going to jail for frivolous reasons and other -- >> system of ours. making it hashtag justice. >> thank you for watching. g. this is dateline. desperate search for justice. a wife and mother murdered. >> she was in a casket with her arms cross. >> who would have a motive to kill a lady in rural iowa?

>> did someone have a bigger prize in? mine a family farm worth a fortune. >> i did not shoot my mom! and i would never shoot my mom? >> two trials. >> every emotion hit. >> two verdicts. >> there are only two people who knew what happened that day and one of them is dead and the other one is sitting in that chair. >> too much to bear. >> it's just been hell on earth. >> hello, and welcome to "dateline". bill and shirley carter built a comfortable life and raised a family on a sprawling farm in america's heartland. as their golden years project, the couple fell into routine. daily coffee, work in the fields -- [inaudible]

>> here's dennis murphy with "the farm". >> council bluffs, iowa, in a small courtroom, the new and final scene of a four-year-long drama was playing out. >> count one, murder in the first degree. the defendant did having malice and forethought woefully -- kill shirley -- >> [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible]

>> so much of the rhythm of life is set by the seasons -- [inaudible] >> so, that june morning in 2015, dawned with no particular romance. surely carter and her husband bill started the day as they always did, with coffee at the general store. >> they went for coffee every morning at casey's. that was a ritual. >> after coffee, saying hello to neighbors, they bounced back down the gravel road to home. the bill bill dropped off shirley at the top of the driveway. >> i let her out on the pick up and she said, i think i'll finish my coffee before a chore. and i said, honey, i'll see you between 11 and 11:30. >> you never know, do you bill? >> you don't. >> bill headed off to sell a lot of corn at the greenery

about an hour away. by 11 am, he remembers being a few hours from home when he got the call from his daughter. >> and she said, dad, mom is dead. jason found her. >> bill son had called 9-1-1. this is what he said -- >> my mom -- my mom is laying here on the floor. blood -- there's blood everywhere. and she's dead. >> and i don't know what happened. >> bill got to the house, ran from his truck, passing son jason on the back deck. >> i went in and virtually. she looked like she was asleep. >> not long after, marion county sheriff jason arrived at the farmhouse. he grew up in the county and knew the. family >> did you get in the house? >> i did. >> there you are in the kitchen saying what in the world happened here. >> who would have a motive?

who would have the desire to kill a lady in rural iowa. >> the sheriff called for help. >> got multiple phone calls from my wife. >> special agent mark ludwig works for the department of criminal investigation. this was his first case in pleasant hill, about an hour from des moines. >> so i get her to the dragonfly. multiple vehicles in the driveway. line forsman is on the scene. the families kind of gathered around the tree. >> though any of the officers tell you that the husband, that's the same. >> i see the sheriff and it's apparent to me that these are family members, and i don't know names. yet >> as soon as he got a search warrant, agent ludwig entered the house with crime scene techs. it looks as though someone had ransacked the place. but there, sitting on a chair -- >> you foresee this purse, that's going to be a key item for a burglar. untouched. >> money in? it >> money in it. caution it. credit cards and it. gift cards in it.

was not touch. >> some papers were strewn about. >> that's it. we made our way into the bedroom. her jewelry boxes were untouched. >> and in the kitchen, lay the unlikely victim, shirley carter, a 60 year eight year old wore farm wife and mother. >> surely's body was lying right here in the kitchen for. >> what's your best guess as to what happened that day? >> we know the gun was in this area and was -- shirley standing in the middle of the kitchen. >> the first budget bullet went through shirley's body and pierce the refrigerator. they thought the weapon was i hyped forward gun, perhaps rifle. kind of like this? >> held from the hits. we know shirley would have fallen down through the kitchen floor. and the shooter was moved up towards and fired a shot like this. >> a coup de grace two shirley 's chess. how totally odd, the way she had come to rest. >> she was in a casket like position. her arms were crossed. >> as though the funeral director had a poster for

viewing? >> yes. and that's not normal. >> there were still tests to be done, interviews to conduct. but it was coming. coming with a relentless fury of an item was summer twister. no stopping it. it was about to -- [inaudible] which didn't make the family very happy. coming -- up >> they are upset at we're wasting time. >> police have the reasons. the murder weapon may have belonged to someone within the family. >> so, the question is where is this 270 remington? >> that's correct. >> when dateline continues. teline continues that covers heartworm disease, ticks and fleas, round and hookworms. dogs get triple protection in just one simparica trio! this drug class has been associated with neurologic adverse reactions, including seizures. use with caution in dogs with a history of these disorders.

