. ask your doctor about ibrance. good ideas catch on fast. good, clean food, even faster. order panera for delivery, catering or rapid pick-up at panerabread.com.

nathan leuthold had spent a week listening to prosecutors paint him as a monster who planned the execution of his wife. now it was time for the defense to fight back.

>> to say that i killed my wife goes beyond what i ever fathomed hearing from anyone. and to say that i had an affair is absurd. >> i think nathan was being tested by god about his faith. i just thought, you know, nathan, you got to be strong, man, we'll get through this. >> nathan's lawyer was hugh toner, a former prosecutor turned defense attorney, who argued that the investigation was faulty. >> that there were certain preconceived notions of who did it, for lack of a better term, that never went anywhere. and for that reason i'm going to ask you to find nathan not guilty. >> toner insisted the cops zeroed in on nathan right from the start and never pursued any other leads. >> this was an incomplete investigation. that while the spouse, nathan in this case, would have been the

logical place to start, the problem with that is if you follow that gut feeling, that's going to cause you very likely to miss other things, and in this case, simply not look for them at all. >> for instance, what about those cars nathan said he had seen in the neighborhood which he thought were suspicious not too long before the murder? his attorney called a neighbor to the stand who'd also seen strange activity. >> i observed a vehicle parked with its headlights on for some extended period of time -- five, ten minutes at least -- which i considered to be somewhat unusual. and i felt with the direction of the headlights that whoever was in the vehicle could probably see me in my residence, it made me a little uncomfortable. >> when he cross examined dayian parrish, who identified nathan as the man in the sweatshirt the day of the murder, she admitted her husband had a different

recollection. >> that you and your husband had had a discussion about the race of the person who was walking along the side of the road? >> that's correct. >> and your husband, dr. parrish, thought that it was a black man? >> that's correct. >> another problem with the investigation, the defense pointed out, was that while the state made a big deal about the gunshot residue on nathan's sweatshirt, they never tested his hands for the substance. >> why not cut to the chase and take a test from nathan? >> toner said there's also an issue with the state's timeline. based on court testimony, the murder occurred at around 12:30 p.m. after that, prosecutors said nathan would have had to drive denise's car to the park, get in his own car, then drive to starbucks where he was seen on surveillance video at 12:45 p.m. >> and he would have had to have done all that without leaving any blood smears, getting any

blood on him. >> it was all coming down to that crucial 15-minute window. we decided to see for yourselves how long that drive would take. we retraced what investigators said were nathan's steps that day. i've just left denise and nathan's house and i'm heading to robinson park, which is just a few blocks away. i am now arriving at robinson park. it took me 1:15. this is where police say the cars were switched. so now we're going to switch cars. take another drive in the second car. we're going to drive to starbucks. let's see how long that takes. red light's going to add on a little bit of time. we're now at 4:30. going just about the speed limit, right on, which is 45 miles per hour.

pulling into the starbucks parking lot. we are looking at a travel time of 7:55. in all, it added up to 9:10 of driving. that would have left him just under six minutes to ransack the house and shoot denise. his lawyer, hugh toner, says that would have been nearly impossible. >> the timing just really gets to the point where it's almost not realistic. >> and what about the state's witness who claimed that nathan had confessed the whole crime to him? the defense argued david smith was a jailhouse snitch, a convicted felon who had got ann deal for his testimony who was not even worth cross examining. >> do you really believe that david smith is the type of person that nathan is going to confide in? and then seek counsel from? >> but according to the defense,

the main weakness with the state's case was motive, an affair with aina. toner argued there was absolutely no evidence to support the theory that nathan killed his wife so that he could be with a 20-year-old. no matter who asked her, aina insisted her relationship with nathan was platonic. >> what's the relationship between you and nathan? >> he miss sponsor. i worked for him. i did a lot of translating work and helping with organizing christian conferences in lithuania. and he is also -- was kind of like my mentor. and -- and here in america he was the only person with whom i could talk in lithuanian that was a friend. >> the defense attorney said the state was making more of those spa visits than was really

there. >> would mr. lithold be there with you when you were having a waxing? >> he was there to drive me and to pay for it. >> but he wasn't there when that was -- the procedure was being done? >> no. >> okay. were you and nathan ever lovers? >> no. >> that's been asked of you many times, correct? police asked you about that, correct? >> that's correct. >> and the answer has never changed, has it? >> that's correct. >> his bottom line was this. the state never even came close to proving a sexual relationship. not even with the hundreds of hours of taped phone calls nathan made from jail over his 16 months there. >> 1,700 hours. of recorded telephone conversations involving nathan leuthold. do the math. at 40 hours a week, you're approaching darn close to almost

an entire work year listening to telephone conversations involving nathan. where in any one of those things do you have any indication at all that nathan and aina were lovers? >> in fact, for all the searches through nathan's and aina's cell phones, toner discovered something he says is especially telling. >> how many people, particularly young people, are going to have a relationship with a significant other and not have a picture of their significant other? did they find any photos, anything where it would indicate that nathan and aina were involved in that way? no. >> without a motive and without hard evidence, nathan pulled the

trigger. toner said all the prosecution had were lies, misinterpretations, and omissions. >> not guilty. that's what nathan is. and i would suggest to you respectfully, that's what i'd ask the verdict that you return. >> though nathan leuthold did not take the stand, he would have plenty to say about the evidence and his innocence, particularly that chilling note left behind by his wife. >> she essentially spoke from the grave saying that you wanted to kill her, that you were humiliating her with a 20-year-old. coming up -- nathan's answer and the jury's verdict. >> i was like 99% sure that they had to come back with a guilty verdict. but there's that 1%. >> when "deadly valentine" continues. to nature. so, we met in the middle. ohhhhh! look who just woke up!