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summer was beating down on the farmhouse where a murder investigation was underway. shirley carter was lying dead, shot in her kitchen. sheriff jason sandal and his team of investigators were trying to figure out what happened. when your crime scene techs cleared the house, they didn't really have much for you, did they? >> no. they did not >> know forensics, no dna, no nothing. >> right. >> so, to understand surely shirley carter's death, they'd have to learn more about her. life back story to the murder. >> turned out she was a local girl.

her dad a grocer, her mother an assistant at a law office. in high school, she met bill. where did you go on your first date,? do you remember? >> i took her to the homecoming that. she was quiet. prettiest thing you ever saw. >> as bill tells it, they were kids in love. deeply. maybe colourless sly. during her sophomore year, shirley got pregnant. >> we were married at a very young age. i was 18, had just turned 18, and she was 16. >> sun, daughter jana was born. then came billy, eight years later, jason completed the family. with three kids to raise, bill and shirley went into farming. on a small plot a starter line, a gruesome corn and soybeans. then plug the profits into more prime, i wake. rich shirley loved farming. >> she did everything. >> she just took to it? >> she was a natural. >> she loved, loved being in the tractors. >> longtime friend and neighbor irene schultz, said shirley

brought a little pizzazz to the fields when she climbed into her custom-made tractor. >> she always put a little bit of makeup on every morning before she went out. >> up on the john deere? she's decked out? >> yes, he was. she had rosy cheeks. she was beautiful inside and out. >> in time, dr. jana married and moved away to a job in des moines. some billy went into the heating and air conditioning business. that jason, the youngest child, took to the land. >> i really enjoyed working with him. i was teaching him. he is a good. former >> jason would carry on the farming tradition for another generation. and best of all, he and his wife shelly live close by. shirley sun had grandchildren to do tone. >> -- [inaudible] >> mark ludwig took the lead in

the investigation. >> first we want to get all the witnesses, separate them. and we want to sit down face to face as soon as we. can >> early on, the most important witnesses were hill, the husband. and jason, the sun. ludwig a sign deputies to take the two down to the pleasantville pd. >> and she said do you want to go get a coffee? >> and then interview room, bill told investigators the same story he told us. how he dropped shirley off at home and then ride a loon of coal corn to the granary. then he raced trump to find his wife still on the floor. >> and when i went in i felt her, she was called. >> jason intern said his days started pretty much the same. he had also taken a load of call corn to that same granary. >> plater in the morning he said he went to his friends house >> [inaudible] .

[inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] >> for christmas. >> bill kept the rifle in a gun safe in his basement. >> so, the question is, where is this 270 remington? and is that our murder ripen? >> as. correct >> the crime scene investigators had exam the two slugs elected. >> and it could be animal used in 270 remington?

>> it was a two 70. >> coincidence a -- >> bill score that rifle unloaded, deep in his basement. the killer would have to have gotten lucky, finding the gun and the animal. or investigators thought, maybe the shooter was someone who knew where that gun was. maybe someone in the family. that didn't go over well with the carters. >> we go back into the crime scene and the family is mad. >> jason, his wife shelly, bill and daughter jana, all gathered in the living room. and jana and bill let us have a. they are upset that we are wasting time on this investigation, that were screwing up the investigation, because we're looking at family members. >> bill and his daughter were right about at least one thing, they were now focusing on the family. >> coming -- up >> we found out that jason carter was having an affair. >> jason was hiding an affair. was he hiding anything else? >> i never hurt my mom.

if you want to hold those affairs against me, that's fine. but i never hurt my mom. >> when dateline continues.

>> welcome back. did someone close to shirley carter won her dead? a rifle missing from her husband bill's gun safe, let investigations to believe her killer new were bill stored his weapons. shirley's loved ones were under scrutiny. and soon detectives would discover, that someone in the

carter klein had plenty to hide. continuing with our story here is dennis murphy with "the farm". >> shirley, the farm wife and mother, had been gunned down in her own kitchen. and there was no obvious explanation for the crime. as investigators began digging into the carter family background, they came across a detail that focus their attention. a concerned the sun, jason. the one who had found his mother's body. >> i found out that jason carter was having an affair. >> how did you find? that >> a friend of his during one of the interviews. >> jason never mentioned any problems with his marriage when investigators first asked him about that. >> so who's his this girlfriend? >> we locate her, we bring her in, and we determined that there is another phone in place. >> another phone? >> the phone that they just had. >> the lovers had? what they call burner phones, off the books? >> burner phones, we call it the 16 phone. >> the girl frontal the investigators jason kept the phone stashed away.

hidden under the hood of his pick up truck. do you see not only didn't mention the affair in his first interview, he also never told investigators about that secret phone. >> does it change him? where he stands in your suspects? >> absolutely. he gets elevated at that point. >> if jason had tried to hide the affair, agent ludwig wondered if jason was hiding anything else about his mother's murder. >> the investigator called jason and told him he knew about the affair. and the phone. >> so, he says, i will meet you at the sheriff's office. he's there and he hands the cell phone over. >> says here you go. knock yourself out? >> then, surprise. jason wanted to talk some more. >> comes in, on his own free, no attorney. >> in this video, investigators went over his story again. in detail. the timeline of that morning. >> how long from 9-1-1 phone call to your dad got there? >> five.

minutes >> jason lisbon on letting them know he had nothing to hide. no matter how long it took. bring on your questions. >> he sits in the chair and he proceeds to say in this year for over ten hours. >> let's do this. let's step out, working to give you a minute. >> i'm fine. >> there's a shift. doesn't move. does it stand up. >> no bathroom breaks, nothing? >> we begged him to take bathroom breaks. we begged him to do bring him food. >> brought you that i, don't know if you want it or not. you need anything else, jason? >> what's that about? >> he's going to stay here until we believe him. >> he admitted to being unfaithful. but said it was ludicrous to think he killed his mother. >> i never heard my mom. if you want to hold those affairs against me, that's fine. but i never heard my mom. >> this is about an affair. >> i walked in and found my mom the way she was. >> this is about shirley being killed. >> i know that, and you're not doing anything about. it because whoever did kill her,

is still out there. >> he headed home, but a cloud of suspicion hung over the carter family. not only over jason, but bill, two. bill new agent ludwig was looking at him since he was the last person known to have seen shirley a life. >> and he said, you know you could've done this when you brought her back from coffee. >> then for weeks, nothing happened. >> we have no leads. nothing's going on in the investigation. >> so the shirley carter murder case was heading to the cold case. file >> a look that we. yes. >> but bill carter wasn't going to let that happen. he hired his own detective. nick webb is a crime scene analyst and former homicide detective from texas. bill instructed him to dig into the case with an open mind. if it's the good, the bad, the ugly. is it all going to be in your final report? >> we're only looking for the. truth >> to aid his

investigation, webb purchase a white full similar to the one missing from bills base. the riminton rifle ejects as shell casing between shots. at least one of those would have flown out as the killer -- >> [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] >> he already puts himself.

they're so, jason simply has to commit the murder and instead of doing the other tasks they said he did. >> is it your belief that jason shot his mother? >> yes. >> painful as it was, bill had been suspicious of his son early on. and remembers a moment when it all became clear. not long after the murder, bill says, jason found out he was going to visit his lawyer. >> he came barging through the door and he said, what are you going to go see your lawyer about? >> and i said, i just need to get something's and. there's some things that don't add up. and that's when he slammed his fist on the counter top and he said, my life is over. >> his life, jason's life? >> his life is over. i knew then he had done it. >> it was a shocking realization. you're telling me, your boy became a monster? >> he did. he did. i'm ashamed.

>> you shouldn't be ashamed? you do everything you could for the boy. >> i didn't do something right. shirley and i did something wrong. >> bill carter tired of waiting for the prosecutor. he, the father, would take the almost unprecedented step bringing his son before a civil jury. >> i attorney said, you know, we can file a wrongful death suit. and that will force the county attorney to make a move. >> bill was about to sue his son for shirley's death. if the jury ruled for the father, jason would face present, but something like financial ruin. >> coming up -- >> the plaintiffs co-leader sun carter. >> father jensen. >> it became a practice -- >> sun against father. >> killer, is in this room.

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>> on a december day in 2017, two and a half years after shirley carter's murder, in this court house in knoxville, iowa, father faced off against. and bill carter had spent almost 1 million dollars to get to this courtroom. and to this moment. >> there is not a more important courtroom anywhere in this state than this courtroom, today, right now. >> bill carter's lawyer mark weinhardt, opened by telling the jury only one person wanted shirley dead. >> the color is sitting a few feet from you. that's the killer right there. jason carter. it >> started like a murder case. but remember, this was a civil trial. a wrongful death lawsuit.

the father, the plaintiffs, his son, the defendant. the burden of proof is much lower than it would be in a criminal trial. >> the plaintiff only has to prove the defendant libel by a preponderance of the evidence. in other words, 51% likely that you are right. >> it'll carter's lawyer played jason's 9-1-1 call. he argued, jason stated something about the time of death he couldn't possibly have known. >> it looks like she's been laying here for two hours. >> you hear him say that his mother has been dead for two hours. which medically is absolutely knocked the fat base and what we know the condition of the. body but also, why would he be saying that other than to already start to create the narrative, hey, it wasn't me. >> then bill's lawyer attacked jason's character. to show the jury he wasn't a devoted family man. >> do you solemnly swear? >> i do. >> jason's other woman took the stand. her name, tara --

>> she was questioned by another a bill's attorneys. >> you could hear a pin drop in that column. >> tara recounted that her 15 month affair with the mary jason carter. >> how frequently were you guys having sex? >> on average it would be several times a week. >> did you ever tell mr. carter that you love? tim >> i did. >> did he ever reciprocate and tell you you that he loved you? >> he did. >> and bill's lawyer said that on the morning of the murder, jason and tower exchange more than 100 texts on that secret phone. some of them steamy. do >> you recall what your last text message from mr. carter was? >> it was something sexual. >> weinhardt said the conversation ended only when jason stopped texting as he pulled up to his parents house. >> text, text, text, until 10:50 am. at which point the tex traffic goes dark. >> quiet for 13 minutes, until jason made a phone call to his sister. telling her their mother was dead. >> he weinhardt argued that was

more than enough time to kill his mother and scary robbery. >> plaintiffs called jason carter. >> then came the moment so many have been waiting. for jason, the favorite son in his own words, telling the jury about seeing his mother did. >> i couldn't believe what i found. >> weinhardt confronted you said about the affair. >> you did in a french residents. in cars. even in your own. house >> correct. >> you became a practice, skilled and chronic liar. >> correct. >> now bills lure try to prove motive. it was, he argued, about money. the jury was told jason was a spendthrift. >> he puts money into motorcycles, nice cars, and trips and vacations. >> at the same time, jason was expanding his farm operation. where did all that leave him? more than half 1 million dollars in debt. >> jason was as broke as he had

ever been. he had $40 in his personal bank account. $80 in his business bank account. >> weinhardt said jason saw only one way out. getting control of his parents farmland, worth millions. jason knew that he stood to inherit all of it. >> my dad said that, shelly and i and our kids would inherit the granary. and your sister and brother will inherit everything above ground. >> the lawyer mapped out his theory. shirley found out about jason's affair. and if surely knew, then bill soon would know. to jason worry he would be disinherited. he had to stop his mother before she disclosed his illicit romance. >> i'm not going to look at the jury and tell them the truth. you shop your mother to death. >> absolutely not. >> the jury listened for seven days to the plaintiff's case. then came the defense. >> jason had a loving, close

relationship with his mother. >> jason carter's lawyer, steve -- challenge the accusation that jason and his 9-1-1 call, was trying to push at the time of shirley's death to morning hours. when he had been accounted for and video at the granary. >> it looks like she's been lying here for two. hours >> this is all happening within a matter of minutes. jason was simply so distraught. he had to say, you should've done this, you should've done that, this in that, i think is just ridiculous. >> as for jason's affair, the lawyer told a jury it was irrelevant. a salacious destruction. and of course, you sunlight about it to preserve his family. >> if you want to characterize him as a bad guy for carrying on an affair, fine. -- [inaudible]

[inaudible] [inaudible] -- [inaudible]

>> whether it be to go get her here appointment. or to help with the kids. whatever it was, she had to get his permission before she could do that. >> one juror said it almost came to head on that june morning. >> if something happened on that friday that made him snap. and he is the one killed his wife. >> after two weeks of trial and mutual accusations, the battle between father and son went to the jury. >> a court will now read the verdict. >> it took a little over two hours to answer the question, did jason carter caused the death of his father? >> they defended, jason carter, batter shirley carter, causing damages to plaintiffs? answer, yes. >> jason had been found liable for the death of his mother. the jury cleared bill. >> it had to come sooner or

later. it had to come. >> since this was a civil case, jason wasn't getting any present time. >> what amount of punitive damages, if any, do you award the estate of shirley carter? >> answer, 10 million. dollars >> 10 million. bill and his lawyers never expected to see a dime. >> the more important thing for bill was simply to have eight people from that county hearing all the evidence and saying, just handed it. >> meanwhile, the county district attorney ed bull, sitting in the back of the courtroom, had been watching closely. what would he do now? >> coming up -- the fates we're not quite through with the carter family. >> i got right into his face. and i said, why did you kill your mother? >> there would soon be an ax to. >> what is the biggest thing you have going in your favor this time? >> there really was no significant evidence against

jason carter. >> when dateline continues. teline continues tter bedtime stories. you'll find a better life is in store at miracle-ear, when you experience the exclusive miracle-ear advantage. it starts with our free hearing assessment. plus innovative products that fit your needs and budget. with free service and adjustments for life. we're so confident we can improve your life, we're offering a 30-day risk-free trial. call 1-800-miracle today and experience the miracle-ear advantage for yourself. ever notice how stiff clothes call 1-800-miracle today and experience can feel rough on your skin? for softer clothes that are gentle on your skin, try downy free & gentle downy will soften your clothes without dyes or perfumes. the towel washed with downy is softer, and gentler on your skin. try downy free & gentle.

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-- >> with a civil case decided against jason carter, finding him viable for the death of his mother, the district attorney decided it was time to react. with less than 48 hours after the civil order, agent ludwig and the sheriff's deputies arrested him for the murder of

his mother. >> i got right into his face and i said, why did you kill your mother? he was stonefaced cold. >> jason carter would be brought back into court, this time accused of first degree murder. if convicted, he could face life in prison. agent ludwig had been convinced of jason carter's guilt ever since that initial interrogation a few days after the murder. >> i am telling you the truth, the god awful truth. i am telling you the truth. >> you are not. >> yes i am. >> that day, he agreed to take a polygraph exam. >> regarding the death of your mom, do you intend to answer each question truthfully? >> yes. >> did you physically hurt your mom last friday? >> no. >> he fell. >> by a big margin? >> a huge margin. >> he totally blew the polygraph? >> he failed the polygraph. >> not evidence, but guidance for you, yes? >> strong guidance, yes. >> in march, 2015, a curtain came up on the criminal trial. it was first degree murder, and

jason carter pleaded not guilty. as much as he wanted his son to face justice, bill carter knew there would be no winners. >> i knew they would not be a good outcome. >> why do you say that? >> if my son is guilty of first degree murder, that is not a good outcome >> so that is a bad choice? >> you hear prosecutors talk about motive, means an opportunity. well, means. he said he was in the home, there was ammunition. opportunity, -- so let's talk about motive. >> district attorney ed ball was telling a journey in iowa that he was stressed over his finances the day that jason killed his mother. >> this case is not about money, it is about pressure. it is about, am i going to be able to be a full-time farmer? >> this time around, the burden of proof would be higher, beyond a reasonable doubt. and that is a prosecutors challenge, without that rock

solid csi styled evidence the juries want. >> i want three things in a homicide case. i want forensic, a confession and an eyewitness. in this case, i had none of those things. >> ed would pretty much follow the map of the civil trial, but the jury was not allowed to know about the civil case or its outcome. and his hands would also be tied by the judges ruling, that the jury would not be allowed to hear about jason's affair, or the steamy texts on his secret phone, and that jason headlight about all of that at first. tara, his girlfriend took the stand, but only to testify to the gap in jason's timeline, and the abrupt end of their conversation. >> was your conversation that morning, without telling us any of the details, such that you expected it was at a logical stopping point? >> no. >> as to motive, in his opening, the da had mentioned the financial pressure on jason. but in the end, he found it hard to explain why jason would

have shot surely in cold blood. >> there is nothing that i can tell you that would make sense of why it is, that is sun shoots and kills his mother. >> now it was time for the defense. jason carter's attorney, christine brands did have a message for the attorneys. a shiny investigation focused on jason early and never looked anywhere else. and there were plenty of people to question. >> a very significant part of this investigation, which simply were not completed, or followed, or done. >> so, christine, what was the biggest thing you have going in your favor at this time? >> there really was no significant evidence against jason carter. >> as in the civil case, the defensive journey argued jason had a loving relationship with his mother, and that his allegedly incriminating, how did he know that statement, they were taken out of context. and by the way, he was not in any financial trouble. >> there was a 3000 dollar check deposited that day, and

another check deposited four 3000 in the mail, and a $175,000 worth of grain in the events. >> as to the abrupt ending to jason's texting with his lover on the day of his murder, the defense attorney asked the girlfriend on the stand -- >> did you perceive in any way that jason carter was troubled, on the morning of june 19th? >> no. >> then, there was the timeline of that morning to deal with. all along, based on statements of first responders and crime scene techs, it was estimated truly have been murdered sometime just before 11 am, when jason admits he was at the farmhouse. to counter the time of death, one of the nation's most famous pathologists for higher took the stand, cyril whacked. he's been involved in thousands of cases from the jfk assassination, to o.j. simpson. >> you were asked to attempt to the approximate time of death of shirley carter, is that correct? >> yes. >> were you able to do that to a reasonable degree of medical certainty? >> yes. >> he told the jury that surely

may have been killed two hours earlier than anyone had thought possible. if he was correct, then surely was murdered around 9 am, when jason was seen on video, clearly still of the greenery. he could not have killed his mother. >> so when the state says to you, all clues point to one inclusion, it is all of the clues that the tunnel vision law enforcement, and one investigator in particular -- >> civil verdict, agent ludwig, investigator, special agent, mother. [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible]

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at jason carter's murder trial, prosecutors knew that without forensic evidence, a confession or any eyewitnesses, they faced an uphill battle. the defense made their case that police had tunnel vision, and botched the investigation the jury was unaware jason had been found liable for his mom's death in a civil trial. with the criminal case now wrapping up, the stakes were raised for father and son. here is dennis mercy with the

conclusion of "the farm" >> the case of the state of iowa versus jason carter was about to go to the jury. >> there are so many holes in this investigation, there is so much that is not even explored. >> jason's defense attorney made [inaudible] >> in reality, the forensic evidence says that jason carter could not possibly be guilty i ask you to return a verdict of not guilty. >> now, the county prosecutor argued all of the viable leads from the defense were just [inaudible] so much smoke and mirrors. >> if you believe that this is a staged burglary, but all of the names stuff they put up on the board is irrelevant. >> bull told the jury that jason just snap that morning, and in a fit of rage, killed his mother. >> there are only two people who would happened that day, one of them is dead, and the other one is sitting in that chair i find him guilty as

charged >> it took the jury less than two hours to reach a verdict. about the same duration as the civil juries deliberation. and remember, that jury had found jason liable for his mother's death, so the lead investigator felt good about this. >> we felt like this is it, and that emotion, that feeling of, he is going to be found guilty. >> ludwig assembled a team to take jason into custody after the verdict. >> ladies and gentlemen, we will now read the verdict? >> yes, we have. it >> jason knew a conviction could send him to prison for life. >> we the jury, find jason carter not guilty. >> that is your verdict, ladies and gentlemen. >> not guilty. jason had gotten his life back. >> i just want to go home, and see my kids, it has been a long time coming. >> jason was a free man. the district attorneys say he gave it his best shot. >> so you are giving the jury

this argument of, a moment of rage? [inaudible] what's the motive? explain what it was, it was not a satisfying thing to say something, happened he went downstairs, got the rifle and killed his mom. >> i don't disagree with you, i wish there was a better story i could tell, but i am limited, based on what the facts are that i could prove to a jury. and that is the best i had. >> but that was not good enough for bill carter. >> the worst thing that i was afraid of, was that surely would never get justice. and that happened. >> is this case closed? >> yes. we believe that we held the right person accountable, but until new information comes forward, we will continue to investigate this. >> that is just what jason carter said he wanted. find the killer. he declined an interview with, his attorney says he realizes some people will still believe he shot his mother to death. >> jason knows that until

someone is conclusively proven to be the murderer, some people still suspect him. >> the 10 million dollar civil judgment against jason remains in place. after the trial, jason returned to the life he always known, as a farmer, with cycles that don't stop. >> this planting season, i imagine seeds are going in the ground, right? >> that is exactly it. i know he was planning on easter day, and jason saw his father, out planting at the same time. >> what did he think? >> he said his thought was, it just seems wrong. this should have been the time where we were both planted, we both quit, and went into easter dinner together it is hard for him to understand how his family ended up split up like this. >> and on his side of that field, bill carter watched the son he loved so much work the land, just as he taught him. >> i have to farm right across

the fence from him. >> and you see him? >> from here to that wall, i was that far from him yesterday. >> a few feet, but an unbreakable divided, one it is a matter of father versus son. >> that is all for this edition of dateline, i'm natalie morales. thank you for watching thank you for watching >> i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is the wine. >> it was tough to think that anybody could do that to someone, to look at the pictures of what they did to her, and hear details of how this was carried out. it is just devastating. >> -- loving mom biden, a loving cocktail waitress by night. >> i was at one of the bars, i