you are so cute! but one thing we could both agree on was getting geico to help with homeowners insurance. yeah, it was really easy and we saved a bunch of money. oh, you got it. you are such a smart bear! call geico and see how easy saving on homeowners and condo insurance can be. it's a masterstroke of heartache and redemption. the lexus nx. modern utility for modern obstacles. lease the 2020 nx 300 for $359 a month for 36 months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. i have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. now, there's skyrizi. 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months after just 2 doses. skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms such as fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches or coughs, or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. ♪ nothing is everything

ask your dermatologist about skyrizi. so chantix can help you quit slow turkey. along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. with chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting so when the day arrives, you'll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions, seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking, or life-threatening allergic and skin reactions. decrease alcohol use. use caution driving or operating machinery. tell your doctor if you've had mental health problems. the most common side effect is nausea. talk to your doctor about chantix.

>> one of the harshest accusations that has come out of all of this is that you killed your wife and it was a valentine's day gift ford aina >> the harshest statement has been that i killed my wife. it doesn't matter what day it

was. i intentionally did it on valentine's day? as a gift? i'm not sure what takes a sicker person, the person to actually do that or the person to suggest that. >> and what about those hauntinh words written by denise in that note found in her day planner? clearly aimed at nathan? how would he answer that? she essentially spoke from the grave saying that you wanted to kill her, that you were humiliating her with a 20-year-old. >> the part you're referring to says, i know you want me dead, i'm not stupid. now to say that that implies that she felt in danger seems to go against the facts. she never shared that with her best friend, her super-close sister, her mother, her father. she never called police, she

never called a counseling hotline, she never did any domestic battery, any restraining order, any anything. because there was nynothing. >> did you want her dead? >> no. why i would want her dead? >> to be with aina, to groom aina as your new wife. that is the accusation. >> that is the accusation by those who, from day one, wanted to portray something that fits modern society. fits the culture we live in. fits the cheater's lifestyle, the "jerry springer show" mindset. it fits those things of making things look salacious. >> the jurors, of course, never heardor any of that.

because nathan never took the stand. how nervous were you when the jury went to deliberate? >> from a purely sufferer's perspective, it's my life, my freedom. it means that i can go back to being the father of the children. the children would beer robbed just one parent, not of both. one was stolen away. by someone who was seeking gain. and a guilty verdict would steal from the children their own parent. >> for n denise'sth family, thas exactly what they were hoping for.op for the man they'd known since he was a young boy. who lived with them, and now, they believe, lied to them. >> when they went into deliberations i was like 99% sure that they had to come back with a guilty verdict. but there's that 1% you're thinking, oh no, what if someone, you know --

>> i really wasn't sure what the jury was going to come back with. there was a lot ofo evidence provided by the prosecution. i think they did a great job. but at the same time it was a lot of circumstantial evidence. there was no evidence that actually pointed to somebody seeinged nathan do the crime. so i think it was very hard to tell what the jury was going to do. >> it was a highly circumstantial case. no hardti proof nathan killed denise and no clear-cut evidence nathan and aina were lovers. but whatever it was jurors heard and saw in that courtroom, it was enough. in a mere 90 minutes, they reached a verdict. >> we the jury find the defendant nathan leuthold guilty of first degree murder -- >> what went were you your mind when you heardwe that one word, guilty? >> it was very close to the same feeling i had when i heard that my wife had been shot. i just remember hearing that -- the loss just got that the much greater. >> the judget sentenced nathano

80 years in prison, saying how shameful it was that nathan had killed denise in her own home. >> it seems only appropriate that you will likely end your life in a very different type of place too. cold and gray, isolated. >> for the state it was a satisfying ending to a case they had to painstakingly stitch together. >> i think he tried to portray this image of this wonderful person, when in reality, you know, he was nothing more than a cold-blooded killer. >> is nathan leuthold the ultimate hypocrite? >> absolutely. >> given his line of h work? >> absolutely. >> you know, i don't think hypocrite is as strong a term. he executed his wife. he's a planned killer. he planned this out. he killed his wife.wi and he showed absolutely no

remorse. >> as for denise's parents, they're still hurting from such a sudden loss. but at leasten they have her children close, as they are now raising them. how did you tell them that theil father killed their mother? >> they knew that, that he had been in trial for murdering their mother, and that a jury had convicted him. and right away the older boy said, well, everybody makes ke mistakes. and my husband said, no, your dad made bad choices. everyone has choices in life, and he made some really bad choices.d >> bad choices. that left denise's parents coming to's terms with the noti that everything they knew to be true wasn't. >> i felt bad for my husband because he told someone that he always thought that wed had th perfect family, the perfect life, and you just -- you really don't expect something like that to happen to you. when inn reality, you know, ba

things happen to good people all the time. suddenly there was a man with an arm around my neck and a gun to my head. i shoved my hand into his chest and said jesus save me. the bullet shot me right in the head and i went down. >> lord jesus, stop me. >> it cape out of nowhere. a sweet stay at home mom from a strong family of faith shot point blank at her own garage door. >> my dad collapsed on the ground. >> it was very traumatic to see. very emotional. >> her survival seemed like a miracle. >> i didn't know